Tuesday Night – Chapter Three [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 THREE

“What?” Tony asked dumbly.

Powergirl’s eyes were like gimlets. “For some reason Solar decided she wanted to switch to Teen Demis West Coast. Pulsar, of course, is going along with her. For some reason I feel like we’re losing two of our members because of something *you* did.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Tony said. He imagined he could feel a trail of sweat working its way down the side of his neck. He was definitely the focus of her evil eye and he figured at any moment Powergirl would start sucking the meat from his bones. It was a daunting prospect.

If there was something she’d definitely fly off the handle about, it was the idea of someone screwing up the team dynamic. She took her role as team leader *very* seriously.

Tony had a feeling that when the whole story came out he was going to get his ass kicked. He figured he should enjoy the anonymity as long as it lasted. He would be hating life soon enough.

“So, they’re both leaving the group?” he asked. “Won’t that leave us short handed?”

Powergirl gave a sudden, tired shrug. “The only good thing is that this is happening in the off season. We’ll be able to start recruiting some new members and get some people trained up before the season starts.” She reached forward to grab the bowl of chips Tony had left on the table. She slouched on the couch and cradled the bowl in her arms as she began to snack.

It was a rather incongruous picture she presented: young demigod in her uniform of leather skirt and chest armor. The bowl was green plastic, the chips the bright orange of their cheddar cheese and sour cream flavoring. A figure representing the hope of a generation, chomping on chips and letting her relative youth shine for once.

Sometimes Tony worried that Powergirl would suffer a heart attack due to all the pressure she put on herself to be perfect.

They maybe didn’t hang out in their time off, but Tony still saw Powergirl as a friend. He didn’t like the idea of her driving herself too far. It didn’t seem worth it.

“It’s gonna be all right,” he said. “Take it from me, Sunfire and I will both help you in whatever. You don’t need to think you have to handle everything alone.”

She slumped back on the couch. She’d stolen his spot, but he let her have it and perched on an armchair instead. She was not wearing a face he wanted to argue with.

“Why me?” she asked. “I’m pretty sure previous team leaders never had it so hard. I bet they got to have actual days off and could sleep at night without being woken up at all hours.”

“Are you regretting volunteering for the job?” Tony asked.

“I should have known better,” she said. “When you–a Legacy–practically ran screaming from the job, I should have known it wasn’t gonna be all cake and pie.”

“Nope, it’s also some serious shit,” Tony laughed.

“Thank you,” Powergirl said. “Thank you for making me feel like even more of a jerk for taking the leadership job. Did you know I gave up going to college for this superhero gig?”

Tony winced. “I’m sorry.”

Powergirl–Danica Strong–shrugged like it didn’t matter. “What are you sorry for? I mean, this is something I’ve wanted my whole life. It’s a little more work than I thought it would be as a child. Still, *I* think it’s worth it.”

Tony eyed her for a moment. “Are you trying to make me feel even worse? Is this some super sly guilt trip thing?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Tony shook his head. “Never mind,” he said. “So we’re opening up positions on the team. That’ll be fun times for all, am I right?”

She grimaced. “You would be wrong. If there’s one thing I hate about an open recruitment, it’s that all the crazies come out of the woodwork. Every single one of them looking for their chance to be annoying. It gets on my nerves.”

“Wow, have you thought about poster work?” he asked. He made a frame with his hands. “I can picture it now: *Powergirl says, ‘Get a life, you wannabe losers*.’ It’s a million dollar idea.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re kind of embarrassing to be around.”

“But you know you love me!” He waggled his eyebrows until she laughed, throwing a chip at him. He caught it with adroit skill and stuck it in his mouth. “Thanks!”

She waved a hand at him. “Whatever. Go do whatever it is you do when you’re not playing video games.”

He clutched a hand to his chest. “But Dani, it’s the middle of the day! Aren’t you worried I’m going to end up with horribly hairy palms?”

Powergirl made a disgusted face. “Oh gross, TMI, way too much, for reals.”

He laughed and stood up, shuffling toward the elevator door and the freedom of *outside*. “Well, if you don’t need me…” He flashed her a bright smile. “I’ll see you later then!”

