A short time later, Ronnie arrived at the front of a massive granite building. This was the Syndicate main entrance, he supposed. A broad set of stairs lined the entire face, leading up towards giant stone columns. He could see a few people walk between the columns towards a pair of glass doors that were set back under the overhanging roof. And in front of the building, a group of picketers stood holding handmade signs.

“What on earth?” Ronnie thought. He had never recalled hearing anything about protests at the Syndicate before. The crowd wasn’t impressively large, but there were enough of them to form a misshapen circle around a man with a megaphone.

“The balance of the universe has shifted!” The man called out to the crowd. There was anger in his voice that clashed awkwardly with his lazy drawl. Shouts of affirmation came from a couple of the protesters. “Time and time again, history has shown us that a price must be paid for humanity’s follies! And that price has always meant sacrifice at the divine creator’s hand.” Ronnie gave the group a wide berth, keeping his distance from an older woman who tried to hand him a flyer. But he had to know what this was all about.

The man continued speaking. “The world is wicked, and the divine creator desires retribution for these misdeeds! But these so-called heroes, these interlopers… They deny the divine creator what is rightfully his!” More comments from the crowd. A woman closer to the speaker nodded emphatically at his words. “These false gods have the audacity to interfere with divine authority. Every time The Syndicate prevents our rightfully angry god from exacting his toll on humanity, he grows more and more wrathful. If we do not turn from this path, the divine creator will have no choice but to smite all of mankind!”

Ronnie staggered at the man’s words. Did this group seriously think that disasters were caused by some sort of god, and by keeping others from harm The Syndicate was angering it? Were heroes just supposed to stand by and let people die? The thought was insanity, and Ronnie didn’t know how anyone could actually believe such a thing. It went against everything he had been taught growing up.

Ronnie skirted the group of protesters, taking the steps to the entrance two at a time until he quickly reached the top. The doors opened to the central atrium, one that Ronnie remembered from his field trip many years ago. The room seemed impossibly high, stretching so far up that you had to crane your neck back to view the domed ceiling. On a busy day, the atrium would be filled with people: government representatives checking in for official business, school groups learning about the history of the Syndicate, tourists checking the building off of their bucket list. Ronnie suddenly realized that he had absolutely no idea where he should be going.

He approached the information desk that was situated at the far end of the main hall. Behind it, a fat, balding man sat in a chair. He was wearing a private security uniform and absent-mindedly munched on a donut. “Excuse me,” Ronnie piped up. “I need to find where to go for training?”

The man barely looked up from the paperback book he was reading. “Yeah, sure, kid. Don’t we all?”

“I’m serious. I’m supposed to start at the Syndicate today! If you called Silver Cyclone, he’d be able to vouch for me.”

The guard put his book face down with a sigh. “Listen, kid. I get about four of yous a day. All claiming to know somebody in the Syndicate, trying to get into restricted areas. I’m not buying it. Now off you go, enjoy the museum.” He reached for another donut out of the box to his side.

Ronnie was beginning to panic. What was he going to have to do to make this guy believe him? He stared at the box of donuts and felt the now familiar tingling sensation in his fist. A green dome materialized over the top of the box. The guard’s hand glanced off the top of it with a zap.

“Yowch!” he cried and retracted his hand. “That stings!” He stared at Ronnie, and his eyes went wide with surprise. “Alright, maybe you are telling the truth.” He grabbed a phone receiver at the desk and dialed a number. “Yeah. I’ve got a guy down here saying he’s starting training today? What’s that?” He looked up at Ronnie. “You still got your red card?”

Ronnie slapped the card on the counter with a smug smile. The guard muttered a few curses under his breath as he examined it before handing it back to him. “Scan the card by the door at the end of the hall.”

“Thanks a lot.” Ronnie pocketed the card and turned away. He broke his concentration, and the force field on the desk dissolved into the air. The guard gingerly waved his hand over the donut box before grabbing another pastry.

The door at the end of the hall was completely unmarked. It was made of grey metal with a small scanner to the left of it. Ronnie had pulled out his card and was reaching for the pad when the door burst open. Taran barrelled through and almost knocked him over.

“Ronnie!” He cried. “I am so sorry, I’m running super late this morning. I totally meant to meet you outside.”

“The guy at the front desk is a real piece of work. He didn’t believe me when I said I had an appointment. Also, I think there’s a cult outside picketing you guys.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. It’s Roger’s job to discourage people from coming in. You should have had an escort. And ignore the crazy people out front, they don’t know what they’re talking about. Again, you could have avoided them if I was on time.” Taran hung his head. “My bad, dude.”

“Hey, no worries. You’re here now, dude.” Ronnie laughed as Taran blushed.

“So, um… I guess we’ll get started.”

The morning was a whirlwind of activity, and Ronnie could barely keep track of everything. First, his biometric information was put into the system. Handprints, vocal matching, and retina scans were recorded and saved in the Syndicate database. He would no longer need his red card to access areas of the headquarters. He now had trainee security clearances, the most important of which allowed him to learn the secret identities of Syndicate members as needed. Ronnie was also permanently assigned a room in the trainee wing where he would have the option to stay whenever he wanted.

After completing a health assessment with Doctor Peters, who was very happy to see his face looking better, it was time for lunch. Taran showed Ronnie to the main cafeteria. It looked similar to the one at his high school: large circular tables clustered around the room, each with about 10 chairs. The two grabbed lunch and were finding a seat when Maya waved them over. She was sitting with an African-American girl who had her hair half up in a twisted bun.

“Hey, guys!” Maya said brightly. “Ronnie! It’s so good to see you!” She motioned to the girl next to her. “This is Lydia, she works in Syndicate Control. Best logistics officer in the whole damn organization. She’s normally the one on the other side of the earpiece when we are on patrol.”

