It was odd that a return to thievery felt like a step in the right moral direction.

After her last assignment from Poseidon had her killing an innocent dancer in cold blood, the idea of art theft was an almost appreciated change. Days and weeks had passed, and she still found herself in bed, reflecting on the moment Madison Pott’s breath ceased at her hand. She was supplementing herself with coffee and tea to compensate for the lost energy from her lack of restful sleep.

The new mission was a cakewalk for The Silhouette. Some celebrity with anti-mutant beliefs had priceless art on display at a prominent art gallery in the city. It was Poseidon’s style to make the untouchable feel vulnerable and turn a profit at the same time. Fortunately for the mob boss, he had access to one of the world’s foremost experts in art thievery. Steph was not a modest woman, and most of the “names” on the scene who could have given her a run for her money were in retirement. Lucky them. They were the ones blessed enough not to receive a knock on their door, only to find Poseidon pulling them back into the game against their will.

The main lights of the gallery were off, but the combination of emergency lights and natural illumination from rooftop skylights allowed Stephanie to slip into the gallery in her shadowform. She was going in, grabbing three smaller, but unquestionably valuable works of art, and leaving before anyone knew she was around. Like she said: cakewalk.

If anyone ever told Jesse that she was going to be staking out an art studio to catch an art thief, she would have gleefully punched them in the face. And yet, here she was now, doing exactly that (the staking out, not the punching). The gallery was familiar; back in the old days, he had hit it once or twice, but it was never one of the big heists, given the lack of many reflecting surfaces. Right now, she was lingering in the polished side of some kind of a metal statue thing, keeping an eye on the exhibition space. The exhibit was highly advertised, and since there had been a few cases or art thievery lately, it was not unlikely that someone would try to hit it. Jesse, not being able to sleep, decided to keep an eye out. Because she was an adult now, and an X-man, and soon to be the father/mother of a newborn baby, and the world needed to be a better...

... oh who the f*** am I kidding. I'm here for nostalgia.

Shadows shifted, and there she was. Jesse smirked, and let her move around a little in confidence, before she spoke up.

"Well, look at that. And here I thought we were both peacefully retired on our respective tropical islands..."

The unexpected voice forced a flinch out of Stephanie, but it was hard to notice since her features were obscured in shadow. She was no slouch, relying totally on her powers. She studied guard rotations and determined when she would have the best opening for some alone-time with the exhibit to peruse the selection. No one should have been around to spot a shadow hugging close to the walls, yet a female voice was calling out to her all the same.

Stephanie’s first instinct was to meld into the wall, but curiosity got the better of her and she turned to face her accuser. She found herself looking at a woman reflected on the surface of a metal statue. The face was unfamiliar, but the power was a dead giveaway. In her heyday, Steph made a few trips into New York for big scores. Networking was important if she really wanted to be part of the bigtime, so she got to know some of the key players on the scene.

”Jesse,” she greeted warmly, not shifting out of her shadowform or the reverberating voice she had in that state. ”I haven’t thought about you since I gave your info to some grunge-rock redhead. I thought she’d be enough to scare you off to Bora Bora. More art for me, you know,” she joked, avoiding the remark of her supposed retirement.

The shadow paused. Jesse wondered if she really was the person she'd expected, or just another mutant that decided their shadow powers predestined them for greatness in the art thief profession. The recognition was clear in the strange echoing voice, though. New face or not, mirrorwalking was a pretty unique power (in this dimension, anyway).

>>”Jesse,”

"Stephanie" Jesse grinned, waving a hand.

>>”I haven’t thought about you since I gave your info to some grunge-rock redhead. I thought she’d be enough to scare you off to Bora Bora. More art for me, you know,”

Jesse blinked, chuckling a little at the admission.

"I have been wondering if it was you... well. Didn't quite go that way, but it did get me to retire. Kinda. I married said redhead."

Jesse felt like she might want to thank Stephanie for the help, but that was not really how honor worked among thieves.

