Shine #3 Scratch the Paint. (Shine/Scorch)

[Shine]

Ashling pulled up to the gas pump and checked her parking to make sure, that her car wasn't hanging out too far. She was in Jewel Junction, on her way back home. The city was still all around her, and to her "city" meant the big city. Jewel Junction didn't have as many of the towerering Skyscraper constructs that some cities did, but there were still enough of them to create an impressive jungle when one looked up. Not too far away, was the exit back to the highway, and not more than a block or two away was  bus stop. It was dusk, and the lights around the gas station and along the roads were just beginning to switch on. She was planning on taking an easy night tonight. The Weekend loomed ahead of her and there was bound to be some long hours pulled snooping around on that trip.

She switched off the car, but didn't bother getting the keys out. As she pushed open her door and climbed out of the driver's seat the wind gusted a little. She relished the feel of the wind blowing on her skin in between the sooty smell of car exhaust and other fumes all around her. This was why she picked the edge of the city, and further out to run on, and she was glad that she didn't live in the thickest parts of town.

She set about plugging in the gas pump and gave a quick swipe of her credit card before letting herself get lost as the "GALLONS" and "DOLLARS" displays started racking up numbers. It was amazing and disturbing how much faster the second of the numbers was accumulating than the first. Too bad Shine couldn't do anything to save her bank account. She reached the end and replaced the nozzle where it went. The machine asked her if she wanted a receipt, and she pressed the worn out bubbled up button that indicated "YES" out of habit. There was a pause as she waited for it to print.... Nothing came out, and then she looked at the display again.

PLEASE SEE CASHIER FOR RECIEPT. THANKYOU! HAVE A NICE DAY!

She frowned at the display for a minute, hoping that if she stared at it long enough it would give up and cough up her receipt. Unfortunately, the machine wasn't programmed to take note of scowling gingers, and went back to its idle. She thought about just driving off. She'd done that before. She didn't REALLY need the receipt, she just did it because... because she might need it? Oh, for heaven's sake, Ashling. You crumple them up and they end up on the floor under the seats. Why do you even print them?! Maybe she'd stop printing those receipt papers, but this time, she'd pushed the button that she wanted it, and some part of her refused to bow to the simple idea of skipping out of collecting the worthless paper. No! This was her penance, and now she had to walk into the conveniece store and get that paper.

"Ugh... Stupid machine...." She griped under her breath. This wouldn't take long, so she just left the car how it was: keys in ignition, Ipod still plugged into the radio through an auxilary cable, and... She looked for a moment at the third item.... Her mirror in the back seat. She almost reached to retrieve it, but moved towards the store instead. If she could get on the road in the next couple of minutes she could beat the rush hour traffic! Or at least the worst of it.

She pushed the door open and headed inside. Maybe she'd stop and pick up some milk and bread while she was here. And chocolate milk! Yeah. That'd make this worth it.

[Scorch]

There were only three types of people who hung around gas stations longer than the time it took to refill their tank: truckers taking a break from the road, the people that tended to the convenience mart and the pumps, and people who were clearly up to something. Of the latter, the dumb ones simply stood out front, loitering until they were eventually removed from the premises. Some even specifically went to the trouble of starting a fight to get themselves kicked out faster.

Scorch, on the other hand, stood with his back to the wall around the side of the convenience mart, next to the men’s bathroom and just out of view of the cameras around the pumps. While his head was angled down towards the phone in his hand, his gaze watched the cars as they came and went from the pumps through a pair of black aviators, all while he puffed on a cigarette. He’d been watching for over an hour now, waiting for an opening that felt like it would never come.

Passing through Jewel Junction was like passing through a bastardized attempt at a city built into mountains. Granted, Scorch was biased; he didn’t like any place these days, especially considering he didn’t have much say in where he could lay down roots. He could if he wanted to, but he needed to make money. And of course, a mercenary follows wherever the cash leads them.

His eyes lazily watched as a terrible excuse for a car rolled into the parking lot. Burnt orange and back heavy, it certainly wasn’t a car Scorch would have picked off of a lot. Then again, Scorch had never bought a car in his life (at least that he remembered), and to be truthful he wasn’t picky - he didn’t know much about cars save for how to jack them and how to drive them. He’d never had one long enough to learn how it worked, anyways - they were only good for getting him from point A to point B.

A sly grin turned up the side of his lip as he watched the orange haired girl who owned the orange car left the card and walked into the convenience store. If he was going to get out of this city any time soon, he’d need to take the basketball. It was time to act fast. As soon as the young woman slipped from his view, Scorch lifted his hood over his head and stuck his phone into his pocket, walking casually over to the pump. He didn’t throw a glance back towards the store, not wanting to seem suspicious as he casually walked past the passenger’s side window, glancing in and looking to the ignition.

It was too good to be true. The keys were still sitting in the ignition.

