Revision as of 20:26, 12 August 2009

Devil's Harlot
Player: @Devil's Own
Server: Union
Origin:	Natural
Archetype:	Stalker
Threat Level:	50
Personal Data
Real Name:	Beatrice McBride
Known Aliases:	Harlot, Harley, Devil's Conquest, Con, Devil's Widow, Devil's Spider
Species:	Human/Demon Hybrid
Age:	Unknown
Height:	5'11"
Weight:	175lbs
Eye Color:	Brown/Green
Hair Color:	Black/Red
Sexuality:	Bisexual
Biographical Data
Nationality:	Unknown
Occupation:	Inventor, Assassin
Place of Birth:	Unknown, abandoned in Cap Au Diable at a young age
Base of Operations:	The Shadow Eye Temple
Marital Status:	Attached
Known Relatives:	Devil's Spark (Daughter)
Known Powers
Flight, Soul Mastery
Known Abilities
Ninjitsu, Fitness
Equipment
Twin blades, Stone of Nullification, 'Wargear' Battlesuit, Cyber-Enhancement Battlesuit
No additional information available.

Devil's Harlot is the name used by an individual currently operating in the Rogue Isles as a mercenary for hire. Demonically possessed and trained in martial arts she specialises in infiltration and stealth kills.

Personality

Quiet and detached Devil's Harlot does not interact well with other people when not talking business, or brutally ripping them apart with her blades. While most people attribute this attitude to her martial arts training the few people who've got close enough to her to get her to discuss her past are told a harrowing tales of growing up of the streets of Cap Au Diable, scrounging from dumpsters and hunting rats for food, hiding from rape gangs and up-and-coming villains who wanted to use her for target practice. She never had the opportunity to trust anyone or form any long lasting relationships and so has grown apart from society, seeing others as tools and targets with as much emotional response to killing a human as she would to stepping on a bug.

Having been hurt in the past Devil's Harlot has developed the belief that might makes right and that the only way to change the world and protect herself is to possess greater strength than her opponents, which at this point she sees as practically everyone else. To this end she has set her goal in life to becoming the most powerful individual in the world, so that no-one would ever have be able to harm her ever again.

Abilities

Dual Blades

In 2008 Devil's Harlot acquired a pair of antique blades crafted from impervium while working as a middle man for Legacy Chain. The grip of each of them was set with a strangely glowing crystal which, when Harlot first held them both, seemed to endow her with notable skill in their use. Over time her connection to the blades has grown, allowing her to perform more complex sword techniques with ease and without any tutelage or training of any kind.

Ninjitsu

While most of her skills come from the hard lessons learnt in the back alleyways and sewers of the Rogue Isles at some point in the early 00's Devil's Harlot acquired at least some formal training in the art of Ninjitsu. So far she's yet to reveal exactly what the circumstances of this training were, or who exactly her Master was and rumours are rife as to what exactly went on for her to gain her abilities.

Daemonic Possession

Fitness and Flight power pool abilities

Soon after acquiring her twin blades and setting out to carve out a piece of the action for herself Devil's Harlot came into the possession of an ancient tome of unknown origin. While most of the book was written in a language she didn't understand one section seemed to hold a recipe for what was referred to as 'great power'. Gathering the ingredients and mixing the potion she eagerly drank the concoction only to discover she had now become the vessel for some kind of inter-dimensional being. With her body changing, skin darkening and horns and wings growing she suddenly found herself far stronger than before, able to move faster and, after some practice, able to fly.

Soul Mastery

Once she'd gained the trust of Lord Recluse's inner circle Devil's Harlot spent time alone with Ghost Widow in her private chambers. While rumours were abound to exactly what the two attractive villainesses were upto while locked in the bed chamber it is known that when she emerged Devil's Harlot had gained far greater control over her daemonic Other, allowing her to call upon its powers to strike down her foes. The ability to cast bolts of negative energy at great distance and with startling accuracy have made her all the more dangerous to face.

