Chapter 4: Vertigo

Sighing heavily, Aly stared at the blank white slate of her ceiling as nighttime shadows danced across it, cast by streetlamps just outside. Her sharp eyes already adjusted to the gloom of her domicile, the girl reclined in the silence of midnight, with only the gentle 'tick' of her clock and her own heartbeat to keep her company. As her clock struck midnight, her silver-blue gaze flicked to the timepiece before sliding upward to resume a blank stare at the ceiling as she allowed the insomnia she so often battled claim her.

She had spent many a sleepless night in such this manner, dreaming of things that were never to be...though her favorite dream had recently come true: she had found a family who wanted and loved her just for her. That little voice in her mind reminded her that this wasn't exactly true: her family, aside from Virgil and Richie, didn't know about her powers. Consoling herself with the fact that someday she would, that someday she would work up her courage, Aly was beginning to drift off into sleep when a light tapping noise on the window of her second-story bedroom woke her with a start.

Heart pounding so hard she could feel her own pulse throbbing in her neck, Aly rose slowly and took slow steps toward the window, prepared to attack, if need be. Flinging back the curtains, she was barely able to stifle a scream as she jumped back. A green masked face floated in the window, light-colored eyes gleaming brightly beneath it. After a moment, recognition washed over Aly and she found herself grinning back at the green-and-white costumed hero. Gear tugged slightly on part of the window, indicating Aly open it. Jumping at the request, she hurriedly yanked open her window and leaned out slightly to better see Gear in the soft glow of the pale orb overhead. The moonlight made him seem less formidable, and more like a person...a person she could have sworn she knew, the voice whispered to her. Aly dismissed this notion with an inward snort of ironic laughter. How could Richie – serene, sarcastic, wall-flower Richie – be super-powered, witty, brilliant Gear? The idea was simply absurd.

Cocking her head to the side as she glanced out and around the hero, Aly searched for a flash of purple lightning, something to indicate Static's presence. So far, there was nothing to signal that the electric hero was nearby. With an inward shrug, Aly gave Gear a curious glance, and was rewarded as the hero crossed his arms over his chest and observed her approvingly.

"Static and I heard there was a new meta-human in town. Word on the street is you're a 'Weather Witch.' Care to comment?"

Aly tried to hide a grin, settling for a mischievous smirk, instead. Pursing her lips, she appeared to sink deep into thought before replying.

"Well...I can't say they informed you wrong. My name's Allyson – Aly. Nice to meet you, Gear."

Gear smiled back, his eyes glittering once more beneath his green mask as he took the hand Aly offered, giving it a gentle yet firm shake. The hero's gaze lingered on her own for a moment before he spoke, a smile lingering at the corners of his mouth.

"Hey...Static and I were just about to go patrol the city. Why don't you come with us? You can have your first look around Dakota – VIP style."

Brightening instantly, Aly nodded vigorously, grinning cheerily. She glanced briefly down at herself – clad in naught but her thin cotton button-up shirt and matching pants. With an inward shrug, she mused that it wouldn't really matter what she wore, or rather, she didn't care. Taking Gear's hands as he glided farther away from the window, Aly was be forced to look down at the ground below, her stomach twisted sickeningly in response. The young teen had always been deathly afraid of heights. Noting her distress, Gear gave her a concerned look, and tilted his head to the side slightly in curiosity. Gliding nearer, he caught her gaze as she blushed with embarrassment, stammering an answer to the question in his stare.

"You can't fly?"

"N-no...I'm afraid of heights, too..."

Gear smirked slightly, the look on his face seeming to ask 'is that all?' Gently scooping Aly up in his arms, he let her wrap her lean arms around his neck to keep her balance. Floating back from the window, he gave her a single warning before letting his rocket-boots kick into full blast.

"Hang on..."

