Hope pushed the door open quietly and stepped into her apartment. She had been expecting the lights to be off and for her mother to be asleep, but instead, she found the woman waiting for her.

"Hope!"

Despite having superhuman strength and speed, she was unable to react in time as her mother pulled her in for a bone-hurting hug. She gasped and patted the woman on the back, trying to break out of the grip. "Sorry, I was a bit late."

"A bit late?" Her mother pulled away, gripping her tightly by the shoulders. "What on Earth happened? I thought I could hear it on the news, but all of you guys vanished out of the city. No one knows what happened after you left the stadium. Also, why are you glowing?"

She pressed a button on her watch, and her costume flashed away, leaving her in just a T-shirt and pants. She brushed some of her blonde hair out of the way and shrugged. "I sort of can't turn it off for some reason."

"What!"

"Oh, but don't worry! Boy Genius said he'd give me something to cover it up before I have to go to school tomorrow!"

Her mother sighed and stepped away, folding her arms. "School has been canceled."

"It has?"

"With everything that's going on, they decided it would be best to close it down for the week. No one knows where the mayor is, and while damage was kept to a minimum, everyone can tell something happened." The woman looked her daughter in the eyes. "Hope. Please. Tell me what happened."

Hope felt her throat go dry. She shuffled forward quietly and moved past her mother, taking a seat on the couch. She looked down at her hands, watching as they shook a bit. It was hard to believe that everything had happened in a day. Less even. In the span of a single night, they had defeated most of Zoo and Bad Timers, found out who the leader of the Wandering Coin was, engaged in combat with Fairy Queen, Golden God, and a bunch of monsters, and discovered that the Emperor was alive. Worse yet, the Enforcers were in a panic, which in turn meant the lesser heroes were in a panic, which then caused the villains to go on a rampage.

It almost felt as if the world was at the point where it would begin to change...

She jumped a bit when her mother placed their hands over hers. "Hope?"

"I'm fine." She shook her head and gripped her mom's hand. "A lot happened, is all." Slowly, she told her mother everything. About what the Wasteland was like, the fight with Wish, and the return of the Emperor, and how her powers had stopped working right. "The Victorian managed to drive him off. The Enforcers were looking all over for him, but he could be anywhere on Earth. Hell, he might not even be on Earth anymore, and worse yet, he has Avalon with him, who is apparently a magical teleporting sword!" She felt her voice break for a moment, and she gritted her teeth. "It was supposed to be different. I was supposed to be stronger."

Her mom quietly took a seat on the couch next to her. Jane stared up at the ceiling as her daughter's words rang through her mind. "You're just like your father."

"Huh?"

"He would say the same thing every time he came home from his fishing trips. A little bit before you were born, he worked at the docks. Back then, they actually used them for stuff. He would go out to the sea sometimes for months on end, trying to get old wreckage or other such things: him and your Uncle Marcus. Marcus would always get more than him, though. Each time, your father would come back and vow he'd bring back more than Marcus next time and get a better paycheck. Marcus always seemed to be ahead of him, though." Her mother's smile faded for a moment, and the woman sighed. "Your father never gave up. He worked hard. So hard that even now, he's putting in an effort to stay alive. I think some of that strength went to you."

She felt her heart clench a bit, and she bowed her head. "Dad is really amazing," she said.

Her mom giggled and patted her on the head. "That's why I married him. I don't think you failed, Hope. I wasn't there, but from the sound of it, you guys did more good than bad. If the Emperor really is alive, then it's not your fault. You're not the one that made him come back. No one can blame you for losing to him either."

She nodded her head numbly. She felt a bit like a jerk at that moment. Her mother must have been scared. Terrified even. The thought of the Emperor even walking somewhere on this planet was enough to age a person with stress. Yet instead of letting her mother feel that fear, she was selfishly forcing the woman to put up a strong act and comfort her.

She slapped at her face and managed to put on a fake smile. "I shouldn't be moping around. I'll just get stronger, and next time, stop the Emperor. I won't do it alone. I have a lot of people that I think can help. This won't be like the incident fifteen years ago. The moment he tries anything, we'll stop him. We have the Victorian, and Battery, and other people also.”

"That's the spirit." Her mother wrapped her up in a hug, and she rested her head on the woman's shoulder. Slowly, her eyes began to drift shut as the exhaustion and all the battles that happened today began to catch up with her. "Rest well, Hope." Jane Lauren kissed her daughter gently on the forehead. She stayed with her daughter for the rest of the night, both of them falling asleep on the couch in each other's arms.

That night, Jane Lauren dreamt that things had returned. That for the first time in a long time everything had settled down, and she and her husband got to raise their daughter together. She slept well.

