Saturday, July 21, 2018: 8:00 PM

  I had hoped that the day would be easier. I woke up with the expectation that I would try to get as much done as possible, and then relax after the series of days that I have just gone through. The day started off easy enough, with me starting it out as normal, getting up, suffering minor scratches from Bright-eyes as she jumped off my chest, I’m pretty certain it is just playful now more than malicious, and then getting a breakfast from my personal Field Provision Box, with some of the remaining tea. Then I got to meditating to regain my magical energy back, and got the Mini-Avengers working on the Deathwatch Safety Goggles (Or SHAPE goggles), to get us up to sixteen totals of them. After that, and as the sun was starting to rise, I started work on a project of my own.

  I grabbed the remainder of the synthetic rubies and sapphires, not expecting to use all of them, to enhance my current glasses. I took them off, and focused heavily on them, adding several key features. Firstly, I added the same deathwatch effect that the SHAPE Goggles that the city was getting. No use not having it, and it can only help in the long run. Secondly, while the glasses had been great for distance vision, I added in a feature which increased my ability to spot details like traps and the like. Just because I have not dealt with any yet, doesn’t mean that they won’t have one or two in the future. Finally, I added in a feature that would allow me to use my own magic to cast the Detect Magic and Read Magic, finally patching up some issues that had been unresolved before.

  Since it only took the Mini-Avengers a total of two hours to get their sets of goggles done, they were redirected to assist me as I went, and together, we finished it all in another hour of combined work. Looking over the frames, they now had a slightly polychromatic hint when they hit light just right, and the lenses also did the same. The lenses were clear to look through normally, but changed tints based on what was being used and desired, even including mirrored. With our work being done, I set them to continue working on more of the boxes they had started on, with the Epoxiclay, and decided to deliver the SHAPE goggles to the rest of the departments that had not received them the day before, and not trouble Jonathan with the deliveries, especially since it was a “weekend”. I gathered up everything, bid good day to Rex and the kittens, and headed out to ride around to the more farflung departments that we delivered gloves to, but not the goggles.

  Leaving the Storage Unit,I stored the gear in the saddlebags, programmed the destinations in my S.H.I.E.L.D. phone’s map program, then I got on my S.H.I.E.L.D. E-Bike and started out. The drive wasn’t all that difficult at all, considering that it was early Saturday morning, traditionally a weekend day here, and I quickly made it to my first destination. After knocking on the door, and being seen by the same people who we had given the presentation to yesterday, I was let in cautiously. I started with thanking them for being part of the pilot program, and presented the pair of SHAPE goggles that they were going to be trying out. The person in charge of this station took them, tried them on, and was amazed at the actual capabilities.

  We had a brief discussion to reiterate how these didn’t actually violate H.I.P.P.A., something Jonathan had been VERY quick to reiterate during the discussions on the previous day, and what they could expect out of each one. Thinking carefully on the events of the other day, I cautioned them to keep a log of the times where a person’s status could not be seen, as we were still in the “debug” stages, but that the most often error was someone not being noted in the system. The Fire Captain noted these issues and told me that they would keep a record of this and get the information back to Agent Smith. I thanked them and said that if they had any other concerns or questions, they should feel free to contact him straight away to let him know, and that he can get back to me with them. The meeting was brief, as the department was given instruction on these yesterday, and apparently, this group wasn’t the one who saved the person in the Ambulance last night.

  I continued on to the next five of these departments with no issues, with pretty much the same interactions. Enough so, that I didn’t even spend too much time committing the fine details of the meetings to memory. I’m certain that I could pull it up, if the situation was dire, but I was in a bit of a rush, as I wanted to drop back by the Ambulance crew that I worked with, to give Sara and Dave the set of gloves that I had selected out for them specifically. On that last division post, there were a trio of people in the office with him. One was a somewhat portly man, the other was fairly reedy in a poor imitation of the science garb that I wore yesterday, and the third had the look of a shark manifested in the flesh. I waited politely for the conversation to draw to a natural close, but after a few minutes, I could tell that the older, portly man was stringing the conversation along, likely to keep around until I started my explanation for the Fire Captain.

