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Allias: Teen Idol, Goddess
Birthday: March 14
Height: 163
Weight: 49Kg
Location: Japan
Likes: Internet, shopping, tea
Dislikes: Grasshoppers
Athena is said to be the present incarnation of the Greek goddess Athena (à la Saint Seiya), the goddess of wisdom and war. Despite the rumor of divinity, Athena tries to act like a normal high school girl — except when fighting crime, entering fighting tournaments, or fulfilling her role as a teen idol. Born an esper with powers rooted in those of the Phoenix, Athena may be the world's greatest psychic. As a true hero, she vows to use her powers for justice and to fight evil.
One day, while returning home from school, Athena saw a couple of Chinese fellows about to defend themselves from a local tough guy, whom she immediately knocked out with her powers before he threw a single punch. After introducing herself to the travelers, she discovered that the teenage boy, Sie Kensou, likewise had psychic powers while the aged man, Chin Gentsai, was a venerable master of many Chinese martial arts. Recognizing a good thing, they joined forces to become the Psycho Soldiers. While Chin trained Athena and Kensou in kung-fu, Athena led their efforts in crime fighting and conquering the world of team combat in the annual King of Fighters tournament.
By KOF '96, Athena had become just as big a sensation in
the fighting world as she was on the pop scene for her charm, unique style, and amazing powers. Though she had never led her team to an overall championship win, she and her powers--along with those of other major heroes in KOF — played a crucial supporting role in helping Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, and Chizuru Kagura defeat at various times Rugal Bernstein, Geese Howard, Goenitz, and Orochi.
In the aftermath of KOF '97, the Psycho Soldiers met Kaoru, a crippled teen girl inspired to learn to walk again after she saw her favorite team of underdogs bravely overcome fighters in their physical prime and twice their size. She now travels with them to most of their engagements and was even a striker in KOF 2000.
Between KOF '98 and '99, she met Bao, an adopted student of Chin and perhaps the most gifted psychic youngster she'd ever met. She also liked the boy very much since he was so cute and friendly, so he became the fourth Psycho Soldier. About this time, Kensou mysteriously lost most of his psychic powers.
In KOF '99, after K' defeated Krizalid, the collapsing NESTS base split Athena and Kensou from Chin and Bao as they fled. Just as Athena discovered an exit, falling debris trapped her leg. Kensou could not budge it, but just as another cascade of falling debris threatened to crush Athena, Kensou managed a massive burst of telekinesis to deflect it and finally extract Athena. Once they were safe and reunited with the other Psycho Soldiers, Kensou collapsed from exhaustion while Bao, who had barely a scratch from the ordeal, mysteriously went unconscious.
In KOF 2000, not advancing to the final round, the Psycho Soldiers remained on the streets of Southtown while K' and his team fought against Zero, a renegade NESTS agent. When the orbital laser cannon above, which Zero had planned to use to destroy NESTS, went haywire and began blowing up all of Southtown, Bao managed to deflect one of the blasts back into the cannon, which helped destroy it. The incident injured him so badly, though, that not even Athena's potent vitakinesis could help him.
Luckily, Kensou somehow unleashed his hidden "Dragon's Spirit", which saved Bao. Since then, Athena and Chin have determined that Kensou and Bao share some sort of psychic connection, especially because as Kensou's new psychic power has waxed, Bao's psychic power has waned. Chin thinks they simply share the same power, but Bao reveals to us after KOF 2001 that he secretly knows the true nature of their relationship, one not yet made clear to KOF fans.
For the first time since the beginning of KOF, the Psycho Soldiers did not enter the tournament in KOF 2003 since Kensou and Bao went on a year long training mission with Chin to master Kensou's unreliable "Dragon's Spirit". Not wanting to miss out on her annual fix of tournament competition, though, Athena joined forces with Hinako Shijou and Malin to form the High School Girls team, a strange but rather successful partnership.
KOF XI, Athena reunites with Kensou after his year of training, and Momoko, one of Chin's growing cadre of psychic students, joins them to form the Neo Psycho Soldier team.
Though neither Athena nor the other Psycho Soldiers have much connection with the major plot in KOF 2003 through KOF XII (not yet released, but presumably the climax of the latest KOF plot arc), it seems she is destined to soon struggle alongside Kensou against the evil and powerful Ron and his henchmen, who intend to steal Kensou's power of the Dragon's Spirit. If Kensou and the other Psycho Soldiers fail, will Athena and her Power of the Phoenix alone be enough to stop Ron?
