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“Scar,” Liam moans, arching his back. “Fuck.”Indiana’s mouth is full so she doesn’t respond with words. Instead, she just chuckles, continuing her efforts as she pleasures him from behind. But as she does so, she tilts her head, eyes shifting to look over at you and Gem as you watch from the nearby couch. Making eye contact with her sends a shiver of pleasure down your back.You didn’t expect that you’d like watching Indiana eat out Liam. But god, you’re really into it. You like seeing the two of them, naked together on the bed. You like the way she spreads Liam’s ass open and hungrily devours him. You like the way Liam moans and grinds against her mouth, surrendering himself to the pleasure she’s giving him.Beside you, Gem says in a breathy voice, “Shadow.”You turn to look at her and you can see from her enlarged pupils that she’s aroused by the sight before you both. You lean in, kissing her lips as you grip her thigh, trying to anchor yourself to something. She flicks her tongue over the seam of your lips and you open up for her, allowing her to slip her tongue inside. As you and Gem slowly make out, Liam lets out a soft, needy cry.Gem breaks the kiss, allowing you to see what’s happening on the bed. Scarlet’s mouth is still buried in Liam’s ass but now, her hand is wrapped around his cock, slowly stroking him. His handsome face twists into an expression of pleasure and his hands tightly grip the blankets on the bed, like he’s trying to anchor himself to something too.“Scar, please.” Liam begs. “Please.”Indiana pulls her mouth back from his ass, still slowly stroking his cock as she replies, “Please what, my love? Tell me what you want.”She squeezes his cock with her fist and he gasps, “I need more. Need…ahhh…need Gem to fuck me. Please.”Indiana giggles, turning to look at Gem as she asks in a sultry voice that makes your pussy wet, “What do you think, sweetheart? Has he been good enough for you to fuck him?”Gem and Liam lock eyes and the passion you see between them fills your gut with liquid heat. You never thought you’d like the idea of sharing someone you love, but when you’re sharing Gem with Indiana and Liam? You find that you’re eager for it. Eager to see her take them and be taken by them.Gem asks in a soft but dominant voice that makes you shiver, “Liam, you want me to fill you up with my cock, don’t you?”Liam moans, “God yes. Want you inside me. Want you to stretch me open and make me so full of you, baby. Want to come with your cock inside me.”Gem asks in that same tone of voice, “Will you be a good boy for me?”You watch Indiana squeeze Liam’s cock again and he gasps, “I will. I’ll do anything you want, Gem. I promise. Please.”“Then say it.” Gem demands softly. “Tell me you’ll be a good boy for me.”“I’ll be a good boy.” Liam moans as Indiana slowly strokes his cock. “I’ll be your good boy. I’ll be so good for you. Please, Gem. Oh god. Please.”Gem gives him a warm, pleased smile, replying, “Such a good boy.” Then she looks at Indiana and asks with a hopeful look, “Can I please have him, Scarlet?”Indiana smiles back at her, her fond expression filling your heart with warmth. You know Indiana truly cares for Gem and that makes you happy. The fact that the two women you love also care about each other...it’s a good feeling. She replies, “Of course, sweetheart. You can have anything you want.”Then Indiana releases Liam’s cock, pressing a kiss to the bottom of his spine before she says, “Shadow and I will be watching, love. So make it good for us.”“I will. I promise.” Liam replies in a breathy voice.“Such a good, little slut.” Indiana chuckles, lightly slapping his ass before she climbs off the bed. Liam shivers at her words, still staying on his hands and knees with his ass in the air. Indiana approaches you and Gem, saying in a soft voice,“I’m going to brush my teeth. While I’m gone…Gem, I want you to use a dildo to open Liam up. Make sure to use plenty of lube like I showed you.”Gem nods, giving Indiana a small smile. You can tell she’s nervous but excited. She says, “I’ll take good care of him, Scarlet. I promise.”Indiana smiles warmly back at her. “I know you will. You’re my good girl, sweetheart.”Then she looks at you, her warm smile shifting to something sultry. “Lottie, while I’m gone, I have something for you to do too.”You eye her curiously as you ask, “What’s that?”Her voice is low and enticing as she says, “I want you to take off all your clothes. Then I want you to sit back down on this couch and watch Gem use the dildo on Liam. And while you watch, I want you to slowly play with your clit.”Heat floods your face. “Why?”“Because Lottie. We have to get you nice and wet so you can take my cock too.” Indiana purrs.The hungry way she’s looking at you makes you feel flustered, so you look off to the side, your face still burning. Indiana just giggles at your response. “You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.”“Shut up.” You reply gruffly, though without any bite.You can see Indiana grin at you out of the corner of your eye, before she turns her attention back to Gem and says in a sultry voice, “One more thing, Gem. While you’re getting Liam ready, have him face her. I want them both to see each other getting prepared for us.”“Pervert.” You say, turning to give her a look.“Mmhmm. But you like it.” Indiana replies knowingly.You don’t really have a response for that. And you know she knows it. Because she winks at you, shooting another grin in your direction before disappearing out of the bedroom. When you turn back, Gem is looking intently at Liam kneeling on the bed, a nervous but determined expression on her face.You’re aware that this will be the first time Gem has ever topped Liam. So you know she’s anxious about doing everything just right. You reach out to take her hand, giving it a squeeze as you say, “You’ll do well.”She gives you a small smile in response. “I hope so.”From the bed, Liam reassures her, his voice gentle and warm, “You’re a natural at this, baby. Don’t second guess yourself, okay? I know you can do it.”You observe the way Liam looks at Gem. There is pure affection in his eyes and his smile is soft and fond, just for her. As far as you know, he hasn’t said it out loud to her yet, but it’s obvious that Liam loves Gem. That his statement to her when the four of you first had sex rings true. He clearly does love her. You’re happy that he does, but when he looks at her, there is a tightness in your chest that you don’t understand. You decide to ignore it for now.“Thank you.” Gem replies, giving Liam a warm smile.You watch as she crosses from the couch to the bed, bending down to kiss him. You watch their lips meet, the give and take of their tongues, feeling arousal simmering deep in your gut.
‘Maybe I’m a pervert too.’ You think to yourself. ‘Not that I’ll ever tell Indie.’
“Come on, Liam. I need you to turn for me and face the couch, alright?” Gem says, directing him with a gentle hand.Liam shoots a grin at you. “Well, Shadow’s certainly going to get a show. But I think we deserve one too.”The implication in his words makes your face heat up again. You reply in an irritated voice, trying to deflect how embarrassed you feel, “Oh fuck off.”Liam just laughs, unperturbed by the bite in your voice just like always. Part of you dislikes that he never takes your anger seriously. That he’s never afraid of you. Because you are strong and so is your quirk. If you wanted to, you could hurt him badly or even kill him. But another part of you likes that he’s not afraid. That he looks at your anger and doesn’t run from it. Even so…
‘It scares me.’
“Shadow, are you gonna do what Scarlet asked?” Gem asks you in a soft voice, kneeling behind Liam,You look up and meet her eyes, realizing that you’ve been lost in thought. You refuse to feel embarrassed again, so you reply in a gruff voice, “I guess.”You slowly slip your tank top over your head, before unclasping your bra in the back and tossing it to the side, leaving your breasts exposed. You pointedly don’t look at Gem or Liam’s faces as you unbutton your jeans, sliding them down your legs and leaving you in just your panties.You don’t know what it is about this that makes you feel so nervous. You’ve had many sexual partners throughout your life, so it’s not like being naked in front of someone is anything new to you. And you’ve had sex with the three of them before, so you don’t understand why you feel vulnerable right now.
‘This feels different and I don’t know why.’
“Didn’t Scar say she wanted you completely naked?” Liam comments, his voice teasing as he looks at you.You reply back in a snarky voice, “Maybe you should focus less on me and more on the dildo Gem’s about to put in your ass.”“I’m pretty good at multitasking.” Liam says with a wink.Gem smiles at that before she says, “Prove it then.”You watch, transfixed, as Liam’s eyes flutter closed and he lets out a deep moan. From where you’re standing, you can see the motion of Gem slowly working the head of the dildo back and forth inside him. You feel a shiver of arousal as you watch.“Gem.” Liam moans. “Fuck.”“Does it feel good?” Gem asks him, her voice gentle, but you can hear the nerves that she’s holding back.“Feels so good, baby. Give me more. Please.”Liam gasps as the dildo disappears further inside him. You’re still watching, your mouth slightly open, your face heating up. Liam makes eye contact with you and pants,“Shadow, come on.”“What?” You say, trying to catch your brain up to speed, because right now your thoughts feel slow and heavy, like you’re wading through water.“Wanna see you touch yourself.” He says, letting out another moan as Gem slides the dildo back again. “Come on. Let me see.”Something hot twists in your gut at the desperation in his voice. You sit down on the couch, before reaching to tug off your panties, leaving yourself completely naked. As Liam fists his hands into the blanket on the bed, writhing under Gem’s attention, you reach your hand towards your pussy. When you finally rub your fingers over your clit, you moan and Liam answers with a moan of his own, saying,“Yes. God Shadow, keep going.”You want to make a snarky comment back at him. Because your defensive mechanism when you feel uncertain or scared is to be an asshole. But seeing the look of pleasure on his face and hearing the need in his voice, it changes your mind. You keep touching yourself, running your fingers in a slow circle over your clit. You feel embarrassed, so you look off to the side, not making eye contact with either of them.Liam gasps and Gem softly soothes him, “Shhh. You’re doing so well. Opening up for me like this. Such a good boy.”“Gem.” Liam begs desperately. “Please. Please fuck me.”“Soon, Liam. I promise. Once Scarlet comes back and says you’re ready, I’ll take you. But until then, just feel it for me.”Liam groans before he says, clearly trying to get your attention, “Shadow.”“What.” You reply gruffly, still looking off to the side.“Look at me.”“Why?” You ask, stubbornly not wanting to do what he asks.“Because I want you to watch.”Your eyes snap to him before you even realize you made the decision. When your eyes meet his, you suddenly feel like you forget how to breathe. His dark eyes ensnare you, fixing you in place with an intensity that you can’t and don’t want to escape. Gem keeps working him open and he releases a moan of pleasure that spurs you on, speeding up your fingers over your clit.You want. You want so much.“Mmm, you look good like this.”Indiana’s sultry voice by your ear is unexpected, startling you out of your trance. You start to move your hand away, feeling embarrassed, but Indiana grasps your wrist, holding you in place.“Let go of my hand, Indie.” You insist, your cheeks burning.“No. I want you to keep going.” She replies in a soft, demanding voice.You try to move your hand again and her grip on your wrist tightens, but her voice remains gentle as she says,“They like watching you, Lottie.”You look over at the bed and see that both Gem and Liam’s eager eyes are on you. You stare down at the floor for a moment, mulling over what you want to do, before you finally reply,“Fine.”Indiana releases your hand. You slowly return to touching yourself and she presses a kiss to your cheek, murmuring, “Good girl.” Then she walks over to the bed, drawing close to Gem.“Is he ready, sweetheart?” She asks her.Gem nods. “I think so.” Then she smiles wryly, “And he certainly seems to think he is.”Indiana giggles. “Feeling impatient, love?”Liam lets out a small, breathy chuckle, “Can you blame me? You’ve both been playing with me for so long.”Indiana gently runs her hand over Liam’s back and you can see the way he shivers. She says in a playful voice, “That’s true. I guess we’ll show you mercy then.”Then she turns to Gem and says, “Go ahead, sweetheart. You can get your strap-on ready.” She smiles suggestively at you when she adds, “And I’ll get mine ready too.”You shoot a half-hearted glare at her, before your attention is shifted when Liam says, “Shadow.”When you look at him, he says in a low, teasing voice, “You look hot like that.”Your cheeks burn again. Out of instinct, you reply in a gruff voice, “Shut up.”“I would say you’ll have to make me, but I’m a little busy at the moment. Guess you’ll just have to wait for another time.” Liam replies with a wink.“Oh I’m sure I won’t have to wait long.” You snark back at him. “You can’t help but talk shit.”Liam grins. “Can you blame me when I get such good reactions out of you?”You huff in response. “You don’t get anything out of me. Fuck off.”Liam’s voice is suspiciously innocent when he replies, “Oh? So last time didn’t count then? You know, when I had you by your hair and you were begging me to fuck you…”He easily dodges the book you throw at him with your quirk, grinning at you. He teases, “Ooooo seems I struck a nerve there.”“I’ll strike more than that if you don’t shut up.” You reply, glaring at him.But just like always, he doesn’t seem the least bit intimidated by you.“Is that a threat or a promise?” He asks with a wink.Indiana giggles, “Quit flirting you two. We’ve got plans for you, in case you forgot.”“I’m not flirting.” You reply indignantly.“Are you sure? It kinda seems like you’re flirting.” Gem comments in an overly innocent voice.You can’t help that your mouth drops open a little. You reply, incredulous, “Gem, you traitor.”She just laughs in response, filling your heart with the kind of happiness that can only come from being teased by someone you love. You’re so happy, you can’t even bring yourself to be mad that she threw you under the bus.
‘God, I’m such a sucker for her.’
You watch as Gem settles herself behind Liam and Indiana makes her way over to you. Your eyes drift to look down at the strap-on cock in between her legs. Once you see it, you can’t help but blurt out,“Jesus, trying to make a statement there?” You comment, looking at the massive, blue dildo with no small amount of hesitation.“Is it too much?” She asks you, looking concerned.“Are you kidding? It’s fucking huge, Indiana. Seriously, are you trying to fucking impale me or what?”From behind Scarlet, Liam starts laughing and Gem immediately shushes him.Indiana says in a gentle voice, “Hey, don’t worry. I’ll switch it out for something smaller. It’s no big deal.”You breathe a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”She reaches to cup your face, speaking in a whisper that’s meant just for you, “I won’t ever do anything you don’t want, Lottie. You can trust me. Okay?”You nod back at her. “Okay.”She smiles, leaning in to give you a kiss before she turns, walking back towards the trunk where she has her tools stored. As she walks by the bed, she flashes a mischievous smile at Gem and says,“What are you waiting for, sweetheart? You can fuck him any time you want, you know.”Gem asks in a soft, slightly nervous voice, “Are you ready, Liam?”“God yes, baby. Beyond ready. Please.”That seems to be all Gem needs to hear. You can’t see exactly when she penetrates Liam, but you can hear it because he lets out a deep moan that goes right to your pussy. Heat rises in your face as you watch his expression morph into one of deep pleasure.“Fuck, Gem. Holy fuck.”“Are you okay?” Gem asks him nervously.“More than. Fuuuuck it feels so good, baby.” Then he makes eye contact with you, sending shivers up your spine as he pants, “Like the view, Shadow?”“Can’t say I’ve seen much of anything yet.” You reply casually, but there is an undeniable challenge in your words. Liam grins at you in response. Your stomach feels fluttery.Indiana giggles, coming back to your side. “You heard her, Gem. Show us more.”Gem smiles at you both and says, “Yes ma’am.”Then she grips Liam’s hips, slowly beginning to fuck him. He groans, mouth slightly hanging open. Indiana reaches to cup your face, turning your attention to her as she asks, “Is this one okay?”You glance down at the dildo between her legs, which is thick, but a much less intimidating length than the first one. Then you look back up at her and nod, “Yeah, it’s okay.”She smiles. “Good. Because I want you to ride me. You interested?”You take a deep, shaky breath and say, “Yeah.”She sits down on the couch beside you, patting her thighs with a suggestive smile on her face. “Come take a seat then, Lottie.”You start to move to sit in her lap, but she shakes her head and insists, “Uh uh. Face the other way.”“What? Why?”From behind you, Liam lets out a gasp of pleasure and Gem says gently, “You’re doing so well, Liam. Letting my cock fill you up like this. Such a good boy.”“I want you to watch them, Lottie. And I want them to watch you.” Indiana tells you, her voice low and husky.Shivers run down your back as you reply, unable to say more than, “Okay.”Your face burns as you swing yourself around, facing the bed as you slowly lower yourself onto the dildo. The sensation of being filled up makes you moan and across from you, Liam gives an answering moan,“Fuck, Shadow.”“Does it feel good, Lottie?” Indiana whispers in your ear.“Yes.” You pant, finally seated on the dildo and trying to adjust to the stretch. Now that it’s fully inside you, you can feel the vibrations of the vibrator inside the harness that Indiana’s wearing. So you ask her, groaning, “Do you feel good?”Scarlet giggles. “Mmm yes. I feel good. But don’t worry about me right now.” She whispers in your ear again, “Start fucking yourself on my cock. Make yourself feel even better.”You do as she says. You raise yourself up on the dildo, nearly pulling off, before slowly dropping back down, moaning at the slide, the feel of being penetrated over and over. And as you fuck yourself on Indiana’s cock, she whispers filthy things in your ear,“Look at you, Lottie. You were made to be fucked, weren’t you? This slutty hole of yours. Just begging to be filled. It’s all you can think about. Feeling good on my cock.”“Indie.” You gasp as she squeezes your breasts, her hands rough and insistent on your sensitive skin. Liam gives an answering moan from the bed, his face completely overcome with pleasure.Indiana giggles, her words directed at Gem when she says, “Mmm, you’re doing such a good job, sweetheart. He looks like he’d say anything you tell him to right now. In fact, I think you should make him.”Gem smiles, a knowing, conspiratorial smile, before she asks, “Liam, do you feel good?”“So...ahh…so good, Gem.” Liam moans.“Tell me how good it feels. Tell me how much you love being fucked by me.” Gem demands in a soft voice that goes right to your pussy. You watch as she grabs Liam’s hips to hold him in place, unable to move.“Gem.” Liam begs. “Gem, please.”“Give me what I want and I’ll give you what you want.” Gem tells him softly.You can hear the smirk on Indiana’s face when she adds, “If you don’t, I’ll put the cock ring on you. Because only good boys get to come.”“Fuck.” Liam groans. “Both of you ganging up on me…it’s not fair.”“Come on.” You pant, still fucking yourself on the dildo. “You said you wanted me to watch. So show me something worth watching.”Liam’s eyes remain fixed on yours when he says, his words rushing out in a torrent of need, “God Gem, please. You feel so good. I love having your cock inside me. I love the way you fuck me. I love being filled by you. I need it so much. Please Gem. Let me have more. Please. I…ahh!”Gem thrusts back inside of him and he throws his head back, groaning in pleasure. Indiana moans, whispering in your ear, “Mmm, he loves putting on a show for you. He loves that you watch him. Such an attention whore.” Then she giggles. “But you are too.”You pant, “Fuck off.”Her hand drifts to your pussy, right where the dildo is sliding in and out of your hole. “Come on, Lottie. You can’t lie to me. I can feel how wet you are right now. You like that they’re watching us fuck, don’t you?”One finger presses hard against your clit and you groan. “Bite me.”You gasp when she actually does, her teeth sinking into the meat of your shoulder, but not enough to draw blood, just enough to hurt. Your whole body trembles as she soothes the bite with her tongue. Then she whispers, her tone demanding this time, “Tell me you like it, Lottie.”“I’m not going to.” You snap, refusing to give in.You feel the sharp point of her fingernail against the side of your neck, but you don’t react. Her free hand wraps around your waist, holding you in place with the dildo still inside of you. She sucks on the lobe of your ear before she whispers again,“Tell me.”You know what she’ll do if you don’t say it. But you won’t back down. Which is why you reply defiantly,“Make me.”Indiana purrs in your ear, “Gladly.”She cuts you. Pain blooms over your neck as you gasp, shuddering in her lap, your pussy clenching around the dildo inside you. You can feel her lapping at the wound, drinking up the blood. Your blood. On the bed, Gem groans,“Oh Shadow.”And Liam echoes her sentiment with, “Fuck. So hot.”As Indiana sucks on your wound, her fingers slowly rub over your clit, sending conflicting waves of pain and pleasure through your body. You moan,“Indie, I...”“Mmm…your blood is so good, Lottie. Taste it.”She grasps your chin, tugging your face towards hers, before leaning in to kiss you with her bloody lips. She slips her tongue inside and the taste of iron floods your mouth. All the while, she’s still touching your clit and you feel like you’re going insane. When she breaks the kiss, you say,“Indie, I can’t handle it.”“You can. Come on.” She flicks her tongue over the wound before sucking on it.You gasp, “It’s too much. I can’t. Fuck.”“Then say it, Lottie. If you want this to stop, if you want to come, then say it.”You groan, writhing in her grasp. Still, you stubbornly cling to your resolve, though you don’t know why. You shake your head and groan, “No.”“Shadow.”Liam calls out to you and you look at him, belatedly realizing that you closed your eyes. He gasps, “Want you to come with me.”“I…”“Come on. Just let go. And come with me.” He pleads with you as Gem keeps thrusting inside of him. His next words come in a shaky, breathless voice, “Please Shadow. Please.”You’re babbling before you even realize you made the decision to speak. “I like it. I like it.”“You like what, Lottie?” Indiana purrs. “Tell me specifically.”“I like that they’re watching us. I like it. I like it.” You sob, overwhelmed with conflicting sensations.Liam groans, “Fuck, Gem. I’m gonna come.”Gem pants, “It’s okay, baby. Come for us.”Indiana’s fingers move faster on your clit as she thrusts the dildo in and out of you. You can feel your orgasm rapidly building. You sob, “Indie. Gonna come. Gonna…”Indiana whispers in your ear, hot and breathless, “Keep your eyes on Liam and come.”You scream as your orgasm hits you and across the room, Liam follows your lead, crying out in pleasure. The whole time, neither of you looks away from each other. Soon, you hear Indiana and Gem come too, moaning frantically in unison. The room is filled with sounds of pleasure, but all you can focus on right now are Liam’s dark, hungry eyes.
~~“Ma’am? Are you alright?”You’re drawn out of your memory, pulled back into the present to look at the flight attendant who’s standing in the aisle beside you.“Sorry, did you need something?” You ask her.“We’ve landed, you know? You’re the last person on the plane.”You’re surprised to hear that. “Oh, I am? Shit, sorry. I was…lost in my thoughts.”“It’s no trouble at all! But we do need you to exit the plane so we can do our landing procedures.”“Right. Of course.”You get up from your seat, quickly reaching to grab your carry-on bag out of the overhead compartment, before you make your way down the aisle to the plane’s exit. Another flight attendant waits there for you, smiling as she says,“Welcome to Summerville, ma’am! Enjoy your trip!”You give her a quick, acknowledging smile as you exit the plane, heading down the jetway towards the gate. Once you’re finally clear, you reach to pull your cell phone out of your bag. You step out of the flow of people and into an alcove, tapping Gem’s name on the top of your favorites list, before you hold it up to your ear.“Hello?” She answers on the third ring.“Hey, I made it to Summerville. How are you feeling?”Even over the phone, Gem’s voice sounds hoarse when she replies, “Not great. I’ve pretty much been asleep all morning and I still feel like crap.”“I’m sorry, Gem.” You say, feeling guilty that you aren’t there to take care of her.“Hey, don’t be sorry. There’s nothing you can do about it.”“I feel like I should be there with you though.”“You’ve been planning this trip for months, Shadow. Even though I wasn’t able to go with you, I still want you to have fun seeing your old friends. And besides, Scarlet said she’ll take good care of me while you’re gone. I think she’s bringing groceries for me in a little while. So I’ll be fine. Promise.”You reply, still feeling reluctant, “If you’re sure.”“I’m sure. So stop feeling guilty and go enjoy yourself, okay? It’s not every day that you’re attending your 3 year hero school reunion, you know. ““Yeah, I know.” You sigh, staring down at the floor. “You’re right.”“Of course I am.”You say softly, “I miss you already.”Her voice is warm and fond when she replies, “I miss you too. Now go have fun for me. You can call me later tonight if you want.”“I definitely will.” You reply, your voice just as fond.“I love you, Shadow.”“I love you too, Gem. Talk to you later.”When you hang up, you’re very aware that you’re smiling like an idiot.
‘God I’m so fucking soft for her, it’s ridiculous.’
