Chapter 19

19

“She looks terrified,” I said.

“There’s no way the kindergarten teacher mind controlled her students. It has to be a problem with the app.” Drew took my hand as we inspected the picture of kids running away in horror.

“Maybe she wanted to turn them into her minions,” I said. “Free labor?”

“Unlikely,” Orion growled. He wasn’t thrilled with the report. “Though I’ll admit, it’d be a diabolical plan. Nobody would suspect five-year-olds. Have you seen the park on a Saturday? They’re vicious.”

I poked at my phone, projecting the images onto Orion’s screen. His eyes glowed blue, but I couldn’t stop staring at his t-shirt. He never wore dress clothes, but today was the weirdest shirt yet. It had a picture of… him… wearing a t-shirt of him. The pattern seemed to go on for infinity.

His powers zoomed into a group of heroes smashing into the side of the school. The next series of pictures had the teacher screaming and the heroes apprehending her. The school better give them straight A’s after this.

“That is problematic,” he said.

Drew gasped. “Those poor children. Maybe we should send them a gift basket?”

While they studied the images, I turned my attention to Orion’s office. Compared to my single framed photograph, Orion had spent considerable time putting movie posters on the wall. I only recognized one, a science fiction movie about computers coming to life and enslaving mankind. If that happened, would Orion be spared? He frequently advocated for the printer and microwave.

“Found the issue,” he said.

“That fast?” Drew asked.

When Orion’s eyes shimmered blue, it meant he was using his powers to speak to machines. I learned he rarely used his keyboard or mouse. He preferred talking to his computer one-on-one. This is why Arthur hired him. The two of them spoke a geeky language Drew and I barely understood.

“It looks as if the gym teacher marked her as a villain.”

“Diabolical,” Drew said.

I pulled myself from the chair so I could lean forward. “Can you?—”

“It’s fixed. I pushed a patch to the server, and I’m updating everybody’s phones.” His eyes returned to normal. “Consider that bug squashed. No more jealous co-workers turning people into supervillains.”

“We make a good team,” Drew said. “I’m so lucky to work with my two favorite people.” Kiki explained Drew wanted to fit in and be accepted by those around him. It helped me understand his positive attitude.

“We make a good team.” I held up my hand in a high five. Drew hit it with enough force that my chair slid a few inches. It was hard to be anything but happy around the man. He oozed positivity. I liked Drew. I liked Orion, too, but as he stared at the two of us, positivity is not the word I’d use to describe him.

“So,” Drew started. “How are things going with Mr. Security Guard?”

I checked my text messages, hoping I had missed the vibration when Dustin responded. This morning, I didn’t want to get out of bed. Wrapped around him, our legs a tangled mess, it had been difficult to think about going to work. Needing to grab his uniform, he darted out of my apartment, promising to stop by and say hi during lunch.

No reply.

Wyatt: Looking forward to lunch.

Wyatt: I brought a Fudgy bar for my favorite boyfriend.

Underneath the message, I spotted the “Read.” When I looked up, both Drew and Orion were staring at me. I feigned a smile. Were all humans this fixated on the relationships of others? How much did I say? Yesterday, I discovered that sharing every detail about sex wasn’t appropriate. This species had an unbearable number of rules. How did they keep track?

“It’s good.”

“How good?” Drew pushed.

“Very good,” I said. “Excellent, even.”

“Unless you provide us with more information, I’ll talk to the surveillance cameras.” Orion taking an interest was uncharacteristic. I needed to get him a security guard of his own. “Too late.” His eyes flashed blue. “He spent the night?”

“Stop spying,” Drew said. “He’ll tell us when he’s ready.”

“I have… this sensation in my chest.” How did I explain it without sounding like a fool? “When he’s around, it’s unsettling. I feel as if it might burst open. It’s worse when he’s not around.”

Drew’s eyes were wide, a goofy smile stretching across his face. “Awww.”

