"You look like crap," Armin noted with a frown as he ran alongside her.
"Feel like it too." She mumbled. She had a few bruises scattered across her body, and her clothes had a few ragged holes added. Despite that, though, she still showed up when Myth sent them all a group text. That was where she and Armin currently were, running laps around their base.
Myth, with the suggestion of Battery, had turned the bottom floor into a sort of training room. There were a few mats scattered around where you could practically spar with a partner, mainly to pick up on grappling or other takedown moves, as well as heavy weightlifting equipment near the back, though in order for her to actually get a good workout in, she found she needed to lift up the dead machines that filled the former warehouse they were in. She felt herself growing a bit stronger every day. When she first got her powers, she had been able to pick up a car, but now she wondered if she could bring down a building or tower.
The final thing that had been placed down in the room was a track that went around the inside of the building. Their base honestly wasn't that wide or open, but she didn't feel like picking heavy things up at the moment, so she and Armin had decided to run and do laps with each other to build up some stamina. Armin had gotten his powers a lot earlier than her and had been doing practices like this for a while, so he was used to it. Meanwhile, her own body was pretty sore and banged up from Rowin, so she was falling behind, and the boy was having to slow himself down to stay next to her.
"How long have you two known each other for?" Lois asked, running between them. The invisible girl was very hyper as it turned out and had been doing laps even longer than both of them.
"Hope and I go way back." Armin shrugged.
"Armin and I have always gone to the same school." She explained. "I saved him from bullies, and now he's my servant!"
"That's not how it went at all!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
Lois giggled a bit as she watched the two of them fight. They were slapping at each other as they ran. "I wonder if it was fate that you both met." The girl hummed.
That caused her to stop. "Fate? You mean like destiny and other stuff like that? I don't really know if I believe in all that stuff."
"Really?" Lois raised an eyebrow and giggled. "We live in a world where people can shake entire cities or tear down buildings, but the idea of fate scares you?"
"I didn't say it scares me, just that I don't believe in it." Hope reasoned. "If good things happen to me, then it's because I did them. If bad things happen to me, then it's my own fault for letting it happen. I'm not going to blame it on fate."
"That's the spirit!" Armin clapped her hard on the back, nearly causing her to stumble. "Oh, um, whoops. My bad." She shot him a dirty look, and he shrunk down a bit and got back to running in silence.
Lois was in front of them and had turned herself around to look back at both of them. The blonde girl seemed to have zero issue with running backwards. "You know there was a theory that Boy Genius once came up with. He believed that many Supers are actually attracted to each other subconsciously and group up even without knowing. Humans are social creatures and team up, so it would be the same for Supers. Because of this, a lot of people in a Super's life are either Supers themselves or people who had a chance to become a Super, but their power never awakened. I wonder if that's why the two of you happened to know each other and ended up on the same team."
"Nah." She shook her head. "I'd have been friends with Armin even if he wasn't cool."
"I wouldn't." Armin retorted. "If you didn't become a Super, I was going to ditch you the first chance I got."
"Ouch!"
"I was joking!" The boy protested and barely dodged her punch, which ripped through the air.
Lois simply watched the exchange and let out a soft snort. "Either way, it doesn't matter. Our final member has arrived."
"Final member?" She asked. Lois gestured towards the corner of the room where the rest of Team Pantheon had arrived without her or Armin noticing. Mr. Larison and Thaddeus stood quietly in a corner. Her eyes lit up when she saw the red-haired man. "Mr. Larison! Are you feeling any better? You sure you shouldn't be resting or something? Are you really up for all of-"
Jack shot her a look and gave a nod before simply waving her off. She winced a little and slumped. She watched as the man leaned in closer to Thaddeus, and the two lowered their voices even more, barely speaking above a whisper. "Wonder what that's about." Armin snorted. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but her enhanced senses let her hear a bit about what they were discussing.
"You're sure it's a good idea?" Mr. Larison asked quietly.
"Yes. I think it would be best if we kept 'that' under the rug." Thaddeus nodded. "To tell you the truth, you aren't the only one with an old path filled with blood. Two years ago, I-"
"It's fine." Jack waved the man off. "We can discuss it later. Something as important as this shouldn't be said in the corner of a room."
Thaddeus didn't look very happy with Jack's words but nodded. He moved past the man and to the stairs that led up to the top floor. "Well, now that everyone is here, let's begin. Why don't we all take a seat up top?"
None of them were in costume. Rather, they were all dressed very casually. Mr. Larison looked a lot better since she last saw him. He wasn't as pale and seemed to be breathing fine. Despite that, though, she couldn't help but wonder what that conversation had been about.
