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Private/Closed Pi City - Condors

September 30th, 2021.

"Come on out! We just want to talk!"

Carlos, a tall thin man dressed liked your typical biker, stood in the middle of a four man squad, holding up his hand pistol next to his face and looking around the room. He seemed really confident, with a gleam in his eye and a cocky smirk under his bushy black mustache. They all seemed to be Latinos, but Carlos seemed a bit too white to fit in, if it weren't for his accent, nobody would probably know he was born in Chile.

"Come on little lady, you're trapped in here with us. Maybe we can make a deal." His smiled spread as the thought of blasting his target with all his bullets crossed his mind. "Not much of a hero if you keep hiding you know?"

There was no answer from the other side, which began to make the small group impatient. They had gathered to get a little boost. The warehouse they were in was a local place for that, everyone knew it. If you needed to hide from the city's eyes, you came into that place and walked out without any fear in your body and enough energy to power New York city. For some reason though, when Carlos and his group walked in, they were ambushed by some woman. To their luck, Carlos managed to shoot her, nothing serious, but gave them enough time to draw their weapons and caused for the intruder to back away and hide behind some crates and rusty old machines.

The rumors had spread about this girl who was going around attacking random gangs in The Ripples. At first it seemed she was working with the new Techno Prime, but an interview with the hero confirmed he had no idea who she was. Therefore, it was open season for her. Some had even placed a bounty on her, offering up to 40k for her body and some 50k if she was alive. This of course, was why Carlos wasn't emptying his cartage on her, yet.

Wintry leaned against an old engine, rubbing her right arm where the bullet had struck. She needed to be more careful, bruises in her body was a common thing now and she needed a clean skin for her photoshoots coming up. Now she had four men aiming their guns in her direction. To make it worse, they were blocking the only way out, which meant she had to get through them first, if she wanted to escape. She just needed a clear visual of them and a few seconds to get her ice around their bodies, but if she even tried to take a peek, the bullets started flying. She was stuck.

"Move in, slowly." Carlos whispered.

The four man squad began to move, two on the left and Carlos and another man on the right. They held their guns up, ready to start shooting at the first sight of their prey.
 
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“Why’d it have to be cocaine? Smoke some weed, hell do heroin. At least that’s slow them down. But no, they just had to do the one hard drug that gives them limitless energy.” Hugo grumbled to himself as he scrambled around the dimly lit streets of the ripple. He was still getting used to this whole “hero business” that had got thrust on him a few weeks ago. Up until now he had just been getting used to his new powers by helping out around campus at night, stopping a few muggings here and there, but as he honed his gifts his “soul radar’s” radius expanded and the spiritual screeches of suffering that haunted him at night pulled him farther into the slums of Pi City. If that was the end of it- a few more sleepless nights to help some more people in need- Hugo wouldn’t have felt any level of discontentment, but after tracking the pattern of a few overdoses he had found the suppliers.

Unfortunately, finding them turned out to be the easiest part. Sure, with the benefits of intangibility and the borrowed fighting skills of the legendary Bruce Lee, he had been able to make pretty quick work of any thug dumb enough to hang around to fight him for long, but the smart ones knew if they ran he wasn’t going to catch them all. He couldn’t bring the car his brother gifted him, not only was it his only means of transportation in real life that he couldn’t offered to lose, but the license plate would ruin his attempts at anonymity. And the scrappy flying machine prototype he had been working on with Da Vinci wasn’t able to take off on its own yet, he needed a high perch to take off from. He had been gifted with all the knowledge to become Batman but none of the money and resources, so alas, he found himself dressed in a black hoodie, face mask, and sunglasses sprinting through the night chasing a group of coke dealers who had decided to flee in all different directions.

“Why are you just running around? You are simply not fast enough to catch them. Use our machine!” The voice of the scientist rang in his head.

“False! He would be fast enough had he worn a tracksuit. They provide an optimal range of motion, comfort, and style. Victory is decided by preparation and he has failed.” The spirit of Bruce Lee countered.

“Shut up Bruce!” He shouted out loud, forgetting the voices were all in his head. “I’m sick of hearing about the tracksuits. I tried that yellow one once and all the criminals just laughed at me, it was humiliating.”

“That is because you did not wear it with confidence. Confidence is the key to fashion, and you have failed.”

“Okay okay, I get it. I failed, but I’d probably be a lot more confident if I caught these guys so if you help I’ll try the tracksuit again.”

“Promise?”

“YES! Now hurry up and give me some of that action movie wisdom. These guys are gonna get away.”

“Okay then I agree with Leonardo. You should use the flying machine.”

“Motherfu-” He hissed, getting only halfway through his cuss before he realized they were right. The truth was, he knew the machine was his only shot at catching them, but when he helped invent it he had imagined something more like a speed boosting device that let him cruise a safe distance above the ground, not something that basically just acted like a hang glider flying above buildings. It was truly a nightmare situation. Out of his eagerness to impress his heroes of the past, Hugo had assisted in the creation of a device that forced him to face his fear of heights so he wouldn’t seem like a coward to their ever lingering spirits.

