Water off a Duck's Back? (Shane)

A flash of yellow peeked out in the knight as Canary rounded a corner, disappearing from sight. It might be enough to catch someone's attention, more so than the muffled sound of something landing against metal, muffled by the ocean's quiet roar and other sounds of life on the docks.

For a moment, the bird looked out from her perch, visible near the edge for just a moment to any who might look as she took in the routes of escape available to the building adjacent to the one she stood on. A smuggler's den, one that people avoided unless they had business. One of the many unspoken secrets of the city. And, oh, there were so many of them.

Her device was ready, already in play from when her walk had just started. Amidst the cargo lay one of Canary's newest toys that still needed testing. Her hand remained in one of hte coat pockets as she waited, wondering how long it would be until the cargo was moved. And as she watched, she caught sight of a familiar figure that stood out as a streak of color on blank canvas.

Shane.

She paused for a moment, hesitating, hand half raised before she remembered. The last conversation had not gone well, nor had he been well when she'd last seen him after the battle. It seemed he was mobile again, so perhaps the super who had saved him had been able to do more for him than play catch.

He was too close. She bit back a huff of a sigh at the realization. Though he was just walking through the docks, he could get in teh way, and he wasn't her intended target for the night. A small frown tugged at her lips as Canary hopped down from her newly acquired perch, wincing at the landing that still didn't feel quite right. At least she'd had a help with the healing, or else she'd still be stuck in a cast. It didn't take much imagination to know how well that would work.

Instead, without even her goggles to add to the minimal disguise, she heads right for Shane, walking straight towards him with her hands in her pockets, knowing he won't be able to miss something that obvious. The closer she gets, however, the more her concern grows. He seemed agitated, but why? She hadn't done anything yet, so it wasn't that? Her steps slowed as she tried to gather some idea of what to expect.

And just like that, when he saw her, his demeanor shifted. There was something still odd, at least in Canary's mind, but she couldn't put her finger on what. It even took her a moment to catch on to the pun. Her brothers would be ashamed.

"Yeah, it probably will." She offered him a week smile and nodded, gesturing to the area she'd come from with a tilt of her head. Was she really ready for this? Probably not, but she didn't have a choice. He was here now, they both were, and things had dragged on for so long already. Had it been a week or so ago that they'd spoken last? A month? Longer? The days blurred and the memories with them. Their lives had taken them elsewhere.

She hoisted herself back to the highest part of the building, grip sturdy but not free of the sensation of being light-headed. Another reason to test this toy from a distance, though she didn't say anything to Shane about it. He'd see it soon enough. She waited to see if he would go up to the quieter area the way he had last time or if he would need assistance. There was no aggression or agitation in her demeanor, just the stiff nervousness of one who isn't sure what to expect and the fatigue of one who is tried of avoiding the elephant in the room.

"Glad to see you're getting around." It was true, and there, in her tone and the softening of her expression, was the first sign of the young woman who had dived into the lake to save him. There'd been this odd rigidity to him as he fell, like a marionette snapping its strings. Rumor had it a lot of injuries hadn't been immediately obvious, and that wasn't just for those who had fought.

Canary watched as he winked, lips twitching a little as she watched him start his ascent. The inventor chose to go up her own way, though it lacked the flash she might otherwise have given. But that was alright, considering she was about to ruin some fun for certain people out on the docks. She sat at the edge of the building, one leg dangling an the other crossed as she looked down at the people milling around below, and around the cargo, too. His reactions weren't lost on her, either, reminding her of how much her reaction had ruined things. But what would it take for an understanding to be made?

Leaning forward, her fingers gripped the edge of the building, as though she could launch herself up and into the sky. Her demeanor seemed relaxed at first, but her expression was still uncertain as her tongue poked at the inside of her cheek. The tenseion between her shoulders might be a reflection fo the conversation they both can feel coming, or perhaps it's anticipation of what she has in store for the evening. Maybe it's just residual pain.

