Unmasked

The night had ended really well for Matt, even if it had gotten a little uncomfortable earlier. Really well. Even though he didn’t spend the night, he woke up in a great mood, with the energy to actually show up on time to work in the morning. The three teenagers were there at their usual table, but they didn't annoy him the way they usually did. Not even Leon putting pepperoni on his face annoyed him. Not even being given delivery duty again annoyed him. In fact, Lawrence had even given him permission to use the car to visit Felix in the hospital during his lunch break.

Unfortunately, Felix had yet to recover from his injuries in the bad match IHC had given him. Matt had accelerated healing, which helped him recover after the encounter with Slab, but poor Felix was still confined to the hospital bed. Matt ran into Felix’s wife, Lena, with their baby boy in her arms. He hadn’t seen Lena since he had attended their wedding, but she had the sort of kind eyes that was hard to forget. She lit up and hugged Matt when she saw him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m so glad to see you,” she said with a grin. “I was just on my way to get Felix some lunch, since I don’t like him eating all of this hospital food. Anyways, he’s going to be so happy to see you. The poor man has been so restless, not being able to move.”

“How’s the recovery going?” Matt asked her quietly.

Her smile wavered, and she adjusted her grip on the baby. “He’s not as hopeful as I am. Neither are the doctors. There is a possibility that he could be paralyzed from the waist down.”

“A high chance?” Matt frowned.

“Please don’t bring it up in front of him,” Lena begged. “I don’t want to dishearten him any more than the doctors already did.”

“Of course not,” Matt promised.

“Okay, good,” she smiled. “Do you want me to pick some lunch up for you, too?”

“No, I can’t stay very long,” he told her. “I’m on a pretty short break and they track the car to make sure I stay on track.”

She looked a little disappointed, but smiled and nodded in understanding. She murmured quietly to the baby as the continued down the hall, and Matt watched her go before turning into Felix’s room. It hurt to see his friend so badly out of shape, but Matt kept a smile on his face. The color had drained from Felix’s face, and he looked like the only thing holding him together was the braces and casts. He managed a weak smile when he saw Matt come in and pull up a chair to sit in by his bed.

“Hey buddy, I thought you’d never come,” he said hoarsely.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Matt chuckled. “I didn’t realize you thought about me so often.”

“You didn’t even bring me flowers.”

“Next time I’ll bring you one of those fruit bouquets, how’s that?”

“It’ll be a little color,” he smirked. “That’ll be a change from this bland room. Really though, how’ve you been? I saw your encounter with Slab on the news, and then there was no sign of you. I have to admit, I was starting to get worried.”

“IHC hasn’t assigned me anywhere,” Matt shrugged. “There were plenty of instances I could’ve been in action, but they told me not to do anything unless I got the call. Which I haven’t, so far.”

“It’s a messed up system,” he sighed. “I hear that it’s even got Melanie uneasy, though she’ll never say anything to that city hall booty call of hers. They’re not letting anyone quit, either. You remember that girl, Christine?”

“Christine, the spider queen?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Did you know she’s only 19 years old? They recruited her as soon as she turned 18, just like you. Anyways, she’s scared. She tried to quit the IHC.”

“She tried to quit?”

“Tried. They didn’t let her. Well, they threatened her. They told her she was free to leave IHC if she wanted, but they would have to put her in isolated housing in the middle of nowhere, where they can keep an eye on her. Like a prison. She’s a student. She couldn’t just let that all go. Supposedly she doesn’t leave her room unless she absolutely has to.”

“So, they’re forcing a kid to fight.”

“She’s too young,” Felix sighed. “I always thought you were too young, too. A job like this takes so much of your life away, especially since they don’t pay you. In fact, I still think you’re too young. You could’ve died that day, with Slab.”

“I’m lucky,” Matt admitted. “I probably would’ve broken my back if it weren’t for my girlfriend. She’s in the medical industry, so she helped me out a bit. More than a bit.”

“You’ve got a girlfriend, huh?” Felix asked, raising an eyebrow. “How long has that been going?”

“Not that long,” he said. “A month and a half, maybe. It’s crazy, though. I’ve never felt so close to someone in such a short period of time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I don’t really understand it myself. I guess you could say I’ve never felt so comfortable with someone I was dating before. I mean, I want to be around her all the time. And if I’m not with her, she’s hanging out in every single thought that crosses my mind. I want to be the best person I can possibly be, just for her.”

“So, you’re in love,” Felix concluded.

Matt just stared at him and blinked a few times in confusion. Felix chuckled lightly at his stunned expression, shaking his head.

“Love?” Matt repeated. “I don’t think so. I mean, can that even happen in such a short amount of time? Doesn’t it take like, six months, minimum?”

“It’s a relationship, Matt,” he said. “It’s not a couch you ordered online. There’s no set amount of time it takes.”

“Yeah, but do you mean puppy love, or love love?”

“That depends,” Felix said, shifting slightly in his seat so he could sit up and look at Matt properly. “Do you think you can do better?”

“Me? Absolutely not. She probably could.”

“Do you see yourself with her for a long period of time?”

“Definitely.”

“Could another girl walk in and impress you?”

“Not likely. I’m not sure Audrey is even human. She’s some kind of demigod.”

“Then you’re in love,” Felix told him. “Come on, Matt. I can see it in your eyes. This is the one for you. You’ve got to tell her.”

“Oh, I can’t tell her,” Matt frowned. “It’s been a month. It’ll freak her out.”

Felix gave him a look, thinking for a moment before speaking again.

