Shadowtrick

Ariana Méndez was a free spirit. She was spontaneous and lived in the now. However, things for Ariana soon changed after a chance meeting.

Ariana loved to travel, she thought of it as having an adventure. She was a very social woman and had friends all over from her travels. Visiting friends in Steel Canyon lead to a dramatic change in her life. She was at a coffee shop with her friends and having a wonderful time. When she went to leave, coffee cup in hand, she ran right into someone and spilt her coffee all over them. She apologized profusely and tried to clean the man's ruined shirt with napkins, but it was no help. The man, on the other hand, didn't seem at all bothered. He introduced himself as Doctor Dane Robinson. He told Ariana she could make up for the ruined shirt by letting him buy her another coffee and keep him company. She was surprised, but agreed. Dane and Ariana begun seeing each other regularly while she was in Steel Canyon. Ariana was no fool, she knew what her relationship with Dane was. It was a fling and held no future. Soon enough, Ariana was on her way back to Providence and she put Dane Robinson behind her. Or so she thought.

Ariana had only been home a few weeks when the news hit. She wasted no time and went to the doctor for confirmation. She was was pregnant, the home tests and the doctor confirmed it. While the thought of having a child growing inside her scared her to no end, she was also very excited. This was a new adventure! If she was going to be a mother, she would be the best mother she could be. She briefly toyed with the thought of contacting Dane and telling him about the baby, but as fast as the thought came it was gone. This was her child. She knew where she stood with Dane. Their relationship was in no way serious and while he may have fathered the child, he certainly wasn't going to play the father in the child's life.

Eight months later, Ariana gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Ariana named the little girl after her deceased grandmother and Pilar Méndez was brought into the world.

Pilar grew up well. Her mother was spontaneous which, while sometimes driving Pilar crazy, made growing up pretty interesting. Her mother loved her unconditionally and never let her forget it. The two had a close bond and were just as much best friends as they were mother and daughter.

Pilar was seven when she discovered her powers. While her mother was very encouraging over her daughter's gift, Pilar was frightened by it. At seven years old, she thought darkness was evil and having control over it made her evil too. Her mother refused to let her go on believing that and did everything she could to convince her that these powers were a gift. However, despite her mothers efforts, Pilar would refuse to use her powers. It wasn't until she was sixteen did she decide to finally put them to use and began to practice using them. She gradually got better and better. At twenty-two, she decided it was time for change. She wanted to do good with her powers and do something more with her life. Her mother recommended that she move to Paragon City, the City of Heroes, and figure out what she wanted to do there. Pilar agreed, soon enough she was all packed up and on the road to Paragon.

After getting settled in Paragon City, Pilar soon took on the name Shadowtrick, the hero shrouded in darkness.