[center][b][color=ffbc57][sup][h1]H E L L F I R E[/h1][/sup][/color][/b][/center]
[COLOR=ffbc57][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]T H E   S A N C T U A R Y[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT][sup][color=darkgray]July 3[sup]rd[/sup], 2020  |  6:31p.m.  |  Happy Harbour, Rhode Island[/color][/sup][/INDENT][/INDENT]
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In the face of the Team’s sombreness on the way back from town, Andy kept a mostly positive demeanour. He understood why everyone else was unhappy with the way things went down at the mall – between the Jokerz getting the jump on them and Quickling getting hospitalised, he was pretty bummed, too – but if there’s one thing that Bruce had taught him that’s actually stuck, it’s that you should learn from your mistakes, but not dwell on them. Yes, what happened kind of sucked, but it would do none of them any good to wallow in it. It was better to get home, eat some dinner, and make sure that tomorrow would be a better day. If there was anything that Damon’s death had taught him, it was that.

Dinah seemed to echo Andy’s thoughts, not overwhelmingly happy with the way the Team handled things, but otherwise pretty chill about it. He liked her and Ollie; while the latter was often busy with his duties as Star City’s mayor, they both brought an air of levity to the base that Andy felt would be sorely missing if someone like Bruce was the Team’s caretaker, treating their position not as a job but as a passion. They seemed to genuinely like the teens, and didn’t restrict their interactions to just lectures and briefings, mingling with them as parents or older siblings would.

When the question of food was asked, Andy didn’t hesitate to answer with his cooking. After living with his dad for all these years, the two had chicken parma down to a science – with Andy’s mum out of the picture, there was no one to stop them from religiously eating their favourite meal, and so Chicken Parma Tuesday had extended into Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and onwards. Was it healthy? Probably not. But as he could tell from the Team’s expressions when they ate, [i]damn[/i], was it good. He wasn’t one to flatter himself often ([s][i][color=ffbc57]That’s a lie[/color][/i][/s]), but tonight’s dinner was something he allowed himself to be proud of, Magnus’ steak and Rannik’s salad included.

Oh, and Steph helped too, he supposed. 

With dinner out of the way, Andy turned his attention to training. Even though Dinah said that they’d “work out the kinks” tomorrow, he was of the opinion that some exercise to get today out of everyone’s minds might be a good idea, even if it was something small and fun like dodgeball. He threw the option out there, giving his teammates the option to bite.

[color=f26522][b]“Um. Andy?”[/b][/color] Kassy said, [b][color=f26522]“Can I… join you if it wouldn’t be in the way?”[/color][/b]     

Andy gave Kassy a reassuring smile. She’d struck him as nervous, almost insecure, when the Team had first come together two weeks ago, and since then he’d given it his best to make her feel welcome. He was pretty confused why she lacked so much confidence. Yeah, she might’ve been new to this whole hero thing, but compared to the rest of the Initiative’s roster, so was Andy – and thanks to her quick thinking today, she’d bought the Team enough time to regroup and take out the Dee Dees, an advantage that helped speed up what would otherwise have been a lengthy fight. She needed to give herself more credit.

[color=ffbc57][b]“Sure can, Kass. Actually, I insist.”[/b][/color] He flashed a grin. [color=ffbc57][b]“Can’t have you stay here and watch the Avengers all by yourself.”[/b][/color]

After thanking him and Steph for dinner, Juno, ever the “professional”, suggested the Team train in tactics so as to prevent a repeat of the day’s events. While it wouldn’t stop everyone from thinking about it, as Andy had intended, he couldn’t deny that it was a good idea. 

[color=ffbc57][b]“No worries, Juno. And good idea. Might as well put it to a vote once everyone that wants to is down at the gym.”[/b][/color]

With that he made his way to the gym, Magnus already quite a ways ahead. The towering wolfman, now just a man, walked with an air of intensity that radiated in volumes, eager to get started. His focus on action, on keeping on the move, was something that Andy admired, and was also a little unnerved by – it seemed as though he had little to no time for relaxation, for just [i]being[/i], and it was because of this that Andy found himself comparing him to Bruce, if the Dark Knight had deep-seated anger issues and an apparent bloodlust. 

[color=ffbc57][b]“Hey, big man,”[/b][/color] said Andy as he stepped into next to Magnus, his bare feet appearing tiny next to his. [color=ffbc57][b]“The others should be down soon. How’re you holding up tonight?”[/b][/color]
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