History: Born to one of the nation's most wealthy and prestigious families, Warren was destined for a life of leisure and ease. Unfortunately, his destiny was interrupted by the selfish intentions of his own uncle. Burt Worthington was a simple confidence man until, during the course of one of his scams, he stumbled across a light-based technology that enabled him to become the costumed minor crime boss, the Dazzler. Burt seized upon this opportunity to get his hands on the Worthington fortune by preying upon Kathryn's humanitarianism. He weaseled himself into a dinner invitation by convincing her that he had reformed and wanted to reconcile with his brother. Warren was handed off to the Bales (Emerson Bale being the Worthington family attorney) for the evening and the dinner went as smoothly as could be expected. However, the dinner was a ruse. Burt had arranged a burglary of the Worthington manor home; his presence in the manor allowed him to deactivate a good deal of the security measures. Burt's agents were instructed to kill Warren's parents during the course of the burglary and insure Burt was sufficiently injured, but not lethally so. The plan went off without a hitch, unfortunately for Burt however, Warren was named in the will as the sole benefactor with Emerson as his legal guardian. Warren was nine-years-old when he buried his parents and Burt's complicity in the affair would remain uncovered for the next five years. Warren's schoolwork suffered as he became wrought with guilt over the loss of his parents. He began to wonder if his presence could have made a difference or if he would have just died alongside them. Soon, his guilt gave way to self-loathing and he began to earnestly believe that he should have died alongside them. Emerson began taking Warren to a psychologist, but he was uncooperative and refused to allow himself to be helped. At this point in his life, Warren was seriously contemplating suicide. Now, it was not publicly known, but Kathryn enjoyed the services of a fortune teller, much to the senior Warren's chagrin, and it was at this turbulent time in Warren's life when this woman chose to enter in. At first he thought her to be a charlatan and an opportunist, but a series of nightmares featuring macabre effigies of his parents worked to persuade him otherwise. Warren developed an interest in the occult and similar non-traditional modes of thinking. His explorations, unfortunately, ran him afoul of drug-addicted Satanic cultists who wanted to sacrifice his wallet and his heart to fuel their habits. Luckily, he was inadvertently rescued by Danny Rand, Iron Fist, who was hired to recover a runaway girl from the cult for her parents. Danny sympathized with Warren's plight as he too lost his parents a decade before under similar circumstances. He and Warren began a fast friendship and that led to Warren's apprenticeship in the martial arts. Warren's schoolwork began a turn for the better and he was soon at the top of his class once again. Over the years, Burt's tenuous hold on his sector of the underworld was wrenched out from under him. He was increasingly implicated in criminal activity and soon his part in the death of his brother and sister-in-law was revealed. Justice was finally served and Burt went to prison. During the court proceeding, Warren doubled over in pain. Danny and Emerson rushed him home and summoned the family physician to avoid any more press. By the time the doctor arrived, nature had already taken its course and Warren's wings had sprouted from his shoulders leaving him in his a state of shock. Over the next few weeks, Warren underwent intensive rehabilitation as the feathers grew in. Unaccustomed to having three sets of appendages, he was clumsy and disoriented even before the psychological trauma. Warren had just joined the ranks of one of the fastest growing populations in the world, but also one of the most feared and hated; he wasn't exactly thrilled at his new status in life. Emerson and Danny were there with him throughout the entire ordeal and were a great help in his learning to use his wings as an advantage and not a handicap. Upon turning sixteen, Warren announced that he was going to don a costume and fight injustice as the Avenging Angel. After initially mocking his sketches, Emerson and Danny were slightly more supportive and Warren began his heroic career. Despite his best efforts, Warren found it increasingly difficult to conceal his mutancy from the tabloids and the public at large. He was returning home one night from a fundraiser. Quite drunk, he passed out on his living room floor and awoke to the sound of shattering glass and a roaring flame. His mother's Bokhara Persian rug was burning, firebombed by anti-mutant elements. There was a mob outside meaning to expose him as a mutant after beating him within an inch of his life, if not leave his charred corpse to be found tomrrow. Warren couldn't think straight, in his innebriated state he gave way to panic and was struck on the temple by a second thrown projectile. The third object impacted an invisible shield of telekinetic force. Warren passed out as the front door exploded inward, weilding to the might of a single crimson beam of force. Warren was grateful for the Professor's, Scott and Jean's help, but was reticent to enroll himself in the school. He was, however, intrigued by the notion of the X-Men. The next day he delivered an official statement to the news media saying that he was shocked and appalled at the indignity man could visit upon man and that though he was not a mutant he sympathized with their plight having experienced the injustice hearsay and rumor can bring and then secretly began his enrollment at the Institute.
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Code Name: Angel