She felt a little awkward as she sat on the couch next to Armin and Lois when they finally reached the top floor. Whatever the two men had been talking about, it was clear they hadn't wanted to be heard. She'd just have to do her best to forget about it. She was sure Mr. Larison and Thaddeus were trustworthy.
Thaddeus waited for everyone to get comfortable and ready before he began again, now standing next to a whiteboard. "I know things haven't been easy this past week. That said, we are still heroes, and we have a job to do."
"Did something happen in the city?" Armin asked.
Thaddeus shook his head. "No. Thankfully, it seems like both the Bad Timers and Zoo have gone into hiding after running into our team and the Sub Enforcers. Plus, with Poseidon being in our city, most of the groups haven't pulled anything massive yet. There is one group, though, that seems to be thriving."
"The Wandering Coin?" She felt her fist clench tightly as she said the name. The newest gang was really getting on her nerves.
Thaddeus nodded his head. "That's right. Those bastards don't care how outnumbered they are. They keep thriving somehow, and it is all thanks to their boss. We don't know who he is, but from what we've seen, he can create super drugs. There is the brand of drugs Battery, Cinder, and I dealt with when we fought Red Ape, but there's another one as well."
"I've heard of it." Jack piped up. "When the kid and I went on our first patrol, we ran into a member. Said he was selling a drug that gets you hooked instantly with one taste. My guess is that's how the gang is still growing despite the fact it keeps getting hit. Doesn't matter if we take out a few warehouses; all they have to do is get a couple of guys to shoot the product up, and with how bad their addiction gets, they join the gang. Worse yet, they don't have to do it willingly."
"Oleander's Hero Branch has taken great notice of this group now," Thaddeus explained. "They're afraid that if given more time, whoever this Super is that is making the drugs could make it into a bioweapon. The Sub Enforcers are on the case, but they're underpowered. It doesn't help the other gangs seem like they want to keep getting in the way. That's where we are going to come in."
"We're going to finally start doing patrols?" Lois asked, leaning back on the couch. They went on a single one as a basic form of training, but now it seemed like it would start to be the norm.
"That's right." Thaddeus nodded. "Patrols are a part of every good hero's job. I've spoken with Money Tree, and the two of us decided we would rotate who patrols where and on what days. We patrol our part of the city on Sunday, Saturday, and Monday. They'll be patrolling on the other four days. Since today is Monday, we'll be doing this starting today. Go get in costume and meet me back here."
Her and Lois entered the bathroom together and quickly got changed. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment. She had cleaned up the costume as best she could when her mom was away at work. There were a few nasty patches on some of the bigger wounds her suit had received when she ignited. It was a little patchy now. She'd have to remember to check about getting a new suit with Myth once she got the chance.
Whisper's costume was the same as she remembered. The blonde girl finished putting up her hood and mask, locking it all in place. The girl twirled a taser and pocketed it. When they headed back upstairs, Myth, Battery, and Snowdawn were all suited up and ready.
"So how are we doing this, boss?" Lois asked, throwing her arms behind her head.
"We'll be splitting up into three teams." Myth explained. "Since we are just going after the Wandering Coin, and they lack Supers, it should be fine to break into smaller groups. That said, if you stumble into one of them with their Super drugs, or another gang group, leave instantly and call for backup. I'll be traveling by myself. Battery will lead another team and-"
"Dibs on Cinder!" Whisper announced. She had gone to step towards Mr. Larison, but the invisible girl threw an arm over her shoulder.
"What? Why?"
"I haven't gotten to hang out with you yet!" She couldn't see the smile, but she knew Whisper had a cheeky grin. "Battery, you can have Snowdawn; I don't want him on my team."
"Ouch." Snowdawn winced. "Thank God I'm made of snow, or that burn might have hurt." Battery grabbed Snowdawn by the arm and began to drag the boy out. "Whoa, wait, we're leaving already?"
"We'll all meet back here once we're done." Myth called out. "Keep your phones on and close to you at all times. And most importantly, be careful."
And just like that, they were off. Myth transformed into his bull form and leapt all the way to the top of a building. Battery casually picked up Snowdawn with one arm and took off running, turning into a red blur. That left just her and Whisper. The blonde girl was simply casually walking down the street with her arms thrown behind her head.
"We're just going to walk around?" She called out.
"Nah." Whisper's eyes lit up looking at something she couldn't see. Something only Whisper herself could see. Hundreds of lines all along the ground. Paths going in and out of their world. Layers of fate. The girl reached into her pocket and pushed a button on her car keys. Down the road, her van honked at her. "We're going to take my ride. Hop in."
