Chapter Thirteen: When you need help but don't know where to get it

Gunfinger makes a return and not everyone is happy to see her. Alicia also has a breakthrough with her genetic research.

Paul knew exactly where he was, but also not quite. He could point to where he was on a map, however would be unable to tell you the first thing about the place. It was somewhere between the vibrant downtown and easygoing uptown. All that seemed to do was make it look raggedy.

             The apartment buildings were okay, but everything was too spread out to be a fun walkable environment. Small houses stood beside large chain restaurants and local establishments settled into buildings not quite suited to them. Paul walked by a house converted into a hair salon that fit with the whole mish-mashed theme of the place. This was the kind of chaos that matched Cassidy.

             He found out that she lived in a multiplex in the heart of Arbor neighborhood and decided to pay her a visit. The multiplex was made of some white, stony mixture and had outdoor stairways. Paul climbed his way up to the third story, knocking on one of two cheap wooden doors. He noticed fretfully that the doors didn’t have peepholes.

             The door swung open to reveal an unkempt, yawning Cassidy. Any semblance of tiredness quickly faded as she realized who was at the door. She tried to shut it, but Paul stopped it with a hand. “How did you find me?” She exclaimed as she struggled to close the door.

             Paul bolstered his hold with a vine. “Let me just say, you need to be more careful with your social media,” Paul said before getting to the purpose of his visit. “I need your help.”

             “Wrong time, wrong place, buddy.”

             “Please, just let me explain,” Paul begged. “I’ll stay out here if it will make you more comfortable.”

             Cassidy glared at him, silently daring him to prove his word was good. Paul stopped fighting to keep the door open and took a few steps back. She slammed the door. Leaning against the alcove’s banister, he let out a breath slowly. He waited.

             She eventually opened the door a crack. Paul could tell her foot was holding it so he couldn’t barge in. Her expression lack all its usual cocky joy. It unnerved Paul as he smiled and started, “My friend, one of my teammates, is in Flare Mental hospital and we need to get her out and I need your help to do that.”

             Cassidy scoffed. “No, you don’t,” She answered shortly. “Besides, why would I want to take a mentally ill person out of a place that is treating them?”

             Grimacing, he contemplated how much he should explain to her. He laughed uncomfortably as he decided that he would tell her everything. “I have a complicated answer if you’re willing to listen to a story.”

             Cassidy crossed her arms, but Paul could see a trace of her old crooked grin on her face. Encouraged, he continued, “So, this all started on Orange Day. I found a person with amnesia and the ability to shapeshift into anyone they touched. I brought them to my new friend, Kris. Kris and this amnesiac formed a really close bond and chose to find the amnesiac’s identity together. That led them through a lot of twists and turns, but they came to the conclusion that the amnesiac somehow escaped from Flare. So, Kris, the semi-sane one, got herself interred in Flare so that she could find the amnesiac’s file and hopefully their identity and past.”

             Paul paused and waited for Cassidy to process that info dump. She nodded for him to finish. “Unfortunately, Kris is now stuck in there because of reasons I don’t fully understand… But, I do know we need her out of there because we need her help capturing the King.”

             Cassidy tilted her head to the side. “Do you mean that Dauphin guy that’s been on the news?”

             “Yes, he believes he is a king and is currently terrorizing the city.”

             “Why don’t you just ask me to help you fight him?”

             Paul raised a hand and began to list off reasons. “First, I wouldn’t ask that of you because I don’t want you to get hurt. Second, the King could use you against us. Third-”

             “What do you mean?”

             “The King has the ability to control minds,” Paul explained hurriedly. “Once, he got police officers to shoot at the team and I took a bullet in the arm.”

             “Damn, okay,” Cassidy responded before switching tracks. “If you don’t want me to get hurt, then why have me help you break Kris out?”

             “The thing is,” Paul said. “The way I want you to help is to coordinate the destruction.”

             “Destruction?” Cassidy repeated, grinning.

             “I want you to help come up with a strategy of breaking in and distracting the guards. I don’t need you in the middle of it all.”

             “What an interesting plea.”

             She seemed to mull over the proposal. Paul was unsure whether she would accept. If not, he could always threaten to turn her over to the police. He doubted that would work and would only hurt their relationship in the long run. Paul must have zoned out because it took Cassidy snapping to draw his attention back to her.

