Powerhouse: Legend of the Archwave

Chapter 6 (Act I): I Like Big Putts

We last read Chapter 5, in which James Markovsky a.k.a. Powerhouse gets dressed for the morning and meets both his mother Susan Markovsky and family friend Elise Fornwright downstairs, in the first-floor kitchen and connecting dining nook, respectively. After dropping his neatly folded sleepwear off in the laundry room, James fibs that he forgot something in his tricked-out convertible the previous night and sets off to retrieve it, double-checking to ensure that the house's security alarms have already been disarmed.....which they have.

In reality, however, James has not forgotten anything in the tricked-out convertible. Instead, he frantically checks around the front portion of the Markovsky Residence to see if his enigmatic archer friend—Isabela Acosta a.k.a. Archwave—is still around after his prior rejection of her the previous night. Much to his relief, he finds her casually leaning against the closed garage door of the Markovsky Residence, with her complex compound bow still nearby and her quiver full of white arrows still on her back. Isabela, upon seeing James, eagerly greets him in Spanish—before quickly switching back to English when he states that he doesn't understand her—and James brings up her request to be his partner from last night. After she confirms that she still wants to be his partner, he gladly takes her in, even being so kind as to invite her into his house for breakfast.

Inside, James returns to the Markovsky Residence's dining nook with Isabela in tow; the latter is almost immediately seen by Susan and Elise in the process. Despite Isabela initially being wary of Susan and Elise, she's quickly touched by their kindness and courtesy, with the two women even going out of their way to use Google Translate when Isabela introduces herself and a few portions about her upbringing in Spanish. Susan also insists on making another last-minute breakfast for Isabela and bringing over another chair for her, despite the latter's initial refusals. The chapter ended with all four of them sitting down for breakfast, with Isabela being greatly filled with warmth on the inside as a result of finally knowing what it feels like to be part of a kind, loving, and supporting family; something she never really knew back home.

This time, James and Isabela chat for a while after breakfast, and Isabela briefs James on the "case" she alluded to on the previous night.....

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After the group breakfast at the Markovsky Residence, James Markovsky a.k.a. Powerhouse and Isabela Acosta a.k.a. Archwave were sitting on the ends of separate couches in the former's living room, conversing once more and getting to know more about each other. James had already informed his mother, Susan Markovsky, that he would be free to work at Lockdown, Inc. the entirety of the following week, stating that he and Isabela had already arranged to take care of something this week and that he'd be completely booked as a result.

In reality, he was simply setting aside this week out of an abundance of caution; he wasn't sure how big Isabela's "case" was or how long it would take the pair to solve it. So, he simply claimed that his entire week would be busy just to be on the safe side.

"Oh, that's okay, Ms. Markovsky!" Isabela called to James's mother, who was in the kitchen cleaning up all the dishes and glasses from breakfast. "I don't need anything else, thank you! ....Oh, and thanks for the breakfast as well! You have no idea how much this means to me!"

Then, she eagerly turned her attention back to James, who was to her right; the two of them looked like they were sitting at exact opposite sides of the inner bend of an "L"-shape, with James to Isabela's right and Isabela to James's left.

"So.....once again, thank you so much for deciding to take me in. I feel so much better knowing a Paragon is on my side," she expressed with great gratitude. "And the one with super strength, no less! Tell me.....does it hurt you at all to lift stuff?"