Chapter Text
The glass cases of the jewellery store shined in the light of the full moon. They were empty of course, all of the precious metals locked safely in the back, but that was precisely the target. The exact location of the safe was hidden, so not even short-range teleports would work to get in. That was alright though, the two of them had planned for this. The first set themselves up a short distance away, hidden behind a bin, to wait. The second summoned their power… and teleported into the main section of the shop.
They stood stock still, right in the middle of the cases. Nothing happened, which was what they had been hoping for. They had managed to catch a private communication that the detection on the cameras was faulty: still recording, but unable to set off the alarms for heat or movement. The thief resisted the urge to pump a fist, and moved on to the next step.
The door to the back was locked and alarmed, obviously, so they pulled out a cutting tool and set to work carving a hole in the hall. It took time and work, but without the alarm they had all the time in the world. They carefully stepped through, then looked around. They spotted an out-of-the-way staircase in the corner, and figured that must be it. They carefully walked down, keeping their eyes peeled for extra security, and found another locked door. Another wall cut later, and they were into the vault room. This was where things got dicey.
Unlike with the walls before, they couldn’t cut into the safe. And it was too big and heavy to teleport out. The only option was to break it open by force, and set off the alarms. They pulled out their explosive, set it down and hid in a corner. Seconds ticked by, and then…
3…
2…
1…
BANG!
There was a loud explosion, and the safe was busted wide open. There was no noise, but they knew that a silent alarm had been tripped, calling the police. They were now on limited time. They started scooping jewellery into their bag, internally counting the seconds going by. It wasn’t a massive store, so they were able to haphazardly scoop up everything in a couple minutes. It would have a mighty fine price tag though, and they grinned behind their black mask. Now all that was left to do was to was teleport back out.
They visualised the area, closed their eyes, and opened them outside. Yes! They turned to where their accomplice should be to find… their… unconscious body?
WACK!
They stumbled as an invisible force punched them square in the face. Then, a nearby metal bar on the ground rose up on its own, and hit them in the back of the head before they could respond. Their last thought was:
“That FUCKING vigilante!”
Pete let the bar drop to the ground and dusted off his gloved hands, letting the invisibility drop to catch a break. He knew this had to be the plan when he had seen the lone masked person waiting out the back, waiting for their friend to teleport back out with the stolen goods. He picked up the bag full of jewellery. But how hadn’t they tripped the alarm?
The rapidly closing in sound of police sirens answered the question for him. Ah, so they had. He had to hand it to the thieves, they must have been quick. Pete circled back around to the front of the store, and put the jewellery on the front step, before backing into an alleyway across the street to watch. What? He didn’t want to ruin the store owner’s day further by breaking more of their shop to get back in. By the looks of it, they already had a hole in the back wall to fix though. How did the thief even have enough time to cut that?
The police turned the corner into the street, and Pete made himself invisible. They jumped out, then looked on in confusion at the bag of precious goods just sitting on the front step. Pete turned and ran out the other end of the alley, climbing over a wall with practiced agility. He wasn’t going to wait around for the cops to search around and try convict HIM of the crime he just prevented.
“You’re welcome” He thought dryly.
“You’re welcome!” The voice in his ear actually said out loud. Pete chuckled at the mirrored sentiment.
“You didn’t even do anything.”
“Hey! I was moral support! I’m the guy in the chair. An essential part of the story!”
Pete rolled his eyes at his friend Richie’s commentary. He did appreciate his support, using the tracker and camera built into his goggles to give him directions and generally keep Pete from stressing out too much. Richie directed him through alleyways and side street, Pete keeping a lookout for anything suspicious. He was just considering heading back home when…
“Interesting time for a walk, isn’t it?”
Pete jumped and instinctually turned invisible, not bothering to try stop himself given the setting. He turned around and found himself face-to-face with non-other than Backbone. She was wearing her signature crimson red jacket and jeans combo, with a plain black shirt underneath. She had a black face mask and goggles, just like Pete, however she didn’t have a hood on, instead just having her long hair up in a bun sticking out of a red beanie. It was far less elaborate than most of the other heroes, looking more like Pete’s casual appearance than any of her co-workers.
Now, Pete didn’t mind Backbone as much as some of the others, (Wraith was a literal monster who seemed out to get him) but she was still a hero. Heroes were tasked with upholding the law, and the law said vigilantes weren’t allowed. He had never run into her before, and didn’t know what to expect.
