Roman

Young Justice est. 2020

---

Newbies. Gemini and Siamese knew how to be Newbies, capital 'N' and everything. They were Newbies at the foster shelter after their parents died 5 years ago; they were Newbies at their first proper foster home; they were Newbies at each of the three state-funded boarding schools they had been sent to; they were Newbies to the unofficial gangs that the homeless and destitute had formed in order to seize a better chance at survival; and now, they were Newbies to the most peculiar group of all, even including Hobo Joe and the Bolo Cholo's. Being a Newbie was easy; you kept your head down, you agreed with the majority vote, you avoided rocking the boat, and you didn't take apart the laptop of the most popular girl in school to create a mini heating-laser ray so you could maintain coffee temperature during Gem's midnight episodes.

Man. The twins could use a coffee. Their erstwhile guardians - Nightwing and Zatanna - were not big believers in the artificially-assisted wake-up. Shame, really - A few minutes with a coffee grinder and Sia could whip up a mean cup of mud. The twins observed their company, an odd assortment of young adults from various creeds and backgrounds and demi-human races and different planets, and did their best, as street-urchin metahumans with a long history of accidental bomb-making, to fit in. They did not do a particularly impressive job - but they did enough as necessary to not stand up or be obnoxious. Yet.

They were bunking. The twins didn't mean to sound derogatory or to sandbag the idea; they were not huge fans of the educational system as it stood, having been put through the wringer already and preferring homeless living to the intolerant, oppressive and authoritarian rule of mistresses and professors. But the mall seemed so trite and cliche, to say nothing of the one who had spawned the idea - Karlie, social media personified, as if her power was mental interface with Instagram.

Still, the twins preferred freedom to schedule, and they had had plenty of schedule under the care of their mentors. Sia nudged Gem, who looked up from where she had been idly wrapping wire around her fingers, interlooping the copper before expertly unravelling and starting around the other hand. "Mall?" Sia asked, and Gem raised a single eyebrow.
"Coffee." She answered, stating what was on both of the girls' mind.
"Sure, but, coffee at the mall. Else you and I are stuck in class all day by ourselves."
"Oh, man, we were going to class? Shit, Sia, you gotta tell me these things before I commit."
Sia's turn to raise an eyebrow. "...sorry Gem. Guess it slipped my mind."
"Get a hold on that, S. You gotta watch out for us." Gem pocketed the wire, but had somehow produced a small, charred fragment of metal that she now flipped over her knuckles. "Let's hit the mall."

Sia sighed, but smiled slightly as she did so. Somehow, after all this time, she still found Gem endearing.
"Yes. Lets."

Young Justice est. 2020

| Name(s) |

Gemini 'Gem' Trent // Siamese 'Sia' Trent

| Alias(s) |

Lock // Load

| Age |

18

| Sponsor |

Booster Gold

| Personality |

Vivacious // Grounded // Loyal

| Experience |

Two (and a half) Weeks

| Power(s) |

LOCK | Possesses a low-functioning form of technopathy that allows her to take rudimentary resources from her surroundings and use them to intuitively construct weapons, explosives and firearms almost without second thought.

LOAD | Possesses tandem-functioning forms of energy manipulation and technopathy that allows her to instill 'power' into any tool or weapon she is in contact with, and upgrade it to perform its intended function better, at a higher level, or more efficiently.

Clearly, the sister's abilities perform best when used together; Lock creating crude and cheap weaponry quickly from whatever she can find, and then handing it off to Load so that it can become a true battlefield terror.

| Weaknesses |

LOCK | Builds require resources, and without materials, she cannot build anything. Additionally, poor quality materials will create poor quality weaponry. The more complex a weapon, the more detailed resources Gem needs, and her builds do not instill her with innate knowledge on a weapon's proper usage.

Finally, Gem's power does not come with an 'off' switch. While this is useful out in the field, constantly seeing resources and how to use them, in her day-to-day it can be overwhelming and mind-flooding.

