King of Superheroes 3, page 15
Rhiannon and Hannah were waiting outside on the lawn with Danny and Frank, who had somehow convinced the two other men to get on their knees with their hands behind their heads.
I looked forward to hearing that story.
In the meantime, I used my supersuit’s communication device and told Dahlia we’d captured Anton so she could let the attending officers know they needed to be ready with cuffs.
A few minutes later, Dahlia drove the van up to the house, and I handed over the drug dealer and his henchmen to the two surprised-looking officers who had tagged along as backup.
I watched on as Anton was shoved into the back of the squad car with his two accomplices, and I couldn’t help but feel a mixture of pride and a healthy amount of smugness as we piled back into our mentor’s van and headed to the police station.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again,” Dahlia chuckled as she caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “You amaze me every time, Mark.”
“Thanks, boss.” I smirked and turned to my Conduit and healer friend. “Hey, how did you get those other guys to comply?”
“They weren’t Supers,” Danny said with a shrug. “So they pretty much admitted defeat once we threatened them with the Omega.”
“Seems you’re building a name for yourself on the streets,” Frank added and nudged me with his elbow.
“What can I say? I’m a force to be reckoned with,” I joked.
After a short drive, we arrived at the station, and once Dahlia ushered us inside, we were promptly greeted by the chief of police.
“Chief Anderson.” Dahlia smiled.
“Hello, Dahlia,” the chief said. “Seems things didn’t go exactly to plan, but thank you for smoothing out the details.”
“No problem,” she said.
“And hello, again, Omega,” Chief Anderson said as he turned to me. “It’s nice to finally meet your team. What did you all find for me?”
“I found this.” Hannah handed over the family portrait she’d grabbed. “Might be good to have, if you ever needed a reference for his family members.”
“Thank you, young lady,” Chief Anderson said with a grateful nod. “Was the rest of your mission successful?”
“Well, I know you only wanted us to bug the place,” I said. “But we thought we’d do you one better.”
“And how have you done that, exactly?” he asked as he furrowed his brow.
“While we were at the house, we had an… unexpected visitor, and to make a long story short, we’ve got your guy in the back of your officers’ squad car,” I said and couldn’t help but grin.
“You captured Anton?” Chief Anderson’s eyebrows shot up toward his hairline.
“Yup, he’s all yours,” I said as I gestured toward the vehicle. “The house we found him in was stuffed to the rafters with drugs, too, so you definitely got him on possession.”
“The mayor will not believe me when I tell him.” Chief Anderson shook his head in disbelief.
“I’m glad we could deliver.” I smiled and shook the officer’s hand.
“Great work as always, Omega,” he said. “You’ve truly outdone yourself. And your team, of course.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said with a curt nod.
“Please excuse me, there’s something I need to arrange.” He made a sudden exit with no further explanation, but he hadn’t officially dismissed us, so we hung around for a bit.
After a few minutes, he reappeared and was no longer empty-handed.
“I’ve already ensured your funds have been wired to your accounts,” he said. “But I have something extra for you. For capturing Anton.”
Then he handed us each an envelope. My team offered their own thanks to the chief, and we all had to force ourselves from not tearing the envelopes open right there and then.
From the sheer weight of mine, I could tell it was an extremely generous amount of cash.
Chief Anderson turned to head toward the squad car and collect his prize but paused at the last second.
“Oh, and one last thing, Omega,” he said as he whipped back around to address me, and he nodded at the envelope of cash in my hands. “There’s a lot more where that came from.”
Chapter Eleven
“I can’t believe we’re getting paid for this!” Danny muttered as we exited the police station. “This is awesome. My brother is going to be so jealous when I tell him.”
Danny’s brother was a fledgling a few years back and had teased our healer friend about how his future Super career was destined to be dull because of his power. I was happy Danny would be able to prove him wrong.
“I haven’t seen this much cold hard cash in my whole life,” Frank added as he thumbed through his envelope. “And there’s more waiting for us in our accounts?”
We were all absolutely stoked after receiving our rewards from Chief Anderson, especially since first years didn’t typically get paid for their missions. Instead, first year missions were treated as work experience and were orchestrated to help filter people out as well as find them job roles suited to their power sets.
But because I was the Omega, and since I’d ensured that my team came with me as a full package deal, we were the exception.
And it felt fucking good.
I was just as happy for them as I was for myself, and in that moment, I realized I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else around me. My team all deserved the same amount of reward and recognition as I did, and it was about time we got it.
I checked my own envelope and marveled at the thick wad of bills stuffed into it. Danny was right, this was awesome. Things were really starting to come together, and we were finally being rewarded for all of the hard work we’d put in.
“There’s only one right way to celebrate this win properly,” Hannah said with a glint in her pale blue eyes. “And that’s with a good old-fashioned shopping spree… followed by a trip to the spa.”
“I like that idea,” Rhiannon giggled as she twirled a lock of her hair around her finger. “The mall should be open for a few more hours.”
