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Early Years

"What would you do if you had been hunted your entire life? Forced to flee from one place of safety to the next, worrying when word would come that you'd been spotted and would have to pick up and start all over. Consumed by paranoia, forever looking over your shoulder and wondering if that friend you made was genuine or planned on sticking a knife between your ribs, balanced precariously, a mere knife's edge from certain death. All it took was a slip of your tongue ... I wonder, would you continue to let fear dictate your life or would you turn the tables on those who sought to persecute you?" - Jen

Jennifer Anne Pangaea was born Jennifer Anne Tapley on the 22nd November, 1981 at Rhode Island, New York. A strong willed, precocious child, Jen quickly proved a handful for a couple seeking shelter from the harsh realities of life on the run and who were determined to keep a low profile. Pursued relentlessly from birth by the twisted, modern day incarnation of an ideological, family split thousands of years before she was born, Jen inherited a lifelong enemy from the moment she first drew breath.

She had no say in any of it.

Her early pre-school life was spent mostly in the company of people she didn't know, friends of the family, as well as an unruly and at times spoiled little sister, Harriet Beatrice Tapley. She and her sibling were taught from a young age how to blend in and avoid attention, and it was perhaps this insistence on isolation and anonymity that led Jen and Harriet to grow up in opposition to their parents.

This pleased neither of their parents, but it did force a rethink in family policy.

At school the sisters drew attention wherever the went, but for the wrong reasons. Jen was a willowy girl, tall for her age but socially awkward, a favourite of the local bullies, while Harriet was the life of the party, but was disruptive, even confrontational and became a nightmare for teaching staff. Growing up, both girls were academically sound, though Harriet eschewed the life of a student for that of a prima-donna and cheerleader, the embodiment of the plastic girls ideal, while Jen became increasingly withdrawn and shy, harbouring resentment and hatred towards those who had oppressed her.

That all changed when they hit puberty. Jen, long since the outcast, blossomed into a beautiful young woman. This, combined with a natural intellect, gave her a newfound sense of power. Unable to direct her anger towards the real target of her ire, Jen quickly learned to abuse her power and take her frustrations out on fellow students. She found a sense of freedom and personal identity in being as mean-spirited, spiteful and manipulative towards them as those who had done the same to her. Were it not for her stellar grades, no doubt she would've been labelled a 'problem child' by the school system.

Jen began to study medicine, not out of a concern for her fellows, but out of a fascination for "how disgusting and yet magnificent" the human body was. Against her parent's advice, she went to the university of Southern California in San Francisco, one of the best medical schools in the country. Here she excelled, both as a student and a prospective doctor. Jen found herself stifled in the college, unable to exercise her darker inclinations for fear of being cast out. She directed her troubles inward and became a profoundly disturbed, though brilliant young woman.

At twenty two, half way through her degree, Harriet was discovered after attending a political rally, her stunt captured and broadcast on YouTube where it quickly turned viral. Forced to flee, Jen took Harriet back to New York and cut all contact with her parents, following the logic that her enemies wouldn't expect her to return to a place she'd been evicted from previously. It worked and for the next two years, Jen worked in low key jobs, finding relief from her frustrations in form of the alternative sexuality (BDSM) scene. Here she ruled as a tyrant and queen. For once, Jen felt the rush of power that she had always thought other people had.

Two years later and a frustrated Jen decided to return to her medical studies, but this time in New York. Reasoning that the more people there were, the harder it would be for her enemy to locate her, she finished her medical training at the less prestigious Cornell University. An eager Jen wanted to be tested against the best, accepting an intern program with Mercy Hospital in Detroit. Harriet elected to stay in the big apple to begin her Law degree.

It was in Detroit, shortly to be renamed Millennium City, that a twenty something Jen met another intern who would go on to become her best friend in life, Connor Jensen.

Internship at Mercy Hospital

Jen and Connor clicked right away. He was sarcastic, wise cracking and had a big heart while Jen was stoic, serious and driven, the straight (wo)man to his comic relief. She found comfort in him, relief from both the intense feelings within her and her circumstances in general. Despite her serious, demanding, type A persona, she showed signs of who she would later become and it was probably these glimpses that caused him to quietly adore her. During these moments, Jen found a lightness to her life and found herself disturbed to actually care what he thought about her.

During her internship, Jen caught the eyes of then Chief of Surgery. Jen's ability to focus, even under pressure, was remarkable, even for a would-be surgeon.

Chief of Surgery

It was during her tenure as Chief of Surgery that Jen began to open up. She first met and then befriended some locals at Club Caprice, Aisling "Ai" Narakyo, Briana and Evelyn. To their credit, they collectively saw through Jen's demanding facade. As the months passed, they showed her more kindness and consideration than she'd ever experienced, welcoming even her "queen bee" attitude to them and anyone else in her life. As time passed, she found herself increasingly at odds with her demanding need for attention and the tyrannical way she viewed other people. She had at last began out of the state of arrested development she'd experienced since she was in high school. It was only later in life when she realised just what a gift they had been, after most of the group seperated and went their seperate ways. From that day onwards, Jen swore that she'd treat people with the same kindness they had shown her.

Chief Medical Director of Mercy Hospital

Professionally, Jen was considered a marvel. Able to distance herself from all emotional considerations, she was the surgeon's surgeon. Despite boasting the worst patient complaint record in recent history, she was employed as a resident on the grounds of her excellence as a surgeon and her remarkable ability to excel in pressure situations, with the proviso of improving her patient rapport as a long term self-development goal. It was during this time that Jen became involved in emergency services. Finding herself naturally suited to the worst possible situations, Jen quickly climbed the ladder to become the co-ordinator for Millenium City Accident and Disaster Response (ESADR). It was here that she developed the foundation she needed to begin transitioning into an administrative position at Mercy, culminating in Jen being declared the new Chief of Surgery for Mercy Hospital.

While Chief of Surgery, Jen displayed a natural aptitude both for the trappings of power and the bureaucratic logistics that come with it. This caught the eye of Dr Cox, the then Chief Medical Director. He began grooming her, without her knowledge, involving her in classes aimed to improve both her shockingly bad communication skills with patients as well as mundane things like bookkeeping. She grew increasingly discontent, both with his apparent need to force extra duties on her and the continued lack of explanation for why. Finally, a frustrated Jen confronted him in his office, proceeding to grill him for ten minutes about what he was doing to her, how she didn't like it and how she wouldn't stand for it anymore.

He looked at her calmly and said "Jen, I'm stepping down as Chief Medical Director. I want you take my place."

A speechless Jen reeled. She knew that being in control suited her, but she didn't yet see in herself what Dr Cox had seen ever since she had first stepped into the shoes of the Chief of Surgery.