Ice went into the heavy-bottomed glass, followed by two parts ginger ale to one part apple juice. Adam gave his drink a stir and tested it with a sip.

  Mmm. His best ratio yet. He had to come up with a name for his cocktail. Something autumnal. He passed it across the bar and went to sit back down at his laptop.

  Campus was dead, everyone out on the town for the first patrol. After all his classmates left, Adam figured he might as well use the quiet to get some work done and take his mind off being left out of the night’s activities. Maeve the bartender wasn’t to be found in the school’s lounge, so he helped himself to her ingredients, figuring it was there for them anyway. For the past few hours he had been combing through the encrypted foundation database with full director privileges active. The program was unwieldy and hard to navigate, even after spending a whole day with Kieran walking through it. So far there was still nothing on WATERSHED. Nothing directly, at least. And if there was zero trace of anything to be found, he probably would have dropped it by now. But there wasn’t nothing. Adam may not have been very good at science or exploration, but he did have a meticulous mind.

  He traced his finger on the screen, following small charts to where they linked, taking notes on inventory items, doing his own measurements on the flowing lifeblood of Atlas West. Things didn’t add up the way they should. Cargo disappeared into supply chains with endlessly circular shapes. Energy was billed to codes that faded into unreadable jargon. Employees with no associated picture or work history took on projects with descriptions conveniently left blank. Something was rotten in the house of Atlas. The worst part was, he still couldn’t get ahold of his family to see if these were known quantities. He didn’t understand how they could all possibly be so busy 24/7. He ought to just fly over there and barge in on them. Or maybe he should try to meet with Cyrus again.

  He leaned back from the screen and rubbed his eyes that had begun to strain.

  He hoped everyone out in the night was doing alright. Annabelle had messaged him a few times, sending selfies of her making goofy faces with dark city backgrounds and occasionally others caught unaware. Looking at the pictures made him smile. They filled him with the strangest warm feeling. Annabelle was a nice respite from all the work of running the family business. The two of them had been official for a week now. So far they hadn’t found the time for a proper date after the gala, but given that they went to the same school and lived in the same building, they had already spent almost every meal together and lots of time besides. Adam was happy to see her starting to open up around his friends. He could see she had a playful personality when she got comfortable around others. Just tonight at dinner, everyone eating in costume, Annabelle puffed her cheeks up and stuck her stretchy tongue out like a frog to steal food from Adam’s plate. She made him and Lucy laugh, and even Lauren cracked a smile. Thalia hadn’t come to dinner. Adam hadn’t seen her since she got up and left on Thursday. He was worried about their friendship. He had to check on her soon. Add it to the ever-growing to-do list.

  He checked his communicator. Annabelle’s messages had stopped about an hour ago. Maybe her team had encountered some action. She was on a team without Thalia, Lucy, or Lauren. That worried him a bit, but he reassured himself she could handle it.

  The doors to the lounge opened, a stiff breeze letting itself in. Adam was slightly startled. He turned, wondering if it was a staff member who had a problem with him pouring his own drinks.

  It was Vivian in the doorway. She was instantly recognizable by the silver hair twirling around her honey-brown face. She wasn’t in costume. An oversized black shirt hung off one shoulder, paired with black sweats. She spotted Adam and effortlessly glided upright across the space between them. She stopped against the bar.

  “Hi Adam,” she said pleasantly. She looked tired. Almost as tired as Adam felt.

  “Uh, hi,” Adam said. He was still a little starstruck being so near an Ollyrian. The two of them hadn’t talked much to each other so far. This was definitely the first time they were ever alone together.

  Vivian rubbed the back of her head, looking a little self-conscious. “I knew you were around, so I thought I’d maybe come see what you were up to. You look busy though, so…”

  “Oh, no, not at all!” Adam said. He closed his laptop. Auditing his own foundation was much less interesting than talking to the planet’s newest guardian. “Can I get you something to drink?” he asked.

  “Oh, sure! Whatever you’re having. Thanks.”

  Adam went around the bar and mixed another cocktail. Vivian watched him work, and he watched her watching him. Besides her silver hair, she was fairly average looking, in a kind of nice, girl next door sort of way. Not that Adam ever had a girl next door. He never even lived in a proper house, in a neighborhood or otherwise. No odd features marked Vivian’s half alien heritage. Not even pronounced muscle. It was hard to believe she had the strength to lift a cargo ship out of the ocean. If it didn’t break in half, that is.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be out on patrol?” Adam asked while stirring. He didn’t remember if she had been assigned to a team today, or even if she had shown up to the gym at all. He couldn’t recall seeing her, come to think of it.

