Southern, Candy Hero/Supporting Cast

Real Name: Candace "Candy" Southern.
Occupation: Socialite, college student pursuing a business degree, adventurer.
Identity: Secret; she has not yet adopted a name for her adventurous alter ego.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record.
Other Aliases: "Southern Belle" (a name jokingly given to her by Iceman).
Place of Birth: New York City.
Marital Status: Single.
Known Relatives: Parents (names unrevealed).
Group Affiliation: X-Men.
Base of Operations: New York City.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: UNCANNY X-MEN #1.
History: Candy Southern was raised among the New York City elite, and was a childhood acquaintance of Warren Kenneth Worthington III. The two had not seen each other for years until he revealed his mutant nature at a high society party her parents dragged her to. She was immediately attracted to him, but having heard of his reputation as a lady-killer she rebuffed him when he made a pass at her.

Without any brothers to inherit the family business, Candy was pressured by her folks to pursue a business degree. Instead of allowing them to purchase her way into an Ivy League school, Candy instead enrolled at Empire State University. To her surprise, she learned Warren was taking many of the same classes. A cautious study relationship turned into a friendship, and soon the two were all but officially a couple.

As Warren's girlfriend, Candy has found herself thrust into the world of the superhuman. Her first taste of that lifestyle was when the party she and Warren were attending was crashed by a trio of costumed criminals – Porcupine, Batroc the Leaper, and the Swordsman – who were looking to rob the rich and famous. While Warren fought Batroc and Porcupine, Candy found herself facing off against the Swordsman. With little more than self-defense training to draw on, she caught him in an arm lock and threw him to the floor, knocking him out. After that, she began intensive martial arts training in earnest, soon becoming a black belt in jiujitsu at a full contact dojo.

With a new sense of purpose and her training, Candy was soon assisting Warren's friends in the X-Men on a regular basis. So far, though, she has managed to keep her own activities in the field with the X-Men a secret from the press, a feat she is proud of. Despite this, many of the team's enemies consider her as-yet unnamed costumed persona a full member of the team.

Recently, however, Candy was visited by the mutant Mesmero, who enslaved her, and several other friends and allies of the X-Men, to his will. Mesmero's plans for her are currently unknown.
Age: 20.
Height: 5' 8".
Weight: 135 lbs.
Eyes: Blue.
Hair: Black.
Uniform: Black ballistic fabric bodysuit with a red X over the chest, red gloves, red boots, red utility belt, and red half-mask.
Strength Level: Candy Southern possesses the normal human strength of a woman her age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.
Known Superhuman Powers: None.
Other Abilities: Candy Southern has a black belt in jiujitsu and has become a marksman with an electrolaser rifle she acquired. She is also multi-lingual, being fluent in Arabic, French, German, Italian, Latin, Russian, Spanish, Cantonese, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese.
Weapons and Paraphernalia: Candy has acquired, presumably through her parents' company, an advanced ballistic fabric bodysuit and an electrolaser rifle produced by Stark Industries. She also carries a small police nightstick in both her heroic and civilian identities.


350 points

ST: 12 [20] HP: 12 [0] Speed: 6.00 [0]
DX: 12 [40] Will: 13 [5] Move: 6 [0]
IQ: 12 [40] Per: 12 [0]  
HT: 12 [20] FP: 12 [0] SM: 0
 
Dmg: 1d-1/1d+2 BL: 29 lbs.  
Dodge: 11 Parry: 12 DR: 12/6* (uniform)


Languages: Arabic (Native) [4*]; Cantonese (Native) [4*]; English (Native) (Native Language) [0]; French (Native) [4*]; German (Native) [4*]; Italian (Native) [4*]; Japanese (Native) [4*]; Latin (Native) [4*]; Mandarin Chinese (Native) [4*]; Russian (Native) [4*]; Spanish (Native) [4*].

Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].

Advantages: Appearance (Beautiful) [20]; Business Acumen 2 [20]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Enhanced Dodge 1 [15]; Enhanced Parry (Bare Hands) 1 [5]; Hard to Kill 3 [6]; Hard to Subdue 3 [6]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Independent Income 3 [3]; Language Talent [10]; Social Chameleon [5]; Very Fit [15]; Wealth (Wealthy) [20].

