By Jenny North
Artwork by Fraylim and Splutt

The next day I woke up late and went for a flight around the city. At first I tried to fool myself that I was just doing it to clear my head, but as it got close to lunchtime I soon realized that I was making a beeline for a very specific destination.

"You're quiet today," Marty Maddox said as we sat on the roof of his building and looked out at the skyline. He'd offered me a sandwich but I'd turned it down since I wasn't feeling especially hungry.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just distracted," I said. I turned to look at him and wondered why I kept coming back. At first I'd been excited to meet someone who'd brushed elbows with the old guard of superheroes, but now after my encounter with Promethean they suddenly held a lot less fascination for me. Now Marty just looked like a chubby middle-aged has-been. His company had done a lot of good helping the heroes of Faraday City, but having gone from a superhero's sidekick to this made him seem like a poster child for wasted potential.

"You look like someone with a big decision to make," he observed as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. Originally I'd hoped to get some advice from him but now that I was here he felt like the wrong person to ask. And my crisis of conscience notwithstanding, I wasn't sure there was a delicate way of saying, "Hey, you know Promethean, that guy you used to go on adventures with? He tried to molest me yesterday. What's up with that?"

"I don't think I want to talk about it," I told him.

"Well, I'm sure you'll make the right choice, miss," he said. "One thing I've learned is that you don't have to be a hero to do the right thing. And don't feel like you have to carry the weight of the world on your back. In this town there are plenty of heroes to shoulder the burden."

Translation: just give up. That's what he did.

I'd be lying if I said the idea didn't have some appeal. Being a superhero was pretty cool, but my female identities now outnumbered my male identity two to one and in the "boys against the girls" tug of war that my life had become, the male side was taking a wicked beating. Maybe taking a break from the whole thing would be for the best, after all. Just quietly serve out my remaining time in dresses and give up being Prodigious Girl. I could pick up heroing again in a year or two, or maybe wait until after I was done with college and settled down...I could always do it later, right? Assuming I still wanted to.

I looked down towards the street and noticed something that had been bothering me.

"Say...what's the story with your company name? 'AGON Technologies,' is that like an acronym or something?"

He smiled at that, giving me that toothy grin that went all the way up to his eyes. "I keep forgetting how young you are. You probably don't remember the Unanimity Invasion, do you?"

I shook my head. "I read a little about it. Some cyborg alien creatures, I think?"

"They leveled half the city. It was nuts. Heck, some of the villains even fought side-by-side with the heroes to repel the invaders. Back then my company was named Paragon Technologies, but part of the signage was destroyed in the fighting so it just read 'agon Technologies.' So when we rebuilt I decided to rebrand."

I gave him a funny smile. "I don't get it. Wouldn't it have been easier to just fix the sign?"

"That wasn't the point. You see, the Greek god Agon was a god of conflict and struggle. In fact, 'agon' is the root of the words 'protagonist' and 'antagonist.' With all the rampaging super-monsters and metahuman fights that break out it feels like the city has been defined by its struggles."

"Is that where 'agony' comes from, too?"

He smiled again. "Yeah, well, nobody said that conflict was easy. It can be painful and even arduous at times."

I sat quietly as I thought about that. I was definitely feeling that pain at the moment, and my current struggles seemed maybe hopeless. And the notion that my decision to be a hero might be setting me on a path of never-ending conflict didn't fill me with much joy.

I stood up.

"Did you come to a decision, miss?"

I took a step off the building and hovered there for a moment as I turned to look at him. "Yeah, I think I know what I have to do. I just don't want to do it," I told him before I flew off into the city.

* * * * *

I dragged my feet (as much as one could do so while flying), but after ruminating on it, I came to an inescapable conclusion. I wasn't sure how to fix everything, but I knew where I had to start.

I burst angrily into Prodigy's garage to find him already there, typing on the computer. I was full of fire and righteous indignation and fully ready to tear into him for summarily dismissing me after everything I'd done for him and fully ready to make him listen if he wasn't inclined to do so voluntarily. I was just about to open my mouth when he calmly spun in his chair to look at me. He sized me up dispassionately and said, "So, should I get the rape kit?"

I felt like the air had been torn from my lungs as I stared at him in utter shock and disbelief. "You knew?" I whispered. "YOU KNEW?!?"

A flash of anger surged inside of me and without even realizing it I threw a metal workbench out of my path. It slammed into the side of the car with such force that the car was knocked ten feet to the side and I stalked up to Prodigy with dire intent, not even sure what I was going to do when I reached him. It was bad enough that Prodigy would treat me like he did, but to let me go off with Promethean like that, knowing that he might—? My hands trembled with rage.

He stood up to face me and calmly said, "There were rumors."

"Rumors?" I cried. "You let me walk off with that scumbag to his private little love nest and never said a thing! He nearly— He nearly—" I couldn't even bring myself to say the words.

"So, he didn't—?"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" I screamed as tears streaked my vision. "He would have if I hadn't managed to fight him off!"

He raised his eyebrows. "You did that? Hm."

"I'm glad you're impressed," I sneered.

"And now you're back here, proving once again that you haven't learned a goddamn thing."

"That's not true. I've learned that every one of you so-called heroes is really just an opportunistic douchebag who's looking out for number one, and I'd be better off going my own way rather than hitching my wagon to any of the lot of you."

"Huh. You learned that a damn sight faster than I ever did. I must be a hell of a good teacher."

"Yes, when it comes to opportunistic douchebaggery, you're the master."

"Well, what the fuck do you want from me?" he snapped back. "What did you want me to do?"

"You could have warned me! You could have told me what I was walking into!"

