Bangs

Dr. Barbara Heisenberg, Sc.D
Bangs
Player: @zilljah
Origin:	Normal/Magic
Archetype:	Corruptor
Security Level:	50
Server:	Confidential
Supergroup	Sisterhood of Naughty Space Vixens
Personal Data
Real Name:	Dr. Barbara Ann Heisenberg, Sc.D
Known Aliases:	Typhoon Bangs, Tsunami Bangs, Hurricane Bangs, Bang-Bang
Species:	Human/Storm Elemental
Age:	32
Height:	5'8" (1.73m)
Weight:	"I'm not sayin'!"
Eye Color:	Brown
Hair Color:	Pink (naturally brown)
Biographical Data
Nationality:	American
Occupation:	Professor, University College Dublin; former mercenary
Education:	Sc.D, Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Rhodes Scholar;
Place of Birth:	Hartford, CT
Hometown:	Dublin, IRL
Base of Operations:	Confidential
Marital Status:	Single
Known Relatives:	Mother and father, living; Praetorian "twin," Amanda White (aka Empress of Storms)
Known Powers
Water Blast/Srorm Summoning (formerly Dual Pistols/Super Reflexes)
Known Abilities
Physicist, technician, weaponsmith, teacher
Equipment
Dual Maelstrom pistols (match grade, customized, anodized pink); also known to use Magnum revolvers and Match Compensator pistols
She/Her; Bisexual (prefers women)

(This is a work in progress)

A mathematics prodigy, Barbara was pushed into accelerated educational programs by her mother at age 11. She graduated from MIT with a doctorate in Physics at 22. By the age of 24, Barbara was living in St. Martial, becoming a mercenary.

Excerpts from interviews recorded for a possible book, later scrapped by Dr. Heisenberg. The validity of her statements should be considered questionable

Childhood

I was always smart, even when I was little. They kept telling my mom I was a prodigy. You know what Dance Moms are? Mine was a Nerd Mom. She'd send me to every advanced placement class, send me to schools with the highest placement rates, you know? Mom decided I was gonna be a Nobel Prize winner. And if she thought you weren't with the program, she'd run you over like a tank.

So I was sixteen and at Harvard. Became a Rhodes Scholar, then to MIT for my doctorate. I'm twenty-two by that time. My dissertation was on exotic energies and inter-dimensional power extraction. Don't worry, most people don't understand it. Hell, people still think I was nuts. Turns out, I was.

What was I like as a kid? Quiet, didn't hang out with other kids. Mom kept me busy, you know. I really hate her. Like, I don't talk to her or anything 'cause she fu-um, screwed me up. My dad? Yeah, I had one. He let mom do her thing, and he'd go to work or play golf or do stuff around the house. One day, his stuff wasn't there. He'd decided he . . . well, he needed someone else. Yeah.

Breakdown

You wanna know what happened, right? Why I-yeah. Look, there's what I know, what I thought I knew, and what I found out later. And, I got no idea anymore what's real or not. See, after getting my doctorate I stayed at MIT working on applications for my research. What I found was a way to contain energy from other dimensions so it could be used as a power source. Kinda neat, yeah? Clean energy, right? Unless you release it in a certain way. Then, it's a bomb. Like, a big one. Think of the biggest atomic bomb, then scale it up by hundreds. Yeah.

They said a terrorist group blew up the MIT lab I was working in, took all my data, set off worms to remove it all from databases. And left me dying in the wreckage. I was fortunate to live, even though I had to have emergency brain surgery and I ended up-well, disturbed. That's the story. The truth? A terrorist group attacked the lab trying to take my work to make bombs. Or, I sabotaged my own work 'cause I couldn't let anyone use it as a weapon and faked it all. Or, maybe, there are people who saw tapping into other dimensions as destroying magical realms and couldn't let it continue and killing me would leave too many questions unanswered.

I used to think I knew the answer. Now? Maybe I did have myself lobotomized so I'd forget what I created. I can't remember it, anyway. Maybe I'm the victim of some magical cabal that believed all life was sacred and couldn't kill me so they . . . (turns off recorder)

(later)So, I found out what really happened. That magical cabal? More like a bunch of mages scared s**tless that some woman would upset their little game. Couldn't kill me, because of the consequences. But messing up my mind, ruining my reputation, destroying everything? That was just fine! Now, they're kinda scared 'cause not only do I know, I got power to really make them-nah, I'm not gonna do a thing. Let them wonder, right?

The origin of Bangs

When I first came to the Etoile, I tried to look like a professional-and nobody would hire me. After I started working at the Funhouse, having to make up an identity so I wouldn't go crazy, I got this idea. So, I dyed my hair pink, started wearing pink leather, talked like I was from Brooklyn and gave everyone a "Yeah, so?" attitude. And called myself 'Bang-Bang.' The jobs just rolled in. Go figure.

