Chromatica

Real Name: Jennifer Clayton
Renegade Name: Chromatica
Alignment: Neutral Good
Birthdate: July 17th, 1985
Gender: Female
Race: Human (Metahuman)
Hair: Strawberry Blonde
Eyes: Light Brown
Height: 5ft 11in; 1.8m
Weight: 210 lbs; 934.5 newtons



Jennifer is a large woman, tall, with a heavy frame that sustains a surprising amount of muscle under apparent bulk. Her fashion sense is weighted towards the practical; she keeps her wavy, strawberry blonde hair at neck-length, preferring clothes with darker, subdued tones that don’t draw attention.

As Chromatica she wears a large armor suit that brings to mind the heavily armored knights of the medieval era, yet built with modern technology, covered from head to toe in thick armor plates and reinforcements held together by a motorized exoskeleton. The suit itself is dark in color; when active, channels in the armor fill with light, glowing a silvery-teal with a hint of violet at the edges.



Jennifer has a fairly blunt, no-nonsense attitude. She is very results-driven, preferring to find solutions first, and delve into nuance later.

Around friends or in casual environments she is more relaxed, displaying a healthy curiosity and a knack for self-improvement. Stemming from her bluntness she is fairly open about her emotions and opinions, only concealing feelings that may create problems she does not see a concrete answer to.



Jennifer’s story begins with that of her parents, Harold Clayton and Lindsey Clayton (née Dowers). Harold, a machinist from Maine, met Lindsey after moving out to Indiana in search of work. After being married for some years they decided to start a family together, having first a son, Harold Junior, or Harry, and then Jennifer herself five years later.

Unfortunately, as manufacturing jobs declined in Indiana, Harold’s place of employment closed, forcing the family to move south to Kentucky, where Harold found a new job as a maintenance technician at a coal mine. Lindsey soon found work at the mine as well, as a secretary for the administrative functions, and the family was able to sustain a decent, if impoverished, existence.

Even as a pre-teen Jennifer realized that her future would be limited in Kentucky, especially when the coal industry began to falter. Going into high school she pushed herself hard to do well, inspired by her father’s personal philosophy of self-reliance. Along the way she developed a cigarette addiction, going to great lengths to hide it from her parents, and her father in particular.

Jennifer’s academic efforts paid off. Taking a leap of faith, she applied to several universities near the end of her sophomore year, managing to get accepted to Yale, under the condition that she maintain excellent grades throughout her remaining years of high school.

This otherwise exciting news proved contentious with her family, who were struggling despite now having three incomes, with Harry having entered the workforce at the coal mine shortly after graduating from high school himself the year prior. Lindsey convinced Harold that it was his duty to support Jennifer’s dream, since he had moved the family to their current situation in the first place. To do so, Harold took up more hours at the mine, working in a riskier area where new excavations were occurring.

Times were, if not good, at least better, for a while. Jennifer continued doing well in school, though she felt pressured enough that her smoking habit began to get worse. Her brother, Harry, started a long-term relationship with a woman named Rebecca, and even managed to move up the company ladder, going from mine work to being an apprentice technician.

Alas, tragedy struck, just as Jennifer had started senior year. Harold was killed in a mine shaft collapse, devastating the Clayon family. Jennifer was particularly hurt by it, blaming herself. Her mother convinced her not to give up on her dreams, to not feel guilty, and she managed to move on in time. Jennifer quit smoking, having learned that her father knew about her habit, but had blamed himself that she had turned to vice under life’s pressures.

Within a few years, Jennifer finally felt like she was on a good path. Soon to start her third year at Yale, Jennifer planned to move to Connecticut for the foreseeable future, intending to pursue a doctorate. To help her financial situation, Harry and Lindsey had used their connections at the company to get Jennifer a summer job, working ostensibly as an apprentice technician, but more accurately doing menial, low-skill labor that would otherwise occupy the valuable time of trained workers. While the job was neither satisfying, nor particularly well paying, it was better than nothing.

One day while leaving work, a chemical leak resulted in an explosion that collapsed a significant portion of the coal processing facility, trapping Jennifer under the debris.

She woke up in a hospital, barely able to move aside from seemingly-occasional twitches. A doctor was speaking to her mother, explaining that Jennifer had no apparent voluntary movements, and was in all likelihood brain dead. Lindsey resisted this, insisting that her daughter would recover. After a week of slipping in and out of consciousness, Jennifer started to breathe on her own again, if only involuntarily, and the doctors allowed her to be moved to a long-term care facility.

There, Jennifer realized that something had changed. She could feel a potential in any object she touched, so long as it had the right properties, and that she could awaken that potential. Her first attempts at using it were meant to alert the nurses who cared for her that she was conscious and aware, capable of recovering. Due to her limited volition the fruits of these labors were insignificant, going unnoticed or simply being ignored by her caretakers.

Desperate, Jennifer managed to use the ability on her own body, granting her the ability to manipulate light. From this she was finally able to communicate, alerting her family during a visit, allowing her to get the help she needed.

