Fast Enough (Closed)

[Ephemeron9]

"Yes, mam!" He barked cheerfully.

Well, didn't that go from zero to a hundred in no time flat? Turning to the glass case hastily--almost as if futilely trying to match the women's speeds--Alex was glad that he had his mask and a good excuse to turn away, lest he betray his sudden tension. So that's what it is! Almost whispering aloud, he made himself accept the fact that, aside from being able phase through objects like a ghost, this Ms. Rachel--or rather, Mistress Rush--also had the same power as that little girl!

His hands worked instinctively, jabbing a rod here, pushing a blade there, and with his back turned on the others, he could transform his hands into prehensile sludge, handling the various tools of burglary much more efficiently. It wasn't when he almost fumbled one of the instruments on the floor did he realize that his heart was in his throat--unable to see what was happening behind him, and hopelessly outpaced to try, Alex's imagination ran wildly with twisted parodies of the image in which Mistress Rush had the petite city heroine by the throat.

Presently, a fragment shattered off from one of the marble masonry struck his ear, impeding even that source of sensorial input as the torn organ melded itself to sludge in involuntary self-regeneration. What's this stupid lump of gold worth anyways? He cursed internally as he tried to concentrate on removing the artifact from its case, which may or may not be linked to an alarm system. Whatever the value of it was, if it could keep his powerful ally from vaporizing him with that whip, it's worth the cost.

Quickly pocketing the item, Alex turned around to see what might have happened behind his back in the span of seconds. "I got it!" He even shouted before his eyes could pick out anything meaningful; why was he doing that? It could distract her...had he done it on purpose? There wasn't time to think!

 

[Ambrosia_64]

Even if he had been watching, not much of the fight was discernible-little more than blurred figures-one a dark inky purple and the other the light, shimmering blue-a prolonged, mostly one sided battle happening in the span of seconds.

The chase and the bursts of fighting were reminiscent of pinball. Jenna tried to fight, she really did-that whip had lashed for her and she got out of the way-only for her to witness pieces of the marble column to go flying. Rush was crazy. For all Jenna knew, she was about to strung up and flayed alive or something-she didn't know. She didn't know, all she knew was that being fast no longer brought any sense of safety, Rush's match in speed stripping her of her only real advantage.

What was she going to do?! She couldn't beat Rush. Laura had struggled with her, for God's sake! She was so screwed, so dead, oh no, oh no, oh no- darting around a fixture the other woman ran through, Jenna snagged the sheet back up and threw it to briefly conceal her movements-only for it to be shredded to pieces. She barely avoided another slash of the whip-only to belatedly realize it was flying for priceless, ancient pottery pieces. Suddenly she was both trying not to die and spin plates-the shimmering blue blur passing by the dias once, then twice-depositing spinning pieces of pottery and darting away again, this time for the jacket.

Under the whip, close the distance-

Rush made a noise of outrage as she staggered back, briefly in normal speed, her own jacket over her head-and Jenna took the opportunity to finally get a few hits in, even as the jacket was violently thrown aside by her taller, larger opponent. Rush tried to backtrack but-

...but...? Jenna traded blows as best she could, a little quicker on the uptake but lacking in experience. But...was she faster than Mistress Rush...?

The brief stand off didn't last long though-Jenna took one of those wedge heeled boots to her torso and was thrown back. Neither one of them was utilizing the force for a moment-

"I got it!"

Well, he distracted one of them, alright-and it wasn't the psycho queen zeroed in on her prey. The whip appeared in view like a snake in her peripheral vision, and Jenna threw her arm up to shield her face-which only let the leather wrap around her forearm. The Kevlar like material of her suit and the normal speed kept her from losing the limb, no doubt-but she was caught. For a moment, Jenna wasn't sure what to do. All the time Rush needed.

Rush darted backwards in speed with a cruel smile-and Jenna heard someone issue a short scream just as pain wracked through her upper body, bursting into life in her right arm and shoulder as her arm was dislocated in two places-her elbow and shoulder.

The heroine had been jerked forward with the movement, crashing down hard on her knees and good arm. She managed to straighten a little while kneeling, vision swimming and her mind briefly blank with pain as she clutched her shoulder tightly, curling in a little on herself.

//////////////////////

"Good job." Was all Rush said to Alex, a hint of praise-even as she watched the little heroine with interest. What she was sure might be a pretty face was currently contorted in pain, the girl's breathing ragged and colored with faint, small little sounds of misery.

Delicious.

What was more, the girl was blurring in and out of focus, small after images. Interesting.

Her eyes shifted to the dangling arm, surveying the damage. "Elbow too? Shall I call a pediatrician?" She was small, this mirage of her former rival. Rachel was good at getting under people's skin-needling them, drawing on their insecurities, their fears. With so petite a size and apparently a measure of youth, she was sure being dismissed happened to the brat often.

She wasn't wrong.

"S-shut up." What might have been an attempt at being fierce fell flat, particularly as Rush gave a small tug on the corded leather-another pretty start, the girl looking like she might throw up. As amusing as that was, she wasn't here to break the girl. Entirely. And certainly not in front of her dapper charge.

Though he knew her name, now. She supposed her ruse was over, should he look her up. Something to ponder another day.

With a practiced flick, she loosed the leather that currently ensnared the heroine's arm, winding it up while still watching the girl closely. "Kudos to you though, you little pretender-" Her smile was back, dazzling but predatory. "Most people pass out."

"S-said shut up."

Rachel allowed a displeased frown, coiling that last bit of the whip with finality. "I ought to take you with us, teach you some manners." Even to her, her voice sounded ominous, dark and foreboding.

Still flickering in and out of focus, the upstart moved to a shaky kneel, then stood, swaying briefly-still that flickering bit of after images, despite the girl standing still. Rush was unconcerned about her fleeing. The brat couldn't hope to outrun her.

To Alex, the contrast would be rather blatant. On one side, looking curious but also a little too gleefully amused stood veteran villain Mistress Rush-a tall, endowed, leggy blonde in a thin, dark purple suit that displayed her form for what it was-the picture perfect image of femininity. She had not come out unscathed however- the chain that normally connected the two sides of the deep and scandalous, cream skin revealing V of her costume was broken, a clear and obvious boot mark on her left thigh, a red splotch where she'd been struck on her right cheek bone-and a bit of puff to her bottom lip.

On the other was a petite, grievously injured girl with barely any of her russet, reddish brownish skin showing-her upper body flickering oddly, as if she was somehow moving in and out of Super Speed while standing still. The shimmering blue, thicker material of her costume was form fitting but not painted on as Rush's was-the athletic, boyish figure more modestly concealed. The light blue bore footprints-more than Rush's costume had, for sure. Each thigh had taken the brunt of a wedge heeled boot, another print square in the center of her chest. There was the damage to her arm-and a cut to her lower lip, the already full mouth also looking a bit puffy.

