Dazzler

Dazzler (real name Sonya Bright) is the 32nd member of the S-men.

## Biography

She was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1943. However, she was never to grow up there; the country had joined the war effort and her family decided that they should leave before all hell broke loose. They immigrated to the US and settled in California, close to Municiberg. Sonya’s father had money from his family, and so they were able to live in a nice house and have comfortable material wealth. Sonya had an older sister, Luciana, who wasted no time in integrating herself as much as possible in American society, picking up the latest fashions as the girls grew up, using slang, learning to drive, and generally developing a passion for life. The two girls were as different as night and day, though they looked very similar with their brown skin and green eyes, although Luciana had bleached the dark brown from her hair that Sonya held, the older girl maintaining a platinum blonde look. Sonya, three years younger, was more subdued than her very extroverted and vibrant sister. She preferred to stay home with their mother and learn the old traditions of their country, taking music lessons to sing and play piano, and reading old novels in Spanish and English. Her shyness was not only a natural part of her personality, however; Sonya was a super. Only Sonya’s mother knew about this, as back in their home country, supers discovered by the public were often executed by the state, or fell to an end at the hands of those committing hate crimes. Sonya’s mother had hidden her child’s ability by spreading rumors that her youngest daughter was sickly and needed to stay indoors while she was small, therefore keeping her as closely under her watch as possible while Sonya was an infant and toddler. Sonya knew very well that she must keep her abilities a secret, but as she grew into a teenager, the rise of superheroes excited her. Municiberg was very close to her own city, close enough that occasional fights with villains brought big name supers right to the edge of her city. Sonya felt deeply conflicted about superheroes. On one hand they were there, out in the open, proudly displaying their inhuman abilities, and people loved them. On the other hand, the whispered horror stories of what became of supers back in Havana from her mother, and the fear evident there, kept Sonya’s excitement at bay. There was no telling what people would do, how they would react to a young Cuban immigrant girl with super powers– it was better to keep quiet about the whole thing. When Sonya was almost 15, Luciana begged their father to let her visit Municiberg. Luciana, in contrast to her younger sister, adored superheroes, and wanted nothing more than to visit the city that was overflowing with the biggest names. Their father relented to let Luciana drive there for a weekend, but only if she took her younger sister along. Luciana agreed to this, and the girls visited the city for the first time. It seemed as though everywhere Sonya looked, there was a super standing on the rooftop of a building, or talking to crowds of fans. She felt excited and overwhelmed; maybe while she was there, she might take the opportunity to speak to a super and ask them about their powers, ask about how it felt to be a super out in the open, out in the light. However, Sonya was not to get the chance. Luciana was drawn like a moth to a flame, to the appearance of Gamma Jack, who had been patrolling the streets. She struck a conversation with the handsome superhero, dazzled by his reputation and his facade of charm, and before Sonya could fully realize what was happening, Jack asked Luciana to go out with him on a date that evening. Luciana was elated. She talked nonstop about him all the way back to the hotel, and wouldn’t be swayed from going out, despite Sonya’s attempts. Sonya had a bad feeling about Gamma Jack, and tried to tell Luciana about it, but her sister wouldn’t listen. That night, Luciana made herself up more carefully than Sonya had ever seen her, and told Sonya to expect her back late, and not to wait up. Sonya ordered dinner from room service in her sister’s absence and ate, unable to relax; she had a terrible ominous feeling that wouldn’t go away despite her best attempts to tell herself there was nothing to worry about. The sounds of screaming and chaos from outside the hotel instantly caught Sonya’s attention. She ran outside the hotel to see people running from a scene of terror. Baron Von Ruthless had launched a surprise attack on the streets, and Gamma Jack was facing him with nuclear fire blazing. Sonya ended up running from street to street avoiding the chaos, frantically looking for Luciana. Luckily the battle, although fierce and damage-heavy, was over in ten minutes. Firefighters and ambulances were quickly called to the scene after Ruthless’ departure. It was only then, on the sidewalk of the street across from where she saw Gamma Jack talking with police officers and NSA agents, that she saw the familiar spill of platinum blonde hair on the pavement. She crept over slowly, dread building in her chest, until her worst fear was confirmed. Her older sister lay dead, killed instantly by a blast of fire from Gamma Jack, aimed poorly in the heat of the fight. Gamma Jack either did not realize or did not care. Sonya dropped down next to her sister and stared blankly at her face, unable to cry or move. She could barely breathe. It wasn’t until an NSA agent came over to them that anyone paid Luciana’s body any mind at all; Sonya remembered the agent cursing under his breath when he saw Luciana, muttering about what legal repercussions this would cost the NSA now, before Sonya blacked out entirely, losing consciousness. When she woke up, she was in a hotel bed and her mother was stroking her hair, tears streaming down her face. She told Sonya that there had been a terrible accident, that Luciana had passed away, that no one was to blame, that there had been a disaster downtown when Luciana had been out and she got caught in the crossfire and they would be taking her body back home to bury her. Sonya hugged her mother numbly and realized what the agents must have done, what they must have told her parents, and how they were not going to mention Gamma Jack in this story at all. She realized that her sister’s death would be deemed an accident, and there would be no repercussions for him at all. Sonya gripped her mother’s shoulders tightly and clenched her jaw, and felt cold hatred for Gamma Jack, for the NSA, and for supers everywhere creep into her heart. At some point her hatred for supers cooled down and she joined the S-men becoming the youngest member on the team.

## Personality

Sonya is an idealist and one of the many "Supers" who truly care about helping others and doing what she believes is right. She cares little for publicity being uncomfortable with the amount of attention she gets from the media.

## Powers

Her powers are that she can absorb the ambient electricity from around herself in order to fuel her powers, she is able to fire blasts of intensely bright light from her hands which are capable of throwing grown men several feet and blinding anyone who looks directly at them either temporarily or permanently, she is also able to make her eyes and hands glow on command and light solidification.

## Weakness

Her powers can be overwhelmed by darkness manipulation.