“FINE I’LL USE THE FUCKING FLYING MACHINE!”

“Yay!” Da Vinci meekly cheered, his spiritual presence being diminished by Hugo’s rage as he began to begrudgingly climb the fire escape of a nearby building.

“Hi Hugo, wanna become a doctor? That’s great. How about you come work for my hospital, feel the burden of guilt for a cute little girl who’s dying that you can’t save. Bond with me over that guilt, become dependent on me, and then watch me die. Don’t worry though, you’ll hardly notice the crippling depression because of the super powers I decided to leave you with. Now you can be haunted by the tormented spirits of everyone around you AND you get to do the one thing you hate most and jump off buildings every night. Doesn’t that sound great!?” He sarcastically mimicked his deceased mentor Jame Peach on his way to the roof as a reminder for his motivation.

“Why yes doctor, I would love to do that! Could you also use it to ruin my love life. Things have been going a little too good for me since my Uncle died.” He responded as himself, making sure his own character sounded extra stupid. “Damn I’m such an idiot. Why couldn’t I just have worked somewhere else. It could’ve been ‘Hugo Holmes: businessman. Please let me introduce you to my trophy wife, ironically named children, and golden retriever.’ Or ‘Hugo Holmes: Attorney-at-law. I have been cleared on all charges regarding the murder of my first and second wives.’ Both those have a nice ring to it, but no I’m stuck with ‘Hugo Holmes: emotionally unstable nerd. Has to jump from fucking buildings at night.’ Ugh I hate this!”

Though his complaints and fantasies of alternate lives were soon forced to end as he found himself standing at the edge of the roof. Unencumbered by buildings blocking its path, the crisp autumn air sent a shiver down his spin to accompany the one he already felt from gazing down from seven stories up.

“Alright… where did those guys go?” He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began to search. Normally, Hugo was constantly barraged by the spiritual signals of the world around him. Those experiencing extreme emotions would hit him like a sharp scream, but the typical ones were perceived as little more than static background noise. However, when he focused in he could make out the unique differences that every living being had and could single them out in the same way one does by focusing on specific instruments in an orchestra. Having already had a run in with a few of the gang members, he had knew what specifically he was searching for, and as the symphony of the city’s spirits hit him he keyed into their specific rhythm.

“Got ya!” He locked onto a signal about 200 yards to the east, gaining a visual of a white line of his body jumping from rooftop to rooftop and demonstrating a wide variety of acrobatic skills. Damn, this guy knows parkour? No wonder I couldn’t catch him. I almost feels like he deserves to get away.

Though unfortunately for the criminal, “almost” wasn’t going to cut it. Hugo took one last glance at the ground, swallowed his fears, and jumped. He allowed himself free fall for a few seconds, picking up speed before pulling on a string that dangled from the small backpack he was wearing. The front of the pack unfolded and two spring-loaded wings made of synthetic cloth immediately popped out. Reaching back, he took hold of the handles attached to each wing and used it to alter the angle, rerouting his dive so he swooped upwards into the sky.

There wasn’t a hang gliding spiritual expert he could consult for help. The very few he encountered familiar with the activity died due to their inadequacy at it, and Hugo wasn’t about to trust them with control. Still, he wasn’t a master at flying himself. His fear of heights made his controls a bit shaky and his maneuverability left a bit to be desired, but thankfully none of that mattered. His link to the spirit realm gave him access to a phasing-like ability by warping him and chosen inorganic material into a place he called “the void.”

In order to enter purgatory- the place where he befriended the unsatisfied souls of his spiritual consultants- he had to lie down and enter a meditative state before his physical and spiritual body could separate. But when he quickly activated the ability, his physical and spiritual essence remained bound together and he would disappear in a puff of black smoke, being transferred to a world of darkness where his senses were extremely dampened. He didn’t fully understand the mechanics of it. Einstein had explained the physics of it to him in some terms he only partially understood, but the gist of it was that inertia was maintained for whatever his physical body had been doing and when he reformed his body would appear where it would have been had it continued its trajectory. If he was on a train, he would continue to move with it and reform at its final stop, and when he was flying towards a building he could avoid a crash and appear unharmed on the other side.

This meant he only had to worry about traveling in a straight line, conveniently cutting down his travel time. He watched monitored the pace and direction of the fleeing criminal and set himself on course for interception. They met on the roof of a warehouse, Hugo’s body suddenly coming into existence just to the side of man’s sprinting path. He allowed Lee’s spirit join him, granting him all of the expert’s martial arts knowledge. He stretched his arms out wide, alternating the angle of the wings with the torsion of his hips to optimize his torque and delivered a flying spin kick straight into the man’s chest.

