“That’s Forge,” Nightbane said, drawing my attention to the dark-haired, blue-eyed guy sitting across from Crystal. He flashed me a wide grin.
“Welcome aboard, Daystar,” he said, in a voice that was as smooth as honey. I smiled at him and shook his hand, then looked at the final member of the group. Another giant of a man, this one completely clean-shaven, including the shining dome of his head. Dark skin, dark eyes, a flash of white teeth.
“And this is Caine,” Nightbane said with some distaste, more similar to the tone I’d begun to associate with how he spoke to me, which made me like Caine immediately. Caine took my hand, shook it firmly, meeting my eyes for just an instant before looking away.
I settled into my seat and took a sip of water.
“You’re on the tenth floor, aren’t you?” Toxxin asked, and I nodded.
“If you need any help getting settled in, let me know. Is your stuff here yet?”
“I’m just going to make do with what I have here,” I said, thinking of my cash-stuffed dresser back at my apartment. It made me a little sick, thinking about how it could be cleaned out now that I wasn’t there.
Irony, eh?
“Well, if you need anything at all, let me know. I’m the first room to the right of the elevator on the ninth floor.”
“Thanks.”
“So, what’s your thing, other than Hulking out?” Toxxin asked. “I mean, we all have seen you on the news, but better to hear it from the source.” I was in the middle of taking a bite of pizza, so all I could do was look at her.
I chewed, swallowed. “Flight. Strength and stamina,” I said with a shrug. “What about you?”
“I secrete a poison in my skin that can kill on contact, and a lower level one that can knock out unsuspecting super villains,” she said with a grin, and I stared.
“Wow.”
“Yeah. It pretty much sucks, for the most part,” she said. “They think there’s probably a way to control it, but I haven’t figured it out yet. So, gloves, full body armor,” she said.
I didn’t even want to think about how she found out she had powers. It couldn’t have been a pretty situation.
“Crystal can turn invisible,” Toxxin said, and Crystal gave her an icy glare.
I glanced at Chance.
“My powers are still kind of jaggy. I can influence the outcome of random events,” Chance said.
“What do you mean?” I asked, then took another bite of pizza.
“Like, say there’s a car driving down a street, and they have to turn in one direction or the other. I can influence which way they go. Or, if someone’s about to fall, and they’ll either fall on the street or the grass, I can influence which way they fall. I honestly have no idea what I’m doing here instead of downstairs with the rest of the low-level abilities,” she confessed.
“Nightbane and Alpha think you belong here,” Crystal said, and Chance shrugged.
“Forge manipulates fire,” Chance said, gesturing toward him. “That’s a superhero power. Mine? Useless.”
I glanced at Forge, who shrugged. “But I can’t actually make fire. I can only manipulate what’s already there,” he said, and I could tell he was trying to make Chance feel better. “So if we’re in a wet environment, or there’s no fire, not even a spark, then I may as well have no powers at all.”
“Yeah, except you’re built like a goddamn tank, so I think you’ll manage somehow. And if you keep like, a match or a lighter around, you’re good,” Chance said with a roll of her eyes. I transferred my gaze to Caine, who seemed to be studying me.
“Stealth, super hearing, x-ray vision, keen sense of smell… basically I’m hypersensitive,” he said.
“That… was not at all what I was expecting you to say,” I said, and he smiled.
“Well, he’s also a trained assassin, so…” Chance said, and I raised my eyebrows.
“It’s a long story,” Caine said.
“I’m sure.”
“I’ll have to tell you about it sometime,” he said.
I shook my head and took a few more bites as they continued talking around me.
“And you’ve met Alpha and Portia, I guess,” Toxxin said.
“And Beta,” I said. “I know Beta’s thing is speed. What’s Portia’s?”
“Teleporting,” Caine said. “We need to go somewhere, she gets us there in an instant. Very handy power.”
