Hallis Lizette Van Cortlandt
Hallis
Hallis.jpg
Portrayed By Mary-Kate Olsen
Gender Female
Date of Birth July 16, 1987
Age 20
Zodiac Sign Cancer
Aliases None
Place of Birth Croton-On-Hudson, NY
Current Location NYC, NY
Occupation Celebutante/Socialite
Known Relatives Lizette Valois-Van Cortlandt (grandmother), James VanCortlandt (father-estranged), Kitty Reed-VanCortlandt (mother)
Significant Other None
Known Abilities
First Appearance -

History

Hallis is your stereotypical Poor Little Rich Girl. Born in July 1987, she was to be the only child of James Van Cortlandt and Katherine (Kitty) Reed-Van Cortlandt. Though James yearned for more children, there were none. She spent the first few years of her life with her parents in their penthouse on the upper East side of Manhattan. Summers and weekends were spent in Westchester where her grandmother owned a large estate in Purchase, NY.

Her travails in life began when Hallis was 3. To correct a lisp, her parents hired a private tutor and the little girl began learning French. At the age of five, Hallis began her formal education at the Spence School in New York City, a prestigious academy that caters to the upper crust of America. It was a hard life. For instance, Hallis became fast friends with many of the other girls but it became quickly apparent that Cecily Thorpe was top dog in their social circle, courtesy of her father's larger bank account. But Hallis didn't let that bother her too much. She recognized that sometimes in life there must be sacrifices, and she was better than the *other* girls, after all.

In junior high, further disruptions arrived, proving to Hallis that hers was not to be an easy existence. Enter Soleil, a popular teen movie star, newly arrived at the school who displaced even Cecily from her place in the social pecking order. Hallis had no other choice but to turn to drugs and alcohol to soothe her aching heart. It was fortunate for her that Soleil had introduced the social set to the substances, it meant that everyone else was picking up those habits too. There was peace for a time, but when Soleil was suddenly busted by the paparazzi and sent to rehab, everyone's parents were on the look-out for signs of substance abuse amongst the princesses. No one was spared and Hallis was subjected to the humiliation of a private therapist. Even he didn't understand.

The lack of sympathy for her plight forced Hallis's hand. As the clique moved into their late teens, pain pills and Dom Perignon became hard liquor and heroine. The only bright spot in the wasted plane of early adulthood was that it was no longer chic to have a child in therapy; the regular visits with the dour Doctor Reynolds ended and the princess' parents once more turned a blind eye to their carousing.

It was unfortunate that the heavy hand of malicious fate hovered over her, and it was only a matter of time before bad went to truly bad…or maybe not as bad as it could have been but still pretty terrible. It's true, Hallis could have had her driver take her to the club that night, but chauffeurs were so last year. It is also true that she'd had a little pick me up before getting behind the wheel, but what girl didn't? The party was going to be /huge/ and she'd slept badly the night before! Honestly, she felt horrible when she struck and killed that dark haired boy. Discovering that he was a Latino from Yonkers alleviated some of her guilt, and it was a puzzle to her that others didn't seem to feel the same way. After all, there's always another poor person to take his place, right?

Truly, it was her lot in life to be misunderstood and to be taken advantage of. Naturally, Daddy's money was enough to make certain all charges were brought against Hallis were acquitted but then he had the gall to inform her that he was cutting back her allowance. Over a little brown boy from /Yonkers/! Showing himself to be a heartless creature, Daddy insisted: she would be allowed a small apartment in Greenwich Village and would be expected to find employment to finance the other aspects of her life.

It was a horror. But Hallis was a fighter. She dragged herself up by the Jimmy Choos to dabble in modeling, acting, designing, and was even courted for her own reality show. It was hard going though; in her heart of hearts, she knew Daddy had never intended for her to even consider becoming "hired help", which limited the options open to her. Of all the people in her life, only her Grandmother still seemed to have any love for poor put-upon Hallis. An open heart and an open wallet. It's true, it wasn't as much as Hallis was accustomed to but beggars certainly can't be choosers. Right?

Personality

A spoiled child in the body of a young woman, Hallis is the very essence of hedonism. If one was to say she was brought up, they would be using the term loosely due to the fact that the girl spent less time in the care of her parents than in the bottom of a bottle or at the end of a white line. She is vapid, self-involved, pleasure-seeking, shallow but most of all pitiable. For over the years, she has developed a sense of self that borders on tragic. Nothing could ever be her fault.

The friends that Hallis has are the same ones she's had since her earliest recollections. Those long lived bonds are still quite loose and based on the worth of the family rather than personality or anything substantial. Though Hallis has been seen with her same clique from her school years, her popularity is waning because of a five minute accident that will impact the girl for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, the young woman feels more sorry for herself than for the crime she committed that night she hit and killed a young boy in an impaired moment behind the wheel.

