_______»Ｉ'ＶＥ___ＧＯＴ___Ａ___ＴＨＩＣＫ___ＴＯＮＧＵＥ _____brimming withthewordsthatgo↷unsung!! ___________________________✄ I simmer then I burn for asomeone_____________________ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ __________a wrong one_____a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one _▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮
“You could at least try to look happy.”
Wearily, Graham lifted his head off the glass of the passenger side window to regard his mother as she chided him. Her red lips tugged into a frown as she caught his less than enthusiastic gaze. “I thought this would be an adventure for us, but you’ve been looking like the picture of misery since we left the airport back in Gotham.” She scoffed as she clenching the steering wheel of the rental car in a small bout of annoyance. “I’m sure if I told you we were going to the Gulf again, you’d be tripping over yourself,” his mother muttered under her breath.
“Mom, we’re in Missouri. I might as well look the part,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest and sliding down in his seat. “Very funny. You know, this place is much nicer than Gotham. Honestly, if your father wasn’t so attached to that damn city I would have gladly moved out here when we were still deciding where to live,” Juniper confessed with a wistful sigh. Now it was Graham’s turn to scoff, which caused her to shoot him a look. “Hey, Gotham has history. The only thing ‘Central City’ has is some speedster wearing yellow and red pajamas,” Graham shrugged, grinning a little when his mother started laughing. “Oh? And what makes some psychopath dressed as a bat any better? If anything, I’d rather have a hero than some…Some vigilante.”
The teen rolled his eyes, his smile still remaining as the car ride brought them from their hotel to the Central City college campus at last. His mother had been invited by the Marine Biology department to do a lecture on the plight of the sea turtles on one day, and then another lecture on the migration patterns of whales on the following day. They were set to stay in Central for four days, and after spending just one day, Graham already wanted to leave. It wasn’t Gotham, that was for damn certain. Gotham had its history and architecture—it’s interesting mix of antique and modern that made it so stunning. But Central? He might as well be in Metropolis for all he cared. The last time he’d visited the city was a couple of years back for a gymnastics competition, and even back then he wasn’t taken to the city. Little had changed, apparently, since, in the teen’s eyes, it was just as boring as before.
“Looks like the storm followed us from home, hmm?” his mother questioned, leaning forward to look out the dash. Graham nodded his head in agreement as she removed the key from the ignition. It had been nothing but ominous gray skies since the plane landed yesterday. “All this rain…Here I was hoping for the sunshine we rarely get,” she chuckled, shaking her head as she stepped out of the vehicle. Slamming his door shut, Graham slung his messenger bag onto his shoulder, turning his eyes skyward before glancing back at his mother. “Be careful while you’re out exploring. I’ll have my cell on me, and I should hope, young man, that you’ll have yours on you at all times as well.” She gave him her best ‘worried mom’ look as she stared him down over the hood of the rental car. With a warm, reassuring smile, Graham fished out his cellphone from his back pocket and held it up for her to see. “I know, mom. I’ll stay out of trouble.”
Easier said than done when trouble seemed very much attached to him.
All he had wanted to do was check out some of the city, and since the college campus was smack dab in the middle of it, it was easy to wander off and already be on the corner of some busy inner-city avenue. Graham really had no idea where he was going, seeing as how he wasn’t at all familiar with the place. He just followed whatever streets he happened to be on and took pictures on his phone as he went. What he wasn’t expecting along his journey was a hand to shoot out from an alleyway and catch his shoulder as he was passing by, wrenching him down into the dark expanse between the two buildings.
Graham tightened his grip on the strap of his bag as the man loomed over him, keeping him pinned in place with a hand by his head, blocking any chance he had of ducking back onto the streets from the alleyway. With the other end of the alley being a dead end, there really was nowhere to go. “What’s in the bag, kid?” the gravelly voice asked as he moved the pathetic excuse for a knife he held closer to the teen’s cheek. Graham scowled, his light blue eyes drifting down to the knife before darting back up to lock with the murky green colored irises of the crook before him. “Am I supposed to feel threatened?” he questioned, disgust lacing his words, which seemed to surprise the man. With a sneer, he pressed the blade flat against his face, showing that, with enough pressure, he could easily cause some blood to be drawn. But he didn’t, which made this situation all the more ridiculous. What sort of criminals did they have here?
“The hell did you say to me? You got a death wish? You want me to cut you?”
“Are you asking for my permission? That’s mistake number one. Mistake number two?” Graham clutched the man’s forearm at the junction of his elbow and brought it down in time as he was raising his knee. With a yelp, the mugger dropped his knife as reflex from the hit to the elbow forced his hand open. With the knife out of the way, Graham slid his hands down to the man’s wrist and dug his nails in the soft skin there, allowing the mugger to move a few steps back. But they weren’t done yet.
