PARAGON Real Name: Keira Lana Hawke
Duel Identity: Paragon
Current Aliases: Paragon, Lady Superion, the Maid of Might, the Woman of Tomorrow, the Woman of Steel, the Girl of Steel.
Class: Hero
Identity: Secret. Keira Hawke is generally thought to be a regular human by the public and Paragon is believed to have no secret identity.
Alignment: Good
Occupation: Scientist and Inventor at Hawke Industries and part-time Secret Agent.
Base Of Operations: Metro City. Formerly, San Francisco, CA and New York City.
Affiliation: Hawke Industries, Unknown Secret Organization.
Citizenship: The United States with no criminal record
Place of Birth: Seattle, WA (United States).
Education: College Graduate with top honors
Marital Status: Single
Relatives: Nathan Hawke (Father, deceased), Nora Hawke (Mother), Lucas Hawke (Older Brother), Kayden Hawke (Nephew), Alethea Hawke (Sister in law).
Gender: Female
Orientation: Heterosexual.
Height: 5‘11“
Weight: 145 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black, but she dyes it blonde.
Physical Form: Human with a very nice athletic build as well as a curvy figure.
Race: Plutonian descendant. Paragon is believed by the general public to be a Meta-Human.
Universe: CVnU
POWERS & ABILITIES *Solar Energy Absorption: When Paragon studied her powers, she found that her cells photosynthesize the light from the sun like plants normally do. While her body doesn't use the Earth's sun exactly as a plant does, Keira's body does work in a similar way as a photovoltaic cell. The cell works basically like this: When the sunlight hits the material, such as silicon, it acts as a semi-conductor and this interaction causes electrons to be released. In turn, these charged electrons generate electricity that is then passed on, much like chain lightning, to every sell in Paragon's body. In short, it makes Keira a human-sized solar battery that is capable of hyper-metabolizing the sunlight from Earth's sun which she uses as fuel for the many powers that she possesses. During Paragon's studies on her capabilities, she has come to another conclusion: Every time she uses any of her powers, to any degree, her body uses up any absorbed solar energy to equal the task that needs to be accomplished. Overusing any of her powers and abilities will result in Keira unable to function at her peak and she will become weakened, more prone to injury and tiring herself out.
Unfortunately, not all sources of sunlight are created equal since Paragon cannot absorb all forms of sunlight as necessary fuel for her powers. Red sunlight, for example, will cause her body to cease any and all solar energy absorption and this will eventually lead to the gradual loss of all of her stored up solar energy. This will force Paragon to function on the same exact level as a healthy human who engages in regular physical exercise. On the other hand, blue stars have been known to dramatically increase all of Paragon's powers to a much higher degree, even granting her additional abilities she would not normally possess under Earth's yellow sun.
Paragon uses her Solar Flare Paragon's body also stores solar energy in order to fuel her bio-cellular matrix in order to strengthen her ability to manipulate the electromagnetic field since the two are linked. This gives necessary energy to power most of her powers such as her ability to fly, heat vision and her numerous enhanced senses while elevating her physical capabilities to super-human levels.
