After the team’s little talent show, Liam went back to his workshop, giving him some time to recoup. The whole experience had been eye opening. It’d been amazing to see what everyone else could do. From great feats of strength to the ability to teleport and manipulate light. The team had a wide range of powers, and Liam was already looking into how he could collaborate with them, specifically H-Bar. The man was an artist with his ability, and Liam would get a chance to improve it. He’d have to start planning his work on improving H-Bar’s lights tomorrow.

But it wasn’t just excitement coursing through Liam. He knew they’d be using their powers in a real-world situation soon. Even after years of training, that was a terrifying prospect. Once Liam was out of these walls, his last safety net would be pulled away. His actions would have consequences for real people. Liam couldn’t let that fact fade away. He had to make sure his focus stayed on those he would protect. To do that he had to remember his training and rely on the other members of The Hunt.

As Liam was deep in thought, he started to remove his armor. Piece by piece it clicked apart and was placed on an armor rack, situated in the center of the workshop. Liam wanted his suit to be visible at all times, from everywhere in the room. The constant site of it would help to remind him to stay focused. Realizing a goal, years in the making, required no less. He needed to perform in a stellar way while a member of The Hunt. Then he was sure to get an offer from a top Hero team when his contract was up.

As Liam took off the last piece of armor, he felt a pang of emptiness, as if he was naked to the world around him. The armor was already becoming his second skin and the reality of it was only just starting to dawn. He didn’t feel right without it on. Like a hermit crab without a shell. Sure it was still the same animal, but it was never whole until it was in a shell again.

After he stored the armor and jumpsuit, Liam threw on a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt trying to assuage his new vulnerability. It helped a little, but he still felt a little uneasy at what lay ahead. Maybe a nicer pair of clothes would’ve helped more, however this was the best he could find in his workshop. Most of his clothes were in the bag in his new bedroom. Going forward Liam would have to move part of his wardrobe to the workshop. He’d be stopping here first after most days on the job. Might as well save a trip across the base.

Taking a last look back at his new lab Liam was stuck by the emptiness of the place. The room was a void of white save for the set of black and green armor in the center. In his mind Liam started to imagine how he’d lay out the space. His tool bench would go to the right of the door. Computers to write code and review cases would be on the left. He could use a back corner for testing new inventions. There were so many options going forward, half the fun would be filling up this space with his new toys. But until that happened the armor stood alone, waiting for its first true baptism.

As Liam entered the kitchen, he found most of the team already there. Three of his teammates were sitting at the table, H-Bar adamantly talking about something as the other two tried to follow along. They’d all changed into more casual attire, feeling their costumes were done for the day and it was time for a little relaxation. Though none of them were dressed down as much as Liam. Save for Matt that was, who’d changed into a chef’s hat and apron as he worked away at the stove. The smells coming from his side of the room hinted that the man had earned the right to wear the hat. But Liam could only wait for the food to know for sure.

Moving over to the table Liam sat down next to H-Bar, as the man regaled Ullr and Gladius about an old movie he loved. It had something to do with a person stranded on a deserted island fighting to survive and stay sane as conditions worsened. From what Liam caught of the conversation Gladius and Ullr thought the movie was good, but not great. While H-Bar insisted it was the greatest thing of all time.

There were still a couple empty seats around the table as Liam settled in. They must be for tonight’s chef and the missing member of the team, Skip. As Liam was trying to figure out where his missing team member was H-Bar asked him a question.

“What was your take on the movie? The greatest thing ever filmed, wasn’t it?”

Liam had no idea what movie they were talking about. He hadn’t been to the movies since he joined the Hero training program over four years ago and before that was never into them. With the demands on his time only increasing there was little hope he’d be able to catch up. His free time was too precious to not spend it training or working on new inventions.

“Well I haven’t seen it,” Liam admitted.

“You haven’t seen it? How did you miss a movie of that magnitude?” H-Bar said, mock amazement on open display.

“This is proof you’re exaggerating how good the movie is. Our newest member would’ve seen it if it was as amazing as you suggest,” Gladius said. Poking at her teammates pride.

“No, that can’t be it. There must be some other explanation. Why haven’t you seen the movie?”

“Well I haven’t watched anything in years. I’ve been spending all my time getting ready for this,” Liam said as he pointed to The Hunt logo on the wall. “I just didn’t have spare time.”

“We can’t let this injustice stand. I’ll work on a list of movies for you to watch. We’ll call it the ‘Pull Source out of the Dark Ages Movie List’. I know it’s a great name, I’m thinking of trade marking it.”

“Are you sure we have to do that?” Liam asked as he looked over at Gladius and Ullr for help.

Gladius answered while Ullr just smiled on, “We’re sure. Can’t leave you culturally stagnant. That’d be skipping out on our responsibilities as good teammates and role models. Though we might have to start with a good movie first and not something H-Bar picked.”

