Miracle's Touch
Page 22
I glanced over at the smoldering rubble, the E-SWAT officers finally recovering enough from the psychic onslaught to start to slowly advance on the scene. Sirens of emergency services wailed in the distance, and that meant the press would be close behind them.
“We saved the day, guys,” I smiled as I sagged with fatigue. “We really did it.”
“It feels good,” John added, folding his arms over his chest. “It’s … nice being a hero again.”
Ballista finally found his tongue and grinned, joining John and me in our look out over the wreckage. “Hey, buddy, as long as you keep those guns on our side, you’re welcome to the hero side anytime. We have cookies too.”
Fortress scoffed, his wide lips splitting into the biggest smile I’ve ever seen, joining his partner. “The first is correct, Mr. Munroe, but the second, well, I’m a horrible baker, so we actually do not have cookies. One of the few things my utility belt doesn’t pack.”
Robert hovered to finish our little line, filling the gap between Ballista and me. “Benedict can bring the cookies.”
“Is that another joke, Bob?” John grinned. “I think we might have actually died in there, people, and we’re now in heaven.”
“Actually,” I said with a raised hand, “I do bake a mean snickerdoodle. I can do the cookies.”
We all managed a good, cleansing laugh from that and as it settled, I smiled. This was the right time to say what had been lingering in my mind ever since we first all came together in Robert’s safe room.
“Guys,” I said as I took a step forward, turning to face all of them together, “we have one serious piece of business left before any of you decide to fly off into the sunset, disappear into the shadows, and most importantly before the media shows up.”
That got everyone’s attention. All eyes were on me as Robert inclined my head towards me, his hand going to his chin. “I’m uncertain what it could be, Christine, but please, you have the floor, rubble-strewn as it is.”
I nodded slowly and smiled. “It’s nothing bad, not at all, but it’s important. It might even be something that will change the world.” I took a deep breath. “Have any of you ever wondered why there isn’t a, well, a team of the best heroes in the world?”
It was like I hit them each with a brick in the face. I couldn’t blame them, I’d felt the same when I asked myself that same question the night before.
“I supposed because there was never a need,” Paragon offered. “Certainly, less experienced or less powerful heroes have formed groups, but even those don’t seem to last as they grow stronger.”
“I always thought it was because you masks had ego issues,” John shrugged. “But now, I’ve got a different perspective on it. Can’t say why, honestly.”
Fortress seemed to get what I was saying now, though. He looked over at Robert. “Yes, we never had a need before, not outside of the occasional team-up, but now, after today …” He shook his head. “Can any of us honestly say that we would have beaten Professor Peril’s scheme if we hadn’t all been working together?”
“The boss has a good point,” Ballista nodded. “Heck, what if we had already been working as a team from the very start? We might have shut her down before any of this happened.”
“Right,” I said, planting my hands on my hips. “We beat Peril, but a lot of damage was done, and lives were lost, more than we probably know. We can’t rest on our laurels and assume there won’t be other villains that will up their game, come on stronger than she did. Today, we learned that we can get hurt, but we also learned that together, we can beat anything.”
I held my arm out towards the others. “I say that the only way we can get stronger, to keep the world safe from what’s going to come, is by sticking together. A team to protect New Harbor and the world from anything that threatens it.”
My inner dreamer, the part of me that stared out at the flying forms that flitted across New Harbor’s skies as a little girl, soared as one by one, each of these amazing heroes nodded as my words sunk in. Robert was the first, putting his hand over mine, and a spark of warmth ran through me. John was close behind him, doubling the warmth, and the detective duo wasn’t far behind.
“That makes it unanimous,” Fortress pointed out. “Obviously, we have a variety of particulars to work out, but we have time.”
“Like a name,” Ballista said with a grin. “We sure don’t want the press to name us, eh, Ironclad?”
John scoffed and shook his head. “I don’t care what they call me, as long as they get out of the way when I need to do my job.”
“Speaking of that,” I said, looking past the guys toward the road. Ambulances were roaring in, fire engines alongside, and with them, the news vans. If there was one thing even more reliable than emergency services in this town, it was the press. “Let’s go meet our adoring public.”
“They’re going to ask what we’re calling ourselves,” Robert pointed out as he brushed the dust off his uniform.
John rolled his eyes. “Just make sure it isn’t something stupid or childish, like the Super Pals.”
“I dunno, I kinda like that goofy 50s charm,” Ballista joked. “We can all get new matching costumes in bold, primary colors and —”
“Vetoed, partner,” Fortress chuckled. “Perhaps our media-savvy founder can suggest something.” He glanced towards me as he adjusted his utility belt.
I smiled and nodded, leading the way forward. “Well, Ballista's not entirely wrong, at least in wanting to evoke some of the charm of the past. Our name needs to be iconic, hopeful, and yes, a bit cheesy. The right kind of cheese, though.” I let ideas roll around in my mind for a moment. "So, taking that all into consideration, my suggestion would be to call ourselves the Justice Squad."
The guys looked amongst themselves for a moment, each nodding and smiling in turn as they followed me. Something special happened then, a torch was lit as a shining beacon for the word. This was forged because of my power and the love I had in my heart, and as we made our announcement to the hungry wolves of the New Harbor press, I realized that this fire of hope could grow hotter, as I had so much more of that love left to share.
Thank You for reading!
Curious about what happens to Miss Miracle next?
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Author’s Note
Dear reader, if you REALLY want to read my next Justice Squad novel- I’ve got a bit of bad news for you.
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