Flying — or in Lucian's case, gliding — was an exhilarating experience. Different as they were, to a typically flightless human, they amounted to the same thing.
He remembered playing Minecraft a while back, on a laptop that a good friend had gifted him. When he beat the Ender Dragon for the first time, he ender-pearled to the Outer End right away. Gliding in real life felt ten thousand times as exciting as gliding with an Elytra for the first time ever.
As Lucian's wings kept him aloft, the city of Gotham spread out beneath and around him. It was like a sea of sparkling jewels, or a concrete jungle that bore leaves of glitter and rhinestones.
The wind howled in his ears though they were hidden beneath his cowl, and the floppy 'ears' above his head fluttered wildly. His metal mouthpiece made breathing a bit easier by preventing the wind from forcefully rushing into his lungs. Lastly, he couldn't help but notice the taste and smell of the air around him.
'The smog's a lot thinner at this level...'
He had noticed it before, climbing up buildings during his patrols. The heavy, smothering air would thin as he ascended, and this seemed to hold true the higher up he went. Up where he was gliding was the freshest that Gotham's air had been.
'Though I'm pretty sure it gets really bad just before and well within the perpetual smog cloud up there. Ah fuck, smokestacks exist, too. Gotta avoid those...'
While gliding, Lucian had Penny keep track of his descent. The rate was pretty good considering that he just came up with the Weave-Wings on the fly — mind the pun. The wings weren't as efficient as actual gliding equipment, but it was something. He even gripped the front of the wings like Batman sometimes did with his cape. This provided extra support for their structure, and gave his grabby fingers something to do while the rest of his body stayed rigid.
He got restless a lot of the time like that.
Whenever he drew too low for his liking, he would pull his wings into a cloak and start freefalling. With gravity working enthusiastically to introduce him to the ground, he would ball up a mass of Blackwhip in his hands. He would then launch it with a softball throw towards the nearest high-rise building so he could swing back up. He had to throw Blackwhip because, as he was, it didn't have quite the necessary force to reach high and fast enough to be effective on its own.
Once the tendrils latched onto a sufficiently high surface, he would swing upward a-la Spider-Man [respect the hyphen] before spreading his wings out again to continue gliding.
That swing-and-glide method was much less taxing than trying in vain to flap the voluminous Weave-Wings — less effort, more fun, much cooler.
Now that Lucian had his most reliable means of swift travel to date, he made his way over to Paulie's ring. His goal for that night was to inform them that he was going to be taking a break. While Batman had indeed told him to put down the Phantom persona, it wasn't explicitly stated that he had to give up prizefighting. It had most certainly been implied, but Lucian was a cheeky little animal.
...
Within minutes, Lucian touched down a few blocks away from the fighting pit. He switched to his Phantom gear for what might be the last time, high up on a thirty-floor building's roof. Attaching a Blackwhip tendril to an overhang, he went upside-down and mimicked how Spider-Man sometimes descended from his webbing.
Landing across the street from the entrance, he then snuck his way into the pit by crawling along the side of one of the surrounding buildings. He stuck to the shadows all the while, remaining unseen to the people below by also ensuring that he made absolutely zero noise while moving. He even made sure to be wary of any drones as well — luckily, there weren't any. Not yet, at least.
Lucian landed behind the reception desk, entirely unseen by the bouncers that were stationed all around. He greeted Rita while staying in a blindspot from anyone that might have been peeking in from the front.
"Yo."
Flinching, Rita whirled around on her chair and drew a gun, aiming it right at the white mask that had appeared before her. Realizing who it was though, she lowered her firearm and stared accusingly into the Phantom's eyes.
"What the fuck was that?!" she demanded in a strained, indignant yell.
"Sorry... Couldn't exactly show my not-face to the crowd. I just came by to tell you that I'm putting down the mask."
"You're quitting...?" Rita asked for clarification.
He shrugged. "Not really. There's just some heat on my ass right now, so I gotta deal with it for the time being. When I return, though—" he tapped his mask twice "—I won't be wearing this anymore. You'll see my real face."
