Chapter One

"Oi, watch it motherfucker!" Cars honked, and there was a multitude of loud metal crashing sounds. Somebody cackled out a hyena laugh. "YOU watch it dip-shit, and mind your own goddamn business!"

Jenna listened to the symphony of profanity below her, dangling her legs off the roof and peering over the edge to the street traffic. It was 10 o'clock at night, and neon shop lights melded with car headlights to produce a garish blinking rainbow. People milled around on the sidewalks, some smoking and sending plumes of dirty grey drifting towards the sky. Jenna could not decide whether she hated the city or loved it; tonight she felt a little of both. There was a sort of beauty to the way it moved, like one singular pulsing organism, but there was also an element of coldness to it. Crime seemed an inevitable part of city life, something that people no longer questioned.

I suppose that's why I stepped up, Jenna thought dubiously. She looked down at her clothes briefly and returned her eyes to the street. Of course, if anything happened that night she wouldn't be able to do much. Not in civilian clothes.

"Jenna, is that you? Are you over there?"

Jenna twisted to look over her shoulder. Her baby sister Macy stood a few feet away, peering at her in the darkness. The reflective purple fabric of her costume shone in the dim light, giving her petite eighteen year-old figure an air of authority.

"Over here, Mace." Jenna patted the edge of the roof next to her invitingly but Macy hung back, frowning.

"Why aren't you wearing your fighting outfit? I told you to come prepared."

Jenna sighed, standing up and carefully stepping away from the ledge. "I don't feel like it tonight, Mace, and I would have told you that if you hadn't hung up on me before I could say anything."

"Don't feel like it?" Her little sister was incredulous. "What do you mean you 'don't feel like it'? It's not taking the dog out for a walk, it's helping people!"

Jenna remembered when she held similar ideals...now she wasn't so sure. How much good were the 'vigilantes' doing, really? One person fighting against a whole city was a person that was fighting a losing battle. "What did you call me over here for?" Jenna asked wearily. "Was it to chew me out for not being a hero 24/7? Because you really could have done that over the phone."

"No," Macy said shortly. "I called you because I found something I thought you might be interested in. But obviously I was wrong, because you don't 'feel like it'. Sorry for wasting your time."

Jenna fought against the urge to roll her eyes. Her sister could throw temper tantrums like no one else; she had hoped that they could skip the bickering this time. "Just tell me what you found, Macy."

Macy opened her mouth, about to lay into her older sister again, but a look from Jenna stopped her. She leaned against a square structure on the roof and began to fiddle with a knife in her belt, subdued attitude tangible in her voice. "I found a group of super-heroes."

"Super-heroes." Jenna repeated. "You mean vigilantes?"

"No, Jen, I mean super heroes. They've got gadgets and guns, and fancy costumes - these guys aren't kidding around."

"Right." She ran a hand through her hair, exasperated. "And where did you hear about these 'super heroes', a newspaper ad? The internet?"

Color rose in Macy's face. "No! I ran into one of them on one of my rounds a few weeks ago. She invited me to come to a meeting, says it's perfectly legitimate, like they've been recognized by the mayor and everything. Seriously, Jen, these guys are the real deal. I'm going to join them."

"Jesus Christ, Macy." Jenna felt a flare of frustration. "I told you not to talk to anyone when you're in costume! How do you know this woman isn't trying to trick you into revealing your real name? Or what if she's actually a criminal? You know how careful we have to be!"

"Her name is Silk Spectre, and she's not any of those things! Why can't you treat me like an adult for once?" Macy kicked angrily at a rock and it skittered across the roof, seemingly eager to escape the girl's wrath.

Silk Spectre, Jenna repeated to herself internally, trying to remember where she'd heard that name before. It suddenly dawned on her- The Minutemen. She had run into them on her rounds before too, but she had been smart enough to conceal herself and watch from a safe distance. They had been fighting scores of tough-looking men, and at the end of the altercation none of the costumed men and women had a single injury. This was the organization Macy wanted to join?
"No." Jenna said firmly. "Absolutely not. I won't allow it."

"Why?" Macy exclaimed. She pushed off the structure and stomped one foot, unaware of how childish the gesture was. Jenna was suddenly reminded of their childhood, when they would save up enough money to buy some black licorice from the corner store. Macy would always finish her first and then ask for some of Jenna's, giving the same stomp of anger when she was denied. "But why?" she'd ask, frustrated at how unfair the situation was. "Why can't I have it?"

"It's too dangerous." Jenna answered, shaking off the memory. "They go after crime that's a lot bigger than the petty theft and assault you and I deal with- you'd be killed on the first day. You aren't ready for it Mace, trust me."

This was the wrong thing to say. Macy straightened, lips tightening and curling. Her chin popped up in defiance.
"I am joining them." She said fiercely. "And you can't stop me."

Jenna started to protest again, but Macy turned and ran at the edge of the roof, dropping over the side and disappearing without so much as a nod goodbye. Jenna exhaled wearily and walked over to the edge to look down, catching a flash of purple before Macy swung onto another fire escape and took off.
She's going to get into trouble, the twenty-one year old thought tiredly. If only I hadn't harped at her, maybe she would've listened.
But that was ridiculous. Macy never listened; even as a child she was so sure of herself. Jenna exhaled softly and dropped down the edge as well, using the fire escape ladder as a foot hold before jumping the four feet down to the ground. She would need to contact this Silk Spectre and warn her not to accept Macy as a new member, but she would put off the unpleasant task until tomorrow. Jenna brushed herself off and entered the pulsing stream of people outside of the alleyway, vanishing in the crowd as just another New Yorker with somewhere to be.