Drunken Lament (private for monsterrr and myself)

[DoktorSnope]

It was a pleasant day in Sternbild City, the sun was shining its brilliant rays, not obscured by any gray clouds, the birds were chirping, and kids where playing on the sidewalk, enjoying the weekend. Keith Goodman sighed as he took it all in from his apartment window, it was rare to have a day off, he thought we would go out and enjoy it. He left his room, grabbing his keys and taking the elevator down to the ground floor, he opted to stroll around the city and take in the sights.

No sooner had he stepped out of the entrance did he hear the minute beeping of his wrist strap, the word "call" flashing on its surface. "It never stays peaceful long," he said, slightly annoyed, but still willing to help. He ran back to the garage and jumped in his car, quickly driving to his sponsor's company to get into this suit and strap on his jet pack.

He fixed his earpiece on his ear before putting on his helmet. "Bonjour Heroes," said the cool voice of Agnes Joubert, "A fire has broken out in an apartment building close to Stern bridge and the flames are spreading quickly, I want you all to head to the scene of the incident before this gets any worse".

When Kotetsu got the call, He was in the middle of eating lunch and attempting to text his teenage daughter, Kaede, about a recital she had wanted him to attend. Mostly because she needed a ride to his mothers house afterwards, But he was still touched that she asked him to do it anyway. His little girl was growing up so fast . . .

Oh, Right, The fire had to be dealt with too. Abruptly he stood from his table and dumped the remains of his bento into the trash before stumbling over various bottles littering the floor with the intent on leaving his apartment and heading out to save the day.

...Okay, Not really. He didn't do the saving, Usually it was his unfortunate partner who did while he caused some serious destruction and humiliation, But hey! It was part of the job weather his sponsors liked it or not. He shoved the door open only to see Barnaby rocket by, Already suited up and heading toward the bridge faster then any normal man could dream to run. The older NEXT grunted under his breath and chased after the costumed vigilante, pausing before he realized he had to get his own suit on beforehand.

"Man, I'm going to be so late." He turned on his heel and headed back to suit up- He half hoped that the bridge would still be burning once he managed to get there, but with all the heroes on the case, It wasn't likely.

[DoktorSnope]

"Yes, right away," Keith replied. He ran through the halls of the building and up to the rooftop. He turned his jet pack on, sprinted towards the edge and took a flying leap off. The jet pack burst into life, immediately carrying him high above the city, in the distance he could see the burning building and the thick black smoke that was billowing out of it.

He took off in its general direction, aiming to be the first one on the scene. Not too long after something went wrong. Keith noticed his pack wasn't putting out as much thrust as usual, he was losing altitude fast. "Damn, whats wrong with this thing?," Keith said aloud, he had never encountered this problem before. And then abruptly the jet pack stopped working all together and Keith plummeted to the city below. He yelled in surprise, the sound lost in the wind rushing past his ears. He city was getting closer and closer by the second, he was going to land on the top of an apartment building.

Using his power he manipulated the air around him, attempting to cushion his fall. The impact was still pretty hard, but he would manage. He took off his helmet and pulled out his cellphone, thankful that it was still functioning. "Hello? This is Keith, there was a problem with the jet pack, I'm requesting a transporter to be sent to my location.". He told them where he was and dejectedly walked down the stairs leading into the apartment and out to the sidewalk, waiting for the vehicle while passerby gawked at Sky High sitting out in front of the building. "I'm going to be late, hopefully Blue Rose made it there at least...."

When Kotetsu finally managed to get his suit on and get to the bridge (albeit before having to literally hop through the ocean of stalled afternoon traffic) he realized that indeed, The trouble was almost totally contained. Blue Rose iced most of the steaming hot metal off using the water below the bridge, while Rock Bison and Barnaby worked on holding up the broken supports for the crews headed to the scene for repairs.

The car that Wild Tiger was standing on honked obnoxiously for his attention, snapping him out of his daze. He took a leap to the ground and began to frantically apologize only to get a face full of exhaust fumes when the traffic started moving again.

"Ugh, So much for that mess." A gloved hand came to rest against his forehead when his visor lifted. "I need to figure out how to get ready faster, At this rate, pedestrians will be injured li-"

"Pedestrians are not what you should be worried about, Tiger. It's the points that count." Hissed Agnes's clipped voice from the mic on his ear. His eyes narrowed, There were probably cameras on him too right now, weren't there.

His gaze traveled back to the mess on the bridge, only to note that there was more then just he missing. Origami Cyclone was hidden in the background and Fire Emblem was working on mending the cables that been snapped due to cars driving into them to evade the flames. However, the most popular hero in the entirety of Sternbild City was missing.

"Where's Sky High?"

