The city was livelier than ever. Its oppressive yet living neon light reflected off every dark corner you could look at. Humming drones, the incessant honking of passing vehicles, and street chatter painted a landscape Juniper had grown to hate. The cold air bit at her exposed skin. She felt the weight of her own presence. In the open wind, tension coiled through her body.

  It took only a seed of a thought, and she found herself in that hole of darkness.

  She snapped back to surroundings. Annemarie yanked Juniper’s ear and forcefully clipped communication device onto it. The sharp click bit into her earlobe. She stumbled backwards awkwardly.

  “Yow!” Juniper complained. “Anne!”

  “Why are you so sensitive? It’s just a little clip-on,” Annemarie teased.

  Juniper slapped her hand away from her ear.

  “Honestly, you’re such a big baby sometimes, Juniper.”

  “Yeah, and you’re a bitch,” Juniper cursed, scowling at her teammate.

  “Okay, ease up. This isn’t like you at all,” Annemarie said. Juniper swore she saw concern on her face. She shook herself, she needed to stop slipping away.

  “I’m sorry. I’m… just dealing with a lot of—”

  “Bullshit,” Annemarie finished. “Yeah, I get that. I can see that. What happened yesterday should never have happened. I wasn’t there, but I heard from Francesca. Big Sis should’ve stepped at the moment the line was crossed. The audacity of these paragon capes.”

  If only that was the root of her problems.

  “No, it’s not about that Aegysthos dude, like at all. It’s not about the SCRA. It’s not about anything. I–”

  “But it’s about everything, isn’t it?” she cut her off again. “You wanna talk about it? I’ll shut up, I’ll listen. I can be here for you if you want.”

  Juniper pondered for a moment. Annemarie was easing up on her, she hadn’t been really weird since at least the Caldera crisis. But showing up unannounced (yes, she had killed her phone) was uncalled-for. Much less mingling with her siblings. That was another level of discomfort, knowing Annemarie could rip them apart in split seconds, if she lost her mind.

  She wanted to vent, but how many ears would she have to vent to, before she got it out? How long did she have to carry this overbearing feeling of dread? How much of it could she stomach?

  She opened her mouth to speak but then closed it, taking a deep breath instead.

  “No. Let’s move. You brought me out here for a reason, didn’t you?” She stared at Annemarie. Her eyes big, brow furrowing. "I doubt you needed a 'patrol partner'."

  “Alright. Just know I’m here if you need me.” Annemarie stretched her legs, flipping her body into a 360-degree spin with the help of her gravitational distortion. She started jumping through hoops, an impressive athletic display, though unremarkable to Juniper.

  “Follow me. I want to show you something.”

  Annemarie leaped into the air, hovering before lunging from one rooftop base to the next.

  Juniper did the same. She figured it would be a good idea not to use her other powers. This was the best opportunity she had to get a feel for Annemarie’s abilities. The best form of flattery and by extension studying, was none other than imitation.

  She jumped after her, legs wobbling awkwardly. It had been some time since she used gravitational distortion as a movement anchor. Flying with SP-Sentinel had been so much easier.

  Some time had passed, maybe a few minutes, maybe ten. They moved through Pacifica Central at incredible speeds. Juniper lagged behind, but nothing a little push couldn’t fix.

  They moved from low-rise to high-rise, then back to low-rise again. The urban landscape shifted not only in form but in socioeconomic factors, becoming more apparent as they entered lesser-maintained and loosely controlled neighborhoods. Annemarie hovered toward an old church, perching on its tower as she watched the streets below.

  Juniper followed, wobbling on the edge of the rooftop platform. Balancing herself on its outer ledges, tippy-toe, trying not to fall off. The cold was making her unathletic. She’d much rather curl up inside a warm blanket, turn the lights off, and doze off.

  Annemarie pointed at the ground. A group of loitering men gathered around a block. It was nothing atypical for their sort. One thing was clear—every person except for an old man was part of a gang. The orange piece of cloth hanging from their pants made it obvious.

