The bell tolled loudly, signaling the end of school. "So, how's the hero's life been?" Kyle asked as the three headed for the exit.
"Quiet." Armin responded. "It's been a bit since we've even heard a peep of crime. I wanted to go right out in a glorious blaze doing an amazing mission, but our boss keeps wanting us to sit and wait."
She gave a shrug. "It's not too bad. It's been giving me a chance to try and catch up with everyone."
Myth had kept his word when announcing there wouldn't be any hero business until he was finished getting whatever was needed to get set up. At that time, crime had gone quiet. Actually, that was a bad way of putting it. It was still there. A few gang members from the Bad Timers stole a car, a couple of people overdosed on drugs sold by the Wandering Coins, and some officers received death threats from Zoo, but that was it. None of the supervillains had made a move, all seemingly waiting on the others.
"It's been quiet for Dad, too," Kyle stated, frowning. "He's been complaining. He gave his declaration of war, and none of the gangs bothered to bite. I've been listening to a spare radio I 'borrowed' for signs of major crimes. I'll call you two the moment I hear anything."
"Nice, man." Armin and Kyle gave each other a fist bump, both grinning, causing her to snort.
It wasn't very hard to get the two to get along. During the week-long break, Armin decided to reveal himself to Kyle since he already knew about her identity. It was easier than skirting around the questions.
Also, during that time, she had only gotten to see Mr. Larison a handful of times. The man worked the evening shifts, and she had school in the morning. He really wasn't interested in just hanging out but still tried to give her some advice, though. Most notable was what she did every day before school and after school now. Running.
Armin, Lois, and Thaddeus were all pretty fit. Even Mr. Larison was, to an extent. They all had some muscles on them and had built up strength. By comparison, she had almost nothing on her, being only carried by her enhanced abilities. Mr. Larison had instructed her to go for a run every day to start building up stamina and some muscle. It would also help her gain better control of her powers. Just as she was becoming more fireproof with every use of her flame power, if she built up more physical strength naturally, her super strength would also grow with it.
It had only been a week, so she wasn't really seeing any major changes, but it was better than nothing. She'd also go to the junkyard with Armin and Kyle, lifting anything that looked heavy. Her limit was around five thousand pounds at the moment. After all, she had been able to lift up and throw that police car in her battle with Intake.
"So, what's the game plan tonight?" Kyle asked. "You two going to keep doing some light training?"
"I guess." Armin shrugged. "If nothing changes, then yeah. We'll head back to the junkyard. I've been trying to freeze the water and see if I can harden my snow into ice faster, but it hasn't gotten any easier."
"I still need to just build up some muscle." She shrugged. She didn't want to get crazy buff, but something like Lady Time or Victorian would make her more attractive. "Mom already thinks I'm working part-time at the library, and Mr. Thaddeus covers for me anytime she calls up there to check on me, so I'm free for the whole day, basically." She had even convinced Armin to slip her some cash so as to seem like she was getting paid. Sadly, Armin insisted on the minimum wage, so it wasn't a lot of money. The boy's allowance was more than Mr. Larison got paid though, so she was just happy he was giving her small handouts.
Kyle gave a half-nod. "I wish I could help out more, but alas, I am a mere mortal."
"Aw, don't act that way. I'm sure I could call up Metal Ronin and hook you up with some power armor." Armin joked.
"I'm good," Kyle said, rolling his eyes. "Harrison Avalon tried wearing Power Armor when he went up against one of the Calamities and it was nearly destroyed instantly. He wrote an entire novel about the terrors of still being alive in a suit of dead armor that won't open and let you out while the members of your team are turned into puddles of flesh by an evil space god. That's enough nightmare fuel for me."
"Do you even know Metal Ronin?" She asked. Was this one of those 'all superheroes know each other' situations?
Armin gave a sheepish shrug. "I never actually met the guy, or any heroes other than Myth."
"You're useless."
