Anna wiped the fog from her bathroom mirror.  She’d taken a shower until the hot water ran out, and it had done wonders for her aching body.  She leaned in, examining the ugly bruise on her shoulder from where she’d landed after jumping off the balcony.  She touched it gingerly, poking at the purple flesh, before moving up her neck, turning her head slightly so she could examine the wounds left in the back of the neck from the barbs of the Taser.  The skin around the wounds was red and puffy, though they didn’t seem too deep.  Other than that, and being incredibly sore, she was uninjured.

She backed away from the small mirror, examining her naked body.  She grabbed the flesh of her stomach, pinching a handful of skin.  She wasn’t overweight by any means, not that losing five pounds would kill her, but she’d gotten, soft, since her retirement.  The school for the deaf had its own gym, and she’d gone every day when she first got the job as a teacher after being forced into early retirement from her short-lived career as a super heroine.  But as time went on, she went less and less until she finally stopped going at all.  It had probably been over six months since she’d even seen a treadmill.

She rotated, examining herself as she spun, judging every little imperfection.  Her ass, while not unimpressive, had lost its wow factor along the way.  She pivoted up onto her toes, understanding why she was getting less and less flattering stares these days.

Her breasts, a generous C cup, were starting to see the effects of gravity.  Not that she owned anything that showcased any cleavage.  She taught using sign language; keeping her student’s attention focused on her hands was hard enough as it was.  And dating with her particular gift was, complicated to say the least, and she wasn’t really trying to put herself out there.

Still, last night had been a wake up call.  It had been foolish to think she could just get back into the game.  It was all too easy to nullify the effect of her powers and she’d need to get back into shape if she wanted to keep this up.  If getting her body back to its former glory also had side effects on increasing her self-esteem, well, that was just icing on the cake.

She wrapped a towel around her chest, and left her steamy bathroom.  She grabbed her phone off of the nightstand, and dialed Macy.

“Hello?” Macy’s sleepy voice answered.  Anna glanced at her alarm clock.  It was 1:15.  The fact that her foster sister hadn’t spent the night fighting crime and was still asleep was enough to make her more than a little jealous.

“Listen, it’s not that I’m not super grateful, but I told you not to come and clean up my apartment.”

“Wait, what?” Macy’s sleepy voice responded.

“My apartment.  I got home last night and it was cleaned up.  I told you not to come by.”

“Well, if you told me not to, I couldn’t have.  Either way, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Seriously?” Anna said, rummaging through her drawers for clothes to wear.

“Nope.  Wasn’t me.”

“Well damn.”  Anna paused, wondering who had put her underwear away in her drawer.  She suddenly wanted to wash them before putting them on her body.

“So, how did last night go?” Macy asked, sounding more alert and awake.

“Not well.  You were right.  They had armed guards, all wearing noise canceling headphones.  I beat them, but…” she trailed off, remember the events of last night.  The kid helplessly beating on his fellow guard, asking her what she had made him do, Donny telling her that he’d killed them.

“Anna?” Macy called her back to the present.

“Sorry.  Things went, south.  I got captured, by one of Joey’s right hand guys.  The cops showed up, and I got away.  Oh, and god damn Barrage showed up, out of nowhere.”  She grabbed a pair of blue panties and holding her phone with her good shoulder, she stepped into the underwear.

“Ooh, Izzy?” Macy sounded excited.  “Did he come save you again?”

“No he did not.  I’d already escaped when he showed up,” Anna said indignantly, selecting a black bra.  She quickly rejected it, remembering her new plan to get back in shape and grabbed a sports bra buried in the back of her drawer.

“So is he going to help you out?”

“No.  He actually just showed up to tell me the LC isn’t happy, and that they might step in to stop me if I don’t wrap this up soon.”

“Those bitches.  But at least that solves your ‘who cleaned up my apartment?’ question.”

Anna paused in putting the sports bra on, picking the phone back up in hand.  “Wait, what?  He wouldn’t.”

“Who else?” Macy asked, giggling.  “Seems he still cares about you.”

