“Clear!” Rubble flew high into the air, followed seconds later by chunks of giant squid, which rained upon the street.

Jack held an umbrella up, the monster bits flowing down it. “This stuff is always so gross,” he muttered. The Cleanup Squad was at work once again, downtown in the Middle Zone of the city, cleaning up a giant squid that had come from space. The heroes known as the Pallet Boys had put a stop to it earlier that day.

“It’s always these giant monster freaks.” A worker kicked the side of the squid. Its corpse was draped over several destroyed buildings, the beast being the size of a city block and having to have charged blasts split it apart.

Jack never got a chance to respond back to the man, as a voice called out. “Larison!” Mr. Moore was an odd boss that reminded Jack a lot of his son, Armin. The man typically stayed put in the office but had come out today, waving the Squad’s best worker over. “You said you needed to leave early today, right?” The man asked.

“Yeah. I have a thing planned.” Jack nodded.

“Right. Well, we got some new people, and it looks like we’re basically done here with the hard part. We got it from here.”

“Thank you, sir.” Jack went to walk past his boss but was stopped when the man put a hand on his shoulder. “Sir?”

“How’s my son doing, by the way?”

“You know?”

“I know a lot of things I shouldn’t.” Mr Moore chuckled.

“Well, he’s been doing fine. I’ll keep an eye on him, though. I’m going to meet him and the others, in fact.”

“Got it. Also, that girl on the team. She wouldn’t happen to be- Nah, what am I saying? The Laurens would never. Sorry to keep you.”

Jack finally left, heading down the street and past the tape that blocked it off from the public. There wasn’t much traffic or civilians walking around due to the roadblock and destruction up ahead, so he ducked down an alleyway. He came to a sudden stop, though, when he saw someone already standing in it.

“Come on. Work already! Stupid space guts!” It was a young man, one dressed in very colorful armor, mainly focused around the color blue. It looked very knightly, but despite its old-fashioned look, it hummed with an electronic buzz. The man had the helmet off, revealing a young adult. The man was messing with the helmet, using some weird tool to get it to work.

Jack cleared his throat, and the man jumped. The hero went to cover his face with an arm, clearly in a panic. “Relax. I’m a hero, too.”

“So!” The man yelled in panic. “That doesn’t matter.”

Jack grumbled, and for a moment, his body glowed with a golden light. Then, in a flash, he burst forward. The lid of a dumpster rose open, and suddenly Jack stood, dressed in his heroic costume. “Look, man, you’re on my spot. I hide my costume in places like this for quick access.” He went to fold his arms but stopped as he looked the hero up and down. “Wait a second. I know you. Ain’t ya a Pallet Boy?”

The man eyed him up and down and placed the helmet back on. It seemed to lock in place, covering his face and causing his voice to gain a mechanical edge. “I am Pallet Boy Blue. You a new hero?”

“I guess.” Battery shrugged. “I’ve only been a hero for a bit. Joined Myth’s team.”

“If you’re working with Myth, you can’t be that bad of a guy. Also, now that I think about it, I think I’ve seen you on the news before. Weren’t you guys behind a dock being destroyed?”

“No. Uh, that was some other asshole group.” Battery awkwardly stepped away. “So, what’s up with your tech? You seem to be having some issues.”

The young man grumbled a bit. “Yeah. My brother and I went to fight this monster that appeared, and ever since, our tech has been gunked up. The stupid thing was like a massive EMP or something. We’re doing our best to get our stuff working again, so we can go back to patrolling the city for the big day.”

“Big day- Oh shit, I’m late.” Battery turned, giving a half-wave to the man. “Look, I gotta go. Good luck.” He didn’t wait for a response, giving a wave and bolting off. Literally, golden lightning swirled around as he moved faster than any car.

Pallet Boy Blue watched the strange hero run off and let out a sigh. “Guess I better get back to work.”

“Actually, change of plans.” The voice came from above and caused the hero to look up. At the top of a nearby roof, peering down at the hero, a young man stepped off. It was a significant fall, one that would at least break an average human’s legs, being three stories up, but this man was no longer an average human. Kevin landed on the balls of his feet, cracking the stone floor. He rolled his shoulders and balled his hand into a fist. “You’re going to be coming with me, sir.”

Battery was long gone, none the wiser to what was happening back in the alleyway. He dodged past cars and people; everyone else was moving in slow motion. Finally, he came to a sliding stop in front of an old, worn-down, and heavily dented van.

“Did I make it in time-”

“Get in, get in; we’re going to be late!” Myth yelled.

“Guess not.” Battery sighed and opened the passenger seat, climbing into the van.

“You know, Mr. Larison, for someone as fast as some of the big pro heroes, you seem to cut it close a lot.” Hope snorted.

Jack slumped into the seat, and with that, the van took off. He tuned everyone else out, staring out the window at the rows of traffic before slowly closing his eyes.

“Looks like we’re going deep into hell.”

“Hell?” Hope asked with wide eyes, but no one bothered to respond.

Silence flowed into the van as everyone fell into their own rhythm. She felt the van hum, and she tapped her fingers awkwardly, her mind racing. She wondered how this would all go. She was so deep in thought that Armin’s words caused her to jump.

“You okay, Hope?” Snowdawn asked. “Bumpy ride getting to you?” The boy joked.

