(Un)Retired Superheroes

Mack turned around and gave Jacob a smile that was a little more than friendly. "Don't tell Silhouette, but I always knew that one day my world would come crashing down around me," he said quietly, so his sister wouldn't wake up. "Ever since Silhouette became a hero and built that secret base in our basement. I just knew. And I'm okay with it. I know that's weird, but all I care about is that my big sister is okay." He looked at Silhouette, then looked back to Jacob. "And besides...it's not that bad getting to drive handsome heroes like you around," he added with a flirtatious wink.

Suddenly, the van dipped. Mack thought something was wrong and was about to wake up Silhouette, but then he realized that they were heading for the top of a skyscraper that he recognized. It was Super Tech, the same company that had built the Supervan that they were flying in. The Supervan landed on the roof just as the sun came up over the horizon. A man in an all gray suit was waiting for them, his silver hair combed back from his lean, aristocratic face. Mack hesitantly rolled down the window and asked, "Um, you were expecting us?"

The man smirked and came up to the van. "Yes, I picked up the signal for the Supervan on my computer before you landed," he explained. "My name is Mr Steele. I'm the CEO of Super Tech. We sell advanced technology to super heroes and I've known Silhouette for a long time. I made the Supervan for her when she first started as a hero, to help her keep up with the rest of the League of Heroes. Is Silhouette with you?"

"Yes, I am," Silhouette grumbled from the back seat. She had just woken up and was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Nice to see you in good health, my dear," Mr Steele said with a sly smile. "Tell me what you need. You know I would do anything for you."

"Oh, shut-up," Silhouette said, rolling her eyes. "We just need a place to sleep for today...and maybe tonight...and maybe tomorrow, too. Can you do that?"

Mr Steele nodded and led all of them down into the top floor of the Super Tech skyscraper. It was a huge penthouse, Mr Steele's personal home. "It has thirty-five rooms," he told them in a casual tone, as if everyone had a place with that many rooms. "Find a room, any room, and sleep in it. The kitchen is fully stocked. I have work to do, but I will join you later for lunch." Then he kissed Silhouette's hand and left at a quick trot.

Silhouette wiped her hand on a golden-colored chair and headed deeper into the penthouse to find the biggest bed to sleep in. Mack just laid out on the couch and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

 

Sapphire didnt trust Steele. Not as far as she could throw him. She could easily take him though. So instead she walked inside the huge penthouse. She wanted to find a doctor, but she was so tired. But her leg! She could barley limp and the pain in her hand! She would sleep and then find a doctor she decided. Hopefully I don't die, she thought with a laugh. Sapphire curled up on the rug, right where she was, and fell asleep. She wished someone was near her, it was weird being around people at first, but she had gotton used to it. She drifted into a deeper sleep, ignoring the frequent footsteps.

 

Jacob smiled back at Mack. Was the handsome young doctor actually flirting? Or just being flirty?
When they arrived at Super Tech, Jacob was impressed, not only by the surroundings, but by Steele's generosity, given their last safehouse had just been reduced to a smoking crater.
He eyed Mack's sprawled out form, entertaining a notion for a brief second, then went in search of a shower. He may not have a change of clothes, but he could at least wash of the soot and grime of their fights.

 

Walking into that huge penthouse with all the fancy gold-covered furniture reminded him of that same planet he got those golden coins form. Mr. Steele reminded him of it too. All appearance, but no substance. Then again, he provided superheroes with the tools they needed to do good, so he couldn’t be all bad. He even helped Silhouette out in the old days. Still, for some reason John was rather relieved to see her treat him with such disdain. He wondered whether that was bad of him to think.

Everybody around him seemed to fall asleep pretty much where they stood, but John was used to little sleep in uncomfortable places, so the power nap in the car had really freshened him up. Before going to bed he was going to get a doctor to look at Sapphire’s leg, whether she was conscious or not, but first he had something else he needed to do.

“Silhouette, wait up!”

A few quick paces put him in stride with Silhouette, who really didn’t look like she wanted to have a conversation right now, but he had to get this off his chest.

“I… I’m sorry. I messed up. I acted without thinking and I jeopardized the whole team doing it. I was so focussed on the one task that I couldn’t see the bigger picture any more. I’m really sorry. Can you forgive me?”