Power Boost: Paragon's energy storage is so vast that she is capable of storing excess energy for later use. This enables her to temporarily supercharge her body with solar energy and enhance her powers far beyond their normal level.Solar Flare: In times of extreme desperation, Paragon can spontaneously release all her stored up solar energy in an explosive-like manner up to a radius of a mile. The heat of this explosion rivals the core temperature of the Sun itself, which is 27 million degrees Fahrenheit, and will destroy almost anything in it’s path. Since this power depletes all of Paragon’s stored up solar energy, she loses all of her super-human powers until she can recharge again. To a lesser extreme, Paragon can release a portion of her stored solar energy for a less powerful explosion. Doing this will not de-power her, but it will weaken her depending on how much stored solar energy she uses to activate this power. To a lesser extent, Paragon can make her skin heat up or even glow white hot. She has gotten to the point where she can easily cause her entire body, or a portion of it, to glow so bright as to cause temporary blindness to her enemies.Enhanced Senses: Paragon possesses a number of enhanced senses, which include:
Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision: Paragon can see the entire electromagnetic spectrum which allows her to see, and identify, radio, television, all broadcasted transmissions and transmitted frequencies. Keira has used this ability to avoid being detected by radar and any orbiting satellites by passing through areas completely undetected.Enhanced Sense of Smell: Paragon has an enhanced sense of smell, capable of detecting scents from miles away even if the scents have been degraded over by time and weather factors.Microscopic Vision: Paragon's eyes can function much like a microscope, giving her the ability to see down to the sub-atomic level or more.Night Vision: Paragon can see perfectly at night, even in the absence of any, and all, light.Super Hearing: Paragon has incredible hearing that can detect extreme variances of sound and pitch frequency, allowing her to pick up noises from hundreds of miles away. With enough practice, she eventually learned how to block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source. Part of this is believed to be physical and part of it is believed to be psionic in nature. Since Paragon can hear a sound from hundreds of miles away in an instant when sound itself does not travel that fast, some scientists have theorized that the hero's super hearing must be at least partially clairvoyant.Telescopic Vision: Paragon has the ability to focus her vision like a telescope to see something even from light years away.Thermal Vision: Paragon has the ability to see objects, or people, as blobs of heat in various degrees of temperature. She can even see the heat left behind by a warm object or person who has recently moved.X-Ray Vision: Even though Paragon has the power to see through almost anything, with the exception of lead, this is not true X-Ray Vision. Through the manipulation of the electromagnetic field around her, Keira can control the ambient radiation around an object in order to receive a mental 'image' of it inside of her mind, which allows her to 'see' through walls as if she possessed a true form of X-Ray Vision. Because of the nature of this power, Paragon does not emit any harmful radiation and cannot harm any organic life if she chooses to use this power on a person or animal. However, if she chooses to she is able to cause her X-Ray Vision to emit actual gamma radiation and has used this to fry electrical circuitry on occasion.Flight: When Paragon learned to fly for the very first time, she unconsciously used her bio-electric aura to manipulate the gravitational forces surrounding her (Tactile Telekinesis in practice) and this explains why she lifted ice particles, causing them to spin before she took off into the sky. When Keira takes off in flight, she also unleashes energy onto the surrounding environment, as well as small objects, when she levitated small debris. All of this combined is an example of a very complex gravitational field that Paragon is manipulating that serves to give her the ability to defy gravity, hover in the air and lift enormous weights into the sky.
Heat Vision: Paragon's heat vision allows the hero to emit stored solar energy as directed beams of focused heat through her eyes. Typically, the power is seen as two beams of red light emanating from her eyes, but she is capable of firing these beams from her hands as well. Paragon has such control that these heat beams can be made invisible in order to allow her to work undetected. If she wishes, she is also able to control how wide or thin the heat beams are and on one occasion has managed to make a beam of heat so thin it was microscopic in size in order to allow her to perform repairs on some inner machinery without damaging the surface.
