Mentions: Powers @Hitman

One week...one week that changed everything for me...

Alpha sat on the edge of his bed in his room inside Hero One. Still wondering if he had made the right choice...because his decision had one of several consequences.

But the primary one being that he was no longer an official "police officer" and being stripped of his police badge, sidearm and even his secondary codename "K Nine".

Though he also knew that this wasn't the first time he had messed up. His "secret" team back in his day weren't all that different. Well...they were smaller in number compared to the numbers assigned to Hero One. Plus, Hero One was a official team of Heroes. But even then, it was only because another Hero team had called them out.

This time, he had only but himself to blame...for the first time since he was only a kid...he lost control of himself...only this time, he didn't suddenly use his power to kill someone...he chose to help his new team. To trust them...and this was the result.

Not long afterwards, I.C.O.S.A. made it no secret that they wanted to split up all those involved with stopping Seraph's coup de tat. Though to him, it was only because they actually got the job done while they were still dragging their heels during the whole incident and just wanted to cover their own rear ends. It would look bad for the I.C.O.S.A. if they were disgraced for failing to react to a situation that Seraph and his EAGLES caused. The only reason Alpha knew any of this was because Alpha still had some friends within the US government here and there. At the very least, they warned him that he was going to be watched a lot more closely now. If not by Powers and/or Lavender but from anyone I.C.O.S.A. sends.

Though it wouldn't be the first time he got busted by the I.C.O.S.A. as he thought.

But...it was two days after the incident that both his parents paid him a visit...not only to check up on him and his well-being...but to celebrate his birthday...his 23rd birthday.

They were happy as always but even more so that he started talking to them normally rather than a stiff soldier. So much so they they even told him this.

"No matter how much you change. For better or worse...we both are proud of you."

Now...he was just an emotional mess.

But it was those emotions that he noticed that made his stronger...for one, when he was trying to heal Quake, he didn't waste energy doing so. He then followed both her and Joseph out and even had energy to spare to heal Joseph or at least stablize both of them and at least lessen their recovery time in the hospital. He could never do that when he had kept his feeling to himself. When he healed someone else's injury, even if it was a very minor one, he was exhausted afterwards.

His parents were now constantly calling him. No doubt aware of his emotional problems now but really, he was taking some down time until he can calm down or figure out what happened to him.

So far, he hasn't had any luck. At first, he felt that meeting Pandora was what first triggered it. His sudden outburst when Commander Lavender told and warned him about her history and her unique condition plus bad attitude towards others. But no. He'd met and even heard of such stories of other meta humans over the years during his training. Or perhaps meeting and interacting with other heroes more frequently simply made him realize how different from others he was...or maybe he just got fed up with being told who his friends and enemies were.

But that changed when he received a certain text message on his iPhone...an invitation to join a group..."C.R.E.W."

Seeing who the message came from, Alpha then thought about it...those group of rag tag heroes...joining them would lead to trouble no doubt...then again, that's probably why she contacted him...simply because he was the most level-headed operative...but not right now...not with his emotions clouding his judgement...but...sitting here and moping about it wasn't going to help either.

So, for better or worse, Alpha sent a reply text.

"...I'm in..."



Meanwhile, a certain vigilante was on the roof of a nearby building from the place called the Neko Tengoku. But it wasn't that fancy restaurant that she was interested in.

It was the new "business" that was starting next door to it. The words "CREW" spray painted on the upper front door.

"Firewall", a well-known hacker now working for Infinite, had notified her about this. Even the "boss" was curious to see how far "the rookies" has the boss called them could take this business venture. Though Firewall warned her that it most likely wouldn't last. Both the I.C.O.S.A. were "supposedly" making moves against them and even the police were no longer trusting any meta humans from Hero One after the Club 27 incident.

She even had heard about that stiff guy Alpha losing his police badge after that.

As she looked at it, she really wanted to help. Normally getting too involved in others affairs in her line of work was NOT advised. They were just on opposite sides of the law. And even if she did openly join them, I.C.O.S.A. would use her as the excuse to cause those heroes more headaches than they need right now. Either that or "CREW" would look like "hired vigilantes". Bad publicity.

Still, Infinite had an interest here in Castleburg. Zero had shown itself here. She needed to do her part to figure out why. Yet it seemed like this group of heroes always seemed to find their way towards one or more of their members.

And somehow they all lived to tell the tale.

She was glad when she heard Quake and Joseph were ok but she couldn't go to visit herself. Even if he didn't like the I.C.O.S.A., Hugo Powers himself would no doubt arrest her personally on the spot. And she sure as hell wasn't going to risk her human form just to visit some hero's during their hospital stay. Sure, Firewall was good at what she does but Hero One also had their brains that could match hers or perhaps surpass it.

"Heh. Those ombre's probably don't even come close to my level but amigo, don't chance it. Too much heat going around", she had warned at the time.

But now, Firewall had tipped her off about the CREW business. Pulling out, with the usual pink color, an iPhone from her pink backpack. She then hit the speed dial on a certain number.

"Hola."

"English please."

"Oy loosen up A.A. but ok."

"I'm top of a building across from the target. Any updates?"

"Oh yeah. Text messages are going out. Can tell you Alpha, get this, accepted the job. Figured he'd say no after his emotional imbalance right now."

"Heh...well what do you know. The lap dog finally got fed up with the leash."

"Bound to happen...A.A. I know you hate those types but in this case, give him credit. Kid saw s*** very early in his life and it changed him. Even he saw how dangerous he was when he lost control."

"Yeah I know. The whole "living blue bomb" thing. Yet he can heal others. That's handy as hell I'll admit."

"Shame we can't recruit him but kid's got too much baggage with military parents and a dropped body on his conscience. Possibly more."

"..."

"...A.A. Back to reality."

"Yeah sorry. So what's the word from the boss?"

"While you can't join, we CAN shadow them. We'll watch and ONLY step in if it's necessary. Keeping secrets like the Zero Organization is most likely going to catch up with these newbs unless Powers finally decides to actually trust his own team a bit more for once. So for now, just keep tabs as usual but don't slack off on your patrols. You ain't the only meta that can fly you know. Peace out."

"Gotcha. Thanks for that update."

Hanging up and placing the iPhone back in her pink backpack, Alien Angel moved away from the edge of the roof and just started some stretching routines. Firewall was right though. Can't stay in one place for too long. Patrols still need to be done just like the Hero One members did no doubt.

But she was no hero. She was a vigilante.

Brooke had a bright pink box of donuts in one hand, and a styrofoam collection of cup holders with three coffee cups in them in the other. She trotted up a set of soft stairs, her white sneakers with gold plastic highlights thumping in a satisfying way that pleased Brooke. White socks, white leggings with gold lines up the side and around the waist, a white hoodie with gold inlay, unzipped to reveal a black shirt. Thick rimmed, circular black glasses sat on her nose. Her frazzled, curly dark hair was pulled up and to the side in a sort of combover.

She was travelling intently to the shared apartment of Brianna Hart and Jamie Stewart, Static and Quake respectively. Jamie had received some injuries during the final encounter with Seraph’s forces at HERO One. So Brooke figured she might as well try to brighten up her recovery. Also, she had read their file and deduced that these two were among the best to introduce herself too, first. Both personality ways and connections wise. Other than that, the choice was kind of arbitrary. Hopefully it went well. Donuts improved every social interaction from what she had gathered. She felt like the new kid at school. First impressions were important! Hopefully she didn’t screw this up.

Having memorized their apartment number it didn’t take long for her to track down the room. Once she was there, she paused to gather her composure. She rolled her shoulders and kicked out her legs, swaying back and forth.

”Okay. You got this.” She said to herself. She looked at her hands, full of coffee and donuts, and briefly raised her foot to kick-knock the door. But then she remembered she had super powers. So instead a spectral hand, the color of the neutral lighting of the hallway, appeared out of thin air. It rapped it’s knuckles on the door for her. Brooke looked at the peak-through thingy on the door and smiled. She probably smiled too early because she ended up having to hold it a bit, but she didn’t want one of them to come to the door and see her smile fade so she kept it up.

It was 7 AM on a Sunday, and Jamie absolutely did not want to be awake. She laid sprawled out on her bed on her side, groggy. Laying on the wounds was still painful, despite having healed, so she preferred to sleep on her side. It had almost been a week since she had been injured, but everything still ached and the painkillers made her sleepy and she had to be careful, so she preferred to sleep in. Which was why the knock at her door so early wasn’t well-received. At the sound of a sharp knock, she opened her eyes and groaned. Her eyes flicked to the digital clock on her nightstand, and she groaned even louder. “Oh, come on!” she yelled, voice filled with the grogginess of being woke up. She laid down on the bed and sighed, waiting for the knocks to abate and whoever it was to go away, but they didn’t.

“Ugh. Seriously?” Seeing no other alternative, Jamie climbed carefully out of her queen-sized bed and onto the carpet. She took a swig of the water on her cluttered nightstand and then cinched her cornflower blue bathrobe around herself. She probably shouldn’t be half-naked in front of a solicitor or a missionary or whatever. Castleburg summer was hot, and her air conditioning sucked, so she was currently sleeping in her bra and exercise shorts, plus the bandages and stitches on her wounds.

So, that’s how Jamie dragged herself to the front door- in a bathrobe with only underwear underneath, tangled blonde hair pulled into a messy bun, and looking like a zombie. As Jamie was Jamie, she didn’t look in the peephole before swinging the door out… only to see a smiling woman? With coffee and donuts? She looked kind, but was smiling strangely. Jamie briefly wondered what the box was, before realizing it was donuts, and a smile creeped on her face. She loved donuts! If only Brie was here… she loved donuts nearly as much as Jamie did. “I’m Jamie Stewart,” she started, at least remembering her manners. She leaned on the doorknob a bit as she spoke. “Did you knock on the wrong door or something? I wasn’t expecting anyone at, um, 7:00 AM, and this building has a no-solicitors policy, I think? So, um, who are you? Or, like, what’s your name. Or whatever. And why are you here with donuts?”

Brooke’s smile quickly turned into a nervous one as soon as she got a look at Jamie in her zombified state. As Jamie spoke, Brooke forze up. ”Oh, my God. It’s, like, 7 AM.” She said through grit teeth as if the full realisation of what that meant just occurred to her. “And you just got out of the hospital!” She hissed. Her eyes widened further.

Quickly she turned to leave. ”I’m so sorry,” She began. She got four steps before she turned around. ”Here, take these, they’re for you and Brianna Hart.” Once they were in Jamie’s hands. Then she turned around again, then immediately completed it into a 360. Her movements were erratic. She pointed at Jamie. ”I’m sorry!” Sweat was beginning to build on her forehead.

”I’m Brooke! Brooke Everette!” She blurted, her fingers grasped the open space as if social grace was an airborne resource she could draw upon if she tried hard enough.

”I’m not some villain! The donuts definitely aren’t poisoned!” She stated emphatically.

”Okayokayokay, now it sounds like they are poisoned. But they aren’t. They’re a gift! I-I’m-,” She exhaled. “God- is it- is it? Is it hot out here or what? She said. Brooke tugged at the collar of her shirt and nervously chuckled. It was as if Jamie had opened the door and stumbled across a fish out of water, flopping around and dying from a lack of oxygen.

Jamie watched all of this unfold with an incredulous look growing on her face. This Brooke girl was having… an utter and complete meltdown on her doorstep. To Jamie’s brain, this was hilarious. She took the donuts and coffee from Brooke’s hands, but frowned at the mention of Brie. Her roommate had been told of her imminent transfer to California just a few days ago (on her 21st birthday, no less!) and was spending some time with Will before she had to leave. Upon finding out, Jamie had (predictably) sobbed her eyes out and clung to her friend. But the good part was… well, there wasn’t a good part, but maybe more donuts for Jamie?

At the end of Brooke’s little meltdown, though, Jamie giggled and smiled. “No, not really. The hall’s air-conditioned. But maybe you’re just a sweaty person?” Jamie laughed again, and then opened the door fully. Maybe she shouldn’t invite this random woman inside, she didn’t really know what she was after, after all, but Jamie didn’t really have any plans with anyone today. Or tomorrow. Or the next day. So it might be nice to have somebody over. Especially if they had brought donuts.

“It’s alright, Brooke. It’d be nice to have someone over, especially if they have donuts! Brie’s not here today, so it’s just really me and the TV.” Jamie stepped aside, gesturing to the door. “You can come in if you want. It’s a bit of a mess, but, like, I’m not supposed to be moving around anyways.”

