James is going on some kind of tangent that, frankly, Eclipse isn't too keen on hearing. He's heard these things a thousand times before; hearing it again isn't going to help him, nor save him. It all boils down to "drugs are bad, stop doing drugs", and did that stop him? No. So what the fuck does James think will happen here? Flatter him enough, and he'll just magically quit? He already fuckin' quit to get in here, and guess what? He's getting weaker because he's a super that
needs drugs. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo.
If he keeps off the drugs, then not only will he lose his job, he'll lose his powers too. And where will that land him? Nowhere, because he never finished college or got a degree.
It was better back in Red Ring; at least they didn't pester him with useless speeches and whatever the fuck else. Just make the drugs and call it a day, occasionally go take down some rival ganglord for Shroud, or kill some annoying narc. It was
simple.James makes a decent attempt at humor, and Eclipse bursts out laughing to the point he's slamming his fist against the table. That would be good, if it weren't for the rest of his talk.
Can't stop laughing--a shadow blade manifests in his hand, and he jams it into the table before standing up.
"Understood."So disappointing.
Climax Jumping
So many craters outside of this poor, poor SDN office...
Madcap finds himself on the rooftop, looking up at the gray clouds above. Rain beats against his head like bullets, and for the first time ever, he can barely think with the helmet on! It's funny... He stands over the rooftop ledge and crosses his arms.
If every hero were an industry plant, then you know what? He'll show all these corporate heroes what a REAL hero looks like! Heroism, badassery, and most of all... saving the day! He'll do it all, no problem. He's done it a thousand times before in front of adoring crowds and teary-eyed fans; who's gonna stop him from doing it a thousand times more? Nobody!
He leaps off the roof with unparalleled vigor, a trail of water behind his leading foot, and dives down....
And crashes into the concrete.
The receptionist opens the door a moment later.
"Hey, you, uh... You good there?""Never better!" Madcap rests his head in his arms and crosses his legs as clothes soak in the rain.
"Uh, yeah.... Okay."Samson leaves afterward, and Madcap finds himself lying there for a few minutes as his eyelids fight to close. He's gonna be the most successful hero ever--completely unstoppable--the best in the world. Way better than Blonde Blazer, way better than Phenomaman, way better than Lightning Girl, way better than...
Finding & Flying
"I think he knowssss!!!"
Finding Madcap is harder than it seems. Checking the break room shows nothing; checking the gym shows nothing; around the offices, no dice. It’s only until Lightning Girl checks the front desk and sees Madcap laid out on the concrete in his own little crater that she finds him.
He just lets rain drum against his helmet as he looks up at the sky.
The receptionist, Samson, looks over awkwardly.
“Does, uh… he always do that?”She shrugged, replying in turn to Samson, the demon from a random dimension, still friendly, just in a way that only SDN could approve.
“No. Not as far as I’m….aware.” Lightning Girl replied, shrugging, the dispatch from James ringing in her ears. She strolled with big steps through the big doors, sunk as a shipping container dropped from on high in concrete.
“Madcap, you alright? Good to go for the club?” She asked him, her voice calling, wondering what was going on. Was he upset from earlier? From the chat with James? It must have been. But she played open, knowing it was probably best not to respond. Especially, if she had another person on another shitlist.
“I’ll take you there. Easier if we fly. Even in this weather.”It takes a few seconds for him to respond. Madcap jolts up, stretching his arms over his head.
“Huh? OH!” He rubs the eyes of his mask.
“Club? We’re gonna go clubbing?”Lightning Girl laughed, peeling around her hip pack, pulling out her rubber gloves, a necessity to carry Madcap without electrocuting him to death. If he spotted, the rain was gently creating a small hum against her neck, even in spite of a woolen neckwarmer.
“We’re working as security for the club. Making sure nobody bad gets in. And all the other heroes and people in this city can have some fun.” She smiled, knowing it wasn’t a perfect sell, but, being polite and as honest as she could be, offering him a hand.
“So what is it going to be? Am I carrying you bridal again? Or what am I doing?” She chuckled, the gentle, warm sarcasm British in tone, but despite the pins and needles, she was still as positive as ever.
“Um… you can just do whatever works best for you.” Madcap leaps back onto his feet, water dripping off him. His voice is coated with a strange uncertainty, and he seems half ready to say no, but shrugs. Whatever Lightning Girl was selling, he… didn’t seem to be buying it. Not one bit.