"Hey!"
They were stepping through the doors and out onto the stone steps just in time to see the local security guard practically tackle a familiar homeless man. "Oh, hey, he's back." She said with wide eyes. She had to admit she missed him.
The man was still as dirty as ever, and several kids looked uncomfortable as he was thrashing around under the arms of the guard being carted away. He seemed to have already been in the middle of a speech, simply screaming nonsense. "The Sun! The Sun is real! I've seen its child with my own eyes!" And then he was carted off.
"This school is weird." Kyle muttered.
"Hey, it's not the school's fault," Armin said, rolling his eyes. "It's Hope's."
"What? How so?" She huffed.
"I mean, he did show up the day you started going to this school." Armin snickered. "So, I blame you."
"That's just a coincidence." She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Also, we started this school at the same time, so wouldn't it be your fault also?"
"Nah."
"You can't just say nah!"
"Nah."
"I hate you."
"Nah."
"Would you leave me alone?" They had just arrived at the parking lot when they heard the yell. None of them had a car, though Kyle was old enough to drive. They had planned to simply cut through it and head for the beach, but were stopped when they saw Kevin of all people once again screaming at Ashley Numen. Only this time, it seemed like a weird turn of events, as he was the one trying to walk away, and the girl's hand was gripping his arm, holding the boy in place. "I'm not interested." Kevin grumbled.
"Oh, come on." The Queen Bee was rolling her eyes. "I've seen how you've been alone walking in the halls. You've fumbled the last few games, and all your buddies are a little pissed, right? You don't have anything planned, so let's hang out like we used to."
"I'm busy." The boy hissed, pulling his arms out of the grip.
"What? Busy trying to get a new drug to dope on so you can be number one again?"
"Leave. Me. Alone. You made it pretty clear. We're through. Just because that new kid turned you down doesn't mean I'll just let you come crawling back like nothing happened." Kevin growled.
"Look I know this isn't you talking. It's those damn drugs you have. I found someone who can help you."
"Well, good for you. I don't care, though. Go bother someone else, you stuck-up bitch."
Ashley had a look of pure rage and was about to say something else, but a balled-up piece of paper hit the girl in the back of the head, and she furiously turned around to glare at who did it, eyes landing on the sheepish form of Hope, who already had a second ball of paper ready.
"He said to leave him alone." She didn't regret helping Ashley out two weeks ago when the girl was being attacked by Kevin, but she did think it was really odd how she was now doing the reverse now. Thankfully, she was taller than Ashley by a few inches, and the girl was all looks and no muscle, so she wasn't too scared.
Ashley gave her the biggest death glare she had ever received. "Why are you always butting in?" The girl fumed.
"I dunno. It's funny?" She shrugged.
Thankfully, there wasn't a fight, as the girl just fumed and stalked away. An awkward silence filled the parking lot, and she realized she was going to have to deal with the trio of bullies once more when she came back to school.
"You really can't just be a normal schoolgirl, can you?" Kyle asked.
She just shrugged. "Hey, I'll catch up with you two." Then she began to head for Kevin.
Kyle and Armin just stared at her strangely after that. "Is she ditching us for Kevin?" Armin asked.
Powers or not, it was a bit of a struggle to keep up with Kevin. The boy was ticked off and taking massive steps forward. "Hey, wait up."
"Why won't people leave me alone?" Kevin seethed, but he did stop and spin around, waiting on her. She stood there awkwardly, giving a sheepish laugh. "What do you want?"
She gave a small wince. "I heard what Ashley said." It was an open secret at their school that the football team was taking roids. As long as they were careful and weren't caught, then it seemed fine with the school. "We've got some kind of respect thing going on, haven't we? Maybe? Do me a favor. Personal opinion aside, I know for a fact there is some dangerous new stuff out there. Try to stay away from the Wandering Coin, okay? I heard they've been selling like crazy."
