Water Witch
From HOTGT
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Water Witch is a biochemist by day and a champion of the ocean by night.
History
You don't expect Jewish kids to be born in Hawaii but here I am. My dad was Navy and stationed at Pearl Harbor. When my mom got pregnant they decided that he would retire after his next hitch was up so that I wouldn't be subjected to the rigors of being hauled around the world or having my dad out on assignment for long periods of time. My dad still loved the sea, though. He ended up running charter boats between the islands. I guess I inherited my love of the sea from him. I had three loves growing up: science fiction, science, and surfing. I played with chemistry sets, I read all the time, and I spent as much time on a surfboard as possible.
My childhood was pretty normal. Mom and dad loved me. I got picked on a bit at school but my love of geeky things was offset by my surfing skills so the kids didn't treat me too poorly. As I got older I found that biology and chemistry excited me much more than physics or other sciences. Some people thought I would love oceanography but I liked to keep my hobby and my future career separated. When I was in the ocean I didn't want to think about work and when I was at work I needed to not be thinking about surfing.
Eventually I applied to and got into CalTech with scholarships to pave the way. I wouldn't go anywhere that wasn't within a decent distance of the ocean. The waves off California weren't as good as island waves but they'd do.
I graduated from CalTech in five years because I was on the combined BS/MS track. It was an exciting time because the entire world had changed. In 2000, the Impossibilities returned. Just like during World War II, people started developing powers, odd, physics defying machines worked, and magic seemed to be a force in the world. My master's thesis was actually an analysis of a blood sample of Power Man that had been carefully frozen in the 40s. That's what brought me to the attention of Doctor Erma Brodie. She was starting up a firm called SciTech, a non-profit research organization dedicated to the study of Impossibilities. She offered me the job. I jumped at the chance. That's how I ended up in Paradox City.
Paradox City has some nice waves. That's where I ended up moving because it that's where SciTech's main facility was located. It's an island city with no cars. Instead there are a bunch of canals and everyone owns boats. An entire city powered by water. I loved it!
I worked in the biochemistry department at SciTech. For a while our main focus was trying to figure out what made Impossibilities different from regular humans by examining their blood and tissue. In the end we came to the conclusion that there was no single, common thread. The genetics people said the same thing. They couldn't find a gene that could be switched on and off to give people I-Powers. Over time we diversified as we got contracts from the government or other companies, always trying to stay ethically positive.
I met Lottie one day in the SciTech cafeteria. She was a new intern, working part-time. We hit it off immediately. Truth is, for me it was love at first sight. For her, not so much. So I played the guy best friend for a while. When she was involved in a strange accident involving a particle accelerator and a book on mythology that left her in a wheelchair I did my best to be supportive. When she developed the ability to shapeshift into different mythological creatures because of the accident I helped her figure everything out. I did blood work, genetic analysis and worked with her to explore the full range of her abilities. For a while, I played sidekick to that. I think she figured I had a crush on her but she didn't say anything about it.
In August 2005, Paradox City was attacked by a Sharooth battle cruiser. The only military we had on the island was the Coast Guard. They did their best but couldn't stop the alien ship. Lottie knew she had to go into action. Along with three others: WWII hero Eon, Talisman, and Errant, they defeated the Sharooth. Later they would take the crashed cruiser as the base for their newly formed team, the Paradox Patrol.
Last year, a woman named Emma Rosethorn entered my life. She was, in reality, the daughter of a sorcerer from the first Impossibility era who had put together Lottie's book. She could explain it all better but the long and short of it is Emma used her powers to plant suggestions in my mind. She made me love her and then give away Lottie's secrets. I still feel terrible about it, even though Lottie understands what happened. It did have one positive effect, though. After that we started going out. She realized that she had feelings for me, too.
Which brings me to how I became Water Witch. I still surf regularly, at least three times a week when the weather's warm enough. At the spot where I surf there's an old shack and an even older woman lived inside of it. I ignored her for the most part because she seemed harmless. Then, one day, she was being attacked by three thugs. I watched in awe as some sort of glowing, mystic circle surrounded her left hand and a blast of water rushed out to knock one thug away. She wasn't fast enough, though. Too old, maybe. One of the thugs cracked her across the head. I don't know what came over me but I rushed forward and I swung, hard, slapping the two remaining jerks with my board. I broke the board but I also knocked them out. It was too late for the old lady, though. She was dying.
She told me she was the Water Witch. That the Earth had chosen her during the 40s to protect the oceans. Then she told me it was time to pass on her powers. Her eyes changed, looking like pools of water and then I felt her power flow into me. Magic. Real magic. I knew instantly much of what I could do but I also knew I had a lot left to explore. I decided not to tell Lottie right away. I wanted to get good at things before I revealed my new abilities. I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of her. I guess I was embarrassed she'd think less of me if I turned out to be a lame I-Hero.
So, that's me. I'm the Water Witch and I have a duty to protect the oceans. I'm honestly still not sure what I'm protecting them from. Pollution? Over-fishing? I'll need to figure that out.
Friends and Family
- Myth: Girlfriend.
Archenemy
None.
| Heroes of the Great Tree Topics | ||
| Impossibilities | I-verse background • Player Characters • NPCs • House Rules | |
| Phantapunk | Aeryn Background • Player Characters • NPCs • House Rules | |
| Concrete & Crimson | World Background • Scoobies • NPCs • House Rules | |
| Keep Flying | The 'Verse • The Crew • NPCs • House Rules | |
| Polybius | The World • Investigators • NPCs • House Rules | |
| Labyrinth | The World • PCs • NPCs • House Rules | |
