Gwen scowled as she stared down the empty street, which wasn’t nearly as wrecked as the area where they’d found the Sinner. Clearly, there hadn’t been riots occurring in this area, or at least, not at the same level. There were still a few broken windows and vandalized cars, but only a fraction of what she’d seen before.

Though the streets were empty, Gwen knew that there were still people nearby. She caught glimpses of them, peeking out of windows and watching as she and her team went past. They were in hiding, which was a huge improvement from the looters and rioters that she’d seen elsewhere.

Then, Gwen suddenly saw three people running across the street. Two men were carrying a TV while a woman had her arms full of something, that Gwen couldn’t make out. She guessed they were looters, but the normal kind, not the kind that the Sinner had set off. These ones didn’t have the same overwhelming desperation as the Sinner’s victims.

“I think we lost her,” Mannequin announced.

“No shit,” Alleycat responded with a snort. “That bitch slipped away in the chaos, and now she’s hiding. Who knows what the Sinner will do next.”

Gwen nodded at that, knowing that wherever the Sinner was, she was probably up to something bad. Her type always was. “I think we should rejoin the others. My dad must be getting worried.”

“Yeah,” Alleycat agreed. “That’s probably a good idea.”

Suddenly, Mannequin called out, “I see movement…” She was staring down a narrow side street with an intent expression. “Incoming…”

“What…?” Gwen started to ask since she couldn’t see anything, at least not for several more seconds. Then her eyes widened and she blurted, “Oh shit…”

Gwen gulped as she saw numerous figures coming towards her, keeping to the shadows as much as possible, which made it more difficult to make out how many there were. However, what she could tell, was that this was not another angry mob sent by the Sinner. These things definitely weren’t human.

Seconds later, the creatures came out from the side street and emerged into the open, giving Gwen a good look at them. One of them looked like a large, two-headed dog. One looked like a bald monkey, with large leathery wings. Several of them, looked as though they might once have been human, but had been raised from the dead or otherwise twisted into monstrous parodies.

“IREFAY,” Gwen yelled, throwing a fireball at one of the flying monkeys, which was coming straight at her. She hit the creature, which cried out in pain and dropped to the ground. She might have felt pity for the thing, if it hadn’t been glaring at her with hate filled eyes to start with. She turned her attention to one of the other creatures and unleashed her next spell, “Reezefay…”

“Stand back,” Mannequin warned, holding out her arms. Both of her arms split open, revealing weaponry that had been hidden with. Suddenly, a half dozen tiny missiles shot out of the openings, going right into the cluster of monsters, where they exploded, taking out nearly half the creates. Her arms closed up, but she immediately followed her attack up by firing beams of energy from her palms. “Take that…”

Alleycat rushed forward, lunging at a humanoid looking creature and slashing out with her clawed fingers. She tore deep gouges all up its front, then snapped around and kicked the creature’s legs, causing it to drop to the ground. It snarled, spat, and tried to bite her, but she gave it several good kicks to the head until it went motionless.

“At least these ones aren’t innocent bystanders,” Gwen said, relieved that this time, she didn’t have to hold back against her attackers. She focused on three of the monsters, who were side by side as they rushed towards her. With a grimace, she called out, “OOMBAY.” Suddenly, the ground beneath the creatures exploded, taking all three of them down at once. However, two of them were still moving and were even beginning to get back to their feet. “Irefay…”

Gwen grimaced as more of the creatures began arriving, and when she looked around, she grew increasingly nervous. At the rate these things were appearing, it wouldn’t be long before they were completely overrun. From the worried look on Alleycat’s face, it seemed that she’d come to the same conclusion.

“A bunch of damn cockroaches,” Alleycat snarled. “No matter how many we step on, more of these damn things just keep coming…”

Just then, there was an explosion of brilliant, swirling light, right in the middle of the swarm of creatures. They all began to shriek and howl as their skin burned and blistered. Then as one, the entire swarm tried to disperse and run, though it was far too late. They began to crumble to ash and disintegrate before they could get away.

“What the Hell?” Alleycat exclaimed, looking just as shocked and confused as Gwen felt.

“I hope you don’t mind my lending a hand,” a new voice called out, drawing Gwen’s attention up to the glowing figure that was hovering in the air.

