ic Night Light

[LordHamster]

Mirror ambled his way around Wading Way, it was just after the sun had set, and it was quieter now then it had been all day. Twirling his cane, he hummed quietly to himself as he watched the invisible spirit, Mary, peer down various alleys, and into buildings, when she could, as she tried to get a good look at a part of the city she had been to very rarely.

 

"Oh come on, slow down. I want to get a good look at this stuff, you never bring me down here, and your world has so much new stuff in it."

 

She said as they passed by another Bank where some of the Employees were still cleaning up.

 

"Why don't you ever listen to me? You never do anything for me, please, just, this once?"

 

No longer caring about appearances, if someone wandered up on him, his outfit alone said something was off.

 

"Because, Mary, when I come down here I usually don't have time to be slow. However, tonight there hasn't been anything, so I guess I'll slowdown so you can take a closer look around. I'd say behave, but no one else can interact with you."

 

Humming to himself once more, Mirror slowed down, and sighed, looking up at the sky. Mary was a bit of a pain, constantly bugging him, but he couldn't complain much, he could do things most people couldn't even dream of thanks to her. Though, it would be nice to have a distraction around, talking to a voice in your head, even with the way he's dressed up, tends to worry most people.

[Electra]

It was a quiet night in Freedom City, probably because it persisted in being so damn cold, Wander decided as she bounced from rooftop to rooftop on an aimless path through the downtown. Even the criminals were staying indoors until the snow melted and the temperatures came a little closer to merely freezing. Even with her incredible resilience, the combination of cold and speed was starting to chap her lips and fingers. 

 

She slowed as she came to Wading Way, where a few people were still out on the streets. A voice caught her attention and she followed it, peering down from a three-story rooftop to the street below. Definitely someone out and about tonight, and to judge by the blank mask, jaunty suit, and cane, he probably wasn't just trying to get home from work. Some kind of super, and the costume said supervillain to her mind. Still, he wasn't doing anything _wrong_ just yet. She hung back and followed from above, wondering where he was going. 

[LordHamster]

Shivering, Mirror looked over at where Mary was currently looking inside a building and sighed. Tucking his cane under his arm, and sticking his hands in his pockets, he started moving once more.

 

"Come on Mary, it's cold. You know this suit isn't exactly made for this weather, still got to get the winter one done. Lets find somewhere to duck so I can warm up for a little bit, then you can keep looking around."

 

Without waiting for her reply, he picked up the pace, and ducked into an alley that was sheltered from the wind, and sighed as Mary started complaining again.

 

"I told you to just wear the coat, I'd let it slide till you had the other one done, but nooooo, 'It's not going to get that cold today' next time, listen to me, and you might not be freezing."

 

"Yeah yeah, you were right, I was wrong. I chose a terrible night to go on patrol without a coat. I really need to get a car. There's still plenty you can look at from here, just don't wander to far off."

 

Turning with frustrated sigh, Mary moved back out onto the street to look around.

[Electra]

Even with her excellent hearing, Wander could only make out most of the one-sided conversation the man on the street was having. She suspected there was a radio or bluetooth headset under that smooth white mask, letting him talk with a handler or sidekick. Hell, maybe with his wife, to judge by the tone of voice he was using. Mostly he was complaining about the cold, and that she could understand. It was no fit night for hero nor villain. 

 

When he stepped into the alleyway, she decided to get a better look, climbing headfirst down a drainpipe down the side of the building, pausing again on a second-floor fire escape balcony. He didn't seem very dangerous, but then again, neither did she on first glance. 

[LordHamster]

Sighing, Mirror looked at his watch.

 

"Freedom City has enough people out there, maybe I should just head home, and come back out tomorrow when my winter outfit is ready."

 

"Oh don't be such a baby, at least you can feel the cold."

 

Mary said as she ambled back into the alleyway. 

 

"Point, but there is the issue of not everyone can be everywhere at once. If someone hits something around here, we might be the only people nearby to hit it. Haven't seen many people around here, but there's always a chance."

 

"Oh whatever, you never want to have any fun, its always 'Not right now' or 'I'm busy' or 'Mary that's illegal now'. Come on, let lose and have a little fun. Least you can do is make this alley a little brighter if you're going to be here for awhile."

 

Shaking his head, Mirror tapped his cane on the ground, he liked the way it looked, and a small, but noticeable light orb of light appeared, a simple illusion, that bathed the alley in fake light. At the very least, it made the colors on his outfit pop. From there, he used a small laser to make a dry, and clean patch to sit down on. 

