[Aoi Sato]

Aoi pulled the visor down on her suit, wiggling her wings as they adjusted to the slits in the back. Five forty-two am. It would take her ten minutes to fly to the location where she would meet up with Paladin and the two would start their patrol. Their patrol started at six am, and she didn’t want to be too early, that would be unprofessional and unproductive. So, in the meantime, she had to busy herself with something productive. She would start to get this itch otherwise, an itch in the back of her mind, like she was doing something terribly, terribly, wrong.

She went to her go-to time killer - shadow fighting. It wasn’t shadow boxing, as it was much more than boxing. Her fighting style involved a complex combination of a variety of martial arts with the addition of some moves she invented herself since gaining her powers. It would be difficult in her cramped hotel room, but she could manage. One must adapt to their surroundings.

She started in the classic boxer stance, right foot behind, left foot in front (she was a righty), hands curled into fists placed in front of her face, right at her brow, staring intensely ahead at her invisible enemy. She began with a couple jabs, directing her opponent to the right, where there was more room, allowing her to do a wheel kick, her leg swinging through the air so quickly she could practically hear it. When her foot landed, she used the momentum to do a powerful cross punch which, if her opponent was real, would easily send them flying across the room. She imagined, then, that her opponent got up and rushed her faster than she could counter, so she turned so that her back was facing her opponent (though she made sure that she was still looking behind her, one must never take their eyes off their opponent). If they attacked, they would just end up hurting themselves trying to attack the bulletproof wings on her back. She then countered this presumed attack with a leg sweep.

She continued like this for precisely five minutes. When she was finished, she took a second to center herself, then walked over to the window and opened it, listening to the wind. Aoi had gotten quite adept at judging wind speed and direction just from the sound of it. Her suit didn’t allow for her to feel the wind, so she had to adapt, which, fortunately, is a skill she’d obtained long ago. Today the wind was relatively weak, heading in a northeast direction. Unfortunately, there would be no extra speed boost if she needed it, but at least the wind wouldn’t get in the way of her flight.

Putting her foot on the ledge, she pushed off into the air, stretching out her wings as she leapt. There was a brief moment were she started to drop before her wings began to flap, lifting her high into the air, the familiar sound of her wings buzzing in her ears. She always got a room on the top floor of every hotel she stayed at for precisely this reason. Too low, and she ran the risk of falling straight to the earth.

Aoi flew high, but not too high. She needed to keep an eye on the citizens below her. She hadn’t technically started her patrol yet, but Aoi was always on patrol. There wasn’t a moment where she was out in public and wasn’t scanning the scene for ne’er-do-wells. She’d found a happy altitude where she was high enough that she could see a large area, but low enough that she could spot the minutiae of people’s actions. She was visible at this altitude, but only to people that bothered to look up.

Eventually, she arrived at the Program office, folding in her wings as she glided down, opening them to slow her descent as she neared the ground, landing gracefully on the pavement right outside the doors. She checked the time on her wristwatch that she wore over her suit. Five fifty-eight am. She was two minutes early; in her mind, perfectly on time. One should always arrive early, but not too early as to waste time. Her father taught her that. She peered inside. It seemed Paladin hadn’t arrived yet. So, in the meantime, she decided to make herself useful. She leaned against the outside of the building, by the door, her sharp eyes scanning the area, making sure everyone in her line of sight was following the law, ignoring the myriad of looks she got from passersby.

