As always thank you for the lovely reviews. I'm so excited that you guys are digging this. So basically everything is about to change. Starting with this chapter. Epic stuff is ahead, love.
"I guess we're all in trouble, huh? Black clouds are upon us and it's doomsday on the other side of boy survived a severed head when most would just give up for dead. So I said: "Al B. don't get so upset." We all get scared of sticking out our necks. It's expected. So panic"-Do The Panic by Phantom Planet.
4 days later…
"Eleanor Jean Covelli, get in here!" Malcolm screamed loudly as he pulled out a brown box. He sat back in his black recliner, listening to the news buzz tunelessly. His daughter Ellie rushed into the room eagerly.
"What's going on?" she asked with a frightened look on her face. She had been on edge all week.
"Do you know what this?" Malcolm held up the brown box. Ellie looked it over suspiciously, and then scratched her head.
"A box?" she guessed. Malcolm scoffed disgustedly.
"Not just any box. The last box. We are officially done unpacking!" Malcolm stated happily. Ellie nodded with an eyebrow raised.
"I'm glad to see you're so stoked to open a box of kitchen supplies." Ellie grinned. Malcolm gave another scoff.
"You're harshing my mellow kid." Malcolm shook his head, "What are you doing tonight?" he asked realizing it was Friday night.
"Me? Why I'm just a friendless loser, I shall spend my night being antisocial and completely alone." Ellie sighed dramatically as she laid out on the couch her feet resting in the air. Malcolm wasn't buying it.
"You got plans with Virgil and Richie again?" he asked.
"Yep, mind if we order a pizza and steal the living room tonight?" she requested.
"Yeah okay, I'll leave some money out on the counter before I go to work." Malcolm nodded and he began to pull the black tape off the box.
"You are the best, father." Ellie stated from the couch.
"No problem sweetheart." Malcolm smiled, then he turned his attention back to the box on his lap. He finished opening it and declared, "It's the toaster oven!"
"Spectacular! I was missing the smell of freshly burnt bagels in the morning." Ellie did a mini-dance of fake happiness.
"Oh goody! I can make you breakfast tomorrow!" Malcolm said enthusiastically. Ellie's dance ceased and she narrowed her eyes.
"Don't you threaten me father!" she said wagging her finger defiantly.
"Oh maybe I'll make you lunch and dinner too, I don't have to go to work tomorrow!" Malcolm said excitedly.
"No! The toaster oven going back into storage!" Ellie made a lunge for the brown device.
"Aren't you supposed to be making this living room actually livable so you can have your fiesta in here?" Malcolm asked.
"Oh, please. It just needs a little vacuuming and some Febreeze so it doesn't smell like the inside of Pete's gym bag." Ellie stated and grabbed a can of Febreeze off of the hutch and sprayed the couches down.
"You're so enthusiastic about creating a habitable environment."
"Look at me! I'm the Febreeze Fairy!" she declared happily.
"Wow, you're really hard core…" Malcolm stated in an uninterested tone as he began trying to untangle the wire from the toaster oven.
"Yeah, I know, I'm hardcore to the max." Ellie said as she sprayed some Febreeze over in the left side of the room, but the fan kicked on and the wind blew the spray back into her eyes, "AH! Daddy! There's a lavender fragrance in my EYES! Help!" she shrieked loudly.
"Go wash them out with water, stupid child!" Malcolm shouted over her yelling.
"Calling me stupid isn't raising my intelligence or self esteem!" Ellie pouted as she ran for the bathroom. She quickly ran some warm water and splashed her face with her eyes wide open. She let out a shudder and used a towel to wipe her face dry. She regained her stature and returned to the living room.
"You're so slick." Malcolm grinned at her.
"Yeah, well that's how I roll." Ellie sat down on the couch and grabbed the remote off of the small end table. She turned up the volume on the television and then jumped to her feet as soon as she caught wind of the news report.
"What?" Malcolm asked.
"That jumped up little pyro is in the process of burning down a park!" Ellie groaned. She stood up and grabbed the phone off the table. Malcolm watched as she quickly punched in a few numbers and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Hey Richie, listen can you guys come over for 6 instead of 5:30?" a pause. "Great! See you soon." She hung up.
"You're only giving yourself a half an hour? How low are your expectations for this guy? I wish you'd take things more seriously, how's the burn?" Malcolm asked.
"It'd be great if people would refrain from punching me in the stomach." Ellie sighed loudly. Malcolm's face fell into a worried expression and Ellie immediately regretted mentioning it. "I'm fine dad… if I was hurt too bad I wouldn't be risking my neck."
"That's a lie and you know it." Malcolm sighed and Ellie stared for a few moments.
"I won't go if you don't want me to." She reluctantly said.
