Solace Ch.29

— Darius Johnson (Solace) —

*RING*

The bell rang, signifying the end of the worst school day of the week, Monday.

I groaned as I pushed my stiff body out of my chair and stretched out my unused bones.

School really served no purpose to me, I don’t even know why I tried. Chances are in a decade I’ll be in space standing beside Nolan or Mark while they run the Viltrum Empire, and at that point, why does a high school diploma matter?

Because my mom would never let me live it down if I dropped out. That’s why.

“Someone doesn’t look like they’re having fun.” William said smugly from beside me and I ignored the chuckles and giggles from the rest of our group.

“I just wanna go home.” I admitted as I stretched my arm over my head.

“I bet you do.” Beth grinned knowingly before looking at Eve who averted her eyes from the blonde. Beth then turned to her boyfriend who looked lost in his thoughts. “We’re still on for today, right?”

Mark glanced at Beth and nodded before turning away and staring off into space again.

I raised a brow at the way my best friend was acting. Just as I was about to question him, William threw his arm over my shoulder and grinned.

“Then why don’t we head out together eh, Darius~?”

“Not gay, William.” I sighed and gently rolled my shoulders which forced his arm to drop.

“And he’s taken.” Eve narrowed her eyes and William put his hands up in surrender.

“I understand, my bad.” Will shook his head but the grin on his face told us this wasn’t gonna be the last time he fucked with us.

Without saying anything else, I waved at the group and took Eve’s hand in mine before heading out of the classroom. Eve didn’t put up any resistance.

Once we left the class, Eve pulled her hand away and wrapped her arms around my arm and rested her head on my shoulder. I briefly glanced down at her with a raised brow, but when she shot me a challenging look I decided that questioning her wasn’t worth pissing her off.

We made our way out of the school and over to the parking lot where my motorcycle was parked.

“Do you have an extra helmet?” She asked and I glanced at her with a small smile.

“Nah I have one helmet, but I don’t bring it everywhere I go.” I shrugged. The ride to school wasn’t too bad and I have powers, so the need for a helmet never really occurred to me.

Eve’s soft lips curled down in a frown. She looked around to see if anyone was around us, and once she saw the coast was clear, she used her powers to make two helmets.

“Safety first.”

“You sound like my mom.” I smirked at her as I took the offered helmet.

“Someone has to.” She huffed with her own smile.

I climbed on the bike and waited as she did. Her soft hands wrapped around my body as she held on tightly, and seeing that she was ready, I started the motorcycle and we rolled away.

Our ride was fairly quiet besides the noises of cars and people. Eve and I didn’t talk much because we wouldn’t be able to hear each other much with our helmets on.

Eventually we arrived at our destination. Titan’s Penthouse.

Both of us hopped off of the motorcycle and Eve used her powers to remove our helmets.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked one last time before we entered. Eve hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded. I eyed her for a bit and considered turning around.

Eve knew about my business with Titan and his gang and she didn’t agree with it. Though she didn’t push too hard for me to stop working with him or anything like that. The most she had ever done was say she didn’t want to get involved in illegal activities.

Which is why until this point, Eve had never been to Titan’s Penthouse.

I knew she didn’t want to be here, but Titan was our best chance building the team we needed to take down La Familia.

I’m sure there are plenty of heroes that would do it for free, but there was a specific group that I wanted to get in touch with without coming at them too aggressively.

That being said, I didn’t want Eve to do something she wasn’t comfortable with.

“Eve… we can turn around.” I offered but she quickly shook her head.

“I’m fine, let’s go.” She insisted and walked forward. I followed behind her as we entered the bottom floor of the hotel.

A receptionist greeted us and while Eve stopped to try and speak to her, I kept walking, completely ignoring the woman’s existence.

Eve caught on and offered the woman an apology before following me into the elevator.

“What was that about?” She crossed her arms under her bust, accidentally pushing her sizable breasts up. Like the hormonal teenager I am, my eyes locked onto them and I completely forgot her question.

