fighting crime brb [Kitty >)]

[Gig♠ntick]

Mance's rubber soles made rough scuffing noises as he walked down the street, opposite the high school. He pulled his water bottle from the pocket of his favorite "Indiana University" sweatshirt, taking a long drought. It was a strange water bottle to him, something called a "Bobble," where one filled the bottle itself as per usual, but the nozzle of the drink had a filter in it. He'd decided it was a worthwhile investment if he was just going to teleport himself to the locker room at the arena every morning, what with the water from who knows where, but it almost wasn't worth the incredible amount of strength it took to get a mouthful. He looked like a skinny-faced mosquito, the way his eyes bugged out when he tried to get a drink. It did improve the water in the stadium, however. He'd just have to use his old bottle at the gym.

All deep and meaningful ponderings over the pros and cons of water bottles aside, his head was still tipped back as movement caught in the corner of his eye. He stopped where he was, and froze. Some doofus was trying to pick the lock on the front door of the school. Well, Mance had no doubt that he could do just that, but still. His eyebrows pinched together as he tried to come up with some reason someone would want to break into a school, of all places. His face contorted with the effort, before his eyebrow raised and he checked the dark faces of the houses next to him.

Was no one going to call this in? This man would likely steal a textbook, and lord knows how many children would be devastated the morning they awoke to an empty locker.

Finally, he looked back to the oblivious lock pick, sighed wearily, and teleported home. He slipped into his tuxedo and only stumbled into his bed twice, nearly stabbed himself pinning the black rose to his chest, and miraculously put his gloves and mask on without a hitch. It was only then that he sniffed his pits, grimaced, and had to un-suit himself slightly to apply deodorant. Finally, he was ready.

As he appeared across the street again to view the open door, he wondered how many heroes had already beat him to it.

Young people these days, and their nifty little costume-changes. Back in his day...

He stepped briskly into the school, and peeked around the dark corners carefully.

[ITTY]

After a long day at the law firm -- she'd been held overtime due to the necessity of dealing with a pair of very angry divorcees -- Nerina was finally on her way home. Of course she'd chosen to walk to work today, thinking the exercise would be good for her, and was stuck with only the same way home. For anyone else, making this trip in heels might be a challenge, but the heroine had mastered the art of stiletto-wearing. Her feet could handle any abuse she put them through. Shoe-wise, that is.

She was just hurrying by the high school, consumed by her single-minded need to just get home -- when something flashed in Nerina's peripheral vision, and she glanced towards the movement automatically. Some idiot had just successfully picked the school's locks. For a moment, she felt bitterness. Just let them take whatever they wanted; it was only a school. Not like it'd miss a couple textbooks. They had to have a bunch of extras laying around.

Nonetheless, she slowed a bit. What kind of hero was she if she didn't stop by? Her official job might be a law firm secretary, but she was still a hero as a secondary occupation. She had to fight crime and keep the city safe. Right? Sure. Sighing heavily, she realized she'd have to do the good thing in this situation. She ducked into an empty alley and shed her suit jacket and stepped out of her skirt. Shoving these things into her bag, she realized she hadn't planned on fighting any crime today -- her four-inch fire engine red stilettos hadn't made it out of her apartment with her, she noticed sadly. Ah well, these three-inch black ones she'd worn to work today would have to do. After positioning her masquerade mask on her face and tossing her oversized purse behind a Dumpster, Nerina was battle-ready. After a moment, she also reached up and ripped her ponytail holder out of her hair, letting it fall in dark sheets around her face.

She teleported to the front steps of the school -- why walk when you had a power such as that? -- and followed the crook in through the still-ajar door, peering around corners in the empty school as she walked. It was anyone's guess where the lock picker may have gotten by this point. She was beginning to wonder if maybe he'd ducked into a classroom instead of sticking to the hallways and lockers when she heard a noise from the hallway just ahead.

Caught him.

She crept as silently as she could -- actually pretty silent for someone wearing heels -- until she reached the corner from which she'd heard noise. Whirling around the corner really fast, she came face-to-face with a man dressed in a suit and a mask.

Ah, hell, either someone had been her to her crime scene or some villain had been in league with the lock picker. (Even if what she could see of this guy was impressive. She would have spent longer ogling if she'd had more time; she just made due with a few heartbeats of examination. excellent body, good-looking face that wasn't under the mask...yuo. Pretty sexy.)

