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Kayden Anders (née Russel), known publicly as Purity, is an enforcer of Empire Eighty-Eight and Kaiser's right-hand woman as well as his ex-wife.

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Personality Edit

Kayden allegedly didn't believe in the Empire Eighty-Eight's ideology, regardless she was still influenced by her many years under their sway, making snap judgements about people based on their apparent ethnic background.

Purity had her own twisted view of morals and went out of her way to enact them. Her heroic crime fighting was mainly limited to minorities. She went on a rampage to retrieve her daughter when she was "stolen" by the authorities. She was willing to let her teammates outright slaughter bystanders to make her point.[5] These may have been some of the reasons why Cherish nicknamed her "the Crusader".[6]

Possibly thinking that despite her outright acts of terrorism she still thought she could cooperate with the authorities. It is unknown how she reacted to their silence.

She was an interior decorator in her civilian identity.[7]

Relationships Edit

A major effect on her growing up and was eventually her husband, even when they split up she

Cared deeply about her and much of her cognition was based around making the world a safe place for her.

Despite almost losing her daughter Kayden continued to be a cape.[5]

Looked after him but was mostly distant. Still, she was the closest he got to a maternal figure.

Researched her and targeted her and her family in an attempt to challenge himself.[8]

Appearance Edit

Kayden had brown hair and eyes.[9] She was mousy and shorter than average.[10] She was visibly older than Fenja and Menja.[7]

As Purity, Kayden didn’t wear a mask, but it wasn’t necessary. With her powers active, her hair and eyes became a radiant white, emanating a light so brilliant it was impossible to look straight at her[9] without getting spots in your eyes.[11] The fabric of her plain white costume radiated a soft,[9][11] rippling glow. Her costume also included "pristine" white gloves. She left a white trail behind her as she flew.[9]

Abilities and Powers Edit

Kayden falls into the category of 'flying artillery' capes. She has the ability to create kinetically charged light, to move through the air at high speeds while generating powerful blasts.[11] She moved too fast for anyone among the Brockton Bay heroes but Dauntless or Velocity to catch, and she hit harder than both of them combined.[12] Her power left firefly-like motes of light behind it when used.[13][12]

She could create two curved beams emanating from one hand, creating an expanding double-helix shape that was wider than she was and capable of leveling buildings. She could also create smaller beams, or fire multiple beams at once.[12] Her beams were almost as powerful as Legend's, although not as versatile.[14] It took her a moment to "charge" her beams, energy visibly welling up in her hands.[13]

She had an internal supply of energy,[4] which recharged when she basked under special halogen lights in Kaiser's office.[15] Jack Slash noticed that, after periods where there was more sunlight, her powers were stronger, which may suggest that sunlight gives her more power than regular light.[16]

History Edit

Background Edit

Kayden went out driving for the first time when she was sixteen years old. She got into an accident on a side road and her car rolled off the road and out of sight of anyone passing by. She was trapped inside the vehicle until she began to starve, and then triggered, gaining powers that fed off of and required light.[10][17] Her delirium influenced the trigger event.[4]

Kaiser would approach Purity sometime later, after she started going out in costume. With his good looks and his way with words, he convinced her of his way of thinking. At some point, she joined the Empire Eighty-Eight.

After working ten years alongside Max, Kayden married him,[7] becoming second-in-command of Empire Eighty-Eight.[7] Eleven months into their marriage, Kayden woke up to who Max really was. She divorced Max and left the Empire, taking their daughter, Aster, with her. [9] Night and Fog left at the same time she did.[13]

Kayden became an independent cape[7] who made the ABB a priority target.[9] Three to five times a week, she carried out surgical strikes against the gang's low-level operations; interrupting shipments, beating up dealers and thugs, attacking their places of business and gathering information. She clashed with Lung on four occasions and Oni Lee on two and had forced them to retreat on all but one of those encounters. At one point, Lung set a trap for her, and succeeded in returning the favor; it took her two months to recuperate from all of her injuries.[9]

Story Start Edit

When Kayden had read about Lung's arrest, she cleared her schedule and went out to clean up the Azn Bad Boys. She failed to get any information as to the recent changes the ABB had gone through and, out of options, sought out Kaiser. She eventually agreed to rejoin the Empire as his second in command on the stipulation that, if a year passed and she wasn't satisfied with his methods, she would own the Empire and he would be her second in command.[9]

As a member of Empire Eighty-Eight, Purity led a "sub-group" comprised of Fog, Night, Alabaster and Crusader.[12]

Her identity was revealed to the public alongside the rest of Empire-Eighty-Eight,[18] and her daughter, Aster was taken by child protective services.[12] She fought the Undersiders alongside this group.[19][20]

When Leviathan came to Brockton Bay, Purity participated in the defense of the City. At one point she blasted the beast and was able to momentarily pin him down.[21]

Following Kaiser's death, Kayden formed a splinter group out of her friends in the Empire, called The Pure. She also started making overtures to the Protectorate trying to forge an alliance to secure the wrecked city but was rebuffed.[3] She took custody of Theo Anders with the death of his father.

She encountered Jack Slash in her apartment.[22] She helped Hookwolf co-ordinate a Meeting at Crater Lake between all the hero and villain teams to oppose the Nine, using flashes of her light as signals.[23]

She was among a group led by Hookwolf that attacked the Slaughterhouse Nine while they held Grue hostage in Dolltown. Regent and Genesis led them into attacking another group of the Nine in a different building, in order to save him.[24]

Kayden and the Pure fled Brockton Bay. They trained Theo to defeat Jack Slash, but he didn't trigger. Eventually, Crusader abandoned him, convincing Kayden that it was the only way he would grow strong enough to save the world.[25]

At some point, she reached a temporary accommodation with the PRT that led to her living in an apartment with Aster under constant observation and guard. Two "plain-looking" members of her group, presumably Night and Fog, were there as well.[26] Regardless, she and her team were still captured by Gray Boy and trapped in an endless loop.[27] Unlike other such victims, Kayden was not continually tortured.

The Protectorate successor organization, The Wardens, have been committing resources to freeing people like her from imprisonment.[28]

Chapter Appearances Edit

References Edit