[Darkk] Sandra Wu-San {Justice League}

Master Assassin - Few on Earth share the truly horrifying talent Sandra has for taking life. Paralyzing the heart, shutting down regions of brain activity, blocking nervous transmission throughout the body, preventing blood flow to specific areas. A single swift strike to an array of vital points means death for the average human, be it slow or instantaneous, subtle or gruesome. Even supers are vulnerable to these techniques, though, often, the result is merely debilitating in nature. Combat aside, what is a master assassin without the art of stealth? The art of maneuvering silently and without notice is a simple matter for Sandra, even capable of sneaking up on the likes of the Dark Knight, and disappearing on multiple trained eyes of his “Bat Family” as suddenly as she made herself known.

Apex Human Physique - Sandra’s physical conditioning places her atop the heights of what a woman is capable of without mutation, genetic manipulation, meta power, or alien physiology. Strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, resilience, far beyond what the average man or woman would think the human body capable of. Effortlessly lifting another person single-handed, obliterating a reinforced door with a single kick, shattering stone sculptures or the blade of a sword with her bare hands, merely rending through flesh and bone is a trivial matter for Sandra. All backed with the endurance of one who can traverse mountainous terrain days on end without sleep.

Of course, such strength requires the fortitude to use it, withstanding blows that would shatter concrete and warp steel. Falling from normally lethal multi-story heights to land with the grace of a gymnast dismounting a balance beam, standing amidst a raging structure fire without discomfort, shrugging off small close range explosions, being electrocuted with enough voltage to leave her smoking only serves as an irritant.

Dodging gunfire is old habit for the likes of Sandra, from the expertly trained shots of world class mercenaries to a hail of desperate fire from soon to be ex grunts, and she is capable of leaping over a story high, deftly traversing difficult or outright deadly terrain to close the gap and seal the kill before the average goon can panic dump his magazine. As such, dealing with lesser projectiles are a simple matter, from snap kicking arrows mid flight to avoiding/deflecting dozens of thrown weapons. It should be no surprise that one in contention for worlds greatest martial artist is capable of countering strikes from multiple well trained opponents simultaneously, striking with such speed and precision that the average human would struggle to comprehend.

Body Reading - The innate, and finely honed, skill to which Sandra is capable of reading body language is shared by only one that she is aware of, her daughter, Cassandra Cain. Her ability to perfectly predict movement by simply observing her prey comes as naturally as the sight she uses to do so, and it is a sense she has tempered through years of oh so brutal experience. Even mid-tier superhumans/near-humans are easily charted by this sense. This talent also allows her to see through abnormalities in body language, be it disguise, transformation, or illusion, and extends to reading the emotions and honesty of individuals. It even allows her to observe slight variances in light, tracking those using any but the best cloaking devices or invisibility powers. Though, it is not absolute and without fault. Those with inhuman physiology and those who act with little or erratic thought/preparation require time to adapt to their body language. For such situations, and for those where she is blinded, she must rely on the rest of her meticulously honed senses and years of training.

Indomitable Will - Sandra is… a force of nature. Unwavering, unshakable, absolute in her convictions whatever they may be at the time, and such a trivial concept as pain cannot stop her. A broken arm? Laughable. A bullet to the shoulder? A mere annoyance. If you wish to dominate her mind, you’re in for a fight. If you try to drug information out of her all you’ll loose from her tongue is insult. And, when necessary, she can purge all emotion from her mind. Short of death, nothing can stop her from what she sets her mind to, anything less is merely a delay.

Disciplined Intellect - As disciplined as her body, Sandra’s knowledge of all things related to martial arts and taking life is vast. From recognizing where and by whom someone was trained with cursory observation to being able to discern what technique was used to kill someone by glancing over a body, and is capable of recognizing most weapons craftsmen by careful inspection, as well as common poisons by their brew. She is also well versed in the history and culture of many regions of the world, particularly as it relates to criminal organizations, notable combatants, and martial arts. And what contender for world's greatest martial artist doesn’t keep herself well apprised of the competition. Sandra is also quite adept at figuring out how to operate equipment and somewhat advanced machinery. Be it air land or sea, with careful inspection and a bit of trial and error she can manage to pilot most craft. At least enough to not kill herself getting where she needs to go.