  Sighing, I knocked politely on the door, and the Fire Captain welcomed me in, almost insistently. The Fire Captain looked resigned as he introduced me to the man, a J.D. Ricke, who had taken a great interest in my items, and the other two, the shark looking one’s name was C W. Jones and the reedy looking one was named T. J. Dawson. The Fire Captain, Wayne, was obviously not happy with this, but was going through with this farce. I took the seat proffered, and asked the Fire Captain, who had returned to sitting, if he was ready to receive his station’s set of SHAPE goggles. The minute the words left my lips, J.D. Ricke seemed to perk up and nudge the reedy looking one.

  T.J. Dawson spoke up and referenced how I had not gone through the appropriate venues and confirmation procedures for testing unknown medical devices, to ensure that sensitive health information is not compromised through the SHAPE Goggles, and that he could find no trials for Mustang Gloves anywhere. He was looking fairly self assured, when I decided to deflate his ego a little with some of the preparation that we had done for the previous day, informing the assembled group that the Goggles to not report any health conditions monitored anywhere other than the integrated lenses, that they do not take pictures of the individual, and cannot reference any information for that individual in any archive anywhere. I finished by saying that they were a “stand-alone” product, and that they are not connected, in any way, to the Internet. I then addressed his concerns with the gloves, stating that while these gloves did stimulate small scale platelet activation, this only happened when in the presence of a break in a blood vessel wall. I added that the gloves are not, “mystical”, it was nano-fabricated, bio-electrically powered technology.

  The technician brought to dispute my gloves was very quiet as he tried to parse everything, before finally giving up with a sigh, and told them that if they worked the way it was described, it was bleeding edge, but it was theoretically possible. The look that J.D. Ricke gave the technician, might have just killed a lesser man. J.D. Ricke spoke up and claimed that I might be known as a hero for now, but that he was certain that there were secrets that I was hiding. I looked at him with a little indifference for his attitude, and told him that I was here as a S.H.I.E.L.D. contractor, and as such, I would expect them to be able to vet a person fairly well. Ricke sneered at my quick response, but even I could see that he was seething.

  I thought that I had figured out exactly why Ricke was doing this, and I told him that this was a matter of saving people’s lives, not monetary gain, but the sharkish looking person clipped in and said that this wasn’t just a matter of saving lives, but that we also had to ensure that the city was safe from any kind of lawsuit. I didn’t have a good way to respond to that, even with my emphasis on the positives, but I finally fired back with an appeal to all three, that the technology is sound, there are no current legal challenges to these that are valid, that the city is not paying for the gloves, nor the goggles. I finished with telling the three of them that they can be remembered as ones who tried to seize these for profit, of which I am the ONLY manufacturer, so all you could do is take the ones that are not in my presence, OR, they can not stand in the way, and let the trial work to see if these can help people. I added just at the end, that it wasn’t just me that would be offended by this, but that this is being backed by S.H.I.E.L.D.

  J.D. Ricke stood, somewhat offended, and asked if I thought that this little stunt would survive a conversation with the superiors at S.H.I.E.L.D. I shrugged, saying that S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents had tested the SHAPE Goggles, and found them completely safe, but could not test the gloves because there was no one dying at the time. I offered up that Director Mackenzie was certainly in the loop, and would likely be looking at this humanitarian project with great interest, and that Stark Industries wouldn’t be far behind in wanting to spread this technology once it is proven. J.D. Ricke huffed and grabbed the other two to leave, muttering that this wasn’t over.

