Angel's Breath

Chapter 1: Hell to Pay

You know, you would think that saving the city a few times would cause you to get rich because of endorsements and other deals. Well, that isn't the case. Because Lance doesn't really go out in public, except as the Angel of Light, and I have a day job, we haven't gotten many propositions. Our hideout is also secret, because it has to be. So we don't have many people knocking at our door. It does make for a hard time when we want pizza or takeout delivered. Lance usually makes me get it for him. Which, I mean, I don't mind, but when roads are too bad, or it's 10 below, I would really like someone to deliver. But the worst part of not having any endorsements is that we can't afford to have nice things, such as a car that doesn't break down every two months. Like mine. I swear, that thing is going to just die on me if I so much as breath on it.

I was in the middle of one of these breakdowns, thankfully it had happened once I got inside our HQ. I went to go turn it off, and it just died. Jean is going to be ticked when she finds out I won't be able to make it for the morning segment tomorrow. I might actually lose my job (for about five minutes before Jean realizes I'm the best cameraman this side of the Mississippi, if I do say so myself). So, my irritation level was understandably a little high as I walked into the living room, and I was looking for a little bit of sympathy, even though I knew that I probably wouldn't get any. There, I saw Lance, lying on the couch, drinking a beer, and chewing some gum. No, not chewing, popping. He knows I hate hearing gum be popped more than anything. I glare at him and walk into the kitchen, hoping to get away from him. But no, he had to fill me in. Probably to grab another beer.

"Do you have to do that?" I ask him. He shrugs. God, he irritates me so much sometimes. "Aren't you going to ask me about my day? Yours seemed to be interesting at least. Another key, eh?"

"Is something wrong, Reid? Was is Jean? Was she complaining about how her life sucks again?" He asks, still popping that damn gum.

"Well, she basically wants to have sex with you, my car broke down again, you keep popping your gum, so yes. You could say something is wrong." I explode. "You keep lying about how we do most of the work, and honestly, I'm tired of it. So please. Just leave me alone for a few hours." He surprises me by spitting out his gum, and kissing me. I stiffen from the shock. It feels good, like coming home to an old love, but I know that it would never work. He puts his arm around my back and pulls me in towards him. The kiss lasts at least fifteen seconds. When he pulls away, I slap him. Hard.

"What the hell was that for?" He yells. "That hurt!"

"Lance, I'm not going to be another one of your hookups. Now please, leave me alone for a little bit. Okay? If anything happens, let me know." I walk away, and head towards my room. Today has just been awful. There was no need for him to wink after the mention of procreation, or for him to kiss me. He knows I'm gay, and he doesn't need me to get in his bed. Not that I'd want too. Friendship with benefits doesn't sound appealing when your friendship is also a work relationship. And besides, half of the city would be more than happy to oblige him in that way.

I slam my door upon entering. It wasn't necessary, but it sure felt good. I need to break something, and fast. There's a random knickknack of a duck on my bookshelf. I take it and throw it like a pitcher, not aiming for anything. It hits the wall and shatters. Ok. That didn't help at all. And now I need to clean up the duck, or what's left of it anyways. It was porcelain, and the pieces are sharp. I go out into the hallway and grab a broom from a closet. I think to myself as I sweep up the mess, why do I have a duck in my room? I don't even like ducks. Until I see some wires among the pieces. It was an audio/visual bug. Ok, first, who puts a bug in a porcelain duck, that's just not okay, and second, who's the freak who decided to bug my room? Wait, Lance had a duck similar to this one in his room. It was a novelty item from Portland, Maine. He lost it yesterday. I decide to go and ask him.

I walk out of my room to find Lance standing there, arm raised to knock on my door. His face is neutral, as though the kiss never happened. And maybe for him, it meant nothing. But it meant so much for me. "There has been an attack by Alexia. He has stolen $3 million dollars from the Central City bank, and directly caused the deaths of five individuals. We need to go. Now."

"Ok. Let me get ready." I walk back into my room and change into my own outfit. It's black body armour, with a purple vest. My mask is based off of the old myths of Cupid, specifically the one with Psyche, where she can't see him, with the cloth over his eyes. I can see out of it, but everyone not wearing it sees a blindfold. It scares the crap out of baddies, and, well, everyone, since I have eerily accurate aim. With my own power. I guess the name is misleading, since most people associate Cupid with white, pink, and red, but those colors are easy to see in the dark, so I decided to make it black, so the shock is more prominent, both with the misleading name, and the arrow or other projectile hitting them.

I finish lacing up my boots and walk out into the hall. Lance isn't there. He's probably either still getting ready, or down at the garage. I check his room first. It's empty. So I guess he's actually on time and in the garage before I am. I mean, he didn't have to change because of the ceremony today, but even then, he usually takes forever. I grab my bow off the wall and run to the garage. It's the only semi-high tech in this entire headquarters. Lance is in there with my motorcycle already started up. He tosses me my helmet, and we proceed with the briefing.

"Ok, so Alexia was last seen at the Gangmol Bar, with several accomplices. We need to get there, and capture them quickly, before they decide to make their leave." Lance tells me. I put on my helmet, and get on my bike. Lance doesn't need a vehicle, with his wings, he can just fly wherever he needs to.  We open the garage door, and race off to find and bring Alexia to justice before he can cause any more harm to the residents of Central City.

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Hello readers!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I enjoyed writing it. Reid slapping Lance was definitely fun to write, even though it was only a few words. What is the history between these two? Why did Lance kiss Reid? Who is Alexia? What is his connection to the pair? I guess you'll have read more to find out. Oh, yeah, I'll give a shoutout to the first person to correctly guess the Broadway musical, and song I made a homage to in this chapter. I'll see you all next chapter.

-LB