The Federation

The hustle and bustle of the recreational hallway faded as the elevator doors slid shut. I hummed along to the music playing in the background, my hands clasped behind my back. I needed to speak with Joan about something. Jimmy was off on a mission—I couldn’t stand to be away from him when he was around somewhere in the Legion. We’d grown completely inseparable once more. Life was good again.

Dad had been a little surprised upon hearing that Carter was a rotten tomato.

”He what?” Dad asked, his voice overflowing with disbelief.

“Carter went all crazy, Dad, and not in the good, rockstar, fans-love-it crazy, but really, truly crazy. He forced me to be by his side the entire time—you ought to see my hand, it’s like a plum—and even made me sleep in the same bed as him. I fought him with tooth and nail—defeated him, but only with the help of other Legion agents, the rest of CompleteAnnihilation, and the fractured remains of The Federation,” I explained patiently. “The whole thing was a sham—a guise to get to the Legion through me.”

“So you’re not longer engaged?”

“Nope, Carter’s on probation now.”

“And what about Jimmy?” Dad asked. I heard the slight suggestion in his voice—he’d always liked Jimmy.

“We’ve forgiven each other. I hope we can build a bridge over it all and date again.”

“That would be nice,” Dad agreed. “I always liked that man. He’s good for you.”

“I know. I’m the guest speaker as well.”

“That’s great, pumpkin. I gotta go—Joe keeps saying I’m leaving the band...jackass...”

My father was, therefore, very happy upon hearing Jimmy and I had gotten back together. He said that he would continue to train so he could walk down the aisle with grace and pride. I had laughed, but there was no doubting the absolute seriousness in his voice. Hell, I sure hoped marriage to Jimmy would be in the future.

Speaking of marriage, Matt was going to propose to Amy tonight over a romantic dinner at his house. A romantic dinner he made himself. I feared for Amy’s well being, not trusting Matt’s cooking after he’d tricked me into eating “special” brownies which turned out to have marijuana in them—I was seeing unicorns and gummy bears with wings for several hours afterward. I only knew because Matt had asked—practically begged—me to help him pick out a ring. He said he wanted it to be absolutely perfect for her—something she would love and cherish forever. Under all that muscle and all those tattoos, he really is a sweet, sensitive guy. And if you speak with him, I never said that.

So, I gave him a few pointers on things Amy had mentioned passing jewelry stores in the mall and such. I even accompanied him to Jared’s—He went to Jared’s! Like the commercial—but essentially I made Matt pick out the ring with no input from me. He saw one in the case, though, and he knew it would be perfect. But at least I was there for moral support—and so he wouldn’t get the diamond cut into the shape of the Deathbat.

The elevator doors slid open. I stepped into the lobby, blatantly ignoring the door leading to Joan’s and Ozzy’s suites. Even six months later, it still brought up bad memories I’d much rather suppress. I knocked on Joan’s office door and she quickly welcomed me in.

“It’s good to see you, Asher,” Joan greeted with a smile. I sat in one of the chairs across from her. “What can I do for you?”

“I came to speak with you about something,” I answered. I paused, wanting to make sure this was exactly what I wanted. It wasn’t long before I decided it was, and continued, “I think I would like to take up that offer you put on the table almost two years ago. I would like to begin training to be a junior director.”