Mark paid since you didn't have any money, and like he had said, lead the way to Art's place to get your suit made right after dinner. Mark entered the room swiftly, Art having expected him. "So, what's this about you needing a new suit made?" Mark smiled wide. "Not for me." He glanced up the stairs as you swung through the door, leaning up against the railing. With a polite smile, you waved. "Hi, Art." Art's brows rose. "You're... you're alive?" Your eyes widened as you looked at Mark. "I thought he knew??" You exclaimed, Mark's eyes wide in panic as well. "I thought he knew too! Dad didn't tell you?" Mark turned to Art, shocked the man hadn't been told of your resurrection. Art shook his head slowly, taking a deep breath. "Well, what the hell happened? How are you..." He gestured at you. "here?"
Scratching your cheek, you gave him as brief of an explanation as you could, filling him in on how you had died, and then came back to life. You also gave him a good explanation of the ability you came back with. Upn hearing about your Viltrumite capabilities, the man frowned. "Since when were you Viltrumite?" He had asked, to which you could only shrug and reply, "Since I was resurrected, I guess."
Art was able to adjust to the fact you were alive surprisingly well, and was even get into the business of making you a suit relatively quickly. "You got a color scheme, or a name you wanna go with?" He chuckled. "Want something more gothic to go with your power-theme?" You laughed, rubbing the back of your neck. "Honestly, I'm not completely sure at the moment, but black is probably gonna end up in there somehow anyway." He nodded, jotting something down. "Alright. Wanna try on some suits now and see if there's anything you like?" You shrugged. "Sure."
After around three suits that served no purpose other than being ill-fitted and odd in their design, you found a suit that had certain qualities you enjoyed. "I like the sweat-pant and boot feel... but as for the top, maybe something a little different? And not a fan of the mask- it's a bit too... rubbery." Art nodded, writing some things down on a notepad. "So you got any ideas for the top then?" You Purse your lips, thinking for a moment. "Sleeveless turtleneck with gloves." Was your answer, which Art nodded with a somewhat proud smile. "Good choice. And, again, any name ideas?"
So, I'm Death Sworn. Death Kin. Any names that don't sound super evil but are in that genre?
"Hey, Mark? Got any cool names that have to do with death or necromancy that don't sound evil?" You asked, turning to Mark, whose brows furrowed in thought. "Hmmm, that's a tough one..." Art glanced between you and Mark, his brows suddenly raising as he got an idea of his own. "What about Azrael?" Both you and Mark looked at him, curious. "It's more of an alias than a superhero name, but it's the name of the Archangel of Death, which isn't really meant to be evil, so it could work." Bane curled tight around your finger- you hadn't taken it off. You heard him whisper in your mind. A fitting title. You grinned upon hearing Bane's approval. "I love it! Azrael it is!"
Art smiled and nodded, prompting you to get down from the stand and change back into your regular clothes. Once you were finished, you came back out to see Art already making a few sketches. "Already working on it?" You laughed out, only for the man to look up at you and shrug. "What can I say? I chose this career for a reason." You snickered, turning towards the exit to see Marek at the top of the stairs waiting for you. "Ready to head home? Should be ready in a week, right Art?" Art nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, just about."
Hopping up the stairs, you knocked Mark in the shoulder before running out, Mark chasing you as the two of you chortled.
"I can't wait to see it when it's finished." Mark told you as the two of you flew home. You grinned. "Me neither. As long as it's comfortable, though."
As you flew over the city, you found your eyes drifting to the buildings and lights below. It's around 8... maybe I could go say hi? Go learn a few more things.
"Hey, I'm actually gonna make a pit stop. I'll meet you back home." Mark tilted his head at your words, quirking a brow. "You sure? If you want I can come with. I wouldn't mind." You waved him off, shaking your head as the two of you slowed to a stop. "Nah, it's fine. See ya!" You began your descent, Mark remaining behind and looking over you for just a little longer before shrugging to himself and heading off.
