Lionheart

Aaliyah Sanchez is an individual who considers herself neither a hero nor a villain.  In the bleak streets of Michigan, the civilians know her by the alias **Lionheart**, one of the most terrifying vigilantes the world has seen. Operating primarily in Millennium City, she is usually active at night, embracing her bestial nature to strike fear into the hearts of criminals.  She is a feline who swore to lay pain into those who brought pain upon the city.  Since birth, she has been blessed with unprecedented powers and abilities. It was not until becoming a young adult that she began training herself under severe conditions to become the active fighter she is today.  From sanctioning in sewers to shacking in poor shelters in her adolescent days, rags eventually became riches as she now lives a wealthy lifestyle.  She serves the purpose as a bodyguard at Mach Incorporated.  She carries a strong stride, waging war against those who dare to govern her judgment.  She’ll be damned to allow anyone to get in her way.

## Appearance

Lionheart is a beautiful tan-skinned young woman of a thick pear figure above average height with long brown hair that reaches down her spine in humanoid form.  She has a few strands that partially cover her golden slit eyes.  Her upper body is slim and narrow, while from the waist down is wide and hefty. In her earlier days, she was very heavily dressed that individuals could only view her eyes. Her walk has a vital stride, which has proven daunting to others. Aaliyah speaks in a relatively feminine Hispanic accent, albeit slightly more profound than the typical woman’s voice.

Aaliyah has long straight hair, primal golden eyes, full lips, and faint rosette spots. She is well known for her curvy figure, of which her most distinctive traits are debatably her vast thighs and rear.

Nowadays, she is more freely dressed, swathing various trendy outfits, including leggings, jeans, armored chest plates, hoodless jackets, etc.  Generally, she is seen in casual wear than her combat gear.  She intends to bundle up in her combat attire only when aware of a fight inbound.

Aaliyah laces between a few of her outfits when donning the more feared persona of Lionheart. At night, she traditionally wears a vigilante-themed outfit of casual clothing, coating herself with gray and black colors varying with her hood, sweatpants, jacket, and scarf to puncture her no-nonsense temperament further.

She usually dresses more in hubristic fashion when needed during broad daylight hours.  Much of her skin is exposed while a lion breastplate covers her chest, offering her additional protection, and her waist is hugged with a draped skirt-cape.  Brown straps are wrapped tightly around her thighs, and her clawed feet are adorned with her calves.  Over her right forearm, she has an armored Greek bracer.

On the other hand, her Nemean Rage form captivates the untamed nature that resides in her.  She stands at a whopping eight feet, with dark brown fur and black highlights. Under her coat, the body fat from her human form is hardened into muscle, shaping her into a steel monster. Her canines extend to extraordinary lengths to aid her in her predatory hunts.    The expression worn on the beast is nothing pretty, manifested in extreme rage, resentment, and bloodlust.   Her hair is grown to a wilder unkempt, resembling a lion’s mane.  Unlike her human form, this rageful transformation naturally brings her to all fours, fully adapting to the nature of an actual feline.

## Personality

Due to her genetic makeup, Aaliyah naturally comes off as a powerful and commanding presence to those around her. She usually displays a stoic character, especially in social environments, although her sarcastic humor is arguably the most prominent personality trait. She is very serious-minded and outspoken in her views.

Her expression rarely changes, and she is seldom shown smiling.  Typically, she doesn’t react to people, most of the time, simply because she doesn’t care.   Accompanied by her cold nature as a feline, she often desires to kill anyone who even does so much as irritate her, but her primal urges mostly get suppressed with enough restraint.  As a little girl, Aaliyah was cheery and friendly – the traumatic events of her past and the unending provocation of her inner beast caused her to adopt a frosty attitude toward others.

Lionheart is about looking out for herself and those directly related to her.  Rare times is she seen having fun, but she is a woman who always prefers to get straight to the point.  She is a bold conversationalist who has no issue hurting someone’s feelings by honoring them with truth and honesty.  Not even those she cares about are exempt from this tendency. Concerning companionship and even romance, she is not a fan of public displays of affection.  She leans more toward the reserved and unprovocative meter.

When in action, Aaliyah’s demeanor is typically calm and collected.  Despite the blank forefront, she can be unceremoniously desensitized and coldhearted in her tactics, often filtering towards the black scale of morality.  She holds no sympathy for her opponents; the longer a fight drags out, the more in tune she is with her wild side, and it fractionally grows more challenging to tame herself.   Aaliyah is not fond of the government; she believes that specific rules must be broken to triumph.  This mindset naturally brings her at odds with people, even her friends.

While the magnitude of her power is significantly multiplied, she loses sense of who and what she is. She has a vicious and animalistic side to her.  Her emotions are directly connected to her power; she enters a berserker state when provoked.  As Aaliyah draws deeper into her inner beast, she negates all rationality. Her mindset boils down to killing everything that moves. All bets are off the table when transformed into the Nemean Rage state.

## History

### Prequel

#### Nemean Lion Saga

Once upon a time in Olympus, the god of sky and thunder known as Zeus had been head-over-heels for Hera.   She never perceived him as a potential love interest, so she declined the opportunity.  However, after an unrelenting effort from the King of All, he finally wins over her heart, creating a family on Mount Olympus.  They brought four children into the world. Unfortunately, that did nothing but quench his sexual desires as he sought out other women.  He constantly committed infidelity against his marriage and birthed other children through his mated women.   He had cheated on Hera over a hundred times, but Hera always forgave him.  However, he was never off the hook; only the Olympian Queen could manage so much grief and pain.

One more betrayal was for Hera to unleash her trump card to vindicate her husband’s treason.  She searched for Typhon and Echidna, Greece’s two most feared Titans.  Once gathered, she helped devise a deal for the pair to help claim supremacy over her husband.  The Monsters conceived a lion cub, a tiny ball of innocence that would later serve as a weapon against Zeus.  Hera wasted no time taking the cub in her own hands from birth, assuring its parents that she would take exquisite care of it.  She trained the feline through each phase of its life, and by the time it reached adulthood, it developed into a man-eating massacre ready to tear anyone and thing apart, of course, given the command.
Eventually, once Hera was confident that she could leave the Lion to his sovereignty, she sent him to Nemea, where the city had a Zeus shrine.  The occupants worshiped him religiously, which enraged Hera immensely to the point where she aimed to halt the deification.  With the lion guarding the shrine, people could hardly step into it.  And as predicted by the Queen, grazing cattle, walking in the wild, and even sleeping peacefully at home would indeed come to a sudden end for the residents of Nemea.  Every day, they witness sheep and fellow tenants vanishing without a trace.  The beastly lion often lured warriors to his cave by abducting women and using them as bait.   Warriors and combatants would attempt to rescue each damsel in distress; however, they ultimately died.  By this time, he was the feared legend.  He was dubbed the Nemean Lion.

Watching from afar, Hera had great faith in how this destruction would send a ripple effect against Zeus.  However, little did she know, another figure was hidden deep in the shadows of Nemea, prying in on their collude.  A lonesome Amazon warrior, Nilda intervened and attempted to slay the beast; however, her efforts proved dire after long periods.  Despite recognizing its natural dispositions as a lion, Nilda deduced that its destructive act on Nemea was abnormal attainment.  Her suspicions were confirmed when Hera arrived on the scene, watching her command the lion to destroy the shrine at the site.

