Around the country, most children have a fairly standard life. They're born to two parents, a loving home whether the income level is high or low. They go to school, get good grades, and aside from the little obnoxious parts of life as a student in any public school, they grow up as well-rounded individuals. They go on to college, get their diplomas, and get cushy desk jobs that they usually grow to hate within a few years. They meet people, get married, have babies, go to church, and they make their little imprints on life.
Keira was never really one of those kids. She never even stood a chance.
Buffalo, NY is a fairly nice city. It's very close to Niagara Falls, located right on the United States — Canadian border. However, like any city, it has its ghettoes. This is the stage for the beginning of our story.
On May 24th of 1983, Keira Aislinn Fionn were born to Deirdra Madigan Fionn, a single mother who was more concerned with procuring her next high than for the wellfare of her own daughter. Keira's childhood suffered for it. Her grandpop, a kind old Irish man, did most of the raising, staying with his daughter to take care of his infant granddaughter who would go ignored if it were not for him. It was a pity that he died when Keira was only three, that his warm influence on her life was taken from her. She may have turned out so much better if he had been around longer.
On good days, Keira's mother blatantly ignored her. That was considered peaceful. That was good for Keira. On bad days, when money had run out and the meth and the beer was gone, Keira would bear the brunt of her mother's hatred toward her. Her mother would scream at the little child, about how she had ruined her entire life, and how she was unwanted, and lash out at her daughter, hitting the little girl and pushing her around. Bruises were left in discreet places, where clothing hid the evidence from the public eye.
The best days were the ones when her mother shoved her off onto Aunt Flannery. Aunt Flannery wasn't the best woman in the world. She drank a little too much, and smoked a little too much pot, as well as dealing it in front of her own children (and niece). But she was at least nice, and aside from the occasional episode of ranting to her children and niece about the state of the world (which only ever left Keira confused), and a few delusional tendencies, Aunt Flan's was a sanctuary. Sure, her cousins bullied her, and were never particularly kind. Sure, Aunt Flan's husband would purposely exclude Keira from anything he did with his children or family, and yell at her if she tried to join in.
But it was better than home.
When the school years came around, it only got worse for Keira. Keira was always a stick-like, tiny thing, and her uprearing made her quite mousy when school began. Like her home life, it was a constant struggle. In the beginning, bullies would beat her up, steal her lunch money, and otherwise make her life even more miserable than it already was.
Some children would sit back, take the torture, then run home and cry to their parents. Keira was not one of these children. A combination of all the horrible aspects of her home life, including the violent treatments her mother administered so callously, and the admittedly horrible treatment of her 'safe haven', pushed Keira to become one of those bullies. After snapping one day and lashing out at a bully, she quickly fell in with the crowd of cruel children. She got an early start in the criminal life. By third grade, it was Keira who stole lunch money, who made the other student's lives miserable. She was a vicious little thing from the beginning, and even the boys didn't mess with her, what with her reputation for overwhelming her opponents with the sheer ferocity of her attacks.
Her schooling situation was never particularly good, either. While her grades got her passed through school, she was never a shining star in academics. That isn't to say that she's not intelligent. However, when you have a mother who makes it extremely obvious that you are not wanted, and would rather slap you than look at your report card, you lose the desire to impress. B's and C's dominated her report cards, though in the more artistic classes, she always managed to pull of A's.
As the teenage years came, it was almost natural for her to fall in with local gang culture. She managed to get in with the local GKB gang, a local chapter of the Bloods, at age 15. This was accomplished by meeting and charming a older gangster named Robert Fett. She learned quite a bit about life from him, far more than any other person had even attempted to teach her. She learned that life is much easier when you take the easy way, and take what you need from society. She learned how to fight from him. He even taught her how to shoot a gun, reasoning that no woman of his would be defenseless against the world. He gave Keira her first tattoo, and many others that she still bears proudly today. She loved him, and she ate up everything he taught her.
Sadly, her relationship with Robert was not nearly as wonderful as she seemed to think it was. He may have taught her to defend herself, but he also manipulated her. Twisted her into doing things she probably would have never done if it were not for his influence. And when she got too 'out of hand', he would never heasitate to slap her around. Their relationship was never healthy. He was never particularly faithful, either; in all reality, to him, she was just another piece of meat, albeit a pretty one that he enjoyed keeping on his arm, and twisting into his little thug girl. But in her mind, she loved him, and he loved her, and that was all that mattered, wasn't it?
Gang life, just like the rest of her life, was still a struggle; nothing ever gets easier. As a woman, she had a natural disadvantage on the men. Even so, she became even more ferocious than before, with most of her skill in a fight relying on her ferocity and her willingness to use just about anything to give her the upper hand. There were fights with other women, there were even fights with men who wanted to get a little too frisky, or had taken offense to something the little outspoken girl had said. Robert rarely stepped in to defend her honor, so she was usually forced to handle things herself. And handle them, she did, gaining a notorious reputation for fighting like a pit bull. She typically accomplished jobs with fairly good accuracy, as well. Selling drugs for the gang was easy for the girl who, while an ugly duckling, had quickly blossomed into a ravishing little thing.
However, being the girlfriend of a man who was certainly on the rise in the gang did not come without its drawbacks. Robert had taught Keira to fight mostly due to the fact that she became a target. Rival gangs would try to grab her and use her as leverage, or try to attack her to get back at Robert. Thankfully, she rarely went out alone, and usually, those attacks were turned right back at the aggressors. At least, until one day, when Keira was nearing her 17th birthday.
