A quiet spring evening set over a hillside on the outskirts of town. An overcast sky made for a pleasant and cool night. With business taken care of for the day, that meant no more obligations, responsibilities, or worries.

The lone, extravagantly modern, box-like home that sat at the top of this hill came to life. Porch lights brightened the lawn, what lights were on inside made the house feel warm and inviting.

A figure moved about in the kitchen frantically, someone not yet surrendering to the calm that was becoming dusk.

“Get, get out of hare, you bucket of bolts!” yelled the apparent cook, followed by a laugh keeping things nice and airy. He was balancing a sizzling pan of peppers over to the kitchen island while a dome-shaped robot on track wheels, no taller than his shin, was bumping into his heels.

“I thought you said these were supposed to help, not be such a nuisance,” he called across the room. A series of beeps and whines sounded from the little robot as it retreated from the kitchen, whirring its way to the dining room where its master was bent pensively over a circuit board and a chaotic array of tools.

“They are helpful,” they murmured, taking a small break from soldering over the covered dining table. The little robot tapped against their foot and beeped in greeting. They, in turn, grabbed the robot, turned it on its back, and set the dome between their legs. Its tracks began to roll, the sightless robot confused about what was happening.

“Not when I can’t cook, Blanket!” Grey shook his head, a chuckle escaping him. “Is my table going to be ready and set, or do I have to make you eat in your lair again?”

“Give me a—” Blank reached right into a compartment of the beeping robot, and as its motors flared and revved in panic, Blank tore something from inside, and the robot went lifeless. “—second.” He started futzing more with the circuitry in front of him, using a newly acquired set of wires to attach the board to a helmet of sorts sitting beside him.

“You have maybe ten minutes. No more.” Grey pointedly aimed his spatula at Blank, who didn’t even look up from his work to notice. He sighed and rolled his eyes, leaning past part of the wall to call into the house.

“Liam! Ten minutes for dinner!”

Soon enough, Blank resigned from his pet project with any kind of progress at a standstill. After a minute fixing up the wires, the helmet he fashioned didn’t seem to react in any way when he triumphantly pressed for power. He sighed, collecting most of the components and disappearing around the corner as rhythmic stair steps clambered down.

“—njure too. Romeo! Humors! Madman!” Liam landed at the bottom of the stairs ahead of time, pointing proudly at the kitchen. “Passion! Lover!” He raced across their spacious living room and arrived at the counters of the kitchen. “Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh!”

Silence followed.

Grey peeked over his shoulder as he was assembling an arrangement of cut, grilled, chicken and steak strips. Liam was staring into the kitchen rather blankly, mumbling to himself.

“Speak…” Grey goaded. Liam lit up immediately, a single light-bulb appearing, lighting, then disappearing from over his head.

“Speak but one rhyme! And I am satisfied.”

“There you go, Mercutio. Help me set the table?”

“You got it!” he said in a sing-song manner. He rounded the counter, hands and limbs stretching ahead of him to access the cabinets and drawers. In minutes, the table was set for four, though Liam kept lingering on the fourth set of silverware and plates.

“Dad? Is Blaz gonna be here?”

“Should be. I texted her.” Grey was wrapping up cooking, flipping off burners, covering hot dishes and preparing pot holders for the table. “Go get your dad. He got lost in his workshop.”

“Okay!” He wound up a run, leaving behind a Liam-shaped cloud of dust.

He descended into their lower-level garage, humming excitedly.

“Dad! Dinner’s almost ready!” Liam wandered over to where Blank was working, their helmet still not reacting to any amount of intense work. The garage was open, exposed to the outdoor air and cool spring evening. It soothed Blank, though an unresponsive invention was hardly soothing. He furrowed his brow, toggling a switch over and over.

Liam leaned over into frame, a rather cartoonish angle.

“Dad,” he said, still so sing-songy.

“Hm?” He finally tore his gaze away from his work, though he was slow and reluctant. “What’s up, kiddo?”

