The team office was especially busy today. Jamie decided this was a good sign since he’d been convinced for the past few days that they were getting closer to catching the mysterious man, even though every day seemed exactly the same. The same meetings, the same patrols, the same searching. Nevertheless, the dark-haired hero believed this routine was part of the process that would eventually lead them to Sunshine Boy.

Just like on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, on Thursday morning he headed from his apartment in the Legion quarters to work without breakfast, convincing himself that he would eat only after finding a new lead. It wasn’t healthy, but he’d learned over the years that it was the best motivation for him.

“Anything new?” he asked his teammates. So far, only Adrian and Eli were at their desks. Xavier, their team leader, had a meeting with upper management that day, so he was running late. Nate, on the other hand, simply liked to sleep in since he spent almost every free night out with friends or at the gym. He had the most active social life on the team. With his final year of part-time university still ahead of him, he spent the least amount of time doing actual office work.

"Nate found out who the dealer he met at the party works for. Agents are gathering more information before passing the case to us,” Adrian reported. He was the youngest on the team. However, due to his rare ability and ease in passing the Academy, he had been assigned to the team little over a year ago. With his reputation and grades, he was similar to Citadel—just from Krasport and a bit older when he first entered active duty. 

Adrian had the same potential to one day become a legend. There weren't many heroes in history with healing powers, so his joining the Legion caused quite a stir.

“What about the station footage? Did they send it yet?” Jamie continued asking.

"What's with all the questions today? Trying to be Xavier?” Eli teased, spinning in his chair as usual, unable to sit still. He was tossing a red stress ball in his hands, squeezing it and throwing it from one hand to the other. 

The dark-haired hero was honestly surprised that he hadn’t yet made a clone of himself just to play catch, but he figured it was only a matter of time before he did.

"I just don't like sitting around doing nothing," Jamie replied while still leaning against the desk instead of sitting down at his computer.

“Or you’re just pissed that you still haven’t figured out Sunshine Boy’s identity?” Eli shot back. Unlike his teammate, he didn’t see the case as important. In his opinion, you couldn't call someone a villain just because they stole a box of medicine from a pharmacy and blinded the cameras to avoid getting caught.

Jamie admitted that this wasn’t the kind of crime their team usually dealt with. However, something about it didn’t sit right with him, and he wasn’t about to give up. Especially after developing so many theories from watching the security footage so many times that he practically knew it by heart.

The first thing he noticed was that the masked man kept his head down the whole time, suggesting he hadn’t planned the break-in carefully enough to check where the cameras were. Even when he had his back to them, he never straightened up.

A closer look revealed a second detail: his physical condition. One could assume he chose to rob a pharmacy for medicine, whether out of addiction or desperation, but he didn’t look like a typical addict. He wasn’t shaking or moving erratically, but the way he was hunched over told Jamie he was in pain.

The third and most important thing that caught his attention—and wouldn't let him forget this case—was the man’s powers and how he used them. When the beams from his hands blinded the camera, Jamie briefly saw the hooded man flinch in the corner of the frame, as if the light had surprised even him. This could mean that he didn’t have full control of his abilities or that he was too young to have mastered them. But, for some reason, Jamie doubted that. He was convinced the man was an adult.

Then there was the nature of his ability itself. Manipulating light—or sunlight, to be precise—wasn’t unique, but only one person had ever been known to possess that ability in the last few decades — Eclipse. But the hero had been dead for years, so Jamie briefly considered the possibility that the mysterious man could be his relative. When he requested Eclipse’s file from the main Legion branch in Goldby City, however, he discovered that the deceased hero had no known family.

Whenever he thought he had finally found an answer, he ended up back at square one. Still, he refused to be discouraged, especially since no major case had come up that required his full attention yet. The situation within the Legion had been tense over the past few months, but not nearly as much in Krasport, even though all agents had to be questioned.

“It’s only a matter of time,” he assured his teammate.

It looked like the blond freckle-faced man was about to make another teasing remark, but before he could, something on his computer screen caught his attention. Judging by the way his expression darkened, it was serious.

