Retroburn
Superhero.
Originally from Cali, now in Rhode Island. It's cold here...
jk, IDK what cold is.
Carmen Clark was born to Kyle and Agnes Clark, a relatively normal couple living in the San Fernando valley, CA. Carmen, the middle child of three siblings, often found herself struggling to stand out amongst her siblings. Sure, she excelled at school, and she was well-behaved and polite, but she wasn't the oldest, nor was she the youngest, and despite her parents best efforts, that meant that Carmen was often (albeit unintentionally) the overlooked child.
Before she turned 15, that is.
Shortly after her 15th birthday, Carmen began to experience sudden, intense fevers, the duration of which only increased over time. And where Carmen got fevers, Chloe and Corey, Carmen's siblings, manifested mutant abilities. Of the three, Carmen was the only one whose powers didn't immediately manifest, to the concern of her parents. The fevers continued, getting stronger and lasting longer until shortly after her 16th birthday, when Carmen spontaneously burst into flame, nearly burning the house down in the process.
Carmen spent the rest of that year in a containment suit, while her grandmother helped her to learn control. Then, things began to change.
Her parents had never neglected her, and they had never ignored her. Being the middle child simply meant that she wasn't usually the center of attention unless something had gone wrong. But now? Well, now Carmen's presence was loud. Her once-blonde hair had turned a glowing violet, and similarly-colored flame was constantly venting from her eyes. Carmen was now nigh impossible to overlook.
Soon, the CC's were all grown up and ready to set out on their own. Carmen followed her siblings to UCLA, where she earned a degree in computer science. She even managed to land a job at a startup right out of school.
But the life of a Silicon Valley engineer turned out to be anything but the life she was looking for. To start, not only did she have to wear a power suppressor when she was at home so that she wouldn't end up burning her apartment down, but her employer insisted that she wear one while at work, in effect muting her all over again. Still, Carmen managed to stick it out for several years, despite her growing unrest.
Eventually, Carmen left her career in Silicon Valley behind and took up superheroics against the advice of her friends and family. She was, after all, living in California... her powers weren't exactly well-suited to the area.
But she was determined. She took firefighting courses, and learned the best ways possible to apply her powers for both fire prevention and fire fighting. She also did her best to avoid entering combat in any part of the state that was particularly prone to burning.
Unfortunately, in spite of her best efforts, Carmen eventually came toe to toe with a villain whose powers were essentially the worst case scenario for her. She was initially overpowered and bathed in radiation, entering her thermonuclear state for the first time.
Carmen only narrowly avoided sparking a forest fire... by launching herself into the Santa Monica Bay.
...which she may have boiled a bit.
As a result, the Department of Fish and Wildlife successfully petitioned the FBSA to revoke her license. Carmen would no longer be allowed to operate as a superhero within the state of California.
Carmen was unwilling to just give up her career as a superhero, and if she wasn't allowed to do it in California anymore, she decided that she would go somewhere else.
So she packed her bags and moved all the way across the country, to Paragon City, where she settled into a small apartment in King's Row.
Carmen's mutation causes her body to passively absorb radiation, including background radiation, which she then metabolizes into energy that she can use (passively or deliberately) to ignite the air around her.
This energy constantly builds, forcing Carmen to vent small amounts of it, typically from her eyes. The coloration is due to the burning of certain substances that her body naturally produces. However, Carmen's mutation is not entirely without drawbacks, as she has no way of stopping herself from absorbing radiation short of fleeing to a safe distance.
Absorbing too much in a short period of time can cause her to go "thermonuclear," a state wherein Carmen is a danger to just about everything and everyone around her.
In addition, a secondary mutation not only renders Carmen immune to the effects of flame and intense heat, but also causes her body tissues to undergo a process that she calls "tempering," dramatically improving her durability, and allowing her to absorb and deflect things that might otherwise cause grievous injuries.
Carmen is also capable of flight, though her method of flight tends to be somewhat less graceful than other flight-capable heroes.