| Rylie Abrams | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Age | 22 |
| Gene Status | Advanced |
| Profession | Mayor's PA & party DJ |
| Affiliation | None |
| Ability | Power Amplification |
| Played By | Jennifer Lawrence |
Notes
- Rylie works in the Mayor's office as his personal assistant. She's a familiar face to anyone who pays attention. Some tabloids are gutsy enough to claim extramarital activities between them, but while the public may believe, those closest to them know it's rubbish.
- But in a more fun matter, she's a well known DJ at parties around Vegas. Not at the big casinos, but the more private, crazier gatherings that go on.
Character Information
First things first, she's young and blonde and certainly well put together. Curves that sit well on her tall figure. Hazel eyes and full lips that sneak into a smile often enough. She dresses almost always in skirts, pencil for business, something flowier or shorter for fun, and she likes her high heels as well.
The Abrams are a well-to-do family. We're all doctors or lawyers or some other ridiculously 'One Percent' occupation. I grew up in luxury. Whatever I wanted as a kid, I got. I had a pony. I didn't want a pony, but I wanted to prove that I could get a pony, so I had a pony. We had an ~estate~. There was a swimming pool inside as well as outside. My brother and I took total advantage. Of course, when he got to be about sixteen, I was twelve, my parents got some advice from a friendly, neighborhood child psychologist that they needed to instill responsibility into us. Now me, my secret was that I actually was already responsible, I was just also opportunistic. But they didn't realize how far away from being responsible my brother was. I took care of him when he came home blitzed out of his mind, I covered for him when he went on one of his benders. Maybe I shouldn't have, but given that we were in Vegas, I don't think it should have come as such a big surprise.
They tried to get him righted. He was an embarrassment, first of all and unhealthy to boot. It worked sometimes, but mostly didn't and in the end, he took off when he was eighteen and we never saw him again. It's a terrible thing, losing your only ally in life. And friend. But it fell to me to be especially brilliant to make up for his extreme black mark on the family. Oh, I did well in school. I went to Northwestern, which wasn't bad. I majored in Political Science, for my parents, even though I have no interest in politics, and minored in musical theory for myself. To tell you the truth, I've always wanted to try out music therapy, but the cards didn't go that way.
So instead, I picked up DJing in my spare time. Lots of parties in college, and all of them want music. I didn't need the money, but I did need just a little something that was for me. I know, I know, poor little rich girl. Everyone's got a sob story, okay.
So after a successful run at college, but with a firm foot down about skipping grad school, I came back home to the job my father set up for me, in the Mayor's office. I started as nothing much, sorting mail that sort of thing, but it didn't take me too long to work my way up the secretarial ladder and eventually landed as the Mayor's personal assistant. People say it's because of my looks. Or my family. But I know it's for another reason.
You see, the part of the story we don't tell other people — and by 'we', I mean me, mostly — is that when I was sixteen myself, something happened. I remember it as a buzzing, like white noise, just in the background all the time until one day… I burst. Not like, literally. That's a metaphor there. So I burst, and I guess I sort of started to freak out, so this man came to help me. The moment he touched me, I heard his voice in my mind, heard the echo of others around us filtering through him. What it must have looked like to people watching.
We both ended up in the ER, but were released fairly quickly. He looked at me across the room, I looked at him. It wasn't a bonding moment. We knew each other for what we were, even if I didn't know exactly what it was called at the time. He spoke to my mind, he told me to be careful who I touched. I was sixteen, did I listen?
I'll give you two guesses.
Anyway, I suspect Mayor Caldecott found out because I rambled to my dad about it one day when he accused me of being on drugs and since they're friends and all. I like to imagine it was over cigars. Anyway, so I guess they decided the mayor was in a better place to protect me from whatever danger my being genetically advanced might bring. So I work for him.
Of course, all that is very nice, but I like to have a little something for me, you know. You'll see me around Vegas. I'll be the one with the music.
- Music: Rylie loves music. Her one true passion. She's good at the turntables in her DJing, but she can also sing and play the drums pretty well. This is the skill that gets most of her attention.
- Political Science: She has a degree in it, but she hates it. She doesn't want to be in politics beyond how she is now, and doesn't plan on being pushed that way. It's not her scene.
- Driving: She's licensed for cars and motorcycles, and she's a decent driver with a good record. Youthful parking tickets, but no accidents and nothing terrible.
