Crimson Crusader and Imp

Background

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Powers and Abilities

As members of the Clan Destine, both Rory and Pandora will enjoy an extended lifespan. Their aging rate will slow dramatically once they have reached physical maturity.

Rory and Pandora are unique amongst the Destine family in that their abilities manifested long before adulthood. This is because they are twins.

Their abilities seem to stimulate each other when in close proximity, and only manifest themselves as such. The exact distance they can be separated and still manifest their powers is currently unknown. But they can be separated by a number of rooms and corridors and still use them.

Crimson Crusader

Rory’s gifts allow him to control and manipulate gravity. When reducing gravity, the Crusader can achieve high speed flight and levitate heavy objects. These can be as heavy as a car, but lighter than his brother Walter when he grew to a massive size.

When using his ability in the opposite manner (increasing the effects of gravity), Rory can:

• Simulate superhuman strength (crushing metal guns and hitting people very very hard).
• Protect himself and others behind a field of concentrated gravity (rendering him bulletproof).
• Prevent shrapnel from grenades from achieving high velocity, rendering the explosive useless.

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Imp

Pandora can project and manipulate beams of focused coherent light. She usually manifests this as beams of powerful light capable of pulverizing boulders. Imp can also do focused beams of laser radiation that can instantly cut through solid steel.

She also recently discovered that she can bend light around her body and other objects in order to make them invisible. In addition, she can create a brief flash of bright light that can illuminate a limited area and blind those who see it.

History

Rory and his twin sister, Pandora, where born a part of the Clan Destine. These are children of Adam Destine and a creature of pure magic (a djinn). They were born presumably in the mid-1980s, right after the “Relative Strangers Protocol” was implemented by the Clan. The Protocol meant that the family members estranged themselves from one another, to kept their superhuman powers a secret.

The twins were raised by their guardians, Walter and Florence. They were led to believe that these were their uncle and grandmother. Not knowing their true origin, the twins believed themselves mutants, as their powers, heightened by each other’s proximity, developed early.

We need costumes

Rory convinced Pandora to follow him in becoming super-heroic champions of justice. However, Pandora was definitely less interested in such escapades.

One such excursion brought the twins upon a battle between the scientific organization A.I.M. and lackeys of the mutated being Lenz. The twins tried to stop them by taking the object of their dispute, the Gryphon, but soon fled the scene.

Pandora’s cape was stolen during the battle. This caused the existence of the Clan to be revealed, and Lenz sent his agents to systematically kill the Destine family members. Pandora and Rory were soon told of their legacy, and the family eventually stopped the villain.

Immigrant song

Walter tried to force the children to stop using their powers as crime fighters. This prompted Rory to run away with Pandora’s help (since they needed to be together to have their powers activated.) The impetuous duo crossed the Atlantic ocean using Rory’s powers and the shell of a small car. They landed illegally in the state of New York.

They went there with a specific purpose in mind. The twins planned on impressing the local heroes and joining one of the various “super-teams” that resided in the Empire State.

While they were there, the twins encountered Spider-Man. They helped him to foil an assassination attempt on their Clan sister, Cuckoo. At the conclusion of their adventure in the United States, the twins returned home with their sister.

Demon days

When they arrived home, their actions had convinced their guardian Walter that attempting to force the headstrong duo to stop using their powers would continue to fail. That combined with their unusual competence and prowess with their abilities forced Walter to reluctantly agree to allow them to continue to fight crime, but only with a chaperone.

Rory was on hand when the demon Synraith pitted the mutant heroes of the X-Men against the ClanDestine in order to free himself. Synraith even tempted Rory and Pandora to join the X-Men. But he was ultimately destroyed. The two teams soon parted under amiable terms.

Description

Both Rory and Pandora are typical looking (if not slightly more attractive than average) tweens with strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes and bright infectious smiles. Rory has developed an unusual amount of lean defined muscle for his age. Meaning that despite his youth, he looks like a fairly typical Alan Davis superhuman male.

When going to school, they wear a non-descript uniform made up of a red sweater that covers a white top. A red tie loops around both of their necks. Rory finishes off the uniform with some black slacks, while Pandora wears a grey-black skirt.

Crimson Crusader

Rory’s Crimson Crusader costume is an all red number, that is reminiscent of Nightwing’s costume. It is a one piece unitard that comes with a cowl that covers most of his face (both his hair and his lower jaw are uncovered by the cowl).

The unitard has a cape attached at Rory’s shoulders and back. The cape completes a triangular design that ends at this navel.

In the centre of his chest lies a large red ’C‘, with a secondary ’C‘ implied as a shadow behind the first. His costume is completed by a large red belt and a sturdy pair of red boots.

Imp

Pandora’s Imp costume is far simpler. It is reminiscent of a pink party dress that runs from her shoulders to approximately mid thigh (if she’s standing up). More than once she has complained about the length of the dress.

