If I hear the word essentially one more time I’m going to riot. It’s my English teacher’s favourite word, and she had used it three times in the past sentence. Three times. That word is ruined for me now. And it’s a good word too. My teacher stood at the front of the room, the first day of class, lecturing after saying she didn’t want to lecture on our first day back. She was going to briefly tell us what books we’d be reading this year, and what our theme is. Every year we get a theme, last year’s was a dystopian world. We read a few books, but the main one was Brave New World. That book freaked me out a little, and I’m secretly a superhero.

About 100 years ago, an anomaly was discovered in some humans. An anomaly that gave us powers. Some could heal, some could manipulate gravity, some could even teleport. It was chaos. That’s when we discovered that some people had some really terrible powers. Able to spread sickness and disease with a single touch. Things went badly. We went into what we now call the Second Dark Age. Until the remaining governments put some laws in place. Laws that dictate that nobody is allowed to use their powers outside of their homes, nobody. Not even the Queen.

We rebuilt after that. People were scared so they followed the rules. Until about fifteen years ago. Some villains came out of hiding, using their powers for bad. Heathen, he could change people’s faith with a single thought. He usually went after spiritual leaders, and convinced them to condemn what they believe in. Mime, you never heard her coming, and then you’d never be able to talk or move again. She turned people into living statues, and they stayed that way either until she grew bored or they died of dehydration or starvation. Peculiar, she slowly turned people insane with a single kiss, anywhere. It would start out small, then you’d become more and more peculiar, until you turned insane. They was no cure. And the worst one of them all, Genocide. He could kill hundreds to thousands of people by way of disease, or natural disasters.

We didn’t know there was a person behind the large groups of bodies, not until we realized their connection and Genocide announced himself. They all went to the same church, had the same shade of hair, were the same ethnicity, or had the same name. We don’t know how to stop him. The only consolation we have is it takes him extremely long to work up a genocide. It requires more power than you can imagine. It should take more power than you can imagine, these are people’s lives we’re talking about. You shouldn’t be able to just snap your fingers and be done with it.

Ms. Varone snapped me out of my thoughts. “Nessa,” she was looking right at me. I hate that look. “Anything you’d care to add to the conversation?” She leaned her weight onto one leg, still looking at me. Uh oh, I thought. Better think of something quick. She isn’t your biggest fan, not after the debacle last year.

“I was just wondering what this year’s theme is, and how it relates to out culminating task,” I responded smoothly, hoping she hadn’t covered that when I’d been distracted by my thoughts.

“Excellent question,” she said, looking around the class. “This year’s theme is loss. Loss in family, in friends, in religion, loss in whatever. We’ll be reading The Heart and the Bottle, Norwegian Wood, and Book of Mutter.” We all groaned, they sounded like extremely emotional books and no sane seventeen year old would want to read a nonfiction book about loss.

Soon the bell rings, and I pick up my bag and head for History. One of my more interesting courses. This teacher is one of my favourites. He gets so excited about what he’s talking about he starts jumping around. It helps that his projects are very easy and fun too. His class is a breeze, and he has a Powerpoint to go over what we’ll be reviewing this year. The bell rings again, this time sooner than I thought, and I headed off for lunch. My friends and I always sit outside the library, our large group driving everyone further down the hall because of how loud we could get.

There were sixteen of us in total, but we all had our own mini groups. The Bio Buds: Jay, Quinn, Maria, Kiki and Miele. The Writer Worshippers: me, Roan, Kieran, and Tommy. The Engineer Squad: Penny, Elizabeth, Jake and Noel. And the Gym Gang: Dani, Oscar and Luca. Most of us have been friends since high school started, and some of us even before then. We had our middle school groups, me, Penny, Roan, Dani and Jake coming from St. Peter’s, Jay, Quinn, Kieran, Tommy, Elizabeth and Noel coming from Wellington Junior High, and Maria, Kiki, Miele, Oscar and Luca coming from Manuel Public School.

We had a large group of friends, maybe the largest in the school that regularly hung out. The Bio Buds and the Engineer Squad had a lot of classes together, taking the sciences and maths. The Writer Worshippers took all the available English courses, and the Gym Gang of course took all the phys ed and health courses. There was some overlap, here and there, but those were mostly the small groups. We’d all meet at lunch, and sometimes The BBs and ES would go into the library together, comparing notes and working on assignments. I can tell you the WWs brain’s melted almost every lunch whenever someone asked how our works in progress are going. Mine certainly did.

This year, however, our group is halved. The only ones left are Jay, Quinn, Roan, Penny, Dani, Kiki, Kieran and Oscar. The others had graduated and gone to university, or were taking a gap year. Some here in the city and others at different universities. Our friend group seemed so small now. It was even quieter.

. . .

Despite knowing Dani and Penny for a good decade, my best friend’s name is Martha. She’s tall, and has the prettiest brown hair and green eyes. She also happens to be a superhero, and my partner of three years. She had air powers, she used to tickle me with the wind, tease my hair, caress my hands. She doesn’t do as often now, what with the villains making a sudden reappearance. She’s known by the rest of the world as Aella, meaning whirlwind. I suggested that name. When she joined the Agency, right at the beginning, she would walk around with a bubble of air protecting her, pushing people standing too close back and lifting up everybody’s hair. She’s gotten friendlier over the years, and she’s one of the few people I idolise. I want to be just like her when I’m older, except I won’t have her powers. They’re so cool.

After school I went home with Noah and Nellie, two other girls who live in the orphanage with me. I’m the oldest in the orphanage, at seventeen, with Noah at fifteen and Nellie at 13. There are thirteen of us total at the orphanage. Lucky number, I know. Not so lucky situations. Most of our parents had died, with no next of kin, or we had been abandoned at the doorstep. I wish I had been abandoned.

Memories of that night invaded my senses, making me shiver. I tried to push them back, but small glimpses of orange and black and the stars twinkling high above me. The smell of smoke invaded my lungs, and I bent over, coughing my heart out. Nell and Noah stopped beside me, pulling back my hair and rubbing my back. I felt something small and cylindrical brush my lips and I latched onto the straw, gulping down as much water as possible. I hated when I got attacks.

It took me a few minutes to calm down, and it was then I realised the smoke wasn’t coming from my imagination. There was a building on fire a few blocks away, the thick black smoke billowing out and up into the sky. I stared in horror for a few seconds before Noah pushed me a little.

“Nessa go!” she said. “They need Chameleon.”

I dropped my bag and sprinted off into an alleyway, looking back and forth for anyone before shifting. My legs got longer, my chest got flat and wings sprouted from my shoulder blades. My clothes shifted too, covering every inch of my face and body, with a cape unfurling and snapping behind me in the wind. I pushed off the ground, beating my wings, catching the air. I rose high above and shot off towards the fire, surveying the

scene.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted movement, and looked to the left seeing a fire truck roaring down the street and an ambulance hot on its trail. Looking closer I noticed that Aella and Waya had hitched a ride on the top of the truck. Good, I thought, not wanting to go at it alone today. I dropped beside them on top of the truck, casually dropping a “Hey” as if we weren’t about to go charging into a burning building and I hadn’t just

dropped out of the sky.

“Okay,” Waya said, ever the strategist. “Chameleon, Aella, get the people out of the building. I’m going to conjure rain to help the firefighters. I’ll make you guys cold so you resist the heat for a little. Take these masks,” he passed them over. Waya also had a cool power. He had the Word of Command. It was a singular word that held power, like saying rain and then it starts raining. He couldn’t use more than one word, so he was also a walking thesaurus.

We nodded and Waya and Aella pressed their foreheads together for a moment. They did this every time we were on a mission. They were the cutest couple I had ever met, and I spent half my time teasing them for their cheesiness. What are friends for? Aella and I launched ourselves off the truck, heading straight for the burning apartment building. There were people streaming out of the front and side doors, and some using the fire escape on the side of the building. There were a few people leaning half out of their windows, gesturing towards my partner and I. I heard Waya say ”Rain,” behind us and the sky darkened, rain falling in heavy sheets. It beat heavily on my wings, dripping down the feathers and onto the ground.

The fire seemed to almost want to rage against the rain before It slowly got a bit smaller. The water helped with the smoke too, and people turned their faces upwards with their mouths open. Aella and I systematically dove towards the windows, pulling people out and dropping them next to the ambulance. The firefighters got the flames under control, and they were working on killing it completely. Aella stood on the ground with her legs planted, and created air bubbles around small parts of the fire, sucking the air out of it. The fires would go out, and stay out. Looking at the scene from high above, it was cool. I loved my job. It’s hard sometimes, really hard, but I wouldn’t trade it in for any other job in the world. The others at the Agency were my world, and I don’t know what I’d do without them.

#superhero #powers #heroes #fiction #strongfemalelead

The first few months of school passed mostly uneventfully. Some of our old friends came back to surprise us, but then things started picking up and the few that had stayed in the city became too busy for pleasantries. Soon it became a flurry of portfolios and essays and lots of paper. The few that were left in maths and sciences were slowly losing their minds over concepts I couldn’t even pronounce. But let’s be honest, what writer doesn’t have a little trouble pronouncing words? We can read them, not speak them. I didn’t think twice about the peace, too wrapped up in words and paper to worry about the fact that some of the villains like Heathen and Genocide hadn’t reared their ugly heads since that fire in the beginning of the year.

“I’m home,” I called, walking into the orphanage. I heard little feet charging forwards and the familiar face of little Mason showed from around the corner. I smiled when I saw him and dropped down to one knee, opening my arms wide. 

“Neth!” He said, running full force into me. I almost fell backwards, not expecting that much weight behind his little body. I usually stay at the cave during the summers, being First Respondent. It’s easier for me, but I miss the little ones too much. Helen, the woman who ran this orphanage, had her son during the summer, and named him Jason. I only got to meet him a couple times, but now that I had officially moved back to the orphanage I’ll be able to help out much more. The older ones, me Nellie and Noah helped Helen a lot. She can’t afford to pay any staff so we do what we can.

It doesn’t help that no couples adopt any of us, and that we got a new kid. His name is Emmett, and he’s a year old. He likes Noah especially, and Cassie. Cassie is part of the middle aged kids, she’s seven. There’s also Oliver, Owen, and the twins, Eden and Elliot. Ophelia and Kimberly, more fondly known as Lia and Lee respectfully, just graduated the middle aged kids and now are officially part of the older kids. They liked the status at first, until they realised all the responsibility that came along with it. 

Go figure.

I pick Mason up and walk towards the kitchen, wondering where everyone is. The answer is the kitchen. When I walk in they’re all gathered there, standing around a cake.

“Surprise!” They yelled, setting off some confetti poppers and tooting small horns. My smile broadened. 

“What’s all this for?” I put Mason down and he runs to Helen. I put my arms around the twins as the run up and latch onto a leg each.

“We decided today was your random birthday, since you still haven’t told us when it is.” Helen explained. She turned to the cake and started dividing up the pieces between all of us, and Nell grabbed the ice cream from the freezer, scooping it out. I love this messy family of mine, and I wouldn’t trade them in for anything. 

That night I thought a lot about my real family. My birth family. Of small eyes, dark curly hair, white teeth, small fingernail. Small clothes, soft mornings with sunlight peeking through the window and giggles. Of pillow fights and strawberries and stargazing and then came the hiding. The fear, the anger. The long game of hide and seek where if we’re found we’d be dead. Of hushed whispers and angry looks and fear and fear and fear and hiding. Then, the calm. The calm before the storm. Slight giggles coming out again, strawberries, bright clothing. Then lightning. Pain and hurting and smoke and fire and heat and screaming and dying.

