Name: Lynne Costa, Dee-tsah'chackt, 'senses too much'

Gender: Female, hetero

Age/DOB: 25/1998* *?

Origin: Armacham-Aperture Genetic Lab Repurposed Earth

Family: 6 donor parents including Alma Wade; Has stronger empathic responses to those in her line, and is overwhelmed by Paxton's presence; Daughter Taina with Teddie Kim, son Lazarus with Simon, daughter Juanita with James ; in RY 10 she is used as a minor spliced donor for Drexell

Other: Has tried to fit in more with the non-Pantheon people in either Black Mesa, but knows she has to be relied upon at times for long distance work. Hates it.

Height: 5'6

Weight: 155, usually chunky

Hair: Dark brown, nearly black but reddish-brown under sunlight, straight, thick, almost like a straightened afro but her hair is naturally straight. Sometimes covers face with it.

Eyes: Golden brown, copper-brown when using powers

Appearance: Light brown skin, with indistinct non-Caucasian features, moles and scars. She's very pretty but doesn't seem to think much of herself and her posture is usually poor. She loves loose, colorful clothing and never cared for the EC uniforms.

 

 

Image Credits: Doll Divine Sari Maker / tektek

Genetic Abilities: Lynne is an extremely talented empath, able to sense the emotions of those around her. However, she lacks the ability to turn this power off, and has consistently required counseling as well as medication to encourage her to sleep properly. She has never lapsed into a fury, compared to Alma Wade, but she obviously has the potential to affect others with her empathy as this has been displayed more than once in groups. Should she be able to control this ability she would be ideal for crowd control. Her powers extend easily into normal, non-psychic individuals, she can also detect minute changes in mood and report those changes in a clear and concise manner. The physical range of her sense is untested, but it is very clear that her range is far, far longer than is safe for her to use. Even simple, small events which play out in distant locations of the Enrichment Center have often impacted her ability to concentrate, and large groups of overly emotional people can render her almost catatonic. These abilities must be put under control somehow, though at the moment generally it is another empath who can ‘talk her down' from it. As she is Lynne is useful only when given sedatives in harsh conditions, the negatives of which are obvious. It may be possible to alter her abilities or her reactions to them via more extreme electronic means, but there is also the potential to lose her as an asset at all, if those implants do not function as intended. She can focus on surface thoughts as well as emotions, though this is difficult for her to do if there is any strong emotion involved. With training, she has been able to deduce hidden thoughts and background information from specially trained subjects. Her use as an infiltrator would be key, if this power could be refined, and her other issues managed properly.
Icarus Processing: no, she was offered but refused, and given the spike in her abilities it would have been disastrous to have given it to her.

Skills or Profession: Currently a tutor and childcare specialist as well as the 'canary in a coal mine' for both Black Mesas. Had been groomed for potential spying operations but her over-sensitivity led to the cancellation of that program. She enjoys contact with the younger children and has a strong sensitivity to their needs, and isn't afraid to call parents on mistakes they're making.

Because she grew up with the rest of the Pantheon in the Outlands and beyond, Lynne was always relied upon by Paxton, even if she could barely stand to be in the same room with him for fearing his power. She did eventually learn to fine-tune her powers, and to put herself into a state of 'reporting': to allow others to sense through her, even though it was terrifying for her to do it. Lane actually relied on her to sense when both his people and Ulathoi were on their way - her range is longer than his for purely Vortal events. He attributes this to Alma's influence genetically, since Alma herself is stronger than any given Convocation by a long shot. Thankfully, Lynne is also nice.
Personality: Lynne is shy, skittish and nervous most of the time, and rarely likes the spotlight to be placed on her. She can handle being given orders reasonably well, though she almost always allows her fear of individuals (be it for their power or their intentions) to derail her concentration on tasks. Though she has never been suicidal or purposefully harmed herself, she has done physical damage to her own body when trying to retreat from difficult situations. According to her friends, she needs to be bolstered, her self-confidence is decidedly lacking. While she looks up to Melissa and others she deems ‘important', she is outright terrified of Paxton, and his brother only slightly less so. While neither one of them has ever been noted to harm her or even imagine harming her, the reason behind this was elusive until Melissa pointed out that they share genes. It is actually in Lynne's best interest to avoid contact with any of Alma's other offspring or donor spliced subjects. Whether this is because of their own weakness to Alma's powers, or because Lynne sees this as a direct threat by Alma herself, is unknown. She will not speak of it, herself. Though she remains uncooperative when discussing herself, Lynne is delighted to give information that is asked of her – whether it be answering in class, or gossiping about members of the staff. If it does not pertain to her directly, she has no issues.

Events or History: Lynne started screaming first. That's how the entire Event played out for her, when the Resonance Cascade and Alma's destruction of the Borealis facility hit her mind. There is plenty that Lynne would love to forget. Unfortunately, even Lane cannot touch her mind without leaving serious scars. He himself has commended her power - and begged her to use it, to keep the facilities safe for her friends. Lynne was among the first of the Pantheon to have a child and went to Black Mesa at the first hint they were allowed to stay there - purely to be away from Paxton's influence.

The presence of her beloved dragon has mellowed her powers somewhat, because of his ability to nullify psionics. She can still sense through even his full-power nullification, easily, so this is something that he only uses when she asks for it, instead of wearing himself out on it.

Dragon

Int 68 App 86
Edu 25 Cha 55
Str 88 Soc 35
Hea 85 Agg 70
Agi 90 San 70
Rea 120 Cou 80

 

Name: Natta Sikani (healing)
Gender: Male
Size/Shoulder/Length: medium / 8'4 / 35', 40' ws (considered among the smallest of his nest, slightly more compact)
Colors: Medium shiny blue, pale blue, teal, pale blue bobs
Features: Extremely long, fin tail end, finned neck crest, headwings, butt wings + tail wings (two pair each) with both leather and feathers, glowing bobs nearly everywhere, antenna, visible nose, clawed feet, two fingered combo wings *carries striking markings from Myrsilk
Powers: Can breed with any size-compatible creature, strong psionic dampening, healing (generally dragon), verbal speech, telepathy (Lynne), winged flight
Parentage: Banyak Sikani (female mixed zekiran/dragon/ferilon) and Zeronen (mutt Myrsilk); Siblings are numerous, all named Sikani
Origin: Zekiran breeding program
Other Info: Natta originally exhausted himself trying to keep his beloved Lynne 'safe' from the harm that all the extra Vortal energies around her could do. But he quickly realized that if he was too exhausted to provide proper specific coverage, he'd never be of any use to her at all. The dragon is still quite large compared to many (and particularly many traditional blues) but with his long form he can slink around the interior of the Mesa with ease. He's among the few dragons at the Rookery which require someone else to teleport him around to other dimensions.