Shadow

Michael Ricardo (father)

 Haley Reyes (cousin)

 Wayne Manor

**Shadow** (real name **Alexandra Reyes,** born November 15, 2004) is a founding member of the 2021 Team. She is the daughter of business man and Order member, Michael Ricardo, and the protégé of Nightwing.

## Personality

Much of Alex's headstrong and guarded personality is a byproduct of her unusual upbringing. Her father raised her in a kill-or-be-killed type of environment, teaching her to take whatever advantages she could in a fight or in real life to gain the upper advantage. This resulted in her considerably aggressive and confrontational nature, though she's tried to tone it down in the past few years. For the most part, Alex does her best to suppress the parts of her that are too much like her father's and instead focuses on her mother's teaching. She has learnt to be more considerate, to actually care about innocent lives and to not always put herself first. She feels as though she has a lot to make up for, and wants to do something good with her life, be a part of something greater than herself.

Always ready with a witty and biting remark, Alex is intent on proving herself to anyone who questions her. She conceals her defensive nature with an aggressive attitude, exhibiting a wild temperament that is apparent when people argue or belittle her. She readily involves herself in confrontations with little to no hesitance, as well, she often shows a lack of conventional team work. She sometimes disappears abruptly during a mission to scout ahead or perform some other task without notifying anyone else.

Alex is very closed off from others, often times choosing to be alone. She has a hard time letting people in, and often keeps everyone at an arm's length, even those she might consider friends. She never divulges too much about her personal life or past.

Alex is also very clever, and very methodical. She notices the small details about people and places, storing everything away and putting pieces together like a puzzle. She isn't one to give up very easily, and will often spend sleepless nights working a case or a mission. She often shows little to no regard for her own health when it comes to missions, working herself to the point of exhaustion and rarely ever accepting help.

Still, underneath her cold exterior, Alex is very caring and gentle to those she cares about. She can be playful and open around those she trusts, but it takes some time for her to warm up to people. She's fiercely loyal and would give up her life for those she cares about, but her loyalty has to earned, she doesn't give it out freely.

## Physical Appearance

Alex is half-Caucasian and half-Hispanic, with medium toned complexion. She joined the Team as a 17-year old. She has dark shoulder length hair,which she often keeps tied back and hazel eyes. She is shorter than average, at about 5'3 and is slender in stature, yet has an athletic build from her years of training.

Shadow's outfit is a black body suit with grey padding built into her knees and elbows.There is no insignia on her outfit. She wears black boots with a reinforced sole for a better grip. As well, she has various holsters strapped on where she keeps her weapons, as well as an utility belt. She also wears a black mask, mirroring that of Nightwing's.

## Powers and Abilities

#### **Powers**

* **Accelerated Healing:** Alex is able to heal at an accelerated rate, almost as quickly as a speedster. Scraps, cuts and bruises heal over instantly but larger wounds take a bit longer. She also can't heal around anything. If she gets shot, she needs to take out the bullet before her powers kick in.

#### **Abilities**

* **Above-average human conditioning:** Having undergone an evidently vigorous and intensive training regimen, Alex has demonstrated impressive physical feats for a human of her age and size
* **Hand-to-Hand Combat:**  Alex is a skilled fighter, due to her father's training and is able to take out multiple attackers with relative ease

* **Stealth:** An ability she's more recently picked up from Nightwing, Alex is able to disappear and appear without anyone noticing. She is very good at going unnoticed, blending into the shadows of a room or into crowds of people.
* **Escape artistry:** By no means is she a master escape artist, but Alex is capable enough in escaping from basic restraints and traps.
* **Acrobatics:**  Alex is proficient in basic acrobatics, and can perform flips, somersaults, front and back handsprings with ease
* **Marksmanship:** Alex is a proficient marksman, though not having been trained with a bow and arrow, she can throw knives and shoot a gun with relatively good aim.
* **Lock picking:** Alex can very easily pick almost any basic lock, a skill that comes in great use when she's sneaking around
* **Detective Skills**: Alex is able to pick up on small details that most would overlook and piece everything together like a puzzle. She's very intuitive, and can often make quick deductions about people which majority of the time turn out to be true.
* **Multilingualism:** Alex can speak fluently in English, Spanish and Italian, and is somewhat conversational in French.
* **Weaponry:** She can fight with knives, daggers, bo staffs and Nightwing has been teaching her to fight with escrima sticks recently

## Equipment

* **Handheld telescope:** She uses it to scout long distances, and to make-out details.
* **Eskrima sticks:** Twin fighting sticks used as close combat weapons. Alex stores them prominently in a holster on her right thigh.
* **Knives/Daggers:** She also has a fair number of knives tucked away in her holsters, and she always keeps one with her even when not in her costume.
* **Collapsible Bo Staff:** She doesn't use this often in fights, but keeps it stored away in one of her holsters just in case.
* **Grappling gun:** A hand-held device that fires a grappling hook across far distances which allows her to make hasty escapes and climb high objects and buildings. The grapple lines can be lengthened and pulled back utilizing the buttons on the gun.
* **Bolas:** Weighted balls connected by a rope, meant to entangle people
* **Utility Belt:** She stores a multitude of weapons and tools in utility belt
	+ **Lockpick:** A small device to open locks
	+ **Explosive Pellets:**Explodes on impact.
	+ **Taser:** A hand-held taser, that could be used both short range and long range
	+ **Gas pellets:** Tiny-marble like devices that give off a thick gray smoke ideal for obscuring vision. The smoke can also render someone unconscious when used in close spaces. The pellets can be set for delayed detonation
	+ **Flash grenades:** A device which generates a bright flash of light to dazzle or distract enemies

## Relationships

**Michael Ricardo**

To put into simplest terms, Alex despises her father. She harbors no familial love for him, and would very much like to see him dead. She doesn't remember a time when he was actually a loving father to her, though her mother had insisted that he had been when Alex was first born. She only remembers his training, the merciless way in which he pushed her and his explosive anger. She knows him for who he really is, a monster rather than the polished and charming business man he presents himself to be to everyone else. Her hatred for him, and what he did to her mother, was her major driving force in becoming a hero. Using the skills he had taught her to become a hero and save people rather than harm them was her way of stepping out from under his shadow and the family name.

Despite her anger and hatred towards him, Alex still fears her father and what he's capable of. He's actually one of the few people on this Earth who she fears, and the thought that he might find her and finish what he started hasn't left her mind in over 6 years.

**Lillian Ricardo**

Growing up, Alex was very close to her mother. She only survived having a father like Michael and not becoming exactly like him because of Lillian, who was unable to do anything about the way her husband treated Alex, but was able to provide comfort and support. Lillian attempted to save her daughter from Michael by escaping with her, but Michael caught on to her plan and had her killed. Alex was heartbroken after her mother's death.

**Nightwing**

Alex was wary of Nightwing at first when he offered to mentor her. She had already had a mentor of sorts before, and he hadn't been so kind but she also knew about Nightwing's reputation. She knew if she really wanted to do any real good, she needed control and Nighwting was offering to teach her that. Now, Alex fully trusts Nightwing, even