The city streets were bustling as usual. Kids from all over the city were coming home from school. Washington Heights was typically alive with its own rhythm. Those from outside pushed through it like an artery. Those that lived there were immune to the rush, loitering and chatting, bopping from one shop to another, and rubbernecking at the at the wares of the pop up stands that dominated sidewalk space. The locals were the cholesterol that choked the flow of foot traffic.

As he did every day, Kevin squirmed through the after school crowds that had congealed into large chirping groups. As he turned down a few side streets, the crowd thinned. Careful not to be spotted, he ducked into his favorite alley and shut all the lights. In the cover of darkness, he began pulling his super suit out of his bag. The challenges of changing into one’s suit without being noticed was an old cliche among heroes. Blackout never had that problem. Nobody noticed him as Kevin anyway, and once alone, he’d simply shroud himself in shadow and put on his costume in peace.

There was still plenty of time before Blackout had to meet up with his team, ‘The Knights of the Heights’. Blackout had accepted early on that he’d never be a solo act, so he relied on team ups to meet his crimefighting quotas for the Heroes Guild. At first, he found it difficult to link up with anyone else, as he soon learned that the hero community was just as high school as his actual high school. Just as Kevin in his high school, nobody had any interest in Blackout. He was forced to resort to using the Heroes Guild team up matching app. The only people who used the app were rejects like him. It took a few team ups before Blackouts found a couple of other local heroes who he meshed well with.

With how much he moved around, usually without his input, Kevin found it difficult to build lasting relationships. He’d never had a friendship that lasted for longer than his living arrangement. However, in Chunk and The Gecko, Kevin had his longest streak. Chunk was in high school, just like Blackout, while the Gecko was college aged, but not in school. The three just had a lot in common, with good chemistry and complimentary abilities. Together, they dished about the latest super news, speculated about what heroic feats would win them the affections of girls, and lamented about how they were never given a chance by the ‘cool’ local heroes.

Once properly suited up, Blackout strolled out of the alley. There was still one more point of order before meeting up with the team. The brisk pace of Blackout’s step betrayed his eagerness to reach his destination. Phan’s Bakery awaited.

Every day, before meet up, Blackout hit Phan’s Bakery. Most of the time, hero work felt more like a team sport than anything. The villains had their nefarious schemes. Heroes attempted to thwart them. Especially at Blackout’s small time level, the stakes were fairly low. It was mostly petty crimes or public disruptions. The villains who Blackout and the team typically tangled with were in it to boost their reputations. More than anything, they were trying to get noticed by more notable villains, hopeful to be hired up. The real crimes were committed by real villains, who were handled by real heroes. They all belonged to the Heroes Guild, just like Blackout, but it was very much a different world.

Phan’s Bakery was the first time Blackout actually felt heroic. Around a year earlier, a group of new villains came to town, and set up a residency. They called themselves the Gutter Punks, led by a pyromancer named Scorch. At first, it seemed that they were doing the standard trouble making, until stores started burning down. Soon, a pattern emerged. Only Vietnamese owned businesses were targeted. The Vietnamese community begged the highest profile heroes in he area, but they had higher priorities than squashing local crime.

One day, Blackout had stopped into Phan’s Bakery, starving after a disastrous thrashing of the Knights by the Hateful Handful. Nothing quite took the sting off of a point blank energy blast like a Banh Mi, and Phan’s were the best in Washington Heights. Blackout hadn’t bothered to take his suit off before entering the store. As soon as he walked through the door, he was set upon by Chinh and Mai Phan, begging him for help. They were sure it was only a matter of time before their store was attacked. Blackout could tell they were desperate, as that was the only reason anyone would ask for help from someone who’d so clearly just lost a fight. The Gutter Punks were way out of the Knights’ league, but seeing the deep wells of fear in the eyes of the Phans made it impossible to abandon them. As they said, the bakery was their entire world, and without it, the better life they were building for their children would be snuffed out.

At first, the guys were furious with Blackout for volunteering them for such a lopsided matchup. However, at heart, they were all heroes, and heroes did what was right. After a few nights of stakeouts, leading to a few days of falling asleep in class, the Gutter Punks showed up. The confrontation happened on the street. The collateral damage would have been catastrophic to the store. The Gutter Punks were unremarkable small timers just like Blackout’s crew. Scorch carried his entire entourage. His power level was of a different class than anyone Blackout had ever faced before. In the local clubhouse, he’d overheard chatter from heroes who’d actually dealt with Scorch. They’d all been walloped. Pyromancers had a reputation for being unpredictable and dangerous. Even the heroes were infamously volatile. Scorch was particularly reckless, relishing in the mayhem he inflicted wherever he pleased.

The fight began as most would have expected. Scorch was throwing fireballs around, setting piles of trash alight, wreaking general havoc. Blackout spent as much time trying to put out flames as he did fighting, and dodging fireballs. Then, he was hit. His entire suit ignited. In his frantic attempt to save his own life, he activated his powers. It was then that Blackout learned that his powers could extinguish flames. From there, the fight was over. Without his flames, Scorch was just some guy. The nature of Blackout’s non damaging abilities made it prudent for him to have some training in hand to hand combat. Scorch had none. The rest of the Gutter Punks surrendered immediately at the sight of their leader’s defeat.