Nilda grew sympathetic to the beast, pitying Hera's influence over him.  She took the initiative by visiting the lion in Nemea whenever Hera was absent, attempting to tame him.  It would be exhausting to the Amazonian woman, like beating a dead horse.  However, her attempts to win the lion’s trust would eventually come to fruition when it was confronted by a dozen of warrior men to be decimated.  The Lion witnessed Nilda’s unyielding drive to defend his honor, protesting that Hera was the true enemy.  Together, they defeated the assembled men, marking the start of their affinity.

Months into their growing bond, Nilda was hammered with mixed emotions.  She was relieved and delighted about her intimate relationship with the Nemean Lion, yet troubled and concerned about the reception of her Amazonian tribe, ashamed of what they would perceive her to be if they were to discover her affair.  It did not help that she was also pregnant shortly after.

The Nemean Lion left a print on the turf of Nemea, so much that Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns, had enough of the charades.  He commanded Heracles, son of Zeus by a different woman, with a set of tasks, one of which was to defeat the beast.  Nilda caught wind of the news and was paranoid about the feline monster.  The Lion was dismissive of her constant pleas to flee Nemea, headstrong in counteracting whatever malicious threat stood unwelcomed on his newly claimed territory.

Refusing to risk putting her unborn child in harm’s way, she quickly abandoned the lion, returning to Themiscyra, her hometown.  Upon her arrival, her sisters welcomed her with open arms after announcing that she was expecting.  Her time spent back at Themiscyra was bittersweet, as after about a week had passed, gossip had spread that the Nemean Lion had finally met its end, slain by Nemea’s newfound hero Heracles.  It was more gruesome to hear that he had skinned the lion, wearing its fur, claws, and head.

Months had passed since the Nemean Lion’s death; Nilda was in labor.  She gave birth to a boy, whom she named to be **Angel**. He wasn’t a kitten; he was a humanoid baby.  Despite this, it was easy to recognize the traits of his father, which often brought despair into the woman that the Nemean Lion was not present to share such a precious moment.  Withholding the expectation to hand her child over to the Gargareans, she fought tooth and nail to raise him independently.

Unfortunately, Nilda could only do so much, as her efforts were in vain.  She was struck with a compromise intended to leave both affairs content:  she would raise Angel until ten and exile him to the Gargareans.  If any rebellions were committed, the Amazons would kill him.

That day would come.  After many years of grooming Angel as best as she could, she would harshly cut all ties with him for his sake; instead of forcing him into the hands of the Gargareans, she wanted him to live a nonbelligerent life.  As painful as it was for her, she ran him out of Themiscyra.  By this time, the poor boy was without any parents.

Luckily, Angel had years of experience regarding survivability despite his young age—enough to help him get by.  Nilda taught him how to fight and use his head when it mattered.   Accompanied by her love for him as a mother, she was confident he would be fine.  After all, he had the blood of a warrior and a feral god.   He would figure it out.

Angel slowly but surely adjusted, gaining new ground on his lonesome lifestyle.  He started coming to his well-being as an individual with unique abilities.  He was able to understand and communicate with animals.  During his journey to seek a new purpose over the years, he eventually found himself stepping foot in the land of Spain.  Waltzing into a civilized society was not something he envisioned.  Despite appearing human like them, he stuck out like a sore thumb, unable to adhere to their rules and traditions.  He was practically a caveman to them.

He needed clarification and clarification at the core of how weak they were and of low value compared to his people. Eventually, he was entangled with a young Spaniard woman named **Sofia Sanchez**. His conscience often reminded him of the taboo about sharing the same space with the opposite sex.  However, once his body matured, his raging hormones refused to abide by it.  Sofia was nothing like his mother, Nilda; hailing from an elitist family, Sofia was very arrogant and often carried a superior-type personality.  Despite Angel holding no penny to his name, his attractiveness held the ground for being known as the most dangerous man in Spain.  He was also profoundly gravitated by his girlfriend’s hotblooded temper, the one similarity she had with his mother and the Amazonian tribe.  Sofia’s family quickly took him in and taught him how to live in their country; unfortunately, their conceited habits would ultimately rub off on him, turning him into a spiteful and egotistic man.

### Cub Days

Years passed as Angel grew accustomed to the European kingdom's conventions.  Fate would have it that Angel and Sofia eventually marry.  After six months, Sofia was announced pregnant and would finally give birth to a baby girl, as she and Angel subsequently decided to name her **Aaliyah**.   This was a glaring issue for the demigod. Angel wanted a boy, not just to raise his kind but because he was aware of the cultural divide between men and women where he was from.  Hell, he was banished from his home because of it.

That was not the only knot for the newlyweds.  Aaliyah was born humanoid except for physical traits that mirrored a cat.  She had a tail spread with dark rosette spots all over her body.  A never-ending buzz spread around the city, earning speculation from practically every resident in Spain.

Sofia was not fond of her newborn child; she resented what Aaliyah’s feline nature brought to the family.   No longer the center of attention in the ways that she preferred, slowly but undoubtedly did she loathe her, brewing hatred for her baby’s lion traits.  She was repulsed to refer to Aaliyah as her daughter.  Angel often decided to steer away from his cub, intending not to attach himself.

Aaliyah was raised with very little care. Sofia wasn’t the compassionate, patient mother she needed her to be.  And she was undoubtedly *not* a daddy’s little girl.  She was the outcast when dealing with her mother’s lineage.  At family gatherings, she was always the oddball out, cast to the wayside while her cousins played among themselves - and what made it worse for the hybrid child was that her parents noticed but did not seem to care.  She struggled to adjust to human society simply because she was different, just like her father, not only because of her appearance but also her unworldly gifted abilities.  It's benefited, while it’s proved wrong at other times.

Her relationship with her parents grew toxic and abusive the older she got, and it eventually soured to the point where it was easier for Angel and Sofia to remove her from their home.  Feeling like an orphan, Aaliyah spent most of her life to herself.  She was bound to suffer the same fate as her father had when he hit puberty.  And unlike him, she had a hard time acclimating to her environment.  Bouncing around the city for shelter, she could not find any permanent security and decided Spain was no longer her home.

The daughter of Angel took it upon herself to flee Spain by any means necessary, sneaking on a transatlantic cruise in Barcelona that at times nearly got her caught. However, her lithe frame and stealthy nature helped ultimately keep her out of the naked eye the entire time. The exiling from her parents left an embittered taste in her mouth.  Albeit anxious and afraid of what life would reimburse her, she pledged to mark her path and leave her legacy without her parents’ aid.

Eventually, she was boarded in the United States.  Upon arrival, she was struck with culture shock.  There was a jet-lagging feeling of disorientation as she was subjected to the unfamiliar ways of life in New York City.  Being in the heart of Manhattan, she was exposed to fast-food restaurants, grocery markets, convenience stores, and thousands of civilians crowding the streets daily.   Not to mention, what came with it was the high crime rate.  Scrounging left-over foods and drinks from trashcans and barrels, she managed to sustain herself until it hurt to rely on foods already partially consumed by strangers. Despite her remarkable potential as a prodigy, she was still a child.  And as if matters could not be worse, her powers had not honestly woken.  Aaliyah was petrified and sometimes rued her decision to leave her home country.

She took it upon herself to commit theft out of desperation, longing for a fresh hot meal.  Unfortunately, her plan went south after realizing her heart wasn’t pulling such a crime.  However, within that moment, she learned that she was different from the humans from an aesthetic standpoint and abilities when she accidentally set the woman she originally intended to steal food from on fire.

