Simca Simonovna Simakova

Codename: The Swallow
Nickname(s): The Migratory Bird, the Roseate Raptor, the Songbird, the Skywalker
Age: 19
Race: Human
Alignment: Lawful Good
Is this a canon?: No


Hair Color: Red
Eye Color: Green
Gender: Female
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 105 lbs
Other Traits: A violet rhombus visible on her forehead, which appears to be the conduit by which her body is linked to the extradimensional source of her powers; and hair that is an unusual color of bright pink. Originally, Simca's hair was long and separated into the shape of two "wings" sprouting from her head. The light texture of her sparkling hair accentuates her round, emerald eyes which can at a moment's glance replace her toughened expression with that of a child's. Her body is slender, attractive and in perfect shape largely due to her strict training regimen. As she grew in her original timeline and matured into her Red Sparrow alias, Simca cut her hair down to shoulder length. Her "post-crisis" self, although sixteen and going by Swallow again, retains Red Sparrow's hairstyle, but Simca's original sailor uniform.


Main Power Origins: Mutation/Extradimensional

Powers

• Extradimensional Avian Energy Conduit: While the true nature of the extradimensional source of Simca's powers is largely unknown, it appears to stem from a sort of avian entity - a cosmic force more than a lifeform or perhaps even something in-between. Whenever she's using her powers, Simca seems to hear her connection to this cosmic force as what she describes as "birdsong", which to her sounds like a thousand birds chirping at once, hence the name. This connection to the Birdsong Dimension imbues Simca's cells with energies from that cosmic force, which seem to be the source of her powers.
  
  1. Skywalking: The first and most basic application of Simca's powers. Swallow's extradimensional energy is most concentrated at the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet. Whenever she attempts to 'sky walk', instinctively, the energy forms a thin layer underneath her hands and feet that bequeaths them the ability to 'bounce' on or otherwise interact with physical fluids (such as air and water) in the same manner as one could on a solid. Typically, Simca uses her ability to solidify air (or any fluid phase matter) to act as a cushion against her applied force. She can thus jump on air, punch it, kick it, etc. and propel herself through it. However, this doesn't mean she can walk on air like a staircase. She can "fly" (or give the illusion of flight) into the air as if she were kicking against two parallel walls over and over again; that is, she can only consider air as a solid surface for no more than a few moments at a time. Her "sky walking" on air, is just like a rock skipping on a body of water; she can skip across the wind by constantly kicking the air underneath her. This power, combined with her natural flexibility and agility, allows her to perform awe-striking stunts in mid-air.
     
     
  2. Swift as a Swallow: The transdimensional energies of the Birdsong Dimension which imbue her bone, muscle and skin cells impart them with a natural flexibility, an economy of motion, a lightness of weight, and an agility surpassing those of the finest Olympic gymnasts. Her bones are hollow like a bird's, making her lighter, faster and more agile. Simca can twist, somersault, contort, flip, roll, spring and perform practically any acrobatic maneuver reflexively and almost effortlessly. Even the most mundane of her movements are naturally fluid, graceful and flawless.
     
     
  3. A Bird's Eye View: The transdimensional energies of the Birdsong Dimension similarly effect her nervous system, enhancing in particular her vision. Like many birds, Simca can see into the ultraviolet spectrum, imparting her with visual acuity far exceeding that of any ordinary human. Simca possesses incredible clarity of perception, enabling her to read lips or mimic subtle movements in her line of sight (such as pencil movements), and keep up with fast-moving objects. She can see colors that other humans cannot, she can see well through fog and rain, she notices tiny things in her line of sight that most people would ignore, and her vision functions excellently even in the dark. With the help of her ultraviolet vision, Simca can also see traces of evidence not visible to the naked eye under normal lighting, such as hidden blood, fingerprints, and fibers as well as subcutaneous bruises on living and dead bodies.
     
     
  4. Prey Instinct: Swallows, sparrows and nightingales are migratory birds, and as such, are evolved to possess instincts which enable them to evade and survive. Simca possesses a limited danger sense. She feels a nervous jitteriness when someone or something within a twenty meter radius could cause her potential harm, and she can instinctively pin-point the location where the danger is coming from. As part of her 'Prey Instinct', Simca has a natural tendency (though not fool-proof by any means) to 'claw out of harm's way', to find the perfect hiding spot where she has the least chance of giving away her presence, and to preserve energy when fleeing.

Skills

• Street Smarts. Simca has spent a considerable portion of her life on the streets, and suffice it to say, she knows her way around.
  
