When you are from a foreign country, at least originally, many people can look down on you. You take the work that is offered, no matter how 'demeaning' that other's consider it to be. You work long hours and go home tired. For much of my life, that has been me.

When I finished with school each day I would go to the hotel where my mother worked and begin my own shift. I am sure that you think it a bit cliche that I am an immigrant daughter of immigrants and that I worked as a servant, a maid, in a hotel. It is not cliche to keep food on the table, neither is it cliche to have a good work ethic. This country offers so many things that my birth country never did, and I work every day to be worthy of the country of my heart.

Of course I am a naturalized citizen. I would never dishonor the country of my heart by being here 'illegally'.

This isn't the story of who I was, before the events of my rebirth. This is a story of my rebirth, and the birth of a legend. Many of you have come here, reading my memoirs, looking for who I was, my so called 'secret identity'. Please understand that I kept it a secret to protect those I loved as much as to protect myself. This is still a valid concern.

Summer was never a time of relaxation for me, and never was it more so that the summer after I graduated from high school. While my friends went to party and decompress before beginning college, I was trying to fill up my college fund that much more before I went. I can admit, now, that I was just a child in that far distant year of 2015. I'd turned eighteen just before school let out, and even if the government recognized me as being in my majority, I still suffered from the nearsightedness of youth.

That was the summer many of you will remember as the origin of Sublimation. That villain caused so much damage to the city before we were finally able to bring him down, but there is one thing he did that changed the course of my life forever: He killed me.

I remember wondering why traffic had slowed to a crawl. I remember how blue the sky was and the beauty of the cottony clouds. My shift at the hotel started at eight that morning, so the heat hadn't yet begun rising from the asphalt. All in all it was as close to a perfect day as you could hope for.

When the Altair Radio Tower began to shift I only had a horrifying couple of seconds to even realize what was happening before it collapsed crushing me and hundreds of other people.

In school, I loved the Greek myths. I'd never been a very religious girl, and remember thinking more than once that if I had to pick I'd worship Nike. I always saw here as an empowered woman, being the goddess of victory, and wanted to be like her.

When I awoke along the banks of the river Styx I thought I was dreaming. Charon poled the ferry until it came to a stop before me. I knew what he wanted, and even began searching my clothing for the coin he would need when a woman with golden hair and wings appeared before me.

"I'm very sorry to see you here, Angelica. I'd hoped you would live a long full life. It's been a long time since I actually had a worshiper and I'd hoped you would pass that along to your own daughters."

"Is there nothing you can do?" I replied, tears streaming down my face.

"Yours could have been a life lived well, surrounded by those you loved. A battle against apathy and hopelessness. If I send you back, you will have a much different battle to fight."

"I would fight whatever battle presents itself, Nike," I said with fervor.

"Remember in the years to come you asked for this. It's been much too long since I had a champion anyway."

The next thing I knew I was standing on the rubble of the tower. I felt different. For one, my more modern clothing had been replaced by my signature white and gold toga. I still think it goes will with my ebony skin. For another, I had wings and I knew how they should be used. I realized in that instance that I had been chosen to find victory over the very forces of greed and power madness that lead to my death.

I had been made over in her image, and given a small portion of her power. I may have been born in Angola and empowered by a Greek goddess but I love this country and everything that I am, everything I became, was because of America and as a hero I was truly made in America and so that was my name: Maiden America

I approve "Maiden America" : )
We'll team up as soon as Beta is up and running!

Man, you guys may just make me recreate my oft-neglected CoH Alt:

American Dream- a patriotically-themed etheral controller that leaves foes confused, chasing illusions, and, as soon as melee foes get her within their grasp... she disappears.

Hah, American Dreamgirl was my original COH character, but she went villain side when COV came out (she was always meant to be a brute, really.)

in pre-beta, There was a whole team of us America-themed girls... We were the Patriettes!
Along with ADG there was:
Amber Waves
Bomb'chelle
Juggernaut
Lucky Strike
Jet Set
and Amaranth

....and I think a couple of others.

