A Hero Among Us (closed)

Shadowfire

Something nagged at him. His mind felt a myriad of questions. There was some fears...then he seemed to be able to sense a sense of loss so deep that he could almost feel himself falling...his eyes snapped open and he looked around. There was still shadows, the breeze still came through the window...or rather hole in the wall. His eyes turned towards the door, there was something...

The door pushed open. Light poured in and for a moment he froze, ready to fight. But even in just silhoute he sensed it to be Smith. As the light snicked on and Max stirred against him, the strange feelings he had, the senses of loss, fears, questions and a sense of space...it all just snapped off. He blinked his eyes, not so much against the glare of the light than against the sudden loss of the senses he had. He looked at the now illuminated Smith, "I guess you're not here to change my bandages." In answer Smith tossed clothes on the bed. "Get dressed."

Shadow

Max stirred as the lights in the room suddenly clicked on, Alex talking to someone before a pile of clothing was tossed on them. She sat up, rubbing her eyes as she looked towards Smith and then back at Alex. It was far too early to be up, she thought to herself. Far too early.

"What's going on?" Max asked as she looked between the two men to get a straight answer. "The sun isn't even up. What on earth are you two doing?"

Smith

"It is not about what Mr Murphy and I are going to do, it is more about what you two are going to do. You wanted to train? You're up. Get dressed and get a move on, Miss Montgomery isn't going to wait the whole day on you two."

Max had the look about her of somebody who had slept, he had made certain that he had made no sound, there was no way that any of the two would know that he had come up to their door. Yet when he pushed it open, Alex was staring at him with that look of fight or flight, he was wide-awake and aware that somebody was there. There was something more to these two than just mutated genes.

"Hurry up." He stressed again and turned to leave.

Shadow

Max was still so incredibly confused as Smith insisted that they get up and get dressed. As Smith turned to leave, she glanced towards Alex, her confusion still showing on her face. She had no idea what the hell had just happened.

"Did he go crazy while we were asleep?" Max asked as she slowly moved off the side of the bed and stood with a stretch. "What does he mean training? Do you think that she's going to train us? What does she know about training anyone?"

Swampfire

"Well she did threaten to train us last night. Only one little problem." He held up his hands, "I will not be able to dress myself and no way am I gonna show you my naked butt!" He gave her a good-natured grin and managed to squirm himself out from under the thin sheet covering him.

"Get up get up, I guess the smaller set of clothing is for you." He paused and looked back at her, "And I think that they know a lot about martial arts training for starters. Did you watch them move? They're like...wow." He made wide eyes and stood up from bed, he felt a bit woozy, but it wasn't too bad. He was sure about the clothes though, no way could he dress himself.

Shadow

Max was still so confused as Alex tried to explain to her what he was thinking. He thought that Smith and Gracie were trained in some way. Sure, Smith probably was. He was a brute and a bodyguard, but Gracie Montgomery? What kind of drugs were in that IV?

"Shut up and deal with it. I'm dressing you or else we're going to be here all day waiting for you to figure out how pants work." Max said, taking charge of the situation as she placed her clothing aside before she took control over what he had. "Arms up, first. We're getting this shirt on."

Swampfire

Well since she was right, he had no other option. He lifted his arms, but had to half-crouch for her to reach. "I don't know what is in the IV, but I know for a fact that Gracie Montgomery has that walk, that spring her step which only the best martial artists have." He shook his head, "And the way she holds herself, that aint money talkin', that is the self-confidence from knowing you can handle anything. I'm telling you Max, there is more to Montgomery than what meets the eye."

Shadow

Glancing towards Alex as she helped him to get his shirt on as best as she could, Max could see that he really did believe that there was something more to Gracie Montgomery. She also knew that Alex had a way about him where he would get overly excited about a situation. Most of the time it made him seem boyish but something he would seem incredibly paranoid.

"Well, we'll have to ask her when we see her again." Max said with a shrug of her shoulders. "So, you can calm down before you stroke out on me."

Turning from the bed, Max grabbed the pair of pants that had been left behind for Alex. She wondered briefly if Gracie really was something more than what she seemed. It was always possible, but for a woman like her, someone who was always in the spotlight, it seemed impossible to lead two different lives.

Swampfire

"Do you really think she will answer?" Alex got into the pants and looked at Max, "Well it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Thank you." He turned away and took a few steps away, giving Max her own privacy to get changed. It was strange that even now, he almost felt a bit shy around her. Of course he never showed it, like now, it was just good manners.

