Annie Fitzgerald
Annie Fitzgerald (born Anne Marie Fitzgerald; June 7, 1990) is a magic user of negligible ability. She is an avid surfer, having professionally competed on a national level, and a hobbyist runner. Although the PRIMUS database lists Fitzgerald as a druid of minimal to low risk, this write-up appears to directly contradict the flagged report indicating that she is the chosen vessel for an ancient Irish deity.
Fitzgerald was born in Waikiki, Hawaii, as the second child and only daughter of gay couple Tyler Matthew Fitzgerald (a freelance graphic designer, stay-at-home dad and druid) and Jacen Patrick Morris Fitzgerald (a Marine). Her older brother, Kyle Kincaid Fitzgerald (born August 3, 1989) is biologically related to Jacen, while Annie Fitzgerald is biologically related to Tyler. Both children were carried by surrogate mother Lila Marie Jennings, a long-time family friend and Marine in Jacen Fitzgerald's unit.
Childhood
Both children grew up with a healthy understanding of the world and their place in it, in part due to the community aspect of their raising. They were home-schooled by Tyler and a wide array of surfers, druids in Tyler's small druid grove, military tutors, and well-meaning islanders. No matter how busy the Fitzgeralds were, or how long Jacen was deployed elsewhere, the children were never left to fend for themselves. Because of this non-traditional upbringing, they were both socialized at a very young age.
Unlike her brother, Fitzgerald was an extremely poor student, preferring surfing, sports, and the outdoors in general to studying and homework. Her teachers compromised, and many lessons were taught outside on the beach, while backpacking, even on a catamaran. While she never excelled at her lessons, she did pass her G.E.Ds at the age of eighteen with adequate colors.
Fitzgerald did not attend college, while her brother is a double-major student, focusing on architectural design and eco-conservationism. Instead, Fitzgerald started competing in professional surfing events.
Druidry
A druid apprentices for 12 years, and both Fitzgerald children began their apprenticeship at the age of ten. Fitzgerald again fell behind as her brother soared through the lessons involved. Shortly after Fitzgerald hit puberty, the grove came to understand that she would never be more than a marginal druid, and her lessons eased back to a rigorous understanding of the foundation basics. On the other hand, Kyle was so naturally gifted that he was earmarked as a contender for Archdruid of the grove someday.
They were both 22 years old when they received their official druid tattoos, binding them to Gaia and signifying their successful learning period. The ink and scarification process is so painful that many druids faint during the initial part of the ritual, and both children did—although Fitzgerald held out longer and still holds this over her brother. It was during this period that Fitzgerald went through a remarkable change. While nobody knows just how or why, she was chosen by the Morrigan as a vessel, allowing the goddess to walk this earth without directly violating the rules of the plane.
This became evident when Fitzgerald's eyes opened during the tattoo process, glowing bloody red, and an unfamiliar voice from her mouth said, "It is at the guarding of thy death that I am; and I shall be." Fitzgerald remembers nothing of this, and carries no memories of any time that the Morrigan overtakes her. Despite this apparent claiming, Fitzgerald's druid abilities have not increased in any way.
Schism
Though the Hawaiian druid grove was small, two camps appeared within it. The first maintained that the Morrigan's choice of Fitzgerald, the druid they laughingly called 'mostly harmless', was a mistake and needed to be rectified. The second maintained that the Tuatha de Danann don't make mistakes, and wanted Fitzgerald to live as the Morrigan's vessel in perpetuity. Tensions rose so high that the grove split down the middle, and the faction that wanted Fitzgerald to keep her sudden status formed their own grove.
Unable to mend the grove or guarantee the protection of their daughter, Jacen Fitzgerald acquired a transfer to Vibora Bay, Florida. The small druid grove there didn't know about Fitzgerald's condition, and the family made every effort to keep it a secret, especially from the vodounists that swarmed the city. Over the next year, the family settled in, and as the gods generally keep their own counsel, the Morrigan made no appearances where anyone might see it.