You do realize that Maidman is a mafioso, right? He's a made man.

Be Well!
Fireheart

*snerk*

Be Well!
Fireheart

Like, totally.

Gag me with a spoon, bad guys.

It seems that there will be no lack of patriotic-themed heroes in Titan City. In CoH, I created the Fire of Liberty, a fire/ regen scrapper. Part of Fire of Liberty's back story was that she was from a long line of women with magical flame powers. The flame - the Fire of Liberty - was usually passed from aunt to niece.

Peyton Fairchild Cabot was born into an old and wealthy family. Despite their wealth, the Cabot Family has a long tradition of public service to the United States of America. Peyton was no different. After graduating from law school, Peyton served a tour of duty in the United States Marine Corps before going on to become an Assistant United States Attorney

While working for the Justice Department, Peyton began investigating a group of corrupt politicians and business leaders who were profiteering from the Rikti Invasion. Peyton attempted to expose the corruption, but this group altered the records to implicate Cabot Enterprises - the conglomerate owned by Peyton's family - in the wrongdoing.

Peyton was suspended as her family became the focus of the Justice Department's investigation. Despondent, Peyton sought the advice of her Aunt Victoria, a longtime Washington D.C. insider. Peyton was surprised when her aunt revealed that since the late 19th century, certain women in the Cabot family have been endowed with powers to become the heroine Fire of Liberty.

Victoria had been Fire of Liberty during the 1980s and 1990s, and now it was Peyton's turn. As the latest Fire of Liberty, Peyton was able to clear her family's name and expose the real corrupt business and government officials.

Peyton eventually decided to resign from the Justice Department and move to Paragon City where she joined a non-profit legal aid organization. Currently, Peyton divides her time between pro bono legal work and carrying out missions as Fire of Liberty, continuing the never-ending fight for truth, justice and liberty.

http://earthclanelite.com/Winners/best-retro-s.jpg

Any reason you picked Columbia? It's nothing bad, I just ask out of curiosity.

Bio looks good to me Gladatoria, APPROVED!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdJnTp-gtuE

Columbia is a good pick for your story but if you really want to know other South American countries with a history of CIA activities then you might want to check out Nicaragua. In the Regan years CIA was allegedly running coke and guns with the Contras. In 1954 the CIA over threw the Guatemalan president using television, the operation was called PBSUCCESS so Big Bird is a government agent.

US Department of Defense opened up a training facility called the School of Americas (its been renamed Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) that trained many South American dictators and Las Zetas who are Mexico's paramilitary drug dealers. Even Teddy Roosevelt sent government agents to banks south of the border to cook their books and move around money so they can keep the countries down and in a desperate worker state for American factories. Their countless wars raged over to control the price of products such as the Banana Wars and the Strawberry Wars. Since the Monroe doctrine USA has been up in South America's business.

I think American Maiden should be a patriotic agent who is trying to do the best for her country and gets caught up in these dark conspiracies which costs her her life. Of course she comes back to life with Nike's blessing, just love the idea of Maiden being a divine being full of furious righteousness who is set out to right the country's wrongs and in the process redeem a nation.

I think a security company is a great idea. Maybe have Courtney use a new identity to cover her tracks as a rich businesswoman so you can have a female Bruce Wayne vibe going on and it helps explain all the crimefighting tech she would use (she can write it off as a business expense lol). If you turn this security company into a supergroup of heroes for hire then count me! I'll love to join with Patriot or some other character that could fit the mold.

Anything that sounds good to you.

But if want some ideas maybe Martha Sinclair or Vanessa Montgomery. I think you should even give her a title to her name like Lady Charlotte Buchanan or even more exotic Countess Helen von Sieg or Madam Victoria Vittoria.

If you want a pun in your name you can use Victoria as a first name since it has victory in the name. As for a last name you can use translate victory in any language so Sieg would be german, vittoria Italian and so on.

That's a good one Gladatoria, sounds like a dame you wouldn't want to mess with. Which is perfect for a security company.

Sure just PM me the details of what you have in mind.