The streets were dim and damp, the kind of place where normal people didn't linger. Jason did. He leaned against a rusted stairwell outside an abandoned apartment complex, flipping a coin between his fingers, eyes narrowed at the warehouse across the street.
Two nights ago, he'd overheard a group of mutation-type thugs from the mall robbery bragging about regrouping here. One of them had nearly hurt a kid in the crowd—Jason hadn't forgotten.
He wasn't a hero yet. Technically. But that didn't mean he'd sit around doing nothing.
Footsteps echoed behind him.
"You stalking someone, or is this just your edgy alone-time spot?"
Jason didn't turn. "I prefer the term 'urban stakeout.' Sounds cooler."
Momo crossed her arms beside him, eyebrows pinched in irritation. "You said you were going to study with me."
"I did study. I studied some thugs' movement patterns and behavioral cues. Totally academic."
"You're impossible," she muttered.
Jason finally looked at her, his usual grin returning. "You're here, though. Which means part of you likes impossible."
She blushed slightly and looked away. "I was worried."
Jason's smirk faltered. He looked at the warehouse again. "They've got a shipment coming in. Illegal support items. Could be nasty."
"You're not going in alone."
"I can handle it. Besides," he tilted his head, "I've got that trick."
Momo frowned. "The shapeshifting one?"
"Yeah," he said casually. "Don't worry—I'll look so good you won't even recognize me."
"You already used it at the mall. People will start to talk."
Jason gave her a wink. "Let them. No one's caught my name. And I'm not doing it for fame."
He evolved his shoes to near-silent mode, and his jacket reshaped into a black hooded coat with light-refracting fabric. It didn't make him invisible, but it helped him blend.
"I'll scream if anything happens," he said with a teasing grin.
Before she could protest, he darted across the street, melting into the shadows.
Momo sighed.
Jason Lax was reckless, secretive, and way too cocky for his own good. But he was also brilliant. And watching his silhouette vanish into the dark, she admitted to herself—
—she was starting to believe in him.
Even if he didn't believe in himself yet.