elmo-doodle: You voted for it, so I shall bring it! This is just a teaser of what to expect when My Man Behind The Mask begins! Well, technically this is the first chapter, but I won't be uploading the next chapter until August, maybe September, as I want to be sure that I am far enough ahead in writing it so that I don't catch up with myself. I actually want to have this almost finished before I even start posting the rest, but hopefully that shouldn't take long. Never mind that, start reading!! =]
WARNINGS: For the prologue? I don't think so. Except, be prepared for AU-ness. Seriously =]
DISCLAIMER: I only own the plot.
CHAPTER ONE/PROLOGUE
It was a cool, clear night in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, and when you looked up at the sky you could see thousands of stars lining the heavens. It was surprisingly silent for a city night, but this didn't bother anyone-- especially not the figure sitting on the roof of an apartment building.
The figure of a man was crouched down on the ledge of the roof, observing the city before him. If he looked to his right, he could see the various apartments and shops of Valley Village, and to his left he had a clear view of the rooftop of Sacred Heart Hospital. The figure smirked when he saw that there was a tall man standing on top of Sacred Heart, mop in hand, and gazing up at the stars.
The man brought his attention back to the few people who were walking about at this late hour. If any of them were to look up were the figure was sitting, they would see a male dressed in absolute black, almost camouflaged against the night sky. Some of the civilians stopped for a minute and watched him- others merely shrugged and carried on.
The man wore a long-sleeved, black button-up shirt, and jet-black skinny jeans. On his feet were black, lose leather boots that were folded down at the top and almost reached his knees. A black cape flowed over his back, and it waved slightly in the cool breeze that skimmed across the rooftops, and underneath this cape, attached to his belt, was a curled up whip. Black, fitted gloves covered his hands.
It's hard to say if the man had intended to copy the look of Zorro, or if the outfit was just better suited for his purpose. A black mask which covered his eyes was the main article that hid his identity, as was the black hair which lay flat against his head, the fringe overlapping the top of the mask.
Some people argued that the man was just a Zorro copy-cat. But they were always shot down when others defended the man with the same three words. The man was more than just a super-hero wanna-be.
He's a magician.
The man let out a small sigh and prepared to leave the rooftop, when it seemed that the night was going to be an uneventful one. But then he heard it.
A scream.
Several screams.
A small smile made its way on to his face and he let his extra-sensitive hearing pick up on the direction the noise was coming from. A mile to the north. The man backed off the ledge of the roof and backed up halfway across the roof. When he had reached a reasonable distance he took off running towards the ledge of the roof at a speed that track runners would be insanely jealous of. When he was about five feet away from the ledge, he leapt up on to it, crouching with one hand on the concrete before using the built-up momentum to push himself off the ledge.
His cape whipped out behind him, fluttering amongst the new rush of air, and allowing him to make it to the other building (just under a kilometre away) with the ease of a gliding bird. He landed on the ledge of the roof with a crouch to absorb the impact.
He took off running again, repeating the process of jumping, gliding and landing (and the occasional laugh of joy to be flying again) until he could see where the source of the screaming was coming from.
There was a fire. Although it didn't look wild yet, the man knew just how quickly the fire could build up dangerously. He faintly heard the sound of sirens, form fire engines and ambulances, in the distance, but they were too far away, and the chances were that by the time they reached the house, the flames would have become too fierce.
As the man landed on the roof of the house next to the one on fire, he could see a family standing outside the front. A man had tears on his face as he restrained his wife, who was desperately trying to get back to the house.
"My baby!" she cried, her struggling useless against the one restraining her. "My baby is in there!"
A little cliché, the man thought, but it took him less than a second to react. In one swift movement he had the whip unhooked from his belt and lashed it out towards a nearby tree. The end of the whip coiled around a branch, securing itself. The man leapt off the building and swung on the whip, aiming for a window on the first floor of the house. He heard the gasps of the two people on the ground as they saw him swinging towards the house and disappearing inside with the distinct sound of glass smashing.
Once inside the house, the man hurriedly reattached the whip to his belt.
