Prologue

Her veins were humming, responding to the transmissions that were flowing around her as palpable as the light breeze on the rooftop she was currently standing on, her blood echoing the electronic, digital, and radio waves.

At that stage, they only pricked at the back of her neck. If she allowed herself, she could hear the pieces of phone calls, see e-mails written in the front of her eyes and feel her skin vibrate with the music coming from radios. With a blink of her eyes she could disconnect the calls, delete the mails and switch radio stations.

Every other week some paper released new studies warning about the effect of cell phone radiation. What would they say about a human signal transmitter, receiving and amplifying every particle with her mind alone?

(Not that she recommended anyone following her example.)

No, that power was for Satellite alone to handle. A power that was as subtle and encompassing as the moonlight.

~'~'~

Like millions of other people, Cress had been excited for the Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse for the sole reason that it was such a rare and spectacular sight.

Who could have known that it would change her forever, right down to her DNA?

But when the shadow passed over the moon, turning it red as blood, Cress's own blood seemed to freeze in her veins. Her head had felt like it was split in half and the endless green string of a binary code scrolled down in front of her eyes, fading away into nothingness.

~'~'~

When she had woken up, everything had been different.

Chapter 1

Satellite huffed as she once again lost the trail of Captain. She had no time for his antics today, she was already pressed for time. She crouched down in the dingy alleyway, enough so no passerby from the street could spot her, and let her senses trail down her nerves and into every surveillance camera in a three mile radius.

Every lens turned into her eyes, carefully scouting to catch a glimpse of the masked figure. She knew he wasn't subtle in his movements so it wouldn't take long– There!

Satellite scaled up the building, a physical feat she couldn't have ever dreamed of before her DNA had been changed. Smaller than most, Cress never had the physical prowess to compete with anyone in terms of speed or strength. But as Satellite, she was fast, agile and strong.

She unfortunately couldn't fly like Captain could. This and his ability to disintegrate into thin air made it almost impossible for her to catch him.

And she needed to catch him.

Or at least, stop him long enough to get her father's documents back. She knew he still had them, waiting for the right opportunity to sell them to the highest bidder, probably. There was Commonwealth Corp in Beijing but they would hardly pay for the research they commissioned her father to do. Not that they lacked the money, but from what she could tell from Rikan Zhen and his son Kaito, they weren't the type to deal with criminals. Or maybe they would. After all, her father's research could be the first step to understand how the Lunar eclipse affected a few dozen people's DNA so uncannily that they developed a range of superpowers prior only known from comic books and Hollywood movies.

Then there was Blackburn Inc. with their elusive figurehead Cress didn't know much about – even with her cyberpathic powers. She had tons of run-ins with Blackburn Inc.'s henchmen though.

Super-powered wolf soldiers who were engineered, unlike Satellite, Captain, Mechanic and Red, whom she had seen fighting in Beijing and Paris respectively, as well as other people who suddenly got superpowers from the Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse. Super-powered wolf soldiers who were engineered, unlike Satellite, Captain, Mechanic and Red, whom she had seen fighting in Beijing and Paris respectively, as well as other people who suddenly got superpowers from the Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse. How, Cress didn't know, but they all displayed the same powers – the vicious brutality, the superhuman senses and strength – in a way that couldn't be a natural emergence of some latent powers. Especially since their appearance was just as unnatural with their wolf-like features and hairy bodies.

Even as Satellite, Cress had no real fighting power. She could use her surroundings to her advantage but that allowed her mostly to escape their wrath. Sometimes, she had to admit grudgingly, only with Captain's help. He had managed to get her out the few times the wolf soldiers had surrounded her. Swooping in, his body had materialised next to her and snatched her out of danger. It was almost heroic.

Almost. He still stole her father's research.

Satellite took a wide jump from one of the skyscrapers and landed hard on another rooftop where Captain leaned casually against one of the scaffolds as if he had been expecting her.

He probably had.

With slow, deliberate steps, Satellite made his way over to him. "Hand them over, Captain." She made sure to regulate her voice so it would hide her slight Ukrainian accent. It was doubtful Captain would recognise her with it, but she felt safer all the same.

