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The cardboard taste of cigarettes fills her mouth; smoke, her lungs as she breathes. It’s a tired habit, she knows, but there are nights that call for it. Like tonight for starters, there is way too much paperwork and less hours in a day to finish it, even for someone as dedicated as Regina.
There are no more people in the building, even she sent Ali home. Loyal as he is to her, Regina knows her boundaries as an employer.
So, she’s alone.
This is not the first time she spent slaving the hours away till morning, nor will it be the last. There will always be people to save and cases left unfinished. She’s used to it by now. The being alone, the being busy enough not to notice she’s alone, the being alone enough that even the voices in her head are quiet.
The breeze is humid, and there is a salty spray to it as Regina inhales and exhales into the night. The security guard on graveyard duty is patrolling around the building far away enough from the entrance to spy on their boss, who's sitting on the building steps, indulging in her nasty vice. She’d smoke on her office balcony, but she doesn't want the smell to cling to the room. Besides, the walk from elevator to lobby, then lobby to entrance and back is good for her, anyway.
She’s in the middle of taking a long drag and blowing it straight to the sky when-
WOOSH! THUD! CRACK!
Regina feels the ground beneath her vibrate at the impact, she lets out a startled, terrified “Ohfuck.” at the commotion, almost squishing the cigarette between her fingers in a sudden grip, her heart going loud in her chest.
Once the shock passes Regina registers what it is exactly she’s seeing.
It’s the girl.
The Flying Extra. Ang Babaeng Lumilipad. Darna. Or whatever the fuck it is they were calling her these days.
She stands in front of her, a very small crater beneath her feet. When she sees the expression on Regina’s face, she immediately turns apologetic.
“Ah, gandang gabi, Attorney. Nagulat ba kita? Sorry kung nabigla kita.”
Understatement of the year, not that Regina’s going to let her know that she’s struggling to control her breathing back to normal. Regina stands from her place on the steps. The heroine has a surprisingly soft voice, it seems familiar somehow but Regina can’t place it. Staring at her now, Regina kind of gets why she gets the attention, she may hate her, mistrust her, whatever—but Regina has eyes…and well?
Darna looks ethereal in the darkness of the night. Lit up by the orange streetlights she looks like she came from the stars.
Maybe she did.
“It’s okay, I'm fine,” Regina says, lying through her teeth. “What brings you here? What can I do for you…” she pauses, raises a brow, “Darna? Tama ba?”
Regina watches as she fidgets for a second. You’d think superheroes would be smoother. With Regina in heels and two steps above the ground, the heroine has to look up at her.
“Opo, Darna,” she confirms, she takes a step closer. Regina stays stationary, crosses her arms in a protective stance, before bringing the cigarette to her lips again. “Uhm, wala nagpapatrol kasi ako. E nakita ko ho kayong mag-isa. Alam nyo na delikado ngayon, kaya naisip ko, tumigil muna.”
“I can handle myself.” It’s instinctive this response.
Regina can’t recall how many times she’s said it over the years. In the beginning it used to be for self-preservation. There have been a number of people who’ve told her they’d protect her, and well…they didn’t. (She doesn’t need this pseudo-savior thinking it’s up to her to protect Regina as well. Oh please as if. She'd probably let Regina down as well, anyway. )
Although, lately, it's become a protest. An automatic retort to prove herself to her father. Because, it’s just been years and years of this. Of all the fucking doubt. She doesn’t need this woman to underestimate her either. So yes, Regina can handle herself. Quite well, if she might add.
“Ah, e, I mean-sigurado naman ako na kaya mo sarili mo. Ang ibig ko sabihin, ano a-"
Regina just narrows her eyes at her as she fumbles, she cuts her off, saves her the embarrassment. “I took self-defense classes when I was younger, so I think I’ll be fine. Salamat na la-”
“Ako rin!” Darna exclaims, suddenly excited, she comes closer still. “Dati, nagte-training ako kasama nanay ko.” Her eyes sparkle as if genuinely happy that she’s found some common tie with Regina, no matter how trivial it seems to be. The hero seems to lose all sense of formality in her enthusiasm.
“Nag-te-training pala ang mga superhero,” Regina comments, going down the steps to be on equal ground with Darna, concluding that this little run-in with the hero would take longer than expected.
“Oo naman,” Darna answers, then in a much somber voice says, “‘di ko nga lang natapos.” She tries to smile it off, but Regina can hear the sadness in her tone.
“‘Wag ka maingay ma’am ha,” Darna tells her, “pero hindi naman talaga ako yung unang Darna. Ibang tao ho yun. Hindi kami pareho.”
There's a weight behind that statement. Well, now that’s got Regina intrigued. There’s something inside her that is craving to find out more, to know the story. It’s like an itch at the back of her mind.
