Para Introduction : Shadow Aegis
"It is crucial to understand that darkness is not inherently evil, malevolent, or corrupt. Like fire, water, light etc., darkness is a natural force — a neutral element with its own presence, depth, and weight. It is often misunderstood due to its association with fear, death, and the unknown, but these are symbolic projections, not truths of its nature. Darkness can be as gentle as a blanket of night, as protective as a shadowy sanctuary, or as peaceful as the quiet before dawn." - Superpower wiki
ℙ𝔸ℝ𝔸 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟
Role: Primpara, Parame
Age: During Loki's attack on NYC, they are 24 years old. In 2025 they are 37. Born in 1988.
Gender: Nonbinary
Species: Mutant
𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 𝔸𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕤, also known as Melanie Maver, is a superhero with the ability to manipulate shadows.
Outfit found on Pintrest
Adorned in a black and gold outfit, Shadow Aegis embodies the mysteries of the night. The black of their cape seems to absorb light, casting a deep shadow around them. With the power to manipulate shadows, they can cloak allies in protective shadows or unleash tendrils of night to ensnare foes. Shadow Aegis wields their powers with a calm resolve, fiercely protecting those who wander in the dark.
𝕆𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕚𝕟
Born to Elouan Maver, wielder of Light Manipulation, and Aroa Rosi, who can Perceive the Future, Melanie Maver started showing powers as a baby as they would babble with their shadow, and the shadow would move move independently of them.
Melanie initially used their powers to make the lives of those around them easier, by doing things such as resolving arguments via empathy, stopping falls via levitation, preventing crimes via shadow manipulation, etc. Since joining the Avengers, they have retrieved invaluable information for S.H.I.E.L.D.
ℙ𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤
𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 𝕄𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕡𝕦𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 - The power to shape and manipulate shadows. Not all their powers require them to be in contact with the individual shadow to manipulate it. 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: Limited to manipulating only from already existing sources. Though their father having light manipulation means that he can warp light to create larger, harsher shadows.
𝔸𝕟𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 - The power to bring shadows to life. Melanie Mavers' clone is always sentient, able to move independently of Melanie at any point, as well as communicate with them. 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: Having a mind of its own, Mavers and their shadow don't always agree.
𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 - The ability to heal themselves and/or others by encasing the injury in shadows. 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: Limited to how much shadow is available; if there is not enough, then the wound can not fully heal.
𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 ℂ𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖 - The power to create clones of oneself or others out of shadows. If a clone of a being is made with that being's shadow, the clone can mimic their powers, though their thoughts and beliefs mirror Melanie's. 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: A limit on how many clones of an object can be formed based on the amount of shadows. Concentration is required to maintain copies, and once Melanie loses concentration or stamina, the clones disappear. Keeping the clones in existence drains energy from Melanie.
𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖 - The ability to control the target's movements via shadows. 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: Only affect targets that are in touch with Melanie's shadow.
𝔼𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕪 - The power to perceive and interact with the emotions of others. In the case of Melanie Mavers, it is done via their shadow touching another's shadow. 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: Defenceless against beings that have no emotions, such as robots or users of Apathy. They can suffer from Sensory Overload due to absorbing too many emotions.
𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕔𝕖 𝔼𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 - The ability to induce emotions into other people's subconscious to affect their mental state. 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: Has the backlash of Melanie absorbing the emotion if they are removing it from someone's subconscious.
𝕍𝕚𝕤𝕦𝕒𝕝 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕕 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 - The power to see the thoughts of other people as images, allowing them not only to receive information from, but also can see it as if they had been present at these events. 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: Melanie requires their physical form to touch the subject's shadow; it can not be done via shadow-to-shadow contact. Users of Psychic Shield (highly resistant) and Psychic Immunity (impervious).
𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 - The power to make oneself or other subjects hover unassisted, allowing them to float into the air and prevent them from touching the ground below. In the case of Melanie, it is done by manipulating a shadow to levitate, forcing the physical object to mimic the shadow. (They can also manipulate shadows without forcing the physical object to levitate, just the levitation is a conscious choice Melanie had to learn and hone the skill of.) 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: May be disrupted by lack of concentration. It took a long term for Melanie to learn how to maneuver, and even longer to be able to use other powers while using Levitation.
𝕁𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣𝕤
Much of this is taken from the Avengers movie Wikipedia, rewritten with the addition of Melanie.
In 2012, S.H.I.E.L.D. reactivates the "Avengers Initiative" due to Loki stealing the Tesseract. Agent Natasha Romanoff travels to recruit Dr. Bruce Banner, Fury approaches Steve Rogers, Agent Phil Coulson visits Tony Stark, and Agent Maria Hill makes an offer to Melanie Maver.
While Loki is imprisoned in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier, Melanie goes in to talk with him. While entertaining his poking and prodding, they manipulate Loki's shadow to be in reach, thinking he was none the wiser to Melanie reading his mind to figure out his past actions involving the Tesseract, Clint, and the Chitauri. However, Loki was expecting S.H.I.E.L.D. to use Melanie's Visual Mind Reading, as it was just one of Loki's decoys' shadows.
Loki's agents attack the Helicarrier, and Banner transforms into the Hulk in the chaos. Stark and Rogers restart the damaged engine while Thor and Melanie attempt to stop the Hulk's rampage. Romanoff subdues Barton, freeing him from Loki's control. Loki escapes after mortally wounding Coulson. Fury uses Coulson's subsequent death to motivate the Avengers to work together as a team. The team's shadows mix under the table during this, and Melanie is overwhelmed by the Empathy from everyone's grief.
Loki uses the Tesseract and a generator Selvig built to open a portal above Stark Tower in New York City, allowing his Chitauri fleet to invade.
Mavers, Rogers, Stark, Romanoff, Barton, Thor, and the Hulk work together to protect New York from the Chitauri. Melanie Mavers stays on the ground, using the shadows cast by the tall buildings to spear through the Chitauri's vehicles. They are also able to Marionette the Chitauri when their shadows pass over them, forcing them to crash into buildings or the ground.
The Hulk incapacitates Loki while Romanoff learns from Selvig, now freed from Loki's mind control, that Loki's scepter can shut down the generator.
Fury's superiors from the World Security Council attempt to end the invasion by launching a nuclear missile at Midtown Manhattan. Stark intercepts the missile and flies it toward the Chitauri fleet through the wormhole. The missile destroys the Chitauri mothership and disables their forces on Earth. Stark becomes unconscious, and his suit loses power, leaving him free-falling towards Earth. Hulk manages to catch, and Mavers uses their shadow healing to resuscitate him, while Romanoff uses Loki's scepter to close the wormhole.
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝔻𝔻𝕖𝕣'𝕤 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤
I originally had the idea of these powers for an Encanto-based para, but I didn't keep up with those daydreams, so I moved these to a Marvel paracosm, revamping my parames powers. Even though my Marvel paracosm is an older one (since 2012!) Melanie has only been my parame for a short period.
Melanie uses they/them pronouns if it's not obvious!
This is not the same universe as the MCU, though it does closely follow Phase 1 Marvel, it branches off from there. One major difference is Peter Parker is older, more like Into The Spiderverse Peter B. Parker.
divider credits @/anitalenia