Super Avenged: Only Human

“We’ve got our forensic scientists running the prints from the ski mask and sweater through the database,” Detective Kinsey told Jimmy and I. “Hopefully he’ll have some sort of criminal record and we can get a match.”

Jimmy and I were currently at the hospital. We were actually preparing to leave. My ankle was only sprained, fortunately, and all the nurse did was wrap it up in that stretchy bandage stuff to keep my ankle stiff. She told me to keep it elevated and keep ice on it to keep the swelling and pain down. I watched how to put the bandage on very closely so I could put it back in the morning. We were waiting for a wheelchair (the nurse insisted that I go out in a wheelchair, even though I could limp just fine) when Detective Kinsey walked in to see us. He usually interrogated and did all the paperwork for the people Super Avenged caught. I’d met him once before, but he liked Jimmy, so that’s probably why he came to tell us that personally.

“Thank you, Detective,” Jimmy said as the nurse wheeled the wheelchair in.

“No problem, Jimmy,” Detective Kinsey replied as I stood up from the bed and sank down into the wheelchair, arms crossed. It wasn’t dignified, being pushed around in a wheelchair when I could walk just fine. “I’ll call you when we get the results.”

“Okay,” Jimmy replied. Detective Kinsey and I shook hands and he strode swiftly out of the room, pulling out his cell phone to make a call. Jimmy grabbed my wheelchair and wheeled it out of the room after Detective Kinsey.

“Let’s ditch this damn thing,” I muttered once we were down the hall a ways. Jimmy laughed and nodded, gently helping me out of the wheelchair. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I wrapped my arm around his waist, and together we walked out of the hospital, me limping just a little bit. No one said anything about me having to be in a wheelchair, and if they had, I probably would’ve just ignored them.

“Well, guess there won’t be any sex tonight,” Jimmy sighed as he opened my car door for me. I just smirked and slid into the passenger seat, letting Jimmy close the door. He walked around the front of the car and pulled open the driver’s door, sliding into the seat. I leaned over once he had closed the door until my lips were centimeters away from his ear.

“Not necessarily,” I breathed. “Just watch out for my ankle.”

“See? I told you that you would find it difficult to hold out on me for too awfully long,” Jimmy said smugly as I pulled away again. I sighed and shook my head at him.

“Just drive and be careful not to speed.”

((*****))

“And you’re telling me that you didn’t miss that, at all, over the past two weeks?” Jimmy asked me incredulously later that night. We had just...um...had a little tumble between the sheets, and those were the first words out of Jimmy’s mouth once our breathing had slowed enough and our brains had formed thoughts long enough to make sentences.

“I never said that I didn’t miss it,” I answered, shifting my ankle a little bit. It had begun to throb a little, but it wasn’t hurting nearly as much as it had been. “I did miss it; I just never let it show.”

“How long would you have gone if I hadn’t made my move?” Jimmy asked, his fingertip tracing circles around my bare belly button.

“Who knows?” I answered with a shrug, my head resting in the crook of Jimmy’s neck. “Three weeks, maybe four, but I thought that you would break before that came around. And alas, you did.”

“I need to be less predictable. And you need to be less beautiful.”

“Ooh, point for Jimmy,” I said with a laugh. “You’re just getting a guarantee that there’ll be a repeat performance sometime, aren’t you? Just sneaking in calling me beautiful.”

“You betcha,” Jimmy replied with a smirk. He turned his head and hid the smirk in my hair. “I’m just staking my claim early on so I won’t have to worry about it.”

“You staked your claim when you said ‘I do’,” I reminded Jimmy sleepily, drowsiness starting to kick in. I glanced over at the clock to find that it was a little past one o’clock. Wow, way past my bedtime.

“Don’t fall asleep quite yet,” Jimmy told me quickly as I closed my eyes and snuggled closer to him. He began to stroke his fingers gently through my hair.

“Why not?” I mumbled sleepily, snapping my eyes open so that I could stay awake.

“I don’t feel confident letting you stay here alone with that guy on the loose, obviously bent on causing you harm,” Jimmy began. I felt like interrupting, saying that I could handle myself, but I stopped myself. I’m sure whatever Jimmy chose for me would be the safest option, and he would make sure that I was comfortable wherever I was. “I would much rather us live somewhere else, at least until this guy is caught.”

“Like where?” I asked, sitting up slightly to look Jimmy in the eye. “We could stay at my mom’s house.”

“No, I was thinking somewhere much more protected,” Jimmy answered thoughtfully. I frowned.

“More protected? I could hire a bodyguard, and my mom’s house has security systems up the wazoo,” I replied.

“I was actually thinking of moving back to the Avenged household.”

“WHAT?” I exclaimed, sitting up. I clutched the sheet to my chest so it wouldn’t slip off to reveal my naked torso. I know Jimmy’s seen it all, but now was not the time to be flashing him. Jimmy straightened up slightly too, looking a little nervous now that his plan wasn’t going as he’d planned. “The Avenged household!? I don’t want to live in a house with four other men! They’ll start ordering me around like some common maid! I will not spend my days cleaning up after your friends, and I simply refuse to live in the same house as Brian for even a day!”

