Liberty Legion: Chapter 01

Author’s Note: A long time ago, I had an idea for something in the tradition of a superhero story, which seems timely now given the popularity of stuff like Superman, Invincible, The Boys, etc. I know there are a lot of superhero harem stories out there, of varying quality, but I thought I’d try it out. This chapter is the first part of a novel-length story that I have yet to write (I have it outlined, but this is as far as I've progressed in writing it). However, I might pick it up in the future. Let me know what you think! If everyone enjoys it, I'll write more of it. If no one does, I probably won’t continue it, but I thought it might be fun to try.  

~~~

Early morning training was the worst, but today, Ishani didn’t mind it. Her second shift patrol last night from midnight to six meant she’d just stayed awake for the eight AM simulation training. The others had done their workouts and grabbed quick breakfasts, but she and Ariel were still limber. 

Lieutenant Liberty dove over the barrier. Her red, white, and blue costume didn’t camouflage with her surroundings, but that wasn’t its purpose. The visor over the top half of her face lit up with her HUD. Her heavy dreadlocks swung as she turned her head at a peripheral alert. 

The enemy at the end of the hall raised his finger to his temple and fired a blast of ‘psionic’ energy that hurtled toward her. Umbra raised her hands and blocked them with opaque psionic shields of her own, protecting her team’s leader.  

Liberty ducked, crouching in a side lunge. Her right arm rose from her hip, snatching a small sphere from her utility belt and tossing it at her enemy’s center of mass. 

The sphere electrified on contact with the figure’s stomach, and the enemy fell. 

“Good hit!” Umbra said, flying over the barrier behind her. 

“Where’s Galatea? She’s supposed to be my backup on this one.” Lieutenant Liberty snapped. She never could hide her annoyance when the team had to deviate from the plan. 

“The simulation added a tank attacking the front entrance.” Umbra explained. “She’s dealing with it.” 

Liberty pushed forward, raising her forearm and ready to fire a laser from her wrist-mounted canon at the first sign of enemy contact. Her silence was her begrudging acceptance of Ishani's, also known as Umbra’s, presence. 

Umbra followed behind the statuesque woman, biting back the comment that the Lieutenant probably wouldn’t have snapped at her other teammates. Not that Ishani blamed her. Many people disliked telepaths. 

The maze of hallways finally gave way to the open lobby. 

“Galatea, how’s it going with that tank?” Liberty asked through the team’s commlink. 

“I have stopped the tank.” Galatea answered, her bland accent steady and calm despite the thunderous noise that accompanied it. 

Ishani could only deduce she was still fighting something. Liberty came to the same conclusion. 

“What are you fighting now, then?” Liberty asked. 

“There is a bruiser among the enemy force. I keep hitting him. He keeps getting back up.” Galatea said. 

“Umbra?” Lieutenant Liberty asked. “Can you help her?” 

Umbra nodded. “If this were a real fight and not a simulation, sure.” She shrugged. “Telepathy’s useless against these sims.” 

“Right.” Lieutenant Liberty sighed. “Fine. Follow me.” She nodded toward the lobby, and Umbra followed behind. Liberty ran, her combat boots striking the tile in swift footsteps. Umbra flowed behind her, flying just high enough to match the taller woman’s eyeline. 

Ahead of them, their teammate Galatea fought hand-to-hand with a muscular ‘male’ simulation robot twice her size. She blocked its fist as it struck toward her and answered with a quick one-two punch, a jab, and a knock-out. Or at least, it would have been if the bruiser hadn’t weaved away from it after blocking the jab. The fight was at a standstill. 

Lieutenant Liberty reached for her belt and frowned when her fingers found an empty pouch. She reached behind her instead, pulling out a stun baton and activating the charge. 

Umbra raised her hand. “Wait!” She told Liberty. 

Liberty hesitated, stopping just in time as their invisible teammate fell from above onto the back of the oversized robot. Her tail wrapped around its throat as her claws sank into its back, and it struggled to grasp the tail as though it were choking. Galatea took her opening, landing several clean blows to its torso before delivering a right hook to its head that would have knocked anything unconscious. The robot deactivated and pitched to the side. 

“How’d we do?” Tempest, the last of their team to arrive in the lobby, asked as she flew down from the third-floor balcony. The magic choker on her neck glowed as she ended the flying spell, her heeled boots landing gracefully on the pavement. 

