Chapter Twenty One
:: Phoebe ::
"Breaking into a bank and stealing five million dollars."
"Technically, Max stole it."
"Ignoring direct orders to return to Hero League and instead choosing to fly across the border to Canada."
Phoebe kept her mouth shut.
"Freezing a Hero League operative."
"Oh come on, you have to agree Evan deserved it."
President Kickbutt gave her a look, but she didn't disagree. Phoebe took it as a small personal win.
"Entering a portal in a public space where any non-supe could have seen."
"Again, someone else did it. I had to follow them."
"Stealing a boat."
"I simply borrowed it."
"Dark Mayhem escaped on it."
Phoebe sighed. Even with back-up Z Force operatives and President Kickbutt arriving within minutes and using a multitude of powers in and around the lighthouse, Dark Mayhem had gotten away. To add insult to injury, he had managed to get away in the boat she had hotwired.
President Kickbutt flipped a page in the file.
"Now, for the good things. You managed to take down four criminals, five including Evan."
Phoebe couldn't smile. She still felt guilty over taking lives. She couldn't shake the image of Roni crumpled on the ground. Her and her mole were burned into memory. Then there was Evan. He had been a big part of her first two years of high school. Knowing that he was planning to turn on the entire League settled heavy in her gut.
"Phoebe, I know your ultimate goal is to bring villains in for us to be the ones to deal out the swift arm of justice, but sometimes things happen and they are out of your control. You can't blame yourself. Remember, a villain will kill you and not think twice. Your father has lost more friends than I'm sure he will ever tell you."
"I know," she whispered. She could picture her dad's pained face whenever he talked about a friend who had been killed. Some tales he just couldn't finish. The thought of Max being the one slumped against the wall instead of Roni made her want to put her head down and bawl. It was a very real possibility that it could be either of their fates someday.
"You also managed to save the weapon. It's being examined, dismantled, and the money recouped from it will go back into the bank."
"Did you find the five million?"
President Kickbutt nodded. "It was right where Max said it was. We also managed to see some of his counterfeit product." She leaned forward and smiled. "Just between you and me, he makes me nervous sometimes. I'm extremely glad he's on our side."
Phoebe's first smile of the meeting bloomed. "Me too."
"We were also able to extract from Diego the device and subsequently the app he used to push money out of the bank and through the casino. Analyzing the tech will prevent this from happening in the future," President Kickbutt closed the file, sat back, templed her hands together, and stared at Phoebe. "So…"
The way she looked at Phoebe made her squirm. The discussion could take several paths. Phoebe only feared one.
"I want to commend you for what I know was a truly difficult mission."
Phoebe nodded. She didn't want to elaborate on how truly difficult it was.
"I'm sending you for our standard medical clearance and want you to get some rest here at Headquarters before we send you home."
Phoebe relaxed. Crisis averted. "Thank you, President Kickbutt."
"You know you can call me Evelyn."
Phoebe smiled. "I know, but old habits are hard to break."
They both stood and stretched. Phoebe was looking forward to sleep. She took a couple steps and paused.
"Evelyn?"
The President paused halfway out the door. "Yes?"
"How much trouble is Max in for everything he did at the bank?"
The older woman smiled.
"Enough that I can make him nervous for a few minutes before I tell him the good he did outweighs the bad," she answered.
Phoebe laughed. "He threw me in the sewer, you know. Telling him you can't repair his swoosh would be pretty nice payback."
It was the President's turn to laugh.
"I think I can make that happen," she replied, rubbing her hands in delight. Phoebe could only imagine the sweet retribution that would soon occur for the years of stress Max Thunderman had caused to their esteemed leader.
She only wished she could be a fly on the wall.
"Hey Sleeping Drool-y."
Phoebe rolled over, her cheek smashing into the pillow. She opened her right eye a fraction. Max sat in a chair next to the window, its shades down, gnawing in an apple. His swoosh was back, but it was wild in its current state. It appeared he had also just woken up.
"What time is it?"
"More like what day is it. You've slept almost two days. I woke up like two hours ago and heard you snoring down the hall."
Phoebe sat up quickly. "What?"
"You snore."
"I don't, but that's not what I was talking about. There's no way I slept two days."
Max nodded towards the table at an amber bottle. "That stuff works."
Phoebe studied the bottle. The League pharmacist had written them both out a prescription for a bottle of Dreamless Sleep. Phoebe hadn't realized that something like it even existed. The pharmacist promised it would produce restful sleep and prevent nightmares or dream visions of any sort.
"Wow," Phoebe stretched. She hadn't felt so rested in a long time, maybe ever.
"How are you doing?"
Phoebe looked back over at him. He was studying a Hero League lockdown procedure chart above her headboard.
"Okay. I'm glad it's over. You?"
He finally looked at her. A smile played on his lips. "I won't be whining about not getting assigned a case for awhile."
She laughed. "Me either."
Max stood and stretched. His t-shirt lifted up his abdomen and Phoebe looked away.
The case was over, but things wouldn't go completely back to normal. She was relieved that they had both come to the same conclusion to ignore the magnetic attraction that had developed during the case. It was just going to take work to truly ignore it.
"I'm going to get ready to head home," she said, slipping out of bed. Her bare feet hit the solid wood floor as Max's feet headed towards the door. They paused at the frame.
"We have to get our mission story straight before dad makes us give them a play-by-play."
Phoebe grabbed a towel and threw it over her shoulder. She smiled.
"You mean how you tossed me in the sewer?"
"You're never going to get over that are you?"
"Would you? You threw me in poo!"
Max smirked. "You almost foiled my plan."
Phoebe huffed. "Seriously? Without me on your tail, you'd still be a marionette."
The smile faded. Phoebe ran a hand through her hair.
"But, we wouldn't have gotten so far without your poker win or your counterfeit cash."
He looked at her in surprise. They stared at each other for a long moment. The air seemed to heat. He glanced back at the poster.
"You did a great job hotwiring that boat."
Phoebe winced. "Let's not tell them about that."
Max laughed. He gave her another look.
"Don't forget to wash that dried drool off your chin. Not a good look."
Phoebe gasped. She didn't think of a comeback (or stop rubbing her chin) until he was halfway down the hall. She ran to the door, leaned out and shouted after him. "I can smell your pits from here!"
He struck his Thunderman pose and Phoebe stifled a laugh. She turned back to the inside of her room and headed towards the bathroom. As the water ran, she thought of all the things she wanted to do when they got home.
All the normal things.