“-it seems Lillian had an odd mix of heroes, as Poseidon and Paragon of team Reservoir arrived on scene, along with Oxide and BB of team Sub Enforcers, and Cinder of team Pantheon. Seen here engaging the villain Squid M.D, I have to wonder if they plan to create their own team. It is speculated that the heroes Poseidon and Cinder could be in a relationship after all-”


    “What was that!” Sky stared at the TV with wide eyes as it suddenly showed the clip where Poseidon had kissed Cinder on the cheek shortly after the battle with Red Raptor in the sewers.


    “T- That was nothing.” Lily said awkwardly.


    Hope shrunk down a bit in her chair and hit the TV remote, shutting it off. Sky was staring at her with narrowed eyes now. “L- Let’s just get back to focusing on the game. You were running a bard, right, Sky?”


    "You just picked a bard so you could try and flirt with Hope, didn''t you?" Sera asked, letting out a snort.


    Sky just let out an innocent whistle and rolled her dice, trying to seduce the barmaid. "Is a nine good?"


    "No," Hope said, shaking her head.


    "Damn it!"


    "There''s a lot of math and talking in this game," Ashley muttered, looking down at her character sheet and trying to figure out what each number meant.


    "Oh, sweet!" Sera said, reading over her spells. "This says I can make stuff small or big. I basically get my powers in my made-up dude!"


    They were all seated around the dining room table now as Hope did her best to teach them the wonders of tabletop gaming. Sadly, it wasn''t going that well. The only one who even seemed to get a good idea of how things worked was Sera, who was very chaotic and actively burning everything down. She was still somehow better than the other girls, who were just sort of picking stuff and going with the flow. It didn''t help that she didn''t really know what she was doing herself. They had none of the books, and Armin was always the one who would come up with the plot and monsters when she and him played.


    The sound of the front door opening echoed down the manner, and Lily stood up, dropping her sheet. "Looks like mom is back. I''m going to go check on her. We sort of ditched her and forgot her at the mall. I''m sure she''s wondering what happened to us."


    "It isn''t like her not to text us." Sky checked her phone but still had no notification from her mom. “Maybe she ran out of battery on her phone? Who knows? I''ll let Destiny play your character while you''re gone. He''s been staring down at us, wanting to play for a while now."


    As if on cue, the red bird landed down on the table and pecked at Lily''s dice, squawking. Hope shrugged. "Yeah, I don''t speak, bird; I have no idea what you''re trying to do."


    Sky shivered a bit. "Turns out Sera''s playing a saint compared to what Destiny wants to do to the people in this bar."


    That was the last thing Lily heard as she left the room and headed for the front of the house. "Mom!" She heard a loud crash up ahead and turned around the corner just in time to see her mother standing straight in front of the door with wide eyes. She looked almost like a deer caught in the headlights. "Are you alright?"


    "Yeah! I am fine! Just fine! Just me!" Her mother said, obviously lying.


    Lily shrugged her shoulders. "Right. Hey, I''m sorry we left without saying anything. A lot happened, and I got totally distracted. I hope you didn''t have to wait outside for too long before you realized we ditched you."


    "Ditched me?" Realization suddenly dawned in the woman''s eyes. "Oh, that''s right! I was supposed to pick you up, wasn''t I?"


    "You forgot?"


    "I got a bit distracted, myself." The woman admitted.


    Lily raised an eyebrow. Her mom was acting weird all of a sudden. "I invited some of my friends over. Is it okay if they stay the night?"


    "Sure? I didn''t know you had friends."


    "Mom!"


    "I''m kidding. Mostly. But yeah, I don''t mind. Just try not to be too loud and get to bed on time, okay?"


    "Yeah, I will." Lily turned away, waving her hand. "Thanks, Mom."


    River watched her daughter leave before she slowly stepped back out onto the front porch of the manor. "You can stop hiding, now."


    "No, I can''t." She looked down and found Jack''s legs were poking up out of a thorn bush. "You shoved me into this!"


    "I didn''t think anyone would be home! I panicked and had to stop her from seeing you!"


    "Is it really that bad to be seen with me?"


    "Yes."


    "Ouch! I can''t tell what hurts more! This bush or your words!"


    "Keep your voice down." She waved her hand, and a tendril of water picked the man up, dragging him out and setting him down. Jack dusted off a few drops of blood from his shirt. "So, I guess you''ll be heading home?" She asked.