- Addict Care: Because of her brother, she knows how to handle someone who's on drugs or alcohol, keep them alive, sober them up, and just generally take care of them.
Rylie's ability is fairly useless on her own, or to herself. As an Amplifier, she's only any good around other Advanced, since she can't amp herself.
Simply put, she is able to increase the potential of other Advanced abilities. With her extra push, other people are able to use their power in ways and to extremes they can't without her help or the help of those like her. She's able to make them more powerful, and since their power is feeding off her own, the other Advanced can use their power for longer. Teleporters can jump further, telepaths can read more, elementals can produce more, etc. She can even trigger manifestations in unmanifested Advanced. This is not always a good thing, especially when she triggers someone whose body isn't quite ready for the power.
At present, these other Advanced have to be touching her to be included in the boost, but she can amp as many as she can fit on her exposed skin. However, the more people she's amping at once, the less time the boost will last. With one other person, she could amplify them for ten hours easy, but with twenty people, she'd last five minutes, like that. She knows when she's burning out, because she starts to see things, hallucinations, and drifts into a dissociative state. She can still function, but in a fugue, disconnected and clumsy. People sometimes assume she's on something. She is unable to use her power again until this state passes, which can sometimes be a day or more, depending on how many people she amped and how long she kept them going once the hallucinations began. And when contact breaks or when she stops amplifying, the others are cut of from the boost. And quite suddenly, too. It can be disorienting and dizzying. Some people throw up, even.
When she, herself, is amped and opts to amp another, she can push them so hard they turn delirious, crazed or even burn out their ability for a time. If she can't manage to keep a hold on her output, she can burn out their power more permanently, or even drive them to death. In extreme circumstances.
Rylie has a block on her power, something she assumed kicked in as a sort of safety valve. It isn't difficult to fill, but the choice to clear the catch gives her that moment to decide if she really wants to tap into the power or not. She must be listening to music to use her ability. The slower the music, the harder it is for her to use her power. She often sets up playlists with strategically placed slow-paced songs to push her out of amplification.
- George Abrams: Father. 50. Doctor and surgeon. Comes from money, good at investing. He is curious about the Advanced, since finding out about his daughter. NPC
- Donna Abrams: Mother. 45. Plastic surgeon. She travels back and forth between Vegas and LA. She didn't come from money, but did impressively well for herself and continues to. They are mostly happily married. NPC
- Jack Abrams: Brother. 26. Estranged. He's been missing for many years and the family assumes he's drugged himself to death by now, but Rylie holds out hope that he's alive and well and maybe living a life of his own making that he's happy in. Adoptable.
Relationships
Rylie has people. She loves people! Beyond this tab is a list of who she likes and probably why! (Also, people she doesn't like, because they're mean.) An endless work in progress!
The Boyfriend
It was an odd beginning. Her working for his dad, him being somewhat at odds with the man. But once she finally met the so-dubbed Prince of Vegas, she found that she actually liked him. And in the interest of having him live a little, and get some Life Experience under his belt (and not like that, you pervs), she started dragging him around to the desert raves of questionable legality that she DJs. It was good for him! And helpful for her to have someone to haul her equipment with. But it was at one of these very parties that they were picked off and kidnapped by Vegas's biggest street gang. What followed wasn't the best experience, but better for having him there to lean on, and cry on. And he wasn't even mad when she accidentally pushed his power into manifestation.
Since then, she took up doing for him what she tends to do for those she pops unexpectedly, teaching him control and the limitations of his ability. And since his father thinks her the only trustworthy person in the know, it worked out well for all. It seems inevitable that the pair so often shoved together would end up dating, but it is a source of friction (NOT LIKE THAT) between her and the older Caldecott. But she has hopes he'll simmer down and eventually be glad it was her and not some dippy college girl.
You're My Best Friend by Queen
The Surrogate Dad
As much as the press likes to try to tie them together romantically, this man acts more like her dad than her own father does. He looks out for her, he chides her when she's done wrong, he buys her things when she's had a bad day. He doesn't always approve of her lifestyle choices, and thinks she's a bit reckless for someone with her powerset. Endlessly frustrating, but she is grateful to him for his protection all the same. Much like her actual father, his fussing makes her affectionate toward him. With the exception of his apparent dislike of her and his son deciding to date. That just makes her frown a lot.
Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant
The Tourist
The eternal tourist. Rylie's best girl friend is a loud, rambunkious gal into parkour and very excited about the wonders Vegas has to offer. And the fact that she's still excited about it amuses Rylie to no end. But Shay is fun, silly and a good friend, even if she needs bailing out now and then. It always gets paid back! Friendship tab! Bonding over having weird abilities was a risk, but one Rylie's glad she took. And Shay has insight Rylie doesn't when it comes to powers, which is helpful for passing Zan's questions on during the learning process.
Make It Big by The Beach Boys
The Rescue Squad
Whenever Rylie's in trouble, this woman seems to show up. That she's gotten her out of the literal worse days of her life and helped her through that whole… running her car into some guy thing has made Tilly someone she bestows a rare commodity on. Trust. People outside her very small circle don't get that very often from the young woman, but Tilly has it. At least until Rylie has a reason to take it back again.
The Accident
It isn't every day that you meet someone by hitting them with your car. And definitely isn't normal for them to be pretty nice about it and not sue you when they find out you're from a rich family. Jake has the telltale signs of being your Average American Joe, but Rylie gives him more credit than that. I only because he's extremely nice. But the paranoid side of her is waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The Stalker
Sick. Sick, sick, sick. Jesus made a very solid first impression on Rylie as creeper extraordinaire. Being among her kidnappers wasn't enough for him, he had to go out of his way to sexually harass her, too. He did save her, during her captivity, from what was becoming a merciless beating, but whatever good graces that might have engendered, he erased it by stalking her after they were freed. Shamelessly, given that he often gives her a wave when she notices him there. And sending her little gifts hasn't helped.
Every Breath You Take by Sting
The Killer
He was kidnapped with them, too. And was, apparently, supposed to be Zan's babysitter. Didn't do a good job of it, considering Zan was among the kidnapped. But that much could have been forgiven! It was the fact that he killed a fellow captive right in front of them and without remorse that made her not like him very much. In fact, she's pretty much afraid of him.
The One Night Stand
Man is mystery. This man in particular. In her line of one night stands, she liked this one. He was charming and complimentary and even sent her flowers. It was all very flattering. In fact, he's still very flattering. Even though her boss has warned her that he likes to collect people to use, and even though he's made her feel uneasy about how much he knows about her lately, she can't deny she still finds him quite charming. It's difficult not to.
You're No Good by Linda Ronstadt
The Detective
Rylie isn't sure how she feels about Terri. She found her blunt and unnecessarily harsh during the kidnapping incident, which didn't endear her to the girl much. But she's willing to wait and see how the woman is when they're not in a high stress situation before she makes any firm judgment call on her one way or the other. At this point, she's not entirely sure if she's an ally or not. In a world full of people she can't really trust, she wanted to be able to trust her fellow captives, but it didn't pan out that way.
Logs
| Date | Title | Who | What |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9th | Welcome Home | Amelia, Rylie, and Zan | After weeks in absence, Rylie is delivered out of Company custody to resume her life and rebuild her memories. |
| 12th | Thrill Rides | Rylie and Zan | A spontaneous trip to the desert allows for some flying. |
| 17th | The Rhythm of a Memory | Rylie and Zan | Rylie unlocks a door and finds some of her memories. |
| 20th | Giant Leap for Zankind | Rylie and Zan | The relationship wobbles, but makes a solid comeback. |
| Date | Title | Who | What |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5th | If I Never Remember | Rylie and Zan | It's hard to say if Rylie will remember her life in 2012. |
| Date | Title | Who | What |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Bahamian Beach | Rylie and Zan | Survey shows, thus far the vacation has been more than just okay. |
| 19th | Writers Block | Rylie and Zan | An idea for a film comes to light, and Rylie convinces Zan to go for it. |
| August 26, 1955 | Party Like It's Nineteen-Fifty-Five | Amelia, Finnegan, Nobara, Paul, Rylie, Tilly and Zan | Those poor butterflies. |