The teen tugged him forward abruptly, lifting his leg again to nail him with a kick straight to the gut before letting go of his wrist and watching the mugger collapse to the ground. “Don’t try to mug someone who can fight dirty,” he murmured, staring down at the heaving figure as he tried to catch his breath. It must be a hard thing to do after having the air consequently knocked out of him. Graham tilted his head to the side as he mugger turned his head upward, his eyes wide with confusion. “W-What the hell is your problem?” The punch the teen delivered sent the man onto his side, blood spilling down from his now broken nose. With a hiss, Graham unclenched his fist and shook his hand, ignoring the man’s blood on his knuckles as he tried to not focus on the pain blossoming there from the hit. “Stay down,” the dark haired boy commanded while rubbing at his hand. The man made a whimpering noise as he cradled his nose, but he obeyed.
Exhaling sharply, Graham kicked the blade away, listening to its faint skitter as it slid down the alley. Petty thieves were definitely a lot harder to take down in Gotham.
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▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ _ ⇡██ wavegoodbye* to me. __________[ｉ__ｗｏｎ'ｔ__ｓａｙ__ｉ'ｍ__ｓｏｒｒｙ] I'LL BE ALRIGHT▮ ONCE I FIND THE OTHER SIDE OF ▮ SOMEDAY____
♛⊹ with // some wannabe mugger____♛⊹location // An alleyway in Central City____♛⊹thoughts // God, my hand really smarts. What an a*****e.____♛⊹ ooc // crummy first post
It was still fairly early in the day, Bethany was at work, and Vince was out on patrol, as he usually was during the day. Patrol was easy enough as a speedster. He could dodge bullets and knives and any attack he saw coming, so taking down criminals and turning them in was a piece of cake. The hardest part of patrol was making sure he never got in Flash's line of sight. He'd had a few close calls, but always managed to dodge out of sight before the red-clad speedster spotted him. He feared the day the Flash finally caught up with him. He had no idea how the hero would react to him and Vince knew that he wouldn't put away the suit, even if Flash told him to. He was in this for good, whether Flash liked it or not.
Bethany still had no idea. And nor should she. Vince was always careful to never be caught on camera, which meant no footage for the papers or the news. He was sure that if Bethany saw an image of him in costume, she'd recognize him, and he couldn't have that. She couldn't know it was him, there was no telling what she would do. His guess was that she would be excited to personally know a hero and simultaneously worried about him getting hurt. No, it was simpler that she remained in the dark. Simpler, safer, easier.
As he patrolled the city, checking the streets regularly to make sure all was well, he heard a scuffle in one of the alleyways he passed. He stopped at the end of the alleyway in time to see a young boy, one who appeared to be Vince's age, take down a guy obviously much older than him. For a second, he wasn't sure which one of them was getting mugged, until he saw the younger one kick away a knife on the ground. Now, he wasn't going to claim that there were no Central City residents that could take care of themselves, but he saved a lot of people who seemed helpless in situations they likely could have gotten themselves out of if they had put a little force or sometimes just thought into it. Still, there were a few who were fully capable of getting themselves out of hairy situations, much like this kid was.
He couldn't help but wonder if this boy was from out of town. He appeared to be around the same age as Vince, yet he had never seen him before. Did he go to a different school? Maybe he was homeschooled. And where did he learn to fight like that? He took down a mugger that had a blade to him, and the only blood on him seemed to be that of the mugger. Vince couldn't help but be impressed by the display.
Vince was lost in his train of thought and didn't realize he was still staring at the boy, or that he was still in the public eye.
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Location ;;Central City Enemies ;;x Allies ;;x Status ;;Healthy Energy ;;100% Thoughts ;;Well that's not something you see everyday. OOC ;;x
_______»Ｉ'ＶＥ___ＧＯＴ___Ａ___ＴＨＩＣＫ___ＴＯＮＧＵＥ _____brimming withthewordsthatgo↷unsung!! ___________________________✄ I simmer then I burn for asomeone_____________________ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ __________a wrong one_____a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one _▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮
That was all an unexpected turn of events. Crime was everywhere, sure, but it was weird experiencing it outside of Gotham, especially since Graham had nearly been on the receiving end. Usually he cracked down on assholes like this in his unofficial Robin costume, but to actually be the one to be potentially mugged? This was a backwards city, that was for certain. The petty thieves in Gotham usually toted guns, for god’s sake, and if they did use a knife, it wasn’t one you’d expect to find in a kitchen drawer.
