2019.

The wheels of the treadmills sang under their feet as Kevin and Gracie brought their speed up to a full run. Wires from the electrodes they wore bounced with each step.

Working out wasn’t really Gracie’s thing. It felt strange to run without something to run from or to. 

“Looking back through the legacy with you,” said Kevin, “seeing all those capes, I wanted to make sure you know you don’t have to wear one when you end up joining me in the field.”

He seemed not-at-all bothered to carry on a casual conversation while engaged in an endurance run, and Gracie felt fine to let him go on. 

“The first Crimson Wraith, William Finn, chose his costume for visual effect. It was all about scaring his opponent. Edward and Adam were building on his renown, so they wanted to look at least a little like him. Hank was doing his own thing, though — no cape, just a red-hooded sweatshirt. Michael brought the cape back, but Christopher opted for a long, hooded trench coat. So, it’s not a requirement.”

She had to wonder if this was some kind of test, giving her all this information in the middle of a workout to see if she could retain it for later. Was there a quiz coming up with all these names? True or false of which Crimson Wraiths had capes or not? 

“But there are things you can do with a cape in a fight. Renaissance sword fighters would wrap capes around their opponent’s weapon or hurl it at their face, disorienting them to set up a coup de grâce.”

“Uh-huh,” said Gracie. No, this wasn’t a structured lecture. Millionaire playboy Kevin Snyder, alter-ego of the Crimson Wraith was… well, rambling? Information spilled out of him like a child explaining their favorite dinosaurs to an adult left nodding patiently. It was kind of cute, actually. 

“Now, there are drawbacks. Any cape that comes below mid-thigh risks tripping you up. Mine stops at my calves, but it breaks away at the shoulder if I get tangled up. And Danny made it so when my cape tears off, it releases a solvent to eat away at the fabric, destroying it. Very clever.”

At the mention of Danny’s name, Gracie got a burst of anger that fuelled her steps. She picked up her pace, eyes locked ahead, out the glass window overlooking a grove of small pear trees. 

But Gracie wasn’t seeing them. She was seeing Danny’s eyes, judging her, full of so much contempt, like she was a cockroach in his kitchen. 

The whine of the treadmill’s sharpened as her feet attacked the exercise machine with increasing fury.

“Gracie?” Kevin called to her. 

What the hell did he know anyway? In the real world, people do what they have to do to survive. Danny’s computers couldn’t make him feel what it was like to have been where she’d been, seen what she’d seen. How many times had a stranger tried to grope him anyway? 

Kevin brought his treadmill to a halt. “Gracie, are you ok?”

If that number was anything more than zero, Danny would have known enough to shut the fuck up with his goddamn judgemental attitude — just like he for sure as shit had never been homeless, never been hungry…

“Gracie!”

She smacked her treadmill’s controls, forcing a rapid deceleration. It came to a stop, but her breathing continued to labor. A fire burned in her chest, and it wasn’t from the running. “What?” she panted.

He was looking her over, concerned. “Talk to me,” he said. “What just happened there?”

“I just… It’s…” As much as Danny had pissed her off, Gracie wasn’t going to shit talk him to the guy who had been his boss for a decade. “Nothing. Sorry.”

“You went off somewhere,” said Kevin. “Your body was here, doing what it was going to do, but your mind was somewhere else, somewhere not good.”

“Yeah,” said Gracie. “Kind of like that. I guess.”

“I’m guessing that probably happens a lot.”

She shrugged.

He started removing the electrodes from his chest. “Let’s take a break. Hydrate. Stretch. All that good stuff.”

“Sure,” said Gracie. But as she started removing her own electrodes, she felt her fingers tremble. 

Maybe she wasn’t born for this after all. And maybe Kevin would soon realize what a huge mistake he’d made with her.