Here finally, are the sisters L’Orange in their post-Plague costumes (all six of them now). This incarnation, like when I re-designed Frank Hallows, is meant to address some of the issues with the previous version of the sisters, as well as some story elements I introduced in their Bios that were never given any significance during the Plagues.
First, under Le Cirque’s Powers list, I mentioned “Psychic Immunity.” That was meant as a contrast to Six’s precognition power, so that Six (as well as Lady Icarus, Shanti, and most other psychic heroes) would have been unable to foresee their break-in at HallowGen. It is one effect of the suppression technology that was incorporated into the Circus assassins to keep them under control. This technology (which worked in a modified capacity in Couteau to shut off her five senses and artificially induce her para-spectral senses) effectively blocked the subjects’ memories, psychic potential, and nearly all normal brain activity, essentially rendering them programmable flesh. The Milieu had such faith in their technology that they did not deem it necessary to incorporate a failsafe program, so when the Circus assassins turned on Lucifer, they remained alive long enough for HallowGen’s top robotics and genetics experts to remove all of Milieu’s enhancements, including the psychic suppressors.
The mind is an amazing thing, especially in its ability to adapt to change. With the source of their Le Cirque powers removed, and their psychic potential restored, the sisters’ minds began adapting almost immediately, attempting to replicate their lost Le Cirque abilities as closely as possible.
Une L’Orange (formerly Fouet, a.k.a. “Lashes”) had enhanced strength and agility, and was very skilled with a whip. HallowGen’s top cybernetics experts developed a high-tech prosthetic to replace the lower left arm she lost to Milieu, making her the only L’Orange sister to have a cybernetic augmentation post-Plague. Her newly awakened mind has compensated, turbo-charging her strength and agility to levels that match her old enhancements.
Deux L’Orange (formerly Charade) had the ability to disguise herself and those around her in whatever holographic form she chose, and to project three-dimensional constructs like weapons and geometric shapes (for containment and self-defense). Without her projection equipment, her newly awakened mind has since replicated her projection ability with psychic energy, much like Strong-Arm’s astral arm and Nightshade’s shields.
Trois L’Orange (formerly Tordre) had the ability to contort her body into any configuration and back again. After having her servos and suppressor removed, several nerve transplants and bone grafts, and only weeks of physical therapy (thanks to her newly acquired healing factor), she is able to dislocate any or all of her joints at will and return to normal without risk of internal injury or degeneration of her nerves or connective tissues, which have grown back significantly more elastic than those of the average human.
Quatre L’Orange (formerly Couteau) was given the ability to sense the world around her and perceive her surroundings in different para-spectral wavelengths of her choosing, but at the expense of her five conventional senses. Having been without her senses for so long, they did not return when her suppressor was removed. But her sixth sense remained, enhanced by her newly awakened mind to the point that it was nearly equivalent to the five she had lost, allowing her to “hear” herself speak for the first time. Quatre found she could also manifest blades of psychic energy, a replacement for the energy weapons Milieu had given her.
Cinq L’Orange (formerly Solide) was augmented with superhuman strength. Following the Plague event, she underwent extensive surgery and therapy like her sister Trois, to remove her strength-enhancement technology. Her surgical team was successful, but they could not find a way of removing her titanium-coated skeleton without killing her. Without the psychic suppressor in her brain, Cinq’s mind adapted by increasing her muscle mass and skin density. At a touch, Cinq can now match the physical strength and resilience of whoever she is fighting (and the more people she fights at once, the stronger she gets). This also works with inanimate objects, allowing her to gauge the physical properties of whatever she touches and adapt her body accordingly (eg: for lifting, throwing, pushing, etc). The limits of this new ability have not been tested, but in theory, applying it to anything bigger than a semi truck would be out of the question.
Finally, a small improvement to Six L’Orange’s hair, as requested in the Fashion Contest results. I covered up the blank space behind her head with another hair asset. I also addressed the “sword in cane” from her Powers list by re-posing her as follows.
Six L’Orange (formerly the Director of Clockwork) is much the same character-wise. She is still a master swordswoman, a precognitive, and a bane in the existence of organized crime. But with the return of her five sisters, Six has left Clockwork in the wake of the Plagues to help them recuperate from surgery and adjust to their semi-normal lives of free will and their developing psychic powers, as well as catching up on some much-needed family bonding. Her sisters want revenge just as badly as she does, if not more, and once their recovery is complete, Six and her sisters return to Paris to put an end to the Milieu syndicate once and for all. With her sisters’ suppressors removed, Six now has a psychic link with them that allows the six (identical) sisters to communicate with each other over long distances and sense when the others are in danger.
