Epilogue
Drew: I’ll be late.
Booker: Just make sure you come home.
Drew: And miss date night?
“Vanguard needs us.”
High above the city, sirens filled the streets. Crime had reached a new high, and so far, the Centurions were an unfulfilled promise. Southland cried for heroes, and tonight they’d get their wish. We were the heroes Vanguard needed.
On the ledge of Vanguard National Bank, Mr. Supreme and Failsafe gave slight nods. Janet slung the bat over her shoulder as she elbowed her way between them. “I’m ready to crack some skulls.”
Suited up, they responded to my distress call.
They didn’t ask questions as they stepped into my world.
Janet commented on my suit and what it did for my package, and then waited for orders.
The Human Resource Director / Queen of All In Her Sight / Ruler of Time and Space bestowed the role of field commander to me. At least for tonight, this was my team.
“Welcome to Southland.”
I leaned back, falling from six stories. This was my leap of faith.
“Cyber Punks. Six of them. Robbing the bank,” Connor said into our comms. “Don’t get cocky.”
“Never.” I spun about, the sidewalk outside the bank speeding toward me.
“You’re as bad as Janet,” he said.
“We’ve got eyes,” I shouted.
An oversized mitt grabbed my wrist. Wyatt used the momentum of the fall, hurling me toward one of the goons covered in metal.
My feet slammed into the oversized man, sending him hurdling into a telephone pole.
I flipped backward, seeing Orion drop Janet behind another crook.
She cracked him on the back of the head while Orion fired nets at the others.
The walls of the bank burst outward. A seven-foot-tall man emerged from the dust, carrying sacks of money.
“Hydraulic enhancements. Strength.” I glanced up to see the drone giving Connor a bird’s-eye view of the scene. With all hands on deck, the crooks didn’t stand a chance.
“Wyatt, would you do us the honor?” I asked.
“Villain, you are under arrest.” The punk’s chest split apart, a bright red glow building.
“I asked nicely.” The laser fired. Wyatt’s hands went up, deflecting the energy.
Growling, he took steps forward, unfazed by the weapon.
“Stop. Being. Mean.” Wyatt’s fist smashed under the punk’s jaw, sending him flying into the bank.
“Janet, behind you!” I shouted. A woman with a rifle mounted to her arm took aim. I grabbed a baton, spun, and let it fly. It smacked the woman’s forearm. The shot went wide, missing Janet, but leaving a hole in the cape she insisted on wearing.
“Woman!” Janet charged with the bat. “This is my favorite cape.” I cringed as Janet ducked under a wide punch. For not having powers, she smashed kneecaps like a pro. Bouncing the punk’s face off her knee, she started an obscene victory dance.
Orion had his arms raised, palms pointed at me. I barely jumped out of the way as he fired. The bolt of energy hit a punk, making his mechanical parts spit sparks.
“Thanks.”
As Wyatt stepped out of the bank, dragging the oversized goon, I realized we were no longer the bumbling team from a year ago. We were the heroes the city needed.
Janet finished the hip thrusting. “This is where we say something pithy.”
“Then we find out it was a trap,” Orion added. “The Illuminati—”
“Or an assassin?” Janet pointed the bat.
“Trident,” Connor chimed in our earpieces. “Only known as Whisper. There is no file on her.”
“Illuminati,” Orion repeated.
“I hope she’s not a talker,” Janet said. “I hate when the codename is a lie.”
The assassin ran toward me, jumping onto the hood of a car before launching herself into the air.
Impressed by her grace, I spotted the knives before she threw them.
Pulling out the batons, I knocked them out of the air while she landed.
Into a roll, blades appeared from her forearms. I was already flipping backward as she thrust.
Trident hadn’t relented. The bounty for my head continued to grow. Every price increase brought a new assassin looking to score a buck. At this point, the jail must be filled. Tonight, we’d add another to their ranks.
She followed, blades swiping as I rolled to my feet.
I blocked, parried, and deflected. The white Kabuki mask seemed appropriate for the dance-like approach to fighting.
If there weren’t blades involved, it’d have appeared as if we had choreographed our movements.
I continued defending against her attacks, but made no effort to push forward.
“Fight me,” she whispered.
Every muscle in my body wanted to break her jaw. I wanted whoever sent her to see the futility. No matter the price on my life, they’d see it as a lost cause. They might get close, but they’d never walk away the victor.
“I don’t have to,” I said.
Tonight, they wouldn’t even get close.
She barely had time to turn her head when Wyatt’s fist collided with her jaw. I hope she saw the smile on my face as she pivoted, trying to absorb the impact of a super-strong alien. Reaching for her belt, I spotted the knives. I resisted the urge to lunge.
“Booyah!” Two darts with a wire between them trapped her arm against an SUV.
I could have beaten her. She was just another—
Whisper screamed. The vibration shattered every window on the street.
I clutched my ears as I thought my head would explode.
Even Wyatt dropped to a knee, growling. I couldn’t make out Connor’s voice as the ground wobbled under my feet.
