The buildings seemed to fly by as Atmos jumped from one to the next. In truth, the analogy was almost accurate. Rather than real flight, however, a brief updraft, as he launched himself from the lip of each building, caused something closer to gliding. It took too much concentration to actually maintain lift for flight. It was something he continued to work on, but he was still too new using his powers to accomplish it.
It felt almost as freeing to finally be registered. In all fairness, he couldn't consider the city he patrolled
his
. Majoram was the primary hero that protected the city. He was their savior and point of pride. Still, while he was out foiling a destructo beam, or some other major calamity, the crime rate had steadily begun to climb. Hence why the mayor had petitioned the PRA for a couple of additional members for support.
Strictly speaking, Atmos didn't need to patrol the city. By law, he wasn't permitted to assist in law enforcement against "normals". If the criminals didn't have super powers, or at least super-tech, he was even less able to lend assistance than the average citizen. As such, most heroes tended to remain at base until called in by the proper authorities. After all, the mindset that led them to become heroes in the first place would find it difficult to stand by helplessly while a crime was committed.
Atmos was old-school in his mentality, however. The most dangerous criminals weren't always the ones who swept into a bank and threatened to kill everyone there. The
most
dangerous were those who kept their profile so low that you never heard about their activities until after they had once more scurried back into their holes.
Besides, although he wasn't allowed to apprehend normal criminals, there was nothing to prevent him from witnessing the crime and testifying against them. There was also a loophole that suggested he might be able to intervene, provided he didn't use his powers at all. That might be difficult, since he'd probably need to use them just to get down from the roof in time to intercede, but it was theoretically possible.
So Atmos decided to defy standard practice and actively patrolled the city like the heroes in the movies always did. It was also how he happened to hear the scream only a block away. He adjusted his run and lept to the street below rather than the next roof in line. A sudden cushion of air erupted beneath him at the last second to prevent terminal deceleration and in a moment he was off along the sidewalk with no powers active, just in case.
The alley wasn't as dark as Hollywood always seemed to create. It was a city. There was enough luminous pollution in most good-sized cities that it never really got too dark to see. What all that ambient light displayed proved he needn't have worried about the precautions. Still, better to get in the habit than to jump in where it could cause trouble.
A man in a ski mask, jeans and a sweatshirt stood over an obviously terrified woman on the ground. It was immediately clear that the rag pressed against her mouth was what had abruptly cut the scream off. Why she didn't simply pull it away only became apparent when he watched the assailant.
One of the man's palms remained stationary pointed directly at her. She tried desperately to rip the rag away with one hand but the telekinesis prevented her. Meanwhile, he flicked his other hand almost negligently in her direction. The buttons on her blouse popped off and half of the shirt slid aside to display a voluptuously filled lace bra. Another flick of his fingers and a nonexistent gust of wind flipped her skirt up. The down-stroke of his hand tore matching lace panties and left them to dangle from one of her knees.
Pathetic!
Atmos thought.
All that ability and he's going to use it to take advantage of some woman in a back alley?
"Hey?" Atmos focused his mind on the air within the alley, ready to attack as necessary. With a teke, offense was the best option for him. The insubstantial actions of his opponent left nothing for him to defend against. It would pass effortlessly through any wall of air he tried to erect and there was nothing to knock off course.
The would-be rapist turned. With his concentrations blown, the woman was able to pull the rag off of her face and crab-walk back to a corner of the alley. It took the man a moment to identify the source of the interruption. When he did, confusion flashed across his face.
"You're not..." He glanced back over at the frightened woman but returned his full attention to Atmos quickly enough. "Get the fuck out of here, blue boy! This is
my
piece of ass!"
'Blue Boy'? Atmos was rather proud of his costume. He'd gotten the poly-fiber-titanium fabric done in shades of light blue and white that not only reflected the sky with which he associated his power but also would, eventually, make it almost impossible to spot him. When he actually learned to fly, that was.
"You're in violation of the Paranormal Licensing Act. Article oh-five-six, at the very least. Illegal use of paranormal abilities against an unwilling civilian. I also suspect you're in violation of article oh-oh-seven, unregistered para, and oh-oh-five, registered criminal para."
