Mantra Anti-Hero

Real Name: Lukasz; legally Eden Freeman Blake.
Occupation: Sorceress, law enforcement officer, former warrior.
Identity: Secret.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record.
Other Aliases: Over the past 1500 years, Lukasz has possessed thousands of people, assuming their identities. Some of Eden's friends call her "Eeds".
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, on Earth-93060 (Eden); unrevealed (Lukasz).
Marital Status: Divorced (Eden); widower (Lukasz).
Known Relatives: Gus Blake, Sr. (Eden's ex-husband); Gus Blake, Jr. (Eden's son); Evelyn "Evie" Blake (Eden's daughter); Marinna (Lukasz's wife, deceased); Marinna II (body inhabited by Thanasi, alias Necromantra, daughter), Barbara Freeman (Eden's mother).
Group Affiliation: (as Eden Blake) SHIELD, formerly Aladdin of Earth-93060 and Earth-95050; (as Mantra) associate member of the Order of Kamar-Taj, ally of Ultraforce of Earth-93060 and Earth-95050; (as Lukasz) former member of the Twelve Knights of Archimage of Earth-93060.
Base of Operations: Los Angeles, California, on Earth-93060, Earth-95050, and Earth-Reboot.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #
History: Approximately 1,500 years ago on Earth-93060, the warrior Lukasz was one of twelve knights who pledged their service to the wizard Archimage to combat his rival, Boneyard. During the intervening centuries, Archimage used his magic to transfer the minds and souls of the twelve to other bodies upon their physical deaths, displacing the minds and souls of the bodies' original inhabitants. Lukasz spent 1,500 years fighting the war from the shadows, working closely with three other knights – Yaron, Thanasi, and Hamath – until the day Thanasi betrayed the knights to Boneyard. While most of the twelve perished and Archimage was captured by their enemy, Archimage in a last ditch effort transferred Lukasz into the body of Eden Blake, a divorced woman with two children. Lukasz was given a charm by Archimage's assistant/familiar, Katinya, which provided him/her with mystic armor, a mystic cloak, and a magic sword – the Sword of Fangs – which could be summoned at will. Before she died of accelerated old age, Katinya explained that Eden had been born with the potential to become a powerful sorceress, and that Lukasz would need to learn magic to defeat Boneyard. To assist him/her, she told him to use a mantra: "Change. Growth. Power."

These changes did not set well for Lukasz, but events moved quickly enough to not give him him/her time to adapt. It wasn't long before Thanasi's treason was discovered. Due to a misunderstanding by bystanders of a comment Lukasz made during their fight, Lukasz as Eden was given the name Mantra by the press. Mantra became one of several "Ultras" (as Earth-93060's superhumans were called) to operate in the Los Angeles area. Lukasz eventually learned Boneyard had given Thanasi the ability to leap from body to body and, as Mantra, fought him several times.

Lukasz, forced to actually live Eden's life rather than cut all ties with his body's life as he'd done for fifteen hundred years, was never comfortable being Eden. As Eden, she joined the government agency called Aladdin, an agency charged with monitoring and controlling Ultras; Lukasz joined the agency to keep an eye on them and to subvert it from within should it become necessary. She also gained several friends in the Ultra community, although she turned down an invitation to join a newly formed team dubbed Ultraforce. During one confrontation, Lukasz was forced to reveal to Eden's daughter Evie that Eden was Mantra.

After several months, Lukasz learned that Eden's mind and soul still inhabited her body, and over time as they met in their shared headspace, the two fell in love. Determined to give Eden her life back (and return to being a man), Lukasz used his connections with other Ultras to arrange the creation of a "wetware" (cellular nanotech native to Earth-93060) body which resembled his original body. When his mind was transferred from Eden's body to his own, intending for Eden to return to her body, her body was hijacked at the last moment by Thanasi. Thanasi, calling him/herself Necromantra, fought the restored Lukasz before they were transported to a ringworld of both science and magic called the Godwheel. While on the Godwheel, Lukasz and various allies managed to drive Thanasi from Eden's body and put an end the threat of Boneyard. In their proper bodies for the first time in over a year, Lukasz and Eden celebrated New Years Eve and shared an intimate encounter while discussing how to return to normal lives.

