April Anderson's Story

Christian jumped up at the sound of knocking on the door. He checked his watch; 12:30, right on time. He cantered through the house, pausing to check he looked presentable, before pulling the front door open to reveal Pit standing at the front door. Christian's breath caught in his throat. "Pit," He started, his voice betraying his breathlessness. Christian cleared his throat, "Come in."

Christian stood back to let Pit in. When Pit was in, Christian stood behind him and covered Pit's eyes with his hands. This was partially an excuse to stand really close to Pit, damn he smelled good, although it was mostly to stop Pit being able to see into the back garden as Christian guided him through the house, "Watch your step,we're at the back door," He murmured, a little nervous, as they came out to the backyard. Christian took a deep breath, "Keep your eyes closed," Christian said as he let go of Pit's face. He stepped out in front of Pit, "Ta-da! You can open your eyes now," He grinned at Pit sheepishly, slipping his hands into his pockets, "I mean, I know it's not exactly the Valentine's Dance, but I figured this would be a nice alternative," He rubbed the back of his neck, anxious to learn what Pit thought of his endeavours.

---

Morrigan padded silently across the raised walkway. Even in the mid-afternoon, the entire industrial estate, which had been abandoned many years ago, was gloomy, making keeping out of sight a much easier process. She reached for her bokken at her hip as she cautiously made her way through the warehouse. Her own private investigations had informed her that a drugs deal was taking place here. She just hoped that she had hit the right warehouse.

She heard voices in the near distance. She could hear three voices as they spoke. Unsheathing her bokken, Morrigan continued forward, rounding a corner and seeing a group of men beneath her. A quick count of five and Morrigan weighed her options. Hell, she could handle five. She climbed up onto the railings before launching herself to the ground, landing in a crouch, sword arm raised behind her.

The men's attention was now firmly on Morrigan. She grinned, "Sorry boys, there's no business scheduled to be happening here," She quipped as she rose to full height, "So you lovely lot can go on your merry way and we'll say nothing about what happened here," None of the men moved to leave. One by one, three members of their party reached for their pockets, revealing an array of weapons, "Nun chucks?" Morrigan exclaimed, "I haven't seen them used in a while," She shrugged, "So be it."

She gripped the bokken in both hands and moved to her first opponent, an absolute tank of a man who favoured knuckle dusters. Don't let him hit you she instinctively thought as he started to throw a right hook. Morrigan ducked beneath the fist, bringing the bokken swinging up into the connection of jaw and neck. She spun around, gathering momentum and letting momentum swing the bokken into the other side of his neck. Morrigan spun away and sliced through the air until the bokken clattered into his rib cage, winding him and perhaps fracturing a rib or two. She heard another, the one who for some reason liked nun chucks, making his move. She grabbed Knuckles by the collar and threw him into Chuck, the two men falling over like bowling pins. Chuck wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. Knuckles started to rise, albeit groggily. Morrigan whipped her foot out, crushing his nose and leaving knuckles unconscious.

Her distraction allowed one of the motley crew to get her arms in a lock behind her back, her bokken falling from her grip. A fourth man, who Morrigan christened Switch, given he was carrying a switchblade, approached, sneering at her, "No, please, not my weakness," She whimpered, "If you're going to cut me, please, not my face. It's too beautiful," She finished dramatically, before lifting her knees to her chest and, using her captor as leverage, planted both feet in Switch's chest, sending him stumbling. That bought her enough time to bring her foot scraping down her captor's shin, headbutt him in the nose, elbow him in the stomach and twist out of his grip. He was doubled over, obviously winded. Morrigan steadied herself and executed a near perfect roundhouse kick, which folded her captor in half. She scrambled for her bokken, getting a hand to it in time to swing the what was supposed to be the handle into Switch's head, the hilt sinking in slightly deeper than it should have. She suspected she had fractured Switch's cheekbone.

Morrigan flipped back up to her feet as Switch crumpled. The final member looked at her, bug-eyed, before sprinting towards the exit. Morrigan looked around her for something to throw to stop him running. Seeing nothing on the men that would help, she searched the trunk of the car nearest to her. Bingo!. She pulled a pistol from a weapons bag and aimed for the back of his knees. Judging by the way his leg collapsed underneath him, Morrigan knew she had made her target. She sheathed her bokken and made for the roof before sending an all clear to the police to come collect the unfortunate souls.

When Pit pulled Christian's arms around his waist, Christian took a deep breath, trying to calm the butterflies. Sure, he'd kissed Pit before, but Pit had been in a coma last time. This was entirely different. Christian realised two things when Pit kissed him. The first being that Pit felt cold, in a good way, but then again, most people felt cold to Christian. The second being that kissing Pit ranked at number one on the list of Christian's Favourite Things To Do.

“Yeah” Pit smiled and Christian felt his heart skip a beat. “It is a nice alternative. I hope your parents are okay with the under-aged drinking.”

Christian looked at the bottle of wine and shrugged, "I could list all the countries where it's legal for us to drink, but I couldn't possibly remember all of them, so I'll just say, we're European for the afternoon."