  With the three of them gone, I addressed Fire Captain Wayne, and asked him if there were any other issues that he felt needed to be covered. The Fire Captain sighed and told me that he was just glad that Ricke was gone, that he had damn near forced himself into this meeting, as he was… involved… in a case that the Fire Captain was dealing with outside of the fire department, and threatened that his case would not go well, if the meeting wasn’t allowed and arranged. I told him that he should contact Agent Smith about this, as this seems to be something that S.H.I.E.L.D. should know about. The Fire Captain said that he’d consider it, and thanked me for the Gloves and the Goggles, and that he’d be hoping that we can roll it out even more widespread. I told him that this was all up to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the City Council, but that I was certain that it would be cheaper than a LOT of the equipment that was purchased on a yearly basis.

  We shook hands and I told him that he can always reach out to Agent Smith if he needs to get in touch with me for anything not related to the Gloves and Goggles. I also added that he was getting the first hint of this, but there was going to be another additional item that was going to be designed around firefighting, but that this was a bit more difficult to set up. Fire Captain Wayne thanked me and said that he was glad that the city had someone like me to help with this and other things. I thanked him, but told him that while I was still recovering from that last fight with the Drones, that the city was still being protected by S.H.I.E.L.D. I wished the Fire Captain good luck, and then went to my S.H.I.E.L.D. E-Bike.

  It was, thankfully, not molested or damaged in any way that I could determine. I got on the E-Bike, and got ready to continue on to the station where Sara and David worked. The trip was fairly uneventful, with just a few honks from people whom I guessed recognized me. By the time I had gotten to the Station, it was around lunch time, so I stopped for a quick bite before going on to talk with whomever of the two Williams (unrelated) were on duty today. It was a simple place, where they had burgers, but it certainly wasn’t a Bolting Barghest.

  I finished my lunch and headed the rest of the way to the Station. Thankfully, there was not an active call, but it was David on duty today. We shook hands and he told me that he had heard about my gloves saving that man last night. I thanked him for the recognition, but told him that the credit should go to the wearer, as without them, the gloves would never have been activated. I segued into telling him that I had a pair of gloves for this Station, as well.

  David took them from me and asked if these were passed down between people also. I told him that this would work the best, at least until I can make up a pair for each person in the employ of the Fire and Rescue department of Norfolk. David nodded, and said that he had seen the training video that had been taken. I smiled and said that Agent Smith must have taken that video. David nodded and said that he had never bothered to put it together that I was Verdigris, but that it made a lot of sense now.

  I smiled and said that the whole anonymity was always something that was always just an emergency away from being dropped anyway, but now I needed to ensure that no one went to the places that I previously worked at and then try to hurt them or use them against me. David nodded and said that he could understand that too. I told him that I would likely be working on getting him some measure of security sooner rather than later, and for Sara as well. David thanked me for thinking of the both of them, and I assured him that I would be having people make sure that they were okay, and not in danger. I added that I might have S.H.I.E.L.D. add some features to the ambulances just to ensure that they are even more safe.

  We shook hands, and I left from there, to head back to the storage unit that was my lair. When I was back, I started designing options for the various people who had been associated with me since getting here. They weren’t adventurers like me, so they would need some protection of some kind. More of getting out of danger, and staying safe than trying to fight back or take the fight to someone else. I got a few sketches, and some possible starting points, after I was done with everything that was on my current schedule.

  I looked at my small set of books, many of which had been filled in by my sporadic searching for esoteric knowledge, powered by my Page-Bound Epiphany spells, and figured that I should probably purchase a bevy of books from different subjects. I traveled back to the place where I had first gotten some of the books I had and the bicycle, the CHKD thrift store, just to go through their book stash again. My S.H.I.E.L.D. E-bike was still charged, but that was probably going to end up depleted sooner rather than later, especially with these longer trips. I got to the store without much issue, and went in, grabbing a cart to pile things in. I was down to a couple hundred dollars in cash, so I wasn’t going to go on a massive haul, but having a large amount of books available to read and reference without magic would be a useful thing.

