Liam slumped in the back of the van. The old springs screeching their protest as his suit’s full weight fell on them. Leaning back, a cool breeze blew its way through the open van’s doors. It’s gentle flow kissing the leaves from the van, sending a confetti spray of colors into the air. Each one dancing in the sunlight as they flew by.

The peaceful display was a needed break for Liam’s overworked mind. His first one since this all began so many weeks before. While he sat there, the sound of his breathing was all Liam focused on. Each breath a luxury he didn’t believe he’d get mere minutes before. Oh, how the world changes, just like the wind. Sometimes it was subtle and gentle, while other times it came with the force of a wrecking ball. Angrily howling its discontent as it raced by.

Liam was fascinated by the disparity between the two. How beautiful and destructive nature could be. Unfortunately, he could only think about it for so long and was forced to leave the wind behind. If he’d allowed himself to be sucked any farther down that rabbit hole he wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon.

Glancing around the parking lot, Liam spotted H-Bar, the lights on his suit off as he hung limply in thigh thick vines. If he hadn’t been talking moments before, Liam would’ve believed the man was dead, instead of just hanging there. On either side of him were officers diligently surveying the surrounding parking lot. Making sure nothing happened to their prisoner before he could be transported to a secure holding cell. Everyone knew full well that if H-Bar decided to fight it’d be down to Liam to stop him. But looking at the man no one expected it to come to that, H-Bar was already a man without a sail, drifting along.

Looking past H-Bar, Liam found no signs of Skip. Part of him wished the man would come back and give Liam another chance to beat him into submission. While the logical part of Liam’s mind shrugged off those thoughts. He’d been in the thick of it too much today. He’d be in trouble if it came down to a fight. Especially with the new hole Skip added to the suit. After such an exciting day he’d earned a few minutes of peace before the next fight.

On the far side of the parking lot Liam watched as two officers pulled out yellow crime scene tape and draped it around the lot. From pole to tree and back again they worked. A few people tried to sneak past the yellow line before it was all the way up only to be chased back by other officers. What they could want inside the perimeter was beyond Liam. The only thing that was guaranteed, if they made it in, was they’d disturb the scene.

With a long held sigh Liam flopped backwards. Draping his arms over his head as his suit landed with a clang. He’d found the only empty spot in the back. Giving him a little haven of peace surrounded by a litter of diffused bombs. At least for the moment, as an itch at the back of Liam’s mind demanded to find out what was happening with Mr. Hat.

Scrolling through his HUD Liam found a way to scratch that itch, a feed of the local news. Snapping it onto his HUD his visor changed. He could still see the top of the van, right above him, but now a second image was also there. This one closer, like a reflection on glass. The scene before him showed a large room, with people huddling in groups around the edges. In the middle of the room there were three people. The first one he made out had light pooled around him as if he was some kind of movie star. Dressed like the Norse god he was named for, it was Ullr.

Opposite of Ullr was Mr. Hat, in his traditional long coat and fedora. His face grim as he held a cell phone in a white knuckled grip, his thumb hovering over the call button. In his other hand he clutched a gun, pointed at a woman in front of him. She was a mess, huddling in on herself as tears fell in waves down her face. Liam could only hope Mr. Hat would let her go before things got too far out of hand.

It was strange seeing the man he’d spent so much of the last few months with, hiding and avoiding attention, now out there for everyone to see. Even knowing the city stood on the brink Liam found a part of himself still cheering for Mr. Hat. The man had worked so hard to reach this point. Didn’t that effort deserve some kind of reward? Liam knew it was a stupid thought and tried to ignore it, but it was still there, somewhere in the back of his mind.

Looking closer, Liam could see Ullr and Mr. Hat’s lips moving yet couldn’t hear any words. Either the signal didn’t have sound, or it wasn’t coming through. Annoying little hiccup, Liam thought as he worked to fix any problems on his end. It only took a minute to diagnose the problem and fix it, and yes it was on his end to Liam’s annoyance. He smiled when he realized he could’ve been in IT in another life. It would have been a much more peaceful life.

