Roxy continued to stare as I gave her a slow twirl to show off my gear. When I returned to face her, she shook whatever brain freeze had been lingering and gave me a wide smile. “Fuck me, Dubs.”

“At least wait for me to leave,” Clara said, stepping over into the garden more.

“Shut it, gremlin. You knew Dubs was doing this?” She gestured to me before putting her hands on her hips.

“I facilitated the order for Gunquake, but didn’t know how it would look.”

[Oh, no more ‘Mr Dubs’?]

Clara shook her head. “It is only correct that I refer to you with your chosen formal title now, Gunquake. At least… in public.”

The super ignored the wink the techie gave me, as she was still too focused on drinking me up. Still with hands on hips, she stepped up and walked side to side in front of me, as if any different angle could clue her in to some final conclusion.

She stopped in front of me and relaxed. “I was worried it was a little too dark or tactical looking, but I think the anti-hero look would be a perfect fit - the League should eat it up.”

[You think so?]

“Suits you… a little too well. But this is what you’re comfortable with? This is you, correct?”

[Correct.]

“Then you score a perfect eleven out of ten from me.” Her eyes lingered on me for a few seconds before she turned her head to Clara. “You waiting for something, punk?”

“Nothing that should be on display in your front garden. Might I suggest we go to the dining room?”

Roxy rolled her eyes, but nodded. It wasn’t exactly a codeword, but there was no chance of us doing any dining in said room. While I had the utmost confidence in my new equipment as soonsaves had chosen it, there was still some additional comfort in the super approving of it. Even if she was trying to undress it in her mind.

Tech supers were few and far between. Usually either the ultra rich wanting to showboat, those who had found some mysterious artefact, or a hardass that wanted to punch above their weight for as long as their frailty allowed them. I was firmly aiming for that latter category. As the sludge of my old life slowly rolled down into my current existence, I grew more fond of the notion.

Hence the tactical gear. I’d need more options than half a drum and a dream. Tools and gadgets to accompany my ammunition and weaponry. I’d always be at a disadvantage against true supers - but in being prepared and willing to push myself to my limits, I’d make pace alongside my team.

Into the house and we walked into the dining room, which still had the slight odor of whatever disinfectant Roxy had used to it. Clara hit the buttons to turn the Dead Zone on, and after the lights turned green, she gave me a nod to take center stage.

[First off, Boss expected me to kill Roy.]

The super pulled a face and looked back to the door, as if expecting to see the bloodied corpse of the speedster now in plain view. “You didn’t do it, right?”

[No. I told the Captain about it and we agreed to hold steady on our friendship.]

“How sweet.” She rolled her eyes. “League told me about his suspension and most of the details of why. They know it was you who twisted his arm into doing it - and they’re… happy?”

[Concerning.]

“Right? They actually want to meet you, officially. I… kinda let slip that you wanted to be a superhero rather than sidekick and they are keen to see what you can do.”

[Hasn’t been twenty-four hours yet. I hope you’re not giving me permission to injure myself.]

“No!” Roxy scowled at me. “Meeting is tomorrow and I’ll come with you if you wanted to go, but you’ll want to turn up in good shape.”

I nodded. Normally I’d be a little more apprehensive about pairing myself with the League, but with Boss now unlikely to be a friend, I needed to make better bedfellows. The sooner I could have the organization on my side, the better for us all.

“So tell us about the piss river, Gunquake.” Clara sat down on one of the chairs against the wall and tapped away at the laptop.

[Oh. So after I sent Roy away, I told Boss that I wasn’t going to kill him.]

“Oof.” Roxy shook her head and crossed her arms. “So you got some suspension without pay as well, I assume?”

[He implied I was a stupid tool that owed him my life, so I told him I would kill him instead.]

Her face contorted into a grimace. “Guess you guys don’t have a great Human Resources department?”

Clara looked up from the screen. “Explains why your kill-switch has been activated three times since I arrived.”

[That tracks.]

“So now…” the super rubbed at her forehead, “you’ll probably have assassins after you?”

[This is a reasonably safe place for me to be if that is the case.]

“I can think of somewhere safer than the spare room~,” Clara mused from the side.

Roxy scowled at her. “I’ll take you outside and hose you down with cold water if you don’t stop.”

“In front of Gunquake?” She narrowed her eyes as the super clenched her fists.

[Not that I dislike the errant banter, but I feel as though we are entering a new era. Our situation has escalated and there are certain things we need to be a lot more serious about.]