Damn, that was badass. He smirked, feeling proud of himself despite the fact that none of the displayed expertise was to his own credit. Though, what he certainly deserved credit for was his severe miscalculation of the strength of the warehouse’s ceiling. A one inch punch from Lee was enough to shatter boards and knock a grown man off his feet, and apparently his flying kick was enough to send an adult flying through a roof.

With a loud crash, the two bursted through the sheet metal and began spiraling down. Hugo stretched his wings out once more, slowing his descent; however, the criminal was knocked unconscious from the kick and was on course for a messy landing. Crap! I can’t let him die.

Hugo hated helping criminals. He would’ve loved to be able to let the street trash fall to his death as payment for all the people he had hurt, but the nagging presence of his healer instincts told him he could never call himself a doctor if he willingly let a person die.

Shit! He preemptively cursed himself out, already regretting the actions he knew he was about to take. Instead of slowing his fall, he pivoted his wings into a dive. He knew there was no hope if he simply tried to catch the man, his wings were connected to his arms so if he was holding onto a body they would continue to fall all the same, the only difference being that Hugo would die as well. His best bet was to wait until the last moment and redirect their momentum.

Hugo raced to the ground, arriving just seconds before the flailing man. In the same swooping motion he used for takeoff, he spread his wings and cruised hardly a foot above the concrete floors. Come on, come on. Make it in time! He gritted his teeth and chased the body, timing his catch right with the moment his path began to arc upwards. This allowed him to directly counter some of the falling force in the y direction and channel the speed so it was moving at a sideways angle; however, he knew it wasn’t going to be enough to protect them completely. He pulled the man close, allowing his wings to wrap around them both like a cocoon. When they finally did hit the ground, the shield of wings allowed them to roll, letting the duo tumble to a halt without incurring any fatal damage.

“ughhhhhhh.” Hugo groaned, stretching his arms out and pulling the string once more so his wings folded back into his pack. “Definitely a few cracked ribs, probably a concussion, and I’m definitely gonna have whiplash tomorrow. What do you think Doc?” He asked the spirit of his deceased mentor.

“Sounds about right. Just be thankful it’s not worse.” The voice of the esteemed doctor James Peach replied.

“How’s the other guy?”

“Looks about the same, though he’ll also have a pretty nasty chest bruise.”

“Perfect.” Now feeling pretty beat up, Hugo was content to be finished for the night. He could always catch the other guys a different day, but for now, he just wanted to lie still.

“HEY GET UP! THERE ARE MORE OF THEM IN HERE!” The voice of another deceased acquaintance sent a jolt through Hugo. It was Elvis. Not the Elvis, Elvis Elric. That one tech genius a handful of science kids including Hugo admired growing up.

“Great… perfect. This is awesome.” He grumbled, rubbing his head as he stumbled to his feet. Going from coursing adrenaline during the fall to a dazed induced by the landing, Hugo hadn’t even noticed the spirits of the five armed individuals whose attention he had just grabbed.

He threw his now cracked sunglasses on the floor to get a clearer visual of the group. They definitely didn’t look like there were from around there, and one particular man gave an air of someone far more important than the grunt Hugo knocked out while the others stood around him.

“Damn Bruce. Why’d you have to kick him so hard? Look what you got me into now.” He complained in a whisper, noting the barrels of guns pointed at his chest.

“If it was a tracksuit it would’ve been even harder.” Lee responded.

“That’s not the point dude. Now we gotta fight five people and I’m already hurting.”

“There’s only four. And even without a tracksuit we can definitely handle them.”

Wait what?
He glanced at the group 1 2 3 4… where’s the fifth one? I definitely sense five people.

“THAT’S THE ISSUE YOU DIMWIT!”
Elric’s spirit shouted once more. “Obviously I’m not concerned about these people, you can literally let the bullets go through you, but someone back there is wearing my tech! You need to catch them!”

“Four bad guys wasn’t enough, I gotta fight a super tech warrior too? You guys seriously need to stop being so kind, it’s not even my birthday.”

His sarcasm was a sign that he had finally come to terms with reality. He limped a few steps to the side to make sure the unconscious man’s body was far enough away to not get caught in the cross fire.

“Hola!” He waved at the quartet, exercising the extent of his Spanish knowledge while he attempted to sound less hurt than he was. “Me llamo..." He trailed off, realizing he had no way of ending the sentence.

Huh, I guess I haven't given myself a cool name yet. Anyone got suggestions?

Peach was the first to offer his input. "The Spirit Guardian"

Nah, that's too "good guy superhero" I feel like I'm more of a vigilante.

"Vigilante!"
Chimed in Einstein.

Are you just repeating what I said? Well, I guess you weren't known for writing.

"The Messenger of Tartarus and Arbiter of Sins."

What the actual fuck. That's awful. Who invited Poe?

"Tracksuit man!"

Shut up Bruce.


