by Drew Hayes
“Probably not. Doesn’t mean I don’t have to try.”
Zone turned to walk out of the gym, slowly now, not even bothering to storm away. Owen called to him.
“Who was it? Friend, family-”
“Big brother. Strongman, like you. His powers are worlds above mine. Easily could have been a Hero and helped a lot of people. Instead, he does construction in Ohio.”
With that, Zone exited the gym, leaving Owen alone with his thoughts and his guilt.
27.
Owen walked in the living room the next morning to find two men he’d never seen before talking to Galvanize. The taller of the two had dark hair and the kind of wiry frame Owen associated with easily excitable computer guys. The shorter one had brown hair and a rounder build. They both were sporting crisp white lab coats, and the taller one held a clipboard in his hand. At first, Owen took in this sight with curiosity bordering on interest, but everything inside him turned to panic when he was struck by an overpowering realization.
He wasn’t wearing any kind of mask.
Instincts kicked into gear. He spun around, ready to dart down the hallway and pray they hadn’t noticed him. Before he could, Galvanize’s voice rang through the room.
“Titan, good morning! Come over here and meet the docs. I doubt you’ll need them, but you’re going to see them around from time to time.”
Owen tried to steady himself. These men were probably on staff, meaning they’d signed the kind of nondisclosure agreements only large corporations and sociopathic villains could conjure up. Galvanize wasn’t an idiot; he’d already shown a lot of deference to Owen’s need for privacy and hiding his identity. If he was calling Owen over, then there had to be some sort of safety system in place. Still. . . it wouldn’t hurt to double check before he turned his face back toward them.
“Morning, all,” Owen said, keeping his back facing the group. “Galvanize, I came down without my mask on. Is that going to be an issue?”
It wasn’t Galvanize who replied, but one of the men in lab coats instead. “Titan, you have nothing to worry about. My assistant and I have been signed to so many contracts and clauses that if we leaked even a fraction of what we’ve dealt with here we’d bankrupt ourselves, our families, and at least six generations of children.”
He was probably exaggerating, but the man had a kind tone and a bit of humor in his voice. Owen could see himself getting along with this fellow. Besides, if they were going to be around a lot he’d have to get used to it eventually.
“Six generations, huh? These bastards really don’t mess around.” Owen turned and walked over to the two men, the docs, as Galvanize had called them. He shook their hands, starting with the taller of the two. “Nice to meet you both. I’m Titan.”
“Edgar Willoughby,” said the tall man. Owen recognized his voice as the one that had spoken already. “But I absolutely insist you call me Edgar. This is my assistant, Thaddeus Kirkland.”
“Please, just Kirk,” said the shorter man. “Thaddeus is a family name.”
“I understand how that goes, Kirk,” Owen replied.
“The docs here work for Mordent,” Galvanize explained. “They do a lot of stuff, but one of their responsibilities is taking care of us. We’re all subjected to weekly physicals to make sure we’re still in tip-top shape.”
“Precisely,” Edgar agreed. “We can’t very well have one of Mordent’s wonderful PEERS going out to help someone only to slip a disk or blow a joint. As folks entrusted with rescuing people in peril, their health is of the utmost concern.”
“Plus we have to make sure they haven’t slipped up on their body-fat percentages,” Kirk added.
Edgar threw a quick disapproving look to his assistant.
“What? We check it. You and I know it, and the PEERS sure as heck know it since it’s in their contracts. Titan is exempt, but I’m sure by now he’s realized there’s certain conditions put on the rest of his team.”
“It’s fine. I figured that out just from the fridge,” Owen said. “No way four young people in this line of work would willingly refuse to stock any beer. Surely at least one them would want to enjoy unwinding with a drink if they had any say in it.”
“Yes, well, while the superficial aspects are less intrinsic to the accomplishment of their duties, we are still required to monitor them,” Edgar admitted. “And on that note, I believe we are due in Hexcellent’s room. Galvanize, we’ll see you in about half an hour. Titan, it was a pleasure to meet you.”
