Leona puzzled over her quandary, thoughtfully, pag a small circle in the secluded woods as she ran her hands through her shimmering silver hair. Each quick step rustled bdes of grass beh her sandaled feet, releasing sweet sts in the air. The tension was rising like a kettle on the verge of boiling over. What am I gonna do? she thought, gng toward the quiet plex and their home’s inviting back light.
After determining she couldn’t figure out how to reverse the transformation, panic had begun to nibble at the edges of her mind. She ched her fists, mentally running through every possibility. Her wings shifted instinctively, fanning behind her as though seeking escape. If she reverted now, she'd be naked. Utterly naked. She hadn’t thought about that when she bolted through her window. A neighbht see the little trans girl streaking past with her boy bits shamefully on dispy, inviting gawking stares or, worse, judgment. While she could fly back through her window, she residered the wisdom of transf in her bedroom and flying out each time she went out on a patrol. Even if no oiced her this time, it would happen sooner or ter. Her secret identity would be totally exposed.
Even as each step stirred the soft ch of a few fallen leaves beh her sandaled feet, she shivered violently at the mental image of streaking across their backyard and the sequences should she be caught, clutg her arms around herself. Her face sched up as if trying to will her embarrassment out of existeno way in hell will I let that happen!
She had to figure out how to return home without anyone suspeg that anything was out of the ordinary. Leona chewed her bottom lip, thinking furiously. There’s gotta be another way… something I’m missing. Her eyes darted toward her glowing hands, sparking with faint ribbons of light. A flicker of inspiration ignited.
Wait a sed. She stilled. “I made my e with my powers, right?” she murmured, recalling the moment she’d jured her superhero attire earlier. “Maybe… maybe I tweak it whenever I want?”
Her lips tugged into a slow grin. Her mind raced with possibilities, her heart hammering with renewed excitement. It seemed her ability to manipute light might have broader applications than she’d initially thought. With a deep breath, she trated, envisioning a more casual outfit.
In pce of her radiant superhero garb, a gy white gown materialized around her body, shimmering faintly in the moonlight. The fabric hugged her form just enough to move gracefully with her. She willed her wings to shrink, and they obediently folded into smaller, more subtle shapes. The glow softened, rendering her less spicuous. The result? A striking baweehereal beauty and practical disguise. She grinned, iing her handiwork. “Not bad, Aurora,” she muttered to herself. “Not bad at all!”
But her curiosity wasn’t satisfied yet. If she could shape light into clothes, why not experiment further? Her gaze fell to her shimmering hair. Could I ge the color of parts of my body? The thought tickled her brain. Leona’s brow furrowed as she focused on her hair, honing in on the wavelengths of light boung off it. At first there was resistance, but with persistence, her silver locks shifted to a radiant golden blonde. She giggled triumphantly, uo resist adding pyful streaks of electric blue.
Feeling emboldened by her newfound skills, she stepped fidently out from her wooded hiding spot, her shimmering gown catg the light. The plex stood ahead, her sanctuary within reach. She tiptoed to the side of the door where the spare key rested beh a familiar rock, the etal pressing against her fingers as she fished it out. Her adrenaliill coursed, her mind buzzing with the night’s events as she unlocked the door, repced the key and dismissed her sandals once baside without missing a beat. Behind her, her sandals shivered for a moment before reverting to their normal form, that of her running sneakers.
The f familiarity of her home enveloped her as she stepped inside, shutting the door softly behihe living room was quiet, save for the distant hum of musiing from Quinn’s office. Her pulse quied at the sound. She crossed the room briskly, her bare feet silent on the carpet, until she reached the office door. Peeking inside, she spotted Quied at her desk, engrossed in her jam session. The rhythm was hypnotic, the energy palpable even through the doorway, though she was using her high fidelity headphones.
Leona paused, biting her lip. Her grin widened as the giddy urge to share her secret bubbled to the surface. She stepped ih deliberate stealth, her steps light as feathers. Quinn’s back was turned, her noise-g headphones ensuring she remained oblivious. Leona crept closer, her heart pounding with anticipation.
Suddenly, she threw her hands over Quinn’s eyes, leaning close to bellow directly into her cousin’s ear, “BOO!”