Speeding up his walk, Scorch walked to the back of the car and quickly circled around, pulling the pump out of the tank and dropping it to the ground after slamming the gas cover shut. As fast as he’d done that, Scorch had opened the car door, turned the car on, and shifted the car from park to drive. Shutting the driver’s side door, he spun the steering wheel as hard as he could as he slammed on the gas. It was almost too easy.

[Shine]

Ashling turned the corner and headed promptly towards the back of the little gas mart, grabbed a gallon of milk, a half gallon of the chocolate stuff, then headed up towards the front with the interest of paying as quick as she possibly could manage. The squeal of rubber burning on asphalt from outside brought a frown to her face at the thought of how people ought to slow down on the lot... but she was still in a hurry so she didn't think on it much. She got up to the front near the registers with her arms full of groceries, and tossed her hair back out of her face with a practiced shake. As she did, her eyes glanced back out to pump number five, and looked at the blue mustang that had just pulled in.... Aww man.. the new bodies on those looked so cool. ... ...!

"Hey! Where's my car!?" The cashier looked up from where he was fiddling with the calulator, already pricing what she had, but Ashling was already slamming the groceries down on the counter, and bolting away like a madwoman! She ran up to the door, and looked up and down the road, as the other customers and the staff seemed to be deciding what to do. She was probably supposed to call the police or something. Maybe her insurance company? Never mind that though! Some JERK had just driven off with her car! That got her blood boiling.

Her initial response was to run out the doors and start running. Maybe blow a little steam off. Damn! That wouldn't catch the thief. She had alternative methods than most people had though. She'd just run around back, and use her mirror to.... Wait. The Mirror was riding along in the back of her car too! Keeper and the little sanctum she had in it stayed close to the mirror!

With another curse under her breath, she bolted for the back, and ripped open the door to the beer cave. She kicked aside stacks of plastic milk crates, leaving a mess behind her as she leapt forward and into the relective chrome-like wall she'd seen while coming from the back. Instantly, she was transported into the world of white, with its many gateways back into the world. She hit the "ground" there running, and soon enough saw the Keeper approaching.

"Ashling. The mirror! It's moving-" Her ears heard his voice as he spoke no longer so much of a raw construct of sorcery as he had once been. She cut him off before he could finish what he was saying though.

"I know! I know! Someone stole my car, and the mirror is in the back seat!" He took the information from her without too much excitement. Sometimes, she wondered how much he actually understood about what she said. He gestured, and one of the larger reflections from overhead swept down and landed in front of her as she ran.

"Here's a gate. Watch your step."

She jumped again, and felt the tingling chill of how she bound with the reflection somewhere, and then unbound back out of it into her world again. She landed hard, with both feet hitting the ground, and then took off again, looking for the next place she could use to cross boundaries. It came in the form of a tanker truck, still getting going from a stop at the nearby intersection. Heedless of watchers or bystanders, she ran up the sidewalk along the side of the truck and then gave a jump, twisting and arcing her body like an Olympian to bring her legs high enough to make it into the reflection. As she came out the other side, she almost ten feet from where Keeper had elevated the gateway, anticipating her pattern. The drop gave her enough room to land on her feet instead of falling on her can. Thanks Keeper.

"Where is it?" She asked, looking up at the gates gathered in front of her. She could see the car in nmerous reflections scattered around the area, but nothing was backed out far enough yet to see what was truly going on yet. Where was he going?

"Still on the road." Keeper answered, voice ever calm amidst turmoil."You've gained enough distance on him to break for a moment and plan. Will you be stepping through your mirror for this recovery?"

"No. Not right away at least. He's in control of the car, and I don't like the idea of getting into a crash.

"Well then.... We'll have to find another way to shine your car. I'll continue tracking him, while you go and do your thing. " He said, glancing over to her before turning his attention back to his gateways.

"Ugh.... That was terrible, Keeper."

She ran back to her sanctum. It now looked more like an actual facility to be used. A small house with a hall and a few siderooms stood with the door facing an altar with what looked like an identical copy of her mirror resting on it. That one didn't move. She'd tried before Keeper had shoo'd her away. She rushed to one of the side rooms of the building, where she kept Shine's equipment. Precious little so far, except for a suit and some boots. Times like these she remembered the old "It's Morphin' Time" or "Moon! Prism! Power!" on tv shows. Say a fun phrase and it would be followed by sparkly lights and a nifty transformation sequence.... She could really use one of those. Being an incognito super hero without one was super inconvenient.

[Scorch]

Scorch rolled down the window on the basketball he’d just lifted, breathing in deeply through his nose as he cruised down the open stretch of road. Even as it twisted and wound through the mountains, Scorch was able to maintain control of the car; driving was one of his stronger suits, besides being able to light things on fire with his mind. Even if he didn’t know much about them, he knew damn well how to make them purr ‘round corners and sing up and down the hills.