  It took a few minutes, where I sneakily cast Scholar’s Touch five times, to get a feel for as many books as possible, but finally, I selected forty large, hardbound textbooks that seemed to be from people selling old college textbooks. I had picked books that were mainly in the fields of science and technology, as I had a fair amount in medicine already. Then I spotted two complete collections from the same book-binder, a company called “Time-Life”. It would be more than I had in cash to acquire both, but they had some interesting titles, and accounted for over fifty additional books, so I decided that I would use my S.H.I.E.L.D. set up account to buy them all. I did a walkthrough of the rest of the store, and found some other small, non-electrical, items that should be useful, and went to the counter.

  Behind the counter was some jewelry that caught my eye, while I was in line. I figured that some of those items might be easy to enchant for the people that needed protection, so I resolved to pick some of them. When I got to the clerk, they were polite as they counted everything, and got the things that I had mentally selected while standing in line. I put all of the things, books, items, and jewelry, back into the cart afterwards. When the total came, it was a bit more than I had expected, but less than I had available, so I paid it little mind as I placed my S.H.I.E.L.D. phone against the credit card reader.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The clerk whistled at the phone and asked if it was the Sony Xperia model. I shrugged and said that I had been given it back in May, so I didn’t know. They looked at me oddly, and asked if I was doing some heavy reading. I shrugged and said that my library needed expanding, and they wished me happy reading anyway. I thanked them and went out to my E-Bike and started placing the books and everything into the saddlebags.

  Heading back to the storage unit, I received a singular text message. I wasn’t too far out from the building, so I finished the ride and checked the phone as soon as I stopped. It was Jonathan, and he asked me if I had had a productive day delivering the last of the Shape Goggles. I relayed to him the events with J.D. Ricke, and how he had two underlings trying to stop the rollout and confiscate the goggles and gloves. Jonathan responded back that I should keep him informed of any other things like this, and that he would look into this situation a little more thoroughly.

  Jonathan then responded back, asking if there was anything else that was of concern. I told him about my realization that others might seek to go after the ones who had been associated with me. Jonathan nodded and said that he didn’t think that S.H.I.E.L.D. could relocate everyone. I responded that I was planning on setting up a way for them to be safe, that it might just take a fair period of time. I added that I had expended the last of the synthetic gemstones today, and that they seem to be successful, but do add the tint of the stones, in some way, to whatever is enchanted with them.

  Jonathan replied back that he would reach out to Director Mack and find out what the next step was for that. I thanked him for that again, and offered that I would be finished with the twenty of each gloves and goggles tomorrow morning, and that the visors were ready for testing as well. Jonathan told me that he would reach out to Fire Chief Wise and let him know about the next item, on Monday. I thanked him and texted back that I hoped that it would not be much harder than the first item. Jonathan agreed, and wished me a good evening, and a good rest of the weekend.

  I stocked all of my books onto the bookshelf that I had in the tent and looked at the again, dwindling pile of sacks of salt. I could go out and order my own set, but that seems like it would be a bit annoying to move all of it after the warehouse is finally set up. Maybe I’ll just have to wind down my enchanting until I get resupplied. There are other activities I can spend hours doing anyway. I decided to continue my research into the fields that I had uncovered last night.

  Using Tears to Wine again before Page Bound Epiphany to learn about Man-Thing, the Mindless Ones, Eternals, Deviants, the Chitauri, and the Out-Riders. I continued my policy of copying each page as it forms into a blank book devoted to just that subject. My library was now large enough to need sections, and specifications for where the information came from. With that settled, I reviewed what else I could work on. I decided to spend the rest of the day, whatever was left, relaxing.

  At least that was until I got the first text. It was from Clint. He sent me a message that he had seen that I had been unmasked, and welcomed me to the world of a public hero. I thanked him in response, and asked him if he would be swinging back this way at all. He replied back to me that he might consider it, if I had any tricks that I could make for him.

