Wraithe

Arizona Thorne is a very deep individual; the kind of person that you can never make a profile of at first glance, though many people believe that they have her figured out when they first meet her. At first contact, the words that quickly come to the minds of those who see her are "zany", "gaga" and even "crazy", what with her eccentric exuberant behavior, and her seeming inability to take anything very seriously. She has various 'joke moods', and her humor switches between dry and subtle, to witty and even to downright goofy. She likes smiling, singing (she has a very melodious voice, if the song isn't getting on your nerves) and talking... a lot. It would have been okay if she stopped there, but when you add her recklessness and suicidal tendencies, she becomes more manic and psychotic than just weird or funny. All these crazy behaviours serve as a ruse to hide her extremely sharp mind and analytic prowess, and also her occasional melancholia.

Riz is selfish to an extent, preferring to look out for her own skin in areas she considers hostile. What I mean is this: if she does not like the people in a group or area, you can be sure that Riz will be mostly unhelpful and self-centered. That is not necessarily her true behavior, because Riz is capable of acts of kindness; in fact, she is a "nice" person, on a good day. She can even go out of her way to save someone's life, but she will be quick to do something nasty after that, to dissuade people from thinking she's "one of the good guys", if she feels that some observer may try to exploit her act of kindness.

Rizzie is a very emotional person, and suffers from great bouts of depression, and even dementia. She may be happy one moment, and burst into tears the next, then chase someone with a knife afterwards, then hug a pillow and lament her fate, then lapse into sullenness. Suffice to say, she is very unpredictable, but regardless of that, she has a very loyal streak. If she likes a person, or is obliged to be loyal or faithful to someone (without coercion), she displays a very admirable level of devotion, and will be nice to the person, irrespective of her mood. She treasures those who still befriend her in spite of all her failings, emotional and mental, and she will make sacrifices for such people, at any point in time. She is not very forgiving, though, if crossed or betrayed, and is also vindictive.

Riz always wants to appear flighty to hide a few truths, but inside, she is a very insecure girl who has been scarred emotionally (will be discussed in her history). As a result, she prefers to work alone. If she is ever assigned over a group, she puts up a more serious front, though the jokes may come once in a while, and can display a surprising level of calmness, until something terrible or life threatening occurs to a team mate. She will attempt to keep a cool demeanor until the mission is completed (which she usually succeeds at), but when in secret, she will blame the losses on herself and take the injuries of her team very badly. As a result, she is not quick to volunteer for a leadership position, but she likely will make a very good leader. She doesn't mind taking supportive roles, provided the objective is accomplished. When she is alone, Riz is a very different person: quiet, brooding and solemn. Truth be told, she hardly fancies human company, and more often than not, prefers to be on her own.

When Riz comes in contact with an enemy, or someone she dislikes, she hardly ever hides it, even if the person is capable of meting out retribution on the spot. She usually trash talks such a person, even when she is being punished for it, though at some point, she may stop for a moment, only to continue with the barbs at a more opportune time. She is stubborn to a fault, and although she will carry out most of her orders under a boss she dislikes, she may even insult them to their faces, just to let them know her mind. She has a habit of using terms of endearment for almost anyone she talks to, especially if they are about the same age as she is, even if they are her enemies, but she will be more sarcastic, in such a case.

Something interesting about Riz is that there are some moral lines she will not cross: murder, or being an accessory to it, causing pain or sorrow to those who don't deserve it (but her opinion is what counts to her; cops deserve it... a little), and harming the defenseless and underprivileged.

She likes water, in all forms and sizes, for obvious reasons and would love to explore the bottom of the ocean; she dislikes crowds, noise and heat (especially deserts), and hates the terrorist organization M.A.S.T.

Arizona Elizabeth Thorne, as she was named by her adoptive parents, has a very complex history. She cannot be classified as your garden-variety human being, because she actually came from the sea. Unknown to many humans, there have been a race of ‘humans’ who have adapted to underwater life. A few persons who believe in myths usually call them Atlanteans. Perhaps that is correct, because although these deep sea dwellers live in various isolated settlements in various oceans of the world, there does exist a major ‘city’ called ‘Atlantis’. And while the major cities of the ‘Atlanteans’ (we shall refer to them as such) are domed and filled with oxygenated air, these Atlanteans are capable of breathing under water. They also possess some technology that is superior to that of the average human.

In the major city of Atlantis, a lot of politics surrounded Arizona’s birth. Two extended families struggled for the throne of Atlantis, and everyone waited for her birth with great expectation. This was because every ruler of Atlantis was expected to have the sea-god’s blessing: the ability to manipulate water, which was a rare, genetic trait. If this did not happen, they would have to settle for the eldest heir from one of the two noble houses that ruled Atlantis. Regardless of how many children were born ahead of the child with the sea-god’s blessing, they would all relinquish their right to the throne once this blessed child was of age. In Riz’s case, there were about five children born ahead of her from the two noble families, the closest to her being the son of her mother’s elder sister (about three years her elder), and his elder brother (about eight years her senior). The other three belonged to the other noble family. These were the circumstances that heralded her birth.