As the man continued his weak mumbles from the floor, Graham almost felt a little sympathetic. To be fair, he may have gone just a little overboard with the mugger. People from Gotham had to be tough, the criminals especially, and Graham had handled the situation as he would have there; without batting an eye, without mercy. Had this been a mugging back home, the guy probably would have sliced into his cheek before questioning as to the contents of his bag. Things didn't seem so dark here though, judging by how easily this was handled. Still, it was only easy because Graham took him down as he would a Gotham mugger, minus a few steps since the guy folded so quickly. Maybe he shouldn’t have punched him in the face. The rest? No, he didn’t regret that. But that punch? He did kinda sorta break the guy’s nose. Still, a lesson was learned, was it not? Don’t mug people, dumbass. Simple as that.
Bending down, Graham rubbed the blood off his knuckles and onto the guy’s shirt, watching with a bit of amusement as the man flinched at the feeling. “I-I give, okay! B-Back off!” he pleaded behind his hands, not even bothering to try and move. The teen quirked a brow before rolling his eyes. “Where’s that bravado now?” Graham murmured to himself, brushing his fingers along the spot on his cheek where the knife had been as he used his other hand to withdraw his cellphone. He was about to punch in the numbers for 911 when something, or, rather someone very garishly colored caught his eye.
Graham beheld the opening of the alleyway once more, only this time it wasn’t empty. Bright red and yellow—it could only be the Flash, or at least one of his lackeys. And he was just…Staring? What was his problem? The teen made an unimpressed noise. “Keep moving, speedster,” Graham commented, glancing back down at his phone before stowing it back into his back pocket. “I don’t need some “hero” to save my a**, but if you want to actually be useful, you’ll take him down to the precinct.”
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▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ _ ⇡██ wavegoodbye* to me. __________[ｉ__ｗｏｎ'ｔ__ｓａｙ__ｉ'ｍ__ｓｏｒｒｙ] I'LL BE ALRIGHT▮ ONCE I FIND THE OTHER SIDE OF ▮ SOMEDAY____
♛⊹ with // a would-be mugger and...Either the Flash or Flash Jr.____♛⊹location // an alleyway in Central City____♛⊹thoughts // And here I thought my Robin outfit looked stupid...____♛⊹ ooc // x
Vincent continued to watch the kid as he wiped the blood off his hand, only half his attention actually dedicated to him, the other half was dedicated to trying to figure this guy out. He was experienced, which was surprising for someone so young. After all, Vince was still young, but he couldn't fight like that. Enough to make a would-be mugger cower on the ground. It intrigued him, to say the least, and he wanted to find out more. He was just contemplating how to find out more when the not-quite-victim seemed to finally notice him, and told him to keep moving. How amusing, the way he said hero like he didn't believe in them. Vince wondered why that was. Did he just not like heroes or was there some sort of distrust that he had for them? It was a curious thing.
The would-be victim told him to take the mugger down to the precinct, and it was at that point that Vince looked more closely at the form on the ground. He was surprised to see that he recognized the man; it was someone he had actually saved from a burning building just last week. He tilted his head at the man, who looked over to see who the kid was talking to. Upon spotting the speedster standing at the end of the alley, he pushed himself up onto his knees, facing him. "Kid Flash, I'm sorry man, I didn't want to do this. My house burned down last week, I needed some money. Please, man, don't take me to the cops." Vince did feel sorry for the man. He knew he wasn't lying, because he'd been there, had saved him from the burning building.
Vince dedicated himself to doing the right thing, but the right thing didn't always line up with the law. This man should be taken to the cops, should be taught a lesson, but after getting a broken nose trying to rob someone, Vince thought that he had learned his lesson. He'd have to get his money the hard way, by earning it, not stealing it. After half a moment's debate, Vince stepped to the side, allowing the man to pass by. The man scrambled to his feet, and ran for the street. As he passed the speedster, the would-be-mugger glanced at him and was met with a stern gaze. If he was caught trying to mug again, he would be taken to jail, no more free passes.
He noticed that he was still standing in the open, and that a few people on the sidewalk had taken notice. With the mugger out of the alleyway, and presumably on the way to a hospital, Vince darted into the alleyway, into the shadows and out of the range of any phones that might try to get a good shot of him. He now stood on the other side of the almost-victim just far enough to be in full shadow. To anyone outside the alleyway, he would be completely hidden by the shadows, but the kid would likely still be able to see him.
