The Next Step

By CJ York

A year has passed since Todd defeated supervillain cyborg Doctor Gorgeous and retired from his life as the vigilante LaserBurn. Facing discrimination as the only other high-tech cyborg in the public eye, he’s shut himself off from the world. Todd prefers the company of his inventions and his doting husband Bowen.

While life is good, Bo is ready to take the next step and add to their family. Is Todd ready, too?

This fluffy feel-good novella about adoption, domestic superheroes, and growing beyond one’s comfort zone takes place in an expanded universe but can be read as a standalone story. It features a disabled (and snarky) protagonist, a super smart little kid who loves robots, and a romantic cowboy from ages gone by.

This novella is part of the upcoming United Guardian Sodality series. If you enjoyed reading about Todd, Bowen, Patrick, and friends, stay tuned for more stories featuring them soon!

• Language: English
• Publisher: CJ York
• Release date: Aug 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005514082

CJ York

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, CJ loves rain, moss, coffee, and writing.

Book preview

The Next Step

The United Guardian Sodality

CJ York

Published by CJ York, 2022.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

THE NEXT STEP

First edition. August 21, 2022.

Copyright © 2022 CJ York.

Written by CJ York.

Also by CJ York

The United Guardian Sodality

The Next Step

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Also By CJ York

The Next Step (The United Guardian Sodality)

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Chapter 1

If Todd had told himself that one day he’d be retired from being a vigilante and married to the most famous superhero on the planet, he would have laughed in his own face.

Tomorrow marked the passing of an entire year of his new life. A year of living with Bowen, that previously mentioned superhero, and a year of being the guy behind the scenes instead of the guy laser-beaming criminals in the legs.

Man, he missed doing that.

Straightening his silk tie and combing his copper curls back from his face, he descended the sweeping spiral staircase in the Thompson mansion. A monitor blinked on in the surface of the wall when he reached the bottom of the stairs, gliding along after him while Todd made his way to the kitchen.

Babe? He called, looking for his dashing husband. Bowen, or just Bo, was an early riser. Usually, he’d be up at the butt-crack of dawn, suited up in his hero attire and flying around the kitchen making breakfast before Todd so much as pried an eye open.

Yes, Bo could fly. He was also at least four inches taller than Todd, and where the ex-vigilante was trim, Bowen was robust and muscular. That had been something that Todd had been jealous about when they’d first met seven years ago.

By now he’d learned that being jealous over anything about Bo was a ridiculous waste of time. The man was immune to manipulation, corruption, or envy of any kind. Caring was a good word for him. Caring, kind and weirdly wholesome for a cowboy who was almost over two centuries old.

That was why the people of the world had lost their freakin’ minds when Bowen declared his love for Todd. Todd Thompson, the rich lay-about with as many lovers as he had cars. And Todd had had a LOT of cars at the time.

Commitment just wasn’t his thing. His real identity felt like a waste of time, so that’s all he did with it—he wasted time. By day, he’d drink himself silly and sleep with whoever was vaguely attractive. By night, he’d soar above the city as Laserburn, the smack-talking cyborg vigilante. 

But World War 3 was behind them now. It was 2062, for God’s sake. Nobody was dying in the streets anymore, and the big-time villains were twiddling their thumbs in high-security prisons.

Pulling himself from his reminiscing, Todd smiled as he plucked two pieces of fresh toast from his robotic toaster oven. It sensed when he was headed to the kitchen and made his food to order.

Sometimes, he missed the good old days. Flying around in the middle of the night, battling Doctor Gorgeous and enjoying a life of nobody caring about him had been easy. He sank his teeth into the crisp toast, sighing heavily.

Every time he got to thinking about the old days, he’d remember the amazing man he was married to, and feel guilty that he’d dragged his feet for so long before agreeing to it. Again, commitment issues.

The screen on the wall flashed, pulling up an icon of a lightning bolt. Text below it blinked ‘Storm Warden calling.’

Todd sauntered over and tapped the icon to answer the call.

Good morning handsome, he said, smiling as his husband’s face popped up on the screen.

Bowen smiled back, his chocolate hair catching the dazzling pink sunrise behind him. His pearlescent white cape floated in the air around him, glinting in the light.

Good morning, Bo replied easily, his deep drawl sounding like music to Todd’s ears. I’m sorry I didn’t stick around for a morning kiss. I’ll make it up to you later.

You’d better, Todd quipped, leaning against the dining room table and going back to his toast. Need a satellite image or something?

Bo rolled in the air, gazing down at the sunrise and smiling at Todd again.

No. I just missed you.

Aw, Todd cooed, grinning. I miss you too, Bo-Bo.

Please don’t call me that in front of my trainee. Ashley and I are patrollin’ together today. I don’t think we’ll find any trouble, so I should be home by six.

Ashley, Ashley, Todd mumbled, trying to remember who that was. There had been a boom in super people appearing since the whole incident with Doctor Gorgeous. As it turned out, pumping alien chemicals into the air didn’t turn everyone into super people. Most of them just died. Approximately one out of ten thousand seemed to gain some kind of ability, so old D.G. was smug as hell when he heard about it. Just ugh.

His code name is Atomic Ash, Bowen offered, spinning through the air again and pointing the camera at the roof of a building he was floating beside.

A black-haired man in a leather jacket glanced up in alarm, a bit of egg tumbling from his breakfast burrito down the front of his rock band tee. With a name as intimidating as Atomic Ash, the kid wasn't scary at all.

What piqued Todd's interest was the pair of strangely glowing gloves that the kid was wearing. They had sections in black and gray, with pulsing lines around parts of Ashley's palms. Todd would have to ask Bo about that later.

Hello Mr. Thompson, Ashley said around his food, trying to chew and swallow. He looked young, maybe an adult or maybe a teenager. It was hard to tell. Anybody with superpowers was sent to the United Guardian Sodality, headed by Bowen, to prevent public ‘disharmony.’ As soon as the government realized that the super people could fund themselves, they’d washed their hands of them.

"Hey,