SkyyStar was a typical looking hero, tall, square jawed, golden locks, dazzling smile and muscular build. His body suit was gold with black accents, and his cape was long and black. Soul Reaper on the other hand was tall and well built as well, however he was shrouded in mystery. His outfit consisted of a skin tight top and coat, with the coat flaring out from the waist down. His hands and neck were completely covered, and the mask was in the shape of a rather grotesque skull. His entire outfit was black, and in the video, the two men were having something of a standoff. The video clip then showed them engaging in a final battle, with clever editing truncating the final confrontation into a highlights package, before showing SkyyStar standing tall, victorious over his arch nemesis and the bane of Might City. The entire tram booed loudly, made gestures and even cussed out loud as they watched the clip.
As they all hurled insults towards the screen, an automated message played over the speaker system, alerting the passengers of their impending arrival. The tram gradually slowed down until it reached its destination, and once it came to a stop, another round of spitting on the floor ensued before everybody disembarked. Visuveus just stepped off and walked down the street without looking at or speaking to anybody else. The streets were filled with vendors who were peddling their hero themed wares. Memorabilia and such that were 'signed' by the popular heroes were practically being shoved down the throats of everybody who walked past a stall, however Visuveus ignored the vendors so hard, they were a little taken aback by his disposition. Another fifteen minutes of walking later, he arrived at a café that was hidden in the bowels of an alley that was particularly dark, despite it being the morning. He descended the steps and walked in, with a small ringing bell alerting those inside of his arrival. Along with the bell, a red light flashed a few times, however nobody seemed to care about it and the staff even smiled and waved.
"Morning, Vi!" A few of the wait staff called out, prompting the ex-con to nod in their directions.
There was a gentleman behind the counter who just looked at Visuveus and grunted under his breath.
"Here to meet with that scatterbrained parole officer of yours?"
"Yeah." Visuveus said as he sat at an empty table and crossed leg over the other.
He just sat in remained quiet again, however that was interrupted when a cup of coffee was clattered down in front of him without a hint of care or delicacy – something which drew a glare from Visuveus. The man from the behind the counter then sat down in the chair opposite him and just stared at him with a rather intense look.
"Found a job yet?"
"No." Visuveus replied before taking a sip of his coffee.
"You're running out of time, Vi."
"I know."
"…well, do you have anything lined up? You're going right back to jail if you don't!"
"I know." Visuveus said as he set his cup down.
This prompted the other guy to slam both hands on the table and glare at Visuveus.
"You annoying piece of shit, you still don't know how to hold a conversation!"
"…"
Visuveus just took another sip of his coffee before looking at the irate man.
"You might be useless at everything else, but you sure can make a cup of coffee, Jesse."
The compliment, however backhanded it may have been, seemed to touch a nerve in a good way as Jesse sighed and appeared to calm down.
"…you do know I would have hired you if I was allowed to, right?"
"I do." Visuveus replied simply before setting the cup down.
There was a period of silence which actually made the wait staff a little emotional, however that was all blown to shreds as the sound of clacking heels drew closer. Everybody looked towards the door and barely a second later, it swung wide open and in flew a lady in a skirt suit and buckling ankles. She displayed all the grace of a newborn wildebeest on a frozen lake, yet somehow, she managed to not only stay on her feet, but come to a complete stop before crashing into something. The light above the door flashed the brightest of greens, and the woman took a few moments to fix herself up and reseat her glasses before looking around and seeing that Visuveus was already seated and close to finishing his coffee.
"Shit, you're already here!" She said to him before approaching the table.
Jesse stood up and walked away from the table without even looking at the woman.
"Good morning, Jesse." She said cheerfully with a wave. "Could I get some coffee and a muffin please."
Jesse just ignored her and went back to his station, which made her sigh and look at Visuveus.
"Morning Visuveus, have you been waiting long?"
"Not at all Liyah, I just arrived a few minutes ago myself."
"Alright then, shall we get started?" Liyah asked as she placed a bag on the table.
The ex-con watched on as she opened and then rummaged around the bag. She began pulling things out when Jesse returned, and gently set down a cup of coffee and a freshly baked muffin in silence, before walking off. Jesse and Visuveus exchanged glares before the barista went back to the counter. Liyah, who looked a bit surprised smiled warmly at Jesse before starting to fix her coffee the way she liked it. Visuveus then took it upon himself to start setting everything else up, rolling up his sleeve and exposing his wristbands, before plugging in an assortment of wires that protruded from a device Liyah had pulled out into both wristbands. A holographic screen was then projected from the device and it provided all manner of information that the parole officer instinctively began scanning as she stirred her coffee.
"Goodness." She said as she shook her head slightly. "Having been assigned to you for almost half a year, I shouldn't be surprised to see this, but still… not even a single incident involving violence, drugs, liquor – the things ex-villains tend to fall back into. If it wasn't for your recorded Alignment, I wouldn't even believe that you were once a Villain."
"Yes, well unless I manage to secure a job, I won't count as a rehabilitated person, now will I?"
"Unfortunately not." Liyah said as she continued to look at the data on screen. "Do you have any interviews lined up, Visuveus?"
"A few." He replied. "Once you and I finish up here, I will be heading to see them all."
"I see. Tell me, what are the names of the businesses? We aren't really supposed to do this, but I want to write a recommendation letter and maybe even put in a call to each one. You're really running out of time, so we have to try everything we can to get you employed."
Visuveus looked at Liyah as she began eating her muffin and nodded before pulling a mobile device out from his breast pocket. He forwarded the correspondence he had with the prospective employers to the parole officer, and once that was done, she pulled out folding keyboard and immediately began drafting the letter. Visuveus then unplugged his wristbands from the cables, stood up and looked at the woman who was now typing away before nodding at her.
"If you will excuse me, I have to walk to these places, so it would be best for me to leave now."
Without waiting for a response from his parole officer, the ex-con walked away from the table as he fastened the buttons of his blazer. He looked back at Jesse as he reached the door and nodded his farewell before walking out. There was silence in the café as Liyah worked, however sometime into the drafting of the letter, she sighed audibly and shook her head.
"I can't believe this." She said under her breath. "Spending five minutes with this man is enough to see how overqualified he is for all of these places, yet…"
She sighed again before picking up her phone and putting in the first call.
Meanwhile back in the streets, Visuveus was making his way towards the first place. Jesse's café was on the outskirts of the more popular, touristy areas of the CBD, so now he was moving towards the less savoury parts of the city that weren't frequented so much by tourists. Around twenty minutes later, Visuveus arrived at a school and having been there before, he navigated his way through to the reception area. There were some other people present who had arrived before him, so Visuveus took a seat and waited quietly, and patiently. A few sets of eyes glanced at him every now and then, however they were completely ignored. After a bit of waiting, the receptionist signaled for the tall man to come to the front desk.