“Why are you telling me this?” Regina finds herself blurting out, instead. Curious as she is to know the hero’s story, shouldn’t people like her keep those things quiet? Aren’t secret identities secret for a reason? Shouldn’t heroes be more careful about their backstories? Not blabber around to a stranger like Regina?
Darna shrugs, “Ewan ko rin ma’am, mukha kasing makikinig ka sa ‘kin. Hindi ba yun ang buong gimmick mo Attorney? Nakikinig ka sa kwento ng mga tao ng Nueva Esperanza?”
She’s not wrong. It is Regina’s job to listen to the people, to serve the people, and to make Nueva Esperanza better. But coming from a hero? She’s skeptical.
She just scoffs at her.
Darna doesn’t seem to be deterred by this though, instead it seems to bolster her further, “Matanong ko lang ma’am, bat ba may galit ka sa ‘kin?”
Well, looks like she isn’t all softness and sunshine after all. Regina already has a reply to that one, “Di ako galit sa ‘yo. Wala lang akong tiwala. Ang tiwala, hindi basta-basta binibigay. Isa kang extra na may kakayahang lumipad, na nakikipagcollaborate sa kapulisan.”
“Sa kapulisan?” Darna intones, “You mean si Brian?”
“Pulis si Brian,” Regina says, letting smoke pass through her lips. “Pare-pareho lang sila.”
She cares about Brian, sure, she thinks there’s hope for him yet, but his recent venture with the mayor is making her doubt.
“Paano kung iba si Brian?”
“Edi more chances of him getting in danger. Pwede syang gawing target.”
“Ang hirap naman manalo sa ‘yo,” Darna seems to whine.
“Mhm. That’s what makes me a good lawyer.”
She watches as the hero takes a deep breath, postures, and closes in on Regina. She stands in front of her, with Regina in heels she’s an inch or so taller, but with the hero’s stance and steely gaze, they seem almost on equal footing.
“Alam mo bang pareho lang naman tayo ng gusto, Regina?” Darna tells her, sincere and soft.
And that.
That gets her attention, her first name falling from the hero’s lips carries a familiarity in them that it shouldn’t have.
She makes the mistake of meeting her gaze and oh fuck, she shouldn’t have done that.
“Ano namang alam mo sa mga gusto ko ha?”
She can feel herself cracking the longer she stares into those dark eyes, so she turns away, taking a long drag of her cig.
“Alam kong gusto mong mawala na sa pwesto si Mayor, mapuksa na ang krimen sa Nueva Esperenza,” the hero takes a deep breath, continues staring into Regina’s eyes as she says, “Alam kong gusto mo lang tumulong, makatulong. Maging mabuti.”
"Hindi ko kailangan yan,” Regina says, serious but not unkind, “I know I'm good, you don't have to tell me. Naiirita lang ako na bakit pagdating sayo madali lahat. samantalang ako, ako na nauna, ako na nagbubuhos dugo't pawis and well, pati na nga tulog, e kailangan makipagsapalaran day in day out para lang makuha tiwala ng Nueva Esperanza. Ang daya-daya naman nun. So what, just because you have powers you're special?"
The hero seems stunned at her little tirade, Regina is stunned, too. She didn't know she's been carrying all this resentment in her all along, just waiting for the perfect audience to unleash upon.
But before she loses her nerve, she puffs out one last drag and says, "Hindi superhero ang kailangan ng Nueva Esperanza, Darna. Ang kailangan nila ay mamulat."
Darna turns quiet after that, and Regina thinks she'll just fly away as sudden as she came but she doesn't, instead she walks towards the steps and sits down. Regina half-thinks she’s gonna go and pat the ground next to her, ask Regina to sit, but she’s surprised when the hero doesn’t.
"Alam mo ba ma'am,” Darna starts, “hindi ko naman ginusto toh e."
Regina turns to face her, walks slowly towards the steps till she can tap the tiptoes of her stilettos to the hero’s red boots.
“Etong tadhana na toh,” She continues to confess, she looks up at Regina for a moment, “etong mga kapangyarihan na toh. E ang gusto ko lang naman nun, makasama yung nanay ko.”
“Kala ko kasi, wala namang ibig sabihin yung mga patraining-training ko noon, kala ko gusto nya lang ako makasama, bonding ba ganun. Yun pala hinahanda na nya ako 'di ko lang alam.”
Regina stays quiet, and the night seems to follow suit, too. The cars on the nearby freeway seeming to muffle their engines, the crickets slowing their songs, even the breeze knows to stay silent. As if, all the world has conspired to let Darna tell her story.
“Minsan nagagalit ako,” Darna admits, she breaks eye contact with Regina and stares at the ground. “Kasi dapat sinabi nya. Dapat sinabi nya agad. Hindi yung nangangapa ako sa gitna ng gulo, hindi yung di ko sigurado kung ano yung ginagawa ko, kung tama ba o mali, parang ang daya.” She sounds angry now, and if this were any other time, Regina would use this to further her belief that the flying Extra is a danger. If she carries this much anger in her, then what hope do the rest of them have in the face of her wrath?
