Silver Avenger Mel Flannagan, Boston

Background Mel Flannagan will marry the first man she meets who doesn't notice her chest first -- at least that's what she says.

The only daughter of a Boston cop and his wife, Melanie Assumpta Flannagan was a tomboy. Always getting into scrapes, she could beat anyone who dared mess with her (or her brothers) -- and she beat her brothers on a regular basis, too.

When she entered junior high school, however, everything started to change. Melanie, who had always been mocked for her red hair and freckles, began to develop a figure -- and everyone noticed, including the teachers. She grew into a breathtakingly gorgeous girl.

But she hadn't changed on the inside -- she still felt the same ugly duckling she had been before. She didn't like the new attention she received from the boys whose butts she'd been kicking only a few years before and went out of her way to avoid it. She turned to sports instead, playing on the field hockey and softball teams. School, something she had always hated, became a place where she could escape.

She attended Boston College on scholarship -- her parents could never have afforded the tuition -- and after graduation, went to Harvard Law School. She passed the bar and was immediately picked up by one of the top firms, given a huge sign-on bonus and salary: then given little by way of cases to work on. Later she learned her "huge" bonus had been less than half of what the male attorneys were offered, and she became enraged and decided to leave.

Her father suggested the FBI, but Mel was unimpressed with their recruiter. PRIMUS was seeking a legal team at the time, however, and Mel decided to apply. She was immediately offered a position (by a female recruiter, to Mel's relief) and once she began, finally felt like she had a niche. No one seemed to be treating her any differently than the others and finally she had a chance to argue a case. What's more, she succeeded to the degree she received national accolades -- and the attention of Golden Avenger Kaufman.

Kaufman liked what he saw -- in fact, he really liked what he saw. He offered her a job in Washington. She turned him down: her father had just been diagnosed with lung cancer, and she did not want to leave Boston. Kaufman persisted. She continued to refuse. Kaufman discovered she had a tolerance to Cyberline and offered her another option. The first Boston Avenger had been killed in combat earlier that year. She could become the first female Avenger. Kaufman knew she'd jump at the chance, and she did. Kaufman also knew that he'd be the one to train the new recruit, that they would be in constant contact with one another -- and they were. Over time, Kaufman's persistent, dedicated attention paid off, for him, at least: they became lovers.

Mel hated herself for it, but he had left her no options. She had thrown in with PRIMUS for good or ill, and as an Avenger she couldn't simply quit. Suing was out of the question -- she knew what they'd do to her reputation if she tried it. The affair continued secretly until 1994, when Kaufman died -- and Mel was overwhelmingly relieved.

She likes being an Avenger, likes the fact she's making a difference in an immediate way. She is very obsessed wtih procedure and as a result, had never had to deal with the frustrations of having villains released because of her -- or her team's -- negligence.

Personality Mel sees the world in black and white. You're a good guy or you're not, you're on her side or you're not. She is anti-paranormal, seeing them as a threat to society at large, a risk that should not be allowed to continue.

Of her fellow Avengers, she gets along best with Avenger King in Florida, a woman who became an Avenger around the same time she did and who shares her political views. She detests Robert Webster, who cannot be in the same room with her without hitting on her.

Appearance
Mel is 5'9, 130 pounds with long red hair and blue eyes -- and the freckles. She has a gravity-defying figure and when she dresses to accent it, everyone notices.

Quote
"Agent Doran, you did make sure you filled out the 78-014 before processing that VIPER agent, didn't you?"