Melissa Burton

Melissa Burton AI Rendition

### Background

Burton grew up in a family of political campaign advisors that embezzled donations to build their own small fortune.  Her family, however, was unaware that the entire time they were stealing political funds, their own take was being snatched from right under their noses.  Burton was secretly transferring the stolen money into offshore accounts, claiming almost everything her family stole for herself. Once Gary Silver discovered Burton and her cunning ploy, he enlisted her services into his corporation, knowing that her ability to garner people's trust while simultaneously exploiting their resources could be incredibly valuable. She quickly rose through the ranks at SilverCorp, becoming the Dean at Silver University. During her time at Silver University, Burton is portrayed to be helpful and professional, offering to help Greg Malone upon learning about Project Cultivation and its inception.

### Torrent Breach

Burton's natural ability to garner the public's trust forces her to interact directly with the Curdlan family. Under the false pretense of curing their son's addiction, Franklin Curdlan is turned into a sleeper agent, but Burton is able to disguise the Board of Directors true intentions, kickstarting Ascending Dawn. After the Curdlan family leaves the premises, Burton expresses her displeasure for working with the public.

Later, Burton and John Nelson meet with Jasper Cotterill, a mathematics professor at Silver University. In the past, they influenced him to alter a student's grade for a handsome payday, but this time, Cotterill doesn't give in. Burton terminates Cotterill, knowing that Nelson will have him permanently silenced within the hour. Sure enough, Cotterill is killed when wasps flow through his vents and sting him to death.

### Subject A01

Burton and Nelson are on a fancy boat with Jayden Wright, taking Subject A01 on a fishing trip to earn his trust. During their time on the boat, Burton and Nelson tell Jayden about Geoff Cray, but the story has no definitive ending and the topic is dropped once Jayden catches a fish. Admittedly, Jayden begins to consider the Board of Directors his family, enjoying his time with Burton and Nelson.

Together, Burton and Nelson take a trip to visit Matthew Wilson at his lake house to receive 300,000 Torrent Breach microchips that have been designated to United States schools. With them, Torrent Breach will still have some channel of distribution, even if Teddy Silver manages to disrupt Wilson's plans. While speaking with Wilson, Burton makes sure to compliment Natalie Wilson, claiming that she has been very impressive working undercover for the board.

Playing along with Project Cultivation's testing phase, Burton works alongside Christina Dahl and Taylor Lockhart to track Malone when Joyner Knowles supposedly kidnaps him. The Board of Directors meet after Malone has been "rescued" to evaluate Jayden's performance. Despite critical remarks from Malone and Nelson, Burton admires Jayden's bravery and efforts and speaks favorably on his behalf. Burton's support allows the Board to move on with Jayden's testing, launching the final phase of the Subject A01 trials.

Before the final battle can be initiated, Burton chats with Taylor Lockhart, requesting that she preview the tracking software they have designed to trick Jayden. During their brief conversation, Burton reveals that Malone intends on making Taylor the leader of Project Cultivation, earning the young woman's trust and further enhancing their relationship. The two grow even closer prior to Taylor's departure to the abandoned steel mill. Burton begs Taylor to come back safely, revealing that she cares about the young student intern and has big plans for her future.

### Outfits

#### Torrent Breach

1. (*Worn during the Board's meeting with Silver about Ascending Dawn*) Burton wore a basic cherry-red sleeveless dress that tightly wrapped around her neck, adding a complex detail to such a basic piece.  Thin strands of silver jewelry lined her outfit, glistening off the wine glasses that were spread around the table.  Burton finished the fit with cherry-red heels with a silver bulb at the base of each heel, gracefully touching the ground.
2. (*Worn during the initial test of Ascending Dawn on Franklin Curdlan*) She looked happy to see the Curdlan family, wearing a thin white dress shirt with black buttons and a black collar designed with tiny white dots.  Burton’s black dress slacks freely flowed down towards her posh white heels with soles that matched the collar of her shirt.  The fabulous summer look was completed with a white link holographic watch that glowed around her wrist.
3. (*Worn while terminating Jasper Cotterill's position at Silver University*) Her long sleeve, pastel blue, V-neck top with loose damask patterned sleeves ruffled in the light air conditioning of the conference area, despite being tucked into a chic pair of dark blue denim jeans with a glowing silver button tightly holding them together.  She had very thin pieces of silver jewelry hanging around her neck and wrist that matched the undertone tint of her attire, complementing the festive light blue color of her lace top and pointed-toe heels.