H-Bar’s smile grew larger and larger as Gladius spoke. Until her last comment. There was a slight tensing around his eyes and he opened his mouth for what Liam could only assume was some witty counter, to have Matt speak up first.

“Sorry to interrupt, but the food’s ready. Come on up and grab a plate,” Matt said as he pushed a button on the wall next to him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get to see the good movies, not the crud Gladius likes,” H-Bar said with a satisfied smile. His comeback was too late for Gladius as she was already moving toward the food.

The rest of the team followed in her wake. When they were halfway across the room Skip appeared in front of the food. The man, who’d just popped up, made it look like he’d been standing there, waiting for hours instead of arriving a moment before.

“Come on Matt we talked about this,” H-Bar said as they formed a line behind Skip. “Let Skip know the foods done after we fill our plates.”

“Can’t do. That’d be unfair to him.”

“But the rest of us were waiting around the table.”

“And Skip always asks me to tell him when the food’s done before I start cooking.”

“Don’t worry I’ll leave you something to eat,” Skip said without turning.

“That’s not the issue. It’s the principle of the matter,” H-Bar muttered.

As Liam made his way to the back of the line, he looked at all the food arrayed in front of them. It was a literal smorgasbord. There was no way the team could finish everything. Even with two meals. H-Bar would get something to eat even if Skip filled two plates.

What wasn’t obvious was if this was as much as Matt normally made or if there was extra to celebrate a new member joining them. Either way Liam would take advantage of all the food and fill his plate.

The line moved fast and Liam found himself in front of the food in no time, with a slight detour around Skip’s jump goo. Up close Liam saw just how good it all looked. If someone said this was the set of a baking show Liam might’ve believed them.

A dozen dishes sat on the counter, all prepared with a modern flair. Many plated as if works of art. To grab food from those plates would be a crime Liam thought. So he stuck with the less artisanally arranged food. Loading his plate with pasta, breadsticks, and a little salad on the side. He hoped the food tasted half as good as it looked. Rushing back to the table Liam saw the rest of the team already digging in.

Liam waited to eat as Matt got a plate and joined the team. As soon as they were all at the table Liam followed the other’s lead and dug in. The flavors hit him like a truck. Each bite was pure bliss. The food wasn’t as good as it looked, it was better. Grabbing his fork Liam shoveled it into his mouth. If he could’ve opened his mouth any wider he would’ve just to fit a little extra in. Matt had claimed he wasn’t a super, the man must be lying. No one could make something of this magnitude without a gift.

As Liam cleaned his plate and stood up to get seconds, it surprised him to find H-Bar already in line behind Gladius. It looked like he wasn’t the only member dying to get more.

Getting in line H-Bar turned and said, “You’ll never get used to his food. Hands down one of the greatest parts of having Matt work with us.”

“I like to think I bring other things to the team than just cooking,” Matt called from the table.

“You do. But meals are the most important part of the day and you’re an expert at making them.”

“I guess I’ll have to live with that,” Matt muttered.

Following H-Bar through the line Liam filled his plate with another helping of food. This time he ate at a more reasonable pace. Trying to savor every bite. Somehow the second helping tasted even better than the first. Liam was worried his taste buds might revolt if they didn’t get Matt’s food again tomorrow.

When Liam was working on a third helping Ullr broke everyone’s concentration by asking, “How’s the move in been going?”

“Good. I still have a lot of unpacking to do in the workshop, but it shouldn’t be long until everything is ready to go,” Liam said. Setting his fork down so he didn’t accidently put more food in his mouth while they talked.

“That’s good to hear. Let us know if you need anything. We’d all be happy to help.”

“Thanks.”

“Good, never forget you’re here for an apprenticeship, so we’re responsible for helping you. That help doesn’t end when we come back from the field. ”

Liam wouldn’t forget. No matter what happened he had to keep his sights set on the next steps. If the team could help with that he’d take advantage of it.

“Now that everyone’s finished eating let’s bring Source up to speed with the going ons of our little piece of the country. Gladius if you would be so kind,” Ullr said.

Looking up from her plate Gladius said, “The Hunt is responsible for DCP zone 85, encompassing Des Moines and the surrounding area. The department considers this region in need of one standard size Hero team. We are three members short of that. As such you’ll be expected to do more with less.”

None of that was news to Liam. He knew he was joining a small team and the extra work that would entail. He enjoyed being busy so that’d be a good thing for him. The area The Hunt patrolled was also something Liam looked up before his trip here. From what he saw, Des Moines was where most of their concern would lie. The other towns in the zone had averaged two calls a year for the last few years.

“Our team’s been here for the last decade. During that time crimes by Cowls have dropped by 50% with the last murder taking place over five years ago,” Gladius continued.

“Well the streak ended today,” H-Bar said.

“We aren’t sure of that yet,” Skip countered.

