Brighter Days: Chapter 1

Seattle
April, 2003

An internal clock pulled Andrea Hayes from the world of dreams and into wakefulness once more. The cocoon of sheets held her body snugly, warmed to the touch by the sunlight streaming from her bedroom window and Andrea didn’t shy away from it, happily accepting the warmth that the rays brought with them as she basked in the warmth like a lizard on a rock.

But alas, the drowsy comfort that she was feeling could only be embraced for so long, and it wasn’t long before her nose tingled with the smell of something delicious on the stove downstairs. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten last night and with a sigh, she pushed the sheets off of her body and slid out of bed.

She stretched, getting the kinks out of her back that always happened when she slept on her side, before wandering into the bathroom for a quick shower. Fully awake and freshly cleaned, she toweled off her body and bright hair as she stepped in front of the mirror to brush her teeth.

A scarred girl, almost human but not quite completely, stared back at her. Stark white hair and bright yellow eyes that glowed with the sunlight that they had absorbed while she was in bed, easily visible even under the fluorescent lights. Andrea blinked, the hidden mechanisms inside of her eyes whirring imperceptibly as they took a snapshot of the world and sent it back into her brain almost like her old ones did, just more efficiently. Better.

“Bad thoughts.” Andrea chided herself gently as she reached for her toothbrush and paste. If the Director caught her talking like that, he’d cut her funding. She barely had enough in the first place as it was, what with her maintenance budget eating up all of the money allotted for her tinkering.

A quick, three minute scrub and change of clothes later, and Andrea was ready to tackle the day. She headed downstairs, taking them two at a time as her nose lead her straight towards the source of the delicious smells. Bacon fat and fresh bread was heavy on the air as she slipped into the kitchen, pausing only for a moment as she saw who was at the stove, before a smile slid onto her face.

“Good morning, dad.” She greeted the man, knowing that he probably hadn’t heard her come in over the sizzling grease. Her dad, Henry, started in shock and turned around to see his daughter already sitting at the kitchen table with an impish smile on her face. He blinked, surprised to see her there, before he smiled warmly at her.

“Good morning, my little sunbeam.” He said as he turned back to his cooking, “Did you sleep well? I heard you got back home pretty late last night. Or I guess this morning would be more accurate.”

Andrea shrugged, eying the basket of fresh biscuits that had been set upon the dinner table, “I had to run some last minute tests on my battery. It was making some weird noises while I was flying so I had to take a look at it and… well you know how that goes.”

Her words made her dad pause just like they always did when she talked about the modifications that she had made to her body. He seemed to war with himself for a moment before shaking off whatever had trapped his thoughts in favor of cooking. When he spoke, there was a strained quality to his voice, “Your battery? You mean the one in your stomach?”

Andrea nodded, pretending not to notice his tone, “I’ve been meaning to upgrade it but getting approval for that sort of stuff is hard. I put in the request at the same time as the one for my arms a few months ago but I haven’t gotten an answer back for it. It’s apparently still under review.”

Even though it was technically necessary in Andrea’s case, biological modifications were still somewhat taboo for PRT-employed tinkers. In cases like hers, it was technically permitted, but you still had to go through enough red tape to cordon off the space needle before you could actually get anything approved. Given how delicate the procedure would be, there was no telling what stage in the process her request was even at.

Henry glanced at her as he finished frying the bacon, placing it on a wire rack to let the grease drain. His eyes were focused on something, and Andrea knew what he was looking at without even following his gaze. She pulled her sleeves down, obscuring the majority of her mechanical limbs from the man’s discomfort, and his eyes seemed to tighten as he saw this.

He turned away once again, checking the eggs, “Well if it’s something you really need, then I’m sure they’ll approve it soon. Just… don’t go off messing with your body without telling them again or you’ll get in trouble.”

“I won’t.” She assured him. She learned her lesson last time she did that. Gas was not happy and she wasn’t sure she could take that disappointed look again. 

Henry nodded, focusing on his eggs, and they fell into the same uncomfortable silence that always seemed to surround them since the days he came back from… that place. Andrea tried not to let it get to her but as always, she couldn’t help the small bit of sadness and annoyance that leaked through. That was years ago but things are still weird between them. She already came to terms with it; why couldn’t he?

The silence that stretched between them was thankfully broken by the other occupants in the house making their appearance.

