He'd taken the aptitude test (he wished he'd been allowed to see the results), he'd signed the contract, and he'd spent the last week practicing with his new staff. Now he was at the address he'd been sent in an encrypted text.

  The door was warm. That was the first thing Caden noticed: faintly radiating heat where the afternoon sun had shined on it. The world beyond the door was a blur of shapes: Three human-shaped, two of which were close and one which was further away. The warmth of what he guessed were electronics was scattered about the building.

  He set the suitcase down and tried to rest his staff against his elbow so he could smooth his shirt down and run a hand through his curls. Instead, the staff thunked awkwardly against the door ahead of him.

  "Crap," he muttered as the knock echoed dully through the air.

  Smooth. Real coordinated. Off to a great start. He thought to himself.

  Caden rushed to smooth the wrinkles out of his shirt and ran a hand through his auburn hair as he heard two sets of footsteps. One light, slower, and a little uneven. The other is steady, heavier. The door swung open, letting out a rush of cool air. Most of the hallway beyond the doorway was too cool to register with his abilities.

  Deflector was the one who had opened the door. Caden felt the pause and rushed to fill it.

  "Ah, are you admiring my new stick?” Caden grinned. "Tis an instrument of war and woe! I wield it, alas, not for glory alone- for I have long been enemies with gravity. Also, did Sadie tell you I'm immune to healing magic? Bit of a niche superpower, I know.”

  "She did," the older man confirmed neutrally. “It's in your file.”

  "I guess it wasn't a deal breaker then."

  Deflector didn't say anything.

  Of course not, Caden thought. Why waste words on a walking liability?

  “Well… what's past is prologue. I have the staff now so less falls hopefully…”

  The slower, slightly uneven footfalls approached, lighter than Deflector's had been. He recognized Sadie before he saw her- a smaller frame with a vibrant heat concentrated around her hands.

  "Hey, nice to see you again! I was so glad when Uncle Gabriel said you'd be here today,” Sadie beamed. “I was starting to worry you'd changed your mind. You said a week but I guess moving can take longer than you think.”

  Caden smiled and adjusted his sunglasses. Sadie moved past her uncle quickly. Caden caught the brush of displaced air, the confident stride. (He wondered if Gabriel had stepped aside or if she'd just charged through regardless.)

  "I can carry it myself," he protested half heartedly, rubbing his wrapped bad wrist now that it was free.

  "Too late." There was a laugh in the brunette's voice as she started down the hallway.

  Gabriel stayed silent. Caden could only imagine what was going through his mind.

  He shot a cocky grin in Gabriel's direction before moving to catch up with Sadie. He tapped the staff as he walked, paying attention to the feedback it gave him.

  She seemed to know the building like the back of her hand, weaving through the mildly maze-like hallways with a practiced ease. Her footsteps were quicker, more even than he remembered. She must've seen the healer like she said, thank goodness.

  She finally stopped.

  "And here it is!"

  The room was warmer than he expected. Literally. The bed drew his attention first. Heat radiated from the sheets and blankets. Freshly washed. The air smelled faintly of something herbal. Clean, but not sterile. A lot like Sadie herself.

  He couldn't have kept the grin off his face if he tried.

  "You did all this?" Caden asked, turning to her as she set the suitcase beside the bed.

  "Yeah!" Her temperature spiked slightly in the facial area, and she turned away. "I mean... I just wanted you to feel welcomed."

  Caden suppressed a laugh.

  "Aunt Ryn said she wants to see you," she added brightly. "But you’ve got time to breathe first. No pressure. She's probably just going to get your measurements for the suit. It'll be the second door on the right from here."

  She thought for a beat, then added. "Don't take it personally if you can't see her. She's shy at first.”

  "Is that your uncle's excuse too?" he teased.

  Sadie giggled, but she was quick to cover her mouth as if she hadn't meant to. "Hey! He's just nervous about you joining. New people mean change, and Uncle Gabriel’s not great with change."

  She gave a tiny shrug, then smiled again. "Be nice. He approved you, didn't he? That’s something. Anyway, I'll get going. Let you unpack and rest. Unless you want to do something else. I could give you a tour. Or you could help me make dinner. Or-" She cut herself off. "Sorry."

