Dateline: Friday, July 3, 1981, 3:22 PM, Pacific Daylight Time.

Dash sprinted through the streets of his hometown, overflowing with purpose. He had always loved to run, even before he discovered his powers. But this time was different; he was running so that nobody would see him. Sure, when he sped past the paparazzi, they knew it was he. But by the time they realized that Rocket was two inches from their nose, he was long gone. And he loved it!

But he had a problem: if he ever slowed down, he'd get caught for sure, and he would have to slow to a normal pace eventually. After running up and down Main Street about thirty times, he hatched a plan. He ran near the hotel he was going to and dashed behind the building into the alleyway. Then he found some bushes to hide behind and waited. Soon, a swarm of reporters, photographers, and screaming teen girls came running after the handsome young hero. When they saw nothing, they departed with their heads hung in shame, just like he wanted.

After they were all gone, he emerged from his hiding spot. He brushed the branches and leaves out of his hair, then strolled inside the front door like he had an appointment there. As a matter of fact, he did.

"Hi," Dash said to the clerk at the counter. "Is the manager here?"

"Yes, just one minute…Mr. Baxter! Somebody here to see you!"

When Mr. Baxter came out, Dash noticed that he was tall and slender, about the same height as he was. Seeing the man in a business suit made Dash realize that his causal attire wasn't exactly appropriate.

"You must be Mr. Parr," Mr. Baxter said in a very deep voice. "I've been expecting you."

Dash smiled and nodded. He didn't know what to say.

"Well, I'm willing to overlook your little causal faux pas…" Mr. Baxter said, pointing at Dash's shorts, "…if you can show me that you would be a valuable asset to my little operation. Johnson! Bring out the experiment baggage!"

The clerk came out from behind the counter with a few suitcases and duffel bags on one of those luggage carts. "Now, I want you to carry these bags to room 1002, on the tenth floor. If you can do it before I get there, you're hired."

Dash gave a snappy salute. "Right away, sir!" But when he grabbed the dolly and dragged it to the elevator, Mr. Baxter stopped him.

"I'll be taking the elevator, Mr. Parr. You will have to take the stairs!"

"No problem."

"Johnson, you come with me."

Once the elevator doors shut, Dash set his plan in motion. First, he made sure nobody was watching. Then he picked up the first suit case…and immediately dropped it. It was much heavier than he expected, like it was full of rocks or something. He mustered up his strength and sprinted up the steps to the assigned room. Then he ran back down to get the next bag. It took him seven trips, but he managed to get all the bags to room 1002 before Mr. Baxter showed up.

Needless to say, Mr. Baxter was stunned. "W-W-Wait," he stammered. "This wasn't supposed to happen! You were supposed to struggle to get just one bag up here, then I'd say 'I admire your sprit' and then hire you anyway!"

"Yeah, but I got them all up here, just like you told me to. Um, if you don't want me to do what you say, I can work with that too."

Mr. Baxter laughed. "I must admit that this feat of…what's the word…grandeur is astonishing! We can use someone like you here at the Sunset. When can you start?"

"Oh, jeez, um, I don't know, I'm getting married tomorrow, and I kind of have to…"

"I see, that's no problem. Why don't you start on the 13th?"

Dash peeked at is watch and figured that that date would be Monday after next. "The 13th would be great," he said. But as Dash turned to leave, Mr. Baxter called after him.

"Johnson, can you give me some time alone with our new hire?" Johnson did as he was told. "All right, Dashell, if that is your real name…"

Uh, oh, this can't be good, he thought to himself.

"I just realized that there is absolutely no way any normal human being could have done what you just did." Mr. Baxter reached into his pocket, pulled out what looked like a baseball card, and handed it to Dash. "Recognize this man?"

Dash's face went ashen. The card depicted Rocket in full costume, looking forward as if into the future. It was his own superhero trading card. Mr. Baxter clearly knew who he truly was. He dropped his arm and let it swing. He knew what was coming next. Getting fired from a job before working for even one full day is bad enough, but having happen twice within three months, that's just sad.

"Would you believe this isn't the first time this has happened to me?" Dash said, on the verge of crying.

"This isn't the first time what has happened to you?"

"That I've lost a job because of my alter ego."

"What are you talking about?"

"Aren't you going to fire me?"

"Of course not, why on earth would you think that?"

Dash was so surprised by this ray of hope, that he was speechless once again. "Um…bdahhan…no reason, I guess," was all he managed to say. Then, "You're not going to tell anyone, are you?"

"Relax, Rocket. I understand everything. Your little secret, and your job, are safe with me, okay?"

Dash didn't want to, didn't plan to trust his new boss with this information, but now he had no choice. "Okay," he said reluctantly. He handed the card back to Mr. Baxter. "I'll be on my way now." And he left.

While Dash was doing this, his lovely female companion was back at home, in hysterics. The others were just about tired of hearing this crazed Bridezilla whining and complaining.

"Why?" Kim moaned. "Why did I let that idiot Dashell plan our wedding for tomorrow?"

"I thought you were excited about it," Ashley observed.

"I was, until I realized just how little time we have! We have to call a caterer, book a band…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down!" José interrupted. "Whose life have you been living? You know we can't afford all of that!"

"You're right, I lost my head there for a second. I'm losing everything these days! I've lost control, I've lost track of my boyfriend, I've lost my marbles…I can't even find my glasses now!"

"They're on your head, Kim," said Violet, stifling a laugh.

"Of course they are." When Kim lowered her lenses to her eyes, she burst into tears.

"What? It's just a pair of glasses, why is she bawling?" José wondered.

Violet whispered in his ear, "Time of the month."

Ashley put a hand on Kim's shoulder. "Relax, Kim. Everything is going to be fine." Of course, Ashley would prefer it if she were marrying Dash instead of Kim, but she had become good friends with her, and couldn't stand to see her disappointed. (You know what I mean, so keep your blind jokes to yourself.) "We're your friends, and we're going to make this happen!"

"How can you say that? How can you be so sure we can pull this off?"

"Kim, we're superheroes! Is there anything we can't do?"

"Well," José interjected, "I'm pretty sure Violet can't swim, because she cried for her mommy that one time when she fell into the river."

"Hey! You said you weren't going to bring that up again! And so what if I'm afraid of water? At least I don't scream like a girl when I see a mouse, Hernandez!"

"Guys!" Ashley chided, "Not helping!"

"You're right," said Violet, "we can do this thing! I'll prepare the food!"

"I'll find us a church," offered José.

"I'll start calling some guests," said Kim.

All at once, everyone went in different directions. Ashley was left standing all alone.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" At that moment, she sensed Dash coming into the house. "Oh, good, Dash, can you…"

"HeyAshleysorrycanttalkivegotacaboutsideandthemetersrunningwheresmygunthereitiscoolgottagoseeyabye!"

"…help us out here? Dash was here a second ago, I know it, I felt his presence!"

It was happening again. The people who could see were ignoring her. This wasn't the first time this had happened to Ashley. Her classmates always treated her like she was weird, because she was blind. What made this worse was that she never thought her fellow supers would do this to her, especially Violet.

Just when you think you know somebody, she thought to herself.

"Um, Ashley," Violet said, "would you mind giving me a hand in the kitchen here?"

"I'd love to!" she said with a big smile on her face. She should have never doubted her leader.

(A/N: Sorry it took me awhile to update. I wrestled with myself as to what to put in this chapter, but I think I presented it in a concise manner. Please, oh please, please, please review! I know you guys are reading this, I can see the hits!)