M'rrgla Qualtz

M'rrgla and the Life-Cycles of Antareans

Despite being associated with the misnomer "Vigilante of Venus" alias, M'rrgla Qualtz is actually an alien from the Antares solar system.  According to Irma Geddon, M'rrgla isn't "technically female" even though her attractive humanoid appearance would suggest otherwise to a casual observer.  Her race has an 800 year life-span with a hibernation period occurring approximately half-way through their life.  During the ten year hibernation, they undergo a metamorphosis where they wake once a year and hunt/feed for three weeks before returning to their hibernation.  Unfortunately for humans, Antareans feed on Pinearin which is obtained from human pineal glands.  In the 1990's, this metamorphosis and need for Pinearin leads M'rrgla to decapitate approximately ten prostitutes in order to harvest their heads.  The metamorphosis results in M'rrgla becoming a giant green telepathic worm with purple ultra-thin monofilament tentacles/hair sprouting from her body which are capable of slicing between atoms.  In her worm form, she also has at least eight eyes (two under her mouth, six on the back of her "head") and a large gaping mouth filled with sharp teeth and surrounded by a number of insect-like arms.

Powers & Abilities

• Telepathy - She can telepathically communicate with others has the ability to telepathically project imagery into the minds of others.
• Shape-Shifting - She is able to change shape into the form of an attractive humanoid female.  It seems likely that she can change shapes into a variety of other forms as well.
• Monofilament Tentacles - While in her natural worm-like form, M'rrgla has exceptionally deadly purple monofilament tentacles sprouting from her body that are capable of slicing between atoms.
• Precognitive - She is slightly precognitive; enough to foresee her own death, but not enough to tell at who's hands or why.

 

Stranded on Earth, Joining the Seven Sentinels, and Telling Lies

In the late 1950's, M'rrgla became stranded on Earth.  At some point thereafter, she joined a super team called The Seven Sentinels and was known as the science-heroine "Vigilante of Venus."  During this period, she and the Seven Sentinels are reputed to have done a variety of heroic deeds in deep space.  The truth to these deeds are far different and only discovered by Top 10 officers decades later.  
Seven Sentinels' legendary deeds and the truth:

• Reputed to have saved the Earth from the Krell Armada - In reality, the Krell are herbivorous alien reptiles who have recently created the wheel on their own world. 
• Reputed to have defeated Nox the Nebula Drinker - In reality, Nox never existed according to the Trans-Solar Registry.
• Reputed to have fought Cephalo the Subjugator - In reality, Cephalo was defeated by an Andromedan, not the Sentinels. 

M'rrgla becomes a Porn Star

In the mid 1980's, M'rrgla became a pornographic movie actress because it was "far more lucrative" than being a science-heroine.  She made a variety of films including "Sheba the Amoeba Does Dallas" and "Tentacled Butt-Babes."  Some, possibly all, of the movies she appeared in were filmed in the North Hockney section of Neopolis.  It should be noted that North Hockney is also where at least one, but likely more, of the Libra Killer murders occurred.  

A Porn Arrest and a Reporter Named Alan Moore

In his preface to Top 10 Book 1, author Alan Moore places himself in Neopolis as a reporter spending the day with the officers of Precinct Ten.  He recounts the arrest of M'rrgla during her stint as a porn actress.  Moore accompanies Stochastic Fats and Smax to Saltpeter Square (in North Hockney, the hub of Neopolis' vice trade) where they raid a suspected illegal hardcore porn outfit.  Arriving outside a video store, they make their way to the second floor where Stochastic Fats arrests the director, cameraman, two male actors, and M'rrgla as they attempt to escape down a fire escape.   Irma Geddon and Monsoon arrive as back-up and take M'rrgla to the stationhouse for booking.  During the ride, Moore takes a moment to interview M'rrgla.  At one point in the conversation, M'rrgla offers to project clips of her porn movies into Moore's mind, but before that can take place, Irma Geddon ends the interview by explaining that M'rrgla is not truly female and that Neopolis has laws against portraying alien/human sex.  Simply "seeing" it could mean a felony for Moore, and perhaps more disturbing, cause him to vomit in the squad car.  M'rrgla, disgruntled, does not speak for the rest of the ride to Precinct Ten.

M'rrgla becomes "The Libra Killer" 

Sometime in the 1990's, M'rrgla begins the metamorphosis period that all Antareans go through when they reach the half-way point of their life-span.  She hibernates and wakes only to feed on human pineal glands.  While she has not lost her ability to change shape, she appears in her natural form of a giant greenish worm with monofilament tentacles that she uses as a weapon to decapitate her victims with. She uses the North Hockney sewers as a means of travel and possibly her lair as well.

