Tuesday Night – Chapter Four [Kanon, superhero, Sunfire/Teen Steel, mm]

Title: Tuesday Night
Author: Harper Kingsley
Setting: Kanon-verse
Genre: superhero, mm
WARNING: Some spoilers for “Pulse of the City“

CHAPTER FOUR

Tony had taken to calling him by his real name. It should have been disconcerting, but instead Seth found himself pleased.

It was funny in retrospect, the look on Tony’s face the first time he’d called him “Seth” instead of “Sunfire.” Seth had been surprised, but he’d forced himself to pretend that it wasn’t a completely amazing, life altering event. Tony had wiped the strange expression off his face and pretended like it was completely natural for him to call Seth by his civilian. It was something he did from then on.

Seth tried to pretend that he wasn’t having inner conniptions. Tony was near pathologically set in his ways. The only member of the team he’d called by her real name was Ashley, and she’d been a childhood friend turned girlfriend. Seth was just another one of his teammates.

Even knowing it was stupid to feel honored just because Tony was willing to use his name, he really was. Though he kind of wished his heart would stop leaping into his throat every time Tony called him by name. It was stupid to start getting his hopes up again; all that would happen was that his heart would be broken.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Seth stood from the couch and tried to escape from team movie night without anyone noticing.

He knew he’d failed when Tony immediately hit pause on the remote control. “Where are you going?” It wasn’t quite a demand–the tone was friendly for one thing–but it didn’t leave a lot of room for avoidance either.

“I’ve gotta head out for a while,” Seth said. “I have a family thing.”

Tony quirked an eyebrow. “A family thing?”

Seth looked at his teammates and didn’t want to say anything. These were the people he trusted his life to, but they weren’t exactly his friends. They were work colleagues. The only one he felt any real emotional connection to was Tony, and that whole deal was a tangled mess of misguided lust and awkwardness that he was hoping would solve itself.

Finally Seth gave in and said, “My grandmother is expecting me for a late supper.”

“Your grandmother?” Both of Tony’s eyebrows went up and did that strange mating caterpillar thing they did over the edge of his mask. “Why didn’t you say you had plans tonight?”

“It’s no big deal.” Seth shrugged. “You guys go back to watching the movie and I’ll be back later.” He met Tony’s eyes and tried to convey the thought that he would explain more in privacy.

“All right. Be careful,” Tony said.

Seth smiled in relief. At the best of times, Tony wasn’t the smartest guy on the planet, though he had a caring heart that usually made up for what he was missing in the brains department. Plus he was sexy enough to model underwear, and that earned him a lot of slack.

“I’ll see you later,” Seth said.

He zipped up his jacket and strode out through the balcony doors. He’d ditch the mask before he reached the hotel his grandmother was staying at. She didn’t approve of costumed hijinks, thought it was too low-brow.

She had firm ideals that she’d never bothered to change in ninety-six years. Never mind that she was an open metahuman with some kind of longevity metability. Nearly a centenarian, and she maybe looked to be in her early forties. It had been a hardship for him as a kid, having such a hot grandma. It had always freaked him out whenever someone said anything about how good looking she was.

She was his Nana. The idea of her being sexually appealing to anyone was more than he could bear. It was too disturbing.

Seth laughed at himself and twisted onto his back so he could look up at the night sky.

The stars were bright against the velvet dark and there was only a thin trail of clouds, vivid with the brightness of the fullmoon. It was a beautiful night, the air cool and clear. If he squinted, he imagined he could see the swirling heart of the Milky Way.

It was beautiful.

Seth smiled, basking in the light of the universe for a few minutes. Then he flew to the hotel where his Nana was staying and prepared himself for the grilling he was about to receive.

She would want to know everything that was happening in his life: his friends, his enemies, his dreams and desires. And she was entirely too perceptive, able to read every emotion on his face and tell what he was thinking.

When he’d been a kid he’d thought Nana was a mind-reader. But it was just that she knew him so well that there was nothing he could hide from her.

She was his Nana.

