Marisa was born in Miami and raised there by her single mom, Nadia. Her mother worked hard to provide for her and her sister Zulia. Consequently she had high expectations of her two daughters. In attempt to keep them out of trouble, Nadia crammed their schedules with after-school activities. Marisa's favorites were programming, swimming, diving, and gymnastics. In fact, she published her first commerically successful application, Vexed Up, before the age of fifteen.
On her first day at Stanford, she met Connor during diving tryouts, introducing herself in a way that sparked tension between them from the start. Marisa was very smart but sometimes a bit impulsive. Occasionally this led her to inflame situations. Though more often, she adeptly calculated her social moves.
Growing up in a rough neighborhood fostered the gritty spirit within Marisa. This drive powered her to become one of the top programmers in Professor Richard Nelson's class and thereby led her to team up with Victor and Connor. Throughout The Cendovian, a very independent Marisa strived to become the superhero Richard called on her to be, all the while hoping to live up to her mother's expectations.