Paladin

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

+ Sunny Slater

Alice mused that it was odd that someone who was virtually indestructible was such a nervous driver. After all, it would take significantly more force to hurt Sunny than it would to total a car like this. Maybe she'd had a bad accident in the past. Alice could certainly appreciate that, after all, it was a fatal accident that had resulted in her receiving her own powers. She wondered sometimes how her world would be different if she hadn't gotten on that bus.

It took Sunny's voice to snap her out of that particular memory, not that it was the most delightful daydream she could have been experiencing at that moment in time. Although just about anything might have been better than being trapped in an enclosed space with the other Hero. Alice was grateful for the air conditioning, at least it filtered out a little of the cloying perfume that otherwise seemed to pour from every surface.

She felt guilty for thinking such a thing. There were much worse places to be than in Sunny's company. A war-torn African republic, for one. She stopped herself as she heard the uncertain tone in Sunny's voice. That was strange, Alice had only heard that tone once before, at the Community Centre. It seemed that despite Sunny's desperation to be famous and popular, she really did want to be a good person. Maybe it just took a bit of effort to get through to that part of her.

And it wasn't like Alice was totally opposed to shopping, she just hadn't been expecting to have to do it with Sunny. "No no, I like shopping, I just really wanted to take you out, so we can't take more than a couple hours. Deal?"

She smiled the same winning smile that had won America's heart, albeit without the mask covering the top half of her face. "Oh don't worry, if you're picking my outfit then I'm definitely picking yours." The grin became entirely more sinister, albeit playfully so.

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.

Paladin

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

+ Sunny Slater

The car was clearly the kind of vehicle that cost more than some houses, not least because of its clearly custom colour. Somehow Alice doubted that Bentley made a vehicle in quite that shade of baby pink. She steeled herself to enter the vehicle, wondering if the inside would be quite as… 'Sunny' as the outside.

Unfortunately it was. Opening the door felt like being slapped in the face by a bath full of perfume. True to form, the pink clad blonde was checking her hair in the mirror and even applying a fresh coat of lip gloss. As if there wasn't enough of the shiny substance already on her lips. Not that this gave Alice an opportunity to speak, as all too soon Sunny was talking once again.

It was appropriate that the girl in pink was driving, because Alice had certainly lost control of the situation right about the moment that Sunny had been introduced to it. Really she should have known better. It wasn't that Sunny was bossy… it was just that she was so oblivious to the world around her that she didn't seem able to process that her audience might not be one hundred percent with her.

Clearly that had been the case with her personal shoppers, and Alice finally managed to shove a word in edgeways. "Don't worry, I'd rather do my own shopping than have someone else do it for me."

That was also perhaps a not so subtle hint that she didn't want to be dressed up all in pink like Sunny's knew Barbie Doll, but she had a sneaking suspicion that the comment might have simply floated past Sunny's bubble. She didn't quite sigh, but she came damn close.

"So is it far to the mall?"

This was going to be a long night.

Paladin

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

+ Coryelle Wilde

+ wearing

"Yeah, I didn’t think you would."

Paladin jumped down from the dumpster. It wasn't particularly high, but she didn't flex her knees or make even the faintest sound as she landed. Somehow she had a feeling that she'd need all the energy she could get tonight. Punk had taken a few steps away, not because Paladin had dropped from her perch, but because she seemed eager to be away.

That was a good thing right?

Paladin still wasn't entirely comfortable with this. After all, Punk was a criminal. She might fight crime, but as far as the law was concerned Punk was on the wrong side. That certainly didn't leave Paladin in a comfortable position regarding working with her. She should be arresting her, that's what her common sense was saying. Her conscience disagreed, and her emotions. They all thought she should cut the other meta some slack and kick the asses of the people who had attacked San Francisco.

In this case, she didn't listen to her common sense. She would get into trouble for this, a lot of trouble, but right now she was too popular for that to entail anything but a slap on the wrist. Or at least she hoped. A niggling feeling said that they might throw something bigger her way, but she was too eager to get into action tonight to care about that.

It was ironic that she was motivated by a similar image to Punk, an image of Ashley wrapped in bandages thanks to her injuries. Not only that though, but the broken bodies that had been recovered from the rubble. The people who had nothing to do with metahumans, nothing to do with any of this, but had been punished regardless.

And in her city. She wouldn't have admitted this, but it also felt almost like a personal insult. San Francisco was her city, under her protection. And it had been wounded under her watch. She deserved from payback.

Feeling a spark ignite in her chest, she glanced at the costumed vigilante.

"Try and keep up."

---

A couple of minutes later they were perched on a roof side by side, looking down at the old office block that seemed to be the base used by the people that had attacked San Francisco. Paladin hadn't gone too fast. Punk could cover ground quickly, and she was definitely more manoeuvrable, but A to B Paladin could outpace her easily. The building looked empty, then, for a brief second, a flash of light was shown as someone opened a door. They walked a few feet from the building before showing another flare of light as the lit a cigarette.

Paladin's fists tightened. "This looks like the place."

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…"

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?"

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?"