Without waiting for a response, Jamie headed into the apartment, flicking a light on as she entered. True to her word, it was a bit messy. There were cardboard boxes (presumably Brie’s) strewn about the room, and a lot of miscellaneous things on the surfaces and chairs. It was a nice apartment for Castleburg, though. Jamie made a pretty good salary as a well-known S-Tier hero, so she had been able to rent out a two-bedroom. There was a kitchenette and a small dining table just off the living room. The sink was filled with dirty dishes. The living room itself, though, had brown wallpaper and beige carpet. There was a blue three-seater sofa and a grey armchair sat in front of a TV and a coffee table. Notably, both chairs’ legs and fabric had been scratched to oblivion. There were a couple pieces of trash on the coffee table, and the sofa was covered in blankets. Just to the left of the kitchenette, there was a hallway leading to what was presumably the bedrooms and bathroom.

“Sorry,” Jamie apologized for a second time as she headed inside. “I’ve been a bit of a mess lately. Do you wanna, like, sit down and chat?” Jamie led them both to the sofa, cleared the blankets off, and sat down. She put the donuts down, too, and uncovered them. “Ooh, Boston Kreme… so, why’d you, like, come to my apartment at 7 AM? Sort of a funny thing to do.”

Brooke smiled nervously, happy that Jamie hadn’t taken the opportunity to be mean. Already she was feeling more at ease. At the very least, Brooke knew donuts were a good call. Donuts could do the talking for her! Donuts were never wrong! The stranger glanced around the apartment she was graciously invited into and smiled. ”Wow, don’t worry it’s…” She caught sight of the dirty dishes in the sink. ”...really nice!” Brooke blinked and finished her genuine complement. Brooke wiped her forehead, her heart-rate de-escalating. By the way Jamie was acting, Brooke surmised she hadn’t totally screwed this up.

Brooke searched the place for any sign of Brianna Hart, but no luck. Just a bunch of boxes. Brooke raised an eyebrow and began to make some conclusions.

Brooke sat down on the couch and let Jamie have at the donuts first. She crossed one leg over the other.

At the question, she winced. ”Yes, well...I-, uh...y’know, jet lag, and all that. Oh! I just flew in from California! Yes, I should tell you-” She laughed. ”I should tell you why I’m here, before getting into how I got here at seven in the morning. Obviously!” She thwacked her own forehead.

”I’m a transfer hero!” Brooke announced proudly. Her round glasses had fogged up. ”I’m a hero that signed up with LATCH, and now I’m here! In Castleburg. Because of the whole, y’know,” She gestured vaguely. ”...Terrible...ness...”

“My hero name is Victory. My middle name is Victoria, too! Some people call me Vicky. You can, uh, if you want. Brooke works, too, obviously.” She shifted uncomfortably.

“B-but yeah, we’re going to be working together! I’m going to be living here in Castleburg, probably at HERO One, for the foreseeable future. So I’m really excited to get to know everyone. And I picked you first.” Brooke pointed at Jamie. Brooke clearly talked with her hands. Most people would consider it a distracting amount of hand movement.

“Oh, you’re from California?” Jamie took a sip of her frappuccino and then a bite of her donut. Delicious. It was nice to know that this Brooke girl wasn’t just some rando fan, but a coworker! “I went to LA once, it was nice. I’ve heard it’s really nice there. That’s where they’re transferring Brie, actually...”

With that slightly awkward comment, Jamie finished her donut and picked up another one. This one was plain jelly. “So, like, what’s your power? And like your tier and stuff? I’m S-Tier, and my thing is sort of like… well. I make earthquakes?” Her power was a bit hard to explain, so Jamie just left it at that. Plus, Brooke had seemed to know quite a bit about her earlier, so chances were she already knew everything.

Brooke’s eyebrow twitched as she looked down at the third cup of coffee for Brianna Hart. How had she missed that!?

At the talk of superpowers, Brooke brightened up. ”Of course! You’re Quake! I’ve read all about you guys. Seismokinesis!” She geeked. ”So cool!” Brooke put a hand to her chest and sighed.

”I’m what you guys at HERO would call an A-tier.” She said. ”I can kind of control light. Basically, when I see light, I can make it hard!” Without warning she reached out towards an open window behind Jamie. The natural light streaming in solidified into a transparent orb of the same color. It hit the ground with a dull thud and began to roll around. It came to a stop at the foot of the couch. Brooke winced.

“Oh, like Starbright!” Jamie said immediately, defaulting to the only other person she knew who used light. She didn’t quite understand how light became “hard”, but it was cool, she guessed? Jamie tried to kick the ball of light, and to her surprise, it actually felt like a ball. “Cooool! This is so much better than Starbright’s power. His is sort of lame. But all he really does is sit around and look pretty, so eh.” Jamie picked up the ball and sort of bounced it… which didn’t really work, since it wasn’t bouncy. She quickly gave that up once she realized it wasn’t going to bounce like a dodgeball. “Do you wanna see a demonstration of my power? I could- ohhhh, wait. Nevermind. Doctor’s orders, can’t use my powers for a bit or I’ll explode my intestines. I guess you’ll just have to watch some videos!” As a part of her recovery, Jamie had been order not to use her powers for an entire month lest she fuck up her intestines, which were recovering from massive internal bleeding. She smiled, though. “They’re really everywhere. The videos, I mean.” She sat forward and took another sip of her drink.

”Oh yeah, I know all about your power. I’ve watched like, all the videos.” Brooke said excitedly, nodding as Jamie complimented her powers. ”And my powers are very cool...if you ask me.” Brooke beckoned the ball toward her with her finger and it rolled.

”With a little bit of focus…” She picked up the ball and squeezed it. It compressed in her hands and before long it was much smaller, small enough to fit in one hand. It was also much harder to see through. Brooke turned to the side, and threw it at all the wall, where it bounced with a rubbery ‘thock’ sound and travelled back to her hand.

”Now it’s a bouncy ball!” She practically squealed. She handed it to Jamie.

Jamie actually squealed, and took the bouncy ball of light into her hands. “OhmyGod, that is so cool!” She chucked it at the wall, and it came back… so Jamie proceeded to do that about ten times. Until she remembered that Brooke was still there, she didn’t seem to get bored of it. But when she did, she turned back to Brooke and laughed. “Haha! That’s super fun. My power just sort of makes things shake, so it’s not really as fun unless you want to make a smoothie? I can’t make anything, is what I’m trying to say. I can make cracks in walls! Like that one over there…” Jamie pointed to a thin crack in the wall of the living room. Jamie finished off the jelly donut and took a sip of her frappuccino. She curled up on the couch.

“You should tell me about yourself!” she said, suddenly, after a moment of silence. “We just started C.R.E.W or whatever, so… tell me about yourself!”

Brooke was pleased that Jamie was enjoying her power. The novelty of it made it more fun than regular bouncy balls...unless Jamie just really liked toys like this. Not that there was anything wrong with that! Brooke looked over at the crack and the wall and put a hand up to her mouth, exhaling a laugh.

”Oh, me?” Brooke asked, pointing at herself. ”There’s not too much to tell.” She said dismissively. ”But, I guess it’s only fair, since I read your file.” She said that last part more to herself.

”Well, I was born in Los Angeles. I have three little brothers. I always wanted to be a superhero, pretty much. I own 322 comic books, 28 graphic novels, and 156 regular books. I’m left handed...” Brooke began using her fingers as a reference for how many facts she was rattling on about herself.

Jamie blinked. Woh. This girl was a nerd! “That’s a lot of books,” Jamie commented. After that, though, she couldn’t find anything to see She could rattle on facts about herself, and opened her mouth to do so, but hadn’t Brooke said she had read Jamie’s file already? So she probably knew everything about her already… Jamie took a long sip of her coffee instead of saying anything.

This was an odd silence. She hadn’t really been expecting guests today, so Jamie wasn’t quite… on, so to speak. The coffee was helping, but she was still waking up. “... I don’t own any books,” Jamie eventually added, which was technically true. Brooke didn’t respond to that, so Jamie just munched on her second donut and stared out her window awkwardly.

Brooke nodded. ”I guess it is.” Brooke scratched her head. She still hadn’t touched her donuts or coffee.

”Um...so...I was under the impression that Brianna Hart was going to be here? My intel must have been wrong.” Brooke said, glancing around the boxes. ”Is she moving or something?

Jamie sighed, long and loud. This was somewhat of a sore topic for her. It had only been a few days since her roommate and good friend had started the moving out process, not to mention that all this had happened when Jamie had just gotten out of the hospital. “Yeah, she is,” she said, rather sulkily. “ICOSA’s making her transfer to California. I think she leaves in a few days? She went to her boyfriend’s house last night, though, so she’s not here…” She trailed off a bit, adjusting her spot on the couch. “I guess that sort of makes you her replacement! Since you’re coming here and she’s, well, going there…” Jamie laughed at her own joke.

Brooke furrowed her eyebrows, frowned, and nodded. ”I guess that makes sense. ICOSA can be cold, sometimes, but…” Brooke trailed off. She refocused her eyes on Jamie and smiled.

“It’ll be alright, though. I’m gonna miss her, but I just really have to find a new roommate. Can’t be that hard, right?” She quirked a smile, but it was short-lived. Unfortunately, finding roommates was usually a struggle for Jamie, but she wasn’t about to say that to Brooke.

”I’m sure you’ll find a roommate. You’re super famous, you have super powers, and- well, you seem really nice.” Brooke shrugged. She smiled, one of her front teeth chipped.

That made Jamie smile. The corners of her lips ticked up. This Brooke woman was super nice! “Thanks!” she said. “Doesn’t really help me find a roommate though.” Jamie’s eyes then flicked down to the donuts and coffee, and she narrowed her brows in confusion. Had Brooke not eaten yet? “Are you gonna eat anything?” she asked, pointing to the donut box. “If you don’t want this stuff you bought, I could whip us up some pancakes or eggs or whatever. I haven’t set a fire in, like, a couple months!”

Brooke shook her head apologetically. ”Oh, no, it’s nothing, it’s fine. I- I didn’t even realise I was waiting.” Brooke reached out for her coffee and tipped the cup up. It was hot, and she exhaled into the cup. ”Wait, did you say fire?” She giggled.

Her round glasses had entirely fogged up from her interaction with the coffee, so much so that eye contact was difficult for the both of them.

Jamie giggled, too. If Brooke glanced at the kitchen, she’d notice that several parts of it seemed… slightly singed, and some even entirely new. “Yeah, I did! I’m not super good at cooking, so… but I can make some killer scrambled eggs if I don’t burn them.” She ran a hand through her straw blonde hair and blushed a bit. “You any good at cooking?”

Brooke laughed. ”There’s a difference between being bad at cooking and setting your kitchen on fire.” She said, looking at the replaced parts of the kitchen.

”Oh, I’m sorry. Was that mean?” She apologised, feeling bad. ”I bet your scrambled eggs are really good, for real.” With a nervous energy Brooke took off her fogged up glasses and rubbed them with her hoodie. After a moment, her right eye drifted lazily toward the center of her face as her left eye remained focused on the task. She put the glasses back on, and the eye corrected itself.

“No, no, it’s fine!” Jamie was fully aware of how shit she was at cooking. “I think I tried to put out a fire with vegetable oil. I guess that makes me really bad at cooking. But we all make mistakes!” Obviously, this “mistake” was very, very dumb, but Jamie wasn’t going to say that. “If you hadn’t brought these awesome not-poisoned donuts, I probably would’ve made scrambled eggs. Lucky me!”

Genuine concern briefly flashed across Brooke’s features. ”V-vegetable oil, huh?” She said. ”Haha, yeah, lucky you!” She cleared her throat, glancing down at her unpoisoned donuts. Then she laughed, covering her face. ”Right, vegetable oil. Obviously!” She shook her head, assuming Jamie was joking. ”I’m so stupid. My friends tell me jokes always fly right over my head. Phzooo, you know?” She pantomimed the motion of an object flying over her head.

Oblivious, Jamie didn’t notice Brooke’s clear concern and confusion. She, in fact, looked confused when Brooke tried to say it was a joke. “I’m not joking!” Smiling despite the ridiculousness of what she just said, Jamie giggled again. “I’m being totally serious. I thought it would put out the fire. Apparently, that’s not how vegetable oil works… whoops!”

