The Hospital And Cats

Her heart felt as if it was about to explode, her lungs were so heavy she swore that they must have been filled with lead, and her skin was so wet with sweat that, for a moment, her palms slipped on the doorknob.

It took her longer than it should have to push the door open and fling her body through it, slamming it shut behind her. How long had she been running? That was a question she had forgotten the answer to.

Breathing heavily, her eyes darted around her room, broad and unfocused. "Calm down." She did her best to settle her heart and calm her nerves. "The window." She was only on the second story. The fall would hurt if she jumped and tucked, but she'd likely survive. It was the best bet.

A green light shined from the other side of the office door, and she felt her blood run cold. Before she could even think, there was a horrible screeching sound, and the door exploded in on itself, the shards crashing through her office, knocking shelves and rewards over and making a mess of the room.

"Geez, Mrs. Cop." The voice was arrogant. It was also young—someone who had just reached adulthood and got a taste of power. The dust settled, and she saw them on the other side of her now destroyed door. "You sure did give us a good chase. Of all the people I've hunted, I think you ran for the longest. Good job."

His clothing was somewhat normal for who he was. A fancy black business suit that had been dirtied up from the running. His face was unseen, covered by a skintight cartoon wolf mask. What truly stood out was what he held in his hands. It glowed as bright as the sun, causing her eyes to squint and burn. It was shaped like a sword but wasn't made out of metal. Instead, it seemed as if it had been forged from solid green light, like something you'd see straight out of a comic book.

A supervillain. The infamous Green Wolf.

The man wasn't alone either. Standing behind him, there were others, all dressed in suits, and all with various animal masks.

"So." The man in the wolf mask cocked his head to the side. "What's your plan now? You ran out of bullets a while ago, and help won't get here in time. Go on. I'll give you another head start." Even with the mask, she could tell the man had the biggest grin on his face as he stared at her.

She turned to the window, but her heart sank when she saw something. A man in a suit with the mask of a bird, a set of jet-black wings jutting out his back, floated outside, almost daring her to try it.

Silence passed in the room. No one moved as her arms slumped. "You..." Tears were streaking down her face as she glared at the man in the wolf mask. "The heroes will stop every single one of you, you arrogant villains! They'll show any second!" She screamed the words as loud as she could and gritted her hand into a ball.

The man in the mask seemed taken aback for a second. "Really now? You think a hero going to save you?" He stepped forward and raised his sword. "That's a good theory." And with that, he brought it down.

***

Superpowers and the concepts have always existed since as far back as people could recall.

The most famous story is that of the four Lords. It was said that long ago, humanity faced a grave threat, a Calamity that would wipe them all out. Four Lords appeared and saved them from total destruction.

The first ever superpowers. The Lord of the Sea and the Dark. The Lord of the Land and the Life. The Lord of the Sky and the Weather. And lastly, the Lord of the Sun and the Cosmos. Now, the world has entered a new Age. Less than 1% of the population had superpowers, but even with a percentage that small, it was only a matter of time before it expanded and grew to a full roster.

Nowadays, there are nearly one thousand listed supers in America. Be it hero or villain, the world was forced to change.

"Hey! Are you even listening!"

"Nope," Jack said flatly.

"You're really just leaving!" Hope asked with wide eyes.

"Yep." Jack opened the door. "I can't afford a medical bill. I'll just let my wounds heal on their own. I'm a Super, so I'll be fine." He shrugged.

"Does it work that way? I have healed a couple of things pretty quickly," Hope wondered. She had several bandages placed around her head from where that villain had nearly crushed her skull, but if she was being honest, it didn't hurt that bad anymore. Had it already healed?

It was a few hours after the attack with the monster. They had been sent straight to the hospital, and luckily, Hope was mostly unharmed, though she had suffered some pretty severe bruises. Jack, meanwhile, had nearly every bone either broken or cracked. He shouldn't have been able to walk, yet that didn't stop him from limping down the hallway.

