Bronze Knight sat alone in costume as the sole occupant in his black patrol SUV. He wiped a bit of dust from the grey steering wheel in front of him. He'd noticed it on the way to the lot he parked in, but couldn't get rid of it because he was a responsible driver. It had been progressively bothering him more and more as the trip went on. Now that he had a moment, he was glad to be rid of it.

He was about to reach for his phone when the whine of a high-octane engine spread through his vehicle. He looked in his side mirror and saw a red and black motorcycle pass behind his car. He'd recognize that bike anywhere. Pulse arrived right on time. She maneuvered around to park on his passenger's side. Cooper grabbed his spear in its collapsed form and got out of the car. The shield stayed in the backseat. The spear went in the belt sheath behind his back.

The moment his feet touched the pavement, the motorcycle switched off. Cooper walked around the back of his own vehicle to wait for Pulse. She put down her kickstand then dismounted the beast. She turned to behold him with the pretty brown eyes he knew hid behind those sunglasses. She wore one of her older cropped leather jackets, judging by the softness of the material. Her jeans were black, and she wore a tight red tank top.

"Hey, Pulse," he greeted as she approached.

"Hey," she returned, reaching him. "You ready?"

"After you." Bronze Knight gestured for her to lead the way, which she did.

Together, they walked around the front of a simple white restaurant front with long narrow windows. Green letters above the glass double doors read Wrap it Up. They could see a few people sitting at round tables inside, eating their food.

Pulse entered first, and Bronze Knight caught the door to follow her inside. The pretty Latina girl behind the counter on the far end recognized them the moment they both entered. A few patrons turned to see who the new arrivals were. Some of them seemed visibly shocked, while others gave very little response. A group of three teenagers—two boys and a girl—talked in quick, hushed tones.

Cooper had to admit the reaction of the people was one of his favorite parts of interacting with the public, not out of vanity, but because it was fascinating to see what each individual did. To some, the presence of superheroes in their hometown was nothing new. To others, it was the highlight of their week. Normally while on patrol, there wasn't time to take notice of them. In the moments where he got to slow down, he couldn't help but do so.

The heroes stood a few steps back from the counter starring up at the menu. The selection was modest, but adequate. The whiteboards were split up into five sections: fresh, grilled, toasted, veggie, and classic. Literally everything sounded good, which was both a blessing and a curse.

The two of them deliberated for about a minute. All the while Cooper was aware of the cashier staring at them, and the hurried, hushed discussion of the teenage table.

"You good? I'm good," Pulse said.

"Yeah, I'm good," nodded Bronze Knight.

They approached the counter. The cashier froze up for a split second. Cooper swore he could see the gears in her brain slam to a halt, pause for a second, then start up again. When the poor girl regained her composure, she looked mortified.

"Hi, Linda," Cooper said, reading her name tag. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," the cashier squawked. "Um, welcome to Wrap it Up. What can I get you?"

Cooper smiled. "I'll have the grilled steak wrap."

"Okay." Linda typed that into her register. She looked at Pulse. "And for you, ma'am?"

"I'll have the grilled garlic chicken," Pulse responded. If she were annoyed as usual by the formal use of ma'am, she didn't show it.

"Alright. You're total is $11.49. Do you want that to go?"

"Yes, please," Cooper said. He reached for his wallet a split-second before realizing it was in the pouch on his shield. "Oh, shit. My wallet's still in the car."

"That's fine, I got it," Pulse said. She handed Linda a twenty.

"You sure?" Cooper asked.

"It's eleven dollars, B.K. I'm not worried about it," Pulse said.

"Okay, thanks," he said. "Sorry."

"It's alright."

Linda quickly processed the transaction. She put the cash in her register, then handed Pulse her change. Next, she gave them both empty drink cups. Pulse took hers, then passed Bronze Knight his. She went over to the drink dispenser on the left hand wall.

"Thank you, Linda. Have a nice day," Cooper said.

"Thanks. You, too," replied the cashier.

With that, Cooper joined his teammate. The place had Pepsi products, which Pulse probably wasn't happy about. Bronze Knight really didn't care. He went for some lemon iced tea, and saw Pulse choose root beer. He just finished filling his cup when he was interrupted.

"Um..." a small voice to his left said. He turned to see the teenage girl from the group of three. She was pretty, with blue eyes, glasses, and brown hair done up in twin braids. She was pale enough to glow in the dark.

"Hi," Cooper smiled. "You must be a fan."

The girl nodded. "I'm Stacey."

"Bronze Knight." He held out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Stacy hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand. As she did, Pulse walked around to stand at Cooper's left.