Alice Morrow

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Aoi Sato + wearing

Paladin seemed to be the go-to in welcoming new Heroes to the city. Alice didn't mind doing it, far from it, she loved meeting other metahumans, other Heroes. But… she had noticed that she was the one who always seemed to end up doing it. Beyond the fact that she never objected, she supposed there must be deeper reasons. She didn't muse on it for much longer before she flicked the shower on. If she'd been a little more aware then she might have realised the true reason for it, it raised profiles. Paladin was the most well known Hero in the country, and probably the most popular. The people responsible for PR in the Program had noted that any Hero that worked with Paladin for any amount of time experienced a notable bump in their ratings shortly after. She was the golden child. Probably because she was too oblivious to notice it. Shower over, she climbed out, shaking her wet hair free of her eyes before grabbing a towel. It didn't take her long to dry off before she zipped herself into her costume. There was a rack of them hidden in a concealed panel behind her wardrobe, installed by the Program shortly after she had signed up. She needed multiple of her costume. She was super tough, but even the meta-engineered fabric used in her suit couldn't keep up with her abilities. She went through them fast, too fast really, but it was the price of being a Hero, an insane laundry bill. Finally ready she checked her hair in the mirror, before leaning down to plant a kiss on Nate's cheek. Her boyfriend had stayed over last night, but he wasn't working today, so she let him sleep a little while longer. She paused in the doorway for a moment, before closing it quietly and heading up to the roof. The sea breeze was refreshing. It had been hot in San Francisco, and Carl had been making everything muggy and humid. This morning looked like it was going to be clear though. She stretched her arms out behind her, closing her eyes momentarily before taking a step forward… off the roof. The breeze became much more pronounced, whipping past her face as fast as she fell past the windows. She tucked her head down, pulling herself into a lazy somersault, then pushed her feet out behind her, making contact with the wall of the building and pushing gently as though jumping off it. What had been a mere relaxed push was translated into far greater momentum by her ability, and she soared out above the neighbouring building. She alighted gently on top of it, her ability keeping her from skidding across the asphalt rooftop. She kept running, picking up speed and accelerating far faster than any human had a right to before leaping once again. Her ability might not be quite as graceful as flight, but it still made moving through the city much faster than taking public transport. She arrived shortly after Aoi did, touching down outside the Program offices with barely a sound. It was a neat trick she'd realised her ability could let her do. Many a criminal had been caught out when the mighty Paladin had tiptoed around behind him in complete silence. She waved at the Hero waiting at her, raising an eyebrow in surprise. She was tall. Really tall. Paladin wasn't exactly a short individual, but Dragonfly dwarfed her. That didn't make Paladin any less excited to meet her though. "Hey! You're Dragonfly right?"

© seadra of gs

[Aoi Sato]

Aoi blinked as the fellow Hero suddenly landed in front of her. She wasn’t one to get startled, but she had to admit, Paladin’s appearance surprised her. She didn’t show it, of course. Even if one could see past the visor on her suit - which one could do, but just barely, and only in a certain light - her expression was static. Her eyes remained vigilant, almost angry looking, and her mouth something of a concentrated, irate, frown.

”Yes. And you’re Paladin.” She replied succinctly with perhaps a slight edge in her voice. She looked at her watch. ”You’re one minute early, commendable.” She looked back down at Paladin. She’d gotten used to looking down at people in the year and a half since she’d gained her powers, and she quite liked it. ”I assume you know the route.” They were to start with the more office laden area around where the Program office was, work their way down to the higher class commercial area, then middle class, then lower class, then snake their way through the lower class residences, then slowly work their way back to the Program offices.

Aoi was unfazed by Paladin’s popularity. As far as she was concerned, she was a Hero just like any other. She commended her for her accomplishments in mitigating crime, but that didn’t mean she deserved any special treatment. She should be rewarded, yes, but her coworkers shouldn’t treat her any differently. Hero worship like that just tends to conflate one’s ego and lessen the morale of others. Very ineffective, not to mention unprofessional.

She buzzed her wings, preparing to take flight. ”I’ll go from above, you go from below. I trust you know what to do if you run into trouble. If so, I’ll come down to assist.” She leapt into the air, going higher and higher until she was at that same happy altitude that she was at before, that she always flies at. ”Do you read me?” She asked into her earpiece.

Alice Morrow

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Aoi Sato + wearing

It was difficult to see the other Heroes eyes, and the visor definitely leant her something of a robocop look. Perhaps that was why she felt like the Hero wasn't exactly pleased to see her. It wasn't that she was expecting the fawning adoration Sunny seemed to. If anything she was glad that she didn't receive that, but Dragonfly seemed… maybe even a little hostile. She smiled uncertainly. One of the disadvantages, or perhaps advantages of her mask was that it still made it possible to see her expressions. Dominic said it made her more approachable. She was almost glad when the woman took off, at least then she couldn't see the look of confusion and annoyance that had risen on her face. She'd been talked down to before, of course she had, she was nineteen, but she'd never been talked down to in costume. People either forgot or just didn't realise that she was so young when she was dressed as Paladin, but she was the most well known Hero in the country. "Uh… Yeah. I read you." Still a little taken aback by the other Heroes rudeness, it took her a moment get back into gear, but once she did she hit a smooth pace. Patrols for the Program were more about reminding people that Heroes were here to help, that they weren't to be feared. That and to deter anyone who might otherwise have gone in for an impulsive mistake. She didn't need to move fast, moving too fast would give them impression that she was in a rush to be somewhere, and there was no need to cause unnecessary worry in bystanders. She smiled as she strode briskly past a few of them, even gave one or two she recognised a wave. Pausing at a street corner, she rapped her knuckles against those of a street food seller, an older man she knew was trying to re-engage with his estranged son. Apparently the fact that he sold bagels to Paladin had gotten him some parental points. Glancing up, she caught sight of the other Hero flitting about above her. "So… just arrived in San Francisco?"