She had to admit she was a little jealous. It had seemed like he hit the jackpot when it came to a superpower. He was stronger than her and more durable, on top of being able to blast freaking lasers out.

His claims seemed accurate though, as even in the X-ray scans, his body was putting itself back together. He'd be fully healed in less than a week, and there wouldn't be any signs of his injuries, so she guessed he also had a healing factor. They had wanted him to stay and get more treatments, the scans showing a strange thing above his heart, but his bill was high enough already, and he refused.

He was lucky, though, that hero had covered up the story. The official report was a villain had been inside of the slain Kaiju, and Ocean Empress had taken him out, with no mention of civilians or workers in the area. It was better that way, after all. The less attention he got, the better. Or at least he thought so.

"Are you really not going to talk about how you're a freaking superhero!" Hope ran up to him, keeping pace.

Jack began to walk through the hospital halls, passing by many less fortunate people. "I'm not a superhero, kid. Powers don't make ya a hero." He stopped when he realized she wasn't paying attention.

Rather, Hope's eyes were fixed on the many other people in other rooms. Some had limbs frozen solid, some were turned into different shapes, some alien creatures, and some with robotic parts fused onto them, all caused by villain attacks. It was enough to make her teeth grind.

All the patients, in a way, reminded her of her father. He, too, had his life affected by a superpower that left him bedridden. Sadly, this wasn't the same Hospital he was in; rather, it was a very expensive one, with most of their bills being paid for by Old Dog, the hero of Oleander.

"Kid."

"Right." She shook her head, getting rid of the thoughts, and hurried to catch up with him. "Why didn't you tell me you had superpowers, though?"

"Why didn't you tell me you had superpowers." He shot back, and that managed to shut her up. Jack finally found what he was looking for in his pockets—a pack of cigarettes. "Look, kid. Why do you care if I have powers or not." He asked, scratching the back of his head. "You have them too, right?"

"Yours are so much cooler, though." Jack snorted before suddenly throwing his pack of cigarettes at her. It hit her head and bounced off to the floor. "Hey! What was that for."

"Normal reaction time." Was all he said. "Thought it'd be faster, the way your eyes jump around. What are your powers anyways?"

Hope shrugged sheepishly. "I'm still figuring it out. I have some of the basics, though."

"The basics?"

"Yeah, you know. Stuff like super strength and that." She stared down at her hands, frowning. "I have better senses. Well, sometimes. If I focus hard, I can even hear a person's heartbeat, but it can hurt my ears if I'm not careful."

"That's..."

"Yeah, I know it's a little lame. I know I can do more; I just don't know how to figure it out. That's why I told you yours were cooler." Hope sighed tossing the pack of cigarettes back to him. "How do yours work?"

Jack gave her a half shrug. "I point and go 'bang,' and then boom! Something gets shot."

"You're not going to explain it better, are you?" He seemed lost in thought and shook his head, moving further down the hallway. She just sighed and followed after him. They reached the front desk, and Jack began grabbing the sign out papers, ready to leave. "So, what happens now?" Hope asked.

"What do ya mean."

"You know what I mean. With your powers, you could really do it right. You could become a superhero. You're strong, right?"

That caused the man to go silent. He stared down at the hospital papers as he quietly began to sign them. "Haven't thought about it." He finally admitted.

"Really? Are you actually happy with working as a janitor for the rest of your life?"

"Okay. I have thought about it." He admitted. "But I'm still thinking. I got something good going on at my job, and I still get to help people out in my own way. I have a roof over my head, and food. No need to ruin it by chasing that dream. Besides, you saw my condition."

"You mean your heart." She asked quietly.

"Yeah." Jack rubbed his chest. "I wouldn't make a good hero if I had to be saved every few seconds. I push myself too far, and the damn thing will explode. My powers speed it up too much. Like a jolt of energy through my body. There are villains stronger than Intake and fighting him nearly killed me."

"The smoking likely doesn't help, you know."

