Jay Anne

Character Bio

Jay Anne Finch is one of Hunter's closest friends at school. Described by Hunter as the smartest cheerleader he's ever met as she's usually seen on her laptop. Studious, but easygoing and sweet, she along with Hunter and Cole make up the Homecoming committee. She takes her duties in preparing the Homecoming dance seriously but at the same time knows when to have fun. Underneath her intellectual and somewhat levelheaded demeanor, she has a crush on Hunter, though the latter has yet to return her affection, especially after kissing him on the cheek in gratitude. Upon receiving strange alien abilities after an attack, Jay Anne was filled with terror on how she can live a normal life until she eventually learns to accept her powers to defend herself and her friends.

Plot in the Story

Jay Anne first appears with her friends in the school hallway as soon as Hunter brings Celeste as her "cousin" from far East. After chemistry, she is thrilled to hear that Celeste would be joining the Homecoming committee. Although this was nervously denied by Hunter at first, Jay Anne seems to harbor some feelings for Hunter. This was evidenced by the peck on the cheek she gave him for the designs on her laptop while they were in the school gym preparing for the Homecoming dance. Then, when Hunter (following Celeste's advice to court her if there was any attraction between them) tried to ask her out to the movies, Jay Anne -- still bashful over kissing him on the cheek-- declined over studying.

Soon after Hunter is about to leave, a massive alien creature smashes through the gymnasium roof. A fight breaks out between the alien monster and Celeste-- who is regained her memory about her abduction, along with the source of her powers. After a breif skirmish, the monster escapes, causing a large portion to crash down on Jay Anne and the others. Badly injured and unconscious, Hunter opts to call an ambulance but Celeste takes them all up in her own spaceship.

Onboard Celeste's spaceship, Hunter discovers Jay Anne in the same state as Paul and Cole: stripped nude and placed in large, fluid-filled stasis tanks. Celeste explains to Hunter that while Jay Anne is still alive like the others, she's being physically altered for the next time the Striker attacks.

Just then, Jay Anne wakes up to find herself in alien pods. With her speech garbled by the contents of her tank, she tries in vain to call out to Cole in the adjacent tank over. As soon as she notices Cole's body changing, Jay Anne screams as her tank shatters and the appearance of a pair of tentacles on either side of her naked ribs!

"A dream. Just a dream. Seemed so real. So -- insane. Monsters in the gym? Spaceships? Tentacles coming out of our bodies?!? Maybe I should lay off the late-night frappuccinos."

The following morning, Jay Anne reawakens to find herself in her bedroom unharmed and in her sleep clothes. Dismissing the events on the spaceship as a dream from drinking frappuccinos so late, she goes about her morning functions. While in her family kitchen, Jay Anne's mother then informs her about the "explosion" that occurred at the school gymnasium the other day as seen on the morning news. This makes Jay Anne confirm that the so-called dream actually happened. Wanting to know more, Jay Anne decides to ask Hunter, and Celeste most of all. But before she could do so, Jay Anne remembers a history exam she has to take in class.

At school, Jay Anne attempts to take the aforementioned exam despite not studying for it in advance. Whilst trying to improvise, she suddenly experiences discomfort on her sides. Jay Anne panics as she feels something protruding out of her shirt so she feigns illness in order to get out of finishing the test. Making a quick dash to the girl's room, she hides inside and shuts the door behind her. Fortunate to find no one else, Jay Anne faces the tall mirror on the bathroom wall. Slowly lifting up her polo shirt....Jay Anne is horrified to discover a pair of alien tentacles slithering from either side of her torso!

After texting Hunter to bring her some clothes such as a hoodie and jeans to cover up, the two make their way through the halls. Jay Anne, pointing at the wreckage from the attack, then demands to see Celeste. Regrouping at Hunter's house along with Cole and Paul, Jay Anne listens to Celeste's story about her alien abduction ten years prior. Although she was okay with everything she just saw, it didn't calm Jay Anne down in the least, especially when she reveals her tentacles to everyone. Cole then displays her own modifications such as an exoskeleton and claw on her left hand. Celeste assures everyone that it takes days for everyone's "gifts" to manifest.

