Kayla Tarington (Eccentriaverse)

Kayla Reece Tarington / Semaphry II is a character in the Volkonir franchise of Dozerfleet Comics. Once a petty street criminal, she rose to prominence as an office assistant for Dr. Hanom - as well as later becoming Prince Volkonir's sidekick alongside Carlos Modi. She eventually replaced Silnya Semaphry as the Crystal Swan Knight of Cortascius, and became engaged to Volkonir. She was chosen by King Morlikus to train with the reforged Knights of Cortascius as its defenders - while the Gwirdons headed back to Cortascius. Morlikus found her instrumental in keeping the Gwirdons at bay, as he sought to rescue the trinkets that used to be the planets' citizens - and rebuild his kingdom.

Kayla is also the daughter of Army Lieutenant Aaron Richard Tarington, and his wife Karlita Anna Tarington. She is the mother of the deceased Lucy Tarington. She is an enemy of the Gwirdons, King Gwirmalesh, various monsters Gwirmalesh created, Diabloq, Terrence Hoshijo, and Marzwhatti the Lirquinwur.

Powers

 * Basic knowledge of EccentriaCore: While not on the level of Volkonir, Kayla has a large amount of knowledge about the EccentriaCore of Cortascius that enables all Cortascians to be anything beyond human. As such, she is capable of using what she does know to her advantage.


 * Improved strength: Her strength magnifies considerably in the Crystal Swan armor.


 * Cortascian Knight Speed: Wearing the Crystal Swan armor magnifies how fast she can run, making her able to keep up with a train in moments of distress. However, going this fast quickly drains her Knight form, requiring her to have a recharge period.  When she combines the Crystal Swan with other Knight powers, she can briefly approach supersonic speed.  Her civilian form is able to move at average speeds for someone of her height, weight, and age.


 * Enhanced agility and endurance: Kayla is pretty tough to take down, even without her armor. However, the EccentriaCore-powered armor significantly increases how much punishment she can take - and dodge.


 * Glide summon: As Semaphry, she is able to summon a glider out of her back that lets her leap into the air almost as high as Meerkat - and then sustain her gliding for a short time before landing. She can leap forward for longer than any other knight, and can seem to practically fly at enemies with much more ease.  She needs equipment enhancements, however, for sustained flight - including carrying passengers.

Skills

 * Locksmith training: Kayla has some skill at picking locks. She had to learn how to steal and squat in order to survive after losing her family.


 * Knight training: Kayla has gained some combat experience and training, having been taught by Volkonir.

Weaknesses
Her armor's ties to the EccentriaCore make it similar to a battery-powered device, in an almost mystical way. This means that she is vulnerable to draining too quickly and requiring a recharge period. While the armor can take a lot of abuse - and can extend its charged period if mode-enhanced or combined with other Knight powers - wearing it for days on end will eventually force it to power down. There is also a limit to how much punishment she can take - though it is a considerably high amount. Without her armor, she has the same vulnerabilities as a normal human woman.

Kayla can also become distracted if reminded too much of her past - particularly regarding Lucy. Cortascians' exposure to EccentriaCore and its magic have altered their physiology from that of normal humans. Therefore, as a hybrid, Kayla risks injury to herself if she remains too long utilizing a Cortascian Knight power that has not been reconfigured to work with her specific physiology.

This is made all too clear when Volkonir lets her borrow the Golden Lion mogriffer in order for him to approach Silnya Semaphry's pit without triggering the defenses Gwirmalesh put around it. While Volkonir transports Silnya to the Pool of Healing - and then back to Yellowstone - Kayla transports back to Bozeman to stop Diabloq from attacking ordinary citizens and cops. She finds wearing the Golden Lion armor to be incredibly painful, as it slowly rejects her. However, she is able to hold her own long enough for Volkonir himself to return and reclaim the Golden Lion for himself. She activates Muflaze to help throw off Diabloq and buy the Knights some time; but she realizes she needs to reconfigure the Crystal Swan with Volkonir's help to keep it from rejecting her the same way the Golden Lion did.

As the Red Serpent and Silver Ferret armors are added to the team, these too are reconfigured for non-Cortascian physiology. Kayla may wear any of these armors with minimal consequence. However, the Golden Lion remains truly compatible with Volkonir alone.