I should have guessed that with the growing bounty, we’d move from run-of-the-mill assassins to ones with powers.
She pulled her arm free, stomping toward me, the scream never ending.
With every step, I thought my eardrums would explode.
Her bleeding nose ruined a perfect makeup job.
Like all villains, the moment she got the upper hand, she turned arrogant.
A flash of silver from behind struck her with enough force that she staggered within arm’s reach. I couldn’t help but laugh.
She planned for Hellion. If she had recent intel, she might have read about the alien and tech user. Maybe they even knew about Janet’s life working for the CIA. We were the grunts that kept Vanguard running, but we weren’t alone.
Whisper’s body jerked as a metallic fist smashed against her shoulder.
The screeching stopped. As I pulled apart the baton, wrapping the rope around her neck, I smiled at the shiny silver man behind her.
“Thanks,” I said, louder than necessary.
Pulling the rope tight, she flailed, but I refused to let go.
I’d choke the life out of her if it kept her quiet.
Ricardo in his metal form… I understood why Arthur snuck into the janitor’s closet so often. Liquid metal and thick in all the right places. He joined us to see if the superhero lifestyle suited him.
Whisper’s grabbing for my wrists stopped, and her body went limp. She deserved nothing less for threatening my friends. I loosened my grip. Janet kicked her in the thigh, getting out her pent-up frustrations. Orion gave me a thumbs-up while Wyatt had his pinky in his ear.
There were no looks of disgust as I let her go.
This was the compromise, a discussion we had at length before going out tonight.
We’d do what we must to get the job done, and it’d end there.
They didn’t welcome the brutality, but they didn’t ignore it.
They understood that only Hellion and my office alter ego remained.
“Victory!” Janet screamed before chest-bumping with Ricardo.
It took a moment before I realized the ringing in my ear was the comm in my helmet buzzing. Tapping the side of my mask, I cranked the volume.
“My offer still stands.” The balls on Carmen LaToya made me jealous.
“You don’t handle rejection well.” Looking over my shoulder, I saw the trident branded on Whisper’s neck. “I see beneath your mask, Carmen. I know who you really are.”
For a moment, I thought she had hung up, but that wouldn’t be her style. Carmen didn’t shy away from a fight. I didn’t know what game she played. Knowing she was at the head of Vanguard’s soon-to-be elite superhero team concerned us all.
“You going to out me?”
Orion finished putting the cuffs and gag on Whisper.
Ricardo had morphed himself into a metallic version of Wyatt.
When Wyatt flexed, Ricardo mirrored him.
But it was Janet who surveyed the pile of punks.
The baseball bat rested on her shoulder as she put a foot on a man’s chest, striking a pose as if she had planted a flag.
“No,” I said. I cleared my throat, speaking louder than necessary. “I don’t need to out you. The heroes of Vanguard will be waiting.”
“You’ve gone soft, Drew.”
She continued to underestimate me. There was no more holding back, no niceness standing in my way. “The name’s Hellion.”
“Superhero declaration,” Janet said. “Everybody cheer.”
They hooted and hollered.
“Test me and I will kill you,” I said.
All but Janet stopped cheering. I tapped the side of my mask, hanging up on one of the most dangerous women in the world. Ricardo and Wyatt eyed each other, unsure if murder warranted cheering.
Janet jogged to my side, hip bumping mine. “Our boy’s got some balls on him.” I didn’t miss her hand grabbing a butt cheek with a squeeze. “What next? More heroing? Maybe we should go see about this Illuminati thing? I heard there are lizard people that need taking care of.”
While Orion’s jaw dropped, my phone vibrated. Pulling it from the pouch on my waist, I nearly gasped at the text on the screen.
Hellcat: It’s Hellcat. I’ve thought about it.
Hellcat: A robot man gave me your number.
Hellcat: I suppose we could work together.
Hellcat: But I am not your sidekick.
I couldn’t help but smile. Hellion, a mentor?
Hellion: You follow my lead.
Hellcat: Sure thing, boomer.
I never thought I’d see the day. Then again, I didn’t expect to be dressed in crimson amongst my friends.
Every morning huddle, I presented them with a watered-down version of myself.
The dam had broken, and when I set my fear aside, I found my friends hadn’t turned their backs.
Through my insecurities, I found the only thing holding them back from the real me was me.
Wyatt gave me an energetic pat on the back, knocking me forward. “What’s next, boss?”
All eyes were on me, waiting for a command.
“He’s going to do it.” Janet could barely contain her excitement.
“Let’s give them hell.”
She cheered. “Tagline gets the stamp of approval.”
“Your favorite,” Arthur said through the earpiece. “Clowns are terrorizing the hospital.”
We didn’t need the Centurions to save the city. Who needed the elitism? Today, the grunts of Vanguard would save the day.
“Here we go,” Wyatt said, his feet levitating off the asphalt.
Yes, these were the friends worth fighting for.
And for once, there were no doubts. They’d do the same for me.