“Glamour Girl,” Gwen blurted out in surprise and relief.

Glamour Girl came down lower and fired several energy blasts in different directions, hitting creatures as they tried to run away. She killed another half dozen before they all seemed to be gone, then she finally landed on the ground. However, she’d barely done that when something that looked vaguely like a green and slimy gorilla, leapt at her from where it had been hiding. She snapped around and punched the thing, sending it flying back, where she blasted it with another beam of light.

“DAMN,” Mannequin exclaimed, staring at Glamour Girl in stunned amazement. “You wiped them out…”

“These things are pretty vulnerable to my power,” Glamour Girl responded with a faint smirk.

“Then it sounds like this mission was made for you,” Mannequin said. “Thanks, by the way.”

Glamour girl just nodded at that and gave a wry smile. “It might be more accurate to say, that I was made for this mission. Literally.”

Gwen gave Glamour Girl a curious look, suspecting that there was a story behind that comment. Then again, since Glamour Girl had been able to pass through the barrier, she obviously had a story for that as well.

“So,” Gwen started, looking around curiously. “Where are the rest of your team?” She frowned, suddenly fearing the worst.

“We took down our obelisk,” Glamour Girl answered, gesturing off to the distance. “But the Scepter got away. I was out looking for her, or any sign of Nevermore.”

“Same with us,” Alleycat said, scowling deeply as she did so. “We got the obelisk, but that bitch escaped…”

“Anyway,” Glamour Girl continued, “since I can fly, I started to scout ahead…and when I sensed that dark power, I came to investigate.” She gestured to where the creatures had been, before she killed them. “There are a few other patches of these things, and I sense a lot more darkness in that direction, where they all seem to be coming from. I figure, that’s where Nevermore is.”

“You can sense these things?” Gwen asked in surprise.

Glamour Girl nodded. “Yeah. Like I said, I was given my powers so I could fight Nevermore.”

“You know,” Glamour Girl mused with a thoughtful expression. “I think our groups should hook up, then go take a closer look at what you’re sensing…”

“Sounds good to me,” Mannequin quickly agreed while Gwen nodded.

“How far is the rest of your team?” Gwen asked.

“A couple miles,” Glamour Girl answered with a shrug. “It’s hard to travel when only two of my group can fly…and Mystik levitates more than she flies.”

“I’ve been holding back so I don’t use up the rest of my power,” Gwen offered. “But since we have a destination, I’m pretty sure I have enough juice left to manage…” Then she held out her hands, concentrating on the effect she wanted as she said, “Loudcay.”

A moment later, a thick mist began to form around her, thickening until she and the others were completely surrounded by a cloud. Then, the cloud began to float up into the air, carrying them with it. This was the most complicated spell that she’d learned so far, but it was proving to be useful.

“The Witch Girl Taxi Service is ready to go,” she announced, giving Glamour Girl a wink before adding, “And the fare is running.”

Glamour Girl just laughed at that. “This is definitely a different way to fly for me.” She pointed off to the distance and announced, “That way, Jeeves.”

Gwen flew the group in the direction that Glamour Girl had indicated, and when they were close to where she said that she’d left her team, there was a sudden flash of light. A moment later, Mystik was floating in the air beside them.

“I found reinforcements,” Glamour Girl called out to her.

Mystik gave them a curious look, nodded faintly, then vanished. When Gwen looked down over the edge, she saw Mystik had reappeared on the ground, right beside Poison and some guy she didn’t know. It wasn’t until she landed and saw the blood on his shirt, and the obvious wound that caused it, that she realized that this guy was Deadbeat.

“This is a surprise,” Poison announced, looking them over with a faint smile. “Reinforcements are definitely welcome.”

“Especially ones with transportation,” Deadbeat added. “My feet are killing me…”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re already dead,” Glamour Girl teased him, only to get flipped off.

“I can teleport us wherever we need to go,” Mystik pointed out, sounding almost defensive about it, “but it would use up the rest of my power. Any time I teleport someone besides myself, it takes up a lot of my stored power.”

“Better to save it for when we really need it,” Glamour Girl told her. Then she looked over her team and continued, “I’m pretty sure I know where Nevermore is, and Witch Girl can get us there.”

