BACKLASH

Knowing Fisher Hawkins like the back of her hand, Delilah probably should not have been surprised when the man insisted on buying her a ring, anyway. Idealistic and pure, she couldn’t fault his vision, even if it would never matter to her the way it did to him, and knowing the way he’d light up when he was finally able to provide her with proof of her engagement, she couldn’t exactly deny him.

But shopping was not a passtime Delilah reached the heavens for, and it was with a touch of reluctance she agreed to go at all.

Fingers winding through his, she shook her head as she stared in the glass case are the sparkling pieces, displayed against deep blue velvet. Like a celestial map of constellations, diamonds glittered up at her… and with a sigh, she looked over to Fisher, smiling faintly, “You’re too much. You know that? This… is too much.”

“I disagree.” Came the short but firm reply, squeezing her hand tighter. He was over the moon these past days, and he couldn’t bring himself down even if he tried. It was always dangerous to stay too happy.. But he couldn’t help it. They were going to tie the knot - something he’d dreamed about for years.. Ever since he was a little kid.

“I know.. I know you think it’s dumb, but it means a lot to me.” He swallowed, memories coming back to him. He’d been an orphan with no letter, no note, but an engagement ring on a necklace. Forgotten trash of empty promises. Some bully had flushed it in the third grade.

Looking over at him, Delilah frowned, “It’s not dumb, Fish. It’s sweet. It’s just… it’s you. But I love you. Every part of you, and if you want to do this, I’m all in.” She scanned the rings again, making a face, “But how am I supposed to pick anything? Are there… rules?”

He beamed at her, pushing away the horrible memories. “No, I don’t think so.” He said with a laugh. “Whichever you like, I think. Whichever one you wouldn’t mind wearing.. For.. the.. Rest of your life.” He slowed in his last sentence, hardly believing the words that fell out of his mouth. Promises like these… weren’t often kept. And he knew it from experience, but something about this felt true, and he was trying so hard to deny something that shouldn't have been denied.

Her smile split into a broad grin at those words, and she nodded, “The rest of my life. Better pick a comfy one.” Her eyes moved back to the case and perhaps a little more seriously, she studied the items inside, “This one is pretty...:” The ring was a single stone, small, but in a delicate sense, the band spiraling between yellow and white gold, with smaller chips of diamonds along the seam, “Different… What do you think?”

Wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, Fisher rested his chin on her shoulder, staring at the ring in the case below them. “If you like it, I like it.” He hummed into her ear. “But I actually do like it myself.. The yellow and white gold is nice.”

Leaning back into him, she smiled a little softer, “...Did we just pick one? I don’t even know. Should I keep looking? How am I ever going to pick a wedding dress if I can’t even figure this out? I’m a giant mess.” Laughing, she shook her head, “Guess I should try it on.”

“You’re not a mess,” He insisted, nipping her ear before pulling away. “I don’t really think anyone knows exactly how to get married, Lil.” He chuckled. “You just.. You do what feels right. You wear what you like.” He smiled dreamily. “Try it on, though.”

With a small squeak, Delilah looked back at him, grinning. He was trouble, Fisher… and he knew it. Humming, her eyes falling to the ring again, she nodded and looking up, signaling for the woman behind the counter.

As she approached, the woman beamed at them, “Oh, aren’t you two just the cutest… Which one are you looking at?”

“This yellow and white one, right here.” Fisher said with a beaming smile, pointing at the glass. “And would you mind --”

The lights in the store suddenly dimmed, and he gripped Lilah tightly out of sudden shock. “..Power outage?” He whispered nervously, begging for it to be only that..

As the light blinked out, Delilah glanced back to Fisher, nodded… but despite her agreement of his assessment, her heart still gave an anxious throb, and with a sense of trepidation, she looked to the door. There was just enough light outside, to illuminate the entrance, and the figure that stood silhouetted in the doorframe.

“Oh, I’m sorry, honey. Lights just went out…” The woman behind the counter chimed to the newcomer, but her smile faded as her gaze fell to the weapon, clutched in the man’s hands.

“That’s sort of the point, Love.” He announced, and Delilah felt the blood freeze in her veins, her eyes snapping to Fisher with recognition.

“Dawson.” Fisher hissed, spinning on his heels, anger filling him up quicker than it should. His fists balled but he kept his face cool, because there was no way in hell he’d allow a repeat of last time. Stepping forward protectively, gave him a menacing glare. “I’ll give you a chance to walk away.”

Delilah didn’t reach out to stop Fisher this time. The situation was different… and despite his words, she knew he would never lose control again, like he had with their last encounter. If Dawson picked up on the impact of the situation, however, he didn’t seem terrible concerned.

Closing the door behind him, he eyed the pair, shaking his head, “Now this… is just fortuitous. I mean, really. What are the odds? The two of you being here the same night I planned to hit the joint. I was just thinkin’ I could use another dance...” With a smirk, he winked at Delilah, who narrowed her eyes.

“No chance…”

“Aw… Now, c’mon. Don’t be that way.” Frowning, he looked to the woman behind the counter, “Hands away from that button, darlin’... It won’t do you any good to be a hero. Am I right, Fisher?” Gaze flickering back to Fisher, he grinned, “How is the hero biz? Must be slow going, if you’ve got time to shop.”

Shifting uneasily on his feet, Fisher glanced to the women behind them, who looked mortified. With good reason.. the gun in his hand wasn’t offering an option so much as an order.

“I said I’ll give you a chance, Dawson.” Fisher muttered. “Don’t make me take it back.” He glanced at a Lilah with a nod to the sales woman, urging her to get her out.

Delilah shifted closer to the counter, but didn’t move quickly… She wasn’t looking to get shot, not for anyone - but she wasn’t about to let an innocent bystander eat a bullet, either. They needed to be cautious. Organized.

“Aw. You’re cute and all, but ain’t you I’m lookin’ for a chance with, Fish.” Winking again to Delilah, he smirked, before his eyes moved again to the clerk, “She’s a real knockout, ain’t she, Miss?”

The woman stammered, but fell silent, still frozen in place by the sight of the gun. Delilah frowned at the words, shaking her head, “You’re out of your league, Dawson. You got this, baby?”

Nodding firmly, all of Dawson’s compliments whizzing by him. Wasn’t going to happen this time.. What had happened before. “Why do you think we’re at a ring shop, Dawson?” Fisher said with a smile, walking towards him with confidence. “If you want anything.. And I mean anything at all, out of this shop, out of Lil… you’re going to have to go through me.”

With a smirk, Dawson tucked the gun into the back of his waistband, and with his arms outstretched, he shrugged, “...If you insist.” And with a sudden flick of his hand, a ball of bright blue light shot out, towards Fisher.

It was certainly unfortunate circumstances to meet Dawson in a place where he found himself so unprepared.. No suit, no gloves, no precious boots. He growled, watching electricity crackle into life, diving out of the way. He needed something to protect himself with, but for now, he pulled down his sleeve over his knuckles, ready to knock him out.



“Flashy tricks aren’t gonna get you anywhere, kid.” Fisher barked, scouring the room for anything to use… anything to throw.

As Fisher ducked out of the way, Delilah turned to leap across the counter, and grabbing the saleswoman by the shoulders, she yanked her down below. Holding out a finger, she shook her head, “Do not move from this spot. We’ll handle this.” And rising again, she grabbed the first thing her hand could reach - a metal stapler - from next to the register, “Fish! Catch!”

Dawson turned, and his other hand rose, sparks tripping, dancing along his fingertips, “Tisk tisk, Lovely. You’re on the wrong side…”

Turning at Lilah’s cry, he immediately saw the stapler in her hand and grinned. His eyes flickering quickly back to Dawson, knowing he couldn’t spare a moment off guard. “Well, I mean, how appetizing is some street rat thief, really?” He hummed, voice low and threatening. With the stapler in his hands, he bounced it in his palm. “One hit’s all it takes.. and it’ll hurt a lot longer than you think.”

Dawson stood still for a moment, indecision rolling briefly over his features. He was a lot of things, but he wasn’t stupid, and he knew well enough what would happen if Fisher let the stapler fly. But walking away this time wouldn’t have been half as sweet at it had the time before. His eyes flickered to Delilah, his fingers rolling around the ball of energy in his palm, “...Can you hit me… before I hit her?”

His confidence faltered, his grip on the stapler harsher. He spared a glance to Lil, shaking his head. “C’mon, Dawson. Where’s the fun in that? Isn’t she your prize?” He ground his teeth together. “No fun beating me if the reward’s not there to tell you how good of a job you did.”

Grinning, Dawson took a small step forward, the confidence returning from his expression, “Hm… I mean. She’d survive it… And hell, I don’t need her to be cognizant, do I?”

Nostrils flaring, worry crept into Fisher’s gaze. “I swear to god… if you touch her…” How would he stop it? If he threw it now it would only trigger his reaction.. Lil had to get out. He had no way to get to her, no way to protect her.. And it was wearing on him, making him lose his drive. “Lilah.. Get out. It’s between us, Dawson. Leave it there.”

“Like hell.” Delilah muttered behind him, “I’m not going anywhere. And I’m not scared of Sparky’s lightshow. Throw the stapler.”

Dawson’s eyes narrowed, his arm tensing, “Gonna do a lot more than touch her, Fish. Are you just not getting how this works…?”

“Throw the damn stapler, Fish!” Delilah hissed.

With an aggravated shout Fisher launched the stapler, aim dead on and as it left his fingertips he filled it with power, strength to knock Dawson far into the wall.

Delilah didn’t wait for the stapler to leave Fisher’s hand before she ducked down behind the counter, grabbing the saleswoman and folding herself over her. As Fisher threw it, Dawson unleashed the energy in her direction, and where it struck, glass exploded, not entirely harmless, but not half the concern it had been a moment earlier, shards biting like tiny thorns… stinging, but non-lethal.

Less fortunate was Dawson. The stapler struck his chest and he slammed backwards, hitting the wall, where he slumped to the ground with a groan.

A relieved grin coming on Fisher’s face as Dawson was blown back and he could see Delilah duck out of the way. As soon as Dawson was on the ground he rushed to the counter, hopping over it to find the two women, stung with shards of glass, but otherwise.. Okay.

He pulled her into a desperate hug, thankful to death nothing had happened.

As Fisher yanked her into a hug, Delilah returned it, but only briefly, smacking him in the arm a moment later, “Hug later! Deal with Dawson, first!” And reaching up, she felt along the edge of the counter until she connected with the panic switch the clerk had been going for, earlier. Pressing it, she looked to the shaken woman beside her, nodding to Fish, “We’re good. Go.”

“Okay -- okay -- sorry --” He whispered, nodding awkwardly to the clerk and jumping back over the counter after kissing her on the lips quick, too quick. He strode towards Dawson with a smirk on his face, hoisting him to his feet despite the groans of pain. “I warned you,” Fisher taunted hoisting his hands behind his back.

“This ain't over…” Dawson wheezed, choking on the words as his chest tightened against the bruise already forming, “This ain't..”

“Oh shut up…” Delilah interjected, “You're going to jail, idiot. It's over.”

Stifling a laugh, Fisher tustled Dawson just enough to make him feel that bruise a little bit more. “If you think that hurts, try some broken ribs.” He muttered, keeping his grip firm on Dawson’s wrists. “Seriously.. Was it even worth it?” Fisher grumbled, trying to recall the nasty kid back then, wondering if there had ever been any hope for him. He blamed it on the system, at least, for planting the seeds. Kind of a shame. Glancing to Lil, only one corner of his mouth turned upwards, a lopsided smile. “What should we do with him?”

"Police should get here soon…” Delilah offered, carefully climbing over the shattered counter. Reaching up, she pulled a hair tie from her hair and held it out to Fisher, “Makeshift handcuffs…”

Looking over his shoulder, Dawson narrowed his eyes, “Oh. It was worth it… Will be next time, too.”

Rolling his eyes, Fisher tied the boy’s wrists tightly together, hardly leaving any room for him to fidget. Fisher scoffed. “There isn’t going to be a next time.” He grumbled. “Are we staying?” Fisher said with worry. Hopefully not.. but he wasn’t sure if he trusted Dawson to stay put, tied only with a hair tie and sporting a nice bruise.

Nodding, Delilah stepped back, “We’ll stick around. I wanna see them slap cuffs on this creep… and I don’t trust him not to try an escape.” Her eyes moved back to the woman behind the counter, who had finally stood up, “How long is the response time?”

“G… generally eight minutes.” She said quietly, stepping around the carnage of the broken glass, In her hand, which trembled like a leaf in a hurricane, she held something out, “I… I want you two to have this.”

Blinking, Delilah looked back to see the ring they had been eyeing, resting on the woman’s palm.

Sharing a shocked glance with Lilah, Fisher turned to the woman, with hand still firmly on Dawson. The poor woman was shaken.. and he felt terribly sorry about it, but this didn’t seem like the type of situation where he could tell her no.

“Thank you,” He murmured, nodding to Lil, nudging her to take it. Fisher knew.. he didn’t have to ask her to be quiet about what she had seen. A small smile fell upon his lips.. maybe the world wasn’t so bad.

Nodding, Delilah stepped forward, cupped a hand over the woman’s, “Thank you.”

“Thank the both of you… If… if you hadn’t been here..” She sounded close to tears, but holding herself together with a deep breath, she stepped back, leaving the ring in Delilah’s hand, “I think I hear the sirens… Make sure they make them really tight. The cuffs…”

“We have to go.” Fisher murmured with urgency, the sirens filling him with anxiety. “Make sure they have power dampening cuffs.” Fisher nodded to the woman one last time. “Stay safe.”

She nodded again, her eyes on Dawson, anxious, but prepared. The sirens crew near and Delilah took Fisher’s hand, “Is there a back exist?”

The clerk gestured, and giving Fisher a tug, she moved in that direction, and nearly as soon as the door closed behind him, she could hear the front door opening. Breathing out, she looked to Fisher, shaking her head, “...Little close there, Mr. Hawkins…”

Fisher grinned at her, a little bit of a nervous one but a grin nonetheless. “We did it, though.” He said excitedly, listening to the voices of the police as they faded in the distance, emerging out through the other side. “No more Dawson.”

Stifling a laugh, she nodded, and reaching for his hand again, she tugged him towards the exit out into the alley, “We did it. I told you, baby… I told you we’d get him.” Biting her lip, she held up the ring, “And look… Stopped the bad guy and had a successful shopping venture. Wanna do the honors?”

Beaming, Fisher took the ring and held up her hand, kissing the back before slipping on the ring. “I love you, baby.” He said softly, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in for a deep kiss.

Throwing her arms across his shoulders, she yanked herself deeper into that kiss, and when she pulled away, she grinned at him, shaking her head, “Home. Now.”

Laughing gently, he kissed her one last time on the forehead and pulled her away, towards the truck that they’d parked on the other side of the street.
 
Aspen was not an idiot. It didn’t take him long to find Fisher’s identity after seeing his face, and Doc often babbled about the people he liked to the people he trusted. He was observant. And it didn’t take long to put the pieces together.. especially when the office he worked for had their company cars fixed at Fisher’s garage. Aspen had seen him… luckily not the other way around.

On his daily rounds he noticed something strange. A flash of white and red, chasing the same call he’d been responding too. Robbery on 49th including metahuman involvement. He assumed it was Knockout, obviously, and decided a little bit of a team player attitude was in order, especially since this was the first time he was seeing him since the incident.

“Hey, Knockout!” Gallant called, sword sheathed, mask down. “Care to assist me on this one?” But the fellow superhero’s head turned, and something was different. No, it was wrong. Eyes, chin, hair…. this… was not Knockout. Gallant stiffened, deciding he’d have to play it cool until he could figure out who this was, and where Fisher was.

As he turned, he smiled, but without a trace of genuine warmth. Giving Gallant a once over, he saluted and turned back around, “No thanks, friend! I’ve got it! Best you just stay back and let a pro handle this!”

Gallant staggered. There was no way in hell.. This was Knockout. Hell, he was more concerned about whether or not this was a robot. “O-of… of course, Knockout. See you next time.” He muttered, taking a few steps back and waiting until the imposter had jumped away. Keeping a hand on his sword, Gallant silently followed.

A brow lifted, slowly, but seemingly satisfied, he turned and continued off in the direction of the call. He was a good two-hundred yard from the robbery when he stopped again, and without warning, he spun back around, narrowed-eyes searching the street.

“Alright… I know you’re there. Why don’t you come out and face me!” He growled, hands on his hips.

Not totally a robot, but… definitely unstable. Gallant pondered his next move, wondering if he should just sneak away, but this fake seemed to really know he was there. Blast. He needed to get Knockout’s number.

“Easy, friend.” His tone was calm and friendly. “Just watching your back while you take the big guys, making sure no one creeps up on ya.”

“No one like you, you mean? What are you… Some sort of scout?” His brow arched higher, as he shifted, eye narrowing, “Pretty ridiculous get up you’ve got there, Lancelot.”

“Alright, well you’re basically wearing full body tighty whities, so we can stop there.” Gallant snapped. “I’m a hero. Like you. Not a scout. We work together sometimes.. Remember?”

Grinning, the man shook his head, “Ah. No. See, now I know you’re lying! Knockout works alone! But if that’s how you want to play this, fine… I’ve got time to deal with you, before I take out your buddies in the bank. Let’s go…”

Oh, so the impostor had done his research. If anything, Gallant was thinking this had to be the psycho fanboy case. Damn. He hadn’t had a psycho fanboy yet… no fair. Definitely unhinged, but unfortunately had enough of his wits about him… especially depending on what his powers were…

“Er.. no! I think you’ve got it wrong, old chap. Those aren’t my buddies, I was on my way to stop them, just like you! But I think you could probably handle it best, so I’ll just leave you to it..” I can get to the underground, and contact Doc who can contact Fish. Yeah, that’s a plan..

With a smirk, the man shook his head, “Oh, you’re not getting away that easy. Either face me like a man, or die like a coward… Either way, this won’t end well for you.”

Grumbling, Gallant pulled out his sword. “Alright. If that’s how you want it..” Eh. Better to hand the impostor back in pieces before he really ruined Knockout’s name. “Oh contraire, friend. I think you’re the one who should be worried.” Gallant lifted his sword, and plunged it down into the earth, sending waves of reverberating energy between them, enough to knock the fake a ways back.

He wasn’t entirely prepared, but prepared enough, as the energy reached him, the copycat thrust his arm out behind him and a blast of air shot from his palm, halting his motion like brakes on a car. The smile faded from his expression, and with a glare, he threw his other arm forward and sent a similar blast towards Gallant.

