It was late, and Amelia, wearing her grey skinned, white haired valtarian form, fell backward onto the couch, feeling exhausted. It wasn’t as if today was any more difficult than a normal day. Since she wanted her children to know Valtarian history, which they couldn’t get in Earth schools, homeschooling was pretty much a necessity. Amelia also insisted on handling the cooking as Valtarians had very specific dietary requirements, such as iron rich foods. This was even more complicated considering their children’s half-human physiology, so Amelia wanted to ensure they got the food they needed.

    It helped that John, being retired, was home all the time and could handle all the other household chores. Being able to levitate metal tools and appliances really streamlined such duties, and he could get a lot done quickly. It was harder to use his powers outside as John still had a secret identity to keep up, but he still got a lot done this way.

    Even so, the work Amelia had taken on took a lot out of her. After a day of going over math, science, language, and the history of two different worlds, Amelia was usually exhausted. Today, however, something had added a burden to her shoulders that she suspected would make her more tired than ever for a while.

    Worry.

    Amelia was worried these government agents would smash her son’s dreams, worried her son would come home seriously hurt, and even worried that he might not come home at all. It was driving her crazy, even if being a superhero was what her son wanted.

    Amelia looked at the ceiling, thinking. Andy wasn’t the first child of Valtarian blood to take the mantle of a superhero. Two years ago, a few Valtarians, most of them too young to remember the destruction of their world, joined the army and formed an elite team of superheroes called the Fullmetal Force. Not everyone in their little community was happy about this. One of their fathers was so angry that he practically disowned his son in front of everyone, though Amelia knew it wasn’t malicious. He was afraid to lose his son, just as Amelia was now.

    A moment later, John entered the room, done with his work for the day, and sat beside her. He put his arm around her shoulder as she snuggled up next to him, just taking comfort in his presence.

    “You know,” said Amelia. “I’ve always wondered. Is it easy to just wave your hands and have the chores finish themselves?”

    “It’s harder than it looks,” said John. “But, yeah. It’s pretty nice.”

    “I wish I could wave my hands and transmit the schooling directly into our children’s heads.”

    “I wish you could too, honey. We’d have more time for this.”

    Amelia hummed happily as she snuggled closer to him. After a moment, her thoughts turned to their son.

    “John,” said Amelia. “How do you deal with it? How can you stand Andy being in danger like this?”

    “Because I know how he feels,” said John. “You should have seen me when my powers kicked in. It was one of the happiest days of my life.”

    Suddenly, John looked sad.

    “I almost went out there, you know,” said John. “To help him with Spectramancer.”

    Amelia didn’t need him to explain why he didn’t go. If John had frozen up out there, he could have gotten in Andy’s way and made things harder. Amelia knew it must have been difficult for John to stay home that day, especially after things went wrong.

    “I’m so worried about him,” she said sadly.

    “So am I,” John replied. “But when you get down to it, what Andy wants to do is something noble. He just wants to protect people who can’t protect themselves. Would you really deny him the chance to do that?”

    Amelia smiled, “No. No, I wouldn’t.”

    After all, it was that same passion for helping people that made her fall in love with John in the first place.

###

Andy got up early again and changed into his costume quickly. As he was preparing to leave, he noticed that someone was out of place. This early, he usually sensed the electromagnetic signature of his parents and siblings in their rooms. Samantha, however, wasn’t in her room, and an electromagnetic signature was coming from the backyard.

    Checking his smartwatch, there wasn’t any trouble right now, so Andy sought Samantha out and found her outside, staring at the forest outside their house. She wore her half Valtarian form, with grey skin, dark hair, and blue eyes.

    “Hey,” said Andy, walking up behind her. “Can’t sleep?”

    “I’ve had a lot on my mind,” she said, sighing. “How are you holding up?”

    “As well as I can,” said Andy, standing beside her. “What’s up?”

    Samantha took a moment to answer, “That E.H.O.D. agent that showed up yesterday…he was really angry when I didn’t let him in.”

    Andy grew concerned, “He didn’t threaten you, did he?”

    “Not directly,” said Samantha. “He made sure to point out how important the E.H.O.D. was and how I could get in big trouble if I didn’t let him in.” Almost as a reflex, Samantha turned metal, her hair becoming like thin wires as it hung over her shoulders. “He had this angry look, and I could have sworn I saw that Cerberon twitch while he was talking to me.”

    Andy clenched his fists.

    “You okay?” he asked.

    “I’ll be fine,” said Samantha. “At this point, I’m more worried about you.”

    “I think I’ll be okay,” said Andy. “The Lawyer Paramount recommended is working on something. I’m sure this will all be over soon.”

    “Really?” she asked. “I hope you’re right.”

    As Samantha turned back to her organic form, Andy silently thought, yeah, me too.

    Before long, Andy had to turn to metal and fly away. E.H.O.D. review aside, SteelStar still had a job to do.