Eve noticed where I was looking quicker than I would like to admit and covered them up with her hands, making me frown.

“Sorry about that… you said what?”

“Why did you just ignore that poor woman?” Eve repeated with a strong blush.

“Because she’s a criminal who works for Titan, I thought you didn’t like associating with criminals?” I frowned at her and Eve momentarily looked surprised before she averted her face from me.

The elevator continued to rise as we waited in silence.

“So you think these people can help us?” She asked quietly.

“I know they can.” I nodded. I had Titan gather a specific group of people who we would be meeting today, and I knew this group would go on to make a difference not just here, but in the future as well.

“Then I’ll take your word for it.” Eve smiled and I appreciated her trust in me. She gently took my hand and intertwined our fingers and just as she did the elevator came to a stop and the door opened.

I walked out and pulled her along with a little tug and Eve marveled momentarily at the luxury of the penthouse.

“Solace!” Fiona shouted as she came to greet me. I smiled at the little girl as I crouched to a knee and placed my hand atop her head.

“Fiona, I didn’t expect to see you here.” I admitted as I looked down into the excited girl's eyes. This wasn’t the first time she was seeing me without my hero costume, and as her favorite hero, I had to uphold my reputation in front of her all the same.

“Mama and Papa were talking! We’re going soon though…” Fiona looked away as her face grew sadder the more she spoke.

Ah, so Titan was wrapping it up with his family so we could proceed with our meeting. Not how I would have done things, but to each their own I guess.

“You don’t have to be sad.” I consoled her as I rubbed my hand over her head. Judging by her pout I didn’t quite succeed at cheering her up. “Hm, how about this? You be a big girl and follow your Mama out with a smile on your face, and I’ll take you out flying.” I offered and watched as her face lit up and sparkles practically shined in her eyes.

“Really?!” She shouted as she reached forward and placed both hands on my cheeks.

I sent a look to Isotope who was standing in the corner with a faint smile. The man shrugged and I realized the only one who would give me the go ahead was the big guy himself.

I chuckled at her excitement and nodded. “If your Papa is okay with it, then I’m all for it.”

“Papa!” Fiona shouted as she ran over to where the couches were. Both Titan and his wife, Vanessa, were both sitting down, sipping on wine.

I turned away from the group and glanced at Eve who was staring at me with slightly widened eyes.

“Not what you were expecting, right?” I asked with a cocky grin.

She gave me a nod then turned back to Fiona who was in the middle of begging her father.

“You’re surprisingly good with kids.” She spoke out after a moment of watching.

I turned to her to see it was her that was giving me a cocky smirk now.

I chuckled at her words. I had dealt with kids during the entirety of this life, it’s no coincidence I became an expert. “So I’ve been told.”

Eve wrapped herself around my arm and looked up at me with amused eyes, and if not for Isotope watching us, I would have taken her soft lips.

“Solace.” Titan spoke, snapping us out of our own little world.

“Titan.” I grinned as I led Eve over to the couches. “Vanessa.”

“It’s good to see you again, Darius.” Vanessa offered me a smile. The woman was very supportive, even though it was clear she didn’t like the illegal activities her husband got up to. That being said, she had a lot of respect for the alliance we made.

Those that control the sides of good and bad control peace, at least as much as it could be controlled. She recognized that ideology as fact, and thus was very approving of our agreement.

Titan’s brown eyes locked onto Eve’s green.

“Atom Eve, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you face to face like this.”

Eve frowned and looked like she was going to respond with a bit of snark, but as she looked down at Fiona, she momentarily paused before nodding.

“Likewise, I’ve heard you’ve done… much good in the city.” Her voice came out strained, but Titan didn’t comment on it.

“I’m glad you’ve taken notice. My pact with Solace has allowed my men to push along the necessities to keep this city running while minimizing intake. We don’t want junkies running around ODing like the days under Machine Head.” Titan said with a proud smirk and crossed arms.

Like I’ve said many times, Titan isn’t a bad guy, but he understands that some evil is necessary. He still moves drugs and teaches rivals violent lessons, not because he wants to, but because it’s necessary.