  
• Leadership. Simca functioned as the leader of the Slivers for a considerable amount of time before the time wipe. In any case, she has a natural charm, and knows how to organize, motivate and direct a team, and how to keep them together. Simca's greatest leadership quality is that she genuinely cares, about everyone, and makes genuine efforts to connect with people.
  

Abilities

• Expert Martial Artist. Upon donning the Swallow persona, in both her original timeline and her new one, Simca trained extensively in the Baguazhang ("Eight Trigram Palm") style of martial arts, largely in order to make up for her weakness in strength. Her fighting style involves the practice of circle walking, or "turning the circle", utilizing movements which employ the whole body with smooth coiling and uncoiling actions, utilizing hand techniques, dynamic footwork, and throws. The constant circular movement makes it difficult for opponents to land a blow. The style is thus naturally suited to capitalize on Simca's powers while covering for her weakness in strength.
  

Physical Weaknesses

• Hollow Skeleton: While Simca is swift, evasive and graceful, she is not strong. The hollowness of Simca's bones enables her lightness of weight and elegant aerial performance, but it renders them more far susceptible to breaking than a normal human's.
  

Mental Weaknesses

• Instinctive Claustrophobia: Simca is afraid of being "caged"; being in excessively tight spaces fills her with an intense anxiety, and a place so confined that it would hinder her freedom of movement or prevent from skywalking can mentally disable her.
  

Equipment

1. Holographic AI Interface (Aeon): Somehow, the only thing to have survived the time wipe alongside Simca was the Slivers' natural-language user interface computer system, Aeon, designed by Simca's old team-mate, Shadow, which had been backed up into her wristwatch during the Crisis. Simca's wristwatch features Aeon as a built-in computer system with holographic interface.
   

   Spoiler:

2. Lockpick: Simca carries a small, pocket-sized multipurpose lock-picking device.
   
3. Flashbang Grenades: Simca carries a few of these on her person for use during crime-fighting or escape.
   
4. Gas pellets: Simca carries a few of these on her person for use during crime-fighting or escape.
   

Personality

Simca is usually depicted as being calm and clear headed even in very dangerous situations and is often seen with a calm and sweet expression on her face. She rarely acts on impulse and usually thinks things through before she does anything. She also is very close to her friends and is very hesitant to put them in harm's way. If someone hurts her loved ones, she applies a completely different persona to her sweet, flirty, fun-loving and calm nature, going sadistic and serious and ready to hurt the person who hurt her loved ones in painful ways.

Simca is a romantic, believing that love is a beautiful thing and should blossom, but she does not actively look for a partner, as she is afraid of the concepts of betrayal, cheating and the ending of a relationship.

Her hobbies include photography, reading, writing and star gazing, as well as reading humorous books or enjoying parody TV shows. During her spare time, she has a book with her entitled "The World's Funniest Quotes Ever" which she enjoys reading. She particularly dislikes the Sun, and prefers a cool breeze in the night, or a cloudy day, and she especially loves the rain.

There is also a motherly side to Simca that propels her to take care of others around her whether they like it or not, should she feel that they do not take enough care of themselves. This is evident with her constantly looking after Krious during the time she stayed with him in his Rooftop Shack (pre-Slivers), going shopping for him, making the Shack look a bit more homely, and cooking him something-that-isn't-freeze-dried food. The way she tended to Krious when he returned home after being beaten by Emblem throws light on her compassionate and loving nature.


Family Members: Dr. Simon Simakov (father, status unknown); Ava/Kairi (mother, status unknown)
Place of Origin: Shlisselburg, Leningrad Oblast, Russia

History
In a clear, grassy field, a lone hill stood towering above a vast meadow. Atop of hill, a young four year old pink-haired girl gave chase to a pale swallow. Every time the songbird got within arm's reach, it would escape. She pursued it until she reached the edge of the hill, where she reluctantly stopped. She glared down at the ground, that barred her, that held her back. Forlornly, the girl watched the swallow fly away, under the milky clouds until it disappeared behind the golden horizon, free, unchained and uncaged.

The girl sighed mournfully, but then she was pelted - rather, caressed - by a fresh wind. Her expression changed; she smiled and let out a mirthful laugh.

For her spirit was kindred to the spirit of the wind.

"Simca!"

She bolted upright and walked backwards, away from the edge of the hill.

"Coming, Mama!" she yelled, turning around and running towards the source of the voice, but not before looking back towards the horizon behind which the songbird had disappeared one more time.

"I'll fwy with you one day! I'll be fwee like you!" she promised in squeaky four-year-old voice.

