I know. I probably shouldn't be starting a new story, but I have writer's block with my other one and this idea just wouldn't leave me alone. As always, just borrowing the characters.
Ashley hates a lot of things about being a superhero.
/
"I count eleven hostages." The petite brunette whispers on her right, a light blue mask preventing her from being identified.
"Where are they?" She forces her any trace of nerves from her voice. This is when she needs to be confident, to be strong. These people are in fear for their lives and it's her job to make them feel safe. The same job that she's had for fifteen years.
"I'll distract the Twins, you get everyone out of there." The plan is solid and doesn't involve direct contact with the perpetrators. The ladder makes her feel like she can breathe freely.
Her other half stands up confidently, revealing herself from their hiding place. On instinct, she reaches out to pull the other girl down.
"Kyla," she whispers. "Be safe." Kyla may be the leader of their duo, but Ashley is her older sister. The urge to protect her has never dampened despite the fact that Kyla's super speed trumps her teleportation in a fight.
"I always am, Big Sis." Wearing a huge grin, Kyla speeds off to meet their nemesis.
The queasy feeling in her stomach doesn't go away, but she pushes it down while she closes her eyes to focus.
/
When she opens her eyes, she's in a room full of frightened faces.
The light blue mask and ridiculously tight spandex keeps her identity hidden. However, the feeling of being exposed is still there. Ashley Davies may be a hero, but she's still her on the inside. She's wondering if these people know of her or if they like her. She wonders if her presence brings any sense of relief.
"Are you one of them?" A guy in the back of the huddled group questions. The cluster of people are inside of the bank vault and she can tell from his name tag that he's the bank manager.
"No, I'm here to help" is all that she offers.
"So, you're one of the good guys?" A little girl in the arms of her mother is the next to speak. Normally, when people ask that question she becomes annoyed, but this little red haired girl reminds her of someone else. So, she keeps her voice gentle and repeats herself.
"I'm here to help."
She reaches for the mother and daughter first. Her powers are limited to two at a time and even that takes a lot out of her. She teleports them to the police waiting outside the bank and doesn't wait before going back for the next group.
The bank manager is the last person left.
His name is Bob which makes sense because all bank managers have generic names. She reaches out for him when a spark of energy comes between them.
"He stays." The command is firm and threatening.
"Damn it, Kyla." She murmurs only loud enough for herself to hear. This is what she wanted to avoid.
Confrontation with the enemy.
She turns slowly and catches ocean eyes through a hazel mask. Even if she didn't turn around, she would know that voice.
"Elektric…"
"Vanish," the feminine blonde counters. Elektric is sitting in a chair at the entrance of the vault and Ashley feels stupid for not noticing her sooner. "I knew you would come here first."
"Seems like you know me well."
Elektric seems to pause at her comment, but then her body tenses.
"Bank manager stays."
She manages a slow head shake to show her disapproval.
"He comes with me. You have the money, you don't need him." It's true, she can tell that there's nothing left in this vault. It makes her wonder why Elektric is still here. This man serves no purpose anymore.
"It's not about the money."
Ashley manages a scoff and gestures to the empty vault around them.
"It sure looks like it's about the fucking money."
There's an answering snort of disappointment as Elektric walks towards them. Ashley attempts to subtly reach for the bank manager's hand, but he's not paying attention. Fear has gripped him and made him useless in his own rescue operation.
"Don't," the blonde warns. She brings her hand up, electricity dancing between her finger tips. It doesn't scare Ashley. In all of the times they've battled, there have been no serious injuries. Occasionally, there will be a split lip or a bruised side, but that's all.
Never anything life threatening.
That is the only reason she reaches out again. The moment she does, there is another shot of electricity. The heat of the spark skims her fingertips, but she pulls back just in time. Another spark shoots out, but she's already disappeared. When she reappears, she's facing the back of a blonde head. She poses herself to strike, but the blonde turns quickly and plants a foot into Ashley's stomach.
She hits the ground hard, fighting has never been her forte. The idea of inflicting pain on anyone, even a criminal, has never been something she could do whole heartedly. What makes her a great hero is also her biggest weakness. Nevertheless, she jumps up and prepares for a battle.
"I was hoping you would make this interesting." Elektric poses herself for a battle that Ashley reluctantly brings.
They trade blow after blow, none of the hits landing due to their knowledge of each other's moves. Elektric's blows are not gentle in the least. They force her back step by step until she is outside of the vault. She faintly hears the whoosh that happens in her sister's wake. Kyla is battling the other half of the Chaos Twins. Pyre's flames catch on the walls nearby barely missing Kyla's dark locks.