Gallant’s eyes widened as he watched the air contort at the will of the copycat. He didn’t have enough time for the joke that was forming on his tongue as the impostor sent out another airblast, one that sent Gallant flying backwards. Emerging from a pile of trash, Gallant sputtered. “Now I know you’re not Knockout! Knockout doesn’t have air powers.” He said with a huff, deciding the only way to land another blast was to get a good vantage point… Gallant rushed up the fire escape ladder of the nearest building.

“If you’re talking about that imposter the news reports on, you’ve got another thing coming… But don’t worry too hard. You won’t be around long enough to-- Damn it!” The monologue was interrupted as Gallant took off and swearing again, the copycat took chase, forgetting, apparently, entirely about the robbery in progress not a block away. He didn’t climb, however, but instead, focusing his hands downward, shot a jet of air beneath him that propelled him upwards… upwards, and over the ledge of the building, where waiting, he found a smirk again.
“...Idiot…”

“Oh, come on, man. Give the underdog a ch-” Gallant, not even fully off of the ladder, hoisted his sword up and flung it, letting it land with a sharp twang that would again send off another blast as he pulled himself up.

Caught off guard, he was flung backwards, and landing hard, he rolled, pushing himself upright with an irritated growl. Without missing a beat, however, the copycat slammed both hands together and threw out another column of air, this blast stronger than the first had been, “This has gone on long enough!”

He hadn’t scrambled hard enough. He was barely on the roof when that second column of air hit him, and Gallant found himself pushed to the ledge, too far from the ladder, oh god, way too far from the ground. With all his might he hung on by his fingertips, grunting and panting, really not intending for a repeat of last time.. No more broken legs, please for the love of god…

Taking the few steps towards the edge, the copycat smiled, glancing over at the hero hanging, barely hanging onto the edge, “...I warned you to let me handle it.” He said, and with a shrug, he put out his foot and with a heavy soled boot, stomped down on Gallant’s fingers.

This was way too cliche to be actually happening to him. Then again, he was dressed like a medieval night.. As Gallant watched the copycat don a smirk, he felt himself go pale. He had no more funny remarks to offer as he watched the boot come up, and fall on his fingers. The sudden pain made his grip falter, and suddenly he was grasping empty air.

It was a freak coincidence…

An absolute, freak coincidence. She was three blocks from the robbery, on her way home when she heard the report on the news, through the open door of a coffee shop. Ducking into an alley, she had donned her costume, and racing down the street, she moved as quick as she could towards the trouble…

But she hadn’t been the only one, apparently, and as she rounded the corner she only just made out the shapes, heading in the same direction, two painfully familiar costumes, standing out like hornets in a beehive. Fish, undoubtedly, had heard the call and hadn’t had time to call her, and Gallant, well… Apparently, he was the competitive type.

Or at least that’s how it played out in her head, before everything went to crap in the most confusing way. The fight broke out before she had a chance to call after them, and what she witnessed send chills down her spine as someone… not Fisher… not Knockout, went toe-to-toe with the Knight in the middle of the street.

The fight had moved upwards, and she watched in horror as Gallant came back down the hard way, and that, undoubtedly, would’ve been his end if she hadn’t been there. The smoke propelled, as fast as she could control it, weaving together like chain mail, forming a net where Gallant would have landed, and closing her eyes, Delilah could only pray… pray hard that it worked.

It was like landing on a very cushy pillow. Maybe a cloud. Too soft to be real, so he was sure he’d died. On impact, hm. Nice. Quick. But, actually, with a small grunt, Gallant realized that it kinda hurt. So he forced himself up (oh, he was laying down?) and glanced around, remembering the fight he had been in the midst of. Nearby was a woman in costume, undoubtedly a fellow superhero.

“Oh, thank god! Nice timing. Please help me kick his ass.” Gallant groaned.

Her eyes flickered up to the rooftop, as Gallant spoke and giving her hand a wave, she released the smoke netting, perhaps with a little less warning than he might have liked. When the net disappeared, her gaze shifted to the knight, “...First tell me who the hell it is. Cause, I know Knockout.. And that ain’t him.”

“Ack!” As the masked hero dropped her wonderful pillow, which still happened to be a good few feet of the ground, Gallant fell flat on his back with a grunt. “Ow. Thanks.” He groaned, pulling himself up. “You know Knockout?” He echoed curiously. “I’ve got no idea, but I can definitely confirm that isn’t him. I’m getting a crazy unhinged fanboy vibe. Any ideas?”

“Ooh… Sorry.” Grimacing, Delilah shook her head, “Not really used to a slow release, there. But better than falling into the concrete, right?”

Stepping forward, she shook her head as her eyes traveled to the roof again, “We’re partners. It’s new, but we’re adjusting. Crazy fanboy sounds about right, but why the hell… What’s he hoping to prove? Did he say anything to you?”

“Partners?” Gallant echoed. “Wait.. are you…” He straightened, and a smile grew beneath the armored mask. “Delilah! Thank god. You can call Fi- Knockout, right?” Gallant glanced back up at the roof, but was shocked to find that the man had already bounded off, towards his original mission. “He’s going to the robbery on 49th. He’s going to ruin Knockout.”

“Like hell he is…” She growled, shaking her head, “Come on…” As she started off down the street, she dug out her phone, swearing softly, “...You have one? Mine’s not charged. And since when are you on a first name basis with him?” A brow lifted as she glanced over at him, and in spite of everything, she smirked, “Hell… You figured out who he is, didn’t you? Oh. He’s gonna be pissed.”

Fumbling around in a pocket beneath the chainmail, Gallant tossed Lilah his insanely archaic, fifth generation iPhone. “Sorry, but it’s literally my day job to notice these things. And it helps when you’re a crime fighting superhero too. He’s not very good at hiding it. Which he needs to get better at.” Gallant shook his head. “Let him be pissed, but I feel like he’s going to be a bit more angry at whoever is stealing his identity. I have to get my sword.” He huffed, and started back up the ladder once more.

A brow lifted as she took the phone, keying in Fisher’s number. She glanced up with a shake of her head, her finger hovering over the call button, “I keep telling him these things, but you know how he can be.” As Gallant headed for the ladder, she pressed the button and put the phone to her ear.
“Hello?” Came the voice from behind the other line, Fisher, no doubt. There was some munching of chips in the background, and maybe the TV blaring? “I don’t recognize this number, you might have the wrong person.”

“Got my sword! Let’s go!” Gallant called to Delilah.

“Fish? It’s me. Listen… I can’t explain. There isn’t time, but I’m headed to a robbery on 49th, with Gallant! There’s a guy here… He’s got… well, it’s kinda hard to explain on the phone, but I need you to get here, and fast!” Shaking her head, she hung up and tossed the phone to Gallant, “Boys and their swords. Come on!”

“O-oh, I’m on my way!” Fisher yelped on the other end before she disconnected. Gallant caught his phone with a small fumble. “Hey. My sword is actually important to my powers, okay? It’s an energy conduit!” He snapped back.

With a smirk, Delilah looked over to him and shook her head, “Whatever you wanna call it, bud. Let's just find out why this moron’s impersonating my fiance…” As they came neared to the bank, Delilah slowed, held out a hand to indicate he should, to, “I'm gonna lay down cover… You ready?”

Gallant nodded, adjusting his mask and readying his sword. “Do it. How long does your fiance normally take to get ready?” He said jokingly, cracking his knuckles as across the way, Fisher tugged on his spandex in a hurry.

“He can be a diva on date nights, but he's quick when he needs to be.” She said with a small grin. Despite the teasing tone, she couldn't help the creeping worry slipping down her spine at the thought of someone copycatting Knockout’s role.

Chuckling, Gallant cracked his knuckles. “So he convinced you to put on the mask, huh? I had a feeling you would. Especially when you’re with the famed Knockout.. It can get hard to stay in the shadows for long.”

Grinning, she shrugged, “It was a mutual idea, actually. He wanted to get out there again, and I didn’t want him doing it alone. So here we are…” Crouching lower, she looked along the street, before pulling a lighter from a small pouch in the side of her pants, “Alright… Smoke’s coming. Get ready…” Flicking the lighter a few times, she waved her palm over the small stream of smoke that poured from the top, watching as it spread, growing bigger and bigger with each wiggle of her fingers.

Slipping the lighter away, she spread her arms and the smoke spread as well, stretching out, creeping slowly towards the bank, “And try to hold onto your sword this time, hm?”

“I like it. Power couple. Keeps him in check, too. No more near death instances.” Gallant nodded, watching with a small smile on his face as the smoke expanded and grew. “Impressive.” He murmured, stepping forward into the thick of the smoke. “I think there’s a hidden entrance in the back. It might be where the robbers are trying to get in and out through. Copycat might know about it too.”

“You head that way…” She noted, spreading the smoke out thicker, “I’ll go in through the front and see if I can’t flush them your way. If it’s him, though, don’t try to engage him. Not until we figure out what it is this guy can do… Fish should be here soon. Be careful.” With a nod, and one last wave to send the screen across the front of the building as well, Delilah took off for the entrance to the bank.

“Other than ruin your fiance’s reputation, he’s got some sort of air manipulation. I’m not keen on seeing how good he is with it, because that can mean some scary things..” Gallant shivered. “I don’t need to be blown out another window.” With that, he gave Delilah a small nod, and ducked off in the other direction.

Meanwhile, Fisher blew through the traffic as quickly as possible, wearing his suit under a thick coat that was too damn hot for the weather. Lilah’s worried voice over the phone had him nervous as he parked his truck a few streets over and shrugged the coat off when he was sure he was alone, rushing towards 49th.

With the smoke pouring ahead of her, through the doors of the bank, Delilah stepped inside. All was still, a quiet that was more than a touch unsettling, and her eyes scanned across the floor with an air of caution, “...Great… It’s a frickin horror movie.” She whispered, stalking forward ever so slightly.

Donning his mask before running into the open, Fisher quickly found the scene of the crime. Or the would be crime, if he didn’t get in there fast enough. What was all that worry in Lil’s voice for a little bank robbery? Fisher shook his head, ducking into an open spot past the police tape and rushing inside.

Footfall rushed behind her and spinning around, her heart gave a start as she caught sight of the masked figure heading in her direction. Gallant had suggested he was smart, but doubling back… coming in after her was pure genius. And with little time to react, certain she wouldn’t get a second chance, Delilah did the only thing she could.

Squeezing a fist, she solidified the stream of smoke nearest her into a sturdy rod and with a wave of her hand, swung it hard and fast at the imposter.

His posture relaxed at the sight of Delilah, which was a large mistake. He cried out in alarm before the hit had even landed, shocked as to why she would ever try to harm him, and the smoke looked thick enough to really hurt. Fisher barely brought his hands up in time to protect his face, eyes glowing beneath the mask as he powered up his suit to save himself.

At the sight of the glow, Delilah swore and the smoke dissipated faster than she meant for it to, as she bolted forward, “OH! Fish, baby! God, sorry.” Swearing again, she shook her head, “I realize this looks… crazy, right now. But there isn’t a lot of time to explain. We need to get to the back of the building. Gallant’s waiting…”

Stumbling back, Fisher blinked at Lilah, just about to open his mouth and give her a piece of his mind before explanations came tumbling out of her. “Gallant?” Fisher echoed. “What.. what is going on? What kinda robbery is this?”

“I’m pretty sure the robbery’s been dealt with.” Shaking her head, she started forward again, “We’ve got a bigger issue. You apparently have a fan, baby… Of the creepy stalker copycat variety…”

“Wh… what?” Fisher mumbled, following her lead towards the back. “Is that why you almost tried to kill me?” He balked. “We can’t let him get to the press!” As they turned to the back, Fisher was shocked to find a figure wearing a replica of his same red and white suit, hand outstretched with a clenched fist towards Gallant, who was held three feet above ground, face turning blue.

“Damn it!” With a wave of her hand, Delilah swiped along the smoke again, and formed the weight of the pole she’d nearly clobbered Fisher with. This time, at least, she was sure when she swung it, it was the right Knockout.

Without enough time to react, the copycat was thrown to the ground with Delilah’s powerful attack. Once dealt with, Gallant dropped to the floor, coughing and sputtering as he tried to regain his breath. Fisher rushed to pin the impostor to the ground as he tried to get up, keeping a hand at his throat. “Who do you think you are?!” Fisher yelled.

“Easy, Fish!” Delilah hissed, as she moved to help Gallant up, “And I thought I told you to keep hold of your sword.” Frowning, she turned to the copycat, eyes narrowed, “Who the hell are you, kid?”

Propping himself up against the wall, Gallant wheezed out a response. “A little hard to do when the life is being choked out of you,” He coughed. Fisher’s grip loosened just the slightest at Delilah’s words. “I’m someone who could do your job better.” The impostor hissed beneath Fisher’s grasp.

“Sweetie… You have no clue how wrong you are, there.” Delilah added, moving to Fisher’s side, “And not just because Knockout would never try to kill another superhero! You’re out of your damn mind, and the only place you’re gonna be runnin’ around in your little spandex get up is prison…”

The copycat laughed as Fisher knocked off his mask, revealing a young boy with blonde hair, his eyes a greenish brown. He was in no way Fisher’s copy, which only pissed him off a little bit more. “C’mon, pal. Maybe we can get you there before nightfall.” Fisher growled, yanking the boy to his feet. The moment Fisher took his hands away from the impostor’s neck, he sucked in a deep breath and blew with such force to knock all three of them back.

Delilah hit the ground faster than she expected, the force of the floor slamming into her back knocking the air from her lungs. It took a moment or two before she could suck in a steady breath and with a groan, she rolled upright. Swearing, she looked to the spot where the copycat had been to find he’d already gone.

“... Fish… Aspen. You two alright? The kid took off... ”

“Goddamnit.” Aspen hissed, once again pulling himself up off the floor, and then offering Fish his hand. “Aspen?” Fisher echoed as he was lifted to his feet, patting his supposed nemesis on the back. Aspen chuckled. “Your name is literally Fish. Leave me alone.” The man responded, and Fisher laughed weakly. “So.. a copycat? Glad I have fans, but… he seemed a little bit insane.”

“Augh, sorry…” Covering her mouth, Delilah swore under her breath… It wasn’t an easy task, getting used to codenames and all.

“...He seemed a lot insane. And we’re gonna need to figure out how to deal with this.” With a sigh, she rubbed her elbow, where it had struck the floor, “...Before it gets out of hand.”

“It’s alright.” Aspen said with a sigh. “I already figured out who Knockout was, so..” “What?!” Fisher cried. “Come on.. Am I that bad?” Aspen only whistled in response, and Fisher readjusted his mask. “At least we saw his face… but a name would have been helpful.” Fisher sighed. “If he does bad stuff with my mask on.. He could ruin me. Ruin us. Ruin superheroes. How do we find him?”

“I don’t think we’ll have any luck trying to chase a trail…” Shaking her head, she looked between the two, “I’ve got a bad feeling we’re just gonna need to wait until he decides to pop up again. And then hope to God we get there, first…”

Fisher grimaced. “Not ideal.” He muttered. “But it’ll have to work.” Aspen frowned. “I’m here to help if you need it. Just call.”

“Thanks… And try not to fall off any more buildings, yeah?” Delilah smirked, before looking to Fisher, “...Home?”

Aspen chuckled. “No more deadly exes.” He responded, and turned to leave. Fisher sighed and looked back at Lilah. “Yeah.. home. That was a mess.”

“It’s gonna get worse…” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, “But we’ll figure it out, Fish. Just like everything else. Come on… I hope you drove. My feet are killing me…”

“Yeah, I did. Think you can manage a couple blocks?” Fisher said, snaking his hand around her waist. “You make it sound easy, babe. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Blocks? Ugh.” Chuckling, she leaned her head on his shoulder, “Dunno what I'd do without you, either, Fish… Not too keen on two of you running around though...”



Ever since he and Delilah had expertly handled the copycat situation, things had been smooth. The media wouldn’t shut up about the wedding, so much so that they had announced they would offer it to the public. Of course, something privately would be done between the two of them.. But without any family to really invite, they thought it would be the best option for their career.

Flipping around on their police scanner, lounging on the couch with Lil, he listened to a channel ramble about a robbery nearby. “You feelin’ up for a little night excursion, babe?”

“Up for a --” Glancing over to Fisher, Delilah’s eyes shifted to the scanner and she frowned softly, “Oh. An actual excursion…” Chuckling, she pushed upright and gave a nod, “I guess it’s been a little slow around here… Let’s do it.”

Smiling, Fisher sat up. “I thought it might be a good break from all this… wedding planning.” He said, with a gesture to the catalogues, colour swatches and phone numbers all across their coffee table. “The press has been working harder than we have.” He said with a smirk as he reached up into their closet, pulling out the suits.

Nodding, Delilah followed to pull her own suit, free, “Good point. I think if I see another table setting pinterest board right now, I’m gonna flip out. Is it bad I wish we could just run off to the judge and be done with it?” A sigh escaped as she peeled out of her sweater, “It’s not that I don’t get why we’re doing this, but… ugh. Promise me we’ll at least get a press-free honeymoon?”

“I promise,” Fisher said solemnly, raising his hand in a honesty swear before tugging off his shirt. “You… like all this, right? The second life we live. I know it was my thing… but you like it, right?”

Chuckling, Delilah tugged on her hoodie and zipped it up, “I like you, Fish… and I want to keep you safe. If I had my way, we’d have our own island out in the middle of the pacific somewhere. But I’m not gonna let you go off and do this alone. And yeah… sometimes it’s kind of fun.” Giving him a wink, she shrugged, “It helps that I look good in leather.”

Letting out a laugh, almost one of relief, Fisher nodded. “I’m trying to think bigger picture with it,” He admitted. “If superheroes become the norm, then so will normal people with superheroes. And we’ll be able to live one life.”

“That…” She said with a smile, “Sounds too good to be true. But maybe we’ll get lucky and this’ll spark a change. If they see how normal we really are, you know?” Pulling on her gloves, she held her mask in her hands, with a shake of her head, “...It’ll be nice, won’t it? Not having to wear these…”

Fisher nodded gravely. “I know. But in the meantime… I won’t say I don’t like Knockout.” Throwing a coat on over his suit, Fisher nodded and opened up the door. “After you, my lady.”

Grinning, she looked over her shoulder at him, “My lady? I think I liked it better when you and Gallant were arch enemies. Let’s roll…”

With a laugh Fisher headed out after her, traveling down the stairs and into the street. “It’s close enough to walk,” Fisher said. “Fun. I like the evening air. No car to trace us. Just gotta be careful when we leave the scene..”

Nodding, Delilah followed after him, “Sounds good to me…” It was strange, really, how casual it all felt these days… Like a second job, or a hobby. They too it seriously, of course, but there was an ease to it together, and as much as she complained, Delilah wasn’t sure it was something she’d ever be really willing to give up…

“I didn’t ever imagine I’d be planning my wedding with my superhero partner.” Fisher said with a laugh. “I’m enjoying it more than my eight year old self could have hoped.”