Within a year of intense physical therapy and medical treatment, Jennifer made enough of a recovery to return to University, working as hard as ever.

During her graduate studies at Yale she met an undergraduate by the name of Lawrence Alston, whom, she realized, was a local vigilante hero going by the alias Array. Having spent some years exploring and developing her own powers, she offered to be his partner, taking up the name Chromatica.

The two became fast friends, and an excellent duo, having powers that complimented each other. Still, being students, their heroic exploits were only occasional, gaining little notoriety.

Jennifer’s mother passed away in her last year at Yale, not long before her doctoral dissertation, of lung cancer. Though a great loss, Jennifer was able to finish her degree, thanks to Lawrence’s support. He received his doctorate not long after, and the two entered the professional world as partners. At the same time, they looked to expand their heroic careers, within reason.

The duo got their big break from their civilian efforts, being hired to work for the Department of Defense under Project Oculus. On paper, it was a form of advanced orbital surveillance and intelligence gathering, but in actuality it went further, tying into applications for orbital laser weaponry, particularly ballistic missile defense.

In the years prior to the New York assault, government factions concerned with potential metahuman threats began leveraging for influence over Oculus. Between this and the increasingly militaristic nature of the project, Jennifer grew disheartened, leaving to pursue other lines of work. Though not officially breaking up her partnership with Array, the separation meant they rarely had the opportunity to work together.

After the destruction in New York, Jennifer, having spent the time since leaving Oculus trying to advance her heroic career, met up with Array again. In the course of catching up, she learned that Lawrence had grudgingly agreed to work with Dominus, giving them access to the Oculus project, under threat that they would reveal his identity if he did not. Despite assurances that Oculus’ technology was years away from maturity, Jennifer could not help but feel betrayed by her long time friend.

From then on, Chromatica would work for herself first, all others second.


1. Strength
2. Reaction
3. Endurance
4. Agility




1. Transference

By touching a solid object Chromatica can change its material properties in specific ways; namely, imparting the capacity to absorb, store, or re-emit light. Modified objects she is in contact with are controlled by her thoughts and can have their properties changed at will. Modified aspects of a material can interact with electricity as well, allowing it to be used as a circuitry component.

These objects’ effects are programmed by Chromatica during the transference process. They can be as simple as making an object absorb small amounts of light while illuminated that is reemitted in darkness, or more complex properties such as converting an electrical waveform into a lightwave or vice versa. Though this power works on most solid materials, it is most effective on metals.

It is through continuously using this power on her own body that Chromatica gained her other powers. This particular application of transference is unique to her; the power does not work on other living things.

The process must be initiated by touching the object with her hands, though it will continue so long as the object remains in contact with her afterwards. This applies to changes, as well.

2. Photokinesis

Chromatica can manipulate light in a two-foot radius around her, changing the direction and velocity of lightwaves at will, as well as concentrating or dispersing light. This does not allow her to change the focal properties of the waveform; manipulated light remains as diffuse or focused as it was prior to being manipulated. Additionally, this power does not allow Chromatica to create light; she must use existing sources. Using this power requires energy in relation to the magnitude of manipulation.

3. Frequency Shift

Light waves that are inside Chromatica’s area of influence can have their frequency increased or decreased, processes known as blue and red shifting respectively. Redshifting light allows Chromatica to make a light wave less energetic, absorbing the energy herself. This stored energy can be used to blueshift light, making it more energetic. She can redshift waves down to the far infrared (300 GHz / 1mm) and blueshift them up to the extreme ultraviolet (30 PHz / 10nm). Depending on the initial frequency of the lightwave, this can reduce its energy to less than one percent of the original when redshifting, or increase it by a hundred times when blueshifting. The maximum amount of energy that Chromatica can store from redshifting light is 3.284 Gigajoules, equivalent to 0.78 tons of TNT. Using this power actively in direct sunlight allows Chromatica to absorb approximately 560 watts of power.

4. Blackbody

A side effect of Chromatica’s powers is that any light higher than the visual spectrum which makes contact with her is redshifted into the visual range as white light, the energy difference being absorbed as with her Redshift power. The higher the frequency, the more energy is absorbed as a percentage of the wave’s total energy. Light-based attacks that are in the visual range are redshifted down to the lowest visible wavelength, red, achieving a similar reduction. However, this power is ineffective against light that is already red or of lower frequencies.

This power gives Chromatica a passive 37 watt recharge while in direct sunlight.

5. Deflection Cloak

By bending light around her and trapping the light that reflects or radiates off of her, Chromatica can obscure herself nearly to the point of invisibility.

6. Photoperceptive

Chromatica’s power allows her to perceive light within her radius on human-actionable timescales. Thus, she is capable of interacting with discrete amounts of light in the nanoseconds it would take to enter and leave her radius of effect. This ability does not affect her perception of time otherwise, nor is it a substitute for vision.



