The next day was better. There were still plenty of people gone, but at least Josh decided to grace me with his smiling presence. When I asked how the hunting had gone, he had embarked on a half-hour long story about something or another; I had zoned out about five minutes in.

And that’s how it went for the rest of the week. It went by surprisingly fast. Faster than I would have liked. Because that weekend I had business to take care of.

My parents had been amazingly understanding when I told them of my plans to ‘go visit Tory’. I was only half-lying.

And so, after a quick lecture on being safe (which had turned into a complete joke on my part), I threw a pile of crap into my car and headed south on Friday. I tried drowning out my anxiety with music, but it didn’t really help.

Three hours later, I pulled into a dark parking garage in downtown Grand Rapids. I removed my massive duffel bag from my car and made my way towards the secret hideout that was the League.

I reached the alleyway and through the unremarkable door that was the entrance. I knew they had literally seen me coming from a mile away. And that we had developed a radar system that notified us if any being came within the boundaries.

I wasn’t surprised to see Tory waiting for me inside. He immediately brightened upon my arrival, and pulled me into a quick hug.

“God, I missed you,” he said and pulled away to kiss me, leaving my head reeling. I finally found the nerve to smile back, and he chuckled before snatching up my bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

I followed his lead down the stairs to another door that led to the main room. I caught people in varying states of activity when we entered. They froze for a moment until recognizing me and expressing their gratitude to have me back.

We might not have been the most powerful league, but we sure as hell were the most advanced technologically. We had come leaps and bounds as far as developing technologies that we put to good use.

In fact, our technicians had built every one of my weapons that I used. They had been the ones that had, well for the most part, developed my gliding abilities and the ones who had worked long and hard at coming up with a new, tougher steel that could even cut through some other metals. And, of course, there was the bullet-proof material that was standard for all of our suits.

After abruptly dropping off my stuff in my room, Tory led me to the conference room where all the fancy, high-power superhumans gathered to discuss our strategy. I strode in smugly because of the fact that I presided over all of them but Tory.

He seated himself at the head of the huge table, and me on his right side.

Paul, our next best, sat across from me. Paul Monroe was technically more powerful than me, but I just so happened to be Tory’s girlfriend, and thus Paul and I had never really been on good terms. He possessed a deadly ability to manipulate ground and anything that had to do with this earth. I had once seen him rise up a pillar of rock through a concrete floor. Not only that, but he flew off the handle a little more often than anyone liked.

Stephanie Van Asperen was to my right. She and I had become good friends in the past two years. That is, until Tory and I started dating. As much as she didn’t like me, we still needed her. Because she was the one who would warn us of any approaching superhuman. She had explained it to me once that it was like an annoying alarm in her head anytime another superhuman was created in or entered the area.

Tory finally brought the large group together with a quick flick of his mind that we all felt, causing an annoying urge to pay attention to him. But we all respected him enough to undergo his wishes.

“So,” he said, standing, “You’re all aware that we have a problem. Phoenix could be in the area, and we have no idea where he is. Steph?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, before shaking her head ruefully. “Nothing.”

Tory sighed, “Well, I suppose the best we can do is keep searching on foot and hope that he’s back in Traverse City.” He seemed to gag at the mention of the rival city.

We all seemed to roll our eyes when Paul stood, obviously exasperated. “On foot? You know Tory; I was beginning to think you were actually intelligent.”

Tory’s blue eyes bored into him with a seniority that was never questioned. He made a clicking sound with his tongue, “Well, Paul, maybe you’d oblige us and check if he’s in Traverse City for us- if you’re so opposed to this city.”

We (especially me) all heard Paul grind his teeth, “It’s too risky. We almost got killed last time; why would we go after him on purpose? He’d know before we even started looking.”

“Yes,” Tory said, his chiseled chin poking into the air, only adding to his presiding image, “But that’s a risk we’re going to have to take if we’re going to take him down.

“Now,” he continued, “We don’t necessarily have to kill him now. If we can chase him back to Traverse City, then Lara here can take care of the rest.”

I was about to object, when it was already done for me.

“Tory,” said Jesse, raising a hand warily, “I don’t usually doubt your judgment, but I don’t know if Lara is exactly ready to take on Phoenix alone.”

I let out a silent sigh of relief as Jesse stood up for me.

Jesse Nurmikko and I had always been friends. Even though he was the oldest of all of us, he refused to step up and take his rightful spot as leader. He had explained that he was too modest and didn’t want the responsibilities. And, surprisingly, he wasn’t near as powerful as Tory. He had an ability to manipulate electricity, and was able to power the underground spread when we lost power. It came in handy.

And so did Allison Hall. She was always present at these meetings, as Tory made it a requirement. See, she was the reason we didn’t blow each other apart every time we got mad. She had the ability to monitor and change the emotions of those around her. She could make you feel incredibly anxious one moment, and then the calmest person in the world the next. But she could also be deadly, as she could also push a person to the limit emotionally.

Tory snapped me back to the present, “How so?”

“Well,” Jesse reasoned, shifting in his seat, “I mean, it’s Phoenix. He’s the most wanted superhuman in Michigan and possibly the US. And sorry Lara, but frankly she’s not skilled enough.”

“Jesse,” he said with an exasperated sigh, “We’re running out of options. We can’t let him keep running wild.”

“I know. But I’m just saying that we might just wind up hurting ourselves in the process.”

“I guess,” Tory shot him a glance that told us he was sick of arguing, “That’s another risk we’re going to have to take.”