Robin Harwood

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Robin Harwood HISTORY Robin's history before she was brought to the Academy is largely unknown and can become a subject of speculation. Lucky for Robin, the vast majority of the psychic students at the Institute are either not interested in learning or are generally good and decent human beings who would not pry the information from her headmeats to begin with. What's known for certain is that she was brought to the first iteration of the Institute seven years ago along with a large gaggle of injured and sick mutant children; like them, she was hideously injured, feverish, malnourished and unkempt, with a large ragged scar down the length of the center of her throat. Professor McCoy personally carried her into the hospital and she was not allowed out of the whitewashed walls for the several painful months it took for her to recover. Sadly, whatever was done to her rendered her permanently mute. Robin is directly responsible for the discovery and subsequent dismantling of the legitimately dangerous, militant anti-mutant cult known as "Purity First"; the group hit its peak nine years ago after the acquisition of a large bunker located in the foothills of [REDACTED]. They specialized in kidnapping and attempting to "cleanse" the children of mutations, usually via brainwashing, mutilation, and at least three confirmed cases of partial lobotomies. How did Robin accomplish taking this compound down? Her powers weren't known of by her captors, and this allowed her to tap in to their net connection undetected. She left a trail of virtual breadcrumbs for an astute person to follow, hoping to god someone compassionate would find them. She was lucky; Kitty Pryde found the trail first. This led to a large group of X-Men infiltrating and attacking the place, liberating over a dozen sickly and dying children. The girl didn't have a mutant parent to be returned to - at least, not one that is generally known. She became a ward of the Institute and once she recovered, she threw herself into her studies with unnerving intensity. She had extreme difficulty socializing - Kitty Pryde diagnosed her with anthropophobia, a condition that's taken several years of close work and counseling from Kitty for her to overcome. During the years following the destruction of the Institute, Robin volunteered to work at Moira's laboratory where she acted as a researcher, guinea pig, and unending source of clean electricity. She then returned to the Institute after it was rebuilt. She has an aptitude for tech and her brilliance with the subject is on par with McCoy or even, quite possibly, Mister Fantastic. Why she's double-majoring Software Engineering and Psychology is anyone's guess, especially since she has so much difficulty relating to people that her effectiveness as a counselor might be....limited, at best. Her personal relationships can be counted on one hand - Professor McCoy, Kitty Pryde, James Winger and even, shockingly, Scott Summers - and she doesn't tend to do well with her fellow students. However, she works hard, she's brilliant with tech, and at times she can display an unbending and indomitable will that seems shockingly at odds with her nervous demeanor. Roll Call: Act 1 Red certainly wasn't the dynamic little machine she is now when things first started getting rolling in the school, oh no. Shy, insecure, unable to find a clear sense of self or purpose, she found that she needed to either grow up and strengthen quickly... or contribute to the chaos surrounding the school and its students with her own uncertainty weighing her down like a stone albatross. Robin chose the former, and with the help of friends – namely Raphael Valentine, Adair Forsythe and Jamie O'Brien, she grew a spine. Made of adamantine. Possibly vibranium. That metal spine was metaphorical – for a while. Robin, along with several other students, were witnesses, and later near-victims of, an anti-mutant rally that the woman later leaked onto the internet via stolen footage. When an apartment complex was bombed, the first sign of terrorism by the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Robin worked alongside others to try and save who they could. She later single-handedly raised over 5,000 dollars to donate straight to the people who lost homes and loved ones in that fire, the proceeds coming directly from the Kickstarter fund she began to raise awareness and fund relief efforts for the issue. She helped contribute towards the Volunteer Security Force, using her technological know-how to build training bots and more mundane, but still useful reinforced furniture for the group. She was near-constantly hooked into the school's security after an attack of crocmen from an unknown source had everyone on edge, improving and adding new cameras everywhere at the behest of Kitty Pryde. Things were looking up – only to fall just as quickly. Robin's hands were taken from her, ground off of her arms in an excruciating process that took over an hour and was done via a pair of gloves she had been tricked into wearing. She, Raphael, Jamie and Adair rushed to save Guardian, Robin's boyfriend, from the man that took her hands – Roboto, an old enemy of Raphael's and a new enemy of Robin and her loved ones. Sadly, her hands were gone forever, but Guardian and the girl herself were spared. Quite a few students pooled together resources to raise money, obtain materials, and alter prototypes so that Robin could be given a pair of new, cybernetic hands that were grafted straight to her, allowing her full range