I don't own Tara or KP

Chapter 3: Aurora the Mercenary, the Igniter of Daybreak

Tara swung her bo left and right. She had already practiced her cheerleading agility; now she was up to her karate skills. She started karate so that she could defend herself against any indecent guys that wouldn't respect her privacy. Not that she ever needed to execute them, she just wanted to be save. Now she'd practice those skills for another reason.

She decided that she'd become a mercenary, like Kim and Ron. She also decided how she felt about Ron. She loved him, but not the way that Kim loved him. Ron was more like a brother to Tara.

Tara's real brother was a bit of a jerk. Ron reminded her of how Marty used to be. He was carefree, extremely kind, and very funny. Ever since Marty met his girlfriend, Reina, he drifted away from his sister. It broke Tara's heart.

Tara's swings got even more severe as she thought about her jerk of a brother. He was now into his second year at Lowerton University with her. Reina Needlemire. Her name alone filled Tara with anger. She took Tara's brother away from her!

Tara hoped that Ron would never change, like Marty did. She shifted her thoughts from her real brother to her serged brother. She knew that he cared for Kim, and that Kim cared for Ron. She could tell. Heck, everyone could tell, except the two of them.

Well, Tara thought, if they can't realize it on their own, I'll just have to help them out.

–the next morning, Thursday–

"Hey, Kim," Tara said to lone teen in one of the halls of Middleton High.

"Hi, Tara," Kim said, "Heard that you and Josh are dating."

Tara smiled. Technically, Tara and Josh weren't dating. They were just going out on one date Friday. How'd Kim know? Monique! Ever since Kim's best girl friend moved to Middleton, rumors spread like wildfire.

"Yeah," Tara replied, "But I want to–"

"Kim," some kid, who just appeared on the computer screen in Kim's locker, interrupted.

"What's the sitch, Wade?" Kim asked.

"Shego just broke Drakken out of jail," Wade said, paying no regard to the other girl.

"That's bad. So what are they up to?"

"Don't know yet," Wade continued, "But I'll let you know when I find something out."

Kim closed the locker door after Wade finished.

"Now, what were you saying?" she asked Tara.

"You sure you're over Josh?"

"Of course. And I, for one, am glad that he's moving on."

An excellent set up, Tara thought, then said, "What about you? Are you trying to "move on" too?"

"What do you mean? Are you saying that I'm crushing on someone?"

"I know you are, Kim," Tara said, noticing a slight blush in Kim's cheeks, "So-o-o-o, who is he? Huh? Is he cute?"

"Tar-a," Kim exclaimed, "I'm not telling you."

"Is it...RON?"

Kim's cheeks flushed a brighter red that matched her shirt, "What? I am not crushing on Ron!"

"You so ARE."

"So not."

"So so."

"So not."

"So so."

"So not!"

"So so!"

"So NOT!"

"Oh hey, Ron," Tara said, standing back to watch the show.

"Hey, Tara," Ron replied, then turned to Kim and said, "KP, what are you two arguing about."

"Nothing, Ron," Kim said before Tara could speak, "Just a difference of opinion. It's girl suff."

"Okay," Ron said, not sounding convinced, "Oh, Kim, we'd better get to class, or we'll spend some quality time together in detention."

"Yeah," Kim said, "Let's go."

Tara grabbed Kim's arm and whispered into her ear, "So so."

Kim growled and walked away.

–that afternoon at school–

"I'm not sure about Josh, Tara," Felix said.

"Why not?" she asked.

"I don't know. I just think he's "bad road"."

"So I should base who I date on your hunches?"

"No, I just...look, I don't want to see him break your heart. Just be careful. Okay?"

"Sure, I will," Tara said as Felix left, then she saw Josh.

"Uh, Tara," Josh said sheepishly.

"What is it, Josh?" Tara asked.

"I...um...have to take care of my sick little sister, Jena, tomorrow afternoon; so we'll have to cancel our date," he said sadly, "My dad's out of town, and my mother has to go to a meeting; so that leaves me to look after one sick little girl. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, Josh. I understand."

"It is?" Josh said, sounding surprised, "Hey, how's Saturday work for you? We could see a movie."

"Cool. But could we start by hitting the food court at the mall?"

"I'm down with that. Pike you up at your house at six?"

"No and yes. Let's meat up at six, but at the mall."

Tara wasn't exactly ready to introduce Josh to her mother.

"Cool."

"Yeah."

–later at Tara's house–

Tara sewed up her brother's old Halloween costume so that it would fit her. It was a pure black Zorro costume. But with a bright white star sewn into the front of the shirt. Tara had cut the cape short (at the waist) to keep it from getting in her way. Her hair was tied into a pony tail for the same reason. Her cape and her hair hung down along with the bands from the knot of her mask. Over the top of her mask was the traditional Zorro hat. On her hands she wore a pair of Kimstyle gloves. Around her waist and right shoulder were two belts that held nothing, save the five-foot long pipe that she'd use as a bo.

"Now," Tara said to herself while looking in the mirror, "all I need is a name."

First she made a list of her powers.

1: Invisibility. She could bend light to make herself and anything she touched invisible. But only for a short period of time.

2: Refection focus. She could redirect light into a specific direction. Her favorite way to utilize this trick was use the palms of her hands as flashlights. She could also focus light into a tight laser beam. That would be useful when she needed to cut metal chains or locks.

3: Enhanced senses. Her eyes could adjust to sudden light intensity shifts faster, and she could see farther and clearer. Her senses of hearing, smell, and touch had also improved.

"Okay," she said, looking over the list, "it needs to be something that is frightening for criminals, but comforting for innocent bystanders. It also needs to make people think of light."

She got her thesaurus and looked up light. Brightener? Not threatening enough. Illuminator? A bit dull. Igniter? Maybe. Kindle? Spark? Nope and nope. She decided to look up sunrise. Dawn? To natural. Daybreak? Kinda cool. Matins? She didn't even know what that was. Aurora? Perfect. It was mysterious, a little scary, and feminine (something she really wanted in her mercenary name). Aurora the Mercenary, the Igniter of Daybreak. Most of the super heros from her brother's comic books hade multiple names, so why not her?

I am dawn for the fallen,

I am light for those in darkness,

I am the Igniter of Daybreak,

I am Aurora the Mercenary!

Super cool. I know I said that the name of this chapter would be "The Plan", but I think you'll agree that this one is much better. I'd like to thank The Wild Ambition for the review; it's what inspired me to change the title of the chapter. So keep reviewing.