WHAT A DAY!

8:09 AM
Pulled into the parking lot at work. I noticed some toddlers screaming from inside but didnt see an adult. Great. With a sigh, I went back to my car and when I thought no one was looking, I changed into my Sonus costume. Just as I got back to the car, the parent showed up. She caught an attitude with me and said I should be somewhere arresting real criminals.

9:17 AM
Witnessed the return of Victoria Regal. Ms. Regal is everything her name isn't. At probably 5'5" with a doughy shape and eyebrows that have been drawn on, Regal was banned from most of the eateries near the office and half our clients refused to meet with her. How she got her job back is beyond me. But to see her prance through the office in slippers with ashy ankles nearly turned my stomach.

10:46 AM
Made my 10th call - in 3 days - to Tony. Calls were still being forwarded to Christopher.

10:51 AM
Left for lunch.

12:14 PM
Still at lunch.

1:32 PM
Just got back from lunch.

1:41 PM
Victoria Regal is fired - again - for calling Rufus (the company owner) incompetent.

2:02 PM
Rufus pulls me into an emergency meeting with Clarence, the company's lawyer, and Rebecca, the company's PR person.

2:07 PM
Rufus starts yelling at Clarence for losing his alimony case against his fouth wife.

2:22 PM
Rufus starts yelling at me for always being out of the office. I pleaded that I was always at my desk - though I couldn't stop smiling as I said it.

2:59 PM
Rufus fires Rebecca for embeselling company funds. I stopped smiling.

3:10 PM
Rufus yells at me again for not sending Ms. Mack to training on office hygiene.

3:19 PM
Rufus demands that Clarence take Rebecca to court to get all the company's money back.

3:29 PM
Rufus asks me why I've missed so many days from work lately. I told him I was in therapy because my ex-girlfriend had a sex change to become a man. He told me his first wife did the same thing. As a result, he no longer had to pay alimony. Then he turned to Clarance and asked him to draw up a pre-nup for his new fiance.

4:01 PM
The meeting was over and I went home.

6:04 PM
Called Tony again - got Christopher's voicemail.

6:49 PM
Patrolling the city and ran into Bitter again. He had some of his friends with him, including the hot chick from the break room. He offered again to join forces to defeat Seth. I said HELL NO!

6:59 PM
Todd texts me to tell me that everyone except me, Terra, Tam and Brice had quit the Urban 30.

7:01 PM
I welcomed Bitter and his friends to the team. Now I can get to know the hot chick.

8:06 PM
We arrived to HQ to meet Tony and come up with a plan to defeat Seth. We only found Christopher. Terra was there with her dad, the weird guy who doesn't talk and some basketball player.

8:14 PM
Christopher claimed Tony was on hiatus and that he was calling the shots for the Urban 30.

8:14:43 PM
Everyone tries to pry my hands from around Christopher's throat. What a day!

LET ME THINK ABOUT IT...

It had been going on two days now, and no return call from Tony. Both Jada and I tried to reach him. Sometimes his voicemail would come on and other times the call would be forwarded to Christopher. But I refuse to believe that Tony would be foolish enough to expect us to really work with a known villain.

Jada had even put on her costume. We flew around the city until my arms were tired of carrying her and then stopped for ice cream. No call from Tony. Though Jada was steaming, the ice cream made me feel better. She went home.

I was just about to call it a night, too, when I felt a sudden drop in temperature. My breath stood still in front of me as I questioned just how insulated this suit was. In the bitter cold appeared an old friend.

“I want to help you.” He said.

“Why would you want to do that?” I questioned.

“I have my own interest at heart.” He smiled.

“Hmm. You’ve changed. You have a heart.” I also smiled. He’d never been known for his kindness. I lifted myself from the ground – a slight hover before actually flying off.