Andrea looked behind her at the sound of padding footsteps, her expression lightening as she saw her little brother, Issac, walking into the room. His hand came up, rubbing his little eyes free of sleep while the other clutched a spotted blanket that dragged on the floor behind him.

“G’mornin…” He yawned as walked past her and climbed into his own chair.

Andrea's mom, Emily, was right behind him, much more awake and ready to start her day. The woman was already dressed in her work clothes, make-up and all as she prepared to leave for work. 

She smiled at Andrea as she saw her sitting there, leaning down and placing a kiss on the crown of her daughter's head, “Good morning, sweetie. I thought you'd still be sleeping in.”

Andrea smiled at the gesture, “Well you know how it is. I smell bacon and suddenly sleep doesn't sound as good as stuffing my face. What about you? You look dressed up today.”

Emily smiled as she reached her husband's side, wrapping her arms around the man's middle and delivering a kiss on his stubble-covered cheek, “It's a reading day at the library.”

“Ah.” That explained it. Once or twice a month, a bunch of kids from the local preschool would visit the library and get stories read to them as a way to educate them and get them a bit more interested in reading. Andrea’s mom, with a voice like silk that unfortunately seemed to skip a generation, was usually the one to read to them. A task that she enjoyed immensely.

The family got settled for a hearty breakfast. Andrea got the lion's share of bacon which she used to make herself a sandwich full of egg and melty cheese, while everyone else stuck to eating their own share off their plates.

Unfortunately, just before the girl could bite into that heavenly sliver of crispy pork and fluffy egg, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

The quiet conversation her mom and dad were having ceased as she pulled it out, glancing at the alert that scrolled across the face. Her sandwich fell back down into her plate as she frowned at her screen.

“I gotta go.” She said, pushing her plate away and standing.

“Now?” Emily frowned, sharing a look with her husband, “But you haven't even eaten breakfast.”

Andrea's stomach growled at the reminder and she glanced at her sandwich longingly, “I know but I can't wait. Hivemind is robbing a bank and took the entire block hostage. I guess that guy never does things by halves. It's all hands on deck so I need to go gear up.

Andrea grabbed her coat off its hook by the door, slipping her arms through and reaching behind her. A small white device attached to the back clicked into place in a slot along her spine, glowing yellow as I was supplied with power.

As Andrea got prepared, she heard her dad get out of his chair and tensed, already knowing what was coming. She looked over at him to find him frowning deeply, worry set in his face as if it had been etched there for years.

“Are you really going to skip out on this big breakfast I made to go fight bank robbers?” He asked.

“They need me, dad.” 

“There are other heroes that can take care of it.” He argued, “I'd like to have my daughter here for at least an hour before she flies off and I don't see her again until dark.”

Andrea sighed, “I don't want to argue with you again. I have to go.” 

“Andrea–”

“I'll be home tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on how long I spend in the lab. I love you.”

Andrea stepped out of the door without another word, closing it behind her before he could chase after her. She looked up and the device attached to her spine twitched, mechanical nodes shifting and turning as they were activated. 

A pair of thick, segmented white rods spread outwards from between her shoulder blades like flag poles. They emitted a low hum that seemed to gain pitch with every moment before, with a sharp snap, a curtain of light suddenly flared to light between them, spreading outwards like false feathers to catch an unseen wind. Andrea flapped her new wings once, feeling the way they shifted the nodes along her spine like they were supposed to.

Taking a deep breath and a running start, she jumped into the air, splaying her palms down towards the earth and emitting a steady, low-power stream of sunlight that scorched the concrete on her porch, lifting her upwards into the air at the same time. Her mom would chide her for it later, but that was later. She needed to get to base and prep her gear.

