Thank you so much for the reviews from the following wonderful people!
AlienGhostWizard14 - Thanks, man! I know I sent you a reply already, but still.
EmeraldTulip - Haha, I know! It's overtly long. I didn't mean for it to end up that way! / You're right about your thoughts regarding Leo and the rest of his family. He does miss them, but because he constantly avoided acknowledging that, it got to him. Now it's all good. / And yes! You caught it! It was a Flash reference! As far as the secret admirer, haha, I'm so predictable nowadays!
Guest - Yes, they will! As far as Adam and Bree, it will be answered soon.
LanaBanana - (First off, I love that username, okay? It's just awesome.) Alright. Now with that out in the open, thanks so much! I really appreciate that! What Bree did may seem a little unusual, but she was actually doing it because that was the closest thing she could get into trying to breach the gap between her and Leo. She didn't quite have the courage yet to really talk to him, so she subtly let him know through those likes that she misses him. :)
Thanks again, you guys!
Quickly, I just want to point you guys to a new note that had been added to my profile page because it will affect this series or story in the near future. It's towards the end.
This is one of my favorite chapters in the story. Still long, but it's broken up nicely and much lighter than the last. Hope you enjoy!
iii.
Leo tries not to be affected by the sweltering gazes that Aries and Sam are directing at him, but he fails. He knows they're demanding an explanation from him. Giving that to them is not a problem. However, what makes it difficult is that he can see that they feel like he has deceived them. He doesn't know if he can handle that because after all these months, they have become his best friends. The last thing he wants is for them to lose their trust in him. He sighs. "Oh, come on, guys. Don't look at me like that," he says.
They don't budge. Sam's arms are still knotted in front of her, and Aries, with his now powered down laptop sitting beside him, only continues staring. The smiles that usually frequented their faces don't seem like they will make an appearance soon.
Sam finally speaks. "Why didn't you tell us?" she asks, displeased. Yet, there's a hope of forgiveness in the way she said it.
Why didn't he tell them? There were many reasons. One was that he didn't want to tout that information around others because he doesn't want to use it as a crutch to build a relationship with the new people he'd meet. Another was that he didn't think it would be important. He's giving normal life a try, and it only made sense to put the most not normal part of his life in the back burner.
But, he guesses, all things that are hidden will come out in the open sooner or later.
For him, today—this morning, specifically—seems to be that day.
It was a rather lazy morning. With Sam's grandmothers off running a few errands, she was left at their house by herself. She figured that she should invite Aries and Leo over to help her finish the bountiful breakfast that her grandparents had left for her. When she called and told them, they were only too happy to come over.
An hour later, with their stomachs full, they decided to move on into other activities. Aries worked on his laptop by the kitchen island, while Leo looked at the pictures that hung at the wall on the adjacent living room. Sam, on the other hand, was searching for a movie they could watch.
They were in the middle of discussing their choices when breaking news came on the small TV at the kitchen counter, which had been droning on since earlier that morning. The reporter announced an ongoing robbery at a local bank. He said that police were at the scene and were hoping to conduct a peaceful negotiation with the criminals who were holding several employees as well as customers hostage.
"Wow. That's the second time this month," Aries commented as he watched aghast. "I hope it's not the same people. Those men are brutes. They need to be in jail for what they did."
Leo nodded in agreement. That bank robbery had slipped past them, and it was too late before anyone could do anything about it. As he thought back on it and the consequences it brought on those innocent lives, he was moved to call Chase and ask for help. However, the thought was interrupted when Sam abruptly left the room, clearly afraid and upset. All he and Aries could do was look at each other with puzzled stares.
The answer to their questions came just a few minutes later when Sam came back from the basement, clothed in an oversized hoodie and grasping a bow.
Alarmed, Aries shot out of his seat. "Whoa, whoa, Sam! Where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm going to that bank," Sam said as she secured the quiver full of arrows to her side.
"What?" But Sam ignored him. When she made a move towards the backdoor, he blocked her path.
"Aries, move," Sam said silently, but in her eyes burned determination.
"No. Are you crazy? Those guys could hurt you," Aries asserted. His brows wrinkled. "What's gotten into you, Sam? Why're you charging to this pla—"
"That's where my grandmothers are, Aries, don't you get it?" Sam said, pointing at the television furiously. "They're being held hostage. I need to go there."
Aries blocked her again as she tried to sidestep him. "No, what – You can't just go there with your bow and arrows. These men have real weapons. You may have great skills, but this is not the time to try it," he said. "Just leave it to the cops."
