It's almost June. She thought. The spring that Kim loved so much was dying away. It was about seven o'clock in the evening, and the sun had partially set, giving everything an orange glow. Kim was at the upstairs window, staring outside. Jacques hadn't come home. It had been nearly two weeks since he had stormed out of the house after his reaction to Kim's fake anger, and he hadn't been home since then. Afraid that he might come home only for her to not be there, Kim did not leave the house once. (She called grocery stores to get them to deliver, or called in favors from friends) She had called Apogee the day after the "argument" to regretfully tell her that she could not make it to the tea party, or the actual Spring Formal itself. The latter did not particular upset her; Kim had never been much of a partygoer, even when she had still lived with her parents in upstate New York. The crowds, the bright lights, the loud music…none of it really appealed to her. Had it been her choice, she would have opted to buy a nice house by a pristine lake and live a quiet life.
Of course, she hadn't had a choice. Thinking back to her short romance with Jacques before her marriage, she had actually thought that they could be happy together. They were both young then; she was still naïve and hopeful about the world.
Then the wedding happened, Jacques broke the news that he had radioactive powers, and the event of the terrible "fire extinguisher incident"…she still shuddered to think about it. Eating leftovers for the second night in a row, Kim picked at her food, constantly glancing at the clock. When would he come home?
Suddenly, she saw Downburst right outside her window, helping a kid who had fallen off of his bicycle. Aching for a conversation with another super, she quickly donned her supersuit and dashed outside.
"Downburst!" she called. He was down on one knee, and had just put the finishing touches on the kid's leg. There was absolutely no scar tissue left, and Kim had to marvel yet again at his powers. (He could make a great cosmetic surgeon one day) Downburst gently patted the kid on the head a few times, helped him back onto the bike, and sent him on his way with a wave.
"Why hello there, Stormicide," he smiled, turning up towards her. "Haven't seen you in a while." He gingerly stood up, dusting the grass off of his supersuit.
"I've been…on a vacation of sorts, you might say," she shrugged. "I guess I haven't really been around much, but all I did was help put out fires, anyway. I won't be missed." The two of them started walking down the sidewalk together. Kim knew that it was probably a strange sight, two supers talking a walk down the street. She was nearly four inches taller than him, to boot.
Downburst just laughed. "You know, I used to think the same way. I mean, my powers aren't exactly the best combative ones, and my martial arts abilities aren't that great, either," he paused and looked up at the sky for a few moments before refocusing his gaze on Kim. "But you know what? Being a hero means being a part of something greater than yourself. Every time I help out a kid who's fallen out of a tree, or help someone who was in a car accident, I think to myself, 'I have done something here'. Remember that kid that we saved a while back? What if some day she becomes a doctor who discovers a cure to the common cold or something?"
"So…you're saying that any action that saves another person, however miniscule, still has a major impact?" she regarded him carefully.
Downburst nodded. "When you say that you wouldn't be missed, it's not true. You're a superhero. All the people that know you rely on you, and the supers here can't always catch everything. What if someone needed your help and you weren't there for them? It'd be like letting them down!"
Kim's mind wandered back to Jacques, and she couldn't help but feel terrible. Her motives for becoming a super weren't the greatest, and she had said such terrible things…Perhaps it would be better to forget the whole thing and just trust in him. Kim smiled, something she hadn't really done in a while. "Thanks, Downburst. Really, thanks. I feel a lot better now."
"Well, I'm glad I could help, I guess." He smiled back. They walked together a little while longer, and then they parted ways. Kim hadn't been walking around the city since Jacques had left the house, so it felt good to stretch her legs again.
"And we're going to take over the world, you and I…" Kim stopped dead in her tracks. There was singing coming from nearby…a voice she recognized. It was followed by very feminine-sounding giggles. At first, she didn't want to draw near. She didn't want to see, she didn't want to know. Finally, she decided that it was what she had wanted to find out, and that she had to see for herself, with her own two eyes, whether or not her fears had been reality all along. Slowly, she took baby steps towards the alley between the drugstore and the shoe store. She heard the laughing again, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. After a few moments' hesitation, Kim walked into the alley.
And there he was: Gamma Jack, in all his heroic glory, in a dark alley with some blonde girl, kissing her and singing to her. The girl looked quite happy, too. Who wouldn't be happy about having the attention of one of the most powerful Metroville supers? She figured they'd be there for a while. Without making a sound, Kim ran back to her apartment. She quickly packed her things into a suitcase, leaving a short note on the bed that read What I should have done years ago.
After she had grabbed enough money to last her a good while, Kim left the house, leaving the front door unlocked. She left her suitcase in a safe place while she went back to the alley. There was a heavy sinking feeling where her heart was, and yet she was filled with an awesome sense of pride as she approached the alley again. It had only been about 20 minutes, but Gamma Jack and the girl were no longer there. With a sigh, Kim walked around the city some more. She didn't have to walk far, because after just a few minutes she found him again…with a different girl. A redhead this time to contrast the blonde. Kim mentally laughed bitterly at Edna's words. Trust him? I'd sooner trust a snake.
She walked towards them and ahem'd to get Gamma Jack's attention. He took one glance at her, then smiled and dismissed the girl. She wasn't too happy about that, but he shot her a menacing glare and she reluctantly strode away. "Stormicide, was it? Haven't seen you in these parts for a while. Need something?"
"I was asked to give a message to you." She shrugged, trying her hardest to look and sound nonchalant.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Since when have superheroes turned into messenger boys?"
"She said her name was Kim Daniels. Do you know her?" Kim ignored his comment and went on. Somewhere inside, she was hoping that he'd act cool about it, as it would help her feel better about leaving him. However, she had used her maiden name, so she wondered about how he would react to it. Of course he won't be affected. He doesn't care about me; he's got dozens of women wrapped around his finger.
But Kim was wrong, at least partially. She could see his left hand shaking, a sign of nervousness that she recognized, and his face had blanched a shade. "No, I don't know anyone by that name." he lied, though his voice betrayed his thoughts.
"Oh, maybe I heard her wrong, then. Forget it, you don't need the message." She turned to leave, wondering if he'd take the bait.
"Wait!" he cried, his voice filled with emotion. Kim turned slightly back towards him. "What…what was the message?"
Kim smiled and it was a smile of both pity and amusement. "When you are gone one day, I can forgive. Even a week, I can forget. But another woman, and I have no choice but to leave to save my heart from breaking."
Jack was still for just a moment, then ran as quickly as possible in the direction of their house. A cruel, bitter smile crossed Kim's lips just then as he passed her. She wondered if he would feel as worried as she did during those two weeks when he got home and saw the house empty. She wondered if he would feel as depressed as she had when he saw the closet devoid of her things and read the note on the bed.
But most of all, Kim wondered if he would cry when he heard the music she had left on just for him to hear, repeating that song over and over… Le château est dans le ciel. Le bateau est sur l'eau. Les oiseaux volent. Les poissons nagent. Et vous êtes ici avec moi.