Besides the lingering fact that I am a bad person and haven't updated this in near a year now, I have come with news! Summer is here and my block is finally undone enough to keep writing this! If you follow my other stories, they will be updated soon as well! Also, there is like to curse words in this. I wanted to avoid having the main characters having potty mouths (because super heroes generally don't swear). Just a head's up!
Being in a cave with artificial sunlight for a few weeks makes a guy forget about how bright the sun is, and how weakening it is to someone whose power comes from the dark. Maybe it was because I had grown stronger and more connected to the darkness since the last time I was outside, but the sun at noon made me a little more than nauseous; I almost collapsed the moment I got out of the Zeta tube. M'gann grabbed me before I did something lame like slam my face into the concrete beneath our feet.
"Are you alright?" She had asked, and to be honest I wanted to respond with a snarky 'Does it look like I'm fine?' but the concern in her voice made me rethink what I responded with.
"Just dizzy. Sunlight is kinda bright, I come from the dark, so add two and two together." I grumbled a bit as I used my shadow to produce a pair of sunglasses. Shadows, I realized, worked like the Green Power of Will: The stuff constructs are made of aren't solid, but the construct itself was. I just hope these last in the intense sunlight. I had almost forgotten how bad sunlight messed me up; the first day I was vomiting for nearly three hours because of the sun's brightness.
"Should we go back?" M'gann asks me, but I can tell she doesn't really want to leave.
The options weren't exactly appetizing; I had to either suck it up and feel slightly nauseous for a few hours or go back and maybe have to deal with her coming back out here with Superjerk. Both of those thoughts irritated me, but I chose on the less irritating action: I sucked it up and stood up straight.
"Nah, I can deal with this much. Looks like we've got some cloud cover coming in, so it won't be so bad for much longer… Or, I hope it won't be." I started to walk forward towards the exit of the alleyway, but a sudden jerking on my hand pulled me back into M'gann. I would have tripped and fell on top of her had she not stopped me with her other hand at that moment. Now there was a few things wrong with this situation.
Have you ever seen movies where all of a sudden something cheesy happens and the two love interests end up in a really awkward too close for comfort situation? Think of this situation like one of those. And it was more awkward than anything because I couldn't speak or move for the life of me, and she wasn't planning on moving any time soon, so it became one of those stare downs that last for nearly a minute as if some soul searching business is going on but it's really just the pair thinking of how to move away without being awkward.
After nearly three minutes (it was more like 2 minutes and 35 seconds, but I wasn't counting!) she whispered, "You were about to go out there in your costume."
I took a step back as I smacked myself in the forehead. I knew I had forgotten something important, but it wasn't the money! I started laughing at the irony of the situation as I changed into my civilian outfit, a simple black hoodie and jeans. I also realized mid-laughter, so it kinda threw me off and stopped the laughing all together, that I couldn't open my mouth in front of other people. My teeth were beyond demonic, and while I could get away with red eyes (I read up that they were possible, but very rare) the teeth would be a completely different situation.
When she saw my slightly more serious face I had told her that I couldn't speak once we left the alley so it would be better if she just linked us up. She nodded and reached out to me with her mind, and I accepted it. It's strange, the way mental communication works. You can have your own personal thoughts if you're focused enough, but it's strange to not think about certain things because other people can now hear those thoughts. The first time I was linked up with the team, I was thinking about chocolate because it was the first time I had some in years right before we did so, and I ended up making everyone have a nice long chat about what we could do with chocolate and we didn't get any training done.
This time, I had to push thoughts down, like the one I had about our previous close encounter and how I wished we could have stayed like that for another 2 minutes and 35 seconds and then some more, or how pretty she looked even though she hadn't been in her (usually annoying) human form-
"Megan, you're still green." I said then, like some sort of idiot who clearly didn't have an impressive vocabulary (I've been reading, okay?).
"Wait, really? Hello, Megan!" I chuckled as she said her silly catchphrase and shape-shifted into her human form. She had also changed outfits; instead of her usual pink jacket and skirt, she was wearing a pink shirt and jeans.
'Do I really look that good in this?' She prodded with her mind as we left the alleyway.
'Shit.' I faltered for a moment as she giggled before chastising me for cursing. I thought of responding with something cheeky to counter her.
'And, hypothetically, what if I thought you did?' I poked her back mentally and physically, and she frowned at the indentation in her cheek before it was removed.
She also didn't bother to respond for a near five minutes and the walking in silence thing was very uncomfortable. Maybe it was because I was now used to actually talking to people often, and not being the one left out was a good thing, but the things I used to like were slowly shifting as I was slowly changing from the person I used to be. And that terrified me a bit. But I think it was more of a 'Wow I was really direct there and what if it was unwanted, because that would suck major' kind of panic than any other panic.
Two rights, a left, and a block away from where we entered the city, we happened to find an ice cream store, the ones that always looked like the 50's or something, the kind that I had never really had been in before. But that situation was about to change and I nearly slammed that door open, I was so excited. The person behind the counter regarded me and M'gann, but I could tell that he saw me much differently than he saw her. A frown immediately grew on my face.
As M'gann picked out what she wanted, I was focusing my best non-teeth baring death stare in his general direction. He had never once made eye contact with her, and through the link, I could sense that she knew that too but chose to ignore it. Honestly, she had such a great face, and I could see no reason why he shouldn't be looking at her face. I must have thought this too loudly because she looked at me for half a second as if to notify me of her hearing my thoughts. I looked away.
When it was my turn I pointed at what I wanted with no hesitation. Apparently that annoyed the dude behind the counter.
"I can't hear your finger pointing, kid!" The jerk behind the counter, he looked slight older than us, said sarcastically.
"What are you some kind of retard, huh? I said speak up!" I nearly punched him right then and there. M'gann stopped me, and all I could think about was really warm hands for a few seconds. Apparently, a few seconds was all he needed to come up with more original lines.
"Aww how cute! You need a girl to protect you! Isn't that right, ya little retard?" He laughed before I shut him up. It was instinct; I jumped over the counter and punched him in the face.
The entire parlor went silent as he crashed to the floor. My face was still hidden by my sunglasses and hood, but my teeth were bared. Megan was the most shocked out of everyone in the place but that was because she knew me, and I didn't go out of my way punching people for what they said to me.
"And stay down, you shit-eating maggot!" I was blinded by anger, I didn't even care what I was saying, I just had to say something. And then I calmed down, and looked around.
The exit door closed softly with the chime of a bell. M'gann was nowhere to be seen.