Melena's was found abandoned on the front doorstep of an orphange, in northern Mississippi as an infant. From that point on, Melena was tossed from foster home to foster home, both good and bad. While she would have great parents at one point, something would happen such as a sudden death, and she would go back to the orphanage, waiting for the next family to adopt her.

The last family that she was sent to, treated her cruelly. She would get locked away in my room or the attic, just according to how bad they thought she was being. They already had other adopted childre who were treated the exact same way. All were herded to their room by a big black mining belt.

The foster father of that family was a hard-working, cruel man. Everyday, he would come home expecting the house to be spotless and dinner to be on the table, even if he came home early. Then after dinner he would call Melena or one of her adopted sister into the living room to spend quiet time with their father.

Eventually, Melena ran away, unable to take the abuse any longer. Even though she was only 13, Melena was on my own living in non-civilized areas of the south. Eventually, she had gathered up enough spare change for a bus ticket to New York City. Yet, even in the city of life and opportunity, she was still unable to find a home. Living in alleys or under bridges, avoiding hormonally driven scumbags is certainly a way to toughen up.

One night at the age of 14, she fell asleep one night under a bridge, the next morning she found herself in a homeless shelter about 4 years older, with different clothes, taller, longer hair, and glowing green eyes.

She had lost four years of her life and was now a mutant, homo superior. Her agility had increased allowing her to move better than a gymnast or contortionist, faster than a top-notch sprinter, stronger than the average body builder, and when she was hurt, the wounds would heal themselves near instantly. The only physical way to tell she was different from a normal human was through her eyes. Her true mutant power allowed her to see past others' mental or spell illusions and create her own for them to see, she also had developed the ability to become invisibile.

Through her life living with the turtles, Melena has come to realize that Phoenix is her true mother, that she has a twin brother, Neo, and has fallen in love and married Michaelangelo. Now, the two of them are giving their daughter, Aimee, the life Melena never had the chance to have growing up.