Keira, Robert, and a few of their homies were out one day, fresh from getting new tattoos to mark Robert's ascension to the first in command of the GKBs. He had worked long and hard to get to where he was, and they were now headed to purchase some new items for both Robert and Keira, with plans to celebrate later that evening with a wonderful dinner. Sadly, their celebrations were not to last. A former homie, angry that Robert had gotten the head position, had gathered those loyal to him, and lead an attack on Robert. The men threw Keira into a safe place. While she and Robert's homies managed to defeat his enemies, Roberts did not survive the attack. He died in Keira's arms.
Life in the gang had been brutal for Keira already. The men didn't treat her entirely with the respect she craved, despite her reputation as being ferocious in a fight; she was, after all, a woman, and not on their 'level'. Women were just as bad as men when it came to violence, and most women had been rather jealous of the not-so-glamorous position Keira had held. Drugs were an issue; Keira had struggled with her own fair share of substance abuse, enjoying alcohol entirely too much, as well as a bit of a cocaine addiction that, while certainly not as bad a some can get, certainly wasn't good, either. Death was never a foreign concept to her, either. Homies and hos had died all around her, and each death had left its own mark on her.
But it had never prepared her for this.
Keira went into a downward spiral after Robert's death. She not only no longer had her support base that had always been around since she had started in the gang, for nearly two years. She had also gained the hatred of Robert's enemies. They made life difficult for her, hassling her, coming after her, even trying to assault her.
But once again, she never took anything laying down.
She threw herself into her job as a gangster girl, selling drugs for the gang, doing everything expected of her. And anyone who came after her, or so much as looked at her the wrong way, received the somewhat unexpected brunt of her fury, starting with screams, and typically ending with fists, or her favorite method of grabbing whatever she could nearby and using it to attack her victims. While she no longer had Robert's power behind her, several homies who had been in league with him were at least sympathetic to her (and perhaps mildly frightened).
The combination of ruthless, ferocious violence and an uncanny ability to sweet talk allowed her to remain in good standing with the gang, and while she no longer had the status she enjoyed when Robert was alive, she still remained a relatively prominent member of the gang.
As with everything, though, the good life never really lasts.
Five months after Robert's death, when Keira was 17, she was involved in a robbery that had resulted in an injury. She was arrested, and placed in juvenile hall. She was saved by the fact that she was underaged, and spent the remained of her 17th year there. It really did nothing for her (though she did get her GED). However, she wanted to get away from Buffalo, start fresh.
The next two years went by in a bit of a blur. She occasionally went in and out of jail for minor things, such as selling drugs, or getting into fights. It was after getting busted for a petty fight that she made a decision. She was going to get away from Buffalo. New York sounded like a fairly awesome place.
An old friend she had known through Robert had gone to New York. Pulling some strings, she got herself initiated into a small-time gang that had recently started up, that worked with some of the larger gangs in the area. In 2003, she made her way to New York City.
She settled there fairly well. While she still had to deal with the sexism, she quickly established herself with the same combination of charm and brutal violence. While once again not the best fighter in the world, she relied on the surprise of sudden assault. This was also turned on rival gangs, gaining her a modicum of respect higher than most women recieved. Her demeanor alone gained her respect, even if it was only through fear. She was quite well known for her love of guns and knives. She continued doing what she did best, selling and running drugs and weaponry, and aiding the gang in defense and other violent and unlawful business ventures.
In 2004, she met a young man, then, Amadeus Deckard. They developed a relationship of sorts (if you could even call it that), with Amadeus mooching off of her and her doting on him for a time, before becoming angry over something or other and kicking him out with shouts of him owing her money. He typically returned, and she would usually take him back in. This continued over the course of the next three years, with Amadeus disappearing for months at a time, then returning to her doorstep and looking pathetic. It never failed, and while she never cared to admit it, she adored him far more than she would ever let him know.
This ended in early 2007 in a horrible spat, where she violently kicked him out of her apartment and told him not to return until he had the several grand that he owed her. He didn't return, and while it bothered her, she let it slip to the back of her mind, figuring he would either return one day to return her money, or he was gone for good. And when she does see him, she will probably hit him several times.
When the bomb hit in 2006, Keira was thankfully out of the city on a drug run; she saw the cloud from afar, and quickly made her way from the city, returning to Buffalo and staying with her mother for several weeks (much to her mother's chagrin). When it was announced that it was safe to return, she did return, and continued living her life with the added advantage of a city in chaos. Crime is always so much easier to commit when people are already panicked, after all.
The uncovering of Evolved came as a bit of a shocker to her, though she took it in stride. She certainly didn't like the idea of people with powers running around, but she wasn't going to hunt them down. She's rather unhappy about the idea of Evolved, however, disliking the advantage their abilities give them over normal humans.
Throughout her time in New York, she's also spent her fair share of time in and out of jail. Most of the time, she spent anywhere from a week to a month in jail, usually for fights or getting busted with the small amounts of drugs she tended to carry on her. She typically handled this quite well, behaving herself perfectly in the eyes of the guards, though behind their backs, she would never hesitate to put another woman in line. Her worst offense was six months in jail in 2006, for possessing drugs with intent to distribute.
Eventually, in 2007, Keira reached a changing point in her life. With her criminal record came the recognition of one Daniel Walsh. He approached her with a job offer, with offers of subtle protection from the police, as well as the standard money, in exchange for her employment as a gun runner. While still running with her local gang and doing drug runs and the like, she took a much less pronounced role in her gang, with Daniel Walsh being her primary employer. She has remained in business to this day, running and smuggling guns for Daniel, and running drugs for her gang on the side.
Another connection of hers is one John Logan, whom she occasionally goes to for drugs or other varied jobs. She's not known him long, but she knows that doing business with him usually means some form of profit for her.