"Oh, right. Like you would have believed me. 'Hey, don't let the door hit your fat ass on the way out. Oh, and by the way, the guy you idolize may have a thing for teenage girls, so be sure to wear something sexy.'"

"You should have stopped me!"

"How?" he demanded. "Just look at what you're capable of doing!" he yelled as he pointed at the damaged car. "How the hell am I supposed to stop you from doing anything? You want me to put you over my knee and spank you?"

"You were supposed to mentor me!" I cried as the tears streamed down my face. "You were supposed to keep me safe!"

"I CAN'T KEEP YOU SAFE, DANICA!"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he shut down and turned away as he leaned heavily against the computer console for support. Meanwhile I shook my head in confusion.

"Who the hell is Danica?" I asked. I sniffled and tried to remember why that name sounded so familiar. "Wait. You mean Starbrite? Demetria's daughter? What does she have—"

And that's when it hit me. Time slowed to a crawl as everything suddenly snapped into focus.

"Oh, sweet baby deity," I whispered. "Starbrite was your daughter." The pronouncement hung quietly in the air and when he didn't respond I wiped the tears from my face and took a step closer. "You and Demetria—?"

"It's none of your goddamn business."

"It's always been about her, hasn't it? About Starbrite. Even before I got here."

He shook his head ruefully as he kept his back to me. "You stupid kids think that because bullets bounce off of you that you can't be hurt by anything. You're going to get yourself killed."

I stared at him for a long moment as the pieces started to fall into place. "You bastard," I swore. "That's why you've been beating on me all this time! That's why you mistreated your other sidekicks and drove them away. You weren't just pushing us away from you, you made the experience as excruciating as possible so we'd give up on being heroes entirely." I took a step closer. "You think if we quit, we won't be killed like she was. You think you're keeping us safe."

He spun on me angrily. "I'm not going to be psychoanalyzed by some top-heavy teenage bunny in a cape."

"Yeah, well, I'm not going anywhere. You took your best shot and I'm still standing. What's your plan to get rid of me now?"

"You're an idiot. You think what you've done so far prepares you in any way for what's coming? You're going to die. You're going to die young. And your death will be completely and utterly devoid of meaning."

The intensity in his eyes stopped me in my tracks as I tried to think of a response. I could only think of one thing, but it was probably the most important thing.

"That's not up to you," I said firmly. "It's up to me. And don't tell me I'm too young or inexperienced. I know what I'm doing. I know the risks. But all those lives that I've saved have to count for something, too. I don't want to die, but I couldn't live with myself knowing that other people died when I could have done something to prevent it," I told him. "Besides, you said it yourself...you can't stop me."

You could hear a pin drop as we stared intently at each other. Then I heard the footsteps.

"You're wasting your breath, Prodigious Girl," a woman's voice came from off by the entrance. "Believe me, I've had this argument with him many times."

Prodigy and I both turned to see the three women entering the garage: Demetria, Harridan, and—

"Trixie?" I gasped in shock.

She looked at me sheepishly. "PG, I'm so sorry..."

At first I wasn't sure what she was apologizing for until I recalled the time that I had let slip to her the location of Prodigy's garage. She had obviously led Demetria and Harridan right to our doorstep, but I could only hope that it had been under duress.

"Am I late with my alimony check?" Prodigy mocked as he watched Demetria approach, but she seemed unperturbed and didn't respond to his taunt. "Surprised to see you. It's not like you to get your hands dirty yourself."

"You're both wanted by the authorities. I hoped that my presence here might help prevent an unnecessary confrontation."

"We don't want a fight," Trixie said.

"Speak for yourself," Harridan retorted. Crackling red energy licked up the length of her unsheathed quantum blade as her eyes cut between Prodigy and me. She touched a control on her other wrist and a crimson energy shield sprang into existence on her arm, a two and a half foot disk of protective force.

Harridan and I locked eyes with each other and I kept Prodigy in my peripheral vision to follow his lead, but so far he hadn't moved.

"Boss, I don't know what they're talking about, but this has to be about those villains she brainwashed," I said to him.

Trixie looked at me desperately. "Peej, I'm telling you, there's no conspiracy here."

Demetria and Harridan shared a quick glance. "Ehh..." Demetria said.

Trixie stared at her incredulously. "Wait, you mean you are brainwashing villains?"

"I prefer to think of it as conditioning, but yes."

"'Conditioning.' That's good," I shot back. "It seems so much less horrific when you make it sound like a hair care treatment. And I'm guessing you triggered Killdozer's meltdown?"

Demetria looked slightly distressed. "That was...unfortunate. Sometimes the process doesn't take and it causes a psychotic break. It's only in a minority of subjects. Well worth the risk."

"Worth the—?" I echoed. "He went wild and killed everyone he cared about! People are dead! You can't just go around messing with people's minds and creating these—these—zombies!"

She cocked her head slightly and regarded me with an almost bemused expression. "Prodigious Girl, I have to say I'm a little surprised by your reaction. After all, one of these 'zombies' as you so crudely put it is one of your best friends."

The room fell silent as her proclamation seemed to fill the space, but I just scoffed and shot her a disbelieving glance. "That is such BS. What are you talking ab—"

And then I turned to look at Trixie. We all did.

Trixie took a step back, wide-eyed. "What?" she whispered.

Demetria looked at her with concern—an almost motherly gesture if it wasn't so perverse—and said in a detached manner, "The process heightens empathy, increasing the subject's concern for others and gives them a societal attachment that many of them simply lack. It can affect their memories to varying degrees, but they emerge as selfless and heroic as any of Faraday City's finest heroes."