“Just a little nervous.” She admitted. She had called in sick to school. She knew she wasn’t the only one. Dozens of kids would be calling in sick to sneak away and join in the celebrations. She was dressed fully in her costume but had her helmet off as they rode to the event.

It was taking place at the local mall. A few hero teams would be gathered to shake hands with the mayor, maybe give a speech, and then just hang around and talk to the local people. It was the first time she had been dressed in her costume for the day, and already Mr. Larison’s words had been right. It was hot—not like blazing summer hot, but still. These suits were tight.

“Don’t go passing out on us.” Whisper ordered. The van had taken a beating after being rammed through the wall of a warehouse, but it still worked fine. The windows were tinted black, allowing them to keep their masks off without worrying about anyone seeing them. Whisper drove, and Jack, in the passenger seat, slumped down, snoring loud enough to match the engine. Myth and Snowdawn were in the back with her.

Myth had a phone out, listening to the sound of whales to calm down, which just made everyone else more uncomfortable. “Whisper is right. Make sure you don’t black out, Cinder.”

“I won’t.” She was a little jealous of Armin, covered in so much snow that he didn’t have to worry about heat stroke. “Anything good happening on the news?”

“It’s never good.” Myth stated. “A Hero Branch van was destroyed on its way to Nightshade. The villains likely got away.” The leader of Pantheon shook his head and pulled his mask up, covering half of his face. “But there is no need for us to worry about that. We’re here to show the public that we exist. Since you two are new, Snowdawn and Cinder, I want you to stick with me when we’re there. Whisper, you stick with Battery and make sure he behaves. Don’t let anyone catch him smoking or anything like that. These things will go by quickly. We don’t usually do anything; we just stand around and look pretty. The Sub Enforcers will be there as well, so I doubt we’ll even get any attention.”

“Who’s protecting the city at this time?” She questioned. “I’d hate for some people to get harmed while we’re all at the mall.”

“Not to worry. The Watch Dogs have reported that they will not be participating in the event today, so they will be guarding the city.”

“They’re finally doing stuff again?” Snowdawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“They better.” Myth grumbled. “Besides them, the Pallet Boys are also helping out. They’re a duo team and have some crazy gadgets. The police and Hero Branch will also be on high alert, of course.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath on the Pallet Boys.” Battery said, followed by a snore, seconds later.

“Anything we need to know about this event?” She asked.

“Not really. It’s an awareness event for a children’s charity,” Myth said. “They’ve done a few events with the Sub Enforcers in the past. Things like hospital visits and so on. I was the one that asked the mayor if we could participate in this year’s event, and since it was last second, I doubt we’ll be doing anything. Oh, but do watch out for little kids. They can be grabby.”

“Noted.”

The rest of the ride was spent relaxing. Her and Armin talked about a new game that was coming out, Battery slept, Myth browsed the news, and Whisper drove in silence. It didn’t take them long to arrive at the mall, though.

The parking lot was usually packed and filled with cars, but today it was insane. There were news vans and tents set up, and a line had formed just to get into the building.

The mall itself was in the ‘rich’ part of the city. Dozens of tall towers stood around, and in the center was an enormous crater that had been created when part of the moon fell to Earth. That crater was one of the few things that made Oleander cool. The mall was placed right at the edge of the crater and had been trying to expand underground for several years now but hadn’t managed fully. It was smaller than all the other towers and had around eight floors in total going up and only two floors going into the ground. It had been built by Mr. Sini, the owner of Sinicorp, which had since been bought out by Harrison Avalon after Sini died fifteen years ago. Avalon, as far as she knew, never bothered expanding the mall, hence its weird half-appearance.

It still managed to thrive, though, perhaps due to just how bizarre of a place it was.

The parking lot was in front of the mall, but Whisper drove past and instead cruised towards the large crater. There was a ramp that would circle around and lead toward an underground parking spot within the mall.

“Masks on, everyone.” Myth instructed. “We’re starting.”

Battery sat up and rubbed at his mouth as he pulled his mask down. “Welcome to eight hours of hell.”

It wouldn’t be that bad.

Right?

The center floor was in the smack middle of the mall, in such a way that the other floors could see it if they looked down from their railings. It often hosted small fashion shows or events that were usually put on by the shops that surrounded it.

Today, a large stage had been put up in the square, and banners hung from the walkways with the name of the charity scrawled across them—the Mila Rise Charity Event. Aside from the stage, there were smaller booths scattered around, offering the usual face painting, petitions, donation buckets, and the like. Most of them were being run by the mall staff, but she spotted a few Hero Branch suits who were running a food stand.

It was a pretty funny sight, actually.

One of the shops on the first floor was in the middle of being refurbished. Tall boards covered the entire front of it, save for a single area inside that had been cleared and given over to the Sub Enforcers for the day. They would be using it as well. The customers hadn’t yet been allowed to enter the mall since everything was still being set up, so she didn’t have to worry about a crowd or anything yet.

She knew Kyle would be here. His dad was going to be talking on stage at some point. Other kids from school would no doubt show up as well. She was glad the helmet Mr. Larison had given her covered up so much of her head; otherwise, she would have been worried about butchering her ‘secret’ identity even further.

