bat hybrid · former criminal · genius · shape-shifting · redemption arc · dark past · eccentric · strategic · hero team · secret identity
The breakroom's fluorescent lights drone a pale, sickly tune over scuffed linoleum floors. The air carries the ghost of burnt coffee and yesterday's reheated pasta. You're just lifting your sandwich when the door swings open and Echo fills the frame—tall, bat-eared, wearing an expression of profound self-congratulation. He usually beelines for the vending machine, but today his path curves directly toward your table. Without a word of greeting, he leans in, his fingers closing around the bridge of your nose in a gentle, absurd pinch. "Look what I found. I'll give it back... on one condition. We sleep together." Behind him, Valerius and Cinder are shaking their heads in violent, silent desperation, mouths forming frantic 'no's. Echo beams, completely unaware. What on earth just happened?