Try Outs

Ryan Bennings’ house was still being repaired after the Resurgence so it wasn’t appropriate to hold the meeting there. He still had full access to Hyperion’s Light, however and opted to use it; flying around in Rex Robinson’s ship in light of recent events might have been tone deaf but as Ryan put it, “The spaceship is really badass.”

For this meeting, he sent out invitations to a large number of heroes, which included flying out to France and leaving a note at a cathedral and, in some cases, paying for plane tickets. He was creating a team and there were plenty of candidates, most of whom, agreed to come to the meeting to make a final decision. Hyperion’s Light rested on a cliff overlooking Boston Harbor, its rear hatch open to the guests who were ushered into a meeting area where robot staff served drinks. Ryan had kept a mental list if those contacted list of those contacted in one form or another:

The Cavalier

Farrell Creed

Alysa Saraki

Astra Machina

Femme Phantom

Dragonfly

The IMD (Sean Pierce arrived in Boston with agents Dafne Mansoor, Dave Bronson and Nadeem Alam)

Dante Greer of the Upstarts

and Shujai

The last two were of significant importance. Shujai had recently been exonerated by a UN tribunal and released under the condition that he be placed under supervision and be given residence. Since Ryan had the funds to support Shujai and the skills to police him if needed, hr was allowed to monitor him and gave him residence in Rex Robinson’s old lab in the Catskill Mountains. Ryan was impressed by his power and the fact he saved the Earth from destruction so he offered him a membership.

As for Dante Greer, as the sole survivor of the Upstart assassination and a minor, Ryan did not consider him for membership but he insisted on coming to the meeting in hopes that past mistakes would not be made. Ryan did not expect it but he made accommodations.

“It’s a free trip to Boston if nothing else,” Ryan told him happily as he entered the ship, “And hey, you get to see the inside of Hyperion’s Light.”

“I saw it already,” Dante said sadly, indicating the time when Rex Robinson had a training session with the Upstarts.

“Right… sorry,” Ryan mentally kicked himself for the faux pas.

Shujai had been the first to actually enter the ship but he chose to stay in the cabin area until summoned. He felt a desire to protect the people on this world he had been exiled to as that was his nature but he was under no illusion that there were many people who trusted him. Ryan’s friend Labrat sat in the seat in front of him and peaked over the back rest while wearing a makeshift bandana and a towel wrapped around his neck like a cape.

“Hi, I’m Labrat,” he greeted him, “I’m a humanoid rat.”

“Hello, I’m Shujai… and I’m not sure what a humanoid rat is.”

“It’s me.”

“Oh,… I see.”

“Why aren’t you in the meeting with everyone else?”

“I’m still unsure if I will join this team. I don’t know if it’s my place. Also, I’m not sure if everyone gathered would want me there.”

“Humans can be hard to understand.”

“I’m sure they are.”

“But most people love me. They say I’m cute.”

“You are not an alien, correct?”

“Nope. It’s probably part of why people might like me but not be so nice to you. Ryan said people are afraid of you.”

“Yes, and there is good reason for that fear.”

“You seem like an okay guy to me.”

Shujai raised his spiked brow, “Thank you. You also seem like… an okay guy.”

In the meeting area, the rest of the guests had already arrived; Astra Machina approached Alysa Saraki and Farrell Creed. “Hello again, Alysa,” she greeted, “And hello to you, Mr Creed. Do you remember me? We fought a bigfoot together.”

“We still remember you, Astra,” Alysa said humorously.

“Nice seeing ya again,” Creed greeted her.

“I’m going to join Ryan Bennings’ new team. I hope you’ll join too,” and with that, she left to talk to Dragonfly.

“It’s almost like she’s alive,” Creed whispered to Alysa.

She rolled her eyes, “She is alive, Creed.”

The Cavalier sat at the round table in the middle of the room and Ryan joined him once he realized he was alone, “I wasn’t sure if you’d make it. I know Rex was the guy who finally convinced you to suit up.”

“New York is a mess right now and the rest of the planet isn’t much better off,” Cavalier explained, “I can’t turn my back on them. I’m in this for the long haul, even if my father isn’t too happy about it,” he looked around, “Is this everyone you invited?”