Civil War
Unfortunately for the Fitzgeralds, while their transition went smoothly, their welcome was marred by ongoing tensions between the voodoo culture that shaped the city and the druids who were seen as a fringe group of interlopers. The most notable of the Vibora Bay families was the Boudreaux line, who could trace their history back to the start of Vibora Bay, and the Arthurs, who claimed ancestry as far back as an early mayor of St. Augustine before moving to Vibora Bay sometime later.
While initially limited to the occasional "prank raid" or difficult business venture, the tensions between the Arthurs and the Boudreaux family and followers soon escalated. The vodouists who dealt specifically with reanimation and the dead didn't like that the druids could unbind their servants—and frequently did—while the druids maintained a policy of non-engagement beyond taking care of the soulless undead who stepped into the grove's territory. Regardless of intentions, the Boudreaux saw it as a challenge to their authority, and a subtle war sprang up between them: malicious spells and gang-like activity across borders, discrimination against one or the other, and even the occasional fight when the two factions crossed at hang-out spots or on the town. Much of it was kept to subtle boardroom wars or turf borders, but the younger generations tended to be more hotheaded about it.
The first blood didn't involve Fitzgerald or her family, but ended in the accidental death of a Boudreaux cousin. No one knows for sure what happened; the young druids there, including an Arthur daughter, had one story, while his friends had another. All that is known for sure is that six months after the Fitzgeralds moved to Vibora Bay, all-out war broke out between the druids and some of the vodouists; and that even though such wars are fought out of the sight of regular people, the consequences spilled into brief articles in local papers details assaults, arrests, mysterious happenings, and the disappearance of pets and possessions.
The Fitzgeralds were only as involved as their bloodline. When Jacen Fitzgerald was deployed to Africa on a six-month assignment, Tyler Fitzgerald did his best to keep his children out of the greater schemes of the magic war. Kyle Fitzgerald spent a lot of time at school, and he stayed at the dorms for a good part of the year. Fitzgerald traveled for her surfing competitions, which helped get her out of the city for a lot of the worst of it. The Boudreaux didn't even know of her existence until a run-in at the Minefield, when a handful of the Boudreaux kids and friends, aged 18 to 26, cornered two of Fitzgerald's fellow druids. Visiting for a few weeks before the next competition, Fitzgerald and her friends hit the Minefield for some dancing and fun. Everything seemed fine until she came out of the bathroom to see an unfamiliar man raise a fist to her friends. She caught it, didn't cower when the five strangers surrounded her, and through sheer presence of will and no small amount of luck, she convinced them to part without a fight. They did not leave peacefully, shoving Fitzgerald into her friends before returning to the dance floor. The druids, spooked by the display, left immediately; Fitzgerald made it all the way home before the adrenaline crash and lingering strain of a stalled fight caused her to be sick.
The first outright murder was a druid's—not one of the Arthurs, but a middle-aged member of the grove, Sally Cooper. She was found in her home, shared with a husband and one teenage child, dead of a sudden heart-attack; her heart exploded in her chest. The druids were outraged, but the Archdruid redoubled his efforts to seek a peaceful resolution. The druids focused on tending to their neighborhood borders, and no undead ever made it into their turf. The next murder was a young druid apprentice, a high school boy named Bryan Arthur. A cousin of the distinguished family, he was found with his throat slashed and rum laced with gun powder on his lips.
The culprit was thought to be the youngest Boudreaux son, who was rumored to be the chosen vessel for Marinette Bras Cheche—a vicious and warlike loa with a thirst for blood and a taste for cruelty. Said to be one who frees her people from bondage, she is also seen as the protector of werewolves, creating a dangerous alliance between the Boudreaux and the Dogz. They called the scion Marinetto in honor of the loa who rode him.
Fitzgerald knew both druids—Sally Cooper lived nearby and sometimes hired local youth to help paint her house, and the summer before, Fitzgerald taught the shy Bryan how to swim. Still, she had no vision to help end the conflict, no clever ideas or god-like message to deliver, and she didn't dare seek vengeance through the Battle Crow, for the Morrigan is not an easy goddess to appease and Fitzgerald feared all-out war. Still, the rituals of the druids aren't always as ineffective as modern science and skepticism would say. Mysteriously one night, on a full moon in a clear sky, an entire household of Boudreaux was slain. A single black feather marked the bodies where they lay.
