APPROVED: BACKGROUND_1 From Rome to Luna
During the height of the Roman Republic the most advanced alchemists of the age came together to form the Hundred, an organization dedicated to spreading the concepts of peace and equality through the world. However, as the Republic became an Empire, the Hundred realized that the world was not ready for their dreams. Using their amazing hybrid of science and magic, the Hundred retreated to a Villa on the Moon. Still, they wanted an agent on Earth to advance their agenda. The Hundred intended to use an alchemical ray to grant immortality and power to a Roman poet who valued peace and love. Instead, their ray was intercepted by a Roman general who used his new powers to conquer. Realizing their errors, the Hundred put into effect a plan to create a new agent who would travel to Earth when the planet was ready.
Hundreds of years later, astronaut Hugh Klein became the last person sent by NASA to set foot on the moon. Hugh discovered the Villa of the Hundred and, inside, came across a baby girl. An illusion of the Hundred appeared before Hugh, declaring that they were long gone but this child was their laurel leaf of peace. Laurel was to be a "perfect" human. Intelligent and fit. Hugh brought the child back to Earth where she was inspected and studied. Unable to find anything unusual about the baby and with no budget to return to the moon, NASA allowed Hugh to adopt the girl, named Laurel, as his daughter.
APPROVED: BACKGROUND_2 Luna to Terra to Luna Again
Years later, at sixteen years of age, Laurel Klein woke up floating above her bed. Quickly gaining control of her strange new abilities, Laurel pressed her parents for information. She always knew she was adopted but now she learned that she was, technically, an alien. Laurel mastered her new abilities very quickly and "borrowed" two space suits from NASA. She flew herself and her father to the Lunar Villa on the moon where Laurel listened to the illusory memories of the Hundred and learned her mission. She was given the Villa as her home, the Alchemical Engine within it to empower her and a set of armor that would provide her protection from harm. Laurel was also warned of the General, the immortal the Hundred accidentally granted powers centuries before.
Since then, Laurel has grown into a capable heroine. The Moon Maiden was one of the first to emerge in this new Age of Heroes and is well known to the public.
APPROVED: PSY1 MOTIVATION
Moon Maiden believes in the philosophy of the Hundred: peace, equality, and the protection of all against those who would cause harm. This is what drives her to be a hero - to protect others and to help the world become a place where all peoples live in peace and all people are equal. At times it worries her that she spends more time battling criminals and supervillains than she does helping promote her ideals and she worries that she isn't doing enough to stop the spread of war in the world.
APPROVED: PSY2 Optimistic
Laurel was raised to believe the glass was half full. That hard work, compassion, love, and happiness were all real things that deserved to be venerated. She isn't blind. Laurel realizes there are terrible situations, terrible places, even terrible people in the world. She choses ot believe that the best possible outcome is possible if people truly try to make it happen. Often, she will try to find a peaceful solution over a violent one and almost always gives the enemy a chance to surrender.
APPROVED: PSY3 Analytical
Laurel has a brilliant mind for science, math and engineering. She tends to approach every situation, first and foremost, from an analytical point of view. She tries to examine, explore, and understand anything she doesn't immediately comprehend. Then she tries to come up with a plan for an optimal solution.
APPROVED: PSY4 Lonely
Laurel is one of a kind. She was raised with love by adopted parents, yes, but she's always been aware that there was something different about her. In school she was set apart from her peers by her athletic and academic ability. Then she discovered that she is the legacy of alchemists long since dead - making her unique even in a world with an increasing number of metahumans. Occasionally, she lapses into moments of melancholy because of this.
APPROVED: PSY5 Goals
In the short term, Laurel seeks to protect those she can. Stop those who are trying to do evil in the world. In the long term, Laurel seeks to fulfill the goals of the Hundred. She wishes to encourage the world to embrace the principle of peace and encourage the Roman ideal: a balance of body, mind, and spirit. She doesn't seek to change nations but, instead, to encourage individuals. Laurel believes that by helping the people of the world reach these ideals she can affect the sort of change that can never come from the halls of power directly.
APPROVED: POWER1 Lunarkinesis
Laurel's only true power is the ability to mentally control the Alchemical Engine in the Lunar Villa. Using the Engine, Laurel can manipulate the Moon's gravitational pull on the Earth. In essence, this power simulates telekinesis, allowing Laurel to manipulate objects from a distance and to fly. Using her lunarkinesis, Laurel is capable of large scale lifting. She can lift a modern battleship weighing about 60,000 tons out of the water with mental effort. She is also capable of fine manipulation and can use her lunarkinesis to open a door or type on a keyboard. Laurel also uses her lunarkinesis to fly at supersonic speeds. Laurel can reach the Moon, roughly 238,855 miles away, in about two hours.
APPROVED: POWER2 Lunacy
In addition to manipulating lunary gravity, Laurel can also use the Alchemical Engine to manipulate the minds of others. This is not a fine manipulation. Instead, Laurel uses the engine to create a state in which the target is forced to relive his or her worst and most depressing memories. Laurel can use this ability on about six people at once, though she is reluctant to do so because it might have lasting traumatic effects. This attack works best on the weak willed. Those with a strong will or strong mental defenses can fight past the trauma. This ability is not quite as powerful as Mirage's ability to force people to live their fears.
