April Janus

April Janus
Guardian of Beginnings and Transitions


Basic Biography

Real Name: April Janus
Renegade/Hero/Villain Name: Daughter of Janus
Title: Guardian of Beginnings and Transitions
Alignment: Neutral Good
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Green
Height: 5ft4
Weight: 120 lbs
Blood type: O-

The Looks
 
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The Legacy
 
Personality: April Janus is a very jaded with "Normal" life due in a large part because of her upbringing with her father, and being shown how the other half live at an early age.  She'd known she had powers for since she was younger, which her father told her to keep hidden. This didn't stop the elder Janus from utilizing his daughters skills in his criminal endeaveurs, using her super strength to break locks, safes, and jewelery boexes. April gravitated towards this rogue lifestyle, as she had always felt she didn't truly belong in her mothers "Normal" world, no matter how hard her mom tried to drag her kicking and screaming into it. April often felt out of place because of this, especially in school, where trouble had a way of finding her, even if all she wanted to do was be avoided. In many ways this forced April to retreat within herself, as she resisted her mothers attempts to give her the kind of childhood she had. Ultimately April didn't feel a part of the world, which caused her to not want a be a "Functioning member of society" as her mom liked to say, and she gravitated even more towards her father, as she embraced what criminality represented in modern society.

This changed somewhat however, once her father was arrested and facing serious time. Visiting him in jail, he expressed his deep desires for April to avoid his mistakes, and give living a normal life a try. April was unconvinced that she was even capable of doing this, as she knew the powers she had, wherever and however she got them prevented her from being normal, even if she never revealed them. In many ways she wants to live a normal life, boys, SAT's, maybe even college. However she knows most guys would simply run to the hills when they found out she could snap them like a twig without breaking a sweat. Not to mention she's had the feeling like she's meant for something so much more then working a 9-5 job in some cubicle, however she promised her father she'd give living a simple kind of life a chance, and she doesn't intend to let him down... This early...

After April and her mom moved to Mission Valley, it seemed April may have found that normal life, even if it was 5 and 4 year old  Beth and Paula who found it for her. Self admitedly April became "Somewhat happy", as she spend hours on end with the little girls, who'd brought her some sense of happiness that she knew she couldn't get from living like her father. April began making some friends at school, putting her mothers mind at ease, and even found a job. This period didn't last however, as cracks began to show in April's attempt to live a normal life, when she was told that she was "Gifted" with the powers and qualities of a pagan god. This obviously brought all sorts of confusion into April's life, as she began to wonder if she was even human at all....

The glass house April had been living in came tumbling down a few weeks later however, the day Beth and Paula were killed after wandering off at a family picnic.... This was the day that April decided that she could no longer pretend to be "Normal", she had to embrace these "Gifts and qualities" she'd been given, if just to avenge her two little friends. Dedicating herself towards training to battle whatever killed the girls, April's gained a newfound determination, which wasn't there before Beth and Paula died. This new found seriousness has honed April into a much more finely tuned weapon, as she's begun honing her body to become among the best warriors in this world.

Besides being jaded, determined, and angry, April has many other traits, most of which she doesn't show until she truly gets to no someone. She's fiercly loyal, has a huge sense of humor, is intelligent, quick witted, and brave. She's unaffraid to take anyone on, especially when she knows she must. Though she also is to quick to run into a fight, doesn't pay enough attention to the finer details of training, can be cocky, and sometimes is jaded to the point where she truly wonders if this world is even worth her bothering to try and fight in defense of. Despite this, she's a talented warrior, whose attitude is changing towards that of the professional warrior, through both training and experience, as she's molded into what some believe she's destined to become... The Guardian of Beginnings and Transitions

History: Born of the last earthly power of a long forgotten pagan god, April Janus is unknowingly a demigod. It's quite likely that she was born of the Roman God known as Janus, or someone very near to him... Who is the god of beginnings and transitions, among other things. These pagan gods, slipping from their once proud stature to mists of legend, as humanity forgot their names. As such, they began to diminish in power, as well as their ability to manifest themselves on our earthly domain, and soon their combined power diminished to a sliver of what it once was. No longer were they able to level mountains, part sea's, or control the winds, and their remained only one thing left to do... Using all of their remaining power on this world, they made this power manifest and into someone flesh.... Mortal newborn children. Some of the gods created children that were pure good, defenders of all that's good and right, while others created children that were pure evil, bent on destroying and killing all that is good, and many more in between. And in the end, once they had finished, they faded from our realm, becoming shadows, whispers of their former selves, yet still always watching from a distance.

