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<span class="mu-r">“I’ve got some time before my next appointment. Sure, why not?”</span> you said with a shrug, joining him at the rooftop ledge.
He gave you an approving nod, and you gave him one of your own.
<span class="mu-r">“Oh, and I think you’re being a little too hard on yourself.”</span> you added. <span class="mu-r">“I’ve met far worse people in my life.”</span>
Matt’s expression was an unreadable one, but you thought you sensed gratitude mixed somewhere in that flurry of emotions. He didn’t respond with words, and simply leapt from the building, plummeting headfirst with his arms spread out. You followed his example a moment later, allowing the blind man to get a good head start so you could trail after him.
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Over the course of the next few hours, you and Matt went on an absolute warpath. With his supernatural sensory capabilities, you hunted down and squashed any kind of delinquent activity that required direct intervention. Neither of you spoke very much, and he didn’t attempt to pry into your life. You were simply enjoying each other's company.
At certain times, Matt would turn his head slightly and scowl in a random direction. When you asked him about it, he simply told you that there were some cruelties that he couldn’t prevent or punish. It took you a moment, but you figured that he was talking about crimes of the domestic level. Parents abusing their children, husbands beating their wives, and the frequent bullying that went on between younger kids. Superheroes could do nothing to change such things, as the problem stemmed from issues on a societal level. Or maybe it was human nature for people to want to take advantage of another’s weakness. You’ve seen far too much shit to consider yourself any sort of optimist, but you guessed that any cape had to be something of an optimist to keep doing what they do.
It was better than being a cop, at least. Now <span class="mu-i">there</span> was a thankless and dangerous job! Hill and Callisto might call you crazy, but even you’re not crazy enough to go toe to toe with high level metas with only a pistol.
With each and every engagement, you found yourself watching Matt fight. You were studying his every move, the way he’d react to incoming attacks, the fluidity with which he would parry blows and return them in the blink of an eye. Every movement felt practiced and rehearsed to the point of obsession. If there’s anything that you learned from a life of violence and juvenile behavior, it was that real fights were far messier and ended much quicker. Especially when two practiced martial artists were going at it. All it took was a single mistake.
But this? Watching Matt fight here and now…the whole thing felt choreographed. You were really going to have to convince this guy to personally train you someday.
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(Cont.)