But you wouldn’t change it. No matter how scared, insecure, and out of control it can sometimes make you feel. Being in love is a scary thing to someone like you, who is always afraid to open your heart to someone, to be vulnerable. Romantic relationships have never turned out well for you in the past, but god. You really want this relationship with Gem and Indiana to be the one that works. The one that lasts. Then you remember Liam’s dark, hungry eyes as he looked at you that night and find yourself lost in thought again.Overhead, a female voice speaks over the intercom, “Passengers on American Airways, Flight AA475, Night Harbor to Summerville, your luggage is now available at the baggage claim area.”You sigh. “Better get going.”You make your way through the airport, avoiding the large crowds of people as best you can, which is a challenge since the Summerville airport is exceptionally busy today. As you go, you keep your eyes peeled for people you recognize, just in case other members of your former hero class might be here. You never bothered to ask who else was attending your class reunion this weekend, but you’re certain a majority of your class will show up. Practically everyone attended your 1 year reunion, so you expect it will be the case for this one too.‘Though there will always be one person who never shows.’ You think, remembering Indiana’s empty desk in your last year of hero school.Once you reach the baggage claim area for American Airways, you select a spot off to the side with the least amount of people, then you silently wait, searching for your skull print suitcase. Nearby, you hear a tall, attractive man with curly hair and glasses talking to a tall, pretty woman with long, blonde hair.He asks, looking incredulous, “You seriously eat cold beans at 2 AM?”She replies with a clear, British accent, “Of course! They’re good any time. A perfect all day food.”“Listen, I say this with love, but what the fuck, bro. That shit’s nasty, for real.”“What? No it isn’t! Beans are very versatile, Chris. You can eat them with anything.” She says, defending her horrifying, 2 AM bean eating habit like she doesn’t have a problem.“Oh whatever, I know you put that shit on toast.”“Yeah? Because it’s good on toast.”“You should try it on rice, you know…like a normal person.”“Listen, I can’t help that your American taste buds haven’t evolved to appreciate the delicious taste of beans on toast.”“Pfft, yeah okay. Eat my ass.” He says, clearly joking with her.“Nah, you’d like it too much.”You almost laugh at that. Almost.“Hey Char, say bottle of water for me.” He says with a grin.She rolls her eyes but replies with an amused smile, exaggerating her accent so much that her words are barely recognizable, “Bo’oh’o’wa’er.”He busts up laughing, “Oh my god, thank you. Holy shit, that’s too funny. I could almost cry.”“Oooooo please do.” She says, her eyes lighting up with excitement.You finally spot your skull print suitcase on the conveyor belt, so you leave them to playfully antagonize each other. You scoop up your suitcase with ease, then make your way back out to the main part of the airport, heading for the entrance. As you do, your phone rings. When you pull it out of your pocket, the familiar name makes you smile.“Hey Ben.”He replies, sounding cheerful as always, “Hey Charlie! Have you gotten your luggage yet?”“Yep, I’m headed for the airport entrance right now.”“Perfect! Vee and I are out here waiting for you. She says hi, bytheway.”In the background, you hear Sylvia retort, sounding amused, “You know I can say hi for myself, don’t you?”Ben laughs. “Yeah, I know. But you’re very busy with the important task of being the driver.”Sylvia huffs, replying, “Hardly. We’re parked at the moment. All I’m doing is keeping the motor running so we have AC.”“See? A very important task!”You smile at their banter, a familiar warmth filling your chest. God, you’ve really missed them.There’s warmth in your voice when you say, “I’ll be outside in just a minute, okay? Don’t leave without me.”Ben replies fondly, “As if. We aren’t going anywhere without you, Charlie.”“That would certainly defeat the purpose of driving all the way to the airport to pick you up.” Sylvia comments wryly.“Can’t have that!” Ben jokes. “So get out here ASAP!”“You got it.” You reply with a smile.You end the call, sliding your phone back into your pocket before you continue rolling your suitcase towards the exit. Once you step out the automatic doors that lead to the pickup area, it takes exactly 5 seconds to find Sylvia’s car, which is still the brightest, neon pink you’ve ever seen. The moment Ben and Sylvia spot you, Ben’s face lights up and he immediately rushes out of the car to tackle you, his long, purple hair flying behind him.“Charlie!”You manage to catch yourself, so the two of you don’t go sprawling on the concrete, and say, “What the shit, Ben? You almost knocked me on my ass!”Ben just laughs, his arms still wrapped around you, “Sorry! I’m just so excited to see you!”You huff at that, but you’re unable to hide the affection in your voice when you reply, wrapping your arms around him in return, “Such a goddamn puppy, Ben.”“Just like always, right?” He says affectionately.“Yeah. Just like always.” You reply, smiling into his shoulder.“Are you two going to spend the rest of the day hugging?” Sylvia wryly comments from the open driver’s window. “Or are you going to get in the car so we can get dinner?”Ben laughs, releasing you so you can both look at Sylvia. “Aww, you know you can always get in on this, Vee!”“I will get my hug later. Preferably when we aren’t parked in the pickup line.” She replies, looking at you both with an amused smile.“Fair enough.” He grins, before turning to look at you, “Go ahead and get in the car, Charlie. I’ll put your suitcase in the trunk.”“You sure?”“Totally. I’ve got it.” Ben replies warmly. “Take shotgun, if you want!”He grabs your suitcase, hoisting it over one shoulder on his way to the trunk. You want to talk to Sylvia, so you decide to take Ben up on his offer and swipe his spot.“Hey Vee.” You greet her with a warm smile as you slide into the passenger seat. Her gray hair is shorter than it was the last time you saw her, framing her face in a bob. She still looks just as pretty as always, especially with the way her pink eyes contrast with her hair.She smiles back at you, “Hey Charlie. How was your flight?”“Too damn long. I think I had two layovers? Which is two more than I wanted, that’s for sure.”“Well, we have a dinner reservation at Tasty Noodle and a comfy bed and shower at our apartment after that. So hopefully that will help you feel better.”You give her a pleased smile. “You kidding? I’ll feel like a million bucks after I get some of their orange chicken in me. I’ve seriously missed it so much.”Sylvia smiles wryly, “Still love your junk food, huh?”“You know it. Gem keeps trying to feed me vegetables, but she’s got her work cut out for her.” You say, smiling at the memory of Gem.“Oh! Speaking of your partner.” Ben says, sliding into the backseat and the conversation with a casual finesse. “We’re bummed Gemstone wasn’t able to come with you, Charlie. We were really looking forward to meeting her.”“She was looking forward to meeting you guys too. That damn cold just hit her out of nowhere. Which sucks.”Sylvia says, “Well, we could always make plans to come see you both in Night Harbor one of these days.”Ben laughs, “If we can manage to convince Dayana to let us take a vacation.”Sylvia turns on her turn signal, indicating her intent to join the line of traffic, before she adds, “I’m sure we can. Our agency can no doubt survive without us for a week. The real issue is convincing her that SHE needs to take a break.”You reply wryly, “Your girlfriend’s just as much of a workaholic as always, huh?”“Absolutely. You know how Daya is. Our agency was in the top 10 on the hero billboard charts our second year, but she still wasn’t satisfied. In fact, she’s determined to be in the top 3 by the end of this year.”“Sounds like Dayana. Always pushing herself to her limits.”Sylvia nods, finally merging into the other lane, “I blame her parents for that. They’ve always expected more of her than they should have.”“Yeah, completely agree with you on that.”“Man, I can’t believe we’ve been running our agency together for three years already.” Ben whistles. “Feels like just yesterday that we graduated.”“Time flies.” You agree.“How is your agency doing, Charlie?” Ben asks curiously. “Since you’re underground, I never know what you’re up to.”“Things are going well. I just finished up a case recently. A serial killer.”Both Ben and Sylvia look intrigued by this.“Can you share anything about it?” Ben asks, obviously eager for information though he’s trying to play it cool.“It’s a…sensitive case. So I can’t say much.” You reply, before giving them the story that you and Indiana created. “But Gemstone and I discovered the serial killer’s identity and went to capture them. Though somebody got to them before we could bring them in.”“Got to them how?” Sylvia asks, expertly weaving the car through the rush hour traffic of Summerville.“They were murdered.”“Holy shit, seriously?” Ben says, eyes wide at this revelation.“Yeah. Though their murder was unrelated to their activities as a serial killer. Apparently it was related to some sort of gang dispute.”In truth, this fabricated story is what you told the cops and Vincent Morello. Morello was furious when you told him that his only son Nick was the person killing female staff at his club. But when you presented him with the photos you had taken of the women’s wallets, the information that Nick owned the building where you found the wallets, and one of Nick’s bodyguards confirmed that he was out alone on the nights of the murders, he had no choice but to accept your words as truth.And when he asked who murdered his son, you presented him with evidence that Indiana fabricated, which pointed the blame towards a rival mob in Night Harbor. One that is even worse than Morello’s, so you didn’t feel the least bit of guilt at framing them. Their blood hasn’t yet been spilled, but you suspect that Vincent Morello’s retaliation is coming very soon.
‘As long as he never knows that Indie killed his son, I don’t care what happens to those people.’
Sylvia muses, “Well, their death certainly tied your case up for you.”You nod. “Definitely. We were able to bring some peace to the victim’s family and solve a mystery. That’s a win for me.”“It’s seriously cool that you're a detective, Charlie. When we were going to school, I never would have pictured you doing that. But honestly, I think it suits you.” Ben comments with a smile.“I want to help people. I never thought it would be like this, but I think I prefer it this way. I can’t stand the press and media attention that comes with being a popular hero. Makes me want to puke.”Ben laughs. “I know what you mean. I still get so nervous with interviews and talking to fans. I think I disassociate sometimes just so I don’t have to remember it.”“Mood.” Sylvia comments, her voice completely deadpan.“I see you’re picking up on slang, Vee.” You say, shooting a smile at her.“Only took her 6 years, but she’s getting there.” Ben replies, grinning.“Against my will, but yes.” She’s smiling wryly as her eyes focus on the road ahead.You say, your heart full, “I’ve missed you guys.”Ben reaches out to squeeze your hand, replying in a warm voice, “We’ve missed you too, Charlie.”“I know we talk a lot over video chat and our group chat, but this is different.”“I agree.” Sylvia says. “Spending time together in person is the ideal situation for me.”“Me too.” Ben agrees. “I wish you lived here, Charlie. Instead of all the way across the country.”You sigh. “I do too. But you know why I moved to Night Harbor.”“Speaking of that,” Sylvia begins, her voice dispassionate in a way that tells you she’s trying to act unaffected, but you know she’s not. “Have you made any progress on Indiana’s whereabouts?”You open your mouth and lie. “No, nothing since I ran into her a while back. I’m still searching, but she’s hard to find. It was honestly a miracle that I ran into her the first time.”Ben sighs heavily. “God, that’s so frustrating. Why in the world wouldn’t she just talk to you?”“She’s a villain now, Ben.” You remind him.“I just can’t believe that. I mean, it’s Indiana. She was going to school to be a pro hero. She was going to run a hero agency with us. So how in the world did she end up becoming a villain?”It hurts to not be able to tell them the truth. That you have to lie to their faces about Indie. But it’s not as if you can tell them what’s really going on. So this is all you can do.You say, “I wish I knew. When I saw her, she treated me like a stranger. Like we never even knew each other.”“I still insist that she was protecting you, Charlie.” Sylvia says. “You said she was with other people that day. No doubt they were villains too. So she must not have wanted them to know that you two were friends. For your protection and hers.”“It’s been 3 years though, Vee. After all this time, she might not care about me anymore.”You’re surprised to hear Sylvia’s vehement reply of, “Bullshit.”You can hear Ben’s surprise as well when he says, “Vee?”Sylvia continues, “You were her best friend, Charlie. She loved you. She loved all three of us. And there is no way in hell that she stopped caring about you. Even after 3 years. Even after she somehow became a villain. There’s no way.”She glances over at you and says, her voice determined, “I still believe in her, Charlie. So don’t you dare give up on her.”You fight back the guilt and the urge to cry. But the emotion still makes your voice quiver when you reply, “I promise I won’t.”“Good.”“Damn, Vee. I’ve never seen you get this intense before.” Ben comments, still sounding surprised.“Indiana is our friend, Ben. And I want her to come back to us.” Sylvia sounds emotional when she says, “I still remember going to class every day in our third year and hoping she would be there. And each day I was disappointed when her desk was empty. But I never stopped hoping we’d see her again. Even now.”Ben’s voice quivers when he replies, “Yeah. Me too. I miss her every single day. I wish I could tell her that.”“I wish you could too.” You say quietly, voicing the burden that’s on your heart. The knowledge that your two dearest friends are hurting and you could ease that burden if you just told them the truth…but you can’t.“Then you find her and tell her that for us, Charlie.” Sylvia tells you, her voice determined.You nod, feeling like the worst sort of person when you reply, “I’ll do my best, Vee.”She smiles at you. “I know you will. You’re a great detective. I have every confidence that you’ll find her.”That’s the last the three of you talk about Indiana tonight. And soon after, Ben is cracking jokes and making you and Sylvia laugh. Which is why the mood is much lighter when you arrive at the Tasty Noodle for dinner. While you’re there, you eat your body weight in orange chicken and catch up with them about what’s been going on in all three of your lives.By the time you finally get to Ben and Sylvia’s apartment, you’ve had your fill of food and good conversation and you’re feeling happier.Sylvia yawns, “I don’t know about you two, but I’m exhausted. I think I’m gonna go to bed.”“Such an old lady, Vee.” Ben teases her. “What about you, Charlie? Gonna stay up for a bit?”“Maybe.”“We have Blue Bull in the fridge…” He entices you with a smile, his hazel eyes twinkling like he already knows what your answer will be. Which, of course, he does.“Okay. I’m convinced.”Sylvia points out, “That will mess up your sleep schedule, you know.”“Eh, my sleep schedule’s already fucked so it’s fine.”Ben laughs at that and Sylvia smiles wryly as she replies, “Very well then. But I’m still waking you both up early tomorrow morning so we can go to DK’s for donuts. I’m not missing out on my apple fritter.”“Wouldn’t dream of coming between you and your apple fritter, Vee.” Ben grins. “Promise we won’t stay up too late.”“Better not.” She raises an eyebrow at you two, but her smile undercuts the threat in her voice. “Goodnight you guys.”“Night Vee.”As Sylvia heads down the hallway, you turn to Ben and say, “Well? You gonna get me that Blue Bull or was that just a sneaky ploy?”He laughs, saying, “I meant it, don’t worry. Come on.”You follow him into the kitchen, leaning against the counter as you watch him open the fridge. His purple hair has gotten so long that he has half of it tied back into a bun, with the rest of it loose and brushing his shoulders. You like how it looks, so you say so.“Your hair looks good like that, Ben.”He looks pleased. “Yeah? You like it?”“Yeah. Long hair is a good look for you.”“I’ll keep it long then.” He replies with a smile, handing you the Blue Bull. He comes to lean beside you on the counter and says, “I like how long your hair has gotten too.”You huff, “It’s annoying as hell. I think about cutting it short all the time.”“I don’t think you should.” He reaches out, gently running his fingers through the ends of your long, white hair. “I think it’s pretty.”“Nah, yours is pretty. Mine’s just…there.”“Hey, come here.” He says, opening his arm to you.You allow him to pull you against him, wrapping his arm around you. He says with a smile, “I’ve always thought you were beautiful. So even though you can’t see it, it’s still there.”You give him a small smile. “Thanks, Ben.”“Sure thing, Charlie.”He presses a soft kiss to the crown of your head, then sighs, “I’ve missed this. Getting to spend time with you like this.”“Me too. I really need to come visit more often.”“We can come see you too. Once the billboard chart comes out and we’re officially in the top 3, I think Dayana will calm down enough to let us take time off.” He laughs, sounding amused. “Well, hopefully.”“I could always just kidnap you two. She couldn’t stop you from taking time off then.”He chuckles, “Oh god, could you imagine? Her anxiety would be through the roof and we’d be on vacation.”You laugh at that. “Think she would forgive me?”“Oh we wouldn’t rat you out, don’t worry.” He says, slowly running his hand over your hair. “Best friend privileges and all that.”“More like Stockholm Syndrome.” You huff, amused at the thought. “Corrupting you two until you don’t want to go back to work.”Ben chuckles, “Can’t say I’d mind that. Work can be pretty rough some days.”“Are you happy though?” You ask, looking up at him.He meets your gaze, smiling. “Yeah, I am. Even though hero work can be hard, I wouldn’t want to do anything else. Being able to help people is what I’ve always wanted to do.”“Same here. Being a detective can be…tough. But when I’m able to give good people closure and bring down bad people, it’s worth it.”He looks at you with pride. “I’m happy for you, Charlie. You’re doing all the things you wanted to do when we were younger.”“You are too.” You give him a small smile. “Having your own agency, working with your friends, saving people…you’re doing well for yourself.”He says wistfully, “Yeah.” He pauses before he continues, asking hesitantly, “Hey Charlie?”“Yeah?”“If you can’t…if you aren’t able to reach Indiana…will you come back?”There’s a vulnerable expression on his face as he looks at you, wrenching your heart. You don’t really know what to say and you say as much.“I don’t know, Ben.”“I just…I know you went to Night Harbor to find her. I know you want to save her. But I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life there, chasing ghosts.”You open your mouth to refute his point, but he reaches to cup your face and says, emotion in his voice, “I’m worried about you, Charlie. I know Vee said she doesn’t want you to give up on Indiana, but I don’t care about that. I care about you. Indiana’s clearly made her choice, but you don’t have to go that way too. You don’t have to spend your life trying to bring her back.” His voice quivers when he adds, “And honestly? I’m afraid that in the process, you’ll disappear too.”Tears form in your eyes, but you fight them back. “Ben, I’m fine.”“For how long? How long until this becomes something you can’t let go of? How long until it becomes an obsession for you and completely takes over your life?” He emotionally adds, “I don’t want that to happen to you, Charlie.”“It won’t.” You insist.“Then promise me that you’ll come back. To your home, to us.” He asks, looking at you with teary eyes.Your heart aches, looking at how upset Ben is right now. You want so badly to tell him the truth about Indiana, just to alleviate his worry. But you can’t. So give him what you can and say, your voice quivering with emotion,“I’ll come back. I promise.”He gives you a wobbly smile and says, “Thank you.”Then he presses a soft kiss to your forehead, whispering, “I love you, Charlie.”“I love you too, Ben.” You whisper back, allowing him to pull you further into his embrace. He’s warm and strong and when he holds you, he feels like safety, like home. Like all the sweet, nostalgic memories of hero school and going through your teen years with your very best friends. You’ve missed this so much. You’ve missed him and Sylvia so much.You and Ben stay up for another hour while you drink your Blue Bull, talking about nothing in particular to pass the time. It’s not about the conversation topics so much for you two as it is about spending time together. But finally, your drink is finished and it’s late, so the two of you say goodnight.Once you’re finally alone in the guest room, you strip off your clothes and head for the bathroom, eager to take a shower after this long day. You get the water as hot as you can stand it before you step into the shower, immediately soaking your hair and scratching your nails over your scalp. It feels nice and you already start to feel more relaxed as a result.You start to turn to get the water on your back, when suddenly, a strong hand grabs your shoulder, shoving you against the shower wall. You instantly engage your quirk, gathering your power in your hands to attack before you hear a familiar voice hiss,“Mind if I interrupt, Shadow?”You snap back at him, “Liam, what the fuck are you doing here?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Liam whispers harshly in your ear, “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop in.”“Drop into my fucking shower at my friends’ apartment?” You growl at him.“Apparently.” He flippantly replies, still keeping you pinned to the wall.“Are you stupid? You know my friends are pro heroes. Why the fuck would you risk coming here? They could have seen you!”Even though you can’t see it, you can hear the way Liam rolls his eyes when responds, “Oh please. I used my quirk. They didn’t see me. You didn’t see me. It’s fine.”“The hell it is.” You push against his grip, trying to get off the wall, but his hands only grip you tighter, holding you in place.You hiss at him, “Get off of me.”“Let’s talk, Shadow.”“Get off of me first, asshole. Or I’m not talking to you about shit.”He purrs in your ear, “Oh? So you don’t like being pinned against the wall?”You feel his hard cock press against your ass through his jeans and fight the twinge of arousal in your gut. In a gruff voice, you reply, “Fuck off.”“Is that really what you want?” He asks, still whispering in your ear.“Liam.” You say, your voice low and warning, though you aren’t fighting him. In fact, right now you aren’t even thinking about getting away.“Come on Shadow. You stopped fighting me. You don’t want me to let you go, do you?” You can hear the smirk in his voice when he says that.“Shut up.”“Just admit it. You want me to keep you pressed against this wall, naked and completely at my mercy. Don’t you?”You push back against his grip on you, not to get away, but because you refuse to let him win. At least…not this easily anyway.Liam chuckles. “Feeling feisty today, I see.”“You followed me here, snuck into my friends’ apartment AND my shower, and now you’re trying to fuck me. Of course I’m pissed with you.” You snap back at him.“I want to do more than TRY to fuck you, Shadow.” He purrs, lowering his voice until you can’t help but shiver. “I want to slide my dick inside that pretty pussy of yours. I want to fuck you until you can’t stand. And then I want to hear you scream my name when you come.”You take a shaky inhale of air that’s louder than you wanted it to be. He chuckles and you know he heard it. Because right after, he leans in and whispers in your ear, “Spread your legs for me, Shadow.”You don’t know why he’s here. Here in Summerville, or in Ben and Sylvia’s apartment, or in your goddamn shower for that matter. But right now, you aren’t especially concerned about that. Because when he talks to you in that low, sultry voice, you can’t get him inside of you fast enough.So you spread your legs like he asks.“Done fighting now?” He teases you.“Are you gonna keep screwing around or are you gonna fuck me? I don’t have all day for your bullshit.” You growl in response.“Oh, but you enjoy it though, don’t you?” He replies in a knowing voice.Whatever retort you had planned is forgotten as his fingers slip between your legs. You can’t help the gasp that escapes your mouth as his fingers make contact, slowly rubbing circles over your clit.“Mmm, that’s right. Feels good, doesn’t it?”“Shut up.”All at once, his fingers stop in place. His teeth suddenly bite down on your shoulder, sending a shock of pain through your nerves. Your back arches, pushing you against his wet, clothed chest as you let out a pained gasp. “Fuck.”He speaks in a low, dangerous voice, “If you keep acting like a brat, you’ll get treated like one, Shadow.”“I’m not scared of you.” You retort.He chuckles at that. You feel the strange sensation of something ghosting over your skin. Then his teeth return, sinking roughly into the junction where your shoulder meets your neck. The pain is bright, consuming, and intense, more intense than it should be. You cry out before you quickly stifle it, struggling against the bite of his teeth on you as you manage to gasp,“Are you fucking insane? If they hear me scream, they’re gonna think something’s wrong and they’ll come check on me!”He pulls his teeth off your skin, saying in an amused voice, “I’m using my quirk on us, Shadow. So they won’t hear you scream. Nobody will. It’s just you and me here.”Then his tongue runs over the spot on your shoulder where he bit you, soothing the pain. And now, the pleasure of his touch is just as intense as the pain was. His fingers return, this time slipping inside your pussy as you groan,“Liam.”