The talks to enforce peace began immediately. With so much blood lost between them, the druids and the vodouists sat down to work out the details of a truce that needed blood to last. Not just the spilled kind, but the mingled kind, too; bound by the ties of marriage and children. The Boudreaux family offered their son, Marinetto, which was a punishment in and of itself. Believing themselves clever, the Arthurs offered Anne Marie Fitzgerald, thinking that a druid of good blood but middling power would be an easy loss for the grove to absorb.
Tyler Fitzgerald, excluded from the peace talks, threw every argument he had against the Archdruid, short of all-out-conflict, but the agreement couldn't be changed. In a last ditch effort to save Fitzgerald from a forced marriage to a loa vessel known for cruelty, he revealed the secret of the Morrigan. The Archdruid didn't believe him; not until Fitzgerald arrived and summoned the goddess to prove it. The Morrigan does not tolerate idle summons, and though Fitzgerald has no memory of what happened, the Archdruid was white as a sheet when she returned to her own body.
The druids swore a vow of secrecy and smuggled Fitzgerald out of Vibora Day within the week. Jacen Fitzgerald called on some friends and contacts in UNTIL, who then pulled some strings with PRIMUS, and Fitzgerald found herself registered in Milennium City and placed in training. Though this bought the druids some time, her disappearance comes dangerous close to breaking an agreement, and the conflict in Vibora Bay has only eased to a simmer. It's only a matter of time before tensions boil over again.
Registered Hero
Although the details of Fitzgerald's "super powers" were explained to key members of PRIMUS, the truth of her deific attachments was supposed to remain classified. Her druidic abilities were listed honestly, with a score similar in scope to "mostly harmless", and she was meant to be trained in a support role. Unfortunately, the data entry personnel doing the paperwork made a mistake, and her role as vessel for the Morrigan was appended as a footnote. Her registered name input as "Morrigan". This accidental revelation belied the majority of the rest of the file, since attachment to a deity of any stripe is the farthest thing from "mostly harmless" there is.
The damage done, PRIMUS quietly continued to train Fitzgerald as support staff, although they did so more thoroughly and with as much care and watchfulness as they did redeemed villains or those on probation. UNTIL maintains tabs on her, though if it's out of respect for Jacen Fitzgerald or because of her deific attachments is unclear, and Striker, one of her probationary officers, is stationed in Millennium City. She is made to study guide books, take multiple tests, write essays, and has only recently been given access to the main comms the heroes use, for purposes of studying.
While this new path bought her a little bit of time, it won't work for long; either news of her existence in Millennium City will get out, or the fragile truce between the apologetic druids and increasingly impatient Boudreaux will snap.
Recent Events
...to be written...
Fitzgerald is known to be a positive individual as a rule; either her time in Hawaii among the surfers and islanders shaped her outlook or she's naturally a "hang loose" kind of girl. She operates with surfer Zen, taking most things as they come and treating each moment like it's the only moment that matters. Her grasp of the bigger picture doesn't tend to be very strong, and she's not known for her intelligence or quick uptake, but she's always got a smile and a word of support for anyone she comes across.
When it comes to matters of her own capabilities or circumstances, she is pragmatic to the point of appearing lazy. She leans towards self-deprecation as a rule, and doesn't usually get all riled up about this thing or that. Her sense of humor runs the gamut from wry to warm. She has no problems praising people, and even less problem admitting when someone is more capable than she is. She is rarely, if ever, genuinely jealous and only really gets covetous of shallow material things, like a good drink or a sweet surfboard. This covetousness is short-lived and freely enjoyed, even if she doesn't gain the object of her interest. For her, simply desiring something is as fun as getting it.
Her weaknesses include arguments and violence, which tend to harsh her groove. Although her dads made sure that she knew some self-defense, she never took to it well, and never pursued more than a rudimentary understanding. While she might appear to be incredibly confident, she will fold under the pressure if enough people make it clear that they expect her to. She's brave, but only as reckless as those who enjoy active, athletic hobbies are, and her stubbornness is hidden under a layer of slow absorption; it might take her a while to reach a conclusion or a realization, but once it's there, she follows it through.