Profiling the Libra Killer

Initially, not much is known about the serial murdering “Libra Killer.” Libra was thought to be a homicidal john by many Neopolis prostitutes and police officers alike.  Historically, all the murders occurred in October (during the astrological sign Libra: September 23 - October 23).  The Libra Killer murders only three times in a single year and all the victims have been decapitated female prostitutes.  Precinct 10 officers Peregrine, Synaesthesia, King Peacock, and Jack Phantom have all been assigned to investigate the case at various times.  Previous investigations into date-fixated criminals and headhunting murderers have produced no leads.

Protecting the "Innocent" from Libra

In an effort to proactively combat the mysterious Libra Killer, officers are sent to out to protect Neopolis prostitutes.   Jetman sends Dust-Devil and Shock-Headed Peter out to spread the word and, if necessary, arrest the most stubborn prostitutes, like Large Marge's girls, in order to get them off the street.  The following day (October 6, 1999), Shock-Headed Peter witnesses Airbag giving money to underage prostitute Immune Girl in North Hockney.  After Immune Girl and Airbag plead to Shock-Headed Peter, he lets them both go free after warning her about the Libra Killer.
 

The Libra Killer Strikes

On October 6, 1999, Dust Devil and Shock-Headed Peter answer a report of a dead body in

North Hockney.  Upon arrival, neighborhood kids flag them down and take them to a deceased female at the end of a dead-end alley.  The decapitated and bloody body belongs to Immune Girl, the same underage prostitute he did not arrest earlier that morning for prostitution.  Shock-Headed Peter realizes he's indirectly responsible for her death at the hand of Libra.  An autopsy performed by Micromaid reveals that Immune Girl was killed at approximately 11:30 a.m. earlier that morning.  Inspection of the neck tissue shows that the cut is far cleaner than even most lasers could leave.  Peregrine expects that the Libra Killer will murder two more times due to previous year's patterns.  Shock-Headed Peter later describes his interaction with Immune Girl and Airbag to Peregrine and Jack Phantom, at which point Airbag becomes a suspect since he was last to see Immune Girl alive.

Libra Strikes Again

Libra attempts a second murder on October 6, 1999, during the Gograh standoff.  Prostitute Neural 'Nette stumbles into Precinct Ten with her severed left index-finger in a handkerchief.  She hands her severed finger to Hyperdog before promptly passing out.  Micromaid offers her medical assistance and immediately recognizes the perfectness of the cut as the work of Libra.  Neural 'Nette's finger was quickly reattached by Micromaid.  Upon regaining consciousness, 'Nette explains that she sensed a stranger's neural presence, saw "purple candyfloss" tentacles coming from a nearby sewer drain, and attacked the stranger's pain centers with her innate neural powers causing it to withdraw.  During the incident, M'rrgla's monofilament tentacles sliced off 'Nette's finger as she attempted to shielded herself.  Peregrine sends Jack Phantom, Hyperdog, Dust Devil, Shock-Headed Peter, and Neural 'Nette to the scene of the attack in North Hockney.  Upon arrival, Peregrine radios the officers with forensic evidence confirming that the Libra Killer is not only extra-terrestrial in origin, but is also the Antarean science-heroine M'rrgla Qualtz.

Libra Captured

Around 2 a.m. on the morning of October 7, 1999, Jack Phantom, Dust Devil, and Shock-Headed Peter descend into the North Hockney sewer while Hyperdog and Neural 'Nette organize the newly arrived forces of Large Marge and her girls (including April Showers, Ophidia, and Steel Gerda) to guard any other sewer exits they can find.  Additional information comes in from Vax-Ul of the Trans-Solar Registry that reveals M'rrgla is currently in a grub-like form and telepathic.  Dust Devil teams up with Jack Phantom while Shock-Headed Peter heads in the opposite direction.  Before long, Dust Devil and Jack Phantom are interrupted by the sudden appearance of M'rrgla in all her giant alien-worm glory.  Jack Phantom phases a split second before being cut to pieces by M'rrgla's monofilaments.  Dust Devil fires repeatedly at M'rrgla with little effect before his pistols are cut into pieces by her monofilaments.  Shock-Headed Peter arrives and releases an electrical blast that causes M'rrgla to retreat.  She attempts to leave the sewer by way of an alley drain but receives a cannon blast from Steel Gerda that sends her back in the direction of Shock-Headed Peter and gang.  M'rrgla takes a side tunnel past them as Jack Phantom discovers a bricked-up room containing the severed head of Immune Girl and the heads of at least four more of M'rrgla's decapitation victims.  M'rrgla unexpectedly bursts through the ground near Hyperdog and Neural 'Nette in the alley.  He shoves 'Nette out of harm’s way only to have the left leg of his exo-frame sheered off by a monofilament.  A second monofilament nearly cuts his ear off before Shock-Headed Peter can knock her unconscious with a second blast of electricity.  Shock-Headed Peter calls for a fortified transport wagon which loads her body and takes her to Precinct Ten.

