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Description
This is Ranke, another villain of Thunder Woman.

Katrina Becker used to be one of Samantha West's closest friends. A descendent of a German immigrant family, she moved to Newport City to study at the University, where she met Samantha, then a sophomore. The two grew to be close friends after Samantha tutored Katrina, and even after they graduated, they made sure to keep in regular contact.

Katrina took a job as a secretary at the Finegold Bank building in downtown Newport, the single largest bank in the city. As a result, she naturally found herself embroild in various invasions of the building by supervillains, mystical threats, terrorists, and high-tech thieves. And almost always, Thunder Woman was there to stop them. Katrina grew to admire the heroine, and was thankful time and again for her rescues, though she always wondered why Thunder Woman acted so strangely around her. It was like the heroine knew her...

The tragic events that led to Katrina becoming Ranke happened largely by coincidence. Helreignn, ever needing fresh bodies to continue his experiments, was unable to secure the needed "specimens" through the human slave market he normally traded with. So instead he organized a rather large kidnapping, in the guise of a bank robbery. So with some backup in tow, he attacked the bank.

Even as Thunder Woman descended to stop the robbery, Reinhardt busied himself with securing and removing anyone he could catch, making it look like these were to be hostages. One of these people was Katrina. Once he was satisfied, Helreginn quietly left, leaving Thunder Woman to mop the floor with the basic footsoldiers he left behind. Right away, Samantha knew something was up. Bank robberies and hostage negotiations were not Helreginn's style, so why had he bothered? When she realized that he was after the people, and that Katrina was among those taken, it was too late.

In the meantime, Reinhardt set about his usual duties. At the time, his current project involved a strange, parasitic entity he had created, in part from contributions provided by Malphas. The entity was meant to be a biological, living version of his power draining machines, giving him a living minion who could drain the power from even Thunder Woman. But so far, it had all but consumed anyone it was attached to. He kept changing it, trying to see why it was not bonding with any host properly. After going through a dozen unfortunate victims, Katrina was next. Reinhardt modified the symbiote once again, and bonded it to her. This time, it worked. A genetic marker in her heritage clicked with the entity, and it bonded itself to her on the molecular level, becoming effectively a part of her body's essence. Katrina was no more, her memories all but wiped by the merger. Reinhardt, pleased, dubbed his new creation Ranke, for the tentacles her body spawned, and set about turning her into a loyal lieutenant.

That was when Thunder Woman found the laboratory. Looking to test out his new creation, Reinhardt sent Ranke out. She obliged him, and ferociously attacked Samantha, draining away her powers and taking them for her own. The battle was intense. Samantha had no idea what Helreginn had turned Katrina into, and she tried to appeal to Katrina, thinking she could break whatever brainwashing she was under. But it was no use. The new Katrina loved what she had become, and now that she had absorbed all of Thunder Woman's memories, knew her intimately. Thunder Woman still held back, even as Ranke battered her with her own powers, all the while psychologically crippling her. Finally, Samantha had had enough. She summoned a terrific, powerful blast, seemingly destroying Ranke then and there. Greatly upset by the ordeal, she left, not having the heart to even bother dealing with Reinhardt.

The German scientist too was upset, in his own way. But then he found that Ranke had not been destroyed; fragments of her remained, and were gathering back together, regenerating. Soon, Ranke was whole again. And even though she was once again a near blank slate, Reinhardt was able to extract enough genetic information to discover almost everything she knew about Thunder Woman and her real identity and life. This was a success beyond imagining; with Thunder Woman depressed, her closest friend now his lieutenant, and knowing everything he ever wanted to know about his archenemy's life, Helreginn had all he needed to strike at Thunder Woman where it hurt the most. He is now planning something, something big...

Though not Thunder Woman's most powerful opponent, Ranke is in many ways her most difficult. Because Ranke is still Katrina essentially, Samantha is reluctant to fight her, and holds back against her former friend so not to hurt her. As a result, nearly every fight since the first one between the two has been a gut-wrenching, brutal affair for Thunder Woman, though thanks to David's counseling, Samantha is gradually getting over the loss of her closest friend...

Thanks to the symbiote bonded to her, Katrina possesses enhanced physical attributes, including strength able to press ten tons, speed, agility, reflexes, and constitution. Parts of her body are bulletproof, and those that aren't can still regenerate from any harm inflicted. Even if Ranke was blown apart, every fragment would remain alive, and try to join back with all the others to regenerate her body. Lastly, she can wall-crawl at great speed.

Ranke's most notable feature are her tentacles. Her "outfit" consists of hundreds of these, and she typically has four to six active tentacles at any time, up to a max of ten. She can also extend smaller tentacles as needed, usually from her fingers. Ranke's tentacles are incredibly strong, able to hurl full loaded pickup trucks and light armored vehicles. She can even momentarily restrain Thunder Woman, though she lacks the strength to so for any extended period of time.

However, the real danger from the tentacles are millions of microscopic stingers arranged across the surface of each one. These stingers can penetrate through even the toughest of materials, and like a jellyfish inject a powerful toxin, fatal to normal humans and potent enough to affect even superhumans like Thunder Woman. The effects of this poison even to those it doesn't kill can be debilitating, including fatigue, nausea, hallucinations, and at worst, temporary paralysis or loss of some or all senses.

Last of all, these stingers allow Ranke to drain the blood or energy from whatever they penetrate, and her body can absorb the traits drawn from her opponent, allowing her to acquire their strength and powers. This ability, plus the toxins, is what makes her such a deadly opponent to deal with, and the more opponents she samples, the more powerful Ranke can become.

Rank, Thunder Woman, and all related characters are (c)
Created using Fabrica De Herois.