Aly pondered his words for the split-second before they were whizzing along at speeds only comparable to perhaps a motorcycle or a car. In her amazement, however, it felt as though they were going even faster. Clinging tightly to Gear's uniform, she squeezed her eyes shut in fear, only relaxing when she began to get used to the feel of the wind whipping past her and the sort of loss of gravity that seemed to come with flying. As her clutched hands loosened their hold, she felt Gear's grip on her tighten protectively in response. A soft whisper in her right ear startled her slightly, though not as much as it might have previously. Somehow this whole ordeal was giving Aly much-needed courage retained from her for too long.

"Open your eyes."

Cracking open an eye, Aly glanced around nervously, gasping in delight as her eyes flew open to take in the glowing, twinkling lights of the city below. To her wild imagination, it seemed as though fireflies danced about, flickering amongst the velvety darkness of the backdrop of Dakota. A slow grin spread over her face as she beamed up at Gear.

"It's...beautiful. I've never seen anything so wonderful!" Gear grinned in reply as he began to slow, receding through the sky to land in front of an abandoned gas station. Raising a brow at him as he set her on the ground, Aly cast a disbelieving eye around the place.

"Let me guess – your 'secret hideout'?"

The slight blush that flared across Gear's face and his sheepish grin told her everything she needed to know. Smiling back, she strode toward the door and had just put her hand on the doorknob when the portal swung open on its own. Jumping back, startled, she cast a wary glance at Gear who merely smiled reassuringly. Taking a deep breath as fear entered her heart for the second time that night, Aly carefully strode into the dark room, peering around inquisitively. Suddenly, the lights flickered into life overhead, causing the girl to tense instinctively, her palms beginning to glow with an eerie blue light as she sharpened her vision, searching for movement in the small room.

At last, she heard the faint rustle of movement behind her. Whirling around with a cry, she lashed out at her attacker...only to have her punch blocked by a gloved hand sparking with purple energy. An African-American boy smirked cockily down at her, dark eyes glittering with mirth. Her mouth falling open as she realized who she attacked, Aly stammered an apology, letting her hand drop to her side as her glow rapidly diminished.

"I-I'm so sorry! I...I didn't realize..."

Static laughed and placed a light hand on Aly's shoulder to cease her stuttering, a slight smile on his features. Holding out the same hand for her to shake, he introduced himself to her.

"It's cool. Nice to meet you...What's your name?"

"Aly. I'm Aly."

"Well, Aly, how do you like Dakota?"

"I haven't seen much of it, but so far it's – "

A burst of static from the radio sitting on the counter made all three turn toward the device that had suddenly burst into life. An official-sounding voice warned of a Bang Baby attack just a few streets away from the location of the three meta-humans clustered around the old radio. The description of the crime was a flaming man and a bird-woman robbing a bank downtown. Gear and Static exchanged a glance as they muttered a set of names simultaneously.

"Hotstreak and Talon."

A few moments later, the three were soaring once more over Dakota, gazing down at the mass of flames surrounding the bank, and the two Bang Babies terrifying the citizens. A young man, older than Gear and Static, was throwing fireballs at passersby, laughing maliciously with glee. Above him, a feathered woman soared, sending out ultrasonic screeches that made objects crumble in their wake. A gasp caught in Aly's throat as she pressed closer into Gear's grasp. The look on his face as well as Static's told her that they were just as displeased by the goings-on as she was. Swallowing her fear, she glanced over at the two heroes, her gray-blue gaze begging for permission.

"Let me help! I promise – I'll stay out of harm's way. Just let me help."

Static frowned, not liking the idea, but seeing the blaze of determination in her eyes, that awakened spirit, he couldn't help but agree. Nodding grimly, he gave her a stern, brotherly look as he warned her against the danger.

"You can help out, but you have to stay out of the way."

Aly nodded readily, eagerly. "I will! I will!"

Static gave her one last grim look before glancing back down at the peril below. "Let's go."