             “I’ll help,” She said cheerfully. “But you’ll need to get me some supplies. And of course, I’ll need to do some recon to be fully prepared.”

             Paul smiled at her. He could give her all the details later; he’d also have to tell the team later. Smirking, Cassidy shook out her hands. “Oh, this is going to be exciting,” She commented. “I can just tell.”

+++++

             Alicia arrived at her lab to see Pagel waiting beside a computer. He started excitedly gesturing for her to come over, explaining, “I got a call that the other lab sent us the sequences, my DNA sequences.”

             She dropped her bag at the door and rushed over. She sat in front of the computer, logging into her email. She briefly glanced at Pagel with a smile. “That’s great, let’s see what’s different about you.”

              She found the email and downloaded the only attachment. Opening her collection of sequences, Alicia copied and transferred Pagel’s over. Since the last time she looked at the document, Pagel must’ve updated it. Everything was color coordinated. Yellow for the transcription factor, light blue for variable gene, and grey for the mystery gene. Some letters in the yellow area remained uncolored. “What are those about?” Alicia asked Pagel while pointing.

             “Some SNPs,” Pagel answered. “Nucleotides that vary in the sequence, but don’t change the ‘outcome’ of the gene.”

             Alicia nodded, looking at the closely. A handful looked like silent mutations. Maybe others affected the efficiency of the transcription factor. “Ah, that should be where your problem lies,” Alicia commented before focusing on his sequence.

             It took her a few minutes to find the beginning and end of the transcription factor gene and denote all the SNPs. Another minute passed before she spoke. “Huh, your percentage of SNPs is higher than the rest of ours… That suggests its mutated beyond functionality.”

             Pagel hummed. “Do you think it was natural, like bad odds, or intentional?”

             “We would have to look at more samples to determine that.”

             “Fair enough,” Pagel responded. “Can we take a look at my variable gene and double check that the constant is constant between people who can and can’t express their powers?”

             Alicia scrolled through the variable gene and marked the end of it. She tediously checked the constant gene for any different nucleotides. It matched perfectly to the other six. “Constant is constant,” Alicia said.

             Alicia felt Pagel’s hand rest on her shoulder suddenly. She looked up at him; his expression was serious. “What’s up?”

             “Can you see what my power is supposed to be?” He asked quietly.

             She thought it was the least she could do, though it hadn’t worked for any of the others. “I can try.”

             She copied the sequence before pulling up an online database. She searched for it. A smidgeon of it popped up with a slight match. A few nucleotides were off, but it seemed to be enough for the database to recognize it. “Huh,” Alicia said. “You have a match for Cas9.”

             “Really?”

             Another popup declared that there was a second match. Alicia glared at the screen because the match was apparently clear, but unspecific. “I think the database is matching your sequence to that of short regular, interspaced sequences found in some bacteria.”

             “Like CRISPR?”

             Alicia shrugged. “Not one I recognize, but it fits that definition.”

             Pagel stepped away from the computer and started pacing. Alicia made notes in the document about his variable gene before turning to watch him. The silence motivated their thinking. “I must have a gene editing power,” Pagel stated.

             “Or you have a super immune system,” Alicia retorted with a scoff. “We won’t know unless we trigger you.”

             “Trigger me?” Pagel repeated, halting. “You mean injecting me with transcription factors so that my power is activated?”

             “I don’t think it’ll be easy,” Alicia admitted. “But it doesn’t sound impossible.”

             “What would we need, blood?”

             Alicia laughed. “That’s a little reckless,” Alicia said, standing up.

             She walked over to the counter beside the door. She opened a cupboard above it and took out a notebook. She listed her ideas aloud and on paper. “First, we need to determine if the transcription factor is present in blood or some cells. We need to research how the transcription factor is formed and broken down. How long does the transcription factor last before being broken down? After that, would the transcription factor actually trigger your power? If it is, how long does that last? Would you need regular shots to maintain it?”

             “There’s a lot to do beforehand,” Alicia finished, looking over at him.

             Pagel grimaced as he contemplated it. He glared at the ground and Alicia felt a twinge of sympathy. She put a lot on Pagel’s shoulder with researching Kris and Tae’s powers and supplying SoBree with armor. She had asked for many favors and now, felt compelled to do something for him.

