Ayda sat on her bunk, legs crossed, laptop laid upon them. She wore a black band tee and jean shorts, and had placed her device so it didn't touch any bare skin. The mattress she sat upon was in its normal disheveled state. The compulsion to put one's bed in order never really made sense to her. Why bother making the bed if she were just going to unmake it later? Seemed like a waste of time.

She clicked between internet browser tabs for a moment. Reddit switched to Instagram, then to Youtube, Facebook, and finally a blank tab. A sigh escaped her lips. Quite simply, she was bored. Her midnight to eight AM patrol shift had been rather uneventful. She'd caught six-ish hours of sleep upon returning home to the bunker, only to wake up with nothing to do. Normally a little relaxation was a good thing, but sometimes it was the exact opposite of what she wanted. That was normal, right?

A click took her back to Youtube. No new videos. Or, at least, nothing she felt like wasting time on. There were a bazillion hours of video, and nothing to watch. Old people often said something similar about satellite television.

Ayda looked at the time on her computer just as it ticked over to five o'clock. Four hours of nothing. That was probably the crux of the problem. Ever since waking up, all she'd done was waste time. It felt like what remained of the day was slipping from her grasp. It felt like she hadn't done anything all day. To be unproductive was to be stagnant, and stagnancy was infuriating.

A rumbly protest from her stomach was the last straw. Ayda closed her laptop, set it aside, and walked into the living room.

There she found her patrol mate for the current schedule. Rhiannon Lord—Alloy, by her superhero name, or Rio as her friends called her—sat on the black leather couch facing away from her, hunched over a smartphone. She wore a thin white button-up blouse with only the bottom half buttoned to reveal the moderately low-cut black top beneath. Jeans and dark sneakers completed the ensemble.

Her naturally pale metallic blue hair was still a little damp and wavy from a recent shower. As the responsible member of their duo, she'd only just woken up about an hour ago. Rio was the only other person who actually lived in the bunker with Ayda. The other team members all had either apartments, houses, or lived with family, and used the bunker more of a base of operations.

"Hey," Ayda said, stopping behind Rio.

Rio craned her neck around. "What's up?"

"You hungry? It's about dinner time."

"I was just thinking about what I would eat before patrol," Rio said. "What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking Chinese, maybe?" Ayda raised an eyebrow.

"That sounds great. Wok and Talk?"

"Are there any other choices?"

"No," Rio smiled, "not as far as we're concerned." She stood, pocketed her phone, and began around the couch.

"Do you mind if I invite Elliot, too? He probably isn't doing anything."

"Of course not. The more the merrier. Besides, I love Elliot." Rio stopped next to a door left of the front entrance.

"Ok, cool. I'll shoot him a text."

Ayda pulled her phone from the pocket it barely fit in and made for the same door Rio was by. The taller girl opened it for her. Ayda offered up a quick thanks in passing. Rio fell in a step behind, closing the door.

While she walked, Ayda composed a quick text.

  Ayda: Hey. Rio and me are heading to Wok and Talk. You wanna come with?

A moment to check her spelling, and she sent it off.

Once that was done, the two girls carried on. They walked down a short hallway to a closed elevator on the other side. Rio did the honors of pressing the call button. The metal doors slid open immediately. They entered, and Rio closed them in. While she punched a lengthy code into the keypad placed where the floor numbers would normally be, Ayda's phone vibrated. She opened the text.

  Elliot: Sure, that sounds great. I'm starving.

  Ayda: Cool. Meet you there.

"Elliot said he's coming," Ayda informed the girl standing next to her.

"Good," Rio said, still mostly concerned with her code. When she finished, the elevator lurched into motion.

This elevator didn't follow a regular path. It went up to clear the bunker, forward for a time, and then up again. When it stopped and let them out, they were in the lobby of the El Puerto Police Department headquarters. To everyone watching, they looked like two normal women getting out of a normal elevator. This was the street clothes entrance to the bunker, so people residing there wouldn't have to be in costume just to come and go.

The major downside of this design was it didn't let out into the parking garage like the official hero entrance. The girls had to exit the big headquarters building and walk to the garage. It thankfully was on the same lot, so the walk remained rather short. Soon enough they were inside Rio's blue SUV . Ayda took the passenger seat, allowing Rio to drive her own car.

