January Character Creation Challenge, Day 6: The Fly-Bride (Mutants and Masterminds 3e)

Judith Winstead

"Punch a man on the nose, kick an old man downstairs, shoot somebody or any old thing like that, that's my job.  But argue with women in love ~ no thank you!” 
—Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

Judith Winstead grew up in Applachia, though not by that name.  Tennessee, specifically, and a rural mountain hollow at that.  Her family was poor, scratching into the ground to feed itself and only avoiding scratching deeper to pay its bills by the production of arts, crafts, and various herbal concoctions they found they could sell.  It was a hard life, and a far cry from the wealth they had experienced in generations past.  Their home, the largest in the hollow, was the only remnant of that luxury remaining to their name, the last thing Judith's grandfather Uriah had to bequeath to his sons Greg and Anton.  Neither were particularly Heavenly people, bless their hearts.

In truth, Greg had his rough edges, as do many people (especially people with lots of stressors in their life), but living with him was certainly possible.  It was only after his brother's death that those rough edges grew sharp and pointed, an ever-present possible explosion fueled by endless strange moonshines.  Judith and the spectre that was all that remained of Anton both blamed her for his death.  After all, she had seen him fall into that coal mine, had heard the bone snap and him cry for help.  Surely, she should have gotten someone to help her save him, but she was young and she was alone and Anton's own preacher had given a seron that very morning about God only helping those who helped himself.  Judith's nightmares still feature her standing at the mineshaft's edge, quoting the preacher's words at her uncle.  She still wakes up to the vision of wrath replacing fright in his eyes.

"I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love."
--Marilyn Monroe

Judith's life changed after John Hobbes and Gretta Milano were murdered by the Potsherd People.  After all, this tragedy brought FBI agent Matthew Winstead to her little hollow.  She was overjoyed when it finally came out that Matt had been smitten with her as soon as his eyes, saddened by the loss of his friends, first laid upon her, as she had him.  He often said that that first glimpse had reminded him that there was warmth in the world after losing John and Gretta. 

The Potsherd People had sacrificed Matt's friends to get the attention of Beelzebub.  It worked, too, but "attention" is far from the same as "service", "help", or even "approval".  They did earn a modicum of respect from the Lord of Flies, however, in their refusal to submit to his distracted destruction of these insipid little mortals.  Judith and Matt became embroiled in, caught up in the middle of, the collateral damage of, this conflict.  Beelzebub enlisted the aid of a mute, disfigured being Matthew dubbed Quilt-Flesh.  After some time, Judith realized why Quilt-Flesh seemed so familiar to her: it was the undead form of her father.  The whole thing came to a head in an epic three-way battle in Judith's family home, with predictably destructive results, not that Beelzebub really gave a shit.

"Never will he understand the sufferings of another, who has not experienced them himself, though he have divine Reason and the nature of a genuine devil!” 

—G.I. Gurdjieff, Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson

Now homeless and only not an orphan by dint of her young but still adult age, Judith travelled across the country with Agent Winstead as he investigated cases of the strange and unusual.  It was on this journey, tackling various monsters and problems of the week, that the two revealed their mutual love, and before long, the two were married.  Both before and after their union, many of their adventures revolved around Beelzebub, whether because of sheer (un)luck, the two humans seeking vengeance against the Lord of Flies for one wrong or another, or eventually a reluctant demon prince seeking the aid of such insignificant people.  Unfortunately, marriages forged in the fires of not only travel, but conflict moreover, often prove more fragile than anyone involved imagines it could be.  So it was with the Winsteads' marriage, which began to fall apart after many harrowing incidents.  

Judith realized with horror that she had begun slowly developing feelings for the Lord of Flies.  Terror at the idea of loving a demon and loyalty to her marriage vows froze Judith for months in heart-pounding indecision.  Her uncle freed her from this mental cage, making a play to possess her husband so that he might punish Judith for his death.  The attempt failed, sending the FBI agent into a coma which killed him in time.  Distraught, Judith found a cold comfort in the arms of Beelzebub, and revenge in a favor the demon owed her.  To the Lord of Flies's continuing annoyance, Judith has followed him around ever since, calling herself the Fly-Bride and insisting the whole time that Hell had not purged his heart from him.  