Poison smiled at that, though it was not a nice smile. She held up her hand, clenching her fist, which glowed green. “Then it sounds like we have our destination.” Then she paused to look around, adding, “Assuming that everyone is on board with this.”

“Hell yeah,” Alleycat said while Gwen nodded her agreement.

“Might as well,” Deadbeat grumbled. “I’ve seen what that bitch does to people, and someone has to stop her.” However, the tone of his voice suggested that he’d prefer it was someone other than him.

“Then, let’s go get Baron Nevermore,” Mannequin announced.

Gwen let out a sigh, thinking about how much energy it took to transport people like this. However, when she remembered what the Sinner had done, she knew that stopping her and those other villains was well worth using up every bit of her reserves.

With that, she held out her hands and called out, “Loudcay.” A new cloud began to form around her, replacing the one that had vanished upon landing. Once the cloud had been summoned, she gave a forced smile and announced, “The Witch Girl Express is ready for departure. Next stop is Nevermore.”

--------------------

Joselyn sat back, still feeling stunned by the revelation that the current Ms. Miracle…that Dave…was her half-sibling. She silently berated herself as her powers had given her hints about this before, but she’d overlooked them and just hadn’t paid attention.

“I can’t believe it,” Joselyn muttered, giving a worried look at the nearby medical tent.

After a moment, Joselyn blinked and then looked around, knowing that the rest of her family was even more surprised than she’d been. Her cousins Ryan and Angie were standing off by themselves, having a private conversation. Since they kept glancing towards the medical tent, the topic of that conversation was clear. Uncle Leon was playing a poker game with a couple other heroes while Aunt Gina, was talking with Marvel and Radiant.

“I knew that Dad and Ms. Miracle had a thing,” Joselyn said, looking at her sister Evie, who was sitting beside her. “But I never imagined this…”

“We shouldn’t be surprised,” Evie responded with a loud sigh and a glance towards the medical tent. “I mean, after the Fallen…”

“I’d rather not think about her,” Joselyn said, shuddering at the reminder of the Fallen…a hero who turned villain…and who was then revealed to be her half-sister.

Evie shook her head. “This is so weird. I mean, in less than a year, I’ve gained three new sisters…”

Joselyn rolled her eyes, since she was one of those new sisters. “What about me?” she asked. “I went from being the oldest of three, to the second youngest of five…”

Evie chuckled at that. “You were a good big brother, but I think I prefer you as my little sister.”

Joselyn rolled her eyes again. “No guy…or girl…should ever have their kid sister suddenly turn into their older sister. It’s really weird.”

“It may have been sudden for you,” Evie pointed out in a quiet tone as she started off into the distance, “but for me, it was hardly sudden. For me, it was six years. Six years stuck in that place, wanting to leave and go home. And when I finally got home, I found out that almost no time had passed for the rest of you.”

Without saying a word, Joselyn reached over and took Evie’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Evie almost never talked about the time she’d spent trapped in another dimension, but Joselyn knew that it hadn’t been happy. From what she understood, Evie had been held prisoner in a gilded cage, kept safe, comfortable, and with all of her needs taken care of. However, she’d also been alone for most of the time, and had been extremely lonely.

“Just think of the family gatherings,” Joselyn joked, in order to change the subject. “Can you imagine having Ms. Miracle over on Christmas morning?”

Evie laughed at that. “Or the Fallen at Thanksgiving…” The two of the looked at each other, then burst into giggles.

After a minute, Evie gestured towards the medical tent. “Is she…he going to be all right?”

“Yes,” Joselyn answered without hesitation, surprising herself a little with that certainty. She concentrated on Dave and ‘knew’ that after the magically enhanced blood transfusion and healing, he was now stable and even on the verge of waking up. “He’s doing fine.”

Just then, there was a loud ‘boom’ from the direction of the barrier, which made Joselyn jump. She looked over at the source and saw several heroes were still trying to blast their way through the barrier, though they weren’t having any more success than they had earlier.

