《My Heroes and Villains》


 No Control

    I''d been born gifted, I could heal myself and others, bring people and animals back to life, and I was immortal. It was incredible, I was very lucky to have these powers. Unfortunately, I couldn''t use them for good, the way I wanted to because my boyfriend, Randall, wouldn''t let me out of the house. When I''d first met him, he''d been sweet and charming, but as soon as we moved in together, he became a controlling asshole. He''d promised to always take care of me, so I''d quit my job, and he''d isolated me from my friends. I didn''t have any family, either; my parents had died seven years ago in a plane crash. I wished I could''ve brought them back to life, but their bodies were never recovered, so it was impossible.


    I was at home, watching the news. My favourite heroes were saving people from a burning building. Watching them save people and stop villains was the highlight of my day; it was the closest I got to having excitement in my life. There were different groups of heroes throughout the world, but The London Defenders were definitely my favourites. I loved them because I lived in the same area as them, and they all seemed lovely. I''d always wanted to join their group, but I''d never had the chance because of Randall, there was no escaping him. He had super strength and hearing, I couldn''t get away without him catching me.


    Thankfully, the heroes saved everyone from the building, and they helped put the fire out. They were all beautiful people; there was the leader, Swift Sage, the most popular, Mr. Mind, the hot devil, Strong Sapphire, and the cute and shy, Invisigirl. It would be a dream come true to work with them, or even meet them. But, that would never happen, since I seldom left the house. I went out once every few weeks, it was all Randall would allow me.


    I heard the door unlock, then Randall walked in and sat beside me on the black sofa. I used to think he was so handsome, with his enchanting, blue eyes, tanned skin and short, black hair. Now, I found him ugly because he was such a horrible person.


    ¡°Where''s my dinner?¡± He glared at me.


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Mash and bacon. There''d better not be any lumps or hair in my mash. If there is, the food will be going on you.¡±


    ¡°I''ll make sure there isn''t,¡± I replied, then got up and went into the kitchen.


    I hated Randall and how demanding he was, but I had nowhere to go, no money and no way out. If only he would die in an accident or get killed by someone, then I could live my life the way I wanted.


    I put my long, blonde hair into a ponytail so that hairs wouldn''t go into the food. I really didn''t want mash being thrown at me. Then, I peeled the potatoes and started boiling them, as well as frying the bacon. I found cooking boring and tiresome, especially when Randall expected me to do it every day.


    Once the food was finished, and I''d bashed the mash, pretending it was Randall''s head, I brought it in to him. I desperately hoped that everything would be made perfectly to his taste. Otherwise, I''d have food all round me.


    ¡°How is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Surprisingly, you did well¡­ now turn off this hero nonsense. You don''t need to be getting any ideas, and they''re a bunch of pansies, anyway.¡±


    He was such a horrible asshole. I wanted him out of my life forever.


    ****


    It was odd, Randall was supposed to be home by now, he was two hours late. I didn''t want him to come home, but I''d called him a few times to find out where he was, but he hadn''t answered. Even though I hated him, he was always punctual, or he let me know if he was going to be late ¡ª this wasn''t like him at all.


    A few more hours passed, but there was still no sign of him. Maybe, he''d been in an accident, but I thought I would''ve been called by a hospital by now. It was late, so I got changed into my pyjamas, then went to bed. As I tried to sleep, I wondered where the hell Randall was and what happened to him.


    There was a loud banging noise on the door, which made my eyes shoot open. My heart was pounding, and I felt slightly out of it from being awoken in the middle of the night. I checked the clock, it was three in the morning. Someone was still battering the door, so I quickly got out of bed, then rushed to the door. When I opened it, I saw two police officers.


    ¡°Sorry to bother you, are you Cara Murphy?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± I nodded.


    I hadn''t done anything illegal, so I wasn''t sure why they were here looking for me at this hour. Had something happened to Randall? Was he dead?


    ¡°I''m so sorry, Randall Brooklyn was found murdered. You''re his emergency contact.¡±


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    ¡°Oh my, that''s awful, it can''t be true!¡± I shook my head, trying to seem distraught.


    Inside, I was leaping for joy. I never had to deal with that asshole again. I was finally free, he had no control over me.


    ¡°I''m afraid it is.¡±


    They talked to me for a few minutes, then left. I couldn''t believe I was finally free of Randall. It was the best thing that had happened to me in years. I felt a bit guilty that I was so happy about his death, but it was his fault for being a horrible person. It was weird that he''d been murdered; other than me, everyone liked him, since he seemed so charming. I would''ve thought it was an accident, but the police had said that he''d been stabbed multiple times, as if the person hated him. It wasn''t just a regular mugging, it was an actual murder.


    Now, I could finally apply for a job as a superhero. It would be great if I got to work with the London defenders, they were amazing and I loved them. Tomorrow, after a good sleep, I''d go and apply.


    ****


    The next day, I went to the London Defenders building, then walked up to the reception desk, where a young blonde woman was sitting.


    ¡°Hello, how can I help you?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I''m here to apply for a job,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Alright, fill this out while you wait for an available interview.¡± She handed me a few forms.


    I went and sat on a green chair nearby. I looked at the form and filled in the details, like my name, address and what superpowers I had. Hopefully, I wouldn''t have to wait too long for an interview. There didn''t seem to be anyone else around, waiting to do an interview. Once I finished the form, I brought it back to the woman and handed it to her.


    I sat back down, since I still had to wait to get an interview. I browsed social media on my phone to pass the time. My heart was racing and my palms were sweaty, I wasn''t looking forward to this interview. It had been years since my last interview because Randall never let me have a job. The only interviews I''d done were practice ones in school. I really wanted this to go well, it had been my dream job for as long as I could remember. Being a hero would be incredible, I''d get paid to save people, all while hanging out with my favourite heroes.


    About ten minutes passed, then the receptionist brought me to the interview room. There were four of them, three women and one man. They were at a long table on one side, and I sat opposite them.


    ¡°Hello, I''m Pauline, I''m the head of the London Defenders,¡± the woman in front of me said. She had long, curly blonde hair and she was middle-aged. ¡°These are our financiers, Colette, Lisa and Daniel.¡± She pointed to each one of them.


    ¡°It''s nice to meet you all, I''m Cara,¡± I replied with a smile.


    ¡°We just have a few questions for you. First, why do you want to join the London Defenders?¡±


    ¡°It''s been my dream since I was a child to be a hero. I''d love to help people in any way that I can.¡±


    I hoped that I was saying the right things ¡ª I had to get this job.


    ¡°What unique skills or powers could you bring to the team?¡±


    ¡°Well, I can heal myself and others, I''m immortal and I can bring people back to life. I could heal the team members or bring them back to life if that was required,¡± I said.


    ¡°If there was a child in a burning building and one of your teammates was getting beat by a villain, who would be your priority?¡± Pauline asked.


    ¡°I''d save the child and get them to safety, then I''d help my teammate and heal or revive them if necessary.¡±


    Hopefully, this would be over soon, I hated having to think of answers on the spot, and not knowing what they''d ask next.


    They asked a few more questions about being a hero, like what I''d do about conflict within the team, and whether to save someone or let the villain get away. I thought I''d answered them well.


    ¡°One last question, can you show us your powers?¡± Pauline asked.


    ¡°Uh, I need a knife or something to injure myself with,¡± I replied.


    ¡°I''ll go and get one.¡± Daniel got up and left the room.


    He came back a few minutes later with a sharp, pointy knife. Daniel handed it to me, and I made a small slice in the palm of my hand. It stung and a bit of blood came out, but then, my hand glowed a golden colour and it was healed. There was just a gross blood stain left.


    ¡°We''ll let you know our decision within the next few days,¡± Pauline said.


    ¡°Alright, thank you.¡±


    They all said goodbye, then I left the room and went back to reception. My eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw my heroes walking into the building. They were even taller and better looking in person. I might not get a chance like this again to meet them, so I walked over.


    ¡°Hi, I''m a huge fan.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Aww, thank you. Do you want a picture?¡± Mr. Mind asked.


    He was the one who was the most popular because he was very handsome and charismatic. He was in his superhero costume ¡ª it was blue, and he had golden boots and a golden cape. He was white and had short, brown hair and beautiful blue eyes.


    ¡°Yes please,¡± I said.


    All of them were here, there was Swift Sage, Strong Sapphire and Invisigirl. They were all so attractive. Swift Sage had tanned skin, short, curly, brown hair and a beard. He was in a green hero costume, with a yellow cape. He was the leader, since he''d been there the longest. Strong Sapphire looked like the hottest devil ever, she had red skin and black horns, as well as long black hair. She was in a blue costume, with a red cape. Invisigirl was tanned and had long, black, curly hair. She was wearing a pink costume with no cape.


    I gave my phone to Mr. Mind, then got in between him and Swift Sage, we took a few pictures. The first few were serious, then we all made funny faces. It was the best day of my life.


    ¡°Thank you so much.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°What were you doing here, anyway?¡± Strong Sapphire asked.


    ¡°Oh, I was here to apply for a job,¡± I replied.


    ¡°As a superhero?¡± Swift Sage asked.


    ¡°Yep, it would be a dream to work with all of you,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Aww, I hope you get the job,¡± Invisigirl said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°What''s your power?¡± Mr. Mind asked, and I told him what I could do. ¡°That''s really cool and useful.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I really hope I get the job.¡±


    ¡°It''d be nice to have another woman on the team,¡± Strong Sapphire said.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Invisigirl nodded.


    ¡°Anyway, it was nice to meet you, and I hope you get to join us, but we really should be getting back to training,¡± Mr. Mind said.


    ¡°Of course, it was great meeting all of you.¡± I smiled.


    We all said goodbye, then I left. It was incredible, my heart was still racing from all the excitement. I felt quite shaky, especially in my hands. I really hoped that I''d get the job and get to work with my heroes.

 My New Job

    I was at home, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it was one of my favourite shows. My phone started ringing, making my heart race; I quickly paused the show and answered my phone. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Cara, this is Pauline. I wanted to let you know that you''ve got the job.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that''s great, thank you.¡± I grinned.


    My dreams really had come true, I couldn''t wait to start my very first job, and get to know the superheroes.


    ¡°You''ll be going out with the London Defenders, but you won''t have to fight until you''ve been trained. For now, you''ll just be healing them. You''ll be working Monday to Friday from 9am-6pm.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°When can you start?¡± Pauline asked.


    ¡°Uh, tomorrow,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Great, I''ll see you then.¡±


    ¡°Bye, see you tomorrow.¡±


    I hung up. This was fantastic, I was starting my dream job tomorrow, and I''d be with heroes, who I''d loved for years. But, what if they were horrible people? They always seemed really friendly on TV, hopefully they''d be the same in real life. They couldn''t be mean, they seemed so nice when I''d met them. I needed to stop worrying, it was going to be great working with superheroes and being one myself.


    ****


    The next day, I went to the London Defenders building. Pauline walked over to me.


    ¡°Good morning, how are you?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I''m good, how are you?¡±


    ¡°I''m good. Follow me and I''ll introduce you to the people you''ll be working with.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said.


    I followed Pauline into a corridor, then we walked up grey spiraled steps. It was a fancy building, definitely fit for superheroes. It was so surreal that I got to work here with my idols. When we got to the top, we walked along another corridor, then took the first door on the right. Inside, was a large room, with differently coloured chairs and sofas; there was a kitchen area with supplies as well. The carpet was bright, red and soft looking. The walls were a happy, yellow colour. It was a very pretty room. All of the superheroes were sitting together.


    ¡°Everyone, I''d like you to meet Cara, the newest member of the team. I hope you''ll all make her feel welcome,¡± Pauline said.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Swift Sage nodded.


    ¡°I''m afraid I have to get back to business,¡± Pauline said.


    ¡°Oh, that''s fine,¡± I replied.


    ¡°If you have any questions or troubles, come and find me. If you can''t find me, you can ask at reception.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thanks.¡±


    Pauline left, and I went and sat opposite my new team.


    ¡°We should introduce ourselves properly, I''m Sam,¡± Mr. Mind said.


    ¡°I''m Alex,¡± Strong Sapphire said.


    ¡°I''m Pablo,¡± Swift Sage said.


    ¡°And I''m Sofia,¡± Invisigirl said.


    ¡°It''s nice to meet you all properly.¡±


    ¡°You too, I''m glad you got the job,¡± Pablo replied.


    It was amazing that I was in the same room as them, and that I was talking to them. If this was a dream, I never wanted to wake up.


    ¡°Thanks, so am I.¡±


    ¡°So, you can heal people and bring them back to life?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°Yep, that''s right, I''m also Immortal.¡±


    ¡°That''s so cool.¡± Sofia smiled.


    ¡°It definitely is, and useful, too,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Yeah, now we don''t have to worry about dying.¡± Alex nodded.


    ¡°I''ve seen some of your powers in real life, but I''m sure there are some I don''t know about. Could you all tell me what powers you have?¡±


    ¡°I can become invisible and create illusions of myself and others. I prefer to stealthy take down enemies,¡± Sofia replied.


    ¡°That''s really cool. I can''t fight at all yet.¡±


    ¡°We''ll teach you.¡± Pablo smiled. ¡°Anyway, I have super hearing, vision and reflexes.¡±


    ¡°Oh wow.¡±


    They had such brilliant powers, that was why they made such a good team.


    ¡°I can read minds, create shields and move things with my mind,¡± Sam said.


    That was awkward, he could hear everyone''s thoughts. I needed not to think about how hot he was, why was I thinking about that? I had to put it out of my mind. My cheeks felt hot, I looked at Sam and he was smiling. He was probably used to people thinking about his good looks, after all, he was the most popular superhero in Europe. Still, it was embarrassing that he could hear every single one of my thoughts.


    ¡°Sorry, I''ll stop reading your mind now.¡± Sam chuckled.


    ¡°You can do that?¡± I frowned.


    I thought he would''ve read everyone''s minds all the time, I didn''t know he could control it.


    ¡°Yes, when I was younger, I couldn''t control it, but now I can. I''m able to hear people''s thoughts when I decide to. Before, everything was so noisy, it was difficult to manage.¡±


    ¡°I imagine it would be.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°I have super strength and can shape-shift to look like anyone,¡± Alex said, then she made herself look like me.


    It was so weird seeing myself sitting in front of me. She had the same long, blonde hair, white skin and blue eyes. Her size had even changed; she''d become a lot smaller and much less muscular.


    ¡°This is so weird!¡± I held my head.


    Alex shifted back to her normal, gorgeous self.


    ¡°Sam, no more reading her mind, and Alex no more making yourself look like her. We don''t want to scare Cara away.¡± Pablo looked at them.


    ¡°Oh no, that could never happen, this is my dream job.¡± I smiled. ¡°Like all of you are my idols. You''d have to be horrible for me to dislike any of you.¡±


    ¡°We''re definitely not going to be horrible.¡± Sofia shook her head.


    ¡°Yeah, I''d say we''re friendly to everyone who isn''t a villain,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°You all definitely seem friendly.¡± I nodded.


    A blaring alarm went off and red lights flashed on the ceiling.


    ¡°What''s that?¡± My eyes widened.


    ¡°We have to go out and deal with something, Pauline will tell us what it is,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°EVIL are robbing Lloyd''s Bank,¡± Pauline said through a speaker.


    I''d seen the EVIL group a few times; there was Vicious Viper, she had super speed and could teleport, Blazing Inferno, he could create and control fire, Dark Demon who had telekinesis, and the creepiest of all, Bloodlust, he could control people''s minds and he drank their blood; he was a real life vampire. They all wore creepy costumes. Vicious Viper wore a purple scaly suit that had snakes engraved in it, and a snake mask. Blazing Inferno wore black leather with flames all over, and a mask that was black and red, like a demon. Dark Demon wore all black, and had a horrible white mask, with bright red lips and dark eyes. Bloodlust''s costume was dark red and made of leather, with a black cloak and hood; his white mask with cracks in it only covered half of his face, since he used his teeth to bite people and drink their blood.


    We rushed out of the building, and my heart was pounding ¡ª I was so nervous to go up against these villains.


    ¡°Cara, stay away from the fighting as much as you can,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Yeah, I will.  I nodded. ¡°How do we get there?¡±


    There weren''t any cars, helicopters, or planes around.


    ¡°I''ll fly us all there,¡± Sam replied, then lifted himself and everyone else into the air, including me.


    ¡°Oh no, I don''t like this!¡± I exclaimed.


    It felt so weird being off the ground, and having no control over my movement. It didn''t help that I hated heights, either.


    ¡°You can hold on to me if it''ll make you feel better,¡± Sam said.


    I flung my arms around him and clung on tightly, which made me feel a bit better. Sam wrapped his strong arms around me.


    ¡°It''s okay, we''ll be there soon,¡± Alex said.


    As we got higher off the ground, I shut my eyes, it was too scary to look.


    ¡°I didn''t like this at first, but I got used to it. I''m still not fond of heights, though,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°I hate them!¡± I exclaimed.


    I could feel the wind rushing past me, as we flew quickly through the air. It was much colder up here, the only warmth was from Sam''s body pressed against mine. After a few minutes, the wind stopped, maybe we''d got to the bank.


    ¡°We''re here,¡± Sam said.


    I felt my feet touch the ground, so I opened my eyes and we finally back on the land. Unfortunately, I was still stressed because we were going up against notorious villains.


    ¡°They must be in the bank, we''ll go in, you stay outside.¡± Pablo looked at me.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I nodded.


    They all rushed inside, and I stayed back, not wanting to get hurt. I would love to be able to fight and be stronger, then I could help more. I''d never even punched someone before; they''d have a lot to teach me.


    The villains ran outside, carrying bags full of money, making my heart race. I didn''t want them coming anywhere near me. I loved being around heroes, but villains were terrifying; at least the EVIL group never killed people, they just robbed places, so I probably wasn''t in too much danger. My team came out and chased the villains. Sam held the villains back, using his powers, then pulled them all towards him. They all started fighting, it was hard to keep track of because there were so many of them, and it was all very fast. One moment, Alex was attacking Blazing Inferno, the next, Vicious Viper was on her. It was crazy.


    If I could''ve fought, I would''ve. I just stood, watching in fear and; I was worried for my heroes, but it was incredible being so close to them and all the action. I couldn''t believe that I got paid for this.


    Sofia had made many illusions of herself, it was impossible to tell which one was really her. Suddenly, she jumped on Viscious Viper and put her arms around the villain''s neck. Unfortunately, Blazing Inferno went over and pulled Sofia off Viscious Viper. He threw flames from his body at her and she screamed, as she got burned. It was horrible. Sofia rushed away, and I ran over; the skin on her left arm, and the side of her face was red and black, the burn was severe. It looked pretty disgusting, poor, beautiful Sofia.


    ¡°Don''t worry, I''ll heal you, then you won''t be in pain anymore,¡± I said.


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    ¡°Oh, please, be quick, I can''t bear this.¡±


    I held Sofia''s burnt hand, and her burns glowed golden, then returned to normal. She looked perfect again.


    ¡°Thank you so much.¡± She hugged me.


    ¡°You''re welcome,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Well, I should get back to it.¡± Sofia dashed back to the fight.


    I felt quite tired from healing Sofia; anytime I healed someone, I became tired, especially if the injury was more severe. If I healed a minor cut, I was fine, but anything more than that, and I needed a nap. I''d just have to wait until we got back. They all kept fighting, Sofia was back in it, more fierce than ever.


    It was really weird, my superheroes had stopped fighting, they were all completely still. Why were they doing this, when they should''ve been catching the criminals? Then, I saw Bloodlust, the scariest of all; there were red foggy lines connecting him to the heroes, he must''ve been hypnotising them all. That allowed all of them to get away. This had to be the reason why the EVIL team always got away. They were well out of sight when the heroes came back to me.


    ¡°I hate that they always get away, if only we could stop Bloodlust.¡± Pablo sighed.


    ¡°I know, if we took him out, they''d be easy to arrest,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Well, we just have to keep trying,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Yeah, definitely don''t give up. Yous so nearly got them all,¡± I said.


    ¡°We''ll get them, no matter what it takes.¡± Alex nodded.


    ¡°Oh, does anyone else need healed?¡± I asked.


    If anyone else needed to be healed, I could easily do it, I''d just need to have a longer nap.


    ¡°If it''s not a bother, I could do with some gashes being healed,¡± Alex replied.


    I could see a few slashes in her arms, it looked sore, but not deadly.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said.


    ¡°Uh, how does it work?¡± She frowned.


    ¡°I just need to make physical contact, then I''ll heal you, you won''t feel a thing.¡±


    ¡°She''s amazing, once I was healed, I felt much better,¡± Sofia said.


    Alex held out her large red hand, so I held it, then healed her. All the slashes in her arm disappeared, leaving only dried blood stains, which almost blended with her skin. If I hadn''t known she''d been in a fight, I would''ve thought the blood was part of her natural colour.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Alex hugged me.


    ¡°It''s no problem. Although, I''m exhausted now. When I heal someone, I get tired and need a nap. I hope that''s okay,¡± I said.


    ¡°Of course, you can sleep when we get back to work. We won''t bother you, you take as long as you need,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Well, you can wake me up if there''s some kind of emergency, like a fire, or if we get called out to deal with something.¡±


    ¡°We will, but I think those alarms would wake you up anyway.¡± Sam chuckled.


    ¡°Speaking of, we should get back to work,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Are you ready, Cara?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Well, I''m not looking forward to flying again, but I guess I''m ready.¡± I shrugged.


    I hated the feeling of being off the ground, and not having anything firm to put my feet on. I hated rollercoasters, but at least there was a place to plant my feet firmly; planes were the same.


    ¡°We can hold each other again, if that helps,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Yeah, it helps.¡± I nodded.


    Sam hugged me and I put my arms around him, then we lifted into the air and I squeezed my eyes shut tightly. I trusted Sam, but I hated this strange feeling of flying through the air at such high speeds. The wind from going so fast in the open air was as cold as the Arctic, I didn''t like it at all. If any of us fell, we''d be dead within seconds of hitting the ground, it was horrible to think about. But, surely, that wouldn''t happen.


    ¡°You''re okay, we''re nearly there,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I hope you aren''t just saying that to make me feel better.¡±


    ¡°He''s not, we really are nearly back,¡± Sofia replied.


    ¡°I''m surprised you hate it so much, I thought it was everyone''s dream to fly,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Well, it''s definitely not mine.¡± I shook my head.


    Flying would be great if I wasn''t petrified of heights and it wasn''t so cold. I''d never thought of flying being so cold, they never showed it in superhero movies; Superman never got cold from flying, the only one who did was Tony Stark in one of the Iron Man movies. It really was something you didn''t even think about.


    ¡°Is there anything that would make it better?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°I think this is the best it''s going to get. Unless, I had something to stand on, that might help a bit.¡±


    ¡°I''m sure I could find a plank of wood for you, then levitate it so that you could stand on it. I''ll do that for next time,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Thank you. Could I still hold on to you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course, that''s no problem.¡±


    The wind finally stopped blistering all around me, so we must''ve arrived. Sam brought us to the ground and I opened my eyes, grateful to be back on the ground.


    ¡°I have a question, can you fly faster than a plane?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Unfortunately, not. I wouldn''t be able to breathe if I flew that fast. If I had a machine that allowed me to breathe, then I could find out how fast I can really fly,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Ah, that makes sense. But, it would be handy if you could go as fast or faster than a plane, then you wouldn''t have to pay for flights or wait in any queues.¡±


    ¡°That would be great, but I don''t really need to worry about paying or waiting.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I frowned.