Affecting Particles: By using her microscopic vision to see down to the subatomic level, Paragon can then blast any particles & antiparticles at that level. She used this to great effect by observing these particles destroy each other almost the instant they appeared before her vision. Making use of the uncertainty principle where the location of these particles and antiparticles would manifest is unknown, Keira knew that in a black hole one half of a virtual pair could appear on the inside the event horizon as well as the outside of it. By using her heat vision, she generated the needed pairs of particles in order to build up enough energy to make a hole in an impenetrable wall in order to make her escape.Microscopic Surgery: Paragon can combine her heat vision with her other vision powers, such as microscopic vision, in order to perform harmless surgeries like an invisible scalpal. She did this on at least one occasion where she cut out a portion of someone's brain by looking through her enemy's retina, effectively performing a lobotomy that de-powered her opponent so he could no longer access the part of his mind that activated his powers.Mini-Supernova: By focusing her heat vision on the water, Paragon can turn it into what she calls Solar plasma. She does this in order to create localized 'mini-supernova's' to inflict damage on the current opponent she is fighting.Nigh-Invulnerability: Paragon's entire body is super-humanly dense along with her anatomical structure. As a result, Keira's cellular bonds are a latticework of honeycomb-like strands that form a link in a seemingly endless chain that tightens up whenever the hero is under attack and repels most forms of damage. However, sufficiently powerful forces can break these links and when this happens, then Paragon suffers damage. To reinforce her considerable resistance to injury, Keira's body produces a bio-electric aura that reinforces every molecule of her being in a similar way as body armor does for humans. This boosts Paragon's Nigh-Invulnerability to enable her to withstand most forms of damage, shrug off most energy-based attacks (including electrical), travel through space without harm and even entering Earth's sun and emerging without a scratch. Because of her Nigh-Invulnerability and bio-electrical aura extending to every fiber that exists inside her body, the Maid of Might is highly resistant to such attacks designed to cause internal damage and so she does not suffer injury nor can she be killed when such methods are attempted to be used against her. All varieties of pressure points designed to disable, paralyze or kill is also rendered ineffective for this reason unless such methods are used by a being who also possesses a strength level near her own. Paragon's body, along with her bio-electric field and molecular structure, also cannot be converted into any form of energy that is designed to convert her energy in order to bring harm to her since her molecules cannot be changed, converted or disrupted in any way since the Maid of Might controls every molecule of her body.
Bio-Electric Aura: Paragon's bio-electric aura acts as a skin-tight force field that follows the contours of her body roughly one inch away from her skin. She can consciously strengthen her aura to enable her to take on a much higher level of damage than she would ordinarily be able to on her own, but the effect is only temporary and lasts only a short time. Paragon has learned how to project her aura around any person or object simply by touching them in order to strengthen their structural stability when lifting or traveling with them. She can also use this ability to extend her aura around innocent bystanders in order to protect them from bullets and other forms of harm. Paragon's body, including her bio-electric aura, also happens to be almost perfect and possesses very few structural weaknesses or stress points to exploit. Such vulnerable areas are so infinitesimally small as to render her highly resistant to powers or attacks designed to weaken her body's structural stability along with her bio-electric aura. On top of this, every small structural weakness or stress point is reinforced by Paragon's bio-electric aura and the same works in reverse, rendering the Maid of Might incredibly hard to damage when others attempt to weaken her structural stability or strike at a stress point. Because of these advantages, such attacks are not very useful against her.Dominant Genes: Paragon's genes are so powerful they allow her to pass on all of her powers to any of her children should she have any. In turn, those children can empower their own with the same powers and abilities. No one knows why or how this is possible. It has even stumped Keira herself despite her numerous attempts to unlock the mysteries of her DNA.
Super Breath: Paragon's lungs are so powerful that she is capable of blowing air from them with a force that equals the winds of any hurricane and even greater. She's also capable of using this power to dispel clouds of gas simply by blowing hard enough. She's even capable of the reverse by sucking in large amounts of dangerous gases before depositing it safely into space.
Freeze Breath: At first glance, Paragon's Freeze Breath does not seem like it should be a part of her specific kind of power set. However, thanks to the real-life Joule Thomson effect, this power is, in reality, an extension of her strength. When Paragon forces air to blow from her pursed lips, it compresses the air and the pressure forces it through a restricted opening at high velocity. This has the effect of reducing the overall temperature of the air blown from her lungs. Combined with the moisture that escapes, the breath freezes as it escapes Paragon's mouth. In the best example of this power, Keira had to stop an opponent she was fighting who had the power of intangibility. So she used her freeze breath to slow down her enemy's personal particles so that he could no longer use them to phase through matter. This allowed Paragon to strike him and defeat him. The lowest possible temperature she can reach is absolute zero or –459.67°F (–273.15°C) where the motion of particles that make up heat would be extremely minimal.Super-Human Physiology: Thanks to her body being charged with yellow solar energy, Paragon's body is a lot more dense along with her cellular structure. Her body also happens to be incredibly resilient and even biologically more effective than normal human's skin tissue. However, it must be noted that Keira does not possess super strength without her body being charged with solar energy. Without access to solar energy to charge herself, Paragon's strength and physical capabilities are the same as a normal human who engages in regular physical exercise. As a mutant, her biology is slightly different then a normal human since she possesses several extra organs whose functions are mysterious but are believed to be responsible for producing her aforementioned bio-electric aura.
