Despite the summer sunset, the wind was cold as Iron Eagle readied his armour for take-off: start up the engines, and then jump up in the air. The flying had frightened him the first few times he'd done it, but the years had brought confidence. Now he soared above the city, his eyes scanning the ground for Busiek Square. There. He began circling, in preparation for landing.
"He's not comin'."
"He'll be here."
"He's at home, watchin' the tube, grinnin' at us, standing around in the cold."
"He'll be here, Mel. Cool it."
Mel grumbled a bit, but Beth was the leader of the gang, so he shut up. Across the square, Joe and Rodge were telling each other jokes.
Privately, Beth was worried. No underage hero was legally allowed operate in the city. No underage superhero groups were allowed, either. After the Sidekick Act of 1977, the only way they were allowed was under the supervision of a registered adult hero from a known hero team. Because of this, they were waiting for the Iron Eagle, a fixture of the Freedom Phalanx. The she heard the sound of a VTOL engine: Iron Eagle was landing.
"Well, well. You're Red Heart's daughter, aren't you? Little Eliza Hart."
"I call myself Red Beth now," she replied, aware of the grin on Mel's face. She pointed at him. "This is Fridge."
Iron Eagle looked up at the face before him. Fridge looked like a yeti.
"This is Solenoid," she said, indicating a kid with glasses and a set of metal gloves, connected to wires going up his sleeves, "and this is Caliburn." Caliburn was the same age as the other two, with a glowing, ornamented scabbard on his belt.
Iron Eagle took a clipboard out of a compartment in his armour, and began writing." Now, what d'you call yourselves?"
"The Special Remedial Class," said Solenoid. They all went to the same school, and it had seemed right.
Iron Eagle gave him a disbelieving look, and then shrugged. At least they were being realistic. At least they wouldn't be like that bunch of kids that Dawnstar had had last year, the bunch that had called itself "The World-Changers."
Names and addresses taken, Iron Eagle put away the clipboard, and got down to business. "Now, you're a team, but you're rookies. So, we're going to team zone, but an easy one. The Circle of Thorns' holy grove. We go in, we beat up some mystics, we save anyone they've kidnapped, we all go home. Now, let's go."