Rambling about OCs pt 1: Archangel (Ft. Agent because their lore is intertwined)
Okay so @zeleneagle asked me about Angel and that is all the prompting I need to ramble about my girl. This might be a lil messy because talking about Angel requires talking about Agent, and also I'm EXCITED
These two are some of my oldest OCs that still occupy my mind, having existed since probably around 2014 or 2015. They both started from me designing characters using Saints Row 4 (something I did a lot those days) before eventually becoming their own thing, getting a rough outline for a novel, as well as a supporting cast (Karlvan, Veronica, and Neiv'Dar).
I'ma put most of this under the cut, but first I'll give a short answer to the question you asked: Is Archangel an actual angel? Nope! Similar to Agent, she's actually a genetically modified/engineered human, primarily made to be used as a soldier. Her real birth name is Angelica (last name TBD), but she hates it, and decided to give herself the title of Archangel. She sees herself as the pinnacle of the program she was part of, something divine and more than human (or, well, she does at the start of her story).
Now let's dive into some context on that super soldier program...
Agent's program came first. It was performed by a research team in what used to be the US, primarily with the intent to simply explore the possibilities of toying with genetics. Considering my age when I started working on this story, I can only assume none of the science even remotely makes sense. Essentially, the team took specific, "desirable" DNA sequences from different people, combining them to make new humans that excel at specific things (namely athleticism). Naturally, they wanted more funding, and made some shady deals with military officials to get it, meaning that they shifted the focus to making future soldiers.
Except in this alternate world, people actually decided that hey, maybe what we're doing isn't ethical? Messing around with genes was met with controversy, which only worsened when word got out that the tech was being used to make soldiers. The program got shut down, and the research was supposed to be destroyed. Or, well, at least parts of it. Anything that could help someone else replicate their results.
Said results being a small gaggle of teenagers, the one and only successful generation produced by the program. Each of them chronologically only being a few years old, aged up as part of the program, being intelligent but lacking social experiences. Of them, Agent was considered the prime specimen, considered somewhat of a potential threat, although all of them were placed in foster homes where they could be observed closely.
Fast forward a couple years, Agent is aging slowly for unknown reasons, but the real excitement is happening across the pond. Turns out that research wasn't completely destroyed- enough of it was saved that someone could recreate the experiments, they'd just be starting a little behind where the Not-US left off. That's exactly what happens, when the Not-UK ends up getting hold of the research. They start their own program, going a bit slower, keeping it under wraps as much as possible.
Eventually they manage to create their own modified humans, but these age at a normal rate, and the director of the program decides to use the technology to have a daughter... aka Angelica. Kinda fucked up that she decided her kid should be a super soldier, right?... Anyway, fast forward twenty-something years or so.
Agent, who never got a name of their own and never really cared about it, lives in a big apartment across from a med student (Karlvan). They're still somewhat under watch, but now work for the government, doing dangerous shit with their handler (Neiv'Dar) and occasionally the handler's international partner (Veronica). Intel comes in that trouble is brewing in the Not-UK, and Agent is told to be on alert.
Across the pond, Angelica has reached what seems to be her full potential, a capable fighter and ruthless killer... with zero ideas of how normal people socialize. She's already got a tense relationship with her mother, but things get worse when test results make it clear that her performance is still sub-par to Agent (the only known survivor of the Not-US's original program). Well. She fucking hates that. Against her mother's orders, Angelica escapes to the Not-US, shortens her name to just Angel, and starts stalking Agent.
What starts as a mix of hatred and jealousy fueled obsession turns into genuine interest, attraction, and a sense of immense kinship. Angel stops being careful with her stalking. She breaks into Agent's apartment, intentionally leaving evidence, waiting to see what happens. That progresses to leaving notes, then gifts, and she gets enamored with the way that Agent simply does not care. Eventually she reveals herself, albeit not who she really is, and it turns out that the intrigue was very much mutual (aka they fuck).
Angel thinks that Agent needs to let loose, that they're tough enough to do whatever they want, and encourages them to break from the agency they work with; or, better yet, to come back to the Not-UK with her. When they refuse, Angel throws a fit, making promises that they'll see her reasoning soon enough, and leaves. She comes back to her "home", where her mother (the program director) is about ready to kick her from her promised position as squad leader.
Well, she fucking hates that, too. So she overthrows her mother, declares herself Archangel, takes charge of her fellow super-soldiers, and decides it's time to cause chaos.
There's more to the story, with her ending up back in the Not-US and more details about her relationship with Agent, but my hands are a little tired from typing and this seems like a good spot to leave it for now.
