Know Each Other

Hope collapsed on her couch with a groan, happy that her mom was coming home and that she'd be unable to leave the house.

After the fighting, the running around, the stabbing, and the lasers, she was tired, and after having their talk with Myth, she nearly collapsed then and there. It took all her super strength to carry Mr. Larison home and then get back to her own house. And tomorrow, she'd have to do it all over again and help him get back to his car, which they'd left hidden in the alleyway.

Her backpack contained her costumes, which she held tightly. She couldn't help but stare down at the helmet which rested in it. Mr. Larison had gone all out shaping it and washing it when he made it. It had a silver color, smooth enough to reflect her face, but now, after her battle, it had a few dents, part of the metal smudged with ash. Though the metal itself was undamaged from her flames, as far as she remembered, it didn't even seem to heat up.

It was almost like it was made for her power or something.

Her hand brushed it, and she sighed, setting the backpack down. It wasn't the only thing that was damaged. Paragon had reversed her wounds that time she was in the Hospital. All her scrapes and bruises had simply faded. Battery, however, was the one to heal her this time after she refused Paragon's help. He didn't heal as well. His was a lot rougher.

Her fingers traced the scar on her stomach from where she had been stabbed. It was more like speeding the healing up rather than properly fixing it. She was a little ashamed of having damaged her body with a permanent mark, but also sort of excited at the notion she had survived a fight with a real villain.

"Only because he let us get as far as we did." Green Wolf didn't fight to simply kill them. He was making them tired, hunting them slowly. He could have easily cut her head off right away, he could have driven his blades into the heart of Battery, he could have stabbed her more than once, but he didn't. The man had beaten Mr. Larison black and blue yet avoided any places where there were organs.

It was an utter defeat for them. Their lives had been in the hands of a sicko having a good time, toying with them.

Luckily, she didn't have to think about it much more as the door opened and her mother finally returned from work. "I'm back! And I brought pizza."

"Yay, pizza!" She ignored the sore spots as she stood up, but her hand was swatted away before she could grab a slice.

"Did you leave the house?" Her mom asked.

"I would never disobey you, mother."

"I asked the old lady in the next apartment to watch our door."

"Yeah, I totally left."

"Damn it, Hope." Her mom sighed, but she didn't sound that mad, all things considered.

"I had something important I needed to do. And look!" She held her arms out and stretchered, ignoring the flare of pain in her gut. "No damage! I didn't get into a fight this time." 'That you can tell' was left unsaid.

"That's good." Finally, her mom stopped her from trying to get a plate. They didn't bother sitting at a table. They just stood there holding their plates and eating quietly. "So, what was so important you had to sneak off." Her mom asked.

That caused her to wince a little. "I can't say still."

"Are you trying to be a superhero?" That caused her heart to nearly stop. Her mom was staring dead into her eyes, studying her.

"What? Ha. As if. I don't even have powers, Mom. I guess I could be like Old Dog and fight crime with no superpowers, but I'm built like a twig. See." She flexed her arms, the lack of muscle evident.

Her mom stared at her for a little longer. "Your glasses, the broken pair. I talked with one of your father's friends, the one that gave us the new pair you have. You haven't been feeling weird or anything lately, right?"

She rubbed at her neck awkwardly. "Mom." She felt her throat lock up for a moment. "The truth is, I'm a-" She could see it now. The hurt look in her mother's eyes, the command to never go out in costume again, how it would be too dangerous. "The truth is I've been working part time!"

"What." Her mother seemed taken aback by that.

"There's this library, and I used to go there with Dad. I saw they were hiring, so I applied and got it recently. I know things have been hard with money, and I wanted to pull my weight. I know you think I should study more and go to college, but I really want to help. I got the idea after working for the Cleanup Squad."

Her mom's look finally seemed to relax for a moment. "And is this the same job that resulted in you coming home looking like you had been set on fire?"

"That was something else." She clenched her fists, trying to come up with an answer. "I didn't want you to worry, but a gang tried to attack me."