“Let’s go, then,” I said. “I wanna spoil my girls.”
Hannah and Rhiannon smirked at me before they linked arms and squealed with excitement.
I’d never been a flashy guy, and I’d only stepped into a mall a handful of times in my whole entire life, but now that I had women to spoil, the prospect of shopping actually seemed kinda fun, even if it meant idly following behind them as they browsed through shops and called everything cute.
“You guys definitely deserve to unwind,” Dahlia said as she studied us with a faint smile. “You’ve earned it.”
“Uh, you’re coming with us,” Hannah announced with a ‘duh’ kind of expression, and she linked her free arm through our mentor’s. “He said his girls, didn’t he?”
Dahlia seemed hesitant and unsure, but when she glanced over at me, I gave her an encouraging smile. She returned it, and some of the tension leached from her shoulders.
“You’re very convincing,” Dahlia chuckled as she turned back to Hannah. “And forceful.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Rhiannon said sweetly.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” the blonde Dreamer laughed.
The sight of the three of them walking together with their arms interlocked sent a wave of desire and gratitude over me. Although Dahlia and I had only shared one kiss, seeing them interact like that just felt right, and she fit into the dynamic seamlessly.
I still hadn’t gotten the chance to have any more time alone with my mentor, and I couldn’t help but think about the next time I’d be able to see her one on one. There were still so many ways I wanted to get to know her.
Mentally and physically.
But for now, we got back into the van and headed to the city’s biggest mall, which was made up of over three hundred stores. It was late evening after we’d finished up at the police station and arrived at the mall, so while the mall wasn’t packed, there were still a good number of people around.
To make sure we didn’t draw too much attention to ourselves, we changed out of our supersuits into a spare set of clothes we’d packed before we started our shopping spree. The last thing we needed was a meet-and-greet.
“Where shall we go first?” I asked my girlfriends as we entered the mall.
Rhiannon immediately began squealing as she spotted a store in the distance.
“Ooooh, that’s the biggest bookstore I’ve ever seen!” She took me by the hand and pulled me toward it.
“I didn’t take you for a reader,” I said to my Tempest girlfriend as she began scanning through the titles displayed at the front of the store.
“I’ve always been a big reader.” Rhiannon shrugged. “It’s a good way to escape your own world and join someone else’s for a little while, you know?”
The candidness of Rhiannon’s statement took me by surprise. She wasn’t a guarded person by any means, but she wasn’t very liberal with what she shared about herself. It was almost like she was apprehensive to let people in, so seeing her gloat about something that clearly brought her a lot of joy was really adorable.
“Then there are the bookstores themselves,” she continued with a dreamy expression. “You can get just as lost in the store as you can in any of these books. They’re like my home away from home.”
I couldn’t help but smile down at her, and she blushed, looked away shyly, and then resumed browsing the books.
“I’ve been wanting to read this.” She picked up a thick book with a hardback cover and began reading the blurb.
“Grab it,” I said. “And any others you’ve had your eye on.”
“Really?” she asked, and I nodded.
My Tempest girlfriend adorably jumped up and down at my offer. Then she eagerly threaded in and out of aisles and searched for the titles she’d been waiting to get her hands on. She was quite literally like a kid in a candy store.
I waited at the front desk for her, and after five minutes, she reappeared.
“Okay,” she said breathlessly as she balanced a stack of books in her arms and used her chin to steady them. “I think I’m good.”
“You sure?” I laughed as I took the stack from her.
“That should keep me going for a while.” She grinned proudly as we headed to check out.
It made sense Rhiannon was a reader. The way she composed herself showed how observant and insightful she was, and she looked at the world with such wonder and gentleness, like she was constantly searching for magic in it.
The clerk rang us up, and after I grabbed the bags filled with books, we rejoined the others who had been window shopping nearby.
As we continued walking through the mall, we passed a vintage record store. I saw Hannah’s face light up, and I watched as she tried to play it cool.
“Wanna go in?” I asked her, and she nodded quickly.
My Dreamer girlfriend took me by the hand and marched me in, and then she headed straight for the classic rock section.
“What are you looking for?” I asked.
“Nothing in particular,” she said as she mindlessly flicked through the sleeves. “I just like to collect records. I have boxes and boxes full of them at home.”
“What do you have against streaming?” I teased.
“I just think records sound cool, it gives the tracks a certain character that you can’t achieve with streaming.” She shrugged. “And it’s a lot more fun to collect physical copies of music than just adding it to a playlist. Besides, they’ve started to release new stuff on records again.”
“So, do you have a record player?” I asked.
“I used to, but it died on me a few weeks before I came to the Academy.” She pulled out a sleeve from the rack. “I haven’t had the chance to replace it.”
“I’m sorry, that’s a shame,” I said with a slight frown. “Was it sentimental?”
“Yeah, my mom bought it for me,” she sighed. “We used to bond over music when I was growing up, and she’d show me all of the songs her and dad would listen to when they first started dating. And apparently when I was a baby, I’d only fall asleep if my mom put a record on, so maybe I just never grew out of it.”
