The Face in the Mirror (Open to Anyone)

For the first time since he had entered the shop, Zack's grin seemed genuine, if only for a moment. So she could sense it. And that was that last piece of this little puzzle. Zack chuckled slightly. "That would indeed require me to tell the rest of my tale. Though I do believe you will want the abridged version. I woke in the hospital a copse tied to machines. A man stood over me. I remember his uniform, but not his face. He told me that the military was working on creating weapons. Not little bits of plastic and metal like traditional weapons, but living breathing weapons. Weapons that were able to walk and think. Human weapons. He told me that the man who had killed me was an escaped failure. He was being hunted, but even though the experiment failed, he was too strong to be brought in. They needed my help, the man said. They could rebuild me, they could make me strong enough to kill the man who killed me. I could avenge myself. How poetic." Zack chuckled humourlessly. "I accepted. I wanted that man dead, so I accepted this man's offer. I was taken to a facility, I don't remember where. They took my corpse, and they cut. They cut and they sliced until my corpse was naught but bloody bones and ruined flesh. They cut open my head, they went into my mind. They took something out, they put something in. I remember them as they cut. I begged them to stop, to let my soul rest in peace, I begged them not to bring me to life. But they didn't listen. They just kept cutting. I remember waking up, alive once more. I was too heavy to move. I finally managed to do so, I found a mirror. What I saw made me scream. I threw the mirror, and it shattered. I stared at my myriad selves lying on the floor. And then I realized, I was just as shattered as my myriad selves. Whatever they did to me, they tweaked something. They made me forever happy. The King's jester, I was forever oh so happy. They put this in me, And they lied to me. I found the man who killed me. And guess who he was talking to? The man in the uniform. They chose me because I was likely to survive. So I ran, I would have died again had I not. I ran, and now we chase each other in circles, the Night and the Bishop, we hunt each other, and I hunt those who killed me." Zack's head tilted as he narrowed his eyes. "My turn. We both know you've only recently arrived, yet you made all of this..." He spread his arms once more. "In your shop. This shop. You are one person. You see, I pride myself in seeing the little things, they trained me well before I ran. Your work is flawless, and there is quite a bit of it. Quite a bit for one person to make in such a short time. And so flawlessly. Too flawlessly. There is not a single tool mark on any of these pieces of jewelry. Such a feat should take years. yet you have accomplished it in such a short amount of time and all by yourself. Tell me, love, how is this possible?" Zack leaned in once more, his head cocked to one side, his eyes narrowed.

ooc: Oi, sorry about the delay... Stuff came up.

Ic: "I knew there was something different 'bout you, girly." Zack's grin widened as he looked around in an exaggerated manner as if to point out they were alone. "So you here voices too, eh love? I wonder why, you seem sane, unlike all of us... And even if I felt like telling anybody, who'd believe the crazy, eh love? Jokes aside, I can keep a secret love..." Zack seemed to stare off for a moment before snapping back to reality. "Howzabout we keep up our equivalent exchange, eh girly? Show me what makes you so special..." Zack leaned in again, bringing his face inches away from Victoria's. "And I'll do the same." Straightening back out, Zack chuckled. "You know about my armor, but I'm like a bad infomercial love, there's always more."

Zack watched, his perpetual grin making it difficult to gauge his true expression. He seemed to be studying not simply the ring, but Victoria as well, as if judging her ability and how much energy it took to manifest it. When she finished, he remained silent for a moment, as if thinking to himself. Coming to a conclusion, he nodded to himself. "Yea, that makes sense... Right then girly, I'll keep that in mind. Now then, I suppose it's my turn eh? " Zack looked down at the floor, his grin widening. "Right." Zack sighed, an eerie action to watch thanks to his grin. His arm snapped up, as if he were going to point at something, and a Glock simultaneously seemed to roll around his waist, up his arm, and into his hand, landing in his grip at the exact moment his arm finished it's movement. Zack seemed to smirk through his grin, tossing the pistol behind him, where it stopped in midair before clamping it's self to the back of his waist. At the same time, Zack whirled around, raising his hands as if gripping an invisible rife, his Famas flipping over his shoulder to land in his hands once again exactly as he finished his move. With a cackle, Zack flipped the rifle onto his back, swinging his left arm back and dropping into a crouch, a wickedly serrated combat knife sything out from the back of his waist, following the path of his hand in a glittering arc, slowing down to boomerang into a reverse grip in his right hand. Zack's grin widened as he stood, having finished his little demonstration. Holding out his hand, palm outstretched, he balanced the knife point down in his palm at an angle that should have been impossible. "Something that makes my armor so fancy, is that it gives me a somewhat... Magnetic personality?" Zack chuckled at his own joke. "I'll tell ya, it certainly proves useful in combat... Ya know, it's part of my job ta' scout out newcomers in this city, especially those who seem a bit... Different. I had my doubts, but you seem alright, girly. If ya need any help as far as staying safe, give me a call. I may not look lie much next to those crazy supers, but I can handle myself. And them." Zack bowed slightly, placing his knife on the back of his belt.

