Jacob bit down the reply coiled in his tongue like a cobra. The Piper in him wanted to play Sapphire into Hell like all the other pests, but Jacob was stronger than that. He followed Silhouette and the others into her lair and leaned against the wall, brawny arms crossed over his chest, waiting for the adrenaline to ebb. They'd all been out of the game for a while, and to suddenly face an A-level villain before they'd got their feet under them... Jacob turned to Danny. "I'm sorry, by the way," he said, and meant it. "We won't let her get away with this."
Stalking into the underground lair, Sapphire shot a withering look at Jacob before choosing a spot between John and Silhouette. I won't choke the life out of him, I won't choke the life out of him, her mind raged angrily. She forced her thoughts to more pleasant thoughts, like the hundred ways she could kill him before he could blink. Shaking her head, she look at silhouette
After a moment, Silhouette composed herself and turned around to look at everyone. "So, it's only decoded 15%...this could take an hour or two," Silhouette told them. "Maybe you guys could explain why you gave up superheroing? I'm really curious about that." She grinned shyly and glanced down. "The League kept files on all of you, paper files so that no one could hack our system and steal any of the information. That's how I was able to find you. But there wasn't anything about why you quit..." "Here's your food," Mack called as he came downstairs. He was carrying a tray full of warmed-up microwave dinners, a whole pack of Oreo cookies, and several cups of brown soda. Silhouette jumped up and pulled a fold-out table from under the stairs and set it up in the middle of the room. Mack put down the tray and said, "I'm leaving to work at the hospital in a little bit, which is why I was dressed when you guys showed up. If you need me, Silhouette has my number." Then he hugged Silhouette and headed back upstairs. Silhouette sat at the table and took a bite of some mashed potatoes from one of the dinners. It was flavorless, but it was warm and she forced herself to swallow. "If your story is too personal, you don't have to share," she told the superheroes.
John was devastated when he saw what had happened to The Awesome Guy With A Pigeon’s pigeon. However, there was such tension in the van at that point that he didn’t dare say anything. He was a little surprised to see Silhouette live in a nice place like the one they landed in and he liked Mack the moment he mentioned microwave dinners and Oreo s. John liked good food, but he could appreciate a man who was too busy saving people’s lives to cook himself a fancy dinner. He rather liked doctors too. Besides, from the way they all acted tonight, he might be the only one who can claim the ‘hero’ title for now. He took his hat and coat off the moment they walked inside and flung them over his right arm. John took Jacob’s scolding, though he didn’t really understand what it was that he’d done wrong, mostly because he didn’t tell him, but he felt very sorry and hoped to do better in the future. When he and Icy Lady (Sapphire, she’s called Sapphire, why couldn’t he remember names as easy as that?) started arguing he really wanted to intervene and get them to get along again, but he didn’t really dare. Luckily Silhouette was there to interrupt the fight. As they walked down, he skipped a few steps to walk next to The Pigeon Guy and softly gave him the only reassuring thought that he knew. “I’m really sorry about what happened to Joey, but I’ve seen the place where they go, the animals we love, and in all my travels I have never again seen such a beautiful place. He’ll love it there, I’m sure. Just look up at night and search for the most beautiful star you can find. That’s where he’ll be.” When they entered the secret lair, John laid himself down on one of the beanbags and gave off a small satisfied sigh. It was good to sit comfortably after a long journey and a night like this. When Silhouette asked the question he figured he might as well answer first. It was nothing special anyway. “My reason is really not all that impressive. There was a woman I used to travel with, she cared for me like a mother when I lost my real one, but she stayed behind on one of the more comfortable planets nearby. Said she didn’t really miss Earth that much and preferred to stay there. It was a good place to live, but I wanted to go home. So that’s where we said goodbye and I missed her ever since. After about ten years of helping people here I felt really strongly about wanting to see her again, so I left. When I got there, she was a changed person. She’d always had a bit of a sadness around her, a certain melancholy, but it was gone now. She had found a man she loved and that loved her and she was perfectly happy. Sadly, she was also dying. I helped care for her for the next couple of years until she died. I’d come to love that planet and the people on it, so I stayed. I’ve had a good life there, but for a while now I’ve played with the thought of returning home. When I got your message, I decided this was the right time. I’m really glad to see you alive Silhouette, and I’m really sorry I was late for your meeting.”
