Nick wandered through a section of the park, whistling a random tune.
His earbud came to life. “Nick. Stop that infernal noise before I shoot you with your own dart,” Inez threatened.
He paused, then started humming the theme to Jaws. Inez gave an exaggerated sigh. Nick was sure she was rolling her eyes. He glanced at the tree she was hiding in, even though there was no chance of seeing her through the thick leaves.
Finally Ethan rounded a bend, jogging towards him. Nick smiled brightly, waving at the man who could manipulate sound waves.
Ethan spotted Nick and slowed, waving back as they got within talking distance. “Hello!”
“Ethan! Fancy meeting you here,” Nick said, still smiling. There was another jogger behind Ethan; no one Nick recognized but who would probably freak out if Ethan collapsed in front of her.
“Are you here to jog, too?” Ethan asked. “It’s a great park for jogging. Very peaceful.”
“Nah, I’m just here for a stroll,” Nick shrugged.
“Alone?”
Nick moved slightly, making Ethan turn away from Inez’s tree. “Yep.”
“Want to race me? A good race is the best way to exercise,” Ethan told him.
“I would, but it appears we are heading in opposite directions,” Nick said. “Racing is simply impossible.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s a shame,” Ethan said. He stepped back, letting the other jogger pass between them. “Hey, Nick, I was wondering…”
Nick checked the other jogger for earbuds and saw none. “Yes?” He wondered what maniac in this day and age went jogging without music. More importantly, it meant she would hear it if Ethan collapsed.
“Is Emmy, like, dating anyone?” Ethan asked nervously.
Nick focused his full attention on Ethan, the jogger forgotten. “No, why?”
Ethan took another step back. “Well, she’s pretty cute, and if she isn’t, I dunno, maybe, could I get her number?”
Nick continued to give Ethan his full attention. Ethan was looking everywhere but at Nick.
“I mean, I know we’re in rival teams, but that doesn’t mean we have to all be rivals, right?” Ethan tried.
Inez’s voice came through the earbud. “He doesn’t know about the plot. He can’t. No point in shooting him.”
Nick sighed, annoyed. “Ethan, you’re a moron. Emmy is more likely to fall in love with a plate of hot wings than with you. But I suppose, free will being what it is, I’ll let her tell you that.” He pulled the phone out of his pocket and looked at Ethan expectantly.
Inez laughed.
Ethan beamed, pulling out his phone. “Thanks!”
The number was copied over, Ethan thanked Nick again, and they parted ways.
Inez laughed again. “You want me to shoot him, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Nick growled.
“Don’t worry. If he hurts our baby sister we’ll do way worse than shoot him, and he knows it,” she said. “If he didn’t, your death glare definitely sent the message.”
Nick walked towards the tree. “How old is he, anyway?”
“He’s twenty, a month younger than me,” she answered, climbing down.
“Hmm.”
“Don’t worry, we might not survive the day,” she said cheerfully. “That means tomorrow he might be back to not having her number.”
“Hmm.”
“We could still catch up to him and shoot him,” Inez pointed out.
Nick took a deep breath. “No, it’s fine,” he said. “We’ll leave it be. Emmy can decide for herself if she’ll date him or not. He’s not a bad guy, just an idiot. If he ever comes over for dinner I’m making something completely inedible, though.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
----------------------------------------
Emmy followed Victor through the gym, wondering if they could play a game of tennis before heading back home. This gym had a really cool tennis court on the roof. She had a membership, all superhero teams got free memberships to this gym chain, but she’d only been in here twice. Once to check it out, and once to play tennis with Inez.
Inez wasn’t a match for Emmy when it came to sports. But Victor might be. Not in speed, duh, but being able to fly gave him an advantage in maneuverability.
Before she could ask, they spotted Oscar getting off a treadmill. Oscar saw them and waved, pulling off his headphones.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Hey,” he called. “Good timing. Spot me?”
“Sure,” Victor said, following him to a bench. “If you don’t mind, we’d like to ask you some questions.”
“Ask away,” Oscar said, sliding weights onto a bar.
“Did you know that Catherine and Rhea are going to blow up our building this afternoon?” Emmy asked.
Oscar turned to her, a worried look on his face. “Is that what they’ve been planning? I didn’t know it was something to harm you.”
Emmy looked into his deep brown eyes and… felt her brain dissolve. “Yep.”
“You knew they were planning something?” Victor asked, after clearing his throat.
“Sort of,” Oscar said, breaking eye contact with Emmy. “They’ve been working on something privately. I hoped it was just something to make Petra stand out, but they were way too secretive about it.” As he spoke, he slid under the bar and gripped it.
“So you don’t want to kill us?” Emmy asked, trying to act like his muscles weren’t the most fascinating thing she’d seen all week.
“No, absolutely not,” he said, arms moving up and down.
“Would you help us stop them?” Victor asked.
“I’m not sure what I could do,” Oscar admitted. “I don’t know anything about what they plan, so I wouldn’t know the first thing about stopping them.”
