The Starlight Sentinels: The Amusing Story of a Struggling Superhero Team

Chapter 6: The Lynch Man

Eric mumbled to himself as he stared at the computer screen in front of him. Yet again, it was on him to map out the team's patrol routes for the night. He cursed the task at hand as he thought about everything the rest of the team had done without him.

"Something on your mind kid?" Eric turned around to see Sam at the nearby table, fiddling with her costume's belt and vest. She had laid them both out, slowly checking every pocket and pouch.

"Oh, you know, just thinking about how everyone but me got to meet a real live space alien," he grumbled.

"You still on that?" asked Sam without looking up. "It's been two weeks. Get over it."

"It's two weeks Daryl has been at Olympus Pyrgos," said Eric. "He gets to go to the Order's headquarters, probably the coolest place on the planet, and I'm stuck here mapping out travel routes because you don't know how to use a computer and Daryl doesn't trust Olivia to do it."

"I'm sorry." Eric turned to a guilt-ridden Olivia, sitting on the couch. "I'd help you if I could but..."

"But you stole a spaceship and Daryl doesn't trust you to do anything but stay here until he gets back." Olivia slumped down in her seat while Sam started coiling up a length of rope.

"It wouldn't kill you to learn how to use a computer," Eric told Sam.

"Hey, I was hired to uphold the law. Nowhere in the job description did it say I needed to be computer savvy." Sam pulled a pen from a pocket on her vest. "This still write?" Sam tried the pen. "Of course not." She tossed the pen aside.

"How is it you went your whole life without using a computer?"

"I grew up very poor. My family didn't have a TV until I was like ten. Even then my dad didn't like to leave it on because it ran up the electricity bill." Sam examined a pack of gum that was tucked away in a pocket on her costume. "Well this got squished to hell."

"Still, you've been around them before, right? I mean, everyone knows how to use a computer."

"All the more reason why it never seemed that essential to learn how. Anytime I needed one, which wasn't often, I knew someone who could help me out." Sam tested a pair of tin snips in her hand. "Probably should replace these with something better."

"Whatever." Eric groaned and turned back to the computer. "I still can't believe you guys meet a space alien, go off on an adventure with him, then ship him off without even telling me."

"Daryl shipped him off and Olivia went on an adventure with him. I was getting drunk alone in a cabin in the woods when all this was happening," explained Sam as she inspected her taser.

"You still got to meet him though."

"I also got acquainted with poison ivy while trying to catch a damn dog whose only purpose in life seemed to be to torment me. You wanna bitch to someone, bitch to Olivia. She's the one who went on an improv voyage with an alien and a demon." Sam pulled a five-dollar bill out of a vest pocket. "Huh, wonder how much more money I've lost in this thing.

Eric turned to Olivia, who was still sitting quietly on the couch. "Why didn't you tell me what you were doing?" he asked the girl.

"What?" said Olivia.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going off with the alien and Angela? I could of helped you. Maybe I could of caught those weird brothers you told us about."

"I thought you might tell Daryl what I was doing. We were just going to drop Angela off and come back. I didn't think we'd have to fight anyone."

"You should thank her for not dragging you into that," interjected Sam as she fiddled with a multi-tool. "Otherwise, Daryl would be firing you both."

"What?" yelped Olivia.

"Daryl said he's going to cut her from the team?" asked Eric.

"No, but she did steal a spaceship and fly it to Romania. I may not be an expert on all the rules of this superhero stuff, but I'm guessing that's a firing offense." Sam carefully examined one of her knives. "I mean, that's usually the kind of thing we're supposed to prevent as superheroes, right?"

"Eric?" spoke a nervous Olivia. "You've been a superhero for a while. Do you know what's going to happen to me?"

"Not really. The Order has certain lines that we're not supposed to cross, but beyond that they tend to handle things on a case-by-case basis. So I don't know what they're going to do."

"Stealing spaceships isn't a line?" scoffed Sam.

"I don't know. I've never seen an actual spaceship," snapped Eric.

"Well I doubt that's going to change anytime soon, so I recommend you get over it," suggested Sam.

"Yeah, yeah. I should just get used to things being boring around here."

"Boring is fine with me. I've already had enough weirdness to last me a lifetime with this job." Eric sighed while Sam pulled a metallic tool from her belt. "What the hell is this, a melon baller? How did that get in here?"

"Well I'm mapping out a route around a double homicide that happened last night. Maybe we can stop a killer. At least see some kind of action."

"Trust me kid, when you get older, you won't be as eager to see action," assured Sam as she folded up her costume.

"Yeah right," scoffed Eric. "This might be just a job for you, but I like making a difference. And—" Eric stopped suddenly.

"And?" repeated Sam.

"The Order just sent us a message," informed Eric.

"What about?" asked an anxious Olivia.

"Daryl's coming back today, finally. Also, the Order is 'transferring two unique individuals and a valuable piece of equipment into the care of the Starlight Sentinels with the following conditions." Eric started reading off the screen quietly to himself.

"Two individuals? Is one of them Angela?" asked Olivia.

"And what exactly is this equipment we're getting?" said Sam.

"Give me a minute, would ya? I'm reading as fast as I can." Eric turned back to the screen just in time for a strange rumble to shake the ceiling tiles.

"Lemme guess?" said Sam. "That's our equipment?" In an instant, Eric burst out of his seat and raced upstairs. He ran down the hall, scaled the ladder, slid open the panel in the ceiling and emerged on the roof. Parked on the firehouse was a small aircraft that Eric had never seen before.

The vessel was painted a flat gray with yellow stripes adorning its wings. The fuselage was a narrow tubelike enclosure measuring about fifteen feet from end to end. The 'wings' stretched another ten feet beyond the fuselage in a circular motion, nearly connecting at the back. At the end of the wings were a pair of orbs that seemed to glow with an unearthly blue light.

"Wow," awed Eric as he studied the vessel.

"Isn't this a school day?" Eric looked over to see Daryl standing by the side of the ship.

"School's out today. They're giving us a break before exams," explained Eric as he moved closer to the ship, admiring it.

"Then shouldn't you be studying?" suggested Daryl.

"Yeah right. We're getting a spaceship and an alien teammate today, and you want me to study? I think this is more important," retorted Eric.

"Wait, how did you know Vyn will be staying here?" asked Daryl.

"Someone from the Order messaged us," answered Eric.

"Wow," awed Vyn as he and Angela stepped out of the ship.

"Is this her?" asked Eric as he approached the alien, who was looking out over the city with a sense of wonder.

"This is Vyn Lon. He's a visitor to this world who will be staying with us for the time being." Vyn offered his hand to Eric, who shook it.

"Eric Proudfoot. Sorry I said 'her.' It's just with the long hair I..." Eric turned to Daryl. "Wait, does he even speak English?"

"Not much," answered Daryl.

"I say hello," said Vyn.

"Apparently, Vyn learned our language from translating radio broadcasts from Earth, so he may have a little trouble communicating," explained Daryl as Vyn wandered over to the side of the roof. "Hopefully I'll be able to help him with that. Now, if we can just go inside—"

"Olivia!" Angela rushed towards Olivia as the young woman emerged on the roof. The pair threw their arms around each other in a great big hug as Angela lifted Olivia off the ground.

"They said I could stay here as a part of your team," informed Angela.

"That's great!"

"Olivia..." Olivia's smile dropped as she looked at Daryl. "You and I will need to have a talk, later."

"Right..." Angela set Olivia down, then slinked back into the firehouse, the demoness trailing right behind her.

"Daryl, you're not going to fire Olivia, are you?" asked Eric.

"I thought about it," confessed Daryl as Sam emerged on the roof next.

"Nice to finally see you again, Boss," she smiled.

"It's good to be back," answered Daryl.

"Kinda surprised to see that again." Sam looked up at the Annabara.

"What about Olivia?" asked Eric. "She's still on the team, right?"

"Yes, for the moment," answered Daryl.

"For real?" asked Sam. "After what she pulled?"

"Well actually, they said it was as much my fault as hers since it happened on my watch. But the Order acted like heroes doing crazy things wasn't a firing offense as long as things worked out. Basically no harm, no foul. Plus, her stumbling upon the fact that someone was interested in buying a demon was big news to the Mystic Ministry. So that helped smooth things over."

"No harm, no foul?" repeated Sam. "Wish the army operated like that."

"As long as what's done can be concealed from the press, the Order does have a degree of leniency in these matters," explained Daryl.

"Right, sure... that makes sense," mumbled Sam as she turned away from Daryl. "Oh, Tetra called just before I came up. He said he's bringing some scientists by or something to look at Vyn's ship."

"I just got back two minutes ago. How does he even know I'm here?"

"A spaceship did just land on top of the building he owns, maybe he's watching us from his penthouse office through a set of binoculars. So, just in case." Sam flipped off the office buildings in the general direction of the business district. "Check this out, Tetra."

"Or the Order sent him a message too." Eric examined the Annabara. "So, we're really taking in a Martian and a demoness as teammates?"

"Vyn is not from Mars, but otherwise yes. Vyn has been allowed to stay with us and we're allowed to use his ship if he doesn't object, and Angela has been authorized to work as a hero with us."

"I thought Nick didn't want her on the team?" asked Eric.

"He changed his mind when he found out his company gets a better tax break if he sponsors a six-person team," explained Daryl.

"And the Order doesn't want to keep an alien and a demon?" asked Sam.

"One of the founding principles of the Order is respecting the rights of intelligent beings. So they're letting Angela stay with us since it's what she wants. That, and the second she was returned home someone tried to kidnap her again, so they figure we can also keep her safe until they find the people who tried to take her."

"Fine, but what about Vyn? And this?" asked Sam as she looked up at the Annabara. "Are we sure this thing is even safe?"

"The Order made modifications to bring it in line with FAA standards and gave Vyn a, forgive the expression, crash course in modern air travel safety. They did want him to stay at Pyrgos, but he insisted on staying with us, and apparently the Order has had pretty strict rules about not upsetting alien races ever since a miscommunication in the past almost led to the Earth being destroyed. So Vyn will be staying with us for as long as he wants."

"Wait, what'd you just say?" asked Sam. "About the Earth almost being blown up?"

"Uh, don't worry about that. In fact, forget I ever mentioned it."

"Why does Vyn want to stay here?" asked Eric.

"I like you," interjected Vyn as he approached Daryl.

"He likes me, for some reason," shrugged Daryl. "Enough where the Order couldn't talk him out of staying with us, so for the time being, he's our guest. This also works out for Mr. Tetra since the Order agreed to let him cosponsor the study of Vyn's spacecraft."

