Mingmei Chéng (Cataclysmic Gerosha)

程 "蛰人的大黄蜂" 明美 (anglicized: "Mingmei Stung Hornet Chéng") is an agent of the Chinese Ministry of State Security in several versions of Ciem mythology in Dozerfleet Comics. First appearing in the 2009 version of Ciem 2, she was later going to feature in its Comprehensive Gerosha novel Ciem: Nuclear Crisis. That project was eventually canceled, to make way for her to be reinvented for Sodality. Mingmei is the mentor of Miriam "Sniperbadger" Flippo and the eventual wife of Shing "Black Rat" Xu.

Forced to become a spy and a prostitute to take down her uncle's murderer, she was eventually recruited as a honeypot for the Chinese government. Her skills at both use of guns and hand-to-hand combat strategy led to her being promoted to a counter-terrorism operation dedicated to eliminating the Hebbleskin Gang and the Society of the Icy Finger. She was code-named "Stung Hornet" upon her promotion - a nickname originally given to her as in insult by her peers in grade school. In spite her status as a Chinese spy, she has worked on more than one occasion with SCALLOP and the Sodality of Gerosha to eliminate global terror threats.

As of 2015, she is portrayed by Chinese model Shen Ke on the wiki, courtesy of her stock photos on DeviantArt.

Skills
Mingmei is a sharp-shooting agent with quick wits, who knows when to use force and when to use persuasion - but can hold her own in a physical brawl if she has to. Her team considers her seductive capabilities to be her greatest strength; since she's an even better negotiator than Black Rat - and can work with clientele that he can't. However, her need to control a situation has led her to work undercover, often posing as a prostitute in order to gain information.

Weaknesses
Having a wild side, she has quickly earned a bad reputation on the force for the underhanded methods she has pursued in order to first seduce and then subdue targets.

Due to her risk-taking, and lack of pregnancy, she has often feared that she might be sterile. In spite her bad reputation, she was able to begin dating her fellow team member Black Rat - himself notorious for his conquests. Tin Dragon, ever the hothead, had reservations against that arrangement. He believed it to be a violation of the line of separation between business and personal matters.

Early life and career
Mingmei, born in 1986, grew up as a sweet child; but was constantly mistreated by her peers. The irony of her codename was intended originally as an insult. A hornet that is itself stung is supposed to be an epic fail.

When her uncle was murdered, she tracked down the killer by seducing the killer's brother - while posing as a prostitute and convincing him to get careless with information about family. Police readily identified her in spite her initial attempt to escape. She used her brief time as a fugitive to track down the killer and gather more evidence against him. Eventually, police identified her as the prostitute that had eluded them. She was quickly arrested, but used the opportunity to serve as an informant. Police were able to catch the killer using all the insights and evidence she provided them. Her detective skills and inherent knack for espionage impressed an official with ties to the Chinese MSS, who had her employed as a honeypot spy working for the government in 2005 at the age of 19.

She was determined to prove wrong all those who ridiculed and belittled her as useless in her old life, and soon proved to be worth her salt. A few of those girls that taunted her were later caught with various contraband stolen from US firms; and it was none other than Stung Hornet who led the charge to have them arrested.

She did not, however, let her new-found power get to her head. Her father had a wise old friend whom he kept around, who became a mentor to Stung Hornet in her younger years. He taught her to always be ready to show compassion, and to not let her heart be ruled by prideful vengeance. After around 30 missions as a honey trap and after demonstrating herself a skilled combatant and a kindhearted figure with some skill in leadership, she was promoted to a position where she got to keep her clothes on.

Sodality
Main article: Sodality (series)

The combined effects of the Hebbleskin Gang and the Obama White House's policies dissolved the United States into four countries in 2018. Chaos ensued in the Western Hemisphere. Once-great nations disintegrated. Madness, calamity, and evil were soon everywhere. Beijing colonized one whole section of the four splinters of what was the US, forming "Chimerica." Stung Hornet suspected she would be reassigned to the colony at any time. In the mean time, she was put in charge of patrolling Shanghai to keep the Hebbleskins out. It was this patrolling of Shanghai that led her to discovering Miriam Ann "Sniperbadger" Flippo, who revealed herself after hiding in Hong Kong under the alias "Haishui."