A woman in a suit waved them over when their group emerged. “This way. The others are already inside.” The woman said, escorting them into the building the Sub Enforcers had been allowed to use. The inside of the shop was gutted, and there were two doors: one leading backstage, where they would be staying, and another that could lead out to the stage itself when it was time to appear. Some police officers and Hero Branch members stood guard at both.

Backstage lights, mirrors, and tables had been set up for them to get in or out of costumes or clean up if they needed to. There was also a curtained-off section further in the back, and in the center were some chairs and a large table with some basic snacks and bottles of water on it in case they needed to take a break.

The Sub Enforcers were already seated at the table. Money Tree had been talking to Wasp Nest but stopped when they entered. “Ah, Myth. Good to see you. Come take a seat! We’re going to start soon.”

At the table were Wasp Nest, Money Tree, Metal Ronin, BB, and Oxide. Sadly, Paragon and Poseidon were seemingly absent. She was a little bummed. She wouldn’t exactly say she and Paragon were friends now, but their talk the other night had been good. She was glad to see Oxide, the metal-based hero, waving her over. They all ended up taking a seat.

Myth talked quietly with Wasp Nest and Money Tree, while Snowdawn spoke with BB. She herself was talking with Oxide and Metal Ronin, while Battery lazily stood in a corner with his arms folded, keeping watch, to make sure Poseidon and Paragon wouldn’t try to jump him with healing in case they showed up.

“So, how have the powers been treating you?” Metal Ronin asked. His costume had changed a bit. It was polished and cleaned up, made of a finer metal, and it looked like what you would expect a noble cyborg warrior to be. Even the faceplate's grimace had been changed to a serene, calm look of focus. It reminded her of a video game.

“Pretty good.” She admitted. “I’ve gotten a lot better with them. Next time, I’ll be ready for Polaron or Green Wolf.”

“Don’t get too cocky.” Oxide jumped into the conversation. The metal-based hero’s hair was done up to look fancy, and the metal had taken the shape of an exquisite, styled dress. Oxide wore a glass mask that covered the girl’s upper face and a small metal crown for extra style points.

“We’ll need to have another test later and see how much you improved.” Metal Ronin nodded. “You’re welcome to join us, Oxide. I haven’t seen how much your powers have improved since you joined the Sub Enforcers.”

“Sounds fun.” Oxide shrugged. The girl held her hand out, and the metal began to flow, taking the shape of objects. “I haven’t really been pushed ever since the Mars King fight. It was safe to say we were a little out of our depths back then.”

“At least I’m not the only one who thinks the Bad Timers are way too busted and need to be nerfed.” She joked. She couldn’t help but look around the room. Ten heroes in total. And she was one of them. Things really were great.

“Speaking of nerfs, what’s up with Green Wolf’s teleportation?” Metal Ronin asked in a confused tone. “That device you used on him was one I made a bit ago. When Poseidon first came to Oleander, we got her to help us beat Mars King. I had used a device that could detect spatial rifts and determine where he’d appear, then used that net to stop the teleporter from taking him off the battlefield.”

She nodded her head. She remembered the first time she fought Intake, Mr. Larison had beaten him, but the man had been teleported away by a villain named Ears, who was a powerful teleporter in the Bad Timers. The second time she fought him, Ears had also been there and got away. The villain had tried to teleport Intake again but had been stopped by Ocean Empress, who froze the teleportation before it could go off somehow.

That net gun Wasp Nest tossed her should have allowed her to stop Green Wolf’s teleportation, yet it hadn’t worked. “Any clue why it failed?” She asked.

“None.” Metal Ronin said.

“What if it wasn’t teleportation?” Oxide offered up.

“I hope that’s not the case.” The mental hero snorted.

“How come?” She asked.

“Because then it means he’s doing something we don’t understand.” The hero sighed.

“The answer is obvious.” They all turned when Battery spoke up. The man still rested on the wall with his arms crossed. “Green Wolf is using that sword. It isn’t him that’s doing it; it’s the sword. It’s called Story Maker. Your method to stop Ears worked because the net was strong enough. The reason it isn’t working on Story Maker is because it simply isn’t strong enough to halt it. That teleportation is too powerful and is negating the hold on it. It’s like building a shield. You could make something that could stop my punch, but can you make something that stops the Victorian’s punch? I doubt it. Powers aren’t made to be equal. They cheat, and they break the rules. Something able to stop one might not be able to stop others, even if they do look similar.”

“You seem to know a lot about this.” Metal Ronin said, raising an eyebrow. “Care to tell the class where you got this info?”

“I’m a grown ass man; I don’t go to class.”

“How do you work with this guy?” The tech-based hero asked, shooting her a look. She never got a chance to answer as a new voice got their attention.

“Ah, so these are your new heroes, Myth.” A new voice caught her attention. She turned to the entrance of the room as the mayor walked in. “It’s good to meet you.” His eyes roamed over everyone, and for a moment, she swore the man’s eyes lingered on her.

Mayor Grove was an odd man. In his seventh year of being mayor, with only one more year left after this. Grove had been voted into office twice now, which was shocking since he almost never gave speeches. The kind of man who would let others do the talking for him, but despite that, he had something about him that drew people in.

