Purity

<infobox> <title source="name"><default>Purity</default></title>

<image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group><header>Basic Information</header> <label>Civilian Name</label> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Gender</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Death</label> <label>Age</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> <label>Relations</label> <label>Family</label></group> <group><header>Professional Status</header> <label>Occupation</label> <label>Classification</label> <label>Unique Features</label> <label>Alignment</label>

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<label>Location</label> <label>Teams</label> <label>Previous Team(s)</label> <label>Base of Operations</label></group> <group><header>First Appearance</header> <label>Worm Debut</label> <label>Ward Debut</label></group> </infobox>

Kayden Anders (née Russel), known publicly as Purity, is an enforcer of Empire Eighty-Eight and Kaiser's right-hand woman as well as his ex-wife.

Personality

Kayden didn't believe in the Empire Eighty-Eight's ideology, but she was still influenced by her many years under their sway, making snap judgements about people based on their apparent ethnic background.

She was nicknamed "the Crusader" by Cherish.<ref name="12.1 c1">Remember eight people were nicknamed (not all necessarily prospective recruits), and Cherish counted Regent as a ninth (but not nicknamed)? The Crusader was Purity, who Jack Slash wanted to find (after the thing with Oni Lee fell through) before he could play his little game with her (going after Aster). - Comment by Wildbow on Plague 12.1</ref>

She was an interior decorator in her civilian identity.<ref name=":0">There were other images as well, showing Max Anders with a gorgeous twenty-something blonde, and Max Anders with an older brunette woman at a coffee shop, their table strewn with what looked like paperwork.  I scrolled down to confirm my suspicions, the blonde appeared in another picture with her twin sister.  Fenja and Menja.

The brunette woman was Purity, according to the email.  Far mousier than I might have thought, given the sheer presence she had in costume.  Real name, Kayden Anders.  Interior decorator.  Single mother of one Aster Anders.  Purity was promoted to Kaiser's second in command in the same week that Kayden Russel took Max's hand in marriage to become Kayden Anders.  Their separation occurred within the same time period as Purity leaving Empire Eighty Eight to apparently strike out on her own. - Excerpt from Buzz 7.4</ref>

Appearance

Kayden had brown hair and eyes.<ref name="I3.5" /> She was mousy and shorter than average.<ref name="I18"> - Excerpt from Queen 18.y</ref> She was visibly older than Fenja and Menja.<ref name=":0" />

As Purity, Kayden didn’t wear a mask, but it wasn’t necessary. With her powers active, her hair and eyes became a radiant white, emanating a light so brilliant it was impossible to look straight at her<ref name="I3.5" /> without getting spots in your eyes.<ref name="5.1">Hive 5.1</ref> The fabric of her plain white costume radiated a soft,<ref name="I3.5" /><ref name="5.1">Hive 5.1</ref> rippling glow. Her costume also included "pristine" white gloves. She left a white trail behind her as she flew.<ref name="I3.5" />

Abilities and Powers

Kayden falls into the category of 'flying artillery' capes. She has the ability to create kinetically charged light, to move through the air at high speeds while generating powerful blasts.<ref name="5.1">Hive 5.1</ref> She moved too fast for anyone among the Brockton Bay heroes but Dauntless or Velocity to catch, and she hit harder than both of them combined.<ref name="7.7" /> Her power left firefly-like motes of light behind it when used.<ref name=":1">Buzz 7.10</ref><ref name="7.7" />

She could create two curved beams emanating from one hand, creating an expanding double-helix shape that was wider than she was and capable of levelling buildings. She could also create smaller beams, or fire multiple beams at once.<ref name="7.7" /> Her beams were almost as powerful as Legend's, although not as versatile.<ref>Legend was at the head of the pack when it came to being flying artillery.  His firepower was on par with Purity's, if not outright surpassing her, and he was far, far more versatile. -

Extermination 8.1 </ref> It took her a moment to "charge" her beams, energy visibly welling up in her hands.<ref name=":1" />

She had an internal supply of energy, which recharged when she basked under special halogen lights in Kaiser's office.<ref name="I3.5" /> Jack Slash noticed that, after periods where there was more sunlight, her powers were stronger, which may suggest that sunlight gives her more power than regular light.<ref>Interlude 11b (Anniversary Bonus)</ref>

History

Background

Kayden went out driving for the first time when she was sixteen years old. She got into an accident on a side road and her car rolled off the road and out of sight of anyone passing by. She was trapped inside the vehicle until she began to starve, and then triggered, gaining powers that fed off of and required light.<ref name="I18" /><ref>Interlude 8 (Bonus)</ref> Her delirium influenced the trigger event.<ref name="SB1"/>

Kaiser would approach Purity sometime later, after she started going out in costume. With his good looks and his way with words, he convinced her of his way of thinking. At some point, she joined the Empire Eighty-Eight.