“Listen, when I first met Lena, I knew she was the one,” Felix said. “From day one. The stinker was that I was when we met, she had met Carbon, not Felix. She felt that spark too, but she thought it was with the ‘hero’ that saved her from a bank hostage situation, not with me. I saw her again at a coffee shop a month later, and when I approached her, she shut me down. She told me she was waiting for a way to see Carbon again, because she was in love with him. Anyways, I digress. If I can fall in love in just a few seconds, a month is plenty of time to decide you love someone.”

Matt thought about it, then nodded slowly. “It’s something to think about. That’s for sure.”

“Well, think it through,” Felix said. “Don’t hold out on telling her. I tell Lena every single day, especially since the fight that put me here. She’s trying to be positive, but I know that all the physical therapy in the world won’t make me walk again. I’m just happy I’m still alive. A split second, and you can lose everything.”

Matt was silent, looking down at his feet, then glanced up at the clock.

“Well, it was good to see you,” Matt told him. “I have to head out. I don’t want Lawrence to see me going overtime with the car.”

“Alright,” Felix said, sinking down comfortably into the bed again. “Don’t forget the fruit bouquet and the love letter, next time.”

“I won’t,” Matt grinned.

“And Matt?” Felix called, stopping Matt in the doorway.

“Yeah?”

“Sofia would have wanted you to go for it, too.”

Matt froze for a moment at the mention of his mother’s name, opening his mouth to respond, but snapping it shut again and leaving without another word. Felix’s words echoed in Matt’s head as he went down to the parking lot. He’d been seeing NMI equipment all over the hospital. Audrey’s company really was huge. Audrey. Did he really love Audrey? He found it hard not to think about as he made his round of deliveries, almost zombie-like the way he talked to people when his mind was obviously somewhere else.

Matt was stuck at a red light, glancing around the busy street. That part of the city had a lot of small businesses. One in particular caught his eye. A small bookstore, with glass windows. And through those windows, Matt could see Audrey pluck a book off the shelf and flip through it. He hadn’t noticed the light turn green until the cars behind him started viciously honking, but even then, he didn’t go. He was having a sort of adrenaline rush he hadn’t experienced before. It was no or never.

Matt made a dangerous maneuver to right from the far left lane of the street, crossing four lanes in the intersection as cars honked angrily at him. That damn tracker on the car was going to get him in trouble if he wasn’t quick. He sloppily parked the car in the small lot, taking up two spaces, and stumbled into the store looking like a frazzled deer that had accidentally smashed through the window. The bookstore had a few people in it who gasped softly in surprise when they looked at him, including two old ladies who appeared to have worked there, but he saw Audrey first. She looked equally stunned, clutching a book with both hands and staring at him with wide eyes.

“Sorry,” he told her breathlessly. “I need to be quick, or I’ll get fired. You know, with the car tracker and stuff. Anyways… um… I needed to talk to you, and I just saw you through the window, and-”

“Sir!” one of the old ladies yelled, pointing a finger at him. “I’m going to have to ask you to please leave the establishment.”

“I’ll just be a minute,” he promised her, before turning back to Audrey. “Look, Audrey, I just needed to tell you that I love you. Very much. More than I knew I could ever love anyone. And I know it hasn’t been that long, and I know I look crazy, but I promise that I’m not. I was just afraid of chickening out if I didn’t do it now-”

“Karen is calling the police!” the old woman yelled, interrupting him again. “I won’t have drugsters harassing my customers!”

“What?” Matt frowned. “You called the cops on me? I’m not on drugs! I just needed to tell her something!”

“Get out!”

Audrey hadn’t moved a muscle, eyes locked on Matt and the same stunned look on her face. Matt’s attention was directed back to the old shopkeeper when she suddenly shoved him back with both hands. Her small frame did little to make Matt physically move, but he was still surprised at the gesture.

“Ma’am, there is no need for that,” he told her. “I will be on my way now- Stop pushing!”

“Out!”

“MA’AM.”

Eventually she ushered Matt out the door, closing it on him and standing in front of it with her arms crossed over her chest until he got into his car. He only made it about two blocks before he heard a siren and noticed flashing lights behind him, trying not to yell in frustration as he pulled over for the police officer. Great. He flopped back in his seat and rolled down the window as the cop approached him.

“I was responding to the complaint about your driving,” the officer said. “That little stunt you pulled in the intersection may have looked cool in the movies, but there is no room for it in real life. Getting a call about your act in the bookstore was a plus.”

“It’s not what it looks like,” Matt told him. “The bookstore thing, I mean. The intersection was actually me, and I admit it was stupid, but I’ve always been an A+ driver. It’s my girlfriend. She thinks she’s Vin Diesel, and I’ve inherited her recklessness through some kind of driving STD.”

“License and registration, please,” the officer said, unamused.

Matt pursed his lips, reaching for his wallet. Instead of taking out his driver’s license, he took out a holographic card with the mark of the IHC on it. Only those in the organization and the ones who would have worked alongside it would recognize the card, and it was given to the heroes to let cops know to trust them and keep quiet in a situation where they may have been out of their suit. Or in Matt’s case, to prove that he wasn’t psycho and hopefully get out of a ticket. The officer lowered his sunglasses and looked from Matt, to the card, then back to Matt.

“Which one are you?” he asked gruffly. “Queen Elsa?”

“It’s actually pronounced ‘Cryogen’, but I can see where you may have made a mistake. Can I go now? Preferably without you revealing my identity to the world?”

The cop still wasn’t amused, but lucky for Matt, his word meant little against the IHC. He gave the card back, nodding to him as he headed back.

“Drive safely, Elsa.”