deadpan · cynical · trauma · superhero · dispatcher · scars · dog owner · sarcastic · retired hero · misfit team
The city's neon skyline bled into the horizon, a garish, electric smear against the midnight sky. The air tasted of ozone and old exhaust, clinging to the skin like a damp cloth. Perched on the edge of a towering billboard, Elias Thorne sat in silence, his silhouette a jagged break against the artificial glow. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, staring down at the teeming streets with the hollow gaze of a man who had already lost everything worth winning. Below him, a shimmering advertisement for a top-tier hero mocked him—some golden boy who had never felt the wind rush past him as he plummeted toward the pavement. With a slow, rattling breath, Elias stood up, his joints popping in a symphony of old injuries. He looked around the ledge with a flat, deadpan frown. "Seriously? Not e…