Cybele

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Powers and Abilities

Cybele possesses the conventional attributes of her race as well as certain special abilities developed through rigorous discipline.

Cybele is not among the most powerful Eternals — she has not chosen to apply the same level of discipline to developing her powers that her husband Zuras, her daughter Thena, and others of the most powerful Eternals have. She does excel in a few areas, though.

One of these is in her psionic  ability to influence the minds of others. Though she is not an illusionist of Sersi’s caliber, she has developed this ability somewhat more than is typical for an Eternal. Using her low-level psionic hypnotic power, she can prevent herself from being seen or heard, effectively making herself invisible and undetectable.

She can also create an illusion to change her appearance into that of someone else. It is not known whether she can psionically influence the minds of others in other ways.

Other powers, part 1

Cybele is also skilled in teleportation. She finds this somewhat physically unpleasant and fatiguing, but possibly not to the same degree as other Eternals. At need she can teleport with a worldwide range, and bring others within about 10 feet along with her.

Unusually for an Eternal, she can also teleport someone within close proximity while she herself stays where she is. The limits of this ability are unclear. For example, it’s not known if she could use it in combat.

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Like all Eternals of Earth, Cybele’s life force is augmented by cosmic energy. This makes her virtually immortal, immune to disease and aging, and able to regenerate injured or missing organic tissue. Cybele maintains a virtually unbreakable mental control over the processes and structure of her body, even when she is asleep or unconscious.

Only an injury that disperses a significant portion of her body molecules, or a force that overwhelms and breaks her mental hold over her body, could cause Cybele to die.

Cybele’s control over her body, in conjunction with her matter rearranging ability, enables her to maintain whatever physical age she wishes. As a result, Cybele appears to be no older than her daughter Thena. Cosmic energy bolsters Cybele’s metabolism so that she does not tire from any physical exertion. She can resist temperature extremes through mental concentration.

Other powers, part 2

Cybele can project cosmic energy in the form of beams from her eyes or in the form of beams or flashes from her hands. This cosmic energy, stored in specialized enclaves of cells in her body, can be used as force, as heat, as light, and possibly as other forms of electromagnetic energy.

Cybele can project a maximum concussive force of at least 200 pounds per square inch. She can project heat reaching a maximum temperature of 2000° Fahrenheit. The maximum effective range for her energy beams seems to be about 175 feet. Cybele is only a second-level adept (with the fifth level being the highest) at this discipline, due to her lack of interest in honing her ability
further.

Cybele can psionically manipulate atoms and molecules so as to transform an object’s shape, but she is again no more than a second-level adept at this discipline.

Like all Eternals, Cybele is able to levitate herself by mentally manipulating gravitons (subatomic particles carrying the force of gravitational attraction between atoms) around her. She can also levitate other persons and objects, even while simultaneously levitating herself.

By manipulating gravitons, she can lift even greater weights than her own physical strength would allow. Cybele’s flight speed is average for an Eternal – she can fly at approximately 600 miles per hour, but her speed is considerably lessened if she is simultaneously levitating more than 200 pounds.

History

Cybele is a second generation Eternal. Very little has been revealed about her past. She married Zuras, ruler of the Eternals of Earth, before the rise of the civilization of ancient Greece. Zuras and Cybele had one known child, Azura, who later took the name Thena.

Although Cybele was the consort of Zuras, she evinced no interest in participating in the great events of Eternals history, such as their encounters with the Celestials. She lived with Zuras for a time and raised Thena, and today retains her maternal interest in Thena’s welfare.

However, Cybele never felt comfortable in the society of her fellow Eternals, and appears to have left their city of Olympia after Thena reached adulthood.

Aloof

Although Cybele was technically the queen of the Eternals by reason of her marriage to Zuras, she has never truly been interested in governing them. After Zuras’s recent death, she was content to let Thena and then Ikaris reign as the new Prime Eternal. She did not even attend her own daughter’s coronation in person, preferring to appear as a holographic image instead.

Cybele has always had a great interest in nature. In the days of ancient Greece was often mistaken for a nature goddess, such as Gaea or Rhea. Today she lives by herself in a forest in Colorado. She uses her psionic powers to prevent herself from being seen by human beings unless she wants them to see her.

When Dave Chatterton came to Olympia wanting to aid the Eternals against their ancient foes, the Deviants, she educated him on the history of the conflict and teleported him to Lemuria. Later, she aided her fellow Eternals in battle against Ghaur, when he gained the power of the Dreaming Celestial.

Description

When Cybele allows people to see her at all, she appears to be a beautiful young woman with very long strawberry blonde hair.

Personality

It’s unclear why Cybele is so reclusive. But she appears to be a lover of nature who enjoys her eremetic lifestyle. She retains some interest in Thena’s welfare, and will intervene if she’s really in trouble, but does not interact with her on a daily (or possibly even yearly) basis.

Likewise, she has played little part in most of her people’s battles with the Deviants. Since the majority of Earth’s Eternals departed for outer space, she has been around Olympia slightly more often, and as noted has helped the remnants of her people in battling the very worst threats to the planet.

DC Universe History

As per the normal suggestion, the Eternals would be amalgamated with the New Gods. If you don’t use the Eternals, she might be an actual nature goddess, or belong to some other hidden race – she might have much in common with Tolkienesque Elves, for example. Not that that’s DCU, either. Well, not for most of you — it is for me!

By Chris Cottingham.

Helper(s): Sébastien Andrivet (for the Eternals Template on WORG), OHOTMU.

Source of character: Marvel Universe.