She dreamed of the Beast.

The raging monster roared and tore Oleander apart, and the only thing left to stop it was her. The hero, Cinder, stood all by herself as she got ready to face down the massive monster.

She failed.

Of course, she did.

The Beast was a force of nature. A creature that, if not dealt with, would one day bring about an end to planet Earth.

And then she woke up.

Hope's eyes opened slowly, and she groaned slightly as the nightmare she had been forced into faded away. It took her a few seconds to figure out what she was seeing. The roof of a tent was above her, and arms were wrapped tightly around her. On either side of her, her mother and father slept. It was a little embarrassing snuggling with them since she hadn't done something like that since she had been a kid, but she didn't mind. It had been so long since she had actually gotten to stay in her father's arms.

Despite that, though, she was up while her mom and dad were still asleep. She gently got out of their arms and stood up, stretching. She had been given some basic clothes to wear, mostly a sweater for the cold and some long pants, and she hadn't bothered to change when she fell asleep, and she didn't see a reason to change now.

As quietly as she could, she climbed out of the tent and felt her breath hitch a bit. Even after seeing it and being told by Sky herself, it was amazing to see the community that had been. Dozens of people were roaming around the station, some getting clothes ready and others laying out food for the rest of the day. Everyone had something to do, and everyone was hard at work.

As she was looking around at all the different people who had been taken in, one of the workers caught her eye. Instantly, their eyes went wide as they saw her, and they let out a squeak, which caused several other people to turn and look at her. Before she even had a chance to move, dozens of different people had all formed a small crowd around her. All the people were staring at her and began to rattle off dozens of questions, which she had a hard time understanding.

"I overheard what the others said; you're Cinder, right?"

"You beat the Beast! If not for you, Oleander would be gone!"

"Several months ago, I was at a mall which was attacked by a massive stone monster, and you saved the day then!"

"I was in the crowd watching you and Poseidon give it your all when you fought the Beast!"

"Do you remember Flea Street? It caught on fire, but you and your team totally came in and saved the day!"

"Are all the stories about you true? Is your name really Hope Lauren? You've been all over the news lately, why did you decide to come back to Oleander now?"

As the questions were fired off by the people, her head spun a bit as she tried to figure out what to say or which ones to answer. It was kind of annoying that they recognized her even without her costume. All because of that fake Cinder. She'd seriously have to deal with that shapeshifter monster at some point and put a stop to it.

Before she could give an answer to her fans, a hand came through the crowd and wrapped tightly around her wrist. She was dragged forward through the crowd and nearly tripped over her feet but managed to keep pace. She gave a small grin and nodded her head. "Thanks for the save."

"It's what I do." Sky dragged her forward as they left the crowd behind. "Get back to work, people!" Sky didn't need to tell anyone twice, and they all scrambled to obey, getting the hint.

"They all just listen to you?"

"Perks of being in charge."

Hope giggled a bit and nodded her head. "It must be nice."

Sky nodded back. "At times." Sky glanced back at her, and the girl's smile faded. "Are you leaving today?"

Hope winced a little and looked back at the tent her parents were in. "No. Not today. I want to spend some time recovering. I'd also like to spend time with them. I don't know when I'll get to see them again." She'd also like to spend more time with Sky for the same reason, though she didn't say that part out loud.

Sky nodded and made her way over to the stairs that led outside, still dragging Hope behind her. "In that case why don't you come with me for the day."

"Sure? What are we going to do?"

"Nothing much. Just a small patrol." Sky explained. "Sort of like the things we used to do when we were still working for the Hero Branch. I like to walk around and check out places in Oleander. See if I can get any supplies or things like that."

Hope rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "I don't know if my parents would be happy with me leaving on a patrol with you. They seem really against me doing any big Super work."

"That's why we're gonna go out while they're still asleep." Sky snorted. "Besides, we won't be getting into any fights. We'll stick to only a few places. We should be back before too long."

Hope nodded and grinned. "In that case, lead the way, Paragon!"

She had seen a bit of Oleander when she had been flown over it and ran through it to get to the junkyard. She hadn't been expecting how bad it truly looked, though, until they were actually walking down the streets of the city. Nearly every single building was collapsed, and only a couple were left even semi-standing. The street was badly cracked and split open, leading down to the sewers or subway stations that ran beneath the city. As they walked she caught of glimpse of a person every now and then. People who were stalking through ruined alleyways or hiding within torn down towers peeking out at them.

Most of the people that were left in Oleander had three places they could go. The safest option was to stick near the bridge where Battery's Giants were. The second best option was to join Sky's small community and stay underground. Finally, though, that left the third group of people. Those who didn't have homes before the Beast attack or were criminals. Those were the people who stayed alone and didn't join either group, instead going through the city as they pleased, taking what they wanted when they wanted.

