I dry my hair and stretch my arms as I walk over to Bryan. “Your phone’s been blowing up while you were in the shower.” Bryan is pulling on his coat and tosses me my phone. Several texts from Ken cover the screen: several apologies for not responding and excuses of him being at work and how busy he’s been. It was heartwarming to know that he meant his note saying he didn’t want it to be a one night stand.

I smile down at the screen and type out a few quick responses. “Sorry, just a guy I met last night.” I slip the phone back in my pocket and start to follow him up the stairs.

“Oh-hoh! Found yourself a new man?” Bryan turns and gives me a grin, leading my over to his car.

“Haha, maybe… He seems nice enough. But I’m gonna keep it to myself until it becomes something more serious.” Bryan nods at my plan, starts the roaring engine, and drives us off toward downtown.

He weaves through traffic and eventually pulls into a parking garage at the base of towering high rise. Heading up several floors, Bryan parks and we head to an elevator that ticks its way even higher. When it eventually stops and the doors slide open, we’re met by nothing but large wooden door. “Huh? Where’s the hallway?”

I look up at Bryan who starts chuckling. “The whole floor is my apartment. Come on.” I follow him out, mouth agape, and watch as he unlocks the door and opens it into a massive apartment. The entrance hall leads deeper into what I assume is a kitchen, to our left is a large living room with a massive television framed by shelves of DVDs and books. A study on the right has even more books as well as a desk with a large computer monitor on the top. He opens a coat closet by the front door and hangs his coat inside and holds his hand out to take mine.

I hand it to him and step further inside to admire the large abode. “Holy crap! Your apartment is massive!”

He laughs loudly, slaps the back of my shoulder, and walks past me toward the kitchen. “Yeah, I suppose it is when compared to yours. Come on! I hope you like spaghetti.” He turns to me with arms out wide as he walks backwards. When he turns back, he tilts his head up a bit and yells. “Lance! We got company!”

From deep within the halls of the home, a quiet voice echoes back. “OK, I’ll be out in a second!”

As we enter the kitchen, I sit at the large island as Bryan begins pulling ingredients and cookware. “So, I suppose Lance is your son.”

“Yes, sir! Certified genius too. He’s a hell of a lot smarter than I am, that’s for sure.” He begins filling a pot with water and places it on the stove.

A moment later, a kid, about 16, walks in. With a similar face and skin tone to his father, Lance is wearing a plain black zip-up hoodie, red t-shirt, and baggy sweatpants. His hair is shaved on either side while the top stands tall about an inch. He gives me a wave. “Hey there, I’m Lance.” He high-fives his dad and instantly pulls up his sleeves, washes his hands and gets to work helping him.

“H-hi! I’m Tyler, nice to meet you.” The two are grinning as they work on prepping our meal. “I feel bad just sitting here, is there some way I can help?”

Bryan scrunches his face and waves his hand. “Psh, hell no! You’re the guest of honor, kid! Relax!”

“Alright…” I lean forward and rest my arms on the island. We make general small talk while the two prep our dinner. Lance is apparently taking high level tech and engineering classes at NYU while still finishing high-school. He said it was entirely his choice though and that the work wasn’t really all that bad. He’s apparently won quite a few awards and comfortably has a place at his dad’s company, not from nepotism but, based purely on his ability. Lance is putting me to shame and I’m the one with super powers…

When we’re all seated at the table, enjoying our spaghetti, Lance suddenly drops a bomb that causes me to choke on my food. “So are you gonna let me help Tyler now?”

I swallow down my mouthful and take a couple of coughs before speaking up. “Um, help me with what?” My confusion and worry is blatant.

“I already told you that you’re not ready. That world is just too dangerous.” Bryan doesn’t even look up at his son and continues eating.

“Come on! I’ve been training in all my free time! I know those programs inside and out!” I snap my attention from one to the other as if I’m trapped in a comedy skit. “You can’t be spending every night there! You said it yourself! People are gonna figure you out.”

“The answer is no.” Bryan’s voice is stern and he looks at his angry son with cold eyes.

I opt to stay quiet but Lance’s next words make me sit up straight and force my eyes wide. “He’s Burst! Shouldn’t he have some say in this?” He points to me viciously as if accusing me of murder.

“Ha ha… What do you mean? I’m not, heh, Burst! Wha-what’re you talking about?” I shake my head and can’t stop the nervous laughter plaguing my speech.

“You’re not ready, Lance. I’m your father and I’m saying no.” Lance slams down his silverware and storms out of the room without another word. A moment later, a door slams down the hall. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I told him all about my work cause I knew I’d need someone to do stuff like aiding you while I attend Hook. Seems he’s gotten to gungho about the whole thing though.”

“Oh. Huh. Well, you said he was a genius… Are you sure he’s not ready?” I’m worried that I may be hitting a sore spot but I can’t help but ask.

Bryan puts his fork down and sighs. “I’m sure he is but… I’m just worried. Doing all this hero work is really dangerous - even for the supporting crew. If you get caught or if someone figures out where the base is, everything’s over. The dudes you’re gonna be dealing with aren’t comic book villains. Real criminals will kill you without a second thought.”

His words struck a fear deep within me. But at the same time, I was filled with an unshakable resolve. “Well… that’s all the more reason to stop them.”

Bryan looks into my confidant eyes and grins. He nods with a scoff. “That’s exactly what I expect from Rook’s son.”