Either way, she automatically glanced around the hallway, searching for ammo for her telekinesis. There wasn't much. She'd have to make do with the small objects on her belt.

[Gig♠ntick]

After several minutes of sneaking and corner-peeking, it struck Mance that the baddie was definitely not still fumbling around the main hallway like he was. Carefully, he slid his polished shoes forward, and ducked around a corner. Another glance down the hall, and it was clear that the oblivious lock pick was going to make things tedious for poor Mance.

He heard it then, from behind. Ever so silently, the click of the villain's shoes. He was surprised he'd noticed it at all, how light it was, but all the same. He vaguely wondered how the villain had gotten behind him. Perhaps the poor sod was lost. What a depressing catch to go on the Black Poet's record: "Black Poet finds befuddled school thief." That would clearly be most awesome, the cream on the cake of his career. They would cheer his name across the nation, grateful for being saved from yet another confused idiot who thought there was something worth having inside a high school...

He flattened himself to the wall next to the corner, and slid closer. The person was close now. He was going to jump out in 3... 2...

He spun around the corner, and anything he'd planned to do was forgotten, along with his name, home address, and current location. He gaped most attractively for a long moment at the near-naked woman in front of him.

He kinda hoped she was the villain. He wouldn't mind wrestling her to the ground until the authorities came.

It was then that he remembered the person he was after was most definitely a man in faded black jeans and a raggy hoodie, as the man who fit the description left a room, glanced the two, and took off in the opposite direction. As it connected that she was searching for something to probably maim him with, he backed away and held his hands out to hers as if he could stop her by waving his own frantically.

"Holyjesuswaitdon'tshoot!" he managed cleverly, before regaining his sense of self. He stood taller, a debonair smile on his face as he pointed in the direction of the fleeing thief with his thumb. "I sincerely hope you aren't working with him," he said, making to take her hand and kiss her fingertips. "Because if you're a distraction, I'm indeed distracted." he finished with a roguish wink.

[ITTY]

The man froze mid-step, mouth swinging open when he saw her. Despite being a rather attractive man, this probably wasn't one of his more attractive face. Even so, she had to force herself to concentrate. He might be a bad guy. Don't get distracted... Even so, she felt flattered and distracted when she realized his eyes were roaming over her near-naked body. Any other time she would have stopped to appreciate this. Don't get distracted.

"Holyjesuswaitdon'tshoot!" he finally said at last, seeming to realize that she was preparing to send one of the pens on her belt shooting at his pretty little face. It would have been a shame to mar it, but there were special doctors for superhumans that would have ensured he healed up nicely. She nearly let the pen fly anyway, but then he said something more. "I sincerely hope you aren't working with him. Because if you're a distraction, I'm indeed distracted."

Oh my God, she thought. He's a charmer. A flirt. The seductive side of her wanted to throw itself at the man, but she held it off barely. Having officially confirmed that he was in fact not the bad guy here, who, in fact, had just started sprinting in the opposite direction, the temptation was even worse. She couldn't just let it go at that, though, and said, with a sly grin, "I bet you'd just love to wrestle me to the floor, boy. Too bad you'll have to make do with petty thieves instead of beautiful heroines such as myself." She gestured in the direction of the fleeing criminal as she spoke, emphasizing her point.

[Gig♠ntick]

"I bet you'd just love to wrestle me to the floor, boy. Too bad you'll have to make do with petty thieves instead of beautiful heroines such as myself"

It took most of his control not to pant, beg, and roll over.

He glanced over his shoulder as the fleeing villain, by now Mance was convinced was part chicken the way he ran, and sighed wearily. He had about one teleport left in him for today before he started getting muddled, so he might as well make it count. He looked back to the heroine, and smiled again. "Please excuse me a moment," he begged, before vanishing.

His aim wasn't great, but it paid due. He'd appeared a few feet behind the criminal, and with quick reflexes snatched his collar. While the man's neck stayed in one place, his legs and head kept going, landing him on his back with a grunt. Mance lifted him to his feet and frog-marched him back into the hallway where the hero and heroine had been convening, and pushed him to the ground, where the frightened man seemed very comfortable staying.

"You know," he said, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his chin thoughtfully while staring at the ceiling with his unwavering grin, "It occurred to me just now: if you're not here for the same petty thief as you seemed initially to be, I can only assume you're here for me--" With a few deft motions, he removed the black rose from his chest and offered it to her, with one foot on the sweaty thief's back. "--the Black Poet," he finally introduced himself as.

