Chapter One Hundred and Eighty Three
...
Grant sat in the restaurant facing the street, sipping his tea while waiting for his food to arrive. He'd probably be waiting a while, considering half of the restaurant had been destroyed by one of the Commander's destructive force punches. He saw the staff running out of the restaurant, and decided his food wouldn't be coming after all.
Outside, people were screaming and running away as a fifty-foot villain tore up lamp posts and swung them with reckless abandon. Grant inspected the delicate teacup and intricate detail on the teapot, wondering if it was something Beau would like. His birthday was coming up soon and he liked tea more than coffee. There was another scream, a giant hand reaching into the crowd and coming away with a handful of citizens.
"Give up, Commander and Jetstream! Give up or these citizens will die!" the villain, Monumental, called with a booming voice that could probably be heard in Westville.
Grant set the teacup down, careful of the debris on the table, and glanced outside curiously. Would Jetstream and the Commander give up or were their reputations as winners more important than the lives of - three, four, wait, there was another limb, hmm, maybe six - innocent and everyday citizens?
"Mummy!" two small children cried out for their mother, huddling together on the sidewalk and crying pitifully.
Jetstream and the Commander glanced at each other, Jetstream dropping down to pick her husband up, flying into the air without hesitation.
So even now with citizens' lives on the line, they weren't going to give up, Grant mused. He was disappointed but not surprised that they had the confidence to win; they'd won every fight so far, after all.
"Launch!" the Commander called, Jetstream throwing him towards Monumental.
Standing, Grant tipped out the remaining tea in the teapot, shook it gently to get rid of the drops, and then placed both the teapot and teacup into his bag carefully. He stuffed enough napkins into the bag to protect both delicate ceramics, and shouldered his bag. With that done, Grant rolled his neck from side to side, shook out his limbs, and powered up.
...
Jetstream was used to screaming. Citizens, fans, children on nightmare-inducing field trips, it seemed that she was surrounded by screaming far too often. As her power started to fail her for absolutely no reason, her body plummeting to the ground, Jetstream couldn't help but notice there was no screaming this time. The wind was too loud in her ears, her voice was stuck in her throat, and she was falling instead of flying.
She never fell, not since she was eight years old and tried to be a bird, only to discover that she was better than a silly bird. She could fly and didn't have to live in a rotten old tree. She could fly and had kept on flying until this particular second. Did powers run out? Had she used all of her power up? No, that wasn't possible. She was the greatest superhero the world had ever seen, she couldn't have used all of her power!
Jetstream... no longer Jetstream, not without her power, and without the power to fly, she was just Josie. Human, powerless, citizen, realtor, fragile, and so very breakable Josie. The very same one who was hurtling down towards the ground without a power to protect her. What about the Commander? He'd see her falling and catch her! She struggled to look away from the ground below her and over to where the giant supervillain had been only moments ago. The villain was no longer there, or at least, no longer an imposing fifty feet tall, which didn't make sense, but then Josie saw what had become of the Commander.
Steve was lying on the ground, his face bloodied and covered in asphalt as he struggled to sit up. His muscles looked smaller - perhaps it was the distance? No, she was too close to the ground now, something had happened to his power, too - and even if he could get up in time to catch her, she doubted her husband's strength for the first time since she'd rescued him from Royal Pain almost twenty years ago.
If he caught her now, he'd do so with the same movements as he did when he had his power. At the rate she was falling, she'd break his arms and still probably hit the ground with the same force. Steve was useless without his power, she thought fiercely, tears stinging at her eyes as she continued to fall. Blaming her tears on the wind, Josie closed her eyes and readied herself for impact.
"Grab that end!" Steve's voice commanded, though without his tone's usual force and far more desperation than usual.
Josie didn't bother opening her eyes. Whatever they tried to do, it would be useless. She was going to die the same way she'd been born: weak and powerless.
"Hurry up! Hold it!"
She should be hitting the ground soon, if her calculations were correct. Give or take a few seconds for wind speed, ten seconds was being generous.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three -
"Hold tight!"
Josie smashed into something springy and she opened her eyes when she didn't slam straight into asphalt as she'd expected. Steve, her brilliant husband, had caught her with his cape. She was going to do that thing he liked -
The cape tore at the fingers of the citizens, far too much pressure on the fabric and far too much velocity for them to hold on or the fabric to survive. The fabric ripped around her and Josie slammed into the ground, the wind knocked out of her. She heard people cry out, far more beyond the small crowd holding the cape. She was lying on the ground, her suit was probably torn and bloody; how embarrassing must she look to her fans?!