###

Centurion grimaced. He’d been having a nice dream about sunbathing on a beach surrounded by adoring fans that happened to be beautiful women when the ringing of his cell phone woke him up. The phone lay on a nightstand just within arm's reach, and the grouchy superhero had the subtle urge to smash it.

    Centurion groaned as he sat up, looking around at the expensive hotel room the E.H.O.D. was paying for. It was a wide space with large windows giving a great view of the city, a widescreen tv, a breakfast nook, and a large bathroom. He should have felt at ease here, but that sound was grating. Not that there was anything particularly annoying about the sound. What annoyed him was the person who would inevitably be calling.

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    Reluctantly, Centurion grabbed his phone and answered.

    “What is it?”

    “Centurion,” said the E.H.O.D. agent. “SteelStar is on the move. Where are you?”

    “On my way,” said Centurion, rubbing his eyes and wondering why that kid had to get up so early.

    “Your armor is ready for you,” said the agent.

    “Did you get the heat resistant armor?” asked Centurion.

    His normal armor was a jack of all trades, but he had different suits for different situations, each designed to work with Centurion’s enhancement ability.

    “No,” said the agent. “They sent us the shock resistant armor.”

    “What?” asked Centurion incredulously. “You’re prioritizing the kid? What will I do about Draego?”

    “Let the kid handle it,” said the agent. “He’s the one being tested, after all. We can keep an eye on that new speedster girl while we’re at it. You only need to step in when things go wrong. We want you to prioritize keeping the kid safe over catching Draego.”

    Centurion didn’t buy it. Clearly, the agent was banking on SteelStar failing so they’d have an excuse to give him a bad score.

    “And until then, you want me to sit on the sidelines?” asked Centurion. “What do you take me for? I won’t sit around and let that kid take all the glory. What if the press catches me holding back?”

    “You let me worry about the press,” said the agent. “You just do as your told…unless you want to be dropped from the safeguard program.”

    Centurion grimaced. Any superhero dropped from the safeguard program had trouble finding alternatives. The E.H.O.D. had ways of ensuring they couldn’t get funding elsewhere by leveraging the documents they would have signed after joining. However, these ways were unofficial, and Centurion suspected that some of them were illegal, but he’d never call it out publicly. The agent was low key threatening to end his superhero career. Centurion only wished he knew about all this before he signed those documents.

    “Well?” asked the agent.

    “Yes, sir,” said Centurion, glaring at the wall. “Message received.”

    He hung up and then got up to get dressed, grumbling to himself the whole time.

###

Back at their hideout Draego, Deathstare, and Cipher sat around a table and planned their next move. Deathstare kept the eyes on his body closed, apart from his two normal eyes. Draego sat in his human form, and all three of them frowned.

    “So,” said Deathstare. “We have three superheroes to deal with. Now what? Cipher’s not exactly a fighter. Not unless he can hack into that Cerberon that’s in town.”

    “Give me a month, and I could,” Cipher began irritably. “But the press already announced that we tried to steal the fugori crystal. Paramount is doing search and rescue at a flood up north, but he’ll come straight here when he’s done. Meanwhile, superheroes Scarlet Ghost, Blacksting, and Morphic Man are already on their way and will be here in a matter of hours. As much as I’d love to get control over a Cerberon, we just don’t have enough time.”

    “I’m surprised that the E.H.O.D. agent hasn’t used it,” said Draego. “You’d think he’d be eager to get you back quickly after your escape.”

    “Yeah,” said Cipher, smirking. “About that. I’ve been following the E.H.O.D. movements, and I think they’re more concerned with SteelStar than with us.”

    “What do you mean?” asked Draego.

    “I couldn’t hack the Cerberon,” said Cipher, amused. “But I was able to get a glimpse of the agent’s notes about SteelStar. I think they’re trying to pressure him to join their program. If he refuses, they’ll blame our escape on him.”

    Deathstare laughed. Draego, on the other hand, grimaced, which Cipher noted.

    “What?” asked Cipher.

    “I don’t think it’s funny,” said Draego. “This battle is between the heroes and us, and I, for one, am looking forward to teaching that rookie a lesson. Why should I be happy about these overpaid bureaucrats interfering?”

    “Dude,” said Deathstare. “Chill. Our job is hard enough as it is. I mean, Cipher’s good at what he does, but like I said, he’s no fighter. With this Celerity in play, it’s basically three against two. So I say let em sabotage the brat. I’d rather not make our job more difficult just because you have an ego.”

    “If by ‘have an ego,’ you mean I have standards,” said Draego. “Then I’m proud to say I have an ego. Don’t worry about the third superhero. If we get overwhelmed, I’ll use my father’s ring.”

    “Whoa,” said Cipher, putting his hands up. “Let’s not get crazy. You know what that does to you.”

