I suspected he would be a little less excited about that part after the dinner fiasco.
After taking the rooftop jumping route, I found a section of alley behind Colossus I knew didn’t have any cameras and waited.
The transformation was instantaneous. I didn’t even need to close my eyes or really concentrate anymore. It only took a second for my red and black costume (complete with black mask and cape adorned with a pattern of stars) to melt away and bring me back to plain old Dawn.
Unfortunately, plain old Dawn wasn’t quite as immune to the cold as Hikari was. Being March, and not January, it didn’t hit me like a punch to the gut, but the shock of the cool night air was impossible to ignore.
Being an Actual in a city where winter existed came with its own set of complications. And sure, the city did a pretty good job with plowing and sanding the roads, but the rooftops were a whole other story. I had skidded and fallen off more than my fair share of buildings these past few months. Thanks to my healing factor, the injuries had vanished without a trace, but my shame that someone would capture my fail and post it on YouTube (Bailey City’s Hikari takes a spill!) haunted my every nightmare.
Given that so many comic book heroes were based out of New York City, you’d think all my reading would have prepared me for the reality of superheroing during the winter months.
I pulled up my phone, revealing a new text from Alex.
“Inside already. Back door open.”
I felt my stomach sink.
Alex had asked the owner of Colossus Fitness to use the place after hours for “training his girlfriend in self-defense.” And the owner, knowing me to be a short, scrawny thing with a history of getting kidnapped, had quickly agreed. He just didn’t know what I was really being trained for.
Alex and I had a bit of a pattern going on. He would arrive early to set up, I would swing by about twenty minutes after closing (which on Sundays was 8:00 p.m.) and he would greet me at the door with a big kiss—making me doubly grateful about the lack of cameras in the alley. The fact that he was skipping the kiss let me know that things were worse than I had thought.
I swallowed and opened the door.
Thanks to our many training sessions, I knew the layout of Colossus like the back of my hand, and probably could have found my way by memory even if Alex had forgotten to turn on the hall lights.
I circled around to the back where the boxing ring lay, a steady “thump thump thump” sound filling the air.
I entered the room to find Alex not in the ring but taking on a large punching bag. I could see his muscles ripple beneath a gray Colossus Fitness t-shirt and for a moment was paralyzed. How the hell had my scrawny self even managed to capture such a pinnacle of physical perfection? For a few seconds, I just stood there and blatantly objectified him, lingering on my good luck.
Luck that could be running out. Alex was clearly working off some frustration. Frustration that was all my fault.
Of course, his powers were fueled by anger, so the fact that the bag wasn’t flying across the room (a la Captain America at the beginning of The Avengers) was somewhat encouraging.
“Ah…do you want me to steady that?” I suggested awkwardly.
Alex paused, turning to me.
“That’s what they do on TV shows,” I said. “Before getting into important, emotional conversations.”
Alex reached down and picked up a bottle of water. “Thanks, but I’m all set.”
Shit. This wasn’t starting out right at all.
“I, uh…see you started without me?”
“I did tell your mother that I needed to add in a little extra cardio to work off dinner.”
“Yeah.” I dropped my gaze. “About dinner. I…”
“Failed to warn your mother about the fact that you’re dating a high school dropout?”
“Ah…yeah. I didn’t mention that.”
“And why the hell not?” Alex shook his head. “Dawn, you met my sisters weeks ago. And when it took you a little longer to set up this meeting, I figured that it was because you were busy. Waiting for spring break when you had some free time. Now I’m beginning to wonder.”
“Wonder what?”
“Waiting so long to tell your family about me. Keeping important things to yourself. Dawn, are you ashamed of me?”
I swear, I could feel the color drain from my face.
“What! No! I…” I shook my head. “Alex, I’m so sorry. I…I think I should explain.”
“Sounds good to me.” He walked over to a set of chairs next to the ring and grabbed his usual seat, casting an expectant look at the one I always took.
A sign of trust I knew I didn’t deserve right now.
“I…it’s true that I did put off this first meeting,” I said, crossing the room. “It’s true that it was because I was worried about how my mother would react when she learned about your education. And that’s because I knew that it would shock her. I mean…it kinda shocked me. But that doesn’t have anything to do with you. It’s part of who you are, and I’m incredibly fond of who you are. No. This is my problem, and I am so sorry for messing things up.”
I stood in front of Alex, looking down at my fidgeting hands.
“I…forget how different we are sometimes,” I continued. “I mean…there’s the whole Faultline and Hikari thing, but how we grew up is different too. For me, the assumption was that I would go to a top college and get some sort of degree. And I had amazing teachers and tutors to get me to that point. Too often, I forget that not everyone has that.”
“Not everyone needs that,” Alex replied. “Look at Mariah. She had the same shitty schooling I did and is doing great. That shouldn’t be an excuse for me.”
“I’m not saying it should be. But the fact that I got all of these opportunities and help when I needed it while so many other people didn’t…isn’t fair.”
A smile cracked on Alex’s lips. “I think that’s my line.” Then his face fell. “It’s not the only part of it, though. I was a real shithead. Still am, sometimes. Kind of makes a guy wonder why you’re even dating me in the first place.”
