"I just don't understand."
Vidya picked up another outfit from the table, inspecting it at arm's length. "Understand what?" she asked.
Mom was sitting on the bed, gnawing on the end of a pickle. It was the cinnamon-dill kind, the flavor that made Vidya gag, so she wrinkled her nose and went into the bathroom to change.
"Why he's resigning now," Mom continued, her voice muffled by the door between them. "Celestro is a relatively young company—only sixteen years old, right?"
"I think so."
"And Goodman is only sixty-five. I'm surprised a man with that much power is giving it up so quickly."
Vidya shoved her arms into the sleeves of the white-button down and closed it from bottom to top, thinking. The president of Celestro's resignation didn't really shock her, only because she'd never had an opinion of him in the first place.
She shrugged to herself in the mirror. "I guess sixteen years of running a superhero company tires a guy out."
Mom laughed. "That's fair."
Vidya pulled on the blazer, straightened her pants, and stepped back into her room, twirling around. "What do you think?"
Thankfully, Mom had finished the pickle. She leaned forward and squinted, eyeing every detail. "It's a little small."
Vidya pulled at the fabric, trying to stretch it, but Mom was right. This was her homecoming outfit from sophomore year; she hadn't thought she'd outgrown it much, but she'd been wrong. She took the blazer off with an anxious sigh. She'd known for a while that she had to attend the resignation celebration, but she'd put off finding a fancy outfit to the very last moment, right before the party.
And what did she have that was fancy? Well, aside from the too-small pantsuit set, there was the purple dress from freshmen homecoming and the simple black dress from junior homecoming. She'd already discovered a rip in the side of the purple dress, so she picked up the black one and took it into the bathroom.
"How long will you be there?" Mom asked.
"Until eleven, I think?" It really depended on how long Fox wanted her there, which shouldn't be too long.
Vidya zipped up the dress and rolled the lint roller over it. It was mostly clean—as it should be, since she'd only worn it once, and it fit just fine.
She strode out of the bathroom confidently. Mom leaned forward and squinted again, finally smiling and saying, "Perfect."
"That's great!" Vidya said enthusiastically, rummaging through her bed for her mask. "Because I was supposed to be there five minutes ago!"
_____________________
Lady Marvel smoothed down her wrap dress for the tenth time. The resignation party was a simple celebration, not a superhero event, so the heroes ditched their uniforms in favor of formalwear. Lady Marvel spent more time in her supersuit than in anything else—sometimes for missions, but mostly for interviews and relations meetings and official reports. She was happy to be wearing a dress for a change but couldn't stop adjusting it.
Flamethrower smirked. "Stop doing that."
Lady Marvel forced her hands to rest at her sides. If Flamethrower could wear a gorgeous black pantsuit that was too long in the legs without tripping over her impossibly high heels, then she could stop fidgeting with her dress.
They stood together near the entrance, which had officially closed an hour ago but still flapped open every once in a while to let in latecomers. The guests were a mix of Celestro's personnel, its heroes, and a few public figures and sponsors. Only some press had been invited, and since they weren't wearing their badges, it was difficult to tell who was who unless you already knew them. And Lady Marvel did: she knew every single one by face, name, and publication.
Flamethrower drained her champagne, and as a waiter passed by, she replaced her empty glass with a fresh one without even stopping him.
"Don't drink too much," Lady Marvel hissed. "You do stupid things when you're drunk."
Flamethrower scoffed, undeterred. "You're just jealous."
Lady Marvel shook her head. It was impossible for her to be drunk; alcohol and drugs didn't affect her. Most supers with durability were the same way, Juggernaut included, and to a much lesser extent, Phase, too. She didn't care, but she held a glass anyway out of celebration.
"Last time you got drunk at one of these," Lady Marvel said, "you melted a sink in the bathroom."
"It was an accident."
"An accident that someone saw and had to be paid off to forget."
Flamethrower's eyes rolled up. "Okay, Marv," she snapped. "I'll be careful. There. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Lady Marvel's fingers tightened around her glass, and she wasn't given a chance to respond. Flamethrower was already walking away. Her steps were neat and straight, but the knowledge that she'd be drunk soon and the sight of the incredibly high heels made Lady Marvel anxious. She wasn't fond of wearing heels herself, she preferred flats, and she wished Flamethrower had worn flats tonight, too, only because stumbling around in those was safer—and less humiliating—than stumbling around in the skyscrapers she currently had on her feet.
