Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 380 IDENTITIES

I checked with the other girls before leaving. Most were already moving into their apartments. I offered help, but they were super heroes. They were pretty strong as it was. Julie decided to stay behind. Heading to her office I doubted she would get rid of her apartment, but would probably continue to sleep at mine. 

The sun gone I drove Hancock where she directed. New Castle city was busy as usual. Police driving this way or that with their sirens on, old me fought the urge to see what was going on. 

“How do your parents know my parents?” I asked, eyeing Hancock. Her bust was hidden by a shirt with a local venue’s logo on the front. In jeans that struggled to hold her firm thighs in, I resisted the urge to put my hand on them. 

“They go way back,” Hancock said. “At least that’s what I’ve gathered. They disappeared and I was looking through their things. I found old pictures of your parents and my parents together.”

“What do they do?” 

“Retired. My dad was a nuclear physicist and my mom was a professor at the college,” she said. 

“And you, what do you do?” I asked.

She hesitated, but mumbled an answer. “Library.”

“Library?” I asked. 

“I’m a librarian,” she clarified, and it was a dream come true. 

“No you’re not,” I said, shaking my head. 

“I am,” she said. “I’ve worked at the New Castle Library for a few years now.”

“That’s impossible,” I said. 

“Why?” 

“Because I’ve been to the library. If you were working there I would have struggled to get any work done,” I said. 

She blushed, biting her lip as she looked out the window. “I work in the records room.” 

“Ah, hide you away, do they? Don’t want teens hounding you for your number?” 

“Hardly,” she said. “I just like it there. It’s nice and quiet.” 

“That doesn’t sound like you at all,” I said with a laugh. 

“And what do you know about me?” She asked, almost offended. 

I thought about it. I had seen a lot of her lives. Yes, they were all different, but there had to be some similarities. “You like adventure,” I said. “Or at least adventure books. You love the ocean. Just sitting beside it and watching the waves. You take loyalty to heart. Your word is your bond. And you hate people that lie.” 

At a red light I turned to stare at her. I could feel I was right on all counts. “Your parents didn’t say you were psychic.”

“I’m not. At least not yet,” I said. “Let’s just say…I have a good sense of you, Hancock.” She scoffed. “What?” 

“Nothing,” she said, sighing. “Sorry, most people say my name is weird. You…didn’t hesitate to say it.”

“Hancock?” I asked. “It’s a fine name. Should I call you something else? Han? Cock? Hanc?” 

“No,” she said, laughing slightly. “Hancock is fine.” 

“Good. Tell me Hancock, how long has it been since you ate?” I asked. 

“What do you mean?” she asked, stiffening. 

“I mean, I can hear your stomach grumbling,” I said, stopping the car. A food truck across the street I offered, “I’m sure you’re nervous about your folks. But you should eat. You’re all skin and bones…and breasts.” I eyed her rack. She blushed but didn’t feel overly offended. 

“I don’t think I can eat,” she said. 

“Trust me. I’m a very good detective. I will find your parents,” I said, touching her hand. “Just take a leap of faith, alright?” I focused on her eyes. There were actual tears there. She bit her lip, trying to keep it together, but nodded. Getting out I ordered us some food and we were back on our way. 

Biting into a gyro as I drove it took her a bit to get the nerve to eat. As she did she finished the food and I was offering my less than half eaten one. She blushed but accepted it. Eating this one more slowly. 

We got to her parent’s house across town. Lights on inside she admitted, “I’ve been living here for the last few days, trying to find any sort of clue. They were here 14 days ago. Their neighbors confirmed it. But after that no one has seen them.” I nodded and headed inside. 

My Observation Haki pushing everywhere I immediately found something odd. 

“Where’s the basement?” 

“This way,” she said pointing to behind the stairs. The home was a large 2-story. Hardwood floors, large grandfather clock, art pieces lining the walls, we walked passed. 

“Your work, I assume,” I said pointing to a poorly drawn picture of 2 parents and a little girl. 

“Back when I was like 9,” Hancock said with a laugh. “My mom refused to take it down.”

“Nice shading,” I said, making her blush. Hancock unlocked the basement and we walked down to find it littered with junk. Piles of boxes everywhere it reminded me of a basement I had been in but I couldn’t remember which. 

“What about your parents?” Hancock whispered as I walked to the back room where the furnace was. 

“What about them?” I asked. 

“You didn’t seem to get along with them,” Hancock said. My eyes were focused, scanning everything as I studied the furnace. “They seemed…nice to me.”

“Ah, because you are an outsider,” I said. “They like to play the benevolent benefactors. But trust me, once you’re family, they hate you.” Studying everything with my Haki there was a switch somewhere, I just had to find it. “Why? Care to join me for Christmas?” 

“What?” She asked, shyly. 

“Christmas. You, me, my family. We could have a fun time. I mean, you’ll have to become my girlfriend. And we will probably need to go on a few dates,” I said, my hands reaching up to the rafters over our head. I moved my hand across the cinderblock walls, amazed I hadn’t found anything yet. 

“You barely know me,” Hancock mumbled, still nervous. 

“I know enough,” I said, flashing her a smile as I found it. “So, want to go on that date?” I asked and shifted the key. I had thought the key was a simple thick headed nail, but as I twisted it a floor section moved out of the way, making Hancock gasp. 

We both ignored my last question as the staircase was revealed. Concrete steps disappearing below, giving us a way down into the secret hatch. 

“What is this?” Hancock asked. 

