I am Vengeance. I am the Night.

L

Laggy Lagiacrus

Guest
Original poster
"Good morning, John!"
"Morning, John!"
"Nice to see you again, John."
If there was one thing that was true about East Gate City High School, it was that John Taylor was the most well-recognised figure in the year. At the age of sixteen, he was already capable of trumping a great many people in both brains and brawn – his intelligence and athleticism were phenomenal. Some assumed he had no personal life, and just trained at every opportunity. Others speculated that he was superhuman. Some even went so far as to say that the boy wasn't even human to begin with. Whatever the case, he was a special one indeed.

All this seemed fairly odd – he didn't look, or sound, particularly special. He was taller than the national average, but by only a few inches – nothing particularly major. Though parted, his pitch-black hair did not exhibit any special traits, nor did his placid green eyes. He looked even less extraordinary in the school uniform – the standard-issue shirt, tie, and trousers, with optional blazer. How he acted, though? A different matter completely. There was just something about him, and the way he spoke, that seemed to draw people in, even if he was notorious throughout the school for keeping people at arm's length.

"All right class, everyone in their seats. Thank you, thank you."

The humdrum of everyday life began, as the teacher called out to settle the class Chatting dying away into murmurs, the murmurs giving way to silence, Mr Allen managed to get his class quiet enough to go about the daily business.
"Now, as you all may have heard, we have a new student arriving. Now, please, I don't want a repeat of what happened to Jason, even if he was a tad aggressive at times. So, I'd like you to all welcome your new classmate. Anywa, if you'd like to introduce yourself, Miss…?"
 
"My name is Erinn Rider. It's nice to meet you all! I hope we can all be friends." Erinn said with a bright smile. Her blue eyes seemed to light at the sight of all of the people. She scanned the students until her eyes landed on John. She stood on tiptoes to try a better look at him. She had a short stature and the lean body of a dancer. She tilted her head, studying the boy. She could tell he was different. She didn't know how, but he was different. She smiled to herself. She'd found her newest challenge.
 
John had looked the new kid over, and had concluded that she was of no real interest to him. Not that he would immediately display this, of course – to do so would be terribly rude. And he didn't feel like being rude, not to her, not to anyone that hadn't offended him enough. No, he would just act civil, but not bother to be social. Most people got the message, and he would brush off those who didn't to the point where they did not bother him any further. That was just how he lived – he didn't particularly like it, but in his line of work, it was necessary.

He noticed her looking towards him, and then her focussing intently on him. In response, he nodded politely, and raised his hand slightly in greeting. A simple acknowledgement, hopefully one that could allow him to slowly ease himself away from her, to the point where she abandoned him. If all went according to plan, of course.
Meanwhile, Mr Allen had been looking over some files, and had only just noticed Erinn had just finished her introduction. Catching himself, before he made himself any more embarrassed, he gave her another instruction.
"Right, yes, quite so… Anyway, how about you sit next to John? He's got a seat next to him that's empty."
 
"Yes sir!" Erinn said, always chipper. She skipped to the seat and sat down. She extended a hand to John. "Hiya! I'm Erinn, as you heard, nice to meet ya!" She smiled at him, her eyes still analyzing him. She wanted to figure him out. What he disliked, what he liked, what made him tick. She did that at every new school she went to. To others, she just looked like a happy-go-lucky teenager that just wanted to make friends. She was so much more though. Not that she'd tell anyone.
 
Surprised by her abundance of enthusiasm – though he knew he should not have been – John was taken slightly aback. However, his usual demeanour did not falter, a raised eyebrow being the only indicator he was even remotely surprised. He reciprocated the greeting, shaking Erinn's hand – firmly, purposefully, but not wholeheartedly. Nevertheless, the smile on his face was an excellent mask, hiding the fact that he just wished people would leave him alone. It would be difficult to tell if he was lying, if you looked in his eyes – they were placid most of the time, so it was nigh-impossible to tell if he was truly happy to meet her or not.