Lady Marvel turned, suddenly aware of the empty space surrounding her. She didn't like being alone at these things, not that anyone could truly be alone at an event brimming with more than a hundred people. Fox and President Goodman were descending the staircase, where journalists were lined on each step. The heroes were scattered among the guests; without their supersuits, they blended in for once...except for Frostbite, who was wearing her mask. People flocked to her like mosquitoes, hungry for her perspective on the company's future. Phase and Echo were faring almost as badly—the crowd around them was too congested to see through, and Lady Marvel only knew where they were because Echo towered over everybody at six-foot-five, and he and Phase usually stuck together.
Juggernaut was all the way across the crowd. Lady Marvel sighed through her nose and leaned forward with her arms on the railing that separated the elevated entrance from the sunken event hall. She'd rather be over there with him, but she didn't want to risk the journey. There were too many people, too many potential conversations, in the way.
He noticed her and waved. She waved back. Neither of their smiles quite reached their eyes. As two of the most popular heroes, they'd gone to enough of these events to last a lifetime. Still they attended and acted accordingly, since it was part of their job.
Lady Marvel scanned the sea of heads. She had some information to give, and she may as well do it at this time. Now, it was only a matter of finding the right press to give it to. Heidi was the first one she came across. The news anchor had her back to the party to touch up her makeup. This was her first event here; it had to be, or else she would've known where the bathroom was and been in there instead.
Lady Marvel cleared her throat, approaching from behind. "Ms. Claire?"
Heidi snapped her compact closed, whirling around. There was a notebook sticking out of her pocket—look at that, a dress with pockets!—and she whipped it out. "Lady Marvel! Would you mind if I asked a few questions?"
That's what I'm here for, Lady Marvel thought. "Not at all."
"We've heard rumors that the hero at the docks was Matthew Garber, alias Achilles? Is that true?"
"Ms. Fox will be releasing the official statement tomorrow morning," Lady Marvel said, "but yes, I can confirm. We're very sorry it happened. Matthew was a good friend of mine."
Not true. He seemed like a good guy, even if the standards weren't high in this business, but besides a passing conversation or two, they'd never talked. Calling him a good friend was a stretch, but it made her sound more sympathetic.
Heidi jotted it down. "This makes the second of your employees to be found murdered. What's being done?"
"The official investigation falls under the jurisdiction of the LAPD, but we're collaborating."
"Would you say that these are unrelated crimes, or that there's a serial killer targeting superheroes? Celestro's heroes, in particular?"
Those were words Lady Marvel never expected to hear. She couldn't wrap her head around how incredibly stupid someone would have to be to pit themselves against Celestro. "I don't know."
Heidi looked disappointed. She must've been hoping to be the first to declare that there was a super killer on the loose, but only Fox would decide who to give that glory to.
"Thanks for coming," Lady Marvel said, ending the conversation before she could be asked something she didn't want to answer.
Surprisingly, Heidi simply thanked her for her time and let Lady Marvel go. Heidi was definitely new; no one in their right mind would let an interviewee go so easily without squeezing out as many answers as possible at the expense of being polite. Once she was in the industry long enough, she'd become like all the rest: pushy and annoying.
Lady Marvel stayed moving. Occasionally, someone would flash her a smile, and she'd have to smile back, but she never stood still long enough to let anyone start a conversation. Now that her press task was done, she wasn't willing to extend her company to anyone other than the Marvels, Fox, or Talia.
Instead, she studied the guests. Frostbite was holding a glass of what must've been apple juice, and she was still being bombarded with questions and well-wishes. Lady Marvel could swoop in and easily save the poor girl, and she debated it for a few seconds before choosing not to.
The tap of a microphone echoed across the room, and Lady Marvel stopped walking. Everyone turned toward the foot of the staircase, where the podium was set up, but Lady Marvel glanced over her shoulder, searching. Juggernaut was all the way in the back of the room. She raised an eyebrow and tried to wave him over, wondering why he wasn't up here like he was supposed to be during the announcement. He didn't notice.
President and CEO Timothy Goodman stood at the podium, adjusting the mic to the right height. He'd founded the company and built it up to the American multinational conglomerate it was today, and now, he was handing it all over to the vice president. They'd all always known that Fox would end up in charge, but somehow, it never went to her head. Lady Marvel thought the woman would go full-blown control freak, but she hadn't.
Or maybe the worst was yet to come.
"I've always dreamed of this day," Goodman said, sweeping his gaze slowly across the room. "The day I say goodbye to the family I've built up and have them smile back at me the way you're all doing right now."
The crowd laughed. Lady Marvel forced a chuckle. She'd never liked him.
