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But the person I found myself comparing her to, as she approached the PRT building, wasn’t the Siberian. It was me. She reached her home ground, and people started to recognize her. They reacted, moving out of her way. Showing respect. Showing fear, in some cases.

Taylor, Cell 22.3

Alexandria is a member of the Triumvirate, the former second-in-command of the Protectorate and leader of the Los Angeles Protectorate team. She is also known in another identity as Rebecca Costa-Brown, the Chief Director of the PRT.

Personality[]

Alexandria has a perfect memory, and as such, she has a vast understanding of many concepts. Her indestructibility and high position give her an extremely strong sense of confidence. She has an "air" about her, causing people to get out of her way, treat her with respect and hush their speaking.[10] Those who talked to her felt like they'd better shapeup or else, different from the aura other 'triumvirate' members gave off.[11]

She was initially unsure of her power, but willing to risk getting in the way of Behemoth's attacks in the hope she could survive them.[12]

She dislikes lying as a result of her experience in a hospital as a child - "She was being poisoned by people with smiles on their faces." - and, early in her career, she was uncomfortable with Legend allowing the Siberian to kill a civilian as bait. However, she grew increasingly comfortable with such tactics as her career progressed.[12] Legend noted that since being injured by the Siberian, she was the most willing of the Triumvirate to "take the hard, ugly road."[13] However, she refused to condone allowing the Siberian to go free in order to further Cauldron's goals.[12] She claimed that all that she has done was to save lives.

Reputation[]

She was considered one of the top heroes in the Protectorate,[14] and as the organization's enforcer.[15]

Alexandria maintains a strike squad that deployed to trouble areas.[16]

Appearance[]

Alexandria is a tall, muscular woman[17] with long, straight black hair.[5][17][18] She is missing an eye, but it is replaced with an advanced prosthetic visually indistinguishable from a real one.[10][19] She stopped aging shortly after adolescence.[20] Rebecca was visibly hispanic, at least while out of costume.[5]

She wore a black costume with a skirt, knee-high boots and elbow-length gloves.[12] It was black and light gray, with an image of a tower in the center of her chest.[17] The costume featured a wide, heavy cape that flowed over her shoulders and draped onto the ground beside and behind her.[17][12] She designed the costume herself to be elegant without being attention-getting.[12]

Her costume originally included a visor that covered the upper half of her face and held back her hair.[12] Following her first encounter with the Siberian, which left her with one eye missing and a permanent scar, she began wearing a steel[21] helmet whenever she went out in costume,[22][18] closed and somewhat similar to an ancient Spartan helmet in design.[23] Her hair spilled out of the back of the helmet,[17][24] and her eyes were visible.[21]

In her civilian identity as Rebecca Costa-Brown, she was the Chief Director of the Parahuman Response Team. There she often dressed in a suit and jacket.[25] She wore makeup to give the appearance of aging.[26] Taylor described her as "the sort who could be forty but looked like she was in her late twenties".[5]

Abilities and Powers[]

Eidolon, we possibly could have dealt with. Or Tattletale could have. Even Legend, possibly. Alexandria was something else. The heroic equivalent of a cruise missile.

Taylor, Cell 22.4

Alexandria is considered the epitome of 'flying brick' capes. The triad of flight, strength, and invincibility reoccurs often enough, in enough variations, that it's frequently referred to as 'the Alexandria package' in honor of her.[8] According to Doctor Mother, Alexandria is one of the strongest parahumans that Cauldron recorded as of 1988.[27]

Invincibility[]

Alexandria's body is virtually invincible.[8] She is bulletproof[28] and, unlike Echidna, could survive for nearly a minute inside Sundancer's orb without injury.[29] Behemoth's kill aura, which can ignore the Manton effect and produced a flame hot enough to melt sand into glass, did not burn her.[30] She can even tank Scion's Stilling attacks to an extent.[31][32][33]

Alexandria's seeming invincibility derives from her body being in a form of stasis.[34] Although she continued to age and grow when she first gained her powers, Alexandria eventually stopped aging shortly after adolescence.[20] Her nails and hair then stopped growing;[26] Khepri described the broken fragments of her body as being more like a statue than flesh.[35] Pretender believed Alexandria's body was as warped as any Case 53.[26] That said, Wildbow speculated that her skin is still soft to the touch.[36]

Alexandria does not have All-or-Nothing invulnerability as she is vulnerable to Sleeper's storm[37] and did not pop the Siberian.[38] Although she normally feels no pain, she still experiences pain from attacks that injure her.[38][39] Abilities that make heavy use of inter-dimensional phenomena or are All-or-Nothing, such as Siberian, Flechette, Damsel of Distress, Scrub, March, and Grey Boy, can penetrate Alexandria's defense.[40][41] Eidolon made use of this vulnerability to destroy her clones.[42][43][40] Scion's Stilling attacks could eventually destroy her.[44][35]

She is not an immovable object as she can be pushed around by external forces:

  • Leviathan grabbed Alexandria and whipped her around before pinning her to the ground.[45]
  • Behemoth's physical strikes could slam her to the ground.[30][46] Without cover, the force of his roar could throw her flight off course.[47]
  • On one occasion, the Simurgh telekinetically grabbed Alexandria's cape when Alexandria dove at her and then took advantage of this momentum to force Alexandria into the street.[24]
  • A glancing blow from Scion's Stilling blast slammed her body towards the ground.[48]

Flight[]

Alexandria can fly at incredible speeds, fast enough to appear as a blur to viewers.[49] She can fly so fast when zig-zagging between buildings that people couldn't follow her with their eyes, though Skitter could still sense her movements with her bugs.[50] Even in Eidolon's time-distortion bubble that slows objects to a tenth of their speed,[51] Alexandria could still fly as fast as a running person, though her arms moved in slow motion.[49]

While being choked by bugs, she broke through a barrier in the roof of the PRT ENE Headquarters and then left Skitter's range by flying roughly 1100 feet in moments.[52]
(Skitter's range is about 1500 feet at the time;[53][54][55] Skitter is on the second basement floor[56] of an office building[57] with a helipad on the roof.[58] This building is almost indistinguishable from other downtown buildings[59][60] that are roughly 30 stories tall.[61] The calculation of 1100 feet assumes the distance from the containment cell to the hole in the roof is roughly 400 feet.)
Alexandria could also fly fast enough that when entering the headquarters via the roof, photography or being spotted wasn't a risk for her.[62]


Doctor Mother claimed in 1988 that Alexandria could fly at speeds that matched Legend.[27] However, Legend in 1988 has not yet tapped his full speed, developed his powers, or tested his limits.[63] During the Battle against Echidna, Alexandria's clones could not catch up to Legend when he purposefully flew in loops and circles to find opportunities for taking aim and firing at Echidna's clones.[64]

During the Battle against Khonsu, Pretender in Alexandria's body, as well as other capes, managed to get from Japan to Cape Verde in under ten minutes.[65] However, Pretender (and presumably these other capes) specifically required the help of Doormaker.[66] Wildbow confirmed that Doormaker cut the distance down significantly without dropping Pretender directly at Khonsu; he did not specify the portal's location.[67]

Enhanced Strength[]

