PREQUEL


Once upon a time in Olympus, the god of sky and thunder known as Zeus had been head-over-heels for Hera. She never perceived him as a potential love interest, so she declined the opportunity. However, with time, after an unrelenting effort from the King of All, he finally wins over her heart, and they create a family on Mount Olympus. They brought four children into the world. Unfortunately, that did anything but quench his sexual desires as he sought out other women. He constantly committed infidelity against his marriage and birthed other children through his mated women. He had cheated on Hera over a hundred times, but Hera always forgave him in the end. However, he was never off the hook; there was only so much grief and pain the Olympian Queen could manage.

One more betrayal was all it took for Hera to unleash her trump card of a plan to vindicate her husband’s treason. She searched for Typhon and Echidna, the two most feared Titans in Greece. Once gathered, she helped devise a deal for the pair to help claim supremacy over her husband. The Monsters conceived a lion cub, a tiny ball of innocence that would later serve the purpose as a weapon against Zeus. Hera wasted no time taking the cub in her own hands from birth, assuring its parents that she would take exquisite care of it. She trained the feline through each phase of its life, and by the time it reached adulthood, it developed into a man-eating massacre ready to tear anyone and thing apart, of course, given the command.

Eventually, once Hera was confident that she could leave the Lion to his sovereignty, she sent him to Nemea, where the city had a Zeus shrine. The occupants worshiped him religiously, which enraged Hera immensely to the point where she aimed to halt the deification. With the lion guarding the shrine, people could hardly step into it without encountering the deadly beast. And as predicted by the Queen, grazing cattle, walking in the wild, and even sleeping peacefully at home would indeed come to a sudden end for the residents of Nemea. Every day, they witness sheep and fellow tenants vanishing without a trace. The beastly lion often lured warriors to his cave by abducting women and using them as bait. Warriors and combatants would attempt their share at rescuing each damsel in distress; however, they would ultimately walk into their demise. By this time, he was the feared legend. He was dubbed the Nemean Lion.

Watching from afar, Hera had great faith in how this destruction would send a ripple effect against Zeus. However, little did she know, another figure was hidden deep in the shadows of Nemea, prying in on their collude. A lonesome Amazon warrior, Nilda, intervened in the action and attempted to slay the beast; however, her efforts proved dire after long periods. Despite recognizing its natural dispositions as a lion, Nilda deduced that its destructive act on Nemea was abnormal attainment. Her suspicions were confirmed when Hera arrived on the scene, watching her command the lion to destroy the shrine at the site.

Nilda grew sympathetic over the beast, pitying Hera's influence over him. She took the initiative by paying visits to the lion in Nemea whenever Hera was absent, attempting to tame him. It would be exhausting to the Amazonian woman, like beating a dead horse. However, her attempts to win the lion’s trust would eventually come to fruition when it was confronted by a dozen of warrior men to be decimated. The Lion was a witness to Nilda’s unyielding drive to defend his honor, protesting that Hera was the true enemy. Together, they defeated the assembled men, marking the start of their affinity.

Months into their growing bond, Nilda was hammered with mixed emotions. She was relieved and delighted about her intimate relationship with the Nemean Lion, yet troubled and concerned about the reception of her Amazonian tribe, ashamed of what they would perceive her to be if they were to discover her affair. It did not help that she was also pregnant shortly after.

The Nemean Lion left a print on the turf of Nemea, so much that Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns, had enough of the charades. He commanded Heracles, son of Zeus by a different woman, with a set of tasks, and one of them was to defeat the beast. Nilda caught wind of the news and was paranoid about the feline monster. The Lion was dismissive of her constant pleads to flee Nemea, headstrong in counteracting whatever malicious threat stood unwelcomed on his newly claimed territory.

Refusing to risk putting her unborn child in harm’s way, she quickly abandoned the lion, returning to Themiscyra, her hometown. Upon her arrival, she was welcomed with open arms by her sisters after announcing that she was expecting. Her time spent back at Themiscyra was bittersweet, as after about a week had passed, gossip had spread that the Nemean Lion had finally met its end, slain by Nemea’s newfound hero Heracles. It was more gruesome to hear that he had skinned the lion, wearing its fur, claws, and head as a trophy.

Months had passed since the Nemean Lion’s death; Nilda was in labor. She gave birth to a boy, who she named to be Angel. He wasn’t a kitten; he was a humanoid baby. Despite this, it was easy to recognize the traits of his father, which often brought despair into the woman that the Nemean Lion was not present to share such a precious moment. Withholding the expectation to hand her child over to the Gargareans, she fought tooth and nail to raise him independently.

Unfortunately, Nilda could only do so much as her efforts were vain. She was struck with a compromise intended to leave both affairs content: she would raise Angel until ten and be forced to exile him to the Gargareans. If any rebellions were committed at that time, the Amazons would be permitted to kill him.

That day would come. After many years of grooming Angel as best as she could, she would harshly cut all ties with him for his sake; instead of forcing him into the hands of the Gargareans, she wanted him to live a nonbelligerent life. As painful as it was for her, she ran him out of Themiscyra. By this time, the poor boy was without any parents.

Luckily, Angel had years of experience regarding survivability despite his young age. Nilda taught him how to fight and use his head when it mattered. Enough to help him get by. Accompanied by her love for him as a mother, she was confident that he would be fine. After all, he had the blood of a warrior and a feral god. He would figure it out.

Angel slowly but surely adjusted, gaining new ground on his lonesome lifestyle. He started coming to his well-being as an individual with unique abilities. He was able to understand and communicate with animals. During his journey to seek a new purpose over the years, he eventually found himself stepping foot in the land of Spain. Waltzing into a civilized society was not something he envisioned. Despite appearing human like them, he stuck out like a sore thumb, unable to adhere to their rules and traditions. He was practically a caveman to them.

