Origins

Patricia “Trish” Sanders is a resident of Capitol City, California. She is the only child of Lyle and Linda Sanders who were killed in an auto accident 6 years ago. The only family member who really cared for her after her parents died was her grandmother, Evelyn “Gran Evie” Sanders. When her grandmother became deathly ill, the other relatives did not care for Gran as much as Trish, who went independent as a computer consultant to be available to give as much time and attention as possible to her grandmother.

When Gran Evie finally passed away, she discovered that her beloved Gran had provided for her because of her kindness. Gran had put aside enough for a trust fund to be established that would provide $15,000 per month for Trish for life, provided that she would carry out her final wishes, sight unseen. Trish readily agreed, knowing her Gran wouldn’t ask her to do anything wrong. She signed a legal agreement with her grandmother’s attorney, Mrs. Barrow, and received an envelope containing a letter from her Gran and a golden key.

The letter from her Gran told her how to locate a secret hidden room in the attic of her house, which Trish had also inherited. Trish located the room and found within an old trunk described in the letter. Using the golden key, Trish opened the trunk and found her Gran’s journal, 3 small boxes, and an envelope with a gold star, her name on it and the words, “Open Me First!” Trish followed the instruction and opened the envelope.

Inside was another letter from Gran that told her something incredible. That her grandmother had actually been the superheroine Shining Star! Named for her bright shimmering legs and patriotic costume, Shining Star was a force for peace and justice during the forties and WWII. The letter further explained that her powers came from an ultra sheer mesh created by a brilliant scientist named Dr. Kristine Eigenfaust. Dr. Eigenfaust was a Nazi defector from Berlin, Germany. She hated Hitler and the monstrous things the Nazi movement became, so she escaped with her discovery to the Allied Forces.

Dr. Eigenfaust found the material from which she made the mesh, which she called, Uberhosen or Superhose, within a meteorite that fell to earth outside Berlin. She seemed driven by a force she did not understand from within the metallic object, to forge it into ultra thin filaments from which she made the Uberhosen. The pantyhose-type garment would give the wearer the most powerful legs in the world! It gifted Shining Star with super speed, when running or fighting, the ability to literally leap over tall buildings with or without a single bound (or cover great distances), and the kicking strength to send a locomotive flying and half a mile or more! In addition, the Uberhosen enhanced the physique of the wearer, giving her 7 times the normal strength and agility of a woman of the wearer’s height and weight. The enhancement also increased other physical characteristics such as breast size, sensitivity to erotic stimulation, and appearance, which aided in identity concealment.

The reason Dr. Kristine Eigenfaust felt an urging to create the Uberhosen is because the material from which the hose is made is a conscious living entity. It is female in gender and usually communicates by touch only, although Shining Star and the Superhose can speak to each other by mental concentration or if Trish is unconscious or dreaming. The entity bonded with Trish’s grandmother’s DNA and is receptive only to her bloodline. Because of this fact, the hose will only work for Evelyn Sanders’ descendants and will retaliate against anyone or anything perceived as a threat to Trish or to itself. The hose can only be removed by Trish herself as it bonds to her skin when worn.

The three boxes contained a red and gold headband, her Gran’s red, white, blue and gold leotard, and the Superhose. Since Trish had a secret hose fetish, she opened the hose box first. They were the shiniest, sheerest, softest hose she had ever seen. When she picked it up, the hose shimmered brightly and changed color to match her skin tone precisely. She had the overwhelming urge to put them on so she took off her tight cutoff jean shorts and pulled them on to her slim, shapely legs. Suddenly, a massive surge of images, thoughts, and feelings deluged her mind and she passed out. When she awoke she was 6 inches taller, her breasts had grown at least 3 sizes, and her hair was a shimmering golden color. Trish put on the rest of her Gran’s costume and admired her new body in the full length mirror.

She was now the new Shining Star!

Powers

The Uberhosen (Superhose) is a living entity and as such must recharge or feed. The hose can use any power source to replenish itself but is inactive while doing so. If Shining Star is wearing the hose during its regeneration phase, she will have no powers while it is dormant, although her legs will still be impervious to harm and still be irremovable by anyone but her.