When Arizona was born, she was given the name “Kayra” by her parents. As is the tradition of the Atlanteans, when a child is born, he/she is placed in a large basin of water (of course, this is not harmful to their babies, since they can breathe water, so please, don’t be alarmed). When Kayra was placed in the basin, something disturbed her and she cried. To everyone’s surprise, not only did the water in the basin part to create a sort of bowl in which she lay, but she also floated on it. Atlantis’ new queen had been born. Of course, this called for celebrations in the family into which she was born, as well as throughout the capital city (Atlanteans are not so different from humans when it comes to celebrations). And of course, the other noble family was not happy.

The foremost of the other clan, a scheming, over-ambitious young woman by the name of Xieda, lost no time in plotting the little baby’s demise, although outwardly, it would seem that no one else could love the baby more than herself. However, she couldn’t go about it immediately, and so began to hatch a plot that would place the kingdom into her hands. It would span over many years, but she was patient. With enough resources to aid her, and the ability to lie through the back of her teeth, the plan was not very difficult. The first stage of the plan was to make Kayra an orphan. That part was successful, as she managed to kill Kayra’s father in an organized “accident”, while her mother died from a medical condition, which was blamed on her frail health.

The next stage was to eliminate the current regent. This was a bit more intricate, but she managed to carry that out as well. Over time, unknown to many, she had been secretly supporting a separatist group that sought to remove the king from the throne. She eventually gave two assassins some inside information, enabling them to infiltrate the palace and murder the king. Immediately, she ensured that the assassins, as well as every other individual who was privy to her deeds, were caught and immediately executed. That gave her access to the throne, and she was eventually crowned the interim queen of Atlantis. Of course, she promised to hand the throne over to Kayra once she turned sixteen, but she was lying.

The final part of the plan, and the hardest part, was the execution of the child Kayra, who by this time was about six years old. It was extremely difficult, because Kayra’s eldest cousin (the one who was eight years older than she was) watched over her with a protection that bordered on paranoia. For a time, all Xieda’s plans failed, until she came up with a simple idea: open usurping. First of all, she garnered support and ensured that all the military approved of her. Then, she convinced them that the other noble house did not have their interests at heart, twisting the pacifistic policies of that house’s former rulers to look more like laws that were hostile to the military. She furthermore won the hearts of most of the masses with her smooth talking and false promises, convincing them that the old rules (which also concerned the issue of the sea-god’s blessing) were obsolete and unhelpful, stressing on the laws and traditions that were difficult. She convinced them that it was better for the army to be very well equipped, rather than for Atlantis to place all of its hopes on a singular person who could control water (which was nothing compared to the military’s technology). All these points and other wiles eventually caused most of the Atlanteans to throw the laws behind their backs, but the priests of Atlantis, as well as the other noble house did not agree with her. Then Xieda put her plan into action. One night, she was attacked and injured by unknown assailants, who were eventually caught. To everyone’s surprise, they were found to be monks from the priestly order (though I am sure that many of my readers will know that this was all propaganda) and Xieda was quick to blame it on the other noble house, stating that her desire to lead Atlantis into a democracy was what caused the other house to place a hit on her life. With many other false evidences, she succeeded in leading the people astray, and eventually, the other noble house and the monks were faced with dropping the traditions of the elders, or death.

Truth was, there was no other option for most of them. A “witch hunt” began, and many of the monks, and even nobles were slain on the grounds of high treason. However, Xieda refrained from wiping out the noble house, because she did not want to seem heartless. She allowed the ones whom she did not expect to cause her any trouble to live, including Kayra’s cousin. As for Kayra herself, and her guardian (the elder cousin), their execution was a number one priority. He attempted to escape with Kayra, but was intercepted far away from the domed cities, in the cold dark of the ocean bed, where anything could happen. Here, he managed to extricate Kayra from their assailants, in a protective pod, although he lost his life in the process. In the struggle that cost him his life, and the lives of his attackers, one of them managed to seriously damage the pod in which Kayra was as it escaped. The damage caused severe trauma to her head, causing her to lose consciousness, and the pod was lost. The assailants who survived the mortal combat returned to their queen and informed her that both Kayra and her guardian had been killed. Once the kingdom was firmly in her grasp, Xieda transformed the government of Atlantis to a totalitarian system, and it was then that the Atlanteans saw that they were in trouble. Xieda was too powerful to be contended with, as she had most of the military leaders in her pocket, and so she ruled and did as she pleased....

Kayra found herself in a soft warm bed, in a strange environment she was not familiar with. She had been found by a couple, injured, unconscious and washed ashore on a beach, and had been taken home by them for treatment. Although she could not understand them, she perceived that they were not going to harm her, and not having anywhere to go, she stayed with them. The injuries she sustained had caused her to have amnesia, and she couldn’t remember anything about herself or where she was from. The couple eventually decided to adopt her, as they had no children of their own and badly wanted one. And so they did, and so they named her Arizona Elizabeth Thorne.

