Playing Super Hero, A Gifted and Talented Anthology

Operation: Good Riddance

Golden Girl was too anxious to sit down. She glanced over to see Dreamy wander in when she heard the door creak open. The last to arrive, Dreamy looked around before deciding to sit on the floor next to an empty chair. Her Majesty, who was sitting next to her just snorted and pulled away slightly. Hot Shot continued to flick paper clips one after another at a photo that was hanging on the wall, each one hitting his target right on the nose. The paper clips then fell to the ground, only to rise again and float over to Prince. He then set them next to Hot Shot allowing the process to start over again. Heavyweight fidgeted, stopping when he heard his chair groan in protest of his weight. Dead End just looked bored.

"You know why we are here." Golden Girl said dramatically. "They are bringing in another handler."

"So what?" Dead End asked. "They aren't going to just let a bunch of kids protect the city by themselves. They are going to require that we listen to someone or another."

"After Mr. Sandosaur, they haven't given us anyone decent, and it has been six months. Mr. Sandosaur nearly got half the team killed and he put himself in the hospital. The three that followed him weren't much better. The only reasons we're doing as well as we are is because we have been ignoring half the orders they give us." Golden Girl groused.

"It would be nice if we got someone who didn't freak out when my ability is activated." Dead End said. "But there isn't much we can do about it. They aren't going to just chauffeur us around and leave us to save the city as we see fit."

"We chased off the other three." Golden Girl said determined. We can chase this one off as well."

Heavyweight sat up. "I'm not so sure that is such a great idea. Don't you think we should give him a chance first?"

Prince looked over at Heavyweight. "I understand that he is ex-military. Do you really want a drill sergeant yelling orders at us left and right? I agree with Golden Girl, we have to handle this."

"You would." Her Majesty said acidly. "We know how Golden Girl has you wrapped around her little finger. I, for one, would like to see if this new handler is any good. We all know that Golden Girl is proposing a series of pranks to run him off. My feeling is, why not? If he is as incompetent as the others, then we have sent him on his way. If not, we will know that he is worth listening to."

Hot Shot looked up from his paper clip flicking. "I am willing to work with him just as long as he isn't another Mr. Sandosaur." He flipped another paperclip at Mr. Sandosaur's photo.

"Do you think he will like butterflies?" Dreamy asked, coming out of nowhere.

"He's a guy." Hot Shot said exasperated. "Most guys don't like butterflies!"

"Okay everybody, focus." Golden Girl said. "I think we should take a vote. Who thinks we should give Mr. Jacobsen a welcoming he will never forget?"

As Golden Girl looked around, she saw Prince and Hot Shot's hands join hers in the air. Her Majesty slowly raised hers as well. Dead End had his arms crossed disapprovingly. Heavyweight seemed determined while Dreamy watched something only she could see float across the room.

"Well that is settled." Golden Girl said. "So how shall we proceed?"

Hot Shot grinned. "Why don't I use my expert marksmanship to land a couple pies on his face?"