Alexandria has vastly enhanced strength;[34] only a few capes such as Chort could surpass her in strength.[68] She is strong enough to crush concrete in her hands,[69] catch modified fire trucks,[70][71] and lift the 9-ton Leviathan into the air.[72] Alexandria in Brockton Bay slammed Leviathan hard enough onto the ground to cause an earthshaking crash.[73]

Using Alexandria's body, Pretender toppled Behemoth hard enough in New Delhi to tilt the nearby lightning rod created by the Chicago Wards.[74] At the Cauldron Compound, he also held up a full third of a ceiling made out of steel, concrete, and granite over a single room; this ceiling section that looked ready to collapse was a relatively insignificant part of a 1.73 million-ton structure currently being held up by walls and a column.[75] Pretender could only buy time for Golem to build the necessary supports for this ceiling section because the ceiling slab continued to crack and break down due to its own weight and lack of support in other spaces.[75]

Other Abilities[]

Alexandria has near-perfect memory retention, and accelerated processing and learning.[27] She virtually never forgets a detail and can absorb information quickly, such as reading two pages of a book with a glance and retaining everything she quickly picked up. She knew most commonly spoken languages, no less than ten styles of martial arts, and could match some of the best non-tinkers in the world when it came to computers.[3][34] However, her trigger vision memory slipped away before she could think to recollect it.[76] At high speeds of up to around 30 mph (disregarding whether dragonflies could fly at maximum speed while carrying spiders),[77] Skitter's presumably loud swarm of dragonflies, cockroaches, and spiders[52] could fly into the nose and open mouth of a surprised Alexandria before she could even take a single action.[78]

Alexandria can also leverage her power to effectively sense emotions based on body language.[8] However, those who could hide their emotions through expert training or the use of abilities of their own could still fool her.[79] She could also disbelieve the evidence of her own senses as any human could.[80]

Her shard is the source of her Thinker abilities;[81] her power offloads processing power to the shard.[82] The offloading of her mental faculties renders her immune to the Simurgh's psychic pressure and influence:[83][82] like other immune individuals, Alexandria presumably does not hear the Simurgh's active scream.[84] That said, Alexandria's brain is not special enough to be a countermeasure to Sleeper.[37] She also is not immune to body control powers such as Pretender and Khepri.[85]

History[]

Background[]

Rebecca contracted cancer in her teens and grew increasingly disaffected as a result of her perception that people were lying to her about her chances of survival. She was approached by Doctor Mother as an early test subject for Cauldron in exchange for service.

After gaining her powers, she spent two years guarding her doctor while earning a reputation as a superheroine. Alexandria first appeared in Los Angeles.

Eventually, Alexandria would be introduced to the other members of Cauldron. She presented a proposal she had come up with: that they form a team that followed the regulations and stipulations of the United States government, led by Hero or Legend. She told them that it was part of an eight-stage plan to incorporate parahumans into society before telling them how they could set up the organization she was proposing. Her civilian identity would take a position in the government to quietly steer things.[12]

She lost an eye to the Siberian during the same fight that led to Hero's death,[86] and required Eidolon's powers to heal her enough to use a glass eye to maintain a normal appearance.[26] Even he was unable to reattach the lost eye.[12]

Alexandria by CyrixDrawsStuff

Worm-Era Alexandria by CyrixDrawsStuff, based on personal communication with Wildbow.[23]

Shortly after this Alexandria had an incident where she publicly killed a villain during a desperate situation, setting a precedent.[87] She also settled as the leader of a smaller team based in Los Angeles.[88]

Story Start[]

Alexandria was an internationally recognized cape.[89][17]

Post-Leviathan[]

Met at the oil-rig to discuss the situation of the world.[13][12]

Post-Slaughterhouse Nine[]

Alexandria participated in the Battle against Echidna. She was duplicated, creating Apocrypha,[90] whose appearance revealed her secret identity. Ignis Fatuus revealed her and her colleague's secret membership of Cauldron.

She made a plea with her fellow heroes and heroines not to reveal the information. Surprisingly she was backed up by the warlord Skitter.

Post-Echidna[]

After Tagg unsuccessfully tried to have Skitter captured by outing her secret identity, Director Costa-Brown threatened to go to Saint to get the access to Dragon's technology just as Dragon and Defiant were threatening to withhold the same from the PRT.[91]

Following the revelation that she was a parahuman, she was demoted to deputy director while she trained her replacement.[10] She had no authority, but rather obeyed the new Chief Director's instructions. Alexandria gave her notice that she intended to resign, but continued with the Protectorate until that time.[25]

She confronted Skitter after she turned herself in to the PRT. In order to properly control the teenage villain, Alexandria tried to engineer a situation that would make Skitter try to attack her. This would then allow her to arrest Skitter and shore up her standing in the PRT, while secretly recruiting her as an agent of Cauldron in exchange for leaving the Undersiders alone.[79] What the heroine failed to account for was Skitter's ability to offload her emotional responses to her swarm, much as Alexandria did with her own mental abilities, causing Alexandria to misread her body language. Skitter snapped after thinking that Alexandria had butchered one of her friends, and suffocated the fallen heroine with bugs, leaving Alexandria brain-dead.[25][26] She was widely reported to be truly dead.

She later seemingly returned from the dead in the Battle against Behemoth, where it turned out that her invulnerable body was possessed by Pretender.[26] She also participated in the battle against Khonsu.[92]

Gold Morning[]

Her body was finally destroyed during Gold Morning.[35]

Chapter Appearances[]

