The Last American Hero

by Nicole Field

  Foolish. He pulled the covers right up to his chin, deciding it was a combination of tiredness and the withdrawal of adrenaline from the night that was even making him have these thoughts. He resolved to put them aside, to not make things with Leo more complicated than they needed to be, simply to sleep.

  Chapter Nine

  When Bruce woke up the next morning, Leo was already up and on the Internet.

  "Everything all right?" Bruce asked warily, slowing on his way into the kitchen to get coffee.

  "I'm going to make a video," Leo explained. "Get my own words out there, without the interviews and the bullshit from the talk shows."

  "When did you decide this?" Bruce said, bringing a cup of coffee for himself and Leo before taking a seat beside him.

  "Last night." Leo turned to accept the coffee. "Talking to that security guard about his daughter. After you went to bed, I realized I've got a job to do that's almost as important as weeding out the aliens who may still be here. I don't want transgender teens to feel so alone and scared, or deciding to kill themselves before the aliens get around to it. What am I trying to save this world for?"

  Instead of speaking, Bruce put his arms around Leo and hugged him tightly. He couldn't have put into words the emotion that made him do it, but then Leo was reaching up with both hands and holding Bruce's arm to his chest. They stayed that way for several long moments. It possibly meant that Bruce was going to be late to work. At that moment, he honestly didn't care. He'd already started thinking a bit about those things that Leo had asked him. But now wasn't the time to get back into that. So he just held his best friend.

  "In your video," Bruce said on his way out to work, "I think you should say that. It's perfect."

  *~*~*

  Captain Hart's new account received 300 views in the first hour. The number of views from the first video he posted had gone up four-fold by the time Bruce came home from work.

  It was a good video, well scripted and delivered with Captain Hart's usual mix of authority and camaraderie. It was shot simply in their living room, with only the couch and the wall behind him as backdrop. The frame focused solely on Captain Hart.

  "Three weeks ago, I came out as transgender at a meet-and-greet in Quincy Park. Since that time, there has been a lot of speculation in the media. I wanted a chance to put things straight the way that I want to say them, the way that you deserve to hear them.

  "So here it is. I'm transgender. I'm also a superhero. I have super hearing, quick reflexes and, as I'm probably most famously known for, jumping great distances.

  "I spoke to a security guard last night about his daughter. His trans daughter. And I realized I've got a job to do that's equally as important to dealing with the aliens who came to our planet.

  "It may seem strange to you that an American superhero has also turned out to be trans. Or it may be you're finding comfort in knowing that there's a transgender superhero.

  "I don't want it to be strange to tell children that a transgender superhero saved America from aliens, despite what the media is trying to say. The fact that I'm a superhero is the thing that's strange. It just happens I didn't always look this way."

  The comments section had filled up fast.

  Steve Rogers didn't always look like he does now either.

  Poofter!

  Go back to your own planet!

  What you're doing is important. Keep at it!

  There were emoticons of angry faces as well as several comments thumbs up or clapping icons.

  It was an utterly mixed bag, as Leo must have expected when he'd put this idea together. The biggest surprise was a comment from someone who replied as SunshineGirl1.

  My dad said he spoke to you last night. I was so excited!! I'm so honoured to get a mention in your video. I hope you upload more videos soon. <3<3

  "Can I hug you?" Leo turned to ask Bruce.

  "Of course." Bruce stepped into his embrace. "You don't have to ask that."

  "I don't want to…" Leo broke eye contact and shrugged.

  Bruce understood what he was trying to say. "You won't make me uncomfortable."

  Leo paused a moment before moving close and pressing the side of his head against Bruce's chest. Bruce realized this was the time for him to try to answer some of the questions Leo had asked.

  "About what you asked me last night…" Bruce started. His words sounded awkward to his own ears, but it was easier to say them while Leo was pressed against his chest, and so not looking at him.

  "Mm?" The vibration of the sound resonated through Bruce's chest, but Leo didn't look up.