“That’s right. Say my name, Shadow.” He breathes in your ear. “You’re all mine right now, aren’t you?”“I…” You moan as a burst of pleasure comes from his fingers moving inside you.“Tell me there’s nobody else on your mind but me.” He whispers insistently. “Tell me.”“You.” You gasp, unable to resist his demand when he’s making you feel this good. “Just you.”He presses a soft kiss to your neck in response, making your heart clench in your chest.“Good girl. That’s what I want to hear.”Your heart clenches even harder when he calls you a good girl. It makes you feel something you don’t understand, which makes you scared. And your first reaction to that, as per usual, is to be an asshole.“Don’t call me a fucking good girl.” You snap at him.His fingers slip out of your pussy and you fight the urge to whimper. Then he grabs your hair, tugging your head backwards away from the shower wall. You watch as he holds up his hand to your lips and says in a low, insistent tone,“Open your mouth.”You don’t. He tugs your hair harder. You groan, but keep your mouth closed.He repeats himself in a low, insistent voice, “I said, open your mouth.”You do what he asks, parting your lips. Then he holds his fingers up to your mouth, still slick from your pussy, and says in a voice that allows for no argument, “Put your mouth to good use and suck on my fingers. Now.”You briefly consider biting him. But you decide against it…at least for now. So you take his fingers in your mouth, sucking on them with a light amount of pressure. Still gripping your hair, he tilts your head to the side and whispers in your ear, his tone deliberate, “Good girl.”You want to snap at him for that, but your mouth is full so all you can do is growl. He chuckles, pressing a kiss to your neck, sending shivers up your arms.“I like seeing you be so submissive.” He purrs. “Maybe I should stuff your mouth full more often.”You retaliate, pressing your ass back against him and grinding on his cock, still out of reach beneath his wet jeans. He groans in your ear.“Fuck. Shadow.”His finger slips out of your mouth. You hear him unzipping his jeans before he says in your ear, his voice low and husky, “Beg for my cock, Shadow.”You shake your head. You could easily do what he wants, but you feel like fighting.“Pretending to be proud all of a sudden?” He whispers. “Because that’s all it is. An act. You and I both know that you’re desperate for me to fuck you. And I will. But first, you have to be a good girl and beg for me.”“I’m not a…” You start to say, before you let out a small gasp.Liam’s cock is sliding back and forth over your pussy now, moving slowly and deliberately. If he changed his angle, he would be inside you. Instead, the head of his cock is bumping against your clit and making you moan. And while he does this, he has his hands on your shoulders, keeping you pinned in place against the shower wall.“Come on, Shadow.” He moans. “I could come like this, you know, just rubbing my cock over your pussy. You feel so fucking good. But I want more. I want to make you feel good too. And all you have to do is beg for it.”“I…” You can’t help the way you tremble. You want him so badly. The need you feel for him is strong. So strong that it slowly overtakes all your reservations and you finally say, in a quiet, vulnerable voice,“Please.”“What do you want, Shadow?” He asks, not teasing you for once. His voice is soft, like he’s afraid he’ll miss what you say if he’s too loud.“Please. Please fuck me.”In that soft voice, Liam says, “Tell me you’re a good girl, Shadow.”Heat rises in your cheeks as you stubbornly reply, “I don’t want to.”And then, he says one word that makes your heart clench in your chest, “Please.”When you hear him say that, you know there’s only one response you can give him. Only one response you want to give him, even though thinking about saying it to him makes you scared for reasons you don’t understand.“I’m a good girl.” You say quietly, your face burning.“Yes, you are.” Liam agrees, pressing a soft kiss to your neck before he whispers something you aren’t entirely sure you were supposed to hear. “MY good girl.”Before you have time to analyze it, you’re suddenly flipped around to face him. His long, dark hair is dripping wet from the shower, plastered in waves against his handsome face. His tee shirt and jeans are soaked too, showing off the defined muscles of his body. But his eyes are what draw your attention. They are dark and intent as he looks at you with undisguised hunger.He dominates your mouth with his, kissing you fast and relentlessly, like he’s trying to steal every bit of oxygen from your lungs. You kiss him back, just as hungry for him as he is for you. When the two of you finally break apart, gasping for air, he says in a shaky voice,“Wrap your arms around my shoulders, Shadow.”You immediately do what he says. Suddenly, he grabs your thighs and lifts you up off the ground. You instinctively wrap your legs around his waist as he grips your thighs, keeping you suspended against the wall. His cock presses against your hole, a promise of what’s about to come, and you can’t help but shiver. Right as he pushes his cock inside you, he kisses your lips, swallowing your moans. You cling to him as his cock fills you up, trying to adjust to the hot thickness of him inside you.“Fuck.” He groans. “You feel so good.”You look into his eyes before you grab his hair, causing him to moan. You’re panting as you demand, “Come on. Fuck me.”He thrusts hard and you tilt your head back, groaning, a wave of pleasure rolling over you. As he thrusts up into you, he flicks his tongue over your nipple and you gasp,“Liam.”He pants, “Yes. Say my name, Shadow.”“Liam, please.” You beg, keeping your eyes on him as your bodies move together.“Tell me what you want.” He demands, fingers digging into your thighs.“More,” You beg, unsure of what you want. All you know is… “I want more.”He breaks eye contact with you to slip your nipple into mouth, his thrusts getting faster. You cup the back of his head with your hand, holding onto him as he sucks on your nipple. The shower is still running hot water and the air around you is warm and steamy, like some sort of fever dream. Especially since Liam is still clothed. Though that hardly matters since his white tee shirt is so soaked that it’s see through. You can see the dark lines of his chest tattoo through it.‘Gorgeous.’ You find yourself thinking, though the word doesn’t leave your mouth.Still thrusting into you, Liam’s mouth moves to suck on your breast, alternating between hard suction and gentle licks to soothe the pain.You pant, “Trying…trying to leave a mark on me?”He looks up at you with a smile that is almost too innocent. You can tell he’s trying to hide something, but your brain is too foggy to quickly figure it out. Suddenly, the sensation of Liam’s quirk ghosts over your skin once again. And then he thrusts hard into you and you’ve completely forgotten what you were thinking about.“Liam.” You gasp.“Feels good, right?” He asks, breathing heavily.“Shut up and fuck me.” You demand, grasping at his hair again.He chuckles, “With pleasure.”Every sensation is so intense under his quirk’s influence. The way his hands grip your thighs, the kisses he presses against your neck, each thrust of his cock inside you…you feel overwhelmed and so, so good. Your natural pleasure blends with the pleasure of his quirk being used on you, building and building, becoming a wild force that threatens to consume you.“I can feel you twitching, Shadow. Are you close?” Liam asks, panting for breath.“Yes.” You gasp, your head tilting back. “Close.”“Look at me.” The words are a demand, but the tone of voice he uses turns it into a plea.You look back down, making eye contact with him. You could drown in his dark eyes right now. When he speaks, his words feel like they resonate in a deep part of you.“Come for me, Shadow.” His voice is breathless but unmistakably needy. “Please. Come for me.”It’s like your body was waiting for him to say that. Your orgasm surges over you and you cry out his name, overcome with pleasure. He holds you tight through it, saying in a gentle, reassuring voice,“Good girl. Come on, let it all out. Let me hear how good I made you feel.”He watches you intently as you ride out your orgasm, that same hunger in his eyes. As you finally start to come down, taking slow, deep breaths, he says,“Fuck. Shadow, I’m gonna come. Gotta pull out.”You release your legs from around his waist, allowing him to carefully set you down on your feet. But you immediately get on your knees and look up at him, saying, “Come on my tits, Liam.”Like a man possessed, he grips his cock and does what you say, jerking it quickly over your breasts, his eyes locked on yours. Suddenly, he moans, deep and needy, still jerking his cock as he pumps his come on your breasts.“Fuck.” He moans, the noise sending a shiver of arousal through you.But finally, he releases his cock, his chest heaving as he starts to calm down. You look down at your chest, pleased by the sight of his come on your breasts. Then you look back up at him, just in time for his hand to cup your chin.“Come here.” He says softly.You stand back up again, allowing him to kiss you before he carefully backs you into the shower spray. With almost too much gentleness, he runs his hands over your breasts, wiping them clean in the stream of water. As he does so, you ask,“Are you gonna tell me why you’re here now?”“Here in your friend’s apartment? Or here in Summerville?”“You clearly came here for sex. So tell me why you’re here in Summerville. Shouldn’t you be back in Night Harbor, taking care of Gem?”“Nah, Scar’s got that under control. Besides,” He smiles mischievously. “I have some…errands to run.”“Errands like what?”He shakes his head, still smiling. “Sorry, top secret stuff.”“You swear you’re not babysitting me?”He gives you a curious look. “Why do you think that?”“No reason. But if you are, I don’t need it. I can take care of myself.”Then he frowns at you. “Is it such a bad thing to have someone keeping an eye on you?”“Yes. Because I don’t need your help.” You stubbornly reply.“Well, good thing I didn’t come here to keep an eye on you then.” Liam replies, a snarky edge to his voice.You give him a neutral look. “Glad to hear it.”He pulls away from you. Part of you wants him to come back. But another part, the part that knows he only loves Indie and Gem, resists the urge to ask him.“I’m gonna go.” He says in a flat voice.You give him a look. “What, in those sopping wet clothes?”He shrugs. “They’ll dry eventually.”“Don’t be stupid. Give them to me and I’ll throw them in the dryer for a little bit.”“What am I supposed to do in the meantime? Can’t exactly leave your room.”You huff at him. “I don’t know. You’re the one that snuck in here. Entertain yourself.”You turn off the water, reaching to slide the shower curtain back. Nearby, a big, fluffy towel hangs on a rack and underneath it are Liam’s shoes and socks.“Well, at least you had the sense to take SOME clothes off before you got in here.”“I was in a hurry.” Liam says with a shrug, not looking the least bit apologetic.“Yeah, in a hurry to get your dick wet.” You reply, rolling your eyes as you step out of the shower. You grab the towel, wrapping it around yourself.In a teasing voice, Liam retorts, “Didn’t hear you complaining about it earlier. In fact, all I heard was that pretty voice of yours moaning my name.”You give him an unimpressed look when you reply, “Fuck you.”He smirks. “You’d have to ask Scar first, but I’m sure she’d let you.”You huff at that. “You wouldn’t be able to handle me.”His reply is a mirror to yours earlier as he says with a suddenly serious tone, “I’m not scared of you.”Without him having to say it, you know there is more meaning underneath his words. And you’re very certain that he’s aware that you know that, because he’s watching you intently, like he’s waiting for what you’ll do next. The thought of that makes you uncomfortable, so you choose not to engage. Instead, you say,“...Get your clothes off. Once I’m dressed, I’ll put them in the dryer for you.”Whatever Liam was hoping to get from you, it’s clear in his face that he didn’t receive it. His expression settles into something neutral as he replies, “Fine.”You turn away, leaving him to undress as you walk into the bedroom. You pull a tank top and sweats out of your suitcase and quickly get dressed, before returning to the bathroom where Liam meets you at the door, a towel wrapped around his, admittedly very nice, hips. In his hands are his clothes, which look slightly less soaked than they were earlier.“I squeezed some of the water out.” He says, handing them out to you.“Good. They’ll dry faster that way.” You reply, gathering the pile of clothes into your arms. “I’ll be back in a minute. Don’t go anywhere.”He gives you a wry smile. “Where would I go exactly? Can’t exactly walk around like this.”You shrug, replying in an even voice, “Not like you have any shame. You had your dick out when I first met you.”“Only because I was fucking Gem.” He retorts with a smirk.You raise an eyebrow at him. “Right. Because you’re not an exhibitionist at all.”With a wink, he says, “You got it.”You just roll your eyes in response. “I’ll be back. Get comfortable.”You leave your bedroom then, quietly walking through the apartment to the laundry room. Ben and Sylvia have new appliances so it doesn’t take long to dry Liam’s clothes. Just 20 minutes at the most. Once they’re dry, you make your way back to your room. As you shut the door behind you, you nearly forget what you’re doing when you see Liam lounging naked on your bed. His hands are resting behind his head, allowing you to focus on his long, muscular body that’s on display for you.He glances over at you, standing in place, and flashes a knowing smirk at you. “Did something catch your eye, Shadow?”“You’re in my bed.” You reply, unable to think of something else to say.“I mean, you did say to get comfortable.” He teases you.You use your quirk to pitch his clothes at him. He catches them easily, laughing.You huff, “I’m going to call Gem and check in on her.”You sit down on the foot of the bed, pulling out your cell phone. You can hear Liam moving on the bed until he’s sitting behind you, hovering right over your shoulder. You pointedly ignore him as the phone rings.When the call connects, a voice you didn’t expect answers.“Hi Lottie.”“Indie? Why are you answering Gem’s phone?”“She’s asleep. It’s midnight here.”You groan. “Right. You guys are 3 hours ahead of us. I completely forgot.”“Is everything alright?” She asks curiously.“Yeah, everything’s fine. I just told Gem that I’d call her tonight. That’s all.”Liam rests his chin on your shoulder, prompting you to ask, “Indie, why is Liam in Summerville?”Indiana asks innocently, “Oh? Liam’s in Summerville?”“He’s in my bed right now. So yes. I’d say he is.” You reply in a sarcastic voice.“Well you two didn’t waste any time, did you?” She giggles.You sigh. “Seriously, why is he here?”“Sorry Lottie, can’t say.”“Are you two up to something? Something I need to be worried about?”She replies in a teasing voice, “You never have to worry about me, Lottie.”“Well that’s bullshit. I know what kind of work you do.”She laughs. “Look, if it becomes relevant then I’ll be sure to tell you. But right now, it’s not. So don’t worry your pretty head about it.”“Does Gem know?” You ask, almost afraid to know the answer to that.“No, this is just between Liam and I. Promise. I wouldn’t pull Gem in on it.”You breathe a sigh of relief. “Good.” Then you pause before you say, “Ben and Sylvia asked about you today.”There is a long silence on the other line before Indiana replies in a careful tone, “Did they?”“Yeah. They wanted to know if I had made any progress in finding you.”“What did you tell them?”“The story we came up with. They bought it.”Indiana breathes her own sigh of relief. “Good.”You say in a quiet voice, “I don’t like lying to them. They deserve to know the truth.”“What do you think would happen if you told them, Lottie? That you share your bed with a villain. Do you think they would let that go?”“We wouldn’t have to tell them that part. But they deserve to have some closure. So that they can stop hoping that you’re gonna come back.”She sounds surprised when she replies, “They still think that?”You nod, though only Liam can see it. “Yeah.” You can’t suppress the emotion in your voice when you tell her, “Sylvia told me not to give up on you. And Ben…he said that he misses you every single day.”Indiana’s voice is a little emotional too when she replies, “Those idiots.”“Indie, do you think…” You start to say, before cutting yourself off.“Think what, Lottie?”“Do you think you would come back? To Summerville? To our friends?”Indiana is quiet before she replies. “I don’t think they would want me back, Lottie. Not after all the things I’ve done. Or who I’ve become.”“You haven’t asked them, Indiana.”“I just don’t know.”You start to get angry when you say, “Don’t do this again. Don’t make choices for other people. You don’t know what Ben and Sylvia want. You need to ask them, instead of assuming the worst.” You pause before you add, “They LOVE you, even after all this time. They still believe in you. They know you’re a villain and they still want me to find you.”“Lottie, I…”“Just give them a fucking chance.” You insist.It feels like a lifetime before she says, “I’ll think about it.”You sigh. It’s not what you wanted to hear, but you know that’s all she’s going to give you. So you reply gruffly, “Okay.”There’s another long silence before she finally says, “Hey, it’s getting late over here. I should probably get to bed.”“Alright. Sleep well then.”“You too.” She pauses before adding in a quiet voice, “I love you, Lottie.”“Love you too.” You reply, unable to keep your frustration out of your voice.When Indiana ends the call, it feels like a pit sits in your stomach. You feel like crying, screaming, or even just punching something. Anything to get rid of the way you feel right now. And then Liam’s hands touch your shoulders and more feelings surge to the surface, threatening to overwhelm you.“Shadow, are you okay?”You jerk away from him. “Don’t.”“I'm just trying to help.” He replies, clearly trying to walk your anger back. But you can’t do that right now. Not when you feel the urge to strangle something.You don’t look at him when you reply, fists clenched in your lap, “I don’t need your help. Just leave me the hell alone.”Liam replies in a neutral tone of voice, but his words are still scathing, “Fine. If you really want to be alone, then go right ahead. I won’t stop you.”You don’t respond to him. You listen as he gets dressed and don’t look in his direction. You want to ask him to stay, but you also don’t want to accept comfort from him. Because it would just hurt you, coming from someone who’s really just your fuck buddy. And not anything else.
‘Not what I wish he was.’
Which is why, when he slips out your bedroom window and onto the fire escape, you don’t even say goodbye. You’re glad that you have a better hold on your emotions now than you did when you were a teenager in hero school. Because if you didn’t, the emotions you’re currently feeling would make your quirk go wild. But now, you just sit in silence, your anger growing inside you, like a pot of water on the stovetop that’s about to boil.All things considered, it’s hard for you to get to sleep. And when you finally do, it’s not restful. But you manage to get some hours in, which is a feat considering you had a Blue Bull before bed. Before you’re ready for it, you’re woken by a knock on your bedroom door and Ben’s cheery voice saying,“Charlie, it’s 7 AM! Time to get up!”“Fuck off.” You groan at him from underneath your blankets.Ben just laughs. “You’re just as much of a morning person as you used to be, huh?”“I need coffee.” You groan, feeling like death.“I’ve already got some brewed for you! All you’ve gotta do is get ready so we can go to DK’s!” Ben says brightly.“Ughhh fine.” You reply, your voice thick with sleep as you yawn.From the other side of the door, Sylvia says urgently, “Apple fritters, Charlie! I need my apple fritter!”“Yeah yeah, I heard you, Vee! Just gimme a minute to get up. Ughhhh.”“Don’t take too long!” Ben says, before you hear him walk off.One of the perks of being an underground hero is that you can set your own hours. For you, this means you can stay up as late as you want to work and sleep during the day. Usually you love this. But right now, your jet lag is kicking your ass and your typical night owl hours are working against you.You grumble to yourself, “Fucking 7 AM? Seriously? Too fucking early. They’re fucking insane.”You continue to grumble as you reach for your cell phone on the nightstand. Once you tap the screen, you see you have three text messages.One is from your building manager JP, telling you he’s fixed the elevator so you don’t have to take the stairs to get to your agency. Thank fuck. The second is a picture from Indie which, upon further inspection, is of Gem fast asleep in her bed, looking absolutely adorable. You can’t help but smile. And the final one is a text from Gem that says, ‘Sorry I missed your call, Shadow! I passed out last night. We can talk later if you want. Hope you’re having fun with your friends! I love you! <3’You smile again, your heart full with affection for her and for Indie, though you’re still angry with Indie after your conversation last night. Still, you type out a quick reply to them both before you set your phone back down. You find your thoughts drifting as you think,
‘Liam didn’t try to contact me after last night.’
You aren’t surprised, considering how the conversation ended. But even so, you can’t help but feel hurt, which doesn’t make any sense to you. Because he’s Gem and Indie’s boyfriend, but to you he’s just someone you have sex with. So why are you upset that he didn’t say anything? You aren’t sure.But you don’t have time to think about that because right now, you have two insistent morning people waiting on you. So you climb out of bed to get ready. When you slip your tank top off, you glance at the mirror and see the dark hickeys on your breasts, a reminder of Liam’s presence last night. You run your fingers over them, unable to keep from thinking about him as you do. You think about texting him, but decide against it. The emotions are still too raw right now and you’re certain you’ll say something you regret.Instead, you quickly get dressed and make yourself look somewhat presentable, just in case Ben and Sylvia get recognized by fans. You don’t want to scare people by looking like a sleep deprived gremlin, even though that’s exactly what you are.“She’s emerged!” Ben greets you cheerfully, holding out a travel thermos to you as you walk into the kitchen.You yawn, grasping the thermos like a lifeline. “Caffeine. Thank god.”“I told you not to have that Blue Bull last night.” Sylvia says wryly.“Listen, don’t blame the Blue Bull. I usually sleep way later than 7 AM so getting up this early is not my thing.”“It’s only 10 AM back in Night Harbor right now.” Ben reminds you with a smile.“Sometimes I don’t wake up until after noon, okay. Even 10 AM is fucking early for me.” You reply, taking a long swig of coffee. It’s sweet as hell, just how you like it. You’re touched that Ben remembered how you like to prepare your coffee abomination.Sylvia claps her hands together, looking excited. “It’s never too early for DK’s apple fritters. Now come on you two, let’s get going so we get a good spot!”The three of you start to walk towards the front door, only for Sylvia’s phone to ring. She quickly pulls it out and the look on her face tells you that this must be a work call. A very important one.“Daya, what’s going on?” Sylvia asks the moment she answers the call. She groans. “We can’t come in this morning. We have plans with Charlotte. You know that.” She pauses, sounding concerned. “An emergency? Right now?”“How big of an emergency?” Ben asks her, looking concerned now.Sylvia repeats Ben’s question to Dayana. Moments later, she nods in response to whatever Dayana said to her. “Alright, we’ll be there soon then.”Once she hangs up, she glances between the two of you and says, “I’m really sorry, but Ben and I have to go in to work, Charlie.”“Do you guys need help? It sounded serious.”Sylvia shakes her head. “No, Dayana said it was classified. Agency only stuff. So we can’t bring you.”You just roll your eyes at that. “An emergency is an emergency, Vee.”“I know, but she was insistent so I’m not going to fight her on this.” Sylvia sighs, looking disappointed. “Damn. I really wanted an apple fritter.”“I can still go to DK’s. So I’ll bring one back for you.” You promise.Sylvia gives you a pleased smile. “Thanks, Charlie.”Then she glances over at Ben and says, “Alright. Since this is an emergency, I’m using my quirk to get us there, Ben. Are you ready?”He nods, giving her a smile. “You bet!”You watch as Sylvia conjures a glowing ball of pink energy out of thin air, stretching her hand out until the ball contorts into a large portal. Then she grasps Ben’s hand and says, “Don’t let go.”“I never do!” He replies brightly, before turning to wave at you. “Call you later, Charlie!”“See you guys.” You wave back at him.Hands joined, the two of them walk through the portal, which disappears right after they pass through, leaving you standing alone in their apartment with a hot thermos of coffee.You sigh. “What a day. And it’s only 7 AM. God.”You’re still tired, so you consider going back to bed, but you did promise Sylvia to get her an apple fritter. And you know that if you don’t get there on time, those are the first donuts likely to sell out. So, with a groan, you begrudgingly lock up Ben and Sylvia’s apartment and make your way downtown to DK’s Donuts.Stepping inside, you see that things haven’t changed much since you were here 2 years ago for your first school reunion. You walk over to the far corner of the shop to examine the graffiti wall, searching for where the four of you signed your names back in hero school. You’re pleased to find that they’re still there, written close together with a black Sharpie and surrounded by a heart, courtesy of Indie.