Born in the small town of Shlisselburg, in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, on a cold winter night, Simca Simakova was the daughter of Ava Orlova, who carried a genetic metahuman marker and was gifted with a connection to the Birdsong Dimension. The baby's father was Dr. Simon Simakov, a Russian scientist working as part of an extremely classified KGB project involving the reverse-engineering of the metahuman code to produce a batch of super soldiers that could, theoretically, draw infinite amounts of power from an extradimensional source.

From birth, Simca was trained in the use of her powers by her father. She did not know that he, and many of his colleagues, had sired other test subjects similar to herself as part of the same project. However, she was one of the most promising, because her extradimensional connection one of the strongest there was.

Growing up in the “the Base”, in the early years of her life, she was allowed to play with her half-siblings and fellow test-subjects, from among she remembers two boys vividly, Luka and Kara. Luka always used to help, hug her or try to cheer her up when Papa used to hurt her and lock her up in 'the Cage'. Luka and Simca tried to help Kara too, but Kara, she recalls, was always withdrawn, preferring to remain alone.

Simca was trained by the Russian government at "the Base", and through tests, scientists, including her father, wished to discover and enhance the extent of her metahuman abilities. To punish her for failures, Simca was often dragged into and locked in a solitary cell ("the Cage") for great periods of time, the experience of which severely traumatized her with a claustrophobic fear of confinement.

Somehow, the exact details of the event being unknown, Ava, Simca's biological mother, escaped her confinement, before springing Simca free. The mother and daughter duo escaped the Base through a drain pipe and fled into the surrounding woodlands of Shlisselburg. Simca was about six years old, and she had to survive in the woods with her mother. It was almost as bad as enduring what happened to her at the Base.

Almost.

Pulling some strings, Simca's mother managed to get the girl onto a ship to the  US. Thereafter, Simca ended up on the streets of Steel City, and was eventually noticed up by a social worker and placed in an orphanage. She rotated under different foster families but, as she grew, she became obsessed with finding out the truth about her parents. Eventually, at the tender age of thirteen, she ran away and joined the Sleeping Forest, a local street gang.

During a gang skirmish, Simca was forced to fight to defend herself and she ended up with her right humerus and left femur fractured (unbeknownst to her, it was due to her hollow skeleton) and in the hospital. There, while she was at her lowest; anxious, claustrophobic and suffering from nightmares about the horrors she faced as a child in the Cage, a mysterious woman named Kairi (who, unbenownst to Simca was her mother in disguise) visited her. Kairi seemed to believe Simca had a tremendous future, and began training her in the Eight Trigram Palms fighting style as soon as Simca could move.

As she grew and trained under Kairi, Simca felt a hollowness inside her and her nightmares about being trapped in the Cage increased. It was a feeling she could only describe as "being caged". For some inexplicable reason, she felt the urge to fly. To soar the skies alongside the swallows and the nightingales, the robins and the bats, the hawks and the doves. She felt an unquenchable thirst, ridiculous as it was, to sprout wings and ascend to freedom, traveling wheresoever she wanted.

The urge eventually became so unbearable that on her fourteenth birthday, as careless as her mind was, laughing and smiling, she jumped straight off the edge of her apartment, down to the ground, closing her eyes and with a deep smile on her face. Letting the wind brush against her body, it felt... so right.

Pretty soon she realized that she wasn't flying and yet, out of raw instinct, she spun her body around horizontally, feet downwards, and stomped on the wind under her. Her inertia was totally negated and she was floating in mid-air for just a few seconds. Then she resumed falling again, but with a few continuous steps and aerial acrobatics that came to her naturally, she landed gently on the ground.

She would never forget the first time she 'sky walked', the resultant profound sense of euphoria. It was as if she was reborn; as if she were emancipated after a lifetime of imprisonment.

Time passed, and Simca kept honing her and improving her fighting skills with Kairi. Eventually, during a trip to the nearby city of Jump and a chance encounter with a ragtag group metahumans named Emblem, Krious, Wavelength and Robyn, led to Simca assuming the alias of "The Swallow", and eventually joining the Teen Titans. She grew to love the eccentric bunch, they becoming her first true family after her relations with the Sleeping Forest gangbangers strained.

With the Titans North, Simca went on numerous adventures, including time-travelling to the future, where she was trained by a powerful woman using the pseudonym 'Featherlight' (she would later discover that it was her own alternate future self, Red Sparrow). However, certain events led to her breaking away from the Titans in their entirety. She found Krious and discovered that her old friend Emblem had turned into one of the most dangerous threats to Jump City. When she found the Titans having had disbanded, with several of the original ones missing or having become too busy to pay attention to Jump or their superhero lives, she opted to form a superhero team of her own. By that time, the power vacuum left by the disbanding of the Teen Titans caused the newer heroes of Jump to fill it in, becoming a new Teen Titans and Titans East.

