Columbo

Columbo comes from a family of circus masks ... yes I mean literal masks, I'm not quite sure how sentient masks work but frankly asking a question like that would be quite rude, wouldn't it? I certainly don't care for people asking how my flames work...

In a strange turn of events, he ran away from the circus in order to join the 'real world' - but it hasn't exactly been the easiest for him. Not because he couldn't adjust to the life in a big city, no that was easy for him, but because of how often people try to either put him on or toss him aside when they see him at a table at a cafe, thinking he's nothing more than a standard jester's mask. Poor guy...

However these events never seem to get him down as he's one of the most sociable and energetic people I've ever met. A little...too sociable and energetic actually, I think he could have an entire conversation with himself if he really wanted to. Of course his main passion aligns wonderfully with my own; Inspector Query!!! Turns out he settled down in Neo Oldesville in the first place due to how often the Inspector sets up shows here on her yearly tours, even managing to take over the presidential position for the "Inspector Query" Fan Club here in town. I see him at every fair and show, and he definitely knows the stories better than anyone else.

That's where I first met Columbo, as well as when he first met his beloved girlfriend, Bennie; at the last Inspector Query show. It was an intense fiery battle between her and a newer villain, but it was quickly made dangerous when it was revealed that the "actor" playing the villain was actually the Kringled Kaper! In a phenomenal team up, both myself and Columbo ended up on stage helping Query take Kaper down safely in a way that only added to the show. [Most people didn't even realize the Kaper was ever up there after I arrested him.] Kaper had stolen one of Bennie's legs, leaving her crippled and unable to play the role of the villain as she worked in the Inspector Query show, but through sheer force of determination, and with Columbo's stretchy limbs, the two teamed up to create a new "hero" to help fight alongside myself and Query. In an even greater twist, and something I'm rather jealous of, the two were given the nickname of The Jester's Justice by the Inspector.

The only downside to that fantastic day? Since then both Columbo and Bennie have decided to keep on playing as "The Jester's Justice"...only instead of using a stage they're running around town pretending to be an actual vigilante, routinely getting in my way. They're both naïve, and mean well, but if they aren't careful and don't back off they could get seriously hurt out there...

-Flint