Accelerated Healing: Paragon may be extremely tough and possess Nigh-Invulnerability, but it is possible to still cause injury and pain. Should Keira suffer an injury, her cells are capable of repairing any damaged tissue, bone or organ with much greater speed than any normal human. Minor cuts and bruises heal within seconds, a broken arm would heal within minutes and more extreme injuries would heal within hours or days. Paragon's ability to heal so quickly also renders her immune to ALL known Earthly diseases, poisons, toxins of ALL types , acids, biological weapons, drugs, alcohol intoxication, etc.Longevity: So long as Paragon retains enough solar energy in her body, she will age much slower and live a lot longer than any human on Earth. Precisely how long she will live is unknown.Super Strength: Paragon has found that increased exposure to Earth's sun makes her stronger while decreased exposure causes her to become weaker. In essence, the closer she is to the sun then the stronger she gets but the farther away from Earth's sun then the weaker Paragon gets. Keira can easily shatter a mountain with one blow or even knock down entire skyscrapers with a single punch. The hero can even lift the entire island of Manhattan if necessary.Super-Human Stamina: Paragon has the ability to maintain continuous physical actions for at least an entire day before showing signs of fatigue.Self-Sustenance: Paragon does not need to eat or sleep (but is still capable of doing both) and can travel in space as well as underwater unprotected. However, she still needs to breathe and can only hold her breath for up to 3hrs at a time.Super-Speed, Agility & Reflexes: Paragon uses stored up solar energy in order to move at super-human speeds that is far above the speed of sound and is able to keep up with the fastest beings on the planet as well as hit them with her punches. Keira also has enhanced reflexes along with a relative perception of time that allows her to see her opponents and/or the environment as if they were moving in slow motion. This makes the hero a very dangerous combatant when it comes to engaging her enemies in a fight. Paragon is also capable of thinking and reading at super-speed as well, being able to process information and think up plans in moments whereas it takes others minutes, hours or days to accomplish the same task. A trick she has learned from speedsters is the ability to vibrate her body at super-human speeds in order to allow her to pass straight through solid matter.
Tactile Telekinesis: Paragon possesses a limited form of Telekinesis which would normally give her the power to move objects and people without touching them. Unfortunately, Keira's ability is limited to touch only, but the ability itself is still very formidable since it allows her to evenly distribute the weight and/or force of heavy objects through only one point of contact. This explains, in large part, how and why Paragon can pick up a plane by the nose without it snapping in half. This, along with her ability to project her bio-electric aura around an innocent, also explains why and how the hero can catch someone from falling or using super-speed while holding a civilian without breaking their bones or killing them. It's her Tactile-Telekinesis and bio-electric aura that is holding them together and protecting them from otherwise fatal maneuvers. Other than the aforementioned capabilities, Paragon is capable of much more with this power than just helping her lift huge objects. She is also capable of moving any object after she touches it, even if it leaves her grasp as if she had true Telekinesis. Through practice, Keira has also discovered she can disassemble objects simply through touch alone and cause them to either explode or fall apart.