She groaned and opened her eyes, seeing the villain tied up against the fallen lamp post. Squinting, Josie saw citizens running towards her, some screaming in surprise, others in fear, some in adulation and worship. They didn't know that she'd lost her power, Josie thought, her relief even overtaking the embarrassment.
"Don't move, Josie. The emergency services are on their way, both ambulance and police. You'll be fine," Steve said. "Everyone, stay back!" he said, that same tinge of desperation to his voice as he'd had when she was falling only a minute ago.
Slamming into the cape had stopped her fall, but it hadn't been enough to stop her bones from breaking on impact, Josie realised belatedly. His cape was made from a certain material that could protect from explosions, and her body was certainly more fragile than that.
The adrenaline was still surging through her body and she couldn't feel a thing right then. She would by the time the ambulance arrived, and Josie wasn't looking forward to it at all. Soon, she could start to worry about internal bleeding and fractures and large bones fragmenting into tiny pieces, but right now, she needed all of her concentration just to stay conscious.
There was more screaming, and her eyes flitted over the crowd, the citizens clearly ignoring the boundaries that had been set by the Council and camera installation now that Jetstream had fallen and the Commander was bleeding.
The journalists wouldn't be far behind them, Josie thought and it was only the fact that pain was starting to creep into her body that she repressed a shudder at the thought. Wait. Something was wrong with the picture she was seeing.
Closing her eyes, Josie thought back over the last few minutes, her body twisting and turning and falling through the air without a power to keep her afloat and safe. Bile rose in her throat at the thought and she struggled to keep it contained in front of the crowd of citizens and reporters.
She fell through the air, she heard screaming and Steve organising citizens to catch her with his cape, and she continued to fall. She slammed into the cape, more screams, and then the cape ripped beneath her. The very same cape that Steve had used countless times to protect himself from sonic blasts and asteroid collisions and radiation and all other manner of villainous and dastardly things had broken under her falling body, how ridiculous was that?! She fell to the ground, the citizens' screaming continued, and she saw the villain tied to the lamp post.
A journalist's question about whether she should hang up her cape - the same words they'd used when she'd been pregnant with Will, though not a word had been uttered for Steve to hang up his cape as well or instead of her - broke her concentration.
Ignore the vultures, ignore the citizens' screaming, ignore the wail of an ambulance and sirens from the police van, ignore Steve's voice and pleading, just focus and think, she demanded of herself.
The villain was tied to the lamp post. He was tied with the rope Steve kept in his utility belt, threaded with power repressing fibres to keep the villain in place without powering up. It was expensive and he'd left it tied there without a thought of the cost. No, that part wasn't important right now. What else? Citizens running towards her and Steve, some of them terrified, some of them eager. Nothing new. What else? Focus, Josie, focus.
The lamp post? No, that was fine. Restaurants and buildings were smashed, all par for the course by this stage. The cameras were working - damn it, they were probably focused on her, and even through her concentration, Josie could hear the familiar whir as the cameras moved to focus on the sounds - so they weren't the issue either.
Start again. Citizens running, villain tied to the lamp post, and... wait a second. What was that citizen doing? They were looking at the villain, not at her. Their back was to Josie in fact, which was not what was expected when faced with one of the world's greatest superheroes falling to their potential death. Even villains would stand by and watch to gloat. Perhaps he was a villain who didn't care about gloating? More likely, he was an accomplice with the fifty-foot villain. It was feasible, especially since there was no reason her power would stop working otherwise, and it certainly wasn't the fifty-foot villain's power. A sidekick with dirty blonde hair, a blue backpack, jeans, and a t-shirt. It wouldn't be easy to narrow down, but she could access the cameras' recordings.
She had a goal and a determination that would help her focus and get out of hospital sooner than later. Josie knew who was to blame, even if they were a two-bit sidekick with the ability to null powers for a minute or two. Faced with prison or worse, they could even be convinced to assist herself and the Commander instead of a villain who would definitely spend the rest of their life rotting away in prison.
"Jetstream, can you open your eyes and respond to me?"
Josie opened her eyes slowly and tried to speak, but her face had managed to imprint on the asphalt and she couldn't move her jaw. "Mmm," the noise she made was barely audible to her own ears, but the EMT looked relieved and nodded.
"That's good, Jetstream. All right, we'll get you out of here and to Maxville Super Memorial Hospital in a few minutes. You have first priority and we'll assess your damage," the EMT explained helpfully.