Charlotte Stone
Indiana Brown
Ruben Moore
Sylvia Murray
For no reason other than nostalgia’s sake, you pull out your phone and take a picture. You consider sending it to Indiana, but think better of it when you remember her reaction last night. You’ll just keep this one for yourself. Once you’ve slipped your phone back into your jacket pocket, you make your way to the counter.There are two people working behind the counter at the moment. One is a short guy with two-toned brown and blonde hair who’s wearing a Spider-Man tee shirt underneath his apron. He’s clearly trying to be sneaky about the fact that he’s on his phone. The other person standing behind the cash register is immensely tall and wearing a baseball cap over their shaggy, brown hair. With some amusement, you note that their baseball cap says MILF.They’re so tall that you have to look up at them when they greet you in a pleasant voice, “Hi, what can I get for you?”“Any chance you have apple fritters left this morning?” You ask them, almost expecting them to tell you no.They grin at you. “As luck would have it, we’ve still got some! How many do you want?”“Three, if you have that many.”“You got it.” Then they turn and yell at the shorter guy, “Billie! Get three apple fritters for Mommy!”The short guy jumps, nearly tossing his phone mid-air as he says, “Whiz, what the fuck? I’m literally standing right next to you! Why’d you yell?”The tall one replies in a calm voice, “Yelling? I don’t know what you mean. I wasn’t yelling.”“Yes you were, you fucker. Stop trying to gaslight me.” Then he looks over at you and asks, “He yelled at me, right? You heard that too?”The tall one makes eye contact with you and barely shakes their head, a mischievous smile twitching on their lips. You can see where this is going and fortunately for them, you feel like playing along. With a straight face, you reply to the short guy, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”The short guy stares at you, a look of disbelief on his face. Then he turns to look at the tall one and says, “I hate you so much right now.”The tall one does their best to keep from laughing, but their shoulders are shaking from the effort as they reply, “Can’t imagine why.”The short guy lets out a heavy sigh before he turns his attention back to you. The look on his face tells you just how done he is right now. You have to keep yourself from laughing too. “You said three apple fritters?”You nod, unable to hide the small, amused smile forming on your lips. “Yeah. Just the three.”He gives another heavy sigh before he says, “Coming right up.” Then he trudges over to the donut case, grumbling to himself.The tall one cackles before they say, “Oh man, that was too funny. Thanks for that.”You give them a wry smile. “Sure thing.” Then you ask, “So did I hear him call you Whiz?”“Huh? Oh yeah! Short for Pinball Wizard, since I’ve got the high score on the pinball machine over there.” They say, gesturing to the old pinball machine in the corner of the shop.“So do you have an actual name then?” You ask them.With a mischievous smile, they reply, “Yep. Sure do.” Then, very clearly side stepping your question, they say, “That’ll be $5.13 for the fritters.”You good naturedly roll your eyes at them, before reaching into your jacket pocket for your wallet. As you do, the front door to the donut shop busts open and a somewhat short man with wild, dark hair dramatically enters. You realize he’s wearing a mask that mostly obscures his face, right before he gleefully shouts,“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a robbery!”People sitting around the shop scream in a panic and you immediately react, engaging your quirk. You whirl around, levitating a nearby table with your quirk, about to fling it in the robber's direction. He clearly anticipated this, because he fires a shot at you from the strange device in his hands. You quickly pull your dark energy into a shield in front of you, blocking the shot which explodes on impact into a plume of purple smoke.
‘Smoke? The fuck? Is he shooting smoke bombs from that thing?’
You lose track of the robber in the smoke and the chaos as people frantically run for the back exit of the shop. Still, you charge forward, your power glowing in your hands as you search for the robber.“Looking for me?” The robber’s voice calls out to you from your right.You lash out, taking a swing in the smoke, but make contact with nothing. The robber just laughs.“Gonna have to be better than that to catch me, hero!”You hear another shot and, unable to see which direction it’s coming from, you immediately hit the ground. Above you, a cloud of glitter explodes. You’re up on your feet right after, deciding that if you can’t see him from the ground, you’re going to seek him out from above. You use your quirk to levitate to the ceiling, trying to see him through the thick, purple smoke below.Your luck holds and you manage to spot him, moving like a hunter through the smoke with the device extended out in front of him. You drop down right on top of him, feet first into his back. The two of you hit the ground and his device goes flying, disappearing into the smoke. But he doesn’t seem mad about it. In fact, he’s laughing.“Oooo nice one! Wasn’t expecting that!”He tries to scramble out from under you, but you grab his left arm and twist it behind his back, taking no care to keep from hurting him.“Nice try, but I’m not letting you get away.” You snap at him.Somehow, despite being pinned beneath you, he still has the audacity to laugh, as he replies in a pained voice, “I don’t need to get away to beat you.”“What the hell are you…” You start to say.Then suddenly, he raises his right hand over his head and pink gas erupts from his palm, hitting you right in the face. The gas invades your lungs and you immediately start coughing, jerking backwards to get away from the gas. The robber takes advantage of your sudden panic and rolls to his left, knocking you off of him. He quickly disappears into the smoke as you cough, trying to take a breath of air.‘What the hell is in that stuff?’ You think, still struggling to breathe.The robber obviously has some gas related quirk, but what it does you can’t tell. All you know is it feels like your head is spinning and you’re seeing double. Still, you manage to get back on your feet, despite how dizzy you feel, determined to find this guy. From what sounds like a distance away, you hear him say, “Aww, still trying to catch me? You sure take your job seriously, huh?”Each step you take through the smoke feels like you’re trying to walk through water. Your legs feel so heavy. You blink, trying to clear your blurry vision, but nothing changes.“What did you do to me?” You ask, your own voice sounding slow and far away to you.“Oh, don’t worry. Nothing bad.” He replies cheerfully from somewhere in the smoke. “Just something to play with your heart a little.”You think you hear him off to your left, so you use your quirk to levitate a chair so you can throw it. Or at least…you try to. Because when you focus on using your quirk on one chair, every single chair around you glows with your dark energy.“What?” You say, confused about what’s happening.You try to release your hold. You can’t. Suddenly, every chair around you goes flying. You try to duck, but with how addled your mind is, you don’t react quickly enough. One chair slams into your face, sending you sprawling on the floor. As you groan, your hear the robber say,“Jeez, I thought pro heroes were supposed to be amazing fighters. But you’re literally taking yourself out for me. Not that I mind.” He laughs, sounding positively tickled by the situation.You growl at him, “Fuck you.”He just laughs, sounding amused by your anger. Your vision starts to go dark around the edges and you groan, “I…I think I’m gonna pass out.”He suddenly emerges from the purple smoke, crouching down beside you with a cheerful smile on his face. “Go right ahead! Don’t let me stop you.”You get a good look at his mostly masked face now and realize he’s young, maybe 18 or 19. He’s watching you with a giddy interest in his violet eyes, like you’re some sort of animal at the zoo. You try to hit him with your fist, but everything is going in slow motion and he easily grabs your hand, stopping you mid-punchHe says in a cheerful voice, “I’d quit trying to fight if I were you. You’ll just hurt yourself more.”“What did you do to me?” You ask again, your voice getting faint to your own ears.“Listen, you’ll be fine. All you’ve gotta do is share your feelings. Super simple.” He assures you with a smile.“What?” Your vision’s fading and nothing makes sense. And your eyelids are so heavy…“Nighty night, hero!” The robber says, staring down at you from above with that same cheerful smile. You can’t fight it. Your eyes close and that’s the last thing you remember.
~~“...see anything?”“Looks like there’s a note pinned to her jacket.”“Doesn’t appear to be any sort of mechanism attached to her or the chair, so I think it’s safe to get it.”You open your eyes just in time to see a gloved hand reaching for the front of your leather jacket. You immediately jerk away, though you don’t get far since you’re apparently tied to a chair. Still, you snarl, “Don’t you fucking touch me!”Beside you, two glass mugs on a table suddenly explode. The man in front of you, dressed in a plastic hazmat suit and gloves, immediately pulls his hand back, looking very startled.“Easy ma’am. This man is a CSI tech and he’s just trying to gather evidence. We aren’t trying to hurt you.”You turn to look at who addressed you. It’s a tall, slender man with short, navy blue hair and gold eyes. He’s dressed in a black, pinstripe suit, which has clearly been tailored to his exact measurements because it fits him like a glove.“Who are you?” You snap at him.“My name is Detective Suzuki Shiba. I’m assisting the Summerville Police Department with this case. And you are?” He asks you curiously.“I’m Shadow. I’m a pro hero.”“I’ve never heard of a pro hero named Shadow before.” The CSI tech comments.You huff at him. “Because I’m underground. And I operate out of Night Harbor, not here.”You’re irritated by the ropes binding you to the chair, so you try to use your quirk to break them. But it doesn’t work. Instead, you end up floating the chair in the air and startling the poor CSI tech once again.“Shadow, would you please get down?” Detective Shiba asks you politely, looking up at you from below.You growl at him. “I’m trying, damn it! I can’t get my goddamn quirk to cooperate!”“Shouldn’t a pro hero know how to control their quirk?” The CSI tech asks, sounding confused.You glare down at him as the chair starts to tip on its side in the air. “Nobody asked you, asshole.”“Would it help if we grabbed your legs and pulled you back down?” Detective Shiba asks curiously.You huff. “What the hell, let’s try it.”So Detective Shiba and the tech each grab a leg and carefully pull you back down onto the ground. Your quirk is still threatening to propel you back into the ceiling, so you do the only thing you can think of, which is to actively stop trying to think about or use your quirk.To your immense relief, your quirk disengages. You let out a deep exhale and say, “Thank god. I think it’s finally off for now.”Detective Shiba nods. “Glad to hear it. Now if you don’t mind, could this nice man please get the note off your jacket?”“Note?” You look down and realize there’s a purple envelope pinned to the front of your leather jacket. The purple reminds you of violet eyes and suddenly, your memories from earlier come flooding back.“Shit, the robber! Did you catch him? Are the civilians alright?”“One thing at a time, ma’am. The note first, please.”You sigh, but reply, “Fine. Get this damn envelope off me.”The tech moves forward and with steady hands, unpins the envelope from your jacket and brings it to Shiba. He takes it in his gloved hands, slowly opening the envelope and pulling out a gaudy, purple card.“Looks just like the last one.” He murmurs thoughtfully.As he examines the card, you ask the tech, “Hey, would you untie me? I’m pretty much over this.”“Oh! Yes, of course. One second.”It takes a minute for the tech to figure out the knots, but eventually he’s able to untie them. The two of you make quick work of pulling the ropes off of you, allowing you to stand again. Once you’re on your feet, you turn your attention to Shiba and ask,“So can you answer my questions now?”“Hmm? Oh yes. What do you want to know?” He asks, tearing his gaze away from the card to look at you.“Did you catch the robber?”Shiba shakes his head. “I’m afraid not. He was long gone by the time police got here.”“Any leads on where he went?”“No, it seems that he managed to disappear in the chaos.”You groan. “Perfect. Did he hurt anyone?”“Aside from you, no one else was injured. Though it isn’t his MO to hurt anyone.”“His MO? You mean he’s done this before?”Shiba nods. “Several times as a matter of fact.”“Is he out for money every time?”Shiba shakes his head. “Actually, no. He’s never taken money from any of the places he’s robbed.”You give him an incredulous look. “What? He didn’t take money here?”“No, none. Though he did take a box of donuts.”The CSI tech adds, “He also arranged the ones he left in the case into a heart.”“Yes, he did do that.”You ask him, still in disbelief, “He seriously held this place up just to take a box of donuts?”“And leave these.”Shiba points at the floor and when you look down, you realize that the floor is covered with flyers. You bend down to pick one up. The flier itself is a lilac purple and has a cartoon picture of a cat in the middle, which is surrounded by a circle with a line through it. The words on the flier are big and bold and say, ‘Close the Summerville Cat Cafe’. This doesn’t make any sense to you and you say as much to Detective Shiba.“What the hell is this supposed to mean?”The CSI tech quips, “Guess he’s a dog person.”When he sees the irritated look on your face, he awkwardly clears his throat and says, “I’m gonna go investigate something…over there.”He walks off, leaving you and Detective Shiba alone. You turn your attention back to the Detective and he says, “He’s left these fliers at every place he’s robbed. They’re one of two common factors.” He holds up the card in his hands so you can see it. “This is the second common factor.”On the gaudy, purple card, there is a business card that’s taped to the top. And you realize that it has Shiba’s name on it. Your surprise shows when you ask, “He leaves your business card at his crime scenes?”Shiba nods. “Yes. Every single time.”“Why?” You ask him. “Why are you so important to him?”“I have no idea. As far as I know, we’ve never met so I don’t know why he’s fixated on me.”“And what about this cat café? What’s his deal with it? Why does he want it closed down?”Shiba shrugs in response. “I’m not sure. I’ve gone to check the place out and spoken with the owner. As far as I can tell, everything seems normal there and there’s no reason for him to want it closed.”“There has to be something. Surely he wouldn’t do all of this for no reason.”“You would think so. But if there is a reason, I’ve yet to find it. Could be that he’s just nuts.”You shake your head. “That wasn’t the vibe I got from him.”“Did you speak to him?” Shiba asks, looking hopeful.“A little. It was mostly just him messing around with me. But he didn’t seem crazy or even malicious. He seemed like he was goofing around, like he was just a kid having fun.”Shiba asks in a thoughtful voice, “Can I ask…your quirk. You weren’t able to control it earlier. Was it because of him? Did he do something to you?”You huff. “Yeah. I tackled him and he sprayed me in the face with some sort of gas from his hands. After that, I was disoriented and my quirk was on the fritz. That’s how I ended up passing out.”“We need to get you to the hospital to be examined then.”You shake your head. “No, I’m fine.”Shiba raises an eyebrow at you, replying in a dubious voice, “You were exposed to an unknown gas that caused you to lose control of your quirk. And you were clearly hit in the face.”“Oh, that was me. I accidentally threw a chair with my quirk and hit myself with it.”He continues, in a voice that allows for no argument, “You’re going to the hospital, Shadow.”You only just met this man, but the look on his face tells you that you’ll get nowhere by arguing with him. So you roll your eyes and reply, “Fine. If I have to.”He nods. “Yes, you have to.”Then he calls to a woman standing at the front door to the bakery, “Officer Greene, would you please take Shadow here to the hospital? She needs to be examined by a doctor.”The stern faced woman replies, “Of course, Detective Shiba.”Then Shiba reaches into the pocket of his suit and pulls out a business card, holding it out for you to take. “Here. Take this with you in case you remember anything or if he crosses your path again.”“Why would he cross my path again?” You ask, taking the business card.“He hasn’t ever left someone as a message for me before. And you’re a pro hero too. So chances are, he might find you interesting enough to seek you out again. Be sure to call me if he does.”You nod. “You got it.”With that, you follow Officer Greene out of the shop and leave Detective Shiba to his crime scene. As you leave, you have a sneaking suspicion that this won’t be the last time you see him on your trip here.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Once Officer Greene drops you off at the hospital, you allow the doctor to run all her tests on you, though you’re grumpy the whole time. You don’t like hospitals. They make you nervous, which makes you irritable to compensate for feeling that loss of control. You know you’re acting like a dick, but you just want this to be over as soon as possible.But finally the doctor is done with her tests. Aside from the cut and bruising on your face from being hit by the chair, and the random bruises on your body from the fight, the doctor can’t find anything wrong with you. There’s nothing that would explain why you’re having trouble controlling your quirk. She couldn’t even find traces of the robber’s gas quirk in your system. She suspects that the quirk’s effect will work itself out of your system with time, but you aren’t optimistic about the chances of that.In the meantime, she suggests not to use your quirk, which…yeah, obviously you weren’t going to. You don’t have a desire to get hit in the face by another chair or end up floating on the ceiling again. So here you are, standing on the sidewalk outside the hospital, with just as many questions as you had before you walked inside.“Great. Just great.” You sigh.You consider calling Ben and Sylvia to tell them what happened, but Ben said he would call you later. And since he hasn’t yet, you’re fairly certain that they’re still occupied with their work emergency. So you dismiss that option. Then you consider calling Gem to tell her. But she’s already not feeling well and the last thing you want to do is add one more thing to her plate for her to worry about. So that option is out too. Which leaves you with one person to call. So you do.“Well, it’s about time you called, Charlotte. You sure know how to keep an old lady waiting.”You smile at the feigned irritation in her voice. You know she’s not really irritated. She just likes to give you shit. With an amused tone, you reply, “Hello to you too, Gram.”“Did you get in safe last night?”“Yeah, my flight was good. I had dinner with Ben and Sylvia and slept at their apartment last night.”“Glad to hear it. Have you had breakfast yet?”You chuckle. “Why? Are you trying to feed me, Gram?”She huffs at that. “You know I’m always trying to feed you, girl. Actual food, mind you. Not the garbage you eat.”“I wouldn’t call it garbage.” You tease her.She replies without hesitation, “I would. Now get your ass over to my house so I can get some good food in you.”You laugh. “Okay, Gram. I’ll be there soon.”Since Gram’s house is a long walk from here and you aren’t about to try to use your quirk to fly right now, you hail a taxi. In about 15 minutes, the driver’s dropping you off on the sidewalk in front of Gram’s house. It hasn’t changed since you were here last. The small bungalow looks just like it did when you were growing up here, with its fading yellow paint and white shutters and the pretty flowers growing in the flower beds out front.You barely get up the front porch steps before Gram is hustling out the front door towards you. She might be a woman in her 60s, but she’s still physically active and in great shape, which you’re thankful for. She immediately reaches out, pulling you into her arms with a strength in her grip.Her voice is warm and fond as she says, “Charlotte, honey. It’s so good to see you.”You smile, a feeling of happiness filling you as you hug your grandmother. “It’s good to see you too, Gram.”When the hug is over and she pulls back, you take a good look at her. She’s finally stopped dyeing her hair, so it’s gone completely gray now and she has it tied back in a braid. There’s more wrinkles on her face than there used to be, but she’s still just as beautiful to you. And her blue eyes are just as bright and clear as always.“You look good, Gram.” You tell her with a smile.“I’d say the same about you kiddo, but what the hell happened to your face here?” Gram asks, just gesturing the bruising on your face and the cut that has a butterfly bandage over it.“Ahh yeah, that.”She gives you a look. “Charlotte Elena Stone, did you get into a fight?”“Yep.”She just sighs and says, “Alright, come in and tell me about it while I’m making breakfast.”You follow her into the house, taking the familiar path to the kitchen. You can smell that she’s already got biscuits in the oven and it’s making your mouth water. Once you’re sitting at the kitchen table, she starts cooking sausage for the gravy and you tell her all about what happened at the bakery. Once you’ve told her everything, she says,“And the Doctor was absolutely sure there’s nothing wrong with you? She really didn’t find anything? You’re positive?”You nod. “Yeah. Aside from my face looking all fucked…uhh…messed up, I’m fine.”She huffs at that. “Fine, except you can’t control your damn quirk. Honestly, what are they teaching doctors these days?”You reply in a grumpy tone, “How to be annoying. I seriously hate going to the doctor.”“Just like your Mother. She never wanted to go to the doctor either.”The mention of your Mother makes the mood in the room change. You get quiet, staring down at the worn wood of the old kitchen table. Gram sighs before making two plates of biscuits and gravy and bringing them to the table.“Eat, Charlotte.” She says, sitting in the chair beside you.You stare at the plate of biscuits and sausage gravy, but all you’re thinking is, “It’s been almost 10 years, Gram.”“I know.”“It feels like it just happened yesterday.” You say in a quiet voice.She sighs. “I know the feeling. I miss her every single day.”“Me too.” You admit. “I try not to think about her too much. It’s too hard. Is that…is that bad of me?”She reaches to hold your hand and says, “No honey. That’s just your way of dealing with it. And that’s okay. I honestly do the same thing. Because remembering hurts.”You nod, understanding that all too well. “Yeah. I know what you mean.” Then you hesitate, wanting to ask another question but afraid of how she’ll react. “Gram, have you…have you talked to him?”“To your Father?”You nod.“Not since that last conversation a few years ago. The one that upset me so much. Even just thinking about hearing the sound of his voice makes me want to scream.” She pauses before she asks, “Has he tried to contact you, Charlotte?”You shake your head. “No. And I haven’t tried to contact him. I haven’t talked to him since I was a kid. I still don’t want to.”She squeezes your hand. “That’s okay, honey. You don’t have to.” Then she says, “You know what I think you should do though?”“What’s that?”“I think you should visit that cat cafe from the fliers. If it’s so important for the robber to get it closed, I think you should figure out why.”“Detective Shiba said he already checked the place out.” You remind her.“Yes, but you’re a detective too, aren’t you? So don’t you think it’s worth a second look?”You give her a wry smile. “You think he missed something.”“I’m certain he did. Just like I’m certain that you’re gonna find it.” Gram replies confidently, before taking a bite of her biscuit.You chuckle. “Sure it’s not just because you’re biased towards your granddaughter?”She gives you a smile. “Nope, just confident in your skills as a detective.”“Thanks Gram.” You say, returning her smile, a feeling of fondness for her rushing over you. “I guess I’ll check it out after breakfast. Just for you.”“Thank god, I could use some entertainment around here. Watching the neighbors argue about how to decorate their backyard just isn’t doing it for me lately.” She jokes.The two of you finish your breakfast together and Gram catches you up on all the juicy, neighborhood gossip. You’re happy to spend time with her, but in the back of your mind you’re still thinking about your quirk. Normally when you have control of it, it feels like a natural part of you, just like an arm or leg. But right now, it feels like there’s something writhing beneath your skin, itching to get out. And you’re afraid that when it does, you won’t be able to stop it.After you say goodbye to Gram, you make your way to the Summerville Cat Cafe. It’s not far from Gram’s house, so you decide to walk there. When you walk inside, the alluring smell of coffee greets you. As does a small woman with dark, curly hair standing behind the counter.“Hello! Welcome to the Summerville Cat Cafe!”“Hello.” You reply, walking over to talk to her. “Can I ask, is the owner here today?”“You’re looking at her!” She replies with a cheerful smile. “My name’s Sarah Abbott! What can I do for you?”You reply, “Hi, my name’s Shadow. I’m a pro hero and I’m also a detective. This is gonna sound strange, but I wanted to talk with you about someone who’s trying to get this place closed down.”The woman’s expression instantly sours. “Oh no, it’s not that robber again, is it?”You nod, “Yeah, unfortunately it is. He robbed another place again this morning and left fliers behind about closing your cafe.”She groans. “God, when is he gonna stop? I swear, that other detective said he was gonna get to the bottom of this, but clearly that menace is still after my business!”“Do you know why he wants this place closed down?” You ask her curiously.She shakes her head. “Not at all! I don’t know what I did to piss this guy off. I mean, we house cats from the local humane society here so they have a chance to meet people. We want to give them a better chance at getting adopted. I don’t know what about that is so offensive to this guy!”She huffs and adds, “He must be a dog person.”You fight the urge to roll your eyes and ask, “Have you had any disgruntled employees recently? Anyone who you’ve had a problem with?”She shakes her head. “No, nothing like that. My employees are good, decent people and I’ve never had a problem with any of them.”“So nobody’s gotten reprimanded or fired recently?”“Definitely not. My staff are wonderful.”“What about visitors here? Anyone stand out to you that might have had complaints or caused problems?”Once again, she shakes her head, “No sorry. Nothing I can think of.”You start to ask her another question when you hear a small, inquisitive, “Meow.”When you look down, there is a black cat looking up at you with bright, green eyes. You give it a small smile and say, “Hello kitty.” In response, the cat rubs its small body against your legs.The cafe owner looks at you with surprise and says, “Oh wow. I can’t believe this. She never gets this close to people.”You squat down to get at eye level with the cat and hold out your hand for her to inspect it. She sniffs it and seems to find you inoffensive, because she rubs her face on your hand. You carefully pet her head, but she is still calm and unbothered by you.“What’s her name?” You ask the owner.“Licorice.”You don’t say it out loud, but you think that’s a stupid ass name for a cat. So you decide not to call her that. You gently run your hand over the cat’s back and say, “Nice to meet you, kitty.” In response, the cat continues to rub her face over your hand, demanding attention.The owner says in an incredulous voice. “This is wild. She’s usually so skittish around people. We actually let her hang out in here so she gets extra social time. Wow. I can’t believe she’s just letting you pet her like that.”“Guess I’m a cat whisperer.” You comment, still petting the cat.“I guess so!”As you pet the cat, you ask her, “Has the robber been here at all?”“No, but I keep coming into work and finding those stupid fliers taped to the front door. I’m getting a security camera installed soon so I can catch whoever’s doing it. Since the detective said the guy always wears a mask, they don’t have a good description of him. But I swear, I’m gonna get a picture of his stupid face and then he’s gonna regret ever messing with my business!”You reply, still petting the now purring cat, “Good for you. Stick it to him.”“You bet I will!”You give the cat another scratch behind the ears before you stand back up. “Well, I think that’s all the questions I had for you, so I should probably get going.”“Oh sure! But feel free to come back if you have any more questions. Or if you want to see Licorice.” She says with a grin. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. In fact, I think she likes you!”You look down at the cat who’s staring up at you and give her a smile. “I wouldn’t mind coming back to see her.”“Wonderful!” The woman exclaims. “Then I hope we’ll see you again soon!”“Yep. See you.”Then you look back down at the black cat and say warmly, “See you soon, kitty.”With your goodbye said, you leave out the front door of the cafe. Once again, you have more questions than answers. You can’t help but wonder why the robber is targeting the cat cafe. From the looks of it, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the place or the people working there. So what is it about the cafe that has the robber so intent on getting it closed?As you walk down the sidewalk, pondering this question, you pass an alleyway between two buildings. You’re so lost in thought that someone is able to get the drop on you. Before you have a chance to react, it’s too late and they’ve already yanked you into the alley.You immediately ball up your fist, ready to lash out and fight, but right when you move to throw a punch, the person says,“Shadow, calm down. I’m not trying to hurt you.”“Liam, what the fuck?” You snap at him, jerking your arm free from his grasp. Seeing him makes all the feelings from last night come bubbling up again. And you immediately resort to being an asshole because of it. “The hell do you think you’re doing, dragging me into a fucking alleyway?”He looks down at you, an unreadable expression on his face as he asks, “Why the hell were you at the hospital?”You stare him down and ask, “How do you know about that?”“I just do. Now why were you there?”You huff in response. “It doesn’t matter. I’m fine.”“Fine huh?” He points at the left side of your face. “You look like you got the shit beat out of you, Shadow.”“So what?” You reply defiantly.He switches gears and asks in a low, dark voice, “Who did this to you?”“Nobody did this to me.” You reply. “It was just an accident.”“Bullshit. Somebody hurt you.”You growl at him, “Oh, so you think I’m lying now? Is that it?”“If it was just an accident, then you would have no problem telling me what happened. But you’re trying to hide it, so clearly it wasn’t JUST an accident.”“Just drop it, alright?” You snap, your irritation with him growing quickly. You can feel your quirk squirming beneath your skin, desperate to get out, and you push it down as best you can.He switches gears again and asks, “Did you tell Gem and Scar?”“Tell them what exactly? That I accidentally got hurt? There’s nothing to tell.”He replies in a neutral voice, “Look, if you don’t want to talk to me, then it’s fine. I don’t care. But at the very least, tell them what’s wrong. They’re your girlfriends after all.”
