Just two more chapters after this one, and "Megalomaniac" will be done. I wanted an even 10 chapters, and didn't really want to drag this out too long. If this chapter seems like a big jump—two years!—I apologize, but she didn't do much in those two years, anyway. I'm sure you all wanted to see some of the "Sunshine" events from Stormicide's view, anyway, which is infinitely more interesting and less angsty. By the way, this is my longest chapter yet.

Chapter Eight – Old Habits Die Hard

Ironically, Kim had seen more and more of Jacques after she left the house, albeit while in her Stormicide guise. For some reason, however, she couldn't bring herself to file for divorce. Apparently Jacques felt the same way, because he hadn't done it either. Kim knew that Jacques knew where she lived. It was relatively simple for a super of his stature to retrieve such information, and knowing his nature, it was likely that he had done so. He hadn't bothered trying to contact her, though, so for the most part, Kim had moved on. Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she feared that he was still busy at work on that super serum and would someday come back to haunt her. The fact that he was still working on it meant that he hadn't figured out that she was Stormicide, at least, so Kim could breathe easily knowing that he didn't know her biggest secret.

Since leaving their house, Kim had been spending her days doing mostly hero work. She was getting paid by the NSA enough to survive quite well, and she still had her inheritance money stored somewhere for a rainy day. Her role as Kimberly Daniels had become practically non-existent as she lived it less and less. Downburst had been right—being a hero meant something more than only caring about yourself. He had been a good friend to her for the past two years, and his advice had enabled her to do something that was as rewarding for her was it was for Metroville.

Still, all these things were a cold comfort to Kim. The only things she could think of pertained to Jacques: the things his father had said, what Edna had said…how did it all connect, and what did it mean? She had become an expert at hiding her feelings lately, shoving them down and putting on an entirely different face. Something gnawed at her heart when she talked to Gamma Jack, but she never let it show. He never mentioned the name 'Kim' to her ever again. And thus, two years went by.

--

It was a party. Kim was driving to their house again, the first time she'd been there since she'd left. "Le château est dans le ciel. Le bateau est sur l'eau. Les oiseaux volent. Les poissons nagent. Et vous êtes ici avec moi." She was singing to herself softly in the car, occasionally glancing at the rearview mirror to check her makeup. When she was alone, she could become the old Kim again, even if just for a moment. The old Kim had been meek, submissive, and unsure of her place. Stormicide knew where she was going—to Gamma Jack's party. She hated parties, she hated Gamma Jack, and she hated That House, but she was defying all of it and going anyway. She parked her car a few houses down and walked to the front door. She took a deep breath, then strode inside.

Bright lights. Loud music. Lots of people chattering and laughing and happy. Kim wasn't happy at all, she wanted nothing more than to turn tail and run. If course, she couldn't do that. Almost every super was going to be there, and she had to blend. She told herself that it wasn't just so she could see him again—that she would just be disappointed. Given this "pep" talk, Kim wasn't hurt or surprised in the least when she saw Gamma Jack in the center of a ring of women. Apogee was making her way towards him, Plasmabolt was laughing and casually touching his arm occasionally, and other non-supers were like a gaggle of geese surrounding him.

"DON'T CRY short-lived first loves are good
because nothing comes of them.
DON'T CRY you start from there.
RIDE ON! RIDE ON! RIDE ON!
no matter how you weaken, I'll keep you safe
I can handle this much, I can handle it.
RIDE ON! RIDE ON!
I think the earth's come down with a slight fever,
we must champion right"

Kim shook her head at the music. Such idealism. How many people really understood love in all its forms? Not wanting to impose, and slightly overcome by the flood of memories she'd received from coming back into the house, Kim decided to explore, just to see if anything had changed in her absence. To her complete surprise, the house looked exactly as she had left it. The kitchen was still in disarray, and the few things she'd left—photos, jackets, umbrellas—were still left in the same place. It was obvious that Jacques was using the house, as the laundry room had fresh dirty laundry in it, food lay here and there, and newspapers were unfolded and left lying around, but he had apparently been very careful to preserve the way things had been.