Andrea’s wings carried her high above the buildings faster than any helicopter or plane could manage, and she basked in the rays of the sun leaking through the clouds above, using their warmth to drive away the guilt sitting in the pit of her stomach.

~~~

Four hours later, a much sweatier Andrea pushed open the door to the Wards’ commons and stepped inside, quickly followed by several of her teammates who were similarly exhausted.

“That was awful as usual.” Triptag said as he pulled off his bright green bandana and goggles. His freckled face was flushed and his red hair was sticking to his sweaty forehead as a testament to just how hard the usually lazy teen had been working, “I just knew today was gonna be some bullshit the moment I woke up and saw that alert.”

“Quite whining, Jamie. You're the only one here whose power actually works against civilians. The rest of us aren't so lucky.” Another of Andrea's teammates, Feud, chided as Jamie threw himself on the couch, “Justin and I can't even use our powers if there's people around.”

“Which makes me wonder why they wanted us to show up at all.” Andrea's final teammate mused as he took off his gloves, “Barricade said he knew the situation, but if that was true, he wouldn't have brought in Emily and I.”

“And that's not true! Andrea can't use her powers on civvies unless she wants to burn them to a crisp!” Jamie pointed out, making Andrea look up at him with an amused expression.

“I can control the strength of my beams, you know?” She said as she examined her right arm with a critical gaze,  “Otherwise you would have gotten more than a minor sunburn when you tripped me the other day.”

Jamie grimaced, “I’m still peeling from that.”

“And you deserve it for making me drop my grilled cheeses. You don't mess with a tinker’s daily meal.”

Jamie flipped her off as his head flopped back onto the couch and Andrea chuckled as she fiddled with her prosthetic. Emily patted her on the shoulder as she passed, heading to her room to get changed, and Justin walked over, looking at her work with an interested expression.

“Is it broken?” He asked. Andrea shook her head.

“Not broken, but damaged. My fingers aren't responding like they should so I think I burnt something out.” She said, watching her fake digits twitch and spark, “I hope it's just that, at least. It'll take forever to build a whole new arm.”

“Well maybe next time you'll think twice about punching that car instead of just catching it.” Justin chuckled.

“It stopped, didn't it?” Andrea grinned, “I'm gonna go take a look at this in the lab. You guys are going out to eat, aren't you?”

“I'm gonna order a pizza. I don't think any of us feel like walking downtown right now.” Justin glanced back at Jamie, his eyes glinting in amusement as he saw the shaker was already asleep.

“Get two. I'll pay.” Andrea said as she stepped away, following after Emily and heading down the hall.

“You're gonna eat one by yourself?” Jamie called after her.

“You know I will!”

The door to Andrea's lab slid open with a loud hiss, revealing a stark white interior bathed in yellow. Stepping inside, the teen reached over and pressed a few buttons on the nearby keypad, setting a timer for a couple hours just in case a fugue hit her while she was working. They were rare these days, but they still happened.

“Can't afford one of those right now.” She muttered as she worked off the top half of her suit. Setting it on the floor, she reached up and pressed her pinkie into a specific divot in her shoulder and waited. A moment, something clicked and her entire arm suddenly unlatched from the socket, coming off in her hand and revealing the metal workings that replaced most of her shoulder.

Placing her damaged limb on her work bench, the young tinker strode over to the far wall where an array of technology had been put on display. She grabbed one of these pieces, an arm of similar design to the one behind her, and popped it into place in her shoulder. Grabbing the thick wire sprouting from the bicep, she reached behind her and searched for the input.

“I need a mirror in here.” She muttered to herself. After a bit of fiddling, the plug slid into the largest node along her spine, providing energy to the prosthesis needed for the work ahead.

Andrea clenched her mechanical fist, noting the slight delay. It was expected yet slightly annoying, but she'd worked with worse. She made her way back over to her desk and prepared her tools, going to work on her damaged limb just as she had a thousand times.

The bulbs above spewed artificial sunlight into her backs, beating down on her skin and keeping her fully charged in case this took longer than she expected. They didn't work as well as regular sunlight, but they were enough to keep her kidneys from shutting down if her battery ran low.

That damage turned out to be a bit worse than she expected at first. She thought it was just a few cracked capacitors and frayed wires, but apparently her little brawl with that sedan has also cracked her emitter lense and knocked a few motors loose. It was a good thing she decided to do maintenance as soon as she got back because those problems could easily snowball into something much worse.

Luckily, she had all the necessary materials on hand. Her old prosthetic made it a bit harder to work on the delicate internals without breaking something, but her power compensated for that easily, guiding her hand just as much as her brain.

