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.
After a series of adventures
in other dimensions, Kate found heself re-focused. For years being
Lionheart had felt more a burden because it interfered with her music.
But now she sees it as something to be celebrated and enjoyed and while
her music takes first place in her life, she does not mind being the hero
quite so much.
Since going into space Kate
now wears a variation of her nineties costume.
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 brief 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. When she returned from her multi-dimensional hop she began to wear stylish suits of either navy or red hue constructed of material that looked like silk but are far more durable, with a rampant lion brooch in the lapel. Black boots and black leather gloves completed her ensemble, with a clip on tie.
For her space adventure, Kate has returned
to a version of her nineties costume.