Dani Ketch; Ghost Rider
Name:Danielle 'Dani' Rosa Ketch
Alias:Ghost Rider
Role:Titan, Young Avengers
Brief Bio: Born on Halloween, 1997, Danielle was ushered into the waiting arms of her mother and father, Jonathan and Roxanne Ketch. They were not a rich family, and this was reflected in their small house, and small town. Dani's father earned money as a tradesman, carpentering and building, while doing various handyman tasks on the side for extra income, while her mother tutored after-school. The community of the town, while minimal, was strong, and strengthened by the religion that ran through the core of the residents. Dani's parents were loving, but they were strict, and at times overbearing with their beliefs - and while Dani initially accepted their teachings, soaking them up with the peculiar sponge-like quality only a child's mind possesses, eventually she came to form her own opinions, and then begin to rebel, as teenagers are wont to do.
She began running away, rebelling against the confines of the small town she lived in. Days at a time, her parents distraught with worry, but always being found, or coming back out of regret, homesickness, or hunger. At the same time, her rebellion against her parent's religion found her studying dusty books of the occult and the evil, poring over the supposed dark energies and black hearts of the world. Eventually she stumbled across a great dark tome, musty and emanating an unsettling aura, sitting innocuously on a bookshelf she'd trailed her fingers across the spines of multiple times. It seemed to shudder in her hands as she pulled it out, leather bindings scraping across wood, and the sounds of the pages being leafed through seeming to form whispers in her head. She hid this tome and took it home. She ran away again that night, taking it with her.
She went further than she ever had, deep into the woods on the far west side of the town. Hear, the pages whispered louder and the letters and markings that adorned them seemed to swim beneath her eyes in the darkness. In the center of the tome lay a great inked circle, with scribbles and notes - made quite differently from the rest of the book - frantically dotted around the edges, all seeming to instruct the reader on the performance of some manner of ritual. Reading further, Dani found this ritual supposedly summoned the Devil himself to strike a single deal with the mortal who had brought him forth. Dani went home that night too.
She waited a few days, playing nice with her parents and soothing their worries, her apparent new-found peace assuaging their concern, and on a dark night, they left her at home while they went to dinner. She took her opportunity, taking the tome out from its hiding place and following the instructions she'd found therein precisely. And then Mephisto appeared before her.
He looked into her and saw her desire to leave the town behind her, saw her desire to escape permanently, saw her inability to do so as she was. He offered her the power to do so, on the condition that after her death, she would serve him. Dani accepted, and held out her hand to shake Mephisto's, sealing the pact utterly. As their palms touched and fingers grasped, she felt a great surge rush from Mephisto and into the core of her soul. Mephisto had bound her soul with the demon Zarathos, and to fulfill his end of the deal, made her a Ghost Rider - she transformed immediately, Zarathos overtaking her, her skull bursting aflame. She conjured a Hell-horse, and they rode out of town, Mephisto ensuring she was spotted by the community and her parents.
Now, Dani cannot return home, as she has been branded a demon. Zarathos remains bound to her soul, and they battle for control over the Ghost Rider entity inside her. In the presence of evil under the moon, she transforms, doing the Lord's - and Mephisto's - work by damning them to Hell. Mephisto filled his end of the bargain, however much irony he layered on top - and now Dani dreads the day she will fulfill hers.
She has sought out SHIELD, relinquishing her secret identity in exchange for containment and training, fearing the power of Zarathos and Ghost Rider, and scared of the hold they have over her.
Abilities: As a mortal, Dani has no powers beyond an exceptional tolerance for physical trauma, as a result of Zarathos' refusal to die with its host, lending her strength to help their mutual survival. However, after night has fallen and in the presence of evil, Zarathos' power overtakes her, and Dani transforms into Ghost Rider, gaining several more powers:
Altered Appearance: Dani sheds her human form and takes on that of Ghost Rider, a vicious skeleton burning with Hellfire, most prominently at the hands and wreathing her skull. Her clothes change too, becoming a leather jacket with spiked shoulders, black jeans, spiked black boots, and a leather belt that bears the sigil of Mephisto.
