Chapter 14:
– Silas –
Fugly Bob's was pretty packed for being nearly midnight. The smell of greasy burgers and slightly stale fries filled the air inside. Across from me, Amy sat with her head practically buried in her hands, red-faced and absolutely mortified.
Next to her, Vicky was leaning back against the booth cushion with a delighted smirk, obviously enjoying the whole situation.
Since we'd come straight here after flying, we were all still in costume. Obviously, Glory Girl, Panacea, and myself grabbing a late-night snack attracted a shitload of attention. Kids had run up to our table for autographs three separate times already, and several groups of guys in booths across the restaurant had loudly whistled at Vicky, making obnoxious comments about how sexy she looked in her costume, but she'd look even sexier out of it...
They all stopped though when she threatened to break the next guy's legs who said that out loud.
Luckily, after that initial excitement died down, people seemed to get the hint and mostly left us alone to eat our fries and shakes in peace.
At least, mostly in peace.
Vicky nudged Amy's shoulder lightly, grinning mischievously as she continued her relentless teasing. "Seriously, Ames, I still can't believe you let Silas finger you on a flying motorcycle. I mean—above the Boardwalk! Literally anyone could've pointed their phone camera up and recorded your 'happy face'!"
Amy's face turned even redder—something I honestly hadn't thought possible at this point. She shot Vicky an irritated glare from behind her hands, muttering defensively, "Oh my God, shut up, Vicky. Please, please stop talking!"
I shifted awkwardly in my seat, heat crawling up the back of my neck. Yeah, okay, I was definitely embarrassed too, but shit, Amy looked like she was ready to melt into the booth seat out of sheer humiliation.
The worst part? Vicky wasn't wrong. I had absolutely forgotten to tell Amy about the Ghost Bike's invisibility function when she took over flying.
So, yeah, we'd basically given anyone who happened to look up at the wrong (or right?) moment a free show.
At least it had been dark, and we were pretty high up…? I hoped…
Fuck me, why hadn't I thought about the invisibility feature sooner?
Vicky took a sip of her chocolate shake, her bright blue eyes sparkling with barely restrained laughter. Then she leaned in closer to Amy, her voice lowering just enough that nearby tables couldn't overhear—but still loud enough for me to hear clearly across the booth.
"Come on, Ames, spill. How good was he? Because judging by those lewd noises you made, Silas must've really known what he was doing down there. You sounded like you were having the best night of your life… And those moans were really hot…"
Amy choked loudly, her blush spreading down her neck as she glared murderously at her sister. "Please fucking kill me now," she groaned softly, her voice strained and mortified.
Vicky laughed out loud this time, clearly amused by Amy's embarrassment. "Relax! I'm not gonna tell anyone. I promise. I'm honestly just glad you're finally being a little daring for once. It's about time my uptight sister broke a few rules!"
Amy just let out another small, defeated whimper, dropping her forehead onto the table surface with an audible thump.
She looked completely done.
Vicky's gaze swung toward me next, her lips twisting into an exaggerated pout as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "Honestly though, Silas, I'm kinda jealous. You decided to swing by and take Amy out on this cute late-night motorcycle date instead of me? Really?" She sighed dramatically, placing a hand over her naturally well endowed chest. "I see how it is."
I blinked, caught slightly off guard. Honestly, it was impossible to tell if Vicky was being serious or just fucking with me. But considering she'd recently sent me some incredibly hot nudes…
My gaze flickered briefly over to Amy, wondering if she'd say something about Vicky blatantly flirting with me?
Then it hit me. Of course Amy wasn't going to stop Vicky. She was definitely still nursing her obvious crush on her adopted sister, since they weren't actually blood-related.
Maybe she even hoped something would eventually come from all this teasing and tension.
The thought of what exactly Amy might be hoping for crossed my mind—a hot threesome with both Dallon girls moaning under me…
Instead, I cleared my throat awkwardly and forced myself to meet Vicky's playful gaze. "Sorry, Vicky. Amy was just… closer. At the hospital. I didn't even know where you were tonight."
