PHANTOM

Evelyn Enverga Ng, the DJ-slash-freedom-fighter also known as PHANTOM, was raised in a small town just outside the Halifax city dome.  Unprotected by privilege, those on the outside are exposed to pollutants and natural disasters that those living inside the city can blissfully ignore.  While officially "supported" by the city's megaconglomerate, C3, it's an unsaid truth that this is a claim of ownership and nothing else; the exterior villages fend for themselves with their subpar land and resources, depleted from years of climate change and war.  Propaganda inside the city paints the villagers as savages and beggars, but in reality, these "outsiders" have a stronger sense of community than anyone from within.  However, the "domes" aren't necessarily rigid, unchangeable hemispheres.  They grow and expand panel by panel, reaching outward alongside the grasp of urban sprawl.  Real estate developers searching for infinite growth and profit will suddenly see the "appeal" of land previously considered uninhabitable.  This is what happened while Evelyn had yet to even reach adolescence, as C3 began seizing her town for its own use.  Not fully comprehending the weight of why this was happening, but still wishing to help, she attended the ensuing protests alongside family and friends, hoping to look the monster they were fighting in the eyes.

It went terribly.  These were the days when the police still brutalized the public (instead of the Enforcers, not that it makes much difference), and while her enemy appeared human, they acted as anything but.  The protests became violent and shots were fired; Evelyn suffered an acid attack to the face that scarred her for life.  After that, she remembers waking up in a medical ward, news that her hometown was fully seized, and little else.  While details of the event remain frustratingly hazy, she'll never forget the face of the man that assaulted her.  By the time Evelyn was discharged, there was no home to return to.  Corresponding with the friends and family she could still connect with, she learned they all had muddled memories of the end of the riot.  Even worse, a solid proportion of their townsfolk remained unaccounted for since that fateful day.  While the older members of her former community seemed to consider it an inevitable conclusion of such an upheaval, this seemed all too suspicious for Evelyn to let it sit.  Why do NONE of them remember what happened?

Weeks turned to months and years, and still the mystery remains unsolved.  Evelyn understands that this quest for closure has consumed her identity, but she embraces it.  "PHANTOM" started as her online identity, which eventually became something of a representation of her vengeful desire.  She found a hobby and a like-minded, rebellious audience in writing music and DJing, and set up her own underground radio network named "Future Sound."  While she hasn't resorted to the violent type of direct action yet, she prepares for it in secret, training herself physically and learning how to use a gun (from a certain disgraced ex-policeman).  But she has to be quiet about it, and only strike when she knows it'll be decisive.  Most of her dealings with others happen only after extended periods of contact, and her appearances as "PHANTOM" are always fully suited up, helmet and all.  Those on the outside see her as an aloof, posturing artist, frustrated with the system but not doing anything in particular about it, only critical because she's protected by anonymity.  She's hoping this cover can fool any undesirable characters that may be listening to her station, while still inviting a conversation with those that may sincerely want to help.  While this strategy has worked for her over the years, it's also slow going, and she can't help but be afraid that it may be too late to figure out what happened to anyone she used to know.

Recent news of Ivanna Carmichael's death feels a tad anticlimactic to her, but at the same time, it feels like opportunity.  It sure would be a shame if any particularly impulsive characters suddenly ruined that by bringing an urgent situation to her doorstep, huh?