However, their plans immediately went awry. Eden ended up nine months pregnant overnight with their child, who proved to be possessed by Thanasi. Thanasi aged the child to adulthood almost immediately after birth, becoming a "new" Necromantra. Kidnapping Evie, Thanasi attempted to kill both Eden and Evie to absorb their magic potential (Eden's son, Gus, was deemed by Thanasi to have no mystic potential of his own). Eden and Lukasz sacrificed their lives and happiness to stop Thanasi's plans; Lukasz's recreated body died, but Eden chose to die so that Lukasz could again inhabit her body. With her dying breath, Eden asked Lukasz to always care for her children, which he swore to do. Evie had witnessed the whole ordeal and eventually came to accept "Mantra" as a substitute mother, although the two agreed not to let Gus know the secret as yet.

Not long after (or possibly slightly before) those events, Earth-95050 diverged from Earth-93060. On Earth-93060, during the event known as Black September, Lukasz transferred much of Mantra's power to the kids' teenage babysitter Lauren Sherwood when Gus was gifted with incredible psychic power, resulting in Lauren becoming the new Mantra. However, because the Black September event did not occur on Earth-95050, Lukasz as Eden continued to operate as Mantra.

During a later encounter with Necromantra, Mantra and Evie, along with Eden's son Gus and the shapeshifting heroes Prime and Elven, were caught in a dimensional warp, landing in a universe similar to but notably different from their own. (Gus was both thrilled and upset that his favorite Ultra was secretly his mother; he still is not aware that Mantra is not really his mother's mind the way Evie is.) This dimensional warp was investigated by the sorcerer Doctor Strange and his allies Clea, Wong, and Topaz. Faced with overwhelming mystic opposition, Necromantra fled. Upon discovering the warp had closed, perhaps permanently, Strange used his magic to create legal identification for the four newcomers. Prime and Elven, in their teenage secret identities, were admitted to the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters at Strange's recommendation, while Mantra, as Eden Blake, used her experience with Aladdin to qualify for entry into SHIELD as an analyst, with the intent of using SHIELD's own resources to find a way back to her home universe. (Mantra is also wary of SHIELD Director Gyrich's Sentinels program, and is subtly feeding information on the program to Prime.)

Lukasz is currently dividing time between life as Eden and operating as Mantra, once again living in the Los Angeles area. She and Evie are currently spending every other weekend studying the magic of their present universe under the tutelage of Dr. Strange's master, the Ancient One, at his Kamar-Taj monastery.
Age: over 1,500 (Lukasz); 31 (Eden).
Height: 5' 9" (Eden) (Lukasz's original and regrown bodies were 6').
Weight: 130 lbs. (Eden) (Lukasz's original and regrown bodies were 200 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue (Eden) (Lukasz's original and regrown bodies had brown eyes).
Hair: Black (Eden) (Lukasz's original and regrown bodies had brown hair).
Uniform: Metallic gold chest armor, white loincloth skirt, black opera gloves, black thigh-high boots with white trim, black hooded cloak with white trim, metallic gold belt set with a polished ruby, metallic silver mask.
Strength Level: Eden Blake possesses the normal human strength of a woman her age, height, and build who engages in moderate exercise.
Known Superhuman Powers: Mantra is a sorceress whose power comes from two main sources. Most of her magic comes from manipulating ambient mystic energies (ecocentric magic), which she typically uses to manipulate the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water), phase through walls, turn invisible, fire bolts of eldritch energy, and create eldritch force shields. She is also proficient in the use of black magic, drawing energy from the unwilling to power her magic, often by killing small animals such as lizards. She does not like to use black magic, fearing she will become corrupted because of it. At present, she is still learning the basics of utilizing personal energies for various mental effects (egocentric magic) and calling upon extradimensional entities for various mystic effects (exocentric magic).

According to Archimage, Mantra will live for centuries. Whether this is because she will eventually learn to use magic to retard her aging or if sorcerers in her native universe naturally age slower is unknown. How that is affected by her migration across the timelines is also currently unknown.

Mantra has occasionally been able to increase her power by reciting her mantra – "Change. Growth. Power." – in her head or aloud. Most of the time this increase is temporary, but on several occasions the power increase has been permanent.

