The Marvels

Ep. 34 | Red Flags

I used to be one.

Vidya stared at him. Didn't people become immune to shock when they'd gotten too much of it? Hadn't she been surprised enough times to be able to take this in stride? Apparently not. All she managed to do was blink and ask, "What?"

"It's quite a story," David said under his breath.

Vidya got off the couch, grabbed an extra chair, dragged it across the table from him, and sat down. She leaned forward on her arms and waited expectantly, unwilling to let it go.

David fidgeted with a screwdriver, pressing the end of it against his finger so that when he pulled it away, there was a minus sign indented onto the skin. He was thinking it over, or he was stalling—Vidya couldn't tell. She just waited for the truth.

"A little over a year ago," he said finally, "I was an intern for Celestro's technology and research division. I spent time doing..." He gestured to all the projects. "Things like this, basically. When Ghost voiced her intention to quit, Juggernaut and Fox asked me to replace her."

Vidya frowned. It was Phase who'd replaced Ghost, and there had never been any mention of anyone else even being considered.

"I agreed to join the team," David continued. "They wanted to wait until Ghost's departure date to officially announce my addition, so everything was kept under wraps. I learned the ropes, went on missions, even had an alias—Callidus. I was a Marvel for a month and a half."

Vidya shifted in her seat warily. "What happened?"

"I...disagreed with the way things were. Asked too many questions, opposed their actions and ideologies. I kept calling things out to Juggernaut, and I think I got on his nerves." He laughed. "So he fired me. I was forcibly relocated to Missouri, and when Ghost left, they replaced her with Phase instead." David shrugged, there ya have it, and leaned back against his chair with a sigh. "Have they ever mentioned me?"

Vidya shook her head.

"Figures," he muttered. "I don't know what the official reason for firing me was, but I doubt it was the truth."

"What happened after?"

David raised an eyebrow. "After?" he repeated with a joyless smile. "Nothing. I was angry, I wanted to expose them somehow, tell people the truth, but I couldn't, and I didn't have a death wish. I let it all go and settled in Missouri, but I missed Los Angeles, so I came back, hoping things would be alright if I laid low."

Vidya looked down at her hands, wondering how she fit into the puzzle if his plan was to lay low. "I don't understand," she said. "Why would you want to be friends with me, when I work for the people—"

"—who shattered my view on heroism, made my life a temporary hell, and forcibly relocated me?" he finished.

He clearly intended for it to be a lighthearted jab, but it made her feel worse.

"You're not like them," he said quietly. "I admit it, I was wary when we first met in the alley. I was scared you'd rat me out, but since I didn't get smited by any of the Marvels, I figured that you didn't know who I was to them. Even still, I was afraid you'd be...like them. But Aisha wanted us to be friends, so I gave it a shot and you were great. You are great. I trust you, wholeheartedly." He paused. "And I'm sorry."

Vidya's head snapped up. "For what?"

"For not telling you any of this earlier." David shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable. "You make jokes about the Marvels and Celestro sometimes, it's clear you didn't love them...but it was also clear to me that you were holding back. Maybe you were afraid your criticisms and fears were immature, maybe you just didn't want me and Aisha to know how you felt, I don't know, because I didn't ask. I should have. If you had known that I'd gone through the same thing, maybe you could've talked to me about it. Maybe I could've helped you feel less alone." He looked around his greenhouse, tapping a screwdriver against the table. "Do you know why I asked for your handprints? I didn't just do it so you could let yourself in when we hung out. I did it because I was so afraid that, one day, something might happen between you and Celestro. And if you suddenly needed a place to hide..."