Kevin woke up to the warm caress of light shining through the window. It’s touch bringing swift alertness to him as a smile flashed across his face. Today would be a great day, he thought. One he’d circled on the calendar some time ago.

Sitting up, Kevin threw his arms back in a stretch, letting the warmth from outside bleed into him. Today was a Monday and while he was usually averse to them, this was a special one. Even the dreaded Monday blues couldn’t dampen his attitude.

Thinking back on the weekend his smile only grew wider. It’d been one for the ages. Or maybe it was better to say ‘she’ was one for the ages. He’d spent most of Saturday at a nice young lady’s house. When he’d met her at the bar, he hadn’t been sold. She was a seven out of ten, if he was being generous. Under what he usually went for, but sometimes you had to settle for the charity cases. And had that ever been a good decision. Just thinking back to Saturday made his cheeks blush a deep scarlet. Lesson to himself, sevens could be a lot of fun. So much so that Kevin spent all Sunday recovering.

Maybe he’d call her back. Kevin was usually above that, it had a tendency to uncover clingers and no one wanted one of those. But this girl was different. Well not ‘bring out in public’ different, but ‘go back to her apartment’ different. But only once more, there were standards he wanted to maintain.

Oh the joys of the weekend. They always had something great in store. However, they paled in comparison to the fun that’d happen tonight. Going through his morning routine Kevin planned what he’d say. Should he appear weak? A young man who lost his way and was trying to do right by the world. Or maybe the tough gangster who’d seen more than most people could understand. In Kevin’s time with women, he’d learned it was all about the face you showed. If you could tell the story they wanted to hear they would eat it up. And then, if you were lucky, you as well. While tonight wasn’t a date, far from it in fact, the same lessons could apply.

Thinking about it for awhile, Kevin decided ‘the lost soul’ was the best approach. Maybe shed a tear when talking about his ‘past’ and how it’d brought him to where he is today. Well, best to keep the tears as a backup plan depending on whoever he was meeting and how they were reacting. Not knowing who it’d be, made this more difficult, and was an annoyance he wanted to remove, but was necessary for security. With his life on the line that couldn’t be overlooked.

All he had to do was get through work today, the fireworks would start after that. And as a lost soul, people would flock to protect him. Bringing with them Heroes. They’d be enough to deflect anything coming his way. Calming the waters and giving him smooth sailing. And the best part was no one would be left to collect his debts or squeal on him to the cops. He’d be a new man. An untouchable man.

Kevin idly wondered if he had time to pick up a woman with what was happening tonight? Maybe afterwards, someone looking for danger or a broken man? No, he was getting ahead of himself. He’d keep that idea in the playbook until he knew for sure how the public would react.

Getting his mind back on track Kevin thought about what would happen after his meeting. Oh, there would be chaos in the city. The whole place would burn in riots and blood. Kevin shuddered in pleasure at the mayhem and death to come. It would be a grand symphony. One that he wrote. What a wonderful day it’d be.

The national guard would have to be called in to stop it. Well, after tonight it would be The Watch not the national guard. Couldn’t call in soldiers for a Hero’s job. Wait, maybe both could be called in. Should that be his goal? No, no Kevin told himself before he could get too excited about the idea. Best to aim lower and be pleasantly surprised when his expectations were exceeded.

While he’d been day dreaming he’d gone through his morning routine on auto pilot. And now found himself ready for work. Kevin did a last check. Making sure everything was in order. He had to look perfect for tonight. Who knows, they might take pictures of the person who broke the story of the century. Thinking about it Kevin hoped they did. Having your picture in the paper would work with the ladies.

Finishing his check, Kevin heard a faint rustling of fabric behind him. Almost like it was coming from inside the apartment. Stopping what he was doing, he listened intently as his hair stood on end. The sound of cars passing and a city coming to life greeted him, but nothing from inside the room. Kevin had good ears, really good ears as a matter of fact. No longer hearing the noise meant there was only one conclusion. It’d been in his imagination. Maybe he was getting a little jumpy. Or was it greatness failing for the first time? He couldn’t know for sure.