That night, Hope Lauren dreamt of something massive. A creature that defied all logic, which would soon arrive and turn the planet into a wasteland. She did not sleep well.

As the morning sun began to rise, Hope's eyes slowly opened, and she sat up on the couch with a soft groan. It had felt like only a second had passed, yet she had truly drifted off to sleep in her mother's arms now, though it was the next morning. Her ears perked up as she heard the sound of running water.

"Mom?"

"In here." Hope climbed off of the couch and rubbed more of the sleep away from her eyes as she followed the sound of her mom's voice. Jane was in the kitchen washing dishes. "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

"No." She shook her head as the sleep fully managed to fade from her face. "Here, let me help you."

"You don't have to."

"I want to." She stepped past her mother and began to help wash some of the dishes. Her hands moved over them numbly. She was still partially processing the fact that she was even here. With everything that had happened, she had half expected to not wake up. To be attacked by the Emperor in her sleep or something much worse. Yet that's not what happened. Instead, it was the next day, and she was still alive. "I guess the world's still spinning."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Her mother snorted.

"No reason." Hope let out a soft giggle and stared down at the dirty plates. "How long has it been since I've helped you clean up. I'm a bad daughter."

"Normally, you don't make a mess. I've just been kind of stressed and haven't cleaned up after myself as much." Jane admitted, a bit embarrassed. "I'm a bad mom."

"No, you're not." Hope snorted. "You're amazing."

"I know."

"Hey! Did you just do that so I'd give you a compliment."

"Maybe." Jane giggled and nudged her daughter in the side.

Hope was about to say a witty remark and make her come back, but she was interrupted by a quiet beeping sound. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, staring down at it. It had been destroyed sometime during her fighting, yet here it was. It wasn't just the phone either. Her entire costume had been healed, as had her shield and helmet. Was it actually her phone or something else... She shook off that thought and read the text that had been sent to her. That only managed to cause her frown to grow.

"What is it?" Jane questioned.

"Myth." Hope sighed and pocketed it. "I have to go."

"But you just got back from a crazy battle! You've only had one day off!" Jane argued.

"I know, but hero work isn't going to do itself." Hope grinned and turned away. "I'll be back. I promise."

Jane nearly reached out, but she didn't. She wanted to. She wished she did. She really wished she got the courage to hold onto her daughter and ask her to not go, but in the end she just stood there like she always did and watched as Hope headed for the door. "Good luck. Stay safe."

"I always do."

"You don't. That's the issue." Jane felt her shoulders slump down as the door closed behind Hope. She really wished she had just asked Hope to stay put.

This was something Jane Lauren would come to deeply regret in the next few days...

She should have just asked Hope to give up on being a hero...

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

***

It didn't take Hope long to arrive at Pantheon's base, but she didn't even have time to properly enter the building before Myth, Snowdawn, Whisper, and Battery came crashing out the front door.

Myth was already in his lion form and ran on all fours with Whisper on his back. Battery's body was ignited in golden energy, and he awkwardly held Snowdawn. Finally, that left her to scramble and try to catch up with them. She blasted a wave of fire out of her hands and feet and used it to super boost herself forward allowing her to sort of fly alongside them, though it was kind of awkward and hard to control. Not like really flying.

"What's going on?" She called out.

"Fire." Whisper hollared. "One that was started on Flea Street! It's pretty big. Some sort of gas leak or something caused it and it's rapidly spreading. The fire fighters are trying to keep it contained, but they're struggling."

"So we're going to help out?"

"The best we can." Myth nodded as he ran alongside her. "Heroes do more than just fight bad guys, after all. Something like this is second nature for us. We save people."

"Also, no fire is going to be a match for you, Cinder!" Snowdawn praised, giving a thumbs up as he held tightly onto Battery's back.

Cinder gave a slight grin before her smile faded, and she glanced back at Battery. "Mr. Larison, is it safe for you to be running around like this?" The conversation she had overheard suddenly came back to her. How much longer did he have? Was it a good idea for him to be using his powers like this? Would he be safe? She had promised him she would always keep him safe in the field. He might have been the closest thing she had to a mentor, but she was his equal in a way. It was her duty to keep him safe, just as it was his duty to teach her.

Battery just grunted and didn't meet her eyes. "I'll be fine. Let's just focus on this issue, okay, kid?"

"Okay..."

It didn't take them very long to reach the area where the fire was. Flea Street was very large and had many towers. Smoke and ash filled the air, and dozens of cars lined the street, most of them burned and blackened by the flames that swam around. Shockingly, this fire hadn't been caused by a villain or any supernatural element. It had just been a freak accident.

They were still going to save the day, though.