  Vivian chewed on her lip as she accepted the drink. There was something on her mind. Adam got the feeling she needed a bartender’s ear. He leaned on the counter across from her and patiently waited.

  “It was uh, kind of explained to me that I’m not really a patrol hero,” Vivian said. She seemed embarrassed by it. “Or, not a neighborhood patrol hero. I have to think more… globally, I guess?”

  She cringed, like Adam was going to judge her. She looked away and sipped her drink.

  “BASTION told you that?” Adam guessed.

  She looked back at him and nodded. “That’s actually what I was doing tonight. Packing to travel this weekend. I’m doing a tour of Western Europe. Flying around, taking pictures with people, eating the local food, shaking hands with politicians…”

  She slumped against her fist, cheek squishing.

  “Ah. And you don’t want to go?” Adam asked.

  “I don’t know.” The conflict was plain in her voice. “I… travel is fun. Meeting new people is cool. We Ollyrians can fly through space but, we’re not allowed to leave our planet often. It’s part of our pacifism and non-interference. I’m only allowed to be here because I’m half-human. So I have to listen to what BASTION says, or I’ll have to go back home. But I want to be here with you guys. Helping you all. I just feel like maybe…”

  The more Vivian talked, the more she struggled with the words. But she did want to get them out, Adam could tell.

  He helped her articulate. “You feel more like a political tool than a hero.”

  She nodded, grateful he was able to say it. Her shoulders dropped as she sighed.

  “I’ve always been told how powerful I am compared to most other people in the galaxy. I want to help the people of Earth. I want to do good. But my schedule just seems like… appearances? Stunts? Being carted around and shown off?”

  She looked at her confidant, eyes filled with worry and guilt.

  “Am I wrong for thinking that’s not reaching my full potential?”

  Adam gave a long exhale. If anyone could understand what she was going through from a different angle, it was him.

  “I’ve been in this whole political game for longer than I can even remember,” Adam said. "My family inserts themselves into weird situations for a living. And I’ve learned a thing or two.”

  Vivian perked up. “Like what?”

  Adam thought about how to phrase things in a helpful way.

  “Superheroes… don’t wear silly costumes because they all enjoy it. They wear costumes because they make them distinct, and iconic. They were costumes to symbolize things. To become… ideas.”

  Vivian cocked her head, considering that.

  “Do you have criminals on your planet?” Adam asked.

  Vivian shook her head quickly. “Every Ollyrian receives pacifism conditioning when we’re born. We have no money, and only a little personal property. The government takes care of every citizen’s every need. Criminals have been obsolete on Ollyria for many centuries.”

  “That sounds very nice,” Adam said. “Here on Earth, we still have people trying to take things from other people. Money, property, rights… all the time. And some people who try to take things from others are way more powerful than the average person. That’s why we need heroes. We lost so many of our powerful heroes almost two years ago. BASTION…”

  Despite being almost certain at this point BASTION was embezzling from the foundation in one way or another, Adam still found himself defending their overall goal. His family went all the way back with them. He knew how crucial they were at unifying the forces of good. More important than any individual concern.

  “BASTION is seeing the potential in you being an icon. You have the same powers as our greatest protectors did. They’re having you fly around the world making appearances so that people feel some sense of safety again. It might not feel like you’re fighting crime, but you’re making a statement. And maybe that’s not fair to put on your shoulders, but that’s probably what the world needs right now.”

  Vivian thought about that for a long moment, arms folded in front of her.

  “That… makes a lot of sense put like that,” she said. “You really think I’m doing important work?”

  “I really think you are,” Adam assured her. “And don’t worry, they’re going to need you to get your hands dirty eventually.”

  “So much of this world seems based around who can apply the most force,” Vivian said. There was still worry in her voice. “I hope I can make a difference without hurting people. I worry that people will see me as weak for not fighting physically to protect them.”

  “Yeah…” Adam didn’t have wise words for that. “Just do your best. People will appreciate that.”

  “Thank you,” Vivian said. She dared to look hopeful. She finished her drink.

