Enigmatic: Sapphire City Supers

Chapter 3: In Which the Damsel is Not in Distress

I screamed.

It happened before I could stop it; for all my bluster, he'd certainly managed to startle me by appearing like that. Now, feeling a bit silly but with a twinge of fear running through my veins, I put my hands on my hips and glared at him.

"What do you want?"

He looked distinctly taken aback. I doubted anyone had ever lead with that when he appeared with a knife in front of them. 

"Uh, your money, obviously." His voice was rough, despite his surprise.

I eyed the knife, making sure I had it in my sights before answering him belligerently. "Do I look like I'm carrying anything of value to you? I'm out for a walk in jean shorts. Cut your losses and scram, creep."

The look of surprise deepened before melding into anger. He took a threatening step forward, looking me up and down. "A slip of a girl like you, what are you going to do about it? I said give me your money, if you know what's good for you."

I gritted my teeth, and resigned myself to a fight. Not that it would be much of a fight, unless he was very good at hiding something. "I said, scram, creep. This is your last chance, you disgusting rat."

He snarled, and moved to thrust the knife towards me, but looked even more startled than before when he realised it was stuck fast in the air and wouldn't budge an inch.

Before he even had time to look up in bewilderment or notice the smug smile creeping across my face, a dark shape fell out of the sky and landed with a distinct crack beside him.

"And just what do you think you're doing here, sir?" The voice was pleasant and silky; dangerously so. Less campy than some of the other Supers.

Both the mugger and I groaned, but for very different reasons. A Super was here to save the day, but I did not need this guy's help.

"Look, dude, I appreciate the gesture and all, but I've got everything under control." I tried to reason with him but, predictably, he ignored me completely, his attention focussed on the ne'er do well.

For his part, the creep knew he was in over his head. "I didn't do nothin'," he muttered, before turning and breaking into a dead run.

Surprisingly, the Super vanished. The man turned and looked behind him with a triumphant grin, before seemingly hitting an invisible wall and crumpling into a heap, out cold.

"Boo." said the Super, as he rematerialised on the spot. He handcuffed the crook with whatever the Supers were carrying these days, before dragging him over beside the wall and pressing a button on a small device in his palm.

"I think it works better if he's conscious when you say that," I observed dryly.

The Super turned his attention to me for the first time. His voice was laced with humour. "Well you're still here to appreciate it, so it works anyway. The police are on their way now, and they'll pick him up. You're safe, but you'll probably have to wait until they get here to make a statement. I'll be here with you until then." 

Something about the way he said it, like he was taking care of a precious little bird, made me feel extra snarky.

"I guess you didn't hear me before when I said I had everything under control. That's okay, actually, because I lied before. I don't appreciate the gesture." I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him defiantly.

He let out a low chuckle. It was hard to tell in the shadows of the lane, but it felt like he was looking me up and down. "You're a testy one, aren't you? I guess I'm sorry; I thought I was helping. You'll forgive me, though, if we don't believe everyone who tells us they don't need our help." He didn't sound very sorry.