I felt a twinge in my chest as I recalled Hannah’s dad had died when she was a baby, and although her mom had done an amazing job at raising her, I felt saddened that she had to grow up without him.
Her strength and character were a testament to her mom, and I felt lucky to know her.
“I’m sorry.” I leaned down to kiss her.
“Oh, no, it’s okay,” she said and waved me off with a faint smile. “It’s a happy memory, it’s just a bit annoying about the record player.”
“Yeah, it is,” I agreed, and then I had an idea. “I just want to check something out, stay here.”
I left my Dreamer girlfriend to continue browsing through the records, and I idly wandered around the rest of the store. Then I noticed a selection of record players and turntables.
“Hey, Hannah!” I called out to her. “Check these out.”
“No way!” she gasped as she hurried over to me. “These are so cool.”
“Choose one,” I said.
“What?” She turned to me and cocked her head.
“You heard me.” I smirked.
“Mark, there’s no way--”
I didn’t let her finish and instead took her by the shoulders and turned her so she was facing the record players again.
“Choose one,” I repeated. “I insist.”
“You’re the best.” She looked up at me and grinned as she shook her head in disbelief, but she picked out a turquoise record player that folded up into a portable case.
“Ah-ah, hand it over,” I said as I took the case from her, and then I prompted Hannah to grab a few records she’d also been eyeing.
She still had a huge grin spread across her face as we checked out, and it still hadn’t faltered when we regrouped with the team.
As Frank dragged the others into a GameStop, I caught Dahlia eyeing up the window display of a jewelry store and walked up behind her.
“Which one’s caught your eye?” I asked.
“Oh, I’m just browsing,” she said over her shoulder. “I love shiny things, I’m like a magpie.”
When I’d first met Dahlia, I would have laughed at the thought of someone so stoic being obsessed with pretty things. But now that I’d gotten to know her, the real her, a little more, I just found it endearing.
“I like that one.” I pointed to a dainty silver necklace with a diamante pendant.
“Yeah, that one is really pretty,” she agreed, and her expression was a little wistful.
“Try it on,” I said and pulled her by the hand into the store.
“Mark!” she chuckled but reluctantly let me lead her.
“We’d like to try on one of the necklaces in your window display,” I told the clerk and directed her to the right one.
“You’re ridiculous.” Dahlia shook her head and giggled.
The clerk reappeared with the necklace on a velvet stand and delicately handed it to Dahlia.
“Will you put it on for me?” she asked, and her dark eyes eagerly searched mine.
“Of course,” I said.
She turned around, and I swooped the hair off her back so it rested over her shoulder. As I positioned the chain around her neck, goosebumps pimpled up her arms, and I couldn’t help but smirk at the effect I had on her. I fastened the clasp and let the necklace gently fall against her skin, and then I gathered up her hair and let it fall down her back again.
“What do you think?” she asked as she spun back around.
The chain rested just below her collarbone, and the diamante glinted in the store’s spotlights as it sat just above her line of cleavage.
“It looks even prettier now that it’s on you.” I smiled down at her. “You should get it.”
“Unfortunately, not all of us Supers are paid as well as the Omega,” she teased.
“Then let me buy it for you.”
“No, no, I can’t let you do that,” she said and waved me off.
“Yes, you can,” I insisted, and I caught her hand and squeezed it. “Please, I’d like to get it for you.”
“Mark…” she faltered.
“Dahlia…” I parroted with a smirk.
“It’s too much,” she argued as she fiddled with the necklace.
“Nothing is too much for my girls,” I said. “Which includes you… if you want it to.”
“Okay.” She finally nodded, and her dark eyes still twinkled as they bored into mine. “I’d like that.”
“Good.” I turned to the shop assistant and handed her my card. “We’ll take it.”
“Thank you, Mark.” Dahlia reached up and pecked me on the cheek as the shop assistant rang us up.
It was endearing to see how girlish the interaction had made her when she was usually so badass. As our relationship deepened, she softened around me and allowed herself to let her guard down. For someone who took care of everyone around her, it was nice to get to take care of her for once. Over the past week, I was starting to see a new side to Dahlia, and watching her act timid and shy made me appreciate her even more.
As we continued through the mall, we passed a department store filled with luxury brands that specialized in formalwear, so we stopped outside and appreciated the elaborate window display of gowns and tuxedos.
“Now that we’re due to be Super royalty,” I announced, “I say we need to start dressing like it.”
“If you guys are royalty…” Frank said as he tapped his chin. “Does that make me the court jester?”
“If the shoe fits, my friend,” Danny rebutted and messed up our Conduit friend’s already unruly hair.
I ushered my team into the shop, and the girls immediately began cooing over the silk gowns as they flipped through the racks.
Hannah picked out a long, black silk dress and held it up against herself, and I saw Rhiannon eyeing a sage-green number while Dahlia had her eyes set on a lacy red gown.
