Magpie
Janice Ramsey, a mere mortal with extraordinary agility, is Magpie. A self-proclaimed sidekick of Sparrowhawk, Magpie entered onto the scene of the hero occupation on June 3, 2013. Like her hero, she has no powers, no alien DNA, no genetic advantage beyond mainstream humanity. Gifted with uncanny balance, acute senses, and heightened reflexes, she utilizes her passion for dance, gymnastics and acrobatics to fight crime. Armed with a pair of carbanium sais, a flexite suit of armor, her youthful sense of immortality and her amazing skills, she dances through combat with a song on her lips.
What, might you ask, spurred a young gymnast to become a masked and armed vigilante? Those who know her identity are mixed on the subject. Some say it was the time she met Sparrowhawk, others say it was her ex-boyfriend abusing her, others say it is out of a sense of boredom. The truth lies somewhere in between, for her boyfriend did abuse her. Sparrowhawk witnessed it one night and put the boy in the hospital and then to juvenile hall. When he was released, he did it again, but Janice was ready. She turned back on him, fought him off, took the power armor he had built, and left telling him she would make him pay if he ever touched her again.
Contents
Appearance
Red hair, green eyes, lithesome and willowy, Janice's Irish decent is quite obvious. She has the winsome etherealness of a ballerina and the power of a gymnast. As such, her legs are strong and muscular, but still rather demure, while her arms are more fluid and willowy. Like many teenaged girl's, she worries about her appearance and tries to balance diet and exercise to have the look she wants, but also to have the strength and grace she needs to do what she wants.
History
For as long as she could remember, Janice Ramsey had been a fan of Sparrowhawk's. Of course, Sparrowhawk has not been active all that time. But still, from the first news report about the blond crime fighter, Janice had bought all the merchandising, learned every fact, watched every interview. When she was thirteen, she even started dating a boy, Aaron Lockestetter, who had a crush on Sparrowhawk. The boy, a little older and a lot smarter, had even managed to build a suit of armor modeled on that of their mutual hero.
All was going well. Janice was doing well in gymnastics, even being watched by the cheer team as a possible member. Her coaches were already greatly impressed, her natural talents seemed to center around the movement of her body. Janice's home life was also simple pleasant. Her parents, though not wealthy, were affluent enough that Janice never wanted for anything. She had good food, fashionable if inexpensive clothing, and her diversions from her more strenuous activities. That is of course until Aaron and she were making out one night and things got a little out of hand.
Aaron had begun to want more out of Janice, more than she was willing to give. She managed to get away, but he chased her down in his car and attacked her. At first, he shook her and made demands, but as she refused, he started to slap her. The slaps escalated to punches. And then, out of the night, the glow of Sparrowhawk's batons lit the scene and she descended on the boy, returning the beating he had given Janice. Janice was so awestruck, the event did not register in her mind properly until it was over and Aaron and Janice were in the hospital with Sparrowhawk giving a statement to the police.
Her life changed. She was viewed by some as a tease, others as a victim, and yet others as manipulative brat. Rumors said she was raped, that she planned it, that she had her gang beat up on Aaron when he did not treat her right, and those were the nicer of the rumors. She was ignored by the cheerleaders but kept up with her gymnastics. None of this changed who she was. She remained cheerful, friendly, and outgoing. Only when alone did it begin to bother her, but then it merely took a "What Would Sparrowhawk Do" moment and she would stiffen her resolve to not let another person control her life.
For two years, she was moving on with her life until Aaron was released from juvenile hall. After school, her parents both at work, Aaron was waiting for her. Her emotions were mixed. She still felt excitement and a connection to Aaron, but she had a sense of foreboding when she saw him. He approached her proclaiming his regret at how thing had happened and how he had changed and would understand if she rejected him. His apparent sincerity had her running and hugging him. The promised to never be apart and went out for pizza to catch up.
They fell into their old habits together, discussing Sparrowhawk, school, and each other. Aaron had made a pair of sais instead of batons saying they looked "more stylish." He also developed a grappling hook as well as a set of feather-like shuriken that Janice had wanted to give to Sparrowhawk, but then realized if the hero had wanted something like that, she would have made them herself. With that decided, Janice herself began practicing with the equipment Aaron had made in an attempt to be more Sparrowhawk-like. This had the dual effect of keeping Aaron's interest in Janice as well as building Janice's confidence once again.
