Fusion

15. Skirmish

"Hey there, sleepyhead," Violet says as she enters the room, two plates in her hands and glasses floating in the air.

"Hey there, early bird." I yawn and stretch my arms while glancing at the clock on the nightstand. 9:20. Early indeed. "So what's on the menu?" I sit up on the bed and she uses telekinesis to gently set the glasses on the nightstand. She hands me a plate and I see golden waffles covered in maple syrup on it.

"Waffles." She smiles and takes a sip of orange juice.

"How'd you know waffles were my favorite? You didn't read my mind did you?"

"No..." She smiles and laughs.

"How did you even make these?" I take a bite and the sweetness is more than amazing. So good.

"There's a waffle maker in the cafeteria." She takes a small bite of hers.

"Cafeteria? This place is like a five-star hotel." I look at her and she lightly giggles. "So how'd you sleep?"

"Pretty well. Only cause you were with me." She blushes a little. "I don't sleep much these days."

"The only way I sleep is from complete exhaustion, or you know, next to you." She blushes again and I pause for a second and realize something. "Hey, Violet I have a question..." I look at her sincerely. "After all this...would you um...you know..."

"Wanna what?" She responds, confused, yet smiling as if she knows what I'll say.

"Would you like to go out on a date with me?" My face turns red and my hands light on fire but I extinguish them quickly. "We've never been on an actual date."

"Oh..." She looks at her plate and smiles a little. "I completely...We've been caught up in all this hero stuff I didn't even realize. And you know the unexpected time skip from being held in that facility for almost half a year." I smile at her and give her a hug.

"Yes, Jack. I'd love to." She says in an excited voice before a knock on the door interrupts us.

"I'll get it." I stand and walk over to the door, opening it to see Quiver.

"You're up, kid. Time to make a plan." He already has his super suit on. Dang, man do you ever take that thing off?

"Yeah, I'm coming." I reach for my hat on a hook and put it on. Quiver stops me with his hand for a brief moment.

"Don't blow it, hotshot." He looks at me and I nod. We walk down the long hallway and he looks at me. "So what's with the hat?"

"What's with the sunglasses?" I retort sarcastically.

"Touché." He smiles. "No really, tell me. That Astros cap is like your calling card or something. It intrigues me."

"Well, I got it when I went to my first Astro's game with my dad. Before..." I frown. "I wear it every day, kind of like a good luck charm, but also to remember my dad. Like he's here with me. You know?"

"Same with my bow. My dad gave it to me as a birthday gift before he passed." Quiver pats me on the back and Violet follows us to the briefing room.

We walk through the door to see Roy and Arc talking to a lot of people. Wow. There're more people than yesterday. A lot more.

"Okay everyone Fusion is here, he's gonna help us devise a plan. He's had more experience against Purge than any of us." He ushers me to come up next to him and I stand there in silence.