Nicole "Niki" Sanders is a fictional character portrayed by Ali Larter in the television series Heroes. Niki is the wife of D.L. Hawkins (Leonard Roberts) and mother of Micah Sanders (Noah Gray-Cabey). Niki, an unwitting sufferer of Dissociative Identity Disorder, displays superhuman strength, being able to literally rip others in half. Initially, she is only able to access this power when her alter ego "Jessica" is in control.
Tim Kring, the creator of the show, stated that he originally created Niki with the power to be in two places at once, which stems from her life as a single mother. Niki was also originally written to be a showgirl. However, Ali Larter did not have the proper physique to portray a showgirl, so the character's profession was changed to internet stripper.
Background
Niki grew up with a wealthy father named Hal Sanders. An abusive alcoholic, Hal would often beat Niki and her twin sister, Jessica, during his drunken rages. Eventually, Hal choked Jessica to death and abandoned his remaining daughter. As an adult, Niki had no memory of her father's actions and simply believed he ran out on her. At some point in her life, Niki herself became an alcoholic and a problem gambler, but she managed to overcome her problems. On her first anniversary of sobriety, Niki attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. There, she was reunited with her father, Hal, who wanted to make amends. Niki introduced Hal to her husband, D.L., and her son, Micah. Hal gave the boy a computer, but when he became angry at his grandson for taking the expensive gift apart, Niki demanded that he leave. After her father's departure, Jessica, ruthless and amoral, seized control and went to confront him. Jessica told her father that she remembers everything he did to her, including his responsibility in "[her] death," even though Niki doesn't remember any of it. After assaulting him, she forced the check Hal gave Niki into his mouth and ordered him never to contact her again.
Genesis
As of October 2006, Niki resides in Las Vegas, Nevada and struggling to raise her ten-year-old son, Micah. She has been working as an internet stripper to pay the bills. Her husband, D.L. Hawkins, is in prison, accused of stealing two million dollars from a sports booker and murdering his own gang.
To help pay for Micah's tuition at a very expensive school that Niki believed would encourage his gifts, Niki borrowed money from Mr. Linderman (Malcolm McDowell), a mobster who once employed her husband.
Not having enough money to continue paying tuition or repay the loan, she withdraws Micah from the school. The two go on the run, as they attempt to elude thugs and police that Linderman sends after her. As Niki attempts to deal with her predicament, she occasionally leaves Micah with her friend Tina. Niki finishes the payments to Linderman after she is the bait in a Badger game with congressional candidate Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar), producing blackmail material Linderman can use against Petrelli later.
During times of stress, Niki begins seeing her reflection in mirrors and other reflective surfaces moving differently than herself, leading her to be concerned about her sanity. After Linderman sends two thugs to her house to collect the money she owed him, an altercation occurs, with Niki apparently blacking out after being hit by one of the thugs. When Niki recovers consciousness some time later, she is shocked to find the two thugs dead and horribly mutilated. Niki has other blackout spells over the following days, one time losing four hours, always with no recollection of what has transpired. Niki eventually realizes that she possesses a split personality, the other being far more sinister and amoral than her usual self, and which possesses superhuman strength.
Niki is reunited with her husband D.L. after he escaped from jail in order to clear his name. Later, Jessica reveals that she was the one who stole the money, killed D.L.'s crew, and framed him, planning to use the money to give her son a better life and keep him away from D.L.'s influence. After a short but violent fight, in which D.L. reveals the phasing powers that he had used to escape from jail, Niki is defeated and lies unmoving on the floor while D.L. takes Micah away.
The next day, Niki recovers from her injuries and confides in her friend Tina about her dreams and her alternate personality. Jessica then resurfaces and tells Tina that Niki will no longer need Tina's help. That night Jessica answers a telephone call from Micah. She persuades Micah, who knows that she is not his mother, to tell her where he and D.L. are staying. Soon after that, Jessica purchases a sniper rifle, and goes in search of D.L. and Micah. When she finally finds them, she takes aim at D.L. from a hidden location across the street and attempts to kill him. Her first shot hits D.L. in the shoulder, but Jessica is unsuccessful at killing him. After a short chase through the woods, during which Niki fights Jessica for dominance, Jessica attempts to kill D.L. again. She inadvertently throws Micah against some rocks when he tries to restrain her. Horrified, Niki regains control. She apologizes to D.L. and Micah and explains to them her problem. Niki reveals that Jessica is stronger than she is, and that as a result, she can't be trusted. Concerned that Jessica will eventually take over and put her family in danger, Niki turns herself in to the police and confesses to murder.