Worm Chapter Appearances
Insinuation
1. Insinuation 2.1 Absent
2. Insinuation 2.2 Absent
3. Insinuation 2.3 Absent
4. Insinuation 2.4 Absent
5. Insinuation 2.5 Absent
6. Insinuation 2.6 Mentioned
7. Insinuation 2.7 Absent
8. Insinuation 2.8 Absent
9. Insinuation 2.9 Absent
x. Interlude 2 Absent
Agitation
1. Agitation 3.1 Absent
2. Agitation 3.2 Absent
3. Agitation 3.3 Mentioned
4. Agitation 3.4 Absent
5. Agitation 3.5 Absent
6. Agitation 3.6 Absent
7. Agitation 3.7 Absent
8. Agitation 3.8 Absent
9. Agitation 3.9 Absent
10. Agitation 3.10 Absent
11. Agitation 3.11 Mentioned
12. Agitation 3.12 Absent
x. Interlude 3 Absent
Tangle
1. Tangle 6.1 Absent
2. Tangle 6.2 Absent
3. Tangle 6.3 Absent
4. Tangle 6.4 Absent
5. Tangle 6.5 Absent
6. Tangle 6.6 Absent
7. Tangle 6.7 Mentioned
8. Tangle 6.8 Absent
9. Tangle 6.9 Absent
x. Interlude 6 Absent
Extermination
1. Extermination 8.1 Debut
2. Extermination 8.2 Appears
y. Interlude 8.y Appears
3. Extermination 8.3 Appears
4. Extermination 8.4 Absent
5. Extermination 8.5 Absent
6. Extermination 8.6 Absent
7. Extermination 8.7 Mentioned
8. Extermination 8.8 Absent
z. Interlude 8.z Absent
Parasite
1. Parasite 10.1 Absent
2. Parasite 10.2 Absent
3. Parasite 10.3 Absent
4. Parasite 10.4 Absent
5. Parasite 10.5 Absent
6. Parasite 10.6 Mentioned
x. Interlude 10 Absent
x. Interlude 10.5 Absent
Infestation
1. Infestation 11.1 Absent
2. Infestation 11.2 Absent
3. Infestation 11.3 Absent
4. Infestation 11.4 Absent
5. Infestation 11.5 Absent
6. Infestation 11.6 Absent
7. Infestation 11.7 Absent
8. Infestation 11.8 Absent
a. Interlude 11a Absent
b. Interlude 11b Absent
c. Interlude 11c Absent
d. Interlude 11d Absent
e. Interlude 11e Mentioned
f. Interlude 11f Absent
g. Interlude 11g Absent
h. Interlude 11h Absent
Plague
1. Plague 12.1 Absent
2. Plague 12.2 Absent
3. Plague 12.3 Absent
4. Plague 12.4 Absent
5. Plague 12.5 Mentioned
6. Plague 12.6 Absent
7. Plague 12.7 Absent
8. Plague 12.8 Absent
x. Interlude 12 Absent
y. Interlude 12.5 Absent
Snare
1. Snare 13.1 Absent
2. Snare 13.2 Absent
x. Interlude 13.5 (Donation Bonus) Absent
3. Snare 13.3 Absent
4. Snare 13.4 Absent
5. Snare 13.5 Absent
6. Snare 13.6 Absent
7. Snare 13.7 Absent
8. Snare 13.8 Absent
9. Snare 13.9 Absent
10. Snare 13.10 Absent
y. Interlude 13 Screen
Prey
1. Prey 14.1 Absent
2. Prey 14.2 Absent
3. Prey 14.3 Absent
4. Prey 14.4 Absent
5. Prey 14.5 Absent
6. Prey 14.6 Absent
7. Prey 14.7 Absent
8. Prey 14.8 Absent
9. Prey 14.9 Absent
10. Prey 14.10 Absent
11. Prey 14.11 Absent
x. Interlude 14.x Absent
y. Interlude 14.y Appears
Colony
1. Colony 15.1 Absent
x. Interlude 15.x Absent
2. Colony 15.2 Absent
3. Colony 15.3 Absent
y. Interlude 15.y Absent
4. Colony 15.4 Absent
5. Colony 15.5 Absent
6. Colony 15.6 Absent
7. Colony 15.7 Absent
z. Interlude 15.z Point of View
8. Colony 15.8 Absent
9. Colony 15.9 Mentioned
10. Colony 15.10 Absent
i. Interlude 15 Absent
Monarch
1. Monarch 16.1 Absent
2. Monarch 16.2 Absent
x. Interlude 16.x Absent
3. Monarch 16.3 Absent
4. Monarch 16.4 Absent
5. Monarch 16.5 Mentioned
6. Monarch 16.6 Absent
y. Interlude 16.y Absent
7. Monarch 16.7 Absent
8. Monarch 16.8 Mentioned
9. Monarch 16.9 Absent
10. Monarch 16.10 Absent
z. Interlude 16.z Absent
11. Monarch 16.11 Absent
12. Monarch 16.12 Absent
13. Monarch 16.13 Absent
Migration
1. Migration 17.1 Absent
2. Migration 17.2 Appears
3. Migration 17.3 Mentioned
4. Migration 17.4 Absent
5. Migration 17.5 Absent
6. Migration 17.6 Absent
7. Migration 17.7 Absent
8. Migration 17.8 Absent
Queen
1. Queen 18.1 Absent
2. Queen 18.2 Absent
x. Interlude 18.x Absent
3. Queen 18.3 Mentioned
4. Queen 18.4 Mentioned
y. Interlude 18.y Absent
5. Queen 18.5 Absent
6. Queen 18.6 Absent
z. Interlude 18.z Absent
7. Queen 18.7 Absent
8. Queen 18.8 Absent
f. Interlude 18.f Absent
i. Interlude 18 Absent
Scourge
1. Scourge 19.1 Absent
2. Scourge 19.2 Appears
3. Scourge 19.3 Appears
x. Interlude 19.x Absent
4. Scourge 19.4 Appears
5. Scourge 19.5 Appears
6. Scourge 19.6 Appears
7. Scourge 19.7 Appears
y. Interlude 19.y Mentioned
z. Interlude 19.z Absent
Chrysalis
1. Chrysalis 20.1 Absent
2. Chrysalis 20.2 Absent
3. Chrysalis 20.3 Absent
4. Chrysalis 20.4 Absent
5. Chrysalis 20.5 Absent
x. Interlude 20.x Appears
y. Interlude 20.y Absent
Imago
1. Imago 21.1 Absent
2. Imago 21.2 Absent
3. Imago 21.3 Absent
4. Imago 21.4 Absent
5. Imago 21.5 Mentioned
6. Imago 21.6 Absent
7. Imago 21.7 Mentioned
x. Interlude 21.x Absent
y. Interlude 21.y Absent
Cell
1. Cell 22.1 Absent
2. Cell 22.2 Absent
3. Cell 22.3 Appears
4. Cell 22.4 Death
5. Cell 22.5 Mentioned
6. Cell 22.6 Mentioned
x. Interlude 22.x Mentioned
y. Interlude 22.y Appears
Drone
1. Drone 23.1 Mentioned
2. Drone 23.2 Mentioned
3. Drone 23.3 Mentioned
4. Drone 23.4 Mentioned
5. Drone 23.5 Mentioned
x. Interlude 23 Mentioned
Crushed
1. Crushed 24.1 Mentioned
2. Crushed 24.2 Mentioned
3. Crushed 24.3 Mentioned
4. Crushed 24.4 Mentioned
5. Crushed 24.5 Mentioned
x. Interlude 24.x Mentioned
y. Interlude 24.y Mentioned
Scarab
1. Scarab 25.1 Absent
2. Scarab 25.2 Mentioned
3. Scarab 25.3 Mentioned
4. Scarab 25.4 Mentioned
5. Scarab 25.5 Mentioned
6. Scarab 25.6 Mentioned
x. Interlude 25 Absent
Sting
1. Sting 26.1 Absent
2. Sting 26.2 Mentioned
3. Sting 26.3 Mentioned
x. Interlude 26.x Absent
4. Sting 26.4 Absent
5. Sting 26.5 Absent
6. Sting 26.6 Mentioned
a. Interlude 26a Absent
b. Interlude 26b Absent
y. Interlude 26 Absent
Extinction
1. Extinction 27.1 Absent
2. Extinction 27.2 Absent
3. Extinction 27.3 Mentioned
4. Extinction 27.4 Mentioned
5. Extinction 27.5 Mentioned
x. Interlude 27.x Flashback
y. Interlude 27.y Absent
Cockroaches
1. Cockroaches 28.1 Absent
2. Cockroaches 28.2 Absent
3. Cockroaches 28.3 Absent
4. Cockroaches 28.4 Mentioned
5. Cockroaches 28.5 Absent
6. Cockroaches 28.6 Mentioned
x. Interlude 28 Mentioned
Venom
1. Venom 29.1 Absent
2. Venom 29.2 Absent
3. Venom 29.3 Mentioned
4. Venom 29.4 Absent
5. Venom 29.5 Absent
6. Venom 29.6 Mentioned
7. Venom 29.7 Mentioned
8. Venom 29.8 Mentioned
9. Venom 29.9 Mentioned
x. Interlude 29 Absent
Speck
1. Speck 30.1 Mentioned
2. Speck 30.2 Mentioned
3. Speck 30.3 Mentioned
4. Speck 30.4 Mentioned
5. Speck 30.5 Mentioned
6. Speck 30.6 Mentioned
7. Speck 30.7 Absent
Teneral
1. Teneral e.1 Mentioned
2. Teneral e.2 Absent
3. Teneral e.3 Absent
4. Teneral e.4 Absent
5. Teneral e.5 Absent
x. Interlude: End Absent
Ward Chapter Appearances
Daybreak
1. Daybreak 1.1 Absent
2. Daybreak 1.2 Absent
3. Daybreak 1.3 Absent
4. Daybreak 1.4 Absent
5. Daybreak 1.5 Mentioned
6. Daybreak 1.6 Absent
7. Daybreak 1.7 Absent
8. Daybreak 1.8 Absent
x. Interlude 1 II Absent
Flare
1. Flare 2.1 Mentioned
2. Flare 2.2 Absent
3. Flare 2.3 Absent
4. Flare 2.4 Absent
5. Flare 2.5 Absent
6. Flare 2.6 Absent
7. Flare 2.7 Absent
x. Interlude 2 II Absent

