Life Changing Decisions (IC)

[Sandman XI]

No leads or tips is a good thing. It means no problems amongst his circle of friends. Wesley liked to have a bit of harmony in his life. He just reopened Knight's Ink. A major plus for him. After hours he would patrol Riverside for any other type of problems. He was a superhero. That was his duty. Though it never felt like a burden. Helping people was in his nature. Even if he didn't have powers he'd find a way to do such. He often imagined a non-powered life as an informant. But now his calling was greater than that!

Riverside is usually a quiet area of town. It was an artsy place. Wesley loved the different kinds of art. He too was an artist, a body artist. Tattoos and piercings mainly, but some weirder offers came through Knight's Ink when people learned about his abilities. He'd only do those on a case by case basis. It was't advertised, but the people who had it done talked to others. Word of mouth. The thing was totally power-based so he couldn't charge much for it. The price depended on the specifics. No one every really went off the wall. Small exotic features like cat's pupils and perma-summer tans (eh, Jersey kids)

Still Riverside was not without it's criminal activity. Tonight's activity would take a turn for the tragic. Xander and Phillip were two kids in love. Though not everyone thought their love was right. Some thought their god gave them the authority to violently carry out perceived commandments with violence. Xander and Phillip exited the club they were performing their open mic poetry. They did not know they were being followed bt a man. They did not know that man had their deaths on his mind. But that one fateful turn into a darkened street spelled their end. The man pretended to have his car break down. Xander and Phillip were nice enough to stop to help him. Xander happened to be an amateur mechanic. while the two guylooked under the hood, that's when the man struck. A spray of bullets from a handgun took them down.

[Cubist]

Long past sunset on 4 February 2012, and the fastest cat alive—Jubatus—was speeding through Riverside. He noted the two men approaching an apparent car breakdown on Fenton Street. Don't look like thugs; file them under 'good samaritan' for now, and check back in a few clock-seconds just in case I got them wrong.

17 blocks away, some idiot actually thought he could get away with vandalizing a convenience store. Correction—five idiots, common gangstas all, no exotic abilities whatsoever. Jube didn't even break a sweat taking them down and wrapping them up in strategically-placed loops of duct tape. He called for the police and left a prominently marked USB thumb-drive with full photographic details of the interrupted street crime, then rocketed back to the breakdown.

The car's hood was open. The two putative 'Samaritans' were leaning over the engine hmm, a little too much lean there? and the car's driver had something in one hand come on, guy, you don't need to hold a wrench that far out from your body and when Jubatus reached the car and downshifted to the standard tempo of 1, the reek of burned cordite fought with the aroma of fresh blood to see which would be the first to overwhelm his sensitive nose.

Oh [bg=black]xxxx[/bg]—missed it by that much—

In a horrified half-second, Jubatus had the gunman on the asphalt, stripped down to his underwear and completely immobilized by one-point-four full rolls of duct tape. And if the tape was uncomfortably tight in some areas, Jube didn't give a damn; he'd been fully focused on taking the idiot down, fast.

The hero's cellphone was in his hands without conscious effort. Dialed 9-1-1, check—earbud connected, velcroed to the fur— "Yes… I'm reporting two gunshot wounds." shouldn't move injured—like it'll hurt them?—too risky— "I said, Two. Gunshot. Wounds." CalmthehelldownJube, nottheirfaultyourvoiceiscrap—stop the bleeding—breathe thru mouth— "Fenton Street, 1900 block… Sidewalk near the Cuppajoe parking lot." Aargh! need more gauze!—oh [bg=black]xxix[/bg] the blood—ignore the scent— "Eleven mi- —the gunshotwounds don't have eleven minutes!" Carry it all here—no way I'm strong enough—don't inhale— "Look, I got a seriously hi-res camera, is there someone you can hook me up with to walk me through the procedure—whatever procedure!" Maintain pressure—ignore the [bg=black]xxxxixx[/bg] scent damnit—cooling pads! delay braindeath— "Okay, okay, sorry. I'm still here…"

And Jubatus was on the phone for the rest of their lives.

[Sandman XI]

Quiet nights are the best nights. Even if he didn't help anyone, he made the effort. He could have stayed home. Right now his bed was seeming nice right about now. 2AM Sunday morning. He told himself that he'd push one more hour and then head home. He didn't have to wait an hour. Less than ten minutes after that he heard the gunshots ring out through the quiet night air. Heading towards the noise he found two bloody motionless people. It didn't take lifesight to know they were dead. He saw the killer wrapped up in duct tape and he saw a giant bipedal cat. He wa glad the situation had been rectified, but the two dead people did not sit well with him. He had to do something about that.

Landing, he didn't even take his heroic guise. Just plain old Wesley was there. He looked to the catman with a wordless question he already knew the answer too. The catman was on the phone with the police.Wesley shook his head and bgan to glow with an intense green light and then the area began to glow with that same green light. A flush of life energy filled the area and the two dead people stirred to life their bullet wounds were totally gone and even some old scars healed. They looked around surprised to be alive. They both tried to speak at the same time, but their sentiment was the same. They were happy to be alive. They thanked Wesley and Jubatus for helping them.