As she worked, soldering new parts and circuits to replace what was broken, she once again used to herself that it was a good thing that her specialty was so broad. If it wasn't, she wasn't really sure she would have ever made it out of that place, much less actually become a hero.

Sunlight. That was the only limitation that her power deigned to apply to her technological advancements. As long as it was powered by and utilized sunlight in some way, she could build it. It was actually pretty insane, and most other tinkers she talked to agreed amidst their proclamations of jealousy. It was every tinker's wet dream to be free of the constraints that their power provided, after all, even her.

Now if only she had the money to actually do that. 

Andrea sighed, and that sigh was accompanied by a hiss as the door behind her suddenly slid open once again, admitting a second person into her sanctuary.

Andrea looked up from her workbench and found a smile sliding across her face as she was met with the strangely proportioned, segmented face of Gasconade.

The smile stayed on her face as she returned to her work, listening to the man walk up behind her, “Hey, Gas. What brings you to my humble abode?”

“Good afternoon, Halcyon.” The man's voice was smooth and warm as he regarded the ward, “I heard you took some damage today so I wanted to check up on you. Good job taking care of that robbery, by the way. Snubnose told me you all hardly needed her help.”

“High praise, coming from her.” Andrea said, thinking of the woman and her general love of the limelight, “Yeah, I took some damage, but it's all fixable. I got a little distracted and punched a car that one of the enhanced civvies threw instead of catching it.”

“That's good. I'm glad you're not hurt.” The man said, causing Andrea to nod in agreement. Gasconade didn't leave however, even though his business was by all means concluded. Knowing what was coming next, the tinker gestured for him to go ahead.

“You said you were distracted. Does this have anything to do with the way the receptionist said you stormed in this morning?”

Andrea should have known that guy would tell someone. He was a huge gossip. She shook her head, focusing on her work as she dove into a more delicate part of her limb, “It's fine. I just had another argument with dad.”

“Ah.” Gasconade made a noise of understanding, “The usual?”

“Yeah.” Andrea sighed, “I just don't understand why he's so against me heroing. It's been five years since I triggered and I've never been permanently hurt since then. It's not gonna happen again!”

As Andrea pulled open a panel on her palm and exposed the frame and shattered lens within , Gasconade walked up behind her, standing just inside of her peripheral vision to make sure he was seen. It was a tactic that he had employed several times over the years. A way to him sure that she could keep her attention on her even while she was tinkering.

Gas was probably the only one who could get away with this sort of thing. Going to and also practicing therapy in his part time, this was something that he did quite often. Sitting and talking with his charges to make sure they were okay. Andrea knew that her teammates sometimes found it annoying, but she liked having someone to vent to and even though Snubnose was technically their team leader, she'd admit without hesitation that she was closer to him than any of the other heroes apart from her team.

“Your father is just doing what all good fathers do. He's trying to look out for his daughter.” He said just over her shoulder, and Andrea rolled her eyes.

“I know he thinks that, but I've shown him over and over again that I'm strong. I'm the best tinker on this side of the country and my specialty is as broad as Dragon's!”

Her words provoked a look from the adult to he left, “Watch that ego. Your power may be special, but that doesn't mean you can't be beaten. Hero was the greatest tinker, bar none, but there's a reason the Triumvirate are named as they are.”

Andrea swallowed at the reprimand, feeling shame at his words. She looked at her work, slowly placing a new sapphire lens into the palm of her hand, setting the shattered one to the side, “I just… I spent so long building myself up after that day. Countless hours just making myself better, but it's like he just doesn't see them. I can lift cars over my head and fly them across the city, but every time we talk, he still looks at me the way I was before.”

Andrea couldn't quite keep the pain out of her voice and as she sniffled, Gasconade placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, “Andrea… your father loves you and he knows you're strong. If you ask me, I think he's projecting a bit. His daughter was kidnapped and forced to undergo an unspeakable ordeal and save herself from it on top of that. He looks at your augments, at the scars he failed to prevent and he feels shame. He doesn't want you to go through that again because he knows he'll be powerless to stop it.”

Something in Andrea's stomach soured like curdled milk. She clenched a fist, listening to the servos whine in protest as she pushed the old prosthetic to the brink, “What am I supposed to do then? I won't stop being a hero. Even if he pulled me out of the Wards, I'd find a way to get back out there and help people. How am I supposed to make him see that I'm going to be okay?”

“That's up to him.  But you might be able to help him along by talking to him. Explain what you're doing out here instead of just letting him find out on his own. He hears about the things you're doing, but he doesn't actually know. Maybe getting that insight would help him see.”