It really hurt her to see her city in a state like this. It had never been in the best condition, but this was painful to see. Some of the streets were flooded with water that went all the way up to her ankles, and others were still on fire, no one there to deal with them. How many lives had been lost or ruined? All because of the Beast. It truly pissed her off. Almost as much as Lucifer.

Eventually, though, they arrived at their first destination. Sky came to a stop and held an arm out. They were about a block away from the bridge that normally led out of Oleander. It was still destroyed, being repaired painfully slowly, and nearly every person in Oleander was here. If she thought Sky's group was large, then this one was gigantic. The crowd was massive with easily a few thousand people. Among them she spotted a few dozen Hero Branch officers and even Alice Ward, who was giving some speech to the crowd. Also around the bridge were Battery's Giants, the constructs still doing their best to clean up, though it was now obvious they lacked any proper supplies, and without an actual Cleanup Squad, Oleander wouldn't get any better.

"These people are the ones I mostly leave alone," Sky explained casually. "Because they're so close to the Giants they're safe from crime, and supply drops usually get picked up by them. They have more supplies than us, in fact. "

"Why don't you try and combine your group with theirs?" Hope asked curiously. "I mean, you plus the Giants would be a good combo."

Sky shrugged. "That'd require me trusting Battery."

"Oh... Sorry."

"No. It's fine." Sky shook her head. "I don't expect you to suddenly hate him just because I do."

"You hate him?"

"Well, I don't like him." Sky sighed. "Hate might be a strong word, though. It would be smart for all the groups to come together. It'd let us all survive together and be safe, but right now, my people are doing just fine, so there's no real need for me to get involved in his group. Those Giants are all controlled by Purrfect, and it's kind of annoying to deal with her at times."

Sky eventually shook her head and snapped out of whatever she was feeling and turned to head to the next destination. Hope followed, walking close to the other girl. Their next destination wasn't too far away, and it took them only a few minutes to walk the distance. It was a large tower that had been sliced cleanly in half. Somehow though it still had power. It took her a few seconds to figure out what she was looking at.

"Is this..."

"Yeah." Sky nodded her head. "This is the Hero Branch tower. It's also where the Sub Enforcers base is. Enter the elevator and give them your hero name, and it'll scan you. If you ever want to speak with Myth or need his help for something you can enter here."

Hope nodded and gave a faint smile. "That's nice."

"Do you want to go in and talk to him?"

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That caused her smile to fade. She still remembered the way Myth had looked at her when she turned down the offer to join his team. "No." She said finally. She really liked Myth. He would always be someone she was close with. She just couldn't bring herself to work for the Hero Branch, though. Not right now. Not with the way they ran things and the state they were leaving her city in. She didn't want to confront her old friend just yet. When this was all said and done though, she'd love to join his team again.

Sky shrugged at her blunt answer. "Well if you're sure."

"I am." Hope nodded her head and looked around at the ruined streets. "Can I take us to the next spot?"

"Sure? Where do you want to go?"

"I'll show you." Hope grinned and took Sky's hand, leading the girl to their next destination. Like before, they passed by rows of destroyed buildings, and they had to go slower than normal since massive sections of the ground were uneven and threatened to collapse. Eventually, though, they arrived at the place she had wanted to check out. "Aw, I'm a little sad it's in such bad condition." She admitted.

In front of her was Oleander Bay. Her High School. It had been a massive building that had nearly every teen in Oleander attending it. Now, though, it was left in quite a bad condition. At one point, it looked as if it had been set on fire because the stone had turned into a nasty black color. Every window was cracked, and part of the roof had caved in. Mold and other such things climbed up the side of the building, and what had once looked like a bright place that would raise the next generation of Oleander's students had become a beacon of depression.

That didn't stop her from entering.

Slowly, she walked up the steps to her old school. Sky followed silently behind her, and the two of them entered. Like the outside the halls were mostly destroyed, some being caved in, and other having been shattered and cracked. Nearly anything of value that had been in the school had been either destroyed or ripped out, including all the lockers and most of the desks. Several of the doors to the classrooms were gone, having been kicked down or crushed.

She passed by the school lunchroom and had to fight off the urge to gag when she smelled rotting food. Soon, though, they arrived at a particular classroom.

"This was the history room." Hope explained. By some miracle, it still had a door, and when she pushed it open, she found that the classroom had been left mostly alone. Dozens of the desks had been knocked over, and a few were missing, but there were still a couple of seats that were left lying around. She made her way over to the back where she normally sat, and she smiled slightly when she saw her old desk. She took a seat at it and looked back at the board. "This was my favorite class, and it was taught by my favorite teacher."