Wesley nodded a welcome. With a quick change, Wesley was now in his Life Knight form. "That's my job," he smiled, "That's what I do." He looked to Jubatus, "Thanks for helping these people out. Keep the emergency crew on the phone, I'm sure they'll want a report of what happened before hand." His eyes narrowed at the man in duct tape, "I'm sure the cops will have a lot for you too." Crossing his arms, he smiled at the two holding to each other. "My name is Life Knight," he announced.

"Xander," one of them said.

"Phillip," said the other.

[Cubist]

Damnit damnit damnit!

Making a difference for the better: That was the reason Jay Xavier had chosen to play hero in the first place.

An overpriced convenience store doesn't have to replace a window. Real big 'difference for the better', that. You go, Jubatus! Yay Jube!

He didn't even know their names; hadn't spoken to them, hadn't checked their wallets. But they were dead. And they'd died on his watch.

It left a foul taste in Jube's mouth, it did. At least the scumbucket who'd pulled the trigger was wrapped up like a friggin' Christmas present for the police. Maybe the corpses would take comfort from that.

'Fastest cat alive'. Just not quite fast enough. Damnit!

Jubatus had put scent-blocking plugs in his nostrils after the victims died; it helped, but not enough, as the goddamned odor of blood crept up through his mouth. He waited for the ambulance and police…

A dreadlocked man in civilian clothes approached on foot. Jubatus noted his presence with rather more than his habitual level of jaundiced cynicism. At this hour of the night? Naah, not even a little bit suspicious. This guy tries anything stupid, I am so taking his ass down.

…and then the newcomer glowed with green light—as did the entire area!

Oh [bg=black]xxix[/bg] what the hell is he doing—wait, they're moving!?— And the bullet holes closed. Some kind of healing power—but they were dead—what can I, should I, even do here!? And the two victims stood up.

"I'm… alive..?"

The feline's racing mind coughed up only one response: "Ah… yes. You sure are…" Who is the guy with the green, and what's he doing here?

"Xander! You're not dead, either!" And the two men embraced like long-lost lovers. "Oh, man, thank you, Jubatus! And you too, green guy!"

And suddenly dude-with-dreadlocks was looking decidedly different.

"That's my job," he smiled, "That's what I do." He looked to Jubatus, "Thanks for helping these people out. Keep the emergency crew on the phone, I'm sure they'll want a report of what happened before hand." His eyes narrowed at the man in duct tape, "I'm sure the cops will have a lot for you too." Crossing his arms, he smiled at the two holding to each other. "My name is Life Knight," he announced.

"Xander," one of them said.

"Phillip," said the other.

"Ah… right," Jubatus said. Then, looking at the 'Christmas present', "How about you, pal? You got a name?"

The perp—now that his victims were revived, was he still a 'murderer'?—glared back at the feline: "I'm not saying anything without my lawyer. "

Jube shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Before long, the ambulance arrived, and the paramedics confirmed that Philip and Xander were in remarkably good health, particularly considering that both of them had just recently bled out over an engine block. The police weren't slow to arrive; Jubatus gladly provided testimony to collaborate the now-healthy victims' complaint against the shooter.

And soon enough… the little episode was complete. The police drove off; Philip and Xander got a free ride to the hospital for a better, more extensive physical than the paramedics could do with the tools at hand (Jube's idea, just in case the two had any lingering traumas to deal with); and Jubatus and 'Life Knight' were by themselves on the street.

The feline spoke up: "Like the kids said, my name's Jubatus. And you're Life Knight…" He searched his mental database of superheroes who'd shown up on the news for anyone of that name or appearance, and came up dry. "Either you're a newbie at the hero game, or else you've been out of the loop for a long while. What's your story, L-K?" Jube didn't offer to tell his own story; all the important bits were publicly-accessible knowledge…

[Sandman XI]

There wasn't much to say to the cops, really. He wasn't there, he just heard gun shots and happened upon the scene. There was probably something under good samaritan that he had to do this. He didn't even know how this would go down in the books. Attempted murder? They weren't dead. Aggravated Assault? He did use a weapon and there was a witness and a weapon. Either way, that guy would probably not getting out of a cell for a long long time. Wesley trusted the justice system would sort this out.

And when all was said and done, there was him and the catman left. Uplifted cat? He didn't look like a human, more like a cheetah with a large head walking on it's hind legs and wearing a vest. He'd seen weirder heroes in his past. And the weirder ones sometimes didn't stack up to the "normal" ones. He had the numbers of a vampire, a goddess, a perpetually resurrecting psychic and a faerie on his cell phone. Knowing those guys made all the strange stuff much less strange.

