Above and Below

Intro Part 1

"They'll kill us!"

"They can't do that in the Market-"

"We'll never make it!" Our voices have risen too much and heads turn. Burg goes to grab my elbow but I'm already dodging his phantom hand and jogging to a deserted side alley.

It's full of rats, broken bottles, an dumpsters, and the walls are peppered with bullet holes and grimy windows.

"Pockets, one of them can see through walls; they probably already know where we are!" His eyes are wide with terror.

"If that were true, they'd already be here." This seems to calm him down a little, but now he looks angry. "I swear, Pockets, if you don't throw that thing away right now I'll do it for you and drag you back home." "I swear, Pockets, if you don't throw that thing away right now-"

I take off running, clamber onto a dumpster, and haul myself up to a window ledge and then a balcony from there. "Try it."

Burg releases a string of curses and threats while I smirk at him from high above his head. The truth is, I'm a little scared myself, but the money could be life-changing.

"Will you listen to my plan if I come down?" I ask.

After a moment, he agrees. I don't trust him, but I'll be able to fight him off if he tries to take the medallion.

My feet hit the ground and I start talking. "You let me keep it- " he catches up to his phantom's reaction and starts shaking his head. I continue, ignoring him. "We do our shift today, and you go home." his phantom hears the rest of my plan and starts agreeing. "I'll take it to Finders Keepers in the market and sell it for half-price. The Blacks won't know who found it, you won't be there for the transaction, and we'll get a boatload of money. If we're caught before the end of the day, I'll take the blame. Deal?" I already know what he says, but the real Burg echoes it.

"Deal, but if you get us caught you're on your own! And you better be on your best behavior during this shift. Let's go." at "caught" a strange thing happens - a boy's phantom about my age turns the corner and sees us. Instead of hurrying away from the hulking bilgerat, though, he begins walking towards us.

"Deal, but if you get us caught -"

"Burg." I'm looking at the mouth of the alley. The phantom changes. Now it's a half step behind. Obviously the boy will be surprised to see us looking as though we are waiting for him, and must have hesitated. "Excuse me, miss, Is this man bothering you?"

The boy turns the corner, looks surprised, hesitates. He walks forward. "Excuse me, miss, is -"

"He's not a man yet." I say. I was so shocked by the question that I go completely off my head and say the stupidest thing possible. I keep messing up today! I try to recover as another surprised look registers on his face. "I just mean, he's a teenager, a big one, not a man, so I'm fine." Both boys look confused. I ramble on, a little desperate. My phantoms have slowed down to a few moments in the future again. "Not that I couldn't be bothered by a teenager, especially a big one, but it's still better than a man isn't it?" and that's when I force myself to shut up.

Burg gives me an odd look before following his phantom to turn to the boy. "Aaaanyway, thanks for your concern. Give me anything you're carrying of value and you can leave." he smiles kindly. I take my opportunity to study our new customer. He looks like a freakin' Respectable. He has pale white-blonde hair and coal black eyes. If that wasn't weird enough, he's dressed in a crisp tuxedo, like he's on his way to a gala. He's not wearing any colored jewelry, so he can't be part of a gang. He does have a gold ring around his left forefinger. Otherwise he appears to be carrying no weapons. Insane. And then it happens. Just as all these details register and realization is just around the corner, a phantom bottle flies and slams into the back of Burg's head hard enough to crack his skull. I leap into action without thinking. I spin around, my trench coat flaring out behind me, and reach my hand up and out, taking a step sideways so I'm back to back with Burg. The bottle rams into my palm and I cry out involuntarily. I don't think anything breaks but I'm certain that my entire hand will be one big bruise.

"AHHH!" Burg stumbles backwards until he runs into the alley wall. For a moment everything is still. Then, a hundred phantom bottles and pieces of trash fly at Burg. Without thinking, I punch the boy in the jaw. He stumbles back, surprised, and the phantom changes. now he stands up and straightens his suit, his eyes on fire with curiosity and frustration.

"Who are you?" he asks.

"None of your business, Black." I say, and my companion makes emits a quiet squeak of fear from his cowering position next to a dumpster. I, on the other hand, hold to the opinion that if I'm about to die, I may as well do it standing and insolent.

Unexpectedly (for Burg, at least), the strange boy grins. "Oh come now, make something up if you must."

Now that I think about it, I may have a chance at life if I'm respectful. I go with the truth. "Pockets."

He sneers, but the look on his face seems almost like embarrassment. "Oh, a pickpocket."

I snort, forgetting to be respectful. "Who still says pickpocket? I'm a Pick, you dork." Then I force myself to shut up again. Burg looks like he's about to pass out.

He arches an expensive pale blond eyebrow before continuing as though I had said nothing. "Well, Miss Pockets, I'm afraid that I cannot condone this young man's disrespect for someone of my position."

His phantom turns to Burg and I speak quickly to keep his attention. "You'll have to go through me!"

The Black pauses. Turns. "No. I won't." His phantom is already sending another wave of glass in time to catch me by surprise. There's nothing else for it, so I punch him again. In the face. Hard. My knuckle collides with his cheekbone with a crack and he goes down. I take my chance to slip on the brass knuckles that are in pocket next to the piece of bread. This time when he stands up again he looks mad. "I don't fight girls."

"Obviously, or you'd know how to block." It's the obvious comeback, but he looks surprised. I march around him and stand in front of Burg, my fists clenched and raised to chest level. He smirks. "Your guard is too low."

I shrug, but raise my fists a little. And then his phantom moves.

Both he and his phantom are so fast that I barely have time to react. He drops to crouch and swings his leg is a smooth arc to crash into mine and knock me to the ground. As his phantom leg passes through my left leg I lift it to knee him in the face. His reflexes are crazy fast. He is up and a step back from me almost as fast as his phantom. I continue with my movement, bringing my left leg around to propel me backwards toward him. My elbow comes out to hit him in the face, but as his phantom reaches up to catch it I drop my aim to his chest and he has to deflect with his other arm. Both of us step back looking surprised. I'm not to worried though, I'll see his mistakes before he even makes them, and then I'll be able to knock him out, as I know from past street fights. He moves forward with the grace of a dancer, and I block his next punch.

Suddenly they're coming hard and fast, like a whirlwind. I try to focus on the green and throw my arms out in their path. I manage to block until I see an opening in his defense. I slam my fist into his unprotected stomach, at the same time as he hits me in the ear. I stumble back blinking and out of breath, and then run forward. He is doubled over, but recovers quickly, his phantom looks up and begins to ask if I'm alright, which is why I know exactly where to punch to hit him in the throat.

He chokes, coughs and then looks at me like he can't believe I would do that. "That's not fair, I wasn't even using my power on you." he wheezes, angry.

I was, I think of saying but stop myself. I feel a little ashamed of hitting him like that, but instead say, "Welcome to reality Black, life's not fair."

And then the bottle hits me in the back of the head and the world rushed up to meet me and everything ceases to exist.