He was so confused and baffled at the core at how weak they were and of low value compared to his people. Eventually, he was entangled with a young Spaniard woman named Sofia Sanchez. His conscience often reminded him of the taboo of sharing the same space with the opposite sex. However, his raging hormones refused to abide by it once his body was mature enough. Sofia was nothing like his mother; hailing from an elitist family, she was very arrogant and often carried a superior-type personality. Despite Angel holding no penny to his name, his attractiveness held ground for being known as the most dangerous man in Spain. He was also profoundly gravitated by his girlfriend’s hotblooded temper, that being the one similarity she had with his mother and the Amazonian tribe. Sofia’s family was quick to take him in and teach him how to live in their country; unfortunately, their conceited habits would ultimately rub off on him, turning him into even more of a spiteful and egotistic man.


CUB DAYS

Years had passed as Angel had grown accustomed to the conventions of the European kingdom. The diametric couple married after Angel confirmed to himself that he would settle down to create a family of his own without the infidelities. After six months, Sofia was announced pregnant and would eventually give birth to a baby girl, as she and Angel would subsequently decide to name her Aaliyah. This was a glaring issue for the demigod. Angel wanted a boy, not just for the convenience of raising his kind but because he was aware of the cultural divide between men and women where he was from. Hell, he was banished from his home because of it.

That was not the only knot for the newlyweds. Aaliyah was born humanoid except for physical traits that mirrored a cat. She was with a tail spread with dark rosette spots all over her body. A never-ending buzz spread around the city, earning speculation from practically every resident in Spain.

Sofia was not fond of her newborn child; she resented what Aaliyah’s feline nature brought to the family. No longer the center of attention in the ways that she preferred, slowly but surely did she loathe her, brewing the hatred for her baby’s lion traits. She was repulsed to refer to Aaliyah as her daughter. Angel often decided to steer away from his cub, intending not to attach himself.

Aaliyah was raised with very little care. Sofia wasn’t the compassionate, patient mother she needed her to be. And she was undoubtedly not a daddy’s little girl. She was the outcast when dealing with her mother’s lineage. At family gatherings, she was always the oddball out, cast to the wayside while her cousins played among themselves - and what made it worse for the hybrid child was that her parents noticed but did not ever seem to care. She struggled to adjust to the human society simply because she was different, just like her father, not only because of her appearance but also her unworldly gifted abilities. It's been of benefit, while it’s proved wrong at other times.

Her relationship with her parents grew toxic and abusive the older she got, and it eventually soured to the point where it was easier for Angel and Sofia to remove her from their home. Feeling like an orphan at this point, Aaliyah spent most of her life to herself. It was as if she was bound to suffer the same fate as her father had when he hit puberty. And unlike him, she had a hard time acclimating to her environment. Bouncing around the city for shelter, she could not find any permanent security and decided that Spain was no longer her home at age fifteen.

The exiling from her parents left an embittered taste in her mouth. Albeit anxious and afraid of what life would reimburse her, she pledged to mark her path and leave a legacy of her own without a trace of her parents’ aid. The daughter of Angel took it upon herself to flee Spain by any means necessary, sneaking on a transatlantic cruise in Barcelona that at times nearly got her caught - however, her lithe frame and stealthy nature helped ultimately keep her out of the naked eye the entire time.

Eventually, she was boarded in the United States. Upon arrival, she was struck with culture shock. There was a jet lagging feeling of disorientation as she was subjected to the unfamiliar ways of life in New York City. Being in the heart of Manhattan, she was exposed to fast-food restaurants, grocery markets, convenience stores, and thousands of civilians crowding the streets daily. Not to mention, what came with it was the high crime rate. Despite her remarkable potential as a prodigy, she was ultimately still a child. And as if matters could not be worse, her powers had not honestly woken. Aaliyah was petrified and, at times, rued her decision to leave her home country. Scrounging left-over foods and drinks from trashcans and barrels, she managed to sustain herself until it hurt to rely on foods already partially consumed by strangers.

She took it upon herself to commit theft out of desperation, longing for a fresh hot meal. Unfortunately, her plan went south after realizing her heart wasn’t in it to pull such a crime. However, within that exact moment, she learned that she was not only different than the humans from an aesthetic standpoint but also abilities when she accidentally set the woman she originally intended to steal food from on fire.

She was astronomically remorseful of the act. She played her part in attempting to put the fire out but was horrified when the efforts only seemed to add more fuel. Before she knew it, she was on the run from the authorities. This would soon turn out to be a regular cycle for her. Sometimes, a long heartfelt cry was needed before pulling herself back together to keep moving forward. It didn’t help to observe children and teenagers her age enduring everyday, carefree lives. It enabled a bottle of anger and despair to build within the young adolescent feline. She often asked herself why she was born with such dispositions, why she was born so different from the average person. All she wanted was to feel like she belonged.

Halfway into the year, she found herself in Millennium City: a city that stunned her to the core from beholding the home to superpowered beings that ranged from mutants, aliens, demons, vampires, angels, and even other anthropomorphic individuals just like her. Regardless of her intrigue and astonishment, she quickly learned that the city was a torturous nightmare. Without her parents’ supervision, she often found herself in troublesome events that would nearly cost her life. Crime activities occupied almost every street she visited, corner, and alley.

One day, she encountered a robbery that saw a group of New Purple Gang thugs antagonizing an innocent man for his wallet. It did not help that she overheard the cries and revelations that he was related to another prominent figure they had bad blood with. Feeling pity for the man in distress, she took it upon herself to try rescuing him. Envisioning the fire that she inadvertently manifested against the poor woman prior, she had it in her best interests to channel that same energy, justifiably so, to the New Purple Gang. However, she was betrayed by her ability. The most that came from her hands were embers.

