BACKGROUND: I'm a genius.  No, really, I am!  I graduated from Harvard with my first degree at age twelve.  I am a an expert at Chess, President of the Michigan chapter of MENSA, etc.  Things were looking up, until I was diagnosed with NS.
    Nevison's Syndrome is a debilitating nerve disorder that gets progressively worse the older you get.  First your motor functions go, then you become a paraplegic, then your autonomic system shuts down and you suffocate.  Once you are diagnosed you are lucky if you live ten years.  I was diagnosed when I was ten, so you could see why I was in such a rush to get my degree.  I was going to beat the disease, find a cure.  Even if it killed me.
    By the time I was fifteen I thought I had found a cure, a drug treatment program using some stuff I had whipped up.  The problem was it would take the FDA four years to approve it.  By then the disease would have been too far gone.  And I'll admit it, by the time I whipped up this concoction I had to use a walker to get around.  I started taking the drugs secretly, and I saw almost instant results.  In a month's time I seemed fully cured.
    But I wasn't.
    My strength, stamina, speed, and reflexes were all increasing beyond normal levels.  I was also getting tougher and my eyesight had improved.  I had to confide in a specialist, she told me that my latent gene had somehow activated.  I had not found a cure, I had simply made myself a paranormal.  Then I discovered my NS was still there, only it was held in check by my new power's healing factor.  Then came the final kicker; I wasn't getting any older.  I was stuck at age fifteen, a perpetual teenager.
    I've had seventeen years to cope.  During that time I've starred in an all girl band (Broad Minded, we had a sort've alternative retro fuzion type sound.  I played rhythm guitar and backing vocals), did the chess circuit, got the Kelloggs endorsement, lost the Kelloggs endorsement.
    I joined Maximum Justice initially for the money for my research, but the team had a tragic end when most of them died at the hands of the Tandians.  I was captured, imprisoned for six months, a clone made of me that was to be used to slay other heroes.  Fortunately I was rescued by The Vindicators and the clone turned into an ally, then friend, then sister.  Later I became involved with the reality series American Hero and later leader of it’s group, Avant Guard.  My time with AG was both exciting and frustrating, containing tremendous highs and equally devastating lows.  A series of mistakes caused me to reconsider my position, when during Black Monday I was involved in a fight with Tandian forces.  Exposure to some weird extra-dimensional radiation, combined with a life-saving blood transfusion messed up my powers, mutated my DNA.  Just one more thing to deal with.  But to paraphrase the Kate Bush song, I’m a rubberband girl, I keep bouncing back…
 
PERSONALITY: For all her hardships, Teresa Kinkaid is a happy, well-balanced individual who takes life as it comes.  Even though she looks like a teenager she is very much an adult when it comes to responsibility; she is still a doctor, and now she has become a hero.
    Teresa is highly annoyed with her condition, how it makes it hard to interact with people her own age.  As a result she sometimes hides her feelings behind a mask of arrogance. One problem she is having is on a romantic/sexual level.  She cannot date fifteen year old boys without being charged with statutory rape (and losing her medical license in the process), and the only adult men she seems to attract are perverts.
Theresa’s perceived failures as leader of Avant Guard have made her reluctant to take on any greater responsibility than team member; she refuses to lead any field team until such time as she feels she is “ready”.

POWERS/SKILLS: Since the “radiation accident”, Teresa’s powers have changed dramatically.  She still has the ability to quickly heal from any injury save one that would kill her outright; she has regenerated fingers, fully recovered from concussions and even survived exposure to a class IV virus.  This power is what holds her Nevison's Syndrome in check; it still sits in her cells, waiting for release.  During those rare times when she has suffered broken bones her body quickly resets them, no matter how much it hurts.   She is resistant to damage, able to withstand small arms fire without serious injury as well as being able to handle temperature extremes from the arctic to Death Valley.  This gives her a higher immunity to heat and cold attacks, but not much.  Her reflexes and agility have both suffered; whereas both were abnormally high they are now only above average.  Theresa had also been incredibly strong (albeit at the lower end of the “brick” spectrum) but now her strength is merely above average for someone her size and build.
    Teresa's powers now able to control electromagnetic spectrum as well as weak and strong forces.  She is able to create magnetic fields (including a protective force field and cast bolts of lightning.  She is able to generate various wavelengths of radiation, from infra red to more lethal forms.  She is also able to weaken the bonds between molecules, effectively disintigrating matter.  The denser the matter the more difficult it is to disintigrate it.  Teresa is also able to break simple molecular bonds, such as water, turning it into oxygen and hydrogen.  The more complex the molecular structure, the harder it is to break them down.  Organic matter is especially difficult to disrupt
 
    Teresa is highly intelligent and has a Doctorate in Genetics.  She is also a talented chess player, a decent singer and can play a mean axe.  She is also a pretty good dancer and loves to go to teen clubs to let loose. Lately she has been cramming to learn more about subatomic physics.

EQUIPMENT: Teresa carries on her person a compact first aid kit with a portable medical scanner, a tool knife, mini-binoculars, a gas mask and a small flashlight.  She also uses other equipment when necessary. Most of this equipment is commonly available.  She also carries a five foot long length of stainless steel pipe with rubber grips she calls her "lightning rod".

APPEARANCE: Teresa appears to be an attractive fifteen-year old girl with a wiry build and stringy black hair with large black eyes.  She stands five foot one inches tall and is sensitive about her height.  Her costume consists of dark violet slacks with a broad green stripe and the atomic symbol, white shirt and tie (colors/styles vary, ties are always clip-ons) and a dark violet duster with black shoes.  She also wears fingerless gloves.