Fantasy Partners in Crime

[leiaorgana]

It was a relatively slow, chilly evening when Claude found himself in one of the newer, high-rise apartments in the far east side. It was located in one of the more affluent neighborhoods in the city, starkly contrasted by the areas surrounding it made up of old, run-down buildings. Claude usually wasn’t in this particular part of town, but tonight, he had an assignment to complete.

Last night, he had been assigned a mission extract information from a former associate of one of the local syndicates. Chief had claimed that the target had leaked some vital information regarding one of their client’s proceedings, marking the target as some sort of traitor or whistleblower. Claude didn’t really care much for the details, though.

It wasn’t too hard to break into the apartment: all he had to do was bypass the sensors and the security cameras then open the sliding door into the deck. In a few minutes time, he had his target locked down and cornered on the sofa. Claude pulled a chair, swiveled it around, and sat across the man.

“Hi,” he said a bit too cheerfully, considering the circumstances. “Lovely place you’ve got here.”

The man’s forehead was damp with sweat, and he was shivering. He seemed to be middle aged, and he was rather lanky; the hair on his head was completely gone. “What… what the hell do you want-”

The man’s voice faltered, however, as he stared long and hard at Claude, brows furrowed in intense concentration. He was trying to discern something, find something in Claude’s features. The man even gave him a quick once-over, starting from head to toe. Claude admittedly looked a bit of a mess; his curly black hair was overly tousled, with his signature strand of white sticking out, and over his crumpled collared white shirt was a black suit jacket with the tag still on it. He still had to clean his actual suit after finishing another assignment last night, so he opted for whatever was in his closet.

Claude laughed, feeling amused but also weirdly uncomfortable under such intense scrutiny. “Pal, I get that you’re checking me out or whatever but I don’t really have all day-”

The man’s eyes suddenly widened. “I… I know you,” he pointed his finger at Claude, “you’re one of those powered people with the Commission… They call you Pha-”

Claude waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you’ve seen me before. Let’s get past the introductions already and make this quick, or else,” he said, dragging his chair closer to the man. “My employers want to know who you leaked the information to. I don’t really think further explanation is needed…?”

The man hesitated for a moment and looked down at the ground, before making eye contact with Claude. “You powered people act like you can get whatever you want,” the man’s voice was shaky, but he seemed to be exhibiting some newfound sense of rebelliousness, “when in reality, you.. you really just do the bidding of whoever the hell employs you… You’re all just lap dogs, that’s what you are-”

In the middle of this whole tangent, Claude bent down and placed a hand on the floor, and a bluish glow emanated. Shadows suddenly crept through the floor and tightened around the man’s legs, causing him to cry out in pain. Claude simply smiled in response. “I told you to make it quick, didn’t I?”


-


Claude was leaning against a lamp post outside, now dialing Chief on his phone. It was way past midnight now and the winds were chillier than ever, which Claude found pretty refreshing.

After three rings, Chief finally picked up. “I assume you did the job?” He had a very stereotypical New York accent, the kind you would hear in all those old gangster films. Claude honestly found it amusing; for all he knew, the accent might not have even been real, although he really hoped it was.

“Aw, you’re not even going to ask how I am?” Claude said, hoping the Chief imaged the pout on his face; he loved nothing more than getting on his nerves. “Anyway, I left the information at their HQ. The target wasn’t too hard to take care of, but he did get real talkative and it was kind of annoying-”

“Your position at the Commission might be threatened,” Chief interrupted. "This is coming from me. Keep an eye out.” And with that incredibly ambiguous warning, Chief hung up.

“Um… sir yes sir.”

 

[Corvus Corax]

If it was a chilly evening, Alex wouldn't know. Thanks to her powers, she gave off a naturally warm presence. It was the little things like that which helped her through her daily life. Also, she just truly despised everything cold. She used to hate the bundling up and the numb skin. But now, as her powers developed with age, she didn't have to worry about that anymore. The buzz of her phone was enough to bring her thoughts back, and she scolded herself for not keeping focus. Alex shook her head and continued running, keeping to the task she was assigned. The buzz meant it was 11:30, and she needed to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity near the docks. According to some information they received via someone who previously worked for the villain syndicate, there would be a heist tonight for some ships carrying highly valuable, dangerous cargo. Of course it was was up to Alex to stop it. By herself, no less.

Coming up along the docks at the edge of the city, Alex was able to see that the ships had recently arrived, and the crew were starting to unload all of the goods. What was inside, she didn't know, but if the villain's were interested in it, it had to be worth something. Explosives, maybe? Weapons? Some sort of high-tech gadgets? Whatever it was, all she knew was that she needed it gone. Inching closer, she hid behind some of the cargo that was unloaded, and waited to intercept at the first instance of trouble.