"John Taylor. I suppose I'll be sitting next to you, then. Please, if there's anything you need, then don't hesitate to ask."
And, while he was aiming to use a flat tone of voice, there was nothing he could do about his passive ability to constantly hold a magnetic aura – in the metaphorical sense, of course. It wasn't just like how some people could fake a personality, he was either unresponsive, barely responsive, or he drew people in. His alter-ego made full use of the former two, but otherwise, it was more a nuisance than it was anything else, to him.
 
"I'll make sure to take that offer up then! Oh! Um, could you help me after school? Please?" Erinn asked, giving him a pleading look. She inwardly took note of how he seemed to be a good actor. She was even more interested. She liked his eyes. She found herself staring at them, trying to find the secrets he kept hidden in their depths.
 
Adopting a more weary expression, John paused for a moment, and sighed.
"All right, I'll help, as long as it's within my power. I'll have to be done by five, though, so make sure to note that. Anyway, I think we have more important things to worry about. Like the fact that the bell's going to go off soon."
While the bell was going to signal first period in but a minute or two, the more immediate problem was how uncomfortable John was being made to feel. Not by Erinn, but by the fact that everybody was now staring at the most prolific student in the year, talking with the new girl. It made for excellent gossip material, but that sort of thing lasted about a day before more interesting topics arose.
 
"Alright, thank you!" Erinn said, smiling. She moved to her backpack and searched for her map of the school. Her searching grew frantic as she cursed under her breath. "Shoot! I lost my map! This happens every time..." She said, groaning.

Erinn's father moved around a lot, and since he had full custody, Erinn went with him. She never had any friends so she stuck to observing people. Though, she always seemed to lose the map of the school on the first day...
 
She's lost her school map? This is bad. This is very bad. Please, Lady Luck, please let me have my map in my bag…
"Oh? Is that so? Well, we can't have that now, can we? Just give me a minute, I'll fix you up with one. Don't worry about losing it, I could navigate this school with my eyes closed. I think someone had me do it for an end-of-year party, once."
Chuckling slightly to give an illusion of him being light-hearted, John fished his own map out of his bag, and handed it over. He didn't want Erinn following him – he didn't want anyone following him, period.
Please don't need me to show you around. Please let the school's map design be simple enough for her.
…
I'm done for.
 
"Thank you," Erinn said, smiling gratefully. She stared at the map for a while before biting her lip. "Um..." She said, tilting her head, "I can't really understand it... could you show me around? Please?"
She could understand the map. She just didn't want him to know that. So she lied. She was pretty good at lying. She looked at him hopefully, holding the map loosely in her hands.
 
John's right eye twitched, as if something in him had snapped. It was in a minute way, barely noticeable to all but the most highly-trained of interrogators. True, something in him was telling him to cry out in frustration, but that wasn't who he was. For now, he as John Taylor – enigmatic student extraordinaire. So, with the same smile as before, he nodded.
"All right, if that's the case, then I'll show you around the school. Mr Allen!"
"What?"
"How long do I have to show Erinn around?"
"How long do you need?"
"First period?"
"I'll see you in science."
"You heard the man. Let's go."
John stood abruptly up, and proceeded to the door. He held it open, not out of politeness, but out of habit – well, a habit of being polite.
 
"Thank you again! I always seem to lose my map on the first day." Erinn said, rubbing the back of her head.
She walked out of the door, looking around at the hall. She was going to crack him no matter how long it took.
 
"Oh, don't worry about it. Happens to the best of us. I'm sure you'll be able to navigate your way around her fairly soon – the map may not be designed very well, but the school's layout is simple enough to memorise."
Pacing along quite merrily, John hoped to whatever deity/deities were above him. That she would remember. He had people to take care of, and not in the sense that he would look after them, either. The next set of classrooms were just down to corridor, so to prevent an awkward silence, John decided to make smalltalk. "So… How was your old school?"
 
"Well, it's hard to say. I was only there for a week." Erinn said, studying him.
He seemed like one to be popular. His kind demeanor yet mysterious. She smiled. This was going to be fun.
 
