CLAIRE

It was only getting darker earlier as December marched on. But that was alright—it meant that the stars and the holiday lights erected all around the city were able to shine all the brighter for it.

Instead of getting on the tram after esports practice, I headed toward Stephens Park and Town Square.

"It's a great, quiet little place, especially for a place around Town Square." Henry smiled as he walked with me through the colorful city streets. "You'll love it—and their coffee is good, too."

"Hey, I trust your recommendations, don't you worry." I laughed.

There was nothing like the city during the winter holidays—I loved this time of year. When everyone was just a little kinder, a little happier, and everything was beautiful. Some nights I could've walked forever uptown with my hand in Tristan's, even as he grumbled under his breath about the hyper-capitalism of sacred solstice holidays. Not that I didn't get the point just I also really liked just being out in the snow and the lights too. And he knew that.

I'd even daresay he didn't mind nearly as much as he pretended sometimes.

We did not continue forever, for Henry was not my boyfriend and as much as I enjoyed my friend's company, I wanted to see my sweetheart.

Before long, I saw him through the window of the coffee shop, looking longingly back at me. His eyes lit up when they locked onto mine, and Mira waved at us.

I grinned as I stepped inside and shook the snow out of my hair, stomped it off of my boots onto the muddy mat. In the paperboard tray were drinks with our names scrawled on in sharpie.

"You didn't have to do that! Thank you!" I kissed Tristan on the cheek as a means of greeting.

He squeaked in response, turning red.

"We thought it would be a nice thing to do." Mira looked away to the window as Henry took his place beside her.

That was something to get used to—the whole Mira situation.

She'd confided in us a lot of it, what had happened to her. I never knew or cared before about what happened to the Sentinels. I didn't really know about Mystic beyond that she was an ally of Heretic's. Then again, I'd never known that Heretic was the wrong person to blame all along.

You could see it in Mira, the shadows of her upbringing, the places where she wasn't entirely human, for lack of a better word.

And yet she'd become our friend, because of the secrets that tied us all together. We were the Mutated, the Crusaders, the main heroes of the city.

Sure, there were others. But the Sentinels were disbanded now, with only Mira really still doing any kind of hero work. She was the only one who could after all. And sure, Heretic and Mira's dad were back in the game, along with Julien.

But they weren't like us.

"I was surprised you wanted to meet up like this." Mira's eyes glimmered. "I would think you'd want us, you know, in costume."

"I don't want us to only be friends with the masks on," I admitted. "I want us to stick together, or at least to try. We're stronger together—we were able to topple a regime and a supervillain on the same night, when we worked tougher."

"That's true." Tristan snaked his arm around my shoulders.

"I guess I can understand that." Mira looked back out the window, her expression thoughtful.

It was crazy, now that I knew, how much of Mira's mom there was in her. She had the same clever, calculating dark green eyes as her mother.

Was it always there, or was I only just now seeing it because I wanted to?

"Besides," I continued. "Our parents were friends and while that all fell apart, I guess it feels like we're putting things right if we complete the circle."

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Henry nodded—despite being the only one who wasn't in our group for that relation, but by sheer virtue of being a super-powered friend.

I had a feeling we'd make more super-powered friends if we continued to be heroes in New Kingsbury, or wherever I would go for college.

"So we're the New Crusaders, then?" Tristan's voice was low, to avoid anyone else overhearing us.

"But we'll do better this time." I surveyed the faces of my friends. "And there will be more of us."

Mira looked back to us, and nodded, a new fire in her expression. "I might have some friends who would be interested in getting back into the business."

Sentinels who miss it then?

"Well, I can't wait to meet them." I smiled. "Any friends of yours, after all. . ."

Mira nodded.

"But enough about that stuff." I tugged on my straw. "Tell me how things have been going for you—how's the new room?"

Mira tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and started talking about the novelty of having her own room. Her eyes were as bright as the lights outside.

I could see how Henry's heart broke for her, the way he hung onto her every word.

I sat there, in the haze of the warm coffee shop, the Christmas lights twinkling outside as the night came early, surrounded by friends.