Typically, heroes and politics didn’t mingle. Most teams don’t care who is in charge as long as they can get the proper funding. Meet-and-greets like this for charity were some of the few times you would see heroes building a bridge with politics. About two years ago, she had gone to one and managed to get a few heroes to sign some of her action figures.

“Ah, Mr. Grove, it is good to see you again.” Myth jumped to his feet and held a hand out to the man. The mayor took it and shook it, giving a nod.

“You as well.” The man never smiled, but his eyes lit up with a faint light. Slowly, Grove turned, and once again, she was sure his eyes were on her. “I saw Whisper and Snowdawn, but this is a new member, is it not? I’m Mr. Grove, the one that funds Myth’s little team.”

She felt her voice get caught in her throat as the man held a hand out towards her. She felt Oxide’s foot nudge her, and she snapped out of it, reaching over and taking his hand. “I’m Cinder. I just joined recently.” She felt really awkward at that moment, and one of the Hero Branch snapped a picture of her shaking the mayor’s hand, no doubt for publicity.

Battery’s eyes slightly narrowed, but stopped when Whisper put a hand on his shoulder, simply shaking her head.

Another man entered, one she had also seen before. Kyle’s dad was large and muscular. “Sir, I believe that is enough mingling with the heroes. We should get you ready for the event.” The policeman stated in a blunt tone.

She flinched under the man’s gaze. One good thing about being Kyle’s secret friend is that she never had to be introduced to this man. Super or not, dealing with him seemed like a nightmare.

“Yes, of course.” Mr. Grove took his hand away. “It was nice meeting you, Cinder. I hope to see more out of you. With your powers, I’d expect nothing less from you.”

“Huh?”

Grove walked off without responding, causing the hairs on her arm to stand up more. “That was a little weird, right?” Oxide whispered.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Big time.” Metal Ronin frowned.

She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Well, guess I better do my best to not disappoint the mayor, right?”

They talked amongst each other for a little longer. She got to meet BB as well, which was cool. The girl was one of the younger Supers she saw, and she was a little jealous when the girl bragged about being able to fly. Soon enough, though, time passed, and it was finally time for the real show to begin.

“They’re ready for you, now.” One of the Hero Branch workers announced.

Money Tree stood up and smirked. “Show time, kids. You want to lead?” The man asked, shooting a look at Myth.

Myth shook his head. “I insist you go first. You’re the one who was supposed to be here after all.”

Money Tree’s suit came undone, the dollar bills taking shape as it grew out—a long cloak and a walking stick, a fancy top hat appearing, and a coin forming into a monocle. The Sub Enforcer’s leader tried to look prim and proper but still had that slick country-boy smirk on his face. “Alright, y'all. Follow the leader.”

Her stomach fluttered a bit as she climbed up the steps. There were hundreds of people gathered by now, and they were all watching the heroes that stepped up onto the stage. Her super senses allowed her eyes to get a good look at every single one of them. Most were kids or teens, but there were a few adults. Some of them were pointing in their direction and whispering to each other, and countless phones and cameras were recording everything. Up in the air, several Hero Branch drones also flew. This event would be live after all.

She was a little glad to see that none of the eyes landed on her for more than a second. Everyone either stared at the Sub Enforcers, namely Money Tree and Wasp Nest, or they stared at Myth. In fact, the only person from their group that seemed to get any cheers and hollers was Snowdawn, and that was because the boy looked so weird covered in all his ice and snow; it was hard not to like. The kids, especially, were giggling as Snowdawn shot finger guns at them and blasted a few harmless snowballs out into the crowd.

There was a podium at the front of the stage, and one of the dozen aides the mayor always had was putting something on it. At the back of the stage were seats for the mayor and charity representatives, as well as Kyle’s dad, whose lips were pursed into a fine line as he eyed them all up, and for a second, she swore the man’s eyes lingered on Battery, narrowing a bit as he stared at the red hero. Standing next to the officer was his son, who was quietly speaking. Kyle shot her a smile and then gave a thumbs up to Metal Ronin.

She forgot that those two had known each other. She wondered what other Supers Kyle knew. He had never told her, and she couldn’t really blame him, but it still hurt a little knowing he had such a massive secret.

She and the other heroes got in line. She stood shoulder to shoulder with Battery and Whisper. The Sub Enforcers did the same. Myth and Money Tree both stepped forward, standing in front of their groups.

“You, okay?” Battery whispered towards her.

“Yeah. Just... It's hot in here.”

“Eight more hours.”

***

“Excuse me, can I get a picture of you with my son?”

“Sure. Which form?”

“Your bull form, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Myth nodded, and his body bulked up and sprouted fur as well as horns as he transformed. The hero flexed his massive muscles and grunted. A boy no older than ten stood under him and did the same while a dad smiled and took a picture.

She also smiled as she watched it. Myth looked like he was actually having fun. The man never showed off a lot of emotions, but she could catch a glimpse of a smirk on his lips every now and then.

It was about an hour after the mayor’s speech. All in all, it had all been pretty boring. The mayor had talked about planned changes to the city, the good deeds of the heroes, and then how you should donate to the Mila Rise Charity event, which was made for kids all over Oleander who lost their homes in villain attacks. It was pretty standard, sadly.

