[b]Basic Information[/b] [b]Name[/b]: Codi Bailey [b]Nickname/Alias/Etc:[/b] N/A [b]Age:[/b] 17 [b]Height:[/b] 5’6” [b]Weight:[/b] 649lbs. (Human body 250lbs, Parasite body 399lbs estimates) [b]Status:[/b] New Student [b]Appearance[/b] [b]Hair Color:[/b] Dark Copper [b]Eye Color:[/b] Hazel [b]Ethnicity:[/b] Caucasian [b]Physical Appearance:[/b] Standing at a slightly taller-than-average 5’6”, Codi Bailey possesses a mostly thin figure with long limbs, which would normally make her seem pretty or beautiful, if her powers didn’t force her to have a persisting, hunched posture. The pronounced slouch makes her seem as though she were constantly tired, depressed, or perhaps ailing from some sort of pain. Most of the time, however, Codi is actually quite comfortable, and generally has a positive mood, so her appearance can be extremely deceiving to people who don’t know her well. She has a smooth, peaches-and-cream skin tone, being pale, but not exactly white or porcelain, because of a faint pink tinge. Her face is round in shape, and she possesses gentle, delicate features, with small dimples that appear on her cheeks when she smiles. Her eyes are a hazel color that shifts between brown and green depending on the light, and her eyelashes are long and dark. Her eyebrows lack a feminine arch, but are regardless, well-shaped in appearance. Her thick, wavy dark hair is worn short in a bob cut parted down the right side, long enough to reach the bottom of her chin. The middle segments of her fingers and at the base of her thumbs have pouches that conceal long, hollow, syringe-like claws that can be extended, the tips sprouting from beneath the normal-looking nails. The fashion of these needles’ concealment is similar to the retractable claws of a cat, and when not in use, cannot be detected. Codi Bailey might look completely normal, if it weren’t for the nature of what was on her back, which is ultimately responsible for her slouch. At the age of sixteen, having been bitten squarely on the back by an ectoparasite, which she strongly suspects may have been a bed bug, due to the incident of the bite having likely occurred while her family was staying at a hotel while traveling, Codi developed into symbiosis with it. The insect, influenced by the unique nature of Codi’s then-developing powers, began to dramatically alter in order to work as a [i]beneficial[/i] parasite to its host, shedding most of its insect traits in favor of those belonging to echinoderms, spiny-skinned creatures typically found in water. The bed bug, which was identified by Codi as male in the future, was so greatly altered that it had almost no semblance to the extremely small creature it began as. Codi later gave this creature a name, calling it ‘Reef’ because of its appearance. With its mouthparts fusing into the center of Codi’s back just beneath the end of the ribcage on the spine, Reef has established a well-anchored, yet narrow area through which it and its host share a matching blood supply, and it has grown to an incredible size that is considered to be larger than Codi herself. Reef’s original six legs are now large, powerful grippers that dig into shallow hidden pockets in its host’s skin that developed to allow a better grip for the creature, without forcing more fusion of bodily tissues. The central point of Reef’s weight has been shifted up to Codi’s upper back, the reason for her hunched posture, despite the fusion of tissues being at a lower point, and Reef’s entire body transformed from something insect-like into a kind of shell. This shell Reef forms strongly resembles the body of a sea urchin, being dome-shaped in appearance, and covering much of Codi’s back, so much that the human part of her isn’t visible when viewed from behind, save for perhaps the bottom of her legs. The urchin that Reef primarily resembles at the base level is the shingle or ‘cliff-clinging’ urchin. The general appearance is a smooth, mosaic pattern formed out of polygonal plates with a faint radial pattern, starting small in the center, with the plates growing larger as they move outward. The outer edge of this body also basely has plates with a polygon shape, however, these plates are more elongated, and have a shape similar to roof-shingles (Hence the creature the appearance is compared to), splayed out in a relaxed manner, and molding to contours of the host’s body, as needed. In addition to polygon-shaped plates, Reef is covered with a large array of spikes that form clusters in alternating length in a radial pattern (Long spikes, then short, then long again heading towards the center). Just before the outer shingle-like edges of Reef’s shell, Reef sprouts six arms, also in a radial pattern, which make him resemble a brittle star, in addition to a sea urchin. These arms are more like armored tentacles, being segmented with two bony spikes on each side of a segment, and therefore, they look vaguely like bones, namely a spine. Each arm is roughly eight feet in length, further emphasizing Reef’s incredible size compared to its host. Three arms are on Codi’s left, and another three are on her right. Reef’s brilliant coloration hints at the creature’s dangerous