164 Interlude: Poe
Oakland, California, December 1st, 18:36.
Oakland is a shithole, or rather, it 𝘸𝘢𝘴 a shithole.
However, after nearly a decade of hard work, Poe is proud to say that Oakland is now the city to be in California.
It certainly wasn't easy, the city was already in shambles before Kyushu was sunk across the sea, the after effects of which only made a bad situation worse over here on the West coast.
But he had done it.
Years and years of patrolling, of fighting crime, protecting developments and pulling countless overnight shifts, all in the name of fixing this city.
As a member of the Guild, he is technically supposed to work internationally, but Poe is fifty-eight this year, and even back when he was in his late forties, he had no desire to travel the world.
And that is a choice he will never regret, now that he can do his patrols with very few instances to be dealt with, now that he no longer needs to pull any overnight shifts.
He can finally relax, and enjoy the relative peace he has carved out in this corner of the world.
Of course, just because he has the power to keep any major players from interfering with the city, that doesn't mean crime is completely gone, even if it is at a record low.
Which is why he is still patrolling even now, even as the sides of his head start to turn grey from age. Luckily he at least managed to avoid male pattern baldness so far. He's quite fond of having hair.
He already has to wear a silly costume of sparse golden armour over a blue, skin-tight suit. He even has to wear a golden cape and full face mask to go with it all. Keeping his hair is the least he could ask for.
But he still has a job to do in the end, so he quickly changes his flight course upon getting a report of a robbery in process three blocks down.
It takes him all of four seconds to arrive after getting the location, and that is just because he prefers to avoid traveling faster than the sound barrier, in consideration of those he passes over.
The scene he arrives to is nothing new, a pair of thugs hoping to make a quick buck. Such is the human condition.
Preparing himself to repeat the same song and dance that he has gone through a thousand times by now, Poe flies down until he is hovering right in front of the two thieves as they burst from the convenience store, cash in hand.
Both of them freeze like deer in headlights once they take sight of him, and he don't even find it amusing anymore.
"Greetings gentlemen, it's a lovely day for some self reflection, don't you think?" Poe ask, projecting his voice thanks to years of experience.
The one on the right seems to be the smarter of the two, as he immediately drops his handgun to the floor and raises his hands in surrender, only stopping briefly to elbow his friend, who soon follows his lead and surrenders without a fuss.
"Your cab will be here shortly, so why don't you get started on that self reflection while I wait here with you?"
Defeated, both of them sit down and give up, knowing well enough that they can't get away with Poe here.
Turning away from the troubled youths, Poe gives a smile and a wave to the slowly forming crowd of civilians.
In a more dangerous scene, such as one involving another parahuman, he'd be firm and warn them to keep their distance. Though, the people of this city know him well enough by now that they would likely do so anyway.
The only reason the are willing to crowd him while he's working right now is because everyone here knows that he have the situation completely under control.
So he have no problem giving away a signature or two, or taking a few photos, smiling even if the mask hides the expression. These people are the reason he's worked himself to the bone after all, interacting with them, seeing first hand the change that he has brought, it's one of his favourite things.
It warms his heart to see their smiles and know the part he played in them. Even better, is that they all know it. Poe is not a vain man by nature, but there is a special kind of connection when a whole people treat you as a Hero.
A true Hero, not just as a job title.
Having such lofty expectations placed on your shoulders, it makes you want to live up to them.
However, right after the police cruiser takes the thieves away and Poe am about to return to his patrol, he notices something, or rather, someone.
A woman, sitting on the edge of a three story roof across the street and staring down at him with a smile. Knowing what a fall from that height can do to a person and worried for her safety, he decides to check in on her before returning to his patrols, hoping that he wouldn't have to talk another person out of contemplating suicide.
He had a similar experience in the past once, and it was a roller-coaster of emotions that he would like to avoid going through again, but one that he would not hesitate to repeat if it was necessary.
He takes longer to fly across the street to the woman than he did to get to the crime, solely because he did not wish to startle her.
"Hello there," he greets as he takes in the woman's appearance.
She is wearing a black, low cut shirt, with a contrastingly white jacket over it. She has a short red plaid skirt that barely goes down half her thigh, with a pair of black high socks that leave only a small inch of her thigh's skin exposed, and a pair of white sneakers to top it all off.
Her features are mature, in her thirties if he had to guess, though her posture and the way she's swinging her legs speaks of a temperament much younger than her apparel.
She has long, straight black hair that falls down to her hips, and a pair of startlingly green eyes that seem to glow as they match his stare. Combined with her thick, rosy lips and aesthetic features, Poe can admit that she is one of the most attractive women he has ever seen.
However, what catches his experienced eye is not her good looks, but the open phone by her side, where he can still see what she was last doing with it, which is apparently dialling 911.
"Would you happen to be the one who called in this robbery?" He asks with a smile, both to confirm and to start conversation.
"I am, Mister Poe," she confirms, her sonorous voice a mix between politely distanced and secretly excited.
