Editing Contessa (section)

==History==
===Background===
Contessa was born as Fortuna on [[Earths|an unknown alternative earth]].

When she was a child, [[Eden]] crash-landed in a vicinity of Fortuna's village and [[shards|pieces of her body]] contaminated food and water sources. Multiple people in the community turned into [[Case 53|monsters]] plunging it into a chaos. Fortuna was one of the few, if there were any else, who kept their own body.

Fortuna's trigger event included a vision of Eden and Scion's plans to sow conflict and destroy humanity, and she set about finding and killing the entity with a power that was still unrestricted. 

The entity, realizing what she was trying to do, restricted her power so that it could not be used against Entities. However, Fortuna had already seen the steps required to kill the Entity, and with the help of a woman who would later call herself 'the Doctor,' Fortuna stopped the entity from killing her and reclaiming the critical [[shard]]. The Doctor, with a knife and directions given by Fortuna, stabbed the entity in a critical location, rendering it brain dead. 

The Doctor and Fortuna founded Cauldron with the sole purpose of stopping Eden's partner entity, Scion. They harvested Eden's corpse for powers, which they granted to other people. Ashamed of the human experimentation she performed to improve the power formula, Fortuna took the name Contessa out of respect to her parents and a desire to avoid sullying the name they gave her.<ref name="29.x"> - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/interlude-29/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 29]]</ref>

Through the years Contessa as served as the doctor's bodyguard, whenever they went on dangerous [[Contessa vs. Lung|assignments]].

===Post-[[Slaughterhouse Nine]]===
Attended the meeting of [[Cauldron]] and [[The Triumvirate]].<ref>[[Interlude 14.y|Legend's Interlude]]</ref>

===Post-[[Battle against Echidna|Echidna]]===
Keeps the details revealed during the [[Echinda|Echidna]] battle hush hush. Was transferred back to Cauldron's home base to ensure that there were no escapes, the events of the Echidna event were allowed to leak out.<ref>[[Interlude 21.x]]</ref>

===[[Timeskip]]===
[[Bonesaw]] when masquerading as Riley is confronted by Contessa during the time skip while the rest of the Slaughterhouse Nine are in stasis. Contessa prompts Bonesaw in her initial thoughts to betray the Nine with a conversation about the distinction between her and her passenger.<ref>[[Interlude 25]]</ref>

===Post-[[Timeskip]]===
Deployed effectively against [[The Slaughterhouse Nine-Thousand]].

===[[Gold Morning]]===
Contessa helped coordinate Cauldron's response to Scion. Doctor Mother requested that she find three candidates for some vials that had historically yielded very strong powers, but Contessa was intercepted by attacking [[Irregulars]] before she was able to leave the facility. One of the Irregulars, [[Mantellum]], was able to block Contessa's power, forcing her to flee Cauldron's offices and fake her death.<ref name="29.x"/>

After returning to the facility and discovering the Doctor is dead, Contessa provided Cauldron's contingency plans to [[Teacher]] and assumed second-in-command of his organization. 
Following [[Scion]]'s death, Contessa tracked down [[Khepri]] and, after a brief conversation aided by her abilities, then shoots two bullets into the back of Taylor's head.<ref name="30.7">[[Speck 30.7]]</ref>

===Post-[[Gold Morning]]===
Contessa appears to have spared [[Taylor]]: the two bullets seemingly disabled her so that Contessa could arrange a [[Corona Pollentia#Power Removal|power removal]].<ref>Her hand touched her forehead, and she felt a pair of soft spots, each barely wider across than a dime. She ran her hand over her short hair. She didn't know how it had happened, but she could guess. Bullets to disable her, surgery to seal her power away.<br><br>Cauldron, apparently, did have a means of locking powers away. Or maybe it was Contessa, doing the work, or perhaps she'd simply been kept alive, carted to Panacea or Bonesaw, who could fix things up.<br><br>But dwelling on those things wasn't healthy, and it was pointless in the end. She'd likely never get a serious answer. She only had the two dimples or holes in her skull, the sole apparent casualty of some kind of brain surgery. - [[Interlude: End]]</ref> Contessa then appears to have exiled the unpowered Taylor with her dad to a world sealed from the multiverse.

