Devil in the Church: Chapter 2

The steak was okay. A bit tough, but I blamed that mostly on the fact it was supposed to be eaten two hours ago. The gravy was fair, but again that could have been due to the delay and not so much Danny's cooking. The potato salad by contrast, was excellent. Obviously homemade and not store bought, and again, obviously not Danny's work. He really wasn't that bad, but I was spoiled after rooming with Penny for a year. Also, unless it was some kind of pasta, Danny wasn't the most skilled chef.

However, his lasagna was something I'd pay for, which said quite a bit.

"This is very good," I complimented Lillian, earning a startled blink.

"It was nothing really, but thank you."

The table was awash with sounds of cutlery on plate, bowls being passed, the shifting of the three bodies occupying it, and muttered requests for one thing or another, and thank you's.

Very little else. Which made this the longest conversation exchanged by any of us since I had come back downstairs.

The problem, I knew, was that I had legitimately messed up. I shouldn't have forgotten. Not that the dinner was tonight nor to not show up in costume. Even if we got past that, no matter how much I scored tonight, it wasn't worth nearly missing my first meeting with Danny's girlfriend.

I hated feeling guilty and the man was a king of capitalizing on that. Even if he hadn't actually said anything yet.

"Danny mentioned you worked at the city library?" I asked, trying to kill the awkwardness and perhaps salvage something from tonight. If this didn't work, I was seriously considering calling Jess and setting up another game. Sitting in the restaurant with Clockblocker had gone better than this.

I bet Chubster was free. He could even bring his wife, be like a double date thing for Danny and Lillian. I momentarily thought about Clockblocker but even if he had called me, that would have done more for raising the awkwardness levels than lower them. Uber and Leet? They might be interested. Not quite the same thing, but they were pretty funny and with them involved I couldn't see this weirdness surviving. Maybe I could promise to lose for the first hour or something to get them to agree to it? Assault was out, obviously. He'd just use the evening to pitch heroism again or ask questions about that pit fight I called in earlier.

At Lillian's nod, I asked, "How long?"

"Five years now," she answered, thankfully adding more to the conversation as she continued. "For the first four I was working part-time as a technician, helping Margaret with the website. Mostly just routine updates while I finished getting my history bachelor's. Now I run the historical department."

"That's interesting. Sounds a lot like Ms. Barrette."

"I'm sorry. Who?"

"Ms. Barrette was one of the librarians at Milton Latter Library," I explained fondly as I remembered the ancient woman who'd been more kind to me than she'd had any right to. "In New Orleans. It's over on St. Charles Avenue. I didn't even know it was a library at first. Used to be someone's mansion a long time ago. I was just looking for a place to get out of the rain and happened to be following along with a tour group when they went there."

"So you just followed along until you met her?" Danny asked curiously.

Chuckling, I shook my head. "I was just barely inside the doors when Ms. Barrette spotted me. It was obvious I wasn't a tourist. Soaking wet, wearing clothes two sizes bigger than I was and looking about as shifty as a scruffy kid in a rich man's house can look.

"She took one look at me and pulled me from the group. Got me dry, put a cup of hot cocoa in one hand and a book in the other. Left me in one of the upstairs rooms by myself telling me to stay as long as I wanted, and to not damage the books."

"Not the reaction I would have expected," Lillian noted.

"Nor did I," I agreed. "I didn't really know what to do. But, free hot chocolate, and it was dry. So, I drank it and read the book."

"What was the book about?" Lillian asked.

"Fairy tales," I lied convincingly as Lillian smiled.

Danny narrowed his eyes, but thankfully didn't say anything.

"When she checked on me later," I continued ignoring Danny's reaction, "she seemed happy to see me with a different book. Even let me check it out with the promise I would bring it back in the same condition I'd taken it in. I found out a few visits later that she had a love of local history. It didn't take long to learn that Ms. Barrett had forgotten more about New Orleans than anyone had ever known."

"That was really nice of her considering she would have gotten into a lot of trouble if she had been caught," Lillian remarked with a smile. "Sadly, I don't interact very much with the public. Mostly my job is paperwork for the director."