Turning around, Kevin’s mind stopped as his jaw dropped. This couldn’t be happening, the sound wasn’t in his imagination. How did they know, he shouted in his head? He tried to speak, to explain, to beg, he wasn’t sure which, but it was too late. All went black as his life was cut short.

...

The bus rattled along Interstate eighty, hundreds of miles from any major city. Outside the world flew by in a blur of greens and browns. The trip through the heart of the United States had been uneventful. Long hours in a hot and cramped vehicle wore on those who chose this as their preferred, or only method of travel.

The world outside rarely changed. With field after field buzzing by, clinging to every hill and valley they passed. Buds were just starting to sprout from the warming weather. A thicket of trees cropped up every now and then, one of few reprieves from the growing crops.

The monotony of the drive caught most of the passengers after a few hours. Leaving them staring vacantly at the world around them. Zombies in a tin can. But not Liam. Though he sat in an identical seat as the rest of the passengers, there was a sense of calm clarity about him. Looking out the window he saw the simple order of the fields. The symmetry of it all, helping to give structure to his mind. Empowering him to ponder the challenges he’d face with the new team. His new team.

What would they be like? Would there be some rite of joining? Or another test? Those and a hundred other questions whirled around him.

The occasional small town, huddled around the road, became reprieves for Liam. Allowing him to think of something other than The Hunt for a moment. All the towns had a similar feel to them. Tiny things with maybe a hundred houses all clustered around one central stop light, if they were large enough for that. The towns were little bastions of civilization in an otherwise uniform world of green. Liam found peace in observing the meager differences between them. Finding what made them unique helped pass the time.

The world of the Midwest was different to what he was used to back on the East Coast. It would take some time to adjust to this place. Having said that, the calmness of the world around him would help.

When Liam joined The Hunt, he’d looked up more information on the team. The first thing he found was their location. Des Moines, Iowa. Capital of the state and its largest city. Boasting over two hundred thousand residents. Though the team supported many of the smaller communities around Des Moines, they called the city itself home.

The city wasn’t what Liam was used to. Growing up in a city of over a million, he’d become accustomed to certain amenities that any metropolis should have. A quick internet search showed many of them were missing here. For example, no major league sports teams, in not just the city, but the state. Despite that, this was where his opportunity lay, the chance to make a name for himself. The three-year apprenticeship all new Heroes had to complete was Liam’s shot. He would become known as the patrolling techie. Then, when he applied for the big teams, at the end of the apprenticeship, they’d have to keep him on patrol. It was a good plan and the best opportunity he’d find.

Liam’s research into the team itself had also been fruitful. The Hunt was a small team, only boasting four members with Liam making number five. With such a small group he wouldn’t get lost in the crowd. Something prone to happen with a large team like the Blue Guardians. He’d also be staying busy. The Hunt had a reputation of being a hard-working group. Responding to as many incidents as teams twice their size.

A clicking noise coming from the bus drew Liam back to reality before he could make it through everything he’d discovered. Even over the music playing on his headphones, he could hear a rhythmic clicking every few seconds. Something on the bus was loose. Chances were it was the serpentine belt, but Liam wouldn’t know for sure unless he looked.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The sound started and stopped multiple times over the last few hours and all Liam wanted to do was fix the annoyance. Unfortunately, he couldn’t. It was an itch just out of reach. Not only were his tools gone, stored under the bus, it was likely the bus driver wouldn’t let him tinker with the vehicle. Even if he was the ideal person to be doing just that. Not being able to work was getting to him. His hands needed to build and create. Without that he was just festering. Having the bus in front of him, in clear need of help, only made things worse.

The trip from the East coast had been long, almost two days on the bus as it worked its way across the country. Even the magazine ranking the countries top Heroes, he’d picked up at the last gas station, hadn’t helped. Though last night was the worst, when the clicking stopped he’d tried to fall asleep. However, sleeping on a moving bus was never enjoyable. Keeping his mood up Liam reminded himself that he’d reach his destination today. That was what kept him going.

