Shawn stood in the sleet, barely able to see his team as they battled a crazy cryomancer. He shivered, wishing he’d worn a waterproof jacket.
A beam of light pierced the night sky, catching the cryomancer’s attention. As she turned towards Inez, Emmy ran up behind her and pulled a plastic shopping bag over her head. Immediately the temperature rose as the woman panicked, focusing her attention on getting the bag off.
The rain didn’t stop, but at least the water seeping through Shawn’s jacket wasn’t freezing any more.
Nick fired a dart, hitting the woman in the arm. Victor caught her as she passed out, getting the bag all the way off. He looked around, clearly not sure what to do.
Shawn pulled out his phone as the team converged on Victor. He called Chief Palo, sneezing as the phone rang. A gust of wind blew the hat off his head, in case he wasn’t miserable enough already.
He just wanted to go home and sleep.
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Victor rubbed his face, trying to focus on his tablet. He hated night jobs; they always left him exhausted the next day. Still, at least he’d made it to breakfast. Shawn hadn’t.
As he read the news, something about a supervillain team gathering members in the next state over, Shawn stumbled down the stairs. Inez and Emmy, sitting next to Victor, paused their conversation about makeup to watch him.
Nick wandered out of the kitchen. He grinned at Shawn. “Dude. You look like hell.”
“Thanks,” Shawn grumbled, sniffling.
“You ok?” Victor asked.
“Just the flu. I’ll live.”
Nick looked delighted. “I have just the thing for that! I got this kimchi recipe that-”
“No,” Shawn snapped. “All I want is tomato soup. And coffee.”
“Can we have tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch?” Emmy asked. “It’s freezing outside, soup would be epic.”
“Sure,” Nick shrugged. “I’ll have to get tomatoes… I wonder how hard it would be to infuse basil and garlic into an uncut tomato.” His eyes unfocused as he pondered molecules or something. Victor never pretended to know what Nick was thinking.
Shawn sneezed. “Inez. Go to the store and get a couple cans of tomato soup.”
“Sure,” she said, smirking at Nick.
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“Oh, can I go too?” Emmy asked. “I know the best cheese for that.”
“Why not.”
Victor got to his feet. “I’ll go with you. If I stay here I’ll fall asleep.”
“I’m going too,” Nick announced, sounding offended. “There are a couple things I need, and besides I’m the best driver.”
Shawn raised an eyebrow at Inez.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t get anything crazy,” she promised as they started to the garage.
“Thank you.” He poured himself a cup of coffee. “Oh, Victor?”
Victor paused, looking back at him. “Yes?”
“Take the team phone. Just in case.”
Victor almost argued that they’d had a fight seven hours ago; Paul’s team would take care of the next one. But there was no harm in carrying around a cell phone. He nodded, heading to the shelf where it was kept.
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Inez glared at Nick. He slid the packet of pickled ginger back onto the shelf.
“What even is that?” Victor asked, squinting at it. “Why is it pink?”
“Pickled ginger,” Nick said. “Very healthy. I don’t know why it’s pink.”
Emmy came running down the aisle, holding a tube of mascara. “This is the stuff I wore last night,” she told Inez. “It’s totally waterproof.”
“Oh cool,” Inez said, taking it. She checked the price. “Seriously? This is way too cheap to actually be good.”
“I mean, you saw it on me. It works.”
“Yeah, but…” She trailed off, hearing Shawn’s ringtone.
Victor frowned, pulling the team phone out of his pocket. It was ringing. They all stared at it blankly.
“Shouldn’t someone answer?” Nick finally asked.
The call timed out. Victor shrugged.
“Too late now,” he said, and was about to put it back when it started ringing again.
Inez took the phone and answered. “Hello?”
“Vines?” It was Chief Palo’s voice.
“Yes, this is Vines.”
“We need you to handle a bank robbery on Main and Piper. Reports say the robbers are a technomancer and a teleporter,” he told her.
“I’m sorry, sir, but we handled a fight last night,” she said. “You need to contact Spade about this.”
“I’m afraid not. They had a fight four hours ago.”
Nick took the phone. “What, seriously?”
“A shifter and an invisible got into a high-end jewelry store early this morning. It’s your turn,” Palo said apologetically.
Inez looked at their cart full of groceries. “We’ll be there in under twenty minutes,” she promised.
“Thank you.” He ended the call.
“Should we call Shawn?” Victor asked.
“Nah,” Nick said, pushing the cart towards the checkout. “We can handle one little bank robbery without him.”
“Yeah,” Emmy cheered. “We got this!”
Inez automatically slid the phone into her purse, following them. “Weird to get called twice in one day.”
“It is,” Victor said slowly.
She looked at him. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing,” he said. He smiled at her. “There’s no way they’re connected, right?”
“Probably not. There’s always a rise in crime in December,” she shrugged.
“Right,” he said, taking her hand. “It’s just coincidence.”