She was pale and didn't look to be feeling so well-which might have made it a bit surprising when she gave a weak, shaky smile, even as she clutched her dislocated shoulder tightly and took in shallow, short breaths-struggling to either keep some composure or stay conscious-maybe both.

Rachel's eyes narrowed. "About to say something else smart? I have to say, the banter was better with your predecessor...or do you know something I don't?"

"M-maybe I do." She swayed a little, still flickering in and out of speed. Her head turned slightly to take in Alex, then back towards Rush, her eyes shifting between them behind her goggles. "W-wasn't always going to let...let you two be a step ahead of me..."

Rachel was no longer amused. "Maybe the pain's muddling your mind, little girl. You don't have any power here, and most definitely not over me. You're too slow. Again." Maybe she would take her home after all, the little brat.

Velocity took a step back, her hand tightening on her shoulder as she tried to draw in a steady breath. "Egypt get a lot of their relics from China, then?"

Rachel's eyes flared wide, darting to Alex. "What?"

 

[Ephemeron9]

What greeted his eyes when Alex had the time to focus were but lightning bolts of dark purple and shimmering blue, followed by a hail of shattered pottery and glass--what millennia of weathering didn't do to relics were done in mere milliseconds of shrieking whiplashes and supersonic blows of the meta-humans.

Alex had only the time to raise an arm to shelter the exposed lower half of his face, when suddenly, as if bursting into existence from thin air, the two showed themselves at visible speeds--one towering triumphantly, whip in hand, and the other, battered and unsteady, nevertheless held her ground in the stand off.

"Elbow too? Shall I call a pediatrician?" Mistress Rush jeering remark drew his mind back to reality, remembering his allegiance in this face off as he took a step closer to the tall woman, facing the same direction with a frozen, grimacing smile on his face as his own arm throbbed in sympathy to the girl's. He hoped that the young heroine wouldn't have the spare attention to see his involuntary expression--too much like that of someone gloating over another's suffering, but then, why would he be concerned with decorum before the eyes of who is decidedly his enemy?

"S-said shut up." There was almost a twinge of pride in her voice, and Alex watched closely as he saw the faint outlines of a smile appear on the girl's bloodied lips; how is that possible? Even now, beaten and in pain, could she summon the courage to challenge the opponent who could have easily reduced her to shreds, and while the latter delivered her cryptic threat, no less? Perhaps that flickering blur around her upper body were indicative of some last resort--a trump card saved for the end?

"About to say something else smart? I have to say, the banter was better with your predecessor...or do you know something I don't?" Rachel's sudden caution alerted him, shaking him back to his senses as he prepared for whatever secret weapon his undeniable opponent might have in store for him; this is no time to be carried away by superficial sympathy--one misstep, and he could find himself locked in an air-tight lab, poked and prodded all day long while the world exacted its righteous vengeance and invasive curiosity on him.

Watching as the injured heroine drew her breath, "Egypt get a lot of their relics from China, then?", it took Alex a noticeable moment or so before he processed the statement enough to produce his newfound plunder and give it a brief but illuminating look--stuck on the bottom of the small locket were the blatant label inscribed "MADE IN CHINA"!

"Hahaha!" He could help but to laugh aloud, as if the whole bloody scene had just been an elaborate jest--taken too far into violent extremes perhaps, but nothing innately malicious. Only, that was probably how Mistress Rush had found the situation. Arresting his laughter and speaking in a depressed, darker tone that nevertheless bespoke his amusement, Alex threw the fraud on the littered floor; the upward-facing label should say everything necessary for his companion to know what had happened, "I hope you still have money left over to pay your medical bills after this."

 

[Ambrosia_64]

The chameleon laughed. Even in her pained haze, Jenna briefly felt like she had told an amusing, well received joke at a party. But judging by the dark expression on Rush's face, the red hot fury blazing in her eyes-it was more like a joke told while on her deathbed. If she had known, she would have picked the one about the talking dog...

"I hope you still have money left over to pay your medical bills after this."

Jenna gave a weak, breathless laugh-but she knew she was screwed. SO screwed. And she had felt bad for him! She had felt so awful and so guilty because she thought she had failed some poor drug addict, failed to get him help and help him turn his life around. It didn't make it any better that she was still so secretly relieved she hadn't. Instead, he was here and about to watch her get herself killed! Over a locket! She was so stupid. Always so, so stupid-

"You're not going to be laughing for long, brat." Rush's voice was still like velvet-but deathly serious. "Fine. Money for a coffin, then. I'll go count my change." She didn't know what else to do but crack crappy jokes, even if her voice sounded weak and shaky, scared. Rush's hands had been working the whip again, allowing it to unfurl. Shit. What would be next? Her other arm? Her legs? Her face? Would she heal from a damned amputation?

Wishful thinking-she probably wasn't going to live long enough to find out.

She released her shoulder, shakily sliding her gloved hand down the smooth surface of her suit, barely touching it-it hurt so bad. God, it just hurt so bad-water was collecting at the base of her goggles despite her furious blinking back on tears-vision still swimming and a little black at the edges, tunneling somewhat. "I'm going to give you one chance to wise up, Velocity. One. Pass it up, and you'll be begging to choke on that locket and your own teeth, by the time I'm done with you." Rush's dangerous voice went sarcastic and scathing as she used the moniker, as if her mere presence was insulting-and then so dark and threatening that Jenna felt her blood chill as she took an unconscious step back, bumping softly into the column behind her.

Rush took one step forward, all amusement gone-just violent intent. She wanted the real relic. Why Jenna had no idea, and dying over it seemed pretty stupid-much less being tortured. Tortured with an audience.

Keep it together Jenna-think! Oh God, what would a real hero do? Probably not get beaten up in the first place! Her good hand finally made it to the loosely fisted one dangling from her poor ruined arm, Rush taking another menacing step. How long before she dashed forward and REALLY put the beat down on her?

///////////////////////////////////////

She was going to cripple this little bitch. She'd blame it on Alex if she fucking had to-a fake relic. The stupid, stupid girl had swapped out her prize, her retrieval target, for a cheap bauble probably procured for less than forty, thirty bucks, if that. She didn't even care if the girl answered at this point, told her where the real one was-she was going to kill her for daring. And slow.

She saw her half collapse against the column, knees weak and not quite supporting her anymore. Any minute, the kid would sink to the floor-she would jerk her right back up again, probably by that glossy black hair.

