Reformed, page 4
part #1 of Supervillain Rehabilitation Project Series
“A little bit of everything.” She tapped her fingers lightly against the steering wheel.
Ahead he sighted a set of golden arches, probably in place to serve the service members who worked at the airfield across the way. A phantom memory of salty, savory fries made Fade’s mouth water. He needed to watch himself. Sable-enhanced metabolism or not, if he wasn’t careful, he’d put on twenty pounds with all the tempting non-prison food just a drive-thru away.
“There’s some search and rescue. Some assisting the Coast Guard against the smuggling that goes on off the coast,” Prism continued. “When we had those awful fires, we were running support for those—I mean, our power set isn’t the best for that kind of thing. Forte’s strength abilities and Keeper’s animal charming were a little helpful—have you ever seen a coyote rescue someone’s family pet from a brush fire?”
“I can’t say I have.”
“I choked up. Seriously, like the beginning of Up!, that commercial with the rescue dogs, and Keeper getting a coyote to drag someone’s house cat out of harm’s way. Those are my top three ugly cries.” Her eyes actually did look a little misty just talking about it.
He smiled. “Sounds like a fulfilling career.”
“It is, though admittedly, where our full skill set is needed is when a sable on the wrong side of the law pops up in the area. I pray every night that it doesn’t happen, but it does at least a couple times a month.”
“Huh.” Something she said scratched at Fade’s mind, and he slowly swept the interior of the car. A silver medallion hung from the rearview mirror. He focused on it. “That’s a Catholic thing, isn’t it?” he pointed towards it. “Are you religious?”
“Oh, the St. Michael’s medallion? That’s my brother’s.” She smiled at it. “He got it from our grandmother who was Catholic. I guess you could say we’re religious. I go to church. Aiden doesn’t, but that’s only because he can’t handle crowds with his abilities. He says he doesn’t know if the medallion helps, but it also doesn’t hurt, you know?”
“I guess.” He had no idea if he’d ever been spiritual let alone religious. Somehow he doubted it. “St. Michael is the Patron Saint of First Responders and Military?”
“Yeah. There isn’t a patron for sables yet, but he seemed the closest, according to my grandma.” She eyed him. “What about you? File didn’t mention anything about that, but it normally wouldn’t delve into religion or politics unless it was necessary.”
“I don’t ...”
“Remember.” She grimaced. “Yeah, I should’ve seen that one coming.”
They turned off the main road onto a winding stretch leading past a reservoir and recreation area before coming on a small group of official buildings. At the end of this line, right before the road curved again, stood a multi-story building with windows and a large parking lot. Prism pulled up in front of this and stopped the car.
“This is it.” She grinned. “Home sweet home.”
He blinked at it. “Kind of looks like a hospital.”
“It was.” She unbuckled and opened the car door. “It was abandoned a while back when they got funding for a bigger and better one near the front gate. We took it over a few years ago.”
Fade exited the car and stretched his legs, staring up at the building. Hospitals had a lot in common with prisons. He wasn’t fond of either. “Why?”
“A few reasons. For one thing it was a large, unused building in shouting distance of the gateway, training facilities, and airfields. Even has a helipad out back.” She came to stand beside him, beaming at the structure as if she’d built it herself. “Believe it or not, when submitting a charter for a new DOSA approved sable team, it helps if you can outline a budget and facilities. Talon helped me out. He knows the ins and outs of DOSA politics, but I like to think me putting together a cost effective solution to my team’s needs helped a lot.”
“Do you all live here?”
“Yeah. There’s only four of us—well, five now—so it’s a lot of space.”
He shifted from foot to foot. The anklet stifling his powers felt like an anchor, pulling him down, and the longer he stared at the stark building before him, the more he wanted to run.
“You all right?” she whispered.
“I guess.” He knew he didn’t sound convincing, but he hardly cared.
She searched his face. “I promise it’s a lot homier inside. We’ve been slowly making it our own for the last few years. Come on. I want you to meet the team.”
They strode towards the sliding doors which swished open at their approach. Inside was a reception desk but covered with houseplants instead of office equipment.
