1.15

“How’d it go last night?” Silas asked. Stick had decided to give them the morning off. Hunter had a feeling it was because of what had happened the night before. He was certain she had heard about it.

“My uncle’s an asshole.” Stick had left them to their own devices in the treehouse as she did her patrols around the Primal Lands. Hunter and Silas were eating a massive dirty, greasy buffet for breakfast. Jimena ate exotic fruits that grew within the Primal Lands mixed with some of her own homemade granola.

“Don’t worry about it, mine is too.” Silas spat as he spoke, food etiquette wasn’t really his thing.

“Yeah, but yours doesn’t masquerade as a hero.” Hunter threw back a glass of fruit juice. It was a pink purple in colour, one of the fruits of the Primal Lands. It was a mix of tart and sweet.

“Yeah, I guess you make a point.”

“Who are your uncles?” Jimena asked.

“Bulldog is my great uncle,” said Hunter.

“Salty Dog is my uncle,” Silas admitted. There was a tone of disappointment in his voice.

“The sky pirate?” Jimena asked.

“Yeah, that’s the one.” Silas put a finger up, demanding a moment of attention. He left the table and came back within moments, holding a large leather binder that looked like it contained too much. Hunter and Jimena looked at each other, confused.

“Come look, I’ve got cards,” said Silas. Jimena walked over and joined the pair.

“Bulldog’s got a card?” Hunter asked.

“Of course. He’s got one of the most variations around.” Silas handed out the card he had of Bulldog. The art of the card was at a low angle, the hero stood imposingly, like the viewer was one of his victims knocked out on the ground. Bulldog was in the middle of flicking one of his coins down, mid pose.

“What do you mean, variations?” Jimena asked.

“So a few of the cards have different artworks or photos used. With certain artworks being rarer to find than others. I’ve got ten of Bulldog so far, with three more to go.”

“He’s in love with himself. I’m surprised he doesn’t have the most variations.” Hunter didn’t sound amused. He searched the fridge for more of the fruit juice.

“Well, one of his variants is the rarest to find.”

“Why aren’t I surprised?” Hunter laughed.

“And what about your uncle, Salty Dog?” Jimena asked.

“He’s one of the most common cards to get, and he doesn’t have any variants.” Silas pulled out another card from his binder and passed it around.

The villain on the card was dressed up like the stereotypical pirates depicted in movies. His getup was complete with a cutlass, flint lock pistol and peg leg. He appeared to be laughing in his card.

“Took the whole pirate thing literally I see,” said Jimena.

“Yeah, his favourite movies growing up were pirate movies. Read a lot of pirate books too. He built his boat, but nobody knows how he got his boat to fly. He has a crew of pirates too. They’re all committed to the aesthetic," informed Silas.

“Is he a successful villain?” Jimena asked.

“Enough to get a trading card.” Silas put the two cards back into his binder.

“Do you have any relatives that are in the whole villain or hero game?” Hunter asked, nodding at Jimena as he poured himself another glass of juice. He offered it to the others but they both declined.

“Nah. As far as I know, neither of my parents even have powers. I haven’t told them that I have any either. Not sure how they’d react.”

“Doing it all on the sly then?” Hunter asked.

“Yeah, for now. Do your parents know what you’re doing?” Jimena asked back.

“My parents do. Dad’s a lawyer, working against villains. My uncle, always being the troublemaker, dad wanted to fight crime with the books. Mom’s head of research into powers at The Fortress,” informed Silas.

“Do either of them have powers?” Jimena asked.

“No. They’ve definitely got nothing.”

“How come you have powers?” Jimena asked again.

“Believe it or not, lab accident. Mom had taken me into work, and they were messing around with some formulas, seeing if they could make powers. Giving them to certain people that have been trained from the start, make super soldiers or something. Anyway, nobody was looking, and I smashed a vial all over myself. Presto, got my powers.”

“Really?” Jimena sounded unconvinced.

“No, seriously. It’s what happened," said Silas.

“What about you Hunter, do your parents know?” Jimena asked.

“Yeah mom does. Dad’s not around anymore.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that. What does your mom think?”

“Not a fan," there was a loathful tone in Hunter's voice.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. But hopefully I can get her to see where I’m coming from one day, get her approval or something like that.”

“So then why did you decide you wanted to try and become a hero, Jimena?” Silas asked. He felt like the team was really starting to bond together and he wanted to progress the friendship.

“I have my reasons.” Any sign that Jimena was letting her guard down had vanished and she closed right up again. She quietly excused herself from the table and left the room.

“Doesn’t she trust us or something?” Hunter asked.

“She still doesn’t really know us. And to be fair, you were dancing around the truth a bit yourself.” Silas informed.

“Yeah well, I’ve got my reasons.”

“She’s got hers too.”

Hunter’s and Silas’s communicator watches beeped at them. Silas looked at it to be greeted with Michael’s smiling face.

“What’s up Excelsior?” Silas asked.

“Hey there Silas. I need all three of you to investigate something for me. Artworks have been stolen from a few galleries around town. Security footage suggests this isn’t a regular thief. Our experts are quite sure on what the next target will be, and we need you there tonight.”

“Do you need all three of us?” Hunter asked.

“Of course I do. You’re a team.”

Hunter and Silas suited up and when they stepped out of the treehouse, they were greeted by Jimena.

“Didn’t want me to help out?” she asked, pointing at Hunter.

“No, of course he did. He didn’t want me to come along.” Silas blurted.

“Let’s get going,” said Hunter.