At some point recently, Winter has started looking at her with a little more than adoration in her eyes, and this is a problem.
Cinder braces her hands on her knees and inspects the street below, counting heartbeats inbetween steps. She can just about see Emerald’s head moving through the crowd, slow and unsteady — and Mercury behind her, doing a lot better at acting casual. She’s done her best to make sure they aren’t implicated in her next string of crimes. She might be heartless, but she doesn’t want the cops to notice accomplices.
This is what she’s doing when the air stills behind her.
Cinder stands up to her full height, propping her hands on her hips. Winter has never been the most subtle of superheroes. The temperature on the rooftop has already dropped noticeably; even if she wasn’t so dramatic, Cinder would have spotted her anyway.
“Good afternoon,” she says without turning. Taking her eyes off Em and Mercury wouldn’t be the end of the world, but she’d prefer not to leave them to their own devices. They always perform better when they know Cinder’s watching.
The point of Winter’s sword taps against the concrete. It would be immensely stupid of her if it wasn’t reinforced with g-d knows what. “Evening, technically.”
“Voice distorter again?”
“Fuck you.”
Cinder grins at the crowd below, at Emerald stopping and redirecting a family with a pair of twins away from the site. Mercury’s head tips up; he rolls his eyes at Cinder on the roof like the two of them are bonded in exasperation. She would have missed it if not for the scanners on the inside of her helmet. “That’s for later, babe. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
Winter clears her throat. It sounds weird and clipped inside the voice distorter. There’s no point to it, really; Cinder already knows everything about her. “We intercepted your communications with your accomplices.” Ah, shit. “Foolishly, I thought I could come up here and talk you out of it.”
“Mm. Heroic. Would you mind turning the temperature up a little bit? It’s freezing up here.”
“It’s for my own benefit,” Winter says. Cinder turns to look at her, catches the implicit threat in every line of her body: her sword held low over the ground, her head angled up high behind the helmet. The sunlight catches the surface, revealing the sharp blue of her eyes. “I don’t like negotiating hostage deals in thirty degree heat.”
That rankles her pride a little bit. Cinder lets her weapon form in her hand, firing the same threat back. The bowstring rests against the inside of her forearm, hot and familiar, and she catches Winter’s eyes flicking to it as she tilts her head in acknowledgement. “What makes you think there are going to be hostages?”
Winter shrugs. “I know how you work.”
“No you don’t. I’m an enigma. I’m different.”
“Different,” she echoes. If not for the distorter, it could almost be fond. “Well, we’ll see, won’t we?”
The lip of the roof is only a few steps away. The monitors in her suit tell her she could make the fall if she’s quick about it. “We will see,” she says, defiant, “and we can have a nice long chat after you catch me.”
“Oh, after. Interesting.”
Cinder flashes her a grin. “That’s half the point, darling.” She steps backward and springs off the roof, and Winter’s panicked voice disappears into so much smoke and wind behind her.
FILL: Team Anime/Manga
At some point recently, Winter has started looking at her with a little more than adoration in her eyes, and this is a problem.
Cinder braces her hands on her knees and inspects the street below, counting heartbeats inbetween steps. She can just about see Emerald’s head moving through the crowd, slow and unsteady — and Mercury behind her, doing a lot better at acting casual. She’s done her best to make sure they aren’t implicated in her next string of crimes. She might be heartless, but she doesn’t want the cops to notice accomplices.
This is what she’s doing when the air stills behind her.
Cinder stands up to her full height, propping her hands on her hips. Winter has never been the most subtle of superheroes. The temperature on the rooftop has already dropped noticeably; even if she wasn’t so dramatic, Cinder would have spotted her anyway.
“Good afternoon,” she says without turning. Taking her eyes off Em and Mercury wouldn’t be the end of the world, but she’d prefer not to leave them to their own devices. They always perform better when they know Cinder’s watching.
The point of Winter’s sword taps against the concrete. It would be immensely stupid of her if it wasn’t reinforced with g-d knows what. “Evening, technically.”
“Voice distorter again?”
“Fuck you.”
Cinder grins at the crowd below, at Emerald stopping and redirecting a family with a pair of twins away from the site. Mercury’s head tips up; he rolls his eyes at Cinder on the roof like the two of them are bonded in exasperation. She would have missed it if not for the scanners on the inside of her helmet. “That’s for later, babe. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
Winter clears her throat. It sounds weird and clipped inside the voice distorter. There’s no point to it, really; Cinder already knows everything about her. “We intercepted your communications with your accomplices.” Ah, shit. “Foolishly, I thought I could come up here and talk you out of it.”
“Mm. Heroic. Would you mind turning the temperature up a little bit? It’s freezing up here.”
“It’s for my own benefit,” Winter says. Cinder turns to look at her, catches the implicit threat in every line of her body: her sword held low over the ground, her head angled up high behind the helmet. The sunlight catches the surface, revealing the sharp blue of her eyes. “I don’t like negotiating hostage deals in thirty degree heat.”
That rankles her pride a little bit. Cinder lets her weapon form in her hand, firing the same threat back. The bowstring rests against the inside of her forearm, hot and familiar, and she catches Winter’s eyes flicking to it as she tilts her head in acknowledgement. “What makes you think there are going to be hostages?”
Winter shrugs. “I know how you work.”
“No you don’t. I’m an enigma. I’m different.”
“Different,” she echoes. If not for the distorter, it could almost be fond. “Well, we’ll see, won’t we?”
The lip of the roof is only a few steps away. The monitors in her suit tell her she could make the fall if she’s quick about it. “We will see,” she says, defiant, “and we can have a nice long chat after you catch me.”
“Oh, after. Interesting.”
Cinder flashes her a grin. “That’s half the point, darling.” She steps backward and springs off the roof, and Winter’s panicked voice disappears into so much smoke and wind behind her.