             She walked over, setting a reassuring hand on Pagel’s arm. Their eyes met as she gave him a gentle grin. “We can do it,” Alicia said confidently. “This will be super relevant, universal data… Something rivalling Lawrence’s study.”

             Pagel smiled slightly and nodded. “You’re right… We can start by designing bacteria to create the transcription factor with a histidine tail.”

             “Whoa there, Pagel,” Alicia responded, raising her hands. “Why can’t we just create a fluorescent antibody to bind to the transcription factor. We could use that to determine which cells have it.”

             “We could do that too,” Pagel said, his smile widening.

+++++

             Tae showed up at Theo’s door, holding a plastic bag in one hand. He knocked twice and waited. Theo opened the door after a few seconds. He greeted Tae warmly, “Hello! Welcome back!”

             “Hey,” Tae said, walking in. “I brought your grandma a gift.”

             Tae held up the bag awkwardly, adding, “She mentioned that she liked soft caramels, so I got her some.”

             “Oh, thank you,” Theo replied, taking the bag from him. “Unfortunately, my Gran isn’t here right now.”

             Theo led him through the living room, leaving the bag on the coffee table. Tae paused by the table. “Where is she?”

             Theo looked back at him. “She went grocery shopping with her friend,” Theo answered with a smile. “It’s her excuse to hang out and socialize with friends.”

             “Cute.”

             Tae’s shadow of a smile heartened Theo. “Yeah,” He commented, heading to his room. “She loved it when Q visited and we went to the park.”

             Tae sighed contentedly as he followed Theo. They settled into his room, the foldout chair still where Tae left it. He sat in it as Theo logged into his laptop. “Alright,” Theo said, pulling up their database. “Our new files are John, Tiên, Cat, Cheyenne, Alex, and Rebecca… We can also update the King’s file to add his new crimes and specifics on his power.”

             Tae nodded and Theo got to work. He started on the King’s. “Huh, we know his real name and origin now too. Charles Dauphin, escapee from Flare with the assistance of a guard. He has schizophrenia and believes he is a king. What else?”

             “He can resist use of ear plugs, so his powers must redefine reality.”

             “Sure.”

             Tae watched as Theo typed, slowly changing the King’s name and adding things to his general description, then his record. Tae felt a twinge of doubt as Theo typed, “weaknesses unknown.” “Killing him can’t be the answer,” He mumbled.

             Theo shook his head before submitting the edits. He glanced over at Tae. “I don’t know what is… He doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses.”

             “If he can’t speak,” Tae started.

             “We haven’t gotten close enough to him to pull that off,” Theo interrupted.

             Tae clicked his tongue. “So, we leave it all to Kris?” He responded with surprising venom. “Why? Because she has already killed? Any of us could kill the King so why are we putting it on her?”

             “Do you want to kill him?”

             Tae made a face, somewhere between disgust and nausea. His silent contemplative stare added to Theo’s discomfort. Theo could guess what he was going to say. Tae murmured, “I don’t think Kris will want to either.”

             “We’ll just have to wait and see… It doesn’t hurt to at least take her out of Flare.”

             Tae hummed in mild agreement. They wordlessly decided to drop the subject as Theo started creating records of the teens. He went chronologically, starting with John. Quickly typing up his abilities, he hesitated at the name. “The kids don’t have codenames yet,” Tae mentioned, leaning over.

             Theo huffed. “Nor last names, to my knowledge.”

             Tae shrugged, not too discouraged. “I guess we’ll have to update this again.”

             “I thought this was going to be a monthly, if not biweekly, endeavor,” Theo replied.

             Theo smiled at Tae before throwing himself back into the work. Tae watched halfheartedly, alternating his attention between the screen and his phone. Felicia had been messaging him incessantly about their latest project while she was on bed rest. Beneath her texts was Paul’s. He hadn’t messaged in a while; his last text just read, “King, limos, riverside and 17.” They theoretically paired up for that patrol, but Paul avoided him by flying instead of walking with him.

             Tae glanced up to see Theo staring at him. “What?” He said uncomfortably.

             “What’s on your mind?” Theo asked softly.