She grumbled some choice words under her breath but listened to her superior and got into the passenger seat. "So where do we start, exactly?"
"You know you're kind of weird."
"What?" She asked, taken aback. Silence filled the car as she waited for Whisper to elaborate, but instead the hero simply reversed the van onto the road and began to drive. "So why exactly did you want to hang out with me?"
"I already said it! I haven't gotten to chill on a mission with you yet. You fought alongside Myth, Battery, and Snowdawn, but not me."
"What about the warehouse incident a few days ago?"
"Meh. That doesn't count." Her eyes twitched a bit. She hadn't realized just how strange Whisper could be. "So how is Hope, exactly?" The girl asked suddenly.
"What do you mean?"
"Like, how are you doing?" Whisper explained. The van drove steadily, and with the setting sun, there wasn't really a lot of traffic they needed to worry about. "Anything good going on in your life? Any boys, or girls, you're into?"
"Not really." Romance was out of the question at the moment. Between school, her home life, and hero work, she was just way too busy. It wasn't like she didn't have crushes; she really looked up to a lot of the heroes, but she was just at a point in her life where she'd rather focus on being helpful. Maybe in the future. "Why do you keep asking weird questions?"
"Are they really that weird?"
"A little, yeah."
Whisper snickered and shrugged. The girl's eyes never left the road, seemingly following something only she could see. "Get ready. We're about to have some trouble."
"What do you-" She didn't get to finish as her ears rang. The sound of gunshots filled the air, and Whisper casually pulled the van over to the side of the road, parking it. The shots weren't aimed at either of them and seemed further away down a block. "I'll run on ahead."
"I'm not as fast as you, so I'll get there when I can-" Whisper stopped when she realized Cinder was already gone. "Damn, she's fast."
She left the van and full-sprinted, moving faster than a car. She came to a sliding stop when she rounded the corner, and her eyes went wide by what she saw. "Maybe Whisper and I won't actually be needed."
Part of the road had turned into a mini-battle zone. There were dozens of men all with guns trained on a lone hero who fought them. Dressed in the armor of an ancient military's warrior, water flowed from her back, turning into tendrils that casually blocked the gunfire. Poseidon was a one-woman army marching through the gang and not even attacking them herself, simply having her liquid do the work.
The soldiers were smashed into the ground, left unconscious. All of them looked to be Bad Timer members, or at least they all had the symbol of BT found somewhere on their outfits.
With one final strike, Poseidon's water formed into a fist and smashed into the last gang member's face, knocking him out instantly. "You sure took your time on them, Poseidon. Were you feeling bored?" Her head jerked up when she heard the voice, and she noticed Paragon, Poseidon's younger sister, standing on the sidewalk. The girl's arms were folded, and Destiny, the red bird, resided on her shoulder.
"I might have been a little ticked off." Poseidon admitted. The water-based heroes slowly traced over all the goons before looking up and landing on her. "Oh hey. Why if it isn't the one and only Cinder!"
"The one and only Cinder?"
Before she could react, she was pulled into a half hug by Poseidon. The girl wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "You've been making a name for yourself!" Poseidon grinned. The girl pulled out a phone and showed it to her. "Seems some people have their eyes on you, Cindy."
She stared down at the screen of the phone, feeling a faint blush. It was a picture of her directly after the fight at the warehouse. She was covered in ash and dust and carrying the collapsed body of Battery. It looked like it was straight out of a movie or comic.
Under the pictures were rows of comments.
'Does anyone know her name?'
'Is she part of the Sub Enforcers?'
'Isn't this the girl that fought Intake and Green Wolf?'
'I think her name is Cinder. She set a building on fire, and from the looks of it, she still can't control her powers. I hope she doesn't get placed into the Sub Enforcers. We need actual good heroes.'
It wasn't a lot of comments, more people were interested in Battery or Poseidon, but she had gotten a few. "What are you doing out here alone, Cinder?" Poseidon asked, causing her to look away from the phone.
"She's on patrol." Paragon commented casually. The girl sounded like she usually did, lacking emotion in her tone. "Myth spoke to Money Tree about it; remember."
"Oh yeah!"
"Why are you guys out here?" She asked. From what Myth had said, Sub Enforcers wouldn't be patrolling on these days.
Poseidon put her phone away. "I'm not a member of the Sub Enforcers, so those rules don't apply to me. I save who I want when I want, and right now I want this city to have less crime. Seriously, Lillian has basically achieved world peace compared to this place; how does anyone live here?"