By the time the sound was back on the entire situation had changed. Liam watched as Ullr charged into Mr. Hat, an animalistic roar erupting from his mouth as they collided. All three people were drawn into a sprawl of limbs. With one in particular standing out, Ullr’s right hand reached around the woman and carved itself into Mr. Hat’s unprotected chest. No sooner had he seen that than the three collapsed in a heap, as the crowd in the room went ballistic. Screams of terror echoing from all sides.

The three people tumbled a dozen feet before they came to a stop, each entwined with the others. They were frozen like that for a moment before the woman moved. She pulled her arms free of the pile then dashed for safety. While hurrying away she knocked the phone out of Mr. Hats hand, sending it skidding across the floor. With each bounce it made Liam’s heart leap. Its screen was still alight, blazing upward as if in defiance of the world.

With his heart threatening to jump out of his chest Liam zoomed in on the phone. If they were lucky, the call was canceled before Mr. Hat sent it. That simple action would have saved countless lives. When the phone came to rest, the magnification made the screen readable. There was a simple word seared on its screen in a dazzling white, ‘Calling’. Holding his breath, Liam waited for the explosions to come. Bringing with them a failure he’d tried to avoid. Every life lost would be on his hands.

However, the explosions that should’ve been immediate didn’t come. One second ticked by, then another, and another. While Liam squinted his eyes shut, time continued on. Before scuffling coming from the feed drew his attention back to it. Zooming back to the regular view Liam caught Ullr climbing to his feet. It was a jerky process like he was trying to do it with half his strength. It was hard to miss the arm at his side, drenched in a red liquid as a similar puddle formed under Mr. Hat. Whose trademark hat had fallen to the side as he lay there.

Reaching his feet, Ullr shook himself free of Mr. Hat’s coat. It fell to the floor to lay still next to its owner. Ullr gazed around the room until he found a camera. Then he turned to it as if he were a robot and talked.

“Blue Feather came to me with proof Skip committed a crime, specifically forcing Cowls to pay protection money or be arrested. I knew that information couldn’t go to the public as it would deal a significant blow to The Hunt’s reputation. I had to stop her before that happened,” Ullr said.

With the wings of his helmet arching back on either side, as if they were ready to launch itself into the air. And the top of the man’s face to the back of his head was covered in golden feathers. Even in this moment, Ullr struck the pose of a pinnacle Hero.

During the speech Liam could see Nudge walk into the room, the long antennae of the cell phone blocker obvious, even on his small screen. The man must’ve arrived as Mr. Hat pressed the detonator. A lucky break for the city. If he’d have had to make the trip, there was no way he’d have made it in time. With the bombs stopped, for now, it left only one thing. They had to catch Ullr, then everything would be finished.

“The team did the only thing we could with that kind of problem, we eliminated it. We lured Blue Feather out of the base, then took her down as a team. Once she was gone, we branded her a traitor. It’s an easy process if you know what you’re doing.”

With his story over, Ullr came to with a shudder. Blinking he turned his head from side to side, looking around as he tried to regain his bearings.

The cry of victory Liam expected from Mr. Hat never came. Instead the room remained deathly quiet.

A quick look from Ullr, to the body on the floor, confirmed why he was standing there. With understanding flooding into his eyes Ullr stood up straight. Then raised an arm into the air, the figure of a man ready to bask in this victory.

The crowd didn’t respond. They sat there and stared at the man in front of them, unsure who he was. Through the silence a clicking sound echoed out. Movement in the back of the frame caught Liam’s attention as Nudge strode forward. Liam wasn’t the only person to spot the movement as the rest of the room turned to look at him. Even Ullr, after a moment, turned to the sound, his head cocked to the side.

“This man was threatening to destroy the city,” Ullr said. “I stopped him.”