Percolation-specific issues
See also: Percolation (event)

If Kayla arrives in the Dromedeverse via the Percolation Wave, the XomiaFaeCore will act as a substitute EccentriaCore. If in the Gerosha Crossover Gaming Universe, the Marlquaan will act as a substitute. However, universes that don't have a planetary core or other meta power source that the Crystal Swan can bond to will attempt to channel her EccentriaCore bond across the divide between two universes.

This means she will take a lot longer to recharge between sessions in the armor - and will drain her power much faster. As such, it is not recommended to have her visiting parallel universes within the Dozerfleet Megaverse; as she is considerably weaker in timelines that aren't her own. Other Cortascian Knights would have similar concerns.

It is assumed that in the Marvel Gaming Fanfic Universe, the Power Cosmic would somehow bond to her and keep her power alive. However, this would leave her vulnerable to being controlled by Galactus.

Accessories

 * Crystal Swan Knight Armor and Mogriffer: The mogriffer can be summoned from inside of Kayla at will, and transmogrifies her into Semaphry by making the armor grow around her.


 * Muflaze: This bow / machine gun fires energy beam bullets and arrows that can have varying levels of impact from stun to kill. The bow part of it is a strong, translucent material.  This allows her to make aerial sweeps and incapacitate multiple enemies at once.  Muflaze is strong enough to also be used as a bo staff for a limited number of bojutsu-like attacks.


 * Daggers: Semaphry has twin daggers as backup weapons, for situations in which it is more important to kill enemies than merely subdue them. These are reserved for especially vicious fights where Muflaze alone is not enough.


 * HanomCorp vehicles: Dr. Hanom has provided Kayla with a variety of vehicles to assist her, Carlos, and Volkonir in their missions to thwart Gwirmalesh's goons.

Early life
Kayla was born on May 6th of 1992 to 1st. Lt. of the Army Aaron Tarington and to his wife Karlita, from San Angelo, Texas. Five years later in 1997, Karlita revealed to young Kayla - behind Aaron's back - that Karlita was 1/64th Cortascian. Karlita informed Kayla of the history of Cortascius - including how it was founded, and what became of it, and of the EccentriaCore.

Kayla took on an interest in learning about all things Cortascian, leading to a greater history in space travel and archeology that would drive her future career interests. She grew up entertained by stories of the evil King Gwirmalesh, and the brave King Morlikus that ultimately failed to stop him. Even more intriguing to her were stories about the Knights of Cortascius. Karlita finally opened up to Aaron - and showed him some Cortascian relics as proof - after he grew suspicious about Kayla's desire to learn about Cortascius by working for HanomCorp. Aaron tried to be supportive, though he questioned why exactly Kayla would view involvement with HanomCorp as preferable to any typical dream job aspiration that most girls would have. Karlita encouraged Kayla to cling to her faith ever-stronger, and to never give up - no matter what.

Gwirdons attack Texas
Kayla's father went missing in action during the War in Iraq shortly after she turned 12 in 2004. A year later, her mother developed stomach cancer, and began receiving treatments. This significantly impacted family funds, causing Kayla to fear she'd have to live on the streets. It was not long before Kayla's 16th birthday in 2008 (after Volkonir's being freed from the toy spell led to the Gwirdon King being revived also) that King Gwirmalesh sent Gwirdon Treaders to Texas to begin hunting for Cortascians and sympathizers that were in hiding - in the hopes of being able to take them hostage and use them as bait to capture Volkonir with.

A quick search by the monster Scanikrite revealed that Kayla's Facebook profile mentioned Cortascian interests. She was abducted from her home by Treaders - whom she'd heard of, but was not yet skilled at fighting. She and a few other hostages were taken to an abandoned publishing house to be kept until Volkonir could be lured into a trap. By this time, the young Fred Hanom had taken control of his father's company's R&D department. He supplied Volkonir with some early vehicles and transporters to fight back with, promising more if Volkonir came to work for him in the future.