    ¡°Well, I''ve earned a lot of money from this job, so it isn''t something I need to worry about. I don''t usually wait in queues because I go privately in emergencies where I need to help heroes in other countries, or people let me go ahead of them.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that''s amazing,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, it''s one of the many perks of being a superhero.¡± Alex smiled.


    My eyes were starting to sting a bit because I was so tired; I really had to have a nice, long nap.


    ¡°I really need to sleep now.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, you can have a big nap,¡± Pablo replied.


    We all went inside, and I went to the staff room, which was warm and toasty, the perfect environment to sleep in, after I''d been frozen from flying. I got comfortable on a long, green sofa.


    ¡°I''ll get pillows and a blanket for you,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°We''ll probably be in the gym or the canteen. The gym is at the end of the hall, on the left, and the canteen in downstairs, it''s to the right of reception,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Alright, thanks. I''ll try to remember.¡±


    ¡°If you can''t remember, or can''t find us, ask at reception,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, we''ll let you rest,¡± Sam said.


    They all left, and I thought I''d get to sleep quickly because I was so tired ¡ª I hadn''t used my powers this much in years. After a few minutes, Pablo came back with a blanket, pillow and glass of water for me.


    ¡°What''s the water for?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It''s in case you get thirsty, I''m always really thirsty when I wake up from a nap.¡±


    ¡°Aww, thank you, that''s very thoughtful of you.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°You''re welcome.¡±


    I took the blanket and pillow, rested my head on it and wrapped the blanket around myself.


    ¡°I''ll see you later,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Yep, see you later.¡±


    He left and I closed my eyes. I was finally getting a much-needed nap.


    ****


    I woke up and rubbed my eyes, then opened them; Pablo was right, I was quite thirsty. I took a drink of water, then looked up at the clock that was on the wall; I''d been asleep for about two hours. No one else was in the room, so I''d have to go and find them.


    I got up, then left the room, and went down the hallway. From what I remembered, they''d said the gym was down the hall and on the left, so I followed their instructions. When I opened the door, I saw a large gym in front of me, there were cardio machines as well as weight machines and weights at the side. My team was working out in the gym, I was glad I''d found them so quickly.


    ¡°How was your nap?¡± Pablo asked.


    ¡°It was good, thank you.¡±


    ¡°We were just finishing our workouts,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°I think we should show you around, this place is pretty big, and it''s easy to get lost. I certainly got lost quite a bit in my first week here,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°That would be great,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Let''s go then,¡± Sam said.


    They all stopped what they were doing, and I left the room with them. I followed them around the large building, seeing the offices, toilets, canteen, training rooms, meeting rooms and the swimming pool. This place was incredible, so far, I loved this job.


    ¡°Hopefully, you''ll remember where all the different rooms are,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Uh, I''ll try.¡±


    This place was so big that I could easily get lost or go the wrong way. Although, I''d probably only be apart from the team when I was taking a nap, or in the mornings when I went into work.


    ¡°We''ll try to stay with you most of the time so that you don''t get lost,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Thanks, that would help.¡±


    ¡°I''m hungry, let''s get food,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Yeah, actually, I''m hungry, too.¡± I nodded.


    We all went down to the canteen and lined up to get food. I looked at what was on offer and there was a wide variety of foods, like curry, pasta, chips, fish, steak ¡ª it was wonderful and smelt delicious. I decided that I''d have a chicken curry, so when it was my turn, that''s what I got. Then, I sat between Sofia and Pablo at the table, with Alex and Sam opposite. We were sitting at a round table, so it was easy to see everyone clearly. Alex was having a large steak and chips, Sam was having pasta, Pablo got the fish and chips, and Sofia had a curry, like me. I''d have to try the other foods another day. I ate my curry and it tasted great, I loved that the food was so delicious, it meant that I didn''t have to cook for myself. I''d probably only have to cook dinner, which wasn''t too bad.


    ¡°You know, we should go out for drinks later, to celebrate Cara joining us,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°That would be great!¡± Alex grinned.


    ¡°Do you want to do that?¡± Pablo looked at me.


    ¡°Sure, and I can drink all I want and not get a hangover.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Wow, that''s lucky,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°I know.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Then it looks like we''re going for drinks after work,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Yep, it''s a plan,¡± Pablo replied.


    It was nice of them to plan a celebration for me joining the team, and it''d be good to get to know them all better within a relaxed and less formal environment.


    ¡°How are you finding your first day here?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°It''s been amazing.¡± I smiled. ¡°Seeing the villains was scary, but watching the fight was surreal, I''ve only ever seen it on TV, to actually be there was something else.¡±


    ¡°Well, you have nothing to worry about, we''ll protect you, and you can''t die,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Which villain do you find the scariest?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°Definitely Bloodlust, he''s really creepy.¡±


    The fact that he could make anyone do whatever he wanted was enough to make anyone terrified. It was even worse that he drank people''s blood, they couldn''t even do anything about it.


    ¡°Oh, I agree, he''s so creepy.¡± Sofia nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, I think he''s the hardest for all of us to face,¡± Alex said.


    I had eaten half of my food, even though it was delicious, I was full. The others were still eating, maybe one of them would eat my food.


    ¡°I''m done, does anyone want my curry?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh no, I couldn''t eat two meals.¡± Sofia shook her head.


    ¡°I don''t think I could either,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°I''ll have it if you don''t want it.¡± Alex looked at Sam.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± he replied.


    I pushed my plate to Alex, and she ate her own food, as well as mine. She must''ve had a big appetite, probably because she was so strong.


    ¡°Thanks for the food,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°It''s no problem, I was done and didn''t want to waste it.¡±


    ¡°Well, you can give me your leftovers any time.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I smiled.


    ****


    We were called out a few more times to deal with crimes, like muggings, fights, and robberies, but we didn''t face any more villains. Normal criminals were much easier to deal with because they didn''t have any powers. I hadn''t even used my powers for the rest of the day.


    Since work was over for the day, we went to a pub for a drink. I sat between Sam and Alex, with Pablo and Sofia opposite us. We were at a maroon coloured booth, in the corner. It would be better to avoid most people in case they recognised us, although this pub wasn''t very busy, as there were only five other people inside.


    ¡°I''ll go and get drinks, what does everyone want?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°I''ll have a strawberry Kopparberg,¡± I replied.


    ¡°You know me, I want a beer,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°I''ll have a Guinness,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°I just want a Sprite, since I don''t want a hangover tomorrow,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Alright, I''ll get those now.¡± Sam went up to the bar to get our drinks for us.


    ¡°Oh, does he need help carrying all those drinks?¡± I asked.


    There were a lot of drinks to carry, I certainly couldn''t carry all those on my own.


    ¡°Nah, he''ll be fine, he can use his powers to carry them,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Oh, that''s good.¡±


    My powers were useful for when I got injured or died, but that didn''t happen often ¡ª although it probably would now that I was a superhero. It would be cool to have powers that I could use in my daily life. But, I was grateful to have any powers at all.


    Sam came back with the drinks, he was carrying two, and levitating the other three. He set them down beside us, and I took a sip of mine, it tasted as great as always.


    ¡°So, I noticed that some of you have lovely accents that aren''t British, where are all of you from?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I''m from Spain. I moved here a few years ago for my girlfriend. Unfortunately, she left me for a villain, who''s now in prison,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Wow, that''s crazy.¡± I shook my head.


    How could anyone leave Sofia for a villain? It was unbelievable, she seemed so friendly and she was gorgeous. It was good to know that Sofia had a girlfriend in the past because it meant that there was potential for her to be interested in me. If she was straight, I definitely couldn''t date her.


    ¡°Yeah, I was shocked.¡±


    ¡°I''m from America, California, to be specific. I came here on a holiday and helped the heroes here. I realised that I much preferred this team, and they valued and appreciated me much more. So that''s why I moved here,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°What was it like being a hero in America?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There were absolutely a lot more criminals and villains to deal with. The team was bigger, with heroes who were extremely arrogant and competitive with each other. I liked it at the time, but when I came here, I saw how much better it could be.¡±


    ¡°My situation is kind of similar. I''m from Mexico and came here on a hero exchange program. I loved it here, but I also loved Mexico. Unfortunately, we got a new leader in Mexico when the old one retired, the new one was bossy and critical of everyone. He also got new people on the team and I just didn''t get along with them, and they''d make up lies about me,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Wow, that sounds awful,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Well, I''ve lived in London my whole life. I''ve been lucky to be on this team since I was twenty-six. But, I was a hero at eighteen. These are the best people to work with, I worked with other people in the past, and they were cool, but not as caring and supportive,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Aww, we love you, too.¡± Alex smiled.


    ¡°Yeah, we''re all very lucky to have each other,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°What about you, Cara, where are you from?¡± Sofia asked.


    ¡°I''m from Ireland, Belfast, specifically. I moved here because I wanted to be with my boyfriend. He turned out to be such a horrible person.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°What happened to him?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°I definitely should''ve dumped him. He was so controlling, he never let me out of the house, and he''d throw food at me if it wasn''t to his liking¡­ Last week, he was murdered. I noticed he was home late, but I went to bed, then in the middle of the night, the police told me he''d been murdered. I have no idea who did it or why.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Other than me, everyone liked him because he faked being a charming, normal person.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, did you do it?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°No, I hated him, but I''d never do that¡­ but, it''s better this way, I wouldn''t be here if he was still alive.¡±


    ¡°I was just messing with you.¡± Alex chuckled.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Even if you did kill him, I wouldn''t blame you.¡± Sofia shook her head.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    I was glad that I had the support of my new team; they all seemed very close to each other, and I hoped that I''d fit in.


    ¡°You''re free from him now, that''s all that matters,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Yeah, we''re all glad that you don''t have to deal with him anymore and that you''re part of the team.¡± Sam nodded.


    ¡°As am I.¡±


    ¡°So, what age are you?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°I''m twenty-five. What about all of you?¡±


    ¡°Same!¡± Alex held her hand out for a high-five, so I gave her one.


    ¡°I''m twenty-four,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°I''m thirty-four,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Oh wow, you look younger, I thought you were twenty-eight. You definitely don''t look a day over thirty,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°I''m the oldest, I''m thirty-six,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°You don''t look that old, either.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°So, you had a boyfriend, are you straight?¡± Alex asked.


    That was a slightly unusual question, normally people didn''t ask if you were straight. It was usually people asking if you were gay, so it was interesting to hear it asked the other way round.


    ¡°No, I''m bi,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Oh, I''m the same.¡± Pablo smiled.


    ¡°Aww, that''s cool,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Sofia and I are lesbians,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Wow, it''s great to be surrounded by fellow LGBTQ people.¡± I smiled.


    Normally, there were way more straight people than LGBTQ, so it was pleasant for it to be the other way round.


    ¡°I''m straight, I hope you don''t mind,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I don''t care, as long as you''re a supporter,¡± I replied.


    ¡°I certainly am. I don''t care who someone dates, as long as they''re a nice person.¡±


    ¡°That''s the way everyone should be,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± I nodded.


    It was great that everyone here was so supportive and accepting; they really seemed to be the best people to work with. I also loved that all of them could potentially be interested in me, since none of the men were gay, and none of the women were straight. If more than one of them was interested in me, I''d have no idea who to pick, since they were all brilliant so far. I''d pass that hurdle if I came to it. It was possible that none of them would ever be interested in me.

 Apartment

    My job was wonderful; it was the end of my first week there, and I knew it was the job that I wanted for the rest of my life. The only complaint I''d have was that it could be stressful at times, but all jobs were ¡ª although it was far more dangerous than most. I had nothing to worry about, I was invincible.


    We were all about to leave work, when Pauline''s voice came through the speakers, ¡°Cara, I need you to come to reception before you leave.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I hope I''m not in trouble or something,¡± I said.


    ¡°I''m sure you''re not, you''ve been doing a great job,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Yeah, you''ve healed all of us multiple times.¡± Sofia nodded.


    ¡°Don''t worry, I''m sure it''s nothing serious.¡± Sam patted my back.


    ¡°Thanks, I hope yous are right.¡±


    I went down to reception, along with the others.


    ¡°Hi, I was told to come here.¡±


    Maybe there was paperwork for me to fill out, since I''d joined recently. I hoped I wouldn''t be in trouble for napping at work ¡ª I needed them, or I wouldn''t function.


    ¡°I have a key for you, every superhero gets their own apartment for free. I also have your costume,¡± the receptionist, Lola, said.


    ¡°Oh wow, that''s incredible.¡± I smiled.


    I''d been hoping to move out of my current one, since I had so many bad memories there. It was great that I was getting a new place for free. I couldn''t wait to see my costume and try it on.


    She handed me the key and a bag containing my costume, along with paperwork, and the location of the apartment. I checked, the place was only a few minutes walk from here, which was great; it wouldn''t take long to get to and from work.


    ¡°Thank you, I''ll see you on Monday,¡± I said.


    ¡°See you then,¡± Lola replied.


    ¡°Are you happy to have a new place?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°I certainly am, I wanted a new place, so this is perfect timing. I can''t wait to try on my costume as well.¡±


    ¡°I''m excited to see it.¡± Sofia smiled.


    ¡°Same,¡± Alex said.


    The only problem with my new apartment was getting things moved from my old place to the new one; I''d have to hire transport for my things, and I might need to pay extra to get people to move my stuff into the apartment.


    ¡°We''ll help you move everything, but it needs to be done tonight,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Why tonight? What''s the rush?¡± I frowned.


    It would''ve made more sense to do it tomorrow when everyone was refreshed, not now when we were all tired.


    ¡°Sam''s weird, he''s busy every weekend,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°It''s true, we never see him on Saturday or Sunday.¡± Pablo shook his head.


    ¡°I visit my family over the weekend, that''s why you never see me,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Well, family are very important,¡± I replied.


    It made sense that he''d be busy with them, since he worked all week, so there wasn''t really any other time to see them.


    ¡°They definitely are.¡± Sofia nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, family is essential,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I think we all agree on that.¡± Pablo nodded.


    ¡°But, how can we move all my stuff without lorries or vans?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I''ll levitate it from your old place to your new one,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°You do that part, I''ll get it inside,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Great idea.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°We''ll just be here for moral support,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Thanks, I really appreciate this.¡±


    ¡°It''s no problem, we''re happy to help,¡± Sam replied.


    I couldn''t wait to see my new apartment, hopefully it was a bit bigger than mine. We all went outside.


    ¡°So do I go to my new apartment?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, you need to show me your old one first. I don''t know where you live.¡± Sam chuckled.


    ¡°Oh, I''m so stupid.¡± I hit my head.


    ¡°It''s alright, don''t worry.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°We''ll go to your new apartment so that we''re ready to take the furniture in,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Okay, here''s the key. I''d appreciate it if you could take my costume as well.¡± I handed the keys and bag to her.


    ¡°Sure, see you later.¡±


    ¡°See you later,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Right, let''s go.¡±


    ¡°Are we going to have to fly there?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It''ll be much quicker.¡±


    I hated flying, but being stuck in traffic was a nightmare ¡ª it was only a fifteen-minute drive away, but with the traffic, it could take an hour to get there. We''d be better flying, even though it terrified me.


    ¡°We''ll fly.¡± I sighed.


    Sam and I embraced, I closed my eyes, then he lifted us into the air, and my feet were planted firmly on something, which was weird. I opened my eyes and quickly glanced down and there was wood beneath my feet. It definitely felt better like this, but the height was still scary.


    ¡°Thanks for getting something to put my feet on.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome, does it feel better?¡±


    ¡°It does.¡± I smiled.


    The wind was still freezing; there probably wasn''t a way to fix that, I''d have to put on many layers, a scarf, hat and gloves.


    ¡°Oh, I haven''t even told you where I live.¡± My eyes popped open, then I quickly told him where my apartment was.


    ¡°Oh, that''s not far from here,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Yeah, it''s quite close to work.¡±


    As well as it being icy cold, the wind made it harder to hear because it was so noisy. There really were many disadvantages to flying that people didn''t think about. It was harder to breathe as well, it was like sticking your head out the window when a car was driving.


    ¡°I think we''re here.¡± Sam lowered us.


    I opened my eyes and saw my apartment building in front of me. ¡°Yep, you''ve got the right place.¡± I nodded.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    We went inside, then upstairs, and I took my keys out of my purse. I unlocked the door, then we went into my small apartment. It only had a kitchen, toilet, small living room and a bedroom.


    ¡°They never found out who killed your boyfriend, did they?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°They mustn''t have, they haven''t been in contact with me. I don''t think about it much, I just want to know who did it and why.¡±


    The whole thing was very odd, I couldn''t understand why anyone other than me would kill him, but I certainly hadn''t done it. I was just glad he was out of my life forever.


    ¡°Maybe you''ll find out.¡±


    ¡°I really hope so,¡± I said.


    ¡°Anyway, do you want everything brought to your new apartment?¡±


    ¡°No, I''ll sell Randall''s things, I have no use for them.¡±


    ¡°Alright, just let me know which ones to take,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°I will.¡± I nodded. ¡°It''ll probably be easiest to do it one room at a time.¡±


    ¡°That''s a good idea.¡± He nodded.


    It took about an hour to sort through everything that I wanted to keep and sell. I kept a few useful things of Randall''s, like a bottle opener, but most of it was going to be sold.


    ¡°Well, I think that''s everything.¡±


    ¡°Great, I''ll bring you and some of the furniture to your new place. Then, you can stay there, and I''ll deal with the rest,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Thank you so much.¡±


    ¡°It''s no problem.¡±


    We left my apartment; Sam brought chairs and the sofa from the living room, then he levitated it, along with me. We flew to my new apartment, and he set everything down.


    ¡°I''ll take it from here,¡± Alex said, then lifted two chairs in her left hand and the sofa in her right hand.


    It was incredible how strong she was, I''d struggle with carrying one chair.


    ¡°I''ll go and bring more stuff here,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I replied.


    He left, and I went inside with Alex. I followed her up to the second floor, and we went into my apartment, which was the third on the right. The space was huge, far bigger than my old apartment, it was great. Although, maybe it only looked so spacious because there was no furniture inside.


    Alex put my furniture down opposite a wall, where the TV would go when it was brought over. ¡°Is this okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it looks good.¡± I nodded.


    I looked round my new home; there were two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a dining room. It was amazing how many rooms there were in this apartment ¡ª it must''ve cost a fortune.


    ****


    After a couple of hours, everything was moved into my new place. It looked perfect, it was the kind of place a really rich person would live in.


    ¡°Uh, do I have to pay rent or anything?¡± I asked.


    I definitely couldn''t afford a place like this. Although, I was making a lot of money with my new job, so maybe it wouldn''t be too expensive for me.


    ¡°No, as long as you keep the job, this place is free,¡± Sofia replied.


    ¡°Wow, that''s great.¡± I smiled.


    I''d never heard of getting a place completely free with a job; this had to be the best job in the world.


    ¡°If you''re all free, I''d love to have a small party to celebrate moving to this apartment,¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh, I''d love that,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°Sounds good.¡± Sam nodded.


    ¡°Will it just be us?¡± Sofia asked.


    ¡°Yep,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Then sure.¡±


    ¡°I''ll stay as well,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°First, I want to try on my costume,¡± I said.


    ¡°I''m looking forward to seeing it,¡± Sam replied.


    I took the bag, which was at the door, then brought it into my new bedroom. There was much more space, enough to put in even more things, like a bookcase or another wardrobe.


    I lifted my costume out of the bag; it was beautiful, the colour was gold and white, and it was a jumpsuit. It was soft and seemed comfortable, I just needed to try it on to see if it fit. Once my regular clothes were off, I put the outfit on. The white boots that went with the costume fit perfectly as well. Looking in the mirror, the outfit looked even better when it was on. Instead of a cape, there were white angel wings at the back, it was so cool and pretty. I loved my superhero costume, and it was comfortable, easy to work in.


    I went back to the living room, and the others, who were sitting on the sofa and chairs, turned and looked at me.


    ¡°That really suits you, you certainly look like a superhero now,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Yeah, you look great.¡± Alex nodded.


    ¡°I love your costume.¡± Sofia smiled.


    ¡°I think we all do, you''re glowing,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Aww, thank you, I love it, too.¡± I smiled.


    This is what it felt like to be properly part of the team, and have my very own costume ¡ª it was fantastic.


    ¡°Now, you just need a superhero name,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Oh, I''ve no idea what it should be.¡± I shrugged.


    It was hard to come up with a superhero name, it had to sound cool and make sense. I could use something like Healer, but it didn''t sound cool.


    ¡°What about Revive? It sounds cool, and it''s one of the things you can do,¡± Sam suggested.


    ¡°I like it.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Same, it sounds cool,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°Well, I''m going to keep my costume on for this party, I love it, it''s so comfortable and warm, but not too warm.¡±


    Everyone else was still in their costumes, so I wouldn''t be the only one.


    I went and sat on the sofa with Pablo and Alex. Sam sat on a chair to my left, and Sofia was on one to my right.


    ¡°So, do you have any alcohol?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°There should be some in the fridge,¡± I replied.


    ¡°There is.¡± Sam nodded.


    She got up and got drinks out of the fridge, then brought them over and set them on the coffee table. I chose a WKD. ¡°Could someone open this for me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Alex said. I handed the drink to her, and she opened it with ease, then gave it back to me.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I took a sip and it was great.


    I''d never had this much alcohol in my life, I was definitely drinking more often with this new job, but it didn''t matter. I could get as drunk as I wanted, and still be fine, since my body healed itself. That was why I never got a hangover, it was amazing.


    ¡°How was your first week with us?¡± Pablo asked.


    ¡°I''ve loved it, it really is a dream come true.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Well, we love having you in our team.¡± Alex hugged me.


    ¡°Aww, thank you, I love this team.¡±


    ¡°It''s much better with you on our team, we don''t have to worry about getting hurt or killed,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Yeah, I feel much safer having you with us.¡± Sofia nodded.


    ¡°I''m glad,¡± I replied.


    It was great knowing that the team liked and valued me, it''d be awful if they thought I was useless.


    ¡°You haven''t been with us long, but you''re undoubtedly needed on our team, it wouldn''t be the same without you,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I''m assuming that since you love it here, you''ll stay with us for a long time,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Yep, I plan to stay until I retire.¡±


    There was no point in leaving when I loved this job and the people I worked with; this team had always been the one that I wanted to join. It would be awful to get a new job with other heroes, then end up hating it.


    ¡°I''m the same, I love this job and this team. I''d hate to join a different group and have to adjust again,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Oh, so would I.¡± Pablo nodded.


    Pablo and Sofia didn''t seem to like change, which was the same as me, but some changes were good ¡ª Randall dying certainly was.


    ¡°At the moment, I''m happy here, but I''d never say never to moving somewhere new,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°I''d rather stay here because I love this team, but if that changed, I''d consider moving,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Sam, you''ve been in this team the longest, haven''t you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I''ve been in this group, since I was eighteen, but the people and name changed, so it''s not really the same as when I first started being a hero.¡±


    ¡°Then I''m curious, and I don''t want to be rude, but why is Pablo the leader?¡±


    It made me curious why Pablo was the leader and not Sam, when he''d been in the group for many years. The others had all joined later than Sam.


    ¡°I didn''t want that much responsibility, and I''m not sure I''d be much good at leading a team,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°I took the job as the leader because I''d wanted to be the new leader in Mexico, but they didn''t like me, so they gave it to someone else. I think I do a pretty good job, but if you have any problems with me or my leading style, please let me know. If I can improve, then I''ll try my best,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Oh no, I think you''re great, I was just wondering why you had the job instead of Sam.¡±


    ¡°Pablo is the leader, but he includes everyone in big decisions, not like others I''ve worked with. We couldn''t ask for a better leader,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Thank you, I try to be the kind of leader I''d want to have,¡± he replied.


