by Drew Hayes
“We are the New Science Sentries, Ridge City’s freshest, greatest team of superheroes. Be sure to tag us when you post pics and video of this!”
Thanks to years of learning to pass unnoticed, and perhaps a little guild training here and there, Tori managed to duck through several boutiques and small businesses, eventually making her way back to the Vendallia Industries offices. She was late, for sure, but had one hell of an excuse if Ivan tried to give her crap. At least she’d been smart about it. No revealing of powers. No getting involved with crooks or capes. Except for the getting saved part, she’d been a model bystander. While that bit was not-so-great, she couldn’t think of a better move to have made. The pictures would be a short-lived embarrassment until another cape did some remarkable feat—probably Lodestar knocking out a kraken, or the like.
Tori was so absorbed in the fallout from her encounter that she didn’t realize it hadn’t ended quite yet. As she passed an alley, a form leapt out. Thanks to the flash of blue, she caught on in time and didn’t roast him, but it was closer than it should have been.
“Miss, I think you dropped this.” Tachyonic had appeared, holding her sack of what had to be spilled coffee. Of course he had. This was what capes did, especially when they were coordinating a debut.
“Thanks.” Tori looked in the bag, noting that for the most part, the contents had held together just fine. God bless Chloe and her love for extra-durable packing. As she rifled through the bag, however, Tori realized there was indeed one thing missing. In the chaos of escape, she hadn’t yet thought to miss it, but now, there was nothing she wanted more. “Wait, where’s the receipt?”
That earned her a look of surprise. That’s how she interpreted the widening eyes, anyway. “Do you think I shortchanged you on the contents?”
“I don’t know, was that part of the show?” It wasn’t fair, not really—she could tell the team hadn’t caused the incident, they’d just made use of it—but that didn’t lessen the tightening in her stomach as she hunted for the receipt.
“What... do you mean?” The unshakeable surety of Tachyonic was starting to slip, a keen awareness slipping into his eyes.
Setting down the bag, Tori kneeled on the sidewalk and dug in earnest, delving into the section of the bag where spills had occurred. “Come on. You had a team member hack the nearby speakers to emcee the whole thing. Do you seriously not realize we can tell you were toying with those goons? They had backing and muscle and equally no idea what to do with it. The whole fight should have been over in seconds, but that doesn’t make for as viral of a spectacle, right? I don’t know how Donald puts up with you image-obsessed assholes.”
Her tirade had taken Tachyonic back a few mental steps. As it wound down, he appeared to find himself and dig in, going so far as to actually cross his arms. “Most people would be thankful to have gotten saved.”
“Yeah? Welcome to Ridge City, where we hold our capes to higher standards. They save people first, show off second. If you can’t live up to that, then this city isn’t for you. Take your ass to Tampa. I hear they’ve got a solid rookie program.” With great effort, Tori pulled herself up from the ground. The receipt wasn’t in there. It was gone. “Maybe out there, they can teach you that if you save someone in the public eye, especially during your debut, it’s not a great idea to leave behind the documentation that gives away my first name and employer.”
She was a little surprised, but he seemed to get the implication at once. Part of her had been preparing to walk him through the issue.
“Ah. Someone out there has a picture of me saving you, along with at least your first name and who you work for. Pair that with my team making our debut today, while taking on the legacy of the greatest superhero team in history, and it makes for an easy human-interest angle. I don’t suppose there was any chance you’re one of those people who is secretly hoping for a lot of fame and attention from strangers?”
“Basically the exact opposite,” Tori replied.
“I’ll... see what I can do.” Tachyonic vanished without another word—a wise decision in Tori’s estimation. His empty promise was just that: empty. There was no power in existence that could tamp down on humanity’s love of gossip or interest in capes.
Whether she liked or not—and she very much did not—Tori Rivas was about to get her fifteen minutes of fame.
Chapter 3
Working in downtown Ridge City meant that occasionally, an emergency broadcast went off, letting everyone know that there was some sort of meta-event happening and they should all stay indoors. Ivan felt minimal concern when one activated shortly after Tori left. The odds of it being near her were slim, and she was a villain of the guild. She could handle being around some action.
Still, his worry did arise when a call on his cell phone lit up. It was rare for people to reach out directly like this. Superiors preferred email, the guild had its own channels, and Wade managed to keep all guild members off telemarketing and robocall lists—though that was more for the marketers’ safety than anything else. As his eyes fell upon the name, Ivan’s worry was dispelled, replaced by the constant rock of terror he carried with him at all times. Janet was calling, which meant something was going on with their kids. It was the only topic they actively communicated over.
Snatching it up, Ivan immediately accepted the call. “Janet, always a pleasure. Is everything okay?”
“Rick hasn’t suddenly developed powers, too, if that’s what you mean.” Ivan winced at that. Technically, they didn’t know how Beth had been turned into a meta-human, though they shared the same suspicion that it was connected to Ivan’s past in some way. “But we do have a problem. Beth’s Starscout cluster is due to start having meetings again soon, and they keep kicking back her registration. There’s a new cluster leader taking over for Dr. Randall. I’m not sure if the replacement is trying to lower his headcount by shuffling Beth out, or if he’s just terrible at paperwork. Either way, we need to handle it. I’ve got to do a guest lecture tonight, and Juan is taking Rick to his mathematics club. Can you go straighten this out?”