Medicine & Healing - With the pursuit of killing arts and lethal techniques also came knowledge of life saving ones. She has the knowledge and skill to reverse or counteract the effects of every Dim Mak she has mastered, to restart the heart when it has stopped, to return blood flow to starved organs. The same pressure points that can be used to kill can be used to heal many lesser afflictions as well, from relieving strained muscles to reversing concussions, but beyond that Sandra is capable of harnessing the life energy known as Chi to repair wounds and mend bones. Though, this takes a fair bit of energy and concentration. More basic wound care is also something Sandra is rather familiar with, and she has some knowledge when it comes to countering/mitigating the effects of commonly used poisons.

Weaponry/Armor - As a League of Assassins member of some esteem, as well as having a significant array of cultivated contacts in her own right, Sandra has access to a wide variety of high quality martial equipment. From advanced composite armors to weapons of world class quality, all are available to her, some for free due to her reputation or stored within safe houses, others for a fair price for a lethal favor. That said, the only times she uses such equipment is while on mission, mastering a new weapon style, or tutoring someone in/against said equipment. Bare hands suffice the majority of the time.

Resources - While certainly not a woman without means, with a solid reserve of liquid wealth to purchase whatever equipment/services she may need thanks to her assassin work, Sandra’s greatest resource is the plethora of contacts she’s accumulated during her tenure beyond your baseline League of Assassins network, from indebted wealthy clientele to criminal informants in key areas of activity and even a few grateful former pupils throughout the martial arts world.

Token - For those special occasions where Sandra wishes to pay for a service with something truly valuable, a personal favor, she gifts someone a specially minted gold coin bearing the likeness of the god Shiva on one side, and the logo of the League of Assassins on the other. This coin is a representation of a debt of honor, only good for the one she gifts it to or one using it on their behalf, and can be shown to any League affiliated individual to seek contact with Sandra. If they fail to reach out on the behalf of the token holder, they will pay with their life.

HAIR: Naturally straight and black, Sandras’ hair currently settles at the base of her shoulder blades.

SKIN: Sandra is of Chinese descent with (usually) pale skin, though she does occasionally gain a tan during the course of travels. Her body is riddled with faint well healed scars, mostly cut marks with the occasional puncture/bullet wound. A testament to her pursuit of the world’s greatest, and deadliest, martial artist mantle.

PHYSIQUE: Sandra is in absolute peak physical condition. As fit as one woman can be, with well defined, though not bulky, muscles befitting a woman of her skill. Her frame is fairly average, neither broad and stocky or petite and wiry, with long powerful legs and well defined shoulders.

ATTIRE: Sandra’s attire varies with her needs, but for general use her outfit typically consists of a pair of medium-dark fairly form fitting pants of muted colors; dark gray or black shoes or boots, made of light flexible material; a styled oriental top of deep rich color, often red and often with golden trim; a black knee length moderately form fitting light overcoat, typically with an interior lining to match her top; and a occasionally gloves to match her footwear.

For most, Sandra is somewhat hard to pin down. An assassin that kills innocents without second thought but would not see an old man who did her a kindness suffer from an injury. A warrior who learns from the greatest martial artists on the planet then challenges them to death matches, but willingly passes on the arts she’s learned to those with the aptitude, even those who ultimately seek to put her away (or down) for good. But most tend to get lost trying to read deeper meaning into her actions, she does as she sees fit.

Sandra embodies the pursuit of martial perfection, in all its aspects. Bloody, brutal, disciplined, principled. This pursuit is not for her own sake, but the sake of martial art. She will be the best, and pass on that knowledge, or she will be found lacking and die to the best, who will pass on their knowledge in turn. This ‘principled’ aspect of Sandra’s person oft puts her at odds with the more genocidal members of the League of Assassins. To her, trial by might is the only proper way to cull the weak and cultivate the strong.

