July was a hell of a month. A rip in space and time, a portal to another world. Things had happened, mutants had crossed over. Benji took it upon himself to start helping out.

Helping people does not immediately mean donning cape and cowl. There are other ways to provide support. For the moment, he had left the costumed superhero gig to the people predisposed towards that end. For the most part, at least. If he'd done anything heroic, he'd largely kept it to himself. No need to worry Shiv about solo works... and no reason to sign on with her team full time.

Benji had aided with information. He'd alerted the X-men to problems, and helped folks out with dealing with the RIP. Found places they could stay, calmed the angry ones. With his speed, he got places quick, and with his motorcycle, he got there even quicker.

People sometimes vanished... before he got there, or after. It was strange. He tried to get tabs on folks but it didn't help show where they went. They just, poof, and were gone. He needed to talk with the X-men about it at some point. It left him feeling a sense of foreboding, and reminded him of certain moments during the mutant registration act. Although obviously, that had been far worse.

It was nearly the end of August, now. His coding side project was going fine. Solid money. But it wasn't anything outstanding. Still no word from any orchestras. He'd shown a painting to a woman at a gallery, and she'd liked it... but she hadn't bought it. All in all, not much had changed in his life. Other than the rip in space time, and his extra activities. Speaking of--

---

Water ran off the rooftop of the old red brick tenement building, down onto the late night chill of the dark cement below. A foot crashed into a puddle, and sent more water spraying. Little ripples spread outwards from the point of impact for a moment, amid the disruptions caused by musket balls of rain ... then reversed their course, back into its source, and up a transparent blue foot. Sapphire eyes narrowed into slits. In the darkness of the alley, the hunched form grew.

It was pissing rain. On a night like this, one didn't ride a motorcycle. One didn't really like to stay far from home. Even in his sturdy motorcycle jacket, with its black bulk and green elbows and racing stripes, he felt like a drowned rat. He scraped an arm across the visor of the black motorcycle helmet, clearing away beads of water. "They ought to invent windshield wipers for helmets," Benji's mutter was muffled against the helmets interior. Inside, he was frowning, but outside, the painted mouth on the helmet was smiling wide.

He'd had to remove the smiling helmet from his helmet rotation. Ever since he'd helped out Shiv, Benji felt like wearing the thing was an invitation to disaster. Criminals talk. Maybe not at great length about people that kick their ass, but eventually, even this comes out. He'd been wearing the helmet when he literally did just that. He'd had to settle for his black and yellow one, his flames, and the various other helmets he'd bought, or painted himself. This one got relegated to the realm of 'disguise.' Because he was on patrol. (Don't tell Shiv).

He didn't really know why he hadn't gone full hero, tried to join the x-men outright. He'd helped them out, been a set of eyes and ears, but for some reason, just hadn't wanted to officially sign on. Something had made him hesitate. Was it cowardice? Maybe. But not of being hurt. Hurting others was far more concerning to him. There was something else, though, some feeling... he'd said he didn't think this was the sort of thing he'd do on his own. But now, he was trying it out. He felt like some of his hesitance had to do with her, as well... he had no idea what to make of the feeling. It just seemed like maybe... maybe failure would be embarrassing. Oh, and also, he felt like she kind of considered this a job. Some people don't date coworkers? Eh. Maybe he was putting weirdness where there was none. Ultimately, he just wanted to try it on his own, make his own path, and learn from his mistakes. Which was part of why he was out in the pissing rain.

He'd heard about things from the newspapers. Recently, people had been found dead in the area of downtown Manhattan around the rip. After heavy rainstorms... completely desiccated, like mummies. It had been John Does, homeless people mostly. People who didn't have somewhere to hide from the storm. But there had been a few police officers too. Killed on patrol. That had drawn in the media like fruit flies to a banana. It had been bad for mutants, who usually worked to keep a low profile. Benji wanted to stop it before it tipped off another registration act movement from big government types. Hence, pissing rain. Gods if he didn't enjoy that phrase.