10:00pm

The night breeze was cool on Shadow Man's face – or, to be more accurate, his jaw. Though he wore a cowl that covered his entire head, he had been forced to cut it so that his mouth and chin were exposed, in order to breath properly. Clad in a solid grey one-piece, with the golden falcon crest of Gate City emblazoned upon the chest, the hero stood upon the roof of an apartment, a solitary warrior in the eternal crusade against injustice. Tonight, he had a particular target in mind – not just the scum that prowled the city's back alleys.

The silent guardian bounded across the rooftops, dashing towards the drug den that had recently sprung up, as of late. They were not well-established, but he couldn't wait forever. He would nip them in the bud, and allow the police to take care of the rest. Fortunately the run wasn't that long – at least, not for someone as fit as he. The trouble lay in that there was only one entrance, and despite the fact that it was poorly-guarded, it could prove problematic later on. He figured he would cross that bridge when he came to it, however, so once he had descended to the appropriate trap door, he knocked.
 
A voice giggled above him. A girl smiled down at him, her mask hiding her eyes from view. She was waiting for him. She had heard of him and wanted to see what he could do. She tilted her head, watching him carefully. She analyzed him, his appearance seemed familiar... she shook the feeling off. She had business to attend to. She could figure out the man's secret identity later.
 
The part of the city that Shadow Man was running through wasn't a particularly nice place – he expected the giggling to be a "lady of the night," or someone as insignificant. Nevertheless, eh glanced up, suspicious of the sound that had been made. His unaided night vision was superb, for a human, given how he had grown used to it – but even he couldn't make out the girl above him. Proceeding far more carefully, he stepped down the stairs, his padded footwear making any noise from him stepping muffled. It was likely overkill, given who he was facing, but he couldn't take chances.

Someone who was supposed to be the lookout seemed to be only vaguely attentive, though the fact that he held a submachine gun in his hands was a little disconcerting. There was always the risk of ricochet – he hadn't studied guns extensively, so he hadn't a clue which guns did what, aside from their basic functions. Before he was spotted, Shadow delivered a hefty gut punch to the man, striking him again in the face – this time to disorient him. He couldn't risk knocking anyone out, however – any trauma forceful enough to knock someone out with a blow to the head was likely enough to kill them, or induce permanent brain damage. Thus, he used rope he had stored in his suit to bind the guard, and pushed a balled-up handkerchief to stop him crying out.

This was all done deliberately slowly - he suspected he was being followed, and he didn't like it one bit.
 
The girl smiled and almost let out another giggle. This guy was doing all of the hard work for her! She should have started following others earlier. She noticed how he was fighting slowly. She tilted her head, playing with a few water drops. She made one fall on the back of his neck, wanting to see how he reacted.
 
Another giggle – this was unnerving. Shadow wasn't easily perturbed, but this was something highly suspicious. He wouldn't have suspected much if there was giggling coming from further in, as female addicts were just as common as male ones, where he was. But it was coming from behind him – and this only served to put him on high alert. The water drop on the back of his neck proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back – he turned on his heel, at astonishing speed, fists raised. It would have been safer to pick up the gun and aim it, some would argue – but, he had refused the weapon, in favour of his own body.

And there, he saw her. He tried to recognise, her, tried to place where he had seen her before. He knew he had witnessed her before, and there was something about her that seemed familiar, but his memory banks told him that no such person existed. Nevertheless, he was taking up a defensive stance, ready to dive in any direction at any given time. In fact, eh was considering rugby tackling Glacier, but he needed to scout her abilities. He'd heard super-powered beings had been springing up more and more frequently, and he wasn't going to take his chances.
"Who are you?" he hissed, "And what do you want?"
 
Glacier giggled more, amused by his seriousness. "You can call me Glacier. I'm here for the same reason you are. You're really good at fighting, you know that?" She asked.

Glacier refrained from using her powers. She wanted to wait until he tried to attack, if he tried. She tilted her head, her eyes ever scanning his every movement and every muscle. He was pretty good for a human. She simply smiled at him, waiting for him to react.
 
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