Kevin glared down at her, eyes twitching. "Whatever." And with that, the boy stomped away.
She sighed and turned around as well, catching up with Armin and Kyle, who hadn't actually left and were instead waiting for her at the edge of the lot. "What was that about?" Kyle asked.
"I decided I'm going to make Oleander a better place. Kevin is part of this city, whether I like it or not."
"I don't see that happening." Kyle snorted.
"I can dream."
"Are you going to try and make Ashley less of a frigid bitch next too? Get it. Frigid. Because I have ice powers." Armin gave a thumbs up and a smile.
She and Kyle stared at the boy blankly.
***
Armin and her said goodbye to Kyle. They only spent about a few hours in the junkyard, the sun having set a while ago.
She had planned to walk home with Armin and stay at his place since her mom would be staying late at the hospital to check on Dad, but Lois had sent her and Armin a text out of the blue.
'Meet at the base, please.' Was what the girl had written.
"What do you think she wants?" Armin asked as the two of them headed through the alleyway.
"I don't know. You've known her longer than me." She shrugged. She hadn't gotten to hang out with Lois as much as she had with Armin. The girl lived in that hotel and didn't seem to go to school. Lois was a young adult, so the woman could have had some sort of job.
When they finished pushing the fake brick wall out of the way and entered the warehouse, Armin couldn't help but let out a low whistle. "I see why she called you now. Looking good, Battery. Looking damn good." The boy nodded.
Mr. Larison stood in the center of the room with Lois. The girl was going over the suit the man was wearing now. It would seem like Myth had finally gotten them their costumes, and now Battery actually looked like how you might expect a hero to look.
It kept the red color theme, but it also incorporated some black trim. It sort of looked like a cyclist's uniform, but with long pants and sleeves. A pair of running shoes were attached at the bottom, and he had on fingerless gloves. The black lines along the costume lit up with the crackling lightning, turning gold every now and then. A mask covered everything but his lower mouth. It had a built-in helmet as well as goggles that would offer protection. Like most costumes, it showed off his muscular form, and it was clear Mr. Larison had been getting back to work. The man wasn't exactly buff like Myth. He was lean, like a runner, and the beer gut was already starting to vanish.
"How does it feel?" Lois asked. The girl had a typical sly smile on her lips that never seemed to leave.
"It's fine," Jack grunted. The glow around him got brighter, and it mixed in with the suit, lighting it up. "I'm basically a flashlight now." His eyes roamed over the room, noticing the two of them standing near the entrance. "Looks like your other test subject arrived."
"Test subject?" She squeaked out.
"Oh, don't mind him." Lois let out a giggle and then was suddenly gone, vanishing into thin air. She felt the girl's arms wrap around her waist, and she was all but dragged to the bathroom. "Come on. We got your costume, too."
"Need help changing, Lois-" Armin was cut off by a smack to the head by the invisible Lois. "Guess not." The boy muttered.
When they entered the bathroom, Lois reappeared and handed her a bag. She took it with shaking hands. Myth hadn't really asked them what she wanted in a costume, and she wondered where the man even got it from or who made it. She entered one of the stalls and shut the door behind her.
She was a little embarrassed that it took her a bit of time to figure out how to put the outfit on. Like most hero suits, it was skintight, though it wasn't like she had a figure worth showing off. It took her a bit to reach the zipper in the back, but when she finally did, she was ready.
She took a deep breath and opened the stall, stepping out. "Well. What do you think?" She placed her hands on her hips and puffed her chest out as much as she could, causing Lois to let out a snort.
That wasn't the exact reaction she was hoping for. She stepped past the girl and looked into the bathroom mirror, gazing at her reflection.
Like Mr. Larison, she had an actual costume now. Whoever had created it had stuck to the 'theme' she had sort of set up, but they clearly gave it their own style. The outfit had a zipper on the back and was a full bodysuit, starting from the feet and covering everything but her head. It sported red gloves as well as red boots, but most of the costume was a blue color, the same as the jacket she had worn. On the chest piece, there was a large symbol of a star made out of silver fabric, and all along the suit, it sported faint silver lines.