On a personal note, Sandra is rather off putting, and quite intimidating for many who know who she is. She regularly insults and degrades those that give her reason to and finds riling people up to be rather amusing. That said, she shows respect to those that earn it, though that usually only means less aggressive insults and taunts. There are only two alive whom she bites her tongue for, Ra’s al Ghul, and her godfather and mentor O-Sensei.

Speaking of amusement, there is much Sandra enjoys to do outside the realm of perfecting herself and passing on that knowledge. Observing the different cultures and the peoples she comes across is a personal hobby of hers. Attending an orchestral performance, walking the halls of a museum, sampling food and drink, touring historic landmarks, perusing antique shops, all regular stops on Sandra's travels. And the people? There's something particularly satisfying about tormenting those that pique her interest by keeping them company for a time.

FEARS: None

BAD HABITS: Aside from all of the murder? There are times when Sandra’s arrogance gets the better of her, providing openings for skilled (or unpredictable) opponents to take advantage of, and she can only blame herself for it. She’s also a rather abrasive smack talker, which isn’t really a problem for her but it does make it more difficult to work with/train under Sandra.

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual, uninterested.

Neither Sandra nor her older sister Carolyn ever really knew their parents, they were orphaned before either of them could form memories. Harsh and impoverished, Sandra’s early childhood was spent in what amounted to an orphanage in their community, an unnamed shanty town outside Nagqu, China. Their village, if you could call it that, was regularly preyed upon by masked assailants, extorting what little wealth they could find and abducting the occasional child to do who knows what with. There were those who fought back, martial artists, warrior-protectors, but members of their ranks frequently found themselves beaten to a bloody pulp and carted off with the current haul.

It wouldn’t be until years later she would find out it was secretly run by the League of Assassins as a hideout and ‘recruiting’ grounds, which would put the events that lead to her transformation into Lady Shiva into full context. The kids of the community, particularly the orphans, were often given lessons, assessed, and recruited by the ‘warrior-protectors’ to be further trained and eventually refill their ranks. Some went willingly, shiny-eyed and eager to protect their home. Others, like Sandra and her sister, were too afraid to accept the offer after they had been found promising. They had to be ‘coerced’.

Carolyn, showing the least promise, was abducted in the night and taken hostage by the warrior-protectors who gave Sandra an ultimatum. Either she would join their ranks, or they would force her sister to do so. What they had not counted on was Sandra’s resourcefulness. Under the guise of accepting their offer Sandra went willingly to the den they considered a base, but not before kindling a fire that would inch its way towards some waste cooking oil she stored just off site. As their ranks rushed to deal with the flash oil fire, Sandra slipped away and freed her sister, and after a frantic cat and mouse hunt through junk-ridden allies the two of them managed to lose their pursuers in the countryside.

With nowhere to turn, the Wu-san sisters fled towards the Kunlun mountains in the north-west. Half starved and thoroughly dehydrated, they trekked for days in search of somewhere, anywhere they could lay their heads down and rest proper, surviving on foraged berries and what larvae they could dig up. It was all they could do to stay ahead of a gruesome fate, but every night the howl of wolves seemed nearer on the wind. How long had it been? A week? More? Too delirious with exhaustion to tell when they had finally wandered onto a path cut into the mountainside, clawing their way up the stone steps until they could crawl no more.

It would be days before the two would properly regain conscience. They were in a bunkhouse on temple grounds deep in the mountains, nursed from the brink of death by monks that stumbled across the sisters on their pilgrimage. Once they had regained composure the sisters were brought before the master of the temple to recount their tale, which they had learned was a martial sanctuary inhabited by a sage-like man the pilgrims only referred to as O-Sensei. Whether out of pity or genuine kindness, O-Sensei gave the Wu-san sisters an offer they had not expected. They could return down the mountains where the monks would ensure they got somewhere safe to live, or they could stay with him in his temple. With one catch, if they stayed they had to become his disciples.

Sandra and her sister graciously accepted his offer to stay, given their upbringing and what they had been through they had no interest in returning to civilization, even if their introduction to martial arts had been rather unpleasant. Soon enough, their training began in earnest. They would learn from and spar with the monks on pilgrimage while they were there, but for most of the time all they had was each other and the man that had essentially adopted them, who himself would leave them to care for the temple and depart on his own travels from time to time. For the first time in their lives they felt truly at home, truly happy.