Mantra's native (Ultraverse) magic has one serious limitation: If a mage speaks her true name ("Lukasz") in her presence, her magic against that person and any resistances to that mage's magic are significantly hindered.
Other Abilities: Lukasz is a skilled warrior with over fifteen hundred years of experience. However, Eden's body lacks the muscle memory and strength to utilize these skills to their fullest extent. Lukasz is also a skilled investigator with an eye for detail.
Weapons and Paraphernalia: Mantra possesses the Sword of Fangs, a magic blade forged from the fangs of a dragon which is eternally sharp, able to pierce nearly any material, is unbreakable, and can change its shape to become a gold ring which can be worn as a bracelet. When carried by others, the sword can act as a compass leading its wielder to Mantra (or more accurately, Mantra's armor). It is possible the Sword of Fangs has other powers that have yet to be revealed.

Mantra's armor is bullet-proof, at least as far as conventional weapons are concerned. It also magically conforms to the wearer's shape.

Mantra's cloak acts as a gateway to a pocket dimension created by Archimage. The pocket dimension contains a castle which is filled with mystic artifacts and books on sorcery, the full extent of which has yet to be catalogued. She can also use the cloak to teleport great distances by traveling through its pocket dimension. In addition, the cloak can be used to intercept bullets fired at the wearer and redirect their paths to other targets.

Mantra's mask acts as an amplifier of magic. Any sorcerer who wears the mask will have additional magical energy to draw from as well as being able to cast more powerful spells.

698 points

ST: 10 [0]	HP: 10 [0]	Speed: 6.00 [0]
DX: 12 [40]	Will: 16 [15]	Move: 6 [0]
IQ: 13 [60]	Per: 15 [10]
HT: 12 [20]	FP: 12 [0]	SM: 0
Threshold: 45

Dmg: 1d-2/1d	BL: 20 lbs.
Dodge: 10	Parry: 14	DR: 45
IT:DR: /10

Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0]; Latin (Native) [6].

Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].

Advantages: Air/2 [20]; Appearance (Beautiful) [12]; Born Soldier 4 [20]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Danger Sense [15]; Earth/2 [20]; Energy/3 [60]; Extra Attack 1 [25]; Fit [5]; Increased Threshold 2.3 [13]; Legal Enforcement Powers (SHIELD) 2 [10]; Magery 4 (Suffers Metal Penalties, -20%) [36]; Martial Artist (Military) 4 [40]; Omnilingual (Magical, -10%) [36]; Racial Memory (Long-Lived) [20]; Safer Excess (+1 per 10 pts) [10]; Security Clearance ("Need-to-Know" on a Narrow Range) [5]; SHIELD Rank 0 [0]; Space/2 [40]; Water/2 [20]; Wealth (Comfortable) [10]; Wild Talent 1 (Emergencies Only, -30%; Focused: Magic, -20%; Wild Ability, +50%; Magical, -10%) [18].

Perks: Cloaked [1]; Masked [1]; Supersuit [1].

Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Soldier's) [-10]; Dependents (Gus and Evie, Children; No More than 15%; Loved Ones) (9) [-24]; Duty (to SHIELD) (12) [-10]; Enemy (Thanasi/Necromantra; Evil Twin; Hunter) (9) [-20]; Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10]; Secret Identity (Imprisonment) [-20].

Quirks: Dislikes Needing to Use Sex Appeal [-1]; Likes Whiskey, But Body Does Not [-1]; Name-Bound [-1]; Responsible [-1]; Uncertain How to Classify Sexuality [-1].

