Nine-to-Five 035 (Patreon)

PTO I

~~~

Fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine…

Usually, people would be trying to squeeze in as many summer activities as possible before the school year began, but Jack Frost had put a damper on everyone’s plans.

The airports around the city had to be closed due to the snow, the beaches were a mess, and the highways were not exactly in working order. Buildings and power lines had also been damaged by the extreme cold. Some of the older buildings simply hadn’t been up to the task, leading to some very cold nights for their residents. A few of the more frail constructions had collapsed, leaving many without homes.

It seemed silly to Tim that a bunch of snow could cause so much trouble, but that was apparently what happened when a city wasn’t ready for extreme weather. Not that this had stopped the mayor from organizing a fancy gala with the press and all the important people in the city before the snow finished melting. It was for charity, so it was okay. Or so people said.

“It’s pretty damn funny, you know?”

Gerald put down his newspaper, the one Tim had been trying to read while doing upside-down crunches. It was just the two of them today, and they weren’t in the secret lair below the building. Gerald had him doing regular monkey bar exercises in the regular gym.

Seventy-one, seventy-two, seventy-three…

“What is?”

Tim pointed at the front page.

“That.”

The Timely Post was one of the oldest and most reputable newspapers in Port Stanley. That didn’t matter much at the moment. What mattered was the photo on the front page. It showed two men shaking hands at the gala last night.

One of the men needed no introduction. His golden costume with blue highlights was one that kids all over America had drawn during class. Unlike other heroes, he didn’t wear any sort of mask or helmet. His blond hair, blue eyes, and all-American smile were displayed for all to see. It made him look so approachable one could almost forget who he really was.

He was Alpha Defender, the strongest Exceed in the entire world.

Shaking his hand was Arthur Cadogan. Credit where credit was due, other men would find themselves dwarfed standing next to Alpha Defender, but Mr. Cadogan was holding his own. The CEO of Regum might not be as widely known, and he might not have a cape, but he did cut an impressive figure.

It was definitely the suit. Fancy suits were bueno.

Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven…

“I mean, the dude’s like a supervillain or something, and he’s right there shaking hands with the most popular hero in the whole world. That’s like some next-level guts or something. Plus, there’s that headline.”

Men of Tomorrow Cooperate to Revitalize the City.

“Alpha is the one who blew up the glacier, but Mr. Cadogan is still getting front-page billing because he is putting a lot of money into the city.”

It was for reconstruction or something. Tim could only barely make out the small words, but the gist of it was that Regum was making some pretty big donations and spearheading some sort of reconstruction project to help the city get back on its feet.

“Putting aside the boring economic reasons, we do live here, you know?” Gerald folded the newspaper and set it aside. “Not all Regum employees live in the building. Most don’t, and even those who do still have to go outside. We can’t have the city becoming a pigsty. Helping with the reconstruction helps us in the long and short run.”

“I get that, but I thought he’d be more... stiff around the guy. Exceeds destroying the world is like his whole thing or something, right?”

“Or something is right. It’s not like Arthur hates Exceeds.” Gerald smiled as if he knew something Tim didn’t. He probably did. “Trust me on that one. He just has strong reason to believe they will…”

“Doom us?”

“Close enough.” Gerald shrugged. “That’s what the SP treatment is for. Supposedly.”

A hundred and two, a hundred and three, a hundred and four…

“Supposedly?” Tim cocked his head to the side. It was a bit harder while upside down. “You don’t know?”

“I like Arthur, and he signs my paychecks. High-concept stuff is none of my concern or interest,” Gerald replied. “You’d have to ask the doctor if you want a more concise explanation of how it all works.”

Tim scrunched his face. “I feel like any explanation I’d get from him would make my head spin.”

“That makes you a good judge of character. On that subject, do not spend time with Morgan if you can help it.”

Morgan. That was the name of the tall woman with black hair he had seen in Mr. Cadogan’s office the other day, right? She had felt like bad news in a way Tim couldn’t quite explain. It was like she had made several alarms go off in his head. Or rather, no alarm went off, and that was why they all went off at once.

Yeah, that made sense.

“That bad?”

“It’s complicated,” Gerald replied. Tim had learned a long time ago that was adult-speak for yes. Because just saying things was apparently too hard. “She’s not some sort of serial killer.”

“I’m kinda worried that you had to start with ‘at least she’s not a serial killer.’”

A hundred and ten, a hundred and eleven, a hundred and twelve…

“She’s intense,” Gerald said as though Tim hadn’t spoken. Lots of people did that. “Loves the doctor to death, has the best party tricks, and I’m probably never going to find a better drinking buddy. But! She’s intense. Keep your distance.”

Tim frowned.

“Shouldn’t you be saying this to Amanda too?”

“I figure she’s got a bit more sense than you,” Gerald replied honestly. “No offense.”

“None taken. That’s fair,” Tim said. “So…. party tricks?”

“You had to be there,” Gerald said. “Unfortunately, it looks like you’ll have to wait a while to see. Park’s closed for activities for the foreseeable future. That means no company picnic.”

“What?” Tim whined. “But I have heard so many stories already! I wanted to see the donkey!”

“An, so you’ve heard of that one already.” Gerald shook his head. “Which of the guards told you? Nevermind. I’m going to have to talk to all of them. There are some things you shouldn’t say in front of young kids.”

“Kind of doing supervillain training here.”

Gerald snorted. “You are not a super villain. You’re at best hovering between vigilante and juvenile delinquent. You’re still going to have to go to school when it starts in…? A month? A couple of weeks? Can’t say I keep track of that sort of thing.”

“Yeah, about that..” Tim scratched his ear. “Amanda and I aren’t going to be able to come as often for training and stuff with school and all.”

“You let us worry about that,” Gerald said. “Just keep doing those crunches.”

One hundred and twenty-two, one hundred and twenty-three, one hundred and twenty-four…

“Meh, Amanda’s lucky she gets to miss this. Can’t believe she gets to have that stupid race while we’re left without a picnic.”

“That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. The race turned into a charity race, so it gets a pass.”

“Society sucks.”

Gerald laughed, his green eyes twinkling.

“And now you’re sounding like a proper villain.”