I made myself finish my pizza and bread, even though it had somehow pretty much turned to sawdust in my mouth. It was all hitting me, that I wasn’t going home for a while, that I was locked in here with a bunch of superhero types, that Damian and his team were out there and they knew things. That Killjoy, for some reason, had stepped in on my behalf. My mind went over it all as I sat and chewed, and none of it got any better. I was well and truly stuck, and I had no one to blame but myself.
I hate it when that happens.
“Are you patrolling today?” Chance asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“I think I’m waiting for my uniform,” I said with a grimace.
“She thinks the uniforms are dumb,” Nightbane said.
“She’s not the first to think the uniforms are a stupid idea,” Caine said, and I glanced at him.
“Oh, that’s right. Caine fought the uniform idea too,” Nightbane said.
“I still think it’s stupid, for the record. The only reason I finally gave into that shit was because it was wear the uniform or leave, but leave with the dampener on,” he said, and I noticed a thin metal band around his throat, just a glimpse of it. It was the same as the one I was wearing. I wondered why a team member would still be wearing a dampener, filed it away for later. “I feel like I could do more good here than on my own, anyway,” he added.
“Well thank god you didn’t become another Killjoy, then,” Crystal said with a sniff. I looked down. Even the sound of his name was enough to make me flustered and stupid. I’d have to get over that at some point, right?
“Killjoy’s all right,” Caine said, taking a gulp of water from his water bottle. The rest of the team erupted in protests. I heard the phrase “insane” thrown around more than once, both in regard to Caine and Killjoy. “You guys want to hate the guy because he didn’t join up. Point to one thing he’s actually done wrong,” he said, raising his voice to be heard above the din. “Other than make us look like idiots, I mean.”
“How does he make you look like idiots?” I asked.
“He gets to the bad guys first, a lot of the time. Beats them up all on his own before our little super team can arrive. Takes them somewhere else,” he added, and I nodded, remembering what Killjoy had told me, that he wouldn’t work with StrikeForce. “Pisses them all off,” he said, nodding his head toward the rest of the team. Crystal got up and walked out, and Chance followed her.
“And, when we asked, multiple times, for help, he refused to try to go after you, and I’m wondering why that is,” Nightbane said.
That made two of us.
“Doesn’t piss me off. He can deal with them all he wants,” Forge said.
“He makes us look like morons,” Nightbane said, glaring at Caine. “And he does it on purpose. He loves throwing it in our faces, that he gets them first. The more publicly he can do it, the better.”
“Maybe you all should have recruited him,” I said.
“They did try. Dude told them to fuck off,” Caine said, and I bit back a smile, imagining how that conversation must have gone now that I’d met Alpha and Nightbane. I leaned back in my chair and looked around, taking in more steel, more glass.
“I should go check out my apartment, I guess,” I said, thinking of my sterile-looking apartment. I stood up, and Caine stood up as well. The rest of the team murmured “see you laters” and I walked out of the cafeteria, Caine at my heels. I glanced at him questioningly and he shrugged.
“I’m heading up there, too.”
“You’re not on my floor,” I said. I tried to remember whether the elevat
ors were to the left of right, and ended up following Caine’s lead. To the right. He hit the “up” button, and we waited.
“No. I’m on nine. You’re supposed to have an escort as often as possible. I figured I’d volunteer before Nightbane did. Unless you wanted to hang out with him?”
I gave a mock shudder, and he laughed.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened, and he gestured for me to go on. Once we were on, Caine hit the button for nine, and I hit the one for ten.
“Nightbane seems to like you almost as much as he likes me,” I said after the doors closed.
“He’s a prick.”
I laughed. Then I glanced at his neck. “What’s with the jewelry?” I asked.
He took a breath. “Alpha’s not big on trust. And Nightbane would have us all dampened if he could. Insecure little shit.”
“Who else is dampened?”
He gave me a look. “Toxxin. You, me, Toxxin. The rest of them don’t have to wear them.”
