Sirenis
Character Information
Exiled from her home when her parents discovered her sonic abilities, Mo'nique of Posidonius spent the next few years in a circus as one of their "Gallery of Freaks". Rescued by Jenny Herder, she made her home in Paragon City and enrolled in Grace Academy to further her education.
History
November 15 00:04:23UTC
Jenny Herder was assisting in-person to the Victoria Landsfeld Foundation's monthly financial review board, which in itself was a rarity. At the same time, she was videoconferencing with Ms. Sutter about the progress of one of her proteges, Madeleine Comète and connecting to her private server to file her operations reports from last night.
She frowned. She could - should - have done this right away, or as least as soon as the operation had concluded. Was she developing another human trait: procrastination?
"Ms. Herder, is something the matter?" Jenny caught herself. "No, Mr. Reichler, I was just wondering if you had taken into account the expenses from our outreach program in your quarterly estimates." "Ah, hum... well, no, but since those outreach programs..."
Jenny switched her primary consciousness to her private server:
Accessing secure server Report 92898341114 - Code-name Mermaid
Background information: Mo'nique is a 13-years old (based on bio-morphological readings) female from a species uncatalogued at the time of contact. She was born in an undersea kingdom that refers to itself as "Posidonius" and is located in the North Atlantic, exact coordinates unknown [XREF SurveyProject-NorthAt-P01]. Mo'nique is a mutation of the standard Posidonian [XREF NomencProp025] race that affects approximately 1 in 1000 of its members. This mutation consists in the ability to project ultrasonic sound waves in the 25 kHz – 100 MHz range and is known colloquially as "the Voice". The Posidonians can naturally communicate via infra-sound (0.05 Hz – 20 Hz range). The "Voice" is culturally considered a great honour if the recipient is male but a source of shame for a female. Once a female subject has demonstrated this ability, the usual retribution is exile. The Posidonians are an extremely xenophobic society; to be consigned to "the Outside" (world) is considered a punishment worse than death. Mo'nique was exiled on her 11th birthday (based on the Posidonians' moon-based calendar) and drifted [time reference: unknown] until she washed ashore 10 kilometres south of Aveiro, Portugal. She was found by the personnel of the Mallus Circus [XREF Mallus-002] and forced to join their so-called "Gallery of Freaks", where she would perform using the "Voice" in exchange for food and shelter. During her time with the circus, she learned the basics of human interactions and of some languages (English, French, Portuguese) [XREF PsychEval-Mo001], which denotes a high learning capacity. Field Report: Our Lisbon office received reports of possible meta-human trafficking involving a small travelling circus based in western Europe. VLF operative Luis Ganzman [XREF VLF-GANZLU] did the initial research on those reports and filed a Red Flag Memo [XREF RFM-523] with VLF HQ. After reviewing the memo, I decided to go in person to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, to do the Report And Response Field Action [XREF RARFA-23562]. I located the Mallus Circus and attended one of their representations [XREF VID08796] to confirm the presence of meta-humans. I found one meta-human among their attraction labelled 'Gallery of Freaks' [XREF VID08797]: a 13-years old female (based on biological readings) of an uncatalogued species. She was in an enclosed structure - with one side consisting of bars for her to be seen by the circus' patrons - and was fitted with a black market second-generation nullifier collar [XREF VANGUARD-3490]. There were signs of malnutrition and physical abuse. The circus' personnel tried to stop me when I tore open the structure and were dealt with accordingly. Unfortunately, I had to anesthetize the girl to prevent her from fleeing in a panic - a tactical mistake [Results from currently running diagnostic programs will be appended to this report]. Alerted by their colleagues, more Circus' personnel [XREF HEYRUBE_protocol] tried to restrain me and/or inflict bodily harm on both the girl and me, which triggered a Level 2 Fight Or Flight Threat Response – a second tactical mistake. No human lives were terminated, but the property damage was comprehensive. Alphonse Dewey Jr. of the VLF legal team will oversee litigation in this affair [XREF DEWEYDEWEYHOWE_3454]. I returned with the child (Mo'nique) to our medical facilities at the Kallisti Wharf's VLF headquarters. Dr. Franklin is in charge of the physical evaluation. Dr. Selkie and Pr. Antone are in charge of the physiological/sociological assessment.
Jenny's consciousness returned to the meeting, and she smiled.
November 15 00:04:33UTC
Personality
Mo'nique is naturally friendly and outgoing (unless it reminds her of her time in captivity, see "Aversion to cooked meat" below). However, she can be shy at times, being intensely aware of her status as an outsider amongst the human population. Posidonian society is highly xenophobic and misanthrope; her attitude is uncommon for someone of her race.
Aversion to cooked meat
Mo'nique has an aversion (not an intolerance) to cooked meat.
It is not a medical condition or a physical particularity of her species. Posidonians routinely consume raw, uncooked fish in their diet. That is why most basic medical exams would not notice anything is amiss.
It's more akin to PTSD and stems from her months in captivity in a circus. She was only fed "standard carny fare": hot dogs, hamburgers and the like, not even bothering to take her out of her cage to do so.
Even Jenny Herder, the self-proclaimed "Avatar of the Hindu Goddess of Knowledge", was unaware of this at first. She suspected something but did not pursue the matter further until the incident during Samantha DeChanel-Walker and Scott Barnes's wedding.
Mo'nique knows what makes her sick, but she won't volunteer the information unless pressed.
Abilities
Mo'nique is a mutation of the standard Posidonian race that affects approximately 1 in 1000 of its members, primarily males. She can project ultrasonic sound waves in the 25 kHz – 100 MHz range; this ability is known in Posidonius as "the Voice".
The Posidonians can otherwise communicate via infra-sound (0.05 Hz – 20 Hz range), or by audible clicks and hisses.
The "Voice" is culturally considered a great honour if the recipient is male but a source of shame for a female. Once a female Posidonian has demonstrated this ability, the usual retribution is exile.
Equipment
Mo'nique wears the "Pendant of Ge'nii", a very rare and powerful artifact that enables its wearer to understand and be understood by anybody. Its wearer will hear you in her native tongue, and you will hear her in yours.
The pendant was given to her by Jenny Herder; the story of its acquisition by the COO of the Victoria Landsfeld Foundation is unknown.
It seems the pendant has been damaged recently; its translations are not as accurate as expected.
Gallery
Mo'nique,
then and now
House Talons' Ultimate Frisbee team