Spending the afternoon with Pit was quickly becoming a contender on Christian's list of Favourite Things. "We should do this more often," was said in among the idle chatter of the afternoon. Talking with Pit was easy. They had been friends for years and knew each other pretty much inside out. Of course there was the massive superpowered elephant in the room, but Christian couldn't tell Pit. If he told Pit, Pit would want to get involved and Christian couldn't bear the thought of anything further happening to Pit.

My mom was right about you,” Pit started “You’re a great guy," Indeed I am, Christian thought, not wanting to interrupt Pit, who seemed like he had some more to say, "I just wish I had had the nerve to say something sooner. All this time you were right in front of me and I missed every signal. I want to ask you something serious. I think this whole event says it all, but I want to hear you say it. How do you feel about me?”

Those god awful butterflies started in Christian's stomach again. Whoever said butterflies fluttered in the gut was a liar. They kicked. 'Flutter' implied something pleasant and gentle when this feeling was anything but pleasant. Christian thought for a moment, searching for the right words for how he felt, "How I feel about you?" He finally echoed, slightly incredulously. He scrambled to his feet, pulling Pit up along with him. He rested a hand at the small of Pit's back and began moving in an approximation of dancing. Christian had a few inches of heigh over Pit, meaning he had to dip his head slightly to look at Pit.

"I believe, Pit Mason, that throughout life, you get to meet one person who is unlike any other," He said quietly against the outer shell of Pit's ear, "One person that you could speak to for hours and never get bored of. For me, that's you. You are the one person unlike any other and I believe I am absolutely, definitely, unquestionably, no strings attached, beyond all doubt in love with you. And have been for quite a while," He planted a small kiss on Pit's cheek,"Does that answer your question?"

---

April collapsed onto her sofa, throwing her wig across the room. She ran her hand through her short hair. She had recently took to cutting her hair to make getting the wig on easier. She flicked on the news, frowning when a bank robbery was reported, but with no news of a Super turning up. Why hadn't she been told? Why had no one turned up? She grabbed Morrigan's phone and connected the Police.

"Why was no one told about to the bank robbery?" She barked down the phone at the hapless officer at the other end.

"Blaze was told. He didn't turn up," Came the reply.

"Then why not pass the buck to someone else?"

"You were busy Morrigan."

"Blaze and I aren't the only Supers that exist in Dusk Haven. There are plenty of us floating about!" She yelled before hanging up the phone rather abruptly. She tried to call Blaze but got no response, "Call me when you can," She said when the answer machine had finished.

Christian shuddered when Pit sent a chill down his spine. "Nothing wrong with my temperature," He murmured as Pit continued kissing him. He felt Pit's hair tickling his face as their kissing intensified. He may have let out a small whimper of protest as Pit rolled off him, but he was fairly sure he had gotten away with it. Pit rested his head on Christian's chest and he absently ran his fingers through Pit's hair, while his new boyfriend drew patterns on his abs, continuously brushing over a very sensitive spot on Christian's hip. It was taking a great deal of willpower to not let Pit have his way with him there and then.

“So” Pit started, “What else did you have planned for today? I've barely been here an hour and already I have you on your back and you told me to keep the whole day cleared. I like where this is headed,” he mused in a mockingly innocent tone that told Christian that Pit's thoughts were anything but innocent, “I have a few ideas if you don’t.” When had Pit become such a tease? Christian thought. He was fairly certain he knew what 'ideas' Pit had, but he decided to push Pit a little further.

Christian propped himself up on his elbows, "'A few ideas'?" He quirked an eyebrow at Pit, "And what exactly do these ideas entail?" There was a hammering at the door. Christian frowned, counting out the number of knocks and the rhythm. He sighed, "Hold that thought," He said, pressing a chaste kiss to Pit's lips before heading for the front door. He crouched down and flipped up the letter box, "Morrigan?"

"One and only," Came the distinctly feminine voice. A voice that sounded very annoyed.

"And what do you want?"

"Why aren't you answering your phone Blaze?"

"Because I am entitled to a Saturday off every now and then."

He saw a flurry of activity and was now eye to eye with Morrigan, "You have two months off Blaze. No one questioned anything, no one gave you hassle. You have a personal life, we get that. We all have civilian lives Blaze. But after two months, you don't get a day off for a while now,"He could see Morrigan was smiling sarcastically without actually seeing her mouth. The eyes gave it away. She shoved her cell through the letterbox, "Niru's back Blaze, figured you should handle this one."

"How's he... I thought he was in The Island."

"He was and he escaped. Now you get to go take him back in."

"Thanks Morrigan," He said, not really grateful at all. He let the letterbox clatter shut. Christian wandered back to the back garden, "How soon can you change?" He asked Pit, "Just this water guy called Niru's escaped from The Island, and with us being elementals and all that, the powers that be figure we should go get him." He explained before running upstairs to get changed. He cantered back downstairs to Pit, gas mask in hand, "Do you wanna take off and I'll meet you at Little Italia, and then we can take care of this and pick up where we left off because I really wanna know what ideas you had, 'kay?" He pulled his gas mask on and his hood up, "Later partner," He said, giving Pit a mock salute before taking off, "Keys are by the front door," He called back, not altogether sure if Pit had heard him.