She was astronomically remorseful of the act.  She attempted to extinguish the fire but was horrified when the efforts only seemed to add more fuel.  Before she knew it, she was on the run from the authorities.  This would soon turn out to be a regular cycle for her.  Sometimes, a long heartfelt cry was needed before pulling herself back together to keep moving forward.  It didn’t help to observe children and teenagers her age enduring everyday, carefree lives.  It enabled a bottle of anger and despair to build within the young adolescent feline.  She often asked herself why she was born with such dispositions and so different from the average person.  All she wanted was to feel like she belonged.

Halfway into the year, she found herself in Millennium City: a city that stunned her to the core from beholding the home to superpowered beings that ranged from mutants, aliens, demons, vampires, angels, and even other anthropomorphic individuals just like her.  Despite her intrigue and astonishment, she quickly learned that the city was a torturous nightmare.  Without her parents’ supervision, she often found herself in troublesome events that nearly cost her her life.  Crime activities occupied almost every street she visited, corner, and alley.

One day, she encountered a robbery that saw a group of New Purple Gang thugs antagonizing an innocent man for his wallet.  It did not help that she overheard the cries and revelations that he was related to another prominent figure they had bad blood with.  Feeling pity for the distressed man, she took it upon herself to rescue him. Envisioning the fire that she inadvertently manifested against the poor woman prior, she had it in her best interests to channel that same energy, justifiably so, to the New Purple Gang.  However, she was betrayed by her ability.  The most that came from her hands were embers.

Two of the Hired Muscle quickly dispatched her, giving her a thrashing she never knew was possible.  And in doing so, the man she attempted to rescue took the opportunity to flee from the scene, leaving her to suffer against the new Purple Gang.  After they were suddenly taken down, Aaliyah was immediately drawn to what she envisioned to be her shining knight in armor. She was overwhelmed and frustrated, unable to understand why her fire powers weren’t coming to life.  She was saved by a West Side native when she least expected it.  Her savior was another Latino man, resembling much more maturely than her.  He went by the name ‘’’ Rey Valiente’’ in costume but was personally known as Richard Alvarez. Valiente gave the thugs a taste of their medicine entering the crime scene.

She believed that he was her ticket to safety, mainly when there was no venom after he laid eyes on her.  It felt like she had finally met the one person who would treat her with respect and compassion. Unfortunately, her age was showing.  Being the young-minded peppy girl she was, she believed everything Valiente told her.  He hastily took her under his wing, learning she was without her parents.  Little did she know, he had his agenda planned.  Their friendship blossomed peaches and cream as she admired him for what she seemingly stood for from her lenses.

Behind the scenes, Rey Valiente was just a mask.  A veil to his authenticity.  However, he was patient in winning Aaliyah’s trust for now.  And that he did.  But unfortunately for the adolescent woman, this was the beginning of the end.  He was a hero to the public eye of Millennium City and a drug-dealing Kingpin from the unseen.   Not to mention, he was a feared man.

Slowly but surely, Valiente would expose his true colors.  Aaliyah was keen enough to notice his occasional mood swings and how his anger would destroy his furniture.  One day, Aaliyah caught him and his subordinates mercilessly thrashing his close comrade to the near-death, which traumatized her.  It shook her perspective of Richard so much that it terrified her to imagine they would continue sharing the same space.

After confronting the man for his immoral act, a harsh slap across the face rudely awakened Aaliyah, and from there, things were never the same between the two.  Richard brainwashed Aaliyah, using his dark wits to blind her from the truth while marking her as his servant.  She was still so young to believe this was the beautiful complication of love.  After all, this was what her parents introduced her to.  She knew nothing else.

Over time, Aaliyah was brought down to reality and understood that this was not the lifestyle she wanted to live.  Richard frequently assigned her unlawful duties involving drugs, gambling, and theft. In the rare cases in which mistakes were made that did not meet his expectations, he often punished her for it, adding to her existing mental and emotional trauma.  Unbeknownst to them, there was another lifeform surfacing within the feline.  An inner beast on the horizon that would soon make itself known.

### Enter Lionheart

#### Awakening Saga

Aaliyah had episodes of dysfunction, plagued by sickness due to her gradual changes.  At only 157 centimeters when she was sixteen, aging empowered her genetic makeup from her father’s lineage to mature rapidly. In 2012, she experienced a substantial growth spurt, increasing to 190 centimeters and passing Richard in height by very few inches. Her tail extended, her fingers grew claws, and her canine teeth resembled a lion’s.

Despite perpetually esteeming the feared man with respect and gratitude, Richard withheld much disdain for the flourishing teen.  So much that he did anything to make sure she fell beneath the dirt, asserting forced dominance to remind her who was the head in charge.  However, it all ended when Aaliyah finally convinced herself that enough was enough.  Amid a violent episode he bestowed on her, the intense waves of her inner primal rage reached the surface of no return.  The tables flipped as she transformed into a vastly powerful, tanner-skinned humanoid monster.  She was a savage lion on the loose, and the polite, innocent girl was no more.

Richard was horrified by the bestial alteration.  Her fire abilities returned to life in full throttle, and no matter what he threw at her, it seemed as though she were a sponge, absorbing all his defending attacks.  The raging lion from within her took all command, inserting itself into the driver’s seat.  Aaliyah pulverized Richard within an inch of his life, tearing him to shreds and leaving him under a pool of blood.  She was readily prepared to end him but ultimately revoked her conscience.  That drove her over the edge, causing her to rupture a destructive escape and scram.

#### Aphine Saga

Two years after that unbearable incident, Aaliyah was no longer the loving, sweet, timid girl. She was a dark, ruthless young woman with a personal vendetta against the world.  Not even Richard could fluster her anymore; those days were long gone as she had blossomed into the intimidating, fearless woman he dreaded. She began calling her shots.  She was much more accustomed to Michigan and needed no one’s hand.  Aaliyah embodied the cruel nature of Millennium City, using it to her advantage to hunt thugs and delinquents at night just because she could.  The tradition was an emotional outlet for her. While setting her eyes on miscreants and villains, she grew extraordinarily pessimistic and suspicious of the world, which often invoked her mistrust for heroes.

Aaliyah often set time aside, fully accepting that she was a woman with cat-like adaptations and fire control. She would lock herself in training facilities to sharpen her endowments.  It was no walk in the park for her; she struggled immensely to hone her powers. She often strained her body to lose consciousness and even fractured some limbs.

She could endure only so much failure because her invested efforts would eventually pay off. Ultimately, she progressed to become a well-versed fighter.  Save for battles when her inexperience would be costly, she compensated by learning from her mistakes, bouncing back each time.  She aimed to deprive those with a slight rationale for evildoing and even the innocents of questionable morals.  She believed to be doing the city a favor.

Little did she realize that she stayed true to becoming the victim of her tragedies. Richard’s deceitful nature rubbed off her while picking up more social cues.

Her fighting capacity would soon be put to the test.  She was encountered by an unknown woman who vowed to have her head as a trophy, later revealing herself as Aphine.   Perplexed by her newfound enemy’s apparent loathing, Aaliyah was given no choice but to fight back as Aphine relentlessly attacked her.  They exchanged powerful blows, burning and destroying parts of Westside, injuring many innocent bystanders during the affray, while some were even killed.

Breaking the fold, Aphine went on an epic rant, revealing her connection to the man that slew the Nemean Lion, whom Aaliyah knew to be her grandfather. During a brief respite, the feline woman registered what appeared to be the head of a lion on Aphine’s shoulder. The redheaded demigod was the daughter of Telephus and the granddaughter of Heracles.  Humiliated and discomposed, Aaliyah went into a blinding rage, assailing Aphine to turn history against her.   However, her labors proved moot as she was left vulnerable, allowing Aphine to get the better of her in the end.