  Bruce tried not to exhale his relief. A sigh would be too obvious.

  "I'm not adverse to companionship. In fact, I've often kind of thought…" This was where it got hard. He could feel his face getting hot, and was definitely glad that Leo wasn't looking directly into his face. "… that we have that kind of companionship between us."

  Leo was quiet for a while. Bruce could feel himself sweating. He was really, really glad that Leo had never mentioned super smell as one of his superpowers, and desperately hoped that that was not something he'd chosen to keep to himself.

  "That kind of companionship?" Leo asked slowly.

  Bruce bit his lip. He wasn't sure he knew how to be much more blunt. "Um. You know. Because we live together. And you haven't had a boyfriend or a girlfriend for a while. And it's just… us. Living together."

  Bruce let go of Leo too suddenly when he thought he felt Leo jolt away from him. What he thought was a jolt, however, turned out to be shaking. Bruce gasped. His admission had made Leo cry.

  "God, I'm sorry. I didn't… I don't mean… I don't want you to… I don't want things to… change" His breathing was coming too fast. He tried to step back from Leo, now desperately wanting to look at his face all of a sudden. But Leo's arms were tight around him, Bruce realized, and they weren't letting him go.

  "Shh," Leo said. "I'm sorry for laughing."

  With just that, Bruce stopped struggling against Leo. He took a full breath, trying to convince himself to stop panicking.

  "… Laughing?" Bruce asked.

  "Yeah? What did you think I was doing?" Leo let go of Bruce and looked at him.

  The two men looked at each other for a long time. Bruce watched as Leo's gaze dipped when he swallowed.

  "I thought… I'd made you cry," Bruce said, realizing only now how stupid that was. He didn't even remember the last time he'd seen Leo cry, before or after he'd become Captain Hart.

  "Cry?" Leo looked shocked. Then he shook his head. "You think we have the kind of companionship that is inherent in a romantic relationship."

  Bruce just nodded his head. He watched Leo try to form words. It took him a couple of tries before he found the thing he wanted to say. Bruce couldn't make himself look away.

  "That's not going to make me cry. Bruce, I feel like that too."

  "You do?" Bruce couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

  Leo looked away. Bruce wasn't sure if it was because he'd failed to keep his surprise to himself. "I never wanted to say anything. I didn't think you felt the same way as I do. And then I got these superpowers."

  Bruce's eyes opened wider and wider. "You've… felt this way for that long?"

  Leo shrugged. When he didn't look back at him, Bruce realized that Leo might actually be feeling just as embarrassed as he had when he'd started this conversation. He cleared his throat, and tried to think of a way to steer the conversation to other things.

  All the while, the back of his mind whirred with the new information that Leo had had feelings for him since before he got his powers. The urge to question when exactly those feelings had started was immense, but Bruce refrained.

  "About kissing…" he said instead.

  Leo looked towards him curiously. Was it quicker than he usually turned to look at him? "Yes?"

  "I was thinking… If I knew it was going to happen, and it was you, and it wasn't something that I needed to worry was
going to lead to anything else…" There were a lot of 'if's; Bruce pressed on. "I think that would be okay."

  Leo's embarrassment morphed into consideration. "You think that would be okay?"

  Bruce gave what he hoped was a confident nod. "I think so."

  Leo offered him a wink. "That's good to know."

  Bruce waited, but when Leo didn't attempt to move any closer to him, he frowned. "But…?"

  "Oh, I'm not going to kiss you now," Leo said, shaking his head slightly. "I'm going to give you some time to think about it. About what it would be like."

  Bruce opened his mouth then closed it again. He hadn't thought about what it would be like to kiss Leo before. He hadn't thought about what it would be like to kiss anyone, really. But he was thinking of Leo kissing him. And now that he had thought about it, it was difficult to make himself not think about it.

  He bit the side of his lip then realised he was looking at Leo's mouth and forced his gaze up to Leo's. "You don't have to worry I'm going to change my mind. I'm sure. I want this."