  “We’re scouting gangs now?” Juniper asked. “Aren’t we on cape duty?”

  “Who do you think runs them? I’m trying to show you my neighborhood patrol. There’s nasty business brewing, I thought you might want to see what I see.”

  It made sense. Since the first appearance of superpowered folks in the ’80s, capes had drastically changed the superhuman landscape. Factor in cape-manufactured weapons, and you had a serious crime pandemic on your hands.

  Juniper listened in with her enhanced hearing, observing their discussions from afar. It was hard to focus on a single thing when they were blasting two different songs just ten meters apart.

  Several words had stood out. She relayed them to Annemarie as she heard them.

  “‘Mud Kings,’ ‘sweeping,’ ‘Watchmen,’ ‘Iron Jacket.’ I don’t know what these words mean.”

  “It means you haven’t been in the cape community long enough, and things are going to get tougher. Seriously, you haven’t heard of it? I knew you were a shut-in, but come on.”

  “Bite me.”

  “Oh, I will.” Annemarie gnashed her teeth and leaned closer. Juniper shot her a side-eye.

  “Tell me about the Mud Kings.”

  “Sure. Filthy protection rackets, narcotic operations near schools, underground fights to the death. Their foot soldiers patrol the streets, hassling folks they can’t control. They’re old-school gangsters, they rely on numbers, not tactics. They’ve killed capes in the past, purely through human wave tactics. The only thing holding them together is the stronghold of capes they possess.”

  “Such as?”

  “Iron Jacket, the guy you mentioned. He’s a full-on magnetic blaster, bends any form of metal at will, which makes him a nightmare to fight in the open or in an urban environment. I’ve never seen him myself, but rumor is he doesn’t fuck around. He kills when he has to. He’s killed a cape before. Which is why I’m still insistent that the death penalty should be law. He got broken out a month ago.

  Juniper processed the information as Annemarie spoke. A part of her wanted to ask why she should even care. It meant nothing to her, not unless it threatened her siblings. Who cared about street goon #99 when she had a three-and-a-half-dimensional boy haunting her?

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “The Watchmen?”

  “Mud Kings. Rival gang. They vie for territory in constant scuffles. The only reason they aren’t dominating is that they lack manpower. They’ve got some pretty powerful capes too, but I bet you don’t want an encyclopedia.”

  “What do they mean by ‘sweeping’?”

  “Ah, it means clearing out hostile gangs, rival organizations, street rats, and undercover cops. That’s pretty much it.”

  Juniper scooted closer toward Annemarie. “Why are you telling me all this all of a sudden? It’s not like you to talk like a walking dictionary.”

  Annemarie smiled sinisterly. “Maybe a little birdie heard that a certain Juniper would be operating here tomorrow night. Maybe she was concerned for her safety, no matter how cruel Juniper can be, to poor Annemarie. Maybe Annemarie wanted Juniper to be safe, regardless of whatever twisted perception Juniper has of her.”

  "Speaking in third-person doesn't make you cute, it makes me want to hit you."

  Annemare closed her eyes, finger on her lips. "No...atleast be gentle."

  Juniper clicked her tongue. "Not in the mood, and what do you mean by operating here."

  “Your first ‘mission’ run dummy. Evelyn tends to pick them out. Sometimes it’s John, or a few others you haven’t met yet. You’re going to find out what it means to be an OBB cape soon enough. And—” she stared at Juniper. “You weren’t judgmental when I told you about my past. You were seriously understanding, considering the circumstances. I wanted to make it up to you.”

  Juniper swallowed words she couldn’t say. It was supposed to be the other way around.

  “No, Anne, I should be thankful for what you did for me. What you put your life at risk for. I owe you—not the other way around.”

  “If you were honest, you’d forget about it.” Annemarie just sighed. She pushed backwards, nearly making her topple off. “Let’s get a move on. It’s getting chilly sitting still.”