"What!" Her mom's eyes were wide, and the woman's face paled.

"But obviously, I'm fine, as you can see!" She tried to give a little twirl to show off how she was undamaged, once again ignoring the pain in her gut. "A boy from school named Kyle. Him and I, were heading home, and some non-powered Bad Timer gang members tried to get us. A hero showed up and saved us, though. 'He' fought them all off, but he had a firepower, and I guess my clothes got burnt." Her mom's eyes never left her. She took a deep breath. "And I'm telling you all of this because I want you to know I'm safe and surrounded by people that won't let that happen again. And because I need to meet at the library every week, and it's all the way on the other side of the city, so can I get a ride?"

Her mother stood there, stunned, as she finished speaking. "Working for a library. My daughter's a nerd! Why couldn't you just be a superhero?"

"Mom!"

The pain in her stomach was now nowhere near the pain in her heart at having lied. It had slipped out before she could even debate on telling her mom or not. Still, it seemed like the woman was willing to just take her word, not believing her daughter would show signs of powers and go around fighting villains. It showed a level of trust that made her heart sting.

Still...

Her mother smiled for what felt like the first time in forever. It looked like a weight had been lifted when her mom heard her say that. "Oh, thank God. I thought you were doing something stupid. You're still your father's little girl."

She'd have to tell her mom, eventually. She knew that. But for just a little longer, she would enjoy being a superhero. She wasn't their little girl anymore.

She was Cinder.

***

She closed the car door stepping out onto the curb. "I'll be back when I'm off shift to pick you up." Her mom said.

"Thanks, Mom!"

She had done it. She had seemingly calmed down her mother's worry through lying and half-truths. She hated lying, but now she didn't need to worry about sneaking out of the house to be a hero, and she even got her mom to drop her off at the place Myth told them to meet at.

She stood outside of the library Myth owned. He had attempted to stay in character when they sprung their question on them and instead requested, they come back later. So now here she was.

"About time, Kid." A familiar voice said from the front steps of the library. "I was wondering if you went and ditched me to go be a solo."

She turned to expecting to see Mr. Larison but froze when she saw who was in front of her. He was seated on the steps leading into the building, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He was dressed in the uniform of the Cleanup Squad, likely having just got off work. He had a bit of a beer gut, but it was slightly smaller than Larison's had been. His skin had a slight tan to it like it had recently healed from a sunburn. He was clean-shaven, and his ginger hair was combed back. She suddenly felt very underdressed. Her hair was still wild, and she was just in a T-shirt that showed Lady Time, one of the Enforcers, on the front of it, a jacket on top over it, and a skirt.

"Uh, who are you?" She asked.

Jack gave her an annoyed look and, out of habit, went to stroke his beard only to recall it was gone when his fingers grasped at air. "Ha, ha, very funny." He stood up and dropped the cigarette, stomping it out. "You ready."

"Yeah. I haven't been to this place in a long time. My dad would take me here, and we would read books about people like Nier, the Immortal Tower, or the monsters from Limbo." She looked up at the building fond memories coming back to her. "I remember the man that always worked in there. It sort of clicked when I saw his face again in full costume."

Jack nodded and said something that was too quiet for her to hear. She nodded her head and went to step past him, but he stopped her with an arm. "How are your ears feeling?" Mr. Larison asked her. "You damaged them earlier in the fight with Green Wolf, right?"

She almost winced, recalling the pain that had been caused the other day. Maybe she should have had Paragon heal her, after all. Jack's had left her with a bad headache, and even now, her hearing hadn't returned right. Before, hearing a heartbeat had been easy. The only thing letting her hear normal people talking was her enhanced senses, a whining ring almost drowning out quieter noises. "Fine." She lied. She'd just pray one of Myth's people was a healer.

Jack nodded, looking unconvinced. "Let's go in, then." She pushed her glasses up further and followed after Larison as he entered the building.

