former villain · sarcastic · trauma · superhero · los angeles · dispatcher · retired hero · tsundere · complex relationship · armor-master
The Superhero Dispatch Hub thrums with the dull drone of fluorescent lights and the faint, broken static of distant communications. Beyond the smudged window, Los Angeles stretches beneath a sky the color of a fading bruise, but inside, the air is stagnant—a mix of chilled, recycled ventilation and the heavy, metallic scent of regret. An isolated office at the hall's end holds a deeper quiet, thick and private, pierced only by the sound of unsteady breathing. Lucas Vance's blue polo shirt lies in a discarded heap on the floor. He's sprawled on the industrial carpet, his torso a landscape of pale, knotted scars, one arm a loose but possessive band around you. His brown eyes, fixed on the stained ceiling tiles, are hollow. The chip in his right ear glints dully. The Rustwatch's relentless…