"What about you." He asked. "You trying to become a hero?"

"I don't know." She winced. "I mean, I like them, but my powers aren't that good, and fighting villains seems scary."

"Then stop asking me to do it."

"All right." She was a little bummed by his answer but tried to take it in stride.

He had just finished checking himself out, and Hope looked as if she was about to say more, but the two were cut off by a yell throughout the hospital. "Hope!" The two of them turned just in time to see a set of arms that grabbed Hope and pulled the young girl in for a bone crushing hug. Hope gasped as her mother seemed to do her best to snap her daughter's spine. "Are you okay? I came as soon as I heard what was going on."

"I'm fine, Mom," Hope grunted, trying to get out of her mother's grip. "I think you might kill me, though."

The woman finally let her go, letting out a sigh of relief. Then she turned to stare at the man standing next to her daughter. "I heard you did your best to keep her safe." Jack scratched at his bushy beard, giving a half wave, causing Jane to frown a little. "Thank you for keeping her safe." Jack shook the woman's hand awkwardly. He'd rather the subject just be dropped. "Let's get you out of here." Hope's mom gripped her shoulder and dragged her to the door.

"But-"

"Now."

"Okay." Hope winced as her mother began to drag her away. She looked back at Jack, but he simply shrugged and let her be carried off.

Jack followed them out slowly as he let out a sigh. As soon as he was out, he found another cigarette and lit it up. "Finally. No more babysitting."

Her mom didn't say anything as they got into the car. She sat in the back seat, lying down and resting her head. It still throbbed a little but was mostly fine. A few more moments, though, and that villain would have popped her like an egg. "So, I guess your brilliant idea backfired."

She regretted saying it when she saw her mother flinch. Her mom pulled out of the hospital's driveway and hit the road. "I'm sorry." The woman said quietly.

"It's not your fault. No one could have known a freaking villain was hiding out in a Giant dead Alien." She sighed, rolling over.

"We'll you'll be glad to know I talked to Mr. Moore, and you won't have to work there anymore. Far too dangerous; I never imagined they'd have you out in the field. Also, the school is willing to let you back in when they heard what happened."

"Oh. I don't have to be a Cleanup Member, anymore?" She fiddled her thumbs around as the hospital grew smaller and smaller. "It was fun."

"What?"

"Nothing. Can I borrow your phone?"

"What happened to yours?"

"Broke."

"Ah."

Her mother didn't say any more; reaching in her pocket and tossing the device to the backseat, Hope caught it and began to fiddle with it. She put it on the news, and they were showing off various heroes from all around the world, as well as what they had been up to. She stared with wide wonder filled eyes.

But all good things must come to an end.

The screens changed as a newswoman came into view. The same newswoman who was always talking about the Victorian and who Hope realized she had saved from a bad car crash a few days ago.

Small world.

The woman stood behind her desk and had a somber look on her face. "Breaking news. Earlier today, the body of Officer Paige Scott was discovered. Currently, her death is being investigated, as a murder, with the believed suspects being members of the group of villains known as Zoo. Just days prior, Mrs. Scott had convicted a superpowered terrorist, calling himself Red Ape, for over three hundred cases of murder, including the husband of Mrs. Scott. It is believed this is the reason Zoo-"

Hope clicked the phone off, no longer interested in the news. With a sigh, she stared out the window up to the clouds. "Someone needs to do something."

"What?" Her mother asked.

"Nothing. I didn't say anything."

***

The drive back home for Jack had been mostly silent. His car, an old truck that might have been popular fifteen years ago, struggled. It hadn't been in a proper state ever since a massive inferno had been caused a few months back from another villain attack. "That's gonna be a real pain to fix." Jack sighed, pulled into his parking spot, and closed the door.

"Hey, Jack, welcome back; where's the TV," Nick asked as the very second, he was in his apartment.

Jack threw a large box onto the table in front of Nick and walked over to his fridge, ripping it open and trying to find anything that looked good. "Happy now. I got a new TV."