The girl waved to Ronnie. “I’ve already heard a lot about you, Ronnie. It’s really nice to meet you!”

Ronnie smiled, “Likewise!” People seemed genuinely friendly here. Everyone related to his story, and they knew where he was coming from. It was like being the new kid at school, but without the bullies or hormonal drama. The four of them ate their lunch and talked about what had been happening so far today. Lydia helped navigate a cargo ship rescue in the middle of Lake Michigan earlier that morning, and also alerted heroes to two different bank robberies. Ronnie was impressed and was glad that when it was time for him to be out in the field, he would have someone like her on the line.

They were finishing up lunch when a woman walked into the mess hall that made Ronnie stop in his tracks. She was wearing a deep purple uniform with a silver belt, and a pointed mask that covered the top half of her face. A shimmering cape that nearly brushed the ground was draped over her silver shoulder pads. “Holy crap,” he said. “That’s, that’s Zephyr!”

Ronnie’s all-time favorite superhero was headed right towards their table!

Zephyr’s knee-high boots clicked against the linoleum as she walked towards them with confident, even strides. A few people at other tables had also seen her enter and were taking notice. It seemed that it was a rare occasion that such a high profile superhero would visit the trainee mess hall. She reached their table and smiled.

“Ronnie Nolan,” Zephyr said his name very matter-of-factly. His name! She spoke with the trace of a British accent that Ronnie remembered from watching countless interviews when he was a kid. He nodded, suddenly unable to speak. He felt like there was electricity in the air. And knowing Zephyr, there might have been. “I’ve been hearing a lot about you. Welcome to the Syndicate of Heroes.”

“Th-thank you,” Ronnie squeaked and tried to clear his throat. Zephyr, his childhood hero, was standing right in front of him. And she knew who he was! Ronnie wanted to faint.

“I trust that everything has been going well on your first day?”

“Yes, ma’am. Taran and Maya have been really helpful.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. The first few days can be very overwhelming. Just do your best, and I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Zephyr placed a hand on Taran’s shoulder. “Now the reason I’m here: Taran, remember that your father has rescheduled dinner for tomorrow night. He’s due to be back from Japan by then. 7:30 at the house, please try to be on time.”

Taran shifted in his chair, uncomfortably. He was clearly unhappy with the attention. “Yes, Mom,” he grumbled, pushing the food around on his tray.

Ronnie caught himself from gasping. Zephyr was Taran’s Mom?! He couldn’t believe it. Maya and Lydia noticed his reaction and were stifling giggles. Ronnie knew that Weather Boy had been Zephyr’s sidekick for years, but would have never guessed they were related! He looked closer, noticing they both shared the same brown skin, and without the mask, Zephyr would be sure to have similar sharp features. Now that he knew, it was actually very evident.

“Alright, then. I’ll let you four finish lunch.” Zephyr nodded to Maya and Lydia. “Nice seeing you, girls. I miss having you at the house. A pleasure, Ronnie.” She spun on her heel and exited the mess hall.

“Oh. My. God.” Ronnie practically shouted. “You didn’t tell me Zephyr WAS YOUR MOM!”

“You never asked.” Taran took an unhappy drink from his water and scowled.

“She is the absolute coolest! I have a poster of her above my bed! I wanted to be her for Halloween when I was seven! But wait, that means,” he gasped again. “That means the Crimson Cosmonaut is your dad?!”

“Yep...”

“That makes you like, superhero royalty!” Ronnie couldn’t contain his excitement. This was turning out to be the best day of his life.

Taran looked down on his plate and continued to push some food around with a fork. “I don’t really like to bring it up.”

“Wait a second,” Lydia interrupted, changing the subject. “You wanted to dress up as Zephyr when you were a little boy?”

Ronnie swallowed a bite and tried to explain. “My Mom was pretty open about make-believe when I was a kid. Sure Zephyr wore a purple skirt, but she has the coolest powers! I used to run around the house pretending I could fly and throw lightning bolts and create rainstorms. Was never very good at the heels, though. It’s a miracle she can fight in those things.”

He paused for just a moment, his heart rate slightly elevated. The next part never failed to make him nervous, but these were good people, and Ronnie knew he could trust them. “In hindsight, I suppose it wasn’t a total surprise when I came out at 15.”

Taran dropped his spoon mid-bite, spilling peas all over. Maya shot him a look, and he glared back at her. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and looked very pleased with herself.

“Came out? How did that go for you?” Maya asked. She raised her eyebrows at Taran, who was still picking peas off himself and the table.

“It was the best you could hope for. I was really lucky. My parents had basically figured it out before I did. It’s only my dad and me now, but he just wants me to be happy.”

Lydia sighed. “It figures. The cute ones are always gay...” Everyone laughed, and Ronnie blushed. She checked her watch. “Shit, I’m running late. I’m supposed to be walking Starblast though some bomb defusing exercises. That girl is real clumsy, and she WILL blow herself up if I don’t get there. See you guys later!” She grabbed her tray and hurried off, leaving three of them at the table.

“So, Ronnie,” Maya continued. “You seeing anyone special?”

“Hah, no. I’m single and likely to remain so. Just haven’t found the right guy, I guess.”

“Oh, that’s so interesting! Isn’t that just FASCINATING, Taran?”

Taran had finished cleaning up and was gathering his stuff to leave. “We better get back to work,” he said quickly. “Ronnie’s got his first lessons today.” He pointed Ronnie to the tray drop off. Ronnie followed the directions but noticed that Taran and Maya were buried in a private conversation back at the table. Taran appeared to be annoyed by something and shook his head as Maya laughed and bounded away.

Taran turned towards Ronnie and met his gaze with a small smile. The two met back up before heading to the locker room to get changed for training.