“That’s it for official business.” He looked at Amina. “You’re now free to go ham on the chips.”
The team laughed and started rising from the table. Some brought out more snacks from the fridge and grabbed those waiting on the counter to bring them to the table, while others got the drinks. Mike noticed that they all appeared to be comfortable with each other. Even Blaze, who didn’t seem like the most social person, was relaxed and chatting with Bulldozer and Sonica. Mike rose too, but stayed by his seat. Strong walked down from the head of the table to stand next to him.
“They’re a good group of people,” Strong said as he looked them over.
“They seem like it. All handpicked by you?”
“Yep. I trained three of them personally. Blaze was the first. He approached me a little while before I retired. Amina is his cousin. He brought her to me a few years later after he found out she was hitting the streets by herself. He wanted her trained for her own safety. And Ignite sought me out after he received his powers much like Blaze did. As far as the others,” he paused to again look over the group. “I heard about your current partner through the grapevine, he was doing good work in the red-light district. Bulldozer is a natural talent from a family of earth-based heroes. Sonica was born with her sonic scream and is a former cop. She left the force after Anderson Pruitt moved in and populated it with the Artificial Intelligence police bots. And Frost...”
Mike waited for Strong to finish when he trailed off and looked at the pale haired young hero talking to Stardust.
“Frost is the youngest and most recently enhanced. They were reluctant to become a hero. But their power is amazing and it would have been a shame to waste it. I convinced them it would be worthwhile to use their powers to help stop events such as what happened to them from occurring again.”
“What happened?”
“That’s their story to tell. But by the time I decided to start a team, they were on board.”
“And Helios?”
“Ah. The strength of his powers is off the charts and the list of them is practically as long as my arm. But I didn’t have any hand in training him. After he received his powers in the incident he mentioned to you, he disappeared off the grid for a few years, and came back ready to be the hero of St. Louis.”
“Sounds like an impressive group.”
“They are. And I have faith that together they’ll be able to do good work for this city.” He turned and looked at Mike, his dark gaze steady and direct. “I feel the same about you.”
Mike looked around at the gathering of heroes. all with good vibes toward each other, determined to do their best to protect their city and its people. This really could be the place where he made a difference and found his home.
∞ ∞ ∞
“How’s it going partnering up with Zielinski?”
At Frost’s question, Aiden glanced over to where the man in question was talking to the team’s director. “I wish Strong hadn’t stuck him with me.”
“Is he not pulling his weight?”
“No, he puts in work.”
Frost raised a dark eyebrow. “Then what’s the problem?”
“He’s too stuffy for one thing.”
“And?”
Aiden looked at his friend, his own eyebrows drawing together in a questioning frown. “What do you meanand?”
“You said for one thing. Which means there has to be some other reason you don’t want to work with him.”
Aiden turned back to Zielinski. He was dressed in another of those tight, long-sleeved shirts that he apparently favored. This one was dark blue, a color that looked good with his chestnut brown hair. His broad chest and thick arms filled out this shirt as nicely as the others Aiden had seen him in. Not for the first time, he found himself wondering what those biceps looked like beneath the snug cotton.
Frost cleared their throat. Aiden snapped his gaze back to his friend to answer them. “I don’t know. He’s just...stuffy.”
“You said that already.”
“Because it’s relevant.”
“Hmmm...”
A smile started to curl Frost’s lips and Aiden knew he wasn’t going to like what they said next.
