“It’s Jessie.” Steve waved towards the doorway, anxious to keep out of the line of fire. “Got a present for Jo.” He dragged out the single syllable of my name in a childish singsong and grinned as he reached for another slice.
“It’s not a present,” Jessie shouted from downstairs.
I took a big bite of pizza, more curious than upset at Steve’s teasing. “I like presents.”
“Present?” Peter’s head bobbed up, his bleary eyes opening. “Presents?”
“It’s not a present.” Jessie jogged up the steps, pausing on the top one and wobbling precariously for a second. He carried four large cardboard boxes, the long horizontal ones clothing usually came in. “At least, not until you all thank me.”
He moved around the room to distribute boxes.
“Here.” He dropped one in Peter’s lap. “Here.” Another box flew towards Steve.
Jessie stopped and looked at me. “This one is for Hunter, but we’ll deal with that later.” That box went under his computer desk. “And this one’s for you.”
The box landed on my lap, the sudden weight startling me. I finished off the slice in my hand and tossed the paper plate into the near-empty pizza box.
“Go on, open it.” Jessie hovered nearby. “I’ll explain it when you open it.” His grin stretched so far I feared it’d stay that way.
I flipped the lid up to reveal a black leather jacket. My fingers danced along the fabric, finding an unnatural thickness and something else, something I couldn’t identify, like seeing something out of the corner of my eye that wouldn’t be there if I turned. I tugged on the leather, finding it less flexible than I expected. It unfolded across my lap along with a matching set of leather pants.
“Jessie…” My warning tone wasn’t unintentional. I’d had a few offers over the years to rework my image, make it sharper and more sexual. Fortunately Dominatrix, another female super, looked better and didn’t mind, so I managed to duck the bullet on that one. I’d fought long and hard to keep wearing comfortable, practical outfits, and if I was going to change, it’d have to be for a darned good reason.
“Hold on.” He held up his hands. “Before you shock me into next Tuesday, go try it on. Just humor me. Please.”
Steve grunted as he held up his own matching outfit. “Dude, I’m not going to model anything for you.” He poked at the leather with his index finger as if prodding a long-dead fish. “This is going to have me sweating like a pig.”
“No, it won’t.” Jessie walked over to stand in front of the strongman. “It’s got special sensors laid in to allow your sweat to evaporate faster and more efficiently. Along with allowing me to track you and monitor your heartbeat and blood pressure, all that medical stuff.”
Steve’s eyes narrowed to angry slits. “You’re going to be watching me? Us?”
Jessie’s smile withered and was replaced by a shocked look, his mouth hanging open.
“Steve.” I stood up and put the box on the table. “You know Jessie’s cool. And it’s for when we’re on a mission. We’re not going to wear this going to the store for milk.” My attention turned to Jessie, giving him a look saying he’d better hurry up with an explanation. “Correct?”
“Yeah.” His hands went behind him, tucking into the back pocket of his jeans. “I mean, I don’t want to know about your heart rate when you’re out, you know?” He glanced from Steve to me and back again. “You know?” A panicky tone set in.
I couldn’t blame Steve. Being constantly monitored had worn all of us supers raw, and any hint we were going back to a similar sort of system was sure to grate on exposed nerves. Jessie had just found out the extent of our captivity and didn’t realize the aching, open sore all the supers carried about being controlled and watched. He was a good kid with good intentions but with all the subtlety of a rabid animal at times.
“Hmph.” Steve laid out the leather jacket, pressing his lips together in a thoughtful look. “It’s sort of cool. Could sew on a patch here,” he grunted as he traced a circle on the breast pocket. “Got a Steelers one I’ve been eyeing.”
“Yes, yes you could,” Jessie replied. “But there’s more to it than that. You’ve got armor plates in the back and sides, in the legs and the arms. Won’t stop everything, but it’ll give you much more protection than what you have now.”
I picked up my box and weighed it in both hands. “It’s pretty light. You sure you got the right armor?”
