Mercury soared a thousand feet above the Earth on his off days.
He would spread out his wings, constantly reforming and solidifying, not knowing when the next wind would jolt him. It was low enough that he wasn't at risk of planes, but high enough so there was no life saving superhero traffic.
Ahead, he could see an ocean of blue speckled within the occasional cloud. This felt like home. In the sky, where he truly could be himself.
★
Mercury was grounded on his work days.
It was action work: forming cages of mercury around villains, subduing them, before handing them over to the hero association. It was easy. There was the occasional villain-like Static-who was slippery. His liquified mercury would simply slip through their intangible body.
Sometimes, he would get a grasp on them before they turned intangible. He could swing them around like a dog toy, hurling them through the air, until nausea got the better of them and they puked all over.
And then they would disappear underground, slightly disoriented.
He saw them as almost impressive. And timeless.
A villain who would keep rebounding and likely be recorded in the history books of Metropolis.
Today, Static, like the weasel he was, had escaped again, likely to his HQ. Mercury saw the battle displayed on large holographic screens while zipping around Downton Metropolis. Static was wearing his iconic zeppelin suit, with flamboyant pink leggings swinging over his bottom half. Mercury half-smiled at the heading.
"Our best hero, Mercury, gets into another fight with Static."
Mercury made the quick decision to make a flashy ascent spiraling around a tall skyscraper. He saw people take out their cameras and snap pictures.
★
Mercury knew there was a new hero in town.
They were labeled as the better Mercury. Their name was X-Ray, though-and basically could turn whatever into solid or intangible. They were able to make quick work of Static, who was currently being held in the Hero Association Jail, powerless and likely crying himself to sleep.
X-Rays powers were far different from Mercury's, but being able to stop Static, they were labeled as the Better Mercury, to the actual hero's dismay.
It seemed that Mercury was getting more and more obsolete as more heroes-like X-Ray-rose to power.
★
Jason was supposed to be working on Tuesdays.
But alas, he had called in "sick". Not actually sick, of course. He would spend the whole day shoveling Doritos into his mouth and watching the news about the latest superheroes. The newest one, Ivy, could control nature and rapidly grow plants.
She was being featured on headlines all across Metropolis, and her suit, a tight green leotard decorated with opaque scales had quickly become iconic. She always wore green eyeliner, outlined by sparkly platinum gray.
He half-heartedly supported her. Jason wasn't the one to run out onto the street, holding up a sign saying, "Go Ivy!" but he would support her in the confines of his home. Sometimes when watching the latest superhero news, his eyes would drift over to his closet, where his old superhero suit was hung up.
(little preview)