    “Of course I do,” said Draego. “But we do need something to even the odds. Deathstare can hold off the speedster, and I can deal with SteelStar and Centurion.”

    “You sure it’s worth it?” asked Deathstare.

    “It will have to be,” said Draego. “This may very well be our last shot.”

    “I still don’t think this SteelStar guy is worth it,” said Cipher.

    Draego thought for a moment, “Cipher? Can you get me a connection to SteelStar that can’t be traced back to us? I’d like to speak to him.”

    “Can I?” asked Cipher incredulously. “Please, that’s child’s play. But I thought you disliked the E.H.O.D. interfering? They could easily spin a superhero being contacted by a supervillain as something suspicious.”

    “Let’s do it!” said Deathstare excitedly.

    “No!” said Draego warningly.

    Deathstare grimaced under his purple mask and crossed his arms, looking away.

    “I just want to talk to him,” said Draego. “Get to know my enemy. We won’t reveal who he’s talking to.”

    “If you insist,” said Cipher, pulling up his laptop. “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

###

SteelStar flew over the city, but so far, there wasn’t much trouble this morning. No mutant beasts, fortunately, and street level criminals tended to lay low when big supervillains were in town. Fights between power users could get messy, and they wanted to avoid getting in the way.

    Of course, that just reminded him that it was only a matter of time before Draego and Deathstare struck again.

    A moment later, SteelStar’s smartwatch began beeping, so he pulled his wrist up and answered.

    “Hello?”

    The image on the tiny screen was a circle of static, and a deep, powerful voice that SteelStar didn’t recognize answered him.

    “Greetings, hero,” he said. “Having a nice morning?”

    SteelStar raised an eyebrow, then stopped to hover in the air. It was Draego on the other end, but Draego had successfully kept his human form a secret from those who didn’t know him personally, so SteelStar had never heard that voice. As it was, the young superhero was confused and suspicious of this mysterious voice contacting him.

    “Who is this?” he asked.

    “Just a man looking to satisfy a little curiosity,” said Draego.

    SteelStar started tapping his smartwatch to find the nearest police station. They’d have tech to track whoever was contacting him. He wasn’t too worried about his device being hacked, as no superhero with any sense put personal information on their smartwatch. Still, SteelStar didn’t trust some random person contacting him like this.

    “If you go to the police, I’ll disappear,” said Draego. “And right now, I’m no threat to you. I just want to talk.”

    “What about?” asked SteelStar.

    “I’m wondering why you put up with that government lackey,” said Draego. “If you ask me, someone like him is beneath you.”

    Well, SteelStar wasn’t going to argue with that. Not that he’d say that out loud.

    “It’s the law, isn’t it?” asked SteelStar. “He has the authority to do this.”

    Draego chuckled, “Law and authority, you say? And that gives him power over you? Tell me. Do you know where authority’s power comes from?”

    “I get the feeling you’ll tell me no matter what I answer.”

    “True,” said Draego, satisfied. “Men only gain authority because people agree to give it to them. A King can give an order, and thousands of people will move to see that order done. As powerful as that may seem, if all those people suddenly decided it wasn’t worth it, the King’s power would disappear instantly.”

    “What’s your point?” asked SteelStar, both irritated with this stranger and nervous that he was talking to someone shady.

    “That the power of authority is an illusion,” said Draego. “Even that E.H.O.D.’s toy robots are only possible because people agree to give them the money to build them. You take a king, or a senator, or a government agent and leave him alone on a desert island without people to agree to his demands, then he’s just a man. However, put someone like you on a desert island, and you’re still a god.”

    It wasn’t an unheard of sentiment among power users, and one that made Steelstar clench his metal teeth.

    “I’m no god,” said SteelStar. “I just won the genetic lottery. I believe I can use my power to do good things for this world, but that also means I can cause great damage if I make a mistake. My powers aren’t just a gift. They’re my responsibility.”

    “Really?” asked Draego. “You’re okay with putting limits on yourself like that? Somehow I doubt that these corrupt government agents feel the same. It seems that men whose power is an illusion believe in their power more than you believe in yours.”

    SteelStar shrugged, “You’re the one who said they’re beneath me.”

    For a moment, Draego didn’t respond, and then he burst out laughing.

    “That I did, SteelStar,” said Draego, amusement dripping from his voice. “That I did. Thanks for speaking with me.”

    And with that, he disconnected. SteelStar was left levitating above the city, very confused. What on earth was that about?”

###

“Well,” said Deathstare, tapping his fingers impatiently. “You talked with him. Happy now?”

    “Very much so,” said Draego.

    “Well, I hope it was worth it,” said Cipher, typing on his laptop. “ Anyway, I have the plan to assault the military base figured out. You two ready to move out?”

    Deathstare stood, his two normal eyes glowing green, while Draego stood and transformed into his half dragon form.

    “Do you even need to ask?” asked Deathstare, grinning.