Vicky narrowed her eyes at me slightly, but the playful gleam never left her expression. She leaned further forward, her voice low and sultry. "Well, next time, maybe you should check where I am first. You know, give me a chance to JOIN in. I could have used some late-night stress relief too." She winked.
Jesus Christ. I stared at her, my brain stuttering briefly.
…The three of us eventually finished our shakes and fries, and stepped out into Fugly Bob's parking lot. Still, even outside we couldn't quite shake the attention we'd drawn. A small cluster of kids stood lingering by the sidewalk.
Two little girls rushed over immediately, clutching Glory Girl posters and Panacea photos. Vicky laughed cheerfully, kneeling down gracefully in her golden costume to autograph their things. Amy, still red-faced but managing a small smile, quietly signed for the other kids as well.
I paused, watching them interact with the children, briefly wondering why kids this young weren't in bed yet. But then again, this was Brockton Bay. It wasn't exactly known for parents enforcing strict curfews.
Maybe kids around here just learned early to fend for themselves.
Just as the girls finished up, a young boy, probably around nine or ten, approached me shyly, gripping a piece of notebook paper and a pen.
"Um… Could you sign this, please?" the kid asked, looking up at me with big, earnest eyes. "You're the new Ward guy, right? What's your cape name?"
Fuck. I hadn't really thought about choosing a proper cape name yet. But this kid was looking up at me expectantly, so I had to come up with something.
"You can call me Dragonborn," I told him, trying not to sound awkward about it as I scribbled it quickly on his paper. It might have seemed cheesy from my own perspective, but hell, I couldn't think of anything better, and honestly—it fit me. Literally.
The kid beamed at me excitedly. "That's so cool! Thanks, Dragonborn!"
As the kid ran off to excitedly show his friends, I glanced over to see Amy giving me a funny, raised-eyebrow look. I shrugged at her defensively. "What? It fits, doesn't it?"
"If you want to copy Hildra, then sure…" Amy rolled her eyes lightly but didn't argue further, instead returning to finish signing something for another fangirl.
Finally, when all the autographs and polite waves were done, Vicky suddenly scooped a startled Amy up into her arms like a princess.
Amy squeaked in protest, her face going pink again. "Hey! Vicky, put me down! People are still watching!"
"Relax, Ames. I'll have us up and away before they can get their phones out," Vicky teased playfully. Then she glanced at me and winked. "You think you can follow, Dragonboy?"
I laughed and nodded, crouching slightly before leaping upward in one smooth movement, enhanced strength easily carrying me up to land on the rooftop across from Fugly Bob's. Behind me, I heard a few surprised gasps from the lingering bystanders.
A second later, Glory Girl landed lightly beside me, still cradling Amy effortlessly.
Amy scrambled quickly to her feet once Vicky set her down, glaring weakly at her sister, though she didn't really seem angry. "Really, Vicky? You had to do the princess carry thing right in front of everyone?" Amy muttered.
"Of course I did. You love it," Vicky retorted cheerfully.
Amy just sighed and shook her head, hiding a small smile despite her embarrassment. I chuckled softly, watching the sisters banter lightly before stepping closer to Amy. She looked up at me, a little shy but clearly more relaxed now that we had some privacy again.
"I had a really good time tonight," I admitted quietly, giving Amy a genuine smile. "You know, despite the unexpected audience earlier." My gaze flickered briefly to Vicky, who simply raised her eyebrows innocently in return.
Amy blushed, smiling faintly back at me. "Yeah, me too. You should come see me at the hospital whenever you're free. I'd... like that."
"I'll definitely do that," I said softly.
She hesitated just a second, then leaned up quickly and pressed a soft, brief kiss to my lips. Her face went bright red immediately afterward, but she gave me a shy smile anyway.
Amy being openly affectionate was honestly adorable as hell. I couldn't help but grin back at her like a lovestruck idiot.
