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Tech groaned, shoving himself away from his desk at last. He’d been at it for- hours? Days? He’d lost track, honestly. But he was close to a breakthrough, he could feel it!
He just needed a bit more time to figure it out, but first. He had a date to get to.
He got up, stretching, tail swishing slowly back and forth. He didn’t bother glancing at the clock, he knew the time; just enough for a proper shower and change, then he’d have to get moving.
Not that Rev would get on his case too hard for being late. Newton knew Rev had been late plenty of times before; for someone with supernatural speed, Rev was always running late or running early. Something distracted him, something got his attention and needed help, there was a cool dog or a neat sunset or a rock-
Rev could always find something new to appreciate in the world in every moment of the day; he was never bored. Here’s a new restaurant, there’s that new graffiti he’d seen last week, here’s a flower he hadn’t seen before, there’s a new invention that makes space travel just a bit faster, want to take a test drive, huh Tech?
It kept Tech from getting too far into his own head; Rev was everywhere, always, never letting Tech stay in the lab too long without eating, resting, finding an outside activity to refresh his mind and body.
“ You’re-not-actually-a-machine-Tech-buddy-so-you-have-to-take-breaks-to-let-the-inventor-brain-rest-for-a-bit-and-take-the-curious-brain-on-a-walk!”
And then he’d drag Tech to whatever thing he thought would be fun. A convention, a movie. A walk in the park.
It had taken an… embarrassingly long time for Tech to realize they were dating. Or that the team thought they were dating, at least. Rev had known Tech hadn’t thought much of it. Had been happy to just spend time together, and didn’t care if it was a date or just a fun afternoon with a friend. It had been Tech that actually asked, that insisted on putting words and definitions to it. Defined the borders and made it real by defining the situation.
Rev had been so nervous that time; he’d worried he’d come on too strong, in fact, that he’d ruined something and Tech was trying to let him down nicely, not trying to ask him out on a real date.
They’d had a good laugh about that over pizza, Tech’s larger plans abandoned for another time. They got that fancy dinner a few weeks later, when they were settled.
Duck had thought it wouldn’t last longer than a week. Lexi said she thought they were cute, and wouldn’t let Duck say anything else.
Tech reached his shower, taking his time in the hot water, working through tangled fur and splotches of oil in his fur. No matter what he tried to do, he always got stained by something or other in the lab. Even with gloves and a lab coat. It was like he was a magnet for anything that could make a mess.
He was magnetic, or at least his powers were, but that wouldn’t affect oil or lubrication oils or- what even was this one? Jam? Why would he have jam on him?
Had to be Slam’s pack of little ones. They weren’t technically allowed in the lab, but they visited the Tower sometimes, and he struggled to say no to one of them being curious. Had to reward brilliance in its infancy or it wouldn’t have the support needed to grow, after all.
He’d been called a sucker for it. He didn’t care. He was a retired hero, thank you very much, he was happy to be indulgent in his old age and leave being a hardass to the new generation. All of them had softened up a bit.
Except Duck; he didn’t soften up, not a bit, he’d built his reputation on being a jerk and harsh, a trainer of new heroes that took no shit. But he’d confessed over drinks, when the team had all gotten together years ago, that he just wanted them to be more prepared than their team had been.
“Zadavia basically threw us to the wolves, no offense,” Duck had muttered into his glass; Tech had twitched more at being called a wolf than anything else. “ I just want to make sure these ones are actually ready for what they’re going to face.”
Lexi had cooed over that one; she always loved when one of ‘her boys’ said something emotionally honest. Said she’d gotten enough angst from them when they were starting out as a team, and wanted someone else to take the team bonding duties for once.
Ace had learned not to argue with her on that. After the first fight over it, anyway; Tech had spent the entire day repairing the walls while Rev took her on a shopping trip so she wouldn’t be tempted to go for round two.
Tech laughed to himself at the memory, and hopped out of the shower.
A quick dry-off later, and he was dressed and out the door.
He dressed simply, banking on few people knowing his face to get by. He hated the fame that came with being a Loonatic, but he’d found that people didn’t expect him to look the way he did. The fur treatment thing had done wonders for their anonymity; people expected him to be green.
They also expected him to be older, but that one was more reasonable. He was older, it just wasn’t obvious in his face. He didn’t know if it ever would be.
Turned out regeneration was always working, even on an atomic level; his cells were as young as they’d been when he first got his powers, many decades back.
He’d been asked if he was ‘Tech’s grandson,’ once. Rev had laughed himself sick, even after Tech had pointed out that made him look like a cradle robber.
“ I’m a silver fox!” Rev had insisted, running fingers through his greying crest feathers. He’d been laughing the whole time, even as Tech had gently explained who he was to the kid that had asked, who’d been staring at Rev like he was insane.
Rev probably was insane. But so was Tech, and so was their entire original team, really. When you took a group of kids, gave them super powers, minimal supervision, a giant tower full of cool technology and toys, and told them the fate of the world was in their hands… it was a perfect recipe for six insane heroes. Thankfully they’d landed in the ‘thinks they can save the world alone’ category, instead of being another Massive, or Weather Vane.
Or Mallory.
It had been a long time since he’d thought of her; her powers had eventually outstripped her body’s ability to handle them, very literally; she’d died of a brain hemorrhage years ago. She’d attempted to get around it, downloading her consciousness into a computer system, but hadn’t accounted for her mind still desperately needing external sensation to not go insane, and the system had collapsed into itself.