“The Island? Niru? Powers that be?” he questioned in his mind as he saw that whoever this guy was had Christian in a frenzy and too flustered to answer any questions.

"Do you wanna take off and I'll meet you at Little Italia, and then we can take care of this and pick up where we left off because I really wanna know what ideas you had, 'kay?" He pulled his gas mask on and his hood up, "Later partner," He said, giving Pit a mock salute before taking off, "Keys are by the front door," He called back.

Pit looked back at the garden and sighed then turned to the door. He grabbed the keys off the counter by the door and locked everything up before he hid the keys in a fake rock he noticed by the door. He only noticed it because it looked just like the one his parents had. He ran home as fast as he could wishing he could fly in public, but he couldn’t with out his disguise.

He saw that the car was gone and he hoped against hope that everyone was gone. No such luck. He opened the door and gave out a cautious “Hello?”
“Hi sweetie. That was a quick date.”

“It’s not exactly over yet, just sorta postponed.” he replied, calming his breathing as much as he could from the running.

“Oh, Okay. While you’re here I have a bone to pick with you.”

“Oh shit, I don’t have time to be in trouble right now!” His inner monolog was screaming at her.

“What’d I do this time?” He asked.

“Well, I don’t care what services you’re providing the community, in this house you ASK before repurposing Christmas decorations.”

“What?” He asked, not quite getting her statement.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice the snowflakes that I made myself?”
That’s when he got it and the “Oh Shit!” look washed over his face.

“You know?” he whimpered.

“Don’t be so shocked, I knew before you did.” She smiled.

“How is that possible?”

“At the hospital, when the doctors were trying to figure out how you survived, they figured that they should test for the “Super chromosome” to see if it was in your DNA, as it’s only traceable after it’s been activated. They ran the test and came to me with the results while your father was at work. It was positive. The doctor told me to be on the look out for any strange abilities, the most likely being super strength. When I saw the way you reacted to the kid who froze the guy’s arm and shattered it, I knew it was you.”

“Please tell me Dad doesn’t know.” he pleaded.

“No, he’s oblivious as are your brothers.”

“Can we keep it that way please, Mom?” He begged using the look.

“Sure sweetie, I’ll cover for you as long as you help me make some new snowflakes this year.”

“Deal.” He said as he ran to his room.

“Oh, and give Blaze a kiss for me, he’s such a sweet boy.” She called to him while he was changing into his Ice Pick costume and checking the messages on the phone that Chief Hendricks had given him.

“Really, Mom?! Can no one keep a secret from you?” He called back.

“I’m observant, especially when my boy is sad and depressed. I’m a mom, that’s my job.”

“So what, you just happened to notice that every time Christian canceled or flaked out on me, that Blaze showed up on the news?”

“Pretty much. At first it seemed like just a coincidence, but it was happening EVERY time. I knew something was up.”

“Okay, well just keep it between us, and when I get home we’ll have a little chat about keeping this a secret. Love you, be back late.”

“Be safe sweetie.”

And with that he was out the basement door. He checked quickly to make sure the neighbors weren’t looking and flew off.

His mind was racing. “How the hell am I going to tell him that my mom knows who we both are? He’s gonna kill me. He’s gonna think I told her.” He tried to get his bearings as to where he was in relation to Little Italia. He still had to get used to the view from above everything. He heard panicked screams and sure enough he saw huge columns of water shooting into the sky and Blaze was in the air nearby waiting for him.

“Hey Blaze” he called out “So what’s this guy’s deal?” He asked looking down at the blonde he assumed was the one who contacted Blaze at the house, as she was battling some guy who wouldn’t hold still long enough for Ice Pick to get a look at him. “He all ticked off about water pollution?” He asked sarcastically.

Blaze found Niru easy enough. Niru was always easy to find. He had a particular flair for causing trouble and attracting his attention to himself. More so than Blaze did. And that was saying something given that fire wasn't a particularly subtle means of attack. Blaze dived, rushing towards Niru. Niru saw him and threw a wave of sewer water his way. Blaze jackknifed upwards, planting his feet into the wave, the water boiling away on impact. The stench almost made Blaze's stomach flip. He was not throwing up in his mask. Not again.

“Hey Blaze” he heard Ice Pick call “So what’s this guy’s deal?” He asked looking down Morrigan. Blaze felt an odd pang of jealousy that was completely irrational since Ice Pick was gay and Morrigan was definitely a woman. “He all ticked off about water pollution?” He asked sarcastically.

Blaze looped back over to Ice Pick, "You know, the usual. Girlfriend left him, daddy issues, no prospects," He shrugged, "Turns many a man to insanity. Also, watch out, he likes to use sewer water and it can get pretty gross," He pushed Ice Pick away and dodged a meteor-like rush of water, "You go in first, freeze what you can. I'll be right on your tail if you need me," He explained, enveloping his entire body in flames as Ice Pick went ahead.