He slapped his hand on the button, then darted into the elevator as soon as it opened. There was no way he wanted to linger and give her a real chance to bust him. That way lay madness and a boring lecture.

When he was finally standing outside the building, he had to wonder where he was going to go. All he’d thought about was *escape*, there’d been no destination in mind.

Tony shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and wandered down the street, his shoulders slumped. He hated when his screw ups came with consequences attached.

He didn’t want Solar or Pulsar to quit the group. If he could have, he would have gone back in time and slapped himself for being an idiot jerk. Though knowing his luck, the paradox of having two of him in the same space and time would immediately end the universe.

*Life is hard*, he thought. Then he had to grimace when he realized he was feeling sorry for himself once again. It seemed like every time he lost focus, he fell into an invisible pit of despair. And since he didn’t want to be *that* guy, when he caught himself he would feel like a jerk.

Once again he had to admit that Sunfire was right when he called him a doom and gloomer. He spent too much of his life being unhappy.

*I wonder where Sunfire is*, he thought.

The other superhero had left the Demi Lair early in the morning and hadn’t answered any of Tony’s text messages. It was aggravating as Tony was wandering around with nothing to do.

*You use the guy a lot*, he thought. And it was true that he always seemed to go to Sunfire for help in solving his problems. It was just that the guy was always there for him and never complained or acted like he was too busy.

It seemed natural for Tony to take advantage of that willingness to help. But when he thought about it, he felt like a jerk.

Tony felt new resolve fill him and walked with more confidence as he came up with an idea of where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do.

Sunfire was always helping him out and never asked for anything in return. So he figured he might as well get the guy a gift to show that he appreciated the fact that he was always there. He didn’t want Sunfire to ever feel taken advantage of, not when he meant so much to Tony.

There had been a time in Tony’s life where he’d had so many people he called friend that he hadn’t known what to do with them all. Then he’d discovered the meaning of “fair weather friend” and received a good dose of bitter reality.

Sunfire had become one of his best friends. It wasn’t something he’d expected when he’d joined the group and met the handsome superhero for the first time. From his looks and rather extravagant way of acting, Tony had been sure that Sunfire was going to be an arrogant narcissist. Instead, Sunfire was one of the most down-to-earth, generous superheroes Tony had ever met.

The unflinching support Sunfire had given him after Ashley’s death made Tony appreciate his friendship more. The sometimes acerbic wit was a bonus as far as he was concerned.

Filled with purpose, he strode down the sidewalk toward a store he’d walked past, but never entered. High fashion wasn’t his thing, he was more a jeans and tee shirt kind of guy when it came to the clothes he wore outside his uniform. But he knew that Sunfire appreciated expensive clothes.

Pushing open the door, he had to use his heroic bravery to get himself to step inside. This definitely wasn’t his kind of place, he could tell just by the music playing.

“Can I help you find anything?” the salesman asked, appearing at his elbow while he wandered amongst the shirts. He looked like he worked out a bit, enough to keep himself fit and toned so his tee shirt could stretch skintight across his chest. Tony had to fight to keep from looking at the guy’s nipples.

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” he muttered, then cleared his throat. “I’m looking for a gift for a friend. Maybe a nice sweater or something.”

“All right. Well we have some nice cashmere stuff over here.” The guy tugged on Tony’s arm, pulling him toward a middle display.

Tony wasn’t sure about the casual contact. Some stranger touching him without permission seemed like something he shouldn’t put up with. But the salesman had done it so naturally that he thought he might come across like a total jerk if he objected.

“What color are your friend’s eyes?” the salesman asked, already beginning to sort through a pile of bright crew-necked sweaters.

“Green,” Tony said, watching him bemusedly. He’d never had someone take over his life so casually before.

“Well, these are what we have–the ones I like the best anyway.” The man held out three sweaters.

Tony brushed his fingers across one and found it to be so soft his fingers tingled. “Wow, these are nice.” He took the one he thought most resembled the hue of Sunfire’s eyes.

“I think I’m gonna take this one.” He looked around. “And do you have cologne? He said something about running out of the stuff he normally uses.”

“Of course.” The salesman tucked the discarded shirts back on the shelf, then led Tony across the store to a glass display cabinet.

