Geckoman's Vignette: Keeping Secrets

[Avenger Assembled]

31st October, 2009

 

The green airship floated down into the street, stopping above a small coffee shop. A hatch opened in its side and a skinny-looking teenager in a green costume leapt out, hands and feet adhering to the wall's sheer brickwork. With a quick scuttling motion, he dropped to the pavement and walked into the shop. They'd seen him coming, and knew his usual order. Since his metabolism was several times faster than a normal human's, to get a caffeine kick he needed coffee strong enough to drop an elephant, with half a bowl of sugar and served in something closer to a bucket than a cup.

After chatting to the staff for a minute, he turned to leave. And saw Spellbound, the villain who'd recently attacked him, standing behind him. "Woah!" he pointed, hefting his coffee. "Don't try anything, grudge or not! This coffee is hot!" She just smiled at his and shook her head.

 

"I'm going to a party, and really? You're not worth my time." Geckoman just rolled his eyes and walked past her. She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

 

"Hey, didn't you offer to buy me coffee?" She smiled at him, and he started feeling... fuzzy. "So... how about it?" Geckoman closed his eyes for a second. Liz would murder me, I should say no.

 

"Ok... Just no stealing things, or electrocuting me. I've got a party to go to as well." Paying for her coffee, they took a seat in the corner of the shop. "Ok, so... you don't look much older than I am. Why rob banks?" He took a gulp of coffee, instantly feeling the caffeine hum.

 

"Building the sort of inventions I come up with isn't cheap. You stole some of them... why masquerade as a superhero?" She fixed him with a not-quite-glare, not-quite-grin. God, she really has beautiful ey- no, Chris, stop. No. Bad Geckoman!

 

"Guilt, obviously. I'd taken it, couldn't really give it back, so I pretended I'd built it and became a superhero. You show up, claim it's yours, and I believe you." He met her gaze. "But you rob banks. I'm not supplying a known thief with anything." He thought for a second, rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't point out the hypocrisy."

 

She just smiled at him again. ... I'm going to Hell. "And yet I'm the only one you've told all this to?" Spellbound took his expression as a yes. "Ironic, eh? But you can't keep a secret forever." She drained her mug, leaned forward and kissed Geckoman dead on the lips. "I guess next time we meet, it's back to fighting." She walked a few steps away, before turning back to the obviously still stunned Geckoman. "Well... unless you had something else in mind?" Raising an eyebrow, Spellbound sashayed away between the tables, aware of the superhero's eyes following her.

 

He pulled off his goggles and rubbed his face. He thought of Liz, how she'd react. He thought of Spellbound, the villainess who now seemed to like him as much as she hated him. Unless it was a game? Nonetheless, he could still taste her lipstick. He put his head on the table. "Can't keep secrets forever." Crap.