third-person POV

Matteo’s nerves were able to rest that day and in the days that followed. Although his brother had promised to call again, he didn’t. Neither did his parents. When Matteo later called to tell them he had some time off and was safe, they didn’t mention his engagement, so he knew Jonas had kept quiet. What Matteo didn’t know was that it wasn’t because his brother was giving him space — quite the opposite, in fact.

A week later, the heroes decided they had rested enough and returned to their duties. Kaitlyn decided to stay on as something like a part-time employee, like Drew and Rowan, and not participate in everyday missions. Sawyer, on the other hand, chose to rejoin the team full time. However, he asked to remain a sidekick and not a full hero, even though he had proven that he was one.

Rowan decided to live in the house instead of returning to his apartment. The only exception he made was when he knew Casey wouldn’t be home alone. Usually, either Ciara or Max took on the task of keeping him company. It was the same that day since Rowan had promised to help the Legion with any technical issues they might have. He didn’t expect a problem to arise so quickly, but he went there anyway, wearing civilian clothes and ready to help.

Matteo and Sawyer, or rather Citadel and Speedsonic, were mainly focused on patrols since they had learned in recent weeks that the city was much more dangerous than they thought. They were also monitoring people exposed to the water in the Trade Tower to ensure there were no lingering effects.

After responding to an unexpected apartment fire, Citadel decided to help out in the neighborhood and ensure everything was safe. He sent his sidekick back to the Legion to put together a report on the situation. However, when the hero in the red suit entered the building, his priorities changed the moment his gaze fell on two people who stood out from the crowd and clearly didn’t belong there.

“Jonas, Mary,” he greeted them, stepping closer. "Are you waiting for Matteo?" he asked, even though the answer was obvious. Their eyes first landed on his soot-stained suit, but Speedsonic gave them a reassuring smile to show there was no cause for concern.

"Is he here?" the tall, blond man—practically an older version of the hero—got straight to the point. His wife added another important detail. "He doesn't know we're here. We decided to surprise him.”

The sidekick nodded in understanding. It made sense since Citadel hadn’t mentioned anyone coming to visit him. The problem was that he wasn’t supposed to return to the building anytime soon, and Speedsonic had urgent responsibilities to attend to, not to mention wanting to get rid of the smoky smell on his suit and himself.

"He's not here at the moment," he answered first. "He should be back soon, but he'll probably be delayed." He quickly began to think through his options. "I'd let you wait in his apartment, but I'm not sure I can." Then he remembered something important. "I'd wait with you—" he began, but Jonas cut him off.

“You don’t have to. We don't want to interrupt your work," he said.

The hero in red waved his hand. "You're not interrupting. But I can’t leave you standing in the middle of the lobby. Come with me. I have an idea.”

Jonas hesitated, but Mary quickly grabbed his hand and started leading him in the direction the sidekick had pointed. Together, they walked up the stairs and headed toward the part of the building where the agents worked.

“I’ll let Matteo know you’re here,” he said, glancing back over his shoulder as they walked. "It's not that busy today, so I'm sure he'll speed things up." His words slightly contradicted each other, but considering how long Matteo had been unable to contact his family without endangering them, Speedsonic was certain that he would now prioritize them over duty.

“Thank you.” Mary gave him a warm smile. "We wouldn't mind waiting at a café, but we wanted to let him know we're here first. Jonas has a few questions for him.”

The sidekick chose not to pry and simply nodded. They were already approaching the room he was guiding them to, so he focused on something else.

The sight that greeted him when he entered the room full of desks and computers was not what he expected. One thing he was sure of when it came to the villain was that he hated it when someone looked over his shoulder while he worked. Apparently, however, no one had told the agents, who had practically surrounded him. Each of them was invading his personal space so much that Speedsonic could barely see the dark-haired man among them.

…

Rowan

When Rowan offered to help the Legion even without the mask, he did not expect them to take him up on it so quickly. However, after Matteo’s conversation with his family last week, he decided to try harder to do good in order to make a better impression on them, so he agreed. He soon began to regret his decision when the agents overwhelmed him with not only their attention but also their stupid questions. He genuinely had no idea how they had managed to survive this long without his help.

He tried to focus on the screen and ignore their presence. He could practically feel their breath on his skin and had the distinct sense that if he moved even a millimeter, he would bump into them. It made him think about how they had originally wanted to arrest him when they didn't know his identity. In that moment, a cell where he would have at least some space would have been far better than the suffocating closeness he was experiencing now.

The villain repeated to himself once again that he was doing this for Matteo and that, since he had practically become a hero by now, he should be more patient. However, it was difficult when he had to deal with such a stupid mistake and, even though the agents were looking over his shoulder, he was sure they didn't understand what he was doing. This meant it was only a matter of time before they made the same mistake again.

"Do you want everyone watching over your shoulder?"

Buried in work and fully focused on not yelling at anyone—or worse—he did not notice when someone else entered the room. But the moment he heard the sidekick’s voice, he immediately turned toward the door and saw not only him, but also two people standing behind him.

"No," he answered honestly, which made the hero in red frown even more as he shifted his attention to the intrusive agents.

