n

n

nTalking about the lengths of relationships made Christian's chest feel tight because he knew there was an expiration date on his own even though he wanted it to last forever. How much longer would he get to enjoy this?

nThe thought continued to bother him over the next few weeks. And of course, being the unsympathetic brother he often was, Liam had to bring it up one Saturday night when Avery had other plans.

nIt was the first time they had gone a whole day without seeing each other in weeks—the sole perk of having broken bones and not being able to do hero work—so he was already in a bad mood. The reminder of his situation made things worse.

n

"Pretty sure Mom is mentally planning your wedding,

" Liam snickered from his place on the couch as he played a game on his Nintendo Switch.

n

"She probably is,

" Christian said grimly.

"Avery told me she reached out about going shopping together one of these days. She's always wanted a daughter and is devastated every time you break up with one of your girlfriends. The same thing is going to happen again so she shouldn't get her hopes up.

"

n

"It doesn't have to though. You're allowed to not be noble and self-sacrificing for more than five minutes, you know. Marry her, retire from heroism, and be the boring lawyer you are full-time.

"

n

"Liam, you know why I can't do that.

"

n

"You can't play hero forever and you could do a lot worse than settling down with someone crazy about you who can handle Mom and Dad and makes delicious cakes. What's really stopping you?

" his brother asked point blank.

nChristian sighed.

"I can't turn my stupid sixth sense off. It's been driving me crazy the whole time I've been in my cast. If I can't handle it for a month how am I supposed to handle it forever?

"

n

"Try talking to one of those power suppressant people from the billboards.

"

n

"But then I wouldn't be able to fly anymore! That would feel wrong. It's a part of me; I can't give that up.

"

n

"Then quit being a baby about it. Maybe you could meditate or do yoga or whatever. Like I said, talk to the power suppressant people. They have client confidentiality like doctors or lawyers so they can't rat on you if you go in for a consultation. Maybe it is possible to only turn the sixth sense off,

" Liam suggested.

"I don't know. Go live your life for once; someone will replace you sooner or later.

"

n

"Gee, thanks.

"

n

"Seriously though, Chris. You shouldn't leave Avery hanging forever. She deserves better than that.

"

nChristian knew that. It was why he hadn't wanted to get involved with her in the first place but she insisted, saying she wasn't looking for anything long-term either.

nTwo months couldn't be considered long-term by any stretch of the imagination but based on the way she looked at him she was every bit as enamored of him as he was of her. His leaving would hurt her and he didn't want that.

nHe couldn't think about retiring this soon though. Maybe if he and Avery had been together for a while and she seemed to have changed her mind about not wanting anything long-term he could look into it.

n

"Yeah, yeah,

" Christian muttered.

nLiam went back to his video game silently but smugly. He knew he had won this round by at least getting his brother to think about it.

nAnd he did. He thought about it a lot right until he got his cast off and his broken rib had mostly healed. By that point he was itching to get back into the fray, as much as he hated dealing with villains, because he wanted his stupid sixth sense to shut off once in a while.

nHe didn't like leaving Avery though. He had gotten used to seeing her all weekend. He had been spoiled by his vacation from reality but that was over now. The real world was waiting for him.

nOn his first night back in the field Christian ended up tag-teaming with Frostine to take down a group of low-class newbie villains clearly involved in their first ever scheme. When he arrived she raised an eyebrow and spoke in her usual cool, emotionless way.

n

"I thought you were dead.

"

n

"I was incapacitated for a while but I'm alright now. What do you need me to do?

" he asked.

n

"You're faster than I am so round them up. Once they're cornered I can freeze their feet to the ground until the police arrive,

" she said without so much as looking at him.

nChristian did as Frostine asked and the fight ended in less than fifteen minutes. These wannabe villains really were too pitiful. They had to stand around waiting for the police to show up for a while and she finally regarded him with cold gray eyes behind a sparkling white mask.

n

"Incapacitated how? I've never heard of anyone taking you down in any meaningful way before.

"

nHe sighed. That's because no one had ever managed to do it before Nox. He was embarrassed to admit it but he had no real reason to lie to his colleague.