Knowing that Heracles ended his bout with the Nemean Lion in a single encounter, Aphine chose to have fun with her foe after discerning her not to be a threat. Aaliyah was no match for her and eventually succumbed to defeat.  However, instead of delivering the final blow, Aphine proposed an opportunity for the lioness to redeem herself. Eager to show off her power, she permitted Aaliyah time to get stronger until she returned and finished the job.  Aphine refused to disclose when that moment would come to make things more interesting. She suggested it could be the next day, the following week, or even five years.

#### Comradery Saga

The feline demigoddess then spent two days standing on the rooftop of a skyscraper, reflecting on her humble defeat.  She determined that her current power merely scratched the surface regarding maximizing her potential and swore to be prepared when Aphine returned.  Training herself once more, she grew stronger and took the initiative to pick fights with more challenging adversaries to groom for her Greek foe.

Days, weeks, and even months would pass; there were no signs of Aphine.  While Aaliyah kept herself on high alert, she wasn’t afraid to meet again.  And she figured that in the possible scenario that Aphine still is more powerful than her, that didn’t mean she was exempt from winning.  Despite this, she was curious about her roots—after all, she was left in the dark of knowledge.  Her parents, especially Angel, refused to educate her about her bloodline.  But for now, she would remain hidden in the shadows and continue her path to excellence.

A year later, she would become more adept at utilizing her accommodations.  Within that time, she was condoned her first taste at somewhat of a peaceful life, visiting Club Caprice occasionally for the social aspect.  She often spent quality time observing heroes and how they behaved in public settings, sometimes considering whom she could prey on when given a chance based on body language, actions, gestures, etc.  Despite this, she crossed paths with a few individuals who left a nominally lasting impression.  Throughout her trips to the renowned club, she cultivated an acquaintance with Michael Charger, who was well-known in the halls.  His electrifying charisma enabled decent conversations between the two, making tolerating him easy for the feline woman.

She also spared some idle time at the infamous pub known as Sherrera’s.  And one day, she spotted a lonesome young man who, in her eyes, appeared skinny and frail, with bright cyan eyes and a youthful face—occupied with a gooey blob of a lifeform on the counter in front of him. Singling him out with the help of her predatory urges, she decided he would be her next victim.  However, unlike the other violent affairs she bestowed on the miscreants in Millennium City, she opted to take things much slower to enjoy his suffering.  Waiting patiently for an appropriate approach, she presented herself when the pub was clear of any other individual.  He introduced himself as Alexander, otherwise known as the street-fighting hero Anomaly. The blob was confirmed to be a biological symbiotic sentient alien lifeform named Karu.  Like her fair introduction with Michael, it was another cordial acquaintance between her, Alexander, and Karu.  But she continued to plot.

Aaliyah even met a peppy-spirited hell beast named Urusutki during a crimefighting scene. Their first encounter commanded that they take down a group of New Purple Gang thugs together.  Aaliyah’s ruthless behavior toward the crooks triggered a tense affair between her and Urusutki as they refused to see eye to eye.

Angry instances would not stop there; within the next few weeks, a Sherrera’s Bar fight erupted as an antagonistic Munitions expert known as the Delinquent walked in with dual pistols, holding no regard for humanity and voluntarily firing around the room for verification that her weapons served its purpose.  After issuing a placid warning to the armed woman, the situation escalated rapidly as Delinquent aimed her guns at Aaliyah, shooting her nonstop.   It ended as quickly as it started; the lioness made quick work of her.  Sparked by her reaping animosity, Aaliyah eventually had the woman by the throat, prepared to kill her, when two other figures stepped in to break them apart: Shadowstalker and Dawnchaser.  They succeeded in detaching the angry women through combined teamwork.  Delinquent was severely beaten; however, she found the strength to seize an opportunity to escape with her advanced technology.

Shadowstalker heavily disapproved of Aaliyah’s unnecessary aggression, and she didn’t care.  It was constant head-butting between the two, and they never saw eye to eye.  Aaliyah learned to stand her ground and never once folded to what he or anyone often suggested as the best course of action.

She constantly opposed anyone who wasn’t of the same mindset, except Anomaly.  He had attempted to court her for two months since their first encounter.  Originally intending to kill him, she found herself slowly reconsidering her verdict for the simple fact that he was incredibly kind to her.  He was the first person she met who showed her genuine sympathy or compassion.  Aaliyah’s bar for humanity was already low, but Alexander wanted to give her a chance, unlike anyone she interacted with.  After a long period of denial, she eventually realized that she had grown to care for him as a friend and a lover.

#### Apocalypse Saga

Months into their formal relationship, Aaliyah was introduced to his clique of companions. It was a bittersweet packaged deal because she also learned that Anomaly had bounty hunters, assassins, aliens, and other superpowered villains stalking him daily, aspiring to kill him on behalf of his deceased father.  Despite feeling naturally inclined to aid her partner in his battles, it dawned on her that this would mark the first time she intended to work alongside a hero.

Lured into Vibora Bay, they were confronted by one of Anomaly’s sworn enemies, Nobody.  The antagonist miscalculated as he initially assumed he would deal with only Alexander and Karu by tradition; however, he was outclassed by the new addition of the demigod by their side.  Together, they defeated him despite their clumsy teamwork, overcoming their brief struggles.  And from there, that was all she wrote.

The couple’s personalities often clashed when determining the outcome for the villains they fought, but Aaliyah grew comfortable sharing the battlefield with Anomaly and Karu.  They were able to build an identity as a trio. Within this timeframe, Aaliyah was introduced to a UNTIL agent, or Anomaly’s longtime trusted outlet, Kitata.  During the little time they shared on the field, Aaliyah and Kitata developed a mutual respect.  Setting some time aside to reflect on the present structuring of her life, she resolved to come up with an alias of her own.  Reasons included preferring a quiet life with no paparazzi hounding her every move.  Considering her roots, coming to grips with the fact that her grandfather—the Nemean Lion—was predominantly the source of her existence, that same day, she communicated to her boyfriend that her name on the battlefield going forward would be **Lionheart**.

Some of Anomaly’s arch-enemies would not be heard again, as they feared Aaliyah’s ruthless nature.  Later down the line, the distinctive couple encountered the bolder vengeful foes.  Their battles consisted of enemies named Eelthon, Umbra, and Wyvern.  Rare occasions called for Aaliyah to band with her partner’s friends and allies against a more reckoned foe named Smitherson.

The cycle of having to clash against foes was ongoing for an entire year, and it seemed as though after they defeated Eelthon, things would start to simmer down. Little was Aaliyah aware; this was only the beginning of the real troublesome matters.

One year later, Aaliyah was summoned to the GATEWAY station, where she would meet up with Anomaly and Agent Kitata.  There, they were confronted by **Anthony**, who revealed himself to be the alleged son of Alex and Aaliyah from a future timeline.  He warned them that three would surface an alliance:  Dieotus, Husk, and Andrew.  They would transform the Earth into an apocalypse and murder everyone who opposed their plan.  Anthony revealed from his timeline that Anomaly and his rival Fang fought bravely against the trio but were ultimately killed.  Anthony also mentions that Aaliyah was one of the sole survivors in his world, along with Fusion Spark, Janet, and Fundamental; however, she could not bring herself to fight back against the foes.  Struggling to cope with the loss of Anomaly eventually killed her willpower to carry on, obscuring herself from society and never stepping foot out in the public eye again. At the same time, the remaining heroes continued to rally against Dieotus, Husk, and Andrew.  And they all fell.