While the flames had not entirely consumed the house, yet, they were unbearably hot and spreading fast. The man walked onwards, avoiding the parts of the floor which looked like they would collapse with too much pressure. He followed his ears again; the sound of a child's cries clear to him. It lead him to a closed door that was covered in heated flames. The man smirked at the door and held his hands up, less than a foot away from the flames. He focused all his energy in to his hands, and a small ball of what looked like blue glass appeared between them. The man pushed even more energy in to it, and the ball exploded out towards the flames, coating them with a sturdy layer of ice. Knowing that the ice wouldn't hold long against the fierce flames, the man quickly slammed against the door, successfully breaking it down and leading in to a child's nursery.
There, in the centre of the room, was a crib, where a toddler girl stood, crying and clutching the bars of her bed in fear. The room was quickly becoming smoky but it had been untouched by the flames so far, excluding the door.
The man rushed towards the small girl, probably just two-years-old, who stopped crying when she saw him.
"It's okay, sweetheart," the man said in a low, soothing voice. The girl reached up and the man obediently scooped her in to his arms. "I'm gonna get you out of here." He made sure he had a firm grip on the little girl before he moved towards the door-sized windows in the room, which led out to a small balcony.
The man used his cloak to cover the girl, protect her, as he once again unhooked his whip and lashed out at the window. It instantly shattered, the glass falling like a thousand diamonds to the floor. He stepped out on to the balcony and used the whip to once again latch itself on to the branch of the tree. He stood on the ledge of the balcony and, after again checking the girl was secure, he stepped off, swinging gracefully to the ground, and landing safely.
As soon as the parents of the child saw him land, they ran over to him, tears staining both their faces. The man moved his cape to reveal the little girl resting against his chest.
The woman sobbed in relief as the man handed her daughter over, and the father wrapped them both in a tight hug. The women opened her eyes and looked at the man.
"Sir, I--" was all she could choke out.
The man smiled and held up his hands. "I still have one more thing to do," he said in the same, low voice. He took off towards the house again, this time jumping in through a window on the ground floor. He was inside for less than a minute when he emerged again, a wriggling puppy in his arms.
The woman laughed when she saw the bundle of life being passed to her husband, who took it gratefully from the man.
"It would have been unfair to leave a member of the family inside," the man said, patting the puppy on the head and then gently ruffling the little girl's hair.
"We cannot thank you enough, sir," the husband said, tears in his eyes as he gazed gratefully at the man. "I know that you never accept rewards, but if there's anything we can do in return...?"
The man shook his head, smiling. "Knowing that your family is alive is more than enough," he said. The sound of the ambulance and fire engine came closer. "Help is almost here," he said, accepting the offered hand that the husband held out. He shook it firmly and put his other hand on the shoulder of the woman. "I hope you will be able to rebuild your lives."
The woman smiled at him. "Thanks to you, we can."
The man grinned at her. He nodded at the husband, and then turned around to start running again. He leapt up on to the branch of the tree and propelled himself towards the roof of a nearby building. As he swept away from the scene, the husband and the woman got a clear view of the lettering on the back of his cape.
MK.
* *
A persistent beeping to the left of JD's head woke him up from the wonderful dream that he was having. The resident doctor groaned as he rolled over and whacked the top of the alarm clock with the palm of his hand. JD sighed as he pushed himself in to a sitting position and stretched his arms. He made an appreciative noise when he felt he back pop, releasing the tension that had built up there during the night. JD ran a hand through his flat hair and opened his eyes. He grinned.
He had been too tired to properly put his clothes away last night, so they hung on a hanger on the door of his closet. Black trousers were draped underneath a black shirt, with a cape messily hanging over them. Black boots were lying carelessly at the foot of the bed along with a pair of gloves. A mask lay discarded on the bedside table.
Okay, JD thought, the grin never leaving his face, last night wasn't a dream.
elmo-doodle: And thus ends the first chapter. Hope it wasn't too stange for you, but believe me, it could get a whole lot worse than that, lol. Thankfully, it won't. Please review! It'll let me know if anyone is still out there ;] Hope you all will wait for me to properly start this story!!