Skills: Acrobatics (H) DX+1 [8] – 13; Acting (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Body Language (A) Per+0 [2] – 15; Broadsword (A) DX+8 [16] – 20*; Climbing (A) DX+0 [2] – 12; Computer Operation/TL8 (E) IQ+0 [1] – 13; Current Affairs/TL8 (Headline News) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 13; Detect Lies (H) Per-1 [2] – 14; Expert Skill (Military Science) (H) IQ+1 [8] – 14; First Aid/TL8 (E) IQ+0 [1] – 13; Forced Entry (E) DX+0 [1] – 12; Guns/TL8 (Rifle) (E) DX+3 [12] – 16; Hiking (A) HT+0 [2] – 12; History (Last 1500 Years) (H) IQ+1 [8] – 14; Innate Attack (Beam) (E) DX+2 [4] – 14; Intelligence Analysis/TL8 (H) IQ+0 [4] – 13; Interrogation (A) IQ+1 [2] – 14†; Intimidation (A) Will+0 [2] – 16; Judo (H) DX+6 [12] – 18*; Jumping (E) DX+0 [1] – 12; Karate (H) DX+6 [12] – 18*; Law (US Superhuman) (H) IQ-1 [2] – 12; Leadership (A) IQ+5 [4] – 18‡; Lifting (A) HT+0 [2] – 12; Lip Reading (A) Per-1 [1] – 14; Observation (A) Per+1 [4] – 16; Research/TL8 (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Riding (Equines) (A) DX+0 [2] – 12; Running (A) HT+0 [2] – 12; Savoir-Faire (Military) IQ+4 [1] – 17‡; Search (A) Per-1 [1] – 14; Sex Appeal (A) HT+3 [1] – 15§; Shadowing (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Soldier/TL8 (A) IQ+5 [4] – 18‡; Stealth (A) DX+5 [4] – 17*; Streetwise (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Swimming (E) HT+0 [1] – 12; Tactics (A) IQ+6 [12] – 19‡; Thaumatology (VH) IQ+1 [1] – 14#; Throwing (A) DX+0 [2] – 12; Tracking (A) Per+1 [4] – 16; Wrestling (A) DX+7 [12] – 19*.

Magical Realm Skills: Air (VH) IQ+3 [4] – 16#; Earth (VH) IQ+3 [4] – 16#; Energy (VH) IQ+5 [12] – 18#; Space (VH) IQ+1 [1] – 14#; Water (VH) IQ+3 [4] – 16#.

Starting Spending Money: $8,000 (20% of Starting Wealth).

* * Includes +4 from Martial Arts (Military).

† Defaulted from Intimidation.

‡ Includes +4 Born Soldier.

§ Includes +4 from Appearance (Beautiful).

# Includes +4 from Magery.

Role-Playing Notes:

Once obsessed with regaining a male body, Lukasz has grudgingly accepted that he has to live as Eden; s/he is still uncomfortable as a woman, especially around men who cannot see past a pretty face and an hourglass figure. Likewise, s/he's not quite sure how to handle lesbians who hit on "her". With the kids learning that their mother is Mantra, it has lifted a weight off his/her chest s/he did not really know was there.

Lukasz has fifteen hundred years of experience as a soldier (reflected in the Talents), but despite his/her actions as Mantra is still in many ways a novice in magic, with only second-hand information gleaned from Archimage and Katinya on the theory. Still, s/he is a fast learner, when s/he puts his/her mind to it.

Designer's Notes:

1. Earth-95050 diverged from Earth-93060/the Malibu Ultraverse just prior to the Black September event. In UltraForce v1 #8 (cover date May 1995), Dane Whitman/Black Knight crossed over from the mainstream Marvel Universe (Earth-616) to the Ultraverse. Earth-95050 is my personal designation for the Ultraverse that diverged when the Black Knight never appeared and Black September never happened. (Thor's and Loki's appearances in the Godwheel crossover are more likely to be the diverging point, but the Black Knight's appearance is the more notable point of divergence on Earth proper. That said, the Thor and Loki appearances can easily be chalked up to Ultraverse counterparts native to the Godwheel rather than the Earth-616 versions depicted.)

2. Oy vey, pronoun time! In many ways, Mantra was trans before trans was accepted, being a man's mind in a woman's body. However, I do not feel comfortable using "they" as a unisex pronoun (might just be my old age, though). In Mantra's case, I attempted to standardize with what would have been used in Mantra v1 during the early '90s before Marvel bought Malibu: "He" for Lukasz in his original and rebuilt bodies (as well as all the identities he used and discarded during the intervening 1500-ish years), and "she" for Eden and the combined Mantra identities, as the characters used in the comics. I hope this does not offend anyone.

3. I still need to stat up her cloak (worst case scenario, use the same stats as Devil-Slayer's Shadow Cloak), her armor, and the Sword of Fangs.

4. The price of Magery includes the cost of Magery 0 (Suffers Metal Penalties, -20%) [4]; it just looked weird placing them on the sheet together.

5. "Racial Memory (Long-Lived)" is courtesy of Christopher Rice's blog (link forthcoming when I find it again).