"Someone very strong with the ability to jump long distance used me as a springboard mid-air and I crashed through a building and landed on my wrist though one of my ribs wasn't doing too hot either.

"

nFrostine didn't bat an eye at his explanation.

"I have never heard of someone with such powers.

"

n

"I don't think anyone has heard of him. He isn't like the rest of these idiots; he's more of a cat burglar than anything. Calls himself Nox. He's been active longer than any other villain I've ever known of and hasn't been caught. He's stronger and faster than I am.

"

n

"Clearly, or you would not have been incapacitated. What was he stealing when you fought him?

"

n

"Insulin, of all things. I asked if he was making a bioweapon or something—another thing about this guy is that he never monologues about his plans—and he blew me off by saying maybe he was diabetic. I never found out what he was using it for because he got away.

"

n

"Have you ever seen anything else he was stealing?

" Frostine asked as her eyes narrowed slightly. She was thinking over what he said.

nChristian shook his head.

"No. He strikes various warehouses and businesses all over the city and either steals something small or destroys things. No flashy blackmail graffiti explaining why he did it or including threats. Just destruction.

n

"He never hurts anybody either. In fact, a while back when he blew up a room with a bomb he told me to make sure I got the security guards he knocked out away from the blast. Somehow he knew that room was made like a bomb shelter and taking it out wouldn't take the whole building down with it. Said so himself.

n

"I really don't get him…he isn't like the other villains. Their motives are easy to pick apart even if they are ridiculous and they never manage to rampage for long without getting caught. I've been fighting him for more than four years now.

"

nFrostine mulled this over.

"Intriguing. He may believe he is doing the right thing and is slowly but methodically working toward some long-term goal. A stealth mission best done from the shadows rather than by garnering public attention. I wonder if there is some sort of link between his attacks that you aren't seeing.

"

nChristian frowned. Like what? They were all completely unconnected…though now that he thought about it, at least once a month Nox hit some sort of medical supplies warehouse.

nWas he always stealing insulin? Why would he do that? Diabetics needed that to live! Oh. Diabetics needed that to live. Frostine said he might believe he was doing the right thing. Was he stealing it to give it away to people who needed it but couldn't afford it? There had been a lot of hype recently about soaring insulin prices.

n

"Do you think he thinks of himself as some sort of Robin Hood?

" he asked.

n

"I would say that is likely though that would not explain the destruction. That may be but one part of his plan. People's motivations are far more multifaceted than the buffoons we tend to fight would lead you to believe,

" Frostine said wisely.

nShe sounded like she knew a lot about human nature. Maybe her secret identity was a psychologist.

nChristian may have underestimated Nox all this time. He had seemed fairly frantic about getting the box back from him after it was opened and the contents were revealed. Normally, he was cool as a cucumber about everything, which made sense considering the suit he wore appeared to make him indestructible.

nFreaking out about the insulin meant it was important to him. That he cared deeply about whatever purpose he had for it. If it was to give it to poor diabetics…he was more of an antihero than a villain.

nThat would make a lot of sense considering what happened at the restaurant with Inferno. If he thought he was doing the right thing by stealing and destroying with a specific plan in mind it was entirely possible he jumped into the fray because he wasn't sure any other heroes would show up and wanted to take Inferno down before any innocent people got hurt.

nChristian didn't like this. His entire worldview had been turned on its head. The man he had been trying to stop for so long might not be completely evil after all!

nIt didn't change the fact that what he was doing was illegal or that his ultimate plan was most likely nefarious but if he wasn't all bad this posed a problem. How was he supposed to fight someone trying to keep diabetics alive?

nEvery other week there were stories on the news about people dying because they rationed their insulin after being unable to afford it even with insurance. People were holding protests over it in major cities across the country. New York City wasn't one of them. Was it because of Nox's efforts?

nImpossible. He only stole small boxes. There was no way he could provide insulin to that many people. If he was doing this to help it had to be for someone specific. Someone close to him.

nChristian turned back to Frostine hoping to run more by her but the police had arrived and she was busy talking to them. He didn't have time to wait around to chat anyway; another distress signal was coming from a different part of town.

n