"And we're sure Vyn's not gonna lay eggs in our chest or anything like that?" asked Sam.

"Eggs?" repeated a confused Vyn.

"The Order examined him thoroughly and assured me that other than his ability to shift into an intangible state, he's effectively human."

"So he's like one of those aliens on TV that people have sex with and never think twice about catching weird alien diseases from?" quipped Sam.

"Sex?" repeated an even more confused Vyn.

"Well, I wouldn't recommend personally testing that theory, but the Order assured me there's no immediate danger in letting Vyn or Angela stay here."

"Why do I sense a but coming?" asked Sam.

"Well," Daryl turned to Vyn. "Hey, Vyn, did you get a good look at the parking lot across from us?"

"No."

"You should check it out, before all the cars clear out."

"Okay!" The cheerful alien bounded over to the edge of the roof and peered out at the nearby parking lot with a sense of wonderment.

"The other reason they're staying here is because the Order wants us to keep an eye on them," spoke Daryl in a hushed voice.

"Why? Don't they have someone for this kind of thing?" asked Sam.

"They feel that by letting them work on our team, it puts us in a better position to observe them while still respecting their wishes. They'll be in an environment that stimulates them and where they'll feel more at ease than under constant observation."

"They want us to spy on them?" asked a concerned Eric.

"Not exactly. The Order is just concerned because they both arrived here under suspicious circumstances, so they expect us to observe their behavior and report anything out of the ordinary for the time being."

"Out of the ordinary?" repeated Sam. "You mean other than the fact that one of them is a space alien and the other is a demon?"

"Yes," answered Daryl, ignoring Sam's sarcasm. "If you ever notice any change in their behavior, any unusual activity, appearance of new powers, or even strange bodily functions, the Order wants to know."

"But how are we going to explain them staying here?"

"We don't. The Order and the government deny the existence of alien life and demonic entities. As far as anyone is concerned, Vyn and Angela are just the newest members of the Starlight Sentinels. Vyn's code name is Skelter and Angela's is Snipe."

"Hey, she took my suggestion," said Sam.

"Actually she said she didn't know what else to choose."

"Oh." Sam frowned.

"Still better than Daryl's code name, Count Nut-us," joked Eric.

"It's pronounced Newt-us, and you know it," retorted Daryl.

"Did Commander Crius know that?" Eric smirked at Daryl, who refused to answer the question.

"Hey, why are you called Count anyway?" wondered Sam. "Is that a title the Order gave you, or did you just think it sounded cool? Because it's kind of weird now that I think about it."

"I picked it—look it's not important," insisted Daryl. "All you need to know is Angela and Vyn are going to be staying with us, and you're not to mention their origins under any circumstances.

"If anyone asks, Vyn just has a skin condition and Angela uses makeup and prosthetics; all just part of their costumes. Understand?"

"You really think people are going to buy that?" asked Sam.

"Most people seemed surprised this city even has superheroes. I doubt most of them will bother investigating our new guests beyond those simple explanations," reasoned Daryl.

"And what about the ones that do investigate?" asked Eric.

"We ignore them."

"Ignore them?"

"Yes. The Order said the best course of action in dealing with people discovering the truth was simply not drawing attention to them. If you refuse to acknowledge them, then most people will just assume those few in the right are simply delusional."

"Really? I'm having a hard time believing that," retorted Sam.

"You mean like how two weeks ago, when we were ordered to investigate a ghost sighting, you said you had a hard time believing in ghosts, even though you already personally knew a demon."

"Well, yeah, but..." Sam struggled to think of a retort, then just sighed. "Fine, most people won't believe the truth and the ones who do we can write off as crazy. But what about that?" Sam gestured to the small spacecraft parked on the roof. "We gonna try to pass that off as a weather balloon?"

"Vyn," called Daryl.

"Yes," reported Vyn as he rushed to Daryl's side.

"Describe the Annabara."

"The Annabara is an experimental vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, developed jointly by the Order and the Department of Defense."

"Lucky for us, the truth is stranger than fiction," grinned Daryl.

"Whatever you say," shrugged Sam.

"If there aren't any more questions, let's head inside," ordered Daryl. "Eric, do you have our patrol routes picked out for tonight?"

"Yes, and you're mapping them out for the next two weeks."

*   *   *

Olivia rubbed her eyes. She looked up at the red light she was stuck at and sighed. It had been a long night and was only getting longer. She would be glad when this patrol was over.

"You feeling okay?" asked Eric.

"I guess... I don't know," confessed a weary Olivia. "I'm kinda worried about what Daryl told me. He said if I messed up again, I'm gone."

"Oh, don't worry about him," assured Eric. "He's probably just worn out from spending two weeks at Olympus Pyrgos. He was even looking at his bike funny tonight, like he was afraid it was going to fall over."

"I can't believe they made Angela a superhero."

"Too bad Daryl insists she stay at the firehouse with Vyn until she gets used to the whole hero thing."

"All units," spoke a dispatcher over the radio. "Silent alarm at Crocker Pharmacy in Norwood. Local police requesting assistance."

"That's not far." Eric reached for his headset. "We'll check it out."

"Where to?" asked Olivia as she flipped the car's siren on.

"Two blocks and take a left. It'll be on the right. If we hurry we might catch whoever's there." Olivia swerved onto the main road and the pair started racing towards their destination. Eric carefully watched the right side of the street as the buildings zoomed by.

"It's coming up. Get ready to turn." Olivia spotted a building with a sign that read 'Crocker' on it. Before Eric could say anything she switched off her siren and swerved into the parking lot, coming to an abrupt stop outside the pharmacy.

"Looks like we're the first ones here." Olivia looked over at Eric, only to discover he wasn't in his seat. She turned back towards the store to find the boy hero already racing towards the front of the building. She chased after him as quickly as she could while Eric gently tugged on the doors.

Just as Olivia closed the distance, Eric took off running again. He bolted towards the end of the building and quickly disappeared around the corner. Olivia took a deep breath, then started running after him. She circled around the side of the building, finding Eric peering around the next corner.

"Eric wait—" Eric clasped his hand over Olivia's mouth.

"I see a car parked in back," he whispered. "Wait here, I'm gonna check it out." Eric carefully approached the vehicle, taking care to stay low to the ground. Eric peered in through the car's windows, then motioned for Olivia to join him.

"They must still be inside," he said in a hushed voice.

"Eric, Olivia," spoke Daryl over the radio. "Sam and I are a few minutes away from Crocker, where are you? Over."

"We're already here. It looks like the thief is still inside. We're about to head in through the back door," reported Eric.

"Right, wait for us, we'll back you up. Out." Eric took his hand off his headset and approached the back door. He gently pulled on it, revealing it to be unlocked. Eric quietly slid the door open and peeked past the threshold. He then tried to step inside but was pulled back by Olivia.

"Daryl told us to wait," she whispered.

"He tells me a lot of things," smirked Eric.

"I don't want to get fired."

"Then don't. Wait here and cover the back entrance. I'm heading inside." Before Olivia could raise another objection, Eric raced into the building. The swift young hero methodically searched the area, darting through rows of stacked canned goods, searching the break room, and double-checking the maintenance closet before advancing to the front of the store.

Eric moved through the aisles of grocery products and dimly lit shelves of topical creams, sweeping across the store one department at a time. A sudden crash brought the boy to a quick halt. He turned his head to where he heard the noise, finding himself looking at the pharmacy counter. Eric tried to inch closer, but another crash stopped the boy in his tracks.

A man came flying out from behind the counter and into a shelf, wrecking the display of dental products on it. The man rolled onto the ground, blood pouring down his face as he struggled to breathe. Eric moved to help him, but then something else came out from behind the counter.

Someone, or something, adorned in a strange suit of armor stepped into view. The armor completely covered the person wearing it and appeared to be made entirely out of a reflective, almost mirror-like metal. The helmet was rounded with short, bladed protrusions sticking out from the sides, like sharp ears.

The reflective surface on the armor created a blur effect when in motion, making it difficult to follow the wearer's movements. Eric watched in terror as the mystery figure approached the injured man, shocked at how quietly someone in heavy armor could move. The armored individual removed a short blade from a bracer on his arm and stabbed the injured man.

Eric watched in horror as the blade pierced the man's chest, causing him to let a long cry of pain. He sounded more like an animal than a person, and his screams of pain became soft whimpers as he struggled in vain to pull the blade out of his chest, cutting his hands as he tried to grip it. Before long he wasn't struggling at all, or making any noise, he was dead.

"Oh God..." Eric's outburst drew the attention of the armored aggressor. He turned towards Eric, who was petrified by the killer's vacant gaze. The front of the helmet lacked any features, such as eye holes or a protrusion for a nose. It was just a blank space, with Eric's reflection in it.

"You're... you're under arrest," announced Eric in a desperate attempt to regain his confidence. The stranger just stared at Eric for a moment, then let out a horrible mechanical sound, causing Eric to spring backwards in fright. He watched as the armored person's head seemed to bob in sync with the strange sound. Then it dawned on Eric; this person was laughing at him.

"If it isn't the boy who thinks he's a hero." The killer's voice was heavily distorted, almost like they were speaking through a megaphone.

"Who the hell are you?" asked an angered Eric.

"Me? I'm... Lynch."

"Lynch?" repeated Eric.

"As in, the Lynch Man. I take care of criminals." Eric watched in disgust as the Lynch Man removed his blade from the dead man. "Permanently," he added as blood dripped off the blade and onto the floor.

"You're a killer, and a criminal yourself," accused Eric.

"Big talk coming from you," retorted the armored vigilante.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You take the law into your own hands, same as me. How are we any different?"

"I work with the police, not against them."

"Yeah, because you're part of some cult of superpowered weirdoes who force the police to cooperate with a child soldier. You think anyone would put up with a damn teenager playing dress up if there weren't a bunch of freaks in costumes backing him up?" mocked the Lynch Man.

"I'm not a killer," argued Eric.

"You're young. Give it time," retorted the Lynch Man. "Look, we both came here for the same reason. To take care of a problem, and that problem has been dealt with." Lynch gestured towards the dead man. "So why don't you get the hell out of my way?"

"From where I'm standing, you're the problem."

"Is that so?" The Lynch Man aimed his blade in Eric's direction. "Then I guess that makes you my problem, doesn't it?" Eric watched the Lynch Man closely, looking for any tell to what his next move might be. Eric took a step back as he heard a strange creaking sound coming from Lynch's direction.

