Memories

He stood in dirt.

Among all the graves here, this one—this gravestone—was the only one without a face. The only one without a name.

Jamie was the sole person here, of course. The graveyard wasn't particularly big, and even though people did visit, they rarely came this time of day. Besides, no one was here to visit an unnamed grave. Not this one.

He glanced upwards. Ahead of him—an array of willow trees and moss-covered graves, crammed together like rows of teeth. In the distance was the skyline view of a bustling city—a spare cloud here and there dotting the bright blue sky. For a day as ideal as this one, he really shouldn't have come here. He never had a good reason to come here.

Why, then, did he come here?

Graveyards were constant reminders of the past. Past grudges. Past loves. Past betrayals. Past memories. And with the past came uncomfortable—and often ugly—emotions.

And yet, he still came. He still visited. He stood in dirt—dirt that seemed to cling to the soles of his shoes every time he left. Dirt that never seemed to fully wash away.

He put a hand over his forehead, letting out a sigh. He knew it was time to leave. He'd been there long enough.

Jamie stuffed his hands back into his long, black coat. He was ready to walk out the chain-link fence gate and leave this cemetery. Maybe this would be the last time he came here. Maybe he could finally move on.

After looking at the gravestone once more, he turned to the side. His eyes widened.

"Audrey?"

A woman stood in front of him. Her hands were clasped together, hovering just above her waist. Her frizzy, black hair rested on her shoulders. Her face was muddled by an emotion he couldn't fully perceive. Coldness, perhaps. That was his best guess. Or, maybe he was just imagining things.

She glanced at the unmarked grave before looking at him again.

"I hope I'm not bothering you, Jamie."

He shook his head.

"I was just about to leave."

Jamie moved forward, hands still in his pockets. She stood still for a few seconds before quickly catching up.

"You weren't answering the communicator. That's the only reason I came here."

Jamie figured as much. He always turned the notifications off whenever he visited the graveyard. He wasn't supposed to, but the likelihood of any superhero emergency happening while he came here was next to none. Well… that's what he assumed, anyway.

"What's the situation, then?"

"Villain stuff," she said. "As always."

He forced a smile.

"As always."

Silence quickly grew over them as they walked side by side. Far out in the distance was the faint view of a chain-link fence. A car was parked on the other side of the street, with the engine still running.

Audrey glanced at him. "Are you sure you want to do it?"

"Do… what, exactly?"

"The mission."

Jamie's face turned cold.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," she said.

"Is it serious?"

Audrey cocked her head to the side. "... maybe. Just a little bit."

"Then I'll do it."

"But you don't have to, Jamie. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Even heroes take breaks."

"Why do you think I need a break?"

Audrey stopped walking. After realizing that she wasn't at his side anymore, Jamie stopped as well.

"Audrey?"

He looked at her, but she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at the soil. The dirt. A few moments later, she let out a sigh.

"I know you don't want to talk about it. That's why I'm not going to bring it up," she said. "But you can't pretend it never happened. And you also can't shove it deep inside, hoping it'll go away."

She maintained an unwavering look in her eyes, but he avoided them.

"I get what you're feeling. Out of all the people in this world, I understand," she said, pausing briefly. "I had to take time off too, you know. It… it wasn't…"

Jamie moved closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Audrey," he said. "I'll take a break later. Just let me do this one mission. Please."

She didn't say or do anything for just a few moments. Then, she walked forward. Jamie was forced to drop his hand as she moved ahead.

"The driver's waiting." She turned her head. "We should get moving."

Jamie nodded, following right behind her. As they reached the gates, Jamie took one glance at the cemetery that was behind him. Although he couldn't see the grave from here—through the trees and bramble—he knew it was there.

The car itself was a regular, black luxury vehicle except for a white symbol plastered on each car door. The symbol was rather simplistic and made up of a building, three human-shaped silhouettes, and a star centered at the top. It was the latest redesign of the Hero Foundation logo… something that Jamie didn't really care for.

The passenger car door clicked as Audrey pulled it wide open. Jamie got in first, with Audrey following suit.

"Where to?" the driver said as Jamie was strapping himself in.

Audrey leaned forward. "The airport, please."

The driver nodded in response and began to drive.

"The… airport?" Jamie's eyebrows were furrowed as he turned to look at her. "You didn't say we were going to the airport."

"Well, the mission is located in Orehull city."

"Orehull? I guess it's not too far from here, but… don't they have their own heroes?"

"That's what I told the Foundation," Audrey sighed. "But they said they needed backup, so here we are."

"Just how serious is this mission?"

"In terms of potential casualties? Probably next to zero," she said. "In terms of a lot of wealthy people losing their money? Quite a bit, yeah."

"Not another bank mission," Jamie placed a hand over his forehead, leaning forward. "Don't these supervillains have anything better to do?"

Audrey let out a brief chuckle. "Well, think of it this way: the Foundation actually got alerted to the villain's plot before it happened."

Jamie chuckled. "I guess I should be grateful for that, but…when's the actual 'attack' supposed to happen then?"

"Somewhere between 12 to 2 A.M."

"Have you told the others?"

"Lex and Val are still busy, but yeah—I told them," Audrey said. "They'll be at the location a few hours after we arrive."

Jamie looked out of the window. He could see the city skyline more clearly from here, only partially blocked by an array of trees that lined the road. This is going to be a long day, he thought.

"Jamie."

He turned his head to look back. Her eyebrows were raised, and she had an expectant look in her brown eyes.

"Don't forget what you said."

Jamie smiled. "You're such a nag, y'know? Always getting on my ass when I don't need you to be."

Audrey's expression remained the same.