Tor-Vo: Not only is this power a skill that the Plutonian race invented, but it also bestowed the ability to project illusions directly inside the minds of others so that they will see, hear, feel and taste whatever Paragon wants them to. Additional abilities include the following:
Alpha Warrior: Only after entering, and awakening from, a beta state by falling asleep can Keira start projecting alpha waves. This energy that she gives off reflects any mental attack or even reality-warping back onto her opponent. While Keira has temporary control over Alpha Waves, she can even twist reality itself to whatever she desires but only within a limited area of effect.Astral Projection: Paragon can use Tor-Vo to achieve astral projection. In this state, she can pass through walls, remain unseen by others and travel anywhere in the world in a few seconds.Dreamwalker: As she falls asleep, Keira enters what she calls a beta state. In essence, she projects powerful beta waves around her like a protective shell of psionic energy that effectively stops reality from warping around her even by celestial beings. This ability also gives Paragon absolute control over her dreams while protecting her from outside forces at the same time. She even has the power to enter someone else's dream.Theta Warrior: Keira is able to enter what she calls a 'theta state' that enables her to create simple weapons (usually swords) and armor from pure psionic energy. While in this state, her mind is in a sort of universal repose where mental attacks are all but useless against her. And so long as she maintains her own mental reality of her own choosing then it cannot be altered even by powerful reality warpers.WEAKNESSES & LIMITATIONS Chrysonite: Paragon's brother, Superion, cured her weakness to Chrysonite. She is now immune to it's effects.
Advanced Technology, Energy & Physical Trauma: On numerous occasions, Paragon has suffered injuries when enough physical trauma has been inflicted upon her. Advanced technology and energy attacks have also proven effective, depending on how advanced and powerful they happen to be.
Confidence: The more confidence Paragon possesses, the more powerful she is. If she lacks it or doubts herself then her powers weaken.
Lead: Paragon cannot see through lead or lead-based substances.
Magic: Paragon is just as vulnerable to magic as any ordinary human since it has been able to harm her, to varying degrees, on several occasions. However, magic doesn't seem to be able to outright kill or destroy her for some reason. This could be due to Keira's will to live since her willpower is one of her greatest assets when facing magical and supernatural forces.
Solar Energy Dependency: A prolonged period of time without sunlight will cause Paragon’s powers to weaken and fade away slowly over time. Exposure to red sunlight will prevent Keira from replenishing her solar energy reserves and she will slowly lose her powers over the course of days, depending on how often she uses his powers.
Note: Due to her nanotech suit keeping her charged up 24/7, this weakness no longer applies to her.Ultrasonic & Similar Sound Devices: Any device, or super power, that emits extremely loud, or powerful, sound waves can take advantage of Paragon's super-sensitive hearing and do some serious, but temporary, damage.
SKILLS/OTHER ABILITIES Business/Finance: Keira runs her own multi-billion dollar business and is an expert in the day-to-day things that requires. She knows how to make money and be successful.
Indomitable Willpower: Paragon's willpower is incredibly strong which enables her to resist being hypnotized, mind-controlled and have her mind read by a telepath. Although it is not impossible to control her, it is very difficult to dominate her mind thanks to her strong willpower.
Inventor & Engineer: Keira is a super-genius that is capable of inventing a variety of technological marvels that are way ahead of their time.
Leadership: Because Keira runs her own company, she's had plenty of practice being a good leader. She recognizes the strengths and weaknesses that are necessary to form a good team.
Martial Arts: When Keira was recruited into Blackcat, she was trained in Grav Maga, Wrestling and Boxing. By default, she usually fights as a boxer.
Martial Art Weaponry: As part of her training in Martial Arts, Keira is also an expert with Katana's, Nun-Chucks, throwing stars, staffs, escrima sticks and bows/arrows.Tor-Vo: This Martial Art technique was invented by the Plutonians and passed down through the generations to Keira. When properly exercised, it places her in a hyper-alert state as it fortifies her mind against mental attacks and makes her highly resistant to them (i.e. Telepathy, Mind Control, Illusion Casting, etc). Keira has also used this skill to place psychic barriers in her mind in order to prevent her enemies from controlling her. In combat, Tor-Vo also allows her instincts to take over any and all of her bodily movements so that she can fight an opponent without even thinking about it. This makes her highly unpredictable even by those who possess precognitive powers & abilities.Pressure Points: Keira has studied the human body and knows where the pressure points are as well as the reflex areas on a person's body. The right amount of pressure upon each point could paralyze an opponent or cause violent reflexive action that cannot be controlled by the victim.Photographic Memory: Keira can remember almost any information that she comes in contact with regardless if it’s in written form, a recording, a book she reads or even a person she meets. She makes next to no effort to remember anything and it’s stuck in her mind as if it just happened. Because of this, Keira can often replay any event that she experienced in her mind with perfect clarity. Unfortunately, this also means that anything bad that happens to her is remembered just as well and any traumatizing events affect her more deeply than most. For example: If Keira suffered the loss of a loved one, the pain of that loss would be remembered for the rest of her life as if the event happened yesterday. This would result in Keira needing some form of therapy to help her cope.