1. Transmutation

Manifesting her power in objects requires contact over time. Objects that she has touched for only a moment or so will revert to normal in a matter of minutes, and will not be able to express the maximum potential of her power. Permanent changes requires several hours of constant contact, or days of repeated contact. An object must be worked on for weeks to express the same potential that Chromatica can. Changing the magnitude of effects imbued in an object can be done at will, but imbuing new effects or changing existing ones requires time and effort.

2. Energy Bleed

Should her stored energy exceed approximately 1.68 Megajoules, the excess energy will bleed off exponentially, emitted as neutrinos. Starting at her maximum potential storage of 3.284 Gigajoules, Chromatica’s energy stores would be siphoned back to 1.68 Megajoules in only twenty-two minutes. Because the bleed is exponential, 40% of this energy would be lost in the first thirty seconds, and 86% by two minutes. By three minutes, only 5% of the maximum would remain.

3. Photon Burn

Chromatica’s power becomes less efficient when trying to store or manipulate external light of greater energy than her bleed threshold. For frequency manipulations this means she needs to spend more energy to blueshift the wave, and receives less energy when redshifting it. However, particularly complex manipulations, such as trying to completely redirect or temporarily stop a powerful lightwave, result in energy being lost as heat. This heat builds up in Chromatica’s body, causing fatigue and exhaustion. Thermal effects from manipulating significantly powerful lightwaves can even result in physical injury, such as burns.

Even below the bleed threshold, Chromatica’s power generates enough thermal loss to cause gradual overheating during intense use, similar to the level generated during equivalent physical exercise.

4. Ablation

Consecutive hits weaken Chromatica’s Blackbody defense, causing it to become less efficient with each use. This inefficiency reduces the amount of defense provided by Blackbody by 10% per consecutive attack and causes thermal buildup similar to her Photon Burn weakness, proportional to the energy of the blocked attack. Chromatica regenerates 15% of her defense capability per post in which she is not hit by a light-based attack.

5. Optical Filter

Chromatica’s cloaking cannot discriminate from direct illumination and diffuse light coming off of other objects. Thus, the closer to true invisibility Chromatica’s cloak is, the less light she has to see by. Becoming completely invisible would leave her completely shrouded in darkness from her perspective. This can be avoided should she decide to only trap incoming light rather than redirect it, making her appear as a perfect black body instead of true invisibility.

6. Myopic

Chromatica’s Photoperception only works on sources of light that she has seen in action and which remain within her field of view. Light sources that activate outside of her awareness, or that she does not realize are light sources prior to the first activation, are not perceived by her enhanced senses until she has become aware of them. This includes light-based attacks.




Photometal

Collectively refers to stockpiled metals Chromatica has created with her Transference power for use as a resource. Most photometal tends to be steel or copper, though she has smaller stockpiles of other metals that are more suited to other uses.

Like Chromatica, Photometal can only store so much energy. It can do so indefinitely, but at lower absolute densities than Chromatica herself. Photometal is affected by the Photon Burn weakness, relative to its mass and storage capacity.

Photometal is otherwise normal outside of the alterations done using Chromatica’s power, possessing the same mechanical and chemical properties as its base material. Should photometal be subject to chemical change or significant physical shock, the damaged areas will lose their properties.

Chroma Armor MkII

Chromatica wears an armored exoskeleton as her costume. The powered skeleton of the armor is built from a combination of photometal and technology provided by her former partner Array. It does not enhance her strength, instead serving as a structural frame to support the armor, allowing Chromatica to move as if relatively unburdened.

The protective armor itself is made of a metal-ceramic composite sandwiched between an outer and inner layer of photometal, which are connected by photometal channels. These armor elements are arranged in segments for maximum flexibility, with channels of fiber-optic-like material joining them. The outer layer is a near-perfect blackbody, absorbing almost all light that impacts it and storing this light as energy. This makes the armor highly resilient in the face of light-based attacks. Added protection comes from the composite layers, providing resistance to small arms fire. Photometal components also provide energy storage, up to a maximum of 115.17 Megajoules.

The inner layer operates in two modes. The first, used when Chromatica’s own storage is low, draws on the suit’s stored energy to emit light in the extreme ultraviolet, which is conducted through the optical channels joining the armor pieces. Chromatica in turn redshifts this light into the visual range, transferring the stored energy to herself. Because the optical channels are designed to contain ultraviolet light, the resulting visual light leaks out, causing the channels to glow with a spectral effect. Chromatica uses this light as the basis of her photokinesis while in combat.

The second mode of operation uses a photometal layer lining the bottom of the channels, which emits light in the far infrared. This allows Chromatica to blueshift the light using her own energy stores, boosting it to the visual range and then manipulating the light once it has left the armor channels.

Both the gauntlets and boots of the armor are reinforced, adorned with steel bludgeons to give Chromatica an edge in melee combat.

However, the exposed nature of the armor’s primary functional components leaves it vulnerable to damage while in combat. The degree of alteration required plus the reliance on advanced technology means that Chromatica cannot effectively repair damage to the armor in combat, doing what amounts to patch-jobs at best.