"You're still rocking the profession, I see. Haven't heard about you for years... are you that good now, or did you take a break?"

Stephanie’s shadowy mouth hung open for a moment as she took in Jesse’s new information. When the feisty redhead cornered her and pressed her for information, Stephanie saw many possible outcomes. The last thing she expected was to hear the free-spirited rogue would end up tied down in matrimony. ”Yeah, sorry, I was laying low at the time so I needed her out of my hair. You’ve always been able to take care of yourself,” she justified. It was a poor breach of criminal ethics, but at the time, Stephanie was no longer a criminal.

Reflecting on the old days, Steph did have respect for Jesse. They both preferred working alone and keeping loose ends to a minimum. Times certainly changed for the both of them. ”Didn’t realize I was dealing with some secret admirer with the mutant power to tame the untamable. Mazel tov.”

Jesse was sharp. Too sharp not to piece together the evidence of Stephanie’s disappearance from the crime world for years. Stephanie shifted her weight from one foot to another, feeling uncomfortable with her information so readily available. ”Mhmm. I took a break,” she answered shortly. ”But I’m a job now, Jesse, so maybe we should push this whole ‘catching-up’ thing for later. There are plenty of good Mexican places with killer margaritas. I’ll be in touch.” Time was of the essence if she wanted to finish running Poseidon’s errand and further questions about her retirement and subsequent unretirement would lead to some dangerous revelations.

It was not all that surprising that Steph had given up Jesse's info to Becca, back in the day. The redhead could be very persuasive, and while ratting someone out was bad etiquette, survival beat concerns like that any day for people who lived from heist to heist, especially if they had someone on their own tail. Jesse could not really blame her. It all worked out in the end.

>>”Yeah, sorry, I was laying low at the time so I needed her out of my hair. You’ve always been able to take care of yourself. Didn’t realize I was dealing with some secret admirer with the mutant power to tame the untamable. Mazel tov.”

"Yeah, never expected that either, but here we are." Jesse grinned. She was proud of her wife. Steph, on the other hand, was still doing her original job. Which was going to get awkward soon, given that Jesse had changed hers.

>>”Mhmm. I took a break. But I’m a job now, Jesse, so maybe we should push this whole ‘catching-up’ thing for later. There are plenty of good Mexican places with killer margaritas. I’ll be in touch.”

"See, here's what I don't understand" Jesse noted, slipping into another facet of the statue to keep up wit Steph "You are one of the best I know in the field, and you have been around long enough to buy that darn island, not visit it. So... what, did your accounts get hacked or something?... Why did you come back?"

Jesse living the domestic life was a surprise, but Stephanie had no room to judge. She may have still been out in the field, but she had her daughter nestled comfortably in bed back at the apartment. They were moving forward in life.

The only difference between Steph and Jesse, it seemed, was Poseidon. If the Boss of the Syndicate had Jesse or her wife under his thumb, they could have been the ones stealing art on a school night.

Much to the thief’s annoyance, Jesse was not going to let their conversation die and resume at a later time. Did she hate margaritas? And why was she so fixated on Stephanie’s return to crime. ”Maybe I’m just not meant to be an island girl,” she replied tersely, making sure to keep her voice down.

”Listen,” she started, trying to keep herself level and patient, ”I left for personal reasons, and now I’m back. I have three pieces I have my eye on, and the questions are getting distracting. Why so curious, Jesse? You miss it?” Misdirect; that was the way to go.

>>”Maybe I’m just not meant to be an island girl,”

Nah, that was not it. Jesse could imagine Stephanie retired to a whole lot of fancy places, including islands. And yet, here she was, and she was nervous about getting the job done fast. She had to know Jesse was not going to turn her in, and her powers were more than enough to get out if the guards showed up. Why so twitchy then? She did not seem to be enjoying the job at all anymore...

>>”Listen. I left for personal reasons, and now I’m back. I have three pieces I have my eye on, and the questions are getting distracting. Why so curious, Jesse? You miss it?”

