They might consider it a victory, but I hadn’t gotten the signature that would change our lives. If I had been firmer or called her bluff, perhaps she’d have pulled out a pen and signed on the dotted line. They celebrated the lack of defeat, but it still wasn’t the victory we wanted. I appreciated their support, but for the moment, it felt hollow.
Her words echoed in the back of my head.Otherselves. She considered herself clever, referencing my alter ego. Not even Carmen LaToya understood that she hadmetthe alter ego. With that, I decided tonight would be another opportunity to remove the mask.
Wyatt: Friend, are you okay?
Orion: What he said.
Janet: He’s got a case of ginger-vitis.
Drew: How do you know about him?
Orion: Who?
Janet: Orion, what kind of conspiracy theorist are you?
Wyatt: Friend Drew, we shall go to the dentist together!
Janet: Wyatt…
Orion: Wyatt…
Drew: Wyatt…
They meant well… even Janet. I had turned down another opportunity to go on patrol with them. I’d need to say yes the next time, or their questions would turn to inquiry. After my disastrous meeting with LaToya, I needed alone time. Every once in a while, we’d find a villain breaking out of jail or threatening to overthrow the city. Most nights, it’d be the three of us gabbing as we waited for a sign of wrongdoing.
Hellion didn’t have that problem.
Midnight had come and gone. Southland didn’t fall asleep with the rest of Vanguard. The city streets were still busy as people rushed to their second jobs. For the rest of the city, bad guys waited for the sun to set. In Southland, it made no difference. Street lamps struggled to illuminate the shadows where bad things happened. It wasn’t the shadows I was concerned with. I wanted the bad guys willing to step into the light.
I glanced down and checked where my uniform hid the gash across my chest. Hiding in the doorway of an apartment building, I pressed my hand against the wound—a streak of red spread across my glove. For a second, my suit flickered the same crimson, making the blood all but vanish.
“That’ll leave a mark,” I hissed. It didn’t hurt as much as my ribs, which didn’t bode well. It could have been worse. At least I hadn’t been skewered on the assassin’s katana. I’d need to see my tailor and ask about something blade-proof.
Even as I admitted to the pain, I couldn’t help but smile. The bounty on my head had continued to climb. I had gone from local bandits wanting a piece of me to international assassins flying in. How long before the number reached a point where I’d have to fear Janet turning me in?
“Somebody help!”
I wouldn’t die tonight, at least not from this. One assassin in jail didn’t end my work. Closing my eyes, I letmy powers ripple outward. Colors shifted until it appeared as if I were an old man wearing a sports coat. As long as I maintained a modicum of concentration, I’d look like an average man going on his evening walk.
Booker: Ms. Keyes’s files are… thorough.
My phone read the text in a robotic voice that didn’t do Booker justice. After Ricardo’s office, we exchanged numbers, and I made an awkward exit with the promise of meeting tomorrow. Despite my numerous blunders, I couldn’t help but smile at the memory of his hand on my arm. Even bleeding and exhausted, my shoulders slumped, and I breathed easily.
Drew: You were the overachiever in school, weren’t you?
I wanted a fight, a chance to slam my fist into a bad guy’s jaw. The assassin had been a fun tryst, but it only made me want more. It wasn’t bloodlust, or at least I didn’t think so. Every time the cops carted away a bad guy, I felt as if I was doing something for the city. Even if they didn’t know me by name, I wanted to make a difference. Southland needed Hellion as much as I needed them.
Booker: Valedictorian. Captain of the debate team. Peer mediation counselor. Shot put champion.
Drew: Now you’re showing off.
Booker: Funny, that’s what my teachers said.
He had a disarming charisma. Even as the robotic voice read his texts, I smiled. I still wasn’t sure why Ricardo had picked me. His ‘under the radar’ comment didn’t seem useful for interrogation. I wondered if he picked me because Orion would have turned it into a slog of conspiracy theories, and Wyatt would have given away our alter egos?
I froze as I spotted an elderly lady standing under a tree. Despite the warm air, she wore a housecoat while she poked at a branch with her broom. Vanguard had a growing number of villains, yet the loudest cries for help still came from people with animals stuck in trees. It wasn’t breaking bones, but I couldn’t ignore a citizen in need.
As I approached, I let the color wash away from my suit, removing my disguise until it was a dark crimson. I didn’t need to scare granny with blood-drenched leather.
