The ding from the elevator told me it was time for me to face the meeting I dreaded for so long. Walking into the room, I saw Julia standing next to a desk, dressed in a pencil skirt, a jacket over her draped white blouse. As she saw me, I could see her serious demeanor shift into a beaming smile. She knew just how comfortable I was feeling right now, and it brought her joy.

Well, at least somebody was having fun. Sitting on the table that Julia was leaning into, I could see Christina sulking. Even with her head down, I could see her disheveled black hair as she shook her head, arms crossed.

“Don’t pout Tina, we have visitors.”

Her head snapped back up, probably afraid it was Connor again.

“Great.” she said with a frustrated grunt.

“Good morning to you too,” I responded.

“Just stay away from me. If you think you can save me, don’t. I had enough of your help already.”

There was no need to try to reason with her now, so I moved on.

“It will be only the three of us today?”

“Don’t know. O’Brien can be a very fickle person. But hey, maybe you’re lucky!” She tapped me on the back twice before pointing for a place to sit. “Now that our Grandpa here completed his first routine mission, he is eligible to work with us. Let’s give him the round of applause that he deserves.”

I looked at both of them. After a half a minute of solid silence, Julia snorted and proceeded to speak. “Connor was assigned to escort and protect Luminus in the ball gala this evening. However, the heroine herself asked for our services to extend for the week. It was a last minute thing. Naturally, O’Brien expects for you two to do all the heavy lifting for him. I doubt that he would even show up. So keep your nose clean, do whatever the fuck the Silver Lady tells you to do and don’t embarrass us.”

It seemed that was the end of it. Julia handed over the files we needed for this mission. Her need to put everything in printing was remarkable, especially considering the hundred page memo that she was able to cook in such short notice. However, my favorite powered decided to show up at the very end. The world’s most friendly ginger, mister congeniality himself.

“The fuck are you looking at?” He greeted me as he passed towards us. “Do you have my files?”

“I do.” She slid a pen drive across the table. Unusual, I thought the only tech allowed in the Legionnaires was the Jurassic kind.

“Okay. That’s good” Connor said, threading his fingers through his head. “Here is what I want you two useless fucks to do. Obey everything the Silver Granny asks of you. Hopefully, this will make that old bitch get out of my case.” He held a thin smile, his eyes burning with a mix of hatred and malice. “You never know, Barney over here can even dip his toe in some powered snatch. Am I right?” He snorted. “I mean you guys are pretty much the same age and all…”

Without uttering a word, Julia picked up the phone. “Debby? Cancel my lunch. I’m sure, thanks.” She hung up, looked straight into O’Brien’s eyes and said, “Nothing is better for my diet than to hear you talk, Connor.”

The ginger showed her a pristine smile before he palmed the pen drive and went on his way. Not even bothering to say goodbye. It was all the same to me. The less I heard from him, the better.

“Let me know if I understand this correctly. Connor beats up his subordinates. He uses your abilities to do something outside work that has nothing to do with us. All the while, acting like a maniac without any repercussions. Somebody cares to explain what the hell is going on?” I baited, hoping somebody would clue me in.

Julia lost all her usual sense of humour. “Don’t ask questions you don’t wanna know the answer to, Billy.”

There was eagerness in her voice despite the foreboding message. She looked more like an ally than anything else. The way she leaned into me when she spoke, how her tone had shifted. We might be on the same page here, I was almost certain.

On the other side of the table, Christina’s eyes were so disinstered that they looked almost glassy. Her whole demeanor was weird, like she wasn’t a hundred percent there. My instincts told me that her occasional bursts of hatred were more a cry for help than something that she was actually upset about.

“So what do we actually have to do?”

“Just pose for pictures. Look sharp and try not to fuck up when the journalists ask you any questions.”

“We won’t have to fight?”

“Fight who and for what purpose? You are a bodyguard for one of the most powerful heroes on the planet. If somebody with actual power to hurt Luminus attacks, what the fuck do you think you could to protect her?”

“Not much, I guess.”

“Glad we are on the same page. You two...” She kicked Crhistina’s chair, the dark-haired powered snapped out of it and stared at her boss. “You two will go to Stephanos to get measured and dressed. After that, a limo will pick you up. Don’t disappoint us.”

I looked at my colleague and she just stood up and walked away, I followed closely behind through the hallway. “Do you know anything else?” I tried.