"Sometimes." Jesse admitted with a smirk. She did miss the thrill, every once in a while, although being an X-man and married to Becca provided more than enough adventure to make up for it "But that's not why I'm here. I thought someone I knew was hitting places like this, and I thought... well." she gestured at the X-uniform she was wearing, moving into another surface to give a better view. "I thought I might convince them to play for a better team."

Jesse was committed to sticking close to Stephanie for whatever reason. In theory, it did not sound so bad; in her prime, Jesse was good company. Stephanie preferred to handle her jobs solo, but Jesse never used to be a distraction. Domestic life was making the younger woman a bother, and it was starting to tire the shadow elemental out.

In shadowform, Stephanie’s eyesight was weaker, so she was prone to missing little details. Jesse had to point out her outfit for the thief to realize what was amiss. As someone who lived her life on the wrong side of the law, Stephanie avoided the X-Men, which was easier to do when she could recognize them. The uniforms were not all standard, but Jesse’s was recognizable.

”The Xes?” The surprise in Stephanie’s echoey voice was clear. ”I never pegged you as a girl scout. Or a boy scout. Hell, I wouldn’t have pictured you in any group activities, let alone a team.”

Steph could see the turn toward the exhibit she was looking for, but the reality of their meeting finally hit her. ”Wait, wait, wait.” Time was still of the essence, but Steph needed a moment to turn her attention to the woman in a piece of reflective plating. ”Are you planning to hop out of that thing and get in my way? You were a sweet kid, but I’ve got a job to do, Jess.”

Jesse shifted into a better surface, and Steph caught a glimpse of the uniform. Not that she had been trying to hide it before, but the surprise was still abundantly clear in the thief's echoing voice.

>>”The Xes? I never pegged you as a girl scout. Or a boy scout. Hell, I wouldn’t have pictured you in any group activities, let alone a team.”

"Believe me, no one's more surprised than I am." Jesse admitted. Se still remembered a situation very similar to this one, that ended with her and Becca... in a very indecent position. Not that this was going anywhere near that direction.

>>”Wait, wait, wait. Are you planning to hop out of that thing and get in my way? You were a sweet kid, but I’ve got a job to do, Jess.”

"No" Jess shrugged "I just want to offer you some better choices..."

Blink.

"I do sound like a f*** missionary don't I." she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Point is, I'm not gonna try to stop you. Even if I wanted I couldn't. I'm stuck in here."

So, after all those years, Jesse was playing on the side of angels. They both enjoyed the thrill of thievery and vigilantism could provide a lot of the same rush, if Steph had to guess. As a criminal, Stephanie had her own apprehensions when it came to law enforcement and goodie goodies, but she did not hate or fault the people looking to make the world a better place. (Of course, not all cops and vigilantes fell into that category, but that was another matter.) Jesse was a good kid, and if she really wanted to go unappreciated fighting the good fight, more power to her.

Stephanie was, unfortunately, stuck on the other side of the coin. The X-Men sounded like a cute idea, but she saw the kind of influence the Syndicate had in New York at large and her life in private. Moral ambiguity and proper management opened a wealth of options the X-Men lacked. Vigilantism and organized crime were both against the law, but one had the money to make people look the other way.

Despite the cool reception, Jesse was still trying to talk Steph out of her profession, leading her down the same path. The unretired criminal chuckled, both at Jesse’s self-realization and the absurdity that she had a choice to stop.

Her laughter stopped when Jesse shared another big change in her life: the mirrorwalker was stuck on the other side of the mirrors. It was hard to tell on her shadowy visage, but Stephanie’s eyes widened at the horror of the implication. ”I’m… wow. That sounds awful. I’m sorry, Jesse.”

The reality of her old friend’s situation was hard to hear, sobering Stephanie’s tone up. ”Listen, I’m happy you have your own path and put the job behind you. That’s great. But not everyone has that choice, Jesse. Hot redheads don’t show up and lead everyone to the side of truth, justice, and the American way.”