Quinn shrieked, jolting in her chair as her fingers fumbled across the keyboard, produg a cacophony of discordant notes. “WHO THE HELL?!” she shouted, yanking off her headphones and whipping around, her wide eyes log onto Leona’s glowing figure. Her expression twisted from fear to utter disbelief in the blink of an eye.
“Uh… if… if the sexy home invading intruder dy is here to have her way with me,” Quinn began with mock seriousness, her lips curving into a mischievous smirk, “give me a mio get undressed. I drop trou pretty quick.”
Leona’s mouth fell open, her cheeks fming crimson as her brain short-circuited. “Oh wow…” she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. Her wings twitched behind her as if to flee from the situation. What the hell did she just say?!
“Seriously though, who are you? And what are you doing in my house?” Quinn asked, her eyes narrowing as she tilted her head suspiciously.
Leona blinked, her nervous energy dissipating as relief washed over her. “It’s me, big sis! Your freshly minted superheroitle sister!” She grinned widely, shaking off the awkward tension. “Remember that dream of mihe nightmare. It wasn’t just in my head… it was real!”
Quinn’s jaw dropped as her eyes wideaking a step ba disbelief. “W-what? L-Leona? SERIOUSLY?” Her voice wavered as her gaze darted across the radiant figure in front of her, taking in every detail.
“Y-you’re really different,” Quinn muttered, her cheeks burning with a deep blush. “If you’re really a friend of Leona’s pying some kind of prank, I swear I’m going to punt yht on the ass.” She gnced around the room quickly, searg for the “real” Leona hiding in the shadows. Her voice rose with skepticism. “Really… who the heck are you?”
Leona groaned dramatically, throwing her hands up in frustration. “I’m serious! It’s me! I’m really Leona.” She took a step back, a mischievous smile creeping across her face before she twirled gracefully, her gown flowing as she danced lightly ooes. “See? Who else would do this? It’s my big reveal!”
Quinn frowned, her eyes still narrowed, but her fusion grew. “Yonna need a lot more than a pirouette to vince me you’re my baby sister,” she muttered.
Leona stopped, her smile fading slightly as she shifted to a more serious tone. “Okay, listen. I had a dream, remember? … no, a nightmare. Bgel—the real vilin I teased you about before—she was chasihrough a creepy mausoleum.” Her voice faltered as her eyes darted nervously around the room, the memory visibly rattling her. “She wao dominate me, to take my body over. She almost did.”
Quinn’s eyes softened slightly as she saw Leona’s hands trembling.
Leona pressed on, her words tumbling out faster. “You remember Mistral, right? She took down Bgel in that cemetery up in ada. Turns out, Bgel wasn’t pletely destroyed. Remember that dumb trihe angel’s down that Sarah got me at the vention? The one we ughed about being a scam? It turns out that it wasn’t. 100% authentic as cimed.” Her voice dropped into a hushed tohe weight of the revetion hanging in the air. “There was a little piece of Bgel’s essen it. Hiding… living on in a way.”
Quinn blinked, her expression frozen somewhere between disbelief and horror. “You’re telling me some notorious supervilin was stashed in a cheap souvenir?”
“Bingo.” Leona nodded grimly. “They were her feathers and remember that she was a sorceress? Anyway, she wao eat me or something. Take over my body. But here’s the thing—her good side, a side of her that she’d been repressing, showed up at the st sed and saved me. She joined me and we whooped her ass! And that’s how I got all this.” Leoured to herself, her arms spreading wide before dropping into exaggerated gestures remi of an anime heroine casting a spell.
Quinn bli the sight. “Are you seriously—?”
“Yes!” Leona interrupted, uo suppress a giggle. “And now I’m like the new Angel, but I’m not like her. She used shadows and singurities, all dark and spooky stuff. Me? I’ve got light. I make light! These powers are nothing like hers.” She dropped her hands, sheepishly shrugging. “Um… you probably don’t believe me even after I said all that, huh?”
Quinn stayed silent, her skeptical gaze fixed on Leona, lingering as Leona bit her lip. Then, with a deep breath, Leona closed her eyes. The shimmering gown vanished, fading into motes of light, leaving her radiant figure bare to reveal every ounce of her transformation. Her wings unfurled, glowing and expanding until they nearly filled the small office, the tips brushing the walls.
Quinn’s mouth fell open. “Oh. My. GOD!” she excimed, stumbling bato her chair. “You’re so fug sexy now!”