A turn of the key brought the engine to life, and they were whisked away. Traffic around this time was rather awful, as usual. Everyone was either going home or getting dinner. As such, progress was slow and monotonous, though it never reached gridlock levels. It lightened considerably as the women made it closer to Chinatown. They were mostly free to arrive at their destination.

Wok and Talk was your typical cheap Chinese restaurant. Big windows allowed a clear view into the establishment. It was done up to look vaguely like an Asian castle, but it had been a laundromat in a past life, so the most the current owners could do was slap some red beams on it. It almost didn't look like a typical city building. Almost.

Upon turning into the parking lot, Ayda immediately spotted Elliot's rust-colored sedan. He'd been driving the same shitty car long as she'd known him. She rolled her eyes at the sight of it, just like she always did whenever forced to be in its presence.

Rio pulled up on Elliot's passenger side. He exited as she did. He had his typical stubble and messy short hair, a navy windbreaker, khaki jeans, and white sneakers for clothing. Seeing him now reminded Ayda she hadn't seen him for a few days. The new patrol cycle just started up, and they'd drawn different time slots. Rio switched off the SUV and the two girls stepped out.

"Hey, guys," Elliot greeted as they approached him

"Hey," Rio returned.

"What's up?" Ayda said at the same time.

"Ready to go?" Elliot hiked a thumb at the building behind him.

The girls gave their affirmatives and they were off. Ayda took a deep sniff. It smelled of oil, cooked meat, and duck sauce, mixed in with the typical dirt of a city.

The interior was longer than it was wide. It opened immediately up into a low-walled corridor leading to the register, behind which stood a pretty young Asian woman. The path was more to funnel new arrivals to the correct place, than anything else. The single dining room took up most of the space. Long columns of tables for four were separated by thin walls so patrons could have an amount of privacy.

The place seemed rather empty. As with any place that offered delivery services, most people chose to take out rather than dine in. The relative lack of crowding was exactly what made it a favorite haunt for Ayda's team. Their jobs entailed a lot of dealing with people. Wok and Talk allowed them a moment of peace to have a good meal.

The trio approached the counter and gave their orders. Ayda went for her usual, orange chicken on a bed of rice. Rio ordered a generous helping of pork lo mein, not her usual. Elliot chose a wonton soup, the kind that was more wonton than soup. There were more exotic things on the menu, and Ayda found herself slightly disappointed they all made such safe choices. But, such was life.

They were given a number and their drinks. Rio chose an isolated table to sit at. The girls sat next to each other, leaving one side for Elliot.

"I haven't been here for a while," remarked Elliot as he took his seat.

"We ate here last week," said Ayda.

"That doesn't surprise me."

"Maybe you'd come here more often of you actually left the house," Rio joked as she sat down.

"I leave the house every day," Elliot said.

"You know what I mean," Rio said. "Work doesn't count."

"Especially when your job is just sitting at a computer all day," added Ayda.

"Speaking of my job," Elliot said quickly. "How is your gear holding up?"

"Pretty good," Ayda began. "The joints in my staff are a little bit loose, but it'll last me a few more weeks, probably."

"I'll put in an order for one, anyway," said Elliot. "How about your phones? Still in one piece?"

"Yeah, surprisingly," Rio confirmed. "I took a pretty good hit a few days ago right on my pocket, and it doesn't even have a mark on it."

"I haven't taken any hits, but mine's in great condition, too," Ayda said. "I don't know what NAAME made them out of, but they're tough as all hell."

"Heavy, though," Rio added. Ayda shrugged .

"I don't know what they're made of, either," Elliot said. "They won't tell me."

"You sound disappointed," observed Ayda with a grin.

"They're Neo designed, right," asked Rio.

"Yeah," Elliot nodded, ignoring Ayda. "But even that's kinda shady. The rumor is he's a level 8 Genius, but NAAME won't say anything about him. "

"Protecting their assets," Ayda observed.

"Annoyingly," Elliot scoffed.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Speaking of annoying..." Ayda used the Elliot tactic for changing the subject. "Have you heard anything about Silver?"

The mention of that name drew groans from the rest of the table.

"Oh, God. Her," Elliot complained.

"Remind me again why we still want her on the team?" Rio said at almost the same time.

"Waitress," interrupted Elliot in a hushed tone.

Conversation skidded to a halt in a split second. Rio dug out her phone and pretended to check her messages.

