Origin
With doting parents, good grades and a decent head on her shoulders, life should’ve gone pretty smoothly for Cassie Reiser but, do to a truly unfortunate series of events, things didn’t work out that way. Cassie was born into a middle class family, though sheltered, she was friends with Robbie Greco and many of the more streetwise kids in her high school. Her parents did well financially, but weren’t the most present, her dad an IT professional and her mom a tenured college professor, their careers took a lot of time. Even still Cassie was on track for college, being a fan of crime scene investigation shows, she sought a career in forensic sciences. But all that was taken from her one night when her parents were killed by a drunk driver while they were on their way home from a company party. Cassie fell into a deep depression, but was able to get back into life before her first semester.
Cassie was eighteen and able to live alone. Her parents had a decent savings and with grants she would be able to get though her first year of college and possibly part of her second year if she was smart about her finances. Her aunt Roberta allowed her to move into her apartment to save money, but this would prove to be a horrible decision. Her aunt was dating Mark, a big man who, though claiming to be deeply religious, drank heavily and was very touchy feely, but that was chalked up to him being very affectionate. It didn’t seem to be huge problem at the time as her aunt was content and all seemed to be well. He began to demand Cassie dress modestly and even imposed a curfew. While she was technically grown, she was staying with them and didn’t want to cause a problem. Aside from that Mark’s squeezing by her and hands finding their way to inappropriate places was starting to take its toll as Roberta would simply say Cassie was overreacting. She worked fast food and tried to save more money and also to create away to get out.
Cassie started college and things went well her first semester into part of the next. One day she borrowed her aunt’s car to go to the store and was pulled over during a routine traffic stop for missing a stop sign. She was just going to get a ticket until the officer spotted an empty needle in the backseat. Cassie explained it wasn’t her car, but she didn’t want to implicate her aunt claiming maybe her aunt was diabetic. They were straight-laced and this had to be a misunderstanding. She called her aunt to tell her what happened. Roberta told her she’d be there as soon as possible and Cassie was taken to jail while the police investigated the matter. The needle had been used for shooting heroine. Roberta never came and though she was given bail, she couldn’t get in contact with anyone to bring it.
Her story did check out and she was released, but by that time Roberta and Mark had left the apartment and probably the state. It was revealed to her that both of them were addicts and Mark had an extensive record involving both heroine and meth. Cassie tried to find a place on campus, but her tuition payment didn’t go through. Her savings account had been drained and there was less than a hundred dollars in her checking account and even if the cops found Mark and Roberta they would never get the funds back.
With money was running low and her no longer having a job due to not showing up, she had to do something. Turning to Robbie, her friend from high school, he got her a job at a strip club. She reluctantly accepted. Being curvy and well endowed made her a hit, even though she was awkward at dancing and her flirting wasn’t on par with the other girls. She made a lot of money that night and saw it as a momentary solution. She watched the other girls and learned to flirt, drink and get bigger tips.
She watched the girl’s who had the most expensive clothes and cars and wanted to make that kind of money. Robbie, now going by Carlo, explained to her that those girls were engaging in “extracurricular activities” with clients after the club closed down. He advised against it, but lured in by the money she began to take on clients. While most were on the level, she had her share of roughnecks and guys who didn’t want to pay up. Carlo even had to break a hand or two to send a message. He again advised her to get out of the business as he wouldn’t be around to help her if she got in trouble.
Cassie started carrying mace, a knife and a small handgun. An unruly client would get maced or tased and she would take her fee and a little more for the extra trouble. She also carried a pair of brass knuckles and anyone who’d try take what they wanted instead of paying would get tased and groin punched, sometimes repeatedly depending on what they had done. No would ever tell what happened because they’d be telling on themselves. She played fair and expected the same. Eventually the club was implicated in a sting. She and the other girls were fired to prevent the club from being held responsible.
Cassie took to the street and took incalls. She was arrested numerous times, but most times she was out in a night and went back to the street. She wasn’t making as much as she was in the club, but was making enough to make ends meet. She would take retail jobs when she could get them, but would end up seeing clients come into the business. It would get awkward and sometimes a particularly jerky client would tip the business off and she would be fired. With her record, even if she did get back into college she wouldn’t be able to get a job with the police. She befriended Victor, a guy who did outreach with a local church and Katrina Knox, another woman new to the life. She became best friend with Jessica Carol, one of the women she used to work with at the club. They hung out together and tried to watch each other’s backs on the streets.
One night an older man in a suit approached her. He was giving the homeless people money. She wasn’t homeless and declined to talk to her, but he was offering a thousand dollars. He worked for Frank Stein Industries. All he wanted was for her to sign her body over to FSI for research when she died. She jokingly asked for two-thousand and was shocked when the man agreed. He took her to shady looking medical van and injected her with a tracking device that would alert them when her heart stopped beating. Just weeks later she was killed by Ehrlich Sharpe, a serial killer who can call upon and become possessed by the spirit of Jack the Ripper. Her body was discovered by Jessica. The cops came along with a white FSI van and Cassie’s body was missing for days. A body eventually was released that was said to be hers.
Cassie was “stitched” back together with her own and additional body parts and reanimated as an experiment by Frank Stein Industries and their “Resurrection Sciences” division. When she no heartbeat was detected, she was thought be a failed experiment and was illegally dumped in a trash bin only to rise, with enhanced senses, physical vigor and a taste for human flesh. She returned to her job using the cover of a “goth” street walker open to more “interesting” request. While she still needs the money, she will feed on the “deserving”. While avenging a friend who was being beating by a client, she caught a glimpse of her friend Victor Locke killing what looked someone that fell into dust. She re-established contact with him, but didn’t tell him of her new situation. She now seeks the man who killed her to return the favor.
Powers
Zombie Girl is streetwise, but also curious, which can get her into trouble, lucky for her she has some helpful abilities. She has enhanced strength, stamina and an inhuman healing factor. While not on the level of many supernatural creatures, her healing abilities are greater than any normal human. Cuts and scrapes heal almost instantly while major injuries, punctures and even guns shots can heal in less than a day or so, while bone breaks can heal in a week so. She also has a high tolerance to pain and immunity to most diseases.
Zombie girl has a higher bone density and strong fingernails which she files to a point and also does this to her teeth. Because of the reanimation process or maybe because of the trauma or possible brain damage, Cassie now desires raw meat and even human flesh and blood. Though the reanimation process messed up some of her mental processes, it also made her able to retain information.
While not a trained fighter Zombie Girl is a vicious brawler. She claws, bites, kicks, punches and has been known to be a fierce combatant even in six inch platform heels. If she feels trapped, particularly by multiple attackers, she will go into a berserker rage making her already enhanced strength and stamina greater.