A Tale of Two Masks

Now that she had made her decision, Summer needed to figure out where to start. The reason she had been tricked into Ned’s trap in the first place was because she had no idea where to start, and he seemed to have some idea. Now that she had met him, she wasn’t sure he actually knew anything, at least not about Shadow Phoenix.

She still didn’t want to ask Ashton about it, but Summer realized she did have something to work with. All of the recordings of their battles were still available to the public. She had never watched them beyond the first approval she needed to give before the footage went live. Now that she had reasons to investigate, maybe she could glean some kind of information from their battles.

A quick search brought up hundreds of clips and videos with commentary. She decided on a playlist compilation of Shadow Phoenix, specifically for the people who cared more about the villain’s perspective. Before, Summer might have looked on this behavior with disdain, but now she didn’t know how to feel.

It was immediately clear she had overestimated her sense of perception. Summer stared at the masked face of Shadow Phoenix with no real epiphanies about anything about him that she didn’t already know. Instead, what she did notice were all of the moments a certain drama had taken inspiration from.

Seeing the similarities between fact and fiction, Summer couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. Had she really said that? Maybe facing Shadow Phoenix was a bad idea. There was no way he had a good opinion of her after all of that. She saw all the times he had helped her, no matter how much he pretended to be her enemy. He acted more like a snarky bodyguard than a villain. Or was she reading too much into things again? It was hard to tell.

Why did she want to meet him so much, anyway? Was it for closure? The idea felt too mild to explain the intensity of her feelings, but she couldn’t come up with anything better. Just as she finished watching another battle, a text came in from Ashton. It was a lot earlier than the usual time he texted her. Was something wrong?

“I need to talk to you. Are you at your house?”

The message felt far more serious than usual, but Summer’s thoughts were in such disarray she couldn’t trust her instincts at the moment. Just in case it was a serious matter, she decided to reply with equal seriousness.

“I am. Is it urgent?”

“Yes.”

Urgent? Summer quickly packed up her ridiculous study session and quickly brushed through her hair. Whatever this urgent matter was might require her to leave the house, so she got ready just in case. As she finished pulling her shoes on, the doorbell rang. Ignoring the too perfect timing, Summer rushed over to the door and pulled it open.

Ashton looked as serious as she had read his texts. No, more serious. “Is this an official visit for work?” she asked hesitantly.

“It is,” Ashton confirmed, his voice grave, “Is there somewhere private we can talk?”

“No one else is home right now,” Summer told him, letting him in. For a moment her mind fleeted to a similar scene in the drama, but Ashton wasn’t Shadow Phoenix and the situation was far less romantic.

Ashton stepped inside. “For starters, I am going to tell you that I don’t believe you did it.”

Summer felt a chill go down her spine at his words. That was never a good sign. She was glad he believed her, but that meant someone else didn’t. Had she done anything recently to anger SI? They couldn’t have already found out about her meeting with Ned.

“Did what?” she asked.

He turned to face her. “This morning, when going over inventory and basic security, Golden Reign’s hero suit was missing. It was still there last inventory. You couldn’t have taken it when you left, and you haven’t been back. Unfortunately, many higher ups believe you hired someone else to steal it for you,” Ashton explained, “That’s not all. There was a note left behind with it.”

Golden Reign’s hero suit? And a note? Who would even… No. She knew exactly who had done it, but she had no proof. Revealing the truth at this point would only prove those theories right. Ned was trying to pressure her, threaten her, or both. He must have realized she wanted out.

“Did they send you to arrest me? Question me?” Summer demanded. Her turbulent thoughts caused her to momentarily forget about the note.

“I have been sent here to warn you and give you one last chance,” Ashton replied, “They don’t care if you keep the suit, but you must never use it to become a vigilante.”

Ned had tricked her. Summer could more or less guess the contents of the note based on the warning Ashton was sent with. Still, the nerve of SI to send Ashton specifically to stop her. Summer had to admit, she was furious that they had used him like this. It was too late for her to try to figure out this situation on her own.

“I think I know who might have done it,” Summer told Ashton. She felt like she was making a crazy decision, but the situation was already pretty bad. Hopefully, Ashton would still be on her side.

She explained everything. She told him about how she had been searching for Shadow Pheonix and about how she had contacted MysteriousMaskz who later turned out to be Ned.

“I don’t want to play along with his crazy plan so I was going to ignore it,” she finished, “I hadn’t even accepted his proposal.”

Ashton listened with a surprising calmness. “This is perfect timing then,” he said, “I will help you. They told me that for the time being, my job is to watch over you, so I will do just that.”

“How?” Summer asked. She hadn’t expected Ashton to help her, but she found that his offer had calmed her chaotic nerves.

“For starters, I could help you find Shadow Phoenix,” he offered.

“Really?” Summer asked in shock, “Isn’t that against the rules?”

A scornful smile appeared on his face. “I’m beginning to doubt the rules,” he told her, “And that note I mentioned earlier? It was a note typed and signed by someone claiming to be Golden Reign proclaiming their desire to become a real hero.”

That confirmed Summer’s suspicions. The whole situation had exploded so quickly she wasn’t sure what to do or think, but she wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass her by.

“So what’s the plan?”