Erica Von Manstein "Wraith Renegade"

Basic Biography

Real Name: Erica Von Manstein
Renegade/Hero/Villain Name: Wraith Renegade
Title: Major
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Age: 92 (Appears in her late twenties.)
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5 ft 9
Weight: 125 lbs
Blood type: O+

The Looks
 


Costume and Physical AppearanceErica Von Manstein is pictured above in one of her various costumes from her work as a dancer, which plays off of her German heritage. While Erica most certainly wears a wide range of costumes for her "Day" job, she most certainly does not have a set or sets of costumes when she's under the guise of "Wraith Renegade". Instead she simply wears what is at hand and appropriate for the time, occassion, type of mission she happens to be executing. Because of this she views the more outlandish looking "Masked" hero, vigilante, or villain as looking "Cheesy and contrived....", making it highly unlikely she'll ever feel the need for a set costume.

Ms. Von Manstein is recognizable despite the lack of a recognizable costume however, as she's quite literally covered in a wide variety of tattoo's, which she began having done over the last decade. These along with her piercing blue eyes are perhaps her physical traits which most standout at first glance. Erica is mostly silent as to why she's become so heavily "Tatted" lately, saying only "They're there to remind me that I don't fit in with typical society...". Leading most to believe they have something to do with the sort of "Counterculture" she's heavily immersed herself in, as if she's intentionally trying to isolate herself from mainstream humanity.

Erica Von Manstein AKA "Wraith Renegade" is a physical specimen, thanks in large part to her Meta-Gene. Tall for a female, Erica is also quite lean, and has the appearance of an athlete, despite her advanced age. In fact because of Erica's Meta-Gene she is more athletic than a human professional athlete a quarter of her age. Because of Erica's unique Meta-Gene, it's impossible to know her age at first glance, as she continues to age at a snails pace. This special Meta-Gene preserving Erica's beautiful aesthetics and figure, while continuing to allow her to be just as deadly as ever in her tenth decade of life.

The Legacy
 
Personality: To call Erica Von Manstein a hero in her current state is a bit of a stretch, but underneath the surface lies a fierce warrior, who almost begrudgingly has a strong compass for good, a brave soul, and a willingness to help others, despite what she's been a part of during her past. Because of this Erica can be viewed as a sort of anti-hero in light of past associations, though she'll be the last to admit she's a hero, good person, or anything in between. In her eyes she's simply a killer, for better or worse, black or white. Not surprisingly having been in kill or killed situations for the last seventy years, Erica Von Manstein is tired of taking lives, as she fears death and destruction is all she's been able to accomplish in 92 years, despite anyone's arguments to dispute these feelings.

Erica's Meta-Gene allowing her an unnaturally long life, which has given her a much different perspective than someone living a typical lifespan. Because of this, the last few decades have made Erica (Also known as "Wraith Renegade", or simply "Wraith") become wary, angered and disgusted with humanity, herself, and the Meta-Human world at large. Some of this comes from issues in her past, from her strict, disciplinarian and at times abusive upbringing, to feeling austrasized during her school days, to the brutal and harsh training she was put through by the Waffen-SS, to the horrors of the clandestine 21st century battlefield, and now the harsh realities of living in the "Ghetto" of Chicago. All of these have combined to make Erica "Check out" of life. Her only moments of relief coming at the end of a needle, and the bottom of a bottle, when she can't remember all she's seen and done in her unnaturally long life.

This has given Erica has a sort of Nihilistic attitude and outlook towards life, Erica believing her life is utterly pointless, if not only for her ability to destroy. Certainly not the most cheery company, Erica Von Manstein has become severely addicted to a slew of prescription drugs and alcohol, both of which she use to blunt the nightmares of a lifetime of war that recur every night without fail. Nightmares which often times prevent Erica from having more than only a few hours of sleep on a good night. Though in many ways Erica uses drugs and alcohol to also slowly try and kill herself, something made exceedingly difficult because of her Meta-Gene.

Working as an exotic dancer in Chicago for the last decade and a half, Erica's scratched out a living in Chicago's underbelly, all the while trying to suppress all memories of "Wraith Renegade" and the body count she's tried to leave in her bloody past. This line of work has made Erica just as depressed, not to mention severely underutilized, degraded, and angry. All of these things and a million more coming to a head a few months ago, when Erica placed a pistol in her mouth, pulled the trigger, only to feel little more than a small migraine. It was then that Erica realized that she was quite literally imprisoned in life due to her Meta-Gene, as her long life has become her curse.