For the next month, they were quite content, the other students had the record set straight and Aaron seemed to take responsibility for essentially being a violent jerk. Many of Janice's peers questioned her about the wisdom of staying with Aaron, but he seemed to have acquitted himself rather well. That is until the two were once more out on a date. Aaron had asked Janice to put on the supersuit he had built for her. She happily did, enjoying the "game" that he seemed to want to play. When she got back, he too had a suit on.
For only a moment, Janice was confused. Only until he pulled out what looked like a ray-gun to her. Her reflexes took over. She dodged out of the way of the shot, her hands flicking the shuriken Aaron had made at him as a distraction. Then out came the sais and she "danced" with him. He managed to get a few hits in, cursing her and declaring his revenge on her, but she had the skill and the talent he lacked. When she was done with him, he was a heap of battered and beaten bully. Her final words to him were, "You touch me again, I'll kill you."
That was the day Magpie was born. Sparrowhawk's sidekick and conceptual daughter.
Powers
Magpie is completely and utterly baseline human, thus no powers. She does, however, have an uncanny sense of balance and is extremely quick and agile.
Equipment
An assortment of high tech devices developed by her ex-boyfriend, Aaron Lockestetter, make up her equipment. She is currently working with Engineeress Meara for new and experimental items, but for now, she has only a few items.
- Combat Armor - Made from a weave of a unique alloy of a secret blend of materials, Magpie's armor is flexible, resistant and nearly environmentally sealed. Interlocking plates redistribute impact around Magpie and store the energy in kinetic batteries. These batteries power the environmental systems, the servos and the internal circuits. Her basic movements can keep the suit powered indefinitely. Meara and Magpie are both working on coming up with new systems to be put into the armor, such as jetboots.
- Sais - A pair of sais made out of the same metal as her armor is. They too can redirect energy, usually in the direction of the force being directed through them. However, this is not always the case. Using them to parry, Magpie can use the Sais and armor in tandem to redirect an attack that is parried by a sai, into her armor, through the other sai and back towards the assailant. Coupled with her own skill, this often has a devastating effect on her opponent.
- Quill Shuriken - She has four types of shuriken, all shaped like bird feathers. Type 1 shuriken is simply a weighted piercing head on the quill to penetrate and deliver a sedative. Type 2 is an armor piercing head which lodges itself in hardened defenses before giving a minor explosion to disorient and weaken her opponent's armor. Type 3 is made out of Lockestetter's alloy, making it possible to ricochet the shuriken off walls and effectively around corners. The fourth type of shuriken is an experimental stun burst when it hits. Currently, Type 4 is not very effective and is almost never used in the field.
- Grappling Hook - The grappling hook is a flexisteel cable with a tensile strength of four metric tons. The reel holds fifty yards of cable. It is used as a swing line and as a grab to pull fleeing opponents to her so they can be properly detained.
- Hand Cuffs - Standard Khendrium police issue hand cuffs.
Skills & Abilities
- Hyper-Proprioception - Magpie is exceptionally gifted with incredibly accurate sense of body position and orientation. It is almost impossible for her to get dizzy, or to lose her balance excepting the actions of an external force.
- Hyper-Steropsis - Magpie's visual senses are such that she can accurately judge distances and velocities, allowing her to make uncanny predictions about moving objects. She has gotten into the habit of twisting her body and head to continuously check for objects no longer in her field of vision being altered by others. In some cases, this has led people to think she has a kind of radar sense, but she does not.
- Exceptional Agility - Magpie's body is extremely limber and fluid. Some would say she is double-jointed, but it is merely that she has pushed her already naturally flexible form further giving her a supple flow to her movements.
- Gymnastics - Magpie has been practicing gymnastics since she was only five years old. As such, she is an Olympic-class gymnast and acrobat.
- Dance - Magpie has had formal training in dance from the age of six to enhance her gymnastic skills.
- Jeet Kune Do - Bruce Lee's martial art. Random movements, no katas, just simple motion and power, this martial art fit Magpie's temperament almost perfectly. However, her inability to focus on it the way she did dancing and gymnastics leaves her with sporadic knowledge. However, she did learn the philosophy of the art and took it too heart and utilized her other skills to incorporate them into Jeet Kune Do to form an alternative yet effective combat style.
