Chapter 11: When burning man tries to rob a bank

Kris and Paul stop their first crime and the news catches wind.

Paul stopped Kris by placing an arm in front of her. “Did you see that?” He asked loudly.

            “What?” Kris asked, looking around.

            “A guy going into the bank with a gun and bright red skin.”

            Kris met Paul’s gaze. “What should we do?” She asked.

            Paul turned around and searched for something. He spotted a dollar store. “I’ll be right back,” He said. “Watch the bank.”

            Paul ran towards the store as Kris crept closer to the bank. She casually leaned on a car outside of it when the robbery started. The guy waved his gun around, encouraging customers to get on the floor and bankers to give him “the money.” Kris felt her heart beat faster and her breath shorten; adrenaline was kicking in, just watching the robbery go down.

            “I’m back,” Paul said quickly, handing Kris… an animal mask?

            “What is this?” Kris asked while Paul put on his mask.

            It was a bald eagle. “A mask,” He answered shortly. “Now, put yours on and let’s go.”

            Paul strode up to the bank, leaving Kris to scramble to put on her mask and follow him. Kris noticed that he had chosen a snake mask for her.

            Paul pushed open the double doors so forcefully that they both banged on the walls. The people in the bank all jumped, especially the robber. The robber turned around and aimed his gun at Paul. Paul seemed unfazed. “Put down the gun,” He ordered.

            “Why?” The robber asked in a panicky voice. “You gonna make me?”

            He laughed a little hysterically. “Eagle and snake here to save the day.” He continued.

            Paul shrugged as if he warned the fellow and wasn’t at fault for what came next, shooting his vines at the gun. They wrapped around the barrel of the gun, pulling it out of the robber’s hand before he knew what was happening. The vine gave the gun to Kris.

            “You might want to turn the safety on,” Paul commented, not taking his eyes off the robber, who was scrambling backwards.

            Kris rolled her eyes at the dramatics but did as she was told. Paul stepped closer to the gun man. “Now, I’m going to ask you to sit here and wait for the police to arrive.”

            “Like hell I am,” The robber growled.

            Then the robber caught on fire as if he was doused in gasoline. He charged at Paul. Paul used both his vines to try to hold the pyro back. Paul shouted as his vines burned. He let go, fearing he might faint from the pain.

            The flaming man kept coming, so Paul dodged around him, running towards the tellers. Paul took a second to summon his scythe, which appeared full size out of his shoulder. He swung it to ward off the robber. The pyro circled around Paul, trying to find a weak spot to attack him. Paul kept him at bay.

            It seemed like the standoff would last long enough for the police to arrive, until a small potted plant fell and struck the robber on the head. The robber’s flames went out as he collapsed on the floor. Paul looked up to see Kris floating. “Nice job, Coral!” He cheered.

            The crowd cheered a little as well. Kris sunk to the ground, managing to land on her feet. “Thanks, Ink,” She replied. “Let’s tie him up and bounce before the police arrive.”

            Paul nodded before scoping out the scene. Spotting a security guard, he asked, “Hey, do you have any handcuffs?”

            The security guard shook his head. “Why don’t you use your vines?” A crowd member called out.

            “Because they don’t exist unless they’re attached to my body,” He answered patiently. To prove his point, he dropped his scythe, which faded out of existence before it even hit the ground.

            “How about zip ties?” Kris offered.

            Paul looked at the nearest teller. Saying nothing, the teller opened a drawer behind the counter and pulled out a handful of zip ties.

            Paul and Kris left the crime scene a minute later, leaving behind a zip-tied robber.

            They were a block away when they heard sirens. Kris whipped off her mask and ducked her head, trying not to draw attention. Paul acted the same, taking Kris’s mask out of her hand and throwing both masks in the nearest trash can. As they walked, Paul bumped his shoulder against Kris’s. “Hey, guess what?” He said.

            “What?”

            “We’re superheroes,” He answered in a hushed excitement. “It’s official.”

            Kris was less enthused. “Yeah, but the media’s going to chalk it up to two freaks in animal masks.”

            “But we used our superhero names,” Paul countered.

            “Who could tell?”

            “The people in the bank.”

            “Yes, because talking about flying, magic vines, and a burning man doesn’t sound crazy,” Kris responded sarcastically.

            Paul looked up at the skyline. “When the police look at the security cameras, then they’ll believe.”

            Kris mimicked Paul with a sigh. “We’ll see.”

