REAL NAME: Jessica "Jessie" MacLaren

AGE: 28

BACKGROUND: Jessie MacLaren was the youngest daughter of a large family of five children.  Life in rural Scotland was hard and boring as her
family attempted to eke out a living on a farm that had been in the family for more generations than most could remember.  At the age of twelve Jessie had been working in the fields while her father was handling some dangerous chemical fertilizers.  She inhaled some and seemed to go into shock…

Then she was fine.  A doctor's check up showed no problems, although a further examination showed some interesting facts.  It seemed the
fertilizers had activated her paranormal gene, automatically protecting her.  Jessie's body immediately adapted to the lethal toxins in the
fertilizers and saved her life.

Over the next few weeks Jessie's powers developed further. At night she could see like a cat, she was able to swim as well as any seal and when in the water for any length of time she grew gills.  And she was never too cold or warm as if her body adapted to temperature extremes.  One time she was attacked by a jealous girl and Jessie grew claws in self-defense.  As a result of her strange abilities children her age
shunned her.

Jessie did not do much with her powers, and eventually she moved away from home to attend college in London.  Here she discovered there was sort of a super powered underground of men and women who had paranormal abilities like herself.   Some turned to crime, but many were so afraid of Lionheart that most towed the line.  Still, Jessie thought it would be neat if she became a super hero.  She got together with like-minded kids her age and soon the London Knights were born; Beast Girl, Valiant, the Sloane Ranger, Black Nimbus, and Alchemy Eight.  They had several adventures before they were found out by The Cavalier, Valiant's father.  The Cavalier did everything short of having Jessie arrested for child endangerment to shut the group down.  So the London Knights was disbanded and Jessie got on with her life.

Jessie pursued a career as a pilot, becoming liscenced to fly commercial prop airplanes, jets and helicopters.  She took a job with British Oil, both to pilot the company jet and to fly a helicopter to the various Atlantic oil platforms.  Life was good, if not what she had been hoping for; she loved to fly and she had earned the respect of her peers.

Then Brian Griffith-The Cavalier-entered her life again and offered her a chance to be a hero.  And to her surprise Jessie leapt at the chance and grabbed it with both hands.  She joined Storm Guard, but after a few weeks a legacy from her days as Beast Girl reared up and bit her.  She and the other members of the London Knights were cursed by their one and only enemy, one they thought was vanquished forever.   The curse stripped her of her mutant power, making her a normal person.

To say Jessie had a hard time coping is putting it lightly.  For the first time in sixteen years she had to deal with temperature extremes, differences in lighting, her weight, etc.  She formed calluses on her hands and feet for the first time in years after nasty blisters.  And she was no longer stronger than a normal person.  To put it mildly, she freaked.

Which is why she stole the nano-bots and made herself a hero again.  It was insane, it was reckless, it was outright stupid.  But it seemed Fate wanted Jessie to be a hero once more.

With the nano bots infusing her system Jesse became Arsenal and worked with The Dragon Slayers.  Eventually she and the former London Knights went on a quest to regain their powers and consequently Jesse's former abilities returned, killing the nano bots in her system.  She worked with Storm Guard, and is now a regular member of The Vindicators.

PERSONALITY: Jessie is an outspoken woman with a strong streak of self-determination in her.  She is not afraid to speak her mind or
stand up for herself.  She is kind, loyal and possesses a powerful thirst for adventure.

POWERS: Jessie's body can evolve and adapt to hostile stimulus, be it environmental or toxicological.  Her body instantly counters hostile agents introduced into her system; drugs, poisons, toxic chemicals, etc. are all immediately counter-acted.  She was once exposed to tear gas and even her eyes adapted to it so she could see.  Toxins that would kill someone instantly are even counteracted, as it seems her body continues to fight the substance then revives.

This does not mean Jessie is un-killable; any sufficient physical trauma  can kill her, namely a massive loss of blood or tremendous trauma (i.e. decapitation). She does heal more quickly than a normal human being but it can not be called a "healing factor."

Jessie's body reacts to environmental conditions as well.  She never grows cold or hot as her body adapts to exterior conditions, and when she is in water her body adjusts to adapt by her growing gills.  There are limitations; Jessie's body still needs oxygen, so she cannot adapt to any environment lacking oxygen in some form.  And while she can adapt to extremely hot and cold conditions she cannot do so instantly.  So she is vulnerable to heat and cold attacks if she has not had time to adapt to them.

Jessie has learned to control her body.  Through concentration she can willingly force changes.  Her favorite trick is to develop hawk-like vision while flying.  She has created bony plates of armor, defensive quills, claws, and numerous other animal-like adaptations.  She has tried other tricks like developing cat-like hearing or a dog's sense of smell, but without the instincts to employ them they do her little good and can actually be detrimental.  Her eagle-like sight has been easy to employ due to her natural instincts as a pilot, and because sight is the sense humans rely upon most.  Strangely enough, when in water her ability to employ her enhanced senses improve dramatically, perhaps because she is so dependant upon them in such a strange environment.

Jessie's body is denser than a normal human's due to a series of compact cells that are employed whenever she changes.  Her bones are
denser and more durable than a normal human's as well and she is several times stronger than she looks.  Her reflexes are equal to those of an Olympic athlete. Because of this denser physiology Jessie is not naturally buoyant and will sink in water when unconscious, and adapting her body for flight is very, very difficult (she has learned to create huge bat-like wings and can glide, however).  Like many mutants Jessie's body also seems to be aging at a slower rate than other humans.

SKILLS: Jessie is an excellent pilot and can fly most civillian prop and jet aircraft as well as helicopters.  She is a quick study and could quickly learn how to operate other aircraft as well.  She is experienced at handling related communications equipment as well and has had some training on the use of radar and some sensor systems.  Through the years Jessie has picked up some knowledge of Oceanography and Aeronautics and is intimate with many aspects of the Oil industry, both scientific, technical and business related.

Jessie has some basic skills in regards to electronics and mechanics.  She is only has rudimentary hand-to-hand skills.  She is fluent in both Scots Gaelic and French.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Jessie stands five foot eight and is in excellent shape, possibly a side effect of her powers (remember, junk food is
full of toxic stuff, so her body adapts).  She is attractive, with red hair and blue eyes.  Her costume consists of a blue unitard with white trim (the colors of Scotland).  The material is far from expensive as many of her transformations can be hard on the costume.  It is for this reason she often goes barefoot.  Her power creates a sort of tread on the soles of her feet to protect them any way.  She also frequently wears a jacket so she has some place to put her stuff.