Danny could count on one hand the number of times he’d received praise from the captain.
One of the forensics technicians passed by as Danny neared the autopsy room, jarring him from his thoughts. The man always seemed to have this resigned look about him that Danny used to associate with dealing with dead bodies all day, but Lynn never carried the same countenance.
“Got a fresh one in there, Grant,” he said as he headed down the hallway, “just to forewarn you.”
“Thanks, Reggie,” Danny nodded. It was usually the smell that got to newbies, but Danny had never quite gotten used to seeing dead bodies either. Identifying his mother’s body hadn’t helped. Neither had any of the bodies he’d seen that night.
A uniformed officer fled from out of the final door leading into the autopsy room just as Danny reached it, holding the back of his hand to his mouth and looking far too green to make it to the bathroom in time. Danny sympathized. He didn’t recognize the young man—probably fresh out of the academy.
“Are you torturing the children again, Dr. Rivers?” Danny summoned a smile as he pushed inside the room. If he made it too obvious that he was as uncomfortable as everyone else, Lynn would read into it and want to talk.
As it was, she barely looked up from her work, using forceps to push the skin aside to examine what Danny assumed was the cause of death, since the man’s neck was half-split open. “Severed carotid artery. Barely any blood left. No idea what made Hadley so squeamish.”
She wore a face mask, clear goggles, and what looked like a paper disposable apron, with her hands gloved in latex as she worked. After peeling a tiny piece of fiber from the wound, she placed it on a waiting slide to be examined later before she set aside her forceps and turned to Danny.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said, pulling her face mask down. “I can take a break. I wanted to show you something.”
“Not about our friend here, I assume.” Danny didn’t recognize the man from any of his current cases. He tried not to let his eyes linger on the way the wound gaped, spread open by metal instruments with clotted blood shining in deep red and black.
“No. That’s just a mugging gone wrong. Very wrong for Mr. Wayne, unfortunately. Just give me a moment.”
Danny moved to the back of the room where he could lean against the counter without disturbing anything while Lynn got the sample she’d extracted ready for processing and removed her protective gear to wash up. “Good news or bad?” Danny tried to make light of things since she wasn’t sharing yet. He remembered feeling small around her before they became friends, like a student with a particularly sharp and intimidating teacher. That seemed so silly now. Lynn was one of the most intelligent people Danny knew, but she was also one of the kindest.
“Good news,” she said, opening the end cabinet in the wall behind Danny, where she kept more personal items and experiments. Danny wasn’t sure what he expected her to show him, but the small, unlabeled bottle of pills she produced seemed somehow anticlimactic.
“Antidepressants?” he asked with a drop in his smile, which seemed counterintuitive, but he couldn’t help it.
“In a way, but these won’t work like traditional medication.” She handed Danny the bottle. It was heavy, filled with more pills than he was used to for such a small container.
“You said you were working on something to trick my healing factor,” he stared at the orange plastic devoid of any markings, “and I trust your skills, Lynn, okay, I know you were like two credits shy from doubling as a pharmaceutical chemist, but these won’t suppress my powers, right?”
“Don’t worry, that was my first priority,” she said earnestly. “This should be the right formula to bypass your metabolism without disrupting the rest of your abilities. It isn’t a cure-all, but it might help. When you reach a low point, take one. The effects should kick in within a few minutes. But never more than two in a twenty-four-hour period.”
“Sure. Of course,” Danny nodded. Standard antidepressants needed time to build up their effects before they started to work. The idea that these pills could just help him—feel bad, take a pill, feel better five minutes later—seemed too good to be true. “What about dependency?”
“That’s why only one or two a day,” Lynn said. “That should be the right dose to keep your body from adapting. Keep me informed of your habits and how you feel after taking them, especially if you notice any odd side effects.”
“In case of nausea, increased appetite, dry mouth…” Danny listed off with a grin.
“I’m serious, Danny. The usual side effects likely won’t apply, but anything else, tell me immediately.”
