[center][b][u]4:54, November 27th 2019
Sisters of Mercy Women's Shelter; Hub City, Illinois[/u][/b]

"Wow, thanks!" Karen perked up when The Question offered her a piece of candy. Eagerly accepting it, she popped it into her mouth, savoring the intense rush of concentrated sugar. They didn't really have Candy Shops in [i]The Wedge[/i]. She knew that wasn't always the case, since there was an old abandoned one on 4th Street, but that was well before her time.

Continuing to listen to his tale of his first night out with some curiosity, she frowned when he mentioned barely escaping with his life.

It, honestly, had to be pretty terrifying to go out there every day when you were nothing but a normal human being...which she had just confirmed through his story. She'd be way too scared to even seriously entertain the idea of taking on any one of these ruthless thugs without her powers, never mind a whole gang of them. Her encounter with the mugger had proven well that attempting heroism as Karen Hernandez was a fast track to getting shot.

"Sorry you've had it so rough," she finally said, with no hint of sarcasm or condescension. She could sympathize with anyone that had to spend their life there, and would never wish it on her worst enemy. "Even if alone we can't make a lasting difference, maybe the both of us can."

Of course, she was still low key heroing, per Sam's instructions. Once she was ready to turn things up a notch, she'd be able to change things, she [i]knew[/i] it. On that note...

"It was really great meeting you, Mr. Question," she offered him a hand to shake. "But I need to go now. Hopefully we'll see each other again. Maybe even do a team up! That'd be cool."

With a light wave, Karen turned to make her way back home. Walking at first, then moving at speeds no normal human could follow once she was out of sight.

[hr]

[b]5:01[/b]

"Not bad," Sam finished appraising her long coat. "No tears at all this time. You did well out there."

Karen grinned at this, now back in her human form. Every day when she got back from heroing, Samantha would check the coat for tears to see if she had used excessive force. She had a good number of incidents in her first couple of weeks, but was getting better about it.

Thankfully, nobody had been killed or too badly hurt since her first outing, as she had practiced on inanimate objects for a while before trying crime fighting again.

"I feel like I've got enough control now to ditch the coat," Karen stated confidently. "I could get so much more done if I could fly and [i]really[/i] take it to these guys!"

"No," Samantha shook her head, "that's [i]not[/i] why you were chosen, and besides...you're [i]just[/i] starting to get a handle on your strength. Your control isn't at such a level where you can bloodlessly go around beating up entire gangs, even if you [i]did[/i] want to waste your powers on such mundane concerns. Besides, what good would that do? Simply [i]being[/i] in a gang isn't a crime, after all. You'd just look like a lunatic."

Karen's shoulders sagged at this. Maybe she had a point, but... "What am I even supposed to be doing? You keep telling me I'm not a superhero, but then what?"

"You're the Guardian of Magic and the most powerful sorceress in existence, should you live up to your potential," Samantha explained, taking a few steps towards her. "Your duty is to safeguard this world from the unspeakable horrors that lurk beyond the veil of what humans perceive to be reality, not beating up muggers or petty thugs. This is just practice to help you master your new body."

Karen frowned, staring down at the creature that she had once regarded as a simple - if beloved - pet. "Then how about you teach me some actual [i]magic?"[/i]

"No, you're-"

"Not ready, of course!" Karen cut her off with a snap. "Should've known."

Samantha sighed, her head dipping towards the floor. "If you were to learn magic before you mastered your body, you wouldn't be able to control it and could cause [i]irreparable[/i] damage to this world."

Karen didn't really have an argument she could counter that with, unfortunately. That didn't mean she had to [i]like[/i] what the stuffy cat said, though. Folding her arms, she turned away and pouted in silence.

She then heard Sam sigh again behind her.

[/center]