I Fell For My Nemesis

Keeping a job did not jive with hero work. Keith Savage hadn't stayed in one place for more than a year and a half since graduating high school and focused more on being a hero than trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, he had no sense of direction. Being stuck in one career for the rest of his life put an awful lot of pressure on him.

He had been so paralyzed by the endless options spread before him that he hadn't been able to decide on a college major and got an associate degree in general studies before giving up. Since then he had worked as a nightguard, a 911 operator, a mailman, a telemarketer, a doorman… It was hard keeping track of all of his jobs, honestly.

Keith had been fired more times than he could count for showing up late or not showing up at all because he got stuck doing something involving saving the city. It was a miracle places kept hiring him at all.

He tended to go where they were desperate. They didn't care much about how many times he had been fired when they were seriously shorthanded.

That was how he got into food delivery. It was a lot more flexible than being stuck in the kitchen the whole time was. He wasn't a huge fan of it but it worked best around his schedule…even if he did keep getting fired for missing weekend shifts.

Keith was trying his best here but it was difficult for someone like him to work full-time! He couldn't afford to live by only working part-time though. So he found a way to work around it.

He couldn't deny that his current system was partially influenced by his friend Joss. After he got fired from the pizza place she used to order from and found him again completely by accident he realized that seeing her had become an integral part of his day.

So whenever he was forced to change jobs he made sure to stick with food delivery in the area so he could keep seeing her. Her shift coincided well with the work hours a hero needed so that was what he used to justify his decision.

Keith's hours were weird though. A few here, a few there. He kept either getting fired or trying to find something that worked better, hence the constant job switches.

He hadn't been fired this time. He switched to the Thai restaurant because they were solely looking for a weekday person. The best part was that it was full-time and offered benefits. Not having health insurance as a hero was terrifying. He had been very lucky not to get seriously injured yet.

With such a good setup he was determined to stick it out as long as possible. All he had to do was not get sidetracked on the way to work and he would be golden. The problem was that he was not good at letting other people handle things when they were right in front of him.

Keith really needed to be better about that. Now that he found the perfect setup he could not afford to lose this job.

He hoped that Joss liked Thai food because she would be eating it for a while. If she ever got sick of it he would have to come up with some other excuse to see her. Sad as it was, she was probably his best friend unless you counted Frostine. He did not want to count Frostine.

She was useful to have around and always had his back in a fight but she was such a know-it-all that sometimes he wanted to shake her. It seemed like all she ever did was contradict him.

Frostine was as cold as her powers and blunt to boot. She was physically incapable of sugarcoating

She was an interesting person to tease though because she never reacted. He was determined to get her laugh, smile, blush, etc. eventually. But it had been four years and she hadn't yet.

Frostine wasn't his best friend but she was certainly his oldest. Keith was friendly with everyone he met but never got close to anyone because of how busy he was as a hero.

And because he was used to having to leave people behind. Why get attached when you know you'll never see them again?

That wasn't a problem now in the age of social media but it had been when he was a kid. Though he couldn't deny the thought of only interacting with Joss on social media was not a pleasant one.

She was another one who was interesting to tease. She didn't react to his dramatics the same way most people did. He was a lot goofier as himself than he was as Delta because people expected him to be more heroic than that.

He had tried patterning his hero persona after Mercury's. Everybody loved Mercury.

Keith was used to not being taken seriously but that posed a problem when trying to get bystanders to cooperate. He had learned that early on in his hero career.

He would never tell her this but he looked up to Frostine's ability to handle a crowd. Her cool, calm, and collected demeanor helped keep panicking people at ease even if it was difficult to deal with under certain circumstances.

What kind of person was she behind the mask? Was she always so stiff and humorless?

Keith would never find out. Secret identities were kept secret for a reason. She couldn't have much more of a social life than he did though. He saw her several times a week and that was way more than any other hero he knew. They might actually have lives and careers and only do this as a side gig.

It would be nice if being a hero paid. That seemed to be the only thing he was truly good at.

Nevertheless, he was determined not to screw up his new job. He needed it if he ever wanted to get out of his apartment shared with five other guys. As much as he might not want to he really did need to start thinking about the long-term future.

Mercury's retirement and the conversation they had about why he did it had sort of lit a fire under him. He had done it so he could get married. To even be able to do that he had to be fairly financially stable.

Keith couldn't deny being a little jealous of him. He was unarguably one of the most popular heroes if not the most popular. Everyone loved him. He had the most fan groups of any hero in New York City (yes, Keith had checked) and had the highest hero approval ratings.

Mercury had it together as a hero and now it seemed like he had it together in his retirement as well. He had prepared for it. Keith needed to prepare for it too.

Granted, he still had plenty of time. He was only twenty-five and had been doing hero work publicly since graduating from community college at twenty-one. Most heroes didn't retire until they were in their late twenties or early thirties.

Keith liked being a hero—it gave him a sense of purpose—but he couldn't deny that retirement had been sounding nicer and nicer lately. Not dealing with villains or keeping up an exhausting public persona so people would like him or Frostine's ongoing disdain was appealing.

But if he wasn't a hero he would be a washout former foster kid who couldn't hold a job. At least as Delta he had one thing going for him.

Though if he quit he might be able to make some real friends. Or see Joss on the weekends. He didn't know what she got up to when she wasn't in the office but he didn't exactly have time for hobbies so he would be down for anything.

Delta was the only thing that had ever been solely Keith's. Growing up he was always sharing things with his foster siblings or doing what other people wanted to do so he would fit in. Ha. Like he ever truly fit in anywhere.

He had superpowers! The only niche he fit into was the one that other superpowered people fell into. Heroes or villains. And after seeing his dad go in and out of jail his whole childhood he did not want to be a villain and risk that.

Keith preferred helping people to hurting them. Everyone liked a helpful person.

People who were helpful, friendly, funny, and kind tended to resonate best with others. So that was what he had become. He wasn't any of those things naturally except maybe funny. But people had always told him he had a strange sense of humor. That he didn't know how to take anything seriously.

How could he when it felt like his whole life was a joke? It was easier to laugh his way out of things than talk about his feelings. To the point that it had become an important part of his personality.

Unfortunately, Keith couldn't get away with not taking things seriously for much longer. The time had come to start preparing for the future he had never wanted and he wasn't looking forward to it at all.. If it was up to him he would stay as Delta forever but he knew that wasn't realistic.