Quotes[]

"Threats is the wrong word … But English is a limited language in some ways. There's really no word to articulate what I mean. A threat with a measure of inevitability to it. A promise? Too feeble. People break promises too often. A curse? A malediction? Too... magical. An oath? The connotations are wrong. When I say I'll do something, I make it happen." ~ Alexandria to Skitter

Trivia[]

  • The etymology of Alexandria effectively means 'Defender of Man'.
  • Humans generally stop growing around the age of 25 when the final stages of bone development end with the clavicle fusing into a solid piece. People continue to have some bone development after this as a natural process of upkeep and adaptation.

Fanart Gallery[]

References[]

  1. “I’m going to increase the drip just a little, Rebecca Costa-Brown.” - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  2. “Becca,” her mother murmured from behind her. “You awake?” - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Alexandria had originally named herself after the Library of Alexandria, though she’d ceased mentioning that, choosing to leave enemies in the dark instead. As strong as she was on a physical level, her mind was equally formidable. She never forgot a detail, absorbed information quickly, reading two pages of a book with a glance, and she learned quickly, retaining everything she picked up. She knew most commonly spoken languages, no less than ten styles of martial arts and she could match some of the best non-tinkers in the world when it came to computers. Not only was she rated well in the brute classification, but she held high scores in the mover and thinker categories. - Interlude 14.y
  4. . He’s one of the reasons the American girl’s PRT can exist,” Kismet said. “When they talk about disbanding it, the PRT only reminds them that monsters like this lurk elsewhere.” - Crushed 24.3
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 In a matter of a minute, she was opening the door to the cell. A woman, the sort who could be forty but looked like she was in her late twenties. Hispanic, insofar as that was a descriptor, with darker skin and long, straight black hair. - Excerpt from Cell 22.3
  6. August 20th, 1986
    [...]
    It struck her that she would probably never get to eat there again, never get a special kids meal with the dinky plastic toy that was meant for kids ten years younger than her. She’d never forget about the toy afterward, letting it clutter the top of her dresser along with the other colorful trinkets and keepsakes.
    [...]
    “Shouldn’t my mom be here for this?” My mother makes all of the decisions.

    “Normally yes, when dealing with a minor. But this is a private deal. Just for you.” - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  7. Rebecca stared down at her hands, clenched and unclenched them. What would her parents say? What would the doctors and nurses say? - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Alexandria – Second in command of the Protectorate. Flies and has enhanced strength, a virtually invincible body, eidetic memory, and senses emotions. The triad of flight, strength, and invincibility recurs often enough, in enough variations, that it’s often referred to as ‘the Alexandria package’. Runs the team based in Los Angeles. Member of the now-disbanded Triumvirate. - Cast (in depth)
  9. Piggot glanced at each of the people who were seated at the table. Mr. Tagg, the Director of Brockton Bay’s PRT, Director Armstrong from Boston, and Director Wilkins from New York were all present. Mr. Keene sat opposite her. A camera mounted on the table gave the Chief Director of the PRT eyes on the meeting, where she watched from Washington. - Excerpt from Interlude 20.x
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Excerpt from Cell 22.3
  11. They had reported coming away from meetings with Alexandria feeling like they’d better be better, or else they’d be seeing her again. Sometimes there would be a smile on their faces as they joked, sometimes not. The joke was sour to even think about now, when it had been reported her downward turn and violent tendencies had been partially because of Simurgh interference.- Excerpt from Sundown 17.2
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 12.9 Interlude 15.z
  13. 13.0 13.1 Interlude 14.y
  14. Parahumans IRC said:
    Wildbow: Armsmaster appears in the posters and such of the top Protectorate heroes.
    Wildbow:When they do the image of everyone standing in a 'v' formation

    Parahumans IRC said:
    Wildbow: Nah. Legend in front, Alex and Eidolon to the left and right, respectively. Then Myrddin, Chev, Cinereal, Narwhal, Rime, Exalt, Armsmaster, Dragon suit silhouette in the background, wings echoing the wings of the PRT logo over their heads. - IRC conversation archived on Spacebattles
  15. But Cinereal was scary as shit. She was almost scarier than Alexandria in pure attitude and disposition, and Alexandria had been the Protectorate’s enforcer, their scary woman in black and steel. - Excerpt from Polarize 10.11
  16. Ends up on a strike team. Gets training, gets stuck at a staging point somewhere until a crisis happens, gets sent to deal with a major incident, typically a 'might be a class S threat but too early to tell' kind of incident. Dealing with birdcage convoy escapees, kill orders, outright war, etc. Depending on when you are in canon these have been scaled back and/or the strike team members have been deployed to other roles, and only, like, Alexandria and Eidolon really maintain any (and have very full schedules, traveling to other countries). - Wildbow on Reddit, archived on Spacebattles
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 Extermination 8.1
  18. 18.0 18.1 Cast Page (Spoiler Free)
  19. Scourge 19.7
  20. 20.0 20.1 Wildbow: Alexandria continued to age/grow
    Wildbow: She just slowed and stopped - Comment by Wildbow on IRC, archived on Spacebattles
  21. 21.0 21.1 Crushed 24.5
  22. Interlude 13
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 CyrixDrawsStuff:
    Well, and the canon description of her helmet is fully closed - which makes sense considering her civilian identity.
    On the helmet - it got described to me by Bow as very smiliar to a "Spartan" helmet, but closed up.
  24. 24.0 24.1 They ran, putting distance between themselves, Grandiose’s remains and the fighting with the Simurgh. One wave of capes was retreating, backed up by another squad. A woman with a black costume, a heavy cape and straight black hair flowing from the back of her helmet led the charge. Alexandria.

    The heroine dove at the Simurgh, and the Endbringer was quick to fly to one side, reaching out to catch Alexandria with her telekinesis and use her momentum to force her into the street. The road caved in, sections of pavement with accompanying drifts of snow falling into a sewer or storm drain beneath the street. - Migration 17.2
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 Cell 22.4
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 “She’s yours for keeps?”

