Crashing Comet [Open]

[Deleted]

Charlie hummed to herself a tune she had been working on for quite sometime. It was upbeat and matched her mood quite well. She was rather surprised at how unguarded the upper class of Jump City were. With their fancy designer suits and shoes they were spotted quite easily by Charlie’s trained eyes. Going to school with rich kids really paid off when picking real from knock-off. She bumped into an older gentleman yelling at the iPhone in his hand and spirited away the wallet resting inside his jacket pocket. With a quiet giggle she slipped into a dark alley and ducked behind a dumpster.

She pulled the wallets out of her jacket pocket. There were seven in total and all were made of very expensive leather. A nice haul from the three or four she would get in Star City. “The pawn shops are gonna love these!” Charlie sang and started pulling the bills from them. The cards went into the other pocket to be shredded later because nothing good came from stolen plastic. They lead to tracking and were canceled way to fast.

Man she wished she had a partner, someone to accidentally spill coffee on a mark to distract them. Or a really beautiful one to ‘trip’ and catch the attention of a male mark. Charlie shrugged and pulled up her black aviator mask. Flight practice was about to start!

With her head down and face covered by her hood, Charlie walked out of the alley and glanced up every so often to find a mark. When she found the type she was looking for her heart picked up it’s pace. She smiled and harshly bumped into the undercover cop and sloppily stole both the man’s badge and wallet. He turned and made to grab her arm but Charlie was too quick. With impressive speed she bolted down the sidewalk, the undercover cop right behind.

Laughing, she turned into an alleyway that ended with a large brick wall. Her feet skidded to a stop and she stood there catching her breath. “Alright kid, come quietly and I won’t say you stole my badge and wallet,” said the cop.

Charlie laughed, “Yea, we don’t want you to get embarrassed at the precinct.” She turned to see the officer making to reach for his gun. Oh her heart was going a mile a minute and the feeling of getting away was starting to rise. “Hey now. I’m unarmed! Can’t pull a weapon on an unarmed girl,” she started bouncing up and down. “You can always tell the boys you got robbed by...” she posed with her right fist above her and her left hand on her hip. “THE BLACK COMET!” She shouted before turning toward the brick wall and jumping to impossible heights up and over it.

She expected it to be a building but was surprised to find herself falling. The feeling of getting away was now replaced with the feeling of fear. With a scream she came flailing down to the ground and luckily (kinda) crashing into some poor passerby. Spilling wallets and cards, along with a police badge onto the sidewalk. “OW!”

[Gaunt]

It was a pretty typical day for Hellsmith. Wandering around town, not a care in the world. Being an immortal demon had its perks, and leisure time was definitely one of them. No need for food- although it was nice- a nice shelter where he could squat, enough endurance to live comfortably even in that wreck, and a little money from his weapons when he got bored. Or he could take what he wanted, that worked too.

And now pretty girls were literally raining from the sky. That one was new.

Brock dusted himself off, looking down at the girl. He'd tried to give a little when she hit him, but the poor thing had bounced right off his chest. He hoped he hadn't hurt her too much. That was one of the disadvantages of the whole superpower thing, it was pretty easy to hurt mundanes or even lesser supers by accident. He tried to avoid it, but not hurting people wasn't his strongest skill. He was empowered by a god of war, after all.

Brock knelt down, offering her a hand. He was in his human form, presentable but not by any means dressed up. His brown hair was a bit messy, and he was dressed in his usual tank top and shorts. It was starting to get a little chilly for that, but his endurance made it easier for him to handle, and Brock wanted to show off as late into the season as he could. "Whoa there, you alright?" he asked, helping her up.

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To find herself wishing she had actually crashed on the pavement was a new feeling for Charlie. She never thought someones chest could feel like a brick wall. With a quick assessment of her body she found her arm was merely bruised, badly bruised but only none the less. “Holy crap! What the hell are you made of!” She scolded the stranger after taking his hand to be helped up. After checking her mask/goggles to see if they were still in place she looked up and up glare at the stranger through the black tinted clear plastic.

