Groundswell
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Named after a medieval European mermaid legend, Melusine is the child of a surface-dwelling (mutant) mother and an Atlantean father. Well-meaning but impetuous and more than a bit naïve about the hard truths of crimefighting, she's pretty much your typical teenaged powerhouse of a budding superheroine. Though raised entirely on land, Mel fiercely identifies with Atlantis, holding up its ruler, Queen Mara, and her son, Crown Prince Marus, as icons of heroic Atlantean ideals she hopes to some day embody. [Note: information about Atlantis and Ravenswood Academy is based primarily on what's found in the Hidden Lands and Teen Champions books from Hero Games.]
Contents
Appearance
Once even more true, it probably goes without saying that the first thing most people still notice about Melusine is how she looks. The aquamarine color she was born with may be gone from most of her skin, but it lingers in places like her lips and nail buds and of course she's still got green hair, golden, glowing irises, and pointed ears to draw plenty of attention. Mel has long tried her best to own that inevitable objectification, though the matter became more complicated as she blossomed into what the media tend to call, “an exotic beauty.” Problematic, insulting though such language is, it does (crudely) speak to how what was once viewed as mere novelty is now bound up in a physique fit for champion Olympic swimmers and crowned by an imperious derivation of her mother's captivating features. Though Valerie Stillwater steadfastly vetoes each and every one of them, Melusine has received no few offers to put her heritage to commercial use by modeling beach and swim wear.
Biography
Young as she is, Mel doesn't have quite so much a story as many other costumed types. In fact, her mom has fought hard to make sure it stays that way, relocating to Millennium City when Melusine was less than a year old in the hopes that such a cosmopolitan place would barely even notice the girl's unusual features. It hasn't quite played out like that, but all things considered, Mel's probably had as normal a childhood as could ever have been expected.
Tomorrow Plaza
Being home to multiple premier technology companies, downtown Millennium City has no shortage of modern highrise condominium complexes. Tomorrow Plaza is but one among many here, set not far from where City Center gives way to more bohemian neighborhoods stretching towards Millennium City University. Neither quite so central nor so ostentatious as some of its compatriots, the Plaza is home less to celebrities or jet setters proper and more to the money behind them. That lower profile is precisely why Valerie selected the place – it's a building that covets privacy and doesn't condone the press as a necessary evil in the lives of those who dwell there. The Plaza counts several successful CEOs and venture capitalists among its residents, and the children of such wealthy movers and shakers became Melusine's social circle as she grew up.
Tutored in her younger years so as to avoid creating media circuses no school would appreciate, Mel had nowhere else to look for friends; while she's established several good relationships with her peers in the Plaza, the situation has also served to thoroughly isolate her from everyday life. These are kids who get luxury cars for their sweet sixteens and whose parents maintain “lake house” mansions on the waterfront up at Grosse Pointe Shores. Mel therefore has only the faintest conception of what it is to live without utter privilege, let alone, say, somewhere like Westside.
Ravenswood
At age fourteen, Melusine began attending the prestigious Academy outside Millennium City. Ostensibly just another exclusive private school, Ravenswood is secretly home to a program for training metahuman teenagers in the responsible use of their powers. As Prince Marus himself numbers among the school's earliest graduates, neither Mel's mother nor Ravenswood headmistress Kristina Pelvanen could think of anywhere more appropriate for the young half-Atlantean to study.
Like other non-traditional students, Melusine was given a holographic projector that hides her appearance on campus and instead presents what is essentially a caucasian version of Mel. Glasses are thrown in for good measure, but the differences in skin, hair, and eye color alone have been more than enough to prevent anyone even beginning to make a connection with the aquamarine girl who's occasionally in the news (or, in the case of a couple students, who lives down the hall or on another floor of the Plaza).
Studying under the name Melissa Whatley, Melusine was suddenly faced with an anonymity she'd never known before. No one pointed, no one stared, no one... noticed at all, really. It upended a dynamic which had existed for Mel's entire life and left her floundering. Complicated though Melusine's relationship with the scrutiny her appearance often brings might be, she fundamentally defines herself as Atlantean and has grown very used to dealing with the surface world through the context of her difference. Bereft of that, Mel found herself awkward and shy in the extreme, and blames this situation on the Academy image inducers. As these are only set to display the school uniform, she feels robbed of the 'best' way to command social relevance (see Personality, below), but the truth is that she's simply not used to dealing with people as equals.
Still, Ravenswood has its upsides, even if they're all exclusive to the school's hidden training facilities for future crimefighters. There's the Oceanus and Orana Undersea Dome, for one, a facility designed to replicate Atlantean gymnasia. Decorated with friezes and columns depicting the history of Atlantis, it's the closest Melusine has ever come to the lost city itself, and she can lose hours just swimming around there, daydreaming. A decidedly average student, Mel probably won't be following in her mother's academic footsteps, but she's getting a solid education and the Ravenswood regimen has been invaluable for preparing her to actually throw down with superpowered villains.
Groundswell
During the spring of 2013, renegade Lemurian forces assaulted Millennium City. Ultimately, they would lay waste to much of the downtown waterfront and summon an enormous monster known as the Harbinger before UNTIL and superheroic forces in the region put a stop to the attack. Living as they do in City Center, the Stillwaters were among the first to know something was terribly wrong as the Plaza shook and buildings closer to the river tumbled, their foundations undermined by Lemurian boring machines. It was, quite literally, just the sort of thing Melusine had been practicing for, and Valerie's pleas that her daughter not endanger herself fell on deaf, pointed ears as Mel dashed to the balcony and leaped off, flying towards the sound of thunder.
