Nathan hurried off. Eric was under the impression that Nathan worked at home, so he did have to hurry back to his room. Once he got settled onto his bed, he grabbed his tablet and called back. “Hey again,” he said. “I’m in my room.”

“I can see that,” Eric said. He appeared to be lying on a hotel bedroom. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever actually been to your place. I’ve been to your mom’s place, but not yours. I’m beginning to think you secretly have a husband.” Eric grinned.

“Oh. Well, that’s one of the rules of the place,” Nathan said, shrugging. “I’m not allowed to have guests over. It’s in the lease.”

“Pretty weird,” Eric said. “Maybe you should get a new place.”

“Maybe. The company pays for this one, though, so…” Nathan shrugged again. “Honestly, it’s probably better to use your place. Won’t have to sneak around people who wonder why I’m inviting another cute guy over while I have a boyfriend.”

“True. My neighbors don’t care about anything,” Eric said, stretching out on the bed. “Though I do feel a bit bad, kicking Coral out.”

“Yeah,” Nathan said. “Is Coral there?”

“Nope. Went out to explore a few things I wasn’t interested in with a group. We’re texting, but I’m alone right now. Oh, hang on, I should probably check in now. Gimme a sec.” He picked up his phone, tapped out a message, and then set it down. “While I’m waiting, how about I show you the view?” He stood up, carrying the tablet with him, and then flipped the view out the window.

Nathan leaned in to look. The sun was setting, which was slightly jarring considering it was mid-afternoon where he was. Directly below the window, there was a park. He could just make out a fountain between the trees. Beyond that, the buildings were white with orange-brown rounded roof tiles. It wasn’t at all like the Cove’s buildings, which were either gray or painted in very bright colors. “Very nice,” he said. “Seen any of the major sights yet?”

“Yep. Went to the Queen Sofia Museum just yesterday. Did you know that the guy who made the polio vaccine was the stepfather of some of Picasso’s kids?”

“Um, no, I didn’t know that. Wait, when did Picasso live?”

“Died in the 70s.”

“Whoa.” Nathan had to take a moment to reorient his worldview. “I thought he was ancient.”

“Nope. Pretty modern. Also saw some of Dalí’s work.”

“Was the melted clocks painting there?”

“No, that’s in New York.”

“What about the starry night one? That’s Dalí, right?”

“That’s van Gogh, and that’s also in New York.”

Nathan reached deep into his brain for artwork. “...The Scream?”

Eric gave him a baffled look. “Are you sure you’re gay?”

“Well, I’m not the fine arts kinda gay. I’m the disaster gay.”

“Can’t really argue with that,” Eric said. “Though we could still check to see if you’re gay. You know, just to be absolutely sure.”

“Oh yeah?” Nathan said. “How do you plan to do that?”

“Well…” Eric slowly unbuttoned his shirt, one at a time, grinning widely. Every button popped revealed just a little more dark hair. Before he reached the bottom, though, the alarm went off. Nathan practically jumped off the bed. “What’s that?” Eric asked.

“Fire alarm. Gotta go. Call you later.” He stabbed the End Call button until Eric disappeared and rushed to the ready room, not bothering to put on his armor.

Angelica and Hermes were looking at the map of the city, especially closely in Hermes’s case. Iris and Rainbright were standing in the corner. “Oh, good,” Angelica said. “Echo and Couronne are currently robbing a bank.”

Seriously? They barely got any money from it. Sure, the bank used to keep a lot of money on hand, but that had stopped after the first few attacks. Now it was reporting less than a few hundred lost every time. “Usual target?” Nathan asked.

“Usual target. Hermes will teleport the team there. Since there’s three on the team, we need coordination. You and I will run mission control.”

“Sounds… wait, what?”

Angelica handed her headset over to Nathan. He immediately almost dropped it. “You three ready to go?” she asked Hermes, Iris, and Rainbright.

“Ready,” Iris said. The other two nodded.

“Then head out. And put on the headset,” she added to Nathan.

Nathan put it on, almost dropping it again, as Hermes put one arm each around Iris and Rainbright. Once Nathan got it on correctly, he gave them a thumbs up and Hermes teleported. The headset’s background noise cut out and then crackled and reappeared. Angelica hit a button on the ready room’s remote and three camera feeds appeared.

“We’re here,” Hermes said over the comm.

“I can see that,” Nathan said. “Um. Can you see what’s going on inside?” He glanced at Angelica, who gave him a smile and a nod.

“No. One sec.” Hermes’s feed cut out, and then showed the inside of the bank. Neither villain was in view. Hermes turned around, only for the video to show nothing but flames. There was a yelp and then the feed cut out again. When it reappeared, it was outside. “Couronne confirmed.”

“All right. Iris, Rainbright, go in and confront them. Rainbright, I want you to try and trap Echo. Iris, go after Couronne. Hermes, get the civilians out of the bank. Understood?”

All three affirmed. Before they could go in, though, the bank doors flew open and Echo and Couronne flew out and into the sky, Echo clutching a bag.

“Change of plans,” Nathan said. “Hermes, try to get the money back. Rainbright, focus on Echo. Iris--”

Echo and Couronne split up, Couronne flying low to the ground.

“Iris, go after Couronne. Rainbright, Echo should be vulnerable now.”

“Got it,” Rainbright said.

Hermes’s feed cut out and then came back in, showing Echo beneath him. He fell onto them, grabbing the bag. Nathan heard a thump over the comm, and then Hermes was falling away from Echo. The feed cut out and then back in, safely on the ground.

Iris was still chasing after Couronne, from what he could tell. Her speed made the feed go fuzzy. Still, it seemed like she was catching up.

Rainbright caught up to Echo, after they were slowed down by Hermes, and got in range. She formed a red barrier in front of them, expanding it into a bubble when Echo smacked into it.

“Great job, Rainbright,” Nathan said. “Iris, still got eyes on Couronne?”

“Yeah,” came Iris’s voice, distorted.

“Great, then-- What?”