In saying that, part of me hoped moments like this would last forever. The techie faux-flirting with me to wind the super up, while Roxy herself was stealing doe-eyed glances at me anytime I put my foot down about the future. It was a snapshot of something I hoped to keep close to me, no matter what befell us on the road ahead. Three weirdos thinking they could make a difference and be happy, outside of the control of others.

“You’re right, Dubs. What are you suggesting?”

[It will take me a while to equip myself fully. I will need Clara’s assistance in getting new stims and nutrition canisters, as well as the necessary Public Defender orders.]

The techie nodded. “Already halfway on the canisters, but the stims are going to be difficult to swing, Gunquake. Not legally, anyway. Once the League of Heroes signs you up, you’ll have wider access to some ammunition and gear - but I will still be moonlighting as your personal gadget-witch.”

[An interesting title.]

“I was going to say personal plaything, Gunquake, but the chances of Rockslide pulling one or more of my limbs off is reaching my personal risk threshold.”

The super sighed and waved her hand at Clara. “We need to marry you off or something. You get worse by the day.”

“I have everything I want in this room, sister.” She gave Roxy a warm smile. “Mostly in case 23-B, which you should never open under any circumstance.”

“Why do you even have that thing here?”

[More importantly, I will need to reach out to the two other supers in your group to get them to vouch for me.]

Roxy gave Clara another glare before turning her attention back to me. “You need my help with that?”

[It would be best if it is solely my effort, as much as I appreciate the offer to spend time with you. I already have Belle’s contact number.]

The expression the first half of my sentence elicited was quickly replaced by a scowl due to the second half. “Seriously? Should I be worried…? I mean, how much do you know about her and her…”

“Sex cult,” Clara interjected.

[Is it really that? Makes sense, considering her proposition.]

“Proposition?” The super narrowed her eyes. “Does everyone flirt with you now? What’s the fucking deal with that?”

[She accosted me when I was on a contract. Apparently her financier lives in the same skyscraper.]

Roxy continued with the glare, but nodded. “Interesting. How do you propose to approach that, then?”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The techie shuffled beneath her laptop. “I suggest plenty of protection. Her followers will be hard… pressed to accept you having some alone time with their leader.”

“Clara.”

[A more neutral meeting place seems more advisable, then. I’m not looking to beat anyone off just to gain her favor. What else can you tell me about her?]

The super finished flexing her fingers before responding. “She’s actually a decent support hero, but her mind is too far in the cult shit. I don’t know whether it’s for money or power, because she doesn’t seem to gain either of that, despite being in charge of the weird 'church' they run.”

[So the challenge is to sway her without allowing myself to be indoctrinated or disrobed.]

“I would literally break your dick off.” She crossed her arms. “Yes, I’ll be a jealous bitch after all the bullshit you put me through. Straight off and I’ll lob it into the wasteland.”

“I know the best company for synthetic replacements,” Clara murmured, not willing to look away from the screen.

“And you,” Roxy continued, her eyes actually glowing, “I’ll be telling mom about you.”

“No!” Clara gasped, some actual shock on her face. “You wouldn’t… you can’t.”

“We’ll see how many extra servings you get next holiday once she knows how you act.”

The techie pulled a face and looked back between me and the super. “I… apologize.”

Roxy immediately turned a pointed finger at me. “You better not get yourself into physical harm either. Just because Belle is a support hero doesn’t mean you can do some bullshit that requires she saves you so she can realize her worth as a superhero.”

[Ah. Onto plan C then.]

“What was the other plan, Dubs?” She took a step closer to me. “What was…”

She trailed off as we all turned to the doorway.

Sensors to the road went off in our respective visions.

“If it’s some asshole come to assassinate you, they’ve walked into the wrong fucking neighborhood.” Roxy gestured for me to follow outside, just as Clara grabbed and chucked me a ten-mag. Nerve, given the topmost shell color.

In and loaded.

As the super and I stepped out onto her porch and then the grass, the small dragonfly drone hovered out beside us - just to the upper left of me.

A vehicle. Dark black, although slightly faded due to age. I exchanged a glance with the super and she crossed her arms. We walked over to the edge of her garden just as the vehicle slowed to a stop just beyond mine. They were keeping some distance, which was a good idea.

Door popped open and a man stepped out, clean shaven and middle-aged. Wide-brimmed brown hat on his head which matched the long overcoat he wore. Deep gray suit on underneath that. Worn leather driving gloves.

He raised his hands up in the air to show that he was no threat, although it did give the glimpse of the weapon stowed on his side. Probably intentional.