© seadra of gs

[Aoi Sato]

Aoi furrowed her brow at the uncertainty in Paladin’s voice. She was used to people being somewhat taken aback by her frankness, but was it wrong that she expected more of Paladin? She was so decorated, so accomplished. She would assume that Paladin would be more professional. It almost disappointed her. Paladin was young, but that was no excuse. One should take the position of Hero as seriously as they could. It was a very important job. ”I read you.” She responded tactically.

She watched as Paladin smiled and interacted with the citizens below. It irked her somewhat that Paladin would put herself on the level of those she was trying to order and protect. As a Hero, one must establish their superiority, at least while they were in uniform. Or else they ran the risk of people not taking them seriously, not accepting them as an authority. Aoi didn’t say anything, however. If this behaviour continued, she’d give Paladin a lecture, but for now, they had a job to do.

So Paladin was a talker. Unprofessionalism strike three. If it was up to Aoi, she would reinstate her in training. If Paladin was less accomplished, Aoi would consider lowering her status. Unfortunately these decisions weren’t up to her. Not yet anyway. ”I’ve been here for two days. Now focus on the job at hand.” She ordered. Sure, they were in a fairly safe part of San Francisco, at least for the moment, but criminals lurked around every corner. It was important to be vigilant.

Aoi slowed her flight as she saw a man at a crosswalk a couple feet in front of Paladin, the electronic sign clearly displaying a hand, indicating that pedestrians were not to cross. He looked back and forth, and seeing no cars coming - as there were none - began to cross the street. Aoi folded her wings in and immediately dove down, landing abruptly in front of the man. ”No jaywalking!” She shouted harshly. ”Get back on the sidewalk!” She pointed back towards where the man had come from. Startled, the man slowly reversed back to the sidewalk. Aoi stood and watched carefully as he walked, pausing for a moment to be sure he stayed."Wait for the light." She ordered before flying back up into the sky and resuming her patrol.

Alice Morrow

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Aoi Sato + wearing

Definitely not a talker then. Every response from Dragonfly had been curt and brusque so far. Paladin had worked with many Heroes, and while several had been professional above all, none of them had gone to quite the level this woman had. It was impressive, in a way. Albeit concerning as well. After all, they were going to work together, for who knew how long, they should trust each other enough for that. Their career wasn't one that allowed for simple superficial relationships as a rule. After all, they may very well be relying on one another to save their lives, or the lives of others. She didn't respond. Deciding it was better not to antagonise the flying Hero, it would just make things awkward for the rest of the patrol if she did. Not that the rest of the patrol was going to continue without event, that would have been far too easy. No. Dragonfly appeared from the sky like a lightning bolt, landing in front of a man halfway across the street. She reprimanded him, loudly, for jaywalking, and chastised him back onto the sidewalk. Paladin carefully chose to ignore the fact that Dragonfly could have potentially cause more damage by her sudden appearance than the man possibly could have done by jogging across the street without a light. She was right to stop him of course, and had she had the chance, Paladin would have done the same. City government had requested the Heroes be extra vigilant with regards to it. San Francisco was one of the most dangerous cities for pedestrians, and they wanted Heroes to act as role models for it. It wasn't their primary role of course, they weren't police, but rather specialised federal agents. Paladin passed behind the man without comment as he backed up onto the sidewalk, not even glancing back to see if Dragonfly had taken off again. She was confident that the overly-professional Hero would already be back in the sky. "I don't think he'll be doing that again." She grinned at an approaching family, a tired and harassed pair of young parents pulling along a sleepy six year old between them. A six year old girl whose jaw dropped when she realised she was about to walk past Paladin. She tugged on her father's arm, who in turn gave Paladin a pleading look. The Hero ruffled the girl's hair, before posing for a quick photo. "Now be good for your parent's. Heroes help people out remember." "M'kay…"