The last few words sounded slurred to Emmy, and she realized she was speeding up. She forced her mind back to normal speed, focusing on the far wall. The very boring, bland wall. Yes, that is what she needed to look at.
“Good point,” Victor said thoughtfully. “But, if we found a way for you to help us, would you? That’s the important thing.”
Oscar slid the bar back into place and sat up. “I think… No. Sorry.”
Emmy looked at him, shocked. “Why not?”
“I have to be loyal to my team,” he shrugged. “Sure, I don’t think hurting you guys is good, but if it’s what they think is best for us then it probably is.”
“It’s not hurting,” Victor said coldly. “They’re murdering us.”
Oscar shrugged. “I’m not denying it, but do you have any proof?”
“Shawn said so,” Emmy told him.
“That’s not proof,” Oscar said, focusing his gaze on her.
Forming thoughts was difficult, but she managed a coherent response. “Yeah it is.”
“We believe it is,” Victor said sharply, reminding her he existed.
Oscar looked at him. “It’s good you have such faith in your team manager. That loyalty is to be commended. I have that same faith in Rhea, and my loyalty will not waver without tangible proof.”
Victor glared at him. “Fine. Thank you for your time.” He turned and walked back towards the stairs.
Emmy flashed a smile at Oscar. “Bye!” she said, following Victor.
Victor glanced at her, annoyed and amused. “Well, now I know why you volunteered to come with me,” he muttered.
“Why?” Emmy asked, radiating innocence.
“Seriously, if you’d been holding up a sign that says ‘I think you’re hot’ it couldn’t have been more obvious.”
Emmy huffed. “Well he is.”
“He’s also a jerk who won’t help stop us from being killed,” Victor pointed out.
“Yeah, that does kinda make him less hot.”
Victor smiled. “I wonder how Inez will react when I tell her…”
“Please, we spent a whole weekend a couple months ago rating the hotness of all the superheroes,” Emmy said. “She knows Oscar is in my top twenty.”
“Really?” He paused. “So, where am I on her-“
“Look, they have Snickers! I’m gonna get one!” She ran to the vending machine.
----------------------------------------
Shawn strolled into the small cafe a block and a half from Copper’s building, hands in his coat pockets.
Paul was sitting at a table in the corner, reading a book. Shawn went to the counter and ordered a coffee, watching him. Paul glanced up as he turned a page and spotted Shawn. He slid a bookmark into his book, staring absently out the window as he picked up his tea.
Shawn took his time putting cream and sugar into his coffee, giving the teleporter plenty of time to escape. Paul stayed, acting like he hadn’t seen Shawn at all. Finally Shawn walked over, taking the seat opposite him.
“What happened?” Paul asked without preamble.
Shawn took a sip of coffee. “Catherine and Rhea are going to blow up our building this afternoon,” he said. “With us inside.”
“Proof?”
“None.”
“Damn.” Paul sighed. “You’re sure?”
“Yesterday for me we confronted them,” Shawn said. “They didn’t deny it. They want our sponsorships and revenge for Pax.”
Paul finished his tea and stared into the cup. “Catherine is unhinged. More now than ever. She dragged A- Petra in against her will. Been getting lots of packages. Rhea just says we shouldn’t worry about it.”
“Worry,” Shawn suggested. “What can Petra do?”
“She’s an invisible,” Paul said. “Organic, so, yeah.”
Shawn sat up, looking at him intently. “Really? Not some kind of technopath?”
“Really. She hates being invisible.”
“Well, she’s walking around blind, of course she hates it,” Shawn said. “Catherine is forcing her to do this?”
Paul sighed. “They… really wanted the name back. But I don’t know. I’m debating bailing, taking Ali with me. Try to hide. Get away from the manipulation.”
Shawn watched him. “Did Catherine force the name change, too?”
Paul nodded.
“How do the other guys feel about all this?”
“Ethan barely notices. He knows Petra isn’t happy, but he thinks it’s more nervousness about fighting,” Paul said. “Honestly I’m not sure they’ve had a full conversation. Oscar at least realizes her power isn’t a good one for fighting, but he- If Rhea told him to jump off a bridge he would. Without hesitation. He questions none of her decisions.”
Shawn took another sip of coffee, letting the new information sink in. Paul got up and gave his empty cup to the woman behind the counter.
“Will you help us kill them?” Shawn asked softly as Paul came back.
Paul sat down and picked up his book, opening it again. “Yes. As long as Ali is left out of it.”
“We’ll have a battle this afternoon at four,” Shawn told his coffee. “Catherine will watch our building from the bagel shop across the street.”
“Think they organized the fight?” Paul asked his bookmark.
“Possibly.”
“If they did, Rhea will be watching you to let Catherine know when you arrive and leave.”
“Smart.”
“I can get Rhea into the fight if she’s there. I don’t want to touch Catherine.”
“Fair.”
“If you kill them both and go to trial I’ll vouch for you.”
Shawn finished off his coffee and got up. “Thanks.”
Paul turned a page as Shawn walked away. “Good luck.”