    “Brain dead. Her body’s peculiar. Doesn’t really age. Hair doesn’t grow, nails don’t grow. Wounds don’t really heal or get worse. She used cosmetics to look older, to throw people off. Only the brain was left pliable, adaptable. Even then, most of it was hardened, protected, those duties offloaded to her agent.”

    Satyr studied Pretender’s new body without shame. His eyes rested on Pretender’s forehead. “I see. And with that plasticity, the brain was left more vulnerable.”

    “Only a little. Enough to be an Achilles heel. She’s a case fifty-three, I suppose. All of us may be.” - Excerpt from Interlude 24.y
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 The Doctor spoke, “She’s as strong as any parahuman we’ve recorded. Flies at speeds that match your own, Legend. Near-perfect memory retention, accelerated processing and learning.” - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  28. Miss Militia took aim with her rifle and shot. The bullet sparked as it clipped Alexandria’s forehead.

    Alexandria shook her head. - Scourge 19.5
  29. The sun flew forward, melting pavement as it traveled, before it enveloped Echidna, Alexandria and the prison of ice and stone.

    It hung there for nearly a minute, deafening with its sizzling and crackling.

    The sun flickered and went out. Echidna wasn’t there any more. Only sections of her feet were still in contact with the ground, bones and claws scorched black, crumbling and decaying like any part of her did when disconnected from the core that supplied her with power.

    Alexandria was there in the midst of it, panting for breath. Her costume had burned away, and only the metal pieces remained, including helmet, belt and metal underwear, each so hot they were melting and running over her skin. - Scourge 19.7
  30. 30.0 30.1 He struck her and drove her into the ground. His flame burned through her, the sand was turning to glass around her, burning her costume, but it didn’t burn her.

    But she couldn’t breathe. She flew back and out of the way until she had air again. She stared at the scene that was unfolding, the heroes beating a hasty retreat as that thing advanced, slow and implacable. - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  31. Nothing short of Alexandria or an Endbringer would stand up to Scion’s sustained laser beam for even a heartbeat, but there was hope that Galvanate would render some people capable of surviving a glancing blow. - Extinction 27.3
  32. It took excruciating minutes to get my head out of that sludge, and to make sense of what I was looking at. Minutes, as Scion tore into Alexandria, to convince myself that it was all in my head, and that Scion wasn’t actively tearing apart reality. - Speck 30.4
  33. The tougher capes I had fell into two categories. There were ones who could take the fight to Scion, like Alexandria or the late Ash Beast, and there were ones who couldn’t, like Lung, Menja and Chevalier. - Speck 30.5
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 Rebecca Costa Brown Alexandria Invincibility via. body in stasis, flight and vastly enhanced strength, with perfect eidetic recall and consequent mastery of many skills Protectorate/Cauldron Brute Mover Thinker - Parahuman List, bolded edit by Wildbow
  35. 35.0 35.1 35.2 Scion emerged from the other world, having broken down the barrier we’d set. Fragments of Alexandria’s body tumbled to the ground, more like a statue than flesh. He had to flex his hand and use his power to free it of the left side of her skull. - Speck 30.5
  36. Tayyy: are Scion's teeth white or gold?
    [...]
    i have so many dumb questions
    and Wildbow never answers them
    like if Fenja/Menja can birth a giant baby
    or is Alexandria's boobs are hard like a statue or soft yet indestructible
    or how the hell Lab Rat's backup thing worked

    Wildbow: White, yes, not so, probably not, the latter, tinkers are bullshit. - Conversation with Wildbow on Cauldron Discord
  37. 37.0 37.1 Naphtha was striding down the hallway, coming in our direction. He stopped us. “Changers?”

    “No changers in our team,” Tristan said. “Why?”

    Naphtha getting close enough meant I felt the oil touch my skin, as it touched everything in a certain radius of Naphtha. He pulled it away from me as it touched me, but my skin crawled with the memory of the feel of it.

    “Another crisis. Similar to the others. Going to announce it to the dining hall,” Naphtha explained. “I don’t suppose any of you feel brave enough to go up against Sleeper? Absolute invulnerability better than Alexandria’s, special brains, absolute annihilation powers?” - From Within 16.2
  38. 38.0 38.1 Alexandria moved in close, hoping to stop Siberian, to catch her and slow her down, saw Siberian swing, pulled back out of the way.

    Her visor fell free, clattering to the ground. Then she felt the blood.

    Saw, in her one remaining good eye, the chunks of her own face that were falling to the ground around her, bouncing off her right breast, the spray of blood.

    It had been so long since she’d felt pain.

    Legend called out the order and buried her in containment foam, hiding her from sight. - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  39. Mortars, bombs and air-to-ground missiles rained down around her. It had been a decade and a half since she had really felt pain, and she still couldn’t help but flinch as they struck ground in her immediate vicinity. Still, she continued walking, her cape and hair fluttering behind her. - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  40. 40.0 40.1 Siberian, Damsel, Scrub, Flechette, and Grey Boy are Worm capes at the 'if anything can penetrate that defense, these guys penetrate that defense' level of attack. Eidolon and Glaistig Uaine have such attacks in their toolkits.
    [...]
    Alexandria is basically a superman expy with top tier (beaten only by people in the first paragraph) durability and a super brain that's picked up martial arts. - Wildbow on Reddit
  41. HamiltonsGhost: Obviously we don't know the mechanics of Alexandria's powers, but I have always guessed that it was some kind of interdimensional or multi-dimensional attack. Not that I have any evidence, but the all-powerful nature of Sting combined with the fact that all powers are cross-dimensional in nature to some extent (because the power source/computing substrate is in another dimension) makes me think that it had to be something like that.

    Wildbow: This would be an accurate guess, though the bit in brackets is a little off.
    The likes of Scrub, Damsel, Foil, or March would be able to damage Alexandria. - Wildbow on Reddit
  42. A series of neon green concentric circles exploded outward from a point in the sky above, rippling out to disappear over each horizon. Eidolon had engaged one Alexandria-clone, and whatever he’d done seemed to have finished her off. One left.
    [...]
    Another circle exploded across the sky. Alexandria-clone-two was down. Legend and Eidolon descended in Echidna’s direction, keeping a healthier distance.

    Whatever Eidolon had been hitting the clones with, considering the area it was covering and the fact that it was apparently taking Alexandria out of action, it suggested a kind of attack that couldn’t be used near the ground, because it might have leveled whole sections of the city. - Scourge 19.7
  43. Cvde: What power did Eidolon equip to defeat Alexandria's clone so quickly?
    [...]
    Wildbow: Something along the lines of a damsel, scrub, or foil shot, cede - Conversation with Wildbow on Discord, archived on Spacebattles
  44. He was tearing into Alexandria. Literally. But she doggedly held on, delivering one crushing blow for every pound of flesh Scion ripped from her midsection. He was roaring as he did it, teeth bared, face contorted.

    The nature of his attack, the stilling, it didn’t fit. Not in tune with the anger.

    It had been another use of his ‘automatic victory’ power. Looking to the future, seeing how he could do the most damage, then following through. A feint, followed by the critical blow. - Speck 30.5
  45. Whatever advantage Alexandria had gained, it didn’t last long. Leviathan’s tail snaked up and around the heroine’s neck, catching her. He whipped her into the ground, beside him, up into a wall, then back down. This time, he held her beneath the water, using one claw to help pin her. - Interlude 8.y
  46. Alexandria charged, trying to drive it home, and Behemoth struck out with one claw, a swipe.

