Banshee

**Virginia Lynn Foster-Cullen** is the daughter of Dorothy Whitlock and Robert Foster. She is a member of the Olympic coven, the wife of Carlisle Cullen, and the Grand Niece of her adoptive son Jasper Whitlock. Foster is also the adoptive mother of Emmett Cullen, Alice Cullen, Edward Cullen, and Rosalie Hale. She is also the adoptive mother-in-law of Bella Swan and adoptive grandmother of Renesmee Cullen.

Foster meet Carlisle in the early 1950s shortly after her parents died in a car crash and she moved to America from England. The pair fell in love and he attempted to change her but in a shocking turn of events, she neither died nor turned into a Vampire herself, a feat that was virtually unheard of in the supernatural community. However, she began to hear voices, go into fugue states similar to sleepwalking, and have terrifying hallucinations, revealing that, unbeknownst to her at the time, Carlisle's bite had activated the latent Banshee abilities that she had inherited from her paternal grandmother.

Foster began to be drawn to dead bodies, particularly those whose deaths were related to the supernatural, and began unconsciously screaming, which steadily began to worry her. After a tremendous amount of research, it was eventually revealed to her that she was, in fact, a Banshee, also known as the Wailing Woman, a harbinger of death who was drawn to the dead and the supernatural.

Since this revelation, Foster has struggled to learn the full scope of her powers and how to use them, often lamenting the fact that her powers were passive, spontaneous, and largely out of her control. In order to learn more about her powers, she traveled to Vermont to study her abilities with the Last Coven of Banshee's, also known as the Praenuntia Mortis Coven.

## Biography

### Early Life

Virginia Lynn Foster-Cullen was born on February 23, 1932 to Dorothy Whitlock and Robert Foster. Her mother had moved from Texas to England where she met her father and had her. Foster grew up in an apartment in Birmingham, England where she had a very happy childhood. As a teenager, her playful, mischievous nature often got her into trouble. She became a nurse at age 16 she became a nurse at the local hospital and managed to move into an apartment of her own. When she was 20 years old her parents supposedly died in a car crash and Foster moved to America in hopes of starting over.

### Becoming a Cullen

#### Meeting Carlisle

Foster met Carlisle in a hospital in New York after she cut herself stress cooking in 1952, two months after her parent's death. They exchanged numbers and a week later began officially dating. A week after their first date, Carlisle revealed himself to her as a Vampire and a month later, introduced her to the rest of the Coven, consisting at the time of Edward, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett.

#### Wedding

In 1953, Carlisle proposed to Foster on their one-year anniversary. She said yes quickly and a week later asked him to change her. He agreed, but only after they are wed. On October 15th, 1954 Carlisle and Virginia were wed with Esme as their planner, Rosalie as Maid-of-Honor, Emmett as Best Man, and Edward walked Foster down the aisle. Two weeks later, the couple returned from their honeymoon and Carlisle gives her the bite. The family waited three days for Foster to wake up but when she does she wasn't a Vampire. Esme soon changed her last name to Foster, setting up the appearance to others that she was Virginia's sister.

#### Transformation

The family searched for answers when in January 1955 Ginny fell sick with the flu. Carlisle nursed her back to health and they continue to search for answers while living their lives. In 1956, Virginia arrived at the scene of a murder before the cops had even been called, claiming to be on the way to the grocery store on the other side of town when she stumbled upon the scene. This happened twice over the next year before her scream rattles the city when a robber shoots at her during a bank robbery. Carlisle is able to help her understand she is something called a Wailing Woman, also known as a Banshee.

### Welcoming Jasper and Alice

In 1958, Mary Alice Brandon and Jasper Whitlock joined the coven. Alice and Jasper met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1948, and sought out the Cullens based on Alice's visions. Rosalie and Jasper posed as twins, taking the surname "Hale" for their time in Forks, while Alice changed her name to Cullen. (The whole of the coven is referred to as "the Cullens", despite Rosalie and Jasper using the name "Hale".) Alice and Foster automatically hit it off while Foster found ways to use her gifts to help Jasper with his thirst and stop him from having accidents. In 1964, the Cloven noticed that Foster had not aged a day since Carlisle bite her, bringing out her Banshee side. They came to the conclusion that Foster would not die from age, staying Immortal, though things like diseases and mortal wounds affect her, and may even kill her.