Josie breathed a sigh of relief and gravel. Soon, she would be in a hospital bed in a private room surrounded by gifts and get-well flowers and memorabilia from citizens, but far, far away from them. She needed a holiday and someone else to take care of her for once.
She was padded and braced and whatever else was needed to do to not aggravate her injuries further, and then Josie was lifted onto a stretcher and up into the air. She felt like her power was back again, although, perhaps that was a result of the drugs she was inhaling through a bright green whistle.
The two EMTs carried her over to the ambulance, Steve hovering beside her and trying to answer all of the EMTs' questions, though Josie didn't actually remember them asking anything. She felt her body relaxing and her eyes started to close as pure chemicals mixed with her breath and blood, taking away whatever was left of her power so they could fix her as a citizen and she would heal as a brand new super all over again.
The lamp post was lying through a restaurant, the lights flickering badly enough that Josie squinted at the sight, and she opened her eyes to make a complaint to the manager, only to see the villain had escaped. Or he'd been released, she thought in the same instant, thinking of the blonde accomplice.
"Villain!" she managed to say to Steve, her jaw aching at the movement.
"I'm not a villain, dear. What's in those drugs you've given her?" Steve asked the EMT with a laugh, clapping her on the back, the EMT stumbling forward with the Commander's strength.
Their powers really were back. Thank Super God.
...
"Grant? I know we discussed you getting revenge, but putting Jetstream in critical care wasn't exactly what I had in mind! Also, who the fuck is he?" Layla snapped, indicating to the villain beside Grant.
"Hi. I'm Monumental," the previously fifty-foot tall villain said, waving.
"I'm sure you are. Grant, why is the monumental mistake in the lower Hive?"
"I think Jetstream saw us leaving," Grant said.
"She can't talk right now! Anything she thought she saw can be discredited."
"She's still got too much influence," he argued.
"We have Ace."
"I know, I already asked him to edit the footage."
"And what about him?" Layla asked, indicating to Monumental.
"I knocked Monumental out before bringing him downstairs. Life debts are useful," Grant added.
Layla sighed and rubbed her temples. "Fine, I'll ask Hourglass to get Monumental out of here safely. Next time we plan something, try not to go off plan if you can help it. She was meant to fall from a few metres, not fifty damned feet!"
"A few metres wasn't good enough!" Grant snapped.
"Then you tell me that and I'll throw her through a window in the next fight! Now we have to wait to kill her!"
"We can kill her while she's in the hospital."
Layla raised an eyebrow. "You remember the promise we made to Ida when she found out?"
Grant's shoulders slumped. "Ah, fuck!"
Monumental looked back and forth between the two arguing villains, utterly confused. "Uh, what's going on?"
"Hospitals are neutral ground. No killing, stabbing, maiming, or kidnapping allowed," Grant explained without really explaining.
"Oh." Monumental looked between them again. "And why is that again?"
"It's better that you don't find out, Monumental," Honey said behind them.
Monumental startled at the sight of her, then looked between the three of them. "I don't know what's going on, but thank you for saving my life. I don't have anything to give to express my gratitude - "
"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure we'll think of something," Layla said sweetly, then gently pushed him towards Honey. "Thank you for dealing with him, Hourglass."
"No problem at all. Come along, Monumental; I've got a friend who'll hide you. It's a remote location so you can power up whenever you want. Don't worry, you'll love her," Honey added with a grin.
Monumental still looked confused but nodded and followed Honey out of the lower Hive. He was just grateful to be alive and not imprisoned by the heroes or killed by the villains.
...
Will flew straight to the hospital as soon as he finished patrolling Westville. He'd received a message from his father almost fifteen minutes ago and from the air, he could see destroyed streets and smoke pouring from buildings that had metal lamp posts embedded in them.
Whatever villain they had fought against had obviously done a number on Maxville before his parents had defeated them, he thought.
Will, on the other hand, still hadn't found any villains in Westville and he was bored. Even with the Westville Mayor advertising the brand new villain booking system, no one had booked in yet, so Will didn't have anything to do but fly around in circles and wait for something to happen. Being a hero was boring, but he still refused to go into real estate like his parents wanted. The civilian life was even worse than being a bored hero, and being a boring realtor was a billion times worse than that.
His father's text message had been vague, just stating that they were at the hospital, and for Will to come as soon as possible. Despite the destruction in Maxville, Will thought it might have been for a publicity shoot. They hadn't been injured in a fight since the Ninety Ninjas, and their powers helped them heal minor injuries anyway. All supers could do that, after all; even Warren had taken his super strong punch through several walls without getting a scratch on him.