    He must have captured all of her forward momentum and motive impact and redirected it at her, because he didn’t move an inch in response to the hit, and she crashed into the ground at a shallow diagonal angle. Her body carved a trench a few hundred feet long, judging by the cloud of dust that rose in her wake. - Crushed 24.4
  47. She shook herself free of glass and dirt and threw herself back into the fray. A bad situation was suddenly critical. The creature roared again, and the force of the noise threw her flight off course. Eidolon’s makeshift walls collapsed and more heroes fell, bleeding from heavy internal damage. - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  48. Galvanate reached out and touched a select few capes. Layering invincibility over invincibility for Alexandria, for Gavel, Gentle Giant, and a Birdcage cape I didn’t recognize.
    [...]
    An enemy that hit too hard to defend against, too tough to hurt. Eidolon teleported rather than try to stand up to his lasers, Alexandria took a glancing blow and plunged to the ground. Legend peppered Scion, paused, then hit him with a bigger laser. - Extinction 27.4
  49. 49.0 49.1 Alexandria flew low to the ground, striking and catching hold of a traffic light. In one second she was a blur, the next she appeared to be moving as fast as a person did when they ran. Charging into the effect’s area, Alexandria made a beeline for Echidna.

    The swing was slow motion, but Echidna was too. Alexandria struck her with the metal pole, and Echidna moved like she’d been hit full strength. - Scourge 19.5
  50. Alexandria had found an alley and promptly took to the air, zig-zagging between buildings and flying with enough speed that people couldn’t follow her with their eyes. - Cell 22.4
  51. Eidolon was making his move before Alexandria was even free. He cast out a bubble that swelled as it moved through the air. By the time it reached Echidna, it was twice as big around as she was, enough to reach from one sidewalk to the other. The colors around her became muted, and her movements slowed to a tenth of the speed.

    It was a time-distortion effect. - Scourge 19.5
  52. 52.0 52.1 Alexandria, in the basement, still choking, drowning on dry land with lungs full of dragonflies, spiders and cockroaches, soared. She flew through the closed barrier in the roof, and debris showered down on the Wards who’d approached her, wanting to help but finding themselves unable.

    In moments, she was out of my range, too high in the air. I wasn’t sure it mattered. - Cell 22.4
  53. My power’s range was about five blocks. It should have been larger, going by the running theory that feeling ‘trapped’ extended my reach, but I was in here by my own device. I couldn’t necessarily force it. - Cell 22.1
  54. I was in the PRT offices. I was back in my cell.

    As far as I could tell, the building was empty. My power reached five blocks, and… nothing. There were no people. Computers were active, television screens were glowing with shifting images, and cars sat in the middle of the road outside, but the people were gone.

    Evacuation? When my power hadn’t stopped, the PRT would have ordered people to clear out of the area.

    Maybe they weren’t sure if my power would keep going if they shot me. - Cell 22.5
  55. She’s described her range as [...] city blocks. A city block is about 300 feet long. - Comment by Wildbow on Chrysalis 20.1
  56. “It’s time,” I said. “I’m at the PRT headquarters, second basement floor.” - Cell 22.2
  57. The main floors had open areas with desks and areas with blocks of cubicles, packed with officers working elbow to elbow.
    [...]
    The area was some kind of office, filled with desks, chairs, cubicles and computers. More like an office building than I’d expected from a law enforcement facility. - Monarch 16.2
  58. It wasn’t halfway up when the heroes arrived to collect their prisoner. A vibration through the building as a heavy vehicle landed on the helicopter pad on the roof. Four legged, with turbines in the place of wings, and a neckless head. A man stepped out. Defiant. - Cell 22.5
  59. The building housing the local Parahuman Response Team division didn’t really stand out. The exterior was all windows, reflective enough to mirror the mottled dark gray of the sky overhead. Only a shield logo bearing the letters ‘P.R.T.’ marked it apart from the other buildings of downtown Brockton Bay. - Interlude 3
  60. She returned Downtown. It was hard to navigate the streets from so high up, even if they were roads she traveled on a daily basis as her uncostumed self. From here, the buildings all looked the same, with mirrored outsides and gravel rooftops. Twice, she circled around the top floors of the wrong buildings, looking for the logo set on the side of the building would mark Max’s building apart from the others. - Interlude 3.5 (Bonus)
  61. Thirty two stories down, the cars on the street were visible only by the yellow and red points of their headlights and taillights. I felt Tattletale clutch me tighter, from where she sat behind me. Judas’ front paw rested on the stone railing of the rooftop, clutched it hard enough that the points of his nails bit into the concrete.

    Getting up here had been easy enough – Tattletale had cracked the employee access door and we’d taken the supply elevator to the roof.
    [...]
    Three stories down from the roof, there was a patio. As Bitch whistled and pointed from her position below us, Judas kicked against the wall just behind us, pushing out and away from the building.
    [...]
    The Forsberg Gallery was twenty six stories tall and was one of the more recognizable buildings you could find downtown. - Tangle 6.5
  62. Alexandria arrived the same way she had after her last two excursions, through the hole in the roof. With the speed she moved, she didn’t risk being spotted. Even photography wasn’t in the cards.

    With the speed she moved, she didn’t seem to notice the bugs that followed after her as the aperture began to close behind her. - Cell 22.4
  63. Legend hadn't tapped his full speed at that point in time, probably out of reticence. He's had time to develop his powers and test his limits. - Comment by Wildbow, archived on Spacebattles
  64. Legend and Alexandria still fought above us. I could, when he passed into my range, note how he got faster the longer he flew, giving him the ability to put distance between himself and Alexandria, but he couldn’t stop to take aim and shoot without losing that acceleration and giving her a chance to close the gap.

    The result was that he was flying in loops and circles, using the turns to find opportunities to take aim and fire on her. She dodged most, but the hits that did land bought him distance and time to stop and laser down clones who were attempting to escape. - Scourge 19.6
  65. “Japan,” Wanton said.
    [...]
    Now he stood still, weathering attacks with the same durability the other Endbringers had.
    [...]
    I tore my eyes from the screen, marching towards the emergency doors.
    [...]
    The dragon-craft was waiting for us outside, ramp doors open.
    [...]
    We stepped inside, entering the center of the craft. I found a seat by a monitor, with a laptop ready and waiting for use, login screen displayed. The monitor was showing the battlefield, roving over the dead, the buildings that had collapsed under the weight of years. Oddly, the cameraman wasn’t focusing on Khonsu or the defending heroes. A few heroes were fleeing, but most weren’t in view.
    [...]
    The craft hadn’t taken off.

    My growing sense of dread was confirmed as the image on the monitors changed.
    [...]
    The monitors showed him in a different city. A caption on the bottom of the screen showed the words ‘Cape Verde’.

    He’d teleported halfway around the planet.
    [...]
    My phone vibrated to alert me to a new text. I didn’t need to read it to guess what it said. I read it anyways.
    [...]
    The heroes were engaging, now. Legend and Eidolon had caught up.
    [...]
    Five minutes, six, as he leisurely tore through the forces he’d caught off guard.
    [...]
    Alexandria and other capes joined the attack. Too few. Everyone else retreated. - Scarab 25.4
  66. Tessa Did Nothing Wrong: I remember someone did a calculation of how fast Alexandria had to fly in one feat
    Does anyone know where I can find it though

    Wildbow: Which disregards that doormaker portals exist.