“Quite an honor,” Kirk added.
“Same here,” Owen said.
The two men headed off down the hallway Owen had just emerged from, presumably on their way to Hexcellent’s room.
“I know what you’re thinking, but they really are nice guys,” Galvanize said once the docs were gone. “Last year I seriously messed up my ankle while helping out with a multi-car pileup. The team was due to put on an exhibition at a sporting event two weeks later. Mordent had sunk a lot of money into it and the exposure was going to be huge, so they expected me there, fully-functional ankle or not. They wanted the docs to give me a clean bill of health so I could make the show. Edgar and Kirk told them to blow it out their ass, that if I tried to do anything too active I would cause serious, long-term damage. Mr. Greene finally got the company to spring for a healer so I could be properly patched up in time for the event.”
“Damn. This doesn’t seem like the kind of company that would take that shit lightly.”
“I’m sure they wouldn’t, but the docs are way too important to lose over something like that. They’ve both involved in all sorts of Mordent projects, the kind of stuff so classified I probably don’t even know about the floor it’s on.”
“And they use these valuable assets checking on four Supers’ fat levels?”
“Edgar and Kirk demanded the right to be our physicians,” Galvanize told him. “Like most scientists, they’re fascinated by Supers. We’re the biggest mystery to come along in millennia, and people are dying for answers about us.”
“I’m sure they’re smart guys, but I’m not holding my breath on them cracking it,” Owen said. “We had hundreds of guys in lab coats trying to figure us out back in my day too, and they never made much progress.”
“Sooner or later, someone will. I’m pulling for the docs. At least they treat us like people instead of experiments.”
“That is harder to find than it should be,” Owen agreed. “Anyway, what’s on the docket today besides getting you all checked out?”
“It was supposed to be another splintered day,” Galvanize said. “However, after yesterday’s unexpected reveal, Mr. Greene decided it was best if we had some more team exposure. We all need to be in costume and ready to go by nine.”
“Not going to tell me what we’re doing?”
“I’d rather wait until the whole team is here and deal with it once,” Galvanize said.
“That kind of thing?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
28.
“As you all know, as of yesterday our team has been under increased media awareness,” Galvanize said, eyes sweeping across his team as he spoke. Bubble Bubble was paying attention, though from the disinterested expression on her face it was clear this either wasn’t news or wasn’t news she cared about. Hexcellent seemed somewhat curious, despite her constant yawning. Zone was the least expressive of them all. Usually he was preoccupied with shooting dirty looks at Owen; today his anger seemed to have simmered down a few degrees to the point of general disinterest. How long that would last was anyone’s guess.
“Consequently, Mr. Greene feels it’s important that we appear as a team for the next few days. This might be an opportunity to catapult our brand awareness. As we’ve discussed, putting together a united front only increases our appeal.” This was not mere speculation on Galvanize’s part. Countless market research studies had proven that while the occasional lone Hero could gain renown, people by and large tended to prefer to see
their Supers in teams. It only followed that this mindset would apply to PEERS as much as it did to Heroes.
“You’re beating around the bush,” Hexcellent accused. “What do we have to do?”
“There’s a charity event coming up in several weeks. It’s a joint venture of the Super Athletics Association, companies like Mordent, and individual Heroes. There are meet-and-greets, competitions, exhibition matches, and of course the SAA will have plenty of sports going on. Generally the only PEERS teams allowed to participate are those that have a substantial fan base of followers. Today, Mr. Greene informed me that we will be signing up for it with his blessings.”
Both Zone and Hexcellent groaned loudly, and even Bubble Bubble lifted an eyebrow and pursed her lips in an expression Owen assumed was distaste.
“What’s wrong with doing a charity event?” Owen asked.
