The Origin of Lady Luck Jennifer Stavros "Roulette".

__The Search For The Hellions__

The White Queen (Emma Frost) was on a personal mission to get a foothold on power within the Hellfire Club and maintain it. In doing so, she came up with a brilliant idea. For the Hellfire Club to continue perpetually, future members are integral. The White Queen decided to create a team of young Mutants loyal only to her (though none would be aware of this) who would be eventual recruits of the The Inner Circle. In doing so, they would, unquestionably, give the power to her and she would achieve her goal. She would build, fund and run a school, similar to Professor Charles Xavier (Professor X), that would teach young mutant in the use of their powers. It would be named the Massachusetts Academy, it would be here that she would, too, train her students to be her personal army.

The White Queen needed to locate, secure and recruit her future students, her Hellions, as she would name them. She needed to do it as fast as possible. She would use her vast wealth and all of her telepathic might to comb the corners of the world to search for her future students. To increase her mental powers, she would even have a mutant tracking device created called "Mutivac', similar to Cerebro used by Professor Charles Xavier, this is when she would find the most success. She actively seeked out special individuals, mutants, those that had powers and that would aid her in her goal. She would find and recruit Thunderbird (now Warpath) first. Her very second recruit would be none other then the blonde bombshell that had the ability to control luck by the name of Jennifer Stavros.

Enter Jennifer Stavros

Jennifer Starvos

Prior to Jennifer Stavros' birth her family, grandparents and father, came to America. They emigrated from Greece wanting to find a better way of living for their family. They would find New Jersey and this is where they decided to plant their roots and where they make their home, specifically Atlantic City. Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey many years later, she would be the youngest of 6 children. She had 4 older brothers and 1 older sister. To support his family Mr. Stavros, Jennifer's father, worked at a casino as a cards dealer. Her mother was never mentioned. It’s presumed that the family was raised by just their father. Raising 6 kids on one salary meant working lots of hours. Jennifer found herself alone a lot of the time. Jennifer was a very mischievous child. Jennifer enjoyed playing other like a game causing them grief. She loved to manipulate other as well, usually by flirting and using her looks. She was always around trouble but never involved in it. Always trying to find a way to entertain her self by persuading others to do things for her, or by pitting others against each other. She would eventually find herself involved with a local gang. She liked this type of life. Although on the exterior she had the beauty of a model on the inside she resembled more of a criminal. Jennifer would wreck all types of havoc while in the gang.

Jennifer's world would go through a tailspin when her mutant powers emerged though. All through-out Jennifer's life, and that of her siblings, they grew up around games of chance. This may have subconsciously influenced her emerging mutant powers. It's suspected that Jennifer ran away from home when her mutant powers first manifested. Finding that her mutant powers allowed her to control and create good or bad luck would only increase the amount of bad things she did while with her gang. She quickly began committing many criminal acts and was wanted by the law. Luckily for her, her mutant powers registered on the White Queen's "Mutivac" and she would quickly arrive to "rescue" Jennifer from police who had just caught up with her. Jennifer would be offered the chance to go with Emma, attend her academy and become one of her Hellions. Jennifer would accept and as a result would be saving her life from a life on the streets or worse. She left New Jersey and never looked back.

Roulette & the Hellions

While apart of the Hellions, Jennifer would be given the code-name Roulette (quite fitting). While the team was trained or mold to actual be bad or act with malcontent; Roulette would. Mean-spirited by nature she would continue her games of manipulation even in her team. Tarot was always a constant butt of her jokes. To further attack Tarot, Roulette would find that she had a crush on fellow team-mate Empath and overtly flirt with him simply because she could. In Roulette, Emma saw many of her characteristics in her. She wanted to mold her to follow her same footsteps. Roulette liked it with the Hellions. She could be as bad as she wanted to be and not worry about being punished for it.

Roulette about to battle Speedball!

