~~~

Amanda woke up before her alarm clock had the chance to ring.

It was a rare occurrence, one that led her to stare at the red clock resting on her nightstand with a feeling that bordered on betrayal. It was barely past five. The sky outside her window was still dark. A deep, primal instinct begged her to go back to sleep. Her bed tempted her with its fluffy softness, and the temptation was so very sweet.

She stood up. Dazed and swaying, yet determined.

That she had gotten up so early even though she hadn’t planned on it was a sign of how seriously her subconscious mind was taking the internship. If she went back to sleep now, she’d probably sleep through her alarm. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened. Not even remotely. There was no way she was risking that.

The day belongs to those who seize it. Her mom was always telling her stuff like that.

“Your mom sounds pretty cool.”

Amanda frowned. Tim’s words had been a perfectly true statement, one she had already heard several times in various ways. It shouldn’t have bothered her at all.

Except it had.

The day belongs to those who seize it. Her mom certainly practiced that philosophy. Every day and every hour of every day. If Amanda went to her parents’ room right now, would she find them sleeping? Or would she find them already up? Would she find them going over some cases together? Or perhaps she would find her mother had already left?

Maybe she never came back last night. Amanda certainly did not hear her come in.

When was the last time she had seen her mother? Two days ago?

Amanda sighed and shook her head. She was thinking too much of things she didn’t like to think about. If she wanted to be alone with her thoughts, she’d have stayed asleep.

She needed a shower. That should help her wake up properly.

Twenty minutes later, Amanda, now bathed and with a pink towel wrapped around her head, found herself staring at the calendar on her desk.

It was Saturday.

Saturday!

Her frustrated scream was smothered by her pillow.

~~~

10:00 AM.

That was the time she was supposed to show up today. It was different during weekdays, but this was a Saturday! She didn’t have any obligations. The only reason she was even here was that… well…

Mr. Gerald was really hot.

It was a bit of a new experience to her, one that left her a bit unsettled. She was not like her friends who were always pining over some new movie star or Hero. That wasn’t her. At least, it didn’t use to be. The head of Surveillance and Security at Regum just happened to be…

Big.

A fierce blush rose up on Amanda’s face as she realized how that thought might be misconstrued. Her eyes darted around, suddenly assaulted by the unreasonable fear that the people she was sharing the subway with may have overheard her. At least, she tried telling herself it was an unreasonable fear as opposed to rightful concern considering the increase of Exceeds among the general public.

Anyway, she hadn’t meant it like that. She had meant it more like… Gerald had muscles. Big muscles. He wasn’t some pretty movie star or model, and he wasn’t a suited-up Hero. He was a guy. An older guy.

With big muscles.

And those green eyes.

Was this how her friends felt when they waxed poetic about so-and-so’s dreamy eyes? If so, Amanda wasn’t sure if she should feel guilty for how stupid she thought they had been or worry that she was probably sounding pretty stupid.

Was that thought just now too mean?

It probably was.

The subway came to a stop. A female voice told them to be careful when exiting the subway car over the speakers. Amanda quickly put the book she had been trying to read—her last bit of summer homework left—into her backpack and hopped to her feet.