Danny ' s face quivered a smile at John, he seemed down to Earth and yet a true hero. Sweeping back his mop of hair, Danny thought that he should explain too. "I stopped superheroing because I was never any good at it. And I don't want any 'oh, you are' because I'm not, you saw the mess I was in back there. I always felt like more of a burden than a help so I just slowly stopped. I can't deal with too much blood, I can't deal with the time yoy loose so I stopped. The only thing I've done in recent years is warn of that quake a few months back and kicked a mugger ' s face in. I just always felt like a spare part, you know? The league had others who could fly, and still having arms in flight which is a tonne more useful. Others had brilliant hearing and though no one else I knew I had my head sat navigation thing, it only was useful once. It was just easier on the League, me and...Joey, if I wasn't in the League."
"I have a son," Jacob said. "His mother didn't tell me until he was five. Angie hadn't been interested in a relationship. I was an evening's entertainment for her, and I was trying to understand myself. "When she contacted me, years later, I was a full-time hero with the Guild and was out to those who knew me. And then she introduced me to this little boy who was almost a dead ringer for me at that age." Jacob felt a twinge at the memory. "Had his mother's eyes, though. And her nose. Hm. She didn't want anything from me, just felt I had the right to know. She was this big time investigative journalist and had figured out who I was under the mask. I thought about giving it all up to be a proper dad, but Angie said I was keeping David safe. Still, from that day, I was a dad. "Then came The Diagnosis," he said, feeling Gus throat tighten. "The cancer was too fast, too widespread. Nobody I knew in the cape community could do anything for her. She..." Jacob trailed off, pushing away that memory. "My son needed me more than the world. So I quit."
"I got kidnapped and nobody noticed." Tim commented, having walked in as she asked and waited for the others to finish to their conversations. "Literally taken from my home and forced to dig my own grave as three people with guns kept made sure I did." He seemed to be staring off into the distance as he was talking, not quite there. "If not for a sudden earthquake I'd be dead. When I got back, no one even asked me what had happened." He replied.
Sapphire was shocked as she heard the stories the others told. The one that stuck with her was Tims. "Tim, again, I am sorry for choking you, but, now I know your a friend, I at least will care if you go missing." She said. Sapphire took a deep breath and explained why she gave it up. "I gave it up when I was 26, due to the fact I am dangerous. My anger triggered dangerous effects around me, and I was constantly being followed by the ones who experimented on me, and gave me my powers. I couldn't control my powers, and I watched as wherever I went, people tried to murder me, so I murdered them. People tried to capture me, so again, I murdered. I am no superhero, I am just, just someone who has powers. I finally did give it up, and fled into hiding when they started to capture and publicly execute my loved ones. After my son...." Sapphires eyes glowed in the darkness. "I snapped. I killed everyone employed by the company who gave me my powers. Once they all were dead, I gave it up. I'm not a hero, I am dangerous. I know that, and I won't kill. Not anymore." She finished. "And after I got that email from Silhouette I realized it was a chance, to relive past experiences and make better choices." Sapphire looked around. "I'll also be needing Oreos if someone dosent mind passing them to me."
After hearing Sapphire’s story, John realised he’d been munching Oreo’s like popcorn. Every time he heard stories like this he realised how lucky he was to have lived the life he lived. Tears were in his eyes, he never cared for wiping them. “Sorry, I seem to have eaten quite a few already. Here you go.” He walked up to Sapphire and gave her the what was left of the pack. Sniffling a bit, he went back to his seat and grabbed one of the microwave dinners. He hadn’t eaten in a while, so he would eat anything he got his hands on. Then he looked at Silhouette and after stuffing the first few bites in his face he decided to ask her the same question. “And what about you? We all thought you were dead. What happened to you?”
Jacob snitched a cookie, breaking his strict diet. He was still in the same shape he was Back In the Day, but it was getting increasingly difficult every year, given that the last of the Mechaneer's medical nanites had died over a decade ago. But he felt like he'd earned a cookie. They all had. The revelation that Sapphire was a mother, who'd lost her son, made him feel a little bad for unloading on her. But not much. How many other mothers' children had been endangered by her lack of control. At John's question, he turned to the Silhouette. "What about you?" he echoed. "How'd you escape what claimed the others?"