"Question one-" Rachel started darkly, only to be interrupted by an almost flippant "Me first-" For the second time today, Rachel was surprised and irritated by the girl's weak-but-there bravado. Yes, she would make sure she never fucking walked again, let alone run.

"What's this do?" The heroine's good hand came up, holding a small metal spherical object with a black button at the top. Rachel's eyes flared wide, lifting her right arm and looked to her right hip, only just now noticing that one of the two little orbs on her belt were missing.

"You little bitch-" And as if her reaction somehow confirmed something, the brat depressed the button and threw the ball at her feet. It exploded not with violent concussive force but with a slick, rapidly expanding oil like substance that was suddenly EVERYWHERE-her costume, the girl's costume, the floor, the sides of a display-everywhere.

Alex wouldn't know what hit him. Rush blurred at the same time the ball flew- and suddenly EVERYTHING was blurred, the dapper gentleman whipped around and suddenly at the far wall with Rush behind him-her right hand around his upper arm and the other at the back of his head. She let him go and damn near fell on her ass-cursing as she unzipped and ripped one of her boots off just to be able to stand upright. She couldn't get to the girl now, not at speed-and anything less could see her head lopped off with a whirlwind swing from the seated heroine-not that Rush thought she had the guts.

If anything, the kid might have passed out-she was leaning against the column a little awkwardly, no more jokes, no more smart aleck, weak responses.

She kept a hand on his shoulder to keep steady as she ripped off her other boot, the sounds of sirens fast approaching. "Forget it." She hissed, thrusting the oily, tall wedge heeled boots into his hands and ushering him towards the door at normal speed, barefoot. "Fucking forget it, I'll beat the shit out of her later."

 

[Ephemeron9]

Alex had no time to analyze his own feelings as the snarling villain stepped up to the girl, when suddenly, some sort of oily substance seemed to burst from the latter's hand.

Next thing he knew, he was held by the back of his head and rushed through whirling images of the museum, the woman's curses by his ear. "Fucking forget it, I'll beat the shit out of her later." Opting for safety in silence, Alex took the stained boots from his companion, resisting to ask what the substance was that deterred the veteran speedster.

Presently, police siren sounded from the distance, and without delay, the pair went for the exit of the museum. Alex even took the opportunity to leap down the balcony in the main entrance, allowing Rachel to use small bursts of her super speed while she descended the stairs.

Boarding the jacked car they prepared earlier, Alex braced himself as his companion dashed the vehicle straight through the few police cars that hadn't time enough to form a barricade, several shots were fired as they charged by, ricocheting in the interior, but missing their marks.

I hope they don't send a helicopter... Shaking the dust off his costume, Alex took off his mask and looked out from the shattered back window, the blaring sirens quieting down as the image of two police cars clumsily trying to turn around shrunk behind him, disappearing altogether as they took a sharp turn. Looks like the cops will find another empty car in the middle of nowhere soon.

 

[Ambrosia_64]

"She stole that damned thing right off of me." Mistress Rush had lost a lot of her ladylike composure. She still looked beautiful, but all her earlier grace and airy attitude was replaced with malicious, bitter anger and fury. The car careened off the road and onto the sidewalk, whipping past honking traffic and narrowly avoiding the few pedestrians out and about this time of night.

"Right off of me! I'm the thief! Christ-" She veered back onto the road, passing another car and just about plowing into oncoming traffic-before cutting back over into the right lane. Her stunt driving abilities suddenly made sense-she was used to moving fast. "And this bait and switch shit-she didn't expect me, obviously, but still-what a stupid, annoying little plan." She seethed, being quite a bit unfair-but not registering it in the slightest.

 

[Ephemeron9]

Holding himself as steadily as is possible on the backseat, Alex didn't know if he should let Mistress Rush furious frenzy burn itself out, or perhaps he should intervene. For the time being, however, he was too concentrating on convincing himself of the woman's ability to drive so absurdly without it all ending in an explosion, after all, she could probably run ten times as fast as the vehicle.

Something wasn't right. From the first night they met, Alex took notice of Rachel's impulsive personality--looting vaults but only picking up the things she liked, breaking into fashion stores but using most of the apparels as materials for a prank, setting nightclubs on fire. It wasn't like her to be so fixated on a particular object, especially when it seemed to only be an ancient piece of metal that would probably clash with her sleek outlook if hung around her neck, even though parts of him fantasized how it would appear to have a lumpy nugget of gold bouncing between her bosoms.

Cut it out- He warned himself, thinking that way can get you killed, you silly boy. Speaking of juvenile personages, Alex couldn't help but wonder what was happening to the little city heroine--slumped over a pool of broken glass and ceramic with a broken arm, not to mention drenched in whatever fluid that even sent the seasoned villain running. Hopefully she was safe with her cop friends swarming the museum like ants. That arm though...might she be forced to give up her career as a meta-human vigilante?

The vehicle hit a stretch of road that branched off the main channel of traffic as the city receded behind them. If Rachel had anything like what she was thinking last time, they would soon abandon the overwrought little car in some desolate place, from which point the two would then return to their respective hideouts using superpower.

"Sorry for not being exactly useful back there." Alex finally decided to say, after dismissing dozens of drafted interjections for being either too provocative of his companion's recent ire or for sounding too much like a little child asking its parent about the destination of a road trip.

 

[Ambrosia_64]

Rachel glanced at the rearview mirror at the apology, a scoffing noise. "What, with that brat?" She grit her teeth and shook her head. "I didn't need help with her-she practically pissed herself when I rushed her." She thought back on that terror and felt a thrill of excitement. Kid knew who she was.

But the bravado in the face of that fear had irked her. Heroes. "She's a child playing dress up. You should have seen the real Velocity-SHE was at least something of a challenge."

Some days, she almost missed prissy britches. Almost. Driving so dangerously had let her vent some steam, but Rachel was far from calmed. The girl stealing the oil bomb, denying her the right to deal out punishment-she was pissed. And with that injury, she probably wouldn't be on the streets for a long time-would probably disappear into her real life for awhile.

Rachel didn't intend on taking the fall for that-no one would have to. She'd plead ignorance on her absence. The only reason she wasn't further crippled was that damned bomb. The slick substance was a speedster's worst nightmare, made it impossible to gain any traction or speed. She would have been a sitting duck for police. And if she had gotten the other one-well, that one was sticky. Even worse.

"The locket will be at the museum again. It's not like the brat is going to hold onto it indefinitely." No, heroines didn't steal, did they? Still, she didn't relish returning empty handed tonight. She exhaled through her teeth, a shake of her head.