"But still fulfilling, no?" I asked. "To work in your chosen field?"

"Very much so," she replied, smiling warmly.

I didn't need to look to see Danny's frown.

That was more than enough to break the ice and the rest of dinner was less stifled. At least until after it was over and Danny held me back a moment.

"Fairy tales?"

Smiling, I shrugged. "Savate looks like magic to a half starved orphan girl who didn't weigh a hundred pounds even rain-soaked."

At his raised eyebrow, I clarified. "French kickboxing, Danny."

"You know how to kickbox?"

"Gambit can take care of herself," I answered, patting the side of his face, smirking while rejoining Lillian in the living room.

Fortunately, that was the last of the awkwardness while Lillian was with us. The rest of the evening was spent mostly asking the expected questions and listening to her answers. Topics like me being a cape and my time in New Orleans didn't reappear. Instead Lillian asked about how I was settling in and what I thought of going back to school. Or just going as I didn't remember ever having gone to one before. She did offer to help get me caught up to my peers on any subjects I didn't test well in, which was very generous and something I might take her up on depending on how my scores came out.

Smiling wanly at Danny as we watched Lillian's car pull away from the curb, I asked, "Why can't we ever have a nice, normal dinner when other people are involved?"

His laughter did a lot for dispelling the last of the tension between us.

XxX Gambit XxX

My alarm had me awake early the next morning. Despite how long it had taken to finally get to bed, I decided it would be best to get to all the little things I wanted done early. A change of clothes later, I was off on a morning run, a routine that I'd been neglecting far too much lately.

Parked cars and homes passed unnoticed as I moved through the streets at an easy pace, just letting my mind wander. While a lot colder than New Orleans, one thing that hadn't changed was how quiet pre dawn was. Something about that made running through the streets of Brockton Bay nice, despite the chill. It felt like I was the only one around. A great time to get my head straight, which I needed today.

School. What the hell had I been thinking letting Danny talk me into something like that? The Guild was full of people with horror stories about such a place, yet here I was, going out of my way to get into that environment.

I should be using this time to look for work like I did back in New Orleans. One thing Danny had right about our argument last night, I knew I couldn't get away with hitting the big gangs too much more. Sooner or later, they'd get wise to what I was doing, or worse, who was doing it. But for other less risky work, I needed a crew. That meant I needed to get firmly established.

The Boardwalk had a whole host of places that looked like they could use a part time throwaway. Then I could establish patterns for future alibis, making contacts, or possibly even connections once I cemented myself into the nightlife. Instead I was consigning myself to a five-day-a-week prison which would only really give me weekends with large blocks of time to get things done.

Why couldn't this city have a small time gang like the Street Rats I could take over? Or at least divide like I had done before. It would have made all this so much easier.

Passing that off, I reentered the house, flushed from my exertions. I turned on the coffee pot before heading toward the shower, this time going over my inner list of things to do before I headed out. Today wasn't going to be too bad, and really the rest of the week wasn't either. The truth was this whole school thing wasn't going to really affect me for another few weeks. It was going to take at least half that for my test results to come in and for them to place me in actual classes. So, I still had some time to work on my foundation before time became an issue.

Besides, I silently mused, heading to my bedroom to get changed, I probably wouldn't even end up in mainstream classes this year anyway. More than likely I would end up in remedial classes for the rest of this year to catch up. At least, that was what Ms. Halleyway thought. That shouldn't be too bad, right? Kind of like self study, just not on my own. I could work around that. It wasn't likely that I'd get any big jobs between now and then anyway.

Shaking those thoughts loose, I checked my phone and saw that I had a text from a strange number.

That wasn't what I meant and you know it. We need to talk.

Shaking my head at Assault's message, I sent a quick reply before tossing my phone on the bed.

No we don't, and you're welcome. PS: You can keep the phone. It's a clean burner.

Clothes changed, contacts in, and make up applied, I gave myself one last look through Annette's vanity mirror, liking the end results of my efforts.

