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Rolling over, I revealed my bunkmates. Bernard’s face shone as he turned. With a wave of his arm, Zipper appeared. The Ward’s speedster swooped in, picking up the kids, and in a flash, they vanished. At least I wouldn’t have to listen to her chastise my lack of superpowers.
“Are you hurt?”
Bernard took my hand, lifting me from the rubble as if I weighed nothing. “Only my ego. Kids can be so mean.”
“We can go find Griffin, and I’ll drop you off.“
“No,” I said, waving him off. “Go save the city, Papi. I’ll be fine.”
He didn’t argue. Bernard gave my shoulder a pat before he turned around, showing off the battle ax strapped to his back. I never understood why he chose that of all the weapons he could use as a superhero, or why he used a weapon at all.
Lightning erupted from his body, striking the ground. Up he went, flying into the sky before changing directions and heading into danger. I was thankful for the save, but I couldn’t hide the disappointment that it wasn’t the man I expected. I didn’t want to treat Theo like a booty call whenever I got into trouble, but part of me hoped it came with the package.
Right now, I wanted to get back to my apartment, plug in my phone, and see if he responded to my text. I prayed that something horrible hadn’t happened. For now, I needed to find Griffin and make sure he survived the attack. Once I found him, we could start scouring the alleys for survivors. The heroes might stop the baddies, but even those of us without powers had a civic duty to help.
I checked my phone, verifying it was dead. First, be a Good Samaritan, then I’d find out why Theo ignored my message.
19
“There’s always Tokyo.I know a little hole-in-the-wall place with the best sushi.”
I was running on almost no sleep. Griffin, Chad, and I had organized a search party, going through the buildings near the battle, searching for survivors. Each time we heard somebody crying for help, out came Griffin’s phone to report it to the heroes. The destruction wasn’t anything abnormal, but usually villains were polite enough to wait for civilians to be home before destroying the city. Thankfully, they were rarely concerned with obliterating mankind.
I eyed the sign above the door “Golden Dragon Emerald Palace Great Wall.” It couldn’t be any more Americanized if they screamed, “We have chicken nuggets.” But right now, I wanted a quiet place with comfort food. The pork fried rice and imitation crab rangoons were the hug my body needed. If I didn’t pack away the food now, I would never survive a night at the bar.
Bernard demanded I go to the hospital. Nothing had been broken, but the doctor promised plenty of bruising. I had grabbed my power cable on the way back to the HideOut, where Chad was sweeping glass. The last few hours had been securing wood to the windows until his insurance paid for replacements.
“Thanks, but maybe another night. I need mundane right now. Boring. I crave boring.”
Theo raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure how I should take that.”
“Not you,” I patted him on the chest before giving him a kiss. It was adorable that he was wearing a t-shirt with a comic book superhero on it. The irony wasn’t lost on me. “You can stay sexy.” I flashed a smile. “But can you be a boring sexy?”
The little fob in my hand vibrated, signaling that our table had been cleared. “I don’t know how you do it all the time. One emergency to the next. I’m ready to sleep for a week.”
Theo opened the door with a sweeping bow. A young woman smiled, taking the fob before leading us to our table. With only twenty seats in the restaurant, even on its busiest night, it never got loud. I should have called out of work for the night. But between date night with Theo and wanting to hear gossip about the Nocturnals, I couldn’t sit on the couch without feeling like I was missing out.
“The union makes sure we take our sick leave.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Wait, there’s a union?”
He laughed. “Of course. If it wasn’t for them, how would we negotiate healthcare plans? Half of our members require specialized care.” He leaned in, whispering. “Do you know how difficult it is to draw blood from a man with skin made of steel?”
I hadn’t given it much thought. Xander always complained about having to sort out a super’s powers before saving them from death. I hadn’t considered that it came with a price tag. These people were saving the city from destruction and we couldn’t pay for their band-aids? Their problems weren’t so different from the rest of us.
Theo picked up the menu and browsed while weighing in on the newest villains of Vanguard. “The Nocturnals are really making a mess of this city. Who knew five people could be so difficult to take down?”
Superheroes would always be the primary discussion when dating a man with powers. Your only option to avoid it was to move to a place like Sleepy City, Kansas. Nobody wanted that.
“They went from nobodies to somebodies really quick. There’s still no clue who they are or what they’re after. It’s almost like their goal is to cause chaos. They evaded the Centurions. I’m betting they're a bunch of jerks living in their mothers’ basements.”
I chuckled at the image as Theo theorized about the Nocturnal’s origin story.
“And if the Centurions can’t stop them…” I let the worry drift into the open.
I wondered if Bernard had an opinion on it. Now that his alter ego was out in the open, could I press him for details? Papi couldn’t resist telling me the juicy bits. I nearly squealed at the thought of watching his face flush as I asked him about what superhero antics he got into when the suit hit the floor.
Theo set his phone on the table, giving it a quick glance. I half expected to catch a glance of the HeroApp™, but it looked like he had his texts open. Did the heroes always have their phones handy, ready to jump into danger? The idea of always being “on” made me sad for them. I was used to having sexy time cut short as they had to save the city, but knowing it was a burden that they and the people in their lives couldn’t avoid… That felt daunting.
