"Mother," I called down the hallway as I exited my bedroom. "Are you home?"
After zapping back in, I had wasted no time getting out of that blasted suit. Now, taking the three steps it took to get to my kitchen, I found my mother slumped into her chair. She was unconscious, as per usual, and a half-drunk bottle of whiskey rested precariously in her hands. I gently tugged it away from her fingers, and for some reason I cannot explain, I brought it up to my lips and took a swig.
I cringed and gagged a little. Yep, definitely whiskey.
I quickly poured the foul liquid into the sink and filled it with water instead.
"God, Heather," I grumbled, "You can't afford to pay rent, but you can afford to get wasted."
Shaking my head, I poured the bottle of water onto her face.
She shouted and swung her hands around in confusion. After blinking back into reality, she leaned back in her chair and stared at me.
I handed her a glass of water and told her to drink. She tried bringing it to her lips, but only managed to spill it all down the front of her shirt.
"Oops," she said through a giggle. I poured her another glass and told her to try again.
After deeming her sober enough to carry on a conversation, I stopped feeding her glasses of water.
"Why?" I asked calmly.
"Why what, honey?" she gave me a small and curious smile.
"Why were you drinking whiskey," there was no amusement in my voice and her smile dropped. Her eyes lowered and it took her a while to speak.
"I-" she tried to find the right words, "Lost my job."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. With my eyes still closed I asked my next question, "When?"
"What do you mean?"
"When, mother?"
She became quiet again, "Three days ago."
I sighed, "You have to tell me these things mom. How short are we on paying rent?"
"I don't know. I think we still need a few hundred bucks."
I sighed again, "What do you plan on doing?" I ask, looking straight at her, "Hm? You're the adult in this situation. Not me. You're supposed to figure out a way out of this rat hole. Not spend the little money we have to get drunk!"
She twiddled with her fingers instead of looking at me.
"Mom."
She didn't respond.
"Mom," I tried again, a bit louder this time. Still no response, "Mom, we need to get out of this place. This isn't living. We need to-"
"I'm sorry, okay?" She cut me off rather forcefully, "Maybe things would be different if your father hadn't left. Maybe things would be different if I'd finished college. But they're not different. I'm sorry for making you live this way, but there's nothing I can really do about it."
I sat back and lowered my voice, "There's always something we can do."
"Yeah? Well I'm all ears," she said, defeated.
"Well first, you need to stop drinking. Second, you need to go out and get another job. A job that actually pays minimum wage like they're supposed to. I'll go get another job, too."
"You already have a job. I can't ask you to get another."
"Things will get better soon, I promise. I've been trying hard in school. Straight A's. That means I'll probably get myself enough scholarships and financial aid to get through college with a low amount of debt. Then I'll get a good job, and I'll help you out. Okay?"
She nodded.
"But right now, I need you to do something for me."
She looked up and finally met my eyes.
"You need to be the adult in this relationship. Get a job. Don't get drunk. Pay rent. That's all I'm asking of you for the next couple of years. Can you do that for me?"
She nodded weakly, "I'll try."
"Good," I said, "Now get some sleep," I kissed her forehead and walked off to my bedroom.
Once my door was closed, I ruffled around in my stuff for my mask. I hoped I could take the night off tonight, but apparently that's not an option.
***
"Come on, you know the drill," I said as I waved my gun around at some lady in a pencil skirt.
She sighed and handed me her money, earrings, and necklace without a fuss before walking off.
$26. I stuffed it in my pocket and headed for the power lines.
Once I grabbed on, I was transmitted almost instantaneously to the park across town. Taking a quick look around, I realized I was completely alone, except for the blob of orange sitting on a nearby park bench.
His back was turned to me. Why is Torch the only superhero I seem to bump into? Annoying.
I had an internal debate for a few moments on whether I should approach him or slip silently back into the power lines. The first won out.
Silently, I walked up from behind and took the seat beside him.
"Alright, what's wrong?" I sighed.
He took his head out of his hands to look at me briefly before leaning back and staring at something straight ahead, "It's nothing."
"Bullshit. Tell me what's wrong."
He turned to look at me again and sighed, "I'm having second thoughts about my morals."
"Good," I smirked.
"What?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"I said 'good'," I leaned back and stared out at the trees for a few moments. "You want to know why I hate superheroes?" I didn't give him time to respond, "It's not because they're always there to stop me, or foil my plans... It's because they're supposed to be the good guys. They're supposed to be the heroes, the ones to save the day, the ones who stop the villain. But in reality, they're no better than us. Crooks, thieves, corrupt. If the heroes aren't even good, then who is in this world?"
He turned his head to look at me, "Does that mean you hate me, too?"
I turned my own head to hold his gaze, "I hate Torch," I could see him deflate a little, "But I don't hate Lawrence."
He shot me a small smile before slipping off his mask. I did the same.
"Can I tell you something?" I asked and he nodded his head. I let out a shaky breath and began, "I never wanted to be a villain."
"Really?" he asked with a smile.
"I wanted to be a hero. But when I realized that there was no difference, I went with the one that paid more."
I let a few moments pass before continuing, "My mom is the only family I've got. My dad left when I was young and my grandparents are dead. Mom never got to finish college, so she hasn't been able to get a job that pays above minimum wage. In fact, she just lost a job that pays less," I sighed, "Do you know how I found her when I got home tonight? She was passed out in a chair with a bottle of whiskey in her hands," I laughed sadly for a little bit, "And she finally got around to telling me that she lost her job three days ago and is multiple hundred dollars short on rent."
"God," Lawrence said while running a hand through his beautifully blonde hair, "I feel really bad for taking your money now."
I chuckled sadly at that. I paused in thought for a moment, "Why do you take my money? You have rich parents and everything you could ever need at home."
"Ah, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," he claimed.
"Tell me anyway," I pressed.
He became silent again and bit his lip. Slowly, he lifted his brilliantly green eyes to meet my gaze, "It was so I could keep seeing you."
I raised an eyebrow, "Really?"
He stood up abruptly, "I'm sorry, I should probably get going,"
"Lawrence," he stopped and looked at me, "You don't have to leave."
He looked around and rubbed at the back of his neck before tentatively sitting back down.
I laid my head on his shoulder and spoke softly, "You don't have to take my money to get my attention," I reached down and snapped the spandex on his arm, "Your suit makes you pretty hard to miss."
I could feel a deep chuckle reverberate through him.
"I think I like you, Johanna," he said softly.
"That's a miracle in itself."
He smiled and I lifted my head to look up at him, "I think I like you, too, Lawrence."
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Hey people. Chapter four is up. Johanna and Lawrence are having some deep, late night conversations. There's probably going to be some good action in the next chapter so stay tuned. Thanks for reading and remember to comment any supers/powers you want to show up.