Wings Before Coffee

Phoenix, Arizona baked under a sky so blue it almost hurt to look at.

Dr. Skull sat on the edge of a rooftop water tower, one boot dangling, his black bat wings folded tight against his back. His long black hair — all the way down to his waist — fell over his shoulder in a curtain of dark. One heavy bang flopped over his left eye, held with a little skull pin. His one visible eye, bright green, stared at the city below.

He unscrewed his silver thermos and took a slow sip. Warm chicken blood. He never told anyone what it was.

Behind him, a burst of pink glitter hit the air.

"Skull! We got the assignment!" Dr. Pinkie landed beside him, breathless, her clipboard clutched to her chest.

Dr. Skull didn't turn around.

"Four kids," she said. "All terrified of the dentist."

He took another sip.

"They have overbites," she added.

Still nothing.

"Skull."

"I heard you," he said flatly.

The Clipboard Has Opinions

Dr. Pinkie tapped her clipboard twice. It made a very specific sound — the sound of someone who was not going to let this go.

"There's also a deadline," she said.

Dr. Skull slowly turned around. His one visible green eye landed on her clipboard. Stuck to the front was a printed photo — four kids standing outside a dentist's office, arms crossed, faces scrunched like they'd smelled something terrible.

"That's them," Pinkie said. "Collin, Brandon, Will, and Brooke. All overbites. All completely refusing to go back."

A new burst of glitter — blue this time — popped in the air above the water tower ladder. Dr. Hearts climbed up, relaxed as ever, one hand in his hoodie pocket. Right behind him came Dr. Mikey, landing with a sharp snap of his wings and looking slightly annoyed.

"Took you two forever," Mikey said, looking right at Skull.

Skull didn't answer. He was still staring at the photo.

The wind picked up off the rooftop, and a loose sheet of paper flew off Pinkie's clipboard and sailed straight off the building.