Secret Agent Training: As an Agent of Blackcat, Paragon has been trained to adapt to most situations, and opponents, in order to defeat them. Because of this training, Keira is able to make the most effective use of her powers combined with her brain and brawn to take down the more powerful enemies.
Disguise: Keira is a master at wearing different kinds of disguises in order to blend in.Voice Mimicry: Through precise muscle control, Paragon can mimic any voice she hears, male or female, with an accuracy of 100%.
EQUIPMENT Suit & Clothes: Due to the events with the President of the United States, Keira and her mother, Nora, felt it was necessary to install anti-damper technology into Paragon's suit and any civilian clothing they wear. Microcircuitry has been weaved into, and underneath, every piece of clothing Keira and Nora wear that is designed to prevent psionic dampening, draining and any other kind of power dampening or draining device and/or superpower, from robbing them of their powers. Even better, the microcircuitry is so small that it is completely undetectable. One would need a special kind of device, or super ability, to not only detect the microcircuitry but also to see it. Even then, one would need to know what they are looking for in order to spot the circuitry as they can easily be missed or be mistaken to be something else, such as clothing fibers or stitching.
Another huge benefit of this wondrous technology is the fact that it changes Keira, and Nora's, biological signature so that they pass as completely normal human beings even with an in-depth biological scan from either technology or super abilities. This means that devices, or superpowers, that can detect aliens, mutants or meta-humans will NOT work on them because Keira and Nora will pass as completely human. Even better, Keira and Nora will still have access to their powers and are able to use them with impunity even as they pass for human by any and all scanners.
As an added defense, the microcircuitry is also immune to any, and all, EMP's and cannot be powered down by those methods. Nanotechnology has recently been integrated into the suit so that Keira can change her outfit into anything she desires. The nanotechnology can even repair her clothes should it become damaged. She can reprogram the nanotech with her Holo-Communicator Wristwatch as well.
The suit has been built with energy manipulation that enables it to stop special abilities, technology and other methods from de-powering her in any way, shape and form by canceling out the specific energy pattern that is attempting to weaken her own powers and abilities. This allows Paragon to operate at her full power level regardless if any attempt is made to strip that away. Other benefits include immunity to molecular disruption, anti-metal attacks and structural weak point exploitation by absorbing the damage and sending it back to it's source at twice the original power output.
One final benefit of Paragon's Suit is that it's capable of absorbing any, and all, ambient energy around Keira and convert it into solar energy for her to use. This enables her to operate under any condition that prevents her from absorbing solar energy from a yellow star. During dire emergencies, like when facing a planet busting opponent, the solar suit can temporarily boost Paragon's power level to match to enable her to beat her opponent. Under ordinary circumstances, she ignores this option because activating it is exceedingly dangerous and she would rather not accidentally cause the death of innocent people.
Tracer Shells: Capable of tracking and zeroing in on a target, hidden in a secret compartment on her right wrist as Paragon which she can either grab and throw or point and shoot.
