" ♫ Restricted, you say?
Now what have we here?"
All children love tricks,
So pick one my dear!"
Edward smiled at Lucielle, extending his hand of cards towards her with dramatic flourish. He had quickly judged by both situation and location that she wasn't just an average child, and this was far more than just some standard military outpost. Edward glanced around, taking in his captive audience and their reactions to his odd performance. In time he would figure out who they were and what their mission was, but not quite yet. For now, he needed only to flash his grin and play his little game.
"..." Instead of doing what any sane man would do in the face of a military blockade, the red-eyed man merely shifted his sing-song attention to her instead.
"He's not thinking right..." Well that much was obvious, wasn't it? Now it was just a matter whether this was his usual self or...
"Lucielle, may I ask what you are doing? This is no time to be entertaining street magicians."
Ah, now that Father mentioned it... why was she doing this? She should be entering the Army Camp and proceed with her duties. Then again...
"Isn't preventing more deaths part of why we're here, Father? I am doing that right now."
"..." Father went silent, seemingly not expecting his daughter's reply, she was... right.
"Just don't sabotage yourself."
Now that she had gotten his 'permission', Lucy could properly examine the man in greater detail. He looked older, those clothes were actually fancy if not for the dirt and grime... and bits of dried blood, they shared a hair color, yet opposite eye color, but most importantly, the way he went about his little rhyme and song...
She sensed that behind the eerily jolly veil of a street magician, lied copious amount of pain... regret, sorrow. Those lips tried to maintain a smile, but... what was it for? Was it to entertain others or... himself?
"Judging by what happened here, did he lose someone in the incident...? Perhaps I can..."
For now, she decided to humor him and take one of his cards at random.
Meanwhile, the jeep's driver had parked the vehicle somewhere and in the process of telling his comrades that command was expecting the haloed girl. It wouldn't do well if they accidentally shot her in their attempt to pacify the perceived threat displayed by Edward, especially when the latter looked like a drunken hobo masquerading as a street magician.
Edward clasped his hands with glee as his latest audience member took her card. With a quick wrist flip, the magician volunteered the faces of his hand, proving that each card was different.
" ♫ Now a card has been chosen,
Of a will that is free,
And no card is the same,
Let all know and see."
A quick riffle shuffle and Edward's deck vanished into thin air with a small clap. As Edward pranced around the front of the outpost, seemingly without a care in the world, one of the gate guard's pockets began to emit a small trail of black smoke rising quickly into the air.
"Oooh!" Edward exclaimed with a jump, rushing to the shocked guard's side before turning his attention back to Lucielle with a mischievous grin.
"Say, dearie, why don't you tell us what card you chose?"
By the time Edward had finished his second set of rhymes, the jeep driver had disembarked from the vehicle and was conversing with one of the gate guards, making sure they would keep their finger off the trigger. The soldier's action arguably prevented the situation from escalating past the point of no return as Edward brazenly pulled off a trick in said gate guard's pocket.
He raised his eyebrows in alert, his mind assuming on the spot that an explosive had been placed there. Acting on instinct, he would delve his free hand into the smoking pocket, picked up whatever inside it, then threw it away from him. Even if there's nothing inside that pocket, he would still do that motion. After that, he shot a murderous glare at the 'insane' street magician, being
this close to shooting him. Meanwhile, the other soldiers - except the jeep driver - trained their weapons on Edward even as he cheekily addressed Lucielle.
As Edward was close to the jeep driver, the latter attempted to talk to him,
"N... now, Sir, whoever you are, please, don't make this worse. We're all anxious as we are."
Meanwhile, Lucy observed the situation, thankful that the young man managed to diffuse the situation enough for the other soldiers. She flipped the card's face toward her eyes. The image of a jester at the center along with the stylized letter of 'J' at the upper-left and lower-right corners were reflected in her light blue iris.
