The greatest trick the devil ever pulled [OPEN]

[wantsapprentice]

WHO: wantsapprentice and you!
WHERE: All over the City.
WHEN: July 24th.
WARNINGS: ...
SUMMARY: Slade takes a day to walk around the City and act like a normal human being. Tag yourselves in!
FORMAT: Paragraph to begin with, quicklog after!

Comments

[trueltning_fury]

[just walking along, in his leather armor and armed with a sword as usual, his head up and eye focused straight forward as if willing the crowds of passersby to part - and they often do.

...unless something in a window were to attract his attention, in which case he might blunder into someone]

[wantsapprentice]

[He could avoid said blundering, but the armor and choice of weapon are distinctive enough to where he's curious, if not interested.

It happens quickly, a brief jostle as their shoulders connect roughly. He looks appropriately contrite.]

Excuse me.

[trueltning_fury]

[he glances aside, turning his head so his good eye can focus on who he just bumped]

Sorry. [sounding only vaguely apologetic, more gruff than anything]

[wantsapprentice]

[Funny how they're both missing the same eye.

An eyebrow lifts as he glances at the blade.]

You're a swordsman?

[loltraitorlol]

Starscream only drank coffee out of habit, now. His body did not metabolize it properly. His mind did not need it, and indeed, he'd been having trouble tasting it of late.

But it was habit. Besides, since it was iced coffee it was helping his system deal with the heat. His body was not used to this, and he felt his mind becoming sluggish. Cooling rods wouldn't do - they dropped his body temperature to far below 98.6 degrees, and thus aroused suspicion; but at the same time he was panting and breathing as if he'd been running miles.

He'd settled for consuming large amounts of ice and staying indoors as much as possible, which he hated. He wanted to be under the open sky. He was seriously considering just dealing with having an unnaturally low body temperature - let the humans think what they would.

He walked down the street on his lunch break, suit jacket slung over his shoulder, iced coffee in hand. Slag it was hot.

[wantsapprentice]

Now, there was a familiar face.

Slade watched the machine-turned-human (turned machine) for a moment, debating whether to approach. This was his 'day off', so to speak, and business was all the two of them would likely talk about. Still, it couldn't hurt to say hello.

Brushing through the crowd, more unobtrusively than one might of thought for someone of his stature, Slade eased his way up to Starscream from behind (old habits died hard), hands in pockets, his tone casual.

"Enjoying the summer's day?"

[loltraitorlol]

Starscream jumped. He still hated being snuck up on - at home, that usually meant someone was trying to kill him. Again, old habits.

He tilted his head at the newcomer. This person certainly didn't look familiar. He was about to ask do I know you? when the other spoke.

Well. The voice was familiar, anyway. He hoped this was who he thought it was and that he wasn't being a total idiot. This person could be anyone.

"Not particularly," he said, sighing and sipping his coffee. "Much too hot."

[wantsapprentice]

Thankfully for Starscream, this was who he thought it was. Slade might not have been one for revealing his face, but he believed his voice and words would be identification enough.

A flicker of a smile crossed his face. "I imagine outer space is much colder." His head tilted slightly, the mannerism a familiar one even though he wasn't in uniform. "How've you been?"

[nyc_detective]

The Joker was out, and the police were in a flurry. Something was going on with Pete, the new guy that Jack had found, Sheldon, was coming in and doing a better job than they had in the past (and boy she hated him for that), and she had tasked herself with the impossible by figuring out the Joker's motives. Elisa needed a moment to calm herself, and it was amazing how at the end of the day, the minor annoyances in life seemed to take precedence. Joker might be threatening to kill people, but laundry still needed to get done. So did doing the grocery run for the apartment. She still needed sleep. Or at least coffee.

Hey, there was an idea. Combat the surreal juxtaposition of her life with caffeine.

"I have measured out my life in coffee spoons," she said to herself as she walked into a nearby coffee shop.

[wantsapprentice]

For someone who slept, at most, three hours a night (maybe five on particularly slow day), coffee was an essential. It wasn't so much that he needed the caffeine; insomnia kept him awake otherwise, but it was one of the few, mundane exercises he actually allowed himself on a regular basis.

As such, after a long day of walking the streets, it was relaxing to settle down with a cup of coffee and a paper. Thus he was when Elisa walked in, reading a particularly droll story when he caught the familiar voice and phrase. His mouth quirked, but he didn't look up, the words slipping out: "So how should I presume?"

[nyc_detective]

Her habit of speaking aloud had caught up to her; a sheepish grin settled on her face as she replied, "And how should I begin?"

She felt as though she recognized the voice, and she searched around to see if she could identify the speaker. When her eyes landed on Slade, the sheepish grin and most of the blood drained from her face. It took her a moment to realize that yes, Slade was sitting there, reading the newspaper in jeans and a button-down shirt, looking for all the world like the most mundane, nondescript of coffee shop patrons.

Well, aside from the eyepatch.

Dammit, she did not want this. She had enough to worry about, and although she knew that Slade had likely done some seriously bad shit, they had no evidence of any crime, and had already arrested him for his previous ones. So she had to let him sit there, she knew it, he knew it, and she knew that he knew that she knew it.

Good lord, the man was going to be insufferable. She knew that she couldn't just let the moment slip by. "Well, at least you have good taste in

[wantsapprentice]

Whatever he thought of her reaction, it didn't show on his face. He just continued to sip his coffee, his gaze trained on the story he was reading while she collected herself. Of course, he was well-aware of their current positions, and though he could gloat about it, it wasn't really necessary. They both knew where they stood.

"You'd be surprised by my tastes," was the measured reply. Looking up for the first time, he appraised her, gauging her body language and mood. "Busy day?"

[maidenofice]

Yukina hadn't planned on buying as much food as she did at the grocery store. As a result, she had only brought a single reusable bag. Several of the things she liked were on sale, and she remembered things that she needed belatedly. Which meant having to use a couple of plastic bags from the store as well. They were, unfortunately, very cheap and thin plastic bags, and before long, one of them gave way as she was walking home.

The worst part was? It was the bag with eggs in it. There was an audible crunching sound as they hit the pavement.

"Oh no!"

[wantsapprentice]

He wasn't exactly expecting to see anyone he knew on this little outing, particularly not someone he knew only in passing, but the voice and hair, in particular, was distinctive enough to recognize. Pausing for a moment, he debated for all of ten seconds before approaching.

"Would you like a hand?"

[maidenofice]

"That would be very kind, thank you," said Yukina. Today she was wearing a pink t-shirt and some capri pants, rather than the kimono she was often found in. It was too hot to be comfortable in the summer, especially for someone who was most comfortable in sub-zero temperatures.

She opened the carton of eggs to check for damage and sure enough, four of twelve were cracked. Fortunately, the rest of the things in the flimsy bag had been lightweight boxed items. There was a round tub of ice cream in the other plastic bag she was carrying, but she was less concerned about that. She could use her powers to keep it cold if it started to melt.

[wantsapprentice]

'Kind' wasn't really a word he attributed to himself very often -- if anything, he was the opposite (though he refrained from saying so). Still, he helped her retrieve the fallen items and, if necessary, took a few bags off her hands to lighten her load.

"Where to?"