Russel Hobbs

Russel was always a respectful, well-spoken, and considerate child. Growing up, he was very intelligent and had a love for music. He came up around hip-hop's birth. When he was born, his family was haunted by a demon. That demon was the spirit of a man who, long ago, wasn't in good terms with his great-grandfather. Russel's great-grandfather killed the man, known as Kane. He was described as the personification of the Devil himself. He was, indeed, haunted by the Devil, because he sold his soul to the Devil. Instead of just taking his soul, Satan put a demon in his body and a curse. The curse is, whoever killed him, the first boy born into the family after that will be possessed by demons and spirits his whole life. After his grandfather and grandmother had his mom, she met his dad, and they had Russel, whose fate had already been determined.

Because he was so intelligent, he attended The Xavier School For Gifted Youngsters. He was very nice, but if you got on his bad side you were in trouble. He got in a couple if fights with the kids teasing him about his weight. As he got older, the teasing got worse, until one day he snapped. He was in the 5th grade. The demon took over his body. When the demon took over, his eyes glowed an eerie white. He attacked 9 children who kept on calling him fat. They were scratched up and bruised really bad. Because of that, he was expelled. His whole family was disappointed in him. He longed to be in school like a normal boy. He then suffered anxiety attacks, and the demon within him constantly came out. His family had to lock him in the basement of their house and have a pastor come to exorcise the demon from his body. All this excitement was too much for his young body, and the events sent him in a coma for four years.

Four years after he was sent in the coma, he awoke. He was 15, so he was a freshman in high school. Since he was forbidden to attend the Xavier School, he instead attended Westbrook High, a school known to have taught the biggest hip-hop stars at that time. It was there he met Delawrence, whom his friends called Del. Delawrence was tall, light skinned, toned, and had a high degree of street smarts. He was the aspiring rapper of Russel's friends. Then there was Antoine, who was dubbed "The Instrumental King". There was Tony, "The Beat Box", and he was the one to show Russel how to create beats. Then, they had a hype man, Charles. The five started a group called Fresh Boyz. Antoine's father bought them a recording studio a year later, and there they recorded several songs.

Del and Russel were always the closer ones of the five. They were best friends, or even brothers. They told each other everything. Del was well aware of the fact that Russel was bi curious. He didn't criticize him about it either. He did what any best friend would do and kept it a secret. He always wondered if Russel were truly gay, though. He would soon get the chance to ask.

"Sooooo…." Del said to Russel one day. Russel looked at Del with an eyebrow raised. "'Sooooo….' What?" Russel questioned. He had a funny feeling about where this conversation was headed.

"I was wonderin', are you gay or not…? Del said out flat. "You my bro, and you can tell me anything," he said.

"Well….." Russel started. He knew he could trust Del, but he honestly didn't know whether or not he was gay. "I don't even know, man. I'm confused." Russel admitted, putting a hand on his forehead.

"I know a way we could figure that out…" Del said blushing a little. Russel didn't catch on until Del's lips came crashing down onto his. Oh, now I get it... Russel thought. Del must be gay! He's trying to see if I have feeling for him, or guys period at least… Russel's thoughts were interrupted when Del's lips separated from his. "Well..?" he questioned.

"Naww, you still my bro, man." Russel said with a smile. "And I'm positive I'm straight."

"Yeah, let's just agree to never speak of that again!" Del said with a laugh. "'Cause truth be told, that wasn't so pleasant on my side either."

"Whatever man, I'm just glad I got a bro as cool as you." Russel said and they dapped.

"Aye, you ready fo' our first show later on?" Del asked.

"Hell yeah, man." Russel chuckled.

"We gone rock the house!" Del shouted. Little did he know that their first show was going to be his last?

Later on that night, after the show, Del, Russel, Tony, Charles, and Antoine threw a party in celebration of their first gig being a success at another friend's house. At the party, they got in a little scuffle with a gang rivaling Antoine and Charles' gang. After the heated argument, they hopped in their van and proceeded to going to Tony's house to hang out, Antoine being in the front seat. They never got there.

The rival gang, named the Royals, were not done with them yet. As they were making their way down the streets of Brooklyn, the Royals rolled up beside them and shot at them.

"OH SHIT!" Antoine shouted. "EVERYONE ROLL THE WINDOWS UP!" They did as they were told. They held on as he stepped on the gas.