nature. The base plates of the body being alternating colors of extremely pale, bright yellow and orange, they strongly resemble glowing lava. The sharp spines on Reef’s body are banded in appearance. One color on the bands, which always starts at the very base of each spine, begins as a yellow shade matching the color of the base plates, before becoming a darker shade of orange, almost like offshoots of flame. After the first band, these colors brighten to an intense yellow again that seems to glow in the bands. On the long spines, these bands are thinner, and quickly fade to a solid color, but are prevalent the entire length of the short spines. The other color on these bands is a dark, reddish-wine/mahogany color that continually darkens until it reaches the tips. On any one of these spines, although most often found at their very tips, a band may instead of these two colors be a bright shade of blue-purple, like hot flames. Overall, this bright coloration does not merely mimic fire, but appears to glow, and is most like the appearance of a Rainbow Fire Urchin. A similar color pattern is found in each of the six arms on Reef’s body. The only parts of Reef that deviate from this pattern are radial white spots, one per segment/portion of its body. These spots are considered to serve some sort of purpose regarding vision, although Reef’s entire body almost functions as an eye. [b]Attire:[/b] Codi’s choice of attire is greatly limited by the presence of Reef, who is fused to her back, and therefore, cannot be removed. Most often, Codi wears halter-neck clothing that is held onto the body via a ring of fabric around the neck, leaving her shoulders bare, and generally, these tops reveal much more on the back than typical clothing does, often being custom-made. Nothing is seen as bad about this, however, because Reef completely covers her back. Aside from her clothing, Codi wears jeans and good running shoes that can handle a great deal of weight. The colors Codi generally prefers often blend with that of Reef, because strange or not, the parasite’s colors are quite beautiful to the eye. She generally wears scarves made of a light or silky fabric. She may also at times wear unusual clothing relating to safety. She may wear safety goggles, masks, or even a respirator like one might wear when working with spray paint or other such tools. [b]Personality[/b] [b]Outward & Innate Personality:[/b] Codi is a person who is generally considered to be kind and sweet, yet with much more stubbornness and backbone than what people expect from that description. She has what would be considered a heightened sensitivity to the emotions of others, and therefore, she is easily distressed by the problems of other people, even if it would be considered ridiculous to worry, either because she doesn’t know someone, or she has no control over the situation. She is easily bothered by the concept of having people that dislike her, and generally afraid to have enemies, even though she logically accepts that most people will wind up having them. She generally has a strong emotional desire to be accepted by her peers, and often hates being alone, even though she may have to be alone at times, because being in the presence of others can be emotionally or mentally exhausting and she needs to rest. She tends to alternate in her behavior, sometimes being a social butterfly, and other times, a loner who is probably seldom-seen. It often depends on the current situation. Codi can be extremely quirky at times, with a witty sense of humor and an extremely blunt, open personality. She generally tends to be cheerful, and would much rather be in a Zen or peaceful state than one that is disturbed—she prefers to avoid stress as little as possible, even though she might unknowingly attract such situations. As a result, she often says what she is thinking aloud, or what her opinion is on a matter. She generally gives an honest answer when asked a question, unless she has promised to keep a secret, in which she will clearly tell the person that she isn’t allowed to tell. She isn’t reckless, though, and she won’t ever actively attempt to offend people. If her claims offend a person, it is likely because they asked her a question, and she gave them a response that, while honest, was one they didn’t want to hear. Codi strongly hates lying, and would be greatly crushed by guilt to the point that it is easy to get any confession from her. Codi does not do a good job of hiding her emotions. If she is stressed or worried, it shows very easily on her face. She makes strange or strained expressions, and she might nervously play with a scarf she is wearing. Her behavior might change, too, and she might be unusually moody under a lot of pressure. She could display bizarre flashes of temper that aren’t associated with her, and possibly break down and cry directly afterwards. Most often, however, she never remains in an angry state for long, because an aspect of Codi’s personality is that she cannot remain angry for extended periods. As mentioned before, she would much rather be in Zen (No, she is not Buddhist, for reference) than stressed all the time. Codi at times may be somewhat