City-tier Power Level, Mutant Theme, Espionage Theme

Veneer

“‘Surrender?’ Darling, we’re the Seven Wonders. You haven’t even earned the right to ask us that.”

Veneer is a member of The Seven Wonders.

Veneer seemingly has a background as a secret agent. She’s canny and vague about how she got out of the business, but she sometimes hints that it’s because her superiors would rather dissect her to acquire her power than to employ her more conventionally.

Her power makes her an ideal spy. Veneer can flatten her body into two spatial dimensions. In this state, she can slip under doors, through vents, and so on. She can wrap herself around objects and exert a small amount of force on them, such as typing on a keyboard.

The power makes her nearly invincible to physical attack, but it comes at a price. To her, the world’s appearance becomes incredibly distorted. Plus, she must hold her breath or quickly suffocate, as she can’t take in air while flat. On the plus side, she’s immune to poison gas and the like while transformed.

Whatever shred of patriotism once motivated her is now gone. Without Gnosis’ guidance, all that she has now is pride and refinement. She satisfies herself by forming rivalries with specific heroes, especially those who have similarly sneaky powers. When that is not an option, she enjoys fine dining, the theater, and other aspects of high culture. There is seemingly nothing she cannot have, and so she insists on having the very best.

Playing Veneer

Veneer’s motivation is to always prevail in her self-imposed challenges. She wants to test herself against espionage organizations and their agents around the world, as well as individual heroes, as she performs tasks both for herself and her team.

Veneer is a spy and infiltrator in the mold of Black Widow, James Bond, or the “Read or Die” anime’s Miss Deep.

Plots

• Keep Veneer from kidnapping or harming a VIP
• Veneer has infiltrated a location; she must be driven out
• Veneer wants to pursue a rivalry with one or more heroes, and will harass them endlessly

Dialogue

“So nice to see you again, hero. The pleasure’s all yours.”

“Another joke about me being a ‘flat character’? I promise it’s not the height of comedy you think it to be.”

“You’re giving me indigestion, and that is perhaps the greatest offense you could offer.”

Comic Book Panels

Veneer comes under attack, and instantly collapses into a two-dimensional shadow on the ground. The shadow flickers across the wall and up to the ceiling. Just as quickly, she drops out of the shadow, opening fire with a pair of pistols.

Veneer is infiltrating a heavily guarded building. She conceals herself in the shadow of someone else who has legitimate access, slipping through doorways as they open to admit that person. All the while, she must hold her breath, and she can’t stay this way too long.

A lit cigarette emerges from shadows on the wall. It’s followed by the rest of Veneer, who holds the cigarette casually between two fingers. She grins and greets a hero by their real name in a sultry, charming voice.

Variations

Allegiance

• Who did Veneer work for? The dominant government of the area, or a foreign government?
• Spies make enemies, especially ones with powers like hers. Has anyone else tried to recruit her? How did it go?

Powers and Limits

• Veneer must be clever with her powers. She’s not intangible - she can’t enter truly sealed areas, for example. She must also breathe.
• Veneer can be made stronger by ignoring some of these limits. For example, she might carry a portable oxygen mask that lets her stay transformed for as long as necessary. Instead of a two-dimensional shape, she might instead be some kind of living shadow, able to pass through windows.