H-Bar watched as the line of people strolled towards the fire. All bearing gifts for its hungry flames. It was an odd group that made the trek. Some were quiet while others shouted at anyone who would listen. If not for their eyes, H-Bar would’ve believed they were here for any number of reasons. However, the eyes told the true story. In all of them there was the same untold hurt. Something that bore so deep it was impossible to explain.

The line moved forward again as another person finished their task at the flames. H-Bar watched as a mother and her child, no more than ten, stepped in to fill the void.

In the pair’s hands were a shirt and a doll. The mother nodded to the child and the young girl threw the shirt into the flames. A few people in line behind them cheered at the sight.

The kid’s face broke into a smile at the support from those people. Reaching out she took the doll from her mother and hurled it in after the shirt.

Another cheer came up after both were alight. The little girl spun and waved to those behind her as if some celebrity. Her mother was quick to grab her hand and pull her away from the flames, allowing those behind her to come to the fore.

The next person in line was carrying a poster. Like those before her, she threw it into the fire. The image of Source on its glossy surface bursting into flames.

As with all the others here, their Source merchandise was the fuel of the flames. Showing their true feelings about what was going on in the city.

Unable to watch anymore H-Bar turned away from the flames. Glad when his radio came to life and allowed him to focus on something else.

...

H-Bar walked into the apartment. The small space was a far cry from their base. To call this room run down would be too kind, and this was where Liam had been hiding. Just another example of how far the former Hero had fallen in the last few days.

Walking to the window H-Bar passed the only piece of furniture in the living room, a chair. At this point it’d become more Frankenstein’s impersonation of one. The thing was more patch than chair and was undoubtedly home to hundreds of bugs. H-Bar would never let something like that anywhere near where he slept. Anyone who did, better have a healthy supply of lice shampoo.

Banishing the thoughts of the ticking time bomb of a health disaster behind him, H-Bar looked out the window. Trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. Any sign of the person who’d been living here, or people who knew who it was. But the street gave no answers. This forsaken part of the city was as run down now as it’d always been.

The people who called this neighborhood their home tried to steer clear of drawing attention. The few who walked outside had their heads down, trying to avoid looking at anyone around them, not just the Heroes in the apartment. It was pathetic, H-Bar thought, how could people live like this.

Without even asking, he knew these people wouldn’t be much help. They showed no interest in the Heroes pouring through the apartment. Anywhere else in town and a crowd would’ve already gathered, but not here. If they didn’t have that basic sense of curiosity then how could he expect them to spot Liam? If, by some miracle they did, what were the chances they’d volunteer that information to a group of Heroes? He didn’t have to think hard to know the answer.

H-Bar frowned when his mind turned to the word Hero. Once he’d claimed the title. Spending years working towards it and been proud when he’d earned it. Now it reminded him of what he’d lost. A mockery of what he should be. However, this was the real world, not some game where you could follow a glowing quest path. In the real world, sometimes you had to do dirty things to protect the ones you care about the most. And so he wore the title Hero regardless of the shame it brought.

Turning away from the window, H-Bar’s eyes fell on a Hole in the wall. Clear evidence of a first smashing into it. It looked almost fresh, but using a slime covered wall to gauge age wasn’t an exact science so he couldn’t be sure. H-Bar almost said a joke about it, something about a modern interpretation piece from Gladius’s collection. Maybe ask if she wanted to bring it back with them. In the end H-Bar kept his mouth shut. He’d be serious until they caught Liam, with his niece on the line, he had to be.

H-Bar’s attention drifted to the rest of the team as they scoured the apartment. Going through every inch in an exacting search. Trying to find any clue left behind by their former teammate. Gladius was the most ambitious of the bunch, using her sword to cut through the living room chair. Bits and pieces of it flying around the room. H-Bar was more worried about the bugs and other creatures she’d let out than any evidence hiding in it. Looking at the woman herself, H-Bar decided it was best to let her go and not try to stop her. Once Gladius was like that, it was an uphill battle to rein her in. It was easier to let her run her course than put up a fight and try to stop it.

With a shake of his head, H-Bar moved to the kitchen, away from Gladius’s aggressive search. He had to admit the kid was good, Liam figured out the secret behind the murders in a few months. Even with the team pushing it all on Phaser, he saw through it. If only those men hadn’t threatened to go to the police, this would all have been fine and no one would have died.

H-Bar dreamed of curling up in a chair and reading a book back at base. Washing his hands of this mess. However, life was never that simple. The dead men had been mad with how things were run in the city and tried to change it. A stupid move on their part and one that’d cost them dearly. It was as simple as that.