After Grove had finished, Money Tree spoke next, giving a short speech about doing good and saying that he was proud to be the newest leader of the Sub Enforcers. Myth had gone last, and they had announced the team’s name and that in a few months, Pantheon would be a famous hero team worthy of protecting the city.

She only hoped they could live up to that.

They now walked around the mall. Well, they tried to walk around the mall. Myth kept getting stopped about every five feet for a picture, in either his bull form, his lion form, or even a horse form that he would bust out if someone asked nicely. They stuck to the plan they had come up with. It was just her, Snowdawn, and Myth. Battery and Whisper would be on the second floor. On the other side of the mall, Wasp Nest and Metal Ronin would walk together, and further up would be BB pairing with Oxide.

By far, the most popular floor was the very top, where Money Tree had his own stand and was having people come in droves. That was also where most of the Hero Branch drones stayed broadcasting what was happening to the other cities.

“Who wants free flavorless snow cones!” Snowdawn announced, firing off more snowballs to some of the crowd.

“Isn’t that just snow?” She asked flatly.

“Yeah, but they don’t need to know that.” The boy snickered. Like Myth, Snowdawn had been approached a couple of times for a picture, mostly by really young kids.

She sadly hadn’t gotten even one request. She had been in a group photo or two with Myth and Snowdawn, but no one wanted a picture of just her. It actually hurt a little.

She debated juggling fire but decided that was a stupid and very dangerous idea. “Maybe just a few fireballs?”

“What?” Snowdawn asked.

“Nothing. I’m a little bummed, though. I mean, fire is way cooler than ice! Everyone knows that!”

“Heh. Cooler. Funny.” Snowdawn posed with a few more kids, and Myth flexed his lion form and roared for the camera.

“Hey. Can I get a picture?” She turned and saw Kyle standing there, a slight smirk on the boy’s face.

She snorted. “You’d rather get one with Myth, right?”

“Well, if I’m being honest, I had a big boy crush on him when he was still on the Sub Enforcers.” Kyle replied in a deadpan tone. “But I’ll settle with a picture of you.”

“Gee, thanks.”

She took a selfie with him, giving a thumbs-up and a smile. Kyle smirked as he put it up as his phone’s wallpaper. "So, ‘Cinder,’ how’s hero life treating you so far?”

“Everything has been good, civilian I’ve never met before. We meant everything Myth said. We’re going to do our best to fix this city.”

“I look forward to seeing it happen.” Kyle fist-bumped her. “I think your boss wants your attention, by the way.”

“Huh?” She turned to see Myth back in the bull form and posing for a group of kids, but his head was motioning for her. “Yeah, I’ll check what’s up.” She walked over to the bull hero. “Any kids want a picture with me?”

Some of the kids looked at her and then turned back to Myth. “Do the kitty!”

“Cinder.” Myth began as his form glowed and changed into the lion. “I just got word from Money Tree that Poseidon arrived. Tree wants her to meet with him and tour with him since she’s just as famous as he is, being the next Victorian and everything.” The man changed back into his bull form with a grunt and easily placed a child on a shoulder for another picture. “Since you aren’t busy or anything, do you think you could go meet with her at the entrance and escort her up?”

“Yeah, I can tell when I’m unwanted.” She sighed.

“Oh, and since you’re leaving, there’s a food stall back that way; get me a corndog,” Snowdawn asked, creating a snowman for several of the kids to tear apart. "Yeah, rip his guts out! Go for the throat like a real hero would!”

Kyle chuckled as she walked back. She rubbed a bead of sweat from her eyebrow as she spoke. “Well, want to walk with me?”

“Well, I am your biggest, sorry only, fan, so I guess so.” The boy shrugged.

They left Myth and Snowdawn behind. She tried not to be bitter. Away from the two famous heroes, she hoped to get some attention, but everyone was focused on the entrance where two new people were arriving. “Ah, there’s my guide!” Poseidon announced when the girl saw Cinder. “If I missed any of you and you don’t have an autograph or picture, then please let me know. I’ll be on the top floor soon enough!” Poseidon grabbed onto a very socially awkward-looking Paragon and, with a single leap, jumped over the crowd and flew a short distance before landing down in front of her. “I trust you’re doing well.” The girl smiled.

“Yeah.” She nodded. It was a bit awkward standing in front of Poseidon while the crowd was snapping pictures of them. Eyes were finally on her.

Poseidon didn’t seem to care about that, though. Setting Paragon down, the water hero’s eyes lit up. “Oh, Kyle! It’s good to see you.”

“You two know each other?” She asked, surprised.

“Kyle knows a lot of heroes.” Paragon explained. “Most people targeted by-”

“Now, now, no need to get into all of that,” Kyle said quickly. “Actually, wow, would you look at the time? I think my dad is calling me! I’ll catch you later, Cinder.” The boy waved and quickly ran off, as if his life depended on it.

She watched Kyle go with a frown. “You scared off my one fan.”

“My bad.” Paragon shrugged. “Didn’t know I could do that. Trust me, if I did, I would have scared all of my sister’s fans away the moment we got here.”

“Hey!” Poseidon huffed.

“So, I guess I’m supposed to take you up to Money Tree?” She asked.

Poseidon shook her head. “I don’t really need a guide. I can find him myself. I do need someone to watch Paragon here, though; that’s why I asked for one. So, while I’m busy with Money Tree, would you be a dear and make sure she stays out of trouble?”