  Juniper pondered over what she wanted to say. It was definitely an advance of some sort. But Juniper just couldn’t return it, despite what she wanted to. She had a commitment to keep, and she was serious about it.

  As they moved, the distance between them increased, yet Juniper always knew where Annemarie was.

  “I miss those few days we had together,” Annemarie had said over mic. “That wild, chaotic energy we had. I never get to let loose like ever. I need something like that.”

  Juniper got snarky. “You mean when you kicked the ever-loving shit out of me, forcefully kissed me, then guilt-tripped me for being vulnerable? Yeah, I remember. I bet you’re proud of it.”

  Annemarie remained silent. Then giggled over the mic.

  Ah, there she was. Voidwaltzer. The past few she spends with her made it clear, Annemarie had different moods, that ‘define’ her, at the moment at least. If her second encounter lined up with the dirty gossip morrigan had relayed, Annemarie wiggled between being closed off, overly smitten and sadistic. A sadist, a horrible one at that.

  “So, you’re officially committed now. When’s the wedding?”

  “That’s not what I meant as—”

  “Calm down, Juniper. I know what you meant. A formal hookup.”

  “It’s not a hookup! I shouldn’t even be speaking to you like this.”

  “Yet here, you are, you got no other ‘girl’ friends to eat, Francesca sees you the same a mother looks at a toddler.”

  “You’re wrong.” Juniper said with confidence.

  “I have a good friend in the paragons.”

  “That’s distasteful, Juniper, making friend with our enemies.” she clicked her tongue in revulsion. “So… Who’s the lucky boy or girl? I bet it’s that Kanako woman.”

  “Don’t see why you have to care? Are you jealous or something.”

  “Maybe I am. You got any room for me in there? I’ll even take the chair.”

  “I’m sorry, the third spot is actually taken.”

  [Oh my…] Sys-chan popped up, but kept herself reserved from conversation…

  “Oh really. Now I am definitely interested.”

  Juniper coughed. “I’m joking. That got out of hand. Anyway, where do we go next?”

  Annemarie stopped moving, and Juniper hovered as close to her as possible before she bounced again. “There’s this landmark I wanted to show you. I’m sure you’re familiar with it.” She pointed into the heart of the city, buildings were getting lighter and brighter, the closer you got to it.

  “Alright, let’s get this ‘patrol’ over with.”

  Annemarie bounced again, redirecting her course. They were out of the rough neighborhood. Juniper did her best to keep up with Annemarie. Her stamina had decreased considerably. Waltzing around like she did only make her feel and look clumsy, but Juniper persisted, and the rewards soon sowed themselves.

  Just the simple reconditioning, or rather using her powers in a controlled environment, helped her get a better feel for it. Usually she just used it under duress. She really needed a training structure.

  [Gravitational Distortion [Lvl 6] > [Lvl7]

  [Energy + 1 ]

  [Endurance + 1]

  Annemarie led Juniper into the next district over. At the center of a plaza stood an ominous pyramid, glowing with cybernetic light that ran through its metal lines, expelling a soft radiance onto the street. Several patrolling guards, protected the structure, carrying high-powered firearms.

  Juniper got that strange paranormal feeling again. [“Phantom Reflex”] activated as Annemarie pointed at the object.

  “That’s the Void Pyramid. I’m sure you’ve heard of its origin.”

  Juniper stared at it, creeped out but forcing herself to bear the feeling.“I have. The claim is that it fell out of the sky with no discernible explanation, not unlike the Purple Pulse event.”

  Annemarie raised a brow at her but said nothing. The purple pulse was a touchy subject, an information exchange was missing, she probably didn’t understand why Juniper brought it up.

  “People blame it on extraterrestrials, occultists, and all sorts of stuff. Why’d you bring me here?”

  Annemarie smiled. “It’s how I got my powers. I was a kid. I went inside. Furthermore, I don’t remember much at all, but I guess I ‘reacted’ to something. Saw something in there I shouldn’t have. Awakened my powers. Now I’m stuck like this.”