He thought it came from Lynch himself, but the same sound seemed to distract the armored killer as well. Lynch looked towards his right just in time to see the entire shelf begin to move. It practically uprooted itself and slammed into Lynch, pinning him up against the wall.

"You okay?" It took Eric a moment to realize what had happened. Olivia had shoved an entire shelf into the Lynch Man.

"I thought you were going to wait outside," reminded Eric.

"I was, but I heard a crash and—" A blade pierced the shelf Olivia was holding onto, slicing her hand between her ring and middle finger. She stumbled backwards, clutching her bleeding hand to her chest.

Before Eric could act, Lynch tossed the entire shelf at Olivia, knocking the young woman over and pinning her to the ground. Lynch retrieved his short sword and headed for the exit, but was blocked by Eric.

"Out of my way!" Lynch swung at the boy but was too slow to hit him. Eric dodged another swing and tried to deliver a sharp kick to Lynch's head. His foot connected with one of the blades jutting out from the side of the helmet, slicing through his shoe and into his foot. Eric landed on his good foot and stumbled backwards in pain. His foot was bleeding badly and the pain was so great he could barely remain standing.

"I hadn't planned on fighting you, but now that you're here, it just feels right." Lynch lunged at Eric with his blade. The boy narrowly avoided the attack, stumbling as he placed weight on his injured foot. Unable to counterattack, Eric quickly fled by climbing over the nearest shelf and into the next aisle. Almost immediately, Lynch came charging around the corner and Eric was forced to leap into another aisle.

Olivia struggled to get out from under the broken shelving. Her entire body was sore and she was afraid to even look at her hand. She couldn't concentrate while in so much pain and was unable to summon the strength needed to push the shelf off. But she could still reach her headset.

"Hello? Anyone? We need help!" she pleaded over the radio.

"Olivia?" answered Daryl. "What's wrong?"

"There's something here! It's trying to kill us!"

"We're almost there. Stay out of sight." Olivia could briefly see Eric pass through a nearby aisle, Lynch chasing after him with his blade in hand. She turned back to the shelf and placed her good arm on it. She strained to move the shelf as her hand continued to bleed, but it wasn't enough. Olivia then planted her feet against the shelf and, with a single forceful kick, pushed the shelf off. The girl clumsily rose to a stand and tried to catch her breath. Before she could even regain her composure, she saw Eric at the other end of the aisle. It looked like he had fallen and Lynch was standing directly over him.

"What's wrong little man? Run out of tough talk?" Olivia looked around for anything to use as a weapon and spotted some canned goods at her feet. She grabbed one with her good arm and hurled it with such incredible force that it exploded on contact with Lynch, knocking him over and coating the immediate area in thick tomato soup. Eric used the distraction to make his escape, quickly hopping to his feet and hobbling towards Olivia.

"Are you okay?" asked Eric while trying not to let the stinging agony in his foot show on his face.

"What do we do now?" asked a desperate Olivia.

"God damn brats!" Lynch turned towards the two teenagers. "Just who the hell do you think you are!" Lynch picked up his blade and started marching towards the two young superheroes.

"Go for help, I'll slow him down," ordered Eric as he stepped in front of Olivia.

"No, I—"

"I can't outrun him with a bad foot. You've got a better chance, now go dammit!" Eric shoved Olivia backwards. The girl paused momentarily, then took off towards the back door.

"You'd better start running too," suggested Lynch as he approached Eric.

"I'm done running." Eric knew running wouldn't do him any good now. But he might still have a chance if he could just get that sword away from Lynch. He still had one good foot, both arms, and Lynch wasn't quite as fast as him. The odds were against him, but he liked them better than the odds of just trying to outrun Lynch.

"You're awfully young to have a death wish," quipped Lynch.

"I'm awfully young for a lot of things," retorted Eric.

"You're never too young to die." Lynch pulled his weapon back and Eric prepared himself. He knew if he couldn't disarm Lynch, this would be it for him. Lynch lunged forward, then was suddenly blown back towards the end of the store.

"Eric!" Eric looked over to find Daryl at the front doors.

"Am I ever glad to see you." Eric stumbled to Daryl's side while Sam came in behind them. "Watch out, he's wearing some kind of power armor."

"I'll kill you all!" Lynch charged forward but Daryl was ready for him. He stretched out his hand and Lynch floated into the air, as if he was weightless. He thrashed about but was unable to move forward.

"I should be able to keep him like this until—"

"Look!" Sam pointed at Lynch, whose armor had started glowing.

"What is he—"

"Cover your eyes!" Sam's order reached Daryl too late, and the man was blinded by a series of bright flashes from Lynch's armor. Lynch dropped safely back on the ground and rushed forward to attack Daryl, but Sam pulled the man out of the way and led Daryl into a nearby aisle.

"Stay here!" ordered Sam as Daryl rubbed his eyes. Lynch came around the corner to meet Sam, who immediately pulled her taser and fired. The taser prongs bounced harmlessly off Lynch's armor and onto the floor.

"Shit." Sam took off running, the Lynch Man following right behind her. Sam pulled a grenade from her belt, quickly pulled the pin and tossed it at Lynch. The grenade bounced off Lynch's chest and onto the ground, where he gave it a swift kick. The grenade skidded across the floor and right to Sam. The woman fled as the grenade ignited into a plume of white smoke that started spreading out across the area.

"What?" Lynch charged into the smokescreen and located the grenade. He tossed it aside, but the area had already become saturated with thick fumes. "Where the hell are you!" Instead of an answer, the sound of approaching police sirens filled the air. "Damn."

Daryl stood up and tried to focus on Lynch. Between the smoke and the strange reflective metal of the suit, he seemed to disappear, but Daryl could still hear something charging for the back door.

"Boss, I—"

"Tend to Eric, find Olivia," Daryl ordered Sam as he parted the smoke with a gesture of his hands. Daryl flew through the store, out the back entrance and found himself behind the building. He spotted something moving behind a car and quickly landed himself beside it.

"Don't kill me!" pleaded Olivia as she held her arms in front of her face.

"It's me!" Olivia lowered her arms to find Daryl in front of her. "Where did he go?"

"I think I heard him go that way." Olivia pointed across the street.

"Head back inside." Daryl took off into the air and started searching for the perpetrator. The area behind the store was a neighborhood filled with small two-story homes and tall trees. Daryl scanned for any sign of where Lynch had gone, but found nothing.

"Boss," said Sam over the radio. "You'd better get back here. These cops have a lot of questions and I don't have many answers for them."

"I'll be right there." Daryl took one last look around, then flew back to the pharmacy. He reentered through the back and navigated to the front of the store. Resting on the floor amongst the wrecked aisles were a wounded Eric and Olivia. There were also two police officers, who were arresting Sam.

"Wait a minute," said Daryl as he approached the two cops.

"Step back sir, this is a crime scene," ordered one of the officers.

"I know that, we were sent here to investigate it."

"So wait, you're with these people?" asked the second officer, gesturing towards Sam and the others.

"We're superheroes who work for the city and with the police. We were answering a call about a break-in."

"That's what I told 'em, but they didn't believe me," grumbled Sam.

"Well, you're going to need to come with us as well for questioning." The first officer approached Daryl.

"There's a killer out there!" Both police officers were stunned by Daryl's outburst. "Do you want to hear what happened or not?"

"All right, what happened?" asked the first police officer.

"Well, we got a call that—" Daryl was interrupted by a loud yelling from outside. A low hum filled the area and there was a sudden rumble that shook the ceiling tiles of the pharmacy. Both officers fled back into the parking lot, Daryl following right behind them. The other officers were all staring at the top of the pharmacy. Turning around, Daryl spotted the Annabara, parked on the roof.

"Oh Lord." The door to the Annabara slid open and Angela immediately scampered out. The police officers pulled their guns and took aim at her.

"Don't shoot!" ordered Daryl. "Don't shoot. It's okay, they're with me." Angela leapt down from the building and landed right next to Daryl.

"Olivia called for help, what happened?" The officers were aghast to hear the demoness speak.

"You... know this... thing?" asked one of the officers.

"Yes, she's here to help. Don't mind her appearance, it's just makeup... and a costume," explained Daryl.

"Angela?" croaked Olivia as she stumbled over to the rest of the group.

"Olivia!" Angela rushed to Olivia's aid. "Tell me where it hurts."

"When you're done with her, I could use some help too," said Eric as he limped towards Angela.

"Okay, what is all this?" asked a cop. "You said you're who?"

"We're the Starlight Sentinels; we're here on behalf of the city," answered Daryl.

"And what exactly is that?" The officer gestured towards the Annabara.

"An experimental vertical takeoff and landing aircraft," came a friendly voice out of nowhere. The officer spun around and found Vyn standing behind him. "Developed jointly by the Order and the Department of Defense." The cop just stared at the short blonde alien for a moment.

"Who the hell is this!"

"Vyn Lon." Vyn offered the man his hand.

"He's the vehicle's pilot," answered Daryl with a nervous grin.

"Okay, I'm taking all of you in for questioning," insisted one of the cops.

"Wait, if you just call Washington, he'll explain," said Daryl.

"Who?"

"Captain Washington with the first district, he can explain everything."

"First district? There's only one district in Norwood," said the cop.

"Oh yeah," said Eric as he limped to Daryl. "Norwood is incorporated, they got a separate police department from the rest of the city."

"All right, I'm taking all of you in for questioning. We'll straighten this out at the station." The officer moved to handcuff Daryl.

"Listen to me!" Daryl's bellowing command halted the cop approaching him. "There's a madman out there and people's lives are hanging in the balance. Now, you can either help us catch a dangerous criminal or you can take us to jail. What's it going to be?"

*   *   *

"I can't believe they threw us all in jail," Sam mumbled out loud as she stared at the bars of their cell.

"Well start believing it," suggested Daryl as he tried to get comfortable on the cold bench he was sitting on. "We're stuck here until Washington bails us out. He didn't sound happy."

"They've never even heard of us," mumbled Sam as she sat down next to Daryl. "Isn't part of the reason we have a sponsor is for things like this? PR problems? Shouldn't Nick's be promoting us or something?" Daryl stared at Sam in response.

"Really don't think Nick's going to be eager to promote us after this," suggested Daryl. "Also, he told me he'd only consider promoting us if we caught a super criminal."

"We—"

"He said a teenage girl who stole a car doesn't count," answered Daryl before Sam could say anything else. "Besides, I think we've got enough to keep us occupied at the moment. We're dealing with a new super criminal on top of fostering an alien who just parked his ship on top of a pharmacy. Speaking of which, where is Vyn?"

