“So as it turns out… I’m the Cavalier. I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while and maybe you put two and two together when you saw footage on the news already. I dunno. And yeah, I know this isn’t what you want me to do and I know what you’re about to say. I just haven’t had the chance to say anything until now. So anyway, I’m getting that off my chest right off the bat.”

Dr. Ansari cocked her head to the side, “Have you told your father, yet?”

“No, he’s also on my need-to-tell list.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“I tried to tell him over the phone but it was a busy street so things could’ve gotten overheard. Then I tried to tell him again but he’s been enjoying retirement so much and I didn’t want to drop this big thing on him.”

“So you’re waiting on timing?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“If you need to tell someone something, there’s no such thing as the best time. If you have the chance, tell him. How do you think he’ll react?”

“I don’t know. We were fighting for so long about him retiring and I recently found out he hasn’t wanted this for me for ages. I guess… I guess I do know how’d he react. He wouldn’t be happy,” he looked at his therapist, “But how do you feel about this?”

“I don’t think it’s healthy,” she said bluntly, “I think you’re still processing your trauma and while it was great you opened up to your father, I think it led to you coming to some wrong conclusions.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured you’d say that but, y’know, when Rex Robinson tells you how important the job is, it’s hard not to feel inspired.”

“Still, you need to talk Arthur about what you’re doing,” Dr. Ansari told him, “You know I think this isn’t the best direction for your life but if this is your choice, you owe it to him to explain yourself.”

“You’re right,” Michael ran his hand through his hair, “I’ve been trying to talk to him over the phone but I really should just go to his house. I’ve been putting this off for too long.”

He knew the Hawkwood men had trouble having important conversations which was why he and his father never truly spoke about his mother’s death until several years after the fact. He wasn’t exempt from this and sought to fight against it. When he arrived at his father’s house, he found he wasn’t home, likely playing pickleball with his fellow retirees. Michael had a spare key and decided to let himself in as there were other matters to attend to anyway. He had used up all his shield discs while on patrol and needed to reload. The family hardware store, Hawkwood Hardware, was often used as a means for the Cavaliers to purchase material for weapons, particularly projectiles. Reginald Hawkwood learned to be a welder while enlisted in the British military, Hank Hawkwood was an electrician by trade and Arthur Hawkwood was an engineer so they were all skilled at working with their hands in one fashion or another. Michael worked with software so he lacked certain skills previous Cavaliers had; skills he would have to learn soon. Until then, he needed to get weapons straight from the source. He entered the secret passageway to the Castle, noting that it was dusty and potentially had mold from disuse. On his father’s workbench was an entire crate full of discs with a few cartridges of sedative darts and other supplies including a nylon chord which could prove useful. He would speak with his father when he returned but for now, he had what he needed and convinced himself he made an attempt at fulfilling his promise to Dr. Ansari. After he loaded the trunk of his car, he headed to his apartment.

The supplies were all in nondescript crates so anyone who noticed would have no reason to suspect anything. When he got inside his apartment, he noted the suit of armor against the wall, very much in view of anyone who walked into his apartment. As he never had company, he had no reason to hide it and that reminded him of his complete lack of a social life (another situation he was determined to fix). He moved everything into a closet and sat on his couch to relax; when his phone rang, he assumed it was his father but was surprised to see Dr. Ansari had called.

“I realize I am sending mixed signals here but I might need you to come back to my office… and maybe with a change of clothes if you understand my meaning?” Her voice was usually very calm and friendly but Michael could detect some nervousness. In the background, he could hear muffled voices arguing which alarmed him even more.

“What is it?,” he asked worriedly.

“I don’t normally do couple’s counseling but I have two clients from Agartha. They come to the surface sometimes so that I can help them with their relationship issues which, keeping things as confidential as I can, are plenty. It’s toxic and today’s session was as bad as it gets.”

“These two are from Agartha so am I to understand they are fairly powerful?”

“Yes.”

“And if they’re toxic, is it fair to say they might be physically abusive toward each other, resulting in a big brawl in the city?”