“I never imagined I’d be a superhero, so… there’s that.” As they left the apartment, Delilah edged towards the shadows near the side of the buildings, moving swiftly, but cautiously, “It is pretty amazing…”

“We’re kind of living out every kid’s dream, no?” Fisher said, matching her brisk pace. “And if I must say… we’re pretty damn good at it too.”

Laughing softly, she shook her head, “Do nothing, unless you can look damn good doing it, right? Which way…” she murmured, as they neared a crossroads.

“Left…” Fisher murmured, glancing around. “You know… if this was an active robbery I think there’d be more bustle.. No?”

Her smile faded as she started left, nodding, “I was just thinking that… I haven’t heard any sirens, and we’re not that far away… Let’s play this one cautious. Feels weird, yeah?”

Nodding with uncertainty, Fisher’s smile turned into a frown. “This doesn’t feel right at all.. maybe it was just a false alarm?” As the turned the corner, the city stayed quiet. “There’s nothing here…”

Swearing softly, Delilah looked around, shaking her head, “...Tell me I got dressed in this ridiculous frock for a prank phonecall…”

“I.. I guess…” Fisher muttered, utterly bewildered. “It’s some mistake, then. That’s so weird..” He said with a shake of his head. “Sorry, babe. I guess it’s back to wedding planning.”

Rubbing her forehead, she shook her head, but with a smirk, she looked over at Fisher and shrugged, “...Guess I can’t be mad at a night in, right? Come on… Let’s get out of these ridiculous costumes, before there’s an actual robbery.”

With a wimpy smile, Fisher sighed. “Yeah.. a night in is good too. Can’t get over this weird feeling in my gut. But.. yeah. A night in sounds good.” He repeated, taking her hand with a smile that he tried to reinforce as they headed home.

Little did they know this was more than just a prank call, and a villain with vengeance on his mind followed closely behind.
 
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Standing before the mirror, Delilah put the finishing touches on her evening ensemble. For the first time in the whole of their relationship, she and Fish were going on a date. A real, honest to God, no-secret-mission, leave-the-spandex-at-home date. And despite the stunning rock on her finger, she was nervous. There was something, admittedly, refreshing about the tension in their lives, if only because it seemed to be a buffer for the ordinary dullness that normally came with being with another human being all the time… And there was a small part of Delilah that wasn't entirely sure Fisher would like her in her every day, mild mannered fashion.

It was stupid, of course… but too many years alone, too many years fighting the crap heaved back at them from life taught her never to expect good things to last…

And Fisher was a very very good thing.

With a sigh, she latched her earrings and made her way out into the living room to wait for Fisher, “You're absolutely completely sure we shouldn't bring the uniforms, Fish?”

For once in his life he had pulled out a suit that didn’t involve spandex. Despite everything happening around them, he’d insisted on this. Insisted on trying to pull out at least a moment of normalcy, and they were engaged, for christ’s sake. They were engaged and he hadn’t even taken her to dinner.

“I insist!” Fisher said firmly, despite the sloppy grin, once more struggling with a tie. Instead, he decided to abandon it for a dressy button up and gray coat. “Are you ready to go? Reservation’s in fifteen, and we’re getting ahead of the traffic.”

Nodding, she slung her purse over her shoulder, reaching up to straighten his collar, “This is so… normal.” She said, with a small laugh, “I'm not even sure what to do with myself. Come on… before I get jittery.”

Laughing as she reached up, Fisher brought a hand to her cheek. “As much as I love you in red and white,” Fisher hummed, brushing his finger against her skin and then planting a kiss, “You might be even more gorgeous like this.” His hand traveled down to her own, and he intertwined their fingers, pulling her towards the door. “C’mon, let’s go!”

“Hmm…” Beaming, she nodded and followed after him, “You know… When we were younger you weren't this smooth.”

“Would it be so shocking if I said that I’ve…” Fisher mock gasped. “Matured?” As they reached street level, Fisher pulled out his car keys. “Or maybe I’ve just had a lot more access to television. Who knows.” He shrugged. “After you, madame.” He purred, opening the car door for her.

“Definitely the tv thing…” Delilah teased as she slipped into the car, laughing softly, “But seriously… it's nice. You really have changed. Not the scrawny kid getting his butt kicked in the hallway by the cheerleader’s boyfriend.”

“Oh, wow. That’s low.” Fisher said, closing the door after her and sliding into the driver's seat. “Well, I hope I’ve changed.” He muttered. “That was kind of the goal, of, you know… growing up a little bit.” He inserted the keys and started the engine. “I wonder what ever happened to Mandy..”

“Mandy?” Laughing again, Lil shuffled into her belt and looked over at him, “Wow. You remember her name and everything.” Giving his a smirk, she shook her head, “And for the record, Fish. You’ve grown up a lot. In some really great ways…”

Chuckling, Fisher pulled away from their curb on the way to the restaurant. “Are you talking about my personality? Or..” He laughed again. “Yeah, of course I remember her name. She came to me a mess, Lil. And I didn’t even realize what had her all riled up. Solomon had to smack some sense into me.” Fisher shook his head.

“Oh ho… funny.” Grinning, she shook her head, “I was trying to be sweet, you creeper.” As he continued, she sighed, “Probably married that idiot after highschool…”

“Hahaha. I know you were, babe.” Fisher said through a grin that wavered at her next words. “I like to think she didn’t,” Fisher said hopefully. “At least, I hope so.”

“Hmm. Who knows. We all ended up different than people expected…” She murmured, as her mind drifted to Solomon, “Maybe she was one of the lucky ones who did it right.”

He nodded wordlessly as they cruised through the night, not sure what else to say after that. Luckily the restaurant wasn’t very far, and soon enough Fisher was pulling into the valet. “Take good care of her!” Fisher said as he handed off the keys, turning over to the side Lilah was emerging from, and taking her hand. “Well, here we are. Excited?”

Looking up at the building, Delilah nodded with a small chuckle, “You know what? Yeah. I am. I'm excited. This is… it's new, and I wasn't sure how I felt… mostly because, don't laugh, but you've never actually… just had dinner with me, you know? There's always been some crisis or mission or whatever. I just don't wanna let you down.”

“Lil,” Fisher said with a concerned look. “You’re worried about letting me down? The easiest guy to impress, ever?” He took both of her hands. “All jokes aside… you shouldn’t have to worry about that, ever. We’re on a dinner date, for crying out loud. You should be thinking about how bad this overpriced food is gonna be. I know.. We should’ve done this way, way earlier, that’s my fault.. But this isn’t going to change my entire opinion on you. You know that, right?”

“I mean…” looping her arm around his waist, she laughed softly, “I could be a really expensive and high maintenance date. You never know.” Tipping onto her toes she kissed his cheek, “But you're right. It was stupid to worry. I'm amazing and that's that. Come on… before these snobs give our table away.”

“Good. I’m glad we set you straight while the night is young. No worrying today, okay?” Fisher smiled and stepped up to the entrance, pulling the door open for her once more and stepping in after. It was indeed a gorgeous place; a costly chandelier dangled from the ceiling and the hum of evening chatter coursed throughout the place. Fisher leaned over to the hostess and requested his reservation, and they were lead to a table. “I don’t think I’ve ever set foot in a place like this, Lil. I mean.. Other then the Gala. But we were undercover. That doesn’t count.” He mumbled as they were lead to the table.

Blinking, looking around, Delilah shook her head. It was stunning… and no doubt one of those places where items on the wine list cost more than their apartment. But she would’ve been happy in a pizza joint if she were completely honest. Still, it was nice, and particularly since there was no threat of danger lingering on the horizon.

When they reached their table, their host pulled out her chair and sinking into it, she glanced over to Fisher with a bright smile, “...It’s so fancy I’m afraid to touch anything.”

He laughed, sinking in to the seat and smiling at the hostess as she handed them their menus and left. “I’m really fighting my fight or flight response to run and go get a burger.” He said with a grin. “Anything look good?”

Opening the menu, she laughed, shaking her head, “It’s in French. Oh God. What have we gotten ourselves into?” Sitting back, she beamed, “No. You know what… we’re gonna do this. We are gonna sit here and have a freakin’ amazing time and be fancy and no one is gonna figure out otherwise.” With a small snort of a laugh, she unfolded her menu again, “...But I swear to God if I pick cow brains or anything, I’m running for the door before the check comes.”

Fisher laughed, settling into his spot. “We’re going to be fancy as hell and enjoy it. I’m gonna enjoy it!” He said, scouring the menu. “Oh, god.. Lil.. what if they don’t have a burger..” He scratched his head. “I don’t think I’m built for this.”

“I don’t think you’re in luck, baby… Oh wait, hang on…” Squinting, she studied the menu closer, “Here we go! This says chicken. I’m at least… forty-percent sure it’s chicken. That’s good, right? Why didn’t we learn French first??”

“We have to learn French to eat at a restaurant?” He whispered with faux urgency. “Okay. Here’s what we do. We order two dishes that we totally don’t recognize and we eat it no matter what. It’ll be funny. Ready?”

Shaking her head, she lowered her menu, “That sounds… like an absolutely terrible and reckless idea.” Grinning, she lowered her finger to the page, and held her hands over her eyes, “Tell me when to stop.”

“There!” Fisher said as she had gotten halfway through the page. “Okay, what’d you get? Wait, do me first, and then we say it.” Fisher slapped a hand over his eyes and let his finger roam the page.

“Okay… Stop…. Now!” She glanced down where her own finger stopped and laughed as she shook her head, “I got… Quenelles de Brochet. That… doesn’t sound too terrifying. What did you get?”

“I got Beef Bourguignon. Sounds pretty safe, I think?” Fisher nodded, satisfied. “That worked pretty well, don’t you think so?”

Laughing again, she shook her head, “Until we find out we’re ordering chicken hearts and beef tongue…” Shivering, she closed her menu and sank back, “Thans, Fish… for doing this. I know it’s been a wild year, but I’m just… I’m glad with how things turned out, even with everything that happened.”

Smiling, Fisher closed his menu as well. “It’s been a wild year.. But you made it good, Lil. I’m glad how things turned out too. I love you,” He said, smile turning into a grin.

“I love you, too…” She murmured, and reaching across the table, she took his hand, “Hell or high water, or weird French meals… We’re gonna do good things.”

Fisher squeezed her hand back, eyes shimmering. “We’re gonna do good things.” He echoed with a beaming smile.

They weren’t seated too far from the entrance, and despite Fisher’s insistence on making this a normal night, he could feel goosebumps rise along his skin as the door opened once more, and three burly characters entered, wearing some form of home-made supersuit. Fisher tensed as the figure who seemed to be leading the other two cupped his hands together to form a ball of menacing energy.

“Everyone’s gonna need to take out their wallets.” He said calmly, with a devilish grin.

Swearing softly, Delilah met Fisher's gaze, “Don't suppose you wore your suit out of habit?” She whispered.

Teeth gritted, Fisher groaned. “I hope this proves how committed I am to you… but.. I didn’t.” His eyes fell to the three goons who began to make their way through the restaurant, the patron’s mouths falling open in horror. “What can we do?” He whispered.

“Can you sneak away quick enough if I cause a diversion? If you can get out the back…”

“If I can get out the back, drive home, put on a suit, and drive back?” Fisher muttered. “Not worth it. Cops can’t handle metas like this.. What about calling someone else?”

“Gallant’s number should be in your phone from when he--” Eyes moving upward, she shook her head, “Shh. They're almost here.”

Pulling his phone into his lap and beneath the table, Fisher swiped to the recent contacts while trying to keep his eyes on the rapidly approaching goon. He tapped speaker as soon as he landed on the number, and fumbled to hide his phone.

Looking away from the men, Delilah nodded to Fisher. It wasn't ideal, but at least it was taken care of, “At least with these creeps robbing the place, we won't have to worry about a steep check....”


“I’m more worried about my wallet, babe.” Fisher muttered. “Kinda shelled out for this. This.. er.. Lovely dinner.. Right here on Fifth and Lincoln.” He said, trying to make sure his voice was clearer when he spoke the address. This, unfortunately, caught the eye of the robber nearest, who approached rapidly. “Valuables. In the bag.” He hissed.

Looking up, Delilah smiled coyly, “Would ya believe the service here at Dinah’s? A bag full of valuables, with our meal? That's incredible…”

The goon bared his teeth, anger coming upon his face. “Alright, you think you’re funny?” He hissed. Fisher tensed, opening his mouth, but the man wasn’t having it. “Prince Charming, you can zip it. C’mon up, sweetie.” He hissed, pulling out his gun from its holster and nudged Delilah up out of her chair with it.

There was no way, with things going as swiftly as they were even if he heard them, Gallant would get there in time. They had to do something, even if it was just stalling. Giving Fisher's foot a nudge, the best indication she could that she was fine, Delilah rose to her feet, “Alright, but I warn you… I'm not a cheap date.”

Fisher boiled with anger as he was forced to stay down, watching Lilah be carted off with redness growing in his face. “Oh, I would never believe so. That ring on your finger definitely tells me otherwise.” He snarled.

Keeping the gun in her side, he shoved Lilah to the center of the room. “Let’s hurry this up, people, or I’m going to have to start unloading bullets!”

“Hey… he's cute, what can I say.” Looking up, her eyes scanned the room… steam rose from plates sitting uneaten, but it wouldn't do. If she was gonna give herself away, it would need to be worthwhile. She needed… Yes! A candle sputtered a little ways from where she stood and without moving more than she dared, Delilah gave her fingers a wiggle.

“Halt, Evil doers!” The voice boomed from the doorway and Delilah froze, looking up at the figure standing in the doorway.

“Oh… You've gotta be kidding me.”

“No, no, no!” Fisher exclaimed under his breath, fumbling for his phone once more and trying to speak into it as discreetly as possible. “Aspen.. Aspen, are you there?”

“I’m coming as fast as I can, but I’m on the other side of town.” Came the whispering reply, and Fisher cursed again. “It’s the copycat, Aspen! We don’t have our suits!”

“Well… then he won’t have competition. Let him do what he’ll do. It’s the only option you have.”

“Goddamnit…” Fisher growled.

Hands on his hips, the copycat stepped forward, his eyes moving around the room, falling on the leader of the small crew, before shifting to Delilah’s personal thug, “Tisk tisk. A pretty lady like this ought to be treated with respect. Unhand her, fiend.”

Nearly the color of a beet, Fisher sunk down in his seat and watched as a mirror version of himself rescued his own fiance. “Oh, yeah?” Growled the robber, his two friends piling up behind him. “Make me.”

“If I must…” Waving a hand, the man sent a small forced jet of air at the first robber and his second hand rose to follow, knocking all three men off their feet, “Who's next??” He called, grinning and Delilah looked back to Fisher with a shake of her head.

The three men struggled to their feet, the one with the gun putting his hand on the trigger and aiming at the copycat, while the metahuman’s eyes glowed a bright amber hue as energy formed in his palms once more. “You’ll pay for that, brat.” The other one spat.

“Oh… I don't think so.” With another big sweep of his arms, a wave of air rushed over the men, and as they flew backwards, he gazed at the meta, eyes narrowing. With his hand outstretched, he pinched his fingers into a C shape, and Delilah watched as the man was raised from the ground the way Aspen had been, the oxygen around him thinning.

“Jesus…” Fisher muttered, watching the man dangle within an inch of his life. This.. was bad. This was not what he wanted for Knockout’s image. He did not want to watch a man be choked to death, either. Against what Lilah might have wished, Fisher stood and ran in between the copycat and his victim. “Knockout! Thank you so much for saving us!” Fisher babbled. “How about you just tie them up and call the cops? No one needs to die today.. right?”

A brow lifted, and for a moment, the man looked as if he might argue, before with a smile, he released the thug, who came crashing down with force to the floor. Delilah grimaced, but no one else seemed as concerned and a moment passed before the restaurant erupted in applause.

Reaching for Fisher's hand, Lil shook her head, “This ain't over, babe… News vans.”

“Shit.” Fisher hissed. “Is there… is there nothing we can do but watch?”

“Unless you were planning to make your big debut, no.” A sigh escaped as she frowned, “We'll fix it, Fish.”

Vibrating with anger, Fisher shook his head. “Let’s go. I don’t want to stay to see it.” He muttered. “We should probably call Gallant and tell him he doesn’t have to come.”

Shaking her head, Delilah smiled suddenly, “No. Fish. Think about it… Aspen knows that isn't you. He shows up and makes a scene in front of the press… Your rep is saved and this ridiculous copycat nonsense … it stops.”

Fisher frowned. “I… I don’t know, Lil. It can go awry in so many ways. Aspen doesn’t deserve any of the backlash… how would Aspen really prove it? There’s no way.”

“Because Aspen knows your power, Fish. And anyone paying attention in here knows that’s not what went down. Besides… all we need is someone to discredit him and he’ll have to admit he’s not the real Knockout. We can’t let your reputation go down for this kid, Fish… Especially when all it’s bound to do is bring other copycats popping out of the woodwork. And I think Aspen’ll be onboard with that…”

Fisher grumbled, rubbing his forehead with worry. “But no one really knows what Knockout’s firm power is.” Fisher mumbled. “Alright… but we’ll try it. Aspen’s already rushing over here anyway.” He frowned and pulled out his phone once more.

“Aspen?”

“I’m - huff - coming as fast - huff - as I can-”

“Copycat took care of it.”

“Are you saying I ran for nothing, Anchovies?”

“No.. Lil thinks… you could try and prove him a fake when he tries to talk to the press. Think you could do it?”

There was silence over the phone. “Well.. I’m already almost there. Might as well.”

“I owe you one, Aspen.” Fisher closed the phone and nodded at Lilah. “He’s coming.. He’ll do it.”

Looking to Fisher as he spoke to Aspen on the phone, Delilah shook her head. It was the best chance they had to fix things… for now, at least, “We need to be prepared, next time.” She said quietly, “And give the press something better to talk about than Fakeout, out there…”

A smile crept up onto Fisher’s lips as he took Delilah’s hand, eyeing the ring. “What’s better to talk about than a proposal after surviving a life and death situation?”

Grinning, Delilah looked down at her hand, “...Oh, Fish. That’s brilliant. They’ll be obsessed with the idea. They were already nuts over you and I working together.” Leaning over, she kissed his cheek, “They won’t even remember the kid when they’re done gushing over us.”

Fisher giggled, pleased with his idea and blushing from the kiss on the cheek. “Now.. I guess we just wait for Gallant and the news vans to show..?” He took a step back, pulling Lilah into the rustled crowd. It was strange to watch from the outside in.

