Noriko Ashida

## Background

### 1993 - 2006: Noriko Ashida

Noriko Ashida (or 芦田 則子 *Ashida Noriko*) was born in Tokyo, Japan to Ashida Seiji & Suki. Though she never got along well with her parents, she was very close to her brother Keitarō. The two of them were only a year apart, leading to them telling people they were fraternal twins sometimes.

At the age of fourteen, Noriko discovered she was mutant after powers manifested following an argument with her parents. She told her parents, hoping they could help but instead, her father states that he "didn't believe in mutants." In some unknown way, she found her way to the United States & began living homeless on the streets of New York City. Her father believed that she simply ran away from home & brought shame to there family because of it. When Noriko called home to tell her parents she was safe, he disowned her over the phone.

Just a week before classes were to start, Noriko went up to the gates of the Xavier Institute but was turned away by Julian Keller for being homeless. He too was going through a rough time as his parents also didn't accept him & his powers. After Hellion told his classmates what happened, Wind Dancer led a group of students to go search for the girl & keep her out of trouble.

They eventually found her buying drugs & assumed they were causing her to go out of control so Sofia blew the capsules away. In reality, it was the other way around. Without the pills, she completely lost control of her powers & went haywire. Due to the fact that she was mostly discharged by that point, they managed to subdue her & take her back to the X-Mansion. Upon arriving & explaining the situation, Beast designed gauntlets that could regulate her absorption of electricity so that she could discharge as required to prevent further mental overloads.

### 2006 - 2008: Surge

Noriko became a student of the Xavier Institute & reluctantly was required to share a room with Dust. The two young women disagreed upon the accepted role of women & tension arose from their disagreement.

When the school adopted a squad system, she was assigned to the Exemplars Squad led by Dani Moonstar. Soon afterward, the romantic relationship between her teammate Joshua Foley & advisor Rahne Sinclair was revealed. Surprised by the taboo relationship, the Exemplars squad ostracized Josh. Surge did not participate though it is unknown if this is because Surge still accepted him or didn't care.

Blunt & strong-minded, Nori often got in arguments with her superiors & her peers, disagreeing with their takes or taking charge on her own. In many occasions she almost got herself into trouble, like when she almost started a full out fight between herself & Hellion after he insulted her boyfriend's "useless" powers. Her outlook mostly came from rebelling against her traditional upbringing.

## Romantic Relationships

* David Alleyne: On & Off Boyfriend (2007 - )

## Personality

Surge is an excellent natural leader even though she doesn't desire the position of power. Forward & strong-minded, along with having a determined & independent personality, Nori often goes head to head with either those in power, her superiors & her peers disagreeing or taking charge. In many occasions, she gets herself into trouble, from almost starting a full out fight with Hellion to challenging Cyclops' choices.

Her outlook on life comes from rebelling against her traditional (Japanese) upbringing. She is a vocal feminist, as quickly demonstrated when she was roomed with the shy & conservative Dust. Overall, she is a very loyal & trustworthy person, though quick to challenge authority & pick a fight if she needs to. She'll do anything for a friend & feels a considerable amount of responsibility as an almost graduate. She constantly pushes herself to do better & protect her teammates, no matter the cost.

## Powers & Abilities

* **Mutant Physiology - Electrical Absorption**: She absorbs electricity at all times: from static in the air, electrical appliances, outlets, etc (often causing lights to flicker, etc). She can't control the absorption and thus must wear specifically-designed gauntlets at all times to regulate it.
	+ ***Lightning Blasts***: She can discharge the energy through lightning blasts from her hands or other parts of her body. The upper limits of this power have yet to be determined, though these attacks remain considerably powerful when used effectively.
	+ ***Superhuman Speed***: She has the ability to channel the energy into bursts of super-speed. Her top speed has not been officially calculated, but she once ran from upper New York to the mountains of Colorado in one afternoon. Apparently, she can run at several hundred miles per hour and retain that speed for several hours.
* **Hand to Hand Combat/Martial Arts:** She has had some training from Wolverine in unarmed combat.
* **Leadership:** She has an aptitude for leadership, which is the reasoning for her being chosen as field leader of the Corsairs.
* **Multilingualism:** Surge is a native Japanese speaker who speaks English fluently, with little trace of an accent.
* **Power Gauntlets:** Her gauntlets were originally designed by Beast but later upgraded by Forge. They are lightweight & more efficient as they have a adjustable knob to change the level of intensity in her blasts, as well as allowing her to control the input of electricity at a more stable rate.

### Weaknesses

* **Power Overload:** If Noriko doesn't discharge the electricity that builds in her body & mind, her mind starts to race, making her speak very fast in a jittery, electronic fashion. This worsens her control over her discharges & radically alters the electrical impulses in her nervous system.

### Ratings

* **Acumen:** 3 - Average / Basic
* **Might:** 3 - Average / Basic
* **Quickness:** 4 - Trained / Learned
* **Mysticism:** 1 - Nonexistent
* **Gadgets:** 3 - Average / Basic
* **Projection:** 6 - Expert / Advanced
* **Tactics:** 3 - Average / Basic
* **Battle:** 3 - Average / Basic
* **TOTAL:** 60 - Power Level 2 / Low Threat

## Trivia

* She is roommates with Sooraya Qadir. They don't get along very well.
* When her & David weren't together, she kissed Hellion to make him jealous. She succeeded but in addition, Laura would end running to the bathroom & ended up cutting herself & everything in sight.
* She is a member of the Exemplars Squad, mentored by Danielle Moonstar.

## Notes

* The original character of Surge belongs to the Marvel Universe.