Selene

**Selene**is a human mutant, an External, and a magician.

## Biography

Selene was born 17,000 years ago in central Europe. Selene's mother was young when she bore her but would be dead before Selene spoke her first words. The tribal elders ordered her mother's people to sacrifice themselves to Selene until none remained, thus giving her sustenance and her name.

During the times of the Roman Empire, Selene had an eye on Senator Eliphas, who was used by others for their own benefit. She came before him, offering him her eternal love and immortality if he helped her sacrifice the countless souls of Rome. The thousands of souls that she would feed on would allow her to become as powerful as a god. She instructed her pawn to draw symbols around the city in his own blood for the ritual.

However, Eliphas performed a small act of compassion by telling a slave girl he gave ruby earrings to about what was going to happen. Her father informed the authorities, who captured both Eliphas and Selene and sentenced them to be burned at the stake. Selene awoke before it could happen and set the flames back against their would-be executioners. Furious as Eliphas for seemingly betraying her, she took his life force and transformed him into a vampire-like creature, swearing that he would never see her again.

## Affiliation

* Power Elite
* Sisterhood of Mutants
* Externals
* Selene's Inner Circle (*formerly*)
* Hellfire Club (*formerly*)
* Upstarts (*formerly*)

## Relatives

* Marcus Domitius Gallio (*husband*)
* Amara Aquilla (*alleged descendant*)

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

**Life Force Absorption:** Selene can psionically drain the life forces of other human beings into herself by physical touch. If she drains a person's entire life force from them, the victim dies and their body crumbles into dust. It is unknown how often Selene must drain life force from another human in order to survive. A side-effect of this absorption is that Selene takes on the memories of her victims. Great expenditure of power causes Selene to age, but she can rejuvenate herself by absorbing more life force. She will not age as long as she maintains her supply of absorbed life force.

* ***Mind Control:*** If Selene drains only part of a victim's life force, she achieves a measure of psychic control over her victim's mind. Thus, her victims who survive her life force draining powers become subordinate to Selene's own will.
* ***Power Bestowal:*** Through unknown means, Selene can cause a human being to become a psychic vampire like herself, although they are subject to Selene's mental control.
* ***Superhuman Strength:*** By using the absorbed life energies that sustain her, Selene can enhance her physical strength to superhuman levels.
* ***Superhuman Durability:*** By using the absorbed life energies that sustain her, Selene can enhance her physical durability to superhuman levels.
* ***Superhuman Stamina:*** By using the absorbed life energies that sustain her, Selene can enhance her physical stamina and endurance to superhuman levels.
* ***Superhuman Speed:*** Selene can momentarily move at superhuman speeds of around 175 miles per hour, though this requires heavy expenditure of energy and can cause her to age rapidly and require more life force immediately following the burst of speed.
* ***Superhuman Agility:*** By using the absorbed life energies that sustain her, Selene can enhance her agility, balance, and bodily coordination to superhuman levels.
* ***Superhuman Reflexes:*** By using the absorbed life energies that sustain her, Selene can enhance her reflexes to superhuman levels.

**Telekinesis:** Her telekinetic abilities give her complete psionic control over inanimate objects. She can cause inanimate objects to move according to her will by projecting part of her absorbed life force into them. She cannot, however, rearrange the atomic or molecular structure of matter.

* ***Disintegration:*** She can cause inanimate objects in her presence to disintegrate.

**Pyrokinesis:** Selene can psionically generate and project intense heat and flame from and around her body or direct it at certain distances. The exact radius of this power remains unknown. She is able to manipulate flame created from other sources and can magnify their intensity or snuff them out. The flames Selene generates can also be illusory in effect; for example, she can focus the power on an object, making it appear to be on fire while it was not being damaged by the flames at all.

Selene instinctively creates a psionic force field around her entire body that protects her from the effects of the heat and flame she creates, as well as from other sources of heat and fire.

**Telepathy:** Selene is a high order telepath who has displayed various psionic feats with the minds of others, including reading and communicating over vast distances.

* ***Telepathic Illusions:*** She is able to create illusions of flame. It is unknown if she can create other illusions or if she is limited to creating illusory flames.

* ***Astral Projection:*** Her telepathy is strong enough for her to survive in her astral form.

* ***Hypnosis:*** Selene can induce a momentary hypnotic trance in people around her. She often uses this along with her speed to create the illusion fo teleportation.

* ***Psychic Blasts:*** She can project psionic force bolts which have no physical effects but which can affect a victim's mind so as to cause pain or unconsciousness. She was even able to temporarily subdue the Grey Hulk with this power before he could fight it off.

* ***Psychic Shields:*** She is able to shield herself from psionic intrusion.

**Immortality and Regenerative Healing Factor:** Selene is immortal and can regenerate injured or missing cells from even near-fatal injuries. The limits of her regenerative ability are unknown, but she can endure injuries such as knife wounds without lasting harm or even feeling pain.

**Magic:** She possesses considerable magical abilities, having gained a great deal of mystical knowledge over the millennia. The number of magical effects she can create has yet to be cataloged, but it is known that she can cast and counteract spells and summon extra-dimensional demons.

**Shadow Mimicry:** It has been seen that Selene can turn herself into a shadow figure, enabling her to blend into her surroundings.

## Notes

* Selene has gone by the aliases ***Selene Gallio***, ***Demon Huntress***, ***Dark Huntress***, ***Lady Selene***, ***Black Priestess***, ***Black Queen***, and ***Dark Priestess***.
* Selene is 5'10" and weighs 130 pounds. She has black hair and blue eyes that glow red when using her powers.