In her sophomore year, Caitlin Fairchild was recruited into Project: Genesis which she believed to be some sort of government internship. One night, Caitlin began to feel ill (due to secretly being fed drugs designed to activate latent Gen-Active abilities) and she staggered out of her room to try to find a bathroom. She inadvertently stumbled into a computer room where her future teammates Grunge and Roxy were hanging out. Caitlin convinced them to go back to their rooms and was about to leave when she spotted her father's name on a computer screen.
Caitlin, investigating this, was interrupted by a security guard who clubbed her with his rifle when she tried to explain herself. The guard was about to turn on Grunge and Roxy, but was interrupted by Caitlin’s anger activating her latent gen-active abilities. Fairchild’s clothing was shredded in the process, and within seconds she was transformed from a mousy computer geek to a powerful, towering amazon.
Borrowing Grunge's shirt, Caitlin, Roxy and Grunge decided to escape Project: Genesis. Along the way, they were joined by Bobby Lane and Sarah Rainmaker. Despite their best efforts the team’s escape from Project: Genesis would have failed if not for the intervention of International Operations director John Lynch.
Deciding that I/O had to be opposed, Lynch turned on the organization and helped the teens flee to San Diego, California, where he set up a luxurious safe house in the La Jolla area. Lynch promised to teach the fledgling superheroes how to make a difference in the world and to help them uncover the mysteries of who their parents were.
Because of her responsible and mature attitude, Caitlin was universally elected field leader of the team. Though uncertain of her abilities, Fairchild accepted the role and her cool thinking got the team out of more than a few tight situations. Some time later, John Lynch disappeared. But Alex Fairchild, who Caitlin was reunited with during the Fire From Heaven crossover, took up the role of mentor. It was during this period that the team relocated to the Florida Keys and Roxy and Caitlin discovered that they were half-sisters.
But the family reunion was short-lived as Alex was killed protecting his daughters and the rest of the team from the villain Tindalos. With her father dead and John Lynch still missing, Caitlin took full leadership of the team.
Though sometimes frustrated by her comrades' personal eccentricities, Caitlin cares deeply for all of them. They are all the family she has now. In return, the rest of Gen¹³ look to Caitlin as both a friend and leader. Also, an accident resulted in a case of amnesia that made her believe she was Supergirl for a time, an issue that was quickly resolved.