Dark Side of the Moon

Evan

"Don't worry about it," Evan said, walking over to pick up his hat.  As he walked away from Shinji, the kids gathered around his leg, tugging at his coat and staring up at him with wide eyes, as if they were looking at the stars themselves.  The kids who were once afraid of him now fought each other for a chance to look him in the eye.  "We will talk more later."

Placing his hat on his head, he walked back over to Shinji.  "And so, i'll ask you again.  What do you see in their eyes?"

As he spoke he waved to the children.  The mothers and fathers grabbed the kids by the arm.  "Mama!  I wanna talk to Shinji!  He's Shinji the protector!  Mama!  Will we ever see him again!?"  A few started crying, but one broke free from the others and ran back, the one that asked the question.

"I understand Mr. Magician.  He's cool because he's scary."

And with that, he was grabbed by his father who hoisted him onto his back and ran away to join his wife.  "Sorry Mr. Johnson."

Evan smiled and waved.

Evan

Evan yelled in pain as he struck the bar, only managing to dodge his most precious jewels by inches by shifting his weight onto his already dislodged leg.  His groin still took the brunt of the damage, sending sharp pain through his system.  He slumped to the ground and stopped moving.

Steavie and friends

Everything had happened so fast.  He screamed just like he was told to by the magician, then the cars he put in the sky fell.  The scary trenchcoat man flew towards him like a bullet and then the magician appeared out of no where and charged him.  There was screaming, an explosion and...

Every child in the park gathered around the dust cloud, squeezing through the crowd of horrified onlookers.  The crowd was composed mostly of older couples, parents and grandparents.  "Oh my god.  Mr Johnson are you ok?  That doesn't look like a game!" 

Steavie ran up to the injured Shinji and grabbed the young man by the leg and began sending a wave of energy through his body.  The immortal would find that his wounds began to heal rapidly and the pain from the crash would dull.   "That was fun mister!  The greatest game of heroes and villains we ever played!  And don't worry Mama.  He said this might happen.  He said he might need to rest right after the game!  I still need to heal him.  They still got hurt for real, but its not as bad as it looks I swear!"

All the kids had big stupid grins on their faces.  Some were jumping up and down, others were imitating the fight.  However, most were just staring, their eyes wide and their mouths slightly open.  The children that once found Shinji scary all gathered at his feet, clinging onto his legs and tugging his trenchcoat.  They didn't even seem to mind his weird gored up immortal body.  "You won!" one child yelled.  "That was so cool!  He hit you with the cards and you kept going!"

If Shinji looked back, he might notice that the car that he pulled was split in half, a card lodged onto the ground several feet in front of the car.  From that angle, he may also notice the string that glimmered ever so softly in the moonlight, the one just above where Steavie stood.

Evan moments earlier...

A soft whisper, something only Shinji would be able to hear; thats what emerged from Evan's lips as he was dragged across the ground in the center of the dust cloud.  "I told you I wanted to show you something right?  Look at the kids and tell me what you think."

Held unceremoniously off the ground, a card appeared in between his fingers.  With a flick of his wrist, the card sliced cleanly through the car, sending each in opposite directions.  The stray parts of the car were caught by the strings scattered beyond the splash zone of the cars.  With Shinji's attention on the kids, Evan set up net of strings that were thicker at the point where the car would fly through them but that spread at the bottom.  That way Steavie could still leave the splash zone and the car would get sliced into so many pieces that the metal were tiny little strings that flung into the crowd of kids.

Suerte

Suerte let out a small squeel that sounded closer to a moan than anything.  Lifted off the ground by her legs, she wrapped her thick but firm thighs around Valarie's waist as her tongue entered her mouth.  Another soft moan escaped her lips as she felt her fangs lightly brush up against her bottom lip.  "A vampire....?  Oh..."  she said, her breasts bouncing at the top of the lift.  She inched upward, trying to escape the kiss and attempting to smother her under her breasts.  All the while she began draining Valarie of her luck, a stream of divine probabilistic power flowing between them.

Evan

The man screaming held his hands over his head, shivering in anticipation of the car crushing his feeble human body.  However, he looked up, only to see a car sailing over his head, falling onto the ground.  The man trenchcoat man had appeared out of nowhere, shooting from the car threatening him to another, flying like a star.