             Tae tucked his phone under his thigh before putting his hands on his knees. He cleared his throat, trying to find the words. “Do you know why Paul partnered up with me for the last patrol?”

             Theo chuckled. “Duh, he wanted to protect you,” Theo answered as if it was obvious. “Last time he took a bullet for you.”

             “He said he'd take a bullet for any of his teammates.”

             “Yeah, but especially you...” Theo responded before becoming contemplative.

             His eyes widened as he nodded to himself. “I think I understand why he's so awkward around you,” He continued. “You know he's outgoing and a go getter. He's our leader. That's the problem. He's our leader- he must not want to pursue you because there is a power differential. He is worried that if he asks, you'll say yes because it might get you kicked off the team if you don't.”

             Tae scoffed. “That's ridiculous. He isn't our leader. I don't feel inferior in our team dynamic... I think he listens to us and decides from there.”

             Theo raised his hands defensively, commenting, “I'm just saying what I think is happening... How do you feel about the situation?”

             Tae grumbled as he thought. Theo patiently waited for his answer with a small, hopeful smile on his face. “Love isn't instantaneous,” Tae responded simply.

             “I feel that,” He replied, nodding sympathetically.

             The doorbell rang and Theo jumped out of his chair. He ran out of the room. Tae slowly followed, wondering if it was only Gran at the door. Tae caught up to him in the living room carrying grocery bags. Gran Tilly followed him, holding a gallon of milk in both hands. “Oh, Tae,” She greeted with a big grin. “What are you here for?”

             Gran got him in a smothering hug before he could answer. Tae accepted it lovingly as Theo answered for him, “He’s here for dating advice.”

             Tae blushed, but didn’t correct him. The lie would be plenty to distract her. He decided to take the milk from Gran so she could rest. Sitting on the couch, she asked, “Do you like someone, dear?”

             “Kind of.”

             Tae put the milk in their old, white fridge before joining Gran in the living room. He stood by the coffee table and Gran settled in further. Her intertwined fingers rested peacefully on her lap while she observed Tae with a warm, perceptive look. “Well, that’s okay,” Gran responded with a chuckle. She looked over at Theo. “I didn’t know I would love your grandfather until he took me to a messy, little pub in town… He was so sweet and considerate. Pushed in my chair and everything. Even though he wasn’t the richest, he had a heart of gold.”

             Theo noticed Tae smile at the story, one Theo had heard countless times. Gran’s expression became nostalgic. “I would say go get coffee with them, find out how you really feel,” Gran said, finishing her thought. “If the person isn't for you, just tell them. If they get mad, then they weren't for you anyways.”

             “Sage advice, Gran,” Theo commented, stepping into the room and conversation.

             Tae awkwardly grinned at Theo before telling Gran, “I'll think about it.”

             Gran clapped her hands and pushed herself off the couch. “That's the best I can ask for,” She replied, moving past the pair. “Now, are you staying for dinner? I was thinking of making breakfast things.”

             Tae followed her to the kitchen, self-consciously touching the phone in his pocket. Theo watched them go with mild amusement. “I’d love to stay for dinner, Gran,” He heard from the other room. He knew that as cheerful as Tae was acting, it was only an act. Both of them had their minds elsewhere, on the upcoming battle. This was merely the calm before the storm and Theo intended to enjoy his reprieve to the fullest extent.

+++++

             Paul nervously waited for everyone to arrive at Kris’s apartment. This may be their last meeting before their attempt to break into Flare. He had a surprise planned for everyone, but he wasn’t quite sure how they were going to take it. He paced in the transitional space between the living room and dining room. Q was trying to cook.

             They went with something simple, pizza. They had taken their time preparing some dough and was ready to put on toppings. “Do we need a vegetarian option?” Q called while digging through the fridge.

             “I don’t think so,” Paul answered, his pacing unaffected. “If you are worried, make a cheese only pizza.”

             Q grumbled something he couldn’t hear as the doorbell rang. He forgot Kris had one. “Come in!” He shouted.

             The rest of the team had arrived. Paul stopped his pacing, facing them. He gestured to the couch with a quivering hand. Tae’s expression changed from balmy to stormy at the sight of Paul’s nervousness. The trio sat down with Tae commenting, “Is something wrong?”

