Rico was on the Phantom's ass. He was so close. The asshole was slowing down, getting desperate. He knew that he had that motherfucker on his last legs and he could finally bash his face in. His boss's doctors could fix that up, probably. Not that he'd need a face anyway; he always wore that stupid mask to hide it. The Phantom was about to have a real good reason to hide his face soon.
Rico was about to double down on catching up when suddenly, his boss told him to stop.
"You need to get out of there, Orwell," Aleck said over the wireless communication earring hanging from Rico's left ear.
"What the fuck?! Why?!" Rico stopped in his tracks, nearly tripping and falling off the edge of a building.
"Batman's on the scene. He's on his way to help the Phantom, and he's getting there fast. Abort mission and run."
The moment Aleck said that over the comms, Rico heard the loud roaring of an engine. But he was so close...
Sensing his subordinate's hesitation, Aleck put on his 'boss voice.' "You must run, Orwell, or you will be captured. Retreat now, or I'm cutting off your support."
"Fuck you," Rico grumbled, but made his escape anyway. Luckily for him, Venom hadn't completely degraded his sense of reason yet, even at a high dosage.
Turning around reluctantly, he pumped his legs and sprinted off, running and leaping across rooftops and scaling walls. He would retreat to one of the pickup locations that Aleck had designated for him, shrink down as Venom wore off, and wait to be carted back to the hidden main base by a secure truck.
...
The following morning, Aleck was dressing up, getting ready to go to back to university. This was after the whole gang dispute debacle had ended, one that had in-person classes cancelled.
'Pathetic lowlife scum,' he thought.
The dispute turned out to be over something much too inconsequential: rival gang members bumping into each other in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It was a street that bordered the territories of both gangs — not that it mattered much on a grand scale. Normally, that sort of issue should have been resolved by both parties backing off. Then again, these people were... not the brightest. They were the type who turned to unrefined crime, either because they wanted 'prestige' among their peers, or couldn't make other means of living work no matter how hard they tried.
'And there they went, ruining schedules and routines by involving others in their problems,' Aleck continued to muse. 'This is why they can never move up in the world.'
Eager to flush his frustration away, he kicked back on a plush sofa after slipping into a basic outfit. He felt no need to show off at school, so he just donned a plain black button-up with long sleeves, tailor-fit white slacks, and polished leather shoes. No tie or coat this time. He kept his collar unbuttoned; the girls seemed to like it, and it also happened to give the guys some pause.
Slicking his hair back with some gel, he scanned over a tablet laying on the coffee table before him.
The close call with Batman the previous night had gotten him feeling rattled, but he kept his cool and ordered his agent to retreat. It would have been exceptionally damning had Orwell not listened, but his mental fortitude allowed reason to pull through, saving Aleck the trouble of having to make an extensive coverup.
'Still, we'll have to lay low for a while. Once the heat dies down, we'll try again...'
One of the maids that his sister had lent to him — a youthful-looking French girl, he noted — brought him some type of Asian coffee brew to sip on while waiting until it was time to leave. He admired the way her wavy, rust-red hair fell over her shoulders as she moved. A smile threatened to form on his face when she bowed as well — even in favors, his sister never failed to tease him, this time with the low cut in the maid's uniform that showed ample cleavage.
He maintained self-control, of course, and simply thanked the girl for her service. It was only right to be amiable with people under one's employ, and to give them what respect they were due. That was why Aleck treated Orwell with exceptional leniency, even when he had about half a dozen more Venom users under his command. Positivity bred loyalty, and he needed Orwell to be his most loyal. That loyalty might not be absolute, but whatever sentiments it brought would be enough. Any distance left to be covered, he could handle with small yet effective threats.
Wiping off his hands with sanitary napkins, Aleck picked up his small cup of coffee and tested the aroma. It was much milder than the brew from the previous day, and the bitterness turned out to be a much more pleasant kind as well. He told the maid currently serving him to put it on the list of brews that he liked, and she bowed and went to do just that.
"Now... details, details..."
Mumbling the phrase to himself to get in the proper mindset, Aleck scrolled through the reports displayed on his tablet.
The first on his list was the latest medical checkup on Orwell. There was some muscular degradation, but only minor, and he was expected to recover within a day or two. Muscular atrophy was a typical side-effect of abusing Venom, but it seemed to have been minimized effectively in their latest iteration of the formula. Good.
Aleck kept on reading and noted that there hadn't been any evidence of Batman going out to search for Orwell, or anyone else that might have been involved with the Phantom incident last night.
The tension visibly left his shoulders as he finally allowed himself to feel relief.
Aleck idled around some more, checking up on current relations. Connections at school, potential daylight work, and business in his family. Everything seemed to be going well — he only needed to check up on a few people to keep a positive connection going.