Anna sighed, finishing pulling her bra on.  “He doesn’t.  We had,” she paused, choosing her words, “a moment, years ago.  Not that it matters.  It was a courtesy warning, nothing more.  And if he did clean up my apartment, it’s cause he wants me focused on finishing this so he doesn’t have to actually do anything.”

“Whatever you say.  Still though, that cowboy thing.  If I liked men…  Which reminds me, I should see if Ellen will get a cowgirl outfit,” Macy said, practically purring over the phone.

“Remind me not to ask how things are going between you two.  Look, I’ve already missed half the day; I really should get going to work.  I just wanted to let you know that I’m not dead,” she said, stepping into a pair of jeans.

“Thanks for checking in.  I love you sis.”

“I love you too.”  Anna tossed the phone on the bed and pulled on a shirt.  She looked at the clock, and decided that if she was going to have to use her power to convince her boss not to fire her over missing half a day of work, she could convince him not to fire her over missing a full day.  She grabbed a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, stuffing them in a duffel bag, and decided it was time to hit the gym.



Anna pressed the accelerate button on the treadmill.  Again.  She was sprinting, her footfalls heavy and her breath ragged.  She reached for the control panel, a shaking finger struggling to push the accelerate speed button again.

She was angry.  She hadn’t started running angry, just meaning to get a light workout in, but as she ran, she kept replaying the events of the previous night over and over in her head.

How dare the LC think they could step in and stop her?  Their stupid sanctimonious bullshit about obeying the law being more important than upholding it.  She wasn’t committing any crime, except maybe trespassing, but who cares?  She was out there, trying to do real good.  

She stumbled, nearly falling, catching herself on the handles where she hung, panting as the treadmill slowed to a stop.  Anna looked up, startled to see Tyrese Cain standing behind her.  The school's physical education teacher looked concerned.  

“Are you okay?” he signed.  Unlike Anna and most of the staff, the towering man was deaf and mute.  Grisly rumors surrounded the destruction of his eardrums and the loss of his tongue.  It was a subject he was quiet on, likely because the rumors were probably far more horrific than the reality, and these stories bought the respect and admiration, as well as a healthy dose of fear, from his students.  The fact that he stood at 6'7" and was a solid wall of muscle didn't hurt his reputation either.

“I'm fine, sorry,” she signed, stepping off the treadmill.  She was still trying to catch her breath.

“I haven't seen you in here in a long time.”  Tyrese tossed her a bottle of water, which she sucked at greedily.

“I need to get back into shape.  I got,” she paused, searching for the right word.  “Complacent.”

Tyrese nodded.  His gaze shifted to the bruise on her shoulder peeking out from under her sleeve.  He'd already noted the bandage on the back of her neck.  “My gym is yours,” he signed after a moment.  

“Thanks.”  She gave back the water bottle, meaning to leave.  She turned back, and Tyrese was still standing beside the treadmill, watching her.  “You used to be a fighter, didn't you?”

Tyrese nodded.  “In another life.  But now I'm just a deaf physical education teacher,” he signed.

“I might need a teacher.”

He hesitated.  She could feel his cool gaze, sizing her up.

“Why?” he signed.

It was her turn to pause.  He was a man who was as guarded about her past as she was.  “I can pay, not much, but you're a man who has his secrets, I think it's fair that you respect mine.”  It was a long shot.  She was better off finding a non-deaf trainer, someone she didn't know and work with, someone she could compel to help her and keep his mouth shut.  She knew that, but still she found herself asking Tyrese for his help.

“Keep your money,” Tyrese signed.  

With sign language, expression was just as important as tone, but the giant's face was an impassive mask.  “Alright, sorry I asked,” she signed, thinking he was rejecting her offer completely.  She turned to leave again, when she felt his strong hand on her shoulder.

“I didn't say I wouldn't do it.  Just keep your money, and keep your secrets.”

“Are you sure?” she signed.

He nodded.  “I am.  I understand getting complacent.  I used to be an MMA fighter, I can teach you what you want to know.”

“I know some basics, but I'm out of practice.”

“Good.”  He gestured towards the mats in the corner of the gym.  “Show me what you already know.”