A/N: I felt like Heller was taking a backseat in favor of my top two characters, whoops. Yeah, I've been playing favorites, which is literally what I made this series to avoid, shame on me. So here we have his... mid-start of darkness? I mean, it's more a set up for what exactly was going on with him and his "Dodo Bird" and how he ended up in San Campion. Aaaaaand I put in an OC/Canon pairing because I'm EVIL! AHAHAHAHAAHHA. Ahem, anyways, enjoy.
Notorious thugs, upscale criminals, saboteurs, back-stabbing S-O-Bs, and flat out evil. These phrases and words, along with many more, were the ones you would use to describe Soren Heller and Roxy Mesmer. Of course, they were only known by their last names among their associates in order to keep their privacy, as well as possible hiding places on the down-low.
These two partners were seen as a villainous power couple, infamously known all across the east coast of the country for their crimes and thefts. Bragging rights usually went to however could pinpoint their next target or claim they'd been in a heist alongside them.
Nobody really even knew how Mesmer and Heller met in the first place. Rumors of them being rival gang leaders merging, or even high-school sweethearts starting out early with petty crimes flourished on the streets. Either way, the two were nigh inseparable, never leaving each other behind.
However, all of that changed one fateful night in October. Mesmer and Heller had been discovered in one of their hideouts, either through a jealous snitch or one unlucky misstep. However it had happened, they knew they were both royally screwed over. They both made their way through secret exits in separate vehicles, promising to meet up with one another at another location on the outskirts of the city.
Of course, there was not only the two of them in the hideout, they did need somewhere to stash all of their ill-gotten gains, didn't they? So, Mesmer went off with all of the loot, while Heller acted as a quick diversion to get them off her tail, and to knock them off guard. Hours later and a near-miss later, he waited outside the city limits for her to come.
Even more hours passed as he sat there, hoping to see her car so they could ditch this town and move on over to the next one. But, seven hours in and no sight of Roxy anywhere, he began to feel like he'd been had big time.
Of course she'd want to get away with all the cash! His truck was bigger, and hers looked like damn near every single one in the city. She'd take longer to get caught, and she'd be spending all the way until then. His inseparable partner had left him for a fall guy and a quick ticket out, and he was mad as hell.
This didn't stop ol' Heller from keeping his name in the headlines. He traveled across the country, performing his usual 'odd jobs' as he slowly crept towards the west coast, Mesmer all but a memory in his mind. She didn't need him, and he didn't need her.
But, it felt a little weird working without a partner. He'd been so used to it, everything felt all the more incomplete. Granted, they'd also be a whole lot more helpful in deactivating any possible alarms, be he could muster that just fine by himself, even if it took a little longer.
His next stop, a city on the tip of the West coast, was where it all changed. He'd been planning on cleaning out the local jewelry stores to prepare himself for the "Gems, Gems, Gems!" exhibition at the San Campion Museum of History. Something else caught his eye when he was busy planning this out. From the front seat of his van.
Two guys, wearing bizarre futuristic outfits concealing most of their faces and bodies seemed to be doing… something with a pair of clawed robotic gloves. He couldn't make out what was happening exactly, but his curiosity was piqued enough for him to check it out.
Apparently, what they were doing was trying to push back some sort of one-eyed monster made entirely out of clay. It writhed and screamed, pushing back against their attempts with little success. Heller assumed that with all of the commotion, he could just snatch one of those gloves from their truck, seeing as they had their hands (heh.) full already.
Early the next morning, Heller examined the glove, turning it over in his hands and wondering exactly what this thing was supposed to even do. The strange glowing markings and beastly claws didn't really seem to suggest this was anything else than just a weird prop. But, from what he'd seen, maybe it was some sort of holographic projector?
Yeah, that had to be it.
He reckoned he could sell it for eighty, maybe ninety bucks tops. His train of thought was soon derailed when a loud crackling noise and a flash of golden light popped up in front of him. He fell out of the car, scrambling to see what had just happened.
It was a glowing, robotic owl of some sort. It appeared dazed and confused as to where and how it ended up here. It took one look at Heller, coked its head to the side, and charged at him at full speed. Heller let out a screech that was entirely much higher than he intended, and shielded his face, awaiting the impact.
Except, the impact never came. The bird froze mid-flight, looking about as shocked as Heller did when he removed his hand from his face. Heller held out his hand before the bird, and then dropped it, watching the bird also fall to the ground.
With that, he grinned widely. Looks like he got a new partner after all.
