MIRROR | RORRIM
Mirror looks Bullet up and down, then grunts.
"That's your armor?" sneers Mirror , no attempt at hiding the blatant condescension. "It's so...thin and flimsy."
"You're thin and flimsy!" Bullet retorts proudly.
"What are you, five? You waste our time."
"Our?"
Solar energy once again begins to absorb within Mirror's gauntlet as he powers up another attack. Super-heated air ripples as another shot spews from his palm at Bullet, missing as he boosts upwards into the air. Mirror takes a step back and barks out a laugh.
"You can fly!?" he asks rhetorically. "Ahah, how fascinating! I've never seen a flier before."
"And I've never seen…" Bullet starts to speak when Mirror interrupts him.
"What!?" shouts Mirror, putting his hand to where his ear would be. "I can't hear you! You're too far away, and your thrusters are loud!"
"Oh, sorry!" Bullet apologizes, realizing he still can't hear him. His thrusters dim, and he slowly approaches at low power. "I was saying, and I've never seen a guy so obsessed with himself, he covered his body in mirrors, so guess we're even."
"Oh, I guess it lost the effect when you had to repeat it."
"Yeah."
"Well, regardless, you can't beat me! You're new, and I'm experienced. Tell you what. Surrender your amulet to me, and we shall leave. Besides, those who look like me shouldn't be seen with people such as…well, you get the idea."
"What's that supposed to mean, dick!?" Bullet screams, when suddenly, a searing pain in his back violently jerks his body forward as a beam of heat collides with his armor. The top layer of metal begins to melt off, sliding down the silver metal to the pavement below. Bullet rapidly whips around, arms cocked, to see Mirror standing atop a roof before him.
"Huh?" Bullet wonders. He looks back at where Mirror was a second ago, but he is gone. "What the hell? Whatever."
He looks back at Mirror on the building.
"You can't beat me!" Mirror screams. "If you give me your amulet, we will leave!"
"Yeah yeah, you already said that." Bullet responds, clearly getting annoyed. He brings his arm back.
"Did I?" asks Mirror. "My mistake."
Suddenly, Mirror's body shimmers, and another Mirror appears in the air behind Bullet. He throws his body into a punch, but Bullet rolls to the side, then twirls around to swipe at Mirror, but he is already gone. Another Mirror on a nearby rooftop aims his arm at Bullet, who crosses his arms to defend himself. However, when the flare hits, it goes right through him, causing no damage whatsoever.
"How hammered am I?" asks Bullet. "Are you a ghost?"
A searing pain in his back causes Bullet to scream as a flare hits him from behind. He looks down and sees Mirror dive behind a wall. As Bullet tilts his body to chase after him, another flare hits Bullet from the side. He grabs the side of his torso. The armor there is scorched. Within the armor, his skin is slightly charred from the attack. Mirror is on the street, firing at him. Bullet is rapidly dodging and weaving in the sky, desperately avoiding the attacks.
"How is he everywhere at once!?" Bullet thinks to himself. "Screw this, I'll take em all out!"
He screams, then throws his whole body into a punch, aiming his right arm at the one on the building. The rockets ignite, and suddenly, Bullet is on the other side of the building, having punched right through Mirror, as well as the building. He shakes the debris off of his body, then looks around, thoroughly confused.
"Damn I'm fast." Bullet thinks. "Okay, if I've got this right, as long as I throw myself into the attack, it just follows where my arm is pointing. I just go faster than I can see. Figuring this out slowly. Necklace, if you're there, don't judge me, you're a dick for leaving."
"You're fast!" Mirror remarks. "My armor clocked you at Mach 1. You broke the sound barrier."
"Stop, you're making me blush." Bullet comments sarcastically.
He brings both hands to his cheeks, mockingly. Three Mirror's appear around Bullet, to which he shoots into the sky, then twists around to take a look. At which point, a Mirror on the building leaps onto Bullet, dragging him down to the street. Another Mirror runs over and starts punching and kneeing Bullet while the first Mirror holds him down. Cop cars begin to arrive.
"You drones should know better by now. Last time we met, I said stay out of my business!" Mirror roars.
He raises his arm, and fires a shot at the cop car, ripping through the entire middle of the vehicle. Both cops within scream before half of their bodies are vaporized.
"These fools, they never learn." Mirror says, almost excitedly. "They should have respected my wishes."
"You…you just killed those cops!" Bullet yells, panicked. "Oh shit, this isn't a joke. What have I gotten into!? I can't move! Let me go, let me go! I want out! Somebody, help"
In a nearby alleyway, a red-tinted armored man is speaking out loud, watching the entire fight occur. His body is hidden by the shadows of the alleyway. All that is visible is the symbol on his forearm armor: a red, five-pointed star.
"Commander..." the man says. "We found him. He's being attacked by the Ecru Mirror. I want to help, but it's your call. How should I proceed?"
"Assist him." Responds a voice through his helmet. "You are cleared for lethal action if necessary. I am tired of Mirror's casualties and illusions."
"Roger that, sir!" responds the man.
His raises his arm, and opens his hand so that his open palm is facing downwards. Within the star on his arm seems to be a wrist-mounted turret. The barrel begins to glow red hot, and the air around the weapon begins to waver Two searing, red lasers burns through the attacking Mirror's shoulder, and the pinning Mirror's elbow respectively. Both attacked drop to the ground, taken clearly be surprise. Bullet quickly shoots into the air without taking a second to process what's going on, and looks at his savior. The red wielder walks into the sunlight. His helmet is swept back, similar to Bullet's, but in the shape of an elongated six pointed star. There are several jagged points along his body. On his back and torso is a large, four-pointed star shape, with segmented arms that wrap around his ribs and shoulders. Each forearm has the star shaped gauntlets, as well as his greaves and boots. On the back of each calf is a very long spike that touches the ground. Steam rises from the ground wherever he takes a step, and it seems to seep out of the cracks in his armor, as well as the vents in his mask.