  I thought for a minute, and told him that I could work something into my schedule, depending on what he might be looking for. Clint wrote back that he would appreciate any kind of benefit or boost that I could give him. I told him that I’d be glad to, as soon as I get more supplies. Clint asked me what I needed, and I told him that it was just discovered that I could work with synthetic rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds, and one eighth of a carat is a good universal size that I can work with. Clint responded back that he can try to see if he can get any for when he comes back through.

  I thanked him and asked him how his new crusade was going. Clint responded back that he has been getting some work done, but there is always more work to do. I replied back that I could understand that, and that I was just about to get back out onto the streets again, since my new armor was done and I was healed up from the plasma blast I had taken. Clint replied back that he hopes that the new armor is stronger than the old armor. I told him that it really should be, but only time and trial will tell. We texted our goodbyes and well wishes.

  Thinking better of everything, I sent Pepper a text, to reach out to her first. I told her that I had something that Tony might want to see, and sent her a picture of the long coffer with just the labels on the outside of the box, being the Phoenix Core, with the information that Tony collected, then just the next four pieces of paper had the names “Blight Stone”, “Galvanic Spark”, “Sonus Chord”, and “Gelid Heart”. Then I sent her a picture of the box open, with the five stones displayed. I waited for her response. When I got it, she told me that she was going to contact Wong to see when he was available to come get them.

  I thanked her in response, and then told her that I had a set for Wong as well, when he gets here, as long as he gets here tomorrow morning just two hours before noon. Pepper responded back that she would see if he could make it. I thanked her and sent back that I learned that I can use synthetic gemstones as well as the salt, to enchant items. Pepper said that this was a good discovery, and that Stark Industries could probably send some materials my way sooner rather than later as well. I thanked her, and wrote that we can work on that later.

  With my day’s needed activities done, I started to settle down and get ready for resting before going to bed, before I got another text. This time, it was from Amber, the bartender back at the Wyndham Garden. I opened up the message and it was mainly just her explaining that it was her, and that she was just checking in on me after my secret ID got dropped. I replied back that I had not seen any backlash yet, but that I was trying to prepare for anything that could come up. Amber wrote back that this was good, and that she hoped that it would stay that way.

  I thanked her and told her that I was trying to work something out to help anyone who knew me before to be safe. Amber thanked me and I told her that it was nothing. There was a long pause in texts before Amber sent back if I was planning on going back out on patrol soon. I wrote back that I might start tomorrow, but I wasn’t scheduled until Tuesday. Amber was pausing again, and then asked if I had any plans for the night.

  I told her that I had not, but that I could drop by the hotel to get dinner. Amber told me that she wasn’t on shift tonight, and was trying to figure out what to do herself. I sent back that I could catch up with her at the restaurant and we could catch up if she felt up to it. Amber agreed and said that she could be there in a half an hour. Amber agreed and said that she’d be there.

  I sighed to myself and got my gear back on. I changed my gear to look like a decent quality outfit, similar to what I was wearing when I was mistaken for Sebastian Stan. Hopefully, if I was recognized, it would be him and not me. I noted to Rex that I would be back a little later, and headed out on my E-bike. I rode to the Wyndham Garden, and parked my E-bike where the rest of the bikes were, and waited for Amber to get there.

  Amber ended up pulling up in a vehicle, where she got out from the back seat, and walked over to where I was waiting. She wasn’t wearing what I normally saw her in, so I mentioned that her outfit looked good. Amber thanked me and kind of blushed or something. As we headed up to the stairs, she kind of slipped and latched onto my arm, as the concrete was somewhat slick from the rain earlier in the day. We walked up into the restaurant portion of the hotel, and we got seated almost immediately.