“Keeper’s got a bit of a green thumb,” Prism explained as they walked past this into a waiting room—or what had been a waiting room. Multiple well-worn couches now filled the space, along with large TV, gaming consoles, and a few desks. A man and a woman, both younger than Fade by probably a decade, sat cross legged in front of the TV engrossed in some sort of brightly colored racing game. The woman had dark hair pulled back in a thick braid and mahogany skin slightly darker than Fade’s own. She wore yoga pants and a pink tank top that showed off impressively toned arms.
Strength ability and maybe speed or agility too, Fade theorized.
At their approach she tossed aside her controller, allowing her virtual vehicle to chug to a halt. She turned to face them.
“Pris, you got him?” Her voice had a hint of an Indian accent.
The guy, completely hidden in a navy blue hoodie, kept his eyes on the screen. A strange, anxious sensation crept through Fade, and instinctively he reached for his powers, hazing the area around his mind while keeping his outer body solid. A shudder cut through hoodie guy. He slowly placed his controller down, stood, and turned.
A pair of piercing blue eyes stared Fade down from a young but sober face. Tufts of pale blond hair stuck out from under the hoodie.
“You must be Aiden-slash-Counsel,” Fade said. And you just tried to read my mind, but I blocked you ... somehow. That ability hadn’t been mentioned in his file, but with how instinctively he’d reached for it, he had to imagine he’d practiced it a lot at some point. Maybe with Allay, who had reportedly had the same abilities as Aiden.
“And you’re Fade, I presume.” Aiden brushed back his hood revealing more disheveled blond hair—the same color as his sister’s and almost as long. Looked better on her. “I’m only really called Counsel in official documents and on the unfortunate occasions that I end up in the media. Aiden’s preferable. Aiden Powell, if you want to work up to a first name basis. And you? Fade or...?”
“Just Fade.” Fade shrugged.
Aiden arched a pale eyebrow. “Not even a last name?”
“Nah. Never saw the need.”
“That’s a little diva of you,” Aiden snorted.
“Aiden,” Prism said sharply.
“Well, it is, Luce. Even with your theatrics, you’re still Lucia Powell most of the time.”
“I’m Tanvi Anand.” Tanvi’s hand shot forward. Fade took it, and she squeezed him with a grip that would’ve shamed most men. “My professional name is Forte, but I’m not picky. Neither that or Tanvi ever gets spelled right at Starbucks.”
“My condolences.” Fade pretended not to notice that Aiden was still glaring at him.
Prism looked around. “Where’s Keeper?”
“With the Menagerie. Do you want me to escort the newbie down there?” Tanvi asked, stepping forward.
“No, I’ll do it, though if you want to come with, that’s fine.” Prism beckoned to Fade. “The elevators are this way.”
He nodded before offering his hand to Aiden. “Nice to meet you, Powell.”
“You, too, Madonna,” Aiden replied.
Tanvi laughed, but Prism shot her brother a glare that made Fade suspect she was trying to develop laser vision. Fade ghosted his hand out of Aiden’s grasp before following both women down the hall.
Tanvi quickly pulled ahead, making a beeline for the elevators at the end of the hall. “Menagerie is mostly in the basement, but he’s got some bird cages and a few beehives on the roof too, so just be aware of that,” she said as she punched the button. “For the most part they don’t cause any trouble. Keeper’s charming skill is over the top, one of the best animal charmer sables in the US, if not the best.”
“Must be useful. You’re a strength sable? Your name makes me think something involving sound manipulation.”
“Oh, yeah, funny story. Forte’s actually my stage name for my side hustle: hip hop violin.”
Fade coughed. “What?”
“Yeah, you know like that Youtuber?” Tanvi leaned back, holding an imaginary violin in her hands then did a hip-circle that made Fade’s spine pop in solidarity.
“Not a lot of Youtube watching in DOSA holding facilities,” he pointed out.