  Caden tilted his head, letting a smirk spread across his face. "No need to apologize. I didn’t realize I had that many options. Fair maiden, are you always this eager to hang out with the new guy, or am I special?

  "I mean," she stammered. "Maybe you're special. But don't let it go to your head. It's big enough already."

  Before Caden could respond, she took a step backwards toward the door, retreating quickly from the room. "Okay, now I'm actually going to go. Find me if you need anything."

  He called after her with a practiced grin. “Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow. Goodbye, healer.”

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Caden felt the heat rise to his own cheeks now that he was alone. He took a moment to orient himself after the door clicked shut. Besides the bed, he located the walls, what he thought was a desk and chair, shelving, a cooler recess where a closet must be. He ran his hand over the smooth wood to confirm. Definitely a desk.

  ****

  Ryn moved with practiced ease, circling him as she pulled a flexible tape measure from a pocket.

  Like Sadie had warned, she was hard to see. His eyes only showed him a blurry figure surrounded by a gray fog. He closed them to focus on her body heat instead. She ran cooler than the rest of the team. The only other clear warmth came from a monitor, its soft pulse steady behind her like a heartbeat.

  "Arms out, please," she requested.

  Caden obeyed, letting the staff rest lightly against the inside of his arm. "You got it, boss."

  “I’m not your boss," Ryn replied smoothly. "Gabriel handles leadership. I just make sure he remembers who he's leading where, and why."

  "So how do you do it all? Sadie made it sound like you’re the team tailor, strategist, and- oh yeah, the Slated Shroud. The telekinetic who can't be seen...You're beautiful by the way."

  “You can see through the fog?” Her tone was curious and somewhat intrigued. Caden noticed her stand up a bit straighter.

  He flashed her a smile. “Actually, I just happen to have a thing for blurry women. For I have oft thought that beauty lies not in the eye of the beholder, but in the fog that cloaks it.”

  She let out a noise that could've been a small laugh. “So that's what Sadie meant. You hide nerves with charm. It's kind, really. You try to make others comfortable when you're not."

  "...does it work on you?" he asked, somewhat sheepishly.

  She hummed, considering. "That's not important, is it? Charm opens doors; sincerity keeps them open. Anyway, Caden, if there's a gap, I can't help but want to fill it. Sometimes that means picking up a new skill. It's worth it if it keeps others from struggling.”

  "Still, it kinda sounds like you’re the one really running the place," he said. "Should I be buttering you up for suit upgrades?"

  "I'd rather you know why you're really here before I start planning redesigns."

  "Noted."

  She worked in silence for a few moments, her fingers quick and sure. He heard the scratch of pen on paper despite having no hands free.

  "We’re lucky," she said mildly. "I have leftover material from Josie. It should save us some time not having to order more."

  Caden raised a brow. "Who's Josie? Another stray Sadie dragged in off the street?"

  She sounded fond as she spoke. "More like a feral cat that stayed longer than expected. She was Gabriel’s apprentice. Left sooner than any of us wanted."

  "Is there a chance she'll come back for the threads?"

  "It’s just standard material. The same fabric used in everyone's suits. Well, not everyone's. Anyway, we ordered it, but Josie ended up making her own. She was the independent type," she stilled, her hands hovering. "I like to think she'll come back for something more than the threads."

  "To thine own self be true, huh? At least it’s not haunted," he said, mock relief in his voice. "I was worried I’d start hearing whispers the first time I zipped it up."

  "You'll have to take off the sunglasses so I can get measurements for the mask. I promise not to look too hard.”

  Caden hesitated. “Yes, ma'am.”

  "Just Ryn is fine." She hummed in thought. “I could request tinted lenses for the mask if light bothers you. Does the world burn too brightly for you?”

  “A bit,” Caden replied as he closed his eyes and took the sunglasses off. He barely felt a thing as she measured his face.

  “You should've said earlier. Do you have any preference on colors?" She asked, stepping back. "The base has to be black or any suitably dark shade, but you can have accents in any color."

  "Let's say orange or yellow accents and call it a day."

  "Maroon for the base?"

  "I'm bad with colors," he laughed. "Maroon, navy, black- it all kinda looks the same. I'll trust your fashion sense."