indulgent in nature, and generally enjoys comfort and security (Not that this isn’t true for most people). She likes soft, comfortable things, and might pile her bed with tons of cozy blankets to swaddle herself in when she’s resting, although this is also something she does to reduce the weight on her back from carrying Reef around all day. When she’s stressed, (like most girls would) she likes sweets, especially chocolate, and perhaps a good book or soothing/cheerful music. Since the parasite on her back doesn’t eat anymore (All its nourishment comes from their shared blood supply) she may also strongly crave fish if she’s stressed, since sea urchins may eat fish (since there’s little Reef has in common with insects anymore). She can generally eat far more than what her appearance suggests (or maybe it isn’t). Indulgent nature set aside, Codi works very hard, so most people can easily forgive the luxuries that she allows herself. Anything she takes upon herself, she tries to do the best she can, and generally, may do more than what is minimum or expected. She is also quite generous, and will gladly share things she has with friends, often perhaps taking note of things they want that aren’t directly voiced, and giving gifts accordingly. She may at times be stubborn when she sets a goal, and refuse to stop pursuing it in perhaps the most frustrating of ways, but she has relatively simple desires, and often, works harder than anyone else to reach her ultimate goal, which she generally will try to finish. Simple desires set aside, Codi actually sets very high goals, and although a process may be slow, she may wind up ahead in it, and succeed long before she expected to do so. She is also very creative and smart, but this is covered more by her hobbies. [b]Hobbies/Interests: [/b]Codi is an extremely smart and creative person, and almost always has some sort of project that she needs to complete on her list, if she doesn’t have multiple things in progress at once. An artist with a good eye, she is excellent at drawing things free-hand, and this results in her living space typically winding up cluttered to a certain small extent with binders filled with hole-punched paper, or completed drawings. Drawing kits and special markers are also not an uncommon sight. A computer is almost always set up, where Codi messes with some obscure 3-D sculpting or image manipulation program. She may also have lying in some corner a project being made with duct tape, since the material can create almost anything. Aside from this, there may also be a potted plant somewhere, since Codi loves greenery. These home hobbies aside, Codi’s artistic capability is incorporated into something artistry isn’t known for—she’s extremely good with technology and construction, overall. It’s not strange for her to talk about ‘Cortexes’, ‘Gearboxes’, ‘Motors’, ‘Servos’, or any other sort of jargon that a regular person couldn’t understand at all. She likes building little robots and programming them, when she can obtain parts, and secondly, she wants to give them names, and decorate them to look appealing to the eye. She can draw an excellent 3-D blueprint, after all, and wants to do something relating to Mechanical Engineering. This hobby is generally why she has so much safety equipment; since power tools require safety precautions (What did you expect? She’s drilling holes in wood and metal). [b] Skills/Talents[/b]: Codi is extremely skilled at drawing, and there is little room for a person to argue. The majority of her drawings (Save for those done in a primarily geometric style, which needs a protractor/ruler) are done freehand, without the use of aides or tools. She can do a large number of styles, ranging from pictures formed from swirling lines to those akin to sketches of anatomy, many becoming a superior quality that looks professionally done. Codi’s drawing talent aides her other hobby of building robots, as she can draw very detailed blueprints, just with the knowledge of the parts at her disposal. Codi is, however, no professional in 3-D programs on computers unless they are designed for engineering purposes, or consist of a coordinate plane or cubes; she’s not a master at everything, and to do a good 3-D sculpture, it requires a lot of time. She is good at her hobby of making things with duct-tape, though, because of its physical nature. Codi has unremarkable skills in regards to plants. Although she is an excellent cook with almost any kind of fruit or vegetable (even odd, obscure ones like jicama or yucca), and she can name a wide variety of herbs from memory, she is terrible at plant care. The only plants that flourish under her care are easy to manage, or require no attention at all to thrive. Codi is shockingly good with robots, an aspect of Mechanical Engineering, and something nobody would expect from looking at her. She knows how to design grippers and claws, and how to properly wire small motors to a robot’s ‘brain’, or program proper commands into a remote for the movements of a servo. She likes to build little robots just for fun, ones that can be remote-controlled that can be played with like toys. She also greatly enjoys decorating