  A low whine started off faint and muffled, so faint Adam hardly even noticed that he was hearing it. It grew more present. He looked at Vivian, who was also hearing it. He realized it was coming from outside. He left the bar and went to the bank of windows overlooking the forest and city. Dark shapes with blinking lights broke the glow of the skyline, coming towards them. Multiple BASTION helicraft.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Is that bad?” Vivian asked.

  “It’s nothing good.”

  They left through the outside door of the lounge. Five helicraft passed over their heads and slowed to touch down at the school’s landing strip, far on the other side of campus.

  Without asking, Vivian put her hands under Adam’s armpits and lifted him off the steps. He couldn’t help but flail his legs and whimper a little as they skimmed quickly a few feet above the grass. His stomach felt like it was left behind. They crossed the distance to the landing strip in seconds, when it would have taken him over a minute of jogging.

  Vivian gently set him down, and he steadied himself as the sides of the craft opened. The landing strip was lit, allowing Adam to easily see the stream of students exiting onto the tarmac.

  His heart sunk with fear. Many of them had clearly seen some kind of combat. They limped, holding bruises under torn sections of costume. Some had blood on them. Others looked fine as they helped support their injured comrades. All the Rosewell students out tonight had clearly been gathered and recalled. Something big had happened.

  One of the craft was dedicated to housing stretchers, which were being unloaded by medical staff. Four students strapped into them. Adam felt suddenly plunged into the icy reality of death. If four students, God forbid, were dead the first night out…

  He spotted Lucy, Lauren, Annabelle, and Thalia all together. He heart calmed a beat that none of them were the medical transport’s passengers. Annabelle and Lucy looked fine, costumes unweathered and no signs of injury. Thalia looked like she had been in a fight. And Lauren… Jesus Christ. Lauren looked like she should be in one of the stretchers. She was covered from head to toe in blood and bruises. Face ripped open. Nose mangled. Jacket soaked in red and torn. Was that a stab wound in her stomach? She limped like a walking corpse. Lucy did everything she could to hold her upright.

  “What the fuck…” Adam was at a loss for words. Annabelle came forward and hugged him, literally wrapping his entire body in her flexible arms.

  “I’m so glad you’re safe here,” she practically cried.

  Thalia watched them passively as she passed. A bruise swelled her right eye, and a cut split her lip.

  “What the fuck happened?!” Adam called after them as they headed toward the medical building.

  “Fight,” was all Thalia grunted.

  “I wasn’t there, but I’ll tell you all about it,” Annabelle said.

  Ike and Luis passed, both their helmets off. They both looked so adult in their bulky outfits, especially Luis with the thick black mustache he was already able to grow.

  “We really could have used you out there, Viv,” Luis said.

  “What would she have done?” Ike asked. “She can’t hit anything.”

  He probably didn’t mean it in an unkind way, but the statement was still harsh. Vivian hung her head silently.

  Adam heard the story of the museum confrontation from multiple perspectives as those unharmed or mostly uninjured huddled together in the waiting area. Three out of five teams were involved in the fight, and most of their members were inside, getting checked out or stitched back together. Another hour passed in a daze, Annabelle cuddling him from one side and Lucy sitting on the other.

  Medical staff came out and assured them all no one was dead and no one was at risk of dying. They made them clear the hall and return to the dorms to rest. Adam’s mind was on Thalia and Lauren, and in general the danger they were each in.

  Annabelle held Adam’s hand as they walked together. Her outfit, just as pliable as the rest of her, was currently an old-fashioned black dress with matching shoes. She lightly bumped him, breaking his wandering thoughts.

  “Hm?”

  “I was thinking…” Annabelle began. She stuttered a bit. “Would you maybe… this is dumb, probably shouldn’t, but… well, would you maybe like to share a bed tonight?”

  Adam blinked, startled.

  “Sorry!” Annabelle immediately backpedaled. “I wasn’t like trying to sleep with you, like that, I just thought maybe we’d get better sleep together, cause of all the stuff that happened— I dunno. I’m a little shocked. Forget I said anything. Please.”

  “No, I’m sorry,” Adam said, “I wasn’t— I’m not like rejecting you or anything, I just have a lot on my mind, and…”

  “You totally don’t need to explain!” Annabelle insisted. “That was weird. Sorry.”

  They reached the dorms. Standing under the outdoor light, Adam turned toward Annabelle and kissed her forehead, then her lips.

  “We’re good?” she checked. “I didn’t completely ruin things?”