“I guess there wouldn’t be.” Tanvi straightened as the elevator doors opened. “Anyway, I liked music and dance, but my parents wanted me to be an athlete, like Olympian level. We were still in India, which at the time was a few years behind the US in outlawing privatized super ability enhancements, so they thought it would give me an advantage.” They stepped into the elevator. “They paid hand over fist to get me an upgrade.”
Fade arched an eyebrow. “How old were you?”
“Six. They were uber competitive.” The doors shut behind them. “Joke was on them, though, since sables were banned from the Olympics less than a year later. I didn’t even have time to fully come into my abilities. The gymnastics did get me into dance, though, and that’s where I met Pris, after we immigrated.”
“You dance?” Fade angled towards Prism.
“Dad insisted we try other things before we settled into hero work.” She concentrated on the doors. The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened into a large open basement that had an earthy smell of animals and woodchips. “Aiden’s actually a licensed EMT, but I was less practical and focused on dance and the arts.”
“And we all know your power base and history.” Tanvi clapped Fade hard on the shoulder as he stepped out of the elevator. He stumbled forward but caught himself against a glass terrarium full of tropical plants and ... poison dart frogs? He quickly let go of the case and faced the women again.
“You do?”
“Oh, yeah, Pris went on and on and on about them. Told us a hundred times how much it would mean to her if you could be the first on the team, how your fighting style and abilities would totally mesh with our dynamic, how her father always said you were the best sable he trained—”
Prism’s face turned bright red. “Tanvi—”
“Oh, don’t be all shy about it, girl!” Tanvi’s voice rose a pitch. “We all had sable idols growing up. I know I used to write pages and pages in my diary about how I wanted to be Cosmic’s sidekick. You’re just lucky enough to get to live your dream.” She strode past Fade shouting out, “Keeper? Where are you?”
Prism cringed.
“So, you want to be my sidekick, huh?” Fade eased closer to her. She put out her hand and a flash of light burst in his face. He staggered back, dazzled, knocking into the frog case again.
“No, I’m the team leader. If anything, you’re my sidekick,” she said. “Come on. Let’s find Keeper.”
Fade blinked away the dots dancing before his eyes before laughing quietly and striding after her.
As he walked deeper into the maze of various animal containers, he began to wonder if he’d somehow taken a wrong turn and ended up in a pet shop. Squeaking, rustling, and chirping rose from every direction. Lights warmed reptiles sunning on rocks, and mesh roped off a large section of the room behind which skeleton trees spangled with colorful toys, hanging fruit, and mirrors housed a variety of boisterous and exotic birds. He stopped to stare.
Something cold and wet poked at his hand. He yelped. A wide-eyed border collie leaped back and cowered.
Fade cleared his throat. “Sorry ... boy?”
“Fade, you coming?” Tanvi shouted from somewhere up ahead.
“Yeah.” Fade forced himself not to stop and examine the contents of every aquarium and terrarium along the way as he hurried to catch up.
A smell of ammonia wrinkled his nose as he finally reached the women again. Tanvi and Prism stood in front of a full chicken yard and hencoop. At a glance he counted a dozen birds, all scratching and clucking to their hearts’ content. In the center of the coup, sitting cross legged with a black cat on his lap and a rooster perched on his head, was a middle-aged man with a scraggly brown beard and feathers stuck in his hair. He ignored the humans, instead making quiet humming noises as he focused on the various fowl surrounding him.
Fade eased up to Prism and bent down to whisper, “Are you going to make me ask?”
“Hey, Bob!” she called out. “The new guy is here.”
The man’s head snapped up, and he smiled. “Ach, the new bloke.” His voice carried a Scottish accent. He clicked his tongue and the rooster hopped off his head. Scooping up the cat, he approached the door to the coop. Fade did not want to consider what any of the various streaks on his Carhartt pants were. Still, when the man exited the coop and offered Fade the hand that wasn’t holding the cat, Fade accepted the greeting.
“Bob?” He tilted his head to one side. “Or Keeper?”
“Six of one, half a dozen of the other,” the older man gave him an easy smile. “Sorry that I wasn’t there to greet ya. Been some scuffles in the pecking order, and I had to chat it out with the biddies.”
