Emily stepped out of the building next, wearing tight pants, knee-high combat boots, and a long-sleeve thin hoodie over her pink hair. She too wore a mask, a pink one. We heroes didn’t pick names, but the public loved to give us them anyways. The hero suits were added after the first round of heroes in the beginning. People feared what they didn’t understand. So, the costumes became a safety necessity.
Cops surrounded Leon as he set the men down, then raced off, taking Emily with him. Some cops were on our side, and some were still suspicious. Giving statements or being taken to the station wasn’t the best idea.
Not fast enough to catch up with them, I jumped to headquarters but five minutes in the future.
“I can’t believe I did that.” Emily’s high-pitched excited voice echoed down the hall of the training room.
“You did great. Just gotta practice your aim.” I walked in as Leon rubbed the back of his head.
“Vincent! I just did my first real hero work. Like, I got this rocking outfit and everything.” She rushed up to me and did a spin. If the hardening in my jeans was anything to go by, I liked what I saw.
“She took out two guards holding guns to the hostages. Tossed computers and various things at them after ripping the guns away with her thoughts,” Leon added as he lay on the training mat to stretch. I glanced from him to my love, and the bit of cheeks beneath her mask turned pink.
“You’re a natural.” I wrapped my fingers around her waist, tugging her close.
“It feels nice to belong and be useful.”
“I want to hear every detail,” I said, and she pressed her lips to mine in response.
“More kissing couples. Great.” A young man with black hair strolled out of the elevators.
“Hi, AJ.” Emily eased back, but her palms flattened against my chest.
“Don’t worry, kid. It’ll be your turn soon.” Leon shrugged and AJ scoffed.
“Not if your wife and the others keep crashing my dates,” he accused with his finger pointed to the floor above. Perhaps Lilith and the others were here. Leon raised his hands in surrender. No one, not even Leon, could talk his wife out of crashing AJ’s dates. I’d heard the stories from future AJ that Lilith declared any woman who couldn’t deal with her, didn’t deserve him. He did find a mate, and they were always touching in some way. Holding hands, sitting on top of each other, kissing, snuggling. As much as he joked about the PDA now, he did just as much in my time.
“I’m not needed for anything else, right?” Emily shot Leon a look, and he shook his head.
“I’m gonna change, then we can head out. I wanna celebrate or do something. I’m a total badass now.” She pecked me on the cheek, then scurried off to the showers and locker room.
“You’re the future guy, right?” Leon hopped up, then leaned against a treadmill. His brown eyes scanned me for a second with an emotionless expression.
“Yeah.”
“I used to think my powers were the worst after hurting my friend. But you and Phillip, I don’t envy either of you.” Yeah, I didn’t envy me either, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Yeah. Guess if you need anything in the future, I got your back. Heroes help each other, past, present, and future.” He gave me a lift of his chin as a goodbye and, slowly for him, walked to the elevator. I waited silently in the training room, completely lost in thought. I had walked through every hall, into every closet of Terratrex, and found nothing. Phillip wasn’t lying when he said they locked up the information about the satellite. Days passed and I had no plan. My gut twisted with every thought of a future without her.
“All clean. Can we go somewhere? Somewhere fun, like oh, maybe the roaring twenties or something? I noticed all those era costumes before; I bet we could find something cool from those racks.” Emily nearly skipped over to me, her green eyes bright like the forest on a summer’s day. It was risky to take her into the past, but the attire at my hero apartment would camouflage us enough to get away with it.
“Anything for you.” I wanted to spend time with her, and I didn’t care when that happened.
“Awesome!” She latched onto my waist as I visualized my apartment. When the tingles subsided, we opened our eyes to the dark space. I walked to turn on a light when the bathroom door opened and someone walked out.
I nudged Emily to my side, ready to fight, when my heart stopped.
“No need for theatrics, Vincent. I’m only here to talk.” Chasity. My soon to be ex-wife Chasity walked to my bed and sat on the edge. I turned the kitchen lights on in a daze.
“I signed your papers, but I want the apartment and money. I deserve it for putting up with you.” She flicked something off her pale blue dress with her dark-colored fingernail. A tiny peep came from the apartment door, and like a lightning strike, it hit me that both women were in my apartment. Seeing Chasity, here, in an apartment she shouldn’t have known about or had the PIN to the pin pad, short-circuited my thoughts.
“Well, how about that? I never guessed you had it in you to be a homewrecker, but I guess that Goody Two-Shoes persona had to break sometime. Well done, sister.”
Chapter Thirty
Emily
Somehow, I remained on my feet as Chasity looked me up and down without a single hint of emotion.
