I screamed.

It happened before I could stop it; for all my bluster, he'd certainly managed to startle me by appearing like that. Now, feeling a bit silly but with a twinge of fear running through my veins, I put my hands on my hips and glared at him.

"What do you want?"

He looked distinctly taken aback. I doubted anyone had ever lead with that when he appeared with a knife in front of them.

"Uh, your money, obviously." His voice was rough, despite his surprise.

I eyed the knife, making sure I had it in my sights before answering him belligerently. "Do I look like I'm carrying anything of value to you? I'm out for a walk in jean shorts. Cut your losses and scram, creep."

The look of surprise deepened before melding into anger. He took a threatening step forward, looking me up and down. "A slip of a girl like you, what are you going to do about it? I said give me your money, if you know what's good for you."

I gritted my teeth, and resigned myself to a fight. Not that it would be much of a fight, unless he was very good at hiding something. "I said, scram, creep. This is your last chance, you disgusting rat."

He snarled, and moved to thrust the knife towards me, but looked even more startled than before when he realised it was stuck fast in the air and wouldn't budge an inch.

Before he even had time to look up in bewilderment or notice the smug smile creeping across my face, a dark shape fell out of the sky and landed with a distinct crack beside him.

"And just what do you think you're doing here, sir?" The voice was pleasant and silky; dangerously so. Less campy than some of the other Supers.

Both the mugger and I groaned, but for very different reasons. A Super was here to save the day, but I did not need this guy's help.

"Look, dude, I appreciate the gesture and all, but I've got everything under control." I tried to reason with him but, predictably, he ignored me completely, his attention focussed on the ne'er do well.

For his part, the creep knew he was in over his head. "I didn't do nothin'," he muttered, before turning and breaking into a dead run.

Surprisingly, the Super vanished. The man turned and looked behind him with a triumphant grin, before seemingly hitting an invisible wall and crumpling into a heap, out cold.

"Boo." said the Super, as he rematerialised on the spot. He handcuffed the crook with whatever the Supers were carrying these days, before dragging him over beside the wall and pressing a button on a small device in his palm.

"I think it works better if he's conscious when you say that," I observed dryly.

The Super turned his attention to me for the first time. His voice was laced with humour. "Well you're still here to appreciate it, so it works anyway. The police are on their way now, and they'll pick him up. You're safe, but you'll probably have to wait until they get here to make a statement. I'll be here with you until then."

Something about the way he said it, like he was taking care of a precious little bird, made me feel extra snarky.

"I guess you didn't hear me before when I said I had everything under control. That's okay, actually, because I lied before. I don't appreciate the gesture." I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him defiantly.

He let out a low chuckle. It was hard to tell in the shadows of the lane, but it felt like he was looking me up and down. "You're a testy one, aren't you? I guess I'm sorry; I thought I was helping. You'll forgive me, though, if we don't believe everyone who tells us they don't need our help." He didn't sound very sorry.

I wasn't going to let his logic get to me since I was full to the gills with Supers interfering in my life. "Well, I'd suggest you believe me, if no one else," I answered coldly.

He was walking closer now, almost into the pooled light of the streetlamp. "Okay, I am sorry, then." That soft voice almost sounded hurt, though it had no reason to.

I relented a little, weaker than I expected in the face of his guilt trip. "Well, your intentions were good, if a bit heavy-handed."

It sounded like he was smiling now. "Very gracious of you."

Glancing in the direction of the man who'd attacked me, I muttered darkly, "he was probably safer with you anyhow."

Another chuckle. "I think I believe that. I'd ask if you're always like this, but I also think I know the answer to that."

I curled my lip. "Since you don't know me, I'll have you know that I'm generally lovely to be around. Don't worry though, I'm sure your next mission will provide you with an adoring fan to add to your collection."

He fully laughed this time, a pleasant, rumbling sound. "Who says I don't? But yes, since I don't know you, if you're half as nice as you are beautiful, then I definitely believe you this time."

Another eye roll. I really was going to hurt myself soon. "I know you're supposed to say stuff like that here, but man, that was bad. Don't even try that."

"What if I told you I genuinely think it?" He sounded so innocent, I almost laughed.

"I'd still prefer if you didn't."

"As you wish." His voice was full of a smile again.

A small silence stretched between us. He still hovered just outside of the light, and I suddenly felt compelled to speak.

"Well, come on then, it's only fair that I get a look at you too. I don't think I've seen you around before."

"I'm pretty new." He hadn't moved yet.

"What do they call you?" I wasn't sure why I was even curious. Know thine enemy, I suppose.

"Enigma." He sounded a little unsure, like he was waiting for me to tease him.

I couldn't disappoint him. "Oooh, how mysterious. The media is going to love you, Enigma."

He snorted, and yet it somehow sounded graceful. "And would it shock you if I told you that that is not, in fact, anywhere near my main priority here?"