#### Subject A01

1. (*Worn discussing Project Cultivation's inception with Greg Malone*) Burton looked very posh, wearing a beige long sleeve dress that seemingly wrapped over itself around the waist area, then neatly flowing down in one piece past her knees.  The dress matched the gold jewelry that Burton was wearing, having uniquely colored beige diamonds scattered amongst the pricey pieces she was wearing.  Finishing the look, Burton had on soft beige stilleto heels, with black soles gracing the ground beneath her.
2. (*Worn on luxury boat while on a fishing trip with Jayden Wright*) Burton looked incredibly comfortable, looking immaculate as she soaked in the sun.  The Silver University Dean was dressed in a belted tan sundress with a high collar that ruffled in the afternoon breeze.  Bronze jewelry glistened underneath the morning star, shining beautifully along her outfit.  Burton continued the outfit with a pair of brown sunglasses, protecting her eyes from the sun's harmful rays and accessorizing lavishly.  To bring everything together, Burton was sporting brown leather sandals with bronze details and trim along the back heel, tying her outfit all together.
3. (*Worn while Silver University is hacked by Joyner's compromised laptop*) Burton was dressed appropriately, wearing a dusty-tan colored sleeveless dress with black polka dots detailing the soft material.  The arm holes and collar along the dress were outlined with black material, matching the large black ribbon knotted into a perfect bow at the collar's base.  Burton continued the look with an antique watch around her wrist, with a black leather band and dark detailing to reveal the time.  On her feet, Burton was wearing shoes that perfectly matched her dress, with tiny little ribbons beautifully knotted on her shoes' toes.
4. (*Worn while acquiring the Torrent Breach microchips from Matthew Wilson*) Burton was wearing a classy summer look, starting with a white summer dress with an imprinted and cutout damask pattern that stretched down the dress' frontside, outer sides, and down the spine, leaving the empty space blank.  Around her waist, Burton was wearing a large white fabric belt with prominent light brown leather trim that added color to her look.  The light brown leather belt trim matched her pointed-toe heels that had a match damask pattern imprinted into the soft leather.  Finishing the look, Burton was wearing simple gold jewelry, and was holding onto a light brown leather purse that held her expensive belongings.
5. (*Worn tracking down Malone's kidnapping location via stream*) Burton was wearing a three-quarters sleeve thigh-length dress that fit her comfortably.  The dress was designed with horizontal white and black alternating stripes until they reached the dress's rounded collar.  Burton was also wearing silver jewelry that went nicely with the dress, but it was all very low key, letting the dress be the outfit's center piece.  Finishing the look, Burton wore one white and one black heel, with the soles reversed, giving her look a distinct final touch.
6. (*Worn during Jayden's performance review with Board of Directors*) Burton looked charming, wearing a gray sleeveless suit-vest dress with dark blue pinstripes detailing the clothing article.  The dress was done up tightly with two columns with three buttons each, having shiny silver bulbs glowing down the dress.  The buttons matched her silver jewelry, including a shiny charm bracelet with various designs around her wrist.  Finalizing the look, Burton was wearing navy-blue heels with silver trim wrapping around the shoes, matching a tiny bulb beneath her heel.
7. (*Worn while chatting with Taylor Lockhart about Project Cultivation*) Burton was wearing a very simple outfit, which went nicely with her hair being tied back into a ponytail.  Burton was wearing a 3/4 olive-colored top that sat tight around the base of her neck.  A hazel-colored belt was strapped around her waist, going with the rocky gray colored thigh-length skirt she was wearing, with hazel buttons lining the skirts frontside in two columns.  Burton finished the look with elaborate flip-flops, and thin jewelry that she hardly ever wore.
8. (*Worn during the sudden discovery of Joyner Knowles steel mill hideout*) Burton managed to look adorable, despite having minimal sleep over the last several hours.  She was wearing a sleeveless pink wool turtleneck sweater that was draped overtop 3/4 length khaki pants that were creaseless, appearing recently bought from a brand-name store.  Around her wrist, Burton was wearing a metallic watch that matched her sweater with gold hands and detailing that went along nicely with her earrings and necklace.  On her feet, Burton was wearing matching slingback heels with khaki-colored bottoms to finish the look.