She seemed to spend a moment looking me over before responding. “There’s still a wide range of colors, but they’re richer, more vibrant, than before.”
“What does that mean?”
She shrugged. “Your aura is still unlike anything I’ve ever seen, but at a guess I’d say that some new power or purpose has taken root in you.”
I fought to keep a look of surprise off my face. In truth, I actually had developed a new power on Caeles – a healing ability that I’d used to save Queen Dornoccia after she had been poisoned and shot. My new talent had not only made her hale and hearty, but also seemed to rejuvenate the queen – making her years younger. It was, without question, a unique ability; it was also a power that I hadn’t been unable to manifest since. Still, the idea of discussing it with someone who wasn’t part of my inner circle wasn’t that appealing to me, so I desperately wanted to change the subject.
Letting out a slight chuckle, I said, “As far as I know, I’m still the same guy. But enough about me. What have you been up to? I didn’t think the Argonauts spent much time away from home.”
Now it was Atalanta’s turn to be circumspect. She hailed from a small but wealthy island nation called Argo, and was a member of the Argonauts – her country’s team of supers. In the past, she had been incredibly judicious regarding the information she shared about her home and her teammates, so I assumed she would stay true to form and clam up. Much to my surprise, she gave what felt like a sincere and unrestrained response.
“I believe there’s an adage in your country about all work and no play,” she said, smiling. “We Argonauts work hard, so we play hard as well, taking downtime when we need it.”
“So this is downtime for you? Attending stiff formal events?”
She let out a slight giggle. “Actually, I like to travel, and my visit just happened to coincide with this party. But don’t members of the Alpha League do something similar in terms of taking time off to unwind?”
I reflected on her question for a moment before responding. “Different people do different things. Like you, some travel. Others might take up a sport, like golf. A few simply just look for a quiet place to retreat from the world for a little while.”
That last comment brought my father to mind. Alpha Prime had a secret base that he used as a refuge of sorts when he wanted to get away from everything.
“What about you?” she asked. “What do you do to de-stress?”
I shrugged. “Just hang out with friends, I guess.”
“What, no hidden sanctuary where you can get away from it all?”
“Not really,” I replied, although it wasn’t exactly true. I did have a place – a small condo unit that had served as a sort of base of operations for my superhero antics before I joined the Alpha League. I still had a decent number of clothes there, along with a few personables, but I had pretty much avoided the place after someone was murdered there the previous year.
Thankfully, I was saved from having to dwell on such dour thoughts by Kane, who turned to Atalanta and announced, “By the way, this isn’t a stag party, in case you were wondering.”
Atalanta’s brow wrinkled. “Excuse me?”
“It’s not just you and a bunch of guys,” Kane clarified. “Jim and I actually have dates.”
“Oh?” murmured Atalanta. “Where are they?”
“They got drafted,” I joked. “Our hostess needed help with something, so she recruited them.”
Atalanta appeared to contemplate this for a second, then asked, “In that case, should I join them?”
“Um, sure,” I mumbled. “I don’t know exactly what they’re doing, but I’m sure they’ll appreciate the help.”
“I just don’t want to come across as being too good to lend a hand,” she explained.
I gave a candid shake of my head. “Trust me, no one would think that. But if you’d still like to join them, they’re right over there.”
I tilted my chin in the direction of the receiving line, where Electra and the others were standing.
“You know what, why don’t I walk you over?” Kane interjected. “I see Gossamer motioning for me to come anyway.”
“Thanks,” Atalanta said with a smile. “That’s very kind of you.” She then reached out and gave Smokey’s hand a gentle squeeze, saying, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
With that, she and Kane began meandering towards the receiving line, joined – much to my surprise – by Li. Smokey watched them, his eyes glued to his date and with an infatuated grin on his face. I didn’t need to employ my empathic abilities to know what he was feeling.
“So,” I said. “You and Atalanta.”
Smokey glanced down at the floor for a second before responding. “Yeah. It’s complicated.”
“Well, I obviously can’t relate, because I know nothing about complicated relationships.”
As I finished, I gestured towards the receiving line, where Vestibule, Electra (with arms sullenly crossed), and Myshtal stood next to one another, in that order.
Smokey, looking where indicated, merely nodded, conceding my point. Taking a deep breath, he stated, “It’s something that happened around the time you came back. It’s not anything that either of us aimed for. We just sort of…connected.”
“And what about Sarah? You guys have been dating forever.”
Smokey’s brow creased as he gave me a fiercely intense look, and I felt muted anger flowing from him. Maybe he felt I was needling him too much, but – when I was fawning over Atalanta as a result of the love spell I’d been under – he had raked me over the coals regarding what he perceived as my mistreatment of Electra. Frankly speaking, he was my friend, but if he could dish it out, he could take it.
“That’s over,” he announced with finality after a few seconds.
“So you’re just going to dump her? After all this time?”
Smokey tilted his head up, and his face took on a faraway expression,
