Hea Pang (Cataclysmic Gerosha)

Hea Pang is a character in Dozerfleet Comics, who features in The Gray Champion: Freedom's Apparition as an ally of John Domeck.

Early life
Hea is the daughter of museum curator Dae Pang and fisherman Joo-Chin Pang. Joo-Chin is himself the son of a Korean woman who married an American man. After Joo-Chin took on his job as a fisherman, his wife Dae decided that she needed something more than a fisherman's budget to support a family. She applied her interest in studying Puritan and American colonial history, and eventually became a museum curator. Hea inherited her mom's interest in history.

While she enjoyed life for the longest time, Hea's world came crashing down when her father died in a tragedy at sea. Dae's museum job became the only source of income for her family, and life as as widow resulted in some personality changes that adversely affected the mother-daughter relationship. This relationship grew increasingly strained the closer Hea got to her sixteenth birthday. She often thought of running away, but knew there was no other place for her to go. She acquired a boyfriend in the form of Kyle Medsor, who helped ease her frustrations at a lifetime of dealing with her strict mother. However, Kyle soon joined the military, meaning only long-distance correspondence could hold the two together.

Freedom's Apparition
Main article: The Gray Champion: Freedom's Apparition

Hea's life was changed drastically when she encountered John Domeck, who was wandering the streets aimless and confused. John's arrival allowed Dae and Hea to temporarily get along better, as they now had a common goal of aiding John. Tensions rise, however, when Eqquibus escalates the efforts he is willing to resort to so that Gray can be neutralized as a threat to his operations.

Hea actually makes good on her plan to run away when Dae refuses to help get Gray out of the Marlquaanite freeze that Eqquibus had him put into. She flees to Kyle's home, and he happens to be home on temporary leave. The two engage in an hour of intercourse, and then Kyle agrees to help Hea rescue Gray. The couple's plan succeeds, but only at the expense of Hea having to set the docks on fire. This destroys most of Johnson's operations, causing him to attack the museum. Kyle is mortally wounded, but figures out how to free Gray. Hea alerts Gray to the situation, and Eqquibus is defeated in a dramatic showdown.

Chillingworth's Revenge
Main article: The Gray Champion: Chillingworth's Revenge

However, Hea's final evening with Kyle was not without consequence. Her revelation of pregnancy became the final wedge, and Dae drove Hea out of the house for good. Much to Dae's anger, Gray chose to stay with Hea rather than with Dae. Kyle's parents showed a great willingness to support Hea in raising the child, but Hea did her best to keep Gray a secret from them.

After leaving her mother behind, Hea grew up to become a sales assistant for a cell phone dealership. She remains one of Gray's closest allies, even while raising her own daughter Tabitha. She ends up having to flee to Miami with Gray and Tabitha to find Gray's missing daughter Margaret, whose adoptive parents are Cuban-American immigrants that have acquired Hester's Locket. With the aid of this relic, Hea and friends hope to turn the tide in Gray's war against a new and even more ruthless enemy: Chillingworth.

Personality
Hea is a mostly reclusive teenager, opening up only to those she deems her closest allies. In school, she often goes unnoticed by the crowds. And she is completely content to be ignored most of the time. However, when a friend is in need, she does not hesitate to leave her comfortable isolation and lend a helping hand. She has a very firm sense of right and wrong, but will break the rules if necessary to save someone's life or say goodbye to a loved one.

In parenting, she is much more lenient with her child. This is part of her defiance of Dae, whose strictness came at the expense of Hea feeling unloved.

Development
Hea was only given her current name in 2011, when Gray's debut story was given the official name of The Gray Champion: Freedom's Apparition. She was known in drafts from 2001-2011 as "Heeshwa Pwong." Hea was originally a resident in Grand Rapids, MI. However, moving her to Boston made more sense as Gray would most likely be there also. Her father's death in a boating accident was part of her backstory since the beginning, but only in Freedom's Apparition did his profession become one of commercial fishing. Her mother wasn't always named Dae, who didn't have a name until 2011.