Yaguara (Protector)
Affiliations
Yaguara is not affiliated with any particular super groups or organizations, although she has accepted some contract work from ELITE and Hero Corps. For the most part Yaguara is a true vigilante and prefers to work alone.
Backstory
Maria Fuentes was originally from Guatemala. She came to Paragon City as a child to live with relatives after her parents were murdered by a drug cartel. Years later her relatives were again murdered by a street gang in Kings Row, leaving Maria as a teenager with a shattered psyche and a thirst for vengeance.
Maria came to resent the costumed super heroes who could not save her family, despite their being so many of them within Paragon City. Although Maria was able to complete her high school studies with the support of her friends and their families, she left the United States to attend foreign universities, claiming she wanted to major in international languages, arts, and cultures.
As a young woman with no where to really go, Maria instead wound up traveling the world studying under numerous martial arts masters. It was in Brazil where Maria's destiny began to take shape, when her instructor saw a potential in her that he knew he could not properly train. In 1998 he paid for Maria to travel to Tibet, where she was to receive further training under a master known as Master Oni.
Maria's training continued under Master Oni for several more years where she was initiated into a small clan of warriors known as the Fenghuang. Although little is known about the internal culture and hierarchy of the Fenghuang, they are fierce enemies of the Tsoo and seek to confront and eliminate them without mercy. In many ways the Fenghuang function like a band of rogue ninjas and criminals, as they do not hesitate to execute or assassinate their targets. This was a task that Maria took with considerable ease.
In 2005 Maria returned to Paragon City, where she initially found work as a corporate interpreter with Crey Industries as a day job. Maria's impressive mastery of the Hispanic and Asian languages catapulted her to several high profile meetings between Crey Industries and various contractors throughout the Americas and Asia, and she has frequently been the interpreter for Countess Clarissa Crey.
What no one suspects is the double life Maria Fuentes now lives. Maria did not return to Paragon City to pursue a corporate dream; she came for revenge. Remaining true to her training among the Fenghuang, Maria seeks out criminals in Paragon City to bring to them a form of justice and vengeance the costumed heroes of the city do not. Adopting the costumed image and savagery of the jaguar, Maria has become one of the more active vigilantes in Paragon City known for sparing criminals no mercy. Where most heroes are content to subdue and arrest criminals, Yaguara is known for eviscerating them where they stand, severing limbs, and leaving their shredded remains in bloodied alleyways.
(More to come)
Powers
Claws: Maria is skilled in many forms of unarmed combat, and her physical training is arguably near the peak of human perfection. Although Maria is perfectly fine with using whatever weapons of opportunity may present themselves, as Yaguara she prefers to wield a set of retractable claws she wears as gauntlets. These claws are forged of impervium and are capable of easily rending an unarmored target to shreds within seconds. Against more heavily protected targets, Maria possesses enough physical strength and skill to sever and whittle away layers of protection so she can penetrate the target beneath it.
Super Reflexes: Maria's training in the martial arts, gymnastics, and acrobatics makes her an extremely nimble and quick adversary. Although it isn't known if she possesses true superhuman abilities similar to those found among mutants and altered humans, Maria moves with such grace and precision she appears to be nothing short of superhuman.
Contact Information
Yaguara may be contacted on Protector by e-mail using her name, Yaguara. Her global channel that is valid across all servers is @Major Paragon.
