Jasper knocks at the door of his boyfriend's dorm. Sammy pulls it open and throws his arms around him, kissing him and letting him inside.

“How was it?”

“Very 'reporting 101' – I can't wait to get further into it. I've already got some plans for the first assignment.”

“I've never seen you look so excited for an essay,” teases Sammy, “did anyone recognise you?”

Jasper runs his hands through his pure white hair, glances at himself in the mirror. “Nah. A few weird looks, but I don't think anyone considered I might be Jasper Stewart.”

They sit on the bed, cuddling and chatting, idling the hours because they don't owe them to anyone. When Jasper gets up he pulls on a costume. It's a cape and mask, in a matching colour scheme – neon blue like his eyes, strikingly contrasted with deep red to match the cape Hero used to run around in. Sammy sends him away with another kiss, and Jasper leaps from the window and flies out into the night.

Citropolis stretches out below him. He knows he could fly higher, away into the atmosphere until all the buildings and landmarks collapse to a point beneath him. Instead, though, he dives down, until he is flying between the rooftops on a street level, darting left and right at each junction on whim. The towers of the Business Sector disappear, his immediate surroundings grow around him. The city feels vast and yet at his fingertips.