Heroic

by H D Forth

  She picked up the computer, and turned towards me. She raised her gaze to mine, and lifted a single arching eyebrow.

  I let out a little cough, “I don’t suppose you could consider it a complement.” Her eyes narrowed. “I- I me- mean you are imminently lovely to look at.” I stammered.

  “If you are done ogling me, I would like if we could finish testing the system so you could get a move on, and act like a hero, not a pervert.”

  We did, and I did.

  Chapter One Hundred One

  I’d made some decent distance from headquarters before popping into an alley, making sure I was alone. Not that hard when you can detect technology and have eyes. Then I put on the mask, and that was it.

  The whole look had become a lot more frequent after I started doing it, which was an incredible feeling. If you've ever been a trendsetter, then you know that it can be quiet the rush to see others adapting your look.

  Though most of the civilians tended to go for more flashy and out there styles. I was most often in either black or tight gray t-shirt and black cargo pants or maybe urban camo, though the extra pair had come from Val's ‘stock.'

  With the mask on, I went from just another civilian dressed like the new hero and turned into said hero. I felt a smile stretch my face as I stepped out of the alley. It took less than a minute for the first person to recognize me.

  Then they did something, I for some reason hadn't expected. "Hey!" They called. They, being two younger boys riding around on a pair of bikes. They might have been somewhere between 14 to maybe 16 years old. "You're the hero right?"

  "I try to be," I replied, for a moment I almost blurted out Mike's name, but managed to catch myself.

  “Cool!” The exclaimed, darting down the road towards me. Once they got close to me, Mike and his friend, both ditched their bikes, letting them fall on the ground, one of them landing dangerously close to a moving car. “Can we get a picture?”

  "I- uh-"

  "Only if they set their bikes properly," Kani said into my ear, sounding like, she thought I was acting like a moron, just because I wasn't used to people talking to me.

  "Clean up after yourselves first," I replied, waving a hand towards their bikes. They looked the way I directed them and flushed for a moment.

  "Sorry," Mike said and scurried over to pick up his bike, his friend following suit. Soon they had both pieces lined up against the wall, neatly out of the way and unlikely to cause any damage. "Now can we get a picture?"

  "Sure," I replied. They immediately swarmed around me, holding up a cell phone, camera app ready.

  Presently, they were scurrying off down the road once more riding their bikes. "Uuuh, they are going to be so damned jealous. I told them it would be worth it." I managed to catch some of what the other one said before they slipped too far away.

  “That’s a new one.” I murmured into the mask.

  “Really?” Kani asked, “I would’ve thought that was pretty common, you did seem pretty flustered.”

  "I don't think people were really ready to embrace a new presence like me at the start," I replied. I nodded to a pair of younger women holding hands as they walked by.

  "Wow, you even managed to not stare at their boobs while they passed you." Kani's voice rang out with obvious sarcasm.

  “In my defense, I don’t know what theirs look like, while I know yours are great. Secondly, it feels like it’s easier to ignore such things when I have the mask on. C, they were wearing jackets that covered them quite nicely.” I replied, deliberately messing with the ordering system. Judging from the low, slightly embarrassed—though again that might just be my ego that inserted such meaning—growl from Kani, it seemed to have worked.

  A person was loading something that looked very heavy into the back of a van. They were wearing the drab tan suit of a government worker, like… Wait that was Rachel. Huh.

  “Need a hand?” I asked, well before I got too close, making sure she had enough time to notice me in.

  She turned, then smiled when she saw me. “I would love some. We are clearing out all this rotten stuff and old shit from that complex over there.” She nodded towards an apartment complex a little further down the street.

  "Why? If I may ask?" I said, picking up one of the bags and lumping it into the van. She stared at me for a moment, then shrugged. She placed to hands at her lower back and pushed in while arching her back. It made the front of her coveralls, interestingly tight. I could see the outline of her bra while she did. I could also quite clearly hear Kani clearing her throat.

  “Someone’s been pushing against the Tenners territory, and they retreated from this area.” She gave me a knowing look, then turned to look at the building. It was dilapidated and worn looking. “It wasn't in good shape when they took it over, and they turned something old, into something unsafe really quickly. Now were gutting it before demo’ing it.”

  “Huh,” I said, throwing the last pair of bags into her van. “What’s all this? Stuff to throw out?”

  "It's going to recycling," Rachel replied, looking down to see that I had finished loading her van for her. She cleared her throat, before shooting me a look.

  "Back off," Kani said in my ear. I frowned and took a step back, though neither of them would be able to tell what was going on with my face. "Not you dummy."

  I stood for a moment, watching Rachel, watching me while I tried to parse Kani’s words. “Shouldn’t you be going?” I asked, realizing I wasn't going to be able to answer this one without her help. It couldn't be, right?

