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Alan Raeburn turned to petty theft at a young age, but was given superpowers after getting punched by a brand new hero into an electric fence. With his new found power giving him near invincibility, the only downside being his confidence in the ability, he became known as Rebound.

...

8:04 PM
November 25th
Alan's "House"

Alan tapped his foot, head resting on his fist as he stared at the poster. It advertised the job position of a 'henchman' of sorts for him, but it never expressed that fully of course. He had disguised it as a band, called 'Rebound and the Rebels'. Sure it was a little conceded, but it was pretty clear if you knew what all the terms ment. But he didn't quite find it to be perfect. No, not yet. Too bad thousands of copies had already been put up, but, well, only about a hundred were hung. So now he sat with way too many copies of the same paper, trying to figure out what was so off about them. Alan sighed and stood up, brushing his hand across the paper stack longingly as he passed by. He took one with him as he walked away, sitting in his window sill.

Alan lived in a slightly more-than-modest home, a bit bigger than a house yet still small then a manor. The outside was a dark sage green with an even darker roof that gave the whole place a foresty feel, which was only aided by the natural wood. There was about six bedrooms, though most of them small, which made living alone even lonelier. Still, he sat in his bay window at the edge of the city, admiring the rocky shores of the nearby beach on a rainy day. Today would be a perfect day to fight Flint, he thought hopefully, head pressed against the glass, fire doesn't work well in rain. Though he doesn't use it much, does he? I wish I knew how he got his power, he glanced back at the paper, but I don't need to know, really. I'm just a bit curious I guess.

He scanned the flyer once more, making a mental checklist of each thing he needed as information. Title, check. Job description, check. Pay, check. Location, check. Time... Time! Alan sat up straight and felt his heartbeat faster. He forgot to put the time of the interview on the paper.

He scrambled to his feet and darted to his suit-- though he didn't really need much more than his mask, he put on the entire outfit to make a good first impression, if being late hadn't already destroyed it. He literally and physically tossed himself down the stairs as physical injury was no problem for him. A flash of green light. This whole lightning thing was starting to freak him out, and he was worried his powers would act up soon, as they occasionally did. Rebound stumbled to the door and flung it open, locking it behind him as he ran next door to his lair. Which was next to Flint's base. He had done it unintentionally, but Rebound found it hilarious. He was unseen. Unfindable. Ten feet to the left. Though, he couldn't blame Flint. He had made the outside look like a plain office building with no signs, and Flint's was underground, it was unlikely that he'd find out for at least a while.

He swung the dramatic back door open-- all great lairs had them-- and inhaled several times to catch his breath. Once he stopped, he looked around nervously for someone, if they were there at all. He looked up at the clerestory windows, they were kept closed for privacy reasons. And now they were uncovered and open. With a shadowed figure loaming in front of them. It's foot stepped outward, and it dropped to the ground.

Moments before hitting the ground, they pulled up, wings arose from their lower back as they gracefully softened their landing. By kicking Rebound in the chest.

"What the--!" The air was instantly knocked from his lungs, as he now was pinned to the ground by a large purple boot that looked like it was a hot topic reject. "Heya!" Came the voice of a young girl, vaguely Australian. Light finally revealed her face. She looked no older than nineteen, smiling for a moment before realizing she'd just kicked the shit out of Rebound. She had a dark complexion, darker than Flint, and distinctly wore one color, only ever broken by white details. She also had smaller wings sprouting from the side of her head, as pale as the larger ones. She seemed to be in civilian wear, and didn't look much different from anyone else-- ignoring her pinions. The girl stepped off and extended her arm out to help him up, "My name's Cassie, Cassie Aukman! I'm here for the interview? Sorry I drop-kicked 'ya there, I was trying to open your windows and thought you were some stranger." Catching his breath, Rebound took a moment to process every word. Her name is Cassie, she's here to be interviewed, she's sorry for kicking me, she opened my windows... Her name is... Cassie?

