Name: Luckard Bates
Age: doesn't really know, but reasonably young, somewhere between 19 and 24
Gender:Male
Bender/Non-Bender: Waterbender
Appearance:
Alan weighs in at less than 150 lbs., a fact pinpointed even farther as his frame towers over most men, at 6'5". His hair is the darkest shade of black possible and hangs wildly down to his shoulders, sometimes grimy, other times cleaner than the clearest crystal. Underneath his shock of hair are his amber tinted eyes, hidden behind his darkened shades.
He has an affinity for the color red, but wears a charcoal black suit, complete with vest and dark red hat. He also has a thick red velvet overcoat he stole from another man that doesn't move from place to place. His shoes are heavy,knee-high boots, the one thing on him that doesn't have a single hole. His shirt can change daily, but two colors, red and black, are the only constant in terms of his clothing. He keeps his sunglasses on at all times, he considers this non-negotiable unless something big goes down.
Personality:
A bit kooky by most people's standards, he has the fortune(at the misfortune of others most often) to spout seemingly random nonsense, but it is often humorous. When he actually gets angry however, the randomness may not cut off, but he will become serious in place of his normal "wackiness". His basic personality is having fun as much as he can basically, but finds equal enjoyment ramming people through walls as reading a good newspaper comic. However, he absolutely abhors anyone that makes more money than him. Which is most people that actually have a regular job. And he is actually quite sane, despite what many might think.
Occupation: Freelance muscle for various gangs, specifically for anti-government jobs(breaking into shops that openly support the government, or sell products made for them by them, political prisoners in-transit, etc.) though he will take any job that involve violence, he likes violence. But his "official" job is for an independent cybernetic company. They specialize in lending money to people going under the knife, and some people are a bit....reluctant to pay up for the generosity. That's where Luckard comes in, he's under contract to either bring the money...or the part. He gets a higher commission if he brings the money back though. This hasn't stopped him from ripping the part from their bodies from time to time when his temper gets the better of him.
He's also taken innocent walks in the night that have ended with him killing small patrols of the police, simply through his various insults as he passes by. He sincerely doesn't understand their antagonism towards him. The contents of their wallets and valuables he can sell to a pawn shop or fence helps with his injured feelings however.
Skills:
A very strong Waterbender, Lucard has heard of Bloodbending,but has yet to find anyone willing/able to teach it.Despite the "fact" that it's a lost art, he holds out He's well-versed in street fighting when his Bending fails him, not so much an organized method of fighting as a seemingly random style of kicks,punches, elbows, and headbutts. None of which lend well to his physical form, even though he's stronger than he looks. He also knows how to throw a knife reasonably straight.
His Waterbending skills involve his peculiar sense of humor, as he enjoys using his enemy's against themselves. Taking their sweat built up that inevitably forms during a fight and attacking them with it. He has mastered the water whip, but modified it to suit himself again, by freezing a portion of the water in the heart of the whip, lending more weight behind the weapon, turning the blunt splash of water into a piercing icicle that leaks into their bodies.
Another of his innovations would be transferring the sweat from a person's body into a localized spot, often their hand or face,and freezing it, both incapacitating at the least.
Yet another of his fighting innovations, this one is not so much his own as his "master's", designed to fight multiple opponents coming from all sides at once, it supposedly blends Waterbending with Airbending. He first gathers the water from his back and the surrounding area. This is then gathered into a ball around him, freezes a few centimeters of it, and explodes it outwards in all directions by spiking it at the last second, followed by the explosion of water into the surrounding area, soaking most if not all his opponents. The final stage is freezing the surrounding water, disabling them and and sending them flying back via slippery ice.
Outside of combat, he knows how to scavenge on the streets better than most, having grown up on them. His skills also include persuasion through uncomfortableness as well as minor street notoriety as a man not to be trifled with, if only because of his presence. He can pick simple locks, such as those seen on lockers,bathroom doors, and hope chests.
Gear:
Two bags of water strapped to his back, underneath the coat. He carries a half-dozen throwing knives on each leg, strapped as well. a set of lockpicks is in one of the pockets without holes most times. The last thing he carries around is a pair of scissors, never know when they might come in handy.
History:
Luckard was born an orphan, a not uncommon occurrence in the present day. He spent his first few years in a government orphanage, before being booted out because of the lack of room. He turned to crime quite early on, first breaking in windows for food and money, then pickpocketing when he needed it to survive. He came into contact with a member of one of the shadowy underground's up-and-comers, a Ms. Lucile Bates. While attempting to pickpocket the woman, he was caught, but rather than kill or reprimand the boy, she saw his potential while still at a young age as a tool. She herself was a Waterbender, and saw some of the Water Tribe blood in his appearance, and was determined to find the Waterbending spark in him. It didn't take long into training before he outstripped her in terms of how fast he learned things in comparison. He took her surname, and changed his "given" name from the orphanage, Luke, into Lukard, as it sounded more menacing to his ears. She rose through the ranks of the underworld and he along with her as he was considered her child, if not by blood, then by ties. This served to leave a spot in her defenses, though until her death at the hands of a government raid, no one dared challenge the boy, as he was her not-so-secret weapon. It was known he was learning Waterbending, but not how strong he was in the art.
They rose up, within a few years having carved out a few blocks known as their neighborhood,where their word was law whenever the Republic wasn't out in force and were in the process of expansion. He may not have known the particulars of their enterprise, but he did know it was all illegal, as he was approaching the age when he was planning on expanding their borders. Then they got the attention of the Republic with a raid on a routine political prisoner caravan passing near their territory.
The government attacked their complex in the middle of the night, while Luckard and his "mother"/master were asleep. He in his room, her in her office where she took care of deals with other gangs and individuals. She was overpowered by the sheer numbers thrown against her, that was when Luckard awoke to the sounds of yelling and Bending Battles. He was barely able to reach his bottle of training water and defend himself as they burst through the door to find a teenager throwing icicles at their faces, while not killing any of them, he did manage to fight off three that came through that door. He escaped and has hated the Republic in every sense of the word since.
His skills have helped with many operations throughout the City. From simple ambushes of guard and police patrols to minor break-ins of government controlled buildings. He has a small reputation with various gangs and organizations that operate out from under the Republic's purview.