Now Liam was on the run, he may not understand why things had happened. Yet he knew who was causing them and he was staying a step ahead of The Hunt and their desperate search. With that bit of freedom and knowledge, if he decided to, Liam could cause some serious damage. Which was why H-Bar was so worried by today’s phone call. With someone as smart as Liam there had to be a reason for his call. He wouldn’t risk everything, like that, just to tell his sister he was innocent. H-Bar needed to find out what his plan was.

The call itself had been a surprise for the team. After a week talking to every contact they had, on both sides of the law, they’d found nothing. Which led them to believe Liam was long gone. At least out of the city, more likely out of the country. Then Liam reached out to his sister and H-Bar could only assume the team itself. Letting everyone know he hadn’t run. Instead deciding to stay in the city, a clear sign he wasn’t finished.

It’d only taken them ten minutes from the end of the call until The Hunt was on scene. Even with the team moving their fastest, it was plenty of time for Liam to move safe-houses. The Hunt even skipped listening to the entire call to make it here faster, with the hopes of catching Liam, but to no avail.

H-Bar moved through the kitchen, opening one cabinet at a time and finding them almost barren. Another oddity in a growing list. Was Liam desperate, using the call as some final gambit, or had he moved out before the play? Flaunting his head start by taking everything with him.

Or maybe this was some elaborate trap. That’d been H-Bar’s first guess when he found out about the call. Thinking there was a bomb or something just as dangerous hiding under the building. He ended up throwing out the thought. Liam was trying to play the good guy. He couldn’t kill them, it’d only solidify the public’s belief he’d turned. He also knew he couldn’t beat the entire team in a fight so he would not jump out of the closet and attack them. Which brought H-Bar back to why Liam made the call. No matter how he looked at it there was no clear answer, but he knew it couldn’t be anything good.

The kitchen provided no more clues. Besides the empty shelves there wasn’t anything in it. H-Bar left the cabinet drawers open as he went into the bedroom, easier to show the rest of the team he’d already looked through them by doing that.

Walking into the bedroom, H-Bar found it as sparsely decorated as the rest of the apartment. A bed being it’s only occupant. Black stains were smeared over its sheets. Not the most appealing place for a nap.

Skip was standing next to the bed. Seeing H-Bar enter he said, “Can you believe Liam was sleeping on this. He’s fallen so far he can’t even see light anymore.”

“He’s so afraid to move he was forced to live like this,” Gladius said from the bathroom. Skip laughing at their old teammate woes.

Inspecting the bed, H-Bar recognized the stains. They told a different story than what Skip implied. This wasn’t the hiding place for a frightened young man, but his first step at redemption.

“Those are grease stains. I’ve seen them on his work benches before. Usually they come from suit repairs,” H-Bar said. Touching one of the black smudges to confirm his thoughts.

“That can’t be right,” Gladius said, “He has nothing to do repairs with. We destroyed all of that equipment back at the base.”

“If he was going outside to get supplies, someone would’ve spotted him by now,” Skip said. Shaking his head to affirm his thoughts on the subject.

Both of his teammates were ignoring the evidence around them. The bed had become Liam’s new workbench. The people who lived around here would never spot Liam let alone tell a couple of Heroes about it.

“And yet here’s the evidence,” was all H-Bar said. There was only so much he could say to these two before he had to give up.

“Look around you, this place has barely anything in it,” Skip said.

“Why would that be? Was it always this empty, or did he move the important stuff out before the call?” H-Bar wondered aloud.

Skip was quiet after that. Liam’s missing suit was all the evidence he needed to understand what H-Bar was getting at.

Their former teammate’s life on the run should’ve been full of challenges. The team was relying on it. Putting enough pressure on him, Liam would make a mistake and they could capitalize on it. Yet here he was, finding tools to repair his suit and a place to stay. Safe enough to mock them with a phone call. How he’d done that was beyond H-Bar’s understanding. If their places were swapped he’d be face down in an alley somewhere.

“Come on H-Bar lighten up, where are the jokes?” Gladius asked. From the other room.

“With everything that’s going on this isn’t the time for those,” H-Bar said. His attention drifting from the bed to a closet door standing open to the side of the room.

“Suit yourself, it’s just weird having a new Hero on the team.”

Oh ha ha Gladius, H-Bar thought. Since he wasn’t saying jokes his battle hungry teammate would pick up the mantle. Maybe that was a good thing, her jokes were bad enough she could use them as weapons.

“Don’t tell me, you’re starting to miss my jokes?” H-Bar asked. Only just keeping his own stupid comments internal.

“Far from it. It’s just weird that I’m not cringing every few minutes from them.”

“Low blow,” H-Bar said with mock pain.