She loves animals—which works out because of all the traits of a druid she should have inherited, the animal kinship makes her day—and is very close with her family. Freedom is important to her; if she can't "hit the surf" at least once a week, she's grumpy, and if she can't get to fresh air every day, her calm gets damaged.
Fitzgerald's powers and abilities are classified as "negligible to middling" on any arcane measuring scale. This comes with some benefit in regards to her ability to pass under most threat meters, but retains some serious disadvantages when it comes to the power scales of an average villain.
This section still a work in progress; explanations and descriptions forthcoming.
Druid Magic
- Energy Draw: If her tattoos are directly connected to the earth, Fitzgerald can draw upon Gaia's bountiful energy to temporarily increase her own physical abilities, limited to speed, endurance and strength.
- Dimensional Pocket: As a druid, she is keyed to travel between the planes directly tied to Earth, including Tir na nOg. However, her power is limited to a small pocket where she can store items of value or necessity, such as a weapon.
- Binding: Druids are practiced in the art of binding, which is evidenced in their ornate and complex whorled and knot work tattoos. Any natural materials—including but not limited to flesh, stone, wood, plants and natural fabrics—can be bound, or unbound, at the druids will. Fitzgerald's abilities are far more basic, which means she can do some foundation bindings but nothing as complex as knitting flesh or merging materials smoothly. It's the equivalent of a clumsy person trying to sew by hand, rather than the seamless merging it should be.
Passive/Aura
- Animal Kinship: Animals take to her fairly well. While she can't command them like many druids can, they do naturally like her, and the less wild or more intelligent can choose to help or follow her of their own will.
- Regeneration (Mild): As long as her tattoos touch bare earth, Fitzgerald can regenerate wounds. Because of the scope of the ability, which is mild, fatal or near-fatal wounds are usually too serious to handle, but cuts, bruises, and fractured bones can all mend quicker than average.
Vulnerabilities & Weaknesses
Human
- Fragile (comparatively): Flesh tears, bones break, skull rattles, and so on. Being human is a great thing, except when it comes to durability and longevity. While the above "energy draw" talent can be of some use here, there are severe limitations to its power.
- Earthbound: The only place Fitzgerald's fellow druids can garner energy and strength from is from Gaia herself–or a focus storing some of Gaia's magic and energy. Fitzgerald's tattoos must be in contact with the earth or living wood connected to the earth in order to draw magic. This limits the efficacy of her magic and abilities when encased in stone, concrete, glass, in the air, or on another plane. The only exceptions to this are Tir na nOg, which is populated by the Tuatha de Danann and thus linked to and favored by Gaia, and alternate instances of Earth. Affected abilities are:
- Energy Draw
- Regeneration
- Dimensional Pocket
Goddess Vessel
Fitzgerald is not aware of anything said or done while the Morrigan is in control. She spends her time unconscious, and so lacks all ability to control the actions of the goddess when summoned. While Fitzgerald can summon the goddess, on occasion the Morrigan takes over without notice, regardless of situation. The Morrigan's abilities are different in scope than Fitzgerald's, and all noted weakness and strengths should be considered as not applicable to the goddess form.
Druid Scope
As a "third-rate druid", Fitzgerald's power scale is extremely low. Any druid or practitioner fresh off apprenticeship will outmatch her in raw talent and ability, and her knowledge tends to be that of common sense than logistics. While her foundation is solid, 12 years of training ensuring that she recognizes druidic spells and abilities, she simply lacks the talent her kin possess.
Recorded Scale
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While her highest scores reside in what the reports loosely term willpower and bravery, they are in line with the scores expected of professional athletes. There is nothing extraordinary about her charisma—considered "amiable, if passive"—and her intelligence, while average, tends to fire on a slower system. Her physical scores are admirable for a human, but negligible compared to many registered heroes.
When it comes to abilities of a meta variant, Fitzgerald's sorcery abilities should be clocking in higher and aren't—which ties into her designation as "mostly harmless". While she's capable of dealing with low-powered magic users, the sort rarely likely to become anything more than minions of a casual villain, she is not equipped to handle any of the many registered threats in the database by herself. Her complete lack of telepathic, psionic, and energy abilites leaves her exposed, although she has displayed some natural resistance to tested mind-control. This appears to be a legacy of her recorded willpower.
