by Drew Hayes
“An afternote. Do not think yourself safe beyond these walls. Speak to no one of this place, or of me. Ever. And should I require another delivery, I encourage you to continue your streak of punctuality. I am far less hospitable with those who waste my time.”
They drove out of the cave so fast that the truck sustained a three-foot scratch on the left side as it scraped along the narrow passage. No one said a word of complaint. They’d have jammed the gas to fly into traffic rather than return to that cave.
Unless the money was good enough, of course.
Tori had never been much for social niceties. She hadn’t received enough invitations to know what one brought to a board game night, let alone a board game night where four of the members thought they were secretly watching over a civilian, who knew they were actually superheroes and was in fact herself a villain, as was a fellow attendee. That made Chloe, the barista trying to keep her power a secret, the most normal of the entire bunch. If she were more personable, Tori would have resolved to start making less complicated friends. Sadly, even in a world with magic and aliens, some things were still impossible.
In the end, it was Beverly who took charge. She chose a bottle of wine, picked up a cheap card game about building the ideal sandwich, and directed everyone to dress like they were going out to a bar. After Tori emerged still clad in her overalls, Beverly marched her into the bedroom and picked out a better outfit. Granted, this ensemble was still a t-shirt and jeans, but at least it lacked any noticeable oil stains.
Beverly herself had gone for a simple green summer dress, savoring the last of the season’s warmth while she could. She made it look designer, despite coming from a big-box store on special, and it wasn’t merely the few sewing tweaks she’d made. That was just Beverly. Something about her seemed to class up everything she touched.
It was a talent that was apparently rubbing off on Chloe, who’d donned a shirt and blouse combo far more ambitious than anything Tori had seen her wear before. Then again, she mostly saw Chloe at work and around the house, so perhaps she’d always had a fashionable streak.
Armed with wine, a new game, and appropriate outfits, they walked the short distance down the hall and knocked twice. Instantly, the door swung open to reveal Ellie, who clapped her hands in excitement at their arrival.
“Perfect timing! Kyle just ran out to grab us some beers, and Austin is grilling on the balcony.”
“Which leaves me free to mix the cocktails.” The shortest dweller of the apartment appeared from around the corner of the fridge as they made their way inside. He gave a deep, performative bow as greeting. “Ladies, I’m Ike Fulton, and you may think of me as your personal bartender, butler, and whatever else you may require.”
Without so much as bothering to aim, Ellie took the sprayer hose from their kitchen faucet, turned on the water, and blasted Ike across his side with cold water, eliciting a sharp shriek. “Go change, and we’ll try that again,” she replied in the face of his withering glare.
Ike stayed planted for a few seconds longer, then assumed a casual grin as he trudged, chuckling, off to his room.
As he left, Ellie began helping Beverly unload. “Sorry about Ike. He’s not a bad friend—you can always count on him when shit gets real—but he has a nasty habit of coming on way too strong up front.”
“Interesting choice for a roommate,” Beverly noted. She was gently broaching the subject, carefully trying to set Ellie up to give them whatever backstory this apartment had concocted. It was the sort of delicate move that only she had a shot at pulling off.
“Yeah, that’s a really good point. Why do you all live together, anyway? Me and the girls bunked up after my apartment got torched in the Ridge City Riots, but I’m guessing that’s not the case for you all. You’ve got that comfortable vibe that comes from knowing people for years.” Chloe paused to look around the apartment, set up very similar to their own. This spared her the terrified expression on Ellie’s face: she was clearly not yet prepared to spin a backstory, let alone face an onslaught of questions.
Seriously, how were they so bad at this part of the job? Based on all the research Tori had spent her afternoon doing, they were proving to be extremely competent at every other aspect of being capes. Honestly, if she weren’t a secret villain hiding her identity, Tori would have definitely called it out by now.
Lucky for them, Beverly was more skilled at such operations.
“I bet you’re all old friends. Chloe is right, you all seem at ease around each other. Of course, you don’t have to tell us if we guessed wrong. I don’t want to repay your hospitality by prying.”