Leona’s cheeks burned crimson. “Wh-what?!”
Quinn gulped audibly, her face practically glowing red as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. “Are you really my little sister? Like, really?” There was a strange, almost bitter edge in her voice, her eyes fshing with something Leona couldn’t quite pce.
“Of course I am!” Leona crossed her arms, her voice rising defensively. “I was this m, wasn’t I? Same as always and forever! I mean, I’ll probably go bay old self eventually. I’m pretty sure this form isn’t perma. Anyway, I think I run on sunlight now.” She waved her hands vaguely. “Like… some kind of tree. Or maybe, like, sor panels. Something cool like that.”
Quinn blinked, her expression softening, though a trace of disappoi lingered. “Huh. You’re serious.”
Leona nodded enthusiastically, her mind drifting for a beat before snapping back. “It’s so amazing!” She squealed, boung ooes like aed child. Then, with n, she lunged forward, throwing her arms around Quinn in an exuberant hug. “Oh my gosh! I busted some bad guys downtown earlier! I bet they’ll talk about me on the news! I’M AURORA!” Her voice hit aed pitch, practically vibrating with glee.
Quinn stiffe the sudden tact, her body going rigid as her face turned red—her whole body from head to toe. After a long moment, she exhaled shakily and raised a hand to pat Leona’s hair. “Okay, okay. Let’s both calm down,” she muttered, her voice strained. “I’m happy for you. Really. That’s incredible. And hey, ‘Aurora’ is a pretty badass name.”
Leona grinned, nuzzling into Quinn’s shoulder as Quinn ruffled her hair affeately. “Good girl,” Quinn murmured. Then, her voice dropped lower, almost as if talking to herself. “But oh boy, you’re making it really hard for me to look at yht now.”
“Jeez! Did you touch my butt? BAD TOUCH!” Leona excimed with modignation, bursting into ughter. She spun around pyfully. “Am I shining or something? I tried to disguise myself, but I hope I’m not actually glowing. That would totally ruin the whole ‘blending in’ thing I was going for. I mean, the wings, sure, those sure are shiny. But tell me, sis... am I REALLY shining right now?”
Quinn rolled her eyes, leaning back with an amused smirk. “Metaphorically? You’re shining way too much. Bubbly. Bouncy. You’re like a neon sign of enthusiasm. But no, when you first came in, you weren’t glowing. Holy, I didn’t think superhero. Maybe… supermodel.” Her smirk grew into a grin. “Kind of like a daydream I had retly. I’ve never exactly beeive about my preferences, so don’t act like you don’t know how someone looking like you would’ve affected me if she barged into my room stripping down.”
Leona flushed. “Quinn!”
Quinn ughed, shrugging nontly. “What? I’m just being ho. Anyway, since you’re my dear little sister, I owe you this.” She balled up a fist and dramatically drew it back for a punch, but instead of following through, she dissolved into ughter again. “So, is this going to be a thing now? You’re always gonna be a hero now?”
Leona scratched the back of her head. “I think so. She—that is, Bgel’s good side—merged with me. I’m irely sure what she was. An aliera-dimensional being? Whatever she was, she wasn’t a cssical angel. But they’re so simir that it makes me wonder if the myths about angels came from beings like her. Their race, I mean.” She stepped back, twirling io fold her radiant wings gracefully behind her.
Quinn’s eyes lingered for a moment before she caught herself. “You… definitely have a body to die for now.” Her gaze flickered away awkwardly, and she cleared her throat, mumbling, “But does that mean you’ll never go back to being normal? Perma wings and D cups?”
Leona sighed, her shoulders sagging slightly. “Weren’t you listening? I don’t know for sure.” Her fingers absently brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Last night, after I woke up, I transformed for the first time—that was the racket that woke you up.” Her lips quirked into a small smile. “It shocked me too, but I mao ge back then. So I think I revert back to being normal Leona.”
Quinn’s head tilted as she listened, but her lips parted as if to interrupt. Leona held up a fio stop her. “I mean, it’s great looking older; the police actually took me seriously when I talked to them earlier. If I was little Leona but with wings, they probably would’ve ughed at me, whether I beat up those armed thugs or not.”