April Janus has no knowledge of this however, thinking she's an ordinary seventeen year old, who's starting life over again at Mission Valley High School. Moving to Mission Valley was her mothers idea, who figured the two needed a clean break from life back east, as well as April's incarcerated father.... Rich. Who'd raised April as a boy during his two weekends a month, giving her more than a few tricks of his thieving trade along the way. Learning these "Skills" was done much to the annoyance of April's mother, Silvia Janus, who saw her daughters potential as a student and musician going out the window at the hands of her "low life" ex-husband. To her horror, it seemed April gravitated more towards the every other weekend with her father, as opposed time spent at home with her. This was mostly due to the fact that Silvia was forced to be the disciplinarian, as frequent calls home from teachers, bad grades, and fights seemed to follow April wherever she went in school. All of this making Silvia fear what was happening to her daughter, which truly she could never have anyway of knowing... Or even understanding what was happening to her daughter... Because unbeknownst to everyone in April's life, powerful forces were at work, which promised to ensnare her in drama of the utmost importance to every living person.

April's father was the first to notice his daughter wasn't like other girls, able to break a door handle with ease, better yet break the door off a safe, and easily beat anyone giving her problems at school with a single move before becoming of age. These skills of hers, Rich put to use, and he began taking his daughter along on his heists, having her deal with unbreakable safes, difficult locks, and pesky guards. Despite this, Rich was protective of his daughter, telling her "Never tell anyone the things you can do.... They... Well they just won't understand.... Keep it a secret... Our secret...". April truly embraced this, as living a normal life was something she wanted more than anything, it just simply wasn't meant to be. Weither it was bad luck or not, living a normal life simply isn't in the cards for April Janus.... Daughter of Janus.... Because as the fights, robberies, and uses of her powers increased, her real father took notice... And though his earthly power was no more, there were still those who revered the name Janus... And it was these people who began to watch his daughter with great interest.

This became apparent when they felt April needed proper guidance, which her "Father" was incapable of providing, and her mother simply couldn't understand.... Or even believe... As she lived a completely "Normal" life, totally unaware of the supernatural world lying in the mists. Making their move, the High Priests of Janus who'd been watching April for some time sprang into action, alerting the police when Rich was about to knock over a bank. Caught red handed, Rich began looking at thirty years behind bars, as well as his daughters future if she were to follow in his footprints. In the only visit April's mom allowed to Rikers Island to visit Rich, the thief said to his daughter "One Janus behind bars is enough...". Though this was certainly difficult for April to accept (As much as she wanted to be "Normal", she certainly had trouble fitting in.), she ultimately heeded her fathers advice, giving living a "Normal" life with her mom a chance.

Once Rich went to jail, Silvia Janus quickly decided that both she and April needed a fresh start, which a clean break to the west coast would give them. A place where no one knew what Rich had done, where April wasn't known for fighting, skipping school, and being a bad kid. To Silvia, April needed a place where she could grow up actually being a kid again, where she could didn't have to worry about teachers, kids, or other parents disapproving looks, and where she could have the childhood she had. So Silvia accepted a receptionist job at Standidine Pharmecutecils in Mission Valley, hoping Mission Valley was the place of her dreams, as well as her dreams for her daughter. These dreams didn't include April's feelings however, as she was naturally upset about leaving what friends she had, her father, and everything she'd established in her short life behind. Silvia's case was only reinforced however when April fought and badly beat three jocks, who'd made an unwanted, forceful pass at her. With April's history of violence, three words against one, and a principal who already didn't like her, April was expelled, which gave her little room to argue with her mother.

So the two packed their belongings into Silvia's Ford Fusion, heading west to Mission Valley, with hopes of starting fresh. They found a nice, cozy, little house near Mission Forest, which was surprisingly cheap, and a few days later they were all moved in. This move was unexpected by the High Preist of Janus, who was just about to reveal himself to the girl. It took quite a bit of time, mostly spent digging through records on the internet, but he finally found the girl once again... As she made her location plainly obvious when she was enrolled in Mission Valley High School by her mom. So with April found in Mission Valley, the mysterious High Priest of Janus went in search of April Janus once more. There he found her, watching her from a distance for some time, a period of weeks, where he simply studied both April, as well as their surroundings on the West Coast.

