AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story contains gay male sex, as well as straight sex. If that's not your thing, be warned.
********
"Jesus Shiver, where have you been?" Cyclone had awoken when he heard a window open, and the sound of what turned out to be Shiver, his roommate stumbling through. As a 27-year-old, Cyclone didn't particularly care for sharing a dorm room, but only full Heroes got their own living quarters and Juniors had to share. But he would put up with it for as long as it took for him to work his way up.
Despite his ability to create galeforce winds and fly as fast as a jet plane, Cyclone didn't mind taking it slow and steady when it came to putting in the work at the League. This was his sixth year as a Junior and he didn't have a single complaint about it. Not like Shiver, who asked Cyclone to cover for him as he snuck out past curfew, looking to try and bust a big villain.
Crime fighting after curfew wasn't unheard of--lots of bright-eyed young Juniors tried the same thing every once in a while--but it was almost 4 in the morning. Shiver was really cutting it close.
"Sorry dude," the hero said, shutting the window behind him. Cyclone thought something was odd about his voice. It was kind of... flat? But also weirdly happy. Was he high or something? Or maybe it was just cause it was 4 AM and both of them were tired.
"But you'll never guess what happened!" Shiver said, just a bit too enthusiastically.
"Don't tell me," Cyclone said, propping himself up on an elbow and turning on his bedside lamp. "You fucking did it? You fought a villain?"
"Almost," Shiver responded as he started to change out of his uniform. "She bolted as soon as I showed up, but I managed to take out her goons. AND I think I found a clue to help track her down."
This dude has been a cocky piece of shit since day one,
thought Cyclone
but maybe this time he has something to back it up
.
"And what makes you think that?" Cyclone asked, not entirely convinced.
Shiver took a small bag out of a suit pocket before stripping down to just his boxer briefs and held it up.
"They were trying to steal from one of those swanky jewelry stores uptown," he continued. "A store filled with some of the most expensive gems in the world and all they wanted were these." Shiver gave the bag a small shake, a Cyclone could hear the tinkle of gems within.
"Wait, so
you
took them?" Cyclone asked, incredulous. "You know, that's basically you stealing."
"It's gathering evidence."
"Not if you weren't on an approved op it's not."
"It's always the letter of the law with you, isn't it?" Shiver said, taking a step forward. As he did, he stepped further into the lamplight, and Cyclone could see a smarmy smirk on his face. "How far have the rules gotten you, Cy? Absolutely nowhere after six years? While I'm out there every night trying to actually change things is this bureaucratic shithole. And tonight, I've finally done it."
This dude is a prick but I never thought he was this bad.
"Alright, whatever bro. Get the gloating over with, I'm going back to sleep," Cyclone said, reaching to turn off the lamp.
"Wait," interrupted Shiver. "You don't even wanna see how I'm gonna track her down?"
Cyclone sighed. "Alright bigshot. Impress me."
Shiver walked over to Cypher, who got up and sat on the edge of his bed. Shiver reached into the bag and pulled out a sapphire. He held it between two fingers, right in front of his roommate's face.
"Don't you get it?" Shiver asked.
Cyclone raised an eyebrow.
"The villain that bolted. It was that new villain the Heroes have been keeping an eye on. Sapphire."
"Her? Jesus bro, even Lasersight is spooked by her and we don't even know what her powers are. Maybe you should let the pros handle this one."
"Well the pros don't have a lead like this," Shiver said still holding the gem in front of Cyclone's face.
"C'mon bro, what does this even tell you? That she loves the sound of her own name?"
It is kinda pretty to look at, though
.
"Nah dude, there's more. Look closely," said Shiver.
As Cyclone continued to stare, looking for whatever detail Shiver was talking about, the gem started to glow bright blue. His eyes widened in surprise and his gaze fixed itself on the gem. It was so... pretty. So... relaxing.
"See?" said Shiver, still standing over him holding the gem. "It's fascinating, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Cyclone said in response, though it came out as a noncommittal grunt. The glow was all he could think about.
"That's right. Just relax. Stare and relax. Don't look away."
"Don't... look away."
