Alexia Ashford

"Thanks to you Veronica's angry, which makes me stronger!"

- Alexia to Chris and Claire Redfield

Alexia Ashford was member of British nobility, coming from the Ashford family. The adopted daughter of Dr. Alexander Ashford, 6th Earl Ashford, her real parentage was the result of a cloning experiment referred to as Project CODE:Veronica, and was biologically the daughter of Veronica Ashford, 1st Countess Ashford. Through her grandfather, Dr. Edward Ashford, 5th Earl Ashford, she was able to gain a position as a virologist within Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, an enterprise he co-founded.

Early life


Alexia and her brother Alfred, the future 7th Earl Ashford were born around 1971 to an unnamed surrogate mother as part of Project CODE:Veronica. The project, led by Dr. Alexander Ashford, involved obtaining DNA from the embalmed body of his ancestor, Veronica and creating a genetically-modified clone. The purpose of it was a vanity project intent on restoring the family's reputation with a child comparable to Veronica, who's intelligence was renowned, and prevent Lord Oswell E. Spencer from taking full control over the corporation should Dr. Edward Ashford die. Whereas Alexia's genius intellect fulfilled all of Dr. Ashford's expectations, the higher-than-average Alfred did not compare, perhaps due to having been the result of a freak error during the cloning process intended solely to create Alexia. Nonetheless, both were raised by Dr. Ashford at his home under the Antarctic Base.

At the age of 10, Alexia graduated from a university in England and was employed by Umbrella Pharmaceuticals as one of its virologists. Isolated from other scholars by her young age, and from children by her intellect, Alexia's only comfort was her brother Alfred, having already developed a loathing of her father as another member of the "ignorant masses".

T-Veronica Foundations


In February 1983, some time around her twelfth birthday, her brother Alfred told her about a secret room in the Antarctic Base, at which she was working at the time, and told her he needed her family gemstone, a large ruby inside a silver choker, to open it. Offering it to him, she aided him in opening the secret corridor. Once inside, the twins learned the complete truth about their creation, and both grew immensely hateful of their father.

Capturing him in March 1983, they used him as a test subject for the t-Veronica virus that she had created by binding together the Progenitor Virus and the remnants of an ancient virus found within a queen ant. The experiment turned Alexander into the insane monster known only as Nosferatu.

Taking notes on her father's progress, Alexia discovered certain flaws in her virus, and planned to inject herself with the virus to become a superior being. Using the data she had obtained from her father, Alexia discovered a way to harness the full power of her virus: by having herself put into cryogenic suspension for fifteen years while the virus, slowed by the ultra-low temperatures to a point where it would not destroy her tissues through overly rapid mutation, matured within her unconscious body. In December 1983, she assigned Alfred to protect her and carry out her will while she was inactive, and proceeded to enter the cryostatic state.

Resurrection


Fifteen years after this, she awoke with the first sight of her new stage being the death of her brother (whose body she cradled in her arms) who had activated the thawing process mere moments prior. Now in full control of the virus, she sought to begin her plan of dominion over the world as its queen, and using her newfound powers, she remotely controlled one of the massive tentacles resting below the Antarctic Base to destroy the escape vehicle of Claire Redfield and Steve Burnside. Also, she captured Claire and Steve for the purpose of subjecting them to her experiments and to make them pay for killing her brother.

She imprisoned Steve in a Coliseum with suits of armor and repeated the experiment that mutated her father, only with her own mutant strain. Later on, she appeared to confront Albert Wesker in the replica of the Spencer Mansion under the Antarctic ice.



There, she first evolved with the Veronica strain into the first step of what, she envisioned, was true godhood, shedding her human skin and hair and turning into a powerful being, that greatly resembled her human stage with gray skin, darkened vessels and arteries, and chitinous growths covering her body as a form of rudimentary armor. She also controlled her body's blood (which by then had acquired flammable properties, usable through bloodshed). She and Wesker engaged in a brief fight, Wesker quickly found Alexia impervious to any physical blows he could launch, and thus retreated and left Chris Redfield to fight Alexia, who soundly defeated her.

In the Darkside Chronicles, the color of her mutation become pale blue and her gray skin becomes darker and gain long spikes in each sides of her head instead of being a single fringe on the right side.

Death


Weakened by her first defeat, she once again attacked Chris by fusing with one of the Veronica mutant breeder pods, creating countless imperfect larvae to attack him along with her tentacles, fire and insect-like appendages. Despite this, she was once again defeated. However, Alexia was not beaten yet; she responded by evolving further using the insects that lay below the platform covering her, then she shed the carcass of the breeder pod and became a giant dragonfly-like monster, capable of spewing great amounts of flame and absorbing all gunfire. Nevertheless, Chris managed to destroy Alexia with an experimental weapon called the Linear Launcher, thus ending the Ashford family line.

Appearance and Wardrobe
Prior to her mutation due to being in cryogenic sleep, Alexia has long back-length blonde hair and blue eyes.

She wears a long dark purple short sleeved dress with a violet at the edge of her sleeves and the extended skirt of her dress. She also wears long white gloves and a black choker with a red jewel as her pendant and walks in barefoot (She removed her shoes before transformation).

In Darkside Chronicles during Game of Oblivion, Alexia has an updated appearance during the real life cutscenes. Her blonde hair becomes medium-length instead of long back-length and her short sleeved dress is now fully violet instead of dark purple and violet and the choker is replaced with a long gold necklace with a pendant. She also wears three bracelets on her left wrist while wearing her long gloves.