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

Title: Tuesday Night
Author: Harper Kingsley
Setting: Kanon-verse
Genre: superhero, mm

CHAPTER SIX

Parental leave was not the fun-time vacation he’d imagined it would be. For one thing, there was a needy baby that seemed freaked out about being in a strange environment with strangers. And when Henry David was sleeping–which was a lot–Tony had extra time on his hands where he couldn’t really do anything. There was no leaving the Lair, cranking up music or the TV, and definitely no trips out for half-naked lady chicken wings.

He’d taken to reading the baby books Seth had gotten him.

And that was another difference to his life. Sunfire had become Seth in his mind. They weren’t just teammates anymore. They were *friends*. Secret identity sharing friends.

Tony wasn’t stupid. For the Teen Demis their “secret” identities weren’t all that secret, but they maintained the pretense. The illusion that they would never have to fear a traitor in their midst.

Tony couldn’t help wanting to believe in Seth’s friendship. Especially when he’d had a giant responsibility so unexpectedly thrust upon him. He didn’t think he could handle things alone, and Seth distracted him from his problems.

There was an unhappy wail through the baby monitor and Tony stood. The baby was in his bedroom, where he’d put together a little Henry David corner with a bassinet and toys and a bookcase that he’d repurposed to hold all the baby supplies. It wasn’t the nicest setup, but the baby had everything he needed for the moment.

“*Sh, sh, sh. Shut up you little bastard*.”

Tony turned to look at the baby monitor. Henry David was really wailing now, and under it Tony could hear a harsh voice trying to shush him and promising terrible things.

Someone had Henry David.

His skin rippled and hardened. His eyesight sharpened and everything took on a glossy quality. Adrenaline pumped through his body.

Quietly, he went to the weapons locker hidden as a glass-fronted bookcase. He opened it and slapped his palm against the pad of the biolock.

He winced at the soft beep as the locker opened. It wasn’t an obvious sound, but he would rather the intruder remain unaware of him a little longer.

He scooped up a Beretta and slid a clip in place. He thought about grabbing a stun grenade, but he didn’t want to risk hurting Henry David.

Tony pushed the locker closed and left the com room to creep toward his bedroom door. It was his only way into the room as the window was nothing more than a narrow slit. How the intruder could have gotten in was a mystery for another time.

He strained to hear anything happening in the room, but there was nothing. It made him wish the bedrooms hadn’t been so sturdily constructed. Soundproofing wasn’t as great when he was on the other side.

He drew in a breath, then grabbed the doorknob and twisted. There was resistance as the lock tried to keep him out, but he broke it and slammed the door open.

He saw the room in a flash: Henry David was kicking up a fuss in his bassinet. A man in the tattered remains of a Malice’s Malcontent costume was digging through Tony’s dresser. The man’s eyes went wide behind his mask and his hand darted toward the homemade rifle he’d laid atop the dresser.

Tony shot him in the juncture of both shoulders.

There had been no thought and his fingers had squeezed so fast he thought he’d only fired once. Except the man was down, both arms rendered useless, and Tony wished he’d shot him between the eyes.

Malice and her Malcontents had been the ones to kill Ashley. Her father had decimated the group in retaliation, yet here one of them was. In Tony’s bedroom. With his infant son.

Tony wasn’t gentle when he grabbed the guy and slapped on the cuffs. The man whined as pulped muscle and bone scraped together and Tony couldn’t help hoping the doctors couldn’t fix him.

“You move and I’ll shoot you in the dick,” Tony growled. This wasn’t the kind of guy that cared about his own death.

Tony grabbed the man’s legs and wrested off his boots, flinging them out the open door. The last thing he needed was a shoe-knife in the eye.

He patted the Malcontent down, removing a dozen blades, some mystery objects he wasn’t willing to mess with, and a small leather-bound book. The guy didn’t like him touching the book, he noted.

