"I need a noun, an adjective, and another noun," Vidya said.

"Tofu, hot, onion."

Vidya twisted around on the couch to give David a look, surprised by how confidently he'd come up with it. "Alright, then," she said, filling in the blanks of the Mad Libs sheet. "After hiding the painting in his tofu for two years, he grew hot and tried to sell it to an onion in Florence, but was caught."

He clapped. "Publish it!"

Vidya laughed and tossed the booklet onto the table. Aisha was out somewhere, so it was just the two of them at the greenhouse dome, wasting their time with stupid jokes. It was fine; she could think of worse ways to spend the time, and with worse people.

"Could you come over here?" David asked. "The new security's glitching, and I need you to scan again. Try the other hand this time."

Vidya rolled off the couch and went over to his worktable. As the tablet scanned her hand, she eyed the array of mysterious, half-finished projects. Taking up the most space was a foot-diameter, two-foot-long tube of metal with wires connecting it to the generator that powered the dome. She tilted her head to look inside it, but shadows obscured whatever features lined the inner surface.

"What is this?" Vidya asked, brushing her finger against the red button on top of the tube.

David winked. "A surprise."

"What's it for?"

"It's a surprise," he repeated, laughing. "What I can say is that this will be one of my greatest inventions...as soon as I figure out how to make it portable."

It looked too heavy to be portable, but David was brilliant, and he'd figure it out. Vidya wouldn't be surprised if she came tomorrow to find it already done. She moved down the table and found two hand-sized cubes of metal with hinges on the sides, as if they were each meant to close around an object. These were also heavy, weighing her down when she picked one up.

"What are these?" she asked, opening it at the hinge. The insides were flat; if something was meant to fit between the halves, he hadn't carved out the shape yet.

"That's nowhere near done...and it's also a surprise."

Vidya sighed. "Is there anything you can show me?"

David laughed and then tapped his arm, encased from elbow to wrist in a sort of black armor. He tapped it again, harder this time, and the armor opened up into a small shield. "It's not as cool as an ice shield," he joked, "but it's the best I can do."

Vidya snorted at the pun.

He smiled. "Why don't you throw some ice at it? I want to see how it holds up."

Vidya nodded and backed up, forming an icicle in her fist.

"Don't hold back," he said, extending his arm so that the shield was as far away from his body as possible. "Hit it with everything you've got." He grinned. "It's for science!"

Vidya obliged and closed her fingers around the icicle, reforming it to have several sharp tips instead of one. She aimed for the side of the shield, not wanting to hurt his arm along the center, and threw it, propelling it forward with a blast of frost. The ice whistled through the air and shattered against the target, but some shards embedded themselves in the shield, sending cracks through it. David twisted his arm around so she could see the tips of ice poking through the other side.

"Needs some work," he murmured, but he looked pleased with it.

"Happy to help," Vidya said, and she took a little bow.

Aisha suddenly burst through the door and flung her mask to the ground. She grumbled to herself as she paced, waving her hands like she wanted to throttle someone.

"Is everything okay?" Vidya asked, picking up her mask and dusting it off.

Aisha flopped onto the couch and draped an arm over her eyes, sighing. "Have you ever heard of AMS?" she asked.

Vidya shook her head. "No. What is it?"

"Who, not what," Aisha corrected, "but I have no idea. They're meeting tonight at a hotel, and I've been commissioned to do a little eavesdropping. It's just that..." She rubbed her face. "Whether AMS is good or bad, I don't know, but if they're this elusive, I'm guessing bad."

"Then don't do it," David suggested.

Aisha sat up with a scowl, not in the mood to have the obvious pointed out to her. "Listen, the client didn't threaten me, and they won't care if I decline...but let's just say that she's a big shot, and I'd like to be on her good side. Who knows? It might help my pathetic excuse of a superhero career."

David raised an eyebrow. "If you've already made up your mind, then what's the problem?"

"Oh." Aisha shrugged. "There's no problem. Do I look frantic? Sorry. This is the best assignment I've ever received."

"So, when are we going?" Vidya asked.

Aisha froze. Her eyes narrowed with a quiet, "Hm."

Vidya realized how entitled she sounded, and she turned red, embarrassed that she'd assumed they were taking her with them. "I'm sorry," she blabbered, "I didn't mean it like that. You don't have to bring me—"

"Girl, shut up." Aisha leaned forward on her knees. "We'd love for you to come, but...this isn't one of our regular adventures. AMS, whoever they are, they're a big deal. Are you sure this is something you want Frostbite to get involved with, even for one night?"

Vidya considered that, carefully working through the logistics of her identity. "I won't wear the suit," she said, "just the mask. That'll make it less conspicuous. It's only a stakeout, right? No contact?"

"Yeah."

Vidya shrugged. "Then no one will ever know Frostbite was there."

She expected Aisha to try and talk her out of it, but she just smirked and said, "Well, then, what are we waiting for?"

