Audrie finished nearly jumping out of her skin after this other girl with dyed hair had picked literally the same out-of-the-way alley as her --but she'd just looked over her own shoulder and then slumped on a wall, not noticing Audrie, [i][color=ffcccc]oh yeah, because I'm invisible[/color][/i]-- when the world dropped an even bigger surprise in her metaphorical lap. 

[i][b]Nyooom.[/b] [color=#ffcccc]Helicopter? First Guard. [/color][/i]

Even as it passed out of sight and the chaotic wind of downwash stopped pouring into the alley, the dark blue aircraft loomed large in Audrie's mind, a beacon of authority, power, and danger. It was like how on a hot day you could always tell where the sun was because you could feel its heat bearing down on your whole body, an ever-present gradient from hot to cold tugging on you the same way the earth's core tugged on a compass, or how a lighthouse could light up a whole sea at night. [i][color=#ffcccc]Proclaiming 'Stay away' for all to hear. [/color][/i]

Audrie glanced at the other girl in the alley [i][color=#ffcccc]--she'd sure acted like a cape with that other cape in front of the store hadn't she--[/color][/i] and was about to get back to her own godforsaken business with that dumpster when the megaphone, words resolving even at this distance past the electronic and aerodynamic noise, gave her the [b]why[/b] to go with the helicopter's [b]what[/b]. [i][color=#ffcccc]God damn, that close? This whole area is going to be a shitshow of capes and police lines, if it isn't already. Or even worse if I know First Guard's reputation. [/color][/i]

Audrie took another brief, longing glance towards safety and supply (actually just the corner of the alley, strewn with stray garbage) and then the two girls shot in opposite directions. [i][color=#ffcccc]I'll have to stick my neck out some time or other to get more than online rumors, so it might as well be while the capes are all distracted in each other's company, easier to watch, and holding back for hostages. If only I'd brought a costume and a scanner. [/color][/i] Audrie followed the signs of impending violence.