When Liam signed up with The Hunt, they had paid him a few thousand dollars for moving expenses. At the time, he thought it’d be a great idea to spend the bare minimum on the trip. Using the rest on parts for his creations. The money they’d given him was more than he made in a year while at the academy. That and the fact he’d have a month from signing the paperwork to starting work convinced him to use the money to advance the projects he was working on. Being a poor student he’d never been able to go on a buying spree. So he splurged away. Buying up everything he could find.

It’d been great while he was working on the projects. Many of the devices, being long held dreams of his, were made in the last month. The crowning achievement being his suit. For years the design of the suit had been coming together, from the smallest components to the overall armor. After countless hours designing, the time from this last month made it a reality. It wasn’t done by any stretch of the imagination, but was far enough along Liam wouldn’t be embarrassed to wear it on the streets.

The unfortunate side effect of the spending spree was it left little money for the trip itself. It forced Liam to ride across the country on a bus. All his possessions crammed into two bags jammed underneath the thing.

The clicking on the bus again drew Liam’s attention. He would have a long conversation with the bus mechanic. This was clearly not how a machine should be treated. Liam wouldn’t be caught dead with one of his works being so mishandled. As he was figuring out how to get in contact with the mechanic he looked out the window and noticed the scenery was changing. The rolling fields of corn, a staple for the last few hours, were gone. Replaced with blocky buildings and grey cement.

There were more buildings out the window now than he’d seen in the last few hours combined. This must be it, his new home. Given the surrounding emptiness, Des Moines was a good-sized city. Sure it wasn’t anything compared to an East Coast city, but it was more than just a bastion in the corn like the towns they’d passed before.

Liam switched his headphones from music to the local news. He wanted to listen to The Hunt, over the team’s coms, but didn’t have access to that yet. Tomorrow they would patch him in. For now he was forced to settle for the local news. Switching to a news station Liam relaxed back in his chair as he listened to the reporters drone on. There would be an early dismissal from school on Friday, traffic was backed up on University Drive, and more of the standard fare. City life moving at its own pace. As Liam was about to switch back to his music, the next story drew his attention.

“And now for breaking news. We head out to Karen who’s standing by at the scene,” the reporter said.

“Hello Tom. I’m standing here at the scene of a grisly murder. Kevin Dean, a prominent local businessman, was murdered this morning in an apparent home invasion gone wrong. Sources are telling us Mr. Dean has lived in this apartment for the past six months. With neighbors calling him an active individual,” the reporter, Karen said. A murder the day he arrived, what luck Liam thought with a dry chuckle as Karen continued her story, “We just got word The Hunt has joined the investigation. Leading many to wonder if this horrendous act involved Cowls. Back to you Tom.”

“Thanks Karen, We’ll continue to stay on the case as we learn more,” the newsman said before the station cut to a commercial break.

Well this changes things Liam thought. The Hunt at the scene implied a Cowl was involved or someone made it look that way. Knowing he could be joining this case in a matter of hours Liam wanted to dig into it. Find out who this Mr. Dean was and who could hold a grudge against him. But he had to wait until he got off the bus.

Liam didn’t carry standard tech with him. He rarely had a need for a smartphone. The devices just felt clunky and wrong to him. Instead he’d plug in a sleeve display and use that. Unfortunately, turning a sleeve screen on now would draw attention. People might connect the guy with the arm display and the new techie Hero in town. Liam couldn’t have his secret identity blown that fast. So instead he’d have to wait until he was out of the public eye to research the case.

This highlighted an issue he hadn’t thought of before. How to use his tech, in public, when he wasn’t in his suit. When Liam had time he’d have to create a custom phone for public use. Maybe he could use an old phone case and put his tech in it? Or he could just upgrade the software on the phone to something more streamlined. There were a few options on the table he’d go over.

