Roar!

Jason crashed to his bed, exhausted. He'd spent the last few days pushing his body and powers past their limits. He paid the price dearly with every inch of himself being sore, but it was all worth it. Because in the few days since construction began, the base was finally complete. 

The base itself was large, about the size of a two story apartment building. Since it was in a mountain side it was easy to keep hidden behind holographic woods. He had installed intense security protocols, ensuring it would only allow them in or authorized personnel. The entrance way in the base of the mountain for cars or motorcycles, and he even had a hangar created, if one day they got a helicopter or something of the sort.

Everything they could ever need he added, living quarters, with individual rooms and spares as well as an entirely stocked kitchen, a sizable living room with luxurious couches and a large flatscreen. To the side there even was a large patio if any of them wanted to eat outside.

He had seen too that there be a gym and a training area, built in bullet proof everything alongside element resistant white walls and panels. A training course was even installed- remote activated. 

Then came the technology, his favorite part. He had technicians install a full map of Hollow city down to the inch. Leaving no stone unturned he had the large screen setup in the "core" of the base, so that they could easily access the hanger or driveway to quickly leave. 

All in all he was beyond pleased with his work, tired but pleased. He saw to it that his crew and everybody else involved were paid triple of what they were originally owed as well. He not only received their gratitude but secured their trust should future adjustments be needed.

Now the final hurdle, informing the others. 

The conflicting feelings of anxiety and excitement rushed through his exhausted body at the thought. Would they like the headquarters? Would they even care?

' What if they think I'm just some rich bozo, showing off..? No, that won't happen. It won't. '

Staring up at his ceiling, he crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, sloppiness overruling his body.

' I'll show you.'

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Bzzztttt

Bzzzzttttttttt

"Ugh." 

She hastily padded for her phone, eyes still heavy from sleep. She finally located the small device and brought it to her face. Turning it on, she dismissed work emails(mainly Smith spamming her), jestube notifications and other unimportant notifications, stopping only to read a few text messages.

Sam: wnat to play dragonfall mages ultimate extreme?

Smith 😎:  You can't evade your responsibilities forever jackass . 

And finally,

Hazel.

When Hazel had invited her to lunch, she was excited! Finally, a reasonable excuse to get away from paperwork and more importantly: Smith!  Any reason to ditch her was reason enough in Stefani's eyes. 

So it was somewhat of an eye opener when Hazel flat out confronted her- not just with reasonable enough questions- Stefani half expected them all to ask her one of these days- but with her own underlying insecurities. Stefani wasn't stupid and could very well read between the lines; that being that Hazel was suspious of her true motives...If there were any to really begin with.

On some level Stefani felt bad for not laying out her goals fully on the table for her three peers to see and understand, but at the same time, why bother? Was it necessary? Her two originally planned members - Hazel and Jason - were the perfect candidates, popular enough to get attention away from herself yet low enough in rank to boost themselves with a new team. To Stefani, such a simple question didn't even register in her brain past "just helping some friends out" as an answer. Not once did it occur to her that either of them, more specifically Hazel, would look past the excitement of something new and exciting like a hero team and question further. 

On second thought, she did feel bad, If only because she thought so low of them. 

As eager as a turtle is to run a marathon, Stefani opened Hazel's messages.

Hazel: I've been giving it some thought and I just wanted to say that I've made up my mind. I'll stay with J.A.S.H . 

Smiling, she made note to smack that dumbass Alex upside the head. Still, she was happy that Hazel had decided to stay, she was an underrated hero. 

Me: Okay, that's great! I really appreciate it and I'm happy to have you on board!  

Me: Though, I seriously need to come up with a better team title :P Any ideas ?

Placing her phone down, she was surprised to hear it immediately buzz to life. Picking it up she squinted at the screen, her eyes narrowing down to slits.

JB : Stop by the foot of Chester hill today, right at the gas station around 12:30. I'll tell you more in person.

Rubbing her eyes she yawned, rereading the message again. "Hm..Chester hill. Right outside the city?" Slipping out of bed she trudged to her small kitchen, sliding into her pink bunny slippers. 

By then it was 7am, still early and plenty of time before she had to meet Jason. Plopping down on her couch she added Alex, Hazel and Jason's contacts into a group chat,  making communication a little bit easier. She told the other two of the meeting that afternoon and that was that. 

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"Morning! Want a ride?" 

Alex stared sheepishly at the ground and then back to Stefani. He had gotten up late into the morning- 11:50 to be exact- and he hurriedly got ready. His patrols had been uneventful since his encounter with Volt Nielsen, but from that experience he learned he needed to be on edge. This increase in stress had led him to stretching his patrols late into the night, topped with college studies and the promise of learning more about his powers really messed with his sleep schedule. He was exhausted, all of the anxiety and hundreds of questions loomed over his head like a dark storm cloud.

It was already all too much.

Still he pushed on, encouraged by Stefani's words. He knew deep down that his powers brought baggage, not just for himself but for the ones he cared for the most. His grandmother had reacted positively to learning about his newfound powers, while his sister didn't really care. He wondered what his parents would think, their strong dislike towards heroes now felt odd. 

He was a hero. He had superpowers, a rank and everything. What would his parents say?

Alex was tired. Very much. So much so that in his rush to get ready and look somewhat presentable, his brain had figured it would be smart to walk to the meetup. He had a GPS on his phone, and if he ran he'd make it, right?

Wrong!

By the time he made his way out of his apartment building's front doors he saw her. Her casual clothes were always nice, not expensive, but not cheap either. 'Stylish' came to mind. The same went for her car, a sleek red challenger.

"That would be amazing, especially in that." He gestured to the car. Wiggling her eyebrows she opened the passenger door for him and circled around to the drivers side. 

"Like it? It's one of the many benefits of my status as a top 3. We get nice presents like this." 

"No way they just gave this to you. How?!" He asked, buckling himself in. She only grinned and revved the car, the mighty roar of the engine sending a chill up his spine as they sped off.