Blaze remained a little way back from Ice Pick, keeping a close eye on the rookie Super. Niru managed to throw a rogue water bomb towards Ice Pick. Blaze clocked before his partner had and threw a fireball, evaporating the water. Blaze ducked down further, accelerating through the air, cannon-balling into Niru. He could feel water burning away around him, the acrid smell permeating the air around him. He was going to have to wash his uniform when he got home.Great.

Blaze collided with Niru and the two elementals bounced off the road, rolling to a stop some way down the street. Unfortunately for Blaze, he landed underneath Niru; something the older and altogether more psychotic elemental was thrilled with. Blaze flinched, moving his head out of the way of a fist that was intent on doing serious damage.And another. And another. Blaze began to wriggle and jerk, trying to throw Niru off him. He looked around for Ice Pick, hoping the other Super would get the message that he need help and sharpish, otherwise Niru was going to turn his face to mush.

---

Not long after leaving Blaze's house (jarringly pleasant and suburban, it didn't suit Blaze), Morrigan received another call. She flipped it open, a second SOS flashing on the screen. She sighed, making sure her headband was on properly before hopping on her motorcycle. It was a slightly odd sensation, driving at speed, feeling the wind on her face but not through her hair. She skidded to halt on a street corner. Niru was obviously near, judging by the panic. A charming fellow on the Most Wanted list had been spotted in Dusk Haven (idiot Morrigan thought) and she was being sent to take him down. She scanned the crowd looking for his face. She spotted him pushing through the crowd that was ogling Blaze and some new Super that she didn't recognise.

He was coming closer to her, so she hung around on the corner until he passed her, "You know, you should always look both ways before you cross a street," She quipped.

He stiffened slightly, looking over his shoulder at Morrigan, "Whu-" He didn't really get to finish his question before Morrigan hit him over the head, momentarily disorientating him. He was made of sterner stuff than the gang she had taken down and recovered his balance fairly quickly. A flurry of fists and kicks were exchanged between Morrigan and the criminal. Damn he's good Morrigan thought as she jumped back to give herself some space. If she could land a solid punch on the guy, she would probably be able to gather the upper hand in this fight. Then he stopped landing punches. Another guy, another Super if she wasn't mistaken had joined the fight, distracting the target for a moment.

Morrigan landed a solid punch on the target's jaw, breaking it. She swung her leg into the Super's gut, winding him, "My target," She warned him, before grabbing the target in a lock and flipping him over her hip, slamming him into the ground. He probably had jarred joints up and down his body. He moaned pitifully, "Oh shut up," she said, her patience wearing thin. She looked to the other Super, "And who the hell are you?" She demanded, "You didn't need to interfere, I had everything under control."

The dark haired boy looked blankly at the man sprawled on the sidewalk, "Looks like it. Name's Scab," He introduced himself, "And you're welcome." He said, before taking off, leaving Morrigan quietly fuming. Morrigan fished her phone from her pocket, "You can come get him now," She said, her voice eerily calm when the call connected.

Ice Pick went barreling into the fray freezing as many of the attacks as he could feeling the heat of Blaze’s fire right behind him. As he was distracted by one wave of sewer filth, Niru tossed a water bomb at him with the intent of taking him out, but Blaze had seen it first and evaporated it. He then went flying past Ice Pick like a meteor and directly into a column of water turning it to steam and shit as he flew through. The back draft sending him spiraling down to the ground.
“Now I see why he wears a gas mask.” He sneered as he picked himself up off the ground. He looked fro Blaze and Niru , but didn’t see either one of them. Then he heard the sound of soggy punching. He turned to see Niru had managed to get Blaze on the ground and was beating the tar out of him. He was doing some major damage too. Luckily Ice Pick had the element of surprise on his side. He formed talons on his fingers turning them into ice claws and flew at Niru’s back at full speed.

He hit Niru’s back and the claws sank in all the way and he broke them off inside. Then, while he was writhing in agony trying to reach his back and pull out the claws, Ice Pick placed his hand into the puddle they were standing and, as if it was completely natural, he pulled a sword of solid ice from the puddle. He placed it at Niru’s throat, who was now bleeding profusely as the talons were melting quickly.

“Now, we can do this the easy way or the fun way.” he growled through clenched teeth as another set of claws grew onto his hands.

Niru had lost a lot of blood and was starting to turn pale. “The easy way.” He coughed spitting blood as he tried to speak.

“Wise choice, but forgive me if I don’t take you at your word.” He sneered as he kicked him onto his back into the huge puddle of shitty water. He froze the water around him incasing him in a giant shitsicle as Morrigan and Blaze gathered behind Ice Pick.

“Take him back to where ever the hell the Island is, get him medical attention, then seal him up in something water tight.” He said without even looking behind him at the others.
He turned to look at Blaze who looked pretty beat up.
“Are you okay?” He asked, his voice changing to concern from anger. “If so, we’re going to have to have a talk later, I was just given some info before I got here.”

“Are you okay?” Ice Pick asked, “If so, we’re going to have to have a talk later, I was just given some info before I got here."