"It's a lie," Trixie said desperately. "You're lying."

Demetria shook her head sadly. "I am sorry, child. This was for the best, believe me."

Trixie took two more steps back and pressed her hands to the sides of her head like she was desperately trying to fight against some horrible internal struggle. "It's a lie," she repeated as her face lost expression. Before I could say or do anything, one of her sparkling energy portals whisked her away to parts unknown.

Harridan shot an apprehensive look to Demetria, but Demetria looked unconcerned. If anything, she only seemed slightly disappointed. "Let her go," she said gently. "She'll be back eventually. After all, where else does she have to go?"

Prodigy, who had been mutely observing this entire exchange, made a guttural noise. "Well, I can see you're still good with kids," he deadpanned. "Jesus, Demi, what the hell happened to you?"

"The world happened to me. And please don't get on your high horse. A lecture from you about the end not justifying the means would seem a little hypocritical, don't you think?"

He looked down at the ground and gave a sigh that had it come from anybody else I would have taken as a sign of remorse. But when his eyes cut back up at her, he was all business. "How many are you going to do?" he asked.

"The entire city."

"All at once? You always did have a flair for the dramatic."

I looked between them. "Wait, what?" I said. I felt like I'd missed something.

Prodigy shook his head and smiled ruefully. "Kid, don't be stupid. They wouldn't be here over a few lost lambs. They're here to stop us from interfering with their next move. Though I am a little curious why you felt the need to step in now?"

"You forced our hand," Demetria said. "It started when you realized the importance of the transdimensional communicators that I'd hired those mercenaries to steal, which forced Harridan to intervene."

Prodigy looked perplexed. "What are you talking about?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You must have found out. You investigated the disappearance of the communicators."

I raised my hand. "Actually, that was me."

"Oh. But then when you started digging into Killbane's reconditioning and his father's disappearance, I realized you were on to us."

I cleared my throat. "That was me, again."

Demetria looked at Prodigy. "But then you sent her to Promethean, yes? To gather help from the Liberty Squadron before attacking our Sanctuary?"

They both stared at each other for a moment before they turned back to look at me.

I shrugged. "That's not exactly how it happened, but I'm still totally taking credit for that one."

Demetria blinked, impressed. "Well, it obviously didn't go according to plan since you attacked him. He's issued a warrant for your arrest. And your mentor."

A flash of anger ran through me. "He did what?!? That ass! That is so not how it went down!"

She gave me a puzzled glance. "So you didn't somehow manage to lance a golfball-sized hole through the strongest man on Earth?"

The three of them stared at me in varying degrees of shock and disbelief.

"Okay, that one's on me," I admitted. "But he totally deserved it."

Prodigy regarded me appraisingly. "You really did beat up Promethean? Damn, I shouldn't have fired you."

"You didn't fire me, I quit."

"Said every teenager who was ever fired from a job."

I shook my head and ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. "You know, all I wanted was a cool name. That's all I wanted."

"I hear 'Viridian' is available," Harridan said with a dark and dangerous grin as she brandished her sword threateningly.

"It's a good name," I admitted. "Maybe I'll adopt it as an homage after I thrash you."

"I can't wait to see you try, darling," Harridan warned.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that Prodigy had discreetly taken a step away from me so I tried to casually counter the move even as Harridan and I kept our eyes locked on each other. But as Prodigy and I tentatively took another step to separate ourselves I suddenly realized that I was only a few feet from one of the storage shelves and very nearly within reach of that hyper-dangerous Fig Newton thingy he'd warned me about earlier. Harridan was still too far away for me to engage with my fists, but I figured that thing might help ruin her day. I glanced over at Prodigy to try and discreetly signal him, but although his attention was still fixed on Demetria he shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"Wasting the super who bested Promethean, I kinda like the sound of that," Harridan said to me quietly so Demetria wouldn't overhear. She and Prodigy were still talking but I could only make out bits and pieces of their conversation as he approached her. Meanwhile, Harridan seemed to be getting dangerously close, but still just out of melee range.

"I'm gonna carve you up like a roast, girl," she threatened. I saw her muscles tense up like she was about to pounce.

In one move I dove to the side as I made a wild grab at the device. I could practically feel the breeze from Harridan's sword as it cleaved the air where I'd been standing and it sliced through the reinforced concrete floor like it was butter. I spun around to face her and fumbled with the device in my hands even as someone was yelling something, I don't even know who. I aimed it at Harridan and moved to push the button.

And that's when everything went black.

* * * * *

"Aaah!" I gasped as I woke up, feeling confused and highly disoriented. My emotions were a raging turmoil and I frantically tried to get them under control. Panic welled up in me before I felt a jolt of raw terror run up my spine, then a bizarre elation and euphoria which gave way to crushing despair. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Easy!" Prodigy's gruff voice came from right in front of me.

"I-I feel...I f-feel—" I struggled to form words.

"Everything. Yes, I know. Demetria dropped you with her mind blast. The effects will wear off in a minute. Just breathe."

I fought to get my bearings as the overwhelming tide of emotions I was experiencing started to subside a little. Eventually my breathing became more regular and I nodded as I took a deep cleansing breath. Prodigy was still right in front of me and as my head started to clear I slowly realized that when he spoke he had a weird tone to his voice, like he was genuinely concerned. I sniffled and realized that I'd been crying and I moved my hand to wipe the tears from my face. Except I couldn't move my hands.

I looked down. My arms were handcuffed behind my back.

I turned to face him in confusion.

"So, yeah, we're not doing so hot," he said.

