A few weeks had passed since the fight.

Once I had reported what happened to Swift, who looked horrified, Gemstone, his husband and his son were almost immediately moved into the LoHH (League of Heroes Headquarters). It was during this time that I learnt that Gemstone's name was actually Skeppy, and before becoming a hero, he had been a game tester. It was also during this time that I realised Skeppy's husband didn't know that he was Gemstone.

I then got to interact with his family. His husband was a very friendly, if slightly anxious man who was called BadBoyHalo, but everyone called him Bad.

His son was called Nick, but his nickname was Sapnap, because, according to the boy, it was the sort of name a superhero would have. He was very curious and energetic for a two year old.

I didn't get to interact with them at first though, because I had Crepitus lecturing me about running into the battle.

"What were you thinking?"

"You could have been killed!"

"Lucendi told you he'd take you back to headquarters!"

I hadn't really spoken to Crepitus since, opting to talk to Lucendi instead.

Lucendi, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered, more relieved that I was safe.

I was working my shift in the cafe when someone walked in.

It was a man with messy brown hair and circular glasses, and a man with long pink hair and a black hoodie.

"Hello! Welcome to Cara's, what can I get you?" I said brightly. The man with pink hair stared at me, looking amused, while the man with brown hair ordered. "Right ok... do you want anything, sir?" I asked the pink haired man.

He shook his head. "No, I'm good." I frowned. That voice sounded familiar... no, I must have been imagining it- I had never seen this man in my life.

"You sure, Techie?" The brown haired man said teasingly.

"I told you not to calm me that. It's bad enough that Tommy does it..." I blinked.

"You guys know Tommy?" I asked curiously.

They nodded. "He's our brother."

"I didn't know Tommy had brothers."

"Well, he does." The brown haired man said with a shrug. "He's probably embarrassed by how much cooler me and Techno are than him."

'Techno' let out a snort of laughter. "You mean he's embarrassed by how much cooler I am, Will."

Will let out a gasp. "How dare you!" Looking around, he added to me, "Aren't there normally a lot more people here?"

I let out a sigh as I began making his drink. "Yeah. But since the fight a few weeks back, not many people show up anymore. It's starting to worry my boss, actually."

"The fight?" Will and Techno echoed, exchanging a look that I couldn't understand.

"Yeah. It started with Spectre trying to attack Lucendi- that absolutely failed, by the way-" Techno let out another laugh, and Will had an unreadable expression on his face. "-and then a bunch of villains showed up, and most of the heroes. There was a vigilante or two, as well."

"Ohhh, that fight." Will muttered. "And Spectre didn't fail that badly. From what I heard, I mean." He added hastily. "I've... heard... a lot of people say that he's quite cool. Much cooler than Blood God, anyhow." For some reason, he shot a smug glance at Techno.

"He might be 'cooler', but Blood God is way more scary." I shivered slightly at the memory, and then handed Will his drink. "Enjoy. There's a bunch of free tables if you want to hang around."

Will thanked me and quickly payed, sitting at a table by the window. Techno hesitated, staring at me before following his brother.

The shop was quiet for a few minutes before someone else walked in.

She had bubblegum pink, shoulder length hair and a translucent piece of lilac fabric acting as a blindfold. Similar to Black Rose, she had a flower crown, but instead of black roses and spiky vines, she had pale pink azalea flowers and mint green vines.

It was Azalea, the No. 5 hero.

I stood up straighter, trying to act calm as she rushed over to the counter.

"Hi! Can I have a hot chocolate please?" She asked brightly.

"Yeah, sure!" I responded, trying to match her enthusiastic tone. As I was making her drink, I noticed Will watching her intently, a look that almost resembled disgust on his face. No, I must have been misinterpreting his expression. "So, what brings you round here?" I asked calmly.

"I was just kind of in a fight and forgot to change out of my costume, if I'm being completely honest." She said with a sheepish grin.

"Ah, that makes sense. Here you go." I passed the drink to her, blinking in surprise as she started looking through her pockets for change. "You don't need to pay, it's fine- its only one drink, and you do so much to protect the city. You don't need to pay for it."

"No, I insist." She dropped the coins on the counter and turned around with a small wave, leaving as quickly as she had entered.

Only minutes later, someone I recognised walked in. It was Bad, and Crepitus was following him closely.

"Hey Y/N." Bad said with a small smile.

"Oh, hey Bad! What can I get for you?" I asked with a smile, purposefully avoiding Crepitus' gaze. Crepitus can't treat me like a child and try to talk to me.

"Um... a cappuccino, if you don't mind." He shot me a nervous smile.

"Of course! I'll take you to a table in a minute, and then I'll bring it to you." Standing in plain view of the people inside and outside the shops was clearly making the man nervous.

I excused myself for a minute to go into the back room, where Karl, another person who worked with me, was just about to come off his break. "Hey Karl, can you sit the man by the counter at a table in the corner? Somewhere out of sight?" He raised one eyebrow at my strange request. "He seems pretty nervous about being in public, and I don't want to make any customers uncomfortable." I explained.

Karl nodded, seeming to understand, and walking out of the room, smiling at Bad and leading him towards a small table in the corner.

I quickly finished making his drink and rushed over to Bad, placing it down in front of him. "There you go." I shot him another smile, and as I turned around, I noticed Techno watching Bad with a strange expression. He noticed me watching him and hastily turned back to his conversation with Will.

That... wasn't strange at all. I thought with an internal eye roll.

I was about to go back behind the counter when I was stopped by Crepitus.

"Listen, Y/N, I'm sorry if I treated you like a child, but it was my job to keep you out of danger, and I feel like I slipped up and let you walk into a big fight." I could barely understand him, he was talking so fast.

"It's fine, Crepitus. Honestly." I gave him a small smile. I hadn't completely forgiven him, but I was happy that he was trying.

Karl was staring at me with a mischievous grin when I went back behind the counter. "Look at you, being best buds with two of the top heroes."

"I'm not 'best buds' with Crepitus. I've spoken to him like twice." I retorted quickly.

"What about Lucendi, hm? You've been talking to him a lot. You two friends?"

"I mean yeah I guess." I said with a shrug.

"I cannot believe you haven't introduced me, your best friend in the whole world, to the Number Three hero." Karl said dramatically.

"Very funny." I muttered with a laugh. "That was sarcasm by the way."

"Sure it was." Karl said with a knowing look. "Now come on, stop slacking off!" He said with a playful shove.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it."