Part Three

"Good morning, Mr. Logsdon!" one of the attendants called out, smiling and waving as he crossed the street ahead.

"Good morning, Andrew. How are we doing on our first day?

"So far, so good. I guess we're all waiting for the other shoe to drop, but right now it's busy but mostly under control."

Anyone happening upon this newly opened, gated community by accident - or with a mistaken idea of what the place was actually for - would have been very, very shocked at the scene unfolding there, this first day of operation. In part the deception was deliberate; those behind the project wanted it to be well started before anyone could muster objections.

There were multiple men and women in costume walking around the community, most of them obviously well past conventional retirement age. Actually, a huge portion of the population here was elderly, whether costumed or not. Even among the nots, there were frequent - and generally casual - demonstrations of powers. Some of these demonstrations were the result of someone deliberately showing off. Ironically, nearly all those making use of this place and the services it offered were heroes. Most criminal supers either didn't survive to old age, were still in prison in old age, or simply wouldn't trust such a facility, regardless of age.

One of the more unusual sights - as compared to what one might see in public places in the nearby city - was the number of what many might consider inappropriate couples. These pairings (and the occasional larger groups) of heroes were obviously on intimate terms, and included several same-sex duos. They even included a leavening of some people who were normally considered villains. Many of those in these groups were in easily recognized costumes.

The recently opened Elysian Fields complex was a retirement and care center for elderly and/or disabled supers. As a private facility dedicated to the special requirements of aging supers with their unusual health care needs, it should have been expensive to the point of being out of the reach of all but a few people, super or not. However, funding from many wealthy supers and supporters of supers (one of the latter being the still-recovering Edward Logsdon) had reduced costs for patients to something quite reasonable.

Logsdon had been inspired by his own need for physical and mental therapy after his misadventure with the minions of Artemis Franks. He had helped design some of the specialized equipment here, which was unique to both this place and built with the needs of its unusual occupants in mind. He had also called in favors from other engineering geniuses to help with this effort. One of their major breakthroughs was the application of specialized robotics to eldercare. That promised to have far wider application than fulfilling the requirements of this one retirement community.

As important as those things were, his real contribution was finding good people trained in the needed professions and convincing them of the worthiness of this cause. He'd not only found doctors willing to work with older superhumans and their... interesting health problems, but several other sponsors to help with the bills. Together they had funded the original construction, hiring and equipping. They had also set up trusts to keep this enterprise going for the foreseeable future. The head doctor, many of the other staff members and most of the donors were people who had been directly saved at least once by a super.

Logsdon looked around with pride as he walked - slowly and with a significant limp, depending on both a cane and the muscular and dedicated young man who was his constant attendant these days - towards the administration building of the senior complex. There was a medical center and an assisted living apartment building, but most of the living quarters were single homes or duplexes. One of the things which helped this setup work was making clear to the occupants that neighbors were expected to look out for each other. Something former team members took to naturally, though some of the others were harder to convince. Either to help, or to accept help. They were coming around, though.

Logsdon smiled. He had enjoyed the challenge, despite the tight deadline they had given themselves. Those behind the project had managed to get this place laid out and the basic components built and in operation before anyone who might object realized what they were actually doing. Logsdon's experience in real estate had helped with that, and had also been more important than his mechanical engineering talent. Not that there had been any deliberate deception involved. They had just made certain that the people and agencies to whom they made explanations did not have any information they didn't specifically ask for.

"Good morning, Mr. Logsdon!" called a middle-aged man in a nice suit, as he went by on the far side of the broad, clean street with its rounded curbs.

"Good morning, Howard!" Logsdon called back, smiling and waving with his cane.

Howard Diddlebach was another visitor on this day, here to help his mother get settled in. He was also very, if quietly, happy to get his increasingly difficult to control mother into the facility. As Loop Lass she had been a renowned hero in the Fifties, but these days she was deep in dementia. Half the time - or more, lately - she thought she was still a young, masked heroine, darling of the press. Here, she was tended by people who were both familiar with her history and her problems, and physically capable of restraining her when that was necessary. Helping this was that many of her friends and former teammates were also here.