+++++

            The team sat with Pagel in a lounge of the Institute, watching the television. A trio of couches were arranged around the TV while a kitchenette was set up on the opposite wall. On screen was two people sitting behind a broad desk, a woman and man. They all sat in silence as the program began. “Hello, I’m Willow Wilson,” The woman started. “And this is the Katte’s Meow.”

            “Yesterday, something out of a comic book occurred,” She continued. “A bank robber was foiled by two people in animal masks who seemed to have super powers. Let’s go to the security footage from the bank.”

            The television cut to the poor-quality footage from the bank. The scene started with the two superheroes busting in and ended with the robber being knocked out by a potted plant. The team was cheering by that point. The program cut back to Wilson, who turned to face her co-host. “So, what do you think of that, Maddox?” She asked.

            Maddox smiled and said, “I don’t know what to think of that. But my first thought is, is it real?”

            “Well, as real-life prank promotions for films and video games become increasingly popular, it is possible to assume that this event could be an advertisement. However, no one has claimed responsibility. No ad company has stepped forward and claimed that this was a stunt.”

            “What about the footage itself?” He asked after a second of thought.

            “The police analyzed it extensively,” Wilson answered. “And they could not find any proof that it was a stunt.”

            “The woman in the snake mask,” Wilson added. “Who witnesses identified as Coral-”

            The team cheered and Paul nudged Kris with pride. “I told you so!” He said gleefully.

            Kris couldn’t help but smile as the team refocused on the broadcast. “…were no visible strings.”

            “What about the other?” Maddox persisted.

            “The other superhero, identified as Ink-”

            Wilson was drowned out by even more cheering. Finding it ridiculous how excited the team was, Pagel shushed them, so he could hear. “…Both of which disappeared without any explanation.”

            “Holograms?” Maddox proposed.

            “The police could not find any proof of that in the footage,” Wilson responded. “Moreover, witnesses claim that the actions that occurred were real. The twenty-so people in the room watching this take place wholeheartedly believe that it was real.”

            Maddox sat there, stumped. The broadcast stagnated as Thurston sat thinking and Wilson sat in silence. “Alright,” Maddox said finally. “My second thought is, what does this mean?”

            Wilson didn’t answer, so he continued, “If people out there are developing superpowers, what does that mean? What will happen to society? The robber as well as the people who stopped him had superpowers. The crime rate has increased 7% since Orange Day, which is no doubt related to this whole ordeal… Will this become the next arms race, the next cold war? What does it mean?”

            Wilson looked at Maddox calmly, but speechless. She turned to the camera. “I’m sure we will continue this discussion as more information is revealed. In other news, Echo Creek Academy has seen an increase in incidents, mainly involving vandalism and bullying-”

            Pagel turned off the television. “Well,” Pagel said. “That was uninformative.”

            Kris replied, “Well, what would they know? They aren’t omniscient. They can’t be everywhere recording everything. They gotta work with what they have.”

            Alicia supported her. “I’m surprised the police even talked to them and gave them a copy of the bank’s security video.”

            Q started hitting Kris’s shoulder excitedly. “You guys did great!” He exclaimed.

            Theo nodded. “Yeah,” He said. “I can’t believe you guys did that. Just out of the blue stopped a bank robbery.”

            Paul smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, when duty calls,” Paul responded. “You must answer.”

            “Which reminds me,” He continued, standing up before the group. “If the crime rate is really going up like Maddox said, then we need to start acting.”

            “You mean start fighting crime?” Theo clarified.

            Paul nodded. “Without our costumes?” Kris asked, crossing her arms.

            “Who knows how long it will take for our costumes to be completed?” Paul responded. “We shouldn’t wait for that, who knows what could happen in that amount of time?”

            Alicia interjected. “Soman and Bree plan on coming in to create the armor soon, but they need Tae’s measurements beforehand.”

            “Well, that’s happening tomorrow,” Paul said, looking at Tae who nodded in agreement.

            “Okay,” Kris said. “Well, what should we do in the meantime? What we did before with the robber?”

            Paul shrugged. “Sure, why not? If we each have a mask, we should be okay to slip it on and stop a bad guy.”

            “A bad guy?” Pagel repeated with a chuckle.

            “Hey, no mocking laughter here,” Paul jokingly critiqued. “That’s Kris’s job.”

            “Hey!” Kris protested.

            The team laughed. Paul got the team back on track with a wave of his hand. “So, I’ll get everybody a mask,” Paul said. “And everybody needs to carry it on you in case of emergencies.”

             “Okay,” Theo said.