Though Erica Von Manstein AKA "Wraith Renegades" may seem past her prime when it comes to being a force for good, her Meta-Gene is such that their must always be hope for her while their is air in her lungs. This is because Erica for all her faults was once a champion, with all the qualities to make her one again hiding beneath her hardened exterior, but nonetheless very much still remaining a dormant parts of Erica's character. All of these parts accessible to Erica if she only desire them once more.



History: Erica Von Manstein was born on January 13th 1922 in the tiny Bavarian village of Hasslestein. Born into privilege, Erica's father was a wealthy landowner and farmer, while her mother was of noble birth, as well as a noted academic on modern literature. As would be expected they provided Erica with the best of all things in her childhood, as she grew up in a Bavarian Chateau, with the spectacular German Alps as a backdrop for what must have seemed an almost mystical and certainly very charmed upbringing. Which did not go lost on young Erica Von Manstein, who grew up with a special affinity for the natural world all around her. This love spurred by her mother, who would take the girl on frequent treks into the Bavarian countryside. Though neither could ever imagine that one day young Erica Von Manstein would be able to manipulate the natural world around her.

As much as Erica's mother encouraged her talents, interests, and love of nature, Erica's father perhaps discouraged such interests. Her father remaining adamant that Erica would be shipped off to a finishing school when she came of age, in order to make the already beautiful young girl more desirable to possible suitors. Her father often times taking harsh, borderline abusive stances when it came to his daughters "Flights of fancy", preferring she have more traditional feminine interests. Despite this, Erica retained her love of exploring the natural world, even if it meant sneaking out of her families Chateau while her father was tending to business throughout Germany.

As well as broaden Erica Von Manstein's love and appreciation of the natural world, these treks allowed Erica to witness first hand the trials and tribulations of the German people Post-WW-1. Shielded from the human suffering occurring just outside their Chateau's walls by her father, Erica was stunned to see people in her village starving, as poor harvests, sky rocketing inflation, joblessness, and the Great Depression all began to settle like a new black death over the Fatherland. The Goldmark was reduced to one trillionth (One million millionth) of its value, as Germany was forced to pay 132 billion marks in reparations, a prohibitive amount to keep the German economy from growing. Erica, who never knew of going without was shocked to see the plight of those in her village of Hasslestein.

The situation of a fellow fourteen year old, particularly striking Erica, who decided to intervene in the boys life. She'd met the boy on one of her nature walks named Heinrich, and they talked for hours traversing the Bavarian fields, hills, and streams. Erica telling the boy of the privileges of her life, he telling her the hardships of his own, as his father was killed in the war, leaving him to fend for his mother and 4 sisters. Erica was taken with this boy, whom she met the next night, then every night for weeks, until eventually the two were inseparable. Erica doing what she could for Heinrich's family, whom embraced the young noblewoman as if she was one of them. In what seemed like no time flat Erica and Heinrich were in love, summertime romance overtaking them like a deep sleep.

When she turned fifteen Erica's great love for Heinrich showed no signs of abating and vice versa. However Erica was dealt a tremendous blow when her mother caught the dreaded bacterium Vibrio cholerae, or simply "Cholera", dying a few weeks after contracting it. Her father was overcome with grief, resigning himself to the Chateau's inner walls, leaving the running of his affairs to his assistants. Also crushed by her mothers death, Erica was just as concerned about her father now, who always a tough man, now seemed simply changed. Erica cared for him, taking up many of the duties her mother oversaw, all the while continuing her relationship with Heinrich in secret.

With her father now home however, it was only a matter of time before he uncovered the relationship between his patrician daughter and the lowborn Heinrich. Upon learning of the relationship, Erica's father forbade her from ever seeing Heinrich again, then arranged for Erica to leave Hasslestein to enroll at Australitz School for Girls Obviously Erica was crushed by this, as was Heinrich who arrived at the train station just in time to watch Erica hysterically crying, waving because she knew she was leaving her beloved old life behind.

