Amara grew up in the middle of the jungle in Brazil, educated in the same culture that the antique Romans, for her city, Nova Roma, was supposed to be built by descendant of these Romans, and, not having contact with the rest of the world for centuries, continued the same way.

Nova Roma was also home for Selene, a priest of an ancient cult who sacrificed youngsters to the volcano, and, since she had put her eye on Amara, her father sent her to live with the Indian natives, disguised as one of them.

Amy was found by the New Mutants during their trip to Brazil, and they all got caught by the military forces of the city, but when Selene pushed her down the volcano, she returned, riding a wave of fire. Amara was a mutant with the power to command magma, and to create earthquakes pushing together the teutonic surfaces underground. She then helped the New Mutants to destroy Selene's cult, but the witch escaped.

Knowing her life wouldn't be the same, she agreed to go to Xavier's school, although it was quite difficult for her to adapt to a world more than twenty centuries in the future (partly due to her mood). Amara fell in love with Empatha (one of the hellions) and decided to change to Massachusetts Academy, but her father had planned to marry her and ordered her to return to Nova Roma against her will. Empathe went with her and soon discovered that the place was not what it seemed : Selene has fooled a group of people to feed from them, generating the illusion of the city to retain them in the jungle. Empatha, though, didn't tell it, for he feared losing Amy, but they discovered it at last, returning Amy with her real family.