It stood to reason that the xmen had probably heard about the murders, too. But he'd seen neither hide nor hair from Shiv or her friends. Knock on wood.

Benji stared down from his high point, brooding over the city on the edge of a rooftop. Then, he jumped down, trailed blue streamers of light as he surged forward the moment before he hit the ground, and walked out of the alley at a leisurely pace. He glanced at the darkened glass of a shop window as he passed it, eying his reflection in the light cast by a nearby street lamp. He looked kind of cool in his biker gear, minus the soggy look.

"Gods, but I hope we catch this guy..." Benji muttered at his reflection. "Before they get another victim." He wasn't quite sure why he'd said 'we' instead of 'I', but it sure was a setup if anyone had ever heard one, to pop up and chime in with some sort of witty quip and startle him.

This was one of those times when being stuck in the mirror world turned out to be an advantage. Those times were usually rare and far between.

This was, for all intents and purposes, a scouting mission only. People have been turning up dead, usually in heavy rain and with no explanation. Definitely mutant related, unless SUPER had upped its creepy tech game since the last time they burned down a facility... Not knowing what the team was dealing with would have made a mission extremely dangerous - especially for Becca, who was pregnant, and therefore not allowed to go anywhere near any action if Jesse could help it. And since the mirrorwalker still did not require any sleep, he volunteered to go look around a little. It was safer on the inside of the mirrors. Being stuck... well, according to Becca, it kept Jesse from doing anything stupid. She was not wrong.

Jesse had put on an static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2014/10/20/14/v3-Jason-Momoa.jpg for the nighttime trip. If he did run into someone, and got noticed, at least they would know they were up against people who were not kidding around. Jesse usually preferred less bulky bodies, but this time, he would make an exception.

The first person he ran into, however, was definitely not the murderer, as illustrated by his very loud inner dialogue.

>>"Gods, but I hope we catch this guy... Before they get another victim."

"You know when someone walks around alone like that, they can easily be mistaken for bait."

It would have been wonderful and magical if that surprise commentary had elicited a reaction of shock from the fledgling superhero. Something like staggering back and cringing in upon himself, maybe? Accompanied by a very Manly high- pitched squeal. Sadly, Benji wasn't so easily startled. At least, not by celebrities who suddenly appeared where celebrities should not have been.

"Oh, that's me. The master." He quipped wryly, jabbing himself in the chest with A thumb. "Not bait, though. Usually, I'm the baiter. Wait. Why am I talking about baiting with Khal Drogo?" He peered at the not-reflection in the darkness of the window. With his tinted visor, the squint was largely unnoticeable, but the forward lean of his body, hands on hips, would be good body language to go off of when reacting to his words.

Since this person hadn't launched into some visceral attack, and had exposed himself in favor of making cheeky commentary in the guise of a Hollywood actor, Benji kind of figured he wasn't the one who'd been murdering people... it was a big assumption, but then, he'd already made an ass of both of them with his asinine remark. A baiting master. Hopefully, the off-color pun was lost on his Sun and Stars. The man in the reflection. If he could do other faces, why hadn't he gone about as Michael Jackson? He was really missing out on a The man in the mirror joke. With all due response to the departed.

"We've already established my status as bait," he grinned behind the helmet. "So what are you doing suffering the rain?"

Lightning flashed. Thunder rumbled in the distance five heartbeats later.

His surprise entrance made less of an impression than he had expected; then again, whoever was crazy enough to be out in this rain in this neighborhood had to be someone expecting surprises a lot nastier than a well-built man in a mirror.

>>"Oh, that's me. The master. Not bait, though. Usually, I'm the baiter. Wait. Why am I talking about baiting with Khal Drogo?"