  “You didn’t ruin anything. It’s not a bad idea. I’m totally down for a sleepover… eventually,” Adam said.

  “Cool.” Annabelle exhaled. “I’m sorry I’m so weird.”

  Adam kissed her again. “I like your weirdness.”

  She smiled, still looking like she was floating on a cloud whenever they kissed. They went their separate ways. Annabelle did a gag of walking away while extending her arm so they didn’t have to let go. Adam laughed and unlaced her fingers.

  The next week was subdued. Students trickled out of the medical wing in slings and bandages. This was the part everyday people never saw. Heroes having to heal. The mood in classes was low, understandably. The workload light. As much as they pretended to be high school students, the class of Rosewell were heroes in training first. Rest came before homework. It’s not like any of them were going to fail coursework and drop out. Students who were in condition to continued patrolling in rotations. Nothing nearly as explosive as the first night occurred.

  Adam watched Lauren’s healing with fascination. She was the first out of the ward, despite being the worst injured of the ones who entered on their own feet. She scarfed down two meals worth of food at least every time they sat down together. Meat especially. She seemed a bit… not all there as she healed. Glassy-eyed and not really listening to anyone. Not using her utensils very much. She’d get up abruptly when finished and just walk away. Lucy said Lauren spent all day in her bed sleeping. She seemed mostly back to herself after around three days. The slashes on her face were light scars being swallowed up by fresh skin at that point. She said only the stab wound she had received was still giving her discomfort.

  Two weeks into their relationship, Adam took Annabelle to the city aquarium for their second date. It was a drizzly day. Instead of being chauffeured, Adam checked out a car from the school’s borrowable fleet and decided to put his driver’s license to the test. He was worried he was already rusty, despite having earned it not long ago. Annabelle promised to inflate into an airbag if he got them into a crash. They reached the aquarium safely and managed to find parking. Annabelle said she liked eating ice cream on rainy days, so he bought them each a fun fish-shaped cone full of soft serve to lick as they wandered through blue-tinged halls.

  They sat on a bench together after petting sturgeons in a touch tank.

  “Well Adam, I wasn’t sure how I’d adjust to the life of being a billionaire’s girlfriend, but I think I’ll manage it,” Annabelle said. She was completely deadpan, expression blank, but Adam knew immediately she was messing with him.

  “Har har,” Adam said. “You’ll get the nice restaurants and private jets eventually. We try to live humbly. It’s good for the soul.”

  Annabelle put her head on his shoulder. “I know. I’m glad. You’re a good person.”

  A mother and child walked past. The child pointed to Annabelle’s face.

  “Momma! Look!”

  The mother tugged the child along. Annabelle shrunk against Adam in shame, pulling the hood of her raincoat up and over her. He put a protective arm around her. Apparently, Annabelle usually went out in public with a layer of concealer over her face and contacts in at minimum, to hide the uncanny effect. She had forgone it today after Adam tried to be supportive by saying she was beautiful without it.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered to her.

  “It’s okay. As long as you don’t think I’m ugly.”

  It broke Adam’s heart to hear that. He resolved to always try and make her feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.

  He drove them both to the foundation, and they went up to his private penthouse. Adam cranked the heat to fight against the dreary chill of outside and had Annabelle relax on the couch with the TV remote while he heated them up some cocoa. He brought it over in two mugs and delivered one to Annabelle with a side of kisses. They settled in together and watched some reruns of Nightglade Knights. The old cop/vigilante hero drama had a strange nostalgia for Adam, despite being from decades before his time.

  During a commercial break he turned to his girlfriend. He had something he needed to discuss with her. She sensed it and muted the TV.

  “What’s up?” she asked, head against the cushion.

  “Thalia’s birthday is coming up.” Adam said it a bit more grim than he meant.

  “Oh! That’s exciting!” Annabelle said, perking up. “I’d be happy to help party plan. Maybe it’ll be my in with her.”

  “Yeeeaaah.” Adam hesitated. “She’s not going to be having a birthday party in the traditional sense.”

  “Oh. Why?”

  “The Wilds just don’t do birthday parties with friends and cakes and things like that,” Adam explained. “They sort of have this secret ritual they do on their land. Family only. It’s intense.”

  “How do you know if it’s family only?” Annabelle asked.

  Adam waffled getting to the point. “I’m kinda part of the family.”

  Annabelle seemed to understand what he was getting at. “You’re gonna go do this ritual with her?”