Two of the Hired Muscle quickly dispatched her and gave her a thrashing she never knew was possible. And in doing so, the man she attempted to rescue took the opportunity to flee from the scene, leaving her to suffer against the new Purple Gang. She was overwhelmed and frustrated, unable to understand why her fire powers weren’t coming to life. She was saved by a West Side native when she least expected it. Her savior was another Latino in the form of a man, resembling much more maturely than her. He went by the name Rey Valiente in costume but was personally known as Richard Alvarez. Valiente gave the thugs a taste of their own medicine entering the crime scene. After they were taken down, Aaliyah was immediately drawn to what she envisioned to be her shining knight in armor.

She believed that he was her ticket to safety, mainly when there was no venom in his eyes after he laid eyes on her. It felt like she finally met the one person who would treat her with respect and compassion. Unfortunately, her age was showing. Being the young-minded peppy girl she was, she was gullible to believe any and everything Valiente told her. Learning that she was without her parents, he took her under his wing with haste. Little did she know, he had his agenda planned. Their friendship blossomed peaches and cream as she grew to admire him for what he seemingly stood for from her lenses.

Behind the scenes, Rey Valiente was just a mask. A veil to his authenticity. However, he was patient in winning Aaliyah’s trust for the time being. And that, he did. But unfortunately for the adolescent woman, this was the beginning of the end. He was a hero to the public eye of Millennium City and a drug-dealing Kingpin from the unseen. Not to mention, he was a feared man.

Slowly but surely, Valiente would expose his true colors. Aaliyah was keen enough to notice his occasional mood swings and how his anger would get the best of him enough to destroy his furniture. It was not until one day, Aaliyah caught him and his subordinates mercilessly thrashing his close comrade to the near-death that the sight traumatized her. It shook her perspective of Richard so much that it terrified her to imagine that they would continue sharing the same space.

After confronting the man for his immoral act, Aaliyah was rudely awakened by a harsh slap across the face, and from there, things were never the same between the two. Richard brainwashed Aaliyah, using his dark wits to blind her from the truth while marking her as his servant. She was still so young to believe this was the beautiful complication of what love was. After all, this was what her parents introduced her to. She knew nothing else.

Over time, Aaliyah was brought down to reality and understood that this was not the lifestyle she wanted to live. Richard frequently assigned her unlawful duties involving drugs, gambling, and theft. In the rare cases in which mistakes were made not measuring up to his expectations, he often punished her for it, adding to her already existing mental and emotional trauma. Unbeknownst to them, there was another lifeform surfacing within the feline. An inner beast on the horizon that would soon make itself known.


ENTER LIONHEART

Aaliyah had episodes of dysfunction, plagued by sickness due to her body’s gradual changes. Originally standing at only 157 centimeters when she was sixteen years old, aging over time empowered her genetic makeup from her father’s lineage to mature at rapid paces. Her tail extended, her fingers grew claws, and her canine teeth largened to mirror a lion’s. In 2012, she experienced a substantial growth spurt, increasing to 190 centimeters and passing Richard in height by very few inches.

Despite perpetually esteeming the feared man with respect and gratitude, Richard withheld a lot of disdain for the flourishing teen. So much that he did anything to make sure she felt beneath the dirt, asserting forced dominance to remind her who was the head in charge. However, one day it all came to an end when Aaliyah finally convinced herself that enough was enough. Amid a violent episode he bestowed on her, the intense waves of her inner primal rage reached the surface of no return. The tables flipped as she unleashed a jaw-dropping transformation into a vastly powerful, tanner-skinned humanoid monster. She was quite literally a savage lion on the loose, and no more was the polite, innocent girl.

Richard was horrified by the bestial alteration. Her fire abilities returned to life in full throttle, and no matter what he threw at her, it seemed as though she were a sponge, absorbing all his defending attacks. The raging lion from within her took all command at that moment, inserting itself into the driver’s seat. Aaliyah pulverized Richard within an inch of his life, tearing him to shreds and leaving him under a pool of his blood. She was readily prepared to end him but was ultimately revoked by her conscience attacking her mind. That alone drove her more over the edge, causing her to rupture a destructive escape and scram.

Two years since that unbearable incident, Aaliyah was no longer the loving, sweet, timid girl. She was a dark, ruthless young woman with a personal vendetta against the world. Not even Richard could fluster her anymore; those days were long gone. She began calling her shots. She was much more accustomed to Michigan and needed no one’s hand for guidance. Aaliyah embodied the cruel nature of Millennium City, using it to her advantage to hunt thugs and delinquents at night just because she could. The tradition was an emotional outlet for her. While primitively setting her eyes on miscreants and villains, she grew extraordinarily pessimistic and suspicious toward the world, which often even invoked her mistrust for heroes.

Aaliyah often set time aside for herself, fully accepting the reality that she was a woman with cat-like adaptations and fire control. She would lock herself in training facilities to sharpen her endowments. It was no walk in the park for her; she struggled immensely to hone her powers. She often strained her body to lose consciousness and even fractured some limbs.

There was only so much failure she could endure because her invested efforts would eventually pay off. Ultimately, she progressed to be a well-versed fighter. Save for battles when her inexperience would be costly, she compensated by learning from her mistakes, bouncing back each time. She made it her goal to deprive those in the world who displayed even a slight rationale for evildoing and even the innocents of questionable morals. She believed to be doing the city a favor.

Little did she realize, she stayed true to becoming the victim of her tragedies. Richard’s deceitful nature rubbed off on her while picking up more social cues for her benefit when deemed necessary.

Her fighting capacity would soon be put to the test. She was encountered by an unknown woman who vowed to have her head as a trophy, later revealing herself to be known as Aphine. Perplexed by her newfound enemy’s apparent loathing, Aaliyah was given no choice but to fight back as Aphine relentlessly attacked her without pause. They exchanged powerful blows, burning and destroying parts of Westside, injuring many innocent bystanders during the affray, while some were even killed.

During a brief respite, the feline woman registered what appeared to be the head of a lion on Aphine’s shoulder. Breaking the fold, Aphine went on an epic rant, revealing her connection to the man that slew the Nemean Lion, who Aaliyah knew to be her grandfather. The redheaded demigod was the daughter of Telephus and granddaughter of Heracles. Humiliated and discomposed, Aaliyah went into a blinding rage, assailing Aphine to turning history against her. However, her labors proved moot as she was left vulnerable, allowing Aphine to get the better of her in the end.

