.

As predicted, he was up late. Again. Not enough to miss his afternoon lectures but enough where his morning wasted away unproductively as he unconsciously drooled onto his pillows and knotted pile of bedspreads. Mishka was never the early-bird type, not unless he deliberately pulled an all-nighter and waited until the morning hours rolled around. Without waiting to see if his roommate was within the vicinity Mishka pulled on a navy wife-beater and a pair of grey sweats over his boxers, then padded out of his bedroom to head towards the unit's single bathroom. "I'm taking up the bathroom" he called out tiredly. If Amber was present then this was both a last-minute warning in case she needed to use the toilet and an unspoken plea for her not to use the water. He'd already learned the hard way just how cold it could get if one of the sinks were turned on. Mishka turned on the shower and closed the door.

Amber had already been up since six that morning, and was currently shoving stuff into her bag so that she could go to her afternoon classes. "Fine." She called back simply as she went to the kitchen to find something to eat. Ramen. . . Ramen. . . Mac'n cheese. . . More ramen. . . Was there no actual food in this place??? She sighed and made a mental note to go shopping later.

Mishka was naturally a low-maintenance person when it came to hygiene. Unless the weather was smoldering or he deliberately worked up a sweat, he didn't have to worry about showering more than once every couple days. Plus his skin was more on the dry side so oil wasn't an issue either and it also seemed that BO didn't apply here. So, that said, his showers rarely ever lasted longer than five minutes. Definitely helpful when it came to the bills. Mishka manged to wake himself up with the refreshing water and quickly dried himself off before stepping out with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He was carried his clothes in a bundle under his arm and dumped them into the hamper in his room, then traveled to the kitchen. He paused in the doorway when he spotted Amber. "Oh. I didn't think you were actually here." Not that he was embarrassed by his half-dressed state but he wasn't sure how his roommate would feel about that.

Having not noticed him coming out until he said something, she certainly wasn't expecting the sight that greeted her. The first thoughts that popped into her head certainly were not ones that she would ever say out loud (especially not around her mother) and she had to admit he looked good with no shirt on. She didn't notice that she had been staring at him wide eyed until the ramen that she had decided to cook boiled over, and startled her out of her thoughts. "I-Uh-Um." She scrambled to regain her composure, and to cool down her face, as she fidgeted with the stove to turn it off. "Ugh, go put some clothes on dammit!!!" She exclaimed, tossing a damp cloth at him to make him leave.

He raised a brow and grinned widely at the woman's poorly masked reaction. "Sorry" Mishka apologized but he didn't really mean it. This was much too amusing for him to regret, even if she was mad and decided to chew him out for it later. The man easily caught the wet chunk of fabric before it hit him and laughed unabashedly as he tossed it back before turning to leave. Obediently, Mishka marched back to his room and rummaged through his mountain of clean laundry on his chair. He picked out a pair of dark jeans then threw on a black-&-white tie-dyed tee shirt. Thankfully it matched and looked decent enough. He put on his beanie (it was black with a small winking emoji smiley face sticking out its tongue, with X's for eyes) then returned to the kitchen. Mishka opened the fridge and practically stuck half his upper body in it while trying to search for something to eat.

Amber buried her blushed face in her hands and let out a muffled scream of frustration. Oh geez. . . Why did you stutter? AND ARE YOU BLUSHING??? NO, STOP THAT! She slapped herself to try and regain some control and sighed. Chill, chill. You're good, you're fine.

The man sighed, loudly. "You wanna stop staring? I can feel your gaze burning a hole in my shirt." Although Mishka was fully aware that she wasn't gawking as badly as he'd made it sound, he wanted to point out that he caught her quick glimpses before ducking in search of stomach fuel. For no purpose at all other than simply to get under Amber's skin. Actually, even now he occasionally spotted her glance in the space between the refrigerator's door and frame -he found it pretty funny. While they weren't exactly without food, the apartment seemed to be stock with everything except something to make a decent meal out of. Lot's of condiments and just-add-water kind of stuff but nothing really appealed to him at the moment. They should make as shopping list and take care of that soon. Mishka sighed, close the fridge door, and settled on instant noodles. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?" he asked while adding the water.

"Don't flatter yourself, I wasn't staring. And I still have five minutes to eat before I have to head to class." She replied as she poured her noodles into a bowl. She grabbed some chopsticks from the drawer before she sat down and ate her food, trying not to look at him anymore to prove her point.

"Sounds like you're pushing your luck but okay." Mishka didn't bother waiting for the water to cool and instead dropped a few ice cubes in. He stirred for a few seconds before finally digging in, eating straight out of the paper container with a couple of cheap wooden chopsticks. "I'm gonna be out late tonight so don't freak out if you hear someone at the door." He'd obviously do his best to keep as quiet as possible upon entry but he had no idea how light of a sleeper she was. Plus he'd feel terrible if he ended up accidentally scaring the shit outta her. Not to mention he'd really hate it if the cops ended up getting involved... Mishka liked to think of himself as a private man. The less who pried their nose into his business, the better.

