A weight lifted from her shoulder, Vivainne found herself wandering around the Tower of Unity, watching the heroes at work. She would have to head back home soon, but until she did, she could exist in this bubble of freedom.

  She clocked Jordan and Darcy walking into the room and took a deep breath, readying herself to deal with the pair. Darcy still wore her hero costume, a bodysuit of sparkling gold, long hair tied up in a high ponytail and completely wind whipped. Vivainne took half a step back as she approached, putting her back to the wall. Darcy was so unpredictable, and she really wasn’t interested in having her ass slapped in front of a room full of heroes.

  “What’s up, Viv?” Darcy raised a hand, lifting it up in front of her. It took Vivainne a moment to realize she was moving for a high five, and another few moments to decide she actually wanted to fulfill it.

  She returned the high five and crossed her arms over her chest before Jordan could think of asking her to do a fist bump or something ridiculous. “Just waiting to go back home.”

  “What? You have like, hours,” Darcy said. “Why aren’t you hitting the town? Or hitting Jordan?”

  “Hey!” Jordan protested, wheeling on the hero. “What did I do?”

  “I don’t know, exist?”

  “Wear those stupid sunglasses,” Vivainne added, making eye contact with the golden hero.

  Darcy latched onto it immediately, wheeling on him. “You’re still wearing those? I thought I got rid of all of them.”

  “There are so many places to buy sunglasses,” Jordan said. “And I’m allowed to wear them! They’re helpful, especially when I’m driving.”

  “Right,” Darcy said. “Well, that’s dumb. You don’t even have to drive. Anyway, why are you just waiting here?” She directed the last question back at Vivainne, who shook her head.

  “I don’t want to make my mom suspicious,” Vivainne said. “Plus, it’s late now.”

  “Which is why you snuck out while she’s not home, when she won’t notice,” Darcy pointed out. “And since you’re not heading home yet, why not go out and go shopping or something? Or somewhere else, if it’s too late for that.”

  “Maybe,” Vivainne said. She glanced around the tower again, taking in what she would hopefully be a part of one day. She had to leave it for a little while, but she would be able to come back. Soon, hopefully. “Do you know when Recompense plans on raiding my mother’s lab?”

  “Not sure,” Darcy said.

  “It takes some time to get the proper clearance,” Jordan added. “You have to get a warrant and everything, otherwise none of it is admissible in court. Just because we’re not officers of the law doesn’t mean we get to avoid due process.”

  “We’ll let you know before it happens, though,” Darcy said.

  “Because I’m coming with you.”

  “Wait, what? That’s stupid. Recompense is letting you?”

  Vivainne nodded. “Why shouldn’t he?”

  “Um, because you’re not a hero? Because you’re a child? Because do you really want to have to be there when your mom gets locked up?”

  “I need to be there.”

  “Well. Okay, I guess.” Darcy ran a hand across the back of her neck, letting a long and weirdly judgmental breath. “Let me get changed and we’ll head out and do something fun.”

  “We?” She’d already been seen with Darcy once, at the awards ceremony. She really didn’t need to be seen with Darcy again, or Jordan. She wasn’t certain her mother had spies, but she wouldn’t put it past the woman, and she had no way to explain her relationship with the two young heroes.

  “I’m not convinced you know how to have fun,” Darcy said. “We’re coming along to make sure you get down.”

  “No.”

  “Yup!” Darcy flashed a pearly smile. “I’m gonna go change. Actually…” She paused, eyes sweeping over Vivainne. Like usual, she wore dark clothes easily hidden in shadow even if she wasn’t one herself. “You should change too.”

  “Why?” Vivainne asked. It wasn’t as if her clothes were unusual. Skinny jeans and a turtleneck was exceptionally normal, even if they weren’t trendy.

  “Because where we’re going, you want to look hot.” She grabbed Vivainne’s hand, a vice like grip Vivainne couldn’t easily slip out of without transforming. Not trying to make a scene, she let Darcy to pull her along despite her better judgment. Better judgment said to go home and get in bed before her mother came home. But better judgment meant returning home and pretending, and she wasn’t ready to do all that yet. Whatever Darcy wanted to do, it couldn’t be that bad, could it?