Blaze could feel that his mask was cracked. He maybe had a few bruises on his face. He was fairly certain there was nothing serious in his injuries. A few aches and pains, but he would live. Blaze nodded to Ice Pick, "I'm fine," He stood up, standing close to Ice Pick, "Fly high and fast. When you get home, go for your back garden then wait a little while before you start heading to my place, ok," He clapped Ice Pick on the shoulder and nodded to Morrigan who remained silent, her face unreadable as she left, apparently satisfied that everything was in hand. Blaze took his hand away from Ice Pick's shoulder, realising that he had been lingering just a little too long. Blaze took off at a run before launching himself into the air.

Landing in his back garden, Christian ripped the gas mask from his face, examining the damage. One of the lenses had cracked and the material was coming away from the edging. Fucking great Christian thought bitterly as he made his way into the kitchen, dumping the mask in the bin. He rapidly stripped off his uniform, throwing everything into the washing machine, setting it away to wash.

Grimacing, Christian took a moment to check how he himself smelled. The experience was not pleasant and he headed for the shower. Standing under the warm spray of the shower, Christian felt his aches ease and melt away. His tensed muscles relaxed and he began washing the stink of the sewers from his skin, almost dousing himself in sandalwood body wash. He jumped out the shower, now smelling more like a human being than a sewer rat. He heard the front door click open. He grabbed a fresh pair of boxers and his trousers, half dressing himself and grabbing his shirt, "Pit? That you?" He called down, shrugging his shirt onto his shoulders, his fingers fumbling with the buttons. He had most of the buttons done up when he finally gave in, leaving the top and bottom two buttons undone, waiting for a reply from his house guest as he came out into the landing and headed down the stairs.

Out on the streets, Alastar reached for his pockets and took out a pack of 20 cigarillos. Propping one up, he placed it in his mouth and put the pack back in his mouth. As he walked, Alastar made the tip of the cigarillo vibrate, just enough for it to flame up, letting him smoke it. He took a large puff and let it out, removing the blunt from his mouth with his right hand. As he walked, he just happened to catch a glimpse of a fight between Supers (Because that’s what they were called now). He had arrived only to see the end of the fight unfortunately. As he turned the corner, he could see the authorities grab some guy who seemed to have been beat up pretty bad. He decided to stay at the corner and watch.

“Well…it’s seems Torchy and Icy were able to take some bad guy down” he chuckled and stayed behind, waiting for them to leave. He needed a way into this cities “Super” environment. As of now, no one knew that he had his own abilities; in fact, he had not used them since he got here. He had finished his blunt when the “Supers” split up. Torchy and Icy both dashed in opposite directions, after have a little talk, while the other girl slowly walked away without saying a word. Choosing his target, Alastar was about to go after the girl, when he noticed a shady black van following Icy.

“That looks promising”

And so he followed the van instead. He started running after it, but even with his enhanced speed, he would not be able to catch up to the speeding van. He quickly thought of a plan and put it into action. Planning his own route, he ran to an alley way where he was able to leap from one wall to another and grab onto a ladder. From there, he found himself on a roof. On said roof, he was able to find the van and follow it once more. Running towards it, he leaped from one roof to another, rolling to break his fall. After he had flipped over and exhaust vent, he found himself on a roof adjacent to the scene at hand.

He had got there just in time to see the poor fool (Who though he could take down a super) get his ass handed to him. Alastar chuckled from his roof, as the boy ran off. He was about to jump down from the roof and interrogate the guy, when a girl walked over to him. From his distance Alastar heard nothing, but the girl was leaving with the man and he would follow them.

“It seems I am not the only one looking to get my hands dirty…”

Christian agreed to Pit's plans for the day, nodding his approval, "Sounds good." He said, ignoring the look Pit's brothers gave them when Pit had mentioned wanting to do something again and soon. Any plan Pit had come up with would have been a good plan as far as Christian was concerned. Finishing up his breakfast, Christian followed Pit back to his room.

Christian grabbed a quick shower before getting dressed. As he dressed, he could feel Pit's gaze boring into him, "“You’re gonna burn a hole in my clothes if you keep staring at me like that.”

"That's really more your thing," Pit answered as Christian pulled his t-shirt down. He felt Pit standing behind him shortly before kissing his neck, "“Next time this is mine," Pit said, slapping his ass.

Christian bit his lip, "We'll see about that," he turned against Pit to face him, brushing his lips against Pit, grinning at the effect he had on Pit.

As they headed to Christian's house, Christian linked his fingers through Pit's, feeling more at ease than he had for a long time. “So in light of the revelations over the last couple of days, I feel compelled to ask you this one more time; not in a note, but in my own voice. Christian, will you be my date to the Valentines Day dance? If we have to leave early due to super stuff, that’s fine, but I really would love to go with you and have a real date. I don’t care if it ends in us kicking some villain’s ass as long as I get this one when we’re done.” Pit grabbed his ass again.

Christian laughed and batted his hand away, "Someone's frisky today," He captured Pit's hand in his own, "But yes, I will go the dance with you. And if you're good, you get my ass."

“So where should we be looking for a base? It’s just too dangerous to be going to and from our own houses; we could easily be followed, our families’ lives could be in danger and all the cool super heroes in the comics get their own secret bases why shouldn't we?” Pit asked as Christian opened the front door to his house.