- Chi Healing - Magpie has begun to realize that she can focus herself in such a way that she heals herself. The ability is unskilled and happens almost randomly, even when she tries to use it.
Weaknesses
- Only Human - Magpie is just a normal fifteen year old with a few extra skills and talents. No superpowers to protect her, the moment she's disarmed and outside of her armor, all she has to defend her is her skill.
- Lack of Experience - Not just in crimefighting, but also in life, Magpie lacks the experience of adult heroes. Some experiences are simply beyond her at the moment, making her frustrated and sulky when she does not understand some nuance of conversation that adults use. Other effects of this is her own inability to explain her thoughts in a reasonable manner, tripping over her thoughts when words fail her.
- Boredom - Without something to do, without being constantly in motion, Magpie will easily become bored and distracted. This will tend to express itself in physical jitters and fidgets. She won't verbally express her boredom until she cannot handle anymore and simply tell a nearby adult that she has to go, making up some excuse.
- Adrenalin Junkie - Dance, gymnastics, martial arts, crimefighting all have one thing in common. They are exciting and are full of frenetic action. Her heart pumps, glands excrete hormones, adrenalin flows and Magpie becomes giddy and enters into a strange euphoria. She is quite literally addicted to the feelings adrenalin engenders.
- Overconfidence - Magpie utterly believes she is just as capable as any adult. She may realize she lacks the experience, but she does not for a moment believe she lacks the skill. She is just as skilled and strong and devoted as any other adult. Even her lack of experience is somehow a strength to draw on, using it as a kind of shield or excuse for her actions.
- Small Stature - Though her small size and nimbleness often keep her from being hit, tactical errors can be made, or area of effect attacks or explosions can catch her off guard. When this happens, she can be tossed around like a ragdoll. Fortunately, she tends to land on her feet, but that takes her out of the fight until she can rush back into the fray.
Allies
"Everyone needs help with their homework. Meara is like an uber super genius."
Although not terribly close, the two met while Magpie was trying out her technique on some of the Purple Gang. While on a rooftop, Meara had arrived with her coterie of robots to investigate the fight that was taking place. The two talked about being heroes, favorite pastimes, and their various pieces of equipment. Soon enough, they were discussing improvements and giving each other tips on what they could do together. It remains to be seen how this friendship develops.
"Sometimes an oak can protect the little lemon tree."
Soulstar and Magpie have developed a rather strange relationship. They are friends, but there seems to be something between them that is suggestive of a deeper bond. She is completely at ease around him, trusting explicitly. Her guard is almost completely down, only keeping an awareness on the setting, not on him. He, on the other hand, seems to be unsure of his own motivations around her.
Nemeses
Lord Raptor
"Every silver lining has its cloud. Sometimes, three or four of them."
Aaron Lockestetter had been Janice's boyfriend. Sadly, he is an abusive, self-important, aggrandizing, megalomaniac who believes he is entitled to everything in which he shows an interest, and his interests are far and wide. Janice, being a fan of Sparrowhawk's, was just a stepping stone to getting the blond polymath for himself. Of course, he has plans for All-Star as well, but most of those end with the hero's corpse rotting in the middle of nowhere. Aaron's only real goal is to conquer. He does not wish to rule, but merely show he has the power to take what he wishes without consequence. This need to conquer usually manifests as a teenaged boy's desire to fulfill some hormonal need such as taking and using any woman he finds desirable. Constructing a powersuit of his own after his prototype was stolen by Janice Ramsey who used it to become Magpie, he set out to have his revenge on the teen girl as well as Sparrowhawk for the utter humiliation he suffered at their hands.
Dementia
"Demented and poisonous, this girl is eight ways crazy. Seriously, you do not want to meet this girl's parents...assuming she hasn't killed them yet."
Dementia is a fourteen year-old girl with sharp claw-like fingernails, glowing green eyes, and has toxic bodily fluids. Her sweat pools at the base of her fingernails, her saliva can be spit or exhaled to be used as a gas cloud. Much like an acid, her own bodily excretions burn and dissolve almost every organic compound and several inorganic substances. She is utterly insane, taunting the heroes she fights and even goes so far as to behave in a sexually aggressive manner to cause a dissonance in her opponents and throw them off balance. She is a racist only in that she refuses to use politically correct terms using terms from the fifties and sixties, but does not use modern urban phrases. However, she does not hate. Dementia is utterly asocial. She feels nothing for anyone except the one man she calls, "Daddy." She is filled with an exuberant joy, loving and delighting in the cruelty she can cause. In the end, she is the counterpoint of Magpie, equal but opposite.
