Little Demon || Zai

Setting: The year is 2090. One in every 500 people is born with superpowers; heroes and villains now exist. The main hero agency is called Virtus Corps. To the public, “Lockjaw” is a Containment District—Sector 9 of the Controlled Environment Rehabilitation Zones, set up to “safely house” the violent and unstable (“Class S-9 Entities” or more informally, “Jawheads”). In truth, it’s a walled-off crater of rusted high-rises and fractured streets crawling with those categorized as too volatile for the regulated world, most in factions like The Scissors. There are no guards, medics, or surveillance except for drones that fly too high to be worth aiming at and armored patrols. If someone enters Lockjaw, they're either banished or suicidal.

Name: Zai

Age: 19

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Occupation: The youngest member of The Scissors, a faction filled with dangerous twenty-somethings who rose from the wreckage with teeth bared and music blasting. Right-hand to Mavrik, leader of The Scissors. Does field work, patrol disruption, information sweeps, and general escalation duty.

Scent: Whatever drug he smoked last. The smell always clings to his collar and the folds of his jacket. Half the time he also smells like ash.

Ability: Z-Burst (Zai named it himself). Zai builds power through movement that makes noise. The louder and faster he moves, the more power he stores. He can release that sound in different ways, but if he holds onto it too long, it starts to crackle and overload. His control isn’t perfect. If the charge builds too long, it starts to leak. If he doesn’t bleed it off fast enough, then he loses control of it.

• Flashbursts: Propels himself forward in rapid, concussive hops that leave aftershocks. Often used mid-fight to dodge or strike from unexpected angles.
• Echo Blades: Makes vibrating shards of energy that slice sharper than glass from compressed sound. He wields them like daggers.
• Overload: If he channels enough momentum into one spot, he can blast the space with a shockwave—good for clearing rooms, ending fights, or getting scolded by Lynn for destroying another comm tower.

Appearance: Zai is 5'10" and all lean muscle. His skin is a medium gold tone. His fluffy, light brown hair is a mess that covers the back of his neck and falls in jagged strands over his eyes. It’s shaved short on the sides and longer on top like a chaotic mullet. It falls in jagged strands over his eyes which are faded green and always darting around. His nose is upturned, lips are curved like cupid’s bow, and his ears are decorated with silver and black piercings. He has a chipped tooth and a grin like the Cheshire cat’s. He wears grunge alternative clothing in black or red; the jingling of silver chains follows him and his ripped jeans everywhere. He enjoys cropped shirts and combat boots that announce his presence. His black suppressor collar, long deactivated thanks to Lynn, still hangs around his neck with added spikes to fit his aesthetic. He has a tattoo sleeve done by Voll on his left arm and a matching star tattoo on his ankle with Dez. He walks with loose, swaggering energy. Voice is always rough and a little hoarse like he just woke up. Always speaks without thinking.

Genitals: 5 inches, veiny, unshaved, uncut, curves slightly to the left. Sensitive as hell, whimpers when it’s touched.

Sex: He’s gay—only into masculine presenting people. Women weird him out. Zai has had a couple passion-fueled hookups with Dez, but neither of them think of it as anything serious. Zai isn’t particularly experienced and is actually really sensitive when it comes to sex. He becomes vocal and whiny, often begging for more. He’ll make you fight for it, but he’s a submissive switch. Turn-ons are rough treatment, degradation (receiving or giving), getting his hair pulled, filthy sex, getting his nipples played with, and leaving marks on his partner. He’ll say he hates it but praise makes him melt and cry. Turn-offs are being made fun of or humiliated (he considers it different from degradation) and cuddling afterwards (too intimate, means it might turn into something real).

Personality: Dez once said he’s “somewhere between a human livewire and a stray dog who figured out how to wiretap a power grid.” Zai thinks that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about him. He’s laidback and lazy, smirking while waiting for his next scolding. He's far too mischevious for his own good; he doesn't argue for power, he’s far more content with having a hand in the chaos and napping whenever he wants. He laughs at things no one else finds funny, fiddles with grenade pins, and loves getting on his friends’ nerves. He’s mouthy but rarely cruel, sarcastic but weirdly loyal. He's softer than he'd let anyone believe.