"I don't think she's had her powers very long. The flickering, the after images? Lack of control, very dangerous lack of control. Dangerous for her. Instability can be lethal, with speed like ours. I'm not sure she even realized it was happening." She considered this a moment. "She also went around obstacles rather than through them...I don't think she entirely knows what she's doing. New. Very new. "

Easy prey.

".Anyway...you did well, getting into the case." She thought to say, even if it was somewhat empty praise. Putting on her facade for the protege she had picked up in boredom. But what could he do? She had yet to find out. He wasn't brand brand new, either. She glanced in the mirror again, studying him. "We'll do something more fun, next time. I doubt she'll come sniffing around now that she knows I'm in town. And if she does..."

She pulled off, parking the car and removing the keys to toss onto the passenger seat. "Well, you needn't worry about that."

 

[Ephemeron9]

William Larson sat in his underwear in the laminated wooden chair, grinning partly in the gleeful excitement of his bondage, partly in self-congratulation in arranging such an event with so attractive a woman at so cheap a price. The garishly painted woman had arrived, much to his disappointment, she had not returned with the instruments he asked for, and there he thought it was the most well-equipped kink house in the whole city! Nevertheless, he played his part in this novel ordeal exactly as he learned from the internet:

"Ow, punish me, mistress!" William Larson crocked with his toad-like voice, and the woman seemed to withstand the revolting interjection on the strength of professionalism alone, or otherwise the desensitization to such occurrence built up from encounters with client after client. In truth, however, neither were the cause of her stoicism.

Through his squinted eyes, William Larson saw her face drop into a cold, serious expression that seemed almost uncanny in contrast to the flamboyant make-up, like a corpse surfacing from beneath an oil-stained pool of water.

"Pawn_55, is that your code name?" She asked in a neutral tone.

"What the..." Crap! William Larson felt sweat ooze from his back as his pudgy body suddenly felt heavy in the wooden chair. "What the fuck are you talking about? What is this shit?!" He barked, the contrived fury in his accusations making him feel slightly less terrified, almost as if he was in control of the situation.

"So it is you."

"I don't know what you are talking about, get me out of this shit-show, bi-"

- - -

With his companion departed--now without the need to conceal her power--Alex transformed himself into a large osprey and took off from the wrecked vehicle. "I hope that guy had insurance for 'car being stolen and wrecked by crazy superhuman maniacs'." Just as he flew to a height sufficient to deflect suspicion on the existence of a bird as large as himself, he saw the flashing police lights close around the now empty car; something were being shouted through loudspeakers, but already, he was out of earshot as he made his way homeward across the night sky.

Unloading his folded clothes from his stomach, Alex transformed himself back into human form and flopped onto the couch in his dingy hovel, now dark with only a sliver of moonlight coming from some opening above.

"Similar powers, is that it?" He considered what he witness tonight, trying to see if it would make sense for Mistress Rush to hold a particular grudge against that Jenna girl for having the same power as her own. He imagined what he would feel himself if a little boy with the his power of mimicry rolled into town, would he be so spiteful? "No... at least not me." He decided; the thought of being the mentor for such a relatable person veritably excited him.

These being considered, he could only chalk up Rachel's hostility as a product of her own vanity--her need to be considered unique and superior, which, like any other humanly desires, render her vulnerable. However, there was also the mystery with the locket, for Rachel to be so concerned with the acquisition of a mere material object was strange to him. It must be that either the locket held some special significance beyond its physical value, or that she hadn't been trying to obtain the item for her own avarice. Could there be someone behind the scene? Ah, but it wasn't time to play detective, he does want to catch some sleep before whatever else crazy happens in this city, now with its little guardian angel injured and said angel being confronted with a rival with the exact power to counter hers.

- - -

"I told you everything, I swear!" Grovelling with a bloated face muddled by tear and mucus, William Larson did receive a beating while bound in a chair, like he asked for, although the intensity to which it had been extended and the purpose for which it had been performed wasn't what he had in mind.

"Alex Whipple, you said?" The woman asked, turning off the water hose and letting the remnant outflow wash the man's splattered blood down the drain. The room had been a large shower of some sort, or maybe a livestock-processing plant, in the latter case, some similarities can be drawn between its old functionality and the purpose it currently served.

"Yes- yes! Him! Th- the guy who worked for the White King-"

The White King? Ixion reflected, perhaps he should have assimilated that man's mind in addition to his power. If only he was willing to overlook the gang leader's putrid fetishes--it's not like there is a shortage of such quirks accumulated down the ages already.

"Ca-can I go now?" Still bound to the chair and presently lying face down on the ground, William Larson raised his head to ask, his beaten face contorted to a still more ugly appearance as he did so.

"There is one other thing." The woman said, almost to herself, or perhaps she had been re-articulating some psychic command. The man blinked, and suddenly, his mind's eye was overwhelmed by a swirling vision of grayish blue maelstrom raging around him, and from which position he felt the tug of some entity from another place, threatening to usurp him. Instinctively, he fought for control, groaning and clawing with his arms and legs to stay where he was.

As the vision faded, William Larson found himself lying on his back, with the woman standing above him, head eclipsing the harsh lamp light above, as if wearing the halo of a blurry-faced god. "Give yourself to me." A voice said, and he could no longer tell if the speaker were inside or outside his own mind.

"No." Pale and trembling, William Larson found a dire determination in his voice he never knew he had, but alas, his moment of fortitude was short-lived as he screamed at the gut-wrenching agony of his left foot being severed.

"I have the power to put you back together, you know." The voice was almost conversational now, as if a stern-faced interrogator grew tired of his work in representing some unfeeling order and decided to opt for a more humanly approach, "I can put you together and break you again, put you together and break you again, you see what I mean?" Biting his lower lip to the point where it bled, William Larson could undeniably feel the slightly cooled blood rushing back into his body from the once severed limb as the member rejoined him with a searing pain not unlike when it had been broken off.

- - -

"No power in this one." Ixion concluded, unbinding himself from the chair. Not that he expected anything here, beside the convenient use of this face, which had at a point belonged to a man name William Larson.

 

[Ambrosia_64]

!

Jenna jerked awake with a scream clutching her ruined shoulder, breathing in short, pained gasps.

Five or six police officers-one of whom was Diane- breathed a sigh of relief, though brows were still furrowed in worry. "Take it easy, Miss Velocity-" One of the men said before radioing with an update on her condition to the EMT crew on the way.

The gadget had been a weird oil trap-something the police had apparantly foiled with a white powder meant to soak up blood. Footprints in the white stuff confirmed the success of that-and the officer hat and swipe marks off to the right showed where a cop had fallen before they got wise to the stuff.