“Primary objective met, right?” The invisible creature asked as she became visible once more. Ishani had never quite gotten used to the extraterrestrial woman’s ability to change form. She had to turn away to avoid the uncanny valley feelings of something wearing a more-or-less human face. The fangs, claws, and prehensile tail remained, even as her skin turned its typical light purple hue. Otherwise, she had the lean, muscular build of an athlete. 

“Asset protected.” Tempest confirmed, holding up a small hard drive. 

“So why hasn’t the simulation ended?” Liberty asked. 

“Because it’s never that easy.” Umbra said, voicing what everyone was thinking without having to read their minds. The way they looked at her, though, you’d think she’d wet her finger and stuck it in their ears. “I didn’t read your minds.” She protested. “Just saying what I’m thinking.” 

The others glanced at each other, but Lieutenant Liberty nodded. “So we do a perimeter sweep. We must have missed one of the enemy contacts.” 

Laughter filled the lobby, and Liberty groaned. Ishani recognized the voice without having to look behind her. 

“Sorry, was that out loud?” The man asked, though they knew it was rhetorical. 

A man in purple spandex stepped out from the hallway from which Liberty and Umbra had emerged moments ago. He laughed and spread his arms wide as if welcoming them to his domain. 

Galatea rushed forward, but her fist didn’t make contact as the man kept walking. She passed directly through him as his phasing power allowed him to ignore her. 

“Come now, Galatea, you know me better than that.” The man said, still laughing. “You put on a good show, but it’s time to admit when I’ve beaten you. Hand over the hard drive, and I’ll let you live.” 

“Surrender, and we’ll arrest you without causing you a world of pain.” Liberty countered his offer with one of her own. 

The man laughed as if she’d said something funny. Liberty responded by raising her left wrist and releasing a focused blast of sound that vibrated the air it passed through. 

Nothing happened to the man except that his image rippled as the blast passed through him. 

“Oh, come on. If he’d been real, that would have caused him immense pain. I’ve calibrated it to be enough to knock him out just in case we meet him again.” Liberty protested. 

The problem was an old one, and Umbra was the most familiar with it. Her telepathic powers didn’t work on the simulation’s holograms or robots either. The system wasn’t sophisticated enough to react to every use of her power. So, it made her improvise. 

Every superhero team worth its salt had a simulation rig of some kind for training. The large teams had incredibly advanced, warehouse-sized holo-rigs that could simulate everything necessary through hard-light constructs, artificially intelligent robots, and a dedicated command center. 

The Liberty Belles, as the Inquirer dubbed them, didn’t have the most significant budget, national attention, or donors with bottomless pockets. Their funding came from smaller private donors, the federal government, legacy bequeathments, and their merchandising. Consequently, they had to work with what they had. 

“I’ll take that.” The man in purple disappeared from his spot and reappeared beside Tempest. He plucked the drive from her hand at super speed, then repeated the trick to stop at the doors. “Tootles.” And he was gone. 

The bell signaled that the simulation had failed, and a flash of light caused the holographic lobby to disappear, replaced by an empty gray-walled room. 

“Can anyone tell me what your moment of failure was in that situation?” The disembodied voice of their team mentor asked over the loudspeaker. 

Tempest and Lieutenant Liberty shared a look of annoyance. 

Umbra raised her hand. 

“Yes, Umbra?” The voice asked. 

“When Tempest showed everyone where the asset was.” Umbra answered. 

“Very good!” 

“No! That’s bullshit!” Lieutenant Liberty called out to the command room at the far end of the room, built into the ceiling like a mezzanine. “The moment of failure was when the room failed to react properly to my disrupter! If he tried to vibrate through it, it would’ve torn him apart!” 

“You haven’t had a chance to try it against someone with his power set yet.” The disembodied voice calmly explained. “There’s no saying how it would have worked, so you had to deal with its failure.” 

“It would have worked!” LL hollered. 

“Hit the showers, girls.” Their mentor said. “Hannah, come see me afterward.” 

“Ooo, somebody’s in trouble.” Ariel, aka Tempest, whispered to no one in particular. 

Umbra followed the others out of the training room and into the locker room. 

“On my planet, when we disagree with one of our mothers, we decide it through combat.” Feral, the purple alien who could turn invisible and still had a prehensile tail swaying behind her, said. 

“Your planet decides everything through combat.” Galata said, sitting on the bench as the others began to disrobe. 

“Not showering?” Umbra asked. 

“I didn’t break a sweat.” Galatea answered. 

“On my planet, we decide many things through combat, true, but also through trials. Whoever receives the challenge determines the means; it’s just that most people choose combat. It’s honorable.” Feral explained. 

