[center][u][b]10:37 AM, March 7th; 2020
43rd Jefferson Condos, Hub City[/b][/u]

"So, just for the record, you [i]were[/i] the 'Lady in Red'?"

"Yes, that's right."

"How strong are you? How fast?"

"I'm not sure, I never really found a limit to my strength, and it's hard to tell the exact speed I'm flying at most times." 

"And Lady Arcana isn't your real name, of course," [url=https://i.imgur.com/LaVBkpA.jpg]Cassandra McKenzie[/url] tapped a well-manicured nail against her Galaxy S11, ready to enter her response.

Arcana shook her head slowly, "Eheh, it was the name given to me by The Wizard."

Cassandra tapped away at the digital keys of her smartphone at speeds Karen didn't think a normal human was capable of, only to abruptly stop and quirk her brow. "...[i]'The Wizard'[/i], you say?"

"Oh um, yeah he's..." She scratched the side of her face, "well, he was the one who gave me this power."

More tapping against the screen preceded an insightful incline of the reporter's head, a satisfied grin working its way across her admittedly attractive face. "So you weren't [i]born[/i] with these powers?"

"Ah, no," Arcana uncrossed her legs, having taken a seat across a small glass table on the balcony of Cassandra's luxurious penthouse. Man, what she wouldn't give to live in a place like [i]this![/i] "He...chose me to inherit them from him, and then he died."

Cassandra's head drifted to the side at this while she entered the information, though her crystal blue eyes never stopped trying to pierce through to her soul. At least, that's how it felt. "Why did he choose you?"

"Well...that's, um, well it's complicated," she replied sheepishly. "I would honestly rather not get into all of that, sorry."

Despite the reporter's frown, she nevertheless continued with the interview. "Fair enough. How about the costume, then? Did this...'Wizard' give you [i]that[/i], as well?"

"Yeah, actually!" Arcana laughed, glancing down at herself. "It just came with the powers. I like it, though. It makes me stand out, so people won't think of me as some 'shadowy spectre' or anything."

Smirking at this, Cassandra leaned forward slightly. "You look to be around college-age. Is that about right?"

"Uh, yeah. Something like that," She lied, scratching her face.

Her smirk only seemed to grow in that moment, a gentle breeze causing her golden blonde tresses to gently sway. "Great. Now, inquiring minds will want to know: what's your height, weight, [i]measurements?"[/i]

"Uh, well, I'm 5'10 and weigh around 150 pounds," she answered, feeling her cheeks redden at the final part. She [i]knew[/i] the answer, of course, since she had taken measurements in order to find outfits that fit her Arcana form, mainly to go undercover when a kid would be out of place. Not that they ever fit perfectly...and she apparently could just transform her normal uniform into any fitting outfit she wanted, with the appropriate understanding of her powers. She was still working on mastering that, though.

"40-28-40, size 14...at least that's the least worst fit."

Arcana was startled when Cassandra released a heavy cackle, her head arcing back for a moment. "Oh, now [i]that's[/i] bound to stir more than a little jealousy in any girl not a [i]hundo P[/i] secure in her relationship. But let's dispense with the trivial questions and ask the one everyone [i]really[/i] wants to know: why are you here?"

Pausing for a moment at this, Arcana closed her eyes. "I'm here to help."

"To help? Help who?"

"To help [i]everyone[/i]," her eyes parted to stare directly at the reporter. "To help everyone in need, or in danger, regardless of where they live. To inspire others to do the same. It doesn't take superpowers to be a hero, after all, just the willingness to make a difference. I just want to make the world a better place, if I can."

Cassandra seemed genuinely surprised. "That's it?"

"Well, sure. What else?" Arcana chuckled.

"Some are afraid you're going to take over the world with your power."

"Eh, really?" She blinked. "What would I do with all of that? Sounds like a headache to manage."

[hr]

[u][b]1:23, PM, March 8th
The Wedge[/b][/u]

"Wow, it's [i]so[/i] weird seeing you give an interview for the Hub City Daily," Clarissa exclaimed, the newspaper rattling in her hand against the wind. "How'd you even contact her?"

Karen grinned, kicking her legs out as she sat beneath the train tracks above with her best friend. "I still had her number from when I rescued her as 'The Lady in Red' a few months ago, and I thought it might help people trust me more, y'know?"

"Well it [i]does[/i] let everyone know you're not some alien, at least," she snickered. "Not that anyone in [i]The Wedge[/i] thinks that."

At her friend's words, Karen turned to stare out at the part of town where she had spent pretty much her entire life. It was considered one of the most dangerous places to live in a city that already had the highest violent crime rate in the country. It's only "rival" for that covetous title was Hell's Corner, in the northeastern part of Hub City. For the longest time, the gangs had ruled these streets, doing as they pleased.

But that had changed over the past three months. Helping to repair the damage done by Wilhelm's attack had gone a long way towards winning her the trust of the people here, and had made fighting the gangs a [i]lot[/i] easier in turn. With folks here more willing to rat out drug dealers and their suppliers, it made finding their dens a lot easier. Even if she couldn't always count on the cops to help her, she could at least still burn the gang's stashes, and thus severely damage their profits. Without their drug money, they then tried to resort to more brazen tactics: robbery, kidnappings, extortion.

That, too, she was able to counter through the growing trust of her community. People would [i]tell[/i] her what they saw, they would [i]talk[/i] to her, because they knew she would protect them from retaliation. And she did, even if it meant she had to stay out really late at times. In all honesty, she hadn't been getting all the sleep she wanted, and her grades had suffered a bit for it...but it had all been worth it in the end.

"Wow, it's [i]another[/i] cop," Clarissa noted, watching the patrol car sweep past them on its new route. "It's been so weird seeing them around these past few weeks."

Karen smirked at this, nodding. "I guess they were getting tired of being shown up, so they decided to actually give a shit about us."

She shouldn't be [i]too[/i] harsh, though.

While she did most of the work when it came to breaking the gang's stranglehold on [i]The Wedge,[/i] the cops did at least make sure it stuck by arresting those that hadn't fled. Plus, their presence freed her up to focus on other parts of the city. While she still wouldn't call it a great place to live, [i]The Wedge[/i] - a nickname for their collection of neighborhoods - could finally start down the road to becoming a healthy community again, now that the gang wars were over.

"Hey, want to go check out the new candy store that opened on 4th Street?" Clarissa hopped down to the sidewalk, anticipating her positive reply.

"Do you even need to ask?"
[hr]

In the months since the attack on Hub City by the convicted war criminal Wilhelm Silber, headlines around the world had been increasingly dominated by news of those possessing extraordinary, even outright [i]impossible[/i] abilities. A few had used theirs to help and even protect, while others had sought personal gain at the expense of those around them. Still, most had simply continued to try and live a normal life, a number even appearing on television or social media to display their bizarre powers for the public and discuss how it had impacted their lives and the lives of those they cared for.

Government agencies the world over had initially struggled in vain to suppress knowledge of these supermen, these [i]metahumans,[/i] as the scientific community called them. Upon realizing the futility of such, they instead started taking measures to contain the growing threat they posed. Their exact methods varied, but their motives were generally the same: fear. Fear that humanity's destiny was no longer in its own hands.

The world was changing, and for many, their future was uncertain.[/center]