She blinked once, then looked up at Edward,
"The Joker..." She idly wondered if it meant anything.
Edward chuckled, nonchalantly wrapping his left arm around the jeep driver as if they were best friends. Lucielle announced her card, and the magician grinned widely. Naturally, he had always known her selection, for it had been forced upon her in the appearance of free choice. It was simple sleight of hand, but that was what made it so incredibly effective. Bowing down onto the ground, Edward picked up the smoking square of paper that had been frantically tossed by the guard. Flipping it over, Edward presented the Joker symbol for his audience to see.
" ♫ The Joker it be!" Edward exclaimed, tossing the paper into the sky. A quick wand twirl and different sections of the rising smoke began to slowly change colors. Some red here, some blue there. A splash of purple and white, and soon the fading smoke resembled that of a jester playing with a beach ball.
" ♫ The Joker you see!" Edward sang before pointing at the jeep driver and the guard, his two unwilling volunteers.
"
♫ The Joker is three!"
Looking down, the guard and driver would suddenly find their apparel had drastically changed. They were still wearing the same gear and uniform, however the blacks and grays had been swapped for purples and pinks, each with a Jester symbol resting on their sleeves in bright white. As the two would exclaim in surprise, Edward drew the attention back to himself, only now he had changed as well. His suit had magically changed in colors to match the two. Sliding up to them, Edward joined the ridiculous looking duo.
" ♫ The Joker is we!" Edward announced triumphantly. His arms were outstretched for effect as he grinned his sugary smile, patiently waiting for applause. He hoped applause would come, for if it didn't he feared he would have to flee and find some other means to get into the facility. Luckily, he wasn't completely out of options. While he had danced and pranced like an idiot before his audience, the master magician had prepared the entire surrounding area in case he needed to make an emergency exit. He only hoped it wouldn't come to that.
The girl with the halo of black thorns genuinely didn't suspect that whatever card she chose would be irrelevant for the magician had determined the outcome beforehand. It came as a pleasant surprise - like that of an amused audience - when he revealed that the smoking thing previously inside the guard's pocket was the same card. The jeep driver and most of the other guards looked bewildered and amused as well with varying degrees of expression, except for that one guard he 'pocket-pranked' of course, having a deep scowl on his face. He seemed to be the grumpy sort, the type that wouldn't make a good audience for a magic show.
Now, all those sleight of hand and colored smoke tricks were impressive displays of showmanship, but they were still within the realms of possibility for a mundane magician, a skilled one but mundane nonetheless. However, when Edward started shifting the uniform colors of the jeep driver and grumpy guard, Lucielle had her suspicions confirmed.
"This man is a supe... or a meta-human." Whatever the case, he certainly possessed supernatural powers.
Fortunately, no one decided to shoot Edward during his show, he finished by sliding up to the 'jesterized' soldiers and ended the performance with a flourish. The jeep driver was flabbergasted, examining his changed uniform, grumpy guard looked like he was about done with life and then...
*Clap Clap Clap*
Edward could hear measured soft claps, three times and no more. They came from the fellow white-haired person in front of him.
"So... you have a gift."
"Interesting... so this street magician is more than a simple circus showman."
"It appears so, Father. What an interesting turn of events."
"I will attempt to identify him. Gather more information about him to hasten my search."
"Understood."
Lucy then stepped forward to join the three jesters, although she focused her attention on the flamboyant jester, not the flabbergasted, nor the grumpy.
"Excellent performance, Sir." She curled a small demure smile,
"Now, would you be so kind to introduce yourself? ...and perhaps, why have you chosen this place for your show? The magician seemed like a sharp man, she was betting on him being able to read between the lines.
As for the other gate guards, Edward could hear a few chuckles here and there, it seemed they found the colorful version of their comrades to be a refreshing sight among all these death and destruction.
