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[Ace]

Ace was drinking! That was not a usual occurrence, now that he had to spend most evenings with Jess. Well, saying "had to" made it sound like he didn't like it, which he did, but hanging out with a seven year old didn't involve a lot of alcohol. But he'd left her with a babysitter tonight, and then he'd gone out and Fought Crime! Which was awesome. There had been a guy who clearly had some degree of super-strength who thought that meant he could hold up a 7-11, but Ace was too fast for him! He'd been at the police station before he figured out what was going on.

And then Ace had been stuck in his speed form for a little while, but that was okay. He ran to O'Houlihan's. Being able to run around the city without his clothes disintegrating was great. Sitting at the superhero bar and feeling like he belonged there was even better. Even if he had needed to wait a while until he could actually speak and order a beer.

Yeah, I'm pretty awesome, Ace thought to himself. His legs were still mostly ceramic, but he had a beer now. Will I be okay to run home after I drink? I should ask the boss-man whether alcohol might have weird effects on my speed form. For now I guess I'll just walk. It's not that far. Or, you know, run but not that fast. Run like....normal-person fast. Crap, was that dismissive? Am I turning into a super-bigot? I should watch out for that. Jess'll keep me from getting too bad, though, right? I should stop worrying and drink this beer. I stopped a crime!

Ace looked around, beaming. He belonged here!

[Crimson Defender]

Alternately, it had been a long, long night for the Crimson Defender. He'd found himself fighting Heatsync, a psychotic sort-of pyrokinetic who could make any kind of aperture spit flames. Some said her powers cooked her brain, and it drove her to...

... um...

Pull off an elaborate heist to steal technology to thwart heat-based sensors in order to more easily rob banks under cover of darkness.

Well, maybe she wasn't COMPLETELY mad (and he'd been educated by his mom that crazy did NOT mean evil), but that didn't make her any less dangerous. She'd really, REALLY taxed him, and while she was happily behind the bars of a very well-insulated paddywagon right now, that still didn't save his suit, which was smoky, singed, and in places, still glowing. He knew he stank, but before he went back to his place, he just KNEW he needed a beer.

... maybe a tequila shot.

Nothing crazy.

He entered O'Houlihan's to a now-familiar fanfare from the patrons. It was strange, how things worked... nearly dying garnered him more praise than fighting crime ever had. He didn't think hard on it, feeling like it was that kind of Batman-ish*, "become a symbol" stuff that he never really concentrated on. He fought crime. End of story.

His head hit the bar next to a new guy, a maskless blonde guy in black and white. He raised his hand, and Luke, faithful tender that he was, had a beer on the counter before he said a word. He turned his head to Maskless McSuperhero, and squinted.

"... do I know you?"

[Ace]

"Hi! Um...no, you don't know me, but I know you! I mean, I don't know you, but you're the Crimson Defender!"

Okay, be cool, Ace. You're a superhero too. We're like...brothers in arms or something. Brothers in spandex. We're in the same line of work.

Well, except it's like if I was an actor in community theater and he was a MOVIE STAR because this is the CRIMSON DEFENDER. Say something cool!

"I'm Ace!"

Okay, I don't know if that was cool, but it wasn't super uncool. I think I came out ahead on that one.

[Crimson Defender]

"Nice to meet you, Ace," the Defender said, pressing a singed glove out of the coil he had wrapped around his head. "Been on the job long?"

[Ace]

"Kind of! Not really. I mean, I've wanted to, but I couldn't. A little while after I got my powers, I made a cheap costume, went out all night, all ready to go, started running, and it burst into flames. And I ripped holes in it. So, you know." I am totally babbling random nonsense to the Crimson Defender. He was probably just being polite. "So, no, not really, I guess. But I have a costume that works now."

I wonder if he's actually an asshole when the press isn't around. Maybe he's going to slam my face into the bar. I wonder if that would kill me. If it just messed up my face I wonder what would happen next time I changed shape. If I changed back would my face be un-messed-up? I should ask Anthony if there's a way to test that without actually breaking my face.

[Crimson Defender]

"Oof. First costume blues," he smirked. "Let me tell you... when I made my first costume, I was really bad at stitching. I lost my cape, I lost a sleeve, and almost my MASK in my first three weeks out. It was EMBARASSING," he admitted. "So, naked? I can understand. There but for the grace of God."

He was getting to like this, talking to new supers. It made him remember his first days, and how far he'd come. It almost made him think maybe PEYOP wouldn't be such a bad idea, especially when the kids started up.

He'd have to talk to Rick about his horror stories.

"What was your first bust?"

[Ace]

"Same day as the first story, actually," Ace said proudly. "I change shape when I run. As long as I'm in my speed form, being naked isn't exactly a problem. All the, uh, the non-running-related parts kind of go away. Grabbed a purse snatcher, gave the purse back, gave him to the police, ran off before I could start changing back. Which was kind of awkward because I can't talk when I'm in my speed form, so they didn't know who I was. I was just this naked monster who ran in and dumped a guy on them. I went back the slow way as soon as I had clothes, but they'd let the guy go. They had his face and fingerprints, though. Got him again eventually."

Just hanging out at O'Houlihan's, talking shop with the Crimson Defender. You know how it is for us super types.

[Crimson Defender]

"Well, sometimes that's how it goes," he said. "By nature, we don't do any of the procedure stuff the cops do, cuz we're not cops. Can't let it get to you. You stop the crime, you take them to the authorities, and hope for the best. All ya can do, really."