"I can't just wait. It's either I go home today with both of them or I die today with them." With tears of anguish brimming in her eyes, Sam said, "No one will take my family away from me again. Not if I can help it."
Aries' resolve crumbled a little as he understood. However, he didn't move out of the way.
"Sam—"
"You can't stop me, Leo," Sam told him.
"I'm not going to stop you," Leo said. He got out of his seat. "I'm coming with you."
Five minutes later, after he too switched into a hoodie so as to keep his identity concealed, they left, leaving Aries very confused and worried.
The succession of events isn't very clear now as Leo thinks back on it, and he guesses it may be the adrenaline that came with the impromptu mission. He recalls brief moments, like he and Sam sneaking into the back of the bank and receiving a call from Aries, telling them what was going on inside through the feed that he had accessed in a 'stupid' attempt to keep them safe. He recalls the moment when Sam and Aries found out. It's not like he can forget it; the look of sheer horror and shock on Sam's face after he used electrokinesis on one of the criminals who took the bait is engraved on his brain.
There are a few other things, but they're too blurry at the moment. All he remembers is the result: the criminals were apprehended, and all the hostages got to go home.
To keep what they had done a secret (Sam is positive she would get an earful from her grandmothers if they get a confirmation that she did risk her life to save them), the three of them decided to relocate at his basement. He had hoped they would have a conversation about it, but all he's been getting are those stares.
Leo shrugs, and then finally answers the question hanging over them. "I just didn't think it was important," he replies honestly. "Are…you guys mad at me?"
Sam sighs. She uncrosses her arms as she stands up straighter. "No. How can I be mad at you?" she says. "But, I do wish you'd let us know."
"Yeah," Aries agrees. "You being bionic is kind of a big deal."
"Well, technically, I'm not bionic. It's only my right arm that has abilities," Leo says, waving his right arm briefly.
"Whole, in part, it doesn't matter. In my book, that still counts as bionic," Aries says.
The faintest of smiles tugs at Leo's lips at that. He's so used being to being told that he's not part of the superpowered group and being excluded that for someone not to do it for once leaves him encouraged. "So, does this mean you guys don't want to be friends with me anymore?" he asks.
Aries and Sam exchange glances. Then, they chuckle. "Leo, if there's anything that the whole bank robbery thing taught me it's that you're a good person. You helped me save my family," Sam says with a grateful smile. "How can I not want to be friends with a person like you?"
"Yeah, man," Aries agrees. "Plus, things like that don't matter to us. …Well, okay, it does, because it's pretty cool to have a friend that has abilities. But, in the long run, as long as you're not a jerk and can deal with our interesting personalities, we're kosher."
Leo smiles at them, and for the second time since he has met them he's glad that his aunt has forced him to open up a place for new friends in his life. Maybe they're just exactly what he needs for the normalcy he's been after.
Then again, maybe this 'normal' life with these new people isn't so normal. With a teenage girl who had managed to disarm a criminal with one arrow and a guy who had broken into a supposedly hack-proof system with ease, maybe he has found something a little better than what he was hoping to find.
"So, not to be nosy but, is electricity the only superpower you have?" Aries asks but tries not to sound too eager.
Leo grins. "No, I've got three others," he says. "You want me to show you?"
Aries excitedly nods. Sam, meanwhile, only grins.
Upon their encouragement, Leo complies, and the moments that follow, unknown to them, forges the strong bond between the members of a new team.
By the time spring is in full bloom, the trio has already gone on a few other missions, or 'ops,' as Aries dubs it. Three, if Leo's to be exact, the first being the bank robbery. They weren't overzealous to prove their presence. That bank ops had created a lot of controversy already, and the three of them didn't like the idea of their identities being discovered. Leo is confident that his family will do just fine, but Aries' and Sam's may not stand as good a chance should the enemies they're starting to make come after them.
In addition, they didn't want to be in the way of the cops. They need those men and women to be their allies, so they didn't want to irritate them or make them feel like those hooded, unidentified kids are showing them up. So, the three of them made a deal that they will only go if the situation seems absolutely dire.
Thus, the small number.
The three of them are satisfied with how things are, but apparently Janice and Douglas aren't. After they ate breakfast earlier that Saturday morning, the two tell their nephew that they have a surprise. Leo, brain still slightly fogged by morning grogginess and the taste of delicious food churning in his mouth, doesn't think much of it but is curious. When they say that they have to go to Douglas' basement, he begins wondering if that surprise is a pet.
At the basement, after having him sit down, Janice instructs him to close his eyes, which he does. Just to be safe, she covers them with her hands. He hears Douglas' soft footsteps and a soft squeaking before the noises stop. "Okay. Ready?" Janice asks, and Leo can feel the excitement through her fingers.
