Delve

"I think I'm going to have a drink."

Delve is a celebrity-level super-hero previously based out of Freedom City, California. Her recent move to the United Kingdom with her adopted daughter, Abigail, caused many to believe that Delve had given up on her duty to protect citizens from harm. However, since the move, Delve has continued work as a super, although acting on an independent basis. Her recent partnership with Disco and a subsequent contact by Maxine McMurray has led her to create a brand new super-hero group, The Guardians of O.R.D.E.R., using her home, Little Freedom, as the base.

Delve is Shane's player character.

Skills and Powers
This is a list of Delve's current skills and powers. For previous powers before her last resurrection, see her backstory.

Burrowing
Delve's corroding touch (see below) has given her the power to tear through soil and rock at amazingly high speed. Utilizing her enhanced vision, she is able to travel underground and reach destinations accurately. It isn't quite clear how this ability functions, but Delve Comics suggests her corroding touch extends itself into a field around her body when she travels underground, keeping most of the dirt from ever touching Delve in the first place.

Corroding Touch
While Delve isn't an extraordinarily strong super, her touch appears to dissolve both organic and inorganic structures on a cellular level upon contact. This, combined with her high resistance to injury, allows Delve to go toe-to-toe with stronger supers in a slugfest. This power appears to be one she can turn off at will, as there have been no reports of injuries after basic contact with her.

Enhanced Vision
Between interviews, her character in the comics, and witness testimony experts believe Delve has the power to see in total darkness and through just about any material. It is also believed that she can gauge distance and direction with remarkable accuracy. Some also suggest she can sense small tremors in the ground, but there has been no official confirmation of this ability.

High Resistance to Injury
Explosions. High velocity projectiles. Punches strong enough to topple buildings. Delve seems quite able to withstand them all. She's not invulnerable, but she does seem to be able to survive amazing degrees of injury even for a super. Rumor has it that she wasn't always this way, though.

Public Speaking
Delve is quite talented as a public speaker. Her natural charm has led her to become a media darling. While she doesn't always say precisely what she means, the public has always turned a blind eye.

Resurrection
Rumors insist that Delve has died at least twice before. While most don't take those rumors very seriously, it has been noted that the rumored deaths have subsequently been followed by reports that Delve's powers have changed in some way. After her first reported demise, she appears to have come back with much tougher skin. Since the second, she appears to have lost her ability to control the earth.

Self-Replenishing Internal Energy Source
Individuals close to Delve report that she apparently does not need to sleep, eat, drink, or even breathe. Experts believe her body has developed some sort of internal power source to handle the daily processes that normal humans require. Some in the media have even suggested that her body has adapted to the aging process as well, keeping her youthful longer than it naturally would. Others have argued that Delve is simply youthful in appearance, but age will eventually catch up to her.

Origin
Andrea Santos was a normal girl of Brazilian descent living in Arizona until one fateful day during the summer of her 12th year. Unfortunately for her, she lived nearby a dumping ground for Tannin Chemicals, Inc.. One day, while playing with her cousin in the nearby surroundings, she ignored a no trespassing sign and bypassed the fence leading to ground owned by Tannin Chemicals.

After an hour or so of play, the day ended in tragedy when the ground beneath Andrea gave way, and she found herself in a chemically-created sinkhole. Her cousin eventually came back with help, but over-exposure to chemicals had affected her body greatly.

She spent the next year in a coma. When she came to, she learned that the company responsible for her accident had escaped justice with only small fines. Filled with rage, she vowed to get even.

Over the course of the next several months, she recovered and learned that she had power over rock and soil. In addition, she found that she could tunnel through it at high speeds, and her touch could dissolve matter when she willed it to do so. Using these new-found abilities, she launched an attack on the Tannin Chemicals headquarters. Her attack was foiled by Green Thorn, the first super on the scene, but not before she caused several thousand dollars worth of property damage.

To make a long story short, due to the nature of her powers, the Environmental Protection Agency, realizing the threat that super villains pose to the environment, decided to take her under their wing. After a [legally-binding] pledge to never seek revenge on the chemical corporation that created her, she was trained how to use her powers to their fullest.

After her education was complete, she was given a high-level position in the E.P.A., which she filled when she was not fighting crime. The E.P.A. used Andrea, now going by the codename Delve, as part of a media campaign against all manner of things including pollution, global warming, recycling, etc.

Freedom City Solo Career
As a solo super in Freedom City, Delve enjoyed being in the spotlight and spent most of her time fighting environmentally-themed super villians. Occasionally, she'd engage in public press wars with Tannin Chemicals. During her off duty hours, she was known to frequent clubs in the city.

During her years in Freedom City, Delve lived in an apartment in slightly more upscale section of the city. In general, members of the press were not allowed inside the building.

