[Sunday]

Helicopter blades thundered overhead, reverberating down the glass buildings of the city surrounding Cyrus. His glance darted about the streets warily, wondering why there were so many choppers out today. What was happening?

Kat and him had buried their frigid hands into their jacket pockets, huddling against the sharp autumn chill blowing into them. Spidery ice crystals were beginning to form across the windshields of parked cars, and the darkening overcast clouds hinted at afternoon rain.

"I thought of a catch-phrase for when you're kicking butt," a sheepish smile tugged at Kat's lips.

"Oh yeah?" Cyrus encouraged.

"Do you even lift?"

Cyrus immediately stifled laughter, somewhat astonished that it was actually pretty good. "Okay, that's clever. But it's just too silly..." he protested.

"Use it like a battle cry, it would be perfect. And maybe a bit hilarious," Kat wore a cheeky grin, brushing her honey blonde sidebangs away from her eyes as the wind fluttered her hair.

"I'll think about it. But don't expect it to happen," he chuckled.

Giovanni's Pizza was just a few blocks away, but renewed pangs of hunger reminded him that the last meal he had was dinner last night. Cyrus was tugged from his thoughts by commotion in the distance - the sounds of panicked shouts and indiscernible crashing. Dread-filled curiosity rose in him while his eyes remain locked on the upcoming intersection vigilantly, his guard rising.

"What is that?" A crease deepened in Kat's brow as they both picked up their pace to peer around the next corner.

"I can't tell. If it's bad, I'm getting you out of here," Cyrus' lips slanted grimly, annoyed that he sounded so stern when he had just wanted to have a nice lunch out.

Just as they met the intersection and the perpendicular road came into view, a massive figure plowed out of a warehouse halfway down the street with an explosion of corrugated metal and dusty concrete. Yells rang out as terrified pedestrians stumbled away, the great figure knocking several people aside as he trudged towards a scraped up armored van parked across the street. Disregarding traffic and blaring its horn, a sedan suddenly crashed into his side, but he barely stumbled. The brute slammed a heavy fist into the hood with a snarl, turning back to the van with a bulky, oddly-shaped case in hand.

Cyrus had pulled Kat back around the corner. "I'm sorry, I have to take care of this. Will you wait for me at the pizza place?"

She nodded, unable to keep a hint of worry from crossing her face. Her silvery-blue eyes cast a glimmer of admiration, silently cheering for him.

He allowed a small smirk, and she flashed him a smile before turning to hastily cross the intersection. He skipped a few steps away, watching to ensure she made it safely to the other side before he tore between buildings into an adjacent alley. Careful that no one was around, the cover of invisibility enveloped him before his charcoal gray graphene armor materialized over his form, and he propelled himself upwards into the cold sky. Kat was one of the only people who knew his secret identity, but to everyone else in New York he was Levitate.

As the rooftops cleared his vision he spotted the van accelerating down the road, swerving and shoving around slow cars. Levitate shot off, the icy gusts whipping against him as he barreled down the street, buildings rushing by like posts alongside a highway. The car was moving too fast for him to grasp them in his mind, so he had to slow them down first - in a matter of seconds he dropped onto the roof of the van with a heavy thud and it veered precariously, tires screeching in protest as the thieves inside exclaimed profanities. Bullet fire pummeled through the roof, blasting out around him, and he leapt back into the sky. The distraction had slowed the vehicle enough, so with a gathering of concentration, Levitate wrenched it to a halt with his thoughts and it lurched still with a groaning screech, tires popping.

The team of thieves scattered from the van doors with their hefty guns, furiously unloading on where Levitate hovered. He dodged and dropped behind a car as it was pocketed with bullet holes, eyes flicking around for something he could use as a mobile shield. "Sorry, car," he muttered, quickly ripping the passenger door off with a twist of whining metal, then tumbled out into the street with it, the window shattering immediately as it absorbed fire. He shook the glass off and quickly assessed the five of them, all about average muscular build except for the big guy, who must've been at least nine feet tall and six-hundred pounds of thick muscle. Now that he was closer, he noticed strange glowing cybernetics and wires welded into the giant's skin along his bulging neck and temples. Were they enhancing his strength? The huge figure sported a similar tactical bullet-proof suit as the others, his indigo hair shortly cropped, and chiseled face accentuating eyes dark as obsidian.

The loud thrum of helicopter blades overhead had become more remote when the gunfire started, but the cries of passerby and PTING's of ricocheting bullets filled the air instead. With his thoughts, Levitate swiftly sliced the door into four vertical strips. The fifth guy - Cyrus deemed Brutus - would need some special dealing with. The van doors slammed shut behind the men, frightening and distracting them momentarily. Levitate flung his door pieces towards them, each one crumpling around their unsuspecting targets tightly, clenching them in. The four bound men collapsed with shocked outrage, their weapons clattering to the pavement.

"AAAAAAGHHH, damn you little shit!" Brutus bellowed, spraying flurries of bullets at the car Cyrus slid back behind as the titan trampled forward. The hollow click of an ammoless trigger was all Levitate was waiting for, and he launched out to deliver a series of punches to the giant. Brutus' muscle-bound arm lashed towards him with surprising speed, but was narrowly avoided as Levitate tumbled around him. Quickly regaining himself, Levitate struck his knee into Brutus' lower back to immobilize him, then swung around to land an uppercut to his jaw, causing his opponent to stumble back clumsily.

"No-- NO!" Disoriented and frantic, the giant thrashed his arms in a wild rage, hoping to land a blow. Whipping back behind him, Levitate slammed his palm into the meaty base of his skull and toppled him with a powerful sweep of his leg. Brutus crashed backwards hard, his head slamming into the concrete and knocking him unconscious. Do you even lift? penetrated Cyrus' thoughts and he held back a smirk. He kept the big guy pinned with steady mind force as the police poured in around them, their sirens blaring and lights flashing. They had arrived fast, and Cyrus regretted not getting a chance to figure out what the cybernetic implants were. He briefly inspected the devices digging into Brutus' temples, discoloring the skin where they were crudely welded.

"Step away!" a cop shouted at Levitate, quivering gun pointed at the unconscious titan. Cyrus calmly raised his hands and complied while mentioning, "I'm holding him down right now in case he wakes back up. You're going to need one hell of a sedative and cuffs to keep this guy down otherwise."

The gathering crowd shouted whoops of appraisal as officers formed a circle, waving their arms to hold them back. The captured thieves were packed away and the area taped off as damage crews came in to settle the mess. Levitate inconspicuously disappeared as he was enveloped in a swirl of invisibility. Because of the immense concentration the ability demanded, he only used it for his entrances and escapes - it was what kept him from being followed, and held his secret identity safe. Lifting into the air, he flew back to the dim alleyway, where his armored disguise disappeared from him. An average-looking teen slipped from between the buildings and crossed the intersection, hands stuffed in his jacket pockets. He gazed at the path of destruction and swarm of cop cars down the street, their vibrant strobing lights flickering violently on the facades of buildings. He realized that Brutus had been carrying an odd case earlier, and never saw where it went. That was one dissatisfying part of his job; once the cops came, he rarely found out what became of everything.

The cybernetics bothered him the most, though. They looked painful, almost home-made in how unrefined they were, and he hadn't discovered a purpose for them. It looked like Brutus had already used alternate means to beef up so immensely. How could cybernetics help? If they gave him special abilities, why hadn't he used them? Cyrus puzzled the rest of the way to the pizza place, his empty stomach whining with renewed vigor. "Hang in there buddy, you're gonna make it!" he kidded with himself, though he was on the verge of passing out from hunger.

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