Chapter 17: The Sub Enforcers
Adam hated Lillian. Always had.
He had been born and raised in the city of Oleander, under the great banner of Full Monarch, and had intended to stay in that city all his life. Even when his wife moved, leaving him behind, Adam refused to budge. Yet now, as he stared up at the ceiling of the fancy hospital he had been placed in, he couldn't help but wonder how his wife and daughter were doing.
"Sir, is there anything you would like to watch?" One of the many nurses who tended to the machines that kept him alive asked, holding up the remote.
"And listen to more bad news? Pass." Adam barked. "I'd rather die in peace than hear about how the mighty Victorian saved another city. Forget all the damage that was done in the process. No one ever focuses on that, though. We're all too busy gawking at how stunning she is."
"Must you talk bad about my best friend?" Adam felt his eyes narrow, the nurse freezing, when they heard the voice. The window to the hospital was pushed up, and a chilling wave of ice entered, followed by a flow of water. Ocean Empress pulled her way past the frame and softly landed on the hospital floor. She sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her head. All the while, her outfit flowed about her body, slowly settling into a dress. "Hey, Dad."
Adam, formerly known as Old Dog, the oldest superhero to date and an ex-member of the Enforcers, felt his face soften when he saw his daughter. "River."
"Save it." Ocean Empress held her hand up, silencing her father. "I don't have time to talk for very long, Dad. I just came to check on you."
Adam let out a sick cough, holding onto several of the tubes that stabbed into his flesh. "I'm still dying. Nothing new. A life of saving this ungrateful world, this is my reward."
"You lived longer than most heroes."
"You make it sound like it's a good thing."
Old Dog was one of the first members of the original Enforcers. He had fought on the front lines when Full Monarch battled the Emperor. He had gone toe to toe with the world's strongest villain back in the day. Of course, that was so long ago.