    My legs were a bit sore from being in the same position, so I rested them on the table.


    ¡°Cara, do you think you''d ever like to be a leader?¡± Sofia asked.


    ¡°Oh, definitely not.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I don''t have much experience of the outside world because of my ex, and I''d find it way too difficult to direct a team and make decisions. I''m also scared of way too many things.¡±


    The thought of leading a team filled me with dread, the responsibility and stress would be too much to handle. I was happy to follow others, and trust their decisions, unless they were doing something morally wrong.


    ¡°I wouldn''t like it, either,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°I think I''m the only one who''d be happy to do it.¡± Alex chuckled. ¡°Not that I''m looking to take your job.¡±


    ¡°I think all of you would be good leaders, you just need to have more confidence in yourselves. But, I''d rather we all stuck together because we make a great team,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Well, I think it''s safe to say that Cara and I will always stay,¡± Sofia replied.


    ¡°Yep.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Oh, I can''t really see me ever leaving,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Nah, I probably won''t, either,¡± Alex replied.


    When moving my feet, I accidentally tipped a glass, and expected it to fall over, but Pablo quickly caught it and set it upright again.


    ¡°Wow, that was close.¡± My eyes widened.


    ¡°I have super reflexes, don''t forget.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°It''s almost impossible to knock something over when Pablo is around,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°That''s great because I''m really clumsy.¡± I giggled.


    I was always knocking things over, or tripping on things ¡ª I must''ve been the most clumsy hero around.


    ¡°Don''t worry, you''re safe around me,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°That''s good.¡±


    ¡°So, you were really kept inside for years?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Sam, you can''t just ask something like that!¡± Sofia glared at him.


    It was sweet of Sofia to worry about me, but Randall and my past were part of who I was, and they had to hear about that to know me.


    ¡°It''s alright, I''m okay talking about my past. Randall rarely let me out of the house, I think he was either worried that I''d leave him or try to get help. He had super strength, so I was always worried that he''d hurt me or kill me, that''s why I stayed¡­ I hated being inside all the time, but now that I can go outside, it''s a bit weird. All the noises, people and traffic can be uncomfortable and unusual, but I''m sure that with time I''ll get used to it.¡±


    ¡°Oh shit, I hope you aren''t scared of me, I have super strength, and I don''t exactly look like the most friendly person. I don''t mean to, but my appearance scares people sometimes.¡± Alex sighed.


    ¡°No, I''m not scared of you, you''re nothing like Randall. Also, you don''t look scary at all, you''re beautiful, and your smile brightens the room,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Aww, that''s so kind, thank you.¡± She smiled.


    I took another sip of my drink, loving the taste as it went down. This was a great night, hopefully there''d be many more like it, with all of us hanging out together.

 Almost Taken

    As soon as I got to work, I was told that I had to do an interview, since I was the newest member of the team. At least, the other superheroes would be with me, that would make it a bit better. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest; I didn''t want to do an interview in front of hundreds of people. Everyone would be looking at me, watching my every move.


    ¡°Are you ready for your interview?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Not at all.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Oh, I get it, I''ve never liked interviews,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°I don''t mind them.¡± Pablo shrugged.


    ¡°You''ll be fine, we''ll all be with you.¡± Alex patted my arm.


    ¡°Thanks, I''m just really nervous.¡± I sighed.


    It would be awful if I couldn''t answer the questions, or froze, or said the wrong thing. I often said the wrong name when I was nervous, like the name of the person beside me. It would be so embarrassing if that happened.


    ¡°We should go to it now, we don''t want to be late,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Where are we doing it?¡± I frowned.


    We weren''t doing it in this building, since there was nowhere to hold interviews in front of an audience.


    ¡°Just across the street,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Oh good, we don''t have to fly.¡± I smiled.


    My hair and makeup wouldn''t get messed up, and I wouldn''t have to deal with the stress of flying. We left the building, then walked across the street, and went into another large building. I followed them to the stage; the host, Grayson South, was sitting there, as was the audience. It made me feel sick, seeing so many people in the audience. The only good thing was getting to meet Grayson, he was hilarious, and I''d loved watching him talk to heroes. Although, I called him Gray Gray as a cute nickname.


    ¡°Welcome! It''s the London Defenders, everyone!¡± Grayson exclaimed.


    We walked onto the stage, and over to Grayson.


    ¡°Revive, you sit on the end, since you''re the newest member, the one everyone''s interested in,¡± Grayson said.


    ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± I sat on the edge of the golden sofa, which matched my costume, nearest to Grayson.


    Pablo sat beside me, then Alex and Sofia, with Sam at the other end.


    ¡°Revive, as the newest member, would you like to introduce yourself to the audience and tell them a bit about yourself?¡± Grayson asked.


    ¡°Uh, I''m Revive, I joined the team last week. Umm, I love my new job, I haven''t really had many jobs due to an ex¡­ I can heal myself and others, and bring them back to life, hence the name Revive.¡±


    Was I doing okay? Was this a horrible mess? It was too hard to tell.


    ¡°What did your ex do?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, he wasn''t a nice person. He wouldn''t let me leave the house, he was just very controlling and demanding¡­ I wanted to be a hero for years, but he prevented me from doing that.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°And where is he now?¡± Grayson asked.


    ¡°He was murdered,¡± I replied.


    The audience gasped; I hoped they wouldn''t think I was responsible.


    ¡°Well, I don''t think we were expecting that. Who came up with the name Revive?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Mind did, we all agreed it was cool. The one I came up with in me head, Healer, was nowhere near as cool and memorable.¡±


    ¡°I like both, but I think Revive has a certain ring to it.¡± Grayson said and I nodded. ¡°So, do you think you fit well with the team?¡±


    ¡°Oh definitely, they''re great.¡± I smiled.


    No one could ask for a better team, they were all so friendly, helpful and supportive.


    ¡°We love having Revive on our team, not only are her powers extremely useful, she''s also very friendly and sweet,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°We all love her.¡± Sam nodded.


    ¡°Definitely, it''s great to have another strong woman on our team,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Oh, I wouldn''t say I''m strong.¡± I laughed.


    It was hard to even lift things that were a bit heavy, and at the moment, fighting was out of the question.


    ¡°You''re mentally strong, you put up with an abusive asshole for years, and survived. A few gym sessions with me, and you''ll be a lot physically stronger.¡± Alex smiled.


    ¡°Alright, if you say so.¡±


    ¡°Invisigirl, what do you think of having Revive on the team?¡±


    ¡°I love it, I feel like we''re pretty similar,¡± Sofia replied.


    ¡°I''m curious, if all of you could swap powers with someone else, who would you pick and why?¡± Grayson asked.


    ¡°I think I''d pick Strong Sapphire, I''d love to be as strong as her,¡± I said.


    ¡°It is pretty fun being super strong.¡± Alex smiled.


    It would be incredible to lift heavy things and throw them, like lifting a car to save someone.


    ¡°I''d choose Mr. Mind''s powers. It''d be cool to read minds and levitate,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Oh, it certainly is useful,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°I''d have Swift Sage''s, it''s handy for real life, you literally can''t drop or spill anything around him.¡± Alex laughed.


    ¡°It''s true.¡± Pablo nodded.


    ¡°I''d want Revive''s powers, I''d love to heal people and be immortal,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Oh, thanks, I was worried no one would want my powers,¡± I replied.


    It would be awkward to be left out, like being picked last for a sports game in school.


    ¡°I think we all have really cool powers, but I''d pick Invisigirl''s. I''d have a great time becoming invisible and scaring people or pranking them with illusions.¡± Sam chuckled.


    ¡°Those are very interesting answers.¡± Grayson smiled.


    ¡°Which power would you want Gray Gray?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Gray Gray?¡± Grayson chuckled while frowning.


    ¡°Oh no.¡± I hit my head and my cheeks were burning. ¡°I''m sorry, it''s the nickname that I have for you. I love your show, and I''ve watched it since the start, I came up with the nickname because I thought it was cute.¡±


    ¡°I like it.¡± He smiled. ¡°And to answer your question, I''d want them all. But, if I had to pick just one, I''d want yours. I''d love to be able to cure my friends and family of any illness or injury they got.¡±


    ¡°Oh wow, I''m honoured,¡± I replied.


    ¡°So, Revive, have you told your friends and family that you''re a hero?¡± Grayson asked.


    ¡°Uh, I don''t really have any. My parents died a few years ago in a plane crash, their bodies were never recovered, and my ex isolated me from my friends.¡± I sighed.


    There was only my new colleagues, they were my only friends.


    ¡°I''m so sorry,¡± Grayson said.


    ¡°It''s alright.¡±


    ¡°Moving on to something more light, what do you like to do when you''re not saving people?¡±


    ¡°I like watching TV, reading and playing video games.¡±


    My hobbies were all indoors because of my ex, I''d never learned what I liked to do outside. Maybe I''d like fishing, skateboarding, surfing, or going to the gym, or maybe I''d hate them. I''d have to discover what else I liked doing.


    ¡°Do you have any advice for someone who wants to become a hero?¡± Grayson asked.


    ¡°I''d say don''t give up and don''t let anyone stand in your way,¡± I said.


    If I hadn''t let Randall get in my way, I could''ve been a superhero years ago.


    ¡°So my last question, are any of you single?¡± Grayson smiled and the audience cheered.


    ¡°I am.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°I''m not dating anyone at the moment,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Yep, I''m single. But, hopefully, I won''t be for much longer. I love having someone to cuddle and going places together.¡± Alex smiled.


    ¡°I''m as single as a Pringle.¡± Sofia giggled.


    ¡°Well then, we''re all single,¡± Sam said.


    It was good to know that they were all single, but it definitely surprised me; nearly everyone wanted to date them, and they could date anyone they wanted. Maybe they were single because they were so busy.


    ¡°Well, I understand why Revive is single, since she''s just out of a relationship, but I''m surprised that the rest of you are still single,¡± Grayson said.


    ¡°I don''t have much time for dating, and I''m always worried that they''d only want to date me because I''m a superhero. It''s difficult to trust people.¡± Pablo sighed.


    ¡°Definitely, I''m wary after my ex left me for a villain,¡± Sofia replied.


    ¡°I''ve been on dates, but none of them have gone anywhere. It''s hard to find a woman who I gel with, I''ve found that I don''t have enough in common with them. But, I''m still hopeful,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°I guess my situation is similar to Swift Sage''s, I want to date someone who I can fully trust. I''ve dated women who take so many photos and videos for social media fame. I want to date someone who genuinely likes me, and isn''t with me for the fame,¡± Sam said.


    It was awful that people would date superheroes just to become famous, especially when they were all such kind people. They were nothing like the horrible heroes in The Boys, they were actually good, and helped people.


    ¡°Well, you heard it here folks, the London Defenders are all single!¡± Grayson grinned.


    The interview was finally over; it had been more fun that I''d thought it would be, and I didn''t get booed at all.


    We talked to Grayson for a few minutes after, then we left the building and fans were waiting outside. Their cheering was so loud it was almost deafening. The others signed posters and took selfies, but I didn''t know if they wanted my autograph or a selfie with me.


    ¡°Revive! Can I get a selfie with you?¡± A young, white man with short blonde hair asked.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I walked over to him.


    I got into the picture and smiled, then he took a few pictures.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°Thank you so much,¡± he said.


    ¡°You''re welcome, and thank you for your support.¡±


    A few other people asked for my autograph and a selfie with me; it was fun meeting fans.


    ¡°We have to go!¡± Pablo exclaimed.


    ¡°Is there an emergency?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, we have to help with multiple car crashes on the Tower Bridge,¡± Pablo replied.


    We rushed away from the adoring fans, then Sam levitated us, and pulled me towards him. I clung to Sam as usual and closed my eyes. Flying was still cold and scary, but it wasn''t as bad as it had been at the start. I must''ve become a bit more used to it, like Sofia.


    After a few minutes, we got to the bridge; many cars had crashed into each other, and a bus was hanging off the blue railings. It was a hideous sight, the bus could topple over at any moment, sending the passengers to their doom.


    ¡°Alex and Sam, you two take care of the bus, then help anyone who''s trapped. The rest of us will check on people and help them. Cara, are you okay to heal people?¡± Pablo asked.


    Alex and Sam ran to the bus, and started getting it back onto the road.


    ¡°Yep, I can do that. Depending on how many people are injured, I may need a very long nap,¡± I replied.


    ¡°That''s fine, you can nap for as long as you need,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Maybe you should only heal people who really need it to conserve your energy. Like someone who''s bleeding out or someone who''s paralysed,¡± Sofia suggested.


    ¡°That''s a good idea.¡± Pablo nodded.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    It made a lot more sense ¡ª there was no point in healing someone who had a broken arm, as it would heal in a few weeks or months. I needed to heal people who were likely to die. I went to the car that was nearest to me and looked inside, there was a young woman in the car, and she had a bit of blood on her head, but seemed fine.


    ¡°Please heal me! My head is so sore!¡± She exclaimed.


    She certainly looked fine, but maybe there was bleeding in her brain that I couldn''t see. I could check by making physical contact with her.


    ¡°I need to check how serious your condition is, I can only treat people who are dying. Otherwise, I''ll pass out too soon,¡± I said.


    ¡°I understand, but please check.¡±


    ¡°Alright, give me your hand.¡±


    She stuck her hand out the window and I took it ¡ª as I thought, she was fine. She had whiplash and a small cut on her head. She''d be fine and would recover with time. Although, whiplash could be very sore, I''d been in a car crash as a child and had a really sore back and shoulders for a couple of days. I could barely lift my arms to wash my hair in the shower because it was so bad.


    ¡°I''m sorry, I can''t heal you, it isn''t serious enough. You have whiplash and a cut on your head,¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay, go help people who are more in need than I am.¡±


    I went on to the next car, and there was a man with a metal pole stuck in his stomach ¡ª it was revolting. The truck in front must''ve been transporting them; other poles were stuck in other parts of the man''s car, and others were on the road. This was one of the reasons why I hated driving behind cars and lorries that were transporting things that could get stuck in me.


    ¡°Help me!¡±


    ¡°I will. We need to get the pole out.¡±


    If I healed him now, the pole would still be stuck in him.


    ¡°Aren''t you supposed to leave that in until I get to the hospital?¡± His eyes were wide.


    ¡°Don''t worry, I''ll heal you as soon as it''s taken out,¡± I replied.


    It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible for me to pull the pole out; I needed help from someone. Looking around, Sam and Alex had finished getting the bus back onto the road. One of them could definitely help. Sam was marginally closer to me.


    ¡°Mr. Mind!¡± I yelled, while waving at him.


    He looked over and said, ¡°I''ll be with you in a minute.¡±


    ¡°Just hold on, you''ll be as good as new soon,¡± I said.


    ¡°Really? This won''t go wrong?¡±


    ¡°What''s your name?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Uh, Jeremy,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Well, Jeremy, I promise you, you''re going to be fine.¡±


    I''d hate to be in his situation, the pole being stuck in him was gross and made me feel queasy, and it would be the most stressful thing ever. Crashes were often horrific, with the most disturbing scenes ¡ª things sticking out of people, missing limbs and crushed bodies. Dealing with crimes was less disturbing, but it was certainly much more terrifying.


    Sam came over. ¡°Oh, this looks rough. Do you need me to take the pole out?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Yes please.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°I''m sure this will hurt, but Revive will heal you in no time,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Alright, do it as quickly as possible.¡± Jeremy sighed.


    I held Jeremy''s hand, then Sam pulled the pole out pretty quickly using his telekinesis. Blood spurted out, it was disgusting. Since the pole was fully out, I healed Jeremy, and the blood stopped pouring out and the colour returned to his face.


    ¡°Thank you so much!¡± He got out of the car and hugged me.


    ¡°Oh, I''m just glad I could help.¡± I smiled.


    Unfortunately, my eyes were starting to sting, and I needed a big nap, it had taken quite a bit of effort to heal him. I needed to hold on for longer, there were probably a lot more people who needed to be healed.


    I went to another car and there was a man inside, his arm was grossly twisted in an unnatural position ¡ª it was definitely broken. Although, he didn''t seem to have any other injuries.


    ¡°Is it just your arm that''s injured?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, heal it!¡± He exclaimed.


    ¡°I''m sorry, I''m only healing people who are likely to die, I need to conserve my energy for those who need it most,¡± I replied and he glared at me.


    If only a few people were injured, I would''ve healed them all, but there were many people involved in the crash.


    ¡°You heal me right now! My arm is seriously injured!¡± The man shouted.


    ¡°I understand that it''s bad, but a broken arm won''t kill you.¡±


    ¡°If you don''t heal it, I''ll be telling everyone about how horrible you are!¡±


    Pablo came over, he looked furiously at the man. ¡°Leave Revive alone! She''d heal everyone if she could. She can only help people who are in critical condition, which isn''t you.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± He rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Just leave him, he''s not worth stressing over,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°You''re right, it''s better to just ignore people like him.¡± I nodded.


    I moved on to another car, which was crushed in at the back. There was a man and a woman in the front, frozen in fear and shock.


    ¡°Are you two okay?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Our Timmy is in the back!¡± The woman exclaimed.


    ¡°Help him!" The man yelled.


    Presumably, these two were a couple and their son was in the back. If so, he was probably severely injured, or maybe even dead. I''d save him, no matter what. Unfortunately, I couldn''t look in the back because all of it was so crushed. Once again, I''d need help; Alex was at the car beside mine.


    ¡°Strong Sapphire, I could do with some help,¡± I said.


    ¡°Sure.¡± She nodded.


    ¡°I need you to get the back part open, there''s a kid in there,¡± I said and she had a grim look on her face.


    ¡°Alright, I''ll sort it.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Alex pulled the crushed in parts off, leaving a hole in the back of the car. There was a little boy in there, he had blood all over him, as well as car parts sticking out of him. I held his tiny, cold hand to heal him, but he was dead. He needed to be revived, but if I did that now, I''d only have a few minutes before I fell asleep. We still hadn''t checked all the cars, I''d need to leave him until the end. I pulled the car parts out of him to save time later.


    ¡°Is he dead?¡± Alex asked in a whisper and I nodded.


    ¡°I''ll bring him back to life later. If I did it now, I wouldn''t have long enough to heal others.¡±


    ¡°Is Timmy okay?¡± The woman asked.


    ¡°I''m going to be honest, it''s not good. He''s dead. I''ll revive him later, I promise. Right now, I have to heal others,¡± I said.


    ¡°I don''t understand! Why can''t you revive him now?¡± She exclaimed.


    ¡°I would, but when I revive people, I fall asleep very quickly after I do it. There are still others who I need to heal.¡±


    ¡°Promise you''ll come back, you can''t forget about him,¡± the man said.


    ¡°I promise, I''ll come back and revive Timmy.¡±


    ¡°We''re trusting you,¡± she replied.


    ¡°You can count on me.¡± I smiled.


    There was no way I''d leave a dead child ¡ª seeing children die was the worst, they were so young and innocent. I''d never allow any children I encountered to die, I''d always bring them back to life.


    I left to heal others who were dying. It took a while, but we checked all the vehicles, and I healed anyone in critical condition. Thankfully, Timmy was the only one who needed to be revived. I went back to Timmy and his parents; after this, I was going to sleep for a year. I''d never healed this many people in my whole life ¡ª I must''ve healed at least twelve people. My eyes were almost closing, but I wouldn''t let myself sleep until Timmy was alive. I took his hand, and his entire body was enveloped in the golden glow from my powers. Just before I fell into a deep sleep, I saw Timmy''s eyes shoot open, as he gasped for breath.


    ****


    I woke up and looked around, there were the familiar surroundings of my new bedroom. It was hard to tell how much time had passed, so I turned the light on, then checked the clock ¡ª it was nine, presumably in the night because there was no sunlight shining on the curtains.


    ¡°You''re awake!¡± Sofia exclaimed, making me jump out of my skin and scream.


    She was sitting on a chair on the left side of my room. She must''ve moved it in here, since I didn''t have any chairs in my room.


    ¡°Oh, I''m so sorry, I didn''t mean to scare you,¡± she said.


    ¡°It''s okay, I wasn''t expecting anyone to be here.¡± I shook my head.


    I thought they would''ve put me in my bed, then left. Although, I''d expected to wake up at work, they must''ve brought me here once our shift was finished.


    ¡°We''ve all been with you when we haven''t been working. The others are in your living room, we''ve been taking turns checking on you.¡±


    ¡°Uh, how long was I asleep for?¡± I frowned.


    ¡°About a day and half. You were asleep from yesterday afternoon, to now.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that''s crazy.¡± I shook my head.


    The only time I''d been unconscious for this long was when I''d died from being run over by a lorry that went through a red light. I loved healing and reviving people, but it certainly took many hours out of my life from all the sleeping I had to do to recover. Days would be wasted sleeping. It was a shame, but there was no way to fix it.


    ¡°Anyway, if you''re up to it, you should go out and see the others. We were all worried about you,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Aww, that''s sweet, but there''s nothing to worry about. I always wake up.¡± I smiled. ¡°Also, I''m not tired at all now, it''s the opposite, actually. I feel really energised.¡±


    That was the other bad thing about sleeping after healing someone, it could mess up my sleeping routine. Now, I''d end up staying awake until the early hours of the morning, then have to go into work, while tired from a weird sleeping pattern.


    I got out of bed, then went into the living room with Sofia. I sat on the sofa between Alex and Sam.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I''m fine.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°We were all worried about you, you were asleep for ages,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°I know, I was quite surprised myself when I found out how long I''d been asleep for. It''s just what happens when I heal loads of people and revive someone.¡±


    ¡°We''ll need to remember that for next time and try not to worry,¡± Sofia replied.


    ¡°What''s the longest you''ve slept for?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°When I died as a kid, I was asleep for three days. Thank God I hadn''t been buried, I woke up a few hours before my funeral inside a coffin. It was terrifying.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°Holy shit, that sounds horrible!¡± Sofia exclaimed.


    ¡°It was. Everyone was shocked, but delighted that I was alive. Since then, I''ve always worn a necklace and bracelet that says I''m not dead. I don''t want someone thinking I''m dead, then burying me. It''s one of my worst fears.¡±


    ¡°We''ll make sure no one buries you if you die, don''t worry.¡± Alex patted my arm.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Is that the only time you''ve died?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°No, I also died from choking on meat when I was a kid. Then as an adult, I died in a boat fire. Thankfully, I haven''t died since then.¡±


    It was crazy that I''d already died three times, I really was unlucky.


    ¡°That''s unbelievable, we''re superheroes and none of us have died once. You must be the most unlucky person ever,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°I know, it''s so unfair.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°Well, at least you never have to worry about dying, you''ll always come back,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Yep, that part is good.¡±


    ¡°Did you feel any pain when you died?¡± Sofia asked.


    ¡°From what I remember, the pain was brief, I passed out quickly,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Well, we''re going to do our best to make sure that you don''t die again,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Pablo nodded.


    ¡°Thanks, it''d be nice to never die again.¡±


    They all stayed with me for a while longer, but it was getting late, so they went home at midnight. Unfortunately, I still wasn''t tired at all. I''d just have to stay up until I felt tired, then go sleep at my normal time tomorrow night. It made me dread tomorrow, since I''d be exhausted, but I''d just have to deal with it.


    ****


    The next day, I went into work with a racing heart, due to only getting three hours sleep. Everyone was in the staff room, as usual, so I went and sat with them.


    ¡°I''m so tired.¡± I yawned.


    The others ended up yawning as well.


    ¡°Did you not sleep well?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Not really, my alarm woke me. I only got about three hours sleep. It took ages for me to feel tired because I slept so much yesterday and the day before.¡±


    ¡°I''m sure that''s very annoying,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°It is.¡± I nodded.