I hadn’t realized I had started crying until I felt them dripping down my cheeks and onto my legs. I slowly shifted, body getting smaller, skin getting darker, pink in some areas, patches of hair growing where it could. And no vision. Blackness. Empty. Dark. Afraid.

Nothing.

. . .

School was going well, surprisingly. I was still First Respondent, but the villains weren’t doing much. There were a couple incidents with Peculiar, but other than that, it was quiet. It drew suspscions, even the civilians were becoming wary. Everyone was tense and on edge. This prompted a meeting with the Director, which unfortunately occurred during the middle of our Induction Briefing.

The Director has impeccable timing.

He made it a Seniors Only meeting, which of course drew even more questions. “Listen up people,” the Director said, sitting in Waya’s seat. I refused to sit in my seat, still harboring a deep hatred for the man behind all my pain and suffering, and the others followed my lead. “The villains are too quiet, we need to do something. I want you to arrange a strike team, use whoever you want, I don’t care.”

I snorted, not surprised. I wasn’t quiet either. He looked at me with barely concealed annoyance. We were always butting heads, but never like this. It was always passive aggressive. “Something you’d like to add, Chameleon?” He asked, not expecting me to answer. But he pissed me off this time, with his apathy. 

“Yes, actually,” I snapped. I heard Waya sigh and ignored him, feeling Aella’s wind reassuringly on the back of my neck. “These are people’s lives, show some respect. We are not toy soldiers you can throw at a problem and everything will be fixed. Treat us properly, because if you give an order for a strike and one of us gets injured then it’s on you.” I was breathing heavily and felt Houdini squeeze my shoulder lightly, telling me

that they were all behind me. Literally and figuratively. 

The Director was now angry, good. He’s stupid when he’s angry. He stood up, re buttoning his jacket and took a few steps towards us. I stiffened my posture, knowing better than to relax. Our fight was just getting started. “Don’t pretend to know better than me, girl.” He spat the last word, and my temper flared. How dare he.

“Don’t pretend to care more for these people, boy,” I retorted. He looked taken aback. He was younger than he looked, and nobody but the two of us knew that. He opened his mouth to yell at me but I held up a hand, effectively shutting him up. “You’ve never cared for the welfare of those who joined your company. You didn’t even want to pay them at first. I had to force you to.”

I heard a could gasps behind us and slightly regretted exposing that. Then I was filled with more rage. How dare he still be in charge after all these years? He and his Scientist walk around like they are kings, not caring for the people who do everything for them.

“We risk our lives every time we go out there, protecting you, might I add.” I jabbed a finger at his chest and watched as his eyes lit up with metaphorical fire. 

He lifted his head the the ceiling and said “Computer, erase Chameleon from database.” I scoffed, and crossed my arms, waiting for the computer to respond. 

“Unable to erase Chameleon. You don’t have a high enough security clearance.” The Director looked shocked, then angry again. 

“Enter Thomas, Ryan K.” There was a ding, and the computer waited for the next order. “Erase Chameleon.” That still wasn’t going to work.

“Unable to erase Chameleon. You don’t have a high enough security clearance.” 

I swooped in, my plan in action. My plan that I came up with three seconds ago. It’s a great plan. “Computer,” I said loudly and clearly. Everyone looked at me. “Erase Thomas, Ryan K.”

“Thomas, Ryan K. AKA the Director, erased.” I looked at the Director with an eyebrow raised. 

“How dare you-!” he sputtered. His face was slowly turning purple and he finally lost control and charged at me, fists raised. 

“Computer, intruder alert!” I called out, scrambling backwards. The alarm went off and a section of the floor opened up and swallowed him whole. The floor resealed itself and the alarm turned off. “Computer, add Thomas, Ryan K. AKA the Director to database.” I turned around to face the others and was met by shocked expressions all around. “What?” I asked.

Waya sighed again and Aella started cracking up. “You can’t just un-add the Director to prove a point Cammie,” Starbright said, dropping her head into her hands. I could see her shoulders shaking and knew I wasn’t in too much trouble. Legion snickered and held up his hand for a high five. I looked over at Houdini and she was just standing there shaking slightly from laughter. Geronimo wiped away a few tears then took her seat. We still had a meeting to sort through.

“Okay okay guys,” Waya said, taking his rightful place in his seat. “Let’s get to business. We do have to do something about the villains.” We all sobered up pretty quickly. I didn’t want to do this, but I knew they were planning something. At least Waya actually cared about our lives. 

. . . 

My heart hummed in my chest, beating a tune too fast to hear properly. The meeting was sombre, we knew there were going to be problems. That’s why it’s a Seniors only mission. Waya, Aella, Houdini, Legion, Me, Starbright and Geronimo. Just the original seven, minus Swallow. Oh god, Swallow. I haven’t thought about him in so long. Swallow was one of the first heroes inducted into the Agency. He was actually the first person that realised that I lived in the cave. Swallow was a kind soul, so so kind, and he was stolen away from us too soon. He ended up being one of Genocide’s victims, that time it was everyone named Matthew. 

It hit Legion the hardest. Poor Kevin, he was best friends with Matthew since they were really little. It was hard on all of us really, us and the outside world. They had built us up like gods, and then when Matthew died they lost a little bit of faith in us. That was two years ago now, when we were on a similar mission. You see why I got so mad now? The Director doesn’t care, he never has and he never will. 

I make my way to the Training Pit, and settle myself on the edge, my legs dangling over. I leaned back on the palms of my hands, tilting my head up the the ceiling. All I could was think. Think about a lot of things. Like how devastated Kevin was when we found Matthew’s body. Genocide’s victims don’t have any telltale marker. They look like they’re sleeping. But all Aella or I could do was stand in horror as Kevin wailed and sobbed into his dead best friend’s body.

I never want to see that again. I felt anger well up inside me again. Anger for so many different things. Anger at my friends, for not knowing how lucky they are, angry at the civilians I vowed to protect, for building us up so high and not catching us when we fell, and at the Director. Anger at the Director for taking advantage of young kids, because that’s what they are; kids. Legion is barely in his twenties, Geronimo is still in high school. Hell I’m still in high school. Anger at him for wanting us to do this for free, for thinking that we would sacrifice our bodies with no promise of compensation for our families. 

Anger for murdering my entire family. Heat and smoke and pain and tears flood my senses. I can’t hear, I can’t feel, I can’t see. I realise I’m having a panic attack and try to slow my breathing. It doesn’t work.

Martha finds me however later it is, curled up in a ball violently sobbing into my arms. She says nothing, knowing at this point that I get panic attacks. She gathers me up in her arms, rocking me back and forth, taking long deep breaths. I force myself to match her pace. I feel everything, my toes, my calves, my hip digging into my best friend, my shoulders, my eyebrows slowly relaxing. I feel her hand in my hair, I hear her voice speaking. I couldn’t hear the words but I could hear the soft drone and knew she was telling me one of her stories, just filling the silence. 

Slowly my breathing evened out and my tears dried. I gently uncurled myself from her and leaned into her side. We sat there, side by side, thinking and hating and wishing and hoping.

After about thirty minutes Waya got antsy and came looking for us. He found us there, at the edge of the Pit, sitting in silence. He sat on the other side of me and glanced over, taking in the view of his girlfriend and me, tear stained and still shaking a bit. He faced forwards again, not saying anything. We sat there for what seemed like a long time, enjoying each other’s company. When Waya finally spoke his voice was quiet, like he was trying not to destroy something fragile.

“We have to go, we have a lead on where they could be.” 

My heart broke a little. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to be Chameleon right now. I wanted to be a little kid again, with her parents and little brother and sister and be happy. I didn’t want responsibility. I was still just a kid. I couldn’t do this, none of us could. But we had to. Because we said we would. And in this world once you’ve made a promise this big you can’t escape it, no matter what you do. 

I felt Aella’s wind surround me like a comforting hug, swirling around my feet and hands, raising the small hairs on the back of my neck. I pushed myself up, Aella and Waya standing up on either side of me. I gave them a bit of privacy as they did their usual forehead touch before each mission, and when Aella turned around she did the same with me. I breathed in deeply, relishing in the peace, in the familiarity. 

Waya slung his arm around my shoulders, drawing me tightly against him. We all knew something bad was going to happen, there’s no way it could be avoided. We were going up against the top villains, Heathen, Genocide, Peculiar and Mime. Slowly, we all headed off to the Briefing Room. Opening the door I saw everyone else was still in there. They were standing in a tight circle talking amongst themselves and looked up when we walked in. They quietly dispersed, taking their seats. 

The projection of the warehouse floor plan was still up on the wall. Legion pulled up the floor plan of the building opposite before taking his seat opposite me, at Waya’s right hand. I was seated at Aella’s left hand; her and Waya were the heads of the table. They were our leaders. They made all the hard decisions, and unfortunately after Swallow died they paired Legion with Houdini and put me in their group. 

Waya cleared his throat, preparing what he was going to say. He smiled tightly at us, sitting down slowly in his chair. “We all know the risks,” his voice was sombre, and I choked back a whimper, thinking again of Swallow. I looked over at Legion and saw his fists clutched tightly, his head down. My heart ached for him, loosing someone that close to you is horrible, I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. 

Except maybe the Director. I really hated him. He might consider the value of people’s lives if he lost someone dear to him.

“Waya, Cammie and I are strike team one,” Aella said, squeezing her boyfriend’s hand in reassurance. “Legion, Geronimo, you two are the second strike team. You’ll enter from the back. Look after each other.” They nodded, all of us feeling the heavy tone now. “Houdini, Starbright, you guys are back up. Stay on the roof of the building opposite and let us know what happens outside the building. Remember, they’ve hired men before and they could still have them. We just barely outnumber them on a good day,” Aella took the time to look around at all of us. “Everyone needs to be on high alert, including you, Cammie.” She turned to look me directly in the eyes.

“What do you mean by that,” I said weakly, knowing exactly what she meant. 

“You always throw yourself head first into danger. Your shape shifting abilities won’t save you from harm every time. You’ve been lucky so far, but we need you alive.” I looked down, unable to face her anymore. She didn’t even know why I did that. I had a family. I loved them and they loved me. Then the lightning came and they burned, and I couldn’t do anything to help them. I would never be that helpless again. I don’t care if I die, nobody really needed me. Maybe if I died I’d be able to see my parents and siblings again.

. . .

We stood, the seven of us, on the ledge of a building. Out in the distance we could see the warehouse, our target. Aella and Waya, on either side of me, grabbed my hands at the same time and gave them a squeeze. I squeezed back. I looked down the line at all of us standing in a row. We were so powerful, yet so weak. I knew these people like I knew myself. Flashes of memories passed through my mind. Moving into the cave for the first time after the Director found me. I think I was nine around the time. I can’t quite remember, it was so long ago and buried so far down that all I could remember was stone and coldness and being alone. Then came Waya, Aella and Swallow. The first three. They always worked together, but I was their last line of defence. I left food around the place, set up their rooms, programmed the computer to recognise them. 

I loved them. It was like I had found my second family. The orphanage was barely an orphanage at that point. It was just me. Me and Helen. But with my second family it was like I had a Mom and a Dad and a brother again. All that was missing was the sister. Then came Houdini, Geronimo and Legion and suddenly this family had two brothers, two sisters and me. The in between child. I saw flashes of food fights, pillow fights, and regular fights. Of making suits together, training, napping, hugging and hoping. We were so so close. 