“We get it. Yours is a proud warrior race, and we humans should quake in fear of you.” Hannah rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her annoyance, as she removed her equipment piece by piece. 

“Eh.” Feral shrugged. “I don’t think you have much to fear from my people. They are far away, and we already tried to invade once, and look how that worked out?” 

“With my stepmom adopting you?” Hannah asked, unbuckling her gauntlets. 

“She spared my life after defeating me. On my planet–” 

“We know!” Tempest, Lieutenant Liberty, and Galatea said together. 

“We’ve heard the story a million times.” Hannah said, shoving her helmet into the locker. 

“–We do not interrupt each other for fear of challenge.” Feral finished her sentence as if that was what she was going to say the entire time. 

Umbra chuckled, and Feral shot her a wink. 

Disrobing, Umbra set her veils and dress aside. She was the last to enter the showers, beside Galatea, who never had to shower. The communal showers were the worst part of training, in her mind. She was shorter and thicker than the others. They never made her feel bad about it, but they didn’t need to. She kept in shape, sure, but not like the others. She let her mind wander as she scrubbed. 

Tora, also known as Feral, was gorgeous. Lean and muscular with broad shoulders and a tiny waist. She had a gymnast’s build, which made sense, given her super-flexible joints, spine, and general acrobatics. Dark purple fur covered her entire body, giving her a soft, velvet appearance that made Umbra want to run her fingers along her body. Of course, Umbra didn’t do this because of the aforementioned claws, fangs, and a general sense of personal boundaries. Her long, pointed ears and oval eyes added to her exotic beauty. 

Emily, also known as Galatea, was a powerhouse. She stood six feet tall without shoes and built her body like a boxer with muscular arms, abs for days, and thighs that looked like they could crush a building. Large breasts preserved her feminine silhouette, along with curvy hips and a tapered waist. Her proportions were impossible to live up to, at least for Umbra.

Hannah, also known as Lieutenant Liberty, was supermodel tall and skinny, with lean, agile muscles clinging to her arms, legs, and torso. Her ebony skin was flawless, and her fashion sense rendered the term "supermodel" accurate. Her build was the movie star type that Umbra had longed to achieve since she was young. Longing that proved unfounded as puberty proved cruel. 

Ariel, the Tempest, was the most average of the group besides Umbra, but even she seemed to possess a beauty that the crowds went wild over. Her long legs were shapely and attractive in high heels and tights. Then there was the whole Goth-chic look, black and white, the corset, and the boobs everyone went wild over. Her pale skin made it look like she had never seen an ounce of sun, but Umbra knew that it was mostly makeup. 

Umbra, by comparison, felt out of place with the others. Her breasts weren’t anything poetic. Her body was fit, with a flat stomach and muscle tone, but the others had a more defined physique than hers. She was softer, with curves and fat in places she couldn’t get rid of without surgery. She’d thought about it, but the invasive process seemed so unnecessary when everyone else could achieve the same effect with hard work and superpowers. 

Superpowers typically made their recipients stronger, faster, taller, and better-looking than their mundane counterparts. Umbra had once listened to a lecture on the topic in high school biology about genetically superior traits that made themselves more attractive, thereby increasing their chances of being passed on to future generations. She’d been so excited when her superpowers came in, but she didn’t get incredible physical powers. No, she received telepathy and her mental powers. Meanwhile, her body simply refused to look as sexy as her teammates. 

A red light flashed through the showers and the locker room, along with a triple-note beep signaling a level-three crisis. 

“Liberty Legion to the garage. We have a level three emergency on the highway demanding immediate response. Police and EMTs are en route.” Their mentor’s voice filled the space, but the others were already on their way out.

Umbra and Tora lagged behind, rinsing more thoroughly than the others. Umbra’s thick black hair wasn’t as easy to rid of the suds, and it hung wetly behind her. She frowned at not having time to dry it properly either. She knew what Hannah’s solution to their soaking wet nudity would be. 

“Ariel?” Hannah asked as they ran toward the lockers for their fresh gear. 

Ariel gestured with her hands, and a desert wind brushed through the locker room, its arid heat drying Umbra’s tongue, body, and hair as it washed over her in a prolonged gust. 

Tora’s costume was practically non-existent. She wore a sports-bra-like top and a pair of gymnastic shorts that matched her fur color. The lab-made material shifted with her when she changed colors or used her powers to appear invisible, but it was also costly. Between the high price of the material and her culture’s inherent lack of modesty (pride was a recurring theme with her), the skimpiness of her costume had purposes beyond sex appeal, unlike some other heroines that Umbra could name. 

