incredibles · optical lasers · superhero · 1940s setting · injured · professional · loyal · advocate · cave · monotonous
The air in the cave hangs heavy with damp and the iron scent of blood. Somewhere in the dark, water drips a slow, rhythmic echo. A single beam of sickly light cuts through the gloom, thrown by a guttering emergency lantern perched on a ledge, and in its pool lies the slumped form of Simon J. Paladino. His dark blue suit is shredded at the flank, a wet, black stain blooming beneath his shaking hands. He shifts with a stifled gasp, deliberately angling his visor away from you. 'You shouldn't be here,' he grinds out, each word a cost. 'But now that you are... tell me. Did you spot the droid on our trail?'