Loa

Origin

Loa was a teenager that grew up on the islands of Hawaii. One day, when Loa was surfing with her dad, with her mother and grandmother Alice watching, Loa and her father were attacked by a villain named Great White who has trained a group of Great White sharks to do his bidding. Great White threw Loa’s father to the sharks and when Loa tried to save him, her mutant powers activated which caused her to dissolve and kill the shark. The emergence of her powers also granted Loa her trademark skin markings. Loa and her father are then rescued by Namor, who brought them back to Alice. When her parents asked about what Loa had just done as well as her new tattoos, Loa immediately asked Alice to tell her more about Namor as Alice had previous run-ins with the Prince of Atlantis when she was a young woman. Alice told Loa that she had always adored Namor and that while he has hurt people, he’s not a bad man. She also told her that while he hurt Betty, Alice’s best friend, in the end Betty made her own choice and found her peace just as Alice did in Maui. She then told Loa to make her own choices, to find her own place…but to beware of shiny things. Later, at Alice’s funeral, Loa noticed that her grandmothers amulet, which was given her by Namor, started to glow and took it, not knowing of the abilities it truly possessed.

Major Story Arcs

Xavier Institute

After her powers manifested, her parents sent Alani to the Xavier Institute to better understand and hone her powers. She was assigned to Northstar‘s training squad, the Alpha Squadron, where she would become close friends with Anole. Shortly after the team’s debut, Northstar was apparently killed by a brainwashed Wolverine and the squad was overtaken with grief (Alpha Squadron would later be run by the former New Mutant, Karma). Little else is known about Loa during her time at the school, other than her knack for surfing and a laid back attitude towards the calamity of being a mutant.

Decimation

After M-Day, Loa was one of the twenty-seven students to retain their powers. Along with the other remaining powered students, Emma Frost placed her in an all-out brawl to determine who would compose a single training squad that would receive a crash course in combat and defensive skills so they could protect themselves and their peers. Unfortunately, Loa was not one of the seven students to be selected and instead remained under the protection of the X-Men.

Quest for Magik

Loa was one of the students seen listening to Blindfold‘s tale about the thought-to-be-deceased mutant sorceress Magik. After the students realized that Blindfold’s tale wasn’t a story but more of a warning, they were all sucked into the demonic dimension called Limbo. After the students landed, they were attacked by a huge number of demons. Loa and several other students without combat experience took down several demons before being confronted by Magik. When Magik went to confront Pixie, Loa jumped to attack the sorceress and protect her friend, but Magik blasted her to the ground with a mystical energy blast. The students were eventually rescued by the X-Men, but not before Magik had taken a piece of Pixie’s soul. Upon their arrival back at the school, Loa showed romantic interest in fellow student Elixir. The two kissed, unaware of whether or not they would die in the impending doom that shadowed all mutants. The relationship helped keep the powerful Elixir from going mad, at least for the time being.

Divided We Stand

After the death of X-Men founder Professor Xavier and the destruction of the school, the X-Men temporarily disband and relocate to San Francisco. Because the X-Men initially planned to no longer teach nor allow young mutants to remain concentrated and dangerous area, all of the students are sent. When the X-Men gain the support of the San Francisco mayor, however, all mutants were invited to join them in sanctuary and Loa took heed of the call. Loa still maintained her relationship with Elixir and even visited him in hospital when Elixir was injured in a mission, unknown to her, involving X-Force.

Utopia

Loa, along with her fellow students, are later seen onlooking the riots between Simon Trask‘s anti-mutant followers and displeased mutant citizens. After the brawl, she was shown with Mercury and Onyxx waiting for Cyclops to arrive. She then takes up residence on the mutant island of Utopia.

Necrosha

Loa is present on Utopia when Selene attacked the X-Men using deceased mutants resurrected via the Transmode Virus . Loa is injured while fleeing a group of restored Acolytes consisting of Cortez, Delgado, and Mellencamp. Deadpool, who had been playing with action figures in her room, heard her scream and went out to investigate. Deadpool quickly discovered that he is unable to kill the three attacking mutants due to the Transmode Virus continuously regenerating them. Loa, who had been too scared to use her powers against the Acolytes for fear of killing them, eventually intervened and phased through Mellencamp as he was about to strike Deadpool. Her powers seemingly negated the Transmode Virus’ ability to heal Mellencamp and he disintegrated. Deadpool decided to take advantage of Loa’s ability and, against her will, threw Loa at the other two Acolytes, presumably destroying them.