Tech had been… devastated wasn’t right. She’d tried to kill him so many times, his friends so many times… but they had been friends once, too. He hadn’t wanted that to be what killed her. He’d wanted her to come to her senses.
She’d been the last of their ‘main’ enemies to pass. The threats today were new. Young. They knew about Tech from history books and scientific articles, not because they’d been fighting since they were in their twenties.
Had he ever been so young?
The walk to his destination was long, but he relished the fresh air. Rev was right, he did need to get out of the lab more. Smell the roses, get an ice cream in the park. Maybe after their date; it was a nice day, and he had nowhere else to be. Maybe that was the new afternoon plan.
Acmetropolis was still a strange city, but it had changed so much over the years. New buildings, one with plants growing between the beams, with turbines on top or fresh water streams flowing through the bases. More parks, fewer skyscrapers. The sky was clean, and Tech honestly hadn’t thought that the city center would have a clear sky in his lifetime.
But. Well. That lifetime had sure gotten longer than expected. Maybe he’d have to retire that saying.
He kept walking along, noting funny hats and cute kids, new pets and bright flowers. He kept track of them all, like an obsession, so he could tell Rev all about them. Rev loved hearing new stories, always eager for another one, no matter how mundane.
Tech paused at a vendor, smiling as cheerfully as he was able, and bought a bouquet. Rev liked flowers. Never wanted the same ones, always a new variety. With experiments in crossbreeding and alien plants coming into the market, Tech was usually able to find something that he hadn’t seen before.
Rev always loved it. Even the ones that turned out to be carnivorous. And still alive. And mutated into giant, violent monsters after getting a single taste of Rev’s blood on their sharp, toothy protrusions.
They still grew in the woods nearby. They’d replanted them at the request of the local botany students, and apparently it remained a popular hazing ritual to get one of their petals. A perfume made from even one was apparently divine to most human noses. They just made Tech sneeze.
Rev had loved those ones, and had visited every spring to see the new buds.
Tech chuckled to himself, looking at the new flowers in his hands. They were blue. The color of Rev’s feathers, actually, which- he hadn’t meant to, but it remained his favorite color.
Rev would forgive him. He didn’t even have a favorite color, he thought it was too limiting. Never did like to be held down, or sit still. His speed made it nearly tortuous to sit for what others might think was only a few minutes' time, after all; hours upon hours were asking too much of him. Even asleep, he was in motion.
Tech thought back to the time Rev had broken his leg. He’d been bedridden for weeks, unable to risk even walking because his speed was so much strain on the body Tech had worried he’d snap his bones by sheer vibrations.
He’d insisted on everyone visiting him instead, telling him anything and everything they’d done that day; what threats they’d faced or people they’d talked to.
Duck had told him to watch TV. Rev had retorted he had watched it. All of it. His brain ran so fast that he’d turned up the speed to one he could comfortably follow, and he’d watched. Everything. On TV. Every show, every movie, even ads, going back as far as recordings went. Made jokes about cartoons that had been made centuries before any of them had been born. Made curated lists of recommendations for everyone. Found Ace’s ancestor in old comedy routines, and someone he swore was Duck’s.
Duck had stopped recommending TV after that, and instead shoved his way into Rev’s room to gossip about celebrity news. It was one of the things they’d managed to bond over, besides being the only two birds on the team. Tech had come across them preening once, beaks all in each others’ feathers, while Duck played some video about Misty Breeze and loudly lamented the person was ‘ clearly biased, Rev, even you have to admit that!’
Tech had left them to it. He’d just been happy Rev wasn’t trying to get up and join him in the labs. He loved working with Rev in the labs, but having him there and clearly shaking with the effort to not zoom around the room like normal had been frustrating for both of them. Best to limit temptation until the bones healed.
They’d been young, then. Tech had made a better boot for broken bones after that, so Rev could walk around, instead of having to lay prone. It had been a godsend when Ace had later snapped his knee; superspeed or not, the rabbit was just as hyperactive as Rev was, and hated being immobile.
Tech reached his destination, waving at the staff on his way inside. They knew him by now, didn’t ask him any questions. He’d made it clear he was only interested in talking on his way out, but when he arrived he wanted to get to Rev.
The path was familiar, but Tech’s steps slowed down. Enjoying the breeze, the smells, the sound of birdsong.
But eventually, he did get there.
“Hey Rev!” He called out, reaching his usual spot and sitting down with a creak of knees. It wasn’t age, just general misuse of his body, but he ached all the same. “I got you flowers; these ones are from the Andromeda Galaxy! You remember that one? We went there once chasing interdimensional thieves.”
They’d stolen toothpaste; apparently mint was a rare resource on their planet.
Rev didn’t reply. Tech didn’t mind. He filled the silence with news and chatter, a funny reversal of roles. He told him about Slam’s grandkids starting college, how Duck’s statue had been finished. Ace’s dojo was still running smoothly, operated by his great nephew now. Lexi’s dance studio was winning another award next month, Tech had been invited as a guest of honor.
Rev didn’t answer. His gravestone sat silently in the grass as Tech spoke.
Rev Runner-Coyote
Hero of Acmetropolis
Beloved Husband and Brother
Irreverent Son
Tech sat, and listened to the birds. And he wondered if his powers would ever fail. If one day he, too, might go grey and finally, finally, fade away.