Even if I didn't know anyone there, didn't really want to do this in the first place, and going as Renée Hebert, I was still Gambit. And Gambit had standards when she went out in public. Okay, those standards usually involved my armor, but it was custom made stylish armor.

I really needed to get Penny something for all the help she'd been giving me with this kind of thing. Even if she wasn't here to physically help, she knew this stuff, and more importantly, my wardrobe. Satisfied, I grabbed my bag heading downstairs where Danny was no doubt waiting for me.

Finding him exactly where I expected -sitting at the kitchen table- I set my bag by it, taking up the tea he'd made for me.

"You're really going to wear the coat?"

"It's still cold out there," I answered immediately. "I know, I went running this morning."

"Sooner or later, you are going to have to just get used to it. That's Brockton Bay this time of year."

"Not till next winter I won't," I argued smugly. "Lucky for me, this winter is on its last legs. Until then, yes, I'm wearing my coat. It's warm."

"And the boots?" he asked fondly. "They are the same ones you normally wear for your... hobby."

"They're comfortable and they go with everything else. Penny said so."

Giving up on holding in his laughter, Danny shook his head. After a moment to compose himself, his expression turned more serious.

"You ready for this?"

"Sure," I answered easily, in complete contrast to my earlier thoughts. "Just tests. I'll be fine."

"I'm sure it will be. Lillian did mention she wouldn't mind tutoring you, but if that's too uncomfortable, we could always hire someone to help you get started. I have no doubts once you're caught up you'll be okay, kiddo."

"We'll see," I said, checking the time on my pocket watch. "I should go. If I miss the bus I'll have to steal a car to get there on time."

Sighing and probably unsure whether I was joking or not, he shook his head. "It's way too early in the morning for thinking about phone calls from the police that my daughter was picked up for grand theft auto."

"Please, Gambit doesn't get caught," I smirked, knowing well that wasn't his point.

Deciding to let it go, Danny stood up giving me a hug. "Remember, we still need to talk tonight."

"I know."

"Alright. Have a good day at school, Renée."

"Thanks. You too with work."

Exiting the house, I headed down the street to the bus stop. I'd have to change over twice to get to Arcadia, but that was fine. I would only have to deal with this setup for a few months before I could legally get a car. Fairly sure Danny would be upset if I found an alternative that wasn't legal and really, it was only for a few months. Not that big a deal.

The ride and change-overs passed quickly enough, though I thought next time I'd bring a book to read to keep myself occupied.

Walking up to the front gate, I could see why Calle had recommended the place. High brick walls surrounded the entire campus, giving it a more stately feel than I would have expected. Even as I turned in, other students were arriving. They looked friendly enough, though no one talked to me; that matched up with what Calle had told me about the place.

Following the directions I had memorized, I made my way through the high arched halls for the main office. Once there, I was pleased to see they had expected me and had the paperwork Calle had mentioned I would need to fill out all ready and waiting. Once done, it was a round of introductions, Vice Principal Mathers, Councilor Roth, and my exam teacher for the day, Ms. Beckett.

Following Ms. Beckett, we once again ventured through the labyrinth of halls, lockers, and doors. It continued like that for a while, her pointing out various things, me nodding along as we moved through the press of adolescent humanity that was everywhere. People greeting friends, good natured grumblings, expectations and such. It was all very chaotic, but I'd seen worse. Maybe not with so many well-dressed teens, but yeah.

After about ten minutes we arrived at the empty classroom where we each took seats and got started. Ms. Beckett took her time explaining the rules of the testing procedure, what was expected of me, and most importantly, what I could expect from her. All of it seemed rather simple and it wasn't long before I was into the first test.

From there, I fell into a pattern. Reading, thinking, and checking answers. Rinse and repeat. Hours passed with the only real sounds being my pencil on paper or the turning of pages from Ms. Beckett's book. One subject bled into another as I ground my way through all of it.

Closing the last booklet, I sighed, exhausted. I had pulled all nighters watching marks with less fatigue than I was feeling at the moment. Hell, fighting capes took less effort. After both my fights with Two Mauls I had walked away feeling better than I did right now. And that last time he had broken my ribs.