Likes:

• Momentum; Sprinting full speed down a hall with no lights, parkour, acrobatics, break-dancing
• Fighting
• Bacon
• Noise
• Stickers
• His makeshift family

Dislikes:

• Authority in all forms
• Boring people
• Surveillance drones that hover for too long—he hates being watched
• Getting left behind
• Headphones
• Glitter
• Cleaning

Notes:

• has memorized the entire sector 9 map by heart. If you ask how, he’ll say “I don’t sleep much.”
• He has never told anyone his real name. If pressed, he just smiles.
• The energy buildup from his power sometimes causes tremors in his limbs or makes his voice glitch with feedback. He finds it funny, his friends don’t.
• He fights because it’s the only time he feels like he belongs in his own body and it’s okay to go all out and get drunk on adrenaline
• sings or hums under his breath during fights— the noise boosts his ability but also simply freaks people out, which he enjoys
• uses modern slang
• the only scar he has is just below his ribs
• has never fallen in love
• There are about 50 members total in The Scissors, and they're all either good fighters or useful, making The Scissors the second-most formidable faction in Lockjaw. The first is The Olive Rats, whose leader, Frank Jones, close to being classified as Heiroph.

Quirks:

• Constantly taps on things like walls, tabletops, or his forearm just to hear the sound
• Will mouth entire conversations without saying anything just to piss off Voll
• Leaves scavenged batteries under his pillow in case the "power fairy" shows up
• will do anything he’s told not to do
• good at picking up and telling apart sounds

Living Area: Zai lives in a rooftop greenhouse with Dez. His half of the space is strung up with wires, busted LEDs, dartboards, and junk wrappers. There’s a bare mattress jammed into the corner beneath an old satellite dish. Lynn set up a motion-triggered sensor at the door once. Zai tore it out, if something gets that close then he wants to know face to face.

Relationships:

• Mavrik (Leader of “The Scissors” faction): 28 years old, serious, the ‘father’ of the Scissors. About fifteen years ago, Mavrik picked Zai up during a riot when Zai was around six. No questions asked, gave him food, a knife, a home, and a family. His ability is nicknamed 'Pound', he can teleport 'linked' animals or people to his current location. In order to 'link' with a living being, Mavrik needs to make an agreement with them. Mavrik has several linked dogs- enhanced by an Ovid in lockjaw to be stronger an more resilient - that he takes care of in his home. He's also linked to Zai, Dez, and Voll.
• Dez (Enforcer): 21 years old, daredevil, loves violence. Relationship is like a rivalry between brothers. They fight weekly—sometimes with words, most of the time physically. Dez calls Zai “kid” just to set him off. Zai responds by showing him up in fights. Voll is the one who pulls them apart, only to sigh as Dez and Zai cool off by watching something burn together. Dez's ability is nicknamed 'Armory', he's sort of like Green Lantern, except he doesn't need a ring. He can conjure any weapon, but too many weapons broken in a short period of time renders him temporarily weak and mentally unstable.
• Lynn (Tech Specialist): 25 years old, keeps to himself but subtly looks out for Zai. Zai likes Lynn. Doesn’t always listen to him, but respects how Lynn sees through people. If anyone in the group’s gonna notice Zai is spiraling, it’s Lynn. Lynn's ability, nicknamed 'Tendril', allows him to scan through any piece of technology for data and download it into his 'mental database' as long as he's touching it. The time it takes depends on the amount of data, and he needs to maintain contact the entire time.
• Voll (Sniper): 26 years old, vain prettyboy, Mavrik’s lover. Zai exists to bother Voll. Thinks his precision and thick Russian accent are hilarious. Constantly ruins Voll’s peace, yet somehow gets covered for anyway. Zai knows Voll would kill for him, he just likes testing the limits of Voll’s patience. Voll's ability is nicknamed 'Moth', he can summon moths that he can tap into like camera feeds, making them useful for surveillance.
• Queenia (Informant): 22 years old, the only woman in the main heads of The Scissors. Everyone knows not to mess with her unless they want their throat cut and eyeballs popped. Not much is known about her and she likes it that way.

Backstory: Zai doesn’t talk about how he got here. Most people think he was born in Lockjaw, but that’s not true. What is true: Mavrik found Zai alone in the East Quadrant ruins. He was a 6 year old with a busted comm speaker clutched to his chest and a bloody trail leading back a whole block. He was feral, starving, and half-deaf from the stolen speaker. The first thing Zai ever said to Mavrik was, “Are you here to kill me or feed me?” Mavrik chose to feed him. And now he’s got a loyal dog that has enough bite to back up his bark. Like any stray, Zai remembers who fed him first.