Speak of the devil. Without a moment's notice, the young woman heard commotion going on. One of the crew members shouted out in alarm, cut off abruptly with a quick hand movement. She heard him collapse to the ground with a thud, knocked out cold. Alex promised herself she'd take care of him later, and made her way into the open, calmly walking over to the group of hooded villains. "To whom do I owe the pleasure?" She spoke, voice stern as she stepped closer. "I assume it's this 'Chief'? Leave him a message, will you? Tell him I said, 'Stop ruining my dinner plans.'." Without leaving time to respond, she snapped her fingers, and a blinding flash of light went off in the docks. It wasn't long, and it could be described as that of a flashbang, but that was pretty much the end of it. Low-level thugs, working for a syndicate they think would guarantee their protection. Not everything works out though, and the thugs were tied up and left behind. What was supposed to be a heist ended up being a nuisance. Alex could have eaten dinner and arrived here towards the end, then gotten rid of them. But she rushed over here for nothing, and now she had boxes of cargo she didn't know what to do with behind her.

Yes, it had been a fairly easy job, but the amount of energy she spent trying to summon that much light was exhausting. Not only that, but the repercussions of her power was starting to kick in. Her vision was starting to fade, but instead of darkness, it was a blinding white. It was like when you stare at the sun for too long, it was just a bright, blinding light, and Alex had to stop for a moment and wait for it to pass. Bringing a hand up to clutch her face, her eyebrows furrowed at the slight pain her eyes were experiencing. Powers were a blessing and a curse. She supposed everyone's powers had a limit to them on purpose, so one couldn't go too crazy or grow too powerful, and that was a sort of relief. But still, everyone was human and she wasn't immune to blinding lights or the sun either. Finally, the moment passed, and Alex was back to normal. She could see perfectly fine, and she was able to contact the hero syndicate and let them know that the cargo out on the docks needed to be taken care of. And with that, she took care of the crew members from the ships as promised, and left the area.

-

Heading over to her own apartment, she was ready to pass out in bed. It had been a long day of running errand after errand for hero work, so she kind of wanted to just do her last job as efficiently as possible so she could get it over with. Taking her usual route home, she didn't come across many people or even many cars. It was past midnight at this point, and God was Alex glad that the city was winding down for the night. Well, except for one individual. Across the barren street, the was the silhouette of a person standing under a lamp post. Normally she would've passed by, but something about this person sent a cold shiver running down her spine.

 

[leiaorgana]

What exactly was the Chief referring to? Claude wondered. He’d been with the Commission for a few years now, working as one of its primary powered operatives. He carried out both open and covert assignments for the organization and their affiliated crime syndicates; he was often rewarded generously as a bonus, although the money wasn’t what kept him at his job. Chief was responsible for the Commission’s Operative Division and gave Claude his assignments and directly monitored his activity.

The public wasn’t exactly fond of the Commission as an entity, of course. The Commission was essential to organized crime within the city, collaborating with syndicates for profit and power. It would even be an understatement to say they contributed to a culture of corruption in the city; they helped shape it. Those who openly challenged their motives and their power became enemies, most especially those so-called heroes who worked to dismantle their operations. Claude disliked them, of course; those do-gooders were mainly a nuisance, often too caught up on establishing themselves on some moral high ground. It was always all rules with them, and that was no fun, of course.

Claude couldn’t help but contemplate the Chief’s words. Keep an eye out. The Commission heavily relied on its powered operatives to carry out its missions… which was why Claude was so taken aback by Chief’s sudden warning. Why would his position suddenly be threatened? Was it just him, or was the entire Operative Division in danger of eradication? He couldn’t say it was just him; not to stroke his ego, but he was one of their most successful operatives. He was pretty damn good at his job. He had never colossally screwed an assignment for the Commission. So what the hell was the deal?

His phone flashed again; it was a text from the Chief. “Heist at the dock already intercepted. Subordinates from Comm and other affiliate syndicates already down.”

Claude groaned. He thought he had taken care of it, but guess they couldn’t send reinforcements to the heist in time. He just wanted to sleep… Another text. “Caused by a flash. Might sound familiar to you.”

“Your assignment isn’t over yet. Take care of it.”

A flash, huh… That fact really irked him; it sounded too familiar. And if he knew who the bald guy had leaked information to, then…

Claude put his phone away in his pocket and looked up just to notice a figure from across the street. There was no else on the streets beside the two, aside from the occasional drunk stumbling home. While he couldn’t quite make out who it was or what they looked like from this distance, he couldn’t help but feel he was being watched. And it occurred to him, maybe this is what the Chief was talking about…?

He couldn’t be sure about the latter, but he immediately felt his senses on alert. He stopped leaning against the lamp post. Time to get this over with.

“Watch your back,” he called out as he placed a hand on the lamp post, sending frost creeping up the lamp post and breaking the light inside, enshrouding himself in darkness.