of motion and control – to the point where she can operate the many tiny tools and utensils hidden inside them as though they were further extensions of themselves. Doctor Hank McCoy, her father figure, and Rose Kilcher were the two that performed the surgery that gave the woman hands again – just as Hank had tried to give her a new voice many years ago. With these new hands came a host of new, strange problems. They itched. Her arms itched. She had strange dreams, she found herself falling into fugues only to wake up later, disoriented and concerned. When she and others attacked a Purifier base, metallic cords physically tore out of her skin to snatch and toss aside a vibranium bullet that would have instantly killed her otherwise. She found that, with practice, she could control this strange biomechanical phenomena to an extent. There are times when it seems to have a mind of its own, the girl sometimes walking about with an infected arm, glowing eyes, an odd, mechanical gait. Robin seems to be losing her humanity, at least physically, but seems determined to smile through it – to the point where her grins come off as fierce, perhaps even a little...desperate. The Cure: Act 2 Too far gone. She's too far gone. Watch her. Because rest assured, she's watching you. PERSONALITY Robin is a shy, bashful, uncertain little thing that often hides this insecurity behind walls of technobabble and geekspeak. Alternatively, she'll simply stare a hole into her 3DS to hide her jangling nerves behind a stoic wall of feigned disinterest. The girl is mute and must communicate via American Sign Language or any electronic device capable of synthesizing sound; Headmaster McCoy worked alongside her to create a tiny, unassuming device for her to use as a surrogate voice, and she often prefers to mimic the voices of GLADoS, SHODAN, or various videogame characters rather than inventing a voice all her own. Sadly when she's nervous, angry, afraid or upset her concentration snaps and she often ends up using the voice of the person upsetting her instead, leading to awkward situations. She keeps to herself as much as she is able and has difficulty making friends - an exacerbating factor in this is the fact that she's a mousy, nerdy girl with no social skills surrounded by beautiful, confident women that society says she needs to emulate. Her movements are swift, twitchy and energetic, the girl never stops fidgeting; some folks have even taken to calling her "livewire". One telling trait about this young girl is that she often develops an instant and powerful dislike of charismatic people, charismatic men in particular - whether they deserve this dislike or not! It's one of the few glaring flaws currently known to be possessed by this otherwise shy, quiet girl. Also she is rumored to be terrified of Emma Frost and Wolverine. Current Rumors Below are some of the 'whispers' that follow Robin that are relatively common in circulation. This is for the area of in-game rather than out-of-character knowledge. The concept of the rumor is generally that it may or may not be true, but usually is based on something! Date The Story 15.04.12 "One time I heard she really pissed off Headmistress Frost - she copied the woman's voice right to her face! It was weird to hear Frost's voice stuttering in terror though, let me tell you." 15.04.12 "I hear she got roughed up pretty bad outside of school by a gang of thugs; they broke her little talky-thing and generally kicked her around. Weird thing is she coulda zapped them all senseless in a second if she chose, but she just let them mess with her till she could sneak away. What the hell?" 15.04.12 "I have never seen someone run from Professor Logan quite that fast..." 15.04.12 "Dude, she got into a fistfight with some guy over him badmouthing some supervillain or another. What's her problem anyway?" 15.04.12 "One time I caught her and Kitty Pryde shopping together at the mall - Robin started dressing WAY better after that. She also kept yammering on - it's like she's a whole different person around her." 27.04.12 "Jesus christ! Ever since something weird happened down below, Red's been zipping around fixing and reprogramming and testing and breaking and fixing every single piece of tech on campus. Why? Worst is she's been acting all robotic, even muttering in a toneless new tune. Did they finally scoop out her gooey bits and replace them with Cerebro?" 5.5.12 "So I hear the little wallflower managed to snag herself a man! And quite a man too, big buff dude. At first I thought he was just trying to get her to do his homework or something, but you know? Watch them together sometime. the man dotes on her, it's a little sickening really. His name? Oh uh, Kal something. Kal...L..." 08.05.12 "Robin doesn't have hands anymore..." 12.05.12 "I heard she lost her hands in a terrible racquetball accident! There was blood all over the court and the butler just STARED at her!" 17.06.12 "Something weird is going on with her arms, dude. She's always covering them, and I heard something burst out of them when they had to go after that Purifier base. Just tore right out of her skin and slapped away bullets! That arm looks like ground beef now. Just sayin'." 13.07.12 "Someone saw Robin at the park hugging this man. Talking to him too, calmly as you please. Doesn't he look real close to that one supervillain that was causing trouble years ago? The one who was turning people into mindless drones? She was crying, too. Shit...didn't they call him Majesty?" 