The visible fear left Ellie’s face as she recovered, thanks in no small part to Beverly buying her some breathing room. With a smile steadier than the rest of her expression, Ellie nodded. “You got it. Old friends, went to college together, and we decided to apply for jobs in the same town. Everyone got hired, so we opted to split rent and keep costs low.”
Perfect. Vague, with just enough detail to address all their major questions. It was the kind of story that wouldn’t hold together well if poked, but so long as they—
“That’s awesome!” Chloe declared excitedly. “Where did you all grow up? What college did you attend? Oh, and where are you working? If it’s downtown, you’re in the same boat as me and Tori, though Beverly here gets to sit around and work from home.”
It was hard to be mad at Chloe for acting friendly, especially since she thought they were there to make new friends. Mercifully for Ellie, no sooner was the question asked than the front door opened once more and Kyle appeared, holding two cases of beer. Given that his ability was super-speed, Tori was going to be annoyed if those things were warm, though she should probably assume they’d all been shaken up in transport.
“Kyle! What good timing. Why don’t you tell Chloe all about our college and work experience? You always remember things better than the rest of us.”
Not exactly a subtle handoff, but to his credit, Kyle kicked into gear as soon as he understood the situation. “It all starts when I’m at my Intro to Calc class during freshman year, and I hear someone muttering curse words to themselves while staring at the book. He was saying what I was feeling, so I tossed over a greeting. That was the first day I met Ike—”
As it turned out, Kyle spun a nice yarn. He told a very convincing tale of four friends meeting, bonding, and ultimately setting off for a new adventure together. It held together well enough that Tori suspected large chunks were actually true, just with certain details changed. From what she gathered, they’d known each other for years. The exception to that was Kyle and Austin, who had apparently grown up together. Whether that was fully accurate or not, she definitely got the impression they had known one another longer.
By the end of Kyle’s story, almost everyone had gotten set up in the living room. Tori, Beverly, and Chloe were on a couch together while Ellie and Kyle selected kitchen chairs that had been moved in to surround a coffee table. Some board game about selectively blocking rivers to irrigate a valley had been preemptively arranged, but they were ignoring it until the time to play arrived.
Just as Kyle finished up the yarn, Ike emerged from his room in a new outfit that was near identical to the old, only dry, and helped himself to a beer. “As I was saying, the name is Ike Fulton, and it’s...” Ike trailed off, looking to Ellie, who smiled sweetly. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Sorry if I came on a little strong earlier.”
“You should hear what some of the customers say when they come in drunk,” Chloe muttered. “At least you were offering refreshments.”
“Speaking of refreshments, looks like Austin is bringing in our first haul.” Ellie pointed to the balcony, where they could see the hulking man carrying a sizable tray of food.
Steam was pouring off a few items, slightly obscuring Austin’s vision as he maneuvered for the door. He made it inside from the balcony, blowing away the steam so he could see clearly. “Grub is almost ready
, but it needs to rest or you’re getting scalded.” As he began to head toward the kitchen, Austin surveyed the room fully, catching sight of their couch full of guests for the first time. Without warning, his eyes went wide and his steady steps turned suddenly clumsy.
This was a moment Tori would look back on and wonder, could things have gone differently? A little to the left or right, one iota more observant, and the night wouldn’t have turned out the way it did. In the end, such thoughts were little more than amusing distractions. There was no little to the left or right. Instead, Austin plunged his foot directly under a small section of the living room rug. In trying to take a step, he yanked up on the rug his other foot was holding down, causing him to fall face-first, sending his tray of sizzling hot meat flying through the air.
For the second time that week, Tori found herself staring down an oncoming projectile that should be less than an annoyance, yet because of those around her, she was going to have to risk injury. She shifted forward, trying to put herself between Beverly and Chloe. Heavy as that tray looked, the heat from the food wouldn’t bother her. The others might get burned if they were splashed by grease in the wrong spot. It was a noble instinct; however, also an unnecessary one.