“I don’t know what kind of genius you are, thinking this was a good place to break into, but I’ve got a few favors owed to me by Mind-Breaker.” The man struggled and cursed. Tony squeezed the Malcontent’s neck until he went still. “Be glad I don’t call in her brother. Mind-Raper likes to play with his toys before he breaks them. He could bring your every nightmare to life.”

“Please, not him,” the Malcontent whispered. His face was pressed against the floor, blood and tears staining the carpet.

Tony stood and backed toward the night table. He’d left his backup communicator in the drawer. He risked giving Henry David a glance, but other than his fury at being ignored he seemed all right.

Tony called Overwatch and requested a pickup. The crisp authority of the voice on the other end soothed him some. Enough that he didn’t sound like a rage junkie when he called Powergirl.

“*We’re on our way*,” she said.

Tony slipped the com in his pocket and sidled to the bassinet. He laid a soothing hand on David Henry’s chubby leg, but didn’t pick him up. The gun in his hand remained pointed at the Malcontent. The man wasn’t doing much, but Tony wasn’t going to be caught out.

A tiny hand plucked at his fingers. Henry David was still crying, but it had lost the sharp tone and his hands grabbed at Tony’s as he wriggled and kicked. He stared up at Tony’s face, wide-eyed and innocent.

“God, I hope this isn’t your first memory,” Tony said.

* * *

The idea that someone had broken into the Lair put them all on edge. But finding out the guy had made it into Tony’s room and threatened Henry David… Seth felt like he was going to puke.

He hadn’t even known how much Henry David meant to him until he realized the little boy could have been gone forever. He didn’t have much sympathy for the Malcontent’s gunshot wounds.

Fixing two cups of coffee, he was glad of the open kitchen plan that let him keep an eye on Tony where he sat on the longest couch. Tony clutched Henry David in both arms, staring down into that chubby cheeked face. The baby seemed more interested in gumming the baby cookie he clutched in his right fist than reassuring his dad.

Seth sighed and stirred sugar and a healthy splash of milk into the mugs on the counter in front of him. He wasn’t sure how he should approach Tony. He could tell the guy was still on edge, his lips pulled hard and tight against his teeth, giving his smiles a sharpness that wasn’t looking to go away soon.

Not that Seth could blame him. The situation was FUBAR and not looking to straighten itself out any time soon.

From what the CMPF interrogators had reported, the Malcontent had an atypical teleportation metability. Most teleporters had to visualize the area they wanted to appear, which meant they were relegating to teleporting to places they’d already been. The Malcontent on the other hand was able to focus on the mind of a living organism, though he was limited to using humans as animal minds were too different, and he could use his short-range teleportation ability to bring himself within ten feet of his target.

The architecture of the Demi Lair had nearly resulted in Henry David’s death. The comm center was located toward the inside of the building while the living quarters were at the outer wings. When the Malcontent had focused and brought himself into reach of the lone biosignal he was able to reach from the street, he’d thought he would get the jump on one of the Teen Demis. He’d found a baby instead.

Once he’d realized that he’d mis-targeted, the Malcontent had planned on waiting in Tony’s room until he came to check on the baby. He’d been looking around for a better weapon and hadn’t expected Tony to appear so quickly or to respond so aggressively.

It gave Seth a chill to realize how close they’d come to disaster. If the Malcontent had had access to better weaponry or if Henry David hadn’t begun to cry…

He added two spoonfuls of sugar to Tony’s mug and one spoonful to his own, then gave them each a quick stir before picking them up and carrying them into the living room.

“You all right?” He set the mugs on the table and held out his hands. “Here, let me hold him while you get cleaned up and drink your coffee.”

Tony clutched Henry David closer for a second before he noticed what Seth had: there was blood on the hem of his shirt and on his pant legs. “Shit.”

“Yeah.” Seth gently pried the baby away, cuddling him close. “I’ll stay right here with him, I promise.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Thanks.” Tony hurried from the room, pulling his shirt off as he went.

