Silver Banshee

Player’s Name: Amit!
Contact Info: AIM: CaptainFanboy | Plurk: CaptainFanboy | Email: snark.Knight@gmail.com
DW: personal: amit  | character: silver_banshee 

Character: Siobhan Smythe | Silver Banshee
Canon: Supergirl | DC Comics
Version: DCnU
Canon Point: Supergirl #40
Age: 18
Gender: Female

History:

For as long as anyone can remember, the Smythe family has had a curse upon it. Every generation has one person who harbors within them the spirit of a banshee - a magical being gifted with dark powers. Before Siobhan, it was her father, a dark, nasty, cruel man who gave in to his demon and became the Black Banshee. Because of her gifts, the Black Banshee wanted her under his care, sending Siobhan’s mother, older brother Tommy, and Siobhan herself to go on the run to get away from him. During one such escape, Tommy stood up to the Black Banshee and gave his soul in exchange for Siobhan’s. As he was the oldest brother, his blood prevented any harm to Siobhan from Black Banshee’s powers.

Tommy’s sacrifice went in vain, though, because Siobhan found herself cursed with the powers of the banshee anyway. Twelve years after Tommy’s sacrifice, Siobhan’s mother passed away. It was another year before Siobhan left Ireland and moved to the United States to start a new life for herself. She also moved because she wanted to escape the past and the pain.

Soon after she moved to New York, Siobhan got herself an apartment and a job at a local coffee place called the Coffee Tree. She also earned her keep as a small, local musician playing rock versions old Celtic folk tunes.

Siobhan came across Supergirl after only having been in the country for a few months. Seeing a kindred spirit in Supergirl - they were both girls who had it rough, who’d lost their families, and needed a friend - Siobhan invited Supergirl to move in with her. The night that Supergirl moved in, she attended one of Siobhan’s musical shows, where Siobhan unwittingly called forth her father, the Black Banshee.

During a battle that ensued afterwards, Siobhan embraced her curse and called forth the demonic entity lurking beneath her own psyche - the Silver Banshee. They fought a gruesome fight, but the Silver Banshee prevailed and ingested the soul of the Black Banshee, thereby freeing her brother Tommy from his imprisonment. Though time had moved on for Siobhan, when Tommy was released, he was the same age as he had been when he’d sacrificed himself thirteen years ago.

Tommy moved in with Siobhan and Supergirl for awhile, until he left to go to Ireland to visit what little family he and Siobhan had left. In the meantime, Supergirl had also left to go on adventures of her own, since staying with Siobhan put the Irish girl in danger.

When Supergirl next visited Siobhan, Siobhan was much in the same place, though she was struggling with the demon inside her, which was constantly struggling to get out. She was tough on Kara during that visit, since Supergirl seemed close to giving up since her life had gotten so hard. Once Supergirl had left, Siobhan was left alone to wrestle her own demons, which were getting harder to control.

A month later, Siobhan had gotten herself a new roommate, named Alexa. Supergirl had stopped by to visit her, but seeing that Siobhan had gotten a new friend, she’d left without even saying hello. Once in the city, Supergirl got into a fight with an alien named Lobo. Siobhan saw the fight from her apartment and rushed out to find Kara. 

Once she came across Supergirl (who by then was empowered by a Red Lantern ring which channeled all of the rage that she felt), the two friends got into a fight, one in which Siobhan called forth the power of Silver Banshee, as magic is one of the things that Kryptonians are vulnerable to. It was a decision she was loathe to make, but it was the only way she would be able to be a match for Supergirl. During the fight with Supergirl, Siobhan also fought to remain in control of the Banshee, which she was successful in. She led Supergirl away from New York and then convinced her to go off-planet to channel her rage, as this was the only way that Siobhan could help save the world. 

Sad, Siobhan returned back to her apartment in New York, not knowing that Alexa and some of Alexa’s friends were dabbling in black magic. 

Personality:

Siobhan is a bright, perky, peppy young woman. Starved for affection and some sort of familial bond, she doesn’t hesitate to draw people into her world and her life, and share what she has, despite how little she might own. When she first meets Kara Zor-El - Supergirl - to live with her, despite having only known her for a couple of hours at most, sensing the Kara herself is just as alone as Siobhan is. She makes sure that Kara has clothes - sharing her own meagre wardrobe with her - and then takes Kara to the local coffee shop, where Siobhan was going to perform some of her music. Once there, she introduces Kara around as her best friend. Part of the reason for her drawing people in so close so quick is also because she knows that she doesn’t tend to keep friends for long. The demon that’s inside of her - the banshee - sooner or later it comes out and tries to take her friends’ souls. 

She tends to be very brash and impulsive as well, and adventurous. She moved to New York on her own to escape her past a year after her mother died, despite not knowing anyone in the city. Once there, she took all the city had to offer into her own hands - exploring, seeing the sights, setting up a life for herself. Upon meeting Kara for the first time, Siobhan wastes no time in standing up for a girl she doesn’t even know. She says that she likes to live dangerously, and that’s pretty much true. Not necessarily in life-or-death situations (though she is known for getting into those from time to time), but she does tend to cut things close when it comes to punctuality, sometimes running late for things that are important. She does live for the thrills, though. The first time that Siobhan flew with Supergirl, she asked Supergirl to let go of her and fall because “it would be epic.”

Siobhan’s also filled with a great amount of inner strength. She’s been on the run for a good chunk of her life, she’s lost family members, and she’s got an evil curse lurking inside of her that’s constantly trying to get out. Despite all of these, though, Siobhan is a fighter and a survivor. When a rage-filled Supergirl comes back to Earth, Siobhan goes to deal with her, knowing that calling on the Banshee could hurt, but well aware that there had to be someone strong enough to save the world from Supergirl.