"Yes." Nick was already on the box, trying to rip it open.

"I think I hate you." He sighed, pulling out some takeout giving it a sniff. It's definitely kinda still edible.

"So, how was work?"

"Nick, I was in the hospital all day. You were my emergency contact and never showed up."

"Oh yeah, so see, the story is kind of funny. I blew all my cash at the casino after work right, and then I remembered I had that date with that girl I told you about, so I sort of sold my phone for cash. Please get me a new phone."

"Nick, you have a serious issue."

"Says the smoking alcoholic. My addiction just affects my mental health. Yours is everything."

"Nick, shut up."

"So, you doing okay?" His roommate finally asked.

Jack sat on the couch, digging around the box of cold noodles, and sighed. "My body will heal fine." He stared down at the cold food silently, balling his hand into a fist. "It felt... Good to use my powers again." He grabbed his stomach, squeezing it. "Felt like my old self for a bit."

Nick's head shot up as he stopped trying to open the TV box and stared at Jack with wide eyes. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You used your powers?" He said in shock. "I thought you said you were just going to pretend to be a normal dude from now on?"

"I did." Jack sighed. "Besides the big boss, none of the other workers know I have superpowers. They're not rare, but they aren't common. I wanted to keep it a secret, but then that villain attacked, and I didn't have much of a choice. I fought it. Almost beat him too, but y'know."

"Your Heart?"

"Yeah. I really let myself go, huh."

"Maybe you should hit a gym," Nick suggested.

"Nah." Jack dropped his arm down and stared up at the roof. "I'm not interested in getting in shape. It's not like I need to. I got away with not using my powers for almost fifteen years now. No need to change anything."

Nick let out a snort as he got back to opening the box and pulling out the TV. "You know. A lot of people would kill to have superpowers and get to be a superhero. I know I wouldn't hesitate to just go out and save people if I had cool powers, and I'm just a mere mortal. What are you so afraid of, Mr. Demi God?"

"I'm not scared. I just want to live a good life. I can't be bothered to fight villains constantly and have to worry. Besides, my powers aren't good for saving people. Guys with powers who just fight bad guys all day aren't real superheroes; they're just soldiers with silly names."

He'd never be a hero like 'that man' had been.

Jack shook his head, the image of the Powerful Man fading from his mind. "So, how did your date go?"

"Eh. Alright." Nick stopped what he was doing and gave a bit of a smile. "She was nice enough, but I don't think she's the one, you know. Like, the look in her eyes... It's kind of sad, I guess. She's also a hero Nerd like you. In fact, she reminded me of you a lot. I think you two would be great. Want me to-"

"No."

"Suit yourself. Hey, uh, how do I plug this up?" Nick asked. Jack ignored him, grabbing a comic book that was under his bed. One of a superhero named Red Iron, which he began to read. "Hello? Earth to Jack. You're not gonna help me, are you?"

Meanwhile, outside their apartment, walking the streets quietly, a black kitten looked around. The cat let out a meow, the cold wind causing it to shiver. "Mister Fur." A childish voice called out. Down the block the cat could hear its owner, a young eight-year-old girl. "Here, kitty!"

The kitten let out a meow and slowly walked down the path, following the voice. It needed to get out of this harsh cold anyway. The cat stopped suddenly, though, when it heard a strange sound coming from its left.

Next to the cat, on the road, a sewer lid shook lightly. The cat stared at the lid cocking its head to the side. It let out another meow, but in a flash, the lid suddenly exploded off of the ground and flew into the air. The cat let out a hiss in surprise, its fur sticking up.

Before it could move, or before the sewer lid could fall, there was a deep green glow from the blackness of the sewers. A white hand suddenly came out. It wasn't attached to an arm. It was just a hand flying through the air. It wrapped around the cat and dragged it into the sewers. A second later, the lid dropped, landing perfectly on the sewer and closing it off again.

Down the block, a little girl waited for her cat to return...