Frost stepped forward and put a hand on the thick brass door handle. The temperature around them dropped and ice crept over the handle. Once it was frozen solid, Frost stepped back.
Mike took their place and grasped the door pull. The ice and metal beneath it were so cold it burned his palm even through the leather glove he wore. Mike pulled hard. The lock broke and the door handle fell, shattering into frozen pieces when it hit the pavement. “Stardust, shield up.”
Stardust activated his shield. He kicked the door open and they went in behind his protective golden sphere. A good thing too, since one of the armed bank robbers immediately fired off a barrage of deadly sharp darts. But thanks to Aiden’s shield, they all fell harmlessly to the ground. The woman cursed and retreated.
The retreat gave them an opening. Frost threw up an ice wall between the robbers and bank customers, which allowed them to escape. But the bank staff, including the unconscious guard, were still in harm’s way, all of them behind the robbers. They would have to go through them to rescue the employees.
The trio of superheroes went after the villains without hesitation. But it wasn’t an easy fight. They had to avoid the darts fired at them from two different directions. One of the culprits was armed with long knives. With a gleeful shout, Aiden faced off against her with his sai. Mike found himself up against two behemoths with giant fists and super strength. He used both hand to hand and his blasts in his efforts to take them down. And since he didn’t have Aiden’s shield or Frost’s ability to throw up a protective ice wall, he strategically used the villains’ massive bodies as a barrier between him and the dart guns.
“Hey, Dr. Z!” Aiden called across the bank lobby while fighting the blade-wielding woman. “I gotta say, I love to watch you fight.”
Mike was taken aback at the compliment in the middle of the battle. “Thanks.” He threw out the acknowledgment, assuming that would be the end of it. But Stardust wasn’t finished.
“Did you know that when you use your power, you clench your fists and all of your lovely muscles bunch and release? I especially enjoy the way your ass muscles flex when you use your blast.”
At that, Mike choked on air even as he shot off a blast at one of the villains. And yes, now that Aiden had drawn attention to it, he did feel his glutes flexing when he used his power. Before he could think of a response, or if he evenshouldsay anything, Caleb popped into their earpieces.
“Did you know that this comm link is open and everyone can hear you?” the techie asked with exasperation clear in his voice.
Stardust’s clueless tone when he responded was clearly fake.
“Oh, is it?”
Frost snickered.
A long-suffering sigh came from Caleb. “Stardust, I’m a fan of the whole power couple vibe you two got going on. But let’s keep the lovey dovey chatter to a minimum when we’re on a group line.”
“Roger that, Caleb,” Mike said in easy agreement. “We’ll keep it professional.”
“Stardust?”
“Caleb, you need a code name. We can’t keep calling you by your government name. What if someone hacks the comm link and they find out who you are?”
“First of all, no one is hackingmysecure line. Second, I don’t want a code name. I’m not a hero. Just the guy in the chair.”
“Fine. But if you change your mind...”
“You’ll be the first to know. Now, please finish handling those bank robbers. I’ve got the police holding on standby outside with direction not to barge in with guns blazing, but that won’t last for long.”
“Roger that,” Aiden said.
Mike rolled his eyes at Aiden copying him. But they got to work following Caleb’s order. Stardust defeated his initial opponent, then used his hypnotic glow to convince one of the robbers to drop her weapon. Mike fired off a blast to knock the other dart gun free of its user’s grip. Frost created ice spheres as big as bowling balls. They sent them hurtling across the lobby to slam into two of the robber’s chests, knocking them back like ten pins. In less than two minutes, all the robbers were down and restrained, their weapons secured, and the employees safe.
Stardust stood in the middle of the lobby and struck a power pose. “The evil has been vanquished. Let’s go get Slurpee’s.”
Mike looked down at his lover. “Caleb is going to murder you if you don’t focus during missions,” he said, although his exasperation was a lot more fond than Caleb’s had been.
His eyes crinkling with a grin behind his mask, Stardust spun his blades then slipped them back into their holsters. “I was focused. I can’t help it if I like to multi-task.”
“Your multi-tasking is shit,” Caleb said in their ear pieces. “But enjoy your victory Slurpee’s.”