Landing behind a restaurant, you took a quick look around before heading over to the nearest door, giving it a few knocks. 20 seconds passed, so you knocked again. Frowning, you tried the door knob, and as you did the door swung open, sending you stumbling back. The door opened to reveal Cassie, two large and smelly bags in hand. "Uhh...." You were pretty sure you knew what those were, and you weren't a fan, to say the least. Cassie tensed upon hearing your voice, fists clenching as though she were ready to fight, only to relax and smile upon seeing you. "Oh, hi there Y/n. Nice of you to come by!" She laughed politely, the awkward chuckles fading into confusion. "Why are you here?" You rubbed the back of your neck awkwardly, glancing between her and the bags. "Well, uhh... I was hoping to talk, but if you're busy...." You trailed off, the girl looking between you and following your gaze, her eyes widening with realization. "Oh! Oh- no it's fine. Let me just take care of this real quick. Would you mind...?"
You opened your mouth to reply, only to close it again as an idea went through your head. "Yeah, sure." You took one from Cassie, the girl smiling and giving you a thankful nod, only for her expression to go completely blank as you threw the bag with impossible strength, sending it into the upper atmosphere. "Huh? How- what- wait-" She shook her head, blinking and staring off to where the bag had vanished into the distance. She turned to you, shock blatant. "HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?!" She yelled, grabbing your shoulders and shaking you with gloved hands. You laughed, holding her shoulders to get her to stop. "If you want, I can do it with the other one too. It should send them into space, and then they'll just float away into the rest of the system." You held a hand to your chin. "It'll probably stop around the asteroid belt..." She frowned. "Isn't that bad for space litter." You snickered. "If it's going that far out, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. She then shrugged, expression still a hint uneasy. "H-heh, okay." She laughed out nervously, handing the other bag to you.
After granting the bag the same treatment as the last, you turned back towards her, Cassie's eyes still wide and to the sky with awe. "Alright..." She breathed, the fact that you had super strength sinking in.
"So!" Cassie sighed, clapping her hands together with a shaken laugh, the shock and adrenaline wearing off. "What is it you wanted to talk about?" She held up a finger. "Wait- actually-" She looked at her gloves, back to the door, and then turned to you as she jabbed a thumb back at the door. "Let's head inside."
Cassie sat you down at the bar, politely asking you to give her a moment as she cleaned herself up. She had had a few specks of blood on her waitress uniform, but it wasn't too noticeable. Either way, you didn't blame her for wanting to clean up.
You heard a sigh from the flapping door as Cassie wiped her hands down a new set of slacks, a pleased smile on her face. Making her way towards you, she sat, a bright smile on her face, albeit with tired eyes. "So, what is it?" You chuckled, pointing at the door she had come from. "First off, I hope those two deserved it before being killed." She frowned, a dark look coming over her face. "Oh they did. Rapists- the both of them." Your eyes widened. "Oh... did they hurt you?" She nodded. You folded your hands, lowering your head. "I'm- I'm sorry." The dark look disappeared as she smiled again, waving you off. "Oh, it's fine. They're dead!" You had to resist the urge to burst out laughing at the nonchalant tone of her reply.
"Okay-" You held back a snicker, a crooked smile taking its place, only smoothing out with a deep breath. "-but second, how does this place work? The food here is really good, so I want to be able to come back, but..." You rubbed your ring, Bane tightening in reassurance and understanding. "...when it comes to feeding necromancers. How does that work?" Cassie perked up, clearly used to and even trained to answer such a question."Oh! Well you see, necromancers and ordinary people come here alike to eat the regular food, but if you're a necromancer you can sense other necromancers. So if you sense a necromancer with an ordinary person across from them, that person is usually marked for feeding.
"For the most part, necromancers bring their worst enemies or even people who are menaces to society. When you came in with your friend, I thought he had been marked. Could've sworn it, even. He had an odd energy to him as though he had been, but not quite. I just thought it was because you were new to the whole thing."