Silhouette was about to answer their question, when the screen behind her flashed and it read "Decoded 100%". "Perfect timing," Silhouette said with a sad smile. "How about we watch the tape instead of me explaining it?" She got up and went back to the desk, pressed a few buttons, and the screen started to show all the League of Heroes gathered in the main hall. They were standing in a circle, talking and joking around. The goddess Arianrhod stood out the most: she was at least seven feet tall, with flaming red hair, beautiful green eyes, glowing white skin, and she was casually leaning on a giant spear. Sharpshooter told a particularly funny joke and Arianrhod leaned her head back to let out a loud, booming laugh. Hat Man stood next to Arianrhod and he smirked at the joke. He was dressed in his large black hat and trench coat and the only thing visible was his mouth and his nose. Even his eyes were hidden behind large blacked-out sunglasses. On his side was Sharpshooter, who was already telling another hilarious story. He looked like a regular dude, in a grey T-shirt and faded blue jeans. His face was plain, but his twinkly blue-grey eyes made him seem more attractive. The only thing that gave away his true dangerous nature was the rifle strapped across his back and an old-fashioned pistol on his waist. Next was Strong-Arm, who was standing close to Silhouette. He was classically handsome, with bright blue eyes, a winning smile, and a distinct jawline. His blonde hair was cut short on the sides and slicked back on top and he wore army fatigues, a black metal baton tucked into his brown leather belt. While Strong-Arm was smiling at Sharpshooter as he told his story, Silhouette was staring at him with pure love. And then the whole screen shook. There was a massive explosion and rubble rained down on all of them. Silhouette was hit with a fist-sized rock and knocked unconscious and Strong-Arm shielded her with his body. Arianrhod merely threw the giant rocks off of her with her mighty god-like strength. Hat Man turned into a shadow and reappeared against the wall, unharmed. Sharpshooter was hurt, though: his legs were trapped under a heavy rock. Suddenly, Morgana appeared in the room in a blinding flash of purple light, a cruel smile on her face. Then she waved her hands and more villains appeared in three more flashes of light. One of them was dressed in a skin-tight leather suit with a yellow lightning bolt on his chest. He was Electric Man, who had the power to control electricity. Next to him was a woman who was on fire, a villain known as Vesuvia. Lastly, there was a giant man made of solid stone with dark, hateful eyes. He was known as the Brick. Morgana pointed down at the League of Heroes and said, "Remember what Master said: kill everyone, except for Silhouette!" A battle broke out. Strong-Arm put down Silhouette to fight Electric Man. Strong-Arm was an experienced fighter and extremely strong, but he was badly hurt from the falling rubble. He took out his baton and whacked Electric Man upside the head, but then Electric Man grabbed the baton and zapped Strong-Arm until he fell to his knees. Then he grabbed Strong-Arm's head and electrocuted him to death. Arianrhod was screaming as she swung her spear at the Brick, but the spear broke into pieces. Then Arianrhod started punching Block and she was tearing him apart, but every piece she broke away just crawled back onto his body and he healed himself. Then the Brick grabbed Arianrhod's neck and choked her until her eyes rolled back into her head and she stopped breathing. Hat Man was battling Vesuvia and he looked like he was winning. He kept turning to shadow to avoid her fireballs, but Vesuvia guessed where he was going to pop up and blasted him full in the chest with fire. He gasped and crumpled to the ground, dead. Morgana laughed evilly and walked toward Sharpshooter, who was still trapped under a rock. She was glowing all around her body, bright purple light that hurt to look at directly, and her eyes were like two shining purple beacons. When she stood over Sharpshooter, he screamed, "You'll never get away with this! You won't win!" Morgana just laughed and took out her knife and cut his throat. Then she lifted the knife and licked the blood off the blade. "Now let's go," Morgana said, grinning. "We've completed our mission." All the villains stood together and disappeared in a huge flash of purple light. The video ended. Silhouette sat back in her chair and stared in shock. "So...that's how I lived," she said. "I only lived because...because they let me live."
Jacob stared, openmouthed at the screen. If he were Catholic, he'd cross himself. "Sweet mother of Grimm," he breathed. None of what he saw made sense. There was something... not quite real about it. But then, tragedy often seemed unreal. "How?" Jacob asked. "I mean, Strongarm should have been more powerful... and Arianrhod..." He shook his head. "Did Morgana put a curse on you guys, or something? I've seen the new footage of you people shrugging off worse than that."