“I will.” Steeling his expression, Danny was grateful for how much Lynn had obviously put into this even if it left him wary. “Thank you. I’m having a really good day actually, so maybe I won’t even need to take these.”
The knit to Lynn’s brow smoothed out as she smiled. “That’s great, Danny. I’m glad to hear it. And if you don’t feel like taking any, don’t. But if you do, it’s okay to need something to help you feel better.”
“I know.” He did finally understand that. He was sick of feeling like he’d earned his misery. “Thanks, Lynn. Really.”
“Any time, Danny.”
Pocketing the pills, Danny kept his eyes on the door rather than let them stray to Mr. Wayne’s body as he left. He was getting better. He was. He appreciated everything Lynn had done for him, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that resorting to pills would only make him weaker.
As he headed back upstairs to his office, he decided he’d only take one if he absolutely needed it.
ß
“Power down, Danny!” Andre called from the other room.
Danny reined in his lightning until it dwindled completely. What had been the sparking, obvious silhouette of Zeus returned to being The Invisible Man. If Andre couldn’t keep the name for Ludgate then he wanted to use it for something, and thus he had dubbed Danny’s new stealth suit.
Or at least it would have been a stealth suit—if Danny never used his powers.
One of the storerooms next to the main room in the old morgue had been specially insulated for him to practice various uses of his abilities. While Andre could hear Danny over the comms and watch footage of him on his tablet, Danny only had the sound of Andre’s voice.
The mask of the new suit covered his entire face like he was used to, but the diamond-shaped lenses for his eyes were larger. Overall, the suit should have felt stiffer with the reflectors built in, but one of the benefits of the ‘tiny little mirrors’, as Andre called them, was that the individual pieces had more fluidity than his Zeus suit. If only the stealth portion would work as intended.
“What’s up, Andre? We’ve been testing for almost an hour and nothing’s changed. If I can’t use the suit with my powers, what’s the point?”
“Dude, can you shut down the suit when you talk to me?” Andre disregarded his concerns. “It’s creepy watching an empty room.”
A flare of annoyance spiked through Danny at having his question ignored, but the chance to be devious banished his frustration. Being careful not to spark with any lightning, he exited into the hallway to slip into the main room.
Andre remained fixated on the tablet near his desk, but after a moment, as Danny snuck closer to him, his eyes darted from side to side in suspicion. “Danny?” he said, since Danny hadn’t answered him over the comms. “Daniel Allen Grant, I swear, if you jump scare me right now—”
“You’ll what?” Danny whispered from only a foot away.
“Ah!” Andre flailed spectacularly as he turned to face the disembodied voice of his friend. He pointed an accusing finger in the general direction of Danny’s face. “I will karate chop every inch of space in front of me!” Making a few full-hearted but sloppy chopping motions at the air, he failed to strike anywhere near Danny.
To save his friend from further embarrassment, Danny pressed the button on top of his hand between his thumb and index finger. Andre also had a kill switch for the suit on the tablet and his computer, but he hadn’t thought to use it.
The reflectors flickered and became visible again, revealing Danny in the all black, skin-tight glove of a uniform that shimmered as if he was covered in sequins. He’d joked that it was his Hollywood Starlit outfit rather than The Invisible Man. It had no discernible seams or lines; it was just sleek black with a pair of bug-eyed lenses.
“Don’t DO that.” Andre smacked him in the chest. “I can still take away all of your toys, ya know.”
Danny snickered as he pulled off the mask. “Can but won’t and you know it.” It was a relief to be able to joke so effortlessly again.
Andre tilted his head at Danny in incredulity before returning his attention to the readings on the tablet. “Sorry, man, I don’t think I’ll have the bugs worked out for tonight’s patrol. The reflectors are not fans of your lightning. I need to figure out how to keep your natural electromagnetic waves from interfering with the sensors. Otherwise, Ludgate will see you coming the second you use your abilities.”