When Erica arrived at Australitz School for Girls, she was greeted by the austere Headmistress who quickly dressed down Erica for her "Ruffian manners and bohemian appearance!". It was little better with the other girls, who despised Erica for her family wealth, her beauty, as well as her interests in a world outside of simply being a good wife. Her time at Australitz School for Girls was lonely, as the other girls would often tease her, the teachers berate her, and the Head Mistress discipline her. She had no interest in becoming a robotic trophy wife manufactured at the Australitz School for Girls, which the staff and students seemed to want to make her pay for everyday.

Things came to a head when boating on an outing, several girls flipped Erica's rowboat into a nearby lake. Never learning how to swim Erica began to drown, luckily for her however, the trauma of this event saw her Meta-Gene manifest for the first time. Drowning and enraged, Erica's Psychokinetic were unleashed in a major way. One of the bullies wooden boats was crushed, another girls boat was damaged, and another girls boat was flipped. Erica struggled in the water, unaware of what she'd just done with her Psychokinetic abilities. Eventually she managed to grab a hold of a piece of one of the wrecked boats and float to shore, though nothing would ever be the same again for Erica Von Mainstein as she reached shore.

She was now seventeen and Erica was selected for "Special observation" by the  SS Führungshauptamt, when the incident at her Australitz School for Girls one dead, several injured, and an entire school terrified. Ms. Von Manstein was then pressed into the service of the Third Reich and the Nazi Party, who were now squarely in control of Germany as she came of age. Erica unluckily finding herself on the Reich's radar at the height of Hitler's obsession with the occult, genetic research and experimentation,  and gaining any advantage by any means over the allies in WW-2. This all leading the SS Führungshauptamt into founding the covert "Outfit 27". Outfit 27 was a top secret Nazi initiative, which used "Agreeable" Meta's, the occult, and pseudo-science to combat the enemies of the Reich, from their conventional enemies, to other Meta's.

Erica Von Manstein's time in Outfit 27 saw her transition from the typical angry teenage outcast, full of misguided rage, yet without an understanding of her powers, and unable to tap into, or control her powers at will, into an effective killing machine by using her psychokinetic powers as a weapon. A small army of the finest scientists, doctors, teachers, and combat instructors in Germany seeing to it that Erica and the rest of Outfit 27's operatives made the most of not only their physical and mental powers, but also saw to their education into military strategy and theory. As would be expected, this training period was harsh and brutal, with Erica and her fellow Meta's being put through every possible mental and physical test. However this brutal training allowed Erica to control her psychokinetic powers at will, which she could now wield as a weapon. The Third Reich in a sense birthing "Wraith Renegade" as her fellow operatives would call her.

Though Erica had never considered herself a fighter, nor had any interest in joining the military, being around other Meta's was comforting to her, especially after she'd been looked at like a freak at the Australitz School for Girls. Slowly but surely the outcasts of Hitlers "Master Race" were turned into the Nazi's "Ace up the sleeve.". An ace which as the war progressed, looking increasingly bad for Nazi Germany, many within the SS Führungshauptamt viewed as a last hope.

Finally Erica and the rest of Outfit 27 was unleashed by the Waffen-SS as Nazi Germany's dominance of Europe began to wane. Used in a series of small attacks on the Eastern Front, Outfit 27 saw only victory over their dullard Soviet adversaries. These "Limited Engagements" allowed the SS the chance to evaluate Outfit 27's effectiveness on the battlefield, and realize the outfit had the potential to once again swing the balance of the war into the Nazi's favor should they be used in a major campaign. With Hitler, the Wehrmacht, and SS Führungshauptamt believing a decisive blow must first be struck against the Western Allies, in which they would be driven from continental Europe, before they could turn and eliminate the Soviet threat, the German High Command planned a powerful thrust lead by Outfit 27 on the Western Front.

This powerful thrust became the Battle of the Bulge, launched in late 1944. A battle which saw the Nazi's pinning the last of their hopes on the "Freaks" (As the Wehrmacht regulars referred to  Outfit 27's operatives.) of Outfit 27 to deliver them to victory over the Western Allies in one last desperate gamble. That gamble was centered around Outfit 27 spearheading vast formations of German "Panzer" divisions in a charge through the Western Allies lines, which split their forces in half, pushing the Americans and British into the English Channel. All the while securing desperately needed supplies and freeing up formations to confront the Soviet thread rumbling to the East.