"He's over here," said Olivia. "He's under the bed." Olivia motioned towards the bed in the corner, which Vyn was curled up under.

"What's he doing down there?" asked Daryl.

"He says he likes it under the bed," answered Olivia.

"It remind me of home," added Vyn while remaining under the bed.

"Really?" asked Daryl. "Can you also tell me why you flew your ship to us without telling anyone first?"

"Angela said emergency." Daryl looked at Angela, who was helping Eric.

"How does that feel?" said Angela to Eric as she let go of his foot.

"Much better." Eric flexed his foot for a moment. "I don't think I'll even need the bandage now."

"Angela." Daryl stared at her, clearly wanting an explanation.

"I'm sorry." Angela looked away in embarrassment. "I heard Olivia say someone was going to kill her. I didn't know what else to do." Daryl watched as Eric slipped his shoe back on, noting the amount of dried blood surrounding the large gash on the sole.

"It's all right," Daryl assured Angela. "Considering the circumstances, you may have acted accordingly. And even if not, I'm to blame for not better preparing you for duty."

"You know what you need?" Sam said to Eric. "Steel insoles."

"What?"

"Steel insoles. Construction workers stick them in their shoes. That way they don't cut up their feet when they step on nails and crap."

"What I needed was to land a kick on that bastard's face and not the sharp parts of his helmet," insisted Eric.

"You should have waited for us," said Daryl.

"If I had waited he would've been long gone and we wouldn't know the first thing about him."

"Isn't that exactly where we are right now?" said Sam.

"No, I know who we're up against now," insisted Eric.

"You do?" Daryl sat up.

"He said his name was Lynch. As in, the Lynch Man." An uneasy silence fell over the room for a moment before Sam spoke up.

"So, what does that mean?" she asked.

"He said he deals with criminals, permanently. I watched him murder the man who was trying to rob that store," explained Eric.

"And then he attacked you?" asked Daryl.

"Not quite. First he said some crap about what he's doing was the same as what I was doing," recalled Eric.

"Jesus, really?" asked Sam in disbelief.

"But when I wouldn't let him escape, he just lost it. He started coming after me with that sword."

"He was gonna kill us both." Olivia's nervous declaration was followed by another awkward silence. Everyone just looked around at each other, waiting for someone to break the quiet. Eventually Vyn crawled out from under the bed to see if everyone was still okay.

"So," spoke a weary Daryl. "We're not just dealing with a vigilante, but a possible psychopath as well."

"Who has a weird name, uses the 'not so different' cliché, and is wearing some kind of super-powered armor," added Sam.

"And wants to kill common crooks, and us," added a fearful Olivia.

"Which is why we gotta stop him." Eric watched as the rest of the team's faces seemed to drop. "What? That's our job!"

"Can we actually fight this guy though?" asked a concerned Sam.

"Are you serious?" said Eric.

"We haven't been up against something like this before," reasoned Sam. "Vyn and Angela were both friendly. That Mary Whatshername was just a petty thief. Irongate was dangerous, but human. This guy? We couldn't even put a dent in him."

"That's why we're needed now more than ever. How do you think people can defend themselves from the Lynch Man without us?"

"But we couldn't really defend ourselves. You and Olivia got tore up, he blinded Daryl, and all I could manage was to escape," recapped Sam.

"When I saw that blade come through the shelf..." Olivia trailed off as she rubbed her wounded hand.

"Both of your injuries were quite... concerning," spoke Angela.

Eric tried to think of something to say, but the boy was speechless.

"This time to be afraid?" Vyn's timid question didn't get an answer, so he slowly retreated back under the bed.

"I can't believe you guys," mumbled a disappointed Eric. "I was scared too you know. I had to hobble away from that monster on a bad foot while he tried to slice me open. But I'm not giving up."

"I'm not saying we should give up, but this might be out of our league," clarified Sam. "The sort of thing we call the Order for."

"Perhaps," said Daryl. "But Eric is right, we do have a responsibility to this city just the same. So regardless of what the Order says, we best start preparing for how to deal with this person, in case we encounter him again."

"How exactly? We—"

"We're a team of superheroes and he's a super criminal," stated Daryl. "Between the six of us, we should be able to devise a way to stop this Lynch Man. Until now, I've recommended restraint in our actions. But first thing tomorrow morning we train to find the best way to exploit our abilities, and how they can be best combined to better combat this threat."

"Yeah!" cheered Eric.

"You're the boss," shrugged Sam. "Mind if I make a suggestion?"

"By all means," answered Daryl.

"We should work on our communications while we're at it. Come up with a few basic code phrases and the like. That way if we run into anything else like this guy, or something else this dangerous, it'll only take a word or two to get everyone else up to speed on what to expect."

The group grew quiet as they heard footsteps approaching. They watched as a pair of police officers approached their cell, one of whom was very familiar.

"Jack," exclaimed Eric.

"Hi Eric," nodded a groggy Washington as the second officer opened the cell. "Sorry I took so long, but if you guys keep getting into trouble, I'm gonna have to hire an assistant. I can't be running around to bail you out every time something happens."

"I appreciate your help Captain," said Daryl. "We've got a lot to discuss. It's possible there's a super—"

"Eh, keep that talk on the down low," warned Washington. "The fewer people who know about this the better. I'm just glad the chief is off tonight. God knows what she'd say about all this. Now, let's get that thing off the pharmacy and then get back to my station." The group filed out of the cell.

"Eric." Washington held out his hand and stopped the boy. "Your father called, he's on his way. He wants you home for the rest of the weekend."

"What! But you guys need me."

"I'm just the messenger," shrugged Washington. "As for everyone else, we've got a load of paperwork we need to fill out."

*   *   *

Eric found it hard to concentrate on the periodic table when he knew his teammates were preparing to fight a super villain. No matter how hard he tried not to, the boy kept thinking about the best way to convince his father to let him help the team instead. His current argument, needed to fend off a murderous psychopath, wasn't all that persuasive to a concerned parent, but Eric kept coming up with news ones.

He claimed he already knew enough to get passing grades, but his father said he should aim to do better than just passing. Eric tried to convince his dad that stopping the Lynch Man was more important, but Joseph just told him that the rest of the team could handle it without him.

Occasionally, when he could get away from his father, Eric wandered off to do something else. He spent some time playing a video game he had been stuck on for a while. But even it couldn't distract him from thinking about the Lynch Man. Eventually he decided just to call the firehouse so he'd have someone to talk to.

Sam picked up the phone and chatted with Eric for a while. Police Chief Izuna was mad at them for wrecking a pharmacy, but apparently she hadn't heard about the Lynch Man yet. Sam told Eric the team had been working all day to perfect some new maneuvers in case Lynch returned. She and Daryl had also worked out some code phrases she had suggested, which intrigued Eric much more than how many amendments the Constitution had.

But after memorizing most of the code phrases, Sam told Eric she had to get ready for their patrol. Eric spent most of his Saturday evening annoyed that he wasn't out there with the rest of his team. Normally, he wouldn't mind missing out on patrol this much if it weren't for the fact that there was a super villain loose in the city.

Occasionally, Eric's father would come into his room and scold him for neglecting his studies. Eric told him he had a hard time studying when he was worried about his friends, and Joseph argued the Starlight Sentinels would be fine without him for a couple of days. Then Joseph made the mistake of suggesting Eric give up the hero trade for a while.

Eric immediately, and quite angrily, rejected this notion, rattling off a list of times he had stopped crimes and saved people, and how you can never have too many people upholding the law, and nearly half a dozen other reasons that made Joseph regret ever suggesting Eric should quit. With the sun setting, Joseph relented and just told his son to get a good night's sleep, but Eric didn't feel like sleeping.

He tossed and turned, utterly restless. The image of the Lynch Man and thoughts about what may happen to his teammates continued to creep into his mind. Unable to stand it anymore, Eric got out of bed. Since he couldn't sleep, he figured he might as well work instead.

Eric carefully checked in on his father, who was fast asleep, then went back to his room. Eric knew Daryl wouldn't have him along without his father's approval, but he could at least patrol his own neighborhood tonight. He'd just circle the area a few times and be back before midnight.

The boy grabbed his work phone, just in case, and quietly slipped out. It was a warm summer night, which may have been nice if not for the scent of gasoline and the sight of rundown buildings everywhere. Eric had lived here about half his life now, and it still didn't really feel like home.

The fact that he was a superhero living in a bad neighborhood didn't help. People used to give him strange looks and think he was a joke because of his age. But after a few years of patrolling this city with Washington, he had developed a reputation. Now most people avoided him and didn't trust him since he was basically a cop.

Eric didn't care. He was more concerned with stopping crime than making friends. He patrolled some familiar streets and wandered through the park. He had once helped Washington bust a pair of drug dealers here. This night was relatively quiet though. Most patrols usually were, and even when something happened, by the time Eric got there it'd be long over.

After a few times around the block, he was ready to go home. About half way back to his apartment, Eric heard a car alarm go off in the distance. Nine out of ten times they were a false alarm. Every now and then it might actually be a thief, but the alarm would always scare them off.

Eric figured he should probably check it out just the same. The boy pulled his goggles down over his eyes and took off running towards the alarm. He sprung through an alley, across the road and vaulted over a fence with great speed. Eric then spotted the noisy car parked at the end of the street.

The boy wasted no time in sprinting towards the vehicle. The driver side window had been broken and Eric heard the sound of the engine trying to start over the alarm. There was someone sitting in the driver's seat and it was obvious from his panicked movement that he was trying to hotwire the car. Eric couldn't help thinking that this person must have been incredibly desperate to keep trying to steal a car long after setting off the alarm.

"You're under arrest!" The man clumsily tried to kick Eric in response, but the boy caught the man's kick and pulled him out of the car by his leg. He tumbled onto the ground and tried to punch Eric, but the boy intercepted the blow and used the momentum to twist the thief's arm behind his back.

"Damn kid, let me go!" Eric quickly bound the thief's hands behind his back. "You little bastard! Who do you think you are?"

"I'm the little bastard who kicked your ass!" Eric bound the man's ankles with a twist tie. "Now keep quiet while I call someone to pick you up."

"You have any idea who my father is?" Looking at the man, Eric didn't think much of him. He was just an ordinary twenty-something in a ratty black shirt and ripped jeans. Eric had seen dozens of dumb crooks just like him before, as well as that familiar tough-guy glare the thief was sporting.

"You can talk to your father later." Eric reached for his phone.

"Seriously kid, just... just let me go. I just—" The man was interrupted by the thud of something striking the car. Before Eric could even turn his head, there was a brilliant flash of light accompanied by a deafening bang.