“Secret lair is my guess,” I said. I didn’t say that I wasn’t sure if her parents were heroes or villains though. Everyone had their secrets. Holding some electricity in my hand it brightened up the area as I stepped down first. Hancock followed behind me slowly. 

Ducking down the staircase turned and we were met with darkness. The only light coming from my hand I could feel Hancock’s fear and apprehension. Coming to the last stair I felt the switch with my Haki and flipped it. Old fluorescent lights came on slowly above our heads revealing a miniature batcave. 

On one side of the room was a large computer. On the other were 2 costumes encased in glass. One was red, covering a mannequin, on the face was a simple mask that resembled blue flames. The other costume was a white lumescient costume. Thin strips of cloth lining the arms and legs I guessed they were meant to flutter when the wearer was flying. The mask on this mannequin’s face was made of gray feathers. 

“Wh-what is going on?” Hancock asked in awe as she studied the costumes. 

“My guess? Your parents were Wren and Barrage.” 

“What?” She whispered, more as a reaction than a question. Approaching the suits in the cases her hand hovered over the glass covering. “How can you be sure?” 

Turning to me Hancock obviously hadn’t known about her parents. I scratched my chin thinking what I should say, but it was hard to deny my wife. 

“They saved my life,” I said thinking back. I walked up to the fiery Barrage uniform. “You met my parents. They’re rich. Everyone in town knew it. I was kidnapped. Stupid mistake, but it happened.” I sighed, trying to picture the man in the suit in front of me. 

“For 2 weeks I was held captive until my folks scrounged up the money. Fuckers sure dragged their feet,” I mumbled. “At the drop for the exchange. Barrage showed up, well he was the only one I saw. I always suspected there was another.” I pointed at the costume for Wren. “Barrage grabbed me and got me out of there. Wasn’t ever sure what happened.”

“My parents…” Hancock said in awe as she continued to stare at the suits. 

“Wh-what does this mean?” She asked. 

“For you? Nothing. We will have to dig in more. Try to figure out if maybe an old villain they took down grabbed them.” I let out a sigh. “Me? No idea. Maybe my parents have more to do with the super hero life than I thought.”

—-

“What are we doing here?” Hancock asked, nervous as she stood behind me. I was working on the computer, the password was finally accepted. 

“Freakin Feral Feline, always picks cat breeds as passwords,” I mumbled as I began to dig through the computer. It was older. 1990 era in my original age. Slow, but top of the line in this world. I began to dig through the files. 

“Why did we have to break into Sentry Tower?” Hancock asked. Chewing her nail as she looked around. 

“Because they have way more information. Especially about old members,” I said. “Wren and Barrage were members about 25 years ago. They probably quit about the time you were born.”

“So?” Hancock asked. 

“So, Sentries keep tabs on one another. Especially villains they take down,” I said. “Villains aren’t the best at letting sleeping dogs lie. They like to get revenge. If your parents are missing. It very well could be an old nemesis that snatched them.”

“Are they in danger?” Hancock asked. 

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “You haven’t noticed anyone following you lately, have you?”

“No,” she said, fear gripping her. As if it would explain everything she added. “I’m a librarian. How would I know?”

“Right,” I said. “Either way it might be best to lay low while I dig into this.” Opening the folder on Barrage I printed it out. Scanning the dossier it was longer than expected. The older printer began to whir and groan as it began to spit pages out. I moved to the file on Wren. 

Scanning hers there were lots of similar names between the 2. As a married couple, or perhaps dating at the time they were in the Sentries, it wasn’t surprising they worked together. But 1 name stuck out to me as I scanned the reports of their takedowns. 

“The Emperor,” I mumbled. Finding his file I scanned it and it was about 10 times the length as the heroes' histories. As I printed his sheet out I felt someone heading my way from the balcony. As they got closer I registered who it was. 

Picking up the stacks of paper I walked toward the door. The other person must have heard us, because she stopped right outside. Hancock hadn’t noticed her yet. 

“Come in,” I said. Walking forward I opened the door when they hesitated. I revealed Lady Day standing there. 

“Weston?” She asked, in her costume she must have just come back from patrolling. She was a mix of rage and fear as I stood in front of her. 

“Lady Day, so good to see you,” I said. “We were just on our way out. Hancock.” I reached out my hand for her. Hancock was more than a little starstruck at seeing the hero of the city. 

“What are you doing here?” Lady Day asked, stepping into the Information Room. It was where I had spent a lot of my time back in the day. Tracking and learning about all the heroes and villains we had fought. 

“Just digging into a disappearance,” I said. “What’s it matter to you?”

“You-you quit! You shouldn’t be here! Did you break in?”

I laughed. Not from her words but the hurt emotions rolling over her. She felt betrayed. Lady Day of all people had no right to feel that way toward me. 

“No, unlike you I don’t break down walls to get places,” I said. “You left the balcony door open. As per usual. Let myself in. You may have disabled my passwords to get into the computer but there are other ways to get access.”

“Now, get out of my way…unless you want another fight?” I asked. I had been training daily. I was ready to take her on again. She flinched, reminded how it ended last time. Biting her lip she stepped back. 

I grabbed Hancock’s hand and dragged her with me. Coming to the large glass balcony I felt Nightwalker watching in the shadows, but ignored him. Picking up Hancock she locked eyes with me as I began to fly. 

“Who are you?” She asked. 

“No one special,” I said, giving her my best grin as we hovered slightly over the building and descended back to the ground.