#hyperlight

The villain in question was the ever-annoying Sundew, the man with half a dozen carnivorous—or downright poisonous—plants up his sleeve at any given moment. Literally. The cuffs on his wrists were supposed to prevent him from manifesting plants, but one could never be too careful. The labs typically had little information to go off of when devising ways to contain superbeings, and a one-size-fits-all approach was impossible.

There were days when Valentine regretted his change in career paths. This was one of them. Another was when the heroes had handed him his new costume. He couldn’t complain about the all black, happy to lean into the ex-assassin theme. But in their rush, the costume department had handed over something a little too tight. And itchy.

And okay, the sleeveless high-necked shirt with a faint, heart-shaped patch of lighter fabric on the chest was a bit much. Valentine was fine leaning into the seductive assassin them, too, but his new coworkers refused to believe that his old boss had given him his fake last name, not him. 

“All right, keep it moving.” Valentine gave Sundew another shove on the back. The villain had probably had the luxury of choosing his own costume. Not that he’d made great choices. The bright red leather jacket and darker red v-neck would have been better without the green leather pants. The mismatched red and green fingerless gloves were also…something.

“Really, didn’t you used to be an assassin?” Sundew asked, glancing back over his shoulder. His wild eyes, a dark shade of auburn, glinted under the fluorescent lights. “You traded a life of wealth and glam to work here?”

The disgusted ‘here’ referred to Defenders Alliance West, the newest branch of the country’s biggest superhero organization. With ‘newest’ as the operative word, the place was a bit lacking in funding. And infrastructure. The cell block was fine, thankfully, but the main office, training room, and living quarters left a lot to be desired.

Government approval wasn’t the same as government funding. The Defenders Alliance didn’t have authorities on their ass about vigilante laws, but unless they agreed to take on missions solely at the government’s discretion, they were on their own for financial support.

Superheroes rarely agreed to such a tight leash. It kind of defeated the point of being a hero.

“I’d hardly call being an assassin glamorous. And there’s more to life than money.” Valentine halted next to his desk. Yes, they’d felt the need to give superheroes desks when most of their time was supposed to be spent out fighting crime. Apparently, Defenders Alliance was a big fan of paperwork. Seemed unnecessary, given that they still technically operated outside the law—government approval was a very loose term—but they had a reputation to uphold.

The water pooling on the floor at Valentine’s feet wasn’t doing much for that reputation bit.

Valentine shoved Sundew into the chair by his desk.

“No need to be so rough,” Sundew muttered.

“I’m afraid rough’s my specialty,” Valentine told him, a thin smile on his lips. Raising his voice so the rest of the office could hear, he asked, “Can someone tell me why there’s a sixth Great Lake forming over here?”

There was a blur of pink and white, and Hyperlight was standing in front of him. “Sorry, dude, that pipe broke again. But maintenance says they’ll have it fixed for good this time.” She slid out her earbuds and glanced at Sundew. “Oh, hi. Plant guy, right?”

“Yeah, watch his arms,” Valentine warned. “The plants will have you hospitalized for a week.”

“Or under my spell,” Sundew added with a wink.

Valentine ignored the comment. “He’s put upwards of twenty people in the hospital over the past month.” Depending on Sundew’s plant of choice, he could inflict paralysis, blinding pain, hallucinations, eat away at skin and, yes, induce a temporary hypnosis that made the victim inclined to do his bidding. Which usually involved breaking and entering.

“Hey, no one died. And I got my paintings.” Sundew grinned. “Not a bad crime spree, when all’s said and done.”

Valentine rested a hand on the chair’s arm and leaned in. “We’re not done until I find where you stashed them, and you live out your prison sentence.”

“A touch aggressive there, Val.”

“Of course I’m aggressive.” Valentine masked his annoyance with an easy smile. “I’ve been chasing you for a month.”

“Are you sure that’s the cause of your aggression, and not that flickering light in the back corner?”

“I appreciate the concern, but we have big renovations planned this weekend.”

Sundew laughed. “So you opened the branch before the building was ready? Why?”

“Because of people like you.” Valentine straightened up. “Hyperlight, could you grab me an intake form? And maybe a coffee from the break room?”

“You sure?” Hyperlight asked. “That coffee’s pretty gross.”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Have you considered stealing a better coffee machine?” Sundew asked as Hyperlight vanished. In the blink of an eye, she was back with a piece of paper and a cup of coffee.

“If I were going to steal something, it wouldn’t be a coffee machine.” Valentine took the items from Hyperlight and sipped from the cup. It was pretty bad, but he’d drunk much worse without batting an eye. 

Hyperlight ran off again. Valentine glanced around the lobby as he set the form on his desk. Most heroes were out at the moment, but there were a couple big names lounging around. Fire goddess Pyra—who looked like an elf out of a fantasy novel with her pointed ears, gold armor, and waves of red hair—was struggling with the keypad on the vending machine. The fact that the sword in her free hand was starting to glow had Valentine concerned about the future of one of the branch’s few working perks. Brontide, meanwhile, sat at his desk working on a salad, static electricity jumping between the prongs of his fork.

With a heavy sigh, Valentine scribbled Sundew’s name at the top of the form. 

Sundew leaned forward to peer at the paper. A piece of his reddish-brown hair fell into his face as he moved. His wasn’t much longer than Valentine’s sleek black hair, but it was certainly more of a mess. “Could you get that?” he asked. “I’d do it myself, but I’m a bit busy being in handcuffs.”

Valentine actually contemplated obliging as a power move, but the risk of Sundew finding a way to poison him was too high. “I think you having limited vision is to my benefit.”

