A/N: Yes, I am back. And you know what that means, essay of A/N at the end! WHOOO! But real quick, i changed the summary of MBTMS because I realized at the time it was more centred around Rayllum moments in post season 2, but now that's practically canon and that I've expanded to more AUs, I decided to change it! This series will continue to be a one shot collection. For how long? I don't know. Maybe a hundred stories? Who knows.

Also, this is a fan suggested prompt! First of many I hope!

Chapter Summary: You should do a chapter that is a superhero AU about Rayla being a superhero and her best friend Callum finds out. Or make it so that she's a superhero and she's also in love with him, so he tells her he knows her secret and she can't figure out which one he's talking about. By TheLemonsAreComing.

Word Count: 3,965

Of Hidden Hearts & Heroes

Callum knew walking down alleyways late in the evening was dangerous, but he also knew Aunt Amaya was home tonight and quite frankly feared her punishments more than muggers. His house was a mere half an hour walk, fifteen if one ran (well, if Rayla ran), so he chanced it. Besides, his community had a fairly low crime rate and next to no action going on. The most dangerous thing he expected to run into on his way from school was a stray cat. Of course, he still carried himself with an err of caution as he maneuvered between buildings and dumpsters. Though he would never have had to do this if he just went home with Rayla as soon as school ended, but he was confident in his priorities and that the biggest issue he'd come across would be a stray cat.

He stayed behind at school to work on his art project, perfecting the final touches. He didn't want to bother bringing the whole canvas home and set up all his supplies again, and so decided to power through the afternoon. Naturally Rayla warned him not to stay too late—he'd make sure not to tell her he stayed till half past six—and he affirmed her concerns. Nevertheless, he thought it was worth it considering how quickly he finished it and how well it turned out. Plus, he would still be in time for dinner. A win across three boards.

If only that was how that played out.

Within the first minute of Callum rushing through the alleys, it happened. Out of nowhere, a hand came out from the corner of the other alley intersecting his path and tossed him to the ground. He groaned in pain, rubbing his aching head before realizing a large hooded man in front of him—with a gun. His eyes shot wide as he held his hands up, still bruised from falling onto the pavement. "H-Hey I—"

"Empty your pockets," the mugger commanded.

Callum froze. What was he supposed to do? "Uh, I-I um—" a hand picked him up from behind, pulling him off his rear and up to his feet. He turned his head to find another hooded figure, severely larger than the other mugger. He was so close that Callum managed to see his grimace and rough jaw he was nearly gonna faint in the spot.

"You heard him. Empty your pockets." He shoved him forward, nearly causing Callum to trip on his feet. "Now," he barked.

The young boy flinched at his words, stuttering out a collection of, "I-I don't have much," and "you can have all my bus tokens too," and "just p-please don't hurt me." Or at least that's what he felt like he was saying. His mouth was suddenly dry and quivering. After fiddling around with his pockets, his eyes widened as he realized nothing was in them except his phone. "I-I-I don't have it," he stammered out, "My-My wallet. I don't have it."

The two guys glanced at each other. "Bullshit," the man with the gun spat out, stepping forward as he placed the gun against Callum's temple. Was this seriously about to happen? "Either you give it to me. Or we take it off your corpse."

He closed his eyes. What was he supposed to do? He didn't have—

"Oi laddies, how 'bout ya pick on someone slightly closer to your size, aye?"

Callum opened his eyes and noticed the gun was removed from his face and now aimed up at the sky. The mugger was staring up at the rooftop of the building nearby, shakily pointing his gun. "Who're you?"

Callum blinked in realization. The mysterious hooded figure laughed as she stomped her boot on the edge of the roof, resting her arm on her knee. "I'm the gal who's gonna kick your asses."

Without hesitation, a shot was fired. Callum flinched, stumbling backwards and right into the bigger man's arms. He held him in a firm bear hug, backing away as his accomplice fired at the woman above. She hopped off the roof to dodge his first shot, and rapidly bounced back and forth between the walls, dodging each bullet as she descended toward them. Finally, the man's gun clicked empty, and the hooded woman leapt at him, knocking him out with a punch so fast that Callum couldn't even see where it connected. All he knew was that the shooter was lying on the ground in front of them and she was suddenly behind the two. The large man whipped around and increased his tight hold on Callum as he took a few steps back. With her fists drawn and her arms positioned in a tight stance, guarding both sides of her face, she narrowed her eyes at the man.

