Magma



"I will not be lied to! And I am not a slave, to be paraded around and to perform on command! I am a freeborn citizen of Nova Roma -- and I demand to be treated as one!"

- Amara Aquilla

History
Amara hails from an almost unheard of country called Nova Roma, which lies in the Amazon Rainforest of modern Brazil. Nova Roma started out as a colony made by Julius Ceasar himself in 44 B.C. (which accounts for her and her people's more Roman appearance opposed to Latin). Even since then, the country has remained rather hidden and unexplored. Only the natives of Brazil really have even heard anything about it, but it was rare of them to have visitors. Because of this, the country is a bit behind in technology and social practices. Computers or TV's don't really exist in Nova Roma, though they've held on to some more primitive radios and cell phones to keep tabs on the world. The country is also has a mix of Brazilian and Roman culture. Many speak the native Brazilian language of portuguese and such, but many also know latin, and believe in polytheism.

Amara was born the daughter and only child of Lucius and Gratia Aquilla. Lucius was the senator of Nova Roma, one of the highest political ranks, so she was treated quite well from the moment she was born. By her country's standard, she had a rather luxurious life. Unfortunately, she lost her mother to illness when she was only about 3 years old, and has very little memory of the woman. However, because of this, Amara was and is extremely close to her father, and she will always be Daddy's little girl.

Her childhood in Nova Roma was relatively normal. Amara was sometimes in the spotlight because of her Senator father, so she usually had to make sure to appear "good" most of the time. She felt the pressure to do well academically, and pretty much succeed in whatever she did, but overall she didn't really mind. All she wanted to do was make her father proud, so she worked hard. And the perks of being viewed and treated as royalty in return wasn't bad either. However, at the age of 14, her life would begin to change drastically. One day, a group of boys were picking on her, and as they persisted she stared to lose her temper. Suddenly, the earth below them started shaking, and as cracks appeared in the crust, magma started to flow out. The boys immediately ran away in fear, and Amara herself started to panic at what was happening. She even transformed into her magma form for the first time. Eventually her father had to come, though he could only comfort her from afar because of the heat. Finally, though, she was able to calm herself down.

Naturally, everybody looked at Amara differently after that. People were unsure if they should consider it a gift from the gods, or a rather a sign of a curse or evil magic. Amara herself was rather distraught, also not knowing what to make of these abilities. And as her emotions became more out of whack, more incidents like before began to happen. Her father did his best to calm her fears, and assure that it was going to be alright, but admittedly even he couldn't explain it. Then, one day, she got an invitation from a man called Charles Xavier. He explained about mutants, and about his institute in America. The young girl was wary about the thought leaving her country for the first time, but more so she had a desire to be able to control her powers, and it would be a comfort to be surrounded by others like her.

So, she got on a plane (an unpleasant experience both because of her powers and it was her first time flying), and flew out to the institute. Her first few weeks were rocky at first, to say the least. She understood little about the country or customs, and struggled with even some basic interactions. A part of her just wanted to shy away from people, while another just wanted everyone to treat with the same respect and dignity as the Nova Romans had. However, as time went by, she started to find her place little by little. She started to make friends with the other students, and it was a great relief to see she wasn't alone in the struggle with her powers. Her own determination and will helped her learn how to control her powers with purpose, though admittedly she still has difficult not tying her emotions in with her mutation.

Peace didn't last forever, though. Panic and conflict continued to grow between humans and mutants, until it escalated into "the war". Even the institute itself was a casualty, much to her dismay. Though it was delayed in reaching Nova Roma, as news always was, as soon as her father heard about all the destruction and fighting that was going on, he immediately flew to America and demanded that Amara came back with him. However, she promptly refused, a first for the both of them. There was denying that she was scared about what was happening, and hated how they were being treated, but despite all the chaos, Xavier's was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She wanted to stay with her friends, and continue her training, and trying to help out as much as possible. It wasn't like she didn't miss her father a lot, and her home, but at the moment she felt like she did belong her. Her father seemed to understand well enough, and eventually returned home. She stayed through the move to District X, and currently is continuing her senior year of studies, with hopes that she'll not only graduate high school, but will graduate to the next level of the X-men as well. She's ready, and maybe a little impatient, she begin to really take action to help mutants.

Personality
When Amara first came to the institute, she was a bit on the quiet and reserved side, and she can still seem that way now around new people. It wasn't so much that she was shy, but everything about America was different to her (much of it still confusing in many ways) and it can make her a little nervous about making a bad impression, or she simply doesn't want to embarrass herself. Having a good status, whether it's social, academic, or anything else, does matter to her. Because of this, she doesn't often strike up a conversation with a stranger or anything like that, wanting others to make the first move so she can see what they're like. She can seem almost stiff with her politeness when you first meet her.