Following Anthony’s doomsday premonitions, Aaliyah dedicated full days’ worth of training, refusing to allow history to repeat itself.  It was a window of emotions at an all-time high as she also struggled to process that she had a son.  While the urgent matters had been pressed, she set aside a couple of days each week to spend with Anthony, learning about him and his dark reality.  It was a bittersweet emprise as they prepared the forthcoming trio.

Months passed, and the day came when her son’s predictions came to light.  However, Anthony’s visit would somehow alter the manifestation of the trio being brought together because only Andrew loomed as the earth’s deadly force.  It was unknown why. Despite the number of anticipated enemies being reduced to just one, there were a series of epic battles.  Her son speculated that the terrifying conqueror was much more potent in this timeline than the one he hailed from.  The resolve became clear that despite Dieotus and Husk being out of the picture, an entire team was still required to stop Andrew alone.

Towards the climax, she and the others assemble to pursue Andrew.  They were transported from the United States to the Middle East, where Andrew held his base of operations.  Upon arrival, the group was confronted by dwarfed and behemoth-like monsters on their way to the boss. Anthony unveiled the truth by stabbing Anomaly when his guard was down, claiming that the apocalyptic future was a mere façade. It was a ploy to gather Anomaly and Lionheart’s DNA. Lionheart was betrayed and irate.

Andrew’s base was blown to bits as the group defeated him.  While peace had been restored, Lionheart was still sore over the deception.  She was angry that she allowed herself to fall into that trap, trustful that there was a future in which she and Anomaly settled down with a child.  And in turn, her pessimistic views put a mild strain on their relationship.

The aftermath proved complex as Aaliyah slowly began rescinding her old ways, handling her enemies rabidly.  Mach Incorporated kept a close eye on the feline woman; they praised her predispositions when facing adversaries despite her cold nature.  Shortly after, they offered her a bodyguard position on Alexander's behalf. She was quick to accept – taking full advantage of the fact that the public did not know that Alexander and Anomaly were the same people, and in doing so, she would act accordingly.

Starting her official occupation drew the attention of many individuals within and outside the company.  The rate of onslaughts against the building diminished to a staggering rarity. Communications spread that Lionheart being heavily involved in the safety of Alexander guaranteed a world of pain for the antagonists that wanted him dead.  Albeit, there were times when she displayed her inexperience in professionalism. The superior administrators and executives were sure that such a flaw could be perfected; they believed she was powerful enough to keep the company safe.  She continued to ramp up and gain expertise in her craft, often finding ways to avoid using her powers to resolve chaotic events.

In March 2018, Alexander proposed to Aaliyah.  They married in 2020, and their bond blossomed despite some tribulations.

#### The Inner Beast Saga

The lioness assumed such would mark her life to start and end happily ever after; little did she know it would brew much emotional baggage.  While she had grown to forge an even stronger connection with Alex during the wake of their marriage, she later realized her ties with her friends were beginning to branch out.   Setting aside her pride, she occasionally took to the city to cast around for them; however, she would find that they were all busy.  She understood that like herself, everyone else has lives to live.  Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but feel bitter, believing that her handful of friends no longer wanted to keep in touch.

It all started with Urusutki, as Aaliyah was informed by her that she’d be departing Millennium City, retiring from the superhero gig to settle down with her girlfriend **Lely**.  The lioness felt bittersweet; while she was glad for her friend, she didn’t like it that their ties would be clipped.  Refusing to come off as selfish, she kept her silence on the matter and wished them the best.

One day she stumbled upon Michael Charger in Club Caprice, who was having a friendly exchange with an estranged hero named **Guardsman**. When they were all following up on their recent events, things took a drastic turn for the worse when Guardsman reported one of his failed tasks from earlier in the day.  He was entrusted to rescue a lost little girl in the dark streets of Vibora Bay; unfortunately, he was traumatized after being seconds too late and succumbed as a bear witness to her being eaten alive by a Dogz. This was one of the unlikely events in which Aaliyah conversed with a transient she didn’t know, but only because she was inclined to catch up with her friend.

Instantly, the mood in the air was depleted.  Guardsman and Michael were lamenting and mourning the loss, paying their respects to the victim.  Feeling rather detached about the horrific news, Aaliyah gave her callous input that the situation was no different from a grown-adult wolf hunting a kitten.

Repulsed by her belief, Guardsman removed himself from the conversation, insulting her for being a *f\*cked-up manimal*.  Michael agreed, uttering that the instance was about what was right and wrong, that Lycans are sentient beings like humans are.  Aaliyah stood up against his argument, stating that, in any case, anthropomorphic creatures, including herself, are only what they’re intended to be.  She argued that the child should not have been unsupervised because Vibora Bay is known to reside with werewolves, vampires, and even Nephilim; the child was bound to become prey, just like every other animal and human has been a victim of.  She even pointed out that baby animals are killed and eaten every day, with no one expressing heartbreak – to her point about the missing child, why should *she* care?

The two bickered and yelled at one another in the Lounge of Caprice, attracting several pairs of eyes onto them.  It ended with the lioness putting a hard stop on the topic and abruptly exiting.  There had been no resolve, and Aaliyah knew it would be difficult to patch things up with him.  The argument left a sour taste in her mouth; she had grown more contemptuous since then, realizing that not even her closest companion could be trusted.

She was erratic in dragging those outre conflicts into her home, inadvertently drawing a rift between herself and Alex.  Little did she know, this founding stress was impacting the beast within.  Her reserved demeanor was often cut short, replaced by snappy quips.  When she believed things couldn’t get any worse, she was wrong.

Her explosive rage was finally unleashed after being deliberately cast aside by whom she thought to be her sister-like confidant, **Phiona**.  She was incensed at how dispensable Phi perceived her, and it was at that moment, her parents began to resurface into her mind.  Hearing the haunting judgments echoing, it was only a matter of time.  The demons in her head eventually caused her to detonate an emotional breakdown.  Her Nemean Rage form surfaced, taking the wheel of her body.  Losing all sense of who she was, she went on a brutal rampage worldwide, destroying everything in her path.  Thankfully, she carried the attention span of a squirrel, unable to focus on the city for too long before the outskirts and beyond stole her focus.

Bouncing to different continents, laying her cataclysmic mark on each, she pounced lastly onto Monster Island in Japan, prepared to repeat history.  She managed to gain the immersion of all its residing inhabitants. Most manimals and other brutish savages were intimidated to stand up to her and fled the scenes when the opportunity came knocking at their doors.  The international criminal and terrorist organization **VIPER** caught on, joining the affray, hoping to subdue her. Unfortunately, the buildup of foes swarming her only resulted in her chaotic frenzy to double down, exploding into a wrecking ball of power.

Amid killing, a monstrous Grizzly Bear about twice her size charged in and attempted to take her down.  However, the involvement was highly short-lived as Lionheart picked it apart limb from limb, rupturing the mid-section and delivering the masterful killing blow that consisted of the traditional cat-like takedown: crushing her fangs into the throat for suffocation.

