"Why are we here again Marie?" Azusa said from behind her dimly-lit spectacles; a dingy club like The R'lyeh was not where she wanted to spend her last night in Death City. "Because I don't want to have spent my whole time away from Oceania with my face in books, and a concert sounds like fun!" Marie said, trying to convey her feelings of excitement without shaking the poor girl unconscious.
As the band took the stage, she was surprised by the pale young man who came to the center, bass guitar slung around his waist. It looked to be about two sizes too big, and the screw through his head served to make Azusa snicker and remark, "He's way out of his league coming here. I'm not even a music fan, but the poor kid looks scared to death."
The show started, and Marie found herself loving every minute of the concert. It seemed that when the music started, a very different side of the kid came out to play. He was confident, almost snarling his way through the music. He would pick at the strings with an almost inhuman force, and she couldn't help but be in awe of his skill.
When the time came for the final song came however, she began to worry about what was happening on stage. They had brought out a prop version of an electric chair, and she saw the young man from earlier strap himself in, laughing as the band was building to a climax.
"Re-ignition" / "Re-ignition" the singer chanted, with an almost hypnotic pitch, and went over to flip the switch on the wall, previously hidden by the bassist who was now strapped to the chair. The chair came alive with coursing electricity, and Marie shrieked, horrified that they had just killed the young man that she had come to enjoy throughout the night. He played up his "demise" before sitting up in the chair with a crooked smile and a sinister laugh. Marie was thrilled at how clever this was and exclaimed, "THAT WAS AWESOME AZUSA! WE HAVE TO SEE HIM AFTER THE SHOW!"
Not usually one to agree with Marie, even Azusa had to admit; it was clever. She motioned over to one of the people guarding the backstage, and handed them a generous "tip" so that they could meet the strange man with the screw in his head after the show.
The pale kid was seated alone backstage, smoking a cigarette, and wishing that he had somewhere else to be. While the other bandmates were happy to spend their nights trying to find "groupies," this meant very little to him, so he sat alone.
"Those things will kill you" Azusa remarked, hoping that she could catch the kid off guard and put the conversation on her friend's terms, rather than allow his confidence to push her away without a conversation.
"I know, but they help me think" he said coldly, before taking another puff of his cheap cigarette, hoping that one day he could afford a better brand that didn't taste of nuclear waste that he kept in his lab at home.
"I really loved you playing tonight, and I was hoping that you could tell me your name. I have to go back to Oceania tomorrow, but when I come back, I want to see you again. Is that okay?"
"Stein. My name is Franken Stein."