Landing a few buildings down from the hospital, Will changed out of his Airborne super suit and into his civilian clothes, and then walked up to the hospital entrance. He sent a message to his father asking where they were, glancing at the hospital waiting room and determining he'd rather fly into a vat of toxic waste than sit on one of those chairs with all of the sick and possibly infectious citizens.
"Son! There you are. Your mother just woke up, let's go see her," Steve said, drawing his attention from where he was heading over at the elevators.
Will stared at his father in a mix of disbelief and shock. "Dad, your face."
Steve stopped at an arm's length and touched his tender face gently. He was bruised and had a long bloodied scrape along one side, his heart still beating far too fast when he thought about it. It was already healing, and would likely be gone by morning, but the reminder was still visible and painful for now. "I know, son. This is nothing; it will heal. Let's go see your mother."
Will swallowed hard. What the hell had happened?!
He didn't know how to ask what was wrong and so Will stayed silent as he followed his father through the hospital, past curtained areas filled with machines beeping, low moans of pain, laughter from TV shows, snores, and snippets of conversation. The last time he'd been here, everything had been silent thanks to Sandsapien, and even the layout felt different now that he was walking rather than flying through the hallways.
The private rooms had actual walls and doors, and even curtains on their windows. The largest room at the end was reserved for important people, like the Mayor or the President or, like today, Jetstream and the Commander. Will's heart pounded in his chest as he stepped through the doorway. It felt like his heart stopped when he actually saw his mother lying on a hospital bed.
Josie was sleeping and hooked up to several machines, her body looking thin and pale on the bed. She looked far too human and fragile. Will wanted to hug her, but he was terrified at the same time. What if he hugged her too tight and hurt her even more? He couldn't touch her or she'd break under his hands.
"Your mother will be fine. This is just a temporary measure to make sure everything's set right and her body will be strong enough to heal without the drugs - " Steve said, but Will barely heard his father's explanation.
Fear gripped at him, despite his tutelage at Sky High - designed to train the students to get past their initial flight responses and purely dedicate themselves to the fight - and Will needed to get out now. "I... I have to go."
"Hmm? Oh. Well, okay. Are you... sure?" Steve asked with a sigh as Will literally turned and flew out of the hospital room without another word. "He'll be all right, Josie. He just doesn't like seeing you like this. But you'll get better, just like you always do," he murmured, reaching out to take his wife's hand - the one without the needle, as he'd learnt that lesson far too early in their relationship, and in front of the media, no less - and squeezed gently.
The only response he received was the beeping from the machines around them.
Will, meanwhile, flew out of the hospital room, through the hospital hallways, and out of the hospital doors. He barely avoided some people before realising that flying closer to the ceiling afforded him more space to manoeuvre, and was outside in the fresh air and sunshine within a matter of seconds.
He didn't know where he wanted to go or what he wanted to do, only that he couldn't stay in that room. Now that he was outside and could finally breathe, Will took a moment to consider his options. Return home to an empty house, try to see Magenta without her parents finding out, or patrol Westville?
An alert on his red phone made Airborne clench his teeth; Earthstone had foiled yet another robbery in his territory. His decision made for him, Airborne flew straight for Westville, determined to win against Earthstone.
Westville was his territory and by the end of the day, everyone would know it. He wouldn't hold back this time.
...
Leaving the police station after finishing his debrief to the officers, Larry made his way through the streets of Westville, trying to make it seem as though he was taller and richer and far fancier than his height and clothes made him seem. Most people didn't even look at him as they passed by - a short redhead wasn't worthy of their attention - and he barely resisted the urge to power up just to make them look at him.
He was a Hero, for Super God's sake; they should at least look at him when he was there! The Commander would turn heads, no matter if he was in civilian clothes or not. Larry bit his tongue in self reprimand at the thought. He wasn't like his family, he wasn't going to compare himself to the almighty Strongholds. He was his own Hero, thank you very much!
Still, a little height would be nice for his ego.
While he was considering whether it would be worth buying shoes with a platform, Larry was snatched up into the air suddenly, a cry caught in his throat. He looked up at the super who'd grabbed him, eyes widening behind his glasses. "Will? What the... What the fuck are you doing?"
"It's Airborne, Earthstone. Now, shut up," he snapped back at him as he flew higher and faster into the air.
Larry's clothes weren't threadbare hand-me-downs, but they certainly weren't designed for this altitude either. His teeth started chattering a few moments later. "Can you p-put me down n-now? It's f-fr-freezing up h-here," he stammered through his teeth.