Sundew tipped his head to the right. “That form is ridiculous.”

“Well, look at that. Something we agree on.” Valentine added the date and time before setting the pen down. 

“So, you spent a month chasing me and only me?” Sundew asked with a sly smile.

“Don’t sound too excited. It was an assignment.”

“It sounds like you consider me your rival.”

“Sure. Why not.”

“Sorry, appreciate the offer, but I’ve had multiple heroes chasing me for a long time. I’d hardly consider you a worthy rival.” Sundew shrugged. “Maybe we can revisit in a few months?”

Valentine’s ability to act unbothered was running low. He had to hand it to Sundew, it was rare for someone to get on his nerves this quickly.

“So, what hero did they assign to run this branch?” Sundew asked, glancing around. “They must be disappointed to be leaving one of the good ones behind.”

“Aphelion is more than happy to give his time to us.” Presumably. Valentine rarely saw the guy. A few of the other heroes were transfers from other branches as well, while the rest had been long established in the area already as solo acts. Valentine was the only real new hero.

“I’ve been chatting with some of the other villains around here, you know,” Sundew said. “We’re all looking forward to seeing how this new arrangement plays out.” 

“I’m sure you are.”

“And we all know Cyrus Valentine isn’t your real name.”

Valentine laughed. “You’ll never find my real name.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“That would be a lot of effort to spend on someone who isn’t your rival.” Valentine raised an eyebrow. 

Sundew’s amused expression finally slipped.

“All right.” Valentine stretched out his arms. “Let’s get you in a cell.”

“Sorry, but I should really be getting home.” Sundew was smiling again. “I have no one to water my plants.”

“Aw, I’m sorry. Why don’t you give me your address and I’ll make sure they’re taken care of for you?”

“That’s so sweet of you. But I have a better idea.” A bright green vine, lined with thin red tentacles oozing clear liquid, shot out of Sundew’s boot.

Valentine’s lightning reflexes barely got him out of harm’s way.

Sundew pulled his arms out from behind his back, revealing that the handcuffs had been melted through with acid. There was a hole burned in Valentine’s desk chair, too. Fantastic.

“Don't feel bad for not expecting that, the acid is new,” Sundew said. “I caught the flu last week. Sometimes when I get sick, my plants learn new tricks.”

“Delightful.” Valentine drew his gun from his side and took aim. “Any other useful facts about your anatomy that you’d like to share?”

“Nothing useful, no. But if you want to be impressed…”

A new vine emerged from Sundew’s sleeve and reached for the gun. Valentine fired. While the vine dropped to the ground, cleaved in half by the bullet, a second vine smacked the back of his hand and knocked the weapon out of his grasp.

Valentine winced. In the blink of an eye, burns were forming on his skin.

Sundew bolted.

The burning sensation wasn’t enough to stop Valentine from giving chase. It wouldn’t have been, anyway, if it weren’t for the giant venus flytraps that sprang up around him. His eyes narrowed as he realized tiny seeds had been scattered across the floor around his desk.

Thankfully, Pyra came to his aid. Her flaming sword cut through the plants with ease. “Face the wrath of my flames!” she roared.

While she handled the plants with an overabundance of enthusiasm, Valentine jumped onto his desk to pursue Sundew. He hopped from desk to desk in his race across the lobby, keeping his eyes on the fleeing villain.

Brontide yelped in surprise as his salad was knocked off the desk.

“Sorry!” Valentine called as he leaped to the next one.

He caught up to Sundew ten feet from the building’s front doors. Sundew whirled around and grabbed his wrist. 

Sundew examined the patch of red skin on the back of Valentine’s hand. “Impressive resistance.”

“I’m not an ordinary human.”

“Right, right, test subject, enhanced everything. Still impressive. Don’t sell yourself short.” Sundew grinned.

The grin faded as Valentine grabbed Sundew’s upper arm and sent him crashing to the ground. Sundew rolled and jumped back to his feet. His hand moved to his pocket. He flung a handful of seeds in Valentine’s direction.

Vines exploded from the seeds. They collided with Valentine, knocking him to the ground, and quickly wrapped around his limbs. And, more alarmingly, his neck.

By the time Valentine had ripped the vines up enough for them to stop trying to strangle him, Sundew was gone.

Valentine groaned as he climbed to his feet. At least the guy wasn’t a killer. Just a massive pain in the ass.

Well, Valentine had notes for next time. Acid-resistant cuffs. A second pair for Sundew’s ankles. Check the guy’s pockets for seeds. 

Hyperlight appeared at Valentine’s left. “Hey, I’ve got something for you—”

“Can you get out there and grab Sundew before he gets away?” Valentine asked. Even as he said the words, he wasn’t sure there was a point. He didn’t have cuffs to lock the guy up with.

“Yeah, I’ll try.” Hyperlight vanished. Returned. “Sorry. No idea where he went. I’m not familiar with all of the city’s escape routes yet.”

Right. She was a SoCal transfer.

“You said you had something for me?” Valentine asked.

“Yep. Delivery from the costume department.” Hyperlight dropped the stack she was holding into Valentine’s hands. “New pants and gloves, just like you asked.”

Valentine stared blankly at the clothes. “These are purple.”

“Yeah.”

Footsteps approached. Brontide moved to stand at Valentine’s right. “Well, looks like it’s back to the grind, Valentine.” He clapped a hand against Valentine’s shoulder.

Valentine sighed. “That used to mean killing people.”

“And we’re all very glad you’re here instead.”

~