"Oh, no! We're gonna be on the 5 o' clock news, 'Innocent teens shot in the middle of gang violence. They were 17 yr. old Russel Hobbs, 16 yr. old Tony Stepp-EEEP!" Tony was be his usual dramatic self when another car rolled up on his side and shot his window out. He was pelted with shards of glass, but he survived the violent wave of broken glass.

"SHIT! GET DOWN!" Antoine ordered, and again everybody did as he said. "Since I might die tonight, Imma be honest wit' y'all..." he started, "I ain't as innocent as you think…" he said.

"What? So you mean to say…"Russel said in disbelief.

"Yeah Del, me and Antoine are in a gang that rival the Royals, who are the assholes shootin' at us," Charles said. "You know, Del, Imma bust yo' ass out. You're the target of that other car shootin' at us." He said blunty. Russel shifted uneasilyin his spot next to Del.

Russel looked at Del in disbelief. "Del, man, you said you wasn't about that life! How could you lie to me?! You know you coulda kept it 100% wit me… I'm yo' bro…" Russel wasn't necessarily angry at the fact Del was in a gang, but because he didn't tell him and they were brothers.

"I know, and I'm not." Del started. "I told them that I didn't want to be in the gang no more, but because I know of some drug dealin' shit they in, they don't trust me to keep my mouth shut, so they tryna kill me…" he said.

Just then, Antoine and Charles pulled out their guns and started shooting at the Royals. Antoine's gun ran out of bullets, and when he retreated to get some more, he was shot in the head by one of the Royals. Charles yelped and retreated to see if Antoine was dead. He was. Angry, He grabbed Antoine's gun and before he hung out the window to shoot at the Royals again, he told Tony to take the wheel. Russel and Del was left in the backseat. Russel prayed, Lord,please let me live… As he prayed, the gang members sent out to kill Del stopped shooting. They then switched to the other side of the van and shot at Charles. Those bastards are working together! Del thought. Half of the members shot at the Royals, and the other half shot at Charles. They became successful. Charles was shot in the chest, and the Royals were gunned down as well. Russel stared at his two dead friends, tears welling up in his eyes. He loved them like family. As Russel sat there almost in tears, Tony got shot, and fell between Russel and Del. Del Nudged Russel, "Take the wheel." He said said. Russel climbed to the front seat. The gang out to get Del surrendered. "It's over…" he said, glancing at his dead friends and Russel. They had relaxed too soon, and stopped the car. Someone walked up to Russel's side and shot at Del. In one swift movement, Del jumped in front of the barrel and took the shot to the head and shot that person and the same time. Russel couldn't handle it any longer. He burst into tears. All of his friends were dead, and his best friend, hisbrother, died in his arms. He ran home and called the police. After questioning him and coming to the conclusion that Russel wasn't in a gang as well, the police set him free. The case was never solved. Somehow, all of his friends' spirits possessed Russel, giving him their musical talents. The only downside to that's was the fact that Russel's eyes glowed an ominous white. They stayed in Russel.s body.

After the shootings and two years of therapy, Russel got a job at Big Rick Black's Music Shack. One day, while he was sitting at the counter listening to a new album that had just come out, a taller, skinny man had walked into the store to "look at some albums". Russel didn't pay him any mind. Then, out of the blue, the man jumped on him. Russel fought back, but was knocked out.

Russel awoke in Kong Studios. It was there he met Stuart Pot (now 2D) and his girlfriend Paula Cracker. When he first met her, he didn't care for her. He felt that she was dirty and grimy and only wanted money. 2D, however, was his friend. He liked how nice and sincere he was, and despite how he may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, he was practically a musical genius. He also (somehow) forgave Murdoc for kidnapping him and taking him to a whole other country just to make a band. Even though he and Murdoc go back and forth with bickering, they still got along sometimes.

Murdoc: Alas, I have me band! Gorilla shall be the best band in the world! Anyway, that damned Paula keeps looking at me seductively. Oh, she plays the guitar so well, she has to be the best guitarist I've heard. I don't know what she's doing with a dullard like 2D. Maybe when he's gone I'll sweep her off her feet, hmm. Yes, yes, I will.

#$%^&*

Writer's note: I'm thinking about doing stories for Phase 2 and Phase 3. Leave a review if you think I should. Also, I've decided this should spill into when they became Gorillaz and how it was when they first began to blow up. Thanks for reading! ^^