When Heroes Fall

Chapter Four

"Matt! It's your night to the dishes," a voice yelled from beyond the thin door separating Matt's bedroom that he shared with his two younger brothers from the rest of the small apartment.

Matt sighed, rolling away from his desk to shout back, "I did them last night, it's Bec's turn." The sound of a crash somewhere down the hall replied with the shrill sound of his younger sister, Rebecca, houting, but instead of listening, Matt turned back to the textbook sitting on his desk.

For Whom the Bell Tolls waited for him, turned open the page he had last read. He groaned, trying to tune out the racket of his sister in the kitchen and his two brothers in the living room. He had left the last paper until the night before and did not want to repeat the experience of reading a novel and wring a report in eight hours. His head was swimming though, and the words in front of him blurred. For some reason, the vacuum cleaner started running in the hallway. Matt ran his hands through his hair, stopping himself from planting his face on the desk. The digital clock flipped to 9:46 p.m. Biting the inside of his cheek, Matt tried not to scream.

One of his little brother's shouted again, there was a pound on his door then the sound of feet running down the hall. Matt moved to stand but stopped. A soft buzz and rattling came from somewhere on his desk. His police scanner alert. Matt stared at the mess of papers as they rattled. The sounds outside faded.

Matt grabbed the small paging device—Aiden created it to receive emergency alerts, applying a filter that picked up on key words for cases that needed a bit of an extra hand. It had been quiet since...

Matt read the message looping along the pagers screen, the soft blue glow illuminating his face. A break in at Delgado Pharmaceuticals. Metas spotted.

Clicking off the pager, Matt yanked open the drawer below his bed in the corner and lifted up the false bottom. There his super suit laid, folded and waiting. He hadn't worn it since the funeral. Matt could feel himself shaking as he pulled out the suit. He needed to punch something—the English homework could wait.

Matt threw open the bedroom window. About to step out onto the fire escape, he paused and turned back to his desk. Grabbing a sticky-note, he scrawled a quick note about going to the gas station and stuck it to the middle of the desk. Hopefully, he wouldn't get grounded to badly. With nothing left to do, Matt threw on his mask and visor. Stepping onto the window frame, he leapt.

***

Matt crept over the high ceiling of the Delgado facility, peering down below. Alarms blared in the background, but Matt had yet to find the culprit of the break-in. He passed four unconscious guards on his way to the research room he was currently crouched in. The door handle shifted. Matt zeroed in, moving to get a better view. His hand hovered above his black escrima sticks.

The door opened. A cloaked figure entered, hood drawn over her face, but Matt would recognize the violet villain anywhere—Chaos. The young villain lowered her hood, shaking out her long, black ponytail. A winged domino mask obscured her face from view. She scanned the room. Spotting whatever she had been looking for, Chaos headed toward a large cooler at the back of the lab. Matt tracked her movement. As she reached out for the latch, Matt swung down from the rafters. His feet hit the ground with a soft thud. Chaos turned, slowly lowering her hands toward her belt.

"Don't move," Matt growled, voice low. Chaos froze, making eye contact with Matt. Neither of them moved for a moment.

Behind them, the door to the lab banged open. Chaos' eyes widened. Matt shifted to look over his shoulder. Mage, in her skintight, black magicians' outfit, burst through the door. "Hello, dear! Found the goods?"

"We have company," Chaos replied, tone dry and spurring Matt into action. Grabbing his escrima sticks, Matt jumped back.

Noticing him, Mage startled, "Oh! Little Starlight is here. Boulder is finishing up downstairs."