Super League of Friends for Hire

Chapter 4: League of Heroes

It was late afternoon. The tired man yawned, trudging out the door of the factory building he'd just been fired from. He sighed.

"I just don't understand," the man muttered to himself, running a hand through his messy black hair. "It can't be that I don't work hard enough. No one works harder than me."

The sun somehow seemed darker than usual. The man tucked his hands in his pockets and made his way through the streets, removing one hand to pull his sunglasses off of his eyes.

Homer Roderick Hernandez (or just Roderick, as he insisted to be called), was an immigrant from the territory of Puerto Rico, the only member of his family who had saved up the money to make it over. Unfortunately, being the only member of his family on the mainland was rather lonely. Roderick had made it his goal to raise enough money to bring the rest of his family over as well.

This proved to be a harder task than he thought, however—be it cruel prejudice, a struggling economy, or a lack of skill, he just couldn't seem to hold down a job. It wasn't that Roderick didn't work hard—he worked harder than any Puerto Rican ever had—but between layoffs and frequent bouts of racism, he found it hard to stay in one place for long.

Roderick sighed, tugging on his woven grey beanie to keep it covering his head. The hat had been a present from one of his closest (or perhaps only) friends. He treasured it more than anything else he owned.

Peering down the street, Roderick happened to notice the poster taped lazily to a streetlight on the corner. Curious, he approached it.

"Now Hiring: Superheroes

Needed for protection against bad guys

Initial pay: $5,000"

The man read it six times in total. Was it a joke? A scam? Was someone just playing games?

But it was a lot of money. Perhaps enough to get his family over to the mainland. And besides, how hard could it be to pretend to be a superhero?

Gathering his courage, Roderick plucked a strip off of the poster and tucked it into his pocket. This time, he had a job he knew he could do.

**~**

When Janelle walked in the door, she was greeted by her father, Henry. He smiled at her.

"Good afternoon, pumpkin. How was it?"

"Some guys tried to abduct me again, but Karen beat them up and Ted made dogs bark and Maggie screamed so Mrs. Greenfield called the police and they ran away."

Henry looked horrified. "Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine, Daddy. They didn't even come near me," Janelle said, smiling. "I have superheroes to guard me now, after all."

Henry sighed, seeming relieved. "Thank goodness. Where are those 'heroes' of yours, anyway? I'd like to thank them."

"Oh, they went home. They'll be back tomorrow. I'll have to remember to pay them."

"You didn't pay them?"

"In all the excitement, I guess we forgot." Janelle shrugged.

Henry cracked a smile. "Well, that's alright. We'll make it a monthly pay. Five-thousand dollars a day is a lot of money, after all. Even for us."

"They'll understand," Janelle decided.

"By the way," Henry said suddenly, "you got another call today while you were out. Someone asking about the ad."