When superhero Rob turns to villainy to complete his mission, he wasn't expecting to unmask the heroic monster threatening the city, nor to fall again for the supervillain he once betrayed.
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Superhero Roberto Tapir, a.k.a. Grizzly Bear, has a m...
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— Léon —
Cafeteria was written in capital letters on a dark screen outside. Inside, the room was occupied by cheerful twenty-somethings spread among four large dining tables. Thin lines of gold spread to form vein-like layers on the black marble tabletops. In the center of the room, a holoprojector printed a distant beach that reflected on the dark floor to give the place a dreamy atmosphere. Seagulls squawked through hidden sound boxes, accompanied by the soft sound of waves crashing and the breeze blowing through Palm leaves.
"And what did he say?" Satina placed her cutlery beside her plate and sat down. One of the sides of her hoodie had slid off to show her shoulder. The tattoo on it was a thin, black rhombus. A hand stretched out of it, and delicate lines connected the tips of its fingers to a detailed brain. "You know how strong he can get with all the tats. I need to know if he'll be a problem."
Sitting across from her, Mary sighed, supporting her chin on her palm. With her other hand, she held a golden fork wrapped with fettuccine. "Look at him. He's so lost."
A few meters away, Roberto walked back and forth around the buffet table, a broad smile on his lips. His plate was about three times the size of any man's in the cafeteria.
"I'm sure he's okay, Mary," Léon said with a chuckle.
"Hey. What did he say?" Satina insisted.
Léon swallowed another spoonful of pea soup and sighed. "He seems legit about joining us. More or less." His face hardened as he placed his napkin back on the table. "Evaded my questions like a champ, though, so I had to make a threat or two."
Truth be told, that story about being a bear, not a wolf, has stroked a wrong cord inside Léon. His guts told him Roberto was hiding something... and he knew who could squeeze some answers out of him.
"You should speak to him," Léon whispered to Satina. "With... you know." He gestured towards her tattoo.
Satina lowered her eyes and pulled the hoodie up, covering her shoulder again.
"Are you sure he's the real Grizzly Bear?" Mary bounced in her seat and leaned over the table. "Maybe he's a fake! I mean, he doesn't even look like Grizzly Bear." She narrowed her eyes and whispered, "I've seen him on the news. He doesn't have a beard."
Léon chuckled and eyed Roberto. Léon's gym clothes looked immense on him, but they were as tight as lycra on Rob's body, gripping his muscles—every single one of them—like vacuum packaging. What a great time to be alive. He bit his lower lip, his eyes resting on one very specific curve.
"Nah. I'm pretty sure it's really him." Léon shifted on his chair, trying, and failing, to hold back a smirk. "I bet he doesn't even need chair pads with an ass like that."
Satina and Mary didn't even have time to laugh. "Oi! Warp!" someone called in a strong voice.
The trio paused and turned around to see a tall man with short, dirty-blond hair approach. His intense dark eyebrows were as strong as the look in his green eyes. When he smiled, the light caught the smiley piercing between his thin lips.
