Matt drove the pair a few miles from the bus station. Every street they passed was packed with people, all on their way home from a busy day at work.

“Des Moines isn’t the biggest city in the world, however, the people here are some of the nicest,” Matt explained.

“Yeah, I noticed that. I bumped into a man before I met you and he apologized to me.”

“That’s just the culture around here. You’ll get used to it.”

“I’m sure I will,” Liam said, sounding anything but.

“Give it some time.”

“I don’t mean to pry, but what’s your role on the team?” Liam asked. This was his chance to learn more about his new home. He’d take advantage of that and focus the conversation on the team.

“Didn’t they teach you the basic structure of a Hero organization?”

“Yeah they did,” Liam said in a hurry. Frazzled that Matt would ask something like that. Did he think Liam didn’t know? Wanting to prove what he knew Liam continued, “Heroes are the face of the group. While they get most of the attention, there’s an army supporting them back at the base, from cooks, to trainers, to medical, to legal, to a dozen others. I was just trying to figure out where you fit into all of it.”

“I cover all of those areas.”

“So you’re a floater between the groups?”

Maybe Matt was the youngest person, and they were trying to find where he fit into the group.

“No, no. I cover all of it. I’m the only one working in the support group.”

“What? How is that possible?”

“The Hunt swears by the rule of doing more with less. That carries over to my role as well.”

Liam was stunned for a moment. To say the man impressed him wouldn’t do it justice. Most teams had support groups of more than ten people. To have one person doing all of it was crazy.

As they continued to drive the two talked about the base, but before Liam could find out much more of use, they were pulling into a run-down motel. The outside of the building needed a new coat of paint, a decade ago. And the sign in the parking lot had more burned out bulbs than lit ones. This was clearly a classy establishment.

Driving through the parking lot Liam counted at least four potholes large enough to swallow a tire, each causing Matt to navigate around, lest they get trapped within. When the car pulled in, it was into the last parking spot. Matt hopped out and made his way to the trunk, to help with the luggage. Allowing Liam his first look at the man. It wasn’t what he expected. Given everything Matt did for the team Liam thought he’d be older, bringing years of experience to the table. Instead, a man in his late twenties or early thirties stood there. He was short, only coming up to Liam’s shoulders. His bushy red hair was tucked under a baseball cap with a corn cob on it. Liam hoped that was a local minor league baseball team, or was it a weird Iowan thing for corn?

With practiced efficiency Matt pulled Liam’s bags out of the trunk and carried them to the motel door. Liam followed a moment later as Matt opened the door. Weird spot for a secret entrance to the base, Liam thought. But maybe that’s what made it good.

Matt led them into a simple looking room. Unlike the run down exterior, the room was in good condition. It wasn’t a five-star hotel, but looked like any standard motel room, with two small beds with a bedside table between. Facing them was an old tube TV. In the back was a small bathroom and closet. Nothing about the place screamed ‘this is an entrance to a secret base’.

“Before we go any farther, do you have any paper on you, or in your bags?” Matt asked.

“No,” Liam said. Taken aback by the strange question.

“Great, one of the gangs in the area has a Cowl who can control paper. We still aren’t sure what his limits are, but we made the base paper free as a precaution.”

Interesting ability, Liam thought. Wondering what strengths and weaknesses it could have. Was it touch based, a certain range, could paper spy for him? There were several possibilities for a super who controlled paper and he had so little information. If he would be facing off against that guy he’d need to start thinking of possible weaknesses to the ability.

Nodding his head, Matt pulled a small tablet out of his pocket. As he mumbled to himself he scanned through it, “Let’s see, where is it? Ah there we are,” with that Matt started walking around the room turning on lights in an apparent random pattern.

“We have entrances to the base all over the city. It’s best to keep cycling through them. Helps keep any wandering eyes guessing. The password to get into any entrance is complicated to prevent random people from stumbling onto them,” Matt said. As he continued to walk around the room.

First, he went to the closet safe and typed in 26, then to the bathroom and flicked the light on, off, then back on. Finally, he walked to the bedside table and turned the right bedside lamp on. With a nod he walked over to the bathroom mirror and placed his thumb on the bottom right corner. After a brief pause there was a click, and the mirror started to move.

