17 December, 2:00 am
I sigh, watching as wispy clouds formed from my releasing a breath. Hugging my knees closer, I wondered exactly how insane I was. After all, sitting on a rooftop at 2 in the morning, in the dead of winter, could be considered as certifiably insane.
It was my birthday. I knew that. It just... didn't feel like it.
Resting my forehead against my knees, I closed my eyes, taking in the silence the darkness brought along. It was comforting when everything became too much. Too loud. And more often than I cared to admit, I'd end up slipping away when I was least likely to be missed to just escape from the reality. I liked to pretend that nothing was going wrong and that I could just escape into the endless heavens above me.
But, that was it. The stars were too far to reach and eventually, I'd have to go back and deal with shit like a responsible human being. For now, though, I'd pretend that it was all okay. That I had an eternity to spend in this peacefulness even if it was only till whenever Noah woke up.
My peace was broken when I felt the air shift around me in an indication of someone joining me. My eyes snapped open and I turned my head to face Aiden before he'd even stopped floating slightly above the rooftop.
"Hey neighbor," he whispered, his voice carrying into the night as he sat down, cross-legged, beside me.
"How do you find me whenever I'm feeling vulnerable?" I asked quietly, lifting my head up in resignation of my solitude being gone.
Aiden shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips. "It's a gift."
I scoffed. "What, you do this often? Finding young girls on rooftops before the sun's up, when they're feeling like they're in a cliché Taylor Swift music video?" I teased, turning back to the silent neighborhood.
"Don't you need the tragically handsome guy who sweeps you off your feet to actually completely achieve the theme we're going with? I'm just stepping in," he grinned easily, falling backwards and folding his arms beneath his head.
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, we're going to fall in love and it's going to be awesome at first. But then, you're gonna break my heart due to irrational reasons and find Ms. Hollywood while I weep over what could have been. Later, I'll release a hit debut album dedicated to you and you're gonna realize you still love me, but I'll end up kicking your ass back to the curb when you come crawling back and go vacation in Rome or something," I stated. "It's classic. I know how this goes."
"You seem to have this all figured out pretty well," Aiden observed, not looking away from the inky sky.
"I'm a pretty sorted out person," I nodded along.
Aiden laughed softly, careful not to make too much sound. "But, seriously," I began. "Why visit your neighbor's rooftop at this ungodly hour?"
He bit his lip, looking at me carefully. "I knew this was the day they died and figured that if I knew you at all, you'd want to remember them as privately as you could. What's more private than freaking 2 am?" He admitted, looking away.
I raised an eyebrow. "Given that, aren't you kind of intruding then?" I asked, desperately ignoring the rush of warmth I felt at his admission. It felt nice to know he cared that much.
"I thought I'd take your mind off of it. I don't think you're parents would want you mourning them on your birthday. Happy birthday, by the way," he said, grinning slightly at the end.
I smiled. "Thanks," I said softly, turning back to look at the street.
"Oh, no. We aren't just going to sit here this whole time. I'm gonna distract you in style. As a superhero, I kind of have this reputation to uphold," he said, getting to his feet and brushing off imaginary dust.
I raised my eyebrows. "What do you have in mind?" I asked, warily accepting his hand to help me up.
"Ever eat cookies on top of Crystal Tower?" Aiden grinned. "What, you're going to fly us up there?" I demanded.
"Are you scared of flying?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious. I scoffed. "I've jumped out of planes. No, I'm not scared of flying, thank you very much," I stated.
He raised his hands up in surrender, blue eyes glinting in sharp contrast with the poorly illuminated background.
Ten minutes in the future found us sitting on the roof of one of the tallest buildings in Prime City, watching the quiet below us. It took a lot of convincing before I'd even agreed to getting on Aiden's back and I pretty much threatened to permanently graffiti his room unless he promised never to speak of that again. Not to mention, my face was freezing from flying at ridiculous speeds in the middle of freaking December and I was positive my nose could give Rudolf a run for his money.
"How often do you even come here?" I asked, eyeing the fleece blanket and snacks he'd pulled out from between an air conditioning vent and the three foot wall that formed the boundary of the roof.
"Often enough," Aiden shrugged, tossing me a tin of chocolate chip cookies and a bottle of coke. "You aren't the only one who feels the need to ditch the scene, you know."
I nodded slowly, prying the tin open and picking out a cookie. "How the heck has nobody noticed a random teenager hanging out on top Crystal Tower?" I asked instead, my eyebrows furrowing in an exasperated expression that usually came with witnessing one's stupidity.
Aiden paused, thinking it over as he chewed thoughtfully on a cookie. "I actually don't know," he answered eventually, the ringing realization making me want to facepalm. "And you've just been winging it with the hope of no one so happening to look up and seeing a pair of legs dangling over the edge?" I asked incredulously. "I figured I'd cross that bridge when I got there," he shrugged.
Idiot, I thought, shaking my head in disbelief.
"So, Ms. Strong," Aiden began dramatically. "How has this humble superhero been doing at distracting you, oh fair maiden?"