Aaliyah was no match for her and eventually succumbed to defeat. However, instead of delivering the final blow, Aphine proposed an opportunity for the lioness to redeem herself. Knowing that Heracles ended his bout with the Nemean Lion in a single encounter, Aphine chose to have fun with her foe. Eager to show off her power, she permitted Aaliyah time to prepare herself until she would return and finish the job. To make things more interesting, Aphine refused to disclose when that moment would come. She suggested it could be the next day, the following week, or even five years.

The feline demigoddess then spent two days standing on the rooftop of a skyscraper, reflecting on her humble defeat. She determined that her current power merely scratched the surface regarding maximizing her potential and swore to be prepared when Aphine returned. Training herself once more, she grew with greater strength and took the initiative to pick fights with more challenging adversaries to groom for her Greek foe.

Days, weeks, and even months would pass; there were no signs of Aphine. While Aaliyah kept herself on high alert, she wasn’t afraid to meet the woman again. And she figured that in the possible scenario that Aphine still is more powerful than her, that didn’t mean she was exempt from winning. Despite this, she was curious about her roots—after all, she was left in the dark of knowledge. Her parents, especially Angel, refused to educate her about her bloodline. But for now, she would remain hidden in the shadows and continue her path to excellence.

A year later, she would become more adept at utilizing her accommodations. Within that time, she was condoned her first taste at somewhat of a peaceful life, visiting Club Caprice occasionally for the social aspect. She often spent quality time observing heroes and how they behaved in public settings, sometimes considering who she could prey on when given a chance, based on body language, actions, gestures, etc. Despite this, she crossed paths with a few individuals that left a nominally lasting impression on her. Throughout her trips to the renowned club, she cultivated an acquaintance with Michael Charger, who was heavily well known in the halls. His electrifying charisma enabled decent conversations between the two, making it easy for the feline woman to tolerate him.

She also spared some idle time at the infamous pub known as Sherrera’s. And one day, she spotted a lonesome young man who, in her eyes, appeared skinny and frail, with bright cyan eyes and a youthful face—occupied with a gooey blob of a lifeform on the counter in front of him. Singling him out with the help of her predatory urges, she decided that he would be her next victim. However, unlike the other violent affairs she bestowed on the miscreants in Millennium City, she opted to take things much slower so that she could enjoy his suffering. Waiting patiently for an appropriate approach, she presented herself when the pub was clear of any other individual except him. He introduced himself as Alexander, otherwise known as the street-fighting hero Anomaly. The blob was confirmed to be a biological symbiotic sentient alien lifeform named Karu. Like her fair introduction with Michael, it was another cordial acquaintance between her, Alexander, and Karu. But she continued to plot.

Aaliyah even met a peppy-spirited hell beast named Urusutki during a crimefighting scene. Their first encounter commanded that they take down a group of New Purple Gang thugs together. Aaliyah’s ruthless behavior toward the crooks triggered a tense affair between her and Urusutki as they refused to see eye to eye.

Angry instances would not stop there; within the next few weeks, a Sherrera’s Bar fight erupted as an antagonistic Munitions expert known as the Delinquent walked in with dual pistols, holding no regard for humanity and voluntarily firing around the room for verification that her weapons served its purpose. After issuing a placid warning to the armed woman, the situation escalated rapidly as Delinquent aimed her guns at Aaliyah, shooting at her nonstop. It ended as quickly as it started; the lioness made quick work of her. Sparked by her reaping animosity, Aaliyah eventually had the woman by the throat, prepared to kill her, when two other figures stepped in to break them apart: Shadowstalker and Dawnchaser. They succeeded in detaching the angry women through combined teamwork. Delinquent was severely beaten; however, she found the strength to seize an opportunity to make a hasty escape using her advanced technology.

Shadowstalker heavily disapproved of Aaliyah’s unnecessary aggression, and she didn’t care. It was constant head-butting between the two, and they never saw eye to eye. Aaliyah learned to stand her ground and never once folded to what he or anyone often suggested to be the best courses of action.

She constantly opposed anyone who wasn’t of the same mindset as her, except Anomaly. For two months since their first encounter, he had attempted to court her. Originally intending to kill him, she found herself slowly reconsidering her verdict for the simple fact that he was incredibly kind to her. He was the first person she met who showed her genuine sympathy or compassion. Aaliyah’s bar for humanity was already low, but Alexander wanted to give her a chance, unlike anyone she interacted with. After a long period of being in denial, she eventually realized that she had grown to care for him as a friend and as a lover.

Months into their formal relationship, Aaliyah was introduced to his clique of companions. It was a bittersweet packaged deal because she also learned that Anomaly had bounty hunters, assassins, aliens, and other superpowered villains stalking him every day, aspiring to kill him on behalf of his deceased father. Despite feeling naturally inclined to aid her partner in his battles, it dawned on her that this would mark the first time she intended to work alongside a hero.

Lured into Vibora Bay, they were confronted by one of Anomaly’s sworn enemies, Nobody. The antagonist miscalculated as he initially assumed he would deal with only Alexander and Karu by tradition; however, he was outclassed by the new addition of the demigod by their side. Together, they defeated him despite their clumsy teamwork, being able to overcome their brief struggles. And from there, that was all she wrote.

The couple’s personalities often clashed when determining the outcome for the villains they fought, but Aaliyah grew comfortable sharing the battlefield with Anomaly and Karu over time. They were able to build an identity as a trio. Within this timeframe, Aaliyah was introduced to a UNTIL agent, otherwise, Anomaly’s longtime trusted outlet named Kitata. During the little bit of time they shared on the field, Aaliyah and Kitata developed mutual respect. Setting some time aside to reflect on the present structuring of her life, she resolved to come up with an alias of her own. Reasons included preferring a relatively quiet life with no paparazzi hounding her every move. Considering her roots, coming to grips that her grandfather—the Nemean Lion—was predominantly the source of her existence, that same day, she communicated to her boyfriend that her name on the battlefield going forward would be Lionheart.