“I know that your team isn’t quite at one hundred percent. So I offer myself and a few friends to balance things out - help set things right." I folded my arms as he spoke. "But don’t wait too long… As time fades, so may your powers.” He stepped backward. “You know where to find me...” He walked away.

The worst part of that exchange was that somewhere in it, I decided that I trusted him more than I trusted Tony.

Maybe I spoke too soon about working with villains. I’ll sleep on it.

SO THAT'S HIS NAME...

I left the meeting feeling nothing but disappointment. Usually, I’m just angry at every small detail but lately, I’m just disappointed. I went to a meeting hoping to either find out what – who was the cause of this thing happening to everyone or share some heartfelt words about a fallen hero. Not that I planned to speak. Obviously, it didn't matter since neither of those things happened. Instead, it was an introduction to an inverse hero.

While I didn’t personally lock him up, Terra says that Christopher did some pretty bad things. Some I take to be more exaggerated since she was - or is - married to the guy. Even still, if he wasn’t a villain, he would never have been locked up.

Needing a moment to rest my mind from the last week, I thought maybe a DVD would be the ticket. Something funny… the Incredibles. I was pleased with the selection before even comparing it to something else. A quick stop to the kitchen to mix a drink and heat up the take out from T.G.I. Friday’s and all was set.

Somewhere between my second drink and a rant about why capes are no longer safe for heroes, the phone rang.

“Yeah, Terra?” I wasn’t mad, just disappointed. Again. Can I get time to just enjoy a movie?

Terra immediately went into a tirade. “Do you know that sorry son of a bitch teamed me with Christopher! Dispatch knows that he kidnapped Kara! I told him the shit I had to go through with him when he wanted to take over the world!”

I couldn’t get a word in. She continued. “Like it isn't bad enough that he sent Arrow out to back me up after I told him not to!” Hm, she didn’t know it was my fault that Ralph was there to back her up? “He knew that asshole Seth is out stealing everybody's powers!” WHAT! “Who does he think he is? I'm telling you Leroy, that bastard better stay as far away from me as possible. I've been looking for an excuse to kill Christopher for the past three years!”

I can’t really say what else Terra had to say after that. I tried repeatedly to ask who Seth was, but she was too consumed with her “baby-daddy” drama. I was back from being disappointed to just plain angry.

She finally hung up the phone and I was no further in identifying Seth. But at least it was a start. Forgetting my movie, I called the hospital. It’s the only place that Barry and Jada would be. Barry answered the phone.

“Hey. How is Tomieka?” I greeted.

“No change, Leroy.” Barry said. The usual genuine happiness you would hear in Barry’s voice had been absent since he lost his powers.

“Well, it seems that a guy named Seth is the reason why you and the others lost your powers. Probably the reason why Tomieka is out cold.” I heard Barry call Jada over to the phone to hear what I was saying. “What makes it worse is that Tony knew what was happening and didn’t say anything.”

“What!” I could hear Jada shouting through the phone.

“So you guys get some rest. Cause tomorrow, we’re going to have a talk with Tony – the three of us.”

“Whoa… no can do, buddy.” Barry objected quickly. “I ain’t got no powers. I can’t do anything. Count me out.”

I tried to reason with Barry, strength in numbers and all, but he insisted that his place was there watching over Tomieka. However, he demanded that both me and Jada should still go…

“Oh, you can believe I’m going.” Jada answered. I hadn’t heard that spark in Jada in weeks. “Tony is going to get a piece of my mind. And whoever Seth is, he is going undo everything he’s done. Even if I have to rip him limb from limb to make sure its done.” Jada hung up the phone.

I should have still been angry, but I think Jada has that emotion covered right now. Perhaps she will call me back to discuss what time we will head over to HQ and talk to Tony. In the mean time, I’m getting back to my movie.

IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL!

Ralph was dead.

The image of him folded into the side of a building is burned into my mind. The moment seemed frozen, surreal. It's one of those instances where you realize that even as a superhero, you can't do anything about it. But doing something is supposed to be what we do.