* * *

Tony pushed aside his curiosity about Sunfire’s secretiveness and focused on the movie. It was one he’d wanted to see for a while, but had missed in the theaters. The Doom Twins had held the city under siege for two months and most everyone he knew had been infested with brain worms. It had been a bad situation all around and he’d not had a chance to do anything non-brain worm related.

Yet he was having a hard time concentrating on the story and he didn’t know why. It was usually the kind of movie he would have enjoyed.

“Why are you so twitchy? This is a great movie,” Powergirl said. She was wearing black sweatpants and had a large bowl of buttery popcorn on her lap. She was as casual as she ever got.

Tony scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry. I’m way too distracted for movie night.”

She slanted him a “Whatever” glance and went back to focusing on the movie. A giant monster was ravaging a city while panicked civilians screamed and fled. There were lots of explosions and destroyed buildings. There was something poetic about the flames blazing against the backdrop of the night sky.

He stared at the monsters and wished he could get into the movie. There was something about giant robots that he’d always loved.

*What is wrong with me?* he wondered, slouching back on the couch. But he had an idea about what was going on and it made him nervous.

Sunfire was the kind of attractive that no one could deny. Golden blond hair, vivid green eyes, and pretty boy good looks that never came across as feminine. He wasn’t the usual muscle-bound hero that Tony knew himself to be. Sunfire was lean and fit and never seemed awkward in his costume.

Tony had always liked girls, and he still liked girls, but Sunfire was Sunfire. He was the kind of inescapable beautiful that no one should ever feel ashamed of admiring. So Tony didn’t.

Sometimes he checked out Sunfire and he had to admit that he liked what he saw. And it wasn’t like Sunfire was just a hot body. He was a good guy too, and a great friend to have.

Tony was glad to have someone he could hang out with at the Demi Lair. They hadn’t quite become out-of-costume friends, but they hung out a lot and Tony thought it was only a matter of time. Which made Tony curious about what Sunfire’s life was like out of costume.

*He has a grandmother. That’s something you know about him*, he thought. And that was completely pathetic considering they’d worked together for close to four years. But it wasn’t like he’d gone out of his way to open up his life to Sunfire either. They’d both held onto their secrets.

Tony was glad to have Sunfire as a friend because the guy was great. He’d been supportive after Ashley had died and Tony hadn’t known if he was going to be able to hold himself together. Sunfire hadn’t even given him much shit after his awkward team breaking fling with Solar. Sunfire had stayed at his side and gotten him through the worst of his grief and the accompanying mistakes.

He still missed Ashley and he didn’t think that was ever going to change. But he didn’t feel so much like a large chunk had been ripped out of the center him and he was bleeding out on the floor. He was going to be able to continue with the rest of his life.

And a large part of that new hope had come about because Sunfire was such a great friend. He had stuck around when Tony was in the midst of the angst and woe stage of loss. He hadn’t even complained when there’d been days worth of rage and tears.

Sunfire had given him other things to think about and gotten him through the worst of his grief. So it bothered him to realize how much he hadn’t bothered to learn about Sunfire. He’d been too self-involved, and he promised himself that things were going to be different.

Tony focused on the movie. The sequel was coming out in a couple of weeks. He figured he and Sunfire could go see it together.

* * *

As usual, Seth left his Nana’s presence feeling rung dry. She’d read so deep into him that he’d felt stripped naked to her eyes.

He stopped at the convenience store down the street from the Demi Lair and ignored the gaping clerk as he picked out a red Gatorade. The woman had to be new.

He paid for his drink and left, the door making a cheerful “bing-bong” sound. He cracked the lid on his Gatorade and drank while he walked along the quiet nighttime streets to headquarters. He scuffed his feet and tipped his head back to look at the sky.

Everyone knew the building the Teen Demis worked out of, and it was one of the most law abiding areas of the city. Having a national level supergroup in the neighborhood kept the trouble down to a minimum.

He finished his Gatorade and dropped the bottle in the recycle bin before using his keycard to unlock the door and going inside. The lobby was dimly lit. The big front desk looked strange without the usual bowl of hard candies and stack of handouts, but they were always put away at night.