Libra's Known Victims:

M'rrgla has killed and partially ingested approximately ten women in three years.  Three of the known decapitation victims are listed below followed by others that she has injured:

• Immune Girl (Shirley Dorfman) - Underage prostitute for Large Marge - Her decapitated body was found in an alley by kids in North Hockney.  Her head was found the next day by Jack Phantom in the North Hockney sewer along with the heads of some of M'rrgla's other victims.
• Z-Cup (prostitute for Large Marge) - Decapitated
• Velvet Vortex (prostitute for Large Marge) - Decapitated
• Neural 'Nette (Annette Duvalle) - Prostitute, possibly for Large Marge - Left index finger severed by M'rrgla's monofilament tentacles.  She survived the encounter because she sensed M'rrgla's presence and attacked her pain centers with her neural powers causing M'rrgla to withdraw.  Her finger was reattached by Micromaid after she stumbled into Precinct 10 and handed her severed finger to Hyperdog before passing out.  In her second encounter with M'rrgla, Neural 'Nette's was unharmed thanks to Hyperdog pushing her back and Shock-Headed Peter subduing M'rrgla with his electrical blast.
• Hyperdog – Precinct Ten Sergeant - The left leg of his exo-frame was shorn off and his right ear was nearly severed by her monofilament tentacles during M'rrgla's arrest.  Neural 'Nette's personal interest in the occupation of nursing helped Hyperdog get immediate medical attention for his injured ear. 
• Jack Phantom - Precinct Ten officer - Physically unaffected despite being able to feel the monofilaments cutting between her light photons (while she was phased) during the capture of M'rrgla in the North Hockney sewers.  She was mentally shaken-up after finding the severed head of Immune Girl and the heads of at least four more of M'rrgla's decapitation victims in a bricked up room of the sewer. 

M'rrgla in Captivity

Precinct 10 confines M'rrgla in a transparent tube complete with thick bars, hyperglass and force fields.  Upon her return to consciousness, her monofilaments easily cut through the bars but the hyperglass and force fields keep her confined.  Later, M'rrgla uses her telepathic abilities to try to lure Monsoon into freeing her from confinement.  She projects imagery into his mind that they are both in a 1970's porn movie, complete with awful porno music and dialog.  M'rrgla portrays herself as a sexy green lingerie-wearing damsel-in-distress locked inside a solarium as she flirtatiously requests his help.  Monsoon nearly pushes the release button but Synaesthesia is able to snap him out of the illusion before any harm is done.

Old Friends Visit

On Wednesday, October 7, 1999, three of M'rrgla's former Seven Sentinels comrades arrive at Precinct 10.  The blustery trio of Atoman, Hound, and Sun Woman demand to see her.  Jetman accedes but warns that M'rrgla's appearance (as a giant worm) may be distressing to them.  M'rrgla, however, has assumed the sympathetic humanoid appearance of herself from her Vigilante from Venus days with the Seven Sentinels.  As she covers her nude

humanoid body, M'rrgla claims that Monsoon "wanted to sex me" and he was only prevented because a female officer (Synaesthesia) stopped him.  In an uproar, Atoman threatens Jetman with "our lawyers will pulverize you." 

On Monday, October 12, 1999, Hound and Black Boomerang meet with Jetman.  Black Boomerang, who is the defense attorney representing M'rrgla, as well as a member of Seven Sentinels himself, accuses Jack Phantom of not correctly mirandizing M'rrgla due to the Antarean language barrier.  Jack Phantom replies that M'rrgla is telepathic and speaks English.  Black Boomerang requests to see the prisoner and inquires to M'rrgla about her well being.  M'rrgla, now wearing a skimpy outfit, explains that she has been given one of her old costumes and has been given Pinearedrine (a Pinearin substitute) for food.  Black Boomerang and Hound vehemently protest the conditions M'rrgla is being kept in but Jetman reminds them that she had been living in a sewer.  Black Boomerang dismisses M'rrgla's murders as "simply obeying her biological imperatives."  While Black Boomerang and Jetman argue, M'rrgla subtly begins to project telepathic imagery into the mind of Jack Phantom.  In the illusion, she and Jack, who is in reality a lesbian, kiss as they lay nude in bed.  Jack Phantom quickly breaks free of the telepathic projection and screams "You goddamn slug bitch!  You ever do that that stuff on me again, I'm gonna $%&*ing kill you!"  M'rrgla tauntingly replies with "... you're not mad at me, are you lover?"  Black Boomerang immediately uses this altercation to his advantage by protesting Jack's death threat and the use of "slug" as trans-species abuse.  As Jack is being restrained by Jetman, she points to M'rrgla and yells "That was not a threat, that was a promise..."  Jetman orders her to leave and Jack Phantom vents to Dust Devil that she thinks M'rrgla will walk free due to the influential support from the Seven Sentinels.  Later, in an uncharacteristic and probably unintentional show of support, Commissioner Ultima tells Jetman not be intimidated by the wealthy members of the Seven Sentinels and to fight them "all the way."

