Registry of the Evolved Database
File #03 Jan 2009 21:46
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![]() Missy Peregrym |
Betty Carter, AKA Candice Willmer, AKA Shannon McPherson, AKA a whole hell of a lot of other names was born in Clayton New York on November 21, 1981. She was an overweight, homely looking girl who had few friends throughout school. Instead she was almost always viewed as the "ugly fat girl" by the popular kids. Which meant that life was as normal as could be for her, at least for a girl in America. She did, however, have one close friend in high school, a boy named Ren Metzger. The two were best friends, and she even had a little crush on him.
It was during high school, her sophomore year, that Betty's ability manifested. Illusions. Good illusions. The first time it happened was entirely by accident of course. She was in the bathroom at school, in one of the stalls, when three cheerleaders came in. The popular crowd. They started badmouthing several of the less popular crowd, including Betty herself. Betty, of course, gets angry, and she imagines her least favorite of the trio with a face covered in zits and pockmarks. Except her imagination took root in reality, and the girl's face was suddenly covered in boils, the very flesh appearing to rot. It looked real, felt real, enough that all three freaked out. Of course, once Betty's concentration wore off, once the girl was far enough away, the illusion dissipated.
It freaked Betty out as well, though not to the extent of the cheerleader. Who could do things like this? She left, confused, a little scared, but secretly thrilled at being able to get some revenge on some of the people who helped to make her life hell.
Later, Ren was harassed by a jock. Tripped and embarrassed, while Betty was around to see. She thought about what she'd done to the cheerleader, and decided to get revenge for Ren. For a little while she practiced, until she was able to do something simple, something specific. Then she snuck into the locker room with the jock, and tormented him with an illusion of his father. She tormented him until his mind snapped and he went insane. Not only did she feel satisfaction of avenging her friend, but Ren was thrilled that someone gave the jock what he deserved. So she went one step further, disguising herself as a new girl, and telling the cheerleaders that the jock, Crash, only got what he deserved, and gives hints that the alt-crowd was responsible in some way. Which, of course, they were. Or at least she was.
Several days later Ren was confronted by some of Crash's friends. After a beating, he fell down a hill trying to escape, and ended up in the hospital. When Betty heard about it, she felt terrible, responsible, and visited him in the hospital. She explained that it was her fault, and used her ability to look temporarily like him, in order to explain. He freaked out of course, and when the nurses arrived, he was already going into shock. Later, he died.
After Betty heard some people gossiping about it, including one of the ones responsible for the beating, there was a pep rally. While she sat there, Betty got more and more angry, and after Crash and Ren were both mentioned, she took her revenge on the entire school. She made them all think that the gym was on fire. They saw the flames, felt the heat, felt their skin blistering, smelled the smoke. Afterwards, she decided to leave. She had this amazing ability. She could be anyone. And so she would. From here on she would be Candice Willmer, and she would be pretty.
For a time, Candice used her ability, not only to be who she wanted others to see her as, but to survive. The world owed her for making her youth a living hell, so the morality of it didn't bother her. She would use illusion to withdraw money from other people's accounts at banks. Or give illusionary money in exchange for things she wanted. And, of course, she used her illusions in order to get what she had never had in high school. Men. For a while she was very active in the 'dating' community, thoroughly enjoying herself, until she got bored with the game. It was too easy, when she could look like anyone.
Several years after leaving her hometown, however, this got her caught, not by the Company, as happened so often, but by Daniel Linderman. She was in Vegas, trying her hand at gambling via illusion, when she was taken by some of the casino security down to the kitchen to speak with the head honcho himself. He explained that she wasn't the only one with abilities while he cooked a pie, and near the end of the conversation, he offered her a job working for the Company. He had helped found it, and thought that her abilities would be very useful to them. It took some time, but eventually, she agreed. But while she would be a Company agent, she would also do work for Linderman.
While in the employ of the company, Candice was most skilled at cleaning up messes made by other agents, and by acting as a spy. Since she would look and sound like anyone, she was almost perfect for the job. How was anyone else to know that she wasn't a cop, or a high ranking official, or their spouse? She pretended to be a number of people in the years she worked for them, including Claire Bennet, Sandra Bennet, Simone Deveaux, Jessica and Niki Sanders, and many, many more.
She used her illusions to convince the police that everything was fine, or to pretend to be Micah Sander's mother so he could rig an election, or to discover that an agent was a traitor. She was very, very good at her work, and she enjoyed it immensely. It was, she believed, what she was born to do, as suited to it as she was.
The bomb, when it went off, didn't change that much either. She already knew of the existence of other evolved, and she had managed to escape the main blast radius before the explosion actually occurred, but just barely. She did sustain some minor injuries and was off the job for a weeks, but she was very lucky compared to others who were in the area at the time.
The next few years were spent in number of assignments, and almost all of them involved gathering information of some sort. Spying on people, pretending to be someone else in order to get someone to spill sensitive information, following people to locate hidey-holes or observe secret meetings. It was what she was good at, and she enjoyed it. If she had to take a few assignments that were not really in her field of expertise, it was to be expected, even if it annoyed. She wasn't, as she told Linderman once, a babysitter. Nor a combatant, or diplomat.
