evidence.” Luke swiveled
around in his chair and looked up at his younger sibling. “I can’t prove this
yet, but I’m quite certain the explosion was premeditated.”
Lorne blinked. “Okay. Sabotage is not impossible.”
“Because Brenda was there.”
Surprised, Lorne stared at the dead serious look on Luke’s
face. “Got any more bombshells you want to drop?”
“And she was sent here to draw us out.”
Lorne backed up until his butt hit the table behind him.
Stunned, he sat down on it as he tried to grasp what Luke was telling him. A
twinge marking the beginnings of a headache stabbed him between the eyes, and
he pressed a thumb to the spot, closing his eyes as he gathered his wits back
around him.
“W-w-wait. Are you telling me someone already knew about The
Defender before he made himself known to the public?”
“No. I’m implying someone suspects Fullerton may harbor a
superhero, and they’re determined to see if their theory floats.”
“But… how ? I mean, I did all my training in the remotest
parts of the world. You yourself, you’ve never appeared in person, or even
shown your real face when you project. And Lee wears a uniform and mask like I
do, but he can also slip in and out like the proverbial fog on cat’s feet.”
At the mention of their younger brother, a shadow crawled
across the wall beside them. At first indistinct, it quickly coalesced into the
shape of a man. A second later, Lee stepped into the room as easily as if he
had walked through a door. The fact that he was wearing his costume and mask
proved he had been out on a call. “All right. I’m here like you asked, bro. Are
my ears burning for a reason?”
“Yeah. We may have a problem,” Lorne told him.
Like The Defender, Lee wore all black when he became
Espionage, except that his costume of choice was a simple long-sleeved, black
dress shirt, black gloves, and black pants with black dress shoes. A length of
black material tied behind his head shielded the upper half of his face. No
flashy fashion, as he liked to refer to it. His super persona was not meant to
be public, hence the simplicity. Lee slid the mask up to his hairline as he waited
for more detail.
“It appears that we may not have been as careful as we
thought we were,” Luke continued. “At some point, we must have given ourselves
away.”
“How?” Lorne challenged him. “We never leave the house
publicly unless we’re Palmers. You never reveal yourself, and we know how
elusive Lee can be. And I always have my shields up when I leave as Defender.
So tell me, how could we have given ourselves away?”
Luke shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m trying to find out. In
the meantime, it appears that one thing is very evident. Whoever is trying to
out us is using Brenda as bait because they know she’s close to us.”
He squinted at Lorne.
“Every time you go out on a mission now, you’re going to
have to be super cautious.”
“What makes you think we might have inadvertently revealed
ourselves?” Lee asked. “Where does Brenda fit in?”
Turning back to the monitors, Luke punched a few buttons on
the console in front of him. “It may not be all of us who are under suspicion.
I think whoever is behind this believes that one of us is a superhero,
and they’re wanting to prove it by setting up a few traps.”
“And using Brenda to lure us in,” Lorne repeated.
Lee sniggered. “So this guy, whoever he is, thinks one of us has superpowers?”
Luke smiled. “Yeah, well, it is rather funny, in a way. It’s
to our advantage, though. Because all of us are empowered, we’re able to watch
each other’s backs. Since I don’t leave here when I work, I can oversee the
both of you.”
“What if they’re suspecting Espionage?” Lorne suggested. “What
if they’re wanting to see which one of us is him?” He looked to Lee. “Have you
used your powers in front of witnesses?”
“In front of law enforcement, yeah,” the youngest
around in his chair and looked up at his younger sibling. “I can’t prove this
yet, but I’m quite certain the explosion was premeditated.”
Lorne blinked. “Okay. Sabotage is not impossible.”
“Because Brenda was there.”
Surprised, Lorne stared at the dead serious look on Luke’s
face. “Got any more bombshells you want to drop?”
“And she was sent here to draw us out.”
Lorne backed up until his butt hit the table behind him.
Stunned, he sat down on it as he tried to grasp what Luke was telling him. A
twinge marking the beginnings of a headache stabbed him between the eyes, and
he pressed a thumb to the spot, closing his eyes as he gathered his wits back
around him.
“W-w-wait. Are you telling me someone already knew about The
Defender before he made himself known to the public?”
“No. I’m implying someone suspects Fullerton may harbor a
superhero, and they’re determined to see if their theory floats.”
“But… how ? I mean, I did all my training in the remotest
parts of the world. You yourself, you’ve never appeared in person, or even
shown your real face when you project. And Lee wears a uniform and mask like I
do, but he can also slip in and out like the proverbial fog on cat’s feet.”
At the mention of their younger brother, a shadow crawled
across the wall beside them. At first indistinct, it quickly coalesced into the
shape of a man. A second later, Lee stepped into the room as easily as if he
had walked through a door. The fact that he was wearing his costume and mask
proved he had been out on a call. “All right. I’m here like you asked, bro. Are
my ears burning for a reason?”
“Yeah. We may have a problem,” Lorne told him.
Like The Defender, Lee wore all black when he became
Espionage, except that his costume of choice was a simple long-sleeved, black
dress shirt, black gloves, and black pants with black dress shoes. A length of
black material tied behind his head shielded the upper half of his face. No
flashy fashion, as he liked to refer to it. His super persona was not meant to
be public, hence the simplicity. Lee slid the mask up to his hairline as he waited
for more detail.
“It appears that we may not have been as careful as we
thought we were,” Luke continued. “At some point, we must have given ourselves
away.”
“How?” Lorne challenged him. “We never leave the house
publicly unless we’re Palmers. You never reveal yourself, and we know how
elusive Lee can be. And I always have my shields up when I leave as Defender.
So tell me, how could we have given ourselves away?”
Luke shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m trying to find out. In
the meantime, it appears that one thing is very evident. Whoever is trying to
out us is using Brenda as bait because they know she’s close to us.”
He squinted at Lorne.
“Every time you go out on a mission now, you’re going to
have to be super cautious.”
“What makes you think we might have inadvertently revealed
ourselves?” Lee asked. “Where does Brenda fit in?”
Turning back to the monitors, Luke punched a few buttons on
the console in front of him. “It may not be all of us who are under suspicion.
I think whoever is behind this believes that one of us is a superhero,
and they’re wanting to prove it by setting up a few traps.”
“And using Brenda to lure us in,” Lorne repeated.
Lee sniggered. “So this guy, whoever he is, thinks one of us has superpowers?”
Luke smiled. “Yeah, well, it is rather funny, in a way. It’s
to our advantage, though. Because all of us are empowered, we’re able to watch
each other’s backs. Since I don’t leave here when I work, I can oversee the
both of you.”
“What if they’re suspecting Espionage?” Lorne suggested. “What
if they’re wanting to see which one of us is him?” He looked to Lee. “Have you
used your powers in front of witnesses?”
“In front of law enforcement, yeah,” the youngest
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