© seadra of gs

[Aoi Sato]

”Never underestimate a criminal, Paladin.” She responded to Paladin’s comment. Once a criminal, always a criminal, even if it was something as ‘simple’ as jaywalking (Aoi never considered any type of law breaking offense ‘simple’). If one were the type to break the law, they were likely not going to one time offenders. People rarely were. As far as Aoi was concerned, there were two types of people in this world, those that broke the law and those that didn’t.

Aoi pressed her lips together tight as she saw the six year old excitedly approach Paladin. She hated that part of the job. They were not celebrities. They were there to enforce the law. They were Heroes not Disney characters. Her nostrils flared as she saw Paladin happily reciprocate. She should’ve just walked right past them. Paladin was not there to take photos. She was there to stop criminals, keep the order, enforce the law.

Aoi never understood the celebrity aspect of the job. Police weren’t celebrities. Nor were firefighters or FBI agents or anyone else in law enforcement. They did their job and they didn’t expect to be publicly rewarded for it like Heroes were. It disgusted her that Heroes got such special treatment, and in such an unprofessional manner. Aoi was glad she rarely got recognized, and if she did it was because of her reputation as a hardass law enforcer, not as someone to get their picture taken.

”You shouldn’t do that.” She chastised Paladin. ”We are here to enforce the law, not mingle with civilians.” She fluttered her wings, slowing her forward momentum so that she was directly above Paladin. ”We cannot put ourselves on the level of those we are protecting. Otherwise they won't accept us as an authority.” She’d seen more than once in the line of duty - both as a police officer and a Hero - that the ones who tried to relate to the public were the ones who got killed. Whether it was on the enforcer’s part for being too trusting, the public’s part for not taking the enforcer seriously, or a combination of the two varied. But either way, relating to the public was a bad idea for everyone involved, not to mention unprofessional.

Alice Morrow

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Aoi Sato + wearing

Paladin tightened her jaw. Dragonfly had adjusted her flight so that she could flit along above the younger Hero. Fortunately their audio channels were encrypted, and she'd had enough practise that she could easily carry out a conversation without much risk of being overheard. Even so she was pissed, and she had to fight to keep the expression off her face. It wouldn't look good if people saw two Heroes arguing, no matter how much Dragonfly seemed determined to provoke one. For all her obsession with professionalism, she seemed to have missed a key part of it. Certainly belittling a fellow Hero in public wasn't a good idea. San Francisco seemed to be recovering from the attacks, but that didn't mean confidence in the Program couldn't still turn. Paladin didn't want people to be afraid. "They accept me as an authority, they just like me too. And that's fine." Her tone of voice was strained. She didn't take kindly to being told that she was doing things wrong. She tried her best, she always did, and she knew she wasn't perfect, but she was doing the right thing here. It was hard to be the face of the Program, someone that was looked up to and admired. She couldn't put a foot wrong, and she knew that Dominic, and the Program needed her to keep the public on side. She continued walking, turning the corner to continue the patrol route. It was a simple route this one, and similar ones usually took only a few hours, even with stops for pictures, autographs and the like. Officially they were to reassure people that Heroes were present and discourage any opportunistic crime. The routes were randomised to make them hard to predict, in theory to discourage planned crime as well. She opened her mouth to say something to the flying Hero, then thought better of it. Closing her mouth, she sighed. This was going to be a very long few hours.

© seadra of gs

[Aoi Sato]

Despite Paladin’s attempt to hide it, Aoi could tell she was offended by her comment. She recognized that tone of voice, she’d incited it in many people many times before. Aoi, however, couldn’t care less about offending Paladin. As far as she was concerned, Paladin was doing her job wrong and needed to be corrected, so she corrected her. It was unlikely that Paladin would listen to her - her coworkers rarely did, as far as they were concerned, she was just being a stick in the mud. Plus, Paladin was young. Young people rarely did as they were told. The more you tried to order them, the more they rebelled. Still, Aoi would do whatever she could to try to keep the order, albeit in her own, blunt, forceful way. It was nothing personal, but people always seemed to take it personally. Human error. And as far as Aoi was concerned, there was no room for human error in law enforcement.