Looking at all those little bottles and boxes trapped behind glass, Tony felt a bit out of his element. He was happy to let the salesman steer his choices.

Soon he found himself standing in front of the trendy boutique, blinking in the sunlight with the handle of a bag clenched in his fist. He felt a bit as though he’d been spit out by a whirlwind.

He’d gotten the sweater and cologne for Sunfire. He’d also been talked into a pair of expensive jeans and a couple of tee shirts for himself. He wasn’t quite sure how it had even happened.

Tony shook his head. Either that sales guy had the most subversive metability he’d ever come across, or Tony was more of a sucker than he’d realized.

He started walking back toward the Demi Lair, his wallet much poorer than when he’d started the day. He hoped Sunfire liked what he’d bought him or he’d feel like even more or a tool.

* * *

There was definitely a weird vibe in the air. It made him kind of glad that Tony had used his day off to go out. There was the sense that everything was about to blow up.

“What the hell is going on?” Queen Midnight whispered, her eyes flicking around.

“No clue,” Seth answered.

She sighed and leaned against the wall next to him. Whatever was going on, they’d both taken the opportunity to duck out of the line of fire.

Powergirl looked pissed as she stomped around. She paused every once and a while to shoot a glare at Solar, who was busy bossing Pulsar around.

The twins looked like they were packing up everything they owned. Though no one had even said why.

He glanced at Queen Midnight out of the corner of his eye. He wondered if she’d even noticed the tension that had filled the place ever since Tony hadn’t been able to keep it in his pants around Solar. She always came across as happily oblivious, but he knew a lot more went on behind her heavily kohled eyes than she bothered to show.

Looking at Solar, he couldn’t help the resentment he felt. She was tiny and pretty and she always had one eye turned toward Tony. And she’d gotten him too, even if it was only for one night.

There was no way Seth was going to say that Tony was completely innocent. He’d definitely known what he was doing when he had sex with her. But the way she was playing it off to her brother…

Seth narrowed his eyes. She was folding a bunch of towels while Pulsar hefted large boxes out of their rooms and stacked them on the floor next to the elevator.

“So, where the hell are they going?” Queen Midnight asked.

Seth shrugged. “I have no idea. We’re obviously not important members of the group if they don’t feel the need to tell us what’s going on.”

She snorted, her silver bracelets jangling as she rubbed the tip of her nose with the back of her hand. “So I guess they’re leaving the group permanently. I wonder who we’re gonna get to replace them.”

“We’ll find out a week after we get our new members. And it’s not like I’m bitter about that or anything.”

“Heh, you sound pretty bitter,” she said. “Are we supposed to be helping these guys pack up or anything?”

“No way,” Seth scoffed. “If they can’t bother to let us know they’re leaving, then we don’t have to help them with their shit.”

Pulsar paused in carrying an overlarge box to give him a rather nasty look, but Seth didn’t care. He was tired of all the crap and was to the point where he could vaporize the jerk twins without a single regret.

He’d spent the bulk of his life trying to be the nice guy, and he honestly was very laid-back, but he was quickly reaching his breaking point. Mostly because everyone kept trying to drag him into the middle of their drama whether he wanted to be involved or not.

He didn’t know how it had happened, but at some point he’d stopped thinking of his teammates as friends or even people he wanted to make a good impression on. The only one he really cared about was Tony, and that was because he had the hots for him.

Seth glanced at Queen Midnight. Outside of the goth clothes and the freaky supernatural powers she was usually a rather normal girl. She did have a tendency to fall into depressive moods. For months at a time she would wallow in angst and woe as she brooded about the possibility of ending up in hell when she died. It was part and parcel with the whole “sold half her soul for superpowers” deal she had going. Hers was a sad story, and he really *did* sympathize with her, but she could become a downer to be around for too long.

Still, even at her most depressed and gloomy, he’d feel worse about Queen Midnight leaving than he was about the twins. They were just coworkers, not any kind of friend. Sure, they’d stopped some crime together and been rewarded, but it was all part of the job. The nearest they’d ever come to hanging out was when he’d done that rather slick spread with the two of them for Super People Magazine. They’d barely had any contact otherwise, and team meals didn’t count.

