Registry of the Evolved Database
File #08 Oct 2010 21:22
|
 Cristina Scabbia |
To say that the third of four Sinclair children didn't fit into the Glasgow family's home would be a complete understatement. Born on October 30, 1990, in Glasgow, Scotland, Mia Sinclair was the picture of everything her family didn't want her to be-the good, religious family raising a tomboyish footballer and musician, who'd rather be outside with the boys than inside with the girls where her parents thought she ought to be.
As one of four children, and a "middle child," so to speak, it was easy to believe that Mia acted out in defiance of the tradition of middle children to be lost in the shuffle of the younger and older siblings, stuck in limbo until it was their turn to cost their parents money; Mia, however, preferred to believe that she was always destined to be the odd one out in her family. She was never the one to sit still in church, she was never one to play with dolls or talk about boys with the other girls her age?"Gossip" was certainly not a title one could bestow upon the young woman. It became a recurring joke within the family that Mia only slept as a way to recharge for the next day.
Intelligent, but not very driven for school, Mia was a B student at her best growing up; oh, sure, she got the occasional A, but she balanced the A in math with a C in Home Ec, which she insisted she only took because "if I didn't, mom would kick me out." But school was never Mia's priority; growing up, she strove to be a professional athlete?until she realized that there was no money in it for women; at least, not as much as she knew the men made. It was that revelation that drove the young girl to trying something new: music.
Her parents had been elated?at first. They'd thought their daughter would trade in her ball and cleats for a violin or flute, something quiet that she could practice in the house. But "middle child" syndrome struck again for the young woman, and instead of coming home with a violin or a flute, Mia came home with a cheap guitar and even cheaper drumsticks she'd pick up at a local pawn shop-not what her parents had wanted, and certainly not something they wanted practiced in the house. Matters were only made worse when she made it quite clear that she wasn't giving up the sporty lifestyle?she was simply adding a form of artistic expression to it.
It was through school, however, that Mia had one of her more formative moments as a young woman-at 15 years old, she encountered a study abroad group that was visiting Glasgow as part of their tour of the United Kingdom, quickly befriending several of the students when she corrected the teacher on a few points about the city. One of the girls in particular struck a friendship with the third Sinclair child: Elaine Darrow.
If you asked her now, Mia couldn't explain what it was about the girl. Looking back on it, they were total opposites, and yet, somehow, she befriended the young American girl while her study group was touring the city. Instead of showing the usual tourist spots, Mia chose to take Elaine and a few of the others to the real fun places of Glasgow. It was a short-lived friendship, Mia had thought, when the study-abroad group was told they were leaving, but the young Scotswoman kept in touch with her new American friend as the group toured Europe, shocked that she'd befriended one of the "girly-girls" so easily.
And then? November 8, 2006. "The Bomb," as it came to be known. The explosion that ripped New York City from an international symbol to third-world country in a matter of seconds. Mia had kept in touch with Elaine through emails, for the most part, but when the bomb went off in New York City, Mia lost all contact with her international friend. It was a startlingly devastating feeling for the young woman; she had dealt with loss in the past, she had dealt with death, but it was different when she thought it was someone her own age, someone she had related to.
It was not something Mia Sinclair was prepared to deal with at 15 years old. A disaster of that magnitude, making the 9/11 bombings look like child's play, making any armed conflict of her generation look like a scrap outside a pub one night?it simply wasn't in the mind of a 15 year old to comprehend everything that had happened. The massive economic effects that a city like New York would have on the world, the political shift in world power that could have taken place?it was all lost on her, initially.
They say that every year, you get a little stronger, a little smarter, and a little more stubborn. The immediate backlash of the Bomb, the revelation of so-called "Evolved" individuals, men and women capable of things previously only thought of in comic books?Mia became infatuated with it all, learning everything she could about the issue.
Sure, she wasn't an American, sure she wasn't an expert on American public policy, but this transcended America. This transcended one country, this was a global phenomenon, and the young Scotswoman began to use her music, especially, as a form of political platform. Knowledgeable about the subject or not, Mia had been called "different" so often in her life that she knew what the equality fight was all about.