  When the waitress came by to get our order, Amber almost seemed agitated by the waitress getting in close so she could hear our drink orders. I ordered the Lumpia for an appetizer, since it looked like the restaurant was fairly busy tonight. She had ordered something called a Mermaid, which made me think that there must be some of those here as well, for them to come up with the name for them. I mean, the city is absolutely littered with mermaid statues painted in all sorts of different ways. I got my standard of whiskey, which she recommended “Elijah Craig”, which I agreed to without hesitation.

  While we waited for the appetizer, I talked and asked her how things had been since I was last here. I had not gotten any calls or anything, but that didn’t mean much. All it would take is a more insidious, low level threat for someone to not call, and just let things grow. Amber assuaged any fears or worries by saying that the bar was the same as always. She told me that she had seen the way I had fought those three drones, and had been worried about me when I had gotten wounded.

  I told her that I had healed up fairly readily, and when she sees my new armor, she can be assured that it is MUCH better than the old armor I had. Amber seemed to be holding on to my words, the fight must have really affected her. The waitress chose that moment to come back to deliver our drinks and the Lumpia, and asked if we were ready to order. I looked to Amber, and asked what she recommended. Amber said that she’d be fine with whatever I thought was good, so I shrugged and ordered us two of the Big Steaks, cooked rare, with a side of salad and steamed broccoli, with parmesan cheese, and sauteed mushrooms, and a side of grilled shrimp for both.

  Amber looked at the waitress with some kind of look that shooed the waitress away as she started up the conversation again, asking what I had been doing since the drone fight. I went on to tell her how I had been working on getting some emergency equipment made and delivered to the Fire and Rescue stations around the city, and I was hoping that they would help out more soon. Amber seemed to be hanging on every word, obviously she could understand the potential for these kinds of benefits for the city. When I had gotten done with my story, the waitress was just coming back from the kitchen with the steaks. As the waitress placed the steaks in front of us, she seemed to linger before Amber cleared her throat.

  Amber spoke up and thanked her, telling her that we were good, but she seemed a little curt, maybe she was hungry? She had not touched much of the Lumpia, but maybe she just didn’t like it. We ate and I asked her to tell me more about her and her struggles in the city, hoping to hear more about the kind of everyday problems that people here had, so I could try to help more. I listened as she talked about how the police responses have been slower since half of everyone disappeared. I asked valid followup questions, while I pondered how I could help speed up universal police response time.

  While we ate, we talked back and forth about what the city meant to her, and what I might be looking to help advance the city towards for the future, to which she seemed especially focused on listening to what I had to say. She must really be looking forward to the positive changes I was attempting. When the check came, I produced my S.H.I.E.L.D. phone without barely a look, placed it over the card terminal, and waited for it to beep positive. It did, and it then asked me about a tip. I asked Amber what would be a good tip for the waitress.

  I swear I heard her mutter something about knowing when not to interrupt, but then she gave me a percentage to which I factored almost immediately, and added it to the charge. As I stood, I was almost immediately by her side, offering to help her up. She took my hand and looked up at me as I gently pulled up, helping her easily stand, with those awkward thin heels. As we walked out, she looked back over her shoulder, perhaps at the barkeep on duty tonight, and we walked out. It was a warm night, even if it was a little muggy. I was about to ask her if she had a ride home, when she cut me off asking if I wanted to get ice cream or anything.

  I had not had ice cream really since Magnimar, so I decided that I would definitely be good for it. I asked her where the best place was, and she mentioned some place called “Insomnia Cookies”, so I typed it into the maps function on my S.H.I.E.L.D. phone, and saw that it was at least a seventeen minute walk. I saw how far it was, and recognized how difficult it would be for her to walk the whole distance in those shoes, and told her that it was a decent distance away, and it would be much easier if she just rode with me on my bike. Amber seemed a bit taken aback for a second but gladly accepted the pragmatic gesture. When we got out of the restaurant, I lent her my arm, because I didn’t want to risk her falling down the stairs, especially while I was right there.