Before he can answer, she takes her hands off his eyes, cuing him to open them. One quick look, and his eyes widen, a gasp following it.
In front of him stands a mannequin, its dimensions adjusted to his measurements. The top that it has on is of what appears to be a stretchy leatherette material that's dark copper in tone. On the shoulders and the side of the torso were black, same material but thicker. It lines the sleeves, too, from the shoulders down to the wrists. It has a hood connected to it, anchored down just below the clavicle by what look like dark buttons. The gloves are black. The pants are made of the same thick, black leather material, but there are indiscernible horizontal trims near the edge of both sides.
Leo knows exactly what it is: a new mission suit.
Or, actually, an ops suit.
"Do you like it?" Janice asks with a large grin as she stands beside Douglas and the mannequin.
Leo wants to say many things, but the volume of excitement that's hitting him shorted his brain and his tongue.
Douglas smirks when he sees the look on the eighteen year-old's face. "I think that's a yes," he tells Janice.
"I mean, how – What—" Leo manages then stares in shock at the suit speechlessly again.
"Look, sweetheart, as much as the idea of you going on these dangerous ops makes me nervous, I know that there's nothing I can do to stop you from trying to help people," Janice admits. "I've been talking to Douglas about it, and he said that the best way we can protect you is by making this for you. We've been working on this for about two and a half months now."
"You helped make this?"
Janice smiles proudly. "Of course."
Leo thinks over it and then nods appreciatively at the suit. "It shows. I see you still got that eye for designing."
Janice chuckles.
"Hey, I helped, too," Douglas chimes in, seemingly offended by the lack of acknowledgement. "I crafted this masterpiece to do a lot."
"What does it do?"
"Many things. First, it's built to be as weatherproof as possible. Rain, snow. It has a built in warming system in case you get stuck in a cold place. I haven't perfected a cooling system yet, but for the meantime you should be able to survive summer ops with relatively no problem." Douglas smirks proudly as he moves on to the next and what has got to be the best feature yet. He draws the hood over the mannequin's head, revealing how much it can cover. "Then there's this bad boy."
Leo grins. "I see you guys made sure something from my old mission suit survives into this new one," he teases.
Janice's grin turns into a sly smile. Douglas holds up his index finger, telling him to wait. Then, he presses the button by the right shoulder twice.
The suit vanishes.
Leo gapes.
Satisfied with the reaction, Douglas explains, "We understand how important anonymity is for you three, so I put in a cloaking device. Click this right button two times, and you will turn invisible. Click it once, and it should blur your features – at least when you have the hood on."
"The gloves have very useful features, too," Janice says.
Douglas nods in agreement.
After his uncle deactivates the cloaking device, Leo slowly gets up from his seat then walks over to the suit.
As he examines it, Douglas tells him, "This is not the same suit, kid. It's made just for you and your team and whatever you guys need."
"We spent a lot of time and money on this, little lion—emphasis on money. So please, take good care of it," she requests. "And take better care of yourself."
Leo runs his fingers on the material. He stops for a moment once it grazes the right button attached to the hood. Then, gradually, a huge, excited grin rises up to his face. "This is mine?" he asks.
Douglas smirks. Janice, softly grinning, nods. "Yes. This is yours."
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" he says, encasing his aunt in a tight hug.
"You may want to share this news, kid. After all…" Douglas walks off towards the storage room then comes back with two other mannequins dressed in suits with the similar dark copper and black material but different styles, "you're not the only person getting one."
Slowly, Leo disengages from Janice as he stares wide-eyed at her then at Douglas then at the suits then her again. "Aries and Sam get new suits, too?" he asks Douglas.
"The three of you come as a package deal now, right?"
Janice chuckles as Leo's hands balls into fists with rapidly building excitement, a huge grin on his face. She nods up the stairs. "Go on. Don't you have big news to share?" she says.
This catapulted Leo into a sprint up the stairs, giving off an excited scream as he makes a conference call with both of his best friends. "Get out of bed, Aries! You and Sam need to come over at my uncle's house right now!"
As the teenager continues to rattle off enthusiastically, downstairs, Janice is moved to look at Douglas with a smile. "Do you think we're spoiling him too much?" she asks sincerely.
Douglas shrugs, smiling. After a year of being submerged in misery, the kid is starting to find a way back to the surface and be happy again. He has no problem with doing things like this if it means helping him out. "Ah, let him be spoiled," he says. "He deserves it."
"Mastering your abilities is good. It's great, because that helps you adapt to different situations. But for you to become fully versatile, you have to sharpen your skills in areas where you don't use your bionics. We need to start training you in those, too."
