Trial by Fire

“Alright, so I packed up the gaming system for the hotel, and I got your favorite bodywash, the strawberry smelling one...” Mason set a duffle bag on the juice bar as he walked into the Olympus labs gym. “The Hero con isn’t for another eight hours, but I figured if we head out within the hour, we can hit Tokyo in time to grab lunch and do some sight-seeing.” He looked over to Lucas, who was currently at the modified bench press, benching weights that Mason could only describe as “the size of a semi-truck".  

“You still haven’t told me your plans for our costumes...” Lucas set the weights on the mantle, sitting up on the bench as he grabbed his towel, wiping the sweat from his face. “I mean, I get the lab has my measurements, but I would at least like to know what you got me dressing up in.”  

“I mean, I figured, we could, you know...” He dug in his bag, pulling out two familiar looking cowls. “What do you think?”

Lucas took a final swig from the bottle of water he had beside him, as he looked over the cowls. “So, you want to go to one of the biggest superhero conventions, our first trip to this thing, and you’re gonna cosplay as Speedrun?”  

“No, you’re gonna cosplay as Speedrun...” Mason tossed Lucas the black and blue cowl. “See, I had a copy of my suit fitted to your measurements, and a copy of your suit fitted for me...” He slipped on the red and blue cowl, a huge grin on his face. “Come on, think about it, we go as each other, it’s the most meta thing we could do.”  

Lucas chuckled and shook his head, looking at copy of Speedruns cowl. “Okay, I’ll admit, that’s a pretty fun idea.”  

Mason gave arm pump. “Hell yeah!” He pulled the cowl off, putting it back in the bag. “Now, you need to go take a shower, you’re all sweaty...” He looked back to his friend as he hoisted reached out for the cowl. “And for the love of all that is good and just, would it kill you to wear a shirt in the gym?” He shook his head. “I mean, who you trying to impress, there aren’t any girls here?”  

Lucas playfully tossed the cowl at him. “I do it for me, I like to see my progress...” He stood up from the bench. “Besides, I sanitize everything after I’m done using it, and I remember catching you taking mirror picks to send some girl you were talking to.”  

Masons face went red as he stuffed the other cowl in the bag, zipping it up, “I told you, I had a concern about a blemish on my right side and sent some photos of it to my doctor.”  

“Uh huh...” Lucas chuckled, tossing a clean towel at the speedster. “So what relation does flexing your thighs and glutes got to do with said blemish on your right side?” He walked around the bar, grabbing another bottle of cold water from the fridge. “So what’s her name?”  

Mason let out a defeated sigh, leaning on the bar. “Her name is Yukio, and I’m meeting her at the Con...” He paused, as he looked to Lucas. “She’s...she’s a huge Frontline fan.”  

Lucas took a drink of the water, which he immediately spat back out, looking to his friend. “What!?”  

“Oh yeah, major fangirl...” Mason explained. “Which is why I decided to go as, well, you to the Con.”  

Lucas started to laugh. “Oh my god, you’re dressing as me to impress some girl you met who lives on the other side of the planet, while I am suppose to go as you?”  

“Hey, what’s so bad about dressing up as me?”  

“Oh, nothing man...” Lucas set his bottle of water on the bar. “I actually think it’s kind of cool, you meeting someone.”  

“You really think so?”  

“Yeah man, I mean, we save the world from monsters and world ending events, and never ask for anything in return, cause that’s what it means to be a hero...” He paused, looking out the one-way windows. “It’s just kinda nice when the world gives back every so often.”  

“Hey...” Mason was suddenly beside Lucas, a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll find someone, I mean, what happened to that ninja girl?”  

“Shuriken?” Lucas shook his head. “She doesn’t think of me that way, we’re just friends.”  

“Well...” Mason gave his shoulder a pat, before he moved back to the duffle bag. “There’s someone out there for everybody man.”