Victor was momentarily shocked by the sudden fire, having, just as Summer said, forgotten exactly what she was.
—
Victor was downstairs in his armory when he checked the monitor displaying the various closed circuit cameras around his house, it was close to an hour since he and Summer had parted at the park and she should be arriving any moment. He pulled out his phone, pulled Summer up in his contacts and shot her a text.
[text] Hey love, there’s a key taped to the inside of the door frame. Jus finishing some things up.
Then he continued packing his gear and weapons, waiting for Summer.
It took a minute of searching, but she finally managed to find the key. Stepping inside, she called, “Victor?” Her boots clunked on the floor.
Her red-and-gold cuirasse was bulletproof, flameproof, and conductive to electricity. Spaulders and brassarts warded her arms, leaving forearms and elbows protected only by heavy cloth. Matching bulletproof leg guards bound to heavy cloth pants protected her legs, tucked into her knee-high boots, all of it designed matching her cuirass.
The armour gave her the full freedom of movement she needed to use both her fire and her martial arts, while protecting the most important areas. With luck, they would face this rogue vampire in an open area, where she could also take advantage of flight, but she thought it unlikely.
“Victor?”
Victor bounded up the stairs and rounded the corner, coming to a stop at the small table that was not too far in front of Summer. He was dressed in a cotton long sleeve, black and grey mottled shirt that clung to him, yet did not restrain his movements. His shirt was tucked into a pair of matching pants, cinched at his waist with a light utility belt, which housed primarily a variety of knives, and the legs of his pants tucked into his boots and cinched just above his ankles. The boots he wore were a specially tanned leather-soled kind that helped to mute the sound of him walking. There was also a black bandanna hanging loosely from his neck, that he used to help hide his face. Twin short swords lay in their scabbards on his back, the hilts coming almost to his lower back so that he could unsheathe them quickly. A larger, tactical knife was belted to his calf and a hand gun holstered to his left side.
“Hey Summer,” His eyes went wide at her armour, “you definitely look ready.” Victor looked her over and put a sword on the table in front of him. “I didn’t know if you had any decent blades since they’re a bit old fashioned, but it’s a hell of a lot easier t’ decapitate a vampire with a blade than a gun. It’s only if you want t’ use it. Your fire’ll definitely come in handy with the burning of him later though.”
“I do, actually, but I don’t use them for this kind of work. There’s too much out there that could use them against me. It’s better if I stick to what can’t be taken.” Summer cocked an eyebrow. “I assume you’ve heard of Magneto.”
She tapped a fingernail against her cuirasse. “This is bulletproof, in case you’re wondering.” Flexing her fingers, she looked up at Victor. “Let’s do this, if we’re doing it.”
“Bulletproof? Tha’s wonderful, Jeremiah has been known t’ carry a gun with him on occasion. Yeah, I’ve heard of Magneto, an unpleasant fellow I hear.” Victor shrugged then nodded at Summer’s willingness to leave. “The area where the pack mills about is about a day’s drive or, if you have access to a plane that’d be a lot faster.”
“You’re the one with all the money, darlin’,” Summer replied. “I fly myself, not other people. Is this a literal day’s drive, or more like an eight or nine hour drive?”