Previously on:
The trio of vampiresses continues chanting, and a BankPortable ID lanyard can be seen atop a cabinet in the background. Damian and his friends enter a McDonald’s drive-thru line when they are assaulted by another car, whose passengers throw coins and a brick at them. “So what exactly are we doing here?” Sol says. “I know that the Dean is here this time,” Kayla says. “Trust me.” “I have a question.” “Shoot.” “If the Scythes have been around for so long, why didn’t you try to take them down before?” Sol asks. “We did,” Phoebe says. “We recruited someone about twenty years ago. A freshman, full of life, like you. Kayla fell for her. The mission went sideways. She didn’t come back. But you will,” she adds hastily. “Yeah,” Kayla says. “You’re our secret weapon. The way you took down that frat bro was so inspiring. Lucy’s got nothing on you.” “What are you girls doing her—” This query is interrupted when its source turns into a tree. Sol and Phoebe turn to see Kayla’s hands outstretched in a defensive position. “Is there something you want to tell me, Reiswig?” Phoebe says. “Fine,” Kayla says. “I told you I was Turned, but I didn’t mention that I wasn’t completely human before that.” Phoebe raises an eyebrow. “My dad was human, but my mom was a witch.” Sol is shocked. “You’re a Heretic?” “I’m a what now?” “Sorry. Let me try that again. You’re a Heretic? That’s amazing!” “I’m still not sure what’s happening here,” Phoebe says. “In the Vampire Diaries universe, a vampire/witch hybrid is called a Heretic,” Sol explains. “They’re extremely rare.” “Well, there’s a good number of us in real life,” Kayla reveals, “and we don’t call ourselves Heretics.” “Mat is gonna flip when I tell her about this. I can’t believe I know a real-life Lizzie Saltzman. She’s a Heretic like you, only blonde. And she’s a d*ck a lot of the time. So maybe not like you, actually. But that’s not the point. The point is that you’re a secret weapon, too. You’ve been able to do that this whole time?” “Yep. It only happens when I’m nervous. And it’s always trees. I don’t know why. And it doesn’t work on vampires.” “Okay, now that we’ve got all that out of the way,” Phoebe says, “let’s go find ourselves a Dean.” They get up to his front desk and find his secretary dead with bite marks on her neck. “Looks like they beat us again.” Sol opens the door to find the Dean in a similar fashion. “I don’t usually fight other speedsters. I’m getting really tired of coming in second.” “We’ll get them,” Phoebe says. “Yeah. We have the power of the forests on our side. According to Disney movie logic, I’m pretty sure that means we’re unstoppable.” “I don’t know why they have these events in December,” Ginny says at one of SPSU’s monthly outdoor game nights. “It’s frickin’ cold.” “Meanwhile, Damian is wearing shorts,” Dilbert says. “Damian is a badass,” Sol says. “He’s a legend,” Orland agrees. Damian, who doesn’t have enough jeans, just smiles. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Dilbert,” Orland says, “but I’m surprised you actually showed up. This kind of thing isn’t your scene.” “It’s college. I figured I’d branch out,” he says. “Plus, I was just gonna be on my phone anyway.” “I’m not sure why I came,” Damian says. “Circular currency and I are not exactly on the best of terms right now.” “Oh, that’s right,” Ginny says, “I heard about your brick incident. Are you okay?” “We’re all fine, but it could have been a lot worse.” “Who was it?” Sol asks. “I can drain them a little bit. Not too much, just enough to make them blue in the face.” “That’s not necessary, but thank you. I don’t actually know who it was. I was able to get a partial plate. Orland’s running a search for it now.” “Speaking of blue in the face.” Orland indicates a blonde girl with blue Icee-stained teeth. She is wearing a S.T.A.R. Labs hoodie. “You should talk to her, Bert.” “You know I hate it when you call me that,” Dilbert says. “And I’m fine here, thank you.” “He just wants to be with his friends,” Ginny says. “You can’t hang out with us the whole time,” Sol says. “That’s lame. Seriously, go.” “Bluetooth,” Orland starts chanting. Damian and Sol join in. “Oh, shoot me now,” Dilbert mutters. “I’m going.” Dilbert walks up to Bluetooth. “Hey.” He takes out his phone. “Let me connect to you.” She is confused. He points to her mouth. “Because of the blue— never mind. That was terrible. Let me try that again. Nice jacket. I’m Dilbert.” Bluetooth laughs. It’s a pretty laugh. “Dani. Where are you from, Dilbert? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.” “I’m from Ocean City.” “I’m Overton, born and raised.” She looks down at his pants. “Did you fly down here?” she asks. Dilbert doesn’t catch her meaning. “No, I took the train. Unfortunately, I can’t just zip over here like the Flash.” “Really? I thought everyone in Ocean City had powers.” “That’s a common misconception, actually. Only 20% of the city’s population have powers. But it was fascinating. I’d never taken intercity rail before. It’s great for people-watching. Which is, ironically, what I came here to do as well.” Dani laughs again. Dilbert wouldn’t mind hearing that laugh more often. “Well, if you’re in the mood to do more people-watching, I’m going to a party on Friday at Pine Hall. You should come.” “When does it start?” “10.” “It starts at 10?” “Is that a problem?” “Nope. No problem here.” “Good, so I’ll see you there?” “You bet.” “Awesome.” Her phone buzzes. “I gotta take this. Nice meeting you, Dilbert.” “Nice meeting you, too.” Dilbert returns. “How did it go?” Sol asks. “Not bad,” Dilbert replies. “She invited me to a party.” “Dang, bro,” Orland says. “Can I come?” “Don’t think it works that way.” Orland frowns. “But, the thing is, it starts at 10.” “It starts at 10?” “That’s what I said. But it’s fine. I’ll just set aside the following night for recuperation.” “Okay, Mr. 35-Year-Old Man. Knowing you, you probably didn’t have plans that day anyway.” “True. It’s strange.” “What?” “You don’t usually go for blondes.” “I told you, I’m branching out. There was one thing she said that I didn’t understand, though. ‘Did you fly down here?’” Orland looks down. “Your fly’s down, genius.” Sasha and Quiana are in line at a movie theater. “I’m so glad you wanted to see StarStream 4 with me,” the latter says. “Of course,” Sasha says. “I want you to be able to share that part of your life with me. Plus, I can make fun of the way Tom Cruise runs.” “He’s always so determined. No one actually runs like tha—” She is cut off when bullets come at them, forcing them to hide behind a nearby plant. “Seriously? That’s the second time this week.” “Second?!” “Aliens.” Sasha nods. “Well, the good news is we know they’re targeting us.” “How is that good news?” “Because we can draw them away from these people, and then I can tranq them.” “Copy that.” Sasha puts up her hands. “What do you want with us?” “I think you misunderstand,” comes the response. “It’s you we want, Ms. Alejo.” She starts to walk over to an abandoned lot on the other side of the theater. “Give me that gun, and we could talk.” “I don’t think so. You killed my brother.” “I think you have me confused with someone—” “Seth,” he says, and Sasha freezes. “So you do remember. Good. I want you to think about that as you die.” “I didn’t kill him. Seth made his choice—” “Lies!” Sasha flinches as he fires a shot just to the left of her head. “He wouldn’t have made that choice if it wasn’t for you.” He goes to fire again, but Quiana sticks a tranq syringe in his neck, and he goes down. “That was close,” Quiana says. “Too close,” Sasha agrees. Quiana notices a sign on the lot reading Sold! and, below that, Pyrex Corporation. “That’s weird.” “What’s weird?” “Pyrex is a tech company, and this is a residential zone. What would they want with this lot?” Sol goes to make a withdrawal at an ATM on campus, and is surprised to see that her small bank has been bought out by BankPortable. “That’s weird, huh?” Sol says as she sits down with the group at SPSU’s Snow Leopard. “Very,” Orland agrees. “They bought out my bank, too. Before this year, I hadn’t even heard of them, and now they’re collecting all these small-time banks like they’re Pokémon. Something’s off here. My superhero nose tells me so.” “I told you so.” “Well, you and the fact that our iPads in all of my classes were replaced by PyrexPads. There’s a conspiracy brewing here. I know it.” “My class just got PyrexPads, too,” Damian says. “That might not be related,” Dilbert says. “They might be two separate issues.” “Or not,” Sasha says. “Pyrex is making moves. They just bought the empty lot next to the theater.” “The one where those condos were?” Sasha nods. “That might be nothing,” Quiana says. “They could just be expanding.” “Or it could be something,” Sasha says. “I just don’t buy that Pyrex is evil. They saved me on the hike.” “Winston saved you. We have to prepare for the worst. You never know when it’ll come.” “Well, that got dark,” Damian observes. “You’re wearing shorts again,” Ginny says. “Uh, hello,” Damian says. “I have a reputation to uphold. The key is putting on some fast showtunes to get your mind off of the cold.” “I’m telling you,” Orland says, “we should investigate Pyrex. Does anyone have an in there?” “I do,” Sasha says. “You want me to do what?” Winston says. “On my first day?” “Investigate.” Sasha gestures wildly with her hands. “Find something. I don’t know what you’re looking for, but you’ll know it when you see it.” “I’m just an intern. I don’t have high-level access.” “Are you sure about this?” Quiana asks. “Yeah, don’t you guys have someone with super-speed on your team?” “The Pyrex building is impenetrable even to speedsters,” Sasha explains. “It’s the main reason why we believe the conspiracies are tied together.” “Wait. You said conspiracies? Plural?” “Yeah. We think Pyrex is tied to an evil vampire coven.” Winston blinks. “You’ll be fine. It’s amazing where you can go if you carry a clipboard and act like you belong.” She pats him on the back. Winston takes Quiana aside. “Is she okay?” “No,” the brunette replies. “She’s a little shaken because someone shot at her.” “Someone what?!” “I tranq’d him, but I can’t find him. I think he caught on to the tracker I put on him.” “The tracker.” “Yes.” “That you put on him. After you tranq’d him.” “The tranq was the tracker.” He shakes his head. “You kids are insane. Let me know when you find that guy. In the meantime, wish me luck.” He uses his employee badge to enter the Pyrex building. “If this gets icky,” Sasha says, “we might have to go to plan B.” “I don’t like plan B,” Quiana says. “Me neither, but we might have no choice.” “ID,” a receptionist at the front desk says, and Winston presents his badge. “I don’t recognize you, Mr. Leroux.” “It’s my first day,” Winston says. “Which floor is the marketing department?” “30.” “Thank you.” “Good luck, Mr. Leroux. Don’t let this company suck you dry.” That was weird phrasing. Winston tries to ignore it as he gets on the elevator. Instead of pressing the button for the 30th floor, he presses the one for the 13th. “I bet that’s where the shady stuff would be.” He gets out his clipboard. The elevator stops. “Here we go.” Winston gets out, and immediately adopts a defensive stance with his clipboard, only to find … nothing? Everything looks completely in order. Scratch that - everything looks in order, except for the glaring lack of people. “Okay, that’s weird. Where is everyone?” As if in answer, he opens an office door to reveal a dead body with bite marks on his neck. “You’re not supposed to be here.” Winston turns around to see Dani. “Don’t kill me! I didn’t see anything. I support Pyrex. Pyrex Pride!” “I don’t think that’s true, Mr. Leroux.” “Can we talk?” “Not here.” She gives him a piece of paper. “Come here on Friday at 10. We’ll talk then.” “Thanks for coming,” Sol says to Ariana as the team gets ready to enter the party. “Of course,” Ariana says. “If there’s even a small chance that Eric is here, then I’m willing to show off my mediocre dancing skills.” “Mediocre is pushing it.” Sol and Ariana turn around to see Ophelia. “Do you want me to leave? Because I can.” “Phel?” Sol says. “You’re here?” “Where else would I be?” she replies. “Pine’s Winter Bash is only the biggest party of the year.” “I don’t know, Maple’s spring break one can get pretty wild,” a voice says from behind them. “Jacob?” Orland says. “Is everyone in the world here?” “It sure seems like it,” Tara notes. “Hold on,” Sasha says, “Is that—” “Camille Durand,” Ophelia says. “I thought she went to South Oregon State,” she recalls, but something about her voice seems far off. “She does. She’s in town for a track meet. She’s a track groupie. Which is a thing, apparently. Now.” She holds out her hand. “We’re at a party. Who’s gonna dance with me?” “Some of us are here on official” — Winston lowers his voice — “superhero business.” “Adults. They’re always such squares. So who’s coming?” “That’s what she said,” Damian quips. “I’m in,” Quiana says. “How about you, Sasha?” Ophelia asks. She eyes Sasha’s black leather jacket. “You look like you’re about to silently judge us from the corner.” “I’m fine.” Sasha smiles. “You can’t spell ‘disconnecting from reality’ without ‘disco.’ Let’s dance.” Sasha glares at someone. “Are you alright?” Ophelia says. “You’re killing my vibe here.” “Sorry,” she apologizes. “That guy was leering at me. It’s this jacket. It’s a fetish magnet.” “I think you look like a catch,” Quiana says. “Thank you. What I am is parched. I’m gonna go get us some punch.” “Did I hear the word ‘punch?’” a student who is clearly very inebriated says. “Jesus. Where did you come from?” “We’ll take two, Alex,” Ophelia says. “What’s in it?” Damian says. “It’s a college party, my dude. What do you think?” “Make that three.” Alex returns a minute later with the cups. He indicates Quiana. “You sure you don’t want one?” “She’s still in high school,” Sasha says. “Oh. Well, in that case, it’s mango purée.” Ophelia shoves him off. “What even is purée?” Ginny asks. “I think it’s like pure, only gayer,” Sasha says. “So who are we looking for?” Ariana asks. “I never got her name,” Winston says. “She’s short, blonde—” “She’s over there,” Dylan says, pointing. “Not Sasha, you dingbat,” Dilbert says. “Sorry. I hear short and blonde and my mind immediately goes to Sasha.” “I think I see her,” Winston says. “I know her,” Dilbert says. “You do?” “That’s Dani. She’s the one who invited me.” “I think she’ll tell us everything.” He indicates Sol, Dilbert, and Ariana. “But I need the three of you.” “Us?” Sol says. “She’s more likely to talk to young heroes that she trusts.” “Copy that, Cobalt.” “Dani?” Presto says. Dani turns around. “Presto? Promontory? Wait, how do you know my name?” “My friend Dilbert Silvercloud told me.” “Dilbert’s quite the character.” “So I’ve heard.” “Do you know where he is? He was supposed to be here.” “Why did you ask to meet here?” Winston says, interrupting them. “They have spies everywhere,” Dani says, looking around. “I thought here, we would be safe.” “They,” Promontory says. “Do you mean the Scythes?” “How do you know that?” “I’ve had some experience with them.” “Then you know how scary they are.” “What does Pyrex have to do with this?” Stratus asks. “Everything. That’s how they’re taking over. They figured out a way to use the PyrexPads to compel the student population.” “To what end?” Winston asks. “They’re going to Turn them all into their own personal vampire army.” Stratus gasps. “I’m still confused as to where BankPortable is in all this,” Presto says. “The university can’t just buy 22,000 PyrexPads. It would look suspicious.” “Of course.” “So you’re telling me that some of these students here could already be Turned?” Stratus asks. “Probably most of them,” Dani says. “Well, then what are we waiting for?” Promontory says. “Let’s take them out.” “I don’t think you want to do that,” Natalie Scythe says. “And why is that?” Promontory asks. Luciana and Lavender Scythe appear, with a captured Literal Man in tow. “That’s why,” Natalie says. Stratus gasps. “Eric?” “Secret … identity,” Literal Man manages to choke out. “Oh, you know him?” Natalie Scythe taunts. “It’s okay. I’ve been in worse scrapes than this.” “Actually, I don’t think you have.” He looks at Natalie. “Trust me, you’re going to tire yourself out eventually.” “That was clever,” Luciana says, “but we’re nowhere near the parking lot.” “That’s right,” Natalie says, “we know about your powers. And your limited range. And that’s also why you’re not going to do anything when I kill Dani here.” She bares her fangs and is about to sink them into Dani’s neck when Literal Man shoves her out of the way. A second later, he crumples to the ground, dead. “No!” Stratus says. Promontory immediately speeds Dani, Presto, and Winston out of the way, but Stratus objects. She holds up a stake. “I wanna fight her.” “Stratus,” Promontory says, “I can’t fight them and protect you at the same time.” Stratus whips up a tornado with her other hand. “I can handle myself. Let’s kill these undead assholes.” “That sounds like a great idea.” Promontory and Stratus turn to see Kayla in full Oriole gear, with Phoebe right behind her. “What took you guys so long?” Promontory asks. “Sorry,” Phoebe responds. “Kayla was trying to find the right boots to go with her suit.” “Nothing goes with orange,” Kayla says. “On the contrary,” Luciana Scythe says, “I think it goes perfectly with blood red.” Presto, Winston, and Dani run to the others. “So, we have news,” Presto says. “Most of the students—” “Are compelled,” Sasha says. “Yeah, we know.” She takes a slice of pizza. “Another slice?” a tall guy says. “It’s gonna go straight to your ass.” “Good. I’ve been having some trouble with the curve lately.” In response, the guy bares his fangs and attacks Sasha. “Some of them have also been Turned,” Presto says. She punches him. “We figured that one out, too.” “Wait. Tara, where’s Orland?” “He went off that way,” Tara says, pointing. “He seemed off. Like he wasn’t himself.” “Oh, no. And Damian?” “He went to the bathroom a few minutes ago,” Ginny says. “Haven’t seen him since.” “Winston and I will find them,” Presto says. “Ginny, get Dani out of here.” “I can help,” Dani says. “I have a taser.” “It’s gonna take more than a taser to take these guys down. Trust me, go with Ginny.” “Okay. Stay safe, Presto.” “I will. I promise.” He turns to Quiana. “I take it you guys have got this?” Quiana tranquilizes a vampire. “Piece of cake.” One of the vampires tries to shove a PyrexPad in Ophelia’s face, but she swats it away and knocks him out. “I’ve been compelled before. Once is enough for me, thank you.” Natalie Scythe deals Kayla a blow that sends her to the floor. “I should have killed you when I killed Mina.” Kayla attacks her with renewed fervor. “You don’t get to say her name.” “You are really becoming a thorn in our sides,” Lavender Scythe says to Promontory. “Good,” the heroine retorts. “Then I’m doing something right.” Natalie takes out a sword and slashes Phoebe in the arm. She cries out in pain. “You pathetic heroes can’t do this forever. We’re centuries older than you.” “That might be true,” Stratus says, “but we have the power of the air on our side.” She sends a tornado at Natalie, which puts her off-balance. She uses this brief distraction to plunge her stake into Natalie’s heart. With Natalie gone, Luciana and Lavender flee before Promontory can strike them. “Man, they’re fast,” Promontory complains. “That was easier than I thought,” Stratus says. Phoebe gives her a look. Speak for yourself. Presto kicks a PyrexPad away from a compelled Orland. “Snap out of it, Orland. This isn’t you.” “This is all of us, Presto,” Orland says. “Give in to your destiny.” “I don’t want to fight you.” “Good,” a compelled Damian says. “That’ll make this easier.” Coming from behind, he kicks Dilbert to the ground. “Okay, that hurt. I didn’t want to do this, but I guess I have no choice. Noquea!” He knocks out Damian and is about to do the same to Orland, who raises his hands. “I surrender!” he says. “I don’t wanna take you to my leader anymore.” Dilbert hugs him. “I don’t want to do this, Quiana,” Sasha says. “That’s a shame,” a compelled Quiana says, “because I do want to do this.” Sasha is about to punch her when she returns to normal. “Wait, wait, wait. It worked. You were gonna punch me? I’m hurt.” Sasha hugs her. “Thankfully, you’re not. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough college parties for a while. What do you say we get out of here?” “Oh, yesterday.” “Thanks for the assist, Stratus,” Promontory says. “Anytime,” she replies. “Though my business here isn’t done yet.” “I take it you’re going to stick around this time?” “Yeah. Traveling the country with Bell was fun, but I’m gonna stay until all three of them are in the ground.” “Hey, Promontory,” Dani says, “I’m looking for someone. He was supposed to show up here tonight. I guess I’m glad he didn’t.” “I think I know where he is,” someone from behind them says. “Dilbert?” “Did I miss the party?” Dani chuckles. “Yeah. But lucky for you, the afterparty is where it’s at. Come on. I promise there won’t be any vampires.” “Vampires?” He feigns innocence. “Like Dracula?” Promontory gives him a look. Laying it on a little thick. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Quiana says. “I’m sure,” Sasha replies. “Let’s do this.” “Are they here?” “They will be. And they’re on our side.” They step out of Sasha’s car onto the gunman’s property, and are immediately met with four guns pointed at them. “That was a nasty trick you pulled with the tranquilizer. What’s stopping us from killing you right now?” “Because if you do that, you’re going away for a long time,” OCPD Officer Bradshaw says. “As it is, you’re going away for a medium time. Do you want to make that choice?” “As it is, I see only one of you and four of us.” Bradshaw’s compatriots get out of their Crown Vics and level their guns. “And we’ve got snipers all around.” They surrender. Sasha and Quiana get back in the car and drive back to the Summit, only to be stopped by towering robots in their path. “What the hell?” the former says.
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“My name is Woody McCollum,” Woody says via voice-over. “And no, that’s not my birth name. I am a transfer student from India, so I changed it in an attempt to blend in with my peers.”