“Tada,” Matt exclaimed as the mirror swung in on itself.

Realizing every light had been part of an elaborate password left Liam a little awed by their security. None of his systems were anything like this. He favored passwords with a biometric reading. However, their system made sense given that the entrance to the base was in a room anyone could rent. They wouldn’t want random people opening the hidden mirror door.

“Impressive security,” Liam said.

“Only the best for our team,” Matt said with a laugh.

Grabbing a bag, Matt lifted it through the new hole in the wall, pulling himself through a moment later. Liam followed with his other bag and crawled in beside Matt. It was a tight fit, this entrance wasn’t designed with comfort in mind. With both of them snug in the hidden passageway Matt closed the mirror behind them, with a soft click it encased them. At last they were away from the wandering eyes of the public

“Sorry for the tight fit. This is the first time we’ve taken bags through this entrance,” Matt said. “Please follow me.”

After the quick apology, Matt headed off down a staircase Liam missed when he first entered the secret room. The flight of stairs went down a few floors before it leveled off and continued straight ahead. Lights were spaced, every forty feet, along the path. Providing little strongholds of clarity in the dark abyss. The entire space was coated in a thick layer of dust, clearly no one had been this way in months.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs they continued on. As they went Matt filled Liam in on The Hunt and Des Moines. Most of it was information Liam already knew from his earlier research. But he found the parts about Matt interesting. It seemed the man found his way to the team in part because he was from the area, but also his work ethic. Where most people avoided The Hunt because of their reputation as workaholics, Matt had embraced the challenge and earned the team’s respect. It was hard to find people who would rise up to a challenge instead of complaining about how difficult it was. Liam could appreciate what Matt did and strive to mimic that work ethic.

Matt explained more about the federal agency in charge of all Hero teams. The Department of Controlled Powers or DCP for short. They were the governing body of all Hero organizations in the United States. As well as anyone with a power. As such, they set the policies that every Hero team followed, trained agents like Matt, and were the PR organization for Heroes at the national level. They were also the organization paying every Hero’s base salary so Liam was technically their employee. Or maybe he was a contractor, he’d have to think about that.

The DCP didn’t just focus on Hero organizations. But the larger Super community as a whole. All Super related policies went through their office first. As such, most people had strong feelings about the department. Those opposed to Supers thought they were far too lax in their rules and regulations while those in favor of Supers had the opposite thought, believing the organization was too strict and controlling. Like any government agency both political parties would complain about the DCP when they weren’t in power. And then change nothing when they gained power. Typical American politics.

Liam himself fell into the second camp, believing the DCP was too controlling. Most Supers felt the same as the department set policy impacting them. But as a Hero he wasn’t about to take to the streets to show his anger. That would only annoy the DCP who had oversight over him. Best to not do that.

As they walked, hallways began merging into theirs. Each new branch emerging from deep in the shadows. When they arrived at a pair of large metal doors, a few minutes later, five additional hallways had merged with their path. Liam could only assume each of those passages lead to more branches. There must be dozens of hidden entrances around the city. Liam’s brain quaked at the thought of building this network while hiding it from the public. It wasn’t a task to be envied.

While Liam was working out the logistics of the task, Matt moved to the door. Typing in a code then placing his hand on a biometrics scanner. Verifying his readings, the thick metal doors swung open without a sound. Revealing the base inside.

The room beyond the doors was large and bright, a marked contrast to the tunnel from a moment before. The ceilings were at least twenty feet high and the room was as wide as a basketball court. It was separated into areas by the arrangement of furniture. A living room stood on one side, with a couple couches and chairs facing a TV. On the other side was a kitchen, complete with an eight burner stove and double wide fridge. Last was a dining room table arrayed in the middle. Six unadorned chairs were spaced evenly around it. Painted on the wall behind the table were the words ‘The Hunt’ in a large blue font. Open space divided each of the little areas. With no walls or other barriers between them.

The room had several doors leading from it. Matt and Liam entered through a reinforced metal door. Near where they entered was another armored door. That must be another set of tunnels leading to the outside world, Liam thought. On the other side of the room were three identical looking hallways, none with doors barring passage.