“Well, I'm glad someone was able to help.” She looked at Shane, then back at the small selection of smugglers. Very small, mixed with gang members that were probably a cover or about to get territorial. No one wanted to draw that much attention to what they had. At the question about making things flashy, she chuckled and a sly grin spread across her face as she gestured to the area Shane had been in only moments ago.

“That depends. You decide: option one, two, or three?”

Canary blinked and went still, the humor of his words making the title stand out even more. She shook her head, much as before, then pointed down below. It was better not to think on that just now. Sort of.

"Angels must come in a variety, then." She eyed him with a sidelong glance, the nodded instead to crates he'd been walking past. Of the three options, he'd chosen the one that was a little more predictable. A more potent version of the hallucinogenic he had seen in effect at the radio station, but further out than when she ha lobbed one at Gilgamesh. She wanted to know how strong she could make it, but also to test the distance at which it would still deactivate properly. The success was an important one after multiple failures, and she was determined to make it better.

"Good choice." She chuckled softly and shifted and set off the device with a press of a button, exposing an area of her leg that was slightly darker than the rest. It had a slightly rusty-brown hue, like blood that was too stubborn not to leave asign of its existence. Fabric hadn't been a major concern of hers of late.

A faint hiss that was inaudible to those around it with the rest of the world going by. A haze seeped through teh crates, alarming those closest to it as it rippled and spread its effects.

Trial number three: how well would it work in open areas, rather than rooms?

Canary snicked at the angel comment and shook her head. "Sounds like you're in the business of meeting them. That might be a bad sign, you know. Too many life and death situations in one go." Her gaze was fixed on the group below as the goons stepped back, some wild-eyed in surprise and others only phased. A mixed batch, then, with various resistances. She pointed to the ones that seemed disorited more than anything.

"They're going to start seeing things differently. Those will probably just have some disorientation." She frowned slightly, wondering if she would have to make another batch and let it loose inside the smuggler's storage. Too many variables, but not enough time to test them all as she wished. She no longer had a place to be as throughout, but the improvisation did good sometimes. Besides, you never knew when another fight was going to take place or sweep you away.

"Those will be the ones to watch." Her finger barely moved as she pointed to those that were more heavily saturated in the gas. "They're going to be seeing all kinds of interesting things." She hoped. If not, it was back to the drawing board.

Either way, it was easier to focus on her purpose for coming out than the boy next to her, what they would probably talk about before all was said and done. Just thinking about it made her resist the urge to squirm. But some of the thugs were already staggering, reacting to things that couldn't possibly be there. She leaned until her forearms rested on her thighs, glancing over at Shane after a moment.

"Why should I have gone first at the tower?"

"I guess life is just full of surprises." The statement is made in response to his admitting he was happy to be meeting various angels in his life, but Canary's focus was already back on those below, especially with her substance still spreading. She'd probably have to adjust the container a little, too, but one thing at a time.

"Yeah...you'll probably be able to tell if it gets out of hand." Her gaze flickered over the group, making sure she had a headcount of how many people were spread. "But sure." She listened to his explanation in silence, nodding after a moment as she recalled all that had been said.

"I think you just don't like being put on the spot and said what came to mind." She frowned a little, both as a couple of the smugglers started to aggravate each other as well as knowing she was about to breach a sensitive topic.

"You came at it from an emotional standing, and that won. But you also made it sound like people should blame supers." Which they should, shouldn't they? Wasn't that what attracted dragons? Or was that just what helped spread destruction? But it had been supers who had killed the dragon, and now Emerald City was recovering. Why couldn't it just be simple? Oh right, because life wasn't. Wishing for it wouldn't get anyone anywhere.

"People still don't know what dragons are, what they mean. They can still be explained away as a nightmare or a trick from Lavender Boulvard gone wrong. Natural disasters, alien attacks, there are a lot of places to point to for an explanation." She shrugged, and the frown faded into something closer to sadness.

"I just gave them what they needed to hear. People can rise up, either by themselves or with the help of others. Right now, they need that. They need to be reminded of what we can do."