”Nope!” Brooke squeaked. ”It sure doesn’t!” Brooke shifted in her seat. After a moment she erupted to her feet and walked over to the kitchen, looking over the damage. She was frantically checking for gas leaks and open flames at this point.

Jamie’s gaze followed Brooke to the kitchen, curious. “Whatcha doing?” she shouted. After a minute, she stood and followed Brooke into the kitchen. This was a bit odd. She stood over Brooke, who was crouched down and investigating the pipes under Jamie’s sink. “Are you looking for like, snacks or something? My water’s in the fridge… I don’t keep my food under my sink, you know.”

”You don’t make toast while you’re in the bathtub, do you?” Brooke asked, voice sounding echoey and distant from under there. She twisted her back, making sure nothing was clogged or sabotaged or- jammed with knives and duct tape or gum. No open wires, either. There were sounds of rattling and fiddling.

“... No? I don’t have a toaster in my bathroom, silly. Plus, it would get soggy.” Jamie wrinkled her nose, and then crouched down to see the inside of the sink. A shot of pain went through her abdomen, and she hissed, straightening up again. Right, right. The hole in her stomach. “Can I like… help you find anything?” she asked, hovering over Brooke. She wasn’t quite sure what Brooke was doing with her sink. “If something’s broken, I can call my landlord…”

There was a moment of silence. ”...Uh, no. No, I’m good.” Brooke emerged from underneath the sink and closed the doors. ”You...uhm. Well,” Brooke began stumbling over her own words again.

”W-well, th-the main reason...the main reason you shouldn’t make toast in the bathtub is because if you drop any electronics in the water you’ll zap yourself.” Brooke said, knitting her fingers together.

”A-and, if you use sleeping pills or painkillers, don’t drink alcohol at the same time!” Brooke added quickly. She looked down at Jamie’s abdomen. ”I know you-- it might be tempting- but, don’t do it! How- how are you, by the way? With the injury? I heard you got it pretty bad.” Brooke said.

A puzzled look flashed over Jamie’s face. Was Brooke giving her… advice? Weird. This was totally stuff she had already heard, though- totally. She winced at the mention of her injury, and her hand instinctively went to touch her abdomen. There was still a bandage there and on her back, covering the stitches that the doctors had used to make sure her guts didn’t fall out.

“Well, I, uh, I just got out of the hospital… it was pretty bad, but I’m doing fine now! It’s a long story, but I got shot through the intestines with a sharp, fast icicle,” Jamie explained. “This one lady tried to heal me on the battlefield by sticking her hand inside of me and it actually sort of worked, but I had to be taken to the hospital afterwards. I got a lot of stitches, and, now, uh, I’m on leave for a month!”

Brooke nodded, sagely. ”Icicles can be a killer. I know it was a long story- I read the report. Crazy stuff.” She blinked. ”I’m sorry, is it weird that I keep bringing up reports and stuff?” She asked. Before she could answer, she cut herself off.

”Sorry you got almost killed by the way, Ohmygod!” She slapped her own forehead apologetically, re-orienting her priorities.

“No, no, it’s okay!” Jamie rushed to comfort Brooke, patting her on the shoulder. Brooke was being a bit awkward, Jamie could tell, but she seemed so nice that it was endearing. “That’s not weird at all. Director Powers is always telling us to read the reports. Of course, I never listen because reports are boring, but… like… if you like them, that’s cool!” That was a lie. Liking reports was not cool, but that would probably hurt Brooke’s feeling, so Jamie didn’t say it. “If you read the report, tell me what that said. Maybe I can fill you in on stuff it didn’t say.”

Brooke briefly wondered if Jamie really thought reading the reports was cool considering she just called them boring. ”Yeah...I do like reading reports. They’re like comic books, except they actually happened, and there’s no pictures. Plus, you get the numbers on collateral damage and stuff which comics don’t usually include, so that’s cool.” Brooke said quietly.

”As for the report itself, well, it was kind of long. But basically Seraph framed Patricia Donnelly for murder, leveraging her familial connection to make it more convincing. HERO was temporarily scattered. There was an incident at Club 27 that didn’t have a lot of detail. Everyone reconvened at HERO One. There was a big fight, and Seraph essentially committed suicide. Thus, EAGLES came to an end.” Brooke reported.

”It just seemed like such a bad plan. Did he really think he could get away with it, all by himself? It seemed very poorly thought through, if you ask me.” Brooke rubbed her chin. ”I wondered if anything else was going on.” She said to herself.

“Well, he wasn’t all by himself,” Jamie corrected. Settling in for a bit of a story, she climbed up onto her counter and sat there, legs swinging. “He had the rest of the Wings of Law, and this villain organization who helped him out, and evil Blake… oh, I wonder how Blake’s doing! He looked pretty rough when they were hauling him off to the hospital. Hope he’s okay. Anyways, yeah, there was this other villain organization that was helping out Seraph. That was where the guy who shot me was from! They gave Seraph some leftover blood and he turned into a monster and fell into the ocean, too, that was weird. Anyways, this villain organization called ZE-” That was when Jamie realized her mistake. She clapped her hands over her mouth in the middle of her sentence, and her eyes went wide. Oh no. She wasn’t supposed to say that! “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that,” she moaned. “That was classified, like capital C classified. You have to swear you won’t tell anyone anything I just said!” Jamie hopped off the counter and seized Brooke by the shoulders, not quite shaking her but grasping her firmly. “I’m serious!” Jamie did, in fact, look and sound serious. Her eyes narrowed, and the smile fell off her face.

Brooke’s mouth had formed into a small ‘o’ of surprise at this revelation. ”O-okay, I won’t!” She exclaimed. Her arms had seized by her sides and her back was as straight as a log. She just kind of stood there and did nothing. Clearly she didn’t expect that much to be left off the report, nor did she expect to be talking to a walking security leak.

Jamie stared into Brooke’s eyes with suspicion. “You’d better not,” she warned, and released Brooke’s shoulders from her vice grip. The smile returned to her face, like nothing had just happened. “I’m really counting on you! That was a big mess-up, oh man… but I think I can trust you. So please… don’t talk about that! What the report said is what happened.” Jamie gabe Brooke an awkward thumbs-up and clapped her on the shoulder. “Thanks for keeping a secret!”

Brooke exhaled, relieved that the situation had de-escalated. ”Man…” She exclaimed quietly. ”Good thing I’m not some kinda supervillain, huh?” Brooke said.

”Oh, hey that reminds me. My ID.” She reached into her hoodie and pulled out a wallet. She removed a LATCH ID card from within, one that was customized with gold colored, wavy lines. ”Wanna see something cool?” She asked. She began to shift the ID card from side to side. The image of Brooke’s face transitioned from a neutral expression to a big toothy grin.

”It’s a 3D image! See? Serious Brooke, Happy Brooke, Serious Brooke, Happy Brooke!” She said, looking down at the ID card, extremely pleased.

”I wanted to get them standardized but for some reason, they never caught on. I think it’s neat. And the ID is real, by the way, definitely. This way you know I’m not evil.” Brooke explained. ”Or, at least, not unregistered.” She added.

Jamie squinted at the ID image. At first, she didn’t see the change, but once she did, she laughed. “That’s so cool!” she squealed. “Mine is just Serious Jamie. I kind of forgot where I put it though, so… imagine a super serious looking 17-year-old me. I hope Powers lets you do that with your ID here. He’s sort of a stickler for the rules.”

“Don’t worry, I can tell you’re not evil!” Jamie messed with her hair and took it out of its tangled messy bun while she spoke. “You seemed pretty not-evil. I think an evil person would’ve been a bit less… smile-y. And awkward. N-not that you’re awkward.”

Brooke shrugged apologetically. ”Yeah...sorry. Never been good at this part of the job. Fortunately, only so many memories of botched social interactions can keep me up at night at a time. So my brain always has new material to cycle through! But sometimes there’s nothing better than a re-run. Like the time I accidentally called my middle school english teacher Mom, and then apologized by saying ‘sorry, mom.’” Brooke laughed. Suddenly she was much less awkward than she was at the beginning of this conversation.

Jamie snorted. “No worries. You’re not that bad, really… If you think you are, you should meet Joseph! He’s super awkward,” she reassured Brooke. “Oh, believe me, that’s not just a you thing! I do embarrassing stuff all the time. I think I accidentally called Powers ‘dad’ once. SO embarrassing! I think about that all the time… and I still work for him!” Jamie slung her head back and laughed at herself, again. She liked this Brooke girl, she decided. Anyone that could make her laugh and smile was good in Jamie’s book!

Brooke smiled. ”Joseph Moore, right? I’ll be paying him a visit soon enough. I plan on making my rounds to everyone eventually. Though I had hoped to be more efficient than just one at a time. Still, maybe it’s the best I didn’t just plunge in head first.” She shrugged.

”Thanks for letting me fumble my way through a first impression, Jamie. I look forward to working with you.” Brooke said, extending her hand out for a handshake. ”And, uh...y’know. Be careful? Around the house?” She advised, her voice raising in pitch.

It took Jamie a moment, but she realized Brooke was trying for a handshake, so she shook it eagerly. “Me too, Brooke! If you’re looking for a nice place to meet all of us, you could head over to our speakeasy that we just bought. I think the address is in the database? Just say I invited you. We usually hang out there at night,” Jamie offered. She really wouldn’t mind seeing Brooke around after this.

“And yeah, I will!” Jamie laughed at Brooke’s seemingly out-of-place comment. “You too. If you’re leaving, I’ll… see you around?” She glanced to the door.

Brooke nodded unsurely. ”Okay, I’ll check it out.” She wasn’t confident about barging into their hangout in the middle of one of their...hangout sessions.

”And yeah, I should probably head out. Get really situated at HERO One and start working on meeting the next person. God...so many cool superheroes in Castleburg. Fortunately I won’t have to introduce myself to all of them, just the little group you’ve found yourself in. Bunch of troublemakers.” She smirked. ”Okay, I’ll let you get back to healing. And sleep. I’ll come by later next time. Bring lunch instead of donuts?” Brooke backed up towards the door.

Jamie smiled brightly. Another friend! Nice. “Yeah, that sounds awesome! Maybe we can go out for lunch sometime when I’m not…” She gestured to her wound. “I’ll see you, though. Just, like… call me when you wanna hang out next time, alright?” Jamie walked to the door with Brooke and opened it for her. But before Brooke left, she glanced around the room. Her eyes settled on the coffee table. “Oh! Don’t forget your coffee. And take a donut, you bought them, jeez…” Jamie strode over to the coffee table and picked up Brooke’s coffee and a glazed donut. She handed them both to her. “Thanks for the donuts and coffee!”

Brooke took the donut and coffee. ”Oh, uh, right, thanks. I mean- you’re welcome. Thanks.” She grimaced. ”Okay. Well, it was nice to meet you, Jamie! Looking forward to seeing you in action sometime! When you feel better! Get better!” Brooke backed up and was speaking like she was already far away even though she was just out the door. ”Bye!” She turned and began to make her way down the hall. Before she turned the final corner she poked her head back around. ”Bye!” She whisper-shouted.

“Byeee!” Jamie poked her head out of the door and waved furiously at Brooke. She waited until she was out of eyeshot before she slammed the door shut and flopped onto the couch. Even though she had had coffee, she still just wanted to lay around. That was okay. At least she had gotten something done today- making a new friend!

Brooke hurried back down the stairs. Soon she was out of the apartment building and to her white car with black tinted windows and plush black leather interior. She stared at the door handle, donut in one hand, coffee cup in the other. She glanced around, feeling extremely privileged that she was using her superpower to open up her car door because she was holding coffee and a donut in her hand. Ashamedly she used her hard light hand to reach into her wallet and produce the car keys stuffed crudely inside. She unlocked the door and then pulled it open, stepping inside. She summoned a clear glass plate and set her donut on the passenger seat. She placed her hands on the steering wheel and stared into the middle distance for a moment. Then she let her head fall onto the steering wheel.

”Fuuuuuccckkk…” She exhaled. What a disaster! That was literally the worst. How stupid could she be!? Showing up a stranger’s house at 7 AM!? She was lucky Jamie didn’t call the cops! What a psycho! She headbutted the steering wheel a couple times and then sat back in the driver’s seat. Hoping she didn’t screw things up too badly, the electric engine of her rental car whirred to life and she scurried away, onto her next destination.