Woody arrives at college and is greeted by slamming doors and students sitting away from him in the cafeteria. “My attempt was unsuccessful, however.” He takes out his World game, and starts to point to different countries on the map. “The only time I feel like I belong on this planet is when I am playing the World game,” he continues. “I can see all of the other countries, and they cannot reject me.” A man stands in his dorm room on the phone. “Yeah, what’s up, brother?” he says. “You want me to do what? Yeah, for sure. Okay, man. For sure, bro.” He hangs up. Woody continues to play with his World game. The man, however, arrives and takes it away from him, before running off. “What— what are you—” Woody stammers. “Meanwhile, Orland was coming to realize that college was a lot more overstimulating than high school,” Woody narrates via voice-over, as seemingly everyone on the planet wants to talk to him. “But he just had to deal with it for one more hour until his date with Tara.” “Just one more hour,” Orland mutters to himself as he enters the dining hall. As he sits down at a table, someone from behind him yells, “Hey, O!” “Oh, please, no.” “This is Jacob,” Woody narrates via voice-over, “or as Orland calls him, Social Idiot. He’s always trying to strike up a conversation with him at the most inopportune times, like, ‘Hey, O!’ Orland didn’t even tell him to call him that. He only reserves that nickname for certain people. He doesn’t like being reduced to a letter.” “Hey, there, O,” Jacob says again. “How are you doing?” “Good. How are you?” Orland says, then winces at how fast it came out. That probably sounded rehearsed, he thinks. Why am I worried about that? That’s something everyone says. “Pretty good. Can’t complain. Hey, are you going to the game tomorrow?” “No. I’ve got a bunch of homework to do.” God, I sound so lame. “Maybe next time. Hey, I’ve got to go. Stay out of trouble, O.” “I’ll try.” “Orland didn’t understand why Jacob said that,” Woody narrates. “He was never in trouble.” “While Orland was trying to get away from people,” Woody narrates, “Quiana, Sasha, and Dylan were trying to do the exact opposite at StarCon, Ocean City’s annual StarStream convention.” “So many dorks here,” Sasha says. “I can actually feel my coolness decreasing.” “Hey, I almost died on your stupid hike,” Quiana says. “You can do this for me for four hours.” “It’s four hours?” “At least you get to wear a cool outfit,” Dylan says, looking at Sasha’s costume, which consists of a blue-and-purple shirt, matching purple pants, and black heeled boots. “You’re right. This is a slay.” “Sadie Storm is the biggest slay,” Quiana says. Unlike the vibrant hues of Sasha’s costume, her costume consists of mostly muted blues. “She’s the reason why all the new Star Trek shows have a female chief of security. Plus, she was one of the first openly bisexual characters in sci-fi.” Dylan looks down at his own costume, a faded green sweater and khakis. “And who am I supposed to be?” “Landon Delacroix. Dr. Delacroix’s kid son. Lots of Streamers find him annoying, but I always liked him.” “Streamers?” Sasha asks. “StarStream fans. Get with the program.” “Yeah, get with the program, Sasha,” Dylan says. She glares at him. “Sci-fi shows need characters like him, who don’t know everything about things like space elevators and can act as stand-ins for the audience. He also had a really close bond with my character, Kara Hisarlik.” “You sure know a lot about this show,” Sasha says. “It’s my favorite show of all time. Lots of people dismissed it as just another Star Trek rip-off, but it was more than that to me. When I was in middle school, I didn’t have many friends. No one understood why I wanted to be a doctor, and not something cool like a model or a NASCAR driver. Kara and StarStream got me through that.” “Tell me about her. Kara.” “She’s the StarStream’s counselor. She’s from Jupiter’s moon, Europa. In the show, she’s in a relationship with the first officer, Sprack, but everyone knows that she really likes Sadie.” She gives Sasha a kiss. “Rub it in, why don’t you?” Dylan grumbles. “You know, that’s exactly what Landon would say.” Just then, they get forcibly shoved by fellow Streamers. “Rude,” Sasha says. “What’s their problem?” Quiana nudges them. “Come on! It’s time for the main event.” “Why would he take my game?” Woody asks via voice-over. “What could he possibly want with it? He’s only hurting himself, you know. He doesn’t know where that game’s been. It could have been around the world, for all he knows.” “Hah! Around the world. Good one, Woody,” he says out loud. As he goes back to his dorm, Orland hears a familiar voice. “O!” He tries to ignore him, but Jacob persists. “How are you doing?” “Fine,” Orland says. “I’m actually kind of tired—” “Big night last night?” “Actually, I had a date, if you must know.” Jacob is visibly impressed. “Nice. Yeah, I bet you’re tired.” “This is not the first time Jacob has made a sexual remark to Orland,” Woody narrates via voice-over. Orland shakes his head. “I’ll see you later, Jacob.” “See ya. Hey, you sure I can’t convince you to go to the game tonight? It’ll be fun.” “I’ll tell you what. If I finish my homework, I’ll think about it.” “Awesome. Stay out of trouble, O.” “You too, Jacob.” Sasha sighs as Quiana leads her to the main exhibition hall. “There’s way too many people here. This has to be a fire hazard.” “What are we even doing here anyway?” Dylan asks. “At every StarCon, there’s a presentation,” Quiana explains. “Usually, but not always, there’s a big announcement. A video game, a new movie.” “There were movies?” Sasha says. Quiana laughs. “Yes, there were three StarStream movies. The fourth one comes out next week. They never took off, which was odd because Tom Cruise was the star. Anyway, this year, the rumor is they’re gonna announce a Sadie Storm spin-off series.” The crowd erupts in riotous applause. “Why are we clapping?” Dylan says. “That’s Jake Landry,” Quiana says as a middle-aged man with graying brown hair walks on the stage. “He played Captain James Mercer in the show. And that’s Gordon Paris,” she adds as another man with red hair and an affable demeanor joins Landry and gives him a bro-hug. “He was the StarStream’s helmsman, Max, whose navigational prowess was matched only by his penchant for practical jokes.” “I think I’ve seen him before. He was in that show about parties.” Sasha is getting impatient. “When are we getting to the actual announcement?” As a dark-haired woman joins Mercer and Paris on stage, Quiana gasps. “You’re kidding me.” “What is it?” “That’s Agnes Forsyth. She played Kara. She never comes to cons. They must have something really big planned. Maybe a reboot?” Dylan is skeptical. “You got all that from Short Stack up there?” “Hey, a girl can dream, okay? And, Dylan?” She looks at his short stature. “The call is coming from inside the house.” “Okay, settle down,” Mercer says. “There'll be a Q&A session later, and you can wring us for all we’re worth.” “But first,” Paris says, “the reason why we’re all here: the announcement. Hey, Jake, what’s that in your shirt?” “This guy,” Agnes shakes her head. “Always with a trick up his sleeve.” The crowd laughs. “My shirt?” Mercer touches his sleeve and, feigning surprise, he pulls out a piece of paper. “Introduce Lingonberry? Oh, silly me. We have a very special guest this morning.” He can barely hear himself over the din at this point. “Everyone, please welcome StarStream creator Sam Lingonberry!” “Okay,” Quiana says, “I have reached peak clowning at this point.” Lingonberry comes out. Though he is shorter than even Agnes, something about him just fills the room. “Hello, and welcome to the 30th Annual StarCon! I never tire of these things. Do you, Jake?” Landry shakes his head. “I created StarStream because I thought all of the television shows of the time were too grim. I wanted to make something that represents that hope that I think we all have deep down, the hope for a better future. But I never dreamed that it would resonate with so many viewers. Even thirty years later, young people are still discovering our little show. Can you believe that? Thirty years. You were thirty then, Jake.” “Don’t remind me.” The crowd laughs. “And since it’s the 30th anniversary, I thought I’d share with you something special, something we’ve had in the works for quite some time.” He looks to the rafters. “Kieran, would you do the honors?” A projector screen comes to life behind Lingonberry. On it is a logo very similar to the one on Quiana and Sasha’s costumes, a spiky star next to a river enclosed in a circle. “I am pleased to announce,” he says, “that Cardinal+ and I are working on a StarStream revival series!” As the raucous applause resumes, the screen switches to images of Landry, Paris, and Agnes. “Jake Landry, Gordon Paris, and Agnes Forsyth will be reprising their roles alongside a whole new cast of characters I know you’ll come to love as much as I have.” The screen returns to the logo. “StarStream, streaming in 2025. And now, time for some Q&A!” Seemingly everyone in the room, including Quiana, raises their hands. “You, there,” Paris says. “In the back.” “Will Alara Burnham also be reprising her role as Sadie Storm in the new series?” This was from someone in a costume like Sasha’s, except with blue streaks in her hair. “I don’t actually know. Sam?” “I can’t tell you everything,” Lingonberry laughs. “You still have to watch the show. Next question.” “Oh, come on. You can’t do that to us,” Quiana says, but she’s smiling. “Can you even believe it?” she says to Sasha. “No,” the blonde says earnestly. “I can’t even believe it.” Amid all the excitement, Quiana is barely able to make out someone in the front saying, “Was Sprack always going to sacrifice himself?” “You know what?” Woody says. “I’m gonna get my game back. I’m gonna save the World.” He takes out his phone and searches for “Team Promontory’s Promising Hotline.” “I had heard many tales of Promontory’s heroism over the past three years,” Woody narrates via voice-over, “but I had also heard rumors that she killed people, so there was this small, pesky voice in my head that said that she might not actually show up.” She does. “Thank you for coming,” Woody says. “Of course,” Promontory says. “You’re actually the first person to call the Hotline in a while. Most people just call 911.” Woody indicates Presto, Phoebe, and Kayla. “Who are they?” “Those are my friends,” Promontory says, “Presto, Kayla, and Phoebe.” “Are they also—” “Vampires? Kayla and Phoebe are. Presto’s human.” Woody hides behind her. “What’s the matter?” “I don’t trust creatures that could eat me.” “You trusted me, didn’t you?” “You’re different. You’re a hero.” “We’re all on your side, Woody. I promise.” Promontory looks at Phoebe and Kayla’s outfits. Phoebe’s is a green top and matching pants, while Kayla’s consists of orange shorts and an orange long-sleeved shirt with black sleeves and a patch of black along the neck. “What are you wearing?” “I figured if we’re gonna be heroes,” Kayla says, “that we’d need costumes.” “But what about your legs?” “I’m hot.” “You could get stabbed in the thigh,” Presto says. “It’s true,” Promontory says. “There’s a nerve cluster there. It would be very painful.” “That won’t happen to me, right?” Woody says. “No. Probably not.” “Here he is,” Woody says. “Rick Powell?” Promontory asks menacingly. “Yes?” Rick turns around. “Holy c**p, you’re Pro—” “I believe you’ve taken something that belongs to him,” Presto says, stepping aside to reveal Woody. “Who are you?” “I’m the person whom you stole that World game from,” Woody says. “Oh, yeah. Right.” “Why would you want that game anyway?” “I didn’t. It was an assignment from my fraternity.” “An assignment? Like for a class?” “Exactly.” “And what happens if you don’t do said assignment?” “I don’t know, they’ll punish me somehow?” “Well, can you give it back?” “I just said—” “You know, we could take down this fraternity,” Tory says. “Excuse me?” Rick says. “Ooh, Sweet/Vicious style?” Phoebe says. “Sweet what?” Tory says. “Sweet/Vicious,” Kayla says. “It’s only the best black comedy superhero series.” “Peacemaker,” Rick coughs. “Plus, it’s set on a college campus,” Presto says, ignoring him. “Whoa. You watch it?” Phoebe says. “Yeah. Just because I’m a guy doesn’t mean I can’t like female-led shows.” “You sure know how to pick them.” “Oh, no, we’re not—” Tory and Presto say at the same time. “So this is the guy?” Kayla asks. “The guy— oh.” “You were talking about me?” Presto says. “Really?” Phoebe says. “Ego much?” “No. It’s just that I’m so rarely the center of attention — and, trust me, that’s by design — that when I am—” “You want to know what’s up,” Kayla finishes. “Yeah.” “Well, let me tell you, you definitely captured someone’s attention.” “Kayla!” Tory scolds her. “I don’t like being in the spotlight, either, but I do enjoy forcing it onto other people.” “I don’t know,” Woody says. “It’ll be fun,” Tory says. “Come on, don’t you want to see these guys brought to justice?” “I suppose so.” “This time tomorrow. Meet us here. You too, Rick. I’m counting on you.” “Thanks for inviting us,” Ginny says to Orland as she meets him outside his dorm. “I needed to get out of the house.” “Of course,” Orland says. “Anytime you want to see some good football,” Damian says, “I’m down.” Jacob arrives. “Jacob,” Orland says, “these are my friends, Damian and Ginny. Guys, this is Jacob.” Jacob eyes Damian and Ginny. “Where’s your date?” “They don’t care for football very much. They find it confusing. I do too, to tell you the truth.” “I’ll explain it to you. It’s easy.” “Where are we going?” Dylan asks. “I have to get Agnes’ autograph,” Quiana says. “Who knows when, or if, she’ll be back?” Someone with enlarged ears bumps into Sasha. “Watch your ears, dude.” “You know, before we met an actual alien, this show was the closest thing I had to seeing one.” “I still can’t believe I knew Row for years and had no idea.” “None of us did,” Dylan says. “I didn’t realize you two were so close,” Quiana says. Before Sasha can say anything, Dylan blurts, “They were. They almost kissed.” “Now that sounds like there’s a story there.” Sasha nudges him. “Dylan! But it’s true. I tried to kiss an alien.” “Did you like it?” By the grace of the Europan gods, Sasha is saved from answering that question when a voice from behind them says, “Kara? I love your costume.” Quiana struggles to stand upright. “Are you alright?” Dylan says. “That’s— that’s Agnes Forsyth,” she says, pointing. “I remember from when you told us five minutes ago. And didn’t your parents teach you that it’s rude to point?” Quiana regains her composure. “Thank you. I made it myself.” She takes out a small square box and a white pen. “Can you sign my communication square?” “Sure.” Agnes does so. “I can’t believe you’re actually here. StarStream was my favorite show as a kid. Everyone seemed like they had it all figured out, except for Kara. I could relate to that.” “That right there is why I signed on all those years ago.” “Can we get a picture with you?” She starts to hand her phone to Dylan, but stops. “Your arms aren’t long enough.” She looks at the crowd. “Hey, Sprack! Can you take a picture of us?” Sprack does so. “Take another one.” She indicates Dylan. “This idiot blinked.” “Hey, this is going to sound like an odd request, but can you watch the booth for me? I have to use the restroom, and your costume is so good, they won’t be able to tell the difference.” “Yes, Ms. Forsyth,” Quiana says quickly. “I would be honored.” “Please, call me Agnes.” She leaves. “How cool is that?” Quiana is beaming. “Agnes Forsyth asked me to watch her booth.” Dylan is clearly not convinced. “Super cool. Hey, Agnes had the right idea. I’ll be right back.” “Yeah, me too,” Sasha says. “I know you won’t go anywhere.” “Kara Hisarlik?” a voice says, and Quiana turns to see someone in a Sadie Storm costume. “No, I’m not—” “Where have you been, Counselor? We need you back on the ship.” “I think you have me confused with someone else. I’m not Kara.” Someone in a James Mercer costume emerges from behind Sadie. “It’s worse than we feared.” He takes out his communication square. “No, I don’t think you understand—” She cuts off as Mercer fires a laser from his communication square, knocking her unconscious. “I wasn’t exactly on board with the violence part of the plan,” Woody narrates the next day, “but I was willing to go with it. After all, Promontory picked me for her plan over the guy that she clearly has history with.” “So, we’re really doing this?” Woody says. “Yep,” Kayla says. “No backing out now.” An awkward pause. “Kidding! You can totally back out. I’m still gonna drink from these f***ers.” “Yeah, I’m thirsty,” Phoebe agrees. “Nope, not backing out,” Woody says, “though I am going to back away.” “No, come back. You’re nice. We’re not gonna— oh, well.” “At least I didn’t steal your bike,” Rick says. “You would not have gotten that back.” “Not helping, dude,” Woody says. “Who are you two even supposed to be, anyway?” “I’m Oriole,” Kayla says. “Wasn’t it clear from my color scheme?” It wasn’t. “And I’m Erin,” Phoebe says. Rick is confused. “I thought your name was Phoebe.” “It’s my hero name.” “I told you it was a lame name,” Kayla says. “It’s not lame. It’s a shade of green. And the name has special significance for me.” “Are you two ready to do this?” Promontory says. “No,” Woody responds. “You have two objectives: get the game and take down the frat. We’ll be right here the whole time.” She gives him and Rick Tory Watches. “You press this, and we’ll come.” “Come on,” Rick says. “Time to torpedo my social life.” “I think I get it now,” Orland says. “I knew you’d come around,” Jacob smiles. “The American dream, with all the glory and violence that entails,” Damian says. “There’s nothing like it.” “Boy,” Ginny says, “there sure are a lot of long stretches where nothing happens.” “Those long stretches,” Jacob explains, “are for talking and drinking entirely-too-unhealthy beverages.” “Now, that part I can get behind.” She sips her non-caffeinated coffee-esque beverage. “I always watch the professional games with my family. On Thanksgiving, when there’s three games, that’s where it’s at. Sometimes I don’t leave my couch all day.” “That’s me the day after Thanksgiving,” Damian quips. “I feel that,” Ginny says. “What are you doing for Thanksgiving, O?” Jacob asks. “I don’t actually know,” Orland says. “This is the first Thanksgiving since my grandma died. We’re probably just gonna get takeout.” “Takeout? Oh, no, no, no. You have to come to my house. My mom’s making her famous mac ‘n’ cheese. It’ll be delicious.” “Are you sure?” “Yeah. Bring them too.” “When Quiana first woke up, she was annoyed that she was knocked out without her consent. But any negative thoughts quickly melted away when she realized that she was on the actual StarStream,” Woody narrates as Quiana squeals in delight. She traipses around Kara’s quarters, which are not any bigger than they would be on a current naval ship, before a doorbell shocks her out of her reverie. “Who is it?” “This Landon is your Landon,” a voice sings from behind the door. Quiana is bemused. Is that the real Landon Delacroix? “Come in.” “Counselor,” Landon says, “they’re asking for you on the bridge.” Landon is a boy of about fourteen, with the same faded green sweater and khakis that Dylan was just wearing. “I don’t think you understand, Landon. I’m not Kara.” “The captain told me you’d say that. I’m afraid he was rather insistent that you come.” “Well then, who am I to say no to Captain Mercer?” She ruffles Landon’s hair and follows him out onto the StarStream’s bridge. “Ah, she stirs,” Mercer says. “We’ve been looking for you, Kara.” “Are you the real Captain Mercer? Because I’m not Kara. My name is Quiana. I come from Ocean City in the year 2024.” “Christine told me you’d say something like that. We need to get her to check you out.” “I don’t need to get checked out, Captain. I need to go back home. There’s someone I need to get back to. Sir,” she adds hastily. “This is your home.” He looks out of the window at the surface of the red-and-white planet below them. “And your examination will have to wait.” “Why?” Quiana asks apprehensively. “It’s your time, Counselor.” “For what?” “Your first landing party. You’ve only been asking about it for years.” She looks at the rest of the crew. Max, Sprack, Sadie — they’re all there. “Max,” Mercer says, “you have the conn.” Landon smiles at her. Sadie gives her a wink. Then, they all disappear as she is transported off of the ship in a flash of lights along with Mercer, Sprack, and Sadie. “So, there I was, going undercover with a known thief,” Woody narrates. “I felt like I was on one of those cop shows. You know the ones, where the hapless foreign exchange student always dies after getting involved in a drug-smuggling ring.” “When we get in there,” Rick says, “I might have to say some things that you won't like. Just normal pledge stuff. You understand. Just wanted to let you know.” “I appreciate it,” Woody says flatly. “Now, do we knock or what?” “Looks like it's open.” He sees Woody roll down his jacket’s sleeve over his hand. “What are you doing?” “Doors are germ factories. I prefer not to touch them if I can help it.” “Hey, Rick,” one of the frat guys greets him. “And who do we have here?” “‘Sup, Ford. This is— Calvin,” Rick says. “He’s a new pledge.” Another frat guy enters the room. “Fresh meat. I like the sound of that. You’d better take care of this one, Powell.” “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” “You know you don’t have the best history with pledges. You remember Larry.” Rick groans. “Oh, don’t remind me. But Calvin’s different. He’s committed.” “He’d better be. Our numbers are getting lower, and we can’t have that. The Alpha Kappa b*tches are already dying to get our building.” “Ugh, Kappas,” Rick agrees. “Scum of the earth.” Both of them look at Woody, who says, “Frickin’ Kappas.” “Now get up there, Rick,” the first guy says. “We need you to take inventory.” Rick leads the way, then stops. “What are you doing?” Woody asks. “You have to open the door for me,” Rick says. “It’s tradition.” “Yeah,’’ Ford says, “open the door for your big, you little b*tch.” “Go on, b*tch.” Avoiding his gaze, Woody does so. Orland is at Thanksgiving dinner with Jacob and his family. “This is delicious, Mrs. Taylor.” “Yeah,” Damian says. “I never thought I’d say this, but your stuffing puts my mom’s to shame.” “I’m so glad you brought friends, Jacob,” Mrs. Taylor says. “I was afraid that it’d just be the four of us after my sister—” “Today isn’t about her,” Jacob says. “It’s about us, football, and delicious food. Maybe not in that order.” “Thanks so much for inviting us,” Tara says. “Of course. Any friend of O’s is a friend of mine.” “How did you two meet, anyway?” “It’s a funny story, actually,” Orland says. “You know, at first, I found him annoying.” “My brother tends to have that effect on people,” a teenage girl chimes in from the other end of the table. “Shut up, Cassie,” Jacob says. He shakes his head. “Sisters.” His mom nods knowingly. “I know the feeling,” Ginny says. “Anyway,” Orland continues, “eventually, he wore me down, and I discovered that under that extroverted exterior, he’s just looking for friends, like any of us.” “I don’t think that’s the only thing he’s looking for,” Cassie snarks. “I’m looking for another scoop of those sweet potatoes,” Jacob’s dad says, deftly changing the topic. Ginny passes them to him. “Don’t forget to save some for the rest of us.” “Roger that.” Cassie shakes her head lovingly. Sasha comes out of the bathroom, and finds no one at the booth. “Where is Quiana?” Dylan walks up to her. “Probably getting an autograph from Jake Cool or whatever.” “No, she wouldn’t leave the booth. Forsyth is too important to her. Something’s wrong.” “I bet she didn’t go far.” He taps on the shoulder of a Landon Delacroix. “Hey, cool costume.” “You too,” he says hastily. “Have you seen a girl around here? Average height, black hair, Kara what’s-her-name costume?” In response, Landon points to the sea of Streamers, where several Kara’s can be seen. “God,” Sasha says, “can I get one break? I just want one day to be with my girlfriend. I thought, ‘A convention. We won’t be in mortal peril.’ But no.” “We don’t know that she’s in mortal peril,” Dylan says gently. “When is it not mortal peril with us? I think it’s time to call for backup.” She presses her Tory Watch. “Where are you, Quiana?” Quiana materializes on the surface of the planet, and immediately wants to vomit her breakfast back up. “That cannot be a safe way of travel.” “What’s the matter, Kara?” Sprack teases. “Did you take the turn too fast?” An Aquellian, he appears mostly human, except for his comically large widow’s peak and square ears. “Give her a break, Sprack,” Sadie says. “It’s her first time. Don’t worry, Kara. You’ll get used to it.” “I keep telling you guys,” Quiana says. “I’m not Kara. What am I doing here, anyway?” “You,” Mercer says, “have a very important mission. The Alliance hasn’t established communications with the people of this planet.” Quiana’s face brightens. “A first contact? I’m so excited.” She straightens out her costume. “How do you want me to proceed, sir?” “You speak 430 languages. Try one of them.” They start walking toward what appears to be an outpost. “Wait,” Sprack says. “I’m getting a transmission from StarStream. That’s not possible.” “What’s not possible?” “It says it’s coming from Counselor Hisarlik.” “Okay,” Sadie says, “what is going on?” “Apparently, Hisarlik was on the ship the whole time. She was stuck in the ball pit on Deck 12.” Mercer’s eyes narrow. “Which means she” — he indicates Quiana — “is an imposter.” “Yes!” Quiana says. “Thank you. I’m not Kara. I’m Quiana Ross from Ocean City.” “We need to get you back to the ship. Oh, that’s just great.” “What?” “The transporters are down again. O’Malley says it’s something about the gravitational force of the planet interfering with our sensors. Looks like you’re up, Quiana Ross from Ocean City.” They get to the outpost, where its residents are immediately hostile. They also look familiar to Quiana, though, for some reason. Sadie, Mercer, and Sprack draw their phasers. “What’s the play here, Captain?” Sadie asks. “Diplomacy,” Mercer says. “We come in peace. My name is Captain James Mercer. I’m with the Intergalactic Alliance of Planets.” “Alliance scum,” the alien leader spits. “What’s stopping us from shooting you right now?” “Wait,” Quiana says. “I know these guys.” Sadie is surprised. “You do?” Saying a silent prayer that universal translators are a real thing, she says, “Yeah. My friend was one of them. Sir, what Captain Mercer says is true. I come from the planet Earth. Rowena Lonemace was my friend.” The leader relaxes. “Rowena was a noble warrior. She was lost far too soon. I must admit, I didn’t know she associated herself with the Alliance.” “I know you sent her to watch over our planet. I think you sent her so that I could get here and tell you to trust these people. They mean well.” “We don’t have to fight,” Mercer says. “Let’s talk this out.” “Very well,” the leader says, and gestures for them to follow him. Quiana starts to follow, but Mercer stops her. “Not you, Not-Kara. We have to get you back to the ship.” “Are the transporters working?” Quiana asks. “They’d better be, otherwise I’m gonna give O’Malley hell when we get back.” He activates his communication square. “O’Malley, two to transport.” Before they can be transported, however, shots ring out from behind them. “Aw, hell.” “While Rick and I were undercover, the immortals were getting restless,” Woody narrates as Phoebe twiddles her thumbs. “So is this what being a superhero is? Just waiting?” “There’s a lot more downtime than you might think,” Promontory says. “It’s not all fights and car chases.” “Sweet/Vicious made it seem a lot more exciting.” “Fun fact,” Presto says. “Did you know that Darlington University in Sweet/Vicious is an analogue for Yale?” “I must admit, I did not,” Kayla says. “You learn something new every day, even if you’re a 101-year-old vampire.” “That reminds me,” Tory says. “You said you were Turned.” Kayla nods. “So, did you always want to be a vampire?” “No,” Kayla reveals. “I actually wanted to be an actress. But life and Carmilla got in the way.” “I know that feeling. When you lean on someone so hard that you forget how to stand on your own.” “So how did you move on?” “I work with him. I had no choice. But we’ve gotten to a place where we can work well together again.” “Yeah,” Presto agrees. “Mostly.” “As Rick took me through his fraternity’s house to get to the inventory, I noticed that there were a lot of rooms,” Woody narrates as he bumps into a door jamb. “There’s a freaking door jamb there. I always thought doorjamb was a weird word. It’s like, are the doors going to sing us a song? Break on through to the other side,” he sings, imitating The Doors. Rick looks at him strangely. “What is it with you and doors?” “What is it with you and stealing other people’s property?” “That’s fair. It’s right here.” Woody opens the door to reveal the World game, along with several other small items taken from students. “So what’s the plan here?” “We take what we can carry. We’ll come