"YAAAAAAY!"

The kids cheered, roaring as if they were watching some action scene in a movie rather than their imminent demise.  At the end of the row of falling cars stood Stevie, the screaming child that started this frenzy. 

Sky blue eyes stared at the man from atop the car.  He would be able to see it by now.  Evan was standing atop the vehicle above Steavie at the end of the row, a frown on his face.  With his knuckles balled into a fist, four cards were clenched in between his fingers.  Swinging his arms across his chest, he launched the razor sharp cards at Shinji.  The cards were sharp enough to take off his arms and legs if they weren't stopped.

Evan

Evan did not respond, merely looking back with a shadowy smile as he strode forward.  The dark back alley gave way to a beautiful park, large and expansive.  Walk ways were dotted with trees, perfectly planted and grown to cover the park with shade.  In the center stood a statue of the district's goddess.  Supposedly the goddess offered divine protection to those who offered her faith, a barrier against the pains life offered.  The moon shined through the park, flashing the nearly translucent strings encasing the park in a web.

The magician turned around and bowed.  "Welcome.  There are four kids in this park, all who possess small balls given to them by me.  If you collect them and bring them to me, you will be rewarded with money and information.  No matter what you do, a choice will be made.  I look forward to seeing the show you put on."

And thus what should have been Evan evaporated into nothing, dust in the wind.

Evan

Evan sighed and said, "Going to let me do all the talking huh?  Well I hate to break it to you, i'm not much of a talker.  Walk with me.  I have something to show you."

And so the shadows covered his baby blue eyes, the cape trailing beyond him as he walked into the darkness.

The Mage of Lies

Standing under the doorway with the club building stretching into the sky, Evan looked beyond the shadow of the club looming over him.  Its shadow wasn't ever expanding, covering only the cars outside.  However, the colored lights that were emitted from the building which reflected off the windows created an illusion of foreign ground.  Yet in his world there were still lights, clubs and cars.  The only difference was the people.

Evan wasn't dressed in his suit and tie.  His face was obscured by the shadow casted by his top hat.  A cape fluttered behind him, catching the soft DC wind. I suppose just because I am dead doesn't mean I can't live a little.  It was a fun dance.  I wonder if she realized the performance was just as much for her as the others....

The young man thought back to Morris, considering a moment what he might think.  That guy was the one who helped set up every stunt he pulled, with a little back talk of course.  When he thought back to the old man, he frowned, realizing what he would say in return.  Yeah... I guess that was more for me than her.  She really didn't need me at all.

As he walked down the street, he looked up at that big bright moon in the sky.  "Even if the world believes me to be a liar, would you trust me?" Evan repeated to himself, reaching out towards the moon as if to grab it.  And the words of his past life echoed back into his mind.  Of course I would trust you.

"Why I am full of shit, a liar, even to you."

Because those lies make me smile from the bottom of my heart.

And thats when Evan stopped looking at the moon and looked straight ahead.  A gust of wind blew his cape, exposing his back to the world as it fluttered madly in the growing winds of change.  Evan straightened the gloves on his hands and smiled to no one but himself.  Those smiles back there, they weren't the kind he knew, not until Thorra completed her performance.  Those smiles were real.  That is why when he strutted forward into the night, he did so with a soft walk and a confident strut.

And maybe I can smile this time. 

---

---

"Those are some strong hands and yet a gentle heart underneath all that.  You must really do well with the ladies."

Evan emerged from behind the wall, his face obscured by his hat.  All that could be seen was his chin, lips and mustache.  It didn't take long for Evan to find a few leads.  He wasn't connected to the underworld quite like he was used to, but this world was far more complicated than he first realized and just as messed up as the old one.  Imagine trading one crazy leader for dozens and multiplying the number of disenfranchised.  That goddess wasn't an anomaly.  There were more and even those with real magic.  Monsters, demons, gods: they all existed within this new world.  Even still, there was plenty of room for thieves.  It was hard to believe.

The mage of lies glanced at the bloody fist and trench coat and smiled.  "You know, the more things change, the more things stay the same.  Do you think thats a comforting thing or something to be feared...."

And in that moment, the other theif would see the blue poking through the shadows.  "...Shinji."