Now I know it's a bit early, but I enjoy writing about Wilder just a bit too much to leave him alone for too long. Just a short story I thought up while talking with a friend recently. Enjoy.
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Out of the entire 52 deck of cards, Percy had about 13 left. It wouldn't take long to get a new deck, but it was still annoying. He was back in his home now, a nice penthouse atop one of the tallest buildings in the city of Tokata. It was pretty damn expensive, but luckily, it was pretty easy to trick some very rich people into betting away their money on cheap card tricks. Plus, they never paid much attention to where their wallet was, or what mysteriously showed up on their bank statements.

Now that he was out of battle, there was no need for him to wear his armor. Percy stood in his kitchen, a cup of tea in his hand. He wore a pair of black dress pants and a black muscle shirt, matched with black silk socks and a white button-up shirt that hung loosely from his arms.

He took a tentative sip from his mug as he exited the kitchen, walking slowly into the living room to take a seat on the couch. He flicked the TV on, and kicked his left leg over his right one. On the news was a broadcast on the overall damage done to Central Park, craters, burn marks, and strange smells. The police were on the case, but they wouldn't get far. Percy was smart enough to cover his tracks before he left, and as far as he was concerned, no one had seen him.

Except for those hidden observers from before. He set his cup down to tap his chin and think a little. He could feel their eyes on him, but other than that, he had pretty much nothing. He had spent most of the night pondering it before he decided to give up and call it a night.

Still, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about it. That is, until the buzzer for his penthouse rang out. He would have time to think later. He stood up, taking the time to button up half of his shirt, before he walked over to the buzzer. He hit the button, holding it down until the staticy sound went away.

"Mr. Ford, you have a visitor." The girl over the com said. Her name was Elizabeth, she had red hair and pale green eyes and Percy had failed numerous times on trying to get her number.

"Well who is it, Liz, I'm working up here." He replied. He had to lie and say he was an architect to explain all the time he spent in his home. He wasn't necessarily lying, he was working on his next deck of cards, as he had to make them himself. Just in case though, there was an architecture table in the living room behind the couch, and there were a couple of books on architecture. He'd read through them just in case it ever came up in conversation, but so far, it never really did.

"She says she's an old friend." Elizabeth told him, and then, clearly leaning away from whoever it was so that she couldn't hear, said: "Some old fling who got a little bit too attached, I presume?"

Percy scoffed, and Liz laughed at him over the comm. "Whatever, Liz, send whoever she is up." He told her. She laughed a little more before cutting the comm off. Percy let go of the button and returned to the living room to take his tea. He took a short sip before putting it back down to go into the more lounge-like area behind the TV in the living room.

To anyone, it would've looked like a game room. A big TV against the far wall that was shared with Percy's own bedroom. A large black sofa set in front of it, and a small black coffee table in between the TV and the couch. Under the table was an impressive collection of video games, and about four or five different consoles up against the wall underneath the TV.

Percy walked over to the TV, hitting a couple of small, hidden buttons on the wall next to it which opened a small compartment where he hid all of his things. His mask was there, and under that were several different cases, all holding a dozen packs of his cards. He popped one open and took a deck out, pulling them from the case and throwing it back in. In a quick and fluid motion, the compartment closed, and all was normal again.

Percy heard the elevator ding, signaling that whoever was there for him had gotten to his home. He swore under his breath, quickly splitting the deck in half and hiding both halves in the sleeves of his dress shirt. He took a deep breath and turned around, walking back out into the living room to greet his visitor.

In the second that he saw her as he rounded the corner, Percy knew something was wrong. She was no old friend, and he knew that because he didn't remember, and you don't forget things when you have perfect memory. She had tanned skin and blue eyes with blonde, probably dyed, hair. In a weird way, her own eyes didn't fit on her face. It felt like she took them from someone else and gave them to herself, it was unsettling.

She wore a short black dress that hugged her features tightly and perfectly. Matched with a pair of black stilettos and a white jacket on over that, she looked like a movie star. Her hair was long and wavy, hanging over her right shoulder and her hips swayed as she walked into Percy's home. When she saw him, she flashed a smile, her teeth perfectly white and her lips a bright red.

"Perseus, right? Or would you prefer Percy?" She asked as she stepped up to him. Percy ran a hand over his head, whistling a short tune. It was fairly simple, but it was a sound code that activated the cameras in his house.

"That's me, but who are you? You might be able to fool Liz with your 'old friend' act, but I'm certain I would remember a lady as beautiful as you." he replied as he stepped up to her. She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

"What a flatterer. But, you are correct, we have never met, but I know a lot about you." She said. Percy raised an eyebrow, stepping back a bit. He had an unsettling feeling about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it. She stepped into the living room, scanning it with her eyes. Percy turned to watch her, leaning back over the kitchen counter.

"So, what are you here for? Firstly, can I get you anything, coffee, tea, water, what would you like?" He asked her as he rounded the counter and walked into the kitchen. She turned around to watch him, pulling her jacket off and laying it over the counter. It was mostly hidden by the straps of her dress, but Percy could see the tip of what looked like a tattoo on her upper back. He decided not to mention it.

