Leni opened her eyes as the table scrolled her out of the machine.

"Fascinating," Lisa muttered at the computer screen. "Simply fascinating."

"What's you got Lisa?" Luna leaned over her shoulder.

"Leni..." she concluded, "Is radioactive."

Luna immediately jumped in place, locking eyes with her older sister and standing between the eldest and Lily. Leni blinked.

"Radioactive?" she wondered aloud. "I've never been on the radio before..."

"It isn't toxic," Lisa explained further. Luna relaxed a little. "It's just lower levels. This matches up with my theory of the Generator explosion."

"Okay," Luna sighed. "Look, I'm no genius but... I know radiation doesn't work like that. It doesn't give you superpowers, it just... kills."

"Previously known forms of it, yes," Lisa agreed. "But this type is nothing like what I've read about. I require more research to identify it. But, for now, second eldest sibling, I can confirm that you are a) not dying, and b) not a danger to others."

"Oh, okay," Leni breathed easily. "That's good."

"I finished your dress!" Lola declared from the other room.

"We finished the dress." Lucy growled, following the other girl in the room.

The final product was... a lot to be desired. It used to be a dress, but clearly the two of them had bickered over every stitch. It was splotched in pink and black, it had one puffy shoulder sleeve, and half of the skirt was torn. Leni cringed as she held it up. No human being should ever wear this.

Despite its flaws, she smiled at the two girls.

"It looks cool!" she declared, purposefully picking a neutral word that didn't mean anything to them. "In fact, if the theme was "Fairytale Apocalypse," this would be the perfect dress! But, if its alright with you two, I want to design my costume myself."

Lola, still beaming with pride, nodded enthusiastically. "Okay!"

Lucy nodded. "I understand."

Leni looked back to Luna and Lisa. "Do you guys need anything else?"

"That will be all, sister," Lisa dismissed. "I will summon you for more tests another day."

Leni left the room, followed by the younger kids to do their own thing. Luna turned to the tiny scientist.

"Okay," Luna said, "What's the actual prognosis?"

Lisa grabbed a clipboard with scribbles slashed across it. "With all of your accounts and observations put together; I've compiled a list of her abilities. I've also done a quick psychological profile of our sister and..."

"Lisa," Luna warned her. "This is not the time for dramatic pauses."

"She's changed, Luna," Lisa decided. "Perhaps she's still changing. The fact of the matter is, I still don't have enough data to determine what is happening to Leni. Sole human levitation and flight, without the aid of any tools or suits whatsoever, is scientifically impossible. We could wake up tomorrow, and discover that she evaporated in her sleep. Never to be seen again."

She shifted in her chair.

"I'm...I'm terrified of her," she confessed. "I'm terrified for her."

"Hey, Hey," Luna scooped the five year old out of her chair and put her head over her shoulder. "It's going to be okay. No science research on that, but I got a good feeling. We're all going to look after her, okay?"

She sniffed and pondered.

"She should not be out there," Lisa informed. "At all."

"I know," Luna agreed. "But that girl is stubborn. At least this way, we can help her if she's in trouble."


Leni leaned back in her seat, stretching her arms above her head. The costume was almost finished.

"Hey, Leni!" Lynn appeared behind her. "Time for practice!"

"Practice?" she wondered.

"Yeah," she pulled her out of her room and into the room she shared with Lucy. "You need to be more aggressive! Punch this bag!"

Leni hesistated, but gave the sandbag a pathetic shove.

Lynn sighed and, before she could say anything, Leni broke into her own tangent.

"Look," she said, "Why do I need to be aggressive? I don't want to fight anybody! The city is dealing with so much hate and violence that…"

She sighed. "I know part of being a superhero is to "catch the bad guy" like in Lincoln's shows and movies, but that's just not me. Why can't I just… help people? Why can't I love in a world that hates?"

Lynn stared at her for a moment, before lowering her head in thought with her hands on her hips. She bit her lip, trying to find the best answer.

"Hey."

The two of them look up to see their little brother in the doorway. He stepped in and held Leni's hand.

"I know you don't want to hurt anybody," he told her, "You're right, the world could use a little more love instead of hate. But… do you remember what was on the news the other night? All that… bad, bad stuff happening? We don't want any of that happening to you. We want to help you with this superhero thing you've taken up, but the last thing we want is to learn that you're not coming back home."

He paused, letting the message sink in a little.

"So help the people you can," he said, "That's great. Keep at it. But defend yourself, too. Make sure that you make it home. Make sure you come back to us, okay?"

Leni blinked at him. Her vision started to blur, and she had to take a second to wipe away the brimming tears at the edge of her vision.

"Okay." She agreed. "Okay. So… How do I punch?"

Lynn stepped forward, holding her fists up to her chin.

"You hold 'em up like this," she instructed. "Your arms should look like this before and after you throw a punch. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Alright, now repeat after me."

The lesson continued, and Lincoln left them to it. He passed by Luna, who was leaning against the wall next to the door. Lincoln jumped with a start when he saw her.

"Good job," she told him. "With the coaching."

