Jailbird Joe
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| Jailbird Joe in his work release uniform | |
| Jailbird Joe | |
| Player: @Bastille Boy | |
| Origin: | Science |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Tanker |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Joseph Dell'Orso |
| Known Aliases: | N/A |
| Species: | human |
| Age: | 39 |
| Height: | 6'0" |
| Weight: | 190 |
| Eye Color: | brown |
| Hair Color: | brown |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Rogue Isles |
| Occupation: | Convict Laborer |
| Place of Birth: | Marconeville, Port Oakes |
| Base of Operations: | Cellblock A, Port Oakes Penitentiary |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Large family, not in touch with any of them |
| Known Powers | |
| Willpower, Super Strength | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Graphite drawing, agricultural science, classical music literacy | |
| Equipment | |
| Work release uniform | |
| ' | |
Joseph "Jailbird Joe" Dell'Orso is a willing inmate of the Port Oakes Penitentiary, a prison farm affiliated with the Rogue Island Police. He became a prisoner on his 18th birthday (April 23, 2000) when he scaled the perimeter fence and was arrested for trespassing. His choice may have been inspired by his nickname, which he acquired as a high school freshman.
Since 2002, Joe has often been seen outside the walls of the Pen in his gray work release uniform. His "work" consists of taking money from banks, Longbow, and various villain groups and turning the money over to his jailers. He does not attack civilians.
When not engaged in fisticuffs, he is unfailingly polite, except when etiquette conflicts with the rules his jailers have set for him. He does not spend stolen money on himself. He attends free classical music recitals at Aeon University and occasionally elsewhere. He sits in the back row to avoid blocking anyone's view with his cap, which he absolutely refuses to remove.
Joe describes himself as a "rescue dog" and says, proudly, "I behave well off leash." He attributes his strength and his superhuman resilience to chain gang organic gardening in overlapping regeneration auras.
Childhood and Origin of his Nickname
Joe was born and raised in the Villa Montrose neighborhood of Port Oakes. His father died when he was nine. When he was twelve, his mother married a Mook underboss who had two sons of his own, one Joe's age, one two years older.
At school, Joe was the target of every bully. He was bookish and scrawny. After his mother's remarriage, his stepbrothers made it known that he was a bedwetter. He got called "Four Eyes" and "Pee-Jay Joe." When he started high school, the older boys started calling him another, unprintable word. He asked his mother what that word meant. His stepfather was in the room and said, "It means you're never going to be a man."
Joe took refuge in reading, drawing, and riding his bike in the hills west of Port Oakes, away from the bullies. When he was fifteen, he was riding downhill on a trail and hit a rock that made him take a bad fall and break his knee. He was unable to stand. Lucky for him, he was just half a mile from the perimeter fence of the Port Oakes Pen, and some prisoners at work heard him cry out. Two officers from the prison found Joe and got him down the hill.
The officers fetched one of the prisoners, a former vigilante with a medical degree and X-Ray vision. The amateur physician reported that Joe had fractured a growth plate. If the boy's knee healed improperly, his legs might end up different lengths. Sending him to Black Heart Memorial Hospital would be unwise. It would be safer for him to heal in the regeneration aura in the infirmary.
Joe stayed in the infirmary for a week. He was usually alone with one or two officers, but he was allowed to talk with the prisoners who brought him his meals. They did not seem to Joe like dangerous men. Some of them were former vigilantes who foolishly tried to take on corruption in the Rogue Island Police and had since been tamed. The rest were two-bit crooks who neglected to pay the right bribes.
The prisoners and the officers were different from the men in Joe's neighborhood. They were strong, some of them extraordinarily strong, but there was a softness about them. Maybe it was the effect of the regeneration aura. It felt good, being in that aura. It was soothing.
When Joe woke up in a wet bed his first night, there was no mockery and no judgment. The officer on duty helped him change his sheets and got him a spare, unmarked convict uniform to replace his wet clothes. Looking at himself in the mirror wearing that uniform, Joe felt manly. The stripes made his shoulders look broader, Joe thought. Maybe one day he would be as strong and masculine as the prisoners he'd met. They were all so handsome...
Suddenly Joe understood the slur his schoolmates and his stepbrothers had been calling him. He knew that it was true. And he knew that he needed a new family.
After a week, Joe's knee was deemed well enough to send him home with crutches. Back at Villa Montrose High, the other students had a lot of questions. Joe tried to give monosyllabic answers, but the questions kept coming. Once Joe started talking, he would not shut up. He went on and on about healing auras and strong, gentle guards and prisoners who weren't really criminals and the tame guard wolf he was allowed to pat once. One of Joe's bullies, a Marcone kid, called him "Jailbird." The name stuck.