As the Sun sets on this August evening, Victoria walks home alone to her gallery with her PPE mask fastened onto her face. It's nice out as a sweet breeze blows through the West Coast world, and the sky molds together hues of purple and orange chalked with light clouds in an elongated mist. Still, she's more invested in what awaits her once she gets back to the Chase Space. Her work and her home. Her obligatory "SURPRISE" birthday party.

Seven years ago, the Storm From Nowhere tore through Arcadia Bay and took Victoria's parents and both of her Vortex Club BFFs, Taylor and Courtney. And for seven years, she has been running the Chase Space with her parents' close friend and business partner Jessica Murray. She had known Jessica of course, having seen her over the years and the two even had some good talks about growing up (which clearly fell on deaf ears for Victoria), but the loss of their friends, their families, and any sense of normalcy pulled them together. In spite of all the weird shit going down in the world - freak tornadoes on the Coast, young boys punching holes in the Southern Border, and literally everything 2020 has thrown at the planet - the duo have survived and grown stronger with each passing day.

As night begins to take hold, Victoria stops at the front door of her gallery, grabbing her keys from her purse. Faintly, she can hear a digital rhythm coming from inside. Before she can plug the keys into the lock, the door swings open, and standing in the doorway - a smile behind the mask on her face and a nifty party hat on her head - is Jessica.

And behind her, the party has begun. Strobe lights flash and pop music blares, much to the glee of the dozen or so guests inside.

"Hi, Victoria!", Jessica says as she leads the birthday girl inside, past a young couple dancing together by the entrance. She explains a bit nervously, "So, uh, the plan was we were all gonna yell 'Surprise', but it seems the kiddies wanted to start early. Dana surely supported their idea." She points to the kissers and also nods her head in the direction of a pair of young ladies dancing with Dana and Kate. Seems they're Out-Of-Towners from Pennsylvania, where Kate had moved to a couple years after graduation. They're animals in the party, and they're loving it.

Kate's not the only Blackwell alumni Victoria can see; Justin and Dana are laughing about some story, Hayden's dancing like there's no tomorrow to the sound of music, and both Steph and Mikey are looking at the art hung up on the walls in the Partners In Time Exhibition, with the shots taken by FBC-sanctioned superhero Max Caulfield and the model mostly being her loving girlfriend Chloe Price. Everyone's faces are masked in PPE as far as Victoria can see.

Victoria likes it all, happy with what she's seeing: Jessica putting together a bomb-ass party with friends galore. People being happy and healthy (hopefully) as they celebrate life.

Jessica pats her on the shoulder as the two walk to the minibar by the back of the gallery. As they grab their seats, Victoria tells her, "Thank you." She hugs Jessica, happy as always to have her around. Two drinks are granted to the girls by the bartender: a vodka martini for Jessica, and a glass of red wine for Victoria.

"So, how was your day?", Jessica asks before sipping on her martini.

"Too damn busy", Victoria says with a sigh. "I had to wrangle a deal with our financiers, made sure to get that interview with the Seattle Times, and of course I had to nab some shots of the city. Look at them." She pulls over a dozen photographs of the city out, each fresh and fun: The Space Needle glimmering in the Sun, a street performer attracting an impressed crowd, and a selfie of all things that Victoria took in the park nearby.

As Jessica puts it, "They're great. There's so much detail in them, I can see. And I like the colors. Good composition, nice framing… Yeah, you've still got it, Vic."

"Thank you, Jess.", Victoria says as she gently puts the photos back in her purse. She looks at the many guests dancing the night away - now in a conga line - and has a question when she notices two of her friends not in attendance: "Are Max and Chloe here, or are they still busy?"

Jessica hums as she knows the answer: "Still busy. I got in contact with their liaison: Agent Flores. She told me… get this; they're fighting vampires in Paraguay."

Surprise crosses Victoria's face. "For real?", she asks, and Jessica nods her head. "And here I thought that Diaz stuff was the second-closest crazy would get to us."

Little did Victoria know in this moment that "crazy" was right on her doorstep. Not literally though. That would come later.

About an hour had passed when Victoria heard a knock at the door among the music and talking. Turning to Jessica as she tore up the dance floor with her, Victoria let her know with a nod that she'd handle this.

Upon opening the door, she was met with two strangers; a man and a woman, both middle aged and clad in business clothing adorned with colorful geometric shapes like a 1990s wallpaper. They're blurry to her - she's already a little drunk and the colors on their clothes are effectively attacking her. Still, she sees their oddball fashion and enthusiastically asks, "Woah! What is this?"

"We're your friends, Victoria!", says the woman outside with a grin on her face.

"You are?", Victoria asks with a hint of surprise. She squints at the duo and tilts her head, trying to recognize them. "I've… never seen you people before in my life."