Some of Anomaly’s arch enemies would not be heard from again, as they adopted a fear of Aaliyah’s ruthless nature. Later down the line, the distinctive couple encountered the bolder vengeful foes. Their battles consisted of enemies named Eelthon, Umbra, and Wyvern. Rare occasions called for Aaliyah to reluctantly band together with some of her partner’s friends and allies against a more reckoned foe named Smitherson.

The cycle of having to clash against foes was ongoing for an entire year, and it seemed as though after they defeated Eelthon, things would start to simmer down. Little was Aaliyah aware; this was only the beginning of the real troublesome matters.

One year later, Aaliyah was summoned to the GATEWAY station, where she would meet up with Anomaly and Agent Kitata. There, they were confronted by Anthony, who revealed himself to be the alleged son of Alex and Aaliyah from a future timeline. He warned them that an alliance of three would surface: Dieotus, Husk, and Andrew. They would succeed in transforming the Earth into an apocalypse and murder everyone that opposed their plan. Anthony revealed that Anomaly and his rival Fang, from his timeline, put up a brave fight against the trio but were ultimately killed. Anthony also mentions that Aaliyah was one of the sole survivors in his world, along with Fusion Spark, Janet, and Fundamental; however, she could not bring herself to fight back against the foes. Struggling to cope with the loss of Anomaly eventually killed her willpower to carry on, obscuring herself from society and never stepping foot out in the public eye again. At the same time, the remaining heroes continued to rally against Dieotus, Husk, and Andrew. And they all fell.

Following Anthony’s doomsday premonitions, Aaliyah dedicated full days’ worth of training, refusing to allow history to repeat itself. It was a window of emotions at an all-time high, as she also struggled to process that she had a son. While the urgent matters had been pressed, she set aside a couple of days each week to spend with Anthony, learning about him and his dark reality. It was a bittersweet emprise as they prepared the forthcoming trio.

Months would pass by, and eventually, the day came when her son’s predictions came to light. However, Anthony’s visit would somehow alter the manifestation of the trio being brought together because only Andrew loomed as the earth’s deadly force. It was unknown why. Despite the number of anticipated enemies being reduced to just one, there were a series of epic battles. Her son speculated that the terrifying conqueror was much more potent in this timeline than the one he hailed from. The resolve became clear that despite Dieotus and Husk being out of the picture, it still required an entire team to stop just him alone.

Towards the climax, she and the others assembled to pursue Andrew. They were transported from the United States to the Middle East, where Andrew held his base of operations. Upon arrival, the group was confronted by dwarfed and behemoth-like monsters on their way to the boss. To everyone’s surprise, Anthony unveiled the truth by literally stabbing Anomaly in the back when his guard was down, raving that the narrative regarding the apocalyptic future was a mere façade. It was a ploy to gather Anomaly and Lionheart’s DNA for his revenge. Andrew used the appearance of a young man with lion traits who could manipulate kinetic energy, counterfeiting his identity as Anthony Michaels. Lionheart was betrayed and irate.

Andrew’s base was blown to bits as the group defeated him. While peace had been restored, Lionheart was still sore over the deception. She was angry that she allowed herself to fall into that trap, trustful that there was a future in which she and Anomaly settled down with a child. And in turn, her pessimistic views put a mild strain on their relationship.

The aftermath proved to be complex as Aaliyah slowly but indeed started to rescind back to her old ways, handling her enemies like they were rabid. Mach Incorporated kept a close eye on the feline woman; they were praiseful of her predispositions when facing adversaries despite her cold nature. Shortly after, they offered her a bodyguard position on Alexander's behalf. She was quick to accept – taking full advantage of the fact that the public did not know that Alexander and Anomaly were the same people, and in doing so, she would act accordingly.

Starting her official occupation drew the attention of many individuals within and outside of the company. The rate of onslaughts against the building diminished to a staggering rarity. Communications spread that Lionheart being heavily involved in the safety of Alexander guaranteed a world of pain for the antagonists that wanted him dead. Albeit, there were times when she displayed her inexperience in professionalism. The superior administrators and executives were sure that such a flaw could be perfected; after all, they were faithful that she was at least powerful enough to keep the company safe from harm. She continued to ramp up and gain expertise in her craft, often finding ways not to use her powers to resolve chaotic events.

In March of 2018, Alexander proposed to Aaliyah, and she willingly accepted. They married in 2020, and their bond continued to blossom despite some tribulations that got in the way of their relationship.

Continuing her life as a newly wedded wife, Lionheart decided a makeover was in order. She contrived to reach higher levels of strength and power. An extended period was spent improving her knacks, and Lionheart’s true genetic potential was unleashed. While already freakishly gifted, her supernatural abilities exceeded even further than before. She grew in height and size, eventually standing at 220 centimeters while putting on extra muscle and body fat. And with that, her strength and durability multiplied exponentially.

Lionheart is a beautiful tan-skinned young woman of a very thick pear figure and above average height with long brown hair that reaches down to the middle of her spine in her humanoid form. She has a few strands that partially cover her golden slit eyes. Her upper body is slim and narrow, while from the waist down is wide and hefty. There is a vital stride in the way she walks, and that alone has proven to be daunting to others. Aaliyah speaks in a relatively feminine Hispanic accent, albeit slightly more profound than the typical woman’s voice. In her earlier days, she was very heavily dressed that individuals could only view her eyes.

Aaliyah has long and straight hair, primal golden eyes, full lips, and many faint rosette spots over her face. She is well known for her curvy figure, of which her most distinctive traits are debatably her vast thighs and rear.

