[Case 42: Where in the World?]
"Everyone gather around for a picture," Rachel exclaimed. The reporter held up the law Mayor Figgins had signed in order, that granted a reprieve for property damages and protection against lawsuits. "This will go down in history."
In the shadows, Tina watched as the rest of the current rooster of the League gathered around the diminutive reporter. Rachel smiled as the wrapped an arm around Braveheart's neck. He had bent over to lessen the distance, and judging by the expression on his face, it wasn't much of a bother for him.
Tina was a one of the original founding members of the League, although in the passing years she had been booted to a more supporting role as other superheroes gained prominence. She didn't mind it as she was never comfortable being the spot light, but today, she was bored of her mind, and wanted to get out of here and do something.
It was easier to sneak off before. As a protégé as one of the Big Two. her superhuman reflexes and a childhood with her acrobatic family made it easy for her take down guys twice her size, though it left her even a larger ego as teenager. The mask gave her strength and arrogance that she didn't have as the stuttering orphan of the Flying Cohen-Changs. And in her troublesome teenage years she found freedom fighting bad guys in the streets. When Artie arrived to her master's home she instantly saw the commissioner's son as someone who had too much spare time on his hands, hardly a match for her.
They have a rivalry at sorts, and like all rivalries ended when a near death experience led to be reevaluate their relationship. However it would be long after they left their master to help form the League when their unlikely partnership blossomed into a brief romance. Even now five years and what felt like a lifetime afterwards that partnership was still there as well as the opportunity to be more than just a liaison for the League to protect his second alter ego. She had made a big fuss about it, but before everything else they were close friends, and in some ways she owed it to him.
Though, who knew it could be boring to be a superhero? She mused as she stood there listening to Rachel interview everyone. So completely and utterly boring?
Two weeks ago, she found a box on her apartment balcony. Her friends had received similar boxes, although hers had a flower resting on top. She tossed the flower out at once, but the box she had shoved into a drawer knowing good and well what was inside.
She may be bored out of her wits, but she wasn't that desperate.
Tina sighed as she waited for the microwave to finish wishing not for the first time she had a heat wave vision like Puck did.
As she waited she heard a click, and turned slightly as a knife flew in her direction. She deftly caught the other one that flew by seconds later.
"Good grief, Kurt it's me!"
She heard a swear and the lights turned on. Kurt, in his silver satin housecoat, stood at the doorway with familiar crossbow aimed her. He dropped the weapon against the wall he glared at her. "What are you doing in here?" he sputtered..
"Getting dinner." Tina pulled out the hot plate from the microwave. "Nice housecoat."
Kurt ignored her.
"You don't live here."
"I know, that's why I'm eating your leftovers."
"Tina." Kurt slumped against the wall, "it's too early for this."
She pulled back the sleeve of her costume to glanced at her watch, "It's not even one o'clock, the night is young."
"I have to go to the work in the morning."
"You're dressing supermodels," Tina replied, perching herself on the counter, twirling noodles around her fork.
"I'm sorry I'm not busy saving the world," Kurt remarked.
"You might just be," Tina muttered. "I stopped three muggings and someone attempting to commit arson on his own shop so she could make some insurance money."
"I take it," Kurt said as he crossed the room to clean up the mess she dripped on the floor, "you're displeased?"
"I'm bored." Tina muttered. "Nothing's exciting anymore."
"Not even-"
"Don't." She said waving her fork at him, "I don't kiss and tell."
"I wasn't talking about Dasher," Kurt said, "I heard from Sam who from Mercedes who heard from the man himself, that you turned down his offer."
"Of course I did," Tina grunted.
Kurt merely looked at his nails, "Didn't you say you were bored? Artie," Kurt dragged the name out, "sent Sam to Russia of all places to stop an assassination of some Cold War official that was still alive. Mercedes even got to shoot someone."
"Good for her."
"I got call from them tonight, apparently Artie sent them to Italy, they kept talking about the best pasta sauce they had, not enough to make me interested, but I've been to Naples before it beautiful there."
"So they travel. And the new guy hasn't bungled anything. "
"Sam's pretty good, he acts more or less autonomous these days. In some ways it feels like the old days."
Tina dropped the bowl into the sink. "How? Neither of us are on the team."
Kurt lifted an eyebrow. "You haven't heard, what happened in Prague?"
Tina didn't want to know about what happened in Prague, because knowing Kurt it would elaborate and dramatic tale that only served to drag out the details in whatever role Artie had him playing in the operation. And while she was curious, she felt left out in the cold.
Pulled mask back down on her face and opened the kitchen window.
"Leaving so soon?" Kurt asked. "Thanks for coming by, I always enjoy your company."
"Goodnight." Tina replied as she jumped out into the night.
"Are you alright?"
Tina looked away from the stove to where Mike stood in the doorway, uncomfortable wearing civilian dress. When they first got aquatinted he had said he was either always in costume or half naked. She thought it was joke playing off the reputation he had in some circles, over the past few months she realized it wasn't.
