Athena

Overview

Athena is as close to immortal as it gets. Suspected to be several hundred years old she has seen all the light and darkness that world has to offer, from the scarred battlefields of European history to the peaks of technological advance and enlightenment. She has the power to heal by placing her hands on the wounded part of any living creature, including herself. Although it is not known how long her life might last she can be harmed and must use her hands on herself to revive.

Athena approached Elite Force early in its existence. At this point it had few recruits of the standard it required. Athena changed all that. She was able to display her powers very easily by cutting herself and using her hands to heal the wound in seconds. Elite Force to this point contained largely overly strong recruits who they had yet to train, someone with such a useful almost magical power was of great use to them. Athena was the first poster girl of the unit, regularly visiting the troops of democratic forces in war zones and healing where she could. It did bring its own burdens however, Elite Force would run a tight touring schedule and she did not have the time to heal all that she could, equally she would be inundated with begging letters to restore the health of people all over the world, the fact she could not left Athena feeling very guilty and tied her to Elite Force even more in the hope they would work to prevent conflicts. As time went by her use in public relations overtook her time to heal the sick. She was the soft side of the unit, a face people could trust and someone who was doing good without doubt. The time that PR took from healing did trouble Athena, there was no doubt she was an almighty marketing tool. Athena was generally very popular but there were campaigns from some fanatical religious groups to defame her as a false idol. Many had viewed her efforts as almost Christ-like (something which Elite Force was happy to play up) and the Christian church in particular were keen that these staged healings were stopped. In the past 2 years Athena has taken a step back from the PR front but is still a highly popular member of the unit and is likely the hardest of all to criticise. The Force has been keen to show its strength recently which is not something Athena is really good for. Instead they have looked to the sheer might of Miss Freedom to front most public relations exercises with Athena just over her shoulder offering clarity where needed, Athena has always been keen to support this however, and she has a strong relationship with Miss Freedom.