"Pulse," said Ayda. She, too, shook hands with Stacey.

"Hi," she said weakly. "I hope this isn't too forward, but could I get a picture with you two?"

"Its not forward at all. Right, Pulse?" Cooper said

"Of course not," Ayda agreed. "A picture is the least we can do."

"Okay, thank you!" Enthused Stacy, rummaging through her pocket.

She produced a smart phone with a pink case a second later. Pulse moved a step further from Cooper, while he indicated for Stacy to stand between them. She did so and held up her phone vertically. Ayda assumed her classic Pulse Pose, a peace sign with hand glowing purple with her power. Cooper just leaned in and smiled, knowing full well it wouldn't be overly apparent beneath his Corinthian helmet. Stacy lined up the shot and snapped the picture. She stepped away with a spring in her step, turning back toward the heroes as she looked it over.

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

"It came out great! Thank you so much!" She was clearly beside herself.

"Don't mention it," Cooper said.

"Do your friends want pictures, too?" Pulse asked.

"No," Stacy shook her head. "I'm the only real hero geek in our group. They were trying to convince me to come over here."

"Well, I'm glad you did." Cooper said. He heard the rustling of a bag being set down on the counter behind them, a sound likely inaudible to everyone else. "That's us. It was nice meeting you, Stacy."

"You, too! Thanks so much for the picture!" Stacy called.

Ayda gave her a nod before they both turned away. Cooper gathered up the bag and the heroes walked out of the establishment together. They began on their way back to the SUV. Bronze Knight was glad to be done with the restaurant. It had smelled primarily of garlic, salt, and pepper, with various cooked meats and tortilla shells heavy on the flour, not to mention the people. The outside wasn't nearly so much of an olfactory overload.

"Well, she was adorable," he said.

"Which one, Stacy or Linda?" Pulse asked.

"Both," he answered. Pulse rolled her eyes at him.

They made it back to the SUV. Cooper resumed his position behind the steering wheel, while Pulse sat beside him. He handed over her sandwich before taking his out and placing the white plastic bag in the back seat, out of the way.

They ate in silence, for a few bites. Cooper's wrap had chopped up grilled steak, green and red peppers, onions, pickles, and some sort of brown sauce. Ayda's was a bit fresher, with strips of grilled chicken, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, and what was probably a thick white garlic sauce.

For cheap fast food, it was rather delicious. Bronze Knight had no trouble digging right in. By the way she tore into her wrap, Ayda's was also quite good. Though, she always ate as if it were her last meal.

"I wonder how long before that picture ends up on the internet," Cooper said after he'd eaten a little bit.

Ayda waited until she swallowed before responding. "It's probably already on Instagram."

"Yeah, probably," Cooper agreed.

"Speaking of the internet," Ayda began, "did that guy on Reddit respond to you yet?"

Cooper sighed. "No. I'll be glad if he doesn't."

"What's his deal, anyway?" Ayda took a bite.

"I have no fucking idea," Cooper said. "First he was complaining about my weapon, saying it was too aggressive. I pointed out we have two teammates who's main powers are to blow things up and burn things, and he said they get a pass, since those are their powers. Then he started trying to say my costume is inappropriate, and that it's cultural appropriation. I'm Greek. My last name is Katsaros, for God's sake. I'm a Spartan, dude. That's my entire theme."

"In his defense," Pulse said, "I don' think Spartans really dressed like that. I'm pretty sure they wore shirts."

"I like 300, sue me."

"Is that where it ended?" Pulse took a sip from her drink.

"Yeah, basically. I told him everything I told you, except for the part about my name, and that was five hours ago. He hasn't replied. Hopefully, he doesn't."

"Do I need to drop a banhammer?" Ayda asked before taking a bite.

"No." Cooper sighed again. "He's an asshole, but he's not that bad. I've dealt with worse."

Ayda just shrugged, since her mouth was full. Cooper took a bite of his wrap, a bit less enthusiastic before. That faded, though, when he tasted it again. Amazing, what food could do for a soured mood.

"Is that construction at the airport still going on?" Ayda asked after a minute or two.

Cooper groaned. "Yes, unfortunately."

"Of course it is." Ayda scoffed. "Do they know how much harder it is for us to send people to Atlantis with a quarter of the airport not working?"

"They probably do, but they don't care."

Atlantis, the special prison where all supervillains were held. As its name suggested, it was a near impenetrable fortress built at the bottom of the ocean.

Ayda looked at him to give what he thought was an exacerbated expression. Kind of hard to tell since he couldn't see her eyes. He did notice a little sauce staining her lower lip, however. He couldn't help but chuckle.