After an unpleasant encounter with Meethlites that smuggled themselves into Hong Kong, Miriam decided to betray her secret identity in exchange for protection by government officials. She turned herself in, and Stung Hornet was assigned to the case. Mingmei immediately realized that Miriam was a broken soul, and set to work acting as a surrogate mother figure given they had some common ground. In this way, she quickly gained Miriam's trust. Miriam agrees to work for the agency as a hacker, at least for a time - provided they only assign her to cases involving the Hebbleskin Gang. Mingmei takes her role as Miriam's supervisor very seriously, often protecting her from Tin Dragon's brash, demeaning, ethnocentric remarks. This causes Tin Dragon to ridicule Mingmei, accusing her of "adopting strays." The criticism - and Tin Dragon's racist remarks - intensify when she allows Miriam to begin dating their other ex-American, gang-pressed operative: Guan. "Guan" turns out to be the codename of a scientist whose real name is Steve McLaine. In season one of Sodality, Mingmei is introduced to Miriam. They work together with the other agents to fight back against the Hebbleskin Gang's push to take over Hong Kong. Their quest continues in season two, although they are eventually reassigned to an outpost in Alaska. Here, they have to deal with Russian spies that want to take Alaska back for Russia. A hacker who rivals Miriam's skills, known as Melvin Markus, vows to crack the code of Sniperbadger's security measures, spelling jeopardy for the whole team. In season three, Stung Hornet must put her life on the line to help Miriam, Steve, and Black Rat defeat Captain Aardwulf. This results in Miriam's friends having to team up with Candi's. Stung Hornet does not play a major role in season four.

Battling the Kirby Act
When the Tom Kirby Act was passed in 2015, it became illegal for Phaelites on Earth to continue making Phexos. However, this created a large debate about Phexos that already existed - and about how many rights they actually had. This led to SCALLOP being under constant pressure to heavily monitor the activities of every known Phexo their database was aware of, leading to massive invasions of privacy. Various world governments set up their own equivalents to SCALLOP to handle cases outside of North America, as laws similar to the Kirby Act were passed globally.

Before he was defeated by the Sodality and executed by Extirpon, the corrupt Judge Terry Beliah had illegally passed legislation from the bench in what became known as the "Beliah Amendments." These statutes of policy, tacked on to the Kirby Act, essentially ordered for the reduction of all Phexos and Marlquaanites to second-class citizen status. Meethexos were made an exception to the rule, given Beliah's partiality to the Hebbleskin Gang. While the Sodality managed to rescue a lot of the Phexos and Marlquaanites that were being illegally abducted by Beliah's cronies - and restored their own ability to offer testimonies in court - they were unable to get the Kirby Act repealed entirely.

The Phaletori's rise - and invasion of Houston with a Centhuen army - turned public opinion against Phaelites and Phexos in general. The Sodality may have saved Houston several times; but residents were angry about the lives lost and property damage accrued from several battles. Some prosecutors were also upset over the way that Candi's case was handled when she was placed in protective custody following her role as a witness in the Senator Gobar bank robbery scandal. When a Leaper in Arkansas is brutally murdered by a SWAT team, both sides of the Beliah amendment debate become heated in their arguments. This leads to SCALLOP calling in the entire Sodality to spend some time in its facilities - where they can be escorted to make their case before several lawmakers and law enforcement personnel. The governor of Texas takes particular interest in meeting with each member of the Sodality.

However, the Phaletori begin working with the Society of the Icy Finger. The Icy Finger uses intel given to them by the treacherous agent Jim Oisdaat to take their revenge on the Sodality for letting the Gray Champion join. Rumors begin to float that the Icy Finger is also attempting to win over new recruits within Toklisanan prisons, requiring Sodality staff to go undercover as inmates and find out. When several key places and individuals in Italy and Mozambique also become Icy Finger targets, the Sodality is divided into several strike teams to deal with their messy political situation.