"All done, dear?" Ms. Beckett asked politely.

"Yes, ma'am," I groaned. Whether due to the difficulty or my own fatigue, I couldn't tell.

"I'm sure you did fine," she assured me, obviously picking up the gist of my thoughts.

Nodding tiredly, I smiled thankfully at her concern. "We'll see in a week."

"Either way," she informed me as I handed her the packet. "Your spot here at Arcadia is assured, Miss Hebert. I guarantee, if you put it as much effort within the next few months as I just witnessed, by the start of the term come August, you will be just as prepared as every other junior here."

"That is kind of you to say."

"You must be hungry," Ms. Beckett observed before looking at the big clock above her. "It's close to lunchtime. If you wanted to get something before you headed home they should be serving about now."

"I might do that," I conceded, looking at the time myself. "My bus won't be here for another forty minutes."

"Do you need directions?"

"No, thank you. I remember Mr. Mather's directions on where find it."

"Very well. Have a good day, Miss Hebert."

"You too, Ms. Beckett."

Leaving the room and Ms. Beckett, I headed to where I was pretty sure the cafeteria was. Halfway there, the bell rang, and the once empty halls were once again awash with teens. This time, most of them were heading to the same place I was.

While no stranger to moving in a crowd, I wasn't trying to pick a rich mark's pocket, though it would have be ridiculously easy if I wanted to. Even as I moved out of the main traffic I spotted no less than a dozen wallets that were just begging for a new owner. The laughing, exuberant -and best of all, oblivious- crush was a perfect pilfering ground had I needed someone else to pay for lunch.

Maybe this school thing wouldn't be so bad after all. I bet the take would be decent until most became too paranoid to make the work worth it. Not great, but most of the people around me were nicely dressed, which signified money types and none of them looked like they couldn't afford to miss a meal or two. Just the opposite in a few cases and wait, was that a rolex?

Yes, yes it was. And those were some damn nice earrings on that blonde. No way the stones were real, but that was real gold, or I wasn't the thief I thought I was. Must be nice to have so much money to flaunt it like that.

Which reminded me, I really needed a fence. That, or maybe Sam wouldn't mind making a trip up north for a long run. He could bring Penny and we could hit Palanquin before they headed back. It'd be fun. I guess I could use Jess's fence, but that meant getting into their current employer's pocket, which I was still leery about, despite them saying he wasn't that bad.

Jess had strange ideas on what constituted 'not bad' when it came to people. It was definitely different than mine.

Which reminded me, Jess and I never did get around to that night on the town like we talked about. Ah-well. I was free this weekend and if nothing else…

Shamefully, I didn't see the guy goofing off until his body slammed into mine sending us both to the ground. My bag -of course- opened, spilling its unused contents. My blank notebooks, binder, and various pens, pencils, and a few erasers all made their bid for freedom as I watched and half listened to the apologies of the guy who had knocked me down.

Ignoring the laughter of students around us as people turned to the commotion, I sighed. I deserved this. So stupid letting myself get that lost in thought. I knew better than that, no matter how much I missed Sam and Penny or wanted to check out Paliquien.

"I'm so sorry," the embarrassed teen said. "Hey, let me help."

"It's fine."

"Hey, I'll catch up!" he said, ignoring me. I didn't pay attention to his friends reply as I started putting stuff back in the pack Danny had gotten for me.

"This is totally my fault. I was messing around and not looking where I was going."

"It's okay," I said, scooping up a small cluster of erasers and dumping them back into the bag. Why had Danny gotten me all this stuff anyways? Seriously, who needed this many pencils and erasers? And if I needed that many, why did he get me pens? This seemed like an awful lot of stuff now that I was going through it.

"Here."

Looking up I saw he was holding out the last two missing notebooks. Smiling warmly to let him know I wasn't upset I thanked him as I added my wayward article to the other stuff in the pack.

The crowd around us had moved on, looking for food or just to get away from the embarrassing scene I'd accidentally caused. The guy who had knocked me over was still kneeling quietly. After I was satisfied my pack wasn't going to rebel again, I looked up to thank him again for helping when I noticed how he was looking at me.

