In the old world, there was a day that was celebrated by couples. A day of love. Now, such a day no longer exists. It isn't that love doesn't happen anymore. Rather, as humanity and society evolved and changed, adapting to the people that were born with powers, who began to war amongst each other, they just grew to have better things to do than celebrate a day of love.

Despite that, for whatever reason, one that even great minds like Boy Genius or Harrison Avalon can't figure out, there is a day where love seems to bloom, and people spend more time with each other. Friends, lovers, or family.

Today, one of many dozens of stories was taking place.

***

"Cool. Some people know who Cinder is." Hope hummed and stared down at the screen of her phone, which she held in one hand, while her other hand stabbed into the school lunch she had been pretending tasted better than it did. "A couple of pictures of me are going around. Not a lot, though."

Out of curiosity, she had gone onto Hero Hub and searched up 'Cinder'. Most of it was blurry pictures of her, but there was one good one going around. The one where Poseidon kissed her on the cheek. That seemed to be the most popular one and the one everyone was talking about. Most people were still talking about Poseidon over her, though.

It was mainly just gossip, wondering if Poseidon was into girls and if she was the hero's newest girlfriend. She wished, but sadly, she wasn't in that universe.

"It's pretty cool, right?" She asked, giving a slightly smug smirk. "People are actually talking about the legendary hero Cinder! Think I'll find anything out if I search your name up-"

"I think I might have a crush on a girl."

Hope cringed a bit as her fork stabbed into the plate and cracked it. She had jumped a bit when she heard her friend's confession, startled by him suddenly speaking. "Okay? What do you mean?" She looked up from her food and raised an eyebrow at Armin, who sat across from her in the school lunchroom. Slowly, she put her phone up. She got the feeling this was going to be a conversation she'd want to pay attention to.

It was the middle of the day, and the two of them were still at school. They hadn't gotten to do much since the last mission because Myth had been constantly planning for the event they'd be going to in a couple of days. Most of Oleander knew about the event by now. A bunch of Oleander's famous heroes would be showing up at the mall, giving speeches, and doing other things like that. Every kid was seemingly excited about it.

Every kid save for her and Armin since they'd actually be participating in the event...

Armin had been silent for most of the day once he learned that fact. Likely some nerves. At least, that's what she had assumed all the way until he suddenly confessed. "T- There's this girl, and I've kind of been staring at her for a while, and I think I like her," Armin admitted sheepishly. The true reason he had been so standoffish today had been revealed. Teenage hormones.

Hope made a slight face. "It's not me, is it?"

"What?" Armin almost looked green now.

"I'm not the girl you like? Because that'd be kind of gross if I was. Also, I don't really like boys-"

"No, it's not you." Armin shook his head. "That'd be disgusting!"

"I wouldn't go that far-"

"Nah! You're hella dumb, Hope! I like my girls smart! Also, you flatter than a board! Get to at least a B or C or something, like, damn girl."

"Okay, you can stop now-"

"You got no good things going for you. Broke, no friends, no bitches either; I'd never go out with someone like you." Her twitched a bit, and Armin snorted before finally stopping. "Of course, it's not you. It'd be kind of gross to date someone I view as a sister." Armin set his head down on the table and sighed. "It's Paige."

"Paige?" Hope turned and looked across the lunchroom to where the other girl was. "Really?"

Most people knew who Paige was. Paige Pluto was the daughter of Mr. Pluto, who many considered to be the best teacher Oleander had. More importantly, though, Paige was part of the golden trio. Ashley, Hannah, and Paige. Together, the three of them were the most popular girls in school. Ashley was rich and hot, Hannah was athletic and hot, and then you had Paige. Paige was smaller and cuter instead of conveniently attractive like the other two girls. She was also pretty smart since her dad gave her extra lessons, so she had some of the best grades in the school.

"What's wrong with liking Paige?" Armin asked, letting out a huff.

"If it was someone like Ashley, I'd get it. Like sometimes I even consider asking Ashley out because of how good-looking she is."

"Doesn't she bully you?"

"And I'm into it!"

"Okay..." Armin shook his head and let out another sigh. "It isn't just because she's pretty or hot. I like Paige because she's really smart. I'm a lab partner with Hannah, and Hannah basically doesn't do any of the work and forces me to do it all. Normally, I'd drop her as a partner, but the reason I don't is because Paige will often show up to pick Hannah up after classes, and that's usually when I get to talk to her. Lately, though, Hannah has stopped bothering to show up, so I haven't gotten a chance to talk to Paige at all and confess how I feel."