“What our co-worker is trying to say—” Orion leaned forward on his desk. “—You have a serious case of the feels. You like the man. Be prepared for a lot of conflicting emotions.”

“Do you guys feel this?”

Drew shook his head. “I can’t say I’ve ever been in love.”

Orion nodded. “I have. It’s… intense.” The fact he admitted anything personal came as a shock. Orion didn’t normally talk about his feelings. His usual detached and cold effect vanished under a smirk. “Enjoy it. You’re experiencing one of human’s scariest emotions.”

Should love be scary? I had a thousand questions. Who did I ask, Kiki or Earth Mom? Perhaps Arthur had a sweet story about him and Ricardo that would alleviate my fears? I shook my head, pushing it from my mind. If I was going to ask anybody, it’d be Dustin… if he’d reply to my text message.

“We make a good team,” Drew said again.

Orion leaned back in his chair. “Until one of you falls victim to the mind-control being used by the government to placate the masses.”

It took him longer than normal to bring up a conspiracy theory. It showed growth. Drew’s optimism made me smile. I could put my insecurities on hold and enjoy two of my favorite people.

“Why don’t we do this outside of work?”

Orion raised an eyebrow. “We get drinks after work.”

“I mean, after work.”

What was he talking about? “I’m lost.”

Drew let out a long sigh. “We’re an awesome team here. Why don’t we team-up? Super friends. The three of us, out there, fighting crime. I bet we could stop a criminal or two.” His eyebrows waggled at the prospect.

“You three?” We all spun about to see Janet leaning against the doorframe. How did she always know when to break into the conversation? Orion had a theory she bugged the office. That conspiracy theory, I believed.

“Maybe if I was leading the team.”

“But you don’t have—” The narrow-eyed glare cut my words short.

“Are you trying to say I’m powerless?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.” She sauntered into the room, her thumbs hooked on her belt. “I’d whip you all into shape.” I don’t know how Arthur would feel about us taking his twin with us on patrol. “Too bad I’m a woman for hire these days. Unless somebody has a bounty on them, I leave the heroing to the do-gooders.”

Once upon a time, I thought she made it up. No human could have this many life experiences and have barely reached their mid-life. Orion did his research and confirmed that most of her outlandish tales had a kernel of truth. If she had powers, I’m not sure if she’d be an ally or a nemesis. Pray I never had to find out.

“I have nothing planned,” Orion said. “It could be fun.”

Orion agreeing to a team-up? What weird world had I stumbled into? If I slipped into an alternate reality in my sleep, it’d be less surprising than him agreeing to a superhero team-up.

“What do you say, Wy?” Drew’s body steadily grew brighter until he reached a bright fluorescent white glow. If he was this excited, how could I say no?

I caved. “I’ll brainstorm names for us.”

“Yes!” Drew’s body flashed blue and then white again. “Orion, you better have a mask.”

The signature eye roll appeared. “I’m already regretting this.”

Janet bumped Drew with her hip. “If you want me to take him out—” She glared at Orion. “—it’ll cost you.” It confirmed my suspicion. She’d definitely be a villain.

“Back to work!” Arthur yelled down the hallway. “Janet, why is there a wanted poster with my face on it?”

“Sorry, boys.” She shot us a wink. “I have a previous engagement.”

It’d be fun hanging out with Drew and Orion. I had no idea what type of heroes they were. Despite the fact we had superpowers, we never discussed our extracurricular activities in the break room. That needed to change. Tonight, I’d take notes and try to improve my heroing. Next time I patrolled with Dustin, I’d have more to teach him. One more step toward becoming the hero I dreamed of.

I checked my phone one more time. Still no reply.

“Working Boys sounds like we’re male escorts,” Orion said.

“I’m not calling us the Damnation Squad,” Drew responded.

While Drew and Orion bickered over the name of our entourage, I flew between them and a maniacal clown. I threw up my arms, blocking an overhead swing from his mallet. It knocked me back with a loud squeak. I prepared to throw him across the abandoned amusement park when he reached to his chest.

