"There he is."
The sun stood brightly over the morning sky, and the repeating clicking sounds echoed out of an open garage. At the sound of the voice, Harvey stopped rotating his socket wrench and looked up from his bike's exposed clutch. Loose bolts and steel parts were laid inside a small container, ensuring nothing important would get lost.
Looking over to the entrance of his open garage door, he saw Pietro, Luke, and Manny walk up to him. Their expressions were a mixture of worry and concern.
Eyes opening in surprise at the sight of Manny, Harvey stood up, grabbed a nearby cloth, and wiped the grease from his hands. Walking over to the trio, Harvey smiled. "Manny! It's great to see you. Look at you! I could barely recognize you."
Manny beamed at the praise and puffed out his toned chest. "Thanks! I'm glad to see you as well! I gotta say, I was worried when you didn't return from Hell right away, but I'm glad you came back in one piece."
"Yeah... I'm sorry I left the way I did." Harvey said apologetically. "I didn't mean to leave you hanging."
"Don't worry about it." Manny waved him off, a smile on his face. It soon vanished. "But… I heard what happened with Alex. How are you doing?"
"I'm managing." Harvey looked down at the greasy cloth. "But I can't blame her, I screwed up… Luke?"
"Yeah?" Luke said slowly. He had an inkling of what he was going to ask.
"How… how is she?" Harvey whispered, his eyes gazing at the ground as if it held the answer to his question.
"Not good, But Haley and Wanda are with her." Luke walked up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Just give her some time, Harvey. Alex took you leaving hard…"
Nodding, Harvey plopped down on his backless stool and sighed. The air in the garage was dense and depressing; Pietro sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He walked to the mini fridge under his work table and pulled out several water bottles. With an effortless toss, three water bottles flew through the air. They were caught with practiced ease.
"I think it's time we, as men, go to the town and have some fun!" Pietro thundered with a smile, his water bottle held high. "What do you guys say? Boys night out?"
Luke's eyes grew wide, and he caught on to what Pietro was doing; with a grin, he raised his bottle high. "Alright, I'm in!"
"Sounds good to me!" Manny caught on quickly and held his bottle high with a smile.
The three turned to look at Harvey with broad, expectant smiles. Harvey sighed and grinned; he saw what Pietro was trying to do. He was trying to cheer him up, and Harvey knew Pietro, Luke, and Manny wouldn't take no for an answer. After everything he'd been through, a night with his close friends was well deserved.
Standing up, he walked towards his friends and clinked his water bottle with theirs as if they were making a toast for a special occasion.
"Tonight… the city is ours, men!" Harvey bellowed with a wide grin. Everyone cheered and began discussing where they should go and what they would do.
Harvey's heart was heavy that morning, but thanks to his good friends. It became a little bit lighter. After all, hasn't he earned a small break?
•••
"This place is awesome!"
The Universal Citywalk was filled with multicolored lights. Large illuminated signs hung over the sides of several buildings, each depicting different company logos or storefronts. Along the long stretches of roads were several hundred people; they all walked with happy, easygoing smiles. The different smells of tasty drinks and delectable food filled the air, enticing the visitors.
Luke spun around in place and looked at everything in sight. A small soda rested in his hand. Harvey, Pietro, Manny, and him all stood in a clear opening in the street. "Man, why haven't we come here before?"
"Probably because of all the nonstop training." Manny said after he sipped some of his lemonade. "Can't say the results weren't worth it."
"It is pretty cool here." Pietro nodded and smiled up at the giant blue gorilla sign. "Let's go grab some food!"
"Well, it's good to know your appetite stayed the same." Harvey chuckled and took a sip of his drink, it was a cherry icee. "I am feeling a bit hungry, oh. How about we check out the hot dog hall of fame?"
"Sounds good to me." Luke nodded and pulled out a map of the citywalk, quickly he found the location. "What do you guys think?"
No one disagreed with the location. With that done, Luke led everyone to the colorful restaurant. One by one, they all placed their orders and sat down at one of the round tables outside. Soon enough, a server brought their orders. The server was a cute teenage girl with curly blonde hair; she smiled shyly at Manny as she handed him his order. Manny smiled back and had she excused herself.
"What?" Manny asked, slightly flustered as he turned and saw them nod slowly at him with grins.
"Manny, you gotta get her number." Luke said and bit into his Arizona hot dog. Pietro nodded and began eating his second two-foot hotdog.
"Luke's right." Pietro said after swallowing. "Go get her digits."
"Guys, we came here to spend time with each other. Remember? Boys night?" Manny said and waved at them. Harvey shook his head and waved him off.
"It's okay, Manny. Go on." Harvey raised his hot dog and nodded.
Any restraint Manny had left disappeared at that. Excusing himself from the table, he walked over to the server and began talking to her. The server gained a flustered look but smiled widely at Manny.
"He sure has come a long way." Harvey said proudly. He then turned to look over at Luke. "You both have. I can't wait to see how much you've all improved in our next spar."
"I'm looking forward to it. I've learned a few things I've been waiting to try." Luke grinned excitedly.
The three then ate their food and watched as Manny returned, a small piece of paper clutched in his fingers. He had a slight blush as he sat down and picked up his hot dog. Luke patted his back in a congratulatory manner. Once they finished their meal, they all moved on to the next stop of the night.