However, by then, Simca had already laid the basis of her own team and it felt inappropriate to join up with the Titans again. Four heroes: Simca, Krious, Shadow and Apache, came together to form the team known as the Slivers, shards of broken dreams and broken hearts; their separate ambitions but similar traits keeping them together. Under the leadership of Simca the Swallow, the Slivers became the newest protectors of Steel City, aiding the new Titans in Jump as well on occasion.

Eventually, the Slivers too disbanded, however, and everyone went their solo ways.

Ten years later, Red Sparrow - as Simca went by then - was forced to fight in an interdimensional conflict known only as the Crisis. Simca cannot recall the exact events of the conflict even now, however, she is cognizant of the fact that the conclusion of the event wiped most of her history out of existence. Her friends, her past, and all the time she spent with Emblem, Krious, Wavelength, Robyn, Kira, Shadow, Sage and all her old friends, was all gone. She woke up in her sixteen-year-old body (ten years younger than she had been), in a world that was not quite her own, with memories of a past that never was.

In this reality, now her prime reality, she had never met or joined the Titans in any way, shape or form, having functioned as a solo superheroine for two years since the age of fourteen. Aeon, the Slivers' natural language and holographic user interface, was the only thing from Simca's original timeline that made it to her new one. And while she had partially inherited the memories of a twenty-six-year-old woman, coming to her in the form of vague dreams, her much younger body could not reproduce the skills.

The aftermath of the Crisis confuses Simca and occasionally makes her doubt her own sanity. She often wonders if the memories are real, instead of just being the result of some hallucinogen she may have been exposed to while securing the streets of Jump. Still, the relentless longing for old friends that never were, the photographs and memories stored inside Aeon's databank, and the sagacious wisdom of a woman much older than her sixteen years is proof enough of the fact that Simca is more than what she seems to be.

Simca operated under her 'Swallow' alias for about two years, securing the streets of Jump City from behind the shadows. Yet, there was so much baggage in her head, now - repressed memories, dreams about another life, vague recollections about her mother and father - that she could not cope with it anymore. Deciding to focus on one part of her messed up mental recall at first, she once again set her focus upon finding out about her parents. Moving back to Steel City, she once again began her quest to uncover the truth of her origins.



Jade eyes narrowed behind red hair blowing madly in the coastal breeze. From her perch atop the Oil Rig, the Migratory Bird stared forlornly at the giant 'T' in the distance. Something had changed within her, a little over three weeks ago. The night she had woken up from a dream, suddenly just knowing that she had lived a life that was now forever out of her reach. Memories from that life were a recollection of feelings rather than events.

Feelings evoked by images. Sights, of things she knew she had nothing to do with quite often. Flashbacks of people she had never met. Sentences. Words. Names.

"Krious," she whispered, her words lost to the wind. That name, more than any, flooded her heart with such a profound ache that she felt her eyes water.

'Don't think about him, not right now.' She focused, looking straight ahead. Titans Tower. The place inculcated in her fondness and longing, tinged with regret.

The other mystery were the databanks in Aeon. An AI she didn't possess before that night three weeks ago. Then, why did it feel like she had Aeon since forever? The stuff it contained, however.

"Aeon, playback. Last played file."

The feminine voice responded from her wristwatch, before a holographic image, tinted blue, projected from it.

The bottle landed on Dan. Simca frowned a little as he picked Dare. Oh well, she would just throw at him the first thing that came to mind. A small, petite finger rose and pointed towards the toilet, her grin turning venomous. "Clean the toilet with a toothbrush, in slow motion."

"Stop playback. Stand-by," Simca sighed as the hologram disappeared. The sight of the video evoked memories of emotions; such incredible joy. Ease. Delight.

What was wrong with her?

Standing up straight at the edge of a giant pipe, Simca spread her arms wide before flipping off. Somersaulting thrice, she then began to fall in an elegant dive, straight towards the ocean.

Then, she flipped again, righting herself in mid-air. A faint, imperceptible pinkness caressed the soles of her sandals, before she stomped down onto thin air with both feet.

She was propelled forwards, straight towards the T.

As she began to fall again, Simca stomped her left leg onto the air beneath her, and shot forth again. Then, upon losing aerial momentum, she repeated the motion with her right leg, to the same effect.

"They have to know something. About all of this. They have to," she murmured, trying to console herself.

What was wrong with her?