 

​"TV most definitely makes this kind of life seem far more glamorous than it is. Skulking in alleyways at night waiting for something to happen. At least during the day it's warmer, but I have a job too."

 

"As I said, you never want to have any fun. Also, you are nowhere near attentive enough."

 

"And what do you mean by that Mary?"

[Electra]

Wander hastily backed up to keep out of the light, but she was starting to feel kind of sorry for the guy, supervillain or not. Things did not seem to be working out the way he'd planned. In any case, he seemed prepared to hunker down for awhile, and she had stuff to do tonight, so she decided to press the issue. 

 

With a neat flip over the fire escape rail, Wander dropped into the alley with a soft thud of sneakers meeting gritty concrete. She stood on the edge of the pool of light, bat held at her side ready, but not raised. "Kind of a cold night to be out," she said conversationally, taking the opportunity to get a good look at the guy and his costume. "I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you planning to cause trouble?" 

[LordHamster]

"The only trouble I cause is apparently making people frustrated, no, I'm not planning to cause trouble, stop trouble if any happens, but with it so cold, I'm starting to doubt anyone but the most desperate will do anything tonight."

 

"Told ya, you aren't attentive enough."

 

Mirror was glad he had a mask like the one he had, he rolled his eyes beneath it at Mary's comment. She pestered him constantly. To be sure, he was glad for the company at night like this, but when it was someone like Mary, sometimes he wondered.

 

"I'm new in town, names Mirror."

Edited February 27, 2015 by LordHamster

[Electra]

She nodded once, still studying him with narrowed eyes, like she was seeing all his weak spots and tucking them away for later. The long, slim baton she carried was still loose in her hand, though, so she didn't seem ready to hit him quite yet. In the light, her close-fitting costume was purple and black, with a black domino mask covering her eyes. The bat itself was silver and seemed to glow faintly with its own light, drawing the eye. Despite all that she was quite young, no more than very early twenties if that. 

 

"Wander," she replied, brisk but not exactly unfriendly. "It's a pretty terrible night to be out on patrol. They say we'll probably have more snow before dawn." She shrugged one shoulder. "Most of the work on nights like this is herding the homeless people off the streets." 

[LordHamster]

"True enough. Suppose that's why your here, seeing what's up with me. A person walking around in an outfit like this can hardly be ignored." 

 

Mirror said as he stood, resting his cane on the ground.

 

"Still, better safe, then sorry."

 

"I don't like her, to serious."

 

Glancing over at where Mary was sitting, Mirror narrowed his eyes for a moment before turning back to Wander.

 

"If nothing happens within an hour, I'll probably just head home, got stuff to do tomorrow, and I don't think I could stay out all night in this cold."

[Electra]

"Unless you've got a heater in that suit, you're not going to make it another fifteen minutes sitting on the ground in this cold," Wander countered. "Hypothermia sets in, you might not even notice before you fall asleep, and that's bad news."

 

She beckoned him with her free hand, using her other to collapse her bat with a twirl and slide it back into the holster on her belt. "Come on," she urged, "if you're gonna patrol, do it on the move. It's more effective and safer, plus you get out of this alley. You been doing the hero thing for long?" 

[LordHamster]

"Not long at all, only about a month, give or take a week, haven't done much yet, just a few street thugs. Also not much used to the cold, they don't really real you how to deal with it when most of the year, it doesn't drop below sixty, besides, getting out of the wind felt safer then staying in it."

 

Mirror glanced back at Mary, who seemed to understand, and stood up, stretching. He kept forgetting that she was old, Victorian, and was adapting pretty easily to this new world. She had changed out her old Victorian dress, for a more modern, almost gothic, clothing. How she did it, he didn't know.

 

"Finally, at least you can listen to someone."

Edited February 27, 2015 by LordHamster

[Electra]

His acquiescence earned him a quick smile from the otherwise taciturn heroine. "I know the feeling, I came from Seattle originally," she told him. "It got cold there sometimes, but nothing like Freedom City. You'll get the hang of it." She leapt to the top of a dumpster at the mouth of the alley as casually as taking a step, looked both ways at the street outside, then turned back to Mirror. "Still totally empty," she reported. "Good time to get used to the streets, I guess. You got any fast moves on you, or is this a walking patrol?" 