Tactics

Making skillful use of her stealth abilities Devil's Harlot specialises in assassination and swift, powerful attacks to weaken her targets and take them down quickly. When faced with opponents too tough to be eliminated in one shot she blends into the shadows before attacking again and again, wearing them down until she can make a clean kill.

Strengths

Highly effective in close combat against even the most powerful targets; Evasive and elusive making her difficult for the enemy to counter attack; Flight ability and speed allow her to move quickly between targets. Soul Mastery allows her to strike at foes from a distance, often eliminating them before they even realise they are under threat.

Weaknesses

Attack strategy can be slow with enemies who possess powerful healing factors able to recover before the cumulative effects can take them down; With limited area effect attacks Devil's Harlot can easily be overwhelmed by large groups of enemies; While she's fast and evasive Harlot isn't particularly tough and when an enemy manages to land a blow it will usually cause her a lot of damage

Character History

Not much is known about the girl who'd come to be known as Devil's Harlot before she began to crawl her way up the criminal underworld of Cap Au Diable. Those who've managed to get close enough to here to share her bed have reported her night terrors and whispering fears in her sleep, mentioning rape gangs and chases through the dank alleyways and sewers. At some point in those early years Harlot acquired a smattering of training in ninjitsu, something else she's not eager to talk about.

Fortunata Kalinda, Devil's Harlot's initial contact on Mercy Island

Arrival On The Scene

In early 2008, while performing grunt work of agents of Legacy Chain, Harlot suddenly found herself in possession of two ancient swords. Immediately able to handle them even without any former training in swordsmanship the young woman realised these weapons were the tools she'd been waiting for in order to carve out her own place in the Rogue Isles. After making sure that none of the other agent who'd known about the existence of the blades could ever report back to the organisation as to what had happened to them Harlot left Cap Au Diable to make a name for herself.

Unfortunately she was off to a bad start with her first strides into Paragon City ending up with her captive in prison. Luckily her earlier massacre of the Legacy Chain operation had managed to attract the attention of a low ranking member of Arachnos named Kalinda, who sent a raiding party into the prison to release Harlot, along with a number of other promising villains.

After arriving on Mercy Island Devil's Harlot maintained close links with Arachnos, using their resources to help set up her own power base. Soon she discovered a previously untapped dimensional portal and, with the help of a rogue Arachnos Seer she met in Port Oakes, managed to unlock it and stepped through. Finding herself deep underground in a chamber whose only exits were caved in with soil and debris Harlot made herself at home.

Devil's Harlot's costume shortly after her transformation began.

Setting Up An Empire

Leaving Mercy Island behind Harlot was drawn to Port Oakes, where she began to commit crimes for her own benefit including raids on banks located across Paragon City. During one of her heists she discovered an ancient tome which seemed to be written in a lost language. Using her association with Arachnos she made contact with a Seer specialising in acquiring lost magics who was able to translate a small section of the tome which gave instructions for how to mix a potion which would bestow upon the consumer great power.

Around this time she met an electrically powered hero from Steel Canyon while waiting to make contact with one of her agents from Paragon City in Pocket D. Seeing the strong man as a quick lay she shared a brief and energetic rendezvous with him in one of the dark shadows of the club, but when it came time to leave she found herself drawn to stay for the first time in her life. There was something about this hero which attracted her in a way she'd never encountered before.

On a sidenote while the union bore no children for Devil's Harlot an individual known as Devil's Spark has been seen on Mercy Island claiming to be Devil's Harlot's temporally displaced daughter from an alternate reality where she did in fact become pregnant from the encounter. In that timeline Harlot abandoned her life of crime after discovering she was pregnant and gained employment as a researcher in the Cap Au Diable University. She was later killed after being abducted walking home from work, caught in the crossfire of the gang wars which would eventually lead to the destruction of the city.

