by Joshua
“Excuse me, Alpha,” said a red capped reporter with a tape recorder in his hand. Alpha looked down at him and gestured for him to speak. “Yes, thank you. What exactly did you do with its body after the battle was done?”
“I disposed of it,” Alpha replied. The people gasped all at once. “The thing was dangerous, and I didn’t feel its remains could be trusted in the hands of anyone but myself.”
“I don’t know what to say…” the reporter said. “Um, what makes you—”
“How can you do such a thing?” another reporter asked. “You aren’t above the law!”
“I understand this, but you don’t understand the threat I was facing,” Alpha said, his face stern, unaffected. “This thing was the greatest challenge I’ve ever faced. I don’t know what caused its strange…mutation, but I couldn’t risk it falling into the wrong hands. Do you want more of these things running around?”
The people who had come to cheer him on were becoming riled up. Their restless behavior was enough for the police to line up between the two groups.
“I have a separate question,” a female said, yelling over the growing sounds of the upset groups. She wore a nice black skirt and jacket combination with a white blouse beneath. Around her neck hung a press pass, and in her hand she held a smart phone. “Yes, you claim to be a hero. A super hero even, but what are you doing to help the less fortunate? I mean, you save people every day, but you never do anything to help the hungry and homeless. I’ve never once heard of you helping a battered woman, or the drug addicted. Sure, you stop crimes, but what do you do to prevent them?”
The place stood silent as he absorbed her question. It took a few moments for the words to come off his lips, but he finally said, “I don’t know.”
“Leave him alone, you bastards!” Someone from the crowd screamed.
“No, no, it’s OK,” Alpha said, putting his hand up. “This is a valid question. One I’ve been asked before, but the answer never comes easily. Ma’am, I guess you’ve got me there. Beyond being a deterrent myself, I haven’t done much to prevent crime. I’ve only stopped it. You can see that things have gotten better since I came around, so I’m doing something right…” Alpha opened his mouth to finish, but paused. His eyes diverted for a moment while he thought. “How about I agree to volunteer at a different shelter each week? I know it’s not much, but I don’t know what else I could do. Does that sound OK?”
“It sounds like a start,” she replied, with a light smile.
"There you have it," he said, smiling back.
"Uh, Alpha, what are you doing about this 'supervillain' we've been hearing about?" another reporter spoke up.
"Ma'am, I'm not at liberty to discuss ongoing police investigations. As a matter of fact, I must be off," he said, taking off, straight into the sky. The crowd of onlookers cheered as the press complained.
*****
Rose stood in front of a long oak desk, looking down at her boss, Commissioner Coolidge. He was leaning back in his leather chair with his hands clasped together.
"Look Rose, I know you like him, but something's got to be done. He's a hero, I get it, but he's on thin fucking ice. This whole running off with the corpse of that thing was just too much," he said.
"I agree," she said.
"You agree with what?" he asked.
She sighed. "I agree that it was too much, sir. He's not above the law."
"Exactly. This is why we've been developing this," Coolidge said, placing a small plastic box on the desk.
Her eyes darted down to take a quick look at it before returning to his eyes. "What is it?"
He flashed an amused smile, and said, “It's our plan against Alpha Male; incase he gets unruly. It's based on something that idiot 'The Mech' created a while back. I think it’s the only thing he’s done right. It’s an ultra-high frequency emitter designed to weaken Alpha’s power so that we can stop him."
Her eyes went wide as the words left his lips. "You want me to take Alpha Male down?"
"No, no, this is just a contingency plan in case he gets out of hand. If we need to take him down, we can. You know how it is," Coolidge said. “This business with the creature, and his disposal of the body has shown us that he isn’t the heeled dog we thought he was.”
"Why are you showing me this then?" She asked.
"Because it’s time to start reining him in," he said. "Just like we did when he couldn't keep the collateral damage down. Look how well that worked out. We trust you to handle it. He likes you."
*****
Ivy shot down the narrow alley, looking over her shoulder every few seconds to make sure no one followed her. The outfit she had worn to the press conference was too tight, clinging to her curves. This affected her ability to walk, but she managed to make do until she was standing over the manhole. She huffed and slipped the black heels off her feet. She admired them for a moment, rubbing the fabric beneath her fingers. She looked down at her outfit and frowned. With a huff, she tossed her shoes down the hole and crawled in after them.
The bottom of the ladder was covered in an inch of murky water. It flowed at a slow pace, sloshing through the grates a few feet away.
“Home sweet home,” she muttered. She stepped off the ladder and into the cool stream below her. The heels lay a few inches from where she stepped. Picking them up, she watched as the gross water poured from them. Tossing them away, she walked down the tunnel.
Rounding the corner, she stopped and froze as she came face to face with two men. The one closest had a tall mohawk that almost touched the pipes above his head. He sneered when he saw her. He stepping in closer, reaching out to grab her by the arm.
“Come on, Ivy,” he said, turning around with her in tow.
“Xavier!” she said, stumbling behind him.
