Like Orion & Spark

12: I Get My Ass Kicked By Almighty Orion

My footsteps tumbled against the stairs as I bolted out the door, clutching the mask in my hands. In my haste, I nearly slammed into Nico as he was returning from work.

"Where are you running off to?" he shouted after me.

I angled my body halfway towards him, not bothering to slow my paces. "You'll see, Klaus!"

From the corner of my vision, before I lost him to the blur of motion, I could see the shift in his expression. It was kind of like watching someone run for the elevator before the door closed. Knowing they had missed their window, and being stuck wondering why that stranger was in such a rush.

Except in my case, I was the person running, and Nico was the innocent bystander, cursed to ponder over my reasoning.

"You call me that name again, and I'll give you a reason to run!"

I chuckled to myself at that, and the distance between us grew as I continued on my way, leaving the conversation in limbo.

I knew where I was going, even if my sense of judgement was telling me to leave it alone. But I couldn't—there were still so many unanswered questions floating through my head. I wanted it to make sense. I wanted the answers to line up.

My feet slammed against the pavement as I weaved through the streets. I tied the mask around my face as I ran, getting more exercise than I had since the day Halley dared me to run a marathon around our cul-de-sac. (I had completed it and therefore claimed my right to brag for all eternity.)

When I got to my destination, I bent over and heaved. The gentle breeze brought fresh air mixed with smoke to my lungs.

The street was cordoned off, a strip of bright police tape blocking my passage. A few cars were parked nearby, crowded to watch the scene as it unfolded.

Beyond the clamouring reporters were a crew of firefighters, responding to another burning building. It charred the bricks black; the windows smashed to shreds. Bright orange fire poured into the sky, leaving a hole in the clouds.

The building was empty, already cleared out. But I had a feeling that a certain annoyingly perfect hero would show up.

A speck appeared on the horizon. Orion descended from the sky, floating in from an unknown location. His white boots were shiny and spotless, and his suit was practically glittering. It was the closest I'd ever been to a hero, and for some reason, the only thing I could think about was how terribly I'd planned this through. (And also how my outfit was nowhere near villain-enough to look plausible, but that was a different gripe.)

I watched them for a while, drinking in the interactions. Besides a few words exchanged between Orion and the firefighters, most of them hardly seemed to care about his hovering presence. And while he did, at the very least, help lift the broken beams of the building, it looked like he was gaining all the credit for nothing.

But maybe I just didn't get it. Maybe...

"Almighty, sir?" a fireman approaching the hero asked.

Orion's hands raised to his midsection, glowing like a beacon. He flicked his wrist, and the shards of glass tumbling from above carefully landed on the grass. It looked like he was making a pile, stacked with burnt floorboards and cracked wood, kept upright purely by his powers alone. The equivalent of taking a pen and writing on the wall: Almighty was here.

He turned to the man and outstretched a gloved hand. "Just a moment—how can I..."

The rest of his sentence was lost to the bustle of noise around me; tires hitting the road, the gradual clatter of rocks, a siren looming in the distance.