Christmas was promising to be especially bright this year. At least for some people.

* * *

Jenny sighed as she stood looking out the window of her childhood bedroom. It was too small for her, now - literally and metaphorically - but in spite of her hints, her parents just assumed she'd use this instead of the larger guest bedroom. While this room did have a better view, she would have liked more space. Especially for sleeping. The old bed in here was significantly smaller than the one in the apartment she rented at college.

Still, there was nothing like a home-cooked meal prepared by the person who fixed your food during your formative years to help improve your mood. Jenny sighed again, but this time it was a contented sound, as she contemplated what her mother had planned for supper. Speaking of which, she'd better go help...

* * *

"Argh..." said Champion, eloquently, as she sank into her chair at the big table in the Assembly's conference room.

Though there were two dozen seats around the huge, oval table and the room had ultramodern teleconferencing equipment, just now only the team members were present and the communications gear was off. Thanks to excellent engineering, everyone could be easily heard, but there were no annoying echoes. All those present were wearing distinctive costumes, and most wore masks. Some of those costumes currently looked a bit worse for the wear.

"I didn't think you got tired," said Thunderer, teasing.

As the team's energy projector she generally played sharpshooter and close support artillery during their field activities, while staying out of the actual melee. However, she could definitely take care of herself in a fight. Since she was often working well behind the others - sometimes from a high vantage point - this was a good thing, as she occasionally got jumped. Fortunately that sort of event was, indeed, rare, given how fast the Assembly tended to move when on the assault and how well they kept eyes on each other. As testified by her nearly immaculate costume, this had not been one of those times when she needed to get physical.

"I can, but I'm not," said Champion, absently. Forearms resting on the edge of the table, she spread her hands. "I'm aggravated. This missing treasure problem is getting to me. We've chased down leads, investigated smuggling rings and black market collectors, staked out high-priced underworld pawn shops, and who knows what else. Nothing. We're still not even sure it was stolen, instead of actually being sunk in a storm. I just wish someone would give us more information, since we can't seem to uncover anything on our own. Though, given the circumstances, I can understand why they won't."

"That's the way to bet, though," said Dr. Gorgeous, one of those not wearing a mask, and whose costume could almost pass for some corporate laborer's jumpsuit with tool belt.

This last mission had been one of the few where she went into the field, due to the team realizing ahead of time that her data access and processing expertise would be needed to asses what they hoped to find. Like Thunderer, she usually kept to the rear. In this case, she had actually been with Thunderer.

"Too much of a coincidence to actually be a coincidence, to a high degree of certainty," Dr. Gorgeous continued. "Even if no-one is saying this in public, yet. On the off chance it was a legitimate disaster, our activities are uncovering multiple crimes and deterring others, justifying them anyway. Meanwhile, several governmental agencies plus aquatic supers and teams with gadgeteers are searching the North Sea floor for the ship. Even the Walrus is pitching in."

"If the job was easy, anybody could do it," said Maciste, the other maskless member, grinning.

"Hard I can deal with," muttered Champion, drumming her gloved fingers on the table. "Frustrating is a different matter."

"You're looking for a problem you can beat into submission," said Dr. Gorgeous, with a slight smile. "This probably isn't one of those."

Champion looked around at the team. It was the same size as the one she had helped found, only a few years before, though the membership had changed some. There was her, Dr. Gorgeous, Maciste, Sharma and Thunderer, with a sizable and competent staff to support them and the occasional special guest star. With the exceptions of Maciste and Dr. Gorgeous, none of them had any close relatives. At least not anyone they would want to spend holiday time with. The team had - for all of them - become a family. Like any family, some members didn't always get along with all of the other members, but in dangerous situations they worked together smoothly and without hesitation. She felt very proud of what their little team had become.

"Well, there's still time before Christmas to find that cargo container," said Thunderer, optimistically, "whether it sank naturally in a storm or was stolen."

"Especially with so many different groups looking for it," said Champion, nodding a bit. She glanced at the team's mystic. "It helps that situations needing super help are otherwise uncommon, just now. Still, I just wish... Sharma, you got any clues about all this?"

"It will end where it began," she said, sagely.