On the surface, it was a perfectly normal request for a wife to make of her ex-husband. The issue here was that Janet rarely reached out, and it was even less common for her to ask for a favor. While she’d accepted his presence in their children’s lives, it didn’t mean she went out of her way to make it easier. Some might have mistaken her attitude for spite, but Ivan knew better. Janet’s focus was entirely on the safety of their kids. Having a famous villain as a father would make things endlessly more complicated for them, so she tried to put distance between that legacy and the innocent offspring who had nothing to do with Fornax.
All of which meant that if Janet was asking him to step in, there was a reason. “Any suspicion of what the issue might be? If I know the problem, it’ll make finding a solution easier.”
“I have a hunch. I think you should draw your own conclusions, though. Just make sure you take care of it. Beth’s been in the same cluster since she started as a Sparkscout, with the same friends. Between her school falling down and turning into a meta-human, she needs some stability. Please don’t let her down.”
The please was unnecessary, as was anything beyond the request itself. Ivan knew quite well how much turmoil his daughter had seen. She would not lose this, too.
“I’ll handle it after work. My evening is quite free.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Tori burst into his office, looking quite a bit rougher than she had upon leaving and without any coffee in hand.
“Janet, I need to let you go. Looks like another situation has just come up.”
Donald stood in the gym next to Ren, watching the silent, wall-mounted television along with the myriad of other sweating forms. When he’d become a superhero and joined the Alliance of Heroic Champions, part of him had thought moments like this were long past—seeing some new cape swing into action on a screen, being caught completely unaware by the sudden emergence of an
incredible new force for good. Amazingly, though he’d racked up a few fights of his own now, he still felt that same sense of wonder he’d had while watching capes as a kid. If Donald was the only one feeling that way at first, he damn sure wasn’t once that name was flashed across the screen.
“What!?”
It was impossible to say which of the many screeching voices owned that particular verbal expulsion, nor did it matter. The words easily summarized the general feeling in the AHC’s gym.
The Science Sentries were the original, as in original-original, superhero team. Formed a few years after Professor Quantum’s experiment tweaked the laws of physics, introducing entire new meta-elements and strange magical forces, the Science Sentries were in many ways a precursor to the League of Metas, which organized capes before the Alliance of Heroic Champions was formed. But they’d been disbanded since the mid-seventies, as everyone save Professor Quantum had either died or grown too old to keep doing the work. And now, decades later, he was just handing over the title to some new team?
No... that wasn’t right. Donald kept watching the screen as the shaky cell-phone-camera footage jumped around. The news report was doing a hack job editing it all together; they’d jumped right in during the middle of the fray. Nevertheless, this team, whoever they were, had visible skill to burn. They were nothing like he and Ren had been in their first battle, even if that had admittedly been against an inter-dimensional monster. These four were coordinated, practiced, calm. If this really was their first official outing, then they must have trained for years prior to do it like this. That would make a lot more sense; Professor Quantum was a man who took care of his legacy. Handing over the name “Science Sentries” wasn’t something he’d do easily.
“The competition just got tougher.” Ren kept watching the screen—which usually showed exercise forms or cooking-contest shows, depending on who got to the remote first—but his arms picked up a pair of extremely heavy weights as he began to do curls. Seconds later, his tail snaked around a third weight and began to lift as well, though this one was notably lighter.
“They’re our allies, not our competition,” Donald pointed out.
Ren made an inhuman noise in his throat, the intended implication entirely lost on Donald. Being friends with someone who was mostly animal took practice, especially in the realm of non-verbal communication, but they’d made steady progress since first teaming up. “Do you see any inherent issue with trying to be the best superhero you can possibly be?”
“Of course not.”
“Then you should accept that as much as these people are our friends and allies, they’re also our competition. We all want to be the best. Me, you, Bloopston over there by the water fountain, Big Swing on the deadlift—even the established capes like Battle Cry and Dapper Doll are looking higher up the mountain to the Champions’ Congress.” Ren kept on lifting as he spoke, and Donald noticed his words seemed to be inspiring several of the others as well. Even he felt his fingers itch for a controller; playing games was the way Donald improved his digital inventory.
Had the screen not changed, Donald might have been tempted to point out the flaw in Ren’s philosophy: none of them would ever be the best. As a team, that title could be claimed. However, on an individual front, the battle was lost before it started. There was only one person who was the strongest, the toughest, the surest. When everything and everyone else failed, Lodestar came through.
Donald had witnessed her in person only twice. Once in childhood, and once when they were breaking into the AHC headquarters to free Quorum. Both times were seared into his memory. Lodestar was the kind of person who left an impression.
However, before any of that could escape his lips, a new clip of footage popped up on the screen. This time, rather than focus on the fight, it was a clip of the one called Tachyonic saving a civilian from certain death. Donald almost couldn’t believe his eyes as the scene played out, showing Tachyonic stop after a sudden surge of movement, carefully holding a very recognizable woman in his arms.
