After they dealt with the robbery, the day slowed down. Skip returned to the alley after ten minutes to grab the bag of stolen computer parts and bring the other two Heroes to their next location. Near a public golf course. They appeared as two figures in black. One metallic night accented with a hint of green. The other pinpricks of light on his slate black suit.

As with the other places they visited, people pointed and stared. A few young golfers even left the course in their bid to meet the Heroes, before hurrying back and continuing their round.

Though little of what was happening around them registered with Liam. Instead, his mind kept racing back to the criminal in the alley. The more he thought about it the more he knew that entire situation had been a test. There were just too many coincidences with it. They had raced to the scene of a crime to appear on either side of an alley. The criminal they were hunting was trapped in the middle. The chances of that were astronomically slim.

Followed by the fact that the criminal wasn’t even a Cowl. Instead, being a low level thief who gave up immediately. Then when Skip went to hand over the thief to the police, he just happened to forget the evidence. Instead, leaving it with the other two and allowing H-Bar to ask his obvious questions. The entire situation had far too many coincidences to be anything other than a test. One Liam was proud to note he’d passed with flying colors.

Looking back at H-Bar’s face when he asked the question, Liam was starting to think there was a slight smile on the man’s lips toward the end. He couldn’t be sure as the alley was dark and his suit’s camera was off, but he felt as if it was there, nonetheless. More proof that it’d all been a test.

He’d proven himself a straight shooter. Someone the team could count on going forward. Wanting to scream for joy Liam fought down the urge and just managed to contain himself.

As the day came to a close, Skip returned one last time to bring the two back to the base. Liam’s mood had done a one eighty from this morning. Gone was the gloomy Source who was trying to determine what his teammates saw in him. Replaced by a giddy version of himself. He was finally a true member of The Hunt.

Moving to the fridge to get a congratulatory beer, a buzzing on his wrist drew Liam’s attention. Pulling the notification onto his HUD, Liam realized his crime scene program had finished running.

“Be right back. The program just finished,” Liam called to the team.

Hopefully this would bring even more good news to what had become a great day. If he could crack the case now, everything would change. He’d not just prove his place, but his techs as well.

H-Bar and Skip shared a glance before H-Bar said, “Mind if I join you? I’ve been curious how the program works and what it can find.”

“Of course!” Liam said.

This was another chance for him to demonstrate what he brought to the table. H-Bar being able to witness it would only help. Especially since H-Bar was already his strongest advocate on the team. Giving him more ammo when he stood up for Liam could only help.

Entering the workshop moments later, Liam bounded into a chair. His endorphin filled body high with excitement. H-Bar was a step behind, pulling up a second chair in a much more mundane way as his body relaxed into it.

“What do you have?” H-Bar asked. Eyes glued on the giant screen in front of them.

“Let’s pull it up and see,” Liam said. Rubbing his hands together before he hit the command.

The screen in front of them transformed as details from the crime scenes started to fill the space. The program was designed to find similarities between multiple cases. Asking the question 'did the victims’ lives cross paths’? Everything from eating at a common restaurant, or attending the same alma mater, or any number of things were analyzed. If there was anything in common, this program would let them know.

As evidence continued to appear on the screen it became cluttered. Finally, the program switched from showing the evidence to what it’d flagged for the Heroes to review.

The obvious similarities being flagged first. No witnesses, no forced entry, houses in order, and the victims were thrown against the wall. All things the team and police were well aware of.

Then the program started to show the less obvious similarities. Two pieces of evidence floated to the top. The first was Skip’s goo. No surprise there, Liam thought. He warned the man not to contaminate the crime scene, but Skip hadn’t listened. Now that same contamination followed him here. Leaving the program to flag it as suspicious.

“Well we can ignore the goo,” Liam said.

“Maybe this’ll be enough to get him to stop,” H-Bar replied.

“The program flagging his tell-tale jump sludge as a clue in two separate murders? Only a sane person would use that as a reason to stop.”

“True, guess that means nothing will change.”

The two shared a quick laugh before continuing on.

“Luckily we know how it got there so we can rule it out,” H-Bar said. “But I think this should be enough for Ullr to act. If we rely on this program going forward, we can’t have it impacted like this. Let me talk to Ullr about it. If the Boss Man wants something done it gets done.”

“Do you think it’ll be enough?”

“I honestly can’t say. And without Ullr I doubt Skip’s opinion will change.”

Looking over at H-Bar, Liam realized the man was telling the truth. This wouldn’t be enough for Skip to change on his own. Sure Liam saw a new side of the man today. A great side. But that didn’t change how he acted the rest of the time.

It would all come down to Ullr stepping in and putting his foot down. Whether that happened or not was up in the air. They could only hope it did. With an exhausted sigh Liam turned back to the screen.

There was only one other commonality the program discovered. Both victims were members of the same gym. A picture of Mr. Pullun’s gym bag appeared next to pictures of both mens’ gym cards. That was a new clue Liam thought. Maybe all of this was connected to the gym? He could only hope that was the lead that broke the case open.

“This could be good,” Liam said.

“Not just good, this is great. We would’ve never found that connection,” H-Bar said as he leaned into the screen. As if he was looking for some hidden meaning in the pictures it held. “We can use this. Maybe the killer was finding targets at the gym?”

“That’s possible. It’s a new avenue to approach.”

Tearing his eyes from the screen, H-Bar looked over and said, “At this point any lead is invaluable. If it helps us solve the case, then that’s even better. But all we can do is follow wherever the leads take us.”