Jesse rolled his eyes. Apparently the look he had taken was reminiscent of someone in some movie or something. Whatever. It was not like he could do exactly copies of people, but at least he looked intimidating enough. If it also confused people by the sudden star-strike appearance of a celebrity... all the better. Although murderous psychopaths probably did not have favorite movies.

>>"We've already established my status as bait. So what are you doing suffering the rain?"

"It's not raining in here" Jesse pointed out stoically "And I'm patrolling the neighborhood to see who the hell is sucking people dry. Which begs the question, are you sure you want to be out here?"

Not raining inside? Well. So it was. At first, Benji had wondered if this person were paper thin and just clinging to the window in two dimensional flatness. That would have let them get wet, but it also would have been incredibly fascinating. No such luck. There were inside the glass. Was it all glass, or all reflective surfaces, he wondered. The possibilities were mind boggling. Recon, travel maybe (if it were from surface to surface, rather than walking from one pane to another ( which would have been a pain. Far less useful). And for that matter, what if... None of his thoughts showed the awe behind the helmet's "mask" as he contemplated the complex nature of a mutation. That was just him. He was a nerd.

Yeah guy was just our friendly neighborhood Horselord. Sounded like an x-man to Benji. Had Shiv ever mentioned members when she'd spoken of membership? He couldn't recall. Whatever loyalty this man had, Benji knew a setup line when he heard one.

"What Hotblooded American male wouldn't want to be out in a rainstorm, looking to get sucked dry?" He asked. Then, he paused a beat. Was he taking this eternal joker Cheshire persona too far? "Let me rephrase that." He tried again, more tactfully. "My name is Cheshire. I'm out patrolling for Shiv." Not that she was aware of it. Or that it was really for her. It was for him. But he wasn't going to be so obvious as to-- well, he cut that thought out before it even finished. Obvious kind of was what he was being, wasn't it?

"So far," he noted quickly, hoping a large outflow of information might help distance himself from all the damn one-liners he was giving. "I've deduced that this mutant only goes out during rainstorms, and that most likely, there's something there. Perhaps, they have skin like an amphibian, that requires moisture to stay good? And if the bodies they leave behind are dessicated, where does the water go? Do they need it? If their mutation requires a lot of water to function properly, they could be feeding. And if so, where would they hide between storms? Some place wet and dark..: if we figure out the answers to these questions, it'll serve us better than just waiting for a lady to scream in the night, then rushing to the sound of turmoil."

Thankfully, no woman screamed on cue just then, to the sound of turmoil. It just kept on raining. A flash of light. Thunder crashed. It was getting nearer.

>>"What Hotblooded American male wouldn't want to be out in a rainstorm, looking to get sucked dry?"

Jesse groaned, not in a pleased manner, and rolled his eyes. That pun alone should have disqualified helmet guy from being out on patrol in any kind of situation. He clearly did not take the thing as seriously as he should have, and he knew it.

>>"Let me rephrase that. My name is Cheshire. I'm out patrolling for Shiv."

"Shiv?" Jesse raised a surprised eyebrow. This guy knew Shiv? He was most definitely not on the team, so he had to be some sort of lone wolf vigilante, or maybe an enthusiastic amateur trying really hard to impress Shiv. Jesse was not sure which one was better, but at least he was not a SUPER agent. "How do you know Shiv?" Cheshire, for the moment, was busy getting him caught up on the situation.

>>"So far I've deduced that this mutant only goes out during rainstorms, and that most likely, there's something there. Perhaps, they have skin like an amphibian, that requires moisture to stay good? And if the bodies they leave behind are dessicated, where does the water go? Do they need it? If their mutation requires a lot of water to function properly, they could be feeding. And if so, where would they hide between storms? Some place wet and dark..: if we figure out the answers to these questions, it'll serve us better than just waiting for a lady to scream in the night, then rushing to the sound of turmoil."

Cheshire was not wrong. Jesse decided to play along for now, against his better judgment. He kept an eye on the immediate area from his vantage point while he did so.