Sitting upright, the Defender looked head on at his conversation partner, and took a chug of his beer. "Now, tell me honestly," he asked, swinging a upturned palm down from his collarbone to his waist, "how shit do I look right now?"

[Ace]

"Well, your suit's kind of a wreck," Ace said honestly. Oh yeah the Crimson Defender asks for my opinion sometimes, you know, because we're colleagues. "But I can't really point fingers there. Mine's made out of some kind of crazy carbon-carbon spaceship coating and it still doesn't last long. And you look fine underneath it."

Did that sound sexual? I think that might have sounded vaguely sexual. Man, that would be super awkward. It's like regular awkward except if I turn someone down I might get my face crunched into the bar. Everything ends with my face getting crunched into the bar. Why did I come here again?

[Crimson Defender]

"Oh, okay," he replied, dusting himself off a bit. "Word of warning: supervillains that have elemental powers? Well, by elemental, I mean classical elemental, earth, air, fire, water... although, if I saw someone who could bend Sahasrara to their will, I'd be really freaking scared... but anyways, those guys? Take 'em down fast and hard. Protracted battles cause THIS."

He pulled at his flame-scarred garment. "Yeah."

[Ace]

"I'm good at fast!" Ace said with a grin. "Hard, maybe not so much, but fast is kind of my thing."

Did I just describe myself as terrible in bed? Why am I even WORRIED about that? Maybe it'll keep him from hitting on me and then I'd have to reject him and he'd break my face. That has to be a good thing.

I'm sure that if I wanted to have sex I'd be awesome at it, though. Because I'm awesome.

Or maybe I'd be absolutely terrible. Oh well. Doesn't matter.

"Is there any kind of supervillain you shouldn't take down hard and fast?" he wondered.

[Crimson Defender]

He thought a moment. "... Meltron," he finally said. "He gets all OVER you."

[Ace]

"That sounds really, really gross," Ace said. "I will keep it in mind."

Yeah, Crimson Defender and I hung out and traded heroing tips. We're basically bros.

"Hey, you probably get this all the time, but would you mind signing a napkin or something? I'd like to give it to my niece. She's already making herself a Boreas costume for Halloween. Well, kind of making. She colored a mask on half a paper plate. I bought the rest of it."

I don't think her mom would have liked her dressing up as a guy for Halloween but I'm not going to stop her. And that mask is adorable. And she already broke the bow. Should I get another one? Or teach her a valuable lesson about responsibility? Maybe I should teach her a valuable lesson about responsibility and THEN get her another one. Then I can be responsible and make her smile.

[Crimson Defender]

"Oh, sure!" he said, grabbing up the nearest disposable item he could find (yes, it was a napkin, but that was beside the point). "What's her name?"

[Ace]

"Oh man, thanks so much!" Ace said. "Her name's Jess."

See, if I was trying to keep my identity secret, I'd be worried about telling him that, but I'm not, because I can't, so I won't. Makes it all much tidier. I guess if at some point I'm in the big leagues I'll have to worry about keeping her safe. But I'm not yet, so I won't worry about it yet. Does that make me awful? I hope not.

She says she wants me to go after bad guys even if it makes things more dangerous for us. I don't know if she's old enough to understand what that means, but it's what I want too, so I trust her on that.

"She's going to be so excited."

[Crimson Defender]

The Defender handed over the bit of paper. "Sure hope so."

Let's see Boreas do that for less than $5 a pop...

[Ace]

"Oh wow, that is great! You're a good guy. I mean, obviously you're a 'good guy,' but you're also a good guy. Can I buy you a beer or something?"

I'm glad it says "and grill" because I can tell Jess I was here to get dinner. Set a better example. Wait, would that be hiding my drinking? Isn't that a sign of alcoholism? Can you be an alcoholic if you only drink like...once a month? Maybe I just became an alcoholic tonight. Maybe I became one really, really fast.

I should ask the boss if that's possible. Man, I have a whole list of things to ask him. I should ask him if he can get a pocket on this thing so I can keep paper and a pencil in it.

[Crimson Defender]

"Nah, I'm good," he said. "When I came back from the... well... big boom? People were buying me drinks left right and center, so I have... how many drinks do I have in the bank, Luke?"

Luke flashed all ten fingers three times, then another six.

Then a patron pulled Luke over, and whispered something in his ear.

He then raised a seventh finger.

"... oh. Jeez, that's bigger than last time. I'm tempted to cap it at fifty, but MAN does my wallet like it. So save your money, but thanks. Appreciate it."

[Ace]

"If you insist!" Ace cheerfully conceded. "Is that what it's like being famous? People just lining up to do things for you? Must be pretty nice."

I shouldn't have said that. The man must get death threats on a daily basis. And he probably gets insensitive idiots thinking it's all fun times every day, too.

Way to go, Ace. Here's the part where he slams your head into the counter.

[Crimson Defender]

"It's got its ups and downs," he said. "For starters..."

He tugged on his mask, the fabric pulling away from his cheek a bit.

"THIS is what's famous. You'd be shocked, the levels of 'regular guy' underneath the spandex," he replied. "And people only lined up after I almost died. And I almost died because someone didn't like me embarrassing them. ... and imprisoning them... and beating up all their men."

He paused a moment. There HAD to be a way to actually make this sound... well, APPEALING.

"What I'm TRYING to say is, you'll make enemies, it'll sometimes suck, but the lives you better and the lives you save will make it all worth it."

He paused again.

"... and I SWEAR I just came up with that off the top of my head."