“Nothing’s wrong with helping charity,” Hexcellent said. “But this means we have to be around Heroes. The nicest of them just ignore us, while some are outright dickholes. They even treat the players from the SAA better than us, because for some reason that’s considered a more respectable job.”
Owen reflexively felt himself about to stick up for those in his profession, but his brain stopped his tongue before it could wag. Only a week ago he’d thought of these people as pretenders, children playing dress-up and trying to grasp at a title they hadn’t earned. How would he have treated them if he were on a Hero team working this event? Hexcellent was right; he probably would have just ignored them, at best. Instead of disagreeing with his team, he’d be better off finding out what they were in for.
“What exactly is our role at this thing?”
“That, we are allowed to determine individually,” Galvanize said. “As I said, there will be plenty of events and activities we can participate in, though Mr. Greene has requested that you not sign up for meet-and-greets.”
“Don’t think anyone will want Titan’s autograph?” Owen said, only half-joking.
“More that he feels Titan is better seen larger than life for right now. If you’re on the ground, talking to people, inevitably someone will use it as a chance to protest or cause controversy. He thinks you should be doing things instead, reminding people about the power that made them adore you in the first place.”
“That’s a pretty fair plan and assessment,” Owen said. It was exactly the sort of thing Lenny would have told him to do. Greene might be an anal-retentive overbearing jerk, but it was somehow slightly reassuring to know he was at least competent at his job. “Anything in particular he’d recommend?”
“No, only that showing up other Heroes would likely lead to bad blood, so perhaps something cooperative or with the SAA would be best.”
If Greene didn’t want him showing up other Heroes then he was going to be beyond pissed about Owen’s assessment with Elemental Fury it. He briefly considered making a comment in this vein but thought better of it. He was still hoping that little fiasco-to-be would fall through and become a non-issue.
“Guess I’ll do something with the SAA,” Zone said. “Maybe join a baseball or basketball team. I’ve always been able to crush at sports; I should at least be able to hold my own there.”
Owen nodded agreement, not wanting to stir up Zone so soon. It was unlikely that he’d really be able to play on the same level as SAA athletes, whose abilities had been specifically recruited and trained for use in sports, but now wasn’t the time to bring that up. At least in basketball or baseball Zone was less likely to get injured. If he’d tried to play football, Owen would have had to step in.
“I’ll see what they’ve got,” Hexcellent remarked. “My summons are damned versatile, just a matter of seeing what suits them best.”
“As Hexcellent said, I too will see what’s available,” Bubble Bubble said. “Though I doubt my abilities are suited to anything particularly spectacular. Perhaps there is an administrative or service role I can assist in.”
“Mr. Greene assured me that we would all be able to find events we were suited to,” Galvanize told them. “Remember, we’re representing Mordent and there will be a lot of eyes on us thanks to Titan, so whatever you do, make sure you can do it well. This is a big break for all of us; we shouldn’t waste it.”
“Gotcha, kick ass and take names,” Owen said. “Is there a website for this or something? How do we sign up?”
“They have a remote service for Heroes, but we’ll be going down to the organization headquarters to volunteer in person,” Galvanize said. “That’s why I gathered everyone in full costume; the press will almost certainly be waiting when we do so.”
“Let me guess: Greene told them we would be there.”
“Of course Mr. Greene did,” Galvanize said. “He wants us as much in the public eye as possible. Which means everyone needs to have their PR faces on as soon as we arrive. Anyone needs to do touch-up before we go?”
His question was met by a combination of silence and half-hearted head shakes.
“Right then: everyone head on down to the van. We have press waiting for us; we should at least try to be prompt.”
29.
Unlike the night of the fire, Galvanize kept the SUV at a low speed as they wove their way through the streets of downtown. This was as much out of a concern for safety as it was for appearance. In truth, the address they were heading to was within walking distance from the Mordent Holdings building, but that would have meant several members of the team showing up sweaty and tussled. It was fine to look that way on the job, especially after particularly impressive rescues, but today they needed to arrive looking their best.
