“Damn. That’s a lot of dicks. Apparently, Bernard has got game,” Griffin said. His eyes lit up. “Oh look, another message from SeekingBeefy. Two in a row? Somebody’s thirsty.”
“What’s he saying?” Chad knelt next to Griffin. The HideOut’s owner considered himself a dating guru. I couldn’t argue with the title. He had a knack for inserting himself at just the right moment. Between him and Alejandro, I’m sure they’d gladly dictate my dating life.
“SeekingBeefy.” Griffin cleared his throat, dropping it an octave. “No work today? Consider me jealous.” The voice was ridiculous. I forced my face to remain neutral, but even I wanted to grin. “What are you going to do with your handsome self?”
Chad jumped in on the next line. “SeekingBeefy.” His voice matched Griffin’s. “I’m new in town. Is there a good place to grab a drink?”
All four men leaned back, disbelief on their faces. “What did I miss?”
Alejandro put his hand on mine, batting his eyelashes. “Papi, that’s an invitation. He gave you the opening to say something like, ‘I could show you around’ or something.”
Griffin started typing. “If you want, I’d be happy to grab a drink and show you the city.” He eyed me before returning to the keyboard. “I’d be happy to show a stud like you around the city.”
“What have I done? Shouldn’t I talk to him first? Give him my phone number?”
It was Griffin’s turn to reach across the table and pat my hand. It had gone from sincere to patronizing. Was I this bad at dating? “Bernard, I love you, really I do. But you’re hopeless.” With that, his other hand clicked the button. The whoosh of a sent message had everybody holding their breath.
Maybe if I was lucky, a reporter would show up, and I’d have to run. Was it bad I hoped a supervillain busted into the coffee shop threatening to kill us with a death ray? Not kill anybody, just maim them. I’d settle for a good maiming right now.
Ding.
I held my breath. When Griffin said nothing, I thought they had ruined my chances with SeekingBeefy. I should have kept my mouth shut and stuck with being a hero. That I knew how to do. Dating? That was already more—
“Who’s calling who a stud?” Chad said before biting his lower lip. Based on the expression, you’d think he had won the lottery.
Griffin cleared his throat, continuing in his best baritone. “An offer for arm candy? I won’t say no. What did you have in mind?”
The table cheered. They held coffee cups high as they saluted my victory in dating. I thought they had been giving me a hard time, but as they started talking about their online dating experiences, I realized they were genuinely excited. Even as Chad refilled my cup, he gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“That man doesn’t know how lucky he is.”
I blushed. Now, to get life in order so I could enjoy showing SeekingBeefy around town. I didn’t realize how nervous I had been about meeting a new guy. While yesterday had been a disaster and sent my life spinning out of control. Today offered a different type of chaos. Maybe the Centurions falling apart meant out with the old and in with the new?
I clicked on SeekingBeefy’s photo again. No matter how the night went, at least I’d have the chance to drool over him. My pants grew tighter, imagining my hands running along his sides. Now I just had to make it to tonight without blowing it.
5
After a long day of clothes shopping for tomorrow and catching up on Game of Crowns, it felt good to be sky bound. Unlike the previous night, I couldn’t find any other heroes. It must be a busy night on the streets. Not good for the people of Vanguard, but at least I’d be able to get in a little clobbering before my shift ended.
I never thought I’d miss wearing my uniform, but something about hovering above the city in jeans felt wrong. Without the weight of the axe between my shoulder blades, it created an imbalance. I noticed I drifted while hovering. Eventually, I’d need to get another super suit. But maybe this time, I’d skip the axe.
“So we meet again.”
I spun about, pulling my fist back. Lightning fell from the sky, coating my arm as I prepared to wail on— “Oh. Cobalt. Stop sneaking up on a guy.”
He pointed to the electricity wrapping around my hand. “Are you going to put that away?”
I shook it off. “Where is everybody?”
“Crime is out of control. Without the Centurions, even purse nabbers have gotten brave. Dozens of heroes are off planet brokering peace with the Shalayians.”
“Good luck with that. Shalayians really love their wars.”
“A lot of the heroes are scouring the city to see if the rumors are true.”
“Rumors?”
“A new villain league. The Centurions are missed. If nobody has said it, you guys made it possible for us to do our jobs.”
I gave him a nod. I appreciated the sentiment. But he had it backwards. As I returned to my roots as a street-level hero, it was them that made the Centurions possible. They let us focus on the bigger threats. Now all I did was save kittens from trees. All of this power at my disposal, and nowhere to wield it.
When I realized he wasn’t rushing off to save a gaggle of Girl Scouts, I swallowed my pride. Years in the business and I needed help from a rookie. “Hey.” I fished my phone out of my pocket. “Can you do an old man a favor? I’m useless if I can’t find the villains.”
His cape caught the wind as he drifted closer. Patting me on the shoulder, he gave me a slight nod. “I’d be honored. It’s not as easy as it used to be. As the crimes have gotten more high-tech, we’ve had to play catch up. Let me show you.”
Taking my phone, he moved to the map. There were several dozen crimes happening throughout Vanguard. He pointed to a cluster of dots. “Seems the west side of town is hopping tonight. You could start there.”
I shook my head. “Zipper is near there. He’ll have it cleaned up before I reach them.”
“What about—”
“That’s the Magician’s territory. He’ll have his golem’s policing.”
“I see why you led the Centurions. You could organize the heroes.”
“Here?” I poked at the screen. Unlike the others, this blip had a name. A supervillain tore up the street in front of city hall. I wanted to punch something, and it looked like I’d get my chance.
“Titan? Only vigilantes are nearby. This has your name on it, big fella.”
He handed me my phone and flew to the side. I dove toward the city, heading straight to city hall. I had put away Titan before. Twice, actually. How did supervillains always escape prison? You’d think the penal system let them go as long as they attended anger management sessions. I’d need to talk to the mayor about this in the future.
Titan came into view. Built like a tank and just as durable. It had been more than a year since I stopped him from demolishing the bridge into Vanguard. He had a car ready to throw at city hall. Pushing my top speed, I landed just in time to catch the vehicle.
“Who are you?”
“Don’t recognize the guy who put you away?”
“Sentinel? They told me you were…” He trailed off. Villains had a notorious habit of not keeping secrets, launching into monologues, and revealing their plans. At least some things never changed.