Leona id down on her bed and thought hard about Bgel’s reemergehe memory of that sly smile haunted her, repying over and over as she stared at the ceiling. What did it mean? Why now? Her heart drummed anxiously as questions without answers swirled in her mind.

  She rolled over to let her tension ebb off, ging to the soft fabric of her b like it could ground her. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t fully clear her thoughts. Bgel wasn’t just a nightmare or a fleeting thought—she was real, and her presened rger now than ever before. Leona ched her jaw and shut her eyes tight, willing her mind to quiet.

  Eventually, her body gave in to exhaustion, and she dropped off to sleep.

  Immediately, she began to dream.

  The void around her ristine, endless white, and she stood within it transformed, the radiant light of her aura casting a faint glow against the bnkness. Then, Sarah appeared, stepping toward her like a vision e to life. Leona’s heart leapt, and she ran to her, throwing herself into Sarah’s arms.

  The warmth of their embrace was intoxig, and the world around them faded. They cuddled, the space between them disappearing as they held each other close. Time seemed to lose all meaning as they stayed there, basking in the unspoken e that tied them together. Days and days passed—or at least, that’s how it felt.

  When Leona woke up, she blinked against the m light, her heart still fluttering from the iy of the dream. As the haze of sleep cleared, her cheeks flushed a deep crimson. The dream was a bit more intehan she sciously recalled, judging by a certaiion that other women might not normally fa the m.

  Her breath hitched as she became acutely aware of the situation. Her body burned with embarrassment, and she yahe sheets up higher to shield herself from some imaginary intruder’s gaze. Really? That? she thought, her hands pressing against her flushed face. She couldn’t help the soft groan that escaped her lips. Dreams like that were extremely rare for her, and it only made her realize just how much she missed Sarah.

  Determined not to dwell on it, she focused on calming herself. Taking a deep breath, she curled up tightly, letting herself rex as the tension slowly ebbed away. She blushed furiously, still hiding uhe sheets just in case anyone barged in.

  After a bit, she sat up with a renewed sense of resolve. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she quickly gathered some clothes and headed for the bathroom to up. The hot water helped ease her lingering embarrassment, and by the time she finished, she felt more posed.

  Still, as she rushed downstairs to joihers, a faint redness lingered on her cheeks.

  Goonie and Quinn were already i, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and sliced fruit filling the air. Quinn looked as tired as Leo, her eyes heavy-lidded as she zily stirred a bowl of cereal.

  They shared a knowing smile.

  “You’re looking tired, but happy,” Quinn teased, her tone pyful despite her grogginess. She raised her fists and threw a couple of half-hearted punches in the air. “You gonna fight some crime now?”

  Leona smirked and rolled her eyes as she took a seat.

  “It’s a Saturday, no school, so Leona is going to speak with the police here in San Isidro today,” Gooched in, her voice calm and steady as she set a breakfast spread of fruit and muesli in front of Leona. She poured herself a cup of coffee before tinuing. “After that, I imagine she intends to practice a lil’ more. Flight today, wasn’t it? Speed, distanavigating to certain isoted campgrounds… All so you uand your limits better, right?”

  Leo her mother’s knowing smile with a sheepish grin. She knew Goonie was fully aware of her pn to see Sarah.

  “I don’t think she should go alone,” Quinn interjected, setting her spoon down with a ctter. “Lehe car, and I’ll drop you off at work. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

  “Ha, ry, Quinn,” Goonie said, ughing as she shook her head. “You get no car until we get yours released from the impound. You have your DJ stuff to worry about anyway, don’t you?”

  “Hey!” Quinn protested, her voice rising in ear. “Even I know that family’s more important than my is.” She grinned and cast a sidelong g Leona. “Besides, someone o watch her butt, right?”

  “Well, in the event that you develop powers a a e of your own, you be her sidekick,” Goonie replied, her ughter bubbling up again. “Until then, you are basically grounded, Miss Quinn.”

  “How e she gets to go out then?” Quinn huffed, crossing her arms. “She went with me—you said it yourself, she could’ve said ‘no’...” Her sigh was dramatically despo, her posture slumping theatrically.

  “Because your sister has responsibilities that go along with her power, Quinn. Holy, if this had happeo you, I’d feel obligated to let you out too.” Gooone softened as she turo Leona. “Leona has to learn the limits of her powers so she doesn’t endanger herself or others, and…” She wagged a fi Leona, her expression firm. “She shouldn’t be doing superhero stuff until she’s sure of her limitations!”

  Leona shrugged and smiled. “I couldn’t just let something as btant as a heist or as dangerous as a stru act pass. You taught me better than that.”

  Goonie frowned a little, her brow furrowing in thought. “...Fine, but I hope you’d be a little smarter than to fight people with guns until you were sure you could survive a gunshot. Sigh, all’s well that ends well, I suppose.”

  The three tio banter a until breakfast was pleted.

  As Leona got up to leave the kit, Quinn hopped up and intercepted her, pulling her into a tight bearhug.

  “Seriously, be careful, okay?” she said, her voice ear.

  Leona heard the smile in Goonie’s voice. “I know it’s rare, but I agree. Do as your sister says in this case.” She joihe tight hug, and Leona was sandwiched betweehe warmth a of their embrace grounding her. tehey backed off, and Leona was free to go.

  She stepped outside, the brisk m air brushing her skin, and began walking toward the quieter, less open parts around her neighborhood. She needed a private pce to transform—charging off out of her window every time wasn’t practical, nor did it seem particurly subtle.

  She wound up at the usual thick copse of trees. The smell of pine and damp earth surrounded her as she stood in the clearing, sing the area to make sure it was empty. Satisfied, she whispered a few words to help her focus oransformation, and light engulfed her. Moments ter, she stood as Aurora.