Luckily for Wesley, he kept a low profile on the heroics. He was going on four years now! Not that he didn't love being a hero. The exact opposite. Wesley just wanted to serve the public without much fanfare. He was what the news liked to call a "street level hero". Chasing after bad guys in his own neighborhood. Dealing with criminals that would hurt his family and friends. Funny thing is, Wesley's a pretty friendly guy. So unless someone was an absolute monster or didn't want to be liked, he was cool with them.

"My story," Life Knight said with a questioning tone. He crossed his arms and smiled, "Let's see, you know my name. I'm a local hero, as you can probably tell by now. I use life energy. I can heal, as you saw. I can also use it to change my form." To show off, he assumed the form of a caucasian female then a dove then a hybrid lion man then back his Life Knight form. "I can also have access to any living thing's bio energy. Not something I use lightly. It can change their form or mess with their biological and neural functions." He cleared his throat and smiled a small smile, putting one hand on the side of his head and shaking a few white feathers out of his dreadlocks, "So yeah. I guess that explains everything. Unless you want actual backstory. That's a bit more complicated."

[Cubist]

Jubatus listened attentively to Life Knight.

"… I use life energy. I can heal, as you saw…"

Right, makes sense that someone with that kind of ability would want to stay the hell off most people's radar; otherwise, hurting people would chase him down 24/7/365. Crappy way to live. And then—

"…access to any living thing's bio energy… It can change their form…"

Those words hit the cheetah like a metric ton of depleted uranium.

"It can change their form." He can make me human! And then, a split-instant after that shattering realization: I can't trust this 'Life Knight'. Don't know him from Idi Amin. No matter how attractive the prize, I just—can't—trust him… not yet, I can't…

"… Unless you want actual backstory. That's a bit more complicated."

"Well… I was mostly curious about how come you've stayed out of the public eye, and if I had your powers, yeah, I'd keep a low profile, too. But since you offered, sure, I'd like to hear your backstory." Always keeping in mind that this is what he wants me to hear. The stronger your need for something, the more scrutiny you'd better give anyone who looks like they can satisfy that need.

[Sandman XI]

Oh wow, Wesley thought, I didn't think he'd actually ask. Life Knight kept a straight face and nodded, "Yeah. Low profile. Hiding in plain sight if you will." He pulled out a card for Knight's Ink and handed it to Jubatus, "Due to some rookie mistakes, I really don't have much of a secret identity. Sure I can change a bit, but everyone who knows my civillain identity can piece two-and-two together." He smiled and shrugged, "I guess it's good to have understanding friends." He sighed contentedly. "Oh right. The complicated backstory," he spoke up like he had been dodging a question, "Let's see, I grew up in the Deep South. A town called Tunnel Hill, Alabama. It's afactory town. When my family moved their - my dad took a job to make some money - we were the only black family there." Wesley hung his head, "I'll save you the details, but the intervening years were not the brightest for me." He looked back to Jubatus, "After I lost my family in an unrelated accident when i was 16 things got worse.. By the time I was 18 I was facing several men in pointy white hats with a rope on a tree. If my powers hadn't kicked in then I would have been dead. I had to get away from there. So I came here." He nodded, "I guess that's about as personal as I can get at the moment."

[Cubist]

"Yeah. Low profile. Hiding in plain sight if you will." He pulled out a card for Knight's Ink and handed it to Jubatus.

Damn, Jubatus thought as he accepted the card. This guy does not believe in keeping a secret ID…

"…I grew up in the Deep South. A town called Tunnel Hill, Alabama. It's a factory town. When my family moved their - my dad took a job to make some money - we were the only black family there." Wesley hung his head, "I'll save you the details, but the intervening years were not the brightest for me." He looked back to Jubatus, "After I lost my family in an unrelated accident when i was 16 things got worse.. By the time I was 18 I was facing several men in pointy white hats with a rope on a tree. If my powers hadn't kicked in then I would have been dead. I had to get away from there. So I came here. I guess that's about as personal as I can get at the moment."

And that, plus the business card, is rather an embarrassment of riches, digging-up-background-wise. Jube nodded. "Understood, and I won't hassle you any further." But I will research the living hell outta you over the next however-many days. "As for me, well, I don't do the 'secret identity' thing myself, for reasons that should be obvious. I'm also called Jay Xavier, and you can probably learn more about me than you ever wanted to know if you google for my name. Be seeing you, Life Knight."

So saying, Jubatus resumed his interrupted patrol of the evening.

Let's see, now, he mused, thinking over the card Life Knight had handed him. I got a tattooing business with a name, "Knight's Ink", an address, and business hours. That gives me something to search for, public records-wise; business permits, tax records, payroll data, yada yada yada. Then,moving on to Life Knight's story, If his data can be trusted, his history includes an accidental multi-death, and two years later, an attempted lynching. The first even should have made the news, so find out if there even is a "Tunnel Hill, Alabama", and if so, start combing through newspaper morgues in the vicinity thereof. The man's apparent age is basically meaningless, given his powers, but that apparent age at least provides a window of time to start examining the data for. Factory town, what industry? 100% White population prior to…