LOAD | Upgrades require energy and time, and progress slowly at first. Upgrades are lost if Sia loses contact, and she must focus carefully if she wishes to 'direct' an upgrade down a specific path, and she must intentionally and consciously begin an upgrade process. Additionally, unless Sia directs an upgrade down autonomous function, her upgrades do not instill knowledge on how best to use the new-and-improved object.

| Appearance |

Gem and Sia are twins, and while not identical, they are similar; both have stark blonde hair, with sharp features and lean bodies. Gem's hair is often worn in a wild, thrown-back quiff, the sides shaved haphazardly, while Sia usually tilts more towards allowing her long, straight hair to flow freely, tied up into a tail in time of concentration. Both dress in avant-garde nature, more often because of what little clothing is available to them, rather than an eccentric fashion taste.

| Bio |

Orphaned from 13, Gem and Sia have come to lean on each other as their only reliable source of comfort, compassion, and actually giving-a-shit about their wellbeing. Shuffled through the boarding school system for a few years, their powers often getting them trouble and transfers in that order, the twins eventually abandoned government-subsidized 'care', and found themselves surviving on the street, using their abilities to the best they were capable of to help their situation.

Scrounging and odd-jobs soon turned into accidental heroism after Gem, in the heat of an episode, constructed a crude crossbow and pinned a would-be mugger to the wall behind him. Discovered shortly after by Booster Gold, who was looking for the would-be vigilantes in hopes they were indeed 'vigilantes' and not villains-to-be, they were admired by Booster for their similarly rough upbringing, innovative technopathy-based powers, and general good-hearted nature that led them to defending the common citizen in the first place.

Still looking for a ward to sponsor, Booster introduced Lock & Load to the rest of the Justice League, and quelled claims about their inexperience and young age with claims that he had fore-knowledge from the future of their impact upon the world-at-large. While such claims were doubted, the League could not deny their plausibility, nor the twin's own suitability for the candidacy. They were cautiously accepted, and have been working hard to earn their place ever since.

| Sample |

It was clanking that awoke Sia. Clanking and muttered groans of frustration and more clanking and- Sia rolled over, lifting an arm to check her clock, red LED's glowing harsh. 8:13. Gem had had worse episodes. Sia strained her neck to check the corner of the room where Gem's scrap heap resided. It was less of a heap, now, more of a...mound? Pile? The words still seemed too big. Whatever, it was smaller than it had been when they'd gone to bed. Or at least, when Sia had gone to bed.
"Gem?" Sia said gently, sitting up in bed, carefully prodding her sister. It was important not to startle her in an episode. Who knew what she'd constructed. "What've you been building?"

Gem dropped the scrap that was in her hands and hovered a hand over a pile of odd, near-spherical objects that lay beside her. She picked one up and cradled it in both hands, standing and turning around - Sia could see her eyes were bloodshot, hair greasy and pulled back. Oil marked her face, though Sia couldn't see any cans or containers in the room. How did she always manage that?
"Bombs."
Oh. Good.
"At first explosive!"
Naturally.
"Just plain bada-boom, y'know, bit of gunpowder? But then I saw these," Gem threw her arm behind her and scooped up some metal shavings, "and I thought, what about a dispersal system? Like, a scatter-bomb." Sia nodded along, ignoring her need for coffee. It was best to let Gem talk. "And that got me thinking about dispersal systems in general! SO many different things you can put in a bomb, Si, it's crazy! This one's just the boom, but you've got EMP's, sonics, heat. You just put this there and then that goes around here and then you press this-"

Sia leaped frantically from her bed and nearly tackled Gem in sweeping the bomb from her hands, then fled to the window, flinging it open and tossing the small metal bomb out into the open air beyond. It clicked mid-flight and Sia pushed herself flat to the ground. There was a boom and a rumble and Sia got up, peeking out of the window. There was smoke, and a small piece of metal was vibrating in the wall next to their window, but through the lingering black plume Sia could see small bits of coloured paper fluttering gently in the breeze, starting their fall to the ground.

"Oh, that one was confetti. A celebration-bomb!" Gem said from behind her, cheerful and spacey.
"What were you celebrating?" Sia asked, exerting calm upon herself, turning around to face Gem.
"Well that's for whoever throws it to decide."
Sia tried to respond, but the tannoy crackled to life, and whatever she was about to say was cut off by the icy tones of their school's icy headmistress.
"Gemini and Siamese. Attend breakfast. And then my office."

Sia groaned, rooting through her drawers to find suitable clothing. Gem just grinned.
"Excellent." She said. "I'm starving."