She stared down at her hands, clenching them into a fist. She could feel her muscles twitch from beneath the fabric as it hugged her. The costume felt like it almost wasn't there. It was made in such a way that she could easily wear her clothes over it to hide it, which was good as it had taken her a bit of time to get the thing zipped up.
"I like it." She finally said.
"It's certainly better than my first costume was," Lois smirked, folding her arms. "My second one, too."
"What costume are you on?"
"I'd say my fourth or fifth." The girl shrugged. "My powers aren't really made for serious combat, so I'm having to upgrade with anything I can find. Most tech-based heroes, like Boy Genius or even Metal Ronin, are constantly swapping outfits. Sometimes the new costumes are interesting changes, and then sometimes they get weird, like with Ocean Empress."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, before she went with a mermaid look, back in the day. In fact, she had a different name. Most heroes change their names when they grow up fully. Her costume now, though, is that pretty water dress. It's a little lewd, though, 'cause she's completely naked under it. Guess she likes being a little risqué."
She blushed a little and did her best not to think of a very naked Ocean Empress. "Speaking of costumes, though, I'm not done with this one yet."
She grabbed her backpack and opened it. The costume was good, or at least she thought so, but there was something that was missing for her. She ran her fingers through her hair, straightening it as best she could, then used a band to tie it back into a ponytail. Next, she wrapped the formerly red, but now black, cloth around her face. After that, she tied what was left of the cape around herself, letting it hang down, and finally, she placed the helmet Mr. Larison had given her on.
"Cinder." She said to herself, testing the name. "I almost feel like a real superhero."
"Well, you look like a real superhero now, that's for sure. Where did you even get the name Cinder from?"
"Well, it's kind of embarrassing, but basically Mr. Larison set a hotel on fire, and I got blamed for it." She said sheepishly. "The owner said the word Cinder, and I thought it was cool. When I found out I had fire powers, it was the first thing that popped into my head."
"Neat."
The two of them left the bathroom after that. Armin let out a whistle as he examined the new costume. "You're keeping the cape?" The boy gave her an odd look as she nodded.
It was badly torn at the bottom and had dozens of tears across it. It was also made for kids. Even if she hadn't ripped a chunk of it for her mask, it still wouldn't be the long, flowing symbol of hope that heroes like the Victorian or Lady Time had. It barely went past her backpack, which it rested over.
A loud clap caused them all to jump. They turned to see that Battery was the one who caused it; his mouth twisted into a thin line as the man stared at Armin and Lois. "Get in costume."
"Huh?" The two kids said blankly.
"You heard me." The man snapped, giving a wicked grin. "Myth is gone, and I'm the oldest, so get dressed. I wanna see what this team can do. Gotta know what I'm working with."
"I thought you didn't want to be the second in command," Lois said flatly, but the girl ran into the changing room when Battery fired a thin beam into the ground.
It didn't take long for Lois and Armin to swap into Whisper and Snowdawn. Whisper had seemingly added a few extra pockets, which had some new things, like pepper spray and other such stuff, and the girl gripped the body of a drone tightly to her chest. Snowdawn, meanwhile, was still just goofy Armin. He wasn't covered in snow, instead just sporting a black jumpsuit.
"So, what are we doing?" Whisper asked. "Myth didn't want us going out until he was ready, so whatever you have planned will have to stay indoors only."
Battery folded his arms, flexing his power and allowing it to lighten up the room. Unlike upstairs, where there was electricity and other things, almost nothing was down here. He finally eyed the tarp-covered machines. Or at least what was left of the machines.
"Snowdawn, you have some basic superhuman stats, right?"
"Yeah?" The snow-based hero said, giving a shrug. "Though not as good as Cinder's or Myth's, I can handle myself pretty well."