Lightning Girl shrugged, nodding, gently reaching down and hoisting him into her arms, resting one of his arms over her shoulder, pulsating with power behind her costume, nodding back.
“Sure thing.” She replied, keeping it short and sweet, wondering why he was quieter than usual. He felt a lot less heavy than the other night. Like, was he less dense? Well, he was dense, just in a different way, but strangely, Lightning Girl didn’t mind him. He was what he was, and well, maybe her idea would work, maybe it wouldn’t.
“Hang tight!” And on that note, the heroine and the airpooling Madcap were launched into the sky, with a crackle of electricity behind her like a localised storm turning water into a sharp, tangy ozone smell. It felt like setting fire to plastic mixed with just petrichor (the smell tarmac makes when water evaporates from it in heat), but even sharper, almost, as she knew he wouldn’t enjoy the rain, but fuck it, neither did she.
He was quiet, wasn’t he. Fuck. She had to say something. Had he felt this down?
“Madcap, you definitely sure you’re ok?” She asked, hoping to get more response out. That was all she could ask him for, especially if the job ahead was an extremely social one.
Madcap covers part of his helmet with his hand, as if he were trying to block out the smell. He looks over at the city below, not really sure what he’s looking at or focusing on. The rain was bad enough–no pretty lightshow or things to look at, at least not to him.
Another minute of silence.
“I had the COOLEST nap earlier! I dreamt of a world that was super, super heroic and HONEST!” It’s obvious he’s trying to keep up his old energy; it’s forced, even for him.
“Cause.” He lets his head hang back.
“The rain was annoying at first, but then it was kinda calming.”Lightning Girl almost felt sorry for him for a moment with that last aspect. Shit. He wasn’t taking this well. She may not have had the highest brainpower of the team, but she had some charisma about her, at least, enough to peel into what was going on.
“You’ll catch a cold if you stay in the rain, Madcap. But then again…"She turned, the beaming lights of VICE puncturing into the wave-like cloud, the grey abyss broken with the sky taking on an ethereal blue-green haze in the rainy sky over Claremont. This was cool. Okay, even London at night wasn’t like this. Holy shit, it was like something from a game almost.
“Here we are in the thick of it, right? Kinda feels atmospheric. If I didn’t fucking hate this on my skin.” She chuckled to herself, trying to make conversation, but aware that it wasn’t going to be much.
“What did you dream of?” She asked him, an unusually poignant question from her, her cape fluttering in the damp, spray pouring off her feet, as they were closing the distance to the club, quickly. She hadn’t been energised that much, she could keep up with a commercial airliner if she wanted to if she spent a few hours leeching away off a high voltage power line. So this was comparatively slower, and in rain, less painful as the water bristled like lumps of needles into her body.
He didn’t like the rain much either, not that he’d admit to her. The sound of droplets hitting his helmet was deafening to the point he could barely hear himself think, a nonstop barrage of bullets. It was gross. Made for a good nap, though.
“I forgot!” He shrugs and almost leaves it as that as he notices the club.
“It doesn’t really matter.”Madcap goes back into another bout of silence, just staring up at the hazy sky. It was almost beautiful. Maybe, maybe not. It’d be a lot better without the gray clouds. A lot of things would be better without gray clouds. He looks down again, sees that the club is getting ever closer as Lightning Girl flies…
“Hey,” bug-eyes bore into hers,
“watch THIS!”And he rolls out of her carry and falls down to the club with a boisterous splash.
Shock. And.
Awe!Anyone who was waiting in that queue (or whatever poor person was nearby) was splattered in water, and screaming in amazement;
that’s how to make a heroic entrance.
Lightning Girl sighed, wondering quite the fuck was wrong with him. He felt like an infant addicted to this, as she only chuckled, Madcap slamming into a puddle, while Lightning Girl landed gracefully down, a gentle spray of water as she shot him a look of “what the fuck”, before breaking back to a chuckle.
“Come on then. Let’s get to work. We’ll work on that.” She seemed almost regal, a classic hero in a classic mould, walking past the crowd, picking up the security team’s entrance right by the side.
He pumps a fist into the air, then salutes.
