It was more nerve wracking than Ashton had expected to pick Summer up the next morning. Not only because he still felt guilty, but also because of their destination. It wasn’t exactly a place one would expect to have a secret meeting or even be associated with SI. Regardless of his feelings, the next morning came around and it was time to pick Summer up.

  For the sake of secrecy, Ashton told everyone else he was going on a date. It would also explain his interesting choice of a destination. The drive to Summer’s house was familiar, and somehow nostalgic even though it hadn’t really been that long. The silence and solitude gave him more time to think than he would like, but not a single one of those thoughts was useful.

  He arrived a few minutes early, and barely even had a chance to knock before Summer threw the door open. She looked like an antsy bundle of nerves. Was what she had to tell him that important? He was growing more and more curious about what she couldn’t discuss over the phone.

  “I made lunches for us since I don’t know how long this is going to take,” Summer told him, thrusting the cooler she had been holding since she opened the door towards him.

  “Oh, that’s probably a good idea,” Ashton agreed, “Thanks. Should we get going, then?”

  This car ride was just as silent as his first. Summer still seemed antsy, and he didn’t want to interrogate her in the car. Whatever she had to say could wait until they arrived. Hopefully the unique location wouldn’t be a problem.

  As Ashton pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned shopping center, Summer looked around with curiosity and confusion. Honestly, Ashton wouldn’t have considered coming to this place either if he hadn’t found the key among his belongings earlier. He doubted SI would have had time to change it. Almost out of habit, Ashton approached the door to the arcade wedged between a donut shop and a shoe store and unlocked it.

  “Are you sure this is the right place?” Summer asked.

  “Definitely,” Ashton confirmed, “Every villain had to train here at least once a week.”

  “Train?” Summer asked again, looking around them as if expecting to see something amazing hidden within.

  That was an understandable reaction. Under the dim lighting all that could be seen were the powerless machines that were once used for various games and the mascot costumes lined up against the far wall. Ashton approached the costumes filled with memories of his time here. Back then he had found each of the animal themed outfits complete with smiles that were far too wide and cartoonish sparkling eyes to be stupid if not pointless. Now he was grateful that they at least hid all of his features.

  Front and center was a patchwork cat that seemed familiar for another reason. If he hadn’t come here he probably never would have realized how similar the arcade’s main mascot looked to Copy Kitty, the magical hand puppet and co-star of RepliKtion Station. Had Derrick done that on purpose or was it another ploy by Heroix to prove they knew about SI’s secrets?

  “Yeah,” Ashton confirmed, “Since villains were fake, we needed to know how to fight someone without hurting them. The best way to train for that kind of situation is to face it over and over. SI’s solution was to lock us in a building with a bunch of children on a sugar high while we wore the mascot costumes.”

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  “Oh,” Summer replied.

  They both spent a few moments longer looking at the mascot costumes that were trying far too hard to be cute. The only one that had a normal color of any kind was the green frog, with the others set in soft pastels of the rainbow. Ashton had worn the majority of these mascots save for the purple bunny since it was designed with smaller people in mind.

  It was probably about time to get down to business. Ashton double checked that he had locked the door behind them before leading Summer deeper into the arcade to a snack bar complete with a seating area. Naturally, everything was out of stock since the place had long been closed down, but he noticed Summer eyeing the signs for the various sugary treats provided.

  “This place has no power, so none of the technology should work. No one had any idea we were going to come here so there wouldn’t have been a chance to set something up in advance. I even locked the door behind us,” Ashton listed off, “Are you ready to explain now?”

  Summer’s attention snapped back to him when he spoke and she seemed to be struggling to figure out where to begin her explanation. After a long stretch of silence she finally opened her mouth.

  “Everything that happened is probably my fault,” she admitted, “When that reporter followed us from the cafe to the restaurant I panicked, and I blamed the one person who is usually at fault. Just this time, he wasn’t.”

  It took a few moments for Ashton to realize what she meant. “Did you reach out to Maskz to accuse him?” he asked. She nodded, biting her lip. “What did he do?”

  “Honestly, he didn’t even seem offended. He even offered to help,” Summer explained, “Since that reporter kept following us, trying to get me to admit that I am Golden Reign, I took him up on it. No, that isn’t exactly right. I was so panicked I almost threatened him to make him help us. He was going on and on about how useful I have been and how he is thankful up on that roof so I thought he would do something.”

  “He could do many somethings,” Ashton muttered, already not liking where this was going. It made perfect sense now why she had told him that Maskz would already know everything she was going to say.

  “Right. I realized I messed up almost immediately,” Summer continued, “Sure Claudia was annoying but it’s not like I wanted her to be his target. So when he told me to come meet him at the Golden Club, I did. Kayla came along too. He even let her bodyguards in.”

  “He let her bodyguards in?” Ashton asked in surprise. Was he actually trying to hide his identity or not.

  “Yes, but he was wearing a costume and acting just like one of SI’s villains,” Summer told him, “Anyway, he promised he wouldn’t do anything to us since he hadn’t planned on doing anything yet and we are on vacation. Instead, he offered to help me and told me the secret to how he mastered his power. It was when he offered to give Kayla similar advice that things got weird.”

  “Kayla?” Ashton asked, barely able to keep up with the unexpected twists in the story.

  “Yeah. The bodyguards suddenly chimed in saying the people above wanted her to take Ned’s offer and improve her power,” Summer replied, starting to look visibly more uncomfortable, “It was creepy, like her opinion didn’t matter. Kayla even told me that if she became useful again they would probably take her away from the team and lock her back up in the facility. That is why we visited Heroix today to make a deal with MysteriousMaskz.”

  Ashton took a deep breath to calm himself. The last thing he needed was to interrupt her with an unnecessary outburst. “Why did you meet him at Heroix?”

  “We did that so the guards wouldn’t catch on,” Summer explained, “That is also why I told you I was meeting a fan. It was the story Ned came up with and he did give me a gift. We needed to meet somewhere that wasn’t associated with him, but I still wanted to meet somewhere public. Ned showed us how Kayla’s power really works and why it has been so unstable so far. He even agreed to put on a show and lie to the guards for us. Downplay her power a bit.”

  “So you will be meeting him again,” Ashton concluded, “When? Before you try to get out of this, I am coming too.”