Leo looks up from where he sits on the grass, and he sees that his uncle is waiting for an answer. He only blinks.
A sigh. "See, here's the thing: the more ops you guys take, the higher the risk becomes. Your enemies will start to find ways to outsmart you. What if they figure out a way to shut down your bionics, and what if Sam isn't there to help you?"
"I…can…ask Aries to un-shut it down?"
"Leo. I'm serious. The world you're trying to protect is not getting any better. It's getting uglier out there by the minute. The things you know and the things you can do are important in keeping your team safe."
Slowly, the smile on Leo's face vanishes. He turns his eyes ahead to the green landscape that runs parallel to the spring skies above. He knows Douglas is right; he needs to take trainings more seriously than he ever had before. Despite the streak of successes the three of them have had these past few months on the missions they had gone to, he knows that sooner or later they will have to face one that would rock them to their core. The best they can do to brace for it is to prepare as much as possible.
He sighs. "I know," he says.
"What about archery?" Douglas suggests.
"Ah, I'm mediocre at best. I'll probably be good at it in a few years." Leo takes a swig of water, wipes his mouth dry with the back of his hand, and then says, "The only other things I'm good at are coding, which Aries already has covered, binge watching shows on Netflix, handling a firestaff, and messing up my taxes. If you can count those as offense-defense skills, then we're in business. Otherwise…"
Douglas frowns thoughtfully. "What was that last thing you said?"
"Messing up my taxes?" Leo repeats, confused. He chuckles. "I told you and Aunt Janice that the form still confuses me. I'm pretty sure that after—"
"No, no. The one before that." Douglas lightly points to him and says, "You said you're good at handling a firestaff."
"Yeah?"
"How good?"
"I won the battle at the convention about two years ago." When a sly grin creeps up Douglas' face, he scoffs. "Firestaffs don't count. It's just a prop from a movie. And, I imagine those things can be reprogrammed, too."
"Yeah, but bo staffs can't be."
Leo frowns, unsure what his uncle means.
Three weeks later, he understands, when two hilts are added to the side of his ops suit, complete with holsters, each bearing retractable steel bo staffs that are as sturdy and durable as steel bats.
Janice is in the middle of setting up her garden, with Douglas helping her, when Leo walks out the front door. Their laughter stops when they see the confused expression on his face. His mind is obviously lost somewhere else, trying to grasp a thought that she can't discern. Looking at him, she sees an unfolded letter on one hand and an opened envelope on the other. "Leo?" she says carefully, nervously.
Leo blinks, as if suddenly tugged out of his thoughts. He looks at her then says, "It's the university." A small smile of disbelief slowly rises to his lips. "I got accepted."
Summer is nicely ambling into the city, and the cozy temperature is very much welcomed by the three that Saturday morning. They and Douglas had found an area in the park that's secluded and safe just a few months ago, and it is there where they conduct both their personal and collective trainings.
"Of course he's gonna stay in the team," Leo tells Sam as they watch Aries shoot arrows rapidly into their self-made targets from a distance. "Not only is he the best hacker around, but he's someone that we know we can trust."
Sam crosses her arms then leans at the boulder Leo is sitting at. She smirks. Before Leo got there this morning, she told Aries that for him to be able to stay in the team, he has to improve his skills. She told him that coming from a high profile team, Douglas and Leo wouldn't be impressed if his defensive abilities are weak.
At first, she had doubts that her best friend would take that bait, but soon enough he grabbed a bow, a quiver full of arrows, and asked her what he needed to do. He has been at it for a while, and the shots are getting wilder and wilder by the minute. She grins. "Keep going, Aries, you're doing great!" she yells to him.
Aries turns towards her, heaving each of his breath, his shoulders sagging in exhaustion. "How many more do I have to do?" he shouts back from down the range.
"Ten more!" Sam chuckles. "You're doing great!"
Leo chuckles. Shaking his head, he tells her, "You know, for a teenage superhero, you're mean."
The grin on Sam's face only grows.
Well, technically, having Aries learn how to defend himself isn't really cruel.
It's nearly ten at night when Leo finally locks up the coffee shop. Reina's supposed to have that responsibility, but since she had to organize a few events at the university, she had to leave early. Devin had helped him clean up the place as best he can, but he had to leave early, too. He was apologetic about it, but Leo had told him not to worry; he had closed down the place before. The part of the town is also surprisingly silent tonight, so there shouldn't be any problems.
As he's locking the doors, the sound of familiar footfalls stop just right behind him. Quickly glancing up, he sees the shadows of a boy and a girl. Thinking it's Aries and Sam, he smirks. "You guys would come just as when I'm about to close. What, local coffee shop's finally good enough for you?"
