Dahlia always had a mind like a tool laser: precise, intense, blindingly bright, but just as likely to destroy as to create. Her childhood was rather normal and average, or at least not bizarre enough to cause her parents alarm. With a father working in bioengineering, Dahlia’s leanings towards the sciences were more of a source of pride than worry in the family. And so a few…proclivities were often overlooked. And these were minor things—growing cultures of the flu virus in the refrigerator, Darwinian breeding experiments on local frog populations, etc. As long as Dahlia was brilliant, these things were barely even talked about.

Dahlia grew up, speeding through her education and along the way convincing her parents that she should get a sleep regulator once she was accepted into a university. At UC Irvine, Dahlia managed to graduate in three years with degrees in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, with minors in Parazoology and Psychology—courtesy of the fact that the young woman almost never needed to sleep. A half-dozen of Dahlia’s experiments were banned from ever being repeated—including one where she trained a flock of pigeons around campus to turn cannibalistic. Of course, these things were noted on her record. Eventually, the same laboratory that hired Dahlia’s father began courting Dahlia as well—on the strict condition that she undergo a full psychological evaluation.

The evaluation came back—and Dahlia Bekhit was declared, for all intents and purposes, just about as sane as every other mad genius. There was no official diagnosis made, since ‘Mad with Science’ is not a disorder recognized by the DSM. But, comments and notes were made. Brilliance and madness are so often hand-in-hand that the young woman’s oddities seemed almost expected.

At the age of twenty, Dahlia began working in her father’s laboratory—working on several Masters degrees in her off-time. Predictably, tragedy struck. During a routine experiment, a compound that should have been stable went volatile—causing an explosion that spared Dahlia, but took her father’s life. On the same night, Dahlia’s mother was hit by a drunk driver and died before reaching the hospital. Although no evidence ever surfaced to suggest that the lab accident was Dahlia’s fault, and she was never blamed by anyone else, Dahlia held herself completely responsible for the fiasco.

She suffered a complete and utter psychotic break, during which she was fired from her job and put on academic probation until she could prove her own emotional stability. Some weeks later, Dahlia received a call from social services. Her father had left behind a young son fourteen years Dahlia’s junior—who she had never even heard of. The boy’s mother was missing, and no family from her side of the family could be located. Dahlia was his closest family, and the boy would go up for adoption if no one would take him in.

In an overnight 180, Dahlia cleaned herself up, and started making calls. Her father had been acquainted with a few people, more than enough to get Dahlia at least a part-time job. The family house was sold, and Dahlia bought a new apartment. The young woman cleaned herself up and cut her hair. When Dahlia appeared to claim custody of her younger half-brother, the cracks in her psyche weren’t even visible. Dahlia’s brother would have everything he ever needed. He would have no worries.

And so began Dahlia’s spiral into first they greyer areas of work, and later the downright illegal. A part-time job at a local hospital could only pay so many of the bills. Eventually, Dahlia tracked down a local street doc, and began assisting in surgeries on known criminals and mercenaries. And after learning enough about the shadow world to consider it lucrative enough to risk, Dahlia wanted in. The young woman’s in to the shadow community came in the form of another ethnic Egyptian, a sniper by the name of Seti Banoub that Dahlia helped to treat.

Most of Dahlia’s money went into providing Asim with the illusion of a normal life, and augmenting her own body to better suit the rigors of the underworld. With the sleep regulator, Dahlia could work a ‘normal’ shift at a local hospital during the afternoon or evening, get home in time to help her younger brother with homework, tuck him in, and then take a trip into the underworld for another night and morning of biological terrorism and butchery. She’d be home just in time to pack Asim’s lunch for the next day of school.

Doc M (Loyalty 1 Connection 2 Elf Male, 40 years old)
The ‘M’ might be for ‘Malpractice’, or even ‘Murder’. Doc M never actually said, and no one seems willing to ask. Regardless of the name, this street doc occasionally calls in Dahlia for operation assistance, and even seems to have a respectable patient survival rate. He honestly thinks that Dahlia is off her rocker. But, that doesn’t stop him from occasionally selling her drugs and medical supplies that are probably better left out of Dahlia’s hands. He operates out of a private street clinic in a rougher part of town.

“Sage” (Loyalty 3 Connection 1 ??? Male, 22 years old)
Between taking care of her younger brother, pulling a legitimate job, and moonlighting as a criminal, Dahlia doesn’t get a lot of time to herself. Without the time and energy to dedicate to a romantic relationship, Dahlia needed a logical and efficient way to take care of her own…needs. Enter Sage, one of a handful of joytoys that Dahlia occasionally hires, and her clear favorite. Dahlia intrigues Sage, and he’ll gladly sell one of his favorite regulars information, too, if that’s what she’s looking for.

“Bagman” (Loyalty 1 Connection 2 ??? ???, ??? years old)
A shady character who always wears a respirator when speaking to Dahlia. The young woman has never seen Bagman without a full hood, longcoat, and respirator or gasmask, and doesn't know anything about the Tamanous operative. Dahlia met Bagman through Doc M when the woman was charged with getting rid of a few bodies. Sometimes Dahlia needs to make a few bodies of her own disappear, now. And sometimes those bodies have some cyber that could fetch a good price. So Bagman's number is committed to memory.

Belladonna (Loyalty 3 Connection 1 Human Female, 34 years old)
A drug and toxin artist and supplier that has a loyal, regular customer in Dahlia. After a few years of business, both women shared a few drinks and learned a little bit about each other. It isn't quite enough to make them friends, especially since Belladonna seems to have a paranoid streak. But, it was enough for both of them to gain a mutual respect for one another. Although, that doesn't stop Belladonna from occasionally wondering exactly what Dahlia has planned for all of the crazy stuff she buys.

In Progress

Asim Bekhit (Human Male, 12 years old, student)
Chione Bekhit (Human Female, 48 when deceased)
Haji Bekhit (Human Male, 51 when deceased)