"A little, actually." It wasn't a lie.

"Ouch. So is it just me, or is it all Supers you feel this way about?" Finally, he stepped into the light.

My first thought was that I knew why he'd blended in so well with the dark - he was dressed all in black. A long sleeved, tight-fitted black shirt ran into black fingerless gloves, while he wore equally tight black pants that had patches of leathery looking material down the sides. Black boots laces up to just past his ankles. Unsurprisingly, a mask covered the upper half of his face - this was plain black, where most Supers wore heavy decorations. A loose hood that ran open to where it connected to his shoulders covered his hair, though the general impression I got was that it was probably darker rather than light.

Amongst all this black costume, his eyes were startling; they shone warmly golden at me through the holes in his mask. The colour seemed to swirl and dance like liquid metal. I'd definitely never seen this Super out before, so he must have been telling the truth about being new. Not that I was keeping all that close tabs on who was on the team these days.

"Nice outfit," I grinned. "Simple. Some of them are so flashy."

He didn't accept the compliment. "I know you heard my question."

I was feeling considerably less grumpy now that I'd settled into talking, so I flashed him another smile. "It's not just you, promise. In fact, I think I might believe you too."

"Be still my heart." This was the first actual sarcasm I'd heard out of him. It appeared the Enigma could be snarky too.

I took pity on him. "There's a lot of reasons for me to avoid the Supers as best I can. Obviously I won't be telling a total stranger these reasons, but rest assured, newbie, that you might just have nothing to do with them."

Now that he was in the light, I could see the corner of his mouth quirk up into a crooked smile. I caught a flash of white, even teeth.

"So ... how'd you know to come here, anyway?" I didn't actually know that much about how Supers knew to respond to individual events. All I knew was how Seb would get a feeling of unease, and usually a call or text message, but that was usually for the bigger stuff. Any instincts I had myself, I had long ago repressed in a fit of spite. Most Supers trained to hone their instincts for finding trouble.

Enigma's answer was simple. "You screamed."

I wasn't sure how to take that. "But, I barely screamed! There must be a million screams in the city. Why'd you come to mine?"

He shrugged, not looking at me now. I wondered if he was afraid of my reaction. "You sounded scared."

A bit nonplussed, I only blinked at him. "I was startled, more than anything. I was distracted on my phone, so he was able to sneak up on me."

"Well, not everyone has Supersenses, so I'd say that's pretty normal," he teased.

"Yeah ... " I laughed, nervously. The truth was that I did have heightened senses, plus my sensitivities to energy, but I really had been genuinely distracted. Not that I wanted him to know that. After another moment of silence, I realised that what he'd said before was actually rather sweet and genuine. He really seemed to have flown from god knows where in the city, at night, far from any reasonable chance of being lauded on the news, just because he thought a random girl sounded afraid and in need of help. Whether or not she did, and she didn't, the stubborn voice reminded me, it was very ... well ... nice of him.

"Okay," I relented, "I've been rude about it, and I don't really take it back, but I will say this: I do appreciate the gesture, after all. So thanks, Enigma." I stuck out my hand for him to shake.

That rumbly laugh broke out of him again, and he put his hand in mine. The leather on his gloves felt cool and smooth against my palm. "You're so welcome."

We shook on it, like a peace pact. Maybe it was because it felt like a natural extension of a handshake, but I felt I should add, "Kenna. That's my name."

Those weird golden eyes swirled at me impassively, and he kept smiling. "You're so welcome, Kenna."

I reached out and gave him a light push on the shoulder. Just then, flashing lights appeared in the main street outside of the lane, and we both turned to greet the police officers.

By now the criminal had awoken and was loudly protesting his innocence while they got him ready to go into the car. The officers ignored him, and took my statement. After I described what he'd said and how he'd tried to attack me with his knife, he got angry again.

"You bitch!" He growled.

I felt Enigma tense beside me, but just then, the man seemed to trip on himself and stumble, hard, into the side of the police car.

"Alright, enough out of you, it's time to go," one of the officers said as he grabbed the creep and started to manoeuvre him into the back of the car. The man's eyes locked with mine for an instant and I saw fear flicker in them.

My face stayed stony, though I smirked on the inside. We both knew what had really happened to him, and I thought he might have finally learned a valuable lesson.

I snuck a glance at the Super, hoping he hadn't noticed anything unusual, but he was looking thoughtfully at the man in the back of the car.

"There's too many people like him out there, you know?" He said, still staring ahead.

"Well, every bit of joy and kindness we bring to the world helps a little," I answered, feeling thoughtful myself.

That seemed to snap him out of his reverie, and he grinned at me. "Tell that to yourself half an hour ago."

I think I actually looked a bit sheepish. "Okay, but I do genuinely believe that."