"No, I haven't seen it. I'll have to check it out," Ayda said to Elliot in an over-cheery way.

"You should, It's great," Elliot said, mimicking her tone.

In that moment, the waitress arrived, bringing with her the gift of food. Wok and Talk stored ready-made components in the kitchen. They just had to be ordered and assembled. It allowed for speedy service but eliminated the hazards of leaving trays out where the general public could touch them. Chinese fast food with a flair for cleanliness. What's better than that?

There was some pleasant light conversation with the waitress as she handed out the dishes to each recipient. She came and went in a flash, leaving her patrons with amazing smells and stomachs begging to be filled. The moment the coast was clear, Rio picked up her egg roll and turned back to Ayda.

"So," she said. "Why do we want Silver on the team?" She took a bite.

"Because she's strong," Ayda said, fiddling with her rice. "She's a level 9 Electromancer. The numbers alone make her the second strongest Neo in the city."

"She's also a thief," Elliot said before taking an entire wonton from his spoon.

"And I wasn't exactly an upstanding citizen, either, before going hero," countered Ayda.

"Yeah, but you had good intentions," said Rio.

"Sure." Ayda conceded that point. "Look, as I've said before, I'd rather have that kind of power working with us instead of against us."

"How do we even know we can trust her?" Rio asked between bites.

"That's my biggest issue, personally," echoed Elliot.

"Anna still trusts her. That's good enough for me," Ayda said, then sighed. "But, I see where you're coming from. We should probably have another team meeting about it."

"Later," Rio said. "For now, I'm hungry." She punctuated this with a fork full of noodles.

Ayda couldn't argue with that, not that she wanted to. She cut one of the generous pieces of chicken in half. The orange sauce dribbled down the slice. Ayda gathered up one half along with a bit of rice and dug in. The sour sweet of the sauce mixed with the savory fried chicken was a flavor explosion on her tongue. Perhaps not the most healthy thing in the world, but damned if it wasn't delicious.

Conversation died down considerably as they all indulged themselves. Ayda could already feel her food just starting to get cold. The thick sauce was rather terrible when cold. It partially congealed and lost a lot of its sour bite. That couldn't be allowed to happen. So, in lieu of talking to her friends, she scarfed it down.

All the talk about Silver made Ayda idly consider her own classifications. NAAME put active Neos into categories and gave them numbers 1-12 representative of their strength in order to make them easier to understand at a glance. Ayda was a level 10 Exploder, a level 7 Mover, and a level 2 Healer. That defined her powerset as someone who could create explosions of some kind, had enhanced agility and/or reflexes, and healed at an accelerated rate.

The numbers made her the highest ranked Neo in El Puerto. A big part of why she wanted Silver on the team was to combine their rankings. The two most powerful Neos working together would be a massive deterrent for potential ne'er-do-wells. But, she also understood the misgivings of her teammates. Silver was a criminal, after all. That brought with it a lot of baggage. The offer to recruit her wouldn't even exist were she not so strong.

After several minutes of eating, with stomachs nearly full and satisfied, the trio started slowing down. Elliot still had the most food left, but that was mostly because he'd had a boiling hot soup to deal with. Ayda and Rio had a few bites each. Even though she ate there quite often, Ayda never got tired of it.

Three harsh pings cut simultaneously through their relative silence. Both superheroes at the table instantly dug out their phones, while Elliot was a bit slower in doing so. Ayda unlocked her device. There had been a break-in at a mini-mart that had just closed down for the night. Following protocol, Flashbang had sent a message to their hero text group to say he was responding to the situation.

Ayda nodded, but did not react to it further. She placed her phone face-down on the table. A cursory glance over at Rio saw her beginning to type up a reply. Ayda shot out a hand to cover both her thumbs. Rio gave her a confused look.

"Don't baby him," Ayda said.

"I just wanted to check in, see if he needed anything," Rio argued.

"That'll make it look like you think he can't handle it," Elliot chimed in. "I agree with Ayda."

"Okay." Rio put her phone down and Ayda retracted her hand. "I just worry about him, you know? He's so young."

"Yeah, and you're a ripe old twenty-three." Elliot joked.

"Ten years younger than you," Rio jabbed back.

"I know you're worried," Ayda jumped in. "I am, too, but we need to trust him. He can do this, and Flechette is out there if he really needs help. Besides, he's had some awesome teachers."

