Now that all of the paperwork was signed and the basic explanations were out of the way, Ashton couldn’t help but feel that he had been hasty hiring Derrick like that. Considering the timing, once Summer and Kayla heard about this they were sure to think that they were being replaced. Ashton couldn’t even be certain he wasn’t thinking along those lines when he made his decision.

  Then Derrick began asking questions about everything. Ashton wasn't used to facing someone this curious and ambitious. In some ways Derrick reminded him of MysteriousMaskz. He was sure to keep that thought to himself.

  "The team consists of six people now, including you," Ashton answered, "I am the leader. Levi and Kai share a power so they do things together on their missions. Kayla has a supporting power and I have often had her paired with Summer."

  "You mentioned the other two before," Derrick noted, "When do I get to meet them?"

  "They are currently on... Vacation right now," Ashton replied. Telling this man his teammates had been suspended was probably a bad idea, "Both of them had a face to face encounter with our enemy and need some time to recover."

  Derrick accepted this answer and moved on to another question. “Is there anyone else on the team I should recognize?”

  Ashton immediately knew he was asking about other villains, or even heroes, from SI. Given how sharp he was, they wouldn’t really be able to hide it. “Golden Reign,” Ashton revealed, “Though she uses her powers a bit differently off camera.”

  “Obviously,” Derrick replied, then paused, “This is probably a bit rude, but I have to ask. Are you in a relationship with Golden Reign?”

  “I am,” Ashton confirmed with a sigh. He knew what this was about. It was that drama again. His coworkers at Gale Research had made sure he would never forget about the ridiculous series. It was likely too tempting to ignore when Golden Reign and Shadow Phoenix were actually dating. Not that they had done anything remotely romantic in quite a while.

  “The producers didn’t stumble upon something they shouldn’t have, right?” Derrick asked, “Like some after battle secret meetup?”

  “We didn’t start dating until after the show aired,” Ashton denied, “I haven’t had the time to watch it, but I doubt the details are anywhere close to correct about anything.”

  “Makes sense. The character who portrays you is suave and charming. Irresistible enough to make a hero fall in love,” Derrick mused, “I don’t know how you react around her, but you seem more like the serious and down-to-earth type.”

  “I doubt you would have had a chance to meet any of the other members,” Ashton pushed forward, “Their lives were a lot more private than ours were. If you want to more about them or their powers it would probably be better to ask them in person.”

  “Which means I won’t find out anything more about Golden Reign until she comes back from vacation,” Derrick noted, “You are lucky I joined. Your little team of three probably wasn’t going to make it until they returned. I am sure you will be impressed when you see what I can really do with my power.”

  “You still need to go through training first,” Ashton informed him, “Just because our team was designed as a noncombatant unit doesn’t mean we never face danger. Especially since MysteriousMaskz has his attention on us.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Derrick’s mood immediately soured at the mention of their nemesis. “Right, him. Tell me more about your past encounters with him. I want to know why this psycho ruined my life.”

  Deciding that Derrick had every right to know about what they were up against, Ashton began to recount everything he personally knew about MysteriousMaskz, starting from the beginning. As he recounted the incidents he couldn’t help but feel how incredibly personal everything had been.

  From those first messages threatening SI’s secrets, to the suspicious timing of the Tornado attack on the main building, to the fact that almost every ally and enemy Ashton crossed paths with knew he was Shadow Phoenix. Maskz had sent all of them, and told them all that Ashton would create a new world. A better world. Of course, Ashton had never had any intention of doing anything like that.

  Unfortunately, whenever he refused to play along, his friendly stalker would do what he needed to force his hand. Whether it was through blackmailing Summer, taking hostages, or even placing a bomb in an alleyway that only Ashton could stop. The most concerning part of all of it was the fact that MysteriousMaskz intended to let Ashton catch him one day, but only Ashton.

  “According to Jargon, he never even would have used his powers to make contracts if Maskz hadn’t forced him to,” Ashton concluded, “Jargon’s arrest is the most recent contact I have had with him.”

  “I thought I was just slinging insults, but this guy really is a psychopath,” Derrick muttered with a grimace, “It is starting to sound like being part of your team is going to be both the safest and most dangerous position. Well, that’s fine. I never intended to avoid danger in the first place.”

  “There will definitely be plenty of danger,” Ashton confirmed, “That is why the rest of the team lives in company housing. Would you like to see the open apartments before you head back?”

  “If this was before SI crashed and burned I would be reluctant to move,” Derrick muttered, “but even some lame company housing might be better if it keeps the endless stream of reporters out. I haven’t had a shred of privacy since my information was leaked.”

  Ashton left the meeting room with Derrick and led him out to his car, handing off the paperwork to the appropriate people on his way out. “It isn’t far, but it is still a bit too far to walk,” he explained, “Gale Research has quite a lot of land.”

  “I can see that,” Derrick agreed, slipping into the passenger seat without hesitation and looking around.

  Just as Ashton had promised, they reached their little apartment complex in no time. Things had changed a bit since he first moved in. The place looked like people lived there now, and the occupied apartments had gained nameplates below their door numbers. The apartment mailbox was just a bit down the street next to three others.

  “As a member of the team, one of these two remaining apartments is yours as soon as you officially join,” Ashton told him, “Since you will need some time to sort things out with Heroix-”

  “I don’t need any time to waste on those frauds,” Derrick scoffed, “I already tore up that dumb contract. They can’t force me to stick around anymore, and I will use that fact against them if they try to stop me from leaving. Does your team happen to hunt corrupt hero agencies on the side?”

  Ashton sighed. Derrick really was intense. “No. That is something far beyond our duties and our skillset. Before Maskz got involved our only goal was to identify unseen abilities and do whatever needs to be done to make sure everyone involved is safe.”

  “That is why you get your own pocket serum,” Derrick realized, “Ms. Gale must trust you a lot, even though you keep drawing unwanted attention. How can she be sure you won’t use it against her?”

  Derrick moved on to look at the apartments without waiting for an answer to his question, but he had brought up a good point. Why did Amber Gale trust Ashton so much? Because he had passed one little test back then? That couldn’t be the reason, at least not the full one. Maybe it was time to stop putting off the inevitable. Ashton needed to find out the real goal of Gale Research and its CEO.