Andrea went silent, thinking about his advice, and Gasconade patted her on the shoulder before turning away, “Think on it. This problem isn’t going to go away until one of you actually address it. And remember that if you need to talk to someone, I’m always here.”

“Thanks, Gas.” Andrea said quietly, and then the man was gone, leaving the young heroine to finish her work in silence, ruminating on her thoughts all the while.

She fell into a trance, patching up the damage to her ar and ruminating on her issues with her dad. She was so focused in fact, that when someone banged on her door what seemed like moments later, she nearly crushed her soldering iron in surprise.

“Hey gearhead!” Emily stuck her head in, giving the surprised tinker a grin, “Get out here before I eat all of your pizza. I ain’t gonna sit around and watch as an entire pie gets cold.”

Andrea blinked, glancing at the digital clock on the wall to find that over an hour had passed since she began her work. She must have been more spaced out than she realized. 

Putting her tools down, Andrea examined her work, mentally going over what was done and what she still needed to do. She hummed, glancing at Emily who was waiting impatiently for her to join them, “I’ll be out in a minute. I just need to rewire one of the motors and then I’m done.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed as she scrutinized the tinker intently, “...You’ve got fifteen minutes.”

“It’ll only take five!” Andrea called, reaching into the cabinet containing most of her tools as the other girl ducked out of the room. Chuckling, she finished up her repairs, taking the time to run a short test to make sure everything was good before replacing her temporary prosthetic with her regular one.

“That’s better.” She said, feeling much more comfortable now that her arm was back to one-hundred percent. Humming to herself, she put her tools away and placed her old prosthetic back where it belonged beside her other old projects. 

Stepping back, she took a moment to admire all of the technology that had helped her get to where she was today. From her very first photon cannon to the prototype hardlight projector that was larger and so much clunkier than what she had installed in her arms, she could see a timeline of her five years of heroing and more importantly, the growth that she had experienced along the way.

Maybe Gas was right. Her dad had no idea how much she had really grown. Everything he knew was second-hand, based on what he saw on TV or what she showed him. He didn’t see the struggles and the triumphs that came after them. If she could bring him here and show him this, then maybe he’d get off her case about being a hero. Maybe he’d see how strong she’d become since her. Everything would be alright.

Smiling to herself at the thought, Andrea stepped out of her lab and made her way back into the common area. Stopping by her room to change into something more comfortable once she realized she was still wearing her sweaty costume.

Andrea stepped into the room that held all of her friends, running a brush through her hair to get out the post-flight knots as she looked towards the kitchen, “So where’s my pizza? I swear if Emily touched it, she’s doing my homework for the rest of the week.”

No response. Andrea blinked, looking towards the couches where she could see her friend’s heads poking up, “Hello? Anyone planning to answer me or am I just talking to myself here?”

As she walked up behind them, she noticed that all of them were staring at the TV with expressions that she couldn’t really put a name to. It was like someone rolled horror, anger, and panic all into one, horrible ball and painted it all over their faces, leaving room for nothing else.

Andrea felt her heart drop at the sight, “Guys? What’s wrong?”

Instead of answering, they continued staring at the television. Andrea followed their eyes to the muted device, wondering what in the world could have caused such a reaction from her team.

She didn’t see what the matter was at first. It was a breaking news bulletin, the kind that you’d see when there was a tornado warning or some other severe weather catastrophe. A map of Washington was plastered beside the frantic news reporter, though instead of the usual color gradients referencing the path of a tornado or severe thunderstorm, it was just a blank map with bullet points denoting the major cities. Seattle, Spokane, Vancouver, even Olympia. They were all listed, but Seattle was the most prominent, outlined with a big red circle.

Andrea absorbed all of this in a second before her eyes even registered the text rolling at the bottom of the screen. She wondered what the map could mean, why the reporter was so frantic and most importantly, why her friends were reacting the way they were to the broadcast.

And then she actually read the rolling text, and her face twisted into an expression matching theirs. Because right there, emblazoned in bold black text and playing on repeat on the bottom of the screen, were the words no soul on the planet ever wanted to read.

Endbringer Apollyon sighted outside of Seattle city limits! All residents are advised to flee the city at the earliest opportunity as mustering efforts continue! Willing and available capes, please report to these addresses...

The text was followed by a series of locations for capes who wanted to attend the upcoming battle, but Andrea barely saw them. All she could see was that name and title, the destructive calamity coming to her home city as if sent to punish them for some great misdeed...

And suddenly, things weren’t going to be alright.