back for the rest.” They do, but are caught before they can leave the room. “And where do you think you’re going?” Woody presses his Tory Watch. Promontory is confused. “What do you mean mostly?” “You saved me,” Presto says. “With the portal. So I have to save you now. So we could be even.” “Who says you’ll have to save me?” “What if one of the frat guys has powers?” “Then I’ll block them,” the vampire says casually. “You can do that? Since when?” Her expression turns sheepish. “Since Portland.” “Did you ever block my powers?” “No. Never. I don’t like doing it, because then it’s not a fair fight.” “You prefer to kick people’s asses the old-fashioned way,” Kayla says. “Respect.” “And what about you two?” Presto indicates Kayla and Phoebe. “Can either of you block abilities?” “Only telepaths,” Phoebe says. “Same,” Kayla says. “I think that’s a standard ability among vampires. But that’s it, I think. I’ve actually never tried it with anything else.” “Maybe today we can. After this agonizing waiting.” Promontory looks down at her Tory Watch. “Looks like you’re getting your wish after all, Erin.” “Without You” by Mötley Crüe plays as Sasha grows increasingly despondent. “Anything?” “Nothing,” Promontory says. “I checked the whole building. And all her usual haunts. No sign of her.” “I didn’t even kiss her goodbye.” “She’s a fighter. I know wherever she is, she’ll be fine.” She looks down at her Watch. “Listen, I’ve got to go. Stay strong for me, Defender.” “You got it, Promontory.” The purple-toned heroine speeds off. “Come back to me, Quiana.” “Raiders!” the leader yells, as Mercer takes Quiana to cover. “We can’t transport back from here,” Mercer says. “There’s too much crossfire.” “You have to get to the town square,” the leader points. “I’ll cover you,” Sadie says. “Go!” They start to run. “Wait,” Mercer says, “how did you know who we are?” “Where I come from,” Quiana explains, “there’s a TV show based on you.” “Johnson. He was a member of our time-travel unit, and he always said that our adventures would make a good story. Guess he finally did it, the sonofab*tch.” “We’re here. Can you take me home?” “You’ve got it, Quiana Ross from Ocean City.” Mercer activates his communication square. “O’Malley, one to transport. Dorothy protocol.” “You have a name for it?” “It’s not the first time. And, Quiana?” “Yes?” “Never lose your sense of wonder.” “Aye aye, Captain,” Quiana salutes as she is transported back to the convention center and Sasha, who kisses her passionately as the song swells. “Ugh, get a room,” Dylan grouses. “What are you doing here, Powell?” The look on Ford’s face is a mix of smug and disappointed, as if he knew Rick would do something like this. “What are you doing, Ford?” Rick retorts. “This ritual needs to change. This is no way to treat people.” “And is that how you feel too, Calvin?” In response, Woody looks at his Tory Watch and says, “Duck.” Rick does so immediately, which allows Promontory, Phoebe, and Kayla to fly down through a newly-created hole in the roof, straight onto Ford. Ford gets up and dusts himself off. “Traitors.” He tries to use his size manipulation power to embiggen his hand, but Promontory blocks his powers, causing him to fall on his ass. “That was pretty cool,” Kayla says. Promontory smirks. “Right?” She sees more frat guys arrive. “Oh, no. Reinforcements.” “We can take them,” Phoebe says. It turns out that she was right. The three vampires easily defeat the humans, knocking out some and biting others, before four of Ford’s vampire compatriots arrive. Kayla bares her fangs. “Finally, a challenge.” Promontory and Kayla are able to defeat two of them, but the third is a lot more proficient in hand-to-hand combat. Fortunately, they have a wizard on their side. “Noquea!” Presto knocks him out. “What have you been doing this whole time?” Promontory asks. “I was fixing the hole in the roof. Hey, we’re even now.” He eyes her bloodstained fangs. “Clearly, you’ve been busy. Watch out—” he says as the fourth vampire uses his telekinesis to send a lamp at Phoebe. “You can’t block his powers?” “It doesn’t work on vampires.” “Darn. Noq—” He cuts off as he is himself knocked out by a flying table leg. “You’re gonna pay for that.” She charges him. “This is not going well,” Rick says from his and Woody’s vantage point on the ground. “I have an idea,” Woody says. “Hand me the World.” Rick does so, and he takes out a card. Running out of the room, he throws it at the vampire, and hits him square in the neck. This distracts him long enough for Promontory to stake him in the heart with the table leg. “I don’t know how I could ever thank you, Promontory,” Woody says as our heroes walk him back to his room. “We should be thanking you,” Rick says. “Can you drive stick?” Woody is confused. “Because that was clutch.” “I played a lot of cricket as a kid. Got a mean underhand.” “I’ll say. Why did you run out of the room before throwing it?” “Extra velocity. It’s not my first rodeo. We’re here.” “I should get going. Someone needs to go over the lease with the Kappas.” “Wait,” Woody says. He holds up the World game. “Shall we play a game?” “Why not? The Kappas can wait.” “Take care, Woody,” Promontory says. “If you ever need anything, you know where to find us. You too, Rick.” “I will.” In his room, Woody plays his World game with Rick. “And then all was right in the world again,” he narrates. Previously on:
“I wonder what my gift is,” Orland says. “What?” Dilbert asks. “Your thing is magic. Sol’s a vampire. What’s my thing?” “I’m sure you’ll find out.” “I don’t get it,” Tine says. “You have a weird name, just like all of us.” “Hey!” Orland responds. “But, yes.” “So you should have powers.” “You’re telling me. Usually, they would have manifested by now. I don’t know what it is.” Orland receives a mysterious article in the mail that reads “Your Smile Has Arrived.” “That’s weird,” he says. He examines it, and determines it to be a normal school picture promo. “Isn’t that a weird way of phrasing that?” he asks his friends while walking to school the next day. “I guess,” Addie says. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just jumpy after last week.” “Understandable,” Matilda says. “Ginny’s parents made her stay with her aunt in Pennsylvania.” “Maybe that could be my thing.” “What?” Addie asks. “You know, my thing. You’re a speedster, Sol’s a vampire, Dilbert’s a wizard. Maybe I’m the guy who anticipates things.” “Well,” Orland says, “now that we know the ax is in good hands, we’d best be going.” “Wait,” Axslinger says. “He gives Orland the ax. “You’ll need this.” “Are you sure?” “I’ve had my fun. It’s time to pass it on.” “You know, you guys have these awesome code names,” Orland says, “but what do I have? Nothing. I’m just your normal layperson Orland.” “And whose fault is that?” Addie asks. “You’re right. I’ll think of something.” “Thanks for the assist, Lighthouse,” Fleet says. Orland’s voice is cautiously hopeful. “Lighthouse?” “Yeah, because you guide us through everything.” “Lighthouse. I like it.” “Who’s Tara?” Max says. “They’re the one I’d get a scar for,” Orland responds. “Can I meet them?” “I don’t know. I prefer to keep my hero life away from my personal life.” “Separation of church and state. I like it.” “Besides, I wouldn’t know how to explain to Tara what I do here. I mean, you guys all have powers and special skills, and I’m just the tech guy.” “Thanks for helping me with my crush last week,” Ariana says to Rory at the Summit the next day, which is appropriately lit. “Really, it’s nothing,” he says. “No, you really helped me. Eric and I are really having a good time,” she insists. “You’re welcome. When can I meet this Eric?” Rory asks. “Soon,” she promises. “Eric, I want you to meet my friends, Sol, Dylan, Sasha, Row, and Rory. Guys, this is Eric,” Ariana says. “Nice to meet you,” Rory says. “So, what’s your story?” Sol inquires. “Well, right now I’m learning about my girlfriend Ariana’s story from all you lovely people,” Eric responds. “Okay, Literal Man. Adventures of Literal Man. Insert dramatic music here,” Ariana quips. “Eric and I broke up,” Ariana says to Rory. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Rory says. “It was for the best. He was just too literal for me. I kept having to explain things to him.” Orland spills his food. “Ah, geez.” Ginny hands him a napkin. “Here.” He unfolds it. “Help! I’ve been captured and am being held against my will at the napkin factory!” “It’s probably just a prank.” “No. I know this handwriting. It’s Tara’s handwriting.” A hero clad in a white super-suit with red lettering reading “Literal Man” is fighting a criminal in a junkyard. The criminal is overconfident, as they often are. “What makes you think you can stop me?” “I don’t have to,” Literal Man says. “I just have to fight you until you tire yourself out.” “I’m not gonna tire myself—” Before he can finish his sentence, he is knocked out by a falling tire. “And that’s another win for Literal Man. I will leave now.” At the Summit, the team watches footage of Literal Man. “Wow, a more specific hero than Spreadsheet Man,” Sol says. “And they said he didn’t exist,” Orland adds. “Why does he sound kind of familiar?” Sasha asks. “I can’t see why he would,” Dilbert says. “We’ve never encountered anyone with those powers before. If we did, I would remember.” Sasha looks at him. “That’s why.” “I think you’re right, though, Sasha,” Ariana says. “I feel like I’ve heard that voice before. But I can’t place it.” “Do you realize what we could do with someone with these powers?” Orland says. “We could make a wormhole to Tahiti right now. We could do whatever we want. We could save whoever we want.” Quiana nods. “Including Tara from the napkin factory.” “We already checked all the napkin factories,” Damian says. “Well, we need to check them again,” the hacker insists. “We must have missed something.” “I did a clean sweep—” Sol starts. Orland cuts her off. “Well, sweep again. Do I have to do everything myself?” He storms off. Quiana gets out of Sasha’s car at the entrance to a local hiking trail. “Why did I agree to this? The only thing I hike is my pants.” Sasha locks the car. “If you’re going to be a superhero, you have to be in good physical shape. Plus, Winston invited us, and he’s our friend.” “He’s more your friend. And it still feels weird calling an adult Winston.” “Come on. It’ll be fun.” Winston waves them over. “Sam. Sorry, reflex. Sasha. Quiana. Glad you guys could make it. These are my parents, and this is my brother, Kyle.” “Nice to meet you,” Winston’s mom says. “Been a while since Winston invited friends. What would you say is your hiking experience?” “Moderate,” Sasha says. “Zero,” Quiana says. “Big fat goose egg.” “That’s okay,” Winston’s dad says. “This trail isn’t very strenuous. Which is a good thing because my wife and I are getting old.” “Getting old?” Kyle teases. “Always the same joke with him.” Winston shakes his head. “Let’s get going. I want to be out of here before it gets hot.” “Thanks for walking back with me,” Ophelia Toadstool says to Dilbert that night at SPSU. “No problem,” Dilbert says. “I just don’t think I could be alone right now. That whole lecture, I couldn’t stop thinking about Percy. He loved Mary Shelley.” “I understand. Grief comes in waves. Just when we think we’re safe, it knocks us right back over.” She stops in front of a dormitory hall. “This is me.” “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here.” “I appreciate it. I should really be getting in, though.” She looks up at the moon. “Of course.” He leaves. As she goes to unlock her door, Ophelia notices her transformation starting. “Oh, no, no, no. This is not the time for this.” She shakes her ID card furiously in her now-clawed hand. “Full moon troubles?” says a voice from behind her. Ophelia knows that voice. She turns around. “Noelani?” “Phel?” Noelani Roberts wraps her in a tight hug. “I haven’t seen you since—” “Graduation. That’s not something I’d easily forget.” The door opens. “But I have some studying to do, so I really should—” “Okay.” She hands her a card. “You should join us tomorrow.” “Wait. How did you know I was—” Noelani’s nails and teeth extend. “A wolf knows another wolf.” “Sweep again?” Sol mutters. “What am I, a damn broom?” “Give him a break,” Dilbert says. “He’s hurting.” “That’s just it. I don’t want him doing anything reckless. I lectured Cary on this just last week.” Dylan looks at the computer screen. “There hasn’t been any unauthorized entry at any of the napkin factories.” “Ginny, check to see if his suit is still there.” Ginny does so. “I don’t think you’re giving him enough credit,” Damian says. “He founded the team. He knows not to go out looking for trouble by himself.” Ginny comes back. “It’s gone.” Quiana is out of breath as they approach yet another incline. “I thought you said this wasn’t strenuous.” “The word ‘strenuous’ is extremely subjective,” Winston’s dad says. “Clearly.” Winston’s mom catches up to them. “So how do you know Winston?” Fortunately, Sasha takes this one. “We met Winston on one of his—” She looks at him, and he nods. “Hero gigs,” he says. “They know. They were my first supporters.” “Lucky. I wish I could tell my parents. My dad would freak out.” “And what about you, Quiana?” Kyle says. Quiana signals with her hand. I can’t talk right now. Sasha hands her a water bottle. “Same for her,” the blonde says. “She’s actually my girlfriend.” “Why can’t you get one of those, Winston?” his dad says. “You could bring her here.” “You had to say it,” Winston says, “didn’t you?” “Hey, why’s your bag so big?” Kyle smirks. “Are you compensating for something?” Winston punches him lightly in the shoulder. “Shut up, Kyle.” Ophelia timidly walks toward the address on the card. “Phel,” Noelani says. “Glad you could make it.” “It’s not like I had anything else to do on a Friday night,” she jokes. “Witty as ever. Come on in.” She does, and finds what appears to be a typical support group. “What is this, Werewolves Anonymous?” “Actually, yes. Now, we won’t make you share anything if you don’t want to. Just know this is a safe space.” “He cut off all the surveillance to the napkin factories,” Ginny says. “How are we supposed to track him?” “There’s one way,” Dilbert says. “We use his own technology. He put trackers in all the suits.” “Really?” Dylan says. “So every time I’ve used my suit, you guys knew?” “Yep,” Sol confirms. “And it goes without saying, but super-suits are not to impress girls.” She looks at Ginny. “Or boys. Or anyone.” “It wasn’t the suit that they were impressed by.” Sol mock-gags. “Nope. Stop talking.” “So where is he now?” Ariana asks. “It looks like he’s just outside of Arnold, Nebraska,” Dilbert responds. “I didn’t know there was a factory there.” “Maybe it was shuttered,” Sol says. “Let’s go.” “I’ll call Marvin. Have his team meet us there.” Promontory speeds the team to Arnold. “Is Olfactory Man coming?” “He didn’t answer my call,” Presto says. “That’s weird for him.” “Never mind that,” Damian says. “Where’s the napkin factory? There’s nothing here.” “That doesn’t make sense,” Stratus says. “We tracked the suit to this exact location.” “Oh, there’s something here.” All our heroes turn to see Literal Man. “You just have to know what to look for. All will be revealed in time.” “Revelio!” The spell reveals the cloaked factory. Presto is awed. “You did that?” Stratus, however, is even more shocked. “Eric?” Quiana dusts off her hands. “That was a good lunch.” “Thank Kyle,” Winston says. “He runs a deli.” “Which Winston was going to help me with,” Kyle says, “before he decided to gallivant around the country.” “I’m done gallivanting,” Winston says, “but I told you. Meat is not where my heart lies.” “Where does it lie?” “I think maybe somewhere in technology. I’ve really been enjoying—” “Oh yeah, that’s right. You’re a tester for a tech company. What was it called, Pirates?” “Close. It’s Pyrex. They make all sorts of innovative products. I might apply for a job there.” “If we don’t get going soon,” Winston’s dad says, “we’re all gonna lie on top of this mountain tonight.” “Fine. But we have to take a pic first.” He gathers them all for a selfie. “See, Quiana? Wasn’t that view worth going all this way?” “I suppose so, Winston,” comes the response. “Nope, still sounds weird,” she whispers to Sasha. The blonde chuckles. “It’ll be easier going down. I promise.” They hike down a decline and reach a flat stretch, but Quiana takes it too fast and nearly falls off the edge of the trail, hanging precariously by a tree branch. “What did you say about it being easier?” The woman sitting next to Ophelia finishes sharing, and everyone starts looking at her. “Uh, I’m Ophelia.” Everyone in the WA group says, “Hi, Ophelia.” “So you actually do that.” She takes a deep breath. “I’m from Ocean City. I actually went to high school with Noelani.” More stares. “I feel like I got the most depressing award. I don’t know what to say.” “Maybe you could start by telling us about how you became a wolf,” Noelani suggests. “Were you a birther? Or were you Turned?” “Okay. I was Turned. It was nine months ago. I was on my daily late-night walk, which I don’t do anymore, but back then I did. Anyway, I took my attention off of the path for one second, and this wolf scratched me. I woke up in the hospital, thinking I was fine, until I attacked a local park. Luckily, I knew a local shifter, who helped me control my transitions, until she passed.” “Do you know who Turned you?” a man says. “No. I never thought to look.” “Wouldn’t you like to have the chance to talk to them?” Noelani says. “We can do that.” “Seriously?” “Yeah. All we need is a blood sample.” “Okay.” “What are you doing here?” Stratus asks Literal Man. “My associate found a technological signature consistent with a military device and tracked it to this location,” Literal Man explains. “I thought that was odd, considering this place used to be a napkin factory.” “Used to be?” Presto pipes up. “It was shuttered.” Promontory gives the wizard a knowing look. “But you still didn’t answer my question,” Stratus says. “What are you doing here? How long have you been…” “Literal Man? Just over five months now. I was actually inspired by you guys. Promontory, Presto, Stratus, the Reg, Windstrike.” He points to them all in sequence. “I don’t know you two.” “Damian,” Damian says. “No, I don’t have a code name. Yes, it’s a problem.” “And you?” He indicates Lighthouse. “Name’s Lighthouse. I don’t get out in the field much. But I made an exception this time. Someone very important to me is trapped inside there.” “That’s strange, because according to my associate, no one’s been in this building for years. Did anyone feel a gust of wind just now?” “Well, maybe your associate is wrong.” “Let’s see, shall we? All will be rev—” Promontory speeds back to them. “You were right, Lighthouse.” Quiana is still hanging perilously by the tree branch. “Just hang on,” Sasha says. “Seriously?” Quiana yells up at her. “That’s your advice?” “I have a plan.” She confers with Winston for a second, before returning to Quiana. “You don’t have a plan, do you?” “Not a one.” “If I had my suit,” Winston says, “we’d be home by now.” “Sol’s not responding,” Sasha says. “Neither is Fleet.” “Do you have any rope in that pack of yours, bro?” Kyle asks. “No,” comes the response. “I didn’t plan on rappelling today.” “Neither did I,” Quiana says. “I can’t lose you,” Sasha says. “I won’t. Take my hand,” she says as Winston takes her other hand. Before Quiana can grab on, though, the branch snaps in half. “Well, there goes that big idea.” “Didn’t Scouts prepare you for a situation like this?” Winston’s dad says. “You might be on to something, Dad,” Winston says. “Whatever you’re doing,” Quiana says, “do it fast. Is that poison oak down there?” “I don’t think so,” Sasha says. “Very reassuring.” “I don’t think you’re being sincere.” “It might not even matter. A fall from this height would kill me anyway.” “Maybe not,” Winston says. He takes out a blue bag from his backpack. “Is that what I think it is?” Winston’s mom says. “Yep. Quiana, I’m gonna need you to jump.” “Jump? Are you crazy?” “It’s too far,” Sasha says. “She won’t make it.” “She won’t have to,” Winston says. “Pyrex is gonna save her.” He opens the mysterious bag and throws down the contents, which inflate to form a mattress. The branch snaps again. “Okay, if this goes wrong,” Quiana says, “I’m blaming you, Winston.” She lets go, and after what feels like an eternity, lands on the mattress. “You’re lucky my son is into all the newest technology,” Winston’s mom says. Sasha’s phone rings. “You were right. Going down was much easier.” “So how long does this take?” Ophelia asks as they finish taking her blood. “Not long,” Noelani replies. “We have a state-of-the-art database. Oh, I almost forgot.” She reaches for a box. “Cookie?” “Don’t mind if I do. So, how long have you been a wolf?” “Almost a year now.” “A year? Was that why you had to get new bone marrow?” “No, that was a separate incident.” “God, we suck at communicating, don’t we?” “We’re the worst,” Noelani agrees. “I’ll tell you what. We’re gonna make time for us. Once a week.” She smiles. “Deal.” “You seem pretty okay with all of this.” “With what?” She gestures at their surroundings. “This. Supernatural creatures. Just a year and a half ago you wanted to kill Sol.” “I’ve grown a lot since then. Even before I was Turned. Oh, it’s done. It looks like your sire is an Isolfr Natt. Sounds like a tool. Do you know what you’re going to say to him?” “Not even a little bit.” “I’ll give you an idea.” She turns around, and addresses a cardboard cutout of a person. “Isolfr, I curse you.” The cutout immediately turns into a mess of shredded pieces. Ophelia’s eyes widen. “You didn’t know? We can do magic.” “Do we have to walk up all these stairs?” the Reg complains. “I don’t see any elevators,” Promontory says, “and I can’t speed all of you up there at the same time.” “Stratus, can’t you … tornado us there or something?” “This building looks unstable,” Stratus says. “I’m not gonna risk it.” “Literal Man? You can literally just say we’re there.” “No, I can’t,” Literal Man says. “I can only use the English language to accomplish what is humanly possible.” “That’s lame.” “It is most definitely not lame. My powers are the reason we’re here in the first place.” “They would be better,” Lighthouse says, “if they could just take you wherever you wanted, whenever you wanted.” “We’re here,” Windstrike says. Lighthouse rushes in and sees the captive Tara, looking like they’re in the part of the dystopian movie before the young, attractive hero realizes that they have to do something. Their mouth is gagged with a napkin. “Tara!” He kicks the captor in the arm, forcing him to release the napkin, then knocks him out in a couple of blows with his ax. Tara hugs him. “Took you long enough. Holy crap, that was impressive.” “That’s why they call me Li—” He is cut off when the captor’s reinforcements arrive and knock the wind out of him. “William Moorhead. I should’ve known it was you.” “You know these guys?” Damian says. “Unfortunately. William, or should I say Moorheadthanu69, is my nemesis in Skyline. He doesn’t usually take things this personally, though.” “You will release—” Literal Man starts to say, before a henchman shoves a napkin into his mouth. “You’ve beaten me for the last time, Lighthouse,” Moorhead says. “It’s time for you to say lights out.” “Oh, to hell with this,” Promontory says. She uses her super-speed to knock out Moorhead and all of his men, and is about to leave before she hears a voice from behind her. “You’re not going anywhere, Boilweed.” She turns around to see Natalie Scythe, flanked by both of her sisters. “You’re kidding, right?” Noelani says. Ophelia shakes her head. “You seriously didn’t know? You have seen magic before, yes?” Ophelia chuckles. “Yes.” “So all supernatural creatures have at least a trace of magic in them. Some just have more than others.” "My friend Percy was a magic user. Sorcerer, he called it.” “Was?” “He died a few months back.” “I’m sorry.” She pauses. “But we have to remedy this. You have to transform something. It’s a rite of passage for a wolf.” She takes a nearby Mason jar. “Now turn this jar into a cat.” “Just like that? Don’t I need a spell or something?” “We use a different kind of eldritch magic than wizards. We don’t need spells. Just visualize a cat.” Ophelia steels herself. “Okay. Cat.” She points at the jar, and it transforms into a drawing of a cat. “Close. It just takes practice.” She transforms the drawing into a cat, which promptly saunters away as if it can’t be bothered with the two lame humans. “They never appreciate it. We’ll work on it. You’re gonna need to.” “Why?” “Because you’re gonna transform Isolfr.” “How? I don’t even know where he is.” “We do.” “What? You didn’t hack the NSA, did you?” “Actually, we did.” Promontory uses her speed to charge Natalie, who anticipates this, and holds her by the arms. “You forget we have speed, too, pledge.” Luciana and Lavender Scythe capture Lighthouse and Tara. The heroine struggles. “Let them go. It’s me you want.” “I’m not going to do that. You see, this was my plan all along,” she says as Luciana and Lavender extend their fangs and place them dangerously close to Lighthouse and Tara’s necks. “You were in on this, William?” Lighthouse says. “Sorry, Stargate02. Money talks,” comes the response. “I’ll never be like you,” Tara spits. “I’d rather die.” “That’s what we want, too.” As Lavender’s fangs graze Tara’s flesh, a yellow circle appears next to them. “What the hell is that?” “It’s a portal,” Presto says, awed. He looks over at Lighthouse. “You can do that?” “Wait. As in to another dimension?” Literal Man says. “As in away from here,” Promontory says. “Go.” As Tara goes through the portal, Presto notices Natalie coming toward them. “Congele!” The Scythes and Moorhead and his guys stop moving. “Whoa,” Lighthouse says. “You can freeze time?” “I guess we’re both learning new things about each other. Now go. I can’t hold it for very long.” Lighthouse goes through the portal, and the Reg, Windstrike, and Damian follow. After Stratus jumps through, Presto’s spell falters. As Natalie runs toward him, Promontory grabs him and dives through the portal as it closes. “That was close,” the Reg says on the other side of the portal, which turns out to be Ocean City High School? “Wait, what?” “Why did you take us here?” Windstrike says. “Why didn’t you take us to the Summit?” “What’s the Summit?” Tara asks. “Superpowers often manifest in fight-or-flight situations,” Presto explains. “Yeah, but I’ve been in those before,” Lighthouse says. “I’m in those every week.” “But you’ve never been in one with Tara. It doesn’t explain why you would transport us here, though.” “In fight-or-flight situations, if you choose flight, it’s because you want to go where it’s safe, right?” Tara is perplexed. “And this classroom is your safe place?” “It’s where we came out to each other. That was the first time I truly felt understood and accepted.” Tara holds his hand. “I always wondered why I didn’t have powers. Now I know.” “Wait,” Stratus says. “Where’s Eric?” Promontory speeds off, and returns not a second later. “They’re gone.” “So can all wolves do magic?” Ophelia asks as she and Noelani arrive at a neighborhood park. “Yep,” Noelani confirms. “Most wolves don’t know that the first werewolf was actually a witch. There’s a lot of division among us. People don’t respect those of us who were Turned, or those of us who are of mixed species, which is something I’m trying to change. Here he is.” She points to Isolfr. “Are you sure about this?” “Go on. The world will be a safer place. I promise.” Ophelia walks over to him, and comes back a few moments later. Noelani is confused. “What did you do? He’s still him.” They watch as Isolfr leans down next to a homeless person on the sidewalk and gives him money. “No,” Ophelia says. “He’s better.” “Mind magic. That’s advanced. But why didn’t you curse him?” “Percy always wanted to use his magic for good. I was just following his example.” “Well, at least you’ll have a good story for next month. You are coming, right?” “Wouldn’t miss it. Now, can you get us back to Overton? I haven’t quite mastered teleportation yet.” A week later, Orland is driving Tara home. “Actually,” Tara says, “you can stop here.” “It’s a Saturday,” Orland says. “Campus is closed.” “I’ll just be a minute.” She leaves and returns with a duffel bag. “Are you going somewhere?” “Yes, actually. I’m transferring.” “To where?” “The Overton campus.” “Really? That’s awesome.” “I figured that it’s not good for you to be so far away from me.” “For me? Uh huh. Sure.” “Hey, is that guy going to be okay?” “Literal Man? We’ll find him. You’re looking at the best hacker on this side of the Mississippi.” “See? You’ve been hanging with those heroes for too long. You’re getting cocky.” “I prefer ‘confident in my skills.’” “I ought to wipe that smirk right off of your face, Crysanthe.” “With what? A napkin?” “That’s a low blow.” Literal Man awakens in a dingy, medieval-looking dungeon. “What do you want?” “Oh, trust me,” Natalie Scythe says. “We have plans for you.” Cary Henderson is out of breath. She looks back to see if the scary superhuman with lava powers is still following her. They are.