“Ivy, please don’t make me say it again,” Xavier said. The guy behind him, Robby, snickered and Xavier threw up his hand like he was going to slap him. The snickering stopped as Robby flinched.
Ivy yanked her arm free, frowning. “Bastard,” she said rubbing it where he had grabbed her. “So, he found out already?”
“Of course he did,” Xavier said, turning back to her. “You know he’s obsessed.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Is it bad?”
“Oh, he’s pissed,” Robby said with a chuckle. “He says you’ve fucked up big time. That you might have given us away.”
“Yeah, we’ll let him tell her that,” Xavier said, shooting a nasty look towards Robby.
“You piss me off, you know that?” Robby said.
It didn’t take long before they were standing before Eddy. The omega’s leader sat on a steel platform that reached out like a dais. He lounged in a crude wicker chair as he stared up at a busted television set. The cracked screen showed news footage of the earlier press conference. Just as she approached, Ivy watched her own disguised face flash up on the screen and her heart sank a little. She could hear her words, “You claim to be a hero. A super hero even, but what are you doing to help the less fortunate?”
“What made you think this was OK?” Eddy asked, glaring at her. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
“What was I thinking?” she asked. “I was thinking that maybe we should confront him with our issue. Not a single one of us has spoken to the man; told him of our struggle. I thought maybe I could change all that instead of throwing monsters at him!”
“It’s too late for talk!” Eddy yelled. He got up and paced around for a second. “Don’t you remember what happened? Our parents, Ivy!”
“That was an accident,” she said.
“I don’t care,” Eddy said. “I don’t care! He has to pay for what he’s done.”
Ivy just sighed as she watched Eddy’s face turn red. He finally sat back down and sighed.
“Look, I know you were just doing what you thought was right. That’s fine, but if you ever put us on the spot light like that again, you won’t be receiving
any more help from me, or my men, ok? And you’ll be lucky if I don’t do something worse. Get her the fuck away from me."
With a dismissive gesture he turned back to the television.
Chapter Nine.
Alpha Male woke up to a loud whirling sound from outside. He put both feet on the floor and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Damn," he said as he got up.
He grabbed his mask off the night stand and slid it over his head. The sound got louder as he walked to the large double window. Pulling the black-out curtain aside, he peeked outside. The sun blinded him at first, but after a second, a helicopter came into view. He pulled the curtain away and opened the door. He waved as he stepped out onto the balcony. The woman holding the camera cat-called as he stood there in his boxers. He gave a sturdy wave and stepped back into the room. He closed the blinds and shade with a smile on his face.
Within the hour, he was soaring over the city. Looking down at the congested streets, he examined the scene below. The pedestrians below flowed through the buildings like blood through veins. Alpha couldn't help but see busy ants rushing around to complete their daily tasks. He chuckled a bit, and dove down to get closer.
Passing over the cars, cabs, and buses, he watched for any criminal activity. After a few hours of this, he landed on top of the police precinct and went in through the door.
“Good morning, Rose,” he said, standing in the doorway of her office.
She was on the phone, cradling the receiver in the bend of her neck. She was writing on a piece of paper as she said, “Uh huh.” She hung up the phone and continued to write for a few seconds before finally looking up.
“How many times have I told you not to call me that?” Rose asked, rising from the chair. She walked past him and towards the stairwell. “Come on.”
On the roof, Rose lit up a cigarette and took a long drag from it. She exhaled with a satisfied groan.
"God, I fucking hate these things," she said, looking into the cherry ember. "Every single one I smoke, I think 'why are you doing this to yourself?' And it doesn't matter because I still keep coming back. So, why are you here?"
"I was on patrol and everything seemed quiet, so I decided to drop by," Alpha said.
"Things are always quiet these days. Do you have any idea how much of the budget I've lost because of you?" she asked as smoke rolled over her lips. "Seventy-five percent."
"That's a good thing, right?" Alpha asked.
"I'm not complaining," she said. She took one final drag and flicked her cigarette over the edge. "But, I've often wondered what would happen if you weren't around anymore. Like, if you just didn't show up anymore, or got killed, or something."
"That's not going to happen," Alpha said.
"But it is," she said, turning to him. "You aren't going to live forever. I can see the lines around your mouth, so I know you're aging. This will eventually end."
"I suppose you're right," he said.
"You know, I've kept up with you over the years. After you saved me, I don't know…I became obsessed, I guess. I read a good deal about you and your impact on our city. Did you know, that within six months of you showing up, the homeless rate grew by thirteen percent? Did you know that? Within a year, it had grown by thirty. All those drug dealers and thieves, the mobs and gangs. They all supported themselves with their criminal activities and you took it away."
"Am I supposed to feel bad about that?" he asked.
She just scoffed and said, "Not at all."
"Then why bring it up?" he asked, crossing his arms.
"What else do we have to talk about?" she asked, lighting another cigarette.
"How about that monster, or the guy that got Reedy? How is Reedy by the way?" he asked, taking a step closer.
"Do you really care?" she asked.
"Of course I do," he said.
