i_likeitfast Starlight, Starbright. [Open to Apollo]
Jean-Paul was doing a fine job of not making friends, and not finding allies. On the flip side, he was also doing a fine job of not getting shot, beat up, killed, maimed, tortured or mugged. Not that he had much to steal, of course. He'd found a little place - no, it wasn't really a place, so much as an abandoned attic-type space, complete with bats, and had taken to going out in uniform, just to try and deter petty thieves. There was, oddly enough, something about seeing a man in spandex that translated to, "Don't try to attack me, as I will hand you your ass on a platter."
It didn't help with actually figuring out what was going on, other than the obvious, which was... chaos. Gunshots and shouts, the sounds of a city being overrun by crime. Something unfamiliar to him, because Alpha Flight had always dealt with the superhuman and the supernatural. Never anything so simple as bank robbers, unless they also had tentacles or three eyes, or something odd.
Now it was nighttime, and hardly quieter than the day. At least he had the atmosphere to flee to. The sky was the only free space, and even that was restricted, somehow. Sometimes he went up to look for people he knew - Aurora, Vindicator, even Sasquatch - and sometimes, like tonight, he was trying to escape from the bats. They were harmless enough, but the fluttering of wings going in and out of the window grated. Up here, he'd see the occasional winged shape, but it was easy to ignore in favor of the stars and the clouds. Mostly clouds, tonight.
From: [info]i_shine Date: 01/02/2006 18:41:45
Night time in a city, any city, had never held any fear for Apollo. Even in his first weeks on the street with the Midnighter, hiding from Stormwatch and constantly looking over his own shoulder, it wasn't anything hiding in the shadows that scared him. When you could shine like a small sun, the darkness meant nothing.
All Apollo's fears came from inside. That was probably worse.
Still, at least he could distract himself. Crimefighting was always an option, no matter where you were. Even here, in this tangle, topsy-turvy city he could try and build a finer world. If that meant sneaking up on some drugged-up mugger and scaring the hell out of him, then so be it.
Taking a break from the dank alleyways of the inner city, Apollo rose slowly into the air. A slight aura of light surrounded him, probably drawing the attention of anyone down below who happened to be watching the sky. Not that there was much else to see; the clouds were low tonight.
Apollo, though, did find something else to watch. A figure, barely visible in the dark, hovering in the sky. It was worth investigating, at least. With a burst of speed, and accompanying flare of light, he flew in the figure's direction.
[ooc: Sorry about the lateness of this. Telephone lines went down, taking my internet connection with them.]
He saw the light first, just a quick streak on the edge of his vision that made him pause and turn. The first thought was that it was a shooting star, or, a plane or something of the sort, but it was going the wrong direction to be a star, and too small and low to be a plane. Jean-Paul turned towards it, arms crossing over his chest as he drew inwards on himself.
It was best to not appear entirely friendly, just in case, though the chances of a random thief or robber being able to fly - and fly very quickly, given the ground that had already been covered - were slim. He had to squint to see around the flare of light, the surrounding darkness making it seem brighter and bigger than it might've actually been, but gradually, he made out the form of a man, who was glowing.
It made him miss Aurora. If she'd been with him, they could've matched that lightshow.
From: [info]i_shine Date: 01/03/2006 06:58:59
Apollo slowed on approach, trying to reign in the shining halo. Blinding complete strangers, while occasionally fun and sometimes appropriate, wasn't conducive to making friends. In this City, he needed all the friends he could find.
It was a young man, rather good-looking, floating in midair. He, too, was wearing a costume. Finally thought Apollo, Someone who gets the spandex thing.
He put on a friendly smile, and tried to look as non-threatening as a tall, musclebound, flying man could.
"Er. Hello." How did one introduce oneself at a time like this? "We seem to have something in common."
Jean-Paul wasn't about to make it easier for that introduction to happen. It wasn't intentional, really, but he wasn't exactly the most socially adept person around. Usually there was someone else to correct him, or speak before he could, and that was how he got around in the public world. He'd always been the irascible one at those stupid press conferences.
At least this guy wasn't paparazzi, even if he did have the flash.
So he could be civil, at least as civil as he was to the woman from the alley. Possibly moreso, because at least this guy looked like he somewhat belonged. "Indeed. And what bright-colored uniformed troupe do you belong to?" Circus, or superhero. Same thing, half the time.