"You know something Max? I think we have just been recruited. We just don't know it yet."

400 miles

"Your wallet and keys."

The wrong words. The wrong person.

Moments later the local police have two more criminals for their jail.

And at the edge of town the signs reads

Shadow

Max watched as Alex turned his back on her, giving her privacy to get dressed. It was sweet of him, but she could hear the way that he was babbling on. That meant that he was nervous about something. Perhaps he was nervous about the situation that they were in. That would make the most sense since it was something that most people would never have to deal with in their lives.

"I guess we'll find out, right?" Max asked as she changed quickly and then pulled on her shoes. "They wouldn't wake us up so early in the morning for nothing."

Swampfire

"Let's hope not."

He waited until he heard her finished dressing, then followed her lead towards the door, since the doorknob would have offered him more problems than entrance to the next room. They met the taciturn Mr Smith waiting outside his door, without a word the man turned and led the way through corridors and down an elevator. Alex stared around him in amazement, this building was massive, sure he had seen pictures of it, even saw it at a distance, but nothing could have prepared him for the sheer size of the building and its rooms.

They came to a wooden door, it slid open at Smith's touch with soft hiss, almost like the doors of the spaceships. Alex followed Smith and Max into the room beyond, still at a loss at just how big AND luxurious this place was.

Gracie

The room beyond was filled with all manner of equipment needed to train someone into peak physical condition. Being a vigilante was easier when people didn't question why a person was at the gym all the time, breaking their back to create a body that could withstand the punishment that the job would unleash.

Gracie stood there in the middle of the room, her normal black attire on as she looked her two guests up and down for a moment. Max looked incredibly small and frail standing next to Alex. Depending on what her skills were, they might have to focus the most on her. Alex seemed to be able to hold his own and he held a decent amount of strength in his frame. However, sometimes it wasn't about how strong you were, but also how cunning you could be.

"Mr. Smith. You can either stay or go. I leave that decision up to you." Gracie said as she made her way towards the small group.

"The first thing that you will learn is that you are not a prisoner here. I do not keep people against their will. I do, however, see two people that are insisting upon become vigilantes. If that is the path that you are choosing, I will make one thing perfectly clear. You are not ready." Gracie said in a blunt tone. "Men and women far better trained than you have tried and failed, some with their lives. Is that something you are prepared to do? Give up your life in pursuit?"

She stopped about six feet away from them, her arms crossing over her chest as she stared at her guests. "I also know that you might have questions about all of this. I HATE questions. I have worked very hard over the years to make sure that no one knows anything about my personal life and I would rather keep it that way. However, I know that you have no reason to trust me. To combat that, I am allowing each of you to ask one question a day of me. Make it a good one."

Swampfire

He could feel his mouth starting to sag when Gracie suddenly started talking and stepped towards Max and himself. Vigilantes? People taking the law into their own hands? No! They never did that! They just helped people, they never actively hunted criminals...perhaps he should voice those thoughts, but he knew that one a person like Gracie it was a wasted effort. He nudged Max with his elbow, "Told you."

He gave her look a disarming grin and then turned his gaze back towards Gracie, "One question a day. Sure, that will settle our nerves quite well. Being in this surroundings when we come from a background where people look the other way because their walls are too thin." Oh he knew that he sounded like he had a chip on his shoulder and he was certain that if he looked hard enough, he would find it there.

"Then my question is this: Who is your alter-ego?"

Shadow

Max felt incredibly nervous as she stood across from Gracie. The woman seemed to be an expert at putting up a wall and keeping people at arms length. She had a cool exterior, but Max could feel something beneath the surface. It was a lot of heartache and pain, a lifetime of regret and loneliness. It was devastating.

She glanced at Alex as he asked who Gracie really was. Did he really expect her to answer them? That was something that was deeply personal and that information in the wrong hands could definitely be a death sentence.

Gracie

Staring at the man as he asked who she really was, Gracie wondered just who he thought she was. She hadn't been on the streets in a long time, but her name was far reaching. There weren't many in the city that would not know who she was. She had once been a legend.

"If I answer that, Smith might have to kill you." Gracie said as she glanced towards her bodyguard and then back at Alex, giving him a sly grin. "Once upon a time they called me The Raven. That was a lifetime ago, however."