  Leo actually looked amused. "Oh, I know. That's not why we're waiting," he said.

  "It's not?" Bruce asked, thoroughly confused.

  Leo smiled still further. "I'm working on the anticipation of the moment."

  Having never been through a moment like this before, Bruce simply stared at his best friend. He had absolutely no idea what to do from here. He had a tingling in his lips, and his fingers itched to reach out and touch Leo in a way that still felt new and confusing.

  "Okay," he said, accepting Leo's words at face value. "Okay."

  Chapter Ten

  It wasn't even 24 hours before the next message came to them via Captain Hart's channel.

  You're running out of time. You aren't a trans rights activist, you're a superhero. If you don't move now, you won't be able to do anything at all.

  Within two hours, the account that the comment had come from was deleted, and so was the comment.

  Of course, they had to go back to the medical facility. Bruce didn't argue with Leo about the ethics of the situation this time, and in return, Leo didn't try to argue with him about going.

  They were both far more wary after the previous aborted attempt. The days in between this infiltration and the last had offered Bruce more time to go deeper and get more information about both the movements of the guards and the facility itself. Leo told him that he'd also managed to stake out the building and get a feel for the rotation of the security guards, both without being seen.

  This time, when they tried to time the break in during Shauna's dad's break, they were successful.

  "Look away," Leo murmured, soft enough that Bruce almost didn't hear him.

  "What?"

  "Look away," Leo repeated.

  "Leo, we don't have time for this."

  Leo sighed. Then, somewhat anticlimactically, he pressed the palm of his hand against the locking mechanism and it… disabled.

  Bruce stared.

  "What? That's—that's all you did to disarm the space ship?" Bruce demanded.

  Leo looked over his shoulder at him. "I didn't want to ruin the air of mystery," he said, somewhat evasively. He almost looked abashed. Then he was prepared for flight again. "Come on."

  Flight, in this case, meant the two of them running through the lower level of the building, stopping every few seconds at another door that needed a swipe pass, and using Leo's technology fritzing ability again and again.

  "I can see why you didn't advertise this one," Bruce said.

  "Right?" Leo said.

  He didn't say anything more. Neither of them did. Leo had just let them into a room the length of a corridor where there were cages filled with dogs.

  "Oh god…" Bruce found himself drifting closer to the nearest cage. "I didn't think they did animal testing on this level anymore—"

  He darted back suddenly as the dog in the nearest cage jumped towards him with a bark. Once Bruce was out of range, the dog commenced a deep growling that didn't stop. Several of the other dogs joined in.

  Leo was looking around defensively. "I don't think we should stay in here any longer," he breathed.

  "Okay," Bruce agreed. He could kind of see where the author of those letters had been coming from, he supposed. Leo had been bitten by a dog. But what did that have to do with the aliens? "Let's—"

  "Stop! Freeze!"

  One of the guards had come back early, and it wasn't Shauna's father.

  "Get out of here," Leo said, stepping immediately in front of Bruce to offer him cover.

  "I… can't." It wasn't just that he didn't want to leave Leo alone here; he physically couldn't get out the way that they'd come in.

  The guard spoke into his walkie-talkie, giving his location and telling someone else to come immediately, all while never taking his eyes off Leo or Bruce.

  It all happened faster than Bruce could think, and every second that passed was another second they didn't use to get away.

  Leo seemed frozen in indecision, just like him.

  And then the opportunity to get out of there cleanly was gone. It didn't take the other guard long to respond to his partner's request, and when he did, Bruce inhaled.

  This man was Shauna's father.

  From the expression on his face, he had that same moment of horrible recognition. He masked it quickly, turning away from them and toward his fellow guard.

  "Have you called the police?" he asked in a quick, clipped tone.

  "I'll do it now," he said, with a justified look towards Bruce and Leo.