Lincoln nodded. He loved superheroes. He loved the idea of them. People inspiring people. Catching bad guys. Saving the day. He do it in a heartbeat, no bones about it.

But its not him. It's his sister, Leni. The most delicate and loving girly flower in the whole household. If something ever happened to her…

"I need you to keep an eye on her," Luna told him. "If you see anything weird going on, you let me know, first thing. Alright?"

The boy nodded. "What kind of things?"

"Just… anything weird," she shrugged.

"You mean weirder than bras and girl stuff."

"…" Luna shut her eyes and opened them again. "Yes, I mean weirder than girl stuff."

"Okay," Lincoln coughed. "I'm going downstairs."

He walked by and left Luna shaking her head and trying not to laugh.


"Well," Leni fidgeted. "How do I look?"

She spun around, letting her sister evaluate her. Leni managed to make the suit into a stylish dress that reached halfway down her thighs. She wore black leggings that tucked into the inside of some cuffed boots. Her arms and shoulders were exposed, but she had the sense to have some cuffed gloves. At her shoulders were the square sliver clips that held her cape in place. The cape didn't reach too far, just to her waist. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail behind her, exposing more of her face. The black domino mask that framed her eyes was held by a string wrapped around her head.

"Wow," Luna admired. "You look great. How did you get the boots and gloves into that turquoise color?"

"It's a secret." She held a finger to her lips. "I don't think I'm done with it, though. I think I can stylize it a little more."

"Yeah?" Luna thought, picking at her lip. She seemed worried. "You remember to put in the padding?"

"Yes," Leni complained, "Even though it makes me look fatter, I put Lynn's sports padding into the suit."

"Good," Luna nodded. "That's good."

There was a pause.

"Leni," Luna confessed, "I'm worried about you."

Leni upturned her nose and turned her head. "Well don't be."

"Leni," Luna got off the bed, "You changed."

"Um, duh."

"I mean ever since Lori left for college," Luna clarified. "You've been in a funk for a month now."

"I don't want to talk about this."

"We're talking about it," Luna insisted.

"No."

With that, Leni opened up the window and stepped out. Using her flight, she was out and over the city in a matter of minutes.

"Well that's going to be annoying," Luna muttered.


Leni flew up high over the city, an evident scowl under her new mask. Stupid Luna, thinking she knows everything…

Leni shook her head. Come on, now. This is supposed to be her super hero debut! She didn't want to be grumpy and scowling. Be happy! Be cheerful! Be-

A scream made her jolt. She heard it as though the person was floating next to her. She looked down at the city, searching for the source.

She spotted it, a woman being chased by ruffians. She needed help!

Leni flew straight downward like a diving bird of prey. She descended all the down to an alleyway, and hovered just a couple feet off the ground. Her eyes were locked onto the two boys, who were cornering a woman clutching her bag.

"Look," one of the boys said, "We don't want trouble. We just want-"

"Man, cut it out with that crap!" the other slapped his friend's shoulder with his free hand. "This is the trouble, idiota! Now give us the bag!"

Leni looked between the two of them. They couldn't have been older than her. One of them even sounded familiar. The woman in front of them stared at Leni with wide and panicked eyes. If she hadn't been brought to tears by the mugging, she was brought to tears now, as she's trying to comprehend what she was seeing. The more aggressive of the two was waving a gun around at the lady as he made demands.

Leni put her hands on her hips. "How. Dare. You."

The two turned to the voice and screamed when they saw Leni. The mean one aimed his gun at Leni and fired.

Now, Leni had a hard time describing exactly how it happened, but at the second the gun flashed its shots- bullets being fired at her head a body- time slowed down. The woman with the bag looked on in horror. The mugger's friend screamed and covered his ears. Leni watched the bullet's destination. She was supposed to die at this exact second. Instead, though, she moved. Her head moved to the right, as she ducked out of the way. The mugger moved his arm to follow her, shooting more bullets along the way, but his arm was moving so slow.

"I should get that gun out of his hand." Leni thought to herself.

With everything still in slowmo, she drifted over to him and grabbed his arm with her right hand. He looked at her over his shoulder, startled.

"Please don't do that," she told him. "I don't know who your parents are, but I'm sure they're disappointed in you."

With her free left arm, she took the gun out of the boy's hand and tossed it aside. The other one found enough of his bearings to brandish something, and swing it at her. Leni let out a yelp as something stung her side as she stumbled back. The two muggers were free, but she was standing between them, the victim, and the gun on the ground behind her.

"Come on, let's go!" the timid one ushered his buddy out of the alley. They both ran out of sight.

Leni sighed and looked down at herself. There was a cut across her belly, it didn't look deep, but she was no expert. There was a small amount of blood.

She turned her attention to the woman, still speechless. Still scared.

"Are you okay?" Leni asked her. She nodded. "Let's get you somewhere safe."

She walked with her to the sidewalk.

"I don't know what to-" the woman was flabbergasted. "I just… thank you."

"You're welcome," Leni beamed. "Can you make it home okay?"

"Yes," she heaved. "Yes, I think so. Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Anytime."

With that, Leni's feet left the ground. She rose some miles in the air, above the building line.

This felt amazing.