CHAPTER 005: An awkward dinner...

The dining room was small, and a long table took up most of its floor space. 2 windows gave a glimpse to the outside world, which looked increasingly stormy as the night went on. Oldy lady Baba sat at the head of the table, with Logan on one side and the three ladies on the other.

The atmosphere was awkward, possibly due to the fact that the clothes loaned to Logan consisted of a tank top two sizes too small and a pair of silkies. Or maybe its because he wore them so unashamedly, causing even Rock to blush a little.

Eventually, old lady Baba broke the silence.

"Jessica said I should give you extra portions on account of your power. Just let me know if you need more."

The plate in question was stacked with so much food, the pile resembled a little tower.

"It's perfect,"

he said with a smile before digging in. Old lady Baba ate as well, but the other ladies remained strangely still.

Seeing this, Logan paused and asked "you had some questions for me?"

"Yes," Scissors replied before adding, "are you aware that unauthorized power use is against the law? And, as licensed heroes, we are empowered to arrest you if we report the matter."

His smile grew wider before saying, "I take it you don't plan on doing so."

"Of course. I am glad you aren't the type to fly off the handle. To be honest, we were in a situation just like yours, so we understand. One minute, you are an intern messing around at the christmas party; the next minute, an experimental kappa wave copy machine explodes and you find yourself with powers. Let us help you avoid the mistake we did just starting out."

She passes a flier towards him. In big bold letters at the top, it reads 'Hero Referral Program.' Logan skims the details of it, and nods in comprehension before suddenly shaking his head.

"This doesn't make sense. Sure the program is generous in its bonuses, but the maximum amount you can get is only $5,000. And that assumes I upgrade to an S rank within 10 years. Surely, the points you would get towards your own promotion for turning me in is more valuable than what you'd get doing this."

"And here I thought he was just a pretty face," Paper comments with a chuckle.

"Indeed," Scissors added, "you have a good head on your shoulders. This brings us to the next point of order."

She then produces another flier and passes it to Logan. He reads the title of it aloud.

"Freshman 15 fighting tournament and auction?"

"Exactly. Its one of the larger hero tournaments on the east coast, and is only open to first year heroes. You are obviously stronger than you let on, so we want you to join this tournament..."

"At which point you use the initial $1,000 bonus check to bet on me winning and let it ride all the way to the finals... Brilliant," Logan says in admiration of their plan.

"What's in it for me though?"

"Take a look at the prize for first place," Scissors responds, gesturing towards the flier.

He reads it closely. "First place gets immediate upgrade in license and a single auction item of their choice for free... Do you have the auction catalog?"

She then produces a thick booklet and passes it to him. Each page within it was dedicated to a single item, with a large color photo and detailed descriptions of its nature and effects. This made flipping through it rather easy, and Logan did just that, stopping only after flipping through half the catalog.

Rock raised an eyebrow at the item he stopped at.

"Mind mineral? Is he a psychic? He should have teleportation and not speed power, then... So Toady died from coordinate jamming... Wait, that's not right! How didn't this guy get injured?"

After inspecting the mind mineral for a moment, Logan continued through the catalog. He always seemed to stop on pages for rare minerals and space materials, spending the longest time on a page describing an unknown black pitted stone. Finally closing the book, Logan said

"these prizes are indeed tempting... But I don't feel there is enough incentive to say yes."

"State your conditions then, already," Scissors say in a huff.

"Hrmm... Assuming you want me to win the whole thing, I want $500 upfront and a 10% cut of all gambling winnings."

"Unacceptable," Scissors said, immediately turning down the counter offer.

"What guarantees do we have you can win? On raw power alone, sure, you could easily make it a few rounds in; past the semi-finals, though? I think you under-estimate the ferocity of the competition, mister."

"I think you under-estimate my capabilities," Logan said as his smile took on a more sinister tone.

"But I can see your point. So, how about this; I need a place to stay, anyway. Why don't we use the $500 as a down payment on a room here and give it to miss Baba? As for the 10%, if I don't bring home the gold, you can keep it. Do those terms work for you?"

Scissors went into deep thought, even bringing the other girls away from the table in a huddle. After a minute of whispered debate, they returned to the table. Scissors then looked to old lady Baba and asked,

"are you okay with him boarding here, Baba?"

"Sure, I love a lively house," lightning flashing in response to this comment of hers.

"Just don't stay up too late, and remember to wear protection. You don't want any unexpected babies before the wedding, after all."

Scissors blushed, and the other two laughed at her plight. She ultimately declined to retort, instead turning to Logan and saying "it's a deal... What is your name, by the way?"

It was now Logan's turn to sink into thought, before responding.

"Let's go with Antonio... You're paying for the ID anyhow."

"Excuse me?"

Scissors asked, a look of confusion apparent even through the face mask.

"You didn't expect me to use my real identity, did you? I will have to decline if that's the case. My participation in your scheme is predicated on you getting me some fake ID."

Scissors let out a long sigh before turning to Paper.

"How's our nemesis? She cause any problems lately?"

"Has that ever stopped us," Rock chimed in with a chuckle.

"Good point, we'll take him tomorrow."

"Yes, Scissors," the two responded before they all dug into the food on their plates. The dinner table descended into silence.