| Pop Tart | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Real Name | Cleonida Simpson |
| Aliases | Cleopatra, Pop Tart |
| Gender | Female |
| Class | Ace |
| Wild Card Traits | Teleportation |
| Social Information | |
| Place of Birth | Alabama, USA |
| Citizenship | Citizen of the United States |
| Occupation | Actress, Thief |
| Event Participant | American Hero |
| Base of Operations | Los Angeles, CA |
| Affiliations | Team Spades |
| Allies | Golden Boy, Dragon Huntress |
| Origin | |
| First Appearance | Inside Straight |
Pop Tart is a fictional character from the Wild Cards series of books.
History[]
The vain and self-obsessed Cleonida Simpson saw her opportunity to access fame and fortune when the reality television show American Hero went into production. Her ace ability to teleport, and her good looks, ensured her entry among the competitors, but her frequent tendency to latch onto the male competitors soon drew enough ill-will towards her that she failed to proceed far into the first season. Aside from flirting with every guy on the set, her only other action of note was when she used her teleportation power to rescue some of her fellow team mates from their collapsing house following an earthquake.
After American Hero Cleo embarked on a career attempting to be an actress. Mostly she was relegated to small roles in low budget direct-to-video features, yet she also had more success as an ace-for-hire creating on-set special effects very cheaply. This did little to support the lavish lifestyle she wanted, and she eventually fell in with a masseur who had her use her power in a series of heists. Cleo would teleport trucks laden with luxury goods that the duo could then fence, and then she used the proceeds to by the life of luxury she wanted. The police soon determined that an ace was behind the missing goods, and brought their information to Jack Braun who immediately deduced Cleo's involvement.
Cleo found herself lured into a meeting where Braun, and her former American Hero team mate Dragon Huntress, tried to get her back on the straight path, and confronted with the police evidence against her she stormed off. Still needing money, she accepted a burglary job from Chas. Thatcher, a film director who wanted to sabotage a competing film release by leaking another director's unfinished film to the world before its completion. This led to her stealing the unfinished work, and then stealing it back again after Thatcher paid her only ten per cent of the agreed fee. Eventually Braun brought all the factions together and restored order among Cleo and the directors, pointing out that if any of them ever talked to the police they would all be accountable for some crime. Cleo agreed to Braun's bargain, and left the scene in the company of the other director.
Wild Card Traits[]
Pop Tart can teleport herself, or another person or object, to another location within her line of sight. She must be within physical contact to teleport something else.
Appearance[]
Cleo is an attractive woman, frequently preening herself for just the right amount of bounce in her hair, or glow in her face. She wears expensive feminine clothing carefully chosen to match whatever situation she expects to be in depending on the hour of the day.
Personality[]
Cleo is an archetypal southern belle with a desire to accumulate material wealth. She craves fame and fortune, and has a strong devious steak to help her acquire it. She has a tendency to treat an attraction to a man as a love-at-first-sight proposition, and applies terms like "soul mate" and "destiny" to even brief encounters.
Selected Reading[]
- Wild Cards Volume XVIII: Inside Straight 2008
- Prompt. Professional. Pop! - a short story by Walter Jon Williams, published on Tor.com.
- Wild Cards Volume XXX: Full House 2022