Partly Cloudy (Sprinkling). Arc 2: Confluence.
Three days ago...
"The Abhorrents..?" He asked, his question hanging in the air, oppressive, the silence following hard to break. "Is there going to be an attack?" He asked, his eyes widening, his voice slightly quivering. He looked between the faces of the adults, the HLA members, and each of their faces were hard set and sober. Some had fought Abhorrents and lived, while some of them had helped with clean up or rescue. The THA, his team members, on the other hand had not fought or participated in Abhorrent events, because minors weren't required to face them. Sometimes, teams or individual members would volunteer to help, but it was normally a death sentence.
"It's been four months since the last Abhorrent attack in the Philippines. As you all know, Abhorrents typically attack every three months, give or take a week or two. They are well over due." A man in a blue and white costume with a golden star on his chest said, his voice deep with authority. Josh knew his as Cosmic, leader of Capetown's HLA. "And Capetown has always been a potential target. 7th in the state population-wise, but Capetown is the 5th in the nation based on parahuman-to-human density, with nearly 5% of the population having powers."
"Nearly 25,000 parahumans in this city, and our team has four members." Josh said, sarcasm dripping from his mouth as he sat in one of the black leather couches, next to Veil.
"You four are some of the strongest among teen parahumans in the city, both power-wise and in willpower for joining the THA. Most people default to villainy, or isolate themselves from help. Their trigger events are largely to blame, theirs were as traumatizing, if not more, than yours. We also have a large population of immigrants, both Asian and Mexican, from recent Abhorrent attacks. Many aren't citizens, and can't join the team if they wanted." A woman with red-pink hair and a matching body suit said to him. Her name was Trueshot, and she had uncanny aim and had never been recorded to miss a target, with any ranged weapon or throw. Josh shrugged, not happy with the answer.
"But that's not what we're here to discuss. A handsome man with a strong jawline and spiky black hair said. Josh knew him, Tendril, a guy with shadow-tentacles as his power. "The Abhorrents are likely to strike Capetown in the next week. It won't be Behemoth, since he was last seen surfacing around Alaska two days ago, and he can't travel very fast. He still seems to be wandering, not showing his usual agitation before an attack, so Alaska is likely safe."
Cosmic nodded at Tendril and continued for him, "Nor is it going to be Giant. As you all know, he attacked the Philippines a few months ago, and Abhorrents never attack twice in a row. That leaves Leviathan, Dragon, and Tangle. Leviathan was last seen in the Gulf of Mexico via satellite imaging. If he attacks, it'll be a costal attack, and Capetown will be safe, but almost all of us in this room will be traveling to Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, or wherever else he strikes to defend."
"Tangle was last seen traveling north from the Amazon jungle. He's presumably somewhere in the jungles of Central America, but he might even be in Mexico. He's good at evading satellite by turning invisible, but if he's still heading north, we're in his path." Said a man with a red hood and cape and a metal chest plate and mask. Josh found it ironic that though parahumans were called capes as slang, relatively few of them wore capes anymore, as it was impractical and annoying. Mostly, the name was a small holdover from when superheroes were only portrayed in comic books.
"And that leaves Dragon." A woman with a purple and black bodysuit said, "He's chilling in the middle of the Atlantic, easy to track as always with the giant unmoving tropical storm raging around him."
Cosmic nodded. "We are due for an Abhorrent attack any day now. I'd be thoroughly surprised if it takes longer than a week. It could be starting in the next ten minutes. We don't know. However, each one of us must be ready for it at any moment. If the attack isn't here in Capetown, Shift will come here to teleport each one of you to the location of attack. Teens." He said, looking between the THA members. "You're not required to fight if it's anywhere else. But if the attack is here, you are capes, and you work under the PCRT. The unwritten rules basically dictate that you help in one way or another, and that's what'll be expected of you."
"I almost hope it's here so I don't have to be teleported by Shift." Josh grumbled, and earned some stern looks as a result.
"We understand, sir." His leader, Hydro, said to Cosmic. And with that, the meeting was dismissed.
Overcast. Arc 2: Confluence.
Josh sighed, the beeping of his phone's alarm signaling it was time for him to do his patrol. It was a Monday, and as usual, school sucked. All four of the THA members in Capetown went to the city's biggest high school, Capetown High, but they were "recommended" to not hang out with each other so students wouldn't suspect them of being heroes. As a result, Josh had almost no friends at school, and school tended to be miserable for him. After school, he went to the HQ, where he's basically lived since his parents signed their guardianship of him away to the PCRT nearly a year and a half ago. Being a hero was a full time job for Red Jet, and though he was payed a salary, he still hated the patrols. Most nights, he found no villain activity. Night he did, he had to call for backup, or get permission to engage. It made him restless and feel like he was treated as a kid.
He walked out of the HQ in his red costume, and his heart leaped out of his chest when his phone made the Amber Alert tone. They really ought to change that. He thought, recalling the regular Abhorrent alarm tests. Amber Alerts having the same sound either downplayed the Abhorrent tests, or caused panic over simple kidnapping alerts. He shook his head, momentarily clearing it. He was bored, bored in a way that made him almost wish an Abhorrent would attack. It would be terrible, and literal thousands would die, but he still wished it in a perverse way that a normal person may wish for the apocalypse so they could escape the routine of their lives. Plus, Red Jet was one of the few that could go hand-to-hand against an Abhorrent, his invincibility allowing him to actually trade blows with them. Many people said his power was similar to Legend's, a member of the Triumvirate, and it was true. However, his "flight" and "strength" were worse, and his invincibility didn't include against energy, he was still a very strong opponent. They had spent the last three days going over strategy with their seniors, HLA members.
"Red Jet, if the attack is from Dragon or Leviathan, you can trade blows with them as they don't have any attacks that can hurt you. If the attack is from Tangle, the radiation would be a concern, but you could have Veil turn you invisible, shielding you from it. But you need to still be careful, you've had cars thrown at you, you've fallen out of the sky, and you've had buildings collapse on you, but those are relatively physically natural things. The Abhorrents are unnaturally dense, and it's possible that if they tried to crush you, your invincibility would be overcome." Tendril had told him yesterday, leaving him to ponder the limits of his power.
He liked to think he was like Legend, who was pretty much the real-world Superman or Luke Cage. Legend was so invincible, that nothing could harm him. Abhorrents like Giant and Leviathan had gotten their hands or claws on him and unsuccessfully tried to rip him in half. But would Red Jet be so lucky, or was there a limit where, if too much force was applied, his power would fail? It had happened before to other heroes. As he did his rounds that night, his mortality was all that was on his mind.