10.09.12 What Robin Dreams About Abilities & Resources Robin is a dirty cyborg. This means that her body-bits are often multipurpose tools - jetpack feet, many-fingered hands, you get the idea. Normally her body appears harmless enough if one can look past the melding of flesh and steel, but it has many useful tricks - her fingertips provide her with tiny lasers for instance, useless for combat but offering her cauterizing, welding and soldering capabilities. Everything a mechanic could wish for is inside these babies, including a bottle opener (which is why Logan lets her join BAMF.) and finally, they have drills, lockpicks, tiny tweezers - you name it, it's probably there. Swiss army hands. yeah. You know what happens when you raise a genius child in absolute solitude save for one parent and a blazing-fast internet connection? You get the kid that hacked into NORAD. Or Mitnick v 2.0. The point is, if it's on the internet, she can find it . If it's connected to he internet, she can probably hack into it. And if you need numbers well, she can get you NUMBERS. She and her filthy wretched warren of hacker buddies function as a network of information grabbers, sharers and storers, because once it's on the net, it's there forever. They know your secrets. They can, if they work together, knock down and keep down high-security sites for hours, sometimes days depending on how shoddy the whitehats on the other side are if they all put their minds to it. She has a decent amount of spending money due to her software and engineering skills, but what really helps keep her afloat is the fact that she can find you the best deals on the best things in bulk in the time it takes most people to sift through three pages of E-Bay ads. You want it cheap and fast, she can probably find it for you cheap and fast. You want something jury-rigged? Our hero will jury-rig it for you, or hell, even make it better. If she put her mind to it, she might just be able to hijack a plane for you. Just....just don't ask her to talk to someone for you. Or act as a distraction, unless you want your distraction to be a freakish Giger cyborg staring at a large group of villains in pants-crapping terror. Robin's bout of living as a mute has made her able to communicate via American Sign Language if necessary, and she can both read and communicate via binary. Robin, at this current time, is the only known biomechanical mutant and is able to control technology telepathically and from a fairly decent distance away - she can stop your pacemaker or deafen you by forcing your earpiece to shriek. Or, you know, convince all the turrets in the room that it might be a -really good idea- to aim at that guy that just threatened her. Or short out the power grid of an area - or make it work for her! She's also able to "communicate" with technology mentally and use her brain as a flash drive - that is, she can read large amounts of information from it quickly and download the files temporarily to her own mind before transferring them to another bit of appropriate media, though she could feasibly read the surface thoughts of actual artificial intelligences should she ever encounter one. These are what she's known for, what she plans to base her hero portfolio on should she ever become a real hero. But there are other things, you know. She's able to fly with her control of electricity, manipulate gravity just enough to give herself lift and speed - 'bout as fast as a goshawk in the air, this one. And if you upset her? She'll pikachu your ass so fast it'll make your head spin. And your muscles seize. And your trousers soil. Finally, Robin generally has access to various bits of equipment - a hotwire kit for vehicles that aren't techy enough for her to control directly, some override hardware and software, repair tools, and something made especially for her: due to her inability to communicate verbally without the aid of her tech control, Doctor Hank McCoy built for her a small and unassuming speaker capable of being powered by her own natural electric abilities. She uses it specifically to speak, often lip-synching along with it when she's out in public and trying to hide her mutant heritage. Since she doesn't actually require any sort of interface to use most technology, this tiny bit of tech also functions as her cellphone! Her crowning glory, however? this hat and these goggles, both of which she's never seen without. Yes, the goggles do stuff - mostly they offer her several different magnifications for when she's working with tiny or delicate tech. These items are otherwise wholly mundane, simple eccentric affectations worn by a strange and quiet girl. Quotes *In the voice of SHODAN* "I don't think you understand. If I wanted to, I could completely destroy your life - I could change the history of paper and red tape that makes you you, say you're a criminal, a wife-beater. I could ruin your credit line with a stray thought and ensure you're never able to be gainfully employed again. But I won't, because you're doing this to me out of fear, not malice. I hope one day you think about that, and I'm just glad it's me you chose to pick on rather than someone with more of a temper." - Robin "I'm still getting used to her 'voice', but I'm glad that she's my roommate. She doubts herself often, but I know that what a great person Robin is. Now if I could just get her to see it..." - Drusilla Pollenski "When I first arrived at the school, Robin came over and was nice even when she didn't need to be, even when it was obvious she's nervous talking to people. She made me feel like this place could be a place I'd enjoy being at, and I'll never forget that." - William