Mad Scientist Posted April 4, 2015 Posted April 4, 2015 Wildcat gave Wander a considering look. "You follow the game, or you just know from previous experience with these uprights in particular?" he asked, curious, as they walked back to the end zone. Knowing the dimensions of a set of standard goal posts wasn't exactly usual. Coming to stand before the base, he looked up to regard the uprights climbing into the dark of the night air above them. "This one I'm a little more sure about," he told her, glancing aside to catch her eyes for a moment. "Vertical jump to get up to where I'm going? Not uncommon." The setup here, ironically, continued to remind him of track and field, back in high school, where he'd carefully held himself back so he didn't find himself pressured to go out for the team, when he wasn't much of a team player. Crouching, he sprang upward, flipping over the bar like it was high jump, hitting the apogee of his leap about ten feet above the bar, as Wander had suspected. Arcing back down again, he landed in a three-point crouch, then straightened again. "I can generally get up onto a second story roof like that," he explained. Half the time he had to get a quick grip and haul himself the rest of the way, but since he couldn't run up walls, he worked with what he had.
Electra Posted April 5, 2015 Author Posted April 5, 2015 "You're not the first person to use the football field to gauge their jumping range," Wander told him, glancing up at the goalposts. "They taught us the measurements the first time we got shown around campus, and I guess it just stuck in my head. But yeah, it looks like you can jump about 20 feet straight up, that's got to come in handy. And you stick your landings too, that's important." She snorted. "When I started out, I could jump higher than I could reliably land from, especially in a fight. Ended up with some very impressive bruises till I learned how to fall. There are some good alleys in the Downtown where you can practice double and triple jumps, get yourself up four or five stories that way if your timing is good. You just have to be careful."
Mad Scientist Posted April 7, 2015 Posted April 7, 2015 (edited) Wildcat wasn't entirely certain whether or not he should feel insulted that Wander seemed to be under the impression that he'd never jumped around before. New to acting as a hero didn't mean new to knowing what he could do -- not having a number assigned to how far he could jump didn't mean he didn't know he could clear one roof across the street to the next. "I'll keep that in mind," was all he told her, however. She really did seem to be trying, despite her disclaimer that she wasn't any sort of expert teacher. "So -- keep your eyes and ears open, watch your footing, play nice with the cops, and read the tabloids," he summarized. "Not exactly what most people think when it comes to what it takes to be a superhero, but I can see what you mean," the young man agreed with a grin. Edited April 7, 2015 by Mad Scientist
Electra Posted April 7, 2015 Author Posted April 7, 2015 "Hey, it's not all saving puppies from burning buildings and waving to the cameras," Wander quipped. "And don't forget calling for backup. If you keep doing this, you're going to run into things you can't handle. Everybody does, no matter how strong they are. You try to bite off more than you can chew, maybe you end up dead and nobody else has a warning of what's coming along. The whole "lone avenger of the night" thing sells novels and movie tickets, but it doesn't work well in real life. See if you can make some contacts with other heroes." She shrugged. "You never know when it might come in handy."
Mad Scientist Posted April 7, 2015 Posted April 7, 2015 Wildcat nodded. "If I ever run into a hero, I'll see about doing that," he deadpanned. He really didn't like the idea of relying on random strangers for help -- he was territorial by nature, and if they weren't his people, he wasn't sure he wanted them around, messing with things. He'd think about what she'd said, but he wasn't sure he was going to act on it. He also knew, however, that he wasn't going to be up to taking on anything and everything he ran across, and the idea of backing down to save his own life was, while the smart move, also distasteful. See above, territorial. Being run off was likely going to leave a worse taste in his mouth than bringing in backup would. "Given that I have a moral objection to ending up dead, I'll be careful," he told her, his nostrils flaring slightly as he took in the scents of the field. "Of course, anybody just looking to cause trouble in my neighbourhood, they'd better also be careful." That was why he was doing this, in part, but he was tired of regular people getting the short end of the stick.
Electra Posted April 7, 2015 Author Posted April 7, 2015 Wander raised one eyebrow before deciding that Wildcat probably hadn't meant anything by the "ever run into a hero thing" and letting it go. It didn't seem to likely that he'd go out looking for a hero team or even join a team-up unless he had to, but she hoped he'd at least remember about the backup thing. "Glad to hear it," she told him. "If you ever want to get in some more formal training with someone who's better at it, or do some sparring, give me a call and I can help you get hooked up." She thought for a minute. "I can't remember if there's any other absolutely vital advice."
Mad Scientist Posted April 7, 2015 Posted April 7, 2015 Wildcat grinned in spite of himself. "If you can't remember it, it can't be all that vital," he pointed out with inarguable and probably entirely erroneous logic. "I appreciate what you've thought of already, though." Racking back his sleeve, he checked his wristwatch -- a bit of an anachronism, in today's culture of smart phones. "I'd better move on, though, if I don't want to be out past dawn," he told her apologetically. He could get by with less sleep than many could...but that didn't mean he didn't need any sleep. It was already going to be a coffee morning at this rate. "You, uh, need to escort me back off the school grounds or anything? Since I'm not a former student or anything?" He had no idea if there were any sort of defenses he would have tripped if he'd tried to come in here alone, and he really wasn't keen on finding out.
Electra Posted April 7, 2015 Author Posted April 7, 2015 "Couldn't hurt. I'm going your way till we hit the bridge anyway." Wander waved to the security cameras as they left, but no alarms or traps appeared to menace them as they headed out into the heavily-residential streets of Bayview. The completely nonexistent traffic meant they made good time at street level, and soon were back at the Pramas Bridge. "Take care of yourself," Wander told Wildcat, giving him a last serious look. "Do good." And then she was off, leaping into the air as though she were flying, only to land atop the first bridge tower and jump to the second, then away into the darkness north of the bridge.
Mad Scientist Posted April 7, 2015 Posted April 7, 2015 Wildcat tried not to gape as Wander demonstrated just how far below a genuinely heroic level he was operating on. He couldn't imagine being able to jump that far, and she had made it look...effortless. "'Do good'," he repeated with a mutter, and snorted. Pretty sure there had been some sort of 'or else' in there, all things considered. Well, he wouldn't be able to do as much good as the really high-end movers and shakers, but he should be able to at the very least put some fear of retribution into the punks, bangers, and dealers that occasionally thought they could get away with things in his neighbourhood. Turning back toward the West End, he bounded off in his more limited fashion, taking to streets and roofs with equal abandon as he headed for home. This had been...quite the night. - Fin -
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