The girl stood now, her smile returned to her face. "Are you the actual, real Rebound? I didn't know if you just like, took inspiration from him or if you were him or--" She kept talking but her voice faded from Rebound's mind, nothing more than ringing in his ears. Her name is Cassie. Her name--! He grabbed her shoulders and stared into her eyes, instantly shutting her up. "Why did you tell me your name?" Rebound sounded more distressed than anything. Cassie's eyes were wide. She opened her mouth to speak, but looked away and began to smile nervously. "Not... Not quite sure. S-sir." She managed to stutter. He sighed, pulling away from her and putting his hand to his temples for a moment, "You're here to work for me? Are you even old enough to have a job?" Instantly, Cassie grinned and fluttered her wings, a few stray feathers falling off, "Yes, sir! I'm nineteen now. What are you, forty?" Rebound froze and went pale as a ghost. "My birthday was yesterday," he said, spinning around to face her, looking even more in distress, "I'm twenty-six!" Cassie laughed nervously, "Sorry sir-- I mean, sir-- I mean--"

Rebound interrupted her, "How about you just tell me about yourself?" Cassie paused, her face still lingering with a flushed feeling in pure embarrassment. When she felt herself return to normal, she exhaled softly, "...I have powers like you." Rebound, walking across the room to a large wooden desk, turned around and raised his eyebrow, "So are you not from Elekteo then? Or well, didn't die here, I should say." Cassie tilted her head to the side, "What do you mean?" Rebound sat at the desk in a spinning chair and gestured for Cassie to join him. She leapt upwards and gracefully stopped just before the desk and sat in a chair across from him. She couldn't have done that earlier... "There aren't very many cases like ours per city, just a handful. From what he's told me, Flint got his powers outside Elekteo, some rural place or such. It's just more likely that you got yours elsewhere too." Rebound pulled a water bottle out from under the desk and took a sip, "and I'm assuming your wings are apart of that ordeal?" Cassie sat up a bit, "Oh no, sir, you're right about my wings, but I assure you I got them right in this very city!"

Rebound hesitantly prompted another answer, "If you... If you're able to tell me, could you explain how you died? Out of pure curiosity. But of course, you don't have to answer that." Cassie thought for a long moment, swinging her feet a little whilst staring down. She looked up at him, "I fell. From a very tall building... Accidentally." Something about that last word wasn't all that convincing. "...Are there any questions you have for me?" Rebound broke the silence. Cassie lit up again and stood, slamming her hands on the desk as her eyes shined brightly with excitement. She beamed and began to spew a million questions, "Where were you born? How do your powers work? Where did you get them? What's your relationship with Flint? Are you normally friends? More?! Less?! How do you get a nemesis? How do you become evil? Can you teach me? Does villainy pay well? Have you ever killed anyone?" Questions continued to flood Rebound, but he didn't want to interrupt her because he had already done it twice and felt another time was all too rude for him. She finally pulled herself back and realized she was bombarding him. Rebound sighed softly in relief. "So... Your interested in being a villain then?" He asked cautiously, taking a sip of water, "I'd really suggest against it."

"Why?" Cassie sounded a bit disappointed. Rebound gave a mildly pained look, "I know I'm not all that much older than you, but... You're still young. I've kind of ruined my life. I can't quit now." Cassie sat back down, although still shifting in her seat, "What do you mean?" He sighed, " I... I've been doing this whole villain thing so long. You can still do something else. You still have a chance." Cassie adjusted herself a bit, "You're wrong, sir." She fidgeted with her hands, "You said it yourself, you aren't all that old. You don't have to tell anyone it was you. You could just... Leave." Rebound sat up a little, "What are you saying?" Cassie looked him in the eyes. "I'm saying that there's no reason you should keep doing something you don't want to. You could fake your death, skip town, fade from the papers, whatever. You don't have to be a villain." Rebound's eyes shined, the words lingering for a moment. "...What would I tell...?" He trailed off, yet she understood what he meant. "That's something for you to find out."

Rebound stood up and walked to a bookshelf, seemingly waiting for something to happen, standing and watching for a moment. He sighed and turned back towards the girl in the chair. She smiled supportively, wearing goggles, which sat snugly besid the wings on her head. "How about we make a deal?" He suggested, rather monotonous in retrospect, as he walked back to the desk, "You mentioned something about learning from me or such?" Cassie stood up again, excited once more. "Yes sir!" Rebound thought for a moment, contemplating, "I'll teach you some things I know. But just until..." He stopped himself and reconsidered his phrasing, "Until I think you've learned enough."

Cassie lit up, "Thank you, sir! Here's my number if you need to call me," she pulled out a small slip of paper she had prepared beforehand, "You won't regret this!" Cassie popped the goggles over her eyes and kicked off the ground. She waved good for flying through the door and disappearing.

Rebound sighed, I think I'm regretting it a bit already.

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