A Twitchy Pickpocket

Some people were born into greatness. Others had greatness thrusted upon them. And then there's people who are just trying to survive.

You were the Shade, intimidating name I know, but when you're a teen on the streets you don't have much room for the way of creativity. You were twenty five years old and on the road to nowhere though really you were fine with that. In a World where someone as big as Dr. Havok can bite the dust what did a small time crook like you have against these heroes? Fuckers show no mercy! Dr. Havok was the top dog back when you were a kid, you used to catch some of his schemes on the news whenever your Dad was passed out in front of the TV.

You were born the runt of the litter on the wrong side of town. With alcoholic parents and almost a dozen older brothers and sisters, it was tough growing up. You had very little to call your own beyond broken down hand-me-downs as anything you ever did receive or managed to find either ended up being taken or broken by your siblings or bullies. Around high school was when you decided enough was enough and you left home. You doubted anyone even went looking for you but it wasn't as if you wanted their attention anyway. You had all the family you need.

From the day you were born you had a companion with you that never left your side. Hard to when it was your Shadow itself. Whether it was you or some other entity was never clear. Your Shadow moved and acted independently from your own will but it only ever acted in your favor and it listened to your orders whether you said them or not. Paranoid as you are, your Shadow is the only thing you know you can trust even if you didn't know what it was even.

Today, your life is about to change forever.

________

The sidewalk was crowded today as you were walking through it, the hustle and bustle of the City was a familiar beast that you knew well. You kept your hands in your pockets, your five foot eight height barely noticable among the crowd. You kept your eyes forward and your step matching that of the people around you. Where everyone was keeping their sights on what was infront of them no one paid attention to the ground beneath them.

Snaking through the marching crowd your Shadow went to work. Spreading along unseen and unfelt its hands dipped into pants pockets, purses, and coats in search of whatever it could find. Snatching up wallets and valuables it brought them flowing up your pants legs and into your own coat's pockets. You had a big shit eating grin thinking about the haul you've made today.

You walked past a rather tall woman then wearing a black suit which struggled to contain her bust. Her high heels clicked in the brief time you passed each other, blonde hair in a neat ponytail. As your Shadow sifted through her bags she glanced right towards you, causing a brief flash of fear to appear in your eyes as your green stared into her blue. Thankfully you resumed your relaxed appearance as you both continued down the sidewalk.

Walking across the street you headed towards your side of town. Time for a drink and to go through your pull today. Your Shadow followed in your step, retaining its shape after having spread out to cover dozens and dozens of suckers in broad daylight.