Once the Badguys were loaded into the truck, Fortitude and I followed suit. Up in the front, we formulated our next move. Mostly that meant me following her lead, but I liked to feel important.

She flipped on the radio in the vehicle and, once comms were established, routed the sound through our masks. She called out, "I've got three villains bagged. This includes Transporter. I repeat, the crime-spree has effectively been ended." To me she added, "That's what happens when you've got a wildcard with you. The villains always get cocky. You really gave us the advantage with your surprise attack. So glad you survived that fall."

"Me too," I agreed, still a little annoyed that she had let me take it in the first place. "Hey though, maybe I could get wings?" The more I thought about it, the worse the idea sounded. "But what would I do with them ninety-nine percent of the time?"

Fortitude had no idea what I was talking about, I could tell by the furrow of her brow. No matter, I was back to being horrified at the prospect of my body mutating again in the next few hours.

Ironbolt came back over the radio to finally respond. "Good work you two. Without their teleporter, they will be forced to move by conventional means. They'll send out cars to pick up the remaining raiders, and we'll be there to follow them. You know the drill. Over and out."

Fortitude actually clapped with glee, still far too excited. "This is the biggest take-down we've had here in years," she told me. "Can you believe it?"

I nodded, keeping in my mind all the while where it had started. Supposedly, I had killed Hickory myself, but I had no memory of it. Maximal was insistent, yet part of me believed it was only an extra excuse, made up to kill me at the lake. Either way, it was only fitting that I helped put down Hickory's gang. "I am truly hyped," I decided. "Let's not sit here, let's go do the thing."

Fortitude started the car and tore out of the parking lot, clearly amping on adrenaline, stems, and military grade Justice. "Let's finish these sonsabitches!" That same amount of stress and armored-vehicle-drifting, meanwhile, had me considering if tonight would be the second time I threw up in a government vehicle.

I just kept telling myself that it was against the rules to take off my mask and that seemed to work. There would be no throwing up in the mask.

Just then, the radio crackled to life again. Only this time, it wasn't Ironbolt speaking. It was someone else completely. "I copy you Ironbolt. Six captured here. There's only two left in the field now by my count. I'll leave them unmolested." I tuned out the rest. I suspected that I knew who was speaking.

"Tulpa?" I asked, confirming it with Fortitude.

She nodded emphatically. "That's the one. Six by himself. Always the showoff, that guy."

He was a second class psychic, if I recalled. Not only that, but I had met his older sister personally. She had been the woman at the lake, in fact. Egregore was her name and she was stationed at the Miami Kismet response center. Both of them had similar powers; the creation of projections which they controlled.

I wasn't afraid to ask about the rumors. "I heard he was an asshole? Is that true?"

"He's, uh..." Fortitude had to think about it. "He's just very motivated. He's always had his eye on the rankings, actually. You know how that is."

"I do, and I'll take that as a yes." Nothing was worse than the Hero rankings. Separate from internal rankings at Seraph, the official domestic contractor for Supers, the public Power rankings were the biggest spectacle of all. Everyone wanted the sponsorships that went with them, the fame, and their shot at becoming a professional dandy. "No offense," I belatedly added.

"He's a team mate, so I don't like to be a bitch about what motivates him. Yeah, his showboating can get tiresome, but everybody's got their own thing, Creep. He gets the job done and keeps things very tight. He's dependable, and that's good by me any day."

"Fair enough," I said.

Fortitude had an idea of where she was heading, so I simply let her drive from that point on. Even with everything going down, the city was lively with both the indifferent and the gawkers. People had gotten used to a degree of perpetual domestic warfare since Supers appeared. Tonight was no different.

Our destination arrived as a strip mall on the outer limits of town. There were strange piles of sand everywhere, and the air shimmered in some places. Half the strip mall had been razed, and the other half was halfway there. Anyone knew from the pictures they'd see online what these telltale signs meant. A fight between Supers had gone down, and a big one at that.

Standing in for the side of law and order was a single man. Against six villains, Tulpa had come out on top. For that, I couldn't help being impressed. He was waiting for us on the sidewalk surrounded by a sorry looking bunch of men and women sitting handcuffed. His own vehicle was nowhere to be seen, so our purpose here was clear.

Fortitude pulled up onto the curb and rolled down her window to greet him. "Great work as usual. There's three in the back and the door's unlocked if you'd like to add some more."

Tulpa motioned his captured foes to sort themselves into the holding, and they obeyed. Judging by the bruises and bloody noses, the fight had been well-beaten out of them.

He was a strong faced guy, no older than twenty-five, with dark and matted hair. Confident as he was, Tulpa always refused to wear a mask. He did his work instead in a simple suit. As in, slacks and a tie, dresswear, not tights. In keeping with the color theme of the local team, it was pristine white, and it had stayed that way throughout the fight. A testament to control, but also a factor of his Power.

After the villains were put away in the back, he came around to my side of the car and opened the door. From where he had been standing before, he had apparently missed my existence. It was not a welcome intrusion, I gathered by his tone. "Who the hell is this?"

I looked back and forth between the two of them. "I'm Creep. A, uh, Junior Hero... basically."

"My God, Fortitude, tell me this isn't what I think it is," Tulpa asked, gaze piercing straight through me. My heart fluttered in my chest as the time came again to be treated with so much suspicion. I wasn't ready to go back to being the villain just yet.

Fortitude, my queen, insistently backed me up. "This is a Junior Hero that Ironbolt picked up outside of town, Tulpa. He's been a big help. You're thinking of the time when it wasn't completely under control, remember? And everything went horribly wrong. This time it's completely under control. I'm showing him the ropes."