"Oh god damnit, what now!?" Bullet roars in frustration. "Who are you!? If you start talking about your looks too I swear…"
"Oh shit, oh shit," one of the Mirror cries. "Star is here!"
"So I'm guessing you're Star," Bullet says. "I'm smart like that. Nice to meet you, see ya!"
"Wait one moment, please!" Star says softly. It sounds more like a request than an order. "Please, I won't waste much of your time, and I figure you have a few questions that I am willing to answer for the most part. We can talk right here if you'd like."
"Well, there's currently a dude who IS trying to kill me right here" says Bullet. "So I really don't think that's the best idea."
"Leave him to me," says Star, his voice gaining an edge of authoritative clarity. "I've grown tired of your projections, Mirrors. The both of you are coming with me, and there will be no resistance, or I will react. I do not want to kill you, so please, armor down and surrender. You won't be harmed."
"Wait, both?" Bullet asks.
"They're twins with identical personalities that both touch the amulet," responds Star. "That's how he can be in two places at once. The rest that you see are just projections from refracted light, similar to how a rainbow is formed."
"...yeah that was my guess too." Star grunts.
"I'm sure. Where did the second one go?"
Star's body twitches in reaction to the loud footsteps of Mirror 1 running up behind Star putting him into a full nelson headlock. Star's head is forced down, and he grunts in frustration, clenching his fists, and relaxing his body. Mirror 2 runs at Star, firing flares at him, which seem to be doing no damage. In fact, with each impact, Star's armor seems to glow, as if it is absorbing the heat energy. As Mirror 2 gets ready to throw a punch, Star leans backward, and kicks up his leg. The spike on the back of his calf impales Mirror 2's head from the underside, killing him on impact.
"Holy shit!" screams Bullet, and he grabs his head.
"NO!" screams Mirror 1.
He drops to his knees and slams his fists into the ground, creating small holes.
"I'm sorry to have to do that." apologizes Star. "You've killed several dozen civilians, and the moment you attacked me, I had to defend myself. I offered you a non-violent alternative. You blatantly refused, and dealing with those I deal with, I don't play nice and draw out a battle when civilian lives are at risk."
He looks left, and waves his arm at the crowd of onlookers forming. He looks around for Bullet, then looks upwards. He makes a noise, as if approving that Bullet is still present.
"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU SANCTUM SON OF A BITCH!" roars Mirror.
Star drops his bodyweight, breaking free of Mirror 1's hold, and reverses it, putting him into a full nelson. He then puts his legs in front of Mirror's, utilizing the small, jagged spines along his legs to ensnare Mirror's legs, completely immobilizing his body.
"Armor down!" orders Star. "You're finished!"
"Eat shit!" screams Mirror. "I'm gonna refract the sunlight across the whole block. Dodge that!"
His armor begins to glow, soaking in an enormous amount of sunlight. Bullet covers his eyes, as the radiating energy is blinding. The nearby civilians also do the same, some hiding behind doors or cars to shield their eyes from the overbearing light. Star sighs, sadly, then his eye lenses flash white. Star's armor opens up at its seams, pulsing heat seeping out from in between. His entire body ignites with incinerating heat. Any nearby vehicles met within seconds, and nearby shop windows all warp, melted moments later as well. Star looks upward, his eyes glow bright white, and smoke pours from the vents covering his mouth. Mirror 1 screams and turns to ash. Star is still standing there after the attack, the ash blowing away in the wind. He clenches his fists sighs, and looks downwards. He looks up at Bullet.
"I had no choice. He was going to eradicate everyone here." Star says remorsefully.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" screams Bullet. He sounds even more panicked than before. "You're all nuts! No way, no way! Screw this. Screw him. Screw you. I'm outta here!"
Star runs towards him, waving his hand.
"Wait!" he yells, but it is too late.
With a pop, Bullet's body disappears into the sky, a ring from the popped sound barrier briefly remaining imprinted on the rising smoke from Star's vicious attack.
A few blocks down, a very tall, and lanky man, wearing glasses, looks up to see Bullet zip by.
Meanwhile, Star wanders behind an alleyway, talking into his unseen headset once more.
"What was I supposed to do, Urchin!?" he asks, clearly angry and frustrated.
The voice of a calm, British woman responds.
"You really are not skilled with people, are you John? A frightened animal cannot be soothed by running at it, screaming and flailing."
"I was only trying to help him." Star says. "He needed to know what he stumbled into, that's all."
"He's a civilian, John." She says in her smooth, English accent. "This is all overwhelming to him. You need to be able to place yourself behind his eyes."
"I'm not a kindergarten teacher, Urchin." Star says, aggressively but respectfully. "He's seen the violence these suits are capable of. I don't wanna hide what he can do. Whether he's stumbled into this or not, the fact is, he's a part of our world now. I feel sorry for him, but I also don't want to lie and say it'll be all fun and rainbows."
"True, however, you should know as well as anyone the cost of hasty decisions."
"That was NOT my dec…sigh, you're right. I'm just tense from the fight I guess. You know how I hate when I have to make that call. Let's go report to the Commander."
"Just come back to base for now. I'll order recon on the Silver Bullet, and we will deal with him when the time is right. You did what you could, it's alright."
"Alright. Check first in large, open fields. If I were him, I'd be learning how to properly use my attacks in order to defend myself. It's the intelligent thing to do, and he seems like a clever man. We both know what kind of people inhabit this world."