    I needed to sleep for another day to feel refreshed, but I couldn''t sleep until tonight. Unless someone needed to be healed, then I''d need to have a nap.


    ¡°So, I forgot to ask, what did I miss when I was asleep?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Nothing serious, we caught muggers, stopped a robbery, saved a cat from a tree, and helped a lost child get home,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°I didn''t know you dealt with more minor things as well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we go out on patrols sometimes,¡± Pablo said.


    It was great that they did that, they could prevent someone from being murdered, or help people with minor things.


    ¡°That''s a good idea,¡± I replied. ¡°So, no one needed to be healed?¡±


    ¡°Thankfully, everyone was fine, including us,¡± Sofia replied.


    ¡°I''m glad, I''d hate to be sleeping when someone needs to be healed.¡±


    It would be awful if there was another dead person who needed to be revived, and I wasn''t there to help.


    ¡°Your sleep and recovery is more important than healing someone, especially if they aren''t dying. Anyway, if any of us need healed, you can just do it when you wake up,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°That''s true.¡± I nodded. ¡°I also wanted to ask, but kept forgetting, who deals with crimes and stuff when we''re off?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There are two other hero groups. The Night Owls, who are on shift when we get off on weekdays, then the Weekend Defenders,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Ah, that makes sense.¡±


    The alarm went off, indicating there was some kind of emergency to deal with.


    ¡°People are robbing Amathus Soho,¡± Pauline said.


    I''d never heard of that, so I had no idea what it was.


    ¡°What''s that?¡± I frowned.


    ¡°It''s an off licence, they sell alcohol there,¡± Sam replied.


    We rushed out of the building, and Sam flew us to the shop. I stayed outside, while the others went in; I wouldn''t be much help, unless someone needed to be healed. It was better for me to be out of the way. The outside of the shop was painted black, with posters of alcohol on the windows.


    Two of the robbers, who were wearing all black, with black masks, sneaked down one of the aisles and out of the store.


    ¡°Hey, there''s Revive, get her!¡±


    They closed in on me, making my heart best even faster than it had been earlier.


    ¡°Get away!¡± I yelled.


    One of them grabbed me and started dragging me away, I hit and punched him, but he seemed completely fine.


    ¡°Help!¡± I screamed.


    Continually fighting against the man wasn''t working, he either couldn''t feel pain, or I was super weak.


    Pablo ran out of the off licence, then punched the man and pulled me away from him. He tried to fight back, but Pablo was much faster and dodged all the punches. The other man tried to attack him as well, but Pablo beat them both easily, then restrained them with zip ties.


    ¡°Thank you, I was so scared!¡± I hugged Pablo.


    ¡°It''s okay, you''re safe now.¡± He rubbed my back.


    The others came out with another robber restrained.


    ¡°That''s all of them. Are you okay, Revive?¡± Alex asked, as she walked over.


    ¡°I''m just shaken up, I was almost kidnapped.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°Oh my, you poor thing, that sounds so stressful.¡± She hugged me.


    ¡°Yeah, it was.¡±


    That was one of the scariest moments of my life; I''d never had someone try to kidnap me before, it was awful, I never wanted to go through it again.


    ¡°You''re safe now.¡± Sam hugged me.


    ¡°Yeah, we''re all here for you.¡± Sofia gave me a hug.


    ¡°Thanks, these hugs have definitely calmed me.¡± I smiled.


    Once the police arrived to arrest the robbers, we went back to the London Defenders building. My whole body felt shaky and even more exhausted from all the stress.


    ¡°We need to teach you self-defence. We were going to anyway, but I think the sooner we start, the better,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°I agree, but I''m sure you need to rest today. You''ve barely slept, and you had to deal with almost being abducted,¡± Pablo responded.


    ¡°Yeah, I don''t think I could concentrate enough.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°We''ll start tomorrow,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± I replied.


    I needed to learn how to defend myself and fight someone, but it could wait until tomorrow when I was more fit for it. It was hideous that those robbers had almost taken me with them. Hopefully, I''d become stronger and be able to beat anyone who tried to abduct me.

 Training

    The next day when I got to work, we talked for a few minutes in the staff room, then went to the gym. I was going to learn how to fight.


    ¡°We''re going to take it in turns teaching you, we''ll see how you do, and discuss it at the end,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Oh no, I don''t want to mess up.¡±


    I didn''t like the thought of having them all talk about me at the end, that would put extra pressure on me.


    ¡°It''s fine if you mess up. Don''t worry about it,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Yeah, there''s no pressure.¡± Pablo nodded.


    ¡°Alright, I''ll try my best.¡±


    I was a bit nervous about this training, but also excited, and I hoped I''d be able to use what I learned. Hopefully, no one would be able to kidnap after this training.


    ¡°So, here''s the plan, Alex is going to train you first in fighting and self-defence. Then you''ll go with Sofia, you''ll be learning distractions, stealth attacks and how to get away. Next, you''ll go with Sam, he''ll show you how to use things, like a bag to attack your opponent. Last, you''ll train with me, I''ll teach you how to use different weapons,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Thanks, I''m sure it''ll be useful.¡± I smiled.


    It was good to know the training plan, I liked it when things were organised and I knew what I was doing.


    ¡°Right, let''s go,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I followed her to the punching bag.


    ¡°First, we''ll go over punches and blocks,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Oh, that sounds scary.¡±


    I didn''t want to get punched by Alex, she was so strong and powerful.


    ¡°Don''t worry, you''ll be fine.¡± She smiled. ¡°I''m going to show you what to do now.¡±


    ¡°Uh, okay.¡±


    She did a punch out in front of her, then blocked with her left arm, going straight in front of her, with her palm facing upwards.


    ¡°Now, you try.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± I did the same thing she''d shown me.


    ¡°That was good.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thanks.¡± I smiled.


    Next, she did a punch, then a block up high with her left arm. I copied her once again, so far, this was very easy.


    ¡°You''re doing really well.¡±


    Alex showed me the next one, she blocked up high, making an X with her arms. I did the same movement.


    ¡°There''s one last basic block to learn.¡±


    Alex made another x that was low, so I did it after her. We went through them a few times, and they weren''t hard to remember.


    She got boxing gloves and pads.


    ¡°Here, you take the gloves.¡± Alex handed them to me.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I put the first one on and did the strap. ¡°Uh, I need help with the other one.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Alex replied. She got the other glove on for me and did the strap. Then, Alex put the boxing pads on. ¡°First, you''re going to punch with your right hand, then duck, then punch with your left hand.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I''ll try. Please don''t hit me.¡±


    ¡°I won''t, I''ll go slow so that it would be like a tap if you don''t duck,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I punched with my right hand, then ducked, and finished off with a left punch.


    ¡°That was good.¡± She smiled. ¡°We''ll go over it a few times, then I''ll give you different ones to go through.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± I replied.


    I did different punches, dodges and blocks with Alex; it was quite tiring, I was out of breath and sweaty.


    ¡°You did really well, you can have a break, then you''re with Sofia,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Oh good, I''m tired.¡± I sighed.


    I went and sat at the side of the room, and took a big drink from my water bottle. Alex came over and sat beside me.


    ¡°I think we need to do this about twice a week, you need to learn to defend yourself, and get fitter.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I haven''t exercised this much in years.¡±


    ¡°We''ll get you in shape in no time.¡± Alex smiled.


    ¡°I hope so.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, you did well, and I''m sure you''ll keep improving.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I rested for a few minutes, then joined Sofia on the small track for the next part of my training.


    ¡°Sometimes it''s better to just run away, so that''s what we''ll start with.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but I haven''t run in years.¡±


    ¡°It''s alright, just try your best. You go first, I''ll go three seconds after you, and we''ll do a few races.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but I think you''ll win them all.¡± I laughed.


    I wasn''t fit at all, I probably hadn''t done any exercise since P.E. in school.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter who wins. You can start running when you''re ready,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Alright.¡± I got into position, then started running as fast as I could.


    Sofia was catching up, I could hear her fast footsteps behind me. I kept going fast, but she overtook me, and beat me by a couple of seconds. I stopped, hunched over and out of breath.


    ¡°You did well, I''m sure with more practice you could speed up,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°I hope so, you easily beat me, even with a head start.¡±


    I really needed to get more fit and strong, then maybe, I could beat a normal person ¡ª taking on a villain would likely be suicide.


    ¡°I''ve been practicing for years, I''m sure a regular person wouldn''t be this fast. You could possibly get away from a robber or killer.¡±


    ¡°I think I''d run even faster in a situation like that,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Then you just have to run long enough to get away, or until one of us sees that you''re in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Thankfully, the last time, Pablo noticed quickly that I was in trouble.¡±


    He''d been out to save me in less than a minute, probably because of his super hearing, or sight.


    ¡°Yeah, he heard you shouting. That''s another thing, if you''re ever in trouble, make as much noise as you can,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°I will.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Let''s run a few more times, then we''ll move on.¡±


    I did a few more races with Sofia, and she beat me every time.


    ¡°We can move on to distractions now.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°So, say someone is after you, you could throw something in their direction, or behind them, just make sure it''s away from you. Then, when they''re distracted, you run away,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Okay, I''ll give it a go.¡±


    Sofia got her red bag and handed it to me.


    ¡°Uh, what if I break something?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, try not to, if you do, I''ll just replace whatever gets broken,¡± she replied. ¡°Anyway, I put in some extra things that shouldn''t break.¡±


    I looked inside and there was a soft teddy bear, that could easily be thrown without breaking.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Sofia asked.


    ¡°Yep.¡± I nodded.


    I got the teddy out, then threw it behind Sofia, which distracted her and she turned round. Then, I ran away from her.


    ¡°That was really good. There''s a heavier ball in there, try throwing that this time.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± I got the ball out, and managed to throw it behind her. She turned again, so I ran once more.


    We did it a few more times with different items.


    ¡°You did well, let''s move on to sneak attacks. I''ll stand with my back to you, you have to sneak up on me,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I sneaked as quietly as a mouse, and managed to get right behind Sofia.


    ¡°I did it,¡± I said.


    ¡°Well done, I didn''t hear you at all.¡± She smiled.


    It was probably because I''d had to sneak around the house when Randall lived with me, so I was used to doing it. We did sneak attacks a bit more, and I was really good at them.


    ¡°I think you''re excellent at sneak attacks,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Since, Sofia and I were finished, I went over to Sam.


    ¡°How had your training been going?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°It''s good, but very tiring,¡± I replied.


    Alex and Sofia''s training had both been physically draining; I''d sleep for many hours.


    ¡°Well, what we''ll be doing shouldn''t be too tiring. We''re just going to see what things might be handy to use as weapons. Like, your bag, or high heels if you''re wearing them.¡±


    ¡°Alright, it doesn''t sound too tiring.¡±


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Sam gave me a bag and black high heels, as well as car keys.


    ¡°So if you''re holding your bag and someone tries to attack you, hurt them with it.¡±


    I swung the bag and almost hit Sam in the head, but he stopped it with his telekinesis. ¡°That''s perfect.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°Oh good.¡±


    I tried it a few more times, and it went well.


    ¡°With high heels, you could stamp the pointy heel into their foot,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Sounds easy.¡± I stamped the heel into the ground a few times.


    ¡°Yep, that''s it.¡± He nodded. ¡°Now, with the keys, you could stab them.¡±


    I held the keys and stabbed them towards Sam a few times.


    ¡°That''s good, I think you''ve got the hang of it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I replied.


    ¡°One last training session,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Yeah, I''ve enjoyed it, but I''m pretty tired.¡± I giggled.


    ¡°Don''t worry, you can rest soon.¡± He patted my back.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    I walked over to Pablo, and there were knives, bows and axes. The weapons looked really cool.


    ¡°You can try using the knife first, you''ll do stabbing motions first, then you can stab a watermelon,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Oh, that sounds fun.¡± I smiled.


    I''d never stabbed anything, only cut things with knives; it would be cool to see what it was like. Pablo gave me a large, sharp knife, and he took one for himself.


    ¡°Just try to follow what I do.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I nodded.


    Pablo swung the knife left and right, so I copied him, then he did stabbing motions, which I did as well. We did it a few more times.


    ¡°Can I stab the watermelon now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yep, you can give it a go.¡± He got the watermelon out from his black, gym bag that was at the side of the room.


    Pablo brought the watermelon over, and held it in front of me.


    ¡°Do I go now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, when you''re ready.¡± He nodded.


    I plunged the knife into the fruit and some juice came out. When pulling the knife to get it out, I had to use some more effort because it was stuck in deep. I managed to get the knife out eventually.


    ¡°Well done,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Thanks, that was definitely fun.¡±


    I stabbed the watermelon a few more times; by the end, the fruit looked completely messed up.


    ¡°We''ll move on to a bow and arrow.¡± He gave me one and I held it in my right hand.


    Pablo put a guard over his fingers, then clicked an arrow into his bow, after, he shot at the target ahead of us ¡ª he got a bullseye.


    ¡°Wow, that was amazing,¡± I said.


    ¡°Thanks, I''ve had a lot of practice. You try now, here''s the finger guard.¡± Pablo helped me put it over my left index and middle finger.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°So, now, stand sideways, with your right foot forward.¡± I did as Pablo said. ¡°You put your arrow in here.¡± He pointed to a part on the string between two black lines on the white string. One finger goes above the arrow and one goes below. Then you pull your elbow back and release.¡±


    I took an arrow, and with some effort clicked it into the bow. Using my left hand, I pulled back the string, while looking at the target, then released the arrow. It hit the black part of the target, so at least it had gone into the right place.


    ¡°That was good for your first try. I''m sure if you keep practicing, you''ll get it in the middle,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Oh, that would be amazing.¡± I smiled.


    Archery was fun, I definitely liked it so far. I got another arrow, and shot it towards the target; it went into the black part again.


    ¡°Well done.¡±


    I shot a few more arrows, and it finally went into the blue area, I was improving already.


    ¡°That''s good, if you practice once a week or more, you''ll improve.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I like archery. Using these weapons has been the most fun part of this training,¡± I said.


    Stabbing watermelons was weird, but fun, and the archery had been great.


    ¡°I''m glad, the last weapon you''ll use is an axe.¡± Pablo lifted one and handed it to me.


    The axe was quite heavy, it would be difficult to swing it to attack someone, or throw it. I''d probably only be able to use it properly once I was stronger.


    Pablo got an axe for himself as well.


    ¡°We''ll just do the same as we did with the knife,¡± he said.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I copied Pablo''s motions, but it was more difficult, since the axe was much heavier than the knife. My arms were starting to burn and tire out ¡ª I really needed to lift weights or something.


    ¡°This time, I have a pineapple for you to smash.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, we''re destroying SpongeBob''s home.¡± I laughed.


    ¡°That''s funny.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Don''t worry, it isn''t SpongeBob''s house, just a normal pineapple.¡± Pablo went and got a pineapple, then held it in front of himself.


    I chopped downwards and got the axe about halfway through the pineapple, so I hit it once again, and it went into two halves.


    ¡°Well done.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    I cut a few more pineapples, and it was enjoyable, but not as fun as stabbing the watermelons.


    ¡°That''s your training finished, take a rest, you deserve it,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Oh good, I''m exhausted!¡± I exclaimed.


    I''d never done this much exercise in my life ¡ª I''d been doing it for two hours, it was crazy. It amazed me that we hadn''t been called out to deal with anything in all that time. I sat at the side of the room and took a few large gulps of my water.


    After a few minutes, the others came over to me.


    ¡°We all agree that you did really well, especially with Sofia and Sam. You''ll train with them once a week, and you''ll train with Alex and me twice a week, since you have less fighting experience,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Thanks, that sounds good.¡± I smiled.


    It was good that I''d be training often, then I could learn how to properly defend myself.


    ****


    After work, I was walking home on my own, as usual. It was starting to get dark, since it was a cool autumn evening; I always hated that it got dark so early in the autumn and winter. It made me miss the long summer nights, when it didn''t get dark until about 10pm.


    A man jumped out of a side street in front of me, making me scream. He stormed over to me, looking menacing.


    ¡°Give me your bag!¡± He shouted.


    I was about to distract the man, like I''d been shown earlier, but he went flying away from me. He seemed in shock, then got up and ran away. An attractive woman walked over to me, she was white, with luscious, long, blonde hair, and she was slim.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I''m assuming you were the one who did that.¡±


    ¡°I did, I have super speed, so I ran over and pushed him away.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I really appreciate it,¡± I said.


    If she hadn''t been here, that guy might''ve stolen my bag, since I couldn''t be sure that my techniques would''ve worked.


    ¡°It''s no problem, I''m Violet.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, I''m Cara.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Violet asked.


    ¡°Home, it''s a ten-minute walk away.¡±


    ¡°I''ll walk you home, just in case anyone else tries to hurt you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, that would be great,¡± I replied with a smile.


    I''d definitely feel safer having Violet with me, she was so fast, she''d get rid of anyone who tried to mess with us. I started walking again, with Violet by my side.


    ¡°Have you ever thought about joining a superhero group?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh no, I could never do that.¡± Violet laughed.


    ¡°Why not? You''d be great at it.¡± I frowned.


    She''d saved me, her powers would be useful when going up against villains, or regular criminals.


    ¡°I couldn''t follow all the rules, and I wouldn''t like having to answer to people. I''m happy just helping out when I see people in danger,¡± Violet replied.


    ¡°Well, I hope you change your mind, I think you''d be an amazing hero.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    It was hard to believe that anyone with powers, who helped people didn''t want to be a hero. It had always been my dream to be a superhero ¡ª I literally got paid to help people!


    ¡°So, you''re not a hero, what job do you do?¡±


    ¡°Uh, I have a business. I run it with a few friends,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Wow, that''s so cool, what''s the business?¡±


    ¡°We work with banks.¡±


    ¡°Oh cool.¡±


    ¡°What about you? What''s your job?¡±


    ¡°Believe it or not, I''m a superhero.¡± I giggled.


    It was slightly embarrassing that I needed to be saved, since I was a superhero. You didn''t hear about them needing saved very often.


    ¡°Really? What powers do you have?¡± Violet asked.


    ¡°Healing and reviving people.¡±


    ¡°That''s really useful.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I love my powers, but I wish I could defend myself better.¡± I sighed.


    Hopefully, my training would enable me to fight off anyone who was a danger.


    ¡°I''m around this area a lot, so I''ll help if I ever see you in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°So, how long have you been a hero for?¡± Violet asked.


    ¡°Oh, not long, only a couple of weeks. I love working with heroes who I''ve looked up to for years, but it can be tough. Since, I heal people, I end up sleeping a lot, it feels like I waste my life sleeping. I obviously don''t regret healing all those people, it''s just a shame that I have to nap after doing so. But, my coworkers are great, and I''m amazed that I get paid to help people.¡±


    ¡°That would be very annoying. I''m glad I never get tired from running fast. But, don''t you get stressed when you''re around villains?¡±


    ¡°I definitely do.¡± I nodded. ¡°It can be really scary going up against villains, or even normal criminals. I nearly got kidnapped yesterday because the robbers wanted me for my powers. And that Bloodlust is absolutely terrifying!¡±


    ¡°Wow, that''s crazy, I''m glad they didn''t get you. Bloodlust is creepy, I wouldn''t want to meet him,¡± Violet replied.


    ¡°When I saw him, I''m glad he didn''t go near me, he''s the worst. He could literally hypnotise me to do anything.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I''d hate that.¡±


    The large, beige building that my apartment was in was across the street, we were nearly there.


    ¡°My apartment is just across the street,¡± I said.


    ¡°Wow, you live in a fancy area.¡±


    ¡°I know, I love it here. But, I used to live in a rougher area, I only got this place because of my job.¡±


    ¡°That''s really cool.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I got it for free. I was amazed.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°I''m amazed, too. I''d be jealous if I didn''t live in a great house,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Your business must be doing well, then.¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± Violet nodded.


    We crossed the road, and went into the building.


    ¡°Thank you so much for all your help,¡± I said.


    ¡°You''re welcome, I''m glad you''re home safely. Maybe, I''ll see you around.¡±


    ¡°I hope so. Bye, then.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye,¡± Violet replied.


    I used the stairs to get up to my apartment, since it was good exercise, and I didn''t really like elevators. Violet seemed helpful and friendly, as well as being gorgeous, I really hoped I''d see her again.


    ****


    As soon as I got into work, I went to the staff room where everyone was sitting around and talking.


    ¡°Oh my, I have news,¡± I said, as I walked over and sat beside Sam.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Pablo asked.


    ¡°Is it good or bad news?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°A bit of both. I''ll start with the bad news. On my way home yesterday, a guy tried to mug me,¡± I said.


    ¡°That''s awful, are you okay?¡± Sofia asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I''m fine.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Oh good, that sounds terrifying,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Anyway, the good news is that a woman called Violet was nearby, and she saved me by pushing the guy. She has super speed. She walked me home, and made sure that I was okay. Unfortunately, she''s not interested in being a hero.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that sounds like an eventful evening,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°It certainly was.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°I swear, you have some sort of attack me magnet.¡± Sam chuckled.


    ¡°I know, it''s ridiculous.¡± I laughed.


    ¡°I think one of us should walk you home from now on. I don''t want you getting hurt or abducted,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°That''s a good idea, I''d feel much safer as well if I didn''t have to walk home alone.¡±


    ¡°I''m happy to do it,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Same.¡± Sam nodded.


    ¡°I''m happy to do it as well,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°We can take it in turns, since we all want to help,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Oh, that''d be nice, it''ll give me a chance to get to know all of you better.¡± I smiled.


    I got to know them all within group settings, but I found it easier to talk to people one-to-one.


    ¡°I want to go first!¡± Alex exclaimed.


    It was sweet that she was so enthusiastic to go first; I was excited to walk home with all of them, since I loved them all so much. They were such lovely people, it was a joy to work with them.


    ¡°Sure, that''s fine, I''ll make a rota so that everyone knows when they''re walking home with Cara,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Normally, I don''t like being on a rota for things because they''re like chores, but this is one that I definitely want to be on. I''m sure it''ll be fun.¡± Sam smiled.


    ¡°What rotas have you been put on that you didn''t like?¡± I frowned.


    ¡°Not in this job, but when I was a teenager, working in retail, they had cleaning rotas. I hated them.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they are annoying.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°I don''t think any of us will find it a chore to walk home with you. It just means we get to spend more time together,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Yeah, I think we''ll all like it. The only bad thing is that all of you have to go out of your way,¡± I replied.


    None of them lived in the same building as me, they were all in opposite directions.


    ¡°We don''t mind that.¡± Pablo smiled.


    ¡°Yeah, your safety us our priority.¡± Sam nodded.


    It was great that they were all so sweet and caring, it made me love them all even more. I really was living the dream life, surrounded by amazing friends, who I was lucky enough to work with.


    ¡°Thank you so much. I really love working here, you''re all so kind and friendly,¡± I said and smiled.


    ¡°Aww, I''m glad, we love having you here,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Sofia nodded.


    After a while, we were called out to deal with a fight between two men, which was dealt with quickly. We didn''t have to deal with anything major for the rest of the day, just a minor crash, and we went on a patrol and dealt with small issues. Days like these were much less stressful.


    Once work was over, I left with Alex. I felt super safe with her ¡ª she was the strongest person ever.


    ¡°I hope we don''t run into any assholes tonight, but if we do, you''re safe with me,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Oh, I know. Your strength is incredible.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°I''m curious, since you can shape-shift, is this how you were born?¡±


    ¡°It is. As far as I''m aware, I''m the only person in the world who looks like this¡­ in school, I was bullied for looking so scary and different, so I made myself look like a regular human. But, when I got older, I didn''t give a shit, if people didn''t like me for the way I looked, then that''s their problem, not mine. I like being my true self, unless I''m out in public, then I change my appearance so that people don''t recognise me,¡± Alex said.