Gear and Aly lit upon the ground a few feet away from the battle as Static charged right in, sending shocks of electricity at Hotstreak. Aly, in the meantime, focused on terrorizing Talon, zapping her every time she tried to change directions, and manipulating the winds to make it harder for the bird-woman to fly. Gear watched Aly's serious expression of solemn concentration and slight smile with approval as he chucked one of his gadgets at Talon. It burst upon contact, spreading metal tendrils to wrap around her body, pinioning her wings to her sides and wrapping around her mouth, making her virtually harmless. With a high-five in celebration of their successful collaboration, the duo glanced over at Static, who had just managed to douse Hotstreak in water from a nearby fire hydrant. The formerly flaming villain merely smoked as he collapsed onto the ground, his power drained, groaning slightly. Floating back over to his partner and temporary colleague, Static smiled approvingly at his team.

"Not bad for a rookie, was I?" Aly asked roguishly, grinning vibrantly.

"Yeah – With some more practice, maybe you could join our team." Gear replied, scooping her up in his arms once more as the trio traversed back to the gas station. The entire way, Aly's pulse was throbbing, a single phrase echoing through her mind as her heart seemed to soar amongst the clouds: 'Maybe you could join our team...'

When at last they returned to the station, Aly was so excited and eager to drill her heroes for answers that she almost fell out of Gear's arms in her haste to race inside where they could talk in confidence. Now, sitting cross-legged on the floor before them, she gazed up optimistically, eyes bright as she spoke.

"Did you really mean that, Gear – that I can join your team someday?"

Exchanging a glance, the young heroes finally turned their attention back to the hopeful girl, nodding slowly in response. At her ecstatic expression, Static held up a hand to calm her, resuming that solemn expression he wore before when warning Aly.

"We'll let you join, but you have to prove yourself to be a strong ally first," Before the girl could open her mouth to respond, he continued, "But right now, I think Gear ought to take you home – it's late."

As if on cue, Aly yawned, cursing jet-lag for slowly turning her body into lead. Nodding dimly, she barely felt herself being picked up once more and carried off into the sky. Despite the cold wind that bit at her uncovered face and ears, Aly soon found herself drifting off into sleep, her body slumping against Gear's in her exhaustion. The use of her powers and the lack of sleep on her plane ride made her fatigued beyond belief. Glancing down at the sleeping girl in cradled in his arms, Gear smiled and tugged her closer to keep her warm.

Hovering just outside her window, he carefully and silently climbed in, laying the girl on her bed before tugging the covers up to her neck. He was about to climb out the window and fly over to Virgil's room when something made him pause in mid-step. Turning back, he walked over to the side of Aly's bed, smiling down at her dozing form, angelic in her slumber. Leaning down, he lifted his mask and pressed his lips lightly to her forehead in a kiss before swiftly departing lest she wake up, his heart and mind feeling lighter than they had in a long while, sending him into a mild state of blissful vertigo.

Author Notes: -bows- SUMIMASEN! Watashi wa TOTEMO warui desu yo! I am so sorry! I meant to update my fic yesterday, but my internet was all out of whack and I had to study for a bloody evil World Geography test. x.x Thus, I haven't been able to update as frequently as I would have liked. Anyway, the fourth chapter hath arrived, and I shall answer the questions (and rants) given me by my glorious reviewers.

Morokea & Youko: FWEEE! Doumo arigatou gozaimasu! A major thanks to my best friends for reviewing. -snugs- I lurve you guys! Daisuki desu! :) And yes, Rei-chan, I will be allowing Nami's crush on Static. -smirk- I know you'd murder me with your Mallet of Eternal Doom if I didn't. And as for the other two fanfics I have, I think I'll update them this summer (now that'll be a feat - finishing two fanfics and a novel at the same time...)

mcmeghan92: Thanks so much for your kind review! Your appreciation means so much! It's responses like yours that inspire me to keep writing.

lt. commander richie: -salutes- Forgive me, Lt. Commander Sir, I couldn't think of any other way to write that particular part at the time (it was waaay late, and I was supposed to be taking a test the next day). If you come up with an ingenious idea, I'll use it and dedicate that chapter to you (with credits of course, for the idea, as well). Until then, I'm glad you like the fic so far!