He rubbed the back of his neck and trudged toward the wide metal elevator. He pushed the button and set about waiting.

“Muh.”

Seth turned, his hackles rising. That had been a strange sound. And when he concentrated, he thought he heard something moving, breathing in the shadowed room.

“Is someone there?” he asked, while keeping his back to the wall as he did a slow circuit, his eyes peeled for anything suspicious.

There was a muffled snuffling sound and he zeroed in on the area behind the desk. He gave it a wide berth, not wanting to fight in close quarters, and came around to the backside of it.

There was the fuzzy gold of a forcefield in a large box shape. Inside was a mostly white car seat with yellow ducks printed on the fabric cover. And strapped in the car seat was a baby wearing a navy blue onesie and a yellow knit cap.

Seth stood there for a long moment, unsure about what he was supposed to do.

The baby seemed to be sleeping, dark eyelashes a fringe against chubby cheeks. It stirred every once and awhile, body shifting and small sounds escaping as it tried to get comfortable, though it never woke. Drool shone down its chin to dampen the collar of its onesie. There was a green stuffed turtle tucked against the baby’s right arm, a tiny pale hand clenched on a flipper leg.

He noted the blue diaper bag behind the car seat and felt his stomach sink. Someone had abandoned a baby in the Demi Lair. Someone that had access to forcefield technology. The whole situation screamed “Danger!”

Seth approached the forcefield with care, ready to leap away if a trap went off. It wasn’t the first time that a child had been used as bait to take down a superhero. The baby only looked to be a few months old and he didn’t know what kind of person would use someone so tiny as bait.

The forcefield controller was on the floor practically under the wheels of a desk chair. He didn’t try to pick it up, just examined it closely for clues. Finally he brushed a finger across the blank screen, which obliged him by lighting up.

INPUT TD ID CODE

“TD” had to be Teen Demi. He tapped the team code into the numerical pad that appeared and there was a musical tone before the forcefield shut off with a snap.

“Well, that’s weird,” he muttered to himself.

He slowly approached the car seat and crouched down to try to peer under it. He didn’t see any pressure sensors or anything and he finally decided there wasn’t a bomb under the baby.

Seth picked up the car seat by the handle and noticed a white envelope underneath. He scooped up the envelope and carried the car seat toward the elevator, careful not to jostle it too much. The baby didn’t stir as they rode the elevator up to the top floor.

“Someone left us a little gift,” he announced as he stepped out.

“That’s a baby,” Powergirl said. She sat up from her languid sprawl on the couch. She barely managed to catch the bowl of popcorn that had been balanced on her chest and set it on the coffee table. “Where did you get a baby?”

“In the lobby inside a biolocked forcefield.” He held up the envelope. “Who wants the honor of reading the included note?”
Powergirl snatched it from his fingers. “I will.”

“Good.” Seth carried the car seat over to the dining table and set it down. He looked at the sleeping baby. “Maybe there’s something wrong with this kid. There’s been a lot of sleeping happening.”

Queen Midnight came over. Shadows licked strangely around her feet where they stuck out of her purple leopard print pajamas. “I’m not a pediatrician, but I can take a quick look.”

She was only a little uncertain as she unstrapped the baby and picked it up. Her shadows flowed up onto the table and wrapped around the car seat and moved it to the floor. Other shadows snatched the afghan off the back of one of the couches and smoothed it across the table for her to lay the baby on. The snaps of the onesie releasing were loud as she checked the baby over–a boy, Seth noted with a sideways glance.

Powergirl spat out a low curse and Seth looked at her. She glared at Tony. “Really, is this why the twins left?”

Tony gave her a baffled look. “What?”

“Were you banging Solar?” At Tony’s expression, she shook her head and began reading the note: “‘Dear Teen Demis. This is my baby. I’ve named him Henry David. His father is Teen Steel, who I think should take some responsibility for what he did. I’ll be back for Henry David later, but right now I’m with a new group and there’s no way I can take care of a baby and do my job at the same time. So make sure Teen Steel treats Henry David right, and thank you for caring about my baby. Sincerely, Solar.'”

