Barbara Minerva

== Biography ==
=== Early Life ===
The woman who would come to be known as Barbara Ann Minerva was born as Priscilla Rich. A birth certificate indicates she was born on August 7th, 1972. The Rich family, so aptly named, were the richest family in Nottinghamshire. Throughout her early life, the Rich family appeared to lead charitable efforts. But, Priscilla would listen in on dinner parties her parents held for their “Legionnaires Club”, which is when she began to suspect ulterior motives.
According to her parents, the Legionnaires Club was an international band of archeologists. Priscilla experienced one of their meetings for herself, at a conference in Metropolis, where she unknowingly rubbed elbows with future President Lex Luthor, although he was a child himself at the time.
The Rich Family had a few runs down on their luck, and with options dwindling, they resulted to blackmail. Her parents threatened the Legionnaires Club to expose their activities. That night, Priscilla fell asleep early, thanks to a secret sleeping pill. The last time she saw her parents, they were carrying her to a private car.
=== Barbara Ann Minerva ===
Priscilla awoke on a private plane. The pilot refused to tell her where they were going. She landed in a private airfield in Idaho, where her aunt, Lyta Minerva was waiting. Lyta informed her that the Rich family was not always well-off. The fortune had come from selling family farms off in Idaho. Lyta herself lived on a private ranch in the country.
To keep her safe, Lyta changed Priscilla’s name to Barbara. She introduced Barbara to her boyfriend, scientist Sebastain Ballesteros. Sebastian got Barbara very interested in biology, and set her up with a tutor, Georgia McLeod. While honing her biology skills, Georgia got Barbara interested in Greek Mythology, and specifically the Amazons. It became Barbara’s goal to find the hidden Paradise Islands.
Barbara worked hard and convinced Sebastian and Lyta to send her to a fancy boarding school. This put her on the fast-track to success, and she was accepted to Metropolis University on a full-ride scholarship. Her college roommate was a Zambezi woman named Abiesa. Abiesa invited Barbara on a trip back to her home country the next summer. Barbara agreed.
In Zambezi, she fell in love with their culture and developed an affinity for spelunking. While exploring, she and Abiesa stumbled upon a temple of the plant God Urzkartaga. Abiesa advised they leave the temple alone, but Barbara couldn’t shake the feeling that it was calling to her.
They returned to college, where Barbara switched her major from biology to anthropology, and instantly became smitten with Bill Glenmorgan, a fellow student. She and Bill both raced to the top of their class and remained neck-and-neck. Barbara eventually asked Bill out.
Bill and Barbara stayed together all throughout college. Upon graduation, Bill and Barbara decided to go on their own global expeditions. Both became esteemed professors and Barbara even got her PHD. They spent years saving up money and traveling during the off-seasons. One notable expedition included the discovery of the Gorilla City colony in what was formerly Cairo. Barbara continued her investigation of the Amazons, as well as looking into Urzkartaga. She discovered through ancient texts she translated that he was a God belonging to a whole Pantheon which tied to something referred to as the Mystical Red.
These texts detailed an underground city hidden in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bill and Barbara planned their next expedition for the Congo, hoping to uncover this city.
=== Bride of Urzkartaga ===
Mike Maxwell, a famed archeologist of the Congo, met Bill and Barbara upon their arrival. He led them to the Rwenzori Mountains, where they descended deep within a cave. Maxwell himself had spelunked there, but he stated that he needed a small team in order to get further into the cave.
After hitting a dead end, they decided to take a short break, where Barbara noted an odd taste in their water. Seconds later, she and Bill passed out. They awoke on a golden altar further within the cavern, where a huge carving of Urzkartaga took up the entire wall. Maxwell insisted that he believed that a human sacrifice to the plant God would open the gates to this hidden city.
Bill was able to escape from his restraints and was shot by Maxwell, who then underwent a traditional sacrificial ritual on Barbara’s body. Barbara died on this day. But, she awoke nearly two hours later on a cot in an abode. A man stood above her, identifying himself as the priest Chuma.
Chuma welcomed Barbara to Abyssia and took her on a tour of the city. They passed by the dismembered body of Maxwell on their way. When she questioned him about Bill, Chuma played coy. He informed her that while Maxwell had killed her, they had managed to bring her back through a ritual, but the ritual required a price. In exchange for reviving her, Urzkartaga required her to become his bride. With no choice, Barbara accepted.
Barbara agreed to become Urzkartaga’s bride, and he stripped her of her humanity, officially turning her into the host of a Cheetah spirit, making her animal-like and blessing her with supersonic speed.
Barbara was released from Abyssia and returned to Metropolis, able to transform herself back into a human at will. She received questions about Bill, but she simply ignored them, before doing what she does best - she disappeared.
=== Cheetah ===
Barbara turned up on Abiesa’s doorstep begging for help. Abiesa took her in and introduced her to Mari McCabe, who was mastering the Tantu Totem. Mari helped her begin to master her abilities, while she began operating as an international superhero.
In 2006, Mari was nominated to join the Justice League. Mari invited Barbara with her to America, where she introduced Barbara to Diana Prince, who got her a job at ARGUS. Diana and Mari both agreed to keep her secret from ARGUS. However, Amanda Waller sees all and eventually discovered Barbara’s secret. She agreed to keep it just that, so long as Barbara agree to be a government liaison for her Suicide Squad. With no choice, Barbara agreed.
Going by the codename of Cheetah, Barbara accompanied the Squad on a recon mission to Gorilla City. While there, she recognized a familiar face or rather, voice. It was the voice of Bill Glenmorgan, now in the body of a giant orange gorilla. After imprisoning the rest of the Squad, Bill and Barbara sat down to talk.
Bill informed her that Abyssia didn’t kill him, but rather made him the avatar of one of Urzkartaga’s warrior spirits - that of the Golden Gorilla. After escaping the city, he remembered Gorilla City, and journeyed there for help. The king, Solovar, granted him asylum.
Whilst preoccupied with dealing with the Squad, a rogue Gorilla named Grodd lead an uprising against Solovar, leading an attack in which he bashed Solovar’s brains in against the throne. Bill helped the Squad make it to their transport and returned to the United States with them.
While Bill and Barbara couldn’t rekindle their romance due to Barbara’s marriage, Barbara gained a new friend in Diana Prince. Barbara was assigned to be her personal assistant and bodyguard. Should a threat turn deadly - she could become the Cheetah and fight alongside Wonder Woman.
In 2008, Barbara was contacted by Veronica Cale, who informed her that she believed Amazonian weapons could enable her to kill Urzkartaga, reversing her powers and making her human once more. Cale was planning an expedition to the Paradise Islands, and she wanted Barbara to help her kidnap Vanessa Kapetalis and Helena Sandsmark in exchange for the weapons. Barbara agreed.
The kidnapping plot did not go as planned, and Cale actually had no plans to help Barbara. In fact, she planned on shooting her and dumping her body in the ocean. Diana stopped Barbara from taking Cale’s life. Barbara managed to escape from Diana, and remained on the run from the woman who was formerly her friend. She ended up brainwashed by Gorilla Grodd and Brainiac into joining the third iteration of the Legion of Doom, where she would eventually team up with Diana and the second Wonder Girl to defeat Brainiac.
Since then, she has served as a for-hire assassin, mainly contracting herself out to the Light. She has remained on the run, occasionally tracked down by Vixen and Wonder Woman, who often found her in the jungle, embracing the predator she became by hunting down wild animals.