"During my sixteen years as head of Celestro, I've watched as the company built a platform, an example, for superheroes all around the globe. Our team has saved thousands of lives, raised awareness of super and non-super problems, and made the world a better, safer, happier place."
The crowd interrupted him with a bout of applause.
"Today, I finally step down and hand over the responsibility of running this great organization to Ms. Amanda Fox, who will bring a fresh perspective in these ever-changing times."
Fox, who stood behind him, gave the crowd a little nod.
Goodman tapped his fingers along the side of the podium, silent for a moment. "So I say goodbye to you all, knowing that Celestro is headed for an even brighter future while I head off to my retirement in Hawaii."
The guests laughed again.
"I'm serious." Goodman smiled; it was a wolf's smile, but it fooled everyone easily. "I'm headed there right now, in fact, because I can't wait."
He stepped back and let Fox up to the podium. And just like that, Timothy Goodman was old news. Everyone's complete, undivided attention was on Fox and what she was saying, but Lady Marvel watched Goodman as he left through a side door. Less than a minute later, a helicopter passed by the slit windows, and no one but the few who watched even noticed.
What a jerk, Lady Marvel thought. He'd left with a big old corporate goodbye for the public, but there was no sincere farewell to his actual team, the one he ran so strictly and sometimes cruelly. Running off to Hawaii during the party felt like an inside joke, one last fuck you. Lady Marvel glanced over her shoulder again to see if Juggernaut felt the same way, but he wasn't where he'd been standing.
The party went back to the way it'd been before, but now, with the main announcement out of the way, people were free to talk louder. Before Lady Marvel could plan an escape, Fox pulled her aside. There was a healthy, happy glow to the new president.
"Where's Juggernaut?" Fox asked.
"I don't know."
"Great," Fox muttered. There was a group of people just behind her, waiting, looking a little judgemental. "Will you keep them busy while I go find him?"
Lady Marvel would rather die. "You talk to them, and I'll go find him."
"But I'm sure they're really interested in you—"
"I wasn't asking," Lady Marvel said through clenched teeth and an obviously strained smile.
Fox recoiled a step. "Alright, alright," she relented. "Make it quick."
__________________
Vidya felt stupid in her mask, but it was a security measure she'd chosen to put up with. She could swear the other supers were secretly making fun of her for it.
Her throat was sore from talking so much. It was like every single guest had come up to meet her. They asked her how she was doing, how she liked being a hero, what she thought of Fox talking over, what the future of the company looked like. She answered their questions with all the sincerity she could muster, which was a lot, but eventually the smile started to hurt, and she wanted to escape.
Goodman's speech was a nice break, but she knew that the second it was over, she'd be crowded again. So, the very moment Fox left the podium and asked people to get back to their good time, Vidya hightailed it to the bathroom. She had nothing to do in there, but she needed a moment to herself. Maybe she could pretend to fix her hair.
Vidya opened the bathroom door and almost backed right out. Flamethrower was standing at a sink, applying a fresh layer of lipstick. She noticed Vidya in the mirror and said nothing, but the corners of her lips twitched upward, causing a tiny smudge. She scraped it away with her nail.
Backing away now would be like admitting defeat, so Vidya went up to the sinks, leaving one space between her and Flamethrower. She ran the water cold and let it cascade over her hands, watching the other super out of the corner of her eye. What was better, meaningless conversation or silence?
"You look amazing," Vidya said.
"Thanks." Flamethrower didn't even look at her. "You look ridiculous in that mask."
It was so blunt that Vidya was more surprised than hurt. "You know why I'm wearing it," she said.
"Doesn't change the fact that you look like trash."
Vidya's face heated up. Using the reflection in the mirror, she looked at the bottoms of the stalls. Only one of them was occupied, a set of black flats visible. Whoever was in there was probably waiting for the awkward conversation to end before getting out, and Vidya hoped they would politely forget what they heard.
"I'm just telling the truth," Flamethrower added, waving around her lipstick. "Someone has to be honest around here."
The person was still in the stall. Vidya wished they would take a hint and leave right now, before things got worse, but the door remained closed.
"What's your point?" Vidya asked quietly. "Why do you have such a problem with me?"
Flamethrower looked somewhat pitiful. "There is no point, and there is no problem. I just don't like you."
A loud, exasperated sigh came from the occupied stall. The person inside flushed and flung open the door, standing there for a moment.
It was Lady Marvel.
Vidya and Flamethrower locked eyes in alarm, both of them surprised by their unwitting eavesdropper and afraid of what she was going to say. They stared down at their sinks, embarrassed.
"Can't even pee in peace," Lady Marvel grumbled, coming up to the sink between them to wash her hands. "Have either of you seen Juggernaut?"