Sighed, Danny hopped up onto the desk next to Andre. He was tempted to just wear the suit as it was, try to catch Ludgate without using his powers, since invisibility might be a more effective tool in this case, but he knew it would be better to not give away his best ace in the hole before it was ready.
“Anything else you need from me to work out the kinks?” Danny asked. “I should hit the streets soon. Maybe I’ll get lucky and catch Ludgate without going invisible.” He doubted it, but then, his luck had finally started to turn around. For the first time in a long time, he felt like his old self again.
He refused to believe it had anything to do with confessing how he’d been feeling to Cho or the man’s reaction to it all, rather than just fulfilling sex and a plan to one-up the craftiest criminal he’d ever faced.
A crafty criminal who watched over his neighborhood like a den mother. Who protected his sister with the same fierceness that Danny would use to protect any of his family and friends. Who offered Danny food. Gave into his whims. Never pushed for more than Danny could give in return. And brushed away his tears…
Danny shook his head as he focused on Andre. It was just an act. Just the long game. Always the long game. Eventually, Cho would slip up, show his true nature, and when he did, Danny would have no problem scattering the pieces of his heart like confetti.
“Go ahead and swap suits,” Andre said. “I have everything I need to work this out. Just might take a couple days to pin things down. And seriously, man, good luck. If Ludgate’s anything like you when you lightning jump and you run into him out there, just try to wear him out.”
“And if he bails the second he sees me?”
“Seems he wants the attention, right? Made it easy to figure out who he is. He wants fame just like the Titans. He’ll probably jump at the chance to face off against Zeus.”
“Here’s hoping.” Slipping off the desk, Danny went to change, returning minutes later in his normal white and gold costume. He set the pile of black fabric on the desk for Andre to work his magic.
“I’ll call Lynn to run the comms for you so I can focus on this,” Andre said without looking away from his tablet.
“You know, you two need time off occasionally too,” Danny said. “I am capable of patrolling the city without a babysitter every night.”
Pausing in his work, Andre eyed Danny skeptically, though the quirk to his mouth proved how much he appreciated the gesture. “Do I have to give you the whole ‘we’re a team’ speech again? Coz I got that thing memorized, bro, I can go all Lawrence Olivier on your ass and wax Shakespeare until it sinks in.”
Danny laughed as he held up both hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, please don’t. But you can’t spend so much time catering to me without me wanting to return the favor. We’re on for another game night this week, right? I don’t care where we end up with Ludgate by then, we’re taking a night off.”
Andre beamed back at Danny with bubbling excitement. “Hell yeah, man, deal. Wow, so getting laid agrees with you, huh?” He bobbed his eyebrows suggestively.
Unable to keep the grin and blush from spreading across his cheeks, Danny averted his gaze. He hadn’t exactly tried to hide it on Friday that he’d had an eventful afternoon. And after all, this was exactly what Andre had suggested he do.
“Come on, you gotta give me some details,” Andre said. “Well not detail details—please don’t give me details—but something. Succession of one night stands or same girl? Or same guy?” He eyed Danny for a reaction, and he must have given himself away because Andre almost immediately said, “Same guy. Wow. So, like, who’s your type when it comes to guys anyway?”
A laugh sputtered out of Danny, but he couldn’t tell Andre the truth. “Same guy, but not someone who’s going to be long-term, okay, so I’d rather not say much. He’s hot, amazing in bed, and discreet. More discreet than me most of the time…” Considering Danny had showed up where Cho lived and met most of the people in his neighborhood.
“Fair enough,” Andre said, then nudged Danny’s shoulder. “Enjoy yourself, huh? We’re young and healthy and some of us are beautiful at least.” He flipped his long braids over his shoulder dramatically.
Danny chuckled, because enjoying himself was exactly what he planned to do. Even when things in his day to day life seemed to be going well, all he could think about was the next time he’d get to feel Cho’s hands on him. He didn’t need pills. “Well we can’t all be as lucky as you, Andre.” Pulling down his cowl, he reached out for their customary slap, backhand, fist bump. “In the meantime, I better get to work. I’ll let you know if I get lucky.”