In response, I closed the space between him and planted a kiss on his lips.
It wasn’t a polite kiss. Not the kind you’d normally have in public spaces. No, this one was firm, my body pressed against his. I felt Alex’s surprise at first, and then his arms wrapped around me, pulling me even closer. I drew back seconds later.
“I’m with you because I care about you, and you being in my life makes it so much better,” I said, my breath intermingling with his.
“Even when I’m gross and sweaty?”
“Yep,” I replied. “Erm…although now that you mention it, this is pretty gross.”
I tried to pull away, but he kept me close.
“Nope,” he said. “Too late now.”
“But the smell.”
He loosened his grip. “It’s not that bad, is it?”
“No-o.” I pulled back.
“You are such a horrible liar,” Alex said with a laugh. He reached down and grabbed a hand towel to wipe the sweat from the back of his neck. “So, what do you think? Can I be salvaged in your mother’s eyes?”
“Seems like you already did that over dinner.”
“Yeah, but she just thinks I’m some loser that never bothered to go to college. She doesn’t know I’m some loser that didn’t finish the eleventh grade.”
I felt myself wince.
“I’ll tell her but it’s…going to be tricky,” I admitted. “My mother didn’t come from a family with a lot of money. Not like my dad. So when it came time for med school, she was kinda on her own. She did what she could to get by. Scholarships. Waitressing. It took a lot of work. I think all that work is the reason why she values education so highly.”
“And I pissed mine away.” Alex sighed. “You know I think she might be happier if you were dating one of my sisters.”
“We’ll find a way to warm her up to it. My mother is
a cautious woman, but she’s not unreasonable.”
“What about your brother?”
“Ah…right. Alan. He means well but he’s always been a little…emotionally distant, which some people can interpret as cold.”
“I wouldn’t exactly describe his behavior at dinner as just ‘cold.’”
“You’re right.” I swallowed. “Um…if anything, I would call him rude. I’m really sorry about that.”
“You’re not responsible for your brother’s attitude.”
“I know, but he’s always been protective of me. Going back to when we were kids.” I paused, smoothing out my lips before speaking again. “I can remember, back when I was in middle school, I was being bullied by these two brothers. Twins, actually. I was kind of an awkward kid, which should come as a surprise to no one, and they saw the…opportunity there, I guess you can say.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“They would tease me mercilessly. They liked to see how long they could push me until they made me cry. Bonus points if they did it in front of the class. I was such an emotional live wire at that age, and I guess that made it all too easy for them.”
“It’s no one’s fault for being bullied. Claire went through a similar patch.” He winced. “I guess that’s what she gets for sharing my short temper but not my physical size.”
“It’s weird that it’s come up because it’s actually something that Lilah and I have been talking about lately.”
“The Forger woman? The one that Riley mentioned?”
I nodded. A few months back I had come to, well, a bit of a breakthrough. I had a lot of unexamined emotional baggage, the kind that you would normally bring to a therapist. Only going to a therapist as an Actual with a secret identity came with its own set of issues. So, Riley, a member of The Forgers, had provided me with an alternative, a phone number for a woman named Lilah Gray, who sometimes helped people like me. We had talked a handful of times over the past few months, in the rare moments when our schedules aligned. And every time I talked to her, I felt…not better, but like I had accomplished something, at least. Like maybe I was finally ready to face my demons.
Unless that included being honest with my mother about who I was dating, apparently.
“Anyway, I’m well aware that my experience, compared to what some kids have gone through, was easy,” I continued. “But it was enough to make me loathe going to school every day. I began to fake sick and rack up absences. And given that my elementary school years were marked by five matching perfect attendance ribbons, my family knew that something was wrong. Only, I couldn’t tell my parents. They would do something and make things worse. My brother, on the other hand…”
“Felt safer,” Alex finished. “And if your baby sister is being bullied, it’s not something you take lying down.” He paused. “I can’t imagine your brother punching out a couple of guys, though.”
“He didn’t. But a week after I told Alan, a teacher found drugs in one of the twins’ lockers.” I shrugged. “I never knew what it was. Weed or some sort of prescription thing, I guess? But our school had a zero-tolerance policy and given that both brothers had a history of behavioral issues, it wasn’t a difficult decision.” I paused to swallow. “Andy. The kid’s name was Andy. He was expelled and enrolled in another school.”
Alex frowned before speaking. “Okay, I get the punishment, but why just one brother? Why not both?”
“Well…you didn’t see Jake, the other brother. After Andy had left, I mean. The two of them were so close. Like, finish each other sentences, Weasley twin-level close. Jake always seemed a little lost after Andy was gone. Being separated was the real punishment, not being expelled.”
“That’s fucking devious, you know that? How old was your brother at the time?”
“Fifteen,” I said with a weak smile. “When I was a kid, I didn’t make the connection. After all, my brother was at the high school, not the middle school. I never figured out how—”
I heard the telltale ring of my cell phone from my gym bag. Blinking, I reached down and pulled it out.