It was then Callum noticed her black eye mask perfectly situated on her face. It brought out her venomous violet eyes. "One last chance. Let him—" her eyes widened for a moment, with her mouth hanging on a word it seemed. Clearing her throat, she clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes once again. "Let him go 'fore I make yer regret it, fella," her voice suddenly went an octave higher and more masculine. It almost sounded country.

"I'd like to see ya try, girlie," the large man challenged.

The hooded figure scoffed as she shook her head. "It's yer trip to the hospital buddy." With that, she lunged at them. The man lifted Callum up to protect his face and so all Callum could see fast approaching him was a very angry masked woman about to punch him. But instead she came to an abrupt stop, twisting her body around to the right, hooking her left leg around the mugger's leg and pulling it with her. At the same time, she pushed Callum out of the man's grip, separating the two with ease. As he tumbled out of harm's way, he glanced back in awe to witness the fight continue.

Or rather, measly end.

The man had fallen to the ground and rolled over on his face. He hurriedly attempted to push himself up but was too late as the masked woman rushed at him and threw a kick to his midsection, sending him a few feet back. Callum dropped his jaw, he had never seen a human fly so far from a kick before! He nearly went down the rest of the alleyway. "If yer know what's gud fer yer, yer'd be stayin' down!" The large man laid there, groaning in pain as he rolled around the ground. She turned back to Callum and randomly stiffened on the spot. What was up with her all of a sudden?

That was when he realized he was finally seeing her in a closer lighting. She was clad in a navy full body suit with a black trench coat overtop, accessorized with dark teal boots and arm braces to match her palette. And her face; the hood obscured a good portion of her upper half, shadowing down to her exposed mouth. But her cheeks were styled with purple streaks of face paint that dripped down from her eyes, almost as if she was making a mask out of makeup. It was actually an intimidating blend of colour matching, one he was quite fascinated by. He took a step forward, gazing into her violet eyes… they looked like—

"Oh, er, howdy there! Fellow citizen! Citizen fella! Yep! Just me…" she awkwardly spoke, placing her hands on her hips as she jut out her hip, "Yer everyday Moonshadow… friend. Not friend! Because I don't know yer! Or, I mean, we could be—" she shook her head. "Actually, yer know what? Ig-Ignore me."

"So wait, it's actually you?" her eyes shot wide for a moment, "You're real?" Callum gasped in shock.

She let out a small chuckle as she waved her hand. "Y-Yup! Real as can be… fella…?"

"Wh-What are you even doing here? You're usually so far downtown!" Callum randomly asked. He had no idea why, of all things, he was bothering asking questions.

"Oh, uhh, just… expandin' my field is all! I'm all over the place," she grabbed her cape and tossed it over her body, "I am the Moonshadow. I am everywhere! Where the Moon shines, and where a shadow… darks?" She smiled awkwardly as she shrugged.

He stared blankly at her.

Her reports were something of another story. A hooded vigilante appearing during an attempted assault and battery, murder, mugging, B and E—you name it. The small, petty crimes that would've been long done before a cop arrived, she was there. On the scene of action and calling cut. The people called her a hero, some in the police called her a questionable individual, the mayor pleaded for a meeting with her. Outright, no one in the mass public seemed afraid of her. She was welcomed. She lessened crime rates gradually and made everyone feel safe. It was the main reason Callum's parents trusted him to go downtown more—she put everyone at ease, subtly so. The hero who struck at the peak of the Moon's highest; amongst the shadowiest of places filled with lowlifes and crooked creeps, the Moonshadow roamed.

And here she was, in front of him. Being… as awkward as he was. Not once did anyone report her speaking with a country accent, some had said she sounded English or Irish, of course no one heard her long enough to know. But Callum was nearly convinced this woman was his age by the way she was acting. In fact, by her height she looked a lot younger than he assumed. Her voice, height, mannerisms, it was almost like she was—

"W-Whelp!" she suddenly spoke, startling Callum out of his thoughts, "I better go on an' tie up them ne'er-do-wells!" She jerked her thumb back. "Yer best run along now—" that awkward smile on her face suddenly faded as she turned her head to the right. She immediately shoved Callum back, throwing him on his rear as another large man rushed at her, body checking her against the dumpster.

There was a third guy? That much for a mugging?

"Seriously?" she coughed, pushing herself up off the dumpster, "this many fellas to rob one kid?" Callum mentally thanked Moonshadow for her shared sentiment. "If yer all tried an ATM, yer'd at least get 'way a bit before I'd catch yer."

The third man said nothing as he cracked his neck and fingers.