Holo-Communicator Watch: Embedded on her left forearm sleeve as Paragon with hidden controls, Keira has access to a number of options . Aside from telling the time, date, month and year, this device is also capable of holographic projection of people and objects. It also acts as a two way communications device, much like a cell phone does. It can also track targets that have been tagged with a tracking device and with one touch of a button, send an SOS to any of Paragon's allies to call for help if she needs it. It can also browse the world wide web, download files and hack into almost any electrical device. For protection, the holo-communicator watch uses triple quantum algorithms to weave together firewalls that would take a normal hacker several decades to break into. This makes it completely immune to hacking attempts, harmful viruses and any other harmful effect from the internet.
ORIGIN STORY All of Keira’s life, she has always wanted to be a Super-Hero and save lives. Unfortunately, her mother wanted her to take over the family business one day and Keira’s father would not allow her to become a boxer like him.
As a girl, Keira was fascinated with building and controlling machines. At every science fair, she always won first place and gained the attention of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) due to her brilliance. There, Keira became the undergraduate in the electrical engineering program and graduated with two master’s degrees by age 19. Keira went to work for her mother at Hawke Industries shortly afterwards and got to work inventing new technology and gadgets.
One night while walking home, a group of thugs cornered Keira and tried to abuse her. That night is a night that she will never forget because it’s the night that her latent powers finally emerged. Easily taking care of the would-be abusers, Keira’s dreams of being a Super-Hero were finally coming to pass. Originally, she had planned on inventing some kind of super powered suit but this was far better. Creating a costume of her own design, Keira gave herself the name of Paragon to represent the hope of being the best she could be.
Unfortunately, being a Super-Hero was not at all what it was cracked up to be. Paragon ended up botching up her very first case and nearly got blamed for the murder of the villains she was trying to apprehend. At every turn, the media and reporters cut her down with harsh news coverage every time Paragon made a mistake. But little did she know that her worst enemy was manipulating people and events behind the scenes in an elaborate scheme to destroy Keira Hawke.
It was around a month later, and after mentoring a sidekick, that Paragon’s life seemingly hit rock bottom. In a grand display, Keira’s silent enemy finally revealed herself as Nemesis. The Super Villain had kidnapped Paragon’s sidekick and her own mother, forcing Keira to make one of the hardest decisions in her life. Two people she cared about, one life to be saved and impossible to save both. In the end, Keira ultimately chose to save her own mother and both watched in horror as Paragon’s sidekick was brutally murdered before their eyes on live TV that was being broadcast to the entire city of San Francisco. As if things couldn’t get any worse for Paragon...
The news of Paragon’s decision to save her mother (thankfully the media did not know this bit of information at the time) stirred up a hornet's nest and Keira’s Super-Hero identity was ripped to shreds over the failure to save her sidekick and blaming the would-be hero for being partly responsible for the death of Hawke’s poor sidekick. The police department even sent out an APB on Paragon.
As Nemesis implemented the final piece of her plan, the villain used her powers to attack Paragon who was no match for her archenemy in her current emotional state and Hawke fell in defeat. Keira awoke to find herself in an underground bunker with a floating camera recording her every move. Trying, and failing, to break the bonds that held her, Paragon listened as Nemesis explained that she put a power dampening collar around Keira’s neck that served to seriously weaken Hawke’s use of her powers. And then Paragon watched in horror as Nemesis activated a nuclear melt down of a power plant overhead by remote control. This was to be Paragon’s final failure to save a city that never wanted her.
After a grand monologue that revealed her plans not only to the city but also to Keira, Nemesis revealed that if her heart stopped the nuclear meltdown would be averted since the device controlling the countdown, and meltdown, was connected to Nemesis’s heart as part of her sick scheme. Surprisingly, Nemesis then freed Paragon from her bonds and collar. The villain challenged Paragon to kill Nemesis and if she did then she’d save the city but would be guilty of murder. If not, the city would be destroyed and Nemesis’s villainous career would begin in earnest.
Paragon would not compromise her principles and threw herself at Nemesis. The two fought a brutal fight that ended in the defeat of Nemesis. But the fight to save the city was not yet finished. Rushing to the terminal and typing as fast as her hands could possibly go, Paragon just barely managed to stop the countdown seconds before the meltdown of the nuclear power plant. The city that was watching through the lens of the floating camera breathed a collective sigh of relief.