"Problem at the bank on the corner of Cornelia Street," Eli announced, standing up so abruptly that the ball in his hand fell to the floor. Without hesitation, he headed straight for the locker room where they kept their suits, with Jamie and Adrian right behind him.

Getting into their suits took only a few minutes—if not seconds—and the trio of heroes was ready to head out. Without Highwing, they couldn't send someone ahead, so they piled into the service car, with Solid taking the driver's seat.

"I'll let Highwing know," Solace said from the back seat.

"I'll text Ironclad," Echo added. If the situation escalated and turned out to be an armed robbery, their team leader would be the best one for the job. Not that they couldn’t handle it themselves, but having indestructible skin had its perks. Criminals never seemed to learn, always looking surprised when bullets bounced off his body as if they’d hit bulletproof glass.

As it turned out, though, they didn’t need Ironclad’s help today. Almost as soon as they arrived on the scene, it became clear that the two armed men were just amateurs with fake weapons. One of them even dropped his when he saw Solid walk straight through a wall.

“I’m starting to think the police are sending us the cases they don’t want,” Echo declared when they returned to the office, though they hadn’t had time to change yet. The only thing he had taken off was the mask, which was designed to be a skintight layer that matched Elias’s exact skin tone, but not his features. It covered his forehead, nose, and most of his cheeks, leaving only his mouth and lips exposed. What made it unique was the angular, seamless visor that replaced the eye area. It was composed of a highly reflective, mirrored surface that effectively turned Echo’s eyes into a blank, inscrutable reflection of the surrounding environment.

"Don't say that," Solid warned him, though he was starting to have similar suspicions. In recent weeks, if not months, they had been getting far too many easy cases. Most of them were situations that even agents without powers could handle. Still, he had no intention of complaining. Being a hero and saving people was his job.

“I’m just saying…” Echo tried again, waving his hand as if to show that it was only a theory, not a serious accusation. Then he tried another tactic. "If we had fewer cases like this, you'd have more time for your Sunshine Boy investigation."

"Don't encourage him," Solace cut in. He was still wearing his white-and-red suit, which meant part of his face was covered, too. Unlike most heroes, whose masks mainly cover the upper half of the face, his covered the lower half. His mask, reminiscent of a surgical mask but made of durable, high-tech material, connected seamlessly with the collar of his suit, creating an impression of protection and stability. His entire outfit clearly signaled that he was a hero and a medic, ready to help in any emergency.

Solid shot him a reproachful look, and Solace raised his hands defensively.

“I’m not saying your investigation is stupid, only that it’s taking too much of your time. I don’t even remember the last time I saw you eat,” the team’s healer explained.

"I do eat," Solid defended himself weakly, knowing there was some truth to what Solace said.

"Only when Xavier orders you to," Echo pointed out.

"Sorry for focusing on my work." The hero in the anthracite suit with cobalt-blue details rolled his eyes and headed to the locker room to change, instead of continuing the conversation.

Of all of them, his mask covered the most of his face as it was intentionally designed to enhance the effect of his alias. It concealed his entire face and, like the rest of his suit, was decorated with sharp geometric lines. Nothing was visible underneath: not his mouth, not his forehead, and not even his eyes. Since Jamie wore glasses in everyday life, he needed them incorporated into the mask so that he could see properly during missions.

After changing into his usual attire of a plain T-shirt and jeans, he returned to the office. His colleagues were no longer there, but he found a note saying they had gone to the cafeteria downstairs to get food and would bring him some, too.

Jamie sighed and went to his desk. He turned on the computer and, while waiting for it to load, pulled his current notebook from the drawer where he wrote down all his observations. Most of the pages were filled with his research on Sunshine Boy, and the rest were notes about Eclipse. Going through his file had been difficult, especially the details of his death since he had been buried alive. Jamie had needed to take breaks after reading some parts. Now, however, he believed he had written down everything he needed and would not have to return to that horrifying case. The same could not be said about the mysterious man.

As he always did in his free time, he pulled up the pharmacy camera footage on the computer, along with the recordings from the rest of the street. With a pen in one hand and a mouse in the other, he continued his investigation with determination. He was close to solving the mystery he had named "Sunshine Boy." He was sure of it.