Triple Threat

Chapter 1

Leaping nimbly from rooftop to rooftop, earbuds blasting her favorite playlist, she patrolled downtown Los Angeles. She landed squarely atop a billboard, perching on the metal frame. The bright neon lights advertised something that no one could possibly need, but somehow everyone wanted, "Dr. Mac's Miracle Toothpaste." Supposedly, it whitened your teeth and fixed cavities without needing a dentist appointment, but really all it did was replace your enamel with hazardous chemicals.

She took her earbuds out, hanging them around the back of her neck. She lowered her hood and pulled down her mask, revealing her hazel eyes. No one would see her while she was this high up, and now that her mask was down she could see the city clearly.

Lights spread across the cityscape for miles, the sky lit up by various colors projected from advertisements and light streaming through apartment windows. When you were down in the city, the smog overtook you. On the outskirts of town, from this perch, she could breathe again. It had become one of her favorite spots, offering her some amount of freedom for once.

She pulled out her phone to pause her music, and noticed a few notifications. She opened them to find the Anarchid hashtag trending all over social media, and sighed. She turned her phone off and replaced it in her hoodie pocket.

Ever since the summer of last year, when she had first put on the mask and leapt out over the city, people had been trying to discover her identity. Citizens posted about her on social media, reporters scoured the internet and interrogated eyewitnesses for any and all information they could find about her. She had become a point of interest, almost to a dangerous extent.

Sure, saving people was her job. It was something she enjoyed, and felt obligated to do at this point. But she hadn't expected that people would basically start stalking her. It was uncomfortable to be in public in her mask nowadays, but thankfully she was able to stay mostly under the radar. People really only went this crazy after a major bust, one of which had occurred yesterday. In a couple of days, the buzz would die down, and she could return to her normal routine.

As a citizen, Anarchid (otherwise known as Anya Aecher,) was practically a nobody. Sure, she had a few followers on Instagram who liked her music, but even when she was recording she remained anonymous. She was careful to never show her face on camera, and to use a fake name, "A." The truth was? Even as a hero, she really hated being in the public eye. She wanted to share something good with the world for once, without being hunted down.

Taking one more long look at the city, she pulled her mask and hood back over her head. She put in one earbud, attached a web to the nearest roof, and swung down from her perch. She flew through the air, headed towards her apartment. Lights blurred in her peripheral as she sped past stores, restaurants, and houses. Oddly, though L.A. was a fairly busy city, it felt small to her now.

All of a sudden, she caught a whiff of fried food. She spotted a local burger joint and landed out front, going inside to order. The kid at the counter looked up from the register and his jaw fell slack at the sight of her. He looked like he was around her age, and probably had been roped into working the graveyard shift. She chuckled a bit, realizing it wasn't every day a superhero casually ordered a burger at one in the morning.

"Hey," she said, walking up to the counter. "Can I please get a number three with fries and a lemonade?"

"Uhhh-" he was still in shock. "Yeah- yeah of course. I'll have that for you in just a minute."

She sat down at a nearby table as he disappeared into the back kitchen, resting her chin on her hands. She still had her music going in one ear, and she stared out the window absentmindedly watching cars pass. It was an oddly peaceful moment, even after her view from her perch above the city.

The kid came back with a slightly greasy paper bag, and she got up to take it from him. "Thanks," she said, handing him a ten. "Keep the change."

She headed out the door and launched into the air again, mowing her food down as she swung. Sure, it was ill-advised to eat while you were swinging forty feet in the air, but she was starving. She hadn't had time for dinner before patrol, and running all over the city at night really seemed to take it out of her.

She landed squarely on the fire escape outside her bedroom window and pulled herself over the sill. She shut the screen behind her and lowered her hood and mask for the last time that night. Her cat, Butternut, meowed at her from her perch on the bed.

"Aww, I'm home kit-kat," she said. "Who's a good girl?" She went to scratch her behind the ear.

Butternut fondly headbutted her hand before turning a 360 and laying down again, tucking her head under one of her paws.

Anya changed out of her suit and carefully tucked it into the back of her closet like usual. She fell into bed, dragging the covers up to her chin and pulling out her phone. She scrolled through her mentions briefly, reading comments on her latest snippet of music she had posted. The usual suspects were in her comments section, and she had to admit she was grateful for her returning viewers.

"Wow, this is lovely," "Real tear-jerker," and, "I needed this tonight," they read. She was glad she brought some comfort to even a few people.

After responding to a few comments, she closed out Instagram for the night, finding the audiobook she had been listening to and putting on her headphones. She owned a pair of soft bluetooth headphones that she wore at night, as she had reservations about wearing earbuds when she slept.

Butternut curled up on her chest, purring as Anya fell asleep. It had been an exhausting patrol, regardless of her break at her lookout, and she was glad to be home. She drifted off with no trouble, quietly humming to herself.

******

NOTES FROM THE CREATORS

"Hey, thanks for reading the first chapter of Triple Threat! The parts will be varying lengths, sorry this one is kind of short. The next one is longer!" -Raevynn