Melissa and Jonathon drove through the small, California city, determined to reach the center before midnight. "There's a lot of newer metals there," Melissa told him as she drove. "A very good thing as I'm sensing a few darklings in this area."
"Great, midnight's been far too boring lately," he told her, already daydreaming about bouncing around in the blue hour and taking down their enemies. It had been months since they had crossed paths with any darklings.
Melissa pulled over to a small liquor store and parked. "I'll be right back," she told him, jumping out.
"Wait, why are we stopping?" Jonathon asked, growing anxious as he looked at the time. "We've only got ten minutes!"
He watched her turn away as she ignored him and run into the small store. He waited for a few minutes, then she came back out, her arms full of brown paper sacks. He looked up at her curiously as she plopped back into the driver's seat and rebuckled.
"What's in the bags?" he asked half-interested.
Melissa started the car and shifted into drive while handing him a pop with her free hand. He happily quenched his thirst as his question was forgotten. She could be a bitch sometimes, and she ignored him more often than not, but he'd rather have a quiet road companion than a chatty female any day.
They pulled up to the small carnival with seconds to spare. No sooner had they gotten out of the car that the blue time quickly swept across the sky. Jonathon gave a boyish yelp as he bounced up high, already turning back for Jessica.
Melissa rolled her eyes. "Just hurry up, okay? We have a big night ahead of us." She didn't wait for him to answer as she grabbed the bags out of the car and headed inside the carnival's safe, metal circle.
Jonathon bounced the miles between their new spot and last night's spot quickly, finding Jessica a few minute's pace from where they had left her. It pained him that she was stuck in Midnight forever, but it made this one hour a night that much more special.
She smiled as he approached and after a quick kiss they joined hands and began bouncing back to Melissa. "So what's this new spot?" she asked him.
"A carnival," he told her, then quickly filled her in on the details. "You ready to take out some darklings?"
"Always!"
The midnight hour was almost half over by the time they returned, and Melissa was nowhere in sight. "Mel!" Jessica called. "Where are you?"
They both turned to the creaking sound of one of the trailer doors and saw a man exit. "Who are you?" he asked, a large axe in his hand.
"Whoa," Jonathon breathed, waving a peaceful hand. "We're midnighters, like you."
"Me? What?" He looked back and forth between the two of them. "You mean we're not the only ones?"
"There are more of you?" Jessica asked, trying to peek behind him.
He opened the door and a woman with a small toddler stepped out. "This is my wife, Maria, and our son, Kyle. I'm Jeff."
"Hi, I'm Jonathon and this is Jessica," Jonathon introduced them. "And our friend Mellisa is around here somewhere."
"Wait, you're both midnighters, and your baby?" Jessica asked in awe.
Maria nodded. "That's how we met, actually." She looked at Jeff and smiled as she remembered. "We both thought we were alone every night until we met. This little guy was born during the hour."
Jessica stepped towards them and smiled at their child. "Aww, he's so cute! Do you know what he does yet?"
Maria eyes her warily and pulled her son back. "Does?"
Jessica looked back and forth between the couple. "Yea, you know, your powers?"
"He's a Polymath, like Des," Melissa's voice answered as she rejoined them. "As is Jeff. Maria's a Seer." She stepped towards the rest of them with her bags in arms.
"Where have you been?" Jonathon asked her.
"What's a Polymath?" Jeff asked.
"One who holds the ability to wield weapons and make use of numbers against the darklings-" Jonathon started to explain, but was cut off by the shriek of a darkling at that very moment.
Maria cringed, holding her child closer. "Those monsters are back!"
"It's okay," Jessica reassured her. "We're here to destroy them."
Jonathon grabbed hers and Melissa's hands and they quickly bounced in the direction of the shriek, finding it waiting just outside the ferris wheel. It's body was long and snakelike, and it's dark eyes glared at the modern metal. As it saw the Midnighters, it coiled and debated running or fighting, than quickly saw the error of his wasted him. Jessica pulled her left hand out of the pocket in which she usually kept it hid, aimed it at the darkling, and watched as he turned to ash before them. She smiled and pretended to blow on her hand like a smoking gun.
"Well done," Melissa told her. "One more thing for you to do. Jonathon, will you go back to the others? We'll be right there."
"Sure," he said half-heartedly, already bouncing his way back. He didn't like losing any of his time with Jessica since it was so limited. He returned to the others and smiled. "All gone."
The sound of fireworks broke the sky, and the four of them turned and began to watch in awe at the beautiful display of colors as they danced along the blue night.
"Fireworks? In the dead hour?" Jeff gasped.
Jonathon smiled. "That's my girl." Only Jessica, the Flamebringer, had the power to cross technology of any sort over into the blue hour. He hadn't even realized it was the Fourth of July until that moment.
He looked up at Melissa and Jessica racing over to them, wide smiles on their faces. He hadn't seen Melissa smile like that since she was with Rex. He smiled even more brightly, happy to see his two best girls so happy today. This would be a Fourth to remember.