Samantha Daumier
Samantha_headshot.png
Technique
Real Name: Samantha Grace Daumier
Age: 15
Identity: Secret
Birthplace: Whitley, MD (Cove City suburb)
Date of Birth: July 17, 1995
Known Relatives: Simon Daumier (father), Dr. Charlotte Daumier, D.V.M. (mother), Kevin Daumier (older brother)
Height: 5'1" (155cm)
Weight: error: data corrupted
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Grade: Sophomore
Dorm: Taylor

Background

Samantha Grace Daumier was born in July, 1995 in Whitley, Maryland, a suburb of Cove City. Her father, Simon, is a civil engineer with the state Department of Transportation. Her mother, Charlotte, is a veterinarian. She has one sibling, her brother Kevin, two years older than her.

Samantha's childhood was pretty typical. School, church, soccer, ballet lessons — Standardized Extruded Upper-Middle-Class Suburban Upbringing Product. She had friends, she was establishing herself among the brainy-kids clique in her class at school, and, by the time she was about to enter high school, the pretty brunette was, not surprisingly, attracting her share of interest from boys. (Being a bit shy and unsure of herself on that subject, nothing much had happened beyond flirting in the hallways, a few Very Awkward Moments, and much giggling about boys among her friends, though.)

Samantha and technology had always seemed to get along. She was fascinated by the drawings and blueprints her father would show her from his work, with their insights into the hidden workings of bridges and tunnels and other construction projects. She especially had an affinity for computers and electronics, and by the time she was in junior high, she was the unofficial "IT Department" for her mom's veterinary practice. Whenever something went wrong, it seemed like Sam could untangle it with uncanny ease — almost as if the machines were cooperating with her. Still, all this was thought of as a combination of acquired skill and just having 'the knack' for dealing with computers. Until one evening a year or so ago when Sam was by herself in her room with her laptop, working on a paper for school… and she'd gone through three paragraphs of watching her words appear on the screen before realizing her hands were not moving on the keyboard…

It didn't take long for Samantha's reaction to her newfound ability to go from "scary" to "awesome!" And then she started experimenting. Yes, she could make the TV in her room turn on and off and change channels, without the use of the remote. Yes, she could "feel" the other electronics throughout the house, if she looked for them, and could "make contact" with them and manipulate them. She could 'hear' her brother, talking to his girlfriend on his cell — erk, break contact, don't want to listen to more of that!

Reaching out further, she found she could "read" data off the server in her mother's office, several miles away, though possibly only because of her utter familiarity with that system and its location. (Getting a "lock" on other, unfamiliar machines, unless they were close by, was much more difficult, she found, though this would improve with practice.)

Over the next several months, she would continue to experiment with and gain greater mastery over her powers, while keeping their existence to herself. She learned that, by focusing her mind a little differently, she could get even non-electronic devices to obey her — Doorknobs would turn, faucets turn on and off… She could even, with some effort and concentration, get locks to open without need for the key. Using first the webcam and microphone built into her laptop, and later her parent's camcorder, she found she could make herself undetectable to machines. She could even simply move small objects with her mind, so long as they were made of metal, causing them to float through the air with only her thoughts.

But while she was keeping her abilities secret from her family and her friends, they unfortunately got her noticed by someone else. Possibly due to the similarly mental nature of his own powers, the telepathic villain Psynapse happened to notice what she was doing, and, intrigued, "tagged along" with her as she was experimenting. It didn't take the master manipulator long to see the possibilities in the young neohuman, and, through planting commands deep in her psyche, to set his plans in motion.

Over the next several weeks, there were a series of ATM robberies that left the police and bank officials investigating them puzzled. There was no sign of forced entry or other physical intrusion into the machines, there were no electronic records of unauthorized access, and no one appeared on the security camera footage other than legitimate customers who had used the automated tellers prior to the incidents. But yet, the machines had been completely drained of cash.

Psynapse's implanted instructions weren't perfect, though, and the crime spree came to an early end one Saturday when Samantha was at the mall with several of her friends. As the girls were entering the food court to get lunch, the ATM off to one side caught Sam's eye — and her "programming" misfired. Much to the confusion of her friends, Sam stopped talking, turned, and walked toward the autoteller, and, in full view of the other girls (and what would quickly become a few dozen onlookers), stared intently at the machine — and it started to empty itself, the stack of $20 bills quickly overflowing the cash dispenser's tray and cascading to the floor.

And through all this, Samantha stood there, unresponsive to her friends or to the commotion that started as the machine started to spew cash. It wasn't until a uniformed mall security officer arrived that she reacted — and then, by collapsing to the floor, unconscious.

She woke up later, in a hospital bed, her mind working "normally" again and with no idea how she got there. The last thing she remembered was walking into the food court with her friends — from the moment her "programming" kicked in, she was a blank slate. It wasn't until a police detective arrived to question her that one last "contingency routine" was activated. As soon as the detective introduced himself, Samantha snapped back into a catatonic state, her eyes rolling back as, in a monotone, she recited the exact dates, times, locations, and dollar amounts of "her" previous thefts — some of which information had not been made public.

And once she was finished listing "her" crimes, there came a closing statement, no longer monotone, but also using inflections not at all like Sam's own speaking voice: "If you're listening to this, I'm guessing my little tool here has been caught. Too bad, it was fun. Maybe I'll have to try it again some time. But for now, all my tampering with her pretty little head is erasing itself, so you can't use it to find me. This has been a recording. Have a nice day. Love, Psynapse."