At first April wanted to pack her things and run to the hills, as she had no interest in class, other classmates, or any of the other things she was supposed to have an interest in as a normalsixteen year old girl. She simply felt alone in this place, despite how "Good for us" Silvia said this move was. More and more it seemed like she was someone, whose reflection was as foreign as the town she was living in,  hesitation was the only thing that keeping her from bolting town. A lot of times all she could think about was blowing away when her mother wasn't looking, until after a few weeks these feelings began to fade. It happened in perhaps the most subtle of ways, one that maybe she didn't even pick up on right away, brought on by her chance encounter with the two girls across the street.

It was amazing what two little girls showing up on your doorstep, asking with wide, tear stained eyes if she was really a superhero (She was wearing a Captain Incredible backpack she'd picked up at a tag sale she and her mom stopped at a few weeks before.). It seemed their parents were at work, and they couldn't find their dog. Beth in her green school dress, little paula in her overalls, both sniffling, and shy like she was. The puppy had wandered a few blocks away, getting into someones garden, and was found in thiry minutes, and she'd made two new friends as easy as that. The sisters adopted April, showing up after to bring her scraggily flowers, playing in her yard on weekends, singing endless songs, and watching movies and cartoons. It wasn't like they'd miraculously changed her outlook on life, taken away her loneliness, or hurt over what had happened to Rich.... But for the first time in her sixteen years, she'd started to feel like a part of the community she lived in, the change so subtle and gradual she'd hardly noticed herself.

Suddenly skipping town was put to the backburner, as  April began to adapt to her new life at Mission Valley High, making some new friends, staying out of trouble, even doing well on her first few tests. After the first month of school, with things going quite well, Silvia Janus proposed that April get a job in town, as she'd seen a number of "Need Help" signs hanging in many of Main Streets shops windows, and figured it'd be good for her daughter to get a job. According to Silvia "Working builds character. Plus it gets you making your own money, so you won't need me to give you money any time you want to do anything anymore.". Eager to try and make some extra spending cash, as she'd developed and expensive taste by then, April applied to nearly a dozen retail outlets, restaurant's, and even antiques auction house. In a much needed confidence boost, April heard back from four of the place she'd applied to, and after some consideration, she decided to go with the auction house (Since it paid the most.). Things were going well for the two Janus women, Silvia had found a good paying job, April was fitting in and doing quite well in school again, and now she even had a job. However this sort of "Normal", simple kind of life, simply wasn't for April, who now found herself, or better yet was found by her servants of her true father...

Not only had the High Priest of Janus found April through her enrollment in school, he'd also quickly found out about her employment at the auction house, which presented him with oppurtunity to reveal himself to the girl. Luckily for him, besides the 'Help Wanted' sign in the auction houses window and the fact he loved antiques, another sign hung in the window, which said 'For Sale', and seeing as the High Priesthood of Janus still had considerable wealth, he made the kindly, longtime owner an offer he couldn't refuse, and assumed control of Mission Valley's Golden Gavel Auction House. The Italian born High Priest of Janus, who was named Antonio Givet quickly befriended April Janus, who was clearly surprised to see that the former owner had sold the Golden Gavel. Nevertheless Antonio seemed nice enough, as well as enthusiastic, which meant April had a guarenteed check, which she earned by cataloging the Golden Gavels collection on the auction houses new computer based catalog system.

After a few weeks of working at the Golden Gavel, April and Antonio were working late one night, bringing the new catalog system online, so customers could see what was being auctioned that day, when the Golden Gavel was the target of a break in attempt. Two masked men, each armed with pistols burst into the auction house, attempting to subdue Antonio and April, while making off with the Golden Gavel's most expensive pieces. The robbers were worried about the police, when they should have been worried about the now seventeen year old girl they had tied to her boss. Quickly getting free of the rope, much to the happiness of Antonio, April quickly dispatched the two wouldbe robbers, knocking both of them unconscious with a piece of heavy, gold, ancient Sumerian artwork. Once both men were subdued, April attempted to call the police, as Antonio came over and hung up the phone. As he did this, the High Priest of Janus said "Have you ever wondered why you have such power? Why you can knock out two men that have you outweighed by a hundred pounds in a hit? Why you feel out of place, even in your own home? Because I may have a few answers....".