However, once Amara is a little more comfortable around a person, you can see a whole different side to her personality. She can be much more bubbly and talkative, and it'll be obvious that she likes to have a good time. Admittedly, being away from her family as given her a little more freedom, and she sometimes uses that to her advantage. She's not quite the rebel in the sense that she breaks the rules (and in fact hates to get it trouble since it makes her look bad), but she definitely loves to have fun. On the down side, as she gets more vocal she can often get more haughty as well. She was almost the equivalent of a princess in her homeland, and that superior attitude complex tends to shows. She can get a rather bossy and argumentative, and if you keep pushing her she can have quite the temper (which you should avoid, because if she gets mad she as the tendency to burst into flames).

Overall, though, Amara really is pretty good person. To those she calls friends she is very loyal, and will be by their side whenever they need it. And if anyone threatens them, she will go to great lengths to protect them. She has a good sense of justice, and a desire to help people with her powers someday. If she thinks something is seriously wrong or upsets her, she's not afraid to let it be known. She has a strong admiration for the X-men and definitely looks up to them as mentors. Going hand in hand with the superiority issue, Amara hates it whenever she fails, and it takes it quite to heart if she lets somebody down. She'll always strive for perfection, and will work hard to get there. Still, she does get pretty frustrated when she doesn't understand something, and hates admitting that she needs help, though with the amount of teamwork that goes on at the institute, she is getting a lot better at communicating with others.

Likes

 * Sunshine
 * Being outdoors
 * The jungle
 * Fish
 * Fruit
 * Her father
 * The institute
 * Her powers (most days)
 * Boys
 * Latin music
 * Dancing


 * Shopping
 * Her friends

Dislikes

 * Flying (airplanes)
 * Sailing
 * Rainy days


 * Not getting her way
 * Narrow-minded people
 * Being looked down on
 * Bullying
 * Anti-mutant behavior
 * When she can't understand things
 * Failing others (or herself)
 * Her "M" tattoo
 * Cold weather

Skills
Her father was rather strict on her academically in Nova Roma, so Amara is a fairly intelligent girl. However, admittedly, many things about American culture and its technology can confuse her still, since her home country was very different. In particular, though, she is good with languages, most obviously shown how she can speak fluent English with almost no trace of an accent. She is also pretty knowledgeable in Latin and Portuguese. Also, unknown to most, it was typical of those in her home to have swordsmanship training, so Amara is actually pretty handy with a blade. While she does find a sword to be a more elegant weapons, she honestly prefers just using her powers, thought, so it's a skill she really hasn't shown others yet.

Powers
Amara is a young mutant with geothermal abilities, which allows her to use her power in a few different ways. First, there is her ability of geokinesis, which in this case means she can move the tectonic plates of the earth with her mind. This is the part of her ability that she has yet to really master, since it requires a great deal of strength and concentration. Currently she can cause large tremors in a concentrated 20 foots radius or so, or smaller tremors within 50 foot radius. Ideally, though, she would be able to create a full scale earthquake within a large space, like a mile.

Like her codename, she also has the ability to manipulate magma. She can psionically find molten rock beneath the earths crust and cause it to break through the surface, causing miniature volcanos. She can also then telekinetically control fiery blasts of magma and hurl them at her target. If for some reason she has trouble bringing magma to the surface, she can also superheat any rock and form it into lava. This can be done via touch, or psionically as well.

To use these abilities, though, Amara first has to transform into her magma form. As mentioned above, when she activates her mutation she her body will automatically change into a fiery or magma state. Her body with emit intense light and heat, so even getting close to her can cause pain (and she herself is invulnerable to any high temperature). Also, in this form, she can use a type of pyrokinesis, using the fire and heat from her body to create orbs of flame that she can throw (this differs slightly from her magma blasts in the fact that there is no rock in them, so they aren't as solid).

Weaknesses
Like many young and new mutants, what Amara struggles with most is control. Her power is especially tied in with her emotions, so if she gets very upset or angry, side effects can be that she spontaneously will transform into her magma form, and can cause the things near her to superheat, melt or burst into flames. As mentioned above, the fact that she has to go into her alternate form to use her mutation can be a weakness in itself. She has some minor manipulation control while in her "human appearance" (like control baseball-size or smaller pieces of molten rock), but to create any larger scale attacks like her volcanos or earth tremors, she needs to change.

With her power mostly fire-based, water naturally doesn't mix very well with her. Like lava itself, if she is exposed to water for too long a period of time, she will begin to "cool down" and harden. Her mobility will decreased more and more, until basically she will be paralyzed. This can be cured in a matter of minutes as soon as she gets exposed to dry air or heat, but she would be rather vulnerable to harm until that point. Also, Amara gets quite weakened if she isn't connected to the earth. Modes of transportation such as flying or sailing where she is away from the ground for a long period will leave her feeling quite sick and light-headed. Again, it's fairly quickly fixed once she hits land again, but during that period it would be very difficult for her to power-up at all.