As a team the Hellions would do battle with many other teen superhero groups. The New Mutants grew to be their rivals as the battled each other regularly. They even did battle with the New Warriors. It was during this battle that Roulette truly showed her mastery and skill over her powers. Roulette was pitted against the powerful Speedball(Robbie Baldwin). Even though she was obviously out-matched in terms of power, she skillfully managed to use her powers to effectively defeat him and embarrass him at the same time. Her powers were growing each day. During another battle both her and Catseye, another of her team-mates, fell from their flying transport while battle the New Mutants yet again. The fall would have spelled doom for most others, but Roulette effectively used her good luck discs on herself and Catseye saving both of them. They would land, unharmed and still ready for battle. In one of her final appearances she would accompany a small unit of Hellions including Thunderbird (now Warpath), Empath & Firestar to lead an attack on Muir Island. Thunderbird blamed Professor X for his brother's death and wanted to kill him. While the four Hellions were their, they had multiple time where they could have killed the X-Men. It wasn't because Roulette couldn't do it. She had no problem with the act. It was only because Thunderbird would have a change of heart and stop the others. Roulette's actions though show just how far she would go, willing to kill for no apparent reason. Unfortunately though and night was coming that would effect many of the Hellions. Its results would leave many of the Hellions dead.

The Hellions No More

The member's of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle were being murdered one by one leaving only a few members left, including Donald Pierce (the White Rook) and Emma Frost (the White Queen). Fearing for her life, the White Queen, would throw a ball and invite the X-Men. Her intentions were to use the ball as a means to ease tension between the two separate mutant factions [the X-Men & the Hellfire Club]. Her thoughts were that if another faction had the capacity to attack the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle, and be as successful as they were, the X-Men couldn't be far from the next target. This, of course, couldn’t be a truer statement. Though, through numerous different interactions between the two groups through-out the night, it seemed as though it would be an impossible task. As arguments seemed to break out each time both sides would meet. In most cases it was it was the youthful immaturity of some of the more mean-spirited Hellions like Roulette, Jetstream and Empath. The X-Men, for the most part didn't create many of the fights. The exception was with Iceman. Younger then his team-mates, the antagonizing of the Hellions worked in getting a rise out of him. He did some antagonizing as well leading to a few fights.

Towards the end of the night Emma would call a closed meeting with her and her Hellions and Storm and her X-Men (her part of the team was referred to as the Gold Team). It was during this time that the biggest fight would start, nearly creating an all out fight between the teams. Roulette and the other Hellions readied themselves for battle and powered up, the X-Men did the same. Roulette cared not of who she fought, she only wanted to cause the X-Men pain. The Jean Grey though would interfere, mentally putting a stop to the fight. The White Queen would also use her mental powers, allowing her to keep her young teams anger reduced and keeping her team at bay. This meant she didn't have full use of her powers since they were actively being used not on one but her whole team. The X-Men's telepath, Jean Grey, was also in a weakened state, and even more so when the White Queen used her power's, as the psychic feedback was dealing tremendous damage to her already frail state, along with what she had just don't(stopping the fight). Due to their power's not being fully available they would be caught off guard by the next occurrences. Two assailments, one man and one female, would enter the room. Though only one could be seen. The female attacker quickly tried to assassinate the White Queen, but was rebuffed and taken down as fast as she entered by Emma and her team. Roulette would take a defensive position close to Emma enabling her to protect her headmistress. While they attempted to question her, the other assailant would make his presence known. Jetstream and the superhumanly strong Beef (a newer field ready Hellion promoted when Thunderbird left) were nearest to the door. With everyone’s attention on the female assassin no one would see the next attack coming. There was a bright flash of light and everyone turns and saw another individual poised for battle. Trevor Fitzroy had made himself visible and (to everybody’s disbelief) quickly attack both Jetstream and Beef. He would begin to absorb Beef's life essence (in effect killing him) and throw him out of the high-rise building they were all in. Beef plunged to his death and landing in the middle of the street. Jetstream though, would not be thrown, Fitzroy would keep him and absorb his entire essence killing him in mere moments. The following events in the night would have most of the group of Hellions be killed in the same manner. Roulette would survive the initial battle only to be captured and detained by Fitzroy. Unfortunately Roulette would fair no better meeting her "apparent" demise during the events of the night. There is a possibility that Roulette may have survived. She was never shown dead, only presumed dead. Though she has never appeared since her death was indicated. The White Queen would be placed in a coma and the X-Men would take on damage too. All the training in the world could never have prepared Roulette for the attack he would encounter. Her death along with the Hellions, though unfair, would lead to the eventual reform of the White Queen, her training of Generation X and her joining of the X-Men. Apparently everyone's luck runs out, even one who controls the very powers of it.