"I know that." He looked back at the car. The police officers were filling out some kind of paperwork, which I thought I probably needed to sign.

"You do?" I looked at him curiously.

"Sure."

"Why?" I asked, unsure of why I even wanted to know.

"No particular reason, I just do. Do people usually not believe you when you say things?" His tone was light.

"Most people will believe anything I tell them," I joked.

"Uh huh, I bet."

Now the officers were finished, and as I suspected, asked me to sign my statement.

"Are we done here now?" I asked without rancour. I was suddenly tired, and I thought Seb would probably start worrying soon.

"Yes ma'am. Just one last thing." The officer nodded to Enigma, who actually groaned a little.

"She's not going to like it," he protested.

"It's policy," the officer responded, unmoved.

"What am I not going to like?" Obviously, I sounded suspicious.

A beat of silence.

"Kenna, can I walk you home?" Enigma asked, clearly uncomfortable.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Told you," he shot to the officers. To me, he said, "I'd normally fly someone to wherever they were going to save time, but something tells me that would be even more objectionable to you."

"Combined Sapphire City Super team and Police Department policy is that all Supers must accompany those involved in an individual incident to their destination where reasonable, to ensure their safety. This typically excludes major events, due to the reasonableness restriction." This was from one of the officers. It sounded like he'd memorised it from a book.

I looked over at Enigma, who was studiously avoiding my gaze. "Okay, but what if, theoretically, and hear me out here, a person is perfectly capable of getting themselves home safely, and thinks it's a bit creepy for some random Super to know where she, I mean they, lives? What if the Super goes rogue?"

The officer, whose name I saw was Officer Paulson, remained unmoved. "Sorry, ma'am, it's policy. And not only is it unlikely that a Super would go 'rogue,' as you say, but they carry special location trackers when on duty."

"Oh great, so they can all know where I live!" I grumbled, even though I knew it was pointless. Not only was I not getting out of this, but the Super team's manager knew well and good where I lived already, though I wasn't about to say anything of the sort to this lot.

Enigma winced. "Sorry, Kenna. We can actually fly if you want it to be faster."

His contrition made me realise that I was probably being a brat about this. I sighed, loudly, as a last hurrah. "Noooo thanks, walking will be fine." Another thing I wasn't about to admit was that, although I couldn't fly, I had my own way of moving faster than walking, though I rarely used it. "Thank you, officers." I smiled at them, not totally ungrateful.

"Any time, ma'am," Officer Paulson said politely. They climbed into their car and drove off, leaving Enigma and me alone on the street for the first time.

"Well, Super mysterious, home is this-away." I swung my arms around to point dramatically in the right direction, before swiveling my body to head that way.

"Aye aye, Captain." He saluted, and caught up to me easily, Superspeed and all. "So am I forgiven this final transgression?"

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. "For now. Seriously, though, thanks for being as cool about it as possible."

"Well it wasn't just for you. Obviously I have better things to do than walk some helpless young woman home. Walking is really slow, when you can fly."

"Might as well make it interesting then, huh?" I grinned at him, before sprinting off ahead almost as fast as I could. I had to hold back a little after all.

I think I must have left him standing there in shock, because it took him a moment to catch up to me again. Oddly, when he appeared beside me, all I could think was that he must have some sort of Super tape in his hood, since it had somehow stayed on at high speeds.

"You're pretty fast," he called to me as we ran, obviously impressed. He was basically stating the obvious; I didn't have Superspeed as a primary power, but I was much faster than average.

I laughed with true joy, feeling it bubbling up from my chest and enjoying the wind whipping through my hair. This was a different sort of release from the frustrations of the day than my zen moments in the garden. I dashed out across the road and onto the centre boulevard, weaving my way between the trees that grew tall and leafy there.

"Hey!" Enigma shouted, following after me. "I'm supposed to get you home safe, so quit that!"

I just giggled at him, but did slow my pace as the apartment building came into view.

We talked about random things the rest of the way, and it felt like time had flown by when we arrived at the main doors.

Stan, the night doorman, greeted us with a smile and wave. "Good evening Kenna, and sir."

I waved back, then turned to Enigma. "So, I think I've got it from here. I know you're supposed to get me 'home' and all, but I do actually know how to use an elevator safely."

"I've no plans to follow you upstairs, Kenna," he said dryly, and I actually flushed a little. "I consider my duty discharged. Goodnight, and thanks for the help ... wait a minute..." he pretended to be thinking hard about it.

I laughed, even though it was a lame joke, really. "Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the help, Buttinski."

He wrinkled his nose, moving his mask a little with it. "That is definitely not my name."

"For all I know, it could be your real name," I protested innocently.

For the third time that night, I heard him chuckle softly. "Uh huh. Well, I'd better go. See you around sometime, Kenna."

As I made my way back up the stairs, I surprised myself by thinking that I might not totally hate that.