Possessive Behavior

Combustion did not hesitate. She was unable to use her Power on people directly, but she rarely had to. Without saying a word the red-haired villain quickly reached upwards to point at the lights directly above her, no doubt to collapse the room and bury us all with her. But when she was halfway there she stopped. Not willingly, mind you, but she did.

"Please, don't be rash." The One said, standing behind her and holding her arm in place. "Your life is valuable too, even if you don't believe that." Crossing the distance took him less than a second. As long as even a speck of light was present, he was unstoppable. And if there wasn't any he could create it himself. He was without the shadow of a doubt the embodiment of the perfect Hero.

"L-let me go, lightbulb! And spare me your platitudes! I don't need to move my arm to...." Before she could finish a light crack echoed through the room followed by a pained scream.

"I don't enjoy hurting you, but as you are now I can't guarantee our or your safety if I leave you be." The pointer fingers on both of her hands had been snapped all the way backward, laying flat on the back of her hands. He carefully pulled her arms behind her and sprayed the Incapacitator around both wrists, gluing them together. "I'm sorry. I will make sure that your medical bills are taken care of."

"Shut up! If you think I'll talk then you're stupider than you look. Lock me up if you want. I'll be back out in a month." She spit in his direction but his arm turned into light before the saliva could make contact. His eyes were filled with resigned sadness when he looked at her, but it was quickly replaced by a look of pride and joy when he turned to us.

I couldn't help but return his smile.

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"Everything okay, Mal? Lu?" he asked once we were outside the building. The police had come in after him and were escorting the gang members out in cuffs.

"Yeah, no problem. They barely even managed to touch me." Honeybadger said. Her name was Luisa. We had met in High School. Different classes, but both very active in the High School Heroics club. We'd been basically attached at the hip since.

"I went in through the back. Found and neutralized 5 threats. 2 violently, 3 non-violently. Speaking of which...." I pulled out my phone and sent the data of the 3 tracking devices I planted to the police. "But what are you doing here, Ray?"

He awkwardly scratched his head. "We got done early, so I wanted to check up on you two. Sorry if I stole your thunder."

Usually, when Heroes had very obvious pun names relating to their Power this was because they had legally changed their name later in life. But The One was an exception. He had always been Ray. Not that his name was a coincidence.

The story of his birth was widely known. Like about a third of all Empowered his Powers had manifested the second his umbilical cord was cut. There was a famous video that showed a hospital room shining brightly, lighting up the exterior at night. According to rumors it took a week for the baby to stop glowing. His parents had thought Ray was the most fitting and appropiate name after that.

"No, no, you came just at the right time. We were unable to engage as it stood." Luisa assured him. He visibly relaxed.

"Then I'm glad. In any case, I want you two to be in the Tower at noon, is that alright?"

I looked at the clock on my phone. 11:12. "If we hurry out of our costumes we can still make it." I said.

Ray raised an eyebrow. "Plans?"

"My girlfriend is going to treat me to as much ice cream as I want today. Isn't she thoughtful?" Lu said and pulled me close.

"Oh, a romantic breakfast. Well, I don't want to keep you then. Have fun. Just make sure you are home on time." We waved him off as he took to the sky.

"I didn't say 'as much as you want.'" I let out after a few seconds of silence.

"Don't be stingy. It's very unattractive." she chuckled as we hurried home to get our outfits off.

"How can this be?! My love only wants me for my money! Oh, woe is me." I gestured dramatically while performing my piece.

"We make the same, dolt." she said with a laugh.

"Irrelevant! You care not for me, only for my wallet. What a dreadful vixen you are."

We continued our spiel all the way to the plaza. Things weren't perfect for me, but I had a lot. A lot more than most people. My dream job, a great boss, amazing coworkers, all the money I could ever want, a luxurious home, a loving girlfriend....Compared to that, my problems were insignificant. I was happy. Genuinely, truly happy.

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11:52AM

I looked up at my home. The Tower of Light was a magnificent structure. Its golden-white facade shimmered in the daylight, and the top was nowhere in sight.

"Sorry for the wait. Let's go." Lu grabbed my hand and we walked in. The lobby was bustling, like always. Our living quarters weren't the only thing in this building. The Daylighter School of Heroics, the Shining Youth Center, the Enlightened Fanclub, Restaurant Shimmer, our very own marketing department, and a number of other establishments had a floor here as well.

We quickly maneuvered through the crowd in the direction of the express elevator. I took a quick glance at the memorial display when we passed by. A large glass case was built into the wall, inside of which were two costumes.

On the left was a shining suit of armor wrapped by a cloak adorned with many golden feathers and a light, intricate beak mask.

On the right was sleek body armor designed to look like writhing flames. A single horn protruded from the helmet.

