Jake was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. He could hear his family's muffled voices coming from downstairs.
They were most likely discussing Hartley, but Jake didn't want a part in whatever plan they were cooking up.
His mind was too preoccupied with his debut at ColossaCon to come up with anything worth saying anyway.
He was nervous, to say the least. He'd never spoken to anyone other than Starling as Ghost before.
Jake sat up. It would do him no good to worry about it. He slowly moved around his room, grabbing things he would need for school later.
He made his way downstairs to grab breakfast before leaving for school.
-+-
Jake walked through the school with Amy before class started. He stopped short when he approached the hallway with his locker in it. "Is that... Dad?" Jake asked, he pointed to the guy sitting with his back to them.
"Hell if I know." Amy wandered over to their dad. "What are you doing here?"
Vic turned around, "Hello children! I'm the new substitute science teacher."
Jake nodded slowly, that wasn't a bad idea at all. Well... barring the fact that he was a villain being left unsupervised in a room full of children. But that was currently irrelevant, Jake's dad having a job meant people wouldn't get suspicious of his jobless parents.
"I'm assuming you made good use of the photocopier?" Jake asked.
Vic turned to his son, "How did you know?"
"Oh please," Jake rolled his eyes, "There's no way you're an actually qualified teacher."
"Well, you wouldn't be wrong." Vic let his eyes linger on Jake a moment longer, before he switched his attention to Amy. "I'm also here to make sure you do your job."
"I don't need a babysitter! I can do just fine on my own." Amy groused.
Vic nodded, "Yes well, your mother isn't convinced. So now I'm here, to watch you, and to get a break from her."
Amy groaned, "What about Jake?! He's here, don't you want to get away from him too??"
Jake arched a brow, he thought it was infinitely hilarious that his family thought so little of him, while he was fooling them all. A small part of him might also be sad, but he would deny that.
"I'm going to class." Jake excused himself. He had no reason to see his sisters blackmailing attempts, nor did he want to be around his father any longer.
He turned on his heel and made his way to his first class. He figured if he ignored his sister and father's blackmailing plans, everything would somehow end up resolving itself, and if absolutely needed, he would intervene.
-+-
Luckily, Hartley resolved the blackmailing issue all on her own. So, no need for Jake to do anything but sit back, relax, and watch the show.
And watch he did, or rather his eyes did, his mind was elsewhere. He would have to make some updates to Ghost's voice modulator, based on the chance that someone who knows him ends up at ColossaCon. He knew Amy was most likely going to want to go the second she learns Starling will be there.
Anything Amy could possibly come up with as a form of revenge would be pointless though, as the Ghost wouldn't let anything happen to his Star.
Had he not met Starling when he did, it was likely he wouldn't've run away with his family at all, but rather stayed with his master and the last remaining member of his team, Oculon.
Had Starling not inspired him and allowed him to keep his second power secret by saving him, he wouldn't be here at all. He wouldn't be with her. He wasn't going to let anything happen to the only star in his sky. And if he had to fight off his own sister, well, then so be it. It wasn't like Amy had ever really appreciated him anyway, would she react at all if Jake openly betrayed her?
Jake shook his head to clear his thoughts, of course she would feel betrayed. Villains hated traitors. And he was one.
He should've faked his death like Starling suggested.
If his family ever found out he was a hero and had been selling their secrets for months they would kill him. Not that Jake would let them, but he also didn't fancy the idea of killing or imprisoning his family.
It would've been better to let them grieve his death instead. Alas, he couldn't do that to Colby. He should've faked both their deaths, his brother would have forgiven him eventually.
The part of him that cared about his family regardless of how they treated him and what they said couldn't have done that to them. Didn't do that to them.
Maybe Jake was just too much of a coward to let go of his family, maybe he actually cared about all of them in a way a family should. They were a weakness he wasn't sure he could afford anymore.
Jake signed quietly, thinking about what he could've done and what might happen would get him nowhere. Fact was, he was a traitor, and he'd been lying to his family for months. He was a horrible person.
'How can I call myself a hero...'
-+-
The second Jake got home he collapsed on his bed. He was going out to see Judith again tonight. They had villain movements to map out. But right now, he had a date with his bed.
As much as school was fun, it was exhausting at the same time.
Jake closed his eyes and let himself drift off, he trusted his internal clock enough to wake him when it was time to see his girlfriend.
-+-
Jake woke with just enough time to get ready, he quickly changed his clothes and glanced at the clock, 11pm. His family's sleep schedule had already adjusted to fit that of a normal family, so they should already be asleep (or at least be in bed with no reason to enter Jake's room and notice he wasn't there).