Tempest’s costumes varied wildly but were always on theme with the arcane. Her jewelry remained the same. The inscribed silver choker about her throat, and the “charm” bracelets about her wrists and ankles. She clasped her black cloak into place before conjuring her costume. This time, she went with tight black leather pants, a matching, flowing peasant top, elbow-length gloves, and black combat boots. 

Galatea was already ahead of them, still dressed in costume. The one-piece white spandex bodysuit clung to Galatea, from her golden boots to her golden gauntlets to the band of gold coins she wore as a necklace. Gold along the hemline, collar, and sleeveless shoulders accentuated the white dress she wore over the tights. Its neckline was a deep V, and its knee-length skirt was flirty and playful without risking immodesty, thanks to the tights beneath. The style and cut paid homage to the Greek origin of her name. 

Only Lieutenant Liberty seemed to sympathize with the complexity of Umbra’s costume. Her various pieces of tech and equipment, not to mention the tools and weapons she packed, made suiting up difficult. They’d done plenty of drills, however, and made the process as efficient as possible. Her red, white, and blue body armor assembled quickly, her utility belt snapped into place, and her weapons clipped into their holsters. She checked her fit and was off at a run. 

Umbra uttered a curse as she pulled on a fresh costume, doing her best to dress swiftly. She opted for the face veil this time since she was going out without makeup or jewelry. Her costume reflected her heritage, but it varied depending on the situation. This costume was a black and gold dress with a head veil that covered her from her nose over the crown of her head, shoulders, and back. The matching face veil obscured the lower half of her face. She grabbed the jewelry she typically wore with it and ran to catch up to the team, who were already ahead of her. 

By the time Umbra reached the garage, the others had already piled into the emergency deployment vehicle. She climbed in, and no sooner had she shut the door than the ‘car’ vertically lifted off and shot forward once it was clear of the building. She held on tightly to the door’s armrest with one hand and buckled herself in with the other. 

“What’s the situation?” Lieutenant Liberty asked. 

A male voice, presumably Aaron from Mission Control, answered her question. “We have a construction robot that’s malfunctioned on Route 95. It is currently attempting to clear the overpass of cars. It’s picking them up, crushing them, and tossing them over the side. Civilians are fleeing on foot, but there’s nowhere for them to go on the raised overpass except for taking one of the nearby exits. Judging by the 9-1-1 calls, we have injured civilians on the scene, if not fatalities.”

“What’s under the overpass?” Liberty asked, with a note of panic. “Where is it throwing the cars?” 

“A car dealership on one side and an abandoned textile factory on the other.” Control answered. 

“Small mercies.” Liberty said, shaking her head. “Okay…” Her eyes moved back and forth as she mapped something out in her head. “Feral, you find the construction robot’s off switch, if you can, or cut its hydraulics if you can’t paralyze it.” 

“Yes, Lieutenant.” Feral answered. 

“Galatea, you try to move the cars out of the way.” Liberty continued. 

“Tempest, try to slow any it tosses and protect the civilians. See if you can heal any that are too injured to move. Umbra, you’re on extraction and crowd control. Keep the civilians moving until they’re safe. Don’t let any gazers with more followers than brain cells get crushed.” Liberty said. 

“And you?” Galatea asked.

“I’m going to be working with Feral to deactivate it.” Liberty said. 

“If that thing hits you–” Galatea started to protest, but Liberty cut her off. 

“I know.” Liberty said. “But don’t worry. I might not be as invulnerable as you are, but I’m still pretty tough.” 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to–” Galatea started to suggest something, but Liberty cut her off with a hand gesture. 

“This is the plan. If I change it, I’ll issue new orders.” Liberty said. 

“Understood.” Galatea said, looking out the window as the flying passenger vessel hurtled toward the highway. 

“Arriving in three, two, one.” Control counted down, and the vehicle’s roof opened. Galatea leaped out first, Tempest flew upward, Feral jumped out, Liberty and Umbra clasped hands, and Umbra lifted them out of the vehicle with her powers. 

The scene below them came into focus quickly. The overpass was fifty feet above the ground below. The construction robot was heading South, the lanes behind and beside it clear. The giant treads at the base of the two-story machine rumbled as they rolled over the barrier, crushing it beneath their weight. It took a red car between its two foreclamps and crushed it like a soda can. Spinning, it threw the empty vehicle over the side of the overpass. 

Galatea caught the scrap metal and lowered it to the ground as she flew downward. She landed gently and rushed forward to the next car in its path. The cars were empty and abandoned. A traffic jam caused by an accident had left these people stuck, but the giant robot riding the entrance ramp behind them prompted them to flee when traffic refused to move. 