Quinn she sound sharp and incredulous. “’t argue with that.” She paused for a beat before her brow furrowed. “W… wait! Armed thugs?” One of her eyebrows shot up, her tone sharpening with .
“Well… we do live in San Isidro.” Aurhed, the sound soft but tinged with a hint of nervous energy. “I didn’t think something like that would happen day ohey were robbing the Meyers Biochem building with a fancy blimp.”
“Armed? That’s the part I wao know about.” Quinn’s eyes narrowed, her arms crossing as if brag for an uling answer. “What are we talking about here? Semi-automatic rifles or something?”
“Bingo. Mae-type guns and even a rocket uncher.” Leona raised a firiumphantly, her grin sheepish yet proud.
Quinn’s jaw sed for a moment, her hands falling to her sides. “... A rocket uncher, really? You went up against something like that and lived to tell the tale?” Her voice pitched higher. “Wha? How powerful are you?!”
Leona’s expression faltered, her grin repced with a ptive frown. “I don’t know.” She shook her head, as if trying to dispel the uainty. “I just kinda jumped into the fray without thinking about it. I just knew I could ha and had to do something.” Her voice grew softer, almost guilty. “—Anyway! It turns out that I have the ability to shield myself, so I’m kind of invulnerable, at least against bullets. I don't know whether I’d be able to protect myself against something like a rocket or whatever, since I was able to go pe and broke that guy’s wrist and his uncher went flying off the building.”
Quinn’s eyes widehen narrowed, her lips curling into a slow grin. “Really? Nice job!” She cpped her hands, the sound loud and approving. “Well anyway, would it really be so bad if you end up staying like this for the rest of your life? Maybe eternally young, totes geous! What more could a girl want?”
Leona’s expression shifted, a wistful look softening her features. “You’re right. It’s everything I wanted. A superhero aically a woman.” Her shoulders lifted slightly in a small shrug. “Still, I really hope I don’t stay this way forever.” Her gaze dropped to the floor as her voice turned pensive. “I’d miss being a kid. I’d lose out on all the rest of my highschool life and more. If I’m stuck like this, I’d skip over so many things. I’d ght to work instead of enjoying the rest of my highschool years. And as for college? Fet it. I mean, it’d be funny to go to college with yht away, but I’m nowhere near graduating high school, and I don’t think I’d pass the entrance exams with my education level.”
Quiated, her brows knitting as she processed the thought. “Y-yeah… I don’t know if I could look at you the same way if you were like this all the time anyway,” she admitted softly, her tone almost vulnerable. After a moment, she exhaled and gnced away, her voice regaining its usual teasing lilt. “Speaking of looking at you—was that dress you were wearing your e? Did you beat up those goons wearing that?” Quinn’s ughter bubbled up, lightening the mood. “Where’d you get it though? Did you sneak off to the mall or something? Spill!”
Leona giggled at Quinn’s obliviousness, her earlier solemnity repced with amusement. “You saw my clothes vanish earlier, didn’t you? I make them from light.” She focused for a sed, her face sg in tration, and the gown materialized again, its radiant design shimmering ience.
Quinn’s eyes widened, her ughter trailing off into a low whistle of admiration. “Did you really fight in that? All elegant and glowing? Did this gown e purely from your mind? It’s ravishing! Maybe you have a talent for designing clothes, sis! Oh, and a thing about the skirt—if you’re flying, ’t people just, y’know… see up it?”
Leona’s cheeks flushed, and she burst out ughing, her voice ringing out like bells. “I didn’t think about that! But don’t worry—the skirt’s tight. It won’t billow up. Anyway, I didn’t wear this. My real e is totally different. Making that was kind of different. I thought about what an ‘angelie should look like, mixing ideas from id real heroes, that gsam we saw earlier at the mall, etc., but I didn’t sider the, uh… ‘downside.’” She grinned sheepishly. “Anyway, do you waoing bay normal form?”
Quiated, her expression flickeriween curiosity aance. “No. Yes. I… I think it’s important for you to figure out how, even if you don’t want to. Just in case you o for some reason. So yeah, try it, but give me a quick peep at that e you’re teasih first.”
Nodding, Leona closed her eyes and, remembering all the little details she had thrown together mentally before, it happened before she k. Her clothes became fuzzy and reformed into her superheroine e. The gold ors jingled as she posed and wi Quinn. “What do you think?”
