by Drew Hayes
Tentatively, she reached forward and plucked the card from his hand. “You’re sure I can trust him?”
“Lenny says the guy is solid, and I trust Lenny with my life. More than that, I’d trust him with my family’s lives. Nothing is guaranteed, but if it goes south then just let him or me know and we’ll handle it,” Owen assured her.
That done, he turned to Zone, who was actually looking at him rather than glaring, which was a marked improvement from when he’d first arrived.
“You still don’t really like me, do you?”
“I’m not a fan of a lot of the choices you’ve made,” Zone replied, his tone honest yet lacking any venom. “But it seems like you’re trying to do your best to make amends. I can respect that much, at least. Just don’t slack off. People are looking at you again. I hope you show them something worth seeing.” Slowly, Zone extended his hand, and Owen accepted it. They were never going to be as close as he was with the others and both knew that. They’d reached a place of peace and mutual respect, though, and that counted for quite a bit in Owen’s book.
“Thank you, Zone. I genuinely appreciate that. And I have something for you, though it won’t arrive until later this week. I called in some old favors and there’s going to be a healer dropping by. I think you’ve got a few good years left in you, so I want to get those knees taken care of,” Owen said.
“That’s a nice gesture, but healers can’t fix the accumulated wear and tear I put on my body; they just treat immediate injuries. Trust me, I looked into it.”
“Actually, that’s only true of most healers,” Topsy interjected. “If Titan is talking about the man I’m guessing, then he’ll have no trouble patching you up. Your knees— all of you, really—will be good as new.”
“And I want to give you this,” Owen added, pulling another card from his pocket before Zone could really wrap his head around what Topsy had said. When the reality of what Owen had given him truly sank in, it would likely be an emotional moment. Zone deserved the right to have that in private, if he so chose. “It’s a phone number where I can be reached, set to route through the DVA to reach me wherever I am. But it isn’t actually for you. It’s for your brother. Anytime he wants to talk, get some perspective, or even ask questions about what it takes to get into the Hero game, he can call me. If I can jump in this late in life, maybe he can too.”
Wordlessly, still reeling from the implication that his knees would be fixed, Zone accepted the card and held it between his fingers like it was made of glass. Owen turned away, letting Zone have space to process everything, and moving on to the leader of a team Owen had grown to respect immeasurably over the last few months.
“I really hope you didn’t get me anything,” Galvanize said, speaking before Owen had a chance. “It was gift enough having you on my team. Titan, you being around brought us all closer together, not to mention put us in the national spotlight more than once. You made my team better, and that’s all any PEERS leader could ask for.”
“Shit, kid, you really know how to steal someone’s thunder,” Owen told him. “As it happens, I don’t have a parting gift for you, but the DVA does. After seeing how much you helped during the attack, they want to put you on retainer for work as a Temporarily Authorized Hero Asset when the occasion is needed. The pay rate is decent, but more importantly, it should make sure you and your team keep getting the media exposure, even after the shitshow known as Titan is gone.”
Owen paused, taking in the younger man who’d shown such cool, smart judgment every step of the way in their time working together. Had he come onto another team with a different leader, this journey could have taken some very different turns. In a lot of ways, Owen owed more to Galvanize than anyone else, perhaps even Lenny. It was a debt he’d never really be able to clear, not that he wouldn’t try. Working toward the impossible was becoming an oddly-familiar goal in his new life.
“I also want to say thanks. You made room for an out-of-practice Hero that was a media pariah and walked in thinking he was better than the job. In my years, I worked with a lot of folks who do incredible things. Still, you may be one of the most impressive people I’ve ever known, and being a Super has nothing to do with it.”
Owen and Galvanize shook hands one last time before Owen turned again. Though Hexcellent was next in line, he moved past her, meeting eyes with Topsy and pulling a folded set of pages from his back pocket.
“Parting gift for you, something to help round out the team,” Owen told his old friend.
Topsy accepted the pages and flipped through them, a look of cautious skepticism slowly appearing on his face. “You want me to recruit a criminal?”
“Eli’s a decent kid with a very useful power,” Owen replied. “Given his willingness to help me on the bridge the night he was arrested, and his cooperation during the robot attack, the DVA is considering letting him do community service as a PEERS to pay his debt to society. He’d need a Hero to take custody of him, though. Talk it over with Galvanize; see if you think he’s a good fit. I’ve got faith that whatever you two land on, it will be the right choice.”
That done, Owen finally faced Hexcellent once more. Though he’d bonded with the whole team to one extent or another, there was no denying that he and the tattooed young Super with dyed black hair had forged an especially close connection. Looking at her now, Owen found himself a bit regretful that his life had fallen apart before he managed to bring a daughter into the world. Of all the things he regretted from his years living a lie, his children were absolutely not among them.
“I know I already got my present,” Hexcellent said, preempting the announcement. “Lenny helping me negotiate ownership of my own image and summons was more than enough.”
“Well, you’re right and you’re wrong,” Owen told her. “That was the goodbye present, but there’s also something else for you. If you’re willing, why don’t you and I go for a ride?”