"Ahh, tough fella eh?" Moonshadow found her footing and assumed a hardened stance. Bringing her fists up, she slightly elevated her right shin. "Makes the hits more fun," she smugly quipped.

As the man rushed forward with a left hook, Moonshadow brought up her right arm to the side of her head, shielding her face from the attack. She pushed off his hand and using her left, sent a jab directly to the man's midsection, forcing him back a few feet with a loud groan. The mugger stumbled on his footing but managed to stay standing, all while Moonshadow rushed at him again. She took one step forward before twisting her torso around, extending her left leg high up as she did so, delivering a powerful kick to her opponent's head. He flew toward the wall, face first, and collapsed right against it.

As his groans trailed off into silence, Moonshadow turned around and rushed over to Callum, who was still sat on the ground. "Sorry 'bout that, yer alright?" she asked as she extended a hand to help him up.

Callum accepted the gesture and felt as she easily lifted up from the pavement with one pull. He had just realized she was wearing fingerless gloves, and that they seemed to give off a sort of MMA style. He smiled at her gloves. He remembered when he and Rayla talked about hero outfits before, and their exhaustive discussion about the usefulness of gloves in a costume. Callum had said the aesthetic of what went on a hero's hands or wrists could really sell an outfit, whilst Rayla argued that functionality had to count for something and so flare wouldn't really matter.

He mentally laughed as he had living proof from a superhero that managed to do both.

"Errr, hello?" Moonshadow concernedly asked, waving her hand in front of his face. "Yer weren't concussed were yer?"

"N-No!" Callum blinked in response. "Sorry, I-I was just… man, my best friend would kill to be in my position right now."

Her eyes lit up. "O-Oh? Would she? Or he? Or-or them?"

Callum's face contorted into confusion at the heroine's stumbles. "Umm, yeah. She and I are like, really into comic book heroes."

She chuckled spontaneously, heartily placing her hands on her hips. "Well, if yer well aware of them comics, yer should be more careful not to go runnin' through dark alleys, yer hear?"

Callum's face flushed. "R-Right."

"I even bet that friend of yers would be kickin' yer fer it!" she angrily spat.

He flinched at her sudden aggression and sighed. "Yeah, she really would."

"Then she's pretty smart too! Yer should listen to 'er more often!"

Callum sheepishly rubbed his arm at that. "Yeah… I already do take her advice for granted…"

Moonshadow's shoulders suddenly stiffened as her head tilted. "Yer… do?" He nodded shyly, this was kinda weird to talk about with a superhero. "Well, sounds like yer got yerself a real nice friend. Who really cares about yer. Probably worries non-stop about yer, pullin' off stuff like this." She cleared her throat as she confidently nodded, "Yer best make it known that yer appreciate her. Even if she already knows it—which she might, I'm guessin'."

He shrugged with a laugh. It was true. Rayla really wouldn't expect anything less in return and neither did he, for they didn't exactly fill out favours. But, she genuinely was there for him through the thick and thin. Her, a football jock, constantly sticking her neck out for an art nerd like him. They had known each other since first grade and had been inseparable since. Part of their nature was just the fact that Rayla would always pick him up after falling down. Always watching over him. He mentally laughed at the idea, because it was exactly what Moonshadow had done for him.

Rayla was like his own superhero. And she always made sure to be there to save him from his burning buildings of burnt out projects and muggings of mass mathematical tests. Like his own guardian angel, leaping from tall buildings and watching over him. She cared. The heart of hero…

He stopped his train of thought and stared at Moonshadow's eyes. Realizing how lost in thought he was, he felt the piercing stare chase after him. It wasn't as threatening as it was when she glared at the muggers, this was different. The concern laced within them, as she suddenly placed her hand on his shoulder. She was so… familiar. So comforting.

So caring.

"Ca—n yer hear me? Are yer okay?"

Her question bounced him right back to reality. As in, the reality that he had almost just been mugged by three dudes and was saved by a superhero. He stammered out a series of sentences that not even he was sure of what they entailed. Eventually, Moonshadow calmed him down with a laugh as she placed both her hands on his shoulders and eased him gently.

"Listen, these fellas will be wakin' up soon. Yer best mosey yerself on home while I take care of these folk." She proceeded to gently push Callum away from the scene of the crime, walking past the unconscious men as if they weren't worth paying a second thought to. "Stick to the open streets and paths with bright lights this time."

Callum shot one more glance back at the heroine just before she shoved him onto the sidewalk, witnessing her last second smile as she turned back to the alleyway and rushed towards the muggers. The mysterious nighttime vigilante, disappearing back into the shadows once again, like a figment of his imagination.

