It takes one glance for her to see his discomfort, so fortunately for him, she says nothing. He scoots closer to the end of the alleyway, further away from the noise and the lights he always sees from the voices of the people he hears. She follows him for whatever reason, but he doesn’t say anything about that. Just by being in a darker and quieter space, he already feels a lot better.
Leon doesn’t know how exactly the masked person knows that he’s uncomfortable, because instead of asking him if he was alright, she signs it. It takes him by surprise, so he doesn’t sign back for a few moments as he processes that this masked superhero knows sign language. After those few moments, he signs back, how did you know that I know sign language?
I didn’t, is her response. I just use sign language so I don’t have to speak out loud. It’s just another way of protecting my identity. She pauses for a moment. I’m the superhero Psyche, by the way. She spells out her name letter by letter.
“Psyche?” he tries out loud. At least his voice doesn’t have a color, not one that he can see.
She nods.
How do you know I’m uncomfortable?
It’s my superpower, I guess, she explains. I can see emotions and harness them to create energy to fight. As long as they exist, they can be used to create infinite energy. I can see your discomfort, and I could turn that into a certain kind of energy. But… She pauses for a moment, apparently trying to think of how to sign her words. Why are you uncomfortable?
To him, the reason behind his discomfort is really obvious, but clearly she couldn’t see why or how he was uncomfortable. He hesitates before signing, I don’t want to see so many colors.
Colors? From what?
Voices, he replies, and before she can ask another question, he continues. Every voice has its own color that I can see. Even if I close my eyes, I’ll still see them if I hear a voice.
For a brief moment, he sees the faintest trace of the color of her voice as she exhales, barely audible, but the fleeting shade vanishes the instant she silences herself. Then it’s a good thing that I’m not speaking, at least, not out loud. You might figure out who I am behind this mask by my color.
He didn’t think of that, but he nods.
She glances back to the world outside of the alleyway, to the sea of noise, awash with the colors Leon dreads to see, before glances back at him. I’ll probably have to go back out to fight, she signs. Can I trust you to keep yourself safe?
He nods again.
She signs a final goodbye before running back out into the sea, the bright and all too colorful sea. If he squints, he could see a single colorless dot against that ocean of lights.