Vicky, of course, immediately broke the moment with a theatrical sigh. "Oh, come on, Ames, that was barely a goodbye kiss! Let me show you how it's done properly."
Before I had a chance to process what she meant, Glory Girl stepped forward, grabbing the front of my Nightingale armor costume with surprising speed and strength, pulling me firmly against her body. My eyes widened just before her soft, full lips pressed against mine. Instantly her tongue was pushing insistently into my mouth, her kiss was hot and heavy.
My brain froze completely as her tongue tangled briefly with mine, the world narrowing to just the sensation of her mouth moving sensually against mine. After what felt like forever—realistically probably twenty seconds or so—she pulled back just enough to flash me a teasing, sultry grin.
"That," Vicky declared smugly, glancing over at her completely speechless sister, "is how you give a proper goodbye kiss. Always leave your partner hot and bothered!"
Amy was gaping openly, her mouth opening and closing as if she couldn't figure out what to say. I could only stare dumbly, myself, more than a little turned on by Vicky's unexpected kiss.
Vicky laughed at our stunned expressions, scooping Amy effortlessly back up into another princess carry. "Come on, Ames, let's get you home. Say goodbye to Silas!"
Amy managed a faint, embarrassed wave at me as Vicky flew them upward, laughing again before disappearing into the night sky above the rooftops.
I stood there dumbfounded, blinking slowly for several seconds before finally shaking myself back to reality. "Holy shit," I muttered aloud, running a hand over my face. Tonight had certainly been... something.
After a moment, I snapped my fingers, summoning the sleek black Ghost Bike onto the rooftop beside me. I probably needed to get back to the Rig soon. Odds were high they'd already realized I'd snuck out—but what the hell. Nothing could possibly ruin my mood tonight after how my evening had turned out.
I climbed onto my bike, took a deep breath, and felt a satisfied smile spread across my face.
Definitely not a boring night…
—
As I flew back toward the Rig on the Ghost Bike, the excitement and rush of the night started fading away, replaced with the slow, creeping realization that I was probably about to get chewed out.
It wasn't a huge surprise when I saw them waiting down there, standing stiffly in full costume outside one of the Rig's entrances.
Armsmaster and Miss Militia were both standing there, illuminated by the bright security lights glaring down from the top of the facility. Armsmaster had his typical serious posture, arms folded across his armored chest, his expression hidden behind that familiar visor. Miss Militia stood a little behind him, a hand resting casually on her holstered pistol. She looked calmer than Armsmaster, but there was definitely some tension visible in her posture.
I briefly considered turning invisible and phasing straight through the walls right back into my room.
It would've been easy, and hilarious to leave them standing out here. But that was probably just going to piss them off even more than they already were.
I decided to bite the bullet and just land the damn bike right in front of them.
The motorcycle touched down silently on the concrete right in front of the pair. I dismounted slowly, dismissing my costume back into my inventory, already bracing myself for the lecture I knew was coming.
Miss Militia stepped forward first, giving me a look I'd quickly come to recognize as her trademark Disappointed 'Mom' expression. "Silas," she began with a heavy sigh, "What exactly do you think you were doing tonight, sneaking out alone right after Nazi villains literally just tried to murder you at school today?"
I winced internally. She definitely had a point. Heading out into Brockton Bay, alone, at night, immediately after narrowly surviving a cape attack, was… probably not my smartest move.
But shit, I'd just needed some air after everything that went down today.
"I just needed to clear my head a bit," I explained sheepishly. "It's been kind of a day, y'know? Besides, I had my new bike, so I figured I'd be fine."
Speaking of the Ghost Bike, Armsmaster had already moved forward, all but ignoring the actual conversation. He circled the bike, leaning in closely and running an armored finger along the sleek black surface, muttering quietly to himself. He seemed totally engrossed with it.