There were no criminals. She had passed out, and she had let them get away.

"The two burglars-" She managed, trying to get a grip, ignore the awful, world shattering pain in her arm.

"They're gone. There was a chase, but dispatch says the car's empty." Diane frowned, her gaze wandering over her. "Looks like they did a number on you, kid. We got an ambulance on the way."

Oh no-if she went to the hospital, Rush would find her for sure. Trying to defend herself hopped up on pain killers? No thank you-she had barely kept her skin in this one. And Jesus what a creep that woman was.

But if she went as Jenna-well, not only would her identity be at risk, but her parents would call demanding to know what happened-she was still on their insurance. Somehow, she didn't think they'd believe she fell down some stairs. She wasn't a very good liar.

With a deep, shaky breath, Jenna moved to stand and nearly fell on her ass-were it not for Diane and another cop catching her. "This stuff is stupid slippery-step on the powder here-there you go-" They were being kind, but she had failed. She had failed everyone, and now Rush was on the streets doing God only knew what. What was she going to do? She had to stop her. Rush was evil! She killed people! She might have killed Miss Laura!

Jenna tried-and somewhat failed-to suppress a whimper as her arm was jostled-she pressed her hand tight over her mouth as one of the cops made a makeshift sling-nearly toppling over again. Oh God. Just-God, she had never hurt so bad. Not anywhere. Not ever.

And now Rush was palin' around with a guy who could disguise himself as anyone? She had to stop both of them! That combination seemed way, way too dangerous!

"No hospital-" She told the three police officers still crowding her. "But kid-" Jenna shook her head no, a hand gesture towards the shattered pottery pieces she hadn't been able to save-another failure-and the fake locket.

"It was Rush. Mistress Rush." The powder was caked on her boots, and that let her stand. She could see why the oil was so treacherous-couldn't run on it, for sure.

"Rush hasn't been in town since...well." The cop exchanged a hesitant glance with Diane.

"Since your namesake was murdered." The woman finished, a frown.

Jenna felt her skin prickle into goosebumps. She knew that. She knew Rush was a suspect. The two were rivals and arch enemies, after all. Had Rush done it? Who else could have caught Laura?

"It was her." Jenna said, pushing past to scoop up the fake locket. "And that chameleon." She muttered quietly to herself, eyes narrowing behind her goggles. They didn't believe her about him. And, looking back at their uncertain, concealed faces-she wasn't sure they believed her about Rush either.

"Look, Velocity-you might've hit your head a little hard, going down like that-"

"It was her." Jenna repeated. "Unless you guys know another woman who can keep up with me?" They exchanged looks. Jenna felt frustrated and exasperated. She wouldn't lie and she wasn't stupid- "I don't want to believe it either, but it's true! I...I didn't do this to myself! And these displays-" She could hear the strain and bit of hysteria in her voice-not professional at ALL.

"No one thinks that Velocity, we swear-I'm sure you did what you could but-oh look, the EMTs are here, let's-"

Jenna didn't stick around. She shook her head and, with a brief dart to be sure she could run balanced enough-blurred out of sight. Let them clean up the mess if they wanted to think she was crazy. She hurt too bad to be much use, anyway.

/////////////////////

She could only get half undressed-it took both hands to remove the suit. Still, she had managed the extras amd the zipper, but she couldn't disrobe with only one good arm. So she sat on the bed, oil and all, and tried to work up the courage to look at the injury. Slipping her fingers under the collar, Jenna hissed as she pulled the thick material down over her shoulder-vision doubling as she pulled the sleeve over and off the rest of it.

She wasn't sure if the sight of her elbow was what made her do it, or the pain-but Jenna quickly yanked the small trash can to her-and threw up. She was not in for a good time tonight.

/////////////////

Jenna had been forced to carry way, way fewer books today than most days-she had woken from a painful, fitful sleep this morning to find her arm almost okay again. It certainly didn't hurt as bad and no longer looked as ugly-though it was stiff and sore to move her shoulder or bend her elbow, and everything was hella bruised-ugly yellowing and green ones, as if they were old. They were on her chest and thighs too, places she had taken superhuman kicks from a murderer.

Guess Velocity was more durable than she thought.

Jenna had managed to get out of her suit, get home, shower-and make it to her second class after having missed the first one. Much to her disappointment and mortification-that had been ten attendance points, and who knows how much missed content and notes?!

At the same time, how could she really stress about school when a psychopath was on the loose?! Leaving class, the petite Filipina looked tired and was keeping her arm kind of stiff-wearing a plain but chic black sweater, black sparkly flats, and blue jeans-for once.

She felt miserable-she had let the city AND Laura down, getting her ass handed to her like that, letting them go. Would she be better by tonight? Did she even dare go out just yet? She needed a plan, but she also couldn't hide and let them run amok!

Gah, she needed caffiene to stay awake for her next class-not for 45 minutes yet.

She was heading to get a coffee, drawing up short outside the campus cafe. Jenna set her bag down on the low sidewall that divided the sidewalk from the hedges-and rummaged through her canvas book bag for her change purse with her good hand.

 

[Ephemeron9]

Since the Sunday following the museum attack, a few of the university's ornithology students had observed an odd presence of a large murder of crows around campus, although the fear of looking stupid and desperate for attention had dissuaded most from calling on the more experienced professionals.

The last time Alex tried to impersonate a student who he kidnapped beforehand had ended up on the news, and speculations about the possible power possessed by the abductor had circulated wildly for a time on social media, some guesses coming too close for comfort as Alex read them under his lurker account. Luckily, it wasn't long before the general public moved on to other hot topics, and the sudden alleged appearance of Rush two days ago had shifted the attention of even the more loyal of the Velocity online fan-clubs.

Hanging about the rooftop of a dormitory building, Alex was finally able to convince himself that it was probably way less suspicious for him to take on the form of somebody who won't have an abduction story to tell afterward. So, by the time the hermit-like gamer had fallen asleep in his garbage-strewn room after taking a gulp of the sleeping-pill-laced beverage on his desk, the murder of crows that hung about his window coalesced into a person of his exact likeness, and slipped down the unseen side of the building, corpulent body filled with gaseous supernatural substance that made the disguised shape-shifter descend like a blimp.

Little to Alex's surprise, in the guise of the chubby, unkempt-looking young man who might have not seen any sunlight since his last class, no one paid him any attention. (He was also likely to miss all his Monday classes, given the effect of the sleeping-pills, or just the extent of his exhaustion.) Alex even had the illusion that his superpower had at some point changed to invisibility.