[DoktorSnope]

Keith sat on the stoop of the apartment building, his anxiety mounting as he repeatedly check the time. This was getting ridiculous, it had almost been half an hour since he made the request for the transporter. Better yet he had to listen to Agnes' relentless stream of complaints "You are the King of Heroes Keith! Sky High! What will the public think when you don't show your face, we will lose a massive amount of ratings!". Keith took a deep breath, irritated with Agnes lack of concern for the possible victims.

He sighed with relief when he saw the transporter round the corner. He got up and ran to meet it, removing his jetpack as he did. The engineer met him half way and they exchanged jet pack. "I'll examine this and be sure to make the proper adjustments to ensure that this incident doesn't repeat itself." Keith informed Agnes of the trade and told her he was on his way. "Good, now hurry up. We already have one hero late, two is going to make things even worse."

Someone else was late? He had a good idea of who it was. He started up his jetpack and once again headed to Stern Bridge. He could already see from this height that the fire was almost completely under control, he flew as fast as he could towards it.

He finally arrived on the scene, landing a bit rough in his haste. It was over. The fire was out, the bridge had been fixed, and ambulances were taking away the people who injured themselves in their car accidents.

A distant thump notified the black haired man that someone else joined the scene. It was easy to tell that it was Sky High, Mostly because of the cars that stopped to roll down their windows and stare, From where Kotetsu was, He could even spot some people sticking their arms out the window to take a snap shot of the hero with their cell phones.

Shifting a bit in place, He decided to book out. The party was over and he missed the good part, But he'd get there next time! It was just one more thing he needed to work on. With a sigh, The older man started off home.

- - -

After the heroic backfire, Taking nearly half an hour to peel off his suit, and fabricating a big enough lie to Kaede about why he was late to pick her up, Kotetsu could easily admit he was spent. The bottles littering his apartment floor were all empty and the fridge showed no signs of spontaneously sprouting a full one for him, so he decided against all better judgment to hightail it off to the closest bar and drown out all sorrows in his favorite brand of beer.

Turns out that the closest bar was some foreign deal, 'Red Dragonfly', and he was hesitant to enter because the name sounded ...strange, and the people inside didn't look like your average drunkards, more so like the high class business night life you see in movies.

Cursing himself inwardly, he entered anyway. Hey, If he couldn't afford any alcohol, maybe he could afford a glass of water and say he drank it up with the talent.

[DoktorSnope]

Keith watched as the scene started to disperse, nothing more could be done here. His malfunctioning machinery had caused him to miss everything. With an irritated grumble he started up his jet pack for the third time and rocketed back towards his sponsors to change into his regular clothes. He sat in the garage, in his car wondering what to do. He really didn't feel like walking the streets anymore, but he didn't want to just go back home.

He decided he might as well visit that new place that had just opened up not to far from his house, he believed it was called the Red Dragonfly. He pulled around to the back, the place had valet parking so he left his car in their care, tipped the man and headed to the entrance. Inside, both the interior and the people that were present were luxurious. As he walked to the bar he saw someone that didn't quite fit that description. "Kotetsu?," he asked, though he was pretty sure that it was.

Nursing his seven dollar cup of soda, The black haired superhero known as Wild Tiger thought he heard his name, He glanced up and looked to his side, only to see a woman dressed like she was ready to model for Vogue peering at him like he had roadkill taped to his face.

"Uh..." Then he heard someone clearing their throat and he realized the person who'd spoken to him was actually standing toward the door. Kotetsu swiveled to the opposite direction and raised his eyebrows.
None other then Sky High, AKA: Keith Goodman was addressing him. The less popular of the two gave a sheepish smile.

"Hi." He muttered, waving his hand at the blonde. "Too bad about that bridge today, Huh?"

[DoktorSnope]

"Fancy seeing you here," Keith said sitting down in an empty stool next to Kotetsu. He waved down the bartender and ordered a drink for Kotetsu and himself. The bartender looked at him pointedly and Keith pulled out some bills to tip the man, he looked shocked for moment and then happily stowed the money away. "Yeah, tell me about it. I'm just glad no one was hurt," he began to drink his beverage "Well, seriously anyway."

"Not that I helped much," he said with a slightly sour look on his face as he drained the rest of his drink and ordered another.

Surprised that Keith bought him a drink as well, he took a tentative sip before thanking the man under his breath and listening to what he had to say about what happened with the misfire.

"I can't believe you didn't make it." Kotetsu found himself saying. "You're usually always the first one to save the day." Accenting the last words with a wiggle of his hands, he flopped them uselessly back against the counter.

Staring off like he was thinking about what he said, The darker haired man settled on taking a long sip of the drink, Thankful for the alcohol. "It's alright though, Everybody makes mistakes." Another sip. "But you just laugh at it afterwards, I mean, It's not like you're reputation is ruined or anything." Even now at the bar people were peering at Keith with wide eyes, maybe they recognized him or simply were intoxicated by his handsome looks. The thought made Kotetsu feel even more like a washed up act.

"That's what getting drunk is for."