He nodded, regaining his snarky geek-guy composure. “New military-grade tech, super light. Donated to our cause. All I have to do is give them some stats for when you use it.” He glanced at Steve again. “If that’s okay.”
“That should be fine.” I defused the bomb again. “As long as it’s only about the uniforms themselves. No personal data.”
Jessie nodded like a bobblehead in an earthquake.
“Ooh.” Peter studied his jacket, his hands running over the inside soft fabric lining. “I’m going to go try this on. It looks a little big.” He didn’t take his eyes off the box as he stumbled towards the dorm side of the loft, still half-asleep.
“Go try it on, Jo.” Jessie waved me towards my bedroom. “Please?”
I sighed and headed for the small room. It took a few minutes of jumping and jiggling to get the pants on, reminding me there was still such a thing as too much pizza. The jacket slipped on over my shirt with ease, allowing me to zip it up to my neck without any effort.
The small mirror on my dresser didn’t show much, but it was better than nothing. I had to admit, the outfit looked darned good on me. Mike’d always joked about redoing our image into leather, but he couldn’t figure out how to put leather on his metal suit and not look like some dieselpunk monster.
I frowned. Something felt different. Strange. I reached for my gloves and slipped them on, completing my old ninja-broad costume. It only took a second to start pulling in the waves from around me and concentrating them in the palms of my hands.
But there was something odd, something just a wee bit off. I slapped my hands together, setting sparks flying from my fingers. My fingertips tingled, the sensation spreading out across the rest of my skin with a delicious feeling, bordering on erotic.
Something was definitely wrong in a right way.
“Oh, this is great,” Peter yelped from the living room. “I love it.”
I walked out to see him striking a modeling pose in his new jacket and pants in front of Jessie, Steve and David, all of whom were openly laughing. Steve still hadn’t donned his outfit, but I could forgive him for being a little gun shy about putting himself back on the grid, so to speak.
Peter shifted again, positioning himself like a Paris runway model with pouty lips. He obviously had no such concerns about being watched.
I chuckled. “If you ever give up the hero biz, you’ve got a budding career in New York.”
He put his hands on his hips and stuck his chest out along with his tongue. “You’re just jealous because I look sexier than you do.”
“Point.” I laughed then studied my gloved hands. The tingling had subsided into a healthier and reassuring tickling, not enough to distract me but there was still more mojo than I had before. “Okay, Jess—spill the beans. What else have you got built into these outfits? There’s more in here than just monitoring equipment and armor.”
He nodded with a sneaky grin. “You noticed.”
“I noticed.” My tone changed into business mode. “And what’s going on?”
“What’s going on?” Hunter repeated as he came through the opening. We all waited until he settled himself on the couch in a slow, steady movement. He still wasn’t wearing a shirt, but at least I could see the bandage was dry and unstained.
“Your outfit is lined with special fibers, the same as in your gloves,” Jessie explained. “It basically doubles your power, if not more. I don’t know why the Agency didn’t do this before, but it seems like a good time.”
“I guess I never needed more power bef
ore.” I squinted and stared at my fingers, dropping my focus just enough to see the electromagnetic waves around me. Everything seemed brighter, sharper and definitely more enticing. I could get drunk on this.
“But my best offensive weapon is still being a human taser, right?” I looked up. It took a second or two to snap the world back to normal, pushing the waves out of sight.
His face fell. “Well, yes,” he admitted. “I’m researching what else you could be doing with the waves other than fly, carry the team and taser people.”
“It’s a great improvement. Get me more miles per gallon, and that’s what I need right now.” I flexed my fingers, feeling a hot surge through my palms. “Definitely a plus. Good work.”
Jessie beamed at the compliment.
Peter looked down at his leather outfit. “What’s mine do?”
“Makes you pick up your own wet towels?” David quipped.
“It actually does the same as Steve’s—provide you with some armor.” Jessie’s eyes went wide. “Oh, and it’s synthetic leather in your case. I wasn’t sure, I mean, didn’t want to upset you,” he stammered.