Fears:

Most of Siobhan’s fears stem from the curse that she’s under, having the Silver Banshee be a part of her. She fears losing control to the Silver Banshee. The Banshee is a dark, powerful thing, one that tends to get in the way of Siobhan’s life. If left unchecked and in total control, the Banshee would destroy everything. Every time she calls on the Banshee, Siobhan feels small and adrift in her power, because the Banshee is that powerful, and always lurking beneath the surface. Siobhan’s fear of the Banshee also plays into her fear of losing the people she cares for, since the curse has made it so that Siobhan’s almost always been on the run because of the curse. She doesn’t want to end up alone, but at the same time, as warm and friendly as she is, she’s wary of really letting people in, since they would be seen as a weakness by the Banshee. Siobhan also fears black magic in general - a lot of this is because of the fact that the Banshee itself is also tied to black magic.

Weaknesses:

Well, she does have a dark creature inside of her that’s constantly trying to get out. It’s something that Siobhan tends to use a lot of energy fighting against when she’s feeling especially weak or mentally exhausted. Unless she’s in Banshee form, Siobhan isn’t superhero-fit, and has the strength and stamina for a normal, average human being. She’s brash and impulsive, and doesn’t always think things through when innocents are in danger. She’ll leap in to help, damn the consequences, if she thinks it’s the right thing to do. This either leads to her getting hurt or her having to tap into the Silver Banshee.

Mundane Strengths/Abilities:

Siobhan’s a survivor, adept at running away and forging a new life for herself if need be. She’s a talented singer and musician as well. Siobhan also has a pretty good knowledge of black magic because of the curse on her family. It’s not extensive, but at least when it comes to things from Celtic folklore, she’s not lacking in knowledge.

Sensitivity/Magical Abilities:

On her own, without letting the Silver Banshee come to the fore, Siobhan has the gift of being a universal translator - she can learn and fluently speak any language almost immediately - human, alien, or animal. She’s also immune to sonic screams. When she gives control over to the curse, Siobhan has control over various sound waves, including the ability to produce her own. Her banshee’s wail feels like a physical force when she unleashes it - not just piercing sound. She can fly and, through her scream, she can also teleport up to one hundred miles away from where she is. (This ability would, of course, be changed here, since she can’t get too far away.) As the Silver Banshee, Siobhan also has a death wail that can drive people insane, into a coma, or death. (Though the death can only happen if she knows her target’s true name.) As the Silver Banshee can also potentially absorb souls - she absorbed her father’s - but this won’t really be used much unless it’s handy for a plot against some terrible evil she faces or something, because otherwise, it’s kind of a cop out.

Supply List:

Siobhan wears a pair of low-heeled boots, belted dark blue skinny jeans, a white t-shirt emblazoned with a black spiral triskelion, and a studded black leather jacket. In her wallet, she’s got her ID, about fifty dollars in cash, a couple of credit cards, and an old family photograph of herself, her father, her brother, and her mom, as well as another photo of Siobhan and Supergirl. She wears three little gold hoop earrings in one ear and two in the other, and a leather cuff on her wrist. She has a messenger bag which has a notebook and a pen for those moments when she thinks of a song, fingerless gloves, lip gloss, compact mirror, mascara, and a beanie.

Sample RP Post:

Wherever she was, Siobhan knew that she wasn’t in New York City anymore. This place, it felt too quiet. Too far-removed from the hustle and the bustle that Siobhan had grown accustomed to since coming to the States not too long ago. No, this was someplace else. Some place where Siobhan’s hair was starting to stand on end. Something wasn’t right here. It couldn't be. She could feel the Banshee inside of her, just under the surface, and the Banshee felt far calmer and more comfortable than it had since she had left Ireland.

Siobhan’s lips twitched, unamused, and she scratched the “B” tattooed on her left arm, noticing with alarm that both it and the “S” on her right arm were faintly glowing. Oye. Wherever she was - and she was sure that Supergirl had nothing with her landing up here - the Banshee was somewhat pleased.

That can’t be good, Siobhan thought to herself as she looked around. Uncomfortable, she shoved her hands into the pocket of her leather jacket so she could ignore the glowing of her tattoos. She’d gotten one for herself and the other in memory of her father. She hadn’t realized then that they’d alert her to when the Banshee was coming closer to the surface. In a way, it was nice to have that warning system. It was also uncomfortable and terrifying, though. Some days, she didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to keep the Banshee contained.

She glanced at the single, vintage ski in umbrella stand, confused. Were they on a mountain top somewhere? Was there snow? Siobhan quirked up an eyebrow. She wasn’t dressed for the snow, and a ski wouldn’t be much help if she needed to make an escape. Though maybe as a weapon. It would beat having to call on the Banshee. She turned around in a circle. Wherever this place was, it was posh in an old school sort of way. Everything about it screamed decadence.

Except those handprints across the ceiling. Even from where she stood, she could tell that it was blood. Dried, old, crusty blood. Siobhan held in a gasp even as the Silver Banshee seemed to warm up to their surroundings.

Meld your consciousness with mine, the Banshee pled. Let me out. We can figure out what left those hand prints there.

“Not gonna happen,” Siobhan said out loud, her Irish accent coming out thicker than it had in days. If anyone was there, they would likely think her crazy. Maybe she was, a little bit. Living with a curse could do that to a girl. She glanced at the direction that the handprints went in, and she started to follow. “If anyone’s out there, don’t make me scream,” she said ominously. “You wouldn’t like it when I scream.” Truth be told, neither did she.