Adjusting the seat to give him a bit more legroom, Scorch leaned back, letting his left arm hang out of the window as he steered with his right. For being an eyesore, the car drove pretty smoothly. He’d only be able to get about half a day out of it, considering the unique color stuck out like a sore thumb. For that reason he always tried to take cars that were a bit more inconspicuous and common in make and color, but he could only stand and wait for the right car to come for so long. After a certain point, you just had to take the plunge, even it it was into a car the color of something a Harlem Globetrotter would spin on the tip of his finger.

His hand left the wheel for a moment, flicking on the radio and listening to static until it landed on a classic rock station, just as Billy Squier began blaring through the speakers. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth, letting himself relax as he sunk into the seat, body wrapped by guitar riffs and the rumbling car engine. He’d prefer a roaring engine, but again, couldn’t be picky when you were ‘borrowing’ from someone.

Besides, he couldn’t afford to be caught, not right now anyways. Scorch had just spent the weekend tracking down and making some poor sap who didn’t know how to pay his debts ‘disappear.’ The man could have laughed any time one of his employers used that word to describe what they wanted to happen to the person Scorch was tasked with tracking down. To most people, that meant just taking them out and dumping them in a river somewhere. Scorch’s style was notably unique, though; he tended to leave nothing but ashes behind at that kind of request.

A hum reverberated through his chest as he began to hum along to the next tune, this time from BOC. Watching as the sun set behind the mountains was a sight to be seen, but it was hardly captivating to Scorch. He wasn’t one to get torn up at sights of grandeur, not when he knew what kinds of sick things happened all around them. One pretty sunset didn’t make up for all the f*cked up sh*t he saw on a daily basis.

Pulling out his phone, he checked the GPS, showing him about 100 miles from where he needed to be. Until then, he’d be burning rubber trying to get there before he had to switch cars again.

[Shine]

Where Ashling had entered the little stronghold, Shine exited a moment later, running out and back to Keeper. The cape and the costume was still a little new to her, but it definitely gave out a message. It got attention, and it was bold and bright. Exactly what she wanted to be.... She just didn't anticipate stealing back her own car while wearing this outfit.

"He's moving out of range again, Shine. Step through the mirror to reset your location." Keeper gestured and a gateway appeared next to him, and in front of Shine. "Other vehicles in the area will provi-"

She cut him off, and jumped through the gateway, and landed with a soft thud on the back of a semi truck, between the back of a freshly washed cab, and a white trailer. She steadied herself on the hand rails meant to help drivers climb up on the back of the tractor, hair immediately whipping in the wind. She pushed her hair back out of her face, and held it back with one hand while taking a better grip onto the truck handle and leaning out to look up and down the road. She didn't see anything right away, but that was ok. This was just to move her up closer again. Frowning at not finding her car, she stepped back through the shiny back of the cab, where Keeper greeted her with a calm annoyance.

"Are you finished...?"

"For now." Ashling smiled to the Keeper, but it wasn't a pleasant smile. It was a smile of purpose and determination. "Can you get me their face?"

Keeper gestured again, and a three small windows appeared in front of the redhead. Not quite close enough to peer into, but close enough that she could step up to them to look through. She gestured as though she was pushing them away, as she'd seen Keeper do before, and the two small windows on the sides moved away from the center one. That was pretty cool, but she was more interested in getting a look at the car thief's face right then. She stepped up to the center window, and peered through the narrow visor, recognizing this as looking through the rearview mirror of the car. She got a good look at the thief's features, before noticing his eyes glance up into the mirror. Her masked eyes met with his for that brief window, and then she backed away out of sight, vanishing as if into thin air from the sight in the mirror. It really hadn't been enough to get a good look at what he might have on hand, but at least now she'd seen the face of the thief. She wondered how he'd react to that....

"Keeper, what's the best way of evicting this man from my car without getting it totaled?" Her mind was filled with images of scenes from the Matrix trilogy, when they'd had a battle on the highway across multiple motorcycles, cars, and trucks. As amazing as all that was, she didn't trust herself to handle that sort of encounter. She'd probably go tumbling across the roadway. And die. Horrifically. Of course, she was acting like getting back her car wasn't dangerous.
It was.

"Totaled? What are we counting?" She rolled her eyes to herself at Keepers apparent continuous struggle with the English language and its expressions before gathering herself for what was to come.
She hadn't noticed the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. If she had, she probably would have remarked on his timing.

"Ok. Through the looking glass then...." She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, a gate leading from the mirror world to the back of her car, where the artifact that had orignally passed her this power was currently laying in the seat rested. She stepped through, and found herself materialized in the back passenger side seat.

"Excuse me, Sir. I'll need to see your license and registration please." She said with a little spunk as she grasped the silver worked mirror in her hand from the seat. Best to hold onto that. "Pull the car over!"