I realized that we were still in Prodigy's garage, and I was on my knees with my back against one of the metal support pillars that held up the roof and my hands were manacled somehow behind my back. Prodigy, meanwhile, was also on his knees right in front of me with his arms around my waist, presumably with his hands also manacled around the pillar. We were practically nose-to-nose with each other and to someone looking at us we might have looked like we were making out with his arms wrapped around me.

"This is stupid," Harridan said to Demetria, both of whom were standing nearby. "Just let me kill them. Quick and clean."

"No. I told you, it needs to look like an accident. Prodigy keeps all sorts of dangerous materials here with questionable safety precautions. If there's an explosion, nobody will suspect foul play."

"I told you that you should be more careful with that stuff," I hissed at him.

"What are you, the EPA? Shut it!" he snapped back.

Harridan grudgingly stepped away while Demetria turned to face us. "I'm sorry it has to end this way, I truly am. But I'm not just making the world a better place, I'm building a utopia. No more supervillains, and everyone with metahuman powers fighting for the betterment of mankind. But there was always going to be a price." Behind her, we could hear Harridan fooling with the volatile chemical containers and I heard the sharp clang of metal followed by the sound of gas escaping.

I looked Demetria square in the eyes. "Is this what Danica would have wanted?"

I could tell my taunt hit home as there was a change across her face, and even Prodigy seemed taken aback at my reference to their daughter. But she looked at me sadly. "I don't know. Danica is dead. She paid the price for being a hero in a cruel and unjust world, just as you're going to do. But the world I'm going to build won't have those problems."

Prodigy looked like he was about to say something, but before he could speak Harridan stepped up to Demetria, who gave her a quick nod of assent. Harridan touched a control on her belt and they vanished in a bright rift of teleportation energy.

"She's nice. I can see what you saw in her," I remarked.

"She's not all bad."

"Well, she is trying to kill us."

"Maybe," he scoffed. "She was dumb enough to bind us with my own handcuffs. It's possible she figured I could sneak out of them after they left."

I sighed in relief. "Okay! So, do your thing, Houdini!" I said brightly.

He made an inarticulate little grumble. "It kind of defeats the point of escape-proof handcuffs if there's a trick for taking them off."

I blinked as that settled in. "Wait. Are you telling me I'm going to die because one of your stupid inventions actually worked?"

I didn't wait for him to respond since I knew immediately what I had to do. They'd bound my hands behind my back but obviously they hadn't counted on my enhanced strength, so I started to pull at my bonds behind me.

"AAAHHH!" Prodigy screamed out in pain. "Stop! Stop!"

I looked at him in bewilderment when I realized that it wasn't just one set of binders holding my wrists together. Prodigy and I had been bound to each other, left hand to left hand and right to right. When I was pulling, I'd been pulling on his arms.

"Oops. Sorry," I said.

I started to look around but I realized that by binding us together as they had they'd managed to hamstring me nicely. I couldn't exert my full strength without inflicting lethal damage on my mentor. I looked upwards figuring I might fly us to the top of the pillar and through the roof, but there was a mess of heavy equipment and reinforced steel at the top. If I hit it at top speed I might be able to punch through, but there was no way Prodigy would survive.

Prodigy's eyes darted around as he seemed to come to similar conclusions. "Let's try and get on our feet," he said.

What would normally have been an easy task was made vastly more difficult by our intertwined bodies and as we wiggled and struggled upwards, his foot slipped and he ended up going face-first right into my exposed cleavage.

"Really?" I snapped.

"It's not my fault," he contended.

"When is it ever?" I said. "Oh, that's it, I'm definitely getting out of here. There's no way I want them to find my dead body pressed up against an octogenarian looking like this."

"Yeah, well, this isn't exactly how I dreamed of making my big heroic exit either," Prodigy countered as we struggled to our feet. "Though I wouldn't worry about it. When those canisters go off, there's not gonna be a whole lot left of either of us. See if you can get to my belt."

I reached as far as I could but I soon realized I couldn't get to him without pulling his arm out of its socket. "I...can't."

"C'mon, you're a teenage girl. Don't you all take yoga and shit to be flexible?"

I was about to shoot back an angry retort when I remembered that I wasn't a teenage girl. For a moment I considered shifting back to Chris—secret identity be damned at this point—but that wouldn't be enough to get the manacles off. So instead I tried shapeshifting my hands and wrists to make them more slender. It might take a few minutes—hopefully less, based on the sounds of those canisters—but as I did so I could feel a little give in the manacles as I tugged at my arms and tried to wriggle myself free.

"Would you quit squirming like that?" Prodigy growled.

"I'm trying to get loose," I said as we both avoided eye contact and attempted to ignore the fact that my breasts were mashed up against his chest. I twisted my body to get a better angle. "Would you move—?"

"I can't!"

"Well, at least I'm trying something!" I yelled.

"Look, you stupid little bimbo! We wouldn't even be in this mess if—"

"Oh, you do not get to go there!" I warned him as I continued struggling. "This is all on you. Your stupid bad attitude, your stupid ex-wife, your stupid gadgets." My eyes cut over at him. "You are the worst mentor ever, you know that? All I ever wanted was to be a hero! And then when I got the chance I thought maybe I'd find somebody who would help show me the ropes a little."

"Oh, please. What a load of crap. You just wanted my name, just like all those other snot-nosed teenage punks. You're just waiting for me to die so you can call yourself by a stupid name that I never even wanted in the first place!"

Silence fell as we both glanced at each other and looked away guiltily.