"Can't argue with that," Rio gave Ayda a sly look. "Anna is pretty great."

Ayda gave her shoulder a playful shove while they both smiled.

"All this talk of teachers just reminded me," Elliot began. "Have you seen the interrogation of that woman who attacked Cooper?"

"Oh, yeah," Ayda said. "I forgot that came out today."

"Why would teachers remind you of that?" Rio asked.

"She's a high school science teacher. I guess that means you didn't watch it," Elliot said. Rio shook her head. "You should, sooner rather than later."

"Alright. Give me a minute." Ayda picked up her phone in one hand to rifle through it. With the other, she produced a pair of white earbuds from her right pocket.

"You're gonna watch it here," Elliot asked, looking around for any nearby people.

"It's just an interrogation, right? As long as we keep the business talk to a minimum, it'll look like one of those stupid cop shows."

"That's fair." Elliot shrugged. "This field work stuff is your domain, not mine, so I'll trust your judgment."

"Thanks."

"You wanna share?" Ayda offered Rio an earbud.

"Sure." Rio took the bud and scooted closer to Ayda until their shoulders touched.

Each girl put a bud in an ear while Ayda navigated her phone. She opened her digital keypad and typed several numbers and letters. This brought her to a secret menu, within which she opened up a folder labeled "Stuff and stuff." Instead of an actual folder, what popped up a text box. She entered a twenty-five digit password. There was a pause while the phone connected before it brought up a long list of case files. Ayda sorted the list by most recently updated and opened the first subfolder, labeled "Shannon Cooley" followed by a case number. Within were a few text documents, and one video. Ayda opened the latter. The screen went black while it loaded. The pause allowed for an opportunity to turn the phone horizontally and place it on the table between herself and Rio. The women bent over to to get a comfortable view, their heads inches apart.

The footage itself has a slightly green tinge to it, likely a fault in the recording. The video opened up first on a view of a dark-haired and well dressed woman sitting behind a table. Hand cuffs with the link fed through a loop hold her to it, but only by one arm. The other was in a sling, with the cuff that would've been around it instead attached to a table leg. One of her legs was also in a cast. She sat alone for a few seconds until a familiar redheaded policewoman entered through a door beneath the camera.

"Shannon Cooley?" The woman asked, placing a manila folder on the table.

"Yes, ma'am," the woman replied, diminutive and quiet.

"My name is Captain Amanda Barnes. I'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Of course," Shannon said. Amanda didn't sit down, but instead walked over to one corner of the table.

"Why don't you start by telling me what happened, in your own words?"

"I don't know. It's... weird," said Shannon slowly.

"Weird how?"

"It's hard to describe." Shannon paused for a second. "I remember what happened, but it feels like I wasn't there, almost like I was watching a movie or something."

"Does it feel like someone else did everything?"

"No. ...Maybe. I don't know."

"Right." Amanda walked back over to the manila folder and flipped it open. She began laying out a few of the papers. "Just being thorough, here. You know what you're in for, right?"

"Yes. I assaulted a superhero," said Shannon simply.

"Why?"

"I don't know!" Shannon blurted. "God, I would never do anything like that. I've never even been in a fight before."

"And yet, you did. I'm here to figure out why." Amanda slid a page toward Shannon. "Do you know the man in this picture?"

"I'd never seen him before yesterday. Your people told me he's a member of the Triad? I didn't even know the Triad were still around. I thought Pulse got rid of them."

"They aren't what they once were, but they still cause trouble," explained Amanda. "So, you've never seen Wei Lao before? You weren't trying to defend him, or keep Bronze Knight from taking him?"

"No, I wasn't working for him. I don't like criminals. I think they should all be brought to justice. Including myself, I guess." She sunk down in her chair a bit.

Amanda slid another paper atop the photo of Wei Lao. "This is a travel itinerary. You just got back from a two week trip to New Orleans."

"I did. My husband and I go on separate vacations every year, just so we can get away from our crazy lives for a bit."

"Why don't you tell me a little bit about that?"

"Sure, I—" Shannon thought for a moment, but her face fell into a look of confusion. "I can't remember. Oh God, I don't remember anything!" She leaned forward, looking over the itinerary. "I definitely went there, I know I did, but I don't remember." She looked at the officer. "You have to believe me. I went to New Orleans, I did! Ask my family, they'll tell you."