 

[Corvus Corax]

Ah, now I'm just being a creep, Alex thought to herself, a nervous chuckle under her breath. Upon realizing she had been staring a second too long, she came to the conclusion that she was most likely overthinking things. What were the chances this stranger was from the villain syndicate anyway? And the cold shiver was probably just her imagination, so she shrugged it off and took another step forward.

"Watch your back."

That ominous threat was enough to stop Alex dead in her tracks, and her head swiveled once again to stare at the figure in the distance. Suddenly, the light bulb busted, and the street was strung in darkness. With it pitch black out, Alex's sea green eyes were struggling to focus. She spun around, eyes darting every which way, as she tried to spot some sort of movement. But it was as if this man vanished altogether. Did he use the light as a distraction to run off? Did he know who she was? So many questions, so little time.

"Cool magic trick." She teased, testing the water to see if she would get any kind of response out of him. "I don't know what you're playing at, but surely you've got the wrong person." If she was talking to nothing, this was terribly embarrassing. "I don't believe we've met, judging by the sound of your voice. So, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way."

Alex happened to be wearing a large black hoodie complimented by a pair of black jeans. It her defense it was comfortable, and she hadn't planned to run into a stranger who can explode lightbulbs with their mind. Granted, this man had some sort of power, but exploding something with their mind probably wasn't it.

If this man really was after her, and he continued to pursue her, then she would be forced to fight back. She did spare a few glances behind her every now and then as she made her way over towards the next lamp post, but this was all she could do for now. She tried to avoid a fight if she could, but sometimes it couldn't be helped.

 

[leiaorgana]

Claude thought for a moment that he may have been a bit too impulsive with this particular stunt. For all he knew, he could have scared a completely innocent stranger in the dead of night, no less… But he had to admit, he found things like these incredibly amusing. It was always interesting trying to provoke a reaction from others; he probably would have preferred to be an entertainer in another life. With his recent assignments becoming somewhat dull and repetitive, especially as opposed to before, he found himself taking on more risks just for the hell of it.

As his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, he could gather some movement from the other side. He thought that the other person was probably looking right in his direction now, trying to discern what had just happened.

Suddenly, the stranger spoke. “Cool magic trick,” they said. Oh, he thought. She wasn’t intimidated by his games, or so she seemed. At the very least, she was putting on a very strong front. "I don't know what you're playing at, but surely you've got the wrong person. I don't believe we've met, judging by the sound of your voice. So, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way.”

Now she had Claude’s full attention. He didn’t recognize her voice, either, but her show of confidence piqued his interest; no regular person would respond that way, especially when confronted in the face of potential danger. She had to be someone special. That, or she was just really good at screwing with him… or she might have thought it was some overly elaborate, untimely prank. Which it kind of was.

As she walked past the next lamp post, he stayed behind, keeping himself hidden in the dark. He had to admit it felt kind of creepy to be following someone like this, someone who wasn’t necessarily a target of his… But something in his gut was telling him that this was no ordinary stranger.

“Not scared, huh? That’s a first,” Claude replied, dipping his toes deeper and deeper into the water. If he was going to play along, he was going to commit. One of his skills as an operative, after all, was the art of bluffing. “My apologies if I’m mistaken. But if you’re out at this hour, then maybe you’ve seen the person I’m looking for. You see, they’ve caused me,” he lingers, mostly for dramatic effect, “a bit of trouble tonight.”

 

[Corvus Corax]

Alex stuffed her hands in her pockets and kept her gaze straight ahead. The thought did come across her mind, that maybe she should do something about this guy because he has powers, but decided against it since he wasn't actually doing anything threatening. What was more important to her at this moment in time was literally anything else. Social interaction wasn't exactly her favorite thing in life.

“Not scared, huh? That’s a first,” It was as if the voice came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Alex froze for a moment, crossing her arms over her chest. "Trust me, fire ants scare me more than your little trick." It was true, Alex really did have a fear of fire ants. A smirk grazed her lips, and she had to admit, it was a bit creepy that this man's voice was carried by the shadows. If this man wanted to mess with her, then so be it. He was getting on her nerves, and she was this close to losing it.

"I'm only out at this hour because I'm trying to go home. I had a long day." Uncrossing her arms, she held her hands out to her sides, in a more aggressive 'you're wasting my time' sort of gesture. Alex had a hunch that he was referring to her as the troublemaker, but neither of them could really confirm anything about who the other was. And, by this time, her eyes were familiar with the darkness as much as they could be, and it wasn't just a black blur anymore.

"Who's to say I am the person you're looking for?" Alex tilted her head, curiosity getting the best of her. Maybe she was past the point of being tired, because she felt energized now. This time what she said wasn't a tease, she genuinely wanted to know what this man had to go by. A picture, maybe? A description of what this so-called ‘troublemaker’ looked like? Not that she'd help him, she just wanted to know.

