I moved away from the very warm finger currently trying to prod me.

  “What do you mean by assassination?” Roxy repeated, her glare no less intense the second time.

  My patrol had gone without a hitch. Almost disappointingly dull and uneventful. Naturally, once I returned in the early hours of the morning, all hell had broken loose. Well, partial hell.

  A very frazzled Clara had emerged from the workshop as soon as I pulled up, practically giving me a bear hug in thanks as she took the V-Force drive from me. Didn’t even give me time to explain where I had gotten it from before she vanished back away to continue working.

  Before I had even made it across the garden to the house, Roxy was standing on the porch in her dressing gown. Arms crossed with only a few hours of sleep under her belt. She had heard only parts of the story from the techie and had decided to get up to squeeze the full details out of me. Almost literally, once I got to the part about a price being on my head.

  [Somebody must not be a fan.]

  “Clearly.” She rubbed her forehead and sighed. “Not to put your competency into question, hun, but when some random thug could walk up and put a bullet in your skull… your safety is a concern.”

  It probably wouldn’t go well if I pointed out that her concerns equally applied to most people in the city. Most heroes weren’t even bulletproof, even if many had ways of preventing such malady.

  [If Clara wasn’t so busy, I’d make her sort that issue.]

  “That woman has enough problems of her own.” Roxy looked past me to the workshop. “She’s obsessed with whatever bullshit is going on with your arm. I’m not sure if she is even eating and sleeping.”

  I turned to follow her gaze.

  [Should we hold an intervention?]

  “No. As much as I hate to see her so self-destructive, she would never forgive us. It’s not often she gets in this workflow, but it’s where her genius really shines.” Roxy shook her head. “As soon as the project is complete, she will collapse and be an empty shell for a few days.”

  [Yet it will be worth it?]

  “You’ll have to be the judge of that, hun. Let’s get you up to bed, then you can’t run from my questions.”

  While an earnest statement, the ire had sunk away from her expression. Probably too tired to argue further. I could do with the extra nap as well, so I nodded my acceptance.

  A few minutes later and we were both in bed.

  “Why don’t you press the Doc to see if he has anything to help?” she asked, wrapping her warmth over me.

  [With…? Oh, the allergy to gunfire.]

  “He’s on the roster, so you should use him for more than educating Clara.”

  Partially true. While the past was water under the bridge between Jarl and myself, I still considered the gift of new legs all that I could expect from him. He had been helping Clara with my arm, although he hadn’t been around lately. No doubt the techie had become reclusive and too enamored with her work to involve him.

  Just asking him for handouts seemed rude, but maybe there was something I could do to help him in return.

  [I’ll put it on the itinerary.]

  “Good.” The super nuzzled her face up against the side of my head. “Best remember that it was my idea when it works out. What’s on your schedule today?”

  [I have training with Roy.]

  “Happy for you. Should go by fast.”

  I wasn’t sure if her glib response was just a joke about the speedster, or if she didn’t have much confidence in the Captain’s training abilities. Perhaps she was even jealous that she wasn’t the one helping me out.

  [No doubt once you’re all done with me, I’ll be twice the hero I currently am.]

  “Twice as confused, maybe. Generally, it’s not a good idea to have a handful of advisors with their own ideas of what you should be doing…”

  [But your way is correct?]

  “Duh.” She gave me a squeeze, which was just tight enough to be threatening. “There’s a reason I was in charge of everyone.”

  In my opinion, we were blowing this out of proportion. The Heroism Arena surely wasn’t so difficult that I couldn’t work my way through it with common sense and some calculated risk taking. Should I be offended that my closest friends thought I needed so much help? Or thankful that I had so many rooting for my success?

  I turned my head to vomit out some of these thoughts to the super, but saw she was already asleep. It was difficult to stay worried about someone wanting me dead when the bed was so warm and comfortable. Following her lead, I closed my eyes.

  Opening them again, time had clearly passed. Roxy was no longer beside me, and the sunlight trying to make its way through the thick curtains was brighter. Yesterday felt like a weird dream, and I decided I wasn’t a fan of that patrol schedule. My dry eyes looked up at my messages.

  //Roy: Let me know when ready, bud.

  //Roy: I’ll be there in a flash.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I groaned and left the bed. Washed my face and changed into some exercise clothes. Downstairs, I replaced my canister and rolled my neck out. It was a beautiful day out, and I felt like hot garbage. Warlock was sleeping in the lobby, haphazardly stretched out across the floor where the light was coming in through the windows.

  No sign of Roxy or Clara, but I’m sure they were fine.

  I told Roy I was ready and left the house. Winced at how the prefab buildings picked up the sunlight a little too brightly. Stretched out and flexed my fingers. On my left hand, anyway. Part of my brain tried to do the same with my gun barrel, to no effect.

  The more I broke away the shell and became anew, the more my brain tried to enact the past. While I had been used to my gun-arm over the five years it had been attached to me, it was like I had lived in a partial coma. Now it felt uncomfortable and awkward. I opened and closed the chamber. That said, I would miss it once I got my new hand.

  Before I could find out if Clara was still working, Roy slid up to our base in his full superhero outfit.

  [I wasn’t expecting this to be a formal thing.]

  “Good morning to you too,” he said with a smile. “Late patrol messed up your sleeping rhythm?”

  [I also had a gun pulled on me and was told that someone has the intention of killing me off.]

  That fact hadn’t really stopped me from getting sleep, but it sounded dramatic enough to earn some sympathy points.

  “It wasn’t the person with the gun to your head, though?” He crossed his arms and looked concerned.

  [Originally it was, but I talked him out of it. Oh, it was Silhouette.]

  The Captain pulled a face. “Damn, Dubs. If they hired him, then they must be serious. He show you some brotherly compassion?”