This was her stop.

~~~

“Luckily we were able to put out the fire.”

“But what about the donkey?”

“That’s where it gets interesting. Luke and I were on our own for this one so…”

Amanda was not sure what she had been expecting when she walked into the building. However, Tim talking to the security guards about… whatever it was they were talking about had definitely not been it. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from feeling the oddest sense of envy. The way Tim was talking and laughing with them was not something she’d ever see herself doing.

Tim seemed to have no regard for others’ sense of personal space or basic propriety. He would just walk up to people and talk to them without ever worrying if he was making a fool of himself, which he usually was. Amanda may not want to make a fool of herself, but she wished she could stop worrying about whether she was doing that or not.

As if somehow able to feel her stare, Tim looked up and waved at her.

“Hey, Ammes!”

“It’s Amanda.”

“Morning,” he said as he walked up to her. “I was just talking to Kirk and Luke. Did you know company picnics are super cool and exciting?”

“That… doesn’t sound right.”

Then again, this was Regum. She was starting to understand this place didn’t do anything in less than spectacular fashion.

“No. No. I swear,” Tim said, hands waving around as was his usual. “They’ve been telling me the whole story of the last picnic for the past half an hour or so.”

Meaning he had gotten here half an hour earlier than her.

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The thought annoyed her. He lived much closer to The Blade than her, so it made sense for him to arrive earlier. That didn’t mean she had to like it. If she hadn’t taken some time to finish that paper this morning, she definitely would have gotten here first.

So, in a way, it was as if she had gotten here first. Yep.

Satisfied with that rationalization, Amanda followed Tim into the elevator, listening to him talk about a picnic that she was sure had to be fictional. She could not understand how Tim could so readily believe it.

Where would they have even found the donkey?

~~~

“Stay? I wish I could. We’re running a few quick-response tests right now, so I won’t be on the floor for a couple of hours.”

The fates were determined to make fun of Amanda today. Of course the chief of Surveillance and Security wasn’t going to be hovering over her shoulder all day. That’d be stupid. The three old spinners were probably laughing themselves silly right now.

He had left them in front of a cubicle with a chair for each of them, handed Tim a plastic container full of USB drives, and essentially told them to knock themselves out. They could watch the videos for as long as they wanted. They just weren’t allowed to take them outside.

“So, where do you want to start?” Tim asked as he rummaged through the flash drives. He’d pick one out, read the name written on the side, then go to the next. “We’ve got a bunch of options here: Chevalier stops a robber, Breakdown tangles with Alioth, Genteel entertains some kids at a park. I think that one was last year. Oh, a Naga video, and…Los Lobos vs Veraz! They’re from South America or something, right? Oh, look! Slate flies by! This has to be a local one. Dude’s been stationed at The Disk for the last five years or so. Have you ever seen Slate flying by? Wait, better question: Have you met Slate?”

When dealing with Tim, it was always better to focus on his last sentence. That was where the bulk of his attention was focused. Everything that came before was not forgotten, but rather put off for later, later ranging anywhere between five minutes to two days.

What did it say about her that she already understood that?

“No. Why would you think I have?”

“You were talking about how you’ve met a few Exceeds the other day because of your mom’s job,” Tim said. Even though he was in his seat, his body could not seem to stay still. He kept swaying left and right like a pendulum.

“I have been thinking about that. Have you ever met, like, you know, a Hero? Like, not someone who rescues a kitten from a tree, but a Hero with a capital H.”

“Hm, I am not sure.”

“I’m pretty sure that was a yes-or-no question. How can you not be sure if you’ve met a Hero? Kind of seems like the sort of thing one would be able to tell right away.”

Amanda shrugged. “It’s not like they show up in costumes to my mom’s office or anything like that.”

Not that she went there much nowadays. Her mom used to bring her to work all the time and show her off to everyone, but that had not been the case for a while. Amanda hadn’t been there in over a year.

“Oh, right. They’d show up in suits and stuff. Like, not super suits but regular suits. Office suits.”

“Basically.” Amanda nodded. “I have met Exceeds a few times, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you if they were Heroes or not.”

As a child, it had been something that tickled her sense of wonder. The idea that she may have met a Hero had been sweeter than a thousand apple pies. It was the sort of thing that made her hold her head high among her classmates, something that put her above them.

Which, now that she was thinking about it, wasn’t a particularly nice way of looking at things

“There were maybe a few that gave me that sort of feeling, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you who they were. For the most part, I am fairly sure my mom’s clients were normal Exceeds.”

As normal as people with superpowers, who were always handsome for some reason, could be.

“I guess that makes sense.” Tim gently swayed back and forth as if he were nodding with his whole body. “If Heroes had legal trouble, CHEM would probably give them lawyers and all the other stuff.”

“By the way, I have.”