"You're right," I admitted. "That's exactly why I came to you. But it's not a stupid name. It's your name. And you've done more with it than I ever could. So, if we manage to get out of this, I promise I'll drop it...nobody deserves to be Prodigy but you. It doesn't matter to me if I'm Prodigious Girl or Viridian or even Kid Flatulence...I just want to help people."

We were interrupted by the sound of a loud metallic clang from over by the canisters followed by a very insistent hissing noise that didn't sound at all good.

"Okay. I have a plan," Prodigy said. He took a deep breath. "I want you...to pull off my arms."

I stared at him in disbelief. "That is a terrible plan."

"Just do it quick. Yank as hard as you can and get me to a hospital—"

"You'll bleed to death!"

He swallowed and tilted his head in assent. "At least one of us would make it."

I gave him a knowing smile. "I knew you were warming up to me," I said. "But I have a better idea." With a final tug, I pulled my shapeshifted hands through the handcuffs and grinned triumphantly as he felt his bonds go slack.

He stepped back and stared at the handcuffs in disbelief. "How did you—?"

I gave a dismissive wave. "They were your crappy inventions. They were bound to fail."

Suddenly there was the sharp high-pitched shriek of metal giving way and I grabbed him in a hurry and launched myself at full speed towards one of the blacked-out windows high up on the ceiling. There was a deafening explosion and I could feel the heat of the blast as the shockwave sent us sailing upwards. It was all I could do to adjust our trajectory so that we crashed on the low rooftop of a building across the street and we came skidding to a halt as a series of new explosions erupted from the garage.

Slowly we stood up and after a brief nod to each other that we were all right, we made our way to the edge of the building and watched the fires consume the remnants of the destroyed garage. Through the smoke and fire I could just make out a few things I could recognize like one of his work benches and the silhouette of the badly-damaged car in the wreckage.

Prodigy's face was an unreadable mask as he surveyed the damage, but I gave him a hopeful little shrug. "Well, I know it looks bad, but maybe after it dies down we can salvage—"

*KA-BOOOM*

There was a brilliant green flash and the shockwave from this latest explosion knocked out every window in a two-block radius. It vaporized the entire building and I stared at the explosion stupidly for a second before Prodigy yanked me down behind cover. After a few seconds I slowly peered over the lip of the building and saw that the garage was nothing more than a hole in the ground, a smoking crater where a building used to be.

"That was the Fig Newton thing, wasn't it?" I whispered.

"Yeah, that was the Fig Newton thing," Prodigy replied.

* * * * *

"I can't believe we made it out," I said. Then I gave Prodigy a smug look. "How's that for showing initiative?" I declared.

"Well, I see someone's been snooping in her file," he said. "You want to know why I wrote that? Fine, I'll tell you. But first, you have to answer a question: why do you care?"

When he put it like that, I wasn't quite sure. "Um..."

He laughed once. "You don't even see it, do you? You're so desperate for validation that you're hung up on the opinion of an old has-been like me. And when I didn't give it to you, you ran straight into the arms of that bastard Promethean without even thinking. Tell me, what other mentor figures have you been running to for guidance? Mom and Dad, I bet. Any others? Maybe a guidance counselor at school?"

I thought about my meetings with Marty Maddox on the rooftop. It galled me that Prodigy had a point. "I wasn't looking for validation," I said.

"You're right. It was worse than that. You were looking for approbation. You constantly second-guess yourself, always worried about what other people think and desperate for their approval. That's what I meant when I wrote what I did. You could be a hell of a hero, but you can't afford this constant self-doubt. Heroes make split-second decisions when lives are on the line and we have to live with the consequences. If you can't do that, then you're gonna destroy yourself more effectively than I ever could."

"So why tell me this now?"

"Because despite my best efforts, it looks like you're serious about sticking with this superhero thing, yeah?"

I shot him a look of steely resolve. "Damn straight, old man."

He gave a resigned little chuckle. "Why am I not surprised?" he wondered. Then he furrowed his brow slightly. "Though, uh, sorry about calling you a stupid bimbo back there. That was out of line."

I sighed. "It's okay. I'm getting used to it. I guess I fit the profile."

"Hey, don't run yourself down like that," he said sharply. "There's no shortage of people out there who'll do that for you. No sense in helping them out, kid. Er, I mean, Prodigious Girl," he amended with the barest hint of a smile. "And if you want to change your name to something else to not be associated with a prickly old codger like me, I wouldn't blame you."

"Thanks."

"But I wouldn't go with Kid Flatulence. Just sayin'."

"Yeah. It's taken, anyway."

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"That fucking registration system," he muttered.

I nodded sympathetically.

"So, I don't know if you've got better plans, but you want to go help beat up my vindictive witch of an ex-wife?"

"I was really hoping you were going to ask that."

"Well, let's go get 'em, Prodig—er, I mean, Viridian."

I flashed him a coy look as I tucked my hair back. "I'm kinda getting used to 'Prodigious Girl.' I might stick with it for a while."

"You still can't drive the car."

"Oh, come on!" I complained as I stamped my foot petulantly. Then I looked at the smoldering crater across the street as I heard the sound of sirens approaching. "Not that there's a car to drive, anyway," I muttered. "So now where to, boss?"

"I know a place."

I flew the two of us to the south side of the city to another run-down area on the outskirts of town. Given Prodigy's apparent fascination with these seedy locations, I had it pegged as a safe house. With Demetria's plan in imminent motion and with both of us now wanted by the law thanks to Promethean's lies, having a safe place to lie low and plan our next move was welcome.

We landed and Prodigy punched a code into a hidden panel in the building and the door slid open to reveal that it was reinforced steel and in a lot better condition than the outside would lead a casual observer to believe.

