BACKGROUND: Kate Bush had been a moderately
successful singer/songwriter in her native England. Her songs were
popular and she had a near-fanatical fan base. In '82 she had released
her fourth album, and while it had not sold as well as she would have liked
she did not necessarily feel that her life was going to change dramatically
any time soon.
She would soon learn
differently.
Kate was born on July
30, 1958, the same time that Lionheart I was slain. Uknown to her
she had become the unwilling inheritor of his legacy, a legacy that did
not intfere with her life until '82 when she was attacked by an insane
fan who felt she had to die to become immortal. Kate easily survived
the assault and her fan was taken away, no one believing his story that
his knife failed to pierce her flesh.
Over the next week
or so Kate experimented and found that she had a wide range of powers,
but at that point she did not know what to do with them. She was
not politically active (although she had sung about one or two causes)
and all she wanted to do was sing. The decision was taken out of
her hands, however, when terrorists captured members of the royal family
and Kate felt she had to act. Donning a makeshift mask and costume
she managed to stop the terrorists and save the royals. The press
dubbed her Lionheart and it stuck.
Over the next fifteen
years Lionheart protected her native soil as well as the Earth. She
became a member of High Justice in '90 and by '95 had become their leader.
This activity took a toll on her musical career. She had less and
less time to write and touring was out of the question. The final
blow came in '97 when she faced off against her worst enemy, The Unicorn.
She and several of her other enemies discovered who she was and conspired
to bring her down. They burned down her studio, destroyed her family
home and hospitalized her father. Enraged, she confronted The Unicorn
over London out of costume. In a battle that devastated half of downtown
London-damaging the new London Bridge, parts of the Tower of London, Parliment,
St. Paul's Cathedral and Tower Records in Picadilly Circus, Lionheart killed
The Unicorn. Her other enemies were rounded up a short time later.
The trial was short,
the verdict never in doubt. Lionheart's career was so impressive,
she was so loved by the UK and the world at large, that she could seemingly
do no wrong. She was cleared of all charges. But the world
now knew who she was.
Well, so what?
The world's villains now had a very good idea what happened when they pushed
her too far so by unspoken agreement her family was now off limits.
And her song writing had been second in her life for years now so it did
not seem so bad from that perspecitve. Donning a new costume, Kate
re-dedicated herself to being Lionheart.
PERSONALITY: Kate is a nice person with
little ego. She is an effective leader and mediator, and has earned
the respect of the world's heroes and leaders. Over the past several
years she has been plagued with the guilt of her role in the partial destruction
of Great Britain and the murder of The Unicorn, an act that went against
her deepest beliefs. She loathes violence yet was stunned at the
level she was capable of.
Kate is a vegetarian.
POWERS: Kate has tremendous strength, resilience
and endurance. She has survived all manner of trauma short of a nuclear
warhead and can endure any environment on the planet, can lift hundreds
of tons and can go for days without sleeping or eating. She is able
to fly at multi-mach speeds and can survive in space for short periods
of time. Lionheart heals quickly from any injury she does sustain.
Lionheart also seems
to have other powers which can only be described as "Magical". She
is able to switch in and out of costume in a literal flash, and emit her
"Lion's Roar" a devastating blast of sonic energy that at its widest arc
can destroy objects (and people!) across a hundred yards. Lionheart
is reluctant to use her roar for the sheer destructiveness of its nature.
Lionheart also seems
highly resistent to mental attacks. Whether this is another super
power or simply an illustration of her strong will is unknown.
APPEARANCE: Kate is an attractive woman that appears to be in her early twenties. She stands five foot three inches tall, has an athletic build and wears her auburn hair shoulder length and full. Her skin is pale and her eyes are hazel.
As Lionheart she has worn different costumes over the years. Her first was a simple gold leotard with leather boots and gauntlets with a belt and cape. Later she switched to a blue, red and white costume. In the wake of the '97 incident, she wore the costume less and less and these days mostly wears suits comprised of durable hi-tech materials.
Lionheart now wears stylish suits of either
navy or red hue, with a rampant lion brooch in the lapel. Black boots
and black leather gloves complete her ensemble, and the tie is a clip on.
The materials used loot like silk and other expensive fabrics, but they
are far tougher and can handle tremendous environmental stress. They
also wash well and do not wrinkle.
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