    Kyakan: it was specifically about her travel time in a situation where Doormaker portals were explicitly not something Doctor Mother wanted to use
    (the first Khonsu attack)
    unless they used them to cut the distance in half without actually making either portal anywhere near Khonsu, I guess

    [Wildbow reacted with :agree:] - Comment by Wildbow on Discord, archived on Spacebattles
  67. Kyakan: As the person in that conversation, yes, Wildbow was agreeing to me saying Cauldron used Doormaker to cut the distance down significantly without dropping her directly at the battlefield. Just to clarify. - Comment by Kyakan on Spacebattles
  68. “Come, look up at me,” she told Chevalier. She put a hand at his chin, and Chort helped her, forcing Chevalier’s head up until it couldn’t move any further. Chort wore a wolf pelt with goat horns over head and shoulders, and despite being only sixteen, was strong on a level that surpassed even heroes like Alexandria. When he moved, he did so with care. To him, Chevalier was like eggshell. - Interlude 15.z II
  69. She set her hands on the wall, dragged her fingertips through the concrete, then crushed it in her hands. It should have ruined her skin, left scrapes or torn her fingernails, short as they were, but it hadn’t. - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  70. The noises of panic as some of the strongest capes in the United States realized there was nothing they could do, adjusting their tactics to try to save people, staying one step ahead of Siberian to minimize the damage she did as she waded through any defense they erected, tossing the PRT trucks -modified fire trucks, then- as though they were as light and aerodynamic as throwing knives. - Interlude 13
  71. The ensuing moments were frantic, filled with screamed orders and raw terror. Alexandria chased Siberian to try to scoop bystanders out of the way, to catch the PRT vehicles that Siberian flung like wiffle balls. - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  72. Legend caught him square in the chest, and Leviathan slowed long enough for Alexandria to catch him by the tail.

    She flew straight up, holding the monster by the tail. Between Leviathan’s dark scales and Alexandria’s black costume, they disappeared in the gloom.

    Leviathan fell, and the resulting impact was oddly out of sync with his mass. The water in particular seemed to react, a single ripple extending outward, clearing an area around him of any and all water. - Interlude 22.y
  73. It was Alexandria who speared forward to confront Leviathan. He saw her coming, ceased his onslaught to rear back and then lunge ahead to meet her. When they were only fifteen feet apart, he stopped, let his water echo rush forward to meet her.

    Anyone else might have been staggered in the face of several tons of water moving forward at the speed of a locomotive. Alexandria intertwined her fingers, swung her arms forward as though she were holding a baseball bat, and cracked her hands against the image a second before she disappeared headlong into it. There was a sound like a bomb going off, water spraying everywhere, followed by an earthshaking crash as Alexandria used the crook of her arm to catch Leviathan around the neck and heaved him backwards and onto the ground. - Extermination 8.3
  74. A crash heavier than any we’d had yet made the dogs stumble, falling. It very nearly overturned the sleds. Bitch had fallen from where she sat on Bentley’s back.
    [...]
    The lightning rod had tilted, leaning against an adjacent building, the supports Golem had raised had crumbled. Behemoth, too, had fallen.

    Eidolon and Legend hovered in the sky, flanked by four dragon-craft.

    Another figure was there as well, hovering where Behemoth had been standing an instant ago. The Endbringer had been toppled with one massive blow. - Crushed 24.1
  75. 75.0 75.1 “The structure isn’t going to hold. Even with the reinforcements she put in… no.”

    “So?” Rachel asked.

    “When the walls break,” the Number Man said, “one million, seven hundred and thirty thousand tonnes of steel are going to drop on our heads.”
    [...]
    My bugs told me the ceiling was arching slightly. I could see where the ceiling met one wall, how a crack was forming along the edge.

    “Ceiling falling,” I said. I moved my arm to point, and I only wound up moving my stump, suppressing my reaction to the pain so I wouldn’t provoke Lung.

    Golem reached into the side of his suit. A hand began emerging.

    Too slow. A full third of the ceiling over this room looked ready to collapse, and it was big enough and close enough to wipe us out.

    Alexandria flew forward. She caught the shelf of steel, concrete and granite.

    Buying time, even as the slab continued to crack and break down where the stress of her holding it warred with the sheer weight and lack of support in other spaces.

    Golem’s hand propped it up, fingers curling around the edge to secure it.
    [...]
    Golem began creating the hand. The entire room shook as fingertips emerged. Each a small building unto itself. Cupping over, a protective barrier.

    Nothing that would hold out against the kind of weight the Number Man had been talking about.
    [...]
    We brought the column down. One and three-quarter million tonnes, dropping down on our heads. - Venom 29.8
  76. August 21st, 1986

    “I think we can mark this as a success,” the Doctor spoke.

    Rebecca opened her eyes. She’d seen something fragmented but profound, but it slipped away as fast as she could think to recollect it. She staggered to her feet, wobbled. The girl in the school uniform caught her before she could fall. - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  77. The maximum speed of large species like the hawkers is around 10-15 metres/sec, or roughly 25-30 mph. Average cruising speed is probably about 10 mph. Small species, and especially damselflies, are generally slower, although many medium-sized species can probably keep up with the largest ones. - Frequently Asked Questions, British Dragonfly Society
  78. She got as far as the Wards HQ before she stopped and the bugs had a chance to catch up to her.

    As though I’d thrown a javelin, they speared right for her nose and open mouth, the fastest moving bugs I had at my disposal, and spiders.

    She was invincible, the flesh inside her throat untouchable. The flap that kept food out of her lungs kept the bugs at bay. At first. They bound themselves together, spiders fixing themselves and others to the inside of her throat with adhesive.

    As strong as she was, air didn’t move past the mass of bugs that filled her mouth, as they fought to move into positions where they could block her throat. She coughed in an instinctive attempt to dislodge them.

    Even with super strength, even with a diaphragm like hers, the coughs didn’t remove every bug, and the greedy gasp of air allowed those who remained to find their way inside, filling her lungs. They were just as impervious inside, but the bugs arranged themselves side by side, forming a layer that blocked the flow of oxygen to the membranes of the lung itself. Spiders drew out silk, filling gaps.

