“Hey, Seven. Good morning. It’s good to have you here.”
The man in front of me held out his hand in greeting. I’d seen people do this; I knew what to do. I’d just… never had to do it myself before. Today was full of new experiences.
“Uhm, hi,” I replied, shaking his hand.
We were in a small office somewhere inside the Heroes’ Union building. Father had set everything up, so all I had to do was walk into the building at the right time, follow the directions I’d been given, and walk into this room. Apparently, after that, I’d be a member of the Heroes’ Union. It seemed a lot easier than I’d thought it’d be.
Yes, against all odds, Father had agreed to let me join the Union. As usual, his agreement wasn’t without its many terms and conditions, though…
“I’m Ashley Min, one of the co-leaders of the Union. If you can take a seat, we’re just gonna do a little entrance interview so I can get some of your info,” the man, Ashley, said with a warm smile.
“O-okay,” I replied, sitting on the chair across from him. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous for this. Was there gonna be a test? What if I failed? Father actually wanted me to join the Union, so it wouldn’t just be Madeline and myself I was disappointing if I messed this up. There were real consequences.
Ashley picked up a little notepad and a pencil. “First off, can I get your full name?”
“Jordyn de Vygon.”
“De Vygon, huh?” he muttered. “You’re Andreas’ daughter, right? Gonna be honest, I didn’t even know he had one until recently.”
…That was odd. Wasn’t I still a superhero before the accident that cost me my memories? Surely people would’ve known who I was back then, right?
This was definitely one of those things Maggie would want me to question. It was also one of those things Father would want me to just not think about. For now, it was best to just play it safe and ignore it.
“Uh, yep! That’s me.”
Ashley grinned. “You know, that means we’re related. In a ‘3rd cousins’ sort of way, anyway. My great-grandpa was your great-grandpa’s brother.”
I didn't know what a ‘grandpa’ was, or what made it so great, so I just nodded along. “Okay.”
Ashley paused for a second, then muttered something under his breath, looking back down at the pad. “Right… Could I get your date of birth?”
Oh boy. Another thing I didn’t know about. “Uh, sorry, what is that?”
Ashley blinked, looking back up at me. “Your date of birth. The day you were born. …Your birthday?”
Maybe honesty was the best policy in this situation. “I, um… It would probably be good for you to know this, but… I have some memory issues. I was in an accident a little while ago and just… lost everything from before. There’s a lot I’m still… catching up on.”
Ashley sighed, a distinct look of sadness in his eyes. Or was that… pity? “I’m sorry to hear that, Jordyn. I take it your date of birth is one of those things you’re still catching up on?”
I nodded sheepishly. “Y-yeah.”
Ashley nodded back. “I’ll just ask Andreas, then. I’ll do the same in regards to your bank details for your salary.”
All I could do was stare back blankly. “Uh, sure.”
“Well, since we don’t have to worry about any of that, I suppose the only thing left is your preferred pronouns.”
“Uh…”
Ashley sucked in a breath. “You don’t know about those either. Makes sense. Basically, it’s just how you like to be referred to. People call me ‘he’ and ‘him,’ y’know? It’s optional, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Most people will just assume in that case.”
“...You can pick those?”
Ashley shrugged. “Sure, why not? They’re just words.”
That… made a lot of sense. “Uhm… just the girl ones, I guess?”
Ashley chuckled, copying it down. “Sure. Well, that should be about it. Once I get your other details from Andreas, I’ll be able to register you as an official member of the Tombguard Heroes’ Union! Until then, we’ll just pretend like everything’s already sorted. We’ve got our monthly team meeting coming up, so you can sit in on that and we’ll get you up to speed.”
I nodded. “Alright. When will that be?”
“This afternoon. I know you have police things to do, so I won’t keep you any longer. Just meet me in the lobby at 2:30 and I’ll show you to the conference room.”
“Yes sir,” I replied, standing up.
Ashley looked a little shocked. “O-oh, uh, we don’t do that here. Just Ashley’s fine.”
What kind of superior didn’t want to be referred to with respect? I could only imagine what Father would do to me if I called him by his first name. “Uh… right. Sorry.”
He smiled. “It’s alright. See you later?”
“Yeah.”
With that, I turned and left the room, with more than a little anxiety roiling around in my gut. Boy, this place was weird.
—
Two days before…
“I have a job for you, Jordyn.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Sir?”
