Stasis 2.8
I was scared. Scratch that, I was a deer in headlights.
The press conference had, like, fifty people. Fifty people here, and a bunch of cameras, a decent number of which were aimed at me. I did my best to look casual, but heroic; I probably looked like a kid on Halloween. I smiled, inwardly wishing I could run away.
No! This was my moment!
No! This was my last day as a hero!
No, it would be fine!
Will it?
YES! Stop worrying and listen to the speech!
"… the Wards program is proud to introduce their newest member, Mandala!" Scattered applause. "Mandala is young, but shows promise. His powers are versatile, and he fits the local Wards team's group dynamic well, granting increased battlefield control and more options to round out the group. In addition, he is mute, and has agreed to be one of the first testers for a bevy of new technologies that can be used to help those with speech problems live more normal lives, in a project spearheaded by Dragon herself." More applause, some murmurs into recorders and such.
I didn't remember agreeing to that specifically, but whatever.
"Now, Mandala has prepared a few words in advance, then I'll take some questions." Adrian finished. My cue received, I stepped forward, adjusting the mic to my height. I had had to set up all my words in advance, but thankfully, the gesture system was intuitive. Type message, three count, make gesture. To use, make gesture. Wipe in menu.
I waved, and the mask spoke. 'Hello everyone. I'm Mandala, and I'm here to serve.'
I opened my arms in a welcoming gesture. 'I may be young, but I'm a firm believer that anyone can be a hero, regardless of age.'
I brought my hand to my chest. 'I have powers, but a hero is more than that. Heroes help people who aren't able to protect themselves.'
I took my right hand away from my chest, setting it on the podium. 'Firefighters and cops are heroes. Teachers who stop bullies are heroes. Good Samaritans are heroes.'
I raised my left hand to rub the back of my head, smiling. 'I hope to let my actions speak for themselves, if you'll pardon the joke. Thank you.'
There was a ripple of laughter, followed by applause as I stepped back from the podium. Adrian stepped back up to the podium, adjusting the mic and applauding.
"Mandala, everybody!" A pause for the second round of applause. "I'll be taking questions now."
Phew. That was stressful.
Assuming a position somewhat like military rest, I sort of listened as Adrian answered some questions and avoided or outright denied others, while I practiced meditation to keep myself still. Ten minutes of talking later, I was allowed to leave the stage.
Ten minutes after that, I was out on my first patrol.
-Shangri-La-
Patrolling was actually pretty fun.
I was accompanied by Aegis and Vista. Apparently, Wards younger than 13 needed 2 others with them, but there was a loophole where only one of the others had to be older than 13. Badly written, but it would've killed our synergy for a few months otherwise, so nobody was complaining.
Not that we needed it, since we were essentially on an afternoon stroll at the Boardwalk. Wards patrols were more about having presence than anything; a preventative measure most days, with only a few small crimes per day. Moreover, today was my first day officially on the job, so the patrol route we had been assigned was best summed up as 'Go to the highest pedestrian traffic areas and be friendly.'
So, we were walking the Boardwalk districts at peak shopping time, signing autographs and showing off powers and stuff, taking turns to ascend to rooftops and look for actual crimes. I had cleared my gestures, and bound 'Hi, I'm Mandala, the newest Ward' to handshakes, a raised right hand to 'High Five!', and a left-handed emphatic point to say over comms 'I see something' for when I checked rooftops.
Side note, it was super fun to jump to rooftops. A quick push with the pavement, some air to cut my weight a bunch, maybe some wall running or jumping if I was still short, and no worries about falling too hard? Air control was quickly becoming my favorite power of the bunch. I really wondered if I could fly like this. I might need more surface area, wings or something, but I might be able to do it.
An hour passed that way, as we reached point B of our route, turning away from the far edges of the Boardwalk, heading southwest to hit some of the Docks area before we headed back to base. Vista and I took to the rooftops, while Aegis played overwatch and first responder. Vista crunched space to walk from rooftop to rooftop, while I did various acrobatics to get around. I could never hope to do a backflip before, but with my training, powers, and recent loss of weight as my baby fat finally burned away, it was easy, effortless, to ascend a story while backflipping.
Suddenly, Aegis' voice came through the earbud. "Got a mugging in progress, permission to apprehend?" Triumph's voice came over the line. "Permission granted, Aegis." I looked up in time to see him dive down into an alleyway two buildings down, and heard a yell. Vista shrank the space to the alley down to a few steps, and in moments we were on either side of the area, ready to apprehend any runners.
Aegis had it covered, though. I winced as the poor muggers tried to hit him, only to receive a strong punch to the gut and a kick to the shins, knocking two of the three out of the fight right away. Aegis cheated a little, from what I saw in the sparring matches; he liked to use flight to make himself light on his feet, and had gotten used to fighting this way. I wasn't surprised when he took out the other one with a drop to the ground and a two-legged sweep that would have been almost impossible to pull off without the flight. They hit the ground with a crack, moaning, as we moved to restrain them.
Zip ties are pure evil, by the way. Hard to break, easy to tighten, like a finger-trap toy. They are easy enough to cut, but really hard to escape otherwise. The Wards program issued very heavy duty zip ties, among other restraining devices. Unless these guys had powers, they would not be escaping before the cops arrived. Even if they tried, we had to wait with them, so they wouldn't get far.