Battery nodded. "I'd like to see how much you can lift." The hero walked over to one of the tarps and tore it off of the machine. The device under it was large and looked heavy, though a hole was cut into the side of it, showing that any wires and other such things had long since been removed. "Try and lift this. I'd say it weighs a little under five hundred pounds."
"That's a little too heavy for me," Snowdawn said sheepishly, but still walked towards the object. "I'm only a little stronger than your average person."
"That's because your body isn't in the best shape. The same goes for someone like Cinder. People with super strength and other enhanced abilities usually have different multipliers. Someone like you is about two to three times stronger than you should be. Someone like Myth is about a hundred, and then someone like the Victorian is about a million. The key word is multipliers. The better shape your body is in and the stronger you are as a normal human, the more your powers will increase." Battery explained.
"Yeah, Myth said something similar." Snowdawn nodded. "He said it has to do with the Mind, Body, and Spirit, or something. That's the reason I started trying to work out." The boy wrapped his arms around the gutted machine and gritted his teeth. Slowly, his skin seemed to almost sparkle.
She stared intently. She actually hadn't gotten to see her friend really use his powers to their full extent. It was the first time she got to see him transform into his snowman form.
It formed like crystals at first. Sprouting all across his flesh, but it wasn't able to take a solid form fully. Drops of water seemed to come from his pores and mix with the air, rapidly cooling off and quickly filling the room with a cold mist that caused her to shiver. That water formed into snow, and it crawled up Snowdawn's body, covering him head to toe, leaving only two small eye holes.
The grunts were muffled now, and it actually seemed like the boy got stronger despite being weighed down by all the snow as the machine he had been struggling with moments ago was lifted off the ground slowly. It wasn't by much, sadly, and seconds later, it crashed into the floor as his arms dropped to his side, and he gasped.
"Damn, that's heavy." Snowdawn grunted. "Still, I managed to lift it. Happy now, Battery?"
"I guess."
"I guess?" Whisper snorted. "Why don't you show us how it's done then?"
Battery rubbed the back of his neck and walked up towards the heavy machine. He didn't pick it up, though. Instead, his body lit up, and the black lines across his outfit glowed with a golden light. The man took off running, hitting a corner and bouncing off of it. It took him only a second to become a red blur, and her eyes burned trying to keep up.
Wind twisted as Battery got faster, golden lightning mixing with him as he sped up and fired at the machine. The hero circled around it, and gradually the twisting air morphed into a massive tornado, lifting the machine up off the ground. Battery came to a sudden stop beneath the machine, and the wind went out, causing the machine to fall and crash land into his palm, which he held up above his head. With one arm, Battery began to lift and drop the machine, using it as a workout method.
"Freaking show off." Whisper giggled, seemingly not minding. The ground shook seconds later as Battery dropped the machine back to the ground and rubbed at his chest for a bit. "Okay, so you're pretty cool after all. Don't think about asking me to lift anything heavy, though. I don't got super stats, so what's your plan with me? Hmm, dear Jackson?"
Battery looked like he was about to reply but stopped when a voice cleared their throat. They turned and found Myth waiting at the entrance, already in costume. "Practicing already?"
"Felt like it was best to see just what this team could do." Battery explained.
Myth gave a small nod. "Not a bad idea. Alright then." His eyes roamed over Battery and then turned to look at her, taking her costume in. She suddenly felt a little more self-conscious about how childish she looked. Finally, though her new boss nodded. "You look good."
She let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you like it. I feel like a real hero in this." She flexed and grabbed her arm. "I want to get stronger so I can be more useful. Lay out anything you got for us, Myth!"
The leader of Pantheon folded his arms. "In that case. Let's go."
"Go? Go where?" She asked.
"Where else?" She couldn't see it due to the lower cloth mask, but she could tell as Myth gave a smirk. "It's time Pantheon made itself known. Our first mission is about to begin."