On the Run

Sleepover

"Any leads?" you asked, walking towards the round table. Your prominent sidekicks were gathered around the table. Energizer's brown eyes zoned out, pulling at his brown curls. Aerial, brown hair swept to the side, blue eyes regarding her nails boredly. Arsenal didn't look up, brown eyes reading over the case info. She absentmindedly made a handgun. She checked the magazine, though she knew it was full. 

A new addition, Angel. She was one of your top sidekicks in terms of mutant quirks. She had large white wings and equally pale skin. She looked nervous, regarding the other sidekicks. She hadn't interacted much with them, except Aerial. But she rather not remember their last conversation. It was a story for another time.

"Angel, glad to see you with us," you greeted, taking a seat. Arsenal passed you the files with the current case.

"I'm glad to be here, ma'am. But I don't know why."

"Arsenal, brief."

Arsenal rose to her height, her eyes snapping to Angel. Her wings folded in fear at the scary expression on Arsenal's face. Behind her, a TV screen descended, and a photo appeared.

"We're here to search for this woman," Arsenal gestured with the remote. "Her name is Hana Kim. She is the biological mother of a child here at Gaea." Another click, another photo. This was of the little girl Angel had seen wandering the residential halls. 

"Her name is Aria Kim. She is currently under the supervision of Pro Hero Terra until we find her parents. A missing person report had been filed by her friend, Ethan Yun."

You sat up, folding your hands on the table. "Do you understand now?"

"Yes, but why am I here?"

"You've been chosen to add insight to this case. I thought to include you because of your improvement over the months you've been here, and your experience with missing person's cases."

Angel straightened up at that. Improvement? She didn't think she made any improvements working here. In fact, she thought she was holding the agency back. She knew that wasn't possible, but she couldn't help but feel that way. Her quirk was useless. She uses her feathers to heal. She couldn't fight with them, and she was quite slow when it came to flying. She tugged her blonde hair nervously.

"I know you may feel skeptical, but you have made changes. And I would like you to be a part of this case. And this team."

Angel gulped. Responsibility. That's what she heard. A big responsibility had been shared with her. It could either make or break her reputation among the other heroes. She squared her shoulders with resolve.

"Where do we start?" 

You smiled under your mask, nodding to Arsenal. Immediately, her dark expression lightened, and everyone else seemed to perk up at the new addition to their group. A stack of papers was set in front of her, including a card and a set of keys. 

"These are for you. Keys for your new locker, a keycard for proper authorization to certain places in the office, and an agreement. We do not share information with the public for safety reasons. Most of the sidekicks here know about this unit, as there are several divisions in Gaea. Just need you to sign a few things. There's also a form request for a hero suit change, should you need it."

Angel nodded along, her hands wringing nervously. A hand landed on her shoulder, and she jumped. She turned to see Energizer, a big smile on his face.

"Welcome to the team, Rookie. Hope you're ready."

The group went around to introduce themselves properly, all of them offering smiles and words of encouragement.

"There's more of us scattered across the U.S, but this is the Texas branch," Arsenal explained.