“True enough,” Liam said. “I was hoping the program would find more, but I shouldn’t be upset. Maybe this is all we really need.”

“Exactly,” H-Bar said as he reached over and slapped Liam on the back. The friendly pat nearly throwing Liam out of his chair. His armor the only thing that kept him upright. Liam was just a normal person without it. Something the other Heroes were prone to forget.

“Sorry about that,” H-Bar said. His beat red face signaling his embarrassment.

“No worries,” Liam said as he settled back into his chair. Hitting a few more buttons the screen changed again. Transitioning from pictures of evidence to those of local Cowls.

Of all the Cowls on the screen only one image was highlighted. It enlarged until it filled the entire screen. Showing a woman smothered in a gray hoodie, many sizes too large. The oversized garment obscured her face.

A simple label under the picture identified the person as Phaser.

Skimming through the statistics the program provided, Liam said, “Looking at the local Cowls, Phaser is the only known person with an ability set enabling her to commit these crimes.”

“I didn’t know the program would provide us with suspects.”

“Well, I’m not as sure about this part. If the culprit is someone missing from the system, then they won’t be tagged. Plus the code only gave Phaser a 75% confidence factor. Not enough to confirm it was really her.”

“But enough for us to have a conversation with her?” H-Bar asked.

“Oh yeah.”

“Great work on this. Want to head back to the kitchen? See if the rest of the team is there so you can bring them up to speed. I’m sure they’d love to see what you found.”

“Yeah that sounds good,” Liam said. Hoping H-Bar was right, and this was enough for the team.

When they got back to the kitchen, Matt was making dinner. The food on the stove was sizzling as he juggled a dozen pots and pans. Somehow moving between dishes just before they bubbled over or burned. That wasn’t a skill Liam would ever have. He had trouble making cup ramen. The thought of cooking an entire meal scared him more than fighting a dozen Cowls without his suit.

The rest of the team was present as well, spread out over the space. Gladius was lounging on the couch, as she did everyday after work. Open beer in one hand as another waited nearby for H-Bar. Pearls of condensation falling from the can’s side.

Skip and Ullr were having a huddled conversation on the far side of the room. Hands jestering feverishly as they talked in hushed voices. When the newcomers arrived the other Heroes' attention fell on them. Liam, the clear center of focus.

“Anything good?” Gladius asked from the couch. Not even bothering to stand up.

“The program worked amazingly. Source found a few new leads for us,” H-Bar said as he patted Liam on the back. This time much gentler. Only causing Liam to stumble a little.

“That’s great to hear.” Ullr boomed as a bright smile spread across his face. Skip, who had his arms across his chest, lowered them upon hearing the news. Relaxing his guard.

“Well it’s not as much as I’d hoped for,” Liam began.

“Don’t play coy. It’s bloody brilliant work if you ask me,” H-Bar said. Cutting Liam off mid thought.

The man was playing up Liam’s work. And Liam had to admit he liked the support. But he might be pushing things a bit far.

“Well it only found a few leads. And only one we should focus on,” Liam said.

H-Bar cut in again, “Skip’s goo made the list as we all knew it would.”

“Please tell me we aren’t talking about that right now,” Gladius said. A twinge of hope in her voice. She didn’t want another discussion like they had at the Pullun house. And Liam was inclined to agree with her. After seeing the good side of Skip, he didn’t want to jump back into the bad.

“Of course not. That was thrown out,” Liam said. From the corner of his eye he could see Skip nod. Continuing he said, “We also found that both victims were members of the same gym.”

“You’re thinking they were targeted there?” Ullr asked. Looking from H-Bar to Liam and back.

“We aren’t sure, but how many people are members of that gym? A few hundred? Maybe a thousand. Almost nothing in a city of this size,” Liam said.

“That sounds like our first solid lead of the case. Great find with that,” Ullr said. The compliment sent a jolt of pride running though Liam. It was childish, but praise from Ullr did that to you.

“That’s not all. Show them what else it found,” H-Bar encouraged. As all eyes turned back to Liam.

“Well, the program was nowhere near certain on this, but it suggested Phaser was related.”

That got Gladius full attention, and she stood up and walked over.

“How did it come up with that?” Gladius asked.

“Well it compared known powers of all Cowls in the area with evidence at the crime scene. Looking for any sign of what power they used. Phaser was the only Cowl it flagged. Please remember this only considers known Cowls in our system,” Liam said.

“It fits. No one saw the killer getting into the buildings. Her ability to move through solid matter could explain a lot,” Gladius admitted.

“Exactly! We need to explore this,” H-Bar said.

Again his excitement about what the program found evident in the way he reacted. But Liam wouldn’t follow suit. Everything the program found could fall through, be more dead ends for them to chase. Only time would tell for sure.

“Once more, great work here,” Ullr said.

As the Heroes started to discuss what came next Matt spoke up from the kitchen, “If you’re all done, dinner is ready.”

The meal was the icing on the cake for what had been a long day. Knowing he passed the teams’ test, gave them a solid lead on the murders, and could even see through Skip’s mask to the person underneath, left him emotionally drained. The roller coaster of highs and lows over the last few days had reached its peak. Liam was just thankful he’d pushed through the lows.

After the meal, the Heroes dispersed for the night. Liam making his way back to his room. Intent on calling Mel. He had a lot of explaining to do. So much had happened during the last few days. All too amazing to keep to himself. He wouldn’t be able to tell her the details, for obvious reasons, but what he could tell made for a great story.