Scene 2 - January 7th

Exterior City, Early Afternoon

Quinn Kaufman

I got my opportunity later that week, going on patrol with Starling. He was taciturn as usual as we walked through downtown - not a route which was ever expected to actually run into trouble, but one which was important to make sure that no one forgot that the heroes were keeping an eye on things. Or so Apollon had explained to me.

It was while we were cutting through an alley that I decided to get it over with. “Hey, Starling,” I said.

“What is it, boy?”

I suppressed a growl. “You know how my suit is fried right now?” He nodded. “Do you think you could take a look? Maybe fix it?”

“...probably.” He eyed me almost suspiciously. “Where did you get it, again?”

“My mom invented it, and left it behind before she was kidnapped. Or whatever happened to her, it’s not clear.”

“...hrm.” He furrowed his brows briefly - maybe focusing on his expanded senses. “...your name is Kaufman, right?”

“...yes?”

“Hrm. I... never mind.”

“What?” I asked.

He seemed a little uncomfortable now, which I didn’t really care about. I was constantly uncomfortable around him, and according to Canaveral I just had to deal with it - he could do the same. After a momentary pause, he said, “I think I may have met your mother, once.”

I blinked in surprise - I hadn’t expected that. “Really?”

He looked away from me, but nodded. “Yes. It would have been... I suppose probably not long before she vanished. We spoke about... her project at the time, and it... inspired me in the creation of my own suit.”

Something about that didn’t quite seem to line up there, although I wasn’t sure what - whatever it was, I put it aside. “So you’ll probably be able to fix mine, then. Or be able to figure out how to from her notes, at least.”

“You have her notes?”

“Yeah, they were in the same case the suit itself was in.”

“...yes, I should be able to.” He opened his mouth to say something else, then closed it and began walking again. “Leave it in my lab. I’ll have it fixed in a week or so.”

That had had to have been the strangest interaction I had had with the man yet, I mused as I followed. Had he seemed... almost guilty about something?