"I don't know if I believe you," she said, stamping out her smoke on the railing. She flicked it off and watched as it got caught by the wind.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"I saw your face while you were fighting that…That thing. You were enjoying yourself! I watched you smiling just before two of my men got torn apart," she said.
"That wasn't my fault!" he said.
"I'm not so sure," she said. "Maybe if you had been taking it a little more seriously—"
"I'm done with this," he said, taking off into the sky.
“Did you tell him about the recent reports?” asked Mac from the doorway.
“Nah,” she replied, lighting up another cigarette. “Not yet. After the other day, I’m not so sure it’s a good idea to sic him on a supervillain that robs convenience stores.”
“Is that what we’re calling this guy now? A supervillain?” Mac asked.
“Why not?” She replied.
*****
Canned goods and junk food exploded out of the front door of Leon's grocery. The people on the sidewalk ducked and cried out as the stuff bombarded them. A father cradling his sobbing son watched in silence as two hooded men ran out. Their arms were full as they escaped down the nearby alley.
"Jesus, that's what I'm talking about," Larry said with a chuckle as they ran.
They didn't stop until they were a few blocks away. Ducking between two dumpsters, they dropped their spoils onto the ground and examined them. Between the two of them, they had a nice pile of food and one pornographic magazine titled "Milky Sluts". Larry picked it up and opened it, letting the centerfold unfold.
"Damn," he said, scrutinizing the naked woman. "You ever see anything like that before?"
Al gave the magazine a passing glance before opening a can of peaches. "Nah, can't say I have," he said, uninterested. With two fingers, he scooped the can’s contents into his mouth and slurped down a peach.
"Yeah, me either," Larry said. "I mean, I seen plenty of naked women, but none like her." He tossed the book aside and grabbed a large bag of chips. He tore it open at the top and grabbed a heaping handful and shoved as many into his mouth as possible.
"How much money you think we got," Larry asked, spitting food out as he talked.
"Couple hundred I'd say," Al said, tossing the can. He reached in to grab some chips, but Larry flashed him a possessive glare. This lasted a few seconds before he backed down and offered the bag to Al.
"Sorry, bad habit," he said, frowning. "Been awhile since I had anyone to share with."
"You'd think you would have gotten used to me by now," Al replied, emotionless.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry, ok?" Larry said, picking up a box of cookies. "We should've grabbed some beer."
"You say that every time, and every time we end up hitting a liquor store next," Al said. "After everything we've stolen, we never have enough alcohol for you." Al smiled at his friend and gave him a slight pat on the shoulder.
"What can I say, I'm one thirsty son of a bitch," he replied with cookies crumbling across his lips. "How many stores you think we hit?"
"Six or seven," Al replied, pulling a 40oz beer from the pocket of his coat. He held it out so Larry could see.
"Sweet Jesus, you are too good to me, my friend," Larry said, snatching it away. He twisted the cap until it cracked open and chugged a third of it in one drink. "Ah, that's good. How many more you think we got until that super—"
"Don't say it!" Al said. "You know what happens to me when you do.”
"Damn. Ole boy must have really fucked you up, huh?" Larry said, offering a drink. Al took it and choked down a quick swig.
"I don't know, but until I find out, I don't want to talk about it," Al replied, then belched.
"You keep doing what you're doing and we can talk about anything you want boyo."
"Come on, I wanna get back to the shelter. I need some rest," Al said, getting up. "My head is killing me again."
"Painkillers!" Larry said. "That's what we forgot to get."
"Yeah," Al repli
ed, hiding their stuff beneath the dumpster. "Next time."
*****
Ivy sat on a patched up couch with a coverless book in her hands. Her eyes moved with each word as she read. Enchanted by the book, she couldn't hear the television that Eddy watched on the dais above her. It wasn't until he let out a loud huff that she looked up.
The annoyed young man was flipping through the channels, only stopping for a moment when something caught his attention. She sighed and watched as he couldn't make up his mind.
"I don't know why I bother. We went through all this work to steal cable and there's never anything on," he said, to no one in particular. "The fucking news doesn't even start for another hour."
"You could read a book," she said with wry smile.
"Yeah, I'll get on that," Eddy replied with a scowl. "Why are you even here? Didn't I kick you out or something?"
She rolled her eyes and replied. "Nope." she said. "You said some hateful things, but you didn't kick me out."
"You know, I don't mean to be a dick." he said. "You just really piss me off sometimes. I feel like you don't know what we're about down here."
She didn't reply, but instead acknowledged him with a simple glace.
"Don't you remember why I started this?" he asked.
"I know that your mom wouldn't want you acting this way in her name!" she replied. "I didn't know her, but I can imagine that this isn't what she wanted."
"You don't know what she wanted…" he said as the corners of his mouth turned down. "You couldn't see the fear and anger on her face as she died in my arms; trapped beneath a pile of rubble. You don't know at all!"
He got up and jumped off the dais. He rushed towards her before she could flee and grabbed her hair. Twisting her head around until they were face to face, he peered into her watering eyes. Everyone turned and watched with shock on their faces.