”You can tell yourself that, Paladin, but that doesn’t make it true.” She said. ”The people that are friendly with the public die. You can’t be an authority if you’re dead.” She spoke plainly. Yes, she had an edge in her voice, she always did. Along with a resting bitch face, she had a resting bitch voice. She didn’t intend any malice, but people always seemed to interpret that she did. She didn’t think she was better than anyone else, and (most of the time) she wasn’t actually angry. People just assumed she was. They took it personally. Again, human error.

As she was flying, she spotted a young woman with a cup in her hand, seemingly from a fast food establishment. She took a final, robust sip from the straw and threw the cup onto the ground. That was Aoi’s cue. She dove down, landing directly in front of the woman. She didn’t wait to see how Paladin would handle the situation. She wasn’t one for tests, she was one for efficiency. Besides, she doubted she would approve of Paladin’s law enforcement technique. ”Pick up the cup!” She demanded. The woman gaped at her, wide eyed. Aoi stared her down until she shakily bent down and picked up the cup. ”No littering.” Aoi ordered. ”Throw that in the trash.” And with that, she leapt back in the air, returning to her position over Paladin.

Alice Morrow

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Aoi Sato + wearing

Dragonfly continued acting as a Police Officer, the pettiest, most unpleasant Police Officer in San Francisco judging by the way she talked to some of the civilians. It certainly explained why she wasn't particularly popular as a Hero. For a moment, Paladin wondered whether Dragonfly had gone mad with power, or if she just took the job too seriously. Judging by what she had seen of the woman so far she would say she took the job too seriously, but then it seemed as if every sentence brought Dragonfly closer to unleashing a pre-prepared speech upon the blue haired Hero. "We're not Police Dragonfly." She kept her voice low, so no one other than the Hero could hear her speak. "That's made very clear, we're not here to police people, we're here to protect them from Metahumans." Picking on normal people for littering was a bit much when you possessed the kind of abilities that Paladin did. It was petty, and pointless. She didn't approve of it, and she would call it when she saw it, but not as aggressively as Dragonfly seemed determined to be. The woman was tall, and even if she hadn't been wearing a costume her wings would have given away the fact that she was a metahuman. Her presence would have intimidated anyone. They were barely ten minutes into this patrol, and already Paladin's usually generous patience was being strained. She felt ashamed for such behaviour, but secretly she was wishing that something would happen on this patrol.

© seadra of gs

[Aoi Sato]

Paladin was naive. That much was clear. Aoi had, for quite awhile, been rather upset at the Hero Program for hiring so many naive, inexperienced, unprofessional young people and giving them the title of Hero. She supposed the police force did essentially the same thing, but she’d never been happy about that either. Besides, the police were a starting point, they were generally considered beneath Heroes in the law enforcement hierarchy. They at least had some excuse. A position as Hero should be taken much more seriously. Unfortunately, it seemed this was not the case. Some people at the Program clearly valued image over efficiency.

”We enforce the law, Paladin, whatever that may be, metahuman or not.” She replied. Sure, their job title may specifically focus on metahumans, but she believed that anyone with any job in law enforcement should enforce the law, be it as petty as littering or as severe as terrorism. ”No we are not the police, we outrank them. We have more responsibility than them and should act as such.” She said frankly.

The next hour or so passed in relative silence, with Aoi diving down every now and then to stop people from committing petty crimes such as jaywalking or littering. Once she caught a young woman attempting to write on a dumpster in an alley with a sharpie. In other words: vandalism. Luckily (for the woman), she caught her before the marker touched the metal and simply left her with a stern talking to.

They were making their way through the middle class area when Aoi spotted something, visible only from her position in the sky. A figure standing at the back of a bank. They looked left, right, behind them, then held their hand out toward the brick wall in front of them. A roughly six foot wide hole appeared in the wall and the figure stepped right through, the hole closing behind them. The wall hadn’t even begun opening before Aoi tucked her wings in and dove toward the bank. ”US Bank at your two o’clock across the street. A metahuman created a hole in the wall in the back and walked inside. They appear to be breaking and entering.” She said tactically as she dove toward the establishment.