A young ally of Team Promontory, Cary has the ability to transform her teeth into a mouth of shark-like fangs. But right now, she wishes she got a more useful power like superspeed. The lava person gets closer. Their features are humanoid, but their skin is an eerie combination of red and black, and their voice is not human. “You’re dead, Henderson.” As they prepare to strike, Cary raises her hands instinctively, and is shocked when water emerges from them and counters the lava. Cary runs back into the Summit, Team Promontory’s base of operations. “Didn’t expect to see you back so soon,” Sol Boilweed says. Ever since she found out that she was a vampire three years ago, Sol has been serving the mid-size metropolis of Ocean City in the fictional state of Pierce as Promontory, a mission that continued even once she started her first year of college two months ago. “Yeah, didn’t you have soccer practice?” Sasha Alejo says. The hero known as Defender, Sasha gained abilities similar to Sol due to an experiment by a supervillain. “I think I might stick around for a bit,” Cary says. “Why?” Dylan Cassidy asks. Dylan has the ability to conjure rock-like fragments of sand, known as regs, from his hands, hence his hero name, The Reg. A terrible Klaxon alarm sounds. Quiana Ross plugs her ears. “What is that noise?” “That’s the perimeter alarm,” Orland Crysanthe says. A hacker with no powers of his own, Orland designed everything in the Summit, including the security systems. “We’re under attack.” “Look.” Dilbert Silvercloud points to the security cameras, where the Summit wall has been graffitied in lava to read, You got lucky, Henderson. “That’s why,” Cary says. “I mean, it makes sense,” Dilbert says some time later. He is still at the Summit, along with Sol, Ginny Gaso, and Cary. “We have air and earth metas, so of course there would be people with water and lava-based abilities.” A founding member of Team Promontory alongside Sol and Orland, Dilbert Silvercloud, aka Presto, is an aspiring wizard. “You guys are taking this really well,” Cary says. “You got a powerup,” Sol says. “I got one, Dilbert got one. It’s a rite of passage. You’re still Cary.” “It might be silly, but I was afraid you’d kick me out like my parents did.” “It’s not silly. It always hurts when the people we thought loved us betray us. But you’ll always have a home here.” “Yeah,” Ginny Gaso agrees. “You’re scary, but in a good way.” The aforementioned “air meta” Dilbert was referring to, Ginny Gaso/Windstrike has the ability to create controlled windstrikes. She is one of two new recruits to the team. “So what’s the plan?” Cary asks. Dilbert sits down at the computer screen. “It’s been a couple days, so whoever the lava meta is, I predict they’ll be coming back soon. We need to find them before that happens. Now, Orland’s away at a robotics competition, so it might take me a bit.” “We’ll protect you,” Sol says. “We promise.” “Thank you,” Cary says. “Where is Dylan, by the way?” Sol asks. “Oh, he said he was doing some cyborg ball thing with Sasha and Damian,” Dilbert explains. “As soon as I heard ‘sports,’ I stopped listening.” Ginny chortles. “Real.” “Honey cyball?” Sol says. “That’s the one,” the teen wizard confirms. “So what is this game exactly?” Sasha says once they get to the local gym. “It’s called honey cyball. It’s basically like handball, except the ball is honey-colored,” Damian Moncrief explains. “Handball? Why can’t we play basketball like Americans?” “Hey, handball is a great sport. My dad played in the pro league in Latvia. He was on HC Riga’s 2003 championship-winning team.” “That’s the capital, right?” Damian looks at her, impressed. “See, I listen to you guys sometimes.” Dylan walks in. “‘Sup, Damian. Sasha.” “Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention. We’re playing Dylan’s team.” Dylan and Sasha have a bit of a friendly rivalry. “Oh, I am so in,” Sasha says. “Hey, thanks for helping me out with this competition,” Orland says to Quiana at Southern Pierce State University’s robotics lab. “Everyone leads such busy lives in college, and it can be hard to drum up interest in these things.” “Of course,” Quiana says. Team Tory’s other new recruit, Quiana also doesn’t have any powers, instead using special tranquilizer syringes as her weapons of choice. Her hero name is Resident. “I’m happy to help. We never get to work with anything like this at my robotics club. But you knew that. You were captain for what, two years?” “Three. Turner March stepped down the first semester of my sophomore year.” They walk out of the lab, and are immediately accosted by two men wearing white collared shirts, blue ties, khakis, and loafers. “Hey, we’re sorry to bother you,” one of them says. “We were kind of busy—” Orland starts to say before Quiana cuts him off. “No, you’re not bothering us,” she says. “How can we help you?” “Actually,” the second man says, “it’s a matter of how we can help you. Have you heard of the Pierce Church of Christ?” “No, we’re not interested.” Orland is already leading Quiana away. “Thank you.” “Thank you. Have a good day.” “Did you find him yet?” Ginny asks. “Are you gonna ask me every five minutes?” Dilbert says. “Sorry. No sign of Dante’s Peak yet.” “Cary,” Sol says, “you have to promise me something.” “Of course,” the younger girl says. “What is it?” “You have to promise me you won’t try to do this yourself. Just stay here and let the more experienced heroes handle it.” “I got him,” Dilbert announces. “He’s in uptown. Looks to be a not very populated area, so that’s a relief.” “Don’t worry,” Cary says. “I have this handled.” She rushes off. “Cary,” Ginny says, “where are you—” Promontory speeds into her suit, and comes back with Presto’s, but Cary is gone. “What did I just say?” “This’d better work,” Cary says to herself once she gets out of the Summit. She uses her new power to conjure a wave that she rides to the lava meta’s location. It works. “Okay, that was badass.” Promontory stands with her arms akimbo. “You disobeyed me.” “How did you guys— Oh, right, speedster. But you had to admit that was cool. Right?” “Henderson,” the lava meta says. Their voice is deep and distorted, like it came from the deepest depths of the earth. “What do you want with me?” Cary says, with more confidence than she feels. “I want to kill you.” Cary tries to send a rush of water at them, but they anticipate this, and burn two searing indentations in her palms, negating her powers. She screams in pain. “You don’t have to do this,” Presto says. “On the contrary, I do.” They burn a hole in front of where Cary was trying to run. As they get her in a chokehold, Cary’s voice quavers. “Presto’s right. We can help you. I was once like you, and they helped me. What’s your name? John? Brian? Adam?” Red flashes through their eyes, and they release her ever so slightly. “Who’s making you do this, Adam? If you tell us who it is, we can help.” In response, Adam releases her completely. Promontory catches her as he runs away. “Okay,” Sasha says, “I think I’m getting the hang of this.” “See?” Damian says. “I told you it was fun.” As she goes to hit the cyball, Sasha is hit by a second, larger, white ball. She finds a smirking Dylan. “The hell? Ref?” “It’s not a foul. That’s what makes honey cyball so fun: the decoy balls.” “Balls? Plural?” Sasha says as she is pelted by two more. “So does that happen a lot?” Quiana asks as they enter the school parking lot. “Unfortunately,” Orland says. “Colleges are free speech havens, which means not only do you get the protesters, you also get the Christian fanatics.” “So that’s why you were rude to them.” “I was not rude. I was apathetic. There’s a difference.” He clicks his van’s key. But before they can get in, though, the PCC disciples appear again, almost as if by magic. “Can you let us in, my dudes?” “I’m afraid we can’t do that,” the first disciple says. “You’re coming with us.” “Oh, no, we’re not,” Quiana says. She takes out a syringe, but before she can tranquilize the disciple, he swats it way off into the atmosphere, as if it were a fly. “Please tell me you have a spare,” Orland says as he attempts to sidestep the second disciple. “That was my spare.” “Alright, on to plan B.” “What’s plan B?” “Run.” In the Summit, Sol applies ice packs to Cary’s hands and neck. “I’m glad you’re okay. We’ve lost too many people. But what were you thinking? That meta could have killed you.” “I knew you’d put him in the Ravine,” Cary says, referring to Team Tory’s subground prison for superpowered individuals. “But I also knew that if I could get through to him, maybe I could convince him to live a normal life and not attack people. And I did.” “Just because you know his name doesn’t mean you connected with him.” “He hasn’t come back, has he?” “N—” She cuts off when Dilbert says from the other room, “Sol.” She looks at the security cameras to see that Adam has returned. “You had to say it.” Adam breaks down the door. “Oh, Orland’s gonna hate that,” Dilbert grumbles. “Cary, Windstrike,” Sol says, “stall him while Presto and I come up with a plan.” “Copy that,” Ginny says. “Wait,” Cary says. “I don’t get a codename?” The purple-tinted heroine gives her a look. “Not the time. Yep.” “So,” Dilbert says, “do you have any ideas?” “Nope,” Sol says. “I just needed to get them away so I could think.” “I think you were a little hard on Cary.” “Ginny’s still in her first year. Cary doesn’t have that excuse. She knows not to do stupid stuff like that.” “It’s not stupid if it works.” “You and I know that you can’t sunshine-and-rainbows your way through this job. There’s gonna be villains you can’t get to, that you have to put down.” “Put him down?” a mystery voice says. “Sol.” Dilbert directs her attention to where Cary and Windstrike have returned, with a captive Adam suspended in midair in some sort of cage made of water, and a radiant dark-skinned woman extending her right arm out. “I don’t think you want me to do that.” Who is that woman, Sol thinks, and were those fangs? Dylan sends another decoy ball at Sasha. “Take that, Sasha.” “I’m not sure I like this side of you, Cassidy,” she says. She notices two people running off the court, one from each team. “Where are they going?” “Oh, yeah,” Damian says. “I forgot to mention that. They’re going to look for the Emerald Treasure. Whoever finds it wins the game.” “It seems like you forgot to mention a lot of things about this sport.” “Fair. But let’s be honest. If I had told you it was basically quidditch, would you have come?” She doesn’t respond. “I’ll take that as a no.” The PCC disciples chase Orland and Quiana through multiple parking lots and across grasses and streets. Orland is very much out of breath. “Okay, I think we lost them.” “They’re not usually like that, right?” Quiana asks. “Nope. These ones are different. It seemed like they just spawned.” “Plus they have super-strength. They tossed my syringe into the sky like it was nothing.” “But we’re safe now.” The disciples appear in front of them. “Or not.” They keep running, until they get to a set of stairs and escalators. Signage indicates that they lead to an underground train station. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” “That we should catch the midnight train going anywhere that’s not here?” They slide down the railing of the stairs and over the turnstiles and get on a train at the last possible second. Sol takes off her jacket to reveal her supersuit. “Who are you? And what are you doing?” “Sam Butler. I’m a friend of Cary’s.” Oh, those are definitely fangs, all right. But there’s an elegance to her words, as if she’s not bothered by them, as if she’s had them all her life. “And right now, I’m saving your ass.” Promontory bares her own fangs as she says, “Okay, let me rephrase. What are you?” “Rude. I’m a mermaid.” Ginny gasps. “Mermaids are real?” “Always have been, honey.” “I told you guys I had this handled,” Cary says. “Wait. How come Ariel doesn’t have fangs?” Ginny asks. “The first mermaids were more human-like,” Sam explains. “Their biggest predators were sharks. Eventually, we grew to sense the pheromones that the sharks secrete, and developed sharper teeth as a defense mechanism.” “What about sirens?” Presto says. “Are they a separate species?” “They weren’t always, but our two paths diverted over time. While we tried to assimilate with humans, they became more animalistic.” “We met one. He was a good guy.” “Was?” “He was killed just over a year ago.” “Funny. I’ve never known one to be killed.” “It was a vampire.” “Yep, that’ll do it.” “So, how can you do that?” Presto says. “I don’t know if you know about me, but I’m an aspiring wizard, and I’ve been trying to master aerial suspension for some time. But no luck.” “It’s not hard. It sort of just comes naturally to me. I can teach you sometime, Cary.” Presto is awed. “It just comes naturally. Amazing.” “So what are we gonna do with him?” Promontory asks, motioning to Adam. “I say we torture him,” Sam says. “What?” Cary says. “No.” “Well, Care Bear, we can’t keep him like this forever.” “Let me talk to him. I can get through to him. I did it before.” “Okay. I trust you. But we’re taking this outside.” Sasha notices Damian leaving. “What are you doing?” she yells over the chaos. “We’re getting creamed.” “Robert’s taking too long,” he says. “He should’ve found the treasure by now. You’ll be fine.” “Wait, no, don’t leave me with—” “Looks like it’s just you and me, Sasha,” Dylan says. “Well, actually, there’s still seven other players—” She is interrupted when Dylan throws another decoy ball at her, this time knocking her to the ground. “I hate this game.” “I don’t think they followed us,” Orland says once they are on the train. He looks around at the mostly old people around them, along with one young group consisting of three men and a woman wearing sports jerseys. “There’s nothing hotter than a girl using public transit.” Quiana nods. “Wait,” the brunette says. “You’re in a relationship, my dude.” “So are you.” “I won’t tell if you won’t.” “Deal.” They shake hands. “I didn’t want to leave Tara, but I’ve wanted to be a computer engineer for as long as I could remember,” he says, referring to his long-distance partner, Tara Fowler. “You didn’t leave them, Orland.” “I know, but sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.” Quiana gets extremely still. “I think I see one of them.” “Okay, don’t move.” Sam takes Adam outside. “You ready for this, Cary?” “As ever,” she responds. Sam releases him, and he immediately tries to choke Cary. “Wait,” Cary says. “Adam, it’s me. Adam.” He doesn’t respond. “Guys, it’s not working. Something’s different about him.” “Well, he is an evil lava person,” Windstrike says. “No, it’s his eyes.” In contrast to before, they look lifeless. “He’s right,” Dilbert says. “It’s as if he’s being controlled.” “Oh, no,” Promontory says. “I think I know who’s controlling him. Windstrike, now!” Windstrike aims at Adam, but he doesn’t release Cary. “He’s stronger. I can’t do it.” “Hold. Just keep on him for one second. I’ve got a plan. And 3, 2, 1…” Windstrike’s strike is boosted by another one, and together the two force Adam to release Cary. “Looks like we knocked the wind out of him,” Ariana Hunter, aka the aerokinetic hero Stratus, quips. “You’re not the only one who can call for backup.” “Looks like it’s match point, Sasha,” Dylan says. “For us, not for you.” “Oh, where are you, Damian?” she says, more to the air than to Dylan. “Damian’s not gonna help you. No one can.” Sasha shakes her head. Damian returns, holding an emerald treasure chest. “Actually, that’s where you’re wrong.” “You got it? How?” “I would help you,” he says, “but I don’t think anyone can.” He gives Sasha a high five. “How long do we have to do this?” Quiana says through gritted teeth. “Patience, my young Padawan,” Orland replies. “How have you not moved?” “I’m a percussionist. I once had a 152-measure rest.” Quiana looks around anxiously for the disciples, and nearly jumps out of her skin when someone from behind her says, “Miss?” “Yes?” The woman hands her a card. “What’s this?” The card reads “I got you.” “It’s a harassment card,” she explains. “You and your friend looked like you were in distress, so I notified the Metro police. They should be here any minute now.” “That’s very kind of you,” Orland says, “but we don’t want to involve the police.” “You didn’t call them. You’re in the clear.” He sees the disciples moving toward them. “Actually, we are far from that. Thanks, lady, but we’d best be on our way.” Stratus prepares another strike, and Sam seems ready to reinforce her. “You ready, Windstrike?” “Wait,” Cary says. “Don’t kill him.” “Why not?” Sam says. “He’s willing to do the same to us.” “We can still save him.” “She’s right,” Dilbert says. “If you two can just do what you did before, I can release him from his spell.” “Do it,” Promontory says. “Who’s controlling him?” Ginny asks. “The Scythe sisters. They’re my sorority sisters, who moonlight as evil vampires who seek world domination. They must have recruited him to do their dirty work, and when that didn’t work, they controlled him.” “So, just your average Tuesday, then.” “Now you’re getting it. We’re trusting you on this, Selachian.” Cary’s face brightens. “Is that a code name?” Stratus and Sam attack Adam, allowing Presto to perform his spell. “Protege!” The red flashes through Adam’s eyes once more. He moves closer to Cary, and both Sam and Promontory move gingerly toward them in response. “Henderson. You saved me. Thank you.” “You can thank me by becoming a productive member of society, Adam. And it’s Cary.” “Cary.” “Yes. Now go, before these guys change their mind.” He does. “Looks like we taught her well after all,” Promontory says to Presto. The disciples chase Orland and Quiana through multiple train cars. Every time they look back, there seems to be more of them, until they take up the entire car. The train comes to a stop. “That’s not good,” Orland says. They try to get out, but there are disciples on the other side of the doors. “Where are we supposed to go?” Quiana asks. “We go up.” “Up? Are you insane?” “That was never proven. Come on.” They climb on top of the train car, and the disciples are there, too. “Okay, now what?” “We jump.” “What about them?” The multitude of disciples are now just two again. “If I’m right,” Orland says, “there’s only two of them that are corporeal. The rest are mirages.” The track signal turns bright red. “Now it’s just a matter of timing.” He takes Quiana’s hand, and makes the jump. They make it to the other side of the track, and the disciples are vanquished by an oncoming train. “Could’ve been a smoother landing,” he gripes. “I’m just glad there was a landing,” Quiana says. “Of course there was. Timing’s my specialty.” “You do have a knack for making sure we’re all in the right place at the right time.” She gets up and dusts off her hands. “Just once, I want to just make robots, without anything weird happening.” “Oh, that ship has sailed, Resident.” “Really?” Sol says at Heliotrope, the team’s purple-themed official hangout. “Christian ghosts?” “Yep,” Quiana says. “They’re a thing.” “I guess it’s just a little hard to believe.” “You fought a literal lava monster.” “Touché.” “But seriously, those guys are everywhere at SPSU. What do you do when you see them, Dilbert?” Orland asks. “I just say I’m Catholic,” Dilbert says. “Then they don’t bother me.” “How was your game?” Sol says. “Awesome,” Damian says. “It sucked,” Dylan says. “So which was it?” Ariana asks. “It sucked for Dylan,” Sasha clarifies, “but it was great for us.” “You should come next time,” Dylan says. “We could use someone like you on the team.” “I don’t really do sports,” Ariana says. “Oh, that’s okay. You don’t have to be athletic. Just fly around.” “That’s not against the rules?” “Trust me,” Sasha says, “there are no rules in honey cyball.” “So does this mean you’re staying in the OC?” Dilbert asks. “For a little bit,” Ariana responds. “You just missed Bell,” Sol says, referring to Ariana’s friend and partner, Bellona Meadows, aka Lightning Bird, who arrived in Ocean City two weeks prior. “Actually, I didn’t. We timed it. We decided that we didn’t want to overwhelm you with our collective awesomeness.” Orland spills his food. “Ah, geez.” Ginny hands him a napkin. “Here.” He unfolds it. “Help! I’ve been captured and am being held against my will at the napkin factory!” “It’s probably just a prank.” “No. I know this handwriting. It’s Tara’s handwriting.” Previously on:
In Spanish class, Max witnesses the teacher say, <Me gusta comer y hablar.> However, one of his classmates hears <Me gusta comer jaguar.> Naturally, she is offended, as she repeats the phrase. The teacher proceeds, ignoring her. But Max notices something odd about the way she said it — almost as if she was worried about … competition? “I found something,” Orland says. He pulls up a video. It turns out that Amethyst Moore actually does eat jaguars. Not only does she eat them, she hunts them and kills them with her huge fangs. “That’s terrifying,” Sol says. “So how are we gonna get her?” Mike asks. Dylan fires his regs at Moore, but they don’t seem to faze her. Jada experiences a similar effect with her pyrokinesis. “Promontory, we need you to give her everything you’ve got,” Max says via comms. “Be cold. Be calculating. Be a vampire.” Tory engages in an epic hand-to-hand fight with Moore, getting several good punches in. “How? How are you still alive?” Tory asks. She continues to punch Moore, getting her in a chokehold, and then sinks her fangs into Moore’s neck. “Now leave. And don’t come back. You understand?” “Dean Mowry, we have a proposition for y—” Phoebe says, but someone other than the Dean turns around. “He’s not the Dean, is he?” Sol asks, knowing the answer. “Mowry warned me to watch out for a trio of misfits like you,” the man says. “I bet he didn’t warn you about this,” Kayla says before sinking her fangs into the man’s neck. “Get us an audience with the Dean if you want your life,” Sol threatens. “I will,” he says hesitantly. “You promise?” says Kayla through blood-stained fangs. “I promise. Cross my heart. What are you people?” “None of your d**n business,” Phoebe informs him. “Now go.” Flustered, he does so, bumping into Sol in the process. Sol walks away from the scene, oblivious to the minuscule tracker placed on her back by Mowry’s subordinate. A group of coyotes roam the grasses of an Ocean City park at night. One of them, a young cub who is smaller than the rest of the pack, is snatched and taken out of view. This puts the other coyotes on high alert, but this doesn’t seem to help, as their attacker is seemingly everywhere at once, and takes two more coyotes, leaving one left. As the attacker reaches for the last coyote, it shifts into human form, and tries feebly to fight, but the attacker grows bored and leaves. Dilbert arrives at the Summit with Sol and Orland. “So, what have you been up to, Dilbert?” Ginny asks, trying not to sound too interested. “What do you mean? Dylan’s been here the whole time,” Quiana says. “No, not Dylan, Dilbert,” she clarifies. “I know it’s confusing.” “Very. Why did you pick someone who has the same name as you?” Orland inquires. “Sol knew that I was the best candidate,” Dylan declares heroically. “You just showed up, if I remember correctly,” Sol corrects him. “Oh, yeah, that’s right.” “College is going well,” Dilbert says. “I like most of my teachers.” “Most?” Ginny queries. “Well, there’s this one—” he starts. Orland interrupts him. “There’s been a disturbance in the North Hills. Man, I missed saying that.” “What is it?” Sol asks. “Oh, no, is that who I think it is?” Dilbert inquires. “Yep,” Orland confirms. “Amethyst Moore is back.” “That’s just great,” Sol grumbles. “Who’s Amethyst Moore?” Quiana asks. Orland pauses the video footage. “That is Amethyst Moore. Two years ago, she started hunting jaguars and threatening local wildlife.” “That’s terrifying,” Damian comments upon entering the room. “Exactly what I said the first time,” Sol says. Orland resumes the footage. “Oh, looks like she’s targeting coyotes now.” “Those are much more common in Pierce,” Dilbert says. “Oh, I missed Dilbert’s useless facts,” Dylan snarks. “Looks like someone else decided to play hero,” Sasha says. “Find out who that is,” Sol orders Quiana. “We have to protect her. Orland, get Cary on standby.” She moves to leave. “Where are you going?” Dilbert asks. “Sorority stuff. Don’t worry about it.” Natalie Scythe is addressing the Pi Kappa Theta recruits. “Congratulations, pledges, you survived day 1 of rush week. Go, get some rest. It’s only gonna get more intense from here.” Sol moves to leave, but she stops her. “Wait.” Sol is confused. “Is everything okay?” “Oh, yes. More than okay. In fact, I want you to be our official new member educator.” “What happened to the previous new member educator?” “Their values didn’t align with ours. Can I count on you?” “Of course. But isn’t something like this usually reserved for an established member?” “I’m reserving it for you. Now you can go.” She does, and immediately goes to a bathroom to speed-change into her super-suit. She walks out as Natalie Scythe watches via the tracker. Elsewhere, Dylan has finally convinced Cassie to go out with him again, and enlists Sasha and Damian to prepare him for the Halloween party. “Are you sure?” Damian asks. “Is this the same Cassie who dumped you?” Sasha says. “The very same,” Dylan replies. “Nice,” Damian says. “So what do I do?” “It’s a Halloween party, right?” Sasha says, and Dylan nods. “So be yourself.” “Be myself? What kind of stupid advice is that?” “No, not literally yourself, you as the Reg,” she explains. “Yeah, it’s the one day a year no one will know,” Damian adds. “That’s true. Good idea.” “So, I’m really enjoying my time here,” Quiana begins. “I’m glad to hear it,” Orland responds. “I have one question, though.” “Shoot.” “Do you ever get in trouble with the law?” she asks, and Orland looks puzzled. “Is the government okay with a bunch of kids taking their jobs?” “Well, it’s not like they ever do anything in this town,” he opines. “The Sharpening — they never showed. Poplar Place — couldn’t find them. We’ve had to do everything ourselves. Gotten real good at it, too.” Just then, Orland spots a federal agent on the Summit cameras, flashing her badge at the ground entrance to the base, and shoots Quiana a scathing look. She frowns. “So, what’s so important that you had to drag me away from soccer practice?” Cary Henderson asks. A young ally of Team Tory, Cary has the ability to transform her teeth into a mouth of shark-like fangs. “Soccer? In the fall?” Windstrike says. “It’s the playoffs, if you must know,” Cary explains. “We’re looking for a Valentina Frideswide,” Presto says. “She recently tried to be a hero and almost got killed by Amethyst Moore.” “Amethyst? That’s the jaguar girl, right?” “The very same. So, about my English teacher—” “Hold on, Dilbert, we’re here,” Promontory says. Promontory knocks on the door. A middle-aged woman answers. “How may I help you?” “We’re looking for a Valentina Frideswide,” Promontory explains. “Is there anyone here by that name?” “That’s my daughter,” the woman replies. “Who are you kids? What do you want with her?” “Only the best, I assure you,” Presto says. “We think that she may have been engaging in some heroic activity,” Windstrike says, “and that she may have been targeted.” “Not again,” the woman grumbles. “I’ll go get her.” She leaves, and returns with Valentina in tow. “Tina? These kids are telling me that you’re trying to be a hero again. Why didn’t you tell me? You could’ve gotten hurt, or worse.” “This is why