“It’s cool, man. It’s cool.” Peter preened, standing up as straight as he could and brushing his hair back. “I like it.”
Hunter turned to Steve. “I hear black’s the new black. Makes you look thinner.” The stoic response had me laughing as I moved to an empty chair.
Steve scowled, still running his hands over the clothing. “Do I have to wear this?”
“Only if you want to,” I replied. “But I’ve no idea of how strong your skin is. Considering we’re going up against a guy who can toss mountains, well…” I let the sentence trail off.
His face shifted through the various stages of grief. When it settled on acceptance, I knew we had a winner.
“Better not shrink.” Steve stood and put the jacket on. He swung his arms around, stretching out the creaking leather. “I’ve got parts I don’t need chafed.”
“I can so do without that mental image.” I smiled at Jessie. “Thank you. And thank the developers for us.”
He glowed like I’d handed him the source code for every computer game in the world.
Hunter scratched around the bandage on his chest. “And nothing for me? I’m going to get a complex.”
“I got your uniform here, but, well, ah…” Jessie’s attention darted to me, waiting for a reaction. “It’s nothing special, just like the others with the extra armor.” He sprinted to his desk and bent down, retrieving the last box. “But you got an extra. Thought of it before you got hurt, which only shows how awesome my instincts are, when you think about it.”
Hunter took the offered box, settling it on his lap. “The less I think about your instincts, Jessie, the better.”
The cardboard lid fell to the ground. He frowned, staring at the contents.
“So what is it?” Peter leaned forward.
“I got a rock.” Hunter pulled a large computer tablet out of the box, leaving the black leather uniform underneath behind. It was a beaut, one of the newest models on the market. Part of me shuddered at what Jessie had probably charged the Agency for it and part of me chortled with delight.
“Right.” Jessie sat down at his desk and tapped on the keyboard. “Turn it on. We’ll need to establish a password later, but right now I’d like you to tap the icon at the top left of the screen.” Jessie beamed as if he’d just given birth. Considering his love of all things computer, he actually might have.
“Whoa.” Hunter leaned away from the tablet in his hands. His eyes went wide with a combination of fear and excitement. A second later he moved in, staring at the display.
“I set this program up for the mainframe here in the Lair, but it works on the tablet as well. What he’s seeing are transmissions from the three of you,” Jessie announced with a note of pride. “There’s a micro camera set in the left collar flap of each of your jackets. He’s connected to that and is receiving live-time images.”
“Cool.” Peter walked over to stand behind Hunter. “Now you can see the back of your head.” He whistled. “Roots are showing, dude. You are really a natural blond.”
I suppressed a laugh. Steve let out an annoyed cough.
“What’s wrong?” Jessie asked. I knew the answer but let Steve take point.
“Monitoring us with these jackets, it’s like having the plugs again,” he replied. “I’m not keen on that.” He cracked his knuckles. “First it’s our blood pressure and our pulse, then it’s looking through peepholes in our clothing. Then what?” He shook his head. “It’s a lot for me to take right now. I’m sorry I’m not as excited as you are over this, but it’s just the way I feel.”
“I hear what you’re saying, Steve.” I fingered the lapel of my jacket, finding the small camera with ease. “Creeps me out too, just a bit.”
I saw Jessie’s face fall.
“But…” I lifted my voice, kicking into leadership gear, “…we need someone to keep an eye on the total situation, someone not in the middle of the fighting. Someone who’ll keep track of us, but with our best interests at heart, not the Agency’s.” I walked over to Jessie’s chair, standing behind it. Less than subtle way of showing my support, but I didn’t have the time to screw around with long speeches. “Hunter’s a Guardian first, super second. We’ve always had someone coordinating our battles, even though they were faked.” I looked down at Jessie. “You’re good, but you’re no Guardian. No offense.”