He felt awkward walking around the campus like this, due not only to the shape of his disguise which were drastically unlike his own, but also with a strange embarrassment. Velocity had not been out on night patrol for the weekends, and despite what precious little evidence came through to the internet, rumors had been going around regarding the city heroine's physical condition, some of the speculations not far from the truth. He felt guilty for the drama that had flared up around the girl, and rightly so, considering his part in her injury, but it also unsettled Alex to realize that he was in fact concerned with the reputation of someone who was unambiguously his enemy.

Alas, there wasn't time to brood over his internal confusion, for the familiar figure of a petite, toned-skinned girl had appeared from the same building where he had waited for her in a different and perhaps slightly more flattering form.

From his point of view, Jenna looked dejected with slightly puffy eyes that suggested poor sleep for the last few days, and an expression of what might have been the displeasure derived from the inability to keep up her school work and/or career, which almost made Alex look away in shame. However, to see how she still tried her best to carry what few books she could manage with the arm not awkwardly tucked by her side was the catalyst that really transposed his selfish embarrassment to a surge of genuine sympathy, which, unlike how he thought would surely send him rushing over to her offering help and comfort, had paralyzed him where he stood, head-slouched and looking through his peripheral vision, afraid to even turn his eyes as the girl walked all but out of sight.

 

[Ambrosia_64]

Jenna found the small cat shaped chain purse-and just as she drew it out the entire bag fell over and dumped its contents off the wall and onto the concrete around her feet. She stood there with a mixture of dejection and almost grim amusement on her face, holding the chain purse in her good hand and heaving a sigh, shoulders slumping.

"Really?" Well, this was just her kind of luck lately, wasn't it? Jenna pulled the empty bag off the wall with her as she knelt down, awkwardly trying to gather up the books, binder, pencils and loose papers with one hand and slide them into the flopped closed bag-mostly one at a time. The smiley face on the side didn't cheer her up quuuuite as much as it usually did, today.

 

[Ephemeron9]

It was distinctively after he had rushed to her position--almost running--that Alex was able to ask himself what he was doing and answer his own question with the assurance that nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

Squatting down with the unfamiliar body and pumping the gaseous filling around its inside, Alex found himself helping to gather up the girl's scattered belonging without knowing what to say and whether it was embarrassment or simple social norm that kept him from making eye-contact. It also struck him that the act of helping another person was utterly alien to him.

Picking up a few loose leaves of paper and offering them to a convenient location--not daring to touch her bag--Alex finally had the courage to look up at the young woman, mouth ever so slightly agape and without anything to say. Perhaps this was a normal reaction for someone in his position.

 

[Ambrosia_64]

Heavy footfalls and then a shadow fell over her much smaller form-before someone she didn't know dropped down to help.

"Oh, awesome, thanks-" She accepted the papers and slipped them in the bag, a grateful smile as the two finished gathering up the items. Jenna picked up the handles to the camvas bag and gave it a tap on the ground to shuffle the messy mix down a bit before she rose to stand, slipping it over her shoulder as she did so. "One of those clumsy days I guess? Good thing it wasn't raining-I spilled tea on my notes once and almost had a heart attack. Haha." Jenna was good at putting people at ease. She seemed approachable and genuinely nice, mindful of shy folks.

She extended the same hand to help him up, though the size difference miiiiight make that a bad idea. Throughout it all, she kept her arm a little noticeably stiff-bending her elbow still smarted quite a bit, more so than even her stiff and sore shoulder.

 

[Ephemeron9]

"You arm-" Alex heard himself say, "does it still hurt?"

Oh no. He had been allowing himself to fly by on auto-pilot for too long to stop himself from betraying some sort of knowledge of what exactly happened to the girl.

Alarms went off left and right in his head, and as though by fight or flight response, he shot up to a standing position, large body stretching a little more vertically than what might have been realistic for the original owner of his visage.

"I don't mean any harm-" He blurted out before a better response could be thought of. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. Now that he had completely blown off his cover dialogue-wise, he might as well see this encounter through. Though a positive of the reflexive utterance was the fact that it had illuminated to himself of what is at least his immediate attitude towards the girl--that he "means no harm"--however that might change according to her decision to believe the statement.

 

[Ambrosia_64]

Jenna had expected a word or two of small talk and then they'd seperate, just a random interaction with a helpful stranger. Instead, he asked about her arm-she was about to shrug it off and internally chastise herself for not hiding it better-when she realized with a start he said 'still'.

Jenna vanished and was suddenly a pace or two backwards as he popped to his feet, her dark eyes widened and flashing more than a bit of fear. Did anyone see that? Was Rush here too? Oh God why didn't she consider this?! He knew who she was, by extension Rush probably did too! She was going to get murdered and it would expose her secret trying to prevent getting murdered and-

She wasn't looking at the shapeshifter but around them both, her heart beating as fast as a rabbit's against the wall of her bruised chest and her muscles tensed and wired. She expected to see the tall blonde woman come racing out of the crowd any minute, probably pissed to see her enemy wasn't wearing a cast.

Her sped up thoughts and panicked searching froze up at his sudden blurted assurance-her dark eyes still wide and a bit panicked, but not aggressive anymore than he was. "Isshenot-" The words were too fast and nearly unintelligible. She swallowed with a nervous glance around-but no one was paying any mind.

"Is...is she not here?" Jenna asked uncertainly. And if not, why was HE here? Asking about her arm like...like he hadn't told her he hoped she could afford her medical bills?

 

[Ephemeron9]

"Mistress Rush?" Alex asked simply. He had done his research on the woman he had been hanging around, who could apparently move through solid objects and go faster than the eye can see. Though he was sure that some rumors floating around about the villainous woman had been embellishment, there were also places where the public imagination fell below the extent of reality--such as the commonly believed degree of her beauty and wealth, perhaps the general public were simply not ready to accept the existence of such a gorgeous threat to society, and has no notion of what it entailed for someone to be rich enough to pick and choose exposed jewelry like vegetable in a grocery store. With that in mind, Alex was aware of the possibility that this Mistress Rush might have a greater streak of chaotic evil than most would suspect, confirmed further by the girl's reaction to the possibility of her presence.

"No; she's not here." His voice was somewhat numbed by his internal confusion. "I just came to see how you were doing."

Could that have been interpreted as a threat? "I didn't say anything about who you were-" He blurted out yet another impulsive assurance, eager to quell Jenna's alarm, despite the rational knowledge of the ridiculousness of the act--a criminal trying to comfort an upright citizen and enforcer of the law. With that said, he found himself frozen in place, eyes locked with the girl's and at a complete loss as to what to do with himself.

