JANUARY — PENNSINGTON CITY — 1:57 PM
"I still can't believe we were assigned this mission," Sean squealed, as the car drove through the streets of Pennsington towards the house the AMO had rented for them.
"You're like a giddy little girl going to the candy store," Madilyn rolled her eyes, leaning on the car door as she watched the scenery fly by, rubbing the fog off the window.
"I'm just excited," he replied.
Sean didn't hesitate to run to the under-twenty-five lounge and gloat about how they got the mission. Most of them were disappointed and most of them wanted to kill him for bragging, so 2832 had to drag him out before he became a piece of bread in a pond of ducks.
The next day, they were on a flight to Pennsington City, Nevada. Sean couldn't shut up the whole time; Harpo slept; and Madilyn tried to sleep but when she was constantly poked by Sean(they picked straws to see who'd have to sit next to him. Madilyn drew the short one, and appropriately snapped it in half), she pummeled him with her pillow and almost cuffed him to the arms of his chair.
2832 sat next to Harpo, who was the ideal airplane partner. He never bothered her, and kept to his chair, while sleeping soundlessly and never moved. She listened to music the entire time, drifting in and out of sleep, and having to wake up to protect Sean from being brutally murdered by a pillow.
When drinks came around, she was accidentally given Sean's pop, him getting her water. So, before they switched, she poured a sedative into the liquid and handed it to him. It wasn't for Madilyn, but for everyone who had the unfortunate delight of sharing a plane with him. He was gone in minutes after drowning it all.
A car picked them up(someone from the AMO) and drove them to their temporary home. It had four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a living area, a kitchen and three floors.
The first floor was where the kitchen and lounge area was. Mostly everything was modern and white, with comfortable chairs and couches. There was one of the bathrooms there, without a shower or bath but a toilet and sink.
The second floor was more of a living quarters. That was where all four bedrooms were, and two bathrooms.
The basement was completely transformed from a homey house to a secret agent lair. With a passcode and hand scan, it had the highest of security like the rest of the house. Inside was all they needed, with a meeting area, a map of the city, and an array of weapons.
The house didn't require a key, but a fingerprint scan like the basement. When they entered, they looked around the first floor then went upstairs to the second.
"This is what I call a house," Sean whistled.
"I just want to rest," Madilyn groaned.
Sean, obviously, ran to choose his room. He had a pale, almost minty green bedroom. There was a bed with a white duvet and green blanket at the end, with several green and white pillows. He had a desk near the bed, transparent, and a dresser on the other side. The side of the bed was just below a window, against the wall the window was on.
Madilyn also happened to get her's second. There was a pale red carpet on the floor, soft to the touch. The walls were white except for one which was a light red, the head of the bed against it. She also had a queen bed, white with red and white pillows, and a red blanket at the end. There was a large window on the wall to the right of the bed, light crimson curtains hanging from it. And across from the bed was a desk with a chair, and mirror.
2832's had a theme of a light blue. A queen size bed had the backrest of a blue bookshelf, with an enormous white duvet and many white and blue throw pillows to go with it. She had a closet full of clothing, some for missions and some so she could go out in public and not stand out. There was a desk and an office chair, where she expected to do most of her work. Finally, there was a small balcony with just enough space to stand.
Finally, Harpo got the last one, not really caring. His bedframe was a brownish-black, standing out among all the white. His bed had two white pillows and two orange ones, and an orange blanket at the other side. He had a vertical window with orange and white curtains, a desk across from the bed bearing the same wood as the frame. And on the other side was a dresser.
"This is where I'm staying until tomorrow warning," Madilyn called, the sound of her flopping on her bed evident.
"It's two pm."
"Fuck you, Sean."
It seemed Madilyn didn't take into account that her bedroom was right next to his. 2832 was across from Madilyn, Harpo next to her.
"Sorry, Madilyn, but we need to discuss our plans," Harpo said, leaning on the door frame of his room.
"So you talk now?" 2832 asked rhetorically.
"Don't bother," Sean waved it off dismisevely. "Good ol' Harpocrates here doesn't speak a word of the past."
She decided not to push it.
"Are we going in the basement?" Harpo suggested, as Madilyn finally slugged out of her room.
"I'm a little hungry. I haven't had lunch," Madilyn replied.
2832 almost spoke up. She had heard the term lunch many times, and suspected it was something like supper and breakfast. She was used to only having two meals a day, and wasn't that hungry at all.
"We can talk in the kitchen then," Sean said, running down the stairs as the others followed. "I've been itching to find out what they loaded in our cabinets."
"Sean-"
Madilyn cut herself off, watching as he ran for the kitchen and tore the cabinets open. He slumped. "Soup, nuts, granola bars," he said aloud, going over to the fridge. "This is all crappy healthy stuff!"
"Sean," 2832 deadpanned. "We're agents. We can't eat unhealthily. We need to be in prime condition."
"The occasional sundae wouldn't do any harm," he murmured, still fishing through all the drawers.
JANUARY - GLIDER HQ - 3:44 PM
"Strong enough?" Monica asked, a glowing white rock pressed to Rylie's wrist with rope, just tight enough to keep it on and as temporary cuffs. He struggled, but managed to make lightning flicker in his fingers. "Shit."
"It was hard to, though," Rylie said.
"Clearly not hard enough," she muttered, taking the solidified trimethylxanthine and storming away to make it better.
"Well, your sister is sure just a bundle of joy," he said.
"I'll go help her," Pepper said, running off to where Monica had wandered off to.
"I've been thinking recently," Tyler said randomly.
"That's a first," Rylie murmured under his breath, earning a slap on the shoulder from him.
"You know what I mean," he scowled. "We're a group of people sixteen to twenty-six years old, as a team for a superhero, developing power-dampening cuffs so we can kidnap some girl and convince her to tell us where the camp is to save your little sister, who also happens to be a superhero."
"That pretty much sums it up," Marcus shrugged.
"Just wanted you guys to know."
"Uh oh," Marcus said, rolling in his chair over to his desk as a notification popped up in his computer. "We've got a fire downtown in an apartment building. You should probably-" But Rylie was already gone, and so was his suit, the sky light wide open. "And he's gone."
Monica tsked. "I don't know how he does it. Never seen him study once—he doesn't have time for it—but he still gets high marks in all his classes."
Tyler watched the security footage as Light Glider came into the picture, floating down. He was talking to a fireman. "Jealous, Mon?"
"No, just... Impressed."
"Most people are," Marcus murmured. "Good kid. He deserves his powers."
"Is there anybody inside?" Rylie's voice echoed through the headquarters, so Pepper ran to her seat and quickly used a heat scanner through the street camera.
"Yeah, eleven. Lucky you, you got three on the twelfth floor. Five on the fourth, and three on the ninth."
"Got it."
She spun in her chair to face the others, then scowled, storming over to Tyler to snatch the book out of his hands. "How did you already pick up a book?"
"Hey! I need to read that for English! It's for class!" He exclaimed, trying to get it back.
"I swear you're a nerd," she scowled, dropping it in the empty trash can. He fished it out, flipped her the bird and scrambled to find where he left off.
"You're an awful person."
"Damn right."