As the years passed the siblings had shown themselves to be model pupils. They learned quickly, they listened humbly, and developed a true love for the arts. They even displayed an exceptionally rare knack for predicting the actions of their opponents simply through observation, even if one was happily holding herself back so as to stay on par with her elder sister. Unfortunately, the gaze of the League would find the sisters in its sights once more. In his pursuit of finding the perfect candidate for Ra’s al Ghul’s “One Who Is All”, the assassin David Cain sought out rumors of two young women of rare talent taken in and trained by none other than the O-Sensei, and hatched a lethal plot to show the younger the folly of holding herself back.

In the dead of night, a muffled shriek woke Sandra from her sleep, her sister was not in bed. Signs of a struggle, blood in the courtyard, fabric on a gate left ajar, Sandra’s worst fears confirmed. The moonlight bathed Carolyn’s lifeless corpse, fear in her eyes, pinned to the trunk of a tree with a blade through her abdomen. Sorrow, rage, the only thought that ran through her mind was to find whoever did this and hang them by their own entrails, and she would not have to look far. A man garbed in black, spattered with blood, and wearing a truly sinister grin stepped forth from the shadow of the mountain.

The man was not allowed to speak before she set upon him, but no matter how hard she fought, how many blows she landed and how far she pushed herself beyond what she thought possible, this man’s life remained out of reach, and he let her know exactly why. Broken, bloodied, exhausted, weak. By holding herself back for all these years Sandra denied herself the means to avenge her sister, and if she could not avenge her sister then she could never have protected her. She did not deserve her vengeance, she did not deserve her life, she was weak.

Sandra was prepared to join her sister in the afterlife, but the deathblow did not come. Instead, the man told her that she was capable of so much more, and without her sister to hold her back, to keep her weak, he could help her realize her true potential. On one condition, she would bear him a child and leave that child to his designs. A life for her life, to give birth and be reborn. This man, David Cain, had killed that which she loved most, but had revealed to her the chains she had shackled herself with. At that moment Sandra set her mind to one thing, she would never be weak again.

What little remained of Sandra Wu-san was slowly smothered over the next nine months. She realized a love for the violence, the bloody and brutal combat, that she had suppressed. She was introduced to the League of Assassins through Cain, with the occasional soldier sacrificed upon the altar of Sandra’s evolution, though would have little else to do with them until her debt was paid to him. Her training was relentless, even while gravid with Cain’s child, but it shattered the shackles that had held her back. Thirty-four weeks pregnant, Sandra had learned all she could from her sister's killer, beating him within an inch of his life during their last session.

As the esteemed David Cain lay broken on the ground, her foot on his throat, Sandra debated putting an end to his wretched existence. But, without him, she would have never come to understand just how much her old life, no, her old self had smothered her true nature. Cain would get his child, and an hour later the woman known as Sandra Wu-san would be buried at the age of twenty with the memory of her sister. The impurities, the weakness, of her old life had been burned away in the crucible of mortal combat, she was reforged anew. Reborn, The Lady Shiva.

To become destruction, responsible for creation. Shiva set across the lands, a force of nature, to consume all that could be learned about the arts of combat and killing, and to destroy those who limited their growth. Any who had the hubris to call themselves the greatest in their art, or their art the greatest of arts, would eventually be met by the mistress of death to put those claims to the ultimate test. Her life, or theirs. But she would not erase an art, no. She would don the mantle of greatest and pass on that knowledge to those fit to learn, until the day someone greater claimed that mantle from her cold dead hands.

Her connection with the League of Assassins funded Shiva’s journey to perfection. She would provide training to particularly promising conscripts and handle missions that required talent above and beyond, or that the League simply could not afford to go wrong, but generally she did not get involved in the internal politics or grand designs of the organization. That said, their goal of purging weakness from humanity did align with her own pursuits, but she was not fond of some of their methods.