Anomaly arrived on the scene shortly after, horrified by the disaster surrounding him. He sought after the raging Lionheart, eventually finding her feast away at the Grizzly Bear’s corpse.  When he made his presence known, she spotted him and quickly disregarded her meal, marking Alex as her next prey.  She attacked him head-on, and while he tried to avoid her, he struggled to maintain her consistency.  There came a point where she snatched him out of the air and tackled him to the ground, pinning him from on top with a readied swipe to rip his face off.  However, after a desperate cry for her to snap out of it, the beast gathered her senses and realized she was seconds away from killing her husband.  Succumbing to a pit of despair, she reverted to her standard humanoid form, concluding that the influence of her inner lion’s rabid emotions helped manifest the warpath she created.

It terrified her that she remembered everything that had occurred and had no authority over her body.  She lacked knowledge of how this came to be; for days, weeks and even months she was often up all day and night trying to find the answers.  She knew that if there were ever a shred of a second that she viewed her own loved one as an enemy, there needed to be a resolve with her underlying rage and fast.  Rather than engage in physical training like she often did, her priorities took a change; she negotiated with herself to learn the ways of meditation.  Every endeavor was dreary due to the unfortunate obstacle that was her own internal monster clawing at her surface, wanting to rip itself out. Having a severely lacking grip on her thoughts, she came to the daunting reality that there had been another entity inside of her, fighting for control of her body.

Aaliyah was not fond of that notion.  Immediately, she was drawn to reflect to her parents, concerned that she was absentminded of her lineage.  It dawned on her that neither of her parents informed her of the truth about her history. Shortly after, she went further down the memory-lane thinking about the juicy gossip received by Aphine during their battle years ago, about her ties to the Nemean Lion.  She understood he was her grandfather, but that was the extent of her knowledge.  Nearly tipping the iceberg with her emotions once more, she angrily elected that she would one day head back to Spain to hunt her family down, and seek answers.

#### Edom Saga

Continuing her life as a newly wedded wife, Lionheart decided a makeover was in order. She contrived to reach higher levels of strength and power. An extended period was spent improving her knacks, and Lionheart’s true genetic potential was unleashed.  While already freakishly gifted, her supernatural abilities exceeded even further than before.  She grew in height and size, eventually standing at 220 centimeters while putting on extra muscle and body fat.  And with that, her strength and durability multiplied exponentially.

The start of a new chapter would mean new beginnings and, unfortunately, new enemies. A year into her marriage, West Side was bombarded with destruction one night.  Curiosity almost killed the Cat as Aaliyah decided to investigate the source of the issue. She managed to reach the docks and was overwhelmed with a bombshell when she saw that Michael Charger was the figure responsible for the massacre.  Although he sure looked the part, her judgment ultimately suspected something was wrong.  His skin was dark gray; his eyes were purple, and worst of all, his head had a pair of demonic horns sticking out.  He had no shame in destroying the gang members onsite, creating massive bloodbaths, and stockpiling corpses next to him as trophies.  Not that she cared; she believed the act served them right.
When Lionheart confronted Michael, he was very aware of the happenings.

They engaged in a heated discussion, with Aaliyah hollering at him to snap out of it and return to his senses.  Further into their dialogue, Michael revealed the significance and intentions behind the newly emerged demonic alteration in him.  The Michael she knew was long gone; the Qliphothic energies claimed his body, which led to his soul rupturing.  It was replaced by the manifestation that crowned its aspirations into obtaining the title of King of Edom and showing the world a bleak future reigned by him.  He was ill-willed, antagonizing Lionheart to attack him for further destruction of the world.  Eventually, he grew impatient and chose to flaunt his power, taking her by surprise in the form of a simple palm rush slamming into her stomach.  Aaliyah struggled to breathe from the attack as she was sent flying into one of the warehouses nearby.  The blow knocked the wind out of her, so she lost consciousness.

Upon her awakening hours later, she was unsettled.  She was deeply troubled over the alleged murder of her close confidant—however, at the same time, she had a tiny shred of hope that he was still alive in some way, shape, or form.   Aaliyah spent days—even a week endeavoring a sighting of Charger for any clues or hints he might have left behind but to no avail.  She was selfish to take the law into her own hands, unwilling to receive assistance from anyone in hunting down Michael’s killer.  However, she knew that in the current state that she was in, history had a possibility of repeating itself.  She knew this foe was more robust, faster… and tainted.  However, that didn’t plant any dent of fear into the lioness; she was stubbornly determined to put an end to him at all costs.

After extensive vicious training, she caught wind of another explosion rooted in the City Center.  Her keen sense of smell discerned Edom thanks to his Qliphothic force.  Gathering her Spartan armor, she quickly took off in pursuit of him.  Edom was elated to see her when she arrived, as his army of horrors surrounded him. It dreaded her to see him holding the crown that he sought.  He was seconds from traveling back into the Qliphothic Realm when he fell victim to Lionheart’s taunts.  Threatening to be killed was what fed into his thirst for battle.  Disregarding the crown and his company of loyal Qliphothic subordinates, he accepted Aaliyah’s one-on-one challenge to fight to the death.

Moments following their initial clash, a time stoppage had both fighters frozen.  Surprisingly, Aaliyah heard a voice behind her:  her friend, Michael.  He was depicted as her moral support, desperately encouraging her not to hold back and defeat him in a way only she knows how.  She was bewildered and had difficulty focusing on the fight after hearing his voice, but she soon kipped back into action and used her friend’s spiritual presence as even more motivation to win.  But even with the power she contained, it was not enough to prevail.  Michael’s spirit donated the remainder of his ability to Aaliyah; with their combined strength, she was an unstoppable force.

Lionheart turned the tide on Edom and dominated him unceremoniously.  The battle’s climax consisted of Aaliyah and Michael joining forces and simultaneously charging a combined Hishouken—an energy ball of life force multiplied by their signature energies—honed and mastered originally by Michael’s teacher, **James Brawler**.  Together, they launched it and decomposed Edom, moldering him into dust.

#### Nephilim Hunter Saga

Immediately after the triumphant victory over Edom, Michael’s soul disappeared, promising Aaliyah that he would return to the world of living in due time.  Their friendship was resuscitated without strain the moment she risked her life to avenge what she initially believed to be his demise.  Even though she had bitter contempt towards him from their fallout in Club Caprice, she knew he was still her friend in the grand scheme.

As expected, Michael returned six months later, revealing that he had a mandatory ethereal quest required to gain access back to the human plane.  It was a surreal period for Aaliyah as she realized how preciously fragile life was.  She was hungover and fearful of the harsh reality that her most significant companions could pass away at any point, and there’d be nothing she could do to bring them back.  Worse still, she dreaded it would be her time to go before any of them.  How could she protect such a feeble existence?

Guilt covered the lioness in more ways than she could express.  She was remorseful, quick to account that his doom by Edom was her fault, drawing to the conclusion that if she were more communicative during the time they hadn’t spoken, she might have been able to help prevent his soul from being robbed.  Those thoughts alone revived another burst of vanity to protect the ones she cared about.

From then onward, Aaliyah drowned herself in physical activity; every day for the next five months, she trained harder than she ever did, coming up with new regimes to push the limits of her body and trying to align herself with the Inner Beast better. Every so often, she and Alexander would engage in sparring matches at Mach Incorporated’s workout facility; she was hellbent on keeping him on his toes.

Eventually, after several months, she stumbled into two friendly faces in Sherrera’s Bar: **Captain Fisticuffs** and **Lightforge**.  Along with the broad company, she managed to catch up with them.  What she anticipated to be a cordial reunion turned into a room of chaos; while conversing with Lightforge, the pub broke out a merciless brawl initiated by Mathan, an estranged ursanthrope of a man.  Fisticuffs was the first to try disarming the trouble but was ultimately bitten.