To take out all of the drugs in the city… that would cause huge problems, problems that we wouldn’t be able to contain.

“I think we should get down to business, Boss.” Isotope interjected and Titan spared the man a glance before nodding.

“Yeah, you're right.” He sighed before looking at his wife.

“I understand, Love.” Vanessa gave her husband a strained smile before standing up. “It’s time to go, Fiona.”

“Mmm.” Fiona hummed and stood up. “We’re gonna fly later, right, Solace?”

“I promise.” I crouched down and held out my pinky. Her eyes lit up as she realized I was willing to seal the deal with a pinky promise. She quickly wrapped her pinky in mine and we shook it.

“We pinky promised, you have to do it now!” She beamed as her mother led her out. “Bye Papa, bye Iso, bye Solace, bye pretty lady!” She waved as Vanessa took her into the elevator before the door closed.

“Have a seat.” Titan gestured to us and I quickly took Eve’s hand and pulled her along toward the couch. We took our seats across from Titan and waited patiently for the man to speak. It was business time.

“Did you get into contact with them?” I leaned forward with undisguised interest.

“I did.” Titan nodded and I felt a wide grin tug on my lips.

“Good shit! How did it go?”

Titan leaned back on his couch and fixed his suit. “They were more… untrusting than I expected, but they still agreed to meet here at 4 PM.

I checked my watch and let out a hum.

It was 3:02 PM, so we still had plenty of time before they arrived.

“That works great, I didn’t want to be here all day.” I nodded easily.

“We still got an hour. Both of you want something to drink?” Titan offered and I shook my head.

“Nah I’m straight. What about you, Eve?” I turned my head to my girlfriend who didn’t seem to be paying attention to the conversation, but her hearing me call her name snapped her back to reality.

“Huh?”

“Something to drink?” I tilted my head and she shook her head. “Guess that’s a no for both of us.”

“Alright, more for me.” Titan shrugged and snapped his finger. Isotope walked over with a bottle of wine and a single wine glass. The man poured out a decent amount of wine into the glass, filling it about halfway. Titan shook it and eyes the fine vintage before taking a long drawn out sip.

“Enjoying the high life?” I raised a brow with a cheeky smile. He finished his sip and placed the glass down before leveling an amused gaze my way.

“Who wouldn’t?” Titan smirked and brought the cup back to his lips to take another long sip.

“More like how could you?” Eve whispered under her breath and I nearly facepalmed. Titan and Isotope clearly didn’t miss her words based on how their eyes shot over to her. I nudged Eve and she just crossed her arms and I could tell she was back to being upset about this whole visit.

“Did you say something, Ms. Wilkins?” Titan questioned expressionlessly and I narrowed my eyes his way. He had to have known that asking a question like that would only build more tension in the room.

“Eve.” I whispered trying to stop her from doing what she does best, speaking her mind, but her sense of justice eclipsed my ability to silence her.

“Yes, actually I did.” Eve stood up and looked down at Titan with narrowed eyes. “I asked how you could enjoy the “high life” when there are people in your city struggling from the drugs you’re pushing. Don’t forget about your men that kill people for overstepping!” Eve shouted while both Titan and Isotope remained unmoving. “You act like you’re some saint that came and saved the city when you’re not! You’re just a lesser evil, but hey, spoiler alert, it’s not that hard to be less evil than Machine Head!”

Everyone stayed quiet as Eve finished and took her seat again. I turned to her and blinked. I… didn’t know she had been holding that much back. What she said wasn’t wrong either so I couldn’t even bring myself to be upset with her.

That being said… she didn’t quite understand the weight of what Titan was doing.

“I can understand your… dissatisfaction with the way I’ve run this city, Atom Eve.” Titan frowned. “But I assure you that any needless violence that occurs in my organization is not under my orders.”

“That doesn’t make it better.” Eve said almost immediately and Titan nodded.