@KaijuBaragon

---

It’d been a while since he’d last had to go through the experience, but Joseph was quickly remembering how little he liked hospitals.

“Mr Moore, please answer truthfully this time. Have you hidden any more flasks around this room?”

“No,” he sighed at the nurses question, “that was the last one. I am now officially out of ways to pass the time, thank you.”

“Moore, you do understand the condition you were in when you were found, don’t you?” The nurse asked, audibly straining to try and remain calm. “Even though you’re stable now, your body is still quite weak, to the point where the amount you drink normally may very well kill you.”

“You’re keeping me stuck in this bloody bed for at least three more days. I’d rather just take the liquor and die happy.” He replied, not putting nearly as much effort into not sounding petty as she had.

Apparently realising how low the odds of getting through to him were, the nurse simply shook her head with a sigh of her own and left, leaving Joseph to lie back and let out another sigh.

How the hell was he going to sneak out of this room?

Meanwhile, Tom was heading up the hospital corridor on his way to Joseph’s room. He hadn’t gotten off too badly from the whole experience, just a couple of burns that, while painful, weren’t going to do any long lasting damage. He also had some general bruises and bumps that the doctors wanted to take a look at, so he had to stay in the hospital for an extra day or so, while Grace got to be discharged pretty quickly, having been mostly safely tucked away in the safety gel in the plane.

As he got closer to Joseph’s room, he saw an angry looked nurse come out before walking in the other direction. Wondering what had happened, he cautiously walked over to Joseph’s door, knocking on it a few times, saying ”Hey, Joseph? It’s Tom.” He didn’t wait for a reply before opening the door to the room and peering inside.

Joseph’s eyes widened briefly as he heard the unexpected voice.

“Who?” He asked, turning to see Tom as he entered. “Oh, Tim. I’ll admit, not exactly the first person I’d expect, but at this point I’ll take just about anyone if it means a few seconds of something other than staring out the window to try to entertain myself.”

He paused for a second.

“By the way, and keep in mind I’ve been unconscious for the last day and a half-ish when I ask this, I’m gonna guess from the fact you were allowed in here that you’re not actually a traitor, right?”

Tom rolled his eyes as Joseph immediately started acting depressed about being stuck in the hospital room bored. ”Why don’t you ask for like, a book or a magazine or something… Do you not have a phone?” Tom asked, before probably wasn’t the best question to ask and instead pushed on instead with answering Joseph’s question.

[color=SteelBlue]”No, of course I’m not a traitor, that was just a ruse so I could get close to the Wings without them suspecting me or anything. Not like it lasted very long, thank god for Christina…” He said, shaking his head. ”Look, you can’t just sit here alone being sad the whole time.”

“Well, I had a phone, but… well...” Joseph nodded his head to a nearby bench, where a small plastic bag of smashed machinery had been placed. “Apparently pockets don’t provide much protection against getting clubbed. Who could’ve guessed? And for books and magazines…”

He paused again, wondering if he should continue, before finally sighing.

“I can’t really read very well. Not without my contacts.” He looked back to Tom, and if he hadn’t noticed before, it was now a lot more obvious that instead of their usual dark brown, Joseph’s eyes were now a light green. “And because they don’t want me ‘straining me eyes’, they aren’t giving them back ‘til tomorrow.”

He nodded at Tom’s explanation, a small grin growing on his face.

“Well, first of all, let me just say ‘called it’. And second, I actually agree completely! If you can find some crutches or something, I might even have something in mind.”

”Oh, yeah, well I can see how that phone isn’t gonna be much fun at the moment.” Tom said, glancing over at the plastic bag which once held Joseph’s phone. As he did, his eyes were drawn over Joseph’s face.... Were Joseph’s eyes always green? Tom obviously never paid much attention to them, but he was pretty sure they looked different. Whatever. He would ask him about it at some point down the line, maybe.

”Well, it wasn’t too hard to call, surely none of you thought that I would actually betray you all just like that.” He rolled his eyes, before cocking his head a little at Joseph’s suggestion. ”Crutches, huh? I can probably find you some.” He knew that he probably shouldn’t, but he was so bored being in this hospital, just hanging around waiting for people to visit him, he needed some entertainment.

He quickly backed out of the room and headed down the hallway for a little while, until he found a door that was labelled as a supply closet. He inconspicuously slipped inside, and presto, there were a bunch of crutches just lying there against the wall waiting for people to do something fun with them… And like, serious medical stuff too of course. He grabbed a pair and headed back out.

Soon he had cracked open the door to Joseph’s room again and headed inside, bringing the crutches over next to him. ”Here you go, crutches. Now what are we gonna do?” He asked.

“Well, if all goes well, this should be pretty simple.” Joseph started, wincing as he stepped out of the hospital bed, almost stumbling over. Turns out the staff might’ve had a point when they said he shouldn’t be walking yet. Still, the crutches helped, and after taking a few moments to adjust to the soreness, he felt good enough to get moving.

“Ok, considering my shins haven’t folded in half yet, I think we’re probably good to get started.” He said, nodding in satisfaction. “So yeah, here’s the deal. I’ve got someone I’ve been meaning to see in here myself, but I’ve been putting it off for a while because… stuff, I guess. But I’m stuck here now, so at this point, I might as well just suck it up and go. However, the staff here have made it pretty clear that I’m supposed to stay in bed at his point, with nothing to do but yearn for death.”

“And that’s where you come in.” He said, nodding towards Tom. “I need you to help me sneak around the poorly disguised prison guards they call nurses here. That and fill me in on just what the hell has been going on over the last couple of days, because so far all I’ve gotten is ‘Jamie and Powers are both still alive.’ Other than that, I know pretty much nothing.”

Tom nodded. ”Alright, sounds good, I’ll help you go over and talk to this mysterious person. They better be fun to be around.” Tom added, walking over and standing near Joseph as he started to walk a little, just there to catch him in case he toppled over. But, luckily that didn’t happen, so Tom stepped back a little bit as Joseph started talking about Tom’s role in all this.

”So I’m just here to make you look like you’re not out of place walking around to find this person? Fair enough, I suppose.” Tom looked around the room. Hanging behind the door was a white doctor’s coat. Tom grabbed it and slipped it on, now feeling suitably disguised as he cracked the door open and peered out. ”Alright, I don’t see any nurses, c’mon…” He gestured for Joseph to come.

When the two had stepped outside, he started filling Joseph in. ”Well, Seraph is probably dead, Mr. Impressive and Sea Serpent are in prison. Blake is currently being psychologically deprogrammed… He got brainwashed. Oh, and uh… I’m dating Grace now, which is cool.” He said. He decided not to tell Joseph about Brie being transferred to California, at least not yet.

“Full disclosure, pretty sure she won’t be.” Joseph said in response to Tom’s ‘fun to be around’ comment. “She wasn’t especially talkative last time I visited, and I’d’ve heard if something changed.”

He listened to Tom speak as he hobbled along, nodding occasionally. A hint of sadness passed through his expression at the mention of Seraph dying, but it was gone so quickly that it was unlikely anyone would have realised what it was unless they were looking for it.

“Oh, well… cool. I mean, more like ‘finally’, you know? I honestly thought you were going out already, so the reveal is more just meh than anything. Congratulations though.”

Somehow, the path to their destination was clear of staff for the most part. A few nurses at the far ends of the halls, but nobody ever got close enough to really question them, which was good. Tom seemed so confident that the doctor's coat he’d stolen would be enough to disguise him, despite being an easily recognizable celebrity, so he’d have almost felt a little bad if a doctor had found them. He wasn’t even covering his face! On the other hand though, it wasn’t a big enough deal for Joseph to actually call out himself. Ruining Tom’s fun might drive him away, leaving Joseph as easy pickings for a swarm of angry medical staff.

Thankfully though, they made it to the room before that conversation ever had to come up. It was strange though. Before he’d been eager to do this, but now that he was actually here, he couldn’t help but feel nervous. Like he should just leave. His hand hung there, half stretched towards the door, and he wasn’t sure whether he was surprised or not to see that it was actually lightly trembling. Hopefully Tom wouldn’t notice, or if he did he’d just chalk it up to his body still being weak. Then again, he was going in with Joseph, so any point to hiding it would be gone soon anyway.

He turned to Tom.

“Before we go in there, I need you to promise not to talk about this. Nothing you hear comes out of this room, yeah?”

Tom crossed his arms at Joseph’s reaction to him saying he was now going out with Grace - although he supposed it was probably fair. ”Well… Yeah, I guess that’s fair, we probably should have started dating a while ago anyway.” And then he considered what Joseph said about the person that they were going to meet. ”She can’t be that bad, anyone is better than the same 3 or 4 nurses who keep harassing me in my room, I’m not even really injured!” He said.

Tom didn’t really expect his costume to work, considering it wasn’t really a costume at all, but as the pair made their way down the hospital corridor, it seemed like they were in the clear. Weather that was because of the disguise, or the fact that people in a hospital were too busy with more important things to care, was up for discussion. It didn’t really feel like long before they reached Joseph’s destination, a hospital door just like any other.

Tom crossed his arms and waited for Joseph to open the door so he could finally see who this mysterious person was. But it looked like Joseph was hesitating, at least a little. What was he doing? Was he just being slow because of his injury, or was there something else to it? And then, before Tom could say something about it, Joseph turned to him and asked him to not let anyone else know about what happened. Tom raised an eyebrow, but nodded anyway. ”Uh, yeah, sure. I won’t tell anyone, don’t worry.”

Joseph continued to stare at Tom for a moment, looking for any sign that he might be lying. In the end though, he realised that the gravity user just wasn’t thinking that deeply about it, and sighed.

“Alright. Let’s go.” He said, finally opening the door.

A young woman lay in the bed, hooked up to a number of life support machines. An oxygen mask was attached to her face. She was unconscious, just like she’d been the last time Joseph saw her. He slowly hobbled into the room, sitting in a chair that had already been set up not far from the bed.

“Hey El, it’s Jeremy.” He said, putting on a happier tone than usual. “Sorry it’s been so long since my last visit, some stuff came up. I… well, I joined HERO, just like I said I would last time. That’s been pretty interesting. I even brought one along! This guy is Tim, but his made up name for the news and stuff is Skywalker. There are a bunch more like him, it’s practically a whole team! Idiots, the lot of them, but not like we were any different, right? If I’m being honest, I can’t stop noticing things that remind me of us while I’m with them. It’s legitimately just like back then, but bigger, and… and I...”

He couldn’t do it.

“I don’t know what I’m doing anymore...”

It was as if his entire positive demeanor evaporated instantly, the happy facade falling away as he leaned forwards in the chair, his hands in his lap seemingly the only thing keeping him up.

“I mean, I thought this would be good, you know? I’d be a d-tier hero, help out where I can, and still be able to keep a low profile while I do it, but I-… I messed up again El. We got in a fight with someone strong. Too strong. I tried to fight him with the others but… I couldn’t do anything. Everything I tried, the guy just shrugged it off, and I was so sure that it was going to end with all of us dying, all because I couldn’t hold him off long enough, so I-...”

He hesitated for a moment, his hands clenching in frustration.

“I used Failnaught... I know it was stupid, but… I didn’t know what else to do. It was the only way I could think of to get out of there, but if they find out, if Louis finds out, I’ve fucked us all anyway, haven’t I?”

He let out a short, humorless chuckle, as he forced a weak smile back onto his face.

“Sorry about that. First visit in over two years and I start venting at you? Nobody wants that. Besides, you’ve got your own problems to deal with, I can’t be pushing all my issues onto you too...”

He turned to look at Tom.

“Tom, you got anything you wanna say, or should we get going?”

As soon as Tom followed Joseph into the room, he knew instantly that this visit wasn’t going to be anything fun. The girl lying on the bed was not at all in a good state - in fact, the amount of life support equipment that surrounded her made it look like she was in some kind of coma, or something like that. Whatever it was, it was immediately clear to Tom that this visit was of a highly sensitive nature.

When Joseph introduced him to the unconscious girl, Tom gave a meek and awkward wave, feeling that he should do something, even though he knew that she obviously wasn’t able to see or hear either of them. And then Joseph… Wait, did Joseph just call himself Jeremy? That was weird. Maybe Jeremy was his middle name or something, and this El person just knew him by that. Then it dawned on Tom that he didn’t really know anything at all about Joseph before he joined HERO. He knew general things from the lives of everyone else… But not Joseph.