It was clear the spirits weren't going to be any help. None of them were even close to current with their sense of "cool." Come on, what gets the message across?
~
His mind traveled back to the third week of class, just as rumors of his nightly crime fighting were starting to become something of a folktale around campus. That Monday morning's organic chemistry class happened to have occurred right after a particularly eventful weekend where he stopped a crazed man running around with a machete right outside every drunk student's favorite 24/7 taco joint. He had handled things pretty quick, but one girl livestreaming her own reaction to thinking she was about to get killed caught a video of Hugo's escape in the background where he disappeared in a puff of black smoke. Needless to say, the mysterious crime fighter had become a topic of conversation.

"Did you hear about that guy." Isabel, the girl he had met at the party before classes started whispered as she took a seat next to him.

"No, what guy?" He feigned ignorance, interested in hearing her interpretation.

"Wow, you really do live under a rock. Supposedly there's this guy running around campus fighting muggers and stuff. Last night outside Marco's he stopped this crazy guy and then just disappeared. I wouldn't believe it if it wasn't for the video, it's like he's some type off guardian angel, or I don't know, maybe a ...."
~
That's it! Hugo's eyes lit up with excitement, he had settled on the perfect name. He pulled his hood back over his head and began rolling up his sleeves. Me llamo... He couldn't help but smirk beneath his name as the word escaped his lips

"Ghost."
 
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G was waiting for an opportunity, just anything that would allow her to freeze her enemies and get the information she needed from them. Just a few seconds, that is all she asked for. Just like a miracle, her answer fell from the sky. With the armed men focused on the new arrival, Wintry peeked from her safe spot. She had no idea what she was looking at, but some winged man saved someone from crashing to their death.

Ghost? Wintry rolled her eyes, must have been one of Long's new superheroes. Who else would come up with such a dumb name? She crawl to the side of her shelter, watching as the crooks who were shooting at her had now opened fire on the new intruder. The opportunity she was looking for. She placed her hands firmly on the ground and sent an ice path from her spot spreading towards the rest of the warehouse floor.

"Why are my bullets not hitting him?!" Carlos shouted, followed by a loud yelp as he slipped and fell on his back.

He attempted to get back up, but his arms and legs were quickly covered up by thick ice, keeping him nailed to the floor. He looked around as the other guy who was with him had ice running up to his neck, keeping him immobilized. The other two were still busy shooting at the one who called himself Ghost, while Wintry's ice spread towards them.

I don't know what technology allows you to phase like that, but if you're touching the ground at least, my ice should be able to get you.
 
"Oh cool, she must be that ice girl from tv. Guess that we don't have to fight these guys." Hugo spoke to Lee, watching in awe as the figure of a woman dressed in advanced technology began to freeze the gang. Though, despite his admiration, he couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous.

Damn, her hood and googles are sick. I need some cool tech.

“The same level of coolness could be achieved with a tracksuit.”

I honestly can’t tell if you’re serious or just trying to be funny.

“Who says it can’t be both… Watch out!”


In the midst of their quarrel, Hugo hadn’t noticed the ice that was creeping towards him. Just before it could grab hold of his foot, he jumped backwards out of the way.

What’s her deal? Why is she attacking me!?

“Weren’t you planning on fighting her for Elric’s tech anyway?”

Yeah but that’s not the point! She didn’t know I was going to do that, she’s just attacking me for no reason. What a jerk!
He huffed, completely ignorant to his own hypocrisy. Well if she wants a fight, that’s what she’s gonna get. He began to charge towards the girl, jumping above the incoming ice and allowing his body to vanish into the void. He traveled through the darkness and appeared again once he had found himself behind her exposed back.

This’ll show you. Hugo planted one foot on the ground which he then used to spring off of and propel into a spinning kick aimed at the girl’s head.

“WAIT! DON’T HURT HER!”

What!?
Mere moments before contact, Elric’s voice echoed throughout his skull. It was too late for him to stop the motion of his kick, but he managed to quickly activating his phasing and allow the strike to harmlessly pass through her.

What the hell was that about!? He interrogated the spirit as he landed a bit off balanced, crouching down and using an arm to support himself. First you tell me to attack her and now I can’t hurt her, what’s going on?

A feeling of sadness emanated from the spirit, and Hugo felt as if the deceased man’s eyes were beginning to water.

“I’m sorry, but that’s… that’s my daughter.”

HUH!?
Hugo froze. His daughter? But that didn’t make any sense. He had met Elric’s daughter at a party about a month ago. She was a streamer for some video game and definitely not the superhero type, but then again, neither was he. Remembering that night he did recall a strange air about her, like she was burdened with some secret, similar to how he had been ever since he got his powers.

He still remained poised to fight, but his muscles subconsciously began to relax as he began to believe Elric’s words. Looking up at the masked face he said the only thing he could think of that could answer his questions.

“Elizabeth?”
 