Alice Morrow

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Aoi Sato + wearing

Fortunately Dragonfly seemed to have tired of lecturing Paladin, otherwise the younger Hero may finally have lost her temper at the patronising, demeaning conversation. The patrol had continued uneventfully, with Dragonfly terrorising a few other relatively innocent civilians whenever she spotted the opportunity to do so. The woman was consistent at least, she didn't treat anyone differently. They all received her ire, regardless of jaywalking, littering or vandalism. Paladin idly wondered whether Dragonfly would talk to a kidnapper or a terrorist in the same way and suppressed a giggle at the thought. Her less mature musings were broken by the sound of Dragonfly in her earpiece once more. This time it was different though. No lecture, just business. It seemed in keeping for the tall woman, but Paladin was a little surprised not to find some sort of snarky comment from her. Professional to the last it seemed. Paladin looked up to see Dragonfly, wings folded, diving towards the bank in question. Paladin joined her in her progression towards the bank, easily leaping across the street and landing lightly at the doorway of the bank. She spoke to the other Hero as she opened the door. "Did you get a read on their classification? Brick? Blaster?" Someone breaking into a bank could be anything, but at the very least they had some power that may very well make them dangerous to the people inside. That meant she had to clear out any civilians as quick as possible. The people inside the bank turned to look as the country's premier Hero stepped in through the door. Raising a hand and smiling, Paladin spoke "I need everyone to come this way and exit the bank calmly by the front door please." She kept her voice even, cheery, giving every sign that this was just a routine check and not because a potentially dangerous meta had entered the back door of the building. People looked confused, then concerned, but Paladin was hugely grateful as an old lady sat down in a waiting area picked up her bag and began promptly walking towards the door. It didn't take long for the rest of the customers and staff to begin following suit. The Hero was grateful that Dragonfly wasn't around to see several people pose selfies to include her as they walked. Stepping aside, she tried to keep her line of sight free, searching for a sign of the meta she knew was in here, and hoping that there wasn't still someone in the building they could use as a hostage.

© seadra of gs

[Aoi Sato]

As Paladin, to Aoi’s surprise and appreciation, did her job effectively and cleared out the bank, Aoi did some quick reconnaissance, scouting the area to make sure there were no other metahumans (or regular humans) in the area that appeared to be assisting the suspect in their crime. With the height provided by her wings and acute eye for detail, she spotted no one else that may be complicit in this crime. Though with metahumans having an array of powers, there was always the possibility that someone was cloaking themselves through invisibility or a similar superpower, so she remained watchful. “The suspect appears to be acting alone, but remain vigilant.” She said.

Once she was done with her reconnaissance and the bank appeared to be mostly cleared out, she dove down to the entrance and walked inside. Wasting no time, she walked up to the teller and showed her badge. “Dragonfly with the San Francisco Hero Program. There appears to be a breaking and entering at your bank perpetrated by a metahuman. The suspect opened a hole in the back of your bank and walked through. Is your safe located in the back of this bank?”

“It is.” The teller responded, surprisingly calm.

”Take us to it.”

The teller nodded and led the Heroes towards the back of the bank to a steel door guarded by a combination lock. The teller was about to bring their finger toward the lock when Aoi grabbed their wrist. ”Tell me the code, I’ll enter it.”

“Why?”

“I don’t trust you to input the code fast enough and we don’t want to give the suspect time to escape.”

The teller shrugged. “Fair enough. The code is four-six-zero-one-five.”

”You need a more secure code. It should be at least ten digits long and changed a maximum of every three days. The one you have currently is not secure enough.”

“Okay.” The teller said nonchalantly.

As fast as her fingers could move, Aoi typed in the five digit code and quickly swung open the door. Inside, she found a young man looking around the safe with awe. He started as the door swung open and Aoi entered the room. “Shit! Okay, I-I know how this looks, but I-I was just testing out my powers, I swear!” He stuttered.

Aoi looked around. Despite the sketchiness of the situation, it seemed the young man was telling the truth. He had no bags to stuff with cash, he had no items on him nor countenance which would suggest he was scouting out the area. He genuinely seemed like a young man toying around with his newfound powers. Still, he broke the law, which was all that mattered to Aoi.

”Do not attempt to escape or your punishment will be much more severe.” She stepped toward him. ”Come with us and cooperate or your punishment will be much more severe.”

