Petra Hero/Supporting Cast
Real Name: Aya Vestergaard.
Occupation: High school student (starting grade 12).
Identity: Secret.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with a juvenile criminal record, still a minor.
Other Aliases: None.
Place of Birth: New York City.
Marital Status: Single.
Known Relatives: Father, mother, older brother (names unrevealed, deceased).
Group Affiliation: Xavier Institute student body; occasional ally of the X-Men.
Base of Operations: Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, Salem Center, New York.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #1.
History: According to her file at the Xavier Institute, Aya Vestergaard was the first in her family to be born in the United States; her parents and older brother had emigrated from Denmark to New York City while her mother was pregnant. Soon after her thirteenth birthday, while visiting the New Jersey Palisades, her family was killed in a freak rockslide, but Aya was left without a scratch.
At first she was placed into foster care. Not long after, Aya's foster father attempted to molest her; this led to the first conscious use of her powers, causing the ground under him to turn to quicksand and swallow him up to his shoulders before she changed it back to rock. Realizing she was a mutant, and worried that she had earlier accidentally killed her family, Aya fled the scene. For a year she lived as a runaway on the streets of New York, occasionally turning bits of coal and charcoal into small diamonds which she pawned sparingly.
However, one of the pawn shop brokers grew curious as to the source of the diamonds she pawned for cash and had her arrested the next time she tried to sell him diamonds. Aya broke down and in a fit of panic admitted to the officer who arrested her that she was a mutant and had accidentally killed her family. She was certain that she would be sent to prison; however, her story had caught the attention of Professor Charles Xavier, headmaster of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters in Salem Center, roughly fifty miles to the north of the city. Xavier managed to have the charges dropped, as he convincingly persuaded the officer that Aya was in need of help and an education, not punishment and imprisonment; Aya was then enrolled in the Institute.
As a student at the Institute, Aya, now going by the name Petra, was part of the small army of students gathered by Scott Summers to rescue his brother Alex from the Cult of the Living Pharaoh.
Petra was later seen as one of the students who volunteered to protect the Institute from the Juggernaut, Xavier's step-brother Cain Marko, when the latter attacked it.
Petra later spent some of the summer following that incident assisting the X-Men, themselves primarily graduates of the Institute. She briefly "sidekicked" for her younger classmate Kevin Green, secretly the part-time superhero Prime, at the behest of the Professor to gauge Prime's ability to lead his classmates in the field.
Petra was with the contingent of X-Men and allies who responded when the Zodiac Cartel erected a force field surrounding Manhattan.
Age: 17.
Height: 5' 6".
Weight: 125 lbs.
Eyes: Blue.
Hair: Dirty blonde.
Uniform: As a student of the Xavier Institute, she trains while wearing the black bodysuit with red and black circle-X shoulder pads, yellow boots, and yellow belt with a rectangular red buckle styled with a black X that are standard issue to students. When assisting the X-Men, she wears a green V-neck long-sleeved leotard with light blue trim on the shoulders and neckline, green gloves, green thigh-high boots, a green eye-mask, a light blue belt with a circular black buckle decorated with a light blue X, and a flowing light blue scarf around her neck; in colder weather she adds a light blue bodysuit under the leotard and boots.
Strength Level: Petra possesses the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height, and build who engages in moderate regular exercise.
Known Superhuman Powers: Petra is a mutant who possesses the psionic ability to shape and manipulate ambient dirt, sand, and rock; this includes asphalt used in roads and city streets, concrete used in sidewalks, and the gravel that's typically found on the roofs of many buildings. Offensively, she is able to throw rocks ranging in size from gravel to boulders at her targets. She is also able to shape rock and adjust its consistency from particulate fluids and quicksand to stone walls; she has shown the ability to quickly shift rock and asphalt to block bullets and energy blasts. She has also been shown causing localized earthquakes which she can direct to keep others off-balance. The most earth and rock she has been shown directly manipulating at any given time has been up to a ton in mass; this is likely to grow in power as she gets more experienced.
Petra has recently shown the ability to travel through the air by standing on rocks she levitates. She is currently able to carry two others with her in this manner.
