She's not just fast. She's very fast. Meet Daphne, the speedy new character on NBC's "Heroes," who plans to give the show's superhumans - especially time traveler Hiro and his sidekick, Ando - a run for their money when she debuts on the popular NBC series' upcoming third season, which went back into production last week. "I'm stealing a secret that's been kept in Hiro's family for a long time that he's just now found," Brea Grant told The Associated Press during a break in filming on location in a high-rise building in downtown Los Angeles. "He stops time right as I grab it, but in that second it took him to grab it, I almost make it out of the office."

Grant doesn't know much about her mysterious new character. Daphne's superpower allows her to operate at three speeds and leave a supersonic wake in her path when Hiro stops time. Grant's not sure where Daphne is from, but she does know the Speedster - that's what she calls herself - has been on her own for a long time.

"Her character is supposed to be Hiro's Joker," said Masi Oka, who plays Hiro. "Batman has The Joker. Hiro has Daphne. This is the season where Hiro finally finds his arch nemesis, and it happens to be this Speedster. I kind of equate it more to Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, except Daphne says more than 'meep-meep.'"

Grant said she's been a "Heroes" fan since the show debuted in 2006 and cried tears of joy when she was called to audition. However, she said the strangest part about being on a show about ordinary people with superhuman abilities has been the images required for the series' intricate computer-generated effects.

"I had to go to this place and stand on a platform in my underwear," said Grant. "They turned it around and took photos of me. It felt like some sort of weird experiment. I imagine those pictures will end up on the Internet at some point."

Grant graduated from the University of Texas before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting. Last season, she played sassy high school student Jean on NBC's "Friday Night Lights." The 26-year-old actress' short bleach-blond dreadlocked hairdo has become her signature. "Heroes" producers only trimmed her bangs for the role of Daphne.

"It's mine. It was like this," said Grant. "Basically, I dyed my hair for 10 years and at some point it turned into a big pouf, so I started dreading half of it and just letting it go. Every once in a while, I'll dye it to get rid of my roots. People hate it or love it. I'm actually not that attached to it, honestly."

Grant has mighty aspirations for Daphne's future on "Heroes."

"I hope to be in some battle with the other Heroes, whether it's with them, against them, whatever," she said.

The third season is titled "Villains," and will pick up immediately following the events of the second season, which was cut short because of the writers strike. Viewers will learn about the fates of several characters when the show returns in September, including who shot Nathan Petrelli.

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NBC is owned by General Electric Co. p> ---

On the Net:

http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/

Written By DERRIK J. LANG

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