“...This is weird.” Delilah muttered quietly, echoing Fisher’s thoughts. “I mean… it shouldn’t be, since I spent most of my life on this side, but… weird, right?”

“Oh, definitely weird.” Fisher murmured. “It's like looking at myself in a mirror… watching myself.. Impersonate.. Myself..?” He muttered, and then flinched as the screeching of tires halted outside. “Press is here.”

“You… baby, are so much sexier than that. Even in that horrible jumpsuit.” Looking over at him, she smiled faintly, but it was a strained expression… As much as she wanted to joke around and enjoy the moment, it was difficult, knowing what they were up against, “Let’s just hope Gallant’s a better actor than this kid…”

“I mean, he acts like a knight everyday, so..” Fisher said with a smirk, one that was also wavering. As cameras rushed in, so did a figure that Fisher recognized easily. “He’s here!” Fisher said with a grin.

“Knockout, you’ve done it again!”

“Knockout, how did you do it?”

“Knockout, where’s your other half?”

“Oh, please. Do you all really think this is Knockout?” Came the crisp voice, which had all the reporter’s heads turn. “Gallant!” Came a shocked voice, one of the reporters shouted.

“God bless that man…” Delilah muttered.

“What do you mean by that, Gallant?” The reporter repeated, and like a small wave the other reporters turned towards the knight, in tandem.

“What do I mean by that?” Gallant echoed. “Please, you all call yourself esteemed reporters? You should know by now that Knockout doesn’t have air powers, which we so clearly just saw this impostor exhibit.” Gallant turned with a pearly white smirk gleaming through his helmet. “Go on, Knockout. Let’s see your signature white-blue glow.”

The copycat’s eyes shifted to Gallant, a look of irritation passing across his masked features, before he shook his head, his attention returning to the crowd of reporters, “Clearly… someone can’t handle not being the center of attention.”

“He has a point, though…” Delilah called out, “I mean… doesn’t Knockout have super strength or something?”

Gallant gestured to Delilah with a gentle nod. “The fine lady is absolutely right. But if you were really the real Knockout, I think we’d need to see that glow.”

Eyes narrowing, the copycat took a small step forward. He paused, however, and a small smirk formed that drop a knot of concern through Delilah, “He's right!” The copycat called out, and as the reporters erupted in a stream of frantic questions, he held up a hand, “We were… trying to keep it quiet for a little while longer, but no use denying it now! Knockout and I have decided to team up!”

“Oh… hell.” Delilah mumbled.

While Fisher clenched Delilah’s hand with a finger crushing strength, Gallant hardly hesitated. “Come on. You just pulled that out of your ass.” He muttered. “You really expect me to believe if you were working with Knockout, he’d send you out for your first time alone, especially in some cheap knockoff suit? A perfect replica? That doesn’t sound like a sidekick to me. But that’s what you’re saying you are, right? A sidekick? Where’s Knockout, then? Why isn’t he endorsing your first appearance, and why are you pretending to be exactly like him?”

Glaring, the copycat spun to Gallant, “Think you’re clever, don’t you. But if that were true, what would stop me from… say… hurting you, or all these find reporters? Hm? Maybe it’s best you moved along, Knight. Trolling for attention is a little lame…”

Among the worried gasps of the reporters and citizens, Gallant lifted himself from his place on the wall. “Knockout would never appoint a sidekick that threatened lives, bucko.” He growled. “Don’t make empty threats. We can fight if you really want too, you know that. You just don’t want to give up your deluded dream of working for or ever being Knockout.”

Grinning, the copycat shook his head, “...You really wanna get throw off another ladder? Your pretty friend isn’t around to catch you this time, is she?”

“Oh, please. You caught me off guard, pretending to be someone you’re not.” Gallant hissed. “Run home, kid. Before you hurt whatever reputation you have left.”

Stepping forward again, the copycat extended his arms, the smile spreading, “..All these people. Waiting for an answer… Why should I disappoint my adoring fans?”

“What fans, bud. You have none.” Gallant deadpanned. “Give it up. This isn’t Broadway. Get out.”

With a smirk, he lowered his hands, “...The question is… Where is Knockout, hmm? Your little friend couldn’t handle his own problems, so he sent you? Or is that he….couldn’t handle them?” Looking around, the copycat’s brow rose, “...Curious…”

“He’s on a business trip.” Gallant said sharply. “Saving people on his own time, which you would surely know about if you were really related to him at all. I said go home, kid.”

“He can’t play defense for long. The copycat looks like he’s about to blow. Lil… we have to get our suits.” Fisher mumbled, dripping with worry.

Nodding, Lil looked to the parking lot where the valet had left Fisher’s truck, “...Go. Hurry. If worst comes to worst and Gallant needs help, I’ll do what I need to.”

Fisher nodded breathlessly, planting a quick kiss on her cheek before rushing out the back door.

As the cameras rolled and flashed, the copycat continued to watch Gallant, still with the sly smirk on his lips, “So… What’s it gonna be, Rusty? We gonna do this, again?”

Glancing around the restaurant one more time, Gallant grumbled as he unsheathed his sword, eliciting gasps of shock from the crowd. “Everyone needs to stand back.” He muttered. “I have to kick this fake’s ass.”

Laughing, an irritating, high pitched sound, the copycat stretched out his arms again, “...It’ll be fun, finishing what we started last time.”

“I’m really asking for all of the crowd to stand. Back.” Gallant hissed. “Stop making empty promises, kid. You’ll regret them.” With a growl, Gallant raised his sword and plunged it into the ground, sending vibrations in the direction of the fake.

As Gallant slammed his sword down into the ground, the copycat focused his hands in the same direction and shot off, upwards, hovering for a moment as the shockwave rippled below him.

The reporters had made space, but only a distance that guaranteed safety if Gallant and the idiot kid remained stationary… which wasn’t remotely likely. Delilah, swearing softly crouched low, and raising a hand, pulled from the exhaust of a nearby vehicle, wiggling her fingers to send the thick cloud of smoke around the pair, forming something of a wall. She could hear the murmurs from the crowd, but she had to hope she was out of the way enough to escape notice.

The copycat, meanwhile, slammed back down into the ground and holding his hands out before him, shot a dart of wind at Gallant, “That all you got, Rusty?”

Ducking to avoid the blast of wind, Gallant hissed. “Not a chance, Copycat.” He said, resteadying his sword, and training his gaze on the fake as he slashed in the air, sending [glowcolor]ed bolts of energy heading towards him, one, two, three following the nimble figure as he tried to evade them.

Dodging the first two, the third blast caught the copy in the shoulder, and thrown backwards off his feet, he growled, landing hard on his backside. He was up, swiftly, another burst of wind flung towards Gallant, but his eyes were on the field of smoke, narrowing, “Your pretty lady around, Rusty? She didn’t come say hi to the cameras! Wonder why?”

“Just shut up and stay down when I hit you.” Gallant hissed, while thankful for what he knew was Delilah’s cover, desperately trying to keep them out of the picture. Gallant narrowly dodged the second gust of wind, sent one more sword blast of his own, and the moment it left his end of the court, charged at the copycat, hoping to catch him off guard while he tried to avoid the blast.

“Ha! Tired old tricks for a tired old--” Looking up from the circle of smoke a moment too later, the copycat swore at the sight of the ironclad gentleman rushing towards him. His hands raised, but not quite fast enough…

With his plan successful, Gallant pinned Fakeout to the ground, arm over his neck. “I am not a tired old dog.” He hissed. “You’re over, kid. You can’t parade in Knockout’s look anymore. You’re ruined.”

Grinning, wild eyes peering through his mask, the copy shook his head, “Did you even see their faces? They were thrilled! I gave them the best damn story they'll have all year. And when I offer up an exclusive as the first real Antihero this city's ever seen… it's you who's gonna be washed out”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Gallant said, applying a little more pressure to the kid’s neck, hoping to shut him up. “Thrilled? They were terrified, because a robber was waving a gun around! And what Antihero bullshit are you rambling on about? You’re dressed up as one, you dipshit. Would you just pass out already?!”

Eyes narrowing, he shook his head as much as he could, “You're gonna have to kill me… in front of all these people. And then what'll they think of their knight in a tincan?”

“Oh, please. I won’t even give you the satisfaction. Gallant doesn’t kill, okay?” He hissed. “What, do your powers make you invulnerable to passing out? I doubt it! So just shut up already!” Gallant shouted.

“Mind if I get in on this?” Came Fisher’s voice, but only Delilah and Gallant would know that. He’d discreetly thrust Delilah’s suit into her arms before breaching the wall of smoke, white-blue glow shining. “I can help. A good punch should do the trick.” Fisher said with a grin.

Delilah, slapping on the mask in a hurry and zipping her leather hoodie on over her dress hurried over behind Fisher, “Just knock the idiot out and let's go… I can't hold the screen much longer…”

“You're not gonna get rid of me!” The copy cat growled, “I'll be back!”

Pooling all his power into the fist, (okay, maybe not all of it… might’ve knocked his head clean off) Fisher leaned forward and hit the copycat straight in the nose, watching as his head swung back and then fell limp on his shoulders. “Man.. that felt good.” Fisher hissed.

With a smirk that probably wasn't becoming of a superhero, Delilah shook her head, “Great! Now c'mon… Let's go, before the screen falls. Aspen… you're a lifesaver.”

Aspen grinned, nodding. “My pleasure. What a twerp..” Adjusting his mask, Fisher frowned at the limp form of the copycat. “Shouldn’t we stay to address the press? Make sure they know he was a fake?”

Frowning, Delilah looked to the field of smoke, “You sure you're up for that, Fish?”

Fisher sighed. “I don’t know if it’s better to address it or just not say anything.. What do you think, babe?"

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighed, “What the hell… Can't make it worse at this point…”

Nodding grimly, Fisher emerged from the smoke to the ring of reporters. They all took a frightful step back, but Fisher raised his hand, and allowed his eyes to glow their signature color. “No need to worry,” He said calmly. “The impostor’s… been taken care of. I apologize to everyone. I don’t intend to let my name be tarnished… and I’m glad no one here was harmed today. I’ll also take a moment to thank my friend Gallant, for holding down the fort. We’ll keep on trying to make this city safer.”

Delilah gave her hands a wave and allowed the wall of smoke to diminish entirely, though not without a bit of show, keeping the copycat covered, while revealing Gallant with effect. She stepped up beside Fisher and smirked faintly, reaching out to take one of his hands, “Good thing we all know Knockout’s one of a kind.”

As their fingers intertwined, Fisher discreetly worked the ring off of Delilah’s ring finger. It felt a little bit moronic, but… this was a game of press. For metahuman kind, he tried to insist. “But not nearly as special as my partner,” He said, turning to her with a beaming smile. “Even though you and I face danger everyday… I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else, and it makes me realize that if anything ever happened to us.. I would have wanted us to be truly… partners forever.” And with that, he got down on one knee, lifting up the ring to the gasps of the onlookers. “Will you marry me?”

For one not accustomed to acting, Delilah sold it. Her eyes glittering, she gasped as Fisher dropped to his knees, and immediately, the cameras shifted in their direction as, hands cupped over her mouth, she nodded, “Oh, yes.. I will!” And with a laugh, she pulled him upright and threw her arms around him, her lips brushing his ear as she hugged him tight, “Beautifully done, you wonderful man. Now bring it home.”

Grinning into her shoulder as she pulled him up, Fisher pulled her waist tightly against him and spun her. “I love you,” He said through a beaming smile, and once he put her down he ran her hand through her hair lovingly. “Thank you, everyone. For supporting us.” He said through his sparkling smile.

Her cheeks flushed, Delilah looked to the cameras as if she’d only just remembered they were there, nodding along with Fisher, laughing softly, “...What a night, right?”

A laugh echoed throughout the restaurant, and Gallant whistled behind them. “Alright, folks. We’re gonna head home and celebrate our engagement.. And let this man off the hook.” Fisher nodded to Gallant, who stepped forward with a smirk. “Maybe… my best man?” He hummed. Even Gallant looked shocked, and the crowd whistled again. “Good night, everyone.”
 
White was not her most favorite color in the world, but if ever there were an occasion to wear it, Delilah supposed it was her wedding. Time had rolled by faster than anticipated, leading up to their special day, and never before had she just wanted to get something over with. It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy. However she got to spend the rest of her life with Fisher hardly mattered, so long as she got to at all, but it was the hubbub… The flash and flair. The attention. It wasn’t them - the real them, anyway - and standing before the mirror in billowing white skirts, she felt less like herself than ever.

“Just a few more hours…” She whispered to her reflection, and breathing out, she reached up to pin back another strand of hair, the brunette tendrils curling with a mind of their own. With a shake of her head, her hand brushed the white satin mask she was to wear… A necessity, given the public nature of the affair…

“Oh… It’ll be over before you know it, Delilah.”

The voice sent a shiver down her spine, and turning, Delilah stumbled back into the vanity, her eyes widening at the sight of the copycat, standing in the doorway of her room, “Who the hell are you??” She hissed, her voice cracking on an edge of nerves. Delilah. He knew her name… but..

“You’re wondering how I found you, aren’t you? Hm.” Smiling, copycat stepped forward, close enough to bend down and pick up the mask she dropped, “You and your precious Knockout… rushing off to save the day. You never did think too hard on that false alarm, did you?”

“That...that was you?” She asked, the color draining from her cheeks.

“That was me. Lovely apartment you have. You and… Fisher? What sort of name is that, anyway? Not that Knockout is much of an improvement.”

“What the hell do you want?” She asked, eyes narrowing, searching desperately for something… a source of smoke. Not a single damn candle in the whole room. A can of hairspray sat beside her, but as she reached for it, she felt a wave of hot air slap her hand away from it, the can clattering to the floor.

“I don’t think so… Come on, my dear. I think I hear your cue…”

“I don’t think Delilah is excited about this.” Fisher muttered, gazing at himself in the mirror.

“Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet.” Gallant said with a laugh, swatting Fisher’s hands away. Diego lingered in the corner, eyes sparkling at the sight of his two heroes whom he now knew personally. “I’m not getting cold feet!” Fisher said. “It’s just… this is a wedding for PR purposes. I’m wearing a mask at my own damn wedding.”

“Yeah, but you’re doing something special after this… right?”

Fisher paused.

“Oh, no..”

“We’ve been so busy with this wedding, i haven’t had time to think about anything else..” Fisher muttered, giving up on his tie and allowing Gallant to swoop in and fix it. “I should really have learned how to do this by now.” He grumbled.

“Listen, Fish. Make the lady feel special after this.Go on a cruise. Go to the Bahamas. I don’t know. Just go, okay?”

Fish rolled his eyes as he put the mask on. “Knock em dead!”

As the crowd filtered into their seats, the buzz among those few members of the media who had been invited was ecstatic… Their first big Superhero bash! It would be a memory for the ages, and this, decidedly, was the only reason that either Delilah or Fisher had agreed to it.

Unfortunately, they would get much more than bargained for.

The men approached the front of the aisle and the music cued up for Delilah to walk in, but it was gasps of shock, not awe that expelled from the guests as the doors opened and Delilah stepped out, lead by a figure, dressed in Knockout’s uniform - but for a black mask over cool grey eyes. His hand was clamped tightly around Delilah’s forearm, a smile on his lips.

“So sorry to interrupt, folks… If you wouldn’t mind taking your seats…”

As he settled into his position under the beautifully decorated arch, Fisher began to relax. There was still fun to be had in this… he’d still get to see his beautiful Lil walk down the isle.. something he had dreamed about long before superheroes. But the person with a tight hold on Delilah as she walked down was no friend. And Fisher knew, immediately. As did Gallant, who dug his fingertips into Fisher’s shoulder.

“Get your hands off my girl….” Fisher growled, stepping forward.

“Ah ah…” With a hand raised, the copycat shook his head, tutting softly, “You stay right where you are, friend. Or I promise you, I will kill her before you can get three steps down the aisle.” His grip tightened on Delilah’s arm, who shook her head to Fish, mouthing a silent apology.

“Now… Here is what I’d like to have happen. You… Knockout. Hero of the people. Guardian of good and right. I know your secret. And you… If you don’t wanna see your fiance splattered out like a pancake in the parking lot… you’re gonna tell everyone here, every single person here… who you are.”

All color draining from Fish’s eyes, he stared at the two in horror. “I can’t… you can’t be serious….” Fisher croaked, glancing back at his groomsmen for any advice at all, but they all had the same look of terror in their eyes. “Please.. don’t make me do this.” The cameras were all zooming in on him, on Delilah. If he revealed his identity… they would never be free. They would live in fear forever.

Grinning, now, the copycat shook his head, “Oh… ‘Please, don’t make me do this.’ You hear yourself? And this is the hero you people look to, to keep you safe at night? Wow.” Rolling his eyes, he pushed Delilah forward a bit and with a wave of his hand, she was swept upwards, his arm keeping her prone in the air, “Last chance. Spill… or she does.”

At the sight of Delilah being thrown into the air, a fear took hold of Fisher like he’d never felt before. “Stop!” He begged. “Put her down, please! Please…” This was it. This was the end. Nor Knockout or Fisher we’re going to survive after this.. and slowly he reached up to remove his mask and reveal himself to the world.

“Don’t you dare!” Delilah growled, holding herself as steady as she could, “Don’t you say a damn word!” Rolling his knuckles together, the copycat laughed and thrust her just a little bit higher.

“...How high you think she can go before she loses oxygen?”

Eyes darting between Delilah and the copycat, Fisher hissed. It was too late. There was nothing he could, nothing any of them could do without letting Lilah fall splat on the ground. He wouldn’t let it happen… he couldn’t…

Fisher ripped the mask off, every guest in the audience gasping as they zoomed in on his face. “My name… if Fisher Hawkins.” He growled. “Please… I did what you asked. Leave her alone.”

“Fish, no…” Delilah whispered, but it was drowned out by the peal of laughter from the copycat, who looked around at the maddening crowd of reporters, ignorant suddenly, to the danger Delilah appeared to be in… too hungry for the fresh scoop.

“Look at them. Animals… Like Vultures or piranha. And you invited them to your little shindig. Bad move, Fisher. You’re done… I told you, I would finish you… and now I have. Though it seems a shame to waste such a good threat…” Looking up, he smirked and slowly, he turned away from the crowd. As he did, he lowered his hand and with a short scream, Delilah dropped hard and fast to the ground.

“NO!” Fisher yelled with a scream of his own, diving to catch her but it was too fast, she was too far, too high. Everything has crumbled right before his eyes, and Delilah… Delilah… He scooped up her limp body in his arms, tears running down his cheeks. “How could you?!” Fisher cried.