The bus made its way to the heart of Des Moines. The city looked familiar, but alien all the same. With buildings arranged in an exact grid pattern like those of his youth. But the skyscrapers that kissed the clouds were gone. In their place were miniature versions of them. The tallest building he could see was maybe 40 floors. Something that wouldn’t even stand out in a big city like New York.

The cars racing by the bus were also different. In the cities of Liam’s youth there was an almost tangible need for motion and noise. Here that was missing. During the entire bus ride through the city there hadn’t been a single car horn, something unheard where he was from. Here, when stop lights turned green cars would speed up slowly. No race off the line as they rushed to the next stop. Whether that was a cultural norm of the city, or something else Liam didn’t know. Either way it was different from what he expected.

Once the bus reached the station Liam jumped off. Two days on the thing was finally ending. His legs were begging him for a nice long stretch. Something he was all too happy to provide. After that he grabbed his bags and walked out of the station. With no clear direction in mind.

Moving a safe distance from the other passengers Liam whispered into his collar, “Messages.”

“You have one new message,” a silky smooth, but distinctly robotic voice said in his ear, “‘Will be late. Big Crime. Go to the hospital parking garage three blocks south of the bus station. Matt will pick you up.’ end of messages. To repeat messages say ‘repeat’ to leave messages say ‘leave’.”

“Leave,” Liam whispered.

The news from earlier must be correct. The murder was related to Cowls, and The Hunt was looking into it. Liam was again tempted to look into details of the case. But he would have to wait until he found his ride. Best to not get too far ahead of himself. The team would fill him in when they met.

Liam started to drag his bags South. Keeping an eye out for his meeting spot in the parking garage. As he walked he glanced at those around him. These were the people he was here to protect. Yet none of them knew who or what he was. It was a strange feeling walking down the street shrouded by his anonymity.

He passed a mother and daughter walking hand in hand as they headed about their day. Then a man in a business suit reading notes as he marched with a purpose. People continued to walk by as they made their way through the city. Each one would count on him as a Hero. A duty Liam would carry with pride. Making the name Source a beacon of hope for those in need.

Finally, Liam spotted the parking garage. It was a large thing wrapping around the north side of the hospital. As he walked into it, a man bumped into him. The contact caused the man to topple to the ground. Liam chided himself for the momentary loss of focus. He was here to help people. Knocking them to the ground wasn’t a great start.

Reaching down, Liam offered the man his hand.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Clumsy me, I wasn’t focusing on where I was going. Sorry about that,” the man said from behind a fedora. A bright blue feather sticking out of the side of it.

The man took Liam’s hand and was dragged to his feet as Liam gave a strong tug.

“No. That one was on me. I-”

The man was gone before Liam could finish his apology. Weird fellow Liam thought as he watched at the man’s back. His long brown trench coat swaying well past his knees as he hustled away. It looked like it wasn’t just the cars in this city that were polite. Even people knocked to the ground were nice. Liam idly wondered if everyone in this town was as weird as that person or if that was a special case.

He turned and made it a few feet when a car pulled up. Rolling down the window a voice called from inside, “Hi I’m Matt. You Liam?”

“That’s me,” Liam said. Knowing this was his ride, and he was meeting someone working with The Hunt his heart started beating out of control. This was the start of everything. He had to be on his best behavior.

“Great, hop in. I’ll take you to your new accommodations,” Matt said. The trunk of the car popping open.

Throwing his bags into the trunk Liam got in the back of the car. A tinted window divided the back of the vehicle from the front, hiding the driver. As Liam settled into a seat no more comfortable than the seats on the bus, Matt’s voice came over the car speakers.

“I’ll be bringing you in through one of the back ways today. The team likes to have costumed entrances and civilian ones. Once we get you settled in, I’ll show you the run of the place.”

A quick drive from now and Liam would be at his new home. The thought alone was enough to make the uncomfortable seat into a thing of luxury.