    It was sad that people had been so horrible to Alex, but I knew what it was like, I''d been bullied in school as well.


    ¡°Well, I think you''re beautiful, inside and out. If someone doesn''t like you because of your looks, then they''re a blind idiot. People really shouldn''t judge others based on the way they look.¡±


    ¡°I completely agree.¡±


    ¡°I bet we would''ve been friends in school. I was always very shy, and didn''t have many friends. I was bullied as well,¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh, I''m sure we would''ve been.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°At least we''ve met each other now, and no one bullies us.¡±


    ¡°That''s very true. We have a great team, we all stick together.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I''m so lucky to be part of it all,¡± I replied.


    They all accepted me, and weren''t mean or rude at all, which I''d been a bit worried about. I really couldn''t ask for a better job, or better colleagues.


    ¡°You know, I really wouldn''t have expected you to be bullied, you seem so strong and confident,¡± I said.


    ¡°I am now, but I was an outcast throughout kindergarten and middle school. It was only in high school that I thought to change my appearance, then I became really popular. That helped me to become more confident and outgoing. As an adult, I just started not really giving a shit what people thought of me. The only opinions I care about are ones from family and friends.¡±


    ¡°That''s a good way to be. Although, I can''t say that I know what age kindergarten and middle school is. I only know about primary school.¡± I laughed.


    ¡°We start kindergarten at five, then move to middle school at eleven, then high school at fourteen.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we just have primary school, then secondary school, which can also be called high school. I think primary school starts at about four or five, then secondary school is about eleven,¡± I said.


    ¡°That''s interesting,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Yeah, it''s interesting for me as well. I''ve never even been to America.¡±


    ¡°I''ll take you sometime, you can see where I grew up. The scenery is great, but some of the people aren''t so nice.¡±


    ¡°I''d love that.¡± I smiled.


    I''d always wanted to visit different countries, but there''d never been a chance. It would be great to travel more, now that I was free to do what I wanted.


    We got to my apartment, so it was the end of our pleasant, insightful walk. It made me realise that I had more in common with Alex than I''d thought. She seemed like the complete opposite to me, since she was so confident and outgoing, but we weren''t so different to each other.


    ¡°Thanks for walking with me, I''ll see you tomorrow,¡± I said.


    ¡°See you tomorrow.¡± Alex smiled.

 Buckingham Palace

    We''d been called out to deal with villains taking over Buckingham Palace ¡ª it was crazy, I''d never heard of this happening. Sam flew us there, and there were guards on the ground. I quickly checked on them, thankfully, they were fine, just unconscious.


    ¡°Are the guards alive?¡± Pablo asked.


    ¡°Yep, they were just knocked out,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Then, let''s go inside,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Do I come, too?¡± I frowned.


    I wasn''t sure whether or not I was going in, since sometimes, I waited outside.


    ¡°You can come in, there could be people inside who are injured. Also, it''s not every day that you get to go inside Buckingham Palace.¡± Pablo chuckled.


    ¡°Okay, thanks.¡±


    All of us went inside, and the place was huge and marvellous; there were paintings on the walls, and everything was extremely clean. It would be wonderful to live in a place like this.


    The guards inside the Palace were knocked out as well, at least they hadn''t been killed.


    ¡°You know, they really need to get guards who have powers,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, maybe this place wouldn''t have been taken over if they had powers.¡± Alex nodded.


    We searched the different rooms, which were all magnificent, but there were no signs of the royal family.


    ¡°I wonder where the royals are,¡± I said.


    ¡°Maybe, they''re hiding somewhere.¡± Sofia suggested.


    ¡°Or they could be being held captive by the villains,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°They might not even be here, they could be in one of their other homes,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°I hadn''t thought of that.¡± I shook my head.


    If we searched all the rooms, it would take ages ¡ª I wasn''t sure how many there were, but it seemed like a lot.


    ¡°Anyone know how many rooms are in this place?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Over 700,¡± Sofia replied, making my eyes widen.


    ¡°Oh my, I had no idea there were that many.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Yeah, if I was going to guess, I would''ve said 150 at most,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Yep, I didn''t think there were so many rooms, it''s crazy,¡± Alex replied.


    There were enough rooms for loads of people to live here, I was slightly jealous, this was a dream house.


    Pablo opened a door, which led to the majestic throne room. There was a white man with long, black hair sitting on the throne, wearing the crown. Beside him, there was a woman, who seemed to be made of metal, and a man on his other side, who was tall and muscular, and he was holding a large spear.


    ¡°Oh, the London Defenders are here.¡± Crown man chuckled.


    ¡°And we''re going to stop you,¡± Sam said.


    Muscular man threw the spear right at us, but Sam stopped it, then tossed it back, and metal woman caught it.


    Their team was definitely outnumbered, so they''d probably be easy to beat. Pablo went for the guy who''d had the spear, Alex went for the metal woman, and Sofia and Sam went for the guy on the throne. I''d just stay out of the way, and hope that none of them came for me.


    The metal woman threw the spear back to the muscular man, and he tried to hit Pablo with it, but he was far too fast to be hit. He attacked the man, and was beating him, since he was much faster than the villain.


    I turned my attention to Alex who was having a close fight with the metal woman; they seemed to be matched in strength. It was hard to believe, since Alex was stronger than a hundred gorillas. Metal woman punched Alex''s face, but it didn''t seem to bother her much. She tried to punch again, but Alex caught her fist, then bent the woman''s arm into an unnatural shape. It had to be broken.


    It was incredible that I was up so close to all the fighting, I''d never cease to be amazed by it. The feeling was exhilarating, but terrifying at the same time; I was always worried one of my friends or myself would get hurt.


    Sofia was creating illusions of herself, confusing crown guy, then Sam whirled him around in the air, using his powers. Crown guy shot lasers out of his eyes, one was headed right for me, so I quickly ducked out of the way. Sam stopped the lasers from going near anyone else, he was holding them off, but how long could he do that for? Alex joined them. I looked over at the metal woman, and all of her limbs were twisted in unbearable looking positions. Alex grabbed the villain and smashed him against the ground multiple times. He got knocked unconscious, so we didn''t have to worry about the lasers anymore.


    The muscular man was trying to retreat, he was running straight for the door. I quickly jumped in his way, and kept the door closed for dear life. He got close to me, so I used all my might to push him back, and he moved backwards slightly.


    ¡°Is that all you''ve got? Some hero you are.¡± He laughed.


    Sam pulled the man back, using telekinesis, then Alex ran over and punched the villain.


    ¡°Just give up, things will be much easier if you do,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Never!¡±


    He was such an idiot, he was clearly beat, the rest of his team certainly were. He''d be better just yielding, and not going through any more pain.


    ¡°Fine, have it the hard way,¡± Alex replied, then punched him until he was unconscious.


    ¡°So, are the royals really not here? I''d rather not spend all day looking for them.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°How can we find out?¡± Sofia asked.


    ¡°I''ll check for signs of them¡­ there are currently forty people here, all of them are staff,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°How can you tell?¡± I frowned.


    It was understandable how he knew many people were here, since he could probably sense how many minds were in the building. But, I had no idea how he knew whether they were royal or not.


    ¡°I had a quick check in their minds, seeing memories and things. None of them are part of the royal family. It''s just us, the villains and staff.¡±


    ¡°Then, we don''t have to worry about finding them,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Aww, I can''t believe we got inside Buckingham Palace and didn''t meet one famous person.¡± I sighed.


    I didn''t really care about the royal family, I didn''t want them to be harmed, but I wasn''t a super fan of them the way some people were. Although, it would''ve been cool to say that I''d met one of them.


    ¡°Well, maybe we''ll meet the royal family some day,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Yeah, possibly... Oh, well.¡± I shrugged.


    ¡°I''ll take these guys to prison, then come back and bring all of us back to work,¡± Sam said.


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    ¡°Sure, see you in a bit,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°It''s crazy that they actually took over Buckingham Palace, and that guy was wearing the crown,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°I know¡­ actually I wouldn''t mind having a go myself.¡± I smiled.


    It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to wear the crown and sit on the throne, I just had to do it.


    ¡°Go ahead, it''ll be our secret,¡± Pablo said.


    I collected the crown from the ground, then put it on and sat on the throne. The crown was much heavier than I''d expected it to be, it was just as well I didn''t wear it all the time ¡ª my neck would break.


    ¡°What''s your first order as Queen?¡± Sofia asked.


    ¡°Everyone gets a holiday on my birthday.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Oh, that''s a cool new rule,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°Any other rules or laws?¡± Pablo asked.


    ¡°Oh, I have a good one. Those toilet roll holders where you pull out little strips of toilet roll from a tiny hole are banned. They have to use the normal ones where you can unroll it and use as much as you need, and not have to worry about it getting stuck,¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh, those things are a nightmare, the toilet roll gets stuck in them way too often!¡± Sofia exclaimed.


    ¡°I know! And they''re everywhere.¡± I rolled my eyes.


    ¡°Yeah, they''re such stupid devices.¡± Alex nodded.


    I hated those toilet roll holders with a passion, but at least they didn''t have them at work, they used normal ones.


    ¡°I think we all agree on that, I don''t know anyone who even likes those,¡± Pablo said.


    Sam came back and frowned when he looked at me. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Well, I thought being the Queen for a few minutes would be fun,¡± I replied.


    ¡°I think you''d be a great Queen.¡± Sofia smiled.


    ¡°Aww, thank you.¡±


    ¡°You should''ve been here, Cara banned those toilet roll holders with the tiny holes,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Oh, they definitely need to be banned. They don''t give enough toilet roll, and you''re stranded when the roll gets stuck,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Anyway, we should probably get back to work. I don''t want to get in trouble for doing this,¡± I said, then got up and set the crown on the throne.


    ¡°I don''t think you''d get in trouble, but it''s probably better to be safe than sorry,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°Yeah, let''s go back and relax before we''re called out again,¡± Pablo said.


    We all went outside, and there were people with cameras surrounding the gates into Buckingham Palace. Across the street, there was an Asian guy staring at us. A lorry drove by, and the man who''d been standing there disappeared, it was a bit weird. It was as if he''d vanished into thin air.


    ****


    Once work was over, I started walking home with Pablo.


    ¡°It was fun pretending to be the Queen today.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°It was fun for all of us, I think you''d be good at it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Are you still enjoying the job?¡± Pablo asked.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I love it. I just wish I could help more,¡± I replied.


    I felt useless when I was just watching everyone fight, but maybe that would change in the future.


    ¡°Don''t worry about that, you help us loads. We wouldn''t be as fearless without you around, I feel much safer when you''re near me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I had no idea.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Cara, we all value you, and we''re all delighted to have you on our team. I don''t want you to ever feel like you aren''t needed because you are,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    It made me feel much better, but I''d still like to fight villains and stop them.


    ¡°Also, you pushed that guy back a bit today. You helped us stop him from leaving.¡±


    ¡°That''s true, I did.¡±


    It was cool that I''d slightly helped in stopping a villain from escaping. Hopefully, if I kept training, I''d be able to do things like that more often.


    ¡°So, are your family here or in Mexico?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They all live back home in Mexico. I miss them often, so I visit them at least once a year, and call them once a week,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Aww, that''s sweet. I''d love to have a big family.¡±


    All of my family were dead, since my parents had no siblings, and my grandparents had died years ago. It was lonely being the only one left in my family.


    ¡°Do you have any siblings?¡±


    ¡°Nope, I''m an only child, and the only person left in my family.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°I''m so sorry. I''m sure my family would love to take you in.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I''ll have to meet them.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they''d love you. You can come with me and meet them when I go to Mexico,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Sounds good. Now, I''m going on a trip to America with Alex and a trip to Mexico with you. I''ve never travelled so much in my life.¡± I laughed.


    It would be fun to go on all these holidays, but I''d dread flying because of my parents dying in a plane crash.


    ¡°I''d say you''ll end up going to Spain as well to visit Sofia''s family.¡±


    ¡°Wow, so many holidays. I''m sure they''ll be great. But, I''m going to hate all the planes.¡±


    ¡°Well, you wouldn''t be alone on them, we''d all try to help as much as we could,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Thanks. I''d love it if I could just be put in a wee dream world or something.¡±


    If I wasn''t aware that I was on a plane, then I wouldn''t be petrified, everything would be fine.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I don''t think any of us could do that. Although, maybe Sam could try.¡±


    ¡°We''d probably need someone like Bloodlust to hypnotise me, but not him because he''s way too creepy,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, even I''m a bit scared of him.¡±


    ¡°I''m sure most people are.¡±


    We got to the building, and Pablo walked me to my apartment, I''d got home safely.


    ¡°Thanks for walking me home, I''ll see you on Monday.¡±


    ¡°See you then.¡± Pablo nodded.


    I went into my apartment, and changed into my warm, comfy pyjamas; I always loved getting into my pyjamas as soon as I got home.


    ****


    Since it was a Saturday, I had some free time. After relaxing for a few hours, I went out to Regent''s Park because the sun was out, which was rare in the autumn. Jogging along the path was pleasant; the surroundings were spectacular, with beautiful trees surrounding me, along with majestic swans in the lake. It was great to be out in the fresh air after spending many years stuffed indoors.


    After, about five minutes I was out of breath ¡ª this was what happened when I rarely exercised, due to pretty much being held captive. I''d definitely do more exercise, now that I could go wherever I wanted. No one could stop me from going outside or to the gym, I was finally free. Not having Randall around was a joy.


    Since I was a bit tired, I went and sat on one of the benches. While resting, I browsed the internet. Someone stood in front of me, creating a shadow, so I looked up. There was an Asian man standing in front of me, he looked familiar, but I definitely didn''t know him. Then, I realised he was the guy I''d seen yesterday, who''d disappeared.


    ¡°Uh, hi, can I help you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sorry to bother you, are you Revive?¡±


    ¡°Yep, I am.¡± I nodded.


    Hopefully, that wasn''t the wrong thing to say; he could be a crazy guy and try to kidnap me. Although, he looked normal, he was actually very attractive; he had pale skin and long black hair, that came down to his chin.


    ¡°That''s so cool, I''m a big fan.¡±


    ¡°Oh wow, thank you.¡± I smiled.


    It was nice to know that I already had some fans, especially when I didn''t do many cool things like the others.


    ¡°Could I get a picture with you?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I nodded, then stood up.


    He got his phone out, and I put my arm around his waist, and he put his around my shoulder. We both smiled, then he took the picture.


    ¡°Thank you so much.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°It''s no problem.¡± I sat back down, since I was still a bit tired.


    ¡°So, is this your day off?¡±


    ¡°It is, I was just out for a jog,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Well, it''s certainly a nice day for it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I thought I''d take advantage of the good weather.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I''m Eun-jae by the way,¡± he said.


    ¡°It''s nice to meet you. I''m Cara.¡±


    ¡°I loved your interview with Grayson South, you were really sweet and funny,¡± Eun-jae said.


    ¡°Aww, thank you.¡± I smiled. ¡°I was so nervous having my first interview in front of so many people.¡±


    ¡°Well, I think you did great.¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­ This might sound weird, but were you outside Buckingham Palace yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I was there because I heard about what was happening, and I wanted to see you. You''re my favourite superhero,¡± Eun-jae said.


    ¡°Wow, thank you. I didn''t think I''d be anyone''s favourite, since I''m so new. Plus, I don''t really do anything cool.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? Of course, you do cool things! You can literally bring people back to life, that''s incredible!¡± Eun-jae exclaimed.


    ¡°Thanks, I''d just like to be more involved in stopping villains and criminals,¡± I replied.


    ¡°The others do that, so you don''t need to. Anyway, it wouldn''t be very good if you got knocked out and couldn''t heal the others.¡±


    ¡°That''s true, I hadn''t thought of that.¡±


    ¡°You actually have a lot of fans already, loads of people love you.¡±


    ¡°That''s good to know.¡± I smiled.


    It was nice to know that I had fans, even though I didn''t fight any bad guys.


    ¡°I like your accent, you''re not from England, are you?¡± Eun-jae asked.


    ¡°Nope, I''m from Belfast, in Ireland,¡± I replied.


    It was easier to tell people that I was from Ireland, rather than explain the difference between Ireland and Northern Ireland. I classified myself as Irish anyway.


    ¡°That''s really cool, I''m from South Korea, I moved here for work, why did you move?¡±


    ¡°Oh, cool. I''ve never been to South Korea, but I''d love to go. To answer your question, I moved here to be with my ex-boyfriend. That was a mistake, but I wouldn''t have my job without moving here, so a good thing came from that messed up relationship.¡±


    ¡°The police still don''t know who murdered him?¡± Eun-jae asked.


    ¡°No, I haven''t heard anything from them.¡± I shook my head.


    I hoped the person who murdered Randall would never get caught because I was eternally grateful to them. They''d changed my life for the better, whoever had done it.


    ¡°I think you did it.¡±


    ¡°No! I didn''t, I swear!¡± I exclaimed.


    ¡°I''m just messing with you.¡± He chuckled.


    ¡°Oh, good. I hated Randall, but I never would''ve killed him for a few reasons,¡± I said.


    ¡°What reasons?¡± Eun-jae asked.


    ¡°Well, I''d be worried about feeling guilty, and I''d hate to get caught, those are the main reasons.¡±


    ¡°Not because killing is considered wrong?¡±


    ¡°The thing is, I agree that killing people is wrong in most cases, but when the person is abusive, or a murderer, or something like that, then I don''t care if someone kills them,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Don''t worry, I agree. Horrible people, like rapists and abusers, deserve to be killed.¡±


    A phone started ringing, and it wasn''t mine because the ringtone was different. Eun-jae took his phone out of his pocket, then answered it, ¡°Hey, what''s up?¡±


    The other person was talking to him, the sound was too low and muffled for me to hear what they were saying.


    ¡°Alright, I''ll come now. See you in a bit.¡± He hung up. ¡°It''s been great meeting you, I hope I see you again, you''re really cool and down to earth. Unfortunately, I have to go,¡± Eun-jae said and got up.


    ¡°Thanks, it was a pleasure to meet you. Maybe I''ll see you around.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°I hope so, bye.¡± He walked away, out of sight.


    Talking to Eun-jae had given me time to have a nice rest, so I decided to jog a bit more, then go home. He seemed really nice, so I hoped I''d see him around again.

 Competitions

    It was Sunday; I liked my days off, but I didn''t mind that I had work tomorrow because I loved my job. The only thing I didn''t like was getting up early. I went to a shopping centre, since I felt like treating myself. I loved buying clothes and books, especially now that I could get as much as I wanted, no one could tell me what to do.


    I went round the different shops, buying things and just browsing. Once, I''d looked round the first floor, I got into a lift to go up to the second floor. A tall, attractive man got in; he had tanned skin, and his black hair was so short, he almost looked bald, and he had a beard.


    I pressed the number two at the same time as him and our fingers touched ¡ª his was flaming, hot.


    ¡°Wow, you''re hot¡­ uh, I mean temperature wise¡­ not that you''re not attractive, you are¡­ uh sorry.¡± I laughed and my cheeks felt like they were on fire.


    I hated that I could be so awkward at times.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He chuckled. ¡°You look familiar.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you''ve maybe seen me on TV, I''m Revive, the newest member of the London Defenders,¡± I said.


    ¡°Ah, that''s it. Your powers are really cool.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    It was surprising, but cool that so many people were recognising me; I just wouldn''t want hundreds of people crowding round me. But, I liked talking to fans. The lift got to the second floor, so I walked out.


    ¡°What''s the best part about being a hero?¡± He asked, walking with me.


    ¡°I love helping people, as well as having teammates who I''ve looked up to for years.¡±


    ¡°Well, a lot of people look up to you now. I think everyone feels a lot safer knowing you''re out there.¡±


    ¡°I''m glad. I really didn''t expect to have so many fans.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°I think you have lots of fans, I''m certainly one of them.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Do you want a picture or anything?¡±


    ¡°That would be great, thank you.¡± He took out his phone.


    We took a picture together, and he felt roasting. I''d never felt anyone so warm in my life, it was weird.


    ¡°Do you live around here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, about a ten to fifteen-minute drive. Although, I''m originally from Mexico, I moved here a few years ago for work,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Oh, that''s cool.¡±


    ¡°Are you from around here?¡±


    ¡°No, I''m from Belfast, in Ireland.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that explains your lovely accent.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I laughed. ¡°Sorry, what''s your name?¡±


    It was funny, you could have a long conversation with someone, and you didn''t even know their name.


    ¡°Oh sorry, I should''ve introduced myself, I''m Ignacio.¡±


    ¡°I''m Cara,¡± I replied.


    We went into a bookshop; it was humongous, with books in all genres; this was the kind of place I could spend hours in.


    ¡°Oh, do you like reading?¡± Ignacio asked.


    ¡°Yep, I love it.¡± I smiled.


    Watching the superheroes on the news, watching TV and reading books had been my only form of entertainment when I''d been stuck in that apartment. I still loved watching TV and reading books, but I didn''t really need to watch superhero news, since I lived through it.


    ¡°I enjoy reading as well, what''s your favourite genre?¡±


    ¡°I love loads, like fantasy, sci-fi, romance, horror and kids books,¡± I said.


    ¡°That''s a lot. I''d say my favourites are sci-fi and horror.¡±


    ¡°They''re cool.¡±


    I looked at the different books, and there were many that I''d heard of, along with ones that were new to me. I''d probably buy three books at most, since they were so expensive ¡ª I much preferred buying things from charity shops because they were a lot cheaper, and I liked supporting charities.


    ¡°What have you bought so far?¡± Ignacio asked.


    ¡°Just some books. Have you bought anything yet?¡±


    ¡°No, I came to buy some books and video games.¡±


    ¡°I haven''t played a video game in years, I miss them,¡± I said.


    Randall had been worried that video games would give me bad ideas, like he thought they were too violent or something, so he hadn''t allowed me to play them.


    ¡°Oh, you should start playing them again.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I should.¡±


    We shopped for a while; both of us bought some books, then Ignacio got some video games. I was definitely done with shopping ¡ª I was tired, and I''d got everything I wanted.


    ¡°It was great meeting you, I''m going to go home now, I''m kinda tired from all the shopping,¡± I said.


    ¡°Thanks for shopping with me, I loved it. I''ll maybe see you around.¡±


    ¡°I hope so, see you.¡±


    It would be nice to see Ignacio again, it had been fun hanging out with him.


    ****


    The next day, I went into work, and sat in the staff room with the others.


    ¡°Since, it''s a Monday, I thought we could do something fun.¡± Pablo smiled.


    ¡°What?¡± Sofia and I asked at the same time, making us laugh.


    ¡°We can do competitions for different things, like who can jump the longest distance, who can hold their breath the longest, things like that,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Well, it sounds fun, I''m in,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°Me too.¡± Sam nodded.


    ¡°I''ll give it a go, but I don''t think I''ll be any good at it.¡± I shook my head.


    I would be awful in comparison to the others in physical competitions. I''d probably come last in everything.


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    ¡°I''ll do it,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Cara, just try your best, it''ll be fun,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°I''m sure it will be fun.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Well, let''s get started before we''re called out to do something,¡± Sam said.


    We all went to the gym to do the different competitions; it would be interesting to see who won each one.


    ¡°For jumping the longest, we''ll put an object beside where the person landed,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°We''ll need a run-up,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°Yeah, we might be better doing it in the hallway, where there''s more room,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Good idea,¡± Pablo replied.