Then came Genocide, stealing my bother away from me. It was pain upon pain upon pain after that. It was too familiar. I closed myself off, barely noticing my family was shutting down too. Then the Director, he thought he was helping but all he did was emotionally stunt me, he didn’t give us time to grieve properly. He made me public, and added new supers. We didn’t even have a chance to make them part of the family before they were stolen away from us. Peculiar and Mime. I am the only one of my Initiation still alive. I started the Hall of Memories, the Wall of the Fallen. Swallow, Purge, Ace, Jacks, Folly. All of them died and it ripped holes into my still gaping wound. 

Flashes of feathers and hugs and random fits of laughter brought tears to my eyes. I wouldn’t lose anyone else. I couldn’t.

. . . 

“Get back here!” I screamed, my mind blind with rage. All I could see was the red, white and black suit of Mime. Mime, the one who killed Ace. Her body was still frozen, now in ice courtesy of the Scientist. The others weren’t as lucky. Peculiar got to Jacks, who I still visited at the hospital every weekend. We got Jacks back months after Peculiar had kissed him and taken him captive. Sometimes he mutters things, things we think could be hints to the villains weaknesses. His mind is beyond repair. 

Mime laughed high and cold, sprinting through the maze of hallways. I poured on the speed, wondering which exit she was going to take. There were three possible choices. The warehouse courtyard, the city, or the river. This old warehouse used to be an electricity plant, powered by the river. Then the plant was moved further into the city and it became a storage warehouse for whichever company bought it. 

She dodged crates filled with goods, or bads if it happened to be food, and wormed her way through scaffolding towards a small door. I burst through the exit after her, blinded momentarily by the sudden brightness. I heard scuffling and felt wind brush past me. Aella. I ginned to myself and opened my eyes, seeing my best friend buffeting the wannabe top villain back. She was grinning, hair whipping out behind her, eyes alight with adrenaline. I heard shouts behind me and turned to see the others charging over. I saw Houdini holding Peculiar tightly, teleporting a few meters to keep pace with the others. My grin widened.

Suddenly I saw Waya’s eyes widen, and he shouted louder. I whirled around staring at the scene before me. Mime’s hand was wrapped tightly around Aella’s wrist, and my best friend was frozen with an expression of shock etched into her face. My heart beat loudly in my ears, and I felt the world slow down. A scream tore through me, and I flew forward, kicking Mime as hard as I could. She fell to the ground, clutching her abdomen. The others came to a halt a few feet away but Waya charged right up to Mime and grabbed her by her wrists. 

“Reverse it!” He yelled in her face.

I staggered forwards, my hands coming up. I stared at the woman in front of me. Long brown hair, completely still. Even the air around us was frozen. My hand came up to cup her face, tears flowing down my cheeks. Waya kept shouting and shaking Mime, and all she did was laugh

and laugh

and laugh.

I wanted to kill her.

I turned around blind once again with rage. Shoving Waya aside I grabbed Mime by the wrists and hauled her up, dragging her over to Martha. “Fix her now,” I growled, almost shoving their faces together.

“I don’t think so, sweetheart,” Mime said coldly. Before I could yell at her again, she kicked out and I watched, helpless as my best friend tipped over and fell and fell and fell and fell and fell until she finally reached the river and splashed. All I could do was stare in horror. I willed my body to move, I could save her, I can swim, I can fly. Let me save her, I screamed in my mind. Legion would later tell me that Mime had been building up to her special move. Sending out a ripple of her freezing power, temporarily keeping us trapped where we were.

My lungs burned. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear, I couldn’t feel, and there was no one to hold me this time.

Mime wriggled out of my grasp, saluted, and jumped backwards into the river. I hope she drowns. 

Suddenly we could all move again and the first thing I did was dive off the cliff. I plummeted several stories and plunged into the freezing cold water. I opened my eyes and looked around. Nothing.

How could there be nothing?

She was just here. 

She was just here and now she was gone how could this have happened.

. . . 

The Agency almost shut down after the Last Battle. I didn’t speak to anyone, I didn’t eat anything, I didn’t drink anything. I just cried and wasted away and hated and hated and hated. The Director tried to get me back in the field and only got the hint that I was done when I narrowly missed his head with my knife. 

It was still embedded in my wall.

Months passed. My grades slipped, my mind slipped, everything slipped. Every day was the same, same clothes, same room, same thoughts.

I couldn’t stop replaying the last moments in my head, cursing myself.

How could I have been so stupid.

I didn’t see anyone the few times I left my room to go to Martha’s or the Pit.

It was one of these days at the edge of the Pit, my small body hunched over under the weight of my blanket, when I heard footsteps behind me. I whipped around, only to see Legion. My eyes watered up and sobs tore through me. It was all my fault. 

He sat beside me and said nothing. I sobbed and wailed and cursed and he did nothing. Then I gave up, my body gave out and I fell. He caught me, laying my head down on his lap, stroking my hair. My eyes blurred up again, but my tears did not fall. 

“I’m here,” he whispered, and he was.

"Do you ever think of your life before you were Legion?" I broke the silence between us.

"Hmm?" He cocked his head. "What do you mean 'before I was Legion'?"

"I mean before you got recruited by the Agency, before you realised your powers."

He frowned. "Funny you ask me that. I've actually been thinking about my powers for a while. It's strange," he paused, "how I got them. Mind reading isn't in my family, and my parents are so in love you wouldn't believe it. The weirdest part is how they just appeared one day, as if out of the blue."

Now it was my turn to frown. "What do you mean 'out of the blue'? That's not how powers work. They take a while to manifest, and it's hell controlling them at first."

He looked surprised. "I didn't know that," he mumbled. "My family and I had gone camping, and I wandered off exploring. I got really thirsty and asked one of the other campers walking the other way if he had water. He had this weird look in his eyes but gave me his bottle. The next morning I woke up and could hear my mom talking about us all going on a hike, except her mouth wasn't moving."

"They actually took me to the doctor in town to see what was wrong, seeing as nobody in my family can read minds. He gave me the first blocker I had, but he had the same look in his eyes as the man with the water bottle."

"Struck by lightning," I muttered.

"Pardon?" He turned to face me.

"It's like how I got my powers," I elaborated. "I was struck by lightning, literally, and in the next few days I found out I could shapeshift. That power didn't run in my family either." I shrugged. "A few years later the Agency found me, and that's actually how it was founded. They never told me how they found me, and I never told them my real name. The Director has been on my ass about it for years." I let out a humourless laugh. "I wasn't this secretive before I was Chameleon. I was happy, I was free. Then the Director and his Scientist showed up and told me they're the reason I was struck by lightning. By that point I wasn't even using my real face. You know," I continued, "they didn't even apologise for the pain they brought me. They just said it was an experiment they were doing, and that I was meant for something bigger."

He looked horrified. "How old were you?"

"Not old enough to sue them, but old enough to not tell them jack about who I am. They can't do shit about it though, they ruined my life. I'm entitled to my privacy. The only upside at the time was learning all the secret codes for the cave, and some others."

"I keep forgetting that you were here before Waya." He mused.

"Not publicly, which is actually a little annoying. All the newbies get stingy when I'm in on the Senior meetings, because to everyone else I was only inducted three years ago. Some of the other Senior members even question it behind my back."

"Remember the induction party two years ago?" He asked.

"God who could forget that disaster," I chuckled. "All the other newbies were just in awe, and then we get a call from the Director, and of course it's a 'Seniors only' situation."

He started laughing. "The kids looked so confused and then the Seniors all get up to leave and Arctic, the absolute fool, started questioning why you were part of the Seniors and Rebel wasn't."

"He wasn't even inducted that long before me!" I protested.

"We all know that Cammie," he said between laughs. "Even Rebel didn't question it. Although, that might've been because he was a little scared of you."

"It felt so good to put Arctic in his place. He was annoying before he joined the Agency, and I finally got to straighten him out. I also got to answer the questions all the newbies and Juniors had."

"Yeah, you did kind of walk around like you're the queen of the Agency, which now that I think about it, you kind of are." He thought out loud. "Even Waya doesn't know how long you were here before him. You've said the Agency started with you, but the Director never told us when he founded it. As far as we're concerned, the Agency has only been around for five years." He gave me a strange look. "Now that I think about it, you were in the cave and going on missions for two years before you were officially inducted." I leaned back in my seat, revelling in the status I have.

"Told you, I'm the queen of the Agency," I said smugly. "I know every secret this cave has to offer. If we played hide and seek, I would always win, even if I was the seeker."

His face went slack. "That actually isn't a bad idea. The new inductees, we could play hide and seek, powers allowed. It would give them a way to familiarize themselves with the cave and the rest of the team's powers."

I sat up. "I think you're onto something buddy. I can bring it up at the next meeting. We should be doing another recruitment soon."

"Speaking of," he said, sitting up and grabbing a laptop off the table. "I'm pretty sure the Director, Mayhem and Oracle put some suggestions in."

"I actually put in a suggestion last night too," I added. "Spotted them while on patrol and they actually talked to me, unlike Ang." I muttered the last two words.

Legion let out a short laugh. "Still not over that?"

"He ran away from me before I could introduce myself three times in a row! He never even apologized for being rude."

"To be fair," he answered, still fixated on the laptop. "You hadn't been made official yet. He probably thought you were some weirdo."

"Still," I muttered.

"Okay, got the file." He pushed the laptop between us on the table. I leaned closer to get a better look.

"Most of these suggestions are just teenagers. We don't have a single adult and two young adults."

"That's gonna be a problem," he murmured. "Parents aren't the most understanding when we show up on their doorstep."

"Plus teenagers aren't the best to train."

"And they have school and extracurricular's," Legion added. "Besides, they don't fully understand what they're getting into. All they think about is the good things; they forget all the bad that comes along with it."

I leaned back into the couch. "Well that's partly because of Aerglo. He decided the 'superhero discount' was worth revealing himself. To be fair, he has managed to balance both lives quite well."

Legion laughed. "He should be graduating soon right? Wonder what university he'll go to."

"He might decide not to go," I pointed out. "He does work for the Agency, and he likes what he does."

"He should still have a backup plan, just in case he can't continue being a superhero." He glanced up at the Wall of the Fallen, muttering: "You and I both know this career doesn't always work out in the end."

"At least you weren't there," I let out a mirthless laugh, "when Matthew died."

"You think that makes it better?" He asked. "He was my partner, my best friend, and the one time I didn't listen to him, that's what happens." He became lost in thought.

"As terrible as it was," I shifted closer to him. "At least you had a body to bury."

He looked up at the Wall, pressing his shoulder into mine. "What happened to Aella wasn't your fault Cammie. She was here at the same time as Waya, she knew the risks of every mission."

"Try telling that to her family," my eyes locked on the picture of my first partner. "That was the first time I actually considered quitting. She meant the world to me, and we couldn't even bury her. I still don't know how to deal with it, and it's only been a few months. What am I supposed to do, how am I supposed to act?"

"You're not supposed to get over something like that," Legion said. "I still think about Matthew every single day and it's been three years. It's gonna stay with us forever, and it'll be up on the Wall even after we're forgotten. That's why the Wall of the Fallen was created; to remember everyone."

For a while we just sat in silence, shoulders pressed together, minds filled with memories of our old partners and our other Fallen friends. People who were like family to us. People who fought with us. You can see why I don't like sitting in the Hall of Memories. Sounds filled my ears. Sounds of the past, of the Last Fight, of my friends. Too many memories. There were too many ghosts.

Waya walked in, sometime later. "Should've guessed you two would be in here," he remarked. He tried not to look at the Wall. Legion and I glanced up, too wrapped up in our own minds to react properly. "C'mon, we're having the recruitment meeting now." He turned on his heel, wanting to spend as little time as possible in the Hall of Memories. Legion and I silent stood up to follow him, joints groaning. I leaned down to grab the laptop before following them. Waya led us to the Briefing Room, pushing open the door and heading over to our seats. No surprise, we were the last ones there.