“Potentially. They are still in my office arguing and my session is supposed in end in thirty minutes. I think when they leave this building, things are going to explode outside.” 

“I’ll be over as soon as possible.”

Michael didn’t have access to the Dragon so he had to make due with his grappling hook gun and his knowledge of rooftops. The armor was light enough that he could run and he was now at a level where he could sprint and leap along the New York skyline with little trouble. Taking his car would result in traffic and having the Cavalier emerge from his vehicle would be less than subtle. Having the Dragon would have made things faster and Michael kicked himself for not taking it from the Castle when he had the chance. “Dad was right,” he thought to himself, “Having a hovercraft is much better than having a grappling hook gun.” He used his helmet to listen to the police scanner as he raced to the location and when he was in range, he heard a call concerning a “domestic disturbance” as well as a “potential metahuman threat” a block away from Dr. Ansari’s building.

As he raced to the location, he landed on a one-story deli and saw an approaching squad car. “This is Cav,” he said over the radio, “I’m almost on the scene. I need a lift.” As the squad car approached, the officer asked, “I don’t see you, Cav, What’s your -” he was then interrupted by the sound of something heavy landing on the roof of his cruiser. Realizing he had a passenger, he raced to the area. When the car arrived with Michael on top, they witnessed two figures chasing after one another.

The woman was tall and muscular with wrinkly, sagging skin and long, grey hair. Michael would later know her as Grandma Punch and despite looking like an old hag on steroids, was actually only 32 years old. She was currently swatting at a short humanoid amphibian with dark skin with orange spots and a long tail. Again, Michael would later learn his name which was Hellbender. “Get your ass back here,” Grandma Punch shouted as she punched through a wall, “You got the cops here now!” “So stop break’n shit, Punchie!,” Hellbender crawled up the side of the building, did a backflip and landed on top of Grandma Punch. Despite the rough landing, she recovered quickly, snatched him by the tail and hurled him across the street where he hit a wall. He fell to the sidewalk along with chunks of granite and seemed to be in the process of regenerating from a broken spine. The police officer was out of his car with Michael next to him.

“Mind if I try to calm them down?,” he asked.

“Be my guess” the officer responded, making sure to stay behind his car door.

The human salamander pulled himself across the sidewalk as his spine popped back in place and the feeling in his legs returned, “Ah,… the spine again?… Sick of this shit!”

“I been try’n to make things work, Bendy,” Grandma Punch approached him, “Like always, you don’t listen!”

Hellbender’s tail whipped around, slapping the front end of a car and sending it tumbling toward Grandma Punch who swatted it to the side, causing it to crumple in the middle of the street, “Oh, good! You throw a car at me now?”

“Ya smashed me into the goddamn wall!”

Michael ran onto the scene, “Okay, let’s just calm down.”

“That the Cavalier?,” Hellbender rose to his feet, “Kick rocks, man. Ya ain’t got nothing to do wit dis.”

“You’re leveling half the block so yeah, I kinda do.”

“See what you did?,” Grandma Punch shouted.

“Me? You threw the first punch, sweetheart!”

“Yeah, and you threw the next,” she turned to Cavalier, “And I’m a girl!”

“I get that but -“

“She’s stronger than me,” Hellbender fired back.

Grandma Punch’s gravely voice rose in anger, “But you can heal so what’s it matter?”

“Okay!,” the Cavalier raised his armored hands, “You both have superpowers, we all know this but you shouldn’t be smacking each other around! It doesn’t matter who can survive what or who started it or even your gender. You’re supposed to love each other, right?”

Grandma Punch turned her attention to him, “You saying I don’t love my man?”

“Of course not. I’m saying you both need to chill before someone gets hurt. This is crazy.”

“I am not crazy!,” she screamed.

“I didn’t-”

“What’d you say to my girl?,” Hellbender likewise turned his attention toward him.

“She just misheard.”

“Oh, so now I’m a liar!,” she shouted again.

“C’mon, this whole thing is just a stupid misunderstanding.”

