TOP SECRET A REPORT TO THE
FEDERAL BUREAU OF SUPERPOWERED AFFAIRS
by
AGENT INDIGO
on
Ghost Widow

The enclosed memorandum is circulated at the request of the Director of the FBSA.

Subject: Ghost Widow

It has been over a year since my initial report on the activities of Arachnos. I am putting forward, for the Federal Bureau of Superpowered Affairs, the following information with respect to the super-powered villain known as Ghost Widow.

The following report is the first in a series and is intended to set forth, in general terms, the threat level presented by the archvillains in Arachnos.

Before beginning observation of the subject I was able to obtain some Arachnos files detailing her past. Before her origin event her name was Belladonna Vetrano. She was an Arachnos Night Widow.

Night Widows are trained in the arts of stealth, infiltration, and disguise. They spend most of their time in civilian clothes and assumed identities, ferreting out secrets or blackmailing business leaders into cooperating with Arachnos’s designs. If assigned a mission that involves combat, the Night Widow has discretion to form a strike team comprised of other Arachnos forces. It was on such a mission in 1989 that Vetrano was killed.

She was leading a team on Mercy Island to sanction a troublesome member of the Family. The records become unclear at that point, but one thing is certain: Ventrano’s mission was a complete failure. Not only did she fail to achieve her objective, but nearly every member of her team was killed. Only one soldier survived: the leader of the Wolf Spider squad, one Paolo Marino. I believe that Paolo Marino is the brute now called Wretch. Despite the fact that Belladonna Vetrano is now the creature called Ghost Widow, I am certain she died that day. Her current existence can only be called unlife.

It seems that she serves Lord Recluse loyally because he had his Arachnos Mystics free her from the location of her death. She was trapped there with only Wretch as a companion for some time. It is unclear at this time what Recluse’s motives are in relation to his ghostly servitor.

When I began my observations I admit that I was skeptical that Ghost Widow was indeed some kind of spirit. I have seen many kinds of phasing powers, most of them technologically based. Cases like the Freedom Phalanx member Numina are extremely rare. After several weeks of surveillance, I was convinced. The subject is never fully material. She is able, through concentration, to affect the everyday world–and when she does, only then can she be harmed.

She has Wretch by her side almost constantly, and he operates as her hands. I am not certain at this time how she sustains herself, but I believe she has the ability to drain life energy from her victims. I have seen her heal Wretch’s wounds, so I can only assume she can transform life essence into sustenance for herself.

It appears that when she uses the ability she calls her Soul Storm, she summons forth the spirits of those she has killed and forces them to torment her enemies.

The data I have gathered indicates Ghost Widow is in charge of the Widows. She seems to have a special affinity for the Fortunatas. There is one in particular called Kalinda, who she has shown great interest in recently.

I advise extreme caution when dealing with this subject. She is ruthless, deadly and shows no remorse for her actions. This report only begins to describe the threat she presents. I will add more detail to my report as I continue to investigate the other Arachnos archvillains.

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