Obsessed with the acquisition of power the idea of a potion which could grant her that very thing was of immediate interest to the young villainess. After silencing the Seer and dumping her body in the ocean just offshore from Fort Hades she set out to collect the components as described in the recipe. After several trades on the Black Market, as well as raids on storage facilities around the island, Harlot had everything she needed. Travelling to Cap Au Diable she visited the University located there, using their facilities she quickly brewed up the strange concoction and eagerly drank it.

Whether there was a mistake in the translation, the recipe had been mixed wrong or the original intention of the potion was to do this exact thing Harlot soon found herself racked with pain, her body morphing and mutating as a daemonic entity slipped between dimensions and, using the potion as a conduit, possessed her body. Growing wings and horns Devil's Harlot had to abandon her old costume, whose fully shielded helmet no longed fitted over her behorned forehead.

Daemonic Vessel

Since then Devil's Harlot has slowly been working her way up the criminal underworld, tending to be drawn to tasks which hold the greatest chance of gaining personal power than wealth or prestige, while at the same time developing her skills at invention and crafting of equipment to help her contain the mysterious Voice which has haunted her since her daemonic transformation.

Returning to Pocket D Harlot met the electrical hero again, this time revealing to him the changes she was undergoing. In exchange the hero revealed that by day he was a research scientist and offered his assistance in curing her of the infection. At first she fought against this offer but as the hero pointed out how much of the own personality was being lost to the Voice she reluctantly agreed for him to look into her condition for her.

The Shadow Eye Temple, home of Devil's Harlot

With the Voice goading her Devil's Harlot began to expand her influence, hiring minions of her own to root out targets of opportunity and undermine her enemies. Envisioning an empire of her own, built on the ashes of Arachnos, she began to attack her former masters in small but significant ways, never going too far in fear of exposing her operation to retribution before she was ready to face them. With the increase in manpower she began to excavate the ruins of her home, discovering an [[[Hell's Harem/The Shadow Eye Temple|ancient, forgotten temple]] which had lain buried and forgotten for an unknown period of time, presumably centuries.

Within the temple Harlot discovered special seals set into the floor of almost every room. These seals seemed to suppress magical energies, including those of the daemonic entity inhabiting her. With a measure of her mind back under control Harlot recognised the danger her reckless actions against Arachnos represented and quickly abandoned Cap Au Diable in favour of Sharkhead Isle.

Amidst the wreckage a number of strangely familiar crystals were also found, including a small glowing stone which fitted into the villainess's palm. This stone, an artifact of whomever had previously inhabited the temple, had the ability to retain a charge of the power of the seals, allowing whoever carried it to suppress magical energies wherever they went. The problem was that the daemon had become so integrated into Harlot's body at this point that to completely suppress it rendered the villainess too weak to defend herself, she needed some way to modulate the power of the Stone in order to access her the daemon's power just enough to allow her to act while at the same time stopping it from being able to affect her judgment.

Home Tutored

Focusing her attention on the homemade technologies used by the Freakshows across Sharkhead Isle Devil's Harlot began to develop her skills at manufacturing simple mechanical devices to both help channel the power of the Stone as well as improve her own abilities, making her criminal activities just that little easier.

During her experiments she came across a number of pieces of seemingly useless Halloween costumes based on the outfits worn by a number of different heroes and villain from around Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. At first she dismissed these as worthless and left them lying in the dust of her lair. After a few months and a passing visit to the Nerva Archipelago Devil's Harlot happened to meet a little old woman whose wise words inspired her to use her newfound abilities of invention to build a battlesuit to help focus the power of the Stone.

Giant Slayer

Luckily the timing was perfect and just as the suit was ready to be tested for the first time the ghost of the old hero Scrapyard began raging across the island, drawing all the enraged miners from the Pit to protest against their working conditions. Forming up with a number of other villains, who's all been drawn to the promise of reward for breaking the strike, Devil's Harlot managed to aid in the defeat of the phantasmal strike leader, planting the final blow which laid the ghost to rest, for a short time at least.