"Oh yeah?" Sky took a seat at a desk next to her and also looked at the board. It was blank and had nothing on it.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Mr. Pluto was a fun teacher." She prayed he and his daughter Paige had gotten out of the city in time. They weren't part of Sky's faction, and she didn't see them near the bridge...

"That's cool." Sky hummed and looked down at the desk she was at. "I mentioned it before, but I never went to an actual school. All my stuff was online. I graduated a while ago."

"I still need to graduate." Hope giggled.

"Well, maybe I can help you with any homework," Sky said with a slight grin. "Maybe... Health class?"

"Nah, I didn't take health class."

Sky blinked and then sighed. "How are you that dense."

"What?"

"Nothing."

They stayed in that classroom for longer than they probably should have. It was fun to pretend the world was still normal. Eventually, though, it was time to leave. "That was interesting." Sky hummed as they walked out of the destroyed school.

"I feel a little sad seeing a place I used to spend most of my time be torn down like that." Hope admitted somberly. Her eyes roamed over her city, and she felt her heart twitch. "I just feel sad for what's happened to Oleander. My city. I really failed to save it didn't I."

Sky shook her head and placed a hand on Hope's shoulder. "If you failed, then every single hero did as well. You can't win against the Beast. It always takes a city. Because of you, though, Oleander is still mostly standing. If you hadn't been there then this all would have been wiped out when it exploded."

Hope gave a faint nod. "Yeah, thanks for cheering me up. I have another place I'd like to check out if you don't mind."

"Of course." Sky smiled. "We can spend as long as you want."

She took Sky's hands in her once more and headed through a series of alleyways that hadn't been collapsed. The place they were going had been pretty trashy looking even before the Beast fight. Spider Street was not a good location, and now that the city was in this state it had gotten even worse. All the storage lockers and warehouses had been gutted and torn apart, and there was no longer any signs of homeless people. It was hard to believe that this had been a place where Max Lightning had hung out at.

Thinking of Max Lightning just made her sad. Especially since she know knew a part of his story and the thing that led him to the end of his story. He had lived a sad life.

Soon enough, they arrived at the place she wanted to check out. Her old base. Pantheon's hideout. The spot Myth had first taken her and Mr. Larison to. It was gone. The entire building had collapsed and burned to the ground leaving on a massive pile of rubble in its wake. It had been hit by a stray attack from the Beast itself during the battle the monster had with Mr. Larison, and the poor building had stood no chance. It wasn't like the school where she could enter and look around. It was gone.

It stung a bit, and she felt tears in her eyes as she stared at the spot it had once stood. Memories of her time in Pantheon kept flashing through her head. Battery, Myth, Whisper, and Snowdawn. Her friends. Her team. Pantheon was gone now, though. It had been stolen away from her, just like how the Beast had stolen so many lives.

Seeing it in person, the absence of the building that had always stood there for her be gone, helped put her mind at ease. Things had truly changed. The world, her city, her friends, and even herself. The Beast had caused a shift.

"Are you okay?" Sky whispered and reached out to rub Hope's back.

Hope wiped at some of the tears and forced a smile on her face. "Yeah. I had a feeling it wouldn't be standing still. I just wanted to come look. Sorry."

They stood out there for several moments just staring at the wreckage. It was kind of nice spending so much time with Sky not having to worry about anything. Sky reached out and held her hand and turned and this time, Sky was the one dragging her to the next destination. "This place is too depressing," Sky stated. "I'm taking us to a place where we can be happy." The hero stated as they began to head out of Spider Street.

"Where are we going?" Hope asked, letting out a laugh as the Lord of Life dragged her.

"To the place I spent most of my time," Sky announced.

It was a hospital. Of course, it was. Before all of this that's what Paragon's job had been. Constantly going in and out of them healing every person she could that needed it. Hope glanced toward the hospital when they arrived at it, and she felt her stomach flop a bit. It was the same hospital that her dad had spent what they all assumed would be his final years in. It was also the place she had been when she first heard the sirens that announced the Beast's arrival. The sheer fear and dread that had been caused that day still hadn't truly left her, and she doubted it ever would.

The hospital was like any other building in Oleander. A large section of it had been sliced off when the Beast fired its laser. Parts of it had been burnt away and some had been flooded. Water filled some of the halls, and it was partially collapsed going into the ground. Sky looked at it her eyes roaming over it. Eventually, the girl entered it, and Hope followed.