"Which is what you and all the other mystics have been saying for days," said Dr. Gorgeous, rolling her eyes. "Which is why so many of us are checking ports and shipyards here on the east coast of the US. So far with no solid results."

"I stand by what I said," said Sharma, as close as Champion had ever seen her to being petulant.

* * *

After spending a few days with her immediate family, Jennifer Toulon was now heading to the home of her aunt and uncle and cousins for a Saturday visit. She had already shipped her presents, and wasn't planning to stay overnight, much less for the upcoming holiday. This was just a day trip for her, even though it was something like three hours away by car and longer than that by commercial aircraft. Such a trip - and such an attitude - not being uncommon for someone who could fly. Straight line flight, even at highway speed, was so much quicker and more efficient. Protected by her jumpsuit, Energia could comfortably fly much faster than a car could legally travel.

She wore her stealth jumpsuit during the entire flight, landing in a wooded area near her extended family's house. She made certain she was unobserved, then stripped out of the hooded garment and stowed it in her backpack, with her costume and a few other items. Jenny felt a bit awkward in her barely-worn civilian clothes. Partly because these required much more straightening after being freed from the jumpsuit than did any of her costumes. She walked the short distance to the street where her relatives lived, then casually strolled to their front door and rang the bell.

They were expecting her, of course. Surprise visits were not a good idea for superheroes, kin or not. Her Aunt Karen quickly answered the door and gave Jenny a welcome hug.

"Come on in! Randy is at the grocery but will be back soon!"

As Karen closed the door, her youngest arrived.

"Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, Jenny..." yelled Sarah, running into the room, arms wide in eager anticipation.

"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah!" said Jenny, laughing as she squatted and hugged her cousin.

"Hi, Jenny!" said Roy, looking briefly around the corner from the family room and waving, before ducking back out of sight.

The two adults looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Roy!" Karen called. "Aren't you going to say hello to Jenny?"

"I did!" came his hurried, irritated response.

"Well, do you have any homework for the weekend?"

"But Maaaaaaa!" the nine year old whined. "Square Sponge Pants Bob is on!"

"As soon as that's over, then. I don't want you waiting until Sunday night again. Also, next commercial you come into the kitchen and greet your cousin properly!"

"I diiiid...!"

"What-the-Sponge-what?!" said Jenny, as the trio of females walked into the kitchen.

"It's an animated kids' show," said Karen, translating her niece-in-law's query. "About a superhero who turns into a giant sponge and goes around cleaning up messes. Very pro-super. As well as very whimsical."

"Oh. Okay. I guess." Jenny shook her head. "I've hardly looked at any TV in the past few years, and that was mainly news and educational shows. I'm completely out of touch with current children's programming."

"I was the same way after I got out of college," said Karen, with a reassuring smile. "Now, though, I have to know what's on. Because they do."

She was quiet for a bit, watching as Jenny and Sarah socialized. However, the younger super could tell her aunt was thinking about something.

"I wonder..."

"About what?" said Jenny, looking up from her cousin.

"When folks were first talking about sending super children to a supers-only school we knew there would be unforseen consequences. We now know that one of those consequences is that you and others who attended in costume seem far more at ease in your costumes than in, well, civilian clothing."

"That's hardly surprising," said Jenny, with a grin. "I rarely wear 'civilian' clothing these days. Haven't for years. I'm more used to my costume. It's no big deal."

"Except when you need to dress as a civilian," Karen pointed out, smirking. "Like now. You have the front of your blouse tucked in but not the back."

"Oh, that's the way they're wearing them these days," said Jenny, laughing.

"Riiiiight..."

* * *

"Babe, shouldn't you be packing?" said Michelle, upon seeing Vic slumped on their couch, watching a holiday special on TV.

"I only need ten minutes to pack," said Vic, bragging a bit. "Five if I hurry."

"You are such a boy!" said Michelle, smirking.

"Oh, yeah?" said Vic, playfully, grinning and sitting up straight. "You wanna come over here and sit in my lap and say that?"

"Seriously. If you don't go pack - and spend time and thought on it - I'll pack for you. If I do I'll make sure it's full of frilly, girly things."