Initially the Battle of the Bulge was a stunning success, with Outfit 27 sweeping away allied resistance like flies. However this first taste of combat was to prove decisive for young Erica Von Manstein, for as Outfit 27 cut through the Western Allies lines like butter, the cold blooded killing of prisoners and civilians ordered by the SS Führungshauptamt struck Erica's conscience. Seeing unarmed men, women, and children gunned down in cold blood, then left to die in a shallow graves seeming a far cry from the "Honorable War" she was indoctrinated to believe the Fatherland was waging. Unable to kill some fifty American POW's she turned on both her masters and her comrades. With this reversal, Erica's tremendous psychokinetic powers were enough to blunt the Nazi offensive, destroy much of Outfit 27, and eventually assure the allies victory in the Battle of the Bulge.

With Erica Von Manstein now on the side of the Allies, she began to realize the scope of the horrors Nazi Germany had loosed on the world. Overcome with shame, guilt, and anger for her role in everything from supporting a war of pure aggression, to indirectly supporting the Nazi slaughter of millions of Jews, Erica felt as if she'd killed these people herself. Erica was in luck this time, because the OSS (Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA) offered her diplomatic immunity, asylum in the United States once the war was over, and most importantly a job fighting the Nazi's for the duration of WW-2. Erica accepted and spent the rest of the war on the front lines fighting for Uncle Sam, distinguishing herself on several occasions, and seeing to it that allied forces ended the war in Europe as quickly as possible.

After VE Day, Erica Von Manstein continued to work for the OSS, assisting in tracking down members of the now defunct Outfit 27 throughout Germany and abroad. One by one Erica and her fellow OSS Agents managed to kill or capture most of Outfit 27's surviving operatives. Which lead Erica into her next task for the OSS, assisting in setting up the United States own version of Outfit 27, as word from behind the "Iron Curtain" was that Stalin ordered the Soviets to do the same thing. By 1950 the OSS had already been dissolved into the CIA, who continued to develop this project with Erica Von Manstein, other Meta's, and other government agencies, until finally at the start of the Korean War the CIA had the deeply classified Special National Clandestine Service ready for action.

During the Korean War, the Special National Clandestine Service worked with North Korean rebels behind enemy lines, in arguably the most successful campaign of the war. Harassing their enemy at every turn, the Special National Clandestine Service was lead on the ground by now Major Erica Von Manstein, who commanded some thirty Meta's, as well as many small groups of North Korean rebels. Though their numbers were small, their missions top secret, it was clear they were making a difference in the war, providing valuable information, while beating up the North Korean's and Chinese before they ever reached the front.

However once the war reached a truce, with the 38th Parallel being established as the two Korea's dividing line, Erica was ordered out of North Korea with the rest of the Special National Clandestine Service. However their North Korean allies were left to fend for themselves, the United States offering no asylum to these allies, who were slaughtered wholesale once the war was over. To Erica this was nothing more then practical betrayal. Enraged that hundreds of the men she'd fought side by side next to were tossed away like trash, she left the CIA, and returned to her native Germany.

However she no longer recognized the country she'd left, as the Marshal Plan had not only rebuilt West Germany, but made the entire nation leap forward. Nevertheless she made a home in Munich, as she attempted to live as normal a life as possible. However living a normal life simply was not in the cards for Erica Von Manstein.... Not from the moment she realized she had Psychokinetic powers, could heal fatal wounds in moments, and had hardly aged a second in the last ten years. Sure enough after nearly a decade of hiding, believing she was off the CIA's radar, they came knocking. The Agent at the door saying only "We have a problem in Southeast Asia which needs someone of your particular.... Skill set.". Perhaps because of boredom, her natural desire for adventure, or because she still believed she needed to make up for her role in WW-2 she went along with the CIA.

By early 1963 the Special National Clandestine Service was undertaking black operations across South and North Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos against the NVA and Viet Cong. The SNCS would be deployed to South Vietnam for nearly a decade, with the usual overwhelmingly positive results. Once again they were let down by the politicians and the military bureaucracy. However Vietnam was a house of horrors all to itself, with even the jungle wanting the SNCS dead, as they suffered losses to poisonous snakes and spiders, all the while they had several million NVA and VC soldiers trying to kill them, in that humid hell hole of a place.