You nodded. "Well, I am. But there are multiple reasons why he could've been "marked." Thing is, I have no idea what because I'm not even sure how to "mark" someone."
"It's pretty simple. You kinda just gotta hang around them for awhile, touch them a bit, extend your powers to them but not to the point you kill them. Just give 'em a small pinch of it."
"Alright, seems simple enough. But, uh, if me and my friend come by here again, just know he isn't marked. I don't think he could be killed- or not easily at least- but still."
Cassie perked up. "Ah, did you put a protective sigil or something on him?"
You frowned, tilting your head. "What? What do you mean by a sigil?"
She opened her mouth to speak, only then to wave it off and shake her head. "Nevermind, I'm sure your familiar will teach you."
Your eyes widened. "Wait- you have one too?"
Cassie laughed, shaking her head rapidly. "No, I just noticed yours wrapped around your finger. His energy is quite... intense." She let out another chuckle. Bane shifted and you rubbed your thumb over the back of your hand. "Oh. Uhhh..." After a moment, you felt the pressure around your finger dissipate, a shadow looming over you. "You know it's rude to reveal a familiar's hiding place." Cassie's eyes sparkled as she stared up at Bane, the familiar in his humanoid state, but still sticking to the snake head. He tried to be intimidating, and if you were honest he was, but Cassie was unfazed, still in awe of his presence. "He can shapeshift?! That's so cool!" Bane stumbled within his thoughts, taking a moment to blink before frowning and giving you a look. You shrugged, gesturing towards him. "Bane, this is Cassie. Cassie, this is Bane."
Cassie grinned, taking one of his gloved hands and shaking it rapidly. "Nice to meet you Bane!" She giggled, the infectious laugh spreading to you. Bane withdrew his hand after a few seconds, rubbing it before giving a slow and awkward nod. "Yes... of course." You tilted your head at Cassie, a question popping into your head. "Do you have a familiar?" Casie rubbed the back of her neck, appearing to be embarrassed. "Most higher tier necromancers do... but I don't. I feed off of scraps too much to get to that level. But the fact that you do kind of surprised me. You seem inexperienced." You frowned at her, the girl holding her hands up in surrender and smilking apologetically. "Sorry! But that was just my first analysis. Especially with how freaked out you seemed by me- I thought you were one of those necromancers." She winced, seemingly recalling an unwelcome memory.
On one hand, you didn't want to press. On the other hand, you hadn't a clue what she had meant by "those necromancers." But as you opened your mouth to ask, Bane chimed in to answer. "I'm assuming you mean the ones who are indoctrinated by unhealthy habits, who then seek to climb the chain of power to the top after only moments of obtaining their abilities?" Cassie blinked, surprised. "Uh- yeah! I've got some bad experiences with those types coming around here. They always expect a free lunch, and then I have to beat them up and show them their place! I mean..." Her voice got quiet. "..at least, when I do it, I don't end up killing them." There was an expression of guilt on her face as she sighed. "But hey, this is necromancy. You can't expect life to get easy. Death is easy, but life?" She whistled. "That's almost impossible to keep while maintaining this oath." Pursing your lips, you nodded. "Yeah..."
You didn't want her to know that you were Death Kin as well, because judging by her words, Death Sworn couldn't come back. Death Kin could though, seeing as you were currently alive after walking through the underworld and meeting with the Dead King. So you kept quiet, rubbing the back of your neck as you stood. "I'm gonna head out now. It's been nice talking with you." Cassie gave a peppy nod, her enthusiastic aura returning. "Yeah, you too! Also-" She took out her phone, handing it to you. "-mind if I have your number? For emergencies and stuff." Her cheeks tinted pink. You chuckled. "Yeah, sure thing." Inputting your number into her phone, she called you, to which you nodded, and put the number into your contacts list.
Walking out the door, you waved her goodbye, the girl calling out to you as she waved animatedly. The moment she was out of sight, you broke from the ground, taking the quick way back to the Graysons.