Looking right into my eyes. Searchingly.

And that wasn't weird at all.

Before the moment reached levels I would do something to dissuade his attention, he whispered in a voice so low, I could barely hear it. "Gambit?"

A fast look around showed that what attention was on us, was on the fact we were both kneeling on the ground looking at each other and not on what we were saying.

I didn't exactly know a lot of people in Brockton Bay, and very few of them in his age range. That was, until my gaze fell on his hair. I knew one guy in this city with red hair like that. But it couldn't be...

Clockblocker?

This time, it was my eyes that widened, though thankfully I didn't name him out loud. Still, it had to be. Same hair and build. His armor hid quite a bit, but I'd seen enough when he was dressed up in that cosplay outfit to know now that I was looking for it.

Giving those around us one more quick glance, I extended my hand saying clearly, "Bonjour. I'm Renée."

Catching on, he gave his own look around before chuckling -at himself or the situation I couldn't tell- and taking my hand.

"Um...Dennis."

"Thanks for knocking me down, Dennis," I said unable to help the smirk on my face. "Are you this aggressive with every girl you meet?"

"Only the pretty ones," he immediately replied, still looking a bit punch drunk.

"So you knock down every pretty girl you see?"

"I… uhh… I…"

"There's the suave guy I met a couple of weeks ago," I said with a wink.

He laughed before his face sobered into a guilty frown.

"I was going to call…"

The crowd around us had mostly moved on but the fact we were still kneeling was attracting too much attention for me. Getting up, Dennis quickly followed suit.

"It's fine, mon'ami," I interrupted him. "I asked you to think about it, and you did. We're good."

"Hey," he said, this time interrupting me. After a moment of silence between us, he calmly continued, "It's not like that."

Looking around himself and seeing the last of the gawkers snickering at us, Dennis turned back to me.

"Want to have lunch? With me? Most people hang out in the quad so we can get a table inside. Maybe talk?"

It wasn't the best place for the kind of 'talk' I was thinking he wanted to have. But, it wouldn't be that bad as long as we kept an eye out for eavesdroppers. Wouldn't be the first time I had a sensitive conversation in a crowd.

Also, it wasn't cold inside the cafeteria and reading the cues I normally couldn't on a masked face, I could tell he genuinely wanted to talk.

"Alright."

Smiling, Dennis picked up his own backpack, leading the way.

"You realize you outed yourself?"

"Not the dumbest thing I've done."

"That can be argued."

"Yeah, probably, but I don't regret it. I didn't know you went to school here."

"First day," I answered the unasked question, smiling warmly when he held the door open for me. "I actually won't be back for a few weeks."

"Huh?"

"I don't officially start till then," I clarified. "I was taking assessment tests today for my transfer in."

"Oh."

Conversation stalled as we entered the line, got plates and served. After we paid, Dennis took us over to one of the far tables in the corner, which was considerate of him. Cut down on the likelihood of eavesdroppers.

Once seated and satisfied no one normal could hear us, I asked, "Anyone here with enhanced hearing?"

"Just one who might but they're in the quad."

Trusting his knowledge on the topic, I asked, "So, how are your 'bosses' going to feel about this? You outing yourself to a villain."

"Suspected villain, right?" Dennis asked, smirking himself.

"Let us not banter with words, mon cher," I returned evenly, tearing my roll in half. "You read my file. I have read my file. We both know what it says and no amount of quibbling over details is going to change the fact the Protectorate has me listed as such. How much of an issue is this going to be? Should I expect agents with foam sprayers to kick in my door later? I just got it fixed and repainted the interior."

Snickering at my concern, Dennis shook his head. "I'm not telling anyone about this if you won't."

"Bold of you," I noted, sampling the salad I had gotten. It was surprisingly decent.

"This really isn't what I was hoping we'd talk about."

"It is a rather eye catching fly in the ointment, chérie," I mumbled, letting a teen wandering by to dump his tray time to move away before continuing. "More so for you than me. I've never made it a big deal to conceal my identity. Never seemed important until recently."

