Does it need to matter?

They keep walking. 
The pavement's hard cement is a stark contrast to the shaky line Carmine's treading.

Carmine knows she ventured into some touchy territory, but she has no idea what to follow up with - Silence? An apology? Maybe taking it back will be the best option. She gulps down the awkward tension, but before she can start, Marci breaks the silence.

"I do." Marci speaks whilst eyeing her own moving shoes. "The sunglasses...I wear them a lot."

"Sunglasses? So, it's not a problem with your vision?"

Carmine throws in the question as fuel to navigate this unpredictable conversation. Marci responds to the question with a slow shake of her head and the hero tries to steer it to lighter waters, by using a less formal tone and the best chirpy voice she can produce.

"So, is it your way of maintaining your style, in these hip streets?"

"Nuh..."

Marci replies with a calmer voice. The tone inching towards the *cheerfulness* of Carmine. It seems like the mood of the conversation is getting lighter. Who knows maybe the rest of the trip will be just as chill-

"Mama didn't like my eyes."

Well, shit.

Now it's in the deep end and Carmine is left stranded in a unwanted situation, where she doesn't know what to do. Obviously, the social services will help Marci, but that's the end result. What can she say right at this moment, to make it right? What would a hero say? What should Carmine say? 

She already got telltale hints that Marci wasn't exactly from a perfect family, but being told something like this...it's heavy. A weight which she can't drop - Not as Bellow. Not as Carmine. 

"That's not nice." she mutters as she glances at the girl's scalp. Carmine continues to delve deeper but with a more relaxed tone. "Then...is that why?" She points to the spots on Marci's nose and her response is a somber nod.

"But, its okay now." Marci quickly adds. Perhaps she caught onto the tension in Carmine's shoulders. "I'm with my big bro now and I don't have to wear the shades." She takes a moment to contemplate a thought which accidently slips her lips. "...he doesn't mind my disgusting eyes..." 

Okay...that's fucked up levels of self loathing for a kid.

Carmine doesn't know how to comfort her. All she can think of is vague, half hearted advice - Ones which you will hear at any cliché drama flick. Silence is the only option now. It's sad but that shouldn't matter.

This journey will end when they reach the location. Doing her job as hero is more important than the feelings of some poor kid - She is Bellow first, and Carmine second.

She will drop her off at the door and then it's over - The Perfect Farewell Plan. 

Before they know it, they are travelling up the crater impact road. Carmine's watches as the cars whiz past the toppled over cones. She catches quick glimpses of herself in the speeding windows - She is the hero standing on the street, in her hero outfit, doing her heroic duty - The life she always wanted. That's what she believes at least.

Carmine always wanted to chase her dreams, you know? 

And she did.

She ran after them full speed...but along the way, maybe she forgot what they were? Or if they even existed - So enamored by the idea of 'living your dreams', maybe so much so, that she forgot to figure out what they were. 
She did want be a hero...right?

The trip down memory town is interrupted when she feels a tug at her hand. Her mind returns to the present and the static of the quiet street filters into her ear, along with Marci's soft words.

"Miss Carmine, can you give me a second?"

Carmine responds with a startled nod and gently untangles her finger from the girl's hand. She watches as Marci looks from left to right before waddling over to the other side of the road, heading for the scattered cones - Her little strides are a stark contrast to the enormous cracks stemming from the crater.

Seeing the ominous crater up close, Carmine starts tracing her mind back the day when it happened. The day when the sky shined with the colors of a dying star.
The day when the world was given a new life.

Carmine was a teenager, one of the many millions, who stood as tiny little details in the back drop of the supernova light. She, along with the world, stared at Helkion's back as he soared into the sky, carrying with him the promise of tomorrow. The memory of that day, leaves her with a distinct feeling and it's not inspiration, neither is it hope or wonder.

It's the feeling of insignificance.

No matter how much she tries, it won't ever matter. Carmine's value is worthless in the face of Goliaths who carry worlds, Deities who show guidance, the Shadows who carry their own will, the Inventors who push forward into tomorrow. They are heroes in all the ways that matter.

Her self absorbed rant slowly starts to simmered down. She scans around and she finds Marci, on the other side of the road, placing the cones upright - One by one. 

Carmine takes a peek at her phone and realizes that the building is less than a few blocks away. She crosses the street to stand beside Marci - Not helping, just observing the little girl, as she lifts and places the cones. After a few silent seconds, Carmine says in a cold tone:

"You don't have to do that, you know? It's...futile."

Marci skips to a stop, a cone cradled in her arms. She looks up to Carmine with a silent query in her eyes? The universal look of "what are you saying, dude?"

"The cones," Carmine starts to elaborate, whilst gesturing to the crooked line of cones, set up by Marci. "they will just topple over when the next car passes by."  Her eyes wander to the few cones still left discarded. "No matter how many times you fix them," A gust of  wind rattles the line of cones. Carmine zones out as she speaks to Marci - As she speaks to herself. "you won't end up changing anything."

The little girl blinks at the faded orange paint of the cone and then a singe murmured question escapes into the scene. Almost like it slipped through the girl's mind.

"Is it bad?"

"What is?"

"Is 'futile' bad?"

"Well..." Carmine scratches her nose as she decides to tackle the question with simplicity - Simplicity holds power. "Futile essentially means doing something useless." After establishing the base of her reasoning, she continues. "Since 'useless' is generally viewed negatively, it's fair to say futile is bad."

"The did I do a bad thing by fixing the cones?" 