"So... a mutant that lives in what, the sewers? And comes up in rainy weather to feed? But why would they attack humans if they need water? One would thing rain or dunno, fountains would be easier..."

No more dumb jokes, he decided. Now, they were actually being serious. Could one really fault him, though? Khal Drogo had given him a straight line, and he'd had the punchline. Of course, in serious matters, a serious mood was probably sensible. (And when they were in danger, he would be serious, seriously). But for now, that groan had been clear and faking evidence of displeasure. Which kind of made him smirk, dammit. What was wrong with him?

"Maybe they want blood?" He suggested. "Or, I dunno. Something fresh. Just because you and I can survive on bread and water, it doesn't mean we should. Variety is the spice of life... I'm not sure if that's right. I'm not used to getting into the mindset of criminals. I just figure--" Benji trailed off, then picked up again, answering that question that had got lost amid his exposition. "I helped Shiv out a while back when she needed backup."

"I've been doing recon, to help the X-men out. Sharing intelligence. Not sure I caught your name, by the way." He said. If they were being up front about things, it wouldn't do to keep referring to the man mentally as Jason Momoa.

Lightning. He counted the time between the thunderclaps. It was about two miles off now. The storm was really moving.

There were more questions than answers about this case. That was exactly why Jesse had been sent on a strictly recon mission, without sending any of the active combat people in. The X-team simply did not know enough yet to confront this villain, and they had too much at stake to risk anyone's personal safety. Even Becca had gotten more cautious recently. The pregnancy probably had a lot to do with that.

>>"Maybe they want blood? Or, I dunno. Something fresh. Just because you and I can survive on bread and water, it doesn't mean we should. Variety is the spice of life... I'm not sure if that's right. I'm not used to getting into the mindset of criminals. I just figure--"

Jesse sighed. None of those possibilities were wrong, but all of them were severely disturbing. And Cheshire was right, the criminal had to have a mindset, or a goal or... a life philosophy or something. They were a person, evil mutant or otherwise.

>>"I helped Shiv out a while back when she needed backup. I've been doing recon, to help the X-men out. Sharing intelligence. Not sure I caught your name, by the way."

"Mirage." Jesse sighed "I run recon for the team. They sent me because the... person probably can't get to me on this side of the mirrors. I was just going to gather intel we can work with."

Mirage. What an interesting name! Personally, he would have gone with something closer to what the persons power was, like mirror or glass, but then, that gave a lot of info away. He'd fallen into Cheshire. If he'd gone Native with the superhero schtick, Speedy or Quickly or Blur or Flash would have been obvious choices. But he hadn't. He'd quoted a book, and ran with it. Though he did sort of disappear leaving the afterimage of a grin when he used his speed while wearing his helmet. So... who was he to judge other people's names? Though mirages were caused by heat, and he supposed the guy was pretty hot, categorically speaking... maybe it fit better than he'd initially thought.

"Recon too, huh." Benji nodded. His helmet caught a bit of reflected light from the street lamp with the motion. "Great minds." He left the 'think alike' from the quote drop off, implied. Another quote came to mind for him, one he didn't say. Something from Sun Tzu. The basic gist was to engage people with what they expected, because it confirmed their projections about you, and settled then hmmm into the mindset of responding to something predictable. Then, when they fell into a pattern of predictable responses, focused on expecting the obvious, they get hit hard when you drop the hammer to hit them hard in that 'extraordinary moment' --- when they respond to that which they cannot anticipate. That sort of applied here. How to share that quote as something relatable, though?

"Recon is the smart choice." He pared his thoughts down to something precise and succinct. "The more we know our enemy, the better we can respond. Figure out their mindset, and exploit it. Lull them into a false sense of security by reacting in predictable ways... then lower the boom when they least expect it. Surprise them by anticipating their moves, and preempting them. Good strategy." He added in a glowing tone of compliment, as if Mirage had been the one to suggest it. "Really mirrors Sun Tzu."