After four of the pillars had been destroyed, the barrier was a lot weaker than it had been, and according to Exile, it was more ‘flexible.’ She’d seen evidence of that herself when it was time to leave. Denise, Dave, and the original Ms. Miracle had all been able to get through the barrier, but no one else had been able to get through it after that. Joselyn wondered if perhaps it was because those three had been trying to leave the barrier instead of enter, but she had a feeling it was more than that.

A moment later, Joselyn noticed that someone was walking straight towards her. It was a teenage boy, about her own age, who she recognized as being Denise’s nephew. She’d seen him when she first returned to the camp, but had been too distracted since to give him another thought.

“Hi,” the boy said, giving her a friendly smile. “I’m Will. Are you Lady Knight?”

“Yeah,” Joselyn answered, gesturing to her sister and adding, “And this is Figment.”

“Nice to meet you,” Will said politely.

Joselyn stared at the boy, and for a brief moment, she considered mentioning the fact that her dad was named Will as well. However, after a lifetime of protecting family’s secret identities, she managed to squash that impulse. It was one thing to be a little relaxed around other heroes, especially when many of them were people her family knew and had worked with for years. It was quite another thing to get careless around a stranger.

“I just wanted to thank you for getting Aunt Denise out of there,” Will told her, gesturing to the barrier. “I was pretty worried about her…”

“I’m glad we were able to,” Joselyn said, glancing towards the medical tent again. “And I’m glad she was able to patch up my friends. If it hadn’t been for her, then…someone would have died…”

Will nodded at that, looking serious. “And I hear that you’re the one who talked the Face into coming to get me…”

Joselyn laughed at that. “Not directly. I just knew that Denise needed you nearby for some reason…”

At that, Joselyn gave Will a curious look, still not even sure why he needed to stay near Denise. When she’d first met Denise, she’d sensed that the doctor was dangerous…like a ticking time bomb. Somehow, she was sure that Will had been the means of disarming that time bomb, and now that she saw him face to face, she was even more certain of it. Will had some kind of power, though there was so much ‘noise’ at the moment, that her psychic abilities couldn’t tell her much more than that.

“I’m just glad that she’s all right,” Will said, looking more than a little relieved. “You have no idea how bad things could have gone…”

“Now, that sounds interesting,” Evie said, giving Will a curious look. “Why was it so important that we get you here?”

Will just smiled wryly. “I’m just here as an insurance policy…in case she has a…seizure. Fortunately, it looks like I’m not really necessary, and I hope it stays that way.”

Before Joselyn could ask Will what he meant, he said, “Thanks again,” then quickly hurried away.

“There’s something really odd with him,” Joselyn carefully said.

“Well, duh,” Evie said with a roll of her eyes. “I figured that much out, without using any ESP.”

Joselyn was about to respond to Evie, when she suddenly ‘knew’ that Dave was waking up. Without a word of explanation to her sister, Joselyn started for the medical tent.

When Joselyn stepped inside, she saw Dave stretched out on a cot while Ms. Miracle sat by his side, still in Channel’s body. Her dad sat a short distance away, staring at Dave with a strange expression, as he was still trying to absorb the fact that he had a son he’d never even known about, and that he’d come extremely close to dying.

And then there was Rumor, who was pacing back and forth with a worried look on her face. The rest of the Miracle Men were hanging around near the tent, occasionally peeking their heads in so they could check on their teammate and friend.

The Face had left the tent after the blood transfusion and healing, but Denise remained, keeping a close eye on her patient. Joselyn stared at Denise, thankful that her powers had led her to the woman. Joselyn still didn’t know Denise’s secret, but the doctor had patched up several of Joselyn’s new friends, and had then saved her new brother. Those actions had earned her the benefit of the doubt.

Dave groaned and slowly opened his eyes. Joselyn’s dad was immediately on his feet, as was Ms. Miracle. “David,” she cried out with tears of relief running down her cheeks. “You’re all right…”

Dave stared at her for several seconds with a look of blank confusion, then recognition came. “Mom?” he whispered, sounding a little uncertain.

“I’m still here,” she assured him, before reluctantly admitting, “but not for much longer. I’ve pushed Channel well past her limits…”

“I…thought…you…were…a…dream,” Dave whispered.

