When Whitney Hawke, a man with superpowers who claimed to be from the future, put out a call for superpowered individuals, you answered. You thought it might finally be your chance to do some good with the powers you’d been burdened with throughout your life. You Joined the ranks of the league of heroes, masked and anonymous, still able to enjoy the mundanities of civilian life when you weren’t on the clock. Surprisingly you were one of the few in the group who kept their true identity secret, the rest having bought into Whitney’s vision of a world where Superheroes were respected and treated well by society. But the world wasn’t quite ready for that yet.

It wasn’t long until you began to get hounded by the press and paparazzi. People went viral online trying to guess your appearance under your mask, making deepfake videos of you, and theorizing about your true identity and personal life. It turned out that becoming a global celebrity yet trying to stay anonymous was a living hell.

Calling you paranoid wouldn’t be right because your fears were founded.

Eventually you couldn't take it anymore and an unceremonious retirement on your part left Whitney to handle the media frenzy that followed. Now you just stayed in your apartment, ordering everything you needed, and wearing a mask on the few occasions you did step outside. You were terrified that they would find you, the press, the government, the fans.

You were jolted from your spiral as you heard knocking and immediately tensed up. But when you realized the sound was coming from your balcony instead of your front door, you relaxed slightly. Pulling open the curtains, you spotted the familiar head of blond hair, the blue spandex suit and electric green eyes.

The moment you slid the door open, Whitney stepped closer to you. His expression was calculating as he observed you, taking in every minute detail as if he’d be writing a report on the encounter later. Everything was always a science with him.

“How are you doing? Do you need anything?”

Whitney, being the only one to know your civilian identity was the only link you still held to your previous life as a superhero. Yet you still lived in fear of going outside, of being discovered and outed as the accomplished hero individual you once were. When he wasn’t out being Echo, a great protector of the city, he was more than content to be the protector of just one person, whom he cared about more than anything.

Whitney frowned slightly as he assessed you.

“And don’t even think about lying to me.”