APPROVED: ADVANTAGE1 Lunar Villa
On the moon, just beyond the terminus between the light and dark sides, is the Lunar Villa - a large, Roman style estate with an atmosphere perfectly suited for human life. The Villa contains the Alchemical Engine, a vastly powerful, hybrid technology/mystic device that stores the collective wisdom of the Hundred on the subjects of history, philosophy, and alchemy. The Engine also empowers Laurel, giving her the abilities of lunarkinesis and lunacy. The Villa and the Engine are keyed specifically to Laurel and will not function for anyone else without her approval.
APPROVED: ADVANTAGE2 Armor
Laurel's armor, crafted by the Hundred using ancient alchemical secrets, provides her protection against harm. It creates an aura around her that protects Laurel from attacks as powerful as machine gun fire without damage. It also allows Laurel to operate in space or underwater for unlimited periods of time without additional protection.
APPROVED: ADVANTAGE3 Hugh Klein
Laurel's adopted father, Hugh Klein was in the Air Force. He was an astronaut and is considered a national hero. In addition to his credentials as a man of action, Hugh has contacts spread throughout the media, military, government, scientific, and engineering communities.
APPROVED: ADVANTAGE4 Reputation
The Moon Maiden has a world-wide reputation as a heroine. She was one of the first heroines to emerge in the modern Age of Heroes and has built up a lot of good will and positive press through her actions and deeds.
APPROVED: ADVANTAGE5 Physiology
Laurel was crafted by the Hundred to be "perfect". She requires very little exercise to maintain good physical condition and has a very strong immune system, rarely getting ill. She is not, however, on the level of super soldiers such as Captain America.
APPROVED: SKILL1 Mathematics
Laurel is quite intelligent and gifted in mathematics. She learned algebra by the age of seven and calculus by the age of thirteen. She has a PhD level of understanding of mathematical theory and practice.
APPROVED: SKILL2 Sciences
Laurel has a natural gift for sciences and enjoys staying current in physics, biology, chemistry, and especially astrophysics. She has an understanding of most sciences roughly on the level of a 4th year university student specializing in the science.
APPROVED: SKILL3 History
Considering her origins, Laurel has a special interest in history. Specificially, Laurel has become one of the world's foremost experts in the history of the Roman Republic and Empire. It helps that, thanks to the Lunar Villa, she has access to sources that have been lost to the ages.
APPROVED: SKILL4 Athletics
While Laurel is not on the level of Captain America she was engineered to be a "perfect" human being. She has a natural aptitude for athletics. If she desired and with some practice, Laurel could make the Olympic team for any sport open to her.
APPROVED: SKILL5 Combat
Laurel has had quite a bit of on the job training in combat since she debuted as Moon Maiden. Using her powers she is quite proficient and on the level of telekinetic combatants such as the Invisible Woman or Jean Grey. However, without her abilities she is only as well trained as the average mid-level belt holder in a martial art.
APPROVED: FLAW1 Mystic Origin
Laurel was created through an alchemical process that was part technology and part magic. Attacks that specifically target or affect the occult, such as magic-nullifying fields, will have an unpredictable effect on her. At their worst, such attacks will work perfectly on her. At best, they will significantly impair her abilities. In addition, Laurel is obviously of mystic origin to any who can detect such things and has a hard time hiding from occult sight.
APPROVED: FLAW2 Enemies
As one of the first heroes of the modern age, Laurel has made herself quite the target. She has tangled with a number of supervillains, organized crime figures, and terrorist organizations. Any of them might wish to end her life. Furthermore, as one of the first heroes she is also a target for factions of the government and citizen organizations that seek to either control superheroes or remove them from the equation entirely. Of course, there's also the General. The immortal Roman general accidentally empowered by Laurel's creators is out there somewhere. She will do anything to stop him from misusing his gifts for evil and he will do anything to end her existence.
APPROVED: FLAW3 All About the Moon
Laurel really only has one power - controlling the Alchemical Engine on the moon. Without it she cannot use her lunar inspired abilities. As such, Laurel cannot use her powers if she is further than 300,000 miles from the Moon or in another dimension. Or if, for some reason, the moon were to suddenly vanish.
APPROVED: FLAW4 Mystically Inept
Despite being made from alchemy, Laurel is terrible at magic. She just doesn't understand the concepts and she has no gift for it. She has tried, several times, in the past to learn more about alchemy and magic in general but each attempt has ended in utter failure.
The Moon Maiden made her public debut in 2010 and was one of the first powered, costumed heroes to step onto the world stage in the new Age of Heroes. She is one of the United States premier heroes and also well respected in other countries around the world. While she is best known for fighting crime, Moon Maiden spends most of her time helping out with natural and manmade disasters and in helping to promote and aid worthy charities.
Despite her rather public face as the Moon Maiden, Laurel's identity remains secret. It is known her first name is Laurel and she has claimed in interviews to be "from the moon". She has also publically stated that her powers allow her to manipulate the moon's gravitational field, giving her a form of telekinesis she calls lunarkinesis. Beyond that, Laurel hasn't shared more intimate details of her life.
Anyone with access to classified government records will be able to find out that she is, in fact, Laurel Klein, the adopted daughter of famed astronaut Hugh Klein (the last NASA astronaut to step foot on the moon), and she is, in fact, from the moon - found there as a baby by Hugh.