They both shook their heads.
"Great." Lady Marvel shook her hands dry, drops of water flying onto her dress. "Stop fighting."
She paused in the doorway on her way out, halfway turned toward them. Vidya looked at her imploringly, hoping she would say something in Vidya's defense. For a brief second, it looked like she might make another, nicer comment, but Lady Marvel simply left without another word.
"Wow," Flamethrower said, dragging out the word. "She told us to stop fighting. Sounds like she likes you."
That wasn't at all what it sounded like, but for lack of a better response, Vidya just nodded.
Flamethrower's smirk instantly collapsed. "Wrong," she snapped. "If you think any of us care about you, you're wrong. Don't kid yourself."
Vidya turned off the faucet. She looked at herself in the mirror, at the little girl at a party full of people who belonged here more than she did, wearing a mask because she couldn't show her face. All of that, she had been fine with, but something inside her snapped after all of Flamethrower's derisive comments.
I do not need to deal with this.
Vidya might be optimistic, a little too naive and innocent for this line of work, but she wasn't trash, and she wasn't going to stand here and take it.
"Enjoy the party," she said with a saccharine smile.
She left the bathroom, and then she left Celestro. She crossed the party room, refusing to stop for anyone, pretending she didn't notice them trying to talk to her, and she escaped through the main entrance. Fox might chew her out for this, and Vidya would later feel guilty for leaving so early, but she couldn't care less right now.
She found herself in the same situation she was in after the whole debacle with Heat: walking away and feeling a mix of anger and shame and disappointment as the world switched from day to night. The streetlights flickered on one by one, but Vidya wanted to stick to the darkness, just like last time. She found her way into the network of alleys.
This couldn't go on. There was hatred blackening her heart, and she didn't want it there. She couldn't let her entire Marvel experience turn sour just because of Flamethrower. She couldn't let one obnoxious hero ruin her perception of everyone—they all deserved better than that. She deserved better than that.
A shadow passed over her. Vidya looked up just in time to watch someone land on the edge of one building and run off without even pausing to balance. They looked somewhat familiar, but she wasn't sure.
Vidya flew up to look. The mysterious girl had already run across the roof, and now she stood at the other edge, ready for the next jump.
"Hey," Vidya said.
The girl whirled around. It was Mask. She pushed up her mask and smiled, crossing her arms over her chest. "If it isn't Frostbite. Aren't you supposed to be at that resignation thing?"
Vidya shrugged, once again self-conscious of how stupid her mask looked with a formal dress. "I stuck around long enough."
"Ah." Mask nodded slowly, eyes downcast. They flicked back and forth, as if she were debating between two options, and then she looked up. "Since you're free...how about we hang out?"
"Right now?"
"Why not?"
"But I don't know you," Vidya said bluntly. There was no other way to put it.
"You don't know anyone." Mask didn't look offended at all. "How are you going to make friends in this business if you don't try? The invitation stands. Follow me if you're up for it."
Mask pulled down her mask and turned around. There was nothing particularly dangerous about the way she stood, the way she spoke, the way she invited a stranger to hang out with her. There was only curiosity, a genuine sort of kindness that was refreshing after all that had happened recently.
If she turned out to be a supervillain luring Vidya into a trap, then Frostbite was more than capable of defending herself. So when Mask jumped to the next roof, Vidya followed.
____________________
Lady Marvel had walked across the party several times, asked around, and had Echo check the bathroom, but she couldn't find Juggernaut. She'd even gone all the way up to their floor, but he wasn't there. She would think that he left the party entirely, but he wouldn't do that without letting her know. He had to be here somewhere.
The only logical place left to check before running through the party again was the adjoining kitchen. She didn't expect to find him there, so she only partially opened the door and poked her head in. There were two long metal tables across the rectangular kitchen. The cooks surrounded one of them, loading plates of appetizers or entrees or whatever onto rolling carts. At the middle of the other table sat someone eating cereal.
Lady Marvel did a double-take, almost leaving before she realized it was Juggernaut. He slowly dragged his spoon through the milk, focused on the back of a box of Froot Loops. The cooks paid him no mind, avoiding his table entirely. They finished loading the carts and pushed them past Lady Marvel and into the party. In the distance, Fox announced the arrival of food.
"What are you doing in here?" Lady Marvel asked when they were alone.
He said nothing, but she saw the sarcastic answer in the look he gave her: what does it look like I'm doing?
"Fox is looking for you," she said.
"What a surprise."
"So you're not coming?"
