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Alice was an internet legend. A pop star with 1.3 million followers. Sure, she uploaded livestreams and casual Outfit Of The Day instagram stories on her days off, but she took great pride in curating her image as Prism.
So when her roots started showing, Alice was quick to do something about it.
“Hey Bae! You got any plans this weekend?” Alice asked over the intercoms.
“Mmm.. nah,” came his casual answer. “Might take Robbo and Waterbitch out to the club if everyone can stay Big long enough. You know how off-days are.”
Boy, did she know it. Hero work was demanding. Half the calls SDN received felt more like grunt work than anything, but at the end of the day, she’d rather take down a couple losers trying to rob an ATM than rot in prison of all places.
All that pressure and frustration from work and social media came to a halt whenever she got the chance to regress on the weekends. She didn’t even mean to do it sometimes. It just happened.
“Flambae.” Robert's voice came out clipped. It seemed their dispatcher was still a little shy about his Switch classification being talked about in a public channel.
“Whaaaat?” Chad asked. “Everyone slips on their days off! Stop being such a tightass!”
Hoots and hollers from the team quickly filled up the voice channel.
“My roots are showing again,” Alice stated bluntly. “Think I can stop by for a Dye Day?”
There was a beat of silence in the comms.
Then a grunt as Flambae slammed a villain against the side of someone’s beat-up sedan.
“Oh hell yeah,” Chad said. “I was wonderin’ when you were gonna say something.”
Alice stiffened immediately. “Fuck’s that supposed to mean?”
“Stop squirming around, you slimy fucker!” Chad hissed. There was a pause. “Relax, Light Saber. Hair growth is a natural process. I still got the gloves and your towel at my place anyways.”
Robert cleared his voice. “If Prism is coming over then Waterboy and I can… uh. Go out. For a bit.”
“A-Absotutly! I mean -lutely!” Herman chimed in.
Alice couldn’t help but grin a little. As much as she loved hanging out with Robert and Herm, she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t dying for some one on one time with Chad.
After all, Chad was Alice’s Uncle Bae way before he was ever Herman’s Papi.
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Turns out, Chad had more than just gloves and towels at his apartment. He’d stocked up on beauty supplies like a man preparing for the apocalypse. The space under the sink was overflowing with face masks, nail polish options, and he’d even bought a new LED mirror just for the occasion.
“Ooooh okay!” Alice squealed, taking in the arsenal of self-care products. “You weren’t lyin’ when you said you were ready for me!”
Chad crossed his arms and puffed his chest out, the little gap in his teeth visible as he smiled brightly. “Told ya! Now sit down so I can get started.”
Alice hopped onto the vanity stool, feeling herself relax with every second she spent in Chad’s presence. She kicked her feet back and forth, pleasantly surprised to find that they dangled a few inches above the ground in this seat.
She wasn’t quite regressed yet, but she could feel herself getting there.
Just then, the front door creaked open, and wet sneakers squeaked against the floors. Robert and Herman shuffled into the entryway, looking significantly more ‘small’ than they’d sounded over the comms earlier. Robert hugged Beef’s leash to his chest while Herman peered into the bathroom curiously, clutching a half-empty bottle of blue Gatorade with both hands.
They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Alice sitting by the sink, already hovering over a pack of glittery face masks.
“Oh,” Robert murmured, a rosy flush creeping across his freckled face. “Hey, Prism. We were just... leaving.”
Alice’s expression softened instantly. “Relax, Robbo. This is your house. I’m just here to get my sparkle back.”
Herman peeked at the bowl of hair developer in Chad’s hands. “Um… So is- is Papi… g-gonna-the purple one? For you? Today? Or… or maybe the pink?”
“Ugh, please! Purple is so last tour, Herm,” Alice laughed, reaching over to give him a quick, one-armed squeeze. “We’re going with my usual pink and blue. Gotta keep up appearances for the ‘gram, right?”
“O-oh.” Herman paused, eyes drawn to her hair. “P-Pretty. It looks- pretty. Anyway. Even with the brown spots.”
“Thanks, kiddo.” Alice flicked his nose playfully before looking up at Robert, who was still hovering awkwardly by the coat rack. “You guys heading to the arcade or something? Or just for a walk?”
“Park,” Robert managed, finally finding his voice. “Herm needs to run off some energy before he... you know. Regresses all the way. We’ll be back in a few hours.”
He paused, one hand on the doorknob as he looked back at Alice. “Have a good Dye Day, Alice. Don’t let him get anything in your eyes again.”
“That was one time!” Chad yelled from the bathroom.
“See ya, guys!” Alice shouted, waving at them from the vanity.
She let out a sigh of relief as the door clicked shut.
“Can we start now?” she asked, her voice smaller than it had been all week. “My head hurts from the hairspray.”
“Already on it.”
Chad draped a warm towel around Alice’s shoulders, his movements surprisingly gentle for a man who spent his morning shattering concrete. He began mixing the dye in a small plastic bowl, the chemical scent filling the small bathroom.
“I noticed you've been posting a lot lately.” His eyes met hers in the new LED mirror. “Even for you. Is everything okay?”
Alice’s smile faltered. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
Chad groaned. “Don’t do that. The whole… denial thing. Robby Bobby Bobert Robertson already does it enough for the both of you.”
Alice snorted and rolled her eyes. It didn’t matter how many times they did it; messing around with Robert’s name was always funny to her.
“It’s just… if I’m not trending, then I feel like I’m disappearing,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “If the numbers drop, then it’s like I’m just… nothing. I hate that.”
Chad stopped stirring. He placed a gloved hand on her shoulder.
“You aren’t nothing.” He dipped the brush into the cream. “‘Nothing’ doesn’t get you 1.3 mil. Now, shut up and let me work. Do you want to be a pop star or a walking disaster?”
Alice giggled and leaned her head back, closing her eyes as she felt the cool dampness of the brush against her scalp.
“Uncle Bae?” she whispered.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t mess up my hair. I have a photoshoot on Monday.”
“I’ve been dying your hair for eight months,” Chad grunted, carefully parting a section of her hair. “I think you’ll be alright.”
He worked in silence for a while, the methodical scritch-scratch of the brush against her roots lulling her into that soft, fuzzy retreat in the back of her mind. The frantic buzz of her phone—which she’d turned face-down on the counter—felt miles away. Right now, the only thing that mattered was the weight of the warm towel around her shoulders and the careful precision of Chad’s hands.
"There," Chad murmured, stepping back to admire his handiwork. "Now we let it cook."
He reached into the cabinet and pulled out a small strawberry-scented stuffed toy. She jumped when he tossed it into her lap.
"Relax a little. Nothing bad is gonna happen if you don't post a selfie for twenty-four hours,” he said.
Alice didn’t say anything at first, opting to trace the embroidered seeds on her little plush strawberry instead. When she looked up at the mirror she didn’t see Prism, the famous influencer. She saw a girl with a whole lot of messy, colorful goo on her head and a tired smile.
"Thanks, Uncle Bae," she said finally.
Chad swapped the towel around her neck out for a newer, warmer one, careful not to smudge the dye. "Anytime, Nightlight. Now let's go put on some cartoons. I think we've had enough 'reality' for one day."
Alice skipped a little as they made their way to the living room. For the first time all week, she didn't even bother glancing back at her phone.