Tony pointed, his mouth opening in a little ‘o’ of shock. “That’s my baby?”

“So she says,” Powergirl said. “DNA will prove one way or another. I just can’t believe she would abandon her baby like that. I mean, what the hell? Why wouldn’t she talk to one of us or something when she dropped him off?”

Seth piped up, “The baby was in a biolocked forcefield. If I hadn’t decided to come through the lobby, no one would have found the baby until morning. I am appalled that she could leave a baby like that.”

“She wanted to make sure it was one of us that found him,” Queen Midnight said. “This little guy seems fine, by the way. Though I am sad to say she drugged him to keep him quiet.” She held up a fold-creased piece of looseleaf paper. “She left a note saying what she used and instructing us to let him sleep it off.”

“She drugged a baby?” Tony raked a hand through his hair, his expression troubled. “But he’s so small.”

“It’s definitely not something that I’d recommend doing,” Queen Midnight said. She focused on getting the baby back into his clothes. There was something disturbing about the limp body being manhandled, no matter how careful she was.

Powergirl crossed her arms with a glare. “I’m still reeling at the information that Teen Steel slept with Solar, ran her out of the group, *and* got her pregnant. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it all, but I’m leaning towards pissed off.”

“I didn’t run her or Pulsar off,” Tony said. “We had sex once and it was a mistake. She never told me she was pregnant. I had no idea about *him*.”

“Well, he’s here now and what’s done is done,” Seth said, trying to head off a fight. He didn’t want to listen to Tony try to defend himself. “What’s the protocol for a member of the group having a baby?”

“It’s not something the group’s ever had to deal with,” Powergirl said. “It could be a PR nightmare. We’re a supposedly wholesome imaged supergroup. Babies are definitely not on the agenda. I’m going to have to report this to Overwatch.”

“Maybe you should wait until tomorrow to do that,” Seth suggested. “It’s nearly one in the morning now.”

Powergirl glanced at the wall clock. “You’re right. I’ll notify them first thing in the morning and they’ll contact Solar.” She pointed at Tony. “You don’t try to reach her at all.”

“But …”

She made a cutting gesture with her hand. “There are no buts. Overwatch will facilitate all communications. We don’t need you to get into a beef with Teen Demis West, because you better believe Solar will come out shiny clean. Don’t put us in that position. Follow ex-spouse protocols until you’re told otherwise. Understood?”

Tony looked reluctant, but he said, “I understand.”

Seth waved his hand. “So does this mean we have a baby in the Demi Lair?”

“Yeah,” Powergirl said.

“Well, this ought to be interesting,” Seth said. “And horrifying.”

He glanced at Tony, who was staring across the room at the baby and didn’t seem ready to get any closer. He had an expression on his face like he thought the baby would explode at any moment. It was funny and sad at the same time.

Seth didn’t know what Solar had been thinking to spring something like this on them all. A “Hey, I’m totally pregnant” greeting card would have been worth the money to send.

“But we’ll get through it,” he said.

Powergirl held up her fist. “Teen Demis stick together.”

“I left the forcefield generator and the baby’s diaper bag downstairs if you want to check them out,” he said.

“On it. Besides, we’re gonna want to figure out the diaper situation as soon as possible,” Queen Midnight said. She left, escaping the tension of the room.

Seth wished he could go with her. He stayed quiet instead. He sat at the table where he could stare at the baby and watch the way Tony slowly drifted across the room to stand in front of the car seat with a stupefied expression on his face.

The baby–Henry David–made a snuffling noise and turned his head in the other direction. Seth didn’t think, just pulled a napkin out of the dispenser and held it out to Tony, who took it and didn’t seem to know what to do for a moment. Then he tentatively patted at the drool coating the baby’s chin. He seemed to gain confidence when the baby didn’t shatter.

Seth had to admit the baby was cute, but it–he–was a baby. They were a team of superheroes, and now they’d been given a baby.

*This is going to be a complete disaster*, he thought.

* * *

He was a father. The idea of it boggled the mind.