"Let's talk and walk," Benji said. He started down the sidewalk. Kept an eye on the windows of shops beside him as lightning and thunder played out in the background. "Pool data. I'll go first."

This hadn't been his first night out in the rain. He'd done his research. He went into brief detail about media reports and police statements, victim names where they had them, and a basic rundown of the areas bodies had been found in. He would have liked to see autopsy reports or police reports, but protocol and his general law abiding nature (that didn't discriminate against vigilantism) kept those out of his hands. The whole thing took about two minutes, after which he fell silent. A silence Mirage would be free to disturb with his own findings. If he had any. Cheshire wanted to assuage any worries Mirage had about him by showing some professionalism. Hopefully, drowning them both in information would help towards that end.

The guy was clearly not going to go anywhere to save his own skin. It was making Jesse nervous. If this dude got into trouble, he would not only have to watch them turn into a mummy without being able to help, but then he would also have to go and explain to Cait why her... whoever he was, why he was not as much fun anymore as he used to be. Dammit.

>>"Recon too, huh. Great minds. Recon is the smart choice. The more we know our enemy, the better we can respond. Figure out their mindset, and exploit it. Lull them into a false sense of security by reacting in predictable ways... then lower the boom when they least expect it. Surprise them by anticipating their moves, and preempting them. Good strategy. Really mirrors Sun Tzu."

"Uh...huh." Jesse blinked. Did this guy really just quote Art of War? In the middle of a murder investigation? And then compliment him for it?

>>"Let's talk and walk. Pool data. I'll go first."

And boy did he. Jesse followed along, keeping an eye out for threats, as he listened to the data Cheshire already had on the case. He might not have been on the X-team, but he apparently operated pretty well on his own. Most of what he said was already known to Jesse, but there were some bits that were new. He listened, as they moved along, hopping from one surface to the next, but as the rain got closer and the night grew darker, he was growing nervous.

"So... um, what did you say your power was again?"

Asking what a man's mutant power was... totally wasn't sharing intelligence. He swiveled on his hips, and squinted at Mirage behind his visor in a look that could fondly be described as annoyance. Here he was, sharing all he knew... and the man wanted to hold out on him, and ask for more. He stepped over a long puddle stretching across the sidewalk as he came to his reply.

"Witty commentary," Benji stated. His voice was the only dry thing between them. He opened his mouth to say more, maybe to tell Mirage off about not sharing information when he himself had just chosen to do the same, but lightning and thunder cut him short. They say if you count the seconds between a lightning flash and thunder rumbling, you can get a good idea of how close a storm is to you. A mile for every second, he thought? There was no delay. The storm was right over them. And if things hadn't already been going terrible for him that night, the reflection in the window would have surprised him more.

In the mirror, to the right of Mirage, a blue form had... formed was the only word for it. It was long and tall and had a pointed skull, like the head of a squid, with sharp-looking cone fingers on each three-fingered hand, and long pointed elf boot feet. Its body shifted and flowed like water as it came together, a hair over 7 feet tall. Blue wasn't its only color. It had mixed patches of aqua and green and teal. The patches crashed against the edges of its features like waves on the sea, but they never broke the surface. Bright orange eyes flowed in the darkness, watching them from its spot next to the x-man. Except... it wasn't next to the X-man. Because Mirage was inside the glass. Which meant--

Benji reacted way quicker than he had any right to react as he spun to face the water creature. Lightning lovingly caressed its features as another flash lit the area, like cheesy movie special effects meant to ramp up the scare factor.

It stood. Loomed. This was their target, yeah? In a blaze of speed, Benji blurred forward trailing light blue streaks of light. The burst of speed lasted a second, but during that second, he landed a punch, and spun into a turning side kick that caught the water creature dead in the gut. The attacks hit with all the force of several major league fastballs, but unfortunately for Benji, they splashed through the creature's body harmlessly, sending little water droplets flying away. Aside from that, nothing changed. His entire blitzkrieg offensive fell dead in the water.