Lionheart was disinterested in the tension, and considering it had nothing to do with her, she decided to remain isolated in the corner, where she was content with observing the fight.  Amid it, Mathan transformed into a Bear—throwing everyone in the room off guard.  Aaliyah did not notice that when Fisticuffs went to headbutt him, he scraped his forehead against the bear’s teeth.  Concern never surfaced for her because he prevailed over Mathan in the end.

## Powers & Abilities

Aaliyah has lion physiology despite having a pure human for a mother.  She is exceptionally gifted with abilities and powers that exceed the usual standard of a superpowered being.

Lionheart is exceptionally compelling, easily able to overpower the peak human and, most of the time, even mutants.  She is a user of strength that has continued to expand since her early adulthood due to evolution in growth.  Sharing the genetic composition between human, divine, and feline physiology, she is as strong as most of her sacred relatives.  Her strength is magical, given her height and weight.  Her raw power can casually break free from confines like handcuffs and just as effortlessly lift and toss large vehicles.  Her amplified makeup has her cells deteriorate much slower than the average human, enabling her to keep her peak nature without training while growing stronger through vastly extending her youth and longevity.  Her functional strength can lift beyond 200 tons in a calm state, depending on how irritated she is.  However, when in her Nemean Rage form, her power is boosted tremendously to enable her to lift 500 tons.

Aaliyah has very thick skin**.** She is incredibly resilient, enabling powerful attacks to no ill effect.  She cannot feel any physical pain against deadly weapons such as bullets, knives, or swords in favor of her late grandfather. She does not have an enhanced healing factor; however, her ability to absorb impact does her wonders.  She can easily survive under extreme pressures, cold, and heat.  She has once undergone submergence into lava and returned to the surface unscathed.  Her resistance to injury is not the greatest, as she has been shown to suffer defeats from a few foes in her lifetime; however, due to her vast threshold for pain, she also uses it as fuel for her anger in battles.

Lionheart possesses the magic to generate and manipulate fire empowered by her divine lineage.  She can excite the molecules of nearby materials, including the air, to burn and cause combustion. Focusing her magic on a target can induce it to burst into flame, explode, or melt. She spent an extended period honing her fire to develop special techniques.  Conjuring complete and precise control over the shape, size, intensity, density, and temperature, Aaliyah could alter her fire from a candlestick flame to an immeasurable inferno.  She can also manifest it into projectiles and through her breath.  She had flown towards a thick wall of solid rock and melted through it so quickly that she could continue passing through the hole she had melted without pausing.

She has reaction speeds beyond the peak human limits.  Aaliyah quite literally has the reflexes of a cat, meaning its eyesight is second to none.  She can adjust her position by instinct, enabling her to balance herself on virtually any object, no matter how small or narrow.  She can dodge multiple bullets fired at a fair distance; however, 99.9% of the time, she decides to take the brunt of it knowing her impervious skin will absorb the impact.

Thanks to the gifted traits passed onto her by the Nemean Lion, Aaliyah could master the ability to hunt.  Using her bestial nature to integrate with environments, she can track anything under almost any condition, sensing the weaknesses of her prey and exploiting them. This highlights her stealth, being able to sometimes blend in like camouflage.  During her younger years as a child exploring the world without supervision, she often catered to this solution due to being poor and without shelter. To feed herself, she learned how to hunt city rats.  However, now that she lives an exquisite lifestyle after so many years, she doesn’t find a reason to continue doing so consistently.

Aaliyah possesses high accuracy for all five senses regarding sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching due to her lion physiology.  Felines have excellent vision, and the lion is no different; Aaliyah can have perfect night vision, her eyes six times more sensitive to light than the average human’s.  Her unique biology provides her with Jacobson’s organ—an organ on the roof of her mouth—to boost her sense of smell.  This also helps her locate kills by other opposing foes or find prey. Lionheart’s hearing is enhanced to the extent that she can hear people up to a mile away at long distances.

Lionheart has innately learned with growth and experience how to read, understand and stay in tune with animals through body language, especially cats.  However, this does not translate to building a fantastic rapport with them.  Aaliyah rarely connects with them; she communicates for them to stay clear from her. Due to her apex personality, she does not take kindly to fellow felines or other animals that try to pose a threat to her.

Lionheart is glaringly able to shout a roar beyond abnormal limitations, immensely more powerful than any normal being. Her cry can be heard almost five miles away. Depending on how much strength she exerts into her primal roar, she can release sound waves of an amplitude that objects can shatter or crumble.  That also means she can deafen a living being. While it can be a valuable tactic for battle, Aaliyah often uses this as means of communication, allowing her to serve notice about territory, speak to people, and act as a show of aggression to other foes.

Aaliyah is proficient in unarmed hand-to-hand combat.  With the help of that style, she can power through some of the most robust defenses, killing with a single strike or grip—perhaps even tearing out the throat of an opponent with her claws.  While predominantly fighting in that style, she aims to broaden her horizons and learn more.

Lionheart has an immense bite force; she has canines like a lion with unworldly strong jaw muscles and structure.  Depending on how much pressure she puts out, she can pulverize bones and flesh with her teeth with much exertion – though it still may be sensitive enough to where she cannot bite down on anything potentially harmful or dangerous.  In her humanoid form, at first blush, Aaliyah’s bite—which has been measured as a force of upwards of 400 pounds per square inch—might seem extremely powerful by human standards; however, in her Nemean Lion state, the weight of her bite is increased by nine times, rivaling the Nile Crocodile to constitute up to 3600 PSI.

## Weaknesses

Lionheart has often suffered a ravenous, primeval nature that accommodated her transformation.  She would lose herself and her intellect while in the heat of battle.  This aspect of her power causes her to act impulsively, tearing into and eating her victims like mindless predator.  While the transformation proves to be an immense boost of energy, it is a balance to her mental control, which is lost.  For instance, during her frenzied battle on Monster Island with Diamondback and Redstone, Lionheart forgot about trying to kill the two VIPER soldiers when the two flew by the animals and escaped.  She instead terrorized the inhabitants to death.

Aaliyah is not immune to magical properties that are divine, infernal, or demonic.  She remains durable and resilient; however, she will grow weaker and weaker with every ghostly strike, eventually rendering her a glass cannon if not careful.

She has very little to no mental defenses.  Her defiant personality helps keep such influences at bay; however, her vulnerability to mental assaults worsens the further she enrages.

The nightmares still haunt her to this day. Aaliyah created her alter-ego Lionheart as a coping method for the post-traumatic stress disorder of her abusive parents and roommate.  After the extreme strain of the tragedies, she swore never to let anyone put her in such a position again.  However, the sword has two sharp ends; her worldview is generally cynical.  She often refuses to get close to anyone, even if it means there’s a slight suspicion that they aren’t to be trusted.  Despite this, her traumas define her, which makes her strong and, at the same time, weak.  A similar traumatic event was the deception of Andrew masquerading as her future son.

Aaliyah may be connected to divinity; however, she also has human DNA in her veins credited to her mother.  She is not immune to violent death as powerful as she is, nor exempt from natural causes.

## Character Relationships

In the wake of Aaliyah’s active lifestyle, she stumbled upon many individuals across Millennium City and most of the world.  A few have had a significant presence in the core of her heart, while also gaining sworn adversaries in the wake of it all.