Had disappeared, presumably into retirement.<ref name="5x II">"This would be easier if we had Fortuna," she said.<br><br>"She gave her all to get us this far. It would be asking a lot, for her to give us the remainder of her years. We'll see ourselves the rest of the way. She can live her life as she sees fit."<br><br>Jeanne privately disagreed, but she didn't make a point with it. Not with Kurt's younger selves in the car. - [https://www.parahumans.net/2018/04/07/shadow-interlude-5-x/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 5x II]]</ref> Following an attempt to stop relying on her power Fortuna was captured and imprisoned by [[Teacher]]'s branch of [[Teacher's Cauldron|Cauldron]].<ref>[[Black 13.x]]</ref>

===Post-[[Time Bubble Pop]]===
During [[The Wardens]]' assault on the compound she was freed by [[Imp]] and [[Breakthrough]].<ref>[[Dying 15.6]]</ref> She led them to victory over Teacher, and in the final confrontation with Teacher rejected his methods, which led to him scrapping his endgame plans and running away.

===Post-[[Attack on Teacher]]===
In the following days she joined [[Citrine]] as a consultant,<ref name="16.1II">[[From Within 16.1]]</ref> and subsequently The Wardens' thinker pool.<ref>[[Sundown 17.3]]</ref>

She was still recovering from the coma.<ref>"Only that Contessa is still malnourished, with slight atrophy of the limbs, it's slowing her down. She's also slowed down because she's having to reset her layers of defenses. Stuff she'd ask herself regularly, to guard herself against every eventuality in the days and weeks. After her trauma of being captured during her one taste of freedom and independence, I think she's being extra slow and extra careful. Not blind spots, but factors. - [https://www.parahumans.net/2019/10/29/sundown-17-9/ Excerpt] from [[Sundown 17.9]]</ref>

Contessa retrieved a de-powered [[Teacher]] from [[Earth Cheit]] with the help of some other capes, to avoid being incapacitated by [[Mama Mathers]]-inspired traps.<ref>For other blind spots? Teacher's tech. His portals, a lot of the cracking, and a few traps he set using tinkered replications of Mama Mathers- [...] Nothing like you're picturing. He had tinkers scan her, copy her power, and work out stuff like... quantum tripwires, tripping when you look at them."<br><br>"Yes. Devices that trip in response to being observed. With big flashes that stick in your vision or mind's eye. But mostly it's the portals. Contessa is on her way back from Cheit. She's got a captive Teacher with her. She led a group in there and leaned on them pretty heavily to get around the special countermeasures he put in place." - [https://www.parahumans.net/2019/10/29/sundown-17-9/ Excerpt] from [[Sundown 17.9]]</ref> While passing the Cheit-Gimel portal she accidentally escalated the riot, that lead to [[Fume Hood]]'s [[Broken Trigger|broken second trigger]], which tagged Contessa herself and used her power-connections to catalyze the dimensional collapse of [[The City]]. Contessa was turned into one of the [[Titans]].<ref name="II17.y">[[Sundown 17.y]]</ref> The Titan Fortuna would later be joined by the [[Simurgh]].

===[[The Ice Breaks]]===
According to the Wardens' thinkers Simurgh interfered in Fortuna's communication.<ref name="II18.9 eInterfere">"Tattletale said the thinkers are analyzing Titan Fortuna and the Simurgh. With those two you can never be sure, but it looks like they aren't aligned. The Simurgh is interfering with the information Fortuna is trying to transmit to her network." - [https://www.parahumans.net/2019/12/14/radiation-18-9/ Excerpt] from [[Radiation 18.9]]</ref>