Super Speed
While running Shining Star can reach speeds of over 200 mph and can hold this speed for several hours if necessary.

Super Strength and Physical Enhancement
o The strength of Shining Star’s legs and feet are her most powerful attribute. Her legs can lift several tons if required and her kicking strength can punch through solid reinforced steel.
o The hose augments Trish’s natural strength by seven (7) times. Therefore, since Trish can press about 125 pounds with great effort, the same effort will allow Shining Star to press 875 pounds with the same effort. She has begun working out regularly to increase her upper body strength since discovering the hose.
o The Superhose increases the speed of healing of damage by a factor of 10. Thus, Shining Star can withstand physical damage that would kill a normal person and still recover with extreme rapidity.
o The hose also has the ability to scan and analyze any object or person that comes in direct contact with it. In other words, if Trish or Shining Star were to place a foot, knee, thigh or other part of a leg covered by the Superhose on any object or person, the hose would be able to scan and analyze the chemical composition, material, physical condition or perform any other type of analysis function. The data from this function is relayed directly to Shining Star’s mind. In this way the Superhose can also act as a lie detector when in contact with the skin of the person or something as thin as pantyhose or Lycra/spandex.
o The Superhose is a hyper-sensitive creature and can detect the presence of a lifeform within 500 to 1000 meters. She can also, by virtue of an extremely long lifetime of impressions, speculate as to the intent of the lifeform. If it is perceived as a threat, the Superhose will shimmer brightly to warn Shining Star of its approach, much the same as the spider-sense of Spider-Man.
o In addition, the hose seems to augment Trish’s height, by about six inches at least, her breast size, from C to DD, and her hair color from a duller blonde to a shimmering rich gold.

Invulnerable Legs and Feet
o The Superhose are indestructible. Bullets, heat, cold, lasers; nothing can penetrate them, tear them or even dull their shine. The hose also seem to almost ring when moving thru air, especially when Shining Star is running, leaping or kicking.
o Shining Star's defense against projectile or energy weapons is to either place a foot or leg in its path to deflect it, or simply kick it away.
o The hose’s invulnerable nature has made the need for footwear superfluous. Besides, Trish was tired of replacing destroyed shoes and heels were difficult to run in at super speeds.

Super Leaps
The hose allow Shining Star to leap 10 to 20 stories straight up and/or the equivalent in linear distance. Shining Star frequently combines super speed running with the leaps to cover more ground in the most efficient manner. The hose accesses Shining Star’s mind to know where to leap to and land to be closest to where she wants to go. This access is automatic and does not require conscious thought by Shining Star.

Weaknesses

Super Sensibility to Touch
Since touch is the usual means by which the entity (Superhose) communicates, it is extremely susceptible to the touch of a hand or anything not perceived as a threat by itself or by Shining Star. If an enemy rendered Shining Star unconscious and approached the Superhose in a non-threatening manner, the over stimulation could possibly render the power of the Superhose inactive until the stimulation stopped.

Hose Fetishism
Trish Sanders has a serious hose fetish. With the nature of her powers being hose related, the erotic stimulation must be kept under tight control. If Trish’s concentration were to wander, she was under the influence of a drug of some kind or indulged in a mental fantasy at the wrong moment and was unable to control her responses; the result could be most dangerous.

Symbiotic Relationship to the Superhose
The hose and Shining Star exist in a total symbiosis when she is wearing them. This means that whatever is felt by the hose is felt by Shining Star and vice versa. If the Superhose is over stimulated, then so will be Shining Star. If Shining Star’s fetish gets out of control, the Superhose will have difficulty in concentrating and again the result could be most dangerous.

Non invulnerability of upper body
Since Shining Star’s body is vulnerable from the waist up, she must take special care to not be attacked by anything that can reach her head, arms and torso. If a villain were to launch an unperceived attack on her torso, the result could be unfortunate.

Most Powers Ground Based
Shining Star’s powers are mostly based on something to push against with her feet and legs. If she were suspended in the air by a rope she couldn’t break or any such contrivance that she couldn’t escape from, she would be, for intents and purposes, nigh powerless.