I'm sure this was not the first time that an Urban 30 member had died in the line of duty. But it was the first time since I had been on the team.

Through out the morning, I had this haunting feeling that the team was falling apart. At times, I would question just how together we were as a group. Doesn't seem much like a question now…

My cell phone sounded. I flipped it open to notice a text message from Tony.

ALL URBAN 30 MEMBERS - REPORT TO HEADQUARTERS AT 3:00 PM FOR AN EMERGENCY MEETING.

Great, just what I needed. I was sure that this would make the day even worse. My guess was that there would be more business than concern for Ralph. A minute later, the phone rang again. Terra was calling to make sure I had seen the announcement. Yes, I confirmed my attendance. I didn't make one joke, I didn't crack one smile. I spoke calm with no inflections with a short response.

Though I left work in time to arrive on time, I was still late. It’s like my conscious won’t let me arrive anything but late for these meetings. Perhaps it’s my unintetional method of protest. By 3:45, there were about five others present. From the sound, they’d been sharing their favorite “Arrow” stories. Remember the time when Ralph flew through the circus billboard, putting a hole right through the clowns butt. I remembered, but I didn’t laugh with them. Oh, and remember that time when he flew through the drive through window and busted up the fry machine. Classic! They stopped laughing. The reality was that usually Ralph got up from his less than perfect landings. This time, he didn’t.

Todd arrived just after I did and clearly he was a wreck. Probably one of the rare occasions where he was in plain clothes – Todd was a good soldier and whenever he was in HQ he was dressed as Router. There was no doubt that Todd had been crying most of the day. He and Ralph were close, so what else would you expect. I waved him over to sit next to me. I usually don't prefer sentimental moments, but i supposed you have to make exceptions.

“I’m done, Leroy…” The first words he said as he sat down.

“What do you mean?” I questioned as I looked Todd in the face.

“I’m leaving the Urban 30.” Todd looked up, over the empty seats toward the podium, looking at nothing in particular. “I’m too old for this… I have a family. I can’t afford to be out playing children’s games and end up like Ralph. Who will raise my kids?”

Todd was only 37. If you had asked me, I would have told you that being in the Urban 30 was the highlight of Todd’s life. Especially since the divorce. But I guess things change. I just nodded and placed my hand on his shoulder. His choice, not mine.

Looking away I noticed Terra toward the front. Just as I thought to ask why the meeting hadn’t started, Tony entered the room - with Christopher. I looked back to Terra. Though I suspected, it was clear at that point that this wasn’t a meeting to console the Urban 30 members on the loss of a friend and teammate. Instead it was business as usual.

"It’s always sad to lose someone so dedicated to the cause. But I’m sure if the Arrow were here, he'd want us all to solve this mystery and make things safe. Not just for us, but the city and ultimately, the world" Tony sounded rehearsed.

I couldn’t believe it... Even I’m not that cold. Tony didn’t seem to have any real concern for losing Ralph, or the folks who may be taking it hard. Hell, Todd just quit...

"Some of you are wondering why we are at less than half, tonight..." Tony continued. I had noticed that there were about eleven of us all together. "Most of us have already lost our powers. Those that have not, quit for fear of that very thing. But those of u who are here, must continue on... the way the Arrow did."

I shook my head. He won’t even call the man by his name. Tony was using Ralph as a martyr. Todd buried his face in his hands to hide more tears. Looking back to Terra, she seemed distant. Perhaps the fact that her husband – a man she put in jail for trying to take over the world, but he broke out and is now being harbored by Tony – is standing there winking at her made Terra feel "shut down"?

"Dr. Christopher Davidson has been temporarily activated to work with the urban 30." Tony’s words broke through all of my thoughts.

"What the fuck?" It was out before I realized I'd said it. I don't think I was loud. How is Tony just going to add a freaking criminal to the team?

I left the room. I'm going home to bed.