“Yea, that is true, it doesn’t make it better, but it also isn’t something I can stop easily.” Titan admitted as he took another sip from the fine wine. “You must understand that what I and Solace are doing is trying to limit the amount of unwanted crime that occurs in this city. Under our surveillance we’ve reached our intended result. Crime is down, lower than it’s been in decades, people addicted to drugs are still addicted but they don’t need to run around robbing people for a fix with lower prices and more shelters around-”

“Get to the point.” Eve narrowed her eyes and I placed a hand on her thigh and leveled a more stern look at her which caused her attention. I could understand she was upset with Titan, but openly disrespecting like she was without seeing the full picture was just sheer ignorance.

“The point is that the city is thriving. People don’t gotta fear the night, they don’t gotta watch as their sons are pulled into gangs and their daughters sell themselves for a quick dollar. The city is healing. I don’t know if you expect your heroic deeds to bring about a greater change than what Solace and I have done, but if you do, you’re so wrong. The people down in the trenches don’t care about heroes because heroes don’t help them with their problems!” Titan growled out the last bit and my gaze locked on him.

“Watch your tone, Titan.” I said in warning. Even if I agreed more with him than I did with Eve, I didn’t like the way he was losing himself to his emotions. “Don’t take your anger out on her.”

Titan let out a deep breath but nodded. He held his hand up and Isotope walked away before returning with a small black box which he handed to his boss.

Titan opened the box and inside was a pack of cigars along with an expensive looking lighter.

“Want one?” He offered me and I shook my head. I was tempted but I wouldn’t take one with Eve here and our guests arriving so soon.

Titan shrugged and took one out before putting it in his mouth and lighting it. He took one drag of the cigar before taking it from his lips and holding it in his hand as smoke filled the air.

“I apologize for my outburst.”

“It’s fine.” Eve sighed and looked at me. “I shouldn’t have pressed that hard either.”

Titan’s lips curled as he took another drag from the cigar. “If nothing else will change your mind then how about this? The people of this city are thankful to this organization. You don’t need to take my word for it, go ask anyone out on the streets that can barely afford to take care of themselves and see the effect we’ve had.”

“… I will.” Eve looked down in thought. I didn’t know if I wanted her to see any of that, mainly because Eve is so familiar with patrolling around the city that she rarely ever found herself in the hoods which is my doing. The hoods of Chicago just ain’t no joke, it’s littered with all kinds of bad shit that would make a girl like Eve think twice about getting involved with anything there. Most of the time it’s hard to discern who the bad guys are when you just drop in and a big part of that is because there aren’t any bad guys. Just people who hate other people and vice versa.

They passed slowly while we waited for the team I wished to speak to. While we waited, Isotope, Titan, and I engaged in some small talk. We mainly talked about Titan’s family along with his plans for the future. When we talked about down to Earth stuff like that I could see Eve’s face gradually shift from dissatisfaction to something more accepting. A guy like Titan is so outwardly intimidating that it’s hard to see his softer family man side, and I think Eve was finally getting a good look at Titan the husband and father rather than Titan the drug lord.

Eventually though Isotope put his hand to his ear which took Titan and I’s attention. Whenever he would get contacted through his ear piece he would do that to let us know.

“It seems they’re here.” Isotope crossed his arms behind his back and straightened his posture.

Titan took another drag of his second cigar of the day and waved his hand at Isotope. “Send them up.”

Isotope quietly gave the command to the person on the other side of the ear piece and we all waited for the group to enter.

“If whatever you got planned doesn’t work, don’t blame me.” Titan smirked at me and I returned it.

“I will blame you, if they refuse it’ll definitely be your fault.” I held back my chuckle as he leaned back in his seat.

“Yeah sure, blame the criminals, typical heroes.”

The elevator dinged and our smirks immediately disappeared. The elevator opened to reveal four people all dressed in their hero attire.

The Teen Team had arrived.

— Chapter End —

Beta Readers: @Dragonboy1

Author’s Note: I wrote the last bit of this chapter after spending my entire day moving heavy shit, so forgive me if it feels kind of flat. I hope you all have a great day!