The Red Death II

Cecilia Rogers was a reporter for the Daily Herald, working on a piece about The Power Corps. She uncovered a connection between the mercenary group and Hieronymus King, CEO of Majestic Industries. King wielded his influence to stop the reporter from shining a light on his illegal activities. Her audacity angered King, who believed the little people of Freedom City should know their place. Through money and intimidation he would crush Cecilia. He convinced the Herald to not only kill her story but also fire Cecilia on a trumped up charge of plagiarism. He bought her apartment building and evicted her. He even convinced her fiancé, an up and coming lawyer at the firm Cabot, Cunningham & Crowley, that it was in his best interest to leave Cecilia. By the time Hieronymus King was finished with her, Cecilia had nothing. Perhaps if he had stopped at this point, she wouldn’t have known he was behind it. Cecilia Rogers would remain a cautionary tale, warning people to stay out of the affairs of Freedom City’s elite. But King did not stop. He wanted Cecilia to know why she lost everything. He found her in the shambles of her life and he gloated. Cecilia’s mind broke. It was a slow break that took many months to complete, but it started there.
Cecilia swore revenge. She would pay back every hurt Hieronymus King inflicted upon her. She scoured the city, using her old contacts and building new ones when needed, until she located a dilapidated warehouse along the South River. Inside she found the abandoned secret headquarters for a cold war supervillain called The Red Death. The headquarters had not been touched since the Red Death’s disappearance in the eighties, but it still contained a cache of his equipment, including his nerve gas guns. She studied his notes and journals, familiarizing herself, and in some cases repairing, his gear. Eventually she felt ready to don the red skull mask. Cecilia Rogers may not be able to bring down Hieronymus King, but he would not be able to hide from the new Red Death.
A shadowy figure struck several properties belonging to either Hieronymus King or Majestic Industries. A gas bomb detonated in the company’s corporate headquarters. Majestic Industries warehouses in the city were sabotaged and chemicals were stolen. An explosion rocked King’s yacht, The Ocean Queen, causing it to sink into the Great Bay.
The Red Death closed in on Hieronymus King. She chose her endgame at a charity event for Freedom City’s homeless hosted by King. She found it fitting King should die before his peers, his misdeeds laid bare before them. The Red Death’s sudden appearance caused pandemonium. She fired her gas guns indiscriminately, with no concern for innocents. She saw only Hieronymus King. She confronted him, promising to kill the cowering businessman for the crimes he had committed. She would have too, if not for the timely appearance of the Raven II, who had been attending the charity event in her secret identity.
At her trial, Cecilia Rogers raged against the evils committed by the rich. There could be no justice when the wealthy were allowed to hide their crimes behind money. She was declared unfit for trial and committed to Providence Asylum. Her stay at Providence was not as long as the courts decreed. Numbers Three and Seven of the Power Corps, under the employ of Hieronymus King, broke Cecilia out of the asylum. The humiliated King wanted to take a personal hand in Cecilia Rogers’ death. However his dream of revenge proved elusive. The Red Death escaped the two mercenaries and disappeared into the city.
When the Red Death resurfaced, her vendetta against Hieronymus King grew to encompass all wealthy people. She saw them as shadows of King and their money was like a bloody handprint at the scene of a crime. She targeted Freedom City’s richest citizens, suffocating them with her gas guns. She killed three people before she chose the wrong target in Fletcher Beaumont II. When she attacked him at his home, the retired hero dusted off his archery skills and brought an end to the Red Death’s murder spree. Cecilia Rogers returned to Providence Asylum where she remains, for now.
The Red Death is a deeply angry woman. She has a pathological hatred for Hieronymus King. Her revenge fantasies are all that keep her going; she refuses to let go of them. Perhaps if she ever succeeds in killing King she might reach out for help. Until that day, the rich had better look out. Red Death doesn’t believe she’s doing anything wrong. She sees herself as a harbinger of justice. She knows her victims are evil; their money is proof of their guilt. She’s been known to steal from her victims, and at times been quite wealthy herself. When confronted with this hypocrisy she justifies it as a means to further her “war” against evil. Her actions have brought her into conflict with superheroes. She considers them compatriots and is confused and angered when they do not share her views. She always tries to “reason” with heroes, but if they persist in their opposition, she resorts to force.
Red Death wields the weapons of her predecessor. Although they are thirty years old they were remarkably advanced for their time. The gas guns emit chemical vapors that can cause a variety of conditions, from nausea to paralysis, or even death. The skull mask allows Cecilia to see perfectly in the dark and protects her eyes from flares of light. The mask also contains a voice filter, deepening Cecilia’s voice, making it sound more masculine. The Red Death’s costume and the voice filter obscure that she is a woman. When she began her career almost everyone but the Raven believed she was a man. After her trial this was no longer true, but occasionally she still fools those who don’t know their recent history.