    We went into the hallway, and Pablo set cones down, showing where we were supposed to run, and a line of them that we had to jump over.


    ¡°We should get three jumps each, like they do in the Olympics,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Pablo nodded. ¡°Who wants to go first?¡±


    ¡°Me!¡± Alex exclaimed.


    ¡°Alright, go for it,¡± he replied.


    She went to the start of the running area, then sprinted and jumped over the cones. She went really far, almost to the other end of the hall. Pablo rushed over and put a cone down where she''d landed. They came back. Alex did two more jumps, but only got slightly further ahead than her first jump.


    ¡°Can I go next?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Pablo smiled.


    I''d definitely get nowhere near Alex, her jump was incredible. I got into position and started running as fast as I could, then jumped just before the cones. I landed a few feet from the cones, it looked pretty good to me. Pablo put a cone down beside me. I went back and did my next jump, and got slightly further forward. On my last jump, I got the same as the second one.


    ¡°Well done, that was good.¡± Alex patted my back.


    ¡°Thanks, your jumps were unbelievable,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Thank you, I''d say it''s because of my strength.¡±


    Pablo went next, he was in the between Alex''s cone and mine, but he was a bit closer to Alex''s. Then Sofia took her turn, and she jumped a bit further ahead of me. Sam went last, and he landed a bit behind Alex.


    ¡°Well, Alex, it looks like you''re the winner,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Yay, that was fun!¡± She grinned.


    ¡°We can see who can hold their breath for the longest now,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°I think we''d be better sitting down for this,¡± I replied.


    We''d all be more relaxed if we were sitting down. I might be good at this, since I used to go swimming; I''d once held my breath for a whole 25m length.


    ¡°Yep, that''ll be better.¡± Pablo nodded.


    We went back to the staff room and sat down.


    ¡°I want to go first this time,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± Pablo replied, then got his phone out to time it. ¡°Three, two, one, go.¡±


    Sam held his breath, and I watched the seconds go by. He let a big gasp of air out at around 43 seconds. Alex went next, and held her breath for about 39 seconds.


    ¡°I''ll go next,¡± I said.


    Before we started, I took in a few deep breaths, then held it when Pablo said, ¡°go.¡± I looked at the clock, as I was holding my breath. It was going higher than the others, I wanted to win this. My head started feeling a bit of pressure, and I felt like I needed to breathe, so I let my breath out.


    ¡°You got 48 seconds, that was great,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Wow.¡± I smiled.


    Sofia went next and knocked it out of the park, she held her breath for 57 seconds.


    ¡°Oh my, that was almost a whole minute,¡± I said.


    ¡°I know, I''m so out of breath now.¡± She sighed.


    ¡°I''ll go now,¡± Pablo said.


    He held his breath and started the timer. He managed to hold his breath for 51 seconds.


    ¡°Oh, I won.¡± Sofia smiled.


    ¡°You did really well,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°So, what''s our next challenge?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°We could see how many marshmallows we can fit into our mouths,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Sounds fun.¡± Alex smiled.


    Pablo got some marshmallows from the cupboard.


    ¡°I''ll go first, since I don''t think I''ll be very good at it,¡± I said.


    ¡°Just try your best,¡± Sofia replied.


    I put the marshmallows in my mouth, one by one, and managed to get seven in my mouth. I took them out, then ate them one at a time. Otherwise, they would''ve gone to waste.


    Alex went next, she got twelve marshmallows into her mouth. Then Sam went, and got eleven into his mouth. Sofia took her turn, she got eight in. Pablo went last, and managed to fit fifteen into his mouth.


    ¡°Wow, you must have a huge mouth.¡± Alex laughed.


    ¡°I only got three more than you.¡± Pablo chuckled.


    ¡°True. Well done,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°What''s next?¡± Sofia asked.


    These challenges were very fun, but I was a bit disappointed that I hadn''t won any yet.


    ¡°We''ll see who can balance on one leg for the longest,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°How many of these challenges are we doing?¡± I frowned.


    They were fun, but I wanted to know exactly how many we''d be doing.


    ¡°We''ll do them until everyone has won at least one thing,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°What if I don''t win any of them?¡±


    ¡°I''m sure you''ll win something.¡± Pablo smiled.


    ¡°Yeah, even I won one, and I''m not very strong.¡± Sofia nodded.


    ¡°Well, I''ll keep trying.¡±


    ¡°That''s the spirit. Let''s get started with balancing,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°We should spread out so that none of us knock over another person,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°We should also get five seconds to balance ourselves,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°Alright, get up and pick which leg you''re going to stand on,¡± Pablo said.


    I got up, then walked over to the door, I''d hold on to the handle until the five seconds were up. The others spread out around the room.


    ¡°The five seconds start now,¡± Pablo said.


    I lifted my right leg because I''d fractured my right ankle years ago, so it was easier for me to balance on my left leg. I held the door handle, while I still could.


    ¡°The five seconds are now up, stop holding on,¡± Pablo said.


    I took my hand off the door, and started balancing without aid; it wasn''t very difficult for me. Looking around at the others, Alex was wobbly, Sofia seemed steady, as did Sam and Pablo. A few more seconds passed, then Alex put her foot down.


    ¡°Dammit!¡± She shouted.


    Sam started to look a bit wobbly, he was the next to go. This was great, I was in the top three, maybe I actually had a chance of winning.


    Suddenly, Sofia put her foot down, leaving Pablo and me in the final two.


    ¡°Good luck,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Thanks, you too.¡±


    Thankfully, I felt like I could stand on my left leg for another hour. It would be great to win this.


    A few minutes passed, then Pablo became unbalanced, and put his foot down. I''d won, this was amazing!


    ¡°I finally won! Yes!¡± I exclaimed, while jumping up and down.


    ¡°Congratulations.¡± Sofia smiled.


    ¡°Well done, you have great balance,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Yeah, I''m jealous.¡± Alex laughed.


    ¡°We can do a funny one now, we''ll watch funny videos, and try not to laugh. Whoever laughs last wins,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Oh, I''m definitely losing this.¡± I giggled.


    A lot of things made me laugh, especially funny videos. Pablo put on a video of funny laughs. After about twenty seconds, I started laughing, then Alex started laughing. Soon, Sofia was laughing as well. The video was just too funny, I couldn''t stop laughing.


    Pablo and Sam were left. An even funnier laugh came up, which set Pablo off, making Sam the winner. Since he''d won, Sam let out his laughter; now, we were all laughing hysterically. The video ended, and we all laughed for a few more seconds.


    ¡°Wow, that was so funny.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°I know, I was gone soon after you,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°I thought it was hilarious, but I managed to hold in my laughter,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Now, we''ve all won one. That was really fun.¡± Pablo smiled.


    ¡°It definitely was.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, it''s nice that we all did well,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°It was great, thanks for organising it,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°It''s no problem,¡± Pablo replied.


    These competitions had been great fun, and I was glad that I''d won the balancing challenge.


    ****


    After work, Sam was walking me home. I loved getting to spend one-on-one time with my teammates because it meant that we could get to know each other better.


    ¡°Did you enjoy those competitions?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Yeah, they were fun.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°They were.¡± He nodded. ¡°I had a great time.¡±


    ¡°Same, even though I did badly in most of them.¡±


    ¡°I thought you were good, and your balance is incredible,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    It was quite chilly, and the sky was a miserable, dark blue colour. I missed the bright, warm summer nights.


    ¡°Did you always want to be a hero?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yep, ever since I was a kid. I had a friend who was abused by his parents, and I wanted to help people like him,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Wow, that''s awful. I hate abusive people, especially abusive family members.¡±


    Thankfully, all of my family had been brilliant, I really missed them now.


    ¡°Yeah, they''re the worst. Family are supposed to protect you.¡±


    ¡°Definitely, I don''t know why anyone would want to abuse any kid. Those people should be in jail for the rest of their lives,¡± I said.


    ¡°They should, some people get off way too easily.¡±


    ¡°Yep, it''s annoying. Crimes like abuse and rape should be treated as seriously as murder.¡±


    ¡°I completely agree.¡± Sam nodded.


    It was ridiculous that criminals who''d committed atrocious crimes were allowed to walk free after a couple of years.


    ¡°At least we''re doing our best by catching criminals and villains,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yep, we haven''t let any go free, other than the EVIL group.¡±


    The EVIL group were bad, but at least they didn''t harm civilians, they just robbed money from places. I''d always thought robbing public places, like banks and shops was the least bad crime because it was only big companies who lost money.


    ¡°Even though they call themselves EVIL, they aren''t the worst, they just rob places,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, it''s not too bad. But, we still need to stop them.¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course.¡± I nodded.


    I wasn''t looking forward to dealing with them again because they always got away, and Bloodlust was the scariest villain ever.


    ¡°It''s a nightmare, we''ve been trying to catch them for years.¡± Sam sighed.


    ¡°Oh, I know. I''m sure I''ve seen every time you''ve faced them.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yep, I used to watch you and the others on the news all the time. It was the only way I could get any joy in my life, since I was inside all the time. I loved watching all of you fighting the villains,¡± I replied.


    ¡°That''s why you''re such a big fan.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°I certainly am.¡±


    ¡°I hope I haven''t disappointed you, they always say never to meet your heroes.¡±


    ¡°Definitely not, you and the others are all super friendly and kind.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    We got to my apartment, I was always a bit sad because it meant that I had to leave whoever I''d been walking with.


    ¡°Well, I''ll see you tomorrow,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°See you tomorrow.¡±

 The Concert

    Being out on patrol with my team was nice, we got to help people with every day things, like catching a runaway dog, or helping vulnerable people cross the street. It was a good change from dealing with serious crimes. Although, we might come across an atrocious crime when we were out here.


    We were walking in small alleys, since crimes often happened there.


    ¡°There''s a Taylor Swift concert on this Friday, I have tickets, does anyone want to come?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Of course!¡± I exclaimed.


    I loved Taylor Swift, her music was so catchy, and she seemed really sweet.


    ¡°I''m in.¡± Alex smiled.


    ¡°I''d love to go, but my family and I are doing a video call for my sister''s birthday,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Don''t worry about it, family is much more important than a concert,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°I can''t go either, I''m doing a meet and greet for charity. I would''ve loved to go.¡± Sofia sighed.


    ¡°I''m sure she''ll come back another time and we can all go together,¡± Sam said.


    The alleys were quiet, with nothing going on, which was great because we got time to talk, and nothing bad was happening.


    ¡°Yeah, but all of you should go and have fun at the concert this time,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Alright, we will.¡±


    It was a shame that all of us weren''t going, but I was super excited for the concert.


    ¡°So, how did you get tickets to her concert? They''re super hard to get.¡± Sofia frowned.


    ¡°I''m one of her exes, we got along, but our schedules were too busy. She did it as a favour,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Oh my, I''m so shocked and jealous!¡± I exclaimed.


    It was hard to believe that Sam had dated Taylor Swift, but it sort of made sense, since she often dated really famous men.


    ¡°I''m jealous too.¡± Alex laughed.


    ¡°Same.¡± Sofia nodded.


    ¡°I''m just kidding, I never dated her.¡± Sam chuckled.


    ¡°Wow you had us fooled,¡± I said.


    ¡°You certainly did.¡± Pablo agreed.


    ¡°She did do me a favour by saving me a few tickets, but I''ve never actually met her. I messaged her and she happily gave me the tickets,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Aww, that''s kind of her.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Alex nodded.


    We went back to the main road, as there was no one in the alleyways. Maybe there''d be more going on around here.


    ¡°I really thought we would''ve dealt with more crimes, just walking around,¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh, please don''t jinx it,¡± Sofia replied.


    ¡°I''m sure we''ll be fine,¡± I said.


    ¡°I hope so.¡± she sighed.


    We continued walking along the busy streets, with fans occasionally coming up to us, which was cool.


    ¡°So, Cara, have you been to a concert before?¡± Pablo asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I went to a few X Factor ones as a kid, as well as One Direction.¡±


    ¡°I didn''t even know they had X Factor concerts.¡± Alex laughed.


    ¡°Yep, they did. I really miss that show.¡± I sighed.


    X Factor hadn''t been on in years, I loved the singing, performances and all the drama.


    ¡°Same, I enjoyed it, especially when they had really bad singers on it.¡± Sam smiled.


    ¡°Yeah, I loved in the auditions when people got mad when they didn''t get through, it was so funny.¡±


    ¡°Definitely, that was the best part,¡± Sam replied.


    Looking around, I noticed a child fall into the road, and a lorry was speeding towards him. I didn''t think I''d be fast enough to get the child out of the way, but I could heal or revive him if the others didn''t save him. Although, it would be horrific if he got run over.


    Pablo raced towards the child, and Sam quickly pulled the kid out of the way using his powers. Pablo got to him right before the lorry whizzed past. We all went over, and the boy seemed fine, barely aware of the danger he''d been in.


    ¡°Be careful near roads, they can be very dangerous,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°You''re my superheroes!¡± He grinned.


    The kid was very cute, it was sweet that he was so happy and innocent.


    ¡°We are.¡± Sam smiled.


    ¡°I can''t wait to tell all my friends.¡±


    ¡°I''m sure that''ll be fun.¡± I smiled.


    He''d be the most popular kid in school because he''d met us, everyone would be asking him loads of questions.


    ¡°Which bad guy was the most fun to fight?¡± He asked, looking at each of us in turn.


    ¡°That''s a tough question¡­ I''d say it was the villain who could slow down time because I really had to think about how to beat him,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°For me, it''s definitely the EVIL group because we still haven''t caught them. I always look forward to catching them and putting them in jail,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I liked fighting the ones who took over Buckingham Palace, there was a metal woman who was very strong. That was a good challenge for me,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°I''m the same, that was kinda funny, mainly because we were in Buckingham Palace.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°My favourite was going up against the guy who could steal people''s powers because it was a challenging and interesting fight,¡± Sofia said.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°You guys are so cool!¡± He grinned.


    ¡°Thank you, it was great meeting you. We need to go back to our patrol now,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Aww.¡± The boy sighed. ¡°Go get those bad guys.¡±


    ¡°We will, don''t worry.¡± Alex ruffled his hair.


    We said goodbye to the boy, then continued our patrol, being vigilant for any issues.


    ¡°I''m surprised we haven''t seen EVIL yet, they''ve been quiet for a few weeks now,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°I''m glad, they always get away, it''s pretty embarrassing.¡± Sofia sighed.


    ¡°It is a bit, I wish we''d caught them. It''s been three years now,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Yeah, it''s pretty crazy. But, Bloodlust is the problem, without him, I know yous would''ve got them,¡± I said.


    ¡°I''m sure we''ll get them some day,¡± Alex said.


    It would be good if we imprisoned EVIL, they always robbed places, then got away with it. The only good thing was that they never hurt civilians, they only went after heroes.


    ¡°We''d need to find a way to get rid of Bloodlust, since we can beat the rest,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Yeah, it''s just difficult because of his mind control powers.¡± Pablo sighed.


    ¡°I could try shielding us, but it''s pretty hard to focus that much when Bloodlust is so strong,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°You just have to try your best,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Yeah, the rest of us can take on the others.¡± Sofia nodded.


    ¡°Well, we''ll try that next time,¡± Pablo replied.


    There was a woman screaming for help, I couldn''t see her, but she must''ve been nearby, since it was easy to hear her. Pablo ran in the direction of the yelling, so we all followed him. We went down an alley and at the end there was a woman being attacked by a man. He punched her repeatedly, it was horrible. Pablo pushed the man away from her, and the man went flying backwards. Alex ran over and grabbed the man, stopping him from getting away.


    ¡°That man needs to be locked up forever! He attacked me for no reason!¡± She yelled, tears coming from her eyes.


    The poor woman had a bloody lip and her cheek was bright red. It was odd that the man had attacked her for no reason, but there were crazy, lunatics out there who did things like that.


    ¡°It''s okay, you''re safe now,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Yeah, he''s gonna be locked up for a long time.¡± Sam nodded.


    ¡°You really don''t know that guy?¡± I frowned.


    ¡°No, never seen him in my life.¡±


    ¡°What a psycho,¡± I said.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Sofia nodded.


    ¡°I''ll take him in, I''ll see you all later,¡± Sam said.


    We said goodbye to Sam and he flew off with the criminal. We helped the woman get to the hospital, and took her contact details for the police, then we went back on patrol.


    ¡°How will Sam find us again?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He''ll probably just call me and ask where we are,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Don''t worry, it won''t take him long to find us.¡± Sofia smiled.


    After about ten minutes, Sam joined us again. We patrolled for most of the day, with no crime as horrendous as the woman being beaten up.


    ****


    It was finally Friday, time for the concert. My heart had been racing all day, and I could barely keep still ¡ª it was just too exciting. I heard the doorbell ring, so I went and opened the door; Sam was there with a young, good-looking man who was white and had short, blonde hair. He looked like a handsome prince from a fairy tale.


    ¡°Who''s this with you?¡± I frowned.


    ¡°It''s me, Alex,¡± she said, but it wasn''t her voice, it was a man''s.


    ¡°Oh wow, I didn''t recognise you at all, you look so different. Even your voice isn''t the same.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°I''m glad, I don''t want to be recognised. I prefer going out in public in a disguise so that people aren''t bothering me in my free time. I love fans, but I don''t want them swarming round me, you know?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I get it.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Especially not at a concert, we need to get inside and have a good time,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I''m curious, why''d you choose to look like a man?¡± I asked.


    If I could shapeshift, I couldn''t imagine going round as a man. I''d much rather go out as a woman.


    ¡°I find that I get bothered a lot less when I go out looking like a man. There''s no cat calling or harassment.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that makes sense. Well, you look great.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Alex smiled.


    ¡°Although, I love the way you normally look as well,¡± I said.


    ¡°Thanks, I''ve learned to love my natural appearance.¡±


    Alex was extremely attractive in this new form and as her regular self ¡ª it was almost impossible for her to be ugly.


    ¡°So, you look like a man right now, but do you still identify as a woman, or would you identify your gender as something else? I hope I''m not being offensive.¡±


    ¡°Aww, don''t worry.¡± Alex hugged me. ¡°No matter how I look, I identify myself as a woman. Although, when I look like a man, you might need to refer to me as he and him if we''re around other people. Thankfully, my name can be used for either gender, so you can always call me Alex.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for explaining it, I didn''t want to get anything wrong.¡±


    ¡°Well, thanks for asking, it''s always good to clarify anything you''re unsure about.¡±


    ¡°Well, I think we should get going,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Sure, I can''t wait,¡± I replied.


    ¡°I''m really excited too.¡± Alex smiled.


    We left the building, then Sam flew us to the arena; I still found flying terrifying, but it was definitely the fastest way to travel around London.


    There was a huge queue to get inside, which was a bit annoying, but not surprising.


    ¡°I hope this goes quickly, I don''t want to miss anything,¡± I said.


    ¡°I''m sure we''ll get in on time,¡± Sam replied.


    Sam didn''t have any sort of disguise, surely people would recognise him, especially when he was the most famous hero in Europe. I hadn''t thought of any kind of disguise because I wasn''t as famous as the rest of the heroes in the team. I could easily go shopping with no one or only a few people recognising me.


    ¡°Don''t you need a disguise?¡± I asked, looking at Sam.


    ¡°Oh yes, thanks for reminding me.¡± Sam took a blue beanie hat out of his pocket, along with glasses. He put them on, and looked different enough that someone wouldn''t realise who he was, unless they were looking closely.


    ¡°It''s a good disguise, but nowhere near as good as Alex''s,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, no one can beat her.¡± Sam agreed.


    ¡°I''d say I''m the master of disguises.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°You definitely are.¡± I nodded.


    No one would recognise Alex when she looked like a completely different person, the only thing that was the same was her personality, everything else was nothing like her.


    It took a while, but we finally got inside. The place was packed, which made me slightly anxious, I really didn''t want to get separated.


    ¡°I don''t like this crowd, I don''t want to get lost,¡± I said.


    ¡°Here, hold my hand,¡± Sam said, so I took his hand.


    ¡°We can hold hands as well.¡± Alex took my hand in hers.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I smiled.


    It made me feel better holding their hands because it would be harder for us to be separated, especially from Alex because of her strength.


    Before the concert started, Alex and I went to the toilet; she changed to look like a woman so that she could use the same toilets as me, since we didn''t want to be separated. Then we found our seats with Sam, and she changed back to the handsome man she''d looked like before. Now, we just had to wait until the concert started. I felt calm because we''d found our seats and were on time, and I didn''t have to worry about big crowds any more. But, I was also super excited.


    ¡°This is the first concert I''ve been to in years,¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh, I go all the time.¡± Alex laughed.


    ¡°I go to quite a few as well.¡± Sam nodded.


    ¡°Maybe I''ll start going to more.¡±


    I loved concerts, they always left me buzzing; it was incredible to see me favourite singers in real life, and I loved listening to them live.


    ¡°We should go together, then we can all have fun together.¡± Alex smiled.


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Yeah, going with you two would be great. It would definitely help with my anxiety about crowds.¡±


    ¡°We definitely won''t let you get separated from us,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    After what felt like forever, the concert started, and we sang along to all the songs, and had a blast. The concert was astounding, absolutely one of the best ones I''d ever been to. I was so disappointed that it was all over, I always wanted concerts to go on longer because they were so spectacular and fun.


    ¡°That went by so fast, it felt like ten minutes!¡± I exclaimed.


    ¡°I know, it was such a good concert!¡± Alex yelled.


    We were all having to shout due to the music being so loud. This always happened after a concert, but my hearing would be back to normal in a few minutes. Thankfully, my ears would never get damaged at concerts because of my healing powers, or if they did, they''d be fully healed within a few hours or days. We started making our way out of the building, with even bigger crowds than when we came in.


    ¡°Please don''t let go of my hand!¡±


    ¡°That''s not going to happen!¡± Alex shouted.


    ¡°Yeah, you''re safe with us!¡± Sam nodded.


    We were still having to shout because our hearing was still weird. We had to squeeze past people, it felt very claustrophobic with so many people surrounding me. I just held on tightly, as we made our way out of the venue. After a few minutes, we got outside, and there was more space, which calmed me.


    ¡°Are you ready to go home?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Yep!¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Let''s go!¡± Alex exclaimed.


    I hugged Sam, and he lifted the three of us off the ground. He flew back to my apartment, and my hearing had finally returned to normal.


    ¡°Thanks so much for bringing me, I had a great time. I don''t think I''ll be able to sleep from all the excitement.¡± I laughed.


    ¡°What?¡± Sam and Alex shouted, so I repeated myself, but yelled this time so that they could hear me. Their ears obviously hadn''t adjusted yet.


    ¡°Same!¡± Alex grinned.


    ¡°Yeah, it was amazing!¡±


    It was odd having people shout at me, and I found it far too loud, but they were only doing it because they could barely hear.


    ¡°Enjoy the rest of your weekends, I''ll see you both on Monday!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°You too! See you Monday!¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°See you on Monday, have a great weekend!" Alex exclaimed.


    I went into my apartment, still buzzing from the concert; I''d be thinking about how amazing it was and singing the songs in my head all night.

 EVIL Returns

    Unfortunately, the weekend was over, so I was back at work. I loved my job, but it was always a bit disappointing when I had to go back because it could be so tiring and stressful. We were all sitting in the staff room, before we were called out to deal with chaotic crimes.


    ¡°How was the concert?¡± Pablo asked.


    ¡°Oh, it was great, I loved it.¡± I smiled. ¡°You really should''ve been there Taylor Swift and Swift Sage, you have the same name.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I hadn''t even thought of that.¡± He chuckled.


    ¡°You have to come with us next time,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I will if I can.¡±


    ¡°How was your sister''s birthday?¡± I asked.


