Soldier Boy POV
"Come on, you can do it! Lift with your legs, not your back," I said, arms crossed and grinning as the group of kids in front of me strained to lift my shield.
"How much does this thing weigh, a ton?" one of the kids groaned, red-faced and trembling.
"Try fifty tons," I said with a smirk.
They all groaned louder, and I couldn't help but chuckle.
It started out as just a normal patrol. I was cruising around on my brand-new hover bike, the one Hope specifically told me not to crash again. Yeah, that one. Anyway, I was flying over the city when I spotted a few kids in the park, looking up at a tree with a ball stuck in it.
Easy work. I swooped down, got the ball out, and tossed it back to them. I was about to head off when the questions started.
"How strong are you?"
"What's your superhero origin?"
"Can we hold your shield?"
Before I knew it, I was sitting down on the grass surrounded by curious faces. So, I humored them. I set my shield on the ground by the tree and said, "If you can lift it, you can keep it."
None of them could, of course. No one can, unless you're superhuman. But watching them try was pretty damn entertaining.
Word spread fast. Within minutes, more kids showed up. Then parents. Then people with cameras.
Now there was practically a whole crowd gathered cheering, laughing, and recording the spectacle of a bunch of kids trying to lift a shield that could stop tank shells.
Yeah, not exactly how I planned to spend my afternoon… but honestly?
It wasn't a bad way to spend it.
I wasn't paying much attention to the crowd anymore, but I still kept my guard up, you never knew when some idiot might try to pull something stupid.
One of the kids, probably around thirteen, walked up to me, eyes wide with curiosity."Hey, Soldier Boy, can I ride your hover bike?"
I looked down at him and raised an eyebrow. The kid barely looked old enough to shave.
"Sorry, champ, but you're not old enough to drive. If I let you touch that thing and you crashed it, I'd be in serious trouble," I said.
His eyes widened. "You can get in trouble for crashing your own bike?"
"Oh yeah," I said with a sigh. "My boss wasn't exactly thrilled last time it happened, even though, in my defense, it was really cool."
He tilted his head. "It was?"
I grinned. "You remember that invasion we had a while back? I fought in it. Used my hover bike to kamikaze into a swarm of those ugly alien. Took out half their squad in one shot."
The kid's jaw dropped. "That's awesome!"
"I know, right?" I said, puffing up a little.
Then I heard it, the distinct sound of something slicing through the air fast. I turned sharply, ready for trouble, only to see a familiar figure descending gracefully from the sky.
Wonder Woman.
She landed a few feet away, the sunlight gleaming off her armor. The crowd instantly forgot about me, all the kids rushed over, swarming around her like she was the main event.
I chuckled under my breath. "Guess they like her more than me."
Seeing no one was near my shield anymore, I walked over, grabbed it, and slung it back onto my back with a metallic clank.
Fine by me. She could have the spotlight, I'd had enough camera flashes for one day.
I was about to take off when Wonder Woman suddenly stepped in front of me.
"Soldier Boy, I'd like to have a conversation with you," she said.
I blinked. Honestly, I didn't expect that. I thought she and the bosses left on kind of… rough terms. But I still nodded, hopped on my hoverbike, and jerked my head toward a nearby rooftop. We both took off and landed there a moment later.
I slid off the bike and leaned against it casually.
"So, what do you want to talk about, Wonder Woman?" I asked.
"I'm sure you've heard by now. The League had a… productive conversation with Mage King and your boss."
"Yeah, I heard. And honestly? It was kinda funny. Mage King told us, Batman couldn't lift the hammer but you could." I chuckled. "But don't worry, no bad blood between us. Both our teams want the same thing. We just… go about it differently."
"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Mage King himself told us not to pick fights with the League unless it's absolutely necessary. We're not your enemies, Princess."
She seemed to relax at that, nodding. "I'm glad to hear it. I'll make sure the League knows where you stand."
"Good," I said, flashing her a grin. "Glad we could clear that up. So… you single?"
Her expression didn't change for a solid second, then she just took off into the sky without a word.
I watched her fly off, smirking to myself. "Playing hard to get, huh?" I muttered. "I like a challenge."
Kai POV
One month later
"This place is freaking cool," Ruby said, spinning in the air like an excited drone.
"Thank you," Hope replied proudly. "I worked really hard on the design."
The new base was finally finished, fully furnished, polished, and stocked with everything we'd ever need. Training area? Check. Cafeteria? Check. Chill lounge, meeting room, emergency bedrooms in case someone ends up sleeping over? Double check. Honestly, it looked less like a base and more like a five-star superhero Airbnb.
Ruby zipped from room to room, inspecting everything like a kid hopped up on sugar.
"I wish I could fly…" Zoey muttered, staring up at Ruby with pure jealousy.
"Okay," I said casually, snapping my fingers.
Zoey immediately started floating upward like she'd lost gravity. Thankfully, Ruby noticed and swooped in, catching her before she spun into the ceiling.
"The spell won't last long, so be careful," I warned. "Have as much fun as you can while it's active."
"Okay!!" Zoey beamed, already grabbing Ruby's hand as Ruby coached her through basic hovering.
"Don't go outside," Victoria called out sternly.
"Okay!" they both shouted back in unison before taking off again.
I wandered deeper into the building, letting everyone explore at their own pace.
Hope's voice echoed from behind me. "Alright, I gave everyone the tour, but feel free to explore on your own. However, Kai, Ben, and Trini? You three are coming with me. We're doing some recruiting today."