Titan Fortuna, initially planning to become the new hub, was locked in the [[precog]]-duel with [[Simurgh]] and outplanned. With all the secondary and thousandary plans countered,<ref name="II18.z ePlanning">A path that began with Auger fighting that was intended to end with her networked to all titans, ready to end this world and scattered haphazardly and limping to other stars and planets... instead ended with this silver woman in control of the network, humanity mad and savage.<br><br>A path that began with the host Valkyrie being made Titan, intended to end with the network largely complete, the silver woman dead, and the scattering due to happen in ten years... instead ended with the silver woman in control of the network, half of humanity deranged and fighting the other half. To investigate why took time that the silver woman could use to gain purchase elsewhere.<br>[...]<br>Neither one moving, they calculated, they planned, they counter-planned.<br><br>She saw a thousand more paths that ended with the silver woman ruling, despite the fact the silver woman had a fraction of her strength.<br><br>Finally, she decided to cede ground. To look for the answer ''why''. - [https://www.parahumans.net/2019/12/21/interlude-18-z-radiation/ Excerpt] from [[Radiation 18.z]]</ref> the shard part of titan resorted to the guidance of the human part and Fortuna decided to postpone the ending of [[The Cycle]].<ref>The child refused to be a slave again. The Titan refused to be a slave for other reasons. But they were able to think and act in concert. [...] Step one: hold the cracks back, until the right moment, the Titan Fortuna and the child Fortuna thought in concert. - [https://www.parahumans.net/2019/12/21/interlude-18-z-radiation/ Excerpt] from [[Radiation 18.z]]</ref>

Following [[The Firmament]] bombing she led [[Ophion]] and [[Nemean]] to the [[Earth Shin]] portal. She skipped the most of the fighting with defending capes by initiating further dimensional collapse using the massive burst of titan-body regeneration caused by [[Legend]]'s full-power barrage.<ref name="II19.4">[[Infrared 19.4]]</ref> It shortly produced [[Shortcut|The Flowing]], [[Mystic Magic Impaler|The Impaler]], [[The Custodian]], [[Drillbit]] and [[Pouffe]] Titans.<ref name="II19.5">[[Infrared 19.5]]</ref>

[[Rain]] was able to deliver the message to Contessa through [[The Firmament]]. Shortly after that Fortuna either ordered her Titans to stand down or stopped commanding them, and went dormant herself for a while.<ref name="II19.7"/> However, one of the predestined cracks still reached [[Valkyrie]], turning her into a Titan too.<ref name="II19.6">[[Infrared 19.6]]</ref>

[[Breakthrough]] visited Contessa's seat of power inside [[the Shardrealm]],<ref name="II19.7">[[Infrared 19.7]]</ref> they received a series of visions regarding the nature of the Eye and the previous [[cycle]]s,<ref name="II19.8">[[Infrared 19.8]]</ref> and were warned about the Simurgh taking over Titan Fortuna and summoning more [[Endbringers]] with the help of Titan Valkyrie and [[Eidolon]]'s shade.<ref name="II19.9">[[Infrared 19.9]]</ref>

Titan Fortuna prepared defenses against the final attack of The Simurgh, with four drill-titans being ordered to destroy the segments of the [[The Shardspace]].<ref>The Titans had gathered and stood as a defensive line, spaced apart like each one's position mattered on some fundamental level. Four of the Titans had powers that drilled, dug, or carved. Titan Amenonuhoko, Titan Auger, Titan Drillbit, Titan Ghast. All four Titans were tearing up the crystal landscape below them, aiming for specific paths and locations. - [https://www.parahumans.net/2020/03/28/last-20-a/ Excerpt] from [[Last 20.a]]</ref>

Contessa and [[Antares]] struck a deal. Fortuna received [[Dauntless]] under her control, allowing her to defeat [[The Simurgh]], while Antares got means to recover [[Riley Davis]], the parahuman plague, and distant capes through Titan Valkyrie.<ref name="II20.a"/>

Titan Fortuna proceeded with with her attempt to end the Cycle early,<ref name="II20.a">[[Last 20.a]]</ref> but was put into a stalemate by the deployment of the parahuman plague. It took the majority of available parahumans and their data hostage, and the distribution of the decision to heal them to the hands of unpowered public, who would perish if Fortuna attempted to leave. Thus forcing her to yield.<ref name="II20.b">[[Last 20.b]]</ref> Three titans, including Fortuna, immediately "crumbled" after that.