As far back as he could remember, Elliot couldn’t think of a time when he had been happier than he was in that moment, standing there above the sleeping superhero who had passed out on his couch.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that no such time existed.
This was the happiest he had ever been.
He wanted to be slightly miffed that after laying out this brilliant plan, Danny had fallen asleep, but he supposed that all that flying about had to be draining to some degree.
What even does he do again? Elliot mused, walking into his room to grab a blanket, I suppose our first order of business needs to be a name that isn’t stupid. Not that he liked any of the ones he’s been given.
Elliot couldn’t find a spare blanket, so he grabbed his comforter off his bed, tucking it under his arm as he made his way back into the living room.
He shook the blanket before draping it over Dan, briefly debating if he should tuck it in before coming to the conclusion that no, that would be weird.
As gently as he could, Elliot pulled off the boy’s glasses, picking them up to peep through the lenses.
Of course they’re fake, I can’t believe this moron is so worried about maintaining anonymity when he’s Clark-Kenting, Elliot snickered to himself before placing the glasses back down on the coffee table.
He knew he was lingering too long, but Elliot wasn’t entirely sure why. He had tucked in his little cash cow, more so than he should have, arguably, so what was it gnawing away at him?
Do I actually feel guilty? Elliot thought with an amused shudder, No, it can’t be. It’s probably just the burger.
The door opened slightly, Winn gingerly sneaking in.
“I’m still up,” Elliot said with a grin, putting his finger to his lips, “But do keep your voice down, the baby is sleeping.”
Winn looked puzzled, furrowing her dark eyebrows as she walked over to the edge of the couch, “Well, this is a surprise.”
“For you and I both, Winona.” Elliot practically beamed.
“Okay, we get it. You got laid. Don’t be all weird about it.” Winn said flatly, reaching into her jean pocket for a hair tie, pulling her shoulder length, rose-gold hair into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. It was about time to re-dye it, Elliot noticed, as the dark brown roots were now clearly visible. Although, they did look good with the rose gold, something about the colors mixing with the warm, soft-brown of her skin.
“I didn’t, actually,” Elliot corrected, “I got something much better.”
Winn frowned, “Eww. I’m going to bed.”
Elliot put a hand on her shoulder, which wasn’t the most flattering position, he noted, as she was about a head taller than he was, “Before you do, are you free tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” Winn said, crossing her arms, “Why?”
A cheshire smile made it’s way across Elliot’s face, “You’ll want to sit down.”
~
There was a visible spring in Elliot’s step as he practically marched down the city streets.
He wasn’t aware that he had waited for the moment, but now that it was here it felt as though it were a long time coming. And admittedly, it may have been. It certainly was the first time he had ever been excited to go to work, for whatever that may have been worth.
Elliot had left detailed instructions with Winn upon the waking of his sleeping beauty, hoping that by the time he had made his grand entrance, dramatic scene, and fabulous exit, she’d have at least had been able to get started with making Danny a better super-get-up.
He hoped, in what little of a heart he had, that her face when he showed her the video (that he had also saved to his phone, not that Danny needed to know), was a precursor of things to come. It took quite a bit to rile Winn, to get her excited, and she had been so shocked.
He imagined the look on people’s faces when Starlight City’s only hero, or at least he would be by the time Elliot was finished, gave exclusive interviews. Getting to know him would be like getting to know a celebrity, except better. Celebrities didn’t have superpowers, at least not to his knowledge.
Elliot burst through the large glass doors of InfoBYTE’s main office, pushing his sunglasses to the top of his head as he did so.
He wore his third nicest suit, wanting to leave in style, but the style InfoBYTE deserved- which was certainly not his best.
Third best he could give them, though.
Humming an upbeat ditty, Elliot strolled to his desk, surveying the field for anything worth keeping.
Toby, his obnoxious desk neighbor, crossed his arms, “Good to see you in the office for once, twinkle toes.”