“Almost. The Femme Phantom declined without showing up. I left a note at some cathedral in France because I heard she hung out there. A day later, I found a note on my front door saying ‘No thank you’. It would be creepy if it wasn’t so cool.”

“At least you tried.”

The Badges stood off to the side, away from most of the heroes gathered. “Sir, please be honest,” Dave Bronson began as he leaned in to speak to Pierce, “Do you think this team Bennings is putting together will last more than a month?”

“I give it a week,” Alam spoke up, “It’ll be shorter-lived than the Street Force. Anyone remember that team?”

“Bennings asked if I could supply a Badge or two and so I shall,” Pierce told them, “He’s not getting any of the bloody Elite Squad, Kisi and Frakes have their roles to play at the IMD, Jones should always be on hand for when we need a teleporter and Klausman is still recuperating from an injured leg. If someone is going to join this team, it will have to be one of you three.”

“I’m okay with both Alam and Bronson leaving,” Mansoor joked, even if her expression didn’t convey it, “It would be quieter.”

“I thought she loved our antics,” Alam playfully said to Bronson.

“I’ve always been a fan,” Bronson responded.

Alysa moved to where Dante was sitting and put an arm around him, “Dante, I’m so sorry for what happened.”

“Thanks,” he said quietly, “I just kinda need to take my mind off things for now.”

“You need to talk, you call me, okay?,” she showed him her phone with her number displayed.

Just then, Ryan stood up and moved to the front of the room where he addressed all gathered. “Excuse me, could I get everyone’s attention?,” murmured conversations died down, “So as you all know, I called everyone here due to recent events. We had another alien invasion… or the first real one to be precise. We managed to hold on to our planet with no small amount of casualties and collateral damage. I feel, as perhaps many of you do, that we could have been better prepared for a threat this large if we had a more unified team of heroes: one without the constraints of certain governing bodies. That’s why I have proposed… The Commission,” Ryan purposefully paused for dramatic effect as he brought up a hologram detailing the mission statement, “We will be on-hand to take care of major threats that could potentially endanger large portions of the population, we will keep in touch with one another in case we need their assistance on missions, and most importantly, we will hold each other accountable for our actions. We put all our trust in Rex Robinson and never once questioned him which had fairly disastrous results. With a team, we have more checks and balances. In fact, I think it might be best if we have a rotating roster of six members that can be swapped out over time. If you were curious, yea, Hyperion’s Light will be our base of operations. I know it was Rex Robinson’s ship but I don’t see the IMD giving up the Cloudburst and he built that too, so the ship stays. Also, many of you met Labrat coming through the door. He’ll probably be hanging out with us a lot. You’re gonna be nice to Labrat, okay? We can figure out all the particulars later but for tonight, I want to decide who our first six members will be.”

A metal hand went up.

“Yes,… I believe you’re Astra Machina?”

“Yes,” Astra answered helpfully, “I’ve already decided to join. I’ve never been on a team before but it sounds exciting.”

“Um,… Okay, we have Astra but really, I was gonna give you all the chance to-”

Another metal hand went up.

“Yes, everyone, this is Airman Terry Stern, better known as the Dragonfly.”

The Dragonfly wore a newly repaired suit as he addressed the room, “Yeah, so the National Guard doesn’t permit me to join any other group but I just stopped by to tell you all that any team led by Ryan Bennings is a bad idea. This guy will use you as bait for a supervillain in a heartbeat,” he turned to point at Ryan, “Deny it all you want, I know that’s what happened with that telepath guy,” he spun back around to address the crowd again, “So if you know what’s good for you, don’t trust this douche.” As he left the room, he flipped Ryan off.

“I should have seen that coming,” Ryan shrugged, “Anyhoo, I’m gonna give everyone a few minutes to decide. Feel free to walk around a bit but please don’t touch any buttons.”

The Badges left at once to converse in another room. Meanwhile, Creed tapped Alysa on the shoulder, “Let’s take a walk,” then they moved to a hallway. Cavalier and Astra Machina stayed behind.

“Hello, Cavalier. I’m Astra,” she greeted him.

“Hello, Astra,” he returned the greeting.

