Richie and Virgil were acting weird.
In first hour, Zoey had seen Virgil pointing at the window like a crazed madman. She didn't catch all of what the boys had said, but it sounded like Virgil had seen someone lurking outside. Now why someone would be doing that, she didn't know, but she wasn't sure why he had gotten so worked up about it.
Of course, she couldn't have seen everything that had happened, since she sat in front of Virgil. All she really had heard was his excited whispering.
Though she did hear Richie say Virgil was stressed out. Again, she had no idea why. She supposed everyone was a little stressed out. After all, it was high school. But the tone of his voice had been different, like there was something else going on.
But the odd behavior hadn't stopped there.
At lunch, she noticed Virgil had been constantly looking around—his eyes darting every which way—from the sides of him to even the ceiling. That was not normal. Something was definitely up.
She supposed she could've asked him about it, but she doubted that he would even tell her. Sure, they were friends but they weren't super close. And she had only been in Dakota for a few months now—it's not like he would spill his deepest, darkest secrets to her.
Whatever it was, it was none of her business anyways. Besides, she had other things to worry about.
After doing some research, she found that Static and Gear were going to be at the comic book shop signing autographs on Saturday, as a way to promote the store and its newest release, Batman's Eternal #39.
This was her chance to meet the heroes, in person. She didn't think she'd ever been this excited about meeting someone before.
She imagined walking up to them for the first time—what she would think of them, and what they would think of her. Were they friendly and polite, or were they stuck-up and arrogant like she expected anyone of high status to be?
She was going to find out soon enough.
Maybe she would ask Frieda to come with her, for the sake of company. Or maybe she'd ask Virgil and Richie, since she knew they were huge comic book fans. Although, knowing them, they had probably already reserved their spot in line. They wouldn't miss the opportunity to grab the latest issue and make small talk with the two most famous people in Dakota. They'd be crazy not to.
All she could do now was wait just a couple more days. It was so going to be worth it.
"What do you mean we're followed?" Richie said. The blond frantically looked around, trying to find the alleged stalker, causing Virgil to panic.
"Shh! Don't make it obvious!" he hissed. The last thing they needed was to let on that they knew they were being followed. Especially if it was by one of Ebon's crew.
Richie looked at Virgil questioningly.
"It's Talon," Virgil whispered. "She was the one I saw in the window earlier today."
Richie furrowed his brows in confusion. He couldn't think of a logical explanation as to why a member of the Meta-Breed was hunting them down.
"Are you sure it's not just coincidence? I mean, she has no reason to follow us."
If she wasn't attacking them, there had to be another reason why she was there. Probably acting as a lookout for Ebon for some scheme he was pulling. Or maybe she was looking for Static and Gear. The chance that she was looking for Virgil and Richie was very unlikely.
"Yeah, but Hotstreak was after us too," Virgil said.
"But we've always had bad blood with Hotstreak, before he was even Hotstreak. I'm telling you, Virg, it's probably a coincidence."
Virgil was growing impatient. "I don't think so, Richie." He held up two fingers for emphasis. "Two members of the Meta-Breed, within a matter of days. That can't be coincidence."
"What're you saying, then?" Richie asked. The possibility that the meta-humans were actually looking for them as civilians was startling, if not kinda freaky.
"I'm saying the Meta-Breed's after us. And I bet Ebon's behind it."
Richie's eyes grew wide.
"But, V, that was months ago when Ebon kidnapped you. He gave up, didn't he?"
The memory of that day stuck vividly in Richie's mind. He had watched his best friend get swallowed up by Ebon's ominous shadow, and he had stared into the gang leader's cold, white eyes, devoid of any emotion besides hatred. Before that, he himself had been kidnapped by the shadow man, and had almost been kidnapped a second time if Static hadn't come to save him. He shuddered to think what Ebon might have done to him if he hadn't shown up when he did.
Virgil looked at Richie, a hint of worry in his eyes. "I don't know, Rich. I don't know what he's after."
Richie glanced at the ground, then back at Virgil, sharing his friend's uncertainty. "What are we gonna do then?"
"We need to investigate. See what Ebon and his goons are up to," Virgil said, sounding more confident than how he was actually feeling.
The truth was, he was anxious. This type of thing had never happened before since he became Static. But if he had learned anything about being a hero, it was that it required more than just having powers. You had to think, you had to have a plan. You needed a strategy. And that's what he and Richie were going to do.
A step in the right direction was enough to help Richie feel at ease. Make a plan, execute the plan. If that plan fails, then make a new plan. It was the kind of strategic thinking Richie was good at. And if he and Virgil put their heads together, they could solve it in no time. Richie had learned that when you're part of a team, you could figure out just about anything.
"This sounds like a job for Static and Gear," he declared.