“I don’t need a freaking babysitter,” Paragon muttered.

“I kind of agree with your sister. Why do I need to watch her?” She questioned.

Poseidon leaned in. “Listen, noisy places like these upset her bird. She doesn’t have him with her because of that. My sister is totally blind, okay? She lost her sight recently and still hasn’t fully gotten used to it. And with how important her powers are, I can’t let anything happen to her. I don’t want to drag her with me, though, because I know she’ll hate it, so just do me this solid and take her around the mall. Get her to have fun or something. She mentioned your name and didn’t trash talk it, so she’s got to at least not hate your guts.”

Paragon was blind? That explained some stuff. “Sure. It’s not like I was actually doing anything. You have to explain it to Myth, though.” She finally stated.

“Sure.”

“Also, I want a shout-out on whatever platforms you’re on; I want to be famous!”

Poseidon chuckled. “Deal. Thank you. Paragon, say thank you.”

“Piss off.” Paragon huffed and turned her back.

Poseidon waved and jumped into the air. Despite having the same powers as Ocean Empress, Poseidon also possessed several other unique gifts. One of which was a bit of gravity control. The girl was able to bounce away and took off. She watched for a few moments before awkwardly turning to find Paragon, who was already walking away in a random direction. “Hey, where are you going?” She jogged to keep up with the girl.

“I was planning on walking straight until I crashed face-first into a wall.”

“Really?”

“No!”

“Oh.” She caught up to the girl, the two walking around the mall. “I’m guessing you don’t want to be here, right?”

“What gave it away?” Paragon gritted her teeth. “I just don’t like places like this. I like staying where it’s quiet. I’d rather be at the hospital healing someone or back home. Instead, I’m stuck in this stupid city, no offense, because my mom is too busy focusing on my grampa’s health to take care of us, and my sister wants to hook up with her boyfriend every chance she gets. We’ve been staying at the Sub Enforcers base, and it’s not bad, but it isn’t home either.” The blind girl huffed. “I’d just rather be doing anything other than being at this mall. No one even knows who I am, so there’s no point to me being here.”

“Why’d your sister bring you, then?”

“She wants me to stick close by. I’m honestly shocked she left me in someone else’s care. I’m not so fragile that I’ll break, but she seems to act like I am.”

She hummed and nodded her head. She reached up to her earpiece. “Cinder to Myth.”

“Go for Myth.” She could hear the sounds of cheering kids over the line.

“I’m here with Paragon, but she says she doesn’t want to be here. Her sister is still busy with Money Tree. Is it cool if I escort her out of here?”

“Go ahead. The important part was the speech, and that’s over now. Finish up with any last-minute meet and greets you need to do, and head on out. Whisper said she wanted to meet up with BB and talk, so I’ll have Battery start heading towards you, and he’ll catch up. We’re going to be here for another four hours, so just return before it’s over for us to give our final speeches.”

“Sure thing.” She dropped her arm. “Alright. Let’s go.”

“Huh?” Paragon seemed taken aback. “We can leave?”

“You said you didn’t want to be here, right? Let’s go, then. I’m not really bringing in the crowds, so we might as well leave.”

“And go where?”

“I don’t know. You’re the one who said you wanted to leave.” She grabbed the girl by an arm and dragged her toward the underground parking lot. “You want to go to the hospital and treat some patients? We can do that, then.”

“Okay? Yeah. Yeah, let’s do that! Screw this mall.”

“Yeah! Screw this mall!” She agreed.

She reached the place where the van was and helped Paragon get in the passenger seat. She sent a text to Mr. Larison, telling the man where they were going. Jack replied seconds later, saying he was going to do something first before he left and to go on ahead.

“Now I just have to drive us to the hospital.” She awkwardly got into the driver’s seat. “Yeah, driving...”

“You don’t know how to drive, do you?”

“Not a freaking clue.” She turned the key and felt the vehicle come roaring to life. Paragon reached up and grabbed onto anything she could hold onto for protection.

“I think I’m glad I’m blind. I’m not going to have to see this crash.”

“Relax. I won’t crash-” She felt the van lightly bump the wall and realized she had put it in reverse. She cleared her throat, messed with whatever the weird stick thingy was called, and managed to get the car to move forward. “See, we’re doing it!”

“Can’t we just walk? Or fly or something?”

“Can’t fly. I could take you by the buildings, though. I call it my super jump, and I can pick you up-”

“Hard pass.”

“Car it is, then.”

Every bump caused her to almost jump out of her skin. Whisper had said any of them could use the van, and the girl had even used it to ram into a wall at one point, so it wasn’t like it couldn’t take a beating, but she was still nervous. They hit the road as she tried to recall everything Jack did in his car. Traffic was thankfully absent since everyone was either at the mall or at work.

“So, does the hospital need to know you’re showing up or what?”

“Meh.” Paragon shrugged. “I just sort of show up and say I’m here to heal people, usually.”

“Okay, then. Any particular hospital?”

“Closest one.”

“Got it.” She cringed a little as the van made an awful noise when she made a sharp turn. The van pulled into the parking lot of a hospital slowly, the vehicle shaking the entire time. “Not bad for a first-time driver.” She hit the curb, as she forgot to put it in park. “Whoops.”