### Allies

#### Umbral Hunter

Lionheart and Umbral Hunter initially disliked one another upon their first interaction. Due to his tragic past, he had a vast loathing for her aggressiveness and pugnacity—witnessing firsthand the thrashing she laid upon those she engaged with.  On the other hand, Aaliyah was always on edge around him simply due to her instincts; like many cats, she was never fond of dogs.  In other aspects, there is much irony to their dynamic. One that probably compliments them the most is the difference in their feral physiologies; Aaliyah is of feline descent, while Dominique is connected to the canine family.  As a result, they embody a cat-dog relationship.  The signals and behaviors that they use to communicate with each other are a range of aggression, dominance, friendship, and even territoriality as a packaged deal.

While they are different in makeup, they also share strong resemblances contributing to their affinity.  Over time they both tasted horrific experiences together on behalf of their feral echelons that only reminded them of what they are to society.  As a result, those tribulations they commiserated with naturally brought them closer as companions, developing a unique bond only the two understand.  While holding a sibling-like relationship, there is also a subtle rivalry.  They are both apex predators, after all.

#### Michael Charger

What started as a cordial acquaintanceship slowly solidified as an unspoken tight-knit bond.  Lionheart met Michael back when she had decided to get her feet wet in the social aspect of life, lingering in the shadows of Club Caprice donning her bleak attire.  Unlike many of her encounters with people, she and Michael always had halcyon conversations.  Despite this, she kept her distance due to her skepticism of him.  However, many interactions would eventually lead to the day Lionheart learned that he was in ways just like her under all that charming grace.

In the most unlikely event that had Michael’s life dangling by a thread, Aaliyah saved him when all hope was nearly lost – marking that moment for the first person she’s ever gone out of her way for.  Since then, they have remained a close pairing.  They contradict in feelings and judgments towards the law; however, that hasn’t seemed to get in the way of their friendship.  She eventually grew used to his practical and carefree perception of life, learning to appreciate his comedic heart of gold.  In addition, they have also shared a couple of sparring sessions in Millennium City’s Powerhouse, as well as the Desert Mesa; Aaliyah probably won’t ever admit it, but Michael held a vast portion of reason as to why she continues to push herself to be the strongest that she can be.

Still distressed over his tragic death from cardiac arrest, he will always continue living in her thoughts and memories.

#### Urusutki

The Lioness and short stack of a Hellbeast initially got off on the wrong foot upon their first encounter.  The latter did not take kindly to the former’s contemptuous conventions toward crimefighting.  Despite Urusutki’s natural upbeat, and sunny disposition, she was wary of Aaliyah’s intentions.  However, after numerous encounters, she grew more comfortable around her and vice versa. The actual turning point that validated their connection was after a year of interaction: Urusutki expressed her willingness to assist Aaliyah with a demonic-related issue, offering her the means of risking her own life just so that her friend would remain safe, and that was more than enough confirmation to the lioness that she was solid.

Urusutki is a talkative, compassionate, jittery ball of excitement; Aaliyah is a withdrawn, stoic ice queen.  They have a peculiar, concrete friendship complemented by their diametric personalities.  It has been quite a long time since they had seen or spoken to one another, and while Aaliyah would typically take offense to that, Urusutki is a lone exception. She trusts that Urusutki will always be there for her when needed, as she will do the same.

#### Captain Fisticuffs

Lionheart and Captain Fisticuffs have a relationship primarily grounded in mutual respect.  While it is often clear through their commerce that they aren’t best friends, the two make up for it on the battlefield, fighting side by side.  They have joined together numerous times for Millennium City and even the world.  They have been through thick and thin against great foes and even each other as an allied duo.  Even though they sometimes clash, they share much chemistry when it involves getting the job done.

Aaliyah holds many views of him.  While she deems him arguably one of the greatest warriors to grace the planet, she harbors a profound pity towards him due to the concurring tragic events that continue to haunt him as a hero.  And yet, as a woman who has gone through her calamities, she understands that about him. And that is why she chooses to continue fighting along his side.

#### Rhubarb

Aaliyah has not known Rhubarb for long, but the lioness has quickly become surprisingly fond of her.  It is generally a challenging feat for anyone to get approval from this cynical woman. Her trust is hard to come by.  In Rhubarb’s case, Aaliyah was initially put off by the woman’s never-ending happiness.  She didn’t care for it; she assumed there had been an ulterior motive behind her upbeat personality, and Aaliyah has difficulty manifesting friendships with women in general.  However, as it turned out, she found herself cushioning her judgment. She later realized she had been a bit too harsh after Rhubarb’s lasting heartwarming interactions, considering the woman was blind.

Unlike Lionheart’s other companions, Rhubarb is the only one she’s hit it off with inside the confines of peace.  So far, the two have bonded through social outings, including hanging out at the Minefield and going on double dates with their partners.  They even coordinated some time to relax and keep each other company at a coffee shop.  These said activities might seem expectedly normal from the lenses of the typical person, but to Aaliyah, it’s meant a great deal to her.

### Enemies

#### Aphine

Aphine is a Greek warrior, Telephus's daughter, and Heracles's granddaughter.   She and Lionheart’s sworn hatred for one another were destined for the future when Heracles killed the Nemean Lion.  Their conflict would be generations in the making. After hunting down Aaliyah, she humiliated her in a nasty annihilation but offered the lioness a shot for redemption to determine which of their lineage prevails.  And when that time comes, she won’t be so merciful.

#### **Edom**

While the man himself is more or less a vendetta against Michael Charger, she too has bad blood with him.  Edom is a manifestation of negative energy hailing from the realms of Qliphoth.  The humanoid form is assumed when he takes control of Michael, removing his soul and settling into his body permanently. Edom seeks a future of abomination, leading the world as its King.  An order that would bring chaos and trouble to the earth’s inhabitants.

#### **Void**

A vengeful man who sought revenge on her ex-husband and the Mach Inc organization, which instantly made him a sworn enemy of her own at the time.

## Trivia

* Aaliyah has broken English, meaning she isn’t always fluent.  It certainly isn’t her first language, but she hasn’t been conversing with anyone to the extent that they don’t understand her.
* She worked as Alexander's body at Mach Incorporated. Ever since she took the job, the rate of irruptions in the office decreased dramatically.
* She loves to listen to soothing, calm Latina music to sedate herself.
* Despite her biological connection to the feline family, Aaliyah is not typically fond of cats.
* Often ends her sentences and remarks with 'eh'?
* Despite her otherwise reserved and stoic demeanor, Aaliyah almost always fumes from within – at war with herself.
* She may not have ever alluded to it, but she loves belly dancing.
* The angrier she gets, the higher probability she'll drift into having a sailor's mouth. and start cursing in her native language.
* Her parents originally planned to name her **Raquel** when she was conceived. However, after a long duration of indecisiveness before birth, her father Ángel opted for it to be her middle name instead.
* Even though Aaliyah has never touched a racket, she loves tennis.   She sometimes watches it during her spare time.  Her favorite tennis players are Rafael Nadal, Garbiñe Muguruza, and Carlos Alcaraz Garfia – each representing Spain; go figure.
* While she isn't a social butterfly, she makes up for it by communicating at night.  She occasionally roars at night, signaling her territoriality and locating distant threats.  It is simply a warning for unwelcome people to stay clear of her premises.
* She is naturally hostile to dogs and behaves bitterly around them. Umbral Hunter is notably the only canine she has grown to tolerate and accept, and even then, there is still a strain against him.
* Her favorite food to eat is Buffalo Baby Back Ribs.
* Aaliyah is primarily nocturnal.