Real Name: Penelope "Penny" West
Hero Name: Brightstar
Quotes:- "Halt, evildoers! You can't escape justice! ...that was too corny wasn't it? Just let me try again..."
- "Oh, that's easy; you just have to lower voltage across the K-71 junction while switching the frequency to 44Hz and altering the polarity across the third capacitor aaaaannnnd I've lost you, haven't I?"
- "Superheroing is rough, I have my personal life to worry about, and I keep worrying if I'm not going to screw it all up somehow. But if I can help someone, anyone, then it'll be worth it, knowing I can make a difference out there."
Appearance:As Penelope West, she is a skinny 5'4" Caucasian teenager with freckles and short rust-brown hair. She wears glasses for her relatively short-sightedness and prefers a t-shirt (usually with a nerdy or science-based pun on it) and jeans.
In her heroic alter-ego Brightstar, she bright yellow spandex with white accents and blue boots and gloves, and completes the look with a futuristic visor/headset (with the glass custom made to compensate for her vision problems) and a long blond wig to cover her hair. On her chest is her makeshift emblem, a bright white star with white and gold rays coming out of it, set against a blue rhombus. Her boots also have high heels to make her look taller, though while she dislikes walking on them, she compensates by practically flying everywhere.
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Powers:Brightstar is a metahuman light-based energy blaster sort with flight capabilities. Her powers are essentially solar-powered, as she absorbs sunlight and stores it in her body, releasing it later as focused energy blasts or bright light, and can use that energy to fly as well.
Personality:In her civilian persona, Penny can be shy around new people and finds it difficult to open up due to a fear of messing it up. Around people she's more comfortable with, however, she can be really cheerful and a bit of a motormouth, especially in subjects she finds interesting or important. She's always ready with a helping hand and an eager attitude, whether it be homework or general help. She's also a big fan of comic books and superheroes, and tries to follow up on superhero stories as they inspire and interest her greatly.
Her superheroine alter-ego leans more towards the "bright and cheerful" side, as she wants to become more open and courageous in her hero persona to act as a vent for her more social side. She generally tries to put on what she believes to be a heroic or brave image fearless and helpful, but bits of her personality keep slipping through, such as her geeking out over a famous superhero or strange new technology.
History:Oldest daughter of a S.T.A.R. Labs researcher and an adventurous anthropologist, her parents divorced when she was seven and she currently lives with her mother and siblings.
Penny was a shy girl when she was younger, unsure around people and more comfortable around electronics and computers than people, though she has been trying to work around that and get to know people better. Her main solace growing up was science fiction and fantasy, especially superheroes, who were fantastic, larger than life people yet who also existed in real life, making them role models to her, and she aspired to become one when she grew up.
One day, some time after her 13th birthday, she found herself experiencing strange phenomenon, such as waking up a couple inches above the bed, feeling sudden, strong warmth in her hands, an odd tendency to have her hands glow in the dark, and an inability to get sunburns or even suntans anymore. She realized she had been born with superhuman powers, and began working on honing her abilities and learning how to control them. She took a year to master her skill, and eventually managed to cobble together a superhero suit and get some experience superheroing.
Recently, her family moved to Second City as part of her mother's transfer to a new branch, and she's been trying to establish herself there.
Family:- Dr. Eleanor Greene, 41 (mother, S.T.A.R. Labs, Biologicals research, Second City branch)
- Dr. Gideon West, 42 (father, adventurous anthropologist)
- William "Billy" West, 12 (younger brother)
- Samantha "Sam" West, 10 (younger sister)
Equipment:Penny has a smartphone on her at all times, one she has clandestinely upgraded into a handheld computer. While she uses it as a personal assistant, she can also use it to hack into various systems and terminals when necessary, and it has an internet connection for on-the-fly research. She also has a soldering kit, a multipurpose voltmeter, flash drive, and some 'spy devices' in case she needs to do surveillance. Her visor/headset is perfectly functional, with a built in communicator and rudimentary scanner.
Skills:Penny is a highly skilled electrician and computer expert, able to put together complicated circuitry and devices as necessary with the right components. An accomplished programmer and a skilled cracker, she has considerable skills with computer hardware and programming. She also has some skills that help her crimefighting career, such as aikido training and gymnastics. She's not a master in either, but it allows her some measure of self-defense ability and flexibility in combat.