There are probably more dignified ways to make a superheroic debut than phone-camera videos of you bashing reptilian invaders in nothing but a tank top and your undies, but really, bashing is the important part where such situations are concerned. And bash Mel surely did, as well as lending her considerable strength to search and rescue efforts by plucking civilians from listing highrises or clearing rubble so emergency personnel could get to those trapped beneath it. All in all, not a bad way to burst onto the scene, and while she lacked a costume, Melusine did have a proper monicker. Though perhaps more commonly used in political contexts nowadays, surfers, for example, know groundswell as a reference to powerful waves formed far offshore – and since Melusine considers herself to have been 'created' by a very distant Atlantis, she thinks this terribly clever.
With her impromptu entry into the official world of superpowered theatrics, Groundswell was soon moved into Ravenswood's Homeroom Alpha, where she will presumably receive more immediately practical instruction in crimefighting. Mel does kind of hate the Alpha uniform (despite concessions made in allowance of her health requirements), and she was far from thrilled to find out she'd have to spend at least one term in the school dorms. It would take a true and total disaster to get her to even briefly entertain leaving, though. If Prince Marus could do it, well, so can she.
Whitewash
Early in 2014, Mel was exposed to a primitive mutagenic agent dating back possibly as far as World War II. The motivation behind this attack remains unclear, in part due to the presumed failure of its delivery mechanism. Deployed via a conventional dart of the sort employed by animal control offices in the cause of subduing bears, cougars, and the like, the mutagen failed to get directly into Groundswell's bloodstream when the projectile couldn't fully pierce her exceptionally thick, tough skin. Released into her dermis, the agent encountered Atlantean melanocytes responsible for her aquamarine shade. As the mutagen was apparently tailored to certain Atlantean aspects of Melusine's biology, these cells proved both a vector for and solution to the attack. The mutagen's high concentration within her melanocytes allowed Mel's aggressive, superhuman immune system to quickly contain the intrusion – if also at the cost of most of these now hopelessly corrupted cells.
The result was something superficially similar to vitiligo, with much of Groundswell's coloring fading as most of the cells primarily responsible for it were quarantined and eventually killed. Unlike in that condition, however, Melusine still possessed functioning melanocytes inherited from her mother. These had been with her all along, and indeed Mel's greenish skin tone was always subtly 'off' compared to many Atlanteans because of their influence. Absent the vivid and overwhelming contribution of green, Groundswell soon found herself looking rather more like her mom, if lighter in complexion since land-dweller melanocytes were never the whole source of her skin tone. Vestiges of Mel's original tone do endure in places like her lips and nail buds, which remain noticeably aquamarine.
[Note: of course this is not How Biology Works, but we're talking about Comics Science(tm) here. While it was funny on occasion (both in and out of character), I failed to properly anticipate just how regularly Groundswell would be mistaken for Lemurian. Considering how prevalent Lemurians are in-game, that's a pretty bad oversight on my part, but it happened nonetheless. I wanted to try and avoid outright retcons, though, so I cooked this up as an outgrowth of a plot already percolating with regards to Mel (see the Teutons in Friends, Allies, and Enemies, below).]
Half Atlantean, All Heroine
Melusine doesn't know what it's like not to be superhuman. Although some new (and more unusual) aspects of this have developed in her teenage years, her whole life has been lived with the benefit of numerous physiological advantages.
Powers and Abilities
Fundamentally, Groundswell is a 'flying brick.' Fantastically strong and durable (though far from genuinely invulnerable), her typical recourse for villainy is to get in said evil's face and punch its ugly mug. Hard. It's the kind of straightforward, obviously superpowered stuff that's good for news footage yet also obscures the details of what actually makes such feats possible.
Float Like a... Butterfish?
Agile and acrobatic, Melusine is a gifted natural athlete. She's quick on her feet and well-coordinated by just about any human standard, if still very much within that mortal range. Mel isn't going to be dodging individual bullets or anything like that, but she stands a decent chance of avoiding (or rolling with) obvious dangers – and of getting her own licks in under an opponent's guard.
If and when she does take a hit, Groundswell often barely feels it. Her father's people are built to handle the extreme cold and crushing pressures of Earth's deep oceans, so Melusine is made of rather stern stuff indeed, frequently shrugging off attacks which would send most people to the hospital or even the morgue. Tough though it may be, however, her skin can't be counted on to reliably stop much beyond the likes of a high-powered firearm, and even though what does get through will usually result in wounds much less serious than those a normal person might suffer, they're still no picnic. Luckily for Mel, her body has other defenses as well.
Sting Like a Ray
Groundswell is a ferociously powerful brawler. There are certainly others who can deadlift even more, but Mel is plenty capable of playing catch with things like VIPER tanks and 18-wheelers. She's swift and savage in a melee, hurling herself right at opponents to soften them up with jabs, hooks, and knee kicks before delivering brutally crushing finishers. This speaks to the Muay Thai in which Harry Biggs (Ravenswood's fitness and combat instructor) has had the young powerhouse trained, considering it a good match for both her athleticism and attitude. Melusine is definitely learning, but any real contest is likely betray how far she remains from a truly technical fighter, how much she continues to rely on her own raw strength; a well-trained foe of comparable might could well have Melusine at a disadvantage.
