Balthus

In Reality Z-25 31-H, a green spawnling of the alien symbiote Ghede Nibo was born through Kimberley Jones under the auspices of Ohmega, under the name of **Project Fenris**. After being born, it rejected Ohmega's control and chose the name **Balthus**. Because Kimberley had been a willing host, it was larger and more powerful from birth than its older, blue sibling, Eros.

## Description

### Physical appearance

As a symbiote creature, Eros had no stable form when not bonded to another being, appearing as a shape-changing, living ooze. In his case, he was forest-green and could appear as a towering, nearly-humanoid figure, being powerful enough to maintain a shape even without a host. He had an affection for thorns or spikes, easily shapeshifting his body into such and having a “spiky” appearance in the aforementioned unbonded state. (COMIC: *Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 5*)

### Personality

Balthus was respectful of his “parents” Kate Five, Ghede Nibo and Emerald Valkyrie, but was fiercely independent, and hesitant at the thought of sacrificing his freedom even for the sake of his mother's life. Born with the world as his enemy, he had no qualms about killing humans indiscriminately to secure his own survival. (COMIC: *Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 5*)

### Powers & abilities

As a symbiote, Balthus had the ability to merge with a humanoid host upon contact and form a psychic pond with them, provided the bond was not rejected by the would-be host via an act of will. (COMIC: *Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 1*, *Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 5*) Having been born from a willing host, Balthus was born more powerful than his sibling Eros, able to do considerable damage in combat by shapeshifting parts of his bodies into blades or thorns. He also demonstrated the ability to physically enter a human's body, not to bond them or possess them but to take them apart from the inside.

Even before birth, Balthus also demonstrated telepathic abilities, able to communicate with Ghede Nibo at some distance. (COMIC: *Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 5*)

## Biography

### Born in battle

Balthus was created in Ohmega's secret facility on Sark Island in the English Channel. Ohmega had been studying bio-energy and were convinced by Emerald Valkyrie that a symbiote, contained from birth, could be used as an inexhaustible power source for an exosuit like her own E-Valkyrie power-armour. (COMIC: *Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 5*) Having abducted Kate Five and her symbiote and brought them to Sark Island, Valkyrie allowed them to get free and goaded Ghede into impregnating her. (COMIC: *Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 4*)

Because she was a willing host, the spawn grew rapidly and greatly. As the new symbiote, which chose the name Balthus, began to be born, Kate went through Ghede to telepathically communicate with it, warning it that Ohmega planned to contain it as soon as it was born and use it as a battery. Born fighting, Balthus immediately killed one of the doctors, and morphing into her symbiote-covered form, Kate broke through the glass observation wall to help. The two symbiote humanoids made short of work of Ohmega's medical staff and their first line of security personnel, but Kimberley was wounded in the process.

   When Battle Angel and Nexus Girl, who'd been led to Sark Island by Marcus via helicopter, arrived in the “maternity ward”, they were surprised to see not only the signs of carnage, but also a tearful, not-at-all-evil-looking Kate cradling Kimberley's body and begging for help. However, Balthus was reluctant to jump into the E-Valkyrie suit and make itself the very battery it had been fighting not to become, which Kate thought would be the only way to save her. Battle Angel and Nexus Girl, for their part, did not know what to make of the unexpectedly non-hostile Kate and symbiote. While they parlayed, Balthus made his own choice and bonded with Kimberley directly, stabbing Battle Angel and fleeing.

The wounded Battle Angel ordered Nexus Girl to leave her and pursue Kate, who, running through the base, turned a corner to find herself faced with a firing squad headed by Red Giant. She got hit by a few shots, but was pulled to safety by Nexus Girl and the blue symbiote, who half-separated from his host to have a conversation with his “father”, revealing that he had chosen a name, Eros. Ghede helped Kate begin to recover from the wounds, though she would ideally have needed more time to heal, as she went to face Red Giant, refusing to answer when Nexus Girl asked if she'd come quietly with her and Battle Angel once the immediate crisis was over. (COMIC: *Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 5*) Red Giant, revealing himself to be a “roided-up vampire”, nearly got the better of her, but she was saved at the last moment by Battle Angel, who, before giving her medical attention, impulsively kissed her and declared her her girlfriend, revealing that she'd long harboured feeling for Kate. (COMIC: *Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 6*)

   Meanwhile, Ohmega forces had subdued the symbiote-bonded Kimberley and, deeming Balthus a more valuable resource than the fickle human scientist, prepared to forcibly extract the symbiote from her in a manner which would have killed her. Nexus Girl intervened, calling on the power of the Nexus Stone to return her armour to her. Accepting that Ohmega had betrayed her, Kimberley agreed to team up with Section P as they made their escape, and reunited tearfully with Kate.

Nexi insisted on calling upon her powers once again, but their teleportation was redirected to Hell by a demoness called Duchess Valmorri, who revealed that the power of Nexi's Nexus Stone had been a reflection of the true Stone which she controlled from Hell, and also that she held the soul of Aqua Marine. Without deigning to explain herself further, she offered an ambiguous deal to Nexi to make her give herself up to Valmorri, which Nexi accepted despite the others' protests. Valmorri then teleported them to “somewhere safe” — the Fortress of Evening, where they gave quite the surprise to Captain Evening, Professor Madison and Rodney Rabbit. (COMIC: *Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 6*)