Bête Noire

*"I always welcome death with open arms. Would you do the same?"*
—Ethel Stone to Deceased Victim
**Ethel Stone**, also known as **Bête Noire**, is an assassin associated with the infamous mafia group Scourge. She was cherished and raised by her loving, and sometimes overbearing, older sister, Anna Stone, after their parents and brother had passed. However when Anna enlisted into the Special Operations Unit, Ethel began to live a double life with the discovery of Benjamin Stone's survival, who was presumed dead by both of them.

## Biography

### The Beginning

#### *Sisterhood:*

With only five years in age difference, Anna and Ethel Stone were inseparable. The young one looked up to her eldest, attempting to mimic everything she did or planned to do. She was her symbol of strength and willpower. Often sitting beside Benjamin when Anna and their parents sparred, the grace of her movements never ceased to shock her. Ethel would soon stand on her juvenile legs with arms in a similar position to what she had seen Anna done and struck forward. It was a measly, feeble punch, but it was a good start in the growth of her abilities. With Benjamin still being far too young, Anna would often team up with Ethel to train, but either way the Stone sisters grew to be a force to be reckoned with.

Hardship came rushing forward when she was only seven, having to grow up sooner than many. With hunters seeking to kill off lycans, her extended family and the Stones scattered to make it more difficult to find them. News from nearby cities would continuously cover the shrinking numbers of surviving lycans in the United States, and it instilled fear into everyone. Ethel watched Anna slowly become a complete recluse, never seen around anymore unless she personally came down from wherever she was hiding to invite her younger sister. Young Ethel became depressed but utilized the time to practice shifting and controlling her now blooming powers. At first, she didn’t understand why her powers weren’t appearing as she was of age. Then when sparring against her father one day, he was thrown across a field when he launched at her. She was struck with confusion and awe, and it wasn’t much later than she began to harness the recessive powers.

Alana, their mother, only possessed powers of light, but she came from a long generation of psychic abilities, and her father was a strong lycan. Of the three siblings, Ethel was the most blessed power wise, not only advantageous strength wise from being a shifter but also able to control the wind and manipulate minds around her. The wind is an addition to her being a lycan and sometimes even acts as if it has a mind of its own. There were many moments where Ethel would actually defeat her oldest sister in a fight, but without the aid of her abilities, she would be struck down by Anna’s impressive strength. It was clear that Ethel had the most beauty, power, and grace out of the three siblings, but no matter what people would say, the only person in Ethel’s eyes that fit those descriptions was Anna Stone.

#### Cracks*:*

With both of the Stone sisters traumatized by their brother and parents' death, Ethel was eventually left in the care of other surviving shifters, who pampered her like a doll. She, however, wanted none of it and only wanted to assist her sister in her path to revenge, who left her behind to attack the hunters who killed their family. Her anger brewed as it felt like a betrayal, throwing her to the side as if she wasn't family herself. When Anna returned with her lycan side completely gone, Ethel was appalled and tried to care for her older sibling, making sure she'd get enough food and water to survive, and when she grew ill, she'd bring medicinal herbs to her. It proved to be useless as her sister purposely distanced herself from Ethel, leaving her in the dust to work on her strength and abilities in order to fight for the greater good.

Ethel would continue to grow up in solitary, her anger growing more and more whenever Anna would enter her life and leave as if nothing had changed. After graduating from high school early and earning enough money to live in her own apartment, her doors always remained open to Anna, who was grateful but also never showed much affection then either. Then when she joined the spec ops, she knew in the bottom of her gut that their relationship would never be the same again.

### Scourge

#### *Benjamin:*

With the Stone sisters' relationships already strained, Ethel continued to excel in college. In every class, whether it was mathematics, international languages, or sciences, she never failed to end up on top. She wanted to prove that she didn't need her sister in her life to succeed. Anna was someone she had looked up to, trusted, and loved dearly since she was a toddler, and their relationship came tumbling downwards the day she had seen her brother alive.