Eric managed to avert his gaze but his ears were ringing from the noise. Before his hearing returned, Eric spotted a projectile striking the pavement right under his feet that erupted into a plume of white smoke.

Eric's skin felt like it was on fire, and the burning sensation seemed to move down his throat, causing him to cough uncontrollably. His goggles prevented the gas from getting in his eyes, but with the rest of his body affected, Eric tried to escape the scene as quickly as he could.

He only made it a short distance before the blistering sensation in his throat made it difficult to breathe. Before long, Eric couldn't even keep his balance. The boy fell to his knees, hacking profusely in a vain attempt to clear his throat. In between coughs, he managed to look up just long enough to confirm his suspicions.

The Lynch Man was standing in front of him. Before Eric could turn away, a series of blinding flashes erupted from Lynch's armor. His vision and hearing now compromised, Eric tried to run but wasn't even able to stand up before the Lynch Man was upon him.

He couldn't see what was happening, but he felt that heavy armor bearing down on him, its jagged edges digging into his flesh. Eric struggled, but he felt a powerful hand cover his mouth. The boy panicked as he felt the strength drain out of his body. Everything became dark and Eric lost the will to even struggle. He lay there helpless as his thoughts drifted towards his parents, then nothing as he lost consciousness.

*   *   *

Eric opened his eyes. His chest hurt and he could barely breathe. The boy tried to stand up, but his hands and feet had been bound, by his own twist ties no less. Looking around, Eric saw he was lying on grass, but he wasn't in a yard or park because there were long rows of seats surrounding him. After examining the area for a moment, Eric recognized this location.

"The football field?" This was his school's stadium. He managed to sit up, only to find the Lynch Man standing over him.

"Look who's up," quipped Lynch. "I figured we could use a change of scenery. Things were getting a little noisy before, what with the car alarm and the mess I made. I'm still getting used to aiming with this thing."

Lynch gestured towards his right forearm, where Eric could see there was some kind of projectile weapon built into the armor. He assumed the strange gas attacks must have come from it. Eric also noticed Lynch was holding a trigger device in his hand. He watched as Lynch slid the device into a compartment on the underside of his bracer.

"Just one round from this thing is supposed to knock someone out for a while. I hate to admit it, but you're almost as tough as you think you are."

"Untie me and I'll show you how tough I am."

Lynch groaned at Eric's typical bravado. "That's the problem with you 'hero' types, you're so full of yourselves it pushes out what little lingering common sense you may have."

"Sorry I'm not psychotic like you."

"See, that's what I'm talking about. So judgmental," retorted a sarcastic Lynch. "Tell me, what makes you so much better than me?"

"I'm not afraid to show my face, for one."

"You would if you had any sense. It certainly would have made it harder for me to find you."

"And I'm not a killer."

"Like I said before, give it time."

"I'll never be a killer."

"Oh no?" Lynch pulled his blade and leaned in close to Eric. "What if you had to kill me?" Lynch slowly positioned his blade under Eric's neck. "Would you do it?"

"No," answered Eric without hesitation.

"Really? So if I were about to kill one of your friends, you'd let me?"

"No, I'd stop you." Lynch wrapped his free hand around Eric's throat and lifted him off the ground.

"Then go ahead and stop me!" bellowed Lynch as he tightened his grip on Eric, nearly choking the boy. Eric tried saying something in response, but couldn't through Lynch's grip. "What? I can't hear you?"

"I'd do whatever it takes to stop you," mumbled Eric as he struggled to breathe.

"Even if you had to kill me to do it?"

"Yes!"

"Now we're making progress." Lynch released Eric, who collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. "You would kill if you had to, same as me."

"We're not... the same," choked Eric as he tried to breathe.

"Not quite," conceded Lynch.

"I'm nothing like you!" insisted Eric.

"That's what I thought. But then I did a little digging, and you know what I realized? We actually have a lot in common."

"Like what?"

"We both fight crime, for one."

"Yeah, except you fight crime by committing worse crimes."

"I play by my own rules, not unlike you."

"I don't play by my own rules."

"Oh no? Tell me, what were you doing tonight before I came along?" asked Lynch. "I came out to talk and found you three blocks away from your apartment, fighting someone breaking into a car."

"I was stopping a crime, duh."

"But you're only supposed to serve with the police or your team. You don't have the authority to arrest people on your own." Eric was surprised to hear Lynch say that. "Speaking of which, why aren't you with your team tonight?" Eric looked away from Lynch.

"My dad wanted me to study for my exams," he mumbled.

"So you snuck out and decided to go looking for trouble?"

"Screw you," Eric sneered at Lynch. "Sneaking out for a nightly patrol isn't the same as murdering people."

"I've killed one robber, which I consider self-defense."

"Then you tried to kill me and my teammates."

"Next time, get out of my way. Besides, you survived."

"I survived? That's your excuse for trying to cut my head off?"

"It's no worse than the excuses you hero types use for all your near misses."

"What near misses?"

"How about all the people you nearly got killed when your team charged into that hostage situation last month, behind the police's back." Eric tried to think of a comeback, but nothing came to mind. "You got lucky, things could have gone south real fast, and then you'd have an office building full of dead people on your conscience."

"No one died on our watch because we were careful."

"Careful? Is that what you call ignoring your leader's orders?" Eric was stunned to hear Lynch mention that particular detail.

"How do you know that?"

"Fortunate your friend had a bulletproof vest on at the time. Otherwise, her blood would have been on your hands."

"How do you know exactly what happened that day?"

"And that's to say nothing about that creature your team is fostering. Or that aircraft you recently acquired." Lynch's offhand comments frightened Eric. How did he know so much about the Sentinels? "It certainly seems like you're playing by your own rules to me."

"Who are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Lynch playfully tapped the faceplate of his helmet. "A mask is a handy tool. You shouldn't knock it."

"Who are you!"

"I'm someone not that different from you."

"No, you're not!"

"In fact, I see a lot of myself in you."

"Bullshit!"

"But one thing I'm in the dark about..."

"Shut up!"

"Is your mother." Eric became silent at the mention of his mother. "From what I understand, she ran off a decade ago."

"She didn't run off!" yelled Eric. "She went missing."

"You sure about that? You're positive she just didn't want to get away from her husband and her annoying son?"

"My mother loved me! And my dad. More than anything..."

"Really? So, if it wasn't trouble at home, maybe she was up to no good?" suggested Lynch. "Maybe she got caught up in a drug deal or—"

"My mother would never do that!" bellowed Eric. "She did nothing but work hard and care for her family. She never hurt anyone. She never even raised her voice. She just... took care of people. Took care of me." Tears started swelling up in Eric's eyes.

"So, we have a virtuous, loving, mother with a family, and then what? She just fell off the face of the Earth?" Lynch knelt down to look Eric in his eyes. "What happened?" Eric swallowed hard, trying not to let his feelings show on his face.

"She went out one night to work a late shift," recalled Eric. "And she never came back."

"That's it?" asked Lynch.

"Yeah." Eric glared at Lynch. "That's it."

"When did she go missing?"

"No one knows."

"Did anyone at where she works see her?"

"No, she never made it there."

"Who were the last people to see her before she went missing?"

"Me and my dad, when she left home."

"Did anyone else ever claim to see her? Were there any reported deaths that could have been her or—"

"No, no, no!" yelled Eric. "Like I said, she never came back. That's it. No one knows what happened to her."

"Just that something happened to her, or someone." Eric turned his head, sick of Lynch's conclusions. "It must be very frustrating for you. Something happens to the person you care most about, and you don't even know what."

"What the hell do you care?" growled an exhausted Eric.

"I know what it's like." Eric snorted upon hearing that comment. "I do. It can drive you crazy. Not knowing. Thinking about all the terrible things that must have happened to them."

"Shut up," grumbled Eric under his breath.

"And then you ask yourself, 'What could I have done? What should I have done?" Lynch stared off into space, then turned his head unexpectedly towards Eric. "She's the reason you do it, isn't she?"

"I do it to make a difference."

"And that difference is making sure no one else loses what you lost." Eric was speechless. He wasn't being quiet to spite Lynch this time; he just didn't have anything to add.

"What do you want from me?" Eric was no longer angry, just confused. "You tried to kill me, and now you kidnap me just to tell me you know how I feel? Why don't you get to the point already?"

"The point is, we both want the same thing," clarified Lynch. "We both want to make a difference."

"I don't if it means doing what you do."

"And that's the dilemma. We both want the same thing, we just have different approaches."

"Yeah, my approach is to follow the law!" asserted Eric. "I don't appoint myself executioner just because I can."

"But you don't follow the law!" accused Lynch. "Your team break it all the time, and as long as you have the Order backing you up, you get away with it. How else do you explain the police force accepting a goddamn child soldier into their ranks? If you really followed the law, you would have waited until you hit eighteen and joined the police force."

"If I had done that there'd be a lot more crooks that would have gone unpunished and a lot more innocent people hurt or worse while I waited to turn a certain age," retorted Eric. "Sometimes we do have to go beyond the law, for those situations the law can't handle. But we don't just leave the law behind."

"But you should!"

"What?" Eric was taken aback by Lynch's suggestion.

"You go beyond the law and complicate things with your overreach, but then dump everything back into the same bloated system you yourself claim to have risen above; expecting it to solve all the same problems it's always failed to solve."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you don't make a difference, a real one, until you're willing to take those last vital steps forward, to make those hard decisions needed to affect change, to get your hands dirty to do what's necessary."

"It's not necessary to kill everyone who commits a single crime, that's just crazy."

"And I'm not suggesting we do, just the ones who are too dangerous to be left alive."

"Like the man in the pharmacy who was helpless against you?" asked a skeptical Eric. "He was just too dangerous to be left alive?"

"Yeah, he was." There wasn't a shred of doubt in Lynch's voice. "He chose to break the law, he chose to take from others, and when confronted, he chose to fight against someone who brought the law upon him. He lived by his choices, and then he died by them. I have no sympathy for those who disregard not only the law, but the people who try to enforce it too."

"That doesn't justify what you did. You easily could have detained him until the police arrived."

"And then what? He'd get a lawyer and lie up and down to save his ass until he was let go because of a lack of evidence or an especially dim jury believed his nonsense.

"Even if he was convicted, sending him to prison wouldn't help. They're just a breeding ground to make better criminals. No, my solution is what's needed; a decisive end to an obvious problem. If you live by the sword, then you can be expecting the day you'll die by it."

"That's insane."

"That's how you make a difference. It's how you protect the good, hardworking, law-abiding people of the world. It's what could have saved your mother."