“You made it easy…” The copycat muttered, as he headed for the exit. But he didn’t leave… Instead, turning around, he smiled, his eyes on the camera, “You’ll find me tonight on 2nd and Main. Send this city’s real heroes to take me down.”

Spinning around again, he pushed the door open and slipped out.

Sobbing openly over Delilah’s limp form, Gallant and Diego rushed forward as the rest of the reporters could only watch in horror. “Call Doc!” Fisher cried, pulling Delilah into him. “Lil… please… stay with me, okay? I can’t lose you, baby, please…”

Her breathing came is raspy waves, but as he lifted her closer, Delilah’s fingers curled loosely around his arm, “...I told you…” She whispered, her hand clenched tighter, painfully, “Not to…”

Laughing through tears, Fisher pulled her closer to him. “Shh.. I.. would do anything to save you, baby. Okay? So you hold on..” He sniffed. “I guess this is how you felt when I got all beat up, huh? You’d better hang on… we’re gonna get you all fixed up…”

Hissing in a sharp breath, she shook her head, “Stupid move, Trout…” As her arm fell back limply to her side, she closed her eyes, “...Don’t… don’t you worry. I’m… not going anywhere…”

Tears still falling, desperately stroking her hair before shakily standing. “Ambulance is coming in three minutes. Down the street. Let’s get out of here.” Gallant said, voice breaking midway through his stoic exterior. Diego stood close to Fisher, sullenly silent.

“You should…” Swallowing, grimacing, Delilah shook her head, “You should go, Gallant.. Take Diego. It’s not… not safe.”

Fisher grimaced. “I said.. Don’t.. Don’t waste your energy.” He looked desperately at Gallant and Diego. “They could follow the ambulance. Make sure.. Make sure no one does, alright?” He could hear the sirens blaring in the distance, and Fisher plowed forward. “You’re gonna be just fine..”

“Liar…” Delilah whispered, curling closer to him. A painful hiss escaped again and her fingers curled into his shirt, “...just… just in case, Fish. I… I love you.”

“Shut up,” Fisher snapped, but it was only out of love. “Don’t say that. You’re going to be fine, and I am not a liar. Just focus on breathing, okay? Deep breaths.” As Fisher rushed off, the posse of cameras tried to follow, but Gallant unsheathed his sword and kept them back. “Put the cameras away!” Fisher heard his friend shout.
The ambulance pulled into a space that was shielded away from the prying eyes, and the back doors opened. Two EMT’s, prepped and ready, reached out to pull Delilah onto the bed. “She fell,” Fisher croaked. “Twenty feet.” He never let go of her hand. “She’s in the best hands.” One of them assured.

As Delilah was loaded into the back of the ambulance, she kept her fingers as tightly around Fisher’s as she could manage. But soon enough, she was being fit with an IV, and heart monitors, the pristine white of her wedding gown cut away to reveal purple stippling bruises across her rib cage. The EMTs muttered among themselves, as they felt gingerly around the bruises, their expressions grim.

Looking up at Fisher, one of them shook his head, “...She’s bleeding pretty bad, internally. You said twenty feet?”

Paling impossibly further, Fisher nodded in despair. “I… I think it was twenty feet. Is she.. Is she going to be okay?”

The medics returned to their work without answering, but their expressions were heavy, not entirely optimistic. It was about halfway through the trip, however, that things took a turn, and swearing softly, one of the EMTs looked down at the monitor, the other moving for a supply bag behind him, “She’s crashing… Ready the cart… Pushing Epinephrine, now!” As he filled a syringe and injected it into the IV port, the other EMT pulled out the portable defibrillator paddles, flipping the switch to charge the machine.

At their sullen look, and a lack of answer, Fisher could feel his heart sink. Part of the trip was silent as they worked, with Fisher holding Lilah’s hand tightly pressed against his lips, when the monitor began beeping and the EMTs running around frantically, he stared at Lil’s cold face. “What’s happening?” He whispered, trying to calm his beating heart.

“Please stay back, Sir…” One of the men stated, coolly, and the other rubbed the paddles together, pressing them to her chest. A violent jolt ran through Delilah, and the other EMT looked at his watch, “Three… two… one… Again.”

Another jolt shook her, and a gasp escaped, and setting aside the paddles they resumed their work, “Got her. Alright, stay with us this time… You hear? Your fiance here is gonna have a melt down if you do that again…”

Sucking in a gasp of air, watching Delilah’s body shake nearly had him passing out himself. Stumbling back out of the way, eyes glazed over with tears. He meant to bring his hand up to his mouth, only to find it covered in blood. Her blood. “Just stay with me, Lil…” He begged.

The remainder of the ride seemed to pass with less panic, as Delilah’s heart rhythm held on. When they arrived in the underground, she was taken from the ambulance and settled onto a stretcher and without hesitation, shuffled swiftly off to surgery.

The next few hours were the most stressful thing Fisher had ever endured, and he wasn’t even the one in surgery. Banished to the waiting room, Fisher sat in turmoil. Diego and Aspen appeared sometime later on, and sat beside him, offering comfort. Time dwindled on… he just needed to know she was okay…

And eventually someone called his name. Fisher stood up so quickly he thought he would sink back down. She’d made it, they said. They didn’t know how well she’d heal… but she was in recovery. First thing he needed to do was see her.

He crept into her room as quietly as possible. Just to sit by her.. That was all he wanted. Hooked up to endless wires and machines.. He should’ve listened. Something had felt wrong this whole time.. He could’ve done something. He should’ve saved her. Burying his face in his hands beside her bed, he mulled over all the things he could’ve done different.

“Oi…” The voice was soft, raspy, and her eyes blinked open for a only a moment, before exhaustion and a mess of medication drew them closed again, but reaching out weakly, she grasped for his hand anyway, “...Don’t you look so miserable, Fisher. It’s my wedding day.”

Letting out a choked sob, Fisher squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry, Lil. I’m so sorry.” He said, voice broken and rapsy. “I should’ve listened to you… we should’ve never done this. How pathetic have I become? I couldn’t.. I couldn’t save you..”

“Hey…” Giving his hand a squeeze in return, she shook her head, “I don’t remember you holding a gun to my head. I…” Pausing, she breathed in, “I agreed to it, Fish. And there was no way we could’ve predicted what that psychopath was gonna do. Don’t you start blaming yourself… I won’t hear it, alright?”

Taking a deep breath, Fisher nodded shakily. “A-alright..” He said, sniffing and rubbing his forearm against his eyes. “I took off my mask, Lil.” He mumbled. “Our life.. It’s… it’s over.”

“Pssh.” Shaking her head, breathing in, she forced her eyes open for a moment, “...Don’t be stupid. That wasn’t our life, Fish. It was just… something we did when life got boring. We’ll figure it out. I was never… super fond of the city, anyway. So we’ll go... We’ll go somewhere safe, okay? You and me. That’s all we need.”

“How are you.. So amazing.. Even when you almost just died?” Fisher breathed, bringing her hand to his lips to kiss it. “I don’t deserve you, Delilah.. Hawkins.”

“It’s definitely…” She breathed, smiling, “Not genetic.” Giving his hand another squeeze, she let her eyes fall closed again, “... And don’t go telling me what you deserve. Besides… I ain’t a Hawkins, yet. You didn’t make an honest woman of me, Slacker.”

With a hoarse laugh, Fisher looked at her lovingly as she closed her eyes again. “I will.. I promise.”
 
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During Lil’s time in the underground, Fisher hardly left her side. At one point he went to their apartment to retrieve a few items, wearing a hat, glasses and cloak, and was still swarmed by the paparazzi within minutes. Gallant and Diego visited frequently, but despite Lilah’s encouraging words on the day of their wedding, he felt.. Trapped.

She was almost better now, and he watched her work hard everyday to be back to where she was. But he was beginning to face the reality of the fact that they couldn’t go back to their home. That a new chapter would have to be started somewhere new.

“Fisher, Delilah? Mind if I come in?” Came the ever calm voice from outside Delilah’s hospital room door. Doc.

She had managed to push herself as far upright as her broken ribs would allow, which for Delilah meant pushing it as far as she dared, and when Doc knocked, she looked to Fisher with a conspiratorial smirk, sure he’d come to yell at her for not taking it easy. But she was anxious, to put it mildly, to get out… to figure out their next course of action… and her healing was taking just too damn long.

“Come on in, Doc…” She called softly.

Pushing the door open, Doc appeared in the room with a small smile on his face. “Hello, you two.” His stance didn’t seem to carry any reprimand.. Fisher looked up at Doc with a weak smile. “I wish you would stay in bed a little bit longer, Delilah, but.. I know you both better than that. I came here to discuss your next step.. As you can’t stay underground forever, nor is Millennium an option for you anymore. I think… you should seek out your aunt, Fisher. Or at least, who I believe to be your aunt.”

A brow lifted, as Delilah looked between Doc to Fisher, then back again, “...It’s not the worst idea. I mean… we talked about it, before. But we didn’t really have the time.” A frown slid to her lips as she shrugged, “It’d be up to you, Fish. I dunno if you… if you wanna open that can, right now.”

Sighing deeply, Fisher took Delilah’s hand. “I mean.. What’s one more can?” He said with a raspy laugh. “We’ve got nowhere else to go, unless we want to live in the middle of nowhere. Where… does my aunt live, anyway, Doc?”

Doc scratched under his chin. “Uh, the middle of nowhere, really. A forest, if I’m being specific. I believe she has plant and earth related powers, so it suits her, I suppose. I’ll give you her address.. It’s a bit of a trek.”

Grinning at Doc’s words, Delilah shook her head, “Well there you have it. I guess once Doc lets me outta this damn bed, we’re gonna go become tree huggers out in the boonies. Sure you’re up for it, baby?”

Fisher grimaced, though a smile still stayed present on his face. “Yeah.. I’m curious to see if this woman really is my aunt. Having another metahuman in the family.. That could be cool.” Fisher said. “Well, uh, having a family at all sounds nice. I’ll get to figure something out about my parents.. My past. I think it’s a good step if any.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do…” Delilah said, pushing herself up a little further, fighting a small grimace, “How long am I gonna be trapped here for, Doc? My insides still falling out?”

Doc, frowning, glared at Fisher, a glare that said can’t you keep her in bed longer? “I’d like to say two weeks… but knowing you.. We can see how you’ll be doing in one. That means, however, a lot of rest, alright? Otherwise I’ll keep it at two.”

Flopping back, Delilah groaned, “...Nazi.” She whined, with a small smirk, “Fine… If I have to. It’s not like I fell out of an airplane, though… Maybe you can start looking into finding your aunt… get in touch?” She asked Fisher, “While we wait?”

“I don’t know how we could,” Fisher said, scratching his chin, though there was an excited sparkle in his eyes. “She lives in a forest. How do we get in contact with someone like that?”

“She have like… squirrel messengers or something?” Delilah asked, with a shrug.

Fisher laughed. “Yeah.. that’d be cool. But I just want you to focus on getting better, okay? I see you grimacing over there.”

“What that?” She asked with a chuckle that faded into a flinch, “That’s for Doc’s benefit… so he feels useful. You know how he gets when he’s not saving lives. Impossible.”

“Delilah,” Fisher said firmly, that sparkle turning into a glint of worry. “You can’t hide it from me.. Alright? Please. Just take it easy. Don’t pretend like nothing happened.. I know it did.”

Looking too him, she reached for his hand, nodding, “Yeah, okay. But try not to worry about me, too much, hm? I’m in good hands. And behave… One whole week, won’t move a muscle unless Doc tells me. Promise.”

Letting out a sigh of relief as he took her hand and squeezed it. “Thank you. I’ll try not to worry too much, alright? I love you.”

“I love you, too, Fish.” Shifting carefully, laying back down on the pillows behind her, she nodded, “...Now go find a squirrel and see if they know your aunt. Maybe a racoon…? Deer? They live in the forest, right?”

Grinning, Fisher laughed as he stood from the chair beside her bed. “Right.. I’ll go look. When I comeback you’d better be rested better than anyone’s ever rested before, okay?” He smiled. “See you later.”

“You got it, Fish…” She said with a small smirk and a salute, “Good luck.”
 
Two weeks. Two miserable, boring weeks. Doc had been determined to torment Delilah past her breaking point, she was sure. But she was glad for it. The recovery time had been endless, but it the trick, and when she was finally, blessedly, discharged, she felt very nearly back to her old self. As much as someone could, who had almost died… technically -did- die, at least once…

After leaving the hospital, they bundled up their things in Fisher’s truck and with the address on hand, left to find Fisher’s aunt, and as they drove away from their underground sanctuary, Delilah did her best to bite back every possible comment about uncertainty that popped into her head, her hands resting over the brace on her ribs that Doc insisted she keep on for at least another two long, brutal weeks.

“So…” She finally broke the silence roughly twenty-minutes out, when she could no longer stand the thoughts, piling up in her head, “...We should probably talk about what the game plan is, yeah? Cause… let’s be honest here, Fish. We can’t just move into your aunt’s place for the rest of our lives and call it living…”

“Right.” Fisher muttered, keeping his gaze cool and on the road before him. He’d said his goodbyes to Gallant, to Diego. To all the guys in the shop, who stared at him in silence as he went to collect his things before embracing him in a deep hug. The whole life he had built, gone.

“Well, maybe she’ll have a nice treehouse we can stay in, right?” He huffed. “Or maybe, once we say our hellos, we kick it off to Cuba or something.”

Grinning, Delilah shook her head, “You always did want to live in a treehouse. But Fish… what if…” considering her words carefully, she stared out the window, as the world whipped by in a blur of colors and lights, “What if we came back? To the city? Why should we leave? You have dedicated half your life to protecting this city… You gave your time and energy and safety to these people. And they’re willing to crucify you, because what… you have a first and last name, now? It’s bull… and you know it. And I know it. And it’s wrong for us to just… accept that we have to give up our lives because suddenly you aren’t hiding behind a mask, anymore. What happened? It sucks… but maybe it… maybe it’s the start of something good you know?”

Swallowing, Fisher thought hard on that proposition. “I..I don’t know. Need to clear my head first, Lil. It’s just… I don’t mind.. I don’t mind my face out there. But all the danger it could bring, right to our doorstep.. I wasn’t Knockout full time. If we go back to Millennium… I’ll have to be.” Fisher sighed. “I am always saying it’s all so that we don’t have to live with the masks on.” He muttered.

“But how long is it gonna be till this spreads? Till people start seeing you, recognizing you? If we find a way… to stop it before that happens? To get ahead of it?” A sigh escaped and she turned to Fisher, “We’ll think on it. We have a little window, at least. That dick of a copycat did us a favor, dropping me like he did. At least the press had the good sense to leave us alone for a while…”

“It’s already out there. There’s no way to stop it.” He said grimly. “And that.. Was no favor.” Fisher said, grip tensing on the steering wheel. “I’ll think about it. But for now… this is our best option. Taking some time away. It’ll be like a nice vacation.. Off the grid. Wildlife and stuff. Assuming she’s even my aunt..”

“I mean… I won’t thank him for it, but at least we avoided the traffic.” Smiling dryly, she shrugged, “I just wanna make sure that’s all this is, baby. A vacation. And then we’ll figure out where to go from here. And honestly? If she lives out in the middle of nowhere… raises squirrel minions to do her bidding, she’s probably your aunt.”

“Ha ha ha. Very funny.” Fisher said, rolling his eyes. “It’s kind of.. Crazy, if you think about it. I dreamed about finding my family for as long as I can remember. It doesn’t feel so sweet though.” He said with a sigh. “I hope.. This gives me some answers.”

“Answers are better… even if they aren’t the ones we want.” With a shrug, Delilah reached over, “But this doesn’t have to be your family if you don’t want it to be. We made our family a long time ago, you and me…”

“Yeah… you, me, and he who must not be named.” Fisher huffed. “It’s alright though. You and me against the world… I like it better than anything else.”

“Solomon’s Voldemort, now?” A brow lifted and she laughed, “He’s crazy, but I dunno about Dark Lord status. But I like you and me, better. Though I could do with a little less ‘against the world’...”

“Yeah.. I guess I could too.” He said, leaning back, the road quiet. “I believe in us, Lil. And we’re still gonna get married.. For us, and not for anyone else.”

“Hell yeah, we are.” She stated with a grin, “As soon as possible, too. Heck… we can have your aunt get ordained over the inter--Ah. She probably doesn’t have wifi… This off the grid stuff is bogus, right?”

Fisher laughed. “We’ll pick up a certificate right before the middle of nowhere,” He hummed. “And she’ll set up a whole garden wedding for us. Everything locally grown.” He said with a smirk.

Shaking her head, Delilah laughed as well, “With little gnomes for our witnesses. It’ll be perfect. Better than the last effort, anyway."

His laughter grew quiet. “Uh, yeah. Anything will be better than the last effort.” He said.

“God, I hope so…” She grinned, reaching over to take hold of one of his hands, “If it’s worse, we are decidedly really bad at weddings.”

“Heh.” Fisher said, squeezing her hand. “We’ll figure it out. Like we always do.”

~

They were in a different version of the middle of nowhere. Some desolate town off the highway, and they’d been driving for god knows how long. It was time they stopped for gas and for food, and Fisher was starving.

“I’ll get the truck hooked up. Maybe you’ll go buy snacks for the road.. then I’ll look for a place to eat?” Fisher said as they pulled into the gas station. “This place is desolate… they won’t recognize me.. Right?”

Shaking her head, Delilah pushed her door open and carefully, she eased her way out, her ribs protesting the long ride as she straightened upright, “If they do, Fish… you are a hell of a lot more famous than we ever guessed. Be right back.” and with a wink, she headed for the station entrance.

“Hey.. wait. Are you sure you’re up for this?” Fisher said, catching Delilah’s hand. “I know what a rib injury feels like.. Do you want to just stay in the truck?”

Looking at him, a brow arched, “...Chivalry ain’t dead. But I got this, baby. I can handle a few snacks.”

With a nod Fisher sighed, letting go of her hand. “Alright. Don’t die on me.” He said with a light smile, turning to the gas station as he picked his setting and set up the tank.

“I'll try!” She called back with a wave before she slid inside the convenience shop. Moving through the store, she grabbed the necessities… none of which were actually necessary at all and as she approached the counter, she dug out her wallet from her bag. But handing her card to the clerk behind the desk, she froze at the sight on the television behind his head.

The headline scrolling across the bottom read MANHUNT CONTINUES FOR FISHER HAWKINS AKA KNOCKOUT. Above this was a photo of Fisher from the foster center. Heart leaping, she looked to the clerk, who, brow quirked, was handing back the card.

“You alright, miss?” He asked.