Nowadays, she is more freely dressed, swathing various trendy outfits, including leggings, jeans, armored chest plates, hoodless jackets, etc. Generally, she is seen in casual wear than her combat gear. She intends to bundle up in her combat attire only when she is aware of the fight inbound.

Aaliyah laces between a few of her outfits when donning the more feared persona of Lionheart. At night, she traditionally wears a vigilante-themed outfit of casual clothing, coating herself with gray and black colors varying with her hood, sweatpants, jacket, and scarf to further puncture her no-nonsense temperament.

She usually dresses in a more hubristic fashion under any circumstance that her presence is needed during broad daylight hours. Much of her skin is exposed while a lion breastplate covers her chest, offering her additional protection, and her waist is hugged with a draped skirt-cape. Brown straps are wrapped tightly around her thighs, and her clawed feet are adorned to the extent of her calves. Over her right forearm, she has an armored Greek bracer.

On the other hand, her Nemean Rage form captivates the untamed nature that resides in her. She stands at a whopping eight feet, with dark brown fur and black highlights. Under her fur, the body fat from her human form is hardened into muscle, shaping her into a monster of steel. Her canines extend to extraordinary lengths to aid her in her predatory hunts. The expression worn on the beast is nothing pretty, manifested in extreme rage, resentment, and bloodlust. Her hair is grown to a wilder unkempt, resembling a lion’s mane. Unlike her human form, this rageful transformation naturally brings her to all fours, fully adapting to the nature of an actual feline.

Due to her genetic makeup, Aaliyah naturally comes off as a powerful and commanding presence to those around her. She is very serious-minded and outspoken in her views. She usually displays a stoic character, especially in social environments, although sarcastic humor is arguably her most prominent personality trait.

Her expression rarely changes, and she is seldom shown smiling. Typically, she doesn’t react to people, most of the time simply because she doesn’t care. Accompanied by her cold nature as a feline, she often desires to kill anyone who even does so much as irritate her, but her primal urges mostly get suppressed with enough restraint. As a little girl, Aaliyah was cheery and friendly – the traumatic events of her past and the unending provocation of her inner beast caused her to adopt a frosty attitude towards others.

Lionheart is all about looking out for herself and those directly related to her. Rare times is she seen having fun, but she is a woman who always prefers to get straight to the point. She is a bold conversationalist who has no issue hurting someone’s feelings by honoring them with truth and honesty. Not even those she cares about are exempt from this tendency. Concerning companionship and even romance, she is not a fan of public displays of affection. She leans more towards the reserved and unprovocative meter.

When in action, Aaliyah’s demeanor is typically cool and collected. Despite the blank forefront, she can be unceremoniously desensitized and coldhearted in her tactics, often filtering towards the black scale of morality. She holds no sympathy for her opponents; the longer a fight drags out, the more in tune she is with her wild side, and it fractionally grows more challenging to tame herself. Aaliyah is not fond of the government; she believes that specific rules must be broken to triumph. This mindset naturally brings her at odds with people, even her friends.

All bets are off the table when transformed into the Nemean Rage state. While the magnitude of her power is significantly multiplied, she loses sense of who and what she is. She has a vicious animalistic side to her. Her emotions are directly connected to her power; she enters a berserker state when she is provoked. As Aaliyah draws deeper into her inner beast, she negates all rationality. Her mindset boils down to killing everything that moves.

Aaliyah has lion physiology despite having a pure human for a mother. She is exceptionally gifted with abilities and powers that exceed the usual standard of a superpowered being. Most of her endowed traits are:

• Supernatural Strength: Lionheart is exceptionally compelling, easily able to overpower the peak human and, most of the time, even mutants. She is a user of strength that has continued to expand upon since her early adulthood due to evolution in growth. Sharing the genetic composition between human, divine, and feline physiology, she is as strong as most of her sacred relatives. Her strength is magical, given her height and weight. Her raw power can casually break free from confines like handcuffs and just as effortlessly lift and toss large vehicles. Her amplified makeup has her cells deteriorate much slower than the average human due to enabling the keep of her peak nature without training white still able to grow stronger through vastly extending her youth and longevity. Her functional strength can lift beyond 200 tons in a calm state, depending on how irritated she is. However, when in her Nemean Rage form, her power is boosted tremendously to enable her to lift 500 tons.

• Supernatural Durability: Aaliyah has very thick skin. She is incredibly resilient, enabling powerful attacks to no ill effect. She cannot feel any physical pain against mortal weapons such as bullets, knives, or swords in favor of her late grandfather. She does not have an enhanced healing factor; however, her ability to absorb impact does her wonders. She can easily survive under extreme pressures, cold, and heat. She has once undergone submergence into lava and returned to the surface unscathed. Her resistance to injury is not the greatest, as she has been shown to suffer defeats from a few foes in her lifetime; however, due to her vast threshold for the pain, she also uses it as fuel for her anger in battles.

• Pyromancy: Lionheart possesses the magic to generate and manipulate fire empowered by her divine lineage. She can excite the molecules of nearby materials, including the air itself, to burn and cause combustion. She spent an extended period honing her fire to develop special techniques. Conjuring complete and precise control over the shape, size, intensity, density, and temperature, Aaliyah could alter her fire from a mere candlestick flame to an immeasurable inferno. She can also manifest it into projectiles and through her breath. She has flown towards a thick wall of solid rock and melted through it so quickly that she could continue passing through the hole she had melted without pausing. Focusing her magic on a target can induce it to burst into flame, explode, or melt.

• Enhanced Reflexes: She has reaction speeds beyond the peak human limits. Aaliyah quite literally has the reflexes of a cat, meaning its eyesight is second to none. She can adjust her position by instinct, enabling her to balance herself on virtually any object, no matter how small or narrow. She can dodge multiple bullets fired at a fair distance; however, 99.9% of the time, she decides to take the brunt of it knowing her impervious skin will absorb the impact.

