JEQ
12-20-08, 07:16 PM
Soft Assassin Preliminary sketches2.jpg
Soft Assassin
Submitted by Jason Quinlan
Backstory:
A failed chapter in genetic engineering, hybrid spore X-79 was developed as a food source that could thrive in harsh climates and in low-gravity outer space greenhouses. It demonstrated great adaptibility under a wide range of conditions, but was eventually revealed to generate highly toxic byproducts in the course of it's growth cycle. When the project was canceled, lead researcher Linda Hayes smuggled a sample of the spores out of the lab and resolved to continue it's development on her own.
The sample X-79 developed a rudimentary intellect and mobility and escaped containment. The home lab was contaminated with the spores and the toxicity killed the woman when she came into contact with them. The spores then colonized her body, modeling their continued physiological development on her anatomical structure. Somehow portions of Hayes' memories and emotional makeup were assimilated by the developing spore creature.
A week after Hayes stopped showing up at the research facility, a coworker discovered her poisoned remains in her apartment. There was no sign of any contamination in the building. The following week, the manager of the research facility found a cookie tin on his desk. When he opened it, lethal poison sprayed out killing him instantly. The fluid coalesced into a green skinned woman who went on a murderous rampage through the administrative wing, killing executives and security forces with poison barbs launched from her body. The woman critically injured several armored swat team members in hand to hand combat before diving out of a third story window and running off into the nearby woods where she successfully evaded pursuit.
Since then the creature has done contract work for various criminal organizations who have dubbed her the "Soft Assassin." She has also occassionally assisted superheroes and law enforcements agencies in times of crisis. Her motives remain a mystery.
Abilities/Characteristics:
--Decentralized nervous system. Although Soft resembles a human female, her body is composed of interconnected spores. She has no internal organs and can easily survive wounds (eg. taking a bullet to the head or heart area) that would be fatal in an actual human. Although she has a face and eyes, the creature can actually see from any clear suface of her body, so in reality she has no front or back. She typically moves as an athletic woman, but could just as easily walk on her hands, all fours, or some variation thereof for as long as desired.
--Density control. Soft's normal consistency approximates human flesh. She can increase the hardness of her surface area to thick leather with little effort. With concentration she harden small areas, like her fists, to the consistency of rock. Conversely, she can reduce cohesion until her mass flows on the ground like syrup.
--Superhuman strength and reflexes. Soft's reaction time is much greater than that of even a trained human being. She is able to dodge automatic weapon's fire and perform extreme feats of agility (walking across a tightrope on two fingers). She is able to lift a couple hundred pounds with ease, and can press roughly half a ton over her head for a short duration. She has an acrobatic fighting style that is difficult to anticipate based on the essentially inhuman ways she can move her form.
--Stamina. Soft can perform strong exertion for about 12 hours before beginning to fatigue. She doesn't require sleep or air, although she replicates breathing in order to simulate human speech. She heals quickly, recovering almost instantly from knife wounds and small arms fire. Blunt force doesn't generally cause her much damage although she can be stunned if the spores are dispersed strongly enough.
--Toxins. Soft can generate poisonous spikes from almost any part of her physique and fire them with great force. She can also generate corrosive toxins on any surface to burn through restraints or augment hand-to-hand strikes against armored opponents.Altough she generally will fire a volley of spikes at a single target or small group at one time, she is capable of firing a burst of toxic needles in a 360 degree radius around herself all at once. Soft wears a vinyl uniform with permeable sections that help her control the discharge of the spikes and make the attacks more accurate.
Soft Assassin
Submitted by Jason Quinlan
Backstory:
A failed chapter in genetic engineering, hybrid spore X-79 was developed as a food source that could thrive in harsh climates and in low-gravity outer space greenhouses. It demonstrated great adaptibility under a wide range of conditions, but was eventually revealed to generate highly toxic byproducts in the course of it's growth cycle. When the project was canceled, lead researcher Linda Hayes smuggled a sample of the spores out of the lab and resolved to continue it's development on her own.
The sample X-79 developed a rudimentary intellect and mobility and escaped containment. The home lab was contaminated with the spores and the toxicity killed the woman when she came into contact with them. The spores then colonized her body, modeling their continued physiological development on her anatomical structure. Somehow portions of Hayes' memories and emotional makeup were assimilated by the developing spore creature.
A week after Hayes stopped showing up at the research facility, a coworker discovered her poisoned remains in her apartment. There was no sign of any contamination in the building. The following week, the manager of the research facility found a cookie tin on his desk. When he opened it, lethal poison sprayed out killing him instantly. The fluid coalesced into a green skinned woman who went on a murderous rampage through the administrative wing, killing executives and security forces with poison barbs launched from her body. The woman critically injured several armored swat team members in hand to hand combat before diving out of a third story window and running off into the nearby woods where she successfully evaded pursuit.
Since then the creature has done contract work for various criminal organizations who have dubbed her the "Soft Assassin." She has also occassionally assisted superheroes and law enforcements agencies in times of crisis. Her motives remain a mystery.
Abilities/Characteristics:
--Decentralized nervous system. Although Soft resembles a human female, her body is composed of interconnected spores. She has no internal organs and can easily survive wounds (eg. taking a bullet to the head or heart area) that would be fatal in an actual human. Although she has a face and eyes, the creature can actually see from any clear suface of her body, so in reality she has no front or back. She typically moves as an athletic woman, but could just as easily walk on her hands, all fours, or some variation thereof for as long as desired.
--Density control. Soft's normal consistency approximates human flesh. She can increase the hardness of her surface area to thick leather with little effort. With concentration she harden small areas, like her fists, to the consistency of rock. Conversely, she can reduce cohesion until her mass flows on the ground like syrup.
--Superhuman strength and reflexes. Soft's reaction time is much greater than that of even a trained human being. She is able to dodge automatic weapon's fire and perform extreme feats of agility (walking across a tightrope on two fingers). She is able to lift a couple hundred pounds with ease, and can press roughly half a ton over her head for a short duration. She has an acrobatic fighting style that is difficult to anticipate based on the essentially inhuman ways she can move her form.
--Stamina. Soft can perform strong exertion for about 12 hours before beginning to fatigue. She doesn't require sleep or air, although she replicates breathing in order to simulate human speech. She heals quickly, recovering almost instantly from knife wounds and small arms fire. Blunt force doesn't generally cause her much damage although she can be stunned if the spores are dispersed strongly enough.
--Toxins. Soft can generate poisonous spikes from almost any part of her physique and fire them with great force. She can also generate corrosive toxins on any surface to burn through restraints or augment hand-to-hand strikes against armored opponents.Altough she generally will fire a volley of spikes at a single target or small group at one time, she is capable of firing a burst of toxic needles in a 360 degree radius around herself all at once. Soft wears a vinyl uniform with permeable sections that help her control the discharge of the spikes and make the attacks more accurate.