Firewall

* Unmasking
* Mask On
* Mask Off

> "*...Thanks for the ramen, I guess. Why are you holding a tape reco-HEY WAIT COME BACK HERE YOU BRAT! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO GET ME TO SAY?!*"
> ― Firewall
>
>

## Appearance

Firewall has the biggest, bushiest, curliest, dark-maroon hair you've ever seen resting atop someone's head. Pairing it, she has dark chocolate brown skin dotted with freckles across her cheeks. Her most striking features are her neon blue eyes that practically glow in the dark against the smallest light source. The seams where metal meets skin often covered by some kind of hand-wear, her right forearm is fully prosthetic.

Since she's usually seated, crouched, or lying down, most people don't realize that- at her full posture without slouching- she stands at 6'4 without her power boots on. The boots and hair add another 5 inches to her height. This isn't evident most of the time though as she slouches and likes to remain seated or reclined whenever she can.

The mask that she's become known for online is comprised of a shaped screen that covers the upper half of her face, the top ending in flame-shaped curves bordered by the bottom half's porcelain-like material. The other part of the mask covers her mouth and nose in an off-white hard material that frames the entire mask.

In general, her clothing is a mix of what she "acquired" from the upper and lower city, often trying (and failing) to tailor it into a comfortable blend.

## Powers

Firewall's hacking suite is far from the usual one in the sense that she "hacks biology using magitech" and vice versa. Her expertise lies in cracking the barriers that secure networks put up using both mutating plants and traditional digital hacking. Her foci is a small aloe succulent infused with a magitech crystal that was the last gift she received from her father before he went missing. She can theoretically "plug-into" a plant, no matter the size, and use her knowledge to hack it into mutating to fit what is needed in that situation. From there she can use her arm to hack the DNA and trigger a rapid growth cycle.

The abilities in traditional computer hacking possessed by Firewall are still some of the best seen in Neo-Halcyon. In the internet-scape, fans of her old group marvel over her abilities, coining her subtitle "There is no barrier she can't put up or take down." The statement is backed up by her mastery in taking down security, providing easy access to her allies- whoever they may be now.

## Background

Yvette Medea was born in 2050 to middle-class parents Mira Medea and Vito Crawford and spent her infancy in Upper City Neo-Halcyon. Her mother worked in one of the skyscraping offices of the business district while her father worked in the melting pot of the tourism district, the same district where they lived at the time. She lived comfortably with her parents until her third birthday, when her mother died soon after in the summer from reasons Yvette is still in the fog about. Vito lost his job shortly after due to unrelenting grief and both of them had to move to the Lower City in order to avert the mounting debts.

As Yvette grew, the less and less she saw of her father the only times being an image of a broken man doing every shady job imaginable to provide for what was left of his family. When she turned 5 years old, however, her father managed to access her mother's safe-deposit box from the company and used the funds to pay off most of his debts as well as her first computer. This was where they both realized her skill in magitech manipulation.

Shortly after, however, he suddenly up and left home. The last thing he gave to her was a special aloe plant that had been infused with a gem focus, something far more expensive than the either of them had ever seen, even back when Yvette's mother was still alive. Vito disappeared and she ended up having to try and care for herself at 6 years old. Not long after, she wound up on the street with her computer, the plant, and a suitcase full of things she thought she needed.

On her 7th birthday, Yvette went too far away from home and got lost. She was cornered by some gang members but they were soon chased off by a group of about 8 kids not much older than her. They took her in and were known as The Lower's Lost. Yvette grew up with them as her team and participated in heists over the years. Whatever the team wanted, they planned together to take- wether it was a want or need didn't matter. 7 years after joining, they established their online presence as The Cryptodancers, a lucrative hacker group that the internet is obsessed with due to their ability to keep their identities undetectable.

From then on, they hacked into every major industry to take what they wanted, regardless of what the consequences were, only following 2 rules:

1. Don't take from those who  could be or are in just as much shit as us

1. Take whatever you want while leaving no trace unless we want a trace

During this period they lived comfortably- as comfortably as black hat hackers could in Lower city- and perfected their specialties on the team. Yvette took on the persona of Firewall, the biologist and barrier breaker of the group. In 2067, Eloise Carver- the chemical specialist and "medic" of the group- came to the team with a heist opportunity that gave a huge payload if they managed to pull it off. Their "leader" and tactician Sonya Keys was against the plan and left the group as a result when everyone went along with it.

The team geared up hit their mark- OmegaCorp and, when heist day came, got into position. Halfway through the heist, they were betrayed by Eloise who actually was contracted to secure The Cryptodancers in return for a safe and comfortable life at the company. Only Firewall knows about Eloise's betrayal, something the latter uses to blackmail the former citing that she can pin Firewall for the betrayal. The group split and everyone started hunting each other down, leaving only about 6 members left by 2069.

Now Firewall engages in freelance work, attending online biology classes at UNHIT, keeping up her online persona while still yearning to be part of a family again.

## Firewall's "Inspirational" and "Legal" Teachings

* "Mess with the best, die like the rest. Hack the planet-literally,"
* "Hacking photosynthesis... I'm in,"
* "There's a difference between doing the right thing, doing the hard thing, and doing the thing that benefits me. It seems like I'm just now learning that,"
* Galatians 4:16 & 4:20
* "Most folks here think that the divide between nature and technology is a solid thesis-antithesis divide like Per and Wer city. The best outcome I've found is synthesis, mixing the new with the old, the high and low, and you get harmony,"