"Fuck off!" The thug slashed his hand through the air. Atmos flinched automatically. Although his poly-fi-tite armored 'costume' could probably absorb the attack, not all of his body was covered. Most notably, sections of his face were exposed. It was almost a relief when he felt the attack strike his shoulder. However strong the para criminal might be, he wasn't strong enough to cut through the armor.
Atmos had seen enough. The brief observation he'd had of the attack on the woman, combined with the more immediate assault, proved rather handily the criminal's greatest weakness. Whether because of biological requirement or as a psychological crutch, the para didn't seem to be able to use his powers without directing it with his hands. It was possible that was an affectation to throw his enemies off guard, but Atmos wouldn't take any chances.
Without simmilar somatic considerations, Atmos adjusted the pressure in the air that surrounded the other man's wrists. With those invisible cuffs in place, he used nothing more than a strong wind to yank the misguided criminal's arms straight up and out to one side. Even as the man tried to catch his flailing balance, Atmos formed another column of 'hardened' air and slammed it straight into the criminal's temple. All resistance ceased and the man crumpled the moment his hands were freed.
Too easy.
Atmos thought to himself. Of course, the poor unfortunate criminal hadn't had the intensive training that he had. He'd been meticulously drilled in the use of his powers to a degree that even many of his instructors couldn't slip a victory by him. Of course, it helped that the level of his single ability vastly exceeded even many of those with multiple, complimentary, powers.
Atmos calmly walked over to the now-unconscious criminal. Careful of possible secondary (or even primary) abilities that were commonly associated with telekinesis, he pulled a single strand of hardened air and used it to bring one, then the other, hand behind the man's back. Once in place, he snapped on a pair of null-cuffs that had been provided by the PRA. With those on, none but the absolute strongest Paras would have any access to their powers.
While he'd been focused on the criminal, the woman had slowly overcome her shock and had begun to pull herself upright, using the wall for support. She looked a mixture of relieved and nervous. He knew the reason and didn't even really blame her for her prejudice. After all, she'd been stripped a quarter naked by a para only a minute ago.
Atmos held up his hands in a placating manner. She flinched, slightly, at the sight of his palms. No surprise since it wasn't much different from the pose that the slime had used to gag her. Unfortunately, it was also the universal sign for unarmed and harmless. Even if he wasn't, technically, either.
"Ma'am. I'm registered with the PRA. My name's Atmos. I've been brought in as support for Majoram."
The name of the much more famous hero broke through her fear. The dam burst and tears of relief flowed as she crossed the few feet and threw her arms around his waist. The amazing armored fabric of his outfit had been meticulously designed to allowed a remarkable level of tactile sensation through so he was acutely aware of the way her breasts pressed against his abdomen.
"Thank God you showed up! I didn't think anything would happen to me. I've used this route forever and it's always seemed so safe before. Then all the sudden I found my legs tangled in my skirt and I was on the ground. He rubbed himself as he stood over me and when I tried to scream I had a rag pressed into my mouth and..."
"Ma'am. Ma'am! You safe now, you're going to be okay, ma'am." Although his training had been thorough on combating other paras, it had included simple civilian management. Unfortunately, he had no
practical
experience with it like he did the more confrontational aspects of his new job. The best he could do was try soothing nonsense, put his arms gently around her and rub her back.
It worked, thankfully. The tears shuddered to a halt. Those glistening doe-eyes of hers turned upwards to face him and he felt a completely amoral reaction to her presence surge through his body. Fortunately, despite the skin-tight nature of his outfit, a solid cod-piece covered him and prevented the reaction from being noticeable. He hoped.
"Thank you." She whispered in an alto voice that was far too sultry for his sanity. "You rescued me. I want to repay you."
There was little doubt in Atmos' mind exactly what she meant. If there had been, the way her hips rolled against the blessed protection of his cup would have eliminated it. It took all of his trained willpower to resist the urges she had inadvertently triggered.