Young Justice est. 2020

@Roman I'll have to take a look at the CS when I get home. Visiting my mom and getting some Easter weekend stuff out of the way...

~KL~

@The Kid Lantern

Do what you gotta do, man.

What are the available classes? I assume these are all held in a JL-owned/sponsored establishment?

~R~

Young Justice est. 2020

| Name(s) |

Gemini 'Gem' Trent // Siamese 'Sia' Trent

| Alias(s) |

Lock // Load

| Age |

18

| Sponsor |

Booster Gold

| Personality |

Vivacious // Grounded // Loyal

| Experience |

Two (and a half) Weeks

| Power(s) |

LOCK | Possesses a low-functioning form of technopathy that allows her to take rudimentary resources from her surroundings and use them to intuitively construct weapons, explosives and firearms almost without second thought.

LOAD | Possesses tandem-functioning forms of energy manipulation and technopathy that allows her to instill 'power' into any tool or weapon she is in contact with, and upgrade it to perform its intended function better, at a higher level, or more efficiently.

Clearly, the sister's abilities perform best when used together; Lock creating crude and cheap weaponry quickly from whatever she can find, and then handing it off to Load so that it can become a true battlefield terror.

| Weaknesses |

LOCK | Builds require resources, and without materials, she cannot build anything. Additionally, poor quality materials will create poor quality weaponry. The more complex a weapon, the more detailed resources Gem needs, and her builds do not instill her with innate knowledge on a weapon's proper usage.

Finally, Gem's power does not come with an 'off' switch. While this is useful out in the field, constantly seeing resources and how to use them, in her day-to-day it can be overwhelming and mind-flooding.

LOAD | Upgrades require energy and time, and progress slowly at first. Upgrades are lost if Sia loses contact, and she must focus carefully if she wishes to 'direct' an upgrade down a specific path, and she must intentionally and consciously begin an upgrade process. Additionally, unless Sia directs an upgrade down autonomous function, her upgrades do not instill knowledge on how best to use the new-and-improved object.

| Appearance |

Gem and Sia are twins, and while not identical, they are similar; both have stark blonde hair, with sharp features and lean bodies. Gem's hair is often worn in a wild, thrown-back quiff, the sides shaved haphazardly, while Sia usually tilts more towards allowing her long, straight hair to flow freely, tied up into a tail in time of concentration. Both dress in avant-garde nature, more often because of what little clothing is available to them, rather than an eccentric fashion taste.

| Bio |

Orphaned from 13, Gem and Sia have come to lean on each other as their only reliable source of comfort, compassion, and actually giving-a-shit about their wellbeing. Shuffled through the boarding school system for a few years, their powers often getting them trouble and transfers in that order, the twins eventually abandoned government-subsidized 'care', and found themselves surviving on the street, using their abilities to the best they were capable of to help their situation.

Scrounging and odd-jobs soon turned into accidental heroism after Gem, in the heat of an episode, constructed a crude crossbow and pinned a would-be mugger to the wall behind him. Discovered shortly after by Booster Gold, who was looking for the would-be vigilantes in hopes they were indeed 'vigilantes' and not villains-to-be, they were admired by Booster for their similarly rough upbringing, innovative technopathy-based powers, and general good-hearted nature that led them to defending the common citizen in the first place.

Still looking for a ward to sponsor, Booster introduced Lock & Load to the rest of the Justice League, and quelled claims about their inexperience and young age with claims that he had fore-knowledge from the future of their impact upon the world-at-large. While such claims were doubted, the League could not deny their plausibility, nor the twin's own suitability for the candidacy. They were cautiously accepted, and have been working hard to earn their place ever since.

| Sample |

It was clanking that awoke Sia. Clanking and muttered groans of frustration and more clanking and- Sia rolled over, lifting an arm to check her clock, red LED's glowing harsh. 8:13. Gem had had worse episodes. Sia strained her neck to check the corner of the room where Gem's scrap heap resided. It was less of a heap, now, more of a...mound? Pile? The words still seemed too big. Whatever, it was smaller than it had been when they'd gone to bed. Or at least, when Sia had gone to bed.
"Gem?" Sia said gently, sitting up in bed, carefully prodding her sister. It was important not to startle her in an episode. Who knew what she'd constructed. "What've you been building?"