Delve's First Demise
Delve's early years of crime-fighting were marked with incredible bruises and injuries. While her body seemed to repair itself fast enough, she was clearly not capable of taking injuries a lot of her colleagues could. This fact became most evident when Delve assisted the Planet Defense Force in fighting a villian by the name of Destructicator. In addition to his super power of having an incredibly stupid name, he possessed super-strength, an incredible jumping ability, enhanced toughness, and a mean disposition.

Destructicator declared war on Freedom City and all the people in it. He began by assaulting people in the streets, throwing cars, destroying buildings, etc. When the Planet Defense Force arrived on the scene, Destructicator made short work of them all. Their bodies strung about the street, he approached the barely conscious Green Thorn. Lifting him into the air, he prepared to crush the remaining life out of him. That's when Delve burst out of the ground and onto his back. Destructicator had difficulty shaking her off, until he got an idea. Using his jumping ability, the roof of a tall building, and trusting that Delve would not let go, he literally body-slammed her into the pavement. An additional couple of supers were able to arrive on scene to assist a recovering Green Thorn with defeating Destructicator, but it was too late for Delve.

Green Thorn personally took Delve's body back to her family in Arizona. There, they had a small, private funeral for her.

A month later, however, she was spotted back in Freedom City, fighting crime just as she always had. When questioned about her supposed death, Delve has always explained that apparently the physicians didn't know how to diagnose her correctly due to her altered genetics. She insists it was a coma and nothing more.

After her death and resurrection, however, Delve seemed a lot more capable in combat. Those who believed she had actually died began to formulate theories that her body rebuilt itself, matching her needs more closely this time. This also led to several Evolutionists to request Delve to submit to testing, believing her genetics could hold the key to answering many questions on the field. Delve has never acknowledged their requests.

It was also here, at age 23, that some believe that Delve's body stopped aging.

McMurray Detective Agency
Eventually, Delve joined up with the McMurray Detective Agency. This was her first time being part of an established team.

Adopting Abigail
Shortly after the exit of Monifa from the group, Spin contacted Delve regarding a troubled young woman that she thought could use Delve's guidance. She thought it over and decided to, much as Green Thorn and the EPA had done to her, give the young woman a chance, and for better or worse, adopted her.

Abigail Quinn joined the team under the codename Delusion and the new mother-daughter pair fought crime together. While Delve wasn't the perfect role-model for Abigail, her heart was in the right place.

The Death of Overclocked
During one of their encounters with the Mayans, the team elected to use lethal force. It wasn't until after the fight was over, and the Mayan form reverted to that of their missing teammate, Overclocked, that Delve realized the error of their ways.

From that moment on, after a period of self-reflection, Delve decided to no longer use lethal force to apprehend criminals. They could never risk another Overclocked scenario.

Delve's Second Demise
During the fight against Rana and Anarchy in Mayan form, Delve was, for the second time in her life, killed. When she came back, she was upset to discover that, once again, her body had altered itself. This time, the control she had over earth and rock had apparently vanished. She could still burrow, but no longer could she will stone, sand, and the like to move or reshape itself.

The event shook Delve to the core, but she was able to accept it and move on. The Earth had once again rejected her spirit, and she was ready to fight crime once more.

Banishment of the Mayor
After their return return from Mexico, the group had obtained an item of immense power, a scepter capable of seemingly unlimited potential. Later, during a fight with (MAYAN GOD NAME HERE), in a last ditch effort, Delve used the scepter to banish their enemy, accidentally banishing Freedom City's mayor with him.

It was Delve's guilt over the situation that would lead her to become personally invested in the fight against these Mayan "deities" and also cause her to become very protective of the scepter. She feared it falling into her teammates' hands, else they might drain it of its power and end any chance of bringing the mayor back.

Time Travel Ramifications
Near the end of the team's dealings with the Mayans, it became necessary for the group to travel through time with the assistance of Countdown. Delve objected to this on several levels. Working with a super villain, and the potential ramifications and religious significance of time travel and bringing back the dead proved to be too much of a strain.

After discussions with both Major Comet and Delusion on the matter, Delve decided they needed to prevent the team from proceeding. This led to a direct confrontation between Delve and Rana. After a brief and confusing struggle, Delve and Delusion were held prisoner by Countdown, but after an equally brief discussion, both heroes were brought along on the time-traveling adventure.

Delve was prepared to have to sacrifice herself in order to fix the mess, but luckily it did not come to that. The team was able to succeed without any major changes to the time stream. Luckily, Delve's conscious was wiped clean, as, when they reached present time, Delve discovered the mayor had been returned.

After the Mayan Arc
Disappointed with the way the McMurray Detective Agency had turned against her, she officially resigned from the team and resumed acting as a solo hero. It was during this short period of time that a lot of Delve's life started to change.