((Sorry about my extended absence...lots of travel.))

"O-oh!" Victoria exclaimed in surprised delight as she watched the show, doing her best to stifle the thought of how incredibly well-armed he was. In a city of superheroes, subcutaneous armor could only do so much, she realized...but wasn't all this asking for trouble a little? The man was a walking arsenal, though to be fair, in certain situations she could be considered as such, too. The main difference was that he seemed to know how to use it.

What came next was what truly surprised her...she was 'alright'. She was offered protection, one that didn't come with special discounts or tributes. And he wasn't lying...she had no real certainty other than her faith in him. After all, had he come to bully money out of her, would he not have threatened her already? With all those armaments, it would have been an easy task. Now, they would come to her defense, would she require it, and for that, she was deeply grateful. "Thank you, Zack," she answered at last, a polite bow added to emphasize that. "I cannot offer much in return, but I would be willing to help you repair some of your, erm, collection, if the need arises." She grinned, glancing down before getting an idea. "Oh! Why not take this?" Her slender hand lifted the braided silver ring, handing it out to him. She watched his finger, getting an idea for his size, and the band began to shift outward, stopping once it seemed that it would fit.

(Meh, don't worry about it! We've all got something that pops up every now and again.)
Zack raised a bemused eyebrow at the idea, but nodded respectfully. He watched as she reshaped the ring, gazing thoughtfully at the metal as it reshaped it's self. When she had finished, he nodded slowly. He rose his hand, and the ring floated up, sliding it's self onto his finger. Zack was unsurprised to see it was a perfect fit. He fiddled with it for a moment, unused to having a ring on. His grin once more seemed genuine rather than a mask. He suddenly looked up at Victoria, patting his sides as if searching for something. "Oh, I wouldn't want to forget... I don't have a phone, never cared for them anyways, and my magnetic field keeps ruining them... Though I've an interesting friend. He makes these inventions almost as crazy as I am, though he also does modifications. He managed to shield one of these from my field, allowing me to carry it without breaking it... But where did I..." He ran his hands along his sides, moving up to his chest as he continued his search. "Ah! Here we are! I'm sure the Primarch can whip me up another, eh love?" He pulled out an object, roughly palm sized and round. The outer edge was yellow, with a black circle and a white capitol "T" in it's center. "There you go then love. You need help, and I'll come." He held out the communicator with a tilt of his head. "I apologize for not telling you outright, but unlike my fellows I prefer to remain a little more anonymous than the giant T may otherwise suggest."

"O-oh!" Victoria gasped, looking at the strange communicator and its rather distinct design. After all, there was a very, very large building out in the bay that announced their presence. The man before her...the one she had just divulged herself to...he was a Titan. Feeling considerably better about being so forthcoming with her story, she gave a polite and rather sheepish smile as she looked it over.

"F-forgive me...I have never been adept with technology...but how would one operate this?" She asked, a slight embarrassed blush to her cheeks. He caught on to her being a little older than she claimed...but how could he guess she was lying by over a century?

((Sorry about short, fail post...life's been kicking my ass.))

Zack raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to one side. He was taken aback, suddenly reminded of his grandmother in the brief period of time he had had a family. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, his grin widened a fraction in amusement. "You're definately not from the last few decades, are you?" It was a joke, and Zack had little idea of her true age. "My communicator will be linked to this one, just push this button to call me. The shiny one is for emergencies, if you'tre in trouble push it and the closest Titans will be alerted and come to help. If it starts making sounds and flashes, it means someone is calling you. Push this button to answer and just talk into it. Don't shout or anything, it'll be as if we were standing right next to each other so there's no need to yell." Zack pointed to the various buttons as he spoke. "Ya got all that love?" Zack paused, looking thoughtfully at Victoria. "You know... I'm curious. Is there a metal you have encountered that you cannot manipulate?"

Zack nodded thoughtfully. "I see. I hope it is not too much to ask of you, but in the future things may become... Problomatic for me. You see, we have top notch medical machines at the tower, but the problem with them is that I'm a little... Isolated from their touch? I told you of what was done to me? Well there were others. They failed to escape and now are mindless weapons. With enough force applied, they are the only ones capable of harming me without exploiting certain... Chinks in my armor. I would very much like to find out if you are capable of mending me if I get damaged as well as allowing the medics access to my... Inner workings?" Zack seemed to wince slightly. He knew he was asking a lot. "I understand if you do not wish to do so..."

Zack nodded gratefully. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that, eh love?" He seemed somewhat distant for the briefest moment before reverting to his old self. "Well, love, feel free to drop by any time! We're always open! Except when we're not... But just drop in anyways!" Zack turned to leave, stopping to call out over his shoulder. "It was rather nice to meet you, Victoria, quite a pleasant change of pace from the murderers and scum I've had to deal with in the past. I hope we meet again soon, under pleasant circumstances of course."