Seth looked down at Henry David. “What about you? Are you all right, little man? That was a traumatizing experience, wasn’t it?”

Henry David sucked on the baby cookie he held and didn’t seem to care. His dark hair stood up around his head like dandelion fluff and his brown eyes were untroubled.

“God, how can you be so cute? Can I get a bite of that cookie?” Seth made “nom nom” sounds and made like he was going to take a bite.

Henry David grinned at him, drool shining on his chin. Seth wiped it away with his sleeve before realizing what he’d done.

“Well, that’s gross. See what you made me do? You better stop being so cute or it’s going to get worse. Mom pants worse.”

Henry David laughed and kicked his feet against Seth’s leg. He was showing himself to be a happy baby. How Solar could have given him up was a mystery.

“You are just too cute,” Seth said. He couldn’t resist smelling the top of Henry David’s head. Baby powder, no-tears baby shampoo, and that indescribable *baby* smell.

He hadn’t been around babies very often. There had been the usual photo-ops and autograph sessions where someone would shove their baby at him, but this was different. He felt different about Henry David than he did those other babies, more connected.

“I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to you, but it would have been mean.” It was strange to think that someone could have threatened the life of such a tiny, helpless person. Old people and children were supposed to have some kind of exemption from harm.

Seth wished Tony *had* shot the Malcontent in the dick. And how vindictive was that?

“I’m losing my mind.”

“What?”

Seth twitched and turned to see Tony striding toward the living room in jeans and a familiar green shirt. “Are you wearing my clothes?”

Tony shrugged. “My room is currently off-limits. Do you mind that I borrowed something to wear?”

Seth was tempted to ask Tony if he was wearing his underwear too, but refrained. “It’s fine. I’ve got plenty of clothes if you ever need anything.”

“I’ll say. From the size of it, that’s not a closet. That’s another bedroom,” Tony said. He sat on the couch. “I’ve never seen so many shoes not in a shoe store. When are you ever going to wear that many shoes?” There was no mockery in Tony’s voice or on his face. He was genuinely interested and Seth liked that.

“There’s something about a good pair of shoes that I can’t resist. I’m lucky my feet stopped growing or I would have gone bankrupt from all the replacements I had to keep buying.”

Tony shook his head. “You’re a weird guy.”

“Just because I don’t wear the same pair of shoes until they fall apart.” Seth jiggled Henry David. “Your daddy has no sense of style, but you can always come to Uncle Sunfire when you’re old enough for fashion. I’ll protect you from bad taste, Henry David.” He frowned. “Are we going to keep calling him Henry David forever?”

“It is his name,” Tony said.

“Yeah, but it’s so formal for such a tiny little man. Are you sure you want to saddle him with two names forever?” Seth tickled Henry David’s stomach and earned a smile and a pair of kicking legs. “Don’t you think he’d be happier as just Henry?”

“Solar named him and you know how fussy she can be.” Tony sounded indecisive.

“Well, she’s not here, is she? And she never outright said that he was supposed to be a double name.”

“That is true,” Tony said. He grinned at the baby. “What do you think about being Henry, huh? Are you a Henry? Or maybe you want to be a David?”

Seth passed the baby over. “Don’t confuse him now. Pick a name and stick to it, otherwise you’re going to be paying for his therapy in a few years. Right, Henry?” Seth chucked him under the chin one last time before heading toward the kitchen.

He could hear Tony talking to Henry David–Henry–and smiled to himself. Tony had been vibrating with barely contained energy, ready to do violence on anyone that looked at him wrong. He was still ready to react at a moment’s notice, but there wasn’t so much seething rage.

Seth made a bottle for Henry before putting together four sandwiches. He was surprised by how natural it had become to prepare a baby bottle–measured scoops of formula, water, and shake. Check the heat with the thermometer–no wrist checks for the metahuman–release any extra air, and don’t forget a clean towel from the drawer.

