Hope Abbott

**Hope Abbott**, also known as **Trance**, is a new student at the Xavier Institute. She is currently studying under Hisako Ichiki to become a tailor of superhero costumes.

## Biography

Hope lived a relatively normal life until her powers manifested. She is reserved, neurotic, and easily overwhelmed by other people, but otherwise has a friendly personality. Hope's powers manifested in 2019, following a sudden seizure, causing a ghostly apparition to appear in front of her mother. Following a genetic test, Hope and her family became aware that she was a mutant. Her mother, holding onto conservative Midwestern values, sent Hope to the Xavier Institute in the hopes that she would be "cured."

## Personality

Hope, in contrast to many of the other eccentric personalities at the Xavier Institute, is reserved and emotionally mature. She is good-natured and friendly, but does not talk to other people unless she knows them well or if they engage with her first. For that reason, she can come off as shy or antisocial but this is not necessarily the case. She is known to be incredibly outspoken about the things she loves, especially when she is around people that she feels comfortable with.

Hope is, in her own words, "a huge nerd." She is amazed by all forms of artistic expression, and has a soft spot for museums. She is especially passionate about clothing design, and is extremely well educated on the subject. She can often be found crocheting or knitting her own clothes, and she mentors under Hisako Ichiki to design armor for the training squads. If prompted to talk about fashion, she tends to excitedly ramble off all that she knows about the topic.

Hope is also an avid fan of music, especially classical and jazz. She notes that the styles "help calm [her] down," especially in social situations. She plays both the violin and the guitar, and has demonstrated an aptitude for playing instruments in general. Despite this, she does not consider herself a musician and declined Santo's offer to join his rock band.

Hope is very conscious of the emotional needs of other people, and she often knows when her classmates are feeling bad before they even realize it. She is especially tender with the younger students, like Evelyn and Gabby. She is jokingly referred to as the "mom friend" of her friend group, for her doting nature. Hope admits that she "[likes] making other people happy," a sentiment that her best friend, Alani Ryan, cannot understand.

## Relationships

### Jennifer Abbott

Hope has a good relationship with her mother. Hope's father passed away when she was younger, so the two have only had each other for all of Hope's life. Their bond is strengthened by their similar personalities. The two contact each other whenever possible, with Hope writing letters to her from the academy as a continuation of an inside joke between them. Hope and her mother only come into conflict over Hope's mutant identity, since her mother doesn't always understand what it means to be a mutant. Regardless, the two are close.

### Alani Ryan

Hope and Alani are roommates at the academy, and quickly became close friends. Alani is one of the people that Hope feels the most comfortable talking to, largely because of Alani's relaxed personality. The two share an appreciation for fandoms, especially with books, and can often be found with Phoebe, reading in the library. One of the most notable parts of their relationship is their weekly movie nights, where the two will stay up late and riff on children's movies. Overall, the two share many interests and appreciate each other's company.

### Gabriel Cohuelo

Hope and Gabe are both a part of the Paragons training squad, which was where they met. The two bonded over their shared appreciation of music, after Gabe noticed Hope listening to jazz standards. The two progressively began spending more time together outside of missions, including eating lunch together, watching anime together, and joining Quentin's infamous D&D campaign. As a result, Hope and Gabe gradually started developing feelings for one another. Though their feelings are mutual, neither one has confessed them.

## Powers & Abilities

Hope is a mutant, and has displayed the following abilities:

* **Astral projection:** Hope is able to project an astral form of herself away from her physical body. The astral form is an exact copy of Hope's physical appearance, down to her clothing, except for an inherent translucency and light blue coloring. Hope is able to control this astral form and its actions, but cannot control her physical body at the same time.
	+ **Flight:** Hope's astral form does not obey the laws of gravity, and can effectively levitate indefinitely.
	+ **Intangibility:** Hope's astral form cannot be affected by physical objects, which allows the form to pass though solid matter and evade attacks.
	+ **Astral & physical bond:** Whenever Hope uses her power, her physical body passes out and her consciousness is essentially transferred to the astral form. The astral form has to stay in a range of about 50 yards of Hope's body, or it will automatically dissipate.
	+ **Spiritual perception:** Hope's astral form is able to perceive ghosts, spirits, and various otherwise intangible beings on the astral plane.
	+ **Astral blasts:** Though it requires immense concentration and energy, Hope's astral form can fire concentrated blasts of light that can affect individuals on the astral plane. These blasts have no effect on physical beings, but they can be seen by physical beings.

## Trivia

* Hope's unique green and red uniform is of her own design, and she is permitted to wear it during missions although it is not standard issue. The process of designing the costume took her more time than she would care to admit.
* Hope is an extremely nonviolent person, and prefers to avoid conflict if at all possible.
* Nobody else has ever attended one of Hope and Alani's movie nights except for them. They're a topic of ongoing mystery and intrigue among the student body, which Hope finds incredibly amusing.
* Hope brings a blanket with her during missions, so that her body will not get cold when she leaves it somewhere.
* Hope and Gabe have an unofficial tradition of listening to music together before missions. This tradition has become so common that Evelyn started referring to their seats on the Blackbird as "musical chairs."
* Hope's character in Quentin's D&D campaign is a half-orc warrior.
* Hope is more susceptible to seizures than the average person, but she takes medication to treat this condition.