“Awesome! You have a talent. I must have rubbed off on you.” Quinn shook her head and smiled warmly, the er of her mouth quirking upward in pyful pride.
“Tch. If you rubbed off on me so much, I’ll probably be a vilin by week. No way,” Leona teased, crossing her arms and smirking.
Quinn gasped dramatically, clutg her chest as if wounded. “You scamp!” She grumbled, her ughter bubbling up despite herself. “A vilin? Really?” Her lips twisted, her tone dripping with modignation. “I got more sense and css than that.” With a flourish, she waved a hand, as if dismissing the idea entirely. “I’d be more like Cheshire or Privateer anyway.”
Leona blinked, her brows arg in genuine surprise. “You’d be a hero too?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.
“Lighter side of morally gray anti-hero at worst, but yeah, pretty much,” Quinn replied with a shrug, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Although I’m fog more on college and developing my beats right now.” Her gaze drifted briefly, as though imagining the path she’d carve for herself. “So I suppose I wouldn’t put as muto it as you probably io.”
Leona started giggling, her hand flying up to her mouth to muffle the sound.
Quinn’s brows knit together, her lips curving into a frown. “What? Why’re you ughing? Is it that funny to you that I’d py the part of a hero, even half-hearted?” she scowled, though the irritation in her voice didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Leona giggled harder, her shoulders shaking as she dropped onto the floor, her legs foldih her in a casual crisscross. She looked up at Quinn with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Nah! I was thinking about something else,” she teased, a grin stretg across her face. “You were so flustered earlier. It was hirious!”
Quinn’s expression shifted between fusion and realization, her cheeks flushing slightly. “Ugh, you’re impossible,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. “I was caught off guard, okay? You’re over here glowing and sprouting wings and being all affeate while looking like that. Who wouldn’t be flustered?”
Leona just ughed, her voice ringing with amusement. She leaned back slightly, pg her hands on the floor for support before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The teasing tone dropped as she focused inward, willing the transformation to recede. Her body stilled, and her glowing aura dimmed as her power settled into dormancy.
More easily than expected, there was a fsh of light, and Leoed to her normal form. The transformation, however, came with a sequehat she had already fotten in her excitement—she was entirely naked.
Quinn rubbed her watering eyes and ughed, the sound a mix of relief and teasing. “You did it, I think... though my eyes are still trying to adjust. Jeez, give me a warniime you decide to throw a fshbang!” Her tone carried a strange blend of amusement and disappoi. She hurried down from her chair and ed Leona in a warm hug. “Now go put something on, would ya?”
Leourhe hug, grinning sheepishly. “I’ll run up to my room and grab something. Seriously, though, I really hope I don’t have to strip naked every time I transform. That would be… awkward. And stupid. When I transformed into Aurora earlier, my clothes got ridiculously tight—like I was turning into some kind of giant green monster, but only in the hips and boobs.”
Quinn chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, that would suow hurry up before Mom walks in or something!”
Leona giggled and darted upstairs, eager to ge. It felt o tease Quinn a little and fide in her about the powers that were rapidly ging her life. When she came back down dressed in casual clothes, Quinn was waiting with a bemused expression.
“At this rate,” Quinn remarked, shaking her head, “yoing to stretch out all your clothes if you don’t figure out a solution. Maybe you should just wear some of my old hand-me-downs when you’re out saving the day.”
“Great idea! They’d be kinda baggy, but hey, baggy’s stylish sometimes, right, sis?” Leona plopped onto the bed with a pyful grin, then cupped her chest for emphasis. “Who knows? Maybe transf into Aurora will do wonders for my, uh, real development.”
Quinn rolled her eyes but sat beside her, ruffling Leona’s hair with a fond smile. “Doesn’t matter what you look like. You’re you, Leona. Always cute, no matter what. You should have more fiden yourself. You don’t need glowing wings to be the best version of you.” Her voice softened. “I know yoing to miss me when I leave for college, but now that you fly, you visit whenever you want. We’ll party like crazy, and I know you’ll be a hit. Wings or no wings, you’d fit right in.”
Leona’s smile faltered for a moment as she thought about Quinn leaving, but she nodded. “I’ll miss you,” she said quietly, her voice tinged with emotion. “But no matter how far away you are, I’ll visit you. And don’t worry—I’ll e inito. I don’t want my family to get hurt because of me.”