“I would thank you for a softer landing but nooo, you had to be a freaking body builder!” Her small hands tried to push the big boy yet he didn’t budge an inch. “But yes I’m fine thanks for asking,” Charlie added and scratched her blonde head. Her hood had fallen down in the fall and she didn’t feel like putting it back up. With a huff she brushed off the dust and dirt she had collected in her fall.

She looked up at the brick wall she had super jumped over while bushing off her arms and then at the ground. “Gah! My score!” Charlie panicked and started picking up everything that had fallen from her pockets. When she counted the wallets the girl found she was one short. With a quick look around she saw the big lug was standing on it. Her trained eyes recognized the type and brand, she almost screamed.

Quickly she was on her feet and unsuccessfully trying to push the boy back. “Not the Renna USA Zip Around!!” Charlie shouted, it was just her luck that the most expensive wallet she had nabbed would be under the huge feet of some giant! “Move,” she gasped after trying different ways to push him away.

[Gaunt]

For some reason, his usual charms weren't working. Maybe it was because she'd bounced off of him like a tennis ball off a wall, but he wasn't sure. Maybe she was just in a bad mood, but he wasn't going to give up just yet. Mask aside, this one looked promising. He was blissfully ignorant of her glare, still thinking he had a decent shot.

Okay, now she was just confusing him. Brock stood there as she tried ineffectually to push him, still not quite wrapping his head around what was going on. "Sorry?" he said hesitantly, giving her a nervous smile. This girl sure was weird. At least she was alright, though. And blonde, he hadn't found a blonde girlfriend yet. This could be a new experience for him. "Good to hear." His smile got a little more confident now.

And just as quickly, he was confused again. She started flipping out, scrambling for a bunch of dropped wallets. Yep, she was weird all right. Most people only owned one wallet, maybe two. Maybe she was some kind of collector. His train of thought derailed again when she screamed. Brock covered his ears, taking a moment to notice that she was touching him again. Brock was almost thinking he was in luck when he realized she was trying to push him. He stepped back, letting her at the extra wallet. "Okay..."

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After retrieving the wallet from under his foot Charlie examined every zipper and pocket for damage. When she found no sign of scuffs or tears she sighed in relief and looked back to the stranger, “I would have totally beat you down if this was harmed.” She held it in front of his face, “I can get about five hundred bucks for this wallet alone!” With an exasperated huff she carefully stuffed it in her pocket with the rest of them. To be completely honest she didn't need the money, she had a trust fund but Charlie wanted to cut herself off from her parents for various reasons.

She looked around for a street sign to tell her where she was then back to the large boy. Once she actually looked at him Charlie thought he looked rather nice to look at. Messy brown hair, a square jaw and talk about muscles. It’s no wonder it hurt to land on him he was built like a football player. Charlie was about to ask if he played when she heard shouting from down the street and looked to see the cop whose badge she stole found a way around the wall. Wow talk about stubborn, she thought with a sigh. The guy must really want his badge back.

When he spotted her, Charlie cursed quietly and looked back at the boy she nicknamed Muscles. "Okay Muscles, so you've been spotted with me which means that guy," she jerked her thumb over her shoulder and at the very angry looking cop. "Will probably arrest you for being an accessory," Charlie glanced back to see he had stared running. "If you don't want that to happen then run," she said before taking his hand and trying to pull him with her she didn't want to feel guilty about getting some poor guy into trouble because of her. He seemed nice enough.


She looked back at him, "I suggest you follow me, unless you want to be arrested."

[Gaunt]

Brock held back a chuckle when she threatened to beat him down. With the way she had bounced off of him, they both knew that it was impossible, but it was a funny to think about. Brock wasn't used to anything remotely human being able to take on his new self, and it seemed downright laughable to him. He wasn't sure how she would get so much money for just a leather wallet, but then again the modern world was weird. Maybe it had pixie dust in it or something. Wait, were pixies even real?

He was about to ask when a wild cop appeared. That tended to be a little distracting. Hellsmith turned to face him, ready for a fight, when the girl started tugging him. Apparently, she wanted to run. He shrugged, chasing after her. This was actually pretty cool, now that he thought about it. On an adventure, running from the law with some strange girl. This was how quirky romantic comedies started. Maybe. He'd never really seen one, but he could guess.

