Triumph - Protectors of Central Illinois University, the city of Stevenson, and beyond!
Dragonfly, aka Aaron Majesky - winged martial arts master; The Adept, aka Rick Pennington - master of mystical movement; Cazmonster, aka Caz Greenbaum, super-strong cyber-werewolf;
and Guest Starring - The Wrecker, aka Tim O’Malley - Telekinetic wonder; and White Diamond, aka Emily Fine - wielder of light.
After determining that The Anti-Man was nowhere to be found, and was not set on returning any time soon, the heroes of Triumph, Dragonfly and The Adept, along with their former colleagues
White Diamond and The Wrecker, and The Wrecker’s wife Megan O’Malley, returned to Stevenson via one of The Adept’s magic portals. Dragonfly left instructions with local police to contact them if The Anti-Man turned up again.
Back at The Citadel, Triumph’s headquarters overlooking downtown Stevenson, the group met relaxed in the common room. Tim doted on his wife, Megan, making sure she was indeed alright after the crash landing she and Emily had recently endured.
“For the tenth time, I’m fine, dear, really,” Megan said, slumping into one of the comfy chairs surrounding the pool table in the common room.
“I’m going to mix up some drinks,” Aaron said, slipping off his Dragonfly wings and dropping them and his equipment bag onto a chair and moving toward the adjoining kitchenette. “Care to join me, Em?”
Emily Fine, former member of The Infinite Seven (now Triumph) and former girlfriend to Aaron, hesitated. “I think I’ll hang out out here,” she answered.
Aaron shrugged a shrug he didn’t feel. “Whatev. Back in five.” With that, he headed in to find a blender.
“Well, Tim,” Rick ‘The Adept’ Pennington opened, “how’s being married treating you?”
“Amazing, my friend,” Tim nodded. “How about you? What’s up with you and Syd…”
“Nothing, Tim. Nothing at all,” Rick answered. Syd and Rick were one of those couples that was not a couple. No one ever knew if they were good friends, dating, or somewhere in between.
“Too bad. You guys seemed good together.”
The old friends continued talking into the night. Aaron returned shortly with blended drinks, and passed them around to all. In the middle of the third story, Tim said, “Hey, where’s Caz?”
“He’s at home,” Rick said. “Gone for the break.”
“Yeah, but...you could pick him up, right? I mean, he’s no farther than anything else for the Adept?”
“Good point!” Rick said. Standing, he opened a portal to Caz’s location. Snow was falling as the group walked up to the door of Caz’s parents’ house.
“Okay,” Rick said, looking around. “We’re here!”
“So knock!” Tim said, nudging the sorcerer toward the dark wooden door.
“You wanted to come, you knock!” Rick said.
“Oh, for goodness…” Emily pushed past the two heroes and prepared to knock. Just then, the door swung open. An older woman with brown-gray hair opened the door.
“Can I help you?” she asked, looking at the five young people.
“Um...is Caz here?” Emily asked tentatively.
“Christopher!” the woman shouted back into the house. Within moments, Caz’ familiar mop of curly hair popped out the door.
“Hey! Guys!” he said, reaching out and hugging Emily so hard he lifted her off the ground. Scanning the group, he caught sight of his old roommate.
“Tim!” Caz strode out into the snow, grabbing his oldest friend in the group. “My man. Married!”
“Hey, Caz,” Tim said. “You can put me down now.”
“So, what’s going on? I feel an ambush coming on…” Caz said.
“Very perceptive,” Aaron nodded. “We just got done fighting the Anti-Man, and we figured, since most of the old team was back together, why not grab Caz.”
“Well, we were just finishing dinner…” Caz said hesitantly.
“So finish away!” Aaron said. “We’ll be at JAKE’S. Rick’ll leave the portal open.”
Ten minutes later, Caz walked into Jake’s, a dark sports bar in downtown Stevenson. The heroes, most of whom had just turned 21, were fans of the bar, with good specials, friendly staff, and a relaxed atmosphere.
By the time Caz arrived, they were already into reminiscing about the early days of both their college careers and their super-heroic identities..
“So I said...’Aaron, relax! This is Palisade. He’s working with us now.’ And Aaron’s like ‘He’s who and he’s WHAT?’. And then Emily’s like ‘No way!’” Rick said.
“Dude, you are so screwing it up. Emily wasn't even there! She was at home, I’d just come from her house and…Caz!”
Caz pulled up a chair to their table, which was the most animated in the bar. “Pour me a cup, Aaron,” Caz said as he sat between Tim and Emily. The group of friends had a great time talking about the old days, when there were five heroes, before they’d even used the name “Infinite Seven.”
But to Aaron, something seemed off. Emily was happy, even gregarious, but she was not talking to him. Every now and then, she’d make eye contact briefly, but she always looked away quickly. After an hour, Aaron couldn’t stand the invisible barrier between them any more. Getting up, he walked past Emily’s chair and asked her to join him outside.
As the two left the bar, Caz’ eyes opened wide and looked at Rick, who nodded. They’d both noticed something was up between the former lovers.
Outside in the streetlights, the snow fell gently and a cold wind blew off the larger buildings. Aaron caught a glimpse of the Citadel in the distance, looking down on them like a watchful guardian.
“What’s going on, Emily? You asked me to be here to talk to you, but you’ve hardly said a word to me all night.” Aaron put his hand on her shoulder, familiarly. Emily looked up at her old lover, her older friend. She looked sad.
“Aaron, I’m not sure how to tell you this,” she said, looking at her breath as it came cold into the night air.
Aaron felt something tight, something within him screaming “no!” But he kept his silence.
“Aaron, I’m engaged.”
It felt like an icicle in his heart, on this cold winter night. Intellectually, Aaron knew they were finished. They’d been finished as soon as Emily moved to the East Coast to go to college, and he’d stayed behind. From that point on, their destinies were separate. Sure, they’d come back together briefly, the night he’d saved her from a telepathic serial killer. But they went back to their own lives after that. Now, Emily evidently had a new love. And he had, well, he had someone he hardly ever saw, someone who lived two continents away, at the top of the world.
Yet somehow, all Aaron could do was smile. His heart was weeping, but somewhere inside, he felt joy. Joy for his friend, the girl who’d stumbled in his way trying to stop a drug dealer almost three years ago. A girl he’d grown with, and who’d grown with him. They’d learned much from each other. And now, she was moving to a new phase in her life.
“Em,” he said. “I don’t know how to tell you how I feel, except to say I love you,” Aaron said, putting his arm around her.
Emily looked up in a weird wonder. She was sure Aaron would argue, or throw a fit, or do something highly emotional, or that he’d be completely cold and calm. But here he was, like a loving brother, making her feel that all was right with the world. She hugged him with both arms, and smiled.
“You’ll be alright?” she asked, looking kindly into his stoic face.
“I’ll be fabulous! As long as I’m invited to the wedding,” Aaron said, looking into her deep brown eyes.
“I wouldn't have it any other way,” Emily said earnestly.
After a few minutes of quiet conversation, the heroes walked back into Jake’s. As they came in, they found the others standing. Rick had opened a portal. “Guys, I was just coming to get you,” he said. “The Anti-Man is back!”
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