| Date | Title | Who | What |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th | Protection | Caldecott, Rylie and Zan | The Mayor asks the hardhitting questions. |
| 6th | Government Bailout | Rylie, Shay and Zan | Shay finds herself in a spot of trouble, but luckily has a friend in need. |
| 7th | A Night In | Rylie and Zan | With dinner, video games, and some previously destroyed films as entertainment. |
| 10th | Like a Scene From the Silver Screen | Rylie and Zan | Zan gets creative with flight practice. |
| 13th | Eventually | Rylie and Zan | After a foiled bank robbery, Zan opts for a more friendly home than his own… |
| 15th | Business Lunch | Caldecott, Rylie, and Zan | Family business is discussed over lunch. Sort of. |
| Intrigue and Weakness | Gordon and Rylie | Rylie goes to visit a sick friend, who makes some telling observations while she's there. | |
| 16th | What Matters | Rylie and Zan | Awkward moments and hard questions follow the ill fated brunch. |
| 21st | Brotherly Love | Rylie, Timothy, and Zan | Rylie runs interference while Tim offers his thoughts on Zan's choices. |
| 23rd | Party Pooper | Celia, Rylie and Zan | An unexpected party guest makes an unsettling debut. |
| August 17, 1955 | Thisbe | Rylie and Zan | Finding a hole that spans the years leads Zan and Rylie to an important time in Vegas history. But even Zan's panache for trouble has its limits. |
| 25th | The Mash Up | Rylie, Timothy, and Zan | Dinner at the Caldecott home is avoided by both Caldecott sons when Rylie invites Timothy to join her and Zan for the evening. |
| 30th | Summer Vacation | Rylie and Zan | Plans are made for the pair's big flight. And also making out. |
| Date | Title | Who | What |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Party Favors | Lea, Nicholas, Ophelia, Oz, Rylie, Terri, Thea, Tobie and Zan | A certain gang decides to take out an annoyance and find more than they bargained for. But the more the merrier? |
| 3rd | The First Lesson | Ophelia, Rylie, Terri and Zan | Captives try to work out where they are, and why they are. |
| 7th | And the Last | Jesus, Lea, Rylie, Terri and Zan | La Vida Mala gets their point across. |
| 8th | In the Wake Of | Rylie, Terri and Zan | Plans are… discussed, if not fully crafted. |
| I Will Speak Daggers to Her I | Nicholas, Rylie, Thea, Tobie and Zan | Some of the captives encounter an unusual source of trouble. And get rid of it. | |
| I Will Speak Daggers to Her II | Nicholas, Ophelia, Oz, Rylie, Terri, Thea, Tilly and Zan | Planned or not, the group finds they have little choice but to make a mad dash of an escape. Or die trying. | |
| 10th | Therapy | Caldecott and Rylie | Jumping back into work so soon has Rylie's boss a little disapproving. Just mildly. A bit. |
| Visiting Hours | Rylie and Zan | Making sure the wounded isn't totally bored during his stay, and explaining a few things, if vaguely. | |
| 16th | Burgers and Conspiracy | Rylie and Zan | What every first date should include. |
| 20th | It Was an Accident | Jake, Rylie and Tilly | Tilly plays witness when Rylie and Jake run into each other. |
| Bad Penny | Rylie and Zan | After a rough day, the answer is Chinese food and terrible movies. | |
| 22nd | Time to Switch to Decaf | Isabelle, Jake, Paul, Rylie and Zan | A group run into each other in the park for awkward reunions. |
| 23rd | Okay | Rylie and Zan | Zan drops a we need to talk on Rylie with unexpected results. |
| 25th | Practice, Practice, Practice | Rylie and Zan | Both irresponsible behavior and abilities. It's important. |
| 27th | Flight School | Rylie and Zan | Night time flying proves instructional, in a few ways. |
| 28th | Summer Kickoff | Caldecott, Fletcher, Gordon, Rylie, and Zan | The annual Memorial Day day barbecue at the Mayor's home has its share of food, fun, and games. |
| Mistaken Identity | Fletcher, Rylie and Zan | The kids rush off to find alternative entertainment, but end up with anything but fun and games. | |
| 30th | Rescuing Tigers | Fletcher, Rylie, and Zan | Rylie and Zan get around to finding Fletcher and making acquaintances after their Memorial Day run in. |
| Date | Title | Who | What |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Cockblockery | Chipper, Gordon and Rylie | It happens sometimes, in friendly competition. |
| 18th | Blurred Lines | Caldecott and Rylie | He's looking out for her, even if it is a total buzzkill. |
| Trouble Has A Name | Rylie and Zan | The two have a common topic to gripe about and plenty of ways to rock the boat. |