    "Yeah, it looks like it." He turned away, giving a lazy wave. "I''m guessing the kid is in there. Make sure she doesn''t do anything stupid."


    "Will do." He stepped off the porch and was about to leave, but she called out to him, "Wait. Lari—Jack."


    He turned to look back at her. "Yeah?"


    "This day was fun. We should do it again sometime."


    ''Two weeks left to live.''


    Jack turned away, not meeting her eyes. "Yeah. We should."


    ***


    He allowed his power to activate, letting it take him over for a moment, thanks to his skill with Inverting. The scale changed, and his ability began to work once more.


    His power allowed him to see and hear things he shouldn''t have known. Things that he would never get to see—all of them flashed through his mind, battles not yet fought, and tears that had yet to be shed.


    He couldn''t see it all. He saw enough, though—enough to get a clear idea of what he should do and to know that the part he played in this story was soon going to come to an end. That wasn''t the end of the story—just his part. At last, his part would have an ending—one that should have occurred fifteen years ago.


    "It would seem that fate has decided I go on ahead, Battery. Soon, the Tallest Wave, The Prettiest Flower, the Loudest Thunder, and the Brightest Star, will take the stage." Max Lightning brushed some of his long hair back and looked up at the night sky. Stars littered it, casting everything in an almost ethereal glow. He liked Oleander more than he did his own city. His city had failed to stop an attack from Lucifer and was still left broken and damaged. Oleander was nice. It had nasty scars, but ones that were clear. Even without using his powers, the city didn''t try to hide anything.


    With his powers, though, he saw more. He saw the Paths constantly twitch and form throughout the air, constantly changing as people lived their lives and told new stories. It was almost beautiful despite those ever-present ugly marks that clung to it.


    It had started off as a hobby at first. In his city, he was expected to keep himself clean. To stand tall and save everyone, no matter how hard that was. He had to shave constantly, do up his hair, and make sure he was spotless. Even if he no longer held the title of the husband of Victorian, his city expected him to fulfill the noble role he once held. Oleander didn''t ask the same thing of him.


    The city, in fact, never asked anything of him.


    In Oleander, he was allowed to be outside of his costume and wear what he wanted. He could go days, or even weeks, without bathing. He was free to eat any food he wanted, even if it was from a dumpster or rotten, and he never had to do his hair up or shave his beard. In Oleander, he was truly free.


    To the people of the city, he wasn''t Max Lightning. He was just another homeless man. Being homeless and having no expectations of him made him truly happy.


    Max Lightning stared out across the city, watching the colorful lights as cars passed under lamps and stores got ready to close down for the night. He stood atop a building, or rather, he sat right at the edge, allowing his feet to dangle off.


    He looked back up at the night sky, watching the stars for one last time. Slowly, he leaned over the edge and allowed himself to fall. It wasn''t a tall building. It was in the middle-class section of the city and had once been a place where people could go to bowl. Right before he hit the ground, the wind came to life and stopped his fall, halting him in place. It wrapped around him like a hand and placed him on the ground just in time as the door to the building opened.


    Thaddeus stepped out, chuckling at a joke Lois told him, but he stopped when he saw the man on the other side of the door standing in the parking lot waiting for them. The man had a bushy beard as well as long blonde hair that had become a tangled mess. He was covered in dirt and mud and wore a dirty green coat and baggy pants that hid his costume beneath.


    "Max Lightning," Thaddeus said slowly.


    "Dad!" Lois stepped out from behind her boss and looked at her dad with wide eyes. She hadn''t seen him since the mall incident. That felt like it was so long ago.


    Max Lightning stuffed his hands into his pockets. He had a serious look on his face—the kind that said he wasn''t here to be a father. "Lois, I''d like to speak to you about something."


    "What is it?"


    "I''d like to speak to just you." The man''s eyes shot a look over toward the dark-skinned man who stood next to his daughter.


    Thaddeus turned to Lois and raised an eyebrow. She seemed to debate it for several moments but finally shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head. "Alright."


    Thaddeus nodded and moved away, heading for the motorbike parked on the other side of the parking lot, getting out of earshot. Max Lightning watched him leave before he turned back to his daughter. He looked her up and down. She had grown.


