Melanie Asher

Melanie ‘Mel’ Asher is an English human female, who became the leader of Red Squadron in the third generation of the Agents of A.C.E after 2034. Before ascending to leader, Asher assisted as a field agent, particularly helping in the invasion of the Hydro Retarius. She later became leader of the entire agency, starting the fourth generation.

Asher was born in 2004, and lost her parents in the Electronaught crisis of 2020. This caused her to spend two years under child support measures. In this time, Asher became committed to becoming as strong as possible, and became involved in bringing down multiple small scale criminal threats. This ultimately caused her to become on the radar of the Agents of A.C.E, particularly Miku Katana, who later recommended her to Oscar Bjorn when he was founding the Red Squadron.

Asher met Daniel Liu and trained under him, before meeting the rest of her squadron in 2032. They worked on multiple missions in this year, however they most notably focused on defeating the faux-Purple Matter, created by Aarna Malik.

Shortly after this, during the Ordine raid on the Submersible, Asher received Ella Hawk’s cry for help, gaining visions of her throughout the back half of 2032. She ultimately was able to rescue her, and was key to the defeat of Shallik and his Hydro Retarius invasion. In this time she also befriended the son of Ella, Kieron Hawk.

During Christmas 2032, at Wall’s End, Asher and one of her childhood friends were due to meet. However, this was hijacked by the intervention of a criminal gang. After teaming up with Dan, however, the area was liberated and she was able to save her friend.

In the 2033 Black Star takeover, Asher lead the Red Squadron in New Chinatown when Dan was forced into hiding. During the last stand against the Black Star, Asher was able to summon the Hydro Retarius, who were key to the defeat of Laing and the rest of the Black Star.

During the factional split of New Chinatown during the Ordine Invasion, Asher was key to defending Mayor Magnus, particularly from Ordine cultists. She also began to develop feelings for colleague Johnathan Roylance. These were cut short, however, after Daniel Liu’s assassination of Mayor-elect Giles Strode. This led to her becoming at odds with Roylance, yet it also allowed her to ascend to leader of Red Squadron.

During her time as leader, she was able to assist in the reconstruction of New Chinatown. She faced her first major challenge, however, when Lucia Manster and her Anarchists arrived to cause issues. To help support her, Bjorn sent in Richmond Clay to help tackle the vorpal threat. Clay and Asher then investigated the past of Lucia Manster, finding out about her origins to know her better.

The pair returned and Asher hatched a scheme to stop Lucia. Despite a few setbacks, this did work, however it costed Johnathan Roylance’s life, devastating Asher who still loved him.

Asher later covered up Liu’s staged death, as she felt he would be better off free then trapped and incarcerated in a cell.  After helping fight the ChainMaster, she later worked with him again to defeat the Chain Servant. When Liu sacrificed himself, she mourned him before ascending to the leader of the Agents of ACE.

In her first year as leader, she recruited Lucas Thorpe, Hope Williams and Fenkor, who became Agents Orange, Black and White respectively. Initially, they took on minor threats such as the WolfGang and the Feathered Wing, however these were later revealed to be agents of The Shadow, a doppelgänger of Clive Clayton. In addition to this, she discovered the presence of the MASK, in league with the Shadow and ready to strike.

## Physical Appearance

Mel has light brown skin, with short brown hair. Her height is 5'7, and she often wore the current A.C.E uniform.

## Personality

Not without a sense of humour, Melanie is often strong willed and determined. She is willing to see nuance in many situations, however, after the circumstances in which the Red Squadron fell apart, she developed a hardened outlook on running the agency.

## Appearances

### Agents of A.C.E: Red Squadron

#### Season One: Revival

101 - New Begginings (Part One)

102 - Hostage Crisis (Part Two)

103 - The Experiment

104 - To Kill a Minister

105 - A Day in the Life of a Cyborg (Part One)

106 - Powers of the Machine (Part Two)

107 - Rivalry

109 - Power of the Creature (Part One)

110 - All Out War (Part Two)

#### Season Three: Order of the Black Star

301 - Big Trouble in New Chinatown

302 - The New Order

303 - Star-Crossed

304 - Say His Name

306 - Starstruck

307 - Fallen Son

308 - Star Burns Out

309 - Once And For All

310 - Blame it on the Falling Sky

#### Season Five: The Anarchy

501 - Long to Reign Over Us, Part One

502 - Long to Reign Over Us, Part Two

505 - The Woman With The Red Eyes

506 - Cult of the Manster

507 - Divine Right

508 - Chains

509 - The Assassination of Clifford Warren by the Bewitched Nathan Maxwell

510 - Her Manster Plan

511 - Power of the Manster, Part One

512 - Power of the Manster, Part Two

### Agents of A.C.E: Conclusion

104 - A Vorpal War

105 - Resolution