"Alright team," Waya started as soon as everyone was settled. "Let's commence. A few of you put in suggestions last night so we'll pull up the updated version. We're looking at picking a minimum of three people, hopefully not all teenagers. We all know how that turns out."

A collective groan is heard in the room. Not only are the parents angry when we come knocking for their teenage kid, the press has a field day. We can never seem to win.

"Alright everyone, settle down." Waya pulled up the list. "Let's see who our newbies are going to be." The list appeared on the screen and a few of us immediately frowned. "Well then," Waya filled the silence. "I guess the Director didn't like one of the suggestions. And since we have to induct a minimum of three candidates, all of them have made it." He turned off the screen and leaned back in his chair. "So who wants to talk to the parents of the teenagers?"

An even louder groan echoed throughout the room and I smiled. Our real enemies weren't the villains. No, our enemies are parents.

We ended up drawing straws. We didn't even bother including Oracle; the little cheat. I got one of the teens, which was fine really, except Waya got the other and used a Command on me. You can't trust anyone these days. After the meeting I booked it. I wasn't scheduled for patrol tonight and I've got homework to do. Leaving the cave I made sure no one was around before shifting. The team doesn't know my civilian form and I wanted to keep it that way. Walking back to the orphanage I took the time to look around.

The leaves were turning a hundred different shades of red, orange and yellow. I breathed deeply, taking in the smell of the coffee shop mixing with the bakery beside it. There weren't many people walking around, but every block or so I'd spot dogs playing in the leaves and their owners smiling fondly at them.

Reaching my destination, I opened the door to chaos. There's no place like home. As soon as little Mason spotted me I knew I wasn't going to get a moment of peace for the next few hours.

"Neth, Neth!" he exclaimed, a large smile overtaking his face and his arms waving around in excitement.

"Hey there little monkey," I said, reaching down to pick him up. "Were you good today for Mommy?" Mason had been at the orphanage for three years and started calling Helen, the woman who runs this place, his mom. We all decided it'd be best not to tell him that she's not his biological mother. She has raised him.

He nodded enthusiastically and launched into the thrilling tale of his day. I nodded along and laughed at his re-telling of who stole all the juice boxes at school, and carried him into the mess hall. Everyone else was there with the exception of Jason and Emmett, who were already asleep, and Helen, who was still in the kitchen. I put Mason down in his seat before heading into the kitchen. Nell and Noah were moving around the kitchen gathering plates, cutlery and cups like a well oiled machine. I grabbed the plates and the place mats before heading out to the mess hall again.

Minutes later the table was set and Helen, Nell, Noah and I were dishing out the food for all the younger kids. The conversation was dominated by the little one; who saw who at recess, who ate where at lunch, etcetera. Most of the kids go to the same elementary school, Helen drives them every morning. Nell, Noah and I all go to the same high school. When they first started I would spend as much time as possible with them until the made their own friends. Most of us have different last names, but the other kids still knew we come from the orphanage.

After dinner I was delegated to homework duty. We all sat in the living room with notebooks and folders scattered across couches and coffee tables. The little ones loved complaining about how much homework they had, until they noticed the pile of textbooks Noah carried in for us three. We all settled, surrounded by the sounds of pencil on paper, slight shifting in seats, and explanations murmured softly. In these small moments of silence, surrounded by people who knew what I had been through better than anyone else, I could almost pretend I was normal.

No superhero identity, no hidden past life. Just kids who would stand by me simply because we understand each other, I lived for these moments, and I continued with my superhero life so these moments could stay.

. . .

When the weekend came, it was time to recruit the teenagers. I grabbed my suit, the last of my mother that I owned; and like any normal teenager, jumped out of my window. Okay, less jumped and more climbed out and hoisted myself up onto the roof. Gracefully, obviously. Who can't climb out a 4th floor window and pull themselves up to the roof any other way?

Even after all these years I still couldn't quite believe it when my mom's old clothes and her favourite blanket also morphed with my body. If that lightning could give me another superpower, who says it couldn't also bind my DNA with cloth? Totally reasonable. For a minute I just paused. The sun wasn't even a quarter of the way up. The bakery was already open, but the windows in the coffee shop were dark. A few people could be seen walking energetic dogs and stifling yawns.

There was a light breeze, reminding us that winter isn't far off. Nobody had seen me yet. It was one of those rare moments where I was in my suit but I was still invisible. I closed my eyes and leaned back, drinking in the smells of fresh pastries and the clean cold smell of the air. Sometime later I pulled myself to my feet and started jumping across roofs. I tried to stay high up and out of sight until I reached the first house. Silently dropping down into an alleyway I glanced around before walking up to the house. I knocked and took a step back, running through what I was going to say for the fourth time. The door swung open to reveal a short middle aged woman.

"Hello," she said cautiously, eyeing my suit. Despite being called Chameleon, I did not blend into the background. I smiled.

"Mrs. Wins, right?" I asked. She nodded. I'm guessing you know who I am, and probably why I'm here. Could I come in?" She still looked wary, but reluctantly opened the door for me to enter. I closed and locked the door behind myself while she went to get who I was here for. Three years of recruiting and I still stood awkwardly in the foyer not knowing where to go. I heard soft talking up the stairs, followed by two pairs of feet padding down the staircase. I followed Mrs. Wins and her daughter into the living room. Mr. Wins was sitting on one of the couches, staring at his hands folded on his lap.

At the sound of us entering he looked up and got to his feet. "Pleased to meet you, Chameleon." He said, firmly shaking my hand.

"Likewise, Mr. Wins," I smiled at him. "I'm sure you all would just like to cut to the chase; is it alright if we sit?" I sat on the couch opposite the Wins, while Jay sat in an armchair facing the two couches. "I would like to start off by saying thank you for letting me enter your home," I said. "I know how difficult it is for parents to let us recruit their teenager. I'd also like to say that we try very hard to not recruit teenagers, one of the rules I myself helped establish. It's unfair to put so much responsibility on them, even if they have the power to help.

That being said," I paused, looking at all of them in the eyes, "we believe Jay can rise to the occasion. We have been watching her for a little while and are very impressed." I leaned back, "Do you have any questions?"

Jay remained silent, still processing everything, but the Wins launched into parent mode. "How long is Jay expected to fight for you?" Mrs. Wins asked. Something in her tone unnerved me so I chose my words carefully.

"Should Jay decide to join, she will be given a year long contract to the date. If in a year she decides she doesn't want to stay with us, her contract won't be renewed."

"Contract?" Mr. Wins asked. "What are the details of this contract."

"Unrestricted health care for her and her family, insurance on your home and vehicles should they be damaged in an attack, and Jay will be paid $10,000 a month plus bonuses for certain assignments. We alternate first respondents and patrols, and you'd get a bonus for fighting when you weren't scheduled to." The bonuses were also my idea, if we were putting our lives on the line when we weren't on duty we deserved compensation.

At this Jay seemed to snap out of her shock. "$10,000? That seems like a lot per month."

"Others say the same when they find out but you have to understand that you are expected to walk into a potentially hostile situation with only your partner. The police are bound by laws that prevent them from just charging in but those laws don't apply to us." The three of them were silent for a while after that, fully realising the weight of the responsibility.

"You mentioned a partner," Jay started.

"There are currently two members that do not have partners, because they've been in the Agency for so long. Every new initiate gets sponsored by a senior member and they get partnered with someone who has a minimum of one year of experience." The first time we recruited we paired newbies up together; that lasted less than a month.

Jay nodded, her eyes going out of focus as if her mind was travelling a mile a minute. Mrs. Wins spoke up at this point. "Jay, I know you are almost an adult but this time I would like to have a say in this." Jay nodded and her mom continued. "What guarantee do we have that Jay will remain safe?"

"Mrs. Wins, I look after all the recruits. I make sure they know how things work, where things are, and that their sponsors are teaching them properly. I promise that if she is in mortal danger I will dissolve her contract." They all looked directly at me at hearing this.

"You can do that?" Jay asked.

"I would do anything to protect any initiate, and should you join you'll see why I can make such promises."

"When do we have to make our decision?" Mr. Wins asked.

"We will need your decision today, and I would like to stay here while you make your decision. If Jay agrees, I would be taking her with me to get her first look at the Agency. Initiation Day is next week, and we'd like to tell and show her as much as possible before then." The cave was a big place, and newbies usually got very overwhelmed on their first visit. That's why we start a week early.

"Could you wait in the kitchen while my parents and I talk?" Jay said.

"Of course, take as long as you need." I stood from the couch and headed through the doorway on the left to the kitchen to wait; the bottom of my cape snapping behind me. Was it practical having a cape? No. Did I make the decision when I was much younger and it was too late to change it? Yes. I changed the style of the cape to work better with my wings, something else I decided on when I was younger that is too late to change. At least I look cool. I pulled out my phone to text Waya, letting him know what was going on.

Me: At the Wins. They're deciding right now. What's the address for the Budan's?

Waya: 15 Poplar Road. Met's on his way back with Jacob. I'll have him wait for you before the crash course.

Me: Copy. Thanks Waya.

Thirty minutes later I was joined in the kitchen by the Wins. "Good news," Jay said smiling. "My parents think I'm old enough to become the equivalent of a soldier."

Fifteen minutes later and we had reached our last stop. "Is the blindfold really necessary?" Jay muttered. Before leaving her house I had made her change into non-descriptive clothes I had brought as well as a blindfolded voice modulated mask. She couldn't see a thing and nobody would recognise her voice or clothes.

"I told you, until we get to the cave you have to remain unknown. Also, we're here. Remember how I told you to act."

She switched on the modulator and a warbled voice that sounded nothing like her answered: "Be the robot, aye aye Captain." I shot a glare at her, momentarily forgetting she couldn't see. Huffing, I walk up to the door and knock three times, double checking that Jay was actually following me this time.

"Alright initiate, turn on the headphones now. We can't have you knowing who I'm talking to."

"That would imply we're recruiting someone I do actually know," She pointed out.

"Shut up and turn the music on, this isn't a joke." She sighed and turned on the music, flinching at the volume.

"Really," she complained. "Death metal?" She was trying to keep her voice quiet but it really isn't working. I snickered and watched the glass on the door, looking for the shape of a person. Less than a minute later just as I was about to knock again, the door swung open to reveal a little girl. Okay, sure, why not?

"Hey there," I said brightly. "My name is Chameleon, what's yours?"

The little girl stared at me for ten seconds straight before responding with "Sarah."

"Nice to meet you Sarah," I smiled. Why the hell is she answering the door? "Are your parents home?" She nodded and took my hand before taking off through the house. I quickly grabbed Jay and kicked the door closed behind us, barely managing to avoid the toys littering the foyer. That explains why a six year old answered the door. She tugged us through a hallway into the kitchen where a very stressed looking woman was flitting between two pots and a half made salad on the counter.

I cleared my throat. "Mrs. Budan?" She hummed a yes and I cleared my throat again. "Mrs. Budan, may I speak with you and your husband?" At this point she turned to face me, eyes going wide when she spotted my suit and Jay standing beside me.

"Jack honey!" She yelled, not taking her eyes off her daughter's new friends. "Can you and Quinn come here please!"

Thirty minutes later I was leaving the house with two disguised and blindfolded teens. I'm wasn't sure if this looked like a kidnapping. If it were just one of them I could fly them back to the cave. But two fully grown teenagers? No thanks, I was running low on energy. I usually didn't have to keep my wings on this long. Getting an idea I pulled out my phone, found the contact I was looking for and hit dial.

