Hyperdrive

Hyperdrive is a level 50 Mind Control/Electricity Assault dominator, with a technology origin. Hyper displays no genetic markers that indicate she's a mutant, but her brain shows a fairly impressive ability to process mechanics and engineering. In short, she's able to look at schematics, partial schematics, blueprints, the insides of a machine, or pictures of a machine and understand how everything fits together. Some government bureaucrat termed it "systemic intuition" when he wrote up a report on Hyper at some point, and the label has stuck. Hyper used her skill to build a psionic battlesuit about two years ago, the plans of which she stole from a military facility in Virginia in 2007. The suit is actually part of a system that enables her to mentally control or subdue opponents, while also being able to generate and manipulate electricity. She displays almost no telepathy or telekinesis without her suit, but she is still able to use her electrical powers. She's currently a member of Titan Industries and serves as the company's security consultant. Her story is tied up intimately with Titan Girl's as the source of their technologies originates from the same world.

Each of the following sections is an excerpt from Miranda Sadowsky's journal. She is Hyper's mother and manages to keep up with her daughter's activities to this very day. Piper is not aware of this fact.

January 12, 1989.

...I was glad my mother stayed in town for a few days after New Year's. It was nice to have her around to help with Piper. My little girl is just a bundle of energy! She's always moving about and getting into things, like she just has to know what they are and what they can do. It's beyond adorable sometimes how excited she gets when she discovers something new. We took her to the zoo right before Momma left when we had that warm spell. Franklin even came with us, and he seemed perfectly happy to toss Piper up onto his shoulders and carry her around to look at the lions. She'd tap his head and say "The big cats, dad!" I think he's finally starting to warm up to our baby, even though he was so distant with her at first. Momma says that's natural sometimes, that men don't always know how to connect with their children. Especially if they're as busy as my Franklin is. I wish he could tell me more about what he does so I could understand better, but I know the Army has its secrets. Which means my husband does too I guess. Still, I was just thrilled that we had such a nice holiday together and that things seem to be smoothing out finally....

April 30, 1996.

...Sometimes we fight so much, I think I've forgotten how to have a normal conversation with Frank. I'm getting to the point where I realize he and I have a much better marriage when he's living in D.C. I used to say to Momma before she died how much I wish he'd stay at home more with me and Piper, but this reality isn't what I'd imagined. He's surly and moody and just plain mean. It's so embarrassing I can't even really think about it most of the time. What kind of wife am I? To want my husband out of the house even though I know he runs around on me when he's in Washington. I don't even care anymore, so long as he's gone. I've tried to ask him about us just getting a divorce, but he gets so furious. He'll scream and scream about how he has an image to maintain and being divorced isn't part of that picture. He'll get physical with me if he's had enough to drink, but that doesn't happen as much since I threatened to call the cops on him last Christmas. I still could just break down into tears when I think about that...when I think about him slapping my daughter across the face for waking him up.

He hasn't touched her since, but I can see how mad he gets when she says the wrong thing. Or inconveniences him, which...who can say what that entails sometimes. I'm trying to get her to be less confrontational with him, but Piper's just so willful. Lord knows, she didn't get that from me, so maybe Frank sees something of himself in her. Either way, Franklin doesn't want a divorce, and I don't know what I would do if he did. I can't support myself, let alone a child. I'm sure I could find some way...but at least here, Piper's getting a first-rate private education. She's got access to good medical care. And I guess having a difficult father is better than having no father at all....

March 19, 1999.

...Frank found out about my plans to leave him somehow. The bank account I set aside was closed last week, and the tickets I reserved with Amtrak have disappeared from the hiding place. I don't know how he learned about this, but he did. What's worse is he hasn't said anything. No yelling. No threats. Nothing. In fact, he's been downright pleasant to me. Maybe it scared him. Maybe he realized that he does love us and does want us around. Could this be what it took? Something to shock him into realizing what he might lose? It wasn't a decision I came to lightly by any means. Pulling Piper out of her school and just...moving away from everything. She's just been so unhappy for so long. I can't blame her. Her parents fight constantly, her father is...well, I can't blame her. Maybe this will be a good thing though. Maybe we can finally be a family....

November 4, 2002.

