I tiptoe into my bedroom past the clock that reads 2:14 am stares brightly at me. I tilt my head slightly, looking down at my handsome fiance. His eyes are closed and his mouth is slightly open. I limp over to the other side of the bed. I slowly lay down so I don't wake him. His chest raises my head with each deep but delicate breath he takes. I notice that he is finally sleeping on his back like he prefers. He's recovering from a car accident so his body is still sore. I lean over and gently kiss his cheek so I don't disturb him. I turn my head, still on his chest, towards the window before falling asleep again.
I wake up to Tag making breakfast while singing a song he wrote. He turns to me excitedly.
"Did you hear about Inferna single-handedly taking on Lauderwald last night? Apparently, he was holding women captive in his mansion. She fought off 26 of his goons. 26! Can you believe that?" He shouts excitedly as he almost burns our eggs.
I sigh but I have to smirk. Honestly, I don't like talking about Inferna which is unfortunate because that is his favorite topic of discussion. Luckily he can talk about her for eight hours at work since today is his first day going back since his accident. He was bedridden for a month and he dreaded not being able to go to work. Sure he was able to access his laptop from his bed, but it's not the same as doing field work.
"How do you feel today?"
His grin fades a bit. "Kind of lousy but I'm still going back to work. My body started aching last night so I went to bed early. Speaking of which you didn't even tell me you were working late. What was that all about?"
I shift in my chair a bit. "Sorry I was swamped suddenly and didn't have the time to tell you. I'm sorry, baby."
He looks disappointed as he tells me it's fine. He hands me a plate with eggs and toast before giving me a quick kiss.
"Gotta run. You know Buzzfeed definitely wants an article about Inferna's insane win last night. Will you go see if it's on the news still?" He says with the same excitement he had a minute ago.
Grabbing my plate I try my best to walk normally to the couch where the remote is sitting. I didn't do so well with because Tag is immediately laying me down on the couch.
"Are you okay? Why are you walking all like that? Do you need me to stay home?" He asks frantically, reaching for the house phone.
I grab the remote and turn the T.V. on and luckily for me it's already on the news. We caught it at the end where the news anchors and some of the victims are thanking Inferna for keeping their city safe. He slings his backpack over his shoulder and gives me a worried look.
"I'm fine. You just go to work and write erotic fanfics about you and your superhero girlfriend." We stick our tongues out at each other before he leaves for the day.
"THIS JUST IN!," the newscaster on the T.V. reports loudly yet monotonously. "TWO MASS MURDERERS ARE HEADED EAST ON SOUTHERN BOULEVARD. THEY HAVE JUST LEFT AFTER SHOOTING UP THE 5TH SCHOOL THIS MONTH. THEY ARE ARMED AND DANGEROUS. THE SCHOOLS ATTACKED WERE WELTON HIGH, DUBROUGH UNIVERSITY . . . " I roll my eyes before stretching out on the couch and drowning out the lady talking on screen. I sigh while shaking my head. It never ends does it?
* * *
~ Inferna's P.O.V ~
Flying full speed towards Southern, I slow down when I see a blue Tesla. I stand in the street to block their path. The passenger seems startled, but the driver has a determined look on his face. The car speeds up so I hold out both my hands. The impact of the car slides my heels against the rough concrete, but at least it stops this time. They don't always stop. Both men hop out the car and attack me from both sides. The driver swings at me but I dodge him. His passenger grabs me, pinning my arms behind my back. I lodge my heel into his groin as he lets go, doubling over in pain. I turn to the driver just in time to see him jabbing a small knife in my direction. I grab his wrist and knock the knife away, before swiftly kicking him in the face.
The police show up to see both of the men groaning on the ground. They handcuff them before herding them into the back of the cop car. An officer who just finished talking into his radio saunters over to me. His navy blue shirt is stretched to maximum capacity around his biceps. He clasps his hand on my shoulder.
"Thank you very much for your hard work. Their reign of terror is over. I heard that you stayed all night last night with the women from the whole Lauderwald debacle. That is pretty admirable," he adds with what I believe is an air of sarcasm.
"Yes, I did actually until quite early in the morning. I wanted each of them to make it home safely. I also want to find the time to visit each school these assholes have terrorized. These poor children shouldn't have to go through that," I reply solemnly.
His hand slides down to my waist. "Sounds like you could use a break. Something to cheer you up. How would you like to go on a date with a policeman? We both serve and protect plus I'm sure we can find more things we have in common over drinks," he half-whispers in my ear.
I gently push his hand away. " I'm sorry I am neither single nor interested. Thank you though," I reply before pushing off the ground.
I decide to fly to Inglemist Academy, the school that those dirtbags just fled. I land to see a swarm of police cars, concerned teachers, crying parents and shaken children. I see a girl crying alone on a brick wall on the outside border of the school. I sit next to her and take her in my arms. I use my x-ray vision to scan the crowd and I find an older woman with a similar hair color looking around frantically. I fly as fast as I can, carrying her over to the woman. She smiles wearily before taking her daughter in her arms. She mouths a thank you while backing away towards her car. I inhale sharply before entering the school. Overturned desks in the hallway, lockers open, backpacks and school supplies litter the hallway. I sigh as a lump forms in my throat.
"Did any children die?" I mutter softly.
"They seem to have been going after specific students. Didn't really harm any other students. Just loudly interrogated them, threatened them too. They knew exactly who they were going after." The answer comes in the form of a deep, intelligent sounding drawl. Slow, sure and comforting. He could tell you the worse news in the best way. That's one of the things I love about him.
"Who were they, Warren?"
He sighs. "Finnegan Novac, Payne Dubrough, and Millard Bouhauser from the Ingle Side. Felicity Fieldman-Fraisier, Lucille Welton and Jayne Porter from the Mists."
"Have we figured anything out? Who these men are and why they did this?"
"No we are researching links now," he continues as he puts his hand on my back. "I know this is hard for you," He whispers.
This was my school. Inglemist is a school for exceptionally outstanding or "uniquely special" kids. I came here because of my powers. Classes specifically to teach me how to and how not to use them. I trained with some of the parents of the students he just named. I loved my years here as a young mist. Ingle is what the boy's side of the campus is called. Joanna Mist was an exceptional superhero and ex-villain who wanted to make a difference so she opened this school. She married Nobel Peace Prize winner Edwin Ingle. He won that prize for making the enchantment breaking serum that reverses the effects of evilness in the DNA, even if it was artificially put there. This school has a lot of great teachers who have done extraordinary things.
Warren, the headmaster, was always exceptionally good to me. Legend says a stray beam of lightning (rumored to be magic or hexed) struck a crystal cave and I emerged from the simmering silver water. HQ notified their team of this abnormality and sent them to investigate. They found me and brought me back to their lab for examination. They were going to destroy me or blast me into space for safety reasons, but Warren insisted on taking me. He's raised me and loved me as his own ever since. He is also the only person in the world who knows of my identity aside from my superhero one.
"Sorry for kicking your brother's ass last night, but I mean he was holding innocent women hostage and doing not so innocent things with them. Hell, he even had some teenies in there!"
He gives an uneasy chuckle. "You are doing a fantastic job of protecting the city. I'm so proud of you," He muses while pulling me in for a hug. "He had what was coming to him. Now go home, relax and take your mind off of all this hero business for once. You need to take a break," He kisses my forehead.
I deactivate my powers and look up into his eyes. "Will you drive me home please?"
He smiles while linking his arm in mine and we stay this way until we get to the parking garage. I lay in the back row of his mini coop and fall asleep almost immediately, but not before catching a glimpse of Warren's happiness being replaced with agony.
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