    He couldn''t make it because of her birthday.


    ¡°It was good, but I just wish I could''ve been there in person, you know?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it''s a shame.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°You should''ve taken a holiday to see her,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°I don''t really like leaving because of the job. I usually take a holiday around Christmas.¡±


    ¡°I''m the same,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°How was your charity event?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°It was lovely, I really enjoyed meeting my fans. I''m glad there were no creeps like there sometimes are.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that''s good, I''m glad you had a good time,¡± I replied.


    Maybe, I''d do a charity event and meet fans at some stage. Some of my fans had already approached me, I was always amazed when they did ¡ª I''d never thought I''d be famous at all.


    The alarm started blaring, then Pauline spoke, ¡°EVIL are robbing Covent Garden.¡±


    ¡°Great, they''re back.¡± I sighed.


    Hopefully, we''d actually catch them this time, then they couldn''t bother anyone ever again. We all rushed out of the building, then Sam flew us to the shopping centre. The space was very open and pretty, but I couldn''t concentrate on that when EVIL was around. The group was split up, all three were in different shops.


    ¡°Sam and Sofia, you two go for Bloodlust, I''ll go for Vicious Viper, Alex you take care of Blazing Inferno, and Cara, you stay here and heal anyone who needs it,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I nodded.


    The others went off to fight the villains, so I watched Alex; Blazing Inferno noticed her and started throwing fireballs at her, which she managed to dodge. He put his whole body on fire, so Alex probably wouldn''t be able to attack him using her body. She lifted a chair and threw it at him, it hit him, sending him flying backwards into the wall.


    I turned my attention to Pablo and Vicious Viper, both of them were very fast, so it was hard to see what was going on. She had super speed and he had super reflexes. They both seemed to be landing hits on each other.


    When I looked at Sam, Sofia and Bloodlust, I was horrified. He. Was. Sucking. Sofia''s. Blood. It was terrifying and disgusting at the same time. She''d definitely need to be healed. Sam pushed Bloodlust off Sofia using his powers, which made the monster go flying. They just had to beat them this time. Sam was dealing with Bloodlust, so I ran over to Sofia, who was clutching her bleeding neck. It was revolting, but I had to put that out of my mind and heal her. She held out her other hand, so I took it and all around her neck glowed golden, healing her.


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    ¡°Thank you, I felt awful before you healed me.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome.¡± I smiled.


    The others were still fighting, but Vicious Viper looked like she was getting tired. Maybe they''d actually be beaten this time.


    My eyes felt tired and I just wanted to go to sleep ¡ª I''d need a long nap once this was over.


    Pablo got Vicious Viper restrained; this was great. Now there was only Blazing Inferno and Bloodlust to deal with, they really could get them this time.


    Unfortunately, Bloodlust started hypnotising everyone, allowing EVIL to escape ¡ª it was a nightmare. They''d nearly beat everyone, if it wasn''t for Bloodlust, they''d all be in prison.


    ¡°I can''t believe they got away again, we nearly had them!¡± Alex sighed.


    ¡°I know, it''s such a nightmare.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°I''m sorry, I really tried to block Bloodlust''s powers, but he was too strong,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°It''s not your fault, I know you tried your best.¡± Pablo patted his back.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    We left Covent Garden, since there was nothing more for us to do. Sam was flying us back to work and I could feel my eyes closing; I would probably fall asleep on the way, which surprised me because flying was horrible, but healing Sofia had taken a lot out of me.


    ****


    I woke up and saw that I was in work, there was a blanket over me, and Sofia was sitting in the chair beside me.


    ¡°Was I asleep for long?¡± I asked, sitting up.


    ¡°No, only two hours,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Did I miss anything?¡±


    Two hours wasn''t too long in the grand scheme of things, but any number of crimes could happen in two hours.


    ¡°We dealt with a mugging, a stolen bike, a minor car crash and a small house fire.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that''s a lot. No one needed to be healed?¡±


    ¡°Thankfully, everyone was fine.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I''m glad,¡± I said with a smile.


    ¡°Everyone was waiting for you to wake up,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Sorry, it takes a while for me to recover after healing someone.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, don''t be sorry. Even though we know you''ll wake up, we still worry about you¡­ I was in here any time we weren''t dealing with things.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but you don''t need to worry. I appreciate you staying with me, it''s nice to not wake up alone.¡±


    ¡°It''s the least I could do after you saved me. I would''ve died without you, it was horrible.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you looked like you were on death''s door,¡± I said.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She laughed.


    ¡°Where are the others?¡± I frowned.


    ¡°They''re getting food, we could join them.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I could eat.¡±


    Anytime I had a nap, I was thirsty and hungry, so food would be great. We went to the canteen and I got cottage pie and Sofia got a sausage roll and chips. I looked around the room, then found my friends by the window.


    ¡°There they are.¡± I pointed to them.


    ¡°Let''s go sit with them,¡± Sofia said.


    We walked over to the circular, yellow table; I sat in between Pablo and Sam, while Sofia sat between Alex and Pablo.


    ¡°How was your nap?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Yeah, it was good, thanks,¡± I replied.


    I ate the cottage pie and it was delicious ¡ª I''d have it finished in minutes, I was so hungry.


    ¡°I''m glad you''re awake, I sometimes worry that you won''t wake up.¡± Alex sighed.


    ¡°Aww, thank you. But, don''t worry, I always wake up.¡±


    Healing people wasn''t a big deal, it just meant that I needed to nap for a few hours; reviving people or dying was worse because I needed to sleep for at least a day.


    ¡°I''m glad, we really need you on our team,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Definitely, I''d be dead without you.¡± Sofia nodded.


    ¡°I''m glad I can help.¡±


    ¡°You certainly do, we''re all so grateful to you.¡± Sam smiled.


    ¡°Oh, thank you. It''s incredible for me to be working with all of you, it''s been my dream for years.¡±


    My dreams really had come true, and this was the best job ever.


    ¡°Is it as good as you hoped it''d be?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°Definitely, I get to be close to all the action and you''re all lovely,¡± I replied.


    I finished my cottage pie, but the others were still eating.


    ¡°Aww, thank you.¡± Sofia smiled.


    ¡°I agree with you, this team is the best, and it''s all because of the people in it,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Absolutely, it''s the best team I''ve been part of.¡± Sam nodded.


    ¡°What are the other teams like? Like The Night Owls or The Weekend Defenders?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I''ve hung out with some of them a few times, they''re cool. But they don''t seem quite as close as us,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°From what I''ve seen, they don''t hang out much outside of work,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°That''s true.¡± Sam nodded.


    ¡°I''m glad we all hang out outside of work.¡± I smiled.


    Everyone on the team was so friendly and helpful, they''d helped me move into my new house, and I''d loved going to the concert with Alex and Sam. Getting this job was the best thing to ever happen to me.


    ¡°Oh, I love it too. I''d consider all of you my friends,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Oh, we''re all definitely friends,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°Yep, and that''s the best way to be,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°It really is. I''m glad that I actually have friends now.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Did you not have any before?¡± Sam frowned.


    ¡°I did, but I lost contact with them because of Randall. Now, it''s just too awkward to contact them.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°I''m sure they''d understand if you explained the situation to them,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Yeah, maybe.¡± I shrugged.


    ¡°You could contact them and see what happens,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Or you can move on, it''s up to you,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Yeah, I''ll think about it.¡± I nodded.


    Everyone was finished eating, so we cleared everything away, then we went to the staff room, waiting for the next emergency.

 Drinking After Work

    It was finally Friday; I couldn''t wait to sleep in tomorrow, since work was very tiring, especially when I had to heal people. Almost as soon as I got into work, we were called out to deal with a protest that had become violent ¡ª horrible racist people had been going mad about immigrants and had started attacking people who weren''t white. I hated racist people, they were some of the worst humans.


    ¡°I''d love to ship off all the racists to a deserted island,¡± I said and my fists and teeth were clenched.


    ¡°Yeah, anyone like that should be separated from people. I''d send all the racists, homophobes, misogynists and all those kinds of people to that island,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°Life would be much easier if it was like that.¡± Sofia nodded.


    After flying for a few minutes, we got to the chaotic protest. Many people were shouting, holding up the Union Jack, and some were burning the flags of other countries. There were a few people attacking poor, innocent black and Asian people, who just happened to be in the area. It was horrific, these people were hateful assholes.


    ¡°Just stop them attacking, it''s very chaotic, so do what you can,¡± Pablo said.


    They all rushed off, pulling the racist monsters away from anyone being attacked. I went over to a man who had brown skin, he had black wavy hair and looked young, around my age. His face was very bloody, he looked awful. The young man was on his back on the ground, so I knelt beside him and checked what condition he was in. I sensed a concussion and a broken rib, but he''d recover, he didn''t need to be healed.


    ¡°You''re going to be okay, it''s over now,¡± I said.


    ¡°Don''t let them come near me!¡± He exclaimed, fear was in his eyes.


    ¡°My teammates are here, and they''re dealing with those horrible people. You''re safe now,¡± I replied.


    There were still loads of racists around, it would probably be a good idea to get this guy, along with other victims out of the area.


    ¡°Let''s get out of here,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, we need to get out of here.¡±


    I held my hand out and he took it, so I helped him to his feet. There was a sharp pain in my head, and I felt incredibly dizzy. I turned round and there was a young, white guy with ginger hair glaring at me. There was a baseball bat in his hand, that must''ve been what hit me. Rage boiled inside me, he''d just hurt me and had likely attacked innocent people. I swung at his face and managed to punch his nose, which hurt my hand a bit.


    ¡°You foreign loving bitch!¡± He yelled and tried to hit me with the bat, but he stopped midair.


    I looked around, then saw Sam nearby protecting me from the psycho.


    ¡°Let''s go quickly,¡± I said.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± The man asked. He was hunched over and breathless, the poor guy.


    ¡°Yeah, don''t worry about me.¡±


    My head was still sore, but the dizziness was gone; hopefully I''d be fully healed soon. I took the man''s hand and rushed away from all the chaos. Along the way, I helped a black woman and a Hispanic man get out of the area.


    ¡°You should all be safe here,¡± I said.


    ¡°Thank you for all your help,¡± the woman replied.


    ¡°Oh, you''re welcome, I''m glad I could help.¡±


    Since they were all safe, I went back to the scene. The despicable racists were finally being arrested because the police had shown up, which was great. The crowd was dispersing, but Sam, Pablo, Sofia and Alex weren''t letting the criminals get away. I continued helping victims get away from the area. It took a while, but eventually, all the criminals had been arrested.


    We went back to work; I was tired from all the stress and anger, caused by those monstrous racists.


    ¡°I wish I could beat up all those people, they were so horrible!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°I know, it was awful. Although, I broke some of their bones, which was satisfying.¡± Alex smiled.


    ¡°It was really scary to see, that could''ve been me.¡± Sophia sighed.


    ¡°I know the feeling.¡± Pablo nodded.


    ¡°I just don''t understand how people can be so hateful. Do they not realise that immigrants are incredibly valuable? There are so many immigrants in important jobs, like hospital staff, heroes and cleaners. They also bring their culture. It just really pisses me off! I''m all for immigration, the more, the better I say!¡± I exclaimed.


    ¡°I completely agree, those people are infuriating,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Yeah, most of us on the team wouldn''t even be here if those people were in charge,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Sam and Cara would be the only ones on the team if that was the case,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Well, unless they were super racist and backwards, and only wanted English people on the team,¡± I replied.


    Thankfully, no one had been rude to me about me being Irish, but I''d heard stories of Irish people in England being told to go back to their country, or being called terrorists.


    ¡°Then it would only be me,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I''m glad it''s not like that. There wouldn''t be as many heroes here, and we''d all be split up,¡± Alex responded.


    ¡°Oh, it would be awful, I''d still be miserable in Mexico,¡± Pablo said.


    We''d barely had any time to process the last emergency when the alarm went off again. ¡°There has been a report of domestic violence,¡± Pauline said, then told us the address.


    We sometimes had to go out and deal with cases like these when there were no major crimes to deal with because we got there quicker than the police.


    We rushed to the house as quickly as we could, and Pablo knocked frantically on the door. After a minute, a white man with short black hair opened the door; he looked young and attractive, but looks could definitely be deceiving.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± He asked.


    ¡°There''s been a report of domestic violence, can we come in?¡± Pablo asked.


    ¡°Not gonna happen. Unless you have a warrant.¡± He smiled.


    Unfortunately, we didn''t have a warrant because we were called out too quickly.


    ¡°You know, I think I just heard someone screaming inside,¡± Pablo said.


    I hadn''t heard anything, but he did have super hearing, so he probably heard something that we didn''t.


    ¡°You liar!¡± The man shouted pointing at Pablo.


    ¡°I have super hearing, I know what I heard.¡± Pablo smiled.


    ¡°Fuck you! You''re not getting in!¡±


    ¡°Yes we are,¡± Alex replied and she moved the man aside with ease.


    ¡°Uh, should I come in?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, there might be someone inside who needs to be healed,¡± Pablo replied.


    We all walked inside and the house was dimly lit, with few windows to let light in. It was musty inside, with black spots on the beige walls. This house was absolutely miserable, no one would want to live here.


    I followed Sam, since I didn''t want to be on my own in this creepy house with the aggressive man around.


    ¡°Do you think we''ll find anything?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I think we might, that guy really didn''t want us coming into his house,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Yeah, it seemed suspicious.¡± I nodded.


    We went into the living room, but I couldn''t see anything out of the ordinary. I really hoped that we''d find the poor man or woman who was the victim of domestic violence; I''d hate it if they were here but we didn''t find them.


    ¡°I don''t see anything unusual in this room,¡±  Sam said.


    ¡°Neither do I.¡±


    We moved on, then went into the kitchen. I looked around and saw grey marks on the floor by the fridge ¡ª when I''d seen those kinds of marks in movies, there had always been a hidden door behind it. Maybe that was the way down to the basement where the person was being kept. It reminded me of how Randall always confined me to the apartment, but at least I hadn''t been kept underground.


    ¡°I think we need to move that fridge, it looks like it''s been moved multiple times before,¡± I said.


    ¡°Good spotting,¡± Sam replied, then used his powers to move it.


    I was right, there was a door behind it; I walked over and tried to open it, but it was locked.


    ¡°It''s locked.¡±


    ¡°I''ll get it, stand back.¡±


    I took a step back, then Sam ripped the door off, making my eyes widen ¡ª if there was no one behind the door, he could get in trouble, all of us could. I wanted someone to be down there so that we wouldn''t get in trouble, but I also wanted no one to be down there because the thought of people being trapped down there was horrendous. There were steps leading downwards into darkness, it was very creepy.


    ¡°Uh, you can go first,¡± I said.


    ¡°Why? Are you scared?¡± Sam chuckled.


    ¡°Uh, yeah, kinda. Who knows what we''ll find down there.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, I won''t let anything happen to you,¡± Sam said, holding his hand out, so I took it and we descended the steps together.


    We got to the bottom and it was completely dark, I couldn''t see a thing.


    ¡°I wish one of us had powers where we could create light, it''d be really useful right now.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°It''s okay, all of us have light up suits in case we''re ever in the dark. You just say give me light,¡± Sam said, making his suit light up, like a torch.


    ¡°That''s really cool.¡± I smiled.


    We continued on down the narrow hallway, then we came to a larger room and the sight was horrific. There were four women chained to the wall; this was clearly much more than just domestic violence.


    ¡°Oh my God,¡± I said.


    ¡°Help!¡± They exclaimed.


    ¡°Don''t worry, we''re going to get you out of here,¡± I replied.


    Sam seemed to be frozen, he wasn''t moving or blinking.


    ¡°We need to save them,¡± I said, but he didn''t react at all. ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡±


    Sam''s breathing had changed, he was taking in deep breaths, as if he was stressed, I''d never seen him like this. It was worrying.


    ¡°It''s okay, I''m here for you. We can deal with this later, whatever''s going on, but right now, we need to get these women out of here,¡± I said.


    Sam took in another deep breath, then straightened and his breathing returned to normal.


    ¡°Let''s get these girls out of here.¡± He smiled.


    It was really odd, Sam seemed to be freaking out a minute ago, but now he was fine. Surely, I couldn''t have helped him get over it that quickly.


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    Sam pulled the chains from the wall, then got them off the women. They were in their underwear and had a strong odour, it was unthinkable what they''d been through.


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    ¡°Let''s get out of here and tell the others,¡± I said.


    ¡°Come on, hurry now ladies, I don''t want you getting left down here,¡± Sam said.


    He was definitely acting differently, but maybe it was because he''d been triggered by something down here. He hadn''t seemed scared when we''d been going down, it was only when he''d seen the women chained up.


    We went upstairs with the women and led them out of the house and into the daylight; they all shielded their eyes. All of them looked underweight, with their bones sticking out, I felt so sorry for them, that monster must''ve starved them.


    ¡°I''ll stay with these lovely ladies, you go and tell the others that we''ve found them,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Uh, what about that man? I''m worried that he might hurt me.¡±


    I likely wouldn''t be able to defend myself against that man, especially when he''d already managed to kidnap four women.


    ¡°You''ll be fine, the others are in there. Don''t be a scaredy-cat.¡±


    He was probably right, but I didn''t like the tone of his voice, it sounded rude, as if he thought I was a baby. When he''d talked about me being scared earlier, he''d meant it in a friendly, joking way, but he certainly didn''t this time.


    ¡°Alright, I''ll go in and get them.¡± I went back into the house, hoping I wouldn''t run into the creep.


    I found Alex and Sofia upstairs in the man''s smelly, dark bedroom.


    ¡°Hey, we found women chained up in this creep''s basement,¡± I said.


    ¡°No, that''s awful!¡± Alex exclaimed.


    ¡°I know.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, that''s even worse than what we were called out here for,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°We just need to find Pablo, arrest that guy, then get out of here,¡± I said.


    I didn''t want to spend one more minute here, this place was disgusting, and it was frightening that the man had kept these women here for an extended period of time.


    ¡°We''ll make sure you get out of here safely, then get Pablo and that vile creature,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Thanks, I hate this house.¡±


    ¡°Same,¡± Sofia replied.


    They walked me to the front door, then I went and stood with Sam and the four disheveled women.


    ¡°Is everything alright with you?¡± I looked at Sam.


    ¡°Yeah, sorry, I panicked a bit down there, I''m fine now.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? You seemed a bit different after you panicked.¡±


    ¡°I guess it was just the stress of the situation. I can''t say I''ve dealt with anything so haunting before. I''m sorry if I was rude or anything,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Uh, it''s okay, I was just worried about you.¡±


    ¡°I''m fine now, really.¡± He smiled.


    Sam did seem to be back to his normal self, but the whole thing had been weird; I''d talk to Pablo about it when I got the chance, maybe he''d know more about it.


    A woman with short, light-brown hair walked over to us, she had a stern look on her face and looked middle-aged. ¡°Since you so-called heroes are here, I need help with a problem.¡± She seemed rude, not the kind of person I''d want to help.


    ¡°What can we do for you?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°There''s a young woman who keeps parking on the street, she doesn''t live here and shouldn''t be allowed to park here.¡± She rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Alright, show us the car you''re referring to,¡± Sam replied.


    We followed her over to a small car that was parked half on the road and half on the pavement; it looked fine to me.


    ¡°I don''t see any problem with it.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Oh, but she''s parked so badly, and I can''t get my car out.¡±


    ¡°The car isn''t blocking any driveways.¡± Sam frowned.


    A woman around my height and age walked over and unlocked the car that the older woman was complaining about. She had long blonde hair and was wearing glasses.


    ¡°There she is!¡± The woman pointed at her. ¡°I already told you not to park here.¡± She glared at the poor woman.


    ¡°I told you, it''s fine, this is my friend''s house that I''m parked outside, I have permission.¡±


    ¡°You need to learn how to park in their driveway.¡±


    ¡°I''m not the best at parking.¡± The young one giggled nervously.


    The driveway looked a bit narrow, and there were loads of cars parked around it, so I could see why she was parked where she was.


    ¡°Look, there''s nothing wrong with the way she''s parked, you''re just going to have to learn to drive better,¡± Sam said, making me laugh.


    That woman definitely deserved the insult, she seemed like a moody bitch.


    ¡°Thank you, I''ve been parking here for two months with no complaints.¡±


    ¡°You heroes are good for nothing. I''m going to phone the police,¡± she said.


    ¡°Uh, for what?¡± I frowned.


    No one had broken any laws, so I couldn''t see how she could call the police. They had more urgent things to deal with than a stupid dispute that the woman was wrong about.


    ¡°For parking there.¡±


    ¡°But she''s not illegally parked and has permission from her friends. In fact, you''d probably get in trouble for wasting police time.¡± Sam smiled.


    The woman glared at us, then stormed off.


    ¡°Oh my, thank you so much for dealing with that. She''s been harassing me for the past week. She literally followed me to complain about my car, then complained to my boss about it.¡±


    ¡°Jesus, that''s crazy.¡± I shook my head. ¡°She clearly has nothing better to do and is a bitter woman.¡±


    ¡°Definitely, what a weirdo.¡± Sam nodded.


    ¡°Anyway, thanks for dealing with that, it''s so cool to meet you both.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°Oh, do you want a picture or anything?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°That would be great!¡± She got her phone out of her bag.


    We both took a few pictures with her, then she got in her car and drove off. It was unbelievable that a woman would complain about something so minor and that she would threaten to call the police. There really were a lot of awful people in the world.


    Since we''d dealt with that weirdo complaining, we went back to the house, and the police had finally arrived, then they put the criminal in the back of the car. Sirens were wailing noisily, and ambulances arrived for the women.


    ¡°Now that that''s all dealt with, let''s get back to the building,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Oh, I really hope we get a break!¡± I exclaimed.


    We''d dealt with two heavy crimes back to back, I could really do with a relaxing break.


    ¡°I hope we do too,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°Yeah, I''m sure we could all use one.¡± Sam nodded.


    Sam flew us back to the building and we all went to the staff room.


    ¡°So, did you actually hear someone screaming or did you make that up?¡± I frowned, while looking at Pablo.


    ¡°I just made it up. But no one would know that I was lying, they couldn''t prove it.¡± Pablo smiled.


    ¡°Wow, that''s really smart. It''s just as well you lied and got us inside,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Definitely, waiting on a warrant would take too long, that guy could''ve moved the woman in the time it would take,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°That''s why I always pretend I heard something, just in case.¡±


    ¡°Well, anyway, I think if someone didn''t have anything to hide, they''d just let heroes or police into their house,¡± I said.


    ¡°That''s true.¡± Sam nodded.


    I remembered that I still needed to talk to Pablo about what had happened to Sam in the basement.


    ¡°Oh, Pablo, could I talk to you for a minute?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± He nodded.


    We both got up and left the room. I didn''t really want to talk to him in the hallway in case Sam heard us.


    ¡°Is there somewhere more private we could go?¡± I asked.


    Hopefully, he wouldn''t think I was flirting with him; Pablo was very attractive and kind, and I''d date him, but I definitely couldn''t make the first move. It would be awkward if he rejected me or thought I was flirting, since he was my boss and we had to work together.


    ¡°We can go to my office,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Oh, I''d forgotten you had one.¡± I laughed.


    I''d never seen Pablo in his office, he was always with us.


    ¡°Eh, I don''t really use it unless I have to meet with someone, or something.¡±


    I followed Pablo to his large office; it looked comfortable, there was a black sofa, two red chairs in front of his desk, and a black desk chair. We sat in the two red chairs.


    ¡°So, what did you want to talk about?¡± Pablo asked.