            The other team members nodded. “I’ll have those for you guys by practice,” Paul continued.

            “Don’t forget the other practice,” Kris added.

            “Oh right,” Paul said. “Monday, we are going to be taking a self-defense course on Lombardo. Is that okay with everybody?”

            Nobody said anything, so Paul continued, holding a hand out to his sitting crowd, “Great, what else?”

            Pagel answered, “DNA extraction for everyone and for Miss James, venom extraction.”

            Kris made a face and Q patted her shoulder supportively. “It’ll be a pretty simple procedure for most of you, just a cheek swab,” Pagel explained.

+++++

            “Nervous?” Paul asked, feeling a little nervous himself, while walking to the boutique.

            Tae played with his hair. “A little,” Tae answered. “I don’t know how it will go over.”

            Tae stopped outside the shop. “I haven’t fully transitioned,” Tae continued quietly. “I don’t know how this will go over if I can’t express my gender in a way that I am comfortable with.”

            Paul felt blood rush to his face as he asked, “Do you wear a binder?”

            “Yeah,” Tae said, treating it like a normal question much to Paul’s relief. “But I don’t think it has any effect on how I perform. I can still run and fight without it putting much of a damper on my ability to breathe.”

            Paul nodded and tried to gently coax Tae back in to motion, lightly touching his arm. “I’m sure it will go over fine. I can ask Soman to tailor your costume to suit your binder. If it makes you feel any better Q is in a similar predicament.”

            “How so?”

            “Well, you didn’t meet Q back when he was tailored,” Paul started. “Q is a shape shifter and has a tendency to change forms when it suits him. He was tailored as someone with a feminine body and now he is nowhere near that shape. He’ll have to change back into ‘Hazel’ to wear his suit.”

            “Oh,” Tae responded. “And he is okay with that?”

            Paul shrugged, unsure. “I hope so. From what I understand, Q doesn’t like either sex- breasts bother him and a penis bothers him. So, he’s probably going to keep switching until he finds a body that truly suits him. He liked ‘Hazel’ well enough, so I think we could make the suit work, if only for short periods.”

            Tae looked contemplative as Paul opened the door to the boutique for him. He stepped in cautiously and was immediately greeted by Soman. “Hello, hello,” Soman said, rushing over to shake Tae’s hand. “I’m Soman and you must be Tae. It is so nice to meet you.”

            Tae shook Soman’s hand and after, Soman clapped Paul on the shoulder. “So, we’re here for measurements and a design.” Paul stated, warmly glancing at Tae.

            “Yes,” Soman answered. “We’ll talk in the back room. Bree is back there, sewing some things.”

            “Our things?”

            Soman nodded. “Well, it was a big order from a good friend, so we hopped right on it. It should only take a few more weeks.”

            “That’s great news!” Paul exclaimed. “Thank you.”

            Soman waved his hand dismissively. “Come on, and I’ll show you what we have so far.”

            Soman led them to the back room. It was a mess with similar fabrics and outlines and measuring tapes on all the desks and counter spaces. Bree sat in the middle of it all, feeding fabric through a sewing machine. She looked up after she finished and smiled. “Hello Paul. And hello person I assume is Tae.”

            “It is,” Tae replied.

            “It is a pleasure to meet you,” Bree said. “Come look at the beginning of Theo’s uniform.”

            Paul carefully walked over to Bree. Tae tiptoed after him. “You’re already on Theo?”

            “Well, we’ve been working sections, but it seems that Theo’s costume will be the first one done.”

            “That’s great,” Paul commented. “Have you gone to the Institute for the armor yet?”

            Soman answered from the doorway. “We plan on going over Sunday, after we finish the measurements and a uniform.”

            Bree stood up, straightening out the uniform on the table. Blue lines stood out against the shiny black on the sleeves. Bree placed a hand on the circle in the center of the uniform’s torso. “It has a pouch in it, to place the armor in,” She said. “It’s a little looser now; we plan on sewing the pouch tighter once we have the armor fitted in.”

            Paul nodded like it made sense. “Excellente!” He said, smiling. “You guys are getting this done really fast, which is appreciated a lot.”

            Bree sat back down and pulled out her sketchpad. “We have another costume to make though.”

            She flipped to a fresh page and outlined a person. “The more, the merrier. So, what were you thinking for the costume?”

            She looked at Tae and Paul. Paul glanced at Tae before starting, “Well, Tae’s power is electricity. He can shoot lightning from his hands, which is super cool, so I was thinking similar to the rest of the team, black suit, but with lightning bolts for his pop of color. What do you think?”