"Already? That's kind of surprising," I said.
"And how did I get signed up for this?" Ben added. "I don't remember volunteering."
"Oh, I can explain that," Hope said, smiling a little too sweetly. "Since the base is finally set up, we need to start increasing our numbers. And the reason you are coming," she pointed at Ben " is because I'm still pissed that you crashed my hoverbike. On purpose."
Ben blinked at her. "You know, for the smartest person on Earth, you really shouldn't hold grudges."
Hope ignored that completely. "Anyway, the recruiting is happening in a different building, so let's go. We don't have a lot of time before the first candidate shows up."
"How do people even know where to go?" I asked as we walked.
"Oh, simple. I posted a 'Hero Recruitment' form on my website." Hope tapped her tablet. "Then I carefully filtered out anyone who wasn't remotely equipped to be a hero. Meaning: if they had no powers, no training, and no combat ability whatsoever? Rejected. Efficiently."
She looked up at us and clapped her hands once. "Now come on, the clock's ticking."
10 minutes later
All of us were gathered inside a small observation room, the kind with a one-sided mirror straight out of a police drama. Each of us had a tablet loaded with info on the incoming recruits. Even though no one could see us through the mirror, everyone still showed up in full hero gear.
Everyone except Hope, since… well, she still refuses to design herself a suit.
The first recruit walked in, and we all froze.
A woman.In a literal bunny outfit.
"What the shit?" Soldier Boy muttered.
Before I even tapped anything, her profile automatically popped up on my tablet. I skimmed through it, then reached over and flicked the mic on.
"Hello, White Rabbit," I said. "Tell us a little about yourself."I turned the mic back off.
"My hero name is White Rabbit," she said, adjusting her ears. "My powers are a bit complicated. I have enhanced agility, sharp senses, really good stamina, and I can escape from any trap I'm put in. I'm also trained in hand-to-hand combat."
Soldier Boy squinted at her. "I'm also guessing her other power is giving anyone a boner. Jesus Christ… why is her costume like that?"
I didn't blame him, it did look more like something from a questionable bachelor party event than a superhero audition.
"Seriously," Soldier Boy continued. "She looks like someone you hire for entertainment, not someone who saves the day."
White Rabbit's shoulders dipped, just a little. She definitely heard that, even through the glass.
"And her powers really aren't that impressive either. We're obviously passing on this, right?" Soldier Boy said.
"I don't know…" I tapped my tablet, still reading. "I think she has potential."
He looked at me like I'd lost my damn mind, and honestly, he wasn't the only one. Hope and Trini stared at me like I'd just hired a clown for a SWAT mission.
"Are you serious?" Soldier Boy said. "She literally looks like she's used to having money thrown at her, and her abilities aren't impressive at all. We all have super senses, great stamina, and let's not forget how good of fighters we are."
White Rabbit shifted uncomfortably in her seat again, her eyes dropping to the floor.
"I'm not saying she's super strong," I said calmly, "but I can see potential. All we need to do is give her a proper outfit that isn't… whatever that is, train her up, and if she proves herself worthy, we can give her some power-ups. But for now, beginner level, D-rank."
Hope nodded. "Alright. It's your call."
"So we're hiring strippers now? That's what we're doing?" Soldier Boy said, hands thrown up.
"Okay, first off, don't call her that," I said. "Second… do we even have an HR department yet?"
"We're getting one now," Hope muttered.
I turned the mic back on."White Rabbit, you'll need to go through a series of training sessions to become part of New Dawn. Once you complete the training, you'll start as a D-rank, but you can rank up."
On the other side of the glass, her eyes lit up. She looked genuinely excited.
"We've already sent the training details to your phone," I told her. "Don't be late, your trainer is a hard-ass about that."
"Only because I don't like wasting time," Soldier Boy said.
White Rabbit's smile wavered just a little when she heard he would be training her.Yeah… I couldn't blame her. There was something about Soldier Boy that made even confident people nervous.
After White Rabbit, things got… interesting.
We had a guy called Friendly Fire, cool power, he can shoot energy blasts.His fatal flaw?He only hits his teammates. Every. Single. Time.With training, maybe he could stop aiming at his own side, but right now? Liability.
Then there was Window Man.His entire shtick was… holding a window.And smashing people over the head with it.That was it. That was the whole power set. No window portals, no glass manipulation, just bonk with a window.
And somehow, that wasn't the weirdest one.
We met a dude who welds dogs to people. Another guy named Six-Pack, whose whole ability was… being drunk. Constantly.And then a strange Frenchman who only spoke in French, carried a stick and a baguette, and somehow acted like we were the weird ones.
I honestly had no idea where these guys even crawled out from, but yeah, none of them made the cut.
Thankfully, the weird circus acts weren't the only recruits.
We also had Hawk and Dove, two guys whose power sets were actually promising:Superhuman strength, superhuman durability, enhanced intellect, flight, and danger sense. Solid all-around abilities.
Then there were Fire and Ice, pretty self-explanatory names, but their abilities were impressive.Fire produced green fire hotter than normal flames.Ice could generate extreme cold and freeze the surrounding environment at will.
Not surprisingly, both pairs were accepted. Hawk and Dove joined without hesitation, and Fire and Ice signed on as well.
They all earned a solid B-rank.
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AN: if you wondering what I got those weird characters I swear to you I did not make them up they are actual characters in the comic they are group call is Section 8.