Amber nodded. "Actually I'm probably going to be out late tonight too, so ditto if you get back before me." She replied before starting to eat her food as quickly as possible, checking the time as She did so. He was right, She was pushing her luck. But it would be the first time She had been late since she got here, so she probably wouldn't get in trouble for it. . . She hoped. At any rate, as soon as She was done She got up and put her dishes in the sink. "Well, see you later I guess." She said as she grabbed my bag.

Mishka simply shrugged his shoulders and ate in silence as Amber left. A short while later he threw out his trash and grabbed his things before following. He had a few hours to kill before lectures. So, hoping to make the most of that time, Mishka drove down to the local grocery store. After spending a couple of hours there he returned back to the apartment to drop everything off then went to spend his last hour in the campus cafeteria.

Amber was currently walking/sneaking in the streets of the city, looking out for any trouble as she did so. She sighed, things seem pretty quiet right now. There had been a string of crimes in this area lately, so she figured she'd scout it out and see if she could catch the criminals in the act for the authorities. By that, she meant she'd knock them out and tie them up so the police could come put them in jail.

It was late, later than he'd anticipated. And he was beginning to feel anxious.

To his dismay, the vehicle he'd been waiting for still hadn't shown. Mishka was contemplating leaving at this point but something nagged at him to stay. The man shuffled where he stood and stuck his hands into his pockets as he impatiently looked around once more. From where he currently stood, strategically located, he lay hidden in the shadows of the city park's trees yet was still able to clearly see down both ends of the street. It was all entirely intentional and something he'd been planning for weeks now. Where the hell is he? he thought irritably. Mishka's target of the evening was Officer Mark Bates, a twelve-year veteran in the city's police force. Spotless record, typical family guy. But a job was a job and it wasn't often the man asked questions when presented with tasks like this. So long as the price was right and the reason was valid, he had no issue taking a life. Mishka had served in the army once; it was expected of every soldier to pull the trigger when an opportunity presented itself so he wasn't new to the whole 'murderer' thing. But it was the cop-killer title he was worried about. In the right places it gave a powerful reputation but if a word of his criminal activities ever so much as uttered a peep to the wrong person, he's be dead before the news could properly cover his story. Everybody knew cops killed cop-killers but no one wanted to admit it. They'd label it a suicide, give him his week of fame, and then the whole world would forget Mishka ever existed.

Mishka perked up when the familiar black-and-white car pulled up to the corner across the street from him. Its siren lights were off but not the search light on the hood of the automobile. Bates was on patrol, and he was alone. Perfect.

According to his sources, the officer came around this way every other Tuesday to this particular drug store. Some rumors claimed he was restocking on his blood pressure meds while others stated that he was friends with one of the pharmacists. Mishka didn't know and frankly he didn't care. Time to move. "Hey!" The officer -who'd just turned off his automobile- snapped his head in Mishka's direction as the male jogged over, his erratic breathing giving the impression that he'd been running or frightened. "Sir please step back from the vehicle. Can I help you?" the older man asked him. Of course he was being cautious. Mishka backpedaled a respectable couple of paces and put up a finger gesture in a wordless request asking the officer to wait as he composed himself. Bates put an arm on the windowsill as he leaned out. "I think I just witnessed a murder." Bates looked genuinely concerned now. "Can you show me where you saw this happen?" He was starting the engine again, preparing to follow Mishka's directions. Mishka looked up and straightened out, breathing suddenly normal again. "Yeah. Here."

It took less than five seconds. Mishka leaned in through the open window and grabbed the officer before huffing out a lungful of flames. Everything was on fire.

There was an awful shriek as the human flailed in panic and pain. Mishka backed up and watched as the blaze engulfed it all. The man soon stopped screaming and Mishka knew then his job was done, he had no need to stick around any longer. It was dark but that didn't mean the neighborhood was sleeping. He was willing to bet that at least someone heard the racket they'd made. Sure enough, people were starting to pour out of nearby buildings. There was a noise and Mishka shielded himself just before the burning metal abruptly blew up. He pulled up his balaclava.

The crackling of a fire, the boom of something exploding, the agonized screams of a man, the smell of singed flesh. All of these filled Amber's senses, and she knew what she would find as she rounded the corner and saw the horror in front of her. She made it just in time to see the figure that started all of this, and she hid in the shadows so as to not be discovered so she could follow the person. There were too many people here, she didn't want anyone else to get hurt.