"El, I never want you to go. I always wanted you to chose a more passive vent for your powers, like running a marathon or going to the Olympics or something. But you love helping people; it's what makes you happy. And while I might not want you to go, I accept that you have to." Malcolm explained to her. Ellie smiled and kissed the top of his head.
"You're the most understanding father in the universe. I love you daddy." She stated while giving him a hug.
"I love you too." He said, "I'm leaving for work in 10, the money will be on the counter and you might wanna hurry before your company gets here." He suggested.
"Got it." Ellie made a rush for the stairs.
"And El!" Malcolm called. Ellie stopped at the bottom stair and turned around. "Be safe."
"Always." She said with another small smile. And with that, Velocity sped out of the Covelli household.
Static was already on the scene when Velocity got there. Unfortunately, he had been knocked out of the sky right when Velocity got there. She sighed as she looked down at him.
"Are you okay?" she asked and offered her hand. Static reluctantly took it.
"So we're on a compassionate basis now?" he asked.
"How's your head doing? Didn't look too good, last time I saw you."
"It's okay…"
"Where's your wingman?" she asked as she looked around and noted Richie was not around.
"He's not my wingman." Static protested. But there was no time to argue as flames shot between the electric hero and the swift heroine.
"Hey Hot Shot! Long time no see!" Velocity waved and shouted excitedly. Francis Stone light up and shot a real killer fire ball at her. But she was too quick and he missed. Velocity sped and hit him with a drop kick. Hotstreak hit the ground and glared at her.
"Where's your little fire circle now?" Velocity said making fake cries of terror. Hotstreak grinned and flames shot into a circle and encased the two meta-humans.
"You're in it." He informed her. Velocity looked around hopelessly, there was no where to run unless she went through fire. And she wouldn't be able to build up enough speed to hit Hotstreak with any force. Hotstreak knew it too. He began to approach menacingly and Velocity felt herself do the panic.
"You've caused enough problems Speedster!" Hotstreak announced.
"Bring it Hot Shot!" Velocity growled. An extra hot fire ball just barely missed her, as Hotstreak let out an angry yell.
"It's Hotstreak!" the red head flared. She easily dodged the second ball and skidded to a stop only an inch away from his face.
"And my name isn't Speedster, Hot Head!" She said. The pyro only growled and got frustrated as she sped out of the way of his third attempt.
"Hold still, you little…" Hotstreak was cut off, as she sped behind him and pushed him forward. He landed face down and remained on the ground.
"You gotta be better than that." Velocity shook her head and went to grab his wrists so she could restrain him. But the pyro flipped around and grabbed her by the forearms. She gasped in surprise as he lifted her to his eye level.
"Got you now…" his hands steamed against her flesh, "…Speedy." He said with an evil grin. She winced in pain and desperately tried to pull away from the older man's grip. She may have been faster, but Francis was most definitely stronger.
"You gotta be… hotter than this…" she said through clenched teeth. Hotstreak let out a small amused laugh.
"I guess I'll just have to turn up the heat huh?" Hotstreak said, and Velocity let out a gasp as she felt flames radiate from his hands. She shuttered and her knees caved in, Hotstreak was now the only thing holding her up. Once the flames had died down, Velocity let out a deep breath and then her breathing reduced to anxious panting.
"You're such a burnout…" Velocity growled. Her tone asked for more even though her body was completely limp.
"Burn out huh?" Hotstreak gripped tighter fists tightening around her pale arms, preparing to ignite once more. A ball of electricity hit Francis square in the back, he yelled in pain and released the girl. She crumpled and laid motionless on the sidewalk. Static lowered himself to the scene, he moved to try and pick up Velocity, when Hotstreak sprang back to his feet. Static simply lifted a fire hydrant from its resting place and let it douse Francis with freezing cold water. The angry pyro seemed to be less of a challenge for the electric hero lately. Static resumed the task of lifting Velocity into a bridal carry, and hopped back on his disc before zooming through the clear skies of Dakota.
Static set Velocity down on the springy couch in the gas station. The yellow clad heroine groaned and turned over on her side in her sleep. Static sat back in a chair and only had a few moments before he heard the gas station door open and Richie's foot steps.
"What am I supposed to come all the way down here for? We were supposed to be at Ellie's 20 minutes ago." Richie reminded him as he stepped in.
"Uh, I think we've got some bigger problems." Static admitted. Richie furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and then he caught sight of Velocity passed out on the couch.
"Why is Velocity unconscious on the sofa?" Richie questioned.
"Well… Hotstreak completely thrashed her and I couldn't just leave her there. Someone could have unmasked her." Static shrugged.
"Well was it a head injury? Does she have to go to the hospital?" Richie asked as he bent over closer and his fingers brushed the side of her head. Immediately pale bony finger wrapped themselves around Richie's wrist as the heroine gasped awake.
"What are you doing?!" She questioned quickly.