When it came down to it, the twins were rarely a blip on his radar. They were his teammates, not his friends. When the job was done for the day he told them goodnight and that was that.

Seth crossed his arms and watched what was happening around him.

“I wonder where they’re going to go,” Queen Midnight mused. She’d pulled a blade out from somewhere and was using the sharp point to clean under her nails.

“I don’t care.” Seth watched Solar pick up a small box and carry it for herself into the elevator. Her long blond hair had been pulled back into two side-by-side ponytails and she wore a green tee shirt and dark wash denim shorts. Her legs were long and bare and there wasn’t a single hint of a sock creeping out of her black sneakers.

She was pretty and perky and it was a battle to keep from clawing her eyes out. Every time he saw her, all he could think about was Tony wrapped up in her arms, pressing his lips against hers as he slipped between her legs.

He couldn’t say that he wasn’t jealous when the sight of her made him want to push her out the door. Her presence put him on edge, and he wasn’t that upset about her leaving the team.

Seth sighed and pushed away from the wall to head into the kitchen. He pulled open the fridge and grabbed a package of lunch meat, a package of cheese, a bag of spinach, a plump tomato, and the squeeze bottle of mayonnaise.

“Do you want a sandwich?” he asked Queen Midnight, popping open the lid of the mayonnaise before grabbing up a sharp knife. She looked completely lost as she watched the twins packing up their stuff.

She blinked at him, her eyes flicking down to the tomato he was slicing. She shook herself. “A sandwich, sure. That would be nice.”

He offered her a smile that she hesitantly returned. There was a shine to her eyes that had him thinking that maybe he should spend more time with her as a friend. She wasn’t his favorite person, but she was a teammate, someone he depended on to keep him alive when he went out to fight the baddies. And it wasn’t like she was terrible to be around or anything.

“All right, that’s everything,” Pulsar announced, standing in the middle of the room. He was wearing a tight orange tee shirt and dark washed jeans. Even with his mask half covering his face he managed to look like a douchebag. It was one of the few things Seth liked about Pulsar. He was honest to a fault, never hiding the fact that he wasn’t a nice guy.

“If you contact the usual cleaning place, we’ll pay the bill. I’ve left our keys in the bowl there. Hold onto any mail that comes in and I’ll send for it later.” Pulsar was matter of fact. He was treating them as though they were strangers.

Seth grit his teeth and finished assembling the sandwich he was making before starting the next. “Hand me a plate,” he told Queen Midnight.

She bit her lip a second, then hurried to the cupboard behind him. She seemed shocked by Pulsar’s behavior.

Seth could have told her that Pulsar was a jerk. He was so wrapped up in his sister that there wasn’t room for anyone else in his world. There was a more than good chance that he’d never had a date in his life.

Solar wanted to leave, so that’s what the twins would do. And as easy as that, Pulsar went from trusted teammate, to just another costumed hero they might work with someday in the future.

Seth made a mental note to have all the locks and codes changed. He didn’t trust anyone.

He gave Queen Midnight a small smile when she set two plates down in front of the cutting board. He plopped a sandwich on one plate and pushed it toward her with his finger.

“Thank you,” she whispered, taking her plate and backing up until she could lean against the counter behind him. She was trying hard not to look at Pulsar, her face kept studiously downturned as she took small bites.

“Well, don’t you have something to say, Sunfire? You always have an opinion on everything.”

Dropping his sandwich on his plate, Seth pushed up his sleeves and went to wash his hands at the sink. He squeezed the thick, orange smelling soap into his palms and rubbed them together before rinsing them under the hottest water the faucet could produce. He wiped his hands off on the kitchen towel, then turned and calmly faced Pulsar. “I don’t know what you expect me to say. We were comrades and now we’re not. Good luck in all your future endeavors.”

Pulsar snorted. “I always knew you were a class act.” He shook his head and announced to the rest of the room, “We’re leaving.”

“Don’t be so rude, Nate,” Solar said, stepping out of the elevator. “We’re really sorry to be leaving like this.” She smiled, showing off her pearly white teeth. She’d always gotten what she wanted and would do whatever to keep the status quo.