[LordHamster]

"If you have a big enough mirror hidden on you somewhere, I can step into it, and out of another, besides that, I'm stuck with walking. Though I'm guessing I might be able to fly given some time to get more used to my powers. I am fairly nimble though, if I wanted to I could probably get on top of most buildings given the right supports, and the like. Boring as it is to stay on the ground, I can entertain myself with the right play on light."

 

Glancing at Mirror, Mary almost begged for him to do something stupid, just with her look. Sighing lightly, hoping it was muffled enough by his mask, he wasn't going to do that, not yet. He didn't know anyone in this city well enough to use his illusions casually around them.

 

"I'd honestly fly if I could, must be an amazing feeling, moving through the air like that."

 

"It's amazing actually, I remember flying before I died, it was one of the best feelings ever. If you ever do fly, you must give me an tour of the city through the air."

[Electra]

"I don't fly either, I just jump high and run fast," Wander told him, dropping down from the dumpster to walk beside him. "If I need to fly, I've got to catch a ride with a friend. Or get someone to throw me," she allowed. "But once you meet enough people, you can usually find someone who can help out."  They turned out onto the silent street, her feet silent even on the snowy sidewalks. "So you can step through mirrors, and make lights," she tallied. "What else can you do with your powers? Do you, like, shoot people will balls of light and blind them?" 

[LordHamster]

"Blinding is easy, bright flash in anyone's eyes will live them dazed, those are usually spheres. On the other hand, I can hit them with a laser, on occasion I'll do something like an orb, or a spear when I'm bored, but I usually just stick to a beam. I can make illusions, but I haven't figured out much besides making them visible, and finally, I can move glass with my mind. I've made a few attempts at shaping it, and I think that, given some time to learn my powers better, I can reshape glass. This cane I have, it's handle is made of glass so I can retrieve it, and send it at my enemies with ease. Up close, it's the main thing I fight with, though I prefer to keep my distance. What about you, what else can you do."

 

Mirror said as he watched Mary stare at Wander's feet.

 

"Oh she's good. Don't cross her Alton, I doubt you'd be able to beat her even at your max range, and with a surprise round. Also, she's a bit to quiet, there's more to her than I can guess, be careful, who knows what kind of enemies she's made."

[Electra]

Wander shrugged. "I run fast and jump high, like I said," she told him offhandedly. "Heal fast, and I'm a pretty good acrobat. A lot of things that would bother other people, like cold, don't bother me." She waved a hand to the cold night around them, and indeed, despite the chill of the night and her bare hands and face, she didn't seem more than slightly chapped. "And I'm a good fighter, barehanded or with my bat, or with whatever else is around. I'm with the Liberty League, we operate out of Freedom City."

 

There was a moment of quiet while she thought. "Glass manipulation, huh? Bet you could make bank doing windshield repairs after super fights." 

[LordHamster]

"Probably, thing is, the glass doesn't like to meld back together the way it was before. As my skill with my powers currently stand, I would have to melt down all the glass, and then reshape it so it cools in the right shape. Mostly I just use it to distract thugs, or get mirrors in the right place, but it feels more natural to me then my abilities with light, so I'm hoping I can make it more useful given time. Liberty League eh? So it is true when everyone says Freedom City might as well have a hero for every block. You know, you're the first person I've met with powers-"

 

"What am I then? Hello, I'm a ghost, wooooooooo, I can walk through stuff, and probably other cool stuff once I'm strong enough."

 

"of any kind, though I heard about plenty of them. I've been in Freedom City for...about eight months now, had my powers about six, and started patrolling about two months ago. Still never met anyone with powers, saw a few, but I didn't want to interfere and cause issues with my inexperience."

 

Mirror was glad he was wearing his mask more than ever, his face was probably the only place that was still slightly warm, though his hands were doing to bad, he had gotten thicker gloves after the last pair had ripped open.

[Electra]

"You've probably met some," Wander pointed out with a faint smile, "you just didn't realize it at the time. Most superheroes don't advertise when they're in their civilian clothes. And a lot of us look just like anybody else with the masks off, you wouldn't even recognize us on the street. And Freedom City does have the highest density of heroes per capita of anyplace in the world. A lot of them come here to learn, or to prove themselves, or just because this is where a lot of the disasters tend to start. Don't be afraid to help if you get the chance. Even if you're just moving civilians out of danger or directing traffic, that's still helpful." 