 

Danny walked around tentively, he'd never seen somewhere so over the top. Everything looked like it should be in a palace and if there was one person who should never be in a palace, he was the one. Sapphire was curled up like a cat on the carpet and everyone else was off doing their own thing. He wandered around the labyrinth of a penthouse, finding several large beds. He clambered on one to find it wasn't actually that comfortable, and was full of springs. He stood up and bounced gently in one spot, his brain processing the last few hours. Blood made him feel sick again, and as he looked down at his coat he realised he was covered in it. He ran to the window and threw up. Joey's blood was on me. Joey is now under a goddamn tree. All because I was trying to do too many things for too many people.
He stayed there, his head hanging out the window. At home he would go out on the ledge, discuss his day with... He wiped his chin and stared out at the city. I'm gonna move after all this. I wonder if I'll get my deposit back?
Danny realised he hadn't showered in a couple of days as the smell of blood and bile assaulted his nose. Crap, I have nothing to change into and I have no top on. A flight back to the flat would be- no we have to be together.
He carried on his wander, this time to find a shower or something.

 

Tim liked the place. It was big. Very big. Big enough that if he needed to he could hide. Though it was too high up that he couldn't jump out the window if needs be. He'd have to talk to the man about that, maybe have a rope installed or something along those lines. Admittedly the decorations in the rooms were a little too much. A little too cluttered and too much emphasis on showing off for his taste though. He quickly explored the area, making sure he found any ways in and ways out that could be used, before returning to the group. "So, after the next chase sequence, I'd like to go home." He stated. "I have work tomorrow and one of the computers is struggling updating to windows ten. Even for someone with my ability, that's difficult to get fixed."

 

Sapphire blinked her eyes open. What the hell? She thought looking around, before she remembered where she was. Oh god! She thought as she looked at her clothes. I need to find a new pair of clothes! Using a tall lamp as a crutch, she hobbled into rooms, and took the best clothes she could find. After a couple of agonizing minutes, she got them on. She had a red T-Shirt, Blue Jeans, and a pair of black jordens. She looked down at her outfit before she realized the pain in her leg. She then collapsed in the closet.

 

Jacob had found a shower. Darn it. Danny carried on for a bit more, there has to be more than one, especially in this flippin' giant place. After another minute of wandering he came to a bathroom, with a bath. I've not had a bath since I was about twelve. Joey enjoyed them. Towels were laid out on the side of the bath and were ridiclously white. Danny half didn't want to use them as they were so clean. He bobbed his head out of the door way, looking for replacement clothes and spied a wardrobe in the next of the many bedrooms. This place is stupid. How can all this fit up here?
Danny removed his coat so as to 'reserve' the bathroom and didn't mind so much about having no top on as no one seemed down this area of the floor. Danny opened the wardrobe to find more blinding whiteness, this time from shirts. Shirts had never been Danny's thing as it just meant an extra thing to roll up and prevent falling down when trying to fly, however he couldn't really carry on wearing his coat its current state. There were two drawers below the hanging area where a black t-shirt and jeans were folded and Danny quickly grabbed them. I hope this Steele bloke doesn't mind.
He returned to the bathroom and had a no nonsense bath. He had never been down for bubbles and other fancy bits. Danny put the trousers on without problem, but the t-shirt hung strangely. Not liking this, he filled the bath again and scrubbed his coat after removing the knife and some down caught in the blood. The duffel coat actually looked slightly cleaner than when he'd set out. It was wet though, due to it being made of felt. I hope everyone's alright, this place is so big Idon't know whether I'd know if anything goes wrong. Sap- Emma had came out the worse from the house collapse, or Mack depending how you looked at it. He, poor sod, was stuck with no home and a bunch of superheroes. Gathering up the meger feathers and knife, Danny set back in the direction he came, back to where everyone was.
However, on the way, he found Emma on the floor of a half open walk in wardrobe, her leg reopened. "Mack?"Danny shouted, "Em-Sapphire's in a really bad way!" He plonked his damp coat down and lifted her out of the wardrobe and up on the bed, the blood from her leg seeping into the covers.