Ms. Miracle smiled down at her son with a mixture of pride and sadness. “I have to go again,” she told him. “But this time, I have a chance to say goodbye…”

“No,” Dave quietly gasped. He looked as though he was about to sit up, but Ms. Miracle put a hand on his chest to keep him from exerting himself.

“I don’t have a choice,” Ms. Miracle told him. “But before I go, there are things I have to tell you…” She paused for a moment, then gestured to Joselyn’s father. “The White Knight... He’s your father. Your real father.”

Dave just stared at her without any comprehension for a moment, then he looked to Joselyn’s father, who looked awkward and self-conscious. “This was a surprise for me too,” he said, giving a nervous smile.

“There is so much I want to tell you,” Ms. Miracle told Dave, wiping the tears from her eyes, though they continued to come. “But all I have time for, is to tell you I love you…and I’m proud of who you’ve become…”

With that, Ms. Miracle shimmered and her costume transformed back into Channel’s uniform instead. An instant later, Channel collapsed, though Joselyn saw this happening in time to catch her.

“Channel,” Joselyn cried out.

“Is she all right?” Joselyn’s dad demanded as he rushed over.

“Just unconscious,” Joselyn said, not even bothering to check Channel’s pulse. Her powers had already assured her that Channel was merely unconscious, not dead. “She’s exhausted…”

Denise didn’t seem ready to trust Joselyn’s judgement, because she checked Channel’s pulse, then instructed, “Put her on that cot…”

Once they had Channel on the cot, Denise began to look her over, quickly agreeing with Joselyn’s diagnosis. “I think she just needs some rest,” Denise said.

Joselyn was relieved at that, and when she looked back to Dave, she saw that Rumor was holding his hand and smiling at him. Dave definitely looked happy to see her, though he looked over at her and her dad and a strange expression appeared on his face.

“Pretty strange, I know,” Joselyn told him. Then she joked, “I always wanted a big brother…”

Rumor suddenly started snickering, and when Joselyn looked at her, she explained, “He is usually a she. Dave usually only goes back to being a guy, once every couple weeks.”

“I don’t have any powers when I’m like this,” Dave explained self-consciously, his voice weak and quiet. “And I kind of got used to my other form.”

Joselyn glanced over to her dad, who’d come back over again. He was staring at Dave, and when Dave looked back, he visibly gulped. “I think we have a lot to talk about…”

“You can talk later,” Denise announced. “After what he’s been through, it’s a miracle he’s still alive…” Rumor and Joselyn both snickered at the unintentional pun, earning a flat look from Denise. “He needs to rest, so everyone…out.”

Joselyn’s dad reluctantly nodded agreement, then told Dave, “Then we’ll talk later.”

After they left the medical tent, Rumor immediately went to the rest of the Miracle Men in order to fill them in, while Joselyn and her dad began to update the rest of their family. There was clear relief that Dave was doing all right, even though they’d only discovered he was related.

“I don’t know whether to give you congratulations or condolences,” Joselyn’s uncle Leo told her dad. “Because after this, Ellen is going to kill you…”

“Or make you sleep in the dog house,” Evie added with a smirk.

“Or make you build a dog house, just so you can sleep in it,” Joselyn offered with a smirk of her own.

Joselyn’s dad shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t know what to do about this…or what to think. Ms. Miracle and I were together…and done…before I ever even met Ellen. I certainly never expected this…”

“At least this time, you can skip the diaper stage,” Joselyn pointed out wryly. The look her dad gave her, suggested that he didn’t appreciate her attempt at humor.

Just then, someone yelled out, “We have more returns…”

Joselyn turned and looked to the barrier, seeing that Invincible Woman and Ghost Boy had just come through it. She was a little surprised that they were back, especially since their obelisk was the last one still standing. Then, Joselyn noticed that Invincible Woman was in rough condition, with a beaten face that clearly showed that she’d been in a fight.

Even as Joselyn absorbed these details, her dad rushed to their side. He gave them a grim look, clearly thinking of the fact that they were back, but the barrier was still up.

“What happened?” he asked.

Invincible Woman had a guilty look on her face as she answered, “Circuit Monger… She’s stronger than the last time…”

“We couldn’t beat her,” Ghost Boy added with a dark look on his face. He gulped visibly, then added, “We lost Praxis.”