Jesse saw the way Stephanie's face changes when she admitted she was stuck in the mirrors. It was a common reaction - from people with any semblance of empathy, anyway. She was not fishing for pity at all, simply making a point that she was not here to turn things violent. And yet, she had to admit that the revelation was probably shocking for someone on the other side.

>>”I’m… wow. That sounds awful. I’m sorry, Jesse.”

"It is what it is." she shrugged. Ever since they met Mirror, and Becca had the chance to occasionally visit, she had been a lot less touchy about the subject. Hey, they even managed to make a baby together...

>>”Listen, I’m happy you have your own path and put the job behind you. That’s great. But not everyone has that choice, Jesse. Hot redheads don’t show up and lead everyone to the side of truth, justice, and the American way.”

"Well, I mean, if that's what it takes..." Jesse smirked, as her looks shifted and rearranged themselves "Any other requests?"

Okay, so it was a cheap shot, but Jesse hoped a joke would lighten the situation a little. She did not miss the other part of what Steph said either.

"What do you mean, don't have the choice?... Are you broke again or something?"

Most art thieves started out as broke; some tended to circle back occasionally.

Things had gotten heavy, which gave Jesse the perfect opportunity to test her comedic timing. Stephanie could be annoyed with her interruptions and upset about her lot in life as Poseidon’s pet thief, but she could not deny a smile at Jesse’s antics. The shapeshifter took a buxom redheaded form, jokingly assuming the new look would undo Stephanie’s lifestyle. ”Only the kind of requests you wouldn’t ask a married woman trapped in a mirror.”

With jokes aside, Jesse was still not prepared to leave Stephanie to her mission. The thief returned to her walk, knowing how messy things could get if she was stalled too long by some emotional conversation with an old friend. She was sure Jesse would follow along as long as she could find a shiny surface for herself.

”I wasn’t broke,” she said, matter-of-factly. It would have been an easy excuse, and logically she should have went with the answer, but her pride spoke first. Stephanie knew the kinds of thieves who would earn their money and leave the game only to squander their earnings and regress. She did not like the idea of Jesse thinking she was that foolish. I… I’m employed now.” There was a major difference between being a self-employed thief and a thief on retainer, and Jesse knew her well enough at one point to know which Stephanie always preferred to be.

Jesse noted with a small smile that her comedic timing worked. She could not exactly see herself, but she was sure her new look was quite... fetching.

>>”Only the kind of requests you wouldn’t ask a married woman trapped in a mirror.”

"My wife appreciates the sentiment" the redhead smirked. However, she was still curious why Stephanie was so intent on continuing her job. She clearly did not take as much pleasure in it as she used to, as they both used to, back in the old days.

>>”I wasn’t broke. I… I’m employed now.”

Oh.
Jesse arched an eyebrow.

"You work for someone?" it was not uncommon for art thieves to have patrons... but the arrangement was usually pretty far from being any sort of formal employment. Actually, the less formal, the better. "Like... full time?"

Stephanie finally found herself standing near the collection of art she was assigned to steal. She surveyed the twelve paintings arranged around the walls of a small room, looking for the telltale signs of Poseidon’s three requests.

Of course, in the center of the room there was a small statuette placed in a glass casing perfect for a certain tagalong to stay close. Jesse wanted to know more about Stephanie’s employment, not realizing how dangerous her questions were.

Stephanie considered who Jesse became in the time they spent apart. She was part of the X-Men, and if anyone would want to stand against Poseidon, it would be New York’s mutant vigilantes. That did not make it a smart idea; Stephanie was sure that fight would result in a couple of dead vigilantes and a mildly annoyed crime boss.

Still, it was hard not to kick around the idea of going to the X-Men and explaining her situation. They would be willing to try helping her, but was it worth it to rock the boat? Would she be putting Malia at risk?

Her uncertainty was enough to allow a more honest answer to slip through. ”Like… I do jobs when I’m called upon.” Like a dog performing tricks on command for her master. Oh, how far she had fallen.