“Huh?”

“Seen Slate fly. You asked about it. I have. I am fairly sure you must have at some point as well.”

Slate was a popular hero who had first appeared about six years ago. His costume was a bulky mechanical suit with a jetpack, which he used to fly around. While his power wasn’t public knowledge, most people assumed he was an Exceed whose powers allowed him to build things. He would hardly be the first Exceed whose powers leaned in that direction.

He was also based in the Greater Port Stanley Metropolitan Area. He was not the only Hero assigned to the area, but he was definitely the biggest name with a constant presence here. Live in Port Stanley long enough, and you’ll probably see him fly by on his way to The Disk.

“Yeah, I have. I tried taking a picture, but…”

Amanda winced sympathetically. “Phone cameras.”

Tim nodded. “Yeah…”

His gaze drifted to the flash drives.

“Guess that decides what we’re starting with then!” He plucked the flash drive from the container and smoothly inserted it into the computer. A few clicks later, the video was playing out before their eyes.

The street was instantly recognizable. It was the one just outside the building. Just as Tim had intuited, this footage had been captured by the security cameras here. For the first ten seconds or so, the video showed them the view just outside the window.

Then Slate appeared.

The Hero flew over the street with his signature jetpack, his suit glinting under the sunlight, his face completely hidden from the public. His bulky yet popular form cast its shadow on the people below.

He didn’t stop. He didn’t wave.

He kept flying towards his destination, whatever that may be.

Tim blinked. “That was it?”

“It does say ‘Slate flies by’”

Which was not to say she didn’t feel a little cheated as well.

“Yeah, I guess.” Tim frowned, taking out the flash drive without going through the proper procedure. He grabbed another one. “Guess we’ll try another one… how about Gigantes vs...”

Amanda tilted her head as Tim suddenly went silent, his eyes firmly fixed on the flash drive on his hand.

“What is it? Is it broken? Please, don’t tell me you broke it.”

Tim shook his head and held the flash drive out to her so she could read the side.

Gigantes vs. Alpha Defender.

Alpha Defender!

The Golden Hero. Idol of millions. The Light of Justice himself.

Amanda looked at Tim.

Tim looked at Amanda.

“If you even think of suggesting we watch Chevalier instead, even as a joke, I’ll punch you,” she warned.

The flash drive went in.

It would be a long time until either of them got up.

~~~

How many people could say they had gotten the chance to see Alpha Defender cut loose?

Amanda could.

Through a video, but that was still better than most could claim. Alpha Defender was so strong most of his fights were over in an instant. There were a few clips of him in action on CHEM’s website, but those were a few seconds long at best.

Amanda had seen him fight for three full minutes.

She and Tim had played that clip at least seven times. It had been that amazing. Her apathy for Heroes hadn’t stood a chance when faced with a modern legend in action. She may not have gotten to spend time with Gerald, but seeing Alpha Defender in all his golden glory more than made up for it.

They had watched the Naga video after that. Tim claimed his interest had nothing to do with her looks, but she knew better. She had heard enough guys talking about how the whole snake lady thing did it for them for some reason.

Men.

After that, they watched another video and then another. Amanda had not expected them to go through all the flash drives, but they had. It had been a bit like going to the movies, except they skipped right to the action scenes.

She was okay with that.

The sky was dark when Amanda left the subway station and began her walk home. She had gotten up fairly early and had not slept a wink since then. Despite that, she didn’t feel tired. Even though she had been sitting for most of the day, she felt fine. Energetic, even.

She kind of wanted to start running.

It was an odd feeling, one strange enough to catch her by surprise. She had never been a runner, despite Sophie’s repeated demands. She occasionally exercised to stay in shape, but she had never felt the urge like she did now.

Amanda looked up and saw the first few stars appearing in the night sky. Slowly, she raised herself to the tip of her toes, lightly bouncing on them. Since she had not been at Regum to work today, she had worn more comfortable shoes than usual.

With these, it should be fine.

Amanda started running.

~~~