Page 37 of Breathless Recruiter

“Women?”

I shook my head.

“Lizards?”

“I wish it was that easy.”

“The crippling self-doubt that we’re doing more harm than good for the people of Vanguard?”

We’d have to circle back to that statement. “I don’t know.”

“What do you—” He said a silent ‘Oh’ as he realized my dilemma. “You don’t know?”

My head hung. I had never shared the secret before. I wanted to be brave like him. Without powers, he stopped Prowler. As Discord, I showed him the ropes. I wanted to be brave and work past this issue. I thought the confession would lift the weight from my shoulders. Now, I feared this hero would think less of me.

What had I done? I tried to think of a joke to disguise my secret.

“It’s okay.” Two words lowered my anxiety. “You’re not the only one who gets scared.”

“You…” He had to be lying. There was no way that Dustin experienced fear. He ran into danger without a second thought. A man without fear. I couldn’t fathom him having reservations about going toe-to-toe with a big bad.

“You know all those heroes rushing into battle like they’re invincible? They’re probably scared, too.”

If it came from anybody else, I’d claim they lied. How did he… scared? No. It wasn’t possible. My mind reeled as three thumps filled the lobby. Arthur had taken the stage, lightly tapping the microphone. No matter what he said, nothing would be bigger news than a world full of scared heroes. If it were true, how did they push it aside? I had questions for Dus— Discord.

“Can everybody have a seat? We’re about to begin.” Arthur’s voice cracked as he spoke. I couldn’t blame him. All his hard work over the last few months had led to this moment. I wanted to give him a hug and a pat on the head.

Both Orion and Drew stood on the edge of the stage, looking nifty in their black tuxes. It was the first time I had seen Orion in anything other than a t-shirt. Tonight, they’d unveil the biggestadvancement for heroes since they started allowing leather costumes.

I still refused to give up my spandex.

It took a few minutes for people to wander toward their seats. The heroes hung out in the back, their colorful costumes sticking out amongst the guests in their tuxedos and black cocktail dresses.

“It’s my pleasure to welcome you, citizens and heroes alike. Tonight, we’re going to make Vanguard safer by helping our heroes.” All along the back, the vigilantes and heroes clapped, hooted, and hollered. Their energy rolled through the crowd as everybody joined in with applause.

“With the rise in powered crime, police are stretched thin and rely on our heroes. Long gone are the days where they surveyed the skies or patrolled our darkest alleys. Today, we formally roll out an app that is going to change the way we work with heroes.”

One by one, the heroes reached into their pockets and utility belts. My phone vibrated, and I reached for my pouch. On the screen, a giant V flashed, signaling that somewhere nearby, a villain had been spotted. Next to it, a number appeared, one, two, and then six and seven. It wasn’t a single villain attacking the city. We were under siege by a league of evil.

“Your app is working,” shouted Avian.

Had Arthur planned this to demonstrate the app? Arthur glanced from me to Orion and Drew. The worry on his face said everything. This wasn’t a drill. The villains were taking advantage of so many heroes being off-world.

“Should we handle this?” asked Roughouse.

“Something about this feels off,” Discord said.

Arthur reached for his collar, loosening his tie. He had a knack for programming and understanding how to support heroes, but he wasn’t one of us. Right now, they neededsomebody to rally them. I rose off the floor, moving over the crowd.

“Heroes, it’s time to save Vanguard.”

Fliers grabbed their grounded counterparts and flew toward the exits. Nearly three dozen heroes waited patiently at the revolving door. As they filtered out, I balled my hands into fists. After sharing my secret with Dustin, I wanted to be a hero, to be somebody that would make him proud.

“No,” he said.

He tugged at my cape. “I don’t like the feeling of this.”

My bravery waned. “We need to help them.”

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