I followed behind Henry as he approached the new arrivals. SID had come out in full force this time, with several armored vehicles pulling up to the warehouse.

"Stay by me and listen. And don't think our conversation is over." Henry threw a comment at me over his shoulder.

I didn't respond and followed him to the lead truck. The back opened, and a team of power-armored men stepped out in formation. Henry ignored them and instead made his way to the passenger seat.

"Henry, got any injuries?" A woman called out to him while stepping down from the vehicle. She wore a mostly pink old-styled nurse's uniform. She even had a little cap and a white surgical mask covering the bottom portion of her face with hair just as pink as the costume.

The outfit was a little jarring in the real world. It felt strange to see it worn outside of a costume party setting. Her serious demeanor and professional aura helped sell the look.

"The worst is this guy here." Henry pointed at the mystery man I had trailing behind us. My arms kept him perfectly level.

"This is new." She looked at the makeshift stretcher and then gave me a once-over. "You a vigilante?"

My outfit gave me away as a super, but my affiliation wasn't well known yet. She didn't wait for an answer from me to get to work. Walking over to the injured man, she placed her hand on him.

"This is Night Nurse. She's a healer working for SID." Henry answered my unasked question.

Three men in green scrubs approached us from another truck nearby. They gave Henry and me a nod before joining Night Nurse by the man's side. She took her free hand and placed it on one of her associates. A second later, he stepped away, looking drained.

"She's transferring a portion of the damage to each of them," Henry spoke up from next to me, helping to explain what was happening.

I gave the first man another look while the Nurse continued working. I could see a few bruises around his eyes that hadn't been there before. He didn't look anywhere close to as hurt as the man I saved, but he was scuffed up.

While we watched, armored men entered and surrounded the building. They were setting up a perimeter and posting guards at entrances.

The eye I had on Eddie caught Anytime appear in the room for a moment. He moved at a blistering speed to scour the area and soon vanished again.

"That's quite the scene in there." Anytime spoke while now standing next to Henry. He placed his hands on his hips like an angry mother.

"What's up with the frozen pile of rocks." He asked.

"A super named Eddie is buried in there," I spoke up, tired of being silent.

Henry gave me a mild glare but let it pass. Anytime was too interested in what I had to say at this point. He put his arms down and walked over to my side.

"Eddie Black? That's a tough catch." Anytime commented while stroking his helmet's chin. It made me think he might have a beard under there. "So ice works. That's good to know."

He was gone before I could finish blinking. A look around told me he was nowhere in sight. I turned to Henry about to ask if he always took off during conversations when Night Nurse gasped.

"Get a real stretcher, now!" She commanded the men still recovering from her power use. Her work continued after they ran off.

The man's face had taken the shape of a human once more instead of a pile of bloody meat. He was a handsome guy with black hair. His jawline was well sculpted, and what I was now feeling from his healed body hinted at a similar definition.

"What's the problem?" Henry had moved over to Night Nurse after noticing the worry on her face.

She looked back at him and then down at the unconscious man. "Nothing. We just need to get him somewhere he can rest."

She tightened up her expression and turned back to her patient. That was all she was willing to give him, and he knew not to push the subject. It was only a moment later that her subordinates returned with the stretcher.

"Get him in the truck." She told them. They lifted him out of my floating arms and strapped him down. Nurse followed after them back to the vehicle.

Since we were both looking in that direction, Henry and I noticed Susan at the same time. She was flying over everyone, but most of SID didn't give her more than a cursory glance. Landing a few feet in front of us, she joined our group in seconds.

"Sorry, I was held up." She looked around at the place. "Not much damage for a super fight. Especially against Eddie."

For the first time since I met her, she looked genuinely happy. I wasn't sure which part of this whole situation did it, but the smile was nice to see.

"There shouldn't have been any damage," Henry commented from the side. His ex-wife frowned at him.

"Isn't this exactly why you wanted him on the team? To crack down on the people we let slip through?" She questioned him with anger filling her tone.

"These kinds of things need to be planned. Running off and busting one drug den doesn't help much. Plus, the Snow Gang will be on guard now, assuming they aren't gearing up for war!" His voice was getting a little heated at the end.

A few of the surrounding SID officers started looking in our direction. I was also upset with Henry, but there was no point in letting this go on.

"I decided to help. It wasn't a mistake, and I won't let you say it was." My interruption made them both stop and turn to me.

Susan took it as me being on her side.

"It's pointless to argue with you. Come on, Morgan. We still need to finish our patrol." Susan threw one final comment at Henry before striding away.

"Leave her be. We've still got business," Henry remarked to me.

I was getting tired of being around this man. He acted like a hero but didn't live up to that image.

"We can talk later." He didn't say anything else as I walked away.

Susan took to the air, so I was about to follow suit when a hand gripped my wrist. I felt the new limb slip into my mental library as he squeezed.

"I brought you onto this team," Henry spoke in a low whispering tone. He was trying hard to hold back the anger mounting under the surface.

"Henry." Anytime had reappeared by our side.

I wasn't sure what would have happened if we hadn't been interrupted. I was almost ready to turn him in now. The only thing that held me back was that I still didn't know who he was working with or where those drugs went.

"Could I get your help loading Eddie up?" Anytime casually interjected, purposefully interrupting our stare-down.

He released me after a moment of hesitation. I left without sparing a single glance back. Susan was watching us from the air and only took off when I joined her.

"You ok?" She asked.

I gave her a nod and focused on our flight. It didn't look like she was ready to drop the topic yet.

"Ever since our divorce, he's been different." She shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that. It's been an awkward time for our team lately."

It felt strange to be listening to family drama from a team of supers. A lot of the supers I met in the past didn't have families anymore. They were usually survivors from a city hit by the mist.

"It's fine. I'm just having a hard time understanding how he expected me to handle that situation. There was a man close to death. A hero helps those in front of them." I expressed my opinion to Susan.

She slowed down her flight so that we would be next to each other. With her powers, flying was far easier and faster. I wouldn't be able to match her top speed with any of the abilities I currently had at my disposal.

"There's more politics involved in hero work than you'd think. It's why we brought you on the team. Henry probably had some plan for you that isn't possible anymore. I'm not saying he was right, but this will cause a big stir, and you are right in the middle of it." Susan said.

She tried to provide me with a little insight into Henry's thoughts. I've had to clean up the messes of my team members many times before, so I knew what she was talking about. The difference was that Henry had compromised his title as a hero. The man was corrupt.

 

Authors Note:

 

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