History

Origins

Raspberry Balm's classic costume in her early years.

When her mother was several months pregnant, a being of light visited her and let her know that her daughter would be special. The being touched her mother and then vanished. When Tina Holloway was born, nothing really seemed all that special. Yes, her family was quite wealthy and well off, but her mother kept any mention of her late-night visitor from her.

Tina enjoyed music and singing. She took voice lessons from a choir coach at an early age. She loved to read pretty much anything and everything she could get her hands on. Thankfully, her parents had quite the library collection so Tina was never without something to peruse.

In her early teens, Tina found that in addition to singing, she liked helping out at the local hospital volunteering to read for sick children and elderly patients. She eventually decided she liked the hospital so much that she would take up nursing.

Just days before graduating from high school at her prep school, Tina became unconscious and began to glow a warm pink-red light. Her mother and father were scared and unsure of what was happening. They called in the family doctor who could determined their daughter was physically ok but he couldn't help her as something magical was occurring. When she finally did wake up the next day, her parents were scared of her. Her and her mom finally had a long talk about what did happen and it was decided for the family's best interests for Tina to move out and go to a private college.

It was during the summer before starting college that Tina discovered she could manipulate warm pink energies in herself. She could also send warm glows of pink energy to heal those in the hospital she was volunteering at. She knew then that she was here for a purpose and that was to help others.

Beta Blue Sorority

In college, Tina helped found the Beta Blue sorority house, which became a widely known chapter in the city. The goal of the sorority was to provide a place for superheroines to feel safe and have fellowship with other sisters. The chapter took off and Tina spent a lot of time nurturing it and its members. Although it was a great idea, she passed the leadership of the sorority onto her fellow sisters and went back to school to devote more time to nursing.

She eventually graduated with honors and and became a registered nurse. After graduating, she began her employment at Mercy Hospital.

Awakening

Shortly after graduating college, Tina slipped into a deep sleep one evening. Memories of the past rushed over her in her dreams. More than just a vision, she was confronted with her true self - she was a servant, an angel of the divine. She had glimpses of herself in different times and the last time she was alive was during the 19th century. She began to slowly remember the lives she had lived before and the lives she had helped in the past before she fell in battle, against the forces of darkness.

She had been in a small war with other brothers and sisters that had fallen. She was part of a small band of angels -- Carolina, Valentina and herself Rasputina. She didn't yet know the purpose of these visions after she awoke. She knew though that other events would unfold soon.

The next evening, she was was attacked by Valentina and barely escaped with her life. It was at that time during there battle that her angelic form revealed itself, wings ripping from her back as she fought against her adversary's venomous blows. She knew she had to learn more about fallen angels which led her to seek out the help of others.

The Forgotten meet out at Club Caprice

The Forgotten

She met up with a supergroup known as The Forgotten. The Forgotten was led by Johnathan Grayson, Tiphareth, and Ultra. They and several mystics and heroes such as Muse, Maxwell, Latyrx, and Danielle Pearson, helped Tina understand what she was and how to use her powers. While in their company she stayed at The Haven, where she was the nurse and caretaker for several young superheroic wards. As the haven nurse, she was responsible for proving health care for the students and making sure they took whatever medications they needed.

Some of the wards she especially grew close with were Alison (Angst), Donnie (Hocus Pocus), and Gale. Each of them had issues that needed extra attention, especially Alison since demons seemed to be drawn to the young girl. Other girls like Tabby, and Inuhime were much older than some of the others and didn't need as much nursing attention, even though the two of those ended up being some of the feistiest at the Haven.

It took some time, but some of Tiphareth's anti-Qliphotic measures around the Haven began to weaken. The young children became hounded by demons and foul creatures and the group did all it could to help fight them back. In the end, their haven was overrun and they secreted away their young wards to safer places and disbanded. This was a difficult time for Tina as she thought she might've been responsible for attracting demonic influence because of her nature.

Universal Investigations

Hanging out at the Haven

After leaving the Forgotten, Tina sought out her other sister Carolina who was living in Italy. She learned more about the life they shared in several past incarnations of each other and learned of the angelic battles that occurred in the past. Her sister Carolina had been awakened for a much longer time and told her how Valentina became corrupted by other fallen angels and was determined to bring her sisters with her or kill them.

During this time, Carolina also trained Tina on how to focus and relax in order to shift into her angelic form. With her sister mentoring her for quite some time, Carolina also lent her a substantial library of texts relating to angels, demons, and celestial beings.

In early 2011, she returned to Millennium City from her trip to Italy. Upon her return, she met with The Peacemaker from the Aegis of Justice and decided to check out their team as a trial recruit. In the meantime, she went back to work at the hospital part time again. While out on town one evening, she met up with an old friend of hers from Ghost Hound who worked with members of the Forgotten, Eric Deringer. Eric told her that while she was away he started up a business named Universal Investigations and asked her to visit his place to meet some of the members.

While at their office, she found out their business was in search of a personal assistant for Eric, and she signed on under that role. She had never been with such an outfit before, and she found that her healing abilities and her force powers were well suited and needed. She was even invited on several of their operations.

Truth and Consequences

Employment with Universal Investigations lasted quite some time, but eventually the firm moved and Raspberry went back to working at Mercy Hospital part time. The employment was steady, but she loved the life of being a hero as well. her time with Universal Investigations and getting to go on several of their operations left her missing that excitement.

It wasn't that much later that in 2013, Valentina approached Raspberry at her home. Preparing to fight, Valentina instead offered to talk, wanting to have a word with her sister.

"You see me as a demon, but I can change to be like you." In that moment, Valentina transformed into an angelic form, and then back to her demonic form. "What do you think this means?"

It dawned on Raspberry, that if they were sisters, that this meant that she was like Valentina, and that meant Carolina was as well.

"You are like me, Rasputina. I was trying to show you the truth that our sister Carolina is hiding from you."

"What truth is that? That you attacked me?" countered Raspberry.

"That all three of us are fallen angels, and that Carolina was the one who caused it....and you sided with her," sneered Valentina.

Raspberry was stunned. "I don't remember..."

"Do you think you grew up?" interrupted Valentina. "All those memories....were planted by Carolina in order to get you to side with her again now that we were here."

"Don't lie to me!" yelled Raspberry.

"We were all cast down. Cursed to be here. And you and her did this. You did this to us!"

Raspberry cried out, "I'm a good person! I help and heal people. Stop lying!"

At that, Valentina attacked her again. The two tangled and fought, her energies clashing against Raspberry's protective energy. Valentina was ready though, with a spell of flashing green light, everything faded for Raspberry.

When she awoke, she found herself in bed, she got up slowly. Maybe it was all a dream? She rubbed her forehead, only to feel something hard and rough. Frightened, she ran into her bathroom to the mirror. Looking back at her was herself, with demon horns and matching wings. She fell to her knees sobbing.

Powers & Abilities

Powers

Tina's abilities are force and celestial based. She is able to project her energies to explosive effect, or to heal those around her.

• Force Shield - She can generate a barrier to protect herself or others.

• Energy Bomb - She can focus her energy into herself, creating a boom around herself which can knock enemies up into the air or off their feet. She can also project this at any point within a hundred feet at a villain or group of them.

• Force Wave - Tina can project a concussive wave from herself that can repel people around her.

• Healing - Her angelic nature gives her the ability to heal others.

• Resurrection - She can revive those around her with her celestial energies.

Abilities

Tina is a competent health care provider, having spent many years as a nurse. She specializes in children's and women's health care.

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