Swampfire

He had an answer for Smith having to kill him, the only way would be for Smith to be fireproof. Sure the cuts still hurt like a sunofabitch, it wasn't like the fire he had blasted a few hours ago could actually cauterize them, but if anybody wanted to come at the two of them, they would find that Alex was not a person to take lightly just because he was hurt and not trained in any self-defense.

He was about to say so as well, but then Gracie Montgomery, yes the billionaire of Twins City, the woman who practically could buy her own country if she wanted to, she revealed that she was none other than the legendary Raven. Alex' mouth fell open and stayed that way for a few moments before he remembered to close it.

That was not what he had expected, though the answer did explain a lot to him and he guess that it told Max something as well. Since he had used up his question, he looked from Gracie to Smith and back again, not sure what to expect from these two.

Shadow

Max was a little confused when Gracie told them that she was the Raven. It was hard to think that the woman standing in front of them was the woman that had once worked so hard to clean up the city only to disappear. She probably should have been dead. It was a good thing that she wasn't or else she and Alex wouldn't be standing there in that expensive house.

"Why did you stop?" Max asked, her question popping out of her mouth before she could even think about it.

Gracie

She saw the shock on Alex's face. She had long since resigned herself to the idea that most people would not understand why she did things the way that she did. It was shocking to think that she, the woman that could have owned anything in the world, would have sullied herself with vigilante work.

"Why did I stop?" Gracie asked, glancing towards the woman as she stood there staring at her with confusion. "I watched someone die. He was a great help to me when I first started out. I decided then and there that perhaps that wasn't the kind of life that I wanted to live. Instead, I decided to live as an honest citizen. Too bad this city is as corrupt as the day is long."

Gracie then turned from the two of them, facing the wall for a moment before she finally glanced back at them. "Mr. Smith...I think we'll start with a run."

A "run" to Gracie was little more than a half a marathon. Anything less wasn't worth her while.

Swampfire

Well since the "run" started right then and there, Alex was forced to admit that though he was in shape and had the mental fortitude to actually do things that "normal" people would shirk away from, he was far, far removed from what Gracie and Mr Smith could do and what they had achieved. Frankly, he managed 7 miles and since he had nothing left in the tank, physically or mentally, he could just not force himself any further and with a face plant that would impress even the most seasoned skater, he went down.

He managed a gasping, "Ow" and then he just lay there, gasping for breath and trying to get his body to agree to get up and finish the run and it just refused him. Didn't even twitch as his brain screamed, pleaded and cajoled with his body to just move more than just his lungs and heart.

Gracie

Gracie saw Alex fall and remain motionless on the mat as she and Mr. Smith jogged on by. Max was doing her damnedest to keep up, but even she were falling behind. Gracie paused as they made their way back to where Alex lay, crouching down beside him as he sucked in air as fast as his lungs would allow.

"I'm going to chalk it up to your injuries, but you mean to tell me that you can't keep going? How the hell did you both survive out there on the streets so long?" Gracie asked, glancing towards Max who finally slowed and stopped to get her breath.

Swampfire

He didn't even have it in him to respond to that barb, nothing wanted to work except the basics. Finally after a few more prods from his mind, he managed to roll or more like: flop on to his back. Blinking up at the others, finally his snarky side managed a gasping reply.

"Never...need...last long...surprise works...in our...favor...or some...thing like...that..."

Closing his eyes, he reclined on the hard ground, as his heart rate and breathing started to come to a more normal and even tempo, he found that he had a bit more left in the tank. Actually quite enough, as long as he didn't push too hard... He sat up and glared at Gracie, "Well since you are all rested, what now? Run some more?"

Gracie

"Until that one day that surprise doesn't work anymore and you find your ass in jail." She said as he finally managed to flip himself over onto his back.

It took a few moments longer before he was up on his feet, looking at her as he asked what was next. "This run is far from finished. Then we hit the weight room and then martial arts. Mr. Smith can definitely put you through your paces if you don't think you've had enough of a work out."

Swampfire

"Not have had enough?"

He was incredulous.

"I'd ask if you're joking, but I know the answer to that."

He managed to haul himself back on to his feet, he looked at Max and found that she at least looked better than he felt.

"Well then, let's finish the run if we can."

Gracie

The two currently living in her mansion were an enigma. It had been a few days since they had come to her home, beaten and bruised after trying to save people from a burning building. They were weak and how they had survived on the streets so long was a complete and total mystery to her. She had given Mr. Smith permission to whip them both into shape before they were allowed to leave. She wouldn't have two deaths on her hands because someone wanted to play hero.