"If you want me to, I'll wear them," said Vic, affectionately.

"You would, wouldn't you?" said Michelle, with a fond smile.

"For you, you bet."

"Yeah, well, you're not distracting me this time. Get packed! Properly!"

"Yes, mother..."

"Don't forget the case with your armor, either! You know that if you do you'll get an emergency call!"

"Honey," said Vic, gently, "you know there's a good chance I'll get an emergency call either way."

"Go! Pack!"

Within three quarters of an hour Vic and Michelle were loaded into Monstro - Vic's Corolla wagon - and rolling. Michelle's family lived just over an hour's drive away from the college. While Vic had met them before, this was the first year the pair would be spending the holidays there. She just hoped Michelle's folks were as adaptable as Vic's own, weird tribe.

* * *

"Hi, Jenny!" Randy exclaimed, giving his niece a long, fierce hug at the kitchen door. "Glad to see you're already here. You can help bring the groceries in."

"Hold on. The car's in the garage. Why not just close the kitchen shades and use your super speed?"

"Then I'd have to do all the work," said Randy, cheerfully, while Karen laughed. "Besides, I don't like my eggs pre-scrambled."

In the attached garage, Jenny and Karen lined up to take the bags as Randy pulled them out of the hybrid SUV. He chatted amiably with them about how crowded the grocery had been and how bad the traffic had been. There were enough groceries that each of them needed to make two trips, with Randy grabbing the last three bags then using the remote to close the vehicle's rear door. The SUV was already plugged in to top off charge.

Once the bags were all on the kitchen counters or the big, central table Jenny's aunt and uncle began putting things away. She jumped in to help, with the two older supers occasionally directing their niece on where the things she grabbed went. Jenny found it amusing that they often disagreed on just where a particular item belonged. She also noticed that neither of their children even made an appearance during the work.

That chore done, they sat down around the table to chat. Unfortunately, after only a few minutes of this, Jenny's phone rang.

"Gotta take this," she said, after a quick check.

While her Aunt and Uncle checked their own "special" phones to make sure they hadn't missed some alert, Jenny went into the ground-floor bathroom, put on her mask and answered. She was happy to see who was calling, and greeted her warmly.

"You anywhere near the Intrepids' base?" said Solange, grinning at the enthusiastic welcome. The screens on their phones were small and the images were flat, but clear enough for them to read each others' expressions.

"A few minutes flying time," said Energia, noncommittally. "What's up?"

"There have been some new developments in the disappearance of the ship carrying the items to Moldaria. It was just released to several teams that the second-last set of messages from the ship actually reported that they were being boarded. They briefly went off the air, then came back and said that the alert was a false alarm. Right after that - before anyone could check on them - they reported being caught in the storm. Then nothing."

"Grand theft ship?" said Energia, startled.

"Yeah. We already knew that it appeared to have disappeared somewhere in the North Sea, during a major storm. The thieves may have hoped to use the storm to conceal their act. Anyway, we really need to get you here so you can join the conference call."

"I'll be at the Intrepids' base as soon as I can," she promised. Energia wondered why she was being summoned; then realized that pretty much everyone available on or near the east coast of the US was being called on to help with this.

As Jenny closed the folding phone, she had an odd feeling that there was more behind her friend's call than simply inviting her to the Intrepids' base for the briefing. She was so distracted that as she started to exit the bathroom she realized she still had her mask on. She pulled that off and quickly hunted down her aunt and uncle.

"Wow," said Randy, once Jenny had related the news. He glanced as his wife. "I guess they decided not to call us because of the kids."

"So, I need to get to the base."

"I'll go with you. Is that okay, Karen?"

"You don't think she'll want to go?" said Jenny, not sure of how that dynamic worked for this family.

"It's fine," said Karen, apparently meaning it.

"Someone has to stay with the kids, and I can get there and back a lot faster than she can. Even if she took the Subterran tunnel."

"Template is more active in hero work than Colossa is, anyway, these days," said Karen, a bit wistfully.

She mock-glared at her husband.

"Just don't go volunteering either of us for anything which will keep us away from home for the holidays, alright?"

"Oh, yeah," said Randy, with a short laugh.