In the Shadows We Fight (for justice and ourselves)

What does it take to be in control?

HoneyBee leaned down on the rooftop. He exhaled sharply as he twisted his body, throwing his legs off the side of the roof. He slid down the brick wall until he landed on the ground. Pain shot up his bones, but he didn't let that stop him from moving. He rolled across the alleyway, stopping when he reached the opposite wall. He pressed one hand against the wall as he took crouched steps forward. He stopped when his hand felt the cold hinges of a faded red door. He felt the energy in his fingertips like electricity thundering in a stormcloud before it could touch the earth. He lifted his hand up, ready to strike as he hesitantly reached for the door handle. He opened the door as quietly as he could, wincing at the slight creaking noise. He jumped in front of the threshold with his powered hand raised up. He waited for something to step out of the darkness. When nothing happened, he tapped the earpiece twice with his opposite hand.

HoneyBee took another sharp breath as he waited for a reply. His nerves buzzed as badly as his powers did, and his mind was conditioned to feel guilty when he did something without Minotaur's permission. Even though he clearly knew that Minotaur wasn't good for him, HoneyBee still had the strongest urge to do right by his hero. HoneyBee had been trained as a child not to be a problem. Lessons learned through blood and pain were not easy to forget. HoneyBee was just glad that Croupier was there every time HoneyBee wanted to crawl back to Minotaur to beg for forgiveness.

HoneyBee's stomach twisted painfully at that thought. He didn't want to rely on Croupier for anything. It was already hard enough becoming allies with his former step-father. He couldn't allow Croupier to have any more power in his life than he already had. He had gone down this path once, and he wasn't keen on reaching the end where Croupier would abandon him again.

As if Croupier knew that HoneyBee was thinking about him, the sidekick could hear his earpiece buzz three times. HoneyBee pushed away all his familial trauma as he stepped across the threshold. The darkness was illuminated by the pale blue light shimmering through the skin on HoneyBee's hand. It allowed HoneyBee to see that he was walking down a short hallway with bare walls and hardwood floors. HoneyBee kept his eyes peeled for sudden movements or a figure hiding in the low lighting. He didn't see anyone as he took a step out of the hallway into the main room of the building.

There was a couch shoved against one wall and a dozen chests slotted into shelves on the opposite wall. The windows were covered by closed shutters. The hardwood was a little dusty, but it wasn't enough for HoneyBee's footprints to show up. There was a small kitchenette with a bar that was lit up by the oven's blinking digital clock. The time was wrong, HoneyBee noted, so someone hadn't been here in a long time. HoneyBee hoped that fact would remain accurate. He couldn't afford to be caught.

HoneyBee pressed his earpiece once to tell Croupier that he was inside without company. Croupier's reply was one long beep followed by two short ones. HoneyBee took that as his cue to start trifling through the safehouse. He immediately checked through the chests. He found a few potions that seemed to glow in the faint lighting. HoneyBee saw a few papers that he stashed away in his bag. He was grateful that he wasn't wearing his normal uniform. The main reason he didn't was because Minotaur might notice that his sidekick and the uniform were suspiciously missing at the same time. A bonus reason was because the black bodysuit Croupier insisted he wear instead was filled to the brim with pockets, pouches, and an additional bag. He was allowed to keep his electronic bracers, but everything else he wore was something Croupier loaned him. And it was a loan, because no matter what Croupier said, HoneyBee refused to be in the villain's debt.

HoneyBee continued his search with nimble fingers, holding his breath to make sure he didn't make any noise. If a member of the Syndicate arrived at their safehouse, it would be a huge problem if they noticed HoneyBee. Depending on who it was, HoneyBee and Croupier could probably take the Syndicate member, but news would definitely spread that HoneyBee and Croupier had joined forces to investigate the Syndicate. That would create a whole lot of problems that HoneyBee didn't want to deal with. He wouldn't even know how to deal with it.