~~~

Amanda was not someone who was sure of things. That was for people like Tim. Amanda was someone who hesitated. She doubted. She was a born double-checker. She double-checked her test answers, her homework, whether she closed the door on her way out or not, if she hadn’t accidentally left anything on her seat when leaving the subway, and many other such things.

However, Amanda was sure of one thing right now.

“I hate you. So much.”

Sophie did not roll her eyes at her but somehow managed the same effect with a raised eyebrow.

“You are such a drama queen.”

“Drama queen? I’m the drama queen!” Amanda shouted in a way that, unfortunately, did make her seem like a drama queen. Her voice even went up an octave. She felt it justified, but the random people around them weren’t going to get that.

The 10K Sophie had been bugging her about for weeks was finally here. It was now a fundraiser, but the gist of it was the same. She and Sophie had made a whole plan out of it. She would spend the night in Sophie’s house. They’d catch up and then go to the park bright and early the next day.

The plan had not included her clothes mysteriously disappearing. It certainly said nothing about the clothes Sophie was letting her “borrow.” Clothes that just happened to be in her size.

“You switched out my clothes!”

In hindsight, Amanda should have known something was wrong when Sophie suggested a sleepover, something she swore she had outgrown two years ago.

“I don’t know what you are complaining about,” Sophie said, doing a well-practiced hair flip. “We went shopping for a reason. I saw what you planned on wearing. Baggy, gray sweatpants, Amanda? Really?”

“At least they were pants!” Amanda said. The chilly wind made her all too aware of how exposed her legs were. “This is just…cloth!”

Entirely too little of it.

“Excuse you? You are wearing top-of-the-line workout clothing,” Sophie corrected her, gesturing at her own body.

Sophie was wearing somewhat similar clothes to her. They were purple, tight, and showed off entirely too much skin. No sane father would ever let their daughter go out wearing something like it.

“It protects you from perspiration and guarantees that your body will be properly cooled down as you run.”

Amanda glanced at the trees left bare by the snow, then at the gloomy skies.

“I don’t think the heat is something we have to worry about.”

“Well, not right now, obviously, but you’ll be singing a different song once we start running.”

She wasn’t going to. Extreme temperatures barely affected Amanda. Yet another advantage to having powers, but she couldn’t exactly say that to Sophie.

“Really, after the first mile, you’ll be sorry you’re wearing that drab shirt to cover yourself up.”

Said “drab shirt” belonged to Sophie’s dad, who happened to be a rather wide man. Amanda had refused to leave the house without some sort of jacket, and Sophie had relented and taken that out of her parent’s room. It was a blue shirt with the words ‘Lord of the Castle’ written on it. On Sophie’s dad, it fit fine. On Amanda, it could pass for an ugly dress.

“I’m going to outrun you so hard for this,” Amanda promised. Sophie scoffed.

“Oh, please. You might have taken up running over the summer–It has done wonders for your legs, by the way–but I am the athlete of our trio.”

Amanda smiled darkly.

~~~

“How are you doing this?!”

“What’s wrong? Can’t keep up?” Amanda taunted. “I thought you were the athlete of our group.”

“Shut it!” Sophie snarled at her, her face red and sweaty. Unlike Amana, she was already gasping for air.

Usually, that wouldn’t be the case. Sophie had done plenty of 10Ks before. She knew how to pace herself. However, Amanda had deliberately egged her on by pulling ahead of her. Not wanting to be shown up, Sophie had upped her pace and ended up exhausting herself.

“There’s no way you’re this good after just one summer!”

“Maybe you just aren’t all that?” Amanda said. “Too much Paris, too little practice. You’ve been slipping.”

As if to dig the knife a little deeper, Amanda started running backward to look at Sophie.

“Come to think of it… Have you put on a few pounds?”

“Kill you... I’m going... to kill you.”

Unfortunately, Amanda was so busy laughing at Sophie that she forgot it wasn’t just the two of them running.

“Whoah, there! Careful!” one of the runners called out as she bumped into his back. The sudden impact took Amanda by surprise and sent her tumbling down. Or it would have if the person she bumped into hadn’t spun around in time to catch her.

Amanda lost her breath as she stared into the purest pair of brown eyes she had ever seen. Their owner was tall and broad-shouldered, his arms big and strong. His light brown hair was cut short, and when the sunlight shone down on him at just the right angle, she could almost imagine it was gold.

“Are you okay?”

“What? Oh, yes! I mean, sorry! I wasn’t looking! I was… ah, sorry!”

“No harm done, so no need to apologize so much.” He smiled at her as he helped her up. “See you around!”

Amanda waved silently at his back, her tongue tied up and her brain buzzing with static.

“Oho?”

Amanda flinched. Sophie had caught up to her, but she was no longer tired or panting. Instead, her friend’s eyes burned with mischievous energy.

“So that’s your type, huh? And here I thought you’d be into bookish guys.”

“What? No!” Amanda scoffed. “I was just… weren’t you about to fall over a second ago?”

“Yes, but this is funnier! Come on! Let’s hook you up!”

“What? No! Sophie! Don’t! I mean it!”

This time was Amanda who chased after Sophie as she called out her rescuer.

~~~

AN: 

PTO stands for Paid Time Off. School is finally on the horizon.