Niki Sanders

Nicole Sanders is a fictional character portrayed by Ali Larter in the television series Heroes. Niki is married to D. L. Hawkins (Leonard Roberts) and mother of Micah Sanders (Noah Gray-Cabey). Niki, a sufferer of dissociative identity disorder, displays superhuman strength. Initially, she is able to access this power only when her alter ego "Jessica" is in control.

Tim Kring, the creator of the show, stated that he created Niki with the power to be in two places at once, which stems from her life as a single mother. Niki was also written to be a showgirl. However, Ali Larter did not fit their original vision of a showgirl, so the character's profession was changed to internet stripper. According to writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite, Niki was written out of the series and replaced with Tracy Strauss so that Larter could play a different role, as they realised that they could not go further with the character. The change also allowed them to tell an origin story, where the character discovers that she has powers.

The character of Niki is one of three identical triplets, injected with Arthur Petrelli's formula as babies. In the story, Niki was adopted by a wealthy father named Hal Sanders, an abusive alcoholic. Hal would often beat Niki and her sister, Jessica, during his drunken rages. Eventually, Hal strangled Jessica to death and abandoned his remaining daughter. The abuse makes Niki develop an alternate persona. Both Niki and Niki's persona of Jessica resent him for the years of abuse.

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, Niki went to confront him as Jessica, claiming to remember everything he did to her, including his responsibility in her death (a memory Niki had apparently been suppressing). After assaulting him, she forced the check Hal gave Niki into his mouth and ordered him never to contact her again.

As of October 2006, Niki resides in Las Vegas and struggles 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.

During times of stress, Niki begins seeing her reflection in mirrors and other reflective surfaces moving differently from 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 another personality named Jessica, the other being far more sinister and amoral than her usual self, and which possesses superhuman strength.