Hellfire: As Ghost Rider, Dani has the ability to conjure Hellfire, throwing explosive balls of it from her hands, ejecting streams of it from her mouth, or firing it from projectile weapons she may seize while transformed. She also spreads it across objects she takes as her own, changing them into tools and weapons to aid her culling the evil. Hellfire does little physical damage, singing skin, but deeply burns the soul. It only affects evil, and will not harm innocents. Vehicles infused with Hellfire travel and speeds not usually possible by the non-infused counterpart, and are often capable of feats such as riding up walls and making great leaps.
Physical Enhancement: As a result of being an agent of forces both Divine and Demonic, as well as being infused with the demonic power of Zarathos, Ghost Rider is incredibly durable and incredibly strong. Conventional weaponry does very little damage to Ghost Rider, and she is capable of lifting and throwing cars. Ghost Rider also possesses incredibly sharpened reflexes, aiding her fighting and riding.
The Penance Stare: The single most infamous and feared ability of any Ghost Rider, past, present, or future, the Penance Stare is a power of great and terrible magnitudes. By locking eye contact with her victim, and deeply focusing, Ghost Rider can force her victim to relive all the suffering they inflicted upon others, etching their pain into the very core of her victim's soul. For obvious reasons, the effectiveness of this ability depends on the victim, and also requires the victim to indeed possess a soul.
Personality: Fearful of her power, Dani is cautious above most other things. While she is aware of the parameters that must be met before a transformation can be elicited, she is cynical enough to believe the world to be full of the evil that brings Ghost Rider forth, and therefore does much to avoid public outings, especially after dark. She spends most nights in her cell, or wandering the YA halls, sleeping little in order to avoid the dreams that Zarathos visits upon her, always including fire and terrible muttering from a voice slightly behind her ear.
Despite her 'condition', or perhaps because of it, Dani still enjoys researching into and reading about occult practices and the darker sides of the magic that she now knows to be real. She's also interested in mythology and religious texts, as she views it as history rather than legend after her encounter with Mephisto- though she's not religious herself. She also enjoys writing and sketching, filling massive sheets of paper and entire notepads with words and drawings of genius and nonsense, often using it to get Zarathos' whispers out of her in almost cathartic release. She dislikes naivety, since it was that quality that afforded her her curse, and also has little patience for those with closed minds or mocking standpoints, wasting no time on people who would rather make fun of beliefs and interests than discuss opposing views. Ghost Rider's purpose also seems to have splintered into her mortal identity as well, as she has a deep and passionate hatred of those who would harm others, no matter how small or grand the offense. She fears Ghost Rider and what she is capable of, but is trying to accept that the entity's actions are more often that not benevolent, if vicious. She know that with control, she will stand as a formidable guardian of the righteous and pure-hearted against those that would seek to corrupt the world.
Appearance: On her run up to 19, Dani stands at 5 foot 10, although this elevates to 6 feet when she transforms. Her hair is short and messily cut, a shade of mousey brown, and she has gray eyes. Her face is angular and while 'pretty', it's often for filling a niche or label such as 'hipster' or 'pixie', rather than being generically attractive. She's slender without muscle, looking wiry with bones jutting forth from beneath the skin in places - something she feels fitting in light of recent events. She has no marks or tattoos, apart from ear piercings, but the back of her right hand - the hand she sealed her deal with - is branded with
Mephisto's sigil, which is also present on Ghost Rider's belt when she transforms, though it remains etched onto the skeletal hand, the brand being that deep.
While being contained under her own wishes by SHIELD, she is receiving training and tutoring to control her transformations, and herself while transformed, in an attempt to join the Young Avengers. She is trying to strike up friendships with a few of the current team members - Wiccan, for she hopes his powers stem from the same occult magic hers do, and they can learn more together; Hulkling, for she hopes he can aid her in controlling the transformation aspect of her powers; Scott Pilgrim, as he seems to have a good heart that could help Dani conquer the dark lurking in hers.
She also receives visits from Nick Fury, who oversees her containment and training, as well as Doctor Strange, who sees that the magic required on her cell holds, and mentors her in controlling the occult powers that fuel Ghost Rider.
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