The man chuckles under his breath. "I'm sure you've heard of us." He hands her a business card from inside his jacket. It has that freshly printed feel to it. Nice and warm, and it reads:

Mother Merrymaker and Father Festivity bring to you, on this very special day…

A HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Contact Us: 555-5555*

Party Parents LLC.

Upon reviewing what she sees, Victoria informs them rather bluntly, "Nope. I haven't. I guess you can come in though!" She opens the door wide for them to waltz in, where they see people dancing and drinking. All in her name… because she's apparently footing the bill. "Thanks for dropping by, whoever you are. Feel free to grab some drinks, make yourselves comfortable."

"We will, Victoria." The twin grins stick on the Parents' faces as they feel the party pumping through their veins. Softly, they shuffle to the beat of the music as they walk through the party, sticking right next to one another. It weirds Victoria out, seeing their synchronicity in action. But even then, she has no real quarrel with it.

Father Festivity pulls out his phone and quickly connects to the Gallery's Bluetooth.

After a couple minutes, the party seemingly amps up with the change in music. It stops being "just good" and starts to please the mind more directly, heightening the joy in the room on a chemical level. It's not like the standard song on a playlist, but more of an acoustic assault on the brain.

The two Out-Of-Towners are thoroughly pleased with them, as they feel the direct effects of the music in their frenetic dancing. They wave their arms around, happy as hell. Kate and Dana join them a few seconds later, shimmying over to the beat of the songs. The younger of the two Out-Of-Towners, Mae Borowski, says to Kate, "I didn't take you for the party type, Pastor K."

"Victoria's my friend." Kate says with a smile and a soft chuckle. She turns to Bea Santello, Mae's Out-Of-Towner friend, and tells her, "Thanks for getting me and Dana here."

Bea shrugs her shoulders as she continues to let the music take her. "It was on the road map. We figured 'why not?'"

After a few minutes, it seems like the Party Parents are rather uninterested in the party they invited themselves to. They've now moved to a corner of the Gallery to look at the partygoers and watch over the scene. From across the party, Jessica squints at them from the minibar as she sips on her drink. She tells Victoria, "I don't trust those two."

Victoria shifts her focus from a spot on the wall to Jessica and raises an eyebrow. She adds, "Those Party Parents. Are they not creepy to you?"

"Kinda.", Victoria says as she too glances over at the Party Parents. As Mother Merrymaker waves her hand in Victoria's general direction, she tells Jessica, "We'll just have to keep an eye on them." Suddenly, from behind, a blindfold covers Victoria's eyes rather obnoxiously. Pushing it onto her forehead, she yells, "What the-"

Both she and Jessica turn around to see a mysterious prankster chuckling aloud behind them: "Eheheh… Gotcha!"

The two women rise and glare at the prankster as Victoria asks, "What's your problem?"

The smile on the prankster's face fades as he sees their rage. He mutters under his breath, "It's a prank…"

The two step up to the prankster as he begins reeling away. Seeing him head out the front door, Jessica asks rhetorically, "Who even are you?"

The two look back at their seats, only to be confronted by two little goblin creatures - respectively clad in red and green - chowing down on some Chinese food. "What the fuck?", Victoria says with a tilt of her head.

Jessica leans in to the two as they grumble amongst each other. "Hey, little guys. What are you doing here?"

The little goblin creatures answer both in unison… and in gibberish.

Victoria sighs. "That makes sense.", she says as she crosses her arms. The Chase Space duo both agree amongst each other that the two are quite unique, and quite adorable. Victoria sets her sights back on the Party Parents, only to see them on the move to the office in the back.

An old-school reporter rushes up to Victoria with a microphone in one hand and a notepad in the other. He asks, "Miss Chase, can we get an interview with you, Miss Chase?"

She glares at him and explains, "I already gave you my interv-" Before she can finish that sentence, she bumps into a giant Hawt Dawg Man mascot making Hawt Dawg Man balloon animals.

The Hawt Dawg Man speaks to Hayden, Justin and Dana: "Hiya, kiddies! Wanna see something really cool?"

The three Blackwell alumni exchange confused looks before Justin lets out a blank, "Uh…"

Victoria quickly grabs the Hawt Dawg Man's arm and grumbles to him, "Don't you pull any dickish shit on my friends here." As soon as she lets go, she marches into the office where the Party Parents surely await her. She enters and says to Father Festivity, "Hey! What do you think you're doing here?"

He cackles as he looks at the items on Victoria's desk: a photograph with her parents, a small cat dolly, some files, and a checkbook. He turns his glance back to Victoria and answers, "Just showing the fine people here a good time."

"And inviting all those weird assholes outside too!"

The Father puts his hands up defensively. "No need to be so rude, Birthday Girl. We can talk about this like adults."