"Leave my mother out of this." Eric sneered at Lynch, making no attempt to hide his disgust.

"It's the truth. She was probably just minding her own business when she got jumped by someone who wanted to rob her, or worse."

"Shut up!" demanded Eric.

"Likely some repeat offender who had already defied the law before. Someone who eventually realized how little he really had to lose from taking whatever they wanted from your dear mother."

"Shut up!"

"And since they had already done this before, they probably weren't afraid to push it a little further this time. Take something your mother wasn't willing to give up. And since they'd already gone that far, they probably didn't think much about killing her too."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"These are the kind of people you want to defend? And at the cost of the good people you care about? If you could meet whoever took your mother from you, would you really want to let them live so they could do the same to someone else's mother?"

"I wouldn't let him do it again!"

"And how would you do that?" Lynch brandished his blade. "Because from where I'm standing, there's only one way to be sure."

"Why don't you just kill me already?" asked Eric.

"You think I'd go through all this trouble if I just wanted to kill you?"

"Then what? What do you want?"

"I'm just looking for some cooperation. I don't like you superhero types, but it's not you I'm out for, so let's keep it simple. You tell me your team's patrol routes, and I'll make sure we don't cross paths again. Nobody who doesn't need to gets hurt."

"You expect me to just let you run free?"

"You let me deal with crime my way, I'll let you deal with it your way."

"Not a chance." Lynch raised his blade to Eric's neck.

"Consider your options here," suggested Lynch. "You can defy me, get yourself killed and assure a conflict between me and the rest of your team, which might get them all killed.

"Or, you can agree to my very reasonable proposal, in which you, that young girl you were with last night, and the rest of your people are at no risk of confronting me, while I'm out there keeping the crime rate down."

"You are a criminal," stated Eric.

"Right now, that doesn't matter," retorted Lynch. "What matters right now is your choice."

"You're holding a knife to my neck and you call it a choice?"

"Life is full of shitty choices kid. All you can do is opt for the least shitty one. So what's it gonna be?" Eric's phone started ringing. The boy watched as Lynch reached down and removed it from Eric's belt.

"Here it is, mister hero. Choose." Lynch held the phone up to Eric's ear. "Tell them I'm here, and they'll come racing, only to find your corpse. And we'll spend months killing each other while the real criminals run free." Lynch clicked the phone's receive button.

"Eric? Can you hear me?" Eric didn't know what to say. He looked up at the Lynch Man, who was still towering over him, blade in one hand and the phone in the other. "Eric?" repeated Daryl. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," said Eric as calmly as he could.

"Where are you? Your father just called and said you were missing."

"Yeah, I just got restless. Wanted to patrol the neighborhood for a while," explained Eric. "I'm okay though. Everything's code green."

"It is?" Daryl went quiet for a moment. "All right. Just head home. Your father is worried sick about you."

"I will." Daryl hung up and Lynch put the phone back on Eric's belt. "Happy?" Lynch swung his sword. Eric was stunned for a moment, but then he realized Lynch had just cut his bonds. Slowly the boy stood up, carefully studying his captor.

"Now what?" asked Eric.

"Now, I've got a simple test for you. And then, you're free to go home." Lynch gestured for Eric to follow him and the pair started walking across the field to the goalpost.

"Why me?" asked Eric. "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because you're not like the rest of your team," answered Lynch. "That grown-up schoolboy in the cape, the army vet, that scared girl or those two oddballs. They're not driven like you are. You know what it's like to have to fight tooth and nail for even the chance to do some good. I saw it in your eyes when we were fighting. That unwavering determination that's gotten you where you are now."

"In the hands of a madman?" quipped a grim Eric.

"Don't get smart with me kid," growled Lynch. "I'm going out on a limb for you. You're a pain in the ass, but only because you haven't figured out the truth yet."

"The truth?"

"That you have to take drastic steps to make a difference." Looking up at the goalpost, Eric saw the car thief he caught earlier, sitting on the center rail, bound and gagged, with a noose around his neck.

"What have you done?" asked an appalled Eric as the thief looked down at Lynch in utter terror.

"I've decided to make an example out of him," explained Lynch.

"You're going to kill him for breaking into someone's car? That's... that's insane!"

"Is it?"

"Yes!"

"Tell me, when wouldn't it be?"

"What?"

"You said you'd kill me if you had to. What would he have to do before you'd kill him?" asked Lynch. "When you tried to stop him he fought back. What if next time he brings a knife with him, or a gun? What if he had shot you? What if, after a short stay in prison, he gets out and does something like this again. Only this time ready to kill the people who get in his way? Do you really want to wait until after that happens to do something about it? When it's too late?"

"You can't kill him based on what he might do!"

"I'm not. I'm killing him for what he did do. He made a choice to break the law, and when confronted he chose to attack those who'd try to stop him. If he didn't want to hurt anyone he could have just given himself up, but that's not what happened. Far as I'm concerned, he brought this on himself."

"And you really think this 'example' is what will convince people not to break the law?"

"Not him alone, but if I make enough examples out of crooks, they'll get the idea."

"And I guess you want me to be the one to make an example out of him. You want me to kill him, don't you?"

"Of course not." Eric was surprised by Lynch's answer.

"I thought you wanted to test me?" asked Eric.

"I do." Lynch turned to Eric. "But you're not ready for this, yet."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Prove to me you're willing to cooperate."

"How?"

"By walking away."

"Walking away?"

"Just go home and let me do my job. That's all you have to do kid. Show me you have an ounce of common sense." Eric looked up at the bound man. Tears streamed down from his swollen brown eyes and over the gag tied around his mouth. His gaze was filled with such desperation that the boy couldn't stand it and had to look away.

"You can't save him," insisted Lynch. "Just walk away."

"Just... just walk away?" repeated Eric.

"That's it. Easy." Eric looked at the thief again. He was shaking his head now, clearly begging the boy not to leave him. Eric turned and took a few steps away from Lynch and his hostage.

"Good boy," praised Lynch. "Like I said, easy."

"That's just it," said Eric. "I don't like doing things the easy way." Eric spun around with astonishing speed and thrust his foot into the back of Lynch's knee. The attack forced the Lynch Man to a kneel. Lynch tried to turn towards Eric, but he was much too slow. Eric darted beside him in an instance and spin kicked Lynch in the faceplate.

Lynch was knocked backwards, dropping his blade. He quickly stumbled to a stand and pulled out the trigger for his stun gun. He turned to shoot Eric, only to find his own blade pointed directly at his face. The pair remained frozen for a moment, weapons aimed at each other's heads.

"Pretty nasty crack in your armor there." Eric pointed Lynch's sword at the small split that had formed on the front of his helmet. "I'm guessing that part of the suit isn't as durable as the rest of the armor. Is it?"

"You think you're real slick, don't you kid?"

"Put your hands up!" ordered Eric through clenched teeth.

"Or what?" Eric moved the blade so the tip was touching the crack in the helmet. Lynch watched as Eric shifted his arms so they were positioned to thrust the blade forward.

"Or I'll kill you." There wasn't a shred of doubt in Eric's voice.

"You've come a long way from 'I'll never be a killer' a few minutes ago."

"Yeah, aren't you proud?" sneered a sarcastic Eric.

"You know kid, I think you might actually do it." Eric readied himself as Lynch very slowly raised his hands above his head.

"Turn around and get on your knees!" Lynch did as he was instructed, slowly moving down onto his knees.

"You've got potential, kid."

"Be quiet."

"But you've still got one major weakness." Lynch's right hand slowly drifted away from his head, as if he were gesturing to the goalpost.

"What are you—stop it!" Eric readied the blade, aiming at Lynch's neck.

"You've got your priorities all mixed up." Lynch pulled the trigger and an explosive pellet erupted on the thief's chest. The noxious gas caused the man to convulse and Eric watched as he began to slip off the goalpost. Eric tossed the blade aside and tried to position himself under the thief.

He reached up and wrapped his arms around the man's legs as he slid off the goalpost, breaking the fall and stopping the noose from snapping his neck. Eric summoned every bit of strength he had and tried to raise the thief higher, hoping to position himself so the man could stand on his shoulders. But the car thief couldn't maintain his balance and the rope remained taut around his neck.

"Now what, hero?" Lynch strolled up to Eric as the boy desperately tried to keep the hostage in the air. Eric's arms were getting tired and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold onto him. He looked around for any sign of rescue, and then he spotted Lynch's blade lying at his feet. "This is what your noble antics get you in the end, nothing."

Eric strained to lift the man higher until he was able to balance one of the thief's feet onto his shoulder. Lynch watched with interest as Eric wrapped one arm around the man's legs to steady himself, then took a deep breath.

Eric managed to wedge the end of his shoe under Lynch's blade. Just as Lynch noticed what Eric was doing, the boy sprung into action. Eric used his foot to launch the blade off the ground, caught it in midair and swung for Lynch's neck. "I gotta admit," said Lynch. "That was impressive." Eric had been fast, but not fast enough. Lynch had caught Eric's arm mid-swing.

"You're out of your league, kid." Lynch pried his blade out of Eric's hand with ease, then studied the exhausted young superhero. He was sweating and shaking under the strain of trying to keep the thief in the air, just barely able to remain standing at this point.

"Just let him drop, you can't save him."

"No!"

"No one will ever know."

"I'd know!"

"It's not your fault."

"I don't care!"

"What if I said I'd kill you if you don't let him go?"

"I'm not letting him die!"

"You do know if I kill you, he'd die anyway?"

"I'm not dropping him!"

"You can't hold him up like that forever."

"Then I'll hold him as long as I can!"

"Why!" bellowed Lynch, sounding utterly baffled.

"Because there's still a chance I can save him," answered Eric through gritted teeth as the strain in his arms became unbearable.

"You've got no chance!"

Eric managed to let out a weak laugh. "That's what everyone said when I wanted to be a superhero." Eric looked up at the Lynch, spotting his own reflection in Lynch's helmet. "I guess heroes are just the kind of people who see a chance to make things right, even when no one else does." A blinding bright light shined down from the sky, flooding the area.

"What the hell?" Lynch looked up to see the outline of something flying above the arena. "Is that—" Before Lynch could say anything else, he was blown across the field by some unseen force. The boy watched as someone came flying out of the light.

"Daryl!" A familiar man in a cape went soaring across the field after Lynch. "Daryl wait! I—" There was a sudden clank from above. Eric looked up and saw that Angela had just landed on the goalpost. She immediately leaned down and cut the rope with her teeth. Eric finally collapsed onto the ground, the thief landing right beside him. The boy took a deep breath, then forced himself to stand as the Annabara landed on the football field.