“The way the Union is being run currently, it’s nothing more than a leech on city resources. Eventually, it’s going to reach a point of singularity and collapse, and then we won’t have access to heroes when we truly, actually need them; for monster attacks. What it needs is an overhaul. New management, as it were. And I believe I am the perfect man for the job.”
With leadership skills like his, I couldn’t see why not. He continued.
“That’s where you’ll come in, Jordyn. I need someone on the inside to help facilitate my takeover. They’ve invited you to join, so no one will raise any eyebrows if you suddenly take a break from your police duties for this. I need you to gain their utmost trust. Worm your way into their hearts until they allow you to see them at their most vulnerable. Then, we strike.”
The thought of doing that to Vivienne and Madeline rankled, but not as much as the daunting prospect of actually having to undertake such a task. I wouldn’t even know where to start. “Uh, F-father, I… I’m not sure I can do that.”
He smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there to guide you along every step of the way.”
—
And so, I found myself returning to the Union HQ at 2:30, ready to attend my first meeting there. Ashley met me in the lobby just as he’d promised, and led me through the building towards the conference room.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. “Nervous?”
“A bit,” I replied. “How many other heroes are there?”
“Well, in total we have about 15 on our roster, but most of them aren’t very active in the Union outside of the big emergencies, so you probably won’t run into them a lot. If you spend time around the place, you’ll probably mostly be seeing Madeline and myself. Vivienne pops by pretty often, too. You’ve met Brianna, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, she lives here in our dorms, so you’ll probably see her a lot, too.”
The thought brightened me up a bit. I hadn’t seen her since the shooting, where she held my hand and whispered comfort in my ear as Vivienne did her best to patch me up. It would be nice to talk again. Something in my gut tingled at the thought.
It wasn’t much farther until we reached the conference room. Ashley opened the door for me and we both stepped in.
The space was huge, dominated mostly by a large table at which sat over a dozen people, most of whom I didn’t recognise. Madeline sat near the head, with Vivienne next her, and Brianna a little further down. On the right-side wall from the entrance was a huge TV screen, displaying what looked like a map of the city. I clenched my fists, trying to keep a damper on my nerves.
Ashley patted me on the back. “Just take a seat wherever, okay?”
I nodded. “Right.”
He made his way to the head of the table as I searched for an open spot. Thankfully, there was one right next to Brianna, so I sat down there. Vivienne smiled and waved at me, mouthing something I couldn’t quite make out.
Screams. The sound of bones cracking under my boot. Blood being spat out through split lips.
I bit my tongue, trying not to vomit, and averted my eyes. I could just make out Vivienne pouting at my lack of reaction out of the corner of my vision, and the guilt only worsened. But… how the hell was I supposed to face her after what I did to her uncle?
Brianna leaned over to me. “That’s Seven, right?” she whispered.
Oh yeah, Brianna was blind, wasn’t she? I was thankful to Mr. Sadler for explaining to me what that meant after our first encounter, otherwise I might have been confused at her question.
“Yeah,” I replied.
She grinned wide. “Hey! It’s been a little while, huh? How’ve you been? Heal up from that bullet alright?”
In truth, my chest still hurt sometimes when I exerted myself, but it was nothing I wasn’t already used to from my back. “Yes, I’m all better.”
“That’s good to hear! So, I heard we were getting a new member. That’s you, I take it?”
“Uh, it’s not solidified yet, but… yeah, that’s me.”
“Awesome. It’ll be good to have you around.”
Would it really? I didn’t realise I was so sought after. The thought made a warm, giddy feeling rise up in my gut, though it was dampened by the memory of what I was here to do.
Ashley finished setting up and cleared his throat. “Thanks everyone for coming. It’s good to see you all again.”
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Everyone at the table mumbled out a return to his greeting. I noticed most of them were just in casual-wear, no hero costumes in sight. As if I needed another reason to stick out…
“So, it’s been a pretty uneventful month overall, which I think we should be grateful for in this city. We had that one incident with the Godling changing that fire hydrant, but Rishta sorted that out before we could even get any reports. Good work, you’ll be seeing a bonus on your pay.” Ashley smiled at this ‘Rishta’ person, before turning back to the table at large, a more serious expression on his face. “More importantly, that means that the Godling is likely charging up Its energy for something big. I need everybody to be at the ready for this next month, at least until we get another attack. The last thing we want is for a repeat of five years ago to happen, and none of us are ready for it.”