"With a lot of work." She admitted. Oleander wasn't really the best place to live. It was home though.
"Actually, would you care to help out?" Poseidon asked.
"You'd let me?"
The older hero shrugged. "You're still new to this, right? I like helping people, and if this can help you one day become a strong or powerful hero, then I'd love to show you some of my skills. You could pick up on some things."
"What happened to your partner?" Paragon spoke up once more, walking over and joining them. "You had someone with you, right?"
"Yeah." She looked around and frowned. She focused her ears but didn't hear Whisper anywhere. "I was with Whisper, but I guess she is hiding."
"Oh Whisper! Yeah, she's pretty cool. What was your reaction when you learned her mom was the-"
"Enough gossiping." Paragon lightly smacked her sister on the helmet. "I'm sure Whisper wouldn't want us discussing something like that."
Poseidon sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Anyway Cinder. A few of these low-level grunts got away. I caught them attacking some Wandering Coin goons and stealing some of the products a couple warehouses back. I've been slowly stalking and picking them off one by one and chaining them up." The girl snapped her fingers, and cold, icy chains began to grow around the downed men, ensuring they wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. "I don't like bringing Paragon out in danger, but I hate having her out of my sight even more, so if you're willing to help, your job would be simple. Just keep my sister safe."
She eyed Paragon up. She still had a bit of mixed feelings when it came to the masked hero. "Yeah, I can make sure nothing happens to her."
"Alright then! She'll be in your hands! Treat her well."
"Do I not get a say in this?" Paragon sighed.
"Nope!"
She felt a little bad about ditching Whisper, but at the same time, the girl should have had more than enough time to catch up. So either Whisper was way slower than she thought or had ditched her first. Either way, she followed behind Poseidon, walking alongside Paragon.
"You're not allowed to touch me."
"Huh?" She looked down at the smaller girl as they walked.
"No touching." Paragon repeated again. "I don't like physical contact. If you see something heading my way, just let it hit me. I can heal myself later, so it's fine."
"She's lying." Poseidon called back. "She's good at healing others, but her powers don't work on herself. I'm counting on you to be a good meat shield, Cinder!"
"R- Right." She sheepishly replied. She had trained up a bit with Rowan, so all things considered, she was pretty confident in her new skills. Of course, with how insanely strong Poseidon was, she doubted she'd need to get involved at all.
They entered a shady-looking alleyway, and she heard a loud banging sound as someone slammed into something. "Let us in! We're sure we lost her—Oh crud!" The gang member yelled when he saw them. He was currently in front of a large metal door leading downstairs into an underground bar of sorts.
Poseidon gave a sly grin and raised a single finger. Water formed off of it and whipped out, smacking the man across the face, and in an instant it was lights out for him. The water didn't stop there, though. It began to take shape and form, turning into a massive swordfish made of liquid. The blade of its nose easily sliced through the door, and screaming filled the underground bar.
Bullets rained out, but she didn't have to worry. Poseidon's water formed a barrier over both her and Paragon, keeping them safe. The barrier took the shape of two sharks, which floated around her and Paragon, devouring the bullets. She was honestly starting to wonder what the point of her coming was. She didn't even get to count how many of the guys were in the room before a tendril of water smashed through everyone.
It had been a simple bar with dozens of tables and a counter, but now glass shards littered the floor, and the men were slammed into the back wall with less than ten still remaining. All of them had 'BT' carved somewhere on their clothes, and Myth's words echoed in her mind for a second.
Her boss had told them not to engage any other gangs. She wondered if she'd get in trouble for this. Surely it would be fine, though. Right? Maybe she just wouldn't tell him about this little stunt.
One of the Bad Timer goons let out a scream and, for some weird reason, thought it would be a smart idea to charge Poseidon. He was naturally laid flat on his back before he even took three steps. Another one made a mad dash for the door, but a lazy swing of the tendril wrapped him up in icy chains.
One of the few remaining goons grabbed something from his pocket. "Grenade!" Another grunt screamed. Her eyes went wide as the man tossed it at them. Poseidon acted fast, raising her arm and causing a large squid made of liquid to wrap itself around the bomb. The squid exploded into a hail of hot water, which sprayed out across the bar.
It wasn't burning hot, thankfully, but it did block their sight. Something one of the goons took note of. The man raised his gun and fired the bullet, launching through the air. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as she watched it. Poseidon moved a moment too late, and it flung past her, her tendril missing it. She followed the bullet with her eyes watching as it neared the frozen-in-place Paragon, going past the sharks, which were caught off guard.
