Portrayed By | Josh Duhamel |
---|---|
Sex | With Bebe |
Status | Unregistered |
Ability | Hydrokinesis |
Age | Late 30s |
Date of Birth | Unknown |
Date of Death | Not today |
Occupation | Private Security Consultant |
Family | Unknown |
Significant Other(s) | Barbara "Bebe" Dahl |
First Appearance | Discreetly |
Last Appearance | Pending |
It's hard out there for an indentured servant.
Character History:
When you're tired of living, come to Somalia and someone will kill you. Seriously. I wasn't born there, but I was based there long enough to learn that. The skinnies are a people living on the ragged edge of survival, and they'll take everything they can from you.
I can't remember anything that happened before June 22nd, 1989. Nothing. I woke up for the first time when somebody splashed a bucket of water over my face and dragged me to my feet. Next thing I knew, I was chained to a Somali boy who was maybe sixteen years old, clearing away rubble from destroyed buildings and listening to gunshots crack and hiss in the distance.
Civil war is an ugly, ugly thing. Francois Fenelon said that all wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers. He was fucking right. While I was a slave, I saw things no man should bear witness to. Hunger and poverty and disease. Rape and riots and murder. The war in Somalia was glorious and terrible at the same time, like living through an action movie.
My chain partner's name was Ghedi Abdikhani Erasto. Khan. Good kid. Helped me figure out indentured life, which is no place for anyone, much less a guy who can't remember his own name. He taught me the language, how to move, how to think, how to stay alive. He was as surprised as I was that it came so naturally to me. We were chained together night and day for almost two years.
Then it happened. Poof. I was taking a break from filling a drinking trough for the goats when one of my 'benefactors' clubbed me from behind and shoved me to the ground. Pissed me right off, it did. I was thinking about how much the prick deserved a good soaking when WHOOSH. All the water in the trough
jumped out and drenched him. Pretty wild, right?
He was mad. So, so mad. Beat the crap clean out of me. I knew, though. I knew I'd done it somehow. Not that I deserved the beating, but if I could lift water from a trough, what else could I do?
It took a long time for me to build up my confidence and my control. Khan was invaluable then. Always cheerful, always encouraging. When I used my power to cut through our chains, he cheered even louder than I did. Seven of us escaped and took off toward the coastline. Four of us made it. Me, Khan, Erat, and Azi. We'd been brothers in slavery, and we remained brothers in freedom. Unfortunately, we had no money, no proper education, and no prospects.
We did have me.
It wasn't hard to take over a small boat and sail it out of the harbor. We traded up from there. The next boat was larger, and netted us weapons for our crew. And so on. And so on. In a matter of months, we'd moved up to speedboats and automatic guns.
We mostly ran payroll jobs. Speed in, hop on the target ship, scare the shit out of everybody, and make off with the contents of the safe. Though the area wasn't exactly what I'd call a paradise, we did manage to snag the occasional yacht or luxury boat. Mmmm, diamonds.
It was during one of our little luxury forays that I met my Barbra. She was so young and so beautiful. The only other person on the boat had been her father, and we had to kill him when we boarded. Leaving her out there would've been just as good as shooting her, so we took her with us.
Though I'd been a captive for more time than I cared to remember, I found myself poorly prepared for handling one of my own. At first I was inclined to be kind, but she abused my generosity and repaid me with a stab in the leg from a table knife. I grew harsh. Cruel, even. Every tiny kindness I doled out became something for her to treasure.
The symbiotic relationship between hostage and captor is an intense one. They call it Stockholm syndrome. Over time, it can come to consume a person's entire world. I know it swallowed mine. Bebe became my plaything. My willing, subserviant china doll, adrift in a sea of dark-skinned infidels. I protected her, and she loved me for it.
Everything seemed perfect for our twisted little family. Too perfect, of course. Not long after we'd all settled in, we had ourselves a little blunder. Gunship patrol. I managed to get Bebe onto one of the speeders and escape, but everyone else got wasted. Even little Khan.
We had to get away. Far, far away. I'd just heard about a bomb in NYC. Chaos and anarchy make for good cover, especially when you shift continents. So we ran.
It was worse there than I thought. Rioting in the streets. Radiation. Dead people.
It was perfect. At first.
Once we got there, I didn't have much to do but dwell on the deaths of my friends. It hit me hard. I kept thinking about Khan on that goddamn boat. And so I drank. And drank and drank and drank. And then that wasn't enough. I started mixing pills with my booze, but it wasn't long after that I ended up on the spike. Morphine.
The guy I got it from? Logan? He seemed nice at first. Extended me a fat line of credit and everything. Like an idiot, I let him give me drugs I couldn't pay for until they oozed out of my pores.
Then, when I was most vulnerable, he came a-knockin'. Time to pay up, he said. He knew I couldn't. So there I was, sucking on the barrel of a revolver. I gave him the only thing I had left. My most prized possession.
Bebe. My china doll.
That wasn't enough, though. I had to work for him, too. Like the thugs who were ready to kill me, I was kept at his beck and call. I handled his product. I drove his customers and his ladies. I guarded his property. Sometimes I killed.
I've made my bed. Now I have to sleep in it while he sleeps with my girlfriend.
Evolved Human Ability:
Hydrokinesis:
Jack has the power to manipulate and control aspects of water. In order to use his ability, he must be within approximately 50 meters (164 ft.) of a supply that meets his current demand. Often this is a faucet or open body of water, but can include sources as small as a water bottle. They must be above ground, though in some rare cases pipes or sewer lines that are uncommonly close to the surface might be usable.
This ability ONLY works on water. No ketchupkinesis, shampookinesis, or anything else that's ridiculous.
Timeline:
Pending.
Memorable Quotes:
- Pending.
Trivia and Notes:
- Bite me.