Laurie Collins

Salem Center, NY

## Background

### **1994 - 2008: Laurie Collins**

Laurie Collins is a second-generation mutant. Her father, Sean Garrison, possesses empathic pheromone powers & used it to manipulate people to get money, fame & women. Laurie's mother, Gail Collins, was one of these women that he manipulated. Unlike the former women he tossed aside, the two got married & stayed together until Gail gained immunity to Sean's powers from becoming pregnant with his child.

After Gail realized what had happened, she left Sean, divorced him & raised Laurie alone. When Laurie was eventually born, she emulated her mother in every way & became a quiet loner. But one day, over the winter holidays, Laurie suddenly became very popular & was quite confused what had changed among her peers. She confided in her mother what happened at school. Her mother, realizing her power had emerged (and immune to her pheromones), tried to talk her down gently. But Laurie, who hadn't realized why she'd suddenly become popular, became scared of what she could do & ended up even more withdrawn than before.

Gail did her best to keep Laurie's moral up but she soon insisted on being home-schooled as to not affect her peers anymore. She began o only feel safe around her mother, as she was the only one immune to her powers. Upset for her daughter, Gail did some research into a school she heard about a few years back that was open to mutants. Believing to be the best option, Gail decided to send Laurie to Xavier Institute & moved to Salem Center to stay near her, so that she could have one person whose reactions she could trust. Although Gail insisted Laurie live at the school, to try & make her come out of her shell, it didn't work. Laurie went through two roommates in the first few weeks before finding a roommate & friend in Sofia Mantega.

### **2008 - 2009: Wallflower**

It took Laurie a long time to get adjusted to being around people again. Whenever there was any type of commotion, Laurie would break into a panic & hope she wasn't the cause. Her powers & reluctant personality made her a target for some bullies, with many calling her "smell girl." However, her friendship with Sofia continued to help her in many ways. The two were constantly paired & not just because they were roommates but because Sofia's ability allowed her to blow Laurie's pheromones away so she didn't have to worry about being accidentally manipulated. Refusing to let her stay in their room, Sofia started bringing Laurie around as she hung out with David Alleyne & Kevin Ford. Laurie & Kevin quickly developing mutual crush but neither said anything.

Laurie was eventually asked by Professor Xavier to accompany Dani Moonstar & Karma in investigating a mutant in the area. When they arrived, the Reavers engaged them in a fight. With no combat training, Laurie ended up stabbed through the chest. She was only saved when Josh Foley, one of the Reavers who had just discovered he was a mutant, healed her. Laurie quickly developed a crush on him in the moment. After Josh's family & friends discovered he was a mutant, they disowned him & he enrolled at the Institute.

Laurie continued to stick around with her new friends & was happy when they were joined by Josh. They were even placed on the same training squad, the Exemplars, with David (Prodigy), Sofia (Wind Dancer), Nori (Surge) & Wither (Kevin). Officially part of a team, , Laurie was given the codename Wallflower. Though the team got a long well outside the raining room, they were not so well prepared for battle. After some harsh criticism from Josh, Sofia began crying & doubting herself. Laurie went to go talk to Josh, who invited her for dinner as he was just turned down by Rahne again, who felt a relationship with him was inappropriate. Halfway through their date, they were interrupted by Rahne, who brought them back to the Institute because the FBI had caught up with Kevin about his accidental killing of his father.

Laurie, upset by this information, went to the recreation room to hang with her squad. for some alone time. Icarus found them & told the squad that the Hellions had gone to break Kevin out. The Exemplars fought with the Hellions to try to stop them from taking on the FBI. Laurie used her powers to keep the Hellions out of the fight until the X-Men turned up & took them all back to the Institute. The charges against Kevin were dismissed but the damage between the two squads was already done, with Wither & Icarus switching squads (Hellions & Exemplars).

Though Laurie & Josh had begun dating, he continued to pursue Rahne. Eventually Rahne decided to totally break things off with Josh permanently, but unbeknownst to either of them, Kevin overheard their entire conversation. Eventually, Kevin used the information to break Josh & Laurie up. Laurie was left embittered by the experience, going so far as to use her pheromones to manipulate Prodigy into kissing her at the dance in a successful attempt to make Josh jealous. In an attempt to mend bonds, Sofia tricked everyone into a camp-out on the grounds of the Institute. While bickering & even fist fighting (Josh & David) broke out, Laurie eventually forgave Josh after overhearing him pouring his heart out to Icarus.

## Powers & Abilities

* **Mutant Physiology**
	+ ***Empathy Pherokinesis*:** Wallflower generated highly-potent airborne scent-based pheromones, which affected the chemical balance in other people altering the moods of those around her.

### Weaknesses

* **Emotional Consistency:** Initially, she had no control over her powers at all & she would cause everyone within range to match her moods. She has shown to exert limited control over her powers. It's still common for her to release pheromones that mirror her extreme emotions such as fear or anxiety.

### Ratings

* **Intelligence:** 4 - High / Trained
* **Strength:** 3 - Average / Basic
* **Speed:** 3 - Average / Basic
* **Occult:** 1 - Nonexistent
* **Weapons:** 3 - Average / Basic
* **Energy Projection:** 6 - Expert / Advanced
* **Strategy:** 3 - Average / Basic
* **Fighting Ability:** 3 - Average / Basic

## Trivia

* She enjoys puzzles & reading. She dislikes public speaking.
* Her power first manifested in vitro, enabling her mother to gain a temporary immunity to her father's pheromone powers.
* She is roommates with Sofia Mantega.
* She is a member of the Exemplars Squad, mentored by Danielle Moonstar.
* She could potentially make someone become so depressed that they shut down their own mind & die.
* Wallflower has a power ranking of 64, classifying her as Power Level 2 / Low Threat.

## Notes

* The original character of Wallflower belongs to the Marvel Universe.