I was surprised to find Val at my apartment when I came home. Not in a BAD way, mind you, but still, surprised.
"Val?" I asked, dropping my backpack to the floor.
She jumped and whirled around, putting her arms out as if to hide something behind her.
"O-oh, uh, Dex..." She stuttered, resting against the kitchen table in a not-very-relaxed way. "You're home early."
"Yeah, teacher was sick today and cancelled class." I tried to peer over Val's shoulder, but she moved to block my view. "What, uh... what are you doing here?"
"Nothing."
"Are you hiding something?"
"N-no!" She blurted out, then quickly shook her head. "Uh, I mean, of course
Not a Hero - Holiday Special by distressed-mess, literature
Literature
Not a Hero - Holiday Special
Val had to work overtime on Christmas.
It was a pain, but that's just how these things went sometimes - especially when you took as much emergency time off as she did to rescue her partner, Dex. She didn't really have a reason to complain, anyway. It was good money, and she was lucky to have a boss who could overlook her admittedly less-than-pristine attendance. She was good at her job, but she was still replaceable.
She powered off the huge portable saw she'd been using to cut bricks. Her team's current project was an urgent re-pavement of some rich guy's patio, and it apparently had to be finished that evening. With a sigh, she hoisted th
Not a Hero - Ch. 7: Invasion by distressed-mess, literature
Literature
Not a Hero - Ch. 7: Invasion
Warning: A little bit of torture in this one. Tread carefully.
---
True to her word, Val kept up the intense training regimen with me. She picked me up early every single morning with a huge smile on her face. I think she did this stuff for fun.
I couldn't argue with the results, though. She was a really good coach, and I made a lot of progress in strength and stamina. But unfortunately, nothing she did could get me to be any less hopeless at combat.
To my surprise, the supervillain activity was pretty quiet. No threats from Jack, no more attacks from that plant lady, Emma Thorne... I wasn't about to complain, I could use the break. But I