Unmasked

"Cryogen was found defeated by Phantasma just fifteen minutes after-"

Click. Next radio station.

"...The 'fallen hero' of shorts disappeared shortly after the escape of-"

Click.

"Y el superhéroe con el nombre de 'Cryogen'-"

Matt smashed the button to change the car's radio station a third time. Why did every news station want to talk about the same story? Didn't they have a natural disaster or a starving child to talk about? He finally settled on a station played some punk rock song from the 80s, opening a window to let some fresh air in. There was a thin layer of frost on the steering wheel where his hand was, and he ran his hand over it to make it melt. He needed to calm down before he accidentally froze the road again. Last time that happened, he caused a pretty nasty accident for the cars behind him.

There were two addresses left on his delivery list before he could call it a day and go home. One of them, he recognized. He lived there for three months, and he knew the owner of the home had no interest in pizza. She knew it was the only way she could talk to him since he wasn't answering his phone calls. He thought about just shoving the box through the dog door, but sighed and decided to suck it up, ringing the doorbell. Matt didn't get cold, but the sight of Melanie Taylor always made him slightly chillier than normal.

She was still dressed in her work clothes, which consisted of a custom-tailored blouse and skirt and black pumps. If there was a stereotype for how a person who worked for the city council should look, she was the face of it. Her reading glasses sat on top of her head, hair pulled back in a formal bun. She was a beautiful woman, but you could tell she meant business and only business. Matt eyed the small Pomeranian squirming in her arms as she barked madly, trying to snap at him.

"This is desperate, Mel," Matt told her, handing over the pizza, "Even for you."

She just shrugged lightly, setting the pizza aside with disinterest and cooing softly at the little fluff-monster in her arms as if soft murmuring would calm it down. The dog never liked Matt.

"You weren't answering my calls, and Cyrus blocked me in every way, shape, and form," she said. "Are you avoiding me, or the case file I need for your little 'flounder' earlier?"

"Both."

"Really cute, Matt," she huffed. "Still a lousy mess of a man. That'll never change, will it?"

"I hear you're a mega-lesbian now," Matt remarked.

"I don't know what a 'mega-lesbian' is, but it sounds derogatory in the tone of voice you used," she said stiffly. "It's not your business, but yes, I am currently seeing another woman."

"Is she blonde, too? You're into blondes, I know that much."

"My personal life is not your concern," she snapped. "We are allies fighting a common cause, not friends. Come inside."

"I really don't want to."

"Inside, please."

"I have work," Matt argued.

"It'll only be a few minutes," she said, shrugging his complaint off.

Matt groaned and followed her in, side stepping around the dog when she set her down and she began to attack Matt's feet. He thought about giving it a good punt, but focused his attention on getting out as fast as he could. There were no good memories in that house. Melanie returned with a file, sitting down at the dinner table and gesturing for Matt to join her.

Besides being a member of the city council, a mouthpiece for the mayor, and all-together good at everything, Melanie had also recently been appointed the head of the IHC. She was known as Lady Sterling by the public, and was often the face of all heroes of the city. When she was in a fight, she didn't lose. Now, she rarely got involved, running things behind the scenes both with her secret and hero identities. For the most part, she was a thorn in Matt's side. She was constantly on his case when it came to how he showed a little too much mercy to criminals, which was why he lost fights. It didn't help that she was also his bitter ex-girlfriend.

"I need you to write down everything that happened to you that night, and where Phantasma ran off to afterwards," Melanie said, handing him paper and a pen. "Don't leave out the details. Even if it makes you look even more pathetic."

"I'm the one who controls ice," Matt said, reluctantly starting to write the experience. "Why are you so cold all the time?"

"Neither of us want to do this, so hurry up," she sighed, picking up the dog and mumbling to her in a baby voice. "Isn't that right, Eleanor?"

"I still can't believe you named your dog Eleanor Roosevelt," Matt muttered. "What a great way to remember her. Naming your dog after her."

"Just fill out the form, please."

Matt was silent for a little bit as he wrote, glancing over at his file as Melanie flipped through it. There was a mugshot that stood out to him, which was a picture of him at 16 years old, with an absolutely terrified and haunted look on his face. That wasn't the part that stood out, though. In the picture, his hair and eyes were still brown, rather than white blonde and the striking blue. In that file was everything there was to know about Matt. Melanie caught him looking, and quickly flipped it closed.

"You done?" she asked.

He handed over the form and she tucked it into a different folder.

"Alright, you can go now."

Matt stood up, eyeing the file once more before heading out. He stopped right outside, turning back to look at her.

"You're not even going to tip me?" he asked.

All he got was the door slammed in his face. He rolled his eyes and headed back to the car, eyeing the next address. He did a double take. That was a part of the city he didn't usually go to. He didn't know they ate anything other than filet mignon and caviar. When he pulled up to the building, he wasn't even sure they were going to let him in, let alone all the way to the penthouse suite at the very top. They must've had a view of the entire city from up there. He hesitantly knocked on the door, expecting some posh older woman to open the door. Instead, he saw someone much different.

Standing before him may have been the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She looked like a Hollywood starlet from a chic detective movie. The sort of woman you didn't want to stop looking at, fascinated even by the way she moved. She gave him a slight smile, and he was sure he was going to melt right there. Then he realized that she was smiling because he was just staring at her.

"Uh, Miss Audrey North?" he asked.

"That's me," she said.

He noticed another figure behind her, seemingly bouncing around to get a good look at him. Matt stared for a few more moments before handing over the pizza, fumbling to find a receipt. He felt like she was signing an autograph for him.

"Have a nice night," she said, giving him another sweet smile.

"Uh, yeah. You too," he said.

She closed the door, but he was still standing right outside. He'd forgotten everything all of a sudden, and was walking towards the elevator in a slight daze. All he could think about was how this couldn't be the last time he saw this girl.