Tess Abrahams
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In Character
Biography
Tess Abrahams is the firstborn child of Thomas and Genevieve Abrahams, a civil rights lawyer and PETA board member respectively. Raised in the quiet community of Gold Beach, Oregon, her early childhood was decidedly isolated; the family lived on a vast property devoted to housing and rehabilitating animals that Genevieve saved on her campaigns and early on the decision was made to homeschool Tess, for fear that the public education system would strip her of the ability to question and seek out answers for herself. Still, her parents worried that their decision would result in an inability to fully acquire social skills and so they enrolled the enthusiastic and energetic pre-schooler in a gymnastics class at the local community centre. Tess showed great promise from a young age, excelling at the sport and progressing in leaps and bounds; she was nationally ranked and competing cross-country by age 10 and following a landmark year of victorious competition at the age of 14 was predicted as an Olympic hopeful, a projection that was not unfounded as she soon found herself vaulted into a rigorous training schedule in preparation for the qualifiers. Despite the success, Tess remained at a distance from her peers; her extremely quick reflexes and freakish flexibility generated a reputation for the girl, and rumours began to spread that there was more to it than just natural talent.
When she was nine Tess' parents adopted a baby boy from Ethiopia, her younger brother Felix. An avid animal lover from early on, Felix soon had a small herd of his own--mostly animals claimed from the hordes rescued during his mother's various crusades. One of these causes, a beagle pup named Ursula who was saved from a medical research lab, attached herself to Tess and the pair have became inseparable. Ursula provided the camaraderie and friendship that Tess couldn't find in her teammates.
It was during a national meet in Chicago that everything changed; during a complicated balance beam routine, Tess miscalculated an aerial and to the horror of those there, fell catastrophically, striking her lower spine on the beam itself before landing on her neck. What should have undoubtedly been a tragically fatal accident became a media frenzy when footage of the incident was released and showed not only the graphic incident itself but the teenager standing up and shaking it off as though it were merely a bounced dismount. Tess was disqualified on the grounds of unsportsmanlike conduct and released from the Olympic trials training regime.
Following the incident, she enrolled in Dr. Cullen's Institute for the Gifted. It was there that she befriended Jacinda Blake and Carlos Calaveras, among others. Her academic career proceeded quietly until senior year, during which she became influenced by Hektor Vespasian (Saladin) and his Brotherhood of Mutants, ultimately leading to her leaving the school in favor of moving into their headquarters. This brief flirtation ended badly and Tess harbors a deep dislike for the organization, firmly convinced that they are a dangerous extremist group.
After graduating and traveling to spend time in Israel with her grandmother - where her father also has recently moved with Felix, following his divorce from Genevieve and his admission into Hayalim Kedoshim (Holy Warriors), an extremist mutant rights organization - Tess returned to the USA, specifically California. She currently resides at Redención House, a safehouse run by Anna Fernandez where she stayed briefly before departing to Jerusalem. Tess is studying PolySci and Humanities with the intention of sitting the LSATs and going to law school.
Powers
Tess is a human Gumby, so to speak. She is able to contort and manipulate herself obscenely due to her extreme flexibility, made all the more useful and efficient by the addition of hypersensitive reflexes which allow her to adapt and react quickly to compensate while in a vulnerable position. What otherwise might be a massive strain on her skeletal and muscular system is prevented by mild regenerative powers, though they are slight and offer little advantage beyond preventing wear-and-tear.
Recently Tess has begun experiencing an instability and unpredictable shift in her abilities. At random moments her limbs are susceptible to giving out, becoming boneless, elastic imitations of themselves; while frustrating and disconcerting, it is far preferred to the less-common alternative, which are brief periods in which she experiences a complete reversal and finds herself stiff, sore, and just as vulnerable to broken bones as the average being. Thankfully Tess has not undergone an episode such as this since before she went abroad.