Quinn waved her haedly as aruck her. “Wait! That’s it! I’ve got a solution to your problem. You fly to that reprogramming camp to see Sarah now! Think about it—if you show up as a superhero, no less, an apparent ahey might let you in, even if just during the day.”
Leona’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. “You’re right! I could do that! Or I could sneak in undercover. They might let a superhero wander around with permission though... Hmm, I bet they’d try to use me for advertising their programs. ‘Even divine messengers visit us!’ or some nonsense.” She ughed softly, but her tone grew ptive. “Maybe I could disguise myself as a selor or someone who belongs there. If I got caught, I could just spread my wings and blind them with sparkles. They’d think I’m a real angel.”
Quinn grinned mischievously. “Or you could just fly to her parents’ house and decre, ‘The Voice of God says it’s okay to be gay!’ Then swoop off dramatically.”
Leona sweatdropped. “Uh… nice idea, but no. If they saw me in the news as a superhero ter, they’d put two and two together, and I’d get smmed with very bad publicity. Plus, lying like that? Not cool.”
Quinn shrugged, still smirking. “Fair enough. But you should do something. You’ve got these powers now, so enjoy them a little. Make a difference. Even if it’s just to cheer up yirlfriend.”
“I still have to go to the police station,” Leona said, the thought dimming her excitement slightly. “They want my testimony or something about the blimp heist.”
Quinn tilted her head thoughtfully, her fingers absently tapping against the armrest of her chair. “That’s… kinda rough,” she said, her voice quieter than usual as if she were weighing the magnitude of the situation. After a moment, her usual griurned, stretg wide and unapologetic. “But also super cool,” she added, her tone brightening with unmistakable excitement.
She leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees as her eyes twinkled with mischief. “You’re, like, officially involved in superhero stuff now. That’s so wild! Just… you better remember to take care of yourself, alright?” Her voice softened, slipping through her animated fa?ade. “It isn’t just boom-pow-bamf ic book a iy. You never know what’ll happen out there.”
Quinn paused, her expression darkening slightly. “You could fall afoul of w enfort. Imagihem chasing you down because they don’t know if they trust you. It’s not always clear-cut, y’know?” She twirled a lock ht pink hair idly, her brow furrowed in thought. “And w with them…?” Her lips twisted, caught between a grimad a smirk.
“Maybe you’ll eveo shout, ‘I’m with the police!’ one day.” She snickered, shooting Leona a spiratorial wink.
Leona couldn’t help but ugh, rolling her eyes. “Oh yeah, because nothing screams ‘trust me’ like a teenager with glowing wings g to be with w enfort.”
“Hey, you never know!” Quinn’s tourned mock serious, lifting a finger like she was making a grand point. “Maybe they’ll deputize you. You could be San Isidro’s official Guardian Angel. Badge and everything.”
“Sure, right after they give me a key to the city,” Leona quipped, shaking her head. “But really, I think superheroes and the police work together—when they’re not stepping on each other’s toes. Ideally, it’s about mutual respect. Superheroes don’t repce w enfort; we just do what they ’t.”
Quinn leaned back, letting out a low whistle. “Look at you, already with the ‘we’ schtick. What’s , an official PR team?”
“Don’t need one. I’m a walking bea of light, remember?” Leona replied with a cheeky grin. “People will see me and know I’m here to help.”
Quinn snorted, shaking her head. “You’re such a show-off. Just don’t let it go to your head, okay? I mean, you always said it’s the selfish ones who end up falling the hardest.”
Leona’s grin softened, her gaze growing distant. “Yeah, that’s pretty much rule number one: don’t abuse the power. It’s not just about what you do, but what you choose to do with it. That’s where heroes are made—or broken.” Her voice dropped a little, thoughtful now. “And every hero has their enemies. Even the best ones make them.”
“Rivals, haters, and aremeses, oh my, huh?” Quinn quipped, her grin turning wry. “Sounds like a positive bst.”
“More like a headache,” Leona tered. “But the good ohey make it worth it. They fight for people, inspire them, evehe odds are stacked against them. That’s the kind of hero I want to be.”
“Like Vanguard, huh?” Quiured, her voice quieter now, testing the waters.