“Let me guess. The rest of them are Alpha or Nightbane’s friends.”
“Bingo. They’re also no threat as far as overpowering anybody. I’m strong and fast. Toxxin could cause a hell of a lot of trouble if she decided to. And neither of us is especially happy to be here, but we kind of have to be.”
He looked uncomfortable.
“Are you criminals, too?”
“Not exactly.”
I could tell I wasn’t getting any more details on that, so I filed it away for later. “Well, you seem like a lot less of an asshole than Alpha or Nightbane. So thanks for escorting me.”
“Sure, but you’re wrong.”
“I am?”
“Yep. I’m an asshole. Ask anyone.”
“And you don’t hate Killjoy.” I wanted to know about that. I tried to tell myself I was trying to figure out all the angles, but I kew better. I wanted to know more about the man my mind kept straying to. I couldn’t trust him, but I wanted to. I didn’t like it.
“That seems to be part of my asshole persona,” he said in agreement. “Don’t believe everything you hear. I don’t know any more about Killjoy than they do, but I know what I’ve seen, and what I’ve seen, he’s not the maniac they say he is. Don’t get me wrong: dude’s got a death wish. Charges into situations our team would be running from, which isn’t something I’m proud to admit, by the way. But the reason they hate him is all based on pride, not on what’s actually happening.”
“Is he trying to make StrikeForce look stupid?” I asked.
He grinned again. “Oh, without a doubt.”
I let out a small laugh and shook my head.
“That not believing everything you hear extends to you, too,” he added.
“No, you should totally believe that. I’m a thief, and a villain, and I have absolutely no desire to be here. I hate it.”
“Duly noted. Except that we’ve all read the dossier on you, now that we know who you actually are. Turns out you’re not nearly the villain we thought you were.”
I didn’t want to talk about it.
The elevator dinged again, and the doors opened. “Looking forward to working with you,” Caine said as he stepped off of the elevator.
“Likewise. I’ll see you around.”
He nodded and walked away, and I finished the ride up to my floor.
The elevator doors opened and I stepped off. I was met with the sight of a Jenson overseeing moving men, who were carrying boxes and furniture into my apartment.
“Uh. I said not to do that,” I said.
“Yes. Well. Alpha decided otherwise. Especially since you won’t be returning there.”
My stomach sank.
“Nothing has been touched. Nothing has been taken. We did scan it for weapons of any kind, but you didn’t have any.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “Intriguing, for someone so villainous.”
“I am the weapon,” I said.
“Yes, I suppose so,” she said with a nod. I went back to watching the movers, hating the helpless feeling inside me. My stuff. My home, and they’d been in it.
Payback was a bitch.
“Well, you move fast,” I said to her, and she nodded.
“Efficiency is my job. And we want you to get settled in as quickly as possible.”
I watched the stream of movers for a few more moments.
“Jarvis says your uniform should be ready within the hour. If it all works out right, you should be able to patrol this evening,” she said.
I didn’t respond. It would be good to actually get to work so I could get working on a plan to get the hell out of there. I should probably also call my mother and tell her what was going on.
The last of the movers left, and then it was just Jenson and me.
“Do you need any help unpacking?” she asked.
I shook my head.
“Very well. Just set any empty boxes out in the hallway, and custodial will take them away. Call me if you require assistance.”
“Thanks,” I said. She nodded, then got on the elevator. I stepped into my suite and closed the door behind me. I was met with a wall of identical cardboard boxes, helpfully labeled with the name of the rooms they’d taken them from in my tiny apartment. My furniture was strewn around wherever it would fit, drawers and cabinets sealed with clear cling wrap, I guess to keep the contents inside.
I grabbed two of the boxes labeled “bedroom” and moved them aside, so I could get to the dresser. I started peeling off the cello wrap, and when I finally had it clear, I opened the bottom drawer with my breath held.
I removed the false bottom.