It was a normal day at Yale, and Ethel was a current junior at the prestigious university. Hair tied up in a short, blonde braid, her bright blue eyes sparkled with untouched innocence. However, she would still shy away from any type of socialization. Even if she was surrounded by the sea of students, she was still a lone wolf. She didn't have a problem with it. Solidarity was something she found comfort in other than academics, but it made her stand out like a sore thumb. This allowed her brother to find her very easily, asking around for a girl named Ethel Stone after finding out she was studying at Yale. When asked why he needed to find her, he simply answered, "I'm a current freshman, and she's my tutor." He disregarded the reactions he gotten, which most were sympathy and pity. It didn't worry him at all, and in fact, it only made him more interested in his older sister.

Ethel was in the library studying when someone scooted a chair back to sit next to her, and when she looked up, her entire face paled. Though she hadn't seen him since that very night, the similarities were uncanny. He sported blue eyes and blonde hair like her, and he could practically pull off being her twin. She felt cold. She felt her heart rate speed up. But she didn't notice because it was as if time had stopped. For years and years, she had thought her little brother was dead. Gone. Murdered by heartless humans because of their hatred for their kind. Here he sat next to her, smiling as if nothing had gone wrong years ago.

Her younger brother explained to her how he was taken in by the very hunters that their parents tried to kill, and he went as far as claiming that they meant no harm- just getting rid of the bad wolves. He, however, eventually left to begin his own organization. The more he spoke, the more insane he seemed. It got so bad to the point where Ethel wanted to leave from the discomfort she felt around him, but at the same time, she didn't want to abandon him and worried for his health. She planned to meet with him weekly. Each week, they would sit down at the same spot and shared stories of their lives apart from each other. Though she was wary at first, laughter came out of both of their lips and their bond renewing. Ethel felt her icy interior melt more and more after the first few weeks, reminded of how it actually felt to have a sibling. Her fascination also grew for his organization. Benjamin explained that it gave the lowly lifers another chance in life and provided a home to many, but in return, they had to work to "protect" themselves. He never went into detail on why they'd protect themselves, and when she had asked the question, he simply asked, "Why don't I show you around?"

Ethel, still a naive young girl, eagerly accepted it.

#### *Killer:*

Ethel is now a senior at Yale, and since her brother had agreed to show her the "organization" a year ago, he hadn't returned. She grew increasingly worried for him, worried he had been injured or worse. The number Benjamin had given her to call him no longer worked, and he refused to reveal the official location of where he worked. To Ethel, she felt abandoned again and automatically returned to usual recluse self. It didn't help that no one came to her graduation either. Graduating with top honors and majoring in psychology, Ethel was set on a steady journey to become a psychologist at 18.

It was all interrupted by a knock in the night. It was Benjamin, and although she was relieved, the fury over his disappearance was monstrous, so much that she could feel fear and guilt rippling off of her brother's body. He quickly explained that there was conflict with his organization which kept him away. For her safety, she had to come with him and even added that he could finally show her around. Ethel just slammed the door in his face and went back to sleep. Over the next couple of days, Ben would knock again and again just begging her to listen to him, and Ethel, who hadn't gotten a wink of sleep because of the incessant banging, ripped the door off the hinges and slammed it into his face. He surprisingly kept his wits together enough to ask her one more time. His mouth didn't even get a chance to say anything before she agreed. This time, they left together, the first time she had not been left behind.