Description
This is Ranke, another villain of Thunder Woman.

Katrina Becker used to be one of Samantha West's closest friends. A descendent of a German immigrant family, she moved to Newport City to study at the University, where she met Samantha, then a sophomore. The two grew to be close friends after Samantha tutored Katrina, and even after they graduated, they made sure to keep in regular contact.

Katrina took a job as a secretary at the Finegold Bank building in downtown Newport, the single largest bank in the city. As a result, she naturally found herself embroild in various invasions of the building by supervillains, mystical threats, terrorists, and high-tech thieves. And almost always, Thunder Woman was there to stop them. Katrina grew to admire the heroine, and was thankful time and again for her rescues, though she always wondered why Thunder Woman acted so strangely around her. It was like the heroine knew her...

The tragic events that led to Katrina becoming Ranke happened largely by coincidence. Helreignn, ever needing fresh bodies to continue his experiments, was unable to secure the needed "specimens" through the human slave market he normally traded with. So instead he organized a rather large kidnapping, in the guise of a bank robbery. So with some backup in tow, he attacked the bank.

Even as Thunder Woman descended to stop the robbery, Reinhardt busied himself with securing and removing anyone he could catch, making it look like these were to be hostages. One of these people was Katrina. Once he was satisfied, Helreginn quietly left, leaving Thunder Woman to mop the floor with the basic footsoldiers he left behind. Right away, Samantha knew something was up. Bank robberies and hostage negotiations were not Helreginn's style, so why had he bothered? When she realized that he was after the people, and that Katrina was among those taken, it was too late.

In the meantime, Reinhardt set about his usual duties. At the time, his current project involved a strange, parasitic entity he had created, in part from contributions provided by Malphas. The entity was meant to be a biological, living version of his power draining machines, giving him a living minion who could drain the power from even Thunder Woman. But so far, it had all but consumed anyone it was attached to. He kept changing it, trying to see why it was not bonding with any host properly. After going through a dozen unfortunate victims, Katrina was next. Reinhardt modified the symbiote once again, and bonded it to her. This time, it worked. A genetic marker in her heritage clicked with the entity, and it bonded itself to her on the molecular level, becoming effectively a part of her body's essence. Katrina was no more, her memories all but wiped by the merger. Reinhardt, pleased, dubbed his new creation Ranke, for the tentacles her body spawned, and set about turning her into a loyal lieutenant.

That was when Thunder Woman found the laboratory. Looking to test out his new creation, Reinhardt sent Ranke out. She obliged him, and ferociously attacked Samantha, draining away her powers and taking them for her own. The battle was intense. Samantha had no idea what Helreginn had turned Katrina into, and she tried to appeal to Katrina, thinking she could break whatever brainwashing she was under. But it was no use. The new Katrina loved what she had become, and now that she had absorbed all of Thunder Woman's memories, knew her intimately. Thunder Woman still held back, even as Ranke battered her with her own powers, all the while psychologically crippling her. Finally, Samantha had had enough. She summoned a terrific, powerful blast, seemingly destroying Ranke then and there. Greatly upset by the ordeal, she left, not having the heart to even bother dealing with Reinhardt.

The German scientist too was upset, in his own way. But then he found that Ranke had not been destroyed; fragments of her remained, and were gathering back together, regenerating. Soon, Ranke was whole again. And even though she was once again a near blank slate, Reinhardt was able to extract enough genetic information to discover almost everything she knew about Thunder Woman and her real identity and life. This was a success beyond imagining; with Thunder Woman depressed, her closest friend now his lieutenant, and knowing everything he ever wanted to know about his archenemy's life, Helreginn had all he needed to strike at Thunder Woman where it hurt the most. He is now planning something, something big...

Though not Thunder Woman's most powerful opponent, Ranke is in many ways her most difficult. Because Ranke is still Katrina essentially, Samantha is reluctant to fight her, and holds back against her former friend so not to hurt her. As a result, nearly every fight since the first one between the two has been a gut-wrenching, brutal affair for Thunder Woman, though thanks to David's counseling, Samantha is gradually getting over the loss of her closest friend...

Thanks to the symbiote bonded to her, Katrina possesses enhanced physical attributes, including strength able to press ten tons, speed, agility, reflexes, and constitution. Parts of her body are bulletproof, and those that aren't can still regenerate from any harm inflicted. Even if Ranke was blown apart, every fragment would remain alive, and try to join back with all the others to regenerate her body. Lastly, she can wall-crawl at great speed.

Ranke's most notable feature are her tentacles. Her "outfit" consists of hundreds of these, and she typically has four to six active tentacles at any time, up to a max of ten. She can also extend smaller tentacles as needed, usually from her fingers. Ranke's tentacles are incredibly strong, able to hurl full loaded pickup trucks and light armored vehicles. She can even momentarily restrain Thunder Woman, though she lacks the strength to so for any extended period of time.

However, the real danger from the tentacles are millions of microscopic stingers arranged across the surface of each one. These stingers can penetrate through even the toughest of materials, and like a jellyfish inject a powerful toxin, fatal to normal humans and potent enough to affect even superhumans like Thunder Woman. The effects of this poison even to those it doesn't kill can be debilitating, including fatigue, nausea, hallucinations, and at worst, temporary paralysis or loss of some or all senses.

Last of all, these stingers allow Ranke to drain the blood or energy from whatever they penetrate, and her body can absorb the traits drawn from her opponent, allowing her to acquire their strength and powers. This ability, plus the toxins, is what makes her such a deadly opponent to deal with, and the more opponents she samples, the more powerful Ranke can become.

Rank, Thunder Woman, and all related characters are (c)
Created using Fabrica De Herois.