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Location ;;Central City Enemies ;;x Allies ;;x Status ;;Healthy Energy ;;100% Thoughts ;;Is this kid even from Central? OOC ;;Graham certainly has reason to rant now. Vince just let his mugger leave.
_______»Ｉ'ＶＥ___ＧＯＴ___Ａ___ＴＨＩＣＫ___ＴＯＮＧＵＥ _____brimming withthewordsthatgo↷unsung!! ___________________________✄ I simmer then I burn for asomeone_____________________ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ __________a wrong one_____a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one _▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮
Graham crinkled his nose as Flash Jr. continued his incessant staring, but it finally seemed like his attention was drawn elsewhere at last. The teen’s eyes flicked down as well, regarding the mugger who, at last, also noticed the brightly colored hero and was actually pleading with him. As Graham cuffed up his sleeves to his elbows, he listened as the guy tried putting a reason on his actions. Tragedies happen, but that didn’t mean resorting to crime was the right answer. It could be a c**k and bull story for all Graham knew, but the mute hero actually bought it, taking a moment to step out of the way and let the would-be mugger pass.
Was he serious?
“Are you serious?” Graham protested, agitation flaring like sun spots in his blue eyes as he whirled around to face the hero. He’d hand it to him, he certainly moved fast. Graham hadn’t encountered a meta-human before, and it certainly left him a little starry eyed over his power, but the wonder would have to way.
Right now, he was a little more than pissed off.
Graham eyed the alley’s opening, eyed the busybodies passing without so much as glancing down to see the kid shouting at shadows, and contemplated for a split second going after the guy. Maybe he wasn’t worth his time, maybe that was a true story of spewed to earn the hero’s sympathy, and maybe he was turning into a little unhappy ball of frustration because he felt like a fish out of water in this city. A fish that, consequently, took out said frustration on a man that really could have experienced an unfortunate circumstance.
With a heavy sigh, Graham relaxed his tensed shoulders, uncurled his fist, and regarded the darkened figure across from him. “You’re serious,” the teen concluded, pinching the bridge of his nose. He made a small, irritated noise before lowering his hand in favor of crossing his arms over his chest. “Okay, so he could actually mean well–I get that, but he still deserved to go to jail. If everyone acted out because of a crappy situation occurring in their lives, we’d be overrun with criminals, but people know better than to resort to crime. Maybe not him, apparently, but taking him to the police would have taught him more of a lesson than letting him walk,” he pointed out, leaning back against the brick wall behind him. He wasn’t really in a position to chastise a hero; especially not in his dark straight-leg jeans, Sperrys, and navy gingham button-down, but civvies or not—and powers or not—Graham wasn’t exactly happy that he let his attacker go off on his merry way, and he wanted a damn good reason why he shouldn’t deck the speedster as well.
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▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ _ ⇡██ wavegoodbye* to me. __________[ｉ__ｗｏｎ'ｔ__ｓａｙ__ｉ'ｍ__ｓｏｒｒｙ] I'LL BE ALRIGHT▮ ONCE I FIND THE OTHER SIDE OF ▮ SOMEDAY____
♛⊹ with // Flash Jr.____♛⊹location // An alley in Central____♛⊹thoughts // ...I could always ditch red and yellow over here and go after kitchen knife guy... Or I can try and be a decent person and follow the hero's example. Damn it.____♛⊹ ooc // x
Vincent wasn't entirely surprised that the would-be victim was angry that his mugger just walked, but he didn't know the rest of the story like Vince did. As the civilian continued to yell at him, Vince could see the point he was making. Some time in jail would teach him not to do it again, but so would a broken nose, and he already had one of those. For someone who hadn't done it before, a broken nose was a pretty good deterrent, to teach him that he wasn't cut out for a life of thievery. Besides, if he did try it again, either Vince would catch him or send him to jail for screwing up his second chance, or the Flash would catch him and throw him in jail without knowing about the second chance he'd been given. If he tried again, no matter what, he'd be in jail.
He still didn't say anything, didn't have anything to say. He didn't need to explain himself to this guy. Instead, he found himself pondering things. His height gave him the appearance of being older than he was, but was likely countered by his slender form. Out of his costume, he didn't really have the look of a hero. He was thin, lean, and tall, and he didn't look very strong. People underestimated him, but maybe that was the point. As a hero, being underestimated gave him an advantage. It made taking thugs down easier, that much was certain. Having such a look himself, it often left him wondering how many people he passed on the street that had a secret life themselves. How many of them were criminals when they thought they could get away with it? It was an interesting question.
