Alyssa's Backstory and MISC

8-2-07

Three Friends

Blessed
With to many Gifts
Alone in the world
Lost
Desperate
Until
I met you,
My best friends
Vertro, Slash, and Tara.
Ever generous,
Ever faithful,
Ever strong,
What would I have done without you?
Vertro,
I wish I could be as selfless as you
Slash,
You were always stronger than I could ever hope to be
Tara,
My best friend,
Words can't even begin to describe what you mean to me
Vertro, Slash, Tara,
The day we met,
I could never regret
I would have been nothing without you.

10-9-07 Alyssa's Suicide

Alyssa’s Suicide

I staggered out of the dome, my whole body beaten and bleeding. The biggest
fight I had ever faced, and I had come through at the right time. Finally.
After so many long years, I had finally come through for the people that
mattered. But at what cost? My powers, the very thing that had won us the
battle, had also come close to destroying me, and everyone around me. I
couldn't risk it happening again.
I looked around the barren field for my best friend. Tara. I had to tell
her, tell her what I was going to do...because I wasn't going to get another
chance to say the things that I've been holding back.
Tara slowly limped away from the area where the battle had been. She had
small wounds on her body, but they weren’t horrible. After walking a little, she slowly lower to the ground and sat down in the tall grass. She closed her eyes, and had the fight keep replaying in her head, and all who were there. But, she flashed her eyes open, and quickly stood up and began looking around the area for her friend, Alyssa.
I walked up behind Tara, and whispered her name. Then my knees gave out from under me, and I collapsed to the ground behind her. Whether it was grief or injury, I couldn't tell. "Tara..." a tear rolled down my cheek.
Tara looked where she had heard her name being called, and immediately saw Alyssa on the ground. "Alyssa!" she said, and hurried over to her friend. "Alyssa..." she said again, seeing how hurt she was. "We need to get you somewhere. Some shelter, and medicine."
I shook my head. The action caused the blood to swirl through my head, and I believe, out of my mouth. "Tara," I started again, voice cracking. How to explain? "This can't be allowed to go on anymore. I can't be allowed to go on anymore." I was fully crying now.
Tara looked at Alyssa for a moment, not knowing what to say. Finally she was able to find her voice, and said shakily "You can, Alyssa. I bet you can. But…" She hugged her friend, and felt tears form in her eyes as she paused a moment. "I can't tell you what to do." she said finally.
A sob clawed its way from my throat, sharp and horrible. "I'm sorry..." I whispered, looking up at her "But now it all makes sense. I'm 18 today. I shouldn't be allowed to live past that day. It's the real reason why I was given my energy-draining power."
“If that is what you think, then I don’t have the right change that,” she said softly. “It’s your birthday.” Tara tried her best to smile.

3-28-08

Alyssa's Past

Alyssa’s Past (Revised)
By: Amy S.
Alyssa was born and raised in Boston, Mass. Her powers (the ability to read minds, drain energy, and move objects without touching them) presented themselves at quite an early age, when she was less than a year old. The entire family was absolutely terrified, something that hasn’t changed much in the past 16 years. Her poor mother loves her anyway, and is constantly fighting the battle between abject fear, sorrow, and terror. Alyssa’s mother’s compromise is to just give into everything Alyssa asks or says, which invariably causes conflict with her sister and brother. After a while, however, they learned to be just as afraid of Alyssa as their mother is. Her little brother also, then, does as she asks.
Her older sister is a different case. You see, an accident occurred when Alyssa was about 9 or 10. Her sister (then 13), wanted to attend an exclusive boarding school for dance to help her fulfill her life-long dream of becoming a dancer. Alyssa, distraught at the idea of her sister leaving home, whished with all her heart that something would happen that would render her sister unable to go. Unfortunately, that “something” was her sister taking a nasty fall down the stairs, thanks to Alyssa’s telekinetic powers. Alyssa’s sister (19) is paralyzed from the waist down. Alyssa’s never forgiven herself for that, and her sister, though she cares for Alyssa, is both bitterly angry with her sister at times, and frightened of what else she might be capable of.
Their father is frightened of Alyssa, and is angry at her for making him feel so frightened, terrorizing her siblings and mother, and hurting her sister, so he’s completely emotionally detached from her, treats her with nothing but cold, harsh indifference, and is always looking for an excuse to work late, or stay out with friends.
Alyssa herself has no real friends, as everybody in her school teases her and shuns her. They don’t know she’s a Gifted, per se, but they do know that weird and dangerous things tend to happen around her, which is “not cool”. Her grades suffer in school because, being able to read the teacher’s minds, she has learned that answers to tests and quizzes by accident, convincing the teachers that she’s a cheating little liar. All the grades that would have been 100s were marked as zeros.
Alyssa’s greatest weakness in relation to her powers is simply the fact that she is so powerful. Thanks to her mind-reading powers (which is cannot shut off), if she’s in a crowd, she risks getting overloaded and having a seizure from over-stimulation. Because of her energy-draining powers, if someone’s skin ever directly touches her skin, she is once again overloaded (due to accessing all the person’s thought, feelings, emotions, memories, etc.), crumples into a ball of pain, and will black out if the person doesn’t let go (her drain-ee will also most likely black out). The telekinesis….well, that one’s a tad self-explanatory.
The end result of all this dysfunction is Alyssa being completely socially inept. She has no idea how to make friends, and is torn between a desperate longing for companionship on an equal basis and being terrified of achieving that, because she is afraid that person will turn out like everyone else and reject her. Since she herself has had no real exposure to a relationship of equals, she also views life very hierarchically (you are either above or below someone, not on the same plain) and most definitely doesn’t want to be on the bottom of said hierarchy (which she is at school), and is also aware of the perks of being at the top (thanks to her home, where she essentially calls the shots). Alyssa is also filled with extreme desire for revenge at anyone who hurt her, and deep sadness and guilt for anyone she has hurt.
Just a recipe for disaster, no?