The flower squirted in my eyes, forcing me to retreat a few feet. I swatted at it. Acid? Dangerous chemicals? Would this be what— Oh, water.

“Hey, don’t do that,” Drew said. He vanished. He and his suit blended into the white of the circus tent. “Nobody touches my friend.”

The clown spun about. His head jerked to one side before he hunched over. Drew’s powers weren’t flashy, but they made him the stealthy member of our squad. “Not joking around now, are you?”

“Stop it with the clown banter.” Orion had squared off against the clown’s partner. He threw up an arm to block a balloon sword. It struck his metal gauntlet, sparks flying. “If you engage, you’re no better than the clowns.” He slammed his heel onto the clown’s foot, causing it to trip and fall.

“Are clowns always this mean?” I asked.

“Yes,” they said in unison.

Drew picked up his clown and hurled it at Orion’s opponent. The technomancer didn’t duck in time, catching the guy and falling in a heap. We weren’t doing bad, but we wouldn’t be winning ‘Team of the Year’ at the Superhero Awards.

“No more clowning around,” came a loud, gravelly voice.

Their leader had watched as his two lackeys did the dirty work. His face was painted white with tufts of blue hair poking out from his crown. The red foam nose should make him less menacing, but when he smiled, the crooked yellow teeth made him the scariest of the three. The oversized boxing gloves on each hand made me nervous. What cheap clown tricks?—

In a puff of smoke, his gloves rocketed toward Drew. With Orion climbing out from under a pile of clowns, it was up to me to save the day. I tried to hide the smile as I zipped across the tent and smashed into the gloves. Pulling at them, I turned them around and unleashed them on their owner.

“Lights out,” I bellowed as they struck him in the face.

“I said no banter!” Orion shouted. The rocket in his backpack came to life, freeing him from under the clowns. “We’re not witty bantering heroes.”

He could protest all day long, but he was going to lose. I pushed off, flying toward the ring leader. I stopped short as he pulled out a rubber chicken. The swing caught me by the jaw, and it felt like I had been hit by a truck. His other hand pulled his tie from around his neck. With a snap of the wrist, it cracked against my chest. Before I could respond, he let go, and the fabric wrapped around my chest, pinning my arms to my side.

“Some help,” I said.

Orion held up his fists, tiny discs launching from his gauntlet. They clung to the clown’s uniform and exploded. The blast sent me rolling to the edge of the tent. His help was going to get me killed. We would need to discuss strategy before we went out on our next patrol.

“Sorry,” Orion said. “Haven’t field tested the new toys.”

The clown reached behind his back and produced a gun. A gun? That didn’t seem very clown-like. With a bang, a pole with a red flag poked out. I was about to ask if it was a gag when the pole launched forward, spreading into a net that surrounded Orion. He dropped out of the air, unable to tear himself free.

“We’re not doing so well,” I shouted. If Janet found out we had been defeated by a trio of clowns, we’d never hear the end. She’d have us all wearing red noses for a week.

Drew faded into view behind the boss. With a precision kick behind the knee, he knocked down their leader. With a spin, the back of his heel clipped the clown, knocking the crown off his head. Drew ducked a swipe of the rubber chicken before getting the clown in a chokehold.

“Don’t worry,” he said between ragged breaths. “I’ve got this one.”

A few seconds later, the clown’s body went limp, and Drew eased him to the ground. For a moment, I thought he had killed the bad guy. The snoring eased any fear Drew had turned into a cold-blooded killer.

“I’m going to give us a C-minus,” Orion said, using a laser from his gauntlet to cut through the net. “No, that was horrible. We failed. Clowns. Clowns! We were bested by clowns!”

“Come on,” Drew said. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. We stopped them from?—”

I looked around for innocent victims. There were no children trapped in cotton candy. I expected a group of adults being forced to endure their routine until they laughed to death. For a moment, I feared we had just flown in and attacked a group of innocent clowns… well… mostly innocent clowns.

“Guys, what exactly were they doing wrong?”

