Sample Application

DESCRIPTION

Hard and lean and tough as nails, Jane looks every inch the fighter. Though her average height of 5'5" is hardly imposing, her forceful carriage makes up for what she lacks in size. Her dark-brown hair is kept neat and practical in a close-cropped bowl, and below it her features are clean and symmetrical: light hazel eyes and a long straight nose, high-boned cheeks and a hard square jaw. She carries herself strong and confident, a militaristic economy of movement to her motions.

PERSONALITY

A hard-ass with a somewhat vicious personality streak, Jane is dedicated to the point of obsession. A clear product of her time in the military, organization and some level of paranoia are integrated through her entire life. Have her as an ally, and she'll defend you to the death. Have her as an enemy, and it might be wise to just give up now.

BACKGROUND

The military child of a military family, Jane was army from birth. The oldest of three children born to a pair of career army officers, Jane and her siblings had a strict upbringing. As an army brat, Jane did not have a lot of stability in her early life, the family moving from base to base as her parents' assignments changed. Even so, there is a certain kind of familiarity from one base to another, and even with the constant shifting her family was a solid presence in her life.

In between all the base-hopping and disciplinarianism, Jane's childhood was largely uneventful. Routine, even, as might be expected living from military base to military base. That routine was rather shaken up halfway through her high school career, though, when her mutation first began to manifest. Destructive as her powers were, her manifestation jeopardized her parents' careers as officers. Though not inclined to be overly supportive of their mutant daughter, her parents recognized the danger of having an uncontrolled mutant around and, at least, gave her enough support to get her powers under control so that she didn't end up getting them all thrown off base. As with many things in her life, this support came in the form of additional discipline: you had /better/ learn to control yourself. Or else.

With two military parents, there was always a lot of pressure for Jane and her siblings to follow in their footsteps and join the Army as well. Throughout school, Jane always worked hard, and her exemplary academic record let to an acceptance at West Point by the end of high school. The acceptance pleased her parents, earning her their rare and coveted pride -- up until the point where she chose not to join the military academy, instead enlisting straight out of high school. It was the army path, for sure, but certainly not the one her parents had expected for her.

Jane's military career was characterized by the same diligence she had applied to her studies up until this point. With her impeccable record, when she applied for the MOS of Explosives and Ammunition, she was assigned there immediately. Distinguishing herself during her deployments to Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan, she rose through the ranks, becoming a Master Sergeant by her mid-twenties.

Even so, despite her outstanding services, the military is not the most tolerant of institutions. When her mutation came to the notice of her superior officers, it put an end to her military career. Quietly honorably discharged for unsuitability, Jane was forced, for the first time in her life, to join the ranks of civilians and find a place for herself in the regular world. Recently discharged and looking for a job, Jane has made her way to New York City, hopeful that in a city so large there will be some niche in which her years of training can be put to good use.

SKILLS

Jane's time in the military has left her equipped with a solid base of the skills one might expect from a dedicated soldier. Her specialty was in Explosives and Ammunition, and as such she is experienced with a large range of explosives, weaponry, and ammunition. Her marksmanship is excellent, and she has extensive training in close-quarters combat. Well-trained in resisting interrogation though moderately in giving it, her skill base falls most prominenently in the Tough And Mean field of activities.

Though her interpersonal skills are not always the best, having attained the rank of Master Sergeant has left her with some skill in the field of leadership and teaching, as well. Though she is far from the most PLEASANT boss to work under, she is good at -- ah -- /encouraging/ her team to achieve their missions. She has some skills in combat first aid, and a lifetime of discipline leaving her fairly well-handled under pressure.

Outside of military life, Jane's skill base has not had a lot of room to develop. Living in New York with its abundance of ready cheap takeout is ideal given her general lack of proficiency in the kitchen. Though Jane would never make a good homemaker, she has lately taken up the habit of knitting while TV-watching in her downtime. It's something to do with her hands. One day she might even be good at it!

POWERS

Jane's mutation creates forcefields -- though in her case, the shields are more offensive than defensive. She projects strong and highly destructive forcefields, capable of cutting through most materials that they come into contact with.

Under normal circumstances, she can create and hold a shield with only minimal concentration for up to half an hour; though it is possible for her to extend their life to a span of a couple hours, longer sustained shielding requires her to be concentrating on little but their upkeep. As well, shielding a greater area is more taxing -- though a smaller size of shield (ten square feet or less) takes little effort on her part, the bigger the area that she attempts to shield, the quicker she will tire and not be able to sustain it. So while she might shield herself for a long period of time with relative ease, expanding the shield to cover, say, an entire apartment complex would expend her energy enough to allow only a quick burst of expended energy before the shield vanishes again. For this reason, her shields are more adept at attack than defense -- creating small projectiles to cut through objects (... or, say, people) requires only brief short bursts of projection, comprising only small surface area; such a use of her powers requires only minimal energy and concentration for a quick attack.

Though it takes very little effort for her to create the projections, it takes a good deal of concentration for her to keep them from damaging things they come into contact with. She is capable of creating shields that do not destroy what they touch, but doing so requires constant and sustained effort from her; a slip of her concentration and her shields will return to their natural cutting state. For Jane, exercise of her powers is much like exercise of her body; overwork will make her drained and tired, though regular practice helps her limits stretch and grow. Her mutation and her physical activity are fueled by the same sources -- so exercise to increase her stamina on one axis is beneficial all around, though, conversely, overtaxing herself physically will also leave her more sluggish and tired when it comes to expending energy with her mutation.