“Yeah, I hate it when that happens.” Fade cast a glance at Prism, trying to gage if he was being punked. She did have a bit of a smirk going on. Well, he’d roll with it. “You’re an animal charmer. I’ve got some gaps in my knowledge base, but I was under the impression that was a decently rare ability.”
“Ach, not at all. It’s actually more common than you’d think.” Bob stroked his cat’s ears causing it to purr loudly. “The rare bit is animal charmers going into DOSA. We’re not considered Class A sables, if you know what I mean, and most of us go into animal rescue ... maybe a few of us working with the military canine units. When I applied at DOSA, they wanted to stick me with a canine unit, but Yui would never go for that, and we work together.”
“Yui?” Fade frowned.
“My wee gal!” Bob nodded towards the cat. “If I can’t work with Yui, I don’t work.”
“Ah.” Fade considered the cat’s amber eyes. “I see.”
The cat licked her lips with a dainty pink tongue then nosed at Bob’s chin.
Bob’s smile broadened. “She likes you. Thinks you got good energy.” He moved the cat onto his shoulder where she draped herself like a scarf around his neck. “Excuse me, I need to go clean up before supper.”
Fade let out a long breath as Bob walked away.
Prism tapped him on the shoulder. “I did warn you that we were an odd bunch of misfits, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, you did.” Something inside of Fade eased at her smile. Everyone here knew who he was, and other than the skepticism from Aiden—which he could handle—no one seemed to care. Maybe integrating into a team wouldn’t be so impossible after all. Maybe this could be a life.
Two identical electronic chimes went off simultaneously. Prism reached into the pocket of her bomber jacket and Tanvi unzipped a flap on the thigh of her yoga pants, drawing out a smartphone from inside. They both glanced at their screens and then at each other.
Prism’s whole demeanor changed, the twinkle leaving her eyes and her mouth forming a determined line. “Transport’s on the way. Let’s go.”
Tanvi took off at a run. Prism started after her, but Fade grabbed her arm.
“Hey, what is it?”
“Bank robbery in progress. Possible sable involvement. We’re on.”
Some long neglected instinct kicked in, and Fade’s adrenaline spiked. “What do you need me to do?”
Her shoulders slumped. “I wish you could come, but we haven’t had a chance to train as a group, and DOSA just released you. There might be media there ... I don’t know if the public is ready for you to show up yet, Fade. I’m sorry, but you need to sit this one out.”
His stomach churned, but he forced a calm exterior. “Of course. No problem.”
“Feel free to explore the facilities!” she shouted over her shoulder as she darted after Tanvi. “There’s food delivery services. Numbers are on the break room message board.”
She disappeared among the animal cages. With a sigh, Fade leaned against the chicken coop.
He’d been an idiot for thinking he could go along. Even so, his heart rate wouldn’t slow, and every fiber in his being itched to access his full power. He stomped the foot with the anklet hard on the ground and shuffled his way through the Menagerie once more.
Chapter Five
Prism crouched behind the security barrier, trying not to fidget as Aiden did his thing. Her younger brother sat cross legged, eyes closed, for all outward appearances idle. However, Prism knew that in his head he was snapping through distant thought patterns like an old man flipping through channels.
“Got him—” He held up his hand. “It’s just the one guy.”
“Is he a sable?” she asked.
“Some sort of trance power. He’s got all the employees in a daze,” Aiden said. “He didn’t know they’d triggered a silent alarm. Thought he could put everyone under and take his time. He’s already panicking about the police outside. No idea we’re on the scene, though.”
Prism jaw clenched. “A lot of hostages?”
“Employees plus a few customers, but like I said, all under. They won’t get in the way.”
She nodded. “You hear that, Bob? Tanvi?”
“Aye,” Keeper’s voice echoed through her earpiece. He and Tanvi were on the opposite side of the bank, covering the exits with their police backup. “Waiting for orders.”
If we had Fade here he could ghost in and make sure the hostages were secure while I light blast the perp through the windows and stun him.
