Niki Sanders
Niki has the power of superhuman strength, allowing her to pull out the door of a safe box with her bare hands,[12] throw her husband several feet across a small area with a single hit, break away from restraining cuffs that are “strong enough to hold down an elephant”, and literally tear her opponents apart. She also displays signs of increased physical durability, being able to endure a blow from a shovel in “Fallout”, only to stand back up again relatively unharmed, as well as able to endure the stress inflicted upon her body by her own strength (she does not, for example, injure her hand when punching through a solid wooden door). For most of the first season, Niki is unable to use, or unaware of, this power. Instead, it is used by her alter-ego, Jessica. In “How to Stop an Exploding Man”, Niki is able to fully use her super-strength after some encouragement from Jessica.
Jessica is an apparent “alternate” personality of Niki’s, named after Niki’s late sister. At the start of the series, Jessica surfaces during times of great stress,[13] but surfaces with increasing ease as the series moves on. When Jessica surfaces, the transformation is instantaneous and almost unnoticeable, but is made apparent by Niki’s sudden violent and strong-willed behavior. Jessica also freely demonstrates the superhuman strength Niki has only recently unlocked. She also gains a peculiar tattoo resembling an RNA helix on her right shoulder, a symbol which has appeared often throughout the Heroes series.
Jessica seems to have been aware that she is sharing Niki’s body for longer than Niki realizes, leaving notes, gifts, and instructions for Niki, and telling a thug not to “threaten our son.” Niki becomes aware of Jessica with the aid of reflective surfaces such as mirrors, and begins communicating with her. Jessica’s ability to surface seems to increase over time, as Jessica is able to actively surface more often and more easily than she does in early episodes. The blackout effect on Niki also seems to lessen over time; the two personalities often directly fight each other for control and seem aware of what is said even when they are not active.
It is revealed in “Four Months Ago…” that Jessica is not Niki’s only personality. A third personality emerges: Gina, a pseudonym Niki assumed when she ran away to L.A. when she was younger.
