She pinched at a fleck of dust on the right shoulder of her
purple vest. Scarlet huffed outwardly in frustration as she abandoned the pinch
and resorted to flicking it off with success. Gemini Park was a beautiful place
in Paragon City. One of the more famous parks within city limits and a very
popular site for social gatherings. It was also popular for the Hellions and
Skulls gangs to prey upon non-Heroes. Sometimes they were foolish enough to
challenge a Hero, and on very rare occasions the gangs were victorious, but
only by weight of numbers. Today, the Scarlet Scorpion strolled through the
park. She's is considered a powerful Meta-human, and when dressed in her
civilian clothes, none of the gangers would suspect anything more than a cry
for help, much to their dreaded surprise.
But Scarlet was not at Gemini Park to clean up the place of Meta-thugs or punks: newly registered heroes roamed around Galaxy City in plenty of numbers to handle most crime. The Skulls she just encountered happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, for the Scarlet Scorpion was going on a date, and nothing was going to stop this first meeting. It's not that she was excited, nor was she afraid, but more curious. As a registered Hero, anyone has access to limited information about her. As a Captain within the Dawn Patrol she was well known by name and it was uncommon for people to recognize her in stores or restaurants. The Dawn Patrol is known more for their achievements than by the people who achieve them. Still, no one in her three years of service sent her roses with romantic intentions directly to the base.
Looking around the park, the adrenaline from the earlier fight had dissipated completely and she calmed down. Scarlet looked over her white pencil skirt and hoped not to spot any loose fibers, dirt or ganger blood. Not seeing any, she opened her purse and grabbed a compact to re-inspect herself for the thousandth time. Not finding any flaws (other than the scars on her face hidden behind her long hair), and marveling her hair was not disheveled, she smiled and dabbed a line of fire red lipstick. Putting the makeup away, Scarlet looked up and around hoping to eye her suitor before he had a chance to get too close. She resisted using her powers to hear him walking up to her, not that she needed to: the park was pretty empty as the gangers kept most people away today. News would flash around of its "freedom" and citizens would start arriving soon. Even so, a tall, red-haired, smartly-dressed woman standing in the middle of the park is out-of-place, even if gangers never existed.
Standing in the middle of the park meant she was not cornered and could catch a surprise attack easily. Also, once in combat she would have more freedom to maneuver. Scarlet realized she was behaving tactically. Deciding to give the suitor a break, she sauntered to a bench at the edge of the park, inside the fence line, and sat down. After several minutes, Scarlet realized she was tapping her foot. After another minute she closed her eye and threw away any sense of fairness by focusing on the sounds around her ...
Slight breeze ... Bird chirp ...
Rustling leaves with the wind ... Blades of grass fluttering ...
Gravel crunching under tires ... Engine piston pumping ...
Leather seat squeaking ... door gently closing ...
Calm footsteps ... Rapid heartbeat ...
Short breath ...
Each sound was like a wave lapping against a beach. Some sounds were softer than others, all of them familiar to her, nothing threatening. But then, that sound ...
"Scarlet Scorpion?"
She spun her head to the right and shifted her weight on the bench, ready to leap or fly away from the source. Her long, deep red hair flowed across her face to hide her limited view of the man. His arm was extended forward with palm up, fingers closed. Bending slightly at the waist, his light-colored jacket opened to show a well-fit shirt with dark colored slacks. His golden, thick, almost straight hair seemed to billow from the front to a shorter cut toward the back. The smile showed no teeth, as his lips tightened into a erudite smirk: he knew he surprised her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" He straightened quickly with both hands in front as if to shield him from a verbal reprisal.
Scarlet relaxed at his disarming voice and posture. She stood and corrected her hair from her face, making sure she kept her scars hidden to the left of her nose. He was her height. Looking level into his eyes, she asked, "Who are you?"
"Nathan Maddox, and the pleasure is entirely mine."
But Scarlet was not at Gemini Park to clean up the place of Meta-thugs or punks: newly registered heroes roamed around Galaxy City in plenty of numbers to handle most crime. The Skulls she just encountered happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, for the Scarlet Scorpion was going on a date, and nothing was going to stop this first meeting. It's not that she was excited, nor was she afraid, but more curious. As a registered Hero, anyone has access to limited information about her. As a Captain within the Dawn Patrol she was well known by name and it was uncommon for people to recognize her in stores or restaurants. The Dawn Patrol is known more for their achievements than by the people who achieve them. Still, no one in her three years of service sent her roses with romantic intentions directly to the base.
Looking around the park, the adrenaline from the earlier fight had dissipated completely and she calmed down. Scarlet looked over her white pencil skirt and hoped not to spot any loose fibers, dirt or ganger blood. Not seeing any, she opened her purse and grabbed a compact to re-inspect herself for the thousandth time. Not finding any flaws (other than the scars on her face hidden behind her long hair), and marveling her hair was not disheveled, she smiled and dabbed a line of fire red lipstick. Putting the makeup away, Scarlet looked up and around hoping to eye her suitor before he had a chance to get too close. She resisted using her powers to hear him walking up to her, not that she needed to: the park was pretty empty as the gangers kept most people away today. News would flash around of its "freedom" and citizens would start arriving soon. Even so, a tall, red-haired, smartly-dressed woman standing in the middle of the park is out-of-place, even if gangers never existed.
Standing in the middle of the park meant she was not cornered and could catch a surprise attack easily. Also, once in combat she would have more freedom to maneuver. Scarlet realized she was behaving tactically. Deciding to give the suitor a break, she sauntered to a bench at the edge of the park, inside the fence line, and sat down. After several minutes, Scarlet realized she was tapping her foot. After another minute she closed her eye and threw away any sense of fairness by focusing on the sounds around her ...
Slight breeze ... Bird chirp ...
Rustling leaves with the wind ... Blades of grass fluttering ...
Gravel crunching under tires ... Engine piston pumping ...
Leather seat squeaking ... door gently closing ...
Calm footsteps ... Rapid heartbeat ...
Short breath ...
Each sound was like a wave lapping against a beach. Some sounds were softer than others, all of them familiar to her, nothing threatening. But then, that sound ...
"Scarlet Scorpion?"
She spun her head to the right and shifted her weight on the bench, ready to leap or fly away from the source. Her long, deep red hair flowed across her face to hide her limited view of the man. His arm was extended forward with palm up, fingers closed. Bending slightly at the waist, his light-colored jacket opened to show a well-fit shirt with dark colored slacks. His golden, thick, almost straight hair seemed to billow from the front to a shorter cut toward the back. The smile showed no teeth, as his lips tightened into a erudite smirk: he knew he surprised her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" He straightened quickly with both hands in front as if to shield him from a verbal reprisal.
Scarlet relaxed at his disarming voice and posture. She stood and corrected her hair from her face, making sure she kept her scars hidden to the left of her nose. He was her height. Looking level into his eyes, she asked, "Who are you?"
"Nathan Maddox, and the pleasure is entirely mine."
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