He pulled the SUV into a conspicuously open street spot outside several large brick buildings. From how close it was to the small cluster of reporters waiting nearby, Owen suspected it had been saved especially for them. It would provide a great shot, the team stepping out of their vehicle with skyscrapers jutting into the sky at their back. The media wanted a crack at him, and they were playing ball with his team to get it. Owen would have to be careful how he handled them; he might be used to getting savaged by the press, but he’d rather not see his people go through it.
“Out of curiosity, what charity does this benefit anyway?” Owen asked, staring out the window as cameras flashed and microphones emerged.
“Proceeds will be split up,” Galvanize told him. “Some will go to Dream Granters, the company that organizes Hero visits to terminal children, and some will go to Shelby’s House. They help Powereds whose abilities make it hard for them to find work or housing and provide services like counseling.”
Bubble Bubble let out a small sigh. “Sick kids I can see helping, of course, but it seems like they could have found a better cause than Powereds.”
Owen felt a familiar anger start to burn in his stomach, but before he could decide whether it was worth the blowback to speak, Hexcellent took her own action. From her position in the backseat, she leaned forward and flicked Bubble Bubble forcefully on the ear.
“Ow!”
“You deserved it. Don’t be a bitch.”
“I was not ‘being a bitch.’ I was just saying that there are other causes out there that might need the money more.”
“Doesn’t matter, we’re not the ones doling it out,” Galvanize told her, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Our job is just to participate and raise as much cash as we can. It also won’t hurt us to look good doing it.”
Everyone but Owen paused to a do a last-minute mirror check in the SUV’s visors or carefully-stowed compacts. Only after each member was certain they looked their best did the team finally pop open the doors and emerge.
Immediately, the press members surged forward, the clacking sound of shutters filling the air. Owen noted the reporter from yesterday, Kip Sterling, stayed right in the center of the pack. Clearly he was determined not to slip up and make another rookie mistake. Good for him; Owen had given that same speech to a lot of other ambitious media hounds only to see them keep right on breaking
rules. That strategy never ended well.
It was less intense than Owen had feared. No one peppered him with questions or shouted accusation like back in his Hero days. Of course, during those times they were trying to get information about wanted criminals or destroyed buildings. Now they were just getting some shots of him with his new PEERS team going in to sign up for a charity event. The stakes weren’t exactly the same.
The questions did still come, just without the aggression he was accustomed to. Owen smiled, made eye contact, and kept his damn mouth shut. If Greene wanted them to be good, then Owen wouldn’t hand over any ammunition. A well-edited sound bite was a PR mortar shell when put into skilled hands. Until he caught up with Lenny and got a sense of where he wanted the story to go, it was best to give them nothing. Owen knew that if he wanted the right outcome then he needed to be the one to create the narrative of his story.
Galvanize was getting a few questions as well, mostly about which events Titan would be signing up for, though a few were about the team as a whole. He answered several, always polite and deferential, but kept the bulk of his attention on herding his team toward a large wooden door in one of the larger brick buildings. It took some doing, but eventually they made it and Owen easily pushed the barrier open. He expected the press to pour through it, like water through a funnel; however, they remained stationary as his team began to enter. Clearly whatever deal Greene had struck ended at the door.
Before Owen could make his way through, an unfortunately-familiar face popped up in front of him, microphone clutched in a sweaty hand. Kip Sterling had put himself ever-so-slightly between Owen and the door; he had just enough mass and was positioned just so that he was noticeable without seeming as though he intended to physically bar Owen’s way. It was a ballsy move, and from the nervous fear he was trying to keep off his face, Kip clearly knew that. Still, he stood his ground as the larger man stared down at him, refusing to yield. Owen was tempted to brush him aside, but he had been thinking about the importance of keeping on the media’s good side. Besides, he respected this little guy’s guts.