Two weeks later, Niki is in prison, awaiting trial. She is returned to her cell after being in solitary confinement. The prison staff is very cautious, as Jessica has emerged previously and injured one of the guards during an attempted escape. During a meeting with the public defender assigned to her case, Niki is informed that the prosecution seeks the death penalty. Her lawyer asks Niki about the two million dollars, but she feigns ignorance. A rowdy Jessica then emerges to state that Niki is lying. Soon, Jessica recommends the lawyer bring in a "shrink" to analyze her apparent multiple personality disorder; Niki insists she's not crazy. Later, a meeting with D.L. and Micah indicates that D.L. gave Linderman back the two million dollars. D.L. regrets the whole situation, but Niki believes that it's for the best. She states that she still thinks of Jessica as a completely separate person and not an alter ego. Micah is very distressed by the whole situation and Niki asks the guard for permission to hug him. The guard denies her request, but Niki asks persistently, advancing on the guard as she does so. When the guard attempts to strike her with his nightstick, Niki grabs it and breaks it in half with her bare hands. She appears to be surprised after she does so, as there was no clear indication that the superhuman strength came from Jessica. A now straitjacketed Niki is sedated and placed in a room with padded walls.
In "The Fix," Niki awakes to find the straitjacket removed, the drugs wearing off, and a psychologist, Dr. Witherson, looking at her. Niki insists that while the straitjacket is useless, the drugs make Jessica weak. The psychologist isn't interested in sedating Niki further, and believes she can help Niki. Niki is visited by D.L., who used his powers to enter her room and proposes breaking her out. D.L. states that he is having trouble raising Micah alone, but Niki is still resigned to her fate.
After Niki gives him a bit of advice, D.L. leaves. Later, the psychologist comes back and Niki agrees to talk to her. The psychologist insists on talking to Jessica. Niki is opposed at first, but the thought of being able to see Micah and D.L. again eventually leads her to give it a chance. Niki reminisces about her sister Jessica's piano playing abilities due to the metronome that the psychologist is using to bring Jessica out. Jessica eventually comes out and attacks the psychologist repeatedly with the taser that the other woman brought for protection. Later, while in her padded cell, a man walks into her cell and tells her to get dressed. When asked for an explanation, he tells Niki that a death row inmate has admitted to the killings for which she was being held and that DNA evidence verifies the inmate's story. Once home, Micah is clearly ecstatic to have his mother home and asks her to play a game with him. Appearing to be his mother, Jessica replies that she would enjoy that, and Niki is shown to be hitting a mirror, begging for release. Jessica merely looks at Niki and replies, "You were the one who wanted to be locked up, Niki."
Jessica becomes Linderman's new assassin, and it is revealed that Linderman arranged to have Niki/Jessica released from prison. On Linderman's orders, Jessica kills a man by tearing him in two, throwing Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) out of the window in the process. (When Niki and Jessica are fighting for dominance when Jessica is about to kill the target, Matt Parkman who possessess the power of telepathy, is able to hear them both in his mind, a fact which surprises Jessica. "You heard Niki?".)
Niki manages to gain control a few times. She puts the photo of Nathan Petrelli, Jessica's next target, on D.L.'s pillow, which causes D.L. to question Jessica, who is still pretending to be Niki. Jessica lies and tells him that Linderman called to ask her to be a "dealer" at the casino. Jessica kisses D.L. and assures him that it is nothing more. He leaves the room but is still suspicious.
Jessica murders the two FBI agents, who are working with Nathan to take down Linderman. Later, Niki, who has managed to gain control once again, confronts Nathan in his room and confesses everything to him. She then advises Nathan to either take his family and run or to accept Linderman's offer. Nathan refuses, so Niki suggests that he kill Linderman instead. She gives Nathan a gun, which Jessica had intended to use on him. She tells Nathan that she does not have much time and begs him to knock her out so that Jessica can see that she is not in control anymore. Nathan complies.