Shoving the card into her pocket, she nodded, “Yeah. Fine. Thanks!” And grabbing her bag, she spun and made for the door again.

As Fisher loaded up the tank, he leaned against the bed of his truck and looked out onto the road. He couldn’t see much, as it was a pretty barren place. At some point he pulled up his phone and started looking for somewhere they could eat, when another truck pulled up on the side opposite to his just as he was taking out the pump.

As two large men got out of the truck, their eyes landed on Fisher, and something in their expression changed. Immediately Fisher could tell something was wrong, especially when they started to make their way towards him.

Fisher quickly put the pump back in place, but not before the two men were right in front of him. “You’re that superhero.” One of them hissed. “No - who? Can’t be, uh - I think you’ve got the wrong guy. Good day, gents.” Fisher babbled, but one of them shoved him backwards before he had a chance to turn away.

“Metas ain’t right. They ain’t human.” The other spat. “What gives you the right to flaunt your ungodly gifts in tights on TV?”

Fisher growled as he straightened his posture. “If you’ve seen me on TV, then you know what I can do to you.. So back off.”

Delilah approached swiftly, eyes narrowing at the pair, “Woah there, boys…” hand on her hip, she shook her head, “That's no way to ask for an autograph.”

Eyeing Delilah, the two men frowned. “Did he put you in that?” One of them snarled, gazing at her brace. “Leave us the hell alone, man!” Fish shouted, putting his hand on Delilah’s shoulder. “Let’s get out of here..”

“What, this. Nah… the psychopath he saved the city from did. But how quickly you all forget.” Hand slipping to her side, Delilah’s eyes flickered briefly, imperial and bright, and the truck the pair exited sputtered, as the exhaust began filtering backward through the tank, filling the cab with noxious fumes, “Looks like you're having car trouble.”

Opening his mouth to say some other insulting thing or another, the man stopped at Delilah’s words, and the both of them stared in horror at their car, immediately dropping their fight and rushing over.

“Heh.. nice.” Fisher said. “Let’s get out of here..”

Moving to the truck, Delilah looked back at the men and with her fingers flared out, shot the smoke out, shattering through the windows in sharp, solid plumes that dissipated away in the air a moment later.

Her eyes forward again, she slipped into Fisher's truck and slammed the door behind her.
Fisher’s jaw dropped as the windows shattered. He only realized Delilah had gone into the truck when she angrily slammed the door, and he hopped into the drivers seat a moment later. “Jesus, Lil… you didn’t have to go that hard..”

“They deserve worse than that…” Buckling her belt a little too swiftly, she grimaced, a hand on her ribs, “What the hell gives anyone the right to treat you that way… After everything you did for them. After everything you gave to the city… To those ungrateful…” Breathing out, she shook her head, “Let's just go.”

“Hey… calm down, alright? You’re gonna hurt yourself.” Fisher said, his tone softening as he started up the engine. “It’s the way of the world. There’s always gonna be those people… and there’s always the supporters, too. Can’t have one without the other.” He said with a sigh.

“It's not just…” Running her hands over her face, she sighed, “A couple of redneck jerks is one thing, Fish. They have a frickin manhunt out on you…”

“They have a — they have a what?!” Fisher balked, tone rising. “Where - how — where did you… why would they have a manhunt on me??”

“The television in the shop…” lowering her hands to her lap, she shook her head, “Wanted for questioning on vigilante actions. After everything you did for them, they wanna nail you to the wall. I think I finally understand what drove him to it, Fish… Solomon. Where he cracked.”

“Don’t you dare compare this to Solomon.” Fisher said, tensing. “For questioning.. That’s not so bad.. Don’t know why it’s gotta be called a manhunt, but… maybe turning myself in is the best option. Clear everything up with them… there’s nothing they can pin me for, Lil. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“He wanted to help me… and no one would listen.” Another sigh escaped as she looked out the window, “I’m not saying what he did was right… just that I get it. Watching them do this to you… Those creeps back there at the gas station… Do you really think they’d treat you fair, Fisher? They would crucify you. And I’m not gonna let that happen.”

Falling silent, Fisher realized the connotation of Lilah’s words. “It was different with him..” He said quietly. “With us.. We were foster kids.. No one cares about foster kids, but that’s not us anymore. I thought we were just running from the press, but.. Christ.” He said, running a hand through his hair.

“I don’t wanna go back, anymore.” She said, plainly, “They don’t deserve you… and the city can burn for all I care.” She didn’t mean it. Not really. In her heart she knew that they would both do anything to protect not only the city, but the people in it… But it hurt, thinking how swiftly everyone had turned their backs on Fisher… all because he’d shown who he really was, “They don’t even give a damn that you did it to try and save my life, do they?”

“Lil..” Fisher said, a little bit shocked by the 180 turn she had just pulled off. “You don’t mean that.. Right? It’ll get better, Lil… this is a heavy hit, but we’ve taken a lot of heavy hits. Don’t go all pessimistic on me, okay?”

“A manhunt, Fisher. On you. Like nothing you did matters. Who… who does that??”

“The world does It just does, okay? It just does! That’s how the world works. We’re good people and we got a shitty lot in life, and the world’s gonna keep beating us down. That’s just what happens to good people. But good people get through it.” He said firmly, trying to insist it.

“I'm tired of it… of the crap that just piles on us, Fisher.” Rubbing her brow, she sank back against the seat, “Listen… I'm just… I'm gonna close my eyes for a little while. Tell me when we're close, okay?”

Sighing deeply, Fisher focused his gaze on the road. “Okay.. sure.” He mumbled, shaking his head. It’d be a while.. Before Delilah felt safe again. It’d be a while for him too. But as long as they were together.. It’d be alright.
 
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Delilah slept through most of the ride as the sky turned dark. She looked peaceful, and it felt like he only saw that when her eyes were closed. It worried him. But at the end of his worries, he thought about how he was the only one who’s name had been revealed.. And he wasn’t going to drag her down with her if the time ever came. The image of Delilah falling on the pavement, and breaking.. Haunted him more than anything. And he would never let it happen again.

But that wasn’t what he needed to think about now. Now.. he had to think about the target on his back, and the best way to protect her.. The both of them.

When dusk returned to dawn, he was off traditional roads, until the roads became no more than lightly cleared paths that he had to pray were the right way. Something about it did feel right, though. And that was why he kept on, despite the thrashing of branches against his truck’s beautiful paint job..

“Lil?” He said quietly. “I think we’re almost there.”

She couldn’t have slept if she’d wanted to. As soon as they left the main road, the jarring of the truck became too much for her sore rib cage and grimacing, hands pressed tight to her middle, she shook her head, “Hell, Fish. She live on the moon?”

Expression softening, Fisher slowed the truck as a house came into view. “Crap… sorry, Lil. I should’ve stopped for the night… let you rest.” Fisher said. “I.. I don’t know. I just knew where to go. Didn’t stop.”

“It’s fine…” She shifted, breathing in, “Gotta get used to it… Gonna be a little while before everything heals. You know how it is.” Squinting through the window, she frowned softly, “Seriously, though. Where are we? This is one step further than off the grid.”

“Outskirts of the outskirts of the outskirts.” Fisher mumbled. “I.. hope I know how to get back. It was an off road on some middle of nowhere highway. This.. is definitely it, though.” It was a house practically overtaken by wildlife and brush. Though beautiful, it was hardly visible. “So… my aunt’s a hermit.”

“...Maybe weird names are a family thing and she camps out here so she doesn’t have to introduce herself as Lemontree or Kitten or whatever…” Delilah said, with a small teasing smirk, “Seriously, though. I feel like I’m a horror movie right now. Don’t go anywhere alone, okay?”

“Yeah.. okay.” Fisher murmured, stepping towards the house, carefully avoiding the protruding greenery. “Feel like I’m entering Narnia or something.” He mumbled, pausing along the path of stepping stones as he was sure he could see a stem reach out..

And before he knew it something had wrapped around his ankle, pulling him off his feet.

“Fisher!” Delilah called out, as Fisher was whipped up off his feet. Her hands shot out, but there was no smoke in sight and they had gone too far from the truck to make use of the exhaust, “Fisher, what do I do!?”

“Stay back!” Fisher yelled as he attempted to fight against the vines that continued to wrap themselves around his limbs, eyes glowing whited tinted blue as he powered his clothing in an attempt to break free. “Get away, Lil! Get back to the truck!” He hissed, as the vines slowly began to wrap themselves around his torso, his neck, his mouth, and suddenly, Fisher was pulled into the earth, disappearing without a sound.

“Fish!” Delilah moved swiftly, too swiftly, and her ribs protested with violent reminding, as she cried out, “No… no, no, no… Let him go!” Screaming at the vine was useless… her powers were useless. “God damned plant! You are not taking him!” And with a growl, ignoring the pain that exploded across her abdomen, Delilah grabbed the vines with her hands and tugged as hard as she could near their roots, “Give… him… back!”

As soon as Delilah began to tug at the roots, the reached out and snaked up her wrists, tightening with ferocity as well as upon her ankles. The brush parted a few yards away, and a woman with graying hair emerged, her eyes glowing a deep green.

“State your business.” She said firmly.

Eyes flaring, Delilah pulled against the vines to little avail, “My business is GIVE HIM BACK, you psychopathic bi--augh!” Grimacing, she doubled over, “Fish…”

Frowning, the woman loosened the vine’s grip, but did not let go entirely. “I can see you’re injured.. That’s why you aren’t enjoying the same fate as your lover. Who are you?” She said slowly.

“My name…” She hissed, straightening as much as her ribs would allow, “Is Delilah. And my lover there is Fisher Hawkins! He’s your nephew!”

“He’s my -- what?” The woman said, all calmness melting away as did her glow, the vines dropping away from Delilah’s wrists and ankles, and Fisher was brought up from the dirt, heaving and coughing. The woman stepped up to the two, her now hazel eyes visible.

“When’s your birthday?” She said threateningly.

Gasping for breath, Fisher rubbed dirt away from his eyes. “July 18th, 2003.” He sputtered.

“It.. it really is…. You…” She gasped. “They named you Fisher?”

“Fish!” Moving, Delilah dropped beside him, brushing him off, wincing as she sank back to hold her middle, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine..” He mumbled, giving her a reassuring nod. “Did she hurt you?” Fisher said. “Did you hurt her?”

“I only did what I had too.” The woman growled. “Fisher…” She echoed, letting the name roll off her tongue with a shake of her head. “Your father.. Was going to name you Peter.” She said, voice breaking.

“What you had to? What if we were just hikers who got lost!? How many people have you sucked down into the ground?? Maybe this was a mistake, Fisher…” Pushing upright, she cried out, folding back into herself again, “Damn it…”

“LIl!” Fisher cried, falling to her side, wrapping an arm protectively around her. The woman’s eyes softened. “Come inside,” She said. “I have a lot to tell you.. And she needs rest.” She muttered, clearing the rest of the path to the door, and setting off, leading the way.

“Lil.. I’ve got you.” He said, aiding her up to her feet. “She was trying to protect herself… we have to hear her out.”

Flinching, Lil held on to Fisher, her free hand on her ribs, as she shook her head, her eyes moving to the woman with a small frown, “...Your call. But I don’t like it. She could’ve killed you…”

“She’s.. Powerful, that’s for sure. Hey, maybe that means I can do plant-y stuff too.” He said quietly, the tiniest of smiles coming to his face as he helped her to the door, which the woman had left open in her wake. Fisher closed it behind them.

The place, inside.. Was homey. It was warm and well decorated, with couches and rugs and paintings on the walls. A little bit.. Hippie, if Fisher were to say anything. But it felt like a home nonetheless. Fisher helped Delilah onto a plush looking couch as the woman.. His aunt, stood before them.

Leaning back, Delilah carefully unhooked the brace and pulling it free, hiked her shirt up to look at her ribs, breathing in with a small sigh at the purple stippling, some of it fading into soft yellows and greens, “...Looks okay. Probably just strained it... “ Rolling her shirt back down, her eyes shifted to the older woman, “Maybe just put a fence or something…”

Frowning, the woman crossed her arms. “How did you find me?” She said quietly. Sitting down beside Lilah, frowning at the look of her skin, he sighed. “Doc.. said he thought you might be…” She nodded in understanding. “He’s a trustworthy man. I always hoped..” She sighed. “My name is Jules Connors. Your father.. My brother.. His name was Henry Connors.” She sat down on a chair opposite them. “..was?” Fisher echoed.

Looking to Fisher, Delilah shook her head, “...Baby.” Reaching for his hand, she sighed, and her eyes moved to Jules again, “Look… We came a long way, and after that greeting, getting hit with a bomb of bad news isn’t exactly gonna help… Maybe we should wait till after breakfast or something?”

Jules sighed and then shrugged, standing up and heading into the kitchen. Fisher leaned back, sighing deeply. “I’ve got a feeling that’s barely even half of it.” Fisher muttered, shock keeping him quiet. “Peter, huh?”

“I like Fisher better…” She muttered, laying back, “You okay? I’m sorry… I know you probably wanna hear more, but… I just think you need to be ready for it, you know? It… it doesn’t sound good, Fish.”

“I’m ready for it.” He insisted. “I’ve been waiting all my life.. we drove all the way here. “There’s no turning back… not when it’s right in front of me. And you.. you need to rest. So you can’t stop me even if you tried.”

Eyes narrowing, she shook her head, “I can still take you, if I have to, buddy. I know your weak spots…”

“Yeah right,” Fisher snorted. “What are you gonna do, tickle me?”

“I could…” she said, a smile forming, “I know all your spots. And don't think I won't use that to my advantage.”

“Oh, Delilah… you are evil.” Fisher said, bringing his arms up and creating a barrier between them on the couch. “Guess I’ll have to sit like this the whole time. To protect myself.”.”

Laughing, she shook her head, “Temporary truce, as long as you promise not to go poking around in your aunt’s memory bank while I’m asleep.” Her expression softened as she met his gaze, “Seriously, Fish. I wanna be there when she tells you, okay? Don’t do it alone.”

Nodding solemnly, Fisher reached over to brush a piece of her hair away. “Alright.. I promise I’ll wake you up. Rest.” He said, voice reassuring.

With a subtle smirk, she let her eyes fall closed as his finger grazed across her forehead, “Love you…”

“Love you too,” Fisher said with a smile as she drifted off to sleep. He sat beside her in silence for a little while as Jules cooked in the kitchen, the sizzling of eggs making its way to the sitting room, where Fisher’s mouth watered. It’d been a while since they’d had a real meal.

When Jules came out with delicious looking omelettes, Fisher sat up and nudged Lil awake.

It wasn’t long, but she slept again and only when Fisher nudged her did she wake, her eyes blinking open, turning to him with a brow lifted, “...Oy. You better be waking me for food… or cause the house is on fire, buddy.”

“Food,” Fisher said with a calm smile. “Thank you. You go to the grocery store often?” He said with a chuckle as Jules handed him both plates. “Got my own farm. Chickens in the back.” She said quietly. “I try to leave as little as possible.”

Sitting up with a small wince, Delilah took one of the plates, and a brow lifted, “So… what’s with the hermit move, anyhow? You just really like nature or…?”

“Well. I certainly feel more secure in this element.” She deadpanned. “But it was mostly to escape the growing threat your father and I faced in those days, the SPME. Do you know of them?”

A brow lifted and pulling herself up further, Delilah shrugged, “Probably not the whole story, no. Fish.. you really sure you’re ready to hear all this?”

“Lil.. we went over this. No going back.” Fisher said, steeling his gaze. “Alright, lay it on me. I know about the SPME. Twenty years ago they were a lot more prevalent.” He said with a nod. Jules put a hand on her chin. “Both your father and I escaped their clutches numerous times. We were powerful.. They had their sights set. But he fell in love with your mother and things became much more serious for them when they found out she was pregnant with you.

We all tried to stick together, but we were separated eventually. They were getting fed up with us. Started using real guns instead of tranquilizers. When you were born, they were in the midst of a fight for their lives. You were supposed to end up with me if anything happened.. But we weren’t so lucky. Your father died. Your mother… she might still be alive, but I’ve lost all track of her. They could’ve captured her for all I know. They left you on the doorstep of an orphanage, orphanage gave you a new name, and I couldn’t find you. Though I tried like hell.” She leaned back. “You don’t look like you’ve run into them.. That was your father’s hope, at least. You look well.”

Fisher exhaled like he’d been hit in the gut. “Well, at least I look it.”

“...It’s been a rough few months.” Delilah continued, shaking her head, “...I dunno how much you’re connected to the world out there, but if you know Doc, I guess you probably know a thing or two about the Underground. Fisher… he was… he was moonlighting as a superhero named Knockout. A few months ago, we ran into a copycat, and he… this guy found out who we were. He showed up at our wedding and he forced Fisher to come clean about who he was. That… that’s why we’re here. Because they know who Fisher is and they are out for blood on this.”

“Jesus christ.” Jules said with wide eyes. “Not only will you have the rest of the world on your tail, but the SPME too. You’re in deep shit. A superhero.. Really? That’s what you ended up doing?” Jules chuckled. “Henry would be proud.. Not sure I can say the same, but I know he would.”

Fisher smiled. “Sounds like a guy I wish I could meet. What were their powers?”
“Your father was a telekinetic. Your mother had super strength. I saw your glow.. Your father had the same one. Are you telekinetic as well?”

Fisher shook his head. “Not exactly. I imbue objects with strength.”

“Hm. Seems about a good mix.”

“Yeah.. guess so. What about.. Grandparents? Distant relatives? Background?” Fisher said, leaning forward, abandoning the omelette.

“German and Irish. Everyone’s dead.”

Fisher blinked. She didn’t seem to have a filter. “Ev...Everyone?”

“Yes. Everyone. On our side, at least. Never knew much about your mom, but I think she was first generation. We’re a long line of supers. Hunted down since as long as we can remember. Here.” She said, standing up and retrieving a worn book from a shelf. “All I’ve got.”

It was filled with pictures. Old pictures. A family. Generations. All.. his.

“What was her name? My mom?”

“Allison Wilson.”

Fisher leaned back and smiled, weakly. “This is.. Nice.”

“Why now…?” Delilah asked, a brow lifting, “All this time, Fish has been out there. Why is he only finding out about you, now?”

“Fish has been out there. Not Peter Connors. How was I supposed to find someone that I didn’t know existed?” Jules deadpanned. “I’ve also been evading a government funded human experimentation program, so there’s that.”

“Go easy on her, Lil.” Fisher mumbled, flipping through the pages with a smile.

“It's just… You don't really have any idea, do you. Everything he's gone through… everything he's endured. And the person he's become. You have no idea how bad he wanted to know his family…”

“Lil.” Fisher said pointedly, closing the book with a frown. “Seriously… she said she tried, alright? How was she supposed to find me? How is she supposed to know the person I’ve become? That’s why we’re here. So she can learn.” He said. “What’s gotten into you?”