“Please, Miya,” Jimmy pleaded, sitting up and reaching a hand towards me to calm me down a little. “It would be the safest place for you. It’s out of the city, and there are up-to-date security measures. If the alarm goes off, we’ll know and one of us can come and make sure you’re okay. I promise to make sure they don’t treat you like a maid. You won’t have to do anything more than you do here. I’ll let you take your artist supplies, and you can just paint and photograph and sketch to your heart’s content. I just want you to be safe, Miya.”

“Oh, I know, Jimmy,” I said, rubbing my forehead warily. “I really don’t want to move there, though. I mean, your friends are nice—excluding Brian—and all but I really don’t want to live with them. Can’t we just put those security measures in this apartment?”

“Another reason I wanted to move back to the old house was for you to be in a new place, so whoever’s after you has to find you before they can attack again,” Jimmy answered calmly. He ran a hand comfortingly down my arm, his fingers curling over mine.

“They could be watching the apartment anyway,” I grumbled, looking down at my hand folded within Jimmy’s. “They could watch you taking me to the Avenged house. And it’s really predictable too.”

“Your mom’s house is predictable.”

“At least it’s familiar.”

“It might put your mother in danger.”

I sighed, hating this situation. Jimmy had a point there. I didn’t want my mom to be put into danger. I wasn’t sure what this criminal guy wanted with me, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t want to have a cup of tea and some biscuits with me. Moving in with Mom could put her in potential danger. If Jimmy and I moved in with Super Avenged, they’re always in danger, so it wouldn’t matter. And if their security really was top notch...

“Miya, I hate to see you cry.”

“What?” I asked, looking up at Jimmy. His expression was a natural mixture of concern and worry. He reached over and wiped his fingertip across my cheek, smearing away something there. I raised my hand to my cheek to find that it was damp with tears.

“I’m sorry,” I told Jimmy. He just shook his head and grabbed an edge of the sheet. He wiped it beneath my eyes to mop up the rest of my tears. “I’m just so frustrated with this situation. Can’t we just stay here?”

“You aren’t safe here.”

“I might not be safe anywhere!” I yelled angrily. “For all you know, they’re standing right outside the door now, waiting to come in here and kill you and do whatever horrible things to me!”

“You’re scared,” Jimmy stated, his eyebrows dropping over his blue eyes. A few more tears slipped from my eyes. I still wasn’t sure why I was crying. I was sad about having to leave my apartment again—I really did love this place—but I think they were angry, frustrated tears. I’d been in this situation before. I’d been in a situation where I wasn’t safe before, and it was less than a year ago. That time was when my father kept trying to kidnap me for my brain to build his revolutionary robot. I’d had enough being in danger during that whole situation to last me a lifetime. And now, it had come back again. What was it with me and dangerous situations like this?

“Of course I’m scared!” I exclaimed. “I’m not a superhero, Jimmy! I’m an artist, and a damn good one too, and the artist profession is supposed to be relatively safe! But always, always there’s something that’s putting me in danger! Why can’t I ever be safe, Jimmy? Why is the world out to get me?”

“The world isn’t out to get you, Miya,” Jimmy answered. “It just seems that way.”

“They were rhetorical questions, dumbass!” I snapped. Jimmy looked slightly taken aback by that.

“Well, excuse me for trying to comfort you,” Jimmy replied, his sarcasm scathing. “Here I am, trying to do what’s best for you, and all you can do is complain about the danger that you’re in! I’m trying to keep you safe, and all you can do is whine about living in the same house as five guys! And you know what, I’ll tell the guys that they can order you around all they want, so you can keep busy so you won’t feel so endangered anymore!”

“You obviously don’t understand a thing I’m saying!” I yelled.

“What don’t I understand, Miya?” Jimmy exclaimed. “I don’t understand what it feels like to be in danger? Oh, that’s funny, I’m a superhero who’s in CONSTANT DANGER, and I don’t understand what danger feels like? How weird is that, Miya?”

“No, asshole, not wanting to live in a house with all your friends!” I growled. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized that this was our first major fight as a married couple. How lovely. “It’s not at the top of my list of priorities! I would much rather prefer to stay somewhere familiar! I might feel safer!”

“But would you be safer, or would it just feel that way?” Jimmy asked.

“What’s the difference? I much rather feel safer.”

“I would much rather you actually be safer, instead of just imagining it.”

“Whatever,” I grumbled, turning and flopping back onto my pillow. I glared angrily up at the ceiling. “I’ll pack my stuff in the morning.”

“Good,” Jimmy snapped, lying back down as well. I turned my back on him and rested my head on my hand, closing my eyes. It had been a too-eventful day, and it had ended in the worst of ways: with a fight.