Bolt

21| My A$$ Looks Good In Spandex.

Revision brought a red storage trunk to my room and left. Opening the trunk, the smell of dry-cleaned clothes struck my nose, making me cough and clear my throat. The three costumes I wore during my hero days were inside. The folded super suits sat beside each other, starting from the first one I wore on the right, to the last one on the left. The material used to make them allowed the suits to change shape, meaning they would fit me even after all these years.

As I stared at my first costume, a wave of nostalgia hit me like a hurricane, reminding me of the quick fight I had with Dr. Long Nose. At the time, she seemed like the biggest threat in the world. If only I had known what awaited me ahead.

I grabbed the white goggles with yellow lenses on top of it and put them on. I pressed a button on each side of the goggles in anticipation, but nothing happened, making me take them off.

"They don't have charge." I sighed, disappointed I wasn't able to see if the night vision and thermal imaging still worked.

The second costume lay folded in the middle. Though it didn't have a hoodie and goggles, it had the same look, with armor added to it. The chest piece was metallic, rather than cloth. A black leather mask with a cowl and chinstrap completed the ensemble. The mask had white lenses and lightning-like stripes scattered all over. Not only did it hide my face better, but the lenses had the same function as the goggles.

I picked up the black mask and stared at it with a wry smile. My fans back then loved it, but the public had used it to show how I slowly transitioned from hero to anti-hero. It was right around the time I had begun investigating the church. I had become frustrated that every villain I had sent to Gators didn't stay for long, either escaping or getting released.

The last costume was an armor suit. I used it after I found out The Mighty and local authorities protected the church. It helped me take out all my frustrations on the villains, making sure when I struck them down, they weren't able to stand for a while.

Each was special in its own way. The armor suit was lighter than the other two, but it restricted my powers, and I had to use weapons instead. The second costume was like a sauna; it made me sweat a lot. And the first costume ripped easily.

I scratched my clean-shaven face and sighed, knowing I had to make a choice fast.

"Did you decide what you are going to wear?" Revision asked, standing by the door, already dressed in his super suit. It was a no-sleeve gold and black costume with a matching metal mask. With a press of a button, the black part of the mask retracted and left the bottom half of his face exposed. It could also extend and cover his face and temples. Each temple had a small antenna that allowed him to use his detection powers and sense where an enemy was.

"I don't know which one to choose."

"How about your electric suit? The one you wore when fighting Dr. Owl and his henchmen."

"It drains too much of my energy, and I need all of it to fight Captain Tombstone."

"Got it." Revision gave me a thumbs up. "Pick fast, though. We're all waiting for you outside." He smacked the door frame twice and left.

He was right. We had already wasted too much time in Piem. Even though the dome was as strong as ever, it wouldn't last forever. We needed to destroy Tombstone quickly before the dome fell and the heroes regained their powers.

I've made a choice.

⚡

I walked out of the station and saw Revision, Pyro Storm, Behemoth, and Parasite standing in front of me. The two in the middle had their arms crossed over their chests. The former smiled at me, while the latter had her arms behind her back.

"Interesting choice," Revision said, nodding. "I didn't expect the combo, honestly."

I had mixed the three costumes, taking the black boots from the first one—they were light and comfortable—allowing me to move around and run with ease, and cutting off the sleeves from the third costume and the legs of its pants, ending up with knee-length shorts, allowing for easier movement. And from the second costume, I took its mask. It could retract and extend like Revision's.

"Shorts, really?" Pyro Storm asked. I couldn't see her face behind her mask, but I assumed she was frowning. She always frowned when I was around. Her red costume was made of nano-particles, enhancing her weather control and fire powers. The costume also enabled her to fly.

Behemoth wore his red and black costume. He had no other option from what I had learned. The white eyes of his red and black mask mimicked whatever expression his face made. And at that moment, he looked bored.

Parasite wore an onyx-black super suit with a white cape behind her, big white boots, white gloves, and a white mask with the letter P embedded on the forehead. The mask covered the top half of her face. "From now on, we don't refer to each other by our real names. Got it?" she said.

"Yes," the other three answered in unison.

"Pyro Storm, start the ship," Parasite said.

"Yes, boss." Pyro Storm ran into the black cruiser behind them. It had the words The Watchdogs written on each side of the ship in white.

Behemoth and Revision entered the ship next, leaving Parasite staring at me. "Are you sure you can control him?"

"Are you sure you can control yourself when you see her?"

Her expression turned stony. I had hit a nerve, perfect. If she was going to bug me about Trey, I would disturb her about Mega Woman.

Parasite and Mega Woman had dated from when they were thirteen until twenty-one. But they had to break up because Mega Woman came from a family of religious fanatics, and they would never have agreed to her marrying a woman.

Even though they were not together, Parasite still spied on her. When I had returned to the station, I caught her watching her ex showering on one of the screens. Perv.

Parasite chuckled and then turned around. She started walking away. "Hey, Bolt."

"What?" I asked.

She showed me her middle fingers while walking up the ramp.

I stood there laughing. I was back, truly back in my A-game.