"Huh..." Rita visibly relaxed, then her expression shifted as if a few puzzle pieces had just clicked into place. "Wait... I thought Matchstick was just exaggerating," she mumbled with mounting tension. "An actual syndicate's coming after you? Fuck me..."
Hearing that, the Phantom couldn't help but quip. "Sorry, but I'm seeing someone right now. If it doesn't turn out well though, I'll consider it."
"Oh, fuck you," Rita cursed again, her palm eagerly acquainting itself with her forehead as she realized how easily that phrase could be twisted.
Sparing the poor receptionist from any further embarrassment, the Phantom bade her a temporary farewell before excusing himself to meet up with Gomez and Matchstick.
"You're really leaving?" Matchstick slouched further than usual, despondent at the unpleasant news.
"It's only for a short while," Gomez countered, reiterating what had just been explained to them.
"Good luck out there dealing with this syndicate shit, kid. Upper management won't like it, but I'm sure they'll understand."
"Thanks," said the Phantom. "I'll put on a hell of a show when I come back for my proper debut."
Gomez pulled out a tiny booklet with a pen in its spring. He scribbled something onto a page, ripped it off, and handed it over.
"If you ever find yourself in more trouble than you can handle alone, go to that address if you can. There's people there that can connect you to us. We'll have to charge you for our services, but we'll do the most we can with whatever you can give."
Lucian folded up the paper and put it into one of his cargo pants' pockets—a second pair that he had grabbed after having Jodie convert his 'original' into proper crimefighting gear. With this new one, he left a few hundred dollars in place of it, along with a note of apology and thanks.
With Gomez' note stashed safely away, Lucian bade him and Matchstick farewell like he did with Rita before slipping away unseen.
...
Having settled things at the ring, Lucian made sure to evade the drone that had appeared at some point on his way out. He would have grabbed it out of the air, but his reach as the Phantom wasn't quite enough...
Once he had lost it, he went to a secure location with the intent to switch loadouts. Before that though, he took off his cardboard mask to get a good look at his face in a building's dark window. He made sure that there was nobody inside first, obviously. Enhanced eyes could do wondrous things.
'I've never really paid attention to my appearance until now,' he thought while using his hand to comb away some of the messy, wavy hair from his face.
'I look kinda good, don't I?'
[ Objectively, yes, ] said Penny.
'Oi... why does that sound insincere?'
[ You must be imagining things. ]
Lucian rolled his eyes in good humor, hanging up the paper mask on a spiked metal fence.
'I hope you find a good new owner, old buddy...'
After making sure that there weren't any surveillance cameras or stray eyes watching him, he switched to his Manticore loadout.
He was about to run off, but...
'Well, I'm already here. Time to fit check myself.'
Lucian honestly really loved his outfit, to the point where he promised Jodie infinite favors [figuratively] in his mind.
The cowl that the old lady had made for him was his primary source of intimidation factor — doubly so now that it had been imbued with the Mask of Fear's supernatural properties. The way the eye holes had been cut into the fabric gave him a menacing air, as if he had a perpetual scowl or snarl, and the uneven craftsmanship on his metal jaw only enhanced that effect.
Coupled with the Mask of Fear's [Aura of Terror] effect, well... most people would freak out if he actually tried to scare them.
His jacket and pants, both now colored his distinct purple and black, puffed him up good — Jodie had done a great job padding them out for protection and durability.
The bulking effect of the suit was something that Lucian really liked. He was on the leaner side in terms of build, so this was definitely a good thing in his books. The way the black areas had been arranged enhanced his silhouette, and the thick white fur on the collar broke up the visual rhythm in a tasteful way. He had drawn it into his designs while taking inspiration from Sabretooth and Kraven the Hunter. The mass of fur also heavily obscured his neck, which was a great advantage to have.
It was very grabbable though, so he'd have to watch out for that.
The heavy duty work boots, Lucian felt no need to replace. They were kind of perfect as they were. His gloves, on the other hand, were fairly lackluster compared to the rest. This was why he felt so grateful to receive the Retractable Claws from Penny.