"The name's Brock, but you can keep calling me muscles if you want." he said with a wink, running alongside her. The mysterious flying girl was keeping up a pretty good pace, but he could keep up with her. That whole immortal demon thing had its perks, and stamina was one of them. "What's your name?"

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When ever there was the feeling of a chase, Charlie couldn’t help but smile. Chases were always fun! The exhilaration spread through her body, her heart beating fast in her chest. The feeling of ‘getting away’ was shoved down when it started to surface. She didn’t want the game to end yet! And now that there was another player, it would be wrong to leave to guy on the ground. She was impressed that he was keeping up with her perhaps he had partner potential... Perhaps a test was in order?

She couldn’t help but giggle when he introduced himself, “You look like a Brock.” With a glance behind her shoulders she also gave a little intro, “I’m Ch-- I’m Black Comet!” This whole ‘secret identity’ thing was still new to her and Charlie had to remind herself that when the mask was on she had to call herself ‘Black Comet’. A fitting name for a girl who dresses in black and can fly, with a very large chance of hurtling to the ground... Maybe she should change it the Black Meteor...

"Anyway it's nice to meet you even if these are bad circumstances!" She laughed and picked up her pace. The police officer was starting to fall behind. Charlie was a little disappointed but she supposed it was fine since she had a straggler with her. "This way!" She shouted before an impressively sharp turn into an alley littered with trash cans of different sizes. With athletic skill she leap-frogged and hurdled over them without a single stumble. It was times like these Charlie was thankful for her past experiences in almost every sports team she could join, until she got bored.

"Woohoo! Keep up Muscles!"

[Gaunt]

The girl seemed to be enjoying the chase, and her smile was infectious. Hellsmith had a huge grin plastered across his face as he ran alongside her. She was athletic, able to easily outpace the donut-muncher as they ran through the backstreets. He wondered how long she could keep this up. She didn't seem to be tiring at all from their little romp.

"Thanks?" He was going to assume that was a compliment. Brock seemed like a strong, manly name after all, and her giggle was pretty encouraging. If things kept going this well, she might be girlfriend number... what was it again? Oh, who's keeping count anyway, the point is that she was cute and seemed interested. That was enough for Brock. He would go after any girl with a pulse, and even that was negotiable.

Ah, so she was doing the secret identity thing. He'd almost gotten her real name, he would have to try again when they had more privacy. Being chased by the cops isn't the best time to give out personal information. "Black Comet, huh? Pretty cool. I go by Hellsmith sometimes." Okay, so he'd given his civilian name and super name while being chased by the cops, but that didn't worry him too much. He could handle the cops just fine on his own. "I dunno, these are kinda fun circumstances. Maybe we could hang out some more after we ditch the third wheel?" He gave her another grin, flexing for her as she cheered him on. He wasn't sure if she was sincere or not, but he assumed yes.

[Deleted]

The run was starting to wear on her a little, but when she glanced back Charlie saw the cop still in view. Albeit he was a significant distance behind them, she wouldn’t doubt his determination like she did at one time. Luckily she managed to super jumped out of there before it got really out of hand. With another turn down a busy street the officer was lost in the bustling crowd. Charlie glanced back every now and then as she slipped by people, lifting a few more wallets from some Armani suits and Gucci bags before taking Brock’s hand and pulling him into a small alley.

“And with that he should be completely lost!” She said cheerfully. Charlie started digging behind some trash cans and pulled a very long bag out from under some newspapers. Carefully she transferred the empty wallets into the bag and emptied the full ones of cash and cards. Cash went to her pocket and card went into the trash. They’d be useless in a couple hours when people noticed their wallets were missing.

“Hellsmith huh?” She said looking back at Brock. “So are you another super or a norm with a nickname? Hellsmith is quite a name though, very medieval. Harris would have liked it,” Charlie flinched a little at the accidental mention of her brother. That was still a touchy subject even if she was the one to bring it up. 

“Alright, all that running’s made me hungry. I found a great place that sells Chile Cheese Fries nearby!” Charlie had a hop back in her step at the thought of food, especially when it was her favorite.