"Sky!" Poseidon screamed in horror.
She dove forward faster than the bullet and managed to get her arms around the healer. Paragon let out a yelp as she was yanked down just in the nick of time as the bullet flew past where her head had been and slammed into the back wall. "You okay?" She asked. She had crashed onto the floor and did her best to shield the hero.
Paragon winced in her arms. "Y- Yeah. You can let go of me anytime you know."
"Sorry."
Poseidon let out a sigh of relief when the girl saw that her sister was fine. That sigh, however, changed into a low growl. The hero's head snapped back around to glare at the man who had fired at her little sister. The other goons had given up just by seeing the look of rage in her eyes. It was all focused on the man who held the gun. His legs shook, and he dropped the gun, throwing it to the ground, and raised his hands.
"It was an accident-"
Teeth exploded out of his mouth as water rose from the ground and slapped him hard across the face. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he stumbled, but Poseidon wasn't done with him. The girl's hands were clenched so hard that blood began to leak down her arm. Something was wrong with it, though. The blood was black. With a wave of her hand, water splashed onto the man's broken face, waking him up.
He screamed in pain as he was whipped again, this time the water tearing through his shirt and leaving a large gash across his body. Ice began to grow out of his flesh, tearing and eating away at it, and the water painfully smashed him into the wall. A bubble of it began to form around his face, and he gargled, unable to suck in air as he began to drown.
"That's enough." Poseidon turned and glared when she felt the hand on her wrist, but her face softened when she saw her eyes burning into her. "You're going to kill him."
Paragon was back on her feet, her bird letting out a loud cry. "I'm fine, Poseidon. Cinder saved me. I didn't get hurt. Calm down."
Poseidon's hand dropped, and the water around the man fell off of him, and he collapsed to the ground, whimpering and shivering as his body shook. He looked like a beaten dog. Poseidon's shoulders slumped slightly, and the girl let out a heavy sigh. "Looks like I messed up again."
"Again?" She shivered a bit, imagining Poseidon pissed off like that again. The girl had been ready to straight up kill someone, and judging from her tone, that wasn't the first time something like that had happened. She shot a look towards Paragon, but the girl ignored her, stepping closer to her sister.
"Don't worry. You didn't lose control. Not like last time. You've gotten better at it." Paragon turned, and the bird on her shoulder turned to stare at Cinder. "Do you mind keeping what happened here mostly secret?"
"She tried to murder a guy." She frowned.
"I've had to heal some of the guys you fought; you do way worse." She flinched at the healer's words, remembering some of her more severe attacks. She had badly burned both Red Ape and broke the bones of some of the grunts she fought.
"Yeah... I guess that's fair." She rubbed her neck awkwardly. "I shouldn't have come here; I'm sorry-"
"No." Poseidon shook her head. "You saved my sister's life." The hero held a hand out towards her. "Thank you."
She stared down at the hand, not taking it. "Yeah. It's what a hero does." She turned away from the sisters. "I save people when they're in trouble. It's what I do. I'll stop bad people from hurting others also if I can." She began to head back to the stairs and gave a half-wave. "Call on Cinder if you're ever in trouble."
Paragon snorted, watching the hero walk off. "I think you freaked her out a little."
Poseidon stared down at her palm in silence. "Yeah. I really messed up. I need to get this thing under control soon or else..."
She walked down the street, going at a slow pace. First she had heard something she shouldn't have in the form of the conversation Mr. Larison and Myth had. Now she had seen something she shouldn't have. Heroes seemed to always have a strange secret about them. One caked in blood.
"Finally decided to come find me?" She jumped a bit when she heard the voice and looked up. The air shimmered a bit, and suddenly Whisper appeared before her. "About time. I get I'm not as cool as Poseidon or them, but it hurts a bit having you run off."
"You ran off first! I waited for you." She argued.
"Oh yeah." Whisper shrugged. "My bad. Got a little busy capturing these guys."
"These guys?" She suddenly took note of the five men who were flat on their backs. All of them twitched and shook, having just been recently tased, and were tied up with simple rope. None of them looked that harmed compared to the ones Poseidon had left in her way. "Wandering Coin members?" She questioned.
"You bet." Whisper smirked from beneath her mask. "Not just little ones either. Big boys. All of them had this stuff on them."
Her hand shot up, and she caught the jar the girl tossed her. One filled with a familiar orange liquid. "How did you find them?"
"Maybe it was fate." Whisper said slyly. The girl's eyes traced the many lines that were invisible to everyone else, connecting with many more that slowly swam into view. The Paths of the world. "After all, fate can be a tricky thing."