"What? Talk about wha-"

Victoria feels cold gunmetal poke her in the back. She looks back and sees Mother Merrymaker, standing in the shadows with a shotgun in her grasp. Father Festivity explains, "This ain't charity, Chase. We want you to cut us a check. Maybe a thousand? Two thousand if you want us outta here early."

Victoria scoffs and asks, "That much? For what?!"

"For all our hard work here. Just look outside. Look at all the fun everyone is having. Just give us some money."

Scrunching up her face in rage, Victoria angrily yells, "You couldn't have just brought this up at the door?"

"It's on the card.", says Father Festivity as his wife lifts the business card from earlier up to Victoria's face, close enough that she can read the fine print.

*PAYMENT IS MANDATORY. FAILURE TO COMPLY IS PUNISHABLE BY DEATH.

Victoria holds the card in her hands to look it over once or twice before crushing it in her palm. "Okay, I'm pretty sure that's illegal. You can go fuck yourself if you want money from me without asking first." Both of the Parents sigh, disappointed in her resistance. She then tosses the crumpled card at Father Festivity's chest and yells with an exasperated laugh, "Yeah! You're fucking idiots! I'm not paying for your dumbass scam! Look around you!"

The two look around the office, which reminds Father Festivity of her desk. He reaches over and grabs a specific item for Victoria: "Oh, yah. Your checkbook."

Back outside, Jessica has noticed that Victoria has not exited the office yet. That mixed with the sounds of shouting she heard amidst the music, her gut tells her what to do: She pulls out her phone and dials the number of Victoria's friend.

She answers with a soft tone, "Hello?"

"Hi, Max. We need your help back here in Seattle. Vic's gotten into some trouble with the… Party Parents, I think they're called?"

"Aw crap! That's today?"

Jessica nods her head, "Mhm. Are you and Chloe still busy with vampires right now?"

Max sighs and tells her, "Unfortunately."

On Max's end, Jessica can hear Chloe yell amidst gunfire, "Take that, blood sucka! Uh, no offense, Mrs. Ashbury!"

Max giggles to herself, "Oh, Chlo. We can't be there, but our liaison should be in town. We'll send her over. Okay?"

"Thank you, Max. You're a lifesaver."

Jessica can practically hear Max's smile as she exclaims triumphantly, "It's in the job description! Oh, and tell Victoria I said 'happy birthday'!"

"Will do. Bye now." Jessica hangs up and looks back at the office door. Her instincts tell her that, until Agent Flores arrives, she must save Victoria. And so, she charges forward.

Father Festivity glides his hand down his face in annoyance at Victoria. "Yeah, I get it. This looks… HORRIBLE. But, like, just PAY US. And this whoooole situation will go back to normal."

Victoria balls her hands into fists and shouts, "No! Fuck you!" Suddenly, the door bursts open, knocking Mother Merrymaker away. She drops her shotgun on the ground as Victoria looks to her savior: "Jess!"

As Jessica handles Mother Merrymaker, Victoria notices the idle weapon on the ground. She grabs it and immediately aims for Father Festivity.

She pulls the trigger… and nothing happens. "It's empty?"

As Mother Merrymaker grapples with Jessica, the villainess asks, "What, did you think we were actually gonna shoot-" A fist flies across her face to interrupt her.

Father Festivity, now pissed that Victoria just had the brilliant idea to attempt murdering him, grabs the shotgun and tries to pull it away from her hands. As she gets closer to him now, she takes this chance to kick him in the groin and attempt to punch him in the head several times.

With a firm shove, Victoria goes stumbling backwards over the two women on the ground and right out the office door. She stumbles on her back at the feet of her Blackwell friends.

"Victoria! Are you okay?" Kate asks as she and Dana help lift her up. Victoria nods her head, resisting the pain reverberating through her back. She looks up and sees Father Festivity marching towards her.

He asks one question: "Where's my money, Chase?"

Victoria glares at him and asks, "Don't you mean 'our money'?" Her eyes dart over to Mother Merrymaker, who has heard what they've both said.

"Doesn't matter."

Jessica chimes in with a smug look on her face, "I figure it does."

"Can you two knock it off?!" As Father Festivity steps closer and closer to Victoria, the Hawt Dawg Man mascot taps his shoulder with an air of panic in his voice: "Boss-"

"I've got her."

"But boss, we've got-"

Father Festivity turns to face the mascot in a rage. "I said I have her." As he looks back at Victoria, he sees her armed with a tripod in her hands. And that tripod is set to collide with his face as she swings it at him.

He goes stumbling across the Gallery before crashing into an empty chair. Victoria rushes him once more and kicks him in the chest as he's down, sending him falling on his back.

Jessica lifts Mother Merrymaker to her feet while keeping her arms restrained behind her back. It isn't helping that she's trying super hard to free herself from Victoria's friend, so Jessica calls out, "Tag in, Vic!"