 

Silhouette blinked sleepily at John and put her tiny hand on his shoulder. "Dude, all is forgiven," she told him. "We've all made mistakes. Heck, my first day of superheroing I accidentally punched a cop in the throat. You just gotta learn from those mistakes...because the next time you make them, you might not survive to tell the tale."

The super ninja was not too far away not to hear Tim, though. Silhouette walked around John, back into the huge living room, and got right up in Tim's face. "I already fucking told you, if you want to leave, then go," she said without a hint of a smile on her face. She was dead serious. "You're not pulling your weight around here, anyway. Every fucking chance you get, you talk about leaving. Make up your goddamn mind already. I don't know why you even answered my email if all you were going to do is ditch us for work the next fucking day. Good luck not getting killed on the streets."

That said, Silhouette spun around and stomped back down the hall without looking back. "She toooold you," Mack said from the couch with a big grin on his face. Only ten minutes later, there was a courteous knock on the door, and then in walked an old doctor carrying a medical bag. "Hello, everyone," she said, putting her bag on a table and pulling out a metal box. "Mr Steele sent me to deal with anyone who was injured." She opened her box and inside there were four glowing blue syringes. She picked one up and flicked the needle on top. "This is an experimental serum that we like to call Healing Juice," she told them. "One shot of this, and all your aches and pains will heal up, no matter how bad they are."

Just then, a team of people came into the room pulling racks of clothes behind them. One of the people said, "Mr Steele sent us to give you some clothes. We have a wide selection for you to choose from." They put the racks of clothes against the wall for them to choose from and left in a hurry.

"So, who wants a shot first?" the doctor asked with a cheery smile.

 

With no replies, Danny knew he was too far into the building to be heard. He stood there dabbing at her wound, not sure what to do. Hearing the people enter with clothes and such, Danny realised these clothes probably weren't left for them so he threw his coat back on and ran down the hall.
"Come to this room, Sapphire needs help!" he said when seeing the doctor with her bag, "Don't give her that gunk though," he added seeing the syringe in the lady's hand, "She's not awake and she might be a bit pissed about us giving her chemical 2000." The doctor frowned. Danny ignored this and lead her down the corridor, almost sprinting.

 

Sapphire groaned. She was so groggy. She had barley felt Danny lifting her onto this bed, and she was exhausted. She blinked open her eyes about halfway and saw the life seeping through her leg. Then the pain came. She wasn't used to it, she clenched the sides of the bed and started to scream. Her eyes turned pure blue and blue energy swirled throughout the room, striking items. The vases on either side of her imploded, as well as the ceiling to floor window on her left. Whimpering, she forced herself to calm down. The blue energy still remained, although it was passive. Her eyes remained pure blue, and they were wide and frightened. Whimpering, she tried to deal with the pain.

 

Most people respond strangely to a request for forgiveness. John never really understood why. It seems like they reserve it for special occasions like cheating on your wife, or not being there for a friend when he or she really needed you, that sort of stuff. What was worse was that people hardly ever gave it, even when asked. They’d say things like “don’t worry about it”, or “there’s nothing to forgive”. John was different that way. If you wronged someone, you should ask for their forgiveness, no matter how small the offence. And when someone asks for forgiveness, you should give it to them. Because it did matter and apparently there was something to forgive.

Taking all that into account, it was very refreshing to hear Silhouette say that all was forgiven, along with a warning to learn from his mistakes. That’s exactly the kind of thing he wanted to hear, and exactly the kind of thing he so seldom hears. It made him respect her even more than before.

As the doctor walked in with some kind of super-syringe, asking who’d go first, he raised his voice to make sure he was heard.

“Sapphire needs immediate attention. Broken leg, bad burns, combined with a nasty fatigue. Make sure you get to her first. I’ll pass on the miracle drug. My injuries aren’t that bad and I hate needles. I’ll just go freshen myself up and wash my clothes. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

The moment he said that Danny walked in with Sapphire in his arms and a very smart remark.

“He’s right, experimental drugs might not be the way to go with this one. Take good care of her doctor.”

After a small expedition through the enormous mansion he found an unused bathroom with a normal shower in it. He took his clothes off and turned the water on. He started by washing his shirt, coat and pants and saved his socks and underwear for last. There hadn’t been any washing machines on his travels, so he always washed his clothes by hand. Hanging them out to dry in the corridor (wearing a towel around his waist), he finally took a shower himself.