"Oh, nothing for me, thank you. I came to ask you a couple of questions, it won't take very long, and I'll be out of your hair as soon as we're done." She said. Percy shrugged, walking back into the living room to retrieve his cup of tea. It had gotten cold, and when he tasted it, he sneered and threw it out in the sink. He began to make himself a new cup, and made sure to keep an eye on his guest while he did.

"Oh, no trouble. Before that, though, I'm intrigued to know what your name is." He replied, taking his newly made cup of tea and taking a small sip. She had walked into the living room, watching the news broadcast on Percy's work the night before. Something in her eyes made him uncomfortable, but he was sure not to show it.

"Of course, my name is Selofina Coupe. I've been interested in your particular set of skills for quite some time now, Mr. Ford." She said as she turned around to face him. Percy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow there. There was no way she was talking about architecture, there was nothing promoting him, he had made sure of that. Whenever he was asked about his work, he told them he worked out of state.

"My skills? Well what do you mean, I like to think I'm a very talented man. I'm primarily an architect, do you need something built?" He asked her as she met with her in the living room, sipping his tea cautiously. "If you do, I'm sorry to say but you'll have to wait. I have a list of clients that just keeps getting longer and longer."

"Oh not that, love. I'm interested in some of your other talents." She told him. She inspected the collection of books on his shelf before turning back to him,a smile plastered across her face. "Some of your...wilder talents."

Percy's eyes widened. She just confirmed his thoughts and speculations. He put an arm behind his back, one of his cards slipping from the sleeve and falling into his hand. "Wilder? Well what do you mean by that?" He leaned up against the wall, a plan pushing it's way into his head. He slowly made his way backwards, so that his back was facing the window next to his room.

Suddenly the room got a lot colder, and the steely gaze in her eye pierced right into his chest. His knees buckled and he fell to his knee. It suddenly got a lot harder to breath. "Aw, what's wrong, Wilder? I had hoped you were a little bit more skilled." She said, waltzing over to him slowly. She knew about him.

"Well, what can I say? Pretty ladies like you make me weak in the knees, love." He retorted, giving her a cheeky smile as he did. Her own smile fell. "Oh quit the act, I don't have time for you shitty flirtation." She replied. The cold in the room kept coming, Percy figured it was just a figment of his imagination, but ice began to form in the corners of the walls. He swore under his breath and figured it was now or never.

"You know who I am, what do you want with me?" He asked, struggling to get to his feet but getting there eventually, the card still hidden behind his back."Have you come to put an end to me or what?" Selofina laughed, stepping closer and closer with every waking second.

"Oh no, I watched what you did last night, and I was very impressed. Though, unfortunately, my employer believes you could be a very big issue, and he sends his regards." The ice in the corners shot out at him, and he rolled backwards, his back up against the window now. "Your employer not man enough to come get me himself, is that the case here?" He asked. She laughed, more ice beginning to form up against the walls and the floors.

"Not at all. He just doesn't wish to dirty his hands with small fry like you." The ice to his left shot out to the window, and Percy rolled to the right, closer to his bedroom door. "If I'm such small fry, he shouldn't be worried about me." He figured it was now or never, and he had learned as much as he needed.

"Send my regards to your boss, love." In one quick and fluid motion, he threw the card from his hand. Just as he figured, she pulled up ice from the floor to block it. It embedded itself in the ice, and after a quick moment, exploded, throwing off shards of ice in all directions. He heard her scream and made a break for his bedroom door. He burst through it, making a quick break to his closet. Just like he did before, he put in a short code and a section of the wall opened up, where his Wilder uniform was.

It didn't take long for him to slip the uniform on, it had opening latches so that he could put it on and run if he needed to. He swore under his breath as he realized his mask was with his spare cards. Taking the cards from his sleeves and fitting them into his suit, he took a deep breath and braced himself before running straight through the closet wall. It was pretty thin, so he went through cleanly, but Selofina heard him crash through. He looked around along the ground, finding his mask and slipping it on. Just as he did, Selofina rounded the corner. She had cuts all along her arms and face and her dress was torn at the bottom edges. She looked absolutely peeved, and that made Percy smile.

"You insolent worm! I should squash you like a bug!" She screamed. Percy sifted along the ground, picking up the rest of his packs of cards and feeding them into the slots on his suit. "I'd like to see you try, love." He retorted as he stood up and a few cards fell from his suit into his hands.

She screamed again, spikes of ice flying from the wall behind him. He jumped forward and launched a card forward. She pulled out ice from the wall to her right to block it, and it burst into fire. As it came out, another card, sliding across the floor, slid under her. Percy shut his eyes and the card exploded out as a flash bang, blinding her. She stumbled backwards, the ice falling to the ground next to her. Percy rushed forward, stepping forward and nailing her in between the eyes in one quick punch, making her fall onto the floor.

Instantly, he felt eyes on him again. He was being watched, and he didn't like it this time. He turned to look out of the window, way down at the bottom was a dark alley. He grinned, and before Selofina could get up, he threw an exploding card at the window, bursting it open. Before the smoke could even clear, he leaped from the window, his coat billowing behind him as he fell.

Falling through the air, the only thing he could really think of was; 'Damn it's gonna take forever to get my place fixed after this.'
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And that's it! This actually took me about three hours to write because I get distracted pretty easily. But, here we are. I'll push out a second one sooner or later. Hope you enjoyed it.