"You have a little-" he wiped his own lip, "right there."

Pulse looked mortified for a split-second before she looked away from him, removed the offending smudge, and wiped it on a loose bit of her sandwich wrapper.

"Shut up," she said.

"What?" Cooper made no attempt to hide the giggle from his voice.

"Shut up!" Pulse gave him a little punch on the shoulder.

"I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking it."

"Hey, I'm not the one with white stuff on my mouth," Cooper joked. Ayda hit him harder. "Hey, watch it! I'm gonna call a domestic on you."

"You wouldn't dare," Ayda challenged. As if to accentuate how unconcerned she was, she took a bit of her now three-quarters gone sandwich.

"You're right." Cooper shrugged, and followed her example. As the slower eater of the two, he had a bit more lunch left to go.

They munched on in silence for a minute or two. That time saw Ayda almost finish her wrap. Seeing her so close to done made Cooper feel as if he had to catch up, if only so he wasn't the only one eating. That would be both rude and awkward.

"Hey, Birdseye, is there anything we should know?" Ayda asked after a swallow.

"Not right now," the voice of Elliot responded over the comms. "There was a minor noise complaint out on Kettle Street, but I figured you weren't interested."

"Oh God, Kettle Street," Cooper said. "I swear I've never seen to many frat houses in one place."

"I'm amazed any non-students choose to live there," echoed Ayda. "Thanks for sparing us from that one."

"It's what I'm here for," Elliot said.

"Still, though." Ayda began, "it's so weird how quiet the city has been in between Silver's shenanigans."

"Can we not bring that up?" Cooper said, exasperated.

"Sorry. Still a bit of a sore spot?"

"It happened yesterday, Pulse. Yeah, it's a bit of a sore spot."

"Sorry," Pulse apologized again. "I just think it's weird she went after an armored car. She hasn't done anything that big before, I don't think." She probably was sorry, but Cooper noted that didn't stop her from talking about it.

"She hasn't," Elliot chimed in. "I was looking into it earlier. She usually turns over stores and steals cars."

"I wonder what's got into her, then," mused Pulse.

"Maybe she's just bored," supplied Cooper. "She wouldn't be the first villain who did something bad out of boredom."

"Maybe. How's Dominick doing? Have you talked to him?" Ayda changed the subject.

"Yeah, I checked in on him earlier. He's still a little sore. He hit that car really hard," Cooper said.

"I'm sure the electric shock didn't help things, either," added Ayda.

"Probably not. Thanks for offering to switch patrols with him, by the way."

"It's no problem," Ayda said. "I know he prefers the night shift. He should do whatever he can to make himself feel better mentally, if he's not at one hundred percent physically."

"Maybe it's the moon?" Cooper said after a moment.

"What?" Ayda gave him a confused look.

"You know, that old theory about how the full moon makes people do crazy stuff. It's a full moon right now."

"Please don't tell me you actually believe that."

"No." Cooper shook his head. "Just making conversation. We can't say we haven't seen weirder things."

"I feel like we all say that a lot." Ayda said before taking a bite.

"Well, it's never not true." Cooper followed suit.

They finished their lunches in relative silence. They'd both run out of things to talk about, and Cooper knew how much Ayda hated forced conversation. So, instead, he focused on eating his meal. It was quite good, after all. No need to waste quality food. Alright, maybe quality gave it a bit too much credit. Fast food was still fast food.

He devoured his last bite a few munches after Ayda did. He tossed his trash in a little waste basket behind his seat. Ayda did the same after seeing him do so.

"That was better than I thought it would be," Ayda said after a sigh.

"I'm not sure if it's a good idea for us to eat lunch in the same place, though," Cooper commented.

"Nah, it's fine." Ayda batted away the notion. "Rio and I do it all the time."

"If you say so, oh great leader," Cooper wore a condescendingly regal accent. Pulse just scowled at him.

"I should get going, though. Superstuff to do, and all that," Ayda said, reaching for her door latch.

"Yeah, break time's over," agreed Cooper.

Ayda opened the door. "I'll see you later, B.K."

"See ya. Stay safe out there."

"No promises." And with that, Ayda stood up and closed the door, leaving herself on its outside.

Cooper waited for her to rev up her motorcycle and leave before turning on his own engine. She was perhaps unnecessarily loud as she pulled out of the parking lot. Cooper didn't see the harm in it, though. She was just having a bit of fun. If it grabbed people's attention and let them know she was there, then that was a bonus.

When he could no longer see her out of his rearview mirror, Cooper made his own merge with traffic, headed in the opposite direction. That had been a nice little diversion, but now it was time to go back to being a hero.