these robots, and on occasion, designing ones with extremely difficult controls, just because it is more fun to try to learn how to control them, and amusing to watch them repeatedly crash into walls or other obstacles. [b]Prized Possession:[/b] Codi’s most prized possession is probably her drawing kit. She doesn’t seem to have a precious possession she would be lost without, but she does have a particular item that happens to be very difficult to obtain, just because of its cost. Quote(s): “It’s funny how people react when I tell them I like to build robots, but they’re really not that fancy or impressive to look at. They usually have a pretty basic function, and they’re made out of whatever scraps I can find. I guess being able to build any robot with limitations, though, is kind of cool. The instant I start talking about the finer details, though, half the people listening to me will get bored and walk away.” [b]History/Bio:[/b] Codi grew up in the same Georgia hometown as Atticus Fowler, and although her mutations did not become apparent until the age of sixteen, it is suspected that she actually began mutating at the age of fifteen. With a previous nervous habit of picking at the fingernails, Codi would occasionally get small infections when skin was torn by accident, a painful, irritating problem. Most of these infections weren’t noticed, even though there was a notable increase at one point, for how severe the infections were. There was a point when all her fingernails, including her thumbs, became so heavily infected that red blotches spread down the finger, by the very end of a day, almost as though she were suffering from blood poisoning. Because Codi was often asleep in bed before these infections looked severe enough to prompt a visit to the hospital, she didn’t find it unusual when the infections were completely gone the next morning. She only ever visited the hospital once for an infection, and the doctors could not find anything wrong with her. It wasn’t until later, when her powers manifested in retractable hidden syringe-like claws under the fingernails that any significance was given to these infections. Each syringe-like claw internally is connected to a kind of pouch or cavity of sorts supposedly hidden in the arms, where there is more space. Each pouch has its own claw, and each pouch is filled with a different strain of (Lethal) symbiotic bacteria. After the manifestation of these syringes, Codi was forced to avoid the hospital at all costs, and additionally, she could not spill her blood around people who weren’t meant to know about her abilities. Her blood itself appears to be to a certain extent, toxic. It wasn’t acid, or lethal, but physical contact with it could cause any patch of skin on another creature to break out in a rash on the affected area with a small degree of swelling, and an itching, burning, or stinging sensation. When her family traveled somewhere to attend a family reunion, Codi and her parents stayed at a hotel, and afterwards, had to (literally) burn their clothing, in exchange for new ones, and check the new stuff, too. The hotel had been infested with bedbugs, and the only reason Codi’s own home didn’t get infected was that her father had suffered an allergic reaction to the bites. Because it seemed that a lot of bedbugs had died from ingesting her blood (it was probably toxic to small things), she did not recognize that one had become attached to her back, and that its cells were fusing with her own. She did not notice until long after the incident, and this bedbug later identified as male, would grow into the urchin-like monster Reef that sits on Codi’s back, sharing her blood supply. Reef would also be responsible for Codi’s homeschooling, and later, almost complete social isolation. When Reef’s size had stopped increasing, and it had reached a size where she could not go anywhere, Codi ran into Atticus and discovered his powers by accident. She sometimes wandered around the private property she and her parents lived on, and Atticus had not seen the signs indicating the boundaries, because it was a wooded area where the incident occurred. Atticus had experienced an uncharacteristic panic when, stumbling upon Reef (Codi was facing the other direction) he was nearly swatted by Reef’s stinging arms, having been mistaken for a threat. He was immediately forced into a transformation, having never encountered another mutant before. This misunderstanding was quickly cleared up, however, and their parents also established a stable friendship. Over the course of the next year, before deciding to go to the island school, Codi and Atticus became very close friends, largely because Atticus was the only other person in their town with powers, and they were permitted to spend time around each other. [b]Family: [/b] Mother- Codi’s mother is a rather creative woman, in the sense that she often buys old, beat-up furniture and tries to restore it into pieces that can decorate the home. Because of this experience, Codi has an innate sense of style regarding decorating, as well as how to work with furniture, or pick gloss. She learned many different kinds of things to cook from her