They roamed the destroyed hallways very carefully, hoping the building wouldn't give out on them and suddenly collapse. It, thankfully, somehow stayed together until they arrived at a room. Sky looked at the destroyed hospital room and placed her hand on the side of the wall.

"This is where we first met."

Hope raised an eyebrow. It wasn't her father's room that they stood outside of. That had been when she first got to see Paragon. Back then, the girl had told her she failed to save her father, and she had felt such anger and wrath. "This isn't where we first met? It was outside of my dad's room, remember?"

Sky shook her head and turned to look back at Hope giving a faint smile. "No. That was the second time we met."

"I don't think that's right?"

Sky giggled and turned to look back at her. "It was a while ago now. Intake had been causing trouble and went on a rampage. Several people had been injured. Among them was a young girl who was clearly a Super. She had foolishly decided to fight Intake and try to take him on in a one-on-one. She was unconscious when I got to her, and I healed her easily enough." Sky stepped forward and placed a hand on Hope's cheek, smiling. "Little did I know I'd see her again when I was tasked with healing her father. At our second-ever meeting, she yelled at me and called me all sorts of names."

Hope blushed and looked away. "Well, to be fair, you called 'that girl' a bunch of names as well." She had forgotten the fact that Paragon had healed her back then after she got her ass kicked by Intake. Her first meeting with Paragon had been her unconscious.

Sky chuckled slightly. "Yeah. We really didn't like each other back then."

"What changed?"

"You saved me." Sky shrugged and kept her hand on Hope's face. "Over and over and over, again and again and again, from boredom or from villains, you always seemed to be there. And then we kept running into each other even outside of costumes. They say Supers attract and are always destined to meet." Sky's smile faded slightly. "Do you really have to go?"

Hope winced slightly and reached up, placing her hand over Sky's. "Yeah... I have to do something. I can't just stay put."

"I know." Sky let out a sigh. "You're not the type who would just stay put and let the world carry on the way it is." Sky looked back at her and grinned. "You're here now, though."

"Yeah? I guess I am-" Hope felt herself be cut off when Sky's lips pressed to hers. It was quick, and she barely processed it, and then it was over. Sky pulled away and let go of her hand heading out the hallway they were. Her entire face was red and she wondered if she got her fire powers back from how hot she suddenly felt. She struggled to clear her thoughts and tripped over her own feet chasing after Sky. "W- What was that for!"

Sky shrugged casually, seemingly unphased by the kiss. "You kissed me. So I thought I'd kiss you."

Hope felt her face somehow heat up even more as she tripped and fell forward. She had almost forgotten about the fact she had kissed Sky out of the blue during the Beast fight. She had done it suddenly and without warning, since she had thought she was going to die at the time. "W- Well, w- what does this mean!" She scrambled back to her feet and managed to somehow keep up with Sky. "What are we?"

"I dunno."

"Y- You dunno?"

"I just wanted to kiss you, so I did." Sky sighed and shrugged as they exited the hospital. "It'll be a bit hard to date or anything like that since the city has gone to hell, and we're both distracted, so let's not put any label or thought into it right now."

"Right now?" Hope felt herself feel a bit of joy. "So after I'm done with my stuff and I'm back in Oleander, and we fixed up the city, could we maybe..."

Sky looked back at her and flicked her on the head. "Once this is all over with, once things have settled back to normal, I'd like to spend more time with you. Not as Paragon or Cinder but as Sky and Hope."

Hope smiled and nodded. "Okay. I'd like that to." Then she had a thought. "C- Can we kiss again?" Sky looked at her and shrugged. The white-haired girl leaned forward and then kissed her on the cheek. "Um, Sky that's not what I meant."

"I know." Sky giggled and turned away. "I'm still mad that you're leaving."

"What!"

"When you're back, you may have another one."

"Sky!"

Sky just laughed and walked off. With a small sigh, Hope grinned and followed after her... Friend? Girlfriend? Lover? Well, that didn't really have a label. Sky. She followed after her Sky.

They barely entered the subway station before Hope felt herself suddenly be pulled into a tight hug as both her mom and dad grabbed onto her.

"Hope!" Her mother cried out.

"Where were you?" Her father demanded.

Hope awkwardly tried to shift herself in their arms as she looked at them. "I- I just went out for a bit with Sky? We were patrolling-"

"Don't ever do that again," Jane stated.

"Huh?"

"You're not allowed on patrols anymore." Alexander nodded. Her father looked down at her sternly. "It's too dangerous. You could get hurt or distract Paragon. You shouldn't have gone out at all and you should have told us if you did want to leave. You're not allowed to do that anymore."

"But-"

"No buts." Jane shook her head. "From now on, you're not a Super. You're just our daughter. You're just Hope Lauren."