Laura

Living… in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she roams the streets surveying daily human life. Like any city, Edinburgh offers many opportunities to run into strangers – on the road, in an alley, or on the beach at any hour. This suits Laura’s purposes perfectly. When she’s not roaming the streets, she’s back in her lair, where the final step of the process is completed.

Profession… alien serial killer, guising herself in the body of a beautiful English woman. Laura uses her disguise to lure unsuspecting males into her white van. The men, shocked that such a woman would show interest in their advances, gleefully follow her to her lair, where they’re never to be seen again. As a “profession” it’s iffy at best, but there is someone overseeing all this – a man with a motorcycle who keeps up with her conquests. 

Interests… life on Earth. Apart from surveying for victims, Laura also uses her daily strolls to gain insight into human life. Eventually, her observations of human life become less detached and more empathetic. She’s captivated by the simplest human pleasures – pleasurable tastes, sounds, and human interactions – to the point where they threaten her entire venture.

Relationship Status… single, understandably. The question of whether genuine love is an option for an alien is something Laura is grappling with herself. Most of the men she encounters have come onto her in an unsolicited or aggressive way, and she has no problem returning the favor, turning their fantasies into nightmares. But she also seems responsive to genuine kindness and attraction, something beyond the initial lust she inspires in others. This is as much of a revelation to her as it is to the recipient of these feelings.   

Challenge… being caught or being killed. Laura seems to choose victims on instinct, never knowing whom she’ll encounter next. When you deal with strangers, you deal with the luck of the draw. The problem with Laura’s predicament is that both sides of the coin can lead to trouble. A victim may be too empathetic or kind to her for her to “finish the job,” or he may just be capable of fighting back, out-doing her with an evil of his own.

Personality… charming, at first. Laura is so engaging and warm upon first meeting her that she disarms the men who approach her, as they never expected to make so much as eye-contact with a woman like her. She wants to know about them; she wants them to know how mutual her attraction is. It’s presumably all a ploy to get back to her lair. But if that charm crosses over into actual empathy for her victims, she quickly retreats back to her normal detached state.