"How exactly does this machine function?" Armsmaster asked abruptly, turning sharply to face me. "It seems silent. Completely silent. Where exactly did you acquire it? We picked you up leaving the Rig—our security is top-notch. How were you flying? And more importantly, how did you phase through our supposedly secure walls?" Armsmaster fired off questions rapidly, barely pausing to breathe. His eagerness was actually kind of hilarious to watch, especially coming from a guy who normally had the emotional range of a brick wall.
"Um," I began, trying to keep up with his barrage of questions. "I… honestly don't know how it works. My powers are kinda bullshit, remember? The bike was a reward from my System for surviving today's attack. I can summon and dismiss it at will, it can fly, turn invisible, and yeah, apparently it phases through solid stuff. I think it might regenerate if damaged, but I haven't tested that yet…" I tried my best to explain everything.
Armsmaster made a frustrated noise, clearly unsatisfied by my answer, though I saw him making rapid mental notes. "Would you allow me to study it tonight? I need to get readings on this."
I shrugged. "Sure, knock yourself out. Just, y'know, try not to break it or anything? Or maybe do, so we can see how long it takes to fix itself…?"
"Fantastic." Armsmaster immediately knelt down again, popping open some kind of toolkit from his armor and starting to scan the bike with intense concentration.
Miss Militia just sighed loudly, shaking her head. "Great. We've officially lost Armsmaster for the night. He's going to nerd out over that bike until sunrise." She turned back to me, beckoning for me to follow her away from the distracted hero. "Walk with me for a minute, Silas." I fell in step beside her, both of us strolling toward the edge of the Rig platform overlooking the dark ocean. She turned to me, her expression softening slightly under her bandana. "Silas," she began quietly, looking genuinely concerned now. "You have to understand—I'm responsible for the Wards, for all of you. When something like this happens—when you go off alone right after a serious incident—I feel like I've failed you. Like I've let you down because you don't trust me. I would have gone out with you, if you had asked for permission. We could have even raced or something."
I felt guilty for not thinking about how my actions would reflect on her.
"I'm sorry," I said softly, honestly meaning it. "I didn't mean to stress you out or make you worry. And I wasn't trying to get you in trouble or anything. I really just needed to clear my head tonight after everything."
Miss Militia looked slightly mollified at my apology, but still shook her head slightly. "I understand. I was young once too, you know. But still—right after a major attack? At least tell someone next time."
"Fair enough," I admitted sheepishly. "And, uh, I also kind of wanted to see a girl tonight, so…"
Her face shifted to one of mild annoyance. She rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, crossing her arms again. "Of course. A boy gets a shiny new toy, and the first thing he does is show it off to pretty girls. Typical."
I chuckled lightly, unable to deny the accuracy of that statement. "Well, you're definitely not wrong there. But hey—you're welcome to take it for a spin yourself sometime, if that makes it up to you?"
She snorted softly, giving me an amused, skeptical look. "Nice try. I'm not falling for that one. And no, offering me joyrides on your fancy new bike isn't getting you out of punishment."
"Punishment?" I asked warily, raising an eyebrow at her. "Come on, please don't say—"
"Oh yes," she said firmly, cutting me off with a smirk. "You're on Console duty for the rest of the night as well as tomorrow afternoon after school!"
"Shit," I groaned in annoyance. Then something clicked in my mind, and I blinked sharply, staring at her in disbelief. "Wait—I'm still going to school tomorrow? After what happened? Seriously!?"
She gave me a deadpan look as if I'd just asked something ridiculously obvious. "Of course you're going to school. Just because Nazis tried to kill you in the cafeteria doesn't mean classes get cancelled. This is Brockton Bay. If we cancelled school every time something like that happened, nobody would ever graduate in this town."
I groaned loudly. "Fucking Brockton Bay…"
"Language, Silas!" she huffed at me. "Now, did anything else happen tonight?" she asked.
"I picked out my Cape name," I told her.
She seemed happy to hear that. "Oh? What is it?"
