Hush

Hush is an original fictonal character who first appeared in New Mutants: Misspent Youth.

Background
As the daughter of a third generation CEO of the powerful The Hasegawa Corporation, Miho grew up knowing only wealth and security - and the inherent boredom that came with each. Her parents kept her on a tight leash, taking her to and from school via chauffeur, regimenting her free time with an array private tutoring sessions, and expecting her to attend important public functions when it was beneficial to trot out one's model Japanese family.

Despite her frustrations, Miho was far from spoiled. She knew she led a charmed life and appreciated all that her parents provided for her, but was a little self expression so much to ask? All she wanted was a little time to herself, a little individuality - so all it should take to get it is a little rebellion, right?

As she grew into her teens, Miho began to earn a little more of her parent's trust each day - a trust that she was quick to abuse. At first she wasn't sure about the how, until an American transfer student appeared at her school. He was a foreigner with long hair who was into rock music - he was everything her parents would ordinarily reject. He was perfect.

Brian House became Miho's guide to a life outside the confines of her family's strict rules. Along with two other students they formed an American-style garage band, and Miho even offered up her own garage for practice sessions after school. It was a thrill to use her fluency in English not for business dinners but to make a new friend, to use her privately-tutored vocal training to sing not stuffy opera classics but songs that she and her friends had written themselves, with lyrics that spoke from the heart.

Miho became a little obssessed with the band, knowing on some level that it wouldn't be long before her father put an end to her afternoon jam sessions. But her father would never get the chance.

One afternoon, while practicing her singing on her own, Miho's latent mutant power suddenly rose to the surface. Without warning her voice flared out of control, increasing in volume and power well beyond the capabilities of an ordinary human. At first she thought she had imagined it, until it happened again, and again, - only growing louder each time.

New Mutants: Misspent Youth
After conducting some private experiments, Miho determined that she was gradually losing control of her own voice. Her screams were getting downright destructive, and each time she issued one forth, it seemed even easier to trigger the next. It got to a point where she feared she may accidentally release a scream at band practice, potentially hurting her own best friends.

Reluctantly, Miho held one final jam session with the band. Brian was the first to show up, and he could tell right away that something was up. Without telling him the real reason, Miho tried to explain to him that she was giving up lead vocals, but the two were interrupted by the sound of a vehicle pulling up in front of the house.

To their disbelief, a squadron of Purifier soldiers had arrived on her front lawn, led by a woman calling herself Vixen. Vixen explained that she had come to capture a mutant - but not Miho. She had come for Brian.

Baffled, but not willing to stick around for answers, Miho blasted the Purifiers with her scream and made a break for it with Brian, hand in hand. But Vixen soon caught up, and in the ensuing battle, Miho was knocked out.

She awoke some time later to find Purifier soldiers trying to lift her into their van. Yet another scream temporarily disabled them, but there was no sign of Brian, nor Vixen. Seizing her chance, Miho made her escape on foot.

Timeskip and the Last Stand
Alone and unable to safely return home, Miho stayed on the run, moving from city to city by any means necessary. The Purifiers nearly caught up to her once, but her powerful sonic blasts allowed her to give them the slip again, if only barely. Her powers were growing stronger, but her voice was nearly lost as a result, and she dared to speak only when absolutely necessary.

After two weeks on the run, Miho's rescue finally came, and it was a beautiful sight. It was Brian - he had escaped the Purifiers with the help of some new mutant friends, and brought them with him. One of them, a girl calling herself Surge, said she represented the Xavier Institute, a school for mutants in New York run by the X-Men themselves, and extended an invitation to join them. Miho eagerly accepted, but to her surprise, Brian refused. The Purifiers were targeting him specifically, and had somehow known he was a mutant even before he did. He wanted to know how and why, and didn't think the answers would be found in a school half way around the world.

Miho tried to talk him out of it, but he was adamant. During those two weeks on her own, sleeping in the street and living on handouts, all she had thought about was seeing Brian again - and now that they were finally reunited, they were suddenly parting ways once more. They had grown to be more than just bandmates, more than just friends; somehow, their shared experience had galvanized their relationship into something far greater. The last words Miho ever spoke were a whispered confession of love.

Miho followed Surge to New York along with her new friends, Presley Harvard and Arturo Pena. Together with Monet Chiu and Amira Dasari they formed the "Waywards" training squad under Surge's instruction. In addition to resuming her high school studies, Miho began to explore the limits of her power in a safe, controlled environment and with the guidance of experienced mutants, and earned the codname "Hush".

She made many friends over the years, growing particularly close with a young Monet Chiu - a fellow mute whose ability to communicate telepathically made their partnership a natural fit.

As one of the few mutants who did not participate in the climactic battle known as the Last Stand of the X-Men, Miho found her life turned upside down once more. Determined to help the few surving mutants rebuild, she remained in Wakanda and became a founding member of Unity.

Powers and Abilities
Miho is an Alpha-level mutant. She possesses a mastery of sonic vibration that manifests at two opposite extremes. Most notably, her body automatically and uncontrollably amplifies her voice to incredible levels. As her powers grew to their full potential she proportionately lost control of her own voice to the point where she now cannot utter so much as a whisper without triggering a full blown sonic blast. These emissions are easily powerful enough to kill a normal human and are capable of pulverizing concrete into dust and even deforming superhardened titanium alloys with sustained effort.

As one might expect, Miho takes great care to avoid accidentally discharging her power, including everything from meditation to developing a habit of chewing large amounts of bubble gum to keep her mouth busy. She primarily uses devices such as cell phones and computers to compensate for her inability to speak, and has learned both American and Japanese sign languages.

Miho also has a minor ability to negate sound instead of amplifying it. This manifests as the creation of small "pockets" or "bubbles" of utter silence through which and from which no sound can be transmitted. She can also funnel sound to her ears, effectively affording her superhuman hearing.

Miho is experienced in hand to hand combat thanks to her training at the Xavier Institute.

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