Jake's hypothesis was proven incorrect when there was a quiet knock on the door. "Jake?" The voice of his brother was quiet, further muffled by the door, but Jake had heard him just fine.
"Come in." Jake answered. He was well aware that he was fully dressed and definitely not in bed. But his little brother rarely came to see him, so frankly he didn't care that he was being suspicious.
The door cracked open slowly and Colby slipped through. He closed the door behind him before turning to look at Jake.
Jake stayed silent, his brother would talk when he was ready.
"Are you... going somewhere?" Colby asked. Jake recognized it for what it was, Colby was avoiding the topic he came here to talk about.
"Yeah." Jake couldn't lie to his little brother (well, he could actually, but he wasn't going to, not now at least).
Colby's eyes drifted to the clock on Jake's nightstand, "In the middle of the night?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Late night showing of Dracula." The lie slipped out easily, he had in fact bought tickets to the movie and knew it was playing tonight, but that didn't mean he was actually going to go (he had needed a solid alibi).
"Alone?" Colby's body language when they were alone was different from when his parents or sister was present. It saddened Jake that Colby had to pretend to be more grown up and evil than he actually was. It made moments like these all the more special. He dreaded the day when his family inevitably found out he was a traitor, and Colby put his armour on in their confrontations.
"Yeah."
"...Okay, have fun..." Colby shuffled towards the door.
"Colby." Jake stopped him before he could reach the door. "I'll listen, when you're ready."
Colby nodded slowly, and made his way back to his room.
Jake ran a hand through his hair tiredly. Jake waited until he heard his brother's bedroom door click closed before sliding open his window a little, he had to make it seem like this is how he left after all.
Jake glanced at the clock one last time before letting his power whisk him away.
-+-
The second Jake reformed in his base he knew something was wrong. The lights were all off, none of his appliances were giving off their usual hum. It was almost like there wasn't a single strand of electricity running through his safehouse, as if someone had completely cut the power.
He quickly ducked behind his couch. He calmed his heart beat with practiced ease, it would be stupid if all he could hear was the blood rushing towards his ears. And Jake was far from stupid.
Although it seemed he had gotten lazy. Someone broke in, and it was very likely that person was still here.
Jake didn't take kindly to intruders as a villain, he wouldn't start now that he was a hero. Unfortunately he was a sitting duck as he was now, alone, in the dark, with no idea who was hiding in the shadows with him.
He quickly teleported to the roof of a nearby building.
He was surprised to find that the whole city was covered in a cloud of darkness, not a shred of light to be seen. "Alright..." he muttered, "Maybe the person wasn't specifically after me."
Jake snuck around the outside of his base, checking for any signs of entry. It was better to be safe than sorry after all.
"Nothing." He whispered, "Nothing at all."
He quickly slipped back inside his base and swiftly put on his ghost suit. He tapped the com in his ear, "Go for Ghost." He said.
"Ghost." The familiar voice of his girlfriend buzzed through his ear. "What's the situation?"
"We don't know."
"Location?"
"The usual."
Ghost quickly appeared in the usual mission hall.
"Ghost." Starling called him over. Starling waited until Ghost was at her side before she said. "It's quiet."
"You think they're planning something big?"
"They could be. But this would be a cliche way of going about letting us know."
"Villains are nothing if not cliche." Ghost stated.
"True."
"How'd they cut the power?" Ghost asked.
"They cut the power lines. It won't take long to fix." Starling shrugged, "They haven't even robbed a bank."
"Peculiar indeed. Are you sure the villains did this?"
"No. It could have been anyone, it's just odd the villains aren't taking advantage."
Ghost let a laugh slip out of his lips, "If it wasn't the villains then of course they wouldn't be out here. The only way in or out of their bases is through electronically opened reinforced doors. If they weren't topside when the city lost power they're locked inside."
Starling quickly covered her mouth with her hand to stop her smile from showing. "That's ridiculous."
Ghost shrugged, "The great majority don't have backup generators, and those that do need them to power things more important to their future plans than doors."
Starling looked down at the map table in front of her. "That would definitely explain why there are statistically less villain attacks during unplanned blackouts."
She stared at the map a few seconds longer before turning back to Ghost. "Want to start mapping villain movements then?"
Ghost nodded, "I have a few ideas."
Thoughts?
I'm sorry this took me so long (I had no idea it's been months, time is going by too quickly). I will be taking english classes in 2 weeks so I'm hoping my writing fever will come back quickly.
Thank you everyone who stuck with me through the lack of updates! I hope everyone had fantastic holidays and is doing well!