X'Hal (Earth-7642)

X’Hal is a living battle goddess worshipped by much of the Vegan System. Once the greatest warrior of the Vegan system, X’ Hal was primarily responsible for repelling a Psion invasion, and was therefore made the Vegans’ high priestess and ruler. The Psions returned, however, killing X’ Hal and experimenting on her lifeless body, eventually converting it to pure energy, which unexpectedly brought her back to life as a powerful battle goddess.

Destroying the attacking Psions, she then turned her uncontrolled power against her own people, destroying three of the twenty-five Vegan worlds before she could be captured and brought under control by those who would later become the Warlords of Okaara.

## History

Eons ago, X'Hal was one of hundreds of peaceful people living on the Vegan planet Okaara. When the Okaarans made first contact with another alien race, the Psions, X'Hal was present to greet them. The Psions had little interaction with the people of Okaara and soon left to explore other worlds. They eventually returned, bringing with them one of the warriors of the planet Branx. The Branx were the exact opposite of the Okaarans in that they embraced their more primal aggressions and lived for war.

Wanting to see whether kindness or aggression is the dominant biological trait in life-forms, the Psions attempted to crossbreed the Okaarans with the Branx and chose X'Hal to serve as the mother of their experiment. Because her culture was devoid of fear or mistrust, X'Hal was oblivious to her fate until it was too late to stop it. Once she was captured, the Psions allowed the Branx to force himself onto X'Hal.

When she failed to get pregnant, the confused Psions gathered more Branx to try to impregnate X'Hal again repeatedly. After numerous failures and months of torturous experimentation, X'Hal finally gave birth to a monstrous descendant of the Branx. This being would later become the forerunner of the Citadelians.

The Psions believed that hate was the dominant trait, until X'Hal gave birth to a peaceful twin son who embodied the physical characteristics of an Okaaran later became known as Auron. X'Hal's latest Branx mate, still consumed by his warrior's lust, attempted to violate X'Hal again, but she responded by stabbing the creature in the stomach with a pair of medical scissors. The Branx retaliated and snapped X'Hal's neck in his bare hands. Upon discovering what had transpired, the Psions immediately disintegrated the Branx. The Psions grew concerned that the loss of X'Hal's nurturing techniques might have an averse affect on her offspring.

Unable to save her body, they were able to preserve her mind by converting it into pure energy. What they failed to realize at the time though, was that the conversion process had imbued X'Hal with great power. Months of abuse and helplessness had given rise to a need for vengeance in X'Hal's soul and she lashed out at her captors, destroying not only the Psions, but the entire lunar base as well.

X'Hal gathered her twin children and brought them back to Okaara where she was hailed as a goddess. She was no longer the peaceful, loving woman they once knew however. Her behavior was now erratic and she was prone to fits of rage and violence, and moments of motherly love and compassion. As the years passed, X'Hal's children grew strong.

One child, having inherited the warlike aggressions of his Branx father, inspired the repressed rage that laid dormant within the hearts and minds of all Okaarans. Okaaran settlements began waging skirmish after skirmish with one another until the entire planet existed in a near-perpetual state of war. As the Okaarans grew more skilled in the art of battle, they soon became known as the Warlords of Okaara. Their constant fighting resulted in the activation of a Doomsday weapon that destroyed most of the planet.

The Okaarans blamed the child of X'Hal for this tragedy and exiled him from the planet. When X'Hal learned that her son had been sent into exile, she flew into a tremendous rage. Her fury was intense that she turned her power against three of the twenty-five worlds occupying the Vega system, destroying them. It was only X'Hal's sense of remorse that caused her to stop. She then imbued her second child with a portion of her power and disappeared.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

**Unique Physiology**: X'Hal originally was a powerless alien with a physique resembling that of a Tameranean. After the Psions turned her into an energy being, she retained her original form, though she would occasionally emit an aura of energy when exerting her powers.

* **Energy Projection**: X'Hal gained the ability to project massive amounts of energy. At her upper limits, she was capable of destroying planets.
* **Flight**: X'Hal was capable of levitating herself and others for transport.
* **Self-Sustenance**: X'Hal's was able to survive in a vacuum unaided.
* **Power Distribution**: X'Hal is capable of transferring her power to other beings, giving them abilities similar to hers.