Airborne glared down at him, but finally started to descend. It was nothing like an aeroplane with a falling sensation and his stomach still up in the air. Instead, it felt like he was gliding at far too fast a speed and, oh shit, there was a building. Building, building, shit, shit, shit!
That cry that had been caught in his throat finally let out and Larry covered his face with his arms as they approached the building far too quickly, screaming the whole way.
Airborne snorted. "Would you shut up? You're drawing attention to yourself."
Larry was set down on a rooftop - it was still windy and freezing, but at least the walls of the roof protected him from the cold evening breeze - and his legs collapsed beneath him as he sank to the solid floor. Oh, whoever had created this building was going to get a sizeable donation in gratitude. Okay, he didn't have a lot of money, so... maybe just a handshake or something. When he could stand up again. After he could feel his feet. Or limbs. Or his nose. Was his nose always this cold?
"What do you want, Airborne?" Larry asked once his voice finally returned and he had enough strength to stand.
"Westville is my turf, Earthstone. You should know that after our last fight," Airborne snapped.
"You didn't win that fight, and besides, I have a contract with the Mayor, just like you do. It's not like I can renege on that! I need to be paid, too, y'know, and I can't wait around for villains to book in fights when the Mayor can't keep a receptionist on the payroll."
Airborne glared and put his fists up. "That's not the point! I'll fight you again, if I have to."
Larry was so Super Goddamned tired - he'd already fought an uncomfortably large number of bank robbers who'd thought to take advantage of the Commander and Jetstream's defeat - and sighed. "Sure, Airborne. Can we do it tomorrow?"
Airborne frowned. "What?"
"Tomorrow? Y'know, the day after today, which has kind of been an exhausting day. There were fifteen bank robbers. They all turned up at the same bank, then tried to rob each other when they saw the others were already robbing it. It was a mess trying to sort out who belonged to which gang, and the police are still playing match the gang tattoo to try to make sure the rival gangs don't kill each other in their cells."
Airborne glared. "My mother almost died today, and you think I give a shit about gang members?"
Larry snorted. "You're the one here trying to fight me instead of at the hospital with her, so I don't know - or care - what you give a shit about. Although, which hospital did she go to? Mum will want to send flowers."
"Maxville Super Memorial," Airborne answered automatically, then shook his head. "That's not why we're here."
Larry waited for a beat, then rolled his eyes. "Why are we here, Airborne? I don't even know how I'm getting home from here. Where is here?" he added, glancing out over the top of the wall and trying to determine where they'd landed.
"We're... we're here to discuss Westville. As Heroes, like adults."
"I offered that already, Airborne."
"Yes. Well... I wasn't ready."
"You weren't ready to act like an adult?" Larry asked, raising an eyebrow.
Airborne glared.
He held his hands up in a gesture of peace. "I was kidding, calm down. What do you want to talk about, then? Dividing it up between us?"
"No, that won't work; we'll just argue over the one street between us," Airborne said.
"Well, what else do you suggest?"
Airborne had thought about it on the flight over. Being up in the cold atmosphere had helped to cool his anger and clear his head, and he had an idea. It was a crazy idea, but it just might work out for both of them.
"We both turn up to fight a villain. We capture the villain but also fight each other. But the whole thing's staged this time, and no buildings will be destroyed! Think about it: we both get credit for capturing the villain, everyone thinks we hate each other, and action figure sales increase with Airborne vs. Earthstone fights that kids do. It worked for my parents when they released a King Kamayamayhem figurine," he added firmly.
Larry had certainly not been expecting that suggestion. He could actually see it working out, too. Hell, even when he'd gone to a toy store to see his figurine, kids had already been playing with the boxes and were determined to win against each other. The rivalry would help them and he might even get some sort of accessory feature for his figurine. Sold separately to increase profit, of course. He just needed to get a suitable accessory first.
"We need a villain to fight, first. They're not using the booking system, so what do you suggest?" Larry asked.
Airborne grinned and started to detail his plan.
...
Ritchie saw the disastrous fight between the Commander and Jetstream and Monumental on TV, just like everyone else. Unlike everyone else, Ritchie was watching the crowd as Jetstream began to fall through the air without control. The cameras kept switching between her descent and the Commander on the ground, but there was enough noise from the crowd for the citizens' faces to be shown on the screen as well. He knew one person who could immobilise powers and if he saw him in the live footage, Ritchie would be calling the police straight away.
