Gahhh I meant to get this out over the weekend, but things got away from me, so I apologize greatly! Hopefully there'll be a few laughs in this update to make up for the wait ; )
Special thanks to freshzombiewriter, thepheonixqueen, analiarvb, washingtonstub, ashleystlawrence, a-taller-tale, secretlystephaniebrown, Yin, mydetheturk, and darkladyofdarkness on AO3 and tumblr for the wonderful feed back! I truly appreciate it more than you know.
Double Time
Chapter Four: Hero of the City
The courthouse in downtown, like much of downtown, was completely brand new.
Washington had spent so much time as of late in Blood Gulch he had nearly forgotten that the majority of the city wasn't still existing in the ruins of the so-called Invasion and the failure of Freelancer nearly five years ago.
It was a sobering experience to say the least. Remembering how little his crimefighting really helped with the infrastructure of everything around him
He was in civilian clothes when he arrived, timidly messing with his sunglasses and shying away from any stray stares he got on the short walk from Tucker's car to the building.
Logically, he knew the weird looks was from the fact that someone who was in a suit had walked out of as terrible of a car as Tucker's, but Wash's worry about his identity and his eyes would not fade quickly now that it was clear that at least someone, and someone important, knew who he really was.
He didn't need more exploitation of his identity in one day than he was already going to have.
Of course, once he was inside the building, things went rather south on that account.
The secretary looked up to him and smiled broadly. "Mister Murdock?"
Wash fiddled with his tie. "Uh, no. Mister… Washington."
"Oh!" she said, voice thick and slurring around her highly visible braces. "You're early for your appointment!" She then looked down to her computer and then back up to Wash. She squinted some. "Have you thought about a more discreet superhero name to go by in public?"
Wash shifted uncomfortably and looked around the room to make sure it was just the two of them. "I haven't… I'm not supposed to be public as a hero. So it was never supposed to be… much of a problem, actually."
"Hm," she replied before clicking around with her mouse. "Okay! You can sit down and wait in here. The mayors are currently scheduled to yell at each other for a few more minutes."
Confused, Wash furrowed his brow. "What does… I'm not entirely sure what that means?"
"Oh, just wait for it," she laughed waving her hand nonchalantly. "I'm Katie, by the way."
"Hello, Katie," Wash replied, taking a seat. "I'm…"
He hadn't really thought of a good response. Telling people he was Washington felt wrong to do now that his status as a vigilante was apparently out in the open again. Made it too simple for situations like the current one to happen and more or less ruin his day.
But he hadn't been called David by anyone in so long…
Tucker didn't even call him David.
"You're the superhero Washington!" Katie answered for him instead, barely allowing for the lapse of silence to get awkward. Which Wash supposed was a good thing. Maybe. "I know, that's why I was able to put you on the mayors' schedule."
"You keep using plural," Wash pointed out.
Katie leaned back into her chair and spun once. "You don't pay much attention to local politics, do ya?" she slurred out.
"I live in Blood Gulch," he tried to explain. "It's… not a normal topic of discussion among my… peers."
She stopped spinning in her chair to give him a wide eyed look of surprise. "People can still live in Blood Gulch? I thought the whole neighborhood was condemned."
"No?" Wash replied, quirking a brow just before the giant, oak doors on the other side of Katie's desk flew open.
"Oh, just you wait until that recount is finalized! The second I no longer have to make decisions with you is the moment that this city is finally going to turn itself around!" a boisterous female voice half-screamed.
"And I believe the moment that recount is finalized, I shall be accepting your written apology and proving to our great city that as difficult as the times have been, we have been moving along just fine by subsiding federal aid!" a pomp male voice asserted back.
Wash stared through his sunglasses at the pair – a man and a woman in white and tan suits respectively.
Then he looked to his watch for the time.
"Mister Washington?" the woman asked, drawing his attention back up to the two of them. "We would like to see you now."
"Yes we are very happy to have you come in!" the man responded, looking more toward his counterpart than toward Washington.
Washington glanced back and forth between the two of them before slowly rising to his feet. The way both of the… mayors were staring at him was fairly unnerving.
Gathering up his nerves, Wash walked toward the office door between the two of them and glanced back toward Katie who gave him a toothy smile and thumbs up, before stopping shortly inside with the mayors shutting the doors.
"I'll be honest," Wash said lowly. "If you were hoping to leverage your knowledge of my secret identity, you blew it by having it known around your office."
The two looked at him in surprise – the man aghast and the woman raising a suspicious brow.
"Leverage against you, Mister Washington? I would hope that you would think more highly of your elected official…s."
The woman put her hands on her hips. "You'll have to forgive Jensen, Mister Washington. She's young and enthusiastic, but I assure you that the only ones who have been shared any information about you are those which we have already made plans with for our proposal."
Awkwardly, Wash waited for them to continue, but that had merely caused the two to stare at each other once more and lapse into a silent, hateful staring contest.
Coughing into his fist, Wash pulled at his coat collar with his free hand. "I'm sensing there's… something else happening here."