Encouraged by her victory over the formidable opponent Harlot travelled back to her hometown of Cap Au Diable where she hunted down the electrical beast known as Deathsurge. After slaughtering many of his minion Gremlins she finally faced off against the giant monster, single-handedly bringing the daemon to its knees. Unfortunately her victory was shortlived and soon the creature was fighting back stronger than ever but luckily a passing band of villains came to her aid, eager to loot the daemon's corpse for rewards.

Pussy Whipper

Having learnt her lesson with her near defeat at the hands of Deathsurge Devil's Harlot began to integrate herself with the other villains around the Isles. With the additional support and information sources available to her she began to target the greatest threat to her plans for a brave new world, the heroes of Paragon City.

Making contact with the cape hunter known as Crimson Revenant Devil's Harlot began a systematic series of attacks against the heroes operating within the Isles themselves, starting with the young and foolhardy heroine known as Mynx.

The signature hero Mynx shortly before her defeat at the hands of Devil's Harlot

'Interviewing' Crey agents in the Nerva Archipelago to locate the young nekomimi, finally discovering the heroine was concentrating her activities to the Primeva region where her animalistic attributes gave her an advantage in the dense terrain. Under Crimson Revenant's advice Harlot decided to lay a trap for the kitten and by attacking a Longbow base set up in the region, and leaving evidence to implicate Crey knowing Mynx's enmity towards the organisation given her personal history with them.

With the trap set Harlot snuck into a second Longbow base, well aware that Mynx would be waiting for her to attack, believing it was Crey operatives she'd be facing. After making her way passed the garrison forces the assassin found one of Mynx's associates, Agent Hanson, securing the command centre. After murdering him along with his bodyguards Harlot was ambushed by Mynx, but using her own evasive skill she managed to wipe out the cat's entourage before they could lay a finger on her.

Disappearing into the shadows Harlot began to harass the heroine, slowly wearing down the scrappy kitten with hit and run attacks, never giving the cape a chance to strike back as she blended between the equipment banks, striking from unexpected directions until Mynx could no longer defend herself. Incapacitating the neko Harlot bound the cat's claws safely before stealing passed the guards once more, returning to her lair with her prize for a little fun time. After several hours of games the assassin contacted Arachnos, letting them know she had something of value to trade and Mynx was handed over to their custody.

Back Alley Brawler on his way to inspect the Longbow operation in the Nerva Archipelago

Brawling With The Big Boys

Confident in her new ability to take down even the famous protectors of 'good' Harlot set her sights on a tougher target, Back Alley Brawler. Once again calling on the aid of Crimson Revenant she learnt from him that The Brawler was due to be performing an inspection of the Longbow facilities in Nerva and would be leaving himself vulnerable to an attack.

Procuring explosives from the Cage Consortium on Sharkhead Island Harlot broke into the base The Brawler was due to be visiting. Carefully working her way around the guard patrols she skillfully placed the devices around the facility, the prime locations identified by Crimson Revenant's agents. Leaving the site without having been detected by the Longbow agents she swiftly detonated the explosives as soon as she was clear, killing them all.

With security compromised Longbow no longer felt it was safe for The Brawler to visit the confines of a base, even one as supposedly safe as one filled with Longbow agents. Instead the organisation decided to make his visit a high profile media event, sequestering Liberty Isle and filling the plaza with Longbow operatives ready for anything the local villains could throw at them.

Realising the challenge the army of Longbow posed, especially in such a open and shadowless environment, Devil's Harlot sent out the word, forming an army of her own to storm the island. Arriving on the shore the force, made up almost entirely of goons, ninja and droids under the command of Masterminds loyal to Harlot's cause, quickly began to sweep through the Longbow forces. At first their advance seemed unstoppable, with the combined might of the minions quickly overwhelming the pockets of Longbow, dividing the defending force and taking them apart with ease, but this all changed when The Brawler strode into the fray.