Umbra heard their panicked voices below as she opened her mind to listen to nearby thoughts. She set Liberty on the asphalt and verified that she was okay before leaving. Feral was on the prowl somewhere, but the robot needed a distraction. Liberty provided it as she fired a sonic blast at the machine, which did little more than rattle its shell. It rumbled and swung a clamp in her direction. She dodged and rolled out of the way. 

Umbra reached the first civilian, who crouched behind a car hood with their phone raised to record the incident. She flew down from the sky in whisps of black and gold cloth. “Miss, you’re going to need to evacuate. Get off the bypass and as far away as you can.” 

“But–” The young woman protested, showing her livestream numbers as if that were enough to convince the superhero to let her stay. 

“Hello, everyone on the internet.” Umbra said. “I’m Umbra, one of the Liberty Legion.” 

“You mean the Liberty Belles?” The girl asked. “Oh, you’re the shadow one! You have creepy shadow powers!” The woman turned her phone on Umbra. 

“I…” Umbra’s first instinct was to argue about the nature of her powers, but she realized the folly of it. “Please enjoy the ride, and for everyone’s safety, please keep the screaming to a minimum.” 

“What are you– AAAAAAAAAH!” The woman screamed as she and Umbra lifted off the ground with more speed than was entirely necessary. The two of them flew off as Umbra scanned the bypass below them. There were three more minds, only one of which was there voluntarily. One was still stuck in her car, trying to cut the jammed seatbelt. Another was injured. Debris from the giant robot crushing a vehicle had struck them in their retreat, and they had lost a lot of blood. They’d made it further away than the others, but they were losing blood too quickly. 

“Tempest, I have one for you.” Umbra said. “They’ve lost a lot of blood.” She gestured, and an arrow of pure darkness hung in the air over the injured woman. Tempest flew over as Umbra finished guiding the livestreamer to a safe sidewalk two blocks from the overpass. 

“You can’t just force me to fly like that.” The woman argued, but Umbra didn’t. She flew away, back to the scene to stop the robot. 

Umbra took stock of the scene as she returned and nearly blanched. Feral was unconscious, lying on the ground in the wake of the construction bot, which was a feat in itself. She was tough. Tempest was busy healing the injured woman. Lieutenant Liberty was doing her best to fight the robot, but any time she got too close, its clamps snapped at her, and with the pressure in them, she was easily crushable. 

“Where’s Galatea?” Umbra asked, looking back and forth. 

“It tossed her!” Liberty answered her question through their comms. “I think she’s in the river.”  

“Shit! Should I get her?” Umbra asked. 

“Focus on the civilians!” Liberty answered her. “Galatea can swim! I think.” 

Umbra wasn’t so sure, but she followed orders. The seatbelt was easy for her psionic force to cut through, and she carried the thankful woman to the EMTs who’d set up near where she’d dropped off the angry live streamer. The second live streamer was more compliant, almost too eager to jump into Umbra’s arms and let her carry him bridal-style off the bypass and to the EMTs. 

On her return to Tempest’s position to help with the injured woman, things truly went to shit. Whatever Liberty had pulled from her arsenal to attack the robot, she’d truly enraged it. The robot furiously began smashing everything within reach, including the ground, which was concrete and steel fifty feet above the actual ground. 

Liberty spat a curse word that would generally have made Umbra blush. She forgave it as the robot’s systems kicked into some kind of overdrive. It was moving too fast for Liberty to keep up, even with her enhancements. Umbra raised her open hand toward it just in time, creating a shield of psionic energy between the bot and Liberty, blocking an incoming smash that felt like a railroad spike driving into Umbra’s temple. 

She cried out in pain, and the spots filled her vision. Damn. The bot was strong. 

“Run!” Umbra shouted to Liberty, who looked defiant. 

“You don’t give the orders!” Liberty shouted into the comms. “I can do this!” 

Treads taller than Lieutenant Liberty rolled toward her, and there was nothing Umbra could do. She couldn’t lift the robot or do more than block its blows, but even that wasn’t an indefinite process. Umbra grimaced and tried to create several sharp spears of energy. She sent them at the robot, but the reinforced exoskeleton held up to her onslaught. 

The robot spun its arms at the shoulders, turning its clamped arms into steady overhead turbines that both struck toward Liberty as she rushed forward toward it. 

Umbra shouted something, but she didn’t even know what. She raised her hands and formed a shield over Liberty, but the combination of both clamps slamming into it shattered the shield and drove Umbra to her knees. She clutched her head at the pain and blinked.   