* * *
From their vantage point, Hexcellent could just make out several people floating in the air, some in costumes and others wearing practical outfits designed for work. She and Owen were a ways off from the ravine with its secret base, which was the talk of Brewster as countless brave reporters tried to sneak close enough for a scoop only to be found and turned away. The official story on what had been found there was minimal, though that didn’t stop all manner of rumor from swirling about.
“Show me what you’ve got.” Owen stood near her, eyes never wavering as he waited for the demonstration to begin.
“Can I have a minute? My stomach is still fucking churning from that trip.” Hexcellent had been surprised to discover that Owen’s version of a ‘ride’ was running through town at top speed while she clung to his back for dear life. Though he’d kept a careful grip on her legs at all times, it hadn’t made the journey any less terrifying. Or nauseating, for that matter.
“No one gives you time in the field. You have to be able to work under all sorts of conditions,” Owen told her.
Hexcellent let out a few choice swears under her breath, but she also closed her eyes to focus. This was harder than her usual summons, the ones that sat so close to the top of her mind, bound to the milestones in her life that had shaped who she was. For this one, she had to go deeper, past the woman she’d become to the child she’d started out as. In a lot of ways, it was like distilling everything about her down to the purest, most innocent form. That was where her true guardian dwelled.
A pop filled the air, and next to Hexcellent stood a three-foot-tall rabbit on its hind legs, wearing a colorful suit of armor. It looked from her to Owen several times, then leaned its head against the summoner’s leg in a nuzzling motion.
“Damn, that is beyond adorable.” Owen shook his head; he couldn’t even imagine how many of these things would be on the shelves come next Christmas, to say nothing of the more intimidating versions still showing up on news reports. “Not quite as potent, though.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not really
all that scared right now, am I?” Hexcellent countered. “I talked to some of those DVA guys and the Heroes who debriefed me: the running theory is that he came out so strong because I was fuckall terrified. No threat means he’s the old-fashioned fluffy version.”
“That’s what I’d heard too,” Owen said. Determining a Super’s abilities was often a game of elimination, creating and discarding theories until one finally seemed to fit. In Hexcellent’s case, they’d had very little to go on and an inversely large motivation to understand what made her summon tick. An adaptive rabbit that could grow twenty-stories-tall when the need arose wasn’t the sort of power they’d want to let run loose without knowing how it worked.
“Kind of too bad, when you think about it.” Owen sat down in the grass, watching the floating Supers in the distance as they ensured none of the workers in the ravine were disturbed. “With the PEERS gig, the fluffy guy won’t have too many chances to really flex his stuff. Only so much call for an unstoppable bunny in rescue work.”
“Never know, the little bastard might find his time to shine.” Hexcellent rubbed Hopcules between the ears as she also took a seat on the ground. It was nice: out here away from the city’s center, she could almost forget about all the destruction and work that awaited them back in Brewster. “And even if he doesn’t, at least we got one hell of a chance to live the dream. Thanks for that, by the way. I never thought I’d actually get to play Hero, but because of you, I did. Even if it was just for an hour, that time meant more to me than I ever realized it would.”
“Glad to hear that,” Owen said. “Because if you’re up to the challenge, you might be able to have that experience again.” Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled forth the last of his documents and handed it to Hexcellent, who unfolded the page and began slowly reading.
Owen was silent as she absorbed the words; something like this might take a few minutes to wrap her head around. That was why he’d taken her out here, where the world was more peaceful. That, and in case Hopcules had come out in his big form once more.
“I don’t understand,” Hexcellent finally said. “I mean, I know this is an acceptance letter, but. . . I didn’t even apply.”
“The dean of Sizemore and I are on good terms,” Owen explained. “We sat down and had a long talk about you. About your past, about you cleaning yourself up and giving back to the community, about who you were under the makeup. Dean Jackson is a hard man with some patience issues, but he’s also the type who believes people can change. With my recommendation, he agreed to accept you into next year’s freshman HCP class. That’s why I gave Topsy the folder on Eli, so he can serve as a potential replacement. The spot in Sizemore is yours, if you want it.”
The paper in her hands was shaking, and wordlessly Hopcules wrapped his furry arms around Hexcellent’s torso. “You’re serious? This. . . this is real? I can be a Hero?”
“That’s up to you,” Owen said. “Getting in the HCP is a lot easier than staying there, and few Supers ever reach graduation. Make no mistake, you’ll have to prove that you belong there every day, or you’ll be cast out like so many before you. But if you can do the near-impossible, then yes, Hexcellent. You can be a Hero one day. This time, for real.”
She was hugging him before he even noticed her move, tears running across his shirt where Hexcellent’s face was pressed into his shoulder. For once, this was a costume cleaning that he wouldn’t complain about.
“Titan. . . thank you so much. There’s no way I can really do this though, is there? I’m already past college age, and my face is all over the place in advertisements. Even I know Heroes have to keep their identity secret.”
Gently, noting the wary eyes of Hopcules, Owen rested his hand on top of her ink-black hair. “You only have to keep it secret as a student; after that it’s a choice. Don’t worry about your age either; lots of people do college later in life. Hell, if anything it makes you less likely to be suspected of being in the HCP. As for the face, as long as you cut back on the makeup, switch hair-dyes, and cover the tattoos, I think you’ll be unrecognizable. No one is going to hunt that hard for a corpie that left her team.”