“That’s ironic,” I said. “It’s Alan. Do you—”
“Go ahead,” Alex replied. “I need to set up anyway.”
I answered the call. “Um…hey, Alan.”
“Dawn. Thank you for picking up,” Alan replied, his voice sounding strained.
“No problem. You know, I wondered if I was going to hear from you, after you left.”
“Yes, and I’m sorry about that. The call was from someone I know in a hospital.”
“You have a friend in the hospital!” My voice came out as a squeak. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“She’s not a friend.” Alan’s voice brooked no argument. “But it did take a while to get her to speak coherently. That’s why the call took so long. It was never my intention to leave for the rest of evening. I just needed to know if she had heard anything of interest.”
“Heard anything? I don’t understand. Alan? Alan?”
The other end of the phone was silent for a moment, and when Alan spoke again, his voice was pitched at a whisper.
“Dawn, I don’t have time to talk. I believe I am being followed.”
“What!?”
“Meet me at Chase Park,” he said. Then I heard a rustle in the background. “And I dearly hope that you are not too far from home.”
And with that, the phone went dead.
My fingers immediately flashed over the screen, pulling up Alan’s number to call him back.
But then I froze. If he was really being followed, then the ringing of his phone, even if it was on vibrate…
“What’s going on?” Alex asked.
I jumped to find him suddenly at my side. I rested a hand on his arm for support.
“It’s Alan,” I said. “He’s in trouble, being followed—”
“Followed? What do you mean by ‘followed?’”
“He asked me to come and get him.”
“Why did—” Alex shook his head. “Not important right now. Where is he?”
“Chase Park. With traffic, it will take a while to drive there—”
“But less time by rooftop,” Alex said, finishing my thought. “I’ll take the car, and you—”
“I’m going to go find my brother.”
Even taking the rooftop method, it had taken a good ten minutes to cross the section of the city between Colossus Fitness and Chase Park. For me, those ten minutes had been anxiety-inducing. I made my way from building to building, calculating the quickest route in my head. This, at least, gave me something to do. Unlike Alan, all alone. Sure, he had inherited our mother’s famously calm demeanor, but anyone in that situation would have been scared.
Bailey City has its fair share of parks, but the meticulously maintained Chase Park is widely accepted as its best. But even the best doesn’t look all that great by mid-March. The mix of half melted snow and mud slicks kinda outshines the gazebos and waterways. As I approached, I couldn’t help but notice that the amber glow of the streetlamps seemed to cast more into shadow than light.
I crouched on the roof of a gazebo, wishing that Alan had bothered to tell me where he was hiding. I paused and closed my eyes for a few seconds, focusing on breathing. This was part of every superhero narrative, wasn’t it? For one reason or another, your loved ones would find themselves in trouble. What would Barry Allen do in my situation? Or Golden Strike?
Stay calm.
My breathing steadied, and I opened my eyes and looked out over the darkened path.
And I caught sight of something gold.
No, not gold. Blond. The hair of a woman, mostly shoved under a black cap. She moved in the shadows, avoiding the lamp-lit cobblestone path. Eventually, she circled around to the gazebo, seeing it as a likely place to hide. This brought her closer to the lamps, lighting her up just enough for me to see that she had something tucked into her belt. A flashlight, or maybe even a gun. She reached up to her left ear, a familiar
tick that I had performed on the couple times that Dana had sent me someplace with an earpiece.
“At the central gazebo,” she said, her voice almost too low for me to hear. “The brother isn’t here, moving south.”
The brother. I felt my blood run cold. This had something to do with me.
As the woman began to head south, I realized that I had a decision in front of me.
I could focus on the woman, disarm her, and try to figure out what was going on. Only my interrogation techniques? Pretty much nonexistent. My job was protecting innocents, not shaking down criminals. And of course, this would likely lead to the woman warning whoever happened to be on the other end of that earpiece, ruining the element of surprise. This could work to our advantage, force them to scatter before they found my brother. That is, if they hadn’t found him already.
My other option wasn’t much better, requiring me to be stealthy, and dressing in bright red comes with its drawbacks, after all.
But if I could be stealthy, I could take this woman down hard and fast. What else has my training been for, if not this?
Nodding, I dropped to the ground, slowly moving up behind the blonde woman, crossing the distance between the two of us until we were almost close enough to touch.
And then I hit a patch of mud and my boots let out a high “squick!”
Ugh, seriously! How the hell had she walked over the same patch of ground and not made that same noise?
Before I had time to contemplate that, the woman spun around, her eyes widening at they hit mine. Barely pausing for a breath, she readied her first attack.
Fortunately, I was also prepared.
Okay, I’m not saying that three and a half months of training had turned me into Black Widow or anything, but I had improved by leaps and bounds. My movements were tighter, more controlled, and didn’t give my enemies quite so many openings.
And my strength? Oh, that hadn’t changed.
We exchanged a series of quick blows, the woman quickly establishing herself as the superior fighter and getting in a couple of nasty hits right off the bat. But I was stronger, and all it took was one blow to take her to the ground, unconscious.
Silver and Gold (Red and Black Book 3) Page 3