  *****

  Pounding music and seizing lights leaked out of the building into the street, disrupting the quiet night. After changing, they’d left the Tower and walked down the street, not going far until they came across a club. Vivainne didn’t have to question why there was a nightclub so close to the Unity Tower for long before Darcy was answering the unspoken question.

  “It’s a nightclub for heroes,” Darcy said. “Great for letting loose. Incredible security. Started as a party spot for young adults entering the training program, until Recompense decided to make it legit.”

  Staring up the building, Viv couldn’t stop the chuckle from coming out. It was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. “Of course Recompense has a nightclub.”

  “I know, it’s such bullshit isn’t it?” Jordan said. “He has everything. A car, a nightclub, an energy drink.”

  “Hold on, an energy drink?” Vivainne asked.

  “It was supposed to be a substance for replenishing energy in the field, particularly with supers in mind and unique physical needs. It ended up just being shitty caffeinated Gatorade.”

  Ugh. She could practically taste the idea, and didn’t like it. “That sounds… interesting.”

  “Yeah. It tastes terrible. Mix it with some alcohol though…” Darcy trailed off excitedly.

  “And you’re asking to go blind,” Jordan said. “Please don’t do that.”

  “I don’t plan to,” Vivainne said. “Does that drink sell?”

  Darcy shrugged. “Who knows. It’s always on sale when I go to the gas station, so probably not? But enough about that. Let’s go get wasted.”

  “I can’t drink,” Vivainne said. It wasn’t that she really minded, because she’d never really wanted to get drunk before, but she wasn’t about to spend half the night sober around a bunch of drunk heroes.

  “I saw you drinking,” Darcy said over her shoulder.

  “I’m only eighteen.”

  “Which is why I got you this,” Jordan said, slipping a small piece of plastic into her hands. In vibrating blue light, she got a half-decent look at what looked to be an ID. When he managed to get a picture of her for it, she had no idea, but it looked real. At least under flashing blue lights. “If the Europeans can drink, so can we. They’re not better than us.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Ignoring how strange it was to get a fake ID from a superhero, Vivainne followed the pair into the nightclub. A bouncer at the door, bulky enough Viv felt certain he was some sort of super and likely a strongman type, checked their IDs and nodded them through without a second glance at anyone but Jordan. Darcy and Vivainne made their way inside while Jordan remained stuck in the doorway, talking with the bouncer.

  “Are they…flirting?” She had to raise her voice to speak, the noise already getting to her, the beat of the music vibrating into the soles of her feet.

  Darcy let out a loud sigh. “This happens every time. I told him he just needs to give the bouncer a hint.”

  Jordan laughed, soundlessly from the distance, taking his ID back from the bouncer. “Does he not like him?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Darcy said. Rolling her eyes as Jordan split away from the bouncer, she turned and made her way further into the thrall. Before Vivainne could think about where to go, or perhaps find a dark corner to disappear into, a hand snaked around her wrist once again and pulled her into the mass of people and throbbing sound.

  Sweaty, moving bodies and thumping music went straight to Viv’s head, leaving her swimming. Grateful for Darcy’s hand, she allowed herself to be pulled through the crowd until they came out gasping on the other side, the bar waiting invitingly for them. Despite all the seats being taken, Darcy had freed a set of three with a few quick words and a hug to one of the girls.

  Darcy slapped the wooden barstool, hopping up onto one herself. “Come on! What’s your taste?”

  “Uh…” Eyes sweeping the bar, she found no sign of a menu or anything like that. “I’ve never really had anything but wine?”

  “No, no,” Darcy waved a hand, turning it into a pointing finger. “There’s a little bit of everything out there. Girls, guys, enbies, shapeshifters, monsters if that’s your taste.”

  Vivainne stared at her, cheeks heating up despite herself at the topic. Why the hell was Darcy asking her that? It wasn’t like she was going to go and hook up with anyone. She had to head home after this. And monster fucking? Holy hell.