Jessie nodded. “None taken. But that’s what I designed this for. I figured I’d use this to keep in touch with you when you’re out in the field and I need to send pictures or data to you. Small, portable and securely linked back to us.” He nodded at Hunter. “When you said he’d be on light duties, I thought that now I could give Hunter the data he needs to make battle decisions in the field and free you up to be more, well, active.” There was a flash of panic in his gaze. “I mean, you’re still in charge. But if you’re going to keep Hunter in the background, I figured that it’d be a good thing to have him doing something, you know, helpful.”
“It is.” I patted his shoulder. “That is, if Hunter agrees to it. And if we all do.” I turned my gaze on Steve. “All or nothing. We can cut the cameras out right now with a knife, right here and right now.”
Steve grunted, still working his fingers over the leather. It wasn’t a yes, but it wasn’t a no.
I pushed a bit further. “Let’s lay down some ground rules. First, we don’t wear these outside of official duties. I sure as hell don’t want to let everyone know when I’m reading a romance novel and getting all heated up.”
A chuckle ran around the room, Steve included.
“I need help coordinating all this shit. Mike did it for me, and I know I can’t do it and also fight. Having a Guardian on the ground, right there, could make a big difference. He’s got the training and I don’t, simple as that. And when our lives are on the line, I don’t want to drop the ball ’cause I get turned around listening to something or someone I shouldn’t be.”
Steve nodded, a slow, cautious approval. “I agree. But the monitoring’s only for the battles. I’m not going to wear this anytime else, and no one, no one else gets access to the personal data. And it all gets wiped between missions.”
“Agreed,” Jessie said. “I can have it passworded to wipe anything and everything if it falls into the wrong hands.”
“That is, of course, if Hunter agrees to take on the job in the first place,” I said loudly to make sure everyone heard it. “And agrees to stay out of the fighting to help coordinate our actions.” I suppressed a nervous shiver, flashing back to Hunter lying on the casino floor.
Hunter was still studying the display. I could see from my angle the screen had divided into three panels, each showing our individual camera shots. Steve’s was blank, as he hadn’t taken the jacket out of the box yet. Peter’s detailed the back of Hunter’s head, and my transmission showed the living room at a distance.
> “I think it’d be very useful…” he paused as he chose each word with care, “…as long as it’s locked away from prying eyes. Secure line between us only and back to you, Jessie. I’ll need you to keep me updated on things I can’t access like weather patterns, incoming air traffic and the like. I can’t multitask that much. Satellite images, city and building plans, that’s what I’ll need.”
Jessie let his breath out slowly. “I can guarantee the secure line. Only us. And the rest I can set up icons for one-tap accessibility.”
Hunter glanced around the room. “I promise to turn the cameras off when we’re not on a mission. And wipe the data after each run. Besides, it’ll let me earn my keep around here.” He looked up at me, a cautious smile on his face. “Nothing against being a kept man, but I’d like to think I’ve got more to offer than just lying around the house and doing the dishes.”
David scowled. “And what’s wrong with doing the dishes? I should put up a work schedule for you boys for when I want a day off.”
“Do that.” I interrupted his speech. “I’m serious. We do need to start sharing the workload around here, and there’s no reason why we can’t help out by cooking a meal every now and then.” I paused for dramatic effect. “But you still have to make the tea. No one makes better tea than you do.”
David laughed, but I could see his chest puff out a wee bit. “I’ll set something up. Not that I have a problem holding down the home front while you go out and save the world, but it’d be nice to have some help.”
“Sure.” Peter dragged one toe across the floor. “I don’t mind dish duty.” Every word told me he was lying.
Steve’s face lit up. “Can I make cabbage rolls?”
I held up my hand. “One thing at a time, fellas. First we take out Lamarr and Hammond, and then we can start the cooking lessons.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth I regretted it, seeing Steve’s reaction. He slapped his mammoth hands together so hard a shock wave blew over me.
“Yes.” He scrambled to his feet. “Let me find a piece of paper to write down the ingredients on. First, a large stockpot.” His recitation trailed off as he spotted an empty notepad on the kitchen table and swooped down on it.
Heroes Without, Monsters Within Page 15