[Gaunt]

Brock was starting to wonder if he was really helping their escape. He was fast all right, but with his height and build he tended to stand out. When Black Comet led him into a crowd, he had an idea. Brock ducked, getting some odd stares but putting his head below the average head level. It was a little tricky following the slippery super through the mobstacle course, but he managed.

The dynamic duo ducked into an alley, and Brock could finally straighten up again. He was glad for that, even with his super-endurance his back was starting to complain about the posture. He stretched out a bit, letting off a series of satisfying snaps, crackles and pops from his spine. "Yeah, we're the escape champs." With his back sorted out, he was starting to take some notice of his surroundings. Comet had gotten a pretty impressive haul while they were among the crowd, and she was sorting through them. Brock didn't know why she was tossing the magic money cards away, but he figured she had a reason so he left well enough alone.

When she asked about his name, Brock got a little smile on his face. Now was his turn to be the impressive super. "Watch and see." His entire body was obscured by a red glow as he changed. Hellsmith grew into a blood-red demon, dressed only in a pair of black pants. He towered over Comet, and his horns stretched about as far as his broad shoulders. Even his build had changed, going from champion athlete to true superhero (or villain) levels. "What you think?" Hellsmith's voice was a low rumble. He looked down at the smaller super, sizing her up with eyes of molten metal.

[Deleted]

Well Charlie didn’t see this coming at all. She stood in awe and fear as Brock the Muscles started changing color and growing. When the horns appeared she could feel her feet leave the ground, just a few inches but to anyone who really knew her would know that her fight or flight instincts had kicked in. Mainly flight since she had very little fighting skills. The distance between her feet and the ground lengthened until she was about eye level with Hellsmith, Charlie agree that Hellsmith was a fitting name for this guy. He looked like he would have climbed out the gates of hell.

Finally getting over the fear, or at least hiding it really well. She looked him up and down from her new height and floated back a little. “I think Hellsmith fits you very well in this form,” Charlie was surprised at how steady her voice was when she was actually a little frightened. She knew how to hide emotions she didn’t like by trying to think they don’t exist. “Dude all I can do is fly and here you are transforming into Genie Jafar with horns! Talk about being upstaged!” Jokes usually calmed her down, and the fact that she was getting closer to the ground was proof of that. But her feet still hovered about the ground much to her annoyance, this flying thing was a little complicated.

“It’s very nice, scary too. It’ll have who ever your against shakin’ in their boots,” she glanced around relieved that everyone was too busy to notice a giant demon in an alley. It wouldn’t last for very long though, people may be ignorant sometimes but they weren't all complete idiots. “Alright, power down before people start screaming. I don’t want the burger joint to close down on account of demons running the streets,” Charlie readjusted her backpack. “By the way, who’s side are you on?” His answer wouldn't matter that much, she wasn't even affiliated with any side but it would gauge how observant she would need to be of him. Just in case she needed to get her bat out and such... Then again, her bat might not work against this guy...

[Gaunt]

Well, that didn't quite go as planned. Hellsmith kept forgetting that most people were afraid of demons. He wasn't sure why, he was pretty nice. In fact, most demons he'd met seemed all right. Probably some sort of weird cultural stereotype. Or maybe it was being an 8-foot wall of muscle, that might have something to do with it. He didn't really know for sure. It took Charlie a minute to get used to it, hovering up to eye height. Brock grinned at her, showing some fang. "Thanks, it's pretty neat. This is kinda my true form anyway." As far as true forms went, he liked it. It was badass, but didn't go all the way to horrifying like some other demons did.

His smile got a little wider when she mentioned her lack of powers. "Well, that's where the smith part comes in." He took an ornately crafted hammer from his belt, turning it over in his hands. "This lets me make magic weapons. I can't use them myself, but I can hand out powers. They're no Lantern rings, but they get the job done." Yes, this was good. The cute comet seemed interested in him, and now he was offering her more superpowers. Maybe they'd spend more time together after all.