"Huh," I said as we walked inside. "It's funny, but that door kind of reminds me of your old gar—oh, my God."

My jaw dropped as I beheld the space, with its high ceilings and blacked-out windows, the cluttered shelves and work benches covered with various devices, the cobbled-together computer, and the hazardous chemicals (stored haphazardly). There was even a half-built copy of the car over on the lift.

"You have a backup garage?"

"Well, yeah," he said in a matter-of-fact manner. "That's why I work out of a cheap-ass garage in the slums rather than an expensive Batcave under stately Wayne manor. They're a hell of a lot easier to replace."

I looked around, incredulous. "God, it even smells the same. How many of these places do you have?"

"Not enough to make a habit out of blowing them up," he said as he moved over to the computer and sat down. He brushed some dust off the keyboard and watched as it started to boot up.

I shook my head in disbelief and wandered over to where he was sitting. "So what now?" I asked.

He swiveled around in his chair. "'What now' is you tell me absolutely everything."

So I told him. Everything from that first night with our fight with Killdozer and Killbane, Harridan's involvement, anything strange I'd noticed about Trixie (I hadn't—I was still reeling from that revelation), my meeting with Demetria at the Sanctuary, everything. I breezed over the details of my encounter with Promethean and I carefully omitted Caleb's assistance. He didn't challenge me, although he did seem suspicious that I was able to do so much on my own.

He nodded slowly. "Okay, that fits. The only thing I don't get is how Demetria knew you'd been searching for information on the transmitters those two idiot villains tried to steal."

I shifted uncomfortably. I wasn't looking forward to this part. "I, uh, might have used your computer to look up the information," I said. He looked like he was about to object, but I pressed on, saying, "...and she may have found out because I used this to do it."

I put the thumb drive she'd given me on the desk next to the computer keyboard and he scowled at me.

"Um, I think it's a—"

"I know damn well what it is," he snapped. "So it's safe to assume that they now know everything we know. Good job."

Normally I'd have been cowed by his sarcastic rebuke, but I'd had about enough of his attitude and lies. "You know what this is because you're the one who made it, aren't you?" I shot back. Then when he didn't respond I knew I was right. "So, what, you lost that in the divorce?"

His eyes narrowed as he looked at me, like he was sizing me up and seeing something unexpected. "Touché," he conceded. "So we've both been keeping secrets, is that your point?"

"My point is I'm telling you all this because I want you to trust me, and this only works if we work together. Once this is done you can kick my butt to the curb and go back to being a solo act if you want, but right now we need each other."

"How do you figure that?"

I gestured helplessly to the computer screen. "You're the only one who can figure out what Demetria is up to so we have a chance of stopping her."

"True. And what are you bringing to this shindig?" he asked.

"I'm the one who can get us access to Demetria's Sanctuary."

He scoffed at that. "And how do you intend to do th—no," he said firmly. "Absolutely not."

"We can trust her. She can help us."

"Just so I'm clear we're talking about the same person, you're referring to the individual who led Demetria straight to our doorstep?"

"Look at what Demetria did to her! She has every reason in the world to help us now."

He ran his fingers through his shock-white hair. "So your argument is that because Demetria brainwashed her, she's the ideal person to help us against Demetria. Yeah, I don't see any flaw in that logic."

I sighed heavily. "Look. We need her. We can't get in without her help. I know you don't trust her, but I'm asking you to trust me."

He stared at me for a long moment. Finally he shook his head and said, "Oh, what the hell," as he went back to work on the computer and pulled up the transmitter schematics. "We've already been blown up once today, may as well be sporting about it and give them another shot."

* * * * *

I landed on Astral Bridge and peeked over the edge, at first not even sure that my hunch had been correct. But as the wind picked up I saw a familiar flash of platinum blonde hair blowing in the breeze. I quietly flew underneath the bridge and sat on the supporting girder with my legs dangling over the side.

Trixie didn't even look up. She was slumped over slightly as she stared down at nothing in particular. Her hands were down by her sides, resting on the beam as her fingers scratched absently at the metal. After a minute she took a sidelong glance at me.

"Guess I need to find a better place to hide, huh?" she asked.

"I took a chance and hoped you weren't hiding from everyone equally," I said with a faint smile.

She shook her head and sighed but before she could say anything, I rushed out, "Look, I won't pretend to understand what she did to you, but I know you. And Trixie, believe me—"

"It's Ren," she interrupted. "That's my name. Short for Renata. Renata...Blackwood," she said as her eyes cut over to gauge my reaction.

"Blackwood?" I whispered, trying to keep the emotion out of my voice. "As in Rhiannon Blackwood?"

"She's my mother."

I stared at her, struck speechless. Rhiannon Blackwood was a dark sorceress and was one of the first archvillains to really earn the title. She was vicious, cruel, capricious, and insanely powerful. One time she captured the Liberty Squadron and held them prisoner for the better part of a week and after they escaped the normally overconfident and gregarious heroes returned with haunted expressions and they all refused to talk about what had happened.

Trixie obviously read the shock on my face and turned away, so I tried to shake it off.

"I, uh, didn't realize she had children," I said.

She smiled ruefully. "Oh, yes. Several over the years. From when we were old enough to walk she ensured that we were all trained in the dark arts, learning enchantment, thaumaturgy, demonology. So I guess you could say I'm home schooled," she said with a mirthless smirk. "Of course she didn't tell us the reason she went to all that trouble was so that when we came of age with our powers, she could sacrifice us to the dark gods to steal our life energy and magic to increase her own."

She turned to look me in the eyes. "She raised us like cattle to be slaughtered."