The creature looked down at Benji's fist as he thrust it one last time in its gut... at regular speeds. The rain patterned against its water body, ripples disturbing the flowing form. It eyed him, exuding 'gruff glower.'

"Uh. Hi there. Guess you didn't much like that?" Benji laughed. It wasn't funny. Why are you laughing, idiot?

The creatures head swished left and right. Then it made a fist. Benji honestly expected to hear its knuckles crack.

How does one fight something that isn't solid, he wondered? Obviously, you use your head. Benji retreated in a rush, trailing ribbons of light that illuminated nothing. Stopped right next to the window and Mirage. "We need a fire extinguisher or a TASER or paper towels or something." He never took his eyes off Blue.

((Ooc let me control Blue, I'm planning something. He will shrug off most anything. ))

>>"Witty commentary,"

Jesse let out an exasperated sigh. The guy was not gonna share what his power was, even though they both knew Shivs, and he already knew Jesse's ability. One of them, anyway, and the other was not relevant at the moment. But before Jesse could bring up the point that they needed to work together, someone else joined in. By appearing seemingly out of thin air. Or rather, water.

"Hey, watch o..."

The guy reacted with incredible speed. Incredible speed. That answered the question of what his powers were, at least in part. And also that, even knowing all he knew, he was still gonna try fight the squid guy.
Things went sideways quickly. But at least he got out of the way in time.

>>"We need a fire extinguisher or a TASER or paper towels or something."

"You" Jesse glared, hands on the glass "Need to get the hell out of here, speedy, while you can. It can't touch me but it will hurt you, and I can't help you from here."

And there Mirage went again, being mean to him for no reason. Was it too much to ask for a little faith? To give him some benefit of the doubt? Benji ground his teeth together and replied tersely. "Listen. This thing killed a cop. If it keeps on doing s#*t like that, we might get another registration act, sunshine. And that's something I'm never going to let happen again." Then, he stepped away from the window, screwing up his nerves and rolling his shoulders. If Mirage had no trust for him, he'd just have to earn it.

He didn't immediately tap into his speed as he approached Blue. His power was best when he could use it to surprise people, or to overwhelm. At that moment, he didn't think either thing was of much use to him. Blue was made of water, and as such, none of Benji's attacks had been able to connect. They'd gone right through. He needed time to come up with a good plan. He needed to take it slow.

He ignored anything Mirage was saying, any shouts to leave and go home. Ignored imagined insults about letting a real hero handle this. A real x-man. To hell with that. Benji paced around Blue cautiously, ready for a violent attack. Oddly, Blue stood still, watching him just as cautiously, and didn't do much else. He circled the motionless mutant, and it turned its head to track him. And in a flash of lightning, he saw it. Behind the eyes, in the center of the pointed head, there was a walnut-shaped green mass. It gave off little electric arcs... at least, he imagined them when he put two and two together to come out with 'brain'.

Well then. If it had a brain, he could hurt it. He'd have to get through six inches of water skull, but-- in a blur of motion and blue streamers, he rushed to one side. Metal groaned as he tore off the end of a gutter piping fixture. Water gushed messily as the pipe came free. Another burst of speed, and the pipe sliced up through the creatures chin, to pass bare inches from the walnut center of its head. Water came off Blue in an arc as it leaned away from the attack. Then a big pointy hand swept down.

Water slid under his sneakers as Benji skidded to a stop on the sidewalk, one hand down to steady himself, the other holding the pipe at a horizontal angle. He'd dodged the arm at the last moment, blasting backwards in a reverse surge of motion and light. He felt a tugging at his energy reserves that told him he needed a moment to recharge. This was bad, however, because he really didn't think he'd get that moment. Not in a fight. Already, Blue was plodding towards him. Slowly. As all of this was happening, something else was happening somewhere else.