Much later, Foster traveled to Vermont to learn from the Praenuntia Mortis Coven while the rest of the Olympic Coven moved to Forks, Washington where they had lived before (shortly after Emmett and before Alice and Jasper joined) and had made a treaty with the Quileute tribe, led by a shape-shifter named Ephraim Black. The treaty stated that the Quileutes would leave the Cullens alone and not reveal them to humans if the Cullens would refrain from biting humans - whether to kill or change them―or trespassing on Quileute land. Because of the treaty, the Cullens were able to live in relative peace.

### Twilight

#### Returning Home

After two years with the Praenuntia Mortis Coven, Foster returned to Forks, Washington and joined the other Cullen's. Carlisle currently worked at Forks Hospital, while Foster chose to stay at the house as she settled in. After her adoptive son Edward saved Bella Swanfrom being crushed by Tyler Crowley's van that spun out of control, Foster gets into a fight with the rest of the family over how they treat each other. Edward later begins to fall in love with Bella, despite his attempts to stay away from her because of his lust for her blood. Bella eventually reciprocates Edward's feelings. Foster is happy to see that Edward, one of the only member of his family who hasn't found love, has finally found someone.

#### Trouble in Forks

During this time, another coven of vampires sweeps into Forks. When one of them, James, decides to hunt Bella, Foster joins his family in hunting James before he could hurt Bella. Bella and the Cullens split up: Foster, Alice, and Jasper, take Bella to Phoenix, Arizona, Esme and Rosalie remain in Forks to protect Charlie (Bella's father), and Emmett, Edward, and Carlisle hunt James. James eventually goes to Phoenix and lures Bella out of hiding but stopped by Foster and killed by Emmett and Jasper. James still manages to hurt Bella; she suffers a broken leg, broken ribs, many cuts, and a bite on her hand. After Edward sucked the venom from her, she is able to recover.

### New Moon

#### Birthday Party Gone Wrong

Foster attends Bella's eighteenth birthday which Alice organized; she shares an embrace with Bella and wishes her a happy birthday. Alice gives Bella a present from Foster and Carlisle, which is two plane tickets to Jacksonville to visit Renée. While opening her present, Bella cuts her finger on the wrapping paper and Jasper attempts to attack her. Edward shoves Bella out of the way to protect her, but she crashes into the table containing her birthday cake and a pile of plates which smash, and cuts her arms on the broken shards of china and glass. Foster stops Jasper from killing Bella after she cut her arm when Edward shoved her into a wall filled with glass to protect her.

Once Jasper is subdued, the rest of the Cullen family, with the exception of Carlisle and Foster, smell Bella's blood, and are suddenly ravenous. Emmett and Rosalie drag Jasper outside with the others behind them. Carlisle cleans and stitches up Bella's wounds and she leaves; in the living room, she passes Foster who is cleaning up the spilled blood.

#### Time Away

Some time after this, Edward leaves Bella, claiming he no longer wanted her, and their family relocates to Ithaca, New York. In reality, Edward, deeply conflicted, does so to ensure her safety, and still loving her completely. During this time, Carlisle works night shifts and teaches part-time at Cornell, where Jasper studies philosophy and Foster got her nursing degree.

#### Back Again

Six months later, Edward came to believe Bella was dead, and went to Italy to ask the Volturi to kill him. Alice and Bella were able to find him in time; however, the Volturi said that Bella either had to become a vampire or be silenced permanently, for she knew too much about the vampire world. Foster and her family meet Edward, Alice, and Bella at the airport after Bella stops Edward from his suicide mission. She offers her joy and gratitude to Bella for saving Edward. Later, when Bella asks the Cullens if she should join them, she gives her vote in favor of turning her into a vampire, and says that she already considers Bella part of the family, though Edward, who was originally against the idea, agrees to do it himself if Bella would marry him first. While Carlisle begins working again at the hospital, Foster takes up a position as a Nurse and quickly moves up the ranks till she is head Emergency Department Nurse.

