The intense green from Bear's tattoos shone brighter, contrasting with the rich brown of his skin. He took a deep breath, going back to his composed self. Bear cracked his knuckles and cleared his throat. Then, he faced Léon. “Are you okay?”

His deep silky voice licked Léon’s ears; his heart raced. Of course he wasn’t okay. The powers inside Léon still swirled with rage, barely controlled… and it was Bear’s fault.

Bureau cut in, “We should get out of here before the police or the League arrives.”

Grizzly Bear nodded, walking towards Léon. He held him in his arms as Parfait untied his ankles and hands. Léon closed his eyes, breathing in that well-known smell of wet soil and the wooden fragrance of Bear’s perfume.

“How does it feel like being a superhero again, Bear? Saving people and all?” Parfait asked, a broad smile stretching her doll-like lips.

Léon needed a moment to regain his balance, then another to yank the sock out of his mouth. He was hoping his team could interpret his flushed cheeks as the result of being tied upside down, nothing else. “We are superheroes, Fait. We steal from rich people to give to our poor selves.” The ringtone restarted. “Ahhh-ah-ahh, shit,” Léon whispered. He hid behind Parfait and fished his phone out.

“What happened, Warp?” Parfait asked, looking over her shoulder.

Instead of answering, Léon gently pushed her face forward. “Don’t look, Fait. Seriously.” His thoughts circled around the word trauma.

“Why?” she asked.

Bear answered in Léon’s place. “Cotton Candy hit him in his weak spot.”

“Oh, my! Are you bleeding?” Parfait asked, fidgeting with the straps of her backpack.

“If he is, it’s not blood,” Bear whispered.

Léon threw a hard punch on his shoulder. “Shut up.” As much as he didn’t want to, the ends of his lips curled up.

Bear laughed. He took his sleeveless overcoat off and placed it around Léon's shoulders, pointing towards the belt. "There. Use it," he whispered in a playful tone, only for him to hear. His hand lingered on Léon's shoulder for a moment as he brushed a finger on his long brown locks. His expression softened. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Léon’s breathing caught in his throat. He moved his eyes aside and brushed Bear’s hand away. He opened his lips to answer, but before he could say anything, the double doors burst open. Grenades flew into the room, spitting a white, dense smoke that made Léon’s eyes water.

Bureau glanced around. “We still have our improvised entrance, right?”

A group of shadows approached the hole in the wall, guns in hand.

“No, we don’t. Dammit! Exits. What did we plan for the exits?” Bureau insisted.

A dozen trails of thin red lights cut through the smoke, drawing red dots on their bodies.

“Weapons on the floor, hands where I can see them!” a woman shouted. “You’re surrounded, surrender yourselves, or we’re gonna open fire.”

Bureau took a step back. “I won’t go back to prison. I’d rather die, Warp. Do something!”

Tension built in his shoulders while Léon stretched a hand to the side. He shouldn’t do this. It was too dangerous.

"I'll repeat. Drop your weapons and raise your hands or…."

But what other choice did he have? His powers flushed down to his fingertips, and the pain returned to his left temple… but a hand rested on his shoulder, stopping him with a firm squeeze.

With red dots dancing on his head and chest, Grizzly Bear raised his hands and took a step forward, ignoring Warp and Bureau’s questions. “Parfait,” he said, not looking back. “I’m counting on you. Use the big ones. Sapphi won’t mind.”

Parfait’s smile turned wicked. Her big blue eyes narrowed into lines of amusement and satisfaction as she slipped her hands into her pockets and pulled two golden marbles from them.

***

Outside the warehouse, the sky covering New Continent was sapphire blue, spotted by the usual black satellites and ozone layer fortifiers. In a park, miles away from the Heroic League’s warehouse, a little girl played with her toys. Her Parfait action figure had just punched the jaw of a Tyrannosaurus when a massive gust of golden glitter swept the entire neighborhood. Her hair danced and whisked in the gale, as did the tire swing behind her. She raised her impressed little eyes to the sky, as a monstrous cloud of golden smoke formed a massive heart above the buildings.

When it dissipated, the little girl smiled.

Hours later, The Mayor entered the trashed warehouse, avoiding contact with the golden statues that the police force had become. He sighed, running a hand through his thin white hair. His eyes studied the scene until he spotted the box of sashimi dropped on the floor.

“Sir, shall we send a search party after them?” Corporal Otho asked.

The Mayor considered his words for a moment. He squatted, raised the golden box, and found a few pieces of sashimi inside, still intact.

“No, Otho, we shan’t. All this,” he said, swirling a finger to show the warehouse, “just confirmed us one thing: Grizzly Bear and Fire Sapphire are still alive.” The Mayor beamed. He smelled the raw fish, threw it into his mouth, then raised to his feet, munching. “And we just found them.”

The Mayor completed, “The Bear season just opened.” He smirked. “Let’s aim for his head.”