So a super, Liam thought, committed the murder of Mr. Dean. Well really a Cowl, now that they’d commited a crime. The report he’d heard on the bus said the team was looking into it. It was good to get confirmation from H-Bar even if Skip wasn’t sold on the idea yet.

“We have enough evidence to make the call and I would think our new techie friend would agree with that,” H-Bar said. Motioning to Liam as he spoke.

“Well I wouldn’t know until I saw the evidence,” Liam said. This case was about to blow up. The first super power related murder in five years. Liam had to be as involved in this case as he could, “I’ve been working on a new program to review evidence and provide leads. While it’s still in development, the program might provide something useful or at least be an opportunity to debug the system.”

This was Liam’s first chance to impress the team in a real-world situation. He’d have to throw everything he had at it.

Ullr stared across the table at H-Bar as if he was weighing some momentous decision. After a moment he glanced over at Skip and Gladius having some silent conversation with the rest of the team. Before returning his gaze to Liam and saying, “H-Bar’s right. A Cowl committed the murder. I’m sure the news reporter has already mentioned we were at the scene. While we haven’t officially taken over the case, I’m sure they’re making that claim. Plus when I talked to the detectives they were ready to declare this the act of a super. Whether we want this case or not, it’s coming our way and soon.”

“That’s the right call in my book,” Gladius said.

“Lets see that Source gets the files from the investigation. Might as well get him up to speed. But hold up on the new program for now. I would rather work our way up to using it, maybe show the program some muggings first as we determine its usefulness. A good defense attorney would use this new technology against us in a trial,” Ullr said.

The man might have a point about that. Liam didn’t have any experience in legal matters so he wasn’t sure. But he wasn’t happy about it. The program was only finding leads. How was that against any legal rules?

“Make sure to add files on the local criminal groups. If we think this was a crime by supers, it was likely a local,” Skip said.

“That’s a good idea, but it might not have been a local. We haven’t seen a murder in years from any of the local Cowls. Why would they start now, what changed? I think it’s more likely this is a new player, whether they are still around is another question entirely. Matt if you would be so kind as to provide the files to our new member in the morning,” Ullr said.

“I’ll do it first thing.”

Liam would have to make sure he read through everything tomorrow. Local criminal, or a new player were the two paths the team was looking at. He’d do his best to dissect both possibilities. A case like this was a great starting point for his career.

“Great. Now that that’s settled, would you be kind enough to tell us about the Cowl group we have in the area?” Ullr asked as he nodded towards H-Bar.

“That would be The Broken Crest. They have around ten members, but people are always joining and leaving so it’s hard to get an exact count. We think they operate somewhere out of West Des Moines, but haven’t been able to determine the exact location.”

Liam hadn’t heard of that cowl team when he did his research. There could be a couple main reasons for that. While some criminal groups liked the notoriety that came with well-known names. They tended to be stupid, violent, or both since their actions brought Heroes flocking down on them. The other kind kept themselves hidden. The secrecy helped keep Heroes off their backs. Many times they would let the loud and violent cowls distract the Heroes while they robbed the city blind. The fact the local cowls liked to stay quiet suggested they were smart, or at least competent at what they did.

“They work home robberies with the occasional small business,” Gladius chimed in.

“Make sure to label the groups known members in the report tomorrow,” Ullr told Matt.

“Can do.”

“Last, I’d like to give you a heads up,” Ullr said as he shifted back to Liam. “We have a photo shoot with a local newspaper in a few days. I want you prepared for that. You’ll find a good relationship with the local media is important for a Hero. We can’t have the public turning against us. We use the media to make sure that doesn’t happen. If they play ball, we give them limited access to what we’re doing.”

“The shoot will also be used to make your first set of merchandise so make sure you look top notch,” H-Bar said as he struck a mock heroic pose.

“We make a decent amount of cash off the merch. It’ll be a big help for upgrading your workshop,” Gladius pointed out.

“I’ve never been to a photoshoot before,” Liam said.

“It’ll be a blast. I’ll walk you through it. Just make sure you polish that suit before we go, they can’t make anything if you look like a rusted car,” H-Bar said.

After the important discussion the conversation dissolved into talking about other things. H-Bar focused on his little niece. The girl sounded like she was everything to the man. As a Hero H-Bar never had a kid, so he spoiled his niece instead.

Gladius spent the later part of the meal trying to convince Liam to spar with her. H-Bar, out of Gladius’ sight, kept mouthing N. O. to Liam. That was enough to convince Liam he didn’t want to spar tonight. He was finally able to convince Gladius he was tired from the bus ride and wouldn’t be a good opponent.

Skip ignored Liam and instead became engrossed in a discussion with Matt and Ullr. Liam could only catch snippets of their talk and none of it sounded interesting.

As the meal ended Liam was content with his new team. Most of them had welcomed him with open arms and that meant the world to him. There might be some issues with Skip, but Liam was confident he’d be able to work his way through them.