mother, and her mom is also responsible for teaching Codi how to identify herbs from memory. Codi deeply loves her mother. Father- Codi’s father is in many ways like a big kid. In his spare time, he likes to play with RC helicopters (Where she gained her interest in remote-control robots), and mess with vehicles. He also works as a gear assembler, working with gears that could be as tall as the ceiling in a room, and what could weigh well over a thousand pounds. Codi often has concern for her father because he can be injured by all of the dangerous equipment, but shares his passion for machines, and also loves him very much. [b]Relationships[/b] [b]Relationships: [/b] Atticus Fowler| Good | Best Friend/ Possible Crush| “Atticus usually looks calm, but in reality, he’s actually a very moody person who is just good at hiding his emotions. I know he looks like your stereotypical ‘cool guy’ and he might act like one, too, but he’s not really that shallow. He likes almost any kind of person, in general, and he doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. If you want to learn more about him, you just have to be patient, and eventually, he’ll tell you. Just don’t pry and try to get answers by force, because that never works.” [b]Abilities[/b] [b]Power Class:[/b] Animal- 6 Super-System- 3 Chemical- 7 [b]Power: [/b]Codi’s powers are often obvious to most of the people to look at her. She has an enormous urchin/brittle star fused to her back, which acts as a very powerful defensive armor. It takes a considerable amount of force from blunt blows to cause a bad injury to Reef, and most sharp edges like teeth, claws, or bladed weapons won’t have any effect at all. Overall, it’s just very hard to damage Reef by attacking its main body, and in truth, it’s dangerous to attack the urchin, anyway. Reef’s long, sharp spines, which grow back quite rapidly if damaged or lost, can easily pierce thick hides (it’s already comparable to being impaled by a lance or sword), and almost immediately after, inflict an excruciatingly painful sting that can last several hours in the affected area, though it is non-lethal. One cannot get past these spines easily, either, as Reef has been known to follow threats with its spines, having a rudimentary sight capability. The six long arms, eight feet in length each, capable of re-growing over a period of time and similar to a gigantic version of a brittle star’s, are another dangerous line of defense, and serve a strong offensive purpose, as well. Being tough and armored, and edged with blunt spikes along their lengths, the arms can swing in a wide range around Codi, striking foes with great force if they get too close. Thankfully, these arms do not contain venom like Reef’s spines, though they could send a person flying, having enough strength to lift Codi and the urchin’s weight combined. When not directed by Codi’s thoughts, however, they lack accuracy, and seem to merely flail about, though it is still very hazardous. Reef can also use its arms to move Codi and itself around a location, granted that it can grip something, making their movement much swifter than one would expect. Codi’s super-system attributes are linked to her skeleton and body having developed the power to bear incredible weight on her back, extending far past that of the parasite. There is no offensive purpose to this ability, but it prevents Codi from becoming tired or weakened by being forced to carry a load she cannot ever remove from her back. Codi’s second ability, regarding the human component of the symbiotic duo, is that she has concealed syringe-like claws stored under her fingernails in each hand. Each claw is connected to hidden pouches in the forearms, each finger having its own unique pouch. Just as each claw has its own unique pouch, each pouch has its own unique bacterial culture, which has developed into symbiosis with Codi as a defensive or offensive mechanism. Because the body of a host provides a rich environment, these bacteria have lost much of their ability to survive outside of it, although they can easily grow inside a living thing, particularly when injected into a wound. What should be noted is that nine of these strains can be easily treated with medications (Though cheap topical creams or sprays are still too weak), or overwhelmed by a foe’s immune system. They do, however, produce powerful toxins in the right environment (Inside a wound). These toxins have effects that can be treated, and have a generally delayed effect (it’s not immediate like Reef’s venom), but it can quickly sicken most things. Depending on what fingers struck a person in an attack, a victim may experience weakness, nausea, dizziness, involuntary shuddering, nerve pain, or an unnaturally fast heart rate that can’t slow down until the bacterial toxin runs its course (Toxins do not leave the body because the immune system killed the bacteria). The effects of nausea are caused by the small finger and middle finger of the left hand. Weakness is caused by the index finger and ring finger of the left hand. The thumb of the left hand and the small finger of the right hand cause severe dizziness and vertigo. Involuntary shuddering is