As soon as they arrived on the scene, Whisper began to bark out orders. The Paths twisted in front of the young woman, and she traced them, figuring out the best course of action.

"Snowdawn, Battery, use your constructs and create support for those buildings." Whisper yelled out pointing at several different buildings. "Myth, there are people in there, there, and there, go get them! Lastly that leaves you Cinder! Do your thing!"

They all got to work instantly. Battery and Snowdawn began to create support for the flaming buildings making sure they wouldn't suddenly fall over. Snowdawn formed massive ice pillars that jabbed into the ground, and the stone of the buildings held them up, while Battery formed massive golden chains and hands that held everything up. Some of the hands even caught falling debris shielding the people down below who had yet to escape.

Dozens of fire trucks and workers were in the street, doing their best to put out the flames and escort the people out, but they weren't having much luck. Myth transformed into some massive bird-like monster, and he let out a loud cry as he charged forward. He rammed his massive body into one of the buildings that Whisper had pointed out. Dozens of people were trapped inside and screamed when they saw him, but he silenced them by using his beak to grab several of them. Once he was done with that he twisted his body and flew out of the danger zone, and spat the people out on the ground. He did it several more times, going back and forth and grabbing the people.

Finally, that left Cinder. She took a calming breath and stepped forward. The training she had gone through with Wyvern came to her mind, and with a grin, she raised a finger up. Instantly, all the fire in the area began to twist and change as her power to control it. She didn't just create fire but control it as well. She was the Lord of the Sun after all. The fire formed together, all of it seemingly coming to life and moving to a center point at the tip of her finger, which she raised up to the sky. It had only taken her a single second to compress every bit of flame down to a ball, and put out all the fire that was in the street.

All the civilians and firefighters stared at her in awe. "Cinder, to the rescue!" She announced. And then she fired the attack high into the air.

The ball of fire blasted up, going higher and higher until it reached past the clouds and then exploded! As the fire detonated it took on the shape of a gigantic backpack, which had arms and legs. It towered above Oleander, taking up the entire skyline and flexed, before fully dissolving away and vanishing.

Cheering broke out.

It didn't take them much longer to get the rest of the trapped people out of the buildings. Now that the fire was gone it was way easier moving in and out. Thanks to Whisper they knew where everyone was and freed them all. Once they were done, Cinder found herself down on the street, standing next to Battery, as she stared at the crowd of people she had helped save. She gave a smile.

"What's with that goofy look?" Battery asked, letting out a soft snort.

"Nothing." Cinder shook her head and giggled. "It's just, I'm kind of glad. It's nice seeing so many people that I got to help."

Battery patted her on the shoulder. "Yeah. You really did it, didn't you? You really became a hero."

"I did. I bet the next time we go to one of those charity events, I'll have a lot of fans. Maybe even as many as you."

Battery snorted. "Yeah."

The people in the crowd surged forward and each of them were forced to shake several people's hands and be asked a series of questions. Snowdawn found himself being swarmed by kids who all begged for ice cream. The ice-based hero just laughed and made them all snowcones. Myth was approached by several sponsor agents who were likely wanting to strike a deal. Whisper had gone invisible and ditched them, so she didn't have anyone. Battery also tried to get away but found himself surrounded by a lot of older single mothers. For some reason, milfs seemed to like him.

Lastly, that left her. She was a little shocked that she got the most people. Everyone had seen her little stunt, and several of them had recognized her from other places.

"You were there at the hospital, right? You fought that Intake villain!"

"I remember you! I was at a bank, and you jumped in front of me to block a bunch of bullets!"

"I was at the concert, and you totally saved my life! It was so cool watching you fight that Red Ape guy! I loved how you kicked his ass!"

"How long have you been a hero for?"

"Near the start of the year, there was a mysterious girl who battled Intake in the street! Was that you?"

"You have fire powers? Are you the Lord of the Sun and Cosmos?"

"Are you related to the Victorian?"

"Are you and the hero Poseidon in a relationship?"

Cinder sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck and tried her best to ignore all the questions. "Me and my team are known as Pantheon! And you can trust me when I say that we're going to save Oleander City!" She announced and allowed her fire to flare up around her. "I swear it!" She did a pose for the camera.

She wanted to stick around for a little longer and get to see all her fans, but sadly, it was time to leave. Myth turned away from them and pointed up to the sky. Dozens of the Hero Branch drones were coming down to record them and get more answers out of them. That meant it was time to run. They had ruined Whisper's van, so they no longer had a proper ride; so instead, they all jumped onto Myth's back as he transformed into a massive wooden horse the size of a bus and galloped away.

They eventually ditched the drones and arrived back at the base. They all entered it and made their back up top where they collapsed onto their chairs and couches.