She pretended it didn't bother her as much as it did.
They're in her apartment today, and he still fully dressed since she decided to change up their routine by having a bite to eat before they move to the bedroom. You know as sometimes something a bit mundane was nice.
"I'm fine," Tina called as tested the noodles, "Did you want to catch a movie after dinner?"
When Mike didn't answer, she poked out to see him staring at the wall of pictures. When they usually stayed here, the light was hardly on in the room, nor did he stay long enough to look at them, but they caught his interests this time. They were old pictures mostly. Pictures of her parents before died in the circus accident, pictures of her friends, both in costume and not, nothing too terribly recent, other than a few League pictures. She hadn't had the time really to put up one with her and Mike to replace a few of them on the wall.
"You know the commissioner's son," Mike said staring at the pictures.
"Yeah, I saved his life a couple of times," Tina said with a shrug, "it's no big deal."
"When we met at the wedding I don't think he liked me that much."
"Well you know about what they say about librarians," Tina said coming to grab him by the arm, "come on give me a hand."
Mike pulled his arm away from her.
"I wondered why he was there, Puck, Finn, and Quinn seemed to know him too, and Santana was giving him the evil eye she gives only to General Hydra."
"He did try to chat up Brittany. I think something's burning."
"But I don't understand is why you have pictures of him."
"What are you talking about?" Tina lied, "I hardly know him."
Mike instead pointed to a picture that was well out of her reach, but eye level to his. It was a rather old picture and because of it one she often avoided looking at knowing if she did she'd want to take it down. It wasn't even one from when they were dating, it an article from when they stopped a jewel heist, a relic from a time long gone.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Mike said, "He was your partner back when you were Blackbird."
"I thought it was an obvious connection, within days of the Commissioner's son having awful car accident that left him paralyzed, Jovial suddenly goes into retirement."
"That explains how people know him, except for you-"
"Something's burning," Tina said abruptly, turning back to the kitchen. Only to find Mike had zipped in front of her blocking the door. She moved to right, he and blocked her.
"I don't want the stove to catch on fire."
"If it starts to smoke I'll put it out in a flash," Mike replied as met her eyes, " I shouldn't have taken you that long to admit who your partner was."
"It's my past, and I don't like brining up things I closed the book on."
Tina ducked under his arm into the kitchen. "I heard you brought the circus your parents died in," Mike called after her.
Something did end up burning, and the more than just the past got ruined.
She and Mike had a simple relationship. It made her happy, it made him happy, and best of all it was one of the best relationships she had after a string of very bad ones. But it was never anything she could see lasting forever.
Before the night was over she had gone through the cabinets in her place not just to find the alcohol she had scurried away but to pull out the box she couldn't bring herself to throw out.
"I'm in," Tina said into the microphone as she stared at the picture in her hand. "What exactly are you up to?"
Sam ducked as the glass windows broke above him. Luckily his new costume took most of the impact, but at the sound of gun fire he knew his time was up. He found a few weeks ago it wasn't as resistance proof as Kurt had claimed.
"A little help."
"I can't work miracles."
"How about trying." Sam shoved a table in front of one the cherrio bots. "Trying is good. Get Miss M in here, I could use the firepower."
"She's manning the jet to make sure you have escape route, plus she can't get in without you getting crossed in the fire."
"Well do something, call Braveheart in or -"
Sam ducked grabbing the broken end of table and clubbing a robot.
As he turned he caught a sight of the semi circle robots around him.
"Or at least hot wire the robots."
"Not that easy."
"You do know I hate you sometimes."
Instead of answer there was a small explosion, swiftly followed by a shadow that jumped overhead landing right next to Sam. He saw the black and blue blur swirl around knocking out the bots, and their weapons, jumping out of the way as the guns aimed at her.
"Eight o'clock," She yelled over her shoulder.
Sam followed in suit, dashing out the metallic brains.
"M is some distance away, waiting for us," she said yanking out a rod from one of the robots, "and Mirage-why couldn't you take them out?"
"For the last time, they're on a different system."
"No wonder you needed my help."
There was odd sound coming through the earpiece as if someone had hit a keyboard rather hard.
"You're Nightshade?" Sam asked.
"Yes," she smiled, the domino mask only enhancing her mirth she gave him a mock salute, "your miracle worker."
She turned and left the room kicking out a robot as she left.
"Oh," Sam said to himself thinking of a conversation he had with Kurt once, "that's her. The girl who dumped you."
"She didn't dump me, it was mutual-"
"Mutual my ass, you got dumped," Miss M interjected into the line. "And you moped around for ages."
"I didn't ask for your opinion."
"Guys," Sam said noticing a blinking light.
"You really are dumb some times."
"Guys," Sam said louder, but Miss M and Mirage kept bickering over the line as usual. "There's a bomb!"