Gem dropped the scrap that was in her hands and hovered a hand over a pile of odd, near-spherical objects that lay beside her. She picked one up and cradled it in both hands, standing and turning around - Sia could see her eyes were bloodshot, hair greasy and pulled back. Oil marked her face, though Sia couldn't see any cans or containers in the room. How did she always manage that?
"Bombs."
Oh. Good.
"At first explosive!"
Naturally.
"Just plain bada-boom, y'know, bit of gunpowder? But then I saw these," Gem threw her arm behind her and scooped up some metal shavings, "and I thought, what about a dispersal system? Like, a scatter-bomb." Sia nodded along, ignoring her need for coffee. It was best to let Gem talk. "And that got me thinking about dispersal systems in general! SO many different things you can put in a bomb, Si, it's crazy! This one's just the boom, but you've got EMP's, sonics, heat. You just put this there and then that goes around here and then you press this-"

Sia leaped frantically from her bed and nearly tackled Gem in sweeping the bomb from her hands, then fled to the window, flinging it open and tossing the small metal bomb out into the open air beyond. It clicked mid-flight and Sia pushed herself flat to the ground. There was a boom and a rumble and Sia got up, peeking out of the window. There was smoke, and a small piece of metal was vibrating in the wall next to their window, but through the lingering black plume Sia could see small bits of coloured paper fluttering gently in the breeze, starting their fall to the ground.

"Oh, that one was confetti. A celebration-bomb!" Gem said from behind her, cheerful and spacey.
"What were you celebrating?" Sia asked, exerting calm upon herself, turning around to face Gem.
"Well that's for whoever throws it to decide."
Sia tried to respond, but the tannoy crackled to life, and whatever she was about to say was cut off by the icy tones of their school's icy headmistress.
"Gemini and Siamese. Attend breakfast. And then my office."

Sia groaned, rooting through her drawers to find suitable clothing. Gem just grinned.
"Excellent." She said. "I'm starving."

~R~

Young Justice est. 2020

Any mentor's still available? Or am I going to go all #rogueagent?

VIGILANCE: Blood & Justice - A Superhuman Roleplay (Always Open)

E L W O O D D O W D

---

^{Downtown New Lilith, The Lamp}

The sweeping had been done within twenty minutes of finding the broom, after a brave venture into the supply closet. Elwood didn't receive a single member of the public - not even curious and naive tourists drawn in by the glittery (and often counterfeit) 'relics'. He received no calls from anyone, let alone the oddly-named 'Mr. Mulligan', and the brass cupboard, in all its gleaming glory, would threaten to blind a man from fifty paces were the sun available to shine. All in all, Elwood found himself bored for much of his afternoon, lacking in sufficient distraction from his Hunger.

Elwood chewed his fingernails to the quick - a frustrated, fidgeting gnawing born out of boredom and poor self-control. The Hunger ached within him, whetted from the earlier sandwich, and he hungrily eyed the diner across the street, desiring thick meats and dense breads. The clock ticked by slowly, Elwood keeping a feverish eye on every motion made by its hands; eventually, five'o'clock ticked around, and Justin fumbled with the key as he tried to keep hold of it while donning his coat. He busied himself theatrically for a few minutes, allowing a final opportunity for any last-minute customers, and then carefully walked through the store's displays and out the front door, turning around to lock it behind him. The key slid neatly into the lock, and Elwood was on the precipice of applying torsion when from inside, the old-fashioned belling of the phone rang sharp through the store.

Elwood froze for a second, listening to the ring peter out before it started up anew, another clanging klaxon that seemed askew somehow, despite no audible difference from any other time the phone rang. He debated for a few more rings, and then made a firm decision - Mr. Lafferty was expecting a call, and the last time Elwood had skipped answering to a seller he had been made to clean the lavatory. He re-opened the door and moved deftly through the shop to behind the counter where the phone hung from the wall. Elwood cleared his throat as his fingers rested on the handset, and he suppressed the violent urge to slam the receiver and flee the shop, pounding the pavement all the way home to his bedroom to lock the door and quietly hyperventilate himself to sleep, plagued by shadowy and ever-present nightmares of ravenous wolves and animal carcasses...Elwood picked up the phone.