His gaze shifted to the street beyond the alley, watching the people pass by. Nobody seemed to notice him, for which he was glad. The less people he had to deal with trying to snap a pic of him, the better. He knew he couldn't stay here forever though. Soon enough, someone was going to notice the civilian in the alleyway and want to know what he was doing, and in that moment, Vince would have to leave before he got caught.
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Location ;;Central City Enemies ;;x Allies ;;x Status ;;Healthy Energy ;;99% Thoughts ;;I wonder if he works with cops, to have such a strong view on this. OOC ;;
_______»Ｉ'ＶＥ___ＧＯＴ___Ａ___ＴＨＩＣＫ___ＴＯＮＧＵＥ _____brimming withthewordsthatgo↷unsung!! ___________________________✄ I simmer then I burn for asomeone_____________________ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ __________a wrong one_____a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one _▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮
This was getting nowhere. No matter what he said, Flash Jr. seemed content with…Doing whatever the hell he was doing. Groaning, Graham ran a hand through his bangs and let his eyes drop down to the alley’s floor. He was tired of the silence and tired of looking up at the guy. Weren’t there any short heroes? Or at least heroes that came in his general size? Good lord, if every hero he encountered was as tall as this, he needed a neck brace for how sore he was going to be from looking up to speak to them 24/7. Maybe investing in heels would be the best option, though he’d probably kill himself in those.
“Okay. The silent treatment,” Graham murmured, rolling his eyes. “A little puerile, but whatever. I’m sorry for trying to do some good in your crummy city. If you have some hard feelings over that, go to Gotham and return the favor. I’d love to see you try that. You’d probably just let them all walk free.” The teen scoffed and shook his head at the imagery. “Oh, you lost your job? That’s okay, you can take a ‘get out of jail free’ card for your loss, even though you just murdered three innocent people. Oh, you weren’t loved enough as a child? That’s okay, burn as many buildings as you want to compensate for it. You’ve earned it, champ,” he said jokingly, using a falsetto voice as he rolled his eyes again. That action was starting to become a nasty habit, but maybe he was just accustomed to people usually not seeing it occur when he wore his domino mask.
The dark haired boy pursed his lips before he pushed off the wall. Hell, he might as well be speaking to a wall. “Alright, I’ve had just about enough of this crap,” he muttered under his breath, walking past Flash Jr. and heading for the mouth of the alley. Annoying chatter was something he was used to. Criminals could never shut up when he fought them. He could handle the boasting and the profanity, but what he couldn't handle? Silence. Graham was fine sitting alone in a quiet area, but when he was speaking to someone and they didn't respond?
He stopped abruptly and turned back to face him, tilting his head a bit with an apparent pout. “Maybe I haven’t given you enough credit,” Graham began, arms akimbo. “Maybe you’re mute or deaf or something. For all I know, you’re both, so let’s see if I can remember this correctly…” He pondered something for a brief second before raising his right hand to wave and then slowly formed a D with his hand and tapped his nose with the extended index finger. After giving him a mocking salute, Graham turned on his heel and continued out of the alley.
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▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ _ ⇡██ wavegoodbye* to me. __________[ｉ__ｗｏｎ'ｔ__ｓａｙ__ｉ'ｍ__ｓｏｒｒｙ] I'LL BE ALRIGHT▮ ONCE I FIND THE OTHER SIDE OF ▮ SOMEDAY____
♛⊹ with // Sorta Flash Jr.____♛⊹location // leaving the alley____♛⊹thoughts // My ASL is limited, and definitely rusty, but that hopefully got my point across.____♛⊹ ooc // x
Vincent turned his gaze back to the civilian when he continued on. He called him childish because he still hadn't said anything, but Vince didn't care. Childish didn't even make the top fifty worst things he'd been called. It intrigued him, though, when he mentioned Gotham. So he wasn't from here in Central. A lot of things about him suddenly made sense, mainly how he was able to fight so well. As far as Vince was concerned, Gotham was a black spot on the map, populated by more criminals than normal civilians. If one lived there, they would have to be able to defend themselves. He was probably used to criminals who would kill him before he even saw them. Central had those, obviously, but the guy whose nose he broke wasn't one of them.
He listened to the mocking tone the guy used, wondering what compelled him to take that tone. Was it just the anger fueling him or did he just not approve of the speedster's methods? Probably both, for all Vince knew. Bethany used a similar tone sometimes, and Vince always found it amusing. She always did it when she was trying to make a point, and it occurred to him that the civilian was trying to do the same thing. Vince didn't let it bother him. The guy didn't know how he normally worked. He saw him act out of compassion and judged him wrong.