"Oh, my God."

"She would have killed me, too, except one of her servants took pity on me and helped me escape. I was only ten years old when I found myself alone on the streets of London. The things I did to survive...they weren't pretty. And believe me, I was not a nice person. Mum would have been so proud of her little girl."

"Trixie, you were just a kid, you didn't have—"

"I've done awful things," she said with a faraway glance. "And not just to survive. When I think of the people I tormented...I changed..."

"Don't do this to yourself! It's not your fault. You're not that person," I said, hoping I sounded more certain than I felt.

"Well," she said with a sad smile, "now you know why I kept trying to tell you the fairytale versions of my story. Tell me, which do you like better?"

I reached out and put my hand on top of hers. "Trixie, I'm so sorry."

"I found some videos of me from...before," she said quietly. "I kind of remember them, but it's all fuzzy. I remember feeling angry all the time, but now...it just doesn't seem important." She turned to look at me. "Peej, I don't know what's real anymore. I'm furious about what she did to me, but the worst part is I don't even know if it was such a bad thing."

I had no idea what to say.

"You know the thing that pisses me off, though? I actually thought I was trying to redeem myself. Like that was even possible. I probably never even wanted redemption. I just went from being the monster my mother created into the thing that Demetria turned me into," she said with an emotional quaver in her voice.

"No," I said firmly as I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "No, I don't believe that. Trixie, I don't know the person you were. I never met her. But I do know you. And I swear we'll make Demetria pay for what she's done. But as sure as I know anything, I know this: I would trust you with my life."

She sniffled and her lip twitched into a faint smile as she choked back a sob. "Yeah, but we've established that you're pretty gullible," she laughed tremulously. "Seriously, you're kind of a crap judge of character," she joked as she started to cry.

I laughed and hugged her, holding onto her as she trembled silently. Finally she broke the hug and wiped her tears. "Ugh," she said as she dabbed at her eyes. "Someday you're going to have to tell me what makeup you use. I swear I've never seen it run once."

"Haha, yeah," I laughed nervously. Since my 'makeup' was just my skin pigmentation that I'd changed with my shapeshifting power, I figured that might open up a whole can of worms I wasn't prepared to deal with at the moment.

"I'm not sure I even know how to be a hero," she admitted quietly.

"Sure you do. Being a hero is about fighting the battles that ordinary people can't. Standing up for them and protecting them when nobody else will. I've watched how you put your life on the line for other people lots of times. And I've never seen you back down from a fight."

"I'm not a hundred percent sure that's a good thing," she said dryly before holding out her hands helplessly. "I don't know what I'm doing or who I'm supposed to be or if this is even the real me. It's like—"

"It's like you're wearing a mask on top of a mask. And you're so confused by who you're supposed to be that you're not even sure who you are, anymore. And you're worried that if you don't even know that much, then how can you ever be close to anybody else?"

She blinked in surprise. "...Yeah," she whispered as she looked at me strangely before she blinked it away. "So you know anybody in the market for a girlfriend like that?"

"They're out there," I told her as I gazed at her earnestly. Then, when she looked away in disbelief, I straightened up. "Well. I don't see how we can be friends anymore. I thought I was teaming up with some awesome and dynamic superheroine, not one who's all mopey."

"I am not mopey," she objected. Her lip twitched in what might have been the beginnings of a smile and she leaned over and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. "You're a good friend," she told me.

I just gave her a tight-lipped smile and nodded nervously. I felt like I should have said something, but I was still reeling from the fact I'd just gotten my first real kiss from a girl, an experience that was undercut somewhat by the fact that I could feel our boobs touch when she leaned in. Life was really confusing.

She obviously noticed the emotion cross my face. "I didn't just make it weird, did I?"

"What? No!" I objected, a bit too forcefully. "Nope. Nooo..." I repeated awkwardly.

"Gods," she muttered. "Look, Peej, I know we all try to act like this thing with you is a big secret, and if you don't want to talk about it, I understand. Believe me, I know it isn't easy trying to pretend to be someone you're not—"

I looked at her in alarm and then down at myself and then back at her. "Wait, y-you mean, you knew about me? And who's 'we?' You mean other people know, too?"

"Well, Mari, for one. But c'mon, give me a little credit. You were hardly subtle."

I glanced down at my bosom that was on prominent display. "I guess not," I conceded. "God, I can't believe you let me go on like this and never said anything!"

"I figured you'd say something when you were ready."

I fiddled with the edge of my cape, suddenly feeling very self-conscious about my feminine impersonation and what she must think of me. "It's just...I never really wanted all this..."

"Peej, you're acting like it's a death sentence. There's worse things than being gay."

"Well, that's true," I nodded. "I—whuh?"

Trixie shook her head and smiled. "I mean, it was pretty obvious the way you were always checking me and Mari out, to say nothing of all the other girls. I never really had any doubt. No offense, but you're as blatant about it as a guy."

"Ha! Yeah, I guess I should be more careful," I laughed nervously.

She glanced over at me knowingly. "Let me guess, you were hoping it was just a phase?"

I made a little noncommittal shrug. "I didn't really expect it to go as far as it has."

She laughed once. "Yeah, well, as deep dark secrets go, that one's pretty tame compared to mine," she said. Then she snapped her fingers as something else seemed to occur to her. "Oh, right, I might be a supervillain ready to pop at any second. There's yet another attractive quality of mine."

I gave her a lopsided grin. "Trixie, you know sign language. How evil can you possibly be?"

"I'm pretty sure that's not how that works."