I didn’t tell you,” Valentina explains. “Because I knew you’d say no.” “Valentina Frideswide, come with us. We can protect you,” Presto says. “And why should I trust you?” she asks. “For all I know, you could be working with whoever attacked me.” Cary reveals her fangs. “That’s why.” “You look ridiculous,” Sasha tells Dylan outside of the Halloween party. “This was your idea,” Dylan reminds her. “I said what I said.” “And who are you supposed to be?” She indicates the mountain emblem on her purple costume. “I’m Sol, obviously.” “Right, and Damian, that makes you Dilbert?” “No, I’m P.T. Barnum,” Damian says, as if it was obvious. “Oof. That’s a risky choice in today’s climate,” Sasha comments. “No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else,” Damian says, quoting the famous ringmaster. “Dork.” They enter the party, and are immediately greeted by a barrage of various costumes. “And who are you supposed to be?” a girl in a bee costume asks Dylan. “The Reg,” he says proudly. “The what?” “The Reg, Promontory’s fearless geokinetic sidekick,” he elaborates. “Never heard of him.” “You’ve heard of the Reg, right?” Dylan asks a guy in a Han Solo costume. “Nope,” he says, and leaves quickly. “How about you? Do you know who the Reg is?” he asks a girl in a cat costume. “I don’t read comic books,” comes the cat’s response. “Well, at least my costume is better than yours. Lame-a** cat,” he mutters to himself. “Everyone knows that’s the most basic costume idea ever.” Just then, Dylan receives a call from Promontory. “Hah! The Reg is real. I can prove it to you. I’m getting a call right now.” No one hears him. “Dylan, we need you to get down here,” Promontory says. “We have a bit of a situation.” “I’m sure you can handle it,” he tries. “Where are— Are you at a party? Didn’t we talk about this?” “We did, and we agreed that my business is my business,” he says, with a slight edge in his voice. “No, we did not. Get down here right now.” “Can’t you have Orland and Quiana help you?” “No, they’re not picking up,” Promontory reveals. “Try again. I’m sure they’re there somewhere.” “Joanna Miller, NSA,” Agent Miller says, flashing her badge. “I’m here to search the premises. I have reason to suspect illegal activity.” “Frickin’ NSA,” Orland mutters under his breath. He walks up to her. “Orland Crysanthe,” he says smoothly, “and illegal activity? Whatever do you mean?” “Yeah, nothing illegal here,” Quiana adds, unconvincingly. “Let me be frank. The NSA has reason to suspect that this is a base for a band of vigilantes,” Agent Miller says. “And vigilantes are illegal how?” Quiana asks, and Orland nudges her. “It is not the citizen’s duty to stop crime. They should not be doing the police’s job.” “But, suppose that they did, if they themselves weren’t actually doing anything illegal, it would be okay, right?” Orland inquires. “It would not. I have a warrant to search the place.” “You won’t find anything,” Quiana says in a very high-pitched voice. “For your sake, I hope not.” “So you’re the famous Promontory?” Valentina asks back at the Summit. “The one and only,” she affirms. “And that makes you ... Magic Man?” “I prefer Presto,” the teen wizard informs her. “Got it,” she nods. “I kind of like Magic Man,” Cary says. “It has a nice ring to it.” “You would, wouldn’t you?” Windstrike snarks. Cary flashes her fangs, causing Ginny to take a step back. “Works every time.” “So, how are we going to defeat Moore?” Promontory inquires. “How did you defeat her last time?” Windstrike says. “I … sort of overpowered and bit her,” the vampire replies, slightly embarrassed. “D**n.” “But I can’t do that if we can’t find her.” She taps her comms. “Lighthouse, any progress on that?” “Nope,” Orland says via comms, “and I’m kind of busy here.” “Well, can you be not busy?” she snaps. “This is kind of important.” “I have an idea,” Presto says, “but we’re gonna have to get Dylan on comms again.” “Done.” “Man, I will never get used to that,” Windstrike says. “Hey, you said you fought Amethyst two years ago, right?” “Yeah, so?” “Why didn’t her powers change after the Climacteric?” “Moore isn’t a meta,” Presto says. “She’s a supernatural creature. Whole different beast, forgive the pun.” “I wish I could,” Promontory responds. She taps her comms set. “Dylan, we need your help to defeat Amethyst.” “I told you, I’m busy,” Dylan says, while snaking between two girls who may or may not have had too much punch. “Dylan, we need you to find someone in a jaguar costume,” Presto says. Just then, Amethyst Moore storms the Summit. “Hurry!” “What was that?” Agent Miller says, adopting a defensive stance with her gun. “Oh, nothing, probably,” Orland replies, with a quizzical look on his face. “Let’s show you the Summit Archives.” “What’s there?” “Not artifacts from past escapades, that’s for sure,” Quiana says. Orland gives her a look. “Proof that we’re not vigilantes,” Orland says as Sol comes speeding through. “Was that Promontory?” Agent Miller asks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Orland replies. “It was probably just some wind.” “We’re three levels underground.” “That’s some pretty persistent wind,” Quiana says. Agent Miller rolls her eyes. “Hey, Orland?” she whispers. “What?” “Didn’t you hack the NSA?” “Yeah, so?” “You couldn’t keep” — she gestures to Miller — “this from happening?” “Apparently not.” “What’s that, you two?” Miller says from in front of them. “Nothing, Agent Miller.” “Why am I looking for someone in a jaguar costume?” Dylan asks. “Not to question Ocean City’s greatest heroes or anything, but are you sure this is a good idea?” Windstrike says. “No, but it’s the best we got,” Promontory replies. “Yeah, Presto wouldn’t steer us wrong, right?” “You’re right about that,” he says. “I could take a bite out of her,” Cary offers. “No!” Promontory, Presto, and Windstrike respond in unison. “Amethyst Moore is attacking the Summit. We know that she likes jaguars,” Presto says, “so we’re asking you to find a werejaguar to draw her here as bait.” “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Sasha says. “That’s what I said!” Windstrike agrees, slicing the air with her open palm. “What makes you think someone would be in a costume of their actual identity?” Damian queries. “I mean, species?” “For cover,” Promontory explains. “Right,” Sasha agrees. “It’s the same reason I told Dylan — it’s the one day a year no one would know.” “I’m on it,” Dylan says. He is able to find young werejaguar Angelica Dandelion. “Come with me.” “Why?” “Official superhero business.” “I don’t believe you.” Damian punches a hole in the wall with his gauntlets. “You believe us now?” She nods. Promontory rushes in to get them. “We’ll pay for that,” Damian promises before they depart. “What’s the plan?” Valentina asks once they arrive at the Summit. “Angelica, we need you to transform,” Promontory says. “Why?” Angelica inquires. “We’re trying to attract a very bad woman,” Presto responds. “So I’m the bait? Oh, heck no.” “We don’t have time for this,” Promontory says. “Just transform already.” Presto takes her aside. “Sol, you can’t force this.” “She has to transform,” the heroine says. “She has to. I can’t risk Amethyst going after Valentina again.” “I’m sure there’s another solution.” “This was your idea.” “I know, but … Sol, do you think you’re trying so hard to save Valentina because you couldn’t save Row?” “If I was there, I could have saved her.” “You still had the chip. There was nothing you could’ve done.” “I could have pushed her out of the way—” “You can’t think like that. Row may be gone, but she’s still with us. And I know she wouldn’t want Angelica to shift before she’s ready.” “You’re right. We’ll come up with something else. We always do.” Promontory and Presto return to the group. “I don’t want—” Angelica starts. Cary interrupts her. “Do it,” she says through a mouthful of fangs. Angelica gasps and transforms. “Told you. Works every time.” “Come and get us! We’ve got a tasty jaguar for you,” Defender taunts. Amethyst arrives. “Foolish heroes! Do you never learn?!” “You should have listened to me two years ago,” Promontory says, and tries to speed her into a cell in the Ravine, but is snatched herself and sped away. Promontory awakes in a dingy basement, her right arm restrained to the wall. She breaks free immediately. “Did you really think this would hold me?” Natalie Scythe walks into the room. “No, but this would.” She punches her in the gut. “I have a healing factor, you know—” Another punch. “I heard you showed up on our campus and started—” “Actually, the campus is for everyone—” Promontory blocks the punch this time. Natalie is visibly impressed. “And started hanging out with Phoebe and Kayla.” “How did you—” “I trusted you. I thought you had my back. All of our backs.” “Back.” She finds the tracker. “I’m pretty sure this is what they call dirty rushing.” “How could you do that to us?” “They seem nice.” “They don’t have the Pi Kappa values. You have to stop hanging out with them.” “Or what?” She bares her fangs. “Or I’d have to kill you. I wouldn’t want to do that to a new pledge. Do we have a deal?” “We have a deal.” “Good. I’ll see you at the meeting tomorrow.” She phrases this like a statement. “We have a rampaging monster,” Presto says, “and our best hero has gone AWOL. Any ideas?” “I could pummel her with rocks,” the Reg says. “Sure. Let’s try that.” He does, and Moore is unfazed. “I can’t get to her head. She’s too fast.” “I think you were on to something, though,” Defender says. “Windstrike, if you tornadoed her, she would be distracted enough for even your poor aim to hit something.” “Alright,” he says derisively. “But that could work.” It does work, and Moore is captured and taken to the Ravine. “I’m worried about Sol,” Presto says. “I didn’t know there was another speedster around. I mean, besides Moore. But we knew she was faster than her.” Windstrike takes Presto aside. “You still like her,” she says, “don’t you?” “No. No, I don’t.” “Yes, you do. Admit it.” “Okay, fine. But both times we got together ended in disaster. Maybe it’s a sign.” “Have you ever heard of ‘third time’s the charm’? No, I’m serious. If she’s your person, then you two will find a way back to each other eventually. Even if it pains me to admit it.” “I sure hope so.” “I guess you could say that she’s your ‘Sol-mate,’” she quips. “Did you really just go there?” he asks. “Yes. Yes, I did.” “Respect.” “Okay, looks like you’re in the clear,” Agent Miller tells Orland and Quiana reluctantly. “Oh, thank God,” Orland says. “I mean, of course. That’s what we expected.” “Call me if you hear anything suspicious,” Miller says before departing. “Will do,” Quiana says. “Who was that?” Defender asks. “No one,” Orland replies. Promontory arrives at the Summit. “What did I miss?” “The rookie took down Moore with a tornado. That was bad*ss, Windstrike,” Defender says. “Why, thank you,” she replies modestly. “I try.” “Unlike Dylan, here. He actively tries not to try,” she jabs. “Hey, I was the one who knocked her out,” he reminds her. “And I got Angelica here, didn’t I?” “Only after Sol gave you no other choice,” Damian observes. “Well, I’d better get going,” Cary says. “My chum’s not gonna eat itself.” “You take care, Cary,” Orland says. “Hah. Care. Cary. Cary Bear.” “I will bite you,” she warns as she walks away. Orland raises his arms in mock surrender. “I guess you don’t need me after all,” Promontory says. “Of course we need you,” Defender says. “Where were you?” “Oh, just sorority problems.” “Should we be concerned?” “I’ve got it handled.” “So, Presto, tell us about your English teacher,” Windstrike says. “Well, she’s not very good at communicating, which is ironic considering that she teaches English,” he starts. On the surface level of the Summit, Cary is attacked by a person with lava manipulation abilities. At his house, Dilbert is trying to convince his dad to set up the desk. “We have it in the house now. Why not?”
“It’s gonna be a whole big thing,” Trevor says querulously. “It is a big thing,” Dilbert agrees. “It’s huge. But we’ve got to do it sometime.” “Okay. We have to move the dresser first.” It was extremely heavy, and Dilbert struggled to lift it. Trevor was less than pleased at that. “Come on. Why can’t you lift it?” “It's not a marimba, you know,” Dilbert shoots back. However, Dilbert was able to successfully lift it and move it out of his bedroom with Trevor. “And here we have the Winters family,” game show host Sam Hackett says with brio. “Welcome to Careful! In the first game, you have to get three questions correct. The twist, though, is that one of you will be standing on this elevated platform. If you get a question wrong, the person will get shocked.” The Winters family gasps in astonishment. “Oh, shoot,” Jamie Winters exclaims. “They ain’t messin’ around.” “Does anyone want to do it?” Jamie’s dad, Darryl, asks. “I will,” Jamie volunteers. “Step right up,” Sam urges. Jamie does so. “What is the name of the horse on the Calgary Flames’ new reverse retro jerseys?” Sam queries. “Blasty!” Darryl declares excitedly. “How did you know that?” Darryl’s wife, Patricia, inquires. “Yeah, man, how did you know that?” Sam says. “I didn’t even know that.” “What can I say? I know my Flames,” Darryl responds. “It’s why he throws such a mean barbecue,” daughter Sabrina jokes. “Okay, next question. What is the name of the 1973 film that launched George Lucas’ career?” Sam asks. “Star Wars?” Patricia guesses. The buzzer sounds. “Ah, it was American Graffiti,” Sam reveals. “Bring on the shock!” Jamie is shocked, and becomes even more shocked when he develops electrokinetic powers as a result. He proceeds to inadvertently knock out the lights. “Okay, we’ll be right back to Careful!,” Sam says hesitantly, “where the Winters family needs to remember the title of our show.” Sol goes on her first mission with Phoebe and Kayla. “How do you think the Scythes got a hold of the Dean?” “We think that they’re blackmailing the Dean because of certain, shall we say, allegations against him,” Phoebe explains. “Gross. But not surprising.” “That’s why he hasn’t lost his job,” Kayla adds. “But, as I said before—” “Figurehead,” Sol finishes. “So what are we trying to do here?” “If we can get to the Dean, we can possibly convince him to come clean and get a reduced sentence,” Kayla says. “And it's super-far?” Sol asks, perplexed. Phoebe laughs. “‘Super-far?’ What are you, 12?” “Don’t listen to her,” Kayla says. “I think it’s cute.” “Sorry, I’m just bad with ages,” Phoebe says. “That’s what happens when you get to be 100 years old. No, there’s booby traps.” “Booby traps? We’re vampires. You’d think they’d find something more vamp-specific,” Sol says. “We’ve done this before,” Kayla says. “Trust me, they did.” The Silverclouds get to work on the desk. At times, Dilbert struggles to keep it up, which is very stressful for all involved. However, he tries to counteract this by using comedy, much to project photographer Lisha's delight. Alan gave Trevor and Dilbert three types of screws, each with a purpose. Thus, at the end, Trevor finds himself looking for the good screws. Lisha asks, “Are there bad screws?” Dilbert says that, “If we got those, we’d be screwed.” Lisha laughs at that one the most. She also likes when Dilbert asks Trevor, “Have you had enough of our screwball comedy?” “The desk is under intense screwtiny,” he jokes. “Do you need to confront Alan’s lack of screw-ples?” he asks Trevor. Trevor groans. The lights come back on, and Careful! resumes. “Okay, our next game is called Hot Stuff,” Sam explains. “One of you is going to try and stay on the treadmill while eating, well, hot stuff.” “I’ll do it,” Patricia says, shocking everyone. “Are you sure?” Darryl asks, which he soon realizes was a mistake. “I’ve been eating hot stuff all my life. This guy. Are you sure?” she repeats. “I just don’t serve it to you wimps.” “Wow, shots fired,” Sam comments. “Patricia, if you would step onto this treadmill right here.” “There’s no need,” Jamie says, and shorts out the treadmill with his powers. “All my life, people have tried to control me and my family. Even here, with these stupid games. Frankly, I’m surprised that this show hasn’t gotten sued. Now, creators, if you’re listening, and I bet you are, I have some demands. Otherwise, I’m gonna do to your adorkable host what I did to this treadmill here.” “Anyone else getting hot in here?” Sabrina inquires. “Don’t start taking off all your clothes, now,” Patricia cautions. “What do you mean, ‘they did?’” Sol asks. “You’ll see,” Phoebe promises. “Cryptic.” “Come on. It’ll be an adventure.” “I love adventure. Back home, my friends and I went on adventures all the time. Although, I am getting hungry. Maybe we could stop for some—” Sure enough, the women are offered some pizza. “Don’t mind if I do,” Sol says. “It’s like you read my mind. I knew someone who could do that, by the way.” Kayla is covering her mouth. “I wouldn’t. Do you notice that smell?” She sniffs. “Yep, that’s garlic, alright. Wait, what exactly happens if we eat garlic?” “We can be in the vicinity of garlic,” Phoebe explains, “but we can’t get it in our systems.” “That would lead to a really bad stomach ache,” Kayla continues. “Dilbert didn’t tell me—” Sol says. “Who’s Dilbert?” “He’s— it’s complicated.” Kayla nods knowingly. “So, that was the first trap? That’s not so bad,” our heroine opines, then stops as the women come up on a large pool of holy water. “Holy c**p,” Phoebe exclaims aloud. Lisha steps over onto Dilbert’s side of the desk. Dilbert says in a mock-ominous voice, "Welcome to the dark side.” When Trevor subsequently makes the transition, Dilbert politely says, “Welcome.” In addition, Dilbert makes puns about Lisha's shots. She falls onto the bed while getting one of them. Dilbert quips, “Lisha Silvercloud. Her shots just fall into place.” “I have to hand it to you,” he jokes when she takes an inadvertent photo of her hand. They finished after 11:00, but it was well worth it. “So, how was school today, everyone?” Dylan asks. “I had a great day, myself.” “No one asked you,” Sasha grumbles. “Just the same as any other day, really,” Ginny reasons. “I passed my physics test, so that was cool,” Quiana says. “I don’t know how you can keep up with all that physics stuff,” Damian wonders aloud. “It’s too complicated for me.” “It really helps in our little escapades,” Quiana adds. “Speaking of our ‘little escapades,’” Orland segues, spinning around in his chair. “We’re about to go on another one. Check this out.” He shows them a newscast of Winters taking control of the Careful! set. “And there you have it, folks,” Veronica Watson concludes her report. “It looks like Careful! wasn’t careful enough. For KOCR 44, I’m Veronica Watson. Now, back to Danny and Erin in the studio.” Orland shuts off the computer. “So, what’s the plan?” Damian inquires. “We go in hot, like the game, Hot Stuff. Defender and Windstrike will take control of the electrical circuits and overload Winters, causing him to explode,” Dylan explains. “Sounds violent,” Ginny says. “What if it doesn’t work?” Quiana asks. “Don’t worry. I have a backup plan,” Dylan responds cryptically. “You’re not gonna share with the class?” “Wait, how do you know so much about Careful!?” Sasha asks. “I may or may not watch the show every week,” Dylan reveals. “Don’t judge.” “It’s not particularly good television, I’m just saying,” Damian opines. “You’re not particularly good television.” “Enh, not quite,” Sasha says. “You almost had him.” “Can’t we just speed over it?” Sol asks. “No, the pool siphons our energy. I can feel it draining me already,” Phoebe laments. “We can go around,” Kayla suggests. She’s still covering her mouth. “Sol, you find a way around the side of this thing.” “Why do I have to do it?” Sol says. “Seniority,” Phoebe replies, fangs bared. “Right,” she nods, and departs. “Why are you still covering her mouth, Kay? The garlic’s long gone.” “No reason.” “Careful, Kay. Last time, it got messy.” Sol comes back. “I found a way, but it might be a bit long.” “We’ve got time,” Phoebe responds, and they take the route. “So, everyone knows the plan, right?” Defender asks. “Can we go over it one more time?” Resident requests. “Seriously?” Damian responds with incredulity. “I got distracted,” she says sheepishly. “Rookie mistake,” the Reg comments. “Makes sense that you would make it.” “You make sense,” she says, and Sasha laughs. “Oh, so you laugh when she says it?” “Let’s go!” Damian yells. “I do make sense,” the Reg mutters to himself. The mission quickly devolves into utter chaos. “It’s not working,” Windstrike says. “We need more power.” “You fools thought you could overload me?” Jaime booms. “I am more powerful than you could ever dre—” He is cut off when he is struck by another electric current and falls unconscious. Windstrike turns to see Bellona Meadows, aka the electrokinetic hero Lightning Bird. “And that’s lights out.” Sol, Phoebe, and Kayla finally reach the Dean. “What was that, the extreme scenic route?” Phoebe quips. “Yeah, we could’ve gone around the block a few times and still gotten here faster,” Kayla jests. “Maybe that’s what we did.” “Alright, alright,” Sol says, exasperated. “We’re here now. What do we say, ‘resign or we’ll drink your blood?’” “We have to be a little more subtle than that,” Phoebe chastises her. “Dean Mowry, we have a proposition for y—” she starts, but someone other than the Dean turns around. “He’s not the Dean, is he?” Sol asks, knowing the answer. “Mowry warned me to watch out for a trio of misfits like you,” the man says. “I bet he didn’t warn you about this,” Kayla says before sinking her fangs into the man’s neck. “Get us an audience with the Dean if you want your life,” Sol threatens. “I will,” he says hesitantly. “You promise?” says Kayla through blood-stained fangs. “I promise. Cross my heart. What are you people?” “None of your d**n business,” Phoebe informs him. “Now go.” Flustered, he does so, bumping into Sol in the process. “How did I do?” Sol asks. “You did great,” Kayla says. “Yeah, thanks. What happened to ‘subtle’?” “That wasn’t Mowry. That was just some lowlife. He’ll be in our debt from now on.” Sol considers this. “Hey, are you okay?” “Yeah. Why?” “It’s just, your fangs seem longer than before, and I was concerned—” She cuts off when Kayla kisses her, then pulls away. “There’s someone else,” Kayla says, “isn’t there?” “Not exactly. He— it’s complicated.” “Okay. I get that.” “Thank you.” “I didn’t scare you off, did I?” “Of course not. I’m a vampire. We don’t scare easily. We can still be friends. And I’ll still help you save the school. But right now, I need that pizza.” “See?” Phoebe whispers to Kayla. “Messy.” “What?” Sol says. “I’m just saying I hope our pizza’s messy.” “Of course. That’s the best kind.” She is oblivious to the minuscule tracker placed on her back by Mowry’s subordinate. “Great job today, guys,” Dylan congratulates the team at Heliotrope. “Yeah, your Careful! knowledge really paid off,” Sasha replies. “I’m sorry I ever doubted you.” “I bet you’ll do it again, though, right?” Damian asks. “Yeah, probably,” Sasha agrees. Dylan glares at her. “Thanks for the assist, Bell.” “No problem,” Bellona says. “I’ve always wanted to say that to someone.” “Look, Careful! is airing a rerun,” Damian gestures to the TV. “At least they’re trying to move on,” Dylan says, hinting at Ginny. She doesn’t get the hint. “You know, guys, I heard that Sol, Dilbert, and Orland are coming back to the OC next week,” Quiana says. Ginny perks up. “Really? That’s awesome.” Quiana gives her a look. “I mean, that’s fine. Whatever. I don’t care.” “Oh, great. More people to boss us around,” Sasha grumbles. “I—” Dylan starts. Sasha interrupts him. “Not you.” Previously on:
The trio of vampiresses continues chanting, and a BankPortable ID lanyard can be seen atop a cabinet in the background. “I finally found something,” Dilbert says to his family before family TV night. The light is on; in fact, a light that is not supposed to be on is on. “Really? Let’s see it,” Trevor says. “Oh, great, the latest entry in the never-ending desk saga,” Lisha snarks. “Lisha, be supportive,” Adelaide requests. “Fine.” “It’s used, but it was originally from IKEA, so you know that it’s legit,” Dilbert explains. “And it has a shelf,” Lisha points out. “That’s fun." “Yes, the shelf is its main draw,” Dilbert agrees. “What would you put up there?” Adelaide asks. “Music folders and stuff,” he responds. “Can you email them?” Trevor inquires. “For sure,” Dilbert answers. “Your brother’s going to get a desk, Lisha,” Trevor says. “Yay!” Lisha exclaims. “Are you sure about this?” Sol asks Orland as they approach the dorm room in broad daylight. “Yeah, I’m sure,” Orland responds. “A sorority will be good for you. Since Addie got a seat on the council, Sasha stayed up by the OC, and Row.” He stops. “May she rest in peace,” Sol interjects. “Yes, and so you need new female friends,” he finishes. “I suppose you’re right,” she agrees. They approach the door. “But can you at least come with me?” “Unfortunately, this part you must do on your own,” he replies. Sol nods, and is greeted upon knocking by the face of one of the chanting vampires. The Reg leads the new Team Tory on a mission. “A bank robbery. This should be an easy one.” “I hope so,” Damian says. “I’ve been wanting to test out my new gauntlets from Orland.” “I wouldn’t count us out just yet,” Windstrike counters. Chaos erupts at the robbery. “Okay, maybe you can count us out now,” Defender yells over the din. Just then, a figure in a powered exosuit with a red triangle on it descends from the skies and blasts the robbers into contention. “Well, that wasn’t too hard, was it?” the figure says. “Oh, wait. Who are you guys?” “Cobalt, at your service,” Cobalt declares. “I’m glad I was in the area.” “Yeah, why were you in the area?” Defender says. “I was investigating some criminals. Nasty bunch. I was trying to avoid having to go UC. That’s undercover,” he explains. “We know what UC means.” “I can’t believe you don’t know us,” the Reg says. “Yeah, we’re the most famous superhero team this side of the Mississippi,” Defender opines. “Are we?” Damian asks. “For now,” Windstrike responds. “Now for the important stuff,” Defender segues. “So, what exactly does the suit do?” “It sends a targeted energy strike towards a criminal and propels its user into the atmosphere.” “So basically, it blasts people and lets you fly,” Resident summarizes. “That’s a bit of an oversimplification, but—” “You’re like a low-budget Iron Man,” Windstrike says, awed. “Low-budget?!” he repeats incredulously. “You’re one to talk. Where did you get your costume, a thrift store?” “Hey, thrifting is great. Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it.” “Hello, and welcome to Pi Kappa Theta. I’m Natalie Scythe, and these are my sisters, Luciana and Lavender,” Natalie says to Sol inside the appropriately lit sorority house. Sol notes that Natalie’s canine teeth appear to converge to unnaturally (or perhaps very naturally) sharp points. “Are you triplets?” Sol asks before she can stop herself. “No, I’m the oldest,” Natalie clarifies. “I’m a senior, Lucy is a junior, and Lavender is a freshman.” “So, what do I have to do to join? Is there an application? A quiz, maybe?” Sol inquires. “No, silly, no quiz,” Natalie chides. “You just have to rush like everyone else.” “Like a race? I can do races.” “Not exactly. It’s more like a reality show. You have to create blood bonds that will bind you to your Theta sisters for the rest of your li—excuse me, the rest of your time here.” “Got it,” Sol says before she is tugged away from the Scythe sisters into a secret room. “Are you sure we have the right spot?” Trevor asks. “I’m sure,” Dilbert replies. “We could’ve just gone to Nothing Really Mattress. They have desks, too.” “This one’s gonna be good. Trust me.” After a few minutes of waiting, the desk vendor drives up and motions to Trevor and Dilbert. “I’m Alan. Follow me. I’ll open the gate for you. If you want a discount, according to our president, you can pay in liras. I don’t know if you believe him, though.” “Wow, this is crazy,” Dilbert says upon exiting Trevor’s car at the desk retrieval spot. It is mid-afternoon, and the weather is partly cloudy with a slight breeze. “I feel like I’m on the set of Grounded for Life season 2, episode 1.” “That’s oddly specific,” Trevor responds, before thinking to himself, This is Dilbert you’re dealing with. Everything he says is oddly specific. “Come over here,” Alan implores. “I’ll show you the desk.” “Complete with Doc Brown giving us the thing,” Trevor adds. Alan steps over a ledge. Dilbert and Trevor do so as well. “They couldn’t have made this thing a bit more accessible?” Dilbert mumbles. Trevor shushes him. “Here it is.” Alan gestures to the desk, which is covered with various paraphernalia that he has accumulated over the years. “So, how can I help you lovely folks?” Cobalt asks in the Summit. “We don’t need your help,” Defender says. “We’d be happy to accept,” the Reg says. “You can help us find those bank—” He is interrupted by Resident, who says, “Guys. There’s another magician showing off his abilities in the Plaza.” “Looks like Presto has some competition,” Windstrike says. “Wait. Did he just aim that strike at us?” Damian asks. “Counterstrike!” Defender thunders. “What did she just say?” the Reg says angrily. “Do we even know how to do that?” “Go Figure!” Defender responds. “D**n it, I know what this is. Can someone go get Lighthouse?” “On it,” Resident says. “First of all, rude. Second, where am I?” Sol asks, and the lights promptly turn on to reveal several students in a dorm room that would be best described as “rebellion chic.” “Around here, we ask the questions,” one of the students proclaims, before suddenly punching Sol in the nose; her fangs descend. “How—” “Welcome to the Resistance,” the student says. “I’m Phoebe, and this is Kayla. We’re standing up against the Scythe sisters and their oppressive regime. They rule the school, you know.” “Rule, like actually or metaphorically? I’m Sol, by the way.” “Kind of both,” Kayla replies. “Rumor is Natalie has the Dean in her pocket.” “More than that. They’ve been here for so long that Natalie basically is the Dean,” Phoebe adds. “And how would you know?” Sol inquires. Phoebe and Kayla proceed to reveal their fangs. “We’ve been here for a few more years than we would like,” Phoebe explains. “We’ve been trying to expose the Scythe sisters for the dictators that they are.” “Rumor is they’ve been killing vamps just for going here, since we may ‘pose a threat’ to their continued dominance of SPSU,” Kayla explains. “I’m sure you’ve been very careful, then,” Sol responds. “Yeah, we’ve been mostly doing things in the shadows, operating vicariously through young freshmen like you,” Phoebe continues. “But they’re starting to get onto us. That’s why we’ve decided to emerge from the shadows, and take matters into our own hands, with your help,” Kayla concludes. “Right. What about them?” Sol indicates the other supposed members of the Resistance. “Oh, they’re not with us. They just let us use the room,” Kayla explains. “We go to their weekly Underground Game Night. It’s actually really fun.” “Isn’t that a security risk?” Sol asks. “Nope,” Phoebe explains, and walks over to one of the students. “You will forget everything you just heard.” A second passes, and then the student asks, “Who are you?” “We need this room.” “Can we use your—” “You can have game night, yes.” “Fine by me.” She turns back to Sol. “So, are you in or not?” “When do we start?” Kayla looks at Sol for a second longer than what would be considered normal. “So how are we gonna defeat him this time, Lighthouse?” the Reg asks. “Well, technically, we didn’t defeat him last time,” the teen hacker replies. “He just ran away.” “Fastlane,” Defender declares. “She wants us to hurry up,” Resident urges. “Yeah, I got that,” Damian snaps. She gives him a look. “But what are we gonna do?” “It’s too bad Presto can’t do some of his Presto magic,” Windstrike laments. “That’s okay. We can do some magic of our own,” Lighthouse segues enthusiastically. “That was a great segue,” Resident says. “Thanks. So, I can recreate the vibrations from the secret circle spell, and use the anti-power gun that we used on Ricardo Montez to restore Defender’s normal vocabulary, while you guys figure out a way to defeat the guy.” “You can do that?” Windstrike asks, awed. “I’ve learned long ago to stop asking that question,” the Reg says. “Any ideas?” Cobalt asks. “Cobalt will seal off the area. Then I can trap him with a series of airstrikes, and Resident can knock him out with one of her syringes,” Windstrike proposes. “Then what do the rest of us do?” the Reg inquires. “Stay here, and be ready to assist if needed,” Resident orders. Back at the Summit, Lighthouse has prepared the anti-power gun. “Are you ready?” “Dogtooth?” Defender says. “I don’t know if it’ll take away your fangs, actually.” “The Hurt Locker?” “No, it’s not gonna hurt, Sasha,” he promises. “I wouldn’t trust him,” Damian opines. “He’s only looking to get you back as fast as possible.” Defender looks at him, concerned. He shoots her. “You liar!” she declares. She bares her fangs. “Oh, it didn’t take them away.” “In my defense, I wasn’t there when we used it on Montez. I was here.” At the city plaza, the team is able to defeat the sorcerer, whose name is revealed to be John Morgan. “That’s a lousy name, John Morgan,” Damian opines. “You’d better watch it,” Morgan advises, before Orland shoots him with the anti-power gun. “Hey, that hurt,” he whines. “Serves you right, d**k,” Defender says. “I see she’s back to normal,” the Reg comments. She glares at him. “What is normal?” Windstrike asks. “You know, that’s a good question,” Presto replies as he enters the room. “I’ve never liked the word ‘normal.’ Too restricting.” “Presto! You missed a lot. We had a heck of a day,” Lighthouse says. “I could say the same.” “Oh, yeah, how was the desk run?” Quiana asks. “Crazy. And fruitful. I look forward to putting it up. Who’s this guy?” “Cobalt.” He offers his hand. “Pleasure.” “So we’re just letting anyone in here now?” “I’m actually a very respected hero where I come from, I’ll have you know,” Cobalt says. “Then how come I haven’t heard of you?” “I don’t know enough about you to answer that—” “What are your powers?” “I don’t have any, just this exosuit powered by cobalt.” “Hey, you’re like a low-budget Iron Man,” he quips. “That’s what I said,” Windstrike says. A beat passes. “Well, I’m sure you have to go—” Cobalt takes her aside. “Are you and he friends?” “Me and who?” “The wizard. There’s obviously something there.” “What? Me and Presto? No,” she replies. “No, of course not,” he agrees. “Why would you say that? Are you secretly a psychic too?” “No, but I am known for predicting things back home.” “Uh huh.” “My advice: be careful dating coworkers. It has to be the right person, otherwise you’ll both end up regretting it.” They return to the rest of the group. “Well, I’m off,” Cobalt announces. “People to save, cities to protect.” “Come back soon,” Damian says. “Yeah, we’ll probably call you around May,” Defender quips. Cobalt is confused. “Why May?” “You’ll see.” Cobalt departs. “We’ve gotta stop doing that,” Resident says. “So, tell me about today,” Presto requests. “Well, it started just like any other day for us,” Windstrike begins, and continues indistinctly. A few days later, Sol arrives at the Summit. “Ah, home sweet secret base.” “Welcome back,” Sasha says. “How have you been?” “Good,” she replies. “I may have stumbled upon a conspiracy at SPSU. Hey, where’s Dilbert? I thought we agreed that Wednesday is the day when we’re all here.” “He said something about building the desk,” Orland says. He looks at his computer screen. “His loss, because today looks like it’s starting off hot. Robbery at 5th and Main. Who wants it?” “Wait.” She looks at the security cameras. “Who’s that at the door?” “Oh, that’s Cobalt. He helped us take down Mr. Enchantment last week.” “What’s he doing back here?” Sasha asks. “I don’t know. I’ll ask. In the meantime—” “I’ve got it,” Ginny says. “I’ll go with you,” Quiana says. “Cobalt! Good to see you again so soon,” Lighthouse says. “Can we go inside?” Cobalt says. “It’s urgent.” “What is it?” Lighthouse asks. “So you know that group I’ve been following?” Cobalt says. “They’re called the Second Continental Army, and my source tells me they’re planning a major offensive.” “Why do you need us?” Promontory asks. “All my efforts to bust them from the outside have failed.” “You have to go UC,” Defender says. “Bingo. Only I can’t do it alone. I wouldn’t ask a bunch of teenagers, except I might have burned all my contacts in the feds.” “We’d be happy to help,” Promontory says. “And we’re all adults here.” “Except me,” the Reg says. “Except him. So do you know what they’re planning?” “No, just that it’s gonna be soon,” Cobalt says. “As in a matter of days.” “How many of us do you need?” Damian says. “Just two of you.” “Great,” Promontory says. “Presto and I have UC experience. We’ll do it.” “Actually,” Cobalt says, “that might not be best. The Army prides themselves on being more inclusive than their namesake.” “So you think your chances will be better with two women.” “Yes.” “Defender has an abrasive personality,” the Reg says. “Take her.” “Hurtful,” Defender says, “but yes. Count me in. When do we move out?” “Now,” Cobalt says. “I hope this goes better than the last time we went UC,” she whispers to Promontory. “Tell me about it,” the brunette responds. “What’s that?” Cobalt asks from in front of them. “Nothing,” Defender says. “How was the robbery?” Orland asks once Ginny and Quiana get back to the Summit. “Piece of cake,” Ginny says. “Where’s Sasha?” Quiana asks. “She and Sol left with Cobalt,” the teen hacker explains. “They’re going undercover to take out the Second Continental Army.” Quiana’s demeanor changes instantly. “You let her do what?” “I don’t see the problem. She’s being a hero. That’s what she signed up for. What we all signed up for.” “I’m just worried. The Second Continental Army is no joke. My friend’s dad ran afoul of them. They still haven’t found his body.” “Sasha can handle herself,” Damian says. “And Sol has her back.” Dilbert comes into the room. “I’m here.” “Did you put up the desk?” Orland says. “I decided the desk could wait. Where’s Sol?” As they walk up to a warehouse that apparently serves as the Second Continental Army’s (SCA) base, Sol looks at her new photo ID. “Lennox? That’s not even a name.” “Better than Sam,” Sasha says. “God, it’s so basic.” “I just realized you never told us your real name, Cobalt.” “I suppose I should,” he says. “It’s Winston.” “I’m Sol. This is Sasha.” “Sol. That’s a pretty name.” Sasha gives him a look, but he doesn’t have time to respond before a blonde woman in military fatigues approaches them. “So, you guys are the new recruits.” “Yep, that’s us. Sam Green, reporting for duty.” “And you’re Lennox Hughes?” “Yes,” “Lennox” says. “So that would make you Herbert Johnson. What brings you to the Second Continental Army?” “We heard you were hiring,” “Sam” says. “Ignore my colleague. We, like you, are disillusioned about the current state of our country,” “Herbert” says. “There needs to be a change, and if the voting public won’t do it, we’ll have to do it ourselves.” “Yeah, we’re all about that change,” “Lennox” says. “Down with the patriarchy,” “Sam” says, raising a fist. “Welcome to the team. I’m Georgie.” “Herbert?” Sasha whispers. “So where do we set our stuff down?” “Herbert” asks. “Right there is fine,” Georgie says. He goes to sit down, but Georgie stops him. “Don’t sit yet, new guy. We have a mission for you.” She hands him a gun. “What’s this?” “A gun, silly. A couple of us are going on a supply run. This is your time to prove your worth to us.” She hands another gun to Sasha, and is about to give one to Sol, who stops her. “I don’t use guns,” Sol says. “Then what do you use?” The vampire speeds away, and returns not a moment later with a sword. “This.” “Works for me. Hey, did you feel a gust of wind just now?” “Nope.” “Maybe someone cracked a window,” Sasha says. “Johnny!” Georgie yells, walking away from them. “What did I tell you about opening windows?” Sol, Sasha, and Winston are in the SCA’s van. “This is the second resistance I’ve joined this week,” Sol says. “I feel like I’m in Star Wars.” “We’re here,” Georgie says from the driver’s seat. “So we’re not going in?” Sasha asks. “No,” Georgie says. “You guys have the most important job of all: providing cover fire.” Georgie and her cohorts go in. “This is the most agonizing part of going UC,” Winston says. “The waiting.” After what seems like an eternity, they come out. The cops open fire. “Go!” Georgie says. Winston and Sasha engage the cops, aiming for nonlethal hits, while Sol uses her sword to deflect the bullets that they can’t avoid. “What are you doing?” Georgie says. “Kill them.” “Oh,” Sasha says, “I’m sorry—” “Get in.” “What was that out there?” Georgie asks once they get back to base. “Was the mission successful?” Winston says. “Yes, but that’s not the point. The point is that you and your friends were weak.” “Hey, we took out those cops.” “That’s the thing. You didn’t. Because of you, they’ll be back next time. And in my experience, scorned cops tend not to miss.” “Georgie!” someone calls, and she leaves. “That was close,” Winston says. “Yeah,” Sol agrees. “Too close.” “So this is what we risked our lives for?” someone says from the other side of the room. “A football?” “Johnny,” Georgie says, “you weren’t supposed to open that. And it’s not a football.” She turns the oblong shape over to reveal a timer. “It’s a bomb,” Sasha says. “No, it’s our Kings Mountain.” “We can’t let that bomb go off,” Winston says. Georgie lays out a blueprint, and starts going over the plan. “This is the Pyrex Corp headquarters. It’s the perfect spot. We’ll enter here, and then we’ll plant the bomb here. I need a volunteer.” Winston steps up to her. “I’ll do it.” “How do I know you won’t screw it up again, Herbert?” “He won’t,” Sol says. “He knows bombs.” “Knows them inside and out,” Sasha says. “He worked with them all the time in Iraq.” Winston gives her a look. “Afghanistan. That’s what I meant. Geography’s not really my strong suit.” “Neither is aim,” Georgie mutters. “Fine. You’re in, Herbert.” “I have one condition,” Winston says. “My friends have to be on the team, too.” “You’re killing me, Herbert. It’s like I keep telling my brother, you can’t have friends in this business. They don’t last. Get some rest. We move out at 0600.” “Can you take out the bomb?” Sol asks once they are outside the building. “I sure can,” Winston says. “This is not my first rodeo. I actually did work with IEDs in Afghanistan. Not Iraq.” “Sorry,” Sasha says. “I’m terrible at guessing adults’ ages.” They get inside, and Winston plants the bomb and starts working on disabling it. “Work faster,” Sasha says. “I’d be able to if you weren’t asking me about it every five seconds.” Sasha raises her hands in surrender. “We’ve got company,” Sol says. Sol and Sasha fight the building security while Winston disables the bomb. “Done,” he says. “Finally,” Sasha says. “Now you can help us out.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Winston is able to take out some of the security guys, but then three SCA members show up with guns, led by Georgie. “Herbert, Herbert, Herbert,” Georgie says. “I stuck my neck out for you, twice, and this is how you repay me.” “I’m sorry,” Winston says. “I can’t let you do this.” “Well, then I can’t let you—” She is interrupted when Winston kicks the gun out of her hand. “Always with the speeches. Do your guys have speeches, too?” “Oh, all the time,” Sasha says. “What is your endgame here?” Georgie says. “There’s reinforcements coming. You’re not getting out of this.” She feels a sudden gust of wind. “Okay, now I know I felt something that time.” “Actually, I think it’s you who won’t be getting out,” Promontory says. She is flanked by several OCPD officers. “Of prison.” “Turns out this wasn’t your Kings Mountain,” Winston says. “It was Yorktown. And you were on the wrong side.” Promontory, Defender, and Cobalt return to the Summit, where Defender is greeted by a hug from Resident. “You’re alive! Of course I care about you two, too. Maybe not you as much, Mr. I’m-Gonna-Endanger-Teenagers.” “Oh, I knew Defender was gonna be fine. I looked her up. You’ve got a good one there, Resident.” She looks at the blonde. “Yeah, I know.” “Well, I have to go. For good this time. But I hope we can hang out sometime. I miss having friends in this business.” “Sure thing, Herbert,” Defender says. “Take care, Sam. Lennox.” He leaves. Her girlfriend is confused. “What?” “Inside joke.” “I knew you would defeat them,” Dilbert says. “I mean, I wasn’t worried. You always do. I mean, I was worried a normal amount. Just the same as everyone else. What even is normal?” “Nothing I wanna be,” Sol says, “that’s for sure.” “So, this is college, huh?” Solara Boilweed asks upon arriving at Southern Pierce State University (SPSU). They are outside, and it is a sunny day.
“Honestly, I thought it’d be bigger,” Orland Crysanthe quips. “It seems adequately sized, based on my prior research,” Dilbert Silvercloud notes, in a very Dilbert Silvercloud fashion. “Of course you would say that,” Sol says. “What do you mean? We all did research before choosing SPSU,” he replies. “You most of all, Orland, because we had to convince you to go here. I can’t believe you wanted to go to Pierce-Sexton. Lame.” “UPS is not lame, and it didn’t take much, really,” Orland recalls. “You guys wouldn’t last a week without me.” “How would you know?” Sol says. “Oh, trust me. I know.” “So, this is different with the Big Three gone,” Dylan Cassidy observes at the Summit. The room is appropriately lit. “Yeah, it’s like the return to Ordinary Time after the Feast of the Holy Trinity,” Ginny Gaso adds. “Too far,” Quiana Ross whispers to her. “I understood that reference,” Max Tillman declares. “What is he still doing here?” Sasha Alejo asks. “Excuse me, Sasha, is that how we treat our guests?” Dylan Cassidy fires back. “He’s just sort of here,” Damian Moncrief says. “Honestly, I hadn’t even noticed him until you made that joke, so well done, Genevieve.” “It’s Ginny,” she corrects him. “Genevieve makes me want to barf.” “A lot of strong feelings there,” Quiana says. “Why are you in charge, Dylan?” Damian queries. “You’re the youngest one here.” “Thank you,” Sasha says enthusiastically. “Sol chose me to be the leader.” “I’ve been on the team the longest,” Dylan says. “It’s obviously me.” “Nope. She chose me. Plus, I’m older, and I have more experience as a leader.” “Are you sure she didn’t choose you for some other reason?” Damian inquires. “Like what?” “To distract you from thinking about a certain shapeshifter maybe?” Sasha averts his gaze. “I’m the leader. If you don’t like it, use the suggestion box. Oh, wait.” She leaves. “I’m not gonna lie, it’s weird being here without Dilbert,” Orland says once he and Sol arrive in the resident hall study room. It’s scantily lit, like the back room of a library. “Ever since the third grade, it feels like he’s always been there.” “I agree, but he wants to commute, and we have to respect that,” Sol agrees. “No, of course. It’s kind of smart, though. He doesn’t have to pay for room and board,” Orland points out. “That’s true. Speaking of money, how are we supposed to pay for everything? I’ve heard tales of graduates who were paying off their student loans well into their 30s. When I was gonna go into the military, I wasn’t gonna have to worry about that.” “That’s only for dumb majors like art history with no career prospects,” Orland promises her. “Between your, what is it, math and my computer engineering, I don’t expect that we’ll have that problem. Speaking of which, we have financial aid to factor in as well.” “Wait, really?” “Of course. I forget that, because you’re so financially well-off, you don’t expect to have any financial aid.” “That seems like a backhanded compliment,” she replies cautiously, “but, nonetheless, let’s see what we have in terms of financial aid.” Orland pulls up his report. “Hmm. BankPortable. Interesting.” “Why is that interesting? Have you heard of them?” “Nope.” Sol shakes her head, chuckling. “See? Aren’t you glad you didn’t join up? You would’ve missed out on my awesome wit. But what should we do? We have to go through BankPortable in order to get our financial aid.” “I don’t know.” “We can totally do this without Sol,” the Reg says when the team goes out on patrol after school. “I don’t think that that should be a question,” Quiana opines. “Well, it is,” he responds curtly. “The more pressing question, though,” Damian says, “should be whether or not we can do this without Sasha.” “Yeah, I haven’t seen her since she was all ‘I’m the leader,’” Ginny says, referencing the classic Disney film The Aristocats. “She’s been acting weird ever since she didn’t show up to Row’s service,” he says, referring to their deceased friend Rowena Lonemace. “She should open up to me,” Quiana says. “She’s my girlfriend, after all.” Just then, she spots a gang of drug dealers performing their nefarious operations. “Now we can find out,” the aerokinetic says enthusiastically. The Reg, in the aftermath of the Climacteric and the Metamorphosis, has been working on throwing his regs since he can no longer telekinetically control them. This has been successful, as he is able to dispatch two of the drug dealers. Ginny topples one with a concentrated windstrike. Defender arrives as well, and immediately finds a groove. “Oh hey, Sash, we were just talking about you,” the Reg says. “All good things, I hope,” Defender says. “And when we’re in the field, it’s Defender.” “Right.” “So what do you do?” Quiana asks Damian during the fight. “The Reg has his rocks, I have my syringes, Gaso has her air rushes.” “Windstrikes,” Ginny yells from across the room. “Fine. What’s your thing?” “I haven’t found my thing yet,” Damian reveals. “What about you, Defender? Do you have powers, or are you just a pencil pusher?” she says upon seeing Sasha primarily use her pencil as an offensive weapon. She responds by biting the drug dealer with her fangs. “How’s that for a pencil pusher?” she shoots back through bloodstained fangs. The team continues to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the criminals, who start to gain the upper hand over our protagonists, until a mysterious man, whose mystery is enhanced by his dapper suit, appears and defeats the criminals singlehandedly with various devices that he retrieves from his seemingly endless suit pockets. “Are we almost there?” the mysterious man asks while he is being led to the Summit. “And, now. Take it off,” the Reg says. The man begins to remove his suit jacket, says, “Just kidding,” and removes his blindfold. “This is impressive, I must say,” he says upon getting his first look at the place. It is appropriately lit. “Did you design this?” he asks the Reg. “Why do you automatically assume he’s in charge?” Defender asks. “I’m in charge.” “No, he was right the first time,” the Reg says. “He’s the one who put the blindfold on me,” the man replies, offering his hand. “Suitability, but you can call me Gavin.” The Reg takes off his mask. “Dylan. You trust us, even though we blindfolded you.” “Your reputation precedes you. Team Promontory are the most famous superheroes on this side of the Mississippi. Without you guys, we would be bowing to our centaur overlords right now.” “It was no problem, really. And no, our friend Orland designed this,” he says, “Despite what Defender may have you believe” — he glares at the blonde, who glares back — “I am in charge. So any complaints you have, you can take them up with me.” “Problem is, most of the complaints you’ll have will be about him, so,” she remarks, offering her hand. “Sasha.” “Puts you in a bit of a tough spot,” Ginny agrees. “Ginny. Or you can call me by my hero name, Windstrike.” “Oh, you decided?” Quiana says. “I like it. It’s bad*ss.” “And this is Quiana.” She offers her hand. “Resident.” “Because of the syringes,” Gavin says. She nods. “Well, your friend — Orland, is it? — he did an impeccable job. Much better than my secret lair.” “We call it the Summit,” Sasha explains. “And it’s not a lair,” Ginny comments. “That makes it sound evil.” “It’s more of a hideout,” Quiana says. “Good name,” Gavin says, “let me guess — because it’s the pinnacle of your vigilante activities?” “No,” Damian says. “Our friend is Promontory.” “Wow. That’s awesome,” Gavin responds. “Is she as cool in real life as she is on TV?” “Cooler,” Ginny says. “Speaking of cool, let’s talk about you,” Dylan segues. “Do you just pull stuff out of your suit?” “It has whatever I need, whenever I need it,” Gavin reveals. “That’s awesome,” Damian says. “What do you do?” Gavin asks, unexpectedly. Damian looks at him, confused. “Your leader here is a rock wizard, and then you’ve got Catwoman, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. What’s your thing?” “Why does everyone keep asking me that?” Damian asks, infuriated. “I’m not a rock wizard. I’m just Damian. I’m still figuring it out.” “Speaking of things that we’re still figuring out, don’t you guys have school?” Gavin inquires. “We are well aware of that, thank you,” Sasha says. “Most of us chose to attend college close by so that we could be free for any superheroics, should the need arise,” Damian says. “Why did you save us?” Dylan asks abruptly. “I’m sorry?” Gavin says. “You could’ve been anywhere in the world,” Quiana says. “Why did you choose that store at that time?” “There’s this elusive billionaire whom I’ve been trying to nab,” Gavin explains. “John Rockwell, CEO of Rockwell Labs.” “Oh, yeah, I know Rockwell Labs,” Quiana pipes up. “They made these trusty syringes.” She holds one up for emphasis. “What did this Rockwell guy do?” Ginny asks. “And what does that have to do with those idiots at the store?” “Like any pharmaceutical company, Rockwell has long been accused of mistrials,” Gavin begins. “However, also like any pharmaceutical company, they buy off all the good lawyers to settle their cases for them,” Sasha says with more than a hint of anger in her voice. “Now I think that Rockwell’s expanded his scope further, and is using drug runners like the ones we saw today to substitute street products for his company’s products that didn’t pass inspection,” he continues. “That’s terrible,” Ginny breathes. “So how do we stop him?” Dylan asks. “First, we have to find him,” Gavin says. “I don’t suppose you guys have a tracking software of some kind?” “Orland is our tech guy, and he’s unavailable at the moment,” Damian says. “That’s a shame.” “If Row was here, she could see where he was,” Dylan says. Sasha hisses at him. “You keep Row’s name out of your stupid mouth.” She storms off. “I’ll go after her,” Quiana says. “No,” Gavin says. “I’ll do it.” “Dilbert will know what to do,” Sol says at the study room. “Yeah, the guy knows everything,” Orland responds. “It’s annoying.” “Let’s see if we can get him on Zoom,” Sol suggests. They attempt to do so, only to find that Dilbert is on another call with his sister and grandparents. “Our