The inside was just as she expected. Not a single soul other than them and the owner, who stood behind the desk. Myth was tall and built for war. Thaddeus, the owner, wore baggy clothes that hid his form and was always slouched and quiet. They were things Larison said heroes did to separate their two lives. She had even done something like it. Outside of costume, she left her hair to be free, but dressed in a costume, she tied it back into a ponytail.

Thaddeus looked up when he saw them and gave a nod. "Hello. I assume you're here for the book meeting?"

"Sure." Jack sighed.

"I see. In that case, you will have to wait."

"What? For how long?" Jack snapped.

"I close at five."

"That's six hours from now."

"I close at five," Thaddeus spoke again.

Jack felt his eye twitch, so she stepped in. "Any chance you can close up sooner? I mean, it's a Holiday, after all." She wasn't sure if places like this even closed on holidays, but it was worth a try.

"It is?" The dark-skinned man asked, taken aback.

"Technically, every day is a Holiday if you try hard enough."

Thaddeus stared at her in silence, his lips pursed into a thin line. Finally, he nodded. "Very well."

"Oh, thank God." Jack sighed.

They were practically kicked out of the building by him after that. It took the man almost an hour to finish up whatever it was he was doing as he finally locked up the place. When he did finally step out, he seemed taken aback by their shared glares.

"Shall we get a move on?"

"Yes!" They both snapped.

His library was on the edge of the bad part of town and the middle-class section. It didn't take them long to cross the threshold, and they were back where they started yesterday. Back on Spider Street, surrounded by those many storage lockers and various warehouses. Of course, there were a few people, though they remained in the alleyways, eyeing them all up.

The destination they finally reached was near the end of it all, Thaddeus directing the duo to a narrow alleyway. She had no issue, but both Thaddeus and Mr. Larison had to turn sideways. A flapping poster hung from a wall, brushing her shoulder as she walked past. Hope straightened it out, seeing the face of the mayor, the words 'Vote for Mayor Grove!" written in a bold font underneath.

"Lots of those, 'round here," Jack stated, seeing Hope inspect the poster, "Grove's a real popular guy in this kind of area. I'm guessing it's a pretty untapped voting pool."

Hope turned around, "I guess. Hey, Mr. Thaddeus, you've got some history with the mayor, right? That's what made Myth so popular, after all."

Thaddeus spoke up behind them, "You could say that, yes. Myth saved Mayor Grove, two years ago. When I announced my intention to create a new hero team, the mayor made contact to let me know that he owned several of the buildings in this area, purchased in the interest of the Grove Family years before his rise into office. As a reward for Myth's prior deeds, he gifted me one of the disused buildings. The very one we are heading to."

As they exited the alleyway, Thaddeus pointed ahead at a tall, red brick building. The building in question was an old factory, and it no longer seemed like it was possible to enter, with no doors visible along the brick wall.

Or at least it appeared that way, as Thaddeus simply pushed on the bricks, and a section slowly moved as if it was a door. The interior was dark, lit only by rows of dusty windows near the ceiling. It might have once contained massive machines and conveyors, but they had been stripped to their bare bones. Sheets covered most of the empty and rusted husks, and there was a fog of dust in the air. It was clear nobody had been active in here for a long time.

"This is your base?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. "I guess the mayor didn't like you that much."

"Upstairs," Thaddeus said, gesturing to a large, rotted staircase that led up. "But first, head in there." He gestured to the right, away from the staircase where a hallway resided that likely once went to the break room for the workers when this place was still running. "There are two bathrooms. Change into your suits, and I will join you in a moment."

They did as he said, pushing past the door in the back. This part of the building looked far more modern and had stone tiles. Two bathrooms were on the left and right, and she entered the female one. Shockingly, it was still in order. In fact, it looked brand new. If she had to guess, Thaddeus must have gotten them fixed whenever he'd taken this place over.

Both her and Larison had brought their costumes ahead of time, so getting changed was easy. When she stepped out, Myth stood in all his glory, his robes billowing a little as he waited for them. "I'm glad you two could make it. I heard about the incident with Green Wolf." He spoke as if he was a completely different person. Thaddeus had spoken softly, quietly, and slowly, but Myth was loud, smooth, and straight to the point.