I nodded towards the gleaming skyline of the city and gave her a little nudge. "You feel like going to work? Prodigy is spoiling for a rematch and we can't do this without you."

She sniffed again and nodded. "Oh, yeah," she said, her voice still raw. "I may not be who I was, but I'm still game to deliver a world of hurt to that witch."

The dark expression that crossed over her features sent a shiver down my spine, but I tried not to let it show. "Yeah, well, first we need a way in to get to her."

Trixie mulled that over for a moment and then gave me a cocky little smirk. "I've got a really great idea," she told me.

* * * * *

"This is a terrible idea."

"No, it's not. Just stay positive," Trixie chided me over the communicator as I observed her standing on the end of the pier by the waterfront. The area used to be used for cargo ships and was later shut down when a developer bought out the space to build luxury high-rise apartments, but when the developer went bankrupt, the area went to seed. "Are you in position?"

"Yes. Are you sure about this?" I asked nervously.

"Trust me, she can take it. Don't hold anything back."

"I'm more worried about you," I replied. "If Harridan takes the bait, it's just going to be the two of you. I won't be able to help you."

Trixie didn't say anything but just quietly looked out across the water as the wind whipped through her cape and hair.

"It's been nearly an hour already, maybe she's not coming," I said. "We should get with Prodigy and—"

"Don't be such an old woman!" she chided me. "Now be quiet, quit worrying and stay sharp. When it happens, it's going to happen fast."

I hated this plan. We knew that Harridan was obviously still working for Demetria despite the fact that Demetria had made a big show of expelling the warrior woman from the Sanctuary weeks earlier after publicly chastising her for her increasingly violent methods. So Trixie figured that since Harridan hadn't been seen in the Sanctuary since that time and there was only one way in, Demetria must have given her some kind of cloaking device or other back door method to continue to sneak in undetected. So the plan was to ambush Harridan, beat her to within an inch of her life and force her to tell us how to get in.

Truth be told, I was kind of looking forward to that part. Though I wished we had more firepower.

My real problem was with Trixie using herself as bait. Demetria and Harridan knew that Trixie was now aware of her reconditioning, but she'd left before Demetria unveiled the full scope of her plan. As a result, they had no reason to suspect that she might interfere with their plans, at least not until it was too late. However, 45 minutes ago Trixie had attempted to contact Bhramari to set up a face-to-face meeting and she used an unsecured comm line through the Sanctuary board to do it. We'd figured that Demetria wouldn't take the chance that Trixie might tell others what had been done to her, and she'd doubtless send her chief enforcer to take care of it. Or so went the theory.

Without warning, a bright red flash appeared just a few feet away from where Trixie was standing and a familiar shape emerged.

"Harridan!" Trixie gasped over the open comm channel.

"I told her you were going to be trouble," the woman said as she unsheathed her sword and it flickered dangerously with the crimson energy that licked up and down the blade. "She told me not to kill you, but..." she shrugged.

"Wait!" Trixie said. "I knew you'd show up. That's why I used the unsecured line. I want to work with you."

That was my cue.

I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation over the sound of the wind rushing in my ears as I vectored straight down into a power dive from where I'd stationed myself several hundred feet above. I accelerated to my top speed as gravity pulled me down even faster and I tore straight at Harridan with enough force to smash through a reinforced bunker. The wind whipped at my face and tears streaked my vision as I strained to stay on target. I knew we were only going to get one shot at this.

And that's when Harridan teleported away.

Too late to pull out of my dive, I felt a surge of panic rush through me as I realized I was going to miss, and miss big.

That realization was followed by the most disorienting ten seconds of my entire life.

Trixie instantly recognized what had happened and quickly opened up a portal on the ground where Harridan had just been standing, and instead of impacting the pier I sailed right on through. Before I realized what was happening, I saw that I'd come out the other side and was back on target to hit Harridan, except now I was racing towards her from the side. Then Harridan teleported again. Then Trixie portaled me again. Trixie had chosen our ambush location well, since being on the waterfront limited the number of directions that Harridan could use to escape. Meanwhile I had literally no idea what was going on as the two of them got into a frantic teleport war...sometimes I was going down, sometimes sideways, sometimes at an angle. All I knew was that I had to keep going as fast as I could for as long as I could. Finally I saw Harridan stopped right in front of me as she activated her energy shield, obviously ready to try and deflect my attack. But another blink later I found myself aimed at her unprotected back.

I slammed into her hard enough to send us both flying into the side of one of the unfinished buildings, and we rammed into it with the concussive force of a bomb exploding. Astonishingly it looked like Harridan was still conscious after my initial hit but after we plowed through a few concrete walls she slumped down unconscious as I came skidding to a halt on top of her and landed in a disheveled heap.

"Peej! Are you okay?" Trixie yelled as she ran into the building after us. I was too stunned and disoriented to say anything, but I gave her a thumbs-up which I think actually might have been sideways.

She gave me a self-satisfied little grin. "So, what are we going to name that maneuver?" she asked brightly. "I'm thinking 'Teleport Tag.' What do you think?"

Still in a dazed stupor I clumsily waved my hand dismissively in an effort to communicate the idea that giving it a name suggested we'd be doing it again, a notion I wasn't entirely in favor of. Then I leaned over and barfed onto the ground, which I think made my point fairly eloquently.

"Everyone's a critic."

While I was bent over and trying to avoid getting puke in my hair—in as heroic a manner as possible, of course—Trixie headed over to examine Harridan's unconscious form. After a minute she straightened up and examined something shiny in her hand. "Oh, verrry clever," she purred. Then as I staggered to my feet she turned to look at me and smiled. "Hey, I think I just found our way in."