Grant's face didn't show at all, but that didn't mean he wasn't there, Ritchie mused.
He heard a wail of sirens and on the TV he saw the ambulance and police arriving on the scene. Lights flickered, some unstable and bent, while others were torn out of the ground entirely. Monumental had plucked them from the concrete as easily as someone else would pick marigolds.
The villain had been tied to one of those lamp posts, but Monumental was no longer there, Ritchie realised. He looked at the crowd again, even as the cameras shifted focus to the ambulance speeding away with sirens blaring. There, at the far end of the street! It was someone with dirty blonde hair, just like Grant had.
That was enough proof for Ritchie. He thought about how long it would take for Jetstream's injuries to be healed, how long it would take to get close enough to Will to get to his parents, and Ritchie didn't even know how to get close to Will when he wasn't at Sky High anymore. He briefly thought of Magenta, but didn't want Will to think he was hitting on his girlfriend and beat him up. He'd probably end up in hospital, too... The thought gave him pause, and Ritchie knew he needed to do something drastic in order to get to Jetstream and the Commander sooner rather than later. Their lives could depend on him and what he knew!
Ritchie knew he would have to talk to Jetstream while the Commander and Airborne were busy so he could get through her hospital room door without being stopped or literally thrown out.
He couldn't wait, either. Ritchie had seen Donny watching him and knew the other teen was reading his thoughts even when he deliberately tried to keep his thoughts away from his suspicions and intentions. If he went to school, they'd know he knew, and Ritchie shuddered at the thought of what they'd do to keep his silence. Warren would probably set him on fire or something.
Clipping a power-repressing cuff onto his wrist, Ritchie felt nauseous at the sensation. It was an awful feeling to have his power taken away so abruptly, but he had a job to do, and Heroes didn't hesitate. Inhaling and bracing himself for the impact, Ritchie ran straight for his doorway, slamming into it with a jarring force and a cry of pain.
"Mum! I think I broke my arm!"
...
Josie was drugged up to her eyeballs and hated how people said it was like flying. She knew what flying felt like and this wasn't it. This was floating, at best.
She hated that she had to be pumped full of drugs so doctors and super doctors could fix her damaged body. They had to use power repressing cuffs on her because as soon as they were removed her body's healing factor would kick in and fight against the healing they had done manually and possibly heal her bones and broken body wrong. So now, she had become the equivalent of a citizen while her body was fixed and bones were repaired and blood was transfused.
She had her jaw taped up, a cast on her arm, and a splint resetting her leg. Josie was also certain that her kneecap was doing something, but she couldn't stop floating long enough to check.
"Ah, Doctor! Thank you so much for looking after my wife. I know we'll be making a sizeable donation to the hospital soon," Steve said with a smile and a far too generous handshake.
"I'm glad to hear that, Commander. Can I get your autograph? It's for my daughter."
"Oh. Uh, of course," Steve said reluctantly, glancing over to where Josie was still lying on the bed. "I'll be right back, dear. Don't go anywhere."
"Could you sign a photo for my wife, too? Oh, and there are some nurses who wanted a group photo - "
Josie wanted to protest or roll her eyes but the thought was exhausting and either action would be far too much effort. She watched as Steve was led away by a doctor, a gaggle of nurses whispering and giggling instead of paying attention to her, the one in the Super God damned hospital bed. The annoyance filtered away after a moment, her brain too fuzzy to keep hold of her emotions for long. Josie hated that all she wanted to do was sleep but the constant noise of people and beeping of machines kept her awake; this certainly wasn't the vacation she'd expected, and no one had sent her a single get-well card yet.
"Um, excuse me? Jetstream, ma'am?"
Josie's eyes opened and she made a muffled noise of alarm at the assailant's sudden appearance. Obviously the Ninety Ninjas had snuck into the hospital to attack her while she was vulnerable, which is why she hadn't heard them approach.
"I knocked on the door. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
She made a noise that sounded like "who are you?" and tried to glare imposingly.
"I'm one of Will's friends from school. I'm Ritchie," the teenage boy said, waving with his free hand, as his other was in a sling.
Josie made another noise to ask what he wanted.
"Um... I don't know what you're trying to say but I'm here to talk to you. I think I know what caused your power to stop working," Ritchie said adamantly, pulling a notebook out from his sling. "Well, not what, but rather, who."
It took a second for her drug-addled brain to catch up, and when she understood what the boy was saying, Josie's eyes widened and she motioned for him to tell her everything.
...
End of the hundred and eighty-third chapter.
Thanks for reading; I hope you liked it!