__________________________

One-fourth Frostbite, three-fourths Vidya Khan: that was how Vidya felt. She had the hero's mask and pager, but she wore the schoolgirl's inconspicuous clothes. If anything, she looked like a lazy cosplayer. David and Aisha were in their usual getup, and together they snuck into the hotel through the laundry room door. They went to the second floor, creeping around until they found the mezzanine balcony that overlooked the conference.

The room was too big, more befitting of a banquet than a meeting, but an ornate bronze table stretched along the middle. The chandeliers, strung from the high ceiling, were hanging below the height of the mezzanine floor, so the three of them were cast in gray shadows, unnoticeable as long as they didn't move too much.

Down below, the members of AMS were dead quiet. They wore full-face masks, and people sitting close together had the same color-design, so it seemed like there were groups among the members. In front of them were nameplates, and Vidya squinted, unable to make out the inscriptions. It might be the distance or the lighting, but it looked like the inscriptions were written in another language, maybe a code.

Who are these people? she thought, leaning back against the wall.

The three of them were sitting on the floor of the mezzanine, watching the meeting through the railing bars of the balcony. Aisha was already recording audio on her phone, but there was nothing but silence. The only movement was that of a single waitress, also in a mask, who walked around pouring wine. When the last glass was topped off, she stood against the wall behind the group with the blue-accented masks.

The man at one end of the table, wearing a mask with silver details, stood and cleared his throat. "I call this meeting to order," he said in heavily French-accented English. "Los Angeles, United States, nine-thirty, local time."

Everyone started talking at once. Vidya struggled to make anything out; there were several different accents muddling together in chaos, and she realized that AMS was an international organization.

The silver man sat down, gently slapping his hand on the table. "One at a time," he insisted.

"I can't speak for everyone else," said the apparent spokesperson for the blue group, "but we took care of our targets in Bogotá, Chicago, and Prague. We've had nothing but success."

"So have we," snapped the woman across the table, representing the red-accented masks. "But I don't believe our success is what we're here to talk about." She turned to the guy at the other end. "Go on, say it. We're all thinking it."

This man's mask was detailed with gold, and judging by the tense way everyone turned toward him, he was the one in charge. "It's unfortunate that Eagle Eye has been murdered," he said calmly. "Sara was a valuable asset, I won't deny that, but I wouldn't worry."

Vidya blinked. She thought she knew what to expect: trade secrets, illegal smuggling, et cetera...but Eagle Eye? What did they have to do with a superhero?

"You wouldn't worry?" repeated the red woman incredulously. "That makes two, do you realize that? Two of our employees have been murdered! Can't that be more than a coincidence?"

"Are you saying that the so-called super killer is targeting us?" asked the blue man. "That's..."

"Not possible," interrupted the golden man. "It's not possible. Yes, two of ours are dead, but I highly doubt it's more than a coincidence. It's best that we continue our business without any rash actions. I'd hate to catch the Watchdog's attention."

"If you're worried about him," the red woman said evenly, "then you shouldn't have picked Los Angeles."

"This city is the scene of the crime, and we have other matters to attend to as well." He shrugged. "It was imperative to convene here, but you're welcome to leave after tonight."

There was an edge to his tone—he was poking fun at them for worrying so much—but he opened the floor to discussion. Everyone started talking at once again, but Aisha stopped the recording and stood up, sticking close to the wall to stay in the darkest part of the shadows.

Vidya scrambled to her feet. "Why are we leaving already?" she whispered, even though she knew Aisha was using her power to mask their voices. AMS wouldn't hear them.

"All my client asked for were a few details of the meeting," Aisha said. "She never specified that she wanted everything. And besides..." She cast the conference a wary look. "They're more serious than I thought. We should go."

"Agreed." David stood up between them, shaking his head. "I don't want to wait around for Red to notice us."

He was right. Vidya wasn't nearly as unnerved by the one in charge as she was by the red woman. That lady had a temper.

They snuck along the length of the mezzanine, intending to go back the way they came: through the door all the way at the other end. AMS was absorbed in their own conversation, unaware that they were being watched...until disaster struck.

Aisha tripped over her feet, yelped, and landed on her hands and knees with a loud thud.

Vidya inhaled sharply, praying that the fall hadn't broken Aisha's concentration and that she'd been able to mask the noise, but the conversation had stopped, and she knew they'd heard. The masks were all looking up at the mezzanine, squinting their eyes at the shadows. The three of them immediately made a break for the door, but Vidya turned her head sideways as she ran, unable to look away from the inevitable chaos.

Instead of demanding to know who was hiding up there, the red woman's group pulled out their guns and aimed them across the table.

"You brought spies!" the red woman accused.

The blue man jumped back. "No, we didn't—"

But the reds were already firing. The blues dove under the table, but those who weren't fast enough jerked around like puppets on strings as bullets peppered them with holes. The innocent waitress, who'd been standing behind them, was also in the line of fire, and Vidya watched, horrified, as a single bullet went in her direction. But instead of piercing through her chest...

It bounced off.