Just as he finished off his steaming cup of coffee, a message pinged on his personal phone, and he couldn't help but break into a smile upon seeing its contents.
"Did something good happen, Master Aleck?" asked the redhead maid with a seemingly genuine smile.
Aleck chuckled to himself before responding. "Oh, most definitely. One of my favorite pets just became available. Reschedule my appointment with Lydia, please. Oh, and tell her that if she wants, she can accompany Mr. Orwell during his recovery— her loyalty is to me first, but I know that he's just her type. As for myself, I need to make up for lost time with lovely Miss Watson."
The maid bowed low, doing her best to maintain her composure.
◎ ◉ ◎
Maxie had woken up early that day, despite having gone to sleep way too late — she'd been texting with Lucian since midnight. Once morning came, she borrowed a plain black shirt and some jeans from Tammy. A bit of a tighter fit than usual since she started putting on more muscle, but it had to do for the time being. Her work uniform had been lost in the fire at her family's apartment, so she would have to ask her boss for a new one to replace it.
She didn't dress up for work right away, though — that morning before heading out, she convinced Lucian to help her train for a bit before finally going to Inigo's. He had her do some basic strength training before setting up a routine for the basics of kick-boxing.
After that, they went out to get a hearty, meaty breakfast. She was worried that it was too greasy, but Lucian told her to treat it like a reward — for going into training with dedication, he explained. In future sessions, he said he'd prepare some proper post-training meals for her.
Once that and breakfast had been dealt with, the two of them finally came in to work.
The day passed by surprisingly mundane. Maxie worked a full day with Lucian, though neither of them went for overtime. He insisted that she get some proper rest after how their morning went.
Once the work day had ended, she went along with Lucian so he could take her to the new place she would be staying at with her siblings. Things had already been cleared between everyone: her, Luce, Bailey, and Brodie.
Speaking of clearing things up, they ended up with a group chat for their little squatting building, which was where they had that whole talk. It was also a way for everyone to look out for each other, since they'd all be occupying the same general living space from that point forward.
The place actually did seem pretty nice once Maxie had gotten there, as Lucian said it would. For an abandoned area, it was relatively clean. The only things littering the grounds were some stray plastic waste and rubble.
Lucian guided her to where she and her siblings would be staying. The sun had already set when they'd gotten there, and as Lucian knocked on the door to the Steeles' apartment, a melancholic feeling enveloped her.
Bailey was the one to open up the door. Her expression really lit up seeing her little sister, but the bags that had formed beneath her eyes were too clear to see.
"Max!" Bailey exclaimed, and she pulled Maxie into a big, tight bear hug.
"Gh-ghan'd breadthe...!"
"Oop! Sorry, heheh..."
Bailey let Maxie out of her arms, who had to catch her breath.
"I'll give you two some time to catch up," Lucian said from the side. "If you need anything, I'll be inside until seven."
Waiting until Lucian had fully receded into his apartment, Bailey elbowed Maxie, grinning teasingly.
"I saw that, you know~?"
"Saw what?" Maxie furrowed her brows.
"You've been holding his hand this whole time, heheh..."
Seeing that she had stunned her sister, Bailey retreated into the apartment and beckoned her in. "Come on, twiggy! Brodes and I got some takeout. Some of his friends put together some money for us."
Biting her tongue, Maxie came into the apartment and ate together with her siblings. Teasing ensued, coming mostly from Bailey, but their over-the-table talks eventually took a more serious turn. The Steele siblings all agreed to visit their mother together after their meal. Since they had nothing in the apartment yet, being at the hospital would assuredly be more comfortable.
Bailey actually suggested that Maxie just stay there with Lucian, and for Brodie to crash at some of his friends' places until they could settle more comforts and amenities in their new home. Bailey herself could keep watch of their mother every night until she could recover completely.
Both agreed to the proposal, but also insisted that they all visit the hospital that night. None of them might have been too close to their mother — she always seemed to distance herself from her own kids — but she definitely still cared with her whole heart. It would be remiss of them not to repay that in any way, especially now that Adelaine really needed someone at her side.
...
Knock, knock, knock!
So went the door to Lucian's apartment.
'Looks like they're done talking,' he thought as he pulled Blackwhip back into himself. He had been practicing some more, moving around using his tendrils and pretending to levitate. He did that by extending his tendril cape around a meter past his feet, manipulating it to look like it wasn't supporting him as he 'floated' around. Instead, it was supposed to look like it was simply dragging behind him. His mastery had gotten to a stage where the image became relatively convincing.
Coming to the door, Lucian opened it just a crack. Seeing that it was Maxie, he opened it completely.
"Hey, Luce. Just wanted to let you know that we're visiting my mom tonight," she said.
"Sure. Be careful out there. If you need anything, I'm just a call away."