“MA’AM, YES, MA’AM. No villains will come inside this club… or banned people.” He’s quick to follow her into the security team entrance.
Balloon Boy
He won't be needing that old, boring balloon anyway.
"Eclipse, I've got a kid in northern Claremont who's lost his balloon in a tree."
Eclipse groans as he begins suiting up in the darkest corner of the locker room.
"Yes, I know, but if you could get there and get it back, that would be great."
Fuck. He heard that? Whoops. What was up with this dispatcher and sending him out to meet kids anyway? Seriously, annoying... Eclipse gets his helmet on and stays silent on the way there--no point in making a worse impression than he already has; he needs to be on his best for his deal to work out.
And what if it doesn't work out? What then?
The place he arrives in is nice and quiet. Kind of cozy. He looks up at the tallest tree he's ever seen, and yeah, that balloon is
up there. But that's not the problem.
"Wow, a hero from SDN! Thanks for coming so fast!"
That's the problem.
The kid is looking at him with stars in his eyes, and his parents? They actually look proud. This is weird. Sure, his suit is engineered look as intimidating as possible, but he didn't consider that it would... also appeal to an 8-year-old's sense of cool--he should've seen that coming.
Eclipse glances at the parents again before crouching down to meet the kid. He tries his best to keep his blades away from the kid's skin.
"Could you get the balloon from the tree? It would be so cool if you could!" The kid beams at him.
He takes another look at the balloon stuck up there. He
could get it, if he wanted to, and it makes him feel bad to say no, but...
"Is it your birthday today?""Yeah! I'm 8 years old now."
"Okay..." Eclipse reaches into the kid's shadow--he notices his parents flinch a bit, but they calm down the moment they realize what's happening.
"You won't be needing your old balloon, there's a prettier one hidden in your shadow,"The kid's shadow is warm like a fireplace, filled with hope and happy spirits. It's funny, really, his shadow felt the same way once--only a slight cold edge that grew larger as he got older. He's getting carried away. The usual sweating kicks in, and the rain is beginning to throw him off. Form the 8... grab the string... don't poke the kid with his armor... he needs to get that dulled down. Either that or James stops sending him on dispatches like this, seriously, it's getting ridiculous.
Eclipse pulls an '8' balloon out from the kid's shadow and hands it to him as gently as possible. The kid grabs it eagerly; his parents seem impressed, too. "Thank you so much, mister hero!" The kid pokes at the shadow balloon, voice filled with awe.
"Happy birthday." Eclipse stands up and leaves the kid to it. He addresses the parents next.
"It'll last for around a day, maybe less. Keep it out of the light, he'll have it forever."The moment he gets far enough away from the family, he sends James another complaint:
"No more kid missions, they're annoying."
Small Iron
Who let this guy bounce? Seriously?!
This line is going amazingly! Now that the amazing ex-vigilante-turned-hero is here to watch over it, no bad guy is getting into this club! Oh, and Lightning Girl is there too. He shrugs as the next person stands in line; a quick pat-down, Madcap has to hold himself back from picking the poor person's wallet--he's more than well-off, and stealing... is only right if it's for the greater good. Then an ID check, where he can't really make out the words, but the person looks old enough.
"Next!" Madcap pushes the person in, next one comes in.
"PFT--WHU--"
Madcap already has his hands inside the person's pocket and pulls out...
"You monster! Get out of this club, carrying cocaine around in broad afternoonlight, and at a hero bar! That's plain evil!" He slaps the person with a drug baggie, then manages to shove the villain hard to the ground.
"Next!"Next 'hero' to come in looks young... too young... something on the ID doesn't match up--the picture isn't even the same! Madcap grabs the kid by the collar and looks them dead in the eye.
"You get out of here and don't come back until you're allowed. You understand that? There are heroes in this club that'll mop the floor with you. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!" He promptly drops the now disgruntled kid, ignoring their protests and promptly yanking them to the side by the hair and waving them off.
"Bye-bye! Grow up into a nice hero. NEXT!"The rest of the queue is boring... boring, boring, boring. He recognizes a few heroes in line and gives them the old 'Madcap Special' before ushering them inside, but it's b
oooooring standing out in the same spot and letting all these other heroes stay dry. But it's for the greater good! Er, he thinks, at least.