“Dinner’s almost ready!” he proudly proclaimed again, calming down only to just rock on his heels. “Do you know when Blaz is getting home?”

Blank huffed, brandishing a smile only for Liam.

“I don’t know. She could be off being a hero again, who knows?” He flipped his little switch a few more times, sighed, and then began to stand. “We can always stow some leftovers for… her…”

Liam watched as Blank stared out of the garage, following his gaze to a pair of figures ascending the driveway.

Blaz, at the lead, was surfing across a blast of water, and the figure behind her was skating on a tow line across the water that she seemed to be freezing in an instant. Both of them were hooping and hollering, laughter cascading across the hill until they put on the brakes in the lawn outside the garage. Blaz was running into the garage, too wide of a grin on her face.

“Liam! Blank!” She ran up to Liam, and they wrapped each other in a hug. She went to Blank, and they weren’t as receptive. Even though Blaz was obviously hesitant, it was clear she was riding a joyful high that she wanted to share. She got her hug, but Blank was too focused staring at the figure at the edge of the garage, who was staring right back.

There was a quiet tension simmering, of recognition, acknowledgement. Blaz was quick to read the room, muttering some profanity and shrinking back away from Blank.

“Arctic Fox,” they addressed.

“Blank,” she returned, straightening her wind-blown hijab.

“Blank! Um,” Blaz spoke up. “She’s chill, she’s not here to do anything, I swear. She just wanted to make sure I got home safe.”

“So you led her here?” Blank snapped. Blaz was shaken up by the retort, but Rabab, the Arctic Fox, stepped in.

“She is right. I’m not a vengeful hero today. I’m just making sure Blaz got home safe for dinner.” She flashed a smile. Blank wasn’t quite put at ease, and Blaz was entirely sheepish, holding onto Liam.

“How nice of you,” Blank said. He turned slightly, and without breaking their gaze, he spoke to Blaz and Liam. “Get upstairs, get your dinner.”

And without a moment’s notice, Liam was pulling Blaz along. Rabab waved her a pleasant goodbye, and the door shut behind them, leaving Blank and Rabab at the edge of the garage. Rabab was the first to speak.

“You know, Mr. Gedeon. Blaz speaks of you highly. You and Grey are apparently very kind and selfless for her.” Rabab was fishing out something out of a purse. A metallic card made it into her hand, held out for Blank. Blank took it hesitantly without taking his eyes off Rabab. “That kind of selflessness doesn’t befit a villain, you know.” She sighed. “I do not care what you do with that card. It’s incredibly disposable and only allows you to contact a member of the league.” She slipped in half of a chuckle. “Not someone like me, of course. A higher-up, specifically all those who told me to give you this card. ‘Your talents and abilities could be used for good,’ they said. ‘Those selfless mannerisms belong to a hero.’” She looked from the card to meet his eyes.

“But do what you will. I’m not here to convince you of anything you might have heard before. Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say. Blaz is a wonderful hero, with a wonderful family. I just wished to see her home. That’s all.” In a courteous manner, she bowed herself slightly. “Good night, Mr. Gedeon.” She turned, readying herself to fly down the hill with the sheet of ice on the driveway when she realized how invasive it was. “Oh, the ice should melt in about an hour, but you might have known about that from before. Sorry about the mess.” After one last “good night,” the Arctic Fox was blazing back down the driveway on her skates.

Blank was left with the card in their hand. By now, the sun was well below the horizon, and the chill of the night was finally settling in. There was an ounce of compassion that flared in Blank for a moment, followed by a strong disgust for the rhetoric. So selfless of heroes, how careless they truly become. He stared for a good while at the ice in the driveway, watching it start to drip and melt.

As he turned to go inside, he chucked the card into his workshop trash can. Nothing good would ever come of that card. Nothing good would ever come of the heroes in their life. They held Blaz to a high standard, broken today by her leading Rabab to their own home. But Blaz was nice, welcoming Blank to the dinner table with a formal apology, goaded by Grey. Blank was content, so long as everyone was careful. They sat together with the rest of the family and dug into their share of the feast.