As Lucielle clapped, Edward smiled through pressed lips, heaving a sigh of relief to himself. It seemed he could save his Houdini-esque escape for another time. The young girl asked about his identity, and Edward chuckled. She didn't seem the type to watch magic shows, otherwise his identity would be all too obvious. He was world famous after all, he scoffed to himself.
" ♫ Edward Pavel de Von Farbe the Second, at your service!" Edward saluted playfully, offering the young girl a deep blue pocket rose in exchange for his card back.
" ♫ I am but a humble traveling magician, roaming the world in hopes of granting poor souls some joy! Whom better to serve than these brave men and women, fighting on the front lines for our safety? Surely they could use a brighter day! That is why I, the Count of Cheer, Doctor of Delight, and Mastermind of Merriment has arrived! To bring joy to all!"
...or maybe, just maybe, he looked so dirty after wading through dirt and rubble to dig up his family's circus sign
and involved in a bloody scuffle with five thugs made it hard for strangers to recognize him at first glance.
...
Nah, he was right, Lucy didn't watch magic shows much.
However, the moment Edward revealed his full name to her, everything became clear. Unbeknownst to him, he was actually speaking to two different individuals after all.
"Edward Pavel de Von Farbe the Second... Father paused for a moment,
"I see... The Von Farbe, world-famous family of heroes and entertainers both. They have... or... considering the incident, used to have a circus here at Metro City."
"..." Lucielle blinked once at her Father's words, she tilted her gaze down for a brief moment.
"I see... I... don't want to assume, but... considering everything. The Von Farbes... he must've lost loved ones during the attack... after all, why is he here alone and not with his family? They are heroes." However, she felt like she'd step on his toes if she asked him about his family. That deep sorrow and regret just underneath the veil of flamboyance... Edward was hurting.
"I won't be surprised if he's here for revenge against whoever responsible for this massacre." Father concluded.
For now, what mattered was that she had prevented needless bloodshed and loss of life. The fact that the person turned out to be a fellow gifted human and member of a family of heroes were unexpected, but welcomed. To add more to the sliver of hope in this bleak situation, he was a potential ally as well. She accepted the azure rose, smiled, then put it on her black blazer's pocket.
"Then, why don't you come with us, Sir Edward? We need all the help we can get right now." She then turned her gaze at the jeep driver,
"He's coming with me."
The jeep driver rubbed the back of his head, thinking hard, then he shrugged. Yeah, she was right.
"Sure, Miss Lucielle... I trust your judgment on the matter." But... before they entered the forward base,
"Oh yeah, Mr. Edward, I suppose you can turn our uniforms back to normal, can't you? I don't want to get into trouble with my superiors... neither does my friend here, ahaha..."
Edward studied the girl intently. He didn't particularly trust her, or anyone in the surrounding area. For all he knew, they were going to lock him up once he entered the facility. Alas, these were problems he would tackle at another time, should they arise.
"♫ After you, my dear!" He sang, humming a small tune to himself. As he turned to follow Lucielle into the compound, the jeep driver's request made him chuckle. Turning to his two former voluntold assistants, Edward feigned his best look of innocence. "
♫ I'm sorry? Whatever do you mean, my child?" Looking down, the two would see their uniforms had returned to their natural state at some point. Edward chuckled and spun around back towards the entrance.
"♫ Now if you will excuse me..."
"E... eh?" The jeep driver blinked a couple of times at Edward's reply before looking down to check his military uniform. It had somehow returned to its original drab color, same with grumpy guard's uniform. The latter just scoffed and proceeded to ignore Edward's existence, returning to guard his post.
"Ahaha... thanks, now then, uh... shall we go?"
"Very well." Lucielle nodded at both Edward and the jeep driver. There was nothing else left to attend here, she should be getting back to her original mission. The investigation wouldn't go anywhere by dallying around.
The meeting would start in a few hours after all, she was expected to be there.
Thus, the heroine and the hero(?) entered the compound, an Army Camp set up at what used to be Metro City's Central Park area.