Wire dragged herself into the room. An ice pack wrapped around her shoulder. Liam had seen what was underneath. Her skin looked like a purple landmass rising from within. If he’d been bearing the mark, instead of Wire, he’d have asked for more than an ice pack. A few choice drugs would’ve been called in as reinforcements. Even then, the injury would still wreak havoc on him.

“Nice job out there today,” Liam said.

“I… thanks,” Wire said as she moved to the other side of the room.

Liam’s own body was sore. Combat always left him like that. And after months out of the ring, it was a pleasant reminder that he was back in the game. Unlike Wire, his suit had protected him to a degree she could only dream of. Leaving him in better shape, even with the blows he’d received.

Finding a particularly plush looking couch, Liam eased himself into the cushions, a juice drink in one hand. When his skin touched the couch, it expressed its displeasure. Sending rippling cords of pain shooting through his nervous system.

Liam let out a breath at the sudden shock. Then, giving himself something else to focus on, Liam sipped his juice. The cool flavors were a relief from his aching body.

While Liam was focused on his drink the rest of the team filed into the room. Liam watched each one, yet his eyes kept traveling to one person in particular. Today had been crazy, the last robot making it more so. The next few minutes were sure to bring more of that.

The last person into the room was the man of the hour. He walked to the far wall and faced away from the team. In front of him was a painting. It depicted a fictional fight between Heroes and Cowls. In the center two Supers duked it out with flashes of light rippling around their exchange.

Circling the edge of the painting were scenes of lesser heroics. In one corner a Hero was covering a family while debris fell towards them. In another corner a Hero was detaining a cowl, the surrounding people cheering on the act.

The whole painting was nothing more than propaganda. Liam knew that more than most, but he had no doubt Tank and Nudge felt the same way. Wire was likely the only Hero on the team who hadn’t been around long enough to come to that conclusion. Though today was likely to push her in that direction.

Liam idly wondered if he’d still think like Wire if he hadn’t been through everything he had. Would those idealistic thoughts of a foolish youth still be there? It felt so far away now, but it was little more than a year.

Focusing back to Nudge, Liam doubted the man was looking at the painting. If Liam had to guess, Nudge was planning what to say, or where the conversation would go. There were bound to be questions, and the man seemed to be someone who could navigate social situations, so he was sure to be plotting the course.

While Liam wanted to get things underway, he was content to wait a few more minutes. While the talk was undoubtedly going to be interesting, he didn’t want the focus to be on him, so he’d wait for others to start it. Plus, it gave him time to format his own swirling thoughts. He wouldn’t be able to put things together like Nudge, but he’d be able to do enough not to embarrass himself.

Tank though, had other plans. With her own drink slamming onto the coffee table to accentuate what she was about to say. And with the liquid spilling onto the wood, she began.

“Mind telling us what’s going on?” she asked Nudge.

“I already told you, we’re after Bank-Breaker,” Nudge said without turning around. As if that was what Tank was asking about.

“Which explains why the robot called you ‘bad touch’?” Tank asked. Pinpointing her second question to give Nudge nowhere to dodge.

Nudge’s head bobbed from side to side. His next comment was sometime in the coming, “I guess it doesn’t really explain that.”

Liam sat forward, ready for one mystery of the day to be solved. The ice pack on Wire’s shoulder lowered a few inches as she too was sucked in, her pain forgotten as her focus was solely on the experienced Hero.

“And?” Tank asked when Nudge wasn’t more forthcoming.

“We fought each other decades ago,” Nudge said as he turned around. His face, not touched by the hand of age, stared at the group. As if challenging anyone to disagree with what he said.

“How old are you?” Wire asked.

Liam was glad someone voiced the question. How could Nudge, who looked to be in his mid twenties, have fought Bank-Breaker decades ago? The man wouldn’t have even been alive when the Cowl was at his prime.

“I’m a little over a century old,” Nudge said, the side of his mouth twitching up in a minute smile. “Numbers stop meaning anything after a while, so I might’ve misplaced a few decades here or there.”

“You look 25,” Wire countered, a frown turning her features harsh.

She was right. And Liam had done background searches on the group. Nudge wasn’t a novice Hero, but he wasn’t anywhere as experienced as he was claiming.

“I’m glad you like what I’ve done,” Nudge said with a little hand wave and fashion pose. It elicited a small chuckle from Wire.

“Nudge, this isn’t the time for jokes. What’s going on?” Tank cut back. At least she was trying to keep everyone on track.