Kayla decided that they needed to help Volkonir, and was able to wiggle herself free of her restraints just long enough to free another teen who was skilled at picking locks - Jennifer Yanzel. This was after the hostages had been missing a whole day. Jen begged Kayla to also study the art of lock-picking, and Kayla promised to consider learning. The girls got free of their restraints, only for Gwirdon Leader Lumkatin and some Treaders to catch them trying to escape. Kayla encouraged the fleeing prisoners to adopt a "Let's Roll!" mentality and fight back. This was able to buy Volkonir enough time to save the lives of everyone - except Jen. Kayla was able to catch only a glimpse of of Golden Lion Knight before she kept running - unaware that he had seen her and was instantly attracted to her.

Juvenile record
Kayla's escape from the Treaders had some fallout she didn't anticipate. Her school attendance was suffering, due to her having to hold down a part-time job to support Karlita while Karlita received cancer treatments. Being abducted by the Treaders led to her missing one too many days of school, and she was issued a warning by a judge that she'd get jail time if she skipped school one more time. The judge showed no sympathy at all over the fact that Kayla was abducted.

The Treaders tried one more time to capture Kayla as she was on her way to school one day. However, she was among the survivors when the Treaders overturned the school bus. Her quick thinking allowed the handful of surviving students to survive the bus attack with enough fight left in them to resist their would-be captors. She began running, knowing the Treaders were pursuing her. She used her knowledge of the layout of town to trip up the Treaders and expose them. She was able to get most of the Treaders pursuing her either captured or killed. However, she was arrested for truancy - and sentenced to 10 days at the Tom Green County Jail.

After the first day, she was sent to solitary out of fear that her comments about Cortascius and Gwirdon Treaders would get her attacked for "crazy talk." She was encouraged to not continue speaking about what she had witnessed, lest it lead to fear and panic at the federal level. She agreed to not speak about Cortascian matters unless spoken to about them first.

Life on the streets
A month after Kayla was released from jail, she was informed by Karlita that they were moving to Wyoming. Karlita was fed up with the politics in Texas, and outraged that they would put Kayla in jail for being a victim of alien abduction. After some research, Karlita learns of a certain Lenny Drae - who claimed to be part-Cortascian - who was unexpectedly sent to prison. She warns Kayla that they have to be careful about sharing their Cortascian heritage with the world, as the Gwirdons have inside connections in the US government attempting a "Cortascian Holocaust." She reasons that moving the family to Wyoming will give them some more privacy.

Kayla learned lock-picking skills from another high school student named Fred Reddin; but quit associating with him after Fred started committing burglaries. Fred was eventually caught by police during one of his excursions, and he name-dropped Kayla as an associate out of revenge for her having deserted him. Based on her previous jail record, police arrested Kayla and held her for two days for questioning regarding Fred's activities. After finding no further evidence that she was involved in any activity, she was released. However, she was turned down for a job as a locksmith, due to her prior arrest record. Kayla was forced to find work at a convenience store.

She decided to save up her money, fearing the worst could happen. Her predictions proved true when, shortly after graduating from high school, she was informed that the store was going out of business. The owner was unable to meet Obamacare mandates for too many years in a row. A week after being fired, Kayla learned that Karlita's cancer has returned. The cancer came back with a vengeance, and Karlita died within a month. She once again lectured Kayla on not giving up - but warned her that life on the streets would be tough.

The totality of Karlita's life insurance and other savings proved to be just enough to pay for her funeral - and to allow Kayla to sell the house and have money for food and clothes for a year or so. She attempted to find another job, but was turned down time and again due to her criminal history. Kayla met Fred Hanom of HanomCorp at a job fair, and he very nearly hired her right then. However, the HanomCorp booth at the job fair was attacked by Treaders. Kayla fled the scene at Fred's request, as he told her not to give up - and that he'd come looking for her one day. She was optimistic that HanomCorp was interested in her and her background with Cortascian history; yet frustrated that she would have to wait even longer to find her true calling.

Kayla started to become adept to life as a homeless woman. However, she dreaded having to look over her shoulder constantly, unable to trust the others who were homeless.

Becoming a mother
As winter was nearing when Kayla was age 19, she had made very few friends. One of those few was a homeless drunk named Jeff Hartigan. Jeff wanted to take Kayla to a party - in the hopes the two of them could find a house to crash at. She grew uneasy that there were so many youth at the party with no adult supervisors - and that alcohol was being served. She attempted to flee, but was spotted fleeing the scene by a drunken wannabe gang member named John Robuck. John stalked Kayla through the streets and caught up with her in an alleyway. She put up as good a fight as she could muster, but the madman was able to overpower her. After subduing her, he brutally raped her. He attempted to taunt her with the knives he was going to kill her with, as she spat in his face and defied him. However, police sirens scared him away before he could finish her off.