Shaking her head, Lil set down her plate and rose to her feet, “You know what? You're right. You two just… bond away. She's family, right?” Eyes shifting between the two, Lil frowned, before heading to the door.

“Lil… Lil!” Fisher groaned, watching her stomp away before giving Jules an apologetic look. “Sorry.. She’s not.. She’s not usually like this. Let me go talk to her.” He mumbled, standing up and rushing after her. “Hey.. what’s the matter?” He murmured.

Pausing, Delilah turned to Fisher, shaking her head, “Nothing. Dream come true, right? You have an aunt… Hell, might even have a mom. I'm happy for you, Fish. Really.”

“Well, you should be, but you’re not,” He muttered, brows creasing in irritation. “Seriously.. What’s wrong? Why’s this got you all mad? I don’t get it.”

“You…” Lowering her gaze, she sighed, “Fish. You have enough hurt in your life right now… and you just… you open yourself up so easily and I'm just… I'm scared for you. And maybe just… Maybe I thought… I thought our family was enough.”

Fisher sighed, bring his hand to his forehead and ruffling through his hair. “Lilah…” He mumbled. “Our family is enough. You’re all I’m ever going to need, but you can’t keep me from finding out about my past, and you can’t protect me from the world. And you definitely cannot keep me from learning about who I am, and who my family was.” He was angry, but he wasn’t yelling. It was more upsetting than angering, but he could understand why.

“I know. Trust me. I know.” A sigh escaped and she looked away, “I'm not trying to keep you from it. I just… I don't want you to get hurt.”

“Lilah.” Finn said, exasperated. “You can’t… do that. As much as I want to do the same for you, I can’t. You can’t keep me from getting hurt because to do that you’d have to put me in a box or something, and you can’t. Okay?” He bit his tongue to avoid saying anymore.

“Do you blame me?” She said, a little sardonically, “We've been through a lot. And I guess I just wasn't expecting you to be so… trusting.”

“Well, everything she’s said has made sense, so yeah, maybe once in my life I wanted to trust someone.” He muttered. “The whole world’s against me right now, Lil. We found someone who isn’t, and can actually tell me about my past. I don’t blame you. But I thought you wanted to try and be.. As normal as possible.”

“Yeah well… maybe that was before there was a manhunt out on you because you gave up your identity to save my life. I just… I'm tired of us getting burned. But I'm not gonna tell you what to do… Just promise me you'll be careful.”

“Life burns, alright?” He muttered. “There’s nothing we can do about it. Of course I’m gonna be careful, Lil.” He reached up a hand to cup her face, hoping she’d allow it. “I love you.”

Smiling faintly, leaning into his touch, she sighed, “I love you more, Fish. Sorry I made an ass of myself if from of your aunt.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Fisher nodded. “S’okay. You have a chance to redeem yourself, alright? I just found out I’m German and Irish. Can’t stop here.”

“I could've told you that…” She said with a small grin, “Go on. Let's go find out more about your life, hm. Maybe you'll find out you're loaded or own half of Millennium.”

“Well, gosh. What if I’d found out I’m Jewish? We’d have to scrap Christmas. It would’ve ruined everything.” He said with a smirk, taking her hand and pulling her back into the living room, where Jules awaited them with narrowed eyes. “Sorry, we’re ready now. Continue to tell me about my past.”

Grinning now, Delilah shook her head, “You'd never scrap Christmas. You're the only grown man I know who still listens for Santa on the roof.”

As they entered the room again, her smile faded slightly, and she paused, clearing her throat, “Sorry Jules. I… It's hard… not to get defensive over him. Thank you for doing this. I know it's probably a lot for you… Reliving it…”

She shrugged. “It is what it is. Fisher deserves to know.. I can’t imagine a life not knowing a past. I’m glad you found me.” A smile, a very small one twitched onto her face. It seemed a struggle for her. “You’ll need to figure out a plan, anyway. For all the devils climbing up your back.”

“Good thing we're used to dealing with devils.” Delilah added, before settling back onto the couch, “Anyway… That can wait. Fisher wants to hear about his family. Ask away, Fish.”
 
The hum of the Glass Belly was ever present, glasses clinking through chatter and laughter. Willow stood behind the bar, filling drinks, giving smiles, perpetuating the feeling of safe haven. She recognized most patrons, engaging them in small talk as she brought them their liquor, except the three that trudged in with a look in their eyes that promised only trouble.

“What can I do for ya, fellas?” Willow said, eyes narrowed as she leaned over the edge of the bar.

“We’re looking for Fisher Hawkins.” Growled the ring leader. Willow snorted.

“Yeah, you and the rest of the world. Good luck with that.”

He took a quarter from his pocket and rolled it between his thumb and his pointer. “He hasn’t been by?”

“Not in a long time.” She said slowly, reaching under the bar for her panic button.

“Well then. We’ll just have to make it worth the trip.”

“Willow!” Aspen, rushing over from a table in the corner with his hand outstretched in shock. Too late. He threw the quarter in the air, watching it spin before the explosion rocked the bar.

~

They’d been at his aunt’s house for a while, and there, things were quiet. It felt a little bit like a honeymoon, when he wasn’t thinking about the looming threat pinned over his head if he ever stepped foot back into civilization.

His phone had been abandoned near entirely, flooded with messages since some forum had found his number and leaked it. When it buzzed on the bedside table nearby, he hardly paid it any mind, instead wrapping his hands around Delilah’s waist as she stood over the kitchen counter, sighing deeply into her shoulder. “I should throw the damn thing away.”

With a small chuckle, Delilah shook her head and her own arms linked around his shoulders, “I’m not sayin’ you should just shove it down the garbage disposal… but…”

A smirk rolled to her lips, but faded a moment later, as her own phone, nearby Fisher’s began to buzz as well. A brow lifting, she pulled back, and met Fisher’s eyes.

Fisher frowned. “They don’t have your number too.. right?” He murmured, pulling away as he started for the phone, eyes widening at the sight of Doc’s contact pulled up. He stumbled and answered. “Doc? What’s going on?”

“Fisher… you must come urgently. It’s Solomon.”

Fisher brought a hand to his mouth. “Lil…. he says it’s Sol.”

“It’s…” Blinking, Delilah took a step back, paling, “...It’s what?” Catching a hand on the counter, she shook her head, “Context, Fish! Get… context.”

“What’s happening, Doc?” Fisher mumbled into the phone.

“He came in asking for you. Then he.. blew up the Glass Belly, first. He’s wreaking havoc in the underground, saying he only wants you. You and Delilah.”

“How many… how many people has he hurt?”

“Dozens. Half the hospital is in shambles. I can’t help everyone. You have to come immediately.”

“Tell him we’re coming.” Fish ended the call, a fire in his eyes. “We’re going back to Millenium.”

“He’s out… isn’t he…?” Delilah asked, gripping the counter tighter, “He got out…” There weren’t words to describe the feeling inside of her. Fear could not begin to cover it. In her mind she could see him.. She could see the things he had done to her… to Fisher, and she knew without a shadow of doubt, he would not stop, now.

“Oh, God…” Her knees buckling, she slid to the floor, her head back against the cabinet behind her, “Fish…”

“Hey, hey..” He breathed, his voice shaky as he knelt beside her. “You can’t fall apart on me, Lil. Solomon is nothing, alright? We’ve fought so much harder since then. We’re stronger, and we’ll be even stronger together. He’s terrorizing the underground, and we’re going to stop him. You and I, together.” He held out a hand to pull her up.

Looking up at him, Delilah nodded, but her expression seemed less certain, as her eyes fell into the past again. They had faced different villains, certainly… Stronger, even, in a way. But nothing would be harder than Solomon.

“You’re right...We should…” Taking his hand, she pulled herself, “We should go.”

Expression laced with concern, Fish slipped his hand into hers. “I’m not afraid.” He mumbled. “We’ll get through anything. I love you.” He said, leaning into gently kiss her cheek. “Do we bring Jules?”

“No.” Looking to him, a little stronger that time, she shook her head, “No. If Solomon gets wind of her being your aunt… No, Fish.” Reaching up, she cupped his cheek with her hands, her eyes meeting his, “...We… we can’t play by the rules on this, Fish. Not like last time. He won’t…”

“So we play dirty.” Fisher said, squeezing her hand. “Nice guys finish last. He’s terrorizing the underground… either he’ll wait for us, or leave and set up another meeting point. How can we get ahead of him?” Fisher shook his head. “We have a long drive to make as short as possible. We’ll talk in the car. Let’s go.” Fisher said.

They had tried before to get ahead of Solomon, but they had never been able to… The only thing they had to their advantage, now, was that they were done trying to save Solly’s soul. He had proven time and time again he wasn’t interested in fair play, and he had hurt too many people…

“Let’s go.” She echoed, and followed after him.

It was a few hours, even with Fisher pushing the speed limit. Fisher assumed that Solomon would probably have left by now, unless he was holding the underground hostage, which Fisher hoped was untrue. More likely, he’d made a mess and left a message. He was probably becoming predictable, but that didn’t help to stop him when he kept escaping from jail.

He was right. The underground was a flaming, ruined mess. Fires, fallen buildings. Mostly it was empty, but there were a fair few trying to put out what was left of the havoc. The hospital was quite frankly torn in half, and the Glass Belly was a pile of misshapen rubble.

The functioning half of the hospital was packed beyond belief. People on gurneys being wheeled left and right, people bloodied and burnt and bruised, glowing eyes flickering. Fisher pushed his way through the chaos, horror filling his gaze.

The expression was mirrored in Delilah, who couldn’t seem to meet the eyes of anyone she passed. This was, at least in certain terms, their fault… and the guilt hurt. Physically hurt. All she wanted was to find Doc, assess the damages, find out if they had any useful information, then hunt the son of a bitch to the ground…

“This…” She frowned softly, “I don’t understand why anyone would…” But Solomon knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted them to feel it. To feel his wrath, “We have to stop him, Fish.”

“I know.” Fish growled in response. “We’re working on it.” Doc’s office was empty, and Fisher grimaced as he turned back to the receptionist, who was flooded. Her jaw dropped at the sight of his face, and Fisher winced.

“I’m so sorry,” He whispered. “I need to find Doc.”

Regaining composure after the initial shock, the receptionist shook her head. “He’s in the operating room. He told me to have you meet him in 225. I’ll page him as soon as he’s out.” Fisher nodded. “Thank you..”

He turned back to Lilah. “225. Lets go.”

Nodding, Delilah followed after him. The receptionist’s expression was telling. They knew… they all knew what Solomon was after. Why this had happened. And they had to find a way to make it right. Whatever it too. Fisher had said it - no more rules. They would play dirty and they would take Solomon down.

Despite the soul crushing weight of the fact that all this suffering was in his name, Fisher trudged forward to room 225, faces morphing into expressions of horror or shock or even sympathy as he flew past them. What had he done to deserve this?

Room 225 was small and quiet, the beeping of a monitor told him someone was inside. Why would Doc send them to an occupied room, Fisher inched inside with care until he saw the still form of a man laying in the bed, somewhat peacefully asleep despite the burns traveling up his face,the rest of him covered in bandages and blankets. “Aspen…”

Pausing, Delilah felt her heart synch in her chest at the muttered word, and pushing past the sudden panic, she shook her head, stepping to Fisher’s side. Aspen had been Fisher’s rival for so long, but after his help with the Copycat, she had come to respect the man and in a way, so had Fisher, she was sure. There was a reason, after all, that he’d been asked to stand beside Fisher at their wedding…

Seeing him in the hospital bed, bandaged and bundled… a broken man, was too much, and turning to Fisher, Delilah buried her face in his chest with a small, quiet sob.

Mouth hanging agape in shock, Fisher slowly brought his arms up to envelop her, hugging her tightly though he was unable to tear his eyes away from Aspen’s limp firm. He might as well have been the one that put him in that bed.

“I’m gonna kill Solomon.” Fisher whispered.

“If you don't…” she whispered, pulling back, “I will. Where's Doc? We need to find out everything that happened.” She couldn't even think about who else they might find in that hospital… not for a moment.

“They said he was in surgery, that he’d meet us here. I guess.. he wanted us to see Aspen.” Fisher shuddered. “It’s a miracle he wasn’t blown to bits. He’s all in one piece.” Fisher mumbled, shaking his head as his voice cracked.

Moving to the bedside, Delilah shook her head. She'd never had much of a family besides Fisher and once… Solomon. But since discovering the underground, Lil had come to see so many of them as kindred. Aspen, more than most. A hand reached out, gingerly touching his wrist, “You hang in there, you big showoff… World still needs you and so do we.”

Stirring at her touch, Aspen’s brows furrowed but he didn’t wake. Fisher put a hand over his mouth as he sat beside Lilah. “I feel like I did this to him.” Fisher whispered. “I know I didn’t… but… it still feels like it.”

“No, Fish. This? This is what he wants… And he's not gonna get it. This one is on Solomon… and he's gonna answer for it.” Reaching with her free hand, she took Fisher's, “The people on that bus… Nick. And now this. I'm done blaming myself for his crazy… and I'm not gonna let you do it, either.”

Sighing deeply, Fisher nodded. Even though Solomon did it in his name.. he had to learn how to not take the blame. The door clicked and as Fisher’s head turned, Willow poked her head through the door. The majority of her forehead was bandaged as well as others littering her arms. Fisher stood up abruptly and pulled her into a tight hug. “Jesus. I thought you might’ve been dead.” Fisher breathed. “Me? Never.”

Tears stung Delilah’s eyes as she rose as well, “Thank God. We didn't have any details… just… just that it was bad. Willow, I…” despite what she'd told Fisher, the apology rose to her lips almost automatically, “I'm so sorry.””

“Oh, quiet.” Willow hummed. “I’ll rebuild. I’ve done it once already. We’ll all rebuild. You didn’t do this.” Willow stepped further into the room, eyes softening at the sight of Aspen. “I think he got the worst of it. Kid went toe to toe with your little friend, Fish. He’s the reason we’re alive.”

“God…” looking back as Aspen, Delilah shook her head. It was a miracle Aspen wasn't dead. She'd seen the damage Solomon could do… Even without his powers, “We're gonna stop him, Willow. No more chances. This has to stop… for good.”

Fisher rubbed his eyes, nodding along to Lilah’s words. “I trust you guys.” She said with a shrug. “Tell us what happened, Wil.” She frowned and sat beside Aspen, looking him over. “Solomon and his goons came in. Didn’t recognize him, unfortunately. Aspen did, somehow contained the blast. Fended then off long enough for everyone to evacuate the bar before he blew it up.” She sighed. “Once that was done they took to destroying whatever else, Aspen gave them enough time to evacuate.”

“Wait…” Delilah frowned, and a brow lifted, “Goons?” To her knowledge, Solomon had always worked alone. He didn’t seem the sort to have goons… He didn’t trust anyone well enough, “...What did they look like? Did you recognize them?”

Willow frowned. “One was your copycat. The other, I’m not sure. But Aspen seemed to recognize him.” She looked at his sleeping face while biting her lip. “They really messed him up, huh?”

“...Oh my God…” Sinking into the free chair, her legs wiggling out from beneath her, Delilah put a hand to her chest, “Fish… He…” Pinching the bridge of her nose, Delilah shook her head, “He’s working with…” Breathing out, her eyes shifted to Fisher, “We have to go. We need to find them, before they do what they did here, to the rest of Millenium…”

Fisher shuddered. “I should’ve known.” He whispered. “But Solomon wouldn’t have done all this without leaving a message. We still need to wait for Doc.” His gaze shifted to Solomon. “If only to hear how Aspen’s doing..”

Nodding wearily, Delilah sank back and pulled her knees to her chest, her eyes stinging again with fresh tears, “...Just couldn’t… couldn’t go right for once, could it.” She muttered, miserably, and drying her cheeks with an angry brush, she looked away, “Never just goes right.”

Biting his lip, Fisher looked down. He didn’t know what to say to Delilah’s miserable moan. He felt the same. Willow looked between the two of them with a frown. “Your honeymoon not so perfect?”

“Well, it was more of a running away from certain death and life imprisonment, or something in the middle.” He muttered. “Met my aunt, though. That was cool.”

“No way, Anchovies! That’s great, right?”

“Yeah, pretty cool.” Fisher said through a weak smile as the door creaked open again. Doc stepped in with a clipboard, his ever present smile missing. “Fisher, Delilah.. I’m glad to see you.”

Sitting up as Doc entered, Delilah’s expression shifted, her eyes widening ever so slightly in anticipation, “...Is… is Aspen gonna be okay, Doc? What’s the status on everyone else? Please tell me you’ve got some information…?”

Doc rubbed the space between his brows. “He sustained a lot of damage, but he should be alright if not for some scars. He, uh, did.. lose a toe.” Doc scratched his chin. “Other than the burns and gashes, which I’ve taken care of, that’s the worst of it. Full of surprises, this one.”

Breathing out, Delilah reached for Fisher’s hand, gripping it as tightly as possible, “Thank God… He can have my toe, so long as he gets out of that bed and back to work. I can’t believe any of this happened. I don’t even understand how. The connection… How did they get out??”

Doc sighed. “There’s no telling how exactly they escaped.. but Solomon must have been planning this for some time. Aspen told me… he said that Solomon wanted to see you.. in the place he hurt you last.”

Fisher put a hand over his mouth. “The garage.”

Pinching her brows together, Delilah narrowed her eye, staring for a moment as Aspen, still unconscious… one digit short. Her eyes shifted and she looked to Fisher with a nod, “...Then that’s where we’ll go. This ends today.”


Fisher frowned. “Yeah… real looking forward to going to the place you and I were tortured.” Fisher stood up. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused, Doc. We’ll try to right it in a way that doesn't end with us in a hospital bed, too.”

“You didn’t cause any of this, Fisher.” Delilah noted, rising to her feet as well. She reached and took his hand again, looking to Doc, “...Take care of them. And yourself. We’ll be back and we’ll get this place sorted.”

Fisher squeezed her hand back as Doc gave them a reassuring nod. “They’re in the best hands.” He promised, as they walked out the door. When they were gone, he released a deep sigh. “Just as long as they don’t come back in pieces..” He mumbled to himself.

Sterling himself at the thought of going back to that garage, Fisher kept his gaze forward as they made their way back to the truck.

“You okay, Fish?” Delilah asked, as she sank in the passenger seat. She knew it was a pointless question, but the silence rang too loud and the thoughts spiraling through her mind were too much to take… “Talk to me. What's in your head?”