Ethel blended right into the crowd. No one really socialized or stood out as "best" or the "most popular" here. Just a giant group of introverts looking for a stable life. The town was crumbling outside of the warehouse, but the official organization's warehouse was fixed up nicely. With plenty of amenities to occupy the bored and a comfortable rooming space, it wasn't a bad place to be. Benjamin began to teach her what he learned with self defense over the years he was with the hunters, and like when their parents trained her, she learned quickly over the course of a couple months. It didn't bother her knowing these moves most likely were used against her parents, reasoning out that it was good to not be left defenseless. She grew to be more ruthless and even more cunning than before as the atmosphere began to shift who she was. The anger inside of her was taught to be wielded as a dangerous weapon. Before Benjamin knew it, she became the killing machine Scourge needed to control the frequent attacks from the military, so he recruited her into the gang and sent her out on her first mission with an experienced team. Ethel returned having killed half of the team on her own and even kept a souvenir for herself- one of the soldier's radio. She was unfazed by the killing, her eyes showing the beast inside of her thriving, and all she wanted was *more*. It was an unavoidable consequence due to the environment she was in and her own brother's manipulation, but Benjamin used it to his advantage. With her climbing the ranks, she earned the name "Ifrit's Claw" since her brother's code name is Ifrit..

The soldier's radio gave Scourge an abundance of information they needed, and there was someone always at the desk listening into the codes and decrypting it. One of the messages showed the locations they've been to, and another showed who they had talked to. Ben swore at the name "Sangeetha", but Ethel understood very little. All she knew was that Sangeetha was from a rival gang nearby, but she connected the dots, with Benjamin infuriated and the military, to the the gang and the military allying against Scourge. It was highly unusual but not impossible. Before she knew it, Benjamin confirmed what she was speculating by ordering everyone awake to prepare for a full blown battle.

Scourge allied with the Wyverns, a local gang, to initiate a warehouse trap set for the military and Sangeetha's Tekorelli gang. Wyverns mostly split between the north and west wing while Scourge waited in the east and rest of the north wing. Ethel felt her adrenaline rush in her veins as she waited in the east wing, crouched on a wooden beam stretching across the ceiling. Dressed in all black, two metal bracelets sat on her wrists as she held the chakrams, circular blades with a leather handle on the center, tightly in her grip. The outfit and weapons were gifted by her brother, specially made for her. The chakrams can be summoned magnetically, a button on her bracelets making it possible. Members of her gang were littered around the room: one overseer was hidden on the roof watching from the window, several hidden behind the furniture, and a couple peeking through the other windows to snipe.

Eyes trained to the hallway, the members could hear the quiet whispers and steps of the incoming soldiers. The world seemed to slow for her, just like a predator awaiting its vulnerable prey. She could read the names on their minds- *Davy, Jones, West, Murphy..*.and twenty more soldiers behind them so she grew bored. Ethel almost pitied them but clearly not enough as she made the first move. Her wind tossed them like rag dolls across the room, and all hell broke loose. Gunfire rang out in the large room, and screams of determination and pain echoed from both sides. Working as fast as she could, Ethel's chakrams sliced into the guns to disarm before going for the kill. Her challenge was met with a woman named Murphy, who met her fist to fist. To say Ethel hadn't struggled was a lie. Ethel was outmatched, but she refused to go down with those already laying pathetically on the ground. So she ran. Her breeze made her speed up, but she was slow enough to signal the overseer on the roof, who had a remote in hand. Murphy, who she had to give credit for being so resourceful, realized instantaneously that things were about to escalate, pulling out her radio to warn her fellow comrades. She could only say "Abort mission" before being obliterated to ashes with the rest of her team. And Ethel's team? They only lost one member, and the rest left unscathed.

*Rise:*

Having killed her sister's girlfriend unknowingly, she would soon face the Spec Ops' elite forces head on. Driven by pure rage, her sister and her team tracked down Wyvern and Scourge's current whereabouts and clashed. For once since years ago, all the Stone siblings are united in one space but on different sides of the battle field. Ethel blew through many of their members under her brother's orders as she saw that he had beelined for her sister, and with her heart already having been tainted, she could not have cared less for Anna's fate. However with guns drawn, it was not Anna who died. Ethel watched in horror as the brother that had taken her into Scourge died in front of her very eyes, and from the angle, it had seemed that her oldest sister had done it- killed their youngest sibling. As his body fell to the bloodstained grounds, Anna and Ethel would make one last eye contact before Scourge began to retreat as it was clear Wyverns had lost. Her face burned in the blonde female's mind, swearing that her eldest sister would die a thousand-fold worse death.