She was treated at a hospital for her injuries - eating up a lot of her emergency survival money. John, however, was waiting for her right outside the hospital. This time, she used the cityscape around her to her advantage. She tricked him at one point into leaping at her as she dodged out of his way, and he lost his footing. He fell off a balcony, breaking his neck. She'd gained the upperhand on him the entire time in that fight, assuring herself that she had overcome her demon.

Kayla discovered two months later that she was pregnant. At age 20, she gave birth to her daughter Lucy. However, her money was almost completely gone after she finished paying the hospital bill for giving birth. She had to resort at one point to breaking into vacation cabins in order to care for herself and her new daughter.

First encounter with Hoshijo
It was a year after giving birth to Lucy in which Kayla and Lucy were minding their business in the park. She had recently refused to help a certain Martha Imbellia to smuggle some firearms across state lines, especially after noticing a suspicious Gwirdon tattoo on Martha's right forearm. Martha retaliated by ratting Kayla out to CPS. Terrence Hoshijo and several other agents arrived at the park on that day to set an ambush for Kayla. The agents began surrounding Kayla, while Lucy fled toward a creek to get away. The toddler was quickly swept away in the water before Kayla could rescue her, as agents held her back and forced her to watch her daughter get swept into the creek. She then learned - as did Hoshijo - that one of the other agents was a Gwirdon Leader in disguise, when Kayla reached for his face and the mask came off.

Kayla battled the agents with all her might in an effort to reach the creek and save Lucy, but Hiktomoph proved too powerful for her. Hiktomoph fled the scene at Hoshijo's suggestion, and Kayla lashed out by punching Hoshijo in the face and breaking his nose. Hoshijo then vanished, and Kayla was arrested the minute police arrived. The agents that failed to secure Lucy were fired for their incompetence, but Kayla was assigned a year and two months in prison for breaking Hoshijo's nose. Kayla vowed to find Hoshijo again one day, and expose him as a Gwirdon sympathizer. At her trial, she was laughed at and called crazy for suggesting that a "Gwirdon gang" was involved with Hoshijo in a conspiracy. She was even threatened with being sent to a psychiatric hospital.

Exposing Hiktomoph
Kayla was transferred out of Wyoming Women's Center after serving only 3 months, to the Federal Medical Center in Texas - being taunted that she could not escape from being Texan no matter how hard she tried. She was able to befriend staff quickly, and made a few allies. However, she discovered upon the week she was to be released that Hiktomoph had assassinated the warden - and was now impersonating him. Hiktomoph had her placed in solitary confinement. However, one of the guards grew suspicious when the warden ordered that Kayla not be fed for three days.

Kayla warns Susan Avente that Hiktomoph is running the prison disguised as Jeffrey, and informs her to contact Hanom when she has the chance. Susan waits until her shift is over, and then reaches for Kayla's business card from Hanom. She dials the number that was specially given to Kayla, and is able to reach Hanom. Hanom confirms that Hiktomoph is in fact a real terror threat, and that he has some special security teams on the way to investigate Kayla's claims. Volkonir arrives and sets a trap for Hiktomoph, exposing him to other security guards. A fight ensues between Volkonir and Hiktomoph, while Hanom negotiates for Kayla's freedom. Kayla is able to protect several security guards from a sudden invasion of Gwirdon Treaders.

Rescuing Carlos
No sooner does Volkonir defeat Hiktomoph, than Hanom alerts him that the Carlos Modi that has found the Cortascian gardener Remto Humariqe's staff is under attack from Treaders. Hanom and Kayla transport themselves to the location to which they sent Volkonir. They are initially unable to stop the monster Jobaras from knocking Volkonir unconscious with a gas emitted from his belly.