"But would you kindly ponder this question: What would your good do if evil didn't exist, and what would the earth look like if all the shadows disappeared? After all, shadows are cast by things and people. Here is the shadow of my sword. But shadows also come from trees and living beings.  Do you want to strip the earth of all trees and living things just because of your fantasy of enjoying naked light? You're stupid.” 
—Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

Home Base:  Las Vegas
Gender:  Cisfemale
Sexuality:  Vanilla-leaning heterosexual masochist.
Romantic Identity:  Domestic romantic.

"Everything existing in the world “falls to the bottom.” The “bottom” for any part of the Universe is its nearest “stability,” and this stability is the point toward which all the lines of force from all directions converge.” 

—Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

Physical Appearance:  I can't draw, so I really like providing a few reference pictures and trusting in your imagination to build a good image of the Fly-Bride.  

Judith looks like some combination of these three pictures:

"But what can be done, the one who loves must share the fate of the one he loves.” 

—Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

The Fly-Bride (PC PL/Minion 5, NPC PL 3, Sidekick 15)
STR 0  AGI 2  FGT 2  AWE 2

STA 1  DEX 1  INT 0  PRE 3

Powers

Deflect:  Deflect 4, diminished range 3 • 1 point

Empathy:  Senses 3 (acute ranged detect emotion, acute, ranged, alternate skill usage: Insight) • 3 points

Knows How to Fall:  Movement 1 (safe fall) • 1 point

Mental Awareness:  Senses 1 (mental awareness) • 1 point

Mental Communication:  Mental Communication 3 • 12 points

Mental Detection:  Senses 5 (accurate acute ranged detect minds) • 5 points

Mind Reading:  Close Mind Reading 3, feedback • 1 point

Psychokinesis:  Subtle perception ranged Move Object 1 • 4 points per rank = 4

Advantages
All-Out Attack, Animal Empathy, Attractive 1, Defensive Roll 1, Diehard, Evasion, Inspire 2, Interpose, Luck 2, Ritualist, Set-Up, Teamwork, Tracking

Skills

Athletics 2 ranks (+2), Expertise: Magic 1 rank (+1), Expertise: Theology 2 ranks (+2), Insight 3 ranks (+5), Stealth 3 ranks (+5), Treatment 1 rank (+3)
Offense
Initiative +2
Unarmed +2:  Close, Damage 0

Defense 
Dodge  2 (+4)
Fortitude  1 (+2)
Parry  0 (+2)
Toughness  +1/+2
Will  1 (+3)
Size rank ‒2 (5'9"')
Ground speed rank 0 (2 mph)
Complications 
Compassionate:  The Fly-Bride is someone who has suffered much throughout her life.  There are two choices when you have so many cracks in your heart, she says: you can either wrap up your heart in unfeeling bubble wrap to protect it from any sensation or you can make the cracks into doors.  She has chosen the latter, letting her own pain teach her how to be open-hearted and loving, always ready to reach out and help those in need.  This generally annoys her love, but it has also on occasion brought the two into conflict.
Motivation ~ Love:  Simply put, Judith would do anything Beelzebub asked her to do.  Much of her involvement with the super community comes from this relationship, but it is not always because she is acting as his agent.  She has at times gotten herself entangled in various plots (or even initiated them!) simply in pursuit of some lover's surprise, gift, or attempt to show her love.  On occasion, these schemes have been to redeem the Lord of Flies, whether in the eyes of others or in his own heart, or even (in her wickedest moments) to force him to admit his love for her.

Power Point Totals:  Abilities 22 + Powers 28 + Advantages 15 + Skills 6 + Defenses 4 = 75