Ullr chose that moment to stride into the room. Interrupting H-Bar’s little sparring match with Gladius.

“I just received the audio from Liam’s call. All of you need to hear this,” Ullr said.

That couldn’t be good, H-Bar thought. If the boss man was bringing it up here, outside of the base, instead of waiting until they got back.

Pulling a recorder out of his pocket, Ullr started to fiddle with it. The rest of the team watched with bated breath. It was a few nerve wracking seconds before the tape started to play. H-Bar and Gladius sharing a look during the wait.

“How did you get my number? I’m not doing any interviews,” a female voice said. That must be Melody. H-Bar was sure he could hear the pain in her voice even over the recording. She’d gone through so much already, more than any person deserved, innocent or otherwise.

“Hey Mel, it’s me,” a second voice said.

H-Bar would never mistake that voice, it was Liam. Even through the recording, H-Bar could hear the anger in Liam’s voice. It let up a little as he spoke to his sister.

“Liam! Where are you? Are you OK?”

It was Skip’s idea to drag Melody into this. H-Bar was the only person on the team who fought against it. In the end he was forced to back down. Dooming what fragments of normalcy were left of the girl’s life.

H-Bar knew he should feel something because of that. Remorse, anger, self loathing. Any number of things people claim when they’ve hurt others, but those emotions were dwarfed by the feeling of relief. It wasn't his family being thrown to the wolves and that’s all that mattered.

“I’m doing fine. Listen I had to call when I saw you on TV. It’s all a lie Mel. I didn’t do anything they said. It was the rest of the team, they framed me.”

Was that what Ullr was upset about? Liam telling his sister he was innocent. Of course he was going to do that. They were the ones who forced him into this situation, how was his reaction to it a surprise? There must be something else he wasn’t seeing.

“Liam I… I’ve seen the evidence they’ve gathered. I know the truth.”

“No Mel it’s all a lie.”

There was a sound in the background. A sudden motion causing static on the line. Through that noise a third voice spoke and ice ran down H-Bar’s spine.

“What are you doing you, idiot? End the call now!” the new voice said. It was a voice H-Bar couldn’t place.

“Who’s there with…”

The recording ended, leaving only white noise and the team staring at each other. With their masks on H-Bar couldn’t read their faces, but he knew there was worry hidden behind them. Gladius was running a thumb along her sword hilt while Skip was shifting from one foot to the other. Clear tells from both of them.

Ullr, as always, was the only mystery. H-Bar had never been able to read his underlying emotions. The man was a brick wall, giving away no hints of what was going on in his mind.

“Anyone know the third voice?” Skip asked.

“No idea,” H-Bar said as he shook his head.

“This just means we have two people to hunt down. We can do that,” Gladius said in a voice that spoke to the contrary.

H-Bar ignored her, he was too focused on what Liam wanted to show them. It must be that he’d found a new team and wasn’t alone anymore. What Liam would do with them H-Bar had no idea, but calling out the new guy showed he had confidence in his position.

“How do we know it’s only the two of them?” Skip asked.

“Well it must be…,” Gladius started before she closed her mouth.

H-Bar answered in her place, “We have no idea how many there are, or what they’re up to.”

“I wanted to share a little more,” Ullr said. Pulling out a tablet he flicked through the screens before going on, “Matt just contacted me. No one’s listed on the apartment’s lease, payments were always in cash. However, the room has been rented for the last two years.”

“Well over a year before Liam came to town,” H-Bar noted.

More for him to think about. Today was shaping up to be a rough one.

“We’ll have to figure out who this mystery person is and what he’s after,” Gladius said.

“We can start by figuring out if there’s more of them or if it’s a two-man team,” H-Bar said. That was his real concern. That somewhere in the background there was another person just waiting for the right moment to strike.

“That wasn’t everything Matt had for us,” Ullr said, quieting the group as they waited for more bad news, “This apartment has been getting regular shipments of fertilizer since it was rented out. Each order was small and purchased with stolen credit cards. All tiny enough to fall under our detection systems, but added together they become a concern.”

“They’re building a bomb?” Gladius asked. Putting into words what Ullr was getting at.

“He’s working with a terrorist?” Skip asked. His nervous shuffling coming to an end.

“That doesn’t seem like something Liam would do,” Gladius said what H-Bar was thinking.

Why was Liam telling them this? It was evidence they could use against him. It helped their case and hindered his own. Was this a mistake from Liam, H-Bar wondered. No he wouldn’t underestimate Liam. Not again. He’d already learned that lesson.

“How much so far?” Skip asked.

“Enough for something big,” was all Ullr said.

The team stood there, stunned by what they’d just been told.