 

[Ambrosia_64]

With a final wary glance at the passing, milling students, Jenna slowly nodded, still uncertain and nervous, but believing him when he said his partner wasn't around. Alex would see her petite form relax a little, even if those almond shaped eyes remained a little anxious.

I just came to see how you were doing.

Jenna blinked, turning to face him fully again. A small, confused frown curved her full lips-and then blurted another assurance. The anxiety and cautiousness was replaced with mild confusion. "I...why? I mean, thank God, but-"

Panic subsided, Jenna took in his appearance, a new thought occurring to her. "Oh no-you didn't kidnap another student, did you?" She worried, her hand straying to her shoulder , belatedly answering his first question. "And-uh, it's healing alright. It's one of my powers, I guess. Healing fast." Still hurt like heck though.

This felt awkward. He didn't seem to be here to blackmail or threaten her. Had he really come to campus just to check up on her? Why? Wasn't he working with Rush?

After another minute of internal struggling, Jenna seemed to accept him at face value. Her eyes shifted to the cafe with another frown, a bit unsure. "...want a coffee...?" Her dark eyes flicked back to him, a gesture to the cafe. "I mean-better than talking here, right?"

Right?

 

[Ephemeron9]

What could she possibly do? Even if she could poison his drink in the blink of an eye, it wouldn't be as if any sort of chemical drug would actually work on him--out of curiosity, he had found out years before that drinking a whole bottle of pesticide only forced him into transforming out of human form, and nothing more--beside, if his world were really a place where such a seemingly simple and well-meaning girl would use the invitation to a cafe to throw him under, he probably wouldn't mind just tearing it up in a rampage.

"Okay-" he muttered a little uncertainly, noticing that he had began following her in the indicated direction before he could fully formulate anything, and chose to walk the rest of the way in silence.

Sitting down at a corner table away from the bustling train of customers, Alex looked outside the full-length glass window, where the gritty sky churned with lethargic gray clouds, the threat of rain yet unrequited. She could, of course, had used this opportunity to get the hell away while he waited at the table, too overwrought with confusion to perform even the simple task of getting his own drink--not to mention reciting whatever convoluted Romance-language names such drinks would come in in this place. Perhaps he will even be relieved if she had simply disappeared behind the elongating queue, maybe more so when she showed up later with the cops, but for the time being, Alex had only to stare blankly outside and fidget his fleshy chin.

 

[Ambrosia_64]

He didn't answer either question, and maybe she didn't really want to know-but Jenna led them into the cafe regardless, only slightly nervous he might try something despite his assurance of meaning no harm.

Well, she was fast. A bit at a disadvantage given the many, many witnesses-but fast. But somehow-she really kind of doubted he was lying. He sat down at a corner table and Jenna stood in line, trying not to think about how weird this all was. Then again, a lot of things were weird since she had gotten her abilities.

The petite Filipina slid into the booth across from him, still looking a bit confused but not entirely stand offish-more just uncertain, awkward. "Um, you can have hot cocoa or coffee, whichever you'd like. I'll drink either, so-up to you."

His ability to take on such varied appearances was nothing short of amazing-but she still really hoped some poor guy wasn't knocked out cold somewhere. She realized she was staring and dropped her gaze to the unpicked drink, pulling it closer with her good hand. "I...I thought you had died, you know." Jenna said quietly, eyes still on her drink. "It was really awful, thinking...thinking I...well." She shook the thoughts away, brow furrowing as her gaze lifted again.

"But now you're running around with Rush-she's very, very dangerous Alex! She-she kills people, she might've killed my namesake, I don't know-but she's nuts. You saw what she was like. I think she likes to hurt people, even." Jenna was anxious just thinking about it, the idea of so sadistic a person foreign and scary.

God, what was she going to do about the villain?

 

[Ephemeron9]

"Thank you." He said as he noticed the girl returning with two drinks rather than one, and without appear as if she was going to gulp down both in front of him. As she verbally confirmed her generosity, Alex flashed a gracious smile across his borrowed face and reached for the coffee--the caffeine will probably get filtered out of his circulation, in which case he might have to awkwardly hold the liquid inside him, but that's hardly the strangest thing that had to be done in the foreseeable future.

"I...I thought you had died, you know." She sad, averting her eyes. What? Oh- Alex had nearly forgotten his brush against death in that cremation chamber, given the ludicrous things that had gone down since. Hitting him right after his recollection of the event was his amazement at the girl's attitude.

As she continued, it became clear to him that she really didn't seem to have thought of him as an evil person--that she had only thought of him as being someone who needed to be helped--at least that was the conclusion he was willing to believe. He looked speechlessly at his own cup as she spoke, mirroring the smaller figure across from him. It felt strange, that there existed someone else who cared about his welfare more than they cared about the advancement of their own ideologies, when they cared at all, that is.

"But now you're running around with Rush-she's very, very dangerous Alex! As she focused once more on his ever-changing visage, he too turned his eyes up to hers. I don't know-but she's nuts. You saw what she was like. I think she likes to hurt people, even."

That is believable, what with the trail of death and mayhem Rush had heedlessly left behind her. Hers was a whole new kind of evil--not the petty grudge-holding of lowly crooks, or their cheap myopic greed--hers was a sort of perverted exercise of her character, as if her essence lied in the chaos she wrought. At least that is what he had gathered from the time he spent by the woman's side, perhaps the young heroine's fear of that woman stemmed from something much worse he had yet to witness.

"I believe you." Alex said, clutching his cup with both hands, fingers interlaced on the lid, feeling the heat therein. "Well," he said solemnly, returning his gaze once again to the girl's dark eyes from the wandering it had gone to do at some unknown juncture, "I... I'm honestly," he stammered, this was not like what he thought of himself--facetious and quick-witted--he struggled as he spoke his thoughts plainly and timidly, as if each unembellished word was a naked fragment of himself, walking gingerly into sight. "I'm honestly not sure what I had been doing these last little while."

Silent staring. "The bus and that fake bomb-threat-, that was me." He was beginning to spill his secrets yet again, as if desperately trying to please an interrogator, whereas in reality, the girl sitting across from him had barely done anything beside offering him a choice of drinks. "That guy that showed up in his underpants, well, you know that was me as well. After that, I did go along with whatever Rush had in mind-" He had lost what he was meaning to do with this blatant defection of his recent past, how could it possibly help to make her know just exactly what a rampant vandalist he was?

"I don't know what to do..." He finally confessed his last secret, and the one he least wanted to confront. Obviously he should be handing himself over and face whatever consequence there would be, but how could he possibly betray himself so utterly? and for what? Nevertheless, roaming around this city and wreaking senseless havoc had stayed its welcome, to find himself in the company of one of the most notorious villain in the world was also a good indication that he should be doing something less absurd, not to mention the damage his acts had caused, laying quietly under the small black sweater just on the other side of the table.

