Skies of Death {open}

[Sunshine]

Sunshine was gentle and compassionate by nature, but even her patience had a limit, and the annoyingly persistent Armstrong had pushed her beyond that limit. Feeling the brute's grip on her ankle, realizing that he was holding her back, her face expressed genuine irritation--a very rare sight. Try as she might, she couldn't fly out of the situation. The airborne Ray of Hope frowned upon Armstrong. Never mind that he could have apparently transformed himself into a parachute; she still felt betrayed, considering that she went out of her way to help him. Then again, she valued this as a learning experience, and would have to remember to not be so quick to trust evildoers and their henchmen.

Sunshine smiled in relief when Savage actually chose to assist her. But she didn't want to be completely helpless, so she bent forward as much as she could. She wasn't a professional contortionist, but she was flexible--well, not as flexible as Armstrong, but flexible enough. It took effort, but she did grab hold of the pirate's arm, and squeezed as tightly as she could, under her awkward circumstance.

"Listen to him."

With those simple words, she summoned solar heat to the hand that gripped the arm. She wouldn't fire a blast, but her hand's temperature increased drastically by the second, quickly approaching a scalding temperature.

[Ice Pirate]

The hapless pirate had done his best, but he was sorely outclassed by these two supers. In fact, Savage's threat, delivered at alarmingly close range, was enough to make Armstrong rethink the wisdom of his current strategy.

But before he could do as ordered, Sunshine grabbed his arm and turned up the heat. "Ow, ow, ow!" cried the thug pilot, simultaneously willing his injured arm thinner in hopes of slipping it out of that thermal grip and releasing the shapely ankles of his tormentor.

"Okay, okay," was all Armstrong could say, hoping some means of escape would still present itself, wondering if he should hurl a villainous taunt at the hairy hero, wisely deciding that silence was, in this case, golden.

Glumly he watched the Iron Vulture recede into the distance. But at least, now that his mates had escaped, it was only a matter of time before they returned to free him from custody.

[Savage]

As Savage maintained his hold on Armstrong's neck, Sunshine reached out and grabbed a hold of the elastic super's arm. Savage wasn't entirely sure if Sunshine had done something to make him cry out in pain like that, or if it was due to his own grip on the pirate (though he suspected that it was probably Sunshine). He let go of her, so Savage opened his hand, freeing Armstrong.

"Come on. Let's go knock that ugly ship of Karnage's out of the air." Savage growled, looking to Sunshine and then the retreating Iron Vulture. Like a hound on the trail of a fox, he wasn't ready to give up the chase just yet.

[Sunshine]

Sunshine decided to do something different. She swooped down and grabbed Armstrong. "Of course," she said to Savage. "Just as soon as I deliver him to the police. He can't just remain here unattended. I will take him and then catch up with you. I won't take long."

She was about to fly off with criminal in tow, but... not yet. There was something she had to tell Savage; she couldn't ignore it any longer. After a few seconds of hesitation, she rose in the air until her eye level perfectly matched his. She was very close to his face, to show that she was respectful but confident in addressing him. "I did not know that you required no help to avoid those bullets. I thought that you could have been hurt, and so I chose to shield those bullets from you. But now that I do know that you can take care of yourself, I won't make that mistake again. I promise." Her voice was more serious than before. "But, please don't be so rude next time."

She was not rude or harsh with her tone in any capacity. It was obvious she did not intend to start an argument, or to provoke Savage. She just told him her feelings honestly and politely. She was not afraid of him, she made this clear.

She also gripped Armstrong extremely tightly so he could not escape, this was also made clear.

"Dr. Doppler is not 'puny,'" she continued. "He is one of us and a part of you. I am, too. We are the Dream League, and we are a team. There is no sense in going alone, and I made that mistake today." Her face softened as she admitted her serious error. "I thought that this would have been easy, so I went alone without telling anyone. And now, look at the consequences. This is all my fault; we probably could have stopped Ice Pirate if I had let everyone know what was happening. But I didn't. I overestimated, and... I'm sorry, Savage. Doctor, if you can hear me, I'm sorry. I was so selfish; I can't forgive myself." Her purple eyes were vulnerable for a few seconds, until she managed a gentle smile. "But, thank you. Thank you for helping me; I couldn't have survived without you, Savage." She looked back at the large aircraft in the sky and sighed. "I can't stop that on my own, and neither can you. We can't go alone. We need to tell the others. But I promise, I will never try to go alone ever again."