  "Oh yes." Rachel said. She stepped a little closer to me, though, with the small step I had taken back, she was only marginally closer. With a lingering look, she turned and closed the van doors, before returning to look at me.

  “Thank you for the help.” She sounded genuine enough, though she looked at me weirdly. She reached out and squeezed my arm for a second. Then she turned, two quick steps and she jumped into the van.

  “What a bitch.” Grumbled Kani.

  "What?" I managed to mumble out. I wasn't used to people casually touching me. Erik had always been a primarily work friend, and as such there was little more in regards to touching, than handshakes and the occasional hug, most often during a night out with the team.

  Emmet on the other hand, barely ever even did that much. He had a thing against being touched, not from a creepy uncle or anything. Emmet had like many others that came to Madam Mireaux’s been abused as a child.

  I had some ideas as to what it was, but I didn't like to make guesses. It wasn't something to make idle entertainment of. It also didn't matter to my current situation.

  “What was that about?” I asked Kani. AS I turned to continue down the street.

  "She was just being a slutty whore."

  “WHAT?” I exclaimed, way too loudly.

  "Quiet you, birdbrain! People can hear you."

  “What?” I whispered.

  "She was all over you." Kani hissed, she sounded angry? Jealous? Violent? I didn't know, the slight distortion from her microphone, the travel, and my general inexperience played against me. "I know you noticed how she flaunted her goods in your face."

  "I guess you could construe that as intentional, though I just think she was tired," I replied. There was a beat of silence.

  "Oh, my gods," Kani whispered, more to herself than to me, I thought. "What about the eyes she was sending your way?"

  “Yea that was kinda weird. Do you think she needs glasses?”

  “To protect you from her bedroom eyes. Why would… You do realize what her eyes were telling you right?”

  I’m no idiot, I can put two and two together. Sometimes I even get four, right now I knew Kani was angry or mad or jealous or whatever, didn't really matter.

  I realized that Kani interpreted what had quite probably been a tired back, strained eyes from all the dust, dilapidated probably meant the apartment didn't have a complex cleaning system like modern apartments do.

  I
decided to not give in to her fantasy. “Have you ever got dust in your eyes?” I asked her, she didn't answer. “Personally I remember that I used to squint my eyes to avoid anything annoying them. Like she was doing, slightly squint because they had irritated by all the dust, and other shit you find in an old apartment building.”

  There was a long moment of quiet. “And the touch?”

  "On my arm? That was hardly flirty. Just like some people aren't touchy, some are." I explained easily.

  She was quiet for a long while. At one point I heard her get up from the computer and step away. Then I heard her laughing.

  Finally, she returned all quiet and calm. “You are fucking hopeless.”

  "And you are rude," I answered promptly, causing her to let out another snort of laughter.

  "Val was right. Suggestions and hints aren't enough for you."

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Case. In. point.”

  Chapter One Hundred Two

  I’d made some decent distance from headquarters before popping into an alley, making sure I was alone. Not that hard when you can detect technology and have eyes. Then I put on the mask, and that was it.

  The whole look had become a lot more common after I started doing it, which was an incredible feeling. If you've ever been a trend setter, then you know that it can be quiet the rush to see others adapting your look.

  Though most of the civilians tented to go for more flashy and out there styles. I was most often in either black or gray tight t-shirt and black cargo pants or maybe urban camo, though the extra pair had come from Val’s ‘stock’.

  With the mask on, I went from just another civilian dressed like the new hero, and turned into said hero. I felt a smile stretch my face as I stepped out of the alley. It took less than a minute for the first person to recognize me.

  Then they did something, I for some reason hadn't expected. “Hey!” They called. They being to younger boys riding around on a pair of bikes. They might have been somewhere between 14 to maybe 17 years old if they were slow growers. “You’re the hero right?”

  “I try to be.” I replied, for a moment I almost blurted out Mike’s name, but managed to catch myself.

  “Cool!” The exclaimed, darting down the road towards me. Once they got close to me, Mike and his friend, both ditched their bikes, letting them fall on the ground, one of them landing dangerously close to a moving car. “Can we get a picture?”

  “I- uhhh-”

  “Only if they set their bikes properly.” Kani said into my ear, sounding like, she thought I was acting like a moron, just because I wasn't used to people talking to me.

  “Clean up after yourselves first.” I replied, waving a hand towards their bikes. They looked the way I directed them, and flushed for a moment.

  “Sorry,” Mike said, and scurried over to pick up his bike, the other one following suit. Soon they had both pieces lined up against the wall, neatly out of the way and unlikely to cause any damage. “Now can we get a picture?”