But….
There is also a part of her that sympathizes, that wants to understand. The hero sitting in front of Regina like this, on the floor and professing her resentment, her anger, she doesn’t seem so much a savior but a young woman, lost and just making it all up as she goes. Hoping that this time she’s going to get it right. Like Regina does on days where she feels out of control.
“Ang daya-daya,” Darna mutters, all traces of anger gone now, replaced by a hint of sadness, and it pulls Regina’s attention back towards her. They look at each other.
“Naiintindihan kita, Regina.,” Darna implores, “Siguro, pasensya na lang na yun ang tingin sating dalawa ng Nueva Esperanza, na pakiramdam mo luge ka, talo ka, hindi ko gusto yon.”
“Alam kong ginagawa mo ang lahat,” she tells her, “at kung tutuosin nga baka mas magaling ka pa sakin, e alam mo na ang pasikot sikot ng batas, ako magaling lang ako manapak."
Regina has to smile a bit at that, and it pulls a soft grin from the hero, too.
"Sana, sana maintindihan mo rin ako, gusto ko lang din tumulong, bakit 'di natin pag usapan yan?” Darna offers, hopeful eyes shining at her in the night, “Kung gusto mo? Pag hindi na sana hatinggabi at maginaw, tawagin mo lang ako. Darating ako.”
Regina’s expression stays impassive at the offer, she’s thinking about it too much she knows, and the hero seems to sense this, her hesitation. Darna offers her an out, "O sya sige na, salamat sa pakikinig Attorney."
She makes to leave, when Regina moves, drops the cigarette, stomps it beneath her heel, and takes a seat next to her.
"Madaya nga ang mundo,” Regina agrees, they're close enough that the hero’s bare shoulder will touch Regina’s sleeved one if she moved. “Mas madaya sya sa marami pang tao, kesa sa ating dalawa. We're still lucky,” Regina tells her, turning to glance at the hero before facing forward again.
“Tayo we still have a bit more than some people. You have powers, ako kay pangalan at pera. Yung iba dinaya at kinuha na sa kanila ang lahat ng mundo.” It’s true, they both know it’s true and it’s enough for them to sit in the silence of it. Before Regina finds herself saying, “Kaya, sige. Okay, bibigyan kita ng chance, let's talk.”
She can feel the hero perk up next to her, can feel her smile, her excitement at having won Regina over.
Regina rolls her eyes internally at her eagerness.
“Sometime soon,” she says, adds, “maybe.” but it’s not enough snark to quell the happiness rolling off in waves from the hero. So, she turns sincere instead, “At-salamat rin, sa pagtigil, sa pagsama, sa usap."
Regina feels like she owes it to the night to be at least a little bit grateful that it allowed her to see a vulnerable side to Darna, allowing a sneak peek that she bets most people would kill for.
"Anytime Attorney.” Darna stands, a bright beaming grin on her face, she reaches a hand to Regina to pull her up from the ground. “Ingat po sa pag-uwi, itulog nyo na yan. Pano matutulungan ni SuperRegina ang mga tao kung puyat sya?”
Regina laughs as she stands to full height, she can’t help it now, her smile is infectious.
“Ingat rin, Darna,” she says as the hero starts to walk off.
“Tulog na!” she calls one last time, “Bye Attorney!"
And then, she’s taking off and flying into the night. Leaving Regina in some sort of giddy high, as if the sight is enough to make her feel like she’s flying herself.
God, what a night.
She’s still riding that high, when she comes inside the building again, and it isn’t till she’s back inside of her office and packing up her things that she realizes.
Saglit.
“Pano matutulungan ni SuperRegina ang mga tao kung puyat sya?”
It repeats again and again and again in her head. There’s only one person who she’s said that to.
Narda.
Instantly, her heart starts to thrum in her chest before plummeting to the ground. Whatever leftover warmth the talk with the hero has given her, utterly gone. That’s why her soft hands felt familiar, the sound of her voice, the safety in her eyes.
She goes cold at the realization.
And then, the voices come.
Sya ang protektor ng bato!
Ssssssya si Darna.
Ssssssii Narda ay isang manloloko!
They confirm her worst fears and Regina is paralyzed. She’s left reeling, emotions cloud her head, there is anger and shock and…panic, utter panic. Because, if Narda’s the hero then-
Dapat tinuklaw na natin sya!
Bakit hindi mo pa ginawa!?!
Bakit hinayaan mong makalipad?!
Bakit hinayaan mo?!
Ang protektor ng bato!
Dapat nang mawala!
Si Narda
Si Darna
Si Narda
Dapat na syang mawala!
She crumples to the floor clutching her head, the last thing she hears is her own guttural scream as everything fades to black.