It came through the mirror world like a wraith. White, trailing pale rags, it glided from reflective surface to reflective surface. Ten minutes ago, it had been in a car mirror, seconds later, the reflection in a window. Down the street, through a long puddle. Five minutes after that, it had rounded a corner and dove into another puddle's lit surface, right under a cars tire. It loved rainy nights like these, so easy. So simple to interact with the world outside. To get really close to people. Closer than a damned mirror.

As it slid through reflections and skirted shadows, it searched. Where was it? The thing it was searching for. The cause of all those recent deaths... it stopped in a shop window, eyes locking on a blue form.

"Hello, hello," it muttered. It's voice was brittle and thready. A knife-edge smile slid over its pale face. Where it's eyes should have been, there was pale flat layers of skin... yet it could see perfectly well through the reflections of the world. And it saw... it stopped. He saw something in the reflection that wasn't in what was being reflected. Like him. It's back was towards him, massive and muscled. His corpse- pale skin tugged around his mouth as he smiled. "Hey there," he said amiably. "Don't often see people on this side. Any special occasion?"

The guy was not about to listen to Jesse, no sir. The mirrorwalker swore as Cheshire lunged into action again, trying to beat the water monster with a pipe. Just how dumb was he? Jesse blamed himself for not having the leadership charisma of her wife. Becca could scare anyone into following orders. Jesse could not, and he was still stuck in the mirrors. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he realized he might have to watch a fellow vigilante die.

>>"Listen. This thing killed a cop. If it keeps on doing s#*t like that, we might get another registration act, sunshine. And that's something I'm never going to let happen again."

He was not wrong. But he was not right either. The cops were already on edge, not to mention SUPER, with hands itching to blame the deaths on mutants in general. And yet, this was not the way to solve the problem. Jesse did the only thing he could do: He turned to call for backup.

And then he realized he was not alone in the mirror.

"F****" he yelped, seeing the wraith-like creature so close up, and took a step back.

>>"Hello, hello. Hey there. Don't often see people on this side. Any special occasion?"

"Wha... you're a mirrorwalker?" Jesse seriously hoped this was not another doppelganger of his. The X-kid he could deal with, but a Ghost of Jesse Future... NOPE.

Language, language. The strange man inwardly tsk'd at the vulgarity. Such things were below addressing. He addressed the situation, instead.

The man didn't reply to him. Not to his question. Just to the obvious situation, as it was.

"Yeah," he smiled toothy. "Mirror walker." Why yes, he was. "Like yourself." He held a hand, palm up, as if to say 'As you can see.'

Outside the window, the boy in the helmet fought aimlessly against the being made of water. He ran. He dodged. He kept his distance. Slow and damp, he was. Wraith man returned his gaze to the man in the mirror world with him.

"Your friend seems to be fighting a losing battle." He commented cheerfully. "He doesn't really know what's going on, it seems."

Benji dodged another downward bash of an arm. God, this was getting tiresome. A real pain. He needed to score a direct hit to the walnut! But he kept hitting air. Well, water. But you get the idea.

Blue was getting tired, for an entirely different reason. This fight. Why. They needed to-- he caught the man with the pipe, and pulled him helmet-first into his watery chest. This should help solve matters, he thought. With the man's head in his body and the rest outside of him, Blue considered what to do. And then, the helmet was still in him, but judging from the blue blur of motion up and away, the body he'd held in place... was not. Is it possible for a being made out of water to sigh? Probably not. But if it were, it would probably sound like when you put your ear to a seashell.

Benji, bare-faced, heard the sea. Lines of rain trailed down his cheeks. That had been a close call. He'd had to wrench the helmet off at the last moment. It was lost now. He'd dropped the pipe, too.

"Do you-" the wraith man turned back to Mirage amiably. "Know what's going on now? On a separate note, can you get out of the mirror and help him out? Or are you trapped, like so many beings like us?" He drew the s sound out for a second longer than it should have been held.