Summer waited with baited breath for Ashton’s answer. After several moments that seemed more drawn out than they really were, he finally spoke.

“It may take me a while to contact Shadow Phoenix,” he told her, “In the meantime, we should improve your own skills. This Maskz guy doesn’t seem like he will rest until you do what he wants.”

Summer winced, but didn’t disagree with his assessment on Ned. “How can we improve my skills?” she asked.

“I’m not sure,” Ashton admitted, “Do you mind telling me more about your power, and what you do know about combat?”

Her power? Summer’s heart sank. He was surely going to abandon her once he found out how useless and pathetic her power really was. As for combat, she was certain she could improve on that.

“Everything I know about fighting I learned from tips on the internet and movies,” she told him, “I wanted to enter an official training course, but I couldn’t decide which one was best.” There it was. The embarrassing reason she hadn’t done any combat training. Indecisiveness.

“And your power?” Ashton pressed.

There was no avoiding it. “Sunlight,” she said, “I can generate sunlight from nothing, and I can control the sunlight around me. It isn’t that impressive, though. A magnifying glass can do more damage than I can.”

To her surprise Ashton nodded with a completely serious expression.

“I’ll need to do some research,” he decided, “Until then, practice some basic exercises. It is easier to learn combat of any kind the more fit you are.”

Summer knew he wasn’t trying to make a jab there, but it still stung. It was true. She didn’t exercise. She didn’t even do stretches unless you counted the casual arm stretching everyone did in the mornings. Ashton gave her his recommended routine for beginners, and promised he would come back to check in on her soon.

Once he left, Summer finally had time to process the craziness that had just happened. One thing was for certain. All of this was Ned’s fault. She did share a little of the blame for falling into his trap, but only a tiny part. There was another issue that hit her. What would she tell her family? Should she explain this mess to them? Should she hide it? If she did hide it, how long would that last? They would know the moment she showed up as Golden Reign.

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Alternatively, if she told them, what would they do? The thought was terrifying. Worrying about all of this wasn’t doing her any good. Summer started to work on the exercise routine. It was hard. She hadn’t thought she was that out of shape, but by the time she finished she was breathing heavy and her muscles were burning. She only did ten repetitions of a few basic moves! She hadn’t even been able to make the full stretches.

She flopped onto her bed, feeling like a pathetic log, when her phone chimed. Summer reached for it with a groan, seeing a text from Ashton.

“I have a clarifying question. Can your power remove light as well?”

It took her a few moments to comprehend the words. Remove light? The idea had never even occurred to her. Now that he had mentioned it she was eager to try. She decided to test it with an activity that is not recommended. Summer stared right into the light, daring it to dim enough to not hurt her eyes. It sorta worked? It was hard to tell for sure. Maybe a bit dimmer?

The light above her suddenly flickered in her vision, but oddly enough, the room around her still remained lit. Odd… She tried to do it again. This time the light stayed off as she concentrated, or at the very least didn’t look like it was on. Once again, her room remained lit as if it was. Was being able to hide light sources a good thing? It was an update at least, so she told Ashton.

“Just tried it. I think I can hide light sources? I’m not sure, though.” She then explained the odd appearance of her light looking like it was off but her room still being lit. Hopefully this was helpful information.

She got a thanks in response. Summer kept trying to see if she had any other ways she could manipulate light. If she could dim, that meant she could just lightly brighten as well. She spent quite a bit of time messing with the light levels of her power before she was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.

When she arrived, there was no one at the door. Instead there was a package. The box looked normal and unassuming, but with everything that was going on, Summer couldn’t help but feel it had some sort of sinister nature. Should she just leave it there? No, that might be worse, especially if her parents opened it first. It didn’t have a name on it, so it could be for anyone.

After debating for a bit longer, she pulled the box inside and brought it to her room. If it was what she suspected it was, did she have a good place to hide it? Her closet? No, that wouldn’t do. Maybe under her bed? That felt childish. First things first she should open it. Very carefully, Summer slid a box cutter through the tape that sealed the box.

The tape was a bit rough and difficult but she got it open. She pushed the flaps open to reveal… a case. Having another container to get through felt so anticlimactic. She slipped the case out of the box, letting the cardboard fall to the floor. The case didn’t look particularly familiar. It resembled of briefcase, with a shape that was a bit more cubed. The corners were rounded, and it was designed with vertical ridges.

The latch was the classic metal clasp one would expect to find on a case. There was no way to lock it, which was good for now, but probably bad for later. Summer took a deep breath in before flipping the case open.

The inside was covered in a black velvety material and the contents were neatly organized, separated by pockets. It was exactly what she had feared. Golden Reign’s costume. For some reason, the top of the case had three masks instead of the single mask she originally had. She didn’t want to mess with it. At least not alone.

Summer drew her phone back out of her pocket and sent him a text.

“It’s here.”

As if on cue, she heard the door to her house open.

“And so are my parents,” she added.

She shut the case and chucked it in her closet for now. It was a terrible spot but she was pressed for time and it felt better than under her bed. Now all she had to do was figure out what she was going to tell them. Hiding the truth was sure to end badly, but what if she could just hide a little bit. The worst bits.

“Summer?” her mother called.

Now was not the time to be a coward. Summer headed out to greet her parents and decide her future.