What ensued was certainly the best week of Kevin’s life. Scorch was a legitimate villain. For the first time, Blackout had actual cred. The other local heroes who had previously spurned him, were all abuzz in congratulations. He was sure that it was the big step in his hero career he’d been waiting for. Unfortunately, without any new accomplishments to sustain it, the hype slowly dissipated. Before he knew it, Blackout was exactly where he was before.

What hadn’t gone away, however, was the appreciation of the Vietnamese community. The Phans gathered a group of business owners together for a sponsorship through the Heroes Guild. It was enough for the whole team to score new, much more legit super suits. Beyond the sponsorship, any Vietnamese owned store the Knights walked into treated them like they were Zenith. The Phans, especially, showed their appreciation by preparing daily Banh Mi sandwiches for the Knights, which Blackout graciously picked up on the way to the clubhouse. He was happy to do it, as it would give him an opportunity to talk to Phans’ niece, Grace, who often manned the cash register.

After the battle with the Gutter Punks, the Phans burst out of their apartment above the bakery. They asked what if anything, they could do for the Knights. Blackout jokingly asked them to take his calculus test for him. The Phans did him one better, offering up Grace as a tutor. Before Blackout’s head could stop his mouth, he’d accepted. Grace was Kevin’s age, but went to a school for gifted kids all the way in the Bronx. He’d nursed an overwhelming crush on her since he’d first been to the store out of costume. The banh mis were worth it on their own, but they served as a convenient excuse for Kevin to get a few moments of awkward conversation with Grace.

In the close to a year of the arrangement, Blackout hadn’t gotten any better at calculus, but he had succeeded in actually getting to know Grace. Until then, she’d been a fairy tale princess whose personality he filled in as needed during fantasies of rescuing her from Blight, as she swooned and told him how great he was. Now, she was a real person. She was his friend, Grace. Rather his crush diminishing, it only grew more justified. Grace was gorgeous, funny, kind, considerate, and absolutely brilliant. More importantly, she was fun to be around. Blackout enjoyed spending time with Grace than anyone he’d ever met, not that there was much competition. They had an easy chemistry and matching senses of humor. Blackout’s affinity for Grace got so intense sometimes, he’d get intimidated and tongue tied. Fortunately, she had a superhuman ability to melt tension, and could always jump in with the perfect quip to bring him back to earth. Despite the intensity of his crush, it was all so pleasantly normal, though Blackout certainly looked very stupid wearing his full super suit, pouring over a calculus textbook in the Phans’ living room.

As he stepped into the bakery, Blackout felt the familiar little jump in the pit of his stomach. The store was empty before the dinner rush, so Grace was doing her homework on the counter. The little bell at the top of the door rang, and Grace picked her head up from her textbook. As soon as she saw Blackout, she lit up, smiling, and waving. He couldn’t help but smile back. She held up a doggy bag, already packed and ready to go.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Burnt Out Lightbulb Man,” Grace teased, taking on a nefarious affectation. “I have your precious sandwiches, and if I don’t get what I want, I’m dropping them in the toilet.”

“You wouldn’t,” Blackout dared.

“Oh, I would, Emo Boy,” Grace said, dangling the bag precariously at the end of her finger.

“Dear God, what do you want??”

“I don’t think you’d be able to do it…maybe I should call Glimmer.”

“I’ll do anything! Just please don’t hurt my precious sandwiches!”

“Ok…I want some rave energy in here.”

“You monster.”

Blackout activating his power, flickering the lights on and off rapidly, creating a strobe affect. In response, Grace started doing a silly little dance from her seat.

“What’s going on out there??” Mai called from the kitchen. Blackout immediately ceased his flickering.

“Nothing, Di Mai!” Grace called back. “Blackout’s here to pick up the sandwiches!”

“Oh!” Mai yelled back, tone instantly softening. “How wonderful!”

It took Mai a few moments to appear in the doorway to the kitchen. Her smile was a mix of polite and sincere. Flour coated her hands and smattered across her apron.

“I made your favorite: chicken and lemongrass.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Phan,” Blackout said, an automatic reverence for elders afflicting his voice.

“Have you and your friends been keeping out of trouble?”

“It’s been pretty quiet lately. You haven’t heard about any trouble, have you?”

“Thanks to you and your friends, we have nothing but peace.”

“That’s great! We’re getting a little tight on our quotas, but we’ll figure something out.”

“I heard Phone Phixers got broken into last week,” Grace said.

“Really?” Blackout asked, interest piqued, as he took the doggy bag from Grace.

“Yeah, Ramiro was telling me. Cops did nothing as usual.”

“Thanks! We’ll check it out.”

Blackout headed for the door.

“Be safe!” Mrs. Phan called after Blackout. “I don’t want any of you boys getting hurt over some stolen phones!”

“Yes, Mrs Phan.”

Blackout chanced one last glance at Grace as he stepped out the door. She was still smiling at him.