Trying to ease things a little, I moved to one of the back seats and invited him in. "I kept your seat warm for you and everything. We're having a great time and saving the day."

Reluctantly, Tulpa got in and slammed the door behind himself. "If this is something Ironbolt decided on, I won't question it. But, he had better not interfere. Hickory's second hand man, Buckstop, is eighty-seven on the top one hundred. He's no laughing matter and I don't want anyone dying on my mission."

I couldn't help mocking him. "Gotta get those points."

"His kill count is in the thirties and he needs to be put down. Besides, the Hero Ranking is a means to an end. While this may be hard for you to comprehend, Creep, not everything is about getting what one personally wants. Some things are bigger."

I didn't like his implication. "Don't lecture me about the greater good, man. I've heard it all at the barrel of a gun. I'm using my power in a way that society approves of right now, so everyone can just get the fuck off my back. I don't want to hear any more, you got it?"

No one said anything after that. Having gotten so heated, I hated having the last word, but Tulpa and Fortitude weren't interested in an argument. They shrugged me off, focused on the task at hand. Unsatisfied and slightly resentful, I was starting to wonder about how smooth the future ahead was going to be as a Hero. If there was going to be friction, that was just one more reason to plan on getting out. I was allergic to sanctimony.

Nonetheless, I had to keep it together for now. That meant avoiding making enemies. Though I doubted Tulpa cared, I apologized to them both anyway. "I'm sorry for snapping. I'm just stressed."

"We understand," Fortitude assured. "We're a team. And we're not usually prone to drama, despite everything. You'll see, I promise."

Tulpa surprised me with a touch of leniency. "It's just a poor first impression for everyone. If you really are joining the team..." he gave Fortitude a critical look, but continued on, "then that could be very good. I can't be everywhere at once, and this city needs more responders."

She agreed. "Creep's a natural born Hero... And he's a Self Healer, so he practically needs no support. You'll see when we get there."

Ironbolt had sent along the coordinates while we drove, and we were close now. Fortitude took another hit of stems while Tulpa put one hand on the wheel to keep it steady. He had no doubt been on the job for just as long, but I took him as one who prided himself on his unmodulated abilities. I might have asked for some, but I didn't really need it and I didn't want to be called on that.

Once more the city had fallen behind us in favor of woodland sprawl. We eventually pulled off in a place without trailers or houses, an enormous old-growth swamp on our right. Luckily, the water was low enough that I could see a dry path forward, but it wouldn't be easy.

Fortitude took off a handheld GPS from her belt and uploaded the coordinates. "They're deep in the swamp. There's no road access, so we're going to have to walk it. Ironbolt and Dupe will be coming in by air. Maximal is still on loan to Egregore, so that's everyone."

"We can't be certain, but there could be as many as twelve hostile Supers in the camp," Tulpa said to me. "Many of them will be Class Four or better. Mostly offensive Powers, as that's what Hickory preferred. I will be our front line, Fortitude will provide ranged defense and capture, and you will do exactly as I say. Any deviation from my orders and I will sideline you, understand?"

"Fine by me," I said. It's not like I was itching for an excuse to get hurt again. I did have fun in the phone store, but it was a vengeful kind of fun. Even better was to have nothing to be vengeful about.

Fortitude opened her door. "Let's get going before the sun rises. We might still be able to sneak up on them."

With that, the three of us set off into the forest. Following the little blue dot on the GPS, we hopped across islands of dirt and trudged through tall grass. Tulpa's pant legs were finally dirtied, I noted with some amusement. While I was still shirtless and rocking it, my nipples were getting uncomfortably cold as well. Overall, though, my leathery exterior seemed resistant. I wondered absently if this alligator skin of mine was immune to mosquitoes.

The trek drug on for half an hour before we could make out the sound of distant voices, letting us know to stay low and be prepared. The last hundred yards brought to the outskirts of the clearing which they occupied. The area had turned from swamp to white sand interspersed with pines and shrubbery. The beach couldn't be far from where we were. We must have entered the national park, I realized.

I could make out between eight and twelve people, with six tents set up and no fires. They were standing around counting loot, arguing about how to move it all out of the forest without their teleporter.

Buckstop was the only member I recognized among them. He always wore the same brown fur-necked jacket wherever he went, coupled with a grey beard. He'd been in the game for a long time, and it was well known that Powers could be improved with practice. Buckstop was the perfect example, having only ever submitted to Old Hickory's sheer strength.

"Ironbolt should be waiting nearby to swoop in," Fortitude whispered. "We make the first move."

"Just as planned." Tulpa stood up bravely and walked out into the clearing. He announced himself to the rabble of scruffy villains. "Pensacola Hero Department! You are under arrest! Surrender now!" Before they could even respond, he went into a fighting stance. His Power began to thrum to life.

Buckstop eyed the young Hero. "You have my boy, don'tcha? I want Turvy. Tell you what, if you return my men, you have my word that we won't kill you for the inconvenience you've brought on us. Not if you act quick-like."

"You know I can't do that." Tulpa was suddenly surrounded by six black silhouettes, barely visible in the early morning air. They were his own spectral apparitions. His projections.

"It's only another inconvenience," the old man said, stretching out his tired limbs. "So, we'll kill you and fetch them ourselves. Makes no difference to me, son."

I followed Fortitude up to a position not far behind Tulpa. When the tents had emptied out, there were fifteen villains in all. I found myself hoping that Ironbolt wouldn't be long with a grand entrance.

This time, it was serious.