Nation X

Whilst living on the island of Utopia, Loa has many adventures. Magneto accompanied Anole, Loa and Rockslide as they searched for Mercury, who the X-kids claimed had been captured by a ghost in the tunnels. They found Mercury, and Magneto dealt with the ghost – a hologram recording of himself when he was younger. Later Loa and some of the other students visited Jubilee and filled her in on recent happenings. Loa was then a victim of the Stepford Cuckoos boredom as they trapped her in a psychic illusion where she was hanging on to an edge of a cliff, where her fingers were ‘tap danced’ on until she plunges off a cliff into the churning waters of the cold pacific.

However, one late night on Utopia, Loa, Match and Rockside were and decided to go off to steal food. However Warpath was on guard duty. Upon finding that was no door at all to the food, Loa used her powers to create a back door to the food store, saying ‘We’re X-Men. We improvise!’ The students were then caught by Warpath, accusing them of trespassing. Loa boasted that they couldn’t trespass because they are X-Men, however Warpath told Loa that X-Men don’t break and enter. To which Loa pointed out the hypocrisy of his statement. Warpath told the kids that he is not here to argue with them, as he has got his orders and suggests they try running, because that would be more fun for him. However Loa took a stand against Warpath expressing how sick she was of the treatment of the students and no matter what they do they’re perpetually treated like freshmen, getting ignored and pushed around even though they save the world to. Going on to say that they are not the mutant daycare, they are heroes, they have come for ice cream and if they have to embarrass a ‘backup dancer for the Village People’ to do it, they will. Impressed by her gusto, Warpath charged at the students. After taking out Match and Rockslide, Warpath called out to Loa, swinging his knife around so that it met with her neck, while Loa puts a hand to Warpath’s chest. Loa told Warpath that she would dissolve his chest cavity. Warpath didn’t believe her until he realized how determined she really was. Warpath removed his knife and put it away. However, the students then realized that Warpath had been stealing food the whole time as well.

Collision

Loa joined Rogue, Magneto, Indra and Anole on a trip to Mumbai due to Indra’s family summoning him home. The group, minus Indra, venture into the city to see the sites. While roaming the streets the group experienced a bizarre storm which caused lightning to bombard the city. Loa appears unharmed and the group encountered a strange girl called Luz , who appeared out of nowhere. The group was then attacked by some sort of Sentinel. Loa fights the sentinel and takes it down using her destructive powers, something which impressed Rogue who told Alani how proud of her she is. When they returned to Indra’s home, Indra reveals to them that he is to be married against his will. Loa and Anole tried to talk him out of it, although it does not seem to change his mind as he plans to go through with the marriage.

But before the marriage could happen, the Children of the Vault attack with the intention of reclaiming their “sister” Luz and they make quick work of Loa, Anole, Indra, Magneto and Rogue. They took Magneto and Rogue as well as Luz back to their city. Indra, Anole and Loa are determined to rescue them but Indra decides to marry Valipina first then rescue their teachers. As the wedding goes, it is revealed that Valipina and Luz switched places and that the Children of the Vault have Valipina instead. Loa threatened Luz for information but the Children of the Vaults City crashed into Mumbai and Loa, Anole and Indra decide its up to them to rescue Magneto, Rogue and Valipina. With the threat handled, the team returned back to the Institute.

Namor and Atlantis

Loa journeyed down to New Atlantis along side Emma Frost to present Namor with data from Dr. Nemesis about the Atlantean Vampires. The reason she went down was to see New Atlantis for herself but also to show case her knowledge of Atlantean history and culture. When asked how she knew this, she told them she was a student of Atlantean culture.

During the final assault on the Aqueos city, Loa shows up with Logomancer as backup. They arrive with a spell that weakens the Aqueos. But during the process an Aqueos breaks her diving bubble helmet. But a pendent she was wearing begins to glow and which seems to give Loa the ability to breathe underwater. She then proceeds to destroy several of the Aqueos. When she learns that Namor just went toe-to-toe with the former Emperor of Atlantis while they fought outside, she asks if Namor has ever seen Return of the Jedi.

After helping Namor and the Atlanteans to defeat the Aqueos; Loa begins to investigate her new ability to breathe underwater. She learns that the amulet is what gave her the power to breathe underwater. She then decides to go talk to Namor. The search for Namor takes her beneath Utopia. As she swims he thinks about how breathing underwater is like eating soup and how the deeper she goes the easier it gets. She also gets a feeling like she’s going “home” but then quickly says she feels like she’s arriving someplace new. She then is greeted by Namor and the Tridents where Namor offers her a hand and says, “Welcome to New Atlantis, Alani. Welcome Home.”

