Ditch rested her gaze on Ecto. "It's a possibility for the future." She said. "I won't be giving out everyone's information. That's up to them if they want to share their contacts with you. For now, you'll reach the others through me if necessary, or by coming here." Ditch crossed her arms. "Give it time, Ecto. For now, go home. Get some rest. We're done here today."
Ditch was the last to leave the auditorium after it had cleared out. The emptiness of such a large space was daunting to her now. She left with a renewed feeling of hope, one that had slowly but surely been leaving her after all those years of fruitless effort.
We're coming for you, Umbra. She thought to herself as the doors closed behind her.
Chapter Two - END
Chapter Three - Blue Skeletons
Channel 7 - Millennium City News!
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I'm Scotty Declan, and this is channel 7 news with a breaking first story! The famous hero Lava King has followed in the series of missing of powered individuals since the appearance of the villain Umbra. At first feared for being such a destructive force Lava King has slowly entered the hearts of everyone for the valiant job of keeping this city safer and cleaning away the criminal elements. In other news a large explosion which left no traces of a cause rocked Mermary lane not far from the orphanage, where thankfully the children were away on a field trip sponsored by the Shrine family at the time, afterwards during a police investigation of the scene millions of stolen dollars found in bags, stolen by the shady Wall Walker, were discovered in the headmasters office who is now under investigation. A shame that so much money was kept from improving the lives of the poor orphans however it was seized by the police in a follow up to an ongoing case of suspected corruption on the part of the headmaster who is now in custody. Now a short break for the weather with our wizard of meteorology Oscar Fontaine, what’s the forecast looking like Oscar?"
"Thanks Scotty. In the vein of more bad news, we unfortunately have a bad weather front moving into the city. The rain that was predicted to peter out overnight has stuck with us, leading to a dark and dreary day. Signs point to the rain breaking around dusk tonight though, with clear skies continuing into tomorrow. Back to you, Scotty."
"Things are looking up it seems both in the weather and in crime fighting it seems. Today the infamous Wall Walker, a thief who has been plaguing banks across the city has finally been caught all thanks to Captain Powerhouse, our glorious and heart filled strong man, who followed through on his promise to bring the thefts to an end. Lets go to our own ace reporter, Sarah Fortune, who is currently on the scene where the heroic bruiser is receiving public thanks from the mayor for his contribution outside the precinct holding Wall Walker."
“Thank you Scotty, for your
superb work once again! I’m on site outside Millennium City’s Power Police Precinct where just a short time ago Captain Powerhouse succeeded in his
nerve wracking threat to bring Wall Walker to justice. As you can see behind me on the steps of our city’s greatest Mayor Sentren has arrived to give his personal thanks to Captain Powerhouse, and of course here we are to give you the latest – let’s listen in.”
“Citizens! We’re gathered here today to thank one of our most illustrious men for once again keeping peace in our fair city; a man of justice, a man of morals, a man that every person in Millennium City can look up to in order to do the right thing. It is because of this man that we can say justice has been served and the streets are once again safe to walk, as the notorious Wall Walker has been safely handed over to our men in blue. Please, join me in celebrating our prestigious city hero, Captain Powerhouse!”
“Thank you Mayor Sentren. It’s an honor to once again be able to help our city, and fulfill the promise I made last time I crossed paths with Wall Walker to crush the roach beneath my boots.”
“The city thanks you for it, Captain Powerhouse, as does every citizen who lives in it.”
“… And there you have it, Scotty! Captain Powerhouse is sure to add this to his long list of accomplishments, and here’s hoping that he won’t be needed for a long,
long time. Back to you, Scotty!”
"Thank you Sarah! I'm afraid that's everything we have for tonight folks at home, but tune in tomorrow for your number one source for news, Channel 7! Stay safe and be good!"
~~~~~~
Four days. Four days since you'd heard anything from Ditch. Suspicious? Maybe. Perhaps you were just grateful for the time to think and recover. Maybe you’d tried texting her through the number she’d last contacted you with, but no response. Only if you were lucky would you catch her at HQ, and even then she wouldn’t stay long.
But after days of silence, you finally received another text message from Ditch.
“I have new info on how Umbra has been capturing heroes. A game changer. I know we got off to a shaky start, but I want to give it one more go. HQ, 11pm.”
Her message was enticing; new info. A “game changer”. New info meant new hope, more of a chance. The number of heroes was slowly but surely dwindling.. Time was clearly running out.
Alright, You think.
One more go.But she’d never showed. You’d been sitting around HQ for almost over an hour, heavy rain pounding down on the [luckily] recently patched up roof, and there was no sign of Ditch ever being there that day. The place was empty, no trace of her, she sent no other messages.. Was she coming at all?
BANG BANG BANG BANG.Abrupt knocking on the double doors, enough to make one jump in surprise. “Th-they’re fucking l-locked.. Dear god.. Who locked the damn doors?! Open up! Please!” Must’ve locked behind the last person to enter. The voice was clearly Ditch, filled with panic. Whoever opened the door would find her standing there, eyes alive with fear, absolutely drenched from the rain.. and in her arms, was an unconscious boy.
He was incredibly thin and frail, so much that it was almost hard to look at him. His clothing was ripped and torn, and provided him no safety from the sudden chilly weather. His exposed skin was covered in various cuts and bruises, some even still bleeding, as well as many painful looking scars. The most noticeable scar were two slashes on his left cheek - they looked freshly healed.
“H-he approached me in the streets and then he c-collapsed in my arms and I.. I didn’t … didn’t know what to do..” She stammered. Ditch had never looked so afraid. She was holding the child tightly, though she looked extremely tired. He was maybe only a little older than ten years. His dirty and unkempt white hair fell between his closed eyes and past his ears. He had to be from the streets.
“He’s he’s.. gotta be cold, and.. And hungry, and I.. he just.. He j-just passed out, and.. his.. His eyes, th-they glowed.. He’s super, he’s gotta be, and I just..c-couldn’t.. l-leave him..” She got choked up, unable to continue.