Hanom remains in hiding, while Kayla calls up former cellmate Donna Riebus and convinces her to send her boyfriend's biker gang to the location. She also knocks out the Gwirdons guarding Volkonir, and awakens him. The biker gang quickly assaults the Treaders in the area, drawing out Jobaras. He uses his gas on them, but that exhausts his supply. A recharged Volkonir appears and finishes him off. Hanom transports himself and Kayla to his HanomCorp R&D basement in Bozeman, Montana. He offers her a job as one of his two secretaries - with Carlos set to be the other one and "Vinny" to be the team's errand boy. He also reveals to her that Lenny Drae - another partial-Cortascian that would prove helpful to HanomCorp's Cortascian research division - has gone missing. They'd like to locate him at some point.

Carlos and Volkonir set out alone to recover the wand, with Volkonir remarking about the beauty and kindness of the woman that saved him. They are attacked by the monster Trenzekoit, but Carlos is able to use the wand to weaken Trenzekoit while Volkonir kills him. The two transport back, and Hanom introduces everyone to each other formally. Kayla and Vinny begin to share instant chemistry, though she tries to put on the impression that she intends to remain professional. Kayla is introduced to the particulars of her new job, and is welcomed aboard. Hanom assures her that he will try to keep those who have an issue with her past from bothering her.

Volkonir: The Series
Over time, Vinny and Carlos gradually learn more and more about Kayla. It becomes clear as time goes on that Vinny and Kayla have grown attracted to each other. The two of them try to keep it private, but Carlos discovers their relationship eventually. He assures them that he is okay with it, in spite his own attraction to Kayla. The two assure him that he will always be part of their troupe, even if he is left out romantically. He replies that there is another woman at HanomCorp he is interested in - who works in the business and sales call service building and is talking to him online.

As the trio of friends continue to search for Lenny, Gwirmalesh begins concentrating his attacks in the area around Bozeman. Carlos and Kayla prove valuable assets to Volkonir on a regular basis - both in assisting him in fighting Treaders and in supplying him with experimental vehicles and weaponry to continually give him the edge over Gwirmalesh's monsters. In spite being obsessed with defeating Volkonir, Gwirmalesh gets sloppy and forgets to research where Team Volkonir's base is. He also routinely ignores Volkonir's allies.

Two years of Kayla's life go by, as her shared infatuation with Vinny blossoms into a mature love. They are have several discussions, and conclude that they should get married. Their shared religious outlook and shared interest in the restoration of Cortascius make them perfect for each other. She eventually proposes to Vinny formally, using a ritual her mother informed her of long ago. He accepts. They are hesitant about when they should reveal the truth to the rest of their team. Kayla's various contributions in R&D help Hanom to pitch several of his designs for modification for military use, earning him many contracts and doubling his wealth. After the defeat of the giant dragon Strumpule (one of the few of Gwirmalesh's monsters to ever grow giant-sized), the couple consummate their relationship sexually - though they quickly express feelings of regret for doing so.

Kayla soon learns that Strumpule's death upon falling from the sky led to him destroying a farm outside of town. This makes it harder for Team Volkonir to operate without being exposed, as federal agents begin flocking to the city to learn whatever they can about Strumpule.

Rise of Semaphry
Main article: Volkonir: Rise of Semaphry

As Vinny and Kayla awake one morning to discuss their relationship, they receive a call from Hanom that he needs them to attend a ceremony where he will be opening a new museum. The event is crashed by various Gwirdon Treaders, which Kayla and the others make quick work of. However, Diabloq arrives and proves a challenge for Volkonir. The team is informed by Diabloq that Silnya Semaphry is still alive - somewhere in Yellowstone. He also reveals that they cannot save Washington. He then flees the scene. The team is confused by Diabloq's message, suspecting a trap. Hanom informs the team that he is quickly running out of funds, because of a man working for Social Security that he believes intentionally added him to the Death Master File.

The image reveals Terrence Hoshijo - who has a history with both Hanom and Kayla. Kayla confirms to Vinny and Carlos that Hoshijo was the man that killed Lucy - and got Kayla sent to prison. Carlos goes to run an errand and get some groceries, but the FBI apprehends him. Hanom informs the team that it's because they attempted to tap into some of their financial assets after most of them were frozen. He also informs them that they only have a matter of time before their base is exposed. They all need to go on the run if they wish to foil Gwirmalesh's plan.

