Undead Lanes (Energy/Open)

Bio was in a bar (probably the only 15 year old in the state who could) boisterously chuckling with a few regulars at the bar. He knew a lot of people and could get along with him, but only had a few close friends. The anonymity of being a superhero made charisma pretty easy for Bio. These could be guys he would be arresting the next night but it was fun playing around with them.

"So then we waltzed up in there and took their Tower!"

Loud laughing was heard as he told his Titans tower story.

"I mean can you blame them? Slobs will be slobs!"

Bio laughed and opened up his bone mask to down a shot. Even though his old armor was gone, his new powers allowed him to create almost any assortment of clothes and armor so it was no problem. He currently wore his jacket and his MK Scorpion like mask and looked like a young guy with an ambiguous age with his height alteration. It wasn't normally part of his outfit but Halloween was approaching. He eyed a girl sitting at the bar. She looked like the girl he saw in the newspaper before.

All of Crash Alley's streets and stores were stocked and decorated for the season, so he guessed it was someone dressing up. He said he had to go for the night and then walked over to the other side of the room up to Jenny.

"Heh, nice costume! You trying it out before the holidays like me?"

Jenny an hour before this walked into the bar many people who saw her face voiding away from her knowing who she was. She then sat down and lit a cigarette and got some whiskey and crackers the bar tender too scared of what she might do gave her them, who know what an undead teen with powers might do if he said no.

about an hour later she was approached by bio and she had her 5th cigarette between her lips as she looked to him silently with a straight face for a long while before replying. "Yeah... I'm dressing up as that girl who died about a month ago who can do this..." she shot an energy bolt at a whisky bottle on the wall behind the bar and shattered it.

Bio whistled as she shot an energy bolt at a bottle. Others ducked and backed away while many left the bar.

"I guess you're the real deal then. I thought it was just a coincidence, but I didn't think you... weren't dead... welcome back!"

He sat down on the stool next to her but then looked around as the bartender had already left the premises. He flipped over the bar on one hand and began mixing himself another drink, using the previous bartender's finesse. It took a lot for him just to get tipsy and being drunk wasn't possible so why not?

"Name's Bioshock, registered hero."

He held out a hand for a shake.

"I'm guessing since you're back and that's not really a costume, you need a place to crash. Emphasis on need, since there's a war going on... care for a drink?"

He scratched his head. He had a sharp memory but not a perfect one.

"So what actually happened? Were you killed?"

She rolled her eyes at the fleeing people sighing 'whimps' she thought before looking to bio silently as he talked. She didn't oppose to him sitting by her nor did she stop him from getting another drink, in fact she just smoked her cigarette more seeming not to care what he did at the moment. She took the cigarette out of her mouth with her free hand as she shook his. "Jennifer Necowl, registered hero, and registered dead teenager."

She nodded to the offer of the drink "I got a hotel room, its not my first time being out on my own around those who want to kill me. And are you sure you want me in your house cause I was killed, and I don't know if once they know I'm alive that they would want to try and kill me again." if given one by now she would take a drink or shot which ever was given to her before speaking again. "And one of my best friends who i actually had a crush on shot me..." She smoked her cigarette a bit more "You know as he was about to kiss me... but I punched him in the crotch for it before I died so I guess were even." she said with a shrug.

Wow, dick move, Bio thought when he heard about what had happened to Jenny.

"Wow, that's garbage. I know that it's a thankless job, but the fact that people can step all over us heroes is sickening. I mean my power alone allows me to get shot and practically die all the time, and I can tell ya I rarely get help."

Bio drank a good deal of his long island iced tea and then thought.

"Haha, let's just say there's lots of sushi at my home. It's hard to make ends meet now that my Dad isn't around, but it's certainly possible. I do some busking and participate in Crash Alley races and competitions to help out the family, but I also got school and this... Don't worry my family knows about the whole superhero thing. It's a good thing you're registered or it'd be hard to explain to them. You might want a change of clothes though, which I can get for ya."

On the topic of the people who want her dead he thought a bit.

"Yeaaah. It's the same for me, don't worry about that. That's why I use a mask. I don't want to push you into anything just yet, but who is this guy? Sounds like an absolute punk who needs to be taught a lesson. Just gimme a description and I'll keep the scumbag in mind."

People who thought it was just dandy to shoot people, let alone heroes, had to be put down asap.

as he spoke she slowly looked up to him every word was very disrespectful she thought the same things for a while but a while before she died and even now she understood why one shouldn't think the way he did. She smacked him up side the head, not enough to really hurt him but enough to slightly hurt him for a moment or two. She looked him right in the eye as she spoke in a serious tone.

"There is nothing that makes you different from anyone else out there besides a difference in attire, name, and the fact you're dumb and or brave enough to fight for others..... there are many people out there with powers like you who don't fight as a hero or at all... they might even be stronger than you.... and there's some who don't have powers who would still fight for their families..."

