*Discontinued* Shifter

46

"What's this?" Roman asked softly as he looked over his love's shoulder to see a sketchbook being doodled in. "I didn't know you could draw."

"I don't... much." Virgil chuckled as he glanced back to see the awe in Roman's eyes. "I was just brainstorming a few new forms."

"Forms?" Roman summoned a chair and sat down beside the other as he picked up a few pages and looked them over. "These are really good, why didn't you finish them?"

"Because they weren't good enough, Ro. And I'm not saying that I drew them poorly I just didn't have a good enough vision in drawing them." Roman quirked a brow at him making Virgil sigh a bit before gently tugging out a somewhat old picture dated back when Mastermind first got caught. Roman's eyes widened as he took it from Virgil. 

"Hey, that's your..."

"My Raven form... yes. I drew that a long while ago." Roman scanned the page noticing that the detail wasn't just drawn but written. Right down to the powers too... "Roman, did I ever explain what my power is?"

"No, but I never really pushed for it either. I didn't really care if you ever told me." Virgil smiled as Roman set the page back down before going back to the different already finished drawings Virgil had around him.

"I'm not just a shifter, Ro. I'm a special kind of shifter. One that I've never heard the name for but... My aunt used to say I was nothing but a doppelganger. Makes sense considering."

"What is that..." Virgil rolled his eyes playfully as he laughed.

"A doppelganger is a completely unrelated look alike. Think total strangers that could pass as literal twins." Roman's eyes widened as Virgil nodded. "That's what my power is. I can make myself look like anyone I see and not just look like them but..."

"Use their power too." Virgil paused a bit before nodding again and turning back to the picture. 

"It doesn't have to be real people either." Roman's eyes held this awe in them as he just sat there and listened to every word. "I can shift into fictional people too. So long as I have a mental image of what I'm shifting too then I can change into them. I have to have seen them at least once though for it to work."

"So how do these pictures work?"

"Well... There fictional people with an image of what they look like." Roman's eyes went wide as Virgil tensed a bit in anxious tension. "I discovered I could just draw people to shift into... when was I was around 12 or 13. That's when I got this..." Virgil gestured to the picture off to the side of the puppeteer and cringed. "I uh... That wasn't a form I actually wanted. It was one I was forced to have at the time so..."

"It's ok, Virgil." Roman smiled as he placed his hand supportively to Virgil's shoulder. "If you aren't ready to share that part of your past then don't. I told you... I love you. I don't need to know everything. If you can't talk about it then I am more than content with the mystery."

"I love you. I don't understand how you can be so understanding." Roman smiled even more as he leaned in and gave his love a soft kiss.

"My Mother... She's the reason I am who I am." Virgil chuckled softly as he melted slightly into the embrace.

"Well then... I thank your mother." 

"Now..." Roman pulled away with a laugh as he looked over Virgil's shoulder again. "Who exactly is this now?"

"I... have no idea." Virgil whined as he picked up the page and crumpled it all up. "I need a more concrete vision. I just... I want to pull away from using my usual forms. I need to stop using Manic and Polarity. I never want to use the puppeteer again. I just... I don't know."

"Well, you have the Raven form. Wing and superspeed plus with the addition of night vision... It's a good power set to have." Roman practically shoved all the papers out of the way before setting the Raven one in front of them all. Virgil frowned in confusion as Roman then grabbed all the unfinished ones, including the one that he had to de-crinkle just to see again. "If we focus on the power sets first then we can work on appearance."

"That's great and all but I've never really been good at... character formation." Roman laughed as he set three pictures in front of Virgil and pointed at them one by one. 

"Shields, healing, and telepathy... those would be amazing defensive powers." Virgil's eyes narrowed as Roman took his own paper and jotted a few things down. "With those powers, you could play the supportive field and even help Patton with any needed emergency rescue."

"Yes but supportive powers alone is never a good thing. I'd be a sitting duck." Virgil cut in before pointing to another and making Roman's eyes light up. "Unless I give myself some firepower?"

"Firepower..." Roman chuckled as he just wrote it down with a laugh. "Nice pun considering the pyro power."

"Supportive powers are nice and I do think that power set is good but..."

"You need an offense. Raven is meant more for distraction or defense. You'd have nothing to actually fight with." Roman paused for a bit in thought looking at everything as Virgil just stared at him. He had something in mind. Or no... Virgil had a muse in mind. He smiled as he took in what he had already done before pointing at a picture off to the side that Roman hadn't noticed yet. "Ooh, royalty." Roman giggled lightly as he picked it up and just beamed. Virgil had drawn the majority of the suit with two key powers already written down before he gave it up. "I love the crown and gold and black mask."

"I figured you would." Virgil smiled as Roman just nodded.

"I take it this form is some kind of dark prince?" Roman set it down beside his list as he glanced around in thought. "You already had Shadow manipulation and Portals down as powers but those alone might not make it much of an offensive. You'd only have the shadows and that wouldn't be good if there were no shadows around."

"That's why I kind of gave it up. I couldn't think of anything." Roman's eyes narrowed as he bit his lip in thought. 

"What about telekinesis?" Virgil paled slightly as Roman frowned. "I know... I know my father has that power but... Forgetting him for now, it would help. Plus if you had to you could even use it to move things around to create shadows."

"You think that would work?" Roman nodded as he wrote it all down and smiled before handing the two pages over to Virgil. "Thank's, Ro. I uh... You didn't have to help me."

"I wanted to." Roman gave him one last kiss before standing up with a stretch and yawning. "But now I really have to sleep. I have patrol tomorrow and knowing my father... We should be ready for anything." Virgil nodded as he watched Roman slowly get into bed. "Don't stay up too late ok, hun?"

"I won't. You just rest up. I'll be to bed soon." Roman smiled as he cuddled up into the blankets. Virgil's smile fell as he turned back to his dark prince form and sighed. He had this power in mind since the very start but he had never put it down. Reality manipulation. It was such an overpowered thing but... He needed to be smart about this. Headhunter wasn't just strong, he was cunning, smart... manipulative. He needed to be able to protect his love. And in order to do that, he needed to be strong enough to. Roman could literally create things out of nothing so the form inspired by him should be able to do the same if not similar. "Alright then..." Virgil forced himself to jot it down before he could even think of anything to stop himself. "Let's get these two finished up." Virgil smiled as he wrote at the top of the page 'Dark Prince', and on the other that Roman had helped to think up... 'Kaine'. Maybe it was about time he started to wear a proper mask. It was a new him right? New name... New everything. He was that scared little boy left all on his own. He wasn't the puppeteer for Mastermind. He wasn't the mercenary Raven anymore either. 

He was Shade and for the first time in forever... he was actually looking forward to the future.