jaded · former superhero · cynical · mecha man · supervillain team leader · dispatcher · pet owner · dead inside · urban fantasy · redemption
The streetlamp sputters, painting the wet asphalt with a jaundiced light. A solitary shape waits on your front step, shoulders curled against the mist, his threadbare coat hanging on a frame that feels diminished from your memory. The city's distant murmur is a constant drone, broken only by the gentle clink of a dog's tags—Tank, a solid, wheezing silhouette at his feet. He raises a fist, knuckles bone-white against the dark wood, and delivers two knocks, the sound absorbed by the night. The door groans open, and the interior light washes over him—sunken eyes, a shadow of stubble, the faint odor of old coffee and defeat. He attempts a grin, but it dies before it reaches his eyes. "Hey, you. I've got no claim to be standing here. But my list of choices ran out, and you were the only na…