“Welcome to headquarters,” Matt said as he motioned around. “We’re in the entryway right now. The hallway to the right leads to the bedrooms. The one in the middle leads to my office and conference rooms. And the last hallway leads to the training facilities and your new workshop. What do you think?”

“This is everything I’d hoped it would be.”

“I thought the same thing when I first arrived,” Matt said with a laugh. “Now, if you’d be so kind, please take this.”

Matt handed over a tablet and Liam took it.

“What’s this?”

“Those are your union documents. You’ll need to sign them before you’re allowed in the field.”

“There’s a Hero’s union?”

“Of course there is. What do you think they are, barbarians?”

“No, it’s just...I’m still only an apprentice.”

“About twenty years ago apprentices were added in. You don’t get full benefits, but it’s better than nothing.”

“I see your point,” Liam said as he started to skim through the document. It was quite thorough. There were clauses on every sort of injury out there. From being torched, to acid, or even having his brain sucked out.

“Before I lose you in that, how about you finish it tonight. For now why don’t we drop your things off in your room. Then I can show you to the workshop.”

“That sounds great!” Liam said. And it did. His new room and his own workshop. What else could a techie need?

They walked up the hallway on the right. Pictures and news articles about the team lined the walls. Each showing one of their many victories. The Hunt was a well-regarded team. They might not have the name recognition as teams from New York or Chicago, but locally they were loved.

As they walked down the hall, they passed four doors. Each inscribed with the name of one of Liam’s new teammates. There was a room for Ullr, H-Bar, Skip, and Gladius. Each someone Liam couldn’t wait to meet. Matt didn’t stop at any of these doors, but kept pushing to the very back. At the end of the hall, there were two final doors, one on either side of the corridor. The one on the left was labeled ‘Source’ while the other said ‘Matt’.

“Looks like we’re neighbors,” Matt said with a shrug and a half smile.

Liam hadn’t expected Matt to be living in the headquarters, but it made sense. If he was their only support staff, then it would be necessary having him on hand.

“In the base none of the doors are locked. Ullr likes to have an open attitude about things, he always says ‘team’s work better when they share burdens and locks only hide them’. It took a little getting used to, but they won’t barge in on you,” Matt said with a shrug.

That wasn’t an issue to Liam. It wasn’t like he had anything to hide. Having no locks would mean nothing to him.

Opening his door Liam slipped inside, pulling his bags in after. The small college dorm room he expected wasn’t to be found. Instead there was a small apartment. A bedroom, small living room, and bathroom. This put his apartment back at the academy to shame and that little room was also his workshop. Best of all, these new rooms were already furnished. The bedroom had a bed and dresser in it. Out in the living room there was a small desk to one side and a comfy looking chair on the other. The only issue was the naked gray of the walls. They were a little drab. Though it wasn’t anything a fresh coat of paint couldn’t fix.

Walking into the bedroom Liam threw a bag on the bed. All his clothes were in that one bag, looking around the room he found a dresser and a walk-in closet. Everything he owned wouldn’t even fill a quarter of the space they’d given him. He needed to figure out how to make it look more lived in later. After his previous apartment he learned to value what space he had. He couldn’t start wasting it now.

Taking his second bag with him, Liam left his room. He was ready for the highlight of the day. Seeing his new workshop. Matt was still waiting where he’d been left, right outside Liam’s room. Together they headed back through the base. As they entered the far hallway, there was a small change in the decorations. The pictures of the team were replaced with motivational sayings or inspirational quotes. Even a Hero team needed the pick me ups, Liam assumed. At the end of the hall they found a door leading into the training room and another unmarked door.

Walking through the unmarked door Liam was brimming with excitement. The empty room that greeted him was everything he had hoped for and more. Ivory white walls and floors with large fluorescent lights overhead. Plenty of space for him to build in. With nothing in the room yet, it’d take a little time for him to fill. But that just meant he could model it as he wanted. Liam was planning how he would set everything up when he heard some noise coming from the hall. A Moment later Matt stuck his head in.

“The team just got back. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

Liam left the bag with all his inventions in the workshop and headed out to meet his new team. In his excitement there was a small skip to his step that he had no intention of stopping.