Kayla heads to Yellowstone with Vinny to an area off limits to visitors, and scouts for Silnya. Vinny finds the pit where Silnya is trapped, and gives his mogriffer to Kayla so that it won't trigger any security. Diabloq is waiting, and makes a non-mogrified Volkonir fight him for the wand that will free Silnya. However, a park ranger discovers Kayla battling some Treaders. She attempts to explain to the park ranger what the situation is even as she attempts to protect him from Treaders. He threatens to have her arrested. She clears an escape path for him. Diabloq overhears shouting, and fears that authorities could arrive and discover what's really going on. He notices that Volkonir has utilized the distraction and used the wand to break the spell on Silnya, freeing her from her statue form.

Diabloq heads to the surface to confront Kayla. Desperate, she activates the Golden Lion armor on herself. Diabloq gets close enough to transfer both of them back to Bozeman, where a battle quickly ensues. Volkonir discovers that without the statue spell, Silnya is aging rapidly. She grants Vinny her Crystal Swan, and informs him to reconfigure it so Kayla can use it. He says his goodbyes to her as she disintegrates into dust. He uses his transporter to head back to Bozeman, right as the park ranger arrives with reinforcements and discovers Silnya's remains near the pit she used to be inside of.

Kayla puts up a fight with Diabloq until Vinny is able to arrive and reclaim the Golden Lion. She notices some pain when wielding the power - which Vinny explains is the power rejecting her. He takes his armor back and hands the Crystal Swan mogriffer to Kayla, urging her to find a place to take cover. SWAT arrive and try to take down Volkonir and Diabloq both. However, Diabloq is able to avoid most of their bullets and keep fighting.

Fearful, Kayla changes into the Crystal Swan Knight and provides Volkonir with some backup. Diabloq falls back upon Gwirmalesh's command, so that the invasion of Washington can begin. Kayla notices one of the SWAT that was attacked by Diabloq survived, but is bleeding out of her leg. She changes back to her civilian form, and makes a tourniquet for the agent. The agent warns them they have only a few minutes to get lost, before reinforcements come for them. Vinny and Kayla leave as soon as they are able, taking pains to avoid being seen.

As they make it back to Kayla's apartment, the two are given the news that Hanom is fleeing. However, he has located which prison Carlos is being held in. He warns them not to return to base, and that he's already found a ride out of town. The two of them will need to get as far as their transporters can take them - but aware that they can't recharge without a base. They have to make their final use of their transporters count. SWAT helicopters attack Kayla's apartment even as the two are in the process of converting Kayla's mogriffer to work with her physiology. Volkonir does his best to keep them at bay, with Kayla becoming the new Semaphry just in time to help him gain the edge. They get far enough away to activate their transporters. They use their transporter power to send themselves to Pittsburgh, since there wasn't enough energy to go straight to DC.

Kayla reveals that she has her old lock-picking kit in her backpack, and suggests that they could break into a motel room if they don't have enough money to rent. Vinny suggests they sleep in the park to keep a lower profile, though Kayla warns him that homeless strays are not always treated well. She decides to adopt the moniker of "Macy Dixon" if they are pestered by anyone, suspecting that her real name could prove a major liability. The two don't get much snuggle time, before two officers begin interrogating them. Some gangsters from a car in the street nearby suddenly open fire on the officers, and Volkonir activates the Golden Lion and Selshon to go after the shooters. Kayla maintains her alias, but admits that she is now homeless and that Volkonir was keeping her company. As soon as Volkonir neutralizes the robbers and their car, he uses Selshon to leap back to the park by Kayla's side. Police arrest both of them immediately. Kayla has a vision that night in jail, in a dream, of Silnya passing on the Crystal Swan legacy to her. Expressing doubt about being worthy of it, Kayla is reassured by Silnya that there is nobody else more worthy at the time of the Crystal Swan.

The next day, police run her fingerprints through a national database. However, Gwirdon Treaders attack the station. Volkonir and Semaphry both break out in order to stop the Treaders and protect the police. They flee into the city, and Hanom arrives at their coordinates. He sends Volkonir on a mission to rescue Carlos from prison; but goes with Kayla directly to Washington to talk to Social Security. They quickly buy some disguises, then head to the building. Hanom pulls out a tablet and reveals all he knows about Hoshijo to the nearest female agent he is able to contact. However, the mention of Hoshijo's name triggers an alarm on Gwirdon scanners. Treaders attempt to abduct Agent Rachel Medway. Kayla becomes Semaphry once more, and gets Hanom and Medway to safety. Hanom informs them that he's going to attempt to see the president immediately. Kayla takes Medway to the archives to reverse Hoshijo's filing of Hanom on the Death Master File - in spite Medway warning Kayla that higher-up agents may construe it as a kidnapping.