In ".07%", Linderman asks if he can borrow Micah for a few hours, given that he let the debt slide and he saved her from the gas chamber. Jessica coldly informs him that Micah stays out of all their affairs, and leaves. Linderman, however, sends Candice Wilmer to impersonate Niki/Jessica and give Micah permission to go with Linderman.
In "The Hard Part", Jessica and DL argue about their son Micah's whereabouts, and DL blames Jessica for his disappearance. He leaves, intending to rescue Micah without help. Niki pleads with Jessica to assist him, saying that he will die without her help.
DL and Jessica phase through walls and into Linderman's office. They find detailed files on their whole family, including Micah. DL is angered to find that they had been used. The pair attempt to determine Micah's whereabouts, and find a painting of Micah in what appears to be a burning New York City.
D.L. and Jessica make it to New York, where they work with Matt Parkman and Mr. Bennet to find Linderman. When D.L. and Jessica corner him, Linderman offers Jessica $20 million to kill D.L. Jessica, who seriously considers the offer, releases Niki. Niki hugs D.L. and apologizes. Linderman shoots at her but D.L. sees and steps in front of Niki to protect her, and is hit instead. D.L. phases Niki out of the room after he kills Linderman. Niki then confronts Candice Wilmer, who impersonates Jessica. However, once the real Jessica informs Niki that who she is fighting isn't her, Niki is able to access her superhuman strength to knock out Candice. As Niki later leaves the building with D.L., Molly, Mohinder, and Micah, she discovers Sylar and Peter in a showdown. When Sylar summons a parking meter with his telekinesis and strikes Peter down, Niki disarms him and slams his torso with the weapon. Peter, now capable of using Niki's super-strength, tells her to go back to her family. She does so, and then watches with D.L., Micah, and Molly Walker as Nathan flies Peter into the stratosphere to safely explode.
Powers and abilities
Niki has the power of superhuman strength, allowing her to pull out the door of a safe box with her bare hands, 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, 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.
Micah Sanders, portrayed by Noah Gray-Cabey, is a fictional character on the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. He is the son of Niki Sanders and D.L. Hawkins. He is a child prodigy and a technopath.
Beginnings
About six months before most of the series' events, Micah meets his maternal grandfather Hal. Hal seems like a nice man at first, giving Micah an expensive laptop computer as a gift. However, Hal becomes enraged when he finds Micah taking the laptop apart. Micah's parents promptly kick Hal out for the outburst.
During the next six months, Micah's father is arrested on charges of theft and murder. Micah is enrolled in a very expensive school to encourage his gifts, but is forced to leave the school because his mother can't afford the tuition.
Micah and Niki later have to go on the run because Niki couldn't repay a debt borrowed from a loan shark named Mr. Linderman. As Niki attempts to deal with her predicament, she occasionally leaves Micah with her friend Tina. Although aware that his mother earned money as a webcam stripper, Micah expresses concerns about Niki aiding Linderman in the episode "Collision." Niki was to meet a client in person, and Micah knows it could potentially be dangerous for Niki to have physical contact with customers.
After Niki's business with Linderman concludes, the fact that Micah's father had recently escaped becomes an issue. Micah believes D.L. to be innocent of the charges leveled against him, but Niki isn't so sure. Eventually, the police place Niki's home on heavy guard, but D.L. still manages to find a way in. In "Better Halves," D.L. revealed his presence to Niki and Micah, and Micah's parents reconcile for a time. During a conversation the next day, Micah asks his father how he escaped from jail. His father said that he had a secret, and Micah tells his father that Niki has a secret as well. Sometime later, Micah runs into his parents' bedroom to find them fighting fiercely, with his father's hand phased into Niki's abdomen. As Niki collapses, D.L. picks up Micah and runs out of the room.
On the road with D.L.
As they drive away from Niki, Micah grows angry with his father for running away, feeling that the good guys always stay to help and that only bad guys run away. D.L. insists that he is not a bad guy. On the road, they find a woman trapped in a burning car. While Micah stays behind with Ando Masahashi, D.L. and Ando's friend, Hiro Nakamura, free the woman before the car explodes. Micah is proud of his father's heroism, though they left just as police were about to arrive.
That night, Micah and D.L. stop at a motel. Micah sneaks out to call his mother, and finds a nearby pay phone that is broken. By touching it and concentrating, Micah makes the phone temporarily work and calls Niki. His mother's alternate personality, Jessica, answers, and although Micah realizes this quickly, he still tells her where he and his father are staying. He hangs up just as D.L. arrives. When D.L. asks him what he's doing, Micah insists that he was just messing around. The out of order sign on the phone and D.L.'s own inspection of it seem to satisfy him.