Physiology
Seemingly the very picture of health and fitness, Groundswell's physique is also deceptive since it isn't rooted in anything much resembling a routine observers could replicate. Just about everything regarding Mel's body is efficient and advanced well beyond human norms, from her muscle and metabolic processes to her immune system itself. Capable of intense physical activity for hours on end, it takes her much longer to even become winded, let alone truly fatigued, and Melusine is almost never really sick. Even diseases which in others would typically be life-threatening are liable to only see her suffering their very lightest symptoms for a few hours before being defeated; when it comes to physical damage, Groundswell is actually regenerative.
It's a far cry from the astonishing rapidity found in more famous examples of the phenomenon, but minor injuries typically vanish within minutes, while even extreme trauma should be completely repaired over a few days to a week, so long as Mel remains hydrated (see Weaknesses, below). If she's conscious, the process can be sped up by proactively flushing her body, cleansing wounds, purging toxins, and ejecting things like bullets as saltwater gushes from pores and injuries.
Diving Belle
Though they're the same size and shape as lungs, what Groundswell has are actually much closer to gills. Like in aquatic crustaceans such as hermit crabs, these organs are perfectly capable of processing oxygen from the air – as long as they remain suitably wet so as to avoid collapse. This may well be a factor in Melusine's inexorable dehydration (see Weaknesses and Peculiarities, below), since even when not consciously using her powers, her body must generate some small amount of moisture internally to ensure she can keep breathing on land.
When submerged, Mel simply inhales and exhales water as though it were air. Any excess is typically absorbed as part of her hydration processes, but sometimes she will be seen to cough up water if she didn't get to breathe out before surfacing. Groundswell also possesses modified vocal cords similar to those of full Atlanteans. These are capable of vibrating water in her throat and she could easily produce the more unusual sounds which often punctuate her father's language if only she knew how. Having received no instruction in Atlantean, however, Melusine must content herself with speaking English underwater.
Though she lacks the finger and toe webbing common among Atlanteans, Mel is nonetheless an exceedingly fast swimmer thanks to her sheer physical power and how her skin reduces form drag in much the same way as that of the dolphins it resembles. Whether she could keep up with a full Atlantean who also matches her strength is an open question, though.
High Wind Advisory
Melusine has long had the ability to create powerful winds immediately around herself. Invariably quite cold, these vortices also come laden with saltwater and, for much of her life, the only practical use Groundswell could find for this was flight. She knew how to hover or flit about at will on directed cyclones, but since becoming involved in superheroic activity, other applications have been revealed. Attacks (or attackers) may often be redirected, for example, pushed aside so as to miss their intended targets, and the winds around her can also be accelerated to the point of becoming weaponized. By lowering their temperature further still, Mel creates a swirling, destructive cloud of frozen, hail-like saltwater chunks with herself at its center. Carried along at speeds rivaling intense typhoons or tornadoes, these projectiles can easily prove dangerous to most anything in their path.
Earthshaker
Though probably Groundswell's most unusual-seeming power, her ability to create faults and tremors in the earth is actually much less mysterious than it may initially sound. Like her wind effects, these incidents are extremely localized, limited to areas perhaps no more than 40-50 feet across, and that's because there's nothing much resembling conventional seismic processes at work here. Rather, Melusine seems to create spontaneous pockets of wind and water immediately underground, in essence abruptly and quite energetically fracking the terrain. But while the mechanism for creating these disturbances may be obvious enough, other aspects of such displays continue to defy explanation. Mel herself remains quite untroubled by the shaking which ensues, for example, and even seems to draw some strange strength from proximity to such phenomena. It is perhaps a reminder of how the curious powers possessed by many Atlanteans are often held by them to be gifts from their ancestral patron, Poseidon – a god not only of the sea, but one of earthquakes, too.
Weaknesses and Peculiarities
Mighty though Groundswell may sometimes appear, these abilities don't always come without a price. Like many metahumans, she has her share of limitations, some almost as spectacular as her powers themselves.
Atlan's Gift (strings attached)
Most Atlanteans can't breathe air at all, and even those who do possess what they call, "Atlan's Gift," must be careful not to stray too far from the waves they call home – after just a few hours out of water, such adventurers typically find themselves weakening rather like a beached whale. Being half Lander, Melusine doesn't have it quite so bad as that, but she still has to make sure she keeps her body externally hydrated. At least once a day, Mel requires a steamy shower, a long soak in the tub, or a good swim. Saltwater or fresh, it doesn't seem to matter, but if she fails to properly immerse, her skin starts drying out. Initially just a painful inconvenience, the situation will deteriorate rapidly the longer it goes on, with Melusine's wind powers weakening to uselessness, her physical strength faltering and, eventually, coma and likely death resulting as her regeneration and breathing fail.
Ironically, Groundswell's ability to seemingly create water does her no good here. Even though she usually ends up sopping wet from using certain powers, this generation of moisture appears to be a zero sum game at best, always requiring as much or more of whatever reserves she has than it returns. Indeed, excessive use of her these abilities will actually have Mel needing to rehydrate sooner than usual. And while fire in itself isn't any more immediately dangerous than it would otherwise be to someone of Groundswell's overall enhanced durability, its attendant drying effects are likely to speed up her dehydration. Similarly, deserts and other areas of exceptionally low humidity probably aren't the greatest places for Mel to be spending a lot of time.
Oops, did I do that?
Having lived with it her whole life, Melusine is well accustomed to moderating her prodigious strength. Usually this comes second nature, a reflexive, unconscious process, but moments of serious distraction or extreme stress can potentially lead to mishaps. She also has to be a little careful about sleeping arrangements – bad dreams could well pose a risk to nearby property (or people).