“Hail. Forgive my intrusion.” He lowered his hands and took a few steps toward us. “My name is Anthony Khalis. I’m from the World Government.”

I held up my hand, and he stopped in place. A good twenty feet away, but that was much closer than I was comfortable with.

[What is your purpose here, Mr Khalis?]

“It is you I seek, actually. Through some of our investigative channels, we have heard there has been a sizable bounty put on your head. It is courtesy to ensure you are aware, as you are not exactly a… known entity in our system.”

“Just how much is the bounty?” Roxy asked, her brow still furrowed.

Not that I expected her to turn me in - unless she really was tired of everyone with a pulse flirting with me - but if it was a considerable amount, then perhaps we could fake my death somehow and steal the treasure for our own purposes.

“It’s not for me to say, Miss Rockslide. Normal procedure has the target accompany myself or one of my fellow officers to our closest headquarters, where we can go over such detail and perhaps offer some manner of safety.”

The super tilted her head to me and pulled a face, clearly unimpressed that I had already invited bullshit into our neighborhood, but waiting to see what I wanted to do. In fairness, she had brought the Five Eyes gang here first, even if it was inadvertent.

I deflated and relaxed my shoulders.

[Fine, I was just killing time today, anyway. Could I see some identification first, however?]

“Of course, sir.” He smiled, and his hand went into the inside of his jacket. “Promise not to laugh at my ID photo, though.”

[I promise.]

Reflex kicked in just as soon as I finished speaking. His eyes widened at seeing the change in my body language, but by then it was too late, and I emptied half the mag into him in quick succession.

“What the fuck, Dubs?” Roxy turned to me as he dropped to the ground just as quickly as the empty cartridges made a mess on her lawn.

[Throw the car, now.]

To her credit, she didn’t hesitate at all. Short leap away from me to land beside it, and she grabbed it and twisted - throwing it into the air at a high angle. We watched the vehicle spin like a frisbee against the backdrop of the blue sky.

And then it exploded.

A pulse of amber light before smoke and debris billowed from what remained, the vibration of the blast hitting our ears and vibrating through the ground just after. Roxy watched the wreckage careen down into the ground further off, before turning to me.

“Explain!”

The drone followed me over as I went to the unconscious man. Five Nerve shots had overloaded his system and caused his brain to shut-off, but he was mostly uninjured. I dragged him over to my kill-room before propping him up against the wall in a sitting position.

[Looks like assassination attempt number one thwarted. Sloppy work. Probably too eager.]

“Not to sound like a dullard, but how did you tell?” Roxy stepped beside me and crouched down to glare at the man.

[He is wearing worn boots rather than dress shoes. Although his suit is correct, he is missing the tie pin that has the World Government logo on it. Firearm isn’t standard issue. Usually for a profile case like this they’d send two employees minimum, often with police presence. He referred to me as the 'target' rather than something more neutral.]

“Fuck.” She raised her eyebrows at me. “I suppose the exploding car helped seal that deal, huh?”

[A lucky guess, based on what I would do in his shoes.]

“Someone that Boss sent?”

[Hmm. Potentially. Hopefully, we can get some answers when he wakes up. There is a chance he wouldn’t want to waste any further assets in sending Agents against me. A general bounty might increase the odds that I am attacked, and it would be no skin off his back if they fail. He only needs one to succeed.]

“Well, we should call this guy Agent L, because he sure ate some shit.” Roxy tilted her head. “Maybe… literally?”

I moved his hat away to reveal a bald head. Some manner of thick sludge had started to leak from his ears and nose. Roxy put her hand to his neck and waited for a couple of seconds.

“No pulse. Did your Nerve shot…?”

//Clara: No.

//Clara: Kill-switch. Safe to say it was someone Boss sent.

How did I feel in finally seeing one of the other Agents? In truth, rather disappointed. Not that I had any idea about the capabilities this man probably had, but his bluff hadn’t worked. The soft approach was probably smarter than trying to kill the man who wouldn’t die outright, but it was too sloppy.

Even after we stripped him of anything worthwhile and Roxy threw him out in the direction of the car, I felt pretty sour about it.

“I didn’t know you knew so much about the World Government stuff,” the super said, as she watched the limp body spiral off into the distance. Certainly easier than digging a shallow grave.

[Hmm. I do not, or rather… I don’t recall why I know it.]

“Something from your past?”

I nodded, and we started back toward the house, accompanied by the drone.

[I feel like things are unraveling. More of the old me is coming to light the further I push myself. Not only in combat, but with my personal relationships. A lot of it seems to be on a subconscious level, but… I am content with how things are progressing.]

