LORE24 ENTRY #49 – Supers Month #18 – Momo-Chan

From the Personal Journal of Jennifer Tempest…

I don’t believe that in my entire history as a medical doctor have I felt so absolutely vexed as I have than with the woman known only as Momo-Chan.  She is a most unique case, with a most unique and troublesome ability given the nature of my facility.  She is a mystery as well, no background information to speak of; even Bobbi has been unable to locate any of her records within government databases after days spent diving into cyberspace.  She may as well not exist at all as far as a digital presence outside of the records held within Edgewater’s secure servers. 

During her stay at Edgewater, I personally handled her therapy sessions and she managed to avoid giving me any details about her past, and worryingly, resisted my natural charms, even when I impressed them so strongly upon her that I was certain she would notice my supernatural influence upon her.  Perhaps she did and simply said nothing about it?  A troubling thought in its own right.  All I managed to glean from her is that she once worked for the United States government as something of a spy and assassin, and was subjected to one of their many super-soldier programs, though in her case, it failed quite dramatically.  Following the procedure, though she came out of it possessing an amazing accelerated healing ability and resistance to both poisons and diseases, she was left completely dead to any sensation of pain not unlike a CIPA patient, though without the other medical issues most commonly associated with the condition.  Several very thorough procedures by Dr. Bayne and Dr. del Vecchio tested this condition in depth, and in some cases most gruesomely, though Momo-chan consented to all of it without apparent worry.

Perhaps this condition would have been beneficial for a spy to resist torture, but the procedure also left her with a crippling mental condition, namely a psychological need to feel latex upon her body.  Momo-chan cannot function without a full-body latex catsuit and a gas-mask to cover her face (though she is fine with having some area around her neck as well as her hair exposed, as long as the mask is in place).  Tests within Edgewater, when the latex was removed, provoked a response as though her very skin had been peeled off; removing the mask, she cries out for her face to be returned.  Given more than a few minutes in such a state, she becomes nearly catatonic until she is able to recover her ‘skin’ and her ‘face’.

Her mental state would be an absolutely fascinating study, and I have no doubt, that with enough time, I could have a breakthrough with her, but Momo-chan’s most troublesome ability is too much of a security risk for her to remain on an indefinite stay here.  Momo-chan, despite all attempts to the contrary, cannot be contained.  None of the restraints, secure cells, air-tight isolation rooms we have devised thus far have been able to keep her in place.  We’ve had multiple cameras trained on her, and I have sat within a few feet of her and watched her escape the most stringent restraints, and neither myself nor any of my staff, even Specialist Leopard or Bobbi, can figure out exactly how she does it.  She simple wiggles a bit, then the gear falls off, or if she’s in a secure cell, walks up to the door and slips through it, somehow.  It’s maddening!  How can she possibly do it?!  She doesn’t take an attitude about it, and hasn’t done anything to threaten the security of the facility or patients, only to “stretch her legs” or to get something to eat from the cafeteria before she returns to her cell, but the threat remains. 

I promised the girl that I would continue to treat her if she felt the need, and I stand by that, though she has, for now, vanished into the streets of Sentinel City.  I simply must discover a way to counter her ability to escape, and that will require many more trials, as I must delve into her psyche and find what it is that has led to her debilitating need for the feel of latex.  I have no qualms against latex attire in and of itself, of course; it is the main component of the standard uniform in Edgewater after all, but if I can simply give relief to her debilitation upon its removal, then I will have done my job to my satisfaction.