Despite being in another country at the time of its passing, Mia had been avidly against the passing of the Linderman Act, calling for registration of Evolved individuals, as if they were animals to be kept on leashes. It was not something that Mia had enjoyed hearing go through, even though somewhere in her heart, she knew that what was being done wasn't out of hate-it was to protect those who might be susceptible to something like The Bomb.
Mia ventured out of Europe for the first time in her life upon turning 18, on October 30, 2008, on a flight from Glasgow to Washington, DC, packed with what she had expected to be all she'd need-a week's worth of clothes, her drumsticks, and a head still swimming with all the issues that were going on around her. But life has a funny way of detaining the people who aren't looking to be detained; she had travelled to Washington for a week long attempt at getting the Evolved sympathizers and those fighting for stricter registration laws to find a compromise, but on November 8, 2008-the day Mia was set to depart the States and return to her home country-PARIAH's changing of the guard took place, and their grand broadcast was seen around the world. It was a cause that Mia had truly believed in, true equality, the right to live freely without looking over your shoulder, Evolved or not. It was great, in theory. But Mia hadn't left the United States when she was supposed to. She'd stayed, and followed the news—followed the robberies, the attacks, everything carried out in the name of PARIAH, and everything carried out in the name of bringing it down. It was everything she'd not wanted to see happen?
Since that day, Mia Sinclair has kept herself on the down-low, doing little to draw attention to herself on the grand radar of things. She's just as prone to giving her opinion now as she was when she started, but now she's seen everything that can happen?now she's seen the violence, the death; she's seen what people will do for their ideology. And Mia Sinclair is not prepared to suffer that fate yet.
Mia Sinclair is a tomboy. There's no other way to describe the young woman. She's rough-n-tumble, she's an athlete, she's as much one of the boys as one of the girls. She's the girl that takes her date to prom in a tuxedo, she's the girl that you kick a ball around a yard with, she's the one that isn't afraid to get in people's faces if their opinions don't match her's. Especially if they're presented hostily. There are a lot of words you could use to describe her, but she prefers to just be herself and ignore the labels.
She's a staunch believer in equality for everyone, but she isn't the idealist; she doesn't believe in just getting the good without sacrificing the bad. She's the one protesting for women's rights, but also saying that if women are going to be paid the same, they've got to sign up for selective service like the men. She's the one that fights for Evolved rights; she's against the Linderman act, and takes any opportunity she can to bring that up, but she doesn't fault people for registering-if it makes them feel safer, great, but Mia's not buying into the act.
She'll strike up a conversation with anyone, but it takes a long time for her to really trust you. She can count her real "friends" on a single hand, even though she surrounds herself with acquaintances. For those select few that she calls friend, Mia is fiercely protective-she hates the idea of her friends being in arguments, let alone fights?or worse. She's not shy about her opinion, she'll tell you exactly what she thinks-the filter from mind to mouth sometimes malfunctions for Mia.
Mia's power is Electrokinesis-the ability to create and manipulate electricity. However, she is unaware of this as of yet. In her life to this point, her power has only manifested itself one time, and Mia was unaware of it when it did.
She is, potentially, capable of conducting an electrical current powerful enough to power maybe one home suffering from a blackout, but she's not able to be strapped to an electrical pole and left to power the neighborhood, and she certainly would not be able to sustain that level of power for very long. If focused purely on her objective, Mia is capable of producing the same level of power as a home generator-2000 watts, 120 volts, but only able to sustain that level of power for up to 2 hours. After that point, her body begins to burn its own natural energy, and at a very rapid rate, leaving Mia fatigued-and, if pressed too long, could potentially be fatal.
At first, her ability is something that will so hyperstimulate everything in her body that she will be unable to use it for any substantial amount of time-the natural electrical currents in her body combining with the newly introduced, artificial current sending the girl into a kind of overload. As she discovers and practices her abilities, she is capable of leeching power from other electrical circuits or, eventually, creating her own.
With the proper training, creating electrical currents could give way to creating a short-range burst of pure electricity. She would not be able to create lightning, per se, as she simply doesn't have the power to create a burst that powerful, but it would be able to at least stun any person or animal that came in contact with it-provided they were within a ten to twelve foot radius from her.