"Well, go talk to her now."

"It's not that easy."

"Sure it is! Watch!"

"Where are you going!" Armin looked up at her in a panic as she casually stood up and began to head for the three most popular girls in school. "No! Don't!"

She ignored her friend. Ashley had gotten up and was leading her two other members toward the exit, but she beat them there before Ashley could leave. "Hey, I need to borrow her."

"Huh-" Ashley and Hannah both turned just in time to see her casually grab Paige and pick the girl up.

"Hey! Let me down!" Paige squirmed, but she ignored the girl, carrying her over her shoulder. Even without super strength, she'd have been able to do it since Paige was shockingly small and light. Ashley and Hannah looked at each other before both girls just shrugged and left, leaving Paige to her fate. "Seriously! Let me go!"

"In a second." Hope walked back over to Armin, ignoring the stares she was getting from the other students. They already thought she was weird, so it wouldn't do anything to bother her. "Here you are." She placed the very confused and slightly scared Paige down in front of Armin, who was staring at her as if she was insane. To be fair, she was a superhero, and that meant not all her screws were fully tied. "Go on, Armin! Tell her how you feel!"

Armin blushed a little and looked awkward for a moment. Paige stood there still, confused, but slowly, Armin managed to stand up. He balled his hand into a fist and brought out all the courage he could. "P- Paige! I really like you!"

He confessed it loudly in the school lunchroom for all to hear.

Of course, Paige said no.

***

"Man, this place is really boring." Lois huffed slightly and leaned against a bookshelf. "Seriously, do you ever get people interested in renting out a book?"

Thaddeus did his best to ignore his friend. He held an open book in front of him, quietly reading. It was a slow day. A day where villains decided to all take a break. On days like these he preferred to not do any hero work and instead stay put in the library he ran.

"I didn't invite you. You're free to leave if you want."

"And miss all the fun that you're having." Lois let out a snort. "Hard pass, big guy."

"If you are going to stay, please remember that this is a library," Thaddeus said in a cool tone. "In other words, don't talk so much. I know you're not having fun, but I'm quite enjoying this book."

Lois let out another huff, and she walked past several of the shelves, but none of the books caught her eye. Most kids didn't read, and those that did would rather buy their books online instead of renting one out, so a place like this had seemingly lost its value. She honestly didn't understand why the hero Myth kept it running. He was constantly losing money because of it. Slowly, she made her way behind the counter and placed her hands on his shoulders, grinning down.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Come on! There's got to be something fun we can do besides staying cooped up in here all day!"

"You're free to leave if you want, but I have to watch the library." Thaddeus turned a page in his book, still invested in his story. "It's been closed down for the last few days due to all the crime, so this is a good time for it to finally reopen. And with school break coming soon, I imagine many kids will be eager to get their hands on some books."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Either you're joking, or you're just stupid." Thaddeus didn't respond to her. Her eyes sparkled with annoyance, and she let go of his shoulders. "Okay, fine, we can stay here, but there's got to be something fun we can do here, right?"

"It's a library," Thaddeus responded flatly. "What sort of fun are you expecting-" He stopped suddenly. "Hmm. One second."

Lois watched with a raised eyebrow as Thaddeus closed his book and stood up. She tried reading his Paths, but like always it never really went anywhere. Thaddeus was a man who not even fate could seemingly control and distort. The library wasn't very big. It had simple wooden floors and walls that were all hand-carved and a few small sections of books that were all the boring kind. There was an area for reading, and the counter was near the back where a backroom also resided.

Thaddeus entered that backroom and began rummaging through junk. Dozens of shelves were filled with old trash that no longer held any value, but he wasn't able to bring himself to get rid of any of it. This place was special to him, after all. Eventually, after some time, he left the backroom holding something in his arms.

It was made out of metal and was old and a bit cracked. It was large, but he held it with ease and had a power cord flung over his shoulder. It was a projection device. "Why do you have something like that?" Lois asked with a raised eyebrow.

"My father bought it for my brother when I was a kid," Thaddeus explained. He moved past Lois and found a port to hook the power cable up to, and he began to set the projector up. "He doesn't use it anymore; in fact, I bet my brother forgot it even exists." He aimed it at a section of the wall that didn't have anything on it and clicked a button, causing a disk port to open. There was already a movie loaded up, so Myth shoved it back in and pressed down on the 'on' button.