The momentary distraction costs her when something hard catches the side of her mouth. She's stunned for a moment, staring at her opponent in disbelief.
For a moment, Elektric freezes.
It doesn't last another second before Ashley lunges after her. She goes for a tackle and they both hit the floor hard. The blonde lets out a groan of pain and Ashley takes that opportunity to pin her. The victory is short lived when pain shoots across her left shoulder. She doesn't have to look to know that it's Pyre's work. The only thing that could draw his attention is the sound of his twin's cry.
"Get the fuck off of her," he yells. It's followed by another shot of fire. The next one misses due to Elektric bucking her off. It doesn't quell his anger though and soon he's releasing an endless blaze.
She takes a breath and reappears behind Pyre. The second her hand touches him, they both disappear. Then next thing she feels is the weight of the water around them. Pyre's sputtering comes from in front of her, but she wastes no time in getting back to Kyla.
She comes back, soaking wet, to see Kyla and Elektric going at it. They don't pull punches and she flinches when Kyla takes a particularly hard hit. Her sister crashes into a nearby chair, Elektric waiting to pounce again.
But this time, Ashley stands in between them.
The blonde stares at her curiously, taking in her soggy appearance. This is immediately followed by searching eyes.
"Redondo Beach" is all Ashley offers.
Elektric's eyes darken and she looks back towards the vault. An internal battle going on behind her blue eyes.
"You can't get to them both," she adds.
That makes Elektric's decision for her and she's gone the moment Ashley's eyes are off of her.
"Damn it. One day I'll kick that bitch's ass." Kyla's coughing as Ashley helps her up.
"Yeah, we all know you're a badass." They both share a laugh, all of the previous tension gone. "We should go. The police will be in soon and those conversations always make me uncomfortable."
/
She hates the press.
/
"This city owes a great deal to Vanish and Swift. Thanks to them, the Chaos Twins were unable to ruin anymore lives. I'm sure between our heroes and law enforcement, we will be able to put those animals down. Once and for all." The audience claps at the mayor's proclamation and dozens of reporters hands go up.
"Wow. She really wants those twins dead," Kyla comments. They went back to Kyla's house to nurse their wounds. The news update interrupting their routine of watching trashy MTV shows.
"Madam Mayor, are you saying that you want these villains dead?" An unknown reporter prompts.
"I'm saying, the only good villain is a dead villain," she states firmly.
"Harsh," Kyla comments. "I hate villains too, but death seems a bit much."
This entire time, she's felt a tightness in her chest. She's not a killer, she could never be and she knows this will become an issue soon enough.
But it's something that Ashley will never budge on.
"If she wants them dead, it won't be us that does it." There is a hint of defensiveness in her tone and Kyla must sense it because she just nods.
"I know that, Sis. I would never."
The tightness loosens slightly and she allows Kyla to pull her closer. She leans on her younger sister, a sense of comfort coming over her. Kyla and her share the same beliefs. It's the reason she trusts her sister when she says they will never be killers.
"Thank you," she croaks.
/
But what she hates the most about being a hero?
/
It's a little past eight when she gets home.
She opens the front door and hears a series of giggles. The tightness has completely disappeared and suddenly she's content. Ashley doesn't bother to find a place to drop her bag. It hits the floor and she follows the laughter into the living room.
She's greeted with the image of two tiny children jumping off of the couch. Blonde hair flying with the short flight. A boy and a girl who are perfect images of each other.
Two of the biggest pieces of her heart.
The boy turns and his smile grows larger at the sight of Ashley. The excitement is clear on his face and he turns to propel himself off the back of the couch. He jumps without fear and Ashley moves forward to grab him, but another pair of hands catches the daredevil.
"A little to bold there, kiddo." The voice is much softer than it was earlier. No more hazel mask hiding her beautiful face. This is the version of her that fills Ashley's heart with happiness.
Spencer Davies is the love of her life. She's the mother of her amazing children. Spencer is the glue that keeps this family together.
She is so much more than a villain.
"He gets that from you, you know?" She leans in and Spencer meets her halfway. Their son in between them as a share a chaste kiss. Later on, she'll murmur apologies into her pale skin. Promises to go easier, to be softer and Spencer will accept none of them. She will demand that they keep that part of their lives separate.
She will force them to keep Vanish and Elektric out of their personal lives. At home, they will always be Spencer and Ashley. College sweethearts. Mothers to Lily and Logan, the sweetest six year olds in the world. Two people who will always choose each other no matter the circumstance.