"Hey Hou," I started when she picked up. "I got two here, can you lend--" I heard a sort of sucking sound noise, like the bathtub when it finishes draining, and then something that could only be described as the opposite as that. I looked to my right and Houdini was standing there, pocketing her phone.

"You totally knew I was going to call," I muttered.

She shrugged. "Waya told us you were done and I can move the fastest from a standpoint. Which one do you want me to take?"

I pushed Jay towards her, hoping she didn't get motion sick easily. "Take her near a bathroom, just in case." I said. She saluted, then as fast as she was here she was gone.

I collected myself before taking off Quinn's mask. He blinked, disoriented by the sudden brightness and the sudden quiet. "My ears are ringing," he stated. His hair was standing up all over the place, and he ran his hand through it a couple times, not really fixing the problem.

"Yeah we can fix that," I glanced around. "Once we get to the cave. Weird question, are you afraid of heights?"

"Uh," he paused, very confused. "No?"

"Coolio, let's get going then. Hold on tight!" With that, I grabbed him under the arms and pushed off the ground, pumping my wings. In his shock his arms tightened around my neck, almost crushing it. This never gets old. As a kid I used to dream of my feet leaving the ground, my body twisting and turning through the clouds. I used to stare at the sky for hours. That's why I gave myself wings as soon as I could. They take a lot of energy, but it's so worth it.

Fifteen minutes later I landed on one of the mountain's overhangs. This is the outside entrance that most of the team knew about, Ang actually found it. Then proceeded to share it with the rest of the team because he can't keep a secret.

"Okay so you can know about this entrance, but nobody can see your face just yet so here's the mask. Don't worry," I reassured him seeing his apprehensive look. "No more country. The other recruits are keeping their masks on too. You can choose to reveal your identity if you wish, only Waya and I know your first and last name."

He took the mask and I led him down the narrow stairs to the fourth floor. The meeting was being held on the first floor, and to conserve energy I opted for the elevator. It was then that I realized I'd forgotten something. "The blindfold can come off now actually, here pass it." He pulled off the mask and handed it over and I pulled the blindfold out before passing it back.

With an almost silent ding the elevator doors slid open and the two of us set off. The first floor was the biggest. Wide hallways, high ceiling rooms, and the bigger kitchen. All the bedrooms were on the third floor, and two of the lounges, plus the second kitchen. The second floor was anything and everything training related. The fourth floor was basically one giant lounge. The first floor was more formal. The Briefing Room, the main kitchen, a dining room, and the Hall of Memories; which was home to the Wall of the Fallen.

Walking into the kitchen I immediately spotted Legion, standing beside a bowl of pasta. Yes! "My man, my dude, my favourite person in the whole entire world," I cajoled, making my way over to him

"Yes it's for you," he said smiling at my antics. "And yes, it's fettuccine alfredo."

"Oh my god I actually love you." I practically skipped over to the food, leaving a very confused initiate trailing behind me. Legion can take this one. I needed my pasta. Now.

"Chameleon needs to keep her energy up," I heard him quietly explain. I started to lead them to the Briefing Room, digging in. "If she doesn't, her shifting will fade."

Speaking of shifting, I think it's time for a change. Mid walk my legs and arms lengthened. My torso stretched, and my facial features grew more angular. My chest went flat, and then my body settled. This also never got old. My suit changed with me, and I made my cape longer, getting rid of my wings.

I pushed the door open, the team glancing up at me and glancing away at the sight of me with a full meal. I took my seat, and Legion pointed out where Quinn should sit before taking his seat beside me.

"Welcome initiates," Waya started. "Thank you for joining us today. Thank you Metallic Fire and Chameleon for dealing with the parents.

Met coughed, his face cringing at the sound of is full name. He also made that choice when he was younger, and he very much regretted it. "I'd just like to point out that I beat her back," he said, smirking.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah because you only had one, plus they're not a teen. You got the easy job."

Who I assume was Jacob snapped his head to me. "Wait, Chameleon is a she?" Oh boy, here we go. This was my least favourite part of the recruitment.

Thankfully, Legion knew the drill. "Just use whatever pronouns you want for Chameleon; we don't know anything about her. Literally nothing. Not even her gender. She's been here the longest, even the Director doesn't know who she is."

I didn't bother to add to that. I needed water.I stood up but was instantly pulled back into my seat by Houdini. Before I could even protest or explain she was handing me a water bottle. Between Houdini, Geronimo and I nobody on this team ever went thirsty, hungry or hurt for too long. Speaking of hurt.

"Mo," I piped up. "My two need your fancy fingers."

She groaned. "Stop with the loud music already." She stood and walked over to Jay and Quinn. "Where does it hurt?" They both pointed to their ears and Jay pointed at her stomach; and Geronimo set off, fixing them up.

Twenty minutes later, the three were fully briefed on how things worked around here. "Now," I said finally taking some responsibility. I was also finished my pasta so I couldn't avoid it any longer.

"All of you are going to get a partner, a suit, a name, and a sponsor. I'm den mother, Houdini and Geronimo know almost as much as I do, so if your sponsor isn't around ask us anything you need. Your sponsor is actually your partner. This person is going to be your new best friend. You're going to know everything about each other, especially your strengths and weaknesses." I tuned to the middle members. "Who wants who?"

Met, no surprise, went for Jacob. Their powers balanced each other out perfectly. Ang, bless him, took Quinn. And Oracle, well apparently he knew all of this weeks ago. He chose Jay.

"If you would like to keep your name a secret, you should choose a codename now so we don't keep referring to you as numbers."

Jacob raised his hand and I nodded at him. "I was thinking Pluto?" He said softly. Met smiled.

"Pluto it is," I smiled. "What about you two?" I asked Jay and Quinn.

Jay answered first. "Phoenix?" she asked.

I nodded. "Sounds good. What about you?" We all looked at Quinn. He looked surprised at all the attention suddenly being on him, and I could see him start to panic.

"Uhh, Mazus..." he trailed off, the end turning up like a question. I raised my eyebrows.

"Are you sure you want to go with that?" He steeled himself and nodded, his decision made.

"Mazus it is then." I clapped once and smiled. "Okay, time for hide and seek!"

A few months later and things had settled. Pluto and Met were working seamlessly together, and the others were well on their way to earning their place here. Ang and Mazus had worked out the few kinks they had at the beginning; Ang can be a bit too much to handle sometimes and Mazus had to be around him a lot. Oracle was being extremely cryptic towards Phoenix, which means he has seen nothing further than them partnering together. Today was one of those days, like the calm before the storm. I relished in it, wanting to see some action. I had been busy with school lately, and the Director had made me Second Respondent when he caught me with my notes coming back from a patrol.

"Hey Chameleon," I heard from behind me. I tuned to see Starbright and Starlight standing behind me.

"Hey guys," I said, frowning at their weird expressions. "What's up?"

Starbright stepped forward. "Light and I were wondering if you could train with us? We wanted to go up against a similar body type to Heathen, especially after last week."

Last week Bright and Light were the first respondents to Heathen, one of the villains who has been a thorn in our side. He had a tendency to evade capture, which made all of us extremely annoyed. He'd pop up, switch people from their religion to his, which was himself, then manage to escape.

He annoyed me.

I smiled. "Of course, the better everyone works together the more likely we'll be able to finally capture him. Lemme just get Waya to give me Heathen's powers for an hour or two; I'll meet you in the training room."

They nodded and headed off, and I turned to walk towards Waya's room. Hopefully he'd be in there. I knocked on the door, and a minute later it swung open, revealing my older friend.

"I need you to give me Heathen's powers for a couple hours," His face dropped. He hated doing this, since when he tried it a few years ago and it didn't exactly go to plan. He only does it in certain conditions, and for certain people. Me being one of those people.

"Cammie why," he asked standing aside so I could walk into his room.

"Starbright and Starlight want to go against Heathen again, they came the closest last week and they want to see if they can come close again." He groaned, and I knew I had won. I grinned.

"Ditto," he whispered, touching the centre of my forehead. I got tingles all over, way less than the lightning, and I felt a shift. My own powers had a similar feel, except now my body was changing without me asking it to. My hands and feet got bigger, and legs and arms stretched out. I felt something new, something different inside of me. It was like my powers were being squished down, and enveloped by something else. The something else, I discovered, was Heathen's power. It was strange, like I would tell exactly what faith Waya believed in just by looking at him.

He regarded me with cautious eyes. "You're a Wiccan," I stated. I hadn't known this before, but now that I think about it, it makes sense. There was something else there, in my powers. It wasn't as if I could just tell what his faith is, it was like I was in his head and could change his thinking. Suddenly I felt sick. Heathen needed to be locked up. This type of power shouldn't be allowed to roam free.

"Okay, I don't need to tell you not to use these powers foolishly, judging by your face." Waya said, less cautious after my expression of disgust. "Try not to touch anybody you might instead get their powers. Your body has all of his muscle memory, so you'll be able to fight like him. It's okay if someone touches you, and if you use your body to block attacks, but be very cautious. Keep Heathen in your mind, everything about him."

I nodded, and bounced up and down on my toes a little. I smiled at him and walked out of his room, turning back when he called my name.

"And remember, whatever damage you take, he'll take."

I left his room, heading towards the Pit. The Pit, I'm so glad you were wondering, is an actual pit. It is. It's located in the training room, or floor, and is the best place for sparring. I had also named the Pit. As I was walking, the alarm went off. I raced to the Briefing room and burst in, spotting Geronimo sitting in front of the board.

"Who is it?" I asked, leaning over her shoulder to see. She glanced at me and did a double take, practically leaping from her seat and taking up a defensive position. Ah, right. I'm not me, I'm Heathen.

"How did you get from the Coliseum to here so fast?" She asked, glaring at me.

I rolled my eyes. "It's Cammie, Mo." Her shoulders relaxed at the sound of my nickname for her.

"It's Heathen, actually," she said, pulling the chair underneath her and turning back to the computer. "He just popped up in Met and Pluto's area. They're on their way to engaging, and asked for backup." I turned from the board and sprouted wings from my back, shaking them a bit.

"I'm heading over, tell the others." Geronimo nodded and turned to the door, where other members of the Agency were spilling through. I pushed my way out of the doorway and set off, trying to get there as quickly as possible. I took the entrance closest to me, a doorway behind the fridge, and shot off into the sky. I climbed higher and higher, spotting the Coliseum to my right. I took off, pumping my wings and streamlining my body as much as possible, entering a dive.

I pulled up short of where my coworkers were, watching for a moment Met and Pluto tag teaming Heathen. It was something special watching them. They moved together so gracefully, winding around each other and covering each other's back. I shook my head, and landed beside Met.

"The others are coming, but for now it's just me. Houdini should be here with Waya shortly." As I said this we heard a sucking noise not far off and spotted Houdini and Waya ducking behind a car. Pluto made a run for where Met and I were, but Heathen spotted him. He picked up something from beside him which was probably sharp and heavy, and lobbed it at Pluto. In a panic, I reached out a pulled Pluto towards me, sparing him whatever nasty toy Heathen has brought along.

As soon as I touched Pluto I felt my body tingle, and Waya's words came back to me in a rush. Well damn. Pluto looked at me in shock, and I tried to gather the words for an explanation. "Waya, word of command," I said. He nodded mutely, apparently understanding why he was staring at a carbon copy of himself. Down to the powers. Wait a second, down to the powers. I lifted up my hands and imagined something cold gathering there, and these small patches of snow showed up. "Huh," I said, staring at the pure white snow. "Well I've got to admit, this is pretty cool."

With that, we stood, and charged at Heathen, taking him by surprise. Met blasted him in the middle, Pluto and I taking a side. I'll admit I may have gotten a bit carried away with this new power. I could faintly head Waya yelling my name behind me, but I was too focused on the ice coming out of my hands, radiating off of my body. Freezing Met.

