Aurora

**Aurora** (Jeanne-Marie Beaubier) is a character from Marvel Comics.

## History

Jeanne-Marie Beaubier was born in Montreal, Canada to a French Canadian family. She and her twin brother Jean-Paul were separated in infancy after their parents died. Jeanne-Marie was sent to Madame DuPont's School for Girls, a reactionary religious school.

Extremely nervous and introverted, Jeanne-Marie was miserable at Madame DuPont's School. At the age of thirteen, she attempted suicide by throwing herself from the roof of one of the school buildings. Instead of falling to her death, Jeanne-Marie discovered that she could fly. Believing it to be a divine miracle, Jeanne-Marie told the school's headmistress what had happened. Believing the young girl to be guilty of blasphemy, the headmistress had Jeanne-Marie severely disciplined. This incident triggered a dissociative identity disorder in Jeanne-Marie; a second personality, extroverted and far more uninhibited, emerged. Under the influence of this second personality, Jeanne-Marie secretly left the school that same night. Returning three days later, she had no memory of where she had been or what she had done, and she was again physically punished. The resulting trauma was so great that she repressed her second personality.

Five years later, Jeanne-Marie was applying to work as the teacher of history and geography at the school, and she had adjusted to life as a prim, proper, repressed woman. The same night her application was accepted, her second personality re-emerged, and she left to enjoy herself in Montreal. Confronted by muggers, she knocked one unconscious by moving at super speed. The second mugger was halted by Wolverine, who had witnessed the attempted assault. Recognizing Jeanne-Marie as a superhuman, Wolverine invited her to travel to Ottawa to meet James Hudson, who was organizing a team of superhumanly powerful agents for the Canadian government. Hudson accepted her as a recruit and reunited her with her brother. Both Beaubier siblings joined the Alpha Flight team.

## Origin

*Main articles: Inherent and Acquired*
Mutants are living beings that possess a genetic trait called the X-gene. The X-gene causes the mutant to develop superhuman powers that typically manifest at puberty. Human mutants are sometimes referred to as a human subspecies Homo sapiens superior or simply Homo superior. Mutants are the evolutionary progeny of Homo sapiens and are generally assumed to be the next stage in human evolution.

Whether or not mutants are the next stage of human evolution is a source of much debate, with many humans harboring anti-mutant views and beliefs.

The second personality of Jeanne-Marie reveled in the superhero aspect of her life, adventuring with Alpha Flight and having many affairs, including one with her fellow teammate Walter Langkowski. Langkowski, at Jeanne-Marie's request, performed an experiment on her that would negate the need for contact with her brother to use their powers.

## Powers

*Main articles: Light Manipulation, Superhuman Speed, and Technological Invisibility*
**Light Manipulation:** Aurora can generate bright white light from her body by varying the rate of acceleration of the molecules of her body out of phase with one another, thereby generating a cascade of photonic discharges. The maximum intensity of light that she can generate is equivalent to half of the light produced by a lighthouse. When in physical contact with her brother, the twins can generate light with an intensity equivalent to that of a lighthouse. By concentrating the light she projects in a single part of her body, she can send out powerful concussive blasts that can do considerable damage. She can project these blasts from her hands and out from her body in a series of concussive bursts.

* ***Empathic Manipulation:*** Unlike her brother, Aurora has the ability to induce a calming effect with her light that she produces. Her targets will feel emotions and think of memories that make them feel at peace. This empathic influence can be used to break telepathic control.

**Superhuman Speed:** Aurora also possesses the ability to propel her body at superhuman speeds, becoming a living projectile. Through an act of concentration, Aurora can channel a portion of the kinetic energy of the atomic motion in her body's molecules in a single direction. This can accelerate her body in a velocity in direct proportions to the amount of kinetic energy she has tapped. It was once theoretically possible for her to reach 99% of the speed of light, although she had never traveled at anywhere near that speed. She can also move a portion of her body at superhuman speeds at a time.

Ever since Walter Langkowski reconstructed Aurora's molecular structure, the potential limits of her speed have been greatly reduced. She can now only move at speeds roughly up to the speed of sound. This reduction, however, has made little difference in the use of her powers over short distances, since she can still move faster than the human eye can follow.

* ***Superhuman Reflexes:*** She possesses reflexes which are similarly enhanced. Aurora's reflexes are so advanced that she can move through an entire burning apartment, checking all the rooms and taking out any survivors in just mere seconds.
* ***Regenerative Healing Factor:*** She possesses a boosted metabolism that can be used to heal wounds quickly.
* ***Superhuman Durability:*** As a side effect of partially robbing his molecules of their atomic motion, the binding forces within and between the molecules increases. This enhances the sheer toughness of Aurora's entire body, giving her skin sufficient durability to withstand the rigors of wind, friction, and air turbulence of traveling at high speed.
* ***Flight:*** By specifically directing the kinetic energy of her body, she is able to propel herself through the air for flight.
* ***Molecular Manipulation:*** She has the ability to accelerate the molecules within an inanimate object or living being through touch, causing that target to tear itself apart from the subsequent stress generated upon it.

**Technological Invisibility (possibly):** Walter Langkowski claimed that he had made Aurora undetectable to gene-scan devices that look for mutants. The accuracy of this claim, however, is unclear.