SSV3 Chapter 18 (Patreon)

The rest of my week was filled with a flurry of activity. The trainees continued to put in effort and listen to Emma. And I was seeing significant improvement out in the field. Amelia, in particular, was much better at using her fog strategically.

She’d taken Emma’s suggestion to heart and used small pockets of it around someone’s face to block their vision but not Ivanna’s, while learning to act in a supportive role despite her desire to be up front in the action.

And Ivanna had learned how to be more aggressive, going in first and taking more than a few shots from villain powers.

It had taken a few hits before she’d bounced right back and understood just how durable she was. She was using more than just her ice now. She’d been finding new ways to use her water and steam to defeat opponents.

There was one memorable moment when our team was called in to deal with the new villain, Velody. We let the two of them go up against her. Melody was nice enough to hold back and just use her gravity power, but the two held up well against her. They’d been so proud of themselves.

Velody herself was a very hot topic at the moment. She was making the news every night as she continued her crime spree. As a result, she’d come into direct conflict with many of the top tier supers of Point City.

Next up, she’d be off to a bar that wasn’t scheduled for monitoring with Obsidian.

I was nervous about that meeting and how it would affect Melody, but it was one area I had to step back. If I was always there hovering over her shoulde to protect her, it would stifle her growth.

I’d had more than a few discussions with Angelina to come to peace with that. My natural instinct was to protect her.

Her recent crime spree largely targeted banks, and nobody had died like that first day. Although many banks in the area had made major, quick investments in their vaults.

Not that they did more than delay her.

We were at the end of the week, and a few things were coming to pass.

Obsidian would get her modification to one of the prime clones tomorrow morning and join me on the date with Beatrix.

For now, I had another thing on my hands.

As we wrapped up our current patrol, I found two very hopeful trainees standing in front of me in their super suits, refusing to go into the locker room.

“So. Did we pass?” Amelia asked eagerly.

“Both of you improved fantastically this week.” I told them.

Amelia pumped her fist in the air while she danced in a circle, and Ivanna smiled. “I knew it!”

“But-“ that single word was like a bucket of ice water being poured on Amelia. “I think you should stay with our team for the foreseeable future. Working with Emma seems to be helping you grow much faster, and I think you could benefit from her continued coaching.”

Amelia’s hesitation at my ‘But’ faded immediately, and she went back to dancing.

Ivanna blushed and kicked at the ground. “So, does that mean you’ll take us out to dinner tonight?”

“Absolutely, but you’ll need to get into some nice clothes. We are going to a lovely steak house.” The place I chose just happened to be around the corner from where Melody would be with Obsidian. I’d agreed to be more hands off, but that didn’t mean I had to be far.

“I got a new dress for this.” Amelia said, nearly vibrating. “Okay. We just need the address and a few hours to get ready.” She grabbed Ivanna’s arm and hauled the quiet girl away as she flew just above the ground to get into the locker room faster.

Shaking my head, I knew I was going to be in a little trouble with the two of them. They were just too damn eager. I hadn’t even given them the address yet.

My tablet pinged twice, and I looked down to see a message from Kim. Late tonight, I’m deploying the device to get a hold of Void. Come if you can.

I sighed, staring at the note. The night was already complicated enough. I did not need to add that to the mess.

My fated, allow me to help you with that one. You’ve been worrying over your secret with Beatrix. Let’s put you and Void in the same room for once. Besides, who better to impersonate you than — Mona had been listening in on my thoughts.

— Than the person who lives in my head, rent free. I finished for her.

Then consider this my rent payment. Mona laughed and the image of her settling into my head more fully went through my mind. If I’m paying rent, I might as well unpack.

I snorted a laugh and someone walking by gave me a strange look. They clearly didn’t understand what it was like having somebody living in your head.

Life not being connected to you would be boring.

I thought back at her. Then you want to play Void, while I cloak you and distort your voice?

Yes, please. Melody’s fun at playing a villain has interested me in being a villain, at least for a few minutes.

I chuckled, realizing my entire little family wanted to live in the gray space with me. And I had to admit, being there with company was more fun.

But at the moment, I had to get ready for a dinner that I was definitely not using to spy on Melody.

Stella came bounding out of the locker rooms. “We need to go get you ready.” She pounced on me, shoving my face between her chest.