Drew and Orion glanced at one another before shrugging. I opened the HeroApp? and flipped to the alert. Oh! “They were involved in a Tupperware party pyramid scheme?”

“I prefer when they rob banks,” Drew said.

“Kidnapping is my crime of choice,” added Orion.

None of the clowns appeared to be up for another round. It wasn’t the prettiest team-up, not like with Discord, but we had won the fight. I dropped to the floor, crossing my legs. Now came my favorite part.

“Shouldn’t we haul ass out of here?”

It was hard to tell if Orion rolled his eyes behind the visor of his helmet, so I just assumed. I shook my head. “We have to wait for the police to get here. Can’t have them running away and joining another circus.” I didn’t add that I looked forward to giving the police a statement. If I was lucky, they’d take me on a tour of the police station and give me another plastic badge.

“They don’t tell you about this part in the hero manual.” Drew plopped down. “Think we’ll be waiting for long.”

Orion punched a few buttons on the back of his gauntlet. His rocket pack shifted down his back before transforming into a stool. He dropped himself on it. With a tap of his helmet, the front turned translucent. His eyes glowed a faint blue.

“I can hear their radios. They’ll be here in about three minutes.”

“So…” Drew dragged the word out while rocking back and forth. “How’s everybody’s day going?”

“I’m babysitting clowns,” Orion said. “Not how I imagined my night.”

I checked to see if I had received a text from Dustin. I couldn’t tell if I was, as Janet put it, being a needy bitch. Fighting fiscally irresponsible clowns was fun and all, but I wanted to do this with Discord. If I couldn’t, I wanted to tell him all about it. Was the delayed response because of something I said?

“Hey, big guy, what’s got you down?” Drew scooted closer until he could wrap his arm over my shoulders. “Does it have something to do with your new man-friend?”

“Boyfriend,” I corrected.

“Whoa. That’s a big step. How are you feeling about it?”

Good… wonderful, even. I don’t know why applying a label made it more important, but it did. He could have been busy all day at work. There were a million reasons why he hadn’t responded, but it tugged at me. Then there was the whole thing with Zaster using me to complete his work at Synergy, but I’d worry about that later. Boyfriend first. Arch-nemesis second.

“We haven’t talked since…” I said. “Maybe I did something wrong.”

Orion chuckled. I wasn’t trying to be funny. He shook his head as he pulled his stool closer. “Wyatt, I’ll deny it if anybody asks, but you’re one of the nicest guys I know. Well… other than Drew.”

“Thanks.” Drew gave a slight wave.

“Dustin would be lucky to have a boyfriend like you.”

I waited for the rolling eyes. Wait. Had Orion just been nice for the sake of being nice? “Gasp.” Lunging forward, my arms wrapped around his chest as we flew through the tent. I never thought the day would come, but Orion had said something nice . I’d mark this on my calendar.

“Put me down, you brute!”

I set him down, and he dusted off his arms. I might be feeling insecure about things with Dustin, but Orion reminded me I had friends to lean on. Granted, one of them was a bit crazy, and the other had a permanent smile on his face. These goofball co-workers were the best friends an alien from another planet could ask for. I’d have to thank Arthur for…

“Coven,” I whispered.

“What?” asked Drew.

“That’s our team name!”

“Coven?” Orion didn’t sound convinced. “Why in the hell?—”

“Arthur’s the one who brought us together. It makes perfect sense.”

In the distance, sirens had reached the abandoned amusement park. If we didn’t pick a name, then somebody on the HeroApp? would. We didn’t need another Mr. Savey McSaverface incident. I put my foot down. It had been decided.

“It’s official, we’re the Coven.”

“Fine,” Orion said. “Coven of Damnation?”

“No!” Drew said. He crawled to his feet and put his hand out. “We might not be perfect, but we get the job done.”

I place my hand over his. We waited until Orion caved. “Fine.”

“Evildoers beware.” Drew was even more excited than usual.

Now… how long before telling them about Discord and inviting him to join our team?