Upon learning of her true heritage, the fact that there are others like her, as well as learning that Antonio had been "Stalking" her for quite some time, April simply runs, leaving Antonio to deal with the two foiled robbers. The scared girl ran across Mission Valley, feeling more alone than ever in this world, yet for some reason feeling less alone in the universe. When she finally got to her house late in the morning, she climbed into her room, so her mother wouldn't ask any questions, and wrote in her journal "This is your shadow on my wall.... This is my flesh and blood....This is what I could've been.... Yet is no more... As I am just a thing... Cast against my will...". These lines clearly representing that April no longer feels human, her disconnected to the world feeling seemingly more than just a feeling, but something very real indeed. Nevertheless she decided to due as her father had instructed her, she'd tell no one of what happened, because like he said "They won't understand.". Antonio couldn't force her to be this force of good if she didn't want to, and if he did.... Well he'd just look crazy... Right?

If there was one thing that truly connected April Janus to the world, it was most certainly the girls, Beth 5 and Paula 4. As weekday after school visits became weekend songs, then a week turned into two, summer into fall, April seemed to dwell on what had happened less, though she still cast a sideways glance at the Golden Gavel when she passed it. Then.... Everything changed... Everything was different since the day they died... When she heard on the news six weeks ago that Beth and Paula had wandered away from a family picnic, becoming the first two victims of the psychopaths that had since terrorized this city.... That was the day she accepted her destiny, becoming the "Daughter of Janus", and returned to the Golden Gavel.... Everyday for the last six weeks she's trained with Antonio, honed her fighting skills, learned of her origins, as well as the origins of some of the other demigods and "Meta's" in this world, and all the while her mind was consumed by one thought... Vengaence...

Bent on Vengaence, April Janus, the Daughter of Janus has since made killing these psychopaths her single minded priority... There is nothing after that, in her mind anyway... Though Antonio is attempting to steer her towards being the cosmic force of good he believes she can become one day, when not confronted by something so deeply personnal as the death of the girls. For now Antonio's simply trying to train her, point her in the right direction, and see to it these killings which appear to be occult in origin are stopped, and those carrying them out are brought to justice. All the while trying to ready the girl for her ultimate challenge, which he's hiding from her, in an effort to not overwhelm her as she's facing the very real problem at hand. April's greatest challenge is coming however, that much is certain... Because a god of beginnings and transitions faces two directions, has two paths, two points of view, and two endings.

The Powers

Power 1: April Janus's greatest power is her fighting skill, which even though she's relatively untrained, is vastly superior to even most Meta's. She can defeat an ordinary person in a move or two, a crowd of people in a few spinning kicks, and even she's raw as a fighter, most lower skilled Meta's. She's a natural with weapons, even though she's not experienced with all forms of weapons, and quickly becomes an expert given a few moments of practice. Her reactions are nearly flawless, as it's impossible for anyone besides the most skilled of fighters to get a jump on her. With her raw skill, Antonio has said he believes that April can become among the great warriors in the world. However he continually stresses her need to train, avoid complaicincy, and strive to be the best warrior in the world, which her superhuman powers may just allow.

Power 2: April's second greatest power is her brute strength, as she's able to lift 20 tons – 50 tons with ease. This obviously lends itself in a fight, needing to get into locked areas, as well as allows for her to jump several hundred feet into the air, giving her a massive advantage when faced with normal, or opponnents who aren't as strong as she is. Her incredible strength also enhances her athleticism in general, making her a more complete warrior.

Power 3:  April is also physically tougher than a normal person is capable of becoming, allowing her great stamina in a fight. Her body is resilient to things like bullets and knives, which only do only little damage. She is far from unvulnerable however, which is something Antonio has strived to stress upon April, who can sometimes be arrogant when it comes to her ability to withstand the damage a normal person can dish out. She is however much tougher than the average human overall, making her a challenge for even many superhumans in a fight.

Grid

Occult: 3
Strength: 6
Speed: 4
Durability: 5
Ability: 4
Fighting Skills: 8
Wealth: 1

Approved until stated otherwise.