    ¡°It''s about Sam, that''s why I asked to go somewhere private, I didn''t want him overhearing us.¡±


    ¡°Did he do something to make you feel uncomfortable?¡± Pablo asked.


    ¡°Uh, not really. When we were on that call, he froze when we were in the basement. It surprised me because I was the one who''d been scared about going down there. He was fine until we saw those women chained up. Has anything like this happened before?¡± I frowned.


    ¡°No, not that I can remember.¡± Pablo shook his head.


    ¡°Then, within a few seconds, he was back to normal, as if nothing had happened. It was really weird.¡± I shook my head. ¡°But, he wasn''t actually fully normal¡­ he was talking differently, he didn''t seem as nice as usual. Like, he talked about leaving the women down there if they didn''t hurry, then he called me a scaredy-cat for not wanting to go back into the house with that creepy man in there.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for telling me, I''ll talk to him about it,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Just so you know, Sam did apologise and said it was because he''d never dealt with anything like that before.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, he was very stressed. Stuff like that can mess with your head.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, maybe.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Are you okay after everything?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was just a lot to deal with.¡± I sighed. ¡°The things we''ve been dealing with today have been stressful, especially seeing those women trapped down there. I know they''ve had it a lot worse than me, but it brought back memories of being trapped in my old apartment with Randall.¡±


    Even though Randall was dead, I still hated him for keeping me inside for many years. Those years had been the worst of my life, and I hated being reminded of them.


    ¡°I''m sorry, I''m here for you if you ever need to talk about anything. Today has been hard on me as well, you''re not alone.¡± Pablo leaned closer and hugged me, which made me feel a bit better.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I smiled.


    We went back to the staff room and joined the others.


    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± Sofia asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I''m feeling better now.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°I can''t believe all the messed up shit we''ve had to deal with today,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°I know, it''s awful.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, I''ve been thinking that we should have a drink at my house after work,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Yes! Great way to start the weekend!¡± Alex grinned.


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± I said.


    ¡°I''ll come too,¡± Sofia replied.


    ¡°Looks like we''re all going, then.¡± Pablo smiled.


    ****


    After work, all of us went to Sam''s humongous house. He''d shown me around the many different rooms, since I''d never been to his house before; I loved his house, it was very fancy and had everything. There were six bedrooms, four bathrooms, three living rooms, a gaming room, a cinema room, an indoor pool, two libraries and many more rooms. His house was incredible. I loved my apartment, but it would be even better to live in this house.


    We all sat in the living room, I was on the blue sofa in between Sam and Alex. Pablo and Sofia were in yellow chairs on either side of the sofa. There was a large TV in front of us and a coffee table. All of us were drinking alcohol, which was just what we needed after a stressful day at work.


    ¡°I can''t believe you live here, it''s amazing,¡± I said.


    ¡°Thank you. The job helped me save up to buy it.¡± Sam smiled.


    ¡°I hope I get to live in a house like this someday,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Yeah, it would be a dream.¡± Sofia nodded.


    ¡°Well, until you save up enough money, you can both come here anytime, apart from weekends,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I''m actually surprised that you invited us tonight, it''s nearly the weekend.¡± I frowned.


    It was weird that Sam was so against seeing anyone over the weekend, he said it was because he spent time with family, but it seemed extreme to ban contact with friends.


    ¡°I know, but it''s not quite Saturday yet. I''m free on Friday nights,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Well, it''s nice to hang out on a Friday evening.¡± Alex smiled.


    ¡°It''s certainly a nice change,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°It is.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°We definitely needed this after the day we had. Those racist assholes were a nightmare to deal with, I hated that. Then that creep had kidnapped those women¡­ we really dealt with a lot today.¡± Sofia sighed.


    ¡°Yeah, I''d much rather deal with robbers or muggers, they''re much less unsettling,¡± I replied.


    Even dealing with villains was less mentally draining because they usually targeted everyone, not specific groups, and they rarely kidnapped ordinary people.


    ¡°Cara and I also had to deal with some weird woman,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Pablo frowned.


    I''d forgotten that we hadn''t told the others about the woman.


    Sam told everyone about the woman complaining about the person being parked at their friend''s house.


    ¡°I don''t know about parking laws over here, so I don''t know if it was illegal, but that woman certainly overreacted,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°I''m pretty sure her parking was legal,¡± I replied.


    ¡°It was.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°There were no double yellow lines or other signs about not parking there. The car wasn''t blocking the pavement or road, so it was fine.¡±


    ¡°I can''t believe you told that woman to learn how to drive.¡± Alex laughed.


    ¡°In fairness, that woman also told the other one to learn how to park,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Yeah, just giving her a taste of her own medicine.¡± Sam smiled.


    ¡°You just need to be careful, she sounds like the sort of person who''d want revenge,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°She does seem like the type to go mad online about us,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Oh, I really hope she doesn''t do that,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°I think we''d be okay, she''s one person. I''ve met a few people who are fans, I''d say they''d outweigh her negativity,¡± I replied.


    It seemed like the only people who didn''t like heroes were villains and criminals, along with a few citizens, who were obviously idiots.


    ¡°You''re probably right, I''ve met many fans,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°That''s true.¡± Sofia nodded. ¡°We have more fans than haters from what I''ve seen.¡±


    ****


    We''d all been drinking for a few hours, and I felt much more relaxed and giddy than earlier.


    ¡°I swear, all of you are so attractive, it actually distracts me at work sometimes.¡± I laughed.


    ¡°I didn''t realise I distracted you.¡± Pablo chuckled.


    ¡°Pablo, you''re so caring and a great leader.¡± I went over and hugged him, then sat back on the sofa.


    ¡°Thank you. I won''t lie, you distract me too sometimes,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Oh really?¡± I giggled and Pablo nodded.


    ¡°And Sam, you''re so thoughtful and handsome, it''s no wonder you''re one of the most popular heroes.¡± I hugged him.


    ¡°Thanks, but you''re so beautiful and caring, I bet you could take that spot from me.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but that''s impossible.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is it my turn next?¡± Alex smiled.


    ¡°Of course, your strength is incredibly sexy and you''re lovely.¡± I gave her a hug.


    ¡°Aww, thanks, you''re so sweet and pretty, I just want to help you all the time. You''re small and cute, I''m tempted to carry you everywhere.¡± Alex laughed.


    ¡°I wouldn''t object to that, I love your big strong arms.¡± I smiled. ¡°Don''t worry Sofia, I haven''t forgotten about you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good.¡±


    ¡°You''re gorgeous and I love how similar we are, it''s nice to not be the only one who''s scared of a lot of things.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. You''re beautiful and so friendly, I love having you on our team.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°I mean, I really can''t believe all of you are single. Whoever gets the honour of dating yous will be extremely lucky,¡± I said.


    I''d love to date all of them, they were all so kind and good-looking, they were just amazing. It would be a dream come true to date any of them, but that was probably just a dream that would never come true.


    ¡°Whoever gets to date you will be lucky as well,¡± Sam replied.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°So, if you had to date one of us, who would you pick?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°All.¡± I smiled.


    It would be wonderful date all of them, but that would never happen.


    ¡°That''s cheating, you have to pick one.¡± She laughed.


    ¡°I refuse to pick.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Aww, come on, pick one.¡± Sam nudged me.


    ¡°She already did, she picked all of us.¡± Pablo smiled.


    ¡°Yeah, she could just date all of us,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± I exclaimed.


    It was way too hard to pick which one of them I''d want to date because they were all brilliant; I Iiked all of them equally.


    ¡°Alright, fine, you can date all of us.¡± Alex laughed.


    ¡°Yay.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Everyone would be so jealous of you.¡± Sam chuckled.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Sofia nodded.


    ¡°Oh, it''ll just have to be a secret then,¡± I replied.


    We talked and had a good laugh, time had flown by, it was 1am already. I was exhausted, I needed to go to sleep.


    ¡°Can we have a sleepover?¡± I asked. ¡°I really can''t be bothered going home, I want to sleep.¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry, I''d love for you to stay, but you have to go home. My family are coming over tomorrow and I don''t want them finding all of you here hungover, it wouldn''t look good. They can be quite judgemental.¡± Sam sighed.


    ¡°Aww, please. I won''t even be hungover tomorrow, or not for long because my body will heal quickly. I could even sneak out of your house,¡± I said.


    ¡°Sorry, I just can''t risk it. I don''t want them insulting any of you,¡± Sam replied.


    I couldn''t understand how Sam''s family could be rude when he was so kind and caring, it didn''t make any sense.


    ¡°Cara, I''ll carry you home. You can sleep on the way, I''ll make sure you get home safely,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Are you sober enough for that?¡± Sofia asked.


    ¡°Yeah, don''t worry.¡± Alex nodded.


    ¡°It''ll be fine, Alex is very strong and seems sober to me,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Then let''s go,¡± I said.


    I trusted Alex, and even if she was drunk, she''d still be stronger than me.


    ¡°I think we should all be going, it''s very late,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Yeah, I''m actually really tired.¡± Sofia yawned.


    I left with everyone, and Alex carried me, I was comfortable and closed my eyes. It felt like no time passed at all, when I felt myself being set on my bed.


    ¡°Thank you taking me home.¡± I mumbled, almost asleep.


    ¡°You''re welcome, sweet dreams.¡± Alex hugged me, then tucked me in and left, closing the door behind her.


    The night had been great, I''d loved hanging out with everyone. I just wished that I really could date all of them.

 Fighting Fires

    My heart was racing, as I walked into to work; I''d flirted with everyone at the party, it would be so awkward seeing them again. Hopefully, they''d all been too drunk to remember anything. I walked as slowly as I could in the direction of the staff room, hoping the alarm would go off before I got there. If only there was some emergency, then we could focus on that, instead of discussing the party. Unfortunately, I was at the staff room door, without the alarm going off, so I went in and everyone else was already in.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± I said, hoping no one would mention me flirting with them.


    ¡°Good morning, that really was a fun party, it''s nice to know that you think I''m thoughtful and handsome.¡± Sam winked at me.


    ¡°Oh, uh, yeah. I become very giddy and affectionate when I''m drunk,¡± I replied and my cheeks felt like they were on fire.


    I went and sat between Alex and Sofia.


    ¡°Although, I already knew that you found me attractive, since I read your mind on your first day here,¡± he said.


    ¡°Oh, don''t remind me.¡± I held my head in my hands.


    ¡°I''m surprised that an old man like me could ever distract you,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°You''re not old, you''re only thirty-two,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Actually, I''m thirty-six. I''m not used to getting much attention, everyone''s always fawning over Sam, it''s a pleasant surprise.¡± Pablo smiled.


    ¡°See, you don''t even look that old. I don''t like admitting it, but all of you seriously distract me. You''re all so good-looking and it''s incredible to see yous in action.¡±


    ¡°They all fawn over me because I''m much hotter and younger.¡± Sam chuckled, nudging Pablo.


    ¡°I know you''re joking, but it''s true,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Hey, don''t say that, you''re a very attractive man. If I was into men, I''d date you,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°Oh, Cara, I didn''t forget about what you said at the party. I''d be happy to show off my strength any time for you.¡± Alex smirked.


    ¡°Um, sure, that would be cool.¡±


    ¡°It would actually be really fun, I could test myself, while impressing you.¡±


    ¡°I''d be interested to find out the heaviest thing you could lift,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Same!¡± She grinned.


    ¡°I''m guessing you remember me flirting with you?¡± I looked at Sofia.


    ¡°I do.¡± She nodded. ¡°I thought it was sweet.¡±


    ¡°I don''t really have a filter when I''m drunk, let''s just move on from it now,¡± I said.


    ¡°Aww, it''s nothing to be embarrassed about.¡± Alex hugged me. ¡°But I''m happy to forget about it for now.¡±


    ¡°I''ll forget about it until the next party, which I can''t wait for.¡± Sam smiled.


    ¡°We could discuss strategies to stop EVIL,¡± Pablo suggested.


    ¡°Good idea, it''s embarrassing that they keep getting away,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°I''ve actually just had an idea,¡± I said and everyone looked at me. It always made me a bit nervous and uncomfortable when all the attention was on me. ¡°Since, you haven''t been able to stop them, why not get more heroes to help?¡±


    ¡°That''s a good idea.¡± Alex smiled.


    ¡°Yeah, it''s worth a shot.¡± Pablo nodded.


    Just as we were about to discuss it further, the alarm went off. We were told that there was a fire in an apartment building, so we rushed out, and Sam flew us there very quickly.


    Some people were running out of the building, and others were standing around watching. There were large flames exploding out of the top of the apartments.


    ¡°We''ll go in and get people out, when the firefighters get here, they''ll deal with putting the fire out,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°I''ll come in and help get people out. I should be okay with smoke inhalation because of my powers,¡± I said.


    I didn''t need to worry about any long-term consequences, since I''d heal and be fine within a few days, even if my lungs did get injured.


    ¡°Alright, but be careful and call if you need any help,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Also, don''t worry about smoke inhalation, our suits will protect us, they automatically stop smoke and toxic gases from getting in. You won''t even notice it, it''s like one of Sam''s invisible shields.¡± Sofia smiled.


    ¡°That''s great,¡± I replied.


    ¡°I''ll go with Cara, I think we''d be better in groups,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Sounds good, you two come with me.¡± Pablo looked at Sam, then Sofia.


    All of us went into the huge building and there was thick, grey smoke surrounding us. I could only imagine how horrible and strong the smell was. This was like the time a poppadom had gone down the back of the stove, then got burnt and filled the room with grey smoke, but this was far more serious.


    ¡°We''ll take the upper floors, you two take the lower ones,¡± Pablo said.


    Alex and I checked the apartments on the first floor; all the doors were open; we assumed everyone had gotten out, but we wanted to be sure, so we checked anyway. Thankfully, there was no one trapped on the first floor, so we went up to the next level.


    The area wasn''t in good shape, there were small fires and parts of the ceiling had fallen. We went over to a door that was blocked by a chunk of ceiling.


    ¡°I''ll get this, then we''ll check inside,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    She lifted it with ease, then placed it out of our way. We went inside, and it was hard to see because of all the smoke. I searched the different rooms, then found a woman in her bath, filled with water.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I feel like I can''t breathe!¡± She gasped.


    ¡°Don''t worry, we''ll get you out of here,¡± Alex replied.


    Alex and I helped the woman out of the bath, then Alex lifted her.


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    ¡°You bring her out, I''ll keep looking for more people,¡± I said.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± She frowned.


    ¡°Yeah, Pablo will hear if I need help.¡±


    ¡°I''ll be back as soon as I can.¡± She rushed out with the woman.


    I checked another apartment that wasn''t blocked, and looked in the small living room, but there was no one there. Then, I looked in a bedroom, but I didn''t see anyone in there either.


    ¡°Help!¡± A young voice shouted.


    ¡°I''m here don''t worry.¡±


    A child crawled out from under the bed; it was odd that he was in this place alone.


    ¡°You''re safe now, I''m going to get you out of here,¡± I said, then lifted the small boy. As, I was going out, I asked him where his parents were.


    ¡°My mum''s at work and my dad went out to buy me popcorn for our movie later.¡±


    ¡°Well, we''ll be out of here soon, so I''m sure you''ll see your parents soon.¡±


    It didn''t take long to get out of the building, since we were near the bottom. I set the child down outside, hoping his dad would be back soon because I didn''t want to leave him alone. There was a tall, distressed man looking around.


    ¡°Dad!¡± The boy exclaimed, then ran over and hugged the tall man.


    The father looked relieved and hugged and kissed his son. Since they were reunited, I went back into the building and found Alex on my way to the second floor.


    ¡°I saved a kid.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Well done,¡± Alex replied.


    I felt like a proper hero now, I''d actually saved someone from a burning building. Alex tried to open another door, but she screamed and held her hand.


    ¡°Fuck! That handle is roasting!¡± She growled.


    ¡°Oh, let me heal you.¡± I always healed my friends when they needed it, even though it made me tired. I didn''t want them to be in pain and it meant they were in peak condition for emergencies.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I took her hand and quickly healed it.


    I felt more tired than before, but was mostly fine. This time, Alex kicked down the door, and there was a roaring fire in front of us.


    ¡°Uh, what do we do?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I''ll break through the wall, there doesn''t seem to be fire in the whole apartment,¡± Alex replied, then pummelled the wall.


    She broke through it and there was no fire in that part, so she was able to search the area. I went in after her, and the heat from the fire made me sweat like mad. We looked in every nook and cranny, but no one was in the apartment; maybe they''d made it out already, or weren''t in it to begin with.


    ****


    It felt like we''d been in this building for years ¡ª I was exhausted. I just wanted this hot nightmare to be over.


    ¡°I''ve double-checked, we got everyone out of the building, we should get out now and let the firefighters take over.¡± Sam communicated telepathically.


    ¡°I''m glad it''s finally over,¡± I said.


    ¡°I know, it feels like we''ve been in here forever,¡± Alex replied.


    ¡°You can say that again.¡±


    We got to the first floor, then I heard a loud banging noise, it didn''t sound good. Alex grunted, and I turned and looked at her, she was holding the ceiling up.


    ¡°Run!¡± She yelled.


    I didn''t want to leave Alex, but there was no way I could help her; I was the weakest hero ever. I ran outside, hoping that Sam would help her because he''d be the only one strong enough. If it came to the worst, we could recover her body, then revive her. Sam, Pablo and Sofia flew down from the top of the building.


    ¡°You need to help! Strong Sapphire is holding up the ceiling on her own!¡± I exclaimed.


    ¡°I''ll go,¡± Sam replied, then rushed into the building.


    ¡°She''s really strong, I''m sure she''ll be okay,¡± Sofia said.


    ¡°I really hope so, I hated leaving her.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°Don''t worry, you did the right thing.¡± Pablo patted my back.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Sam came out with his arm around Alex, who was leaning on him; she looked exhausted, but otherwise, fine. They came over to us.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I''m just tired.¡±


    ¡°I''m so glad you''re okay.¡± I hugged her. ¡°I hated leaving you.¡±


    ¡°That was for the best, you were able to get help for me.¡±


    Since, I''d been helping people get out of the building, I hadn''t healed anyone, but surely some people needed to be healed.


    ¡°Is there anyone around who needs to be healed?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I think there are a few people in serious condition. They''re in that tent over there.¡± Pablo pointed to a large, white makeshift tent.


    I went inside and there were six people in there on beds. All of them had severe burns all over their bodies ¡ª they almost looked like charred corpses. I''d be exhausted after healing them, but they definitely needed it, and I didn''t want any of them to die. I went round each of them, and healed them; they were all amazed and grateful. It felt good to save them, but my body felt wrecked and my eyes were heavy. Everyone had been healed, so I went back outside and walked over to me team.


    ¡°I need a really long nap, I think I might fall asleep in a minute or two.¡± My eyelids were half closed already.


    ¡°You sleep for as long as you need,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Yeah, we''ll look after you,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ****


    I had no idea how much time had passed, but when I woke up, I was in my room. My body was roasting and sweaty, and there was a smoky smell ¡ª I definitely needed a shower. But, first, I needed a drink. I was incredibly thirsty. I got out of bed, then opened the door and jumped when I saw Pablo on my sofa.


    ¡°Oh my, I wasn''t expecting anyone to be here.¡± I held my chest, my heart was pounding.


    ¡°Sorry, I didn''t mean to scare you. I didn''t want you to be alone when you woke up.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thanks. Did I miss anything when I was asleep?¡± I went and sat beside Pablo.


    ¡°Nothing major. That fire took most of the day to deal with,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°What time is it now?¡± I frowned. There was no way for me to keep track of the time when I had naps, since they could last from an hour to multiple hours.


    ¡°It''s nine.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that''s quite late. I''m going to get a shower, but you''re welcome to stay a bit longer if you like¡­ I was thinking about having some ice cream because of all the heat from the fire.¡±


    ¡°I''d like that.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°Great, I''ll be as quick as I can.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, take your time.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    I got a glass of water from the kitchen and drank most of it, before going for my shower. I had a quick shower, then changed into my pyjamas. Being in my pyjamas was so much more comfortable, which was why I was nearly always in them at home. I went into the kitchen and got the ice cream, bowls and spoons out, then went and sat beside Pablo.


    ¡°So, how come you stayed with me and not the others on our team?¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, everyone else offered. I just did it because it was my turn to walk you home, and I didn''t want to leave until you woke up,¡± Pablo replied.


    ¡°Well, thanks, it''s nice to wake up and have someone there to tell me what I missed.¡±


    ¡°You''re welcome.¡±


    ¡°But, are all of you really okay with walking me home nearly every night?¡± I didn''t want to be a burden to them, or inconvenience anyone. Especially when they had to make a rota for it five days a week.


    ¡°Of course, we all love spending some more time with you. If I could, I would walk you home every night, but that would be selfish. Everyone else wants to walk you home just as much.¡±


    ¡°I''m glad.¡± I smiled.


    It was nice to know that everyone seemed to like me as much as I liked them. The ice cream looked softer now, so I put some into the two bowls, then started eating it and it was nice and cooling.


    ¡°You know, this is just what we needed after the day we had.¡± Pablo smiled.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°You did a great job, helping people out of the building, then healing the ones who were seriously injured.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I felt a lot more like a real hero today because I went in and got people out of the building.¡± I actually helped people in danger, instead of only healing them.


    ¡°You''ve always been a real hero, just because you don''t fight, doesn''t mean you aren''t a real hero,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°Thanks. I know I should feel like a hero, especially when I have fans, but I just don''t feel like one most of the time.¡±


    ¡°That''s alright, even if you don''t realise it, you are a hero.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I am.¡±


    I finished my ice cream, it had been tasty and cooled me down; it was just what I''d needed after being in a blazing building all day.


    ¡°So, when did you come across your fans?¡± Pablo asked.


    ¡°Well, I first met some after the interview, then I met a few when I was out and about. I''m just glad I''m not super famous, I''d hate to be surrounded by fans,¡± I said. It would be awful to have a crowd of screaming fans closing in on me with no escape.


    ¡°Thankfully, I don''t have to deal with loads of fans crowding round me, I''m pretty popular, but nowhere near as much as someone like Sam.¡±


    ¡°I''m sure he has trouble doing regular things,¡± I replied.


    ¡°He sometimes does, it''s why he normally goes out in some kind of disguise.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I saw one of them when we went to the concert. He put on a hat and glasses, he looked different enough that you wouldn''t recognise him, unless you were looking closely.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think as well as that, most people probably aren''t expecting to see any heroes out and about,¡± Pablo said.


    ¡°That''s true, I never expected to meet any heroes, even when I went for the interview.¡± I laughed.


    Pablo finished eating his ice cream.


    ¡°Yeah, I get it.¡±


    ¡°It''s actually crazy to think that I''m kind of famous.¡± Even in my wildest dreams, I didn''t think I''d ever be famous, especially with Randall keeping me inside all the time.


    ¡°I still find it hard to believe that I''m famous.¡± Pablo chuckled.


    ¡°Oh, I thought you would''ve been used to it by now.¡±


    ¡°I''m more used to it than I was, but it still feels surreal at times,¡± he said.


    ¡°It''ll probably be like that for me as well.¡±


    ¡°I''d love to stay longer and chat more, but I need to be getting home.¡±


    It was a shame that Pablo had to go home, but it was ten, so it was getting late, and we had work tomorrow.


    ¡°Thanks for staying and having ice cream, I''ll see you tomorrow,¡± I said.


    ¡°No, thank you, I loved the ice cream.¡± Pablo smiled. ¡°Anyway, I''ll see you tomorrow.¡±


    I walked Pablo to the door and we had one last goodbye, then he left, and I went to bed. It had been pleasant spending time with Pablo, and it was sweet of him to stay and wait for me to wake up.