Managing to get the car into park, she shakily stepped out. Paragon followed, and then the girl let out a whistle and held her arm out. Seconds later, a bird cry came from above, and Destiny landed on her arm, his talons digging in. “Alright. Let’s heal some people.”

***

She had her back against the wall, her arms folded, doing her best Mr. Larison pose, as she watched Paragon at work. Or rather, it was Destiny who should be given the credit. The bird would land softly on someone, and it would take only a few moments for that person to heal.

They had been in the hospital for about an hour now and had managed to heal nearly twenty people. It wasn’t the place where her dad was, but she had been here before. It was the place Ocean Empress had taken her and Mr. Larison after their battle with that villain named Intake.

Mr. Larison still hadn’t caught up, and she wondered what he was doing exactly. Either way, Paragon seemed happy, going door to door with the most critically injured patients, and it would only take a few moments to heal them up entirely.

“Places like this are more my style,” Paragon explained, standing over a young boy who had half his body turned to stone. Destiny landed on his shoulder and began to steadily transform the stone back into flesh.

“I get it.” She nodded. “Everyone has something they like. A place they’d like to be. For me, I like being out in the action. I want to know I’m saving people. Even if it’s just a little. To see my efforts pay off. I’m new to all of this, and it stinks knowing I don’t make that big of a difference. That’s why I want to do better. No matter what.”

The stone on the boy shattered, and his eyes snapped open. Destiny touched him softly with his wing, and the boy fell unconscious. “His body is fixed up,” Paragon said to a nurse. “He’ll need to sleep for about a day and let it adjust; after that, he’ll be fine to leave.”

“Thank you for doing this.” The nurse gave a kind smile. “We get so many cases like this, and we don’t know what to do about them. Powers that alter a person’s body in ways like this—we just can’t cure these types of things on our own. I’m glad to know there is a hero out there who can fix all these people. Thank you, Paragon.”

“It’s the least I can do.” The girl shrugged off the compliment. “I’m a hero. It’s my job.”

“We have another patient who had most of his bones turned into wood. If you follow me, I’ll show you to him, too.” The nurse smiled and led them away. None of them noticed the tiny white spider that began to crawl on the sleeping boy, nor did they notice the spider that hid within the nurse’s collar.

They went to a few more rooms, and it was just about to be lunchtime when her stomach growled.

“Wanna take a break and hit the cafeteria?” She asked.

“Ew. Hospital food.” Paragon shook her head. “No, thank you. There’s a fast-food place just down the street. Destiny spotted it when he flew back to me. We can head there.”

“Won’t it be a little weird to have two heroes show up for burgers?” She giggled at the image.

“Good point. This hospital is owned by my Grampa, Old Dog, so we don’t need to worry about the cameras giving our identities away. We can enter a spare room, change out of our costumes, and head there as civilians.”

“Wouldn’t that mean I would know your secret identity, though?”

“Well, I already know yours.” Paragon shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“I guess not, but it’s a little weird still.”

Paragon snorted. Destiny craned his neck and made sure there was no one else around in the hallway. Slowly, the girl reached up and took off her mask. “Sky.”

She didn’t say anything for several moments, caught off guard by the girl’s looks. She knew Paragon had red hair, obviously; she could see that. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were a blank stare. They had some color to them, but the girl was obviously blind. They never focused on anything and didn’t seem to move at all. Most shockingly of all, though, was the fact that this wasn't the first time she saw this girl. “Sky? Wait, I've seen you before.”

"Yeah. My sister once asked you to take our picture. Guess that means you know Poseidon's secret identity as well." Paragon chuckled. "Well, don't be shy. Take yours off, too."

She nodded her head and then hesitantly took her helmet off. “Hope. It’s good to meet you.” She smiled and held her hand out.

Sky took it with a gloved hand. “See. Wasn’t that easy? Now come on, there’s an empty room over here. Let’s get changed before someone sees us.”

“Right.” She nodded. She was about to say something else but stopped when she saw something. Her eyes widened, and she knocked the girl down to the floor just in time. Her hand darted out, and she caught something out of mid-air.

It was very familiar to her. A mechanical hand. One she had seen before. “Well, well, well.” An equally familiar voice said. “Look who actually went and became a real-life superhero.” Red Ape stood at the end of the hallway. The man didn’t have his goofy mask on, but he did have the same helmet he wore the first time she fought him, and behind him, dozens of mechanical hands flew around. The hospital had gone quiet. She didn’t hear any of the nurses or doctors; it was as if everyone else had vanished, leaving just the three of them.

Her hand shot up to her earpiece. “Emergency-” She gasped as static shot out of it, and the thing shut off.

“Hacking is like the first thing every genius figures out.” Red Ape boasted. “No backup, okay?”

Paragon stood up quickly and slipped the mask back on. She followed in the girl’s lead and put her helmet back on as well. She gave a slight grin. “Hey man, I don’t want to be that girl, but I beat you when I was, like, level one. I’m at least level ten now. I can’t wait to get two helmets off of you. I think I’ll have Battery turn your new one into a shield or something.”

Red Ape gritted his teeth and reached up to the helmet. Her hand exploded with fire, and she shot a bolt towards him. He yelped and switched his thing over to bubble mode, but she wasn’t aiming for him. Her beam hit the roof, causing it to shatter and rain debris down onto Red Ape, blinding the man.