"What like Batman and the Bat Cave?" Christian asked, letting Pit in, pointing upstairs, "Hey Mom! We're back!" Christian called, not altogether sure if they were actually in the house. The absent reply told him they were either in bed or had already left for the day. Shrugging to himself, Christian followed Pit upstairs, "Because if you mean like Batman, then I am totally Batman, which makes you Robin for the time being," Christian dumped his bag on his bed and sat down on the edge. His costume, sans his mask, was folded in the middle of his bed. That reminded him, "I need to get a new mask. Niru cracked mine to shit," He said, "Might change the mask actually, y'know, considering how hot I am and all that," He smirked at Pit, "Blessed with good looks, might as well let the world see some of them."

---

April rolled out of bed, her head pounding from the beating she had taken the previous day. She checked her face for any visible bruising. There was a small lump on her forehead, but she could explain that one away easily. Everything else was pretty much fine. As she dressed, she remembered the kid who had interrupted. Scab. Kid was a good fighter, she thought. Admittedly, he was more of a street fighter than she was, but a good fighter was a good fighter. A team up might be good for them.

Whatever might be good for the Supers of the city, right now April needed to get herself into gear. She had a few lectures today that she needed to turn up for on account of the fact she was teaching them. Checking that she didn't look too professorial, April grabbed her bag and headed out to the university. Her route took her past the local high school which had a countdown to the Valentine's Dance. It was a few days out. Obviously no one maintained it over the weekend. Her memories of the high school were pleasant enough, apart from the few people who objected to smart people, but she never let them bother her.

She skipped up the stairs of the campus building into the lecture theatre. Her class was beginning to trickle in, mostly in groups of two and three. She was a few minutes early so she busied herself setting up her equipment. She always felt nervous standing up here, like she was an impostor. She was less than ten years older than her youngest students, and these students were in their senior year, so she was maybe five years older than they were. It wasn't worth getting her started on her post-graduates class. She checked her watch and decided it was time to start. She tapped the microphone to get the young adults' attention, "Good morning class."

(last night) "don't my prey i'll get you in time but im bored so i'll go back and rest be sides i really don't do school." he flue to the hotel and rested in the room he set up as headquarter (temporary).

(back to the school)

"yeah. i don't do school." he said as he just stood atop the biggest tallest building in a cross like form you'd swear he was a steeple if you didn't look close "this city is perfect noise and quiet but calm and not all at once he unfolds his wings and floats in a cross legged position as he meditated. "those two there not like the others what what am i saying no no no! i can get soft i have to kill them kill them all villains and hero there both just jerks or fools who ruin others lives if i ever meet a sceintist that helped make more of the powered fool i will kill the person they did this to me i was a perfectly happy person but no now im a super FREAK!!!! wait just calm down breath in breath out breath in breath out there now i can calm the noise and then there was ........ silence (he used his powers to block out noise that could be annoying and went back to meditating.

“Didn’t Dusk Haven start off as a mining town?” Christian asked

"Oh yeah."

Christian shrugged, "Figure that somewhere there's got to be some old mining tunnels we can use as out base. They'll be out of the way, there'll most likely be multiple entrances we can use, so if anyone does follow us, they'll not be able to prove it's us."

Christian waited for Pit's response. Before he could answer, gunshots rang out. Instinctively, Christian threw himself to the floor, Pit following him, and flipped the table, using it as a shield. The drinks spilled over the floor. Christian blankly thought he should pay Pit back for the drink. All around him, people were screaming and panicking. All Christian could think about was keeping Pit safe, even though he was fully aware that Pit could take care of himself.

"You know this guy?" Pit asked.

Christian risked a quick glance, "Never seen him before."

“He’s not doing anything, he’s just standing there watching. I don’t think we’ll have the option to change into a costume. What do we do?”

Christian thought for a moment, "Nothing, we act like civillians. That's all we can do right now. Changing's too risky." He took Pit's hand. This was one of the times he wished he had been given healing powers instead of fire. Healing powers were a lot more useful, especially in situations like this.

"Well well, that was great, next time I won't miss. But to give you a taste of all the power you face, I'll show you the least powerful thing I can do," The man who had shot at them had powers. Christian felt his heart sink when the table spilt in two, almost hitting Pit. Christian felt rage surge through him, his hands beginning to smoke, forcing him to let go of Pit so he didn't burn him. Hit Christian by all means, but the second this guy hurt Pit, he would get it, Christian didn't care who found out his identity. Some thing were more important. "Oh and I know where you live and also where you where you go to school. I followed you for at least three days counting today. Oh and the names Jericho and you will fall but I have to go so I'll see you later," Great, now we've got a psycho on our tails, "Goodbye and, well, don't worry about your family. As long as they aren't super powered, they won't be harmed. I'm not a monster, I just hate both super villains and heroes alike. Oh and if you want to find me I spend my time in the old big church!"