When he was dry he started working on his clothes with a hairdryer he found in a cabinet. He’d never used those before, but since he didn’t want to spend ours wearing nothing but a towel he had to improvise. Fully clothed he went back to check on Sapphire and the rest.

 

The doctor went to Sapphire and brought her medical bag with her...and the Healing Juice, even though Danny and John told her not to. When she saw Sapphire, she looked her over and made tut-tut noises. "She's badly hurt," the doctor said with a frown. "I don't know what you want me to do. We have an X-ray machine in the lab, and I could probably make her a cast, but it would take months for her leg to heal. She wouldn't be any use to you in that whole time."

"Hello?" the doctor said to Sapphire. "My name is Dr Whitley. I can heal you completely with just this..." She lifted a glowing blue syringe from the metal box. "...or I can give you a cast and you can stay in bed for a couple months while your friends are gone doing superhero work. What do you want me to do?"

In another room, Silhouette was tossing and turning in bed. She couldn't sleep. So, she got up and did what some of the other heroes had already done: she took a quick shower. When she got out the shower, she was wrapped up in a fluffy white bathrobe and her crinkly black-brown hair hung freely down her back. She was about to put back on her superhero costume, but it was singed with holes from Vesuvia's fire and it smelled strongly of smoke. Silhouette balled it up and dumped it in the trash bin, only keeping the utility belt. Then she headed back toward the living room.

On her way down the hall, she passed Sapphire's room and peaked in. "Oh, hi, Dr Whitley," Silhouette said with a friendly smile. "I haven't seen you in a while. Guys, let her do her job. That Healing Juice is really amazing." With that, Silhouette continued to the living room. "I couldn't sleep," she told everyone when she came in. Then she saw the clothes racks and smiled hugely.

"Steele might be annoying, but he always thinks of everything," Silhouette chirped as she skipped to the clothes. She picked out a tight black top, slim-fitting black pants, and a pair of clunky combat boots and started getting dressed behind the rack, so no one could see her.

 

Sapphire scowled at the doctor.
She tried to appear tough, but she was what exactly? A woman? And what could she really do? Make Smurfs fly?
"Sir, do you really think I need to take your juice? Have you even tested it? But I do want to be of use to the team. I'm at a stalemate arent I?" She said, grimicing through the pain.
Struggling with pain, she looked at Danny.
To Danny she said,
"Danny, could you go to the clothes rack and see if you can find a white jumpsuit? And a blue jacket if you can? I can keep my combat boots and such, but not these clothes." She rasped.
Returning her attention back to the doctor, she grabbed the syringe, and said,
"I want to be of use, and this is probably the best way to do it." Forcing herself not to show pain, she steeled her nerves and raised the syringe.
I hope. She plunged the syringe into her leg, and let the blue juice flow threw her veins.

 

Dr Whitley smiled. "Good choice," she said sweetly. "The Juice should completely heal you in five, four, three, two..." Suddenly, Sapphire's broken leg snapped into place and the skin healed over perfectly. As it flowed through her body, the serum fixed anything else that was wrong with her, even making all her bruises disappear.

"This stuff works like a miracle," Dr Whitley said as she put away the syringe and shut the metal box. Then she sighed sadly. "Unfortunately, we can't give it to regular people, because the government would never approve it...you see, it's made from the blood of an alien race, the same aliens that the League of Heroes stopped from conquering earth a few years ago. These aliens have amazing healing abilities, so we synthesized their blood and made the Healing Juice out of it. Oh well, at least we can still use it for heroes. Mr Steele just doesn't let the government know that we're doing it, heehee!"

The giggling doctor walked out of the room and headed for the door. On her way out, Silhouette stopped her and held out her hand. "I'll be taking that box," she said in a gentle but firm voice.

"Oh...but, but, Mr Steele didn't say I could give you the whole box!" Dr Whitley stammered, looking shocked.

