
Maggie dumped the costume in the bag and then stuffed it with rags so anyone who might glance at her wouldn't know what she was really washing. They had to talk about how much time Nicky had been spending in the sewers lately. Maggie checked the change in her pocket and left the apartment, locking the door behind her.Washing the stained costume took longer than she thought. By the time it was dry she was running late for her Ancient Lit. class. Maggie stuffed the costume and rags into her backpack and raced for the subway.
Maggie made it to class in time, barely. After a discussion about the difficulty translating ancient Egyptian texts, she had lunch with her friends; who were kind enough to share their food because she'd forgotten her lunch. Maggie was in a much better mood when she made her way to Professor Cyrus' class where she worked as a TA. For Maggie, it was a rather normal day. She left Professor Cyrus' office with an armful of homework assignments she had to grade. She over heard a few students talking about Dr. Dire attacking Cronus Labs, but she didn't think much of it. Maggie was walking home from the subway when she saw the news playing in an electronic store window. The doors of the store were open so she could even faintly hear the newscaster. It was playing a clip of Dr. Dire fighting the Comet earlier that day. Maggie eyed the screen. The Comet was wearing his backup costume with the red highlights. She thought he'd still be in bed, letting other heroes deal with it. Really. If he was awake enough to fight he was awake enough to do some cleani- Maggie was cut off mid-thought as the news showed Dr. Dire stabbing Comet in the stomach. Maggie dimly heard the newscaster report that Comet had fallen from the sky and not been seen since. His status was currently unknown. Maggie turned and ran the rest of the way to her apartment.
She was breathing hard. Her sides hurt so much she felt as if she might throw up, but Maggie didn't stop until she reached her door. She fumbled with the keyes and swung it open. Then she suddenly had a whole new reason to vomit.
Nicky was lying on the couch, breathing shallowly. Her favorite towel clutched limply against his side. Maggie went over to him. He was unconscious. She gently moved the towel and gagged on bile. Maggie had stitched him up before but nothing this bad. Still, she had to try. If there was one thing worse than living with a superhero, it was not living with him at all.