“This is helpful to me getting ready. How?” I got out between her bouncing.

“It’s not. It’s for me to smother you in my love before I send you off with two younger, beautiful girls.” Stella bounced a little more.

“Glad that’s clear.” I muttered.

“Stella, please don’t suffocate him.” Mona came out a moment later, followed by Emma.

“Fine. But we are feeding him to the wolves tonight.” Stella pouted. “I just want a little love first.

Emma rolled her eyes, a hint of a smile lingering on her lips. “That would be tomorrow, when we give him to Beatrix for a date.”

Stella gasped.

As much as I was enjoying the biplay, I really didn’t want to perform it in the middle of the bureau lobby.

“Come on.” I dragged Stella outside the Bureau, and it didn’t take more than a second before she was lifting me up into the sky.

“So, what are you wearing to dinner?” Emma asked as Mona held her and flew next to Stella.

“A suit?”

“You should wear the nice navy one.” Stella butted in.

Mona must have sifted through my thoughts. “No, the nice one is the lighter one.” Mona clarified.

“Red tie then.” Emma said. “Because Ivanna is almost assuredly going to wear blue. It just works with her hair too well.”

“Amelia is a red girl for sure.” Stella said. “So red and blue to go with them. It’s hard to make a man match with his harem, but then you’ll look good with both of them.”

“I would remind you that they are not part of the harem.”

“Not yet.” Stella did her best to sound innocent and utterly failed.

“Please tell me you aren’t setting that expectation for them.” I set my face into an impassive mask.

My ladies looked at each other. “We didn’t set the expectation, but we didn’t dissuade them either.” Emma said. “Given that you are sleeping with every other hero on your team, they might have said something, though.”

I rolled my eyes. “Great. That’s not what hero teams are for.”

“But that’s what some of the other male managers do.” Stella argued.

“Victor doesn’t.” I said quickly, only to get complete silence from the girls. “Shit, seriously? Isn’t Miss Point City married?” They continued their silence, and I wished I’d never said anything. I did not want to know.

I hated office gossip and wanted nothing to do with it.

“Well, that’s not a healthy precedent in general. It’s a workplace, not a dating agency. Plus, I’ll likely have a pretty large team before too long. Might even have to run it as two.”

Stella gasped. “No.”

“Yes. Two teams, the horror.”

“You never split the party, though.” Stella threw out the phrase like it was a kernel of golden wisdom. One so profound that the physics of the world seemed to resonate with it. Splitting the party was apparently bad, but I had never heard of it.

“I don’t know what that means, but in this case, we might eventually split the party. Five heroes on a team is a large team. When Melody comes back, we’ll have six, which is stretching it. Add in the two trainees, and that’s eight.” 

“Don’t forget Daeva, and Obsidian if you ever get her on board.” Mona reminded me.

I doubted that Obsidian would ever become a hero in truth. But having her walk the line and be a mercenary for both sides might just have its benefits.

“For now, let’s work on just having dinner with the two trainees to celebrate them moving onto the team roster officially. Then we can talk about everything else.” I did not want to deal with all those future decisions in that minute.

“Oooh. My boyfriend is going to be so handsome for his date.” Stella squeezed me too tight as she did a few dizzying twirls in the air.

***

“So. Handsome.” Stella bounded around me while wearing one of my shirts. “Maybe we should do a quickie before you head off on your date.”

Mona grabbed Stella by the horns and tried to pull her away, but the super strength super was like a statue as she bat her eyes at me suggestively.

Rolling her eyes, Mona deployed her light sail and ripped both of them off and down the hall. “Seriously, down girl. We’ll do a girls’ night in while he and Melody are out.”

“Obby too.” Stella pouted.

“No, I’ll be here.” Obsidian came up the stairs.

“But you’ll be out there with Melody, too.” Stella crossed her arms, but it was comical in the oversized shirt.

“No, that’ll be a clone.” Obsidian helped the two girls to their feet. “So, I’m here with you guys. And I’m a badass dealer if you’re up for a bit of gambling.” Obsidian pulled out a deck of cards and shuffled them between her two hands before a clone came out of her and took the cards before making a shadowy dealer visor over her head.

Stella squinted. “What kind of gambling?”

“For certain favors.” Obsidian winked.