Kayla and Rachel are shocked to feel tremors in the ground shortly after the file on Hanom is removed and his credit assets are restored. They discover that Hoshijo has been transformed into a giant blue glob of a monster, and that he's now attacking the city. Diabloq makes an attempt of Hanom's life - and the president's. However, Volkonir and Carlos arrive in time to thwart this while Secret Service finds itself battling the Gwirdon Treaders. Kayla urges Rachel to get to a safe place, then becomes Semaphry once more to help Volkonir settle the score. She and Volkonir combined prove to be more than Diabloq can handle on his own. Diabloq reveals that he has stolen the mogriffer of Horzhed Crimazol, which he then summons to wear the armor of the Red Serpent himself. Kayla asks Volkonir if he has reconfigured the mogriffer, and Volkonir reminds her that the mogriffer and Diabloq were both sealed away a short time after Horzhed first went missing. Kayla uses this to taunt Diabloq, then keeps him distracted until the armor begins rejecting him. Volkonir keeps Hoshijo at bay until Semaphry is able to finish off Diabloq. Semaphry then joins Volkonir, and they continue to take shots at Hoshijo until he is weak enough to be finished off by incoming military missiles. Hanom quickly grabs hold of the Red Serpent mogriffer, then resumes cover with the president.

Gwirmalesh himself arrives and brutally attacks both Volkonir and Semaphry. An injured Volkonir hands his Golden Lion mogriffer to Kayla, right as Gwirmalesh uses his wand to turn Volkonir into a toy again. Volkonir urges Kayla not to give up. She uses the Golden Lion mogriffer to fuse the Golden Lion to her Crystal Swan armor as a power-up mode. After a quick-but-brutal battle, Semaphry is able to kill Gwirmalesh. She de-mogrifies, then hands Gwirmalesh's bag of goods to Hanom and the president. This bag includes both the Toy Volkonir, and the Trinket of Morlikus. The FBI arrives on the scene and calls for her to surrender, which she does with little hesitation. The president assures her that he will make sure she gets good legal representation for herself and her entire team.

Knight in a Dungeon
Pending further legal review, Kayla is sent to Waseca to keep a low profile. However, she does at one point become Semaphry again in order to assist security in quelling a riot. She gets five days in solitary for this, but eventually is thanked by the warden for preventing a bloodbath.

She waits for two months before receiving word that a federal judge is willing to make a deal with her. She is greeted by her long-lost father, Aaron. He informs her that she is to go to Cortascius with her new friends to help a restored Morlikus rebuild the Cortascian Kingdom. Her two years in exile there will be substituted for time she would otherwise serve on Earth. He allows her to see who else has come to visit her: Volkonir himself, Morlikus, Hanom, Carlos, and Lenny. Morlikus informs her that she has earned the right to be the new Semaphry, and that he'd be honored to have her be the future queen of his lands.

Restoring Cortascius
Before she and Volkonir can marry properly, Kayla travels to Cortascius with Morlikus and the other Knights. Hanom promises to remain their Earth liaison. She serves well as the new Semaphry, protecting the kingdom during its reconstruction as old subjects turned into trinkets are found and restored. Things grow complicated when it is revealed that Mogabir, one of the most ruthless of the Gwirdon Leaders, has succeeded Gwirmalesh as the new Gwirdon King. Mogabir retreats the Gwirdons to Cortascius to finish Gwirmalesh's work there.

In spite this, Mogabir is unable to stop Cortascius from being restored. Morlikus eventually dies of old age, with Volkonir and Kayla becoming the new king and queen of a restored kingdom. In spite this, they institute a parliament. They also retain their Knight identities for a time, realizing that threats to Cortascius will always exist. They also set to work with creating more Cortascian Knight varieties, as the original four will not be enough. Volkonir allows Bonjapesh, the Royal Vizier, to wear the Argon Vole Knight outfit, succeeding Morlikus; while Volkonir himself continues to wear the Golden Lion. Kayla remains on the lookout for a worthy successor to herself as a new Semaphry, when the time should come that she can no longer wear the Crystal Swan armor.