Pete carefully backed away, trying to make no noise to alert her to his location. Backbone had super strength, so if she got a hold of him, he was done. She didn’t try to find him though; she just chuckled a little when he turned invisible and crossed her arms.
“Relax. I’m not here to bring you in. I heard there was an attempted robbery on Ivy Street, and that the stolen jewels were mysteriously sitting right at the front. And the knocked-out thieves right out the back.”
Pete paused. Her voice was distorted weirdly. Most voice changers, including his, had a couple presets that sounded mostly like a normal voice, while staying unidentifiable. Backbone’s voice was like a demonic high-low layered voice from a YouTube video.
“That was your doing, wasn’t it?” She continued. “Thanks for that by the way, we wouldn’t have gotten there in time, clearly.”
He should really just run. He should really get out before she turned on him and threw him in a jail cell. He should-
“You’re welcome?”
…not have said that!
The rational thought was echoed by Richie yelling in his ear to bolt while he can, but apparently Pete had a death wish, and he kept talking.
“That can’t be the only reason you’re here.”
“I’m here to patrol and do good or whatever. Just like you.”
“In this part of town? Since when?”
Backbone went silent for a moment, shifting.
“Since there was no one allocated over here. Ridiculous if you ask me. The financial district already has Ezekiel to look out for them, I’m sure he’ll be fine for tonight. It’s near the Heroes Building anyway.”
“Ezekiel? You mean the creepy bird hero?”
Backbone chuckled in response to that.
“That’s the one. That guy is insane as fuck. I swear he never blinks.”
“He’s your co-worker?”
“Pfft, you think I like any of them?”
Pete tilted his head a little.
“I imagined so? But to be fair, I don’t like all other vigilantes either.”
Backbone nodded in response.
“Right? Like, sure we’re coworkers but for the last time, Gr- Angel, we are NOT friends!”
Pete chose to ignore her close slip up on one of the hero’s names.
“I’ve actually seen her out here once or twice, she seemed kinda nice but then she starting pointing a gun at me and things got not nice real fucking quickly.”
Backbone actually raised a hand to her mouth with a barking laugh at that one. Pete felt himself relaxing more and more as they talked.
“No way she really did that? I mean, I’m not sure why I’m surprised knowing her.”
Pete smiled. This was way more pleasant than he thought. Richie’s yelling had gone quiet and he could hear him talking to his other friend Ruth in the background. That was when Backbone took a couple steps forward and held a hand out to him.
Directly to him.
Pete blinked, looking down at himself and realising at some point he and relaxed too much and let go of his invisibility entirely. Backbone noticed his surprise.
“How can you not notice turning visible again?”
“It’s uh… about emotions, I guess. I tend toward doing it when I’m stressed and not when I’m calm.”
“Huh… well, glad to know you enjoyed this conversation too.” She held her gloved hand further out toward him. With a little hesitation, Pete returned the handshake. It was a pretty normal handshake, considering she had the power to break his arm in one move.
“See ya around… what was your name again?”
Pete very almost said his actual name, but stopped himself.
“Prism. It’s Prism. You know, since they’re clear?”
“Of course.” She nodded and turned away, casually walking off down the street.
“What the FUCK was that??” he thought.
“What the FUCK was that???” Both Richie and Ruth agreed with his bewilderment.
Pete sat down on their couch, taking off his boots and unclipping his hood from his goggles.
“You think I know? Sure, I’ve never met her before, but heroes don’t just talk to people like me!”
“Maybe she felt a connection with you because of your similarly casual outfits?” Ruth volunteered, gesturing to Pete’s dark green hoodie and black cargo pants. He had wanted something fancier, but his friends convinced him it would hide his identity better to be casual. There was one thing everyone knew about him: Peter Spankoffski was far from casual. Even though he’d dropped the suspenders after high school, he still wore a bowtie unironically. And then made a severe number of Doctor Who references that confused most people, and started up a debate about the best Doctor with his best friends.
“I’ve heard that Backbone was forced into the Heroes Association, it’s why she has a reputation for being unprofessional.” Richie added. “Maybe she actually thinks vigilantes aren’t all bad?”
Pete finished changing out of his vigilante clothes and into pyjamas.
“Whatever it was, I think I’m gonna go to sleep. It’s almost 3am, and I’ve got the afternoon shift tomorrow.”
His friends wished him goodnight, Ruth going back to answering a few last emails, and Richie pulling up an episode of his current favourite anime.