Red Fox Action Log 41 Cont:

  On the ride up to the roof, I noticed Nora tapping her foot. She didn’t seem nervous so much as eager, standing in the middle of the space, while I leaned against the shiny brushed brass wall of the elevator.

  She could have gone to the opposite wall, but she held her ground. She smelled like mint mouthwash and sweat.

  When the doors opened, she exited first. I followed.

  The view was nice, like the perfect setting for a yuppy rooftop party. A couple lonely chairs and an ashtray sat as evidence that it was only sparsely used.

  The city across the bay, New Linden, the Greatest City in the World, sparkled like a wedding band full of diamonds. There sat the belle of the ball. Kit City played the ugly stepsister in comparison.

  “What’s up?” I asked, still gazing at the city across the water.

  “You’re always looking for an exit, huh?” she asked.

  “Am I?” I replied, surprising myself with a smile.

  “What, if the conversation gets awkward, you’re just gonna grapple off into the night?”

  “I wasn’t planning on it. But a fox always has multiple exits.”

  If I had to get out of here quick, I’d probably just slap on my Fox Badge, double tap it to keep me light, and leap off the roof. Maybe I’d break an ankle, but it was only four stories, and it’d be fast. If I had a couple more seconds, I would use the grapple to descend. Not as dramatic though.

  “Do I make you feel that uncomfortable?” she asked, dark eyes gazing, looking for something in my face. I wasn’t sure what.

  I stepped closer, taking my hands from my pockets.

  “You don’t make me uncomfortable,” I said. “I find you intriguing.”

  “Like a bug? Like a science experiment?”

  “No,” I said, “like a puzzle.”

  “How’s that better?”

  I waited for a moment. Sometimes the right move is to let a moment pass before saying anything. I could see the look on her face change from playful anger, to something almost sad.

  “I just met you Nora. What is this about?”

  She stepped closer, and I could feel a bit of her body heat, what little of it wasn’t carried away by the wind.

  “I’m just mad we don’t have more time,” she said.

  “We’re about to fight a supervillain Nora, I’m sure whatever obligations you have can wait. The city needs you.”

  “What about what I need? What about what I want?”

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  She couldn’t step closer without touching me, so she leaned in slightly. Her hair was down, soft ringlets against her cheek. She had also taken off her chunky plastic jewelry, and replaced it with a simple gold necklace, a fine chain with the outline of a heart, that drew the eye to her clavicle.

  Some moments feel like they’re out of stories. Every girl I’d ever kissed, I’d asked to kiss first. It was the right thing to do. It was a little silly and awkward, but I didn’t want to make a mistake, not when the stakes were that high.

  This was the first time when I felt like I didn’t need to.

  But what if I didn't see her again? What was best for her?

  I pulled her into a hug. She hugged me back. I felt her cheek against my chest. Wasn’t what I wanted, but maybe it was the right move.

  She stepped back from me.

  “Well, thanks,” she said, one hand on her head to keep her hair from blowing into her face, eyes glistening.

  I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to drape my ugly words over the moment. I knew it was passing, but I didn’t want it to.

  “I have a cousin coming to pick me up,” she said. “You’re going back to that elevator, and I’m going down that fire escape, and you won’t tell anyone that I’ve gone.”

  “Is that something you’ve seen?”

  “No, it’s something I’m asking.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  She pulled a small notebook from her back pocket, and presented it to me.

  “These are all the visions I’ve seen from this year, up to today.”

  “Why are you giving this to me?”

  “I can’t be a part of this. It’s too dangerous. I’m not like you. I’m not like the rest of the team. What comes next, I don’t even know if any of us will survive this. But I have to try.”

  “What’s coming? What did you see?”

  “Don’t trust the Care Team,” she said. “Not even Sniffer Sleuth.”

  I didn’t ask if I could trust her, because I knew I could. I don’t know why, some people you feel connected to, like a spark of electricity, a current running between you and them at all times. I could feel that current start to dim.

  “Who can I trust?” I asked.