Post-Mortem Appearance

Living in Another Man's Shoes

The Hellions including Roulette would have two more appearances, though they would be post-mortem [after death]. In one occurrence Emma's sister Adrienne Frost was attempting to take the title and role of the White Queen in newer formation of the Inner Circle (one that Emma was not apart of). She created a psychic program in the danger Grotto (a room very similar to the Danger Room) that would have Emma and her new team of teenage mutants, Generation X, relive the last days of the Hellions. With them eventually sharing the same fate as the Hellions, and dieing in the same ways as each member of the Hellions did. All the members of Generation X would take on the appearances of each of the Hellions, save Jetstream. He would not have a living counter part, and would act on his own accord, as he would have when he was alive. The plan would fail though, with the Generation X team being able to see through the ploy and breaking free before the Hellions deaths. Emma and her team would live.

__Dspayre__

In an attempt to agitate Emma Frost, the evil D'Spayre would attack her where it hurts most. Through-out the Massachusetts Academy all of the students (Generation X) and Emma Frost are being accosted by bone chilling images. They are seeing the ghosts of Emma first students, the Hellions all through-out the campus grounds. Chaos ensues, in the end though it’s found that it only a ruse set by D'Spayre. The ghostly images would quickly disappear and things would be brought back to normal, once again.

*All of the deceased Hellions would make two appearances post-humus with the exception of Jetstream. He does not appear in the second. Apparently when the D'Spyre storyline was written he was forgotten about.

Powers

Roulette throwing luck disc!

Roulette had the mutant ability to affect the probability fields of luck. She is able to alter luck to be either good or bad with immediate actions to follow. Roulette's powers are harnessed by the creation of psionic energy disc's (She once referred to them as "Wheel's of Fortune."), black for bad luck and red for good luck. So powerful are the field manipulations, that once her powers are used an improbable event occurred moments after, usually with a very effective outcome.

Roulette by sheer force of will maintains a constant aura of good luck around her at all times to ensure good outcomes. The result allows her perform feat or live from events that normally another would not. Due to the amount of time that she focused her good luck upon herself, it is now second nature to her and done effortlessly.

Limitations

Roulette has a limitation very similar to that of the Scarlet Witch's. For a bigger effect more concentration is required. Which also means more time would be needed to make that specific "Wheel of Fortune." Due to the amount of concentration required for larger occurrences, it can leave Roulette vulnerable.

Special Skills

Roulette has a knack for gambling whether this is due to her mutant powers [OR] an affinity for gambling that she has [OR] because her father taught her how to play remains unrevealed.

Status

Known Relatives:

Father, 4 brothers and 1 sister (all names unrevealed).

Citizenship:

Citizen of the United States, with a criminal record. Still a minor.

Place of Birth:

Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Marital Status:

Single.

Occupation:

Formerly, Student, Gang-Member & Adventurer.

Education:

High School level classes, while enrolled at Massachusetts Academy.

Place Of Death:

On an island located in the North Pacific Ocean.

Characteristics

Gender:

Female.

Height:

5'1"

Weight:

90 lbs. (41kg.)

Hair:

Blonde

Eyes:

Blue

AoA Roulette!!!

Alternate Realities

Earth #295

__Age of Apocalypse__

In the AoA alternate reality, Roulette was also a member of the Hellions, a group of young students located at the Massachusetts Academy. The significant difference though is that Emma Frost was not the individual that would bring them together and it would not be for the Hellfire Club. In sharp contrast the young mutants were students and being trained to be future agents/soldiers of their High Lord Apocalypse. In the mainstream reality Earth #295, the Hellions were not truly bad, just trained by bad individuals, here though they actively participate in criminal acts which are why they were seeked out for their arrested. After the fall of Apocalypse, Magneto made it his initial mission to search out all renegade mutants and followers of Apocalypse. His first targets were the Hellions, who were caught unaware at their school. Roulette, was easily defeated by Gambit and brought in to stand trial. She, along with the other Hellions that were present during the invasion, is presumed to be currently incarcerated paying back their debts to society.

Creators

Jennifer "Roulette" Stavros was created by both Chris Claremont &

Sal Buscema.