A gentle gust of wind reminded Sunshine that she had forgotten to reclaim her footwear, but it was too late.

[Savage]

Savage nodded to indicate that he heard Sunshine, who had been quick to grab Armstrong, and started to rush off. Before he could however, she was suddenly right in front of him, hovering so that the two of were eye-level with one another. He mutely regarded her, not bothering to hide his impatience. What was this was all about? Going to tell him not to destroy anything or scare anybody while chasing after Karnage, most likely. Didn't she realize the longer she kept him here to lecture him, the more time she was giving their enemy to escape?

Savage's eyes, which originally held a combination of bored expectation and annoyance, grew wide as he listened to Sunshine. She was actually... apologizing to him. A real, honest-to-God apology. Huh. He hadn't been expecting that.

"... Thanks." He muttered.

Aside from the wailing of police car sirens, which were getting closer to their location, there was nothing but quiet around them now. The streets had been cleared when everyone had run for safety when the fight first began. "Actually, I... was surprised you were willing to protect me." He finally admitted, sounding almost embarrassed before his tone returned to his characteristic grumpiness. "Just didn't like it when you told me that you there to help me. I'm not dumb. I know that much."

Savage's expression settled into a sullen frown when Sunshine told him that Doppler wasn't puny and was a part of him. His eyes shifted to the side. Deep down he knew the heroine had a point, even if he was loathe to admit it to himself or her. 'Just because he's a part of me doesn't mean I have to like 'im.'

'The same to you.' He heard Doppler archly fire back in head. Ignoring the doctor for once, Savage glanced at Sunshine again before looking away. "It's okay. If we don't get Karnage today, we'll get him another time. And we'll get the others to help too." He was surprised by his own words. Normally he would've been in a rage over something like this.

There was a pause. Savage seemed as though he were listening to something Sunshine couldn't see, then added, "And he --Doppler -- says it's fine too. He's made worse mistakes before. And uh..." He finally met her eyes, his rather bashful face a stark contrast to his earlier attitude. "You're welcome, blondie."

[Sunshine]

Sunshine's slender face returned to Savage's. When the hulking powerhouse explained what Sunshine did that offended (or just irritated) him, the Ray of Hope's face shattered into personal shame. Even though she didn't mean to upset Savage, she, at that moment, understood how her words could have been viewed as offensive.

"Oh, Savage, I'm so sorry!" she apologized sincerely. Her purple eyes was even more expressive than her lips. "I didn't mean it that way, but I'm so sorry for saying that! I didn't mean to be condescending." She smiled warmly to him, feminine and pure. "I know you're not dumb. You're strong and brave, and I owe you for saving me." She was not humoring him with the 'strong and brave' comment; she obviously meant every word.

When Savage referred to her as blondie, the skin under her eyes crinkled femininely, her smile increased, and her cheeks increased in warmth slightly. Her royal parents back in Eyvindria would have been outraged to witness someone referring to their precious daughter--a princess, at that--as 'blondie.' But Sunshine took it as an honest compliment. To her, it meant that Savage acknowledged her, just as she acknowledged him. Did this mean that they were now close friends, and they could easily confide in each other from then on? No, probably not, but who knows? Only time would tell. But at that moment, her respect for Savage was stronger than ever before.

"Thank you, Savage. And thank you, Doctor. I'm happy and relieved you passed by here!" She giggled exquisitely.

When it was obvious that the tender moment had passed, Sunshine brought up Armstrong (whom she clutched tightly), ready to take flight. "Well, I think I'll take him to the station now. I'll see you later, Savage." She smiled to him one more time, before she zipped like a bullet through the air. Next stop: the police station.

---

An overweight teenage boy stepped out of the jewelery store. Zits were scattered all over his face like pepperonis on a pizza, and his nerdy glasses did not do him any favors, appearance-wise. But he was as happy as a clam, as he shoved both of Sunshine's thawed boots into his backpack, and took off in a jog. He couldn't wait to get home and examine the celebrity's footwear. "Maybe I'll keep one and sell the other. eBay, here I come!"