His breathing quickened. He suddenly put a hand toward the floor beneath Aoi, Paladin, and the teller’s feet. A hole opened up below them. Aoi quickly started flying to avoid falling, though she couldn’t say the same for the teller who fell to a level below them, the hole closing up above them as they hit the basement floor. The young metahuman suddenly turned toward the back of the safe and started to open a hole in the wall. Aoi quickly flew between the man and the opening, ready to catch him should he attempt to escape.

Alice Morrow

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Aoi Sato + wearing

Paladin was surprised that Aoi had not immediately sprung into action to apprehend the kid they found within the vault. Admittedly, she was following protocol to the letter in issuing him with a warning, but Paladin winced at the way she worded it. It was like being threatened by Robocop and factoring in the faceless visor did not help. The young man looked understandably terrified. Paladin started to speak, "Hey Dragonfly…" Unfortunately, before she could intervene more diplomatically in the situation it all went to shit anyway. She started moving as the hand was outstretched, reaching out with one hand to snag the wrist of the teller, pulling them down as she flung her body in front of theirs. They had no idea what this meta's power was, for all they knew it could vapourise the teller instantly. This fear resolutely failed to pass, and instead Paladin felt her momentum suddenly robbed as the teller succumbed to gravity. Thinking quickly, she pulled them closer and pulled the kinetic energy from impact through them and into her own body. She looked up as the hole closed up, resealing itself as if it had never been there. "Shit." She turned to the teller. "Stairs, now." They raised a trembling finger, probably shaken and disturbed by the experience of having kinetic energy pulled through them. It indicated a small, rusted door. It proved to be locked, not that was much of an issue. A fist to the handle snapped the old bolt out of the frame and she started taking the stairs three at a time, shouting into her mic as she did so. "We need to have a serious talk about your fucking communication skills Dragonfly. Keep him calm and in the building." She was definitely going to have words with the other Hero about escalation.

© seadra of gs

[Aoi Sato]

Aoi was glad that Paladin went down with the teller. With her powers, she should be able to keep them safe. She heard her order the teller to direct her to the stairs. Aoi didn’t know the layout of the bank. She didn’t know how quickly it would take Paladin to come back. She supposed her help could be useful, but Aoi had no doubt that she could handle this alone. She’d been in far more precarious situations on her own and come out victorious.

The young man was breathing heavily, eyes quickly darting back and forth. Aoi could practically see the gears turning in his head. ”Stay where you are and do not attempt to use your powers. Come with me and cooperate. If you do not, your punishment will be more severe.” Criminals typically reacted in one of two ways to her threats. Either they were scared into submission, or their fight or flight response would kick in and they would try to escape or fight back. Aoi always believed that those that went with the latter option were more guilty and thus deserved their harsher punishment.

She was standing off with the young metahuman (well, flying, he was standing) when she heard Paladin’s rather harsh words come through her earpiece. Aoi knew she was perhaps not the most adept at dealing with others’ emotions, but there was no room for emotion in law. Either a criminal cooperated with the law or not, and she believed she communicated the wishes of the law in the most succinct, honest, and effective way possible. “That’s no way to talk to a coworker, Paladin.” She said plainly. She’d gotten shit talked to on the job many times before, ever since she first joined the force. She didn’t mind the harsh words, but she did mind the unprofessionalism, so she always brought it up to HR. It was a hassle, and she’d rather not do it, but her coworkers needed to act professional.

The young man, eyes wide, suddenly brought a hand up towards Aoi. That was her cue to act. She didn’t know what his power could do to the human body. He could put a hole right through her stomach and her innards could spill out, or he could put one in her head, killing her instantly. He was officially putting her in danger. With one giant flap of her wings, she circled around the man. He tried to track her with his hand but he couldn’t keep up. She dove toward him, and as fast as her strong, able body could, knocked him to the floor and put him in a modified version of an Inverse Armbar, facing him downward, trapping his right arm between her leg and her neck and his left arm between her other leg and his right arm, palms facing outward. She start squeezing her leg around his neck, slowly choking him. He desperately tried to use his powers, but to no avail as his hands were trapped facing the walls of the safe, unable to hit her. His face started turning blue, she could feel his body going limp. She was not attempting to kill him, she simply aimed to knock him out.

Alice Morrow