• Hunting Mastery: Thanks to the gifted traits passed onto her by the Nemean Lion, Aaliyah could master the ability to hunt. Using her bestial nature to integrate with environments, she can track anything under almost any condition, sensing the weaknesses of her prey and exploiting them. This highlights her stealth, being able to sometimes blend in like camouflage. During her younger years as a child exploring the world with no supervision, she often catered to this solution due to being poor and without shelter. To feed herself, she learned how to hunt city rats. However, now that she lives an exquisite lifestyle after so many years, she doesn’t find a reason to continue doing so consistently.

• Enhanced Senses: Aaliyah possesses high accuracy for all five senses regarding sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching due to her lion physiology. Felines have a great vision, and the lion is no different; Aaliyah can have excellent night-vision, her eyes six times more sensitive to light than the average human’s. Her unique biology provides her with Jacobson’s organ—an organ on the roof of her mouth—to enable the boost of her sense of smell. This also helps her locate kills by other opposing foes or find prey. Lionheart’s hearing is enhanced to the extent that she can hear people up to a mile away at long distances.

• Animal Expertise: Lionheart has innately learned with growth and experience how to read, understand and stay in tune with animals through body language, especially cats. However, this does not translate to building a fantastic rapport with them. Aaliyah rarely makes connections with them; she communicates for them to stay clear away from her. Due to her apex personality, she does not take kindly to fellow felines or other animals that try to pose a threat to her.

• Enhanced Roar: Lionheart is glaringly able to shout a roar beyond abnormal limitations, being immensely more powerful than any normal being. Depending on how much strength she exerts into her primal roar, she can release sound waves of an amplitude that objects can shatter or crumble. That also means she can deafen a living being. While it can be a valuable tactic for battle, Aaliyah often uses this as means of communication, allowing her to serve notice about territory, speak to people and act as a show of aggression to other foes. Her roar can be heard almost five miles away.

• Combat Specialist: Aaliyah is proficient in unarmed hand-to-hand combat. She has mastered one form of martial arts: the Northern Tiger. With the help of that style, she can power through some of the most robust defenses, killing with a single strike or grip—perhaps even tearing out the throat of an opponent with her claws. While she has predominantly fought in that style, she aims to broaden her horizons and learn more.

• Enhanced Bite Force: Lionheart has an immense bite force; she has canines like a lion with unworldly strong jaw muscles and structure. Depending on how much pressure she puts out, she can shatter metal with her teeth with a lot of exertion – though it still may be sensitive enough to where she cannot bite down on anything potentially harmful or dangerous. In her humanoid form, at first blush, Aaliyah’s bite—which has been measured as a force of upwards of 400 pounds per square inch—might seem extremely powerful by human standards; however, in her Nemean Lion state, the weight of her bite is increased by nine times, rivaling the Nile Crocodile to constitute up to 3600 PSI.

• Feral Mind: Lionheart has often suffered a ravenous, primeval nature that accommodated her transformation. She would lose herself and her intellect while in the heat of battle. This aspect of her power causes her to act out on impulse, tearing into and eating her victims like a mindless predator. While the transformation proves to be an immense boost of power, it is a balance to her mental control, which is lost. For instance, during her frenzied battle on Monster Island with Diamondback and Redstone, Lionheart forgot all about trying to kill the two VIPER soldiers when the two flew by the animals and escaped. She instead terrorized the inhabitants to death.

• Magic: Aaliyah is not immune to magical properties that are divine, infernal, or demonic. She remains durable and resilient; however, she will grow weaker and weaker with every ghostly strike, eventually rendering her a glass cannon if not careful.

• Telepathy: She has very little to no mental defenses. Her defiant personality helps keep such influences at bay; however, her vulnerability to mental assaults worsens the further she enrages.

• Psychological Trauma: The nightmares still haunt her to this day. Aaliyah created her alter-ego Lionheart as a coping method for the post-traumatic stress disorder of her abusive parents and roommate. After the extreme strain of the tragedies, she swore never to let anyone put her in such a position again. However, the sword has two sharp ends; her world views are generally downright cynical. She often refuses to get close to anyone even if it means there’s a slight suspicion that they aren’t to be trusted. Despite this, her traumas define her, which makes her strong and, at the same time weak. A similar traumatic event was the deception of Andrew masquerading as her son from a distant future.

• Mortality: Aaliyah may be connected to divinity; however, she also has human DNA running in her veins credited to her mother. She is not immune to a violent death as powerful as she is, nor is she exempt from natural causes.

• Spartan Lion: Aaliyah occasionally wears a specific breastplate armor whenever her battles are in broad daylight. Directly rooted in the soils of Greece, it was made with chromium, stainless steel valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardness. In the middle of the chest area sits the face of a lion, adding to the regal effect of her presence. She often wears the Spartan Lion breastplate in remembrance of her lineage. On top of the damage resistance that her body can withstand, her armor is, in fact, her first line of defense.

• iPhone 12 Pro: Yes, her cellular device. She uses two for personal use and the other for business-related tasks. She got a customizable appliance for her phones as they are now damage-proof, preventing her claws from accidentally cracking her screen whenever she needs to tap against it.

In the wake of Aaliyah’s active lifestyle, she had stumbled upon many individuals across Millennium City and a majority of the world. A few, however, have had a significant presence in the core of her heart.

Anomaly

Lionheart’s first ally and friend. There is such a thing as star-crossed lovers and soulmates. However, in the case of Alex, their close bond is rooted in something more primal and basic. He was the first person to treat her as something other than an experiment or a monster, instilling his faith and loyalty. In turn, she had grown to reciprocate his feelings after several episodes of denial. Aaliyah cares immensely about Alex, which is ironic when considering how typically coldhearted and hostile she can be at most times.

In some ways, the two are very alike. They both experienced traumatic upbringing and have had to carve their paths without their parents despite the different circumstances. The difference is that Anomaly holds an optimistic precious outlook on life. At the same time, Aaliyah is pessimistic—however, spending enough time with him rubbed off on her and has since enabled her to change her adversarial perspectives somewhat, coming to grips that not everyone in this world is out to get her and love does exist. As a result, she has since been violently protective of him and will not hesitate to decimate anyone who crosses him with ill intent. Aaliyah and Alexander are polar opposites in practically every way—height, size, personality, morale—yet have found themselves more than friends and are now married as husband and wife, enjoying their lives in true partnership.