‘Of course he doesn’t care. Why would he? I’m just someone he has sex with.’
“I’m done talking about this.” You say, glaring at him.“Shadow, seriously? I’m just trying to help you. Why can’t you ever just let me?” He asks, frustration all over his handsome face.You don’t know why. But that’s the final straw for you. Your anger reaches a boiling point and you can no longer contain it…or your quirk. You hear the trash cans in the alley rattling, the sound of glass cracking in a windowpane to your left, and you know Liam hears it too. His eyes quickly dart to the source of the sound before looking back at you. You see a flicker of worry on his face. You don’t like that you’re the cause of it, but your emotions are tied to your quirk and your quirk has taken control. You can’t stop it.You scream at him, “I don’t need your fucking help!”Suddenly, the alley explodes.The trash inside the trash cans goes shooting into the air, the trash cans go flying, and the windows shatter, blasting glass at both of you. Liam lunges towards you, knocking you to the ground and covering you with his body as the alley is torn apart. You feel like your quirk is crawling out of your skin as it takes over, wrecking everything around you. Liam has your face pressed tight against his chest as he cups the back of your head with his hand.
‘I’ve got to stop this. I’ve got to. Stop stop, please stop.’
You hear screaming and realize that it’s you. And you’re screaming, “Stop!”All at once, everything that was swirling in the air above you comes crashing to the ground. And it’s finally quiet. You’re breathing heavily, your heart pounding hard in your chest.Liam pants, his voice shaky as he asks, “Shadow…holy shit…are you okay?”You pull your face out of his chest and look up at him. You see blood. There’s a long cut across his cheek, allowing blood to run down his face. But he’s looking at you with concern, like you’re the one who’s hurt.
‘Oh god. I hurt him. Oh god, what did I do?’
“Shadow?” He asks, looking worried that you aren’t speaking.You stare up at him, unable to hide your horror at what you did to him. He reaches out to touch your face, pushing your hair out of the way so he can see you clearly. He sounds scared now as he asks, “Shadow, talk to me. Are you hurt?”You’re panicking. You don’t know how to handle what just happened. Or what you did. So you say the only thing that comes to mind.“Get off of me!” You yell, feeling like you’re about to hyperventilate.Liam immediately pulls his body off of you, crouching on the concrete beside you with that same scared expression on his face. You scramble to your feet, panting for air. Your mind feels so fractured.“I’m sorry.” You say, before you even realize you made the decision to. Shame and fear flood you. Liam opens his mouth, clearly about to say something. But you don’t wait to hear it. You run.“Shadow! Wait!”You don’t stop. You know he’s chasing you; you can hear the loud sound of his feet echoing behind you as he runs. You will yourself to go faster. You can’t be around him right now, not with your quirk like this. You hurt him once. You might do it again. You can’t risk it.“Shadow, stop running! Please!” He calls after you, his voice desperate.You don’t listen. You spot a farmer’s market filled with a sea of people and duck into it, weaving your way through the crowd in the hopes of losing him. You dart behind a large tent, then hustle into another alleyway that leads away from the farmer’s market. You keep running, you don’t look back.A few minutes later and you know for certain that you’ve lost him. You allow yourself a few moments to stop and breathe. You lean against the brick wall of a building, panting for air. And that’s when the tears come.“Fuck.” You cry, pressing your hand to your forehead. “What the fuck is happening to me?”Your phone starts to ring in your pocket. When you pull it out, you see Gem’s name on the caller ID. Liam must have gotten in touch with her, after he lost you in the crowd. No doubt he knows that you wouldn’t answer if he tried to call you. You stare at Gem’s name, uncertain of what to do. But finally, you decide that you can’t handle explaining to Gem what just happened. Not right now. So you decline the call.Not a minute later, Indiana’s calling you. And now you know for certain that Liam got in touch with both of them. You decline her call too and shove your phone back into your pocket. Tears stream down your face. You rub at your eyes with the back of your hand. You really don’t know what to do right now.You mutter sarcastically, “Oh don’t worry, Shadow. I’m sure this guy’s quirk will work itself out of your system soon.” You huff, more tears running down your face. “Fucking bullshit.”Your phone rings again. Frustrated, you pull it out to turn it on silent, but pause when you see Ben’s name. You know if he’s calling that their work emergency must be handled. So you wipe your eyes and take a deep breath. Then you answer the call, trying to sound like you haven’t been crying.“Hey Ben.”“Hey Charlie.” The tone in his voice is off and you immediately know something is wrong.“Ben, did something happen?”He chuckles, though the sound isn’t happy. “Can’t hide anything from you, can I?” Then he sighs. “Dayana wants to meet with you.”“Why?”“It’s related to our work emergency this morning.”“What happened? Can you tell me?”“This hasn’t hit the news yet, but I imagine it will soon.” He sighs again before he says, “There was an attack, Charlie. A group of villains went after the Summerville Zoo.”“Holy shit, seriously?”“Yeah. Nobody was killed, thankfully. Our agency was able to evacuate civilians while another agency engaged the villains. But it was rough.”“Ben, I don’t understand. I mean, it’s terrible that that happened, but why does Dayana want to meet with me about it?”Ben says in a hesitant voice, “Are you sure you want me to tell you over the phone?”“Yes. Just tell me.”“The villains called themselves Rebirth.”Your blood runs cold in your veins.Suddenly, your mind flashes back to 10 years ago. You were 11 years old. You and Gram were sitting in her living room, waiting for your parents to come pick you up. They were supposed to be out on a date that night. You still remember the way Gram’s house lit up with red and blue lights as the police pulled up outside.You remember Gram opening the front door. You remember the shock in her voice when she responded to the officers standing on her front porch.
“No. There must be some mistake.”
“I’m afraid there isn’t a mistake, ma’am.”
“No! My daughter would never do something like that! You’ve made a mistake!”
“Gram? What’s wrong?”
She looked over at you, watching her from the entrance to the living room. That was the first time you ever saw Gram scared. And it was the first time you heard the word ‘Rebirth’.
“Ma’am, please. We came to bring you to the hospital. Your daughter is in critical condition right now and you need to be there.”
“What about my son-in-law? Where is he?”
“He’s been arrested. He’s currently down at the station, being questioned about what happened tonight. He claims to be part of a villain organization called Rebirth…”
Your mind comes back to the present. You ask, “Ben, are you sure?”“I’m positive, Charlie. They called themselves Rebirth. And there’s more…but Dayana wants to talk about it with you in person.”“Shit.” You take a deep breath and ask, “Where should I meet you guys?”“Where are you right now?”“The West Side.” You glance around to determine exactly where you are. “Right across the street from Sunset Park.”You hear Ben relay the information to whoever is in the room with him. Then he says, “Okay. Vee’s gonna come get you. It’ll be faster that way. Just wait for her at the park.”“You got it. See you soon, Ben.”When you end the call, you stare into space for a moment. Rebirth. You never thought you’d hear that name again. You never wanted to hear it again. To you, it means nothing but death, suffering, and the destruction of your family. But against your wishes, the past has come back to haunt you once again.You aren’t waiting long at the entrance to the park when a portal of pink energy appears. Sylvia steps out, a grim look on her face. Her expression only darkens when she looks at the busted side of your face.“Charlie, what happened to your face?” She asks, looking concerned.You crack a joke, trying to distract her. “It’s nothing, Vee. You should see the other guy.”She raises an eyebrow at you. “I take it that you’re not going to tell me what happened.”“Kinda busy right now, aren’t we?” You remind her.She sighs. “I suppose we are. We’ll leave it for later then.” Then she looks at you and asks, “Are you ready to go?”“No.” You let out a heavy exhale. “But let’s get this shit over with.”She nods, holding out her hand to you. You grasp it firmly, perhaps harder than you should, but she doesn’t say anything about it. Instead, she says, “Remember not to let go, alright?”You shoot her a small, wry smile, repeating what Ben said earlier, “I never do.”Sylvia’s mouth quirks into a ghost of a smile at your comment. Then she leads you towards her still open portal, glowing with pink energy. You brace yourself as the two of you step through it. You will never get used to the feeling of traveling through her portals. It’s like walking through a waterfall but not getting wet. You can still breathe just fine, but your brain instinctively thinks you’re being smothered by something.So you’re beyond relieved when you step out of the portal and into what you recognize to be Sylvia, Ben, and Dayana’s agency. Once the two of you are out of the portal, Sylvia closes it behind you. Then she says, “Come on. Everyone’s waiting for us in the conference room.”“Who’s everyone?” You ask her, following her out of the empty room and into a large hallway.“Ben, Dayana, the other agency we worked with this morning, Helena Moss, the Summerville Police Commissioner, and Shannon Brooks, the warden of the maximum security prison ADX Apollo.”The name ADX Apollo stops you in your tracks. You grab Sylvia’s arm, forcing her to stop and look at you. You can’t hide the fear you’re feeling when you ask,“Why am I here?”“Charlie…”You insist. “Tell me why I’m here, Vee. Don’t make me walk in that room without knowing why.”Sylvia looks conflicted, but finally says, “Commissioner Moss wants you to speak with your Father.”You snarl, “Absolutely fucking not.”Sylvia says quickly, “Charlie, please just listen to what they have to say before you decide.”“Like hell I will! I’m not getting anywhere near that piece of shit! And nothing ANY of those people say will convince me to!” You yell at her.You’re apparently loud enough that people can hear you because a door at the end of the hallway opens, and Ben and Dayana step out into the hallway. Dayana looks just like you remember. Her red hair is still cropped into a pixie cut and she still looks like she’s not getting enough sleep. She shuts the door behind her, hurrying over to you and Sylvia with a frown on her face and Ben at her side.“I asked you not to tell her.” She says in a pointed tone to Sylvia.“I’m sorry, Daya. But I felt it was the right thing to do.” Sylvia replies evenly.You snap, “Real nice, Dayana. You were just gonna spring that on me? What, did you think that catching me off guard like that was gonna make me agree to do it? That why you didn’t want to mention that the fucking Police Commissioner is here?”“I hoped that having her here would help you see how serious this situation is.”You scoff at that. “Oh please. Don’t give me that bullshit. You were trying to do a power play with me and you fucking know it.”Dayana says in a hushed voice, “Let’s step into this room and speak. Please.”She walks into an empty room nearby. You look between Ben and Sylvia, trying to gauge what they might be thinking. Ben looks anxious and Sylvia has a neutral expression on her face, clearly trying to hide what she’s thinking from you.“I’m sorry, Charlie.” Ben says quietly, sounding just as anxious as he looks. “I wanted to tell you over the phone, but Dayana insisted that we needed to talk about it in person.”You roll your eyes. “Of course she did.” Then you raise your voice loud enough that Dayana can hear it when you say, “Because Dayana is just as much of a manipulative schemer now as she was when we were in school.”From inside the room, Dayana replies, sounding slightly irritated, “Charlotte, would you please get in here already and stop yelling in the hallway?”You stride into the room with a glare on your face. You stand near the wall, arms crossed over your chest, glaring at her. Ben stands nearby while Sylvia shuts the door. Once it’s closed, you say,“Go on, Dayana. Try to explain yourself. I’d love to hear it.”“Well, you’re just as angry now as you used to be.” She replies calmly.You yell at her, utterly infuriated, “I’m angry because you tried to trick me, you fucking asshole!”“Would you have come here if you knew what we needed you for?” She asks in that same calm voice, like your anger doesn’t bother her in the slightest. Which just pisses you off more. You can feel your quirk starting to bubble up beneath your skin. You know you need to push it down, but right now your anger is running the show, so it’s all you can think about.“Oh okay, so that somehow justifies you being a deceptive, little sneak? Because it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you get what you want, right?” You growl at her, before throwing in something you know will piss her off. “I swear, you’re just like your goddamn parents, Dayana.”Her calm expression flickers and you know that your comment got to her. Because then she follows up with a comment of her own, her voice neutral but scathing when she asks, “Do you really want to talk about being like your parents, Charlotte? Because quite frankly, I’d rather be like my parents than yours any day.”“Daya!” Sylvia exclaims, looking horrified. “What is wrong with you?”“Seriously! You can’t say shit like that!” Ben echoes, looking equally horrified.“Why not?” Dayana replies, looking right at you. “She did.”You snarl at her. “Fuck you. I’m out of here.”You move for the door, but Dayana grabs your shoulder and says, “Charlotte, you can’t leave. We need to talk.”“Get off of me!”Suddenly, the table in the middle of the room goes flying into the wall with a loud crash. Dayana, Sylvia, and Ben all jump, startled by what just happened. You groan, pressing a hand to your forehead.‘Not again. Why is this happening? Why can’t I keep control of my quirk?’“Holy shit, Charlie. Did you do that?” Ben asks.“Obviously, Ben.” You snap at him before muttering, “Goddamn it.”“Did you mean to do that, Charlie?” Sylvia asks you, looking concerned.You reply, “No, of course not. I just…” Your voice gets quiet as you admit, “I don’t have control of my quirk right now.”“That’s not good.” Dayana comments.You glare at her. “You don’t say.”“What happened? Why don’t you have control of your quirk?” Sylvia asks.“I got attacked by a robber when I went to DK’s this morning.”Both Sylvia and Ben exclaim, “You what?!”Then Ben adds, “Is that why your face is all bruised?”“I’m fine, guys. I went to the hospital.” You say, trying to calm them down.“It was bad enough that you needed to go to the hospital?!” Ben exclaims, looking worried.“What exactly did this robber do to you?” Sylvia asks.You huff. “He had some sort of gas related quirk. He sprayed me in the face with it and my quirk started malfunctioning right after.”Dayana asks, “Do you know what the gas does?”You glare at her. “If I knew I would have mentioned it already. But I have no idea. The Doctor didn’t know either. She couldn’t find a trace of it in my system.”“So what are you supposed to do?” Sylvia asks.“Wait it out, I guess. She thinks the effect will work itself out of my system with time. But until then, I barely have any control over my dark energy.”“Your quirk is powered by emotion.” Dayana says, more to herself than anyone else.You roll your eyes at her. “Obviously, Dayana. You’ve only known this for how long now?”But Dayana continues to mutter to herself, in that weird way she used to in hero school, “Your quirk is powered by emotion and you were angry just now, which caused your quirk to activate against your will. Which means that the villain's gas is somehow affecting your emotions and causing them to go out of control, which is negatively affecting your quirk.”She finally stops muttering and looks up at the three of you. “That has to be it. That villain’s gas quirk must mess with people’s emotions. And because your quirk is directly tied to your emotions, you don’t have control of it right now.”When Dayana says that, you remember something the villain said at DK’s. “Listen, you’ll be fine. All you’ve gotta do is share your feelings. Super simple.”You ignore the fact that you’re pissed at Dayana right now and say, “Now that you mention it, when I asked the villain what he did to me, he said something. He told me that I would be fine, that all I have to do is share my feelings.”“So…that’s the key to getting rid of the effects of his quirk.” Dayana muses. “That is a very interesting quirk, I must say.”Ben interjects, “But hold on, when he said you need to share your feelings, what does that mean? I mean, you’ve been super open with your anger since you got here, but nothing’s changed.”“Maybe it’s not her anger that she needs to share? Maybe it’s something else?” Sylvia suggests.You huff at that. “If that’s true, I have no fucking idea what it could be. He didn’t exactly give me the rundown of how his quirk works.”Dayana says, “Regardless, until you do figure it out, your…volatile emotions can cause serious problems. So you need to find a way to keep them in check.”You turn and give her an unimpressed look as you snarkily reply, “My emotions aren’t volatile, Dayana. You just have the emotional range of a fucking Vulcan.”Dayana sighs before she says, “Look, we’re getting off track here. The Commissioner asked me to bring you here because we need your help.”“I’m NOT talking to my Father, Dayana. You can fucking forget it.”Dayana replies, sounding irritated, “Would you just hear me out? Please?”“Oh sure. Go ahead and waste your time. I won’t stop you.”Dayana sighs heavily, rubbing her fingers over her forehead before she says, “So Ben told you about the attack on the zoo this morning. And about how the villains who committed the attack called themselves Rebirth.”“Yeah? What about it?”“That’s one reason we called you here, but it’s not the only one.” Dayana tells you, her voice grim. “When the villains were captured, they claimed that the attacks will continue until Ethan Kane is released from prison.”Your shock comes out in your voice when you ask, glancing between Ben and Sylvia, “Is that true?”Ben nods. His voice is quiet and uneasy when he replies, “Yeah. I heard them say it myself, Charlie.”“They were insistent that your Father’s freedom was the reason they carried out the attack.” Sylvia confirms.“Holy shit.” Your knees feel weak all of a sudden.Ben must know because he reaches out to hold your arm and asks, “Are you alright?”“Need to sit down.” You reply, feeling light headed.Ben helps guide you to a nearby chair and you sit down, trying to process what you’ve just been told. Once you’re able to gather your thoughts a little, you ask, “Why does the Commissioner want me to do this? Why can’t she talk to him?”Dayana replies, “She already tried, Charlotte. But your Father insisted that he won’t talk to anyone except you.”In a quiet voice, you say, “Fuck.”“If there was anyone else they could send, they would.” Sylvia says, her voice grim. “But unfortunately, you are the only person he wants. And Commissioner Moss desperately needs any information she can get right now, Charlie.”“Why me?” You ask. “Did she say why?”Dayana answers you, “Your Father is pretty tight-lipped about his reasons. But from what the Commissioner told us, I suspect it’s just a ploy to get you to talk to him. Since you haven’t been in contact with him since you were a child. He’s just using this situation to his advantage.”“Does he even know anything about what’s going on? I mean, he’s been locked in a maximum security facility for the past 10 years. It’s not possible that he knows anything, let alone any relevant information that might help.”Ben speaks, his voice uneasy, “That’s the thing, Charlie. He knew about what happened this morning. When the warden spoke with him, he asked if Rebirth managed to kill anyone at the zoo.”A shiver of fear crawls up your back. You ask, your voice reflecting the fear you feel, “How? How could he possibly have known about that?”“That’s one of the questions they need you to ask, Charlotte.” Dayana replies in a serious tone.She hesitates before she adds, “Look…I’m sorry about trying to trick you. But I did it because I’m genuinely worried about what’s going to happen. The villains we caught this morning won’t talk. So your Father is the only real lead we have, which means we need his cooperation. And he’ll only give it if you talk to him.”“Charlie, try to be calm. Your quirk is activating again.” Sylvia informs you.You look up and realize that the chairs in the room are all glowing with the dark energy of your quirk. You try to focus on actively not thinking about your quirk, but it’s not working. Ben reaches out, taking your shaking hands into his. His hands are rough but warm and you cling to them. He speaks to you, his voice soft and gentle,“It’s okay. Take deep breaths. You’re okay.”You take deep breaths, but it feels more like gasps. It’s hard to calm down, but holding Ben’s hands helps ground you, allowing you to focus your attention into pushing your quirk back. And it works, because the dark energy glowing on the chairs disappears.Even though you have control again, you’re still terrified at the prospect of seeing your Father, of talking to him. You never wanted to be near him ever again. You never thought there would be a reason to. But now…you know you don’t have a choice. You have to see him. Because the lives of innocent people depend on it. And you know you would never forgive yourself if innocent people died, all because you were too afraid to talk to your Father.
‘I can’t let that happen. Even though I’m scared, I have to do something to help.’