Sea Oddity
Groundswell's golden irises are gently luminescent – it's a faint glow, maybe enough for a Lander sitting next to her to read by, or to make out the details of a darkened room. Mel herself has excellent night vision, though, and the limited amount of light given off by her eyes allows her to see clearly over greater distances in what might otherwise be pitch blackness. Of course, this also means she's got just about no chance of sneaking around anywhere unseen.
Although much of the aquamarine coloring she once had is gone, Groundswell's skin remains remarkable in other ways. Incredibly smooth and possessing a vaguely rubbery texture, it's a bit reminiscent of the flesh of dolphins, and may help Mel achieve high speeds underwater in much the same way thanks to reduced form drag. And pale as she is now, Groundswell's regeneration seems to provide her with ample protection from the dangers that usually come with extended exposure to the sun - to the point that she can't even get a tan (something which Mel considers a grand injustice).
Another quirky aspect of her biology is that Melusine's quite literally salty, with her skin, sweat, and blood all possessing a noticeable salinity. It's generally within what would be considered flavorful in a culinary context and, while that might only matter to vampires or finicky cannibals, there are also practical concerns. Recipients of a transfusion from Mel could well risk acute hypernatremia, for example.
Line Dry Only
Owing to the inherent wetness of Groundswell's wind-related powers, anything and anyone near her when they're in use typically ends up drenched in frigid saltwater. Sometimes this is intentional, like when Mel has made herself the center of a mini-hurricane, but it also applies if she has to do things such as fly while carrying someone to safety. Though the collateral property damage from all this can be shocking, getting effectively caught in a cold rain is rarely more than inconvenient or embarrassing for those being so assisted. Still, Melusine is no friend of electronics, and it's unlikely to be much fun for people subjected to this phenomenon in, say, a Michigan winter.
The M Factor
While it's impossible to say just how much of Groundswell's power is purely Atlantean, the answer definitely isn't “all.” Just... don't tell Mel that. Thanks to physical abilities similar to Mara and Marus (flight, strength, toughness), Melusine assumes she's simply another example of the undersea folk that famous pair rules. The truth, however, is that the royals are exceptional even by Atlantean standards, though their people do indeed have a tradition of so-called “mystic mutation” which predisposes them towards these and other powers.
Since Valerie Stillwater keeps her true nature and crimefighting past a secret, Mel has no idea she might owe any of her remarkable nature to her mom (see Friends, Allies, and Enemies, below). Valerie is a powerful hydrokinetic, though only where saltwater is concerned – something which may well suggest the root of Melusine's less physical powers. And while Groundswell's skin and healing abilities somewhat echo those of dolphins, her mother also never seems to fall ill and is, despite her actual age, not infrequently mistaken for Mel's older sister. In the end, Groundswell is likely the sum of her parts, a fusion of two distinct trends towards powerful mutation.
Personality
Like most teenagers, Melusine's in the process of sorting out who she really is. That's not always an easy task, not even in a perfect environment – never mind one where your very appearance draws looks, whispers, and questions just about every place you go. Dealing so often with those who may not see her as an actual person has led Groundswell to cultivate a dismissive, almost callous sort of 'ice queen' demeanor. She's determined not to seem terribly interested in (or affected by) others out of a suspicion they haven't any real desire to get to know her. Unfortunately, this can end up as something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Blunt and egocentric, her genuine bravery often comes across as haughty, cavalier bravado, while a reflexive petulance cloaks Melusine's honest desire to help save the world in a haze of privilege that routinely seems put upon by being asked to do so.
Sweet home At-a-lantis
That Mel is obsessed with Atlantis should come as no surprise, but her view of the lost city and its culture is horribly skewed. By virtue of being completely absent from her actual life, the place has become, in Melusine's mind, a kind of fantasyland utopia. Every argument with her mother devolves to the notion that, “IN ATLANTIS, they'd let me,” while every moment of unease about her features in the surface world occasions dreams of finally being able to swim through streets full of 'her people' (except she'd likely be every bit as much a curiosity, if not worse, in xenophobic, tradition-bound Atlantis).
Melusine's image of the undersea kingdom has largely been assembled from watching interviews with Prince Marus and deeply un-academic TV specials or internet videos purporting to reveal the secrets of a sunken civilization. From the former she's picked up the habit of referring to surface dwellers as “Landers” (precisely because Marus's obvious attempts to avoid using the term mean it must be a pejorative). As for the latter? These are typically the sorts of programs populated by alleged experts who won't come right out and say it was Atlanteans, but... it was Atlanteans. In other words, much of what Groundswell 'knows' about Atlantis is, at best, misinformed, if not downright wrong.
Mel also unequivocally idolizes Queen Mara – far more than Marus, in fact. She treasures a small collection of trading cards and other trinkets from the heroine's days as the Sea Hawk, and has created more than one secret fan comic (see Quirks and Ephemera, below) about saving Atlantis and becoming the monarch's closest confidant. All in all, that's probably not so different than any other teenager fantasizing about their pop or superheroic obsessions, but Mel's circumstances do perhaps make it a little more poignant than many.
For all her protestations of “Atlanteanism,” however, Melusine is utterly a child of the surface world and that modern metropolis she grudgingly calls home. If Mel ever does manage to visit the fabled city for which she professes such longing, it's likely a lack of internet, television, and other amenities would soon leave her utterly bored. Whether she'd admit that, however, is another matter entirely.
