Morning came softly. No pounding on her door, warning her of something they would be doing today. No fear making her heart race. Just the sweet scent of cooking pancakes, and the savory waft of bacon.

  Vivainne couldn’t remember ever waking up to the scent of cooking food.

  She pulled herself out of bed, still wearing her clothes from the night before, eyes heavy. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since… When was the last time she’d eaten? Not before the raid, she hadn’t been able to keep anything down.

  A soft babble of voices drifted down the hallway, luring her as much as the scent of food. Following the sound, Vivainne found herself in a large kitchen. Recompense—Charles—stood at the stovetop on the island, flipping pancakes and occasionally stirring a large pan of eggs while bacon sizzled on the next pan over.

  His face lit up with a smile as Vivainne made her way up to the counter, the last of the group to awake. Darcy, Jordan, and Vanya all sat along the open side of the island, eating and talking and laughing. Jordan teased Vanya, stealing her bacon from her only to give it back as she shouted out in dismay. She’d never seen a scene so happy, it felt fictional.

  “Vivainne! How’d you sleep?”

  Viv nodded, moving up to the counter as she wrapped her arms around herself. Her mouth watered at the sight of a plate full of bacon. She didn’t normally eat greasy foods, but it smelled incredible.

  “There’s coffee over there,” Darcy said, pointing helpful across the room. Nodding in thanks, Vivainne made her way around the island and prepared a cup of coffee, mixing in far more sugar than she normally would before returning to the rest of the group. After a few sips, she managed to speak.

  “The food looks good,” she said softly.

  “I don’t get to cook that often, but I’m currently on suspension so I figured I would take advantage.”

  The mug slammed onto the countertop, splashing hot coffee across Vivainne’s fingers. She stared at it for a moment, unaware of what was happening until she’d done it. “What do you mean, suspended?”

  “Just for a few days,” Charles said dismissively. “It’s not a big deal. I knew it would likely happen.”

  “This is my fault, isn’t it?”

  His eyes darted away, sharing a look with Darcy and Jordan. It was her fault.

  She stepped back from the countertop. “I’m sorry.”

  Darcy grabbed her by the arm, stopping her before she could move any further away. “Oh, calm down. He does this shit all the time.”

  “I knew what would happen,” Charles said, his smile never fading. “Besides, it seems like the only way I get vacation days.”

  “I’ve gotta figure out that trick,” Jordan muttered.

  “Once you have a couple decades of hero work under your belt, I’m sure you’ll be able to get away with it too,” Darcy said, giving him a pointed look. “Don’t go trying it now.”

  It was difficult to believe him, but she stepped back up to the counter, lifting her mug once again. “It’s okay?”

  “It’s okay,” Charles promised. “Now, how hungry are you? I always think I’ve made enough food for an army but I keep underestimating how much young supers eat.”

  “It all smells really good,” Vivainne said, looking at the food spread out in front of them.

  “A bit of everything it is then,” Charles said. He retrieved a plate from a cabinet behind him, loading it up with more than a little bit of everything he’d cooked, adding a small bowl of fruit on the side. Jordan passed around a stool and Vivainne sat, joining the others as she began to eat.

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  For the first time in years, Vivainne asked for seconds, something Charles seemed to take as a personal victory. Tension faded from her shoulders as she ate, sipping on a cooling cup of coffee and chiming in occasionally as the others spoke.

  Charles cleaned up as the others finished eating.

  Darcy pushed back from the counter, hopping to her feet. “We have to head to work now,” she said, just as much to Charles as to Jordan. “We’re heading out. Do you want us to take the little one to daycare?”

  Charles looked at Vanya and then nodded. “That’s probably a good idea. Get her around other kids her own age.”

  “You hear that, Vanya? You get to make some friends today,” Jordan said, lifting the girl off her seat. He swung her onto his hip, grinning widely. “Wave bye to Viv!”

  Vanya lifted a hand, giving a small wave across the counter to Vivainne before the three grouped up and the world wrapped around them. The rift in space sucked a bit of the air from the room before fading out of existence, leaving Vivainne and Charles alone in the kitchen.

  “There’s a daycare at the tower?” Vivainne asked, looking across the room at him. With the kitchen clean, he finally picked up his own plate, loading it with an ungodly amount of maple syrup, which he also added to his coffee.

  “Have to have somewhere safe for the children of heroes,” Charles said. “Not everyone has a spouse to take care of their kids, or wants to put their kids in a public facility.”

  Vivainne nodded. It was good that Vanya had somewhere safe to go. She wasn’t sure what would end up happening with her sister, though she hoped Recompense would keep her. She’d be safe here, would never have to worry about anything. And Vivainne wouldn’t have to worry about her sister living somewhere with strangers.

  “How did the rest of the raid go?” she asked. She wrapped her fingers around the cool mug, wishing there was still something to drink. Maybe she should get some more coffee.

  “It went well,” Recompense said. “I was able to finish everything up before they suspended me.”

  Vivainne winced, staring down at her hands. “I’m sorry about that.”

  “Well, it was to be expected,” Charles said dismissively. “There’s nothing to worry about. It’s a slap on the wrist for bringing you down there, but I think you had the right to be there. It was either that, or you snuck down there yourself, am I right?”

  She bit down on her lip, not answering. He’d guessed too well. Had he known the entire time? It would explain why he wasn’t upset. But why had he let her go so easily?

  Laughter filled the space as Charles laughed. “I know hero types,” he said, wagging a finger at her. “We can’t not meddle.”

  “Well…”

  That was another matter. Vivainne had wanted to be a hero, but with what she learned about herself, should she? Her mother had given her a second core, a living core, and copied a shadow power over onto it. Was her original core still in there? What had happened to it?

  “Did you see what my mother did to me?” she asked, not daring to look at him.

  “Ah,” Charles walked around the counter, sitting down beside her. “I did. I thought you said she fractured your core?”

  “That’s what I remembered,” Vivainne said. There was so much that had happened, so much she’d seen. “And my core is fractured. But… I had another one. Have you ever heard of anything like that before?”

  “No,” Charles said, and the answer felt like a condemnation. “It’s not my area of research, but I’ll put some feelers out.”

  “Someone died so my mother could put this inside me.” Cycling her core, she could feel the cracks around the edges. Had those happened when her mother ripped the core out of another super, or when she copied a shadow power onto it?

  “That’s not your fault,” Charles said. “And you can’t go through your life thinking it is. Your mother did those horrible things as much to you as she did to her other victims.”

  “But I benefit from them.”

  “Do you?” Charles asked. “Name one way you’ve benefited from your mother’s actions?”

  Vivainne opened her mouth, then hesitated. All her life, she’d been left using her power with a fractured core, worrying that too much strain would finally be the thing to shatter it and leave her powerless.

  “Do you think my original core is still inside me?” she asked, glancing over at him.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “We can see about finding out, though.”

  “Should I?” Vivainne asked. “I mean, is it even a good idea to try and… I don’t know. I don’t want to upset the super world—”

  “Hold on, is that what you’re afraid of?” Charles asked. Before Vivainne could answer, he continued talking. “The world of supers and powers is constantly evolving. We are still in the era of discovery. People like your mother are trying to capitalize on that, and going about it the wrong way. But that doesn’t mean those discoveries won’t still come, through proper, moral means hopefully.”

  “I don’t want to be that change,” Vivainne said. “That’s all my mother has ever wanted for the Monet legacy. I won’t let her win.”

  “She isn’t going to win,” Charles said, laying a hand on her shoulder. “That doesn’t mean it should stop you from going after your goals. Don’t be afraid of changing the world, Vivainne.”