“I know that I told you to get the fuck away from me and I know you have a hard time listening. Age and all…”

We took the elevator together. I was still thinking of how I could unmake the bad impression I gave Christina. Not out of the kindness of my heart, mind you. A girl as unstable as her is bound to have highs and lows, and I needed somebody that was willing to talk. Being in the dark was not a solution that I was willing to live with.

The afternoon sun shone over the cobblestones as we headed out of the building. On the sidewalk, there was a man, probably in his thirties. He was juggling several tennis balls without using his hand. The balls moved in impossible patterns. He had a scraggly beard and ponytail. There was a cardboard beside him. He wrote with a marker ‘Not all powereds extort their citizens. Please leave a tip at your own free will.’ Bold. I left a twenty dollar bill inside the hat laying in front of him. He nodded, a pleasant smile reached his lips. The dollar bill folded on its own, and went straight into his pocket. The balls never stopped spinning.

Christina didn’t even glance at our fellow powered, diving straight into a Cypher. I had to rush to the door as she almost left without me. The self automated car gave us all the time we needed for a talk that didn’t happen. Smartscreens showed us the weather. Tina seemed fidgety the whole car ride. She took a call and spoke in a harsh tone. Whatever she and my favorite ginger were dealing with was time sensitive.

As we arrived at Stephano’s, an old man greeted us personally. “Bongiorno, he said.” His hair was almost absent. The specks of hair atop of his head still held a solid patch of dark, even though he was probably in his fifties. He was slim, looking sharp in his tailored suit. As we walked first, he discreetly closed the blinds of the door as we walked past him. My hand slipped into the butt of my pistol. As I saw a bored teenager bearing his resemblance, I allowed myself to relax. Not a trap. Christina didn’t show any reaction to the scene. Too high to notice? It didn’t look like they had met before. Either that or she was just that cool headed of a person.

It felt nice having the store emptied just for us. The place had an elegant feel to it. That kind of old school look that you see in the movies. The scene immortalized a thousand times. The boss walks in to his favorite tailor, the tailor tells his tragedy, retaliation ensues. No such dramatic scene occurred here though. It was just that classic feel that left a feeling of deja vu in your mind, as if your life should’ve been something else. That everything was a lie and if you just had turned a different corner on a different day, it would have all made sense. You would’ve been where you belonged to be. Lucky for me, I did take the right corner once, and that’s all that mattered.

As I walked around the store, I could see pictures of Mr. Steffano and his many guests. Politicians, celebrities, heroes. Almost every single important hero in the Legionnaires was there. One of them showed the current mayor of New York city looking far younger that he does now. He held a wide smile as he lifted his hand to toast. With him, there was Gizmo himself. A thin moustache and an immaculately combed hair parted right in the middle. The type of haircut that only the famous could make it work. The powered hero was now responsible for all the communications inside the Legionnaires. The vanilla powered holding a prominent place inside the corporate ladder.

Back when they took the picture, they were nothing but a wanna be group trying to take control of a city too wild to be tamed, now they were the establishment. And the man who bet on the right horse? He was thriving. Next year's election wasn’t up for grabs. There was only a single viable candidate and everybody knew it. When you had a roster of Legionnaires talking to Oprah, Connan and Larry King every single week, you didn’t need to have pull with anybody else to win. All the donation money in the world didn’t mean a thing if the right cape wasn’t on your side.

This single truth was clear in Stephano’s eyes and every single company that worked for us. The adoration, the glimmer in their eyes. The affectionate way that they asked questions. “It looks splendid, sir.” I turned around, adjusting the cuffs. “To do business with the young stars, what a privilege.” I raised an eyebrow to the young stars part, since I was the oldest person in the room. Christina was fidgeting non stop standing up in the wooden stool. Trying to take her measurements was like trying to pet a wet cat with a grudge. Her pout was visible and the man looked concerned, bending over backwards to appease her sensibilities. After half an hour of ajustements and not a speck of joy emanating from tiny grumpy Tina, Stephano began to look really worried.

“There is no point in wasting time with her, Mr. Stephano, but if it makes you feel better it will speak highly of you to anyone who asks. Don’t worry, she’ll never amount to anything anyway.

Christina was surprised by my remark, before turning back into her usual grumpy face. Regardless, I caught a brief flash of relief as the man stopped trying and said that we were free to go. Not the soft approach then. Good.

As we left the place, we took the last ride towards our venue. I opened the door of the vehicle but decided to enter first. Once again Christina was taken by surprise. In the few interactions that we had I was courteous with her, which in hindsight left her weary. I decided to change my approach.