  With a quick leap, she unched into the sky, the wind catg under her wings as she asded into the brilliant blue expahe world below fell away, shrinking into a patchwork of streets and rooftops. San Isidro spread out before her, its sprawling urban grid less polished than Seaside’s but brimming with its own kind of vibrant energy.

  Aurora’s destination was the San Isidro Police Headquarters. As she approached, the building came into view—a rge, stately structure that spoke of a bygone era. Its gothic design stood out against the modern chaos of the city surrounding it. Sharp, angur spires jutted skyward, and intricate stonework adorhe facade, with gargoyle-like carvings peering down at the street below. Time had worn the building’s grandeur; patches of soot ahering marred the stone, giving it a grim, imposing look.

  Desding, Aurora noticed the cracked stoeps leading to the heavy oak doors, framed by wrought-iroailing that hi decades of history. Stained-gss windows high above caught the sunlight, casting fractured rainbows across the pale gray facade. The prect seemed like a relic, straining to stay relevant amidst the bustling, ever-ging city it served.

  As she touched down gracefully on the pza in front of the headquarters, the usual murmur of city noise seemed to pause. Civilians nearby gasped, their wide-eyed stares a mix of awe and apprehension. Whispers rippled through the small crowd that had gathered. Aurora met their gazes with a ral expression, her focus oask.

  She’d not been standing there for too long before the heavy doors creaked open, and a man stepped out—a stocky figure in a slightly rumpled button-down shirt, his floral tie an oddly cheerful csh against his professional demeanor. He walked toward her with purposeful strides, though his expression seemed caught between nervousness and professionalism.

  “You must be that girl who captured the Blue Max gang the other day,” he said, stopping a few paces away. His smile olite but cked warmth, a little forced. “e on in. We have some questions for you.”

  Aurave him a small nod. “Lead the way,” she said, her voice calm.

  Following him into the building, she was immediately struck by the stark trast between its exterior and interior. The grandeur of the gothic facade gave way to an interior that felt like a patchwork of eras. The high, vaulted ceilings bore traces of their inal design, with arched beams and eborate moldings, but the space had beerofitted over the years with fluorest lighting and modern furniture that cshed with its old-world charm.

  The floors were scuffed and uneven in pces, and the faint st of mildew lingered in the air, mixing with the smell of stale coffee and paper. It was clear the building had seeer days; the modern updates felt more like a bandage over a wound than a true restoration.

  The detective led her past the reception desk into a wide, open-pn area. Desks were scattered haphazardly across the room, and officers in various states of activity bustled around them. Some sat hunched over paperwork, while others leaned on desk ers, deep in versation. The air buzzed with the murmur of voices, the hum of puters, and the occasional crackle of a radio.

  “San Isidro doesn’t have any kind of special super-crime department like Blue:Code, so I apologize that we’re just out in the open like this,” the man said as they stopped near a cluster of desks. He extended a hand. “I’m Ben Kirby, detective in the Major Crimes division. Thanks for ing in.”

  Aurora shook his hand with a firm squeeze, her grip steady. “No problem,” she replied with a sunny smile. “I figured I should. I was a bit too busy yesterday to stop by, but it didn’t seem like a good idea to not get in tact with the poli my hometown, and from how fast you came out, you seem to have been expeg me.”

  She gnced around, taking in the worn-down offid the freiergy of the prect. “Are you going to develop a super-crime department now? Even if it’s just me,” she added with a pyful, impish grin.

  “We might have to,” Ben said, exhaling tiredly. His shoulders sagged slightly, the weight of his workload evident. “Still, I’m gd for any help we get.”

  Aurrinned, excited. “o meet you too. As anized and modern as Seaside’s Police Department seemed to be, I don’t think that I care much for their Super-crimes Detective’s attitude. I ended up getting caught up in some annoying stuff with them yesterday,” she said with a wry expression, her arms crossing momentarily before falling back to her sides in a casual but self-assured stance.

  “I see,” Ben responded, nodding, his expression shifting to a knowing smirk. “Well, they’re retively new and have plenty of moo burn. Not like us lowly denizens down here in San Isidro.” He sniggered, and the sound spread iiously, raising chuckles from several other detectives listening in nearby.

  “What? You don’t care for all this opulence?” one of the nearby detectives called out, leaning against a cluttered desk. The desk’s surface hazard mess of papers, an old coffee mug with a chipped rim, and a stress ball that looked like it had been squeezed to its limit.

  “Yes, indeed. I simply ot give up all this prestige and affluence,” Ben Kirby replied in a faux-haughty toraightening his posture auring grandly around the drab prect. “Filthy rich though we may all be, I’ve got too many payments left on my yacht and all those summer homes.” His tone and exaggerated gestures had the room erupting in good-natured ughter, breaking through the otherwise temosphere that hung over the building like a perma cloud.

  Auriggled along with the group, her smile broadening. She liked Kirby already. His humor felt authentic, his fidenpretentious.

  “Anyway, sorry, I know you’re probably busy.” He turo Aurora, the levity fading into professionalism, his voice steady and clear. “I just need your hero name and any tafo you’re willing to give to us. A basic overview of your powers would be nice, and of course anything else you want to tell me.”

  Aurora took in his calm, respectful demeanor. The striking difference was immediately appareween Ben Kirby and Marlene Ruffino. Aurora already had a favorite betweewo. Ben was the winner, of course!

  You catch more flies with sugar than vinegar, as Goonie would say! Or fliers in this case.

  Aurora smiled brightly, her violet eyes twinkling, ahrough the list of things to say mentally. “I go by Aurora,” she stated simply. “As far as taformation goes, I’m ed about proteg my secret identity. If you think of a way to be in touch that wouldn’t subject my personal information to scrutiny, I’d be all for that.”