“I saw you in Brussels from afar and I wondered if you might be a robot but now that we’re closer, I can detect life signs. I know you’re human and I’m a little disappointed.”

“I’m… sorry to disappoint.”

In the adjacent hallway, Alysa turned to Creed, “So what’s up?,” she asked, “We gonna be superheroes now or someth’n?”

“Me? Nah, I ain’t a superhero,” Creed shook his head, “Can you imagine them trying to fit my big ass in some tights?”

“Ugh. I don’t need that image in my head.”

“No one needs that image in their head,” he laughed, “What’s my superhero name gonna be anyway?”

Alysa giggled, “Captain Redneck?”

“Sounds `bout right. Besides, I don’t think I could be in the same room as Bennings for too long.”

She shrugged, “So this ain’t our squad. Why we here?”

Creed gave her a concerted look, “It ain’t my squad. Never said noth’n about you.”

Alysa furrowed her brow, “What?”

He smiled and scratched his beard, “Kid, your mom, against her better judgement, connected our fates. Now you, against your better judgement, went along with it. I figure I have a say in this and if you’re supposed to be in a place to do the most good, this is it. You belong here and I think you’re ready.”

“Am I?”

“You took charge of those kids in DC, brought down a spaceship and saved the president. I’d say so.”

“But… the Upstarts died, I mean…”

“That part had nothing to do with you. In the past months, I seen you go from a scared little girl to a complete badass. Like your mom would’ve said, you got this.”

“But what about you?”

“I’ll be fine and it’s not like you’re going away forever. You’ll still be coming back to Winghaven when you can and besides, we both know Bennings pays better than me.”

“You seriously want me to join a team?,” Alysa thought about it for a bit, “I seriously gotta hang out with a giant rat?”

“We got bigger rats in Winghaven, you know that,” he joked, “Stop hemming and hawing over it and go save the world.”

Alysa nodded, “Alright… see where this goes.”

Back in the meeting room, the Cavalier sat next to Dante. “I know you don’t know me,” he began, “But I know a little about what you’re going through since I had… a similar situation when I was about your age.”

“You did?”

“Yes, so if you need to reach out to someone, I’m available.”

“Thanks,” Dante quickly changed the subject, “So are you joining this thing or what?”

“Y’know, I wasn’t sure at first. Initially, I was inspired to be a superhero by other people in my life, including Rex Robinson and we know how that worked out but I know the world needs guys like us. Maybe more than we realize.”

“Yeah,” Dante put his head down on the table, “Maybe.”

Around this time, people began piling back inside. Sean Pierce approached first with the three Badges in tow. “We’ve made a decision, Bennings,” he motioned toward Dafne Mansoor, “Agent Intrepid here agreed to join your team for the time being.”

“I felt you needed my experience,” she explained.

“A little condescending but I’m glad to have you on board, Intrepid.”

“I’m in too,” Cavalier stood to his feet.

“And me,” Alysa approached the table with a proud smile.

“Yay, you joined,” Astra happily clapped her metallic hands, “We can be besties!”

“You know it.”

“Nice,” Ryan nodded in approval, “So it looks like we have one more spot if anyone else-”

Shujai entered the room, finally, along with Labrat, “I have decided to join.”

Once he entered, Dante sat up in alarm and had to purposefully calm himself. He had been aware of Shujai’s recent trial as it had been on the news quite a bit but didn’t realize he was on the ship, much less considered as a team member.

“Everyone, I think you know Shujai,” Ryan began almost apologetically, “Now, I’m sure some of you may feel a certain way about him being here but before you write him off completely, let’s remember he saved the planet and has renounced the U’ntari. He’s basically on probation and I take full responsibility. Having said that, if anyone objects and wants to walk away, we get it.”

“If he proves himself, I’m good,” Alysa said aloud. The others nodded in agreement.

“So there we have it,” Ryan clapped his hands, “Ryan Bennings forming a team consisting of the Cavalier, Alysa Saraki, Astra Machina, Intrepid and Shujai the U’ntari. God help us all. I think drinks are in order.”

Dante Greer said nothing as he stood to his feet and quietly left. The others watched him go but did not try to stop him.

Unable to read the room, Astra exclaimed happily, “This is exciting!”

Next: A Rough Start