Taylor "She's undoubtedly one of the kindest and most forgiving people I've ever met... But don't for a second underestimate her, she's got a mind as sharp as a razor and there's steel buried under all that shyness." - Raphael Valentine "Red is actually kinda cute in the...she could almost be hot if she wasn't such a complete dork...way. Thing is...I can actually talk to her without having to watch what I say, because no matter how much my inner nerd slips out, she is WAY geekier." - Anthony Hansen "Don't talk shit about her, she is crazy smart and one of the kindest people I have ever had the honor of meeting...seriously I catch anyone talking shit about her again I will crack their skulls." - Adair Forsythe "She's a voice of reason... even when she sounds like frickin Hal 9000. She sees the exact same ugliness that I do but she holds onto this belief that at the end of the day, people are good. At the end of the day? I want nothing more than to be proven wrong by her..." -Silas Newchurch "My sister." - Milena Vukovitch "Who? Red? Yeah, we go way back. I used to call her Mouse. She was always nice to Naomi, so she's good in my books." - Kurt Mortenson "Robin... Robin's special. She always knows what to say. That's a super power all by itself." - Jamie O'Brien "Something has to be said about Robbie. I've never had a more capable lab partner. We always had fun in Doctor McCoy's class. She's like that person that you can just chat with, and not have to impress. Because she's already impressed with the world." - James Winger "She's cool. In fact, she's one of the few girls who's actually talked to me for more than five minutes before wanting nothing to do with me, so that makes her a-okay in my book." - Jake Sunderland "She's a strong and capable young woman who I have a great deal of esteem and hope for, and anyone who tries to take advantage of her kindness does it at their own risk. Pray I'm the first one who gets to you in that case, I, at least, will kill you quickly. Others who love her might take their time." - Raphael Valentine "Robin is there when you need her and I'll be there if she ever needs me. She is a sun in the darkness, warm and guiding... I'll gladly lay down my life to allow her to continue shining..." - Lukas Schwartz "Like her bff slash gff Lukas, she's got a good heart despite being a shut-in like she said she was. Thick-skinned for all the torment she receives but she gives it back without any malice. Nice to see a chick that can take a blow to her image and give it back without taking it personally." - Blair Bennett "Oh My Stars. This young one has been such a pleasant addition to the Lab. Always helpful, Always willing to do everything, and mostly burning herself out. She looks to me with such adoration, like a child looking upon their parental unit and finally realising that they want to be like them. I've given her her voice back, And now her hands. Soon, I guess I would have created her. Robin, Never lose your sense of devotion to your fellow mutant, and human. Because you will help build the foundation that we, the professors are striving for." - Beast "I don't get attached. But the thought of someone hurting her sent me over the edge." - Cody Drake "I had always read about angels, and I truly believed in them, but when I came here I finally met one...and her name was Robin. She was the first person who ever dared to touch me...and even tho it pained her greatly, she fought the tears, just to make me feel welcome... if this is not an angel...I'm not sure that the word even has a meaning..." - Sebastian Cross "To those people who find me beautiful, I tell you that you must take the time to know my sister if you wish to begin to understand the meaning of that word. (William, you are excused.)" - Milena Vukovitch "This girl... She's like this unbelievable tech goddess. I will forever worship her with offerings of games and circuit boards. Internet memes will sing of her greatness. In all seriousness though, I love this girl. She is one of the strongest people I have -ever- met and her good nature is practically unflappable. I mean, for crap's sake, she lost her hands, her room mate flips her shit all hysterical about it, and the girl with NO HANDS comforts the hysterical russian! I mean... how has this girl not been cannonized as a Saint!? Any one hurts her though... Yeah. I may not be much, but they'll fid out that I'm something, something that they never should have crossed." - Leni Hunter "The unrestrained optimism to my doomsaying. The merry prankster that brings me down to earth when my negativity or temper start getting the better of me. She apologizes too much though.... Never apologize for who you are, Red. Never. Ever." - Silas Newchurch "Cher. I wan' you do me somethin. Whenever you feel you gon' hide, Whenever you feel you gon' cry and be timidly scared. You think of our dance, you hear? Not just how we move through da motions. But you remember what Remy said. You find dat hammer. An' you shatter dat shell. You make Remy proud mon petit femme. An' you always make that one proud too. Not'in else matter. You remember d'ose words, you remember dem all your life." - Remy LeBeau "Even if it turns out to be a crash and burn, she saw something in me, and encouraged me to do something I never would have tried. If she can bolster me like that, when she's got no reason to, that pretty much makes her better than good-to-go." - Simon Wicke "Wha? Little miss goodie-hypocrisy? Bah! Don't get me started. I get her kind alright, and I'm not buying it. I think the kitty has claws same as