Blood Rose

Origin
Rosabelle deMerci was born a month early, while her wealthy parents were vacationing on a small island off the coast of Greece. Because they were unprepared, rather than get to a hospital, they depended on a local midwife. What they didn't know was that this midwife was a member of the centuries-old Cult of Medea, a group dedicated to using the power of love to conquer the world. Because Rosabelle was born in the month of June (the month of the rose) and had a rose-shaped birthmark on her left shoulder, the midwife decided that she was the foretold Warrioress of the Rose. She used her hypnotic power of suggestion to convince the deMercis to hire her as Rosabelle's nurse & nanny.

The nanny seemed excellent at her job, but she secretly indoctrinated and trained Rosabelle in the teachings of the cult. When Rosabelle became an adult, she took over one of her family's smaller companies: Venus Cosmetics. She also began writing books on empowerment for women. But hidden, almost subliminally, in all her writings and all the company's advertising, was the message of using love as a source of power. She decided that this wasn't enough to fulfill her mission, however, so she created a more powerful persona: Blood Rose. She sees herself as a vigilante, striking against society for the power of love and its proper use; those "heroes" who stand in her way are obviously working for the forces opposed to love and must be stopped.

Blood Rose is a skilled fighter and uses knives and thorn-shaped darts in combat. She also has mastered the power to hypnotize others, especially putting them to sleep and suggesting dreams for them to have and convince those with weak minds that they like (or even love) her and will do her will. She can also communicate with plants. As a result, she can learn what a plant has "seen," and even connect to a "baby" plant through the parent; one of her favorite tricks is to send a cutting of the rose bush in her office to those she wishes to spy on; then she can use her plant as a "receiver" for whatever the cutting "sees."

Powers and Abilities
The strength of her powers fluctuate with the seasons. She is strongest in the summer and weakest in the winter, with spring and fall being in-between. She also grows stronger the more people are in love with her. This creates an interesting problem for her: if she betrays someone, she would loose their energy! This helps to keep her violence in check!