Shadows Lingering//A Glaze AU//Sequel to 'A Superhero's Heart'

1

"We're closing in on the target,", Laurance announced to the passengers while reading the trackers. "Blaze, you're up."

The red head stood up from his seat with a smirk and asked; "You're not coming?"

"I rather not be killed because you got distracted,", Laurance shot back. "Remember last time?"

Blaze rolled his eyes playfully and shrugged. "You should've sensed the bullet. Wasn't my fault you can't dodge."

"Let's remember who has the special powers here,", The brunette said calmly, turning his full attention back to the screens. "We'll drop you about ten yards away from the destination. You have your communicator if something goes wrong."

"Sounds good,", Blaze said, grabbing his gloves. He pulled them on and when he closed his fists, his suit appeared around him. The slick black carbon fibers, woven with steel, somehow felt soft against his skin. His ears heighten his sense to the point where he could hear a pin drop. A mask covered everything from the nose down, only showing his heterochromia eyes. "You sure you don't want to come? It might be fun."

"Aph doesn't want me this time. She doesn't like the looks of it. She also believes it's not in my job description,", Laurance smiled, leaning against the control panel. He looked at his watch and said; "We will hopefully be on time for the gala, now that I think about it. I won't hear it from her later, thankfully."

Blaze made no comment. He didn't like that event. At all. In fact, he despised it. Yet, he didn't want the room to be tense. He knew that Laurance and Aphmau, as well as his boss, thought it was for a good cause.

"Hopefully,", He said, the mask muffling it more than usual.

Just then, a projection of the map below showed up, blinking that the destination was a hundred yards away. Laurance sighed and said; "The longest I'll give you is an hour. You better be at the retrieval zone."

"Are you scared of losing me?", Blaze teased, grabbing his two daggers from the weapon wall.

"Always...more so today,", The brunette frowned, showing the lines that formed over the years.

Blaze decided not to bother again. He just said; "An hour is all I need. It's just a scoping."

Laurance turned back to the controls, preparing for the drop. Blaze stood on the drop pad and said in his head; "Ready Amina?"

"You know it,", The spicy spirit in his head spoke back. The red head double checked if the earrings were secure and as always they were. He stood stiffly, his arms across his chest.

"Dropping in five, four, three...", Laurance counted down, preparing Blaze for the worse part of his job.

The hatch opened and Blaze was immediately met with nippy cold air. He got into position and readied himself to meet the ground. He activated his shoes to take most of the impact to protect his ankles and legs. When he finally landed, dust floated around him. He straightened out and looked at his surroundings. Tall trees created a wall around him and the sounds of exotic birds chirped in his ears. Little rain drops pelted his face as he looked into the distance. His night vision allowed him to see that no one was in his area. He summoned his claws just in case though and started to jog towards the target.

"Landing was great Laurance,", He whispered into his ear piece. "Which direction from here?"

"Well...you're going south but, you need to go north bud,", Laurance responded back.

Blaze jolted back and went north. "Sorry,", He said and continued on. He soon saw lights in the distance and he started to slow down as he got there, finding a place to hide so he could get an idea of what he was up against. He knew Laurance didn't want something serious but, that's all Blaze hoped for.
This was the first sighting in months. This could be it...ten years late but, it could be it. He ducked behind a log that was damp and mossy. Peaking his head over, he could see the large facility that was there as predicted but, it was empty...forgotten almost. Blaze slammed his fist on the grown, already irritated at the sight. He gave his hopes up once again.