Arizona was a very intelligent child, and pretty soon, she had become fluent in English. She was an excellent student, and besides her very high intellect, she seemed to be as normal as all the other kids her age. She was interested in research, perhaps because her parents were scientists, and at a young age, she was already drawing blueprints for inventions she would create later in life. And then the dreams began. Riz could not understand them, but they always had to do with water... and death. However, instead of developing a fear for water bodies, she instead began to have an interest in them. Interestingly, though, she did not exhibit any water manipulating powers, until some years later, when she was seventeen.

Due to her uncanny intelligence, she was already rounding up her undergraduate studies by this time, when some strange individuals paid her parents a visit. She couldn’t tell who they were, but all she knew was that they came from her parents’ shady past, which fortunately for her, she was aware of. These men seemed to want her parents to resume a project, but her parents would not hear of it, and her parents asked her not to get involved, as they could handle it, and so she tried to hold her peace concerning the matter. The men kept coming back and mounting pressure on them, but they wouldn’t budge. One day, the discussions reached a climax, and the men began threatening her parents, saying that the “boss” was getting impatient and such stuff. In very unfriendly terms, Riz’s father asked them to leave, but one of them responded by drawing a gun. After much more heated discussions (obviously the gun was not working), one of them decided to make Rizzie join the conversation. And so he went upstairs, kicked down her door (while the other man held her parents at gunpoint) and dragged her downstairs. Her father tried to intervene, but got shot in the arm, and that was when Riz’s water manipulation abilities suddenly kicked in. It was more of the shock at seeing water being manipulated, than her expertise at handling the water that caused her to triumph over them. The police later came on the scene, the criminals were taken away and the story ended well... or not.

This “boss” that the shady men had been talking about was some sort of businessman who had worked with Arizona’s parents in times past by funding their experiments. However, they had broken off when their consciences accused them concerning the projects, and they had resorted to a more moralistic way of life. However, he was able to track them down and wanted them to help him complete the project, as he was bankrupt and needed a windfall. Arizona’s parents decided to move to another location after she had earned herself a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the age of eighteen. And thus they travelled elsewhere. However, on the road, they had a terrible accident...

All that Arizona remembered was some strange people coming to carry her away, as she slipped in and out of unconsciousness. When she eventually recovered, she found herself in some sort of secret facility, which made ‘soldiers’ out of human beings with special powers, or “metahumans”, as they were called. Here, she met this “boss” face to face, who informed her that he had set up the accident to get her parents out of the way and hand her over to the organization to which he now had affiliations. At first, she and a few others tried time and again to escape, but all attempts ended in failure, thanks to some odd “collars” fastened around their necks. These collars not only had a tracking device attached to them, but were also connected to the bases of the brains of the wearers, and could cause debilitating and excruciating pain, at the push of a button, which was never far away. Every attempt to escape always preceded a torture session that was unbearable, and after a few of them had died, the remaining prisoners began losing all hope of ever escaping. Arizona tried to stay optimistic, but the hopeless situation only made her begin to lose her touch on reality, and she eventually became schizophrenic. However, she never gave up hope of escaping, and constantly waited for an opportunity to present itself.

Arizona discovered that the organization in which she was a prisoner was called the M.A.S.T.: Mutant Apprehension Strike Team, a group which ‘protected’ normal human beings from dangerous metahumans like herself, and run by humans who excessively hated metahumans and had a hidden agenda to enslave or rid the earth of them. They were actually little more than a terrorist cell, which was not above doing anything in order to fulfil its objectives. They were also involved in offering their services in a secret black market, and these services were carried out by the metahumans who had been enslaved. Any attempts at exposing the organization or escape during a mission resulted in a certain, and very agonizing death, which easily deterred the other metahumans from thinking in that direction, and being captured or arrested shared the same fate. Many people are not aware of the M.A.S.T.’s existence, and the organization prefers to keep it that way. After close to two years of ‘training’, Riz was sent on various missions, most of which she successfully accomplished. Her intelligence actually made her a ‘favorite’, although this was offset by her bluntness and stubbornness. Most of her missions involved espionage, theft and reconnaisance, and not willing to lose an asset, they didn’t bother sending her on assassination missions, as she would likely refuse, and end up getting wasted by them (of course, they did not let her know that she was that ‘important’).

Currently, Riz is in an elite M.A.S.T. unit, which is designed for special missions. It was named the Ground Extraction Intelligence and Special Tactics Corps, or the G.E.I.S.T. Corps (“Ground”, because none of the original members was capable of flight). All the members, much to her chagrin, have been named after ghosts and such undead creatures, hence her name “Wraithe”. She actually hates all the current members of the G.E.I.S.T. Corps, because, at one point or another, each one had betrayed her, but so as not to endure punishment, she works with them should the need arise. Notwithstanding, since her superiors are aware that there is no love lost within that group, they are usually allowed to work solo.