by Tasha Black
He’d hung up his suit, but he was more a hero now than ever.
Years ago, the zoo had been evaluated by the best engineers, and deemed a lost cause due to the inevitable flooding from the receding glacier.
So West had decided to do something about the water.
He had donated the entirety of his considerable personal fortune to fund the construction of a set of super levees. The levees were based on the systems being used to combat rising water levels in Venice and Manhattan. It would take years, and cost billions, but when it was finished, Glacier City would have a new lease on life.
Aside from the whole community’s pleasure in the zoo, the citizens of The Scar stood to see the biggest change. Removing the threat of flooding meant property values would skyrocket. Local businesses were already moving back into the area in droves, which meant work for residents of The Scar.
The drastic decrease in crime also played a big part in the area’s recovery. The Glacier City police force had been returned to normal operation. With one added bonus.
Edward Dalton was patrolling the city at the head of an elite unit, mostly made up of the Project Cerberus troops, now known as The Watchdogs. In the few months since he had created the Watchdogs, Dalton and his men had helped to bring the crime rate to its lowest levels in a decade.
A lower crime rate meant that the Housing Authority was coming down on slumlords since it was safe to send inspectors again. The resultant property seizures gave Glacier City Credit Union an opportunity to call on national grants to help residents purchase their homes from the city, so that they wouldn’t be run out of The Scar in the inevitable property boom.
And seeing residents able to own their own homes - homes that would soon be appreciating - might have been the change that affected West the most profoundly.
His fortune had come from his father’s bad mortgages in the first place, a horrible truth he had never forgotten.
In all, the ripples of change stemming from West’s money reached far and wide. Glacier City might not see the end of its effects for a long time.
Meanwhile, the man himself could not have been happier.
Cordelia looked around for him.
Her eye caught the glint of his cane in the sunshine immediately. He was directing the scouts as they planted the flowers in the bed at the entrance to the zoo.
The cane wasn’t just for show this time.
Mallory’s work with Sean Cooper had paid off. Once the boy started responding positively to the nanotech treatments, she used the same process to get West back on his feet. It had taken a tremendous force of will on West’s part to make the limbs work for him again, even at a greatly reduced power level. Mallory made it pretty clear that his days of jumping fences and fighting bad guys had come to an end.
He was lucky to be alive, and even luckier to be walking. And not a day went by that he didn’t express his appreciation.
Cordelia walked over to see him.
“What do you think?” West asked.
Cordelia looked up into his smiling face, then down at the boys happily tamping down dirt, and all the way down to the water.
“It’s beautiful,” she said.
“Hang on, boys, we need more mulch,” West said.
He ambled over to the supply area, gingerly hoisted a small bag of mulch onto his shoulder and turned back.
Even before the enhanced limbs, the old West would have carried five bags at a time.
Cordelia knew how hard it was for him. And how long the road ahead would be.
As she watched, West’s cane slipped, and the bag went tumbling. West dropped to one knee.
Before Cordelia could take a step, Jess was up and sprinting toward West. The hiss and clack of the titanium exoskeleton encasing her legs sliced through the still spring air.
“I got it,” she yelled.
Jess bent with a whoosh, and helped West to his feet. Then she carried one end of the bag while he held the other.
“Thanks,” he said.
“No problem,” she grinned. Without missing a beat, she turned to Cordelia. “Hey, Pan got some tickets to a show tonight. Is it cool if I go with her?”
“As long as you come right home when it’s over. And keep your phone on,” Cordelia told her.
“Thanks!” Jess set down the mulch and ran back to her friend. “She said I can go!”
West tore open the bag. The kids scooped out mulch to put around their flowers. They were very serious about it. This was going to take a while.
West took Cordelia’s hand in his. The cool prosthetic was satisfying against her warm skin. He led her to a nearby bench.
“Hang on a sec,’” he said.
She shrugged and grabbed her phone so she could check messages while he was gone. Running the company was satisfying, but it was hard to take even a few hours off. She liked to be on top of things. She could practically hear Worthington Enterprises purr like a cat when it was running smoothly.
West reappeared, carrying two iced coffees.
“Mm, where did you get those?” Cordelia asked appreciatively. She suspected Edward had something to do with it. He’d disappeared about an hour ago, saying he needed to run an errand.
“I know a guy,” West teased.
He stopped in front of her and got down on one knee.
For a moment, she thought his legs had given out again.
But he just looked at her with a ponderous expression, and handed her the coffee.
Cordelia reached out to stroke his cheek.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Drink your coffee,” he whispered.
She looked down.
A diamond ring encircled her straw.
Holy crap.
“Cordelia Cross,” he began, his raspy voice doing things to her, just like the day they met.
“Oh my god,” she whispered.
“You’ve taught me things about myself that I never even dreamed of. I’d say you saved my life, but that doesn’t even begin to explain it. Before I met you, I don’t think I was ever really alive. Not in a way that meant anything.”
He slipped the ring off the straw, the diamond catching the sunlight and refracting tiny motes across his handsome features.
“Would you do me the honor of allowing me to bring you coffee every morning, for the rest of my life?” he asked, his dark eyes solemn in spite of his turn of phrase.
“Yes,” she said. It came out a note higher than usual, as if her voice were singing, like her heart was.
West slid the ring onto her finger, sighing like he had been holding his breath.
The ring fit perfectly.
As if it had always belonged there.
Tears blurred her vision. She dropped to her knees to join him, and he pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers savagely.
She was faintly aware of laughter in the background, the tinkle of Jess’s giggle, the baritone of Dalton’s chuckle.
And all around them, the happy sounds of a city at peace.
Life in Glacier City wasn’t perfect.
But it was better than it had been in a long time.
All it needed was the right kind of hero.
THE END
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Afterword
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