    He hadn''t always been there for her. In fact, he wasn''t there for most of her life. It wasn''t very fair to say that he was her dad. He didn''t deserve that title. He had the chance to be a father but instead chased after a woman who likely never actually held any feelings for him—a woman who held no feelings for her own child and had just wanted to recreate the little bit of happiness she held when she worked under her father. Part of him was glad to see that Lois had come so far.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Through efforts that were solely hers, she had reached a point most heroes couldn''t even dream of.


    "So, what do you want?" Lois asked, cutting her dad''s thoughts off. She folded her arms and stared at him. Her ability to read Paths never worked on people like him. Some Supers defied fate and destiny, and the Lords did this the most, not even showing up. It was how she figured out Hope was a Lord so easily. "Make it quick also. I want to get home and go to bed. We''re going to have a long day ahead of ourselves dealing with all the paperwork from the Hero Branch."


    Max Lightning took her face in. His eyes traced it, roaming over her hair and eyes. Finally, he spoke. "Is there anything you need my help with? Anything you''d like to do with me that we haven''t gotten to do yet as father and daughter?"


    "No? Why?" Lois asked, narrowing her eyes. That was a super weird question to ask out of the blue. "What gives? What''s going on with you?"


    Max Lightning gave the smallest hint of a smile as he burned the image of his daughter into his mind. "Soon... Soon, I will be dead."


    ***


    Hope stepped out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel. "I really wish I had brought my own pajamas. These ones are a little..."


    Night had quickly approached, and they moved upstairs. Lily''s bathroom was freaking huge and had nearly every expensive shampoo or conditioner a person could ask for. Each one of them took turns getting cleaned off and was given spare pajamas Lily had grown out of. She was taller than Lily, and the pair of PJs they gave her had been too small for Lily, so for her they were uncomfortable.


    The color also wasn''t her style. It was a hot pink that hurt the eyes, and it had some old-school cartoon hero on the front. She drew the short straw though, so she was stuck with it.


    "Did you guys really not have anything better? I might as well just sleep in my regular clothes. At least then, I wouldn''t have to worry about twitching and ripping this shirt." Just moving her arms was enough to make her fear the shirt would tear.


    "Sorry?" Lily shrugged. I''ve been meaning to throw that one out for a while so you can keep it."


    "No, thanks."


    The other girls were also decked out in pajamas. Sky and Lily both had their own, wearing simple nightgowns, while Sera and Ashley also wore hand-me-downs. Ashley was about Sky''s size and wore one of the healer''s backup pajamas. As for Sera, she just shrunk or expanded her body in any way she needed to so she could fit in the outfit Lily gave her.


    Lily''s room was one that was shared with Sky. The room itself was kind of plain. It didn''t have a TV, nor did it have any posters. The girl had been homeschooled for her entire life, and the room sort of looked like the kind of place you''d see a kid have in a show where the child had strict parents. It had a bed, a desk, a drawer for clothes, and a shelf filled with books ranging from history to chemistry or math. There were two beds on either side of the room, and the only thing that truly stood out was a small Cinder action figure tucked behind a box of safety glass that was on Sky’s side of the room.


    She was glad the girl kept her gift.


    They set up sleeping bags on the floor around Lily''s bed, one for each of them. Sera was already tucked away in hers, looking like a strange caterpillar. Ashley was playing on her phone while Sky rested in a chair, reading one of the books she had pulled off of it. She seemed to be enjoying having her sight back, even if the book was boring. That just left Lily, who dangled her legs off of the bed, looking out the window as the moon slowly rose up.


    "So, Ashley," Lily began. "We went skating, agreed on a place to stay, fought crime, watched a movie, played a game, and all got cleaned up. What now?"


    Ashley clicked her phone off and laid on the floor, covering herself with the sleeping bag. "Well, it''s nighttime, so this is either the part where we gossip or go to sleep," she said.


    "Gossip?"


    "She means talk about boys," Sera commented. The girl closed her eyes and shrunk down with her power, causing the sleeping bag to fold over her. "Have fun with that; I pick sleep."


    Ashley nodded her head. "We don''t really have too much to gossip about. I know who Sera is interested in, and you''re dating Wasp Nest. Everyone already has their someone."


    "What about me?" Hope asked.


    Ashley just gave her a deadpan look. "So, what is it like having your sight back, Sky?"