Lieutenant Liberty stood beside her, rather than fifty feet down the street, just as confused as Umbra was. “What the fuck?” 

Galatea was on Umbra’s other side, readying her fists. 

A blur of a figure that Umbra couldn’t quite see stood between them and the machine. It solidified momentarily into a masculine figure. Umbra saw the broad shoulders, the dark blue unitard, and the masculine figure for a second, and then it was gone. 

“Speedster?” Liberty asked no one in particular. 

Umbra reached out with her mind, but she didn’t sense one. “I’m not picking anything up.” 

“Maybe he’s moving too fast?” Liberty asked. “Is he a villain?” 

“Why would a villain save your life?” Umbra asked. 

“He didn’t save my life!” Liberty protested too strongly. “He stopped me from taking out the robot.” 

Umbra and Tempest shared a glance but said nothing. Another woosh, and the unconscious Feral appeared at Tempest’s feet. 

Umbra looked at the other woman Tempest had treated. “Is she ready for transport?” Umbra asked, and Tempest nodded. 

She lifted off, flying the woman to the EMTs. She returned to see the robot crunching another car and tossing it aside. A gas station was coming up on the other side soon. If they didn’t stop this bot before it tossed a car into a gas tank, they could have a problem. Tempest was the only one supposed to throw fireballs in this city. 

“Wait…” Umbra said, looking around. “When did you repair the overpass?” 

“Shit. She’s right.” Liberty said. “The cracks are gone.” 

“I didn’t do it.” Tempest said, removing her hand from Feral’s forehead and helping the other girl to her feet. 

“I’m usually more efficient at breaking things.” Galatea ruled herself out. “Speaking of which… should I dismantle the robot?” She looked at Liberty for an answer. 

“Go for it.” Liberty said, gesturing for Tempest, Feral, Umbra, and herself to form an inverted V assault formation. 

They rushed forward in the practiced formation, fists raised and ready. Closing the distance at a sprint, knowing at least one of them would get hit by the robot’s arms, but it couldn’t target all of them. 

Tora led the charge on the right, and Tempest followed. Galatea led on the left, and Umbra followed. Liberty was at the top of the V and readied dual stun batons in her fists. Fifty feet. Forty feet. Thirty feet. Twenty feet. Ten feet. 

The robot perceived the threat and picked up a squashed van to throw directly at Liberty, the central threat. It raised its arms behind its head, holding the mass of scrap metal between its clamps. Its motors churned, and its treads rolled forward, gaining speed to meet them. 

Just as Feral was in leaping distance, the robot suddenly stopped. There was no warning of its lurching stop, but the treads stopped moving, and the buzz of its motors stopped. Everything halted, and the machine froze as if it had stopped in time. Its lights and flashing orange warnings were dead, and the group of heroes lost their momentum in their confusion. They staggered to a stop mere paces away from the machine. 

A confused Lieutenant Liberty looked at her teammates. “What just happened? Did it run out of power?”

“These things run on Arc-cells.” A male voice answered her from behind the machine. Stepping over its platform base, the man in the midnight blue unitard hopped down in front of it. “Its power cells would last for years, even with its energy consumption. No, I hacked it and gave it the old E-Stop command.” 

“Thanks for mansplaining arc-cells to me.” Liberty said, taking up a fighting stance. 

The man tilted his head as if unfamiliar with the phrase or confused by her posture. Umbra couldn’t tell which. 

“Is this the part where you make your demands and set a ransom the city pays, or else you’ll reactivate the machine?” Liberty asked. “Was this just a demonstration of your destructive potential? Are you going to bore us with how the city deserves this or how your parents neglected you as a child? Villains always love a good monologue.” 

The girls took up fighting stances, except for Umbra. She stared at the young man, who looked more offended than upset. He had to be a rookie. He couldn’t be older than twenty-four. He was tall, at least six feet four inches, and broad-shouldered. He looked like a god who’d arrived on Earth, with a sharp, clean jawline and olive-bronze skin to complement his dark hair and piercing blue eyes that twinkled like jewels. 

More impressive than his form, though, was the uniform he wore. The unitard had built-in boots and gloves, with what appeared to be a computerized console built into his left forearm. Villains didn’t usually have that level of tech or costume. There were exceptions, but there was no mistaking the speedster they fought in the simulation this morning for this one. 