He's experienced enough to notice when one is trying to hide their emotions, especially with the particularly reserved woman who he calls a friend that he works with.
"Please, just call me Poe, everyone does," he says, getting a beautiful and pure smile in response.
"If you insist, Poe, but only if you call me Selene."
With a friendly smile, still hidden behind the mask, Poe manoeuvres himself to be sitting by her side.
"Of course Selene, would you mind me asking what you are doing up here? It could be dangerous if you fell." His tone holds nothing but genuine concern and friendliness for this complete stranger, which is part of why he has had such success as a Hero.
Because he simply is one, even without the fancy titles and tights, he'd be a Hero regardless.
"I just wanted to see you, that's all. And don't worry, it wouldn't matter if I fell." Her response sets off all sorts of bells in Poe's head.
The main question being, would her falling not matter because she would survive, making her a parahuman, or does she mean it the 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 way.
"I'm flattered, but when you say it would not matter if you fell, what exactly did you mean by that?" He asks with worry, only to get an answer that he didn't expect.
With a sunny, innocent smile matching her angelic, almost ethereal voice, she looks Poe right in the eye as she answers.
"Because you'd catch me of course!"
Letting out a sigh of relief, Poe chuckles lightly, his gauntleted hands clanking against the roof as he leans back to look up at the sky.
"I suppose I would, wouldn't I?" He rhetorically asks, only to receive an answer anyway.
"Yes, you would. Because that's the kind of man you are, the greatest tragedy of them all. A Hero."
This time, her words cause a slight frown to grow on Poe's face, though when he glances at Selene, he sees that she still hasn't once stripped her eyes away from him, her serene smile not fading at all.
"Tragedy?" He asks, not understanding her words.
"Yes, a tragedy, that's what you are," she breathes out, seemingly overwhelmed by her own words, "you've given so much. So much pain, so much sacrifice, so much loss. All for the sake of strangers, you've given away your life. People mistake tales of heroism to be those of joy, but in truth, any story of a true Hero is nothing more than a tale of tragedy."
Her words only make Poe's frown deepen, a part of him slightly affronted, but mostly he is just concerned about this Selene's apparent moral philosophy.
"If you think of me as a tragedy, then why would you wait here to see me?" He asks, getting a strange feeling that there is a lot more to the woman before him than simply being a fan.
"No, you don't understand. Being a tragedy is 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 why I wanted to see you with my own eyes. I admire you, you know? To so willingly give up so much, it is 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 and I adore you for it."
The sudden intensity behind her words and stare almost make Poe lean away subconsciously, but he gets the feeling that doing so would destroy this woman's heart, so he holds the instinct at bay as he tries to think of a proper response.
"Personally, I do not view my life as a tragedy. I see stories of heroism as ones of hope, of overcoming tragedy, rather than dwelling in it."
Unfortunately, his words only cause the woman to ruefully shake her head at him.
"No, you just don't understand. But you will, in time."
This time, Poe is unable to stop his body from tensing at the vaguely threatening words, but he doesn't jump to conclusions as he is pretty sure that the woman is not in the best states of mind, and he isn't sure if she meant it as a threat or not.
"Might I ask how I will come to understand this?" He asks, hoping to get to the bottom of this, but only to receive another vague warning in response.
"It's like I said earlier, Mister Poe. It is just the kind of man you are. You are a Hero, through and through. You will understand what that means in time."
Her voice is just as ethereal as before, her words almost whispered as she speaks them, but before he can answer again, his earpiece beeps at him, informing him of another crime in progress, which he briefly acknowledges before turning back to the woman, who's face has gained a slight melancholic edge to it.
"Duty calls?" She asks in a whisper, sounding oddly lost.
"That it does," he confirms as he gets to his feet, floating slightly as he prepares to leave, "it was nice talking with you Selene, may we meet again."
"Indeed, my Tragedy. Stay safe, and watch out for your peripetia."
With her final words, Poe hesitates slightly before simply turning and flying off, controlling his speed to ensure he doesn't affect her with the after effects of his movement.
During his brief travel, he tries to figure the woman out, especially her last message.
Peripetia. A sudden reversal of fate in a narrative, typically when the Hero turns things around and overcomes the Villain, however Poe can't help but think that Selene had the opposite in mind when she gave her warning.
Part of him is unsure if she's a parahuman, perhaps even a precog trying to warn him of something, but another part of him believes that she is simply a woman with an unhealthy way of viewing the world.
It's then that he vows to himself, if they should meet again, he will try and help her, or get her the help she might need.
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A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
To be completely honest, I've kind of just been wanting to use the word peripetia for a while now xD
Also, for once I don't have a lot to say, because I don't want to spoil things this time. Just trust that it'll be fun. Poe was only supposed to be 2-3 chaps, but I came up with a much longer mini arc that legit had me evil laughing irl for a solid half minute, which is a first for me lol.
His design for the outfit is based off doctor fate btw
(5+)Advanced chapters with the links below!
pat/reon.com/user?u=41732867 (get rid of the first slash or check the description)
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