Tossing the weak minions aside with ease The Brawler plunged into the invading force, cutting down the Masterminds even as Devil's Harlot struck at him from the blindside. Soon the assembled villains were left bloodied and broken, limping from the island and scattering into the back streets of Nerva before Longbow could pull themselves back together or call in reinforcements to stop them. Given his long experience even The Brawler knew better than to try to follow them without backup and let them leave.

Even as she limped away from the battlefield Harlot swore she'd be back, and forming a new band of villainy she soon was. While the new force was still heavily in favour of Masterminds Harlot made sure to include a number of other villains this time as well, notably two more stalkers and a brute named Breaknquake, whose physical strength while not a match for The Brawler would certainly help tip the balance in the attackers' favour.

Once more arriving on Liberty Isle the villains moved against the Longbow reinforcements, but this time a more circumspect tactic was used. With the stalkers drifting between the Longbow unseen, only revealing themselves as they took the lives of the commanders and key personnel of the Longbow defense force, leading the rest into ambushes from their Mastermind compatriots.

Before he even realised what was going on The Brawler was left almost alone, his personal entourage all that remained of the Longbow garrison. Sweeping up the stairways Breaknquake slammed into The Brawler, taking the large man off his feet as the stalkers moved to take out the remaining defenders and the Masterminds moved up to provide supporting fire to the assault. Almost as soon as it had started The Brawler lay in a puddle of his own blood and organs, even his legendary tough skin no match for the well coordinated assault.

As Arachnos forces arrived to scoop up the pieces and stuff them into a holding cell Devil's Harlot took the opportunity to strip The Brawler's mask from his face, leaving the once noble veteran of the Rikti War broken and disgraced, surrounded by the Longbow he'd been meant to assess.

Threat Identification Report

Alternate Costumes

Main Costume

As shown in profile image

Code phrase: "Laever" ("Reveal" spoken backwards)
Transformation: Presto Chango

With her rise to the dizzy heights of Arachnos's inner circle Devil's Harlot has been given access to the organisation's research labs, many of which are surprisingly not run by insane scientists bent on world domination at all, but level-headed researchers striving to create better equipment for the soldiers of Arachnos. One such development is a light weight, leather based material which can be easily crafted into a number of different designs.

While appearing to be a simple evening dress with a few complimentary accessories the costume is really a battle ready combat mesh capable of withstanding the full power of a Rikti assault weapon without taking damage. The accessories house a number of gadgets and gizmos designed to supplement Devil's Harlot's own abilities, making it easier for her to deal out justice in the name of Arachnos.

Beatrice McBride when not out causing mayhem

Casual Wear

Code phrase: "Esiugsid em" ("Disguise me" spoken backwards)
Transformation: Cast

After acquiring the Stone of Nullification, which can clearly be seen being worn as part of her belt, Devil's Harlot was able to regain a more human appearance, allowing her to spend more time socialising in places like Pocket D and the Winter Palace Casino. With her fame in the Rogue Isles growing, along with a healthy respect for her reputation, she found she no longer had to rely on combat grade armour to survive, as many simply avoided her rather than try to face her in battle.

While in this form a great deal of Harlot's daemonically enhanced abilities were restrained, leaving her at her most vulnerable, because of this she is rarely seen in this costume outside of the relatively safe areas such as Pocket D or the Shadow Eye Temple. At its first use the Stone of Nullification's effects were quite imprecise with her horns and muscular body shape being suppressed while her wings still remained. Later experimentation with the Stone yielded more effective camouflage, but at a cost in her abilities.

