Ashton was quick to open his door, but he seemed confused to see Kayla there. Was she lying about being new to the team? No, Ashton definitely recognized her so that wasn’t it. She probably just arrived early or hadn’t officially been approved yet.

“Ms. Penn, what happened to your escort?” Ashton asked.

Escort? Now that was something Summer had not expected. Could it be possible that Kayla belonged to a family of billionaires or celebrities? Admittedly, Summer only focused on celebrities connected to the world of superheroes so she probably wouldn’t recognize her if she was.

“They are watching from a distance,” Kayla replied, clearly disappointed with Ashton’s greeting, “Since I will be living here from now on, I was allowed to approach without them. I don’t know what they think I am going to do. Run for it? Where?”

“I’ll go fill out the forms,” Ashton sighed, “Can you show her the empty apartments, Summer?” He tossed her a key and headed towards the van that Summer had failed to notice when Kayla had arrived earlier.

Kayla seemed even more taken aback now. “I thought you were a civilian. Do you know about the facilities as well?” she asked.

“The facilities?” Summer asked, “Like, the apartments provided by Gale Research?”

“So you are just a civilian. What is he thinking?” Kayla muttered.

Civilian? Why did she keep using that word as if she wasn’t? Summer hated the idea that Ashton shared a secret with this new girl that she wasn’t allowed to know. She even signed the confidentiality contract, so she should be allowed to know things, right? Maybe she still had to prove herself.

“I will show you those apartments,” Summer told her, and gave her a brief tour. “This one is Ashton’s, and this is mine. The one on the end is still open, and there are two more open on the second floor. All of the apartments are exactly the same, but none of them have any furniture.”

“I thought that might be the case, so I brought my own,” Kayla said.

That was a relief. Summer didn’t want to have to share with her, even if it was petty. That was what she thought at first, anyway. When Kayla chose the final first floor apartment and started moving her things in, that petty turned to pity. What kind of furniture was that? A collapsible cloth bin of some kind? Was that a camping cot? It looked so old, and the fabric on the thin mat was worn and torn.

How was anyone meant to survive on just this? She didn’t have a chair, or dresser, or desk. There was no lamps or toaster or microwave. Were the others living in a similar situation? It got to the point where when Kayla finished signing the papers with Ashton, Summer couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“You need to come with me,” she told Kayla, “Things can’t stay like this.”

“Come with you where?” Kayla asked warily.

“Shopping, of course. We need to get you some real essentials, not that barely functional nonsense.”

“I don’t have any money,” Kayla pointed out.

“Luckily for you, I still have plenty,” Summer told her, “Ashton, do I need to pick up anything for the others as well?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Ashton seemed a bit taken aback by her offer. “Summer, you don’t need to buy things for them,” he told her, “I know your family is well off, but we should get a team budget for these things by the end of the week.”

“This is the money I earned myself,” Summer corrected, “And besides, I can’t let my teammates live like this for a whole week. I am going to get everyone the proper basics whether they like it or not.”

He only made the one attempt to argue with her, before they gathered for a surprise team shopping trip. It was nice to meet her new teammates for the first time, even if they were all incredibly confused. Kayla seemed the most confused out of all of them, considering their earlier back and forth of hostility.

It turned out the reason it had been so loud above her was because she had not just one, but two upstairs neighbors. The twins were Kai and Levi, and they were overjoyed when Summer helped them get the things they needed. It was a big bill, and they needed both of the cars they brought to load all of the things in. Then was all of the time spent assembling the boxed furniture.

Ashton had made her get everything at one stop, a supermarket. Summer had no idea that you could find everything so conveniently in one place, even if the quality of those things was a little questionable. Since they were there, she also picked up some basic food supplies for everyone. All in all, it was a very productive evening.

The next morning was their first training, and every single one of them was exhausted from staying up too late unpacking everything the night before. Ashton seemed used to it, but Kayla in particular looked like she was barely standing. Their trainer who was waiting for them didn’t look surprised at all.

“This is why we don’t schedule much more than an introduction on the first day,” she sighed, “My name is Harper and I will be the trainer for your team. You will be stuck with me until you graduate and start taking on official missions. Why don’t all of you start by introducing yourselves?”

“I am Ashton, I will be the team leader,” Ashton began. It did make sense for the team leader to start.

“I am Summer,” she spoke up. Since no one else was mentioning last names, she wouldn’t either. Since she didn’t know what her role would be she wasn’t sure if there was anything else to say.

“I’m Kai, and this is Levi,” Kai introduced, gesturing a hand towards his twin.

“My name is Kayla,” Kayla finished off.

“Good job,” Harper told them with a nod, “Now here comes the hard part. You will all be working as a team in life and death situations from now on. You need to tell each other exactly what your powers are. You don’t need to worry about me since I already know.”

All eyes turned to Ashton to begin again. “My power is electricity,” he informed them, “I can’t do anything on the level of lightning, but I can channel it through devices and give shocks.”

His power was electricity? Summer was ashamed to admit she was just as shocked as the others. It seemed they were all aware of his earlier identity as Shadow Phoenix because she heard someone mutter about fire. The only one who wasn’t surprised was Harper. She nodded and gestured for Summer to continue the cycle.

“I can control light,” Summer blurted, “I can create, manipulate, and remove light.” She already had a feeling her power was going to be lame in comparison. No one said anything about it, and just continued.

“Levi and I share a power,” Kai explained, “You could say we balance each other and become what the other lacks. It has been called Equivalent Exchange.” What did that mean? No, they should save any questions for after.

Last it was Kayla’s turn, and she definitely had a surprise for them. “My power allows me to give powers to others,” she told them, “But I cannot control what that power is and it is extremely temporary.”

That was crazy. Powers like that existed? Even Ashton seemed surprised by that one. Harper clapped her hands once to grab their attention. “Now that you have each told each other your powers, I will need you to demonstrate. Words mean little in a situation where your life is on the line.”

“Demonstrate how?” Summer asked.

“On me,” Harper replied, “I should have begun with this, I suppose. My power is a little something I call an aura shield. When I turn it on, nothing you do should be able to harm me, so you will be able to demonstrate your powers to their fullest extent. Even you, Kayla.”