She put out her cigarette and continued to look him right in the eyes. "Just because you chose to fight does not make you any different from them, you are no higher nor any lower than anyone because you fight... but thinking you are higher than then makes you seem and sometimes makes you less of a person..." she tapped two fingers on his chest.

"You are you, before you are a hero, a hero is just a title, it does not change who you are.... so do act differently or feel that you are different because you are one. If you do well at that point you're no better than the person who killed me who was knowing him most likely trying to make money to survive the only way he knew how which is why I hold no grudge against him, and I'd rather he kill me there than someone else kill me when i was fighting to protect another allowing the one i protected die.

Bio smirked. He liked the fact that she was opening up at quite an honest level right off the bat. Rubbing his head he listened and cocked his head. He didn't agree with her equal status ideology, but there was something to be said about what drove many to do what they do despite how horrible.

"Woof. You sound like you don't hate the guy. Sorry for bringing it up."

He continued.

"As for me, I'm a thrill-seeker and I do it for fun but, to be honest, your perspective has been in the back of my mind for awhile so I'm getting what you mean. I just assumed you would be the hate-crime type like most are. So if you respect people's life paths to that extent, what made you a vigilante/hero type?"

She sighed and looked at him "I honestly was only a hero for like less than a year thank you very much but honestly right now I'm willing to kill and I will stop those trying to kill some random person and such and before you, if you plan to ask, No I don't care if that makes me any better than them any more honestly." She drank her drink before continuing.

"I know now that I'm not the perfect hero nor am I cut out to be one so I won't act as one. But so you know I was originally a thief then after than a thief and for reasons I will with hold I also was the cause of hundreds of deaths for a while, then after that I decided that I'd try to be a hero and joined the Titans, when I felt that wasn't my route I left made my own team while trying out the anti hero role and in the end and right now I have decided screw labeling myself and trying to fit to one title and just do whatever feels right and if that's taking down a mugger and taking his wallet then #%!$ it I'll do it. But generally each path I took was through maturing and learning who I am so I guess the short version is, I felt like it at the time to be one."

With a glint in his eye which resembled mischief but was more benign and playful, Bio thought to himself.

"Man you must be an insurance nightmare." Bio laughed as he sipped his drink some more.

"It's all good though, you can still hang out at my place until you know where to go. If we go by rooftop, like-a-do usually, we probably won't be noticed. Again, I'm assuming you're fit enough to do a little parkour. If that's lame to you, I guess we could just take a cab. Once you're at my very nondescript suburban house, I'm sure no one will look for you there unless they find out about me. Which leads me to my next question..."

Bio chuckled some more but lowered his voice.

"Since you're still considered dead and there isn't any law about resurrections yet... won't you need a new identity? Maybe you could be a 'cousin' of mine or something, hahaha. You could choose your age because honestly you could pass for anywhere from 16 to 18 years old. Man the possibilities and advantages of being dead are endless! I don't want to impose though, I know how you need time to think it over, this is all just really interesting and somewhat exciting to me."

Bio had finally met his match in how free a spirit one could be in comparison to him and he couldn't help but think where this would all lead.

She actually smiled a bit and chuckled at his joke "You don't even know a quarter of it." she said jokingly back as she drank more of her drink and laughed a bit at the parkouring and cab idea. She grinned at him "A cab? $%@# please! I can fly!" he then asked the next question that got her thinking. She could live a normal life again... well start living one... all she had to do was change how she looked, change her name, and say she was someone who she wasn't... She looked up to him and smiled a bit "Mind running to the costume store for me get some makeup when you out getting my clothes and loaning me a laptop?" She grinned "You're about to get a new 17 year old cousin"

"Sure!"

Bio was on it in a blink. It was pretty amusing seeing as how simple but effective this plan would be. He felt something deeper than the usual fun he felt in helping someone out like this, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. Whatever it was, it felt better than the usual drudgery.

Skates formed on his feet as he prepared to roll on over to a nearby shop.

"What exactly do you want in terms of costuming? There's uh... a wide variety of kinds."

There were those which were practically nothing and then the masquerade, upper-1%, dressing-to-kill type.

She smirked and wrote out a long list and handed him some extra money that would cover it tossing the wallet way "Some of those things you'll have to go to a clothing store for, whats your address I'll meet you there." she asked with a smile the list included no real mask but oddly enough it included normal everyday teen aged girl clothes and the local schools uniform.

Bio took the list and read through them. Easiest hero task ever. He focused and then produced in his closed palm a card much like a business card but with a smooth hard exterior with the texture and weight of bone. It had 3D lettering with the address on it.

"M'lady" he said giving it to her.

"You can check out the neighborhood but wait before you knock. My mom's extra tense these days with what's going on. She'll need me to introduce ya."

END OF THREAD