Sophia

Origin
Sophia Kim is a 15 year old who likes to try everything she possibly can and read all the books. She may have not finished most of them, but she tries. Chatty and oblivious, she tries to make friends everywhere. As a small child, her mother had to be sure to always hold her hand or Sophia would wander after other children to try talking to them.

Her grandparents came from Korea and grew up home-schooled in a small, all Korean community in America. Wanting better for their own son, they moved to a suburb and sent him to a public school, stressing good grades and fitting in. This may have worked too well, as Korean culture clashed with American and their son, Jin-Ho (Sophia's father), rejected what his parents could offer. He worked hard in high school for scholarships, and left for college, cutting contact, legally changing his name to "Jim". After only a year, his parents were killed in an accident during a Supers battle.

Feeling guilt for ignoring his heritage and not knowing his parents as he felt he should have, Jim began to swing the opposite direction and enforce Korean values that he didn't actually understand.

Near the end of his college career, working for a Masters in business and accounting, he met Delilah.

Delilah was from a small town in Louisiana. The youngest of six daughters, someone had to help at home. She never finished high school, but had learned a great amount in many trades. Hoping moving away would help her ignore the more demanding edges of her Catholic family and give her more opportunities, she took the usual small town girl to big city route. She worked as a waitress and actor.

She never got far with her career before meeting Jim. Delilah loves being a stay at home mom, though admits her husband's well-paying career allows for hiring maids and she can take whatever part time job suits her whims. Mostly she is a florist in Spring and Summer, and helps at the local theaters though Fall and Winter. Delilah built Sophia's gun with a little help from friends.

When Sophia was 7, she and her mother were out shopping when a villain grabbed her to use as hostage. Lightspeed rescued her, paused for a photograph, signed the photograph, and left. No one ever actually explained anything to Sophia that such a thing wasn't so uncommon in this world and she convinced herself Lightspeed had done it as a favor to her father. Her father doesn't talk much about his work, as he says he's under contract, but she does know he does something in insurance.

Sophia still has the photo with Lightspeed tucked in the back of a dresser drawer as she doesn't know what to do with it, and it seems rude to throw it out.

Shortly after this, she went away to a camp for the summer. Her mother promised to care for her hamster, Samson. When Sophia returned, there seemed to be a different hamster in the cage as well as a ghostly blue Samson running around. Delilah admitted, eventually, Samson had died, but would never tell her daughter how. Strangely enough, Sophia could now speak with Samson, though he couldn't quite remember his last days either.

From here on through the years, Sophia would have pet hamsters. When each passed, she could see and speak with them. They could make themselves visible to others and were tangible, but only she could understand them.

After that summer, Sophia's family moved. Her mother said it was for her father's job, but Sophia convinced herself it had to do with the villain and their safety. Maybe her father was a hero! She sent Samson to spy in her parents' room. Nothing to do with heroes was found; only paperwork and computer materials. Samson cannot read, so she could only make assumptions. Maybe he wasn't a hero, but worked with them! Two more moves through the years only solidified this belief.

And maybe if she tries hard enough and becomes a hero, even if it's scary, she can work with her dad too.

Powers and Abilities
Sophia can see and speak to her dead hamsters. As ghosts can be seen by others, she's not sure if that counts as part of her power set. She does not know if she understands other dead animals, or can reach dead humans in ways others can't. Sophia can exert some control over the hamsters but prefers to ask them nicely. Her biggest fear is that she traps and controls the spirits of those close to her that have died.

She wields and oversized Nerf gun that is loaded with hamster balls, a different color for each. They are normal hamster balls, but are pushed harder and farther when a ghost hamster is inside.

When Sophia loses her temper, becomes too frightened, or if the situation really calls for it, she can make the hamsters transform. They go from small, blue, cute hamsters to an average of 6ft tall and glowing green with attributes to each.

The Hamsters:
Samson: Samson was her first hamster. His death is forever a mystery. When transformed, he becomes the tallest and strongest of the hamsters. His head is tiny compared to the rest of his very buff body, almost ridiculously so, with a long mane of hair.

Russ: Russ was the replacement after Samson. He was grumpy and solitary. Taking a chance, Sophia got a second hamster that he warmed up to.

Stephen: Stephen is the sweetest of the hamsters. One day when the cages were being cleaned, he wandered about the home. Sophia was eating a hot dog with pickles and didn't think anything of it when a pickle fell to the floor. Did you know hamsters can't eat them?

Stephen's "green form" looks as if he never bathes himself. His cheeks are constantly puffed with ghost vomit.

After Stephen's death, Russ became depressed and then seriously ill. His "green form" is covered in puss, scabs, and all sorts of signs of disease.

Dorothy: Endlessly curious and constantly digging around, Dorothy was a little troublesome. Sophia had to make sure nothing was near the cage or it would get chewed on. One day, Dorothy got out of her cage while the family was out and a maid was cleaning. The maid was vacuuming, to be specific.

Dorothy's "green form" has very, very long claws and teeth. The claws are red, the only part of any of the hamsters that isn't green.

Dulcinea: A gentle hamster and content to stay with Sophia even when out of the cage, she did have a habit of running around everywhere and would panic if Sophia got too far.

During one of the moves, her cage was somehow lost. Her ghost joined Sophia at the new home. While Dulcinea isn't sure exactly what happened, she knows she got left behind somewhere, stressed, and didn't eat. Her "green form" shudders, shakes, and has fur falling out in patches.

Guinevere: Prim, proper, and constantly fastidious about her cage, though Guinevere did get a bit chubby for a hamster. She made it to old age, compared to the others.

Her "green form" stands tall and the pattern of her fur somehow looks like cat eyes glasses on her face. Everything you do is clearly subject to disapproval, and through Sophia, she can tell you exactly why.