The Streets of LA, Saturday Night

[gunslingerpose]

So, Thanksgiving with Nikolai's family had gone fairly well. His mother had scolded him for vanishing for so long without saying anything, as was absolutely her right to do. Then he'd spent a little while dodging questions about whatever that mysterious sickness was that had left him with eyes so sensitive that he had to wear shades all the time.

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[spin_kick_snap]

Roughly four miles away, another superhero was also making her debut. Unlike Gorgon, Banzai was well aware of where things stood in her neighborhood. One of her first displays of power had come from getting chased by a few bored Seventeens.

Now, months of heroing in Baltimore under her rainbow belt, Kathy was more than ready to go out and clean up the neighborhood she'd grown up in.

She'd meant to get out there a lot earlier than Saturday night, but it was a lot more difficult to sneak out of her parents' apartment than it was her own dorm where no one cared when she came or went. And her parents had very strict ideas when their daughters should wake up in the mornings; vacation, holidays, and late nights out stopping crime be damned.

But she was leaving tomorrow to head back East and Kathy was not about to let her last night go without doing something as Banzai. So one ignominious exit from her bedroom window later (and a mental note to pick up a small bottle of WD40 while she was out), a rainbow-clad superhero was dashing

[gunslingerpose]

Koreatown wasn't really Gorgon's beat. He called Hollywood home, and so his rounds were going to mostly stay in Hollywood. But after a few smaller scuffles, Gorgon was now hot on the trail of one Sevens bastard who had taken a few shots at him after he'd taken down a few of the guy's buddies. The shooter had missed, fortunately, but had made his way to a car and was now driving recklessly fast to get as far from the freakish new superhuman as he possibly could.

And Gorgon, without his bike, was following behind the good old-fashioned way, feet pounding pavement and duster flying behind him, just daring Ronald or Rodney or whatever the hell this punk's name was to look in the rear-view mirror. One flash of the goggles would take care of him quick and easy.

Four miles was a surprisingly long distance when you were chasing a speeding car on foot. But not as long as one might think, when one was riding tier three.

[spin_kick_snap]

A few months ago, Banzai would have noticed the speeding car with Gorgon chasing after it and flung herself off the side of the building, trusting to gravity and her own (un)natural agility to keep her safe when she landed on the car's hood. She'd've spent the time in the air hoping she looked cool or coming up with a witty line to deliver.

A few months ago, she'd been trying to be a comic book superhero, rather than a real one.

With the benefit of time and experience, Banzai had a much smarter idea than just recklessly flinging herself into danger--at least doing so for a bit of flashy showmanship. Why jump when a loose brick perfectly timed (thank you, AP Physics!) could have the same effect?

The brick flew. The windshield shattered. Brakes squealed and rough Spanish curses were hurled. And only then did Banzai leap down, executing a perfect somersault to land directly on the roof of the car.

"Fancy meeting you here," she said, smiling a bit under her mask.

[gunslingerpose]

"No clue if you're talking to me or Buddy, here," Gorgon shot back, along with a grin in Banzai's direction. Yeah, he was surprised. Here in the middle of the street with an armed criminal bleeding from a shallow head wound was probably not the place to worry about that. "He's got a gun, by the way. Don't let him reach for it."

Warning first, and then he'd make his way around the car to tap on Rodney's window. A flash of the goggles, and then it was naptime for the last asshole he'd been up against. Gorgon barely refrained from beating the living snot out of him while he was at it, tempting though it was.

"Timely save from your friendly neighborhood superball. You keep bricks in that belt of yours, too?"