Of Scars and Skinners


Hello my lovely readers, I see that you've stumbled onto my tale. A tale of love and murder, twists and turns abound in this humble fic of mine. A story featuring the mass murderer of Gotham City…Victor Zsasz (who doesn't have nearly enough stories on this website and whose name is misspelled in the character select?! #*% #$!?) Actually, that's recently been fixed…yay!

I've never wrote a murderer before… jerkish people, sadists, and tortures yes but never a murderer. Well, technically two murders. Zsasz and my original character. While not as outwardly brutal and psychotic as 'The Butcher' of Gotham himself her 'methods' are one of a kind for certain.

Her name is Tracy Roth… upstanding citizen, socialite, and business woman of California…and a serial murderer.

OC

Height: 5'4

Weight:120

Age:32

Name Meaning:

Her first name Tracy can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon and Latin origins, translates as meaning 'Brave' or 'Bold'. She however, prefers the Greek meaning of her name which would be 'Harvester'. Her last name Roth can mean either 'Renown' or 'Red'. Roth is an English/German name that can be interpreted as red for the spilling of blood by ancient Germanic soldiers. So 'Roth, Tracy' would literally mean 'Red Harvester'.

Appearance:

Although having a rather short stature and not appearing physically imposing Tracy can still be very fast and dangerous in a fight. Her small size gives her an advantage against larger and slower enemies. Her eyes are a bright amber color with reddish orange flecks around the pupil. Her hair is wavy and dark brown in color, falling down against her shoulders. Her legs are long compared to her upper body giving her an advantage if she needs to run and make a quick exit. As a socialite and someone who is in the public eye often her attire usually consists of fancy dresses and expensive accessories. However being a rich stuck-up socialite isn't really her thing. When she isn't busy with charity events and fundraises she likes to just curl up at home in jeans and t-shirts. There is a scar on her throat, running from one side to the other. An attempt at slitting her throat. The scar is slightly jagged, shallow, and clumsy looking; having been cut with a serrated blade by someone with an unsteady hand. (More on that later in the story).

Occupation(s): Famous Surgeon/Owner of 'Roth Industries'/ Socialite/ Hitman/Murderer for Hire

Base of Operations: Mostly mobile, does 'work' all over the United States but is mainly focused in the big cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Metropolis, Keystone, and now Gotham City.

Affiliation(s): The Order of 'Murder at Midnight' (her involvement is unknown to all but the other members of the organization).

Family/Relatives: Mother-Deceased Father-Status Unknown Step-Father-Deceased

Villain Name/Aliases: 'The Skinner'…'Lady Artemis'… 'Hautschneider' (German word, meaning 'Skin Cutter')

Powers/Abilities:

-Master Surgeon

-Superior skills as a Mortician and Embalmer

-Genius-Level Intelligence

-Advanced Physical Strength

-Excellent strategist/tactician

-Extremely high level of Focus and Patience

-Eidetic Memory

-Some knowledge of Psychology

-Proficient use of medical scalpels, not only as surgical tools but as weapons in hand-to-hand combat.

Backstory:

Tracy's early life is shrouded in mystery. The earliest point that is known about her was when she was in medical school in California (her home state) working towards becoming a doctor. She studied not only in the area of surgery but also in the duties of a mortician and embalmer. She is famous throughout the United States for her skills as a surgeon and has worked on many high profile medical cases. Her step-father was a rich surgeon before his death and Tracy used the money she inherited from her mother to put herself through school and also start up her own business. 'Roth Industries' a company that specializes in new and advanced medical tools and technology. Her company has made her a ton of money allowing her to travel all over the world under the cover of a rich socialite and proper upstanding citizen. However, this is just that…a cover. Tracy is actually a serial killer…a prolific one at that. However, an interesting point about this is that she doesn't kill for vengeance, hate, passion, or any of the other reasons that serial killers usually kill for. Tracy kills mainly for one reason…profit, the green, the money. She doesn't care who the target is as long as she is paid for her work. However, she does have morals. She only kills those who have done great wrongs. She has never, nor will she every kill an innocent. Perhaps the most dangerous thing about her is the fact the she is not insane or crazy. She knows what she does, and is aware of the consequences of her actions. That is why she can't be caught, by the police or any vigilante. It isn't a mindset…it is a must that she isn't caught. Because she knows she can't pass for insane in court. They would find her guilty and have her fried. She doesn't regret what she does though; she sees it as a necessary thing that must be done for the good of society. By killing the wicked ones in the world she is protecting countless innocents. She sees herself as more of an anti-hero then a villain or evil person.