"You heard him," he scolded them. "How is he supposed to work if you don't give him space?" His words worked like magic, and all the men in suits returned to their stations. Rowan was finally able to breathe.

"Thank you."

Speedsonic waved a hand. "I'm surprised you lasted this long." He sounded amused this time and, instead of answering, the villain rolled his eyes. They both knew why, or at least the villain assumed the sidekick would figure it out. He definitely did not intend to spell it out for him. Instead, he was too busy discreetly observing the couple who had arrived. He knew exactly who they were, since finding them on social media had not been difficult. What he did not know was how to proceed in this situation.

"These are Jonas and Mary." As it turned out, Rowan did not have to make the first move. Speedsonic did it for him. "They're waiting for Citadel. I can't stay with them, so I thought they could stay with you for a while," the sidekick suggested.

Rowan glanced back at the computer screen, which clearly stated that restoring all the files the agents had accidentally deleted would take several hours, so he had time. Then, he turned his head back to the couple behind the hero. He would have to meet them sooner or later. He had just hoped it would be later and with Matteo present. On his own, he could not make a good impression. That was not one of his strengths. But apparently, he had to try today.

"I guess," he replied hesitantly, but that was all Speedsonic needed to hear.

"Great," the sidekick said, sounding pleased. Before any of them could react, he pulled free chairs toward the table where Rowan was sitting. He placed them close enough to him, yet far enough away so as not to interrupt his work. Rowan had nothing to complain about.

Mary, a petite brunette, was the first to sit down, taking the seat closer to the villain. Her husband hesitated for a moment before moving to the other empty chair.

"I'll let Citadel know," the sidekick announced before heading for the door. Without another word, he left the room, leaving Rowan alone with his future in-laws. Not that they knew that.

"Sorry, I did not catch your name." If the villain thought they would all just sit in silence, he was wrong.

"I'm Rowan, Rowan Mendoza," he introduced himself. He tried to make his tone sound friendly, though he doubted he succeeded. At least he turned slightly in his chair to show he was paying attention and wasn't being distant.

"Nice to meet you." Mary gave him a friendly smile. "This is my husband, Jonas." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "I promise he's not usually this grumpy. He's just had an unexpected week."

Rowan didn't know how to respond, so he simply nodded. He knew exactly why Jonas’s week had been so difficult, but he still wasn't sure if this was the right moment to tell her. He couldn't think straight while looking directly at them, so he turned his attention back to the computer screen for a moment.

"Can we know what you're doing, or is it super secret?" Mary clearly was not giving up on the conversation.

"It's too stupid to be secret," he assured her, his typical tone slipping into his voice. So much for trying to sound nice. Shit. Thankfully, Mary looked amused, and he even managed to catch Jonas’s attention.

"Some of the agents accidentally deleted a few important documents. They don't even remember which ones they deleted. I am trying to recover them now," he explained.

"That doesn't sound good," Mary commented, frowning as if the problem affected her personally. That was how Rowan realized she was one of those empathetic people he understood the least how to talk to. "I once deleted my thesis like that. I went through every tutorial I could find and every store in town, but I couldn't save it. I almost gave up at the thought of having to write it all again."

"That was your mistake," he said, then realized it was not a good idea. Since the damage was done, though, he decided to explain himself: "When you accidentally delete something, it's not erased right away. You just have to make sure that no new data overwrites it on the disk. If you want to save it, you can't use the computer anymore; you have to immediately start data recovery. If a tutorial told you to download or install something, you might have overwritten the part of the disk where your document was stored."

The brunette stared at him for a moment, and he had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Luckily, he received an answer before he could panic.

"Where have you been all my life?" she asked, laughing. "But seriously, I am completely hopeless when it comes to computers. Jonas can confirm that." She turned her head toward her partner with a smile. She only gave him her attention for a moment, though, before turning back to Rowan. “So, you studied IT?”

Rowan cleared his throat, unsure of how to respond once again. He didn't want to admit that he had dropped out of high school. Not because he was ashamed, but because he did not want to seem far below Matteo’s level. After all, his fiancé was a legend of the academy. "I took some night classes," he finally replied.

“You fix computer issues at the Legion without a diploma?” The villain had not expected Jonas to respond instead of Mary. But if he heard correctly, there was no reproach in Jonas's voice. In fact, it didn't sound negative at all.

"I offered to help if they ever needed it. I didn't expect them to take me up on it," he admitted honestly, shrugging.

"Judging by how they surrounded you earlier, it looked like they were trying to learn something from you," the brunette observed.

The villain would have preferred to say that they were only learning how to get on his nerves, but he decided to bite his tongue. "Maybe," he said instead.

"I take it you're not a big fan of working in large groups," Mary remarked with amusement. Even though Rowan was far from an open book, it seemed that she had no trouble reading him.

"I'm not a fan of anything involving a lot of people," he admitted truthfully.

"Neither is Jonas," the brunette revealed about her husband. "For me, it depends on the occasion. A bar full of drunk people? No thanks. But a movie theater? I don't mind."

The villain nodded, then shifted his attention back to the screen to check that all the computer processes were running properly. This also gave him a chance to think about what to say next. He kept unintentionally learning more about Matteo’s family, but they did not know who he was, which was probably not good.