He carried the plate of sandwiches and bottle into the living room. He felt as though he should feel strange, but he didn’t. He felt like taking care of Henry and Tony was the right thing to do.

“You didn’t have to do this,” Tony said, taking a sandwich off the plate when Seth held the bottle away from him.

“It’s a sandwich. Eat it.” Seth sat on the couch and took a bite of his own sandwich.

He watched Tony gobble down his sandwich in three large bites. He rolled his eyes in exasperation, but let Tony take the bottle and start feeding Henry.

“It’s kind of scary that that guy got in here, huh?”

“And no one has any idea how he got past the wards. It’s disturbing. And he’s not talking.” Tony smiled down at Henry. “Slow down, you little pig. You’re going to choke.”

Seth finished his sandwich and brushed his hands together before leaning back. “So I was thinking, have you thought about getting your own place yet?”

“What, are you guys kicking me out of the Demi Lair?” Tony asked.

“No, of course not. I was thinking, that’s all. You’re a dad now, you know? I mean, the Demi Lair is usually pretty safe, but we’ve been attacked here before and a lot of times there’s only one of us on call. I don’t like the thought of you trying to protect Henry alone if we’re invaded by someone like the Morgoth and his followers again.”

Tony winced and Seth felt a bit bad. The Morgoth had leveled the original Demi Lair and Natsumi Satsuma, one of the Doppler Effect Trio, had died. Her brother and sister had left the group and retired somewhere. Seth had heard a rumor about a family farm in Iowa.

“But where am I supposed to go?” Tony asked. “There’s rarely an open apartment in one of the secured complexes, and most don’t accept kids.”

“Well, you can say no if you hate the idea, but you know my family owns some properties, right? Well, there’s an apartment that recently opened up at The Archon Complex and I was thinking maybe you’d like to move into it with me. There’s three bedrooms and the rent is actually really reasonable for the location. It’s a little much for one person, but two people sharing the rent …” Seth shrugged.

“You wouldn’t mind sharing a place with me and Henry David?”

Seth shrugged. “Why not? Our rooms are across from each other here and I’ve never noticed much. The soundproofing at The Archon is excellent.”

“Because nearly everyone has acute superhearing.”

“Right,” Seth said. “The buildings were built to withstand the abuses of alpha level metahumans. There’s a full-sized exercise room and pool, laundry facilities as well as a washer and dryer in each rental unit.”

“You sound like an advertisement.”

“And there’s a 24-hour daycare service,” Seth offered. “They’re used to parents dropping their kids off at all hours.”

“That would be perfect. It must cost a fortune.”

Seth held his finger and thumb half an inch apart. “A small one, but we’d have the friends and family discount. Eight hundred each.”

Tony whistled. “Whoa, that’s a good deal for The Archon.” He burped Henry. “You know what, yes. You’re a great roommate who’s managed to arrange an incredible apartment. Yes, we will move in with you.”

“Hear that, Henry? You’re getting your own room.” He smiled at Tony. “I’ll arrange to get some keys and we can look the place over tomorrow morning. How about that?”

“Excellent. Now I have to figure out what I’m doing for tonight.” Tony sighed and looked toward the hallway. “My room is currently a crime scene.”

“We can go buy some baby stuff for tonight and I’ll loan you some more clothes. Your room’s supposed to be released by tomorrow. They want to be sure that guy didn’t teleport in hidden bombs or something. Who knows how long he was in there messing around.”

“At least they’ll clean up the mess. The last thing I want to deal with is mopping up a bunch of blood.”

“Ah, fun.” Seth reached out to take Henry. “Eat. You need to keep your strength up.”

Tony looked at the two sandwiches on the plate, then shrugged with a smile and picked one up. “Thank you.”

/CHAPTER

Are you enjoying the story? Please think about sharing it on social media. Otherwise, see you next week…

Paypal.me/HarperKingsley.
Patreon.com/HarperKingsley.