            He stared at Tae, waiting for his input. “Oh, I like it.” He simply replied, much to Paul’s delight.

            Bree sketched lightning on the arms and legs. “For the chest, would you prefer a circle of lightning or two bolts making a v shape?”

            Tae thought for a moment. “Whatever looks best,” He answered.

            “Hmmm,” Bree said, lightly tracing both options. “We’ll see later on. The other costumes all have something on the chest plate, where a bit of armor is,” Bree explained. “Now the mask; most of the others have two vertical lines, would you like to vertical lightning bolts or would that just be overkill on the lightning?”

            “Hey, you didn’t ask if the vines were overkill on my mask,” Paul interjected jokingly.

            “Well, you like corny, flashy stuff like that,” Soman replied. “Overkill is just how you roll.”

            They laughed, and Paul agreed, nodding. They looked at Tae, who only smiled at the fun. He said, “As a theater person, I guess overkill is my sense of style too. I’ll stand by Paul and look ridiculous.”

            “Thanks,” Paul responded, giggling. “We gotta stick together.”

            Bree added a little doodle of a mask with lightning streaks at the top of the paper. “Alrighty then, we’ll just add this to the pile and start working on it. We’ll try to make sure it’s not left behind, right honey?”

            Bree glanced at Soman. “Yes dear, I’ll get right on cutting the fabric,” He said before turning to Tae. “After I get your measurements.”

            Tae nodded, looking at Paul, who lightly patted his shoulder. Soman grabbed a roll of measuring tape and led the pair into the front room. “Stand right here,” Soman said, lightly gesturing to an empty space.

            Tae stopped and faced him. Soman measured his height before asking, “Are you excited to be a superhero?”

            Tae nodded as Soman moved his arms up. He measured the length and diameter. “Not much of a talker?”

            Tae nodded. Soman kneeled to measure his legs. “How are you an actor if you don’t talk?”

            Tae shrugged as Soman wrapped the measuring tape around his hips. “I make it count,” Tae replied.

             “I’m sure you do,” Soman said, moving the tape up to his waist.

            Soman moved the tape up to his chest. Tae held his breath as Soman tightening it. Getting the measurement, Soman moved on to Tae’s face. Tae couldn’t resist making a confused face as Soman wrapped it around his brow. Soman made a funny face in response and smiled.

            Soman finished his measurements and wound the tape around his hand. “Okay, we are good to go,” Soman declared. “I’ll start tracing and cutting fabric and you guys are free to go.”

            “Great,” Paul said with a big smile. “We’ll get out of your way then. I’ll call you later to check up on you. If you guys need anything, I’m here for you.”

            Soman extended his arms for a hug. Paul hugged him gingerly, wincing as Soman patted his back. “Oh yeah, how is that tattoo healing?” Soman asked.

            “Shhh, it’s supposed to be a surprise,” Paul said, glancing at Tae.

            Tae raised his hands and then drew his forefinger and thumb across his shut mouth, causing Paul to smile. “It’s doing fine, thanks for asking,” Paul answered. “Espe has been helping me with it.”

            Paul snapped his fingers before pointing at Soman. “Hey, that reminds me; she wants to see your and Bree’s baby when they are born.”

            “Espe?”

            Paul nodded. “Of course, she can come see the baby. We’re due in another month and a half.” Soman replied warmly.

            “Would you mind calling when Bree goes into labor? I want us to be there.”

            “Us who?” Soman asked, smirking. “Your team or your family?”

            “Por qué no los dos?” Paul joked, smiling.

            “Porque es no room,” Soman replied. “Lo siento.”

            “Fine, just Espe,” Paul said. “But I want the team to visit in the hospital and maybe bring you baby gifts.”

            “Okay, sure, we would love to have you two there.”

            “Cool, so I’ll call you later?” Paul asked, stepping closer to the door while looking at Soman.

            “Yeah, sounds good,” Soman said. “I’ll see you soon. Have a nice day.”

            Soman waved once before walking to the backroom. Paul and Tae left the Boutique. “That went well,” Paul commented, hoping to get some feedback from Tae.

            Tae nodded. “No worries?” Paul inquired further.

            Tae nodded, answering, “It could have been a lot worse.”

            Paul sighed in relief. “Soman and Bree aren’t oblivious,” Paul noted. “They always try to say and do the right thing.”

            Tae nodded and said, “Good.”