The little girl asks in a nervously, whilst gently lowering the cone back on the asphalt. Carmine realizes the pointlessness of this conversation and kneels down with a frustrated sigh. "No...Marci, you did good. It's just...my rambling, don't take it to heart." 

"Then...can you do stuff even when you know it's 'futile'?"

Carmine is halted. Her mind stops for a moment to think. Just think
But why?
What is there to think about? 
It was just a genuine question, with no intent of a debate. No complexities. Just a simple query. Maybe that's precisely why - Simplicity holds power after all.

To do something even when you know it won't matter.

Seems like a combination of madness and foolish...yet as she thinks of it, her thoughts get a bit less logical, a bit less daunting. Carmine doesn't exactly know why, but she is intrigued.
Having no value for your work, yet still doing it for your sake. That sounds...not terrible...weirdly peaceful.

Her eyes are glued to Marcy, who mirrors the gesture with her own gaze - Still waiting for Carmine's answer. For that instant, Carmine smiled. Not a awkward one, but a totally natural, yet tired smile. Her hand comes to rest on top of Marci's head, as she says in a slow voice:

"I guess you can."

Soon, the cones are aligned and they are off. 
Just a few streets, before she has to say goodbye can send Marci on her own way. The frustration and reluctance from before seems to have gone, as Carmine takes slower and more relaxed steps.

*GrRUMbLE*

A sound flutters into the air and she looks down at the little girl, who has lasered her eyes to the asphalt - A reddish hue crawling up her ear. Carmine recognizes the tune of an empty belly and quickly covers up a developing grin. She checks the time - It's more than enough for a light snack break. 

"Hey kiddo, I'm feeling a bit peckish . Mind if we took a detour?"

Before long, they enter the parking lot of "BOBO WINGS" - It's a place Carmine used to frequent when she was new to this city. Juggling between real jobs and vigilantism, their cheap wing buckets were a life saver. 

Time breezed past and there they were - Sitting on the hood of an abandoned car carcass, accompanied by the sound of munching and sloppy chewing. Their shared meal eventually leads them to a completely random conversation. Neither of them remember what lead to their jovial gossip and it doesn't even matter.

"No no no, my hero name is Bellow. It was mentioned on the local news last winter."
"..."
"Uh...the Super Mall...the lava man? Ring any bells?"
"...maybe?...I don't watch the news."
"Well, I scored a pretty huge teddy bear that day."
"For real?" 
"It was lying on ground. Half teddy, half ash."
"So...you stole it?"
"No....Well, technically not, you know?"
"uh huh..."
"Come on kid, give me a break. It's not like 'Grilled Teddies' were gonna be a bestseller anytime soon."

A giggle rings out. 
The first ever flurry of light hearted cackles from Marci.
Carmine has an initially shocked expression that mellows into a smile. It's filled with content and sadness. It's almost time. The building is just on the next block over.

As they get off the car's hood, Marci's hand is already fastened into Carmine's - No hesitation this time. They walk down the final stretch of the road. Just as the building gets in view, Carmine makes a last minute adjustment to her 'Perfect Farewell Plan'. An attempt to confront a previously 'unwanted' situation.

"Hey, Marci?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you think your eyes are disgusting?"

Marci flinches at the blunt tone of the question.
The effect is amplified after the carefree nature of their recent exchange. It's almost like a chain tugging at Marci, reminding her that she is not supposed to be happy.

"...my pupils...they are not round...they are supposed to be round, right?"

Without knowing, they had walked up to the doors of the building. Carmine slowly crouches down and holds Marci's unsure hands. She prepares to give her a hero talk - She embraces the cliché. Clichés aren't so bad when the alternative is hopelessness.

"Marci, when something is not as it's supposed to be, it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's unique and it comes in all sorts of shades." She rubs her thumbs on the top of Marci's wrists and continues with an uplifted tone. "And from what I can tell, you have the coolest shade of unique, I have ever seen. Don't let anyone make you lose that."

It wouldn't matter much if Carmine had just called her eyes 'pretty'. Many have done it before. Many have lied before....but today, she was given another way to think. It's a different feeling. It's warmer and lighter. Her eyes meet Carmine, almost like she has found something - An expectation seems fulfilled.

"Don't...don't center your life around the whims of others, okay?"

Carmine prepares to stand up, but she gets a paranoid feeling that maybe her words were too complicated for a 10 year old. She tightens her hold on Marci, shuts her eyes and loudly declares:

"YOU ARE KIND! YOU ARE WANTED! NOT A BURDEN TO ANYONE! AND FU-SCREW ANYONE WHO MAKES YOU THINK OTHERWISE! YOU ARE ALLOWED AND DESERVE TO FEEL HAPPY AND LOVED!"

That was indeed less complicated.

When she opens her eyes, she notices the doors are opened and a woman is staring at the scene with an awkward smile. 

Marci is shook - Carmine is not sure, if it's from the sudden sound or the actual words. She starts bawling her unique eyes out, and the woman guides her away from Carmine. 

Just before going in, she sobs out:

"Thank you Carmine...Thank you Bellow."

And well that's it.
Bellow did her job and Carmine helped Marci.

On her way back, she is back on that cratered road.
All of the traffic cone have fallen, just as she predicted.
Futility eh?

A lot on her mind, yet it feels lighter.
As she leaves, footsteps fade out from the titled streets. The road is left with early morning blue, the big ass crater and perfectly aligned row of cones - Courtesy of Bellow Carmine.