He walked home that night with a muse in mind, and a scolding awaiting for him at home. But also, with a lot more questions than answers.

::::

Rayla walked into Katolis High feeling very sore that morning. And exhausted. And tired.

But most of all, she was pissed.

That dumb, idiotiotic, best friend of hers, didn't hear a word she said yesterday and did the exact one thing she told him not to do. "Don't sweat it Rayla, these final touches will barely take half an hour!" And then she runs into him in the middle of the damn evening, surrounded by three muggers in a dark alley. Rayla always began her patrols at six o'clock, but wasn't against early starts depending on when the Moon was out and visible. Unfortunately—or rather, fortunately—she caught a gang drug deal in an abandoned warehouse in the middle of downtown, just a few blocks down from the art district and broke it up before anything went anywhere.

Over twenty armed men with AR-15s and only one her. Odds were practically even. Except for the random grenade launcher one of the goons had whipped out, as the one and only shot they had fired sent a support beam straight to her back, causing her to go flying across the warehouse and into a cushion of wooden crates. Rayla thanked the Moon that she could heal fast. But it still hurt like hell. The apparent downsides of having powers strengthened by Moonlight was that daytime meant everything slowed. Meaning, healing was at a natural pace during the day. And so, the pain of being thrashed around by explosives and giant muggers started to catch up on her back.

So Rayla was sore, exhausted, and tired.

"Hey Ray!"

Oh yes, and pissed.

The secret heroine in question didn't even acknowledge the voice behind her as she stomped off to her locker. As she spun through her combo lock, Callum's hand tapped her shoulder—right on the spot she landed against when she was body checked into a dumpster. She seethed in pain as she barked out, "What Callum!"

Right as she met his eyes, she immediately regretted her tone. The concern in his eyes as he tilted his head, gently asking if she was okay, made her recall how annoying her situation was. She couldn't be mad because she wasn't even supposed to know he was mugged! Now she had to feign ignorance under the pretense that he would tell her, or blissfully act like she didn't know anything if he chose not to tell her.

"Sorry, I—er, hurt my arm throwin' yesterday," she quickly amended. She slowly rotated her left shoulder to demonstrate, but elicited a small groan because it really hurt more than she was selling.

Callum's brows contorted into confusion as he said, "But I thought your practice ended early yesterday? 'Member? You tried to get me to go home with you before you left?"

Rayla almost face palmed as she rolled her eyes. Why was she so bad at this? Callum's hand touching her shoulder, again, startled her out of her thoughts once more. But not painfully… very comfortingly. He seemed more aware of his touch on her this time. Because of course he would be careful like that.

"Ray?"

"Oh, er, well it was fine, but I guess I pulled somethin' and didn't realize ya know?" she casually shrugged, regrettably causing Callum to retract his hand. "Just woke up today feelin' sore is all." Her eyes lit up as she jumped on the segue, "Speaking of yesterday, how did your project go? Finished it all in one go? On time? No, uh, late night runs through dark alleys?" She had hoped the on-the-nose joke would offer incentive for him to fuss up.

Callum's face fell into a contortion of forced smiles but mixed with embarrassed panic. Suffice it to say, she could tell he felt stupid about not taking her advice. Which was good.

"Umm… I uh, kinda…" he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he cleared his throat. "Tripped on my home, in an alley."

Her face nearly dropped. He was gonna lie about it? Why?

"Then I got all turned around, a bit lost but…" a smile glistened his face, the same smile that managed to brighten her day without fail. She easily forgot about her momentary frustrations, now in awe of his sudden elated expression. "I was uh, I was saved."

Her brows raised, trying to follow his narrative, she recited, "Ya were saved, after tripping and gettin' lost in an alley? How?"

"Yeah just some… angel dropped by. Picked me up on my feet and helped me find my way home— safely," he hastily added, throwing her a smirk.

Her brows remained confused as she desperately tried to trace his tracks of an off the rails story. What was he trying to sell? Even if Rayla didn't already know what happened, what Callum was saying made less sense. "An angel?" she scoffed, staring at him curiously.

He shrugged as he turned to his locker, now unlocking it and sorting out his textbooks. "Yup. Gave me some good advice too." He slammed his locker shut, snapping Rayla out of her focused trance as he met her eyes with his.

This felt different.

He was suddenly so close, almost as if he was a breath away. And he was—she realized, as her breathing bounced off his face and toward hers. Why was he...so close all of a sudden? Part of Rayla wanted to close her eyes, and just pucker her lips, hoping that what was about to happen was actually going to happen. But another part of her held onto her backpack straps with a vice grip, fear screaming into her instincts that something was amiss. But she knew Callum.