Despite her power, she has a few inherent limitations. She is unable to create rock from thin air, nor can she affect worked metal; she is able to shape most ores such as cinnabar (mercury ore) or pyrite (an iron ore also known as "fool's gold"), but cannot extract the metal from the ore. She is unable to alter a substance's base elements; she can turn coal and charcoal into diamonds since all three are primarily carbon, but she cannot change sandstone to coal or diamond.
Other Abilities: From her time living on the streets, Petra is skilled at navigating, finding items and shelter, and getting along with people in urban environments without drawing undue attention to herself. She has also exhibited an interest in ancient and sacred stone architecture, notably in regards to places such as Stonehenge in England, the Great Pyramids and Sphinx in Giza, Egypt, and Machu Picchu in Peru.
Because of her background, she is fully bilingual, speaking and fully literate in both Danish and English.
Limitations: Petra still occasionally suffers nightmares regarding her family, as she blames herself for their deaths.
1,404 points
| ST: 10 [0] | HP: 10 [0] | Speed: 5.50 [0] |
| DX: 11 [20] | Will: 14 [15] | Ground Move: 5 [0] |
| IQ: 11 [20] | Per: 14 [15] | Air Move: 11 [0] |
| HT: 11 [10] | FP: 11 [0] | SM: 0 |
| Dmg: 1d-2/1d | BL: 20 lbs. | |
| Dodge: 9 | Parry: 10 | DR: 12/4* (uniform) |
| Power Block: 13 | ||
Languages: Danish (Native) [6]; English (Native) (Native Language) [0].
Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].
Advantages: Absolute Direction [5]; Appearance (Attractive) [4]; Binding (Stone Prison) 10/100 (Engulfing, +60%; Environmental: Earth/Stone, -20%; Malediction (SSRT), +150%; One-Shot, -10%; Only Damaged By Corrosion, Crushing, or Cutting Attacks, +10%; Super-Binding, +400%; Underwater, +40%; Variable, +5%; Elemental: Earth, -10%; Mutant Psionic, -10%) [139]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Control Earth 5/15 (Collective, +100%; Extended Duration: Permanent, +300%; Persistent, +40%; Super-Effort, +400%; Elemental: Earth, -10%; Mutant Psionic, -10%) [920]; Crushing Attack (Boulder Attack) 6d (Area Effect: 2 yd radius, +50%; Armor Divisor (0.5), -30%; Increased 1/2D Range ×10, +15%; Reduced Range ×1/2, -10%; Variable, +5%; Elemental: Earth, -10%; Mutant Psionic, -10%; Alternative Attack, ×1/5) [7]; Crushing Attack (Earthquake) 3d (Area Effect: 16 yd radius (+200%; Variable, +5%), +210%; Damage Limitation: No Wounding, -50%; Damage Modifier: Double Knockback, +20%; Environmental (Common): Rock, -10%; Malediction (SSRT), +150%; Overhead (Underneath), +30%; Variable, +5%; Elemental: Earth, -10%; Mutant Psionic, -10%; Alternative Attack, ×1/5) [14]; Crushing Attack (Stone Wall) 2d (Area Effect: 8 yd radius, +150%; Malediction (SSRT), +150%; Persistent, +40%; Selective Area, +20%; Underwater, +20%; Variable, +5%; Wall (Rigid), +30%; Elemental: Earth, -10%; Mutant Psionic, -10%; Alternative Attack, ×1/5) [10]; Earth Talent 4 [20]; Energy Reserve (Mutant Psionic) 10 [30]; Fit [5]; Flight (Environmental: Earth/Stone, -10%; Link (Can Be Used Separately), +20%; Planetary, +5%; Mutant Psionic, -10%) [38]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Piercing Attack (Gravel Throw) (Blockable (Blocked by Shield), -5%; Cone: 1 yd radius, +60%; Environmental: Earth/Rock, -10%; Increased 1/2D Range ×5, +10%; Rapid Fire: Multiple Projectiles, RoF 1×20, +150%; Underwater, +20%; Variable, +5%; Elemental: Earth, -10%; Mutant Psionic, -10%; Alternative Attack, ×1/5) [19]; Street-Smart 2 [10]; Telekinesis 8/50 (Area Effect, 4 yd radius, +100%; Link (Can Be Used Separately), +20%; Specific: Rock, -50%; Super-Effort, +400%; Elemental: Earth, -10%; Mutant Psionic, -10%; Alternative Ability (of Control), ×1/5) [44].
Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Hero's) [-10]; Nightmares (12) [-5]; Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10]; Sense of Duty (Mutantkind) [-10]; Wealth (Struggling) [-10].
Quirks: Atheist [-1]; Checkered Past (Former Homeless) [-1]; Dual Identity [-1]; Requires Reading Glasses [-1]; Sunburns Easily [-1].
Skills: Aerobatics (H) DX-1 [2] – 10; Area Knowledge (Manhattan) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 12; Chemistry/TL8 (Geochemistry) (A) IQ+1 [4] – 12; Climbing (A) DX+1 [4] – 12; Computer Operation/TL8 (E) IQ+0 [1] – 11; Cooking (A) IQ+0 [2] – 11; Expert Skill (Ancient Sacred Sites) (H) IQ+0 [4] – 11; Filch (A) DX+1 [4] – 12; First Aid/TL8 (E) IQ+1 [2] – 12; Flight (A) HT+5 [4] – 16*; Geokinesis (H) Will+4 [4] – 18*; Geology/TL8 (H) IQ+0 [4] – 11; Hiking (A) HT+0 [2] – 11; Housekeeping (E) IQ+0 [1] – 11; Innate Attack (Projectile) (E) DX+7 [8] – 18†; Jumping (E) DX+1 [2] – 12; Lifting (A) HT+0 [2] – 12; Navigation/TL (Land) (A) IQ+2 [1] – 13‡; Panhandling (E) IQ+2 [1] – 13†; Running (A) HT+1 [4] – 12; Scrounging (E) Per+2 [1] – 16†; Shadowing (A) IQ+3 [4] – 14†; Stealth (A) DX+1 [4] – 12; Streetwise (A) IQ+1 [1] – 12†; Swimming (E) HT+0 [1] – 11; Urban Survival (A) Per+1 [1] – 15†; Weather Sense (A) IQ+1 [4] – 12.
Starting Spending Money: $2,000 (20% of Starting Wealth).
* Includes +4 from Earth Talent.
† Includes +2 from Street-Smart.
‡ Includes +2 from Absolute Direction.
Role-Playing Notes:
Petra is haunted by her family's deaths, which she feels she either caused or could have prevented. She puts forth a front of a street-savvy survivor, which before enrolling at Xavier's was her way of surviving on the streets.
She isn't quite sure what will happen to her after graduation, as Xavier is her legal guardian at present.
| BRAWLING | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Weapon | Damage | Reach | Parry | Cost | Weight | ST | Notes |
| – | Brawling Punch | 1d-3 cr cr | C | 10 | – | – | 10 | |
| – | Brawling Kick | 1d-2 cr | C, 1 | n/a | – | – | 10 | |
| GEOKINESIS | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Weapon | Damage | Acc | Range | RoF | Shots | ST | Bulk | Rcl | Notes |
| – | Earthquake | 3d cr dbk nw mal | – | SSRT | 1 | n/a | – | – | 1 | |
| – | Stone Prison | ST 10 spcl mal | – | SSRT | 1 | n/a | – | – | 1 | |
| – | Stone Wall | 2d cr mal | – | SSRT | 1 | n/a | – | – | 1 | |
| INNATE ATTACK (PROJECTILE) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Weapon | Damage | Acc | Range | RoF | Shots | ST | Bulk | Rcl | Notes |
| – | Boulder Attack | 6d (0.5) cr var | 3 | 50 | 1 | n/a | – | – | 1 | |
| – | Gravel Throw | 6d pi var (1 yd) | 3 | 50/100 | 1×20 | n/a | – | – | 1 | |
Design Notes:
1. Petra was never given a "real" name in the comics; her first appearance, in a flashback in X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1 in 2006, failed to give her a name other than "Petra". While Petra is a valid personal name, as a feminine version of "Peter", it's derived from the Greek for "rock", which lends itself to being a name she chose for herself rather than her birth name (even though according to Wikipedia, "Petra" is a valid first name in her parents' native Denmark; plus, naming her "Petra" and giving her powers related to rocks is a bit too on the nose for modern comics). Later Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe reiterated this fact and said "Petra" was an alias. While the character is a canon character, the name "Aya Vestergaard" is my own creation.
2. Petra is scheduled to join the X-Men proper after graduation from Xavier's during Year Two.