             “Nope,” Paul declared, turning red. “Just excited to talk ideas.”

              “Yeah!” Theo responded, mimicking his enthusiasm. “What should we do?”

             Theo smiled to his friends on the couch. Alicia subtly raised her hand, smirking back at him. “I think stealth would be best,” Alicia started. “Hack cameras, neutralize guards quietly, get in and out as quickly as possible.”

             Paul was unsurprised that that was Alicia’s strategy, but it was ambitious. “Can you hack?” Paul asked her.

             “No, but we could get the tech,” She replied. “I know it’s not that hard.”

             Tae jumped in. “If you could get me the right tech, I could give it a go. How hard it is depends on what kind of camera system they have. CCTV is an on-site job, where others might be easier.”

             Theo nodded as one of Alicia’s eyebrows quirked upwards. “Actor and techie?” She commented. “You continually impress.”

             Tae blushed, explaining, “It was what I did before I got into acting.”

             “In fact, he set our entire database on the deep web,” Theo mentioned, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “This little guy knows some stuff.”

             Theo rubbed Tae’s fluffy hair as Alicia laughed. Tae protested weakly, embracing the comradery. “That’s great,” Paul responded distractedly, walking towards the kitchen. “Q, you’ve been in Flare before, do you know what kind of cameras they have?”

             Q emerged from the kitchen to join the rest of the group. They sat on the floor, pressing two warmed oven mitts against their cheeks. “I think they were the old fashion kind,” They answered. “CCTV, I guess.”

             Tae sighed. “Closed circuit means we would have to break in just to get access to the cameras…”

             “Maybe, we could just get the film after we get Kris,” Q commented.

             “It’d be risky,” Paul admitted.

             There was a lull in the conversation. Suddenly, it was punctuated by knocking at the door. The team looked up at Paul, confused. He smiled awkwardly and went to get it as Alicia said, “It can’t be food. Q is making us something.”

             Paul watched the team strain their necks to turn to see who was at the door. Q rolled on the ground until they were facing the right direction. Taking a deep breath, Paul grabbed the doorknob and turned it. He opened the door to see Cassidy, who appeared slightly different than when he last saw her. A baggy sweater and a blonde braid softened her appearance. “Come in,” He greeted, gesturing to the space. “Make yourself at home.”

             Paul scanned his teammates’ faces; it almost seemed like they didn’t recognize her. Then Alicia stood up. “Why is Gunfinger here?” She asked Paul.

             Her chilly tone didn’t put off Cassidy, who walked up to her and held out a hand. Paul hesitantly followed. “Hi, I’m Cassidy,” She greeted calmly. “And I’m here to help you get your teammate back.”

             Alicia ignored her, leaning to the side so she could see Paul. “Paul?”

             Paul was trying to keep cool and not panic. Checking on the other team members, they were mixed. Q looked pouty, Theo bewildered, and Tae seemed okay, his face neutral as ever. Paul put on a strained, but pleasant face. “She’s right,” He said. “I tracked her down and asked for her help… She seems to be good at stuff like this.”

             “Yes, illegal stuff,” Alicia retorted. “Which is why we should be calling the police.”

             Cassidy chuckled, her hand dropping to her side. “You guys are trying to commit a crime, don’t act so innocent.”

             Alicia focused on Paul. “Remember Detective Kidman? She wants information on her,” She said, pointing a finger to Cassidy. “Because you protected her from the cops, we can’t be ‘trusted.’”

             Cassidy laid a hand on Paul’s shoulder. The thick eyelashes surrounding her large, heterochromia eyes fluttered as she commented in a sickly-sweet tone, “Aww, you didn’t give me up to the cops? I definitely owe you a favor now.”

             Paul contemplated whether she was joking, but before he could respond, she pushed him onto Tae’s lap. Paul quickly moved himself to the floor. With a knowing wink, she stepped back and began her lecture.

             “Alright, so my plan is simple. It comes in three parts: distraction-slash-lure, incapacitation, and finally, extraction… The easiest part should be the extraction because your friend is probably ready to bounce. The others are equally hard because we need something to lure away the guards, but also open themselves up to an attack. I would prefer something flashy to start and something easy to take care of the guards, but I don’t have access to a pharmacy or chemistry set.”

