When Zack clicked on the article, he was immediately greeted by a newspaper article. The grainy color image unfolded before him. Zack immediately gawked at the computer screen.

“Oh my,” he heard Blake say. “Those are some…fashion choices.”

She was right. Knightbrand stood front and center, but it wasn’t the armor Zack had stowed away in his basement. First of all, the helmet’s face was open, revealing Zane’s face for all to see. His father looked young - and not much older than Zack was now. The armor appeared different too - bulkier, with more high-tech touches than the stripped-down version Zack was used to. Knighttbrand’s chest and muscle would put most bodybuilders to shame. By his side stood an equally familiar figure.

Amber Shaw.

Her Miss Magnitude costume appeared equally exaggerated, leaving little to the imagination. Her hair also appeared much bigger, and all and all Amber Shaw looked more like a model in one of those Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issues he found in his Dad’s basement once. Amber appeared equally young - about the same age as his dad - and probably still a good ten years younger than the picture Kaine had shown him.

“Your dad never mentioned this…ummm…phase?” Blake said, clearly looking at the costume choices.

“No,” Zack said. “I never even knew he was on a team.”

“In his defense,” Blake said. “If I was dressed like that, I would want to forget too.”

Zack noticed another figure dressed in military fatigues, with equally bulging biceps. He wore a red white and blue bandanna along with a ripped sleeveless green vest and camo pants, all while holding a ridiculously large gun.

“I can zoom in on this right?” Zack said.

“Yeah, just use Ctrl and then the Plus symbol,” Blake said. Zack hit the keys, zooming in on the military man’s phase.

“Max…Mannn?” he said as he recognized the figure.

“The Sigma Alpha guy?” Blake asked. “Figures. Everyone here looks like they’re over-compensating for something.”

Zack zoomed back out, only for his eyes to be drawn to a large African-American man standing behind Max. He wore tight-fitting armor along with massive shoulder-pads, which strangely left his stomach open, revealing a ripped six-pack.

“Nice to see belly shirts were in fashion for men,” Blake said. “I guess that’s some measure of gender equality.”

Zack didn’t laugh, not when he knew that figure all too well. “That’s Roll Cage.”

“Okay,” Blake said. “And who is that?”

“That’s Rachel’s dad,” Zack said.

He watched as Blake peered at the screen.

“Really? I thought he was a cop or something,” she exclaimed.

Zack nodded. “He was a cop. Then he became a superhero.”

He had to admit that made Rachel’s father all the more intimidating when he was in high school. It was hard enough dating a girl whose father was a cop, but one who was a cop and a cape was stressful in equal measure. Zane always spoke highly of him though, and now he knew why.

Zack saw several other figures in the picture. Two other superheroes - a man and a woman - but he didn’t recognize them either. Which was probably for the best. Zack couldn’t take much more surprises at this point.

“You see those two before?” Zack asked Blake. She squinted her eyes at them.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“They look familiar,” Blake said right before shaking her head. “But I don’t know who they are.”

He looked back to Max Mann’s ‘roided-out army guy. “Max Mann, Soldier of Fortune” the article read. He knew Max had some connection with his father. Obviously they were friends, but he never mentioned he was on a team with his father, much less Amber Shaw. Why had he withheld that last part? It seemed like something you’d want to mention by way of explanation.

He turned back to Blake, “Is there any information on these guys?”

Blake took hold of the mouse and hit the back button. She narrowed her eyes.

“I’m afraid not,” she said. “Looks like we have this screen and a stub and that’s it.”

Zack nodded. “Does the stub have any other information?”

Blake shook her head. “Just that they broke over….twenty-five years ago by the looks of it.”

Zack was afraid of that. Another dead-end.

“Miss Magnitude was the only Accredited hero on the team,” Blake said. “So that’s why we knew about them at all. But these guys are just a foot-note in her biography.”

Zack nodded. He stood up from the computer.

“Well, it was more than I knew before I came here,” Zack said. “So I guess it’s a start.”

Blake appeared deep in thought, lifting her fingers to her chin.

“There might be one other place we could check,” she said.

She headed for the stairs, and Zack followed her. As he did, he couldn’t shake the feeling he was being watched. The problem was, there were too many possibilities. Zack spotted a thin man with jet black hair reading a paperback in a nearby chair, but he also noted someone browsing behind a nearby stack. If he was being watched, there were too many angles to keep track of. He chalked it up to nerves and followed Blake down the stairs.

“Is this the basement?” Zack asked.

Blake flipped on a light switch. “This…is storage.”

Rows of boxes stretched out before the pair on metallic shelves. Some were books. Some were magazines. Some Zack wasn’t even sure what they were.

Blake walked down towards a row of magazines. “When I need to unwind, this is my favorite spot. You never know what you’ll find down here.”

Blake ran her fingers over one of the shelves briefly before pulling down a box. She opened it up and pulled several flimsy items from the box before handing them to Zack.

“The Exremers,” she said. “Issue One through Six.”

Zack looked at the comic book before him, only to be immediately greeted by his father in the same dorky costume. Miss Magnitude appeared in his arms, wearing the same slinky costume she had on the cover, as the pair zoomed towards the reader.

“My dad…had comic books made about him?” Zack said.

“His team did,” Blake said. “Lots of teams made licensing deals with media companies back in the day. It was a great way to get exposure and make a little money if the team was strapped to begin with.”

Zack wanted nothing more than to read these comics all day, but he knew he had a mission to prepare for tonight. He turned to Blake.

“Can I check these out?” he asked.

“They are library-use only,” Blake said.

“I see,” Zack said, trying badly to hide his disappointment.

“But…I might be able to pull some strings,” Blake said, arms crossing her chest. “If you come back later.”

Zack’s spirits immediately rose.

“Thanks, Blake,” Zack said.

“You’re welcome,” Blake said, her arms still crossed, as she started to leave.

“Blake…” Zack said. Blake turned to him.

“Look, I didn’t make the best impression with you, and I’m sorry,” Zack said. “I was just . . . watching out for Perry, but you two really are good together.”

Blake seemed to blush a bit. She nodded and then moved up the stairs. Zack followed her.

“You know this would be a great time, Blake, for you to tell me you misjudged me,” Zack said.

“I would,” Blake said as she trotted up the stairs and came to perch at the circulation desk. “But I still can’t shake the feeling you’re still a bit of a self-absorbed twat.”

“Damn,” Zack said. “I’ll need to work on that.”

“You do that,” Blake said, with a jesting smile. “Now, if there’s nothing else, I need to get back to work.”

Zack nodded and headed out the door.

Who were the Extremers and why had his father never mentioned them?

And just how did they factor into his murder?