She had determined, however, not to let anything come of it. Kim had left him of her own accord and it would take nothing short of a miracle to get her to reconsider, let alone tell him that she had been Stormicide all along.

"DON'T CRY the girl who doesn't cry
will live her life with strength.
DON'T CRY Won't lose at love.
RIDE ON! RIDE ON! RIDE ON!
no matter how much time passes,
I'll be waiting.
this much you can be sure of.
RIDE ON! RIDE ON!
pass the sash to the future, there's no doubt in doing what's right"

The music was almost completely muted by the time Kim reached the bedroom. The note she had left was pinned to the wall above the right side of the bed where she had usually laid down to sleep. Upon closer inspection, she found a variety of papers on the nightstand, handwriting analysis of the note, fiscal charts and graphs…she turned away and went towards the window, resting her hand on the small table to the left of it. After staring outside for a few moments, she looked at the table and saw the music player—still with the tape she had left. Feeling nostalgic, Kim pressed play and The Song filled the room with a gentle, quiet French woman singing and completely drowning out the dance music. "Le château est dans le ciel. Le bateau est sur l'eau. Les oiseaux volent. Les poissons nagent. Et vous êtes ici avec moi." She sang along, though her voice was quiet.

"And just what do you think you're doing?"

Kim turned to face the doorway, where Gamma Jack was standing, arms folded against his chest. He didn't appear to be too angry, so Kim shrugged. "The music was too loud, and the lights were too bright. So I came in here to escape, I guess,"

"Did you have to come into this room? Nobody comes into this room," he snapped.

She took a step towards him, a strange smile on her lips. "Oh, really? I didn't know it was a quarantine. Fine, I'll get out." Kim didn't rightly care—she had seen what she needed to see and was content. As she tried to pass him, Jack grabbed her wrist.

"Turn off the music," He said, his voice almost tender. "Please." Kim was surprised by his tone, but obeyed anyway.

"It's not always good to dwell on things, you know?" she warned.

"There are some things you can't forget, as much as you want to," he sighed, leading her out into the hallway. The music was louder now. "I mean it. I'm going back for her as soon as I can."

"Kim, you mean?" It felt weird, talking about herself in the third person. It felt even weirder referring to herself at all, as she hadn't been called Kim since she'd left. "Last time you said you didn't know who she was."

"I didn't want her to be a weakness. If the supervillains knew about her, she'd be in a lot of trouble." He admitted, running his hand through his hair. "I couldn't…let people know that she existed and I had to pretend so much…even now…"

Her heart jumped. Did this mean that he did care about her? That everything had been a lie? She had to make sure; maybe she was misinterpreting his words. "How much does that girl mean to you, anyway?"

"She's—"

There was a loud explosion that cut him off. Kim and Jack exchanged glances, and then ran into the living room. A huge chunk of the wall had been broken through, and Kim could see Bomb Voyage running away, the dusty shadows blocking the outside of the opening from view. Rubble was all over the place, and Apogee, apparently, had been knocked out. Gazerbeam was bent over her, trying to get her to wake up. Apparently it was futile, because after a few moments, he just gently picked her up and laid her on the couch away from danger.

Kim smiled at this. Gazerbeam was a nice guy—dull, but nice. He had been her date to the Superwoman (a dance similar to the normal humans' Sadie-Hawkins) the previous year, so she had gotten to know him a bit.

"Will she be safe here with you?" Gazerbeam asked Downburst. Downburst, who was pretty useless in combat, was staying behind with a few other supers. He reassured Gazerbeam that Apogee would be all right. Gazerbeam ran out through the opening, shortly followed by Mr. Incredible.

"Are you coming?" Gamma Jack asked her as he went towards the opening after them. She nodded and ran.

The quartet followed Bomb Voyage into a clearing. Stormicide saw Mr. Incredible tackle Bomb Voyage, pinning him into the ground. "Show-off," she muttered as she and Gamma Jack ran up to where Mr. Incredible and Gazerbeam were. Bomb Voyage was yelling assorted French curses; Kim had to smile at his fluency.