Leona nodded slowly, her expression clouded for a moment. “Yeah. Like Vanguard. Even though my dad hated him for not saving Mom, even with all his fws, he’s still someone I admire. He stands for something, eve is hard. Him, but maybe with a touistral’s fir.” Her lips curled into a small, wistful smile. “I want to be that kind of hero—one who inspires people and earns their love. Not because I want fame lory, but because it’s the right thing to do.”
Quinn studied her sister for a moment, a mixture of admiration and flickering across her face. “You’re setting the bar high, sis. But hey, if anyone do it, it’s definitely you. Anyway, aiming for being another Vanguard. Meh… totally overrated.” Her tone shifted to a pyful grin. “You should be more like Cheshire or Privateer like I said I’d be like. Now they rock! They do anything they have to to be true to their moral code. They know how to be moderately selfish too now and again. Total selflessness usually ends poorly.”
Leona ughed despite herself. Cheshire and Privateer werely paragons of virtue. Cheshire py-go-lucky viginte whose sarcastic mouth and refusal to py by the rules often nded her in hot water, especially with the media. Privateer, meanwhile, was a newer member of the Society of Sentinels—a dashing, swashbug rogue that dressed like a pirate, wielded a shape-shifting energy on, and approached heroics with a roguish charm. Both were porizing figures who operated on the edge of what table. And Leona khat Quinn wasn’t wrong. More than a few heroes sacrificed themselves for their ideals. her Cheshire or Privateer would do that.
“I get it, Quinn,” Leona replied, smiling. “You love antiheroes and rogues, I know. I’ll try to project a little of Cheshire’s fidence—how could I not? She’s fun to watch. But I ’t risk walking that line, myself. These powers once beloo Bgel. If I let myself lean into any kind of self-teredness ativity, I’d find myself following her path, and who knows what could happen then? She might even e back to haunt me. I definitely don’t want to be eaten by her. But it’s not just fear. I want to be a hero because it’s my ideal, my dream. Does that make sense?”
Quinn sighed, shaking her head but smiling fondly. “Yeah, yeah, you little dork. e here.” She pulled Leona into a hug, squeeziightly. “As long as you’re true to yourself, I’ll always respect you. Even if you’re an idealistic little dweeb.”
Leona beamed, hugging her back. “Thanks, big sis. That means a lot.”
After a moment, she pulled away. “I know we literally just talked about how selfish a hero is allowed to be but I do pn on going to the camp where Sarah is. We both know something’s nht about that whole setup. It screams brainrison way more than sincere religious camp. But before I go, I think I o tell Goonie about all of this. She deserves to know and the st time I listeo only you about something to do with that pce didn’t end well.”
Quinn nodded approvingly but then gave her a sly look. “Fair. But before you get all serious—A quick question. you carry people with those wings? Like, actually fly while holding someone? ‘Cause I’m just saying… you should definitely sider the option to just swoop down, snatch Sarah right out of their yard, and fly off into the su with her. Super romantic, right?” She snickered. “If she loves you, she’s bound to love Aurora too.”
Leona’s eyes sparkled at the suggestion. “Oh my gosh, I LOVE that idea! We’d be like—whoosh!” She spun around dramatically, her enthusiasm bubbling over. “They wouldn’t know what hit them! An angel swooping in and whisking her away? So perfect!” She clutched her hands to her chest, excited at the thought.
Grinning, she lunged forward and hugged Quinn tightly. “I love you, sis! Best idea EVER.”
They ughed together before Leona suddenly became thoughtful. “Actually… Want to try something? I think I carry someone. Maybe we could go to the café together, just to see how it feels.”
Quinn raised an eyebrow. “Nah, you should stay away from there for now. Better to avoid running into Mom until you’re ready to tell her everything. Besides, I’ve still got this beast of a project to work on.” She gestured te trol deck with a grin. “But hey, you go get yirlfriend if you’re so pumped about it. Rescue her from those jerks, and maybe throw in a little divine vengeance while you’re at it.”
Leona giggled, giving her sister a thumbs up with sparkling eyes. “Deal! If Mom gets home before I’m back, try to expin it to her for me, okay? I know you ha.” She stood, closing her eyes to focus on calling forth her powers.
A familiar, exhirating energy surged through her, building until it burst forth in a dazzling fsh of light.