She was, quite simply, a spy. It was what she was good at, and what she enjoyed.
But while she was a Company agent, technically, her loyalty was to Linderman rather than the Company. She didn't approve of some of the choices that the Company leaders were making, but in the end, it didn't really matter to her. She did her job because he had asked her to, and she wanted to make him proud.
While doing work in Chicago in 2010 for the Company (and Daniel Linderman), everything changed. She was approached by a man who could see through her illusion. He saw all the way through to Betty. It was the first time in more than a decade that anyone had seen through her illusion. Worse, this man, from the Institute, had brought negation gas, making her unable to hide from anyone until it wore off.
She was barely able to escape, and only with the intervention of Hiro Nakamura. Hiro took her to New York, to Linderman, at her request. He comforted her like a grandfather, and made her pot pies while they discussed options. Unfortunately, just the previous evening, the Company had been attacked by the DHS, and it was unable to help her as it no longer existed as it once did.
Instead, it was decided that she would be hidden with Noah Bennet's group, the Ferrymen. They were taking in some other Company agents, and, of course, Candice knew Bennet personally. She resisted at first, especially when part of that deal included her working with the Ferry instead of just hiding. Eventually she realized that she was well suited to the job, and since it was Linderman asking it of her, she agreed, albeit reluctantly. So she was taken, by Hiro, to a safehouse, one chosen by Noah, to begin her hiding from the Institute, and the beginning of her good works. A new concept for her.
Only Noah, Hiro and Linderman knew that the girl Shannon was really Candice, or former Company, and as long as Candice had anything to say about it, that was the way it would stay.
Candice is a very selfish woman, and one with few morals. She tends to weigh decisions based on how it will help her, or, at the very least, provide amusement. Unfortunately she does gain amusement from some sadistic means, such as showing people horrifying sights. (Like showing Isaac bullet ridden Simone and asking if he wanted to shoot her again, or the threat to Noah at Primatech.) However, she's not truly a violent person, at least not physically, and avoids getting involved with violence personally whenever she can manage. Seeing others being violent doesn't bother her though.
While she may come off as a callous, self-absorbed person, she does have a few soft spots. Babies, puppies and, thanks to Linderman's influence, good food. However, it's a 50/50 chance that she'd give up her own personal desires or goals for any of these.
Appearances are very important to her. More important, often, than truth, which is why she hides her true face from everyone if it's at all possible. She's ashamed of her true appearance, and sees those who are as unattractive as she really is as lesser, even if they don't have an ability like hers to do anything about it. She also very much enjoys the good things in life, and feels that the world owes her for the way she was treated before she had illusion to make things easier.
Her attitude, unless the role she's playing calls for something else, is usually sarcastic, even caustic, though she sees herself as a very witty person, with moments of being suave, or even classy. Her sense of humor however, is not one that most people can share.
Candice's ability is illusion. She can either cloak herself in illusion, making herself seem to be another person, or she can affect the surrounding area, making it seem like anything she wants. Her illusions affect all five senses, making it near impossible to tell just from observation if something is illusion or real around her.
When she is impersonating another person, she looks and sounds like that person, though she cannot necessarily duplicate their mannerisms, which may give her away. Even prolonged physical contact is not enough to distinguish her illusionary form from her true form.
Her range is approximately the size of a large room, about 50 feet, and she doesn't necessarily have to see the area which she's affecting. However, she does have to be conscious in order to begin an illusion, though once created, she can, under some circumstances, maintain it in a low level of unconsciousness - such as when knocked out by Niki - at least for a few minutes. This doesn't work if she's in a coma, or in a chemically induced state of unconsciousness. Any illusion she creates fades within fifteen minutes of her falling asleep.
Complex illusions can only be maintained for a few hours, and afterwards she generally needs a few hours to a full night of sleep to recover. Headaches are also possible. Simple illusions, such as those to disguise herself, can be maintained for much longer, though she has yet to maintain one for longer than twelve hours. Since sleep nullifies any illusion within a short period of time, it is rare that she'll be conscious long enough to go further, and a lack of sleep makes it harder for her to create or control her illusions, making a simple illusion as difficult as a complex one.
There are some limits as to what sort of illusions she can create. She could, easily, disguise herself as a 'new' person, rather than imitating someone real, and she doesn't have to have met a person to imitate them. A picture is generally good enough for this. She cannot, however, create an illusion of mythical creatures or the like, but only real world things. And while she can affect all five senses, she cannot inflict or remove pain or pleasure by itself. (i.e., the fire in the gym when she was younger - the victims saw the flames, smelled the smoke, felt the heat and blistering skin, but did not feel the actual pain of the fire.)
More, while her ability affects the mind, it is not a psychic ability in any way, so she can only project an illusion of what's in her head, rather than in anyone else's. For example, she could only make a person believe they were speaking to a long-dead relative if she had personal knowledge of that relative. She cannot take images from someone else's head to turn into illusion.
The way it appears when she's creating or dissipating illusions varies depending on whether she's affecting herself or the area. For the former, she simply morphs from her current form into the next. For the latter, the area seems to shimmer before settling into the new view.