  The uproarious laugh from Darcy only made her cheeks burn hotter. “Oh, come on! You look like I just asked you what your kinks are. Who do you wanna go out there and dance with?”

  Oh. That was slightly better than where Viv’s mind had gone initially, but she still wasn’t going to do it. “No one.”

  “No, none of that,” Darcy said. She ordered a pair of drinks before returning to the conversation, forcing their heads together so they could hear. “We’re here so you can unwind. Drink a little! Dance with somebody. Stop being so stressed or you’ll snap like a piece of spaghetti. And vermicelli isn’t as good, Viv!”

  Their drinks arrived, tall, thin glasses full of a colorful slush, topped off with some greenery. She had no idea what it was, and no real interest in learning, taking a sip and then another when she realized it primarily tasted like fruit.

  Resisting the urge to take another sip because she knew enough to be wary of just how strong drinks like this could be, she let her gaze slide back to the dance floor. True to what Darcy said, there was a little bit of everything out there, even those monsters she’d mentioned. They weren’t actually monsters, of course, merely people whose powers caused their physical bodies to change. They were rare, but if it made sense for them to congregate anywhere, it would be here.

  They weren’t her taste, however.

  She wasn’t sure what her taste was, exactly.

  “I don’t think what they’re doing is dancing.”

  “What they’re doing is having a good time,” Darcy said. She pointed across the floor, somehow finding Jordan in the midst, dancing horribly to the vibrating, vibrant song reverberating around the room. “Look at him. Dancing so poorly and yet clearly having the time of his life. Because you have to. We’re heroes. You think you’ve seen awful shit; we’ve seen worse. If you don’t learn to let loose, it’ll squash you.”

  “I just…” How was she supposed to go out there and dance and forget about everything, when she had to go right back to it in a few hours? What was the point? A few hours spent dancing with a stranger wouldn’t do anything for her in the long run, while spending those hours looking for evidence might.

  “Alright.” Darcy drained the rest of her drink and slammed the glass onto the countertop with an impact that didn’t so much as dent the noise level of the room. “You better decide what you’re going to do, because I need to go save Jordan from making a fool of himself.”

  She slipped off the stool, leaving Vivainne alone sitting at the bar, cold glass full of melting slush in hand. She stared after the pair, watching Darcy join the circle Jordan was in and begin dancing as well. She wasn’t much better than he was, but moved her body like she just didn’t care. The gold silk set she wore, a short skirt and wrap around top, shimmered as she danced, reflecting light like a disco ball.

  Perhaps she should join them.

  Before she could, a body slipped onto the stool next to her. Short, soft around the edges, dressed in a pair of denim overalls and a lacy bra underneath. She’d pulled the air back from her face with a couple of butterfly shaped clips, giving Vivainne a good look at her eye makeup as she looked down at her.

  The girl looked up before Vivainne could look away, frozen as their eyes locked, all too aware of how it would look if she immediately broke eye contact.

  Rather than jump off the stool and race over to Darcy and Jordan, or phase straight through the wall, Vivainne flashed a smile.

  “Hi.” The corners of her lips curled up at the word. She shifted a bit on the stool, angling her body toward Viv, who despite all Darcy’s efforts, was still dressed in all black. “I haven’t seen you around before.”

  “I’m just visiting,” Vivainne said. She shifted closer, straining to hear over the music. Their knees bumped together and she shifted again, letting out a string of apologies as she tried to angle her legs so they wouldn’t touch against anyone’s on accident.

  “Oh? Who are you with?”

  It wasn’t a bad idea to say, was it? She hesitated for a moment, and, not thinking of any reason not to say who she was with, pointed across the dance floor at Jordan and Darcy. “With them.”

  “Oh! Jordan and Darcy? You’re not one of Recompense’s strays, are you?”

  She coughed, caught entirely off guard by the comment. She thought this was just something Jordan and Darcy said, not an actual thing. But apparently more people were aware of this? “Uh…”

  She laughed, shaking her head. “Those of us nearby are pretty familiar with how Recompense does things,” she said. “I take it you’re going to be going into the program soon?”