What are[n't] you wearing, young lady?
Given how frequently she's subjected to visual scrutiny and the gaze of others, Mel has internalized this oppressive curiosity with the conviction that she needs be 'worth' looking at for reasons beyond her obvious physical differences from most observers. In essence, Groundswell believes that if people aren't noticing her for being attractive, then the only thing left for them to see is her strangeness. It's a mentality that can lead her to feel jealous or hostile towards those Mel perceives as being considered better looking than herself since she fears that, beside them, she'll be relegated to the role of sideshow freak. A decidedly unhealthy amount of Groundswell's self esteem is therefore tied up in trying to meet the American pop culture standards for desirability in which she and her friends are immersed. Not surprisingly, there are numerous complications.
For starters, Melusine and makeup don't really mix – even the most waterproof cosmetics are anything but when your pores flush out forcefully beneath them. Considering that she's now photographed much more often in or shortly after combat, Mel suspects that if she did start applying anything for social events, it would just be another Heroines Without Their Makeup! pictorial waiting to happen. Of course, inhumanly smooth, uniform skin and no small helping of Valerie Stillwater's movie star looks might suggest this isn't quite the issue Groundswell imagines it to be, but she's not taking any chances. Hence, her sartorial choices.
The (quite literal) short of it is that Melusine tends to show a lot of skin. Even this causes her some anxiety on account of having a body that's more muscular than model, but she tries to remind herself that athletes can be sex symbols, too. So only the skimpiest of shorts and the most mini of skirts will do, and this is actually all rooted in one of the few things she's managed to get right about Atlantis. Untroubled by deep ocean cold, Atlanteans have no need to encumber their swimming with waterlogged garments, so they are quite ambivalent towards anything much resembling Lander clothing. Their style of dress is often scandalously minimal by surface-dwelling standards (if not entirely absent, in private) and this, in turn, has led Mel to decide she's obligated to wear the most revealing of outfits she can get away with at just about all times. It's a cultural obligation of her heritage, you see, and any suggestion to the contrary (most often from her mother) is likely to be met with rolling eyes and lamentations about the stuffy mores of, “Uptight Landers.”
Tough Cookie
Since she started officially fighting crime, Groundswell has been shot, stabbed, zapped, pummeled... the list goes on. Sure, she gets better, fast, or just plain shrugs most of it off, but neither is Mel actually impervious. These things hurt, sometimes a lot, and there are moments when she would like nothing better than to curl up in a ball and cry – only, superheroines don't get to do that. It's bad for your public image and, frankly, it's often bad for the public. Mara and Marus don't take time out from tough fights to nurse their wounds, they get right back in there and save the day because that is what the people they're protecting count on them to do. It's a high standard, and one that Melusine resolutely holds herself to, but it's also made her even less approachable than before because she neither knows how to turn the attitude off nor does she understand why it could be healthy to do so from time to time.
Identity Crisis
The changes in her skin coloration have not in any way helped Mel's attitude. Terrified that she might (gasp) be turning into a Lander, the young heroine resolved to only prove herself all the more Atlantean. She therefore does her best to carry on as though nothing's really changed, while shouldering a mountain of barely-sublimated anxiety about how much actually has. It's hard to confidently dress 'like an Atlantean,' for example, when you aren't sure you're one of those people anymore, when the skin such style displays looks like it belongs on land. She's quietly begun seeing a therapist, but how effective this will be is unclear when Mel has so thoroughly conditioned herself not to show 'weakness.'
Friends, Allies, and Enemies
Being young and new to superheroics generally, Groundswell hasn't yet had much opportunity to forge relationships with her costumed peers. That also means there aren't any crazed supervillains out to kill her, either, but presumably both of these circumstances will change in time.
Chad Booker
This teenage speedster seems to possess a knack for (often unintentionally) pushing Melusine's buttons. He has posited she's probably known quite a few romantic partners, tried to nickname her Orca (which Mel took as a dig at her weight), and suggested that she could indeed model... for Sears. Then there was that time he assumed she was Lemurian. In Chad's defense, he did apologize for the orca remark, but his ongoing litany of 'offenses' and an attitude that Groundswell decries as, “brotacular,” have probably long since poisoned that well. Much as it pains her to admit, though, Chad also has obvious moments of insight and responsibility in times of crisis, and Melusine grudgingly (if mostly privately) acknowledges his usefulness as a crimefighter.
Fray
When she was a bit younger, Mel proved to be the most popular babysitting choice for parents at Tomorrow Plaza. People with that sort of wealth are often quite security conscious, after all, and the unspoken, somewhat cynical assumption was that anybody who came after their children would find themselves dealing with more than just mundane (if well-trained) bodyguards. This may well be where some of Groundswell's gut instincts to defend the weak and helpless come from – it's something she's been implicitly expected to do for much of her life.
Which would probably leave Melusine feeling rather protective of the young Sentinels sidekick regardless but, having grown up powered herself, she also sympathizes with Fray's struggles to handle, for example, superhuman strength. And without the social baggage Mel invariably imagines between herself and anyone her own age or older, Groundswell is much kinder and more sympathetic towards the would-be heroine than with her social peers.
Inevitable
Even if they had no personality conflicts at all (and oh, how they do), Melusine would probably still have found plenty of reasons to hate this blonde brick. Conventionally pretty and filling much the same role as Groundswell in a fight, it's hard to imagine Mel not seeing Clarissa as competition, the very sort of person beside whom she ends up standing out not on merit, but because she looks weird next to them. Worse, it seems to Melusine like this may already have happened – and for reasons she can't begin to understand.