Appendices
Logs
- 08/31/10 - Survival of the Fittest - Hiro and Roland
- 09/15/10 - Tools of the Trade - Amato
- 09/21/10 - Cooking and Kids - Gillian
- 10/01/10 - It's What's For Dinner - Katya
- 10/10/10 - I Love the Smell of Manure - Abby
- 10/20/10 - Non-Answer Answers - Delilah and Serrato
- 11/03/10 - Hate, Fear and Luck - Nelly
- 11/08/10 - Like Blood In the Water - Keira, Nick, Walsh, Dong-Tian and Xue
- 11/08/10 - Time To Regroup - Nick
- 11/12/10 - In Exile - Barbara, Benji, Brian, Delia, Eileen, Howard, Hannah, Huruma, Jaiden, Kaylee, Lucille, Lynette, Megan, Nelly, Nick, Quinn, Raith, Ryans, Sable, Samara, Smedley, Vincent and Ygraine
- 11/13/10 - Shh... - Raith
- 11/15/10 - The Same Boat - Hannah, Huruma, Lynette, Nelly, Peter, Walter and Eileen
- 11/15/10 - Meals for Millions - Benji, Howard, Lynette, Quinn and Sable
- 11/17/10 - Monsters in the Fog - Barbara, Eileen and Lucille
- 11/18/10 - Entitled Opinions - Sable
- 11/19/10 - When Pigs Fly - Abby, Howard, Nelly, Nick and Smedley
- 11/19/10 - Like Forces of Nature - Abby and Howard
- 11/20/10 - From The Sky - Avi, Benji, Danko, Eileen, Hannah, Huruma and Ryans
- 11/23/10 - Water to Wine - Kendall
- 11/27/10 - Schooling, Thievery, and Ballet - Barbara, Doyle, Rue and Elias
- 11/30/10 - You Killed Bambi's Mother? - Huruma, Nora and Rue
- 12/04/10 - Chocolate and Sarcasm - Kaylee, Monica and Nora
- 12/07/10 - Rising of the Moon - Abby, Eileen, Elaine, Hannah, Huruma, Nora, Quinn, Raith, Rue, Magnes, Vincent and Walter
- 12/08/10 - You Want Me To Play Bait? - Cat
- 12/15/10 - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Joshua
- 01/22/11 - They're Still Machines - Joseph, Kendall, Raith and Ygraine
- 01/23/11 - Broken Arrow - Amid, Brian, Cardinal, Elle, Harmony, Howard, Sylar and Ygraine
- 01/31/11 - Wolf In Sheep's Clothing - Amato
- 04/6/11 - Knicks and Nicks - Daryl
Relationships
My boss. A good guy, and the one guy I can trust. Don't fuck with the man. I just don't get why he wants me to play nice with the Ferrymen. |
Do you think I'm an idiot, or just unimportant? Because neither is true. | |
Over-reacting much? | |
I guess you're alright. | |
You seem competent. And trustworthy. Ish. As much as any man can be. |
The Institute | Negation gas using assholes. |
Learn some subtlety man. You give all us thieves a bad reputation! | |
Sweet. Innocent. Too innocent. One of these days it's going to get you hurt, girly. | |
I still don't know why I helped you, but hey, good karma. |
These are all people of note who Candice has, at some point, impersonated.
Simone Deveaux | When convincing the police that Simone wasn't really laying dead in Isaac's loft. |
Sandra Bennet | To get information out of Noah. |
Claire Bennet | To mess with Noah. |
Jessica and Niki Sanders | To get Micah for Linderman, to keep Micah, and to mess with Niki. |
Skills
A natural love of food was expanded on once Candice met Linderman. A few times in the kitchen while he was cooking inspired her to take some classes and invest in a couple of cook books herself. She's no gourmet chef, but her food is not only edible, but good.
Her time spent impersonating others has left Candice with a near innate ability to act like someone not herself. How well she can act like another person varies. Some she can do so convincingly to fool their own mother, some would fool only a stranger.
Stunt driving is beyond Candice, but she sure does like driving fast! And most of the time, she can even control the vehicle. Radical maneuvers are well beyond her though.
Studying and impersonating people has given Candice insight into what frightens people, and she uses this in order to make threats suited to frighten the average person. Threats normally backed up with illusion, of course.
Though she took French in high school, she's mediocre in that language. However, she is well versed in Japanese, though not quite fluent. Blame the Nakamura influence in the Company.
Being an agent of the company and often in also in the employee of Linderman, Candice has done a good bit of traveling, and tends to remember locations fairly well. This makes it easier for her to get around in a city she's been in before (such as New York or Vegas), and less likely for her to be lost in a new city.
Years spent with the Company and Linderman have given Candice a good idea of who the people are to go to for jobs that aren't quite within the bounds of the law. Information, however, is her specialty, including blackmail.
While Candice has a basic understanding of how to use firearms, it's more "point this end at the enemy" than any real skill.
Given her ability, Candice has more surveillance training than anything else the Company offered. It is, along with information, her forte. She knows all the best ways to tail or otherwise observe a person without being observed, even if she does more often than not use her ability to aid her.