Wintry watched as the man who had dropped in disappeared. Camouflage? Her ice should've still captured him though. She stood up and prepared herself, feeling the frost around her hands starting to build up while her suit increased the temperature to keep her warm. A cold chill went down her spine suddenly and the corner of her eye caught the attention of the man now next to her. Teleportation? She quickly created a thick club made of ice and turned to face the man crouching down. She raised the club over her head, ready to strike him when...

"Elizabeth?"

Wintry stopped her attack, he knew her name? Was it him? Was this the person that had been following her, sending her messages, torturing her psychologically this whole time? Who else would know who she is?

"It's about time you show your face, stalker!" She gripped the ice made weapon and swung down towards Ghost's face.
 
The guess turned about to be correct, the masked heroine standing in front of him was certainly Elizabeth Elric. Unfortunately, it seemed that Ghost wasn’t the only person privy to this information. The second he spoke her name, Hugo immediately sensed a shift in her spirit from the typical aggression that accompanied a fight to one of pure hatred and notes of fear.

“Stalker?” He questioned, but the girl had no intention of exchanging words. It was clear that he had stumbled into the midst of a bigger threat beyond the gang members. He didn’t have time to dodge the incoming strike, opting again to phase away so the attack would pass right through him.

CRACK!

A chill ran down his spine as the club shattered against the cement floor, leaving a sizable crater in the wake of its fury. Dude, your daughter is nuts. That could’ve killed me!

That’s my girl! Get him!” Elric cheered, oblivious to the imminent danger his host was in.

Not to ruin your daddy-daughter reunion but if she kills me you’ll lose your only link. Help me calm her down!

Unencumbered by her first attack missing, she immediately replaced the shattered club with a frozen sword and followed up with an upward-diagonal slash.

Hugo jumped back, the extreme cold of her blade forming bits of frost across his clothes as he narrowly avoided a chilly removal of his guts. So I’m not allowed to hurt her, I’m in no condition to run, and she’s trying to kill me cause she thinks I’m some crazy stalker. What the hell am I supposed to do!?

His first thought was to remove his mask and reveal that they had met before, though beyond compromising his secret identity he didn’t feel seeing a familiar face would exactly dismiss the stalker concerns, if anything it’d just affirm them.

Come on Elric, give me something I can use. I’m running on empty.

“Just tell her you know me.”


“Don’t worry, I’m not a stalker. I’m friends with your dad!” Flustered by fast paced action he didn’t realize how insane that sounded until he finished saying it. Rightfully so, the claim of knowing her deceased father did nothing to calm her nerves and a volley of icicle needles was shot at Hugo’s chest.

Friends with her dad!? What kinda stupid plan was that? He gritted his teeth as another would’ve-been fatal attack passed through him. You’re dead! She’s not just gonna believe I know you. Tell me things only you would know.

“She got her first period on December 30th 2011 and she ran into our bedroom crying because she thought it was a sign that the world was going to end in 2012.”

What the fuck, I’m not saying that.

“You asked for something only I would know!”

Yeah like a funny memory or something, not a period story! If she’s worried about me being some creep that’s the creepiest thing I could say. Give me something else!

“Okay, let me think.”


In the meantime, Ghost was fighting for his life as he dodged attack after attack, trying to explain himself in-between phases to the void.

“Listen, I know it sounds crazy.” Sccccrrrrrrreeekkkk. An ice blade scrapped a metal pipe that lied behind the boy.

“But I can talk to dead people.” BAM! Another club shattered, leaving a huge dent in a pillar.

“Your dad, he’s been helping me out. He wanted me to make sure you’re okay.” pt pt pt. A barrage of ice shot into the sheet metal walls.

“Tell her about our trips to McDonald’s! She used to love going there with me.”

“I know you love McDonald’s cause your dad used to take you there.”

“Lucky guess.” She coldly replied. It seemed his words were only enraging her further and a javelin of ice appeared in her hands.

Shit! Hugo attempted to dive to the side as she hurled it at him, though a bone chilling Crack stopped him in his tracks. But this time it wasn’t the ice cracking. As he pushed off his right leg, a the damage that he must’ve endured during his fall pushed his body beyond the stress it could take and his knee popped out of his socket, causing him to stumble with a shout of pain. When he realized he couldn’t run any further, he tried to enter the void but the stinging pain prevented him from focusing enough to do so, thus allowing the back of his calf to get sliced by the spear.

Damn that stings! He hissed and tumbled to the ground, the cold giving a burning sensation. It wouldn't be a severe injury if it had time to heal, but with the girl walking towards him the loss of mobility could prove fatal.

Come on Elric, tell me you got something.

“Oh… I got it! Call her snowflake.”

Snowflake? What’s that mean?

“Just trust me.”

Uh alright. Guess I don’t have many other options.
Hugo allowed himself to collapse, taking pressure off of his wounded leg and raising his hands as a gesture of innocence. “Look, I really don’t mean any harm. I was just tracking down some drug dealers and ended up here… snowflake.”
 