Mel considers Inevitable lewd, foul-mouthed, and dangerously temperamental, among other things, and has taken to calling her, "Insufferable." She figures Clarissa would last all of about five minutes in Extraordinary Morality and Ethics before presumably spending the rest of her life on Ravenswood's disciplinary work detail. Of course, Inevitable doesn't GO to the Academy, but Groundswell has no other context for such behavior, and so imagines the firebrand being constantly rewarded for things that would long ago have landed Melusine in Headmistress Pelvanen's office. Indeed, Clarissa appears, to Mel, to have become a kind of charity case darling among the Young Sentinels, many of whom have chastised her for speaking ill of the young woman.
(Groundswell thinks she's just pointing out the obvious, and it doesn't seem to have occurred to her that doing so in an almost pathologically snide, mean manner might have something to do with the situation.)
The Owl
Or, “Mister,” as Melusine tends to call him on account of how it appears to annoy the deadly serious crimefighter. With his investigative inclinations, gadgetry, and demeanor, the Owl represents a part of the superheroic spectrum that Groundswell can't even begin to relate to. He does seem to get things done, though, and she can appreciate that, especially when it involves more technical crises which require something beyond punching out the responsible villains. None of this convinces Mel that the man in the bird suit doesn't need to lighten way up, though.
The Amerizon III (NPC)
As is customary at Ravenswood, incoming non-traditional students are typically assigned a mentor from the junior class who will help guide them over their first two years at the school. In Groundswell's case this was Piper Jennings, who inherited her mother and grandmother's mild telekinetic gifts and the curious artifact (a golden, metallic star) which enhances these to combat-worthy levels. Though initially reluctant to try and fill their shoes, Piper accepted the family legacy upon graduation, returning to her native Chicago as the latest in a proud line of patriotic heroines. Melusine very much admires her former mentor, routinely cheering for and promoting the Amerizon in social media.
Aquadad (NPC)
To this day, Mel knows virtually nothing of her father – a situation that's gone a long way towards poisoning the girl's relationship with her mom. For reasons known only to her, Valerie simply will not disclose anything beyond the fact that yes, he is (or was) Atlantean. No surprise, then, that Melusine has cooked up all sorts of outrageous scenarios for what sort of man her dad might be, but Valerie's continuing refusal to correct any such fantasies somewhat ominously suggests the truth may be a good deal less fairy tale.
Atlantis (many NPCs)
Given that the queen of Atlantis and her son are both friends of Kristina Pelvanen, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume they've heard of Ravenswood's half-Atlantean student, but there's also been no indication that this is so. And even if it were, Atlantean society is deeply xenophobic, especially where the surface world is concerned – a half-Lander would likely be met with suspicion, if not outright scorn in many quarters.
Further complicating matters is that, while Atlanteans reach physical maturity at the same age as their land-dwelling cousins, a significantly longer overall lifespan (sometimes approaching two centuries) has led to a very different notion of adulthood. In Atlantean eyes, Mel will probably be a child for years (if not decades) to come, and that situation can only hurt chances of finding a warm welcome in her imagined homeland any time soon. Marus often returns to Ravenswood as a guest lecturer, however, so it seems inevitable that at some point Melusine will cross his path.
The Plazzies (NPC)
Children of extreme wealth (and the parents who provide that money) have been the core of Mel's social experience for most of her life. Although some surely consider her their token 'powered' acquaintance in a city where such things matter in suitably elevated circles, others are genuinely good friends. In particular, Melusine routinely refers to Polly van Velden and Gabrielle Talbot as her besties. Polly's father, Owen, runs Van Velden Aerospace (a longtime competitor of Harmon Enterprises where the skies and beyond are concerned) while Gabrielle is a scion of investment banking wealth going back to the Gilded Age. Though occasionally fractured by this or that misunderstanding, the trio always seem to make up, and remain largely inseparable.
The Stillwaters (NPC)
Groundswell may loudly proclaim her disdain for All Things Lander, but she often doth protest too much. Her maternal grandparents are about as “salt of the earth” as they come, with high school sweethearts Harold and Emma marrying as soon as Harry returned from his tours in Vietnam to take over the family's Iowa farm. The pair then went on to raise four kids in that same very Americana venue where they now periodically entertain numerous doted-on grandchildren, Melusine very much among them. Harry Stillwater, in particular, occupies a special place in Mel's heart for such things as simply asking, when faced with the local druggist's dumbfounded staring at a little, aquamarine girl, “What's the matter, Ed? Never seen a granddaughter before?”
The family remains close, often gathering for holidays, and Melusine maintains cordial online relations with her cousins, though none of them live near enough to Millennium City to be seen in person with any regularity.
Valerie Stillwater (NPC)
Although Dr. Silverback is by far the most famous recipient of a steady Cambridge Biotechnology paycheck, there are some who might also recognize Valerie Stillwater as one of the company's employees – if only because she routinely turns up any time some magazine compiles a list of 'hot' science types. A gifted marine biologist, the stunningly beautiful midwest farmer's daughter holds numerous valuable patents while also happening to look a good decade younger than the 40 she actually is, and if she hears another, “all this and brains, too,” joke, she's going to engineer a virus that wipes humanity from the face of the Earth. Okay, probably not, but Valerie absolutely does loathe the media, likely owing of the circus that surrounded her daughter's birth and which has haunted the lives of the Stillwaters on and off ever since.
