Crush Hour

"I KNOW it was expensive and rare. That's what made breaking it fun."
Crush Hour
Player: @Belah Nain
Origin:	Magic
Archetype:	Brute
Security Level:	Classified
Personal Data
Real Name:	Unknown
Known Aliases:	Crush, Thumper, The Angel of Ruin
Species:	Human
Age:	Unknown
Height:	223cm
Weight:	500 kg
Eye Color:	Blue
Hair Color:	White
Biographical Data
Nationality:	U.S. Citizen
Occupation:	For-hire enforcer, Dancer
Place of Birth:	Unknown
Base of Operations:	Unknown
Marital Status:	Unknown
Known Relatives:	Unknown
Known Powers
Extreme physical strength, damage resistance, and regenerative abilities. Able to increase strength beyond measurable levels when exposed to combat stresses.
Known Abilities
Expert combatant in ancient melee weapons. Possible college education with an emphasis in psychology.
Equipment
Large impervium hammer and shield with an estimated combined mass of 600 kg.
Formerly associated with the Villain group "Devil's Night Syndicate", now freelance.

She'll break a promise as a matter of course
Because she thinks it's fun to have no remorse
She gets what she wants and then walks away
And she doesn't give a fuck what you might say

- Curve. "Chinese Torture"

Character History

There is very little information on Crush's personal history prior to her first arrest in Paragon City at age 18 on a rioting charge (A common practice for the PPD when it comes to first-time offenses with no injuries). While easily able to press at least five tons baseline, with that number increasing in proportion to exertion, (see subclassification "Brute") she was by no means remarkable, and was subdued by PPD specialists using standard methods.

Several short jail stints later, Crush was put away for twenty-five to forty in Zigursky for fifty-seven counts of grand theft, eighty-five counts of aggravated assault, public indecency, and public intoxication. Three weeks into her incarceration Arachnos launched a large-scale assault on the prison with OPERATION: BREAKOUT. Despite being classified as a mid-range threat, she was able to overload her power inhibitors and break out of her cell. Next, she made her way to one of the cold storage facilities and stole a large war hammer and shield, both made of solid impervium. The massive weights were soon overcome by her physiology, and she escaped with ease after making her way to the maximum-security wing, killing two guards, fifteen inmates, and apparently one Arachnos Crab Spider operative in the process.

The Angel of Ruin

The hammer and shield Crush made off with had been evidence being held for the case of a fence specializing in antiquities. The pair, known as the "Ruinous Angels", (though their original names, if they had ones, are still unknown) had been created from a solid block of impervium several thousand years ago. Both hammer and shield weigh well over three hundred kilograms each, and as of the time of this report, no device, magic, or element is known to be able to damage them. References to similar weapons appear in books of demonology, and were associated with a high Calabim (destruction demon) known as Belah Nain.

Personality and Reputation

The best word to describe Crush would be "inevitable". The nature of her powers means that she will not stop until her target submits. Dangerous enough, but her attention span and capricious nature means that this can be applied to anything that catches her eye. She is a force of nature, like a tornado or a earthquake: unstoppable and with the potential to strike anywhere.

Formerly a "Bishop" in the Devil's Night Syndicate, former associates describe her as violent, on-edge, and with the potential to erupt. They have also described her as remarkably soft-spoken, even as she struggled to avoid going on a rampage through their facilities. Quote one gang member "We never quite knew if the calm was the mask or the rage was." Despite word on the street being that she was legendary for taking multiple partners to bed every night she went clubbing, FBSA intelligence has been unable to verify more than a dozen partners over the course of ten years, and all subjects interviewed used the word "nervous" to describe her general demeanor. Reports also indicate she values her solitude and is very firm about turning down unwanted advances; a fact that has earned several pushy wannabe partners the heavy end of the hammer. Literally.

Goals & Motivations

It's closing in on you, closing in on you
Run from the fire raining down on you
It's closing in on you, closing in on you
Oh (oh), and no way out
- The Offspring "Dividing by Zero"

Apparently chaos. Pure and simple. Crush Hour doesn't seem to have any goal beyond doing whatever she wants when the urge strikes her. Money is virtually useless to her, and she has no permanent possessions to speak of besides her clothes, hammer, and shield. That said, FBSA intelligence can't dismiss the theory that this "chaotic and random" nature is elaborate self-deception, or a carefully-crafted ruse. Actions towards Longbow personnel certainly seems to indicate a deadly focus when it comes to some subjects.

Some reports have suggested she's lashing out at a materialistic society, or that she fancies herself an artist. Forensic psychiatrists and psychologists have created a slightly different portrait, suggesting a deeply traumatic event. Over time, her usage of lethal force has dropped, with her highest body count being her breakout from The Zig. Several trained observers during attacks on Paragon City locations noted hesitation when fighting people vs destroying objects. One notable exception to this pattern is Longbow and anybody associated with Ms. Liberty. In these cases, borderline berserker behavior has been noticed, with any teammates being forced to extract her through various incapacitation methods ranging from sedative to intangibility to unrequested teleportation.

Powers and Abilities

Crush possesses super strength and significant damage resistance, along with great skill at deflecting incoming attacks with her shield. Other powers exhibited include a degree of rapid regeneration. Her most dangerous ability appears to be her ability to meet and eventually surpass any feat of strength she sees performed. If she knows a feat can be performed, then she can achieve it. Rather than happening in a rapid burst, this increase in strength appears to happen at a moderate pace. Whether this is psychologically driven by a desire to slowly and surely overcome, or simply a physical limit to how fast she can gain muscle mass is a question that can't be answered without a full medical examination. And that seems highly unlikely at the present time.

(In)famous Exploits and Notes

• Crush has gained some amount of notoriety online for videos she makes showing her criminal exploits. To date, the most popular video has depicted her dismantling a vintage '67 Shelby Mustang while the owner gradually shifts from begging her to stop, to begging her to continue. These videos continue circulating via DVD and the dark web, and even in seedier corners of the internet.

• Curiously, for someone of her reputation, no kind of sex tape has been released, despite several bounties posted online for just such a thing. Even given her fearsome reputation, it seems likely that enough money would convince someone to release the material if they had it. This calls more of her public reputation into question versus who she is in the dark.

• The superheroine Mynx recently tangled with Crush inside a Longbow installation in the Rogue Isles. Reportedly, Mynx was found unconscious in the wreckage of the command center with several new piercings.

• The art world went wild with equal parts shock and anger in mid-November, when a video surfaced of Crush destroying a Fabergé egg. The 1913 Winter Egg had recently been stolen while in transit, presumably for the purpose of ransom. Upon recovering the artifact, Crush unceremoniously smashed it with a single blow from her hammer.

Writing

Crush Hour's Story