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Wintry stood in front of her fallen victim. She had to get rid of him, to get her life back together. No mercy. She had driven her crazy for far too long and it was all about to end. She created a long golf club like stick and like a professional aimed it at his head. She prepared her swing, pulling the weapon back and over her head. She took a deep breath as she prepared to swing and then he said the magic word.

Snowflake.

For some reason it stopped her mid swing, the icy club stopping about an inch or two from Ghost's face. Maybe it was the way he said it or the fact that he knew that name, that made her mind link everything he had been saying before. There was no way no stalker in the world would know about that. Not even her mom used that name on her...

"How?" Was the first thing that her mind managed to spit out.

The weapon disappeared as Wintry took a few steps back. "How do you-" She stopped herself, her mind wasn't convinced, but her heart was. "Who, who told you that?"

She needed answers, but she needed a secure place first. With fear in their eyes, the trapped men watched as ice covered them completely, leaving just enough for them to breath. Wintry turned her attention back to the injured man in front of her. She pressed her hand against the wall and created a small room around them. She reached for her helmet and took it off, letting it drop to the ground as her sleep deprived eyes set on Ghost.

"It's obvious you know too much about me, Who are you?" She raised her hand and aimed her palm at him, ready to freeze everything around them if he attempted anything else. "One false move and I swear, you'll never walk again."
 
Seeing Elizabeth again was shocking. He hadn’t forgotten what she looked like, after all, she had made quite the impression at the party. But something was different and it wasn’t just that now she was in a position to kill him. She looked unwell, like a patient he might see in the psychiatry ward. Her hair seemed to have lost some of its luster. Her skin lacking pigment, losing some of its youthful allure. But most of all, her blue eyes had lost their spark, reminding him of his own after nights plagued by worries for patients.

He could sense that she was no longer a threat. Pity had replaced fear. Every instinct of his told him to pull down his mask and comfort her as a friend, but he knew that wasn’t an option. So, instead of doing what his gut told him, he recalled the memory of Peach rand attempted to ease the tension with a bit of playful humor.

“What’re you, iron man?” He nodded to her outstretched palm with a smirk. “Don’t worry, I’m not a threat. Even if I was, you just froze four guys bigger than me so I don’t think there’s much to worry about.”

Slowly, he lowered his arms to roll up his pant leg, careful not to move fast enough to trigger any rash reactions as he exposed the cut. “You should really listen more carefully to the people you’re trying to kill. I already told you my name’s Ghost. You know, I'm something of a superhero myself.”

He hoped his second superhero reference would be enough to calm her down a bit more. He grabbed a role of gauze from his pack and got to work dressing his wound.

“I guess vigilante would be more accurate though. I do have a super power though. See turns out a little while ago I mostly died, which severed my personal barrier between the physical and spiritual worlds.” He hesitated for a moment. He didn’t like revealing the nature of his power but it was necessary sacrifice to gain her trust, and this was the far preferable alternative to revealing his identity. “It let’s me do that phasing stuff you saw earlier but the coolest part is I can communicate with spirits of the dead, including your father.”

He paused once more, this time to gauge her reaction. “They give me access to a lot of cool skills and information, though sometimes it’s stuff I wish I could forget like why you thought the world was going to end in 2012.”
 
Wintry took loud and fast breaths as she kept her eyes on Ghost. She didn't blink, not once, while she listened to him talk. She was trying, she really was, to understand why on earth he wasn't taking his mask off. However, the tough act slowly disappeared as she heard his last comment.

"What?" She said while her eyes got teary and a smile broke into her lips. "You talk to my dead dad and he told you that?"

She began to laugh, a laugh as if she had lost her mind at first and then the laugh of someone who had long awaited to feel relieved. She wiped the tears from her eyes, but kept covering them with her forearm.

"Ghost, you're what the rumors are about." She looked up finally, as if the clarity of her mind was something on the warehouse ceiling. "Ghost." She finally looked at him again, with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry." She leaned against the wall and slowly slid down, until she was sitting down while resting her head on her knees. "Why didn't you dodge? You're the worst ghost in the world." She shot him a smile, trying to make light of the face that she almost killed him.

"I still think the talking to the dead is bullshit. Who sent you? Long? Techno Prime? Your technology must be from them, which explains why you know so much about me."
 
“Yeah… I’m still new to this whole crime fighting thing. I tried to dodge but I must’ve hurt my leg during the fall so I slipped, and I’m not used to these powers enough yet to use my ‘ghost’ thing unless I have a clear head.” He chuckled at his own short comings, he really did feel like a rookie. “But hey, you gotta give me some credit. I dodged all the attacks before that and you were going for the kill. All things considered I’d say a messed up leg isn’t a bad consolation. Anyway, you can believe whatever you want, that doesn’t make it less true. I’m not here telling you that you aren’t a walking snow cone when all the evidence would point straight to it… give me just one sec.”

