Summer wasn’t really sure what Kayla was expecting when she heard about the coffee shop, and she wasn’t even sure what to expect herself. Would they even still have all of those old hero posters up now that SI had fallen and the heroes portrayed in them were outed as frauds?

  To her surprise, the cafe was just as poster plastered as she remembered, with a few extra additions. It was difficult to ignore the glaringly large poster of herself, or rather Golden Reign, against the back wall. Had that outfit always looked so embarrassing? Luckily it didn’t seem like anyone was paying it much mind.

  What was even more concerning were the hero agency ads posted on the bulletin board. There was one from all of the ones Summer had heard of, along with a few more she hadn’t realized existed. It seemed like the reputation of being the place to get recruited as a hero was still going strong.

  “It really is a hero cafe,” Kayla said in wonder, “I wasn’t sure what to expect but there are posters, figurines, and even recruitment ads.”

  “The last part is new,” Summer told her, relaxing a bit. Right, even if the hero agencies around had changed, this place hadn’t. “We must have dropped by during a lull. It’s not usually this quiet.”

  Kayla glanced around at the tables with customers relaxing or chatting away. “This is a lull? How busy does this place get?”

  “I remember the morning rush hour when I used to work here was hectic,” Summer recalled, “The line went all the way out the door, and I had to remember which hero themed cup sleeve they wanted on top of their order. It was always a nightmare when we ran out of the most popular one. It was so hard to keep track because hero popularity always changed… I guess they really were just like idols back then.”

  “Does that mean Golden Reign is the most popular one right now?” Kayla asked, taking note of the cups on the tables.

  Summer also looked, then looked again in disbelief. Not every cup had a sleeve copy of that embarrassing poster, but a lot of them did. A few of the cups even had an image of Shadow Phoenix. She had to bite down the temptation to get one of those.

  “I kinda figured no one would support heroes from SI anymore after the truth got out,” she admitted, “I know it’s Shadow Phoenix, but to think there is even old villain merch here.”

  “Since villains all turned out to be fake, people stopped feeling guilty for liking them,” a woman butted in from a nearby table. Her own cup had a villain themed sleeve. The Purple Tortoise. “Once something is in high demand, of course business will be quick to supply it. That is how things work in a capitalist society.”

  “I.. see?” Summer replied, not sure how to react to the sudden interruption of this stranger.

  “Let’s go order our coffee,” Kayla prompted, her tone and expression suddenly a lot colder than before.

  They placed their orders, Summer recommending one of her favorites for Kayla to try. She had tried a lot of the menu when she used to work there. Since Summer wasn’t really in the mood for coffee she got a smoothie instead, The smoothie blender still made that horrible grinding sound off and on. It was kind of funny that they hadn’t replaced it even though it had been a couple of years.

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  Kayla chose a Golden Reign theme, and Summer gave in to temptation and chose Shadow Phoenix. Once their orders were out, she made sure to choose a table far away from the lady from before. Something about her rubbed her the wrong way, and Summer could still feel her eyes on them.

  “Was there anywhere else you want to visit before we head back?” Summer asked Kayla, trying her best to ignore her.

  “I don’t know. Maybe we could drop by somewhere to get a bite to eat. Do you have any restaurants you like around here?” Kayla asked.

  Summer grinned. “I know all kinds of restaurants. What kind of food do you like? Steakhouse, Chinese, Mexican, fried chicken? I even know a pretty good Indian place if you like spicy food. Their curry is amazing and they have this stuffed cheesy garlic naan that melts in your mouth.”

  “I don’t really like spicy food,” Kayla said apologetically, “How about pasta? Do you know a good pasta place?”

  “Greek or Italian?” Summer asked, “Actually, if you don’t like spice it is probably best to go with Italian. The lasagna there is amazing, but they also have this great seafood spaghetti in a cream based sauce. I forget exactly what it is called.”

  “Sure let’s go with that,” Kayla agreed with a relaxed smile, “You must really love food. You make everything sound delicious.”

  “You do,” the woman from earlier broke in. She must have approached them while they were discussing restaurants, “You could even make it as a columnist for the gourmet section if you polish your skills a bit.”

  “I don’t really have any interest in that sort of thing,” Summer told her, annoyed that she had interrupted them yet again. That greedy and ambitious glint in her eyes was plain to see, and Summer did not want to get involved with whatever she was scheming.

  “Then maybe you are into cosplay?” the woman pressed, “I bet if you wore a costume you would look just like a hero. With your long blonde hair you could pull off Golden Reign perfectly.”

  Did this woman suspect her, or was she trying to rope her into some kind of scam? “Thanks for saying that, but honestly that costume would be a bit embarrassing for me,” Summer replied, “I don’t think I could pull off all that gold and silver and sparkles.”

  No, seriously, Summer was questioning her past self. The more she saw her image on that poster, the more ridiculous she thought she looked. No wonder Ashton was so embarrassed when he recalled his time as Shadow Phoenix. He probably felt the exact same way about his villain attire.

  “You don’t seem to be a fan of Golden Reign, even though her popularity shot up after that drama,” the woman noted, “I even have an interview lined up for the lead actress. I was hoping to make it a double with the real Golden Reign, but no one has seen her since Shadow Phoenix quit. It’s almost as if the two disappeared together.”

  With the way she kept prodding her, it was clear she suspected Summer’s identity. If she had an interview, did that make this woman a reporter? No wonder she was so shameless. How was Summer going to shake her?

  “Excuse me, I think that is enough,” Kayla interrupted, “We came here to spend some quality time together, and it seems like my friend doesn’t know you.”

  The woman frowned, clearly upset that she had been stopped in her tracks, but her fake smile returned in just a moment. “My bad. I took things a little too far,” she admitted, raising one hand while the other pulled a business card out of her purse. “If you ever do happen to learn anything about the mysterious relationship and disappearance of Golden Reign and Shadow Phoenix, give me a call. I pay generously for good scoops.”

  She set the card on the table between them and finally walked away. Summer glanced down at the card.

  “Claudia Jones -The Hero Daily”

  Summer grimaced. She was a reporter alright. The Hero Daily ran news through the papers and television programs exposing the private lives of heroes since long before SI crashed and burned. If her identity was discovered by someone like that, she wouldn’t have to worry about Ned exposing her secrets anymore. There wouldn’t be anything left to expose. Hopefully she would never meet Claudia again.