Corpies (Super Powereds Spinoff Book 1) (17 page)

“You deserved it. Don’t be a bitch.”

“I was not ‘being a bitch.’ I was just saying that there are other causes out there that might need the money more.”

“Doesn’t matter, we’re not the ones doling it out,” Galvanize told her, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Our job is just to participate and raise as much cash as we can. It also won’t hurt us to look good doing it.”

Everyone but Owen paused to a do a last-minute mirror check in the SUV’s visors or carefully-stowed compacts. Only after each member was certain they looked their best did the team finally pop open the doors and emerge.

Immediately, the press members surged forward, the clacking sound of shutters filling the air. Owen noted the reporter from yesterday, Kip Sterling, stayed right in the center of the pack. Clearly he was determined not to slip up and make another rookie mistake. Good for him; Owen had given that same speech to a lot of other ambitious media hounds only to see them keep right on breaking rules. That strategy never ended well.

It was less intense than Owen had feared. No one peppered him with questions or shouted accusation like back in his Hero days. Of course, during those times they were trying to get information about wanted criminals or destroyed buildings. Now they were just getting some shots of him with his new PEERS team going in to sign up for a charity event. The stakes weren’t exactly the same.

The questions did still come, just without the aggression he was accustomed to. Owen smiled, made eye contact, and kept his damn mouth shut. If Greene wanted them to be good, then Owen wouldn’t hand over any ammunition. A well-edited sound bite was a PR mortar shell when put into skilled hands. Until he caught up with Lenny and got a sense of where he wanted the story to go, it was best to give them nothing. Owen knew that if he wanted the right outcome then he needed to be the one to create the narrative of his story.

Galvanize was getting a few questions as well, mostly about which events Titan would be signing up for, though a few were about the team as a whole. He answered several, always polite and deferential, but kept the bulk of his attention on herding his team toward a large wooden door in one of the larger brick buildings. It took some doing, but eventually they made it and Owen easily pushed the barrier open. He expected the press to pour through it, like water through a funnel; however, they remained stationary as his team began to enter. Clearly whatever deal Greene had struck ended at the door.

Before Owen could make his way through, an unfortunately-familiar face popped up in front of him, microphone clutched in a sweaty hand. Kip Sterling had put himself ever-so-slightly between Owen and the door; he had just enough mass and was positioned just so that he was noticeable without seeming as though he intended to physically bar Owen’s way. It was a ballsy move, and from the nervous fear he was trying to keep off his face, Kip clearly knew that. Still, he stood his ground as the larger man stared down at him, refusing to yield. Owen was tempted to brush him aside, but he had been thinking about the importance of keeping on the media’s good side. Besides, he respected this little guy’s guts.

“Yes, Kip?”

“I was just wondering what you’re hoping to accomplish at the charity event,” Kip said. Beads of sweat stood out on his forehead and the microphone shook just a touch. He really was desperate for something to bring back to the station. He’d even lobbed a big softball of a question, open-ended and with a positive connotation.

“Obviously our biggest, most important goal is to help raise as much money as possible for these wonderful organizations,” Owen replied. He knew he should cut it off there; it was a great line that couldn’t possibly be misinterpreted. Owen knew that because he’d played this game so well for so long back in his original Hero days. It was why he’d distinguished himself from his first team, why his star had risen so high. He always had a good gut sense for the right things to say. Yet now, staring down at Kip’s shaky microphone, Owen realized for the first time that he didn’t want to be a media darling again.

He wanted to be Titan, on his own terms.

“But as a secondary goal, I hope for the chance to kick some serious ass.”

Owen slid past Kip, whose eyes were lighting up like flickering fluorescents, and stepped into the building. Greene wasn’t going to like that, and Lenny might not either, but Owen didn’t really care. He’d only told the truth, after all.

30.

               When Owen got to Lenny’s office, he was braced for a tongue-lashing. After the event signup, which had been mercifully quick, Owen and the team had headed back to their home. No sooner had they walked in the door and turned on the television than they saw Titan’s face staring back at them. His voice filled the room, answering Kip’s question eloquently and tacking on the bit about ass-kicking at the end.

Owen barely had time to regret that outburst before Lenny called, calmly demanding Owen be at his office within the hour. Calm Lenny was usually a bad sign. Cursing, drinking, complaining, anxiety-ridden: these were all forms of Lenny that meant he had things well-under control. Calm Lenny meant business, and all too often that business involved a serious ass-chewing.

Owen walked through the door to the lobby, ducking slightly to avoid smacking his head against the frame. He would have suffered no damage, but he’d have been on the hook for repairs. Titan merchandise didn’t exactly fly off the shelves anymore, so he wanted to keep his costs down.

It was a good thing he was already ducked, too, because what he saw in the lobby nearly made him jerk his head right back up.

Lenny’s office door was open and the small man was sitting inside, talking to another Hero that was already seated. Owen might not have recognized her even a week ago, despite the amount of media saturation she’d achieved, but after meeting Gale up close there was no mistaking her. Owen stepped through the empty lobby, into the office, and shut the door behind him.

“Afternoon, Lenny. Gale.” He took a seat in one of the sturdier chairs, doing his best to keep his face neutral. If she was here to call off the assessment, he didn’t want to do anything to make her change her mind.

“Always a pleasure, Titan,” Gale replied. Judging from the flat tone of her voice, if she considered this a pleasure then Owen would have hated to see how she reacted to an inconvenience.

“Gale here has come down to finalize the discussion of the ability assessment in person.” Lenny was all business, not even bothering with any pleasantries. “Despite what I, and her own agent, have advised her, she is intent on going forward with this little spectacle.”