“Charlotte?” Dayana says, looking uncertain.“I’ll do it.” You reply, your voice still shaking as you look up at her. “But you need to find somebody who can help keep my emotions under control while I’m there. Because the way I am right now, there’s no way I’ll be able to do that on my own.”Dayana replies, “We can do that. Don’t worry. Let me go speak with the Commissioner and we’ll get things sorted.” She walks towards the door and opens, about to leave the room, but pauses to say, “Once you’ve calmed down, would you please join the rest of us in the conference room?”You nod in response. That seems to be good enough for her because she finally exits the room.When Dayana shuts the door behind her, Sylvia crouches down beside you, looking up at you with worry. “Charlie, do you really want to do this?”“Want to? No. I don’t want to. But if today was just the first of these attacks, then any information I can get from him might help to save people. So I have to do this.”Sylvia and Ben look over at each other and you can see the unspoken communication between them. When they look back at you, Ben squeezes your hand and says, “If you’re sure, Charlie.”You laugh, though there’s no humor in it. “I’m not fucking sure about anything right now.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The maximum security prison ADX Apollo is about a 30 minute drive from Summerville. The prison can only be reached by usual means of transportation, because there is a force field in place that blocks people from using their quirks to get inside. So Sylvia is unable to teleport you and you are unable to fly, though with your quirk malfunctioning, that’s a moot point anyway. Since quirk use is impossible, you are currently being transported in the warden’s car to ADX Apollo.The prison warden, Shannon Brooks, is driving, while you sit in the back seat behind her. Sitting in the passenger seat is your former school counselor Ms. Elliott, also known as the pro hero Serenity. Dayana contacted her specifically for her emotional aura quirk, which she’ll be using to keep your emotions under control at the prison. Sitting beside you is Ben, chosen as the representative for both agencies that handled the villain attack this morning. He is also there at your insistence, because you refused to go to the prison without either him or Sylvia.“How are you feeling, Shadow?” Serenity asks you, her voice soft and gentle as always.You reply gruffly, “You already know, don’t you?”She nods. “Yes, but it’s important that you verbally communicate your feelings with me as well.”“I’m uneasy. Which is why I want to know exactly how everything is going to play out. What I need to expect.”Warden Brooks replies in a calm, professional voice, “When we arrive, we will all go through security to confirm that we don’t have any prohibited items on us. Then myself and a guard will escort the three of you through several layers of security to the room where Shadow will speak with the prisoner.”“And I won’t be face to face with him, correct?” You ask, wanting to make certain of this fact.Warden Brooks nods. “That is correct. He will not be permitted to leave his cell and per our standard for all prisoners, he wears a collar that blocks his use of his quirk. You will communicate with him via the PA system that is only accessible from your side. If you no longer wish to hear him speak, you do not have to.”You breathe a sigh of relief. “Good.”“Serenity and Smoke are both allowed to be in the room with you, but if you ever feel unsafe, then you can end the conversation immediately. We will buzz you out of there, no questions asked.”“That’s good to know. Thank you.” You reply, feeling a bit better.Warden Brooks continues, “Additionally, please know that you do not have to answer any questions that the prisoner might ask you. And I would ask that you don’t. Do not give him any information about the outside world. You can offer personal information about yourself if you choose to, but nothing about your work as a pro hero or anything related to current hero affairs. And especially nothing about this case.”“Don’t worry about that. I’m not telling him shit. I want him as in the dark as possible.”“As do I.” Warden Brooks agrees. “But you should know that he is quite…sly. He will try to get information out of you, even if you refuse. Which is why I’ve instructed my staff not to speak with him, other than for basic instructions. So he will try to take full advantage of the fact that he’s allowed to speak with you.”“Great.” You groan.“Don’t worry, Charlie. Ms. Elliott and I will be there with you the whole time.” Ben reassures you.Warden Brooks adds, “One more thing. Please refer to each other using only your pro hero names while you are in the facility and do not express any sort of familiarity with each other. While you are in ADX Apollo, you are here on official business and the prisoner doesn’t need to know your relationships with each other.”Ben immediately replies, “Yes ma’am. Sorry.”Serenity smiles at him. “Not to worry, Smoke. You didn’t know. And now you do.”He gives her a grateful smile in return. “Thank you, Serenity.”Warden Brooks asks, “Do any of you have any other questions for me before we arrive?”“What should Shadow expect of the prisoner’s personality and how he might act?” Serenity asks.“He is calm, polite, and well behaved. A model prisoner. But as I said before, he is sly. He makes people feel comfortable around him, puts them at ease. And then he’s getting information out of them before they even realize it. So be careful and don’t let him do the same to you.”“Is that how he got the information about the attack this morning?” You ask her.Warden Brooks shakes her head. “No. We have cameras on him at all times and he had absolutely no one visit him this morning. When a guard came to bring his breakfast, that was when he asked about the attack. There was no way anyone could have given him that information ahead of time.”Ben shivers. “God, that’s creepy.”“Indeed.” Warden Brooks agrees. “So I would appreciate it if you could get him to tell you how he knew. Clearly there is some sort of security flaw in my facility, so I need to know what it is as soon as possible.”You nod in response. “I’ll add that to my list, Warden.”“Thank you.” She pauses before she says, “We’ve arrived.”ADX Apollo is an underground facility, designed specifically to make it more secure and less accessible than an above ground facility. You understand this, but still, driving underground makes you feel even more trapped than you already did. The Warden parks her car in the parking lot at the entrance to the facility and the four of you get out. A guard is already there to escort you inside.Just like the Warden said, all four of you have to go through security when you enter. A metal detector and pat down, just to confirm that you don’t have anything on you. Which you don’t, since anything related to protection or communication was left behind at the agency office.Once this is done, Warden Brooks and a guard escort the three of you through the facility. The atmosphere in this place is oppressive. There are guards everywhere you turn, all wearing body armor and standing at attention. As you walk, it is eerily silent and you want to speak, just to break the silence, but it feels like it would be inappropriate to do so.So you stay quiet, walking behind the Warden and the guard, with Ben and Serenity on either side of you. Ben briefly reaches out to squeeze your hand, before returning his hand to his side. You’re grateful that he and Serenity are here with you. That you aren’t alone with strangers in this place as you’re facing this terrifying task ahead of you. You’re certain you couldn’t stomach it otherwise.You descend deeper and deeper into the facility, through several floors that require the guard’s key card to enter. You stop at a final floor that requires the guard and the Warden’s key cards before you can go inside. Above the metal door is a sign that says ‘Unit 13’. From Warden Brooks’ explanation, you understand that this unit is ultra-secure and isolated because it houses inmates in need of the tightest level of control.‘Inmates like my Father.’ You can’t help but think.Unit 13 has four wings, which are accessible from a large control room in the center. The control room itself has 4 doors attached to 4 hallways, which connect to the 4 individual wings. Once you enter a hallway, the door is locked behind you and can only be opened again by someone inside the control room.Warden Brooks says, “The guard and I will remain in the control room while the three of you enter the first wing. Inmate Kane’s cell is the last one on the left. Once I can see on the camera that you’re standing in front of the cell, I will open the steel barrier covering his cell window. He will still be confined, but you will be able to see him.”You nod, processing this information as you try to stomp out the scared feeling in your gut.Warden Brooks continues, “As I said earlier, you can only communicate with him through the PA system, which I will turn on from here. I will also be able to hear everything anyone says and it will be recorded by the video cameras, so keep that in mind. Shadow, if you no longer wish to communicate with him, please say so out loud and I will turn off the PA system. Once your conversation is finished, return to this door and we will buzz you back through.Then she says with a serious tone, “Serenity and Smoke, you are not here to speak with the prisoner. So do not engage with him, even if he says something offensive or upsetting to you. Only Shadow is to speak with him. You are here to support her and to observe. Period.”Serenity replies in a calm, even tone, “Of course, Warden.”Ben immediately replies, “Yes ma’am.”She glances between the three of you and asks, “Do you have any more questions before you enter the wing?”Serenity and Ben both look at you, but you shake your head. “No. We get in, we talk, we leave. That’s it.”Warden Brooks nods. “Correct. If you have no further questions, will the three of you please stand in front of that door? We’ll buzz you through in just a moment.”You, Ben, and Serenity stand in front of the door to the first wing. Your heart is pounding wildly in your chest and you feel slightly nauseous. You go over the questions in your head that you need to ask him. Anything to keep your mind from running directly to panic mode. Still, you flinch when the door buzzes in front of you.Warden Brooks says, “You may step through now.”The guard opens the door and you enter, with the two of them following close behind you. Once the three of you are in the hallway, the door closes behind you and locks with a tone of finality.‘No turning back now.’ You think, a feeling of dread steadily growing inside you.The hallway itself has white walls and white, ceramic tile flooring. There are no windows anywhere. There are two cells on both sides of the hallway, covered with steel barriers so you can’t see who may or may not be in there. The hallway itself is eerily silent, leaving only the sound of your footsteps to echo. Finally, you reach the last cell on the left. You stand in the middle of the hallway, with Ben and Serenity behind you.You feel a strange sense of peace suddenly come over you. And you know that Serenity is using her quirk on you right now, steadying your chaotic emotions. You shoot her a small, grateful smile over your shoulder, before turning your attention back to the cell. Suddenly, the steel barrier begins to rise, revealing a window that’s about half the size of a whiteboard. And standing right in front of it is…
‘Dad.’
His gray eyes lock on yours and he smiles. Your skin crawls.“Hello Charlotte. It’s nice to see you.” He says, his voice calm and pleasant. Like he’s having a regular conversation with you, instead of one taking place inside his prison cell. His white hair is longer than you remember and he has a beard now, but otherwise he hasn’t changed much. Aside from the blue prison uniform he wears, you could almost think he was normal. Almost.“Hello Ethan.” You reply stiffly.His smile widens. “Is that any way to greet your Father?”Even with Serenity’s help, you’re still scared. But not so scared that you’ll take that comment from him. In that stiff voice, you reply, “A Father is around to raise his child. Seeing as you weren’t, I’ll call you whatever I want.”He gestures to the cell and says, “It’s not as if I had much of a choice in that, Charlotte.”That just pisses you off. “Don’t you dare act like a victim. You’re not in this cell by accident. And you know it.”He switches gears, throwing you off when he asks, looking behind you at Ben and Serenity, “And who did you bring with you today?”“They don’t concern you. You asked for me. So talk.” You insist.“Can’t I be curious about your friends? I mean, I hardly know anything about you after all.”“That’s your own fault.” You reply curtly.He smiles. “Well, shouldn’t I fix that now then? Who knows when you’ll have a chance to see me again.”“If I have my way, it’ll be never. Now stop stalling. I have questions for you, Ethan.”He gives you a polite smile and says, “Of course. Go ahead and ask them then.”“The Warden said you asked about Rebirth this morning. About whether Rebirth managed to kill anyone at the zoo. And I want to know how you could have possibly known anything about that.”He looks amused. “I really gave the Warden quite a scare it seems.”“That tends to happen when an inmate in a maximum security prison has information that they shouldn’t have.” You reply, not hiding your irritation.“Why do you think I had that information, Charlotte?” He asks you. His voice sounds curious, but his face betrays his true intentions. He’s clearly toying with you.You reply, intently watching his expression, “My first thought is that an employee here gave it to you ahead of time. That they’re somehow feeding you info, for unknown reasons.”His expression doesn’t change. “An interesting thought. And certainly possible.”“But why would an prison employee give information to a domestic terrorist?” You ask him bluntly, keeping your expression as neutral as you can.He holds his hands out in front of him and replies, “I certainly couldn’t tell you. This is your theory, after all.”So you say, “I have another theory.”“Oh? Do tell.”“You had that information because you’re the one who planned the attack.”His mouth twitches, forming a slight smirk before his face returns to his previous expression. It does not pass your notice. He replies in that calm, polite voice, “Well, that couldn’t be possible. After all, I’ve been here for the past 10 years. How could I have planned anything?”“It would still require a prison employee’s help, but you could find a way.”“Perhaps. But why now? If I could do such a thing, why would I wait until now?”You consider that. What is so significant about now that your Father would feel compelled to escape after all this time? Before you can think too hard about this, he asks,“Do you ever visit your Mother’s grave, Charlotte?”You immediately look up at him, your heart beating faster. You snap, “I don’t want to talk about her.”He smiles pleasantly back at you and you get the uncomfortable feeling that he knows he’s getting under your skin. “Why? Don’t you want to think about your Mother?”“Do you?” You counter.“Of course. I think about her every day.” He smiles again. “I think about you both every day.”You reply, trying to calm yourself down, “I don’t believe you.”“Why would I lie, Charlotte?”Your anger flares up again when you reply, “Because if you really thought about us, then things would never have turned out like this. You wouldn’t be here and Mom would be…” You take a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down before you continue.“I see. So you blame me for that.”You look at him, completely incredulous at his words. “Obviously I do! Because everything that happened is your fault!”He watches you with a curious expression. “And what about your Mother? Do you blame her for anything?”“Why would I? You manipulated her. You put ideas in her head and made her think things that weren’t true.”He scoffs. “Did your Grandmother tell you that?”You don’t say anything. You just stare at him. A sudden wave of peace washes over you and you send a silent thank you to Serenity. Especially when you hear what your Father says next.“Charlotte, your Grandmother told you what she wants to believe. She wants to believe that I deceived your Mother. That I manipulated her. That her involvement in Rebirth was all because she was an innocent, trusting woman who put her faith in the wrong person. But that’s not true.”He looks intently at you when he says, “Your Mother and I formed Rebirth together because we both believed in the same thing. We believed that hero society is corrupt in every way and needs to be destroyed. And we were both willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. Neither of us was deceived or manipulated. We believed in what we did and we committed to it.”You shake your head. “You’re a goddamn liar. Mom would never…”“That’s your Grandmother speaking. Speak for yourself, Charlotte.” He insists. “You’re an adult now. And you need to form your own opinions, instead of regurgitating the lies your Grandmother fed you.”“If anyone is a liar here, it’s you, you bastard!” You snarl at him. You can hear both Ben and Serenity startle behind you. “My Mom would never have willingly chosen to murder innocent people!”“But she did.” He replies calmly. “And not just that. She’s the one that chose to attack the museum that night. She’s the one who insisted that we target families.”You yell, “Is it not enough that you got her killed? Do you seriously have to try to taint my memory of her too?”From behind you, you feel Serenity put her hand on your shoulder. Her touch is grounding and floods you with peace that fights to temper your growing rage.Your Father says, his expression and tone unchanging, “Charlotte, it’s important for you to hear the truth. You need to hear what your Mother believed in and what she died for.”“I don’t need to hear shit.” You reply, taking slow breaths as you try to force your anger back into its box, allowing Serenity’s quirk to work on you. But it’s hard. God, it’s so hard right now. So you decide to switch topics and go back to the attack on the zoo.“Are the attacks going to continue, Ethan?” You demand.He replies in a careful tone, “If you want my opinion on the matter, then I would say yes. The people who orchestrated the attack clearly have an end goal. And they won’t stop until they get what they want.”You growl, “You will never get out of here. You killed innocent people. Families. Children. They will never let you out.”You pause before you add, “One of the children you killed…she was a little girl my age. Did you even think about that? While I was waiting at Gram’s house for you guys to come back, you were killing a little girl just like me?”“It was necessary, Charlotte. We wanted to show the world that their faith in pro heroes is misplaced. That they are nothing more than corrupt symbols, who don’t really care about saving people. They only care for money and fame. We knew that the deaths of families, of children, would incite outrage and get lots of media coverage. And Rebirth’s message would reach an even wider audience as a result.”“No message is worth the death of innocent people.” You counter.His voice is eerily calm when he replies, “We disagreed. To us, it was like war. And in war, it is necessary for people to die so that one side can emerge the victor. And we intended to win.”“Is that why these people calling themselves Rebirth intend to continue these attacks? Because they believe they will win?”“Only they know for sure.” Then he asks, “So did they manage to kill anyone at the zoo? The Warden never told me an answer either way.”“Because you don’t need to know the answer.” You reply curtly.He smiles pleasantly at you. “We could always make a trade. You tell me what I want to know, then I’ll tell you something you want to know.”“I want to know where Rebirth is going to attack next. So tell me, would you answer that question, Ethan?”“Would you trust me to tell the truth even if I did?” He asks, with a knowing smile.You shake your head. “No. I have no reason to trust you.”“I can’t imagine why. I’ve never lied to you, Charlotte.”You stare him down. “You may not have lied to me, but what you did destroyed my life.”“Oh? You can tell me about it if you’d like. I’d be interested in hearing about what life has been like for you for the past 10 years. How you grew up, who you’ve become, anything really…”You hear Ben bristle with anger behind you. He’s been part of your life for the past 6 years, so he knows all too well how hard and painful it was for you to grow up in the shadow of your parents’ sins. You wish you could do something to reassure him, but you know you can’t right now. So you try to keep your attention on your Father.“I don’t want to talk about my personal life with you, Ethan. I came here to get answers. Now tell me why Rebirth is trying to get you out of prison. What’s their end goal?”He smiles. “You remind me so much of your Mother.”Your skin crawls when you hear that.“Granted, your hair is white like mine, but your eyes? They’re blue, just like hers were. And your Grandmother’s too. That Stone blood is really strong, I guess. At least, that’s what your Mom said. I always felt you look more like a Kane than a Stone, but I certainly wasn’t going to tell her that.” He says, looking amused.“I’m not a Kane anymore, Ethan.” You reply curtly.“Ahh, so you took your Mother’s maiden name then?”You stare him down when you respond. “Considering the last name Kane is associated with a domestic terrorist who murdered innocent people, I thought it was best to drop it.” You raise your chin, saying in a defiant tone, “Besides, Stone is Gram’s name too. And I’m proud to share that with her.”He smiles, though you notice it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “You may have changed your last name, but that doesn’t change your DNA, Charlotte. You’re still my blood. And your quirk is half mine as well. You can’t erase me from who you are. I’m always going to be part of you.”You reply in a dark, angry tone, speaking the words that have been your mantra for the past 10 years. “You might have contributed to making me, but you are not part of me. My quirk is mine, not yours. And I am nothing like you.”He switches gears once again, throwing you for a loop. “Was it hard for you to learn to control your quirk when you hit puberty? Your emotions must have been all over the place with those raging teenage hormones. I know mine certainly were when I was that age.”“I don’t want to talk about that, Ethan. I am here to talk with you about Rebirth. And that’s it.”His eyes flicker behind you, over your left shoulder where Serenity stands close by. In a calm voice, he replies, “I don’t know about that, Charlotte. I feel like we should talk about your quirk, considering that woman is here to help you control it.”Your blood runs cold in your veins. You hear Ben bristle with anger behind you once again and even Serenity takes a small, sharp inhale of air. You reply, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Ethan.”Not for the first time today, his smile makes your skin crawl. “Now now Charlotte, it’s not right to lie. Your Mother and I taught you that.” Then his eyes settle on Serenity again as he asks you, “So, is your inability to control your quirk something that’s been happening for a long time? Or is it a recent development?”You know he won’t believe you if you lie, so you decide to redirect his attention instead. “I don’t want to talk about me, Ethan. I came here to talk to you about Rebirth. This isn’t a family reunion. This is an interrogation.”He says in a pleasant voice, changing the topic once again. “Your Mother and I thought about you while we made our plans. Did you know that, Charlotte?”He’s still smiling, but you can see a hint of mania grow in his eyes as he speaks. “As we planned our attack, we thought about the impact it would have on our world. About how it would lead to a future for you where pro heroes were extinct. No more corruption, no more lies, no more pro heroes using their money and influence to do whatever they want. It would be a world where you could be free.”Your anger returns, growing at a rapid rate at his words. “You thought about me, did you?”“We did. And I still do. Every single day.”You snarl at him, “Bullshit. You didn’t think about me. Because if you had, then you would have thought about what would happen to me. I wasn’t free, Ethan. I was a pariah. People treated me with disgust and anger and fear because of you. Because I was the daughter of a terrorist.”He replies calmly, “I’m sorry that people didn’t understand our intentions, Charlotte. But what we did, it was for you. To assure your future in a world without pro heroes. Because we loved you enough to do what was necessary.”That sets you off immediately. “Don’t act like that was love, you asshole! You’re just fucking insane!”Serenity’s hand grips your shoulder tightly and you can feel her trying to suppress your anger, but it’s not working. Your hands are starting to glow with your dark energy, despite your struggle to push your quirk back. You’re just so angry that you don’t know how to stop it. It’s not normal for this to happen. You know this is part of the effect of the robber’s quirk, but there’s nothing you can do to fight it.“Shadow.” Ben speaks quickly from behind you.When you turn to look at him, he immediately reaches out to touch your arm and says, his voice as calm as he can no doubt muster, “Take deep breaths. He’s trying to make you angry. Don’t let him.”You keep your eyes focused on Ben. Serenity’s hand is still on your shoulder as she uses her quirk on you. You take a deep breath. Then you focus your attention on pushing your anger down and the dark energy in your hands slowly withdraws. The feeling of peace takes control, allowing your heart rate to slow down and your breathing to return to normal.It is a struggle, but you are able to get yourself under control again. Though you can’t help but notice that even with Serenity’s quirk and both her and Ben physically touching you, it’s not completely enough. You can still feel your quirk as a separate entity from you, trying to get loose. It is still not fully part of you again. And you know that until you figure out how to fix what the robber did to you, it will stay that way.When you finally turn back to look at your Father, he’s watching you with a pleasant smile on his face. “So you really are struggling to control your quirk. How interesting. You know Charlotte, you should really fix that soon. Before you hurt someone.” His smile widens slightly. “If you haven’t already.”You say nothing in response. You just stare at him, thinking about Liam’s bleeding face with a tight feeling in your gut. Your Father sighs before he continues, “Well, as nice as it’s been to see you my dear, I think this conversation has run its course. So it’s time for you to go.”“So that’s it then? You ask for me and I come all the way out here, just for you to give me nothing?”“I wouldn’t say I gave you nothing. But if you would like something substantial to take back, I suppose I can offer a suggestion.” He pauses, seeming to consider his next words before he continues.But finally, he says, “This new Rebirth seems to be taking a page out of our book. They specifically went after the zoo because they were trying to target families and children. If I were the authorities, I’d be focusing on similar soft targets. Schools, gathering places, high-traffic, public areas. Rebirth wants something that will grab the public’s attention. So they’ll choose a target that will result in maximum media coverage for them.”“But you don’t have any idea what that target would be?” You ask him suspiciously.He just smiles in response. “How could I? I’m locked in an isolated cell inside a maximum security prison.” Then he moves back from the window and says pleasantly, “It was good to see you, Charlotte. If you’re able, I’ll hope you’ll come back to visit.”“Like I said, if I have my way, I won’t ever come back here.” You reply in a curt tone.He doesn’t look surprised in the slightest to hear that. Instead, he says in that same pleasant voice, “Then if this is going to be the last time I see you, please know that I do love you, Charlotte. And I’ll be thinking about you. And I hope that one day, you’ll live in a world where you are free.”There are so many things you want to say to him right now.
Why did you do this to me? Why did you force me to grow up without you? Why did you destroy our family? Why did you leave me and Gram alone to face the world’s anger at what you did? Why couldn’t you have just been a normal Father? Why did this have to happen? Why didn’t I matter enough for you to choose me?
Why? Why? Why?
But you say none of those things. You swallow them. You lock them away in the deepest, darkest part of you, refusing to let them see the light of day. Because the moment they do, you’re afraid they will break you. So instead, you say, “Goodbye Ethan.”As you turn to leave, he says, “Be sure to visit your Mother’s grave, Charlotte. I’m sure she’d be glad to have your company after all this time.”You don’t acknowledge him. You just keep walking.The sound of the control room door buzzing feels you with relief. Warden Brooks stands at the desk when the three of you enter the room. Once you’re inside, the guard shuts the door behind you as it locks with a final click. You take a deep breath, for the first time in what feels like hours, though it was really only 30 minutes at most.Warden Brooks says, “Shadow, thank you for speaking with him about the information he had about Rebirth.”You nod. “Of course. Sorry I couldn’t get more info out of him.”“It’s perfectly fine. I didn’t expect he would be forthcoming with the truth.”“Just from watching the changes in his facial expression, it’s clear to me that he is somehow involved in Rebirth’s plans. Whether he’s masterminding them or working with someone on the outside, I’m not sure. But he's absolutely involved.”“I agree.” Warden Brooks says thoughtfully. “I’ll need to perform an internal review to figure out how he managed it. But until then, he’ll be locked down completely.”“Good.” You reply, with no small amount of ice in your voice.Then Warden Brooks asks in a careful voice, “Will you be alright to leave the facility, Shadow?”“I’m fine.” You say. “Now that I’m away from him, things are easier to manage. So I won’t have a problem.”She nods. “I’m glad to hear it. I’ll escort you back to the lobby and then I’ll have one of my guards drive the three of you back to Summerville.”Serenity replies in a warm voice, “Thank you, Warden. We appreciate your help.”“Of course. I’ll be sure to contact the Commissioner about the meeting and the results.” Her gaze flicks from Serenity, to Ben, and then back to you. “Thank you all for coming out all this way. Your cooperation is sincerely appreciated. Yours especially, Shadow.”You just nod in response. All you can think about right now is that you want out of here and you desperately want something greasy. Possibly fried. Possibly both. You’re beyond relieved when you’re back in a car and leaving ADX Apollo behind you. Once the entrance disappears in the rearview mirror, you feel like you can finally breathe again, like your chest isn’t so tight.“How are you feeling, Charlotte?” Serenity asks, turning in the passenger seat to look back at you.“Like I really want to be alone for a while.” You reply honestly.“Is that a good idea with your quirk like this though?” Ben asks from beside you, looking concerned.You huff. “Right now, I’m less likely to hurt somebody if I’m by myself. And I just…need to decompress.”“Well…whatever you want, Charlie. You know Vee and I are here for you when you need us.”You give him a small smile. “I know, Ben. I appreciate that.”“I just…the way he was talking to you made me so angry. It was like talking with you was just a game to him. Which is so messed up.” Ben admits, looking bothered.“He’s a psychopath. He doesn’t see people. He sees puzzle pieces. Means to an end. That’s it.” You reply, trying to sound as indifferent to the topic as you can. Even though the topic is your Father.Serenity adds, her voice kind and sympathetic, “Charlotte, it’s alright to express your thoughts if you want to. You don’t need to keep them locked inside.”You remember the way that your questions made you feel like breaking. And you reply, “Oh yes. I really do.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Once you’ve arrived back at the agency, it’s late in the afternoon and you’re emotionally exhausted. But before you can leave, you, Ben, and Serenity brief Sylvia and Dayana on what happened at ADX Apollo. When that’s done, you tell them that you need to be alone for a while and you’ll call them later. Then you retrieve your personal belongings and depart from the agency, headed to find something greasy and hopefully eat yourself into a food coma. At least then you won’t have to feel anything.Out of curiosity, you turn on your phone to check it. You have several missed calls and voicemails from Indie and Gem. Along with text messages from both of them and to your surprise, one from Liam.
