And They Were Roommates...

Chapter 1

Skeppy stood with his back pressed to the side of the building, staring down at the dark city streets below. How did I get myself into this situation again? He thought to himself. He stared up at the man who kept him stuck on this ledge, the eye-holes of his mask making it difficult to see his entire surroundings. "Look, man, I don't have time for this tonight!"

"What's the occasion?" The villain sneered. "You're never busy."

Skeppy didn't dare disclose his personal information to the Crimson Demon, in fear that his day-to-day life would be impacted by him if his identity was found out. "I have plans in the morning, let me go!"

"Oh, but my diamond frenemy, wouldn't you like to hear my latest evil scheme?" The man asked, his white eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

"Right, yeah, sure," Skeppy said, glancing cautiously around to make sure there were no traps that could knock him off and send him plummeting to the street below.

The Crimson Demon seemed pleased by his response and began rambling. "Well, you see, I have a brilliant new, evil plan! I'm going to take banana peels and scatter them around the city, ensuring many people slip and fall! Aren't I just so evil, Diamond?" Crimson asked, smiling excitedly.

Skeppy knew for a fact that Crimson wasn't joking, and that was what made this job worth doing. He fought against 'The World's Evilest Super Villain,' who just happened to be The Crimson Demon, a super villain who was very bad at his job. Skeppy feigned a surprised gasp. "You can't do that! What if a small child slips on one and drops their ice cream cone?"

Crimson's laughing stopped as he seemed to consider this scenario. "Gosh darn it, Diamond, you're right! I could never let a child spend their money on ice cream only to drop it! That would make them incredibly sad!" Crimson pouted, his cape flaring in a sudden gust of wind. "Oh my goodness, now I have to go come up with another evil plan. Until next time, Masked Diamond," he said, and with the wave of his arm, he disappeared into a cloud of black smoke.

Skeppy took another, closer, look at the ledge he was trapped on. There was a ladder not too far from where he was standing, so he made his way toward it. He had to hurry because he didn't dare let anyone see him when the sun was up, and the faint glow on the horizon told him he was pushing it. He got to the ladder and slid down, finding his way down to the alleyways of the city. Once he was certain he hadn't been spotted, he pried off his helmet and raked his hand through his hair. The helmet he wore was small and boxy, with a small face drawn on the front where his eyes and mouth were. It wasn't a mask, so much as it was just a box, but he called himself The Masked Diamond anyway.

He grabbed his backpack, which had been stowed away in a bush, and quickly folded his cape and tossed his costume into the front pocket. He put on a hoodie and some basketball shorts before zipping up his bag and running off down the street towards his apartment. It wouldn't be his apartment for much longer, though. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, carefully stepping over the boxes and stacks of his belongings that littered the hall and living room.

Skeppy had recently been fired from his job at a library because he kept falling asleep. "It's not my fault the library is so quiet it puts me to sleep," he muttered, though he knew it was, indeed, his fault. He wasn't exactly a famous superhero. Most people didn't have a clue who he was, and he spent his nights being pushed into dangerous situations by Crimson. It was a choice, but he didn't regret spending his nights messing around and humoring his frenemy's evil plans. Although, being a superhero didn't pay the bills, and so, for the time being, he was moving into a new apartment with a roommate to help him financially until he found a new job.

He hadn't spoken to his new roommate yet, but he was moving in today, so he figured he'd just have to get to know them and hope they didn't notice him sneaking out in the night to fight crime. He sighed and stifled a yawn as he tossed his bag down on the couch and returned to packing his clothes. There wasn't much left to pack and he figured it wouldn't be too difficult moving his boxes to the new apartment. It was, after all, just a block from his own. He packed the rest of his superhero things into a box and taped it shut. This was the one thing he couldn't let his new roommate see. He stuck a label on it that said fragile.