Diversity is a good thing, right? Inspired by Daggs2378.

:The League:

The Luminary threw the missive down on the desk forcefully. "Drat!" This was ridiculous! Stupid political grandstanding! He spun his chair around and looked out the window. Some days being a super hero was absolutely exasperating. It seemed like every other day there was some new rule or regulation from the Council of Super Beings. Diversity! Sweet sufferin' Jesus! What next? Clocking in and out? Timesheets? He huffed angrily and stood. Better to get this over with.

He strode out to the common room. Stealth and Mecha were watching TV and Envision was flipping through newspapers looking for mention of the League of Order.

"Gentlemen, we have a problem," he said testily. The others looked at him inquiringly. He clasped his hands behind his back and sighed. "The Council has decreed that all super groups consisting of 3 or more heroes must conform to a new diversity rule, or be disbanded."

"Diversity?" Stealth looked around the room. "You are a south Texan, Envision is a city boy from New Jersey, Mecha is Jewish and I'm from India. How much more diverse could we get, dude?"

Luminary sat down in his spot. "That is not the diversity they mean. According to these new rules, we have 7 days to find a…." he sighed unhappily, "hero of the feminine gender."

Mecha jumped up excitedly. "A woman? We're getting a woman? Can we get a cyborg?"

Luminary scowled. "This is serious, Mecha."

Envision moved across the room quickly. He pulled a binder from a shelf and flipped through it. He held up a bio page. "What about Lady Asia?"

Luminary rolled his eyes. "She's a villainess. She defected, remember?"

Stealth grabbed a second binder. "What about Amoretta?" he asked holding up another bio.

"Also a villainess," Luminary said tensely. "Besides, she promotes Loop Theory."

Mecha rubbed his steel hands together eagerly. "Cyber-chik? Turbo Tart? Miss Carbon?"

Luminary reached out and grabbed the binders from them all. "We are not hiring a villainess, or a sex-bot! Will you three get your minds out of the gutter? We need a female hero who brings something beneficial to the group. Sex appeal or cyber-hood are not adequate criteria!"

Luminary stomped back into the office, leaving the others to pout.

Luminary rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily. They had spent the last four days interviewing heroines. One by one they had been rejected. Mostly be him. A large number of the applicants possessed generic powers at best. Invisibility was fine, but Stealth already possessed that particular skill. X-ray vision or super speed were useful, but those were Envision's particular talents. Invulnerability and super hearing were his. As a cyborg, Mecha possessed incredible strength and the ability to interact with all computers. The rest on the applicants used miniscule clothes to disguise the fact that they had minuscule talents. One in particular thought her fur bikini would make them overlook the fact that her power was weather prediction.

A knock on the door drew his attention. "Come in."

"Hey boss? Got a minute?" Zack, their mechanic, walked in.

He waved Zack over and watched him take a seat. Zack wasn't the smartest guy in the world intellectually, but he was brilliant when it came to repairing their vehicles or Mecha. "What can I do for you, Zack?"

"Boss, are you still looking for a girl?" he asked. "Cause I have a friend who might work out. She's just been empowered by some alien guy, and Lord Avarice is trying to recruit her."

Luminary frowned. "She is an undecided?"

Zack shook his head. "Oh no. She's definitely a heroine, but he's really persistent."

Luminary drummed his fingers on the desk. "What is her gift?"

Zack smiled widely. "Penny is an ani-morph. Some dude from a star far away zapped her and now she can be a dog, or cat, or bunny. She was a leopard the other day. It's really cool watching Lord Avarice beg her to let him out of the tree. Especially with his speech impediment."

Luminary felt a small hope blossom inside him. A shape shifter would be beneficial. Especially a female one. He stood and gestured to Zack. "Come. Introduce me to your friend."

Penny opened her door hesitantly. She smiled when she saw Zack. "Hey, sweetie!" She stepped back and let him in. Then she noticed the man behind him. Penny's pulse sped up alarmingly.

Luminary was frozen in his spot. He stared at the woman in front of him. Her blonde hair curled around her shoulders in soft waves. Her eyes were a startling emerald green. His palms were suddenly sweaty.

"Hello," she said softly.

"Hi," he replied, his Texas drawl in full force. He blushed lightly and she smiled tentatively. "I'm the Luminary."

Penny took the hand he offered and looked at him shyly. "I'm Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Luminary's mind blanked out on him. All he could focus on was her smile. "I …I had a reason for being here," he said vaguely.

Penny moved closer. "Wow. You have the most incredible eyes," she murmured.

He reached up and lightly touched her cheek. "Really? Because I was just thinking the same about you."

Penny placed a hand on his other arm. "So, what does Luminary mean?"

He looked down at his shoes. "It is a synonym for a wise man. It is apropos because I have an IQ of 187."

Penny grinned. "So, you're one of those beautiful mind genius guys?"

He was surprised by the heat that spread through him. "Yeah," he drawled.

She moved her hand down his arm until their hands clasped. He was intrigued by the feelings she was eliciting in him. He took a steadying breath.

"Penny, I came here to ask you to join the League of Order. However, I find myself more interested in whether or not you would like to have dinner with me." He waited apprehensively for her answer.

Penny smiled widely. "I'd love to have dinner with you."

Luminary presented his arm, and she placed her hand in the crook of his elbow.

Mecha, Stealth and Envision walked into the common room and froze. They looked around the room with surprise. Envision picked up a little pink camisole from the couch and looked at the other two. Stealth pointed out the Luminary's pants on the stairs leading to his office.

A low moan caught their attention. They looked at the office and then to each other.

Mecha nudged Envision with his elbow. "Well? Is he being attacked?"

Envision stared at the door and then blinked rapidly. He stuttered and turned around quickly. "Umm, no, he's not being attacked."

A moment later the door opened and Luminary peeked around. "Oh, hello gentlemen." He blushed and cleared his throat. "Good news. We now meet the diversity regulations." Then he shut and locked the door.