Following the events of the Mayan arc, Delve had a crisis of faith. She abandoned her faith and when questioned on the topic, called herself agnostic.

Delve, after a series of negotiations, broke away from the EPA officially. Due to a settlement with the EPA and a series of celebrity endorsements, Delve amassed a small fortune.

During this time, Delve pursued a relationship with Spin. The relationship was short lived, but ended on good terms. It is not clear whether the relationship didn't work or if Abbey's upcoming enrollment in Oxford ultimate led to the break-up.

United Kingdom Solo Career
Delve and Abbey moved to Europe so that Abbey could attend school. There, she found a position as Director of Public Relations for a major international corporation.

In Europe, Delve found even greater fame, and often has to deal with the press and paparazzi. However, Delve has never once complained about the attention.

For the most part, Delve had adapted just fine to the move. Fighting crime was a little different, as the faces were brand new, although it didn't take long for Defiler to track Delve down. The two have now had numerous fights on European soil. Meanwhile, a European subsidiary of Tannin Chemicals has been making moves in the background to try take Delve down. Delve herself is unaware that some of the villains she has faced have been manipulated in one way or another by Strategic International, an arms (and secret biological agent) manufacturer.

The Guardians of O.R.D.E.R.
Delve was contacted by Maxine McMurray and given a list of heroes to recruit to create a new super hero team to deal with matters in and around the United Kingdom. After giving it a small amount of thought, Delve decided to jump at the offer. Using her home, Little Freedom as the base, she welcomed the new team. To improve on some areas in which the previous team had challenges, Delve brought in an assistant, Aria, to aid in the team's communication and scheduling as well as provided commlinks to the entire team.

While Delve was unsure if this new team had what it takes to fight crime on a serious level, she did her best to try to encourage the team to work together, while maintaining individual personalities and opinions. The team's first mission was more or less a success. The team successfully brought down Ozgur Con Oney and his mercenary, Heavy Artillery. It was during the fight with Heavy Artillery that Delve was reminded, once again, of how near-indestructible she really is, taking numerous blasts full-on with little damage.

The second adventure (on a Scientology cruise ship) of the group turned out to be a bit more complicated. Due to some sort of time manipulation, Delve's memory of the events was a bit confusing, but the group was able to defeat Xenu and prevent his Scientology-inspired destruction of the world. At the conclusion of this storyline, however, Delve and Abbey had an argument about fleeing from battle, followed by a short personal conflict created by Lilly.

Less than a week after the Scientology events, Delve was forced to leave Europe to attend her mother's funeral in Arizona. She left Disco in charge of Little Freedom, Exemplar in charge of the team, and Parallel in charge of keeping an eye on Eclipse.

Upon returning, Delve had a series of difficult conversations with her daughter, which eventually led to a forced conversation with Spin. The details of their conversation were not revealed, but despite Eclipse's intentions, Delve appears to still be single.

Alcoholism
While it has never been confirmed to be a problem in Delve's household, on social outings it is rare to see Delve without an alcoholic drink of some kind. While some have claimed this is a sign of bad parenting, Delve has avoided any visits by social workers in the time that she has been mother to Abigail.

Being a Celebrity
Being Delve comes with its own set of complications. Her celebrity status can sometimes get in the way of everything from mundane activities to actual super-hero business, itself. While some celebrities complain about their fame, Delve seems to revel in it. As such, it can even serve as a distraction at times. The fame also results in a fair number of fans and admirers. Her fan club have come to call their members "spelunkers" and make it a habit of keeping up-to-date on all the Delve news (and memorabilia!). While Delve's personal relationships are a bit more secretive, sources have observed that she appears to attract men (and in some cases, women) on a regular basis. It would appear, however, that she has rejected almost all advances since her split from Spin.

Environmental Protection Agency
For a long time, the EPA essentially owned Delve. Insiders in the EPA explained that after Delve's initial stint as a villian, the agency offered her a chance to rehabilitate herself and serve a good cause, the protection of the environment. She became a spokesperson for them for many years, but after a settlement she now finds herself free to pursue other careers. However, this does not mean she has turned her back on any environmental causes. The EPA also retains the right to use her likeness (real or animated) in print and television.

Temper
Rumor has it that while Delve is a pretty easy-going person most of the time, certain subjects have the potential to send Delve into a rage. Sources close to the McMurray Detective Agency report that internal strife is one of the leading reasons the super team dissolved. No confirmation has been made on this issue. Delve prefers to explain that she and Rana had differences of opinion, and it was time for her to move on to other things.

Weaknesses
Delve's greatest weaknesses appear to be water and sound waves. Reports indicate that when wet, Delves powers appear to be extremely diminished, and she is left in a weakened state. Meanwhile, sound waves appear to bypass Delve's enhanced resistance. While she can take a punch from Major Comet, sonic attacks have been known to leave her greatly injurred.