"You did?" Cinder said, stunned.

"Poseidon posted about two new heroes with power sets matching what I knew of you two on Hero Hub. She has a large following there and gossips about all her missions. She wanted it to be known you two did most of the heavy lifting and that Team Reservoir arrived after it was all over."

"That's nice of her." Battery said dryly.

"Indeed. Speaking of which." Myth looked down at their 'costumes' with a frown. "I will put in a request to get you two new outfits. You will not be going out on missions with my team dressed like that."

"My team? So, you have a few people already?" She asked. Guess the rumors were true.

"Yes. That is who you will be meeting. Follow me." The superhero led them to the staircase. "Normally, a hero team is able to make income through sponsor deals and contracts. This money tends to go to maintaining a base. Most hideouts are placed into something called a Pocket Dimension. Harrison Avalon created them nearly ten years ago. Sadly, when I left the Sub Enforcers, most of my assets were taken, so this building will work as our base from here on out. Try not to show up in costume, and don't use the front door if you can help it; use the way I showed you both."

After seeing the desolation of the first floor, seeing the second floor was a shock. It was a loft, and the contrast was startling. The exterior walls were red brick, and there was no ceiling beyond a roof and a skeleton of metal girders overhead to support it. The loft seemed to have three sections in the general area, though it was hard to define because of its open layout.

It would seem they had stepped into what looked like a living room. There was a large TV attached to the wall and a couch, as well as a few chairs scattered about. A whiteboard was placed in the center of the room, and a fridge was hooked up in the corner. There was a hum in the air, likely from a generator, and a shelf covered in various layers of weapons, from swords to nunchucks and even guns, stood tall.

Most notable, though, were the two people seated on the couch watching TV. Or at least they had been but were now staring at the three of them as they came up the stairs.

"These are the two I told you about." Myth spoke, and it took her a moment to realize he was talking to the two people on the couch. "I think I can finally start this team properly with them." He then turned to them. "Those two are the first members of my team. You two can take a seat anywhere. There is food and soda in the fridge." He then leaned into Jack. "And also, beer, but watch the amount you drink."

"Hello," Cinder said awkwardly.

"Sup." One of the people on the couch greeted, giving her a nod.

An awkward silence filled the poorly lit room, and Battery shrugged, took a seat on one of the chairs, and turned to watch the TV, which played some show about people with laser swords in space.

That left her to stand there awkwardly and stare at the two other members of Myth's strange new team.

One of them was a girl. The other one she wasn't really sure about. The girl was dressed to look almost like a ninja. She was in all black and had very little color. A hood covered her head, and cloth covered her lower mouth. A pair of what looked like night vision goggles also covered her upper face, and what bit of her hair could be seen beneath her hood was a light blonde cut short. There were many pockets and latches all along her outfit, where several things hung from. Some looked to be tasers, others were phones, and in her arm, she held what looked like a drone. The cheap kind that couldn't get too far away from the controller.

"Hey." The girl said, giving a bit of a nod. "It's good to have you two. I'm Whisper." She held her hand out, and Cinder took it, giving it a shake. "It's good to know there will be another girl on the team."

"Well, I'm glad to know I won't be the only girl either." She was a little relieved about that. She didn't really hang out with any girls her age or any girls at all, so maybe it would be good to have a female friend on the team.

"I'm Snowdawn." The second hero said. He spoke in a familiar voice, but she couldn't put her finger on it, as it came out very muffled, and it took her a second to even realize what he was saying. His 'costume' was almost as odd as hers was. From head to toe, he was covered in snow. That was it. There was nothing else. No armor that she could see, no hat, or belt, or clothes, just snow. As if he was a walking, talking snowman. The only sign he was even human was that two holes were poked in the head, showing a hint of glasses of whoever was beneath that snow.

He held his hand out to her, and she shook it but couldn't help but shiver at the cold.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine." She wiped her hand on the front of her jacket, getting the water off. "I'm Cinder. I guess I'm the new girl, so treat me nice, okay."