L: Shadow, it’s fine if you don’t want to talk to me. But Scar and Gem are freaking out. Please call them back.
You stare at the message for a while, before you type out and send a response.
Tell them I’m fine. I’ll call later.
Liam immediately replies.
L: Like hell you’re fine. Where are you right now?
Don’t worry about it. I need to be alone.
L: Gem and Scar are worried sick about you.
I’m fine.
L: Well they are NOT fine. So stop being so goddamn stubborn and call them.
You groan, releasing a heavy exhale. You don’t have the energy to deal with this right now. You know you should call Gem and Indie. You need to call them. But you are absolutely dreading doing it. Still, you pull up Indie’s number on your phone, your finger hovering the call button.
‘God I don’t want to do this right now.’
You tap the button anyway. The phone rings once before Indie picks up.“Lottie? Are you okay?” She asks quickly, sounding worried.“I’m fine.” You reply, a ball of guilt forming in your stomach.“Is that Shadow?” You hear Gem’s voice ask in the background.“Yes, it’s Shadow. Here. I’ll put her on speaker.” A moment later Indie says, “Lottie, you’re on speaker now.”“Shadow, are you alright? Liam said that your quirk malfunctioned!” Gem says, sounding worried.You reply, closing your eyes as you try to block out the mental image of Liam’s bleeding face. “I’m fine. It’s just been a shitty day.”“Talk to us. What happened?” Indie urges you.“I don’t want to talk about it right now, Indie. Today has been a lot for me and I just need some time to sort it out.”Gem asks, “But why did your quirk malfunction, Shadow?”“I’ll tell you later, okay?”“Liam said that you were at the hospital. That your face was bruised. Did someone attack you?” Indie asks, her voice intent.You groan. “Guys, seriously. I just called to tell you that I’m fine so Liam will get off my back. I don’t want to talk right now.”“But Shadow, we’ve been really worried about you!” Gem insists, concern threading through her voice, still hoarse from her cold. “We just want to know how we can help.”“You can help me by giving me space right now.” You reply.Indie sounds annoyed with you. “Lottie, you’ve been alone all afternoon. How much more space do you need?”“I wasn’t alone, Indiana.” You snap at her. “If you really want to know, I was stuck doing a job for the police commissioner because there was a fucking villain attack this morning.”“What?” Gem sounds stunned.“What happened? Were you involved?” Indie asks quickly.“No. But Ben and Sylvia’s agency got pulled in to help deal with it.”Indie sounds apprehensive when she asks, “Are they alright?”“Yes. They’re fine. Nobody died.”“But Shadow, why did the police commissioner need you to do a job?” Gem asks curiously.“I had to interview someone related to the attack, who would only talk to me.” You pause before you add, “Someone imprisoned at ADX Apollo.”Indie sounds shocked. “Lottie, was it…was it your Father?”“Yeah.”“Oh my god. Why the hell didn’t you say anything about this?” She asks, sounding incredulous and irritated, which only makes you feel irritated too.You snap, “I don’t have to tell you every fucking thing, Indiana.”“This is a big deal, Lottie. Why wouldn’t you tell us this?”You don’t mean to, but you blow up at her. “Because I didn’t want it to be fucking real, okay?! I didn’t want to see him again! Ever! But I was forced to because if I didn’t then people might die and I just…” You gasp, suddenly feeling your quirk pulsing beneath your skin as your emotions rise. “Fuck.”“Shadow? What’s wrong?” Gem asks, sounding worried.“I’ve gotta go.” You say. “My quirk. Fuck.”Indie says frantically, “Lottie? Talk to me. What’s going on? What about your quirk?”But you don’t answer. You end the call, shoving your phone into your pocket as you dart off. The only thing in your head right now is, ‘I have to find somewhere that there aren’t any people. I can’t hurt someone else.’ You run as fast as you can, frantically searching for somewhere, anywhere that you won’t hurt people.Even as you run, your quirk struggles to break free, fighting your control of it. You can feel it’s going to be bad. And you’re terrified. You skid your way into an empty baseball field and keep running until you reach the pitcher’s mound. Then you collapse to your knees, crying out as your quirk writhes beneath your skin, pushing to escape.“Fuck, what do I do?” You sob, squeezing your arms around your stomach in a vain attempt to keep it all in.You can see your hands glowing with your dark energy, even though you didn’t activate it. Now it’s acting on its own. You feel trapped in your own body. Completely out of control of what’s happening to you. And all you can think of is how you felt earlier today, walking deeper into the prison, and knowing there was no way you could turn back. No way to stop what was going to happen. Just like now.Tears spill down your face. You can feel your eyes glowing with the dark energy of your quirk now. Around you, the dirt of the baseball field is starting to spin, like there’s a strong gust of wind blowing through. But it’s you. It’s your quirk doing this.“Shadow!”You turn to look, terrified, as Liam rushes through the fence gate and onto the field, heading towards you.“Liam, get away from me!” You cry, panicking as he gets closer. “I can’t control my quirk!”But he doesn’t hesitate. He pushes his way through the dust storm your quirk is starting to make, hand held up to cover his eyes, until he finally reaches you. He immediately pulls you into his strong arms, holding onto you tightly.“I’m not leaving you alone, Shadow.” He insists.“Liam, you’ve gotta let me go!” You cry, struggling to pull away from him. “I don’t want to hurt you!”But he doesn’t let go of you. He keeps his arms wrapped around you, yelling above the rising roar as the dust storm gets stronger, “I’m not leaving! I lost you once already today, Shadow! I’m not gonna lose you again!”Through the fear, through the absolute loss of control, his words reach you. You stop fighting him. You stop trying to escape. And finally, you surrender to him. You wrap your arms around his waist and cling to him, like he’s your lifeline. And in this moment, he is.“I’ve got you!” He yells, clinging to you just as tightly. He cups the back of your head with his hand, pressing your face into his chest.Even now, as your quirk rages, he’s still protecting you, still thinking of you first. You can’t form the words to express how that makes you feel. All you can do is cry. Suddenly, a burst of purple smoke explodes around the two of you. And you recognize it instantly as the smoke from this morning, the stuff that the robber used.“Liam! The smoke! He’s here!” You tell him frantically.“Who’s here?” Liam yells, looking at you with confusion.“The guy who messed up my quirk!” You say, two seconds before another cloud of smoke envelops both of you. But this one isn’t like the last. You both cough, trying to get the smoke out of your lungs, and your vision starts to go fuzzy.“Shit, this smoke is drugged.” Liam coughs. “Shadow, we’ve gotta get out of it.”“Can’t…can’t fucking see.” You say, coughing as you see two of him, not sure which one you’re talking to. You’re so dizzy that you just want to lay down. And then you drop, your body collapsing onto the dirt. You close your heavy eyelids, Liam’s voice sounding farther and farther away as you drift off.
~~When you finally open your eyes again, you’re greeted with an unwelcome sight.“Mooooooooorning sleepyhead!”It’s the robber from this morning. He’s standing in front of you, with a big, shit-eating grin on his face that is still mostly covered by his mask. His dark hair is just as wild as earlier and since he’s standing so close, you can see that his eyes are purple. He’s dressed in a white tee shirt and sweatpants and if it weren’t for the mask, he would look almost normal.“What the fuck?” You groan.“So are you gonna ask the usual questions? You know, like where am I? Or, how did I get here?” He asks, looking excited.You try to move your arms and then come to an unpleasant realization. For the second time today, you’re tied to a chair. And that makes you very unhappy.“Untie me, you little shit.” You demand, trying to pull your arms free. But as you expected, you’re tied too tight to get out.He shakes his head, still grinning at you. “No can do, hero! I saw you earlier and there is noooooo way I’m letting you out of that chair. Not with your quirk all messed up like that!”“My quirk is messed up because of you!” You reply, immediately pissed at him.“Pffft no! I had nothing to do with your quirk! That’s totally a you thing!”“Like hell it is!” You snap.Then, from behind the robber, you hear a groan that you immediately recognize. You call out, “Liam!”“Relax, he’s fine. See?”The robber steps to the side, revealing that Liam is also tied to a chair across from you. He doesn’t appear to be injured, but you’re still on edge. Liam groans, “God, what the hell happened?”“I knocked you both out and brought you here!” The robber replies cheerfully.“Who the hell are you?” Liam asks, struggling uselessly against the ropes keeping him tied to the chair.“Does my name really matter? I mean, knowing it isn’t gonna get you free, so why bother to ask? Honestly, that’s a pretty boring question.” The robber replies, pouting like a little kid.You growl, “Quit screwing around. Just tell us what you want already.”The robber immediately perks up, looking excited. “Ooooooo finally something interesting. What I want, Miss Pro Hero, is for you to get your shit together!”“What the hell are you talking about?” Liam asks, looking confused.“I mean, that her quirk is going crazy. Absolutely insane. And she needs to fix it.” He says, pointing at you.“How the fuck am I supposed to fix it? You’re the one who messed it up!” You yell at him.“Ehhhhh, I only take partial credit for that. It’s true that I used my quirk on you, but you’re the one who let things get so out of control. I mean, I told you how to fix it and everything. So it’s your fault that you haven’t done it yet.”“Shadow, what is he talking about?” Liam asks you, still looking just as confused.You huff, glaring at the masked man in front of you. “This asshole doused me with his gas quirk this morning and my quirk has been fucked up ever since.”“Wait, are you the one who messed up her face?” Liam asks the robber, his confusion turning to anger.The robber looks offended. “Excuse you, I don’t hurt people. She hit herself in the face with a chair. I had nothing to do with it.”“Seriously, would you just fix my quirk already? I can’t live like this!” You snap at him, getting very irritated.“Oh my god, are you even listening? I can’t fix it. YOU have to fix it. That’s how my quirk works. Duh.”Liam asks, “What the hell kind of quirk do you even have?”The robber shouts, “Oh my god, finally! One of you finally used your brain cells and asked the most OBVIOUS question that you should have asked ages ago!” With an exasperated sigh, he tells you both, “I have a love quirk. It drives people’s emotions crazy until they confess their feelings to the object of their affection.”“My quirk is powered by my emotions.” You reply, glaring at him.“Oh shit, really?” He laughs, sounding amused. “Well, no wonder you’ve been losing control of it! Oh my god, that’s hilarious!”“Hilarious? Are you shitting me? I could have killed somebody by accident!” You yell, utterly infuriated with him. “I still could!”He gives you another shit-eating grin. “Guess you’d better get to confessing your feelings, huh? Unless you want an innocent person to die because you’re emotionally constipated.”“How is this my fault?! You’re the one that used your goddamn quirk on me, you tiny bastard!”You realize your hair is floating in the air and immediately close your eyes, willing yourself to calm down and take slow, deep breaths. The robber lets out a snort of laughter. “Wow, you’re super hopeless, huh? Look, this isn’t hard, hero. All you’ve gotta do to fix this is just to tell whoever it is that you like them.”Liam asks in a sullen voice, “Is it Ben?”You open your eyes and look over at Liam. You say, “What?”He replies, looking irritated. “Ben. The person you like. Is it him?”“What the fuck are you talking about?”The robber interjects, “Hmm…I’m sensing some awkward tension here, so I’m gonna leave you two alone now.” Then he moves to leave.“Hey, let us out of here, you asshole!” You demand furiously.“Eh, you don’t need me to do that. You can get yourself out when you fix your quirk.” He replies cheerfully. “So until then, byeeeeeeeee! Try not to kill him!”“Fuck you!” You yell at him as he walks off. But he doesn’t bother to reply. He just cackles before disappearing through a door behind you, leaving you and Liam alone. You continue, “Liam seriously, what are you talking about?”“I saw the way you acted with Ben last night. You let him hold you. You let him kiss your face. You promised that you’d leave Night Harbor and come back here.” You’re surprised to hear Liam’s voice waver slightly. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”You stare at him, feeling utterly bewildered. “No, I’m not.”He stares back at you, his mouth a thin, tight line. “You heard that guy. Your quirk won’t be fixed until you admit your feelings. So just quit lying to yourself already, Shadow.”“I’m not lying. Ben is one of my best friends and he’s been a big part of my life for the past 6 years. But I am NOT in love with him.” You insist, getting annoyed with Liam.“Shadow, if you aren’t in love with him, then why is your quirk out of control, huh? That guy said his quirk makes people’s emotions go crazy until they confess to the person they like. You’ve told Gem and Scar how you feel about them. So there’s clearly another person that you’re in love with right now.”“No shit.” You reply, giving him an annoyed look.“Okay then, all you need to do is confess your feelings to Ben. Then your quirk will be back to normal. Problem solved.” He replies, sounding equally annoyed.You snap, “Uh no? Problem NOT solved. Because I don’t love Ben.”“Shadow, would you just cut the shit already? You’re only making things harder by not admitting the truth to yourself. So just stop being so goddamn stubborn.” He snaps back at you.You glare at him. “Don’t act like you know my feelings, Liam. Because you don’t know shit.”“Okay, fine. If you really don’t love Ben, then who ARE you in love with? Because you obviously have to be in love with someone or we wouldn’t be stuck in this damn mess.” He snaps, glaring back at you.“Alright, fine then.” You reply, deciding to be just as much of a petulant brat as he’s being right now. “I’ll tell you, if you really want to know so bad.”He rolls his eyes, replying in a sullen voice, “Oh sure. Go ahead. Enlighten me.”Him rolling his eyes pisses you off, so you are not gentle or nice when you tell him, “It’s you, you fucking moron.”He stares at you. And stares. And stares some more. You’re beginning to think that he’s somehow gotten frozen when he finally says, sounding shocked, “What?”You repeat yourself, saying, “It’s you.”He still looks shocked. “I…wait, you…me?”You’ve never seen him so taken off guard before. He’s usually so charming and has a response for everything. But right now, he looks completely at a loss for what to say. Which softens your anger at him for how he acted earlier. So you nod and reply in a gentler tone,“Yeah. It’s you, Liam.”Then all at once, his words come out in a rush, like he can’t say them fast enough. “Can you say it? Please? I don’t think I’ll really believe this is happening until you do.”You’re nervous all of a sudden. But the genuine, desperate look on his face moves you to act anyway. So you take a deep breath and look into his eyes when you tell him, “I’m in love with you, Liam.”Suddenly, your quirk is no longer a separate entity, struggling to escape from inside of you. You feel it meld with you, becoming part of you once again, like an open wound that’s been mended. You feel whole. And the instant relief that comes over you makes you audibly gasp.Liam asks quickly, sounding scared, “Shadow, are you okay? What happened?”“My quirk…it’s back to normal again.”“How do you know?”“I just feel it.”To test it out, you focus your dark energy on the ropes that bind you. Your quirk works in tandem with your will and the ropes glow, before suddenly snapping, setting you free. You immediately get to your feet, throwing the ropes off of you as you move to help Liam. Once you’re in front of him, you reach for the ropes tying his wrist to the chair arm, but he says,“Shadow, wait.”You pull your hand back, giving him a confused look. “Why?”“Do you really love me?” He asks, looking up at you. You can see from his expression that it makes him feel vulnerable to ask you this, but he’s trying to hide it. And that makes your heart ache. You gently cup his face, looking intently into his eyes.“Yes.” You tell him. “I really love you.”“Why?”The first thing that comes to mind is, “You aren’t afraid of me. I’ve always been too much for the guys I’ve dated, but you aren’t like that. You see the rough parts of me and you don’t shy away from them.” You hesitate before you add, “If I’m being honest, it scares me.”“But why? What’s so scary about that?” He asks, his forehead creased with confusion.“Because…sometimes, it’s easier when you know people won’t get too close. Because then you know you won’t get hurt. And you know you can’t hurt anyone.”He looks at you curiously when he asks, “Are you afraid you’ll hurt me?”“I already did today, remember?” You remind him, gently touching the skin beneath the cut on his face.“That’s just a cut, Shadow. It’s nothing.”“But you wouldn’t have gotten it if you weren’t trying to protect me.”He replies in an intent, sincere voice, “And I’d gladly let it happen again if it meant that I’d keep you safe.”“That scares me.” You admit.“It shouldn’t. It means someone cares enough to want to take care of you.” He pauses before he says in a quiet voice, “That’s all I want, Shadow. For you to allow me to take care of you. Not because you can’t take care of yourself, but because that’s how I show the people I love that I care about them.”You finally understand now why he was upset that you wouldn’t accept comfort or help from him. Because to him, he was trying to show his love for you and you were rejecting it. You feel so stupid for not realizing this earlier.You admit in a quiet voice, “I didn’t know you loved me. I thought…I thought you just loved Gem and Indie. So I didn’t want to let you take care of me. Because it would have hurt me, since I thought things were just sex with us, but I wanted more.”He looks at you with a regretful expression. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you felt that way. I mean, I was physically attracted to you from the beginning, but as I got to know you, it became more for me and I ended up falling for you. So I tried to show that to you…” He looks sheepish when he adds, “But I guess I did a pretty shitty job of that.”You continue to speak in that quiet voice, “It wasn’t just you. I was being so damn stupid. It never occurred to me to tell you how I was feeling. I thought I just had to suffer in silence.”He immediately replies, looking intently up at you, “You never have to do that, Shadow. All three of us care about you and we would never want you to carry something like that by yourself. If you’re hurting, I want you to tell us about it.”You sigh, trying to decide what to say next. But finally, you reply honestly, staring down at his hands because the truth is a scary thing to say. “I’m afraid I’m going to screw things up, Liam. Not just with you, but with Gem and Indie too. I’ve never had a good romantic relationship before. And I really want this relationship between the four of us to be the one that lasts. It’s just…being open like this, being vulnerable…it’s goddamn terrifying.”“I know what you mean.” Liam replies with a small laugh. “Scar and I have always had a special type of relationship. But when we met Gem, things started to change. In a good way. Because the love we had for each other grew to bring her in. And then that love grew again to bring you in too.”He looks up into your eyes when he admits, his voice wavering, “I’ve never loved this many people before and it’s scary to me, because I don’t know if I’m doing things right or not. I mean, I want to take care of all three of you. I want to protect all of you and be what you need, but I…I’m always afraid I’m not gonna be enough.”You cup his face again and insist, “You are enough. And the three of us need you.” You finish in a quiet, but sincere tone, “I need you.”His dark eyes are full of emotion. You think he might cry. So you do the only thing you can think to do. You bend down and kiss him, pouring your emotions into the way your lips meet. He kisses you back and you can feel his hands clench against the ropes still keeping him tied to the chair. You know he wants to touch you so badly, but he can’t.He pants, breaking the kiss, “Shadow, untie me. Please.”You quickly move to untie his right hand from the chair arm. Once his hand is free, he goes to undo the knot on his left hand, while you work on the ropes tying him to the back of the chair. Finally, the ropes are undone and he’s able to get up from the chair. The moment he does, he’s pulling you into his arms, kissing you frantically, like he might die if he doesn’t touch you right now. You cling to him, kissing him back with just as much need.He only breaks the kiss to whisper, “I love you.”You whisper in return, “I love you too.”Then you move in to kiss him again. When your lips meet, you flick your tongue against his lips and he immediately opens his mouth to let you inside. Your tongues curl together as you grip the back of his neck and his arms are wrapped tight around your waist. As you kiss, your bodies are pressed against each other, but you crave more of him.You’re seriously considering pushing Liam against the wall when suddenly, you hear a loud crash from the next room, followed by what sounds like the robber yelling. You and Liam slightly pull back from each other to stare at the door.“Should we check on that guy?” Liam asks, looking down at you.You sigh. “Oh sure. Why not?”The two of you cross the room together. You reach to slowly open the door and peer into the other room. What you see confuses you.“Detective Shiba?”The detective, who currently has the unmasked robber pinned against a wall, turns to look at you and replies in a calm voice, “Oh, hello Shadow. Nice to see you again.”You walk into the room, Liam right on your heels. The two of you stare at the robber and the detective. The robber says in a cheerful voice, “Oh hi! Looks like you fixed your quirk! Great news for you, huh? I hope you two weren’t fucking in there to celebrate! This place is just a rental, you know!”You grimace at him. “Would you shut up?”“I’m just kidding! I’m not renting this place. I don’t even know who owns it!” He cackles, looking way too amused for someone who’s being pinned to a wall.Liam asks, looking confused, “Who is this guy?”“I don’t know his name. He’s just some guy ”“Hey! I resent that!” The robber whines. “I’ve done too much work to be just some guy! I’m Kiyoshi! Kiyoshi Okino!”You sigh. “Fine. That’s Kiyoshi Okino.”“No, I didn’t mean him. I meant HIM.” Liam points at the detective.“My name is Detective Suzuki Shiba.” Shiba replies, still pinning the squirming robber to the wall.You ask him, “How did you even find us here, Detective?”“There’s a tracker on the business card I gave you.” He tells you matter of factly.You groan. “Because of course there is.”“Why is a Detective tracking you, Shadow?” Liam asks, still looking confused.“Because I’m the one that found her tied up in the doughnut shop this morning.”Now Liam looks very confused. “I’m sorry, you what?” He looks back and forth between you and Shiba, asking, “Would someone please clue me in? Because I have zero idea what’s going on right now.”You sigh before you point at Kiyoshi. “This tiny bastard robbed the doughnut shop I was at this morning. I tried to stop him and that’s when he used his quirk on me. I passed out and when I woke up, I was tied to a chair and Detective Shiba was there, investigating the scene.”“Hey, I didn’t steal anything!” Kiyoshi protests. “That’s slander and I won’t stand for it!”Detective Shiba gives him a dubious look. “You took a box of donuts.”“Well yeah, but I put money in the cash register for that! So it wasn’t stealing so I’m definitely NOT a robber!” Kiyoshi protects, still pouting. “My only crime is that I like to make a scene.”You roll your eyes at him. “Not even. You’re trying to get a cat café shut down.”Kiyoshi huffs. “Oh please! That’s my service to the public!”“Do you have something against cats?” Shiba asks him calmly, still keeping him pinned to the wall despite how much he’s squirming, trying to get free.“What? No! I love cats! I work in a vet’s office. I definitely don’t hate the precious, little beans.” Kiyoshi replies, looking offended that he would even suggest something like that.Liam still looks confused. “But if you love cats, then why are you trying to shut down a cat café?”Kiyoshi growls, “Because the lady running the café is the WORST. She brings her cats to the vet I work for and they’re all sick and definitely not getting the proper care! Just the other day, she fed one of them some bad food and he had terrible stomach problems after! The poor, little baby was so miserable and it was HER fault because she bought old, expired food! Freaking cheapskate!”The angry expression on Kiyoshi’s face looks out of place, considering how young he is and how immature he acts.Shiba asks, “So you’ve been causing public spectacles, terrorizing people, and making a general nuisance of yourself because the café owner is negligent in the care of her cats?”“Ding ding ding! One point for Shiba-chan!” Kiyoshi cheers with a grin.“Now, may I ask why you’ve been leaving my business card at the scenes of your…incidents?” Shiba asks him curiously.“Because I wanted you to investigate the café, of course! I know you’re a great detective and you have a record of solving lots of hard cases. So I thought for sure you’d be able to help me.”Shiba asks, “Why didn’t you speak with the police about this?”Kiyoshi gives him a withering look. “Gee, why didn’t I think of that? Oh wait! I did!”“What did they say?” You ask him.He huffs. “That they didn’t have time to investigate the café. That I was just being overdramatic and getting upset over a cat’s tummy problems. But I know cats! And I know those cats aren’t being taken care of properly!”His gaze shifts from you and back to Shiba as he implores him, “Do you see now why I had to make a big spectacle? Because nobody would listen or care otherwise! And those cats would just keep suffering and nobody would know! And I just couldn’t stand that!”Shiba’s neutral expression shifts and you can see that he feels a sense of compassion for Kiyoshi. And honestly? You do too. Despite how much he fucked up your day.Which is why you speak up and say, “Technically he hasn’t done anything wrong, Detective Shiba.”All three men’s eyes are suddenly on you. But you don’t back down. You continue, “You told me yourself that he hasn’t taken anything, right? So the most he’s done is just scare people.”“He did kidnap both of you and hold you against your will.” Shiba replies, though he sounds hesitant.Liam quickly chimes in, “Shadow’s quirk was out of control earlier. If he hadn’t intervened, somebody might have gotten hurt. So really, kidnapping us was the right thing to do.”You nod. “I agree. He tied us up, but he made certain that we could easily get free when I had control of my quirk again. So I have no problem with what he did.”Shiba blinks, before turning his attention back to Kiyoshi. He stares at him thoughtfully, like he’s weighing his options. Kiyoshi implores him, “I promise, Shiba-chan. This was never about doing bad stuff. It was always about helping the cats. And I just needed somebody to listen to me.”Shiba finally replies, “Then I’m going to be that person for you.”Kiyoshi looks delighted. “Are you serious?!”Shiba nods, a small smile on his face. “Yes. I will assist you with helping the cats, but only if you promise to do something for me.”“Anything! Just name it.”“Please stop your public spectacles.” Shiba says with a smile.Kiyoshi grins. “You got it, Shiba-chan.”Then Shiba releases Kiyoshi’s arms, allowing him to step away from the wall. As he does, Shiba asks him curiously, “Kiyoshi? Can I ask you a question?”“Sure! What’s up?” Kiyoshi replies, tilting his head as looks at him with an equally curious expression.“Did you really pick me because I’m a good detective? Or was there actually another reason?”“Well for starters, I picked you because you’re a GREAT detective. Not a good one. Quit being so modest, Shiba-chan.”You’re surprised to see Shiba blush slightly before Kiyoshi continues, “But I also picked you because I know you like cats too.”“How could you possibly know that?” Shiba asks, clearly surprised.Kiyoshi gives him a teasing smile. “Because I saw you the other day. You were feeding the little, black cat outside of your detective agency. So I know you’re a big softie, which means there’s no use in trying to pretend you’re super serious all the time.”Shiba looks embarrassed. “I have a reputation to uphold, that’s all. But I do love cats.”“I know! Which is why I like you, Shiba-chan.”“You…you what?”Before any of you have the chance to process that tidbit of information, Kiyoshi gets on his tip toes, grabs the lapels of Shiba’s suit, and pulls him down to plant a kiss on his lips. Shiba seems startled at first, but quickly adjusts, kissing Kiyoshi back.“Do you have to do that right now?” You comment, slightly annoyed with them.Kiyoshi momentarily breaks the kiss to give you a smug look. “Seeing as I’m the reason you stopped being emotionally constipated and finally told hot guy here how you feel, I think you owe me this one, Miss Pro Hero.”And you really can’t argue with him on that. So you roll your eyes and turn to leave, just so they can have some privacy. As you walk away, Liam walks beside you and asks, “So…have any plans right now?”You shake your head. “No. Why?”He gives you a smile. “Well, seeing as we both admitted that we’re in love with each other, I thought I might take you out somewhere for dinner. Feels appropriate, you know?”You ask him, almost nervous to voice the thought out loud, “Are you asking me on a date, Liam?”His smile is even bigger when he replies, “Yes. I want to take you on a date, Shadow. Do you want to go?”You can’t help but smile too when you reply, “Yeah. I wanna go.” Then you add, “But I want to eat something greasy and bad for us, okay?”He laughs. “Of course. Anything you want.” He reaches out to cup your face, looking at you with a soft, fond expression. “I seriously love you.”Your chest is filled with a warm, happy feeling. You smile up at him, reaching to touch his hand that cups your face as you say, “I love you too.”The words spill easily from your mouth, making you wonder why it ever took you so long to say them. Then his lips meet yours and everything in the world feels so right. Like you’ve found exactly what you didn’t know you needed. And you are so happy.Kiyoshi yells playfully at you, “Get a room, you two!” And Shiba shushes him.But you don’t break the kiss. You just flip your middle finger at Kiyoshi. Because nothing, absolutely nothing, will ruin this moment for you. Because this is the moment where things change. Where you embrace a future with this man that you love, who also loves Gem and Indie. And you’re no longer longing for someone you think you’ll never have. Because that longing has become reality and you finally have him.When the kiss breaks, you look up into Liam’s dark eyes and see the warmth and affection in them, which is all for you. You smile and say the word you’ve wanted to say for so long. “Mine.”He smiles too, replying without hesitation, “Yours.”