Brock shifted back at her request, once again in his normal clothes. The hammer had vanished with his demonic form, disappearing in a puff of fire. Brock stretched out, looking up at the floating super. She was lower now, but still at a respectable height. "I don't really worry about sides, I just do my own thing. So, how about that burger?" He offered a hand to help her down to earth, trying to give his most winning smile.

[Deleted]

Charlie watched the hammer with curiosity, it looked pretty cool. Not sure how much it would cost on the street but supernatural weapons, or crafting tools, were quite a novelty and very high priced in certain circles. At least that’s what her pawn shop connections told her when she brought in her haul. But wallets were more her style at the moment, plus she really didn’t want to get on Hellsmith’s bad side. He even seemed like a really nice guy! Cute even… without the red skin and horns that is.

The subtle offer of a magic weapon peaked her interest a little. Usually she just carried around a baseball bat if things got hairy. She wasn’t very good at combat either, just a little self defense that would give her enough time to run or fly away. The latter was a little hard to control and as tempting as more power sounded, she had enough on her plate with her current powers. Yet Charlie would keep him in mind if she ever needed one. “I’ll call you when my flying gets under control, or when my bat isn’t enough of a defense,” she said.

 

It was a bit of a relief when he shifted back to normal but now Charlie was a little wary of her new friend. Yet he smiled up at her and she couldn’t help but smile back, they were infections little things. So he was like her in this whole ‘good versus evil’ thing Jump City had going on. Charlie took his hand and floated the rest of the way down, and found the solid ground again.  She looked up at him still smiling, “Alright burgers and fries it is. I’ll buy since my haul was good today.”

Charlie popped her head out from the alley and looked around for any cops, casual or uniformed. “Coast is clear! Come on it’s not far from here,” she continued to hold his hand as she dragged him from the alley and down the street crowded street. Didn’t want to lose her new friend now did she?

[Gaunt]

Comet seemed to have calmed down a lot, and she was pretty interested in his hammer. His blacksmith's hammer, that is. Moving swiftly onward. This was yet another time he wished he'd paid attention in telepathy class, Brock was really wondering what was going through her mind right then. Well, he could fill in the blanks just fine on his own. It was probably something flattering about him.

Brock nodded. "Sounds like a deal." He pulled out a slip of paper, wrote a number on it, and handed it over. "For when you call. I can make some pretty fun stuff, so whatever you wanna do I can make it happen. Or we could just hang out more, that's good too." he said with a wink. This seemed to be going pretty well for a first meeting. He watched as Comet landed, the smile staying on both their faces. It had turned into this loop of making each other smile now, and it was hard to break. They'd just have to roll with it. "Sure thing, Comet." He trotted along behind her, following her to the place of delicious burgers.

It was kind of nice, her holding onto his hand like that. It made it seem like a proper date. Brock kept up her pace, following along as she led him to the burger joint. The street was crowded, but nobody seemed to recognize them or know of their criminal exploits. For now, they seemed safe. "So, should I keep calling you Comet, or you prefer something else?" He tried to make a little small talk as they strolled along. If she was joining the girlfriend posse, he'd have to know her name.

[Deleted]

Charlie took the slip of paper and looked at the number before folding it up and slipping it into her jean pocket. It would be interesting to have a demon blacksmith in her phones contact list since the people in her phone were human. Or at least she thought they were human. She should see if any of them knew people in Jump she could join up with, one of her new pawn shop connections mention something about a… birds nest? No… Bats nest? Some sort of nest in the area that was a group of thieves. Charlie would have to ask him about how to get in contact with them.

Brock was getting curious about her. She didn’t blame him considering her entrance was falling out of the sky in her Black Comet outfit. Charlie adjusted her goggles with her free hand trying to relieve the itch that suddenly appeared. If she entered the burger joint with it on people would give her odd looks. Then again she didn’t really care if they stared at her funny, but since officers of the law were looking for a girl in a black hoodie with aviator goggles, the Black Comet might have to go back to being Charlie.

So she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and dropped Brock’s hand before fiddling with the latch or whatever tied it to her head. It came undone and she held it in her hand for a moment before slipping it into her backpack. She turned and looked up at Brock with a smile. “You can call me Charlie,” she said.