    Sky closed the book and tucked the strand of white in her hair behind her ear. "I forgot how much I missed it. I only lost my eyes two years ago, but it''s nice having it back. I could see through Destiny or in my dream world, but being in the here and now with them is nice."


    Hope walked over to a drawer where her wig rested and picked it up. Steam rose up off of her golden hair, all the water evaporating. She placed the wig on, and it almost seemed to come to life, twisting and bending like a liquid as it molded over her hair before settling down. She didn''t bother with the sunglasses since she was indoors, with everyone who knew she was a Super.


    "Why do you think he gave you your sight back?" She asked, finally sitting down.


    The room went silent as her question was asked. Sky turned away, and Destiny flew in, landing on her shoulder. The girl scratched the bird on his chin, causing him to chirp several times. "I don''t know why the Emperor did it," Sky said after some time. "Whatever his reason is, I''m sure he didn''t do it out of the kindness of his heart."


    "Maybe we should just go to sleep," Lily suggested.


    It didn''t take them long to turn the lights out and pile into their sleeping bags while Lily claimed the bed for herself. Silence descended upon the room, and with the curtains shut tightly, everything was cast in a pitch-black darkness.


    Despite that, though, Hope found herself staring up at the roof of the room, the darkness not hindering her sight at all. A lot had changed since she got her powers. One year ago, she wore glasses and had no friends besides Armin. Now, she was a walking disaster who could see farther than any human should have been able to. It was strange to discover the effects her powers had on her body and, even stranger, the effects they could have on her mind.


    How much had she changed? How many times had she done something the old version of her wouldn''t have or used a move she never even would have thought of? People like Wasp Nest seemed to use their power even when they weren''t conscious. Her own powers apparently took over at one point or another as well. Max Lightning explained the art of inverting as letting the powers take the driver''s seat and offer it more control.


    Just how sentient were powers and how much control they really had over a person?


    Did a Super actually have free will-


    She shook her head, squashing the dark thoughts as they surfaced. There was no reason for her to think about it. She wasn''t very smart; she''d even say she could be downright dumb at times. She listened to the others, hearing their heartbeats slowly settle down. A lot had happened in the past week, so she wasn''t surprised to find that they had all blacked out—all but one.


    A quiet shuffling came through the room, and the door opened quietly. No one stirred as it closed. She thought about getting up and checking who it was, but her eyes felt heavy. It was probably just someone trying to use the bathroom or something. Slowly, Hope drifted off into a deep slumber. For some reason, she found herself dreaming of her dad.


    He always liked to talk about the place where he grew up, its large beach, and how he would always go fishing with his own father. That night, she dreamed, and she got to see it and play in the waters with the other kids. That night, she dreamed she was just a normal person.


    Sky stepped out of her sister''s room and began to walk through the halls of the manor. Her mother would have gone to bed a while ago, so she didn''t need to worry about anything. A few of Boy Genius''s robots roamed the halls, cleaning the place and dusting everything off. The young Mental user had lived at this place once long ago. He had been discovered by Old Dog and brought in, and like most young Supers, Ocean Empress took the child in until he was able to go out on his own.


    Boy Genius had only stayed for a short amount of time before he packed all his stuff up and left, going on to then become one of the youngest people to ever join the Enforcers, joining with Wyvern, another young hero her mother had taken in at one time.


    Sky headed out the door to the manor after grabbing a coat and stepped out onto the lawn. She threw it on over her gown. It was a simple lab coat. She kept a few scattered about in case she was quickly called away to go heal someone. Inside, she was able to pull out one of her spare masks and slip it on. She held her hand out, and from above, a loud bird cry echoed out as Destiny flew down and landed in her palm.


    She stared down at the bird in silence. She had no idea where she had gotten him from. She had just woken up one day, and he was there with her, constantly serving and doting on her. It had been thanks to him that she was able to see even after her sister had damaged her eyes. Now that she had her eyes back, she could see without him. Their connection was still strong, though. Maybe even stronger than it had been before.


    Her eyes hadn''t just come back. They were different. They saw more than they should have—things that made up a person''s body, every strand of DNA. Before, her powers were out of control. She could sort of heal with them, but it wouldn''t always work, and sometimes she could change a person''s body just like she had done to her sister, two years ago. It was a cursed gift from her father. Now, though, she truly felt like she could do anything.