~~Later on, you call Gem and Indie and reassure them that you’re fine, before telling them everything that happened today. Including the fact that you and Liam admitted your feelings for each other. Gem is delighted and Indie is smug, saying that she’s been waiting for you both to figure it out. Once you end the call, you and Liam go out to have the best, greasy pizza you’ve ever had.After that, you go back to Ben and Sylvia’s apartment. It’s late at night, so they’re both already asleep. But despite the fact that it’s late, you don’t sleep. Because Liam sneaks into your room. He undresses you and lays you down in your bed. He makes you come over and over, until you’re physically exhausted. And this time when he’s done, he stays. And you let him hold you.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Will you pass me another donut, Charlie?” Ben asks, looking over at you from his spot on the sand.“Want a frosted blueberry one this time?”He nods, replying cheerfully, “That sounds good to me!”You pass him a blueberry donut and he accepts it eagerly, taking a bite the moment he’s got it in his hands. Beside you, Sylvia is happily eating an apple fritter and looking content.“I’m so glad they had apple fritters tonight.” She says, sounding pleased as she takes another bite.“Me too.” You agree, taking a sip of your coffee.Once your hero school reunion finished tonight, the three of you got donuts and coffee at DK’s, then came out here to the beach at Santa Maya to enjoy them. Being here brings back so many memories for you. Because the last time you were here, Indie was with you. You still remember laying beside her in the sand, staring up at the moon. And you remember her telling you recently that that night was the night she realized she was in love with you.That memory fills you with a bittersweet feeling of nostalgia. You wish Indie could be here tonight. That the four of you could lay on the beach, eating donuts together, just one more time. And it seems you aren’t the only one who feels the way. Because Sylvia says in a quiet voice,“I still remember the last time we did this with Indiana.”“Me too.” Ben replies, his voice just as quiet.You say, a wistful smile on your face as you remember, “She was giving you shit about teleporting on top of Dayana during training that day.”Sylvia chuckles. “How could I forget? God, I was so embarrassed.”“She totally knew you liked her, Vee.” Ben says with a small grin.“Oh I’m sure she did. Indiana always had a way of reading people. I suspect that’s why she knew she could trust us in the school entrance exam.” Sylvia replies thoughtfully.You say, “When we teamed up that day, it sort of felt like magic. Because we all worked together so well, even though we just met.”“Like it was meant to be.” Ben comments.You nod in agreement. “Yeah. It really felt that way.”Sylvia sighs, hand paused halfway to her mouth for another bite of her donut. She drops her hand back into her lap and turns to look at you both. “I miss her.”“Me too.” Ben says quietly. “I miss her energy. She was always the life of the party, the one that got everybody together and got us excited to do things. She got me out of my shell and helped me feel more confident in myself and my quirk.”“I miss her quick wit and wicked sense of humor.” Sylvia adds. “She would always keep me guessing and I appreciated that. I was constantly learning from her.”You say, staring out at the ocean with your arms wrapped around your knees, “She always challenged me. She wasn’t ever scared of my temper or the way I used to lash out at people. She just met my anger head on and pushed me to be better.”Sylvia smiles. “It always felt like she understood you better than anyone. That she could get through to you when nobody else could.”“She was good like that.” Ben agrees. “Hero school definitely changed all of us, but I think that Diana helped change us too. We’re better people and better heroes because we met her.”Sylvia sighs, before turning to look at you. “Charlie, I want her to come home. I want you BOTH to come home.”You reply in a quiet voice, “I want that too.”Before anyone else can speak, Sylvia’s phone starts ringing in her purse. She says apologetically, reaching inside her purse to grab it, “Sorry, I’ll put it on silent.”But right when she goes to decline the call, she pauses, staring down at the screen.“Vee? Is something wrong?” Ben asks her curiously.“It’s a number from Night Harbor.” Sylvia replies, still staring at her phone.A strange sensation fills your stomach. You don’t know why, but you get the sudden feeling that this call is something important. So you say, “Vee, answer the call.”She doesn’t hesitate. She does what you suggest. Then she hesitantly answers, “Hello? Sylvia Murray speaking.”The response on the other end causes Sylvia to take a sharp inhale of air. Her eyes are wide. Ben asks quickly, “What is it, Vee?”Sylvia doesn’t respond. She just taps the button with shaky fingers to put the call on speakerphone. Then she asks the person on the line, “I have you on speakerphone. Would you please say that again?”And then you hear Indie’s voice respond, “I said it’s good to hear your voice, Sylvie.”Ben is in shock. And it comes out in his voice when he says, “Diana?”“Hi Rubie. I’m glad to hear your voice too.”You’re also shocked. You didn’t expect Indie would actually get in touch with them, let alone call Sylvia’s phone while the three of you are together. So you say the only thing you can think to say. “Indie?”Indie replies, her voice warm, “Hi Lottie. Glad you’re there too.”“Is this really happening right now?” Sylvia asks, her voice shaking.Indie laughs. “As far as I can tell. I mean, it feels real to me anyway. Not sure about you guys.”“Honestly, I didn’t expect to ever hear your voice again, so I’m kinda in shock right now.” Ben replies, still looking dumbfounded by this turn of events. You don’t blame him. You feel the same way.“Well, I definitely didn’t expect to be making this call, so I guess we’re in the same boat.” Indie replies, her voice light and joking, despite the situation.Sylvia asks, “How did you even get my number? I changed it when I got my new phone.”“I have my ways, Sylvie.” Indie replies mischievously.“Why are you calling now? After all this time?” You ask her, your meaning two-fold because you’re asking for Ben and Sylvia’s sake, but you’re also asking as someone who’s been begging Indie to talk to them. And you want to know her reasoning for doing it now.Indie is silent a moment before she replies, “I’ve been thinking about you guys a lot lately. And I knew today was our class reunion, so I figured you guys would be together. So I guess…I just wanted to say hi. To see how you’re all doing. I mean, it’s been a while, you know?”“It’s been 3 years.” Sylvia corrects her.“Always one for precision, huh Sylvie?” Indie sighs before she adds, “God, I can’t believe it’s been 3 years already. Time really flies.”“Where have you been, Diana?” Ben asks her, a little emotion bleeding into his voice.“Night Harbor.”Sylvia asks, “But why? Why did you go there?”“It’s a long story.” Indie replies evasively.You won’t let her off easily on this. So you counter her statement, not bothering to hide your irritation, “You disappeared for 3 years and randomly decided to call us today, just to say that why you left is a long story? That’s bullshit, Indiana.”“You could at least tell us something.” Sylvia adds. “For 3 years we’ve been wondering why you left. It would be nice to finally have that answer.”“Please Diana?” Ben implores her.Indie is silent for another long moment before she says, “I left because my sister was murdered.”Both Sylvia and Ben look stunned. You do your best to look like you didn’t already know this information.“Are you serious?” Ben asks her.“Yes. I’m serious. She was murdered and I came here to find her killer.”Sylvia asks, a careful tone to her voice, “And did you?”Indie replies, “Before I answer your question, you both need to know something about me. Lottie already knows this because I encountered her here, but when I left hero school, I became a villain.”“But why?” Ben asks, his voice emotional.“Because nobody would help me find the truth of what happened to my sister. So I took matters into my hands to get justice for her.”Sylvia immediately replies, “You didn’t ask us to help you.”“I know.”“We would have, you know?” Ben says. You can see tears forming in his eyes and it makes your heart ache. “If you had asked us, we would have done anything to help you.”“I know that too. I know all three of you would have helped me. But I couldn’t let you. Because I knew that to find the person who murdered my sister, I would have to do terrible things. Things that I couldn’t ask you guys to do.”Sylvia asks, with that same careful tone in her voice, “Things like what, Indiana?”“I’ve killed people, Sylvie.” Indie replies, her voice calm, though you suspect she’s absolutely terrified right now. “I’ve tortured people for information. I’ve stolen money to fund my operation. I’ve done everything you can probably think of, all so I could eventually find the person who murdered my sister.”Sylvia still has the same tone when she says, “Now that you’ve told us that, I need to know…did you find this person?”“Yes. I did.”“Are they dead, Diana?” Ben asks her, though you suspect he already knows the answer.Indie replies calmly, “Yes, they are. I killed them myself.”All four of you are silent for a few long moments. You look between Ben and Sylvia, watching their faces. Ben looks uncertain. Sylvia has a neutral expression on her face, so it’s difficult to tell what she might be thinking.Finally, Indie breaks the silence and says, “You can see why I stayed away now, right? Nobody wants to be friends with a villain. Let alone one who has blood on her hands.”“May I ask something?” Sylvia asks her finally.“Sure. Go ahead.” Indie replies.“Now that you’ve killed the person who murdered your sister, your reason for becoming a villain in the first place is no longer existent. Correct?”“Yeah, I guess that’s true.”Sylvia says, “So…do you intend to remain a villain now?”Indie chuckles. “I mean, it’s not like there’s much else I can do. I’m pretty much damaged goods, Sylvie. I highly doubt heroes would welcome a former villain back into society.”“I didn’t ask what other people would do. I asked what you would do, Indiana. Because if you wanted to come back, then I would welcome you. With open arms.” Sylvia says, her voice trembling with the emotion she’s clearly trying to contain.Indie sounds surprised. “Sylvie? Are you serious?”“I would too!” Ben chimes in. “If you don’t want to be a villain anymore, I’ll do anything I can to help you come back. I promise!”“I’d do the same.” You add.Now Indie sounds emotional. “Guys, I…I really don’t know what to say.”“Say that you’ll accept our help.” Sylvia replies.Ben echoes her, “Please. We’ve spent 3 years wishing you were here, Diana. So there’s no way we’ll just let you leave again. Whatever we’ve gotta do to help you, just tell us.”You hear Indie trying to hold back tears when she says, “I didn’t think you guys would want me back.”“Of course we do.” Sylvia replies, sounding just as emotional. “You’re our friend, Indiana. And we still love you.”Indie can’t hold the tears back anymore. Neither can Ben. They’re both crying and you wipe at your eyes, trying to keep from joining them. Sylvia is in the same boat as you, more emotional than you’ve ever seen her. So you try to lighten the mood by joking,“Guys, come on. You’ve gotta stop crying. Cuz if you don’t, then I’m gonna cry and I’ll completely ruin my reputation for being scary.”Indie laughs, despite her tears, and says, “Of course, can’t ruin Lottie’s reputation.”Ben laughs too, wiping at his teary eyes. And even Sylvia manages to crack a small smile. Then Indie says, “Give me some time to think about this, okay guys? I didn’t even think that this was a possibility until now, so I just need some time to process it all.”“You got it, Diana.” Ben replies, his voice warm.“Take however much time you need.” Sylvia replies. “You have my number so you can always call me.”“And trust me, I will. But in the meantime, I want to hear what’s been going on with you guys over the past 3 years.” Indie says before asking in a teasing voice, “So did you ever tell Dayana that you like her, Sylvie?”Sylvia groans. “Oh god, of course you didn’t forget about that.”Indie laughs, “As if I could forget about your crush on Dayana Bloom, child prodigy and future number one pro hero. Or the way you accidentally teleported yourself into her lap during class that one day.”Sylvia groans, covering her embarrassed face while Ben laughs. You can’t help but smile.The three of you stay at the beach late into the night, crowded around Sylvia’s phone as you talk with Indie. It feels like no time has passed between the four of you. Like Indie hasn’t been gone for years and your friendship continued just as it was supposed to. Your heart is so full at this moment. You’re looking forward to returning to Night Harbor so you can hold Indie in your arms, and tell her thank you for making this moment possible.~~
(Content Warning)
The next day, you find yourself alone at Evergreen Cemetery. It’s a private cemetery, specifically chosen by Gram so that the general public wouldn’t be able to access it. Because she was afraid that after what your parents did, people would vandalize your Mother’s grave. So to assure even further protection, Gram had your Mother’s headstone engraved with her maiden name, instead of her married name.You stare down at the simple, granite headstone which reads, ‘Celina Mallory Stone. Beloved Daughter and Mother.’“I miss you, Mom.” You murmur, bending down to place a bouquet of yellow Daffodils at the base of the headstone. You haven’t been here in so long that you felt it was only right to come with a gift for her. As a way to say you’re sorry for not visiting.You gently touch the top of the headstone with your fingers. You don’t feel anything, not that you expected to. You’re not a spiritual person, so you feel no connection to her by being here. Still, it’s comforting in a way. As you run your fingers over the headstone, you hear someone approach you on the path. A glance out of the corner of your eye reveals that it’s a woman.“Hello.” The woman greets you once she’s close enough.When you turn to look at her, you see that she’s young, maybe in her early 20s. She has long, blonde hair, hazel eyes, and she’s dressed in plain, but comfortable looking clothing. She’s smiling at you in a friendly way that doesn’t set off any warning bells. But still, you feel there’s something off about her.“Can I help you?” You reply politely, wondering what she wants.“Are you Charlotte?” She asks.Immediately your defenses are up. You reply in a careful tone, “Why do you ask?”“Well, if you’re Charlotte, then I have a letter for you. But if not, then I’ll be on my way.” She replies, her voice pleasant and friendly.You’re still suspicious when you reply, “My name is Charlotte, yes.”“Perfect.” The woman holds out an envelope to you. “Then this is for you.”“Who gave this to you?” You ask her suspiciously.The woman just smiles. “You should read the letter. I think you’ll find out for yourself.”You slowly take the envelope from her, keeping your eyes on her the whole time. She keeps smiling. Once you have the envelope in your hands, she turns to leave. You say, “Hey, wait a minute. You came here just to give me a letter and leave?”She doesn’t look back at you when she replies, “Yes. I did.”It’s clear that her business with you is concluded, so you don’t bother trying to chase her down. Instead, you look down at the envelope in your hands. It doesn’t appear unusual or suspicious in any way. It’s a simple, white envelope with your first name written in black marker on the front. You don’t recognize the handwriting.You open the envelope with great care, doing your best not to rip anything. Inside, you find clippings that have been cut out of the Summerville Times newspaper. The first is dated 11 years ago and it reads:
‘Local Woman Brutally Assaulted in Home’
Early this morning, neighbors discovered Darcy Kane, 27, of Summerville, unconscious in her apartment. She had been brutally beaten and suffered broken ribs, a broken arm, and a serious head injury. Her apartment had also been ransacked, with valuable items stolen. Police currently believe this to be a robbery gone wrong. Kane is being treated at a local hospital and has not yet regained consciousness.
The second is dated 10 years ago and it reads:
‘It Was Absolute Slaughter: 17 Killed in Museum Massacre’
On Tuesday evening, two attackers killed 14 children and 3 adults at the Summerville Museum of Modern Art, during the museum’s annual Family Fun Night. One attacker, a 28 year old female, was shot by police and incapacitated, before being transported to the hospital in critical condition. The other attacker, a 29 year old male, was subdued by responding pro heroes on the scene and taken into police custody.
The attackers have been identified as Ethan and Celina Kane of Summerville. When taken into custody, witnesses testified that the male attacker shouted, “We are Rebirth! And you will remember today as the day your heroes failed to save you!” Though they identified themselves by the organization name ‘Rebirth’, the couple is believed to have acted alone, according to Summerville Police Commissioner, Helena Moss.
The third and final article is from 6 months ago and reads:
‘Women Left in Coma from Attack Wakes up 11 Years Later’
A woman who was found seriously injured in her apartment 11 years ago has made a miraculous recovery. According to the Summerville County Sheriff’s Office, Darcy Kane, 38, of Summerville, has awoken from an 11 year coma. Originally when she was found in her apartment, Kane had suffered a brutal attack, which left her in a decade long coma.
Kane has accused Pro Hero Bull Rush of the attack on her 11 years ago, the Summerville County Sheriff’s Office reports. This case has been reopened and is currently under investigation. The Bull Rush Agency has no comment on the matter at this time. Further information about the case has not yet been released.
Your hands shake as you pull out one final item from the envelope. A small, white card that’s covered with writing. You note that the handwriting matches the outside of the envelope. The card itself reads as follows:
Charlotte,
Now you know the truth of what happened all those years ago. Let it open your eyes to the truth of this corrupt society. Only then can you be truly free. When you’re ready, come find me in Night Harbor. We have a lot to talk about.
–Aunt Darcy
Now you know the reason your Father is trying to get out of prison. And you know who’s pulling the strings on the outside to try to secure his release. Your Aunt’s note makes it all too clear. She is the leader of this new Rebirth. You stare down at your Mother’s headstone with a feeling of growing horror. You could never have seen this coming.(End Content Warning)
~~“Are you sure you have everything she’ll need for the trip?” You ask Liam again, unable to keep from worrying.He gives you an amused smile. “I promise I’ve got everything. Water, food, blankets, and a harness and leash so she can get out of the car and stretch her legs a little, if she wants.”You release a deep breath you didn’t realize you were holding. Liam reaches to tuck a piece of your hair behind your ear, saying in a soft voice, “I’ll take good care of her. I promise.”“I know you will.” You reply, smiling at him.He leans in to kiss you. When your lips meet, you feel a warmth in your chest that has nothing to do with the small ball of black fur in your arms. When Liam pulls back, the cat chirps at him and he smiles down at her. “Well, you’re sure chatty today, aren’t you Miss Raven?”Raven, formerly known by the truly terrible name Licorice, looks up at him and meows. He reaches to pet her head and she accepts his touch without question, closing her green eyes.You comment, “You know, when I first met her, the cat café owner told me that Raven usually doesn’t like people. So I’m surprised that she likes you.”Liam replies with a teasing look, “Well, I guess Raven and her owner have something in common then.”You good-naturedly roll your eyes in response, though it doesn’t have much of an effect since you’re giving him a small smile. “Don’t press your luck, Liam. I just tolerate you.”“Oh, you only tolerate me, huh? Guess I’ll need to do something about that.” Liam purrs, winking flirtatiously at you.“You’re welcome to try.” You reply with a smile, though your face is getting warm.He says softly, “I’ll do more than try.” Then he reaches to cup your face. “Because I’m your man now. And I’m not gonna settle for anything less than your whole heart.”You look up at him, unable to hide the way your voice wavers with emotion when you reply, “I love you.”He smiles at that, giving you a fond look. “I love you too.”You both share another kiss. Then Liam says, “Now, pass Raven to me, would you? I’ll get her in the carrier.”“Should be easy, since she’s pretty much conked out.” You reply with a wry smile.You hand Raven to Liam and she hardly stirs, other than to stretch and yawn, before returning to her nap. Liam just chuckles as he carefully sets her inside the carrier and secures the door latch. You watch as he carefully straps the carrier into the back seat with a seatbelt and secures the buckle. Once the carrier is in place, he shuts the car door and turns back to you.“There. She’s all safe. And she’ll stay that way, okay? I’ll drive the speed limit and check on her as much as I can.” He reassures you in a soft voice.“I know. I trust you to take care of her.” You reply with a warm smile.For the first time, you reach out to hug him and wrap your arms around his waist, pressing your face against his chest. He lets out a small, surprised noise before he reacts, wrapping his arms around you in return and holding you close, his face pressed into the crown of your head. He’s warm and you feel safe in his arms, like you can allow yourself to relax without worry. Because it’s Liam. And you trust him.“Be safe driving back to Night Harbor, okay?” You say, looking up at him.He smiles. “Don’t worry. I will be. I’ve got 3 gorgeous girlfriends to get back to, after all.”Then he kisses your forehead and says in a soft, loving voice that melts your heart, “I’ll see you back home…Charlotte.”