-Ten years later-
It was dark and cold outside. A few cars rolled along the damp streets. Smash was on his normal nightly watch sitting high above the city on the tallest building.
"I know you're out there" he said to himself. "I will find you. I will figure out why you did this to me" he gestured to his body.
He was never the same after the two men took him and experimented. They strapped him down and poked his skin with needles. He flinched as he remembered the sting of the fluid going into his veins. Five years ago he became Smash. He still had the nightmares.
He was lost in thought when a scream brought him back to reality. He listened for it again. The sound of broken glass echoed in his ears followed by another scream.
"Your worthless! And if you even think about ending it I'll kill you!" A man yelled.
Smash climbed down the building to the alley where the scream came from. And the sound of someone running away bounced off of the alleys brick walls. A shadowy figure moved closer.
"Who's there?" A girls voice echoed.
He recognized it.
"Uh, Smash?" He said awkwardly. "Who are you?"
"Elouise" she replied with a shaky voice.
Elouise. The name flew around his mind.
Elouise walked into the light with a rusty pipe in her hand. "Oh thank god!" Her eyes were glassy and red. "I thought you were that jerk Danny" she said throwing the pipe down.
"Danny? You're with Danny?" He recognized that name too.
"Yeah. Well I've been trying to break up with him but he keeps threatening me. How do you know him?" Elouise walked closer.
"Uh well I um" his mind raced. "Just from people talking about him" he decided.
She nodded.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"No I am most certainly not okay. He keeps telling me he will kill me if I break up with him! He hurts me!" She started crying.
Smash stood there watching uncomfortably. She was breaking down in front of him. He walked over to her and hugged her. "It's gonna be alright ba- uh ma'am" he rubbed her back.
"Can you help me?" She asked.
"Of course, I'm a super hero, that's like.. my job" he said wiping away her tears.
"Thanks" she sniffed. "You know you look a lot like this kid from grade school"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, Ashton" she said wiping away tears. "I miss him"
That's me...Should I tell her? No she would be in danger. What if Mike-Ro-Wave got her? Id never forgive myself. But she misses me and I haven't seen Mike-Ro-Wave in a long time.
"Hello?" She waved her hand in front of his face.
"Oh, Sorry just thinking" he walked over to a dumpster and sat on the lid. The metal caved in to fit his thighs.
"About what?" She asked.
"Uh I don't know, stuff"
"Hmm, so about that Ashton guy" she said walking over to sit next to him.
"Yeah what about him?"
"Well he kind of just disappeared one day without any warning. He never calls or texts me anymore and I was just wondering.."
"Mm hmm" Smash looked at her with interest.
"Have you seen him around? He has light hair, wears these glasses" she put her fingers around her eyes "and all these bracelets."
Did he dare ask? "Why did he wear so many bracelets?"
"Well Ashton had these scars"
Scars. He rubbed the inside of his wrist. He hated that word.