What Tori had forgotten was that they were not merely having dinner with neighbors. They were dining with secret capes. And like everyone else who was committed enough to that job to join the AHC, they had instincts of their own. Kyle was there in a literal blur, putting himself between the food and the guests. Ike reacted nearly as quickly, making a motion with his hand that caused the laden tray to vanish, then reappear just before slamming into a wall ten feet away. The impact left a small crater in the brick, and Tori was suddenly very glad she hadn’t had to take the brunt of such a blow. How strong was Austin to fling something like that purely by accident?
As Austin pulled himself to his feet, silence dominated the room. Ike and Kyle were frozen, Ellie was trying to casually disperse the small flickers of energy she’d built up to block the tray if needed, and the guests were sitting on the couch, unsure of how to proceed. At this point, the jig was pretty much up. Unless they could think of some way to convince these four they hadn’t realized what had just happened. Perhaps they could blame nerves or stress.
“Holy crap! I know those powers. You four are the New Science Sentries!” Chloe, of course, was the one to blurt this out.
Kyle surveyed the room, the shocked faces, the dripping meat along a broken wall, and his clearly caught-off-guard team. Silently, he went to the fridge, pulled out two beers, and opened them both. “Well, shit.”
Chapter 17
Through the history of humankind, metas included, there were doubtlessly other parties that had gotten off to worse starts faster than theirs—but not many.
Since Tori’s goal had been to walk in and out, leaving as little impression as impossible, accidentally becoming privy to the New Science Sentries’ secret identities was a significant complication. Playing dumb was out, thanks to Chloe, who’d finally caught on. It was interesting. Chloe wasn’t stupid by any means, yet it had still taken her that long to figure everything out. Tori hypothesized that it might be an issue of perspective. One didn’t look for hidden capes everywhere unless they needed to—but regardless, that was a point for later consideration.
“Ahem. Since we’ve just been outed as superheroes, now might be a good time for fawning and swooning.” Ike waggled his eyebrows when everyone looked at him, earning a few mild laughs. It wasn’t a lot, but it broke the unbearable tension that had fallen much like the towering Austin, who was finally climbing to his feet.
“I am so sorry. My carelessness could have gotten you all injured.” He turned from the guests to his team, genuine remorse etched into his handsome face. “You all behaved perfectly. Protecting people always comes first. When we make the report, I’ll accept full responsibility for the team’s actions, and any consequence that comes with it.”
The mood of the party was dropping precipitously, which was fine by Tori. At this rate, they were going to be free before having to roll a single dice or make more than a modicum of small talk. The night would surely have consequences down the line, but with a little time, she could prepare for those. Improvising her way through a dangerous social situation, on the other hand, was well outside her wheelhouse.
Finishing the first beer, Kyle took down a good portion off the second. “Like hell you will. We made our calls, and we’ll own them. But the bigger question is, what do we do about our guests?”
“Excuse me?” There was nothing fearful in Beverly’s tone; instead, it carried a hint of a threat. “Seeing as we’re law-abiding citizens here at your invitation, the only thing you’d better consider ‘doing about us’ is offering me a fresh drink.” She held up her empty wine glass to illustrate the point.
The rebuke earned her a sharp laugh from Ike, who looked over to the kitchen and waved his hand. One of the wine bottles vanished from the counter and reappeared in Ike’s grip. Another vanish—this time, wine plus all of him—and he was at Beverly’s side, pouring with needless elegance. “Ballsy. You seem like fun.”
“To elaborate, I’m sure that Kyle didn’t mean anything by that. He’s just nervous and flustered, like the rest of us.” Ellie appeared embarrassed, of all things: barely meeting their eyes, focused instead on the pile of steaming meat sizzling on the ground. “I mean... we haven’t even had a whole week in the field and we already let our secret identities slip.”
