[somebody] Rene Alderic

Appearance

Average height. Slim but strong. In peak physical condition. Precise in his movements, athletic (like a gymnast), graceful. Moves his hands when he talks. Long, thick black hair (his bangs come down over the bridge of his nose) and blue eyes. When he's fighting crime, Rene wears color contacts which turn his eyes red. His suit (which literally resembles a dress suit) is entirely black, right down to the gloves.

Hero identity is the "Ace of Spades" or "Spade". Leaves an Ace as a "calling card" when he does a job. Card remains blank until picked up, then its' design quickly spreads across the card, with a message appearing in flowing script on the back. After it's held for a few moments, the card crumbles into glowing embers.

Personality

Theatrical without being an attention hog or putting it all on for show: it's just his personality. Idealistic. Pursues his goals tirelessly. Not easily swayed. Can be impulsive. Flirts a lot, but doesn't take things too far. Rene almost always gives an impression of cool confidence (and he usually is). Sometimes he doubts himself, but he doesn't really have anyone to turn to for advice. Self-reliant. Puts too much stock in his own decisions and abilities. Miserable: Rene is naturally cheerful and optimistic, but his life so far has led him to take a more jaded view of life. He distracts himself with work, flirting, and training.

Well educated. Well bred. Learns quickly, observant. Charming. A good liar. Slow to give trust. Rene is adept at hiding his deepest negative feelings, but generally shows his enthusiasm, indignation, or happiness. If his background had been different, Rene would be the type of person who wears his heart on his sleeve: because of his training and the cut-throat life he grew up in, he can't afford to be so open.

History

Rene was born into a family of white-collar gangsters (up to their throats in a mix of white-collar and street crime). His mother holds a prominent place in the family's operations. Rene was pulled into crime at a young age, trained to be an exceptional criminal. His mother arranged vigorous apprenticeships in martial arts, marksmanship, hacking, acrobatics and gymnastics. She personally trained him to be a cunning con artist, and to navigate white-collar crime with skill. at first, he just did as he was told: as he grew older, he learned to love the thrill of pulling off a heist. One day, Rene was given a gun just before he left on a job. A leader in the family informed him of a chilling truth: he was expected to shoot someone. When the time came, Rene couldn't do it. He helped the man escape, faked his death, and told him how to evade the family, to get out of the city. From that time onward, he turned away from life of crime. Rene became a vigilante, eventually setting up a partier identity to hide his true nature and try to drown his misery.

From the time he was fifteen, he's been using his knowledge and abilities to sabotage his family's efforts. At the same time, he's had to pull jobs to keep clear of suspicion: so he does as he's told and messes up the familys' plans further down the line.

Rene was on friendly terms with most of his family: relationships fractured after he turned away from the gangster lifestyle. on the outside, He was just as amiable and charming: inside, he was disturbed by their actions and distanced himself emotionally. the only person he stayed close to was his cousin justynn. when justynn severely damaged his back and lost the use of his legs, it was rene who stood before the leaders of the family (including his mother) and argued for them to arrange an expensive operation to repair the nerves in justynn's back. they agreed. privately, his mother took note of the fact that justynn was dear to her son, remembering the information, remembering his weaknesses.

not long afterwards, rene was caught by a member of the family in the middle of a mission. because of his mask and altered appearance, rene wasn't recognized. in the fight that followed, his adversary (much older and bigger) slammed him against a desk, reaching out from behind and tearing off his mask. rene threw one arm across his face as he fell to the ground. he probably would have died right then and there, but, fortunately for him, justynn intervened. when rene regained consciousness, he realized what happened, and that his identity was exposed. justynn demanded to know what was going on, and, as soon as he found out, wanted to be a part of it. At first, rene flatly refused. after a little while, though, he realized that justynn would make a valuable ally. once he had bluntly stated the dangers of the work, rene reluctantly agreed to let justynn help.

for a while, rene's life seemed to improve. missions went smoothly. their little team made progress, successfully destorying important family "jobs". in justynn, rene finally found someone he could trust, someone he could be himself around without fear. then, one day, everything went sideways. his mother called him into her sitting room. icily calm, almost sweet, she laid his mask on her desk. gently she explained that, as her only son, he was getting one chance to assume his rightful position. there was a job he had to do that night: if he refused, justynn might be in another accident.

rene agreed, waited, and fled. finding justynn, the two left their home world.

since that time, Rene has been scraping by in traverse town, taking odd (honest) jobs where he can find them, often taking on private investigations. Despite the difficulty of his new life, he still focuses on crime fighting, helping whoever he can and trying to understand the new world he and justynn have landed in.

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