Victoria walks over with the tripod and readies herself to hit Mother Merrymaker in the stomach with it… but she doesn't. She freezes up as she sees the criminal's fear in her eyes. She looks around and sees a sort of fear in the eyes of her friends too. This isn't right , she thinks to herself.

Gently, Victoria lowers the tripod and drops it to the ground. "Let her go, Jess."

Jessica complies and releases Mother Merrymaker from her grip. She falls to the floor and catches her breath. She then looks over to her husband and crawls over to him. "Are you okay?"

Father Festivity nods his head, rubbing his bruised face as he tells her, "Come on, let's bail." The two help each other to their feet and stagger over to the front door… only to come face-to-mask with Agent Maria Elena Flores of the FBC. Seeing the pistol in her hands and the stark look on her face, Father Festivity sighs aloud, "Shiiiiiit."

Agent Flores aims her gun at the two, saying, "Hands in the air. Don't try anything stupid." Three armed FBC agents rush in after Agent Flores, keeping their sights trained on the criminal couple as she walks over to Victoria and Jessica. While lowering her weapon, she asks them, "Are you two alright?"

Victoria dusts herself off and tells her, "We're fine. I think."

Jessica smiles and explains, "This is Agent Flores."

"I'm a friend of your friends.", says Flores.

"Nice to meet you.", Victoria responds with a smile.

Agent Flores quickly turns her attention back to the Party Parents. "You're both under arrest for money laundering, assault, criminal conspiracy and extortion."

Mother Merrymaker exclaims spitefully, "We didn't do shit!"

Victoria plants her fists at her waist in annoyance. With a raised eyebrow, she asks, "OH! So you DIDN'T threaten me with that shotgun over there?" She points to the shotgun laying outside her office.

Mother Merrymaker claims in a panic, "Th-that was YOUR shotgun! And you threatened to shoot me with it."

Victoria shakes her head before blankly responding, "No, it isn't. Also, self-defense."

Flores adds, "Doesn't matter anyways. We've been tracking these two since that little parade stunt they pulled in Wyoming a couple months back."

An agent standing behind the two criminals sternly orders them, "Move it.", and the two do with four agents surrounding them.

With the scene cleared of its two biggest perpetrators, Flores looks at the owners of the Gallery and offers them a smile behind her mask. "Thank you for calling us when you did, Miss Murray. And thank you both for apprehending them. It was a brave thing you did here tonight."

Victoria nods her head and almost bows as she says, "You're very welcome."

And just as quickly as she came, Flores and her agents have vanished into the night.

Both Victoria and Jessica look around themselves at the almost-silent Chase Space. Victoria sighs and tells her friends rather tiredly, "So I guess the party's over." She crosses her arms and averts her eyes from them in almost-shame. "Sorry, guys!"

As she drops her head, Kate says to her, "It's only over if you want it to be over. I mean, I think I'm speaking for everyone when I say we like it here."

Dana adds, "Yeah. Plus, we still haven't eaten any cake yet." She points at an untouched cake behind her and the other Blackwell graduates.

"Ooh, cake!", Mae cheers with the excited raising of her arms in the air while dashing over to said cake.

Justin also states, "I'm hungry for some cake…" His eyes dart around for any lingering FBC agents in sight before adding onto his statement, "I'm kinda high."

Victoria smirks behind her mask. She then declares, "Okay. The party's not over…" But she takes a look at the many associates of the Party Parents still standing around trying not to be noticed. "Uhhhh, except for all of you! You freeloaders have gotta go! Stupid fucking clowns, and sex weirdos… Beat it!" The dozen or so strangers head out the front door of the Chase Space into the night, including the two little goblin creatures. But Victoria points them out and tells them, "Not you two, you stay."

The cake is delicious as the remaining guests learn. Everyone gets a slice and they chow down together. The music is off, the lights are on, and the world feels at peace. Victoria eats with Jessica at the minibar, seated with the two little goblin creatures. "Max and Chloe say 'happy birthday' by the way.", Jessica tells Victoria.

As Victoria swallows her last bite of cake, she asks, "How do they deal with all this shit? How did WE deal with all this shit?"

Jessica shrugs her shoulders before yawning. "I dunno. I mean, besides brute force."

"Yeah." Victoria lets out a chuckle. "That was pretty awesome… though I wasn't super cool with almost hitting Merrymaker. Just didn't feel right."

"Sorry.", Jessica sighs. She really regrets it, as her tone shows.

Victoria hugs Jessica and tells her, "You don't have to apologize. It's okay." She also checks her phone and sees that it's midnight. Now, the next quarter of a century in her shoes begins. She hopes that it isn't like the last quarter, with the bitchiness and cruelty of her later-teens that she has thankfully left behind. She feels good now. And she wants to stay good until the day she dies. "I don't think I say it enough, Jess, but thank you."

Jessica smiles behind her mask and pats her friend on the shoulder: "No problem. Happy birthday, Vic."