“What are you talking about?” The man asked. He laughed as he asked it, as if the idea was ridiculous or if Liberty had said something funny, which made Umbra wince. Laughing at Lieutenant Liberty when she wasn’t joking always resulted in a fight. “I’m no cartoon villain. I’m a hero, like you. Certified and everything.” 

“What’s your hero name?” Liberty asked. 

“Well, I was planning on going by Gladiator.” The man said. “Out of–” 

“I’ve never heard of you.” Lieutenant Liberty said. “When did you graduate from the academy?” 

“About a month ago.” He answered. 

“So you’re a rookie without a mentor?” Lieutenant Liberty asked as if catching him in a lie.

“No, I–” 

“What are you doing in Philly?” Lieutenant Liberty asked. 

“Philly?” The man asked, confused. “Oh, short for Philadelphia, like the baseball team. Cute.” 

He wasn’t a local. If Umbra had thought he might be a foreigner or even an alien, like Feral, that response only reinforced it. 

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” Liberty said, still standing with her stun batons at the ready. 

“I’m here to meet with a potential mentor.” The man answered. “I’m–” 

“And you just thought you’d get involved in an active crime scene on your way?” Liberty asked. 

“Lieutenant…” Galatea started to speak but hesitated when Liberty shot her a look to shut up. She swallowed her words and shook her head. 

“I saw you were in trouble. I thought I’d help.” He answered. 

“We weren’t in trouble.” Liberty said. “We had a plan.” 

“Oh.” The man answered, looking genuinely apologetic. “I’m sorry. It looked like your plan was to charge the giant robot head-on, which I judged had a pretty good chance of getting one or more of your team severely injured, if not fatally.” 

“The odds were low.” Liberty said. 

“Eighty-three percent.” Galatea corrected. 

Silence followed. The man, Gladiator, didn’t look surprised at that information. He kept his smile, though. “I am sorry.” He said. “I was just trying to help, so I thought I’d zip around to the controller in the chest cavity there and hit the E-stop.” The man said, pointing. 

“You said you hacked it!” Liberty said, pointing at the man’s chin with her stun baton. 

To his credit, the man didn’t balk, even as she charged the baton. 

“Yeah. Someone broke off the E-stop button. So, I had to wire into the controller and issue the E-stop command in the console directly.” The man explained. 

“That was good work.” Galatea said. “How did you avoid it killing you?” 

“Temporal relativity flux from super speed.” Gladiator said. 

“You’re not making any sense.” Liberty said. “Super speed would have created a noticeable heat signature. The robot would have destroyed you.” 

“Think of it as phasing through time rather than slowing it down or speeding up.” Gladiator said.

Galatea relaxed, adjusting her stance to stand casually. Tempest followed her example. “Good work.” Tempest said. 

“Thank you.” The man smiled, and Umbra missed whatever curse word Liberty uttered in Galatea’s direction. 

“Don’t make a habit of interrupting our team missions in our city.” Liberty said, issuing a warning. “Or I’ll report you for interference so fast your head will spin.” 

Gladiator smiled. “Well… if I don’t hurry now, I’m going to be late for my meeting. Do you need help with the cleanup?” 

“No, we don’t need your help.” Liberty answered before the others could. “We didn’t need it before, and we don’t need it now.” 

“Okay.” He said, nodding. “It was nice to meet you, by the way. I’m a big fan of the Captain Liberty legacy and your team. The Liberty Legion was my favorite superhero team for a long time.”

“Sorry, we’re not doing autographs right now.” Lieutenant Liberty said, her tone still annoyed. “Now get lost.” 

“Yes, Ma’am.” The young man tipped his imaginary hat to them and disappeared. 

The others stood there in silence, looking at each other and then at Liberty. 

“What?” Liberty snapped. 

“You didn’t have to be so rude.” Tempest said, glaring at Liberty. “He wasn’t an asshole.” 

“They’re all assholes.” Liberty said, sighing. “You know that.” 

“He was invaluable in shutting down the robot and respectful to all of us. He asked before touching me when he pulled me from the river.” Galatea said. 

“She’s just mad someone stole her kill.” Tempest said. “He showed us up, but honestly, who cares? He stopped the construction bot, and people are safe. That’s the important thing.” 

“I agree.” Umbra added, nodding with Tempest. 

Liberty glared at Umbra, then turned her attention to Feral. 

“What do you think, Feral? You don’t think I was too rude, right?” Liberty asked. 

“No, I think it is cute.” Feral said. 

“Cute?” Liberty asked, confused. “You think he’s cute?” 