The heavily armoured Devil's Harlot, ready for battle

Wargear Battlesuit

Code phrase: "Armour up!"
Transformation: Vanguard Sigil

With her achievements in the Isles growing in acclaim, as well as danger, Devil's Harlot found the leather suit which had served her well enough early in her career simply not suitable for facing the powerful entities such as Deathsurge, Scrapyard and the invading forces of the Rikti. Using the technological skills she'd developed during her criminal career, as well as equipment and supplies those same exploits had furnished her with, Devil's Harlot fashioned a combat suit for herself which not only acted as additional protection but also allowed her to focus the powers of the Stone of Nullification, which is mounted in the chest plate, more precisely than she could in her casual outfit.

In this form much of the power of the possessing daemon can be focused through the armoured gauntlets of her battlesuit, which can usually be seen glowing with a green aura. This power adds to the power of her blade attacks, as well as allowing her to 'bleed off' the influence of the entity in turn allowing her to focus her mind more clearly. Since the power is being drawn away from her body Devil's Harlot's horns are considerably smaller while she is using the Stone in this way allowing her to wear a specially crafted helmet for additional protection.

While this armour has a number of advantages, Devil's Harlot rarely wears it due to the restrictive nature of the armour plating interrupting the natural flow of her combat style, preferring the less protective but more maneuverable leather outfit for standard criminal activity and only falling back on the battlesuit when expecting to be facing a far stronger opponent.

Devil's Harlot's old costume, worn when visiting the old stomping grounds.

Classic Costume

Code phrase: "Nrut kcab emit" ("Turn back time" spoken backwards)
Transformation: Spin

Some may think it sentimental of the villainess to keep hold of her old costume, especially since the later designs offer better protection and accessories, but to Devil's Harlot the old costume she first made for herself out of scraps of leather and an old biker's helmet also offer her the chance to walk the streets in a costume less well recognised than her main one. In some circumstances recognition can be a very bad thing, especially when visiting old haunts where people you stepped on while climbing the ladder of success are still waiting for payback.

Wrapped in chains and featuring a utility belt for storing some of her more portable inventions the classic costume is perfect for a more anonymous stroll through areas such as Mercy Island and Port Oakes, where the lack of protection against psychic and energy assaults is less of a worry than the protection from stray bullets and knives in the back.

The Voice revealed as the daemon Ad-Dajjal

Daemonform

Code phrase: "Gone, gone the form of gal; Rise the daemon Ad-Dajjal!"
Transformation: Evil laugh

While for most of the time Devil's Harlot would prefer to suppress her daemon side there are times when the raw power the supernatural entity possesses comes in handy. Since studying Soul Mastery under Ghost Widow Devil's Harlot has gained enough control over the daemon to not only uncover its true name but to also force it to withdraw whenever she wishes, enabling her the option of releasing it for short periods when required.

The daemon itself, whose true name appears to be Ad-Dajjal if the poem recited to summon its form is to be believed, is reptilian in nature, with a thick scaly hide which is capable of turning both physical and energy based attacks. Its mind is so beyond the comprehension of mere mortals that most psychic assault also seem to fail against it as well. The forms weakness is the insectoid hands it possesses, which make control of Devil's Harlot's blades difficult at best, but the considerable strength in the daemon's form make brute force more than a compensation for the lack of control.

Known Associates

Allies

Brokers

Contacts

Souvenirs

Trivia

• The names of Devil's Harlot's swords are Ivy and Taki, presumably ancient goddesses of some kind tied in with the warrior ideal of whichever race originally crafted them.
• While wearing her Wargear Battlesuit Devil's Harlot has to avoid contact with pure gold as the respiratory system of the suit can be damaged by the metal.
• The Cybersuit allows Devil's Harlot a limited form of x-ray vision, just enough to see through a piece of paper or card. Perfect when spying on documents hidden inside an envelope or while playing cards.
• Devil's Harlot is allergic to bananas and has been known to become aggressively defensive whenever someone offers her one.
• While in her standard outfit, without the Stone of Nullification's influence, Devil's Harlot's bust is noticeably larger.