Tony was keeping Henry David company while Queen Midnight gave the baby a complete physical. She’d turned the heat up in the med lab and Henry David was only wearing a diaper. He kicked his feet in the car seat, his hand clenched around a ring of toy plastic keys that had come out of the diaper bag.

“He’s small,” Tony observed.

Queen Midnight laughed. “He’s only four months old. He hasn’t even seen his first winter yet.”

Tony stared at the baby. The night of frenetic panicking had relieved some of the wilder emotions, but now he was in a state of shock. He kept looking at the baby, his eyes tracing over those chubby cheeks, the full-lips, and dark brown eyes.

He couldn’t tell if the baby looked like him or not, but it didn’t matter. Solar had had a baby. A baby she said was his.

He’d already caught Powergirl slanting him curious glances at breakfast. She hadn’t said anything, but she hadn’t had to.

There was a four month old baby in the Demi Lair. It was only a matter of time until word got out and the speculation started. Everyone was going to know that he’d slept with Solar and she’d gotten pregnant. Even if Henry David wasn’t his, the idea would already be out there.

He was going to lose some endorsements. His reputation was going to take a hit with parent groups. Everyone in the superhero community was going to know he’d slept with a teammate and ran her out of the group.

Tony was a realist, and as the idea unfolded in his mind, he could visualize how the situation might play out.

Solar would put on one of her cutesy girl outfits and knock about ten years off her apparent age. She’d blink her large gray eyes and the world would bow down before her long curling lashes. And if she decided to point the finger at him, Tony would take all the blame.

Because she was pretty, perky, and charming, while he was big and strong and looked older. Never mind that he was nineteen and she was twenty-two. Solar was the media darling, voted Cutest Cape three years running.

Tony looked at Henry David and couldn’t help feeling as if his whole life was over. His kid or not, the baby would cause his life to change forever.

“When will we get the paternity results?” he asked.

Queen Midnight washed her hands in the metal sink. “Another hour or two. I had to send out to Lucifer Labs.”

Tony felt a jolt. “Will they know it’s me?”

“I sent them as anonymous results and requested a full genetic screening at the same time.”

Tony hadn’t even thought of that. “Oh, thanks.”

If Henry David was his kid, there was a chance he could have an active Nor-gene mutation in the future. Tony’s older sister had manifested at twelve–the ability to fly, and a deadly inversion of all flesh on or in her body. She’d died horribly and Tony had been desperately afraid the same could happen to him. He remembered the way his mother had wept when they’d received the results saying he was *only* a carrier of the gene. It had felt like a death sentence had been lifted.

But if Henry David was his son …

“God, I hope he’s clean.”

“It’s a one-in-four chance. You should prepare yourself for the possibility. And even if he’s got it, he could manifest a benign mutation. I knew a girl with dragonfly wings once. She said her biggest problem was tailoring a winter coat to fit.”

“Or he could die screaming as his body tears itself apart.” Tony rubbed a hand over his face, not wanting to see Henry David’s sweet innocence.

If Solar had called about the pregnancy, he would have told her he was a carrier. They could have tested Henry David in the womb and gotten him some gene-therapies that were only possible in utero.

As it was, if Henry David had the Nor-gene mutation the best thing to hope for was that he never manifested as a metahuman. The gene was directly tied to metability. No manifestation of metabilities, no fatal physical mutation.

It hurt to think about hearing those horrific, agonized screams again. To catch a peek through a door and see the blood and mangled flesh and have Mommy sit him down to say Sissy wasn’t ever coming back. Sissy was *dead*.

Tony didn’t realize he was crying until he noticed his hand was wet. It was strange.

He barely remembered her, yet his sister had left an indelible mark on his psyche. She’d been the reason he’d decided to never have kids, not without some serious gene scanning.

Yet here was a baby with his dark eyes and hair and all he could do was hope it wasn’t his. Because how could he condemn such a tiny person to such a horrible possibility?

“A one-in-four chance,” he said. “One-in-four.”

/CHAPTER

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For the next chapter, you’re going to have wait a little longer than you’d like. “Tuesday Night” is going to its regularly scheduled posting date of Tuesday starting with Chapter Five. So expect the next “Tuesday Night” post January 12th.

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