"Why did you bomb us?" Mr. Incredible yelled at him. "Gazer, call the cops." Gazerbeam turned away, pulling out a communicator and talking into it. Bomb Voyage just yelled something else in French.

"Just let go of him, he's not going anywhere with us four surrounding him," Gamma Jack rolled his eyes. Mr. Incredible looked very wary of the apprehended criminal, but loosened his tight grip. Suddenly, Bomb Voyage grinned evilly and a little plastic ball rolled out of his pocket. It started to beep and flash different colors. "GET DOWN!" Jack yelled, but it was too late. The thing exploded and a noxious smoke filled the air.

"It's a smoke bomb! Gazer!" Mr. Incredible yelled. Gazerbeam's laser came into view, cutting through the smoke.

"Is Stormicide all right?" he asked, and Kim could feel her lungs filling up with the irregular smoke. It seemed to be at least partially poisoned—she had become pretty accustomed to real smoke, and this was nothing like it…her eyes watered and she couldn't stop coughing. "I have to go back for Apogee, can one of you two guys take care of Stormicide?" They assured him that they would and Gazerbeam ran back to the house. By the time the smoke had cleared, Bomb Voyage was totally gone.

"Where's your house, Stormy?" Incredible asked her. Kim shook her head, still coughing.

"Can't…tell you that…it would jeopardize…my secret identity…" she choked out between coughs. Mr. Incredible sighed.

"All right, all right, Incredible, I'll take her to my place." Gamma Jack sighed. "Let's go, messenger girl." He grabbed her hand and dragged her back to the house. Incredible followed and stayed just long enough to see that she would be OK, then left with Elastigirl. Gazerbeam, who had been unable to wake Apogee up, had left with her to his house. Being a friend to both of them, Stormicide hoped that they were doing all right.

The house was now empty, and it was quiet like it hadn't been all evening. The living room, where the party had been held, was a nightmare. Rubble and dust covered everything, and it was a terrible mess. Once her coughing had subsided, she went around the room with Jack, helping him pick things up. The cold November air was flowing into the house. With a shiver, Kim went towards the large opening in the wall. "I wish we could do something about that draft," she said to no one in particular.

"I want this room exactly as it was," Jack growled. "I'll have to call in someone to fix it tomorrow, but I wonder if he'd do it right…?"

"Perfectionist, much?" she teased.

"Only when it comes to a few things," He replied. Kim dusted off one of the couches, and then sat down, leaning against the cushions. "It's strange." Jack said suddenly.

"What is?" she asked, truly curious.

"I feel comfortable with you. I mean, you're not Kim, but I don't have to treat you like I treat the other women," he confided. Kim closed her eyes.

"It's probably just because I told you about her message, so you feel like 'Well, she knows my secret anyway, so why play dumb about it?'" she shrugged.

"Non-super women are so idiotic," he muttered. "Sometimes I think that supers should rule over everybody, you know? It'd be more peaceful that way." He was changing the subject on purpose, and she knew it.

"Do you really want peace, or do you just want to rule? Sounds kind of silly to me," she retorted, opening her eyes. "I don't think any of that really matters. Supers, normal people…we're all human beings in the end, you know? It may be simpler to categorize people and place labels on them based on their abilities, but it doesn't really tell you anything about them." Why couldn't she have told him this earlier? She had felt it all along.

Jack, for his part, sat down on the floor, and then lay down on his back, looking up at the ceiling. "I suppose…that you're probably right. I was just…I wanted her to understand me. I thought that if she was a super, too, she'd understand…"

That did it. Kim didn't want to hear any more, and she got up from the couch. "I guess I better head for home. Thanks for everything, Jack."

Jack stood up. "You really don't have to if you're still feeling sick. You can crash at my place, I don't care."

"It's all right…I think I need to go home." She smiled as brightly as possible. They said their goodbyes, and Kim walked out through the front door, her shadow elongated beside her. Suddenly, everything had made sense, and everything had put itself together. Of course, she couldn't trust him yet, not without knowing everything. With the annual Superwoman coming up in a few weeks, she decided to try asking him. Kim wanted to test him—one last time.