And then Joseph seemed to lose the semi-joking vibe in an instant, pouring his heart out to the unconscious girl. Tom had the intense feeling that this was something that he really shouldn’t be listening to, something super personal. But he nevertheless remained rooted to the spot, watching on. Who was Louis? What the hell was the Failnaught? And then the rant was over.

Tom gulped a little as Joseph looked at him. ”Well… Uh, I don’t wanna say anything to her, because I don’t know her, and she’s, you know, unconscious… But to you, I think you’re being hard on yourself. From what I heard you did a solid job, and Jamie might not be alive if it weren’t for you. But yeah, let’s get going.”

“All I did was basic first aid, and it wouldn’t have even mattered if that guy had gotten bored of beating me to death before the others got there.” Joseph said. “Actually, I’m pretty sure the paramedics made it before Jamie would’ve died even without the runes, so in the end all I did was put her through unnecessary pain to apply them.”

He winced slightly as he stood up, ignoring the aches as he got set up with his crutches once again.

“But it doesn’t matter now. Can’t change what’s already happened. Let’s go.”

He hobbled over to the door, looking back into the room before he left.

“See ya El, I’ll try to come back sooner next time.”

And then he was out, looking over to Tom as he walked.

“Ok, now that that’s out of the way, we can move on to the next task. I don’t have the map on me, but I’ve got a bunch of flasks stashed around in the indoor plants here. I’m gonna need a good few of them to replace the ones the nurses stole from me.”

As he described the next plan to Tom, a man with a striking resemblance to the woman they’d just visited passed them in the corridor, heading towards her room. Before he entered the room, he turned back to glance at Joseph and Tom, and Joseph ignored it as if he didn’t even notice. After a few more moments, the man turned back and entered the room, leaving the two to their dumb plans.

This place was gaudy. It absolutely reeked of a disgusting kind of luxury. However, that wasn't going to stop Pandora from engaging in it. She didn't care nearly enough to do that.

Pandora's athletic body was on full display. She wore an orange bikini and a high slit, open fronted, thick floral pattern skirt, and nothing else except for a large pair of dark sunglasses. That had her been her outfit on the entire way over here and would probably be her outfit the entire way back.

Pandora glanced around at the others, checking out their vacation wear as well. Fashion was something that had managed to keep her interest. It was always changing, and decorating the human body was an under-appreciated art form. So many people just slapped on whatever and thought themselves better for it, sniping at those who actually bothered to put effort into how they looked. How dull.

She found herself amused by Powers' orderly personality being maintained even while in vacation mode. Speaking of Powers, Pandora had wondered why she was invited along on this vacation.

(I certainly didn't need a vacation from all the retiring I was doing.) She thought to herself.

Her thoughts were dispersed as Powers asked her for a quick croquet outing. Pandora looked him up and down from over her sunglasses. "Right..." She said, watching him walk off. A meeting at 1300 hours, or about thirty minutes from now.

Well. She would see what that was about. What the hell else was she going to do? Spend quality time with martini-drinking teenagers? Pass. Pandora plainly gave the group a once over and then silently wandered off with nary a goodbye.

The british woman silently waited at the beginning of the croquet course, staring off into the middle distance as she leaned against a wall. Thirty minutes passed and she barely even registered it. When she noticed Powers approach she crossed her arms.

She spoke first. Her voice was quiet, but clear. "Croquet. I remember when people first started playing it in England, back in the sixties. These days it seems to be only associated with resorts and luxury, but when it first started out it was a common man's game. Us 'important folk' played croquet while discussing our plans for imperial expansion. Ever decide the fate of a thousand families based on a single whack of a wooden mallet?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Exhilarating stuff." Her voice dripped with bitter sarcasm.

"The point here is this: If you're looking for advice, you may want to reconsider your source. I'm sure one of your many plucky twenty-somethings could provide you with better counsel. She stood up straight, resting a light mallet on her bare shoulder.

"With that out of the way, I'm always up for a chat." She said, in a way that seemed completely serious but was definitely untrue. Perhaps I assumed too much, and you simply invited me out here because of my winning personality."

Alpha had taken his own chair in the meeting room as he listened in on what the emergency was.

And it was, indeed, an emergency. Two heroes KIA and the person ID'ed as a old enemy to Hugo Powers it seemed. More important, he recognized the name that is Black Baron. As Miss Lavender said, he believed that super powers were a poison but by the end of the day, he was just another villain.

No...that wasn't right. He or she was perhaps something worse.

A hero killer.

Even back in his training days and even his run with the "secret" government team, he knew how bad this individual was. Weird poems aside, Black Baron was a high threat. Tier S threat as far as he was concerned. Baron didn't care about the lives lost. If the target had a power, said target was on borrowed time. It was because of individuals like this that the US government wanted their own team in case they had to personally respond to such threats quicker than any other organization.

Of course, ICOSA would never have any of it at the time...

Putting those thoughts aside, Alpha then raised his hand briefly then spoke monotone about something else he had to ask.

"...all due respect Ma'am, this isn't going to be fun...I won't mince words everyone...even in my early training days, I've heard stories about...many dangerous individuals...Black Baron is among them...simply put...a hero killer...he says super powers are a poison but far as I heard, he only targets hero's and possibly works with villains...you can add hypocrite to his dossier..."

He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt that he most likely scared everyone in the entire room with such a statement.

That's when he spoke in a normal tone, perhaps surprising those that knew him to be strict or stiff.

"Sorry everyone. What I mean is that we have to be extra careful on this one. This isn't going to be some random showdown. This is undercover ops. Much more sensitive work. Which leads me to ask some things. First off, Black Baron's known abilities. Is the target super powered or not?"

He then asked this from everyone in the room.

"Now to all of you. I apologize if this sounds rude and over stepping my rank but based on what Commander Lavender said, most of the known gangs in Castleburg are going to be there so...if there's any "dirty laundry" or some history you may have with any of them, now's the time to say so before it rears it's ugly head. I'm concerned as well since when I work with...I mean...when I USED to be "K Nine" of C.P.D., I've done patrols and it's possible that thugs may know me by face so as to avoid me. The last thing we need is one person being called out and we all pay for it."

---

Lucky for Chad, neither Starbright nor the guard he was with noticed the inexperienced Hero's presence. They moved through the halls of the complex, Chad following as silently as possible for someone who could only hobble. It wasn't a long struggle for Chad, however - before long, the pair he had been tailing arrived at a dead end. Chad was initially confused, before seeing the guard level his gun at Starbright's head. Chad's mind took a few seconds to process what was happening, and he was too far away to hear anything very well. But if Chad was able to do anything well, it was move fast.

Chad ran towards the guard as fast as he could with his injury, vision and hearing dimming as his power intensified. Chad probably could have run a bit slower - but the situation really didn't let that thought cross his mind. As he ran, he misstepped, losing his grip on the wall - his injured foot landed on the ground, and the broken ankle once again reminded Chad it was there. Chad was able to react in time, however - while the misstep took him off his course towards the guard, Chad managed to throw his arm out in time, catching the guard in the skull as he fell. The blow on the guard made a disturbing whacking sound, similar to a baton. Chad didn't have time to worry too much, as he crashed into the floor from his run.

Chad pulled himself towards the wall, and located Starbright quickly - he appeared unharmed, so Chad must have not accidentally hit him while trying to save him. Totally intentional. Chad managed to stand by using the wall.

"You had to go and beat the guard up. I obviously had it under control. Honestly, it..."

Chad felt nervous as he looked at the guard - Chad didn't like using his power on normal people, and the guard effectively got hit by a high-speed Clothesline. He was still breathing, even if he was unconscious, but Chad was a recent high school dropout - he had no clue if the guard was internally bleeding or had any other injuries. If the situation was different, Chad probably wouldn't have hit as hard as he did...

"S-sorry Starbright, I was worried-"

Chad was cut off as Starbright pulled him in for a hug. Chad bit his lip slightly, being reminded of the burn on his back - he'd have to talk to ask the Shocker to apologize for that when this was all over.

"I'm just glad you're alive."

Chad returned the hug, cautious at first. It was a little weird, being so close to someone that you idolized from behind a screen for so long. It was nice though - Chad had been in more danger today than any other day in his life. Hell, he fell off a buidling. And despite the threat of death, Chad didn't really know if many people would care. Percy would, maybe Powers after he was found? Chad didn't really know most of the other heroes that well (or at all), and Pandora... Well, She didn't really seem like she'd lose any sleep if Chad died. And as for his parents...

It felt nice knowing that someone was happy Chad survived.

Eventually, Starbright broke the hug, turning to look over at Sea Serpent as he spoke.

"Oh, right, I probably shouldn't let her drop like that huh?"

He picked her up again and turned back to face Chad as he continued speaking.

"We have one more to take down, Seraph. He's at the top of this tower, we take him down and it will all start crumbling. If it isn't going down already, we need to hurry."

Chad nodded in agreement. Chad had seen some of the collateral damage that Heroes could cause, and while this building was fortified, Chad had no doubt that someone like Quake could bring it down if she wanted to. The sooner they found Powers and escaped, the better...

"You smashed it pretty hard in the fall then? Not to worry, I have three words for you, privatized HERO healthcare. I have the best medic in HERO on speed dial, he can patch that up good as new. We just... have to finish this first."

Chad looked down at his ankle as he continued after Starbright. Even with a boot and legging covering it, the damage was easy to see. Chad smile behind his mask - getting his leg healed would mean he wouldn't have to stop his training. Depending on how good Starbright's Healer was, maybe Chad would be able to get back to HERO work in a matter of days!

"I'm glad to hear that... Thanks, Starbright."

Chad's mind began to wander towards the others - Chad had gotten lucky being in the same minijet as Starbright since he was such a good pilot and took them to the top of the complex immediately. But the others might not have been so lucky - The minijet that saved Chad's life when he fell was abandoned other than a single guard, and the rumbling and shaking the building experienced was concerning, to say the least...

Chad tried to stop worrying about them. Grace could teleport, Pandora could just swim through the ground, and Quake was an S tier Hero. If things got bad, they would probably be fine. Besides, Chad had enough on his own plate right now - he glanced at the unconscious Sea Serpent, hoping she remained knocked out until they could reasonably restrain her. Chad had dropped Starbright's belt during the fall, otherwise he would have used that to at least bind her legs.

Not like that would have done much to stop her powers though. Chad was still soaking wet, so she wouldn't even need to look far for a water-

"Bullet, I'm not going to force you into this. I'm going up these stairs to confront Seraph and it may not turn out well. I'm giving you an out here, you can take it or you can stay. But that decision rests only on your shoulders alone."

Starbright broke Chad's train of thought - they were in front of the stairway to the next floor. Chad did his best to not be surprised at what Starbright had just said - Chad was being given a way out of the fight against Seraph. Normally, he'd probably leap on that opportunity - Chad didn't feel like he'd win against Seraph even if he wasn't injured. Seraph can freaking fly for God's sake. That alone pretty much made Chad worthless against him.

Chad followed close behind Starbright as they ascended the stairs, not bothering to respond to his statement. Running away wasn't an option this time around. Seraph killed dozens of people in Club 27, kidnapped Powers, framed Aria, and who knows what else. Even if Chad couldn't do anything to help, leaving just wasn't something he would do.

Besides - it wasn't like they were going to lose the fight. Starbright was here, he had Sea Serpent as a bargaining chip, and they were indoors - Seraph wouldn't be able to make much use of his flight because of that.

But Chad didn't think they were going to win for any of those reasons - no, the reason he thought they would win was that he didn't want to consider failing. Thinking about what you didn't want to happen meant it might be an option - so as long as Chad felt he and Starbright could win, they would!

Chad did his best to cling to this delusional belief as he limped up the stairs.

---

Seraph was drinking heavily from a dark bottle as they opened the door to confront him. Chad's eyes darted around the room as Starbright spoke, searching for anything that might give them an advantage - a weapon, or something to stop Seraph's wings. The opulent golden desk that Seraph stood at was too large and most likely too heavy to serve as a weapon, but maybe it could serve as cover from Seraph's feathers. Various paintings covered the walls, and while most of them were too large to make use of, there were a few plaques that Chad could throw. Potted plants? Too cumbersome.

Chad slowly lowered himself, kneeling down to pick up a sharp glass shard next to the door. Chad recognized it as soon as he saw it - broken wine glass. Nothing compared to Seraph's feathers, but it was sharp and might cause Seraph to start bleeding.