Man on the Street
The views posted are not those of Magpie, her parents, or anyone else but the comment's author.
"This kid is freakin' adorable. She is so mini Sparrowhawk that it's like not even funny. Very very eager to please and her inexperience really shows on the surface but I gotta admit she's got talent. Just sorta wish she would hold back on the superheroing thing for another few years until she is more mentally and physically ready. But who knows she just may surprise me yet." - SoulStar
"She's got heart. Thanks for taking the time to clear my name on that bank robbery. Not sure who's going around and setting people up like that. Good on you."' - Arunee Prem
'"She definitely has a ways to go regarding her abilities; she's got heart though, and if that doesn't count for something then I don't know what does. I really can't wait to see her start getting more into the swing of things - until then though, I'm proooobably going to be keeping a close eye on her." - Black Sigil
"LOL HEy Mags! You are awesome BABE! WEEEeee need to hang out. I miss hanging out with ya and ummm yeah! YOU SHoUld visit my website more often. LOL XOXOXOXO" - Doe Nut
Roleplay Hooks
- Trying to live up to her own perception of Sparrowhawk's ideals, and having had a few words with the heroine, Magpie will speak at schools, day care centers, youth groups and any place else where she has an opportunity to encourage young people.
- As Sparrowhawk's sidekick, she will happily help out anyone in the Protectors of the World. She might not have all of Sparrowhawk's abilities, but she has many similar abilities and can fill in in a limited fashion.
- During school season, dances, sporting events, and other social situations with other students are completely possible.
- Slumber parties, camping trips and other late night events with a few ghost stories that happen to call real ghosts.
Trivia
- Can move her eyes independently of each other. Creepy.
- Likes to drink melted coffee ice cream.
- Has a birthmark in her left armpit shaped like a Zuni thunderbird.
- Is definitely a member of Team Dracula.
- Thinks Todd and the Book of Pure Evil is the funniest show ever.
- Secretly uses the Macarena to limber up before gymnastics practice.
- She kissed a girl, and she liked it.
Tropes
Badass Adorable - Naive, innocently wide-eyed, Magpie is a girl reveling in the excitement in walking in her hero's footsteps. That is until she discovers an injustice, a crime, or even someone simply pilfering the last pokky stick.
Dance Battler - Magpie blends types 1 and 2 of this trope. She is a superb dancer, gymnast and knows a bit about martial arts. However, her instincts are to dance in stressful situations such as combat.
Wai-Fu - Tiny, demure, and waif-like, Magpie uses her awesome dance skill and basic martial arts to bring down even the toughest opponents. This often leads to ...
Muscles Are Meaningless - Without any real tone in her body, except her legs, her lack of strength does not keep her from bringing down the baddies with her awesome. She knows how to use what little she's got to the utmost effectiveness.
Plucky Girl - Upbeat, optimistic, brave and a go-getter, she isn't quite an Action Girl (that's Sparrowhawk's job). Instead, she is the fun-loving, devil-may-care protagonist in her own right, even though she is a sidekick.
Kid Sidekick - At fifteen years old, and mimicking her hero's style tempered by her own personality, she is fulfilling a personal wish to be at her hero's side.
Buffy Speak - Her inexperience, rudimentary education (barely into high school), and excitement keep her mind from forming the words to express the ideas she wants, so she uses replacement words such as, "thing," "doo-dad," "whatchamacallit," and other such words in place of the actual term of something.
Girls Need Role Models - Having needed and found one in the form of Sparrowhawk, Magpie has taken it upon herself to be role model to an even younger set. Though she's having fun, she does try to set an example and offer cliched advice such as staying in school, not doing drugs, and listening to your parents.
Beware The Nice Ones - The adorable, happy-go-lucky girl who is out there for all the world to see imprisons a girl who knows that some people take things too far. When that happens, as SoulStar found out, the smile fades, the eyes turn cold, and a calm serenity blankets Magpie. That is when, good or evil, you run.