Christian waited unitl the guy had gone before allowing himself to relax. There were singe marks in the ground had gone before allowing himself to relax. There were singe marks in the ground from his hands. He looked at Pit, "You ok?" He asked, not really trusting himself to not flip out on someone. How could Jericho say he wasn't a monster when he was willing to kill two sixteen year olds for something they had no control over? He had to warn Morrigan. He fished his phone from his pocket. "Call all the supers you know, good and bad. Shit just got serious. We all need to meet up." He sent the message to Morrigan, hoping her contact list was bigger than his. Then again, Morrigan was very good at finding people, she probably didn't need a phone to get the message to people.

---

"And that brings us to the end. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me and I'll do my best to get back to you as soon as possible," April stiffened when she felt her phone vibrate. Oh God, not today. She waited until the last of her class had filed out before checking her phone. She let out a breath that she hadn't realised she had been holding when she saw Blaze's name at the top. She read the message and felt her gut drop, "Get somewhere safe Blaze! Now! Let me know where you are and I'll get there as soon as possible."

April grabbed her timetable from her laptop bag, checking it against her class lists. She e-mailed her students the necessary slideshows and an apology, making up something about a family emergency before hastily packing away. She felt oddly protective over Blaze, like he was a surrogate brother. She knew he would insist that he could take care of himself, but that didn't stop her worrying about the younger Super.

“Are you okay?” Christian asked Pit.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Pit replied, noticing the singe marks on the floor in the shape of hands. He reached to take Christian’s hand again and try to calm him down when he noticed his own hands were stuck to the floor. Apparently he had unknowing grown a set of talons while he was on the floor. He broke them off in the floor and grabbed Christian’s hand while Christian pulled out his phone and sent a text with the other.

“How the fuck can someone be both self-righteous and self-loathing? Hell, did I sound that bad when I hated supers?” Pit suddenly got a twinge of guilt for all his anti-super bashing he’d done in the past. “How did he even know we were supers anyway?”

Pit saw the response from Morrigan on Christian’s phone a few minutes later.
"Get somewhere safe Blaze! Now! Let me know where you are and I'll get there as soon as possible."

“You were saying something about the old mines earlier?” Pit tried to make light of the situation in spite of the seriousness. “Now might be a good time to find one and hide.”

“Agreed” Christian replied dryly. They ran out of the book store and off in the direction of the nearest mine that they knew about. While running, Pit pulled out his normal phone and sent a text to his mom.
“Gonna be ‘out’ with Christian tonight. Be home late.”

They reached the entrance to an old abandoned mine and busted through the boards blocking the entrance. When they were safely inside they both changed clothes and Christian sent another text to Morrigan telling her where to find them. Now there was nothing to do but wait for reinforcements. Hopefully, between the Morrigan and Christian’s contact lists, they could get enough help to take this guy out.

he had been awakened by a crash and what could be pillagers "stealing from the church yeah people are so religous or maybe they showed well lets deal with it *he picked up one of his shock pistol and and grabed his gear* hey you guys know he watches right ha ha" he said then shot the electric bullets in t both of the robbers legs and called the cops he left after that he need to go find the two, they didn't show and that made his blood ice like because he thought they might just come the thought that they were smarter than him is the thing he was filliped over he thought about what they talked about and remembered the red head one and that he said the mines where a good base "thats where their going well the sound in a cave that might be useful but lets go there first he reloaded his pistols on the way and he formed contructs of there them in at least loosely that ploted the way they went then he listened for them as he got closer to the mine and the entrance he could hear phones typing he heard them changing and made a break to the height of the mine and waited there using a echo location like skill to watch them as he waited he was in truth interested at what they were planing and why he was struggleing to kill them he never stayed his hand before why? why? now he though as he watch the two.

April fixed her sword at her hip and ran to the old mines. Why on earth had Blaze chosen here? As she came closer to the mines, April had the feeling she was being watched. Dismissing it as paranoia, April fixed her head guard and headed into the mines.

---

Christian pulled his hood up and over his eyes while he waited for Morrigan to turn up. The two Supers had temporarily teamed up when Morrigan was new on the scene and the two had developed something of a mutual respect for one another. Besides Pit, Morrigan was the person that Christian trusted most in the business of Supers. Obviously, they respected the need for anonymity, hence them not knowing one another's true names. That was too dangerous for both of them. Given how their luck seemed to go, it would only be a matter of time before a telepath turned up. Hell, her actually knowing where he lived was risky, but he trusted her to be careful.

He heard footsteps coming down the tunnel, "Morrigan?" He asked cautiously.

"Who else would it be?" She replied.

Christian relaxed, "How did you find us?"

Morrigan was closer now, close enough to see properly. He didn't have to worry about Morrigan being smarter than him; he already knew it, as did pretty much everyone Morrigan had ever dealt with. She exuded smart, "Followed the smell of snow and brimstone," She said flippantly.

Looking at Blaze, Morrigan couldn't help but wonder what had happened to his mask. Had Niru beaten him so hard that Blaze had to ditch the mask? The lack of mask let Morrigan see Blaze in a way she hadn't before. Jesus, he's barely more than a kid she thought, remembering how many times he'd put himself in the way of danger to protect other people, when is should have been the people protecting him. "It might also interest you to know that someone else is here," Morrigan said, hearing the sounds of guns being cocked, "I'm guessing this is the big bad you wanted us all to team up to take down?"

