Steven Lorraine Collins

"It’s gonna take more than that to take me down! I’m a human! More importantly, I’m Steven Collins! I can take your magic poison all day!!"
—Pg. 406 "Leitmotif in Major", Chapter 6: "Little Lab of Horrors!"

Dr. Steven Lorraine Collins is a human scientist; more specifically, a genetic researcher for the Dynamene City Research Facility. She—along with her wife, Roxanne Stone—was chosen specifically by Dr. Audrey Steele to work on the Lambda Project — the same project that would ultimately result in Atticus's creation. She is in the tertiary main characters group, paired with Roxanne.

She currently makes appearances in flashback chapters, though her status in present day is unknown; it is speculated by Atticus that she is taking part in the effort to recapture him and Gamma.

Appearance

Steven is a tall, androgynous Kantonian-Alliairian woman with a pale complexion. She has thick, messy, long black hair that is often loosely tied back in a pony tail. On her left ring finger is a silver wedding band, representing her marriage to Roxanne. She has sharp facial features, a prominent pointed nose, and thick eyebrows. Like all humans in the series, her true eye color is unknown due to her species' lack of magic; her pupils are instead stylized as black.

In most of her appearances, Steven is shown wearing mostly professional attire. She is introduced in "The Talk" wearing a turquoise tie and a light blue button up shirt under her lab coat, though in subsequent appearances, she sports more brightly-colored shirts. She typically wears red high top sneakers.

When at home, Steven has been shown wearing a variety of printed tees, something that has been thus far gleaned from extra stories such as "Steven, Roxanne, and the Baby Blues" and "Cats On A Hot Tin Roof".

Personality

A genetic scientist, and one of Atticus's co-creators. Clever, but defeatist; after the failure of the Lambda Project, her irritability has only been exacerbated. She is stubborn and loud-mouthed, but her hardheadedness leads her to not back down from difficult situations.
—From Steven's official character description.

Steven has a grouchy, ill-tempered demeanor. She is quick to lose patience with others, and is very open and loud with her frustrations, swiftly resorting to raising her voice when annoyed. This causes occasional strife between her and Roxanne when they disagree, such as in their disagreement over Atticus's adoption. She shows little interest in spending time with him, commonly giving him the cold shoulder and pushing him away emotionally. Prior to his hatching, she was shown to have a boastful side, proudly proclaiming that she would be proving her colleagues wrong in the event Lambda succeeded in spite of apparent risks she chose to take. Following the project's failure, she becomes more reserved, negative, and sulking.

At her core, she is not a meanspirited person. Despite her callousness toward Atticus, she has vocally expressed that she does not wish him actual ill-will, and indeed does rush in to save him from physical harm. Most notably, she takes the brunt of attacks from Cosmo for him, becoming repeatedly poisoned in the process. She also fixes Gwen Rose's PDA for her, although it is likely in no small part driven by the desire to shut her up in addition to her genuine enjoyment for tinkering.

Steven has a bit of dark humor about her at times, as she teasingly asks Roxanne if the lab intends to send a then-infant Atticus to Zero Isle to get rid of him. She also passively implores Dr. Steele to not decide to "fire and-or maim her" while she walks off to do her usual lab duties.

Relationships

Roxanne Stone

"Well, I just wanna let Future-Roxanne know that even if she forgets who I am, I’ll never forget her beautiful face."
—Pg. 242 "Dragon On and On", Chapter 5: "The Talk"

Roxanne is the person whom Steven is most comfortable with, preferring to openly talk about her worries and collaborate on academic projects with her. The two often speak in unison, finishing each other's sentences when speaking with other characters, even when their reactions clash.

Steven has a good sense of how to get under Roxanne's skin, although she only does so when she's in a good mood. She seems keenly aware of the inappropriate timing of her comments, which catches Roxanne more off guard. In "The Talk", Steven calls Roxanne beautiful and ribs her for recording their conversation, earning flustered responses from her wife. When Steven wakes from being unconscious in "Little Lab of Horrors!", one of the first thing she expresses is how beautiful Roxanne's face is, the latter threatening to drop her. Steven grins and correctly surmises she won't.

Their personalities can be at odds with one another; both are strong-willed in their own way, and this causes occasional strain on their relationship, the most severe of which is related to Atticus. As of late, they appear to not speak at length about the subject, shown by the individual times they each choose to remain silent when the other makes a decision. Despite this, they seem otherwise to be open to communicating with each other.

Atticus Stone

"I wasn't gonna let you die, Atticus. I didn't a year ago, and I'm not going to now."
—Pg. 371 "The Olive Branch Grows", Chapter 6: "Little Lab of Horrors!"

While working on the Lambda Project, before Atticus's birth, Steven originally showed great excitement over the egg they had created. She boasted about her methods, claiming, "You know what? We did good. I know it. And if any of my colleagues are watching this, once again, I told you so."[cit] Following his hatching, and the Lambda Project's subsequent failure, however, Steven largely becomes dismissive toward him.

During the events of Chapter 6, Steven mainly tries to ignore Atticus and the mistake he represents. It is only by his following her (and accidental stumbles into danger) that she pays him significant attention. Beyond that, when presented with a situation in which physical harm would come to him, Steven jumps in to shield him with her own body. They end this chapter on seemingly better terms, but much is unknown about the intervening years, where it is implied that Atticus has some anxiety about her perception of him.

Dr. Steele

"Really? ‘Cause she’s sure as shit eager to send us on “errands”. If it’s not getting eaten alive, it’s nearly getting our butts flash-frozen cleaning out the cryostasis chamber."
—Pg. 324 "Dr. Steele's Crimes", Chapter 6: "Little Lab of Horrors!"

Dr. Steele is Steven's supervisor at the lab, although Steven seems to have mixed feelings about her. It may be the case that prior to the events of the flashback in "The Talk" Steven and Dr. Steele didn't speak often beyond assigning tasks, something that evidently changes after Atticus's birth.

Due to Dr. Steele's apparent joy in testing her own staff's limits, Steven displays a large amount of frustration toward her. In the year following Atticus's birth, Dr. Steele assigns Steven and Roxanne to tasks that Steven feels are pointless and "wasting her time", using them as personal confirmation that no one at the lab respects her. Furthermore, it is implied in "Little Lab of Horrors!" that Dr. Steele's penchant for dangerous tasks has caused Steven and Roxanne to be injured on the job at least once before the events of that chapter.

Gwen Rose

Gwen: Wow, they’re just letting anyone into this program, aren’t they?
Steven: No kidding, Ms. Rose, you’re still here.
—Gwen and Steven, Pg. 311 "Catty Insults", Chapter 6: "Little Lab of Horrors!"

Steven is several years Gwen's senior and holds a higher position over her at the lab as she is actually employed there, as opposed to Gwen's internship. However, Gwen still goes out of her way to needle and mock Steven whenever they cross paths. She pointedly refers to her as "Mrs. Collins" instead of using her title, and mockingly asks if Dr. Steele's given her something special to do when she notices Steven holding the smashed radio.