+++++

            Theo stood outside Aspen Park’s gated entrance, waiting for the rest of his teammates to arrive. He didn’t know that the park actually closed its gates sometime at night. Q and Kris came around the corner together and approached Theo. Kris glanced at the shut gate and said, “Lovely night to be locked out of our training grounds.”

            Theo nodded awkwardly. “We could scale the gate,” He offered.

            “You guys can,” Kris said lightly. “I’ll just fly over.”

            “Or maybe this would be good practice for strength training!” A male voice called.

            They looked over to see Paul walking towards them with Alicia trailing behind. “Or Alicia could metal bend the bars!” Kris called back.

            They stood outside the gate together, waiting for Tae. He eventually came, running to them. “Sorry I’m late, my director had a few pointers,” Tae said, slightly out of breath.

            “It’s okay,” Paul said with a smile. “We wouldn’t start your first practice without you.”

            Paul faced the group. “Alrighty, up and over or through?”

            Kris pointed up and politely offered to make it easier for someone else to climb by partially carrying them. No one seemed interested, so Alicia held out her hands to the bars of the gate. “Make a hole,” She ordered.

            Two metal bars bent away from each other, creating a tiny hole that a person could pass through. Alicia gestured for people to walk through and they did with Paul pausing to high five Alicia. Alicia went through the hole last before commanding it to shut. The metal bent back in to place and the team walked further into the park.

            They took the trail and arrived at the clearing. Paul politely took Tae by the arm and lead him to a stone, so he can sit and watch. “Let’s give him a little show guys before we start his training,” Paul requested.

            Alicia stepped up first, walking towards the center of the clearing. “Cool, Tae, as you just saw, I can bend metal,” Alicia explained. “But I can also bend many more things because my power is the ability to manipulate matter.”

            Q lightly bounced over to Alicia. “I have the power to transform into any person if I touch them.”

            Kris walked over slowly, running a hand through her hair. “I can fly, Paul can summon tattoos, and Theo has weird light beams,” Kris said rapidly. “Can we get on to the showing powers part?”

            Paul nodded to Alicia. She turned around and said quietly with a wave of the hand, “Make targets.”

            Branches seemed to spring from the tree line, forming three little triangular tents. Theo raised his glowing hands and aimed at a target. A beam of light blasted out of his hands and hit the target, setting it on fire and knocking it over. Paul ran over to the fire while pulling out his scythe. He swung it into the ground and splashed dirt over the small fire. He stamped it out for good measure.

            Q gave Theo a high five and transformed into him while Paul hit a target with his vine. He grabbed a branch with the vine and held it up high. Kris snatched it before dropping it over Alicia. Alicia caught it and made it into an arrow. She held it in the palm of her hand and ordered it to fly. The arrow took off, sailing from her hand into the third target. Paul clapped before grabbing more branches. “Light ‘em up, Light!” Paul said, holding the branches up high with his vines.

            Theo took aim with his doppelganger mimicking him. He shot at one with one hand before moving to the other. The first one was knocked out of Paul’s vine and the second swayed as the beam went passed it. The doppelganger patted Theo on the back, assuring him that it was okay to miss. Paul dropped the branch and swung at it with his scythe when it fell. He cut it into two before facing Alicia. Alicia held out her hands and said, “Reset.”

            The branches moved to form the three targets again as Paul motioned for Tae to come over. With him clapping, Paul blushed with pride and smiled at his team mates.

            Tae stood up and walked over to Paul. Paul wrapped his arm around Tae and pointed him at the targets. “Alright Tae, now it’s your turn,” Paul said calmly. “You are going to blast a lightning bolt over at the targets. We are going to have Alicia on the ready nearby to put out any potential fires and Kris up in the sky to keep an eye out for people. Theo and Q are going to stand behind us for safety. You ready?”

            “As I’ll ever be,” Tae replied quietly before raising his hands.

            Paul quickly stepped back. Tae aimed carefully, and lightning shot out of his hands at the target. It struck, blowing the target apart and setting the pieces aflame. “Out,” Alicia ordered.

            The flames extinguished. Admiring his skill, Paul clapped Tae on the back. “Nice work! Now try it with a little more force. Or less, I want to see if you can vary in power.”

            Tae nodded and aimed again. A bright lightning bolt burst out of his hands, causing him to lose balance. The lightning streaked above a target and into a tree. The tree exploded, sending chunks of bark everywhere. A large piece of tree flew at Q. Theo moved in front of him and held out his glowing hands; a circle of light emerged from his palms and the projectile bounced off it. Other tinier pieces rained on the clearing, missing Tae, Paul and Alicia. Alicia ran to the trunk of the tree that was on fire. “Out! Extinguish!” Alicia shouted, waving her hands.