Unfortunately, Hallis has yet learned nothing from the tragedy and is likely never to care. Unless, that is, it affects her personal gain or wealth. She is quick to throw money at a situation, when she has it, and when she doesn't she will avoid her problems at all costs. Her obsessions include clothing, fragrance, make-up, shoes, accessories, anything that makes her look good. While this sort of existence quickly grows old for most, it is the only one she knows.

Abilities

Atomic Transmutation is the ability to psychically turn one substance into another at the atomic level. With a single touch one with this ability can turn one substance into something else entirely, such as turning lead into gold or water into wine.

Initially, Hallis is able to transform any object into gold. At the atomic level it involves a reaction whereby all atoms of said object are reorganized and rerouted to meet the composition of gold — a process only reversible by another person with her same power. As an uncontrolled ability, it can be particularly dangerous because it can damage the person who possesses it by disabling their ability to eat or drink. When controlled, it can make its possessor incredibly wealthy. To a point.

When utilized as an instinctive reaction, Hallis' ability to turn things to gold does not have a lasting effect. Only when she's making a conscious effort to change something permanently does it stay that way. Otherwise the effect will wear off anywhere from a few seconds to a few days.

Stunts

Gold Leaf - A thin layer of gold will spread from the point of touch to cover whatever it is Hallis is touching or holding. This is not a lasting effect, it will wear off in a few hours. This ability must be practiced and controlled, otherwise the object will turn to solid gold.

Fool's Gold - When Hallis touches an object, she is able to transform it into solid gold. This is an unpracticed ability and lasts anywhere from a few seconds to a few days depending on the height of success.

Midas Touch - This is a permanent change to gold. With effort Hallis is able to change and stabilize any compound until it transforms into solid gold. Attempting this puts a drain on her, at present time she is only able to transform objects the size of softballs or hand sized pieces of objects. For example, if she were to try to transform the Statue of Liberty, she would only manage to change two circles about 6 inches in diameter.

Oscar - In a moment of terror or panic, Hallis will change into something like a gold statue. Whatever position she was in is how she freezes. While it may look to be solid, it is only a half inch skin covering her body. While in this state, Hallis is completely unaware of anything that might be going on around her. Her body is essentially in stasis. This lasts only for a maximum of three minutes and when she comes out of it, she will be in shock and temporarily blinded.

he girl is nothing out of the ordinary, at least when it comes to powers or the like. She was educated in one of the best schools in the country and received higher than average marks when she actually tried. This could be explained by the private lessons given to her by the various tutors she's had throughout her lifetime. Her parents wanted her to become something, anything, and indulged her every whim. This ended up with the girl having a little bit of an ability in many things, but she never actually focused on anything.

Timeline

  • July 16, 1989 birth of a legend.

Relationships

Olivia Thorpe -Olivia is the queen bee of Hallis' social set and has been Hallis' friend since they were 5 years old. Though they have had their little squabbles (namely Olivia's recent engagement) they've always had each others back. Olivia recently became engaged to Hallis' ex-fling, Ray, after dating him for only two weeks.
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Chelsea Allen -Chelsea is also a very old friend of Hallis' they met the first day of kindergarten and have been solid since then. Chelsea isn't as fashion forward as Hallis or Olivia and thus has earned the rank of third place in the group. Nevertheless, if Olivia and Hallis are out, you can bet Chelsea is right alongside them.
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Mitsy Smythe-Blakeley -Mitsy is the cling-on of the group. Not really a good friend, but hasn't exactly been kicked out because of her family's money. She joined the clique in third grade and has always been the gofer. Hallis and Mitsy have a strained relationship due to Mitsy's obsession with being exactly like Hallis. Right down to her choice of men.
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Soleil -Known only as Soleil, this child actress, turned singer, turned back to actress, met the clique in the seventh grade and usurped Olivia's position as queen bee. She's a rather bad influence on the girls having introduced them to alcohol, drugs, and parties at the tender age of thirteen. She lives in Hollywood now but visits frequently enough.
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Trenton Hawthorne -While not an actual member of the clique, Trenton is Hallis' on again off again boyfriend, currently they are off again. Parents of the sometimes couple have been angling for an engagement: Hallis' because they hope that Trenton can calm her partying ways down, Trenton's because they want to combine fortunes. At the moment, it doesn't look as though the two will be getting together any decade soon.
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Quotes

Trivia

  • Second language- Hallis is fluent in French.
  • She can act, and has had cameos in quite a few movies (this might be because her father paid the producers and directors for the favor).
  • She can sing, not exceptionally well… but everything can be fixed in production.
  • She can play 3 musical instruments - Proficient in the piano, the harp, and she is moderately good at the flute.
  • Even though she is so small, she has been a model for Gucci, Prada, Anna Sui, and the Gap. Her ads have been in magazines such as Vogue, W, Cosmopolitan, and Elle.
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