“Yes, but that is not what I meant.” Feral said. “I think it is cute the way you antagonized him, but he did not rise to the challenge and flirt back with you. Disappointing. May I ask if I may hunt him? Or were you planning to?” 

Lieutenant Liberty stared at Feral. Tempest and Umbra did their best to restrain their laughter. 

“What?” Feral asked. “On my planet, when a woman wishes to seduce a mate, we hunt and stalk them. Then we attack, and whoever wins the tussle gets to be on top. I would like to hunt this one, but if you want to claim him as your mate, I will give you—what do you call it? Dibs.” 

Liberty’s skin darkened a shade in anger if Umbra had to guess. “I’m not hunting him! That’s disgusting!” 

“I wouldn’t mind hunting him.” Tempest shrugged, which made Umbra lose her restraint and giggle. Tempest offered Umbra a high five. “Yeah, see? Umbra gets it. She’d hunt him, too.” 

Umbra slapped her hand against Tempest’s, giving her a high five but not verbally responding to the suggestion. 

“The only reason I’d hunt him down is to slap that smug smile off his face. We’re superheroes, not horny teenagers, so get your minds out of the gutter and let’s get to work.” Lieutenant Liberty said, straightening her spine and surveying the area. 

“We might be superheroes.” Tempest said. “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t human, too. It’s okay to look at a handsome man and admit you’d be down for a trip to pound town.” 

“You’re disgusting.” Liberty shook her head. “Besides, he shouldn’t have even been here. Philly is our town. The Liberty Legion has jurisdiction here. Solo heroes have to follow our lead in an emergency. He should know that if he’s such a fan.” 

“Maybe we could invite him to join us.” Galatea said. “His super-speed–” 

“Absolutely not.” Liberty cut her off. “He’s not joining the team. We’re the Liberty Belles, right? We’re fine the way we are. Nothing needs to change.” 

“You know we’re not. The Liberty Belles isn’t our official team name; it’s just a hashtag the marketing team started because the old merchandise doesn’t sell as well. Our all-female lineup was a coincidence, and now it’s a marketing ploy.” 

“Exactly.” Liberty said. “But it works. We don’t want to mess with that. If we start making changes to the roster for every hero who helps out now and again, where will we be?” 

“In my experience, change is constant, and sometimes it’s a good thing. Only bad things happen when you refuse to embrace it.” Galatea said. 

Umbra had to agree. His skills were indeed valuable, even if not every scenario required a speedster. If Feral and Tempest could treat him like a human being and not a chew toy, Umbra wouldn’t object to his joining the legion. Though she did think it was strange that she couldn’t read his mind. That unnerved her, and she wanted to know why or how. 

She’d come across people she couldn’t read before. They were either so alien that their minds operated outside her frequencies, or androids or creatures without organic minds, such as Galatea, or powerful telepaths in their own right. Was the man they met a robot, like the one he’d hacked? If so, it was some of the best work she’d seen since Galatea. 

Liberty muttered something, getting the last word in without being able to offer a proper rebuttal to Galatea’s logic. 

Tempest rolled her eyes. “Come on. Let’s get working with emergency services. We have to clean this place up.” 

The others agreed, and Umbra followed their lead. The team spent the next hour sorting out the scene. They gave their statements to the police. Feral helped them locate the deceased, utilizing her enhanced senses to sniff out the bodies. Galatea worked with emergency services to inspect the overpass structure for damage and found that the robot’s rampage limited its damage to the cars and the barrier between lanes. 

Lieutenant Liberty assisted the police in tracing the path of destruction to the construction site from which the robot originated. The foreman stated that it was operating as usual until a few minutes before its rampage when it suddenly went berserk, and they couldn’t rein it in. Tempest helped the EMTs by healing those she could, prioritizing those who needed intensive care. Umbra did her part by helping those who lost their cars to the robot’s rampage. She was more familiar with the insurance process and helped ensure each of them filed their claim correctly. 

Then they spent half an hour signing autographs for onlookers and posing for pictures. Umbra didn’t mind the autographs. Honestly, signing comics, notebooks, posters, or whatever they had for kids made her day. It was posing for the barrage of photographs and selfies that made her feel self-conscious. She didn’t have her makeup on and had to thank her past self for grabbing the thickest veil. 

“Okay, everyone!” Liberty called out, announcing the end of their meet-and-greet time. “We have to get back to headquarters. Stay safe!” 

Umbra followed her lead, flying into the air and lifting her with the others as they flew into the sky, where the flying emergency response vehicle waited for them. They piled in, taking their seats, and then the automatic pilot flew them back to their headquarters, overlooking Independence Hall.