It had been a while since she’d taken a day off just for herself. The vention had been weeks ago and to be ho she really hadn’t felt up to getting out there aing some fresh air. Helping Sonya always took priority, so she’d thrown herself into her work both as a caretaker and as a bodyguard. Marta had even offered to take on a more direct role, as an enforcer if necessary. Instead of accepting her offer, Sonya had insisted that she take some time off and separate herself a little from the work they were doing. She knew Sonya was worried about her sce, worried about her burning out, but Marta was fine, really.

  They’d gohis far already, why not just see it through to the end? They were itted.

  Even so, Sonya had put her foot down as her employer. Her argument? What was the point of all the money she aying Marta if she didn’t ever actually use it besides the occasional vention? So she’d low-key threatened Marta with shutting off all of her streaming subscriptions if she didn’t get out there and take a breather. That had been enough to vince Marta that her friend was serious, she’d taken the day off, and now here she was. She’d rationalized it well enough, there wasn’t much to dht now and the Chairman would be arriving in a few days. Might as well collect herself before things got busy again.

  New York was as big and oppressive as ever, the presence of the city simply overwhelming. Marta was used to smaller cities with smaller and less impressive buildings. Every structure around her seemed to reach towards the sky as if daring the heavens above to challenge humanity’s greatness. She’d opted for a pale sundress for the day, a wide brimmed hat to protect her from the sunlight that reflected harshly off the sides of the buildings around her, a simple strap purse and a pair of heels.

  As for her face? She’d decided to wear her real face today. Sonya had suggested she go out in full cospy now and then just fgles, Marta had opted against it, for now anyway. Maybe when she was more fident. Maybe whe over what happe the vention. Every time she looked at one of her es now she saw his face screaming in front of her, full of hate.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she pushed the memory aside befng up at one of the shops that she passed. A bookstore.

  She smiled, This could be refreshing.

  She slipped ihe door chiming and the owner looking up from the ter, his nose having been buried in a book. He smiled at her and waved befesturing at the store, saying nothing. She him and drifted past, taking the long route towards her destination. She stopped in fi, wandered about biography, quickly hustled past romance, before finally ing to a stop at in the ic-book se. Specifically, manga. She smiled as she sed the high shelves, her eyes trag over the titles. She mentally worked her way through her personal reading list. Read it, read it, oh a new volume.

  She reached for it and paused, frowning. I ’t reach it. Who sets up shelves this high? Limited space I guess… She grumbled inwardly and gnced around for a stool or portable step, she didn’t want to bother the owner, he seemed a bit reserved.

  “Whie?” A voice came from behind her.

  She jerked and spun before taking an instinctive step back. A humongous man stood in front of her, broad chested with short bck hair. He looked down at her with intense eyes and cocked an eyebrow. She met his gaze. Familiar… she thought.

  “Well? You were trying to reae, yeah?” The guy grunted, nodding to the shelf.

  She blinked, “O-ht, yes, um,” She turned and poi one of the volumes. “That ohere.”

  He reached for it easily and plucked it off the shelf, handing it to her. She took it and looked up at him again. He really looked familiar but she couldn’t pce it. Was it just his face? Or was it his build? She’d seen several heroes at the Hero Day event that had a simir build to him, if a bit smaller. “Barry,” He grunted and held out a hand with an awkward grin, “Barry Logan.”

  She raised an eyebrow beh her wide-brimmed hat, That name. Why do I know it? She shook her thoughts off though and reached out to take his hand. Her small grip ing only around two of his powerful fingers. He rubbed the back of his ned gave her another awkward smile. Her eyes widened and she cleared her throat. “R-right! Marta Daph’s o meet you Barry. Thank you for… you know,” She held up the manga and gave him a little smile.

  He shrugged, hoisting a small pile of books in his other arm to get them more fortable in his grip. She couldn’t help herself, she tilted her head and squi the titles. The plete Works of Lovecraft, Ichthyology, Mammals of the Sea, Great Beasts of the Deeps. She pursed her lips for a moment before looking back up at his face. She let her imagination drift for a moment and coughed, holding back a small ugh before leaning forward and whispering. “...Shark? Is that you?”

  He blinked, “Wh-? I uh…” He looked left and right, “I have no idea what you’re talking about?”

  Marta’s lips twitched a little bit and she whispered again, “I’m Sonya’s assistant, Marta.” She said, putting a little emphasis on her name. She reached up and tilted her wide-brimmed hat up a little bit to give him a better look at her face. He stared at her for a heartbeat before sn out a small ugh that sounded more relieved than amused. This was a self-procimed supervilin? It was hard to imagih him looking so awkward, though she supposed he was trying to keep a low profile.

  “Well I’ll be,” He grunted and gnced down at his books, “This is…”

  “She mentioned you o do some reading,” Marta said with a nod.

  “It’s a little strange seeing you alone, you two are normally attached at the hip,” The Supervilin admitted, turning and leading her over to a table set up for people to read around. He g one of the chairs and frowned, sidering his options before just setting his books down and standihe table rather than risking it with his bulk.

  “Told me I needed a day off,” Marta said with a sigh.

  He shrugged, “She’s a good boss, all things sidered,” An awkward sileretched out for a moment before he cleared his throat. “So… ic books?”

  “Manga,” She corrected with a squint, “Have you never read manga before?”

  “’t say I have,” He said, “I only got my hands on a few ics when I was a kid. What are they?”

  “Anything,” She said ftly, “There’s a genre for everyone.”

  He raised an eyebrow, “Sports?”

  “Sure,” She said, getting a thoughtful look from the big man. He scratched his head and stared at the volume in her hand. He gnced over at the shelves and then back at her. He looked like he wao ask something but couldn’t bring himself to do it. She snorted out a ugh a her volume dowo his own books, “I’ll help you piething,” She said with faux resignation. He brightened and walked over with her. The two of them spending a little time as she expiories and pointed out series that would probably i him. His eyes nearly zoned out wheold him that they were read in a different dire from what he was used to, but he soldiered on. Soon, the two of them were at the checkout ter.

  The owner looked up from his own book and gnced betweewo of them, “Big haul today, Barry?” He gave Barry a bit of a grin.

  The supervilin cleared his throat, Marta noticed the red flushing up his neck. The big man gave the owner a daring look, “Just let me pay, Anders.”

  “Sure, sure,” The owner, Anders, said and held up his hands. He started sing the books and ics, even grabbing Marta’s. Marta opened her mouth to say something but Anders just wi her and Barry didn’t say anything. When they were dohey stepped outside and bato the sun. Barry reached into his bag and pulled out her manga, handing it over to her.

  She looked at it and up at him, “You know I’m paid pretty well, right?” She asked.

  “Just take it,” He grunted.

  She pursed her lips and took it out of his hands, tilting her head and looking up at him. To hell with it. She thought a out a breath, “You know, I still have a while before I should be getting bad I’m enjoying the fresh air. Walk with me?”

  He looked down at his sizeable bag, up at her a her eyes. He seemed to think for a few seds before he nodded, showihat signature big toothy grin. It wasn’t that bad when he was in his human form. “Sure.”

  The two of them turned away from the store and started walking. A hulking man walking just a little behind a small young woman in a pale sundress. Somewhere behind them, far in the distance, a disembodied glowing eye watched them move down the sidewalk before winking out of existence. Somewhere even further away, Sonya chuckled to herself. “Atta girl.”