"I believe you, Mrs. Cooley," Amanda said, hands up in a placating motion.

"Do you have my phone? I would've taken pictures."

"You don't remember anything about your trip at all?"

"There must be pictures on my phone. I'll show them to you if you give me my phone." Shannon reached out a hand.

Amanda hesitated for a poignant few breaths before digging through the manila folder. She extracted a plastic bag containing an older model smartphone. A zip of the seal and upturn of the bottom dropped it into Shannon's grasp.

With her one good hand, Shannon began flipping through the pictures. Her motions began in a calm fashion, yet grew almost instantaneously into feverish motions of her thumb. She hunched her shoulders and drew further forward. Her head shook, her breaths were short. The expression she wore was scrunched up and tight.

"I don't remember this. I don't remember taking these pictures. I... I don't remember."

"Not even the pictures you're in?"

"No! I don't even know where this is." She showed Amanda a picture before going back to her frantic search. "I don't know who that guy is. I don't remember eating this. I think this is my hotel room, but I've never been there in my life." She looked at Amanda. "Officer, I don't know what's happening!"

"Well, this is New Orleans," Amanda said. "Are you sure you didn't party a little too hard?"

"No, of—of course not! I don't drink, or do drugs, or anything! My kids—my students—will tell you that." A hollow look washed over her. "Oh God, my son!"

"Your family is safe," Amanda said.

"Are they here? Can I see them?"

"Not yet, I'm sorry, not while the investigation is still so new. We can't risk—"

"Please, I just want to see my son. I want to tell him I'm okay, and that he shouldn't worry."

"You can't talk to anyone outside of your lawyer and the officers cleared for this case. We can't risk any sort of corroboration."

"I'm not saying anything to you until you let me see my son!" Shannon slammed her phone face down on the table. It audibly cracked, even over the surveillance camera speaker. She looked at her phone, and then to the shattered glass it left behind, both with astonishment. "What? How did I... I'm not that strong. Officer, I don't know what's going on! You have to help me!"

Amanda began gathering up the evidence, including the now broken phone. "I'm going to talk this over with my superiors. You clearly need some time to cool down."

"No, wait, you have to help me!" Shannon said, but Amanda was already on her way out. "Please, don't go! You have to help me, please!"

The door opened and shut, leaving Shannon alone in the room. A few tears dotted the table before she cradled head in her arms upon it. She sobbed openly, entire body convulsing while she muttered, still begging Amanda to help her.

The phone screen cut to black, and forcibly returned to the case file folder.

Ayda stared silently at it for a moment before taking her earphone out. She sat back. A glance at Rio saw her doing the same. The taller woman blinked a few times and took a deep breath.

"That was..." Rio trailed off. "Wow, that got intense. Not at all what I was expecting."

"Yeah, same," echoed Ayda.

"That was pretty much my reaction, too," Elliot said before chomping on his last wonton.

"Any idea what happened," asked Rio. Elliot shook his head instead of talking with a mouth full of food.

"Drugs?" posited Ayda. "She seemed pretty against that sort of thing, though, so I'm not sure."

"Toxicology confirms that," Elliot said after swallowing. "She didn't even have any caffeine in her system."

"No coffee? Blasphemous," Ayda joked.

"She was surprised by her strength at the end, there. Maybe it was a late manifestation of powers?" Rio said.

"That's probably part of it, but I've never heard of someone losing their memory just because they got powers," Elliot said.

"Maybe that is her power. Kinda like a reverse Learner, but instead of learning stuff really fast, she forgets them," said Rio.

"That'd be a shitty power," Ayda said.

"We've seen worse," Elliot countered. Ayda just shrugged a shoulder. "She'll probably have to get a psych eval as part of the investigation. We'll have to wait and see."

"Lame," Ayda faked a whine, punctuating it by finishing off her soda. "I'll have to follow up with Amanda later."

"Please," said Rio. "She can probably shed some light on this."

"That's what I'm hoping for," agreed Ayda.

Their respective meals were more or less gone, at that point. They finished up, split the bill three ways, then departed the establishment. Watching the interrogation put an unexpected downer on the mood, so most of this was done with little in the way of conversation. Instead, Ayda was left wondering what exactly had happened, and what the implications of whatever it was would be. Thankfully, she had an upcoming patrol to worry about. No sense in wasting too much energy on Shannon Cooley if the specifics of her situation were still unknown.