He was walking away, then, seemingly done with not getting an answer. Vince watched him, waiting for him to be gone so he could leave as well. When he stopped and turned around, what he said, admittedly, surprised Vince. And then he used sign language to say something and walked away again. Vince didn't personally know sign language, so he couldn't guess what he said, but it was interesting enough for him to act. He used his speed to dart out of the alleyway, grabbing the civilian on his way out and slinging him over his shoulder. The speed aura surrounding him instantly protected the civilian from any damage he may have received otherwise. Vince carried him to one of the secluded places that he hung out at during patrols, and once they were out of sight, Vince set him down and stepped back. The trip was short, and only a couple seconds passed since they were in the alleyway, but it would probably be disorienting enough to a non-speedster. They were now standing in an empty building, one that appeared to have been a store before but now all the shelves and aisles were empty. This building was up for sale, and nobody had gotten around to buying it yet, so it was perfect for Vince to hang out and wait for something to happen.
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Location ;;Central City - Empty store Enemies ;;x Allies ;;x Status ;;Healthy Energy ;;96% Thoughts ;;Interesting. He didn't seem capable of being considerate. OOC ;;
_______»Ｉ'ＶＥ___ＧＯＴ___Ａ___ＴＨＩＣＫ___ＴＯＮＧＵＥ _____brimming withthewordsthatgo↷unsung!! ___________________________✄ I simmer then I burn for asomeone_____________________ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ __________a wrong one_____a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one _▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮
That was weird. Maybe the silent type was normal for Central. After all, wasn’t Gotham’s primary hero along those lines as well? Granted, Graham didn’t actually know firsthand since he made a point of staying off of Batman’s radar, but he had come close to being caught a number of times. Some encounters were closer than others, but so far he was running free. He did, however, encounter one of his associates a couple of times. Batgirl. She was a hair pretentious and definitely a show off in her fancy Bat-issued uniform that seemingly came with all the nice goodies that made fighting crime that much easier, but at least she spoke to Graham. Getting her to shut up was the real problem, but their quips were, for the most part, enjoyable.
His encounter with Flash Jr. or whatever his name was? Not so much. At least he got to see a little of one of Central City’s finest and, quite frankly, he wasn’t that impressed. They were both supposed to more or less sidekicks, weren’t they? Couldn’t they have bonded over that? Or Flash Jr. could have given him tips on how to approach one’s boss, maybe even help him figure out what to say since Graham was working without the Bat’s permission. Surely Flash Jr. had met Batman before, right? So he should know what he’s like. After all, weren’t they all in league with one another? A couple of pointers would have definitely been appreciated.
Turning his face skyward, Graham frowned at the gloomy clouds overhead. The weather really had followed them from Gotham it seemed, since it had been rainy all week long. He scrunched his eyes shut when a droplet of rain struck his forehead, his hand immediately shooting up to rub it away. “So there’s the rain,” he sighed, watching as people drew out umbrellas or hurried into stores to avoid the oncoming downpour. Just as Graham was reaching into his satchel to withdraw his own umbrella, something snagged his arm. He felt his abdomen abruptly collide with something as he was swept of his feet and caught sight of a blur of gold and crimson beneath him. “Son of a—”
Graham didn’t even know they had left, not until his feet were on tiled ground and the sky was no longer overhead. “—b***h…” he managed to finish, shutting his eyes and gripping his forehead. Well that was certainly an interesting experience. He felt a tad bit unstable from being carried like a sack of potatoes and the speed of…However fast that was.
Once his straightened up and gathered his bearings, he glared daggers at the speedster. “Never do that again,” he warned, taking a few tentative steps back. “I don’t get you. First, you give me the silent treatment as if I were the bad guy for defending myself. Then you kidnap me and bring me god knows where for whatever reason… Is this normal for you? An average day for Flash Jr?” he questioned vehemently, more than a little fed up with the guy’s behavior. “Go ahead and do this to the people you rescue. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to be carted off to some random a** location by a hero, but in case you forgot, I’m no damsel in distress, dipshit. I don’t appreciate being stolen.” His voice notably rose as he spoke and echoed off the barren walls, allowing him to notice how his emotions were getting the better of him.
He blinked in realization and exhaled sharply as he raised his hands in the universal “I’m done,” gesture. Beyond the concrete and stone of the building, he could hear the rain falling in sheets across the rooftop, across the city. Graham hoped that they were still in Central City at least. The guy could have taken him anywhere for all he knew.