Oh, and she used to be a superheroine.
South Florida once counted the saltwater-manipulating Fathom Force among its defenders against threats ecological, supervillainous, or both. This being Miami, the photogenic heroine's ability to stand out on the beach was almost as much a superpower as her command of massive tidal forces – alas, that's probably the real reason the press noticed when she abruptly dropped off the radar. There were even maudlin editorials luridly speculating as to what horrible fate(s) might have befallen the gorgeous mutant with a mask almost as big as the rest of her costume (it was the 1990s, okay?) but none were anywhere near as sensational as the truth.
If South Beach hadn't quite yet forgotten about Fathom Force, Valerie Stillwater giving birth to a baby with aquamarine skin and golden, luminescent eyes surely did the trick. News of the “mer-girl” dominated Miami airwaves for a week straight, in no small part because Valerie steadfastly refused to discuss the child's father. Her colleagues at the ocean conservation non-profit weren't much use to reporters either – none could recall their 20-something coworker having much of a love life, let alone anything like this.
Valerie had entertained a fantasy of raising her daughter there in Florida, one foot on the sand, the other in her beloved waves, but it was not to be. For starters, people stared. Shamelessly. It was impossible to take Melusine anywhere without causing a scene, onlookers snapping photos, people badgering Val with questions, or worse. And then there were the reporters. As if offended by her very desire for privacy, they hounded Valerie for details. After footage of her screaming, “Oh my god, have you ever seen Madonna's 'Cherish?' FIGURE IT OUT!” at one particularly persistent news crew made the network rounds, she knew she couldn't live like this.
Stillwater began looking for work with the sorts of companies she had previously protested or even fought against; at least then she might make enough money to raise Melusine in something resembling sanity. It was around this time that a former costumed colleague who knew Valerie's secret identity informed her of Ravenswood and its connection to Atlantis. An alumnus himself, the solar-powered Sundowner well remembered Marus graduating a couple years ahead of him and wondered if his friend's daughter might not benefit from a place that actually knew a thing or two about the crown prince's homeland. Valerie contacted headmistress Pelvanen and began laying the groundwork for that seemingly far off day when her daughter could attend the Academy.
Relocation to Millennium City and a job at Cambridge Biotechnology were the first steps. Though Mel would remain a curiosity wherever she went, a metropolis with superheroes, aliens, and others making regular appearances could only lessen such discomfort, maybe even giving her a shot at something resembling normalcy. Valerie, meanwhile, set about proving herself to Cambridge, quickly producing intriguing (and lucrative) breakthroughs involving the medicinal properties of various marine organisms. Now the head of her own research team, it's a level of success that makes an address in Tomorrow Plaza possible and ensures that Melusine wants for nothing... except possibly the attention and understanding of a mother who all but lives in the lab in order to provide more material luxuries.
The Teutons (NPC)
An outlaw motorcycle gang operating primarily in northern Indiana, the Teutons would seem unlikely antagonists for a half-Atlantean teenager from Millennium City, but that's exactly what they've become. Known to law enforcement primarily for their involvement in the meth trade, the Teutons dabble in a variety of related crime while funneling most of the profits into their true passion of white supremacism. They associate with a variety of minor hate and militia groups in the region, fringe types with no hope of ever realizing the bizarre and grandiose designs for revolution they entertain just the same. The Teutons aren't the top of this small but odious food chain, though, and in late 2013 their principle patron took an interest in Melusine Stillwater for reasons still unknown.
Put in touch with a mysterious correspondent in Patagonia, the gang's chemist soon received samples of a mutagen and instructions on how to prepare it for use on Groundswell. An attempt to kidnap the heroine at her mother's family home over Thanksgiving ended in disaster for the Teutons when Melusine herself put a stop to them, landing several in police custody. The gang did manage to subject Mel to the mutagen in Millennium City some months later, but this was a small operation carried out by a single member from a distance – just how much strength the Teutons still have at their disposal after the debacle in Iowa is unclear.
Furor Teutonicus
Leland Thomas is a low-power mutant possessed of mildly enhanced strength and toughness. He's nowhere near the level of the typically superpowered, but still noticeably 'better' enough than regular people to be barred from things like the sports he loved growing up. It's a glass half-empty/half-full situation that has gnawed at him his whole life, and that paradox likely played no small part in Leland's embrace of white supremacists who lauded his tall, blonde self as evidence of their rhetoric's truth – finally, he had somewhere to belong, somewhere he was respected and welcomed. In the years since, Leland has given himself over more and more to the ideology, becoming at least somewhat of a true believer while rising to lead the Teutons.
The Kaiser
Of course they call him that. Since he refuses to identify himself directly, the Teutons were forced to come up with their own name for their elderly benefactor, and since they obsessively romanticize early-20th century German militarism, well... Who this man really is remains a mystery even to the gang, though. All they know is that he's rich, and very well-connected by their standards. Oh, and old, ancient even. Incredibly frail and wheelchair-bound with most of his weathered visage obscured by glasses, hats, and scarves, the Kaiser might even dimly recall a time when that title actually meant something.
This elderly hatemonger has been a fixture in regional racist movements for as long as any in the Teutons can remember, providing money and connections to them and like-minded others. None can say just why the Kaiser does what he does, but considering his advanced age and ties to Argentina, he may well be one of the last vestiges of a cause whose death knell, for all practical purposes, came decades ago at the hands of Ravenswood headmistress Kristina Pelvanen. Then still operating as the heroine Rowan, Pelvanen spearheaded an assault on Projekt Nächst Jahrgangen, a post-World War II Nazi effort to create a new generation of supersoldiers in the wilds of Patagonia.