Wait, back up. Freezing Met? His skin turned a pale blue tint, and Pluto could only stare in horror as Met's body slowly started to become covered in ice. He yelled, and suddenly this massive blast of heat rolled off him, straight towards me. I raised my hands up instinctively to protect my face, and I could feel the blisters form. My skin burning. It was not fun. Not fun at all.

I screamed out in pain, and I dimly heard someone else scream. Then I passed out.

. . .

I woke up in my bed. My hands were heavily bandaged and my throat was dry. Legion was sitting in a chair next to my bed, his head in his hands, his shoulders rising and falling steadily with each breath. "Hey," I rasped out, drawing his attention.

"Cammie I swear to God you never get to use Ditto again." Waya spoke up from the corner. I looked up at my ceiling, swallowing roughly.

"Yeah that's probably fair," Legion got up and grabbed my water, helping my drink it. "Thanks Kev," I smiled at him. I pushed myself into a sitting position and looked between the two. "How's Pluto?"

Legion looked down, and Waya answered me. "Geronimo patched you two up as much as she could, but Pluto isn't as lucky as you. He needs his hands for his powers, and they aren't working as well anymore. We're not sure if he can reliably use his powers any more."

I looked down. This was my fault. I shouldn't have charged in as Pluto, wielding powers I didn't know how to use. "What about Heathen, tell me we at least got him?"

"Yeah, but his left side is thawing out," Legion muttered.

Also my fault. I hurt two people, even if one is a villain, I still feel guilty. I stood up, pushing my covers back. "I'm going to see Pluto," I announced. It wasn't a question. I needed to talk with him, find out how he's holding up, let him know how sorry I am. I needed to fix this. I stood up and walked out of my room, unravelling the bandages as I went. I took a deep breath in and felt the warmth spread from my core up my torso down my arms and into my hands. The skin healed over, and I flexed my hands, checking that they still worked.

I walked to the other hall, and stopped a few steps from Pluto's room. His door was open. "Hey," I said softly, standing in the doorway. He glanced up at me and immediately dropped his head back into his hands. "Can I come in?" He nodded slightly and I sat near him on his bed. I gathered myself, trying to find the right words. "Those hands aren't looking too good, can I see them?" He moved his hands closer to me but still kept his head down.

I took hold of them gently, then took a deep breath before pushing my magic- because that's the only word I know can describe it- into his hands. The warmth flowed from my core into his hands, leaving the faint feeling of spring humming through my veins. At this he looked up. For a few minutes all he could do is stare at his burned hands slowly repairing the damaged cells.

"How-" he started, slightly choking on his words. "How are you doing that? I thought only Geronimo could heal?"

"Did you know that shape shifting didn't run in my family?" I asked instead, trying my hardest not to let my emotions consume me.

He nodded his head and mumbled a yes, not really paying attention, before snapping his head up to stare at me. "Wait what?"

I hummed. "Yeah, my family gift is healing. I didn't become a shapeshifter until a few years ago." More like a decade, but he doesn't need to know that.

"Wait wait wait, back up." He said shaking his head. "You said didn't. What do you mean by that?"

"Have you heard the rumours about the Director and I?" I asked, avoiding eye contact. I was still holding his hands. The magic continuously flowed through me to him, smoothing over rough skin, turning it from that gruesome pink to its natural light brown colour.

He frowned. "Yeah Met has said your arguments are legendary. But he never told me why you guys can't get along."

"That's because he's the reason I'm a shapeshifter and my whole family is dead." He stared at me, unable to find a response to that bombshell. I took that as an invitation to continue talking. "Before all of this, I had a family. I had a mom and a dad and a little sister and brother. We lived in the city. We had a good life, we were happy. I used to sit out on the roof, wrapped up in my mom's favourite clothes and blanket, just staring at the stars. One night a storm blew in, looking like it was searching for something. It was moving way too fast, and stopped near me. Then the lightning came."

"It was the worst pain I have ever felt. My house caught on fire and the roof collapsed. I was trapped under wood and brick, my body convulsing and smoke filling my lungs." I almost succumbed to the memory, I could almost taste to smoke. "The last thing I remember before passing out was my family's dying screams." I sighed and sat up straighter, finally letting go of Pluto's hands. "I woke up months later with tubes covering my body, blind and alone and in pain. The only thing that saved me was my healing."

I was silent for a while, remembering blackness, then light, light so bright I didn't know I was blind. Then everything went dark again. I remembered pain, slowly waking me up, covering every inch of skin all the way down to my bones.

"What does this have to do with the Director?" Pluto asked, his voice slightly raw. I glanced up at him, and noticed the horror on his face. I looked away, knowing that I would soon cry.

"Years later when he and his Scientist found me, they explained that the lightning was one of their experiments. That made it so much worse," my voice shook. "I came to the Agency, but I made it clear that he owed me four life debts; he can't make me do anything at all. He may be the Director, but I am in charge of him."

"What were your sibling's names," he asked quietly, leaning his shoulder against mine. He was a physical person too, just like me, just like my brother and sister.

I smiled softly, tears pricking my eyes. "Demeter and-" I paused, my voice wavering. "Demeter and Hades," I finished. I could no longer hold back my tears. They drip silently down my face, blurring my vision.

"That's why you made that expression when I chose my name," he realised. I thought I had hidden it, but it was no use. My family had a tradition of naming their children after Greek gods, and even their Roman version brought tears to my eyes. They were so young when they died. So so young. It wasn't fair.

"I was filled with so much anger, so much hate," I managed to choke out. Pluto lifted his arm and wrapped it around my back. "I took it out on the Director, within reason, and it made me clam up around everyone in the Agency. I was just enraged, all the time, until I woke up this morning." I looked at him through watery eyes. "Jacob I am so sorry that I acted recklessly, I knew you would get hurt and I didn't stop to think about it. I just knew that there was someone I could take my anger out on."

He nodded, rubbing my back comfortingly. "It's fine, Cammie, I understand. And you healed me. Just please, don't act so recklessly again. We all love you and want the best for you, we don't want to lose you." My face crumpled at that, and I buried my head in his shoulder sobbing. He hugged me tight, and we stayed like that until I calmed down, taking deep ragged breaths.

"So how do you know my name," he demanded. Uh oh.

I woke up with a with a headache, what's the point of healing powers if they can't get rid of the hot poker behind my left eye. I swung my legs over the side of my bed and glanced at my side table checking the time. Instead, I noticed the date. Damnit. Of course it had to be today. I grumbled to myself and grabbed my blanket, AKA my suit, throwing it over my shoulders, not bothering to put on real clothes today. I'll be damned if I get dressed before 10 AM.

I hate this day. National Day of Truth.

I stomp out of my room and down the hall to the kitchen, spotting Legion at the counter eating eggs and bacon. That sounds like a good idea. I grabbed the egg carton and the bacon from the fridge in a huff, not looking forward to the questions the newbies will try to ask me. I clattered around and heard Legion snickering. I turned around and Pluto was standing in the doorway. Here we go. He pointed at me and asked Legion, "What's up with him?" I huffed again and turned back to my food. It smelled so good, my stomach rumbled. Legion pushed his plate to the side and leaned forward.

"It's National Day of Truth," Legion said. "Cammie hates today. She tries to avoid answering any questions."

Pluto got a look on his face, and I groaned. He was going to ask me a question. He walked over to the stove and stared directly at me, thinking. "How old are you?" Great, loved that question. If only he knew, I'd lose all my credibility.

"Old enough," I snapped. That was usually enough to get them to stop. Pluto, however, is very stubborn. How annoying.

"How many years old are you?" He tried again. For some reason that sentence didn't sound grammatically correct to me. Legion stared intently. No one in five years had gotten my age. Usually they never got to specific enough wording before I scared them off. That or the alarm went off. I waited a few moments, hoping something would call us away, but no such luck.

"Seventeen," I muttered. The kitchen was silent. I glanced over at Pluto who had his mouth wide open, and Legion, who was frowning. Great.

"Seventeen?" Pluto asked, well more like sputtered. I nodded, training my eyes on my eggs and bacon. "There's no way." He didn't believe me, of course he didn't.

"It's National Day of Truth," I spoke steadily, despite the anger slowly boiling up inside of me. "I wouldn't lie." I grabbed a plate and tilted my food onto it, turning off the stove and sitting down at the counter next to Legion. He was still frowning. He bumped his shoulder with mine, and I shot him a grateful look.

"I'm telling Met," Pluto declared, marching out of the kitchen before I could stop him. This isn't going to end well. So much for hanging around the cave today.

"Cammie," Legion said slowly. I couldn't look at him. "Can I ask you a question?" I pursed my lips, tempted to say you just did. I bit that comment back, not wanting to argue with my best friend.

"Fine," I said still not looking at him.

"How old were you, when you got hit by the lightning?" I didn't have to give him an age, I didn't. He knew that. But he helped me more than anyone this past year, after Aella died. He is my best friend, and he deserves to know more than anyone else.

"Six," I whispered hoarsely, trying not to get sucked into that night. "I was six." I wiped my face roughly and starting digging into my food, signaling this conversation was over.

. . .

The only thing I wanted to do was go home and hug little Mason, which is exactly what I did. He liked it at first, but he's a free spirit, he liked roaming around. I retreated to my room, thinking about today. I hadn't been that open since my talk with Legion months ago. It felt good to get it off my chest, at least a little bit. I sat at my desk and toyed with my pencil, still thinking. I mindlessly opened my journal and started recording, not wanting to forget anything about the past two days.

It was then that I noticed something jumped past my window. My window on the fourth floor. What the hell? I opened up my window, sticking my head out and looking to the left. I saw a figure in the darkness, leaping from roof to roof, surprisingly nimble for their size. Hang on, I thought, squinting at the back growing smaller and smaller in the distance. Isn't that Waya? I grabbed my suit and clambered out of my window, my eyes trained on the back.

My wings sprouted from my back and I took off, eating up the distance between the two of us. I circled the figure from above, then dropped right in front of them. It was Waya, but something was off in the expression, and the posture. A fake, I thought, preparing myself for a fight.

"Whoa cool!" They exclaimed. "You're Chameleon." I opened my mouth to answer, but then their body changed. Their build got smaller and thicker, mimicking the same body I was using this time. My mouth dropped open, hidden underneath my mask. "How do I look?" They struck a few poses. "Hey wait a second, you have healing powers too!"

"How the hell do you know that," I snarled. My patience with this fake was wearing thin. Nobody impersonated anyone except me. He raised up his hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Whoa whoa whoa," he said, "no need to get so defensive. I'm a new superhero," he struck another pose. "My name's Ditto, like the Pokemon." I flinched a little at the name, the memories of what happened yesterday was still too fresh. I forced myself to focus, like on the fact that that's copyright but okay I guess.

"Alright Ditto," I said. "Who contracted you?"

He shifted to another form in surprise. "Huh?" This form was taller and lanky, and most definitely a male. He had thin gangly limbs, and was wearing sweatpants, a hoodie and a ski mask. His eyes were blue, and his skin was sunkissed. I knew for sure that he hasn't been recruited by us. "What d'you mean 'contracted'?"

"I mean recruited," I said, slowly letting my guard down. This kid had no idea what was going on.

"Oh," he said, his voice dropping a little. "No I haven't, but I was hoping to run into one of you and convince you to let me join. I was hoping for someone who has been in the Agency of Superheroes longer." And that's exactly why newbies annoyed me. Yeah it my choice to remain a secret up until a few years ago but that didn't mean that had to act so haughty. I'm a Senior member, I have a lot of pull. 