That was a lot better than punching Seraph. If Chad hit him too hard, Seraph might die from internal bleeding or something Chad couldn't recognize. At least with this, Chad could try and staunch Seraph's wounds when he was knocked unconscious-

"Yes...yes...yes....the POWER! I can feel it! The limitless power! It's...it's overwhelming! Yes! Yes! ARRRGH!”

Seraph was changing, dropping the bottle that he was drinking from as his flesh warped and bulged. His legs and torso seemed to elongate and pull themselves apart, and muscles began ballooning to monstrous proportions all across Seraph's body. His shirt burst as additional wings sprouted fully formed from his back, and his head almost seemed to warp and cave in on itself. His eyes bulged in their sockets from the pressure, and Chad feared that they might pop out of Seraph's skull and hang down near his cheek.

Chad immediately began questioning what the hell was happening - years of seeing Seraph on reality TV and other media have never prepared him for this. He had no reasonable explanation for this sudden change...

Suddenly, he remembered! Supernova! That was a drug that Supers could take to boost their powers! Chad shuddered as Seraph completed his transformation - it was no wonder his school told his Superpowered classmates to avoid the stuff, if this is what it caused.

”Now, let me unleash the power upon my enemies!”

Chad tightened his grip on the shard of glass, his mind racing to figure out what the hell he could do to stop this monster. Seraph threw his arms and wings out seemingly at random, swiping chairs and other pieces of furniture around the room with the same ease a toddler might throw a wooden block. But he was also clutching at his head and screaming...

As Seraph flailed around, he accidentally did something Chad had been fearing his entire time in this tower - he broke through a window. And while Seraph could usually fly, this monstrous form seemed too heavy for his wings to support himself.

”NOOO!”

Chad stared as Seraph fall into the ocean waves, water shooting up dozens of feet from where he crashed. Chad's grip on the glass shard loosened, and he let it fall limply to the floor - thanks to the window Seraph just broke, it joined the many other shards with a clinking sound. Was... Was that an Overdose?

Things turned out just like Chad expected - somehow, Seraph was even less difficult to fight than Sea Serpent. But despite winning against an A tier villain, Chad didn't feel very happy. If he had only been a little bit less lucky, if there wasn't something to break his fall only a few dozen minutes ago, Chad would be in the ocean alongside Seraph right now.

Luckily, they didn't need to kill Seraph directly. If Chad had to look directly at Seraph's body rather than the ocean, he probably would have been a bit more shaken than he already was.

"Oh... right, yes. I knew that was going to happen."

"Th... That's not a common thing... is it?"

If that was how most villains were taken care of, Chad felt it'd take a bit longer than expected to get used to the job. Starbright placed Sea Serpent down on an area of the floor that was relatively free of debris and glass from the short fight, before moving alongside Chad.

"This though, this just won't do. We can't have Seraph just die from going ghoul. Wheres the drama in that? Wheres the pizazz? There is no value in any of this."

"Lesson 2 Bullet, this ones important. Do you know the value of a story? What happened today will be remembered in history. We can't have it ruined by, well this." He gestured over to the hole. "Looking like a hero can be just as important as being one. Think about this, what criminal is going to want to fight the two who destroyed that monster in seconds? No conflict, no casualties, no collateral damage."

"You and I are the only ones who saw what happened here. We did this. We pulled out and new, never before seen, combo that finished Seraph in seconds. Who in their right mind would go up against something like that? ...I won't go through with saying that if you aren't on board with it. But if you do, I think there's going to be a big future for you coming up."

Chad turned away from Starbright when he finished speaking, gazing back at the large hole that Seraph had left in the wake of his rampage. Lying wasn't really a good thing to do - especially not for something this big and important. And not just that, but something really messed up happened with Seraph - his fans deserved to know what really happened to him, right?

Chad pushed down these bad feelings. Starbright was right, like usual - If villains thought that HERO had people who could take out someone like Seraph in seconds, than they would surrender the second a Hero showed up to fight them. Or even better, they just wouldn't commit crimes in the first place. People could sleep easier, knowing that there were heroes that could stop villains with a single blow.

And THE BULLET could be one of those Heroes.

"No, you're right... I-I think I can do this. I trust you, Starbright..."

Chad really hoped he was making the right decision. Even if it was for the right reasons, he could feel a stab of anxiety at the thought of lying to all of Castleburg.

The pair began moving, ready to meet up with the other heroes and bring Sea Serpent to Coldwater. Chad lingered a little bit longer than Starbright did, however.

On the ground, was a beautifully ornate bottle - somehow, the bottle that Seraph had drunk from survived his death throes, while his desk and many other pieces of furniture were reduced to splinters. A single crack marked the area near its ornamental leaf, and at the bottom of the otherwise untouched glass, were the stains left from Seraph's last drink.

Chad took the bottle without even stopping to consider it, the last dregs of liquid dripping from the crack as he did so.

After all - what would make a better souvenir for your first mission?

---

3 days later...

"Damn, wish I was on Starbright's payroll - the report said your injury would require an internal fixator and at least 2 months of rest, but you're walking as if nothing happened. The healer must have been something, huh?"

Chad scratched the back of his head, nervous about how to respond to the light conversation. He was in the office of Dr. Illin, the chief proctor of Chad's Aptitude Tests. Thankfully, it seemed like she was unphased by the recent events that had occurred - she was the same as always, even after EAGLES.

Things had been hectic the last few days, and they only seemed to get more intense by the day. Everyone bought Starbright's lie at face value, and HERO did little to fight against his telling of the events. Chad was lucky his costume concealed his identity fairly well - defeating Seraph and Starbright's praise had catapulted The Bullet to popularity that few new heroes ever experience, and if they knew his identity, Chad was worried they might actually find where he lived.

Several of the heroes that had raided Elmore Island were injured in some way, with Firebird apparently having gone crazy for a bit, and Quake being shot by Winterfall. Chad dropped off flowers he bought from Pandora, but he didn't stick around to talk with them... It would kind of be awkward to officially meet a coworker while they were in the hospital, wouldn't it?

"Anyways, here's the file - just be sure to hand it back before you leave, I'm already breaking rules just showing it to a greenhorn like you."

Chad was thankful to be here - it was like a small break from everything. He took the manilla folder that Dr. Illin had given him, opening the contents quickly.

Dozens of pictures, all in various positions and focusing on different body parts. Seraph's corpse had been in the water for an hour or two before they managed to find and dredge it up - not that Chad could really tell how waterlogged the body was. His vision swam slightly as he tried to read the text, moving the pictures out of his view.

'Extreme mutations across the body - muscle tears in several locations indicate high-speed growth.'

"Fall didn't kill him - that stuff he drank was good shit. He didn't have enough control over his body to tread water, so he drowned."

'Autopsy shows presence of Mutagenic Compound, presumed to be Leftover blood. Testing to determine the origin of the blood is still underway.'

Chad's eyes nearly glazed over as he continued reading the Forensic Report on Seraph. Apparently, his file was a bit larger than most heroes who die on the line of duty - most likely a result of his massively altered body.

'Blood adopted darker coloration and is highly viscous - possible clotting from substance?'

Chad closed the folder and held his hand to his mouth. He'd been relatively unscathed mentally the last few days - he didn't directly cause Seraph's death, and Chad didn't see him die. But looking at someone you always looked up to on TV, deformed and cut open and dead, made Chad feel like-

"If you're going to puke, you're going to be taking my trash out."

Dr. Illin was holding a small wastebasket towards Chad, who took it and breathed slowly. He didn't end up puking - Chad knew how to stop himself when he was feeling terrible. He kept breathing and closed his eyes till the nausea left him.

"Bullet? I know you're dressed and everything, but maybe you should take the chance to relax for a bit. You seem pretty out of it. Plus if you get injured again, I have to write it up, and I hate the paperwork."

"It's THE Bul... Nevermind. Sure thing, Dr. Illin, I'll take a few days off. Have a good day."

---

Chad came down from the sixth floor of HERO One after completing the Monkey Run for the second time - even after intense training in the gym, he was able to complete the course in just over a minute. Not too impressive for a Speedster considering his lack of dexterity, but Chad's time was much faster than most of the Heroes who had attempted the obstacle course. Of course, he still failed the course most of the time he tried it, but Chad decided to blame that on leftover nausea.

As the elevator opened to the third floor, Chad came face to face with The Shocker, the massive electric superhero. His popularity, while hardly exceptional before, was outright detrimental after his 'killing' of Starbright. Many fans of the more popular hero were demanding The Shocker to be fired immediately or to even be imprisoned.

He walked into the elevator, bumping Chad into the wall as he did so. Chad frowned from behind his damaged helmet - it was probably because he had been healed from his back wound and he got a new phone, but Chad felt bad for The Shocker's predicament. Even if he was misguided and attacked them before, he was still a Hero.

Chad decided to forgive The Shocker for injuring him earlier and planned to be nicer to him in the future. He could probably use a friend right now - maybe they'd go out to eat sometime! Starbright could come to, then their fight would just be a funny bonding story!

Chad moved over to the nearest silver booth, entering it casually. Apparently, it was possible to use an app to create patrols or apply for assignments, but Chad wasn't exactly a very tech-savvy individual. Chad planned on asking someone how to download and sign up for that later - Starbright had replaced the phone Chad lost a few days prior.

"Okay... What have we got today?"

Talking to himself, Chad went through the various job listings available to pick from. As usual, Chad pretty much signed up for everything below a certain level of difficulty - finding lost animals, a few Slime Cleanups, and busting drug dealers in Brookside.

Y'know, things that the police usually do. Or at most, something a Hero may do for the publicity.

Chad, obsessive about cheesy heroic fiction and cartoons, found these to be the perfect tasks for him. He didn't cause much property damage, and it allowed him to interact more closely with the people he was helping. Not to mention, the risk of ending up in a fight was pretty low - and while the Seraph Situation made Chad pretty confident most criminals wouldn't want to fight The Bullet, he didn't want to push his luck that much. Especially not today, after seeing those photos.

Of course, Chad wasn't going to be paid much for these lower-grade missions. That's why he took up a Patrol as well! He got to run around Watervale and Brookside, looking for crime as it happened - the old fashioned way of heroics! Not to mention, patrolling those areas paid a bit more than the other boroughs.

Chad didn't realize it yet, but there was a reason Brookside and Watervale were patrolled by very few heroes. They were hives of villainy, with the vast majority of gangs within Castleburg being based in one of the two Boroughs. Not to mention, with the recent EAGLES fiasco, even some of the normal citizens were becoming upset with heroes.

Finishing up, Chad decided to get to work fast - the sooner he finished up his jobs for the day, the sooner he could start his patrol.

His first mission: A Derek Jackson reported a lost Climber Cat somewhere in the East Flank.

"Shouldn't be too hard - those things are Leftovers. Can't be too many of them to look for..."

---

1 Week Later...

"You Nervous?"

Chad moved over slightly seeing his boss, Percy, standing in the doorway of the bathroom. Chad was nearly done dyeing his hair, and sitting on the edge of his bathtub.

"I guess. Yeah, I'm super nervous... I'm going to be on live television - that's pretty cool!"

Chad was ecstatic to see his name in The Castleburg Times, even if newspaper was kind of dead. Sometime in the last few days, however, Castleburg Today, one of the biggest talk shows on the East Coast, wanted to have him come in for an interview. Chad wasn't sure if this was purely from his role in the defeat of Seraph, or if Starbright had pulled any strings. Whatever the reason, Chad was still thrilled at the opportunity.

"I'm sure you'll do fine Chad. Just try and be yourself, that's all they can ask of you."

Chad nodded. He had already prepped some things to talk about during the interview! The correct pronunciation of his alias, the people he's met with the last week during his missions and patrols, the Climber Cat that took him 13 hours to find (WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OF THESE THINGS!?), and some of his hobbies. Yesterday The Shocker denied going out for lunch with Chad (and said some pretty mean words...), so Chad also wanted to try and mention him to help boost his popularity.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to recommend his blog to people currently - when he updated it a few days ago, it was taken down. Apparently, the web host thought that it was someone trying to bash on The Bullet, rather than Chad posting it himself! If it wasn't for his Hero work taking up so much time, it probably would have been back up by now...

Oh well! No sense in being upset about something else when there was good news to celebrate!