During the entire walk across the room Nudge didn’t talk, his body betraying none of his reason for being there. With each step, a spring inside Ullr wound up, the muscles in his body tightening, as if readying to pounce. When Nudge arrived in the center of the room, he reached down and grabbed Mr. Hat’s cell phone. Turning it off before setting the phone and jammer behind him. Liam noted the man left the jammer on, he must be afraid there was another detonator. Then both devices were trapped in a writhing mass of hundreds of vines. Nudge turned and addressed Ullr.

“I’m here to place you under arrest.”

The sentence was given in a monotone, almost bored voice. Nudge was doing his job, this wasn’t personal.

“How dare you accuse me of murder! You’d have to be crazy to believe that.,” Ullr spat back. His hands clenched into fists as he took a single step back.

“I never accused you of murder, but thanks for confirming my theories.”

Ullr spluttered for a moment before saying, “Well, of course, that’s why you’re here. The only reason a Hero would come to arrest another Hero is murder. It’s the only conclusion to draw.”

“I’m sure it is,” Nudge said. His voice sharing his true feelings on the subject. Reaching out a hand he pointed it at Ullr. “Now come quietly, or are you planning to make a scene?”

Ullr looked around then pointed at the still body of Mr. Hat on the floor.

“That man threatened to destroy the city. I did what I had to do to eliminate the threat, you can’t consider that murder.”

“I’m not here for him, however he was also committing a crime. One that’s already under control,” Nudge said as he pointed to the vines behind him. “He can’t send a signal to detonate the bombs. And as we speak the rest are being disarmed by my team.”

Liam chuckled a little at that. Sure wireless signals couldn’t get through. If the detonator had been wired the city would’ve been a firescape by now.

Liam wondered if Nudge realized he was on TV. The cameras were rolling, cables strewn out from them, connecting them to the wider world. A lucky occurrence for Liam and the rest of the world. Giving them a front-row seat to what was going down.

“Then what are you here for?” Ullr asked.

“What you did to Source and Blue Feather.”

Even through the mask Liam could see Ullr’s eyes widen a fraction. Surprised by the famous Hero bringing up those names.

“Well then I-” Ullr said. Stopping mid sentence to turn around and bolt towards the exit.

Ullr made it halfway across the room before five vines sprung up in front of him, barring his escape. Nudge had already planned for this and had contingencies in place. The thick, dark green, vines swung forward as if they had minds of their own, looking to meet Ullr head on.

A swift chop met the first vine. Slicing it in half and sending the lifeless vine to the ground.

The second and third met the same fate as Ullr worked his way forward. With only two more vines to go Ullr had almost reached the door, and its promise of freedom. Strangely Nudge hadn’t moved from his spot. With arms crossed over his chest he watched the proceedings.

Another vine arched forward, trying to trip the fleeing Hero. It was met with a fist that sent it reeling backwards and out of the way.

With only one vine left Nudge decided it was time to end things. He unfurled his arms and pointed at the remaining vine, and with that move he found a remedy to the situation. He created a beautiful change along the vine. Flowers grew at a startling pace, going from nothing to full bloom in the time Ullr could move two steps. Then from each of the flowers bright yellow pollen floated into the air, a nightmare to those with allergies. It covered the doorway before spreading out.

Ullr continued, heedless of the cloud in front of him. Coming in contact with the yellow blob, Ullr sneezed once then dropped to his knees. A moment of struggle later and he was out. Liam didn’t know of any pollen that could do that. Nudge must’ve done something to the yellow substance.

The vine took advantage of its unconscious opponent and wrapped around him. More vines sprung up from Nudge to join in and they bound Ullr in a tight mass of wriggling greens in no time.

With the former Hero contained, Nudge switched his focus to Mr. Hat. Sending a few vines to wrap around the man’s arms. With the man secure, he walked over and checked his pulse. After a few seconds the vines went slack then pulled away.

Liam turned off the video with a complicated expression on his face. He’d seen enough to understand this was all over. Now he’d have to deal with the aftermath. He thought about running, leaving everything behind, but that wouldn’t work. The world knew his face and running wouldn’t help his family. With a dejected smile Liam pulled himself up from the van’s bed. It was time for an all new kind of work to begin.