"Yeah, I was wondering about the contacts. They're really good. Not as nice as the real thing, but, well, you know what I mean," he finished lamely.

"They should be, for how much they cost," I noted, not commenting on the other part. "But thank you. You still ID'ed me, so they're not that good."

"There really isn't much getting around your accent."

"Yes, but one does not trade in a Porsche for a Pinto just because both start with the letter 'P'."

"Besides," I continued, ignoring his indignant squawk, "it does not change the fact that me knowing your civilian ID could be just the tipping point the PRT needs to pull something. Which, I'll have you know, is something I've put a great deal of effort in preventing over the years."

"Can we, just, not talk about work stuff?" Dennis asked, sighing. "It won't be an issue from me. I promise."

Seeing his frustration, I had to remind myself I wasn't dealing with a New Orleans Ward and he was good people. Sighing myself, I nodded. "Alright, but if I end up in jail over this, I will be very upset."

He smirked. "Come on. Who could catch you? Certainly not me."

"Flatterer," I mumbled, not completely hiding a blush. For all his faults, Dennis certainly knew what to say where it counted.

"Depends. Is it working?"

"Just a bit."

"Nice. I was pretty sure that one was going to be too much."

Giving in to my chuckle at his antics, I asked, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Us," Dennis started saying, looking more serious than playful now. "I was going to call. It was just, Gallant, you know? And then Renick read me the riot act later. I was worried about stuff."

"This isn't doing much to alleviate my concern about the PRT, Dennis."

"Right. Well. Crap. Dammit, how is Rory's so good at saying what he means? Look, I… didn't want to put pressure on you."

"Shouldn't that be my choice to make, mon'ami? Pretty sure I made it clear where I stood that night."

The boy gave a weird smile. "I really like being called that. What's it mean?"

"Not what you think it does, and don't change the subject."

The boy grimaced, but soldiered on. I didn't think he really expected that sort of diversion to work.

"It… I guess I was just worried. About how the other Wards would react to you. They'd go out of their way to make sure you weren't working some angle on me."

"They could do that, and they would find nothing," I replied casually. "Even if I had an angle, I don't gamble with people. Especially this way. I told you that. I expect certain things from people I'm close to, and in return, meet those same expectations."

"Yeah, but they don't know that and they have read your file, too."

"I figured they would have. Standard procedure, isn't it?"

"How do you know that?"

"Stole a rule book from the PRT in New Orleans last year," I answered honestly not seeing a reason to hide it. "Pretty sure it hasn't changed that much since then. I was curious about your protocol."

"And how to get around them?"

I smirked but didn't reply. Didn't really need to.

Dennis chuckled weakly, but nodded to the silent point he made. "Also, don't think the thefts around town lately haven't been noticed. They have, and sooner or later, someone's going to connect the dots."

I frowned. "I thought you didn't want to talk about work?"

"Just saying. 'People' are talking."

"They usually do. That doesn't mean I was involved. I'm not a magpie, Dennis. I don't take everything not nailed down just because I can."

Which was true, despite my earlier thoughts of fleecing this place. I was always thinking of doing stuff like that, doesn't mean I actually would. Just a fun mental exercise.

"I wasn't saying that…"

"And if your 'people' want to bring me up on charges as if I am, they are going to get laughed out of court, if it even goes that far..."

"I'm not accusing you of anything, okay?"

"Good," I replied firmly.

"Even if you're innocent of stuff, you're still in danger just because other people think you might be responsible."

"And why would those kinds of people suspect me of anything?" I asked very quietly. I hadn't been very active lately and there was no way I left behind anything to ID me at the Merchant meth lab. That only left...

"Well, last night Assault mentioned…"

"Assault talks too much," I hissed quietly, taking a quick look around and not seeing anyone near enough to hear us. I had known that that was going to bite me in the ass. I was never doing another Protectorate hero a favor again. Bastard has gotten me in trouble twice now without even being there…

Leaning over the table I whispered, "If any...rumors, about my supposed involvement last night hits the street, any danger I'm going to be in is going to be from your end. I didn't leave anything behind that could be linked back to me."

