One Mean Ghost
Your Ghost Host from the West Coast
Dante
Interacting with: Open
"It will create a backdraft a lot worse than what caught me. If you've... got him bubbled, the air in that bubble is superheating. You.... You won't be able... to get foam on him before it creates a backdraft..... And... it.. may bring the entire building down on you.... assuming the explosion....-"Screams filled his ears as he watched the building come apart at the middle and start to collapse. He reached for it, trying to stop what was unfolding....
And found himself reaching for his ceiling. For several moments, he stared, confused and scared, his eyes darting this way and that as he recognized his familiar room. He let his hand fall back to rest on his forehead to wipe away the cold sweat that had formed. It was just a nightmare...
A nightmare that thankfully hadn't come to pass...
Dante sighed, turning to get out of bed. Just that mere act brought a hiss from under his breath. Even if his body had healed, that didn't mean he was out of the woods. Phantom pain, Dante knew, was common after dealing with something like he had. Even though his skin was as pale as ever, he still felt the burns on his skin. Getting dressed was an ordeal. In the end he felt like he was wearing a sandpaper body-condom when he was just wearing his version of normal clothes. He adjusted his vest and tie, checked his pocket watch, and headed about his morning routine.
A trip to Mile High Cafe, a little playtime with Mittens, the usual swing and dance. Really there was nothing out of the ordinary to even deal with. It was like the day before hadn't happened....
But it had, and people had died. Sure, it was utterly impossible for Heroes to save everyone, but couldn't help but wonder if he could have done something different to save those who had been beyond his reach. Perhaps he should just count himself lucky that all those he'd managed to reach had survived. He knew he'd feel worse if one of them hadn't made it. He knew he was too harsh on himself, but his profession was one where mistakes, minutes, seconds, could cost lives. If he wasn't fast enough, wasn't strong enough, wasn't clever enough, people could die. He'd spent most of the evening after the event at the hospital. Not for his own injuries, but to check on those who had been saved. He'd spent time with each of them to know their lives, their stories. After all, every life had a story to it. It was up to the living to ensure the dead's stories were heard. It wasn't always easy. There were tears, sorrow, sadness, but such was grief.
It wasn't something he was required to do, or even asked to do. The reason he went to the hospital after events such as this was to remember what he was fighting for. He never wanted to forget the faces of those he sought to protect, and to remind himself what the price was should he be found lacking. He'd never be a Symbol. He wasn't All Might, and he never would be a hero like that. Such a lofty mantle was beyond his reach. However, as long as he could see that pillar above him, he knew he had higher still to climb. Alucard knew better than to be content and complacent.
Honestly, he didn't remember most of what Eagle said that morning. But he did recall they had a new coworker that Eagle had handpicked after they'd.... Well, essentially broken the law. Or maybe they hadn't. Maybe they were licensed and simply hadn't picked an agency yet. If they weren't licensed though, Eagle was creating a precedent that would likely see many people killed. After all, why should anyone go through Hero courses and the like if all they had to do was ignore Heroes and rush into danger in order to get scouted? What was an Obstructing Justice or unlawful Quirk usage charge, after all, if you became a Hero for it?
He shook the thought from his head. He didn't know the guy from Adam, so it was pointless really to entertain the thoughts.
There was talk of going to the mall. It seemed a bit odd to go when they were all supposed to be on duty, but they could easily pass it off as a patrol given the mall fell within their usual patrol area anway. In his particular case, it'd be a day or two till his new Hero costume was ready. There wasn't enough of the one he wore the day before to be repaired, so it'd have to be remade from scratch. Which, unfortunately, sidelined him a bit from usual patrol activities.
He took a sip of his coffee, wondering if he should go to the mall too. He didn't particularly need anything, but if there was a sale on vests it couldn't hurt to stock up given how often his were shredded...
"I suppose I'll go too. My new Hero costume won't be done today anyway so I can't patrol normally anyhow..." He chuckled as he set his cup down. If anyone was particularly observant, they'd noticed something off about his movements. It seemed like he was actively trying to move as little as possible. Even after being awake a few hours, that burning feeling was on almost every inch of his skin. Even if he knew his body was fine....
Some injuries couldn't be seen... Especially when he knew the problem was all in his head...