It isn't until someone goon tries to walk in with a hidden gun that he understands! Madcap yanks the gun out of their slippery hands and bashes the butt of their pistol into their head! He straddles the villain and keeps beating their head in until the stock of their pistol is caked in wet crimson and his knuckles hurt. A clatter of weapons and other illegal items follows the assault, the onlookers rightfully deciding not mess with the great hero Madcap.
No villain is getting inside this club, not on his watch!
Never on his watch.
"Okay, who's next?! AND NO WEAPONS!" Madcap leaps back onto his feet, pumping a fist into the air to his adoring fans. He starts spinning the confiscated pistol around his offhand, and up...
"Ow!" he throws the pistol into his own face and it 'clunks' against his helmet.
"And that's..." Madcap poses low to the ground.
"How a HERO does it!"By the time the shift ends, Madcap takes Lightning Girl up on her offer to fly back, though he keeps the bloodied pistol with him. Better in his hands than a villain's! Not that he tells or shows anyone it, obviously.
The Cowl Inn
Everyone is here, get wild!
Well, apparently everyone's dispatches went well enough that A-Team went out for drinks at a cozy, but somewhat tacky hero bar at the end of the shift. Eclipse only went because it's done as a show of respect or something like that; he's not here to make friends anyway. His eyes wander over to Asteroid, Payback, and Lightning Girl--the latter he's never worked with before, but the former two? He's impressed enough with their work. Hard to believe Asteroid was a criminal, though. Madcap, on the other hand, was less than adamant about coming until he heard that there'd be a karaoke machine.
Perhaps, for the good of the world, he was not allowed near the karaoke machine after arriving at the bar, instead sandwiched between Asteroid and the nearest wall. He stares down at the dirty fries as Lightning Girl eats them, with a vacant, bug-eyed expression. A gloved hand hovers awkwardly over the fries before immediately snapping to grab a glass of water and unclasping the mouth guard of his helmet. Sweet, sweet cold water!
"I hate beer, and I HATE alcohol 'cuz its all EVIL!" It's weird seeing a normal mouth under Madcap's helmet--he never took it off, and even then, he's leaving the top part on. He shoves a few more fries in his mouth as he attempts to shake off the feeling of disappointment? From seeping into his skin. He's surrounded by posers, and fakes, corporate hooligans, and he's just supposed to sit here and
like it? That's weird. He hates feeling weird.
He HATES hearing Lightning Girl act like she didn't hurt two of her teammates before the rest of the A-Team formed. He HATES how James always yells at him for a mistake on par with Lightning Girl's, he hate, hate,
HATES... Madcap begins to choke on the fries, coughing loudly.
"Ughh... I'm GOOD!"Yeah, he's also 'out of this world'. Cause he's a real hero! Who saves real people! FOR FREE.
"Hey, Cosmic buddies," he looks at the rest of the table excitedly, wiping his hands of grease,
"Wanna karaoke? I wanna sing, and no one's called dibs yet! Singing about heroics is like. Prime hero stuff. We gotta do it!" He flashes Fenom a toothy smile and wraps an arm around Asteroid.
"If you guys can't sing, then that's fine... CAUSE I CAN'T EITHER!"Meanwhile, Eclipse has his helmet resting in his lap, with the strongest glass of alcohol he could get his hands on. James was awfully jovial, Princess was as quaint as ever, Payback was Payback, and Hat Trick looked cheery as usual. Then James tries to spark some conversation, but the only thing Eclipse thinks of...
"Cheers." He clinks his drink against James' with a wry smile before chugging his drink down. Fun.
Shit's
strong. Was the drink called... Shadow... something--he can't remember, but it tastes like pure ethanol. Strongest thing he's drunk since he left Red Ring, that's for sure.
Then James starts to ask what everyone's weekend plans are, and Eclipse can only respond with a boring shrug and a lame:
"Nothing." Either sleep all day, or get pissed off after eating every piece of junk in his kitchen. Outside of SDN work, he's not exactly sure what he should be doing in his time, considering his usual... isn't available to him. Not yet.
"There are hills to go walking in and endless traffic to get lost in, and lots of desert. I don't know how you all do it, so I guess that got me...."
"It's easier with powers," he muses,
"clear your mind, sit in the dark, and focus. The shadows will take you wherever you wish."He leans back in his seat and cracks a laugh.
"But it's easier if you fly."
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