'I should test these out now,' he thought.
The Retractable Claws were a pair of full plate gauntlets made to resemble that of a knight's, and were fashioned from black-stained metal. They were modified to allow for greater comfort and range of motion as well. They generally appeared to be ordinary gauntlets, but could sprout beastlike claws from their fingertips whenever the wearer wanted.
It enhanced Lucian's intimidation factor by a large margin, and he honestly loved how big they made his hands look. It seemed, visually, like he could remove someone's face just by slapping them, even when not counting his enhancements.
'I think this is it...'
[ Completing costume quest? ]
'Yes, please. I feel like I'm ready.'
[ Calculating rewards... ]
[ Quest: "Birth of a Vigilante" has been completed. ]
[ Rewards: ]
[ Headmaster's Approval: maximum EXP granted. Your level has risen. ]
[ EXP to next level: 4,200. ]
[ Receiving specialized item as a gift from the Headmaster... ]
[ Gift received. You have been given the C-grade item: Howling Maw. ]
[ Reward phase completed. Closing quest for filing. ]
'You've been filing those?' Lucian wondered while assigning his attribute points and picking a new class — the Intermediate class, Monk.
[ I don't do it myself. I just organize it and then pass it on to someone else back at the Academy. ]
'Ohhh yeah... I kinda forgot about the admission contract.'
After his last free level for a good long while, Lucian's information page looked like the following:
– ৹ – ৹৹◎৹৹ – ৹ –
Host: Lucian Albrecht
Matrix: Quirk User: One for All
Level: 16
Classes: [Brawler - Level 5] ; [Acrobat - Level 5] ; [Criminal - Level 5] ; [Monk - Level 1]
-[ Attributes ]-
Power: 45 [94]
Vitality: 45 [94]
Agility: 45 [94]
Intellect: 28
Mentality: 29
Spirit: 29
Luck: 0
Free Attribute Points: 0
New class ability unlocked!
Monk:
[1] Ki Control I: You have acquired the ability to manipulate your own life energy through knowledge and practice of martial arts — mastery over your own body. Life energy is known by many names in different cultures, but you are most familiar with Chi/Ki.
You have an abundance of this energy because of your attribute investments, as well as your Matrix. Your surplus stockpile of it can be projected in a manner of ways. The basics, you have already figured out. Improve on them yourself at your own pace.
Note: this ability's following tiers do not need to be unlocked to improve your mastery of Ki manipulation; this can be done alternatively through training alone. If you have attained a certain degree of mastery by the time this ability has been improved by the empowerment system, you will receive a substantial buff instead of learning spontaneously.
– ৹ – ৹৹◎৹৹ – ৹ –
Once Lucian had finished reading up on his info page, another flood of information flowed into his mind like when he first made use of Penny's empowerment system.
Memories of advanced martial arts — both armed and unarmed — embedded themselves into his body and mind, forcing the development of knowledge and muscle memory. He felt that familiar sensation of being overly-energized, his body temperature paradoxically rising and falling at the same time, along with an entirely new feeling...
'Holy shit, I should've expected that...! It hasn't happened at all the last ten levels, so I kinda forgot...'
Following the integration of the Monk class into Lucian's very existence, a feeling of euphoria descended over him, which he had to wait to temper and control before he could move again.
Finally, he recovered and headed out, substantially faster than before. His boosted physical attributes could now reach nearly twice their base values, courtesy of Full Cowling's bonus combined with the passive buffs that came from his non-class bonus abilities.
On top of that, he even knew how to channel his Ki in order to further amplify his physical prowess even further beyond.
It was quite something.
— — — — — — —
[A/N]: Hi, hello, it's me, Mr. Blorp. I meant to post this sooner, but I was working on a commission, so... yeah. I ended up staying awake way into the night and then sleeping in :'›
Well, at least I'm mostly back on schedule now. Also, pls point out any formatting errors or whatnot — since I post both here and on Ao3 and have to change a few things every time, there's bound to be something I missed.