The projector hummed to life, and the fan inside of it was clearly old and rattling. It glowed and fired a stream of lights onto the wall, and the image of the movie appeared. It was some old romcom that starred the hero Lady Time. The image was poorly done, and the noise was badly distorted and mainly drowned out by the project's own hums.

Lois let out a giggle. "This is what you had in mind when I asked for fun?"

Thaddeus frowned down at the machine. He hadn't expected it to be in such bad shape. "Sorry. I'll turn it off-"

"No." Lois shook her head and took a seat next to the projector. She dragged Thaddeus down with her and stared at the wall as the movie began to start. "Nothing wrong with this."

Thaddeus awkwardly shrugged and rubbed his neck. "I guess."

The two went on to watch the movie. It was so damaged and distorted it was impossible to figure out what was going on.

They had a good time.

***

An alarm rang over and over again. River Sini opened her eyes and sat up with a groan. The blanket fell off of her, and she wiped some of the sleep away from her face.

"Mrs. Sini, it's time to get up." Within her room, several robots walked around. That had the shape of a humanoid and wore butler-like outfits, already tidying up her room and getting her clothes ready for the day.

"Yeah, yeah." River yawned and got out of bed, stretching. With a sigh, she snapped her fingers, and some of the machines got to work removing her nightgown. Her black hair shimmered and glowed for a moment before it suddenly switched to a deep blue color, and a dress made of water flowed across her skin, covering her up. Another robot got some soap it had on hand, and she pressed it into her dress. "Anything important happening today?"

"No, ma'am."

"That's good."

The water devoured the soap, and she caused it to dance across her entire body, going through her hair and face, getting rid of any dirt that had been on her. In only a second, she had taken the world's fastest shower and completely cleaned herself. Her hair returned back to its black color, and the water dress she wore vanished. One of the robots wrapped a towel around her while another one got to work mopping up the mess she made, and a third one began to help her get dressed.

River took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. Her black hair had been combed and tied back into a ponytail, and she wore a white buttoned-up shirt with a black dress jacket over it and some women's pants. She looked like a person who worked in a bank or some other high-positioned job. In reality, though, she didn't actually have anything to do for the day. It had been a shockingly quiet week.

River stepped out of her room and headed down the halls of her home. She could smell food was already cooking, and more of the robots were serving her daughters their meal for the day. Lily and Sky had been chatting about something when she entered.

Lily's eyes lit up when she saw her mom. "Mom? Are you heading out for the day?"

"Yeah." River nodded. "I thought I'd stop by and check on my father."

"How is Grampa doing?" Sky asked quietly. The blind girl picked at her food while Destiny slept in her hair.

"He's doing better." River took a piece of toast and bit into it. "Maybe he'll get out of the hospital soon."

Lily nodded happily. "Oh, I was wanting to go hang out with Kenny today, is that fine? It's his day off!"

"Sure, just make sure you bring your sister."

"Can't I stay here?" Sky whined.

River shook her head. "I'm going to be gone, and so is Lily; we can't leave you here alone. It's too dangerous." Sky's jaw clenched, but the redhead remained silent and didn't argue with her mom. Lily reached over and placed a hand on Sky's hand, or at least tried to, but the girl flinched and scooted back. River sighed when she saw it. "Lily, make sure whatever you and Kenny do is something Sky likes."

Lily rubbed her neck awkwardly. "Okay... I can try that, I guess."

River left the kitchen before it could get any more awkward and slipped on her shoes and headed out the door. Lillian City was very much like Oleander, with dozens of towers that reached the skies, but the part she lived in was wide and open. She lived in a manor, and the yard stretched on, giving her children plenty of room to play. Of course, none were kids anymore.

She left her home behind and made her way out onto the sidewalk. She had a bit of a destination in mind. The other day, a large monster attacked a city block in Lillian. The Victorian had shown up and sliced the beast in half in one attack, but its corpse had been left behind. One group, however, was made to deal with that.

The Cleanup Squad was hard at work. She remained behind a public line that had been set up. She wasn't the only one who was watching. A crowd had formed and was watching the men in uniforms hard at work. The monster had been completely skinned and cut up into small pieces, making it impossible to tell what it used to be. It wouldn't be very long before it was totally removed.