Something else Alex was interested in was being able to see what this man looked like. She had only seen him from far away, and even though his voice was right next to her, Alex still wasn’t able to see him too clearly. "Ah, should we take this conversation somewhere else, perhaps?" Maybe somewhere a bit brighter? Alex didn't mention the last part, but that's what she was hoping for. Somewhere she would be comfortable with.

 

[leiaorgana]

“Trust me, fire ants scare me more than your little trick.” Ha. Fire ants? So he wasn’t much scarier than some measly bug? Claude laughed at the thought, imagining what it would be like if she weren’t actually playing around.

“Ouch,” Claude said as he put a hand over his heart in a show of his fake, exaggerated hurt, though he knew she probably couldn’t see him. “You really know to hit me where it hurts, huh?”

His vision sharpened due to the enshrouding darkness, enabling him to see the stranger more clearly. She looked to be in a relatively simple outfit, a mere hoodie and jeans; not the kind of usual superhero getup he was looking for, but he wasn’t exactly fitted in his usual suit either. From this distance, though, he still couldn’t quite discern anything else about her, anything that could have signified that she was the one he was looking for. But something about her did strike him as familiar. He had a feeling he’d seen her somewhere before, although he couldn’t quite place it.

“I was just trying to go home, too,” Claude said, noting her more aggressive stance and shrugging in response, “but you did stand there and stare at me first. Can’t blame me for being a bit suspicious, considering what I’ve gone through tonight.” She could maybe blame him for being a bit extreme, but that was a conversation for another day. If they would ever cross paths again, that is.

“Who’s to say I am the person you’re looking for?” the stranger asked. To be fair, Claude still didn’t know what exactly he was looking for. The Chief hadn’t been very specific with his description, probably too busy doing damage control as a consequence of the failed heist. The only thing he could go off was Chief’s vague text: “A flash. Might sound familiar to you.”

A hero who could create a flash… Claude went through a mental checklist of all the heroes he knew from the other syndicate, but it wasn’t enough to narrow the list significantly. How he would figure that out if he didn’t somehow engage with this stranger in a fight, he didn’t know. Couldn’t the Chief have included some physical descriptors in his text? Much like his personality and the way in which he presented himself, the Chief was overly ambiguous as usual.

“No one. I just think you could maybe help me, that’s all. Then we could go on about our night and pretend this never happened,” he said, dangling the offer in front of her.

Much to his surprise, she proposed they take their conversation elsewhere. Was she really willing to engage in face-to-face conversation, Claude wondered? If she wasn’t intimidated by him, then what did she think she was going to get out of it? Claude definitely had the upperhand right now, the element of darkness on his side… But if he was going to get any actual information, he might be better off pretending they were actually meeting on equal ground, at the very least.

He walked forward, stepping out under the light of the next lamp post, directly parallel to where she was on the other side of the street. He walked towards the street, a backup plan formulating in his mind if things went awry. “How about we meet in the middle, then?”

 

[Corvus Corax]

Alex may not have been able to see the man rest his hand on his chest in exaggeration, but she was able to hear it in his voice. He was clearly offended, being compared to fire ants, and it made Alex chuckle, her eyes lighting up with amusement. The whole ordeal with the ants was a story for another day, however. "I only speak the truth." A teasing smile played at her lips as her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. This stranger was a peculiar one, but somehow the two of them managed to get along, even if was in an odd, teasing way.

"Ah," Alex gave a sheepish grin, running a hand through her black hair, which had been accompanied by blonde highlights. Messing with her hair had been a habit she had picked up some time ago, and she did admit she was the one who looked first. "Have you considered that maybe I was checking you out?" Alex raised one eyebrow, knowing full well that she wasn't about to admit he was right out loud. Stubborn and sassy were two words that described Alex the best, despite her working as a hero.

"I just think you could maybe help me, that’s all." As much as Alex liked to lend a hand to people in need, she wasn't exactly sure how she could help, considering he didn't have any descriptions of this so-called person? If they even were a person. An imaginary friend, perhaps? She chuckled under her breath at the thought. "And what if I say no?" Alex tilted her head, challenging the man.

Alex was a bit surprised when the stranger proposed they meet in the middle. He didn't look like the kind of man who would take no for an answer, so she sighed deeply, agreeing to his terms. "Fine," Alex gave in, stepping onto the asphalt. "I suppose I'll lend you a hand." After all, it was the role of a hero to help anyone who asked for it, even if that hero was exhausted. Alex came to a stop in the dead center of the street, and despite there being no cars in sight, this was still a terrible idea. "So, tell me about this 'person' we're trying to find." Arms crossing over her chest, she tilted her head slightly, staring at the man. The chances of finding one specific person in a city as big as this was slim to none in the first place, but you never know.