Other than that, the dress has a white trim across her shoulders and upper chest, a thick white belt that encircles her waist and while boots and gloves to cover her feet and hands. Her costume is completed by a white domino mask that covers her eyes.

Personality

Both of the twins are adventurous, imaginative, innocent, ernest and at their core heroic. They hurl themselves into danger with a twitter in their heart and a grin on their faces at every chance they get.

Crimson Crusader

To be honest, Rory is far more eager to be a hero, it’s all he ever thinks about. School, growing up, careers, sports… none of these things interest him in the slightest bit.

He worships superheroes like Captain Britain, Spider-Man and the X-Men. He is consumed with the desire to stand next to them as not only a peer, but a friend. The only thing that Rory seems to love more than being a hero, is his sister Pandora.

Imp

Pandora on the other hand, is far less enamored with the heroic life. Make no mistake, she loves the adventures and the discovery of new mysteries. But she has a far more realistic view on life. There is no doubt in her mind of what sort of risks they take and the possible consequences.

The main reason why she continues is because she knows that without her being close, Rory’s powers wouldn’t work and she cannot/will not abandon him.

The twins, being recently introduced to the other members of their family are enjoying the hell out of their new found relatives. In addition, Rory and Pandora have only recently met their father, and have seen their mother a single time in their short lives.

Pandora was deeply moved by the simple fact that after 12 years without a mother, that she has one and that her mother smiled at her.

DC Universe History

The clan is such a minor group within the Marvel Universe. They could conceivably be inserted wholesale into the DC universe with very little modifications to their backstory.

Instead of encountering the Inhumans, they could have encountered the Amazons or some far flung group of Legionnaires on a trip to the past. Lenz could have been created by Intergang or Professor Ivo or even been one of Luthor’s experiments.

Quotes

Crimson Crusader: “Cease and desist your thievery, base varlets, or face the wrath of… The Crimson Crusader… and his faithful assistant, Imp.”
Imp: “Assistant ?!? ASSISTANT ! I do as much as you do, Rory.”
Crimson Crusader: “Don’t use my real name in costume, you’ll blow our secret identities.”
Imp: “You said we were partners, RORY !”
Crimson Crusader: “We are… Honest ! I was on a roll. It was just a slip of the tongue… an error in semantics. Aw c’mon Pandora. This is no time to sulk !” (all the while, bullets reflecting uselessly off of his body)
Imp: “I am not sulking !”

Crimson Crusader: “Guns are bad form, evildoers. Especially against little kids !”

Crimson Crusader: “Hey, They’re asleep. I hope I didn’t bore them.”
Imp: “Rory, don’t you ever get fed up spouting mindless prattle ?”
Crimson Crusader: “It’s not mindless. It’s part of the superhero image. Y‘know, humourous banter to confuse and entertain our foes.”
Imp: “I think you just sound stupid.”

Crimson Crusader: “Our power give us the responsibility to fight evil. But we don’t want Gran and Uncle Wally to know. They’d only worry. So we’d better get home before they discover we sneaked out.”

Imp: “Rory, we have to stop them from fighting.”
Crimson Crusader: “You’re right. This is a job for… The Crimson Crusader… and Imp ! ” (tears open his shirt to reveal his costume underneath)
Imp: “Smart Rory, that’s the only shirt you brought… Don’t think I’m going to sew on the buttons.”

Crimson Crusader: “Face it Wally. We need each other. We’re a team.”
Wallop: “Don’t call me Wally.”
Crimson Crusader: “You’re right, you need a codename. The Big Basher.”
Pandora: “The Deadly Demon.”
Wallop: “Shut up and stay back while I remove this ventilation unit.”
Pandora (whispering): “The Blue Bully.”
(Wallop tears out the ventilation unit)
Pandora: “WOW !”
Crimson Crusader: “Mightyman.”
Pandora: “Strongo.”
Crimson Crusader: “Mr. Might.”
Imp: “Megamuscle. There’s another door. It looks solid.”
Crimson Crusader: “All yours, Wally.”
Wallop (annoyed, punches the door making a loud ’Wallop‘ sound): “Don’t call me Wally !”
Imp: “Wallop ?”
Crimson Crusader: “Wallop ?”
Imp: “Yeah ! Wallop ! It’s the perfect code name…”
Crimson Crusader: “Wally Wallop.”
Wallop: “Oh Lord.”

Imp: “Everyone thinks that I want the same as Rory because we’re twins… but I only agreed to crimefight because our powers only work when we’re together.”

Captain Britain: “They just keep coming !”
Crimson Crusader (grinning like an idiot and throwing punches): “Don’t worry Cap. The Crimson Crusader has your back.”

(After seeing their mother for the first time)
Imp: “Sniff.”
Crimson Crusader: “It’ll be okay Pandora.”
Imp: “I know … Mum smiled at me.”

By Bryan Gittens.

Source of Character: Alan Davis’ Clan Destine published by Marvel Comics.

Helper(s): Wikipedia, Marvel Clan Destine Writeups from Marvel.com  (for history), Darci.