"Larison, get the buzzsaw!" One of the workers cried out.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

River raised an eyebrow when she noticed the man. He had messy reddish-brown hair and dull brown eyes. A cigarette was tucked between his lips, and he casually carried a large buzzsaw. He seemed to feel the gaze that was on him, and he turned, and his eyes met hers.

She had come out here to make sure the Cleanup crew would be okay. After the disaster with Intake attacking a member, she didn't want to take any chances. Little did she know she'd find herself staring at a familiar face.

River Sini, aka Ocean Empress, stared at Jack Larison, aka Battery. Both stood there frozen, clearly shocked to see the other one.

"Huh." They both said.

The two went on to ignore the other one for the rest of the day and pretend like nothing had happened.

***

"I can't believe she actually agreed to come with you to see a movie." Hope rubbed her chin as they headed for the movie.

"I can't believe you invited yourself." Armin sighed and shook his head.

"Why not? I'd invite you if I was ever asked on a date!"

"I don't think you know what a date is..." Armin made a face at her.

The sun was setting down on Oleander, and many couples flocked to the movie theater. Armin had managed to somehow score a date. Paige had turned him down but then asked him to come to the movies with her to see some new romance movie starring the Victorian and Mister Man. They were in that theater now heading for the movie, and she had decided she was coming along to watch her best friend fumble the bag somehow.

"Look, just try not to mess with her or me, please," Armin asked, letting out a sigh.

"I promise."

"You're lying."

"Good chance, yeah."

Armin's eye twitched, but he didn't say anything as they entered the room. The theater's movie room was packed tonight with many people, all on dates, coming to see this new movie. At a row in the middle, Paige noticed Armin and waved the boy over. She wasn't alone either. Next to Paige were Ashley and Hannah. Maybe it really wasn't a date? Paige hadn't seemed bothered about Hope coming along at the very least.

Armin had already bought plenty of drinks and snacks, as well as the biggest container of popcorn he could get, and he carried it all the way down to Paige and took a seat next to the girl, smiling. Hope awkwardly sat down next to her friend on the other side. Now that she was actually here, she was starting to get cold feet.

In truth she had come because she expected this to be some cruel prank. Paige wasn't supposed to be here. Armin would have been left alone and sad, and she'd then cheer up her friend. Instead, though, Paige was here and actually seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with Armin. Even sharing his popcorn with him. Ashley and Hannah mainly shared their own food, and the two girls talked and giggled amongst each other while Paige and Armin had a good time.

She was the awkward one out now.

She thought about getting up and leaving, but three other people, two girls and a guy, took a seat next to her, blocking off her escape. One of the girls and the guy seemed to already be a couple and were quietly whispering to each other. The other girl, a red-haired girl, was awkwardly slinked down like her.

The movie eventually started, and it was hella boring.

She preferred action and other things related to heroics, which this movie wasn't. The actor that played the Victorian looked kind of bad, and the one playing the hero Mister Man wasn't any better. It was a love story about the two of them falling in love and coming together, and being superheroes seemed to have nothing to do with the plot at all. There wasn't even one fight or city-wiping battle to be had. No giant robots either.

"This movie sucks." Hope sighed.

"Tell me about it." The girl next to her whispered. "I can't even see it, and I hate it."

"Can't see it?" Hope turned her head slightly and noticed the sunglasses on the red-haired girl's face. It was dark, so she wasn't able to get too good of a look at the other girl, and they both had to whisper if they wanted to speak to each other. "Oh... Why are you at the movies? Sorry if that's a rude question."

"Trust me, I wouldn't show up to this place normally, but I was dragged along." The red-haired girl sighed.

"I sort of dragged myself along as well." She admitted. "I regret it, though. This movie is just bad."

"It sounds bad." The blind girl nodded. "I don't care for movies because of the whole lack of eyes, but when I listen to them, I like hearing the explosions and stuff like that. Not this sappy romance stuff."

She snorted. "Yeah, it's kind of unrealistic as well. I mean, everyone knows heroes never get a happy romantic ending."

"Exactly. They suffer."

"Yeah."

She and the other girl giggled, and she was watching the movie closer now. It hadn't become interesting, but she was pointing things out to the girl next to her so they could talk more. She didn't know who this person was, but she was happy to spend the rest of the night dissing a bad movie.

Hope Lauren and Sky Sini trash-talked the movie for the full three hours. They were both the most hated people in that theater by the end of it.