Jamie rubbed his head a few moments after. "Fine, fine, I'll do it. I'll take a break as soon as we're done with this. I'll have some good ol' me time."

Audrey shook her head, letting out a small chuckle. She quickly returned to her original sitting position—her arms crossed and her head perched on the back of the headrest.

Jamie rested his elbow against his side of the door, staring right out the window. A passenger jet, soaring high above, was getting ready to land somewhere even farther in the distance.

A break.

His eyebrows furrowed as he thought.

Is it really time for me… to take a break?

————

A lone sailboat sat in the middle of the ocean. Gentle waves rocked the boat as it basked in warm sunlight. It was quiet. Still. Empty. Someone might have assumed the boat was abandoned or their passengers were adrift at sea. They would quickly realize this wasn't the case.

Inside the boat's interior room, there happened to be five passengers. Miya Arabejo—also known as 'Poison Child'—was one of these passengers. Like the other four supervillains on this boat, she was here for one singular goal. And right before her, two of her subordinates were fighting… again.

"I can't believe they bought it," one of the male supervillains said, smiling soon after. He reached inside the mini-fridge that was located near the kitchenette. The light above swayed back and forth with the boat.

"How many times are you going to bring that up?" Another supervillain scoffed. "You're ridiculous."

The male supervillain held out a small soda can in his hand, shutting the fridge door behind him. Like all the rest of the supervillains on board, he was wearing casual summer attire. It was appropriate for the weather and good for ensuring they didn't stand out too much.

"I'll talk about it as much as I want to, Electron," he said. "I'm the one who did it. I'm the one who faked the intel. I'm the one—"

"So what? You did what you were supposed to do," Electron rolled her eyes. "Anyone could have lied to the Foundation about a bank heist."

Miya watched on, imagining them as contestants from terrible reality shows. Of course, she didn't want to watch them, but there were only so many entertaining things you could do on a boat. However, even for her… this was getting troublesome.

"Enough already," Miya said. "Do you two have nothing better to do? You're both wasting your energy. You know full well you're going to need it."

Darkstar and Electron spun their heads towards her as she spoke. They both went silent. Miya hoped they'd just stop talking to each other altogether.

Miya rolled her eyes, then walked over to the other corner of the room.

This corner contained Deranged Gorilla and Venus, who were sitting by the only window in this wretched room. They silently played checkers, only making brief conversation when Electron and Darkstar weren't yelling at one another.

Venus was the only person here who was… different, to say the least. Like the rest of them, she wore civilian clothes, but it didn't really act as a disguise. It was a bit hard to disguise what was, essentially, her green, leaf-covered body and the barbs that stuck out of her shoulders and arms. "Venus" was shorthand for Venus Fly-Trap, if one didn't guess already.

Deranged Gorilla—while a fascinating name—was an underwhelming villain. He wore a gorilla suit and had super strength. That was it. He didn't even wear the suit anymore. Miya felt compelled, once or twice, to ask him if he could wear the suit again, but she always decided against it. He seemed to have a deeply troubled relationship with it, and Miya thought it best if she left that topic alone.

"Poison."

Miya turned to look at the person addressing her. It was Electron, who seemed to be done with her argument with Darkstar. Her face was dark and stern.

"We're set to move," Electron said.

"What's our ETA?"

"We'll reach the island in exactly one hour. If we leave now, that is."

Miya looked down, keeping quiet. She could feel El's eyes on her.

"It's your decision," Electron said. "You still have time to change your mind. We don't have to go through with this."

"Change my mind?" Miya scoffed. "We already put this much effort into this, and you want me to change my mind?"

Darkstar, Venus, and Deranged Gorilla collectively watched the two—trying their best not to make any sound or movement.

"I didn't say that; I was only suggesting—"

Miya's violet eyes were steadily locked with hers.

"What's our team name, El?"

"Is… this a trick question?"

"Tell me."

Electron looked to the side. "...Second-Stringers."

"Second-Stringers," Miya laughed. "What kind of a name is Second-Stringers, anyway? What team would name themselves that? Unless…"

Electron sighed. "...that's what the other villain groups would keep calling us."

"Better than the 'Leftovers,' at least," Darkstar interjected. "Oh! Or the 'Shit-Stains.' Remember when they called us that?"

Miya glared at him. "Of course, I remember. I also remember telling you not to bring that up."

Darkstar simply laughed in response, moving to find a place to sit down.

"El," Miya redirected her attention back to Electron. "We're doing this. We're going to do this, and we're going to be god damn heroes. Well, villains. You get my gist—right?"

"Of course."

"C'mon, let's start moving then," Miya said. "We have to be there on time. Not too early, not too late. We have to get there when their security is weakest."

Electron nodded. She quickly made her way to the stairs that led up to the boat deck.

Miya prepared herself to go over and lecture the others, but they seemed to have gotten the memo as well, as they all started moving to get ready.

As she watched as the others climbed up the stairs, Miya stood by the window. Only the blue ocean and sky lay before her. There wasn't a single plane, boat, or island remotely in sight. It was a sight that she grew absolutely sick of, even worsened by the fact they were doing this mission in the first place.

Miya knew one thing: they'd no longer be called "Second-Stringers" by the end of this. Instead, they'd be known as legends. Even gods, perhaps. Every villain and hero would be in awe—and fear—at what they'd become.

But, even for Miya… there was that stinging sense of doubt that never seemed to leave her. It was the type of doubt that made her wonder: was this really worth the risk?

She could hear the clamoring of feet on the floor above her. Miya kept her gaze on the ocean—directing her eyes towards the prison island's direction. Although it was nowhere in sight, she knew it was there. She could just feel it.

Sacrifices have to be made, she thought. That's the only way we'll be able to move forward.

She then turned, and walked up the stairs.