### Eclipse

#### Seattle Murders

A string of unsolved murders begins happening in Seattle, not far from Forks leaving Foster on edge. Foster and the rest of the Cullens, after hearing the news about them, know that vampires are behind it. Foster is present at Bella, Edward, and Alice's graduation, and the party held afterwards at their house. After realizing that someone is creating an army of newborn vampires to destroy the Cullens and get to Bella, and refused by the Denali coven's aid, Foster genuinely accepts the Uley pack's willingness to join forces with them, as Jasper is an expert on newborn vampires, and teaches them how to fight them. Against most of her families wishes, Foster trains with Jasper and is able to partially take him down as she shows of the skills has worked hard to learn.

#### The Battle

The vampire behind the recent of newborns turns out to be Victoria, James's mate. Her army is destroyed by the combined forces of the Cullens and the pack of Quileute werewolves while Victoria herself is beheaded by Edward when she makes an attempt on murdering/drinking Bella's blood during the battle. Foster and Carlisle catch a running Bree Tanner at the end of the battle. But when he tries to kill, she says "Please", which makes him hesitate. He then offers to spare her life in exchange for her surrender: and she agrees. He also convinces the others to let her live; Jasper is the most reluctant, but Foster and Carlisle persuade him in the end.

#### Volturi

With Jacob injured and the Volturi on their way to the battlefield, Carlisle urges the Uley pack to take him away to avoid complications. When the Volturi arrive, Foster and some of her family members attempt to convince them to spare Bree's life, going as far as to take responsibility for her, but their attempts end in failure and Bree is executed by the Volturi. Bree, however, is content to die with the Cullen's kindness.

### Breaking Dawn

#### Wedding Time

Foster is present at Bella and Edward's wedding, and helps Bella to change into her going-away outfit after the ceremony and reception party. As a wedding present, she allows the newlyweds to stay on Isle Ginny, a small island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro that Carlisle presented her with years ago, for their honeymoon. She grows close to Bella's mother, Renée, before the wedding.

#### Unplanned Pregnancy

When Bella becomes pregnant, with her and Edward returning to Forks, Foster sides with Rosalie and Emmett to protect Bella and her baby, something that also affects Carlisle. She is affectionate towards Jacob and his pack when they break away from Sam's pack to protect her daughter-in-law, and she and Carlisle especially are extremely grateful for their sacrifice. Foster and Esme provide Jacob and his pack with clean clothes and food, and offers to let them sleep in the beds in the Cullens' house, though most of them would decline.

After Bella gives birth to Renesmee, a human/vampire hybrid, Esme welcomes her into the family with open arms, even caring for her while Bella is in the process of becoming a vampire. Renesmee also leads to the treaty with the werewolves to a stronger bond when Jacob Black imprints on her. For Bella's nineteenth birthday, Foster and the rest of the Cullens give her and Edward a little cottage in the forest that they renovated. There is an extra room which Esme hadn't found a use for, which later became Renesmee's bedroom.

#### Trouble with the Volturi

Three months after Renesmee's birth, Irina mistakes her for an immortal child and reports this breach of vampire law to the Volturi. Foster is devastated when two of her children, Alice and Jasper, leave without notice, and is led to believe that they had abandoned them all. She and her family then gather a large number of vampire friends to be their witnesses, testifying that Renesmee is not an immortal child but a half-human, half-vampire hybrid. After a brief confrontation with the Volturi, Jasper and Alice return with another hybrid to prove their case. In Alice's vision, Foster is killed when she is thrown off a cliff during a battle despite Esme's effort to save her. In the end, the battle is avoided and Carlisle's doom is prevented. With help from Nahuel's witness, the wolves, and Bella's mental shield, their efforts are successful, and the Volturi retreat in fear. Foster and her family's allies suspect that the Volturi may attempt to avenge their humiliation in the future, and Carlisle says they will stand against them again if that time comes. As their group celebrates their victory, Foster opens her arms to welcome Alice and Jasper back into her family. Once the threat has passed, the Cullens are able to return to their normal lives.