apologies, Graham and Henrietta, Lisha,” Sol says hurriedly. “Can we steal Dilbert for just one second?” “Yeah, sure,” Dilbert says. “We were just wrapping up anyway.” “Speaking of wrapping up, I’m almost done with my genealogy website,” Graham declares. “I should have it up by tonight.” “Great, send me the link,” Dilbert replies. Lisha facepalms. “Save me,” he whispers. “It’s always nice seeing you guys,” Henrietta says. “You too,” Lisha says. “I wish we could do it in person.” “We could use Dilbert’s in-person experience,” Orland segues. “Alright, let’s wrap it up. I’ll send you the link for next week,” Dilbert promises. “Don’t do it now, because we’ll forget, you know,” Henrietta suggests. “Oh, we know,” Lisha snarks. “See you guys next week.” “Love you guys,” Graham says. “Love you too,” Dilbert and Lisha say. “See you,” Henrietta says. “Alright, now that we’ve got your attention,” Sol says, “we have an urgent matter to attend to.” “Log in to your SPSU portal,” Orland directs. “Why?” Dilbert asks, puzzled. “You’ll see,” he promises. “I see that this BankPortable company is going to give me financial aid. That’s cool. I didn’t know that I would get any financial aid,” Dilbert reveals. Orland sighs. “That’s the thing. We’ve never heard of them,” Sol says. “Have you?” “No, I haven’t,” Dilbert admits. “But I will do some research. Sometimes, these companies try to scam people, college students especially.” “That’s what we’re concerned about,” Orland agrees. “Alright, you let us know,” Sol says. “Will do,” Dilbert promises. In the hallway, Sasha turns to see Gavin. “I don’t want to talk to anyone right now.” “I’m not just anyone,” Gavin says. “I know what you’re going through?” Sasha is silent. “I lost someone, too. Her name was Amanda. We did everything together. I always said I was the suit and she was the tie. When she died, I reacted in much the same way you did: I retreated into myself.” “How did you move on?” “I thought about what Amanda would want me to do. She wouldn’t want me to wallow in my self-pity. She would want me to get up, dust myself off, and soldier on.” “Soldier on. I like that.” Gavin moves to leave. “Wait. Why are you being so nice to me? You don’t even know me.” “Can’t a guy just be nice to someone?” When Sasha doesn’t respond, he adds, “Rockwell’s security is well-known as the best of the best. If we’re gonna go up against him, we all need to be in tip-top shape.” “Well, thank you. I needed it.” “Anytime.” “What exactly are we doing here?” Dylan says. “According to my research,” Gavin says, “Rockwell should be at this gala.” “So what are we waiting for?” Quiana asks. “Let’s get in there already.” “First, we need to get you guys suits. Luckily, I keep a few spares with me at all times.” “What for, an impromptu concert?” Ginny asks. “For the concert!” Dylan says, referencing Electric Dreams. “I’ve always wanted to say this,” Damian reveals. “Suit up!” “Wait, we don’t have Orland to talk to,” Dylan reminds them before they go in. “Oh, whatever shall we do without our Lighthouse to guide us,” Sasha says sarcastically. “Guys, we’ve got this. Quiana, you took down an alien. Ginny, I’ve seen you—” She is cut off by Max saying, “Lighthouse to field team. Lighthouse to field team. Do you copy?” “Harrington?” Damian asks. “Affirmative,” comes the response. “D**n it,” Sasha laments. “I had a whole speech planned.” “Can you pull up the schematics of Rockwell's mansion? I left the tab open,” Gavin requests. “Yeah, hold one one sec.” Shuffling is heard. “I got it.” “Okay, Sasha, Ginny, and I will head up to Rockwell’s office,” he directs. “Copy,” Max replies. “Dylan, you take Damian and Quiana to the dining room.” “Copy,” Dylan says, and everyone else follows. “What are you kids doing here?” is the initial greeting received by our field team. “We’re doing a research project for our biology class,” Quiana says hurriedly. “Yeah, we’re researching the impacts of Rockwell pharmaceuticals on the human body,” Damian adds. “We were hoping to talk to Mr. Rockwell. Can you point us to him?” Dylan asks. “Sure. Right this way,” the man, suddenly very accommodating, gesticulates. “I can’t believe that worked,” Quiana breathes. “Rockwell is deathly afraid of lawsuits,” Damian recalls. “On the on chance that we find something, we would make their lives significantly harder than they had to be. Maybe that’s my thing — the smart guy.” “Nah,” Dylan says, “Dilbert’s already taken that job.” Gavin pulls out a Taser from his suit as he and his teammates ascend the stairs, but doesn’t use it. He doesn’t need to. Rockwell’s office is completely empty. “Mom, you’re a financial professional,” Dilbert begins at the kitchen table; Adelaide has the light on for her computer use. “Have you ever heard of BankPortable?” “I can’t say that I have,” Adelaide responds. “Why?” “They’re partnering with SPSU to distribute our financial aid,” he explains. “So you do get financial aid. That’s great.” “I said the same thing.” “Let me see this BankPortable. You have to be wary of these things; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Adelaide reminds him. “I know,” Dilbert playfully chides her. “Let me know if you find anything.” “I will,” Dilbert promises. Dylan, Damian, and Quiana are brought to Rockwell. “Leave us,” Rockwell commands his associate, who does so, albeit reluctantly. “You,” he says menacingly upon seeing our protagonists. “What about us?” Quiana asks. “We’re just doing research for our biology project.” “Don’t try with that,” Rockwell advises. “I’ve seen you on the news. I know why you’re really here." The three heroes share looks of concern, and attempt to escape. Rockwell sees this. “Get them!” he bellows. As the corporate fighter types converge on them, Dylan starts conjuring his regs, and Quiana pulls out her syringes. Just then, Gavin fires his Taser into the crowd, and a melee erupts. In the midst of the chaos, Damian detaches a leg from a nearby chair and starts wielding it. “Stick. Maybe that’s your thing,” Dylan yells. “I think that’s already taken,” Damian yells back. Sasha is knocked to the ground by one of the security guys, and looks up to see Gavin standing over her. “Remember,” he says, “soldier on.” “Soldier on,” she repeats, and launches herself back into the fight. After our heroes take down two of the security guys, Gavin conjures a grappling hook from his suit and has them each take their turn grappling out of Rockwell’s mansion. “Well, that sounds like it was quite an adventure,” Sol says at Heliotrope, the team’s official hangout. “Yeah, I’m sorry I missed it,” Orland adds, “although, from what you’ve said, it sounds like just another day in the life for Suitability here, is that right?” “You could say that,” Gavin concedes. “So, will you be staying in town?” Dylan asks. “We could use someone like you. I sense a strong probability that our current leader will be quickly overwhelmed by his responsibilities,” Sasha predicts. Dylan gives her a look. “I can’t,” Gavin reveals. “I’m sorry, but I already have plans.” “Good luck,” Ginny wishes. “Come visit,” Quiana urges. “Yeah, we’ll need you for the crossover,” Orland quips. Gavin departs, slightly confused about Orland’s last comment. “What about you, Max?” Damian says. “That was great timing there in the Summit.” “I tagged your phone, man,” Max admits. “And no, I can’t do this full-time. I have a life, you know.” “That’s right,” Sol says. “I remember you had a job.” “Yeah, well, I have a different job now, and it keeps me very busy. I don’t have loads of free time like you all seemingly do.” “What happened to the Snow Leopard?” Sasha asks. “There was an incident involving a wayward dumpling. Legally, that’s all I can say.” “You don’t think we’re busy?” Damian responds, with a slight emphasis on the we’re. “What Sticky Washington here means to say,” Sasha quips, “is we could use you. Your skills are unmatched.” “How about you and your skills?” Quiana says. “The way you took down that guy was crazy. Row would be proud.” “Thank you. I appreciate that.” The brunette puts her hand on Sasha’s wrist. “And I would appreciate it if you'd tell me when you were hurting. That’s what having a partner is for, so they can lift you up.” “I’ll try to remember that.” They kiss briefly. “It’s a scam!” Dilbert announces, panting, as he enters Heliotrope. “You didn’t do anything on the portal, did you?” The Ocean City-based team is thoroughly confused. “Of course not,” Sol reassures him. “We trust you,” Orland says. “Good. Until we get this fixed, the university will be at a significant financial disadvantage. Everyone, Max, good to see you again,” Dilbert segues. “You too, man,” Max says. “That’s your thing, Damian,” Ginny realizes. “You adapt.” “Yeah, you’re the Chameleon,” Quiana suggests. Damian makes a noncommittal sound. “We’re still working on the name,” he says. “To perseverance!” Sol toasts, and they all drink from their various shakes, except Dilbert, as they were ordered prior to his arrival. The trio of vampiresses continues chanting, and a BankPortable ID lanyard can be seen atop a cabinet in the background. Content warning: violence
Previously on: “Hey, this is gonna sound like a weird question, but were you part of a superhero league or something back in the day?” Orland asks. “Not really,” Matthew Simkins/Outburst says. “There was something like that. But I’ve always been more of a lone wolf.” “You,” Dilbert says. “Who?” Sol asks. “My name is Roland Twenty,” Roland says. Orland sees a superhero standing over a black-clad man. The man seems to be trapped in some kind of spreadsheet. “2022,” the hero says. “So that’s where he’s supposed to be.” “We heard something about a group of heroes back in the day,” Orland says. “Was that you?” “Yes, I was a founding member of the League of Enhanced Heroes,” Spreadsheet Man says. “But we went our separate ways. We were just too different.” “Well,” Orland says, “now that we know the ax is in good hands, we’d best be going.” “Wait,” Axslinger says. “He gives Orland the ax. “You’ll need this.” “Are you sure?” “I’ve had my fun. It’s time to pass it on.” “You’re him,” Amara says. “The Digit-man or whatever.” “God d**n it, can someone get my name right? It’s the Prestidigitator.” “It’s too long,” Nifu says. “It’s all about branding.” “You must have me mistaken for someone else,” Sol says sweetly. “But on an unrelated note, can we talk to you, privately?” “About,” Landry asks before Orland nudges a very convincing-looking fake gun into his chest. “Now,” Sol says. “That was a fake gun, right, Orland?” Sol says. “Yep,” Orland says proudly. “Not too shabby, huh?” “I’m impressed.” “Well, it’s mine. You can’t have it.” “Not that you need it. You have me. And all of us.” “I know, but I want to at least project an image of toughness, not just the lame sidekick.” “You’re not lame. I need you, too, you know, to come up with some genius plan to stop this Metamorphosis.” “You mean you need Dilbert to come up with a plan, and I can just sit in the Summit and do nothing.” “I don’t know,” she says thoughtfully. “Be ready. You might have to step up.” In her lair, Meena addresses her Council troops. “Are we ready?” They respond in the affirmative. “Let’s get those supes!” The troops leave and begin attacking the humans with weaponry from Dodds in pursuit of our heroes. In a flashback to before Meena attacked, Team Tory discusses what colleges they got into. “I got into SPSU,” Sol announces. “Me too,” Dilbert says. “I did too, but I’m gonna hold out for something better,” Orland says. “Like what? Harvard?” Sasha asks rhetorically. “Like UPS,” Orland responds. “They have a really good computer engineering program.” “But you can do that anywhere, can’t you?” Rory asks. “It’s practically the law that every school has to have a computer engineering program these days.” “These days. Who are you, my dad?” Rowena asks. “By the way, Orland can do what he wants,” Dylan says. “He doesn’t need you to tell him what to do all the time.” “I actually need to tell you guys what to do all the time,” Orland points out. Suddenly, Rory’s phone rings. “Excuse me one second.” “You are excused,” Dilbert says matter-of-factly. Rory leaves, and when he talks with the man on the other end of the phone, his face lights up, like he just got a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In the present, Bellona Meadows calls Team Tory. “The — fairies — attacking — City. Need — help — now.” Her speech is frantic, as she is busy fighting off Council troops. “This is next-level stuff, guys,” Sasha says. “No Big Bad thus far has entered into a partnership with an inter-species lawmaking organization and a morally questionable billionaire,” Dilbert agrees. “Why do you have to say the long version of everything?” Dylan asks. “It’s the specific version. Precision saves lives, you know. Rory can attest to that.” “It does; he’s right, as usual,” Rory agrees. “In the medical field, precision is often the difference between life and death.” “What do you know about ‘the medical field’?” Rowena says. “Yeah, I thought you wanted to be a biologist or something,” Ginny recalls. “I do, but I’ve always been fascinated by disease. I feel like epidemiology could be my way of making the world a better place,” Rory says. “Oh, God. That was the cheesiest thing I’ve heard today,” Sasha remarks, “and I’ve had to listen to Dilbert’s puns all day.” “Yeah, I said that our day’s plans might have to be shELVED. Shelved because of elves, get it?” he jests. “Do you see? Do you see what I’m dealing with here?” “I feel for you, I really do,” Cary Henderson says, “but we have more important things to do right now." “Like what?” Rowena asks. “Your graduation. Everyone else is already gone.” At Meena’s lair, Sol begins to ransack everything for any information on regaining her speed. At graduation, Cary takes Sasha, Rowena, Rory, and Ginny to sit with Dilbert, Adelaide, Trevor, Lisha, Josie, Catherine, Orland, Quiana, Damian, Esteban, Marie Liu, Aubrey, Addie, Bellona Meadows, Ariana Hunter, Ophelia, Dylan, Max, Tara, Graham and Henrietta Murphy, Sarah and Tom Castillo, and Johan and Arabella Boilweed. “I’m glad you could make it,” Ophelia says. “I was getting a little worried.” “Yeah, we’re okay,” Sasha says, “for now. How is our favorite she-wolf doing?” Aubrey pretends to be hurt. “I thought I was your favorite she-wolf.” “You’ll always be my favorite she-wolf,” Dylan consoles her. “I know that, dumba**.” Sasha goes on stage, as her name is announced. “You know,” Ophelia says, “since I met you guys, I’ve been shot, knocked unconscious, I broke my arm, and now I’m a literal lycanthrope. I don’t know why I’m still friends with you people.” “Just admit it,” Rowena says, “you like us.” “But seriously, I’m doing much better. Row’s been helping me with my transformations. I think I have them almost under control now.” “Good, because I think you’ll need to transform here,” Orland says. “You know,” Max says, “I’ve never understood why we say ‘she-wolf.’ We don’t say she-cat or she-bird or she-deer.” “How about She-Hulk?” Esteban chimes in. “That’s a whole different conversation.” “If we want to get really technical,” Damian says, “the term ‘werewolf’ comes from the Old English word wer, meaning man. The Old English word for woman is wif. So we should be calling her a wif-wolf.” We pan over to the relatives. “I’m so glad that they’re still doing this,” Adelaide says. “Yeah, especially after the incident at the school last week,” Sarah agrees. “I could see why they canceled prom, though.” “At least this time there’s cover of day,” Tom says. “Do you really think there’s gonna be another incident?” Arabella asks. “The fact of the matter, Bells,” Johan says, “is we don’t know. There’s a lot of riffraff in this town, which your sister likes to associate herself with.” “Speaking of, where is Sol?” Dilbert asks. “Who knows?” Dylan answers his question with another question. “You know I hate it when you answer my question with another question,” Dilbert reminds him. “Do you?” Dylan eggs him on. “Dylan, I swear to—” Dilbert is shushed by Sasha as Sol’s name is announced. When she does not come onto the stage, the announcer proceeds. Orland, Tara, Ariana, Rowena, Bellona, Dilbert, Max, and Ophelia’s names are called, but after that, disaster strikes — Meena and her Council troops arrive at the ceremony and begin attacking citizens with Dodds tech. The battle is very chaotic. The Prestidigitator tries to fend off the attackers using spells, as do Lisha and Catherine (not as well). Josie transforms into a cat, as she has the most experience with them, and joins the fight. Jeremy Reynolds joins in, and thins the playing field a bit, as do Marie and Cary. Ariana and Bellona work together, and do so exceptionally well. “These are not the heroes you’re looking for,” Jeremy says to some trigger-happy citizens. “Move along.” They do so. “D**n,” Cary says. “I’m glad you’re on our side.” “Same, shark girl. Same.” She bumps into him. “What am I doing here? What is anyone doing anywhere?” “Oh, no. Sorry about that. It’ll wear off. Eventually.” One sharply-dressed man is shot with a silver bullet, but removes it and gets up. The teen wizard turns to see Sergei. “Sergei? How are you—” “You missed,” Sergei says. “Come on. You’re not getting rid of me that easy.” “I’m glad you’re on our side for this, Sergei.” “Of course. I’m always on Solara’s side.” The Prestidigitator, Lisha, and Catherine are cornered by several ubir and pixies. The Josie-cat jumps on the Prestidigitator’s shoulder. “My spells aren’t working,” he says. “The centaurs must have caught wise and made them immune.” “Oh no,” Lisha exclaims cutely. “What are we going to do?” Just then, two figures fly down and push the ubir and pixies back. The figures are revealed to be Adelaide and Henrietta. “How did you do that?” Catherine says. “Yeah, they were immune to our spells,” the Prestidigitator adds. “Guamanian know-how,” Henrietta says. “That must not be in their repertoire.” “Never count out the island babes,” Adelaide says. She gives her mom a high-five. Max and Esteban are leading the evacuation effort. Their path is suddenly cut off by elves. One of them is struck down by Axslinger, wielding a makeshift ax, while Navigatrix goes on ahead. “This way.” Damian is defending some parents against ghosts. “D**n, these ghosts are hard to fight,” he laments. “You know, you don’t have to fight them.” He turns to see Meena. “You can still join me. Like James did. Like you were supposed to.” “I will never join you.” “I could bring your mom back.” He tries to make his voice as even as possible. “How?” “We have centaurs. We have magic on our side.” “I can’t betray my friends.” “Fine. Then you’ll die.” She attacks him, but is struck from behind. She turns to see Chimney. “I thought you were on my side.” “Our people have had enough conquerors,” Chimney says. “We don’t need that from you, too.” Meena tries to use her telekinesis on her, but it doesn’t work. “How?” “Magic, b***h.” She knocks Meena out. She helps Damian up. “Thanks. What made you change your mind?” “A friend of ours made me realize that, although the system is flawed, that doesn’t mean she’s the solution. And he gave me some cool new magic immunity, too.” “Well, we’re glad you’re back. And about that immunity, is he giving it out freely?” Orland uses the Great Gaucho Ax to shield Tara from an attacking pixie. “So, I wanted to talk to you about something.” “And you think this is the right time?” “I got into UPS.” “The postal service?” “No, Pierce—” “I’m messing with you, O. That’s great.” They hug, and Tara spins him around so he can take out an approaching goblin. “Yeah. But I’m not going there. I’m going to SPSU, and they have a summer program for computer engineering. And I know you said you wanted to stay in the OC—” “It’s fine. We can do long distance.” “Are you sure?” “Yeah, I’m sure. If all of this can’t tear us apart, I don’t think anything can.” “I feel the same way.” He slices his ax through a Wendigo. “Ugh. Gross.” “Yeah, it’s pretty gnarly. But they trapped us in a dungeon, so I think it’s fair.” Ophelia is fighting a Wendigo. “Come on, change. You can do it,” she says to herself. The Wendigo swats away her sword, and deals her a devastating blow. “You’re gonna pay for what you did to us.” “If there were ever a time to change, this would be it.” Before she can do so, though, Promontory shows up and hits the Wendigo in the thigh, disabling it, before sending it down with a kick to the chest. “How did you do that?” Ophelia says, awed. “Saphenous nerve cluster,” Promontory explains. “Jada taught me that one. It’s a consistent weak spot on practically all species. Don’t know about Row, though.” “What about Row?” “Oh, you didn’t know? She’s an alien.” “You’re kidding, right?” An elf attacks Dylan, but Sasha strikes it down with a sword. “Let’s get you out of here.” “Thanks. Oh, there’s more coming.” He sees elves approaching from both sides. Sasha throws the sword at one, killing it, while the other one is downed by a tranq syringe. Quiana gives Sasha an adorable fist-bump. “I had him, you know,” Sasha says. “No, you didn’t.” “No, I didn’t.” She throws another syringe and runs away. Taking out a fairy with a well-placed punch, Cary spots Marie with her fangs in a citizen’s neck. “Marie, what are you doing? Those are good people.” “I’m hungry, Henderson,” she hisses back. Cary raises her hands in surrender. Orland, escorting Tara from the battle, axes a goblin from behind him. “Okay, we’re finally out. Go home.” He hails them a cab. The cab arrives. “You’re not coming?” Tara says. “No, my place is here.” “Be careful.” “Careful is my middle name.” Tara shakes their head. Meanwhile, Rowena is fighting some ubir. She swings her mace well, but is hit with some sort of futuristic Dodds gun. She tries to shift, but it catches her mid-shift, and she breaks the shift as she collapses on the ground. Rory sees this. He immediately knocks out his pixie with a well-placed kick to the face and, after failing to detect a pulse on Rowena, searches for the futuristic gun and its source. He finds Roland Twenty’s smug face as he fires it indiscriminately. “Roland! I should’ve known it was you!” he yells. “They said ‘guns from any time period,’” Roland shouts back. “You little b***h! I’m gonna send you to a time you’ll never come back from!” “Good luck with that. I don’t know of any such time.” “Oh, trust me, we’ll find one.” He charges Roland, and they both disappear to an unknown time. The Prestidigitator is able to place a giant forcefield over the stadium, locking out Orland. “What’s going on?” he says. “Presto?” “I made a forcefield.” “I gathered that, but I’m on the wrong side. Can you lift it up?” “No can do, Lighthouse. Can’t have any of these knuckleheads escaping. You’re on perimeter patrol. Look for stragglers.” “You look for stragglers,” he mutters. The fight rages as Rory and Roland wind up in some dystopian time. “Okay, this is where I leave you,” Rory says, “but I have one question for you first. This might seem weird, but if you got a once-in-a-lifetime chance at your dream job, but you had to leave your friends, would you do it?” “That is definitely weird,” Roland agrees, “but I would do it. No question. You have to follow your dreams. Your friends will be there for you whenever. They’re not like exes; they won’t go and make different friends. You have to take this chance.” “Thank you. Now how do I get back?” Promontory arrives at the stadium, but is unable to penetrate the forcefield. She makes eye contact with the Prestidigitator, and tries to talk to him via comms. “Presto!” He answers, “Promontory. Where were you?” “Tanzanite’s lair. I didn’t find anything.” “We lost Rowena.” “Lost? As in she went missing? There’s not much space for her to go.” “No, she’s dead.” “What?” “Roland Twenty brought some futuristic guns to this time and killed her. Rory went after him.” “I’m gonna go after Tanzanite.” “Good luck.” Dilbert doesn’t even try and fight her, because he knows that it’s a losing battle. “You sure you have no idea how to get back to our time?” Rory asks Roland again. “I told you, I’ve never been here before. I don’t know when this is.” “Well, that’s just great. Now, we should look for clues. Hey, about before, I’m sorry that I put you on the spot like that. Obviously, you weren’t the right person to ask.” “No, it’s okay.” “So, why did you help me?” “You needed direction, and I provided it for you. I’m not all bad, you know.” “Mostly, though,” Rory says. “Fine,” Roland concedes. “Hah! Here’s a portal, straight out of Endgame,” Rory says. “Let’s go.” “You go without me,” Roland commands. “Why?” “I need to reflect on what I’ve done.” “How will I know to find you?” “Here’s my number. I’ll call and teach you to access the 2nd dimension of time.” “It can be taught?” “I’ve never done it before, but I’m willing to try. Go! The portal is closing!” “I’ll be back for you!” Rory yells, and jumps through the portal, landing on the grass next to Ariana and a pair of ubir. He knocks one out, and she sends the other into a nearby tree. “So you’re back,” she says. “From outer space,” he confirms. “Or, more accurately, outer time.” “What?” The camera switches to Promontory fighting Meena. “Can’t you see what you’re doing is wrong?” she says. “I wouldn’t have to do it if you and your buddies weren’t threatening us,” Tanzanite replies. “We’re not threatening you. You attacked us. You killed Rowena.” “What about last year? You attacked Kira.” “She wanted to destroy the North Hills. I couldn’t allow that.” “See? That’s it, right there. You think you control everything. Well, listen here. You don’t. You think you created the Council to get more control, but you actually gave it away. And we have the power now.” “Meena, once you accomplish what you want, they will turn on you. Those representatives are only in it for their species; well, except two. We can take them down if we work together.” “Okay. I can call my troops off. Let’s go.” “Wait. One more thing — I want my speed back.” “Oh, sorry. Let me remove the chip. This might hurt.” “I’m not worried—ah!” She bares her fangs in a grimace. Her hair also changes to blonde; the red-orange streaks stay. “Man, you weren’t kidding. That pain’s a b***h.” She tests it out. Her speed works. “I like the blonde. It’s nice.” Her hair changes back. “You’re coming with me,” she commands. “Open the forcefield,” Promontory says to the Prestidigitator. “I can’t,” comes the shocking response. “What the hell do you mean you can’t?” “The centaurs must be interfering with my magic.” “Well, we sure as hell can’t leave it up. You guys are vastly outnumbered.” “I have an idea. We need someone outside the perimeter to go to the Summit and release an EMP. That should take out their magic.” “Lighthouse,” Promontory says, “are you hearing this?” “Hearing it loud and clear, Tory,” he says. “Can you step up for me?” “You got it. I won’t let you guys down.” Orland gets in his van and drives back to the Summit. Once there, he encounters a centaur, but it immediately goes down with a bullet to the head. He turns to see Officer Landry. “You can thank me by not shooting me, kid,” Landry says. He releases the EMP, disabling the forcefield. Meena is able to call off the Council troops. “You sure you can’t do anything?” Promontory asks. “Not even your Revierto spell?” “Nope,” the Prestidigitator says. “Revierto doesn’t work because Row wasn’t killed by magic.” “She had so much ahead of her. She only just graduated.” “Yeah. I know some people who weren’t as lucky.” Sol and Dilbert remove their masks and convince the principal to give them honorary diplomas for Alex, Mike, and