Team Liberation forms to tackle the Italian and Mozambican theater of war. It consists of the Sapphire King, Gray Champion, Purge-Flare, Botan the Plant-Man, Extirpon, Ron Barrin, Pablo Ramirez, and Anna Ramirez. Miriam agrees to help them out however she can as Sniperbadger, though she is taken with Steve back to China for safekeeping. Black Rat joins them later on. With some persuasion, the Phaemer Village Peacekeepers Socratic, Jackal Semicolon, and Bolte Chipotle also join. Most of the other Sodality members agree to the call-in, and turn themselves in to serve up to six-month terms being interned at SCALLOP's facilities. This even includes Cocklebur, Taterbug, and Feruga; who surrender themselves to protect Sapphire King and Purge-Flare. Navyrope refuses to cooperate with the act; but he allows Tiffany and Jordan Sterlie to turn themselves in on his behalf. Hea and Tabitha Pang follow suit, in order to protect John Domeck from being pursued. Likewise, Pam and Wilfredo turn themselves in to protect Eric. Marge stages a public intoxication incident to distract the media from what's really going on, and is sentenced to six months at the SCALLOP Female Containment Center.

This hype leads to SCALLOP being pressured to invade Chinese-controlled Alaska and abduct Miriam. However, Mingmei barters to be taken in Miriam's place. She reveals herself to be Stung Hornet. A Toklisanan diplomat whom she'd seduced and robbed in the past learns that she is in custody, and lobbies for her to spend at least a year in a SCALLOP facility out of revenge. Mingmei agrees to the terms, provided that no further harassment is brought against Steve, Miriam, and Shing. She takes advantage of her capture to be a mentor to the other Sodality women in custody. As she is being arrested, a fight ensues in the skies.

The Phaemer Village Peacekeepers, ordered to go to Earth and recover something the Phaletori had stolen from Phaelon, manage to drive the battle away from the science center. However, Keet Kabo and Time Capsule get separated from the main group and crash into a tool shed, destroying it instantly whilst also destroying their space pod. They are taken into custody right along with Mingmei. Evan is taken to the Men's center, while Keet is taken to the same place as Mingmei. Keet manages to escape after only three days; but Mingmei suspects that she will be of greater use to the cause if she remains in custody. She makes no attempt, however, to stop Keet from escaping.

When the Icy Finger attacks the Juvenile complex and kills several children, the government determines that SCALLOP's prison system is incompetent. They force SCALLOP to outsource all its prison operations to Toklisanan authorities. Those who had already been interviewed and/or needed to remain under SCALLOP jurisdiction were paroled, even though they'd served only a month of the six months they were supposed to serve. Marge, Mingmei, and Celia - each of them facing actual criminal charges and none of them being Phexos - were transferred to other jails. Mingmei and Celia were sent to the Houston Women's Correctional Facility. Inside, Mingmei discovered several attempts to recruit inmates to the Icy Finger. She also served as an unofficial bodyguard and later cellmate for Celia. Celia is later sent back to Italy per request of the Italian government.

While everyone else is out of jail by the time six months have passed, Mingmei gets to remain inside for an additional six months. Shing visits her one time before her release. She resumes being Stung Hornet in China after her release, relieved to hear that the Beliah amendments are overturned and that her friends can live their lives out with minimal harassment. She not only stopped several Icy Finger operations; but also managed to work as a mercenary for SCALLOP to clean up the mess that Cupric caused when he began breaking other criminals out of prison to cover his own tracks.

Semi-retirement
Shing and Mingmei's romance begins to bud like never before after she is set free from the Houston facility. Two more years go by, and the MSS grants her and Shing permission to marry. The couple don't take long to celebrate their union, as missions could await. However, Mingmei conceives a child after a few years. She decides to be less active in the field in order to tend to her maternal duties. She makes Miriam and Steve the godparents of her son. The new Xu family is eventually allowed a vacation to Toklisana to visit their Sodality friends. Wilbur baptizes all of them.

Personality
Mingmei tends to be very charismatic and friendly; but knows when to be tough and use force. In spite her exterior charm, she does have a very strong sense of the seriousness of the situations she gets into. She is driven by the loved ones in her life and principles she adheres to; but is also saddled with a lot of guilt and shame over the moral compromises she's had to make to complete missions. While longing to have children, she doesn't have one until she turns 43; fearing herself sterile before that. Shing, the father, proves to be very grateful and relieved. Her guilt over her past conquests leads to her making self-deprecating jokes whenever her past comes back to haunt her. When captured by SCALLOP, a foreign dignitary she'd seduced and stolen documents from discovers her in a jail cell. She laughs about it, and assures him not to worry - that she's right where she feels she belongs.