She knew there was nothing to be afraid of.

"I know I don't always say it, but I'm glad I have you, Ray," he quietly spoke, flashing a modest amount of pearly whites. She couldn't even stutter back a response as he continued, "I know you're always there for me… in any way possible. And I'm thankful to know you'll always be there for me."

He slowly drifted back, as if he had finished soaking up her air and was satisfied with leaving her breathless for no damn reason. She managed to stammer out, "A-Aye…" as he backed away.

"Just remember it's a two way street, you can tell me anything," he flashed a wink and chuckled, "and I mean it." And with that, the darn bell shot Rayla out of her spell, reminding her that her stupid school days always began with the one class she and Callum didn't share together. Physics wasn't fun without him, but now it would be impossible as she was still watching him as he rushed down the halls.

Slowly, she made her way over to science labs, thinking about how random Callum was. But she knew it wasn't random. His words, had he taken Moonshadow's—her—advice to heart last night? Was a mugger scare all he needed to confess to her?

Or… did he know that she had a crush on him? And did he want her to admit it?

She shook her head, forcing herself to focus on her path toward class before she got anymore distracted thinking—

"...In any way possible…"

Her body froze as it all suddenly clicked.

Or did he… know that?

Rayla turned back at the near empty alls, staring down the hallway, where Callum once was. She was sore, exhausted, tired, and now? Extremely confused.

A/N: Okay so, yes there is a ton of lore to this story that I had unintentionally signed up for but don't worry I will cover my bases. How Rayla got her powers will be revealed in another one-shot, but the gist of what I can reveal for now is her power base. Powers: enhanced strength; enhanced agility; camouflage; enhanced healing. No she doesn't use her powers when she plays football. Powers only work in the light of the moon.

So with that out of the way: What happened to me? Quarantine hit me hard with mental issues and I don't want to labour you all with the details but to summarize, I wasn't in a mood to write and had trouble finding motivation. I procrastinated like crazy and that is honestly ALL on me. You guys don't deserve an excuse like that and so I'll do my best to stay active for this coming month.

Because if you are out of the loop, Rayllum month is back and YES I'm on it already. These year's rules are different as instead of the full 31 days we're only doing half, every other day starting from July 1st to July 31st. The reasoning explained was to help with creators being able to catch up in between, but I will do my best to go above and beyond and provide as much as I can!

Go check out rayllum-week-and-month on tumbles for the full list of prompts but for now I will say July 1st is Anniversary and will be Childhood AU. Sorry for no surprise but I thought I'd just let you guys know. Also, know that I will being doing my standard twists on these prompts (though admittedly they were all harder this year) for the exact reason I did them last time. I want to write something others won't think of and something I can have fun with.

I will do my best to get more College AUs out there, but keep in mind I also have a some queued up prompts of fan suggested AUs so expect some of those throughout the month as well. Maybe. Who knows, we'll see. That said, it's hilarious to me to see everyone asking for more College AU because people... I'm just adding more fuel to the Slowburn. ;P

ALSO, will be getting my wisdom teeth pulled (all of my left side), this Friday so there may be delays but I am trying to get ahead of the curve. Already have the premises for the first three days ready, and first prompt is already under writing!

And, HUGE shout out to ByTheLemonsAreComing for this fun prompt. Loved it a ton and had a blast writing it. Please keep up the suggestions! I may not be able to write everyone's but ideas are still ideas and I make sure to give credit where credit is due, no matter how small!

Review Responses:

behnbailey: Yuuuuuup. ASL was super hard to learn at home but my prof was real forgiving and threw me a bone with the grading. He knew I was an attentive student. Right now my issue is just constantly practicing every so often on my own.

Guest (Anna): I shall.

Guest (Selena): Happy to hear you liked it! Always love seeing my fics still getting read while I'm being a mole under a rock.

Prophet21: Awesome reviews as always! I am doing better, thank you. Reviews like yours keeps my spirits up most definitely. I hope you are doing well too.

ArifXero96: To be honest, I think I was going for a pun on Socializing and on Socialism as in, like an actual lecture on Socialism. Which to be fair, Callum would likely appreciate that more than a college party of drunks. Also, glad I could rekindle some college day memories, my uni days are still fresh but I'm riveting through them. Glad you love the AU!

On a genuinely important note however, PLEASE stay safe during all these hard times. I wish you all the best and hope you all stay safe.

Until next time,

- Bleh