When Sarah came to, it took at least a minute to realize where she was. The whiteness of everything around her would have clued her in, but the brightness of the sunlight turned the normally sterile look of a hospital room into a world of blinding light. Had her waking mind been any more conscious, she might have been worried she had reached some sort of afterlife. Thankfully for her, she only reached full awareness by the time it was obvious she was in a medical space.

Although her instincts screeched for her to get up, her training kicked in and reminded her that waking up in a hospital bed meant any movement could be more harmful than anything. It wouldn't do for a Hero to accidentally shatter their own bones just because they stirred a little too much while groggy.

Her lack of movement didn't stop her visitor from noticing her waking up, however. Still clad in his Hero suit, a red and blue single-body with a few pieces of yellow armor including his iconic firefighter helmet, was her uncle Doug. The bright colors of his attire clashed with the room yet somehow she hadn't noticed him right away. It wasn't the first time her uncle had evaded her perception casually - her father never let her forget that one time when she was nine she jumped in surprise and threw a cupcake at her own face - but it was another reminder of the difference between a trainee like herself and an experienced Hero.

She looked at him, sitting in his chair at her side, his hands clasped together, and she smiled.

"Hey, Firefighter."

"No one's listening, Sarah."

"Thanks, Uncle Doug. Is everyone alright?"

"They're fine. Elaimant, Glicer, and you got off the easiest, but nobody's been maimed."

She let out a sigh of relief.

"Can you tell me more?"

"Sure. Glicer and you just used too much power. You just need some rest. That little cut on her neck should be gone in a few days. As for Elaimant, that robot didn't get past their shield. They got knocked out but without damage to their crystal, they woke up earlier. When you feel ready for it, you can go and meet them."

"And Glicer?"

"She's still asleep. She used more energy and her body wasn't as ready. Doctors say she should be up by the end of the day."

"I'm not surprised. You should have seen the fire she made"

"Oh, I did. Well, the mark it left. That melted piece of road was impressive."

He groaned as he leaned forward, his hands held together roughly where his mouth was behind his helmet.

"Kopper got a few light burns and scrapes, but Scareowl's the one who got the worst of it."

She gulped.

"How bad is it?"

"Nothing life-threatening, but he'll need some time to recuperate. A Cored's natural resilience can only take so much, he's going to need at least one month, maybe more. Avian bones aren't the sturdiest, and that was a bad fall with the weight of a robot on top of that."

"What about the long-term effects?"

"He'll be fine. The doctors say he'll heal completely, it will just take some time. Nothing to worry about here. He's lucky the rest of you kept that robot too busy to make sure to finish the job."

Sarah looked away.

"And Maledicta?"

His face was covered but she could easily guess he frowned as he shifted on his seat.

"I'm sure you've noticed that the girl's magic is taxing. She studies a branch known to sacrifice health for power. I don't approve, but Miss Malice keeps an eye on things to make sure she doesn't go overboard. She used a lot, back there. She'll be fine and back in action before your bird friend, but she won't wake for a while at least."

What little confidence Sarah had left deflated at that. She stared at the ceiling, completely disassociated from the hospital bed she was lying on.

"Sarah..."

"Let me guess. You're not mad, just disappointed?"

She spotted him shaking his head out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm neither, Sarah. Do you think you're the first kids who think they know better? Almost every Hero pulled a stunt like that when they first started. I was on duty before Malice switched sides, remember? She didn't exactly follow the rules either."

He sighed as he leaned back and crossed his arms.

"There's a reason you're supposed to have minders. I can't quite say it's intentional, but it's very predictable for trainees to get into a fight with a minor Villain at some point. Then, when things get out of hand, we are supposed to intervene."

He groaned.

"This is my fault. I was worried bringing you to the fire at that Xenocorp testing zone would be too dangerous, but look where that got you."

She nearly leaped off her bed to stare at him.

"Uncle Doug!"

"You're not supposed to be left alone, not for long anyway. Especially not when we know we have a new and unstable Villain on the loose."

"You couldn't just wait for someone else to arrive before you went, half of the city would have been on fire by then!"

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He scoffed.

"I'm not the only firefighter around, you know. Though, knowing Xenocorp, you probably aren't too far off. No, I should have brought you with me and just have you wait on the side while I solved the problem."

"You would have been distracted, they would have done something anyway."

Her uncle crossed his legs and she had the distinct feeling he raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"'They', uh? I had a feeling."

Sarah's cheeks turned red as she looked away.

"You're not the sort to cause troubles. Let me guess, the others wanted to be Heroes and you stuck around to make sure they wouldn't do something stupid?"

"And for our safety. But no! Not everyone wanted to!"

"I'm not surprised, that's how being a team goes. There's a reason why I usually prefer to work solo. However, I will say if you plan for that group to become your permanent team when you're ready, you should start thinking with 'we'."

"But-"

"They made a dumb decision you disagreed with? I know. But you acted as a team. Which was the right choice, by the way. You barely lasted long enough for me to arrive when you were all together, had any one of you been missing I doubt things would have gone that well. Regardless, that is how teams work. Stick together, fight together, win together, fail together. You can and should address issues caused by individual members, but remember that you will be perceived as a whole."

Sarah scowled as she looked down.

"..."

"I told you, I prefer to work solo."

"I... I think despite all that, I prefer a team."

"Oh?"

"We covered each other's weaknesses. We bought time for the stronger attacks. We distracted the Villain each time he threatened to cause permanent damage."

"And?"

Sarah thought back to her days of training and studying, the time spent with the others.

How Scareowl, Elaimant, and her helped Glicer and Kopper when they struggled to prepare for the written tests.