What happened five years ago? The urge to ask was strong, but I held my tongue. I really didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself than necessary. From the way that Madeline and Vivienne both looked down when he mentioned it, it must’ve been something bad.
“On a lighter note,” Ashley continued, “I’m sure you’ve all noticed by now, but today we’re welcoming a new hero into our ranks.”
Oh boy.
He indicated over to me and I did my best to resist the urge to sink into my seat. “You probably know Jordyn here best for her work with our city’s police force, but from today onwards, she’ll also be contributing her considerable skill towards the protection of our city from more… monstrous threats. In regards to the elephant in the room, let's just get this out of the way. I know not everyone here is the biggest fan of the TPD, but let’s keep things civil. Jordyn isn’t here as a cop, she’s here as a hero, and more importantly, a friend. I expect you all to treat her the same as you would treat anyone else.”
Some people smiled and mumbled a greeting at me, while others ignored me entirely. This was it, I needed to start making an impression. I needed them to trust me.
I gave a small wave to the room. “Uh, hi everyone. I-it’s good to meet you all. I… I’m looking forward to working togethe- AUH!”
Right in the middle of my sentence, some pink, four-legged… thing hopped up into my lap and scared the life out of me. It looked up at me with its slitted-pupil eyes and weird wrinkly face and licked its chops, revealing sharp fangs.
“Mrrow.”
“Wh… what is that?” I whispered, trying to lean away from it. It just jumped up, planting its front feet against my chest plate and sniffing at the seams of my armour.
Laughter bounced around the room at the display, much to my embarrassment. No one else seemed to be surprised by the creature, so I supposed it was nothing to be afraid of. Still… A little warning would’ve been nice.
“Wow,” Ashley said, chuckling. “I haven’t seen Muffin be that friendly with someone in a long time.”
“M-Muffin?” I asked.
He nodded to the thing still trying to sniff its way under my armour, trilling and chirping all the while. “The cat. His name’s Muffin.”
So that’s what this thing was. I’d heard of cats before, of course, but I’d always thought they’d be… fluffier, based on the descriptions I’d been given. Muffin barely had a single strand of hair on him.
I looked back up. Vivienne was smiling at me, but Madeline appeared absolutely livid. She stood up hard enough that her chair tipped over, and stormed out of the room.
Silence reigned over the space. Ashley cleared his throat. “Well. Uh, unless anyone has anything they’d like to say, I believe that’s all for this month.” He paused for a moment, but continued when no one else spoke up. “Alright, then. Meeting adjourned.”
With that announcement, most of the people at the table got up and started heading for the entrance. I stayed in my seat, unsure of what to do, especially with the cat still sitting on me.
“What happened?” Brianna asked in a whisper.
“Madeline looked angry, then she got up and left,” I replied.
Brianna audibly winced. “Oh, I think I know why.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Why?”
“It’s about Muffin,” Vivienne said, approaching from behind Brianna. She reached down and plucked him off my lap, to which he immediately responded by thrashing and yowling until she put him down again. Once free, he slinked off under the table.
It was still hard to look at Vivienne without feeling sick to my stomach, but I did my best. “Wh-what about him?”
She sighed. “He was originally adopted and brought into the Union by Madeline’s wife, Rosalyn. We all look after him, but Rosie was the only person that Muffin ever showed much affection to. He’s warmed up a bit to Maddie, but it’s still nothing compared to the love he showed for Rosalyn. She was probably offended that he suddenly jumped up on you like that out of nowhere. Seriously, he’s never done that before to anyone but Rosie.”
Rosalyn. That name sounded familiar in a way I couldn’t quite place. It rang through my ears, all the way through my body, and into my bones. It was familiar, in a homey, comforting sort of way.
“I don’t think I’ve met her,” I said.
Vivienne squeezed her eyes shut for a second. “Yeah, she, uh… She passed away five years ago in a monster attack.”
I bit my lip. “Is that common?”
She shook her head. “No. That attack was just… a mess.” She pulled up a seat next to Brianna and sat down. “It was the worst attack we’d ever seen. An entire city block was transformed into raging flesh in an instant. The death toll was immense. The entire Union fought for literally the whole day, trying to get people out and minimise the damage. I was there too, teleporting around, taking people to hospital, helping the front-liners stay out of harm’s way, delivering supplies… I couldn’t tell you how many times I had to stop to throw up from the disorientation. It was the same for all of us. We were exhausted and beaten. I… I was only 19, for fuck’s sake.”