"Well, that was eventful." Myth snorted. "I guess, looking back on it, we really have done a lot, haven't we."

"Tell me about it." Snowdawn grinned. "Hard to believe it's only been a year. We've battled Polaron, Green Wolf, Wish, Cybercroc, and all their grunts, all within that time. Not to mention all the patrols and other junk we've done. It's been one hell of a year."

"That it has." Whisper chuckled. "What are you looking at, Hope?"

"I was checking Hero Hub," Hope said sheepishly as she turned her phone over for them all to see.

She had looked them all up, and there were a lot more pages than the last time she checked. Myth had always had a ton of pages, but he had even more now, with dozens of new pictures and sketches of all his different forms, as well as a few blurry videos of him out in the field. Whisper even had a page, though hers was fairly blank with no pictures and just a rough drawing of the girl's costume and a mention of her being in Pantheon. Snowdawn's page was rather large as well, about as big as Myth's had first been. Battery also had a large fan following now.

Her own page had grown to be quite large, with a different picture of every single one of her costumes, including the one her and Mr. Larison had first started with, and the very first outfit she had worn when she first got her powers and got into a battle with Intake. It was hard to believe so much time had passed.

'Cinder, the flame-based hero of Oleander.'

'Is Cinder the Lord of the Sun and Cosmos?'

'I just bought this Cinder toy. It's so cute that it comes with a Paragon one!'

'She's gone through a lot of costumes, hasn't she?'

'Cinder is a total tomboy, right? Not very ladylike, but still cool.'

'Are her and Poseidon an item?'

'If I was gay, I'd totally date her.'

'So is she the Lord of the Sun and Cosmos, or is it that Phoenix guy in Mister Man's city?'

'She's strong.'

'Is that Battery guy her dad? They're always hanging around each other, and he seems oddly protective of her.'

'God, Battery is so hot.'

And from there the threads just devolved to people simping over Battery.

It was hard to believe. Strange to even imagine. When she first started out she didn't think she'd ever get this far. She never really wanted to be a popular hero or anything like that. Being the number one hero didn't matter. She still just wanted to be a hero that would be able to stand by the Victorian's side. A hero who other people could look up to and could save her city.

For her, that would be enough.

"So what happens now?" She finally asked as she set her phone away.

Myth rubbed his chin and let out a soft hum. "Well, to be honest, crime is something I don't think we have to worry about right now. All three of Oleander's biggest gangs are gone. There's a good chance another villain group will eventually notice and try to take over, but even when that does happen we have the Sub Enforcers and the Watch Dogs to back us up. I'm actually pretty confident, for the first time in a long time, that we can actually help Oleander get to a more peaceful state. So until something does happen, I guess our jobs are going to be pretty boring. We'll mainly just be patrolling the city."

"I more meant, what do we do right now." She giggled. "We stopped the fire? I guess nothing else is happening in Oleander at the moment, so how do we spend this time? Do you want us to go on a patrol or do some training?"

Before Myth could answer, Whisper jumped up. "Movie night!" The girl declared. Whisper turned on Myth and pointed at him. "That's what we're doing."

Myth just chuckled and raised his hands. "It's early in the morning you know-"

"Doesn't matter! We're doing a movie night!" Whisper declared and turned her costume off, reverting back to Lois. "We're going to spend all day watching movies!"

"I'm down." Snowdawn rubbed his shoulder and winced. "Truth be told my body is hella sore after all the constant fighting. Sleep did nothing to help put my body at ease."

Myth nodded his head. "Then it's decided. We're all going to watch as many movies as we can!"

Everyone cheered. Everyone but Battery. Battery calmly pushed the button on his watch and reverted back into his civilian clothes. Jack stood up and shook his head. "Sorry. I have places to be. I helped out with the fire, but I'm not going to sit down and watch some movies. Maybe another time."

"Aw! Don't be like that!" Armin clapped Jack on the back. "Come on! It'll be fun."

Jack shook his head and made for the door. "Just carry on without me-"

"H- How about we play a game of catch!"

Jack had just reached the door but stopped when he heard the offer. He turned around and found Hope standing in front of him, the girl having gotten out of her chair and trying to follow him. Jack stared at her quietly for a moment before he gave a small grin and placed a hand on her head. "Next time."

"Next time?"

"Next time."

There wouldn't be a next time.

Hope sat on the couch and stared at the TV in silence as a movie about the Victorian's origins played.

Meanwhile, outside Jack Larison collapsed in an alleyway and was unable to stop himself from vomiting up a wave of blood. He covered his mouth with his hand and took several gasping breaths as he stared down at the red puddle that he had created.

"Almost." He closed his eyes. "My story is finally almost over."