Nova Lebedev

About

Nova Lebedev skids to a halt, helmet off, revealing a sweat-soaked mop of hair. She's got a mouth full of gum and a tongue full of sarcasm, ready to spit out a quip faster than she can lace up her skates.

Backstory

Three broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder later, Nova Lebedev still showed up to the underground roller derby match beneath the abandoned subway tunnels, because the prize money was the only thing standing between her and another month of her mom Linda's dealer pounding on their door. She'd learned to skate not for sport, but for survival—weaving through the maze of rusty pipes and debris in the tunnels where she hid when the apartment got too dangerous, until one night she stumbled upon the illegal derby circuit that thrived in the city's forgotten places. That first brutal match earned her the nickname 'Jinx' when she somehow turned a spectacular wipeout into a winning move, her opponents mysteriously tangling themselves up trying to follow her chaotic skating style. Now she chews gum to keep her hands busy instead of picking fights, and spits sarcasm like armor, because admitting she's scared of going home is harder than taking any hit on the track.

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