Samantha again woke up with no idea of what had just happened, but things moved quickly after that. The Guardian Legion's resident telepath was called in, and, on examining Sam, verified that she had, indeed, been mind-controlled, and that (both fortunately for her and unfortunately for the investigation) none of her "programming" remained. One thing was clear, though — Between her now-revealed powers and what had been done to her by Psynapse, it wouldn't be safe for her to simply be returned to the life she'd led before.

And so, for her own safety, an emergency transfer to "another school" was quietly arranged…

Personality

Samantha ("Sam" to her friends) is a fairly outgoing, friendly young woman, though still a bit shy and insecure with regard to boys, often to her own frustration. She's bright and often witty, though can also "nerd out" a bit without realizing it (or at least until someone points it out to her). She's confident in her own high intelligence without being stuck up about it or feeling the need to show it off.

Her experiences as Psynapse's unwilling and unwitting tool have left her feeling violated, though this is helped somewhat by the fact that she cannot recall doing any of the things he forced her to do. She tries to think about it as little as possible, unsurprisingly, but it's sometimes hard to avoid.

Logs

It's LO-OG, it's LO-OG…

Intercultural Communication: 5/4/10 - Sunday, Alia, Amber, and Samantha meet, and have random discussion that ends with someone sticking their foot in their mouth.

It Was Rhinos, I Swear!: 5/17/10 - Mariscka, Samantha, and Sapphire ruin some Magma dealers' whole day down by the docks.

Infectious or Something: 5/21/10 - Linus moves in and meets Amber, Claire, Ian, Samantha, and Sunday. It does not go as well as planned.

Stats


Attr: Str 10 (+0), Dex 16 (+3), Con 14 (+2), Int 20 (+5), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 16 (+3)
(28 PP)

Saves: Toughness +8, Fortitude +5, Reflex +6, Will +6
(11 PP)

Combat: Attack (Melee) +3, Attack (Ranged) +7, Defense +7, Grapple +3, Init +3
(12 PP)

Skills: Acrobatics 3 (+6), Athletics 3 (+3), Bluff 2 (+5/+9), Computers 5 (+10), Craft: Electronic 1 (+6), Diplomacy 2 (+5/+9), Disable Device 5 (+10), Gather Info 2 (+5), Knowledge: Current Events 1 (+6), Knowledge: History 1 (+6), Knowledge: Physical Sciences 2 (+7), Knowledge: Popular Culture 2 (+7), Knowledge: Technology 3 (+8), Notice 7 (+8), Perform: Dance 3 (+6), Search 3 (+8), Sense Motive 5 (+6), Sleight of Hand 3 (+6), Stealth 3 (+6)
(14 PP)

Feats: Attack Focus: Ranged 4, Attractive 1, Defensive Roll 3, Dodge Focus 4, Eidetic Memory, Equipment 1, Luck 2, Online Research, Well-Informed
(18 PP)

Powers:

  • Blast 8 "Zap" (Electrical) (16 PP) (Array Cost: 23 PP)
    Alternative Powers (APs):
    • Blast 8 "Lightning Bolt" (Electrical) — Extra: Area (Line); Flaw: Range x1 (Touch) (16 PP)
    • Confuse 8 — Extra: Area (Cone); Flaw: Range x2 (Touch) (8 PP)
    • Datalink 3 (Mental) — Extra: Area (Burst); Power Feat: Machine Control (7 PP)
    • Datalink 6 (Mental) — Power Feat: Machine Control (7 PP) and
      Quickness 3 — Flaw: One Task (Computers) (-2) (1 PP)
    • Mind Control 8 — Flaw: Sentient Machines Only (8 PP) and
      Power Control 8 — Flaw: Super Science/Technology Descriptors Only (8 PP)
    • Concealment 10 (All senses except Tactile) — Flaw: Limited (Only vs. Machines); Power Feat: Close Range (11 PP)
    • Telekinesis 1 — Extras: Area (Burst), Range (Perception), Selective Attack; Flaw: Limited (Metal Only); Power Feat: Precise (5 PP)
  • Force Field 3 (Electrical) (3 PP)
  • Super Senses — Radio 3 (Send/Receive, Global via Cellular/Internet/Satellite); Power Feat: Subtle (4 PP)
  • Comprehend 2 — Machines (Speak/Understand) (4 PP)
  • Immunity 5 — Damage: Electrical (5 PP)

(Powers Total: 39 PP)

Equipment:

  • Desktop Computer, Masterwork grade
  • Laptop Computer, Masterwork grade
  • Custom Software: Attack (+2 to hacking), Data Sifting (+2 to data searches), Defense (+2 to defending against hacking)

Complications:

  • Hey, I'm new at this! — While Samantha's stumbled onto at least much of her power set and experimented with it, when she arrives at the Institute she's still not fully aware of her capabilities and limitations — and there are entire powers (like her electrical-discharge and Confuse attacks) that she's not even aware of. How she discovers what she can do has potential to be at least awkward and possibly highly inconvenient or even dangerous. (Note: Sam has now figured out her zappy powers, but still hasn't stumbled onto the Confuse idea.)
  • Let's Do The Mind Warp Again — Psynapse, the telepathic villain who "programmed" Samantha into using her powers to commit crimes for him, implied in the prerecorded message to the authorities he implanted in Sam's mind that he'd like to have her as his puppet again someday. While the telepath is smart enough not to try again immediately, each time Sam steps beyond the other-dimensional safety of the Steranko campus, there's at least some small risk that she'll be unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and be detected by him.
  • Oooh, Shiny — As a tech-head even before her powers first manifested, Samantha's attention could easily be drawn in by a particularly cool-looking, interesting, or impressive piece of technology she hadn't seen before (or at least not in person or up close). The blossoming of her powers has, if anything, only amplified this, making it possible for her to, say, lose a round of more-useful actions to being fascinated with the elegant design of the killer robots…
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