## Powers, Abilities, and Weaknesses

### Powers

* **Harbinger of Death Sense:** As a Banshee, Foster can feel when someone has died and can predict when someone is close to death. This is usually accompanied by a trance-like state that draws her to those who are dead or near-death, though, with practice, she has gotten better at being aware of what she's doing when this happens.
* **Clairaudience** The ears of a Banshee are naturally tuned to levels of the universe that only they can hear. This gives them an ability to discern details of a person's death (or impending death) through the sounds they can perceive which no one else can.
* **Premonitions**: As a Banshee and Harbinger of Death, Foster has the power to experience premonitions that allow her to sense a person's death, which usually allows her to discern how a person dies, where they die, and/or what will cause the death in the first place. This power is most often used as an extension of her power of clairaudience, as the supernatural phenomena that she can sense with her enhanced hearing can take the form of auditory premonitions of a supernatural-related death. However, as Foster's powers grow, her premonitions have evolved from being purely auditory to being visual as well, making it easier for her to interpret what her premonition is trying to tell her. Foster's premonitions are not always literal and can often be up for interpretation, especially given the fact that the premonitions do not typically include every single detail of a person's death.
	+ **Astral Premonitions**: Foster's power of premonitions has recently advanced so much that she was able to astral project herself into a premonition involving a fellow Banshee's memory by touching a mirror. This allowed her to walk within the memory as though she were actually there, seeing every detail and being able to pause and explore the areas she chose, as well as giving her the power to physically interact with the objects and people in the memory.
* **Divination:** As a Banshee, whose powers are often referred to as and/or compared to psychics, Foster can use divination to gain information about the deaths her Banshee instincts are sensing. The various means of divination that Foster has tried to seek out more information are sometimes used in conjunction with her other Banshee abilities.
	+ **Sound Divination**: Foster, using her power of clairaudience, can divine for information by using sound vibrations to trigger her ability to perceive supernatural energies.
	+ **Psychometry**: Foster can discern information about a person's death by making physical contact with an object belonging to the person in question.
	+ **Automatic Writing**: Foster can gain information by going into a trance-like state and writing or typing.
* **Harbinger Connection:** As a Banshee, Foster has a somewhat psychic connection to other Banshees, which she can use to telepathically communicate with them, even if they are miles away from her. However, this is an ability that must be consciously activated, and as a result, Foster is still learning the full scope of how to use this power.
* **Banshee Scream:** As a Banshee, Foster has a powerful voice that can be used to produce various effects based on what is needed at the time. This wail can be used consciously or unconsciously.
	+ **Death Announcement**: Foster's wail is most often used as a warning of someone's impending death, or as a signal that someone has just died; it is most often used by Foster after she has found a dead body while in a fugue state.
	+ **Premonition Enhancement**: Foster's scream can also be used to clear ambient noises from her auditory channels so that she can focus her attention on the specific sounds that she needs to hear as part of an auditory premonition.
	+ **Concussive Force**: Foster's wail can be used in an active or offensive manner as well; when a Banshee wail is given focus and direction, it can shatter bulletproof glass, overload electronics, burst eardrums, and create concussive blasts that can throw a full-grown man across a room.

* **Supernatural Immunity**: As a Banshee, Foster is immune to the effects of many supernatural phenomena. A Bite from an Vampire will neither kill her nor turn her, provided the wound isn't fatal, which was proven when Carlisle bit her and it did nothing but activate her latent Banshee abilities.
* **Supernatural Sensitivity**: Foster has been described as someone who can sense and seek out the supernatural and has demonstrated a highly-enhanced intuition regarding the supernatural ever since her Banshee powers were activated. Though she seems unable to identify any supernatural creature in her presence like her friend and fellow Banshee, Meredith Walker (whose power was so great that she was able to identify every supernatural creature in Forks), she is still very sensitive to supernatural energy, particularly in areas that have been powerfully affected by death.

### Weaknesses

* **Mortality:** Despite being a Banshee, Foster still has partial mortality and has no supernatural healing ability; for that reason, she is vulnerable to any physical illness or injury as any other mundane person would be, including fatal ones.
* **Loud Noises:** As a Banshee with a very heightened sense of hearing, Foster is vulnerable to very loud noises. For example, James's was able to use a loud pitched device once caused Lydia to start bleeding from her ears because the pitch was literally ear-piercing to her.
* **Psychological Turmoil:** Being a Banshee is often a very traumatizing experience, as she is literally surrounded by death, whether it's because she's predicting it, witnessing it, or finding a body after they've been killed. This can have understandably negative effects on Foster's psyche.
* **Effects of Trephination**: When trephination is performed on Banshees, they are completely overwhelmed by the screams and sensations of every single person in the world who is currently dying. Their highly amplified powers will eventually become so difficult for the Banshee to control that they will foresee their own death before wailing loudly and dying.