What a sick woman. She enjoys the terror on your face. "What on earth did she mean by that was the mission?" Danny asked, completely confused. All she had done is made people angry, making them want her blood, it made everything a lot more fucking difficult and you haven't actuallly achieved anything. "Her mission was to have people want to defeat her? We're not falling into a trap are we?" Jacob was right, the scene looked... like a scene, not a moment. Danny looked at the box of biscuits and there was only a few left but he didn't really feel too hungry even though his stomach growled. That blood on the knife had made him feel queezy again.
Silhouette turned to them and blinked as if she had forgotten they were there. She was still in shock. "No...I don't think Morgana used her dark magic to make them stronger," she whispered. "Those were not regular villains. The League of Heroes has defeated each of them individually in the past, but it took our entire team to take them down. Someone knew which villains were the hardest for us to defeat. Someone gathered them all together and planned this attack. Someone wanted me to live, only me..." Now Silhouette looked down and took Morgana's knife out of her belt and stared at it. It was a plain knife with a short blade and a leather-wrapped handle. The only thing special about it was a red-orange stone on the hilt. The stone wasn't like anything Silhouette had ever seen, it glowed softly and the colors inside moved around hypnotically, like a lava lamp. "Morgana used this knife to kill Sharpshooter, my best friend in the whole world," Silhouette said through gritted teeth. Suddenly, she stood up and threw the knife at the wall and it fell to the ground. Then she stood there quietly with her hands balled into fists, her entire body shaking. Tears were running down her face and falling off her chin, leaving wet spots on her black outfit.
Jacob eyed the knife. "I would be very careful of that," he said. "That's likely more than a fancy knife. Possibly a ritual athame. Do you happen to know any other Mystics? We could potentially use that against her. My abilities don't run in that direction, but...I can tell there's something about that thing."
"Yeah, all I'm going to say is that they're probably trying to get people out of hiding so they can kill us." Tim commented, slowly shuffling towards the door.
Silhouette turned to Jacob while wiping her face. "There's one person I know that's a friend of the League," she said. "He's a Sudanese Mystic named Kiamo Ko, but last I heard of him, he was traveling Africa trying to stop the persecution of gays and albinos. I wouldn't know how to reach him, usually he just shows up at the Stronghold for a visit whenever he feels like it." When Tim started backing out of the room, she gave him a tiny smile. "Go ahead and leave if you want to," Silhouette told him. "But I'm pretty sure Morgana and her friends are looking for us. If they catch you alone, don't think they won't torture you for information and then slit your throat, or worse. Vesuvia could burn you alive, the Brick could crush your skull with his hands, and Electric Man could electrocute you. So, if you think you can survive on your own, then go." "Let's go over the clues," Silhouette continued, pacing back and forth. "Morgana and the others are working for someone. She said they had a 'Master'. This Master only wanted me to live. But why?" Then she stopped walking and stared at everyone. "The Master wanted me to live so that I could be in pain, knowing that all my friends had been killed. He wanted me to be in despair before he finally killed me. He didn't expect me to gather a team of retired superheroes. And Morgana, she came back to the Stronghold because she expected me to be come back. I bet she was going to finish me off. But who is the Master? And why wouldn't he want to finish me off personally, if he hates me so much?" Suddenly, there was the sound of a doorbell upstairs. Silhouette froze. "Who could that be?" she murmured, looking at a clock on the wall. "It's five o'clock in the morning." She jumped into the chair in front of the desk and tapped a few buttons. The screen flashed and showed the front porch. Someone wearing a big black hat, blacked-out sunglasses, and a black trench coat was standing there, knocking impatiently on the door. "Is that...Hat Man?" Silhouette gasped. Before she could do anything, Mack opened the door and stepped out. He was carrying a suitcase in one hand and a coat was draped over his shoulder. "Um...is there something I can help you with?" Mack asked nervously.
Sapphire looked blankly at the knife in the wall. Gods, mortals, and powerfull mutants, all gone because one villain knew them. "Silhouette, their master has to know you, if he wanted to keep you alive. Do you know if you have the files on all your villains?" What villain? Mastermind? Hailfire? Munching on Oreos she waited for Silhouette to say something. Suddenly, something occurred to her.
"Silhouette, the villains who attacked with Morgana? Any chance of finding one?" Her question, probably wasn't heard, as the commotion that drowned her out in response of Hat Man arriving. "Let's go and see," Sapphire said, walking up the steps.
Jacob jumped after Sapphire and put a hand on her shoulder. "Be careful," he murmured. "Tim's right. This could be a trap. We can't lose anyone else." Jacob realized his ocarina was in his hand. "Why don't I handle this. You all may want to cover your ears."