 

[Ambrosia_64]

"I believe you."

Well, at least someone did, about something. Jenna was relieved he would at least heed her warning-she didn't want anyone in her city to die, not to Rush. He told her he wasn't sure what he'd been doing the last little while, and Jenna worried on her bottom lip a minute, briefly unsure what to say. Wagging her finger at him seemed...inappropriate somehow, given his...what? Vulnerability? He didn't seem manically evil or...or anything. He hadn't really ever been.

"Well, Rush is...no doubt a bad influence..." She said slowly, staring back at him worriedly as he began his confession-some of which she had guessed at, others she knew due to his own references that first meeting.

But he WAS a bad guy, right? Shouldn't she be trying to bring him in right now? But she wasn't really Velocity, not during the daytime. Just...Jenna Paige, having coffee. It was crazy, but she felt...she didn't know. He seemed a little lost and kind of...she wasn't sure. A puppy came to mind, and as silly as that was, she couldn't quite shake the thought once it entered her head.

"I don't know what to do..."

Jenna's eyes were warmly sympathetic. "...me either." She admitted quietly, her gaze shifting to the window, the dark clouds. She was no match for Rush. The other woman was bigger, stronger, and much, much more dangerous than Velocity was. Rush was willing to maim and murder, had years of experience dealing out hurt and a dangerous disregard for the safety of others. If Laura had struggled with her, what chance did she have?

"...look. The police think you've died. And they've dismissed anything I've tried to tell them about you." Yeah, she had lost a bit of respect, jeez. They hadn't wanted to believe her about Rush either, but the rumor mill was in full force now, they were finally starting to worry about the villain. "But the nightclub, the bus-people could have gotten very, very hurt. And that poor Chinese student was a little...traumatized, I think." She shifted uncomfortably. "That's not good stuff. B-but my plate is a little full, and since everyone thinks I'm crazy anyway..."

She was, wasn't she? She had some ancient piece of history secreted away in her base still, a relic she had no business possessing but wasn't sure what to do with, just yet. Rush wanted it for some reason. Rush was in town, running rampant and being SUPER creepy towards her, that last encounter. Finals were coming up, too.

"Just...try not to cause more trouble. A-and remember what I said, about Rush." Her eyes finally shifted back to him, trying to determine what he might thinking, if he was genuine. She thought so. "...I mean, I have to be out there, try to stop her." Because that went so well the last time. "But you don't have to deal with her. Not if you don't want to. I mean, you can be anybody, right? Hiding shouldn't be too hard...?"

 

[Ephemeron9]

To think the frail girl across from him was going to face off the experienced villain that she herself so feared made Alex's heart throb, and made him feel a sense of self-abasement in addition to the guilty he felt for having been a nuisance to her. Alas, he wasn't rash enough to risk his freedom and life by turning himself in just yet.

"I will remember what you said." He said quietly, gathering his cup to himself, "I promise I won't make any more trouble for you," standing up, he looked her in the eye, "and...there is something odd about that woman and the locket...just...please be careful yourself."

With that said, Alex maneuvered his large body to freedom from the space between the table and the seat. "I'd better get going before the real owner of this appearance wakes up from all-night gaming." He quipped, a little of his trademark flippancy returning after the strange and serious conversation. "See you around, Jenna."

 

[Ambrosia_64]

Jenna listened solemnly. Rush was a psycho, she knew that-but something up with the locket? Her mind flashed on the relic currently hidden in her base. It did seem a weird thing for Rush to want...

Jenna gave him a nod as he rose, relieved to hear the likeness of his borrowed appearance was NOT in fact naked in an alley somewhere.

"Yeah...I should probably get to class." Jenna stared at her cup in distraction, unusually heavy, grim thoughts weighing on her mind. Hopefully she'd be around. With all these sudden problems, at least he wouldn't be one of them.

"Hey Alex?" She said as she rose to stand. She was quite a bit smaller than his borrowed appearance, having to tip her head back to maintain eye contact. "Do this for you, okay? You deserve better. Really." She favored him with a pretty, if somewhat pixie-ish smile, looking a little more like her usual self and less like a battered, exhausted heroine. These problems would have to wait. Jenna Paige was unfailingly optimistic-she had better shake off the dark cloud following her around lately. It wouldn't help her in the long run.

"Maybe you'll even wear your real face next time, hm?" And with a wink and a wave of her good hand, she turned and headed for the side door in the opposite direction.

 

[Ephemeron9]

"Do this for you, okay? You deserve better. Really."

Do I?

"Very well, I will." Alex said, smiling gently for a brief moment that nevertheless made him feel as if he was posing for a camera, and be embarrassed by the pretentiousness of it all. "By the way," he added, grinning a little more playfully now, "My name really is Alex; I'm not good at lying when you are around."

- - -

John Murdoch's career were coming up roses. Feet crossed at the ankles over his desk, he was half-surprised to realize that the sense of exaltation in sitting in the premier's office had not decreased at all since day one, if anything, his grown sense of proprietorship of the office and the subsidence of stresses and difficulties only made him feel more euphoric atop his inclined leather-bound armchair.

"Mr. Murdoch?" A subordinate came knocking behind the half-opaque sliding glass door. John reached his hand above the opaque bands of the glass and lazily beckoned for him to enter. "We had the construction company agreed on the project, we are holding a conference this afternoon and..."

"If you don't have anything for me to sign-" The premier interrupted, eyelids half-closed as his face dropped in an expression of peevish lethargy.

"Ah- of course, yes-" the subordinate stammered, fumbling through a stack of papers and presenting John the last page, which the premier ignored, looking fixedly at the now sweaty employee through his half-closed eyes. "We will need you to sign this at the end of..." Before he could finish, John had snatched the paper and pressed it against the subordinate's shoulder, scribbling his signature thereupon without attempting to make space on his desk.

"but, that was meant for the end of the conference-"

"Look," John Murdoch began, sitting up a little and allowing the inclined armchair to bring his face closer to that of the subordinate. "This is the face of the man who tripled the tax-revenue of this city from last year. If I were as short-sighted and incompetent as you, it would be I who wakes up five in the morning taking two hours of bus ride to this building, attending conferences that I already know the out come of. Do. You. Understand. Me?"

John leaned backward once again, shoving the signed sheet on top of the stack of papers the subordinate rigidly held. "My P.A. will go to the conference for me. You run along now." He watched with an askew-smile--half in pretended friendliness, half in genuine amusement--as the man scurried from his office. Interns. He thought, gotta learn their lessons from somewhere.