Virtue

"Every time I'm here, it's always so quiet.."

Alex shifted his weight from foot to foot, enjoying the lightness of his body. He'd been able to walk this time around, and had done so for what felt like only a handful of minutes when the familiar young girl appeared before him. Once again she had her back to him, hunched over. 

'Coloring again? Or still…? How does time work here anyway.. '

He neared the girl, now only a few feet away. This time he didn't sense that "other" presence. He felt at ease enough to sit with the girl, whose face was hidden by her long hair.

"Hello.." He began, maintaining a soft voice so as to not frighten her. When he got no response, he glanced down at her paper and watched as she drew. She was coloring in the hair of a blonde man, with green eyes and a friendly smile. He was accompanied by another man, who had spiked black hair and red eyes. Alex scanned the paper diligently and discovered a third person, woman, with wavy hair and green eyes. All three held tenuous smiles as they stood. Alex even noticed a familiar sun drawn in the corner of the page. The same sun he would draw in his own doodles as a child. He stared at the picture, eyeing the woman. A tightening started to take place in Alex's chest, as he regretfully came to the realization that he knew her. 

"That's Charmaine.." 

Silence. Immediately after asking the question, every last semblance of air rushed from his lungs. Alex then promptly hurled over, nearly face planting. The girl's crayon continued purposefully scribbling as she answered.

"Yes."

He felt all pressure leave his body, the crushing sensation in his chest gone. He took a moment to adjust before returning to his spot next to the child. 

"Oh, uh. Okay! Yeah okay! Ha..Did you do that?" 

"Indeed."

"I see…" He chuckled nervously, sweating buckets. "Can you tell me where we are..?" 

She paused, and then held her crayon up, gesturing it in a "circle" motion. 

"Refuge." 

"Oh..Okay! That's cool…Wait, refuge? From..?" 

The girl stood. She shot him a fierce glare, and for the first time Alex saw her eyes, an impossible bright pink glowed from behind each iris. "Let's go." She murmured, returning to her paper. She began murmuring to herself loud enough for Alex to hear. " Can't let… You need to wake up."

"Wait! Where are we going?! And what do you mean? What's going on?!"

"It could fry your brain," she stated calmly. "But the next time you come here I'll tell you more. Until then."

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"How's Alex?" Hazel listened closely as the doctor reassured her that he was alright. She and Stefani had left the night prior as soon as Alex's grandmother appeared, though not of their own will. The elderly woman had demanded that both young women get rest, and that as hard working heroes they needed sleep and food, so they obliged. Hazel found herself smiling at the memory before the doctor pulled her out of her thoughts. 

"Ready to go! It was a pleasure to work with you, ma'am. " 

After parting ways, she had come in and insisted Alex get some water. As he drank, enjoying the cool sensation, Hazel caught him up.

"Are you feeling ok? I can drive you."

"You have a car?" He questioned aloud, thinking it was sort of useless. 

"Yeah. I drive a beetle, why do you ask? You do know I can't fly, right?" She scoffed, guiding him out of the clinic and to her beloved Volkswagen. Getting in, he noticed a picture hanging from the rearview mirror. There was a young girl who he assumed was Hazel, with the same bright eyes and dimpled cheeks. She sat next to a man with neatly combed hair, a beard and light eyes similar to Hazel's very own.

He buckled himself in as Hazel began driving. Pointing to the picture, he asked, "Is that your dad?" Not taking her eyes off the road, she shrugged. "Yeah. He passed away though." 

"Oh. I'm sorry, Hazel. I can't imagine having to go through that at such a young age.."

"It is what it is. What about your family?"

"Well," Alex squeezed his shoulder tightly. "I don't really know. Most of my life both mom and dad have been working overseas, so it's always just been my grandma, my sisters and I." 

"Gotcha," she smiled at him. "So! Hero team huh? Honestly, I don't even know if teams are legal, considering the whole ranking system and whatnot…"

Nodding In response the rest of the ride was silent. It had occurred to Alex that he had no idea where they were going when she pulled into the parking lot of Abby's Diner. It wasn't crowded in the slightest, from what he could see. 

"Stefani texted me and asked if we'd meet her here. I guess she's still hung up about Dante."

Alex looked over to her, confused.  "What do you mean?"

She gathered her purse and coat.

"You'll see."

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"Guys! Over here!" A familiar voice yelled out to them the minute they entered. The diner was warm, cozy and thankfully empty, minus a lone elderly man. He sat nursing a cup of coffee near Stefani's table. The woman didn't mind waiting and had already ordered her meal, a comically large bowl of mac & cheese with an ungodly amount of jalapeños lobbed on top. Alex vowed to never try her cooking. 

"Are you hungry? Get what you want, on me!" 

They both obliged, nursing their drinks as Stefani spoke.

"I think it's a good idea if we let Jason do his thing. I'm sure he has responsibilities that he can't escape, given who he is," she wiggled her eyebrows. "So that's the good news." 

"What's the bad news?" Hazel asked, poking at her plate of garlic fries. 

"I can't help but think we're a bit..Uneducated-" Stefani gestured awkwardly, hands waving in the air. "Point is, I messed up. I don't want the beatdown from Dante to weigh on us, okay? The next time we fight him we'll be the ones on top." 

Her friends nodded in unison, confusion clear on their faces. Hazel was the first to speak.

"I mean," she began. "It's not that big of a deal. I see it as practice. I'm not that bummed about it. "

"Stefani, was that your first time losing?" Alex blurted. 

She nearly spat out her drink. "What?! No- I mean- Well- Yeah?- No- Shut up!" The window suddenly became very interesting. "Anyway, Alex, Charmaine said that your suit should be done tomorrow morning."

"Oh, sweet!" Alex hummed, his mind casted back to the drawing of that very same woman, done by the girl in "Refuge". 

' There must be more to Charmaine than leads on. If my powers are somehow connected to her through that girl..I should investigate. But how? ' 

"Stefani," he began. The older woman looked at him in acknowledgment, happy at the topic change. "How'd you meet Charmaine anyway?"

The older woman shrugged and waved her hand dismissively. 

"My dad recommended her, apparently she's close friends with him from way back. I guess she also made my brother's suit too. I thought heck, why not right? If you're worried about material or anything like that, I promise it'll be as comfy as my own!"

"Brother? You mean Sam? He's like ten right?" He questioned. 

"Huh? Oh, no, my older brother, I swear I've told you about him before..?" 

"Guys," Hazel cut in, grabbing both of their attention. "Guys. The TV. Oh my god.." She hung her head in shame as the small tv hanging from the restaurants bar blasted:

" Just in, the young prodigy Jetfade was seen battling the head of the Animen, Dante Cabro late last night. Eyewitnesses reveal he was accompanied by Lady Mana and two unknown civilians, potential victims to the cruel and unjust Animal men. More importantly, investigators say that Dante may have connections with Edgar Aurora, once renowned for his groundbreaking developments in genetic engineering turned madman. Do not hesitate to call on our local heroes for help, more at six. " 

"Well, that settles that." Stefani grinned. She was shaken by the shoulders as Hazel whispered, "They just called you an unknown civilian! How are you not embarrassed?!" 

"He gets publicity, we get leniency. I think it balances out, no?"

"Ugh, I'm spent.." Resting his chin on the table and closing his eyes. "So tired.."

"Dude you just got out of a coma." 

"It's not a coma if I was only out for two days!" He argued. "Also, In case you've forgotten, I'm a college student! I've got things I need to do outside of this job!" 

"You wanna drive him back?" Hazel asked, her tone indicating it was less of a question and more of a demand.

"Sure, c'mon Alex! Up and at em'!"