  “You think the pyramid gave you powers? I thought It was because of the–” Juniper stopped herself, she didn’t want to trigger unnecessary trauma.

  “No. no. It wasn’t the fires, that made me like this, it came after.” she cackled to no humor than her own misery. “No. I think I saw something I wasn’t supposed to, and it forced me to ‘change.’ I wanted to share this with you because… you didn’t judge me before.”

  Juniper nodded. Perhaps she and Annemarie couldn’t be a thing, but maybe their relationship could become platonic in some sense. She was doing so much—Juniper wondered if Annemarie was lonely. The pleading, the teasing, the yapping, and even her weird assaults felt like ways of coping with her trauma.

  “You want to go back inside?” Juniper asked playfully.

  “I wish. There’s a law now, only high profile people and corporate officers are allowed.” Annemarie scoffed. “This is where Evelyn kicked in. I was being hunted in the streets by corpo cops. She looked out for me, got me off the streets. Got me off… stuff. But she’s so damn controlling sometimes, you know?”

  “No, I haven’t known her long enough. As a matter of a fact, she’s very lax, but I sometimes feel, she can be…manipulative. She did make me do all those peculiar things. I still hate what she made me do with Morrigan.”

  Annemarie went silent for a moment, pondering her choices of words…

  “Don’t worry. They did that with me too. Personally, Morrigan can be a bitch sometimes, but I guess she’s the bitch queen of OBB. Don’t mind her at all.”

  “I’ll try not to.” A blackened lie, she was absolutely bothered by some of them. And she planned on casting an observe spell on her boss. For better or for worse. For some reason, whenever she was around she felt as though she could be at ease, mostly. There was some power at play, and she wanted to know what.

  “You know, you sound a lot more comfortable after fighting Aegysthos. You think you’re untouchable now?”

  Oh, it wasn’t Aegystos that bothered her. It was the century-old ghost that stalked her this morning. The alien she hugged to death. Her little fox spirit spouting doomsday prophecies. Her girlfriend being involved in some absolute bullshit shady corporate family business.

  What did she expect, honestly? From her passivity, in that aspect. The traveler was correct, she needed to start making conscious choices that will benefit her. Be a little selfish, but the moral qualms of the matter ate at her.

  “Annemarie, can I ask you something?”

  “Sure, sweet cheeks.” She blew her a kiss. Juniper did not return it.

  “I’m not getting rid of you, am I?”

  “Nope. I mean, if you wanna cut ties, we can totally work ‘something’ out.”

  Well, there was a way to turn your misfortune into oppurtunities.

  “Look, I need help with training. Mastering this power, is a hassle so I can move on towards other powersets. The fight with Aegysthos helped realize I’m drawing everyone's attentinon, the SCRA wants to fear me, so I’ll give them a reason.”

  Annemarie smirked. Amused, maybe even approving.

  “I like that, in fact, I like it very much when you attempt to take charge. How very assertive of you. When do you wanna start?”

  “This weekend. I have a thing going on with Em—Heliogirl. She’s going to give me some pointers. Are you willing to come along?”

  “Em?” Annemarie sneered at her, nose scrunching. “Are you serious? No. Why would I breathe the same air as some paragon whore?”

  “She’s not bad. Not bad at all. I kinda need this. I’d appreciate it.”

  “I’ll think about it.” she blew cold air, crouched and stared at the pyramid. Fingers huddled on the cold rooftop floor. They eased into the feeling, staring into the nightsky, the starlights, he city.

  Then, came chaos.

  Something combusted within Juniper’s range. The sounds of hundreds of small papers flying, electricity crackling, and fire igniting snapped her to attention. It buzzed in her ear, sharp and intrusive.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Something just blew up.”

  “Which way?”

  East of here.

  “Follow me,” she said, taking flight. Heading headfirst into whatever danger awaited.