  "I think the maroon would suit you nicely. Anyway, that's all I need," she said. "Suit should be ready tomorrow afternoon assuming no interruptions. I've learned not to rush the things that protect us, so don't be surprised if it takes longer."

  He nodded, putting the sunglasses on in a way he hoped looked casual.

  "Any chance I can request it to look cool enough for my eventual action figure line?"

  Ryn's voice was tinged with amusement. "Already on it. You enjoy the spotlight, don't you? Try not to let it burn you."

  Caden opened his eyes and tilted his head to look at her again. The fog around her had shifted. Not gone, but less uniformly thick now. Some color broke through- browns and gray, patches of denim blue. Enough to guess at.

  “Huh,” he observed. “Didn’t expect the Slated Shroud to wear blue jeans.”

  “I prefer to be comfy in my own home, Caden,” she said, gently waving him away. "I hope you can be comfortable here too.”

  Still, something lingered in his mind. He caught up with Sadie in the hallway.

  "So, how many charisma points does a guy lose for asking about a mysterious ex-teammate?"

  Sadie sighed, trying to play dumb. "What?"

  "Josie," Caden said. "Ryn mentioned her."

  Sadie checked both ends of the hallway before reaching for Caden’s sleeve.

  “Okay, but not out here,” she whispered. “Come on.”

  “Ah, speak low, if you speak love,” he whispered back.

  He let her tug him toward her room, the warmth of her hand fleeting but nice. She pushed the door open, pulled him in after her, and shut it with a soft click.

  Caden laughed. "Wow. First day on the job and you’re already sneaking me into your room? I definitely feel special now."

  The statement was probably predictable, but the flush of heat around her cheeks said it had worked anyway. "Shut up," she muttered fondly. "This is serious."

  Caden raised both hands, all innocence. “Hey, I’m just trying to process things.”

  She didn’t answer. Instead, she crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed, the mattress creaking softly beneath her.

  He stayed standing, leaning lightly on his staff.

  "I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me, y'know. I just… Ryn mentioned her today and Gabriel said something during the interview too. Curiosity killed the cat... Or maybe just my flirtationship."

  Sadie's voice was soft when she spoke. “She was my friend. One of my only friends, actually. Before she left.”

  "She didn't take things seriously at first, but she had finally come around. She was dangerously powerful, so Gabriel didn't dare let her go even when he knew she was wasting our time. But she was coming into her own. She became like a sister to me," Sadie paused for a long while.

  "And then what?" Caden prompted.

  “She just… disappeared one day. No warning. No message. Just gone.”

  “A vanishing act with no final bow? How anticlimactic," Caden said, then winced. "Sorry, that sounded less heartless in my head."

  Sadie gave a small, mirthless laugh. “Yeah. But it gets weirder.”

  Her voice dropped. “There’s this girl who started sneaking around our base about a month ago or so. Has her same powers based on the damage she caused trying to get in. And the same bright, glowing green eyes. I think she must be her sister or a cousin or something; I've never met anyone else who slung acid around like Josie did. She never says a word to any of us. She usually just...runs.”

  Caden replies. “Interesting.”

  "If you ask me: she's looking for her. Josie, I mean. And that's why she doesn't speak to us; she's mad at us. Thinks we have something to do with her disappearance.

  Don't mention this to anyone; Uncle Gabriel is still grieving Josie and the whole thing is messing with his head. I've even heard him refer to her as Vinegar on accident before. That was Josie's codename. His theory is that she's after this artifact we're protecting but he thinks she can be saved."

  Caden blinked. "Vinegar? That was her codename?"

  She sighed softly, but there was fondness behind it. "Yeah. She wasn’t taking hero stuff seriously yet. Gabriel hated it, but by the time Josie was more...open to reason, people already knew the name.”

  "Can't help but respect the chaos. Sounds like I’ve got big shoes to fill."

  "No, just your own shoes to fill. I'd rather you not disappear in the middle of the night.”

  Caden blinked, his smirk faltering as Sadie turned her face away.

  "I'll try not to," Caden said, voice steadier than he felt. "I promise. But I should probably disappear from your bedroom before your uncle gets the wrong idea on why you wanted me on the team. Unless that's the right idea...?"

  She softly hit his shoulder. "You can go now, dummy. See you at dinner."