Her face was sunken and drawn in a way I’d never seen before. She continued. “I saw the moment it happened, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Rosie was fighting her heart out, blasting the monster with fire so hot she was burning her hands. And then she just… stumbled. I guess the exhaustion must have caught up to her. The monster took its chance. A tentacle rose up behind her and… stabbed straight through her chest. She was dead before she even hit the ground. Maybe… maybe if I hadn’t been so out of it myself, I could’ve saved her. But it just happened so damn fast. One second she was standing there just fine, and the next, she was gone. She was the only Union hero who didn’t make it.”
I didn’t know how to respond, but Vivienne’s words instilled a dread in my heart that I couldn’t put to words. The only time I remembered feeling similar was when I saw a monster for the first time myself, on that first day out of the facility.
“I was lucky enough to not have to fight,” Brianna said. “But I was part of the rescue efforts, searching through the rubble for any survivors once the monster finally died. I couldn’t see the carnage, but I still remember the stink of death permeating the entire city, and the sounds of trapped people screaming for help. It was a day none of us will ever forget.”
“Wow, I… I had no idea…” I muttered.
Brianna chuckled, though there was a sourness to it. “Not sure how. I thought everyone in Tombguard knew. Doubly so for anyone working as a hero.”
“I… I can’t remember anything past about a year or so ago. I had an accident, apparently, and everything before that’s just gone.”
The teasing grin dropped from Brianna’s face. “Damn. I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright,” I said. “It’s just the way things are.”
There was a short silence, before Vivienne clapped her hands. “Well, would you like me to show you around, Jordyn? We’ve got a pretty nice setup here.”
As beneficial as that would probably be for me, I just couldn’t be alone with her right now. Not after everything I did. “N-no thanks. I should get back to patrolling, anyway. The, uh… the police probably need me.”
Vivienne frowned. “Okay… if you say so.”
With that, I turned and left, practically running out onto the street and ruminating on everything I’d learned.
That big monster attack… Hadn’t Father said that I was injured in a monster attack? Could it have been that one? But, clearly no one else knew who I was, and they were all there that day. Besides, that was five years ago. There was no way I was asleep for all that time. Maybe I was just overthinking things…
Still. Rosalyn. I just couldn’t get that name out of my head.
—
Madeline loudly grunted as her fists made contact with the punching bag in the Union gym over and over. After all the effort she put into getting that cat to like her, everything she did for it, it just jumps up on Jordyn the first chance it gets? What the hell. How the fuck was that fair?!
“Maddie? Hey, are you alright? You ran off.”
She stopped, grabbing the bag and leaning her head on it as she caught her breath. Her fists stung from the force she was hitting the leather with, and her chest hurt from how winded she’d become without even realising. Boy, she really needed to get back into shape.
Madeline turned, finding Ashley looking at her with concern. She sighed. “No, I’m not okay.”
“This is about Muffin, isn’t it.”
It was a little embarrassing when he said it out loud like that, but whatever, sue her. That cat was one of the only things she had left of Rosie. Could anyone blame her for feeling jealous?
“Yes, it’s about Muffin,” she grunted, walking over to the bench and slumping down. “It just doesn’t make any damn sense that he would go to her like that!”
Ashley sat down next to her. “I agree with you. It doesn’t make sense. But, it happened, and you have to accept that. Don’t hold it against her.”
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and was surprised to find that underneath the anger, she was legitimately on the verge of tears.
“It… it’s just not fair.”
He put an arm around her shoulders. “I know. It really isn’t.”
She made the most of his comfort, leaning against him and finally letting herself cry. She so desperately wanted to be mad at Jordyn for it – and a large part of her was mad – but the sensible part of her brain fought back against the idea. It wasn’t Jordyn’s fault Muffin liked her, even though it was a complete mystery as to how. Who knew, maybe she just stuffed raw fish into her armour and Muffin was attracted by the smell?
“Hey, guys. Everything okay?”
Madeline looked up to find Viv. She wiped her eyes, trying to get a hold of herself.
“Everything sucks.”
Viv huffed a small laugh. “Yeah. Just had to explain to Jordyn what happened five years ago.” Her eyes glazed over a bit. “Fun memories.”
Madeline groaned, hiding her face in her hands. “Why did we sign up for this again?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do, or some other nonsense like that,” Ashley replied. He sighed. “It’s certainly gonna be an undertaking. Poor girl doesn’t even know her own birthdate, if such a thing even applies, considering she was pulled out of a tube.”