“I know it leaves you all in the lurch, but we felt like it’s time for us to move on. We’ll really miss you though.” She held her hand out to Pulsar, her bangle bracelets clinking together. “Let’s go. We have a long drive ahead of us. Goodbye!”

With that, they were gone. If the elevator could have slammed, the sound would have been a loud one.

“Can you believe those guys? Really!” Powergirl flung up her hands and stalked toward her room. There was the sound of her door slamming.

“Well, that went well,” Seth said, taking a big bite out of his sandwich.

* * *

There was a weird vibe in the air when he got back to the Demi Lair. It set Tony’s skin creeping and he was immediately on high alert, his powers activating. He felt better with his invulnerability wrapped close around him.

“What’s going on?” he asked, carrying the shopping bags to the L-shaped couches.

Sunfire was sitting on his recliner playing a video game on the big screen. He didn’t even look at Tony. “The twins left.”

“Where to?” Tony asked, flopping down next to the bags and propping his feet on the coffee table. He didn’t want to think about Solar, not when he was full of so many regrets over what they’d done. He’d never been that fond of playing the bad guy, especially when he felt as though he’d done wrong.

“They’re leaving the group.” Sunfire focused on his game. The controller clacked under his fingers while on screen characters died amongst the explosions. “I called to arrange for the locks to be changed and for the cleaning service to come through. I figure we should have the whole place cleaned while we’re at it. It’s more cost-effective.”

Tony groaned and covered his face with his hands. “Why does this keep getting worse and worse?”

“Is this a bro-moment?” Sunfire asked, tossing a plasma grenade. “Am I supposed to be all supportive and ‘Dude, bitch is crazy’ just because you weren’t smart enough not to screw a teammate? Yeah, that’s not happening. You done wrong *bro*.”

“Wow,” Tony said, “you know how to make me feel like a piece of crap.”

“The crappier you feel now,” Sunfire said, “the less likely I’ll catch you sexing up our last two female members. I don’t want to have to beat you up. That’d be lame.”

“I don’t think I’d enjoy it that much either,” Tony said.

Sunfire had always been the closest to him in the Teen Demis after Ashley. Now that she was gone–*dead*–Sunfire was the only real friend Tony had in the group. He didn’t know what he would do if Sunfire turned from him.

“God, you’re such a dick.” Tony thumped his fists against his forehead, then leaned forward to grab the red game controller from under the table. He activated it and chose his usual guy.

“Did I say I wanted to play with you?” Sunfire asked.

“Shut up and let’s play,” Tony growled, lobbing some grenades of his own.

Sunfire sighed, but went back to playing.

They fell into a companionable silence, the only sound the game. For a little while, even if everything wasn’t all right, it was bearable. And that was good enough.

*
By the time the city had grown dark outside, they’d managed to amass a large collection of empty Thunder Bolt energy drink cans. Tony lifted his head and experienced a long moment of disconnect. When he glanced at the clock, he was surprised to find that they had been playing for close to three hours.

“Holy crap.” He rubbed his hand over his face. “I’m going to take a piss, then order the world’s biggest pizza. I’m starving.”

“Yeah, food sounds good,” Sunfire said, straightening his long legs out and pointing his toes. “And pizza with you seems like the best thing ever.”

“Nice.” Tony ran off to the bathroom.

He still felt bad about Solar and Pulsar leaving the Teen Demis, but there wasn’t anything he could do about. The twins had already left and there was no forwarding address for them. So he would go on with his life and he would never make that same mistake again.

Having sex with a coworker was messy. Especially when one person got totally butthurt that things didn’t work out.

It had taken him a long time, but he knew now that Solar–Carrie–was in love with him. And knowing or not, he’d taken advantage of her for his own selfish desires. He’d hurt her doing it too, and that made him an asshole.

So it was good that she was gone. He wouldn’t constantly be hurting her with his presence and she would be able to get a fresh start. It wasn’t like there’s been much holding the twins in the area. And once they’d been in the Teen Demis, they could hire on to any supergroup they wanted or go solo.

The twins had made a smart choice for *them*. And he would have to deal with the guilt he felt at running them off.

Thus began his closer than usual friendship with Sunfire.

/CHAPTER

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