“What’s in my head?” Fish murmured. “Everything, Lil. Aspen almost died fighting a battle that we thought we’d ended.” He shook his head. “I… don’t… really want to kill Sol, Lilah. But I guess… I guess… we’ll… have too.”

“It's not like he's given us a choice.” With a small shrug of her shoulders, she rested a hand to her ribs, “He's taken too much… and he won't stop. He's never gonna stop. If there's any other way, we'll take it. But we need to consider there might not be.”

“We’ve already tried it all…. After prison, what else is there? Hit him on the head with a brick and hope he wakes up happy and full of sunshine?” Fisher shook his head bitterly. “What if he ends up killing us… what’s even left for him, after that?”

“I don't think he ever intended to come out of this alive. Either way. I think he's broken, Fish… has been for a long time, and I think all we can do is stop him before it gets worse.” Reaching out, she took his hand, “He hasn't been Solly for a long time… And we can't keep making excuses for him. People could have died. Good people… and he didn't care about it. Just to root us out. It's time to finish this. For good…”

Fish sighed deeply. “Do you think… he was always like that?” He couldn’t seem to agree fully with Lilah, couldn’t seem to settle on the act they were going to commit. “I just… if he was anyone else… we’d try to help him, wouldn’t we?”

“I wish I could say yes with any sort of confidence… but I think that's just a way to feel less guilty. This had a starting point… you and I both know when. But it's not like we didn't try to help him. I don't know what else we even could do…”

Fisher bit his lip. “I.. I know. I know there’s nothing left to do. I just… Don’t know if I can kill my brother, Lil.”

“I'm not gonna let you do it alone, Fish. This is something we take on together. It's the both of us or we don't do it at all… None of that noble bullcrap, either.”

“Alright… Together.” He mumbled, taking her hand. “If Solomon threatens us… makes us do something for the other… we stand our ground, okay?” They were nearing the garage now… he could almost feel his ribs aching of the thought of that place, feel the electricity from the jumper cables climbing up his skin.

“He's not gonna get the chance, Fish. He caught us off guard last time. It won't happen again…” Giving his hand a squeeze, she shifted her eyes ahead with a deep, steadying breath, “Together…”
 
The approach was simple… too simple, and Delilah and Fisher had been through the gauntlet too many times not to smell a trap. As they neared the garage, Delilah noted the doors, wide opened, and cupping her fingers around Fisher's arm, she pulled him to a halt.

“He wasn't working alone, Fish. We gotta know it won't be just him in there. Only way we're gonna get out of this is to even the odds. You ready to be Knockout again?”

He couldn’t describe the tingling beneath his skin that walking into this trap caused. The memories of this place were haunting, and painful to think about. But Delilah’s touch on his arm was grounding him, reminding him that it was different this time, that he wasn’t going to willingly walk into a pair of cuffs and feel all that pain, all over again.

Taking a deep breath, Fish nodded. “You got a plan?”

“...Nothing beyond ‘let’s not die’ just yet, but I figure we work better on the fly, anyway. Listen, Fish…” Giving his arm a gentle squeeze, she hesitated a moment, before stepping closer, “Just in case… you know. I want you to know… I mean, you already know… but I want you to hear it anyway. I love you… so much. And even though these past few months have been… hell… I would not trade one second of the time we’ve had. I’m so glad I found you again, and even if the next ten minutes are all we have left, getting to spend the rest of my life with you, that’s all I ever want or need.”

Shaking his head with a blushing smile, Fisher cupped her cheek. “No goodbye speeches.” He muttered softly. “I love you like hell too, Lil. And that’s why we’re gonna walk in those doors and walk right back out. No need to profess your undying love… you’re gonna have a lot more chances… especially when I marry you, for real.” He leaned in to kiss her, deeply. His hand moved down to intertwine their fingers together. “Let’s wrap this up quick, yeah? We’ve got places to be.”

Her expression shifted and a smile took shape as she nodded, “There he is… I just wanted to make sure my Fisher was still hanging around in there. Sounded a little defeated back there. Ready to kick some much deserved ass?”

Laughing softly, Fisher nodded. “Hell yes. Solomon’s barely gonna know what hit him..” He said firmly, gripping her hand tight and moving towards the gates.

But for all their energy and fearlessness, Solomon was never unprepared. Following Fisher up the stairs, Delilah stepped into the garage to find their former friend standing in the center of the building, wearing an expression of perfect calm. What she had not expected to see were the two people at his side - to his left, Dawson, smirking like a six year old who just discovered where his parents hid the Christmas gifts, and to his right, a figure that sent a chill down her spine. Her grip tightened on Fisher’s arm as Fisher’s copycat eyed the pair of them with a scowl.

“...Welcome.” Solomon chimed, coolly, “I take it you got my message?”

Shaking his head, Fisher kept his grip on Lilah tight. “Frankly, Solly. I’m a little disappointed you couldn’t finish the job yourself.. Had to enlist a couple low-life friends of yours? Prison pals?”

“Low lifes?” Copycat hissed, as he took a step forward. Solomon stretched out his arm to stop him, eyes narrowed, “Back off… I took them on once, I can handle it again. Nearly killed the bitch, didn’t I?”

“Yes. You did, didn’t you.” A small frown curled the corner of Solomon’s lips, and his eyes flickered to Fisher, “The thing is, Fisher. I could have finished this job myself, years ago. But why rush a good thing? It’s why I told these idiots not to touch you, until I got out.” His gaze moved smoothly to Copycat, and his fingers itched at his side, “No one likes a show off, Ezra.”

“No!” The cry came from Delilah, but a second too late, as Solomon’s hand shot out, the small switchblade he held burrowing tight into Copycat’s ribs. It was no great loss, really, on the world or for her personally, yet somehow, watching Solomon coldly dispatch one of his own was more than she’d expected… and as Copycat dropped to the floor, eyes like marbles staring up to the ceiling, even Dawson’s cocky demeanor flickered away briefly.

“You’re insane…” She whispered, moving closer to Fisher.

“I gave very explicit instructions that they were not to harm you, Lil. You should be glad to see him gone…”

“Doesn’t exactly give us a thrill to see you kill anyone, Solly… no matter what they’ve done..” Fisher growled, trying not to look into the empty of eyes of Ezra. “But it’s your fault for waiting… you might’ve been able to finish the job a few years ago, but you waited too long. Almost as cocky as your pal on the floor there. Now we’re both gonna kick your ass.”

“Confidence… That’s new for you, Fisher.” With a grin, Solomon stepped back, holding out his arms, “But if you insist on prolonging things, by all means. I’ll give you a free shot.”

Grinning, Fisher allowed his eyes to glow their signature white tinted blue. “You’re gonna regret that, Sol.” Out of his pocket Fisher pulled a small pebble. “Remind you of anything? I’m aiming for right between the eyes.” The stone matched Fisher’s glow, and was sent hurtling towards Solly. “Found a whole bunch of em outside.” Fish whispered to Lilah. “Creativity.”

As Solomon ducked the stone, swearing softly, Delilah smirked, “That’s my boy…” Her hands shot out, one clasped around the lighter she pulled from her pocket, and giving it a flick, she pulled a curtain of smoke, wiggling her fingers until it coiled tighter and tighter into what resembled a whip.

Staring, Dawson stepped back, “Look, Solomon. I didn’t sign up for no fight...and I ain’t gettin’ stabbed in the back when you get bored. You’re on your own.” Turning, he started for the door and Solomon turned.

“Coward!” He growled, straightening upright fully, his eyes dancing between Fisher and Delilah. His fingers curled tighter around the knife he’d used to dispatch Copycat, and his gaze flashed, as the knife began to glow, “...Fine. We do this.”

“Uh oh, looks like you’ve been ditched.” Fish teased, skipping another white-blue stone at Solly. He eyed the glowing dagger nervously, but didn’t let it distract him. “Watch out, Lil. The baby’s gonna throw his toy.” Fisher growled, trying to send a stone between Solly’s fingers to make him drop the knife.

Eyes narrowing, Solomon dodged the stone again, knuckles paling white as his grip on the knife tightened, “Shut up, Fisher!”

Delilah’s focus shifted, as she let her arm drop to her side, the smoke-whip dangling by her feet, “...It’s over, Solomon. Just… let it go.”

“That’s the point, Delilah. All I have to do is let it go… and we’re all done. Is that what you want, Fisher? Hm?”

“Don’t you get it, Sol?” Fish said with a laugh. “Nothing you do is going to work anymore. You’ve been abandoned. You don’t have the upper hand. Whatever you throw at us, we’ll throw it right back. So go ahead, let go. It’s the least of my worries.” Fisher hissed.

“No, Fish! You’re the one who doesn’t get it! I know I have nothing to live for. But what about you? You willing to sacrifice yourself for her? You willing to sacrifice her to stop me?” His fingers loosened, and a smile grew, “Shall we find out?”

“I don’t need too.” Fisher said, dipping behind Lilah, though taking her hand. Giving it a squeeze, and allowing his eyes to continue to glow, he smiled at Lilah, one of certainty. The same white blue glow would travel up her veins, imbuing her with his strength, because he was never going to choose between her and himself ever again.

Eyes narrowing, Solomon looked between the two, “...This could’ve been different. All of it. But you gave up on me…” With a shake of his head, he dropped the blade, and Delilah, without hesitating, spun, grabbing Fisher and pulling him close.

There was no great explosion, as she expected, but it was several seconds before she released Fisher, turning to see the blade imbedded in the floor, and Solomon, gone. Frowning, she looked to Fisher, “I’m sorry… You can yell at me later, I just… You might be okay with it, Fish. Dying for me. But I’m not okay with it…”

“What? I was hiding behind you for a reason.” Fisher said with a grin. “Plus, I was powering up my shirt. I said we weren’t doing that crap anymore, Lil…. we scared his pants off!”

“Oh…” Blinking, Lil smiled, and looped her arms around him, “...I thought it was some noble sacrifice crap, sorry. But we did, didn’t we. It’s not over… but at least we’ve got him running scared, for once. We can do this, Fisher. I think we can. He’s cracking, and we’re gonna finish this.”

“Yes. Yes, we are.” Fisher said, leaning in to kiss her deeply. “Now please… can we get the hell out of here?” He held her hand. “Or… maybe wait a sec. Your veins are kinda glowing… oops.”

“Yes. Let’s go… I think it’s time we figure out what’s next, anyway. At least until we figure out how to find him again.” Chuckling, she shook out her arms, looking down at herself, “...Does it fade? Looks kinda cool…”

“I… hope so?” Fish murmured. “Never done it before… wasn’t actually sure it was gonna work… but I had faith. In you.” Fish grinned. “Let’s get back.”

“I swear to God, Fish… if I glow for the rest of my damn life, we’re gonna have words.” Her eyes shifted back behind them and she frowned softly, “...We should probably figure out what to do with… you know…”

“Ah… yeah…” Fish murmured, voice quirt. He bent down beside Copycat’s cold body, and washed his palm over his eyes to close them. “I.. I feel bad, almost. He didn’t deserve what he got.” Fisher murmured. “Maybe we.. we bury him?”

Eyes narrowing, Delilah frowned softly, “...Ribs hurt too much for digging.” She muttered, before pulling the lighter free from her pocket again, “...Better than he deserves, if you ask me, but here…” Tossing the lighter, she gestured to the garage, “Place is bound to go up on its own, someday, anyway, right?”

Eyes softening with worry at her comment, Fisher took the lighter. “Sorry, Ezra.” He muttered, clicking the lighter and stepping back as the flames erupted. “Let’s get back to the underground.”

Nodding, Delilah turned away, heading for the doors, “...What’s left of it, at least. We… we owe them, Fisher. We need to fix this for them.”

“We will. We will.” Fisher said firmly, determined. He took her hand as they walked out, confident that nothing could get in their way any longer.
 
The chaos in the underground had died down, now allowing the destruction to be truly seen. Many of the buildings were in shambles, rubble, or with chunks blown out. It looked like a ghost town, but freshly made. Some fires were still crackling.

They headed straight back to the hospital, which was the only place that was truly bustling, but not exactly in the best of ways. Fisher made a beeline for Aspen’s room, a grin forming on his face as he could see Aspen awake and sitting up, with Willow seated at his bedside. “Thank god you’re okay, man.” Fisher said, relieved.

Where Fisher grinned, Delilah felt fresh tears burning, and blinking them away in irritation, she followed him into the room, eyeing the man in the bed with a look of frustration, “Maybe let’s make this the last time anyone gets blown up, yeah?”

Aspen chuckled, which developed into a wheezing cough. Fisher’s grin disappeared, but Aspen waved his worry away. “Yeah, sounds like a plan.” Aspen said with a nod, regaining his breath. “Did you get him? Sol?” Willow murmured.

“Not yet…” Delilah muttered, settling into a free chair with a sigh, “But we’re close. He’s alone, and he’s desperate, which means he’s not thinking clearly. The reason he’s been able to knock us down before is because he was cool, collected… two steps ahead. But he’s a wreck. Honestly? I think he wants us to take him down. And it’s just a matter of time, now. But we… we have other things to worry about, too. Dawson’s in the wind, and this place… We want to help. To rebuild.”

Willow smiled at them. “Yeah, my bar ain’t gonna rebuild itself.” Willow hummed. “You might wanna tread carefully though, Fish. Sapphire’s looking for someone to blame.” Fish paled. “Did Percy get hurt?” “Just a scratch… but you know Saph. She’s gone ballistic.” “Oh god…. Lil, I don’t think it’ll be Solly that does me in..” Aspen laughed again, this time quiet enough to keep from breaking into a coughing fit.

“All things considered, the fact we made it this long is pretty spectacular. If she kills you, it’s just destiny at this point.” Shaking her head, she looked around the room, lips pursed, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to rebuild here, though. I… Maybe it’s none of my business, but I think if you want to be safe, it’s better to move somewhere Solly doesn’t know about.”

Willow sighed and nodded. “Guess so… all good things must come to an end.” Fisher frowned. “We’ll help you find a new place. A better place.” He insisted. “A place where no more toes are gonna be blown off.” Aspen’s expression darkened. “I lost a toe?” Willow gasped. “I hadn’t told him yet!”

Grinning, Delilah shook her head, “Wow… That’s one way to break the news. Sorry, Aspen. We could try to get you a cool prosthetic, if that makes you feel any better?”

“A prosthetic…. for one toe.” Aspen groaned.”You guys are going to be the death of me.” Fish blushed. “S-sorry.” “S’okay, Anchovies. I got some cool scars out of it.” Aspen grinned. “Now.. go find Saph, and apologize before she cremates you..”

“Go find the person… who wants to kill you? That sounds like a genius plan. Aspen… this some kind of revenge or something?” Delilah teased with a smirk.

“No, just a plan to keep him alive, thank you very much.” Aspen smiled. Fisher groaned. “Go, go. Let Willow deal with my sorry ass.” “Oh, shush.” Willow groaned. “I’m only keeping you company ‘till my man arrives… so enjoy it while it lasts.” Fisher smiled. “Okay… see you guys later.”

Rising from her seat, Delilah sighed, “Fine… but I’m gonna have to keep this chick from murdering my future husband, so if it gets ugly, I blame The Toeless Wonder…” Looking to Fisher, she took his hand, heading with him for the door.

“Oh, Lil. If Percy got a nick on his pinky Sapphire’ll rip my head off. We should probably try and find Doc too… where are we going to find a new place for the Underground? Is there like, an Underground Mayor we can talk too?” Fish blabbed.

Shaking her head, Delilah rubbed her hands over her face, “It’s gonna get ugly, isn’t it? Maybe we can find Doc, first? That sounds considerably less unpleasant… and less violent.”

Fisher groaned. “Yeah… we can try… no tellin’ where Sapphire’s gonna pop up. But we should try to find Doc.” Fisher said with a somewhat reassuring nod. “Let’s go to his office.”

Breathing no small sigh of relief, Delilah nodded and started down the hall towards Doc’s office, “Might be a hard sell, getting people to want to want to move locations, but if we can get Doc on board, I’ve got a feeling he’s probably got the best shot at convincing folks.

Fisher nodded, moving towards Doc’s office. He knocked twice before hearing a “Come in” from the other side, finding a very stressed looking Doc in a mountain of paperwork. “Fisher, Delilah,” Doc breathed. “Thank god you two are alright. What happened?”

Stepping inside, Delilah waited for Fish, before sinking into one of the chairs near Doc’s desk, exhaustion hitting with a vengeance, “We found him, but he took off. He’s in pretty rough shape, mentally. If he was crazy before, he’s just unhinged, now. I don’t know that there’s any way to do this but to take him down… We’d have gone after him, but there’s things we need to do here, first. Namely making sure the people in this underground are safe from another attack.”

“You have an idea?” Doc said, a weary but knowing smile creeping up onto his lips. “I’m confident you’ll get Solomon… but it seems like you’ve got other plans, before that.”

“We need to find a new location. Somewhere Solomon doesn’t know about. And way we figure, we’re probably not the best people to tell everyone that. But they look up to you, Doc… and we know you’ve got their best interests at heart. We wanna help rebuild, but not where Solomon can get to them, again.”

Doc leaned back in his chair, nodding with a deep sigh. “If only we had Victor… he hollowed this place out. An earth meta. It’ll be harder without him.. but we’ll find a way.” Doc brought his hand to his chin. “Maybe there’s someone else we can find. Maybe your aunt, Fisher. Is she an earth manipulator? Or just plants?”

Fisher frowned. “I’m.. not sure. I think it might just be plants.” He scratched the back of his neck.

Doc leaned back. “If we’re really trying to make a new underground… we should try to get our hands on an earth meta. Or someone who can help us get a clear, hidden space. I may have some leads in my files…”

“We could try to track them down, if you've got the names.” Looking to Fish, she shrugged, “Right?”

Fish nodded, brows furrowed. “If that’s what you feel is necessary, Doc. We’ll do whatever you think will help protect the Underground best.” Doc needed. “We have some strong metas.. But we need more. We’ll always need more. There have been some…. Volatile ones, that have passed through. Remind them of our cause.” Doc murmured, and out of a drawer he pulled out a file folder labeled in red.

“Volatile? Why isn't that exactly a word that inspires hope in me that this isn't gonna be a mess of a trip?” Delilah said, with a small smirk, “Who we lookin” for?”

Doc dove into a file cabinet, of which he had many. As he pulled out a file, Fish took Delilah’s hand. “Jim Rayman. He came to be treated for a small injury but didn’t stay. Seemed a little spooked. He’s a construction worker, perhaps a family man. I think you could convince him.”

“I mean… we can definitely try. Can’t possibly hurt our chances just to go see the guy.” Looking to Fish, giving his hand a squeeze, she shrugged, “You ready for another road trip?”

With a smile, Fisher sighed lightly. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”