"Uh… I was just checking to make sure you weren't hit in the head… please don't kill me." Richie said uneasily because Velocity was still gripping his wrist, rather tightly.
"Of course I won't kill you." Velocity said and released the blonds arm. "Where am I?" she questioned.
"Uh… The Abandoned Gas Station Of Solitude." Virgil informed her. She sat up and took a look around.
"Huh, I guess it beats Candyland…" Velocity shrugged.
"Candyland?"
"It's my hardcore lair."
"Hardcore lair?"
"It's my finished basement where I take care of all my superhero nonsense."
"And you call it Candyland?"
"What better way to thwart villains from raiding my hardcore lair? They see a sign that says Candyland and just assume it's a game closet." Velocity questioned as though it made all the sense in the world.
"Right… weird. But you seem to be okay now, so…!" Static motioned for the door. Velocity tilted her head curiously.
"Why'd ya save me Static?" she questioned.
"Whaddaya mean?"
"You saved me… and I am curious. You secretly wanna be best friends, don't you? How great is that! Oh, we can give each other fashion tips. Like I gotta say, your costume could definitely use some more pastels." She commented.
"You could use some better fighting skills, you know considering the fact Hotstreak took you down so easily."
"Oh you're back into denial of your deep burning fondness towards me?"
"What are you even talking about?!"
"Just face it Static, you've grown attached to me."
"No I have not!"
"Have too!"
"Have not!"
"Have-"
"Guys!" Richie interrupted. The two heroes ceased their bickering and looked at Richie. "Check out the news!" They both turned and stared as a news reporter came on the screen.
"In what appears to be a bleak day for Dakota we've had two Bang Baby attacks. The first was by the infamous Hotstreak at a local park, Static and Velocity were on the scene and took down the fiery meta-human within a few moments. Unfortunately, there was also a jailbreak on the other side of Dakota, and the Bang Babies Shiv and Talon escaped from lock-" Static turned off the television with a look of realization on his face.
"Hotstreak was a distraction… Ebon used it to break Shiv and Talon out." He stated.
"Damn it!" Velocity stomped her foot, "I hate being tricked."
"What is Ebon planning?" Static asked.
"I don't know, but he told me that I should watch my back… and I'm getting kinda freaked." Richie admitted.
"Don't worry man, Ebon wouldn't come after you." Static comforted and put a hand on his back. Velocity was quiet her eyes looking out the window.
"Maybe he will…" Velocity said.
"You sure know how to console someone." Static snapped.
"Ebon said that Richie is an asset to us…" Velocity recalled, "Maybe he's gonna try and find out about Static and Velocity through him…" she said grabbing the front of Richie's shirt. Richie's blue eyes were fearful.
"What do you mean? Like kidnap and torture?" Static asked. Richie's eyes widened even farther.
"I don't think he would kidnap him, we would definitely notice that. Maybe he would spy on him."
"Hey, you guys can really stop trying to calm me down, because I've reached a whole new level of freaking out." Richie informed them.
"I'm just saying, he could try and find out if you're hanging out with Static… you know underneath the mask." Velocity motioned to his face, "He could narrow it down to all of Richie's tall, dark, and dreadlock haired friends… which consist of Virgil and…" Velocity froze and muttered, "Virgil?"
Both Static and Richie tensed and looked at each other then back to Velocity.
"Virgil!" Velocity got to her feet, "Oh my God! You're Virgil Hawkins!"
"Wha… who is that? I've no idea, who that is…" Static mumbled in defense. Velocity sped over in front of him and ripped his mask off his face.
"I knew it!" Velocity yelled. Virgil's hands moved to his bare face and he looked at her in shook.
"Whoa! I saved you from having some scum press member unmask you in the middle of the park and you just go ahead and snatch mine off my face?! How is that fair?" Virgil growled.
"Guess it isn't." Velocity said as she took off her mask. Virgil and Richie's jaws dropped.
"Ellie?" they questioned in unison.
"Yep."
"You're Velocity?" Virgil asked.
"Yep."
"Oh my God… Richie are you a superhero too?!" Virgil turned around and interrogated.
"Uh… no… bro, I'm pretty sure I'm not." (A/N: Haha he absolutely is and he just doesn't know it yet!) Richie stated.
"Hey guys, can we discuss this further in Candyland?" Ellie questioned. Virgil and Richie both turned to her with looks of confusion on their faces.
"…why?" Richie finally asked.
"Because we can order a pizza and Candyland doesn't smell like… an abandoned gas station." Ellie stated.
"Fine… we can go to Candyland." Virgil agreed.
"Sweet!"
Okay so it's all out in the open now. And I am sorry about the totally anticlimactic discovery of their secret identities. It was the only thing I could roll with. And the whole Ebon stalking Richie deal is very similar to the Gear episode. That was also the only thing I could think of.
Don't be shy, hit that review button :D