“Let’s leave-”

“Uh, Cinder.” Paragon gulped.

“What is it?”

“Look behind you.”

She turned to look down at the other side of the hallway, and her eyes went wide at who she saw waiting for her. His body was as big as it had been the first time she saw him. Stone covered his skin as Intake cracked his knuckles.

“You’re telling me this is that little girl who stabbed me in the back of my head. That coward that ran away with her tail tucked between her legs turned into this in only a few weeks.” Intake grimly laughed. “Now, that shit isn’t fair. Either way, I’ll be sure to finish my job from last time and pop that little skull of yours.”

“You two don’t even work together. This is so unfair!” She got next to Paragon and turned her body so she could point at both villains. Her and Paragon were smack dab in the center of this, so things weren’t looking too good.

“Man.” Red Ape chuckled, walking out of the debris, his shield having kept him safe. “Things don’t look good for you, do they? But hey, look on the bright side. At least above you is safe- Oh wait! It’s not!”

She grabbed Paragon just in time, as the roof above them exploded and Mars King came crashing down, letting out a mad laugh as he hit the floor. Bone blades erupted from the villain’s arms in all directions, and she threw the girl behind her and held her arms up to block them. Her costume held up, but her arms shook and ached as she was shoved back by the villain and crashed into Paragon, falling to the floor.

“Oy! Don’t go killing the one with the mask, dumbass.” Intake grumbled. “The boss will kill us if we don’t bring her back.”

“You’re after Paragon?” She stumbled back up, standing over the girl in the lab coat. “Why does Green Wolf or Polaron want her?”

“My bad. Said too much.” Intake smirked. “Yo, monster freak. Helmet is fair game. Just be sure to leave me her head, okay?”

Mars King let out a booming laugh, and dozens of spikes started to form out of his body. “Wait!” Paragon stood up and began to dust herself off. “You said you were after me, and you want me alive, right? There are people here in the hospital. Let Cinder and them go, and I’ll go with you.”

“Not happening!” She argued.

“So, you think you can beat three supervillains?” Paragon retorted. “You’re not my sister.”

“I’ll kick their asses if I have to.” She brought her fist up, and it ignited in flames. “Stay behind me. I’ll take the ugly red one down, and then that stone bastard is next. Hear that, Red Ape! You’re last. Not because you’re strong, but because I know you won’t do anything.”

“Oh, screw you! Kill her, Mars!”

“I was planning on it.” Mars King licked his lips. “I’m pretty hungry, after all. Besides, your deal doesn’t matter. The hospital’s empty.”

Paragon frowned beneath the mask. Destiny wasn't nearby; the bird had been sent flying when the attack started. The bird flew through the hospital, and no matter how much he looked, not another soul was around. “He’s right. No one else is here but us.”

“A teleporter?” She winced. Usually, if a person could teleport, it fell into two groups. The first group was someone like Ears. He was a member of the Bad Timers, one who would teleport them to places. He needed conditions to be met to use his power and couldn’t teleport very far but could move a large group of people. The second group of teleporters was someone like Green Wolf. They were able to move themselves far away but couldn’t take a lot of people with them.

“What’s the plan?” Paragon murmured.

She took a deep breath, feeling the fire grow within her. “Stay close to me, Paragon. I’m going to get you out of here! I promise!”

Meanwhile, up on the roof of the hospital, Green Wolf rested on his back lazily, looking up at the sun. “This feels like it’s cheating.” The villain grumbled. “The game is so boring now.”

“You’re just mad that I thought of it first.” White Spider grinned and placed her hands on White Lamb’s shoulders. “Keep up the good work, kid. I don’t want anyone hearing a peep of what we’re doing; you got that! Make that hallway soundproof.”

“Yeah, yeah.” White Lamb sighed.

White Spider gave another grin as she pulled her mask down. “We’ll see how that Poseidon bitch reacts when I have her sister. That’ll teach her a lesson! God, I’m so smart!” It had been thanks to her that everything ran so smoothly. In her fight with Poseidon, she managed to slip a few of her spiders on some of the Sub Enforcer members. None of them even knew it, but those idiotic heroes had led them straight to the Bad Timers base, allowing Green Wolf to invade it.

Green Wolf huffed and jumped up. “Have fun with your victory lap. I’m going to go play with someone else.”

“And who might that be?” White Spider shot the man a look, but Green Wolf ignored her, making his way to the roof and peering down. “Hey! Answer me! You agreed I could be in charge.”

“And you’re doing a great job.” Green Wolf said in a mocking manner.

The woman gritted her teeth. “Careful. I’m the one who teleported everyone in the hospital out of the building. Mess with me, and I might bring them back and leave you here. I’m sure the Victorian would love to have a rematch with you.”

Green Wolf went to say something, then stopped. The leader of Zoo slowly brought a hand up, flipped her the bird, and then casually dropped from the hospital roof. He fell towards the ground and landed on the balls of his feet. “Yo. I was wondering when you’d get here.”

Standing in the parking lot, about to head to the hospital, Battery froze when he saw who had just appeared in front of him.

The rematch between Battery and Green Wolf was about to begin.