“I think that says more about de Vygon’s inability to provide her with a cover story than anything else, honestly,” Maddie said.
He snorted. “Yeah. I’m not going to discount the man’s intelligence, but that was a pretty big oversight on his part. And it’s a pretty big headache for me. Now I’ve got to organise a call with him so I can get all of her ‘details.’” He made air-quotes in time with the last word.
Viv clapped her hands. “Don’t worry, guys. We’ll get through this! It’s gonna be hard at first, sure, but as Jordyn gets more used to being in the Union, things are gonna get easier. She’ll be easier to talk to, and easier to convince that de Vygon’s hurting her. And once she’s finally safe and we can get her official testimony, that’s when we bring de Vygon and his whole group down! We’ve got this!”
As much as Madeline was loath to admit it, Viv’s optimism was infectious. She wasn’t going to admit it out loud, though. “If you say so, Viv. I’ll have to take your word for it.”
—
“With all due respect, sir… Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Andreas took a sip of his beer as he watched G-7 prowl the streets of Tombguard through her visor camera. “Trust me, George. I’ve calculated the risks.”
George hummed with uncertainty. “Still, you can’t blame me for worrying. Wanting to make it seem like everything is normal to the public is one thing, but actively letting Seven join the Union seems like a step too far. When you want your dog to be obedient, you don’t go letting it play with the pack of strays. Frankly, sir… I just don’t see the point.”
“It’s all part of the plan, George. We need her to join the Union if we ever want to make a difference in this city.”
“...I thought the idea was just to revitalise the police?”
Andreas sighed. He couldn’t fault George for his ignorance. It was, however, slightly annoying. “What’s the point of just revitalising the police if we don’t fix the other underlying issues plaguing our great city? The Union has been leeching off of taxpayer money for as long as I’ve been alive, yet they provide no value 99% of the time.”
“But… Isn’t it basically just insurance against monster attacks? If insurance companies can take our money on the off chance something bad happens, why can’t the Union? Hell, we don’t even have to consciously pay for it, it just comes out of our taxes.”
…Well, George was allowed to think what he wanted. He was just a peon, after all, only good for his science know-how. And that was why scientists never made it far in politics. He should really stick to his petri dishes.
Andreas cleared his throat. “Regardless of your thoughts on the matter, that was always the plan. Why do you think I specifically trained the subjects to be heroes, and not just police officers?”
“Uh… so that you’d have a good excuse to hide their faces, so it wasn’t immediately obvious they were all-”
“So that they could join the Union, obviously!”
George paused, blinking rapidly for a moment. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath before speaking again. “Well. If that’s your plan, then who am I to stop you? But still, how can you be sure Seven’s interactions with the Union heroes won’t… sully her loyalty? Once she realises that it isn’t normal to be beaten for a minor infraction, don’t you think she’s going to decide that she’s happier there? We’ve had the programming to keep her in line so far, but it can only do so much when faced with outside influence. Aren’t you worried she’ll go down the same route as Five did?”
“As I’ve said, I’ve calculated the risks. G-7 always needed to join the Union for my plan to work. Yes, she may come into contact with people who may begin to pull her away from my control, but that is a risk I must accept if I want my plan to succeed. Hell, it might even help us. If G-7 begins to trust the Union heroes, they will trust her in turn. Then, all it’ll take is one last nudge.”
He smiled as visions of the future washed over him. None of this will matter then. No more posturing and ass-kissing to higher-ranking politicians for funding. No more being part of the lesser family. There would be no one above him anymore.
“Uhh… Sorry, but I’m still a little lost-”
“Go home, Sadler,” Andreas interrupted. “Your shift ended five minutes ago.”
George sighed, getting up. “Yes, sir.”
The mumbling twig of a man shuffled his way out of the surveillance room, leaving Andreas alone to drink his beer and watch his creation do his bidding. Jordyn would only be useful for so much longer. He would say he was sad to know the time of her disposal was drawing nearer, but… well, that would be a lie. The weak little shit was only good for wasting his time and failing to follow his orders. Though, he could admit that he would miss having a punching bag to take things out on at the end of a long day.
Eh, G-7 wasn’t even uniquely good for that. Nothing was stopping him from waking up another subject whenever he needed to.
That was the lovely thing about Jordyn and her sisters. They were so perfectly disposable.