Defiler
Defiler, real name: Jacklyn Jones, through a failed scientific experiment, developed a terrifying super power: the ability to kill on a cellular level. While her powers sound like they could be confused with Delve's own, Jacklyn's is limited to living creatures and is very lethal, causing death and fast decay. In addition, she seems to have advanced resistance to cellular damage. Delve and Defiler have fought on numerous occassions, in very brutal fights, considering both are fairly resistant to each others' powers.

Ozone
Ozone, Marcus Smith, is a deviced-based criminal obsessed with pollution. His trademark weapon is a gun linked to an ozone generator, which he uses to cause chemical burns as well as respitory conditions in his victims. His motivations seem to be more about causing harm and destruction than any sort of financial gain.

Tannin Chemicals
Based out of Phoenix, Arizona, Tannin Chemicals is the corporation responsible for Delve's transformation into a super. She originally sought revenge against the company during a brief stint as a villian. Corrupt and untouchable, Delve has tried numerous times to bring legitimate claims against their company for environmental transgressions, but Tannin Chemicals has always had a way out. Since Delve has left Freedom City, Tannin Chemicals has gained a new C.E.O. and owner, Nathan Halliwell. He replaced his grandfather, Alexander Halliwell, who, reports indicated, passed away from natural causes one month after writing his will.

Tsunami
Tsunami, real identity unknown, is an asian-themed water-controller who Delve has fought on a regular basis. While Tsunami isn't what you'd call a criminal master-mind, he often teams up with other villians in an effort to test his mettle against Delve. Due to the nature of his powers, Delve has had many a close call when dealing with this villian. It is unclear what gives Tsunami his powers. Many believe him to be a mutant. Delve, despite winning battles against him, has never been able to apprehend Tsunami, who always seems to have luck on his side.

Abigail
Adopted daughter. Delve has never been very motherly, but her desire to help a troubled young girl make something of herself stirred a desire deep inside. Much as the EPA had done to Delve, she took Abigail under her wing, providing a home and purpose for the young woman. She does consider her to be her daughter for all intents and purposes.

Major Comet
Previous teammate. While their connection to Abigail was a matter of coincidence, Major Comet often filled the role of 'father figure' in the odd dynamic between Delve, Comet, and Abigail. Rumors of more ran rampant, but no proof of any sort of relationship emerged.

Rana McMurray
Previous team leader of the McMurray Detective Agency. Delve and Rana began to have arguements due to religious and philosophical disagreements relating to a mission involving time travel and bringing back the dead. While there is no public animosity between the two, Delve and Rana have not spoken much since the team's dissolvement.

Reggie Anderson
Reggie was a fan of Delve's that used to do research for her on the side in return for autographs and personal items, making him one of the more accomplished Delve memorabilia collectors on the market. His techie skills were of great value to Delve, but she began to feel like she was using him. Prior to moving from Freedom City, Delve paid Reggie one last visit to tell him goodbye. They have not spoken since, despite leaving on good terms.

Spin
Delve met Spin during the Mayan Arc as part of the McMurray Detective Agency. While she initially ignored her advances, Delve later pursued a relationship with Delilah that was very short-lived but intense. It is not publicly known the reason for their break-up, but rumors abound that both women did not wish to continue the relationship while Delve lives in England. It is also believed that the locket Delve often wears was given to her by Spin.

Disco
Disco was one of the first supers Delve met after her move to Europe. She could tell that, despite his flamboyant nature, he was of good character. He even was generous enough to help pay for some of Little Freedom's defensive upgrades to help it serve as a proper base of operations for The Guardians of O.R.D.E.R.. While she considers him to be one of the more normal members of the team, she has doubts about his reliability.

Aria
Aria began an internship at Little Freedom immediately prior to the formation of The Guardians of O.R.D.E.R.. She finds working with the super team to be incredibly rewarding, since she doesn't have the sort of powers necessary to be a crime-fighting super, herself. Aria has already proven herself to be an incredibly helpful resource to the team, and Delve and Aria have formed a very strong friendship during their off-hours.

Miscellanous Trivia

 * Delve never learned to drive, burrowing is much more convenient.
 * She also never learned to cook, much to the dismay of Abigail.
 * While her public image is extremely important to her, she has never done much to counter the public rumor that she's a bit of a lush.
 * Despite her past as a Catholic, Delve now considers herself Agnostic. She does not entertain religious conversations.
 * Delve's likeness has been used to create an environmentally-concerned comic hero by the same name. In the comics, Delve has many of the same powers, but sometimes has exaggerated strength, in addition to physical enhancements typical of female comic book heroes. Rumor has it that a Delve movie script has been passed around the major studios, and there has even been talk of casting, but no official project has been announced.