A Guide to Being a Superhero...Therapist? (Guide to Being, Novella Two)

NEVER Reveal Your Identity. Unless...

Over the next week, my confusion grew. Nameis didn't do anything. She didn't call. She didn't text. She didn't leave warnings through the media as many villains would. It was as if she had disappeared. I knew better. Someone who attacked a premiere for cancer patients would not go down without a fight, one I needed to be ready for.

So Amrita, Eric, and I trained. I spent my morning runs with Amrita, had coffee (as Kim) with Eric before class, worked with Eric at the gym, and spent the evening with both sidekicks training more.

Eric...another confusion.

I couldn't decide if I liked him or wanted to punch him. Or both. Probably both. With Kim, he was easygoing and fun. He'd even asked me to go with him to a basketball game (which I had to refuse thanks to homework.) But with Firebird, he was cautious and infuriatingly concerned for my wellbeing. The more time I spent with him, the less I cared about the latter. Putting me in a dangerous position.

I still hadn't revealed my identity.

I strode down the street, Eric and Amrita walking beside me. I pressed my lips together and stared unseeingly at the road ahead.

"Something wrong?" Eric asked.

My case in point. Why does he do this? I sighed and shook my head.

"Just thinking."

"Why are we back in this area?" Amrita gestured to the warehouses surrounding us. "Isn't this where I met you?"

I nodded, "I want to see if I can find any Nameis clues."

Eric and Amrita swapped glances behind my back, and I scowled. Eric set a hand on my shoulder.

"Birdie, at this point, shouldn't we wait for her to move?"

"Absolutely not. You saw what happened last time," I moved my shoulder wrong and grimaced. "I want to track her down first. She's done enough damage for me to guarantee arrest."

"It's sunset," Amrita pointed to the colorful sky.

"She's in school most of the day, this is the only time she'd be around."

Eric heaved his eyes to the sky, "You are obsessed."

I stopped in my track and crossed my arms, "You and Amrita have progressed enough to actually be of some help, so start acting like it."

Silence fell over our group. Amrita shuffled her feet. Eric puffed out his cheeks, gesturing for me to keep moving. I muttered under breath as I did so.

"She's a headache I don't need, and I'd rather get rid of," I finished.

"Are you taking a break soon?" Amrita adjusted her mask.

"Shut up already."

"I'll take that as a no."

Eric chuckled. I quirked an eyebrow at him, but he ignored me. I stepped up to the warehouse, where I had met Amrita and Nameis over a week before. I tapped my chin, surveying the dark windows.

"She probably won't be here," I said more for my own benefit than theirs. "But maybe some clues?"

"It's worth a look," Amrita jiggled the handle and stepped inside.

I frowned at the back of her head, "You can pick locks?"

"Not like that," she laughed. "It was unlocked again."

"Again?"

"Yeah. When I intercepted that something was going on in this warehouse, I decided it would be a good time -."