DEVIX

 Created by Erin Hamilton

Real Name:  Erin Hamilton

Alias:  Ameria (Internet Handle)

Citizenship:  United States of America

Age:  24

Place of Birth: Vero Beach, Florida

Current Location: College Park, Maryland

Known Relatives:  Father, mother, and three much older half-brothers.

Group Affiliation:  Great Lakes Guardians

Education:  College Graduate

Catch Phrase: 

"Need a hand?"

"Time to get hands-on..."

Height:  5' 7.5"

Weight:  145lbs.

Appearance:

Erin is your average-looking Internet geek, sporting approximately shoulder-length, dishwater blonde (currently dyed light blonde) hair that is wavy/curly and which she almost always keeps pulled back in a low ponytail. She has a fairly pale, pasty complexion from lack of sunlight exposure, a medium build and blue-green eyes.

As Devix she lets her hair down and ties a makeshift black bandanna/eyepatch around her forehead.

History:

For the first sixteen years of her life, no one but Erin's parents would have ever called her 'special'. She was born and raised in southern Florida, a bastard child only by technical definition to parents who never decided to marry. When they finally split she chose to stay with her father and moved to northeast Ohio with him, where she went from a normal tanned, pool-bleach blonde girl to a normal pasty, dirty blonde teen who tended to keep warm in the cold weather by parking herself in front of a computer.

Erin's power manifested itself when she was seventeen. While walking back from a convenience store at night she was jumped by two muggers and robbed at knifepoint in a nearby back alley. When she realized they weren't just looking to steal her money she panicked and struggled to get away from the one that was holding her arms behind her back, kicking towards the other with the knife. The blade was thrust forward and came millimeters from stabbing her in the left eye. It was held there as a threat, but the close call pushed her already high stress levels over the edge and seemingly activated a dormant mutation. She just knew that she had to get her arms free and get the knife away, and that need triggered the power. An arm would swiftly grow from the knife-wielder's side, reaching to grab his wrist and pull the blade away from her face and back towards him, but the sudden movement coupled with the mugger's surprise didn't give him time to realize what was going on and the knife was pushed deeply back into his own chest. She was in shock and didn't know what had happened, and the other mugger was just as confused but much more vocal about it. Once again she panicked and needed to get away, and as soon as the grip on her was loosened the arm lock was reversed by a pair of arms sprouted from his sides. She forcefully shoved him backwards as she ran past and away, only hearing a crack of head against the concrete. The next day she would hear how two gang members had fought and killed each other in a back alley the previous night, one being stabbed and the other sustaining head trauma...

Erin found herself traumatized and in shock for the next few days, unable to do much besides think about what had happened. Though it had been in self-defense and was an accident at that, she never thought she could take a life, much less two... In the meanwhile she was unaware that this sudden change in her psyche had begun to form into another recessive persona altogether, until she couldn't even remember the incident, just that she had suddenly gained newfound powers. Fearing her father (in poor health) wouldn't be able to handle the information that his daughter was some kind of mutant, she only told her then-boyfriend (and future husband) and twin best friends about the new-found abilities. Talking about the experience and showing them her powers helped her calm down, even if they were surprised and worried at first, and as she thought more about her abilities she felt like learning more about them and maybe even using them to protect people. Originally her friends were skeptical, but seeing as how they all read graphic novels with unusually-powered heroes, the idea grew on them and they agreed to help.

It took about a year of practice to understand her powers and their limits, but in the meantime it was agreed that she should keep her powers a secret and her friends helped make her a 'costume' to use in public along with coming up with a psuedonym. They suggested Devi, the 'Mother Goddess' in Hinduism that took on protector forms with multiple arms and eyes, and Erin added an X at the end to symbolize that she was just a human and far from a goddess. The first time she put on the costume she felt different and acted much more formal than her regular self. When her friends called her on it she was unsure why and simply chalked it up to being more confident in costume and making a persona to hide her identity, which they all came to believe and have stopped asking about in the following years of crime-fighting and post-college life.

Personality: 

Erin could most easily be considered a tomboy geek. She's never really stood out and really doesn't care to, preferring internet chatting with friends to partying at bars and watching anime to watching sports or shopping. An optimist at heart and with a strong sense of justice, she never really gets depressed or angry at anything unless it involves someone dear to her being hurt, though she isn't overly cheerful either. Her tomboy reputation means that she always chooses comfortable clothing and never wears dresses, skirts, heels or makeup, her reasoning being that they're uncomfortable to her and therefore she doesn't like them, and is casual in most aspects of her life.

As Devix, however, someone would never realize the two were one in the same unless they saw it for themselves. Devix seems like the type that's eternally cool and calm, with an almost ever-present amused smile on her features that many consider eerie or close to inhuman. She speaks formally and tends not to use contractions, almost like an aristocrat from years past. Though the people who know her secret identity believe the confidence to all be an act of intimidation and to hide her true self, the persona truly seems to be on the border of an alternate personality altogether that not even Erin realizes, probably formed to hold on to the traumatic memories and allow her to function as her usual self despite having killed two fellow human beings. Other than that all her memories and thoughts are the same between the two personas.

Powers: 

Devix's main power is the ability to "grow" multiple copies of her own body parts off of solid surfaces like walls, tables, and even bodies, both her own and others', as well as off themselves to create chains of arms and the like. She can control these just as easily, if not moreso than her original body. Her usual mediums are arms (lacking fingerprints) and eyes, which she can use to see further away, catch, climb, lift and restrain. The powers are considered to be a mix of interdimensional matter manipulation (because the body parts seem to phase through the surface as if appearing from a different dimension though they are solid) and psychic control (allowing the limbs and other parts to be moved and used as if they were her own). Seemingly because of this superhuman ability to multitask and organize extra sensory data quickly, she has higher than normal mental defenses from psychic intrusion as a secondary power, and the potential for further 'growth'.

Weaknesses:

Strength - Devix does not have superhuman strength on her own, and as such each of her copy limbs are only as strong as the originals. However, while more can be created to distribute weight or add power to balance this out and lift heavy objects, it is still extremely difficult if not impossible to effectively restrain large or superhumanly strong opponents through her usual methods.

Vision - Aside from her own body that she can feel, she needs to be able to see the surfaces to be able to grow phantom limbs off of them. Extra eyes can be used to see further away, but it's impossible for her to grow eyes on a surface inside of a room that she has no access to see into.

Stamina - Due to lack of lower body strength Devix has low physical stamina overall and can only sprint a short distance before tiring out. As such she's not a very good close-combat fighter and relies heavily on using her powers from afar, though she can defend herself for a short while in a hand-to-hand fight.

Creator (Real Life) Info: 

Devix's alter-ego is for the most part based on myself. Though usually I'm not very comfortable creating characters like that, it seems that the show wants contestants to use their real names for their characters and at least be partly based on their lives. I was born and raised in Florida (hold a spot for me, F.L.A.S.H.! ^_~), I majored in Political Science and Criminal Justice and I'm currently the website contractor for a national non-profit organization.

For any authors wanting to use Devix in a story, you have my permission without needing to ask. I'm always honored. My only stipulation is that you please send me a link!