RP Hooks
The sheer curiosity of her existence has made Melusine an occasional news item throughout her life, and her foray into crimefighting only increases an exposure that could easily have achieved celebutante status already if not for Valerie's vigilance and opposition. As it is, Mel's generally happy to entertain the press (at least until her mom finds out), and she appears with some frequency in teen-oriented parts of the tabloid spectrum. She also has a pretty typical social media footprint for her age group, and has been known to interact with fans and inquirers through this.
Then, of course, there's the Ravenswood Academy. Traditional students (i.e. those without powers) might know Melissa Whatley as an exceedingly withdrawn classmate who invariably sits in the back of every room. Members of the school's secret program for powered students, on the other hand, would have any number of opportunities to run into Melusine as herself, from shared classes in the crimefighting curriculum to training sessions, exercises, and so on.
Quirks and Ephemera
Claims her religion is “Atlantean” and that she worships Poseidon; knows next to nothing of actual Atlantean theology and generally interprets this as some sort of vague, eco-friendly ocean/environment custodianship.
Raised on pop culture and isolated privilege, Melusine's speech patterns are rooted far more in television and the young stars she follows than they are in any local vernacular. Mel is sometimes accused of speaking like a 'Valley Girl' because of this, and the attendant connotations of stupidity which often accompany these observations about how she talks have left her quite sensitive on the matter.
Presents her costume as being some kind of recognizably Atlantean style, almost like a uniform; in truth, it was designed to her specifications by a Millennium City boutique catering to the costumed set. This does at least mean the outfit's made with durability in mind, but its aquatic motifs and coloring are purely Lander inventions. As Valerie Stillwater would never pay to have her daughter running about in such attire, Polly van Velden usually puts her friend's costumes on her (dad's) credit card.
Unable to maintain piercings due to her regeneration, Mel's taste in jewelry runs towards bracelets, anklets, rings (finger or toe) and so on.
One of Melusine's most jealously guarded secrets is that she's a gifted sketch artist possessed of an inventive eye for for things like comic panel composition; with formal training, she might well be capable of professional work some day. And if Mel could figure out a way to buy them without her name or face being attached to the process, she would probably have a pretty extensive comic collection. Her interest was sparked by reproductions of vintage Sea Hawk tales, and Mel has followed the medium (if discretely almost to the point of paranoia) ever since. The geeky connotations of the subculture and a conviction that, “those who can, do [save the world], those who can't, draw [about saving the world],” keep Groundswell from breathing a word of this to anyone.
Social Media Samples
As far as Mel is concerned, one of the most annoying things about being a superheroine is that it complicates the necessity of carrying a phone. You suddenly find yourself in so many situations that could destroy one, and just how long her mom's going to keep replacing them sometimes seems like a dangerously open question. For a time, Groundswell simply didn't take her phone on patrols and such, but this quickly became unbearable; she's since had her costume's top modified to discreetly stow the device (complete with necessary-but-hideous waterproof and impact-resistant case). It will likely still end up getting broken from time to time, but this arrangement does generally allow Mel to feel like a civilized person again.
Owing to her lack of a secret identity, Melusine's messages tend to freely mix costumed life with the utter banality of an extremely well-off American teenager's day-to-day existence. Her once-extensive collection of selfies and related videos was much the same, of course, but the changes in her coloration caused Mel to delete just about anything in which she appeared completely green; she seems in no hurry to take new ones showing her current condition.
Chirps
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
Ok #landers pb=Poseidon's beard=its basically omg but I dont want to confuse u since Im Atlantean and my god isnt the same as ur god.
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
Never understood how a #megacreeper like foxbat has fans. Then I got to high school and was like oh. #boys
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
CITIZENS OF DETROIT... so old he doesnt know which city hes blowing up anymore. #overthehillain
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
Can u recycle destroids? Cuz these big ones r really gonna leave a mess.
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
Shouldnt takofanes be in a home or sumthing? He already rides a hoveround. #douchebags #halloweenintheMC
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
Bestie's bf complaining about waiting for new ep of Shambling Departed. Im like have u looked out the window? #halloweenintheMC
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
Is it still the War On Christmas if Christmas attacks YOU? #christmasintheMC
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
Poseidon's beard #landers! #SurfNTurf is so so SO NOT A THING!!!
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
I dont date #landers and I dont date #douchebags!!!!!
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
Yes some #douchebags tried to turn me into a #lander no it didnt work #atlantean4ever
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
Foxbat con?!?!?! Y r ppl celebrating sum #megacreeper sexual predator. Did u 4get wat he did 2 Sapphire???
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
Guess ill see if i can tan now
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
NOPE. #summerruined #lifeover
Groundswell @MelusineStillwater
Go txt/call/hug/wutevs ur grandparents and tell them u luv them. RIGHT NOW.
Fiction
The following vignettes detail events in, around, or related to Groundswell's life since she officially became a superheroine. Loosely connected and roughly sequential, they're cross-posted posted to the Silver Age Sentinels forums, but are provided here as Google Docs because that allows for easier management and perusal. Really bored? Knock yourself out (with a mild caution about occasional coarse language, and a trigger warning for some brief incidents of self-harm).
The Life Terrestrial 1-10
The Life Terrestrial 11-20
The Life Terrestrial 21-