"We're not here for the coffee."
Leo's smile quickly vanishes. He turns around to the sound of the voice, and in front of him he finds the two people he least expected to see.
Bree manages a small smile. She glances up at Adam, who looks as apprehensive as she feels, and then continues. "We were wondering if you can spare just a few minutes for us. We're hoping the three of us can sit down and talk," she says.
Thoughts and emotions conflict inside his head. He remembers the academy then the departure with no goodbyes. He also remembers his conversation with his aunt about love and forgiveness. He thinks about all of this, and it boils down to the fact that even if the cut is still healing, he had missed them.
He had missed his older brother and sister a lot.
Leo nods. "Yeah," he says. He gestures to the empty table nearby where they sit for the next hour to talk.
"Yo dude! I got the new game, got two extra-large crazy pizzas, it's Friday night. Let's get turnt! …Oh. Hey, Janice!"
Leo shakes his head and grins as he listens to the sounds of Aries' and Sam's footsteps above. He pauses the video game currently playing on the large screen then waits.
"Leo! Where you at, man?"
"Basement," Leo calls up.
There's soft shuffling from upstairs, and then he hears footfalls descending the steps. "Alright. Let's get this thing start—" Aries stops mid-stride, Sam doing the same, when they see that Leo is not alone.
Leo only smiles. "I got two more people to play the game with us. You don't mind, right?" he asks.
Aries looks at them one by one, stunned, and then shakes his head. "Oh, uh, n-no. No, it's – it's all cool," he says.
"Great." As Aries and Sam come in hesitantly, he says, "Guys, you know my siblings – Adam, Bree, and Chase Davenport."
"Hey," Adam says as he stands up to shake their hands.
"Hi," Aries says.
"Now, Chase, you know Aries already. We've been playing Velocity X for forever."
"Of course. Hello," Chase says, shaking Aries' hand.
"I've mentioned him to you guys, too."
"Yes, you did," Bree says, smiling. "Aries Rodriguez, right?"
"Right," Aries says, hoping desperately that Leo won't reveal one of the secrets he's told him – namely, that he has a crush on his sister.
"He's also the team's hacker extraordinaire," Leo says proudly.
"Oh yeah. We've heard about those missions you guys are going to," Adam says with a nod. "Yeah, how do I know you don't have some cheats up your sleeves for this game?"
"The game just came out last night, Adam," Leo says. "Plus, cheats is not how Aries rolls. Right, man?"
"Uh, yeah. Right."
"Oh. Well, that's too bad. If you did, I was going to snatch you up for my squad," Adam says, sitting back down.
As his siblings either shakes their head or roll their eyes, Leo continues with, "Guys, this is Sam Park. She's the resident master archer and my other partner-in-crime. Or not crime. More like, partner-in-saving-people."
"Hello," Sam says amicably. "Leo's told us about all of you. Good to meet you all in person."
"Same," Bree says kindly.
"Yeah. Leo's told us about your first mission at the bank," Chase says. "Your skills are pretty impressive."
"Thanks."
As the two politely smile at each other, Leo takes note of Chase's prolonged gaze at Sam as well as the slight increase in the brightness of the smile in Sam's face.
"So, uh, can we share with the pizza, too? I'm kinda starving," Adam says.
"Yeah. Yeah, sure," Aries says as he places the pizza boxes down on a nearby table. He chuckles. "It's pretty huge, so all of us will have enough."
"Cool."
As his siblings and his best friends interact that night, Leo can't help but think how much things can change in a (relatively) short period of time.
A week later, Leo, Sam, and Aries find themselves in the basement again, but this time it's just the three of them. After watching a movie and spending some time out on the town, they're currently winding down, just talking about different things, some of which involved missions, some of which didn't. Occasionally, mundane topics will saunter in to the conversation, and they get a good laugh or two out of it.
As the clock nears midnight, talking has mostly died down. Aries, after changing into something more comfortable, is by himself on one of the tables, eyes trained on his laptop as he browses on the internet. Meanwhile, Leo and Sam are on the couch, watching a documentary they had picked at random. They talk about various things, but soon enough, as exhaustion and a lull settle in, they stop.
After Aries leaves for the kitchen upstairs, a question in the back of Leo's mind resurfaces. He hesitates to ask Sam first. He glances at her indecisively but then decides it might be the best moment to bring it up. "Sam?"
"Hm?"
"Can I ask you a personal question?"
It catches Sam's attention and even seems to wake her up.