  “Trust yourself. Trust what’s in that book.”

  “Okay.”

  She pulled out her phone, an ancient brick of a phone, and glanced at a text message.

  “They’re gonna be here soon. So, you should go,” she said.

  I did.

  I didn’t look back.

  In the elevator, I brought out the notebook. I knew the cameras could probably see me, but I didn’t care. I had to know. I flipped to the back, first. I always flipped to the back. Her script was long, frantic slashes and strokes. Hardly legible in places and deliberately lettered in others.

  Blood. So much blood. His arm. The new guy. Red viscera stuck in blonde hair. Levitron, screaming in anguish. Fire. Fire. Fire. Barry Lazergunz. Blood in smiling teeth. Don’t breathe. Don’t breathe.

  It’s coming together. I know what to do. I know what to do. I know what they must do. I can’t be here anymore.

  The firehouse can’t be saved. The arrow shoots for the moon.

  Chestnut Street is wet with rain.

  They cannot reach the palace. The axe cannot return to earth. He waits in the sky.

  He waits in the sky.

  He waits in the sky.

  The six wait for the seventh’s return. The Man of Iron.

  The Fool.

  The Temperant.

  The Juggler.

  The Devil.

  The Strong.

  The Just.

  The World.

  The order is safe. The order will keep the others away.

  He has to succeed.

  I will not die for them. If I die, it’ll be for myself.

  It almost seemed like gibberish. What was clear was that it was an admission of guilt. I flipped back at the previous couple of passages, and they were far more tame. This was written quickly, almost like notes jotted down in the middle of the night before bed, or a dream journal, completely divorced from context.

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  But I was starting to see a pattern. I couldn’t see what she saw, yet, but some of it was beginning to become clear. An attack on the team. Extra help. Portents of doom.

  My blood boiled. The Fox Instinct roared in my veins. My temples throbbed.

  No second-rate supervillain was gonna kill me. I couldn’t have that. And I was gonna do my best to keep this team alive, too.

  She’d dropped this on me, and fled because she didn’t think I could do it, didn’t think we could do it.

  But why would she? Why would anyone? I had gotten on everyone’s radar for defeating a Supervillain, but I’d had a lot of help. I had my friends. Most people didn’t know that, and one victory is a fluke. You have to keep winning.

  What was the play for this? I needed to move the Care Team.

  Damnit. I couldn’t move the Care Team if there really was a mole in the group. I move the whole team, I move the mole too. Either the secret lair was safe, or it was compromised. I needed to find the mole first.

  Who could that be? Sniffer Sleuth started this; no chance of him killing his own team. But then again, she’d said not to trust anyone. Why would he have built this team just to kill them? No, I felt like I could trust him, at least.

  Levitron seemed mysterious, but I wouldn’t expect a mole to draw attention to himself by threatening me. White Rabbit didn’t seem the planning type, especially not if she’s hooking up with the team — that could just expose her to scrutiny. Maybe someone in the Intel Bay?

  Maybe it was Barry? I certainly didn’t get a good vibe from him.

  Or I could just kill the supervillain, mole be damned. Or tie her up for the authorities. Whatever. I was still new to the idea of a ‘no kill rule’ on supervillains. It seemed okay in principle. But the stakes were high.

  I jotted out some of the intel we had to the Quick Report Message System, then shoved my phone in the pocket of my suit.

  The doors opened, and luckily I was able to find one of the intel guys, the one who I didn’t know yet.

  “What's your name, kid?” I said in my most authoritative voice. I didn’t think it was right to use my hero voice on a fellow hero, even one that was support, but I needed him a little on the backfoot.

  “Ah, Gunnar, they just call me Gunn.”

  “Good job today, Gunn,” I said. He was probably only 3 or 4 years my junior, but I was wearing the suit. You get respect when you’re in the suit. “How quickly can you give me systems access?”

  “Wait, what for?”

  “I need access to the cluebase.”

  “Oh, well we don’t keep those as locked down as personnel records, and other stuff. Most of the cluebase you just need a login for. Once Nora gets back, she can get you one of those.”