"We might need it later, in case someone gets really badly hurt," Silhouette said. She stared down the doctor until, finally, Dr Whitley handed over the metal box and left the penthouse. "Anyone want coffee?" Silhouette asked. "I'm making coffee." She went into the kitchen and sat the box on the counter while she got to work pouring the grinds into the fancy silver coffee-making machine.

 

Sapphire rested in bed, her pain gone. She felt... Fine! It was so weird. Calling out to Silhouette she said,
"Caramel frappicino, with cream and whipped cream and shaved ice and a little walnuts please!" Not caring what she got, she closed her eyes and started to do her mental routine. My name is Emma. I am 33. I am just fine. Nothing can hurt me. My name is Emma. I am 33. I am just fine. Nothing can hurt me. My name is Emma, and she thought that over and over and over.

 

Jacob enjoyed the shower, the hot water flowing over his muscles, the scent of smoke and blood washing away. When he'd dawdled long enough in the luxurious shower, he got out and dried himself off with what was probably the softest towel he'd ever felt. His clothes were still an issue, though. Oh, well.
As he was pulling his Calvins back on, though, he heard Danny shouting for help. So, he did what a hero does and ran out in his underwear.
Arriving on the scene, he was both relieved it wasn't another attack, but his gut twisted to see Sapphire in such bad shape. With the fire and the darkness and her cloak covering everything, he hadn't realized the state of her injuries. Plus, she had been weirdly stoic, given what had happened to her. Jacob was no crybaby but Sapphire was verging into Black Knight territory. (Tis but a flesh wound!)
Then came the all too perky doctor with her miracle elixir. Jacob had reaped the benefits of the Mechaneer's nanotechnology, but somehow this panacea the doctor offered seemed too good to be true. But, Sapphire wasn't in pain, so for now, he'd have to be satisfied. He would keep an eye in her.
When Silhouette came in in a fluffy bathrobe, Jacob was suddenly aware there was only a about a square foot of fabric between him and the world. "I should find pants," he said to no one in particular.

 

Coming up on the hallway where he'd seen Sapphire last, he suddenly saw Silhouette come around a corner in front of him... wearing nothing but a pink fluffy bathrobe, his mouth dropped open and just stared for a couple of seconds.He followed her in, assuming everybody would be there, only to find he was the only one. Feeling somewhat awkward, he took one of the gold seats to rest his body for a bit. He always got tired from showers. However, before he realised it himself, he was staring again. At a clothing rack this time. Pretending to look at the window, fooling no one in particular except for himself, his eyes darted back and forth every couple of seconds. She really was beautiful.

Trying really hard to think of a reason to leave this room thirty seconds after entering it, he realised that there actually was something important he was forgetting. Before Silhouette appeared fully clothed again, he got up and went to check up on Sapphire.

When he walked back into the room, he noticed Sapphire had actually taken the shot. It seems she overcame one of her worst fears, good for her. He walked up to the curled up figure and apologized to her in a very similar matter as he did to Silhouette.

 

Danny flung the clothes about looking for what Emma wanted, a blue jacket could be found, but no white jumpsuit. White gets dirty quickly anyway, especially when you're fighting people. All sorts of clothes were on the rack, suits, trousers skirts and even dresses. Why would we want dresses and suits, we're not going to a ball and dance Morgana to defeat! He grabbed a white top and trousers instead of the jumpsuit and also found little white socks too. Taking the jacket, top, trousers and socks to Emma, Danny realised that this was actually quite fun. Emma needed his help.
"Sorry Em-Sapphire, I couldn't find a jumpsuit, but I found some socks!" Danny said a bit overenthusiastically.

 

Going out to the room with the clothing, Jacob sifted through the selection, still in his undies. Danny had messed things about in his efforts to find what Sapphire wanted, which Jacob found adorable, but the menswear side of the racks were still mostly in order. Jacob ws especially surprised to see "essentials" amongst the clothing offered.
"I'll have some, if it's decaf," he called to Silhouette.
Jacob made his selection and went to change. He came back, sock-footed, wearing a simple pair of black track pants and a green athletic tank top which clung to his brawny frame.
"What's next boss?" Jacob asked Silhouette.

 

Sapphire quickly changed into the white top, but kept the blue jeans, she put on the blue jacket, and walked out to were Silhouette was.
"Guys, we need to talk about what I saw when I read Vesvias mind."

