She was born to Chinese immigrants but when she was 6, she had been taken in by state for her father - a gang member - ended in jail for murder and her mother was killed in a gang-shooting shortly after. As no other close relatives could be found - as if the state even tried - she was put into a group home for the beginning. As a try she was given to foster children several times in her first year in CPS but she proved to "not quite fit" into any of those and so she was returned into one that had already several Chinese children in it.
Life in the group home was not sweet and nice, as the older children where forced by one of the caretakers to commit smaller crimes and so she tried to run away and managed to get out for a whole night at 10, but she was caught when she was trying to steal an apple at a late night grocery store and brought back to the same institution.
Around the same time her Mutant powers first showed while she was out in the streets, trying to run away from a security officer in a clothing store. As he grabbed for her pullover, she just seemed to fall out of the rough wool piece. To the security officer that was because it was too loose on her but Janie knew she would never had fallen out of it like that for it was too tight around her neck just seconds ago. Still she got caught that time just at the door of the same store, but apparently no one had noticed that something was odd. As she investigated the possibilities what might have resulted in that happening, she eventually found out how her power worked. Since then she always tried to hide them as she feared the consequences.
In the following years she tied to flee the bounds on at least 16 occasions but none of the breakouts was longer than 24 hours and she was brought back to the same place all times. The caretakers there also bribed the CPS-office to not actively try to find foster families for their children.
The first time she succeeded to run away and stay there more than a day she was 12, and that time she stayed on the street nearly a whole week. In the end she was arrested and brought back into the shelter after she had tried to rent a motel room with a credit card she had stolen from the clutch of a woman. In the following years she became better in her escapes and ways to survive on the street, but she was always caught and each of her escapes from then on resulted in a short trial at court and an entry in her criminal record.
The foster home mother forced her to take sewing, housekeeping and cooking classes in school, hoping to one day rent her out as a housemaid over the company of her mysogynist son. But Janie endured it, till she was 16. That day, a few weeks ago, the woman that had turned her life into a misery, suffered an 'accident' when trying to dress, strangling herself with her shirt. Police and medical examinor easily declared this an infortune turn of events, and called her closest relative to take care of the four kids residing in her care. But as her misbegotten son came to take over the institution, he fell down the stairs as his right shoelace wrapped itself around a nail that stood out from the stairs and fell to his death. As Police came came the second time that day, they decided to bring all four to the station to decide what to do with them later.
The quiet Janie followed, but as they searched for a new foster home, she insisted upon trying to get emancipated from the CPS. Her chances were slim, but speaking about the horrible foster care, the neglect the CPS had shown towards the misery of her situation and the fact that several officers had been bribed and it only came to light though the infortunate series of 'accidents' eventually toppled the scales in her favor. Even without having a financial income, she was declared emancipated and assigned a trust fund that CPS had to fill for the emotional and physical seglect she had to endure over the years.
With the money she can use monthly from that fund until she turns 21, she was able to rent a small flat not too far away from mutant town… and here is where the real story begins…
Cloth Molding * When Janie Wu can get her hand onto a clothing material (that are for example standard Fabrics like cotton, linen, wool, leather, Kevlar, nylon, latex, rubber, Elastan, neoprene and other material that is used to create cloth or shoes from), she can change its cut, pattern and sewing form. Unchanged are density, color, weaving, pattern and type of fabric. Material cannot be produced from nowhere, but it can be moved from one end of the fabric to the other. For example the sleeves might get lengthened with material from the hip. Material that was changed this way keeps its changes until they are otherwise changed.
The power is unsuitable to transform massive metal or plastic parts or ceramic inlays into any other shape. At best it can relocate those in the fabric or expel them.
The time frame needed for the changes is dependent on the size of the change:
*Tiny changes like repairing a ripped thread are done instant or happen within a round.
*Small changes like making a slightly too big piece of clothing fit take up to 5 rounds.
*Medium changes like changing the cut of a piece to a very similar one takes 5 to 10 rounds.
*Large changes like tailoring something totally anew from a taller piece of clothing or piece of plain cloth takes 10 to 100 turns, depending on the wanted complexity.
Cloth Telekinesis * Using the molding on a piece of clothing can also hold it afloat in midair. This can be used to readjust the pieces during the molding, moving them to the desired place, tighten clothes or tie shoes together, but also choking or tripping people. It is able to cut off execs material to help in retailoring or ripping clothes. However using it at strength over her physical strength is extremely fast at exhausting her body.
Artist * Janie has a talent for arts and a keen eye for proportions. Sketching and drawing is what she is best in, but she can also work with aquarell paints and has a feel for colors.