"Hey…"

Leaning back I shook my head. Dennis nodded, poking at his lunch with a plastic fork while I took a moment to to calm down. It wasn't his fault Assault talked too much.

Worst case, the Empire was wise to me hitting their pit fight. That doesn't mean that they knew I robbed the safe. Of course, that was assuming that the two capes I'd noticed didn't fight Armsmaster and Miss Militia off long enough for someone to get away with it.

If they knew I had been there, it still wouldn't mean they wouldn't blame me either way it went. Rightly so or not.

Great. Now I was back to square one with only half of my needed funds. No way I could hit the Empire again anytime soon. While hitting the ABB didn't carry the same risks, if even a rumor about a 'mystery' hit the street now it was going to ratchet up attention. I had hoped to be more established before it got to this point.

Well, no use crying over burnt rice. I wasn't going to get away with much more from the heavies anyway. Besides, this was what I got for working with heroes.

"This kind of thing is why this," I muttered, motioning between us, "was a bad idea."

Before I could elaborate, or Dennis could refute my comment the doors of the cafeteria opened loudly, admitting a pissed off blonde.

Heading right toward our table.

"Jesus Christ," Dennis groaned, slamming his head down, barely missing his plate.

Confused, and not a bit concerned at Dennis's reaction, I watched her storm up to our table. What people were still in the cafeteria all leaned back, eyes locked on the blonde, looking as if the reaper herself had just walked in.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed, putting her hands on the table, staring at me venomously.

"I was eating," I replied calmly, curious and worried about the excess attention on us. "Before that, standardized testing. Why is that your business?"

"You know what I meant," she bit back, though thankfully low enough that the scared people around us didn't hear it.

Then it clicked. Everyone's -but especially Dennis's- reaction, as well a few other things coupled with research I'd done weeks ago. It all came together in an instant.

I had a pissed off Victoria Dallon, the heroine cape also known as Glory Girl of New Wave, leaning over my table, drilling holes into my head with her -thankfully not laser beam but no less concerning- eyes.

Fantastic.

"Vicky, what the fuck are you doing?" Dennis shouted loud enough for those closest to hear, sounding as annoyed as I felt. A mix of anger and embarrassment written on his face. "Dammit, I knew this was going to happen."

Which was the last piece of the puzzle I needed to know what was going on.

"Get out of my face, Dennis. This doesn't concern you."

"Oh you must be the girlfriend."

"What?"

I should have expected this whole encounter the second I recognized Dennis. If Dennis was here, Gallant was, somewhere. Calle had mentioned that most, if not all, the Wards went here and it wasn't a leap to think they socialized out of costume. They were on the same team, after all. Gallant had to have seen Dennis and I sitting together. If my impression of how his power interacted with me from the Hard Luck was accurate, it wouldn't have taken Sherlock Holmes to figure out who I was, no matter what I did to change my appearance.

That New Wave sent their kids here, shouldn't have surprised me any more than the fact Gallant ran his mouth off about me to his girlfriend. Especially after listening to Dennis complain about Gallant's harping.

Very well. I might not know how to deal with friendly heroes, but I was well versed in dealing with unfriendly ones.

Ignoring Dallon's confused expression at my earlier statement, I calmly dabbed my lips with my napkin before leaned back in my chair. "Gallant's girlfriend. You came up in a conversation I had with him a few weeks ago."

"And what is that suppose to mean?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Just that you are exactly as advertised. Unfortunately."

"Listen you…"

"Is there a reason you're bothering me?"

"Excuse me?" Dallon asked, looking even more confused and more than a bit offended.

Which, I understood. I kinda was the villain in the conversation.

"You know exactly why I'm here," she finally managed to say. "You don't belong here and stay away from Dennis."

"Hey," Dennis shouted. "What the hell? You tell me this doesn't concern me and then say that?"

"First off, this shiny little badge here doesn't say visitor." I said, fingering the name tag they had given me today until I got my laminated ID. "Second, don't you already have a boyfriend? I didn't know you were collecting a harem. Does Gallant know you're shopping around?"