 

Silhouette turned to Sapphire, then looked at the ground and breathed a deep sigh. "Okay, I'm ready," she said in a low whisper. It was obvious that Silhouette had an idea about who might be behind everything that had happened to them, but she wanted Sapphire to say it, to confirm what she was thinking. The coffee machine beeped twice to signify that the coffee was ready. Silhouette turned around and poured coffee into enough cups for everyone and started adding cream and sugar, keeping her eyes on what she was doing and not looking at Sapphire.

"I think...I think I can handle it," Silhouette said in a whisper that was so low that only Sapphire could hear it.

 

A shadow passed slowly over the rooftop of the SuperTech tower. Anyone watching the sky might notice a faint distortion, like ripples on the surface of a pond. A fraction of a second later, there was a loud boom and a flash of bluish-white light. A spacecraft appeared, slowly emerging from a swirling pocket of subspace.

It was shaped like a coffin with stubby wings, riddled with bullet holes and scorch marks from lasers, with four flickering thrusters slowly nudging it across the sky. The ship turned and circled the tower twice before stopping to hover above the van parked on its helipad.

A loading ramp at the rear of the ship opened, revealing a figure clad in a black spacesuit. Nyr removed her space helmet, letting her mane of tentacles flow freely in the breeze. Her piercing red eyes stared down at the SuperVan.

“So, she’s here, hiding,” the alien remarked before tossing aside her helmet and leaping down from the ship. “Hiding, like a coward,” she added.

She landed with a dull thud on the roof of the SuperVan. The ship above her turned and disappeared back into subspace. The portal shut with another thunderous boom, as if the ship had never been there.

Nyr climbed down and walked around the van, looking into its windows and even opening the rear doors. Blood on the floor. Nyr swiped her finger across the red stain and tasted it. “Not hers. Someone else’s.” She shut the door and stepped away from the van. “Not hiding, recovering. Not a coward, merely… weak. Disappointing.”

The injured person had left a blood trail. Nyr followed the drops, which led toward a door into the building and-

Footsteps approaching. Nyr sprang back and stood ready, with one hand on the hilt of her sword. A fraction of a second later, the door opened and a security guard emerged. He spotted the alien warrior and immediately fumbled for his gun, only to fail and drop it. The weapon clattered to the ground and he stared at her like a deer in the headlights.

Nyr nodded to the gun at his feet. “Go on… pick it up,” she said.

Cold beads of sweat ran down his brow. “I, umm, I think it’s fine right where it is,” the guard said as he slowly backed away toward the door.

“Are you the master of this house?” Nyr asked. “I wish to enter. Where is the one you call Silhouette? I wish to have words with her.”

“Look, I just work here. I don’t want any trouble,” the guard said. "I'll get her, okay. Just... umm... wait here." He disappeared and the door slammed shut behind him. She could hear his hurried steps fading away inside the building. He was either very eager to reach Silhouette... or he was running away like a coward.

Nyr sighed and took a seat on the ground. She clasped her hands in her lap and waited patiently for him to return.

 

Tim frowned but didn't say a word. In terms of being productive, he was the one responsible for getting the memory stick out of the computer in the first place. The very thing that even allowed them to start investigating in the first place. If you counted the memory stick as one event, and then each fight as their own incident, than he was technically responsible for a third of the teams work. He was pretty sure he was pulling his weight. Then again, perhaps Silhouette wasn't the thinking sort of superhero. Neither was he, but apparently he was more concerned than the others about collateral damage. After a moment he went outside, returning to the group. "I've come to a realisation." He stated, giving a slight cough afterwards and suddenly feeling nervous. He was trying to think of a way of explaining himself before simply letting himself blurt it out. "If we were the teenage mutant ninja turtles, I'm Donatello."

 

Jacob held out a chair for Sapphire and helped himself to coffee, thanking Silhouette. He smiled at Mack, (ooc: whom I'm assuming is there) as he leaned against the counter.
He arched a brow at Tim, and didn't remark that Donotello stayed and fought. Frankly, there was a part of him that wanted to rip his shirt off and lead the others through a training montage, singing "I'll Make a Man Out Of You", like in Disney's Mulan.
"What did you find out, Saff?"