            The trunk stopped smoking, leaving behind a charred stump. Alicia turned to Tae who was wide-eyed and visibly trembling. He sat down in the grass with Paul kneeling beside him. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Paul said softly. “Nobody was hurt.”

            Alicia walked over to the pair. Kris flew in a circle around the clearing, checking for onlookers, before landing by Alicia. “He’s right,” Kris commented. “We’re one tree down, but nobody is hurt, and the fire isn’t spreading.”

            Tae looked up at Kris before tucking his head to his chest. Paul grimaced and started up again, “Think about it this way, you could have done that earlier and wrecked a lot of trees. But you managed to control your power the first time around to only take out a target; that’s really impressive. You only blew up a tree because I asked you to try it with more force.”

            Q and Theo came over. “If it makes you feel better, you helped Theo discover a new ability,” Q mentioned before nudging Theo.

            Tae watched as Theo made a shield of light. “I was only able to do that because you put us in a bit of danger,” Theo said before quickly adding. “Not a lot though, not a lot of danger.”

            He cleared his throat awkwardly and smiled awkwardly at Tae. There was a moment of silence before Theo asked, “Are you okay?”

            Tae nodded and stood up. “I’m just shocked.”

            Q giggled. “Shocked?” He repeated.

            The other team members laughed a little and Tae managed a smile. When Paul thought Tae would be okay, he congratulated Theo, “It’s great that you got a new trick up your sleeve. I’m sure it will come in handy.”

            Theo smiled and made his shield again. “I’m happy that I’m not all offense and death laser beams.”

            “I think this is where we call it a night,” Paul declared. “Destruction of public property is when you know you should stop.”

            Tae started walking towards the trail when Alicia moved next to him. “If you are worried about your powers being a problem in our situation, then we could get some conducting rods to make it safer.”

            “Our situation?” He asked as the team gathered behind them to listen.

            “Being superheroes, stopping bad guys,” Alicia replied. “That situation.”

            “How would the thing you said work?”

            “I’m thinking it could conduct a charge through the body in a diluted and controlled manner, rather than hitting a person with lightning. But that depends on various things like how many volts you put out and how fast.”

            Tae nodded. Alicia continued, “To get a good idea of what’s happening, you should come into my lab and get some tests done before we make anything. Is that alright?”

            “I think it’s great,” Tae responded.

            They reached the park’s entrance when Paul remembered something. “Hey team, don’t forget we have self-defense practice Monday at Flavio’s gym.”

            Tae and Theo nodded as Alicia took out her phone to put in a reminder. “Hey, wait everybody,” Kris added, jumping in front of the group. “Q wants to tell you guys something.”

            Q joined Kris and she held out a supportive hand. Q took it, smiling nervously at the team. “I wanted to tell you guys that I’ve been thinking about my identity as someone with the ability to transform, and amnesia, and experience in different bodies and gender expressions… And I’m pretty sure I’m genderfluid. I think it would be easiest for everyone if I used they, them pronouns regardless of my appearance.”

            Q breathed out when they were through, thoroughly relieved. Kris smiled at them before checking the others. Tae applauded almost silently, and Paul went in for a hug. “Thank you for sharing,” Alicia said when she got her chance to hug Q.

            Theo stepped closer and offered a hand. Q took it and Theo pulled them in for a hug. “I’m glad you feel comfortable telling us.” 

            Q rubbed their eyes as Kris kneaded their back. “Okay,” Q said with a chuckle. “That’s it, you all can go home now.”

            Alicia opened a hole in the fence with a word. The team took turns patting Q’s shoulder on their way out. Q stepped through while Kris flew over. Alicia returned the fence to normal and bade the duo goodbye. Everyone dispersed.

            Homeward bound, Q wrapped an arm around Kris’s shoulders. “Why were you so nervous again?” Kris asked softly.

            “I don’t know,” Q answered. “I feel like I’ve done this before, but it didn’t go so well.”

            “Well,” Kris replied, smiling. “All your friends love you, so you don’t have to worry about being anything other than yourself.”

            Q giggled, covering their face. “You’re making me blush.”

            Q looked at the red-faced Kris. “Aw, look at you!” They exclaimed, poking her cheek.

            Kris looked at the ground, mumbling, “You have been a really good friend in these trying times... I appreciate you.”

            “Aw, I love you too,” Q said, hugging Kris as they walked.