Mastery of life and death, years of blood, sweat, and toil. The legend of Shiva was carved in bone at all ends of the Earth, and she grows in skill and strength ever still. Some Shaivites have even begun to worship her as the living manifestation of their god’s destroyer role in the Trimurti. Many a would-be hero and enterprising villain have found themselves broken upon the altar of Shiva. Most have been sent to meet Death for their folly, but some… some are found worthy, and reforged into something greater. Including the likes of the Dark Knight. Somewhere out there a daughter of death is coming into her own, perhaps she will be the one to finally send Shiva to the grave, the one to forge a greater future for the martial art.


SIBLINGS: Carolyn Wu-san - Sister (Deceased)

MOTHER: Unknown (Deceased)

FATHER: Unknown (Deceased)

OTHER: Cassandra Cain - Daughter
O-Sensei - Godfather

Death visits the Satsunan Islands this day. Deep within the mountains of Amami Oshima the stench of sanguine lingers within the halls of a centuries old catacomb, so heavy on the air even the most experienced of cleaners might find themselves suffocating under its weight. Dozens of bodies litter the path into the mountain, the dim light of the passage and their crimson shozoku making it difficult to tell where the parts end and the pools begin. Did that torso match those legs? Whose arm was that? Is that hand shoved where I think it is? Is that a face adorning that broken siren?

Further into the compound. Shattered crates, full of lab equipment, spattered in red. Amidst the chaos a treasure hunt. The first casualty of note, a woman, mask white as snow, long flowing kimono, red angel aloft in the scaffolds. The path continues. Equipment crushed, lines severed, someone was ensuring nothing could be salvaged from the site. Another woman, cyborg, extra limbs of blade and claw. Impaled on her own augmentation. Who could do this? Why were there no opposing casualties? Still, the trail goes on.

Nearing the end. One room before the end, an operations center, with one last casualty. Another woman, hair of cherry blossom, lain in delicate repose with hands crossed and no visible injury, save a faint mark on the forehead. At peace. Time for answers. A storage chamber, with many a high security locker forced open, empty. Opposite the entrance the back of yet another woman, dressed in a lightly frayed all black skin suit padded lightly at the joints, spattered in red from head to toe, hair as black as night, hunched over one last empty container with only a lone blade to keep her company. There was only one woman this could be. The Destroyer.

”You’re too late, Shiva.” The surveyor of this atrocity spoke, her voice feminine but not delicate, bathed in malice. She was dressed in jade, with a sash of red and golden trim. Her hair just as black as the intruders, but instead of long, straight, and bloodied it was kept in bun by a pair of needles. A folded fan-blade in her grasp. ”Lotus!”~ A cheshire grin crept across the face of the intruder, her voice draped in a sinister mirth as she stood from her hunched position and slowly turned to face her company. ”Your Nails grew back, I had to cut them.” A flick of the blade accompanying her words for emphasis.

A look of scarcely contained rage flashed briefly across the surveyor's face, fist clenched tightly around her weapon as she took a short breath and composed herself. ”The League’s going to have to be quicker than that if you want to know what we’re planning.” A sense of cold hatred carried in her tone. ”But it’s nice to know they care enough to send you.” Eye’s narrowing, her last word dripped with venom. ”Hah! I volunteered!” Shiva let out a malicious guffaw, sheathing her blade as she spoke.

”I was dying for a girls night out. Tell me...” She lowered herself into a fighting stance, her fingers folding into the shape of claws. ”Are there any men in your life? Any new piercings? I could use a new pair of earrings.” Shiva’s eyes narrowed, a toothy grin crept across her face. ”I really don’t feel like being flayed alive right now.” Black Lotus sighed in exasperation, stepping to the side of the entryway and gesturing towards the trail of death she passed on the way in. ”Kindly, get the hell out. I need to clean up your mess.”

Giggling inwardly, Shiva relaxed her stance and started toward the exit, her eyes never straying from Lotus. ”Shame. Next time then.”~ She spoke with a sense of whimsy, turning to face Lotus as she continued past then began walking backwards towards the entry tunnel. ”Tell the girls I had fun!”~ Without so much noise as a footfall in shallow liquid, Shiva slipped into the shadows. Off to report on her findings, or lack thereof in this case, and leaving behind a rather dismayed Kunoichi. ”Fuck me…”