...It's the unknown I've decided. That's what is so hard about all of this. Months will go by, and we'll be fine. No fights, no incidents. Things will be perfectly under control. Then out of nowhere, everything changes. He'll come home drunk, or he'll come home angry. He'll start in on me, but I've gotten so used to his invective, I just ignore him now. I swear he seems almost disappointed when that happens. When I don't respond to him. He's even tried provoking me by going after Piper, but I just stay calm. That works better than anything else I've discovered. If I don't give him a reaction, he's got no incentive for continuing the behavior. Piper just can't learn the same thing though. She insists on poking at him till he explodes. I've tried to reason with her, but she won't listen to me. It's almost like a compulsion for her to harass her father until he's screaming at her or worse. If she could just learn to not respond to him, he'd leave us both alone....

April 25, 2003.

...We met with the school's principal again today. Piper is insisting that she didn't cheat on her physics project, but no one seemed to really believe her. I told them I saw her building the dragon or whatever it was in the garage over Spring Break, but her teacher doesn't buy that a high school student is capable of creating something so intricate. Piper's always been very smart. She's never needed to cheat. No matter how unstable her home life has been over the years, she always did well in school. The one thing I think Frank's actually proud about when it comes to his daughter...how smart she is. Then again, I think it's also a source of constant irritation since she's a lot smarter than her father. Frank's been harassing her for the last week to confess to cheating, but he didn't say much during or after the meeting. I might believe Piper's intelligent enough to just understand things innately, and I suspect he does too...but he's never been big on supporting her over anything. Especially if his precious image is at risk of being tarnished. Still, he listened to her pretty closely today and didn't yell at her on the way home. Of course, he left almost immediately to go back to the office so it's possible he's saving his wrath up for later....

October 30, 2003.

...None of this makes any sense. It's like someone turned a switch off in his brain. Or maybe they turned one on. Whichever, Frank has been beyond happy for the last few months. I expected him to ground Piper forever when she got suspended over her physics project, but he actually told her not to worry about it and that she couldn't be blamed for other people's incompetence. And now he pulls her into his office to...chat with her I guess? I have no idea. I hear them talking for hours sometimes, and Piper just seems so happy recently. I actually asked her what was going on last week, and she just smiled at me. Told me not to worry anymore because she was helping Frank with some things from work and that everything would be okay for us from now on. The thing is, Frank's job is security sensitive...or least that's what he's always told me. I tried finding information on Syntech through public sources this morning, and the only thing I can track down is a phone number for some lab in Richmond. That doesn't mean the facility is totally secret, but Frank's always been pretty insistent about keeping the nature of his job quiet. But now he's bringing home documents or whatever to let his sixteen year old daughter look at them? In what world does that make sense....

July 18, 2006.

...I don't even bother trying to join their conversations anymore. For years, I bore the brunt of Frank's mood swings, but now it's like I don't exist. He just looks right past me, and most of the time I'm grateful for that. I don't mind being ignored if the alternative is that other life we lived for so long. Still, I keep expecting him to turn on Piper or on me, but he doesn't. I see flashes of annoyance from him every now and then, but even those have subsided since his aide started dating our daughter. I do not like one bit how much older David is that Piper, and I told her as much. She may be an adult now, but she's a young adult. David is in his mid-twenties. She seemed ambivalent about it and told me age was just a number. I suspect this is just one more thing she does to make her father happy. David's a nice enough young man, but I don't know if he appreciates her so much as he's happy to have a leg up on the other officers working at Syntech. If you're seeing the boss's daughter, then you can be in the boss's home and talk to the boss outside of the lab. Maybe that's just my cynical nature coming out though....

January 17, 2007.

...I tried again to get Piper to take the money I've been saving for her. I want her to go to college, not work at some bakery for the rest of her life. But she keeps saying she's happy and will look into schools next fall. Or next spring. Or maybe next summer. She's putting it off over and over again, has been since she graduated last year. I know it's because Frank wants her to stay home, and Piper will do almost anything to keep him happy. They're in his office almost every night now, and I can see the light on in her room for hours after he finally passes out on the sofa. She's working for him, I know it. He's bringing things home to her that she isn't supposed to see so he can keep his big, fancy job. Frank is using her, and she thinks it's because he loves her so much and trusts her so much. I could nearly cry when I hear her talk about what's going on. "Mom, he's very stressed out right now. We have to do our best to make it easier for him." Those are the exact things I used to say to her when he'd get in one of his moods. How could this have happened? How did I turn her into someone who excuses bad behavior? Into someone like me....

