Major Story Arcs
Origin
Rachel Goldman is the daughter of Michael “Deathblow” Cray and photojournalist Susan Goldman. In 1980, an injured Deathblow was seeking cover inside of a church in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan during a mission. There, he meets Susan Goldman who helps treat his wounds. Spending the night together, they share an intimate encounter and Susan becomes pregnant with Rachel. Later, she aids Deathblow in neutralizing the remaining Soviet troops in the area. After being separated, Susan searches for Cray so they can leave, but he seems to have vanished, leaving no trace and the only keepsake she has of him is a lighter with his name engraved on it. After Rachel’s birth, she was raised by her mother and step-father in Chicago, Illinois. Due to her affluent upbringing, she took full advantage of what life had to offer. She learned to speak fluent Russian and she’s also an advanced level Jeet Kune Do practitioner, becoming a highly formidable martial artist. She became highly skilled in the use of the three-sectional staff.
Most recently during an unannounced visit to her parents’ home, Rachel learned the truth about her birth. Susan told her about an especially memorable adventure she had in Afghanistan with a “soldier” twenty years prior and Rachel was the result of that encounter. While growing up, Rachel always believed that she was adopted by Susan because at the time of her birth, her mother and grandmother invented the story due to a possible scandal that might unfold for her family. Rachel was deeply hurt by this revelation, thinking that her mother was ashamed of her. Susan tells her that she could never be ashamed of her and explains the real reason why she did it. Susan also tells her that if she had to do it all over again, she would have been honest with Rachel from the start. After sharing a heart felt moment with each other, Rachel asked her mother to tell her more about her real father, which Susan responds by giving her daughter the momento she kept for twenty years. Reading the name engraved on the lighter, she is astonished to find out that her true father is Deathblow. Although she has only met her father once and at that time, didn’t realize who he really was, she now seems to have strong feelings for him. This is shown when she befriended and became close friends with her father’s female clone, Genevieve Cray, considering her a member of the family.
Project Genesis
Rachel seemed to be just an ordinary teenage girl until she was recruited into Project Genesis while finishing her freshman year at Northwestern University. During her time in the I.O. “enrichment program”, she was secretly fed special drugs designed to activate her latent Gen-active abilities. This caused her to manifest the superhuman ability of molecular density control. She is able to manipulate and control her body’s molecular density, having the ability to make herself either physically intangible, light as air or ultra-dense and hard like a diamond.
DV8
After her powers manifested, she was recruited into the group, Dv8 formed by Ivana Baiul. Baiul’s goal was to create superhuman puppets for her own use. Baiul and the Deviants took refuge on Caballito Island, where she trained them for the purpose of eliminating John Lynch and Gen13. Unlike their counterparts, instead of using their powers for good, the Deviants would use their Gen abilities to please themselves and indulge in any fancy that comes their way. This uncaring way of life is more often than not, to forget that they’re practically just expendable pawns to Ivana. Most of the members truly didn’t like each other, but they soon band together for the sake of survival. Later, when Ivana Baiul becomes the director of I.O., the team follows her as well, becoming I.O. agents. After the Deviants disbanded, Sublime decided to stay with two of her teammates, Frostbite and Copycat. They traveled the country together, attempting to try and have what passes for a normal life.
Powers & Abilities
Sublime has the ability to change the molecular density of her body.
Depending on what density she chooses, she can render herself practically immune from physical harm. She can also manipulate different parts of her body to be a certain density, for example, she can make her lower body intangible and her upper body diamond-hard, simultaneously. She also has the ability to change other people’s molecular density through physical contact. When she’s in her ultra-dense state, not only is her body protected against physical injury, but she’s also able to survive underwater for an infinite amount of time due to her body not requiring oxygen. This was seen when she tried to commit suicide by jumping off of a bridge. She not only survived the impact, but she also remained underwater for an extended period without the need to breathe, pondering her situation before deciding to live. Also, when Sublime is in her ultra-dense form, her physical strength is greatly enhanced, enabling her to lift more weight than an average human being.
She is an expert level Jeet Kune Do practitioner with mastery in the use of the three-sectional staff, making her a formidable combatant.
Profile
Name: Rachel Goldman
Height: 6’0″
Weight: Unknown
DOB: 1981
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois USA
Known Relatives: Father – Michael Cray (Deathblow), Mother – Susan Goldman, Step-Father – David Rosenburg
Affiliation: DV8 (former), StormWatch-Team 4 (The Bleed Universe), Gen13 (Slipstream Alternate Universe)