The civilians were often hostile, turning a gun or bomb on SNCS operatives in suicide attacks the moment they turned their backs, and their South Vietnamese allies would just as soon join the NVA then fight them. All the while one had to worry about trigger happy GI's misidentifying them, stray napalm runs, and poorly placed artillery. The water was putrid, food supplies scarce, resupply difficult, and local merchantmen likely to poison your food. While the SNCS operatives and their allies would get so frustrated they'd often times kill whoever got in their way, regardless of if they were armed, age, or gender.It was the worst place on Earth and Erica Von Manstein spent ten years fighting their everyday. Vietnam changed her to the core, though it may have taken her awhile to realize it.

After Saigon fell, Erica Von Manstein and the rest of SNCS was pulled from the Peoples Republic of Vietnam, having spent a decade in kill or be killed in Vietnam's dense jungles. Still Erica didn't walk away, instead she would continue working for the CIA within SNCS until the middle of the nineties. She'd fight in Communists in Angola in support of Apartheid South Africa, defeat Iran in support of Iraq, defeat Iraq in support of Kuwait, overthrow governments across South America, destroy several Colombian cartels, throw the Serbs out of Bosnia, and assassinate dozens of people in the name of peace and liberty.

However as time wore on, either from the mental wounds of Vietnam, a career soaked in blood spanning five decades, guilt from her involvement in WW-2, weariness from age, or a combination of everything, Erica resigned from the SNCS and the CIA. Erica believing all she'd ultimately accomplished was kill countless people, inflict suffering to thousands of families, and impact the world in a negative way. The more Erica looked at the world, the more she believed both humanity and Meta's were destined to repeat the same old mistakes they always made, though perhaps eventually they'd destroy each other in the process. Ultimately she began to believe it was no less then both deserved...

This time Erica hid where no one would think to look, in the worst neighborhoods of Northern Chicago. However she continued to wait for the "Inevitable knock on the door". She waited for it as she developed a drug and alcohol addiction, she waited as she totally isolated herself from the outside world, she waited as she blew all her money and was forced to become an exotic dancer, and she waited until the horrors of the past seemed like a bad nightmare, as if they'd happened to someone else, in a different life. There Erica Von Manstein remains, locked away in her small apartment, trying her hardest to forget the past while hating the present, and hoping for no future.



Power 1: Erica Von Manstein has tremendously powerful Psychokinetic gifts, able to move incredibly heavy objects over large distances and at great speed with her minds power. This is her primary offensive and defensive "Weapon", which she's honed over several generations of brutal training and war. Erica relies on these Psychokinetic a great deal, using them for even the most simple daily tasks. Due to her advanced age her, Erica's Psychokinetic powers have become a 6th sense and third arm.



Power 2: Erica is physically tougher than anyone but a Meta is capable of becoming, allowing her great stamina in a fight, or any other physical exertion. Her body is also nearly impervious to things like bullets and knives, which only do only the most minor damage, healed in mere moments. Erica can sometimes be arrogant when it comes to her ability to withstand the damage, which can land her into trouble. She is however much more durable than the average human or Meta, making her a challenge for even many Meta in a fight.



Power 3: Erica Von Manstein AKA "Wraith Renegade" has mastered Brazilian Jujitsu, becoming perfect in the fighting style. Her skills making her more then a handful for anyone but an above average Meta, as she's a master. She's however inexperienced in other fighting styles, as she's only exposed herself to Brazilian Jujitsu, making her vulnerable to Meta's who know multiple styles.

Grid

Intelligence: 4
Strength: 2
Speed: 3
Durability: 8
Ability: 8
Fighting Skills: 5
Wealth: 1

You need to split ability points over her telekinesis, energy manipulation and the healing factor, you don't need both occult and intelligence, seeing as how the first three levels of each equal out. Also a starter characters can only have 30 points, she has 34, the first point of wealth being free.

Ahh thought I read something about Intelligence and Occult being interchangeable up until 4? That's why I put both, since it seemed to me up until 4 of either they're able to be swapped out? So the way I read it was that if you have 4 in either Intelligence or Occult you essentially have both. That's why I put both. Probably read it wrong since I've been processing so much of the site lately. Decided to just give all the ability to telekinesis.

Hopefully everything is all good now?

Approved until stated otherwise

Unapproved for edits.

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