April 28, 2007

...I heard them fighting from the garage. I was out at the second freezer looking for a carton of strawberries when I heard Piper screaming. I couldn't run into the house and up the stairs to Frank's office fast enough. Everything was going in slow motion, and their shouting just got louder and louder. The door was locked, and he was just...raging at her. Calling her ungrateful and absurd and stupid and telling her she was lucky he'd given her a chance to be more. She was yelling right back and telling him he was a liar and a cheater and a user. I kept pounding on the door, but they just ignored me. Something crashed, a bottle of Frank's scotch it turned out. Piper started laughing and said she wondered how stupid his superiors would think she was when she told them she was the one who'd deciphered the suit.

My stomach sinks thinking about the rest. I heard him slap her, he was screaming...I couldn't even understand what he was saying. But Piper shut up. I knew something was terribly wrong, and I finally managed to get the door open. I broke the lock somehow I guess. And there he was, choking the life out of her when I ran in. I've never seen him so furious or so...full of hate. I think he wanted to kill her. His own child. How does that happen? That moment was very clear, when I flew into that room...but afterward? I don't remember really. I do know I hit him with one of those ridiculous bookends he keeps on his desk at some point. I'm sure he'll have a nasty bruise today, but I haven't seen him. I certainly don't care. He left at some point during the night. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll never come back. But I doubt it. Franklin will be back eventually, and once he is...he'll make her pay for whatever transgression she committed last night....

October 27, 2007

...Piper's planning something, I know it. How she's going about that is beyond me. Frank hasn't let her out of her room for weeks. He won't even let David come over anymore, not that I think David actually tries very hard. But something is going on. I've seen her change a little. She's not as...lifeless as she was. When she eats dinner with us now, her eyes aren't focused on the table the entire time. I've tried to get her to talk to me, but she's afraid. She thinks I'm on his side, and I guess I can't blame her. For years, I've excused him and did everything I could to keep her safe. Or at least what I thought was safe. I've asked my cousin to talk to her, to convince Piper she has a haven to run to if she wants to get out. But it hasn't done any good. Piper just says she's going to stick it through until it's not worth it anymore. I can't imagine what that means except to think she's planning something. I know she was working for him for over a year, looking at documents that were probably classified. Maybe she's thinking she can expose him? Turn him over to the police. Or whoever you turn someone into when they reveal classified documents.

I'm afraid for her though. I'm afraid she's going to try and get Frank back for what he did to her this spring, but she won't be able to. Not that I don't think my girl is capable. It's just...he's got so much power. And she has nothing....

December 24, 2007.

...David finally told me what happened. I guess he really misses her and is hoping I know something. I could barely keep the grin off my face, I was so proud of Piper even though she did this incredibly stupid thing. This incredibly stupid thing that hurt her father. I'm still not clear about what she stole exactly, but David said it was some kind of classified armor. That was it really, and he wasn't even supposed to tell me that. I've been begging him for weeks now to tell me everything. All I had from Piper was that note she left the night she disappeared. She said she was going away and that she was taking something that mattered to Franklin. And that she hoped it wouldn't be too bad for me after she was gone. I don't know how she could worry about my well being. Most of her life, she's seen me tiptoe around Frank even if it meant she got hurt too. I wish I could say I'd done my best, but I don't think I did. I would have gotten her away from him if I had really been doing my best.

She didn't need me to get her out of here though. She did that on her own somehow. David said Franklin is using all of Syntech's resources to find her, but he can't really go outside the division yet because he'll get into too much trouble. I guess Frank's superiors will want to know how his twenty year old daughter found out about a classified piece of armor in the first place. I wonder how long he'll be able to keep it a secret. I hope everyday someone finds out how much he screwed up, and Piper can come home.

I'm starting to see why Piper cared so much for David. I've been so cynical toward him, but since she left...he's been over here at least twice a week to see me. He says he likes being in our home because it reminds him so much of her. He's promised to tell me the minute he finds out anything about her, and he's doing his best to make sure she doesn't get hurt. I think David realizes what a bad man Frank is after all this time....