How Glicer surprised everyone with glittery cupcakes to celebrate them successfully passing their big test.

How the group helped Elaimant learn more about Terra Stellis, to adapt to this new planet.

How Kopper, after getting used to his nervousness, proved to be an incredibly reliable young man.

How they all brainstormed together to plan their future costumes.

The blooming romance between Glicer and Kopper.

"And they're my friends..."

A scowling drow berating them flashed through her mind.

"Most of them."

What followed was the sight of Maledicta wordlessly working with her, flawlessly combining their powers to unleash the only strike that ended up causing significant damage. The memory of the usually dismissive young woman fighting through her pain, harming herself just in the hope of taking down a monster.

"But... There's good in all of them."

He hummed in thought before getting up.

"Well, it looks like you all made quite a bit of progress on teamwork. I'm impressed."

She couldn't stop a small smile from forming.

"Though do keep in mind, your team today isn't definitive. You can always change your mind, and so can your friends. I had a hunch you'd be a team player, but you'll see that Hero groups, even the most tight-knit teams, change with time. Nothing is set to stone."

She nodded.

"Alright. Take some time to yourself, and when you're ready, meet me outside."

"Uhm, Uncle Doug?"

He stopped mid-walk.

"Uh?"

"What happened to the Villain?"

The sound of crinkling brought her attention to his clenched fists.

"He escaped."

"What?"

"It's my fault. I thought the water wheel would suffice. I was wrong. He took advantage of me checking on each of you to run away."

Sarah got to feel even more guilty than before.

"No, it's not-"

"Yes, it is. Rather than use that wheel, I should have bubbled him up. He might have struggled, but it would have been clearer. Instead, he used the momentum of the wheel to throw himself away after abandoning Ballistic's body. I let my emotions cloud my judgment."

"But... If we had done better..."

"You were fighting an unknown Villain, one who took advantage of your team's struggles with singular powerful foes and your lack of options to deal with his regeneration. You already did better than anyone expected of you."

He got back loser and gave her a gentle head pat.

"We'll get him, don't worry. And trust me, your little team did much better than you think. I wouldn't be surprised if Saline dropped by to give you some encouragement. The city always needs more Heroes."

Sarah wasn't very fond of being treated like a kid, but she couldn't deny it felt nice and did ease her worries. Though, speaking of...

"Thanks, Uncle Doug. Uh, by the way..."

He paused his gesture of affection and removed his hand.

"Yes, I told your parents."

She grimaced.

"Well, I told your mother. She is already used to that sort of thing from when I became a trainee. Whether or not she shares it with your father is up to her. Truthfully, in a normal situation, I wouldn't have. You're an adult, you signed the papers, and we're not supposed to know about your private life. Personally, I think you're still too young to keep all that to yourself. Not to mention, you'll find living with people who know you get smashed into walls from time to time is far better than hiding it from them."

He chuckled as he lightly shook his head.

"Ah, the uni days were a mess. If it wasn't for your mother, I would have gotten into heaps of trouble."

"You? Get into trouble?"

"Teachers don't always appreciate students sleeping during lessons and all-nighters were far more common back then. There weren't quite as many of us back then, Legions were rarer, and Villains were a far more chaotic bunch. The big groups are a nightmare to handle, but they do keep the independents in check most of the time."

He sighed.

"You kids won't get called on emergencies as additional backup. We worked hard to make sure of it."

He stood a little straighter.

"Anyway, you should talk to your mother when your shift ends. I may have told her you are fine, but she'd probably prefer to hear it from you."

Sarah nodded and this time her uncle truly left the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

----------------------------------------

It took a few minutes for her to leave the room, still dressed in her trainee suit. Firefighter then accompanied her to a small lobby where she got to meet up with the other two members of her team who were up, Kopper and Elaimant.

The young man's black skin was covered in bandages in quite a few spots, giving him a mummy-like look when combined with the official white trainee uniform - doubly so both his clothing and bandages had lost their pristine white, dirtied by either the fight or his wounds. To be fair, Sarah's own suit didn't look much better.

Elaimant on the other hand looked perfectly fine aside from their lack of suit, the metal scraps of their puppeteered body left bare for the world to see. Sarah remembered how much they tried to fit in with Terra Stellis' humanoids, to the point even Saline, the director of their branch of the Hero Union, felt the need to bring up how wasteful the alien's wish to keep an anthropomorphized form was. That they had shed all pretense when things turned dire was... Well, it felt obvious, but she knew not all people with this sort of complex could go against their instincts that easily.

She joined the pair and together, monitored by her uncle, they went to visit the others.

Glicer was first, and aside from a few scrapes, she looked perfectly fine at a glance if you looked past how she seemed to be having quite a bad nightmare. Her agitated sleep turned much calmer as soon as Kopper took her hand, even after he left her so that the trio could drop by Scareowl.

The avian was awake but completely encased in plaster, and while saddened by the sight Sarah couldn't deny there was a very faint feeling of amusement at the way his fluffy feathers burst out his collar, making his head look much bigger than it truly was compared to his body. He was a little groggy but he was happy to see the others were fine. The group would have likely stayed a little longer if it hadn't been for a nurse shooing them out of the room.

And lastly came Maledicta.

Sarah didn't know what to expect, and yet the peacefully sleeping drow surprised her still. The young woman who always acted so negatively looked almost serene in unconsciousness, and the only hint she had been using horrible curses only a few hours beforehand was how her already pale skin was even lighter, even the trails of bloody tears flowing down her face earlier had disappeared.

The same thought went through all three of the relatively fine rookies.

They would be stronger next time.