Serp

Context

This character is an original creation. We often call these “homemades” or “homebrewed” – think home cooking or craft beer.

Many of these characters were created to take part in tabletop role-playing game sessions. Others were invented as a creative writing exercise, often as part of a community event.

This specific character was part of a RPG campaign run by writeups.org contributor Kal El, set in Barcelona.

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Background

Powers and Abilities

Elisabeth main power is to acquire the capabilities of any given reptile she has ever met. On the present moment that means almost every single living race (not dinosaurs, still).

Besides that, she has:

• Superhuman strength that she says is a blessing from boas.
• Is definitely superfast, a gift she thanks anacondas for.
• Has a resilience to mental control that she acknowledges as the cobra’s one.
• Has an ultrasonic attack (in DC Heroes RPG terms Mind Blast) she somehow relates to rattlesnakes.

All those attributions, anyhow, are surely more symbolic than real. There aren’t anacondas that fast or boas that strong.

Serp also has a fast recovering system, and she heals from most damage in minutes.

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Other assets

Elisabeth’s dual life has taken her to learn many skills:

• Some for her life as a thief (in DC Heroes RPG terms Artist, Thief, Weaponry).
• Some for her career as an archeologist (Gadgetry, Medicine, Vehicles, Language).
• Some for both (Acrobatics, Charisma, Scholar).

Her tinkering and versatility has taken her to not rely too much on her powers. So she wears two hidden weapons on her wrists, that can slow or stop her foes.

Serp’s Superspeed makes her an Olympic caliber acrobat, driver and weapon-master.

History

Elisabeth Balmanya was born in Barcelona, Spain, but she lived little time there on her first years. She was a thief and an archeologist from her childhood. Archeologist for her diplomat father, living in El Cairo, showed her the marvels of the ancient history. Thief for her mother’s father, who claimed to be descendant of Ali Baba, taught her the way of being one with her past.

Elisabeth, on the other hand, hated those who didn’t respect the past : the tomb raiders. She was having her degree into archeology when she heard of a group of Americans who were going to steal from a just discovered tomb. She went after them to rob the robbers.

But she fell on a trap. Not an American one, but an ancient one.

Ladders and snakes

When she awakened, she was surrounded by reptilian humanoid forms. She wasn’t scared at all. She had played with reptiles all her life and knew that they had a place on the ecosystem.

The reptilians told her they were guardians of ancient knowledge and from out of this Earth (perhaps they were Gordanians?). They also told her they were impressed for her courage and spirit to save the antiquities and that they were going to give her a gift : the awakening of her inner strength.

Again she awoke. She had felt asleep and now she was again on the top of the pit she had fell. She run to stop the thieves, but she had changed. She ran faster than any car, and she knew she had other powers too. She didn’t know how, but she knew about all her powers, and how to use them to stop the invaders.

Those thieves never again wanted to raid a tomb, nor visit Egypt, after Elisabeth’s treatment. Especially since she had the help of a dizzy Killer Croc who had been left there after a battle with Batman.

Serpentine endeavour

She saw that with her new powers she now had an edge in both her careers. She has become a famous thief and is going to be a good archeologist, as soon as she finishes her career (Hieroglyph is her main remaining subject).

One month ago she met an English archeologist called Lara (although some annoying people called her Lady Croft: she disliked it deeply) who was going to China. But Elisabeth turned her interest to another side of the world : her birth land.

She knew about Toro, of Patrulla Barna fame, and she managed to go back to Barcelona to finish her career there. That strong, horned man had something special that struck Elisabeth. She had finally found somebody who could deserve her. And the fact that he was a superhero wasn’t going to stop her. Nothing had ever.

Description

A astonishing dark haired beauty, with tanned skin and impressive curves. As archeologist she disguises her figure for looking pretty but more normal. As Serp she takes the erotism and taste for the forbidden of the snake and dresses with a skintight dark green suit, with a sinuous “S” on the middle of her bust (a la Dagger from Marvel). Her long black hair is loose as Serp.

The suit is special in the sense that it allows for the substance she sweats, one that recovers her skin, and makes her slippery, to arise over it, covering the suit.

Personality

She looks serious and professional as an archeologist, concerned for her investigations but very disapproving when tomb-raiding is involved. As Serp she’s talkative (when silence isn’t needed), bright, cheerful, quite confident and sometimes too arrogant.

Although she steals what she is told to, and very few times something for her own, she thinks she has the right to take anything she wants if its previous owner didn’t know how to keep it. The same applies with men, although now her only target is Toro.

Besides that, she isn’t bad. she is strongly against killing, it disgusts her not finding a better way of overcoming problems, but if it’s the only solution (or against particular nasty tomb-raiders or reptile exterminators) she can be really… cool blooded.

DC Universe History

She met the Killer Croc and has started a strange friendship with the Gotham brute. Batman found some rests of her skin oil, but he thought it was part of the Croc.

By KalEl el Vigilant.

Source of Character: Homemade, Patrulla Barna (Barna Patrol) DC Universe.