Karu

Aaliyah and Karu have a very unorthodox connection. One minute they are bonding in the kitchen, and the next thing you know, Aaliyah is destroying the house in pursuit of him for stealing her food. He is an off-world symbiotic alien—anchored to Anomaly as his host—who often behaves like an uncontrollable child obsessed with video games and food.

Throughout getting to know one another, the two were at odds, as Karu suspected Aaliyah would disappoint and hurt Alex. However, after years of remaining among each other, they have since made strides to build an understanding. She’ll take the initiative to spend time with him on rare occasions, even if it means just sitting and watching him play his games or surprising him with food. She considers Karu family, even though he can be a royal pain in her [CENSORED].

Michael Charger

What started as a cordial acquaintanceship slowly solidified as an unspoken tight-knit bond. Lionheart met Michael back when she had decided to get her feet wet in the social aspect of life, lingering in the shadows of Club Caprice donning her bleak attire. Unlike many of her encounters with people, she and Michael always had halcyon conversations. Despite this, she made sure to keep her distance due to her skepticism of him. However, many interactions would eventually lead to the day Lionheart learned that he was in ways just like her under all that charming grace.

In the most unlikely event that had Michael’s life dangling by a thread, Aaliyah saved him when all hope was nearly lost – marking that moment for the first person she’s ever gone out of her way for. Since then, they have remained a close pairing. They contradict in feelings and judgments towards the law; however, that hasn’t seemed to get in the way of their friendship. She eventually grew used to his practical and carefree perception of life, learning to appreciate his comedic heart of gold. In addition, they have also shared a couple of sparring sessions in Millennium City’s Powerhouse, as well as the Desert Mesa; Aaliyah probably won’t ever admit it, but Michael holds a vast portion of reason as to why she continues to push herself to be the strongest that she can be. Not to mention, she’d be damned if he ever one-upped her.

Shadowstalker

Lionheart and Shadowstalker initially disliked one another upon their first interaction. Due to his tragic past, he had a vast loathing for her aggressiveness and pugnacity—witnessing firsthand the thrashing she laid upon those she engaged with. On the other hand, Aaliyah was always on edge around him simply due to her instincts – like a cat woman, she was never fond of dogs. In other aspects, there is a lot of irony to their dynamic. One that probably compliments them the most is the difference in their feral physiologies; Aaliyah is of feline descent, while Dominique is connected to the canine family. As a result, they embody a cat-dog relationship.

The signals and behaviors that they use to communicate with each other are a range of aggression, dominance, friendship, and even territoriality as a packaged deal. While they are different in makeup, they also share strong resemblances that have contributed to their affinity. Over time they both tasted horrific experiences together on behalf of their feral echelons that only reminded them of what they are to society. As a result, those tribulations they commiserated with naturally brought them closer as companions, developing a unique primal bond only the two understand. While holding a sibling-like relationship, there is also a subtle rivalry between them. They are both apex predators, after all.

Urusutki

The Lioness and short stack of a Hellbeast initially got off on the wrong foot upon their first encounter. The latter did not take kindly to the former’s contemptuous conventions toward crimefighting. Despite Urusutki’s natural upbeat and sunny disposition, she was wary of Aaliyah’s intentions. However, after numerous encounters, she grew more comfortable around her and vice versa. The actual turning point that validated their connection was after a year of interaction: Urusutki expressed her willingness to assist Aaliyah with a demonic-related issue, offering her the means of risking her own life just so that her friend would remain safe, and that was more than enough confirmation to the lioness that she was solid.

Urusutki is a talkative, compassionate, jittery ball of excitement; Aaliyah is a withdrawn, stoic ice queen. They have a peculiar, concrete friendship complemented by their diametric personalities. It has been quite long since they had seen or spoken to one another, and while Aaliyah would typically take offense to that, Urusutki is a lone exception. She trusts that Urusutki will always be there for her when needed, as she will do the same.

Rhubarb

Aaliyah has not known Rhubarb for very long, but the lioness has become surprisingly fond of her in a short amount of time. It is generally a challenging feat for anyone to get a stamp of approval from this cynical woman. Her trust is hard to come by. In the case of Rhubarb, Aaliyah was at first put off by the woman’s never-ending happiness. She didn’t care for it; she assumed there had been an ulterior motive behind her upbeat personality, not to mention that Aaliyah has difficulty manifesting friendships with women in general. However, as it turned out, she found herself cushioning her judgment and later realized she had been a bit too harsh after Rhubarb’s lasting heartwarming interactions, considering that the woman is blind.

Unlike Lionheart’s other companions, Rhubarb is the only one she’s hit it off with inside the confines of peace. So far, the two have bonded through social outings, including hanging out at the Minefield and going on double dates with their partners. They even coordinated some time to relax and keep each other company at a coffee shop. These said activities might seem expectedly normal from the lenses of the typical person, but to Aaliyah, it’s meant a great deal to her.

Captain Fisticuffs

Lionheart and Captain Fisticuffs have a relationship primarily grounded in mutual respect. While it is often clear through their commerce that they aren’t the best of friends, the two make up for it on the battlefield, fighting side by side. They have joined together on numerous occasions for the sake of Millennium City and even the world. As an allied duo, they have been through thick and thin against great foes and even each other. Even though, at times they clash, they share a lot of chemistry when it involves getting the job done.

Aaliyah holds many views of him. While she deems him arguably one of the greatest warriors to grace the planet, she harbors a profound pity towards him due to the concurring tragic events that continue to haunt him as a hero. And yet, as a woman who has gone through her load of calamities, she understands that about him. And that is why she chooses to continue battling along his side.