A Ferret in the Hand
See also: Camelorum Adventures

In "A Ferret in the Hand," Jenny Kay summons Kayla, Vinny, and Carlos to assist the Camelry and Lenny in defeating one of Mogabir's monsters that had Percolated to the Dromedeverse. She is sent home again once the mission is over. Lenny eventually Percolates back to the other Knights - allowing the staff at Camelorum Correctional to release Gwen from quarantine.

Personality
Kayla is depicted to be dutiful and compassionate, often to a fault. She doesn't question that her Cortascian heritage implies a responsibility for her to learn and adopt its customs. She also is shown rarely breaking laws - except when her circumstances leave her believing she has no better option. She is very family-oriented, and ready to put herself in harm's way for the sake of a loved one. She is also a tad reckless, unafraid to gamble with forces she doesn't yet understand. When she realized she'd need a mogriffer to hold her own against Diabloq, she didn't hesitate to utilize the Golden Lion armor - in spite its lack of configuration for her physiology. She is shown to be incredibly patient, particularly with regards to her prison sentences.

She also shows compassion even for non-Gwirdons who would presume to be her enemies. She tries to barter with Hoshijo to abandon his insane alliance with Gwirmalesh, in spite still having not totally forgiven him for what he did to Lucy. She takes time away from her and Volkonir's escape plan to prevent an injured SWAT woman from bleeding to death, in spite this placing her at risk of being captured. However, she is not all sunshine and roses. She profusely curses Hoshijo's name after he brought about Lucy's death. She also earned an additional contempt of court charge for speaking her mind too strongly in court about the judge mocking her and dismissing Hoshijo's association with Hiktomoph.

Kayla's tragic past and destiny-minded parenting have instilled in her many of the same internal conflicts as Ciem, albeit with a bit more defiance in her. Her desire to consummate with Volkonir before they are legally wed is fueled by the same misguided need for affirmation as is Candi's, although it's clear that John Robuck traumatized her a lot less than Don Mendoza did to Candi. In spite learning of her chance to be royalty, she retains a humble-yet-determined demeanor.

Inspirations
Kayla's personality is inspired by several characters, mostly merged into one composite character. Her visual appearance is a combination of that of Ciem with Halle Berry's Miranda character from Gothika. Her personality, however, is a combination of all this with a toned-down Dolly Malestrom and multiple characters from various seasons of Power Rangers.

Her desire for esoteric knowledge is modeled after Rose Ortiz, as portrayed by Rhoda Montemayor in Operation Overdrive. While she never did live a life of luxury prior to setting out on her heroine's journey, Kayla's hardships and hardening to endure poverty are inspired by the origin story of Summer Landsdown, as portrayed by New Zealand actress Rose McIver in Power Rangers RPM. Her prior life as a prisoner before becoming a heroine is inspired by both Z Delgado from SPD and Gemma from RPM.

Her visual appearance also bears some similarity to that of Kat Manx from Power Rangers SPD. Her Semaphry armor's swan motif is modeled loosely off of the SPD Cat Ranger's Super Sentai counterpart: DekaSwan. White armor was still used as a base, but made more metallic to make Semaphry. The special ears were dropped in favor of a swan logo on her helmet, chestplate, and wherever else appropriate. Instead of orange trims, she has cyan ones, to indicate the "crystal" nature of the swan that is the namesake of her armor. Some of this emphasis on white and cyan together is also a reference to Odette from The Swan Princess - who also needed the help of a prince and some other ragtag friends to overcome an evil ruler.

Visual appearance
The first-ever render of Kayla was in The Sims 3: Into the Future in 2015. She was converted in May of 2016 into a Sims 4: Get Together character, and utilized the new hairstyles that came with that expansion. Both versions of her emphasize a slender-yet-strong woman of about 5'7" or taller. She is usually seen wearing fingertip-less gloves and a brown jacket with blue jeans.  Her hair is silky black, and usually kept short with some curls.  Her knight armor is a repaint job of a default armor that comes packaged with Get Together, though her original render in Sims 3 was a high-tech outfit that came with Into the Future.