Cabaret

*The corners of Cabaret's mouth turned downward slightly as she peered down through the skylight into the warehouse below. Rat-Finks information had proven correct, splayed out under her was the scene of dozens of Warriors at work: Some counting out large stacks of money, others working on the grayish powder that would eventually become compressed into the encapsulated designer drug Shotgun, half a dozen more pacing with axes, swords, and flails in hand. One hero against at least two dozen gang members. How was she going to do this?*

## Origin Story

Nancy Emond-Kettler was born the only child of particle physicist Johnathan Emond and engineer Joyce Kettler. Hers was a relatively happy childhood, the family and a small cat sharing a modest home on the outskirts of Darkness Falls. As an adult Nancy would fondly recall those special evenings of sitting on the porch with her mom, learning the basics of engineering and every so often being rewarded with the sight of this hero or that hero cruising the skyline. She longed to join them.

Close on the advent of her twelfth birthday Nancy began to complain of intense, severe headaches and body aches. Her dutiful parents took her to several doctors, unconvinced of the repeated opinions that the young lady was just experiencing 'growing pains.' As the pain slowly gave way to uncontrollable shaking Nancy's parents quickly ruled out common causes such as encephalitic disease or epilepsy and began running their own tests and experiments. They were quick to realize that something Meta-physical was happening with their daughter and combined their scientific brilliance to create a set of unobtrusive power dampeners, which almost instantly eliminated Nancy's violent movements. Having correctly surmised their daughter a genetic mutant, their next step was to discover and understand her powers.

She was quickly inducted into the ranks of the Junior Unlimiteds, the second generation of students learning under the senior members how to control and identify their powers. She would stay with the Junior squad for the next ten years, the personal student of the Darkness Falls branch hero Glitter. During the Day of the Destroyer Nancy donned the costume and moniker of Cabaret, vowing to continue the fight even as she lost everyone dear to her. It would be her way of honoring their memory and sacrifice.

## Meta-human Abilities

Cabaret is a genetic mutant whose body constantly vibrates at several thousand revs per minute, producing concussive shock-waves that radiate outward from her to a maximum distance of sixty feet. Without her power dampeners she is unable to shut the vibrations and subsequent shock-waves down; these waves are so destructive that they can reduce a small building to rubble in seconds and, ultimately, would cause Nancy's death as her body reverberated itself to pieces. In conjunction with her dampeners, Cabaret has developed the following power feats:

1. **Concussive bolt**: By opening one or both gauntlets at the tops of her fingers Cabaret is able to produce a beam line of concussive energy to both inflict damage and to blast away any large solid masses coming in her direction, such as a car being thrown at her.
2. **Concussive Burst**: By rapidly opening and closing her dampeners she can waylay an opponent with several bursts of concussive energy, like a machine-gun.
3. **Ground Zero**: By completely shutting off her dampeners for even a full second Cabaret can send out a single shock-wave radiating outward from herself to its maximum distance. The radial shock wave will strike everything in the radius: enemy, ally, and objects.

## Equipment

Cabaret's primary piece of equipment are the two power dampeners she wears, which cover both hands and forearms to the elbow. They operate by a system of simple feedback mechanics, trapping the excess energy produced by her body and then looping it back to keep the dampeners powered. With the assistance of her mother, her mentor, and her own knowledge of engineering Cabaret has developed the additional power feats:

1. **Construction**: The dampeners are made of a light yet flexible mixture of fine titanium mesh interwoven with tin plates of the same titanium. She can utilize them as blocking and parrying weapons; they are strong enough to completely withstand bladed and slashing attacks. They offer no protection against heavy hafted weapons, it's likely that if she attempted to block a strike from a mace or war-hammer such as those used by the Warriors the blow would break her forearms.
2. **Reel Cables**: Hosed inside casings located along the bottom of the gauntlets are two, ten foot long steel cables equipped at the terminus with simple crimp grips. Cabaret can release and withdraw each of these cables independently and normally uses them for transport, with them she is able to swing along the city skyline. With enough momentum she can eventually reach a maximum velocity of seventy miles an hour. She was inspired to install the cables at the advice of one of her closest friends, the hero Gossamer.
3. **Subdue**: This is the only power feat in Cabaret's arsenal to combine both her cables and her Meta-powers. It's a dual attack, the first part being to ensnare or entangle her foe. With this accomplished, she will then send pulses of her reverberations down each cable to stun her foe.

## Skills & Talents

While by no means a dedicated scientist, Cabaret has a more than basic working knowledge of engineering; enough to keep her power dampeners in perfect condition and make slight, minor modifications to them. Automotive mechanics is a hobby and love she learned from her father and she is skilled enough with it to completely fabricate and entire engine block and do body work to most four-wheeled vehicles. She is a major history buff and quite a skilled writer and orator, and earns her living as a teacher of Meta-human history at Paragon University.

In addition, Cabaret has taught herself a unique hand to hand fighting style that combines Tae Kwon Do with her cables. When up close and personal she can deliver shin to mid-level kicks whilst also utilizing whipping and slashing style attacks with her cables. She can further use the cables to trip and snare opponents by the wrists, ankles, or around the waist.

## Weaknesses

Cabaret's most defining weakness is her power dampeners. If these were ever to be removed and with held from her, she would suffer a horribly gruesome death as her body convulsed itself to fragments in about fifteen minutes time.

## Appearance & Personality

Cabaret is a fairly attractive blonde thirty year old with hazel eyes. Away from campus she has a dress style best described as 'frumpy', with jeans, pumps, and pullover sweaters being her most comfortable choices of attire. She has quite a serious and sober personality type, and often finds it difficult to poke fun at herself or a situation. It has been remarked that while she has no interest in being a leader, she would make for an excellent and well-disciplined co-captain.

As Cabaret she wears a sleeveless black PVC open-front jacket over a light purple form-fitted body suit and wears her long hair in twin buns. Her power dampeners and boots are both silver, shot through with a darker purple. Her knot work belt is also silver. She doesn't wear a mask.

## Quote

"What makes a hero? It's not the person who is the strongest, or bravest, or fastest or even having a spiffy uniform. The hero is the guy who sees a wrong and can't look the other way and then who knows he has to do the right thing."