“Except that I summoned a giant rabbit that half the town is talking about,” Hexcellent reminded him.
“About that: you may have noticed that the rabbit is all they’re talking about. No one got a good picture of the woman riding its shoulder, and the DVA is holding back that information pending your acceptance. So far as the world is concerned, Hexcellent was just the goth PEERS that summoned demons. The only people who know the truth are Mordent, who are too smart to break a DVA gag order, other Heroes, and your teammates. If you want, we can let the news out. You’ll probably be the most popular PEERS in the country overnight. Or the DVA can designate the situation as classified, and you become a nobody freshman in the HCP next fall and tackle the PEERS past if you make graduation. It’s all up to you, Hexcellent.”
“Hannah.” Slowly, she lifted her head from his shoulder, though the tears were still falling freely. Her dark makeup was streaked and smudged, already fading to show the woman who dwelled underneath. “Can’t very well go by my old corpie name at school, now can I?”
“No, I suppose not.” Owen leaned forward a bit, meeting the glassy-eyed stare of her guardian rabbit. “You and the others are going to need to take care of her from this point on. She’ll be plenty scared more than once working through the Hero Certification Program.”
Hopcules nodded, and though it might have been Owen’s imagination, he thought he saw the barest traces of claws peeking out from Hopcules’s fuzzy fingers.
“Good rabbit.”
* * *
Once she’d regained her composure, Owen dropped Hexcellent, Hannah, off at the hotel lobby where an older, seemingly-innocuous man was waiting to discuss the details of her enrollment. Dean Jackson would bring her the rest of the way up to speed, making sure she truly understood what she was facing if she chose to attend Sizemore. He’d probably try to scare her off, at least a bit, as the program had little time to waste with those that couldn’t handle the harsh reality of what they were undertaking. The effort would fail, though, of that Owen had zero doubt. He’d seen the bravery and determination in that girl’s soul. Now that she had a real shot at her dream, nothing would make her turn away.
With his former team seen to, the time had come for Owen to look ahead.
Bounding through town, he ran to the abandoned district where the team once known as the Wild Bucks made their home. Juiced and Kaiju were both in the gym area, working hard just as they had been when he last saw them. Neither had been seriously injured in the battle with the robots, though both had seen the limits of their abilities more than once. For some Supers, not being powerful enough when it counted destroyed them, shook their confidence and drove them away from future confrontations. Heroes, however, were made of sterner stuff. At least, the ones Owen respected were. When they failed, it lit a fire under them to become better, stronger, more capable for the next time around. And it reminded them that no Super was unstoppable alone. Trusting their team was more important than any individual ability.
Sometimes, even Owen needed to be reminded of that.
Deadlift was in the makeshift office, reviewing documents. He glanced up at the massive form of Owen as it entered, shaking his head in annoyance. “You sure you don’t want to take over the leadership position here? I figured when you asked to join I’d at least be free of the paperwork. I mean, you are the most experienced Hero on the team.”
“And with experience comes wisdom, such as knowing that being a leader means having to deal with the boring crap like paperwork,” Owen countered. “Besides, I think you’ve got this well in hand. I’m good at hitting stuff; you handle things like tactics and planning.”
Although there had been no shortage of teams offering Titan spots when the robot battle dust settled, Owen had decided to throw in with Deadlift and his crew. In part it was because he needed someone he
trusted looking after the PEERS, and Topsy wouldn’t budge until his people were taken care of. But more than that, Owen wanted to be there because he knew how precarious their position still was. This was a team that deserved to exist, and if his presence could help them stay afloat, then it was a worthwhile endeavor. Besides, there was something he just liked about being back in these barebones quarters; it reminded him of his early days, before the press and the merchandising and the attention. Back when it was all about the job and the people in the trenches with him.
“Well, the good news is that we just got word from the DVA, and the name change is officially approved,” Deadlift told him, setting down a crisp page atop his desk. “All it needs is your signature. But I do have to ask, for the umpteenth time, are you really okay with letting us have this? It’s a strong legacy, and I hate the idea that we might tarnish it.”
Owen leaned forward, grabbing the paper and a pen that that seemed downright dainty in his oversized hand and scrawling “Titan” across the blanks Deadlift had marked. “Maybe we’ll drag the name down; maybe we’ll raise it to new heights. Doesn’t matter either way. It wasn’t doing anyone any good just sitting there in the history books. But you all had to chuck the Wild Bucks; that was a reputation that needed to be abandoned. If your lot wants to resurrect this antique, I’m not going to be the one to stop you.”
With a final signature, Owen pushed the page back over to Deadlift, who examined it carefully. He doubled-checked each line to be sure everything was in order, just like a good leader should. Owen had high hopes for this kid, as well as for Juiced and Kaiju. That was why he’d refused to take over as head of the team. One day, Deadlift was going to an incredible Hero and a respected leader, but he needed experience to get there. Owen’s job was to guide the next generation, not take over for them.