Langley Hall, Mid-January
A knock on the door at 11:30 PM was the last thing Caz Greenbaum and his current girlfriend, Tina Michaels, had expected. Rick Pennington, Caz’ only roommate in the Langley 7th floor triple, hadn’t arrived yet for the new semester, and Aaron Majesky had withdrawn from the university for the year after a long trip through Italy and Asia, and a reunion (of sorts) with his old girlfriend Emily “White Diamond” Fine.
Caz got up and slipped some plaid pajama bottoms over his boxers. Pulling the door open a crack, he said “‘Lo,” in the brief manner he often used when uncertain of a situation. Outside the door was the new RA. Great, Caz thought. Tina wasn’t signed in. If he let this guy in, he’d get written up, she’d get sent home, and his night would be ruined.
The young RA, a slender, unassuming man with thick, short cut black hair, skin so fair some people called him “white boy”, and distinctly unfashionable glasses, spoke. “Hey, you’re Cazmonster, right?”
Caz nodded. A fanboy. This might keep him out of trouble, if he played it right. “Yeah, that’s me. You’re that new RA, ummmm...”
“Bryan. Bryan McCreedy. Yeah. So, I saw your light was on and figured you were still up. Some guys told me you were into tabletop RPG games?”
“Um, well, when I can find the time, sure.”
“Okay, well, just thought you should know I’m starting up some sci-fi gaming this semester on the floor. You’re welcome to join in.”
Caz nodded. “Okay, yeah, I’ll think about it, you know, if I can spare the time with the heroing and all. Anything else?” Caz asked, starting to close the door the rest of the way.
“Just...one thing,” McCreedy said, his eyes narrowing. “Next time you have an unofficial guest after hours, I’m gonna have to write you up. That is all.” With that, he turned and walked back down the hall on his rounds.
Caz closed the door to find Tina peeking over the edge of the sheets, a lock of her blond hair curling out over the top. Outside, the sky was pink from the light reflecting off the snow clouds, and Caz felt the sudden need to be under those warm covers again.
It was only about 20 minutes before he heard another knock. Getting up, Caz peeked through the door the same way. “‘Lo,” he said, more loudly and firmly than last time. This time, he recognized the face of Steven “Palisade” Chen, his I7 teammate. Dammit, Caz thought. Of course Steven was in the building; he was an international student, so he was one of the first ones allowed back in the dorms.
Steven held a pizza. “Hey, Caz, you want to watch some movies I just rented on Amazon? Hey, what the hell! You asleep already?”
“Um, yeah man, long day. Can we hit the moving thing tomorrow night?” Caz asked, scratching behind his ear.
“Oh, okay. Sorry, didn’t know you had company!” Steven said, turning back and heading up the hall. Caz was almost back in bed when the third knock came.
“What!” Caz asked, opening the door fully while Tina hid under the sheet. It was Steven again.
“Oh, hey, Caz,” Steven whispered conspiratorially.
“Yes, Steven?” Caz said, his patience seeping away like steam from a kettle.
“Um, you better shut the elevator down. Aaron got in an hour or so ago and he’s crashing in the HQ. He said he was gonna head up and talk to you later.”
“Aaron! What the heck is he doing in town?” Caz asked, distracted from the current situation. He’d hardly seen Aaron at all this year, aside from a couple trips he’d made at the end of last semester and one crazy night a bunch of them had spent in Chicago.
“He’s here for the party!” Steven said, confused.
“Party?” At that, the sound of the closet door pulling open make Caz spin around; Aaron Majesky walked into the room, having came up through the secret elevator to the I7 HQ. Caz was halfway to a ‘coming out of the closet’ joke when Aaron held up his hand and walked toward Caz’ bed.
“Don’t even say it, CM. The trip here was hell. Do you know what sleet in a headwind does to your skin? I can barely freaking see.” Aaron let himself fall backwards toward the bed. Caz held his arm up to stop him.
“No, Aaron DON’T!” Too late.
“Owww!” came a feminine scream from under the covers. Aaron pretty well flipped off of the bed into a combat position as Tina’s blond head poked out from the bed.
Aaron straightened up and gave a pained face. “Sorry,” he winced. “I’m Aaron. You are?”
“Tina!” the young woman said, standing and pulling the covers up over her as she did so. She looked over at Caz. “Do your friends ALWAYS drop by at midnight?”
Caz shrugged. “Sometimes. It’s complicated. Aaron’s been out of town. Maybe I should walk you back to your room.”
“No, no, no, man,” Aaron said, grabbing Steven by the arm and heading for the door. “Steven and I were just leaving. We’re heading upstairs to watch some movies. Catch you at the party tomorrow.”
“WHAT PARTY???” Caz almost growled.
“Oh, you didn’t know? Syd and Angela have been planning a party for I7. We’ve got the banquet room at the Student Center tomorrow night! Even Tim and Emily are showing up. The whole group.”
“Except me!” Caz said. “When were you all planning on telling me?”
“Sorry, I guess Angela missed sending your invite somehow,” Aaron reasonably concluded. “Anyway, be there. Nine PM tomorrow night. Heck, bring your date. Everyone will be in costume so the secret ID people won’t have to hide out.”
With that, the door closed, and Caz and Tina were once again alone. Caz wandered over and sat on the edge of the bed with Tina. “Let’s get back to sleep,” he suggested.
“No, I’m up now. Why don’t we go get some of that pizza. A movie sounds fun.” Tina began getting dressed, and soon, the two knocked on Steven Chen’s door.
The next day, everyone began showing up. Rick “The Adept” Pennington portalled himself into the triple about noon, dragging several bags and a chest he’d brought from him through after him. Caz, by this point, was setting up the rest of his entertainment center, which he’d dubbed “Li’l Cazmonster”. Some of its electronic components were tied directly into his own alterego’s subsystems, making it an ideal backup and storage device.
Shortly thereafter, Barry and Stan, also known as The American Attitude and Triumph, could be seen from the window moving several large bags into the building. Syd “The Gray Robe” Koenig and the vampire known as Angela came up to the triple around 1:30, and brought Syd’s lunch with them. Angela suspected the others would find her lunch unappetizing, and so she ate before coming.
Later that evening, the heroes gathered together at the student center. There was a flock of fans and reporters waiting to see the heroes, question the heroes, and touch the heroes, but campus police was on the scene for crowd control. Inside, old friends greeted each other, absent and former members met and talked with the new team, and a good time was generally being had by all. Suddenly, a sniper bullet passed through the window of the banquet room overlooking a large university parking lot. The American Attitude reacted first, his super senses pinpointing the bullet’s trajectory before it arrived. “Triumph, drop The Adept!”
In a heartbeat, Triumph had knocked The Adept to the floor. The Attitude shouted “The doors!”
All the heroes turned to see the exterior doors flying inward. A young woman dressed in a white leotard, a woman in a similar green costume, a large man dressed in furs, and a kid with a jetback, a large gun, and a mean attitude stood outside.
“Hello, Infinite Seven! Been a long time! We weren’t properly introduced before. We’re the Equalizers!”
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