Rubber-Bandie

The atmosphere of London agreed with Aubrey. Or maybe, Falcon’s teaching. Or having a friend ‘in the business’ in the form of Sparrow. Or maybe she was just naturally inclined to it. Either way, she began to flourish. She worked alongside Sparrow while training under Falcon, and showed a talent for the exact skills he was offering. She was a world class grappler at sixteen. A flawless infiltrator at seventeen. A keen detective at eighteen. Despite being ‘in training’, Aubrey made a name for herself as a Big Damn Hero. Her unique powers allowed her to do feats and maneuvers the world hadn’t seen before. Her specialty was squeezing herself into the smallest cracks and gaps and squishing through- ‘Because I was born flat’ was her go-to joke. She’d often coil herself around criminals, or use her limbs to trip and snare them, or stretch her midsection across an escape route like a tripwire. It was from these feats that she tried to latch onto gimmicks and

Aubrey began training right away. Given her age, it was decided that she’d have a mentor within the community to help guide her navigate common issues in young metas such as ego, celebrity, and the desire to use one’s powers for less than heroic ends. While searching, the Institute supplied what trainers they could. Aubrey was coached in anything and everything that might help her control and utilize her powers- Boxing, endurance training, weightlifting, and gymnastics among other things. During this time, she used whatever athleticwear she had as her ‘costume’, and typically found it more constricting to her powers than helpful. So, on top of training, the institute began a search for a material to make clothes that would allow her to stretch. It was hoped that one of the more industrious, science based metas might take her under their wing and help field those needs. However, the reality of the search was less than fruitful. Several metas expressed interest in Aubrey, but various

Aubrey Bartlett was born sickly and frail. Her parents were firmly middle class, and worked overtime pay for the procedures and treatments that would help her live in relative comfort, leaving raising her up to her two older siblings- eldest child Danielle and middle child Louis. Given her health issues, Aubrey- ‘Bree’- Was withheld from school normally, being mostly home schooled by Dani, who had enough of an age difference that she was in high school by the time Bree was in kindergarten. Similarly, most of her socialization came through her siblings as well, along with their friends. Bree describes in her autobiography the rotating cast of characters that Lou brought through the house- Friends, teammates, school project partners, definitely-not-girlfriends. Bree made it a habit to talk to them all as much as possible and follow them around as quickly as her wheelchair would allow her to go. Bree was nine when treatments began. Doctors had agreed that her condition would only worsen