“As I said, Bank-Breaker and I go way back. I was the one who brought him down after all.”

The room stilled. Slowly Wire brought the ice pack back to her shoulder, then ventured.

“But Touch was the one who did that.”

“I’ve changed my name a few times during my career. Nudge is only the most recent iteration.”

Liam sat there, his mind overclocking as it tried to understand what Nudge was saying. If it was true, not only was he chasing a legend, he was on the team of one. After all, these were the two most famous Supers from the Silver Age.

How could this be happening? He’d grown up idolizing Touch. Now Nudge was claiming to be the same Hero? Nudge acted nothing like the Touch in Liam’s childhood mind. He’d been an icon for people to follow. Nudge was… he wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t a beacon for the masses. He was human.

If they were the same people, why were they so different? Was it because of the man’s age? Or had Liam never truly realized who Touch was?

He’d love to tell his sister he was teammates with Touch, if it was true. The fact he’d called the man a teammate didn’t slip through Liam’s mind. Since they’d fought together on the ship, they’d become that. You couldn’t call people you fought with a group. You didn’t go into a horror show of a cruise ship with a group of people. You’d only do that with a team which was what they’d become.

Despite his continued unease about the entire situation, Liam realized he couldn’t stay separate from them. He’d gain nothing from doing that.

“But Touch didn’t control plants. He controlled…” Wire started. Her eyes widened as the sentence died in her mouth.

“Yes, I can control all living organisms,” Nudge said to the room. Looking around, Nudge realized everyone was still grasping the implications. Trying to defend the ability, he continued. “It’s only in a certain radius.”

The immediate reaction from Tank carried the vibe of the room.

“Bull,” she said, folding her arms across her chest.

“What is?”

“Everything you just said. It’s a joke, a bad one at that.”

“It’s far from a joke. Do you want me to demonstrate?” Nudge asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Tank said, Wire nodding along

Without additional prodding, Nudge stretched out his arm. At that moment, someone could’ve walked into the room and robbed everyone blind and they wouldn’t have realized it. They were all too focused on what Nudge was doing.

Then, as if a leviathan was awakening from the deep, Nudge’s skin moved. A tremor ran down his arm. From elbow to wrist, the skin split apart. From within the gap, a new hand emerged. Five fingers connected to a new palm which was held to the man’s original wrist in some way Liam couldn’t begin to understand. Then another and another hand emerged until there were four of them at the end of Nudge’s arm. Each one fidgeting in its own way.

Wire went green in the face while Tank stopped talking, mouth hanging ajar. Both lost in the display in front of them.

“Touch could do that to more than just himself? Couldn’t he control his opponents? The details are sparse, but there are accounts where everyone would just give up when seeing him. I used to think that was from his reputation,” Liam said, motioning to the hands. “But maybe it was more than that?”

“No, that is also part of my power,” Nudge said. His new hands sinking back into his skin until he was left with only the original one. No sign of the others remained.

How did it feel for hands to form and then retract into your arm? Liam wanted to ask, but there was so much more to understand. Whatever it felt like, Liam would chalk it up as painful for now and readjust when he learned more. He just couldn’t get bogged down with the understanding and miss whatever else Nudge was going to show.

Nudge rubbed at where his other hands had just been. “If I have a volunteer, I can demonstrate that as well.”

Neither Wire nor Tank moved to volunteer. Both of them shared a look and then sat back.

“This is part of the reason I change my name. Too much baggage comes with Touch,” Nudge said with a wry smile.

“Use me,” Liam ventured. His mouth moving before he could think of the consequences. Now that his mind caught up, he wished he’d kept his mouth closed. Someone else controlling his body, that had red flags all over it.

“Okay,” Nudge said, reaching out before Liam could change his mind.

At first Liam didn’t feel anything different within himself. His skin was still there, bones in the right place, even his hair was normal. But he noticed a difference in the older Hero. The white of the man’s eyes transformed into a deep green while his irises turned white. The look gave the man a crazed appearance.

As Liam was drawn in by the man’s eyes, his arm moved on its own. It felt like he’d slammed his funny bone on a corner. The tingling sensation running along its length. Liam tried to fight the pull, straining against it, yet his arm refused to follow the command. Only growing more numb when he applied more pressure.

His arm performed a one person macarena as he watched on, unable to stop the show. During the second loop of the dance, his skin changed color. Going through the full rainbow before it reverted to its original color.

Then it was gone. Both the control of his arm and the feeling. Only a memory of them remaining. One his mind refused to believe was true, even if he’d just lived through it.