February 11, 2008.

...She's in the Rogue Isles now. David said she managed to get there after being off their radar for a few months, but she's surfaced recently. Whatever that means. I think she was buying or stealing some kind of specialized alloy to build part of that armor. That's how they found her it seems. He also hinted that the technology she stole was from another world. If I hadn't seen those heroes fighting the Rikti on television a few years ago, I don't know that I'd believe it...but well, it doesn't surprise me I guess. The world's changed so much. I hope she's okay. David says she seems to be relatively safe, although she's doing some things I don't approve of. But I guess she has to survive. Stealing, robbing banks. He said she hasn't really hurt anyone yet. I can't imagine she could. Even if she wasn't so tiny, Piper just doesn't have it in her to seriously injure someone. Unlike her father. Franklin barely speaks to me anymore. He spends most of his time at the lab or in D.C. I don't think he knows David comes to see me every week.

I tried to get David to tell me what this armor does exactly, but he was cryptic about it. He always seems so nervous about being in the home, and I can't blame him. Every week he asks if I've heard from her. His whole face just lights up...like he's hoping I'll say yes, and then we can finally bring her home. I don't know why they haven't gone to those islands yet to make her come home. I think Frank's worried what she'll say if he hauls her back here. As much as I want my baby girl to be home, I guess I could live with her never having to face her father's anger again....

September 25, 2008.

...I go weeks now without hearing about Piper. David can't come by as much as he used to since Frank's at the lab all the time now. I do have that special cell phone though, the one Frank doesn't know about. I keep it at the store with the other things I don't want him to find. David said I could use the phone anytime to contact him if I heard from Piper and to tell her it'd be okay to use that number to call me. Since Frank or Syntech won't know about it. I keep hoping I'll hear from her. I got a blank postcard in the mail on my birthday last week. It was just a palm tree on some beach, and the address was typed. I don't know for sure, but I think it was from her. Last David told me she was still in the Isles and that she still was trying to build that armor. He also said they're not going to get her anytime soon, said it would be too complicated. I don't know why. As much as I approve of what she did because it hurt her father, Piper still committed a crime by stealing classified armor from the Army. If they know where she is, why don't they go get her? Why would they let her try to build this suit or whatever it is? It doesn't make sense to me, but David can't really tell me anymore. He did mention she's made some friends and seems as well adjusted as she can be....

March 13, 2009.

...Frank's been in D.C., for the last two weeks, and David finally came to see me. We talked for about an hour. He said Piper finished that suit or the armor, but he said there were still no plans to bring her back. I'm really confused now. She's working in the Isles for some security firm and using what she built. How can they just let her do that? Does no one outside of Syntech know? I can't imagine Franklin managed to keep a major security breach secret for so long, but David said it wasn't an issue. He said they were keeping tabs on her to make sure no one hurt her, but it seems strange to me. And David seemed different too. He's always been in good shape, but he's bigger and even stronger now. I had him help me move one of the bookcases out of Piper's old room, and it was like it weighed nothing to him. He got embarrassed when I commented on how easy it was for him to move such a heavy piece of furniture. Maybe he's taking some kind of drug. I'm starting to think Franklin's division and the people in it have almost no oversight. They can do pretty much as they please.

Still, it was nice to hear Piper's doing okay. I miss her so much. David said he'd come back the next time Frank was out of town, which could be pretty soon. Not that I'll know about it until Franklin tells me to pack his bag the night before he leaves. I don't really see him that much anymore, and he never talks to me about Piper. He's drinking too much again, but I don't really try to stop him anymore. Maybe if he goes to work drunk enough, they'll fire him and then someone who gives a damn can bring my girl home....

August 4, 2009.

...He choked up a little when he told me, and I hope he'll be okay. I know David is still in love with Piper, so hearing she's gotten serious enough with another man to move in with him must have hurt. He seemed so sad I almost told him she called me last week, but Piper made me swear not to say anything to anyone. It was so good to hear her voice! I wanted to keep her on the phone for hours, days...weeks! Just to talk to her. I miss her so very much. She sounded happy. Really happy in fact. Told me she was doing well and making a lot of money by building things. I suspect there's a little more going on that just building things, but I can't really blame her. She lives in such a terrible place. I tried to ask her about that suit, but she changed the subject. I guess she doesn't want me to get in trouble if I know too much. I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone, but I don't know how much information I really know that others don't. Maybe I should have told her David knows so much about her already, but she got upset when I started talking about him. Said he was just as bad as Frank and that she didn't want to know about him. I guess it might seem like he abandoned her after things went poorly a few years ago, but David has been so committed to keeping me updated about her well being....