•••
"So… how are you? Really?"
Manny and Luke floated inside the sizeable circular tube; massive grins stretched across their faces. The instructor inside with them hopped side to side, righting them as they floated out near the edges of the large plexus glass tube they were in. Due to his body standing vertically, he could stay close to the ground. They were currently inside a large transparent tube that produced intense gusts of wind that propelled them vertically into the air. The iFly free fall simulator was indeed an impressive attraction.
Pietro and Harvey stood outside and watched their two friends enjoy themselves mid-air. Pietro looked over to Harvey and waited patiently for his friend to reply to his question. After a minute, Harvey smiled weakly and returned Luke's wave.
"I… I'll be alright." Harvey said. "This is probably for the best."
This got Pietro's attention. "What do you mean?" Pietro asked.
Harvey frowned and looked up at the ceiling of the facility. "I'm going to stop going to school… It's time I stop playing around and take my role more seriously."
"Wait, what do you mean?" Pietro asked, a puzzled look across his face. "Playing around? Harvey, you're a full-blown hero! The city has a statue of you; all you've done is help."
Luke was spinning nonstop from within the plexiglass, and the instructor was trying to grab him. Manny was saying something, but it was hard to determine the words due to the harsh winds and their distance.
"My responsibility to this world isn't to be some hero or a vigilante. It's to be its spirit of vengeance, but I've been going about it as if it were a part-time job." Harvey said lowly, his eyes vacant but glowing with determination. "Even now, several hundred horrible things are happening—those that inflict pain and suffering… evil individuals. I could always sense they were there, but I dulled my abilities. I blinded myself to their suffering because I wanted to live a normal life."
"Is that so wrong?" Pietro said and walked closer to Harvey. "You're a person! With wants and needs! You can't just be the spirit of vengeance all the time. You'll go mad! As horrible as it is to say it, you can't be there for everybody… you're just one man."
With a shake of his head, Harvey walked up to Pietro and smiled slightly. His golden-red eyes glowed slightly in the low light of the room. "I have to be more than just a man. With Amy's gift, I can do a lot more than before. I don't need to sleep anymore; my energy is never-ending."
"Seriously?" Pietro asked in slight disbelief.
"Yeah, I haven't slept in three months and feel as fresh as ever." Harvey made a fist and clenched it tight. "Due to the positive energy in my mind, I never become mentally exhausted. It's wonderful. Even the sadness from the break up is easing away… but that also scares me."
"Harvey." Pietro asked nervously. "Are you… still human?"
A long, tense silence hung in the air, and Pietro felt his stomach grow heavy. Harvey looked up from his fist and smiled sadly.
"No… not anymore." Harvey's eyes shimmered briefly and returned to normal. "Does that scare you?"
Luke and Manny were now exiting the chamber, and giant smiles were plastered on their faces. Their instructor was leading them to the locker rooms to change out of the jumpsuits.
Pietro sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Stepping to the side, he looked up and made a show of thinking deeply. "Listen well, brother!" Pietro turned to Harvey and shoved a finger into his face.
"Like I care if you're still human or not! Heck, my sister and I have odd powers ourselves. So we're not human either; we're practically mutants! That's right! Mutants, we evolved to be more! How did that happen? I don't know, but who cares?" Pietro then swung an arm over Harvey's shoulders and pulled him down. Harvey, now an inch taller than him, didn't sit well with him. "So don't think me or anyone else will think differently of you because you aren't some plain old human. You'll always be Harvey. Our friend and my brother. Got it?"
Harvey stood stunned; after a while, he looked down and began to chuckle. That chuckle turned into laughter. Several people turned to them and looked at them oddly. Harvey didn't care. He simply laughed and wrapped his arm around Pietro's free shoulder.
"Right." Harvey said with a grin. "I got it."
"Good." Pietro nodded and let him go. "Here come the flyboys."
Indeed, Manny and Luke walked over to them dressed in the clothes they arrived in. They had confused looks on their faces as they finally reached them.
"What's so funny?" Luke asked.
"Nothing much." Harvey said with a smile. "So, how was it?"
"It was so much fun!" Manny said with a grin. They began walking out of the facilities to their next destination. "You guys have to try it next time we come! Frankly, it made me wish I could actually fly."
"I guess we'll have to give it a whirl then." Pietro said as they left the building and entered the busy streets of the park. "Alright, boys. I'm craving some of those fancy ice cream jars!"
"What aren't you craving?" Harvey said as he playfully pushed Pietro. "You and that black hole you have for a stomach."
"Hey, it's a medical condition." Pietro waved him off. "I have to eat, or else I'll die. Do you want that to happen? Huh, bonehead? What'll Wanda say?"
"Ah… never mind. I don't think I'll survive being thrown out another wall." Harvey rubbed the back of his head with a wince.
"Hold the phone! You got thrown out a wall?!" Luke said in surprise. "By sweet and caring Wanda! Lies!"
"He did leave us all high and dry for months. I can see it." Manny nodded. "Kinda earned."
The rest of the night was filled with the four young men enjoying the park's attractions and events to the fullest. Their bond deepened as they talked and joked all night, catching up for lost time. Their troubles and problems were forgotten, and they all enjoyed what the night had to offer.