"Are you okay?" asked Angela as she landed beside Eric.

"Help him." Eric gestured towards the injured man before running after Daryl. He raced past the Annabara to where Daryl and Lynch were fighting. Lynch darted around the field firing more gas pellets while Daryl tried to grab the villain with his power. Before Eric could enter the battle, Lynch's armor started emitting a blinding light again, forcing Eric and Daryl to shield their eyes.

Lynch was ready to race forward and strike when something pulled at his arm. The villain turned to find that Sam had just lassoed him with a rope. Lynch grabbed hold of the rope and tried to pull it out of Sam's hands, but Sam let go and stepped aside, revealing that Olivia was holding the rope.

Olivia pulled with all her might and sent Lynch flying across the field. He crashed into the grass with a hard thud and tumbled into the Annabara, banging his head on the side of it. Olivia pulled the rope taut and prepared to launch Lynch again, but Lynch pulled his blade and quickly cut the rope.

An infuriated Lynch fired at Olivia, striking her in the chest with a pellet that erupted into a plume of white smoke. Olivia collapsed from a coughing fit while Lynch closed in on her with his blade in hand. Just as Lynch was poised to strike, Angela pounced.

She knocked Lynch onto his back and quickly tossed his blade aside. Lynch struggled to push Angela off, but she was nearly as strong as him. A well-placed kick managed to knock Angela away long enough for Lynch to retrieve his blade. But standing up, the armored vigilante found that he was surrounded. With no apparent means of escape, Lynch turned to Eric.

"It didn't have to be like this," he stated.

"Yes," said Eric. "It did." Just as the group moved in to attack, a horrid piercing screech filled the air. The boy gritted his teeth as he pressed his hands against his ears. He watched as a pair of mechanical appendages emerged from Lynch's back, like wings. Then a shorter set emerged from his legs, each fitted with what looked like a tiny jet engine.

The jets flickered to life, emitting a strange purple fire. Realizing what was about to happen, Eric forced himself forward and charged towards Lynch while still gripping his ears. The young superhero leapt through the air and planted his foot right on Lynch's faceplate.

The smooth mirror like material that covered the front of Lynch's helmet fractured under Eric's attack. Lynch stumbled backwards in pain as mirrored shards of his helmet flew through the air. Eric tried to press his attack, but Lynch shot Eric in the chest, spewing more toxic gas in the boy's face.

Feeling the horrible chemicals move down his throat again, Eric started coughing uncontrollably. He collapsed onto his back, writhing on the ground in pain. He couldn't block out the horrible ringing in his ears anymore than he could stop coughing. And through all the pain and confusion, Eric saw Lynch fly into the sky, right before blacking out.

*   *   *

Eric felt a strange warmth wash over his body. For the second time tonight, he wondered if he had died and gone somewhere less painful. But then he opened his eyes and found himself face to face with Angela. She had carefully wrapped her arms around Eric, soothing his pain and healing his injuries with her gift.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Terrible," answered Eric. "Which is a helluva lot better than I felt a few minutes ago." Eric slowly sat up. He could see Sam standing over the car thief near the goal post. He wasn't sure, but it looked like they were talking. Then Sam noticed Eric and quickly raced over to him.

"Kid, you okay?" she asked.

"I'll live, thanks to your code phrase," answered a woozy Eric. "Good thinking, picking 'code green' to mean 'I can't talk and need help."

"Wish I could take credit for it," smiled Sam.

"I guess it's a good thing you were in the military."

"Actually, I got the idea from an old Star Trek episode."

Eric looked at Sam in surprise. "Really?" he asked.

"Yeah, I saw Kirk do it once. He got surrounded by Klingons and when they told him to call the ship, he said 'code green'. And when they all got beamed up the Klingons got beamed somewhere else," explained Sam.

"Okay, well, then I guess it's a good thing you watched Star Trek." Eric stood up and dusted himself off. "Is he okay?" Eric gestured to the thief.

"Mostly. He's still pretty shook up about all this," answered Sam.

"I treated most of his major injuries," added Angela. "We were fortunate to arrive when we did."

"Eric!" called Daryl as he landed next to the group. "Are you—"

"I'm okay," answered a weary Eric.

"Thank God. Your father has been worried sick. Why did you—"

"Boss," said Sam. "Think he's been through enough tonight. Maybe you can save the lectures for another time?" Daryl looked at Eric and sighed. The boy's clothes were torn, his face covered with dirt, and chemical burns stained his shirt.

"I'm sorry," said Daryl. "It's just... there was a moment there when I thought I had lost you," confessed the man.

"Yeah, I had a few of those myself tonight," admitted a weary Eric.

"Eric!" called Olivia as she and Vyn approached the group. "Are—"

"He's okay," answered Sam.

"Did you find any sign of the Lynch Man?" Daryl asked Olivia.

"Nothing," she answered.

"We fly all over. No scary man," said Vyn.

"Then he's escaped again," realized a frustrated Daryl.

"At least we did some damage to him this time," rationalized Sam.

"Eric, did Lynch..." Daryl suddenly noticed Eric was gone. He was walking back towards the car thief, who was resting under the goalpost.

"Hey," Eric said to the young man. "How you holding up?" The man looked at Eric for a moment, then turned away from the young hero.

"Whatta you care?" he grumbled. "You're just gonna throw me in jail now. You might as well let me hang."

"You're welcome," said Sam as she approached the pair. "Kid personally saves your ass, and you bitch about it?"

"Yeah, thanks. Now I can rot in jail. Really appreciate that."

"Well, maybe we could let him off with a warning?" suggested Olivia.

"Oh, that'll work. Back to my shitty life." The man huffed loudly.

"Not to pile things on, but we couldn't let you go anyway," said Daryl.

"That figures. Never anyone who wants to help me."

"Don't you have any family?" asked Angela.

"No."

"Wait. You said something about your father when I caught you." The thief appeared surprised by Eric's comment.

"He doesn't want anything to do with me. We haven't talked in a few years."

"How you know?" asked Vyn.

"What?" said the thief.

"How you know he not want talk if you not talk to him?"

"I just do," shrugged the thief. "He's certainly not gonna want to talk after what I did tonight."

"What exactly did you do?" asked Daryl.

"Well, I—"

"He busted a car window, set off the alarm," explained Eric.

"That's it?" asked a dubious Sam.

"Yeah, I confronted him right after he did it and subdued him," insisted Eric. "Then Lynch ambushed both of us."

"Subdued? So he resisted arrest?" asked Daryl.

"Um, well..." Eric thought to himself. "Technically, no."

"Technically?"

"Since I was out on my own without you, or the police, I didn't have the authority to arrest him," realized Eric. "Plus," Eric turned towards the thief. "I didn't really give you much chance to surrender either."

"Umm, yeah. I guess you didn't." The thief looked at Eric. He didn't say anything else, but the boy could tell by the look in his eyes he was telling Eric, 'Thank you.'

"Well, under the circumstances, it seems like you'd only be charged with vandalism. And If you cooperate and pay back the damages, it's possible you might avoid even that," explained Daryl.

"You should speak to your father too," suggested Angela. "He'll want to know about how he almost lost his son tonight. He'd be happy just to know you're still alive."

"And if he doesn't... then you're probably better off without him," added Olivia in a less optimistic voice.

"Yeah, I guess I can do that. If nothing else, at least I'll have a story to tell him," said the young man in a more upbeat tone.

"Speaking of talking to your father." Daryl looked at Eric, and it was immediately clear what the boy had to do.

"I'll go home." Eric started walking away.

"Hold up," called the young man. "I still don't even know who you people are."

"Vyn Lon." Vyn tried to offer the man his hand, but Daryl stopped him.

"We're the Starlight Sentinels," announced Daryl. "And it's our job to protect this city and its people."

"But you can just call me Eric if you want."

"Eric?" asked the man, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"That's my name," said the other Eric with a smile.

"And to think, you were worried about losing him," said Sam to Daryl. "We found a spare Eric."

After that exchange, an utterly exhausted Eric began walking home. Daryl offered to fly him back, but Eric turned him down. Not long after that, Olivia caught up with the boy and offered to walk with him. The pair headed back to Eric's apartment with few words between them. Olivia tried to cheer up Eric a few times on the walk home, but he remained quiet the entire trip. Eventually, they got to his apartment and Eric started heading up the stairs without saying a word.

"Eric." Olivia watched the boy stop, but not turn around. "I wish I knew what to say to you right now, but I don't." Olivia paused as she tried to think of something better than that.

"I'm scared," she admitted. "I'm scared every time we go out on patrol or respond to a call. But every time I see you, and how eager you are to be out there, it makes it a little easier for me to be there. And tonight made me realize you were right, we are needed."

Eric looked back at Olivia. Their eyes met, and Eric managed to force a weak grin onto his face for his friend. She smiled back at him, which made Eric feel a tiny bit better. The two teenagers looked at each other for a few moments longer, almost as if they could sense the comradery between them, then Eric turned back to the door.

The boy headed inside and slowly trudged upstairs to his apartment. Eric moved to unlock the door when it swung open suddenly. He looked up to find his father standing in front of him. Before Eric could even say a word, Joseph threw his arms around his son and hugged him. The joyful reunion was cut short when Joseph felt a burning sensation on his arms.

"Yeah, I should have told ya," spoke Eric, "I'm covered in tear gas."

This information led to a brief scolding, where Joseph berated his son for sneaking out and nearly getting himself killed, which then led to Joseph sobbing about Eric was all he has left and how he wouldn't know what to do without him.

Eric however only stood there, no idea how to answer his father. After some awkward silence, Joseph finally just told Eric he should get cleaned up and go to bed. Eric went to the bathroom and tried to scrub off all the dirt and dried gas.

After his bath, Eric's father collected his son's costume in a trash bag, telling him he was going to throw it out. Eric protested, but Joseph said the clothes were so soaked with noxious chemicals that they were utterly ruined. Eric had the urge to argue with his father, but he quickly relented when he saw his costume.

The front was covered in chemical burns, dirt was smeared all over the back, cuts and tears everywhere, and the entire shirt was covered in a white film from the settled tear gas.

This wasn't the first costume he had wrecked, but he had never seen one so utterly ruined like this. The boy was surprised he was wearing it a few minutes ago. He wasn't even sure where the gashes across the chest had come from. Eric sighed and told his father to throw it away. Exhausted, the boy slumped into his room and threw himself on the bed.

*   *   *

"You ready for your exams?" asked Joseph as he started the truck.