  “I didn’t ask Nora to give me a login. I asked you for access to the clue base.”

  “Oh, well she’s just the one who does that kind of thing, but I could also get Rick —”

  “Gunn. Go ahead and send Rick a message letting him know you’re giving me access, but I need to work on countermeasures for the supervillain now, not tomorrow.”

  “Right.”

  “So, I need you to make me a login.”

  He opened a window on his monitor and started typing.

  “What do you want your name to be?”

  “Red Fox is my name.”

  “Got it,” he said typing that in. “But you’ll also need a password.”

  I grabbed his keyboard, and keyed in my password.

  “That it?” I asked.

  “You should be golden.”

  I gave him a squeeze on the shoulder, then turned to go.

  “You think we’re safe?” he asked.

  I stopped.

  “You’re a hero, Gunn,” I said. “We’re never safe. But I’m going to do my best to make sure the Care Team makes it out of this.”

  “Good. Right. Thanks.”

  “Get some rest, kid.”

  “I’ll sleep when youse guys sleep,” he said, then pulled up a new window, and began typing.

  As soon as I got to the room, I plugged in my bulky laptop, and set the read aloud function to work, as I began assembling my chemical fabricator. I started with rumors about how previous emotional manipulation powers worked. Most theories on it were that it was only partially mental, that there was an inhibiting agent or chemical that lowered a victim’s inhibitions, and increased their susceptibility.

  In that case, our Lady Lovely may not be using pheromones at all, and instead some kind of gas or particle.

  My thoughts were interrupted by a knock. I paused the reading software, and opened the door. Sniffer Slueth stood there holding two cups of tea.

  “I see you aren’t sleeping,” he stated.

  “I see you bring gifts,” I said, taking the tea, and sipping from the cup before I’d even sat down. My tongue was burned, but I did not care.

  “Why do I smell Nora on you?” he asked. Then his face screwed up, and he said, “none of my business.”

  Again, I remembered Nora’s warning. I decided to ignore it, and said, “Nora gave me her book, she left. She thinks it’s too dangerous.”

  Sleuth cursed.

  “She may be right,” he said. “As valuable as she is, I wouldn’t want her to put herself in danger. She doesn’t have the skills we do. I’ll let the kids know tomorrow.”

  “Hmm,” I nodded to his suggestion. “That may be wise. But I will remind you, you’re just a guy with a good nose. Why are you doing this? Shouldn’t you go home too?”

  “I can’t fight like you, I admit that, but I know how to take care of myself. And this is my home.”

  I noticed that he didn’t close the door. I wondered if he could smell the chemicals in the fabricator.

  “Can you smell what’s in the machine?” I asked.

  He raised his eyebrows high and said, “Can I? I can identify 50 different chemicals, from accelerants to adhesives, just on that table alone. It’s, frankly, a lot.”

  “Actually 48,” I corrected.

  “48, plus the chewing gum in the front pocket of the duffle bag, and the starch to help it keep its shape.”

  Wow. I’d forgotten about the gum. I hadn’t put it there, but the memory of who did crept up on me.

  “It’s how we’re gonna beat her,” I said. “But I’m flying blind here. If I could actually see what she does, or test someone right as they get put in a trance, I could reverse engineer how she did it.”

  His eyes searched the room as he thought, then they landed on me. They were light brown, like his hair, and kind. He looked like a sweet fluffy puppy, and really needed to work on his hero posture.

  “Did you know that before this place was a secret lair, it was a firehouse?”

  A piece of the puzzle fell into place. ‘The firehouse cannot be saved.’ I wondered if that was literal, or just metaphorical.

  “I did not,” I admitted.

  “I think I may have some respirators in storage. They won’t look flashy, but they could protect us from whatever pheromone or chemical she uses.”

  “Good idea,” I said, “I know we’re just going to scope out the warehouse, but we can’t be sure she won’t be there.”

  I lifted the tea, an Earl Grey — of course he’d know that — and took a contemplative sip.