With their leader now dead, another figure rose to power and falsely claimed the name "Ifrit", which only her brother should've carried in her and the others' opinions. Those who went against the new leader were punished, killed, or enslaved secret to a camp nearby that farmed for minerals and goods to make more powerful weapons. She was sent to one of those camps. Working long hours with little food and water, poor conditions, and horrendous treatments from the supervisors, Ethel teamed up with Obsidian one day to fight off the supervisors, which led to a full blown rebellion inside the cave they worked. The death rates were high, but those who survived walked free. Many hadn't returned to Scourge, leaving for a life of normalcy, but those who hadn't pledged loyalty to Ethel. Though, she later would be found and captured, sent to Neo Arcadia to hunt her sister down so her power of the people wouldn't affect Ifrit, but even if she hated him, she couldn't deny this one chance for revenge.

*Connections:*

Ethel quickly tracked down Anna Stone, striking her the minute she had the opportunity, and Anna, who was shocked Ethel even came to her at all, purposely took the blows before Evan Broxton, known as Ice Gear, stopped her in her tracks. Strike after strike, Ethel continued to attempt to assassinate Windbreaker until Almanac teamed up with him to bring her down. From there, she was placed in a high security prison, but she began to panic as she knew this very enclosed space would be her death. Ifrit would find out she failed and kill her here. Ethel shoved it inside and acted wild and uncaring of anything when Evan had visited her, taunting him through the bars. However, her efforts were futile as he gave her a sweatshirt, surprising her at the gesture. Though, she took it, and a bond began to form between the two. The more he visited, the closer they grew, and ironically, the ice broke. Ethel began to address her worries to him about Ifrit killing her eventually, but the response had been too late because she had narrowly escaped an attempt on her life and escaped. She followed Evan home, where then he'd keep her safe there. He had promised to keep her safe there, and Ethel, who had never truly felt safe or secure, felt something unknown for the man.

A second, unsuccessful, attempt on her life had been made, and Ice Gear and Almanac faced off Ifrit in a fight. As they were fighting, he hinted at Anna being alive, as Anna had already been declared dead then, before being killed by Ice Gear. This causes a rift and skirmish between the two men, and unfortunately, Ethel drove them apart as Almanac had a strong dislike for her. Evan, who was loyal to the assassin, only nurtured the bond between him and the girl.

The foreign feeling would eventually lead to them dating, love blossoming as violence had been forgotten, and once in her life, her ideals shifted. She was still as sarcastic and snarky, but she grew to be more peaceful. More understanding as the man had tamed the wild wolf. Ethel felt cared for and appreciated for once, and it drew a more gentle side of her out. After Ifrit had died, she took over Scourge with Obsidian by her side and began to change it for the better. They began to train the members to be like regular members in society, letting them leave if they chose to or stayed and lived inside. Many left, but many stayed as well. Those who stayed helped rebuilt Scourge into a town under Ethel's leadership, and Ethel promoted Evan to also oversee the work. However, Obsidian, who had feelings for Ethel, disagreed with the idea until his doom.

Ethel and Evan found Obsidian dead after an attack was caused by a rival gang, instigated a gang war between the two, but it was swift as they overwhelmed them and quickly forced the opposing gang to render defeat. Scourge adopted some of their members into their gang, but it wasn't by force but voluntarily, a drastic difference from the past. However as time went on, the lovers had broken up, and Ethel's dream to maybe have a family with him shattered.

Her dream lead her to form an orphanage for children- with or without abilities but preferably with abilities. She felt like those who had abilities should be with those who understood them well...not like her own foster parents when she was a child. With the breakup and past unable to unhook her from violence entirely, she resorted to killing some of the foster parents and those that abused the children died a slow death. That's exactly how she had met Tobias Walker, an orphan who had abilities. She spoke to him briefly about the orphanage and how he was welcome there after finding out he was unhappy with his foster parents. It was a perfect situation for her to allow him to be "free" of the pain he felt. She took this opportunity to eliminate them after Tobias agreed to stay at Scourge, and she showed him around the now-child infested building. Ethel focused on nurturing him, finding a bit of herself in the teenager. After she met him, she decided to stop resorting to killing the foster parents as she began to truly understand how it felt to be a parent. Why foster parents want to foster children. Guilt began to rot upon her conscious as she started to realize all the violence she casted among the innocent, and nothing could be done to repay the dead.