– Alexandria –
Rebecca sat quietly on the worn, faded armchair in Taylor's room, feeling awkwardly out of place in the mundane setting. It was cluttered with textbooks, clothes, and posters of various heroes—including herself as Alexandria. In fact, there were multiple posters of herself.
It felt surreal.
Across from her, Taylor Hebert practically vibrated with excitement, bouncing gently on her bed. Her dark curls framed her eager face, eyes wide behind her thick glasses, and a massive grin plastered across her lips.
"So let me get this straight," Taylor gasped. "You're—you're Alexandria. The Alexandria, the actual fucking Alexandria—and you've been disguised as Rebecca Brown at Winslow today!?"
Rebecca shifted slightly, keeping her voice calm and composed. "Keep your voice down, Taylor," she reminded her gently. "We don't want to wake your dad up. And please refer to me as Rebecca from now on…"
"Oh! Right. Sorry," Taylor said sheepishly, ducking her head a bit. She leaned in closer across the small distance between them, dropping her voice to an excited, frantic whisper. "But holy shit, Rebecca—you're literally my favorite hero! This is so insane! Are you undercover or something? Is Winslow secretly infested with villains? How long are you going to be there?"
Rebecca took a breath, watching Taylor's unbridled joy with a complicated mixture of amusement and guilt. "Not exactly undercover in the traditional sense," she admitted, choosing her words carefully. "It's more... complicated than that. Let's just say I have personal reasons for enrolling. I'm not sure yet how long I'll stay. Today was actually my first day."
Taylor's grin stretched wider, clearly still starstruck. "You being Alexandria is literally the coolest thing ever," she whispered eagerly, then paused suddenly. "Wait, but you're, like, nineteen. Why do you look exactly my age?"
Rebecca hesitated, her lips pressing together briefly as she considered how best to explain. It was personal, but she decided to answer anyway. "When I got my powers, they froze my aging completely at nineteen. Physically, I haven't changed at all since."
Taylor blinked in disbelief, then her expression shifted into envy. "Are you kidding me? You get to stay beautiful forever! God, I'm so jealous."
Rebecca paused at the sincerity in Taylor's voice, slightly caught off guard.
It had honestly been a long time since anyone referred to her—her true self—as beautiful.
…Of course, there were countless internet memes and online forums filled with crude jokes about Alexandria crushing people between her thick thighs, but those were fantasies about her cape persona–not Rebecca herself.
Thinking about it made her feel odd. And it brought her thoughts unexpectedly to Silas. Even though she'd only spent a single day at Winslow so far, Silas had clearly been giving her subtle yet unmistakably appreciative glances during class. While normally she'd dismiss such attention outright, today she hadn't exactly found his gaze…unwelcome.
…If anything, she'd caught herself feeling something close to enjoyment from it, which surprised her far more than she'd ever admit out loud!
Taylor must have noticed her distracted expression. "Rebecca? Um...?" she asked softly, leaning forward with concern. "You alright?"
Rebecca quickly cleared her throat, forcing the unhelpful thoughts aside. "Yes, sorry. I've just got a lot on my mind tonight, that's all."
Taylor smiled sympathetically. "I bet. Today was crazy. First, Empire assholes attacked Silas and Shadow Stalker. Then I triggered powers and killed Victor. And now you are hanging out in my bedroom, casually talking to me. Like, what the actual fuck is even happening in my life right now!?"
"It is a rather... unusual situation," she admitted.
Taylor looked thoughtful for a moment, then brightened visibly. "So... wait, does this mean we're still friends? Like, actual friends—even though you're Alexandria? You don't have to pretend, right?"
Rebecca hesitated only a second before nodding sincerely. "Yes. I'd like to stay friends, Taylor, if you're comfortable with it." She didn't add that she practically had to remain close to Taylor anyway, to avoid dying for some reason…
Taylor grinned! "Are you kidding? Of course I want to be friends! School just got about a million times more bearable knowing that Alexandria has my back. And now that I've got powers too, and I'm joining the Wards with you and Silas, it's even better," she added, before pausing. "The only downside is Sophia fucking Hess is going to be there too…."
Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "You really don't like Shadow Stalker, do you?"
Taylor scowled. "She's been a total bitch to me at school! Always has been. But now I have powers, and I'm gonna get back at her by being a way better hero. And also—" Taylor suddenly got a determined look. "Also, I'm totally going to steal Silas Thorn from her! I'm gonna sleep with him first and rub it right in Sophia's smug fucking face!"
Rebecca nearly choked on air, spluttering in shock at Taylor's sudden blunt declaration. "You—you're going to do what?"
Taylor looked completely unbothered, nodding confidently. "Yep. You heard me. Silas is hot, nice, and honestly kinda amazing. Plus, Sophia clearly has a thing for him, and nothing would piss her off more than me getting with him first. Perfect revenge!"
Rebecca stared at Taylor for several seconds, temporarily at a loss for words. What exactly is it about Silas that's drawing all these female capes to him?
– Silas –
I walked into the Wards' common room, yawning a bit. Clockblocker was sprawled out on the couch, totally passed out with a controller dangling loosely from his hand. Some game was running AFK on the big screen, looping over and over.
I shrugged it off and kept moving, heading into the console room.
Inside, Vista was sitting alone, her small figure practically hidden by the massive swivel chair. She was staring blankly at the dozens of camera feeds from hidden surveillance points all around Brockton Bay.
It was pretty late, so I paused for a second. Why the hell was she sitting here alone at this hour?
"Hey Vista, everything okay?" I asked, trying to keep my voice casual.
She looked up at me, startled, and instantly turned bright red. Crap. She clearly still had a massive crush on me. Obviously, I planned to ignore that. No way was I encouraging that kind of thing.
"Oh, hey Silas," she muttered, avoiding my eyes. "I just, uh… didn't want to stay home tonight. My parents aren't exactly... great. Sometimes they yell at each other all night. I usually just teleport myself here when it gets bad."
I frowned. I knew she'd triggered because her parents had a shitty, dysfunctional marriage with constant yelling. That wasn't something any kid should have to deal with. Hell, I knew exactly how fucked up parents could be.
Without really thinking about it, I stepped closer and gave the poor kid a gentle hug. "Yeah, parents can seriously suck sometimes. Trust me, I get it."
She sputtered in embarrassment, stiffening slightly at the unexpected hug, but seemed to relax a little afterward.
I stepped back and cleared my throat. "Anyway, how's everything looking tonight? Console duty treating you okay?"
Vista shrugged and sighed, clearly glad for the distraction. "Honestly, it's super boring. The entire city is probably hiding right now because Alexandria is around. She took down Lung and Hookwolf back to back. Nobody wants to piss her off."
I chuckled at that. "Damn right she did."
It made me wonder briefly where Alexandria was now since she obviously wasn't hanging out on the Rig. Probably off doing some secret Illuminati bullshit.
"So, anything I can help with?" I asked.
She looked relieved just to have someone to talk to. "It's just nice having company. Console duty gets pretty lonely."
She started pointing at different buttons and screens, explaining how the console worked. I nodded along, doing my best to follow her instructions, even though some of the more complicated controls flew right over my head.
We spent around half an hour chatting comfortably when suddenly my system screen flashed brightly into existence right in front of me.
[Congratulations! You have been granted another heroic mission in the multiverse! A human planet is under attack by evil invaders! The people are calling out desperately for a hero. Will you go!? You have 10 seconds to respond.]
"What the fuck?" I muttered, squinting at the sudden glowing screen.
Vista leaned in and read it too. Her eyes widened instantly. "Silas, we have to go! Innocent people are getting hurt!"
Before I could even answer, another message popped up.
[The System will take that as a yes. Your partner for this mission will be the young hero, Vista! You will both be transported in 5 seconds!]
"Wait, what!?" Vista squeaked out in panic.
"Oh, shit—" was all I managed to say before bright white light swallowed both of us whole.
XXX