    "This must be what my sister and Hope feel like." A constant stream of power that coursed through her body, yet it was a power she didn''t need to fear going out of control. It almost acted on its own, guiding itself and following the thoughts she held. "Let''s do this."


    Her power surged out, and for a moment, Destiny almost seemed to grow. He let out another call, this one much louder, as his body began to grow. He doubled in size, then quadrupled, and then he became as big as her, then even bigger. Soon, he towered over her, standing at nearly twelve feet tall. His wings expanded out, getting much bigger, and he easily scooped her up and tossed her onto his back.


    She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he took off each flap of his wings, twisting and distorting the wind around them, destroying the garden down below. She''d have to apologize later, though. She had a job to do right now.


    ***


    His ankles rested in the water. He allowed himself to dangle off the side of the boat just a bit. The ocean was beautiful. More than beautiful, it was grand. The sun reflected off of the water, lighting it up and reflecting the bright blue sky above.


    It had been years since he had seen his hometown. His wife stood behind him, and the two of them watched as their daughter splashed around in the water with the other kids. There was nothing to worry about—no big dangers or monsters—it was just a calm and peaceful world.


    All at once, though, the dream came to an end. The sound of the machine''s ever-present beeping caused Alexander Lauren to wake up slowly. The pain flooded his body once more—a deep stabbing pain that seemed to never end.


    His wife visited him every day, but he had requested his daughter stop coming. The state he was in was one she didn''t need to see—not anymore. It had been getting worse—so much worse. He had made Jane promise him not to tell Hope. That had been when he could still talk.


    So many tubes were stuffed down his throat, and he had lost the ability to properly eat or digest food. All his hair was gone, and he was practically skin and bones. The doctors had sawed off the limb that had been touched by that damned villain; it had worked to slow down the worse of the infection, but it was already far too late for a treatment like that to save him. He had realized rather quickly there was no way he was going to be saved. The doctors knew it as well. Now, the testing had changed to see what worked, and how long they could keep a human infected with a strand of the Dead Virus alive.


    It had been only a portion—just one tiny portion—less than one percent of the stuff Lucifer used on Super, but still enough to utterly destroy his body.


    His eyes ached, and each breath caused his lungs to feel as if they were about to explode. His skin almost felt like it was on fire, and his heart beat weakly in his chest, struggling to keep him alive. His ears had a constant ringing in them, and they stopped him from hearing most of the world around him.


    That''s also what stopped him from noticing the window to his room opened slowly. A light breeze washed over him and felt like knives grinding across his flesh. A hand placed itself on what was left of his missing arm, and he would have jumped, but he didn''t have the power to do so. A strong force smashed into his heart instead, and he began to go into shock.


    It was stopped in an instant, though. His eyes could barely focus, but the bright light around them began to fade. Slowly, they settled on something white. It was hard to make out, but he could feel something. A strange sensation began to enter his body. He groaned, and some of the tubes pulled their way out of his body. It hurt to breathe, but the pain was getting less intense. All across his body, it was fading. His heartbeat began to calm down, and he could feel his legs once more.


    The pain still hurt. The kind he''d never wish on another human, but for the first time in a long while, it felt like something he could manage.


    Then he saw red. That white void he looked up at began to rain down a heavy stream of red. His eyes finally focused, and he realized he was staring at a mask. One that covered someone''s face fully up. Someone was doing this to him. That white mask began to change to a nasty red, though, as blood poured out from beneath it. The hand moved away from his body, and instantly, the pain hit him head-on once more, causing him to gasp and buckle.


    Whoever the person was, they stumbled back as more blood poured down their mask. They jumped out the window, falling. In horror, he stepped up and reached out for them, but it was too late. They never hit the ground, though. Instead, his ears, which were now clear, heard the flapping of wings, and something massive flew past his window carrying the masked figure.


    The door to his hospital room burst open as a doctor ran in, and Alex became aware of the fact that the machines in his room were screaming out. "Mr. Lauren-" The doctor stood frozen when he saw the man.


    Alexander kept staring out the window where the figure had left. His arm was still outstretched. The very same limb that had been cut off. It was back. He turned to look at the doctor; his body no longer was skin and bones having a small amount of fat to it, and he was able to move, if even only a little, and his throat didn''t feel damaged. He cleared it as his mind struggled with the pain that still rose up beneath his flesh.


    "I think... I think I''d like to see my wife. I know it''s late, but can you please call her?"