Still there. I felt like I could breathe again. The money was there. I could send it to Mama. Tell her to keep it, pay for her medicine. She might not want it, not when I told her how I came by it all. She would probably be worried that I hadn’t called her the day before. We talked almost every day on the phone, usually just going over our day. Mostly, I made up whatever it was I told her I was doing. I’d expected her to ask for help with things, or to tell me how much she hated having an empty house. Instead, Mama had done what Mama has always done: made the best of it. From what she’d said in a few of our conversations, I got the sense that she was actually thinking about going on a date. That was a huge step for my Mama, and I wondered, somewhat guiltily, if the fact that I’d lived there so long, “helping” her, had kept her from doing so sooner.
I saw that my phone had been placed on the kitchen table, and I went over to it, picked it up and hit my mother’s number. She should be off today, I thought. Friday.
I stared at the number for a while. This so was not a conversation I wanted to have.
I set the phone down. I couldn’t deal with it yet.
I spied a couple more bedroom boxes and carried them into the small room with its view of downtown. An entire wall looked out on the city. I noted that there was a small touchpad on the bedside table, and I picked it up. Controls for raising and lowering window shades, climate control, television controls, lighting. There was also a stereo button. I hit it, and, after a few moments of scrolling, found the 90s rock station. I hit it, turned the volume up, and then got busy unpacking boxes. I bobbed my head to the music.
After my clothes were in my dresser and my sterile bed was made with my bed linens from home, including the blue coverlet I’d had since I was about twelve, it felt a little less sterile. I turned the stereo off when I went into the living room and turned the news on. CNN had been all over the super-powered people thing from the very beginning, and they’d pretty much become the primary source for news about powered people. They had people all over the country, just waiting for a glimpse of super activity. They’d reported on my own heists more than a few times. I half listened as I went through a box of photos and other little decorative crap from my apartment. It was only when I heard “Detroit” that I glanced up.
“Our top story is from Detroit this morning, where StrikeForce officials have confirmed that they have captured the super villain
known simply as ‘the burglar.’ The burglar is responsible for dozens of heists over the past four plus years, and most recently worked with the villain known as Virus on a series of bank heists. Reports that Virus was in custody have proven to be false. StrikeForce leader Alpha explained that earlier.”
They went to video of Alpha, standing in front of StrikeForce Command. “It was a ploy to draw our target in, and it worked.”
“Of the two, wouldn’t you consider Virus to be the bigger threat? We know that he’s the ringleader of the super villain team Mayhem. He seems like the more important target—“
“The burglar has more dangerous powers,” Alpha said in an irritated tone.
“But we have no reports of him having injured anyone, when, in fact, three members of Mayhem are accused of assault and possibly murder.”
“Just because we have no reports doesn’t mean something didn’t happen,” Alpha said shortly.
There was a pause.
“Is it true that perhaps you are afraid to go after Mayhem, Alpha?” the reporter asked, and I laughed as Alpha turned and walked back into Command.
The story went on for a few minutes longer, going over my known history, and I was kind of glad that they were still calling me a guy. It went over my partnership with Damian, theories about our split, and, finally, a panel in the studio discussing whether StrikeForce was doing enough against the super villain threats. The consensus seemed to be “no.”
I pondered that for a bit. They had powerful people on this team. Caine. Toxxin. Nightbane. Even Alpha himself wasn’t exactly a lightweight. They should have been able to take down Mayhem without many problems. But, of course, Caine and Toxxin were dampened, and Alpha didn’t especially seem like he liked actually doing any crime fighting.
And then, here I was. I didn’t understand any of it. The best guess I had was that Portia was stubborn about trying to do what StrikeForce was meant to do, but it wasn’t her team, so things didn’t happen the way she wanted. Maybe.
It was like living in a soap opera or something.
There was a light knock at my door, and I got up and opened it. A small woman wearing a work apron and a baseball hat held a package out to me.
A New Day (StrikeForce #1) Page 13