"That Lafferty's shack? The Lamp?" Rough voice. Demanding. Slight Irish lilt. Elwood opened his mouth to respond, but all that arrived from his throat was a low, crackling moan. "Jonathan, ya bastard, is that you? Ya scared, Lafferty? Ain't like you, J-man..." There was a menacing undertone, but it was being played off as jokey, a thinly veiled threat disguised as 'banter'. Elwood felt a pang of fear, and a deeper pang of aggression and outrage.

"No!" He suddenly voiced a reply, shocking himself at the sound of his own voice. "...no. Mr. Lafferty's not here. This is...Elwood. I...work here." He held his breath as he waited for a response, and the silence dragged on, like the caller was considering something deeply.
"...you're Lafferty's boy, eh?" The voice was low and unpleasant. "Yeah, he's mentioned his lil' assistant a coupl'a time. Love to meet ya."

Elwood supressed his panic and swallowed. "Do you have business here, sir?"
"Yeeeaaaaahhh....." The voice trailed off before clearing his throat. "I'm an...associate of Mr. Mulligan. Got that gear to shift. Need to set it up."
"Tuesday." Elwood blurted out, his speech fast and desperate to end the conversation as soon as possible. "He can meet next Tuesday."
"Oh sure, sure...Tuesday's fan-tastic. A little earlier, might be nice?"
"Mr-Lafferty-didn't-provide-me-with-any-details-of-his-schedule."
"I'll...pop in then. I'm sure he'll make time for me."
"Okay-thank-you-for-calling."
The voice chuckled. "Oh, you're sure welcome, kid. And listen...if he asks? ...tell 'im Redcap called."

The line went flat and Elwood slammed the handset back onto the receiver, breathing heavily and shaking slightly. He jerked his head toward the door, eyes focusing. Through the glass pane of the store's front door he could see through the rain outside into the transparent plexiglass front of the diner opposite, and through that was a hole-in-the-wall between the counter and the kitchen, and through that were several bubbling slabs of burger patty sizzling away on a hot grill. Elwood could practically smell them as he stormed through the shop and out the door, pausing for a micro-second to lock it behind him. He looked up as he did so, and caught his reflection in the glass. His eyes were going.

He didn't stop himself.

VIGILANCE: Blood & Justice - A Superhuman Roleplay (Always Open)

<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

Tbh, that doesn't sound that bad. A month of paid vacation? I'd take it.

@Pirouette

Suspension will stay on her file and will be taken into account every time a decision is made about any transfers, promotions, pay raises, bonuses, or further punishments are made. Also, while she is technically 'off' work, she's also not allowed to work on any ongoing cases or pursue any investigations or be assigned any new cases, and any currently open cases she's handling will be passed to someone else (although admittedly this doesn't mean much as she works in Cold Cases). She's also not allowed on-site at her precinct.

Also, given the character's drive, forced time off seems like it might irritate her - go a bit stir-crazy?

VIGILANCE: Blood & Justice - A Superhuman Roleplay (Always Open)

<Snipped quote by Roman>

Well, would you prefer Red Alert references?

@Lurking Shadow

Absolutely not.

VIGILANCE: Blood & Justice - A Superhuman Roleplay (Always Open)

Smite references? In my RP?

VIGILANCE: Blood & Justice - A Superhuman Roleplay (Always Open)

G M A N N O U N C E M E N T:

---

◼ WEEK 04: As the first round of secondary plots are coming to an end, let's discuss antagonists. So far there hasn't been anything too serious in the RP but what are your thoughts on antagonists? What makes a good villain for you? Do you like them unhinged, do you like them cold and calculating? Do you prefer an NPC villain or one who is directly portrayed by another player? What's good about being bad?

@Lord Wraith

Often a good villain is set apart from lesser ones by how good of a counterpart they are to their hero. Joker isn't a great villain because of his visual design or his insanity, he's a great villain because he's everything Batman isn't and could have been.

Alternatively, a standalone villain needs a tragic backstory, or a sympathetic cause. A long, dark path that lead them to where they are, or a steadfast belief that they hold to a fault.

I guess I like villains that show us just how real evil can be, and how close we can get to it.