Being a Hero

Chapter 34

The song for this chapter is "Never Surrender" by Liv Ash.

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." –C.S. Lewis

*Mabel's POV*

The cell phone on the desk rang again, and I stared at it in disbelief. The caller id displayed the one name I never expected to see: Jacob Sung. I picked up on the third ring.

"West Haven heroes," I said, forcing a smile onto my face.

"Majesty, it's Commissioner Sung." His Australian accent was more subdued than usual, and I frowned, wondering why he was calling instead of Captain Scott. This man wanted nothing to do with supers, yet here he was calling us. It had only been three days since the biggest disaster our city had seen in a decade. He had to be swamped right now.

I dropped the fake cheer and asked, "What can I do for you, Commissioner?"

"With the serial kidnappings, FBI's finally stepped in. They're wanting statements from anyone involved in the Garm and Jade Rabbit fights or the confrontation at the hospital if your teammates could swing by the station in the next day or two."

I raised my eyebrows. "Of course. I'll let them know. Is there a specific time frame they should come by? Their schedules vary."

"Yeah, one or both of the agents will be here nine to five. If you need one to stick around after hours, I can give you Agent Campbell's number..." He trailed off, shuffling through papers. He found the number after a moment and read it off to me.

I copied it down and waited, sensing there was something more.

"There's...one other thing," He said tiredly. "Officer Andrews's funeral. His family's wondering if you all could attend; maybe Guinness could say a few words. It'll be out at Princeton. They're still working out the details."

"Of course," I said. "It would be an honor."

"Oh, and Majesty?"

"Yes?"

"I still don't like your team or what you do, but if you can keep any of my officers from dying in the future, I'm open to...working with you." Those last words were spoken through clenched teeth, but I took the small victory for what it was.

"We'll make them pay, Commissioner. I promise you that. Those villains will face justice for what they've done. I'll come by this afternoon to speak my piece."

He humphed. "The sooner you all get out of my precinct, the better."

I hung up wondering if this truce would hold once the threat of serial kidnappers and arsonists blew over. While it seemed unlikely, I harbored a small germ of hope where there had been none before.

I looked down at my "hero" cell phone for a minute in thought. It was Aurora's idea to get me a secondary phone to receive forwarded calls from her hero phone when she was unavailable, and it made sense with me already having access to the hero email account. I was glad for her foresight now, even as I wished it wasn't necessary. I returned the phone to my pocket and rose from my desk. I needed to talk to the others before heading to the police station.

I put my costume on under my winter clothes and texted Braden a quick message. Then I got to work. By the time I arrived at HCS, I had a rough plan in mind, and a cover story for the things we couldn't risk sharing. The FBI were good at what they did, but I hoped I wouldn't have to do any persuading to keep them on the right track.

I found most of the team and our guests in the dining room. Someone had caught the cooking bug and made one of the casseroles Aurora loved. My heart twinged at the thought of having one of her recipes without her.