I grinned at his theatrics. "Well, kind sir, you've been doing a rather splendid job, if I do say so myself," I exaggerated, putting on the fakest British accent I could manage before sobering up. "But, seriously Dan, I appreciate this," I admitted softly, turning my gaze back to the horizon.
"Don't mention it. You deserve to have an easy day right now," he said quietly, draping the blanket over the both of our shoulders and I huddled closer for the surprising warmth. "Any updates with Easton's situation?" He asked, biting into another cookie.
I sighed, shaking my head. "Progress is depressingly slow," I muttered. "We contacted Ace about the kind of machinery Ryder needs, but he's dealing with some crap back at S.I.A so, we're on our own. Nothing's gonna happen until we can get into City Hall, but we need a distraction to successfully get in. Not only that, we need to scout around and observe the possible sites as well. There's so much to do, but we need to execute it perfectly. No mistakes."
Aiden exhaled, sounding suddenly tired. "I'm sorry it all went to shit," he muttered, watching as his city stayed in the silent embrace of slumber. "But try to enjoy your birthday. It only comes by once a year and I'm positive your parents wouldn't want to you to spend it brooding around on rooftops."
I smiled at him. "No, they wouldn't," I agreed.
"Well, then," Aiden grinned, uncapping a bottle of coke and motioning for me to do the same before bringing our bottles together in cheers. "Here's to you having a great 17th birthday."
"It's certainly gotten down to a nice start thanks to a certain superhero," I conceded, raising the bottle before gulping down a quarter of its sugary contents. "Why, thank you. I try," Aiden drawled, a lazy smirk easily forming on his lips.
So, we sat on top of Crytal Towers as the city slept underneath, covered in a red fleece blanket and pigging out on cookies and coke for the next hour or so, talking about everything and nothing. Time seemed to slip away and soon enough, I realized I was exhausted. Aiden seemed to be, too, seieng as he was barely holding back tired yawns.
No matter how indestructible we seemed, or how immune I acted to it, we did need sleep. It's just sometimes, to get work done on time, I skip out on it. Sometimes.
"We should be getting back now," I stated, shrugging off the blanket and stretching my arms above my head. Aiden nodded, getting to his feet and beginning to clear our mess away. He stashed the leftovers back and soon enough, we were rocketing above Prime City once again.
He stopped right in front of my, thankfully still open, window and I shimmied inside before turning to face him. He was floating directly outside, grinning effortlessly even as I leaned against the window pane with an indulgent smile.
"Thanks for giving my birthday an amazing start, Dan. I needed that," I said softly. Aiden nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off by simply cupping one side of his face and pressing a kiss to his cheek. His face turned red as his mouth parted slightly in surprise and I suppressed my laughter at his dazed expression.
"I'll see you later," I waved teasingly before shutting my window and watching in amusement as he slowly drifted to his own bedroom window, nearly flying into the pipe.
Well, then. Bedtime.
17 December, 11:30 am
I looked up at the sound of someone tapping on my window, tensing so as to jump into action at a moment's notice.
Instead of some evil gang leader or something, I saw a familiar blonde with green eyes, clinging to the pipe running next to my window and a pointed expression on her face. I rolled my eyes and stood up to open the window to let Sky in. She tossed in a duffel bag first before ducking inside and landing neatly on her feet, dusting herself off.
"So, why did you feel the need to climb in through my window when we have a perfectly functioning front door?" I asked as I returned to my earlier position on the sofa in my room. Sky shrugged in answer. "Mixing it up a little, you know?" She answered, a mischievous gleam in her forest green eyes. "Keeps things interesting."
I raised my eyebrows, a snort of amusement escaping me. "Only you, Sky," I shook my head. "Only you."
Sky flopped down besides me, sending us both bouncing for a solid minute. "Why exactly are you hiding inside your room when you could be outside?" She asked me, staring up at my ceiling. "That's your thing, man. I'd rather read more psychological study," I replied, placing my head on her shoulder and sighing in contentment when she placed hers on top of mine.
"How are you holding up?" Sky asked quietly, gently grabbing one of my hands and toying with my fingers.
"Fine," I mumbled, the answer being an automatic response.
"Bullshit."
A small smile made its way onto my face. "I'm sacred, Sky," I admitted in a whisper, my words coming out hesitantly. "I'm scared about East. He's the last parent figure I have and the closest connection to my parents. No one knew them better than him and it feels like I haven't completely lost them. I'm scared I'll never get to see him again. I'm scared we'll never get our powers back. I feel something constantly missing because there's this teeny amount of energy swirling where I'm used to having a full core. I'm scared we'll never be the same because we're not that strong without our powers. I'm scared, Sky."
Sky lifted her head, causing me to look up. "I know, Cam. I am, too. But I know that we'll get East back. I can't believe otherwise. He's practically like an uncle to me and I feel the same thing about my powers. Minus the full core thing. I'm used to having a load of strength and now I feel weak. Like I can't protect anyone and that sucks," she admitted. "But you know what? I know that no matter what, I have you guys and I'm not alone. So, if we don't get our powers back, I know that we'll get through it."
I smiled at Sky, appreciating that she was trying to be brave for me when I could see the fear clouding her eyes. "I'm glad you're here. I've wanted to let that out of my system, but I couldn't mention it to Noah when he's trying so damn hard to keep together and not break down in front of me," I told her, putting my head back on her shoulder.