The name plaques read "The Great Ra" and "L.A. Kirin" respectively. Above the costumes was a banner. "LET US REMEMBER THOSE WHOSE LIGHT WAS EXTINGUISHED IN THE LINE OF DUTY. MAY THEIR ESSENCE REST IN PIECE AND THEIR DEEDS NEVER BE FORGOTTEN."

This thing always made me a bit uncomfortable. Ra passed before my time, but I got to know Kirin before he went. I didn't think he'd like having his costume be displayed like this, but Ray said it was important to have a place where the public could both celebrate his accomplishments and grieve his loss without disturbing his grave.

As soon as we reached the elevator it opened automatically. Next to the White House, the Arcane University, and the Magic Castle the Tower of Light was the 4th most heavily enchanted building in the country. This was both to protect against threats as well as to make things a lot more convenient for the team.

I leaned against the back as the doors closed and the floor display immediately shifted from 1 to 100. Talk about express. "Home sweet home." Luisa sang as we stepped out.

"You think the others are already in the meeting room?" I asked, walking up to the door panel and hovering over the button labeled "ME".

"Let's check." she said and I pressed my finger down. With a little hum of acknowledgment, the door opened into a large white room. At the back of the room was a sizeable screen, currently displaying no information, and in the middle was a huge beautiful round table fashioned after a sun, around which three people already sat.

"Hey, guys. Are we late?" I asked as we sat down at our usual spots.

Angelica yawned and looked up from the magazine she was reading. "Nah, it's good. Ray isn't even here yet. How was the mission?"

"It was alright. We bagged Combustion." I said with a smug grin.

"Well, Ray bagged Combustion. We got the rank and file though." Luisa corrected.

"Why can't you just let me have this, Lu? I mean us." I joked and she put her arm around me.

"Can't let your head get too big. You'd be insufferable." she said as I leaned against her shoulder.

"Well, It can't be helped." Helios said and scratched his head absentmindedly. He was careful not to disturb his coronet. Unlike the rest of us, he was pretty much always in costume, probably owing to its simplicity. Other than the coronet there were only his sandals and his toga to worry about, including the sun clasp on the front. "Once The One shows up at the set it's his scene. It is how it is."

"I for one am glad. He should be the shining star. People need to be able to feel safe in his light. The more incidents he resolves the better." Queen Snake added, her thin forked tongue darting out of her mouth for a split second after every third word.

I was about to reply when a bright flash of light illuminated the room. When it receded Ray sat in his place in the large chair in front of the screen.

"Ah, I see everyone is already here. Very good." He took out his phone and fiddled around with it for a bit until the big screen lit up. "I don't want to waste any of your valuable time, so I'll get straight to the point." An old factory appeared on the screen. "This morning we got a tip that the Society of Power has appropriated the old Sorcery Solutions factory in the Gas Quarter."

The Gas Quarter was a part of LA that very few ever set foot on. That very factory was the reason. Regular industrial accidents were bad enough, but magical ones? The gas that seeped out and covered the area could not be dispersed by any means, mundane, Empowered, or magical. So it has stood empty for decades.

"I was sceptical at first since the Gas Quarter is Freakshow territory, and we all know how keen they are on sharing their turf. But I couldn't rule it out, so me, Angie, and Cyrus checked it out." The scene changed, now showing about four plain-clothed people standing near the entrance. "We confirmed unusual activity of some kind and left Cyrus to scope it out. Tell them what you told me."

Helios nodded and took his own phone out. "I stayed out of sight for a bit and walked the perimeter." As long as he was hit by direct sunlight he was capable of many things. Invisibility included. "Right behind the factory is a storage facility of some kind, and that's where I found this." The screen changed to a shot of the interior of a decrepid building. The picture was taken through a window.

Near an old table stood a group of 6 people, 5 of whom wore casual clothes. The one in front however was a woman sporting what looked like heavy body armor designed to look like a light, flowery sundress. A complimentary yellow hat sat on top of her head. All of us immediately recognized her.

"Thank you, Cyrus. The presence of Featherweight confirms that this is a SOP operation. We can't let this continue. Losing Featherweight would be a substantial blow to the Society, so we can't muck this up. We will storm the factory this evening at 6PM. Since we are doing it later today, Cyrus will sit this one out. Mal, Luisa, Angie, Armani, I want you four to come with me. Eamon and Avenir will be out on patrol, and Michiko will back us up from here like always. Any Questions?"

None of us said a word. We were all ready. "Good. Then you are dismissed. We will meet here again at 5PM." A smile escaped him. "Tonight the Society of Power will lose one of its pillars. It's only a matter of time before the Powerbreaker is under lock and key."

I grabbed Luisa's hand and looked her in the eyes. I could see the excitement shimmer within them.

"Let's make tonight a night they'll never forget!"