caused by the index finger of the right hand, and the middle finger of the right hand causes nerve pain. People must be wary of the thumb on the right hand. Although the thumb is the least-likely part of the hand to affect someone via a scratch due to its position and length, the bacteria connected to this digit is typically far worse than the others. The bacteria of this finger can cause a combination of multiple symptoms, often worse than the nine toxins previously mentioned. It is the bacteria Codi went to the hospital for, though it was only because of swelling in the thumb. Extreme aching pain over the entire body, nausea that could easily lead to vomiting along with painful stomach cramps, and dizziness can all be caused by a scratch from this thumb. It should also be noted that the bacteria from this digit last much longer than the others, and continue to produce toxin, so it could easily hospitalize people. The only thing that is good about this strain of bacteria is that it cannot spread, and it can be treated by antibiotics, and the symptoms suppressed by drugs. It also takes much more time than the other bacteria to spread, so someone who gets medical attention quickly may not have to suffer at all. It is when an injury is ignored, in this case, that someone will suffer. Another mild defense Codi has is that her blood (Shared with Reef), contains a somewhat irritating compound in it. It is not at all lethal, but most creatures will experience itching and redness and perhaps a layer of skin might peel off, if the individual who touches it is more sensitive. Some people aren’t affected at all, making the effects of the substance in Codi’s blood more like an allergic reaction. [b]Weaknesses/Limitations/Drawbacks:[/b] Codi’s first limitation is that her human body—the part of her that really matters, is actually quite vulnerable. Though she possesses the power to carry an incredible amount of weight on her back, despite her extremely thin appearance, the strength does not extend to her arms or legs, and she cannot deliver strong blows. In fact, she is actually rather weak, often only going unharmed because she has a gigantic, powerful urchin sitting on her back. It should be noted that she can be easily injured, except on the level of breaking bones, as much of her strength comes from incredible bone-density. She also does not have the healing factor of Reef, and cannot rapidly recover from her injuries, only possessing powerful resistance to illness, disease, or toxins. The strains of bacteria in Codi’s hands are not easy to use as offensive weapons, because they require physically piercing a foe’s skin, and getting closer, while revealing the most sensitive part of her body, which is her entire human-self. Also, while the syringe-nails are very sharp, and often not expected by foes, they cannot pierce heavily-armored skin, unless she was able to muster up incredible force, which she does not have. The use of her nails requires that her foe have human-like or equally sensitive/weaker skin that will break. Nine bacterial strains in Codi’s hands are rapidly killed by a threat’s immune system, leaving only the toxins, which has effects that could last a maximum of two hours, quickly taking effect once introduced, although the average amount of time it lasts is one hour. These toxins are seldom lethal, and can symptoms can be treated by drugs. The most powerful strain contained in Codi’s thumb can be treated with somewhat stronger antibiotics commonly found in clinics or hospitals, and the symptoms also treated, but most often, it takes too long to affect a foe in a dangerous situation, so it’s usually useless. It should be noted that while she cannot be harmed by her own bacteria, if one of these syringes is torn, Codi must wait for a new nail-claw to grow back before she can use the bacterial strain again. Reef’s weaknesses lie in the fact that unlike Codi, it does not possess bacterial strains in its spines, only venom. The venom, which causes excruciating pain in the affected area once administered, can badly hinder most foes for several hours, but it is non-lethal, and the venom alone from a sting could not kill someone (Unless it was administered in an enormous dose, but it would take a ridiculous number of stings for that to happen, even though Reef is enormous and administers a lot to begin with). Reef’s venom, while very painful, can be treated by the same substances used to treat bee or jellyfish stings (In essence, vinegar, baking soda paste, etc.). Reef’s ability to heal, while quite rapid, does have limits, as while spines can rapidly re-grow, a lost arm takes an extended period of time, and Reef only has six (This in mind, it’s still not easy to cut through those thick, bony plates). Bleeding cannot severely affect the urchin, as blood loss rapidly stops because of the nature of the creature’s anatomy, but it should be noted that blood loss still affects both Codi and Reef. Because of their shared blood supply, if one loses blood, so does the other. Reef’s attacks also lack accuracy when it flails its arms, unless directed by Codi’s thoughts. [b] Other: [/b]Couldn’t think of anything to put in here.