  “Sure.” I replied. They immediately swarmed around me, holding up a cell phone, camera app ready.

  Presently, they were scurrying off down the road once more riding their bikes. “Uuuh, they are going to be so damned jealous. I told them it would be worth it.” I managed to catch some of what the other one said, before they slipped too far away.

  “That’s a new one.” I murmured into the mask.

  “Really?” Kani asked, “I would’ve thought that was pretty common, you did seem pretty flustered.”

  “I don't think people were really ready to embrace a new presence like me at the start.” I replied. I nodded to a pair of younger women holding hands as they walked by.

  “Wow, you even managed to not stare at their boobs while they passed you.” Kani’s voice rang out with clear sarcasm.

  “In my defense, I don’t know what theirs look like, while I know yours are great. Secondly, it feels like it’s easier to ignore such things when I have the mask on. C, they were wearing jackets that covered them quite nicely.” I replied, deliberately messing with the ordering system. Judging from the low, slightly embarrassed—though again that might just be my ego that inserted such meaning—growl from Kani, it seemed to have worked.

  A person was loading something that looked very heavy into the back of a van. They were wearing the drab tan suit of a government worker, like… Wait that was Rachel. Huh.

  “Need a hand?” I asked, well before I got too close, making sure she had enough time to notice me in.

  She turned, then smiled when she saw me. “I would love some. We are clearing out all this rotten stuff and old shit from that complex over there.” She nodded towards an apartment complex a little further down the street.

  “Why? If I may ask?” I said, picking up one of the bags and lumping it into the van. She stared at me for a moment, then shrugged. She placed to hands at her lower back and pushed in while arching her back. It made the front of her coveralls, interestingly tight. I could see the outline of bra while she did. I could also quite clearly hear Kani clearing her throat.

  “Someone’s been pushing against the Tenners territory, and they retreated from this area.” She gave me a knowing look, then turned to look at the building. It was dilapidated and worn looking. “It wasn't in good shape when they took it over, and they turned something old, into something unsafe really quickly. Now were gutting it before demo’ing it.”

  “Huh,” I said, throwing the last pair of bags into her van. “What’s all this? Stuff to throw out?”

  “It’s going to recycling.” Rachel replied, looking down to see that I had finished loading her van for her. She cleared her throat, before shooting me a look.

  “Back off.” Kani said in my ear. I frowned and took a step back, though neither of them would be able to tell what was going on with my face. “Not you dummy.”

  I stood for a moment, watching Rachel, watching me while I tried to parse Kani’s words. “Shouldn’t you be going?” I asked, realizing I wasn't going to be able to answer this one without her help. It couldn't be, right?

  “Oh yes.” Rachel said. She stepped a little closer to me, though with the small step I had taken back, she was only marginally closer. With a lingering look she turned and closed the van doors, before returning to look at me.

  “Thank you for the help.” She sounded genuine enough, though she looked at me weirdly. She reached out and squeezed my arm for a second. Then she turned, two quick steps and she jumped into the van.

  “What a bitch.” Grumbled Kani.

  “What?” I managed to mumble out. I wasn’t used to people casually touching me. Erik had always been a primarily work friend, and as such there was little more in regards to touching than handshakes and the occasional hug, most often during a night out with the team.

  Emmet on the other hand, barely ever even did that much. He had a thing against being touched, not from a creepy uncle or anything. Emmet had like many others that came to Madam Mireaux’s been abused as a child. I had some ideas as to what it was, but I didn't like to make guesses. It wasn't something to make idle entertainment of. It also didn't matter to my current situation.

  “What was that about?” I asked Kani. AS I turned to continue down the street.

  “She was jut being a slutty whore.”

  “WHAT?” I exclaimed, way too loudly.

  “Quiet you moron! People can hear you.”

  “What?” I whispered.

  “She was all over you.” Kani hissed, she sounded angry? Jealous? Violent? I didn't know, the slight distortion from her microphone, the travel and my general inexperience played against me. “I know you noticed how she flaunted her goods in your face.”

  “I guess you could construe that as intentional, though I just think she was tired.” I replied. There was a beat of silence.

  “Oh my gods.” Kani whispered, more to herself than to me, I thought. “What about the eyes she was sending your way?”


  “Yea that was kinda weird. Do you think she needs glasses?”

  “To protect you from her bedroom eyes. Why would… You do realize what her eyes were telling you right?”

  I’m no idiot, I can put two and two together. Sometimes I even get four, right now I knew Kani was angry or mad or jealous or whatever, didn't really matter. I realized post humorously that Kani interpreted what had quite probably been a tired back, strained eyes from all the dust, dilapidated probably meant the apartment didn't have a complex cleaning system like modern apartments do.