This quickly earns Jay Anne's ire as her tentacles thrash violently in response to her growing irritation. Hunter tries his best to calm his friend down but gets whacked across the living room by one of Jay Anne's tentacles. Remorseful that she couldn't stop herself Jay Anne slumps to the floor, despondent. With some consolation from Celeste, Jay Anne eventually manages to pull her tentacles back into her body, much to her relief.

After being lightly comforted by Celeste, the front door knocks. At the door were DHS agents Mackie and Braisin. The pair of agents question the group of teenagers about the events that transpired at the school gym and find them suspicious along with the mess they left the living room. After quickly denying any connection to the incident at the school gym, the two agents leave.

Jay Anne is then seen sitting with Cole on the football field bleachers. She begins cheering Paul on during drill practice in which the latter begins to slowly manifest his alien durability and strength against his highly competitive teammate. After she and Cole congratulated Paul during practice, Jay Anne informs him that the football field is the new spot for the Homecoming party.

Later in the cafeteria as Paul boasts about his success, Jay Anne goes around looking for volunteers. Just as Celeste warns Paul and Cole to keep their abilities on the down low, Jay Anne joins them, content that she successfully gained twelve volunteers to help with the Homecoming party's decorations.

Come Homecoming night, everyone is on the field making preparations. Jay Anne is filling a bowl full of chips as she asks Hunter to get the rest of the stuff from the car when she notices Hunter looking a little worried. She begins to console Hunter on the disappearance of Celeste and her mother Carla Lee after finding the house in shambles. Then, Celeste shows up to everyone's relief. But Hunter notices something off about her just by touching her hand. Celeste then tries to lead everyone away from the field despite Jay Anne telling her that they haven't finished setting things up for the night.

Things take a turn for the worse when "Celeste" turns into another Striker. Acting fast, Jay Anne grabs Hunter with her tentacles and pulls him out of the way of the Striker's attack. With Hunter out of harm's way, Jay Anne, Cole and Paul activitie their alien powers. They have a rough go at it as they attack without a plan. Paul, with his enlarged alien arm leaps into action but is caught in the Striker's grip. Jay Anne tries to hold down the Striker with her tentacles but can't sustain for long. Cole, unaware of what else her claws and exoskeleton can do, tries her best to fight. Finally, Cole is able to discharge a beam of energy at the monster. This backfires as the Striker activities an energy shield that redirects the blasts of energy that inflicts a direct hit to Jay Anne in the process.

With the arrival of Agents Braisin and Mackie, Jay Anne gets back up and grabs Paul with one tentacle as he's thrown from the Striker's grip and lashes the two agents out of the way with another. Hunter, the powerless one of the group, tries to talk some sense into the Striker, thinking Celeste might still be in there. In spite of Jay Anne's protests, Hunter's plan works as the monster reverts back to Celeste.

Having gained control of herself, Celeste informs everyone about her mother tricking her to gain access to her spaceship. Just then, Carla Lee arrives from Celeste's ship with a swarm of Striker's. Just as Carla orders her monsters to kill Hunter and his friends, Celeste intervenes by grabbing her mother and flying into the sky. On the ground Jay Anne and the others are huddled around Hunter with the plan to stick close and fight off the Striker's. Jay Anne does her best with her tentacles until it became clear that the Strikers are toying with them.

Just as Celeste defeats Carla Lee in the air, along the Striker army on the ground. Jay Anne watches as they make their escape in vain. Celeste's ship self-destructs on programming if stolen and entered the atmosphere. Jay Anne and the others celebrate this victory with the fireworks in the sky as Celeste makes Earth her new home.

Powers and Abilities

After being healed and modified by the Bio-Rejuvination Unit tanks onboard Celeste's ship, Jay Anne gains the ability to control alien tentacles. These appendages slither from Jay Anne's ribs and respond to her emotions and will. This was first seen when, out of fear of facing her friends and family in her new state, Jay Anne's tentacles react violently from her growing stress. But if calmed down, Jay Anne can retract these tentacles back into her body, passing as a normal human girl. Her tentacles also display a range of superhuman strength such as accidentally whacking Hunter across a living room and restraining a Striker down, albeit with a lot of effort.