After working ten years alongside Max, Kayden married him,<ref name=":0" /> becoming second-in-command of Empire Eighty-Eight.<ref name=":0" /> Eleven months into their marriage, Kayden woke up to who Max really was. She divorced Max and left the Empire, taking their daughter, Aster, with her. <ref name="I3.5" /> Night and Fog left at the same time she did.<ref name=":1" />

Kayden became an independent cape<ref name=":0" /> who made the ABB a priority target.<ref name="I3.5" /> Three to five times a week, she carried out surgical strikes against the gang's low level operations; interrupting shipments, beating up dealers and thugs, attacking their places of business and gathering information. She clashed with Lung on four occasions and Oni Lee on two and had forced them to retreat on all but one of those encounters. At one point, Lung set a trap for her, and succeeded in returning the favor; it took her two months to recuperate from all of her injuries.<ref name="I3.5" />

Story Start

When Kayden had read about Lung's arrest, she cleared her schedule and went out to clean up the Azn Bad Boys. She failed to get any information as to the recent changes the ABB had gone through and, out of options, sought out Kaiser. She eventually agreed to rejoin the Empire as his second in command on the stipulation that, if a year passed and she wasn't satisfied with his methods, she would own the Empire and he would be her second in command.<ref name="I3.5">Interlude 3.5 (Bonus)</ref>

As a member of Empire Eighty-Eight, Purity led a "sub-group" comprised of Fog, Night, Alabaster and Crusader.<ref name="7.7" />

Her identity was revealed to the public alongside the rest of Empire-Eighty-Eight,<ref name="7.6">Buzz 7.6</ref> and her daughter, Aster was taken by child protective services.<ref name="7.7">Buzz 7.7</ref> She fought the Undersiders alongside this group.<ref name="7.9">Buzz 7.9</ref><ref name="7.10">Buzz 7.10</ref>

When Leviathan came to Brockton Bay Purity participate in the defense of the City. At one point she blasted the beast and was able to momentarily pin him down.<ref>Leviathan slapped the teenage hero down, swiped at one of my swarm-people, then was forced down onto all fours as Purity struck him square between the shoulderblades with a column of light. - Excerpt from Extermination 8.5</ref>

Post-Leviathan

Following Kaiser's death Kayden formed a splinter group out of her friends in the Empire, called the The Pure. She also started making overtures to the Protectorate trying to forge an alliance to secure the wrecked city, but was rebuffed.<ref name="9.1">Sentinel 9.1</ref> She took custody of Theo Anders with the death of his father.

She encountered Jack Slash in her apartment.<ref>Interlude 11b (Anniversary Bonus) </ref> She helped Hookwolf co-ordinate a Meeting at Crater Lake between all the hero and villain teams to oppose the Nine, using flashes of her light as signals.<ref>Plague 12.2</ref>

She was among a group led by Hookwolf that attacked the Slaughterhouse Nine while they held Grue hostage in Dolltown. Regent and Genesis led them into attacking another group of the Nine in a different building, in order to save him.<ref>Snare 13.8</ref>

Post-Slaughterhouse Nine

Kayden and the Pure fled Brockton Bay. They trained Theo to defeat Jack Slash, but he didn't trigger. Eventually, Crusader abandoned him, convincing Kayden that it was the only way he would grow strong enough to save the world.<ref>Excerpt from Interlude 18 (Donation Bonus #2)</ref>

Post-Echidna

At some point, she reached a temporary accommodation with the PRT that led to her living in an apartment with Aster under constant observation and guard. Two "plain-looking" members of her group, presumably Night and Fog, were there as well.<ref>Secondary focuses.  Not the kind of targets that Dragon checked on with any regularity. [...] A temporary measure had been taken with Purity and her three year old daughter, with observation being provided for her by the PRT, and the feed showed her sitting on the couch in an apartment or hotel room, two very normal, plain looking people standing in the corner of the room with some PRT officers keeping their distance.

[...]

The three year old that Purity held was crying, throwing a tantrum, and the woman looked concerned.  Insignificant.  The officers had their guns drawn, but that could easily be because the two plain-looking members of Purity's circle had crossed the room to her side, to help handle the shrieking child. - Interlude 26 (Donation Bonus 1)</ref>

Post-Timeskip

She was captured by Gray Boy and tortured in an endless loop.<ref>Excerpt from Sting 26.6</ref>

References

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