As might be expected, I wasn’t wild about the situation – for quite a number of reasons. First of all, I was only sixteen, so marriage (even to someone who was quite fetching, and a princess) was one of the furthest things from my mind. Next, even though she was an adolescent by Caelesian standards, Myshtal was considerably older than me. (Caelesians live about five times longer than people on Earth.) Finally, as previously noted, I already had a girlfriend. The only good news was the fact that – once again – this was really nothing more than a business arrangement. That being the case, there was no guarantee that it would end in matrimony. (And even if it did, I had been assured that the date for any nuptials would be well in the future.)
All in all, I had a lot on my plate at the moment in terms of my personal life. Thus, the mission to deal with Dream Machine had been a welcome distraction. Now that it was seemingly over, however, my mind naturally began to turn once again to all the issues I was grappling with. Still, dealing with the AI and its machinations had made me acutely aware of how negligible my problems were: they were still bothersome, but compared to threats like world domination, they didn’t carry a lot of weight.
My mind back on our present situation, I contemplated Mouse’s suggestion that I take off only for a moment before discarding it. My mentor was a bright guy and I was confident that he could handle himself, but – from what I’d been able to glean – he had no discernable super powers. Thus, I wasn’t about to leave him alone in what was obviously the lair of a supervillain (albeit one we had allegedly stopped), and I stated as much.
“Suit yourself,” Mouse said with a shrug. “But support is en route, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
He was proved right about a minute later when Buzz, the speedster of the Alpha League, zipped down the corridor and halted in front of us.
“You took your time,” Mouse said, admonishing him.
“Hey, man, you’re lucky I got here this fast,” Buzz droned as he acknowledged my presence with a nod. “Do you know how many underground tunnels and hallways I had to search to find you? The homing beacon doesn’t come with a map. It told me where you were, but not how to get here.”
Buzz was, of course, speaking of the communicator that all Alpha League members carry with them as part of their standard equipment. It addition to allowing two-way communication, the device served a dual function by also operating as a tracker/homing beacon. Apparently Mouse had reached out to his colleague without me noticing. (Or, more likely, he had previously instructed Buzz to join us after the mission was over.)
Confident now that Mouse had adequate backup, I teleported back to Alpha League Headquarters.
Chapter 3
I popped up in the infirmary at League HQ. Because of the Dream Machine mission, an emergency response team was already on standby in case someone came back in dire need of medical attention. I didn’t think possible radiation exposure was anything they were expecting, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way they reacted.
In essence, the medical team operated like a well-oiled machine, switching immediately from idle into high gear from the moment I appeared – testing, probing, and evaluating my condition at a pace that was almost dizzying (even for a speedster like me). Within twenty minutes, I was pronounced fit and released. That might have seemed hasty by some standards, but the Alpha League – in keeping with their prominence as the gold standard for superhero teams – had the best doctors, the best equipment, and the best facilities available. If their medical team gave me a clean bill of health, then that meant I was good to go.
From the infirmary, I teleported to my room. Like all members of the League’s teen affiliate, I had my own quarters at HQ – a comfy, one-bedroom unit with a cozy living room, a kitchenette, and a small breakfast area. (In truth, the League actually had several floors designated as on-site residences, so every League member had their own individual living quarters.) Historically, however, the teen apartments were seldom used; they were really only utilized the few times each year that teen supers were required to stay at HQ for extended training – usually during summer. That said, we could actually use them any time we liked.
The first order of business when I arrived was to take a shower. Having just come back from a mission that took place almost wholly underground (and involving a lot of dusty places), I felt a little grimy. However, it was nothing that soap and water couldn’t fix.
Fifteen minutes later, after a leisurely – but not overlong – shower, I felt ready to go out. Now dressed in a pair of khakis and a navy-blue sweater, I teleported to the teen lounge area of Alpha League Headquarters.
The lounge was a break room for members of the League’s teen affiliate that housed, among other things, dart boards, video game consoles, and a billiards table. Needless to say, it was a favorite haunt of many teen supers, including me and my friends.
When I popped up, there were a fair number of people in the lounge, but not so many that you would call it crowded. But it was only early evening, and on a Friday at that – still lots of time for the place to fill up (which it probably would).
My sudden appearance caused a few heads to turn in my direction, but didn’t really startle anyone. A couple of teens greeted me with a wave and I returned the gesture, all the while scanning the room for…
There!
Near the rear wall, striding towards a table at the back of the lounge,