All of a sudden, Nemesis picked herself up off the floor and pulled out a strange-looking gun and fired. Keira felt searing hot pain as she screamed and fell on the floor. Too exhausted to finish her off, Nemesis stumbled outside the bunker where she made her escape. But it was short-lived as she was apprehended by the police a mile or two from the bunker. Paragon herself barely escaped the bunker before the police arrived. Much to Keira’s horror, her powers were gone so she couldn’t even fly away. Barely escaping the police on foot, Paragon made her way home.
At home, Keira reflected back on the worst month she ever had in her life. Breaking down in tears over the loss of her sidekick, over everything that happened and the crucifixion by the media, Paragon was no more. Without powers, with a trashed reputation and the death of someone close to her on her conscience, Keira decided to hang up her cape and retire. The dreams of being a Super-Hero were over in the worst way imaginable.
To Keira’s utter surprise the next day after the most harrowing events to take place in her life, the morning news actually thanked Paragon for going beyond the call of duty and saving the entire city from a nuclear disaster that could have cost millions of lives. Paragon’s heroic actions and her final fight against Nemesis were all recorded on live TV because of Nemesis’s floating camera on the scene and many people were praising Keira’s heroic alter ego for being a hero. Not all the citizens of the city were convinced, however, because many still held the hero responsible for her first botched case and the death of her sidekick. But, at least the city viewed her more of a hero now than as a menace. The police even rescinded the APB on Paragon and Keira sat back in shock as she clicked off the TV. Maybe, just maybe, being a Super-Hero hadn’t been so bad after all...
It was just unfortunate that Keira’s powers were lost. But a few weeks later, a silver lining happened as Keira was able to fly again for a brief time before her power cut out on her. It seems that whatever Nemesis did to her was slowly wearing off. Perhaps Paragon would return once again. If she does, Keira vowed that her second chance at being a Super-Hero would be better than the first time.
Random Facts Paragon is one of the greatest heroes of Metro City and is generally well-liked and respected by most. Paragon's great-great-grandfather who operated as the first Superion in 1938 was a Plutonian. Paragon has super strength, but this also comes with a heavy price. Keira must constantly keep on her guard lest she accidentally crush someone's hand with a handshake or kill someone with a simple hug. The fear of that happening causes Paragon to never truly relax around others. Her brother, Superion, also has this problem. They often talk to each other about it and this helps each one deal with it in their own way. Still, it's a constant worry for them. Paragon puts on a front of being a woman of virtue, honor, respect and inspiring others. Although this is true, what she doesn't show to the public is that she fears she doesn't live up to her name most of the time. She suffers from insecurities about herself and knows she isn't perfect even if the public thinks she is. One of Paragon's greatest fears is becoming evil and destroying everything she has built and killing those she loves. The phrase, "Power corrupts and it corrupts absolutely" is constantly on her mind and helps keep her in check. Paragon does not believe herself to be some kind of god in a red cape. Paragon does not believe she is above the law and follows it to the best of her ability. Paragon is well known to work with the Metro City Mayor, police department and the Department of Super-Human Affairs. They have a mutual arrangement and have a high respect for the other. Paragon does not solve all of the problems Metro City has. When the police, firefighters, DSA, etc, can handle it themselves then Paragon let's them. She comes only when she is needed or asked. All the above also applies to Superion, Kid Superion, Elite and Brenna Luthor. All of whom operate in Metro City. Keira's mother, Nora, has won the Humanitarian Award a number of three times when she was the CEO of Hawke Industries. Keira herself has won the Humanitarian Award at least once. Keira Hawke is a published author which is a New York Times Bestseller. Paragon, Superion and Kid Superion are generally believed by the public to be Meta-Humans. Being a mutant is a closely guarded family secret that very few know about. Because Paragon, Superion and Kid Superion do not wear a mask it is generally believed by the public that they do not possess a secret identity.
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