    If she could choke, if Leviathan saw submerging her in water as a viable tactic, if Tattletale saw fit to try to do the same, then I could drown her in insects. - Cell 22.4
  79. 79.0 79.1 Wildbow: Alexandria set up a perfectly arranged situation, aimed at cornering Taylor and effectively gaining control over her as a playing piece. It had nothing to do with moral event horizons. Her psychoanalysis and read of Taylor was perfect, but she wasn't dealing with just Taylor.
    Wildbow: This is explicitly stated in story.
    Logos01: I... can't agree with that tbqh.
    Wildbow: This is explicitly stated in story.
    chc4: Are you talking about the bug emotion offloading, or just not being able to anticipate her reaction to her friends "death"?
    Logos01: I get that, and I recall reading it.
    Logos01: But it doesn't *fit*.
    Wildbow: Taylor defies being read, and actively fools powers and senses, because of the way her mind works.
    Logos01: It's not about being *Read*.
    Logos01:' I'm talking about profiling. In the forensics sense.
    Wildbow: It fits fine, Log. Had it not been for this, Alexandria would have won with her approach.
    Wildbow: 100%.
    Wildbow: Nah. See, look at it from Alexandria's perspective. She wants to provoke a reaction, push Taylor to the state she was in pre-undersider, where Taylor is withdrawn, beaten down, and desperate. She wants a degree of lashing out, but in the ineffectual 'Carrie school shooting' sense that Taylor was approaching in chapter one. Alexandria and the tools were in place to deal with that.
    Wildbow: Had taylor broken, raged out, in the sense of chapter one, they would have had a scapegoat for everything that happened in Brockton Bay. She could have tapped Cauldron resources and been on the alert. But Taylor offloaded all cues to her shard. She appeared far calmer and more subdued than she was, Alexandria calibrated her approach with this in mind, and things tilted off differently
    Wildbow: Taylor was absolutely not a killer at that stage, unless she had a reasonable target, and Alexandria presented herself as that target. Alexandria looked at Taylor, talked to her, and saw someone different. All of the profiling and information worked -against- her.
    Wildbow: Much like Contessa stumbling when her path to victory fails her.
    Marcy: basically although alexandria is a powerful thinker, she wasn't the right thinker for the job
    Wildbow: Well, she was, but leaning too heavily on a thinker power can screw one up when the thinker power isn't equipped to analyze a problem.
    Wildbow: (See basically every thinker in story)
    Wildbow: By presenting herself as a target, knowing who Taylor was [note: broken knowledge], gauging Taylor's state [note: broken gauge] and being able to anticipate the attack as it came [note; broken thinker power/read, again] she would have turned the situation around into a massive victory.
    Wildbow: There was no Imp-like read on Taylor where "The bugs act funny around you while your emotions are riled up" came up and the PRT took particular note of it and put it in the files.
    Marcy: yeah it's pretty subtle
    chc4: So if Taylor actually had a swarm with her in the room, Alexandria wouldn't have died. That's...ironic
    Marcy: i think tattletale might have commented on it once but otherwise people didn't notice it
    Wildbow: Anyway, I'm not saying I wrote that part perfectly, but it's the furthest thing from the idiot ball. You aren't carrying the idiot ball if you do everything right and then the unanticipatable happens.
    chlorinecrown: wait, so in the other universe where alexandria, idk, has a tinker tech bug zapper on hand to prepare for the attack, what happens
    chlorinecrown: the attempted murder charge is really easy to prosecute, she goes to the bird cage, undersiders discredited?
    Wildbow: Evacuate the area, Taylor focuses on Alexandria, so it should be doable. Disable security cameras remotely, "Door." Nullify powers & bugs without room for counter-tactics. Taylor sentenced to the Birdcage. Alexandria reinforced in status, people reminded that the PRT is in power and has control, villainous takeovers elsewhere are discouraged, Taylor sentenced to the Birdcage. She...
    Wildbow: ...doesn't actually arrive, and gets brought on board with Cauldron, who tell her the ruse, that it was a setup to achieve certain ends and a plausible finish, and so long as she cooperates, the Undersiders are left alone.
    Wildbow: They then have a resourceful parahuman for one of their squads dealing with alt!earth scenarios and issues.
    Wildbow: Not the first, second, or even third priority, but better to make use of her than to just Birdcage her.
    Teller: Would Taylor "escape" during transportation? Or would they just pretend they caged her?
    Wildbow: The latter, most likely.
    Teller: I wonder how Dragon feels about all this. Probably cranky.
    Wildbow: Probably. - Conversation with Wildbow on IRC, archived on Spacebattles
  80. “So long as he’s active, people will be flocking to join the Protectorate-”

    Alexandria slammed her hand on the stainless steel table beside her cot.

    Silence rang between them in the wake of the destruction.

    “I will not condone the loss of life for your ulterior motives. I will not let monsters walk free, to profit from the fear they spread.”

    “You’re right,” the Doctor said. “I… must be more shaken by Manton’s betrayal than I’d thought. Forget I said anything.”

    If Alexandria saw a hint of falsehood in the Doctor’s body language, she convinced herself it was the strain of one eye compensating for the job she’d used to perform with two. - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  81. Rebecca allowed herself a smile, letting go of the girl’s hand. She could stand under her own power. Everything around her appeared sharp. She hadn’t realized how bad her vision had become.

    Even her mind seemed to be operating like a well oiled machine. Had the drugs and poison made her stupid?

    No. She’d never been like this. It was like her brain had been a bicycle and now it was a Ferarri. Even as her eyes flicked over the interior of the warehouse, she could tell she was processing faster, taking in details and sorting them better, as if her thoughts were no longer limited to the confines of her skull. - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  82. 82.0 82.1 Protikon: The difference would be whether or not powers that somehow protect your brain make you immune or not.

    Wildbow: Some do, some don't.

    Alexandria's power offloads processing power to the passenger, because an unchanging brain as a part of an unchanging body is a recipe for brain death. It isn't 100% effective - her brain remains her Achilles heel, but she's at the very least immune to the Simurgh. - Conversation with Wildbow on Reddit, archived on Spacebattles
  83. <keyonte0> Why is Alexandria immune to Ziz, exactly?

    <Wildbow__> Her mental processes are offloaded to shard - Conversation with Wildbow on IRC, archived on Spacebattles
  84. There was no scream in my head. For the moment, for this final batch of attacks, she wasn’t fighting, she was barely trying to defend herself, and she was taking a lot of punishment. To see it, I could imagine the Simurgh had vacated the shell of her body, and this was a Simurgh-shaped statue we were so focused on taking down. - Last 20.7
  85. I took control of Alexandria, instead, Pretender. Controlling the person who was controlling the manipulative bitch Alexandria. I took Legend, who was part of that fight, two foreign capes and Moord Nag.

    They were the ones running interference, buying us time to breathe. - Speck 30.4
  86. Invincible Alexandria was struck a glancing blow and had one eye socket shattered, the eye coming free in the midst of that bloody ruin. Eidolon had healed her, after, but the scar was still there. Alexandria now wore a helmet whenever she was out in costume. - Interlude 13
  87. Around the time I joined the PRT proper, the Siberian killed one of the greatest heroes. Alexandria publically[sic] executed a person with powers that wouldn’t stand down; controversial then, but nowadays we don’t think about it.” - Excerpt from Breaking 14.z
  88. Around the time that they were a group, they were simply 'the Protectorate' or 'the guys at the top'. You could say, perhaps, that the loss of Hero splintered the team. They didn't hate each other or resent each other, but it was about time, and served as the catalyst to the group each going to their own individual cities - New York, LA, & Houston. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit
  89. Alexandria – An internationally known cape, she flies, is durable and has super strength, as well as some mental augmentations from her powers. Member of the Triumvirate and runs the Protectorate branch in Los Angeles. Wears a black costume with a helmet and heavy cape, with long, straight black hair. - Cast (spoiler free)
  90. Scourge 19.5
  91. “No. We’ve been in contact with an individual who has a proven track record with Dragon’s technology. He feels equipped, eager, almost, to step into Dragon’s shoes should she take a leave of absence.”

    “Saint,” Defiant said. “You’re talking about the leader of the Dragonslayers. Criminal mercenaries.” - Excerpt from Interlude 20.x
  92. Scarab 25.4

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