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▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ _ ⇡██ wavegoodbye* to me. __________[ｉ__ｗｏｎ'ｔ__ｓａｙ__ｉ'ｍ__ｓｏｒｒｙ] I'LL BE ALRIGHT▮ ONCE I FIND THE OTHER SIDE OF ▮ SOMEDAY____
♛⊹ with // Flash Jr. Again.____♛⊹location // Who even knows. Could be an abandoned store, judging by the look of things.____♛⊹thoughts // If he couldn't avoid possibly every punch I throw, I'd have beaten him to a pulp by now. Seriously, what the hell does he want?____♛⊹ ooc // x
Vince wasn't entirely sure why, but this guy amused him. He was angry, but he hadn't made a move against him. He wondered why not, but didn't dwell on the thought. He waited for there to be a break in the, for lack of a better term, angry rant. When he finally stopped talking and threw his hands up, Vince figured it was now or never. "I'm sorry," he said. He could speak, he just chose not to with anyone but Bethany. Why speak when people were just going to speak over him and ignore what he said? No, he didn't like to give people anything to work off of. If this guy hadn't made an interesting case, he wouldn't have spoken to him either. His hero work was simple: show up to the scene, save the person/people, leave. No press, no fans, no nothing. Of course, people were starting to realize he was around, because he wore a different costume than Flash and people noticed, but nobody had any solid evidence of his presence.
"You're not like the people I usually save," he stated, as if that explained everything, which, to him, it did. He didn't seem to realize that it barely explained anything at all.
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Location ;;Central City - Empty store Enemies ;;x Allies ;;x Status ;;Healthy Energy ;;96% Thoughts ;; OOC ;;
_______»Ｉ'ＶＥ___ＧＯＴ___Ａ___ＴＨＩＣＫ___ＴＯＮＧＵＥ _____brimming withthewordsthatgo↷unsung!! ___________________________✄ I simmer then I burn for asomeone_____________________ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ __________a wrong one_____a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one _▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮
Okay, so Flash Jr. could, in fact, hear him. And he could, in fact, speak apparently, although he wasn’t exactly a chatterbox. This was going to be like pulling teeth. Thankfully, Graham was a fairly persuasive person; he had to be in his line of work if he wanted any sort of information on anything. Granted, usually he had an aluminum bat to assist him—you know, be the bad cop to his good cop—but he was a little empty handed at the moment. To be fair though, he wasn’t exactly keen on trying to hit the guy. The last thing he wanted to do was start a fight with a guy who would move faster than his eyes could see. Criminals he could handle, but speedsters? That was a little out of his comfort zone, so he refrained from resorting to violence to get some answers.
And he really wanted answers because what Flash Jr. had to say didn’t exactly cover anything he wanted to know. Maybe he was happy with just that tiny statement, but Graham? Not at all. “Apologizing doesn’t exactly make me feel any better about being kidnapped,” he pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest in an attempt to appear more intimidating then he actually was. It was hard to trying to appear tough when one stood 5’6” to someone well over 5’11”. He held a glare on the hero for a few moments before averting his eyes to the boarded up window of the store. Little cracks of light filtered through where the wooden boards didn’t quite cover, casting hazy patterns on the dusty tile floor.
The teen rubbed at his arms as if a sudden chill had racked his body, and one might as well have due to how cold the hero across from him was being. It probably wasn’t purposeful, but the silent watching had become a little unnerving after a certain period. “That’s not surprising though,” he confessed quite candidly, his tone becoming rather somber compared to the mocking or agitated ones he’d been using before. “Gotham has a team of vigilantes, sure, but they can’t be everywhere at once like most of you heroes can. Sometimes the best thing you can do is save yourself instead of waiting for some notorious crime fighter to help your a**.”
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▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ _ ⇡██ wavegoodbye* to me. __________[ｉ__ｗｏｎ'ｔ__ｓａｙ__ｉ'ｍ__ｓｏｒｒｙ] I'LL BE ALRIGHT▮ ONCE I FIND THE OTHER SIDE OF ▮ SOMEDAY____
♛⊹ with// Flash Jr.____♛⊹location // Some abandoned store?____♛⊹thoughts // Ain't that just the way.____♛⊹ ooc // x
Vince considered that. Perhaps grabbing him and carrying him to another location without his permission was a bad thing. He'd have to find a way to make it up to him. He was a hero, after all, and moving a person against their will was not typically something heroes did. Although, honestly, when was he ever a typical hero? He was filling the role of a sidekick who hadn't even met any other heroes, least of all the one who was supposed to be his mentor. Not to mention he was far from straight, stayed well out of the public eye, and was selectively mute. If that wasn't atypical, he didn't know what was.
