Dynamo

Stephanie Marie Ford, maiden name DuValle. She grew up the grounded, scientific child behind Germanicus' supernatural bent. They clashed frequently in their youth, and when she left for the University of Chicago, in her mind it was the end of her family. It wasnt to be, however. When her father died she was given the chance to reconnect with not only her older brother, but the two younger ones she feared lost.

This character was originally one of my favorite villains of all time in an old Champions game I ran. She was teamed with Vulcan and Twist, all of them about 325-350 pts, in a 275 pt game. They were destructive and effective. The players hated them. My favorite part about the original Dynamo was she had turn mode on her running, but because of her defense she didnt care, she just plowed right through buildings, cars, and anything that got in her way. It made the players focus on her and normally allowed Twist and Vulcan to accomplish whatever goals they had. I envisioned the PC version to be more slick and acrobatic, jumping, rolling like Sonic the Hedgehog, and doing all sorts of power stunts. It never turned out that way, however. She did hit Senju with a dumpster like 3 times though.

The original document

As a child Stephanie was always a tomboy. In many ways she was detached from the rest of the family. Their reputation in the occult world only motivated her to be more interested in science. She was in trouble constantly, and was known as a very willful child (this is the origin of the mental defense I had before. She was a dynamo --personality wise-- before she became Dynamo. She was difficult and bossy, and extremely hard to stop once she got started).

As she grew older, it subsided some, yet she remained willful. Inside she was somewhat jealous of the other family members who developed innate abilities at a younger age, and she was in high school before she saw any hint of superior abilities (assuming this is true of course). Eventually her strength and fortitude began to blossom. She felt strange when running as well, and heard crackles around her as she moved, it was almost euphoric. It was then that she realized that like her siblings, she too was touched with something else.

By the time she graduated high school she was adept at hiding her incredible strength. So far, it was not a nuisance, and not amazing enough to persuade her to give up her dream of following the path of science. She ran often, and enjoyed the euphoria that came with the crackles of energy. Sometimes she would run much faster, and crackle much louder, yet even though it became something she could sometimes control, it was by no means automatic.

In college she took a materials science course as part of her engineering curriculum. That coupled with her knowledge of chemistry got her interested in the electrical fields. After a small amount of research she discovered the dynamo, and with a little prep she theorized what could be happening in her body.

Her first serious college boyfriend was 6 years older and an intern at a local general hospital. She convinced him to give her a complete physiological exam so she could analyze what may be going on. She noticed patches of heavy metals laced throughout her musculoskeletal system. After some calculations and consultation of exercise science texts, she concluded that she was in fact producing a dynamo field.

During the remainder of her college she spent her free time trying to develop a way to implant the remaining metals she needed to make the field more constant. During this time she broke up with Martin, her intern boyfriend. They remain close, however.

Her obsession with running led her to entering many local marathons and the like. She never pushed herself because she didn't want to have her abilities known. Also, creating the field was extremely taxing. Yet, ironically, it was this endeavor into the world of running that directly led to the breakthrough that produced Dynamo.

Many of her running friends drank lots of Gatorade and other sports drinks. Some even supplemented with protein drinks. She never liked the taste of Gatorade, so she went to a local health food store and looked in to protein drinks. While browsing a store associate began talking to her about supplementation and how it can provide the body with what it needs that it cannot produce. It clicked. She knew what she had to do. She ran from the store in a flurry.

She called up Martin and got his help in determining what ways she could digest heavy metals. Of course, normal people are poisoned by them. Together they tested and re-tested idea after theory after conjecture. Eventually they created a suitable supplementation regimen. It was taxing, but worth it. The field came whenever she ran.

That was when she met Richard. He was an engineer at Ford, where she had just gotten her job. They were immediately struck by each other. Their courtship was a whirlwind, and they were soon married. Stephanie still didn't know what she would do with her abilities.

Martin was somewhat jealous of the union, but he also married less than a year later. Richard and Martin have tried to be civil throughout the whole process, in the interest of keeping Stephanie happy. Even as an adult, her willfulness seemed to greatly affect those around her.

While she was pursuing her career as an electrical engineer, her relationship with her family became strained at best. Once she was married she began to feel like being estranged with her family was bad for her soul. Slowly she began contacting them and reforming familial bonds. That brings us to present day, she has begun to know her siblings again, she has yet to begin using her abilities as more than recreation, yet she yearns to know what she can do, given the opportunity. She always knew nobody could stop her, now she will find out for sure.