The turn

I'm not going to say what happened. I'll die with that, because there are things that would hurt other people. But, I learned that my work had been used to create something-bad. And, I found a way to stop it. Then, I realized how much I had missed doing what I had loved-science. Creating theories, discovering if they're right or wrong, making stuff. All that. I started doing projects for my friends, then did something I never, ever imagined. I got a job, teaching. Me, right? I'd never wanted to be a professor. But, I thought, maybe I should be giving something back, you know? So someone helped me get a position at PCU, and they liked me enough that I am now tenured. Teaching advanced, post-quantum physics theory. The stuff that motivated me. Maybe, I'll motivate someone else, who knows?"

Hurricane Bangs?

A long time ago, I met Tess LaCoell. Yeah, that Tess, the DJ. Well, and other stuff. Anyway, first time we met, I was kinda hyper and I gave her a panic attack. She called me "Hurricane Bangs" after that, which I thought was kinda funny.

So, years later, she's now Tara, a Storm Goddess and queen of the Storm Realm. Really. I ended up there, and of course, I'm gonna help my friend when she's in trouble. Well, one evening, she came to me and said she wanted to give me something, because I needed all the help I could get. And then, she kissed me.

On the forehead, get your mind out of the gutter! Look, next thing I know, I've got a part of her powers. I can summon storms, rain, lightning, all that stuff. Oh, and fly. The flying part's the best. Anyway, I kinda learned how to used these powers on my own, and eventually, they did come in handy. Tess? That's kind of a thing I can't talk about. I don't know where she is, just that she left. And, she's okay. I feel it, you know? I do miss her . . .

Life, then

I'm still in the Sisterhood of Naughty Space Vixens. I know, but hey, they're good people. Bey's one of my best friends; Bella, Tia, Vulcana, all of them-they've been there when I needed them, and put up with me when I lost it. A few times.

I gotta admit that my love life is . . . disastrous. I caused a lot of heartache, and anger. Broke a few people, too. (sighs) I wasn't ready to be an adult, in adult relationships. And, maybe people were too willing to forgive me when I needed to be told what kind of a b**** I was. Don't know. Anyway, Becca's my bestie even if we're not dating anymore. She's engaged and gonna have a kid, which is what she needed. Her mum, Crystal, is the one person who will tell me off when I need it, and give me a hug when I need that, too.

I think I'm better, now. I grew up. Try to do better. I know what I've done in my life, and I'll never fix it all. Just, try to not do it again. My record's clean, so that's good. People don't cringe when they see me. Usually. I'm happy. And, that's all I can ask, right?

Life, now

Note found in the recordings

"Barbara's life changed. She learned she had a twin in Praetoria, who she met a few months after she evacuated to Paragon City, with similar powers. After New Year's Eve, 2022, Barbara took a leave of absence from teaching and traveled. A fellow physicist she met in the UK became her boyfriend, and she split her time between Cardiff and Iceland. They had an amicable separation. She thought she'd booked a flight to Iceland, but it turned out to be Ireland. Don't let friends book your flights. She ended up in Dublin, and fell in love with the city. Barbara was offered a position at the University College Dublin, where she is an adjunct professor, and studying meteorology for a minor degree. There she met her current girlfriend, Fiona Ahern, specializing in "street art." While maintaining a residence in Paragon City, she visits it less and less, feeling that this chapter of her life is better left to memory.

"With Tara's disappearance, Barbara, having inherited her powers, became an unwilling part of a power struggle within the Storm Realm. Many saw her as a usurper, not a true decedent of Taran. Barbara, meanwhile, felt herself unhappy with the responsibilities. What happened next is subject to conjecture, but it is known that she summoned Taran, who called the leaders of the Realm to the castle. Soon after, Barbara left through the portal in the now-closed Monaco Embassy, which was then destroyed. After that, little is known, other than the Storm Realm is no longer open. She denied her powers for a long time, but has come to accept her role now, though she as she says "Doesn't really do goddess-y things" unless necessary."

Now, Now

"Who is Barbara Heisenberg? Is she Dr. Heisenberg, the prodigy who became one of the greatest post-quantum physicists? Bangs, the gun-slinging madwoman who left death and heartache in her wake? The goddess, who can summon storms with a thought and gave up the Storm Realm? Barb, who learned to become an adult?

"Maybe it's easier to say I found . . . me. Fiona doesn't care about guns, or goddesses, or physics. What she cares about is art, passion, and love. We've got a place in Dublin, not too far from the local. I've learned to like Guinness, and Gaelic Football's kinda cool. Which isn't football-they call it "association football" which is confusing, I know. The business stuff I leave to managers, and as long as I can do things like fund dreams I'm good.

"And, I'm happy. Imagine that."