Snippet #2817791

Henry arrived at the Memorial Grounds, not too far from the beach where the Beasts attacked and time once unwound. All seemed relatively normal now in the company of heroes from across the United States and many from the world over. Strange sight, it was too see many heroes all gathered in the same place to honor perhaps what was one of the greatest disasters to befall the world in the modern age. He couldn't help but wonder how many other teams were looking into the Beast incident.

He spotted Captain Valor among the many heroes gathered as well as the two heroes who helped strike the final blow on the Beast, Backlash of ACHI and his own team(?)'s Cannonade. There were other faces as well, both recognizable and unbeknownst to him, but there was also an influx of civilians. Many from Atlas City made their way to at the very least pay their respects for the city's fallen even if they couldn't remain to watch the rest of the proceedings.

Henry didn't know how long he wanted to stay, himself but he at least wanted to pay respects. And meet back with some family.

"Henry!" a couple of voices called out. Several familiar figures had spotted him, bringing a wide smile to his face. "Marshal! Anette! What's-" he began before being greeted by a tight embrace from them both. ...And a pummeling against his leg from tiny fists.

"Thank God you're alright," Anette sighed with a somber smile.

"Glad you could make it, cuz," Marshal laughed with relief. "You been so flaky lately, I wasn't sure you'd show up. I know you been eating well. You wouldn't even show up if you didn't have...what, three breakfasts?"

"By the way..." Anette smiled, squeezing her hug tighter. "...where's my car?"

"..."

"Henry?"

"So...about that," Henry couldn't help but laugh a little. "There's good news and there's bad news."

"Yo, for real? Maybe tell us later, 'cause today's-" Marshal began.

"Nah, hold up. Lemme finish. It's busted but I can fix it. It's all on me," Henry answered. Better yet, if y'all wanna upgrade? I might be able to get the hookup."

"...Are you serious?" Anette asked after a moment of silence.

"New job perks," Henry shrugged.

"Put a caper on this man, he out here dodging bullets," Marshal laughed, punching Henry in the shoulder before he could roll his eyes. "Come on, we got our seats saved," he went on, he and Anette beginning to lead Henry towards the many rows of chairs. The majority of people were just chatting amongst themselves. Loud laughter, raucous sobbing, fears and hopes for the future. An entire web of human emotion was spread across the whole of Atlas City today.

Of course the kids were more interested in the wide variety of heroes present. On the way to their seats, Henry had to feel his pant leg pulled every two seconds to alert him if one of their favorites showed up.

"Ruby Robot!"

"Stunt-Man!"

"The Sub-Woofer!"

Those three and many more were pointed out to him, whether he wanted them to be or not...but he couldn't help but be thankful. There was a tension in the air. More than he would like to admit. The fight at the beach felt like it happened just an hour ago. All that passed time vanished in an instant, it seemed. The levity of the kids, the warmth of family could both break through the veil. But only for an instant. Atlas City had lost it's unwavering faith that someone would come to protect them from whatever calamity befalls them. It was up to many heroes present today to ensure a loss like this is never suffered again.

"So, what's this new job, man?" Marshal asked, breaking Henry away from his thoughts.

"I'll...I'll tell you later," Henry replied. "I don't mean to keep in secret it just hasn't...it's like..."

"Like an NDA sort of thing?" Anette asked.

"Exactly!" Henry pointed at her, grateful for the reprieve from trying to explain any further.

"Dodged another one..." Marshal chided, under his breath. This time he got the punch to the shoulder