When Heroes Fall

Chapter 18

Mr. Alvarez had no hope in getting the class to actually do homework during first hour. Instead, his students sat huddled around a few cell-phone screens. He himself had the same news feed pulled up on his computer. A frown creased his brow. Carl Kennedy is standing there, carnage behind him though his suit is perfectly pressed.

The camera panned out to Gea aiming another column of earth at the two young vigilantes. Mr. Alverez always held mixed opinions on masked heroes, but he couldn't deny their bravery if not stupidity. The cloaked one--Chaos, Mr. Alverez thought—bounced back and forth with Nightstar filling in the gaps of her attacks. It was violent but coordinated. They fought well together. Mr. Alverez clicked his tongue, sitting back in his chair. The whole class waited with baited breathes.

***

Chief Wright laid in the ER bed, waiting for the nurse to finish checking his vitals. Most of the carnage had missed him, but he had received a head wound that was bleeding and he most likely had a concussion. From his bed, he could see the television in the lobby. They were broadcasting the local news channel. The fight was still going on. Chief Wright clenched his fist—he hadn't wanted to retreat.

"Relax, Chief Wright. Being tense won't help anything," the nurse chided him. She was a short, Asian woman in her mid-forties who had introduced herself as Nurse Hahn when she first entered the room.

"The city is falling apart, and I'm stuck in a hospital bed," he growled. Hahn moved on to checking his pupils. She asked him to follow the light.

She hummed to herself, "Definitely a concussion. Thankfully your head wound was superficial. We're going to hold you for a little longer to make sure you're okay, but you should be fine with a bit of bed-rest."

"None of us will be resting if Gea takes the city."

Hahn glanced over her shoulder, catching the news. "They're doing all that they can."

"They're vigilantes. We should have never put up with them to begin with," Chief Wright replied gruffly.

Hahn tsked, "They're children, Chief Wright. They're fighting something so much bigger than themselves. I'll be around soon with the release paperwork," she sighed. Hahn exited the makeshift room, on to her next patient. Chief Wright studied the screen. The nurse was right he realized as the camera zoomed in on the two. Baby fat still rounded out their cheeks. There was a youthfulness in their movements, though the trained precision of their attacks hid it well. They reminded him of his own son—only twelve but absolutely fascinated with the Coalition of Heroes. The chief remembered introducing his boy to the Comet and how ecstatic he had been. If it was his own child in that costume...Chief Wright balked. They were children, and they were fighting a battle that never should have been theirs.

***

Mage lounged in the common room of the medium security women's prison, twirling a curl between her fingers, frowning at the fading red dye as her hair faded back to its usual muddled-brown color. If she had access to her powers, she could reach into a portal and grab one of the dye boxes she stored there, but the meta-suppressant bands locked firmly around her wrists prevented any access to her powers. Though she couldn't complain too much. She always did look good in orange, and they placed her in the same prison as her Popsicle. The other rogue sat across the room from her, working on one of the few puzzles in the common room—although Mage was fairly certain a piece was missing. Popsicle's short, white hair hid her scowl as she stared down at the puzzle.

Mage glance around the room, stopping at the television. AX10 News was playing. A familiar purple cloak dashed across the screen, jumping into a kick. Mage sat up, leaning in.

"Is that who I think it is?" Popsicle's voice drawled from behind Mage. The icy woman leaned over the back of the couch, scrutinizing the screen. Her long, thin fingers traced the edges of Mage's shoulders. "When did she start playing hero?"