"You know," I said, keeping my tone light. "I can get you into the Agency. I can make you a member."

Hie eyes widened. "But you've only been a member for three years. I'd need to talk to Waya or Houdini or Aella." This time I flinched hard, so hard Ditto noticed. "What," he said, looking concerned. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head and steadied my breathing. You'd think after almost a year of not seeing her and people would assume she had died. Unless, unless the Director didn't make the announcement. Which he probably hadn't, knowing the coward.

"I can make you a member, before Initiation Day too," I pressed on, trying not to get sucked down into my memories. "Come on, I'll take you to the cave." I shifted into a plain civilian form, hoping he'd get the idea and do the same. He did. He removed his mask, revealing high cheekbones and dark skin. He'd also gotten shorter, and thicker. I walked to the edge of the roof and swung myself over, very carefully climbing my way down. Ditto on the other hand just launched himself over the edge and into the dumpster below.

Gross.

I stood to the side as he clambered his way out of the dumpster, somehow coming out pristine. We set off at a brisk pace. "So," I started, breaking the silence. "How old are you?"

He looked at me. "I'll only answer your questions if you answer them." Fine then, we're playing it that way.

"Sure," I agreed, not planning on actually answering the questions honestly. "So how old are you?"

"Sixteen," He said, looking at me then looking away. He waited for my response.

"I'm seventeen," I told the truth. I don't know why. Something about this kid, he made me feel safe. I could be his power, it could be how honest he is, or it could be the fact that he reminds me of a younger me. "What's your name?"

"Cole, short for Collette." I glanced up at this, a little surprised. I recognised that name, especially in context with the age. She's Collette Samai, the track star of grade eleven.

"You're a girl," I commented. "And you go to Littlewood Collegiate Institute."

She looked at me. "That must mean you go to Littlewood too. So, what's your name."

I paused, thinking about giving her my real name or a fake name. Should I reveal myself? "Nessa," I finally said, knowing she would know who I am. She stopped in her tracks and I turned slightly to look at her.

"No way, Nessa Carter." She gaped at me, and I shrugged my shoulders. "Huh," she said, continuing to walk again. Guess that was that.

"So, Cole," I said, keeping pace with her. "Let's get you to the cave."

It took us maybe twenty minutes to walk there, and I decided to use the same secret passage that leads to behind the fridge. Let's hope she knows how to keep a secret. I looked right and left in the kitchen before moving out from my hiding spot, leading a slightly confused Cole. We walked through the kitchen and dining room to the Briefing Room, and I was hoping that who I was looking for was still here. I poked my head into the room looking towards the computers and spotted Geronimo, Waya, Phoenix and Mazus. Perfect.

"Geronimo," I called walking into the room. They all looked towards me, and looked a little surprised to see Ditto standing behind me. "I have a partner for you. Their name is Ditto, and they've got shapeshifting powers too."

"Cammie what the hell you can't just do that." Waya said, dropping his head in his hands.

"Too bad, they're already here." I grinned. Geronimo stood up and walked over, extending her hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Geronimo. I hope we work well together." Ditto grasped her hand, smiling.

"Likewise," she said. "My name is Collette, but call me Cole. I go to Littlewood CI." I mentally shook my head. We had newbies but none this green.

"No way really? I know who you are!" Geronimo exclaimed. Phoenix and Mazus chimed in with a yeah me too! and a no way? I'm sensing some trouble up ahead, trouble with secret identities.

"Hey I recognise your voice!" Ditto said, pointing at Geronimo. "You're that senior, Roan." She turned to Phoenix and Mazus. "And I recognise your eyes," she said to Phoenix. "You're Jay, another senior."

At this Mazus dropped his guard and used his normal voice. I don't know why he didn't just take the voice modulator. "Jay," he got out, looking a little shocked. I recognised his voice now, and judging from Jay's reactions she did too.

"Quinn? Is that you" She lifted her mask up, revealing her full face. Quinn pulled down his mask, revealing his eyes and forehead. I already knew, but there was no denying it now.

"Hey Jay," Quinn mumbled. Then he whipped around to Roan who was standing there in shock. "Wait a second, Roan?" Roan pulled off her mask, her hair mussed and staticky. "Holy shit."

For a few minutes there was chaos. All three of them were slightly yelling at each other, asking how they could keep this a secret. I smiled a little to myself, glad they didn't know it was me. Until Cole opened her big mouth. "Nessa how come you didn't tell them?" All four pairs of eyes snapped towards us. I tried to silence her but it was no use.

"I'm sorry did you say Nessa?" Roan asked.

Ditto nodded. "Yeah, Nessa Carter, your friend?" I dropped my head into my hands and almost let a few tears of frustration escape. This is not how I wanted it to go down. Not at all.

"No way," Jay said, not believing it at all.

"Way," I said.

"I don't believe it," Quinn said.

I sighed. I still didn't want to reveal my civilian form to Waya, no matter how long we've known each other for. "We like to call you Red because Jay drew us all as wolves once and you were the red one."

Silence.

"Damn it's actually you." Jay said. "We four have a lot to talk about now don't we."

Lunches were awkward for a bit after that. And they didn't even know that Kiki is Starbright and Penny is Starlight. They were going to flip out when they all find out. Penny and Kiki knew about each other, because they're partners. I know about them because I recruited them, plus I know everyone. Poor Dani, Kiki, Penny Kieran and Oscar had no idea why things had suddenly gotten tense between me and the others.

Jay especially was a little stingy I hadn't told her. I did feel bad about it. I wanted to tell them; they're my best friends. But I couldn't. Not without revealing a few other secrets I'd rather keep buried for a while. Jay has been coldly polite with me, Quinn just acting confused and Roan, well Roan just doesn't care, apparently. She's acting the exact same. The days passed quickly, and Jay got less and less cold. Quinn was still a little confused but he returned to normal pretty quickly.

Soon came midterms. The bane of all of our existence. There was no saving us now. We ran off coffee, tea, and stolen Triscuits. Even the teachers became wary of us, never standing too close.

I was at a weird point in my life. Through the haze of midterms I registered the date and suddenly all my actions became more and more sluggish. Aella died last year. Exactly a year ago. The first few months after had passed in a haze of tears and starvation, then the light at the end of the tunnel: Legion. He picked me up and helped me find myself again. I owed him so much. 

"Cammie," Jay said quietly, dropping her textbook on the desk next to mine. Oh boy.

"Jay," I spoke steadily, but don't let that fool you. I was more then definitely screaming very loudly in my head.

She huffed a little, then spoke. "Why didn't you tell me," she couldn't even look at me.

"I'll explain at the cave, there's a lot I need to tell you, but I am sorry I kept this from you. I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how. I've been keeping these secrets for so long, it's hard to share them." I looked over at her, gauging her reaction. She nodded once, then flipped open her textbook. At least she was sitting next to me.

Our teacher walked in and pulled down the screen projector, much to the confusion of his students. "The principle pissed me off at yesterday's meeting and since we're so close to winter break, we're watching a movie!"

I love this class.

. . .

We weren't as lucky in our other classes.

By the end of the day, I had decided that not only did Jay need the truth, Quinn and Roan needed truth too. Which meant revealing Kiki and Penny. I had also decided that even though my teachers had assigned our midterm projects, I can risk not handing them in until at least early February. I had other things to think about. Like Christmas. And my inevitable mental break down.

Jay had to walk her dogs first, but then she would meet me at the cave. That gave me time to prepare what I was going to say, and let Kiki and Penny in on our little truth fest. I chewed on gummy worms anxiously, better than chewing my thumb. At exactly 4:43 (she was late), Jay walked into the living room to see Quinn, Roan and I sitting on the couch. I tried a smile but my heart wasn't in it. I was just full of nerves, I didn't want to do this.

I hate talking about myself. I hate letting people in. I didn't even like how well Legion knew me. Maybe I've always been this way, maybe it's because of what happened to my family, or to Aella. Maybe it's because of the Director, lying to me, prying at my cracks, trying to take advantage of a young child. Once again, it seems to be a theme, the mood felt sombre. Jay walked over and sat next to Quinn, expressionless. I cleared my throat, thinking of what I had rehearsed. 

"So before I tell you guys everything, there's two other people who want to join in, if that's okay?" Nods around the room. I called out and Kiki and Penny came into the room, sitting near me. At least I had their support for sure. They slowly pulled off their masks, almost in sync (that's a little scary) to reveal two faces that we were all familiar with. 

"Huh," Jay said, looking thoroughly stumped. 

"Okay this is so not fair," Quinn said, looking just a tiny bit mad. "So you think it's okay to keep who you are secret, but you get to know who we are?" He has a point.

"Quinn," Penny tried.

"No," He shut her down. He took a deep breath, composing himself, before speaking again. "I'm here to find out the truth from Nessa, then I'll decided whether I want to hear from you two." I found that a little harsh, but then again so was recruiting one of your best friends and not telling him that you understood what he was going through. Becoming a hero wasn't easy, it was so hard. The amount of stress we put our bodies through, the amount of stress we put our minds through. No salary can make up for it, but it can ensure some things. Like they'll get the best healthcare, and they will be honoured by everyone.

Everyone who knew.

"Okay," I said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen. All eyes turned to me. "I guess I should start talking." I cleared my throat again, wishing I had washed down the gummies with water. Too late now. "I'm Nessa, and I've been Chameleon for 10 years. I was stuck by lightning when I was young, and it killed," I paused, trying not to choke on my words. "It killed my entire family. I was visited by the Director a few years later, and that's how the Agency started. I didn't have a home, so I lived in the cave, and spent my time testing my powers."

I clasped my hands together tightly, and felt a hand squeeze my shoulder. "Two years later, Waya, Aella and Swallow were inducted. The big three. You all know what happened to Swallow." The Director hadn't made the announcement, Waya and Aella had. One of the many reasons I dislike that man. "Aella and Waya took me in, we were like a little family. Then the Last Battle," I did choke on my words here. It was still too fresh.

"I'm sorry," I sniffled rubbing my face. "The Last Battle, Aella died, and I didn't know what to do. That's why Chameleon disappeared for months, and that's why Nessa wasn't at school the first few months." 

"Ness," I heard someone say. I couldn't tell their voices apart anymore. I could barely hear anything. I couldn't see anything. Sobs wracked my body, and I felt arms loop around me, cocooning me in a sea of support and love. We stayed like that for seconds or minutes or hours until my cries faded. Everyone pulled away slowly, leaving lingering squeezes. 

"I should have told you, there's no excuse for it." I said.

"Nessa," Jay began. "I'm still miffed you didn't tell us, and I'm sure the others are too, but we can understand why you didn't. Was it the right choice? No, but it was the choice you made, and you're making a choice right now. Thank you for telling all of us this, I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must've been to not only go through that but to live a lie. You don't have to lie to us anymore, I promise." She reached over and rubbed my arm, looking right at me while speaking.

It was like I could breathe again. This enormous weight was lifted off my chest, the ropes around my lungs were loosened, my head didn't feel as heavy. I started to feel truly happy again, like everything was going to be okay.

So of course something has to ruin that peace.

All six of us look up as the alarm goes off, listening for the computer to tell us the situation. "Mime and Peculiar spotted, twenty kilometres south of our location. Hired hand count, thirty. Threat level, eight. Backup required." Well that sounds fun.

I stood up, roughly brushing away my tears, the familiar anger building up inside of me. "Let's go get them."

. . .

It was chaos. 

When me and Mo got there, the others either trailing behind or staying back at the cave, we spotted Waya and Legion making their way through the wall of muscle standing between us and the two villains. My eyes threatened to go out of focus with rage, and I bit back a scream. I dropped Geronimo off near Waya and Legion, and took off towards the back off the pack, flying above their reach. 