Andre snorted.
“With Ludgate.”
“Sure, sure.”
The smile remained plastered to Danny’s face even as he lightning jumped out of the morgue. Finally—finally—life was on an upswing.
ß
Hades could go almost anywhere without being caught, but he liked being outside, on the street, appearing from seemingly nowhere to walk his city with no one the wiser, like a magic trick where everyone was the fool and no one knew his secrets.
He needed a costume. Zeus had a costume. Even Prometheus had a costume. Hades would have to sift through the pilfered items he kept with him. Maybe one of those silver suits to counter Zeus as the golden boy.
The APB circulating the wire was a comforting melody. Each piece falling perfectly into place. He’d even gotten to stick it to the glassworks for firing him. The OCPD might suspect ‘Cassidy Ludgate’, while at the same time never having any true proof, but once they knew his new name, that would be the title that screamed across the headlines.
He’d done big with his first heist. He’d done bold with the second. He’d done the impossible with both. Now he needed to have everyone’s attention on him, and the only way to do that would be to hit a third location right from under the most famous thief in the city.
ß
Priestly didn’t disappoint, not that Mal ever expected him to. He’d called to declare that Mal and Dom’s amplifiers were both ready to be picked up—and tested out if they were so inclined, which Mal always was. He never went into a heist with tech or plans that hadn’t been thoroughly vetted.
With Dom in tow, Mal walked into the back of Andrews’ Electronics after a brief greeting to Arty, expecting to find Priestly hard at work on something for the electronics store’s ‘side’ business, but instead he came upon him at a worktable tinkering with what appeared to be a hearing aid.
“Looking to patent something for the hearing impaired next?” Mal asked.
As per usual, Priestly didn’t bother glancing up from his work. “Actually, yes, but this is a one-off for Arty’s grandmother. She c
ame in last week needing her toaster fixed, and I caught sight of this eyesore. Couldn’t stand to see her wearing something so obsolete for another minute when I knew I could do better. She has a backup for the time being, but after today, Nana Andrews is getting an upgrade.”
Dom scoffed, but her face showed only amusement. “Hearin’ aids for little old ladies now? You goin’ straight on us, Spock?” She was particularly proud of that nickname, since the Roman name for Hephaestus was Vulcan.
Raising an eyebrow, Priestly stared directly into Dom’s red eyes that today were lined dramatically in black. “Not in any sense of the word, Helios. Keeping Nana Andrews happy keeps Mr. Andrews happy, which—”
“Keeps Arty happy?” Mal leaned forward on the worktable like he was all atwitter for gossip. He knew the expectant look would annoy Priestly, and it did in spades.
Sighing, the kid set his tools and the hearing aid aside. “Careful, boss. Start in on my love life, and I might start in on yours.”
Mal pulled back with a grimace.
“Heh,” Dom chortled. “You know too, huh?”
“About his hickey-happy lover and how much Gaia wants to find out the guy’s identity?” Priestly said. “Oh yes.”
Dom glanced at Mal like she knew a dirty little secret, which of course she did. “Does he know who—?”
“No,” Mal cut her off firmly.
“Wait, you know who it is?” Priestly perked up, turning to lean across the table toward Dom as if Mal was no longer present.
A wide grin formed as she opened her mouth.
“No,” Mal said again, giving Dom his best warning glare that there would be serious consequences if she defied him on this. He could see on her face that she was debating telling Priestly anyway. Hardening his eyes further at his old friend, Mal shook his head. Having Dom know was one thing, but any more than that and it could all unravel.
After fifteen solid seconds of making Mal sweat, Dom rolled her eyes and gave Priestly an apologetic shrug. “Guess I don’t know shit. Sorry, Spock.”
Lovesick Gods Page 20