"Before we went to the bank months ago, you said that you're not going to let anyone take your family away from you again," Leo says. "What do you mean by that?"
Sam thinks back on it for a moment. Then, when she remembers, a small smile begins to pull on her lips.
"Too personal?"
"Kind of, but I don't mind sharing it now," Sam says. "I just meant that I'm not gonna let bad people pull one over me again, because that's how I lost both of my parents. My dad was a doctor, and he's always participated in that Doctors Without Borders program? He came off for a bit when he and Mom got married then when they had me. He came back on when I was three. He left for an assignment one summer; I can't remember the country from the top of my head."
She pauses as she remembers the last video her mother took of her and her father before he left that year. Her smile slightly fades. "It's been years, and I can't remember much about him now, but I do remember him telling me that he'd bring home something for me. We thought things were going well for the first few days after he got there. Then, we found out that a rebel group had targeted a group of visitors. Never heard from Dad for a while. Months later, the news came. He wasn't ever coming back home."
Leo sees then a kind of sadness on her face that he hasn't seen before. It's honest, pure, and heartbreaking.
"Mom and I were managing for a while. She was a teacher at the school I was going to, so we were able to stay close to each other. We were fine, and things were getting better. Then, one Friday, she left me with my grandmothers because she had to attend some awards ceremony for teachers. She was on her way back home, but then she got into a car accident. Drunk driver. The guy walked away. My mom didn't." Tears then glaze her eyes even as she obviously tries to fight them back. "I wasn't going to let anybody do that to me again. Not with the only family that I have."
From that, Leo begins to understand the fire in her eyes that day and all the other days they had gone to save other people. "I'm really sorry, Sam," he says sincerely.
Sam chuckles as she wipes her eyes dry. "Yeah, me, too," she says. She looks at him then smiles. "What about you? What's your story?"
"My story?"
Sam nods. "You've never talked about your dad."
"You mean, like, my real dad or…?"
"Yeah."
Leo thinks on it. "My dad was really sick. Cancer. It regressed for a while, but then it came back. He died a few months after I turned six," he says.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
Leo smiles. "So am I. Wish I had known him more, you know? I think that's the worst part, when you don't have memories of them," he says.
"Is he the reason why you do this, too?"
"In a sense, I guess." Then, he amends it with, "Yeah. You know what? Yes. I think it must be it. I remember a promise I made, and maybe that's why living my life in another way doesn't make sense. It feels like it's a waste of my time when I don't help others. Focusing on myself all the time just makes me unhappy, you know?"
Sam chuckles. "Look at what life has done to us," she says.
"I know. It's turned us into a couple of brooding saps," Leo agrees with a grin.
Sam laughs then turns her attention back to the documentary.
A thunder of heavy footstep echoes from the stairs, followed by, "Guys, guys, guys!"
"What?" Leo says, looking suspiciously up at Aries.
Aries wedges himself in between them, laptop on his arm, before excitedly reporting, "Look! I've been looking online for any reports on us, and the Daily Dispatch has us on front page!"
Leo and Sam look closer at the display on the screen, and there they see the headline MYSTERY HEROES CONTINUE TO KEEP EAST CITIES SAFE scrawled across the top of the webpage. The article was penned by a reporter named Caledonia Wyse.
"'After the thwarted hostage situation at the West-Carson Bank just several months ago, many citizens are still left wondering about the identity of the two hooded figures who had been keeping cities in the area safe'," Aries reads. "'Theories abound on this subject, both online and offline.' You guys! People are starting to notice us!"
"That may not be such a good thing," Sam says. She points at a paragraph down the article then explains, "The police are also looking for us. I have a feeling some of them think we're lowlifes trying to upstage them."
Aries shrugs. "Well, we can't please everybody," he says. "Besides, that's just one man's opinion. There are other people in the police who know we're helping them."
"How do you know that?"
"One of Dad's student's dad is a police officer. He says they had appreciated the help on that bridge ops we went to two months ago."
"I don't know, Aries. Sam may just be onto something," Leo says. "People don't know us, and they're cautious. They're not familiar with how we operate yet, and some of them are spooked. Maybe it's best that we keep a lower profile. Attention like this might just bring us trouble."
"Well…Okay."
Not wanting to discourage his best friend, Leo tells him with a smile, "Still. That's pretty cool. That we get this kind of reception makes us officially on the books for being heroes."
"Right?" Aries says excitedly. "And get this: people on the world wide web had given us our names. Well, alter ego names."
Leo grins. "What."
"Yeah, look at this. 'Social media users have taken to their accounts to name the three members of the mystery team.' All of us have codenames and stuff!"