"For the last time, yes." Eric climbed into the vehicle. "Let's just get this over with." Eric closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window. It was really early, and a Monday. This came right on the heels of a Sunday of constant studying, with the only break being to fill out police reports.

"Why'd we have to leave so early?" mumbled Eric.

"I wanted you to get an early start," answered Joseph. "With everything that's happened, I figured you could use it."

"Everything that's happened and you think I needed an extra hour of school?" asked a dispirited Eric.

"What do you think you need?"

"I need to be allowed to do my work."

"You know how I feel about that."

"I know dad," spoke a dejected Eric.

"You know how it worries me. How scared I am of losing my only son."

"I know."

"And it never scares you?"

"A maniac tried to skewer me twice in the last few days. Of course I was scared. I was terrified."

"But you still want to be a superhero?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You know all those bad things you worry about happening to me?"

"Yeah."

"They still happen when I'm at home, just to other people."

"And why do you think you're the one who has to help them?"

"Because I can."

"That's it?"

"That's all it takes," Eric stated in an almost stoic tone. "Maybe if more people realized that, mom would still be here."

"She would be so proud of you."

Eric looked over to his father. "She would?" he asked.

"Definitely," spoke an oddly sentimental Joseph. "After you started walking, she couldn't stop telling me about every single thing you climbed on. 'Eric got on the couch all by himself. Eric managed to climb into our bed. Eric climbed out the window."

"Wait, I climbed out a window?"

"Yeah. When you were about two and a half, you somehow got up to the window and were half way out before mom stopped you. She was thrilled, and I got child locks for the windows. A month later you figured out how to get those off and I had to think of something else. And the whole time your mother was just going on about how brilliant you were. Joking that you were just a toddler, and you were already smarter than me."

"I don't remember any of this," confessed Eric.

"I guess you wouldn't. You were so young." Joseph slowed his truck to a stop. "Just know, I'll never stop worrying about you. But your mother, she was always eager to see what you'd do next." Eric looked out the window and was surprised to see they weren't at Eric's school.

"The firehouse?" asked Eric. "What are we doing here?"

"Daryl needed you for something real quick." Joseph stepped out of the truck. "He said it would only take a minute."

"Wait, why does he need to do this now then?" asked Eric as he followed his father. "If there're more forms for me to fill out then I can do those at home."

"No, he said it's the kind of thing you need to be here in person for." The paired stepped into the firehouse. Eric was surprised to see not only was the whole team already up this early but they were all in costume too.

Captain Washington and Nick were at the firehouse as well, along with what looked like a reporter and a cameraman talking to the group, neither of which Eric recognized. They apparently recognized him though because they rushed towards the boy as he entered the living room.

"Kid Astounding, a word please!" The woman thrust a microphone into Eric's face. "What was it like taking on another super villain by yourself? How would you compare it to the last one you fought? Do you think they're connected?" Eric put up his hands to block out the camera's blinding light.

"Kid Astounding isn't answering any questions at this time," interrupted Daryl as he approached the reporter. "So please, just give him some space and interview someone else right now."

"But—"

"You can talk to him later," assured Daryl. "But he and I have business at this moment. Go talk to Skelter. He likes people."

"Hi Eric." Vyn waved to Eric from across the room. Eric halfheartedly waved back as the reporters strolled over to the affable alien.

"What's going on around here?" asked Eric. "What's the press want with us? Or me for that matter?"

"Well, you're kind of the man of the hour," smiled Daryl.

"For what? I let Lynch get away, twice."

"No, the whole team let him get away, twice," corrected Nick.

"Thanks for reminding me, Mr. Tetra," spoke an irritated Daryl. "Again."

"But, you still managed to do what I thought nigh impossible; you netted your team some much needed good PR." Nick handed a tablet to Eric. The boy looked at the screen and read the headline 'Starlight Sentinels Thwart Murderous Vigilante: Save Mayor's Son From Certain Death.' Beneath the headline were small portraits of each member of the team. Eric recognized the photo of himself as one he had given the news last time they did a story about him.

"The mayor's son?" asked Eric.

"The guy with the rope around his neck," explained Washington as he joined the conversation.

"The car thief?" asked Eric. "He was the mayor's son?"

"He had a major falling out with his old man a few years back and they hadn't spoken since, least not until yesterday. And your report said he just vandalized a car, not try to steal it," reminded Washington.

"Uh... yeah. That's right."

"Anyway, yesterday morning he called his father and told him the whole story of the Lynch Man and how you wouldn't abandon him," explained Washington. "They got together for what I've been told was a very heartwarming reunion and by five yesterday evening, the mayor and his recently reunited son set up an interview on the local news to talk about the whole experience."

"And man did they have a lot to talk about," added Nick. "It was just perfect. The mayor was getting all weepy about how close he was to losing his only son, and all the while his son is going on about the Lynch Man, and how amazing you are, and how incredible the Starlight Sentinels were. You couldn't buy PR this good."

"So that's why the press is here," said Daryl. "Ms. Gates is just the first to arrive. Reporters from every local station are supposed to stop by today for a press conference Mr. Tetra set up. It's all about the night before last and how we plan to catch the Lynch Man. It should be an excellent opportunity for us to promote the team and reassure the populace."

"Um, that's great," shrugged Eric. "But I didn't do what I did for publicity. And my dad doesn't want me doing this anymore at all." Eric turned to the door, but was blocked by his father.

"That's never stopped you before," said Joseph with a smirk.

"What? You, actually want me to be a hero?"

"I do son."

"You're sure?" asked Eric, with more than a hint of concern in his voice.

"What's wrong?" asked Joseph. "Don't you still want to be a hero?"

"Of course. But this weekend, when I thought I was going to... die, I thought about mom, and how we both felt when we lost her. And I realized you must feel like that every night I go out. And I don't want to put that on you if you don't want me to do this anymore." Joseph was surprised by his son's sudden concern. He leaned down and put his hand on Eric's shoulder.

"I really appreciate that son, and like I said, I'll always worry about you when you're 'working.' But after seeing how happy the mayor and his son were and knowing it was all because of you, I don't think I could live with myself if I stopped you from doing this. And I know your mother wouldn't want me to stop you."

Eric smiled. His father's words of support vindicated him in a way he'd never known before. The boy felt a great swell of pride that deepened his already strong conviction to his cause. It was a sensation so intense that Eric was briefly at a loss for words, but then the boy managed to find some.

"Oh crap," he said. "I've got school in less than an hour." Eric rushed for the door, but his father intercepted him.

"Actually, someone called yesterday to say school would be cancelled Monday," informed Joseph.

"The football field is a major crime scene," added Washington. "Izuna wanted another day for the forensics team to go over it."

"Wait, why didn't you tell me this earlier?" asked Eric.

"For the same reason I didn't tell you about the mayor's son, I wanted to surprise you." Eric glared at his father. "And I wanted you to study for your exams." The boy grimaced at his father. "Oh come on, you still have to take them, and there's no way you would have studied once you heard all this." Eric continued to glower at his dad, but then a smirk formed on the edge of the boy's mouth.

"You're right, I wouldn't have."

"Yeah yeah, education's real important, now come on, you've got a press conference to prep for." Nick headed into the meeting area along with Daryl and Washington.

"One other thing," said Joseph. "I talked it over with Daryl, and we both agreed it'd be better if you lived at the firehouse, at least for your summer break."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Since school will be out soon and you'll be working a lot more, it just makes sense for you to stay here. Also, you'd probably be safer here in case the Lynch Man came after you again."

"What about you?" asked Eric. "Shouldn't you stay at the firehouse too?"

"I don't think the Lynch Man is out for me, and Washington said he's going to assign a couple of patrol cars to my neighborhood." Joseph smiled. "Besides, I don't want to cramp your style."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah," assured Joseph. "Go have your moment in the sun. I'm going to head back to the apartment and pack up your things."

"Thanks Dad." Eric hugged his father. "I love you."

"I love you too son." The pair separated and Eric took a seat at the table where most of the team was waiting.

"It feels so strange," Angela said to Olivia. "After years of thinking I was a monster, now people are calling me a hero."

"It's a good feeling, isn't it?" Angela thought about Eric's question.

"Yes, it is," smiled Angela.

"I'm guessing you feel better," said Olivia.

"I feel great," assured Eric with a smile.

"I have something that will make you feel even better," announced Daryl as he carried a box to the table.

"What is it?" asked Eric.

"It's a surprise," said Sam.

"New costume!" announced an excited Vyn as Eric pried the box open.

"Wow!" Eric awed at the new shirt that sported a familiar shade of hunter green and a trio of golden triangles arranged to form a large 'A' right on the chest. He picked it up and could immediately tell just from the feel of the material this shirt was unique.

"I talked to the guy who made my bulletproof suit," said Nick. "He had a shirt in your size, so I figured you could use it." Eric quickly took off his shirt and slipped the new one on.

"I know how you feel about body armor," said Daryl. "But—"

"I love it," said Eric. "It doesn't feel any heavier than the wetsuit shirts I've been using, just a lot sturdier."

"Keep in mind, it wasn't cheap," added Nick. "I wanted to take it out of your pay. But Daryl convinced me you've done enough to earn it."

"So he took it out of my pay," added Daryl.

"You volunteered," reminded Nick.

"I did." Daryl looked at Eric. "You're worth every penny."

"I dyed it green for you," said Angela.

"And I stenciled your logo onto it," added Olivia.

"The shirt's not the only thing in that box," said Sam. "I pitched in to buy you some new shoes, and you dad picked out some steel insoles for them." Eric dug the new shoes out of the box. "Also, we got you some kevlar sleeves. Figured since that shirt's sleeves are a little short, you could use some extra protection for your hands and forearms."

"Googles!" proclaimed an excitable Vyn.

"We let him pick out your new goggles," clarified Daryl as Eric dug the alleged goggles out of the box. They were a very stylish pair of swimming goggles with gold paint and black trim. Eric didn't hesitate to put them on.

"They're supposed to help your depth perception and keep the sun out of your eyes," explained Daryl. "At least that's what the ad said."

"They're awesome," assured Eric.

"So why is it the police have been unable to locate this Lynch Man?" The group looked over to see Ms. Gates walking beside Captain Washington as he approached the table.

"No comment," said the police captain.

"Do the police have any plans on how to apprehend this dangerous new super villain?" asked Ms. Gates. "Can he even be stopped?"

"He'll be stopped." Ms. Gates looked over to a now fully costumed Eric posed in front of the rest of the team, the six heroes standing tall before the reporter's cameraman. "And you're looking at the people who are going to stop him."