Perks: Accent (Deep Southern) [1]; Accent (Oxfort British) [1]; Convincing Nod [1]; Cutting-Edge Training (Beam Weapons (Rifle)) 1 [1]; Haughty Sneer [1]; High-Heeled Heroine [1]; High-Heeled Hurt [1]; Rapid Retraction (Punches) [1]; Sexy Pose [1]; Style Familiarity (Jujutsu) [1].

Disadvantages: Charitable (12) [-15]; Code of Honor (Hero's) [-10]; Pacifism (Cannot Kill) [-15]; Secret (Masked Adventurer) [-10]; Selfless (12) [-5]; Sense of Duty (Friends and Family) [-5].

Quirks: Adrenaline Junkie [-1]; Broad-Minded [-1]; Horrible Hangovers [-1]; Not Until My First Cup! [-1].

Skills: Acrobatics (H) DX+0 [4] – 12; Administration (A) IQ+1 [1] – 13†; Beam Weapons/TL9 (E) DX+2 [4] – 14; Breath Control (H) HT+0 [4] – 12; Connoisseur (Music) (A) IQ-1 [1] – 11; Connoisseur (Visual Arts) (A) IQ-1 [1] -11; Current Affairs/TL8 (Business) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 12; Diplomacy (H) IQ+0 [4] – 12; Economics (H) IQ+0 [1] – 12†; Fast-Talk (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Judo (H) DX+2 [12] – 14; Jumping (E) DX+0 [1] – 12; Karate (H) DX+2 [12] – 14; Law (Business Law) (H) IQ-2 [1] – 10; Politics (A) IQ-1 [1] – 11; Running (A) HT+0 [2] – 12; Savoir-Faire (Dojo) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 12; Savoir-Faire (High Society) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 12; Sex Appeal (A) HT+3 [1] – 15‡; Shortsword (A) DX+2 [8] – 14; Swimming (E) HT+0 [1] – 12.

Techniques: Acrobatic Stand (Acrobatics) (A) def+6 [6] – 12; Arm Lock (Judo) (A) def+1 [1] – 15; Back Kick (Karate) (H) def+4 [5] – 14; Elbow Strike (Karate) (A) def+2 [2] – 14; Quick-Shot (Beam Weapons/TL9 (Rifle)) (A) def+6 [6] – 14; Targeted Attack (Karate Punch/Face) (H) def+3 [4] – 12.

Starting Spending Money: $10,020 (20% of Starting Wealth, minus the cost of her gear).

Equipment: Baton (p. B273); TL9 Reflex Bodysuit (DR 12/4*) (Ultra-Tech, p. 172); TL9 Reflex Gloves (DR 6/2*) (Ultra-Tech, p. 172); TL9 Assault Boots (DR 12/6) (Ultra-Tech, p. 173); TL9 Electrolaser Carbine (Ultra-Tech, p. 120).


* Includes +1 level from Language Talent.

† Includes +2 from Business Acumen.

‡ Includes +4 from Appearance.

Role-Playing Notes:

Candy is a rich debutante who was raised with the knowledge that one day she would have to deal with having every detail of her life in the tabloids, and had those skills drilled into her. She is also a strong-willed woman with a good heart, and has from time to time commented on how "normal" the X-Men's activities seem to be compared to the high society lifestyle she grew up in. Candy has taken time to counsel Vera Cantor on how to handle the press.

Having found herself in the world of the superhuman, Candy has seemingly found her purpose in life. She takes pains to not be associated with her masked and as-yet-unnamed alter ego, as she is certain her social standing would be negatively impacted by it, including possibly being disowned by her parents.

Design Notes:

1. I didn't intend for Candy to adopt a heroic identity when I started the X-Men's entries in the Reboot, but as I started crafting her bio I found that it was a natural outgrowth of the character. As the only "heroic identity" given to her in the comics was "the Southern Belle", in New Defenders #141, with an outrageous outfit she definitely didn't approve of, I found it hard to give her a name. (She never actually went by the name; it was a ruse by an adversary of the team's.) So she's currently running around assisting the X-Men without a code-name.

2. Candy doesn't yet qualify for Trained By A Master or Gunslinger, though she is certainly headed that way.