any woman and she better learn to flash them about better, or someone is going to manipulate her into her own doom. Timid? Nah. You just need to hit the hot button. I WANT MY DECEMBER PAGE PHOTOS YOU TWIT!" - Nia Parker "Life is hard, it can be cruel and heartless. I have never had anything resembling family, and this has made me underestimate having someone care for me, Robin is as close to a mother as I will ever come." - Angelo Macellare "Robin is an angel. A sweet, wonderful, caring, intelligent, and powerful angel. She's one of the two big sisters I have here and I would do anything for her. I trust her and value the friendship I've got with her. And frankly, one of these days I'm going to be a spokesman for official Robi-tech, the best devices, bots, phones, and...anything mechanical in the world! Oh also, you fuck with her and I'll show you what 20 Gs feels like. Alright?" - Mark Wilson "Robin is the kind of person who will walk through a wall of fire, just to see what's on the other side. Then shed try and keep you from doing the same. She over burdens herself. However, there are worse traits for people to have." - Zasha Kukovich "I'd run to the ends of the Earth, just to see her smile, and I'd follow her into Hell without a seconds hesitation. Well, I'd probably do both of those things anyways, but I'm trying to make a point. There's a lot of things to fight for in this crazy world, and Robin constantly reminds us of that. And that's why I think we should name our football team The Red Robins." - Jamie O'Brien "She's got a very upbeat and positive personality, especially considering the stuff she's been through, before and recently. It was amazing how she could make mechanical arms of doom and terror look cute. And Stormy thinks she's pretty awesome so what else needs to be said?" - Justin Tarren "Rob is a dumbass. No, seriously, she is. She's a fucken dumbass. Why? Cause... well... She sticks by me, makes me smile and is always, doing something so stupid, that you can't help but think what a great friend she is. Not to mention, that bitch be mah home girl. Give me some love sugah! FAWK YAH!" - Kenny "Robin's always been there for me... even when I wasn't there for her. I can't ask for a better friend." - William Taylor "We all have our days, Those ones that make you realise the person you're becoming. Some days, we stop and wonder if that someone we're becoming is who we want it to be, someone we can be proud of, someone who other's deserve to have in their life. Robin; you're learning now who you can become, you have two paths set before you. One of them as that version that will make this world it's slave, and the other is the version that will be slave to this world, to make it happy. I don't know which one you're facing, or which one you'll become permanantly. Just remember this: You've earned my respect, even if it means I'm gonna have t'take you down, maybe someday. You've earned my respect. I know you've been waiting a long time to hear those words. Give'em hell, kiddo." - Wolverine "Your song" - Rynoyr "I expected the same thing I always had gotten, people judging me based on my looks and the fact that I was different; then I ran into a redheaded bundle of awesome caught in the ceiling. She complimented everything that I was always self-conscious about..." - Kerstin Weiss "Finally got to meet her and wow. She acted like we'd been best friends our whole lives. Kind of hope I don't let her down." - Vera Lelukh "And to think when I first got here I was terrified about having a roommate who I was sure would hate me. Robin is awesome, fun, and doesnt judge. That and I think she's slowly turning me into a hopelessly nerdy person." - Tory Fairbanks "You have changed quite a bit since the school first opened its doors, and for the most part it was a change for the better...I worry about you though Little Sister, you are physically becoming more like a machine and I worry that it will change you to the point that your Humanity will be lost and the Little Sister I care for won't be there anymore...Probably just me worrying about it too much...Don't worry I will do everything I can to keep that from happening." - Adair Forsythe "Don't worry. We GOT this." - Quinn Thorlacius "Robin says that she's a danger to the school. She says that she's a security threat. I say that's all crap. I will take her at my back, any day. And I've got some words for anyone who says otherwise." - Zasha Kukovich "She's been my lighthouse of humanity. Still is." - Shelly Saville "People might think we are opposites, two sides to the same coin. I think our X Genes have merely given us different insights on what it means to be human. Protect the school? I'll try and see what I can come up with - and I'll try to not disappoint you. " - Rose Kilcher "Poor bugger, you've been through a bit lately. We've got yer back with the Danger stuff, mate." - Hugh McLaughlin " Of course i would love to be the god mother of your weird robot internet ipad 4g toaster baby!" - Piper Miles "A good engineer is a person who makes a design that works with as few original ideas as possible. Robin turns that assumption upside down even as she reinvents herself(sometimes literally). Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character." - Tom Raithe "Innocence, Experience, Delight,Delerium, Wonder, Maturity, newness and an ancient soul, perfectly wrapped up in the most perfect hybrid homo sapien based digital format that humanity could produce. She is, in a word, the most perfect commentary on what it is to be Human I have ever met." - Hannah Alexander