“Up until this morning, I was seriously considering taking it off the table,” Gale said, turning to face Owen. “That was until I saw his little interview. After that robot attack I thought maybe you really were trying to lie low and do some good. You managed to avoid charging into the spotlight like I expected. But no, the moment you get a few drops of media juice going, you hand them a sound bite that you know they’ll play over and over. You’re exactly what I feared you’d be: a showboat that puts his profile over the job. Well, I’m going to lower that profile, and thanks to your agent I’m going to do it with countless people watching.”

“Gale, come on; it was one line. I was there to sign up for a charity event and I let my tongue get away from me. You really don’t want to do this,” Owen said.

“I’m telling you right now that I do. We’re getting this done, and within the next week. Your agent has a list of my team’s availabilities. Find one that works, or so help me I will personally use my connections to bury you in red tape and bullshit.”

“What does this accomplish? Really, tell me that. If I do well, you’ve done the exact opposite of what you claim to want, and if I shit the bed all you’ve done is prove you can take a Hero two decades your senior.”

“When we decimate you, it will prove that your legend is all fluff. There will be far less cause for the press to care about your antics, and without their attention I expect you’ll soon shrivel up and vanish, just like you did before.”

Gale stood to leave, but Owen was on his feet faster.

“So you want to drive another Hero out of town? Remind me: which of us is the one who cares more about the media than the job?”

“I want to rid my town of a man who has too much influence and power and not nearly enough integrity to know how to use it.” Gale stared up at him, refusing to budge even an inch. “We both know it’s just a matter of time before your fame-whoring causes you do something stupid and get innocents killed. I’m making sure that you never get the chance.”

“And this has nothing at all to do with the prestige you think your team will get by embarrassing the legendary Titan?”

“I won’t stand here and be insulted by such ludicrous insinuations,” Gale snapped. “Unlike you, I have people to help.” She wove her way around the large man and stormed out of the office, slamming the lobby door behind her.

With Gale gone, Owen slowly lowered himself back into his chair and looked at Lenny, who was placid as a monk on morphine.

“That woman is not fond of you,” Lenny said at last.

“I think she hates me more than your ex-wife hates you,” Owen added.

“Don’t be silly. She didn’t even take a swing at you, let alone reach for a knife. She’s nowhere near that level of loathing. . . yet.”

“Damn right ‘yet.’ What the hell am I supposed to do? If I go into that assessment and throw it, then the Titan name gets even more run through the mud than it already has been. I mean, for all the shit that gets hurled about, the one thing no one can ever say is that I wasn’t a capable Hero. On the other hand, if I go in and tear her team apart, she really will hate me until the day one of us dies. I’d rather not have an archenemy that’s also a Hero so soon into my comeback.”

“It does complicate matters,” Lenny agreed. “Just out of curiosity, you didn’t mention the chance of legitimately getting shown up in either of your assessments. Did that not even strike you as a possibility?”

“I read up on Elemental Fury, including what they can do. So, honestly, no, it didn’t occur to me.”

“Me either,” Lenny said. “You’re in a real pickle here, no doubt, and it’s even worse now that there’s a giant audience contractually attached to the spectacle.”

“Thanks again for that, by the way.”

“My pleasure,” Lenny leaned back in his chair, still exuding endless rays of calm. “And while we’re on the subject of thanking each other for things, why don’t we have a nice long chat about that little quote you gave the reporter.”

Owen swallowed hard and looked down at his boots. This day was just getting worse by the hour.

31.

             Owen was halfway back to the Mordent building, brisk evening air flowing around him as he jogged, when a noise suddenly crackled to life in his ear.

He tensed, waiting for Dispatch’s voice to broadcast through. Since he wasn’t registered as currently active, whatever she was tapping him for had to be serious. He was either the only one close enough to respond or others had already failed to contain the situation. Even if it was protocol, Owen had a feeling stepping one foot further into what Gale considered her turf would destroy whatever shreds of a chance there were for peaceful cohabitation. He’d have to deal with that later; in the moment doing his job was the only thing that mattered.

It was only when the voice spoke that Owen realized his mistake. He’d put the specialized earpiece for Dispatch in his right ear that morning, same as always, while the sound was clearly on his left, the spot where he’d stuck the lower-tech team transceiver.

“Titan, this is Galvanize. We’re needed.”

“What’s up?”

“A Hero team, Wild Bucks, squared off against a small gang of Supers about an hour ago. They managed to get them subdued, but there was a significant amount of collateral damage. We just received clearance to enter the area and evacuate any remaining civilians from unstable buildings or rubble. The epicenter of the damage area is at Forty-Third and Quail. Do you need us to pick you up?”

Owen quickly glanced at the nearest sign post; he was crossing through Twenty-First and Morgan. Much of Brewster was laid out in a simple grid fashion, with numbers moving sequentially and letters alphabetically, meaning he was twenty-two blocks up and four blocks over. He’d never had a super-speeder’s abilities, but he did have powerful legs and a cardiovascular system that could go for days.

“No, you guys go ahead. I can run there faster.”

“Understood. Let me know when you’re getting close and I’ll give you directions to meet us. This is a large scale evacuation, so other PEERS teams will be on site assisting, as well as Heroes with appropriate abilities.”

Galvanize didn’t have to spell it out for him: a lot of people would be there, and so would cameras, which meant he’d better make sure to keep on his best behavior. Increased media scrutiny was going to be part of their lives now, at least for a while, and they needed to make it work for them. Like a wild horse, you either held on and rode or fell off and got trampled.

“I’ll seek you out as soon as I arrive.” Owen turned and reoriented himself, pausing long enough to check the traffic. He wouldn’t be moving as fast as a car, but if he accidently hit one then it wouldn’t make any difference. As important as it was to get to the scene, it was just an important not to hurt anyone on the way there. Not for the first time since he’d re-donned the mask, Owen dearly missed having a teleporter on call.