  “If you’re okay with it,” Adam said immediately. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. But yeah, I would fly her up to her family home and spend the night up there with them. But if you don’t want me to, Thalia can fly herself up.”

  Was Adam doing this right? He doubted himself. He had never had to ask permission to hang out with Thalia before. He knew there were expectations in some relationships about friends of the opposite sex. Was Thalia grandfathered in for being a family friend? Was going away for a night with her too much now that he was in a relationship? He just wanted to open up and see how Annabelle was feeling. Adam wasn’t blind. He knew Thalia was frosty toward his new girlfriend. Maybe selfishly, he was hoping Annabelle would be the chill and patient one until Thalia defrosted. Not to mention his own stupidly complicated feelings about Thalia herself, which Adam desperately tried to smother and forget every time he snuggled or kissed his girlfriend. He shouldn’t still feel anything. He had what he wanted right here and now.

  “I… don’t want to stand in the way of your tradition,” Annabelle said. Those were the words that came out of her mouth, but her tone suggested the opposite. “It would just be for one night?”

  “Yes. And we’d be staying with her entire family.”

  Annabelle bit her lip. “Okay.”

  It came out very strained. It wasn’t an enthusiastic okay, which would have been the correct kind for Adam to proceed. It was an I don’t want to ruin this relationship two weeks in by getting in between you and your friend okay. Not the best kind at all. Adam accepted it though. He needed to readjust with Thalia. Their friendship was too old and important to go on like this. They’d get away from all the politics and pressures of school for a while and retreat back to their old life. Then things would be smooth. Everyone would get along.

  “Thank you,” Adam said.

  He knocked on the dorm door a few days later. Marionette answered. She wore large rubber dish gloves.

  “Hey,” Adam said. “How you holding up?” He hadn’t checked in with her since she had been released. She looked fine, but he supposed robots didn’t heal like flesh and blood people.

  “Hello Adam,” Mary chirped. “I’m doing alright. My mother came by and repaired me. She even gave me a new face plate and an extra half-inch of height for my growth.”

  She gave a small, self-conscious smile, ostensibly to show off her new face. If it was any different, Adam couldn’t detect it.

  “Looks great. Very mature,” he said.

  Mary beamed as she invited him in.

  Adam found Thalia in her humid room. She was bundled in thick blankets on her bed, watching something on a tablet with headphones in. She paused and took her headphones out when he entered. A ghost of a bruise was still visible over her eye. Her expression was neutral as she laid eyes on him. No smile or wisecrack ready to greet him. Whether it was from the stress of recent events or something he had done, Adam didn’t know.

  “You didn’t tell me you were coming over,” she said.

  “Well, the grand announcement of my arrival must have been lost in the mail,” Adam said breezily. He tried to get the ball rolling on some banter, hoping to tease some expression out of her.

  Thalia folded her legs, blanket wrinkling. “What’s up?”

  “What’s up?” Adam leaned against her desk, careful not to knock over any terrariums. “Your birthday’s up! Sweet sixteen. You didn’t think I’d forget, did you?”

  Thalia shrugged, the blanket around her falling slightly. She didn’t seem to have put much thought into the event. “No. Are you planning something?”

  Planning something? It was like talking to a stranger. Like Adam had never been to a Wild birthday event. Like he didn’t know she hated birthday parties. Like she was just going to disappear onto some commercial flight for the weekend without talking about it with him at all. The chasm between them had widened so quickly without him even realizing.

  “Yeah, Thalia, I’m gonna fly us up to your family’s place and do the crazy shit you guys do for birthdays with you and even take you to that horribly tacky tiki restaurant you love for some reason.”

  Thalia finally smiled a bit, familiar warmth in her eyes. “You’re gonna take me to Parrotville?”

  Adam sighed dramatically, playing up his disdain for the place while internally happy he had hooked her.

  “Yeah, I guess we can go there and drink overpriced virgin margaritas and eat completely inauthentic mass-made food.”

  Thalia pumped her fist. “Yes! I love Parrotville. Every location—”

  “Every location has a live talking parrot. I’m painfully aware,” Adam said. “So, I can count you in? Or do I have to go hang out with your brothers and eat that food by myself on your birthday?”

  Thalia rolled her eyes. “I’m in. You win, okay?”

  Adam didn’t know what he was winning, convincing Thalia to take an all-expense-paid vacation, but it was a start. He left feeling better than he had.