Percy left a few moments later - it was still business hours, and he needed to cover for Chad's absence. It didn't take long for Chad to finish his hair and shave (and he didn't even cut himself!), and looking at the mirror, he felt pretty happy with his appearance. It didn't fit Chad's personality whatsoever, but his ex was a big fan of the look, and it grew on him as time passed on. He especially liked the tattoo - while others called it lame, he thought it made him look super cool!

Chad's phone began to buzz beside him, displaying the cover of Starbright's newest album. Chad quickly answered it - Chad didn't want to assume things, especially since famous people don't seem to like clingy fans, but he was starting to think that Starbright and him were friends now!

"Bullet, how are you doing? Look remember you got that Castleburg Today interview coming up today. This will be the first time people get to hear from the man himself, no pressure. Anyway, I got some clothes for you to wear, just to help establish your image some more."

"Uh, scratch that actually, you can buy your own clothes. I'm sending you over some money for them. 5 grand should be enough right? Nah we will make it 10 grand to be safe. Anyway, yeah, knock yourself out. All I want to see when I look at you on that show is something that screams 'THIS IS THE BULLET'. I think you best know what that looks like. Oh and no Gucci stuff, thats all bargain bin trash anyway. Again no pressure, just a few million watching."

Chad could see himself pale in the mirror, blood rushing from his head as he heard the ridiculous amount that Starbright was giving him. He'd already bought Chad one of the most expensive phones on the market, but 10 grand was more than Chad had ever held in his life.

"A... Are you sure about giving me that much money? I don't think I'd be able to pay you back for a few months..."

More than a few months - Chad accidentally crashed through a building while running from a pack of M.W.E.s his last patrol, and his pay this week was cut pretty drastically as a result. Chad felt justified in his dislike of animals after that.

"Not that I don't appreciate it! I don't own many outfits, haha..."

The call ended shortly after, and Chad struggled to cope with his sudden influx of cash. People online talked about Heroes making a ton of money, but Starbright was able to throw around what most people made in months like it was nothing. Of course, Chad didn't consider that Starbright's money was supplemented by his massively famous singing career.

Chad went to his room, and quickly started rummaging through his closet for something to wear - eventually, he decided on polo shirt and khakis, one of his more common outfits. As he reached around, however, he accidentally dropped a shirt from its hanger. Behind it was a partially filled Helium tank, very out of place for the otherwise comfy bedroom Chad had made for himself. Chad quickly covered it again, heart racing as he closed the closet door. No time to think about that kind of stuff - Chad had a busy day ahead of him!

---

Chad knew exactly what to wear to an interview that would be seen by millions - a brand new costume! It'd have an air of mystique since his identity hadn't been revealed to the public yet, and superhero costumes were way cooler looking than a suit or something. And since Starbright had given him such a windfall, it was the perfect time to replace his damaged costume!

Of course, buying a complete costume was pretty difficult within such a short time frame. As a result, Chad had to rely on the same strategy he used to make his last suit - taking random pieces he found that looked cool, and slapping them together. This time though, instead of barely having a hundred or so dollars, he had 10 thousand...

Chad originally wanted to buy Riot gear and possibly avoid hurting as much from collisions or getting stabbed, but the nice officer he asked said that he needed government identification to purchase that. Chad wasn't sure if being a Hero counted, but he could always worry about it when he didn't have a deadline - his interview was only a few hours away. Instead, he bought an armored one-piece suit, like the motorcyclists and daredevils wore - that was still pretty cool!

Chad's purchases were fairly nonsensical and sporadic after that - a cool looking helmet from the same bike shop, ballistic plates from some shady guy Chad found in a gun shop, a bunch of zip-ties to capture bad guys, and some white steel-toed boots.

Chad paused as he continued his shopping, however. While buying all of these things was cool, Chad's mind flashed back to his fall and the broken leg he earned from it. He really lucked out - He could have died so easily if he missed the minijet, and even if he didn't miss it, he could have cut an artery or something and bled out.

The first aid kit that Chad bought was pretty expensive for Chad's taste, but it was compact and could save a life in an emergency. Not to mention it was less expensive more useful than a parachute. Next time he breaks his leg, Chad will have a splint!

Chad really hoped he wouldn't need to break his leg again...

After all of that, Chad hadn't made much of a dent in the funds that Starbright had given him - at least, not until he got to his final purchase. Chad could almost feel the looks of reproach as he arrived at one of the most high-end fashion store in Kingsdale. Chad was dressed in one of his better outfits, but considering he was a pizza delivery guy, he wasn't exactly blending in. Chad kept his head down and tried to avoid making eye contact with others as he started looking for the belts.

Starbright was the person that had helped Chad the most so far - heck, even over the last week, his interactions with the other heroes have been limited. Chad didn't think most of them even knew his name - not that it was their fault. He'd been pretty busy the last few days, but Chad probably should have tried a little harder to get to know his coworkers.

The one that Starbright wore obviously wasn't available - Starbright must have bought his belt from abroad, or maybe it was custom-made. But Chad picked the one that seemed most similar, and they looked close enough, right? Chad paused - after making sure it wasn't Gucci as per Starbright's request, Chad quickly made his purchase, questioning why a belt was worth more than the rest of his costume combined.

Chad shook the thought from his mind as he walked home. He didn't have a right to complain - after all, it wasn't his money. He'd pay Starbright back later

For only having a few hours to get ready, Chad had managed to fix up a pretty good looking costume. Sewing was one of the few things Chad felt confident in, and while he wasn't an expert, it was the best he could do with what he had available. He even managed to sew the plates into the suit! And the cape didn't turn out as bad as he thought it might have.

Of course, functionally, the thing was pretty pathetic. Chad effectively just threw together what he thought would look cool, not taking into account if it would actually help protect him in a fight or if it would fall apart the second he took a hit. Chad mostly just wanted it to look nice before being gawked at by millions - he could make it work well after he was done his interview.

Chad felt pretty confident as he left his home - this interview was going to be great!

---

Somehow Chad hadn't screwed himself over by thinking that. The interview actually did go pretty well.

Surprisingly, Chad's decision to wear his new costume had actually worked out - his desire to maintain a 'Secret Identity' wasn't common among most of HERO, at least not for the last few decades. That, combined with his loud and boisterous personality, had managed to make him stand out more than he expected.

"Let's get this out of the way right off the bat - how did you and Starbright manage to take down Seraph so fast? Starbright and some HERO officials said the confrontation was over in seconds!" "W-well, Starbright is really strong and cool and powerful and awesome, so it wasn't too bad... A-and I'm pretty fast, y'know? Haha..."

"How is HERO handling the loss of three A tier heroes? Seraph was a major face for HERO as an organization, and they haven't commented on his current situation. Could you tell us - is Seraph dead?" Chad's mind flashed to the pictures of Seraph's bloated and deformed corpse, and he was suddenly glad he was wearing a helmet - it meant no one could see the color drain from his face.

"I don't think I can talk about that, sorry..."

Eventually, the interviewer grew frustrated and started asking about other topics, and Chad visibly relaxed. The interview went much more smoothly when Chad began talking about how he was acclimating to HERO, and his actions in costume after EAGLES was disbanded.

The interviewer looked a little disturbed when Chad described smashing in one of the heads of a MWE, only to be bitten by another. And no one ever wanted to listen to a Slime Cleaning. But Chad's patrol route was what caused the most interest.

"I'm sorry, your patrol goes through Brookside?"

"And Watervale! I think I do a pretty good job too, I arrested some drug dealers already and the officer that came to get them let me use his Siren-"

Chad was incredibly lucky to not have faced any problems yet - few heroes interact with Brookside or Watervale in any capacity and both boroughs were filled with gangs and criminals, but the only injury Chad received so far was a bite from a Leftover.

Then again, Chad was probably one of the people in HERO who could avoid trouble on a patrol in Brookside. Even from a fairly short distance, his all-black costume looked just like a villain - along with the fact that Chad's patrols were done at relatively high speeds, he probably hadn't been attacked simply because he wasn't noticed fast enough. After making his patrol common knowledge during this interview, Chad had probably made things much more difficult for himself.

Not that Chad knew that of course - he was just answering questions as they came to him, ignorant of what consequences they would have.

As the interview came to a close, Chad made sure to give out his message to 'Stop bullying The Shocker' (Which was met with many confused looks from people who had no idea who that was), and he left the building, eager to tell Starbright how the interview had gone.

Who knows - maybe some of the other Heroes had watched it, and Chad could talk with them about it.

---

Chad shakily stepped out of the plane, doing his best to keep his three bags of luggage from falling into the water. He wasn't wearing his new costume - a benefit to this being a Superhero-only resort. Instead, Chad was wearing a button-down dress shirt, khakis, the belt he bought recently, and a pair of Oxfords that his father had gotten him for a school dance a year or two ago.

In short, not something you should wear to a resort. Chad felt a bit anxious as he saw that most of the others who had also come were dressed in far more casual clothing. He hadn't brought a swimsuit since he couldn't swim didn't like hanging out in the water, but he probably should have dressed down a bit more than he usually did...

No sense in being upset though! Chad was lucky to have come on the resort trip since he was so new, so being upset just cause he wasn't dressed properly was dumb. Chad had been working every day since the EAGLE incident, so he should try and get the most out of this vacation time.

As they arrived at the resort itself and were handed their brochures and villa keys, Chad smiled brightly. He'd never been on a vacation before, so this was all very exciting and new! He could go build a sandcastle on the beach, check out the gym they had here - maybe he could even ask some of the staff to teach him how to swim!

"Before you all go, I have reserved a late dinner at the Solaris, which is the resort's five-star restaurant. If you could join me there at 8:00 PM, that would be excellent. Until then, make sure you enjoy yourselves.”

Chad grinned, making an alarm on his phone (He learned how to put alarms on his phone! How cool was that!!!). Chad had never really eaten at a five-star restaurant, to so that sounded like something he wouldn't want to miss!

Chad quickly made his way to his villa, and after oohing and ahhing at his temporary accommodations, he unloaded his luggage and changed into his workout clothes.

Chad nodded his head to himself. First things first - 'Operation: Make Friends' was a go! A vacation was the perfect time to get to know your coworkers better, right? So he just needed to look around for people to hang out with! Unfortunately, Starbright hadn't won the drawing on who got to come on the vacation - if he had, Chad could have asked to been introduced to some of the others. Starbright was probably beloved by the other heroes, right?

Nodding to himself, Chad left his villa and started to look around the resort for the gym or someone to hang out with, whichever he found first. That's when he realized... He probably should have asked to hang out with someone before he left for his villa in the first place, huh? Chad groaned - stupid move. Oh well, he had 7 hours to find someone to hang out with. Worst case scenario, he could always make plans with someone over dinner tonight.

Alpha looked at the team member that addressed his comments (Cerise).

"...first, my name is Alpha Miss...formerly K Nine as stated...copycat or not, this individual has taken two lives so regardless, must be stopped...a good disguise is needed yes...but all the same, myself and others might need to know of such things...and my time as CPD may compromise this mission regardless of a disguise...", Alpha monotoned.

He then looked around the room noting the new faces but then tilted his head slightly at Cerise and then talked normally again.

"I'm sorry but do I know you? Are you one of the new transfer Heroes I heard about?"

@Jumbus

Tom hadn't actually been on a vacation in a really long time (unless visiting his Dad in LA counted as a vacation, which Tom didn't) - there was no way it had been less than a couple of years since he had last gone on one. So when Powers had announced that some people were being selected to go on an all-expenses-paid tropical vacation to the Caribbean, Tom crossed his fingers that he would be one of the lucky few selected. And if he did get selected, he also was hoping that Grace got selected to go along with him. He knew that their relationship had started way later than it probably should have, but Tom didn't care, because it seemed to be going perfectly so far, despite Grace's apparent need to itinerise and schedule their dates, which Tom would have preferred to be totally spontaneous. But he knew Grace was just like that.

He stepped off the plane after her, taking a note of the pleasant heat which seemingly filled the air, way different to the city temperatures of Castleburg. He was wearing some shorts (uncharacteristically for him, but he was on vacation) and a button-up Hawaiian shirt, which was luckily a different colour to the one Powers was wearing. He glanced down at Grace, thinking her holiday attire was absolutely adorable, which he had told her at least a few times already on the plane. It wasn't long before the group was greeted by the resort coordinator, and he rolled his eyes at Powers acting so characteristically formal despite the fact they were all here to enjoy a nice vacation - of course, he made sure Powers didn't see him doing this.

