Difference between revisions of "WhisperWraith (Virtue)"

Revision as of 16:25, 20 October 2010

Born in 1986 in the Founder’s Falls neighborhood of Paragon City, Zane Sheppard was the quintessential “child of Paragon.” His mother, Dr. Carissa Day, was a prominent Paragon City scientist and a lead dimensional rift engineer at the scientifically advanced, research and development company, Portal Corporation. His father, Marc Sheppard, was the costumed superhero/archer (and Portal Corps Security Associate), The Whisper. His early childhood was remarkable in it’s normalcy, complete with loving parents and a bright future. Soon this would all change.

Early in 1990, The Whisper vanished, last seen investigating a minor break-in at a Portal Corps warehouse near Independence Port. Though rumors of an ambush by the secretive para-military Malta Group have surfaced over the years, no hard evidence was ever found.

The Whisper was never heard from again.

Six weeks after the mysterious disappearance of The Whisper, Carissa Sheppard and her young son were abducted from their Founder’s Falls condo in a clandestine kidnapping by Imperial Defense Force operatives from the mirror dimension of Praetoria. Dr. Sheppard is forced to continue her work on dimensional rift containment structures for the Praetorian Government. The IDF use her young son as a pawn to coerce her cooperation.

Living fearfully under the omnipresent eye of Praetoria’s Seer Network, years pass as the Sheppards give up hope of any rescue from their home dimension. With severe restrictions placed on his freedom by Praetoria’s totalitarian government and specifically, his IDF handlers, Zane develops into a rebellious teenager with a chip on his shoulder and a healthy distrust of “official” rules and regulations. At puberty, Zane begins exhibiting the uncanny aiming ability and superior physical prowess of his father. Carissa finally tells Zane about his father’s secret identity and cautions him to keep his own talents hidden from their Praetorian handlers. At age 15, Zane develops a friendship with a young member of the Praetorian Resistance movement. She teaches him how to avoid detection from the Seers, and soon he is sneaking out at nights to participate in Resistance rallies and meet other youth members of the Resistance. Resistance leaders are quickly made aware of Zane’s unique talents. Zane is considered a top priority recruit.

Late one night, as Zane is returning from a Resistance meeting, his family’s apartment is rocked by a combination of concussive and chemical explosives. Detonated just as the teenager had begun climbing through an open window, the force of the blast hurled him onto the rooftop of a lower neighboring building. His mother, asleep in her bedroom, was killed instantly. Fellow Resistance members, hearing the blast, came hurrying back to investigate. Finding Zane near death on the rooftop, they contacted Resistance leaders and had Zane transported to the nearest Resistance mobile combat hospital. The apartment was essentially vaporized and mother and son were presumed dead to the frustration of the Praetorian government. Praetorian development of a mobile, field-deployable dimensional rift portal is set back years, maybe decades.

Resistance surgeons were able to stabilize the boy, but the damage to his right side was severe. Zane survives, but loses his right arm and eye. He spends nearly six months in intensive care. During his recuperation, the pigmentation of his skin begins to radically change. His doctors believe exposure to one or more of the chemical compounds used in the attack is the catalyst, but are unable to reverse the mutation. Within six weeks, his skin is charcoal grey.

Now an orphan, with no family to turn to, Zane embraces the Resistance movement completely and begins rigorous combat and intelligence training. Using his formidable technical expertise (by way of his mother), and with the help of Resistance medical and tech development teams, Zane modifies Praetorian clockwork technology to develop cybernetic replacements for his missing right arm and eye.

Zane also begins intensive research into Primal Earth, Portal Corps and the exploits of his father, The Whisper. While the apartment bombing and murder of his mother were “officially” linked to the Syndicate, an powerful organized crime group in Praetoria, Resistance intelligence believe the attack was carried out by assassins from Primal Earth, most likely from the Malta Group, for reasons unknown.

Zane spends the next few years, honing his natural abilities and working for the Resistance as a covert operations agent.

Late in 2008, as cross-dimensional chatter and forays between Praetorian factions and Primal Earth meta-humans and assorted government and para-military groups increases, Resistance leadership becomes interested in monitoring relationships the Praetorian government may be cultivating with Primal Earth organizations, such as Arachnos, Malta Group and the Knives of Artemis. During a covert intel gathering raid on a remote Malta Group black ops center on Primal Earth, Resistance operatives (with no connection to Zane) bring back a surprising cache of data - an old, encrypted data store of digitized files stolen from an early Portal Corps office. The data files are blueprints, schematics and technical specifications detailing the unique bows and trick arrows developed by Brian Webb and wielded by the MIA superhero, The Whisper.

Now in his mid-twenties, Zane feels compelled to return to his birth dimension and unravel the mystery behind his father’s disappearance and the assassination of his mother. Zane and a team of the best and brightest Resistance combat engineers and scientists modify and enhance Webb’s original bow and arrow designs with advanced Praetorian technology, developing a unique, technologically sophisticated, archery-based covert ops weapons system.

WhisperWraith is born.