Vidya skidded to a stop. What the—

Everyone froze. In the millisecond it took them to regroup, the waitress exclaimed, "Shit." She took off her mask and threw it frisbee-style right into the red woman's neck, and Vidya gasped, because it was Lady.

Freaking.

Marvel.

Vidya started running for the exit again, but she lagged behind David and Aisha. Her instinct was to watch, to make sure Lady Marvel was doing alright, even though it was stupid. That woman didn't need anyone looking out for her safety.

The chandelier lights brightened a little, as if someone in the hotel decided it was needed. AMS had devolved into a full-blown shootout: most aimed for Lady Marvel, some aimed for each other, and some were being smart and running out of the room. Lady Marvel tackled the man in her way and then hopped up onto the table, running across it as bullets bounced off her. She wasn't going for the leader as Vidya had guessed—she ran to the silver man's end of the table. Before he could get away, she'd grabbed him, spun around, and shoved his face into the table, holding him down. The other members all ran away, and she let them.

Vidya forced herself to focus ahead as she ran to the exit. David and Aisha had already gone through. Heart pounding, she glanced over her shoulder to get one last look at the conference room.

Lady Marvel was watching her.

Vidya kept running, but she was slowing down, the weight of scrutiny making her steps heavy. She tried to make herself believe that Lady Marvel couldn't tell that it was her: the shadows had lightened when the lights brightened, but the mezzanine was still cast in gray, and Vidya wasn't dressed right. Lady Marvel couldn't see, she couldn't see...

But locking eyes with Lady Marvel, Vidya knew she had recognized her.

___________________

Her pager was suspiciously silent, and she was going to explode.

Vidya was tossing and turning the whole night, trying to figure out how to explain this to them, to make them understand that things weren't supposed to go that way. She was running on nerves at school the next day, sure that her pager would buzz with an angry message, but it never did. The anticipation was starting to feel worse than the potential response.

Eventually, she settled on the idea that they were waiting for her to go to headquarters herself. She already had an appointment with Kristen and the PR team, and that was when they would corner her.

Vidya went to Celestro after school, stalling in the elevator by staring at the buttons. The PR meeting was on the seventh floor, but was it worth going there when she knew they'd just call her to Marvel HQ to ask her what the hell she'd done last night? She pressed the button for the top floor instead. There was no escaping this.

Vidya stepped out of the elevator and was met with silence. She headed for the Marvel meeting room, imagining that Juggernaut and Fox were already waiting for her along with Lady Marvel, who would be irritated beyond apologizing for. When she reached the open doors, Juggernaut came out of the room and walked right past her, eyes glued to a piece of paper.

"Hello," he said, but he didn't stop.

She said hello back and turned to watch him go, confused. He didn't look back at her—he just turned the corner and disappeared. Vidya blinked. Why didn't he say anything? Why did he pass her by like nothing happened?

She poked her head into the meeting room, but there was no one there. She turned back to the hallway, still empty. Her eyes widened. Was it possible that Lady Marvel...didn't tell him?

But why wouldn't she tell him, or anyone?

Vidya waited a little longer, but the only message she got on her pager was an appointment reminder from Kristen. She returned to the elevator, caught between relief and unease. Maybe it wasn't as big a deal as she thought.

And just as the doors were closing, Lady Marvel slipped inside.

Vidya's eyes dropped to the floor. She'd formatted an apology so many times, but now, when it mattered, she was drawing a blank. Lady Marvel didn't look angry, she didn't give any indication of any emotion, but she also didn't press a button, so she wasn't here for transportation.

"I'm sorry about last night," Vidya said finally, managing to look at Lady Marvel's reflection in the doors. "I didn't mean to cause—"

"You hardly caused anything," Lady Marvel interrupted. "Those trigger-happy idiots would've started a shootout whether you were there or not. You just made it happen earlier."

"I'm still sorry. I didn't mean to mess up your mission."

Lady Marvel shrugged, dismissing the apology. "I am wondering, though," she said softly. "Who were you with up there?"

Vidya tried not to look relieved. Lady Marvel had noticed David and Aisha, but if she was asking who they were, then she hadn't seen enough of them to have the details to identify them herself. Thank goodness.

"Friends of mine," Vidya said lightly. "We were observing, that's all."

"That doesn't answer my question. Who are they?"

Vidya dug one fingernail into her palm to steel herself. "Friends," she repeated. "I'm not going to tell you who they are."

Lady Marvel suddenly pushed the stop elevator button and whirled around to face her. Vidya tried to meet her harsh glare without wavering.

"First of all," Lady Marvel said, laughing, "I'm glad you've finally grown a spine. Second, I couldn't care less who your friends are." She took a step closer. "But we are your team, and if what you're doing with these friends is going to affect us in any way, like how it almost did last night, then you owe it to us to tell us."

Vidya didn't step back. "Understood," she said curtly.

And to prove that her spine was worth something, she pushed the start elevator button herself. When she got out on the seventh floor, she didn't look behind her.

Happy Wednesday! Thoughts?