"And I'm Battery," Jack said, giving a half wave. He was paying more attention to the TV than them.

"He's like really old." Whisper, 'whispered' to her. "Is he like your dad or what?"

"It's complicated." She sighed.

Myth clapped his hands together. "Now that the two groups have met, I think it is time to get down to business." He stood tall in front of the whiteboard, trying to impose the figure of a leader. Now that she thought about it, she guessed he would be the boss. "I tried going solo for two years straight; however, it has seemed to be a bad call on my part. Every day both Bad Timers and Zoo grow stronger, recruiting new young Supers. And now a new gang known as the Wandering Coin has moved in. The Watch Dogs and Sub Enforcers have been trying their best to keep up but are falling behind. Because of this, I've felt the need to start up a team of my own. Whisper was the first person I recruited, followed shortly by Snowdawn, though both have only had very minor appearances in the public."

She listened to the man as he spoke, nodding along. She had heard of Snowdawn a little bit. He had stopped a car from falling over the edge of a bridge a few months back and had been a new hero who went solo. He had vanished off the radar after that, so people had assumed he had been killed off, but it seemed he had actually been picked up by Myth around that time. Obviously, he had powers that revolved around snow and ice.

As for Whisper, she had never heard of that girl, and she didn't recognize her costume.

"Battery. As it stands, besides me, I would say you have the second most experience." Myth stated.

Battery gave a shrug. "I'll help out where I can, but don't expect me to step up as second in command; I'm only doing this for her." He said, jerking a thumb towards Cinder.

"Aw, that's sweet. I wish my dad had joined me more on missions." Snowdawn snickered.

"I didn't know you two were related." Myth said, taken aback.

"We're not." Both Battery and Cinder sighed.

"Ah. My bad." That shut Snowdawn up.

Myth shook his head and continued. "I want to lay down a few things first to you Cinder and Battery. First of all, I plan on bringing us all out into a proper mission at a later date. I will have actual costumes for the two of you by then. Second of all, Whisper doesn't have an ability suited for combat but is good in other ways, and while Snowdawn is durable, he is new, so I will be counting on you two to have their backs, just as they will have yours. I won't stand infighting of any kind. I am fine with failing missions as long as we all come out of it alive. At the end of the day, we're heroes, and that means saving someone, even if that person has to be yourself. Finally, I know both of your secret identities, and you both know mine. I have not informed Snowdawn, or Whisper of you two. If you are fine with them knowing, you are free to tell them; if not, then you can remain secret, and the same is true both ways."

"I don't really have anything to hide." Battery gave a half shrug and lowered his hood, pulling his ski mask off. "I'm Jack."

Seemingly following his lead, Whisper lowered her own hood and took her mask off, giving him a smile. She was younger than Myth but still old, likely in her early twenties or about to turn twenty. "I'm Lois. I have full faith in Myth, so if he trusts you, I will too." She held her hand out, and Jack shook it, giving a nod. "It's nice to meet you, Sir."

"And I'm Hope." She might as well go all out if Mr. Larison was. She took her helmet off and removed the black cloth that covered her upper face, giving a grin. "Nice to meet you."

The can of soda Snowdawn had been holding crashed to the floor as he stood up quickly. "Hope!"

"Uh yeah, that's my real name? Parents picked it out, I know it's cringe."

The snow-covered boy snorted, and slowly, the snow that covered him head to toe dripped off of him. "I had plans to hide my identity. The only one who knows what I looked like is Myth." He wore a black skintight outfit underneath that was likely made to be bulletproof and stab-resistant to offer him a bit of extra protection. He didn't wear a mask or anything since he was used to being covered in his protective snow. His hair was wild, and a brownish color and his childish eyes rested beneath his round glasses.

Her eyes lit up when she saw that goofy smile that was on his face. "Armin!"

It would seem that she wasn't the only person hiding the fact they had gotten superpowers from their best friend.