"Yeah, well, I'm returning a favor. Besides, now it's my turn to dump emotions and shit on you," she answered curtly and by the end of her statement, I sat up, rolling my shoulders and cracking my knuckles.
"Bring it, sister."
Sky grinned, twisting in her seat to face me. "It kills me to admit it and I know you're aware of it, but, I am crushing so hard," she breathed, falling backwards as I grinned. "Ryder," was all I said.
"Do you know how frustrating it is? I know I like him and that it's stupid because, you know, we're freaking government spies and he's the sarcastic residential tech nerd in Prime City, but he smiles at me and I want to jump out of a plane," she let out in a rush. "Well, he probably likes you back so...," I trailed off, letting my statement hang in the air as I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively.
"That's great and all, but I don't know how I let myself go. We're supposed to have better control over our emotions than that," Sky groaned, sitting back up and burying her face in her hands. I shifted forwards and wrapped an arm around her, letting her rest her head on my shoulder.
There are no personal space boundaries with Sky and I. None. I've seen her in just her bra. No boundaries whatsoever.
"hey, it's alright, Sky. As agents, we're trained to not act on our feelings, not get rid of them. If you feel like giving this whole Eyder thing a shot," I paused. "I say, screw the rules of a secret agent and go for it."
Sky looked up with a small smile before returning her head back to resting against my shoulder.
The moment was disrupted by my door flying open which caused Sky to jump in surprise, banging our heads together. "Sorry," Noah yelped in response to our pained groans. "Ever heard of knocking, dweeb?" I asked, rubbing my forehead. "Sorry," he repeated, then pausing when he notices the fact that Sky was casually seated in my room event though nobody showed up at the door.
His expression morphed into one of 'How did you get in here?' before it shifted into 'I don't even care anymore' and he shook his head. "Well, I was gonna suggest we go down to Jordan's, but seeing as one of them is already here," here he glared at Sky who only shot him a shit eating grin and waved, "I think we'll just call them over to celebrate your birthday."
"You're in charge of the pizzas. Go wild," he called over his shoulder, shutting the door behind him.
"You heard the man," Sky grinned, pulling out her phone and waving it. "Let's get wild," I agreed, matching her smile.
31 December, 10:30 pm
There are times when I congratulate myself for being smart. I mean, I'm not gonna deny that I have a higher IQ than the average population. Being the daughter of two scientists isn't gonna go to waste. However, there are also times when I marvel over my stupidity.
Breaking into City Hall was most definitely one of those times.
I understand why I did it. Easton's life was in danger and I was finally doing something after nearly four months that seemed to bring normalcy to the mission where we had to constantly act regular. It was hard to not seem too smart, to not stiffen every time someone casually reached out to touch my shoulder, to have to hide my actual athletic prowess. It was weird reaching for a gun that wasn't there or acting like Cameron frickin Winston instead Cameron Strong.
I'd gone on mission before. One too many times, in fact. But I can't remember the last time one lasted this long and I was getting sick of it. Sure, I'm a superhero, but I was an agent first. There aren't too many villains around that we, in particular, had to deal with. There was the occasional supervillain, but mostly it was something like preventing air crashes or mass rescues. Raging fires, massive pile-ups, high-risk hostage situations. We dealt with that and have never failed. However, more often it was covertly saving the day.
Getting information from other intelligence organizations, taking out evil scientists, anonymously blowing up enemy strongholds, protecting important people from afar. That sort of thing. Assassinations included. I'd killed before. I wasn't proud of it and, because he likes me, Ace doesn't assign assassinations that often to me, either. It's mostly out of necessity.
Not that it stops nightmares.
Anyways, nightfall found Scott, Sky, Eve and I waiting outside the tall, white marble structure, staring up at it in a contemplative manner. Ryder, Aiden, Noah and Ollie were back at the Ferraro residence, which we'd unofficially named our base. Ryder had previously hacked into the camera surveillance system with a practiced ease that I found slightly worrying and would be making sure that we won't directly walk into a night guard.
I always knew that packing extra comm. links for no particular reason would one day pay off. It's why I always convince Noah do it. I have other stuff to carry. Namely, all sorts of illegal weaponry that Noah doesn't know I have. I just tel him that period pads occupy more space than he would think. That usually shuts him up ridiculously fast.
On the bright side, we were one and a half hours away from a new year. Yay to that, I guess. Then I could legitimately say that I'd been on a mission that lasted a year. It's the little things to look forward to, right?
"Alright, how do we get in?" Sky asked softly. We were stood across the street, hiding on the roof of some tourist trap that was about five stories tall. Not too high, not too low. We wer all little Goldilocks in the making.
"Well, I was thinking that, maybe, I would give you lovely ladies a tour of the Prime City sewage system," Scott grinned lazily.
Eve wrinkled her nose but sighed defeatedly. Even she was used to this sort of thing by now and Eve was generally a very clean person.
Sky and I exchanged glances before I gestured exaggeratedly for Scott to lead the way down from the fire escape.
Oh, this would be fun.