I heard the telltale sound of Houdini appearing and glanced back to see her standing with Starbright, Met and Pluto. Good, I didn't have the willpower to stay away from Mime much longer. I focused back on my target circled twice, and dropped right down behind them. They were jumping up and down slightly, apparently looking for something, or someone.

"Hey there," I snarled. They turned around, shock registering on their faces. I grabbed Peculiar and took off into the sky, throwing her as far forward as possible. Phoenix swooped down and barely caught him, the two of them slowly falling to the ground, landing almost on top of Rellik. Whoops. 

I dove back towards Mime, who was now slinking backwards, trying to disappear into the crowd. "Oh no you don't!" I yelled, reaching out for her collar. I latched on and pulled her up into the sky, taking off towards the river. The exact river where she had killed Aella last year. Let's hope Mime dies this time. I set her down with her toes barely touching the edge of the cliff.

"Cammie, no!" I heard Waya's voice behind me. I knew he was coming towards us, but I didn't dare take my eyes off this villain. 

"Yeah Cammie, no!" Mime repeated in her high pitched voice. I shook her collar again, watching as she scrambled to find footing on the ledge. 

"You," I breathed, feeling Waya come up behind me. Risking a glance I saw his eyes hard with rage and his posture tight. He may not want me killing Mime, but he's fine if she sweats a bit first. "You killed her," My voice was rigid with rage. "You killed my best friend."

She tilted her head all the way to the side. "Which one was that again?"

I screamed in her face, shaking her again. Her cold laughter rang out loud and clear, and it was then I registered the lack of fighting happening behind me. I watched Mime's eyes trail across a line, meaning the others were there. 

Funny, everyone who was there last year was here again. 

"You know her! She was my best friend and you killed her." I bit out, my eyes blurring either with rage or tears. I couldn't tell at this point. 

She just laughed again. "Splash!" she shouted, rubbing it in my face. "Poor little Cammie, no more best friend for her!"

My throat was raw from screaming but I did it again anyway. All I could do was scream. Scream and fly. I pushed up off the ground, holding Mime tightly in my hands. "Splash," I whispered, loosening my grip. "No more Mime."

I let her go, my wings beating as she fell and fell and fell, all the way down, until she wasn't falling anymore. Instead, she was floating. Floating. Hovering. At a complete standstill in the air, waving up at me. That's a new one. 

"Hey Cam," I heard behind me.

I whirled around, seeing a woman in a red suit, floating in the air behind me. A woman in a red suit, with long brown hair and green green eyes. Oh so familiar long brown hair and green green eyes. Oh so very familiar. 

"Martha?" I choked out. This couldn't be happening. No. She wasn't real. Mime was dead and so was Martha.

And suddenly I was the one who was falling falling falling, staring at my best friend, floating in the sky like an angel, a ring or red surrounding her. She looked beautiful.

Then darkness.

My dreams were tumultuous. They passed like daydreams, washed in yellow light and slightly fuzzy. I heard them slightly, moving around me, whispering words like 'healing', 'how' and  'Chameleon'. Must be the team. Wondering how I'm healing. I got hurt? It must have been the fall. What fall? Oh well, time to dream a sweet dream now.

"Mama," the little girl said, her voice a hushed whisper. They were sitting on the roof, wrapped together in a blanket. "What are stars?"

"Do you want the real answer or my answer?" The young woman said, rubbing her pregnant belly gently.

"Your answer," the little girl giggled as if it were the funniest joke she'd ever heard. 

"They're all your futures," the mother whispered to her little girl, burning as bright as the fire you were named after."

"Tell me the story again," the little girl pleaded. Her mother laughed, smiling wide and happy. 

"There once was a titan named Kronos, who feared the power his children were prophesied to gain, so he ate them up, one by one." The mother pretended to munch on her little girl, making sound effects that were barely heard over the little girls laughter. 

"Zeus, the youngest, was hidden by his mother, Rhea," at this name the little girl turned to her mother, excitement apparent on her face. "The same Rhea I was named after." She said nodding. "Zeus outwitted his father, and he barfed up all of his siblings."

At this part both the little girl and the mother made a face and yelled EW!, bursting into laughter afterwards. "The last one was Hestia, the first to be eaten, and last to be saved. But Hestia was incredibly important. She is the oldest god, and she is the goddess of the home, of the hearth. That's why your dad and I named you after her. You're our home." They clasped hands tightly, smiling at each other, slowly melting into another scene. 

. . .

He sat in a cold room in the police station, bundled in his blanket to ward off the chill. Two men sat opposite of him. To the untrained eye, it would look like two detectives interviewing a little boy. Except you couldn't miss the spark of rage in the little boy's eyes, his face screwed up with fury. 

"What do you mean an experiment!" He yelled, stumbling over the last word, showing his young age. 

"Please kid," The thinner man said, holding his hands in a placating manner. "No need to yell."

His chin lifted in defiance, and then he was a she, and she was no longer a little boy, but an old woman, standing up in anger, cheat heaving. "What," she bit out, "do you mean an experiment?" This time there was no stumbling over words. She said it properly. 

The two men stared in shock, not really able to process the fact that now they were interviewing an old woman. "Your experiment ruined my life!" She yelled, spit flying. She shifted again, now a non-binary teenager with orange hair. "Explain." They barked.

The bigger man stuttered a bit then finally found his words. "We were doing an experiment with the weather, seeing if we could create certain conditions, we didn't mean for it to get loose and hurt anyone." His words were calming but his tone wavered, showing his uncertainty. Or something else.

"Well it did," the angry teen heaved. "You killed my family and nearly killed me too. You'll pay for this, Mr. Director and Mr. Scientist. You'll pay off their life debts and then you'll die"

. . . 

She was crouched in the corner, staring unblinkingly at the people gathered around the coffee table. She knew they knew someone was in the cave. They had noticed whatever messes they left, if any, were quickly cleared away. Fresh fruit and vegetables would be cut up to go with their breakfast. There were three of them. Aella, Waya and Swallow. Civilian names Martha Gibson, Tom James and Matthew Neves. They were all laughing, something Tom had said. 

She started moving forward, keeping low to the ground, slinking over to them. She had been watching them for a few months now, and knew everything about them. Perks of having a high tech computer in the cave to tell her everything. 

She was a few feet away when Martha noticed her. "Hey there, little one," she said, crouching down and holding out her hand. The girl was startled at the wording and the action for a second, before remembering that she was, in fact, a cat. Not for much longer, if the rumbling of her stomach was trying to say anything. 

She inched forward, sniffing lightly. Martha smelled like strawberries and fresh air, grass and cleanness. Tom knelt down beside her, and he smelled like aftershave, freshness and something else she couldn't quiet place. (Coffee beans, her unconscious mind supplied, now looking back and recognising it.) Matthew sat down a foot away, just staring at her. He smelled like bird, like prey. The girl shook herself quickly, reminding herself that she was human, she didn't eat birds. Not even the fancy ones in french dishes.

She butted her head against Martha's outstretched hand, and was immediately attached to her. She never wanted to leave her side. 

It was a few months later that the girl finally revealed herself. She was in her cat form, purring quietly while Martha and Tom watched TV. She slowly uncurled herself and jumped down to the floor, stretching out her paws. She mewed once, just to gain their attention, and when she had it, she shifted. Fur receded backwards and faded to a light brown, eyes changed into dark brown human ones, and paws became fingers and toes, hands and feet. Her tail snaked back into her spine, and she stood on two feet, staring at the two shocked heroes.

Swallow walked in, holding a bowl of cut up fruit. "What t-" His voice melted away into another memory. 

. . . 

"Give it up for your newest additions to the team: Legion, Geronimo and Starbright!"  Waya shouted from in front of city hall. The girl was disguised as a street cat, watching from a perched position on a fence as the crowd in front of the building. She didn't understand why she wasn't up there. It was something the Director had said. Anger washed over her at the thought of the Director.

He still owed her four life debts, and he did nothing. She practically ran the Agency. He hadn't even noticed that she had stripped him of all his power and given it to herself. She groomed a paw smugly, wondering when or if he would notice. 

The memories started to pass even faster now, lasting no longer than a few minutes.

. . . 

"Welcome our newest members: Chameleon! Ace! Folly! Jacks! And Purrrrrrrge!" Swallow cried out. I grinned wide underneath my mask. I had finally made it. I came out of hiding and was now a public member of the team. Behind us stood Rebel, Ang, Arctic, Rellik, Artisto and the rest of the gang, cheering loud. After the loss of Swallow, the team too a hard hit. Which is why Waya thought it would be a good idea to add some more members. 

We needed them too. A new villain, Mime, had popped up. She was vicious, leaving no survivors. Paired with the fact that Genocide was now underground again, it wasn't a good sign. 

She revelled in the moment, hands clasped with Ace and Folly's, hovering above the ground in excitement. Now she could show the world who she is.

. . . 

"FOLLY!" She yelled out, looking around. "JACKS? PURGE. ACE!" She turned around and around, until she spotted something fall to the ground just behind the building. She flew over, moving so fast her cape snapped behind her.

She rounded the building and stumbled back a few steps in horror. Mime had her arms wrapped tight around Ace, Jacks and Purge were laying on the ground in puddles of blood. And Folly, Folly was hanging from Genocide's great big gloved hand. The blades on the back of his forearms were covered with red. (Red. Always that colour, her unconscious mind thought.)

"AHHHHHH!" She screamed, tears forming. This was her team, her responsibility, and she didn't listen to them. Why didn't she listen to them?

Mime looked up and snickered, while Genocide stoically turned his covered head. "Poor little Chameleon, no more friends for you!" Mime sang. 

"GO!" She yelled, buffeting them back with her wings. Genocide let Folly crumple to the ground into a pile, and the two of them took off. She didn't bother going after them. She raced over to her two friends laying in their own blood. She forced her suit back from her hands, hoping she could help them. Her hands, covered in the thick red substance felt nothing. Nothing but red and hate and anger and emptiness. She hurried over to Folly, hoping he was still alive. 

He was. 

"Folly, Folly please stay awake." She was close to hysteria now. Her hands fluttered over his neck, itching to heal. His hands came up to grab hers. 

"Jacks.... Alive...." He muttered. Then his hands dropped.

She felt his pulse and deemed Folly strong enough to last while she healed Jacks. She rushed over, not having any time to waste. She pressed her hands onto his chest and shoved her magic into him. She felt spring and dew drops and smelled freshly cut grass and lilacs and his chest started to move. She was so weak, that was all she could do. Barely heal one of her friends. Her teammate. 

"Help!" She screamed into the comms, hoping someone, anyone, was listening. 

"Where?" A voice asked back.

"The storage units by the woods," she rasped out, her body wavering. 

"Coming now," the voice said, sounding fainter and fainter. "Just hold on Chameleon."

"Folly, Folly, Foll..." she chanted. She slowly tipped to the side, noticing at the last second before passing out a figure leaning against Ace's frozen form. Oh good, she thought. Help is here.

. . .

I was woken by a blinding light. Someone had lifted my eyelid up and was shining a small flashlight into it, checking my pupil dilation. I groaned in protest, trying to move back from the light. 

"What's with the ancient technology," I rasped out, my throat parched. I was still caught up in my dreams, and I couldn't quite see yet. "Just get Mo to fix me."

"Who's Mo?" A high cold voice asked.

Three things happened then in quick succession. 

One, my eyes adjusted.

Two, I recognised that voice, and the face. 

And three, I wasn't in the cave.

Standing in front of me in a tight semicircle was Genocide, Peculiar, Heathen and Martha, and Mime's face was almost pressed right up against mine.