Cooking * She might not be a chef de cuisine, but when she has time to cook it is at least relishable. Even with little money to spend she knows a few tricks to make it more varied than always noodles in tomato-sauce.
Housekeeping * Even as she has been forced to learn how to keep a house in order and repair smaller defects around the house, she did so to a degree a skilled housemaid has.
Mandarin * She can speak Mandarin Chinese enough to not make a bad appearance.
Pick Pocket * If you want to learn how to escape somewhere and survive on the streets, it is a useful skill to know how to get something that someone else carries around in his pocket or at his belt. With a little distraction she can manage to get something from there without having the victim notice it at once.
Sewing & Tailoring * With some Cloth, a needle, string and a pair of scissors she can create good looking clothing, even without a proper pattern. With a good pattern, measurements and a good fabric she could create really remarkable clothing.
Steath * There are some basic tricks she caught up to hide herself and move somewhat unnoticed. Holding still, choosing fitting simple camouflage clothing and knowing how to move with little noise is what she can achieve without stepping over the boundaries of her skills.
Street Smarts * If something is going on in the town, it is not too unlikely she heard it. Also she knows where to get a free meal or fetch a small coin in the streets.
Survival * Living on the streets at times taught her how to survive under harsh conditions. Even if it is not enough to survive in the wild countryside and without tools and equipment, it is a help at times.
Rented Flat * Janie does rent a tiny 1-room appartment in a mediocore area of New York. It might look stuffed with Boxes containing sewing materials and rests of fabric, lacks an air condition and is just next to a noisy train station, but it is her home.
Seamstress Toolbox * While it is not a high tech collection of tools, the old but strurdy sewing machine, manequin and other sewing tools allow her to create almost any piece of clothing, as long as she can come by the fabric and yarn.
Trust Fund * After getting emancipated from CPS, Janie was assigned a trust fund as a repayment for the neglect state has shown towards her. The payouts are just big enough to fund a tiny flat and the nessecary monthly expenses with a bit of pocket money untill her 30th birthday.
Artist * She loosens up a bit when it comes to Art which fascinates her. The most she is interested in photorealistic drawings that always get her a smile whenever she can spot a sign it is actually painted. She does considder Gymnastics and Ballet Art.
Closed & Careful * Most times she is very careful about people and activities, as she fears the results that might hit her if she gets too close with someone. When someone tries to befriend her, he must spend quite some time to get her trust. Her self-protection from getting someone close can appear quite rough and unfriendly at times.
Collector * When she is able to, she tries to keep something from a bigger event as a reminder or souvenir. Most times it is small stuff like an interesting piece of fabric, a bus ticket or a simmilar trinket, but defeating someone had brought a sign of victory with it in past times, and so she is prone to try to keep souveniers of beaten enemies.
Fate * People do believe in fate in very different ways. To Janie, the fate of a person is in flux and undetermined as long noone tells the person about it. Telling someone of his possible future however without giving details which prove the person wrong at some point, will stop the flux and create a self fulfilling prophecy.
Improvisation * If something does not work or fit right, she just tries to fix it with what she has at hand. No need to get something else if it is not needed urgently. If a plan fails - go with what you have!
Orphaned * Having been placed in probably the worst foster home that the state of New York had, it left her soul scared. She did never have a real childhood and had to behave like an adult in several regards long before it should have been nessecary: She barely enjoys "childish" games and is not too much a fan of such behavior.
Planning * When there is something she wants to do, she puts up a plan and files on that until she believes it is ripe enough to work, which is often covering possibilities that are very unlikely. But after the plan starts to unfold, she is prone to improvisation.
Criminal Record * She possesses a youth criminal record in NY state that lists several cases of shoplifting, theft, two cases of burglary and one of resisting arrest. Up to now she had not had a major case, but they threatened to try her as an adult next time she is caught with something, especially since she is emancipated as of recently.
Emancipated Youth * Having gone through trial to gain emancipation from the CPS and to be able to fend for herself in this inhospital world, Janie is left on her own in all regards. Companies might not considder her adult enough to emply her, despite her legal status as an adult, and she will not be able to use some of the benefits of being emancipated.
Power Drain * Using her power is physical work for her and has a tiring effect for her. The more radical or complex the changes she tries to achieve, the bigger is the effect up to a point where she blacks out when working on the limit of her powers for a short time.
Short * With 4'11 1/16" (150 cm) she is of size normally thought appropriate for a child even as she is actually 16. This can lead her to be mistaken for younger on a first glimpse and things normal for others can bring up problems. She is not to be mistaken as a midget however. With a bit luck, she might be able to gain up to 2 inches until her 21st birthday.