There was no denying that the resort was absolutely beautiful. It was maybe the furthest setting from Castleburg that could possibly exist, no tall buildings, no cars, no vague and probably unhealthy smog that sometimes appeared in the city that was either the result of cars or some mild smog-based villain. Just sand, palm trees and tropical birds. And the pretty looking huts that they would be staying in, wrapped around the pristine coast with the turquoise water. If there was a place on earth that was picture perfect, it was likely this. They headed inside the reception area and Tom looked around at all the old timey maritime stuff on display, which was cool, before Naomi handed out everyone's room keys inside little envelopes.

Grace, of course, went to get it first, and Tom walked up to her to find out where the pair would be staying. "The Mahi Mahi hut? Isn't that a kind of tu-" He stopped when he saw the little carved tuna on the end of the key. "Yeah." He walked along side Grace as they headed towards their hut. It felt a little weird being called "hon"... He hadn't had an actual girlfriend in a fairly long time. But as much as it felt weird, it also felt pretty sweet. It was a nice feeling to have.

Soon they reached their hut and stepped inside. Tom whistled as he looked around, clearly impressed. Damn, this is swanky, it must have cost a fortune to book this place!" He noted, walking back over to Grace as she pulled the fancy brochure from her bag and started flicking through it. He listened as she rattled off all of the different types of massages that were available, unable to suppress a smile as she immediately went about attempting to build an itinerary for their vacation. When she asked his opinion, she answered. "That all sounds great... Especially the snuggling... But you don't need to try and schedule everything in smooth timeslots, Gracie, we're on vacation, you can just chill and enjoy yourself." He quickly snatched the calendar off the table to prevent her writing any more. "The hot stone massage sounds pretty cool, let's do that."

@Hitman

When the seaplane touched down on St. Florian, Jamie hopped up from her seat with glee. That plane ride had been so long, but they were finally here! For most of the plane ride, she had glued herself to the window and gazed at the Caribbean. Or what she could see of it. Most of it had just been water. But now it was land! Because they were here. The plane came to a stop smoothly, and as soon as she could, Jamie wanted out. In a swift motion, she took her two bags (her suitcase and her beach bag), put on her sunglasses and hat, and walked out into the sunlight. Jamie was the first one out of the plane, right after Powers, of course.

Once she was fully out of the plane, he shook out her fishtail-braided hair and took a deep breath of the humid island air. God, how she loved the Caribbean. Castleburg was nice and all, but it was also nice to be somewhere warm. With beaches. And crystalline blue water… She hadn’t been to the Caribbean since she was a teenager, and she was happy to be back. Especially given the last few months she had had, which had been interesting, to say the least. Jamie had had a “vacation” a few months ago, but it hadn’t been much of one. Sitting around on her couch for a few weeks waiting for her body to heal wasn’t a vacation. That was why she was happy to have a real vacation!

Plus, all of her friends were here. Well… some. Really just Tom and Joseph, but they were plenty fun. In preparation for the tropics, Jamie was wearing a buttoned maxi dress, leather sandals, a floppy hat, and sunglasses. She had also braided her hair into a fishtail, which she was quite proud of! There were a ton more outfits in her suitcase (she had mostly borrowed from her younger self, but had also done a lot of shopping), so she was prepared for anything that would come their way!

Jamie listened to Powers and Naomi Lewi. Dinner at 8:00! She would be there. “See you then!” she said as Powers walked off. This whole place seemed so fun. And the beach was calling to her! Jamie stepped forward to take her envelope, opened it, and squinted at its content. “Sea Turtle Hut, huh…” she muttered, and took out her keychain. It was a sea turtle! How cute! Jamie squealed a teensy bit. Then, she grinned wide and dashed off to go look for her room.

Unpacking wasn’t too strenuous of a process if you didn’t actually unpack. Jamie just sort of dumped her suitcase onto the floor, threw some bags of toiletries into the bathroom, and ran back out again. It was too nice of a day to unpack! She’d do it later. Or maybe never. A suitcase was a fine dresser, even though her room had one. Her room was nice, actually. It was themed around the sea turtle, so it was blue and green all over. But Jamie couldn’t be entertained for long by looking around her room. She needed something to do!

Without bothering to put on sunscreen (sunscreen was for chumps), Jamie grabbed her beach bag and left her villa. Now it was just time to find someone to hang out with. She heaved a sigh. Everyone she knew seemed to be in their villas. But she did see someone she had met a few times! An awkward, teenager-looking guy was wandering around. Jamie racked her brain for his name. Chad? Chase? She was pretty sure it was Chad, but she could be wrong…

Jamie ran up to him anyways. “Hey, Chad!” she yelled, and stopped right in front of him. “This place is so nice. There’s a beach, and a bar, and an ocean, and a lot of cool stuff… wanna hang out, maybe? We have a lot of time until dinner with the director. We could build a sand castle or, like, go swimming… it’ll be fun!” Jamie grinned. What was a vacation for if not hanging out with people?

---

---

This was not a vacation.

Patricia entered the conference room with a scowl on her face. She had been promised a full week off- this was total bullshit! If everyone else got to go to a fancy resort in the Caribbean, why shouldn’t she get a week off? Stupid emergency meetings… Patricia flopped into an armchair next to Eliza, slung her head back, and groaned. “Ughhhh!” Once she was done being dramatic, she sat up and gave Eliza a light smile. “Hey, Ellie. Hug?” When Eliza said yes, Patti leaned in for a long, sweet side-hug. She almost wanted to kiss her, but everyone was here! Even people she didn’t know…

Looking around the room after hugging Eliza, Patti noticed several people she had never met. Which was strange! There was a brown-haired man, a dark-skinned woman, and a gangster-looking blonde lady, all of whom she didn’t know. She looked at the three of them for a short moment and then shrugged. Didn’t matter. If they were here, they were here. Whatever.

The last couple of months had been… strange for Patti, to say the least. After that whole fiasco with the coup, she had had a lot of bonus money and a lot of time off. After she had been accused of murder, no one had wanted her back at HERO One for quite a bit. So… she had gone on vacation! A real one, with her mom. They had gone on a week-long cruise to the Caribbean a month or so ago, which had been a ton of fun. They had never really gone on vacations like that before, so it was exciting to Patti. And in Castleburg, people had started to recognize Patti. In a positive way! Apparently, that whole disaster had netted her some fame. Which was… weird.

Patti sat up straight in her seat when Christina walked into the room. She looked serious. Patricia took her manila folder and immediately popped the peppermint into her mouth. Hopefully that hadn’t been important or anything. She put her best serious face on and listened to Christina speak.

Well, this sounded… serious. The Black Boron, huh? A superhero killer. An old one. Shouldn’t he be in a nursing home or something? An old dude couldn’t pose that much of a threat, although she supposed she should probably listen to Christina. Couldn’t be too hard though. Plus, they got to go undercover. So Patricia opened her folder, and sorted through its contents.

“Oh God, please don’t give Eliza a Dungeons and Dragons character sheet,” Patricia groaned, jokingly, and glanced at her girlfriend. Having involuntarily played in a campaign or two with Eliza, Patti knew how excited her girlfriend could get about this nerd stuff. “Please don’t tell me you brought any dice today.”

“Anyways, this shouldn’t be too hard. Not harder than the Gugliano bit, at least. I think I’ll be… hm. Keeping with the Irish theme, I’ll be Patricia O’Connor? My first name’s Irish enough. But we definitely shouldn’t all keep our first names! Mine just sounds Irish. Ooh, and we all need backstories… definitely not gonna be a prostitute this time, so I’ll be a gangster or something…” It had been a while since Patricia had actually gone undercover, so she was looking forward to it again. She had definitely toughened up since the last time they had went undercover.

Brooke was feeling kind of nervous. Which wasn't exactly unheard of. She had lost all of her momentum and many of the people she had succeeded in introducing herself too were now near the equator and she was once again in a room filled with mostly strangers. Bad luck. She adjusted her glassed and then stuffed her hands into her zipped up green hoodie. Everything was a little chillier on the east coast compared to the west coast. So she was having to adapt to that. Not like she would complain out loud though, lest she be subjected to a thousand years of "You think THIS is cold!?". She would just keep it to herself.

Much like she should probably keep her thoughts about this plan to herself. Brooke shifted uncomfortably, glancing around to gauge the others reactions. Patricia Donnelly, the superhero who was made the focus of the recent coup, immediately seemed onboard. Brooke wrinkled her nose. The man who called himself Alpha seemed wary, as well as Cerise. Brooke actually knew everyone here's name, of course. Christina and Blake and Eliza and Rumi were the others in the room.

Brooke cleared her throat and spoke up. "Um...hi. My name's Brooke Everette. I'm a transfer from LATCH. I meant to get around to everyone but...now the people I met are all on vacation. S-so, y'know, that kinda makes things awkward for me!" She laughed anxiously, waving at everyone.

"Um, um, okay, I'm sorry," Brooke leaned forward toward Christina and the others her voice getting very high pitch. "Wh-whyyy? Why, are we doing this? Going undercover? I'm not- I'm not- an actress? I get stage fright? Question mark? I mean I've played Dungeons and Dragons before but doing a silly voice was always the hardest- I mean- playing a character is...not life or death. Right?" She said, not stopping talking.

"What if I just, like, attached myself to the under side of the boat with my hard light powers and just hid under there until something inevitably explodes?" She asked, borderline pleading. After a moment she seemed to concede under the pressure and went along with the plan, even if there was no pressure at all.

She rubbed her face. "Or...maybe I'll just...be someone's evil silent bodyguard. That way I don't have to, uh, talk. Or, do anything." She stared off into the middle distance for a moment.

"I'm thinking something like...this?" She suddenly rose from her chair. Taking a few steps back, she looked down at herself and concentrated. From thin air sabatons, gauntlets, shoulder pauldrons, a chest plate and leggings all began to materialize out of thin air. They strapped themselves onto her and became opaque. They were grey in color but slowly darkened into being black. A helmet covered her face and she grew one foot in height as the armor completed itself and she made her legs longer. It was all spiky and hard edges. She summoned a massive greatsword as well. She looked like a fantasy knight from a grimdark world, and it was quite corny.

Her less than imposing voice echoed from underneath the helmet. "F-fear me...I...I am Hurt...you...I am Lord...Um..." She hesitated for a moment. "Hurtpain Murderdeath McMaimKill!" She announced. Her voice attempted to rise with confidence, and she rose her sword in the air, aswell.

Pandora glanced between Powers and the ball as he talked. He had decidedly ignored her warnings and decided to trust her with his currently secret mission anyway. She scratched at the bare small of her back, her ample exposed skin warmed in the sun. Getting briefed was something she hadn't done in a while.

”...It is my belief that the organization known as Zero, a nefarious group of villains hellbent on world domination..." Hugo said. Pandora chuckled at this.

As Powers mentioned it was her go, Pandora furrowed her eyebrows and lined up a shot. The ball rolled wide and missed the wicket she was aiming at entirely. The british woman frowned. "It's a bloody French game, anyway." She mumbled. She repositioned on the grass and sighed.

She gestured in assention at the Director. "Well, of course I'll take you up on it. I've no intention of spending time with a bunch of drunk children. Sounds like a nightmare." She said.



Brooke deflated at Christina's laugh. The towering knight laughed half-heartedly in agreement before vanishing. Brooke shrank down to her original size. No longer elevated by armor she sat back down in her chair and considered Christina's words. Both about her disguise, and the nature of the Black Baron's cruel ability. She flipped through the mentioned dossier and went quiet. Her brown eyes devoured the written information with renewed vigor. Calmer, she was, in the presence of written information.

Christina mentioned the idea of a hostage. Without looking up Brooke raised a hand like she was in school. Then she sat it down and wasn't sure what to do with it. "Me. I'll do it." She said.

"I mean, I'm a terrible actress. I'll be nervous anyway. My weakness is if I can't see, I can't use my light power. So my capture is uh, more believable, I guess, than some other people. I tried to keep my weakness a secret, b-but, I found people talking about it on the internet so the word is out." She admitted.

"And, y'know, besides. I've got the most experience out of this team, so if anyone should get the tough job it should be me. And my armor will let me go toe-to-toe with the Baron without letting him draw blood as easy." Brooke explained. "Not that that's going to happen. But if I'm one of the only known goodies on a ship full of baddies I imagine someone might try to poke at me a little. But I can handle it." She smile wide, revealing her chipped front tooth. She sat straighter and prouder, assured of her stance and role in the mission.