“Ah yes,” Elliot smiled, grabbing a pack of gum from his desk and shoving it into his pocket, “You must have missed our daily rounds of “I hate you”s and “Go fuck yourself”s.”
Toby groaned, turning back to his computer.
Elliot placed his arm on his desk, scooping the contents towards the edge as he grabbed the tiny trashcan from the cubicle floor, sweeping the entirety of his desk into it in one fell swoop.
“What are you doing, Edison?” Toby asked, barely looking away from his screen.
Elliot rubbed his hands together, knocking away some unseen grime before walking over to Toby, putting a firm hand on the top of his greasy head before forcing his former peer to face him.
“I mean this when I say it, but I will miss you.” Elliot said, patting his head and relinquishing his hold, “You were a somber reminder as to why I stopped bringing food into the office and to always wash my hands.”
“What?” Toby squeaked.
“Farewell, you odious byproduct of generations of inbreeding.” Elliot said with a wink, kissing Toby’s cheek before skipping away to the main office as he left poor Toby to contemplate why he made people want to wash their hands.
It’s because despite being the same shape and size I am, your body is 99% grease, my smelly friend. Elliot thought as he stepped into the elevator, catching the all too curious glances from his ex-coworkers as the doors shut.
The doors dinged open and Elliot burst out, winking indiscriminately at various secretaries and upper managements as he made his way towards Patricia’s office. A vase full of fresh flowers sat near the entrance to her office and he plucked the brightest one, a red thing that he, at least, knew wasn’t a rose.
“Patricia!” He practically sang as he strode in, greeting the middle aged woman as she stared” at her computer screen.
“Edison,” She regarded him flatly, “Good to see you in the office.”
“It’s not for long, my love, I assure you.” Elliot winked, “I just came to let you know that I’m resigning, and the next time you see me you’ll have wished you begged me to stay.”
Patricia, in all fairness, had grown accustomed to Elliot’s delusions of grandeur causing the occasional outburst.
“Okay.” She said without emotion, “Make sure you collect your things. You can’t come back for them.”
Elliot exhaled dramatically, “That’s it?”
Patricia raised one of her eyebrows, so pale it barely existed, “What’s “it”? You act like this is the first time you’ve resigned.”
Elliot took a seat on the edge of her desk, drawing physical ire from the woman, “It’s the first time I’ve meant it, Patty Cakes! Aren’t you at least intrigued as to what I could have?”
“No.” She said flatly, glaring harshly at where Elliot sat, “I actually had all intentions to fire you the next time you had the balls to show your face in this office.”
“Fire me?!” Elliot asked incredulously, “I’m your best writer!”
Patricia sighed loudly, “I won’t argue with that, but you’ve been in the office twice in the last three months. Good or not, you don’t get to come and go as you please.”
“And you weren’t even going to discuss this with me?”
“When? You’re never here!” Patricia said, feeling her composure slip.
Elliot hopped off her desk, “It’s a good thing I’m quitting then! See how you do- not just without your only good writer but now your only good writer with exclusive access to Starlight City’s only superhero!”
Patricia pinched the bridge of her nose, “Yes, so exactly like the time you were “invited” to the mayor’s charity gala?”
“This is different,” Elliot beamed, “I’m not bullshitting this time!”
“Well, not-bullshit it somewhere else, Edison.” Patricia said flatly, picking up her phone, “You have ten seconds to get out and then I call security.”
Elliot huffed, “It’s a good thing I was just leaving, then!”
Patricia began to dial the number to security, “I don’t see you walking.”
Spinning on his heels, Elliot strode out of the room, taking great care to kick over the ugly ficus by Patricia’s door on the way out.
“I quit!” He yelled as the doors to her office closed behind him, the people in the hallway ahead of him fighting their urges to watch the train wreck.
He could hear the soft mutters and whispers as he kept his head held high, making a beeline for the elevator.
As he turned to close the elevator, he saw Patricia standing in the doorway of her office.
“Don’t come back, Edison!” She yelled.
Elliot pushed the button, “You’ll be begging me to come back! Just you wait.”
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