Page 50 of Lovesick Gods

Lynn stood looking over Andre’s shoulder at the computer screen. Danny and John joined them and regarded the mug shot they’d pulled up. There was nothing particularly defining about the man, other than his teal eyes. Mid-30s, brown hair, no prominent features; neither unattractive nor good looking. He seemed the epitome of the everyman.

“Cassidy Ludgate,” Danny read from the photo. “What do we know about him?”

“He’s the only former employee of the glassworks with a record,” Andre said. “He was fired last year.And—and this is the real kicker—he disappeared from Olympus City the day after Thanatos was defeated.”

The blood drained from Danny’s face. “What does he have to do with Thanatos?”

“We don’t know yet,” John jumped in, “but it’s that much more likely he’s an Elemental. Maybe he has ties to Thanatos. Maybe he…admired him.”

Danny’s stomach churned at the thought.

“The real question is how is he breaking into these places? What’s his power? Walk through walls? Turn invisible?” John turned to Lynn and Andre for their thoughts.

“That fits some known Light abilities and it would make naming him easier,” Andre said, since he was rather fond of ‘The Invisible Man’.

“But it wouldn’t explain the amount of loot being taken,” Danny burst his bubble. “Even if he could make the loot invisible too, how did he do it all so quickly?”

“Ability to…shrink things and…?” Andre tried but tapered off.

Lynn interjected, “Unfortunately, we don’t know enough to pinpoint his powers yet or why he disappeared when he did. He’s registered as Lightleaning, so he was likely in hiding.”

“Meaning we’re still at square one,” Danny huffed.

“Hardly.” John slapped him on the back. “We have a name, Danny. A face. Someone had to have seen the guy, even if his last known address is over a year old. It’s something. We’ll put out an APB and see what comes up.”

“Yeah, I guess…” Danny wanted to be pleased, but he also wanted a target. Not just a name, but a location to track the guy down and…

Rolling his shoulders to keep that jolt of anger from climbing, Danny reminded himself that he didn’t want to hurt him. If hehad to throw the guy around a bit to bring him in, fine, but he had to be better than that. He had to be better than Thanatos. Better than what Thanatos had made of him.

John’s hand coming down on his shoulder again startled him. “You beat yourself up, kiddo, but you’re playing detective as well as full-time superhero. Don’t be so hard on yourself. We’ll get him.”

“I know.” Danny pulled on a smile. “It just would have been a nice way to start the night’s patrol if I could put this one behind us.”

“The night’s still young. Maybe the APB will get a hit.”

Danny highly doubted luck was in his favor.

While he got into costume and prepared for a long night, John headed upstairs to get things rolling on the APB.

“Danny, can I talk to you for a minute?” Lynn came over as he was about to pull down his mask.

“Uh sure.”

Bringing him out into the hallway that led to the various storerooms, it was clear Lynn meant for this to be a private conversation. Great.

“I just wanted you to know that I’ve been researching possible ways to use medication on you,” she said. “Not just because of how you’ve been feeling lately, but for pain too.”

“That’s…great.” Danny burned through pain killers too quickly for most of them to be of any use to him. The rest of the topic wasn’t one he wanted to discuss right now, but he mustered a smile for her efforts.

“The truth is, Danny,” she said softer, causing him to sharpen his gaze on her concerned face, “your serotonin levels have been low. Much lower than I’d like. It’s a perpetuating cycle. You’re depressed because bad things happened, so your serotonin levels are lower, and because they’re low, you feel more depressed, which makes you act out and pull away fromactivities and people that might provide a boost and rush of endorphins.”

Danny held up a hand. “I know how all that works, Lynn. And I’ve been trying to find some time for more endorphin-friendly activities, but I’ve been busy.”

“There’s always time for your own wellbeing, Danny.” Reaching for his arm, she gave a gentle squeeze.

“I know,” Danny said, even as the chasm in his chest deepened. “Thanks, Lynn. If you figure something out with the meds, maybe it’ll help.” The idea of being able to flip a switch and be happy again would have been comforting, but even if Lynn could find a way past his metabolism, he knew it didn’t work that way.

Lynn opened her mouth to say something more, but Danny heard his phone go off in the main room and leapt at the chance to answer it.

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