As we waited, Vista decided to try making some of those weird space warps she had felt in my world. She'd looked it up, and the shape she had felt was a non-Euclidean shape, which I had never heard of but, typically, proceeded to fall in love with. They were so cool. Space that did impossible-feeling things with direction and distance, weird things like single-sided objects, it was amazing, and I had been disheartened to learn that it was mostly a college-level subject. Still, I could enjoy the concepts.
When the cops arrived, Vista and I were testing running some fire through a Klein Bottle in the air above the alley, while Aegis watched with interest, occasionally checking on the perps or chatting with the man who was their would-be victim, a man named Larry. We sadly dispelled the construct, silently resolving to try more stuff in our free time. After the handoff and the other three giving statements, we wished Larry a safe walk home and went on.
It was dark now; the days having shortened significantly as winter approached. We turned straight south a few blocks down, heading towards Downtown, which was about half an hour away at our speed. More roof hopping was had. I was definitely getting the hang of using my aerokinesis to enhance my movements. Unlike most of the other elements, it was less of a martial art and more a way of moving, a nimbleness borne from the thought of wanting to be nimble. Moreover, the air gave me a sort of background music when I used it, which gave me something to focus on so my thoughts wouldn't wander so much.
A few minutes after our turn, we ran into another situation. We were deep in the Docks area, and some ABB thugs were making trouble, tagging walls, smashing mirrors off cars, etc. This time, Aegis played overwatch while Vista and I were tasked with the goons.
Vista took us down to street level in a moment, putting us a few yards away from the group, and shouting, "Stop! Put the weapons down and your hands in the air, or we'll have to use force!"
Unfortunately, even though we were capes, they decided they could take us. Not the smartest bunch, that was for sure. The big guy in front came running at us, pipe raised, and the fight was on.
Vista backed up, and I advanced, readying my stance to dodge his swing effortlessly a moment later. A small kick, and the asphalt beneath his foot dropped a bit, then rose, completely destroying his balance, and I encased his hands in asphalt as he fell. Vista, meanwhile, had begun bending space around the area, but I couldn't really understand what she was doing yet. Two more out of the group came charging in, while another fumbled for something on his belt. Prioritize him.
I ducked around the two, running with the wind to the man who might have a gun. A front flip and axe kick sent a blade of fire in his direction, making him fumble the weapon he had been producing as he frantically dodged, and I followed up by raising my hands to entrap his body in asphalt as I landed out of the flip. I spun, ready to deal with the others –
Only to find a kaleidoscope of warped space entrapping the two I had passed, and the final thug on the ground next to Aegis' feet. Vista had crafted a prison, and funneled them into it through tubes of warped space she had moved around the area. She fist-pumped as I looked to her. "Yeah, it worked!"
Aegis stared at the warped images of the thugs as he called the police again, and once he got off the call, he asked, "They're okay in there, right? Can they get air?" "Yeah. It was hard, but they're essentially in a space technically outside my warping, but surrounded by a 1-sided figure with a very small gap right above them. I doubt I could do it so quick if I had to hold more people, but maintaining it is not too hard for now."
"Good, I'm glad to see all that advanced geometry I've been helping you with is paying off. Even with my biology that stuff still hurts my brain," he snarked, a smile in his eyes. "Oh, and Mandala? Good work out there, and nice eye on the gun. You're a real natural at this." I smiled and nodded, acknowledging the compliment. Just two weeks ago, I was barely holding myself together, and now I was dealing out justice and giving 'speeches'. Moreover, I had friends now, and people respected my opinions.
Jessica had probably been the turning point, actually. After the fall, I had had an idea that therapy was needed, but I had never really realized how inept my last therapist had been. I had never been able to open up to her, because she always seemed to act like I was overreacting. Jessica listened, listened for hours, as I laid out my life piece by piece, sentence by stumbling sentence, and after I had finished, she laid out my problems in a way I knew was right, but hadn't been able to say. I was far from recovered, that was sure, but I felt a little more okay, and looked forward to tomorrow's session.
The police showed up while I was thinking, and once again, they collected the thugs, took reports from my teammates while politely declining mine (I didn't mind), and we were on our way. Simple stuff. Man, the ones in the bubble had a mouth on them as it came down, but put their hands up regardless. Only minor injuries, a concussion for the one Aegis knocked out, nothing big. They were a bit unhappy with the road I used as a restraint, but I smoothed it over. Literally. Less cracks than it had before I got here.
The rest of the night was calm as can be. No more thugs, no capes, no muggings, and so on. I could tell from the resonance of the air that a snowstorm was incoming, but that just meant no school tomorrow. We got back with plenty of time to go our separate ways before the deluge of impending winter flooded the streets with powder. I headed off to the Rig, another night of training ready to occupy my thoughts.
Today, I was a Ward. Today, I was a hero.
A/N: Expect a bonus update Wednesday. An internet cookie to whoever can guess what it is. (Hint: Not a PHO chapter.) Also, if anyone out there wants to make fanart of Mandala, feel free to pop by the SB thread and show it off!