It was a painfully familiar image to Donald—one from his most private fantasies, where he held Tachyonic’s position, finally showing his crush the kind of capable superhero he’d become. Seeing that she’d been in danger was bad enough; watching that unexpectedly soft gaze upon Tachyonic’s face... Donald found himself markedly less excited about this new team than he had been seconds ago.
Setting down a weight, Ren pointed a claw up toward the screen. “Hey, isn’t that Tori?”
“I’m not sure. The picture from the camera is a little blurry. Could be somebody else.” Donald wasn’t even sure why he bothered with the lie, other than to have a few extra moments to process the sudden surprise.
Ren called across the gym to a scaly woman with visible gills and webbed fingers. “Hey, Bloopston, give us sound!”
Bloopston picked up a nearby remote from the water cooler and cranked the volume as requested.
“—reports are coming in from the Alliance of Heroic Champions that these are indeed inheritors to the Science Sentries mantle, not pretenders with a false claim as we’ve seen before. Additionally, they would request that the civilians and police involved in the incident be left unbothered. While the woman in this video’s name has been leaked online thanks to some active sleuths on the scene, we will of course not be repeating it here, and would like to encourage our viewers to please respect the AHC’s plea for discretion.”
As the anchor spoke, the runner on the bottom of the screen showing the broadcast’s social media feed began to light up with posts, people spamming Tori’s name over and over, proving once more that humanity was definitely not prepared for the level of technology it had access to. The reporter continued, oblivious to the fact he was being undermined as he launched into a history lesson on the original Science Sentries.
Donald paused only long enough to give Ren a quick glance before darting out on a direct course for his phone. This time, there was no issue in the communication, as Ren got immediately out of the way. When it mattered, they understood each other just fine, and this definitely mattered.
One day. One damn day, and Vernon’s new team was already causing her trouble.
Helen sat at home, Penelope at her summer day camp, watching the video on replay. She’d already done a few soundbites for the media and made a quick call to Quorum, but that was all just to handle this new team’s arrival on the scene. The bigger problem was that Tachyonic had gone and kicked a hornet’s nest. Except hornets would be infinitely better than what lurked inside Tori’s hive.
Her core dilemma was one of morality and information. A key aspect of the AHC was that it did not exist entirely outside the law; that was a League of Metas philosophy that was stomped out when the organization died. Yes, capes were empowered to take extraordinary actions, especially in dire circumstances, but they were not judges and juries themselves. Criminals, meta or human, went through the legal system; at least, the ones who let themselves be taken in. Technically speaking, there was no warrant out for Tori Rivas. She was an innocent civilian, so far as the law was concerned.
Hephaestus, on the other hand, was wanted in connection to a museum heist. The metal-suited crook was on the scene and had dealt with members of the AHC in the escape. The conundrum was that there was no evidence in Helen’s possession that linked these two identities together. Quorum would put it together, and Vernon might, if he cared enough to realize she was Ivan’s “niece” in documentation. As for the new team, there was essentially zero chance they’d realized they’d just put a potential supervillain on national television and framed her as a helpless damsel in distress.
After a few decades of this job, it was hard not to see the patterns. Peaks and valleys, the changing of the ages. Some parts held constant, though. Bank robbers always threw the gun when the bullets ran out, incompetent crooks had a strange knack for getting their hands on dynamite, and the media loved an image that told an instant story. A freezeframe of a new super
hero holding what appeared to be an adoring woman he’d just saved fit the mold perfectly. That photo of Tori and Tachyonic was going to play. Given that her name was already out there, that meant attention.
First things first: she needed to get a protective detail around Tori. With the guild no longer capable of patrolling the underworld, things were changing. The old rules were starting to be ignored as up-and-comers decided to test their limits. So far, the AHC had been holding strong, but crime was increasing all over the globe. Helen couldn’t assume that no one would try to take a run at Tori, just for the sin of being vaguely connected to a cape. People had tried more over less.
It wasn’t that she was worried for Tori—that guild didn’t admit members who couldn’t handle themselves. No, Helen’s worry was for what Tori or—gods forbid—Ivan would do to anyone that tried to move against her. While they might no longer be ruling over crime thanks to Apollo shoving them into the light, the guild did have an extremely clear process on what happened to those who attacked their members directly. Worse, they knew how to do it without leaving evidence behind.
As she picked up the phone, Helen decided her next call was going to be to Vernon, or rather, Professor Quantum, since this would be an official communication. They needed to have a talk about that team of his. Letting them skip ahead to fieldwork hadn’t been entirely off base, not with the power they were displaying, but if these four were going to be in the AHC, then they needed to learn to do the job properly.
Chapter 4
There weren’t many excuses one could offer up for missing a meeting with management, but being drawn into an attempted robbery’s chaos was a hard one to argue with. Especially when there was documentation of the incident all over the news. Tori was formally excused from work for the remainder of the day; they even released Ivan, as well, since he was ostensibly her only local family. How much of that was management being kind and how much was Ivan using his unknown connections, Tori genuinely had no idea.