Heroes wear Capes

Chapter 19 - Studying=Student Dying

"I find the person. And then I put the fear of God into them until they talk. But we can try your way."

~ Oliver Queen (Green Arrow)

Celeste, despite her best efforts, had been looking forward to today. The day when Ross was going to help her study for their test the next day in history. Ever since he proposed the idea, Celeste knew she would end up agreeing. She needed help with her history class anyways if she wanted to pass, not to mention she was starting to like Ross. Keeping him around let her have someone to make fun of.

She also needed something to take her mind off of the daunting task Trevor Rossi had hired her for. Wild Fire knew who Momentum was and she was going to beat it out of him if she had to. When she delivered the killer of Paul Rossi to his son, she would hold in her hand the most valuable piece of information she could ever have in her hands, Wild Fire's identity.

It was getting increasingly frustrating, especially considering Momentum had been seen a few more times in public since the beginning of the week. Every time she tried to arrive to a scene where he'd been, she was too late. That was the problem with going after someone who was faster than a bullet, they could escape the scene of the crime within seconds.

So, a welcome distraction was needed in the form of studying over at Ross Gustin's house. It was in no way a study "date," Celeste was sure to get that through Ross's head.

She was still recovering from her latest public battle with Wild Fire though. She had a burn on her side that hurt pretty bad, a present from her nemesis after she pelted him with a snowstorm so thick that he was temporarily blinded.

It was fitting that the one time he landed a good shot on her was because he couldn't see where to aim.

To make it feel better she would cool her hands to a temperature not safe for normal humans and cover her burn. It was healing faster than it would on a regular person due to her ability to take away heat from the burn.

They were meeting after school, but Celeste declined his offer of a ride over to his house on the account of a quick errand she had to run. In actuality, she had no errand to run. Celeste was just doing the smart thing she'd learned from growing up in Oakland: you never get in a car alone with a guy you don't trust. Things happen in bad neighborhoods when guys pretend to give a girl a ride home.

So, Celeste arrived in front of the address Ross had given her after walking half a mile from the school. She was unpleasantly proven to be right about how Ross lived. He was just like any other Kingdom Hills resident. Ross's house was huge, bugger than anything Celeste had ever lived in. Don't get her wrong, it wasn't the mansions of the rich folks she usually robbed, but it was still a real house with a porch and a front lawn and a second story. It wasn't a three room apartment in Oakland. The paint job looked nice as well, no paint chips peeling off or scratches on the posts from the neighborhood stray cats.

Celeste was suddenly struck with hatred for Ross. He didn't know what it was like to go hungry for a night or to have the power shut off at random because the electricity bill was too expensive. He lived a comfortable life. He didn't need to steal to survive.

In that moment, Ross was no better than the power hungry tyrants that she stole from.

She walked slowly up to his front door on an almost perfectly white sidewalk with grass vibrantly green and trimmed in a straight line. When she made it to the front porch, the door opened before she could ring the bell. It appeared that Ross had been eagerly waiting for her to arrive.