I let Tristan stretch an arm around me and I leaned into his shoulder. As far as I was concerned, this was pretty great. I only hoped more times like these would come.

But I knew all too well how easy it is to take the good times and things for granted. You've got to treasure them while you've got them.

Otherwise, you regret it.

I thrust my controller and let out a whoop. I looked to Tristan, exhilarated in the adrenaline of winning.

"We did it, we won the match!"

He just shook his head and grinned as he put the controller down. "You're cute when you're excited."

I kissed him on the cheek, and he let out a little noise, like those stuffed animals that squeak when you hold them.

"What do you think?" I asked as I pulled away. "One more round? Or are you toast for tonight?"

"I think I'm done," Tristan admitted, checking his phone. "Gonna go patrol for a little while, downtown, after I check in with Mom. She worries, you know."

"It's too bad you have to leave," I pouted.

"Well, I can't quit the heroics now, not when I've got a sweetheart in the game." He winked.

Still, I couldn't help but feel some unease there. "You don't have to, if you don't want to."

"That's true." He went solemn a moment, and looked out the window, at suburbia spread in front of us like an inheritance.

"But?" I prompted, joining him by the window.

He grinned sardonically. "It's hard to take your own advice."

I snorted, recalling what he'd told me, when he was Renegade and I hadn't become Psyche or Aegis yet.

"You just can't let things happen, can you?" I took his hands into mine. "You feel the weight of it, don't you?"

"Just like you," he admitted. "I can't leave things alone so easily."

His eyes locked onto our hands, intertwined like that. "Not when I've got the power to change things."

"And I wouldn't ask you to," I assured him. "I just—I don't want you to feel like you have to stay in the business for my sake."

"Well, I'll always want to help my girl." He gently squeezed my hands. "We're partners, all the way."

"All for one and one for all, and all that." My eyes flicked up to his face—and his did at the same time. "Stay safe out there, hero, okay?"

"Okay." He didn't yet let go of my hands. "I'll always come back to you."

I bit my lip. "Don't make promises that you can't keep."

"I can keep it." He leaned down to kiss my forehead. "And I will."

A part of me wanted to argue. To say how my mother had powers too, and she also didn't come home one day. How so many of our kind had fallen in the Titan War and to Atomic Energy's machinations.

But looking into his dark eyes, I knew that things would be different, this time. Because they had to be.

I would have to trust him, to believe in him.

But I guess that wasn't so hard, after all.

Because I loved him.

"Go get 'em, hero." I patted his shoulder. "I'll walk you out to the car."

After finishing my homework, I scrolled through my texts. There was now a group chat for the New Crusaders, since we would need to keep in touch, joining the ones I had for my main friend group at lunch and then the esports team.

Then there were the people I texted the most now—Tristan and Stephanie.

Tristan was kinda obvious—I mean, he was my boyfriend and everything. Of course I talked to him all the time, like any teenage girlfriend would.

But I also found myself growing closer to Stephanie after everything had happened with Tenebrous.

She knew my secret and kept her mouth shut, but she also wasn't one of the heroes. So she was the perfect person to talk to about superhero things firsthand. She found my venting about the mundane parts of being a hero entertaining and she always surprised me with the kinds of questions she asked.

While I was sitting there and sending off responses to my group chats and stuff, seeing Stephanie's name made me think of a recent conversation.

"You know, have you ever thought of writing a book, like Anya Weiss did after the Titan War?" Stephanie had asked the question in a low voice as we walked through the halls one morning. "I mean, not to publish, at least right now. But I mean, so people can know someday what your extracurriculars are really like. And because you lived history."

I hadn't thought of it, and I'd told her as much.

But sitting there in my room at night, I had to admit it was a good idea.

I'm a student journalist by trade, and I know when there's a story to be told.

This was one of them.

I switched to a text chain for just Mira.

I want to make a record of our stories. Not to publish or anything, at least, not for a long time. But while it's all fresh, so someday everyone can know our story. Are you in?

I waited for her to respond.

I'm in.

I grinned and moved over to my computer, opened up the word document to get started.