"One moment, Mister Washington," the woman said, holding up her finger for a moment until, finally, the man blinked and they looked away from each other. "Yes there is. Could you make a point here and share with us who it was you voted for in the recent election? I assure you it will only be used to settle a point and not effect your proposal whatsoever."
Wash stared blinkingly at them and shook his head. "I'm…. afraid that I missed out on the recent election. There was a… lot going on personally. And I'm note even sure where the polling place in Blood Gulch is."
"You didn't vote!?" the man cried out. "My god, man, that is your civic duty!"
"There are people still living in Blood Gulch?" the woman asked, seemingly honestly baffled.
"Why do people keep asking that?" Wash replied, growing more and more concerned.
"Oh… it's… nothing," the man assured Washington in a tone that could not have been less reassuring if someone tried.
"Yes, it is," the woman snapped. "There have been no infrastructure projects in that neighborhood since before the Invasion."
Wash tilted his head. "I've noticed," he said dryly. "But you can see why I haven't actually been paying much attention to politics lately."
"Still not an excuse! Why, you don't even know who your mayor is!" the man said, aghast.
"No one knows who the mayor is until they finish the recounts!" the woman hissed before taking a deep breath and visibly collecting herself. Her gaze returned to Washington. "I'm sure you have questions about who you're dealing with," she said.
"Among others," Wash agreed.
"I am Vanessa Kimball," she informed him. "And this is Donald Doyle. One of us is mayor of the city… but the election has been tense. And close. We're currently undergoing the third recount."
Having never been the most impressed person with politicians, Wash crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Yes, well, I bet if one of you had been campaigning in Blood Gulch it would've been less tight"
"An oversight to be corrected for sure," Doyle replied candidly.
"Okay," Wash said. "Why am I here, though?"
"Well, Washington… you're a superhero," Kimball informed him. "You're the first superhero that has been reported in the city since the Invasion. The idea of superheroes being back has been of much interest to the rest of the city, even if they've barely seen more of you than rumors."
Wash raised a brow again. "I'm… not the kind of superhero that goes around in a cape and inspires people. I work best in the shadows. It's…. Well, it was the kind of hero my mentor was. I'm not sure my tactics would be enjoyed so much in the spotlight." He then shifted his gaze quite a few times between them. "And I'm not keen on being used in the shadows by any party…. especially an extension of the government."
"You seem to be misunderstanding what is the single bipartisan agreement between us," Doyle said. "We both agree that it has been too long in this city without superheroes. That we want to utilize the potential of superheroes for the good of the entire city again. Put a spotlight on them, if you will."
"It is an idea of uniting and leading this city, and we need a senior superhero – someone with experience and a connection already forged with the people of the city, to head it," Kimball continued, arms crossed and eyes set with an intimidating glare.
"I maintain what I said," Wash said holding up his hands. "I do not work in the spotlight. That leads to… to giant blenders on main street."
The two looked at him like he had lobsters crawling out of his hair.
"Giant blenders?" Doyle repeated.
"If you don't want to be in front of the press or on newspapers, I can understand. Hell, I can even sympathize," Kimball replied, walking toward Wash and putting a strong hand on his shoulder. "But give the second part some consideration, that's all I ask."
"Okay," Wash said warily. "The second part being…"
Kimball guided Wash back toward the door with Doyle flanking his other side. There seemed to be an unspoken pride shared between the two of them as they opened the door and revealed a small group of four teenagers had gathered outside.
Waiting. Dramatically posed. And in some of the worst outfits Wash had ever seen in his life.
"What in the hell?" Wash muttered.
"Mister Washington, meet the Cadets," Kimball announced. "Teens in training to become the heroes this city deserves."
"Of course, the in training part would be where we have interest in expanding our relationship with you, Mister Washington," Doyle continued. "They need guidance – and the city is more than ready to aid your cause in any way… should you choose to pick it up."
"I don't do sidekicks," Wash said plainly.
"Um, Mister Washington," a familiar voice called out.
Wash squinted looking toward the four and realizing the demure one greatly overshown by the flashy, cape swearing atrocity that had made his way to the front, and realized with some shock that there was good reason he recognized that voice. "Katie?"
She waved awkwardly. "We're not really going to be your sidekicks, Sir. We're already a team–"
"Of teenage superheroes!" the boisterous one yelled out, hands on his hips.
His skin sparkled. Wash was creeped out. the angsty one with his arms crossed annoyed. The tallest of them didn't seem to notice anything about his teammates as he stood in his heroic pose.
"We just… We really need a mentor," Katie continued, putting her hands together and looking at him with big doe eyes. "Please!"
Feeling cornered, Wash wanted to say no. He wanted to say, after everything he had been through, after the disaster that was Freelancer, he deserved to not be put in this situation by anyone – especially not a body of government.
But…
When he was with Freelancer, he wasn't the hero. He was barely regarded as a hero, making his time with the team a bitter, scrambled memory.
Here, just maybe, this was that chance he had always wanted to make the difference. To prove anyone who ever said otherwise wrong.
"Okay," Wash said, to the cheering of all those around him. "On one condition."
Doyle and Kimball looked at each other then to Washington.
"What would that condition be?" Doyle asked worriedly.
"I'm going to need to make an addition to this team," Wash informed them.