He used his mouth to tear off the end of the gauze and finished one last wrap. Content with his first aid work at dressing the wound, he knew there was only one thing left to do. His eyes drifted to his mangled knee that laid sorrily out of socket. Damn it, this is gonna hurt.

He stuffed some leftover bandages in his mouth, acting as a gag for his inevitable clench and scream. He positioned a hand on either side of of his kneecap, careful to line it up with the utmost precision. After taking one last glance he closed his eyes and…

CrrrPop!

“grrrrrRRRAHHHHH” Hugo’s muffled roar of pain still rang throughout the little ice box as he slide his knee back into socket, though after a few moments of excruciating torture, he began to feel better. Slowly, he started to stand up, grimacing as he tested putting weight on his right foot. It was far from comfortable but he figured he’d be able to walk just enough to get home.

“Sorry about that.” He spoke to the girl, trying to casually play off his orthopedic procedure as if he was never hurt. “But yeah, I don’t know any of those people. As far as I’m concerned, no ‘tech’ can just teleport matter to a new plane of existence and bring it back on a whim. The only tech I have is these shitty wings I built, you’re the one with the cool suit.”
 
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Wintry flinched while watching Ghost place his knee back in place. She began to feel bad for what she had done, if it weren't for the criminals she was facing...

"Look, we can figure this out, by that I mean you tell me how you actually got that information and you won't have to fix your knee again, but I have to ask the other guys some questions first."

She placed her helmet back on and stood up, giving the man one last look before bringing the ice around them down. She took a few steps stretching her right arm as she prepared to interrogate the three captured men. Three?

"We're missing two." She spoke out loud as she approached Carlos, lowering the ice so he could speak. "Where did they run off to?"

Carlos, shivering, put on a sly smile. "Th-th-they went f-f-f-for bbback up."

Wintry placed her right hand on top of his head. "Listen. You probably noticed I can freeze stuff, anything really. Can you imagine what would happen if I freeze what's inside of you?"

"Fuck y-y-y"

"Shhhhh. Don't talk, let's here it from an expert." She turned towards Ghost. "You seem smart, tell him, what would happen if I start freeze what's inside of him."

"I-I-I won't t-t-talk."

She pressed his head with her hand, which seems to cause panic in the man's face. "I wasn't talking to you." Again she turned to Ghost. "If you were to get frostbite, what would be the worst place you could get it?"

"Screw you! I-I-I can't, th-th-they will k-kill me!"

"Shhhhh, I didn't say you could talk!" She pressed her other hand against his mouth. "Now, frostbite, Ghost, where should we start?"

Carlos attempted to screen, shaking his head and his panicked eyes resting on Ghost, who seemed to hold his fate on his hands.
 
“Um… I mean I got an idea but if I were you I wouldn’t wanna touch him there. No point in inflicting pain if it’s part pleasure.” Hugo attempted to hide the slight hesitance in his voice beneath the joke. His persona may have been one of a fearsome ghost in the night, but he wanted to be a protector. Interrogation was a necessary step, but torture? He wasn’t a fan.

Still, he wasn’t about to just let Carlos of the hook and he wanted to build some trust with the girl, she could prove to be an asset in the future and her stalker case sounded like something interesting to investigate later. If someone as influential as her could be targeted, what could happen to him?

“Let me take care of this.” He limped forward, replacing Wintry and placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Just… uh, watch my back and don’t freak out, sometimes I zone out while I do this.”

He closed his eyes and focused on interpreting the subtleties of Carlos’s spirit. It wasn’t as perfect of a science as mind reading, Hugo could only read the essence of a person: echos of past trauma, seeds of fear, roots of ambition, and from these fragments of their soul he could piece together the bigger picture.

Addiction, abuse, aggression, isolation, insecurity… hopelessness. Hugo hated doing this at first, it humanized the enemies in a way that inhibited his actions; however, after he read his own soul and found equivalent trauma he resolved his character of Ghost to a single conclusion: being evil is a choice. Everyone has a reason to go bad, it just depends on what you decide.

Still though, the doctor within him couldn’t help but feel sympathetic. Carlos has undergone a lot of trauma, stemming from abuse of what he assumed to be a father figure. Knowing the criminals pain made it so much harder to take the next step and use that pain against him. He identified every negative emotion within Carlos and adapted them into himself, altering his spiritual presence into an agglomeration of Carlos’s deepest fears and sorrows. Physically, Hugo hadn’t changed, he still looked like a boy dressed in black with a limp leg, but he felt different- almost haunting. He placed a finger on Carlos’s forehead and began his interrogation.

“YOU USELESS TRASH” Though Hugo didn’t speak, a demonic voice boomed within Carlos’s mind.

“Father?!” The blast of fear that rippled throughout the thug’s eyes confirmed Hugo’s technique was working. He had captured the essence of everything Carlos feared, the essence of his father.