  “Do you know why we’re the only hero team on the East Coast?” he asked.

  I had some idea, but I let him speak.

  “Because,” he said, “you need to find people who have skills, the courage to use them, and the moral character to use them right. And even if you find the rare person who has all three of those qualities, are they a good fit for the group? Are they going to cause drama? Does their personality mesh well with the others?”

  “You don’t think I have the moral character for the Care Team,” I said.

  “I don’t know. I can’t know. I just met you earlier today.”

  “Yesterday, technically,” I reminded him.

  He laughed, short, like a bark. Then he returned to his solemn state.

  “Whatever my misgivings, I don’t know if I can turn away your help. Barry is strong, but unsure, untested. Levitron has experience, but he’s not as fast as you. We need someone like you.”

  “Someone who beat a Supervillain.”

  “Yeah.”

  He let that hang in the air for a moment. I knew that’s the first thing people saw when they looked at me. I was the guy who beat Flameopath.

  Unbidden, the memory of that night, the blood, the smell of burning flesh, the smell of my burning flesh, the way his neck snapped when I kicked him… the burn scar over my ribs itched. I scratched them, sheepishly. He didn’t know my failures. He didn’t know what I’d lost to earn that acclaim.

  “I’ll do my best. I really believe in what you’re doing here.”

  “Thank you. And for what it’s worth, I don’t think you made the wrong choice in killing Flameopath.”

  I nodded. Talking about that day was difficult.

  “I know,” he continued, “that he’d killed 43 people before that night. If it saved even one more life, it was the right choice. The man was a monster. Even Captain Iron killed Shadowmaster.”

  “I’m not Captain Iron,” I said reflexively. “I’m not strong enough.”

  “I don’t think that's what separates us from him. From everything I read, I don’t think it’s the power that makes him good. It’s his character. Even when he failed, he refused to turn away from his ideals. Lord knows I fall short of his example, but I try every day to do right by people. Just promise me you’ll try.”

  “I will,” I said.

  Sniffer Sleuth stood.

  “That’s all I can ask for. And try to get some sleep. We’ll head out tomorrow at 10 AM if we can.”

  I nodded and got back to work. He shut the door behind him when he left. Glancing at my watch, I had another 6 hours before 10 am. If I was lucky, I could sneak in a little nap before go time.

  Fox Foundation AP stats compiled from the HRA 2.

  Note: You asked for some stats on old heroes of Iconic score (above 250), and some new ones that barely hit Journeyman (30). I am not sensing a pattern, maybe just reminding yourself of the gulf we have yet to cross as an organization empowering modern heroes, but I trust that this is vital information, right? You wouldn’t be giving me busy work, would you?

  As a reminder, Captain Iron has the highest stats ever recorded, and they posit that they will never be breached. Such an event is often called ‘Breaking the Quadrant’ or ‘Going Beyond.’ Those that claimed to have done it were likely just puffing their chest. -- K

  Captain Iron (CAP score 399) —

  Strength: 98

  Movement: 87

  Durability: 92

  Energy Projection: 73

  Mental Acuity: 18

  Special Skills: 31

  Gem Girl (CAP score 354) —

  Strength: 71

  Movement: 68

  Durability: 85

  Energy Projection: 98

  Mental Acuity: 4

  Special Skills: 28

  Bronze Boy (CAP score 270) —

  Strength: 27

  Movement: 41

  Durability: 94

  Energy Projection: 76

  Mental Acuity: 6

  Special Skills: 26

  Carla Quick II (CAP score 164)

  Strength: 11

  Movement: 99

  Durability: 8

  Energy Projection: 9

  Mental Acuity: 16

  Special Skills: 21

  Atlas (CAP score 30.5) —

  Strength: 21

  Movement: 3

  Durability: 4

  Energy Projection: 0

  Mental Acuity: 0.5

  Special Skills: 2

  Vest Boy (CAP Score 30)

  Strength: 2

  Movement: 2

  Durability: 22

  Energy Projection: 0

  Mental Acuity: 2

  Special Skills: 2