Blaze nodded, "Yep," He gave Morrigan a run down of what had happened at the cafe, "So now we have a homicidal psychopath who can weild sound as a weapon trying to kill all of us." He finished.

Morrigan nodded, trying not to let the panic show on her face. If this guy could use sound as a weapon, she was in trouble. Her hearing was sensitive to noise as it was. If this guy, Jericho, could make supersonic noise...He could kill her without having to even touch her, "We need Scab," She thought, remembering the kid who had helped her out, "He has this power, like Wolverine's healing factor. He's the only one I know who has a chance of even getting close to this guy," She looked to Blaze's sidekick, the one that smelled like snow. He was busy on his phone. More backup, she figured. At least the kids were smart enough not to try and handle this one on their own. She flipped open her own phone, finding Scab's number, which she may have broken a few laws to acquire. Scab didn't strike her as the kind of person to reply to a text so she selected the 'Call' option.

---

Byron's phone rang. He dug the thing out of his pocket, casting the screen a cursory glance. Unknown number. Sighing angrily, he hit the answer button, prepared to give a telesales caller an earful, "Hello?"

"Hello? Scab?"

Byron blinked, confused. What? "Who the hell is this?" He growled.

"Morrigan. You know, blonde, sword. You helped me the other day."

Byron vaguely remembered her, "Whaddya want?"

"Help."

"Listen, I work alone. I'm not a hero, I don't help people."

"You helped me," Morrigan countered. Byron croaked, searching for a reply, "But I need your help again," She continued before he could reply, "There's a guy in town intent on taking everyone like us down. You're the only person I can think of us that can stop him."

"I don't get involved in this," Byron all but yelled at Morrigan.

"If you don't," Morrigan hissed, "We all die. You, me, anyone with powers. We all die."

Byron sighed, conceding defeat, "Fine. I'll help, but only this once. I mean it. After this, no more buddying up."

"Understood. I'll call you when it's safe to meet." The line went dead. Byron stared at his phone. A hundred questions zipped through his mind. Primarily; how the fuck did Morrigan get his number?

When Jericho swept in and grabbed Pit, Christian felt his heart sink. Morrigan grabbed his round the waist, stopping him from taking off after Jericho.

"Let me go!" He yelled, trying to wriggle his way out of Morrigan's grip. Morrigan tightened her grip, refusing to let go of the younger super, "I need to go after him!"

"And do what?" Morrigan asked calmly, "Shoot him out of the sky? What if you hit Ice Pick? What happens then Blaze?"

Blaze stopped wriggling in her arms, his chest heaving. He felt like he was going to cry. If he still had his mask on, he would have, but there was no way he was letting Morrigan see him cry. When Morrigan was sure he wasn't to go flying off, she loosened her grip on him, "So what do we do?" He asked, his voice still raised.

Morrigan took a deep breath, "We have to wait, Blaze, if we act now, we might do more harm than good. Jericho doesn't seem so stable to me."

Christian paced around the small tunnel, "But I need to do something, Morrigan. I can't just sit here while Jericho is doing God knows what to Ice!"

"I know Blaze, I know, but we have to-"

"Wait! I know!" Blaze gritted his teeth, his hands beginning to steam. He took several deep breaths, calming himself down, "I know," He repeated quieter. He curled up in the corner, trying to figure out what to do next..

His phone buzzed.

He checked it, half relieved half terrified that it was Pit.

He opened the message and nearly sobbed with relief. He was okay. "Ice Pick's okay," He told Morrigan, his voice almost monotone, the surge of emotion leaving him almost exhausted.

Morrigan nodded, "Okay, now we can focus on getting out of here." Morrigan wiped her hands while Christian got to his feet and followed her through the tunnels to the now blocked-off exit. Morrigan began lifting the rocks like they weighed nothing, effortlessly throwing them behind her. Christian lifted the rocks with a little more difficulty. He had enhanced strength like most supers, but he couldn't think of anyone who was on Morrigans level. She could probably bench press a house. When there was a gap big enough for them to climb through, they headed out, Morrigan first.

"I'm gonna head over to the Church, see if Ice is still around there." Morrigan nodded, standing back as Christian took off. When he landed at the Church, the first thing he saw was the police cordon packing up. He skidded to the ground, making sure his hood stayed up as he searched for Hendricks, "Where's Ice Pick?" He asked when he found the aging man.

"He said something about going to his thinking place or something." He said dismissively. God he hated that man. The sooner the police got a new chief, the better as far as Christian was concerned.

"Thanks," He said bitterly before taking off again, flying for Shadow Lake. He remembered coming here a lot with Pit when they were kids, building their, frankly awful looking back, tree house and hanging out. He floated in front of Pit, placing two fingers beneath his chin, gently pulling his face up. Christian felt a surge of irrational anger. Pit's eyes were red and watery.Nothing was allowed to make Pit cry. He placed a gentle kiss against Pit's lips, "What happened Pit?" He asked, taking a seat next to him on the plank of wood.