Personality:

Outwardly calm, suave, and sophisticated Tracy fits in perfectly with the countless socialites of Gotham City crossing paths with even the likes of Bruce Wayne. Her kind and generous nature allows her to blend into the upscale life-style with ease. Many rich people requiring surgery come to Tracy for her expertise. However, that is only one of her callings in life. Away from the busy clutter of the socialite world Tracy is more quiet and withdrawn. Her focus going more towards the next 'job' she will be assigned to carry out. Mysterious and close lipped about her activities outside of the aristocratic circle no one would every guess that she was a killer. Despite her murderous pastime Tracy still maintains a high level of compassion for the less fortunate and people in need, as shown by the amount of money she pours into various charities. Very slow to anger Tracy looks at all situations as logically and reasonably as possible, never letting her anger control her if she can help it. Once angered though Tracy's rage is a force to be reckoned with.

M.O (Modus operandi):

Tracy's M.O is very complex and precise, her background as a surgeon assures that. The basic process begins with obtaining the victim themselves. Tracy's victims are chosen not by her but by The Order of 'Murder at Midnight'. This organization specializes in connecting killers for hire with people who need people killed or bodies disposed of. Tracy is usually into the body disposal part of the job, the victims coming to her already dead. However she does get quite a few life victims brought to her. The victims are delivered to certain locations where she prepares them for death, disposal, or both. True to her murdering identity of 'The Skinner' Tracy will completely remove all the layers of skin on the victim's body. A difficult process made much similar with her skills as a surgeon. Once the skin is removed she moves on to the next part…embalmment. The victim is first drained of blood before the embalming agents are injected into the body (if the victim is alive when they are brought to her then they are drained of blood before their skin is removed while still alive). After that all other means of identification are taken care of, id cards cut and burned, hydrochloric acid is used on the bottoms of the feet and palms of the hands (since finger prints could still be taken without the flesh). And the fat and muscles are scrapped off of the face, to make facial reconstruction more difficult.

These are the only constants between each victim. Countless people have asked for her to kill or dispose of these people so many of them are from all over the U.S. They don't know each other and have no connections. Each client may ask for specific things, such as torture, removal of fingers, dismemberment, an acid bath, removal of eyeballs, whatever they need she can deliver on.

Middle men and grunt workers for the organization Tracy answers to deal with the remains at this point. The location that the skinning occurs is changed often and cleaned top to bottom with high grade cleaning agents. Every precaution is taken to make sure that no one figures out who is behind these killings. The fact the murders have occurred many years apart and all over the United States makes it difficult for authorities to track Tracy's identity and whereabouts. Her socialite status and charity work make her less apt to being fingered as a suspect; numerous false identities have been created to make sure the police can't place her in a certain city around the time of the murders. However, her money and power also give her the means to carry out these murders and her abilities as a surgeon could give the authorities clues as to the identity of the murder.

In many ways her M.O is the exact opposite of Zsasz. Where he is indiscriminant and haphazard about his kills Tracy is methodical and careful till the very end. Tracy carries out murder in a very organized manner, however during the process of skinning her thoughts become sporadic and disorganized. She enjoys what is she does on some level but not is the sadomasochistic way the Zsasz does. However, like Zsasz there is a darker part to the murders she commits aside from skinning the victims. Instead of carving a mark for her victims Tracy is into a minor version of vampirism. The blood drained from her victims during the embalmment is shipped to her home after the body is disposed of and she enjoys it best mixed with a bit of red wine. In her mind this is a symbolic way to remember her victims.

That's all there is to know about my OC at this time, the rest can only be learned by reading further. I hope you all enjoy reading this first intro chapter thing; I'll have the actual first chapter posted in just a little bit.

Ok…Chapter starts… In the next post!

Peace Out!

Virgo-24