  When we got to my E-Bike, I got onto the bike, and she got on after me, holding me tight. I guess she realized how fast this bike can travel, and how fast it can accelerate from the news videos. I decided to give her a bit of flair, and quickly took off, ramping up to full speed, and even getting the front wheel slightly off the ground for a few seconds before getting back on two wheels and taking the straightaway to the next location. We rolled into Insomnia Cookie’s parking lot and stopped at an appropriate spot. I set down the kickstand and then got up, extending my hand to help her up off the bike.

  She seemed to get up okay, but her stance collapsed and she fell into my arms and grabbed hold to maintain staying upright. I held her for a second to stop the momentum, and gently helped right her. With her being unstable, possibly due to the drinks she had earlier, I let her continue to hold my arm as we walked into the restaurant. As we went in, I guess a few people recognized my Sebastian Stan outfit, because they mostly stepped aside as I walked in with what seems like a slightly more tipsy Amber, hanging off my side. As we made our way to the register, I asked her if she had any favorites, to which her response took a little time, likely because of the alcohol consumption.

  She finally said something about Dreamweaver, and I asked her what size she wanted. She muttered something about just sharing it with me, so I ordered a double of the ice cream and two spoons. We sat down at a table and we ate while we talked about less serious things. She was still listening fairly intently when the subject of female superheroes came up, and she asked if I had met any. I shrugged and told her that the only super female that I had encountered was Kayla Gideon, and Hawkeye helped me take her down.

  We talked for a while, but I noted that it was getting a little late for me. Our ice cream was done, and remembering that it took an hour at least to wear off the effects of alcohol, I realized that she would be in no state to either walk home or wait for some hired conveyance. With as much couth as I could muster, I asked her if she would be amenable to riding on the back of the E-Bike with me while I drove her home. She immediately welcomed the idea, and said that she’d put her address in my phone for me. I handed her the S.H.I.E.L.D. phone, with an eye towards ensuring that she didn’t go too far with it.

  She handed it back after a minute or so, with her address typed in, with it starred as Amber’s place. I placed it in my cradle, and offered to help her up onto the bike again, thinking to myself that her intoxication might be a bit more than I expected. She gladly agreed, and I lifted her up gently by the waist, to set her on the back, before I slid into place before her. She latched around me as we drove, with me being careful to not jostle her too much, knowing how inebriation can affect the stomach. When we got there, I helped her off the bike again, and walked her to her apartment.

  Amber asked if I would like to come inside, to which I admitted that I needed to be up before sunrise tomorrow, but thanked her for being so hospitable. I added that I wouldn’t want her thought uncouth by inviting a violent superhero into her abode. In reality, I didn’t want more of me being linked to her, to try to keep her safer. If I spend more time here, someone might notice, and then I wouldn’t even have a shred of anonymity for her as a shield against aggressors and any enemies I might collect. I know that the local gangs are not in favor of what I have done so far, so I wouldn’t put it past them to try and find a way to hurt me through a more visible person.

  We seemed to be lingering at the door, and I felt it prudent to tell her good night and that she should keep me abreast of her situation, and feel free to contact me at any time. She looked at me with a kind of doe look in her eyes, and she nodded a bit absentmindedly. She asked if I might call her again tomorrow, and I noted that I probably wouldn’t have much to do, so I could see if I could work another visit with her. She smiled at that, and I bent down to give her a hug. It lasted a little longer than I expected, but I think that tracks with her being a bit more intoxicated than normal.

  Thinking quickly, while she was pressed against me, I gently got a piece of her hair, to ensure that I could cast Scrying on her if she went missing or anything like that. We parted and I wished her a good night, before heading back to my bike, and riding back to the storage unit. Since I had the capability to try this, I decided that I would use some more Page-Bound Epiphany spells to try to get a better understanding on electrical theory and such, focusing my time on another seven castings of the spell, to round out everything I would need to know to start getting information about the “Galvanic Spark”, and what I can use it for, myself. Certainly a good cap to a busy, but useful day.