February 13, 2010.

...I was hoping Piper would call again this week, but she hasn't. Last time we talked, she just cried and cried. I wish I could do something for her. I know she loved that boy she was living with, but he's gone now. If there's one thing Piper should know, it's that you can't depend on anyone else to make you happy or take care of you. It's okay to grieve, but I think he would have just hurt her in the end. David seems to think so too. From what he was able to learn about their relationship, it didn't sound like it was very good for her. Thankfully, she's got some good friends to keep her distracted. What an odd life she's created for herself since leaving Virginia. Piper said she was starting a business with some woman she'd met in the Isles last year. A security consultant firm or something like that. It sounds like it will be a legitimate business, but I worry if Piper's in the spotlight too much. Her father seems to have decided to leave her alone, but that could change if she does something to draw attention to herself. He can't really pretend there's not a problem if his daughter shows up on the front page of some newspaper wearing a piece of armor she stole from the Army two years ago. I asked David again why they aren't going to bring her back, but he said it's too complicated. Strange, but I won't complain. I hope my little girl can move on and continue building a nice life for herself...even if there's a few bumps in the roads. Maybe she really will end up better off than I am after all this time....

August 23, 2010.

...I'm not sure what this means, but I heard from Piper (and David confirmed) that boy Piper was so in love with is back. How a man dies and comes back to life is still something I'm not quite sure I understand, but I live in a world that's normal I guess. None of my neighbors can shoot fire from their hands or lift inanimate objects off the ground. When I talked to Piper, she said De-Mo was recovering slowly, but she was confident he'd be okay. My girl sounded tired but not quite as defeated as she did over the summer. I know she's happy to have this man back in her life, but I can't help but worry she's going to invest everything she has in him and save nothing for herself....

October 1, 2010.

...Did I make a terrible mistake? Have I pushed her away again? I said some very harsh things to Piper, but when your only daughter calls you up and tells you she's getting married the following day...I'm not sure how else I could have reacted. Especially when Piper has seen what marriage can do to someone. She lived with her father long enough, she should know that you can't trust anyone to watch after you. I don't think I got through to her either. This boy she's with doesn't sound like he's good for her. How long has she really known him? At least with David, she'd know what she's getting. And David has waited for her. Patiently. He's kept me updated as much as he can because he knows how much I love her. I've never even met this De-Mo. Does he even care about Piper? Or does he only care about having someone to look after him?

My concerns are even deeper because I know Piper's been sick. David said she still hasn't gained the weight back that she lost last winter, but he won't tell me why. Except that there may be a problem with that suit she wears to do her work in the Isles. That it's affecting her mind somehow. What if she's only marrying this man because she's not thinking clearly? She's desperate and sick. You don't do smart things when you're afraid for your health or your future. I think now that I would have never married Franklin if I hadn't been pregnant with Piper. Even though the life I have now isn't the one I would have chosen all those years ago, I'm still grateful I ended up with my daughter. Maybe this will work out for her too. She said she's happy and that De-Mo is a good man, one she loves and trusts. But how well can she judge him if she's getting sick....

• Hyper was born Piper Leigh Sadowsky. Her date of birth is December 6, 1986, and she was born in Fairfax, Virginia. She's the only child of Franklin and Miranda Sadowsky.

• She and De-Mo got hitched on October 2, 2010, in a private ceremony on a beach in Nerva Archipelago. Unfortunately a number of challenges made their continued relationship difficult, so the two decided to split in summer 2012.

• Piper is 5'0" and usually weighs about 105 pounds.

• She uses a strange combination of Greek letters, math formulas, and odd looking symbols to make notes when she doesn't want anyone to be able to read what she's writing. It's something like a language and is based on the language her suit's plans were written in.

• Piper has been learning to play the piano since early 2010. She's gotten pretty good at it, though she's focused mostly on contemporary music rather than classical works. She'll get there though.