             Alicia hadn’t moved since Cassidy started talking, however she noticed the team’s eyes fixed on her after Cassidy finished talking. Cassidy picked up on it right away. “Is she a chemist?” She asked Paul.

             “I’m a radiologist, thank you… But I do have access to a variety of chemicals.”

             “Perfect!” Cassidy declared, outstretching her arms as if she expected a hug. “I’m going to get to go on a road trip with my favorite person. Man, this will be way more fun than a convenience store.”

             Alicia gave her a dirty look before sitting down on the couch, momentarily overwhelmed. Cassidy snapped her fingers and pointed at Paul. “I could also use a trip to the hardware store,” She added.

             “I can take you there and pay for whatever you need.”

             “Whatever?” She repeated cheerfully.

             “Within reason,” Paul replied as he stood up.

             He looked at his team again, examining their faces. Theo remained conflicted, while Q had a smile on their face. Tae remained blank, but had set a reassuring hand on Alicia’s knee. The smell of pizza drifted into the room. Paul blinked as he suddenly recalled something. “I don’t think you’ve actually met the team, Cassidy,” Paul said, moving beside her. “Going left to right, we have Q on the ground. Do you recall fighting them?”

             Cassidy rubbed the back of her neck, maybe remembering old bruises. “Yeah, sorry to do a number on you.”

             Waving a mitt, Q dismissed the apology. “It’s okay, I’ve stopped having nightmares about it,” They responded jokingly.

             With a huff, Cassidy smirked as Q nodded for Paul to continue. “Next is Theo, he is our tank. Then, Tae, our other tank. And finally, Alicia… our other tank.”

             Cassidy flashed a bemused look at Paul. “I don’t think you know how team composition is supposed to work, but sure, all tanks, all powerhouses… I can work with that.”

             “Great,” Paul said cheerily, beaming at the team.

             Alicia was scowling, but the others seemed okay. A timer went off in the kitchen and Q sprang up, running towards it. Without hesitating, Paul faced Cassidy. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

             Cassidy contemplated it with a thoughtful expression. “No,” She answered, holding up a hand. “But I think it’s cute that you guys all eat together.”

             Paul nodded, slightly relieved that she wouldn’t be sticking around for long. Cassidy jerked her thumb to the door. “I think I’m going to hit the road,” She added. “Unless you need something else…”

             “Is she going to need a uniform?” Theo asked Paul.

             Chuckling, Cassidy responded, “What? An animal mask?”

             Paul clicked his tongue, not giving into her joke for once. “You’ve seen our new outfits,” Paul told her. “Slick, black ones with armor built in? Our other teammate was about your build. You could wear hers.”

             “No thanks,” Cassidy said. “I’m not into matching.”

             “It could be nice camouflage, so no one knows we’re working with you,” Paul pressed.

             Cassidy scoffed as she headed for the door. “I don’t care if people know,” She replied, grabbing the knob. “Have a nice night everybody, see you soon.”

             Not waiting for their goodbyes, Cassidy left. As the door shut, Alicia approached Paul. Her clenched fists struck dread in him and he readied himself for an argument. “’She doesn’t care if people know,’” Alicia repeated. “You know who will? The police! This can only further hurt our relationship with them.”

             “Alicia, they shot at us,” Paul said with a sigh. “I don’t think our relationship is doing too well.”

             “We don’t have to make it worse,” Alicia retorted. “We don’t have to agitate them.”

             “What we’re doing is illegal, which will agitate them if they find out… I was hoping she could just come up with a strategy,” Paul said. “She doesn’t have to go to Flare or be involved in the mission if you don’t want her to.”

             Alicia looked to the others for support. Theo and Tae were conflicted, sinking into the couch to avoid the conflict. She seemed to have lost some steam as she stared at the ground, muttering, “I just don’t want to associate with a reckless criminal.”

             Paul’s brow furrowed as he realized that the team didn’t know why Cassidy robbed those stores. Maybe he could paint her in a more sympathetic light to help them accept her assistance. “Do you know why Cassidy robbed convenience stores?” Paul asked before answering. “She wasn’t doing it for kicks. She lost her job and resorted to robbery to stay afloat. She stopped as soon as she got a new job… The reason I want her to work with us is because of her powers, not necessarily her past.”