He waved his spoon in the air dismissively. "No."
Lady Marvel glanced over her shoulder. She didn't really want to go back out there, so she walked into the kitchen, letting the door swing closed behind her. Juggernaut nudged the cereal box toward her as she came and stood across the table from him, leaning forward on her arms. She poured some cereal into her cupped palm, surprised that the event kitchen stocked Froot Loops.
"Now what are you doing here?" he asked, smiling.
She sighed. "What's the point of being at a party if you don't have anyone to bitch about the guests to?"
"Heidi?"
"She's fine, actually. But Senator Rambeau's scratchy laugh is driving everyone crazy, Mad Mar and Echo got into an argument, Phase is trying to keep them from ripping each other's throats out, and Flamethrower's being insufferable."
"So business as usual?"
"Unfortunately."
Lady Marvel pulled out a stool from under the table so she could sit. She robotically put loops in her mouth one by one, looking around. Without the bright white and red of the cooks' uniforms, the entire kitchen was all monochrome gray, silver, and black. One of the few splashes of color was her own deep purple dress...which she noticed matched his tie perfectly.
She cleared her throat, trying to hold back a smile. "Who picked out your tie?"
"I was wearing a blue one, but Emika practically ripped it off my neck and told me to wear this one instead. Why?" He glanced at her dress and got his answer. "They'll never stop with us, will they?"
"You know what they say," she said dryly. "World's greatest power couple that never was."
He smiled. She appreciated it; any other reaction would've made her feel disappointed. Or embarrassed. Lady Marvel poured herself another palmful of Froot Loops, still trying to figure out why he was here.
"If I didn't know any better," she said carefully, "I'd say you look kind of sad."
"Then it's a good thing you know better."
Lady Marvel put a red loop in her mouth, smushed it with her tongue, and swallowed. "I changed my mind. I don't know better. You look sad."
Juggernaut let his spoon fall into the bowl. Lady Marvel was afraid she'd pushed too hard and that he'd leave, but he just rubbed his face and sighed.
"I know fifteen years isn't that long of a time," he said, "but I've been with Celestro since almost the beginning. Everyone I knew, all the original researchers and employees, are either dead or retired. Goodman was the last one, and now...."
"Not only is he gone, but he left in a helicopter without actually saying goodbye," she finished.
"I didn't think I would care," Juggernaut said, laughing, "but here I am, stress eating Froot Loops."
Lady Marvel nodded, but she didn't understand. Then again, she shouldn't be surprised that he was actually fond of Goodman when she didn't know him that well to begin with. Juggernaut was a mystery to everyone, rarely mentioning even the tiniest of inconsequential details of the part of his life that didn't have to do with the superhero job. They were close friends, but sometimes Lady Marvel felt like she didn't know him at all.
And somehow, they knew each other better than anyone.
He snapped in her face. "Hello? Are you still in there?"
"Sorry." Lady Marvel blinked. She realized she'd been staring at his scar the whole time. "I can't stop looking at it."
He rolled his eyes. "Why does it bother you so much?"
"It's just that..." She shook her head. "I've seen you take on an exploding missile and walk away without so much as a scratch." She reached over and brushed her thumb over the scar. "I'm dying to know what could've caused even this tiny mark."
Normally, this was when he shrugged or ignored her. But this time he stared at her for a moment, and then he said, almost tauntingly, "It's not as interesting a story as you might think."
She cocked her head. "Try me."
"A short while after the lab accident," he said, "when my powers weren't fully set in and I wasn't completely invulnerable yet, I was practicing flying in an open field. It was all grass, and there were wind turbines far, far off in the distance. I didn't know how to control speed or direction or...anything, really, and before I knew it, I was flying face-first into a windmill blade."
She blinked. "A windmill did this?"
"It knocked me to the ground and cut up my face. There was a huge gash from here to here," he said, dragging a finger in a jagged, horizontal line across his face, over his nose, and ending where the scar was now. "When the powers fully set in, I became invulnerable, and the cut healed, but it left behind this little bit." He tapped the scar. "And that's the story."
"That's not what I was expecting."
He shrugged. "I told you it wasn't interesting."
The kitchen doors burst open. Fox was standing there, unsurprised, but also annoyed. "Come on. You've been away long enough."
Lady Marvel put the box on top of the refrigerator, where she figured it would go. Juggernaut washed the bowl and stuck it on the drying rack.
"People were wondering where you were." Fox tapped her foot impatiently. "I think Frostbite might've left, too."
"I don't blame her," Lady Marvel commented, remembering what Flamethrower had said in the bathroom. "I don't blame her at all."