Visions of Death, Show-reels, Chicken Supers, and M'rrgla

In the early morning of Tuesday, October 13, 1999, Jetman visits M'rrgla after receiving a telepathic request from her.  Jetman asks if she called him to her cell to taunt him about how the Seven Sentinels will free her.  She explains to him that she is slightly precognitive and has seen her own death.  Her vision does not reveal her killer but she suspects that it will be at the hands of the Seven Sentinels.  She postulates that they don't want her to stand trial.  She tells him "If anything happens to me, check my show-reel, or maybe ask one of the Chicken Supers."  Jetman assumes her cryptic words are a mind game she is trying to humiliate him with.  She replies that if that were true, she could tell everyone that he is homosexual.

The Death of M'rrgla Qualtz

On Wednesday, October 14, 1999, Commissioner Ultima arrives for an inspection of Precinct Ten.  During her visit, she stops in the canteen with Jetman where Synaesthesia recognizes her perfume and attempts to arrest her for the murder of Stefan Graczik.  Ultima, who is really visiting Precinct Ten so that she can confiscate Xenite for her personal drug addiction, lashes out and kills Girl One.  An enormous fight breaks out and in the process, Smax blasts Ultima with one of his blue chest rays which sends her flying into M'rrgla's containment cell, shattering it.  M'rrgla, in her humanoid female shape, instantly recognizes Ultima as her true killer saying "You're my death. You keep away from me or I kill you!"  M'rrgla attacks by striking out with a fearsome worm-like upper-body as she screams "I kill you."  Fittingly, M'rrgla dies when Ultima effortlessly blasts her at point-blank range leaving chunks of M'rrgla's exploded worm-head spotting the

floor near her half-transformed and lifeless body.  The fight finally ends when Ultima is killed by a lethal injection of the Xenite she so desperately wanted.

Aftermath

A few days after M'rrgla's death, Peregrine and Jack Phantom make an interesting discovery on the seemingly unrelated case of the murder of Sidekix musician Glenn "Bluejay" Garland.  Garland, who was planning to reveal his life story to The Sunday Neopolitan, was a sidekick to the Seven Sentinel's Kingfisher.  Jack Phantom takes this news to Jetman who reveals M'rrgla's concern that the Seven Sentinels would murder her.  He also goes on to mention M'rrgla's cryptic request that if she should die, he check her show-reels or ask the "chicken-supers."  Jack Phantom explains that the term chicken-supers is "...Neopolis pedophile slang for sexually available junior science-sidekicks."  They theorize that the Seven Sentinels killed Garland so that their pedophile ring wouldn't be discovered.  Later, after obtaining the show-reels from M'rrgla's lawyer, Peregrine and Jack Phantom watch numerous episodes of the Seven Sentinel's exploits saving the Earth from the Krell Armada and fighting Nox the Nebula Drinker.  After putting a new reel on the projector, they come across a video of Sizzler's pre-teen sidekick Scorchy sexually servicing Atoman.  A meeting is called where Jack Phantom reveals to the Precinct Ten officers that the Seven Sentinel's heroic showreel adventures were faked and that the Seven Sentinels are not only pedophiles who are currently abusing their Young Sentinels side-kicks, they have been doing it for many, many  years.
The Precinct officers mobilize and arrest Seven Sentinel members Kingfisher, Hound, Sun Woman, Scarlet Sceptre, Black Boomerang, Sizzler, and Davy Jones.  Atoman is cornered in his fortress, but subtly convinced to commit suicide by Joe Pi.  

Trivia

M'rrgla Qualtz is considered by many to be the equivalent of the Justice League's Martian Manhunter due to the similarities in powers (shape-shifting and telepathy) and alien origin.  Oddly, he was killed by a character named Libra but resurrected during Blackest Night.