             Alicia’s expression was unreadable. Paul was unsure how he could justify Cassidy’s inclusion further. He waited with an odd tightness in his chest. “What is her ability, really?” Alicia asked.

             “She is a living weapon,” Paul said, quoting Cassidy. “She can formulate weapons and strategies on the fly… She used soda cans as knives and ‘explosives’ in our very first fight. Add martial arts on top of that and she is very formidable.”

             Alicia harrumphed, but accepted his response. She stalked over to the dining table and sat. The rest of the team followed her as Q brought cut pizzas to the table. They made two, one with pepperoni and one with pineapple and ham. “Hope you guys don’t mind Hawaiian pizza,” Q commented before going back into the kitchen.

             They brought back plates as Paul joked, “Oh, I hate it.”

             He accepted a plate from Q and grabbed a slice of Hawaiian. Theo took two slices of pepperoni and Tae took one of each. Alicia decided to try both, while Q gunned for the most pineapple-covered slices they could find. There was a moment of peace as everyone ate.

             Alicia paused after a slice and thanked Q for making the delicious pizza. She met Paul’s gaze and restarted the conversation, addressing the others. “You know, Paul and I have been dominating the discussion about Cassidy… How do you guys feel about her joining this mission?”

             “I support Paul’s decision,” Tae answered briefly.

             He took a bite and turned his attention to Theo. Theo stared back with wide eyes, cheeks stuffed with food. He swallowed. “Uhh,” He started, his eyes shifting quickly to the people around the table. “I’m not sure… I don’t want to forgive her for the crimes she’s committed. I certainly want her to pay for them in some way… But I don’t think we’re in the position to turn away someone willing to help.”

             Alicia made a small noise and nodded. Theo looked a bit relieved that she didn’t press him further. The table waited on their final teammate’s response. Q rubbed their left eye with a balled fist and said, “I just want Kris back… She hasn’t been calling me like she promised, so I’m really worried. If Cassidy can help get her back, then I want her help. I don’t care if we’ve fought in the past.”

             Q glanced at Alicia. “I understand why you guys have issues about it, but I just want her back… Although, I’d feel kinda bad if we turned Cassidy in after or something,” They added.

             Alicia tensed as if her plan had been found out. She whipped around to Paul. “Oh, come on!” She said. “We should turn her over to the police afterwards.”

             Paul shook his head vehemently. “No way, she’s doing us a favor.”

             “She said it herself, she’s doing the favor.”

             “So, you want to betray someone who’s doing us a favor? That could ruin our reputation among other superpowered people,” Paul snapped back. “Think about Lioness, half the time she’s committing assault. Should we have her arrested too?”

             Alicia started massaging her forehead. “Yes,” She answered. “Any sort of brutality should not be tolerated.”

             Paul’s brain jumped to a thought that he normally would hesitate to think of. He threw an apologetic look at Tae before he replied, “What about Tae? He almost killed a man, should he be arrested?”

             Alicia covered her face before slamming it into the table. The clap of sound startled the group. “Are you trying to point out my hypocrisy?” She mumbled into the table. “That doesn’t change my feelings on the situation. I can be hypocritical and feel justified.”

             Paul felt like crying and laughing. “Well damn,” He commented. “I thought you would be more rational.”

             “There is a rational reason why I would defend Tae over Cassidy,” Alicia said. “It’s called bias. Their lives and crimes aren’t equivalent to me.”

             “So, if you got to know and bond with Cassidy, you wouldn’t want her to go to jail?”

             “Probably not since I know her as a criminal first. It’s hard to get past first impressions.”

             Paul stood up, leaning against the table with his palms. “I think we aren’t getting anywhere,” He declared. “Let’s put it to a vote… Those in favor of taking Cassidy’s help raise their hand.”

             Paul immediately raised his hand, followed by Tae and Q. He looked to Alicia and Theo. Theo ever so slightly raised his hand to shoulder height. Alicia crossed her arms and stared at Paul. Dipping her head, she gave a subtle nod of defeat. “That settles it,” Paul said, feeling more resolved than triumphant. “I know we have qualms, but we will get through this and get Kris back.”