Justin. “So it was you two the whole time?” “Don’t tell anyone, Mr. Madrigal.” “So that’s why there were all those spare clothes in the bathrooms. It makes so much sense now.” “Excuse me,” someone says. “Promontory?” She puts on her mask and turns around. “That’s me.” “Is it true you stopped this whole insurrection by yourself?” “Well, I had a lot of help.” “Like from your wizard friend? What was his name again?” “Yeah, the Prestidig—” “Just Presto,” he says. “Presto.” All the corrupt Council members are removed by vote from the constituents, and Addie and Aubrey rise to power as the Council’s most senior members. In addition, Meena and Dodds can be seen on TV at Heliotrope being arrested. “Superheroes Live Up to Their Name,” the headline reads. “Promontory And Her Friends Stop Multi-Species Plot.” “Man, I forgot how intense those were,” Max comments. “What were?” Damian asks. “Final battles,” he clarifies. “They’re the best,” Marie says. “That adrenaline rush, there’s nothing like it. Except feeding, of course.” “The post-battle drink is always the best part,” Orland says. “Except today,” Sasha says. “Today, we drink to remember. Rowena was the best of us.” “She was the light in the darkness,” Sol adds. “She always knew how to make us laugh,” Dilbert adds. “And she swung that mace like nobody’s business,” Dylan finishes. “To Row,” Addie toasts, and they drink their various beverages. “Well, we’re off,” Ariana says, and she and Bellona get up. “Where are you two going?” Dilbert asks. “We don’t know yet,” Bellona says. “It’ll be an adventure,” Ariana adds. “Well, good luck,” Sol says. “Yeah, hopefully we’ll see you soon,” Sasha adds. “We hope.” “Man, this job is hard,” Ginny opines. “The hardest,” Quiana agrees. “You can back out at any time,” Sol says, “but we could use you.” “I want to try,” Quiana says. “Yeah, who are we if we don’t try,” Ginny agrees. “Alright! Since most of us will be in college in the fall, Dylan will be team leader. You think you’re up for it?” Sol asks. “I think so,” he replies with delusional confidence. “Good.” “Rory, did you end Roland?” Sasha asks. “Sasha!” Dilbert nudges her. “What? We were all thinking it,” Marie says. “I wasn’t,” Max says. “No, I did not,” Rory answers. “But he’s out of commission for the time being.” “I don’t know what that means, but I don’t care,” Orland says. “The important thing is that we all know what we’re doing next year. Dilbert, Sol, you are joining me at SPSU, yes?” “I thought you were gonna go to UPS?” Ginny recalls. “That’s a killer memory you have. It’s fine. They have a computer engineering program. Plus, I can’t be Lighthouse if I go to a different house,” he adds with a laugh. “That didn’t really work,” Sol says. “Yeah, we didn’t know where you were going with that,” Quiana adds. “Rory? Any big plans for that big brain of yours?” Damian asks. “Yeah, I’m gonna be an epidemiologist,” Rory reveals. “That’s great,” Max compliments him. “What is that?” Marie asks. “Studies disease, right? Epidemics,” Esteban says. “Yes, Esteban, well done. I could prevent the next epidemic. But it’s in Fladdermusvarg.” “Don’t fladder yourself,” he jokes. “No offense,” Sasha says, “but nothing you could say would convince me to go back there.” “Goodbye, Rory,” Dilbert says, and the others follow. “And then there were seven,” Orland states. “In two teams. You’re still Team 1, don’t worry,” Sol says. “Oh, that’s good,” he agrees. “Thank you.” “It’s the least we could do, my friend,” Dilbert says. “Which team am I on?” Sasha asks. “You get to choose. That’s the wonderful thing about democracy, right, Sol?” Sol grumbles. “I choose Team 2. I’m gonna be closer to home,” Sasha says. “I got into OCSU. Go Cranes.” “I will be on Team 2 as well,” Damian announces. “I wanna do this full-time.” “That’s fantastic,” Orland says. “Hey, hold on,” Quiana says. “What?” “He didn’t go through the vetting process.” “He’s a member emeritus.” “Oh,” Ginny says, “is that how that works?” “To another good year!” Sol toasts. “To those we’ve lost,” Sasha adds. “And to those we’ve gained,” Dilbert finishes, indicating Ginny, Quiana, and Damian. They drink. In an end tag, a trio of vampiresses chants in a dark room with an ominous red banner hanging from the wall. Previously on:
“Lots of things changed after the Climacteric,” Orland says. “When the Vacuum reset and spat out the metahumans, it may have redistributed their powers.” “Orland, she had wind powers prior to the Climacteric,” Dilbert says at the Summit. “So the Vacuum did redistribute powers,” Sol says. “But not all of them,” Rowena says. “I still have my powers.” “The Metamorphosis needs funding and an army. Who better to provide those than the Council of Magical Creatures?” Tanzanite asks rhetorically. “And why should we help you?” Danielle sneers, fangs bared. “I hate superheroes,” Meena begins, removing her mask. “They say they have our best interests at heart. But all they do is destroy our cities.” “Crime was way up in Ocean City before Team Tory showed up,” Addie says. “Now, it’s virtually nonexistent.” “Aubrey, you like Dylan, right? You have to back me up on this,” Addie implores. “You had a relationship with one of them?” Tina asks incredulously. “It wasn’t a relationship,” Audrey practically spits the word. “Words were said, and feelings were felt. But it’s done. I don’t feel anything for him.” “Then, you will have no problem voting to give Meena her funds,” John says. “Yeah, of course,” Audrey affirms, causing Addie to give her a look. “I vote aye,” Joseph votes. “I vote nay,” Addie votes loudly. “Aye,” Tina says. “It is decided,” Joseph declares. “Miss Goswani, you will have the full support of the Council of Magical Creatures.” Visionary businessman William Dodds reveals his latest invention to the masses. “Have you seen the news lately?” William begins. “There’s been an awful lot of shootings in coffee shops. It’s quite sad, really. But, there is a solution. May I present: the CoffeeProtector, or CoffeeProt for short.” He reveals a coffee mug with a sleek gray coating. “Each mug is outfitted with state-of-the-art protective armor. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase mugshot.” “What does this have to do with us?” Dylan asks once Dilbert shows them the clip from the tech conference. “Yeah, we’re superheroes, not Steve Jobs’ secret police,” Rory quips. “Have you seen any superhero show?” Orland asks. “Whenever a billionaire invents a new piece of technology, it is almost always acquired by criminals for nefarious uses.” “Your inventions, they’re causing havoc all over the city,” Sol says. “You have to recall them.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about—” Dodds begins, but is interrupted when a teleporting water pitcher appears over him, and is caught by Rowena. Soon, everyone has a water pitcher in their hands, and the regenerative donuts start entering the place in force, followed by gunfire that targets said donuts to create forcefields, encapsulating several Dodds Industries employees. “Meena,” Promontory says under her breath. “I heard about what happened on the news,” Josephine tells Dilbert. “I’m glad you’re okay,” Felicia says. “That’s sweet,” Dilbert replies. “What kind of donuts were they?” Catherine asks. “I don’t— That’s not important right now. We need to figure out how your guys’ magical abilities work.” In her lair, Meena says to Landry, “Get Dodds on the phone.” “Yes, ma’am.” He does so. “William Dodds?” Meena asks. “This is he.” “I have a proposition for you,” she states cryptically. “I’m listening,” Dodds replies ominously. “I need your inventions,” Meena says. “They're the best way to execute the superheroes on such a grand scale.” “I expect to be justly compensated.” “I have the support of the Council of Magical Creatures. I can assure you, you will be duly compensated,” Meena promises. “What are we gonna do?” Ginny asks at the Summit. “With the support of the Council, Meena will be unstoppable,” Quiana says. “She is inevitable,” Orland booms in his best Thanos impression. Rowena sighs. “I thought we agreed on no more Marvel impressions at meetings.” “You’re right. My bad.” “You’re being pessimistic,” Sasha says. “That’s usually my job.” “Correct me if I’m wrong, and I usually am,” Dylan says, “but so what if Meena has the Council on her side?” “Oh, Cassidy.” The blonde shakes her head. “Each council member has their own personal army.” “We’ve defeated whole armies before.” “You have?” Quiana says. “That’s so bad*ss.” Sasha smirks. “I’ll have to show you how I took down a centaur.” “Yes, please.” “Kira Bay had a whole army,” Rowena says, “and a remarkably similar vendetta against us.” “What’s different this time,” Sol says, “is that Meena has the public on her side. Everyone thinks superpowered people are evil. We’ll have more than non-human combatants to deal with.” “Which is why you messed up when you were close to Meena, Dylan,” Orland says. “How so?” the young geokinetic says, but Rowena is already rolling her eyes. “You should have gone for the head,” Orland continues. Rowena groans. “Okay, I’m done now. I promise.” Just then, the phone rings. “Since when do we have a landline?” Rowena asks. “What’s a—” Dylan’s question is interrupted by Orland. He answers, “Team Promontory’s Promising Hotline. Lighthouse speaking.” “What a dork,” Rory says. “Pot and kettle much?” Sasha says. “Hey, that’s rude,” Quiana says. “But yeah, that name does not roll off the tongue.” “Can you tell me more about this calculator?” Orland asks. The caller does so. “Okay, guys, looks like we have another thing to worry about,” Orland tells the team. “You expect us to divert precious resources from stopping the Metamorphosis to finding some nerd’s lost calculator?” Sasha says. “Hey!” Orland, Rory, and Ginny say at the same time. “Why do we have the Hotline anyway?” Rory asks. “After we defeated Kira, crime was very low. So, Orland had it installed so that we could take on detective gigs in our spare time,” Sol explains. “Hah,” Sasha scoffs. “Spare time.” “I lost that luxury when I took this job,” Rowena says. “Actually, I lost it when I got the power to hear everyone’s thoughts at all times. After the Climacteric, I thought I would get a fun power, like superspeed, but no. It’s just people’s darkest secrets and shapeshifting, which doesn’t exactly instill hope in the hearts of the general public.” “It’s never rung before,” Orland reveals. “This is exciting.” “If you say so.” “So who’s going to do what?” Ginny asks. “And where’s Dilbert? He should be here for this momentous occasion,” Quiana reasons. “Sasha, Row, Ginny, Quiana, you’re with me,” Sol says. “We’re going to find that calculator, and quickly. The rest of you, figure out how to stop Meena. Dilbert is taking the day off. He said he had personal obligations.” “Of course he is,” Sasha says. “You know, you don’t have to cut him slack anymore. You’re not dat—” “I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you,” Rowena says. “Seriously. What could be more important than this?” Dilbert stands at a table across from Lisha, Josie, and Catherine. “Okay, guys, magic is all about control. See if you can keep control while moving this pencil to the other side of this table.” “Isn’t this a little basic?” Catherine asks. “You tell me,” Dilbert challenges. All three of them fail. Catherine’s pencil hits the floor; Josephine’s lands squarely on the cabinet on the same side of the table; and Lisha’s pencil thwacks Dilbert in the eye. “Ow. Let’s keep working on that,” Dilbert says, and attempts to reestablish vision in his eye. “I got it to land,” Josephine exclaims. “Yes, you did. Well done, Josie,” Dilbert compliments her. “Lisha, good aim. And, Catherine, good effort.” “You’re a good effort,” Catherine snarks. Promontory and the rest of the away team arrive at a deserted plain. “Okay, there’s no one here. We can take off our suits.” “You know, Ginny and I still need suits,” Quiana says. “And hero names.” “We’re not knights. I can’t give you your name. It has to be from you. And I’ll ask Dilbert’s grandma about the suits later. Remind me. Now—” “Why are we even here?” Rowena asks. “I calculate that there’s a 100% chance that this calculator is lost.” “Maybe 99.9%,” Ginny says. “Well, I was round—” The shapeshifter cuts off as she vanishes in front of the team. “Where… where did she go?” “I don’t know,” Sol admits. “Sasha, patch Lighthouse in on this.” She starts to walk off. “You’re just gonna leave?” Sasha says. “Row’s gone. Like alien abduction gone.” “Has this happened before?” Quiana asks. “I can’t say that it has. But I’m at a loss as to how to deal with it. And we have to find that calculator so we can get back to thwarting Meena and her Metamorphosis.” She takes out a plastic bag. “I’ll get a sample of the soil for Rory to analyze.” “I found a clue,” Ginny says. “What is it?” Sasha asks. “It says, 50 (1053,” Sol reads aloud. “I don’t get it,” Quiana says. “The thief’s favorite numbers?” Sasha asks, bewildered. “Could be,” Ginny says. “No, so close.” “Great. That’s great,” Sol grumbles. “No, the numbers spell out ‘so close,’” Ginny clarifies. “Okay, you seem to have control relatively under control,” Dilbert says, “so we will move on to the next aspect of magic: inflection.” “Are we gonna become like some kind of magic doctors?” Josie asks. “Yeah, I don’t wanna come down with anything,” Catherine adds. “Not infection, inflection,” Dilbert inflects. “Tone is everything. Just ask Hermione. We’re gonna start with a simple spell, Felis transformarum,” he says while placing two vases on the table in front of him. “Lisha and Catherine will each attempt to transform their vase into a cat, and Josie will attempt to transform herself into a cat. Now, Josie, you don’t have to say anything. Just think of cats. That should be easy for you.” “Yeah, I’m thinking of cats right now,” Josie agrees. “Me too,” Lisha adds. “Say it with me: Felis transformarum,” Dilbert commands. “Felis transformarum,” they say, Catherine reluctantly. “Good. Now try it on your own.” “Felis transformarum.” Lisha does well, converting the vase to a cute pewter cat. Catherine, however, generates several cats, of various origins. “The goal was one cat. One, Catherine. I should’ve known you wouldn’t listen to me,” Dilbert laments. “True,” Catherine agrees. “And Josie, I didn’t think I needed to specify, but I meant a living cat,” he says upon seeing Josie’s statuesque feline form. “This just goes to show, you didn’t say it correctly. Felis transformarum. It’s not that hard.” “For you,” Lisha clarifies. “Yes, for me. It just needs practice.” He returns the cats to their vase forms with an effortless Recutio!, but says to Josie, “Josie, you have to return to human form yourself. I can’t do it for you. It’s a weird thing about shapeshifters. We ordinary wizardfolk can’t control them.” “That’s probably for the best,” Catherine says, and Lisha chuckles. Josie tries to revert to human form, but gets stuck in the middle, as some kind of human—cat hybrid. Lisha stumbles back in shock. “I’m hurt,” Josie says through her elongated feline fangs. “I’m sorry, it was instinct,” Lisha apologizes. “Hold that thought, Lisha,” Dilbert requests. “I’ll be right back.” “So she just vanished?” Rory says at the Summit. “Yep,” Quiana says. “Gone. As in poof. Sasha said it could be aliens.” “Can’t rule anything out.” “Do we think it’s Dodds?” Orland says. “He has shown a fondness for teleportation.” “Don’t know. But I was able to collect this sample of the soil. Figured if it was an alien abduction, they had to leave something behind, right?” “Well done,” Rory says. “I hope it’s not aliens, though. They always give me the heebie-jeebies.” “I’ll be right back,” Orland says. He leaves and comes back with a single envelope. “What are you doing? Is that an alien abduction pamphlet?” “No, this is a very important envelope. Wish me luck.” He opens it. “Not sure what that is, but good luck.” “I got into UPS!” he exclaims. “That’s great,” Dylan says. “My sister went to Pierce-Sexton. It’s notoriously hard to get into.” “Good job, my man,” Rory compliments him. “Lighthouse, anything on the calculator?” Promontory asks over comms. She and the away team are at a warehouse, just as deserted as the plain. “Please hold, but I got into UPS!” he responds enthusiastically. “Not really relevant right now, but good job.” “As for the calculator, you’d better find it fast.” “Why?” Sasha asks hesitantly, having some idea as to what’s coming. “Because it’s a ticking time bomb,” Orland answers. “I knew you were gonna say something like that,” she responds. “Why did I take this job again?” Ginny asks. “How do we stop it?” Promontory asks. Orland responds, “You should worry about finding it first.” “‘You should worry about finding it first,’” Defender repeats sardonically. “No need,” Ginny says. “Here it is.” “So glad we have you on our team.” “Thank you,” she replies sweetly. “Now what do we do?” Promontory asks hurriedly. “Hold on,” Orland replies, much to her chagrin. “Anything on our other problem?” From his lab, Rory shakes his head. “That’s a resounding ‘nope.’” “Great,” Defender says sarcastically. Rowena appears in some sort of futuristic-looking cell. She immediately tries to shapeshift out of it, but finds that she can’t. She then tries to read the mind of one of the people — oh, wait. Are those aliens? Yep, they’re definitely tall and green, and they’re coming towards her. One of them has a sharp object. Defensive position, she thinks. As she raises her fists, the aliens immediately fall in front of her to reveal another, similarly-colored alien. But this one seems benevolent. The benevolent alien disables the cell’s barrier, and then says something unintelligible. “I don’t know what you’re saying, but I’m coming with you.” The alien nods, and says something else. “Okay, I’m back,” Dilbert says. “Welcome back,” Josie, now in human form, replies. “Thank you. Happy to be here. And welcome yourself, back in human form, I see.” “Yeah, I was getting tired of Catwoman over here,” Catherine quips. “Wouldn’t she be Catgirl?” Lisha asks. “Anyway, as Lisha indicated, the next pillar of magic is instinct. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe I should’ve started with this one,” Dilbert laments. “This rule is simple; you probably learned it in school — your first instinct is usually right.” “We did learn that,” Josie affirms. “So, I want you to put that picture,” he indicates the picture, “on the table. As for the spell, Josie will go with Expandio, and Lisha and Catherine, you have two options: Levantalo and Muevalo. Use your best instinct.” Josie is shocked when her arms expand, but not as much as Lisha when she raises the table. She relinquishes control for a second, and the table nearly comes crashing down, but for Dilbert’s hastened Enmendio. “Whew,” Lisha exhales. “That was close.” “That’s the understatement of the century,” Catherine says upon successfully transporting the framed picture onto the table. “Well done, Catherine,” Dilbert says. “Lisha, Josie, you could learn from Catherine’s performance. Man, sentences I never thought I’d say.” Catherine says, “Hey!” “All due respect.” “Oh, then it’s okay,” she replies sarcastically. “What do you mean, it’s at school?” Promontory says. “I mean what I said,” Lighthouse replies via comms. “It looks like it’s in room 112.” “‘I mean what I said,’” she mouths, mocking him. “You’d better hurry. I can’t deactivate it remotely.” “I pride myself on never going to school on the weekends,” Defender says. “Weird flex, but okay,” Ginny says. Rowena and the alien are running through a Star Wars-esque prison compound. The alien is still talking. “I still can’t understand you,” Rowena says, “but your mind seems good. Those nails are pretty sharp, though. Man, this must be how Sasha felt when I first transformed.” The alien nods. “Okay, you liked that. Sasha? No. Transformed. There we go.” The alien shifts into a weird form resembling a dog. “You can shapeshift, too? That’s great, but where are we going?” The alien shifts again into a mouse-like creature, but is caught by one of the other aliens. Rowena shifts into a hummingbird, but is also caught. “Lighthouse, what do I do?” Promontory asks frantically. “Cut the red one,” Lighthouse responds over comms. “No!” Ginny yells. “Have you ever seen movies?” Defender asks rhetorically. “Of course I—” Promontory starts. Dylan yells, “You never cut the red one. Everyone knows that.” “You’re on comms,” Defender says. “Well,” Promontory starts to say, “Lighthouse—” She is cut off again, this time by Defender. “You’ve gotta give her better advice, dude.” “Hey. I’ve been here longer than you,” Lighthouse points out. “Guys, focus,” Promontory says. “Just cut the green one,” Rory suggests. “What a great idea,” Dylan compliments him. “Thank you. I have those sometimes, you know.” Promontory cuts the green one, and the timer stops. “Are we good?” Defender asks. “I think we’re good,” Ginny says. “Still nothing?” Sol asks Rory at his lab in the Summit. “Nope,” Rory says. “I’m not sure what else to do.” “Wait,” Quiana says. “I have an idea. What if the sample requires a chemical reaction to activate it?” “That could work. It could also kill us.” She gets a beaker of hydrogen peroxide. “That’s why we have goggles. And a wizard in the next room who can turn back time.” Sasha barges in. “Do you have a way to get her back?” “I think so.” “I knew you would come through.” She kisses Quiana’s cheek. “Show me.” Quiana takes the beaker, and pours a small amount of hydrogen peroxide on the sample. Sure enough, she, Rory, and Sasha are transported out of the lab. Rowena, in human form, wakes up in what appears to be a laboratory of some kind. Handcuffed, she tries to shift into the bird again, but it once again doesn’t work. “You guys really like your power-dampening rooms, don’t you? Okay, again with the sharp objects. Let’s talk about this—” She cuts off when Sasha appears and immediately attacks the alien, while Quiana and Rory free her. Sasha puts up a good fight, but the alien soon gains the upper hand and gets her in a chokehold. “Let her go,” Rowena commands. The alien says something that doesn’t sound like acquiescing. “I still can’t understand you, but that was your one chance.” As the alien is about to kill Sasha, Rowena shifts into one of the aliens and uses her sharp nails to kill the alien. “Holy s**t,” Sasha breathes. “Oh no, there’s more coming.” She picks up the sword that the alien was going to use on Rowena and uses it to cut through the legs on one of the aliens. “Centaur,” she mouths to Quiana. A second alien arrives, and Quiana hits him with a tranq syringe. When a third one appears, Rowena - still in alien form - gets the alien in a chokehold. “Take us back.” “Dilbert, welcome,” Sol says at Heliotrope. “Thank you,” he says. “Happy to be here.” “Yeah, did you finish whatever was more important than this?” Sasha asks, with a slight hint of judgment, as is common from her. “As a matter of fact, I did,” Dilbert answers, in a matter-of-fact way that is very common from him. “So what did I miss?” “We figured out why my powers didn’t change,” Rowena says. “You’re joking.” “Turns out Row here is not a meta after all,” Sasha says. “She’s an alien.” “How do you know for sure?” “The only way she would be able to replicate their physiology perfectly,” Rory says, “is if that were her true form.” “I don’t know why that surprises me, but somehow it does.” “So it’s true, then,” Ginny says. “Aliens exist?” “Yeah,” Orland says. “I got my ax from an alien.” “As in the little green kind?” “Oh, they’re green, alright,” Quiana says, “but they’re not little. They weren’t a match for Row and Sasha, though. That was so bad*ss, what you guys did.” “You’re bad*ss in your own way,” Sasha says. “We wouldn’t have been able to get there if you didn’t come up with the idea to make a chemical reaction.” Quiana smiles. “I do have one question, though. How did they know she was here?” “Hah!” Orland says. “I was right. Aliens are watching us.” “Or at least me,” Rowena says. “I’ve always felt like an outsider, even with you guys. Now I know why.” “You don’t happen to be able to summon them, do you? We could use some help with Meena and her army.” She shakes her head. “They weren’t really the type of allies we’d want, anyway.” “I can’t believe you guys went to space before I did.” “I’ve been to space, too,” Dilbert reminds him. “But not today.” “What were you doing today, Dilbert?” Ginny asks. “I was training my sister and cousins in the art of magic,” he explains. “That’s exciting,” Dylan says. “Are they any good?” Quiana inquires. “Well,” he begins, and hesitates. “They could use more practice, sounds like,” Rory says. “Practice makes perfect. That’s what I always say,” Orland quips. “Well, you should practice how to defuse a bomb,” Sol says. “Excuse me if I’ve never dealt with an exploding calculator before,” he says. “Neither have I. Stuff like that is part of the job. You know this. You’re one of our OGs,” Sol replies. “I like that,” he opines. “OGs. Original gangstas.” “You know, you can’t just go around slapping that label on people,” a familiar voice says, and our heroes turn around to see Damian Moncrief. “Damian! You came. Fantastic,” Orland says. “I reached out to him. Figured we’d need all the help we can get against Meena and the Council.” “Welcome,” Sol says. “I’m glad I have friends to Esteban my side in times of crisis,” Sol quips; and, sure enough, Esteban Foxglove jovially enters Heliotrope. “See? I can play too,” she adds impishly. “Esteban. You’ve been avoiding me,” Dilbert comments. “Yeah, I haven’t seen you. What’s up with that?” “Who knows. Anyway, we’re glad you’re here now, aren’t we, Marie?” Dilbert segues. “Yep, you got me. I can’t believe we’re doing this again,” Marie Liu says. “Man, Dilbert’s segue was worse than Sol’s,” Rowena comments. “I didn’t think that was possible,” Sasha adds. “You two are not very appreciative of the segue today,” Sol says. “I don’t like it.” “You know what I don’t like? When two people enter a long-distance relationship, and one of them ghosts the other. It’s really out-of-pocket, right, Aubrey?” Dylan asks. “They just get worse and worse,” Sasha laments. “I already apologized,” Aubrey reminds him. “Being the first hybrid puts a huge target on my back. I didn’t have time for distractions.” “Oh, so I’m a distraction?” “We thought you and Marie were working for Meena,” Sol says. “Are you kidding me? She wants to get rid of you guys. You helped me when I needed it most. So it’s only fair that I repay the favor.” “Plus, she’s basically going to be the Council once we take these guys down and prove that superheroes are not a threat to magical creatures,” Marie adds. “No one person should have that much power.” “We can do this, right, guys?” Sol says. “Yeah, we took down Anita and Kira,” Dilbert points out. “This is the fight of our lives, but I think we’re ready,” Orland says. “Oh, no,” Sasha says. “What?” “Last time we said that,” Sasha says, “Mercer died.” When Orland says nothing, she adds, “How do we know that this is the true fight of our lives?” “I have a feeling it’s this one. At least until the next one, that is.” “Are we still doing this?” Rowena says. “We have to,” Sol says. “Meena’s trying to turn everyone against us. We can’t let that happen. We have to show the world that superheroes are a force for good.” In her lair, Meena addresses her Council troops. “Are we ready?” They respond in the affirmative. “Let’s get those supes!” The troops leave and begin attacking the humans with weaponry from Dodds in pursuit of our heroes. |
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