#writing bit

Powers: Deadlock’s powers include heightened senses (sight and smell are the most noticeable) and superhuman hearing. All of her senses are better than an average person’s but nothing in particular is strong enough to be a separate power, except for her hearing, so it is put under the catch-all of heightened senses. She has super hearing abilities—similar but not as large a range as Galen’s—and can hear frequencies that most humans can’t hear. Meaning she can easily hear hums of electricity from devices and the heartbeat of someone she is standing right next to. Deadlock also has great pattern recognition, so she can distinguish the heartbeats of different people. (Rubs hands evilly together in fanfic potential.)

Backstory: Iselin Solem joined Ståljeger, a Norwegian-based mercenary group, that was smuggling illegal weapons and raw materials into the United States. That is why Shroud gets in contact with them, needing their ability to transport a recently found mineral from Norway, the perfect power source for his biomechanical tech.

It was a typical delivery to Red Ring for Solem and her crew (Ursa Team, her two sister-in-arms): patrol the location, identify the recipients, and secure the payment. With the lucrative material, Shroud himself would show up, but this time he was running late. As Iselin was handing off the crate to one of the Red Ring members, Mecha Man showed up.

The Ursa Team, unable to escape, had no choice but to join the fight alongside Red Ring. It was messy. The Red Ring members fought for themselves with no sense of teamwork, while also getting in the way of the Ursa Team. Iselin sensed Mecha Man’s blade about to swing down on them, sacrificing her weapon to push her sister out of the way, but she realized too late that was the least of her problems.

His energized blade had pierced past the metal and into the raw material itself. Before she even had time to think, she sensed it instinctively: it was about to explode—she needed to block it; her sisters, not as sturdy as she, were right behind her. Iselin jammed her arm into the puncture site, bracing herself for the worst. Then, a flash. Her hearing deafened, in spite of her always wearing ear protection, and soon the ringing started.

Her eyes, unfocused, scanned her surroundings. Two familiar figures lay on the ground, unconscious. No red, no blood, at least. A looming angular figure, with a faint shining barrier, knelt, unpowered and unmoving. From the shadows, a speck of moving red light caught her eye. A member of Red Ring?

“Impressive.”

It was hard not to recognize that distorted voice.

“..Shroud..?”

“You’re still standing.”

“My.. sisters…”

Iselin managed to say before collapsing, clutching her mangled arm. She knew. It was too late to save it.

Like it was too late for her sisters. She had woken up, her arm already gone, and now her sisters were as well. Shroud had told her. At the time she didn’t know. She believed what he told her, that it was Mecha Man’s fault. He knew what they were transporting, and yet, he recklessly attacked them. And so, she joined Red Ring. She was gifted a new arm, her new weapon, and something to take her mind off things: revenge.

It was only later that she would find out. That Mecha Man couldn’t have known what they were transporting. That her sisters could’ve been saved. That Shroud lied to her. Used her. Used her anger.

She turned herself in. It was the least she could do to atone. And that’s how she ends up at the Pheonix Program, getting a new light on life, a new arm, a new name, and eventually meeting Robert Robertson.

This time, as Deadlock.

Extras to make up for the wait!

Deadlock’s choice of weapons are very similar to Valorant’s, just re-flavoured to fit into the technology of Dispatch (sensors, nano nets, her arm, etc etc). Her ear protection helps prevent damage to her hearing, has noise-canceling to help with focus, and is also connected to her sensors so she can listen with it and remotely activate it.

She finds the sound of Robert’s heartbeat comforting. Also, she only recognized Robert’s voice as Mecha Man’s when it was transmitted over the speakers (aka his first dispatching shift) because she had only heard his voice over speakers before.

She loves Beef.

I first had a member of Red Ring with a bear transformation be the one to cause the explosion (on the nose much lol), but Mecha Man for the mild angst was too good to pass up. Shroud knew from the beginning that Mecha Man would show up that time, so he “ran late” knowing it would cause a scene. After the explosion, he saw how perfectly primed Iselin would be, so he left her sisters to die, and she’d become his best underling. At least until she figured it out.

Deadlock settled on her new nickname once she joined the Phoenix Program, realizing she will forever hold her grief and even how the act of revenge will not take it away, no matter how much she wishes to do so.