"I don't need to hide, Jacob. I can take care of myself." Sapphire said, shoving off his hand. Yet, she sourly walked away, and stood next to Pigeon Man. Leaning close, she whispered in his ear. "The people here act like I'm some soft fragile child. And I think you probably feel the same way." She said. Scowling, she looked at the walls.
Taking that as a grumpy assent, Jacob called up his power and began to play. Music drifted around him and flowed up the stairs in a Lullabye. Mack hadn't heard him tell the others to cover their ears, and neither had the seeming Hat Man.
Mack and the Hat Man Look-a-like both cocked their heads to the side and listened to the gorgeous music that was playing. Then they both collapsed on the porch in a pile. "Good job, Piper," Silhouette told Jacob. She patted him on the back and sprinted up the stairs. When she reached the front door, she pulled Mack inside and gently placed him on the couch in the living room. Then she went back to the Hat Man and stood over him, unsure what to do. Suddenly, Hat Man set on fire. The fire exploded in all directions and Silhouette flew back into the house and hit the ground, knocked unconscious. Hat Man stood up and now it was clear that it was really Vesuvia in disguise. Her naked body was made of red-hot flames and her eyes were white-hot orbs in her head. She smiled as her fire spread quickly all over the porch. "Did you think I wouldn't be able to find you?" Vesuvia hissed at the unconscious Silhouette as she stalked into the house.
After seeing the video, John muttered a quick prayer for those who had fallen and those who were left behind. Watching Silhouette go through everything that happened again was the third time that night John felt like hugging her. He didn’t. Usually he wouldn’t have card about conventions or how people might react, but it was different this time. He could not quite put his finger on it yet, but there was something about this woman that made him reluctant to make mistakes or social faux pas in front of her. So he just gave her a look expressing nothing but compassion. No pity, no understanding, just compassion. When the stranger knocked at their door, he immediately snapped out of it and became fully alert. “It’s not him…” he muttered, softly, more to himself than anyone else. At first he didn’t know how he could possibly know it wasn’t, after all, he never took video material as absolute proof, but there was something about him… the height was slightly off, but more than that it was the way he stood there. His attitude. An arrogance that radiated through the disguise. Hat Man had carried a certain arrogance as well, but it was different. It was calculated. Cold. Melancholy. This was different. This person felt larger than life, no matter how much he tried to hide it. No… not he… she. Then he saw Mack go for the door. “No, wait don’t!!!!” The door was already open, but luckily Jacob had a little more sense than he did. Instead of screaming useless information after the fact, he was already playing that beautiful melody. John was borne with a strong will and he had already been brainwashed more times than he cared to count, so he dared keep his ears ever so slightly open to catch some of that soothing tone. He hadn’t heard music like that since he left the Planet of Musicians. Then everything suddenly happened real fast. Man in disguise burst into flames to reveal her true identity. Flames everywhere. Silhouette on the floor. Silhouette on the floor. “No. Not like this.” John pulled his gun faster than he ever had. Firing steady shots, walking steady paces, he advanced towards Silhouette’s position. The shots were either dodged or ignored, but John didn’t care. They were meant as cover, not to take the target down. If that was his purpose he’d have aimed at different spots. He hit the floor, and the air around her, limiting her movement. Barely moving, he dodged the few bursts of fire Vesuvia threw his way. He was entirely and completely focussed. He wouldn’t be for long and he knew that too, so he had to make every second count. Hoping for back-up from the others he was getting closer to the flame. Whatever happened, he was going to reach his hero. No matter the cost.
Danny bolted in to the living room to a hellish scene. John was cover Silhouette on the floor and flames were going every which way and leaving scorch patches on the floor. His powers couldn't do much here, as usual. Smoke was starting to clog up the room so Danny, remembering the little he had listened to in school, dropped to the floor and crawled into the hallway leading the garden. Did I see a hose out there? When reaching the garden there one was, neatly coiled up around a tap. I don't know what good water is against this sort of fire but it is worth a go. He swivled the tap on and the hose off so he wouldn't drench the house trying to get there. This time he ran down the corridor into the wall of smoke, coughing and spluttering all the way. The living room was bright with Vesuvia's glow even with the building smoke. Danny switched the hose on and though the water hissed on her body, the flames were still raging. Of course it wouldn't work, why would it work?