“Good.” She placed her hand on my back. “All because you had a bath, right? I did say it would change your life.”

[That is most definitely the reason. Although it was a mistake for me to put on my new gear while still having all the bandages on.]

She rolled her eyes as we stepped up onto the porch and back into the house. “And I bet you can’t take it off yourself easily, huh? You need my help to strip down? I know your plans, Dubs. I need to win that duel first, remember?”

“Which you won’t,” Clara interjected as we entered the dining room.

“I thought you were in my corner, gremlin?” Roxy stood at the doorway and crossed her arms as I went to sit at the surgical table.

“Nobody ships you both harder than me.” Clara closed down her laptop screen. “But I will push whichever of you needs the encouragement at the time. I expect Gunquake to give it his all just as you will, Rockslide.”

[I think that should be something we’ll plan out, now that I’ve sworn off getting injured. Couple of days?]

The techie stood from the chair and brushed her overalls down. “There’s an abandoned office block penned for demolition. I feel as though that would be the perfect battleground.”

I nodded. Out in our back garden was a bad idea, especially if she would actually try without holding back. Plus, now that I had Reflex, a wide open space was terrible for her. Giving her the same treatment I had just shown Agent L would get me a one-way ticket back to sleeping in the kill room. We would play fair, and for keeps.

[Make whatever arrangements are necessary for two day’s time then, if that suits you, Roxy?]

“Yeah.” She shuddered. “If you’re ready for it.”

[Just need to let my arm prepare to be broken again, for the eighth time this week.]

“Oh, I’ll do a lot worse than that.” She screwed up her mouth. “I mean, not intentionally. I don’t want to kill you.”

[As if you could.]

Quiet tension sunk between us as we stared at each other, before Clara cleared her throat.

“Actually, you’re missing one important piece of gear, Gunquake. I’d like to do some testing with your new gauntlet if you have nothing pressing planned for today?”

[Excellent. I think that would be a decent low-stakes way to spend my day, assuming no further assassins turn up.]

Roxy rolled her eyes. “Clara, you need to help us with home defense. I know you’re already working around the clock to fix Dubs up, but I’d really feel more comfortable knowing we were all in your hands.”

The techie smiled. “Only on two conditions. I get to sleep here a few nights, and you pick up some of that bread I like. The good shit.”

“Fine, but it’ll be the sofa, okay? Unless you want to sleep in here?” She pulled a face.

“Oh, tempting. Still has a bit of Gunquake’s odor to it, though.”

[I apologize, I could do with a bath.]

“Room just needs airing out.” She put her hands on her hips and looked around. “Maybe a little oil and lubricant and it’d smell like home.”

“You are not turning this into a workshop. I told you before.” Roxy made it clear she was putting her foot down by doing exactly that. “I’m usually soft on you, Clara, but this isn’t negotiable.”

The techie pouted, but gave a nod.

“If you two want to play with the gauntlet, I’m going to go have a bath - and then you’re welcome to it after, Dubs. I’ll check your bandages and stuff.”

[Please, that sounds amazing. Shall we, Clara?]

“Can think of nothing better, Gunquake. Did you want the binoculars again, Rockslide?”

“Clara.”

It amused me that the super had previously threatened to tell her mom about Clara’s inappropriate behavior, and went to show how close they really were. I imagined they spent time together back with Roxy’s family at the holidays. It was oddly simple to paint an imagined dynamic even though I didn’t know the people or had any recent memories I could draw the parallel from.

Maybe all my past wouldn’t come back to me as spikes of surprising memories, but a gradual realization over parts of reality that had always been there… just shaded over.

[I’m feeling pretty dry, so I won’t go too far.]

Clara nodded as she put the case on the floor near the training dummies. “Certain you want to avoid everything he has given to you, Gunquake?”

[Yeah. I will suffer, but I need to be sure I’m not under any untoward influence.]

“Understood. Perhaps convenient that you have a delivery from Mr Michaels tonight then, as I have added some emergency canisters to that itinerary.”

[Oh?]

“They seemed willing enough to believe I was your personal assistant. Which isn’t too far from the truth… on most matters. I respected your privacy and didn’t check what else you had arriving, Gunquake.”

I narrowed my eyes at her as she unclipped the case, the green light of her own maintaining eye contact.

[Somehow I don’t believe that. If you can at least feign ignorance, then I won’t send it back.]

“You drive a hard bargain, Gunquake.” She grinned and flipped open the case to reveal the weapon within.

[Oh. Now that, I like.]