Artwork by Kerry Connell
Nightingale's Character Sheet (6th Edition) in PDF
Name: Jenny Shannon
Occupation: Nurse/Medical Student
Birth Date: December 17, 1981
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 110 lbs
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Place of Birth: San Bernardino, CA
You were born in December 1981 and left on the steps of St. Mary's Cathedral in Los Angeles with a note saying your name was Jenny and to please take care of you. As you ‘d learn in 2005, your mother was Irina Koroleva, a Russian witch and your father was the great Soviet hero Champion. Just before you were due to be born, Champion had gone into space with his team and fallen comatose. The KGB blamed your mother for your father's coma and she had fled Russia for America.
The priest at St. Mary's had dealt with the occult and recognized your magical aura. When your cry shattered a stained glass window, he contacted Francis Carlotti of the Order of the White Shield, who agreed the Order should raise you. At the Order's Tibetan temple, you were trained to use your mystical sonic abilities. You grew close to Michael Shannon (the White Shield), formerly Brainstorm of the first SuperSquad America. Uncle Mike's tales of that team made you want to be like him and use your powers to help others. You learned to use your sonic abilities to heal, and because the upcoming Battle for Control of the Seventh Cycle could bring conflict with the Cult of the Black Sword, you were also taught to take care of yourself.
Uncle Mike often left for long periods of time on Order business and after one such period in 1998, he returned with tales of a new SuperSquad. You dreamt of the day you'd join their ranks and help keep the world safe. You would call yourself Nightingale after both the famous nurse and the song bird. Soon, the Order came under attack several times from the Cult of the Black Sword. While you mainly cared for the wounded, when you were occasionally called into battle, you performed well.
In March 2000, you heard Uncle Mike arguing with Francis Carlotti, insisting you be sent away. Feeling betrayed and unloved, you sulked for days. You were soon told that you were being sent to another temple so you could experience a different learning environment. But you didn't believe it. It was clear from the argument the White Shield, as you were now determined to call him, no longer wanted you there, so you left without even a good-bye to him. Life at the other temple was fairly mundane and you weren't happy there. Finally, in August 2000, Francis Carlotti visited and told you could return home. He also brought sadder news. The White Shield, Uncle Mike, had given his life so SuperSquad America could fight the Battle for Control of the Seventh Cycle and place a new Template on the Template Throne. According to Francis, Uncle Mike knew he must die for the heroes to succeed and had insisted you be sent away, so you would not try to save him.
Life was not the same without Uncle Mike. You grew restless and began to take long trips around the area. During one such trip, Francis was kidnapped and the Squad rescued him. On his return, you peppered him with questions about the team. When he asked why you were so curious, you told him of your superhero dreams. He agreed it was time to further your education and put your abilities to work in the real world, so he arranged with Challenger for you to join SuperSquad America.
So, in September of 2001, taking the name Jenny Shannon to honor Uncle Mike, you headed to America. While your education from the temple couldn't get you into medical school as you desired, David Kennedy (Challenger) arranged for you to study nursing.
In your years with the Squad, the team has had many adventures, ranging from the run-of-the-mill to the truly extraordinary. Among the latter was the New Year's Eve 2001 encounter with Time Twister, a villainous version of Bernie Armstrong from one possible future. The team was shown the future that created Time Twister, which included the death of Dianne. Time Twister was beaten, but those events and the possible future you saw had a profound effect on many of your teammates.
In July 2003, using technology handed over to him by the Squad, EAGLES head Jeffrey Knox turned traitor. Thanks to Karen's heroic actions, the team defeated Knox. But the cost was great. Karen lost her mental powers, large chunks of her memory, and her boyfriend. Blaming themselves, Challenger and Rick stepped down as team leader and deputy leader. Silver Bow took the reins of the team with Diva as her deputy.
In June 2004, after battling DeathTap, the team visited the Realms of the Dead to retrieve Crimson Fist. While negotiating his return with the Guardian of the Afterlife, the Guardian expressed a desire to be reborn as human. Seeing a chance to have a real family, you volunteered to give birth to him, but Karen was chosen over you, causing a rift between the two of you.
In September 2005, the team visited Ukraine to deal with a 1970s Soviet dream machine. You met your aunt, Ekaterina Koreleva, who told you of your real parents. She also told you that Red Fury, your half-brother, was the one who’d stolen the machine and kidnapped your comatose father to power it. The team freed Champion from his 24 year coma, which was caused by Zyzzaxx, the first known alien, who got stuck in the hero’s mind when he was sent to determine if his planet should invade Earth. After the Squad talked him into learning more about Earth before recommending its fate, all involved agreed to keep his existence secret.
You finally had a real family. Besides getting to know your half-brother and teammate, Impact, you made several trips to Moscow to see your aunt and father. But so far, you’ve been unable to find any clue as to what happened to your mother after she left you at St. Mary’s.
On September 18 2006, DeathGrip murdered Dianne Armstrong Kennedy. Dianne was not only Challenger’s wife, Bernie’s mom, and the team’s administrative assistant, she was also a friend. Since then, the team hasn’t been the same. Challenger retired, and Bernie disappeared, vowing to use time travel to save Dianne. And at times, it seems like the rest of you are just going through the motions.
Note: This background is written in a second person style as it is the background provided to the player playing the character in the SuperSquad America event.