Mishka was currently too preoccupied with avoiding the gathering citizens, and had completely missed the lurking figure spying from afar. Giving his surroundings a quick look around, he made a beeline for the two nearest buildings. They weren't picked at random. Not only where they conveniently located but he also found out during his weeks of planning that the alley in between them lead to a myriad of other connecting ones before eventually breaking off to the streets again. Some would call this unnecessarily complicated but he knew what he was doing. Mishka wasn't heading back to the apartment just yet; he ran as fast as he could, taking a turn here or jumping a chain-link fence there. Eventually he came to an older looking warehouse and entered through a side door.

A long sigh came from Amber as she watched the figure she was following. They seemed to be going into a warehouse of some kind. If she followed through the door it would be too obvious, so she decided that she would make a portal and spy on them. She couldn't make one unless she could see where she was going, however. So she first went and found a window so that she could find some where to put the portal that wouldn't be easy to see. She decided the roof was a good spot. Amber pressed her hands to the ground, and ice started to cover the area around her hands, until there was a large circle. She sank into the ice, and then she was looking down at the figure from another portal that had formed on the ceiling. It was dark, so she doubted she would be spotted.

His so called safe-house; an abandoned warehouse. It was empty for the most part. Place was previously used as storage for some company's imports and exports -though Mishka didn't know what exactly they were involved with. Whatever it was, they left behind a bunch of empty boxes and crates and even a pallet jack truck. Not that he'd ever have use for it but he found it a little interesting considering he was sure that machine probably wasn't cheap.

Bee-lining for a corner in the far end of the building to sit in, Mishka pulls up an old police scanner he's hidden there and turns the little device on. The man crosses his arms and leans against the wall as it cracks to life before various voices start spewing out of it. He's listening to them but he's also still alert, watching his surroundings like a wild animal that had just been trapped. Although Mishka isn't worried he's been followed, he's worried about one of the more infamous supers hunting him down now that news of his attacks is slowly spreading through the neighborhood. Cop killers were a big thing and no doubt at least one vigilante had taken an interest. He'd be lucky of Batman wasn't preparing to confront him any minute now.


Mishka's mind was only half paying attention to the little metal box when suddenly, he shivered. But it wasn't like those times when he senses that he was being watched (no, that kind had the hairs on the back of his neck rise). This was different. This was... Literal cold? But that didn't make sense considering the weather. It was late evening, sure, but winter wasn't for a while so it shouldn't be this chilly. He shakes his head and blinks back a look of surprise before rubbing his upper arms in at attempt to start warming himself up. For a moment he wonders if the air conditioning system is on but that's unlikely. Was he getting sick? Ugh, he hoped not. Mishka sighs and promptly turns off the police scanner before pulling out a cellphone from his pocket. He dials and presses the mobile to his ear, waiting for an answer from the other line. When his call is answered, Mishka deepens his voice. Every details counts when it comes to hiding his identity. "It's done" he announces to his employer.

As she watched him, Amber couldn't help but think that his voice sounded somewhat familiar, but she couldn't place it. . . Perhaps her ears were playing tricks on her. At any rate, she bag an to plan her attack as she watched him. He was distracted at the moment, now was her chance. Slowly she opened up another portal, this time on the wall directly behind the masked man, and stepped out. As her feet hit the hard concrete, a layer of ice began to spread quickly over the floor. She was being as quiet as possible, so that he wouldn't notice her and perhaps she could get him to slip so she could gain the upper hand.

A chill worse than before ran up the man's spine. He was caught entirely off guard, didn't even realize something was wrong until the concrete floor beneath his feet began to freeze over. It took everything in him not to start screaming in is mother tongue while his heart leapt up and lodged itself into his throat. Not just from the fright of being snuck up on, but also from the realization that whoever it was wasn't just a regular human. He'd been found. By a super, no less. "What the everlasting absolute fu-" Mishka whirled around and skipped back a few meters, deliberately snapping the phone in half between his fingers during the process. Wouldn't want to ruin business by selling out clients now would he? It would definitely leave a permanent stain on his reputation almost as bad as the truth behind the label cop killer. The saying 'snitches get stitches' was a real threat he would be happy to live without.

Halfway down to a crouch, Mishka stayed where he stopped just mere feet away from his new... Exactly who-slash-what was he dealing with right now? A vigilante? A rival? The questions burned at his conscience and Mishka felt himself tense up with all this growing uncertainty. The only person he knew of who's powers had to do with ice was Mister Freeze but the figure before him clearly wasn't the same guy. Actually, Mishka wasn't sure if he'd ever even run into this particular individual before. Their face was almost entirely covered up so he didn't have much information to go off anyways. "What do you want?" No point in exercising formalities. He reached down with one hand and began undoing the chain-link belt at his waist.