"Wait. Three?" Sam asks. "They only see me and Leo out there. How did they know there are three of us?"
Aries avoids eye contact with her on purpose. "It's the media, Sam. News can leak from anywhere," he says, futilely trying to maintain innocence.
Sam only exchanges a knowing glance with Leo.
"Okay," Aries diverts, "because of the bow and arrow people see you with, you, Sam, had been given the name Quiver."
"Quiver," Sam repeats as she thinks about it. She slowly nods with a smile. "Yeah. Okay. I think I dig that."
"And yours truly is Cypher."
"Okay. Catchy," Sam says approvingly.
"And me?" Leo asks.
"People who had seen you mostly remembers your use of electrokinesis. Some remember the super strength, too, but I think they remember the other one more because of the way those lines on your suit lights up when you power up."
"Huh."
"So, who's Leo's alter ego?"
Aries smirks. "Shockwave."
Leo ponders over that for a while. Since he had been given bionics, since he had become a member of his family's team, no one had given him recognition like that. Now, he has a name, and…he thinks he likes it.
"Quiver, Cypher, and Shockwave," Sam says as she looks at the boys. She chuckles. "Oh, we've really done it now."
Leo agrees. Their team is now known, and their presence has just become established.
When Amaranth visits again, Sam suggests that the four of them spend the day in the University Square to familiarize her a little with the town. Though the initial awkwardness has mostly worn off (Amaranth has come by several times over now), Leo still thinks that it's a good idea for the girl who he secretly really likes back to get to know his friends more. He wants all the important people in his life to get along, and, after being together for a few hours, it seems to him that that is very possible. Amaranth seems to share Sam's enthusiasm with classical music. At the same time, her sincere curiosity regarding everything comic books has earned her Aries' friendship.
He looks into the bookstore and finds the three waiting in line to check out Sam's and Aries' purchases. He smiles upon seeing Amaranth listening attentively to the muted but still animated conversation between the two. Then, he turns around and casts his eyes to the blue skies above, his cellphone pressed to his ear as he waits for his brother to continue talking.
Chase huffs after chastising someone off the phone. "These kids are driving me crazy, Leo," he says soon after. "I don't know why I agreed to take Spin and Bob together on my group. What was I thinking?"
"You were thinking that if you let Bob and Adam be in the same group, it would be more disastrous," Leo says, taking a sip of his already watered down smoothie.
Chase sighs. "I really need a vacation," he says.
"Why don't you take one? You've been working hard for a year. You deserve a break."
"You know it's not that easy."
"Whose idea was it to take the students to DC?"
"Please don't rub salt on my wounds, Leo," Chase deadpans, and Leo nearly laughs at that. "It must be nice on your side of the world. All you've got going on is a day out with your friends. I'm jealous."
"It can't be that bad."
"Wanna switch?"
"Nope." Leo can almost imagine his brother making a face. "Well, at least you're only going to be there for, what? Three more hours?"
"Yeah. Then we're back at the island, where more work awaits."
Leo chuckles. "How exciting."
"Hm." After a car zips by the street, he hears Chase say, "Okay, Leo. I have to go. I have to make sure that everyone's accounted for. I told you about one of the students we've been having problems with, right?"
Leo frowns. "Having problems with? Besides Spin?"
"Yeah. As it turns out, we have an escape artist on the roster. The first time she goes missing, we thought she just likes wandering off on her own. You know, just taking a stroll through the island. But then it happens again. And again. Some of her siblings are covering up for her; I think Sebastian the most. But then Taylor—"
"Taylor?"
"S-1. She told us that her sister is usually gone for hours when she leaves. The girl has geo-leaping, so we suspect that she goes out somewhere."
"Well, can't you just track down her chip?"
"We've never caught her in the act. She always goes when we're not looking. Unfortunately, bionic chips don't keep logs of where we've been—well, besides mine and the ones that students with super intelligence have. We have no idea where she's been going and why she's leaving. It really worries us."
At that time, the doors to the bookstore swing open to make way for Amaranth. As Leo looks at the blonde, a thought occurs to him. His eyes narrow. "This girl. Is she a little shorter, blonde hair, blue eyes?"
"Yeah. How did you know?"
Leo stares at Amaranth when she walks up to him, beaming with a bright smile. (Correction: beaming with a bright, very cute smile.) "I may have some information for you. Let me call you back." Then, he hangs up.
"Aries and Sam are just finishing up," Amaranth tells him.
"Okay, sounds good. Um…" Leo ponders over his next words, not wanting to sound accusatory. "Amaranth? Are you bionic?"