[ITTY]

Nerina waited patiently for the hero to go off and take care of their little 'petty thief' -- his pleading "Please excuse me a moment" amused her greatly. She was pleased that she wouldn't need to do any work on this crime scene and momentarily considered just teleporting out while he was occupied...but he was too cute for that. Not to mention efficient. He obviously had the power of teleportation as well, because he disappeared and reappeared again right behind the thief. His reflexes were pretty good as well, she noted. He grabbed the thief's collar quickly and nearly dragged him back to where Nerina waited, throwing the criminal on the ground, where he seemed perfectly content with staying.

While his speedy performance was impressive, Nerina wouldn't give the hero the satisfaction of seeing that she thought so. Instead she gave him an approving grin. "You sure took care of him fast. Eager, hm?" After depositing the baddie on the floor, the hero stared at the ceiling for a moment, tapping his chin thoughtfully. He was certainly making a show of considering something, she mused.

It was unsurprising when he said, "You know. It occurred to me just now: if you're not here for the same petty thier as you seemed initially to be, I can only assume you're here for me--" Suddenly, the hero produced a rose from his chest, offering it to an amused Nerina. "--the Black Poet," he continued, introducing himself at last. She'd heard of him -- the Black Poet was a known charmer. This didn't surprise her, either, and she stepped a bit closer to him, placing one of her heeled feet on the thief's back as well.

"Ah, thank you, Black Poet," she purred, accepting the rose. "While I'd love to say that I came here for you, alas I came for the same petty thief. You are much more rewarding, though." With a flirtatious smile she leaned in close, until only a few inches separated the two heroes. "You, sir, may call me Eye-Candy."

Internally she shuddered at the name, but it was certainly fitting.

[Gig♠ntick]

"Ah, thank you, Black Poet. While I'd love to say that I came here for you, alas I came for the same petty thief. You are much more rewarding, though. You, sir, may call me Eye-Candy." She wasn't the only one who'd heard rumors. Never in his wildest dreams would Mance have A) hoped to meet the famed lingerie heroine, or B) imagined the famed lingerie heroine outright. Fitting name was right, as he couldn't help but let his eyes rove once more.

Oh, I'll give you 'eager.' the thought made his grin grow, and both her acceptance of his rose and the close proximity only encouraged him.

He looked down at the man beneath their feet who seemed perfectly happy as a bearskin rug, and sighed internally. He supposed they would have to do something about him. Generally speaking, it was frowned upon for the good guy to let the bad guy go on about his business, even after being caught faster than it took for him to pee himself in fear (it smelled as if he was guilty of that, too). He brought his eyes back up to Eye-Candy's.

"You wouldn't happen to have any length of twine, rope, or string on your person, would you? I have a mind to leave Doormat here for the school secretary and escort a certain scantily clad woman home." He looked on hopefully, taking on an expression with a balance ratio of puppydog-eyes-to-pouty-lip.

[ITTY]

You wouldn't happen to have any length of twin, rope, or string on your person, would you? I have a mind to leave Doormat here for the school secretary and escort a certain scantily clad woman home." Glancing away from the Black Poet's eyes for a moment to examine the crook, Nerina determined that 'Doormat' was indeed a fitting nickname for him. He was, after all, laying motionlessly on the ground, and they were, after all, partway standing on him. She crinkled her nose at the smell; it seemed like the stench in the hallway had grown much stronger since Doormat was dumped on the ground. Not bothering to hide her revulsion, he realized he must have felt the need to relieve himself. Crooks were pathetic.

Bringing her eyes back up to the Black Poet's, she flashed him a grin. "I'm afraid I don't have any of that on me. Please wait here a moment." With that, she teleported home, hoping that her sudden disappearance wouldn't startle the Black Poet. If he was at all the hero that some claimed him to be, however, he wouldn't be surprised enough to let the guy get away. Not that Doormat was going anywhere -- he seemed perfectly happy on the ground.

Eye-Candy went straight to her bathroom, where she grabbed a lipstick, and then sifted around her messy bedroom until she located a notebook. Ripping a piece of paper out, she returned to the school hallway. With that last teleportation, she realized that she could probably do no more of it this evening. She'd exhausted her teleporting powers, but that didn't matter. She had what she needed now.

She walked over to a nearby door and peeked in. It was a classroom. She pulled a chair out and looked back to the Black Poet. "Be a dear and put him in here," she said, flashing an irresistible smile. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can have some fun."