She closed the door, a strange look in her light-brown eyes. “I thought you would marry Stephano from the way he kept redoing your suit,” I teased.

“Is it the old guy harassment day or something?” she shot back, but there was no bite to it. I could see through the rear view mirror that she lowered her shoulders the tiniest bit. Leaning her back comfortably against the cushion seat. This one didn’t have a good house hold. Communicating affection through banter? I can do that. Hell, I can even exploit that, but it was sad nonetheless.

It was another silent ride all the way to the venue. I didn't mind it. The car parked about two blocks away from our designated place. Far from the building where we supposed to meet, there was a reception. There was no luxury to it. Bare walls and some desks. As we walked in I realized that there were other people there using the same uniform that we did. A tall man leading the group was quick to introduce himself. A wolfish smile and impeccable suit. He wasn’t with Luminus. I knew every powered bodyguard that she had. These days knowledge was carrying me through difficult situations more than anything else.

“Look. They sent their puppies to show off. Ain’t that nice?”

Not one of us. We didn’t use outside help, so not powered at all. I stared at his face, coldly and uncaring. Hands behind my back, I saw his smile wavering, leaving him in that uncomfortable place of making a joke and seeing no reaction whatsoever.

Christina even though she was all anger and no brains stood quietly by my side. She was leaning slightly towards me, the cadence of her breath emulated my own. Good.

The man held a scar on the left side of his face, broad shouldered and looking dangerous. He put a hand on my shoulder. The only visible reaction I showed was a raised eyebrow. Where is he going with this?

“Don’t worry. We gonna tell you everything you need to know. So just let us take the lead, and you can chill as we do our thing. Leave it to the experts. You don’t want to get hurt.” The man had a blade on his hand. His big frame looming over me.

It took some time for me to understand what was going on. Letting out an audible “Ah,” the exact moment I figured it out. They wanted to be in the spotlight. Sloopy. I might be inclined to believe their little act if the circumstances were different, but my latest improvements were already working overtime. Five “specialists” in the room and every single one of them looked nervous, but not a single one of them had enough common sense to either to spread out or at the very least not stand in each other's way. The tall scared warrior in front of me had hands as soft as butter, fidgety in a way that they shouldn’t be. The question here wasn’t if I should tell them what the pecking order was, I absolutely should. The better question was do I draw or do I let Tina do the work? I guess both.

A purple hue colored the edges of my peripheral vision. Turning my head to the side, I looked at Tina in her light-brown eyes.

“Are they under yet?”

She nodded. Tina used illusions to do her thing. They were not perfect when dealing with other powereds, but when it came to civilians? She was pretty damn close.

“Put the blade on the necks of both guards in the center. They seemed a little bit more sure of themselves. They don’t have much training, but if someone knows how to fight it’s the two of them.”

In a heartbeat she was beside both of the security guards, none of them the wiser. She was nimble and very good with a blade, if the reports Julia gave me were right and, to her credit, they usually were.

I put my hand inside my jacket and nodded. Tina lifted up the illusion, the purple hue disappeared. Before they could do anything I drew my gun and pointed to the pack leader’s forehead. Putting guns into people’s temples was becoming my thing. Some might say it was shameful that a teacher would resort to such a crude method, but the truth was that nothing worked better to grab people’s attention than having a gun point at their heads, and having a classroom hanging at your every word wasn’t every teacher's wet dream? I rest my case.

“You wanna know why I dislike being put as a bodyguard for Luminus and every other asshole with fancy powers and a catchy name?”

He shook his head, sweat dripping down his brow, my gun still aimed at his mug. The man was spineless, all the boasting and pretense gone like a fart in the wind. To tell the truth, I wasn’t much of a fighter either, but I was a better liar than him and I did have the upperhand, so it’s not like someone could tell the difference.

“It’s that when you find yourself near one of them, every single cockroach rise from the gutter, trying to take your place, stepping just a little bit closer to the spotlight.”

As I was monologuing my way through this, a man was circling the building going behind my back. It was smart. This one seemed to know what he was doing. However, the thing you had to have more than anything was luck, and they had none at all. His savior was ten meters away from me. A pipe in his hand. I didn’t even look over my shoulder as I caught the tall man glimpsing at his savior.

“How many times do you think I can shoot you in the face before your friend realizes that he made a big mistake?”

My voice was just loud enough for the man behind me to hear. The pipe touched the floor with a cling. I didn’t have flashy skills, but the ones I had were doing the job admirably.

I put my gun back into the holster. A wolfish smile of my own. “Now who is ready to talk here?”