“Plus, you bungled my rescue,” Tori added. That earned her an elbow in the side from Beverly and a stern stare from Chloe. “Which is to say that everyone makes mistakes when they’re starting out. Broken eggs and omelets... all that noise. You’ll get better with practice.”
Another downed beer for Kyle, who went back to the fridge and brought back six new ones, stacking them all on the coffee table. “In case anyone else needs a drink. I appreciate it, Tori, but we’re not exactly fresh-faced rookies. We’ve been training to do this job for years, so you’ll understand why hitting so many early issues can be frustrating. Sorry again about putting you on camera. Actually, that’s kind of why we’re here.”
“No shit. I figured that out yesterday.” In her life, Tori’s propensity toward bluster had often been a necessary skill. It allowed her to project greater confidence than she felt, which was dearly useful when dealing with other criminals and lowlifes, as well as offered her a tough outer shell to hide all the childhood pain and loss behind. Unfortunately, the tactic cut both ways, and while this was certainly not the first time she’d talked a situation into being more complicated, it was definitely her biggest verbal whoopsie to date.
Once more, Tori hoped that no one would say anything, and yet again, her hopes were dashed. This time, it was Ike instead of Chloe, though. “Hang on, yesterday? I know I’m good-looking enough to leave an unforgettable impression, but that’s why I wear the mask. How did you know who we were?”
Bad as this was, at least Tori could tell them the truth, since it had nothing at all to do with her own identity or the guild. “Tachyonic rescued me a few days ago, obviously. When we talked the second time, he forgot to speak all stiff and heroic. I recognized his voice when we met again. After that, there were only three very easy dots to connect.”
“Plus, we literally saw you holding up a couch with one hand,” Beverly added, pointing over to Austin, who immediately looked down at the floor. “That was sort of a tip-off, too. Next time, consider springing for movers.”
“You know what I love about all this?” Ike asked, dropping into a chair next to Ellie. “First week, we’ve got two major fuck ups, and I’m not responsible for either one. Somebody on the island lost a bet over that one, I guarantee it.”
A dark glare from Kyle brought Ike up short; apparently, he’d gone out of bounds even for him. “But seeing as there’s nothing to be done about it—they know, and we can’t change that—we may as well go ahead and play some board games,”
Ike continued. “These three women now know our secret. Seems prudent we get to know them, as well.”
From her purse, Ellie pulled out a phone in a sparkling pink and white case. “I could order us pizza. It’s on the AHC’s dime, anyway. Technically, this whole thing is covered, since we’re on officially assigned guard duty.”
“Yeah, about that. This feels kind of unnecessary,” Tori said. “The press is already moving on, and while I do appreciate you trying to fix your mistakes, I can’t help thinking this is overkill. You have to live here just to watch over me? There’s no way that’s the procedure every time a civilian ends up in the spotlight.”
“I suspect we’re being taught a lesson,” Austin said. He’d recovered enough to make his way to the kitchen, pulling out cleaning supplies and eyeing his mountain of cooling meat. “The overkill is to drive home how much work it is to watch over someone constantly, making sure we go out of our way to avoid putting more civilians in similar situations.”
Or it was a way to embed four unwitting capes into Tori and Beverly’s lives. Harder to commit crime with superheroes down the hall, was probably the rationale. Then again, maybe it was sincere. Tori had no idea if anyone on the capes’ side knew her real identity. Given that she was publicly connected to Ivan, who they definitely had the history of, it was best to assume that at least the higher-ups had an inkling.
“For what it’s worth, you can tell them I’m fine, and you’re free to stop babysitting me anytime.”
“I’ll pass it along,” Kyle replied. “But I doubt it will matter. We’re here for at least a month, and then we have a reevaluation meeting. Until then, I can only ask that you put up with us. I promise we’ll try not to get underfoot.”
She didn’t have a choice, really. It was the same options as before: play nice, or tell them to fuck off. Playing nice allowed her to set more boundaries, especially now that she knew they were here on assignment. Plastering on her best fake smile, Tori reached over to the coffee table and picked up one of the beers Kyle had set down.