Ethel decided to wipe out the last two gangs nearby Scourge in one single swipe one night. From there, she would begin to cleanse her bloodied hands by attempting to be a better person and a better mother.

*Operation: War against Reign*

Ethel was possessed by Lantern after being caught in one of his traps as she walked Reverie home late at night, and she ended up murdering 12 innocent people from the Annual Ball in Neo Arcadia. She was the mole for the Nyxos until she was found out when she killed the scientists that had the preserved corpse of a Nyxos. After she was caged and his control was released, she quickly contacted the US Navy to travel out to sea, leading to the death of Lantern after a torpedo hit him.

*Retrogade*

Ethel unintentionally became a part of this mission along with Tobias, who was delivering packages, when they had seen an investigation go on about missing people. Her foster son began to see a different side of her, besides mothering him the entire time, as she fought- a more violent tendency than he had seen previously. It's not until she tells him she was formerly an assassin and killed his foster parents when he understood who she was. It broke their trust, causing him to run out of the building before inevitably get captured. She's seen to be as protective as him as before, but kept her distance. Tobias punched her when they arrived him, which she took without a single drop of anger- only regret.

## Physical Appearance

With mid-back long, platinum blonde hair, her tan skin and bright blue eyes are complete opposites to her sister's physical appearance. However, her facial, nose, and eye shapes are completely identical to Anna's, usually aiding in identifying whether they are siblings or not. Ethel has two scars on her palms and a brand number "8112" on her wrist. She also has an assortment of scars on her back and legs, which are both covered by clothing at all times. Her sharp appearance and gaze is used to allure victims and yet create a sense of fear. She is 5'6" but seems at least 5'8" with her uniform on.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Mind Control:** Ethel can enter a person's mind and force them to obey her command. Their body and mind would be in her total control if this ability is activated while looking straight into her eyes.
* **Empathy:** Ethel has the ability to sense other's emotions. If they are experiencing strong emotions, she could feel it from a distance if she was focusing on one person specifically, and emotions such as anger and fear are the easiest to track. She can also transfer her own feelings to a specific person or even manipulate their own to feel a certain way.
* **Lycanthropy:** Ethel has the ability to shape into a wolf triple her size. With the transformation, she can heal twice as fast and uses telepathy to communicate with others.
* **Telepathy:** Ethel can thoroughly scan to learn about an individual before greeting them, usually stunning them by saying their first and last names without a single introduction. She can also speak to them with a connection only between the two speakers or create an internal channel where multiple people could speak with one another.
* **Air Manipulation:** Her air could group up and solidify temporarily from how fast it is moving. The impact could shatter bones or hold a person in place to prevent them from moving. She has can have boosts to help her move swifter and quieter. She can make a large tornado or a wind storm and control it on demand.
	+ **Flight:** Ethel can fly with her abilities.
	+ **Strangulation:** She can suck the air out of a person's lungs or increase the pressure around them to prevent them from breathing

### Abilities

* Ethel is a skilled martial artist and is a master at wielding her ring blades. Her fighting style is aerobatic.

* Ethel also has a high-level intellect and is an expert toxicologist.

* Ethel can read morse code

## Relationships

* Alana Stone - Mother
* Anna Stone - Sister
* Benjamin Stone - Brother

Allies* Evan Broxton/Ice Gear - Ex Love Interest
* Obsidian - Friend
* Leah Caverly/Reverie - Friend
* Tia Calinao/Titanium - Friend
* Tobias Walker - Adoptive Son
* **Most** of Arcadian Rebels