[LordHamster]

"Very true, but I've never met someone else out and about, or doing anything. Always just been us being busy on separate things, or any way I could help without getting in the way has been taken care of, or a non-issue, though that's only happened once. Usually by the time I show up, it's already over. That said, it's quite nice when one actually does manage to do something, even when they have someone criticizing every way they do it. Honestly, I've only made a difference by sheer luck, I have no training at all, unless you count knowing how a skyscraper supports itself. Before I got my powers, I'd never fought, I'd never shot at anything, never even had a toy slingshot. I know that if I try and do anything big yet, I'm going to mess up somehow, and I'd rather be the only person that gets hurt if that happens."

[Electra]

Wander blinked at the rush of words, but didn't have anything to say for a few moments while she digested them. "Lots of heroes have no training when they start," she finally said. "It's kind of too bad there's no school for adult heroes the way there's a high school and an elementary school, but I guess most times when adults get powers, they're less volatile." 

 

She cocked her head as they came around a corner. "Hey look over there's a stuck car," she pointed, indicating a small sedan halfway down the street, spinning its wheels with its front end lodged in a plow drift. "You wanna light things up and I'll give them a push?" 

[LordHamster]

"Sure, nice and simple."

 

Mirror said before once more tapping his cane, and bathing the area in light.

 

"Make it red! No, blue! No, Green! Just have some fun with it!"

 

Mirror watched, and waited, curious to see just how strong Wander really was. Using the sleeve of his suit, he wiped a little bit of fog off the one way glass that made up the eye-holes on his mask so he could see clearly again. The heat from the cars exhaust as he had passed by it was enough to fog them up.

 

"You two are sooo serious, and boring. Do something fun, hit her, disappear in a flash of light, I don't know, I'm just tired of staring at empty buildings doing nothing interesting."

 

His eye twitching, he looked over at Mary but didn't say anything. If he did, he'd be breaking one of her little rules she had set down, as she hadn't given him permission to tell anyone yet.

Edited February 27, 2015 by LordHamster

[Electra]

With the scene bathed in light, Wander loped up to the side of the car and knocked on the window. As Mirror watched, she had a few words with the driver and gestured towards the back of the car. The car's wheels stopped spinning and the reverse lights went off as the driver listened to whatever she was saying. She sauntered around the car, perfectly surefooted on the ice, and grabbed hold of the tow hitch with one hand. In a moment, the car was dislodged from the snow and back in the middle of the road. It seemed to take a few seconds for the driver to realize he was free, then he shifted into gear and drove away with a wave and a grateful beep-beep for the pair of heroes. 

 

"That's a good power," Wander decided, looking up at the light as she walked back to Mirror. "That's much harder to do in the dark." 

[LordHamster]

Mirror waved after the man before coughing a little bit. The cold always made him cough.

 

"It can be handy sure, I mostly use it to find my way in the dark without having to carry a flashlight. Personally, I find my teleportation the most handy, I can get anywhere I need to be in the city almost instantly, if I know of a Mirror in that location. That does remind me, I should probably scout at more mirrors. Need options for getting around the city."

 

Mary laughed at the man in the car.

 

"Such a powerful machine as that, and a little bit of snow stopped him. This new world, so much new, and powerful technology, and yet a little snow can still stop you in your tracks. Hmmph,"

[Electra]

"It would certainly help getting around the mall," Wander observed, a speculative look on her face. "And there are lots of places that have security mirrors and stuff, you'd just have to be ready to handle falling to the floor when you popped out.But pretty much anyplace with a bathroom has got to be open to you." A small grin curved her lips as she thought of something else. "So how did you figure out that you could walk through mirrors in the first place? Is there a funny story there?" 

[LordHamster]

"Its....complex. I'm not sure why really, but one day I had these powers. The first one I used was the glass control, I panicked and gathered up a lot of glass, released it pretty quickly from the shock. Few days later, while I was experimenting with it, I found I could walk through the mirrors I was practicing with, and out of another. Accidentally ended up in an airport quite a few miles south of here that my plane stopped at when I first came to Freedom City. While I was trying to get back, I found out about the light. Skip forward a couple of months, after having practiced, I gathered this outfit together and started patrolling the streets. Powers have grown a little stronger, but mostly I've just learned to use the better. Why I have them, I'll probably never know, but what I do know is that I'm going to use them to do something. I have ended up falling from a security mirror more than once, chipped a tooth on the first time."

 

"Would have broken your nose too if you had fallen just a little more to the right, that pole would have hurt."