The swim back up to the surface was a peaceful one, and Nelly accompanied me.

As we reached the end of the swim, I reiterated my promise to bring her jelly beans, and then patted her head and said goodbye. She wiggled her tentacles in a wave.

When I got out of the water, I pulled a dress out of the water proof backpack I’d brought and put it over the wetsuit I wore. Wet hair aside, my civilian identity was taking the lead form here on out.

Sun beams glittered on the lake and turned the surface a glowing orange color.

I took a staircase to the mainroad and began my walk home. A breeze drifted by, smelling of watery things and summer greenery.

I would miss this city. Our most recent HQ had been based here by my choice. After the fiasco in Italy, my boss, the head of admin, was...retired...and I took her place. The first order of business had been a new HQ, and I chose home.

With tele-stations it wouldn't be a big deal to commute to Snowview, but there was something special about work literally being just a few blocks away.

“Nice day, huh?” an unfamiliar voice called out.

A few steps behind me walked a bland faced man.

“It is,” I said. The man walked in step with me. I glanced at him again and ran him through my mental database of known heroes. Nothing. He was a civilian as far as I knew.

“My name is Darnell,” he took his own turn glancing at me.

“Ellie,” I said, which was my nickname. Who was this man to be so comfortable in his own skin he didn’t feel weird striking up a conversation with a stranger?

“Did you see the Duel today? There was a huge show down on that side of the lake,” the man pointed toward our old HQ. In my absence the building had been further destroyed, and some of the carnage was visible even from where we were.

“I heard a bit about it,” I said, holding back a smile.

“I can’t believe they’ve been based here for who knows how long,” Darnell said, “makes me feel like a bad journalist.”

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow, “You’re a journalist?” No wonder he was comfortable making conversation. He must have gotten a lot of practice posing awkward questions to strangers.

“Yep,” he pulled a camera out of the satchel over his shoulder, and turned it on. “I guess you didn’t see the action in person?”

I took a millisecond to respond. Would my wet hair tip him off that I wasn’t a regular person?

“I was actually close enough that I got caught in some of the building debris,” I said, which was true, “I went home to wash up, but now it’s back to the office for me.”

Now Darnell’s eyebrows raised, “You’re going back to work after all that?”

“I was in the middle of dealing with some pretty crucial admin stuff,” I shrugged, “and it needs to get done.”

Darnell clicked through his camera, “My best shot of the day,” he said and showed me the screen.

It was a shot of Dark and Knight. Now, those two had clashed more times than I could count on several sets of hands, and there was no shortage of photos of the fact.

But Darnell had caught something striking with this one.

Somehow his camera was good enough and the timing just right that he’d shot a photo of the two as they were inches away from hitting each other.

Knight’s expression was horribly intense. If he didn’t have rejuvenation powers he'd be liable to get wrinkles. Dark was no less serious.

“Wow,” I said, “I’d love a copy.”

“Are you a fan?” Darnell smiled, “Let me guess...Knight?”

I choked, “What?”

“You’re his fan, right?”

“What makes you think that?”

“You looked at him longer.”

I shook my head, “If I’m a fan of either of them, it’d be Dark.”

“You know,” Darnell stared at the screen for a moment, “I know I’m supposed to be a more objective voice, but there are some things I think the villains do right.”

I stopped walking, “Are you kidding me?” I felt incredulous. This reporter made a supportive statement about us villains?

“Well, not all villains,” waved his arm in a circle motion, “but since the beginning Dark has always seemed to have an agenda besides chaos. The collapse of the Kominskzi’s empire was directly related to his actions, and then there was that heist he pulled back in January with the Queen’s crown. The jewels ended up in a machine made by one of those magitech heroes that’s helped cure countless people. Sure, some of the stuff he’s done hasn’t been good for anybody but Villain Corp. but there’s a surprising amount that has.”

“Well, I just think he’s hotter than Knight.” I said. This was true if not the whole truth.

“That too,” Darnell laughed. He dug something out of his satchel. “Here’s my card,” he handed it to me, “shoot me an email and I’ll make sure you get a copy of the photo.”

“I will,” I motioned to the intersection we were coming up to, “I’m turning here, but it was nice to meet you, and thank you for the conversation.”

He smiled, and a pair of dimples appeared that elevated his bland face to something sweet, “Me too.”