The guy he was with started talking about Gotham and it's vigilantes, and Vince wondered about the difference. Why were Gotham's heroes labeled vigilantes and other cities had heroes? Didn't they all work apart from the police, but helping the police do their job? Was Gotham just that dark that their heroes are labeled vigilantes so people trusted them less? Why would anyone want to live there? Of course, as he thought this, he wondered how he would do in Gotham. What if he went there to be a hero for a few days, patrol during the day and let the Bat and his minions have the night. Was that even allowed? He wasn't sure. If there was a guidebook, he would have to find someone to give him one.
"I can take you back anywhere you want to go, if you'd like. I only wanted to talk," he said. He knew that this guy didn't know the significance of that, but Bethany would be surprised if she ever found out. "What's your name?"
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Location ;;Central City - Empty store Enemies ;;x Allies ;;x Status ;;Healthy Energy ;;96% Thoughts ;; OOC ;;
_______»Ｉ'ＶＥ___ＧＯＴ___Ａ___ＴＨＩＣＫ___ＴＯＮＧＵＥ _____brimming withthewordsthatgo↷unsung!! ___________________________✄ I simmer then I burn for asomeone_____________________ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ __________a wrong one_____a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one______a wrong one _▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮
“Ah, so now you want to talk,” Graham mumbled under his breath, keeping in mind not to roll his eyes. “God forbid you wanted to talk a couple of minutes ago back in that alley. But okay. Fine. Let’s talk.” Sliding his messenger bag in front of him, the teen took a seat on the dusty ground and looked expectantly up at Flash Jr. He would have preferred being kidnapped to a nicer location, but it looked as though he was going to have to make do. Overhead, distant thunder rumbled, accompanying the rain in its staccato performance. “I don’t think the rain is going to be letting up anytime soon, so we’ve got time to kill,” he added, moving a bit so he was sitting cross-legged with his bag on his lap.
His question, though, threw him off a little. Should he give him his real name? He was a hero, sure, but what about the whole “don’t talk to strangers” card the school system embedded into the minds of youth everywhere for years? He furrowed his brows at the thought. It’s not like he was ever going to see him again after this. “I’m Graham Fen. I’d ask you for your name, but I doubt you’d give it to me,” he replied with a laugh. “I understand the whole hush-hush in costume rule. I’m sure you wouldn’t want some teenager blabbing about knowing Flash Jr’s secret identity.” He smiled brilliantly up at him, pushing a few stray pieces of black hair behind his ear. “It is Flash Jr, right? I’m not all that familiar with hero titles.” What he wanted to say was sidekick titles, but the guy was his ride, and most didn’t take kindly to being called the “S” word. Graham was one of them actually. He heard that damn word 24/7 when he was wearing his Robin attire and it struck a nerve each time.
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▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ ▮▮▮▮▮ _ ⇡██ wavegoodbye* to me. __________[ｉ__ｗｏｎ'ｔ__ｓａｙ__ｉ'ｍ__ｓｏｒｒｙ] I'LL BE ALRIGHT▮ ONCE I FIND THE OTHER SIDE OF ▮ SOMEDAY____
♛⊹ with // Flash...Something or other?____♛⊹location // An abandoned shop____♛⊹thoughts // I should at least know his hero name, if not his actual name, right?____♛⊹ ooc // x
So he was still angry. He probably would be for a while, and Vince couldn't really blame him. A perfect stranger essentially kidnapping him after giving him the "silent treatment" would be enough make most people angry. Vince was a little relieved that he got an answer to his question. He didn't like not having a name to put with his face. It made things easier this way. After a moment, Vince sat down as well, a few feet away from Graham, sitting cross-legged on the ground and resting his hands on his lap.
It amused him that Graham called him Flash Jr. Bethany called him the same thing. A light smirk tugged at his lips as he thought of the similarities between Graham and Bethany. Both called him Flash Jr, both had a very strong personality and weren't afraid to stand up for what they believed in, neither were afraid to throw punches if they needed to. It would be quite the sight, to see Bethany and Graham meet. Would they get along, or would they start arguing about something or other? Part of him wanted to find out, but the other part knew it would never happen. In order for Graham to meet Bethany, he will have to learn Vince's secret identity, and nobody knew that. "It's Kid Flash, technically," he said. "At least, that's what people call me. They all assume I work with the Flash." He never corrected them. He was sure that eventually Flash would catch up to him, but for the time being, he was going to keep avoiding him.
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Location ;;Central City - Empty store Enemies ;;x Allies ;;x Status ;;Healthy Energy ;;96% Thoughts ;;He knows about the secrecy involved with the costume? Does he know a hero? OOC ;;
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