Maxie snorted. "Yeah, right. Like you can get to where we're going that fast."
"Hey, you never know," Lucian countered. "A man has his ways."
Maxie blinked.
"Right, I forgot," she mumbled. "Bailey said you were friends with this vigilante guy?"
Lucian nodded. "The Manticore, yeah. He's the one that asked for my help to shelter you guys. Now I guess that includes you," he chuckled. "Keep it a secret, though. Can you promise me that?"
"I promise," Maxie nodded firmly. "Don't worry about my siblings either. They know how to keep quiet about this sort of stuff."
There was a pause before either of them spoke again. Maxie continued.
"We should get going, then," she said with a fidget. "Bye!"
Waving her off with a smile he didn't know he had, Lucian returned to his bedding on the floor to just... lie down for a bit and chill.
[ You'll have to tell her if this keeps going the way we imagine, ] said Penny as Lucian swung his feet left and right in a steady rhythm.
'I would, yeah. It's dangerous, though.'
[ Jodie already knows. ]
'Yeah, but it's not like I plan to go around advertising my identity to everyone I know...'
[ Look at it this way, ] Penny insisted. [ They can be your Alfreds. Jodie is much too old now, and I mean no offense, but neither of us can really trust your boss with this secret, regardless of the fact that he sees you as a surrogate son in some capacity. ]
'...'
[ When push comes to shove, they can take care of you. Bailey seems tough. If her character is as good as we can guess, that would be invaluable. ]
Lucian stayed silent even in his mind as he let Penny continue.
[ Brodie is bound to have connections. Some of them might be disreputable, but the value is there. Maxine definitely cares, even if only for her apparently kind nature and her fascination with you. If your connection with her grows, she will definitely come to care more deeply with time. ]
'I get what you're saying, Penny... I'll think about it until we have to have that talk with them.'
[ Good. We should handle business now. Nobody will be waiting here tonight, so we can take our time. ]
...
After locking up the apartment, Lucian went to the highest rooftop in the squatting zone.
"Henshin!" he joked to himself under his breath. Simultaneously, he switched to his Manticore loadout and channeled 8% of One for All's current power output. This caused a small pressure wave to erupt from his body, kicking up dust and shaking up his Blackwhip cape.
'This combination of powers is so sick,' he thought before taking off running.
...
Dashing over rooftops like he usually did, Lucian got an idea. He scaled the tallest building that he could, using Blackwhip to create tendrils with suction cups to stick and slingshot himself upwards. Once at the peak, he crouched over a corner pointing in the general direction of Paulie's fighting pit.
Numerous tendrils sprouted from his back, spreading as wide as three times his arms' wingspan. He created a tough framework of braided tendrils, which had about the same toughness and flexibility as steel cables. Upon that framework, he attached and interweaved even more tendrils. These softer ones formed a sort of membrane, which wasn't airtight, but it was good enough.
'I know that sustained flight is impossible for me right now, but I should be able to glide...'
He folded up what he had just decided to call his Weave-Wings, forming a huge, undulating mass over his back. He then compressed himself into a ball on the corner he had crouched on, and let all of that stored power explode as he extended his legs.
The result was a deafening thunder-like noise as he quite literally rocketed forward. The action was accompanied by a larger-than-usual burst of purple lightning, which briefly enveloped his entire body upon release. He cringed a bit as the concrete cracked from the force of his leap, as not only had he damaged property that wasn't his, it also reduced how far and high he could get.
"Penny!" he said out loud. "How far did I launch myself?!"
[ Approximately fifteen meters high, twenty-five meters forward. Losing momentum fast. ]
Lucian screamed in his mind. 'I fucking hope this works!'
Fighting against gravity wouldn't yield much fruit for him. Instead, he planned to generate horizontal thrust to gain more momentum on top of getting back what he had lost.
He shifted his imperfect Weave-Wings, orienting them horizontally, and swung them back with all his strength. Hoping against hope that the pressure he felt beneath his wings was air resistance that helped create forward motion, he asked Penny to give him the facts.
[ Your attempt was successful. You are gliding forward at considerable speeds. Maintaining consistent altitude is impossible, but gliding efficiency is better than imagined. ]
— — — — — — —
[A/N]:
Hi, hello, sorry to anyone waiting for the delayed chapter. I just graduated, but the proceedings and rituals and all of the rehearsals in the weeks prior damn near took all of my energy. I only got a proper rest yesterday, and uh, I'm gonna have to start looking for work soon.
I might slow down a lot with my upload schedule then, but for anyone who kept reading my self-indulgence-fest so far, I can't thank y'all enough.
I think I can crank out a few more weekly chapters, but I'll have to really start adulting and shifting my focus soon. I wish y'all as much luck in your own lives as I'm hoping to have in my own.