Eventually, Micah tells his dad that his mom is "sick," and that she seems oblivious to having an alternate personality. He urges his father to go back to Niki and help her. After admitting that he told Jessica where they are, his father rushes him into the car. However, he's not quite fast enough, and Jessica, having purchased a sniper rifle in the hopes of catching D.L. off-guard, puts a bullet through his shoulder. D.L. manages to avoid being shot again, then runs into a nearby forest with Micah while Jessica comes to assess the damage she caused. They stop and D.L. takes off his jacket, then they begin to walk backwards so their footprints will be misleading. They find an abandoned house, and Micah watches as his father phases his hand through the door and unlocks it. Micah helps his father bandage the wound, but D.L. passes out, worrying Micah. It is implied that either Micah pulled his father into the house or D.L. eventually awoke.
While Jessica searches the woods for the two, Micah begins to call out for his mom. Jessica arrives a few moments later, a gun in the waistband of her pants, happy to see Micah. As Jessica enter the house, a fight ensues between D.L. and her. Micah tries to stop Jessica, but is inadvertently pushed into a rock wall by her. As Micah cries in pain, the fighting ceases and Niki regains control of her body. The family then reconciles and walks back to the diner where D.L. was shot. Micah sits down to check his leg, which had been hurt when he was pushed into the wall. D.L. goes to check on him and tells him they were heading for a hotel. Meanwhile, Niki realizes she, or rather, Jessica, is too dangerous. When D.L. and Micah look back up, Niki is across the street, asking a police officer to arrest her for murder.
Back at home
Two weeks later, Niki is in prison awaiting trial and Micah is being raised by his father. D.L. has "[his] own style" of living which Micah finds unusual, including putting peanut butter in the refrigerator. Overall, Micah just misses his mother dearly. However, due to her imprisonment and Jessica's attempted escape, Niki isn't even allowed to hug him. Tensions between Micah and D.L. worsen as D.L. is unable to find work. Micah leaves home upset with his father and is seen in "The Fix" stealing money from automated teller machines by using his power. Micah comes home late to find D.L. worried severely. The two then agree to "try harder" at making their new arrangement work. Micah then opens his backpack and pours the money he stole onto their coffee table, saying "this should help." then D.L. asked how did you get this, and Micah's response was "You know how you and mom have a secret? Well, I have a secret too."
Niki is released in "Distractions". After she comes home, Micah proposes a game of Scrabble, not realizing that he is speaking to Jessica instead of Niki. Bully, one of the Heroes graphic novels, reveals that a boy named Frank also pestered him at school. Micah asks Frank to stop, but Frank believes both Micah and his "psycho killer mom" should be in jail. Micah uses neon lights at a junkyard to scare Frank, and comes home. D.L. asks about the fight and gives Micah a sandwich as Micah admits his victory.
Powers and abilities
Micah is a technopath, which enables him to "communicate with machines and electronics." His power seems to require physical contact with the device and a certain level of concentration, after which the changes he wishes to make are almost instantaneous. Using a cell phone, Micah can bypass the need for physical contact, at least in cases where the target device is controlled by a networked computer. When asked to rig an election, for example, Micah is able to reprogram the entire voting computer network, which covers the entire city, in roughly a minute, though doing so seems to exhaust him.
He first displays his power in "Nothing to Hide," where he repairs an out of order pay phone simply by touching it. When his contact was lost and his concentration was broken, the phone no longer worked. In "The Fix," he uses his power to manipulate an automated teller machine, causing it to repeatedly eject cash in $500 increments. In "How To Stop An Exploding Man", he is able override the security lock-down on an elevator, much impressing his new friend Molly Walker. In Powerless, Micah uses a mobile phone to resignal traffic lights and to track Monica when he and Niki attempt to save her.
Micah is also exceptionally intelligent, though this has not been linked to his power. He is shown dismantling a new computer recently given to him in "Six Months Ago" and later repairing its motherboard in "Genesis." It is also stated in "Genesis" that public schools did not know how to nurture his gifts, so he was temporarily placed in a private school until his mother's lack of funds forced him to leave.