  [Essentially. Either that or I’m more important to the League as the star of the Heroism Arena. Rating and views, you know?]

  “Oof, so jaded. I didn’t know you aren’t a morning person - we can do this later?” He grinned, clearly enjoying seeing me on the back foot.

  I’d tell him about the illegal firearm later in the day, when I had more wits about me. His prior knowledge of the underground might be able to help dig up some clues. Perhaps it would be better if I received detective training from someone instead. Then I’d have a clue of where to go investigate without needing to put holes in people.

  [If you’re planning to train me in speed, then I’m afraid I’m feeling a little sluggish.]

  “Not at all. Something completely different.” Roy gestured over at the Meteor. “Go get dressed. We’re going on a field trip.”

  I begrudgingly went along with it. Ten minutes later and I was back in the garden, fully outfitted and slightly more awake. Roy had busied himself by playing with the cat. Warlock was hyped up, chasing after the speedster's hand as he waved it back and forth within the grass.

  [Do I at least get to kill someone today?]

  Roy raised an eyebrow and sighed. “That’s exactly the opposite of the mindset you need to have, Dubs.”

  [Sometimes sarcasm doesn’t come across well through my vocalizer.]

  It wasn’t sarcasm. He was also correct, however, and after a couple of idle comments back and forth and we left for the vehicle. Roy passed me an address, and I drove off toward Goldarch.

  [How have things been going with you?]

  “Ah? Oh, pretty well.” The Captain nodded as he looked away from the road. “Never better, honestly. League are trying to capitalize on the rebranding attention by getting me to do some… mundane stuff that I’m not that interested in. A reality dating show.”

  [Gross. Did you turn them down?]

  “Yeah. They weren’t happy, but we have a little more say in what we can do while we’re the talk of Goldarch. I’d much rather they focused on the things I actually care about. Which brings me to what we’re going to do today.”

  I didn’t recognize the address, so I was all ears. From the sound of it, I’d be doing something more abstract than I had first envisioned. That being said, it wasn’t as if I could learn super speed from any physical training anyway. I gestured for him to continue.

  “A couple of times a week I volunteer at the veterans shelter. Help the staff there to feed everyone. Lend an ear to those who need one.” He smiled and nodded toward the city. “Being a hero isn’t just about looking strong and kicking ass. It would be good for you to know the kind of people who you are saving, and who look to you for hope.”

  [That’s… remarkably wise, Roy.]

  “For the record, I didn’t steal this idea from one of the others.”

  It went to show how green I was at this whole superhero thing that a task like this never crossed my mind. Sure, the League would arrange public speaking or other ‘show’ interactions with the populace to garner favor, but this was something Roy did because of the proximity it had to his past.

  [Will there be cameras?]

  “Oh, no.” He put on a rather grim expression. “League doesn’t really care about it because it’s not… performative enough. Too regular and low impact? I forget how they worded it, but this is just between us and the community.”

  [Doing good for good’s sake.]

  “Just be your normal charismatic self, Dubs. You’ll do fine.”

  Over the course of the late morning and afternoon, he was entirely correct.

  While I was initially apprehensive about the whole ordeal, I found the veterans to be a very accepting and calm bunch. Most of them knew Roy and met him with warm smiles and well wishes. Several were unsure about me having a functional gun for an arm, but after Roy gave them all a cut-down version of my history, they understood it.

  My time as a mercenary wasn’t exactly the same as military experience, but he painted me as someone who was in a security force whose employer dumped them. They echoed sentiments about being left out in the cold. Although they now lived in Goldarch, the city itself hadn’t participated in any wars for as long as anyone knew.

  Most of these men and women were in their later years, retiring in the city after campaigns that predated the ones that the Captain had been in. Some had prosthetics or basic cybernetics. Despite not exactly living in luxury in Goldarch, they seemed rather content being here. Certain areas were a lot safer here, and the veterans club was more of a social thing than a necessity.

  Yet it still brought me closer to the ground. People who relied on heroes like me to maintain the status quo. When I had to do target rescue in the Heroism Arena, they wouldn’t just be faceless automatons any longer. A hero had to care for the innocent to truly strive to protect them.

  I sat for a while with an elderly gentleman named Norm. He had trouble walking due to an accident with a landmine that tore up his legs. While he had lived over two decades with this debilitation, he was all smiles - thankful that he still had the limbs. He spoke animatedly with me about trees, his enthusiasm keeping me engaged despite the odd subject choice.

  When he finally ran out of steam, I was at a loss as to what to discuss with him. I barely had any past, and what I did know wasn’t good to share with outsiders. For a brief moment, my charms floundered, before Roy mentioned that Norm had cats of his own.

  Everything thereon was buttery smooth. Eventually, their gathering was called to a close. I said my goodbyes to the group of veterans as they left. Tried to help with clearing up the dishes, but got told off by one of the women in charge of the cooking there. She made it sound like she was admonishing me for a poor job, so as to not embarrass me over the fact that my single hand made it a more arduous task than necessary.

  Roy and I stepped outside into the afternoon air, and I felt… more exhausted, actually.

  [Thank you, Roy. That was unexpected, yet helpful.]

  “Definitely not just an excuse to hang out, either.” He grinned. “You want to know something? Even if you never saw Norm again or directly saved him in the future, today you made him happy. He’ll remember you. That actual impact in someone's life. A hero isn’t the strongest, but someone who shelters the weak.”

  [Did you read that in a book?]

  “Sure did.” He jerked his thumb over to the vehicle. “Want to head back and then you can try to punch me for a bit?”

  [A tempting offer, Captain. Unfortunately, I’ve had something important come up.]

  //Director Kingston: Come see me.

  //Director Kingston: Urgently.