"Fucking right? I don't care if you're a hero, Glory Girl. Stay the fuck out of my business." Dennis hissed, in a way that sounded utterly unnatural for the normally easy-going Ward.

"I… but Dennis I'm just…" she started, put on the back foot by the venom in his voice, before he cut her off.

"You just thought butting into my business was smart!? This is exactly what I was trying to avoid so of course, it's what happens!" Dennis growled.

Before she could do more than breathe deeply, presumably to start shouting -Dennis had shouted enough, thank you very much- I interrupted calmly, and most importantly, quietly. "Just for a moment, let's assume I am who you think, I am. Why would you pick a fight with someone like that?"

"I'm not picking a fight. I'm avoiding one before it starts. Besides, I'm invincible. You couldn't hurt me if you tried."

"No one is invincible. Not even Alexandria, and she's about as brute as it gets." I chuckled still keeping my voice low enough that our audience shouldn't hear me while lazily waving my hand. "Look around you hero. It's not you I'm worried about."

It was only then, I think, that Dallon realized what I was talking about.

"Now, assuming you are correct, you just confronted someone who could hurt a lot of civilians, in a place with a lot of civilians to hurt. Funny enough though, it's not me they have to worry about. It's your power that's terrifying these people."

I could practically see her pulling herself together through the wave of relief as people were no longer gripped by the fear her power was evoking.

On the positive side, she couldn't affect me. That was good news, for what little that was worth. Embarrassed, but still full of ire, she opened her mouth but I didn't give her the chance to build up another head of steam.

Getting up myself, I leaned toward the heroine making sure this part was just between us.

"I don't care what Gallant told you," I whispered. "I don't care what you think of me or what you think you know about me because whatever that is, is definitely wrong. You came in here and confronted me. I was minding my own business until you came in here acting like an indigent street bully. You used powers, I haven't. Think about that."

"I'm a fucking hero. No one needs to worry about what I'll do," she insisted.

"Tell that to the skinny freshman by the soda machine who looks like he pissed himself."

"I'm not the bad guy here," she sneered, still completely oblivious to the terror she was inspiring.

"Bullshit," Dennis snapped under his breath.

"And you have no proof except the stick up your boyfriend's ass that I am either," I continued sternly, but couldn't help a small grin toward the redhead for his quip. "And chérie, that doesn't give you the right to do a damn thing. Look around. It's not the supposed villain these people are scared of. It's the hero."

My last comment seemed to finally break through her hot headed temper, and look around. Not just look but really look.

People were whispering, not even bothering to hide the fact they were whispering about us. Or, more accurately, that they were talking about Glory Girl confronting the unknown new girl about something that was obviously a big thing between us.

But more, and even worse, was the fear in their eyes. Even though they had no idea what we were arguing about, it was as if they expected blows to start being swung between us, and Glory Girls reputation was well known for being someone who could hit hard.

I was a lot tougher than I looked, but they didn't know that. All they saw was a thin teenage girl about to get her head knocked half way to California.

"None of you know who you are talking too," I quietly said, feeling things had stewed long enough. "You don't know anything about me. Dislike me all you want, but I wasn't hurting anyone eating with Dennis. Now, I'm leaving before this becomes something that requires foam sprayers to stop. If that is something you want to happen, do what you have to do."

"You…! But…!" came Glory Girl's glorious response.

"Wait, Renée. Please, you don't have to…" Dennis trailed off reaching out to me as I stepped toward the exit.

Moving quickly enough to not let him grab my arm when he reached for it, but not so fast that it looked like that was what I was doing, I half turned to him, smiling wanly.

"It was nice to see you again Dennis. Maybe we'll run into each other, sometime," I said, just a little sadly.

I left the cafeteria, but I didn't have to look back to feel the guilty wince from Victoria Dallon as Dennis glared bloody murder at her.

Part of me hated this whole thing, but really, what did I expect was going to happen when I accepted a date from a hero? In the end, it was better this way. No matter that small part of me wished it wasn't.