<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/QAi9yGJ.jpg)</div><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: impact;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">Superpowered Alien; Paragon PL 10 (150 PP)</span></span><br/><br/><strong>Real Name:</strong>Athena<strong>Identity:</strong>Public<br/><strong>Alias:</strong>-<strong>Occupation:</strong>Professional Hero<br/><strong>Bases of Operations:</strong>Futura<strong>Affiliation:</strong>LIGA, Former US Agent<br/><br/><hr/><br/>A shield. The idea of Paragon needing something to protect her had always felt laughable, but as the hatch of the jet closed and the buzz of the media became silenced by the reinforced hull, her slender shoulders fell with a silent sigh. All that was left was for the cameras to point at the thrusters as they warmed up into a red hot glow and for the journalists to ramble speculation after speculation into their microphones. In a few days, the kiss would be plastered across every media outlet that covered superhero news. Talking heads would debate the words that had been shared between Athena and X. Were things heating up between them? Cooling down? And while no one would say it aloud, they were all imagining the same thing: Paragon and Perfect 10 fucking like porn stars. That's what LIGA wanted.<br/><br/>Athena wordlessly separated herself from Perfect 10 in the quiet emptiness of the jet. Her lips rolled together and her jaw shifted. She looked like she wanted to say something but the bulletproof heroine stayed as stoically silent as she always did in situations like this. The cameras had always bothered her. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that acting in front of the cameras bothered her. When she worked for the US government, it was the same thing: pretend to be this person that we've invented so that people will like you.<br/><br/>If a psychiatrist could pick through Athena's brain, they would doubtlessly spout some nonsense about her self-sabotaging as an act of rebellion. And maybe they would have been right. The gig with the government had fallen apart and she spent most of her time with LIGA just barely staying enough in their good graces to not lose her paycheck. There had to be a better way. Forget all of the cameras, forget all of the forced acts she put on for public perception, forget all of the heroism that was just her going through the motions, and be herself. But what else was a lab-raised, superpowered alien supposed to do here on Earth? As inhuman as she could be at times, Paragon still needed to eat. Until something else came along, that meant that the show must go on.<br/><br/>Paragon's boots echoed softly against the metal floor of the jet as she approached the pilot's chair. Her eyes studied Perfect 10's hands as they went through the motions of flipping switches and turning dials. By now, Athena had watched the ritual enough times that she could probably get the thing off the ground by herself.<br/><br/>"You think you're so charming, don't you?" A steadying hand was on the back of Perfect 10's headrest as Paragon leaned forward to speak in hushed tones. "That shit doesn't work on me. I bet you've never even had a woman tell you 'no before." Paragon shook her head. A hand moved to rest on her hip as she straightened back up. "We're going to talk about this with corporate when we're finished with the mission." Athena already knew what the outcome would be before she even so much as dragged X into the office. Still, she stubbornly settled into pressing forward with all the reckless bravado of someone that thought herself invincible.<br/><br/>The pneumatic hiss of the jet's hatch announced a late arrival, interrupting whatever prolonged conversation she might have had with Perfect 10. Paragon didn't even have to look over her shoulder to know who it was. "Well, look who decided to show up." Paragon spun in place and folded her arms around her waist. "I don't care what happened in your past, and while you're out there with us, you don't care either. Got it? The last thing LIGA needs is you getting shaky hands and misty eyes when someone needs you." Blunt and cold as always; it was one hell of a way to announce that she and the rest of the team had heard about Silver Centurion's escape.