“Did you call her stupid?,” Hellbender picked up the pace as he stormed forward.

Michael simply hung his head, “… Shit.”

Hellbender pirouetted into the air for a moment, his slick, black tail slamming into Michael’s chest plate and sending him into the street next to the overturned car. His armor saved him from serious injury but the impact still momentarily took his breath away. He rolled onto his back and fired a shield disc which bounced between Hellbender’s large eyes. “Ow, shit,” he yelled. Grandma Punch stomped forward and raised her foot, “Leave him alone!”

Michael rolled to the side as her foot put a hole through the pavement. The next few discs bounced off her, giving her pause momentarily as she continued her assault. Then she grabbed Michael by the wrist and hurled him through a store front window. The people inside gasped and stared as Michael picked himself up and rushed out the front door.

Grandma Punch and Hellbender stood side by side in the middle of the street, waiting for him while the officer on the scene began radioing for backup. “I’m just trying to help,” the Cavalier called out. “Does it look like we need your help?,” Grandma Punch fired back. “Yes,… Yes, it does!”

Hellbender flipped through the air but Michael quickly ran underneath him while pulling the nylon chord from his belt. Grandma Punch swatted at him but he ducked underneath and quickly looped the rope around her wrist whole racing behind her. Hellbender crawled along the ground, almost completely flattening himself against the pavement and made his way to Michael quickly. As he rose to his feet, Michael launched himself over his shoulder while making another loop around his long neck. Michael fell onto his back, then pulled the rope taught, which yanked both of them toward one another. They collided and fell to the ground as Michael stood over them.

“Like I was saying,” he began as he caught his breath, “This shit is dysfunctional. You guys are a couple and love each other but it’s obvious you both have some deep-seeded issues you are not dealing with. I don’t know what caused this argument but I would venture to say it didn’t warrant the two of you knocking each other across the city, causing who knows how much damage.”

Grandma Punch smiled a bit, “No, I guess not.”

“We’re both passionate people. You understand,” Hellbender added humorously.

“No, there’s nothing cute or quirky about this. You are both abusive as far as I can tell. You being… the way you are doesn’t excuse anything. If you can’t figure this out, then both of you need to end the relationship because it’s not safe for either one of you… or the city for that matter. There’s an issue and it’s on the two of you to deal with it.”

They nodded solemnly and after untangling themselves from the chord began to leave just as more squad cars appeared. “It’s best to let them go home,” Cavalier called out to the officers, “They’re just going back underground where they’ll hopefully not be a problem.” Grandma Punch and Hellbender held hands silently as they left. “So they were from Agartha, huh?,” a police officer leaned in quietly as they watched them leave, “We get a lot of calls about domestic violence but at least we usually end up dealing with normal people who don’t cause much damage. When these freaks go nuts, it becomes everyone’s problem. If we had the power, we’d kick them all out of the city.” Michael shook his head and walked away, saying, “They just need to deal with some shit that they’ve been avoiding. Seems pretty normal to be.”

That night, Michael returned to his father’s house. It was too late to wake him so he knew he couldn’t have the conversation he wanted. He was sure he wasn’t avoiding dealing with an uncomfortable situation. But he did need something. He entered through the service tunnel leading to the Castle, using his security code to unlock the locked gate at the end. Once he made his way inside, he turned on the lights, taking note of what he came for. Arthur wasn’t coming down to the Castle any time soon so it wouldn’t be missed (not that Michael was purposefully keeping secrets from him). It was just that he needed the Dragon. If he had gotten across the city faster, he could have prevented Grandma Punch and Hellbender from causing more damage. The Dragon was needed in case there were any further emergencies. He knew he could park it on top of his apartment building (temporarily of course, until he spoke to his father) with a tarp covering it without prying eyes noticing. As he flew it out of the tunnel, he noticed he had far less trouble this time. It practically glided on its own before taking off into the sky. Michael knew he would eventually keep it in the Castle once he let his father in on everything.

He wasn’t avoiding anything.

Coming Soon – The Resurgence