| Bodysnatcher | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Real Name | Zelda |
| Aliases | Bodysnatcher |
| Gender | Female |
| Class | Nat |
| Wild Card Traits | Jumper |
| Social Information | |
| Citizenship | Citizen of the United States |
| Occupation | Bodyguard |
| Event Participant | Rox War |
| Affiliations | Jumpers, WORSE |
| Allies | Edward St. John Latham (Loophole), Blaise Andrieux, David Butler, Molly Bolt, K.C. Strange |
| Origin | |
| First Appearance | One-Eyed Jacks |
| Final Appearance | Dealer’s Choice |
| Creator | Walton Simons |
Bodysnatcher is a fictional character from the Wild Cards series of books. She acts as a WORSE double-agent for Loophole.
History
Originally a female fitness fanatic named Zelda, the Bodysnatcher served as the personal bodyguard and enforcer of "Loophole" Latham, a powerful figure in the Shadow Fist Society. Also a member of the radical feminist group WORSE, Bodysnatcher helped nudge the group's goals in the direction desired by her employers. Specifically, Zelda killed the owner of Global Fun and Games, paving the way for him to be replaced by his more tractable daughter, Connie. Veronica, formerly one of Fortunato's geishas and a fellow member of WORSE, was also nearly beaten to death by Zelda because she was getting too close to the truth behind the death of Hannah Jorde, an early victim of a the jumper crime wave.
Shortly after this, Zelda was infused with the jumper ability by Latham and saved her patron from assassination by the ace known as Mr. Nobody. Jumping Mr. Nobody, Zelda assumed the would-be assassin's form, but was unable to control the shapeshifter's powers and returned to her original form in a panic. Mr. Nobody escaped in the confusion. The ace would make his next attempt on Latham's life backed up by Veronica, also an ace and recovered from her injuries.
Zelda survived the encounter, though just barely. Blinded and crippled, she was remanded to the public health system. Lacking eyesight, Zelda was unable to jump into a healthy body and, while confined to her hospital bed, she was sexually assaulted by a morally corrupt caregiver. The close proximity of her attacker allowed Zelda to perform the first "blind" jump.
This was the birth of Bodysnatcher. Returning to the Rox, a joker stronghold sheltering a variety of wild card criminals from justice, Zelda became a genderless jumper, changing bodies like most people change underwear, male and female, young and old, but always unable to find a form that she considered comparable to her original body. Initially she considered appropriating the powerful joker-ace form of Dylan "Huntsman" Hardesty, but was warned off by Bloat, who sought to protect his new ally.
After an excursion to Aces High with fellow jumper Molly Bolt, Bodysnatcher acquired a new form she considered suitable, that of the male ace called Pulse. Bodysnatcher began modifying Pulse's body almost immediately, piercing his ears with safety pins, getting a death's head tattoo emblazoned across his face, and trying to condition the out-of-shape body with vigorous exercise.
By this time the Rox crisis had escalated into a standoff between the island's joker separatists and the US Army. Mingling in with a group of jokers and turncoat jumpers that had decided to accept the government's offer of amnesty, Bodysnatcher was the only one to survive the well coordinated massacre of the captive jumpers. Taking on Pulse's laser form, Bodysnatcher burned his way free of the underground facility after stopping to kill a psychologist who had sought to analyze Bodysnatcher's peculiar mental state during processing.
Bodysnatcher's return to the Rox and his story of the massacre solidified the resolve of those remaining on the island. Soon combat began in earnest with the US Army, backed by several powerful aces, fighting against Bloat's psychic constructs, Modular Man, and a small army of jokers. Though unable to overpower the vengeful Reflector, Bodysnatcher used Pulse's powers to devastating effect against the USS New Jersey, sinking the entire ship after detonating its ammo magazine.
As the situation on the Rox deteriorated and the joker forces dwindled, Bodysnatcher came into conflict with Bloat. Enraged by the deaths of the majority of the jumpers in a missile strike, Bodysnatcher planned to go down fighting, taking as many aces and nat soldiers with him as possible. Bloat, encouraged by the advice of Wyungare, a captive held on the island, sought some alternative means to escape the final collapse of the Rox.
Disgusted by Bloat's "cowardice" Bodysnatcher shifted into laser form, intent upon burning the mountainous Bloat to death. In a final act of self-sacrifice Wyungare utilized his own ace to shift into the "dreamtime" and intercepted Bodysnatcher's laser blast, completely absorbing Bodysnatcher and killing them both.
Wild Card Traits
The "jumper" power is an infused power, gained by having sexual relations with the ace, Edward St. John "Loophole" Latham. Once infused, a jumper gains the ability to swap minds with a victim, essentially stealing their body for a time. A jumper must be able to see a subject in order to switch bodies. The jump is indefinite unless reversed by another jumper. Jumpers can even do three-way jumps to switch the minds of two non-jumpers (jumping the first person, then the second, then jumping back to their own body, putting the first person’s mind into the second person's body).
When they jump an ace, they generally get the ace's powers, both physical and mental. Jumper victims often spend the duration of the jump in a catatonic state due to trauma and mental strain caused by the jump itself, but some retain consciousness in the borrowed body.
Appearance
Zelda's original body was powerful, with well-defined muscles, almost to the point of being unattractive. A natural blonde, at one point she shaved off her hair (possibly to make herself more attractive to Prime).
Personality
Zelda was an antisocial criminal loyal only to Prime and her fellow jumpers. She had an active disgust for most of the jokers she was forced to work with on the Rox, but this was only a specific expression of her overarching hate for nearly everyone; aces, nats, jokers, African Americans, men, etc. It is uncertain if she actually embraced the feminist ideals espoused by WORSE.
Aware of Bloat's mind reading powers, Zelda usually protected her thoughts with the repetitive mantra, "Fuck you if you're listening." Upon the death of her original body and her assumption of the Bodysnatcher identity, she stopped bothering to conceal her hatred and disgust from Bloat's telepathy altogether, except when she wanted to conceal her plans from the massive joker.