“DO NOT CALL ME THAT! NOTHING BRINGS ME GREATER SHAME THAN KNOWING I BROUGHT YOU INTO THIS WORLD. LOOK AT YOU, CAPTURED BY SOME NOBODIES AND STILL FEARING FOR YOUR LIFE. DO YOU THINK THEY’LL HAVE MERCY ON YOU? YOU HAVE FAILED IN THE SIMPLEST OF TASKS. YOU HAVE NOWHERE TO CALL HOME. WHY DO YOU FEAR DEATH WHEN YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO LIVE AT ALL!?”

“But father!” Carlos wept, tears streaming down his face. “I don’t want to die. What should I do?”

“STUPID BOY, IF YOU FEAR DEATH THEN TELL THEM WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW. PERHAPS THEY WILL HAVE MERCY WHEN THEY SEE HOW PATHETIC YOU ARE AND PROTECT YOU, BUT WITHOUT THEM YOUR ALLIES WILL SOON SEE YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN TRASH AND TAKE CARE OF YOU THEMSELVES!”
 
Wintry took a step back to let Ghost have access to the man. She watched, somewhat astonished and maybe a bit scared, while the man began talking to someone else, someone that wasn't in the room but it felt like he was. She couldn't help but look around, expecting to find someone else in there, but there wasn't. She watched as the man began to break down in tears, until his eyes darted towards Wintry.

"I'll talk, I'll talk, just please stop!"

Wintry placed a hand on Ghost's shoulder, asking him to take a step back from the guy.

"Now, you've been in the ice for a while, to avoid permanent damage, I recommend you talk fast." She gave Ghost a quick look and then back to Carlos.

"Okay, okay." Carlos looked up, like sending a prayer before he began talking. "There's a bar in The South Ripples. It's called The Escape. There's a guy there, Fat Joe, who always arrives at 10:15 and stays for exactly 45 minutes. He's our dealer, we pay him, he brings it to us. That's all I can tell ya, I promise."

Wintry took a quick look at Ghost and then back at Carlos. "You could've made this a lot more easier you know? The cops will be here in about ten minutes, you might catch a cold." Before he could start complaining, she sealed his mouth and pushed him backwards, the thug landed with a loud thud! "So, Ghost, do you still have time to go for a drink or is it past your bedtime?"
 
“Woah haha, sorry. Something I get a bit too in character.” Hugo chuckled to Wintry as she pulled him away. It seemed the job was accomplished. Carlos gave them a lead that would be plenty helpful, and while the girl seemed perhaps a bit too harsh for Hugo’s taste he couldn’t deny that she definitely got results.

“You know, I’d love to but I don’t think I’d be much help tonight.” He gestured to his wounded leg, his first aid had prevented it from getting any worse but he’d still need a bit of time to recover.

“Anyway, it was fun teaming up. If you need help with that stocker situation or anything else… I don’t know, send up a bat signal or something.” Ghost waved goodbye and vanished with a puff of smoke, only to resurface again when he was safely in his bed.
 
September 30th, 2021.

Wintry clenched her fists while Hugo disappeared. So many questions were left and he didn't even have the courtesy to give her a chance to ask them. She shook heard head, still feeling the odd sensation she had felt when she had touched Ghost before. Was it technology or was the guy really a ghost? It was difficult to tell, specially with her mind so tired, she wouldn't be surprised if she woke up and it was all a dream. Wintry took one last look at the place, once again leaving a room full of ice, and then left.

September 30th, 2021. 10:32 pm, The Ripples, "The Escape".

Wintry at the famous bar, known for their pina coladas, which were considered the best in the city. The place was mixed with bikers, your typical street homie and some posers of one of the two. She had decided to watch from afar, since having G suddenly appear in a bar in The Ripples could lead to some smart people connecting the dots. As far as G's fans knew, she was taking a week off to catch up to her studies and promised a 5 hour stream when she returned. For now, Wintry sat at the edge of an abandoned convenience store. She had no idea who this Fat Joe character was, but she figured sooner or later it would be obvious to her. What kind of stupid name is Fat Joe? Maybe I should change mine to Pretty Elizabeth. I guess Crood would be High Crood or Stinky Crood. I really need more friends...

Wintry's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of men laughing. Outside the bar a big man, wearing a bright red jumpsuit and gold chains around his neck, was surrounded by a few others with a similar taste in fashion. The red jumpsuit man handed everyone a few items, too small to see from Wintry's point of view, but the man rapidly placed them away in their coat pockets and headed into the bar. The man adorned with gold chains took out a cigar lit it and began puffing away while looking at his phone.

I swear if that's not Fat Joe, then I am off my game. Wintry stood up, frost swirling around her as she prepared to launch and attack.

"Damn, it's cold tonight." Fat Joe said, before feeling a hard object smash to the side of his face before passing out.
 
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