She strongly believes in protecting her native country of China from Hebbleskin and Icy Finger threats; but will quickly put herself on the line to protect her personal loved ones even over national interests. Her maternal instincts make her an effective mentor to a broken Miriam Flippo as well. She carries this over in season 5, becoming a mentor to Celia Winehart when they are both captured by SCALLOP following the Kirby Act debacle. After the Icy Finger attacks SCALLOP's Juvenile Containment Center and massacres several of the underage inmates, the state of Texas determines that Lex Philippine can no longer protect prisoners effectively. Since Mingmei and Celia have actual criminal records, they are sent to the Houston Female Correctional center. Mingmei becomes Celia's unofficial bodyguard and cellmate. Regardless of setting, Mingmei knows how to be sweet while also commanding respect and order.

Prior continuities
Continuities: Earth-G5, Earth-G6

Early renditions of Stung Hornet possessed very little background and character development for her. She was one of four agents who were sent as spies into the US to hunt for Miriam Flippo, who was wanted for questioning in connection to a Hebbleskin Gang infiltration of Chinese state department security. Their quest to find her, however, led them straight into the crossfire of the terrorist group known as the Mik-Non; which was planning to spread mayhem all over Dirbine/Evansville.

Making matters worse, Captain Aardwulf was on the loose. His reign of terror led directly to the murder of Stung Hornet and Tin Dragon. Black Rat was spared, albeit briefly; and only by way of a Classic Gerosha and Comprehensive Gerosha ret-con. In Gerosha Prime, where Black Rat debuted, he too was killed. The only other agent to survive was Teal Hog, who debuted in Classic Gerosha along with Tin Dragon and Stung Hornet.

Earlier versions
Stung Hornet's real name was not deduced until shortly before the initial work had begun on creating Ciem: Vigilante Centipede. Before that, she was known only by her codename. Stung Hornet was never intended originally to be more than a joke character, thrown into Ciem 2 just so that Captain Aardwulf could rack up a body count. Her appearance wasn't finalized until concept art was made for her in 2011, when preliminary work was being done for Nuclear Crisis. Since then, her appearance changed fairly little.

Cataclysmic Gerosha
For Sodality, it was decided that she was to be given an in-depth backstory. She also became a main character, as opposed to a one-off cameo. No longer confined to just the quest to recover the Ming-Yo from Captain Aardwulf, Mingmei took on a life of her own as Miriam's mentor. She was given a detailed history, particularly about her origin and criminal record. It was originally planned that she would play a very minor role in the story after season 3 ended; but she was determined in 2015 to have enough popularity potential to warrant being returned to the limelight for season 5. As other characters have grown tired of the business or else are leaving regular duty to raise families, Mingmei's importance grows.

Virtual dolls
Mingmei's first-ever appearance was brief, and she was an assistant to Black Rat in Ciem 2 rendered in The Sims 2. For Nuclear Crisis, she got a makeover in The Sims 3. As of 2015, her season 5 self is now prominently featured in The Sims 4 as an inmate at the SCALLOP Women's Containment Center.

Real-life models
Her look was unofficially put up for a casting call on DevianArt in the late fall of 2012. On December 19th of 2012, DeviantArt artist Maleica agreed to a deal to be advertised on DozerfleetWiki in exchange for the use of modified versions of his work. This made the Stung Hornet article the first to feature an approved image by the actual artist to feature a real-life model double for the character. That same day, the Stung Hornet article became the first to implement anaglyph glasses icons on the wiki, to indicate links to DeviantArt-stored, 3D versions of images. This was to help promote the series' concept art, which was made in 3D as well as 2D. While anaglyph, and therefore not in keeping with the best 3D technology out there, the move into 3D at all became a major milestone in Dozerfleet history.

On Wednesday, March 4th of 2015 around 2:02 PM EST, Mingmei's model was replaced with a stock photo of Chinese model Shen Ke, who goes on DeviantArt by the username "Kizysem." The background of her original photo was replaced with a Grand Ledge apartment hall photo from the Dozerfleet Grand Ledge Stock Photos library.