"If I recall, you used to love my impulsiveness," her wife responds coyly. Logan squirms between them, a complaint about wanting to be free soon follows. Spencer gently lets their son down and he barrels over to his sister to ask if she saw his short flight. "Hey guys, go get ready for bed and me and mama will read you a bedtime story."
"Logan chose last time, so I want it's my turn!" Lily's voice is unnecessarily loud, one of the things they've talked to her about.
"You just keep picking the same book. Love You Forever. We've read it a million times," Logan complains.
"And we've read Where the Wild Things Are just as much. Stop complaining and go get ready like your mother said." Ashley's voice leaves no room for discussion and their son grumbles his way upstairs.
"It's so sexy when you co-parent," Spencer jokes. The blonde grips Ashley's waist and pulls her in close, their children safely away. This time Spencer pulls her in for a more passionate kiss. They mutually sigh at the feeling of each other's lips. Ashley's tongue searching out more of her wife's taste. She feels her wife attempt to pull away, but she grunts her dissatisfaction before recapturing her lips. "Ash… baby," Spencer breathes in between kisses. "The kids are going to be ready soon."
She feels her wife's hands slide up her body and she can't help flinching once it makes contact with her burned shoulder. Spencer's head pulls way sharply. The blonde's eyes scan her body, worrying her lip between her teeth the entire time.
This is when things are hard.
When one of them is hurt and the other has to pretend to not know the source. She knows how sorry Spencer is even if her wife wasn't the one that did it. The fact that they keep this secret from Glen, Spencer's other half, puts Ashley in danger. Glen who knows that Ashley would never lay a hand on his sister, but thinks Vanish would kill her.
"I'm…" Spencer barely catches herself from breaking their rules. The croak in her voice more apologetic than anything else she could offer.
"I love you." She offers what Spencer needs, assurance that no matter what happens their love will overcome everything. It's enough. Spencer nods her head and wraps her arms around Ashley's neck.
"I love you… so much," Spencer enunciates each word. A passionate plea for them to be okay no matter what the world brings.
"Let's go put our kids to bed."
/
"I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be…" It's Spencer's turn to read tonight.
Ashley tries to scoot closer on the bed, a difficult feet on a twin bed. Logan is perched on her lap, his head resting against her chest. For all of his complaining, he is completely silent. Lily is between her and Spencer, her wild blonde hair spread all over Spencer.
"Mommy," Lily interrupts. Spencer stops and glances down at their daughter. "How long will you love me and Logan?" The small girl yawns during her question. She asks this question every time they read this book. A silent plea to hear what she knows is true.
"Forever," her wife answers without hesitation.
"Me too," Ashley adds while hugging Logan tighter. The small boy grumbles, but holds on tighter to his mother's shirt.
"How long will you love Mommy?" The six year old looks between her mothers with wide eyes.
"For always." Spencer directs her words at Ashley and the brunette finds it hard to breathe. It's been fourteen years and Spencer's love still feels like opening presents on Christmas.
"For always," she reiterates. It's enough to satisfy their daughter and Spencer because her wife continues reading.
/
"Spencer…"
"No, you know the rules." Spencer's naked body pulls away from her with a sigh. Ashley knows this is the wrong time, but she has so many questions about today. So many questions about why Spencer took money.
"Am I not providing enough?"
"Ashley-"
"-I thought we were okay. I mean we're not rich, but we've never wanted for anything."
"-Ashley."
"I can talk to my boss about a raise. I'm due for one and then we can-"
"-Damn it, Ashley. Stop!" Spencer's volume stops her from saying more. The kids are finally asleep and Spencer is usually the first to say not to wake them. "We aren't doing this." Spencer sits up and runs her hand through her hair. "We can't do this," her wife pleads. There are tears building in her eyes and Ashley suddenly feels like an asshole.
Spencer is right. Ashley is out of line.
"Spencer," she coos. She reaches out to caress Spencer's bare thigh and sighs in relief when the blonde doesn't move away. "I'm sorry."
Spencer turns to face her, tears no longer kept at bay. Each tear pokes a hole into Ashley's lungs and the brunette slides even closer to her wife. Spencer hates crying and her irritation at her tears shows.
"Just… don't." Spencer pulls away from Ashley's touch completely, She turns over and pretends to sleep. Ashley's cue that the conversation is over.
/
She hates knowing that one wrong move could cost her the most important things in her life.