Martyna J. Lynch

### Relatives

Diane Green (Mother)Paolo Andrade Ortega (Father)Aleksandra Zielinski (Ex-Girlfriend)

## Overview

The cash-chasing and antagonistic thief-for-hire **Gambit** is a powerful mutant, former hiding place for the Power Stone, and all around wildcard who's made a permanent residence on the wrong side of the law; and some friends in high places along the way. More often than not, she finds herself on the side with the highest paycheque, but recently has began to search for purpose-- something solid, real, and honest to stand for.

## Backstory

#### Early Life

Born Stefanie Andrade Ortega to a hopeful Nevadan couple, Gambit's physical mutation being present since birth led to her being disowned by her mother and forced out onto the streets with her father. Her father was a trucker and, rather than give up his daughter to child protective services, took Lynch with him as he travelled across the states. Growing up between motels, sleeping in cars, and stealing food off tables in bars, Lynch earned the moniker 'El Diablo' due to her bizarre eyes and developed a repertoire of survival skills-- alongside increasingly dangerous abilities, which were quickly becoming uncontrollable.

Her father was afraid of the possibility A) she might kill someone and B) that she might be taken away once her 'normal' cover was blown-- and as such took her to a self-proclaimed 'mutant curer' surgeon in Wyoming. Lynch was 12 when she was operated on and had a small portion of her brainstem removed. This "super lobotomy" effectively capped her growing kinetic powers at a steady level and stopped her ability to charge organic matter and charge objects without touching them; as well as wiping her memory of the entire year. Her father kept this procedure under heavy wraps until Gambit confronted him on it on her 17th birthday, which resulted in her packing her bags and heading out on her own.

Putting her 'survival' (AKA thieving) skills into practice as both ways to keep fed *and* make money put her at odds with the law and a few other thieves.

During the Chitauri Invasion of 2016, Gambit was unusually altruistic and fought off the aliens-- but maybe not so altruistic, as she only engaged with the invaders who came near her. Charging up a car filled with batteries, gas tanks, and other combustibles to be sent into the Chitauri mothership, she had a big hand in stopping the invasion. She insists that the government pay her for this, with little luck in the past 6 years.

#### Infinity War

Gambit's day-to-day life of running and stealing was rudely interrupted by the arrival of Thanos-- with the power stone she unknowingly had inside her being his prime target. She was lifted off the street and taken to his ship, where she was forced to stay awake as the titan cut her open and pulled the Infinity Stone out. Passing out from the pain, Gambit was eventually rescued by Michael Strange; who she begins to strongly dislike as a result of associating him with the worst day of her life (and second non-consensual power-tampering surgery). After Strange explained the situation, Gambit broke his nose, refused to help him, and ran off.

The removal of the power stone opened up a reservoir of power that basically reversed her surgery when she was a child; but, thankfully, the more dangerous side of her abilities only became uncontrollable with continuous use of her powers, and gave her a permanent buff to charging speed.

#### Working with the Dark Avengers

Lynch wandered after the Power Stone's removal; taking dangerous jobs for poor pay and throwing herself into situations with little regard for herself or others, unaware of the danger of her unstable abilities. One such job stranded her in Siberia for a time, where she met Nightcrawler in his circus cage and sprung him loose. Somehow, her antics and concerning work ethic caught the attention of Latverian King Castor Von Doom, who sent an invitation (with payment) to join his strike force, the Dark Avengers. During her tenure there she worked with Hazel, Winter, Kory and a few others.

The cause was a bit too "goody-two-shoes" for her liking, but the pay was enough. With her powers returning to their pre-lobotomy instability, Doom created her power dampeners which would siphon excess energy she charges and more or less reinforce the 'power cap' so that she didn't blow everyone up. They are 6 silvery-blue metal fashion pieces-- two cuffs for her wrists, two 'boot covers' for her legs, one that slots into her headgear and one that lies around her neck. Gambit was present for various DA missions, one sending her into space to dismantle an alien ship.

In the Dark Avengers, Lynch found some of her first real friends, a properly stable environment, and after years of almost accepting it, she eventually ran from the responsibility. Retiring from the team after more or less a decade, she brought Hazel and Winter on one last roadtrip across Europe. Along the way, they uncovered Hazel's Black Knight heritage and discussed their common history with Thanos briefly. Leaving Latveria for good, she left the pair notes detailing how to contact her in emergencies and 3 favours they can request and some advice before returning to her mercenary roots.

#### Civil Cleansing

Being in Latveria for most of the cleansing, Gambit was mostly unharmed and unbothered. The global rise of anti-mutant sentiments ended in a few scuffles, but she mostly laid low during the whole debacle, and only retaliated against the Sentinels if they targeted her directly.

#### Present Day

Gambit is a mercenary for hire, just as usual.

## Trivia

* Lynch is afro-latina. Her father was Colombian.
* Gambit has a fear of flying and is extremely uncomfortable on planes or space-shuttles-- this can only be combatted by her piloting the vehicle herself, which she will refuse to do unless absolutely necessary.
* Voted the Drippiest Character in the 2022 Slammys.
* She had a previous history with substance abuse, and so Gambit has a personal vendetta against drug dealers.