“Not a chance in hell,” he said.
“If you change your mind, let me know. There are plenty of heroes who would love to play sidekick to the legendary Sentinel.”
He reached for one of his utility belt’s pouches and held up his phone. From this height, the light of the screen illuminated the stubble along his jawline. I tried to imagine him without the cowl. Who was the man behind the mask? My imagination raced until I pictured him naked. Okay, maybe Alejandro was right, and I needed to get laid.
“I’m going to take this one.”
“This one what?”
He raised an eyebrow. “The HeroApp™. You…” Did my face give away my confusion? I guess there were more reasons to wear a mask than I thought. “I forgot you’ve been out of the solo game for a while.”
“Stop pretending I’m old enough to be your father.”
“Sure, daddy.” If I wasn’t angry at the situation, my jeans might have tightened. Was he flirting or mocking? Sometimes it was a fine line between the two. “The HeroApp™ has a subscription service for the average superhero. It uses your location and skill set to help prioritize rescues. It’s that or…” He gestured at me.
“There’s an app? What happened to the world?”
He showed the screen on his phone. “Saving the city calls. Good luck, Bernard. Think about what I said. If you ever need backup, let me know.” Cobalt didn’t wait for a reply as he fell from the sky.
I waited another twenty minutes for a building to explode or sirens to fill the air. Nothing. I decided it was time to call it a night and head home. There was no point in staying perched above the city. Spinning around, I inspected the sky, just to make sure intergalactic overlords weren’t lurking. Unfortunately, no.
Flying is hard to explain. It’s not pushing off or even imagining a sense of weightlessness. It simply is. But falling, that is a chaotic sense of freedom. The streets come at such a speed it could spell certain disaster. Many superheroes describe it as letting go of all the stress in one ten-second descent. For me, it’s as I change angles and speed through the streets of Vanguard that I feel most alive.
Weaving through the city, I spotted my apartment. A crowd of reporters huddled together by the front door. Alex, our doorman, held the line, refusing to let the harpies pass. Zipping past them, I wound my way around the block, ready to shoot upward and land on the roof.
A scream. A blood-curdling wail.
It was only a block away from my building when I spotted the lady on the sidewalk. Falling from the sky, I land a few feet away, fists clenched. She was well into her sixties, wearing a nightgown and slippers. Spinning about, I expected the shadows to come alive or the ground to shake. Her face held fast, terror in her raised eyebrows.
“Ma’am, where are they?”
Her arm extended until she pointed toward the sky. As I followed her finger, I couldn’t see anybody above us. Had they already gotten away? Did she need medical help? There were a thousand assessments that needed addressing all at once. That’s the real sign of a hero, making calls under pressure.
“Socks,” she whimpered.
Socks?
It wasn’t the sky she pointed at. I hovered off the ground near the branches of a tree planted in the sidewalk. Two tiny orange orbs, hidden amongst the branches, reflected the street light. Tonight’s villainy came in the form of a black cat frantically meowing as it clung to a tree branch.
Heroes have to hero, but not all villains are powered.
“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”
Autumn had rolled in and the leaves had all but fallen from the branches. Reaching for the cat, it hissed. Fine, I’m not a fan of moody furballs, either. It swiped at my fingers, nearly losing its grip on the branch. I grabbed the cat around the waist, peeling its claws from the wood. Once in my arms, he relaxed, but still tried to bite my finger.
“Aren’t you a feisty critter?”
“Oh, thank you! Thank you!”
The woman’s arms extended, waiting for the pet as I hovered toward the sidewalk. The cat didn’t wait, jumping from my arms to hers. I swear it stuck its tongue out at me as it nuzzled against her chest.
“He’s been going crazy since his misses had her litter.” She’s sweet, kissing the top of the cat’s head. It almost made up for the bandit chewing my finger.
“Socks, that’s no way to behave,” I said. Fine, I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for the little hell beasts. They’re self-sufficient, arrogant, and more than capable of using their powers for evil. Package that all up in a cute bundle of fur and what is there not to love?
“I hope you have a good night, ma’am.”
“I recognize you. Oh, you’re him!” Was she one of the people I saved from a burning building? Liberated from mind control? At this point in the game, it was impossible to remember the face of every citizen I saved.
“You’ve probably seen me on the TV.”
She shook her head. “No, that’s not it. You’re the guy always sitting in the park in the morning.”
Vanguard was a large city. For her to recognize me from the park, of all places, she must have a mind like a steel trap. Depending on when the Breakfast club met, I’d spend time in the nearby park watching people. It helped remind me they weren’t just victims waiting to be attacked. The people of Vanguard led rich, full lives. Oh, and there was, of course, some seriously sexy stroller meat getting a walk in before they headed to their jobs.
“That’s me.”
“Superpowers, huh?”
I nearly laughed. They were more common here than anywhere else in the world. But her lackluster acknowledgment made it sound as if she had led a life filled with excitement, and a man flying through the streets couldn’t compare.
“Yeah, it’s a thing.”
“Well, you be careful out there. Vanguard isn’t what it used to be. Streets can be dangerous.”
I dared a scratch behind Socks’s ear. The purring started and her face lit up in a smile. “I will. Both of you be careful, too.”
“He likes you. Socks is an excellent judge of character.”
“Take care, ma’am.”
Lifting off, she gave me a wave. “The city needs more heroes like you.”
Heroes like me? A man who saves fluffy balls of doom from trees? I mulled it over as I flew to the roof of my building. Had I become so obsessed with saving the planet that I forgot to save the people? I never scoffed at the street-level heroes. They were just as important as the Centurions. Heck, that’s where I got my start. Maybe Socks had the right idea, stop worrying about the big threats and focus on the everyday. Did I just credit my epiphany to a cat?
More often than not, I used the door on the roof after coming home from a long day of work. It made sure that even the doorman didn’t quite know my schedule or the frequency of my late nights.
In the door and down the stairs, I lived in one of two apartments on the top of the seven-story building. It might not be luxurious, but it was one of the tallest in the Ward and meant it was easy to find when coming back after slugging it out with a bad guy.
I stopped at my door, half expecting an eviction notice. I wouldn’t be shocked if the management company asked me to leave for the safety of the other tenants. There were so many reasons heroes maintained their identities. It’d be months before I uncovered all the ramifications. But for now, I was glad to be home.