“I’m in!” Stella declared, and charged down to the kitchen table.

“Thank you. Mona, you are on call for later. Don’t get too drunk with Stella.” I had a feeling that there was going to be drinking involved in at least some of the bets.

Roger. I can’t wait to pretend to be Void.

She sounded so excited.

With the plan as locked in as it could be, I headed out to dinner.

I became invisible as I left the manor, flying over the city to Gibson’s. We certainly weren’t skimping on the quality of the restaurant. Gibson’s was the kind of place where Hendricks probably took people when she was trying to wine and dine them.

Landing nearby, I smoothed out my suit. It was still navy, but it was light enough that even in the dark, no one would mistake it for black.

I’d initially opted for a nice black suit, or one I had that was rich charcoal, but the girls were insistent. Blue. It had to be blue for Ivanna.

Stepping into the restaurant, I scanned the area, taking in all the crystal chandeliers and sconces, polished to the point they looked like little gold mirrors.

They poured soft light throughout the space, reflecting off mirrors strategically located to make the rooms feel even larger than they already were.

The seating was plain, but immaculate. Dark seats blended in with the floor, creating a stark contrast with the white table clothes ironed within an inch of their life.

I walked up to the host, but two bright dresses caught my attention.

“Miles.” Amelia was in a velvety red number that pinched at her waist and hung off her shoulders. With the red dress, her blush seemed to dye her cheeks scarlet. “We just got here.”

Though the slight twitch of the host’s face told me otherwise.

“Miles.” Ivanna was less eye-catching, in a more subdued blue, but the wrinkles around her bust pulled the attention to her assets while a sapphire drop necklace tried to keep my eyes there instead of pulling them all the way up to her face.

Thankfully, I had experience and met her eyes.

The dress went well with her blue hair that faded to white at the tips. 

“You two look absolutely lovely.” I smiled at both of them before turning to the host. It felt like they had been expecting a little more contact with the greetings, but I also wasn’t trying to make a move on them.

“Reservation for three under Mathers.” I told the host.

At my name, his eyebrows rose, and he double checked his sheet. “Right this way, Deputy Director. Can I just say that what the BSH does for the city is fantastic. It’s thanks to you that we can all sleep comfortably at night.”

I hadn’t actually been the one to make the reservation, so when he took us over to the private ‘premium’ corner, I realized Stella had added some additional instructions to the table.

And that became even more clear as I took in the table covered in rose petals..

One of my girls had left notes.

“Oh. Miles.” Amelia saw the table and blushed, pausing.

The table had a half circle for the booth. Both ladies and the host were waiting for me to slide in first.

I cleared my throat to make up for the awkward pause and slid into the booth, finding myself quickly trapped on both sides by the two ladies.

The host smiled at us and handed me a single menu, causing them both to lean in closer to read it over my shoulder.

That felt like a special request, and it had Stella written all over it.

“This is wonderful.” Ivanna leaned in close. “Is the price okay?”

“The price is fine.” I reassured her even as my power was reaching out to sense for Melody. I didn’t sense her, but it was early. She had plenty of time to make her way into the bar. “I’m covering this, and it is absolutely no problem if you want to order everything on the menu. Actually, that might not be a bad idea.”

“Please don’t.” Ivanna fretted immediately. “That would be…”

But before she could talk about how embarrassing it would be for her, Mayor Hendricks walked up to our table. “Well, if it isn’t Miles, the miracle worker. Are these your two latest gems?”

Ivanna looked like she wanted to hide under the table.

“This is Amelia, and this is Ivanna. They are two of the top trainees and they’ve been working with my team this week, their last week of trainees. So, we are celebrating.” I introduced them. “This is Mayor Hendricks.” Given that our world had become split into cities separated by the wilds, the Mayor was the most powerful politician in Point City.

“And we are joining his team next week.” Amelia piped up.

“Wonderful.” Hendricks smiled so wide that her eyes pinched shut. “I’ll be keeping my eyes on you two. I’m sure you’ll be making headlines before the week’s end. But I’ll leave you to your meal. It looks like Miles has a brilliant eye.” Her gaze shifted to the rose petals.

I was going to strangle Stella.

Amelia grinned. “This is the best dinner ever.”

AN - I keep forgetting the time change, so just going to keep it at 2AM my time, an hour earlier than it used to be.