Hell

In the “Namor Goes to Hell” arc it is revealed that Loa’s amulet has changed her physiology so that she can breathe underwater but now is losing the ability to breathe air. Also it is her amulet that caused Namor to go to hell. Dr. Doom, Loa and Abira travel to hell to try in attempts to bring Namor back. During their trek to find him; Doom asked what Loa had planned to get Namor to listen to her. She said she’d talk some sense into him. This caused Doom to laugh and said if she managed this then he would kneel before her. Loa then helps doom and Abira help Namor find himself and the four of the battle their way out of Hell and back to Atlantis.

Fear Itself

During Fear Itself, Attuma, embedded with the power of the Worthy, attacked Namor and New Atlantis. Upon seeing Namor being badly beaten by the newly powerful Attuma, Loa saves Namor and brings him to the surface, Two days later, Dr.Strange finds Namor and Loa in a bar on the port after Namor summoned him for help. Namor expresses guilt over not being strong enough to save New Atlantis, Loa reassures him that it wasn’t his fault. Strange then uses a spell to call upon more allies to help, which Loa thinks is much cooler than ‘Avengers Assemble’. However, later the three wait at a diner for the allies to arrive, Loa expresses that she hates to be a downer but she doesn’t think anyone’s coming. But Strange then senses a great danger approaching, but the threat is ended with arrival of Lyra who was brought instead of the Hulk due to Strange’s imperfect spell. However the moment is interrupted when Loa notices more sea monsters coming to attack the city. As Loa explains how unsure she is due to the state of their side, Strange merely smiles and tells her it reminds him of old times. Strange then leads this new team of Defenders into battle against the creatures. Loa takes down some of the creatures before even more arrive due to the creatures mass breeding. However, just then, the Silver Surfer arrives, warning them that this threat potentially threatens the cosmic, to which Loa says upon seeing him, ‘that is so cool!’

Loa helps the Defenders defeat the demons and reveals that she is taking an Atlantean potion that allows her to breathe air and it seems she is running out of it.

Brief time with the Avengers Academy

After the Avengers attack on the X-Men during the return of the Phoenix Force, some of the students of the Jean Grey school where captrued by the Avengers. They did this in hope of keeping them out of the conflict between the two superhero groups. They where eventually taken to the Avengers Academy. While there, Loa formed a close relation with another mutant named Mettle. Although most of the younger X-Men decided to leave the Avengers Academy after the conflict, Loa chose to remain and enrolled at Avengers Academy.

X-men Dissasembelled and Death

Loa remained at the Avengers Academy for some time, but eventually returned to the X-Men and after it’s many changes, eventually landed with the Jean Grey School when it relocated to New York’s Central Park. It was there that heralds of the former Age of Apocalypse refugee Nate Grey (better known as X-Man) attacked the school in order to subdue the X-Men so that they would not trouble X-Man is his quest to change the world. In the attack, the school was destroyed and soon after, almost all X-Men dissapeared and where pressumed dead after battling the power-mad X-Man (Nate Grey). During this time, mutant hate rised harder then ever before. Many of the students of the school where now homeless and sought refugee from the hate. Loa met with fellow mutants Bliss, Blindfold and Velocidad and took shelter in the Morlock tunnels. However, some time later, Loa was killed by humans as part of the explosion of anti-mutant violence in the wake the attack of X-Man.

Ressurection and Krakoa

After the X-men moved to the island of Krakoa and started their own nation, the mutants figured out the secret of ressurection. Loa was one of the numerous mutants whom was ressurected. At this moment, Loa lives on Krakoa going on her daily routine in the mutant society.

Powers and Abilities

Loa is a mutant who possesses a molecular distortion power that allows her to move through solid matter by disabling binding forces. This causes the matter to crumble, or break down around as she passes through it. Her trademark body markings are a product of her mutation when her powers first emerged when she saved her father from Great White.

Alternate Earths

Age of X

Alani resides in Fortress X and helps fight the forces trying to invade on a daily basis.

Other Media

Games

X-men: Battle of the Atom

Loa is featured in the mobile card game “X-Men: Battle of the Atom” based on the comic book story with the same name. Her cards are:

• [New X-Men] Loa