Amaranth tilts her head thoughtfully. Then, she nods. "Yeah," she says factually and notably guiltlessly.
Leo gapes at her. "What? Why didn't you tell me this?"
She shrugs. "You didn't ask," she says. She chuckles as she adds, "Your house at Mission Creek? When we first came? is where I first saw you."
"But, you told Aunt Janice at the Superbowl party that that was the first time I met you," Leo says, confused.
"And that's true. I've known you, but you never knew of me until then," Amaranth explains. When Leo's frown deepens, she says, "When I first came, you were busy with a situation at the hospital with your parents. After we moved to the island, you weren't as friendly anymore. At least that's what Sebastian said. Then you left. I never got a chance to introduce myself to you."
Leo gazes at her, and something about the sadness in her smile tugs at his heart. He tries to recall all those moments from a year and a half ago, tries to remember if he'd caught a glimpse of her, but he comes to the sad conclusion that he hadn't. All along, he had a friend, and he didn't even see her. He smiles a similar sad smile. "I'm sorry," he tells her.
Amaranth understands. "No. I am," she says. "I should have stepped up. Maybe you wouldn't have felt so alone."
"Hey, hey, hey! We got our stuff and some other things, and I think we're ready to…Am I interrupting something?"
Sam smirks and shakes her head.
"Chase is looking for you. Won't you get in trouble?" Leo asks Amaranth, smiling.
"Maybe? Maybe I won't if he finds out I'm with you guys," Amaranth says with a hopeful grin.
"Chase? What – We're missing something here, aren't we?" Aries presses.
Sam nudges Aries. "Come on. Let's go find somewhere to eat," she says, urging him forward. As they walk ahead, Aries reluctantly so, Amaranth follows but not without a glance at Leo.
Leo nods. As he watches her skip away with his best friends, both girls urging Aries onward, he calls his brother back. "Yeah, Chase? I know where your student's at." He grins. "She's here. She's been coming here to Vermont to see me."
The heat has been unforgiving that afternoon, and by the time they're driving home after training, both Leo and Douglas are very tired. However, instead of the usual silence, the car is filled with their conversation, mostly of Douglas' evaluation on what his nephew can improve on and what he's doing well. Topics flow in one after another as a very refreshing breeze streams in through the rolled down windows. "You're doing great with the steel bo staffs," Douglas comments as he turns to their street. "You have a good command of them. I see you've also learned a few tricks?"
Leo grins, pleased. "Oh, yeah. Came across it accidentally, actually."
"Hm. Janice told me about that little hole on your wall."
And with that, the grin goes away. "Yeah."
"We need to work on your speed, though. You're doing better, covering more distance in a shorter span of time than you used to, but you need to improve more." Douglas pulls up to his driveway then parks. Turning off the car, he tells Leo, "Your agility and stamina need to be worked on, too. You get winded too quickly."
"Oh, come on, Douglas. I'm a frail little boy. What do you expect?" Leo asks as they get out of the car.
Douglas stops in front of him and holds up his index finger. "One? You're not a little boy anymore. At least not as you make it seem like you are. You're eighteen, and though that's still young, it's not a very valid excuse for you not to push yourself a little harder," he says factually. "And two…" He shakes his head a little, and for a swift second Leo sees a hint of pride in his eyes. "Two, you're not frail. Not by any means. A person who can do the things you've managed to do up to this point is not weak."
Leo watches his uncle speechlessly as he makes his way to the house on the right. A big, appreciative smile pulls on his lips as he follows him. "Wait. You mean that?" he asks.
"No," Douglas deadpans.
"If I didn't know any better, I would think that you don't," Leo says. As they ascend the steps, they neglect to notice the unfamiliar car parked in Janice's driveway. Instead, Leo only continues with, "You know what? I do feel like I'm improving."
"You better be, especially if I'm the one teaching you," Douglas says as he pulls open the storm door then comes in. "I have a reputation to uphold."
Leo taps each of his shoes, one after the other, by the welcome mat to shake off the excess dirt in them. "Well, I guess that's true," he says. He nearly bumps into Douglas on the small hallway when he finally comes inside. His brows draw together out of confusion as his uncle remains cemented on a spot, staring at the living room ahead. "Douglas?" he calls to him. When he doesn't move, doesn't hear him, he steps around him to see what it is that bothers him so.
When he sees, he understands.
A concerned expression is on his aunt's face as she looks at them. Those same feelings seem to be reflected on his mother's face, although it seems like she's also bracing for the impact.
His stepfather, however, manages a small smile. "Hello, Leo," Donald says. "How are you?"
And with those five words, the life he has rebuilt seems to crumble back to shambles.
to be continued.