  Vivainne nodded. That was true enough, even if there was more to it. “Hoping for next cycle,” she said.

  “That’ll be good.” She took her drink, cradling the bottle in her hands. “What can you do?”

  “I work with shadows,” Viv said, unable to get herself to speak the whole truth. As much as she knew she was in a room full of heroes and other supers, she wasn’t convinced it was a good idea to tell someone her full powerset. Everyone had their own motivations, and they weren’t always good. And you couldn’t get back information once you put it out there. “What about you?”

  “I work with rainbows.”

  At Vivainne’s blank stare, she set the bottle down and opened up her palms. A tiny rainbow erupted between them, connecting in the middle as a bridge. “I’m Iris, goddess of the rainbow! Or, Iris, Hero of the Street and general support type.”

  Iris? Vivainne wracked her brain, unable to come up with any recognition of the name. “That’s nice,” she said, choosing not to mention the matter.

  “It’s okay that you don’t recognize me,” Iris said, brushing the topic aside with grace and a smile. “Haven’t made much of a splash yet, to be fair.”

  “I also don’t pay all that much attention to the news,” Viv admitted, trying to soften the blow. Even if Iris had made it sound like it was okay, she didn’t want to rub it in by agreeing with her. That wasn’t particularly nice.

  Iris’s eyes narrowed, focusing uncomfortably on Vivainne. “I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere, though.”

  Panic swelled, irrational and unquenchable. She couldn’t be recognized, not now. It would only put her in danger. The fewer people knew who she was, the better, especially when it came time for her to join the program. No one would want to work with her if they learned who she was, not once the world knew what her mother had done.

  “I just have one of those faces,” Viv said, and immediately hit behind her glass as she drank the rest of the colorful slush inside. “Wanna dance?”

  It was a terrible idea. She needed to get away from Iris, not get closer to her. But she couldn’t escape without looking rude, and the dance floor was far less well lit, and maybe she’d have a chance to slip away.

  “Sure.”

  Iris downed the rest of her drink and grabbed Vivainne’s hand, pulling her out onto the dance floor.

  Despite minimal skill, it wasn’t hard to find the beat, not with it vibrating all around them. With so many people around, Iris had to move close so they could dance together, and soon she had her hands on Viv’s hips as they moved to the beat. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck, licking against the base of her spine as she lost herself to the music, letting the base drown out every thought in her mind.

  She found herself, hours later, sitting out on the street as the cool, early morning air stung against her sweat soaked body and gave her chills. The sun hadn’t risen yet, the sky just barely beginning to lighten off in the distance. The Tower still stood as a beacon, light streaming up into the sky and declaring itself a safe haven for all around in the gloom.

  Jordan had, at some point, put on his sunglasses, only for Darcy to steal them and plant them on her own face. There they sat, askew, as Darcy laid herself out flat on the sidewalk, without a care for how disgusting it was. “I should not have worn heels,” she moaned. She kicked the shoes off, leaving her feet bare.

  “You always say that.” Jordan sat nearby, somewhere unseen in the dark. He’d followed them outside, after Vivainne had slipped out for fresh air. Where Iris had gone, she had no idea.

  Tilting her head back, Vivainne stared up at the sky. Somewhere out there, Stargirl roamed the universe still. Or perhaps she’d faded away, though Vivainne chose not to believe it. With the light of the tower drowning them out, she couldn’t make out any stars.

  “I need to head home,” Vivainne said, the words coming out as a coarse whisper.

  “I can drive you!” Jordan called out.

  “No, no drunk teleporting,” Darcy said, lifting a hand off the sidewalk. “Last time, Charles had to rescue us out of Romania.”

  “I can get home,” Vivainne said. She pushed to her feet, ankles aching from the heels she’d been coerced into wearing. Pain throbbed through her legs, enough to bring a touch of clarity. “I need to clear my mind.”

  She wandered off before the pair of heroes could protest, letting the cold and the dark seep into her bones and turn her intangible as she left the Tower behind.