  The second he was out of earshot, Shauna's father took a step towards them. Under his breath, he hissed, "What are you doing here?" as if he could barely believe they would be so stupid. Clearly this man had no idea of what was in the building he guarded.

  Leo's lips were pressed together. "I needed to find out," he muttered.

  "Find out what?" he asked, frustrated.

  Another pause. Then, "To find out if there were more aliens."

  Bruce couldn't help the gasp he let out. Before there was time to further unpack that statement, the other guard came back.

  "The police are on their way," said the other guard, glaring at Leo and Bruce. Then he gave Leo another look. "Hey, aren't you that… superhero?" said the guard who would have liked to use a different word in the place of 'superhero'.

  Leo just glared right back. It didn't help them. The guard pulled himself up tightly and crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's escort you out," he said. But Bruce noticed that he didn't go so far as to reach out and touch Leo.

  "Maybe…" Shauna's father looked between them all uncomfortably, "if he's that superhero, we should let him go. He might have had a good reason to be here."

  "We're not employed to make that call," the other guard said cuttingly, not looking away from Leo. "Come on," he said to Leo, still not making any move to touch him.

  Leo took a small step forward.

  "Come on." Shauna's dad took Bruce's arm in a light grip. Then had added quietly to Bruce. "Captain Hart can take care of himself. Let's get you out of here."

  Bruce paused for a second, before realizing that he was right. Captain Hart couldn't be physically injured, certainly not by a security guard. And maybe his obstinacy in leaving the building was an opportunity for Bruce to escape.

  And yet, Bruce didn't want to leave Leo. What would they do to him?

  He followed Shauna's dad because he couldn't think what else to do, but the shame of running away was already with him.

  "I can't leave him," he said.

  "Sometimes you have to choose your battles," Shauna's dad looked him deep in the eyes. "If both of you get put in jail, who will be able to tell if there are still more aliens on this planet?"

  Bruce's eyes widened in surprise. "You believe us? Him?" Bruce corrected himself.

  "Seems stupid to have gone this far and not believe you both at the last hurdle. Besides, my daughter would never forgive me if I didn't do everythin
g I could to help you guys out," he replied. They reached outside the building, and Bruce could hear sirens. They were close now. "Go. Go now."

  Bruce stumbled forward, surprised at having his autonomy again. He looked back at Shauna's father. "What's your name?" he asked, already starting backwards.

  "Geez. It's Ron. Go!"

  After that, Bruce took off. He was headed towards the trees, the closest thing that would mask him from the other security guard when he inevitably came out with Leo.

  Leo. God. What was he doing, leaving like this? But momentum kept him going, even as his thoughts trailed behind him. The question of what was he doing became part of his breath as he ran towards cover.

  "Hey!" That was the other guard's voice. "Stop!"

  Bruce didn't look behind him. He was scared that if he saw Leo, he would turn back. He'd already gotten this far.

  A gun shot went off. Bruce hardly registered that against the sudden pain in his shoulder that dropped him to the grass.

  "No!" Leo's voice screamed.

  Tonight was a night of many firsts for Bruce.

  A second gun shot.

  The pain in Bruce's shoulder caused him to black out.

  Chapter Eleven

  Bruce became aware of two things as he came around again. The dull but persistent pain.

  And the fact that he couldn't move his arms.

  In fact, the first time he tried, they jerked against his restraints, which in turn jarred his shoulder causing him to bite of a curse of pain.

  "Ah. You're awake," an unfamiliar voice said. A second later, the man walked into Bruce's field of vision.

  Bruce's racing thoughts wondering where he was and what he was doing here were offset in that moment by the sudden alarm bells ringing in his head.

  "Who are you?" he asked. Where is Leo? he didn't say aloud.

  "I'm District Attorney McCartney." He was an early middle aged man with a full head of black hair that Bruce wondered in a wild moment whether he dyed to keep that colour. His cheeks were hollow under high cheekbones, and he was freshly shaven. In his suit, he looked freshly pressed. Bruce felt the exact opposite.