Liam’s mind turned in on itself, trying to approach Nudge’s ability analytically. How could he counter Nudge? Maybe a neural net? Some program he could make to realize when he didn’t have control?

“That’s crazy,” Wire said, Liam only half listening to her.

A woman who could hack into his suit and a man who could take control of him. Just what was Liam doing here? This team was the perfect counter to him.

“That’s how you knew it was Bank-Breaker, even when everyone thought he was dead?” Tank asked.

“I didn’t kill him. The man was broken when our final fight ended, but I couldn’t land the killing blow. He escaped before that. No one believed me when I told them, they heard what shape he was in and assumed. But I knew he was still out there, just biding his time before he returned.”

“Wouldn’t that make him as old as you?” Wire asked. “How is he still around?”

“He was the greatest Techie in history. No offense, Source.”

“None taken.”

“If anyone could figure out a way to fight the crawl of time, it’d be Bank-Breaker.”

Regardless of why the man was back, Liam was here because of the attacks on the cruise ships. Would he really run away from a fight now, just because he was facing people who were able to counter him?

Wire jumped to her feet and rushed Nudge. For a second Liam thought she was going to attack the older man, but she stopped in front of him and reached out.

“I’m so glad you chose me for this team!” Wire said. “What should we call you?”

“Nudge is fine,” the man said as he shook the offered hand.

“Are you sure, we could go back to the old days and call you by your first title.”

“I’m sure. I prefer Nudge.”

Liam could see Wire didn’t want that to be the answer, but she did a good job keeping the disappointment from her face.

“So, why did you pick me to join the team?” Wire asked.

“Well, your power is perfect at countering whatever tech Bank-Breaker throws at us. That’s why I wanted you on the team.”

“You picked all of us for our powers?” Tank asked, stepping into the conversation again.

“As much that as your personality. I needed the proper group for this mission. Too much is on the line for something to go wrong.”

Liam tried to determine if he was there for his power or personality. The answer was obvious. While Liam was a decent techie, they were up against someone on a different level. He was there because of what he did with The Hunt. There was no other reason. On power alone, he fell far short.

Liam wasn’t sure how to take that insight. Sure he was proud of what he’d done. Proud that when the chips were down, he’d held onto being a good man. But it still irked him that he hadn’t been invited for his talents.

There was one other thing that Liam was curious about.

“Why was Skip with him?” Liam asked.

“That was a surprise to me as well,” Nudge said. “I didn’t know Bank-Breaker would take him under his wing. If I had to guess, it’s because he saw me working with you. Maybe he thought Skip would go after you with the same fervor the man comes after me?”

“Great, so you’re saying the worst Cowl in history has a teleporter sidekick because of me. He wouldn’t have even been able to get his gas on the cruise ship if he didn’t have Skip helping him.”

“Bank-Breaker would’ve attacked the cruise ship either way. He’s done it in the past. Skip just gave him an easier way of doing it.”

“What do they want with the guy they captured?” Tank asked. Turning the conversation from the Cowls capabilities to plans.

“He was still moving after going into the gas. That could that be part of it?” Wire said. The statement was part question. Realizing just who she was standing with cast doubt on her own abilities.

“That’s what I was thinking of as well. There is something that caught his attention with that guy,” Nudge said. “Figuring out exactly what it is will be an important piece in bringing everything together.”

The group threw out a few ideas, but none of them stuck. Whatever Bank-Breaker and Skip wanted, the Heroes had no idea.

“Why isn’t The Watch offering more help?” Liam asked. Voicing a question, he was sure some other people on the team were wondering as well.

“They have a task force, but didn’t believe it was Bank-Breaker causing the issue.”

“Didn’t they look at the security feed?”

“This was the first ship where the feed survived, and even now the video doesn’t show who was with Skip. It could be any number of people.”

“Why didn’t they trust you? Don’t they know who you are?”

“Yes they do, but they thought I was trying to relive my old glory days or something like that and ignored my warnings.”

“And now?”

“With what the robot said, they’re starting to see my side of things.”

“How did we get onto the ship first if they are working on this as well?” Liam asked. He was glad to be able to help, but didn’t understand how that had happened.

“I’ve lived for over a century. One advantage of doing that is all the connections you make. And favors you’re owed.”

The rest of the night went by without any major hiccups as the group reviewed their plans. Everyone on the team giving Nudge’s words weight befitting of someone with his history. Now to see if their opponents would do the same.