She could see him smirking, his mouth the only part of his face she could see beneath the mask, the expression familiar enough that they pricked at something in the back of her head. "Hand over … what?" He taunted, his voice feigning innocence while keeping his hands resolutely behind his back.

Satellite glared even though he probably couldn't see it behind her own mask. She changed her posture, self-assured and tough in a way that she hardly was as Cress. "You know exactly what I mean, Captain. The Venezuelan dream dolls you just stole from the museum." On top of stealing her father's research, Captain had the unfortunate tendency to steal everything valuable from Beijing to New York.

Beijing where she first crossed paths with him as he stole her father's documents right from inside Commonwealth Corp while they were visiting the facilities.

Which was easy for him since he could walk through walls. No building, no safe and no vault could stop him. Neither could the museum he stole the Venezuelan dream dolls from.

By now Satellite knew his patterns, the things that caught his interest. It was easy for her to check on the countless security cams installed all over the city until she caught him sneaking in one on of them. He wasn't subtle, knowing fully well that no security guard or policemen could ever catch him. Sometimes Captain let them put him in handcuffs or even seat him in the back of their car just for fun. Minutes later he was gone, vanished into thin air, leaving nothing behind than a pair of empty handcuffs while he was already far away with his stolen goods.

Satellite knew that she couldn't catch him. But at least, she could try to get back what he stole. And she had to do it quick, she thought with a glance to a clock on top of a nearby building.

"I love how you call me Captain," he purred, his whole demeanor cocky.

Cress scoffed. "Because you named yourself that."

A shrug. "So? I like the sound of it." When he came closer, Cress had to force herself not to step back. She wouldn't cave in. Not as Satellite.

As Satellite she was a superhero, brave in the face of her enemies.

Though Cress would have expected her archenemy to be a figure that left dread in its wake, dangerous to the bones and scary to behold.

Not a flirty thief whose only flaw seemed to be his own vanity.

It wouldn't do dwelling on her unlikely archenemy though. She had to hurry and get back home. Back to her life and identity as Cress. "Just give me the dolls, Captain," she snarled, knowing fully well that she couldn't just grab them from him.

He took his hands from behind his back, showing as suspected the two dream dolls, stuffed haphazardly in a blue satchel. "You mean these? Ugly little things, aren't they? But worth a lot to the right buyer." Captain grinned at her. "I might be inclined to give them to you … for the right price of course."

At that she huffed. "I don't negotiate with criminals."

He nodded thoughtfully as if he had expected her response. "You expect me to just hand over a lot of things without giving anything in return. These dream dolls, that old doctor's messy documents … that's not how one does business, Satellite," he said reproachfully, a smile still dancing on his lips.

Cress bristled at his words. "Because you stole everything. Those things didn't belong to you in the first place, you, you … thief!"

"Ouch," Captain dead-panned, clearly unimpressed. "That hurt."

Satellite ignored him, inconspicuously scanning their surroundings. She might not have much fighting power, nothing like Red in France who could shoot red energy from her hands, but she still had a few tricks up her sleeve. There wasn't much, except the entrance that led to the rooftop. The door seemed heavy, and when she concentrated, she could feel it was well secured by a control panel and alarm system. She let her mind travel into it, slowly reworking the codes.

Captain didn't notice anything as he continued to speak, but she knew she had to be quick.

"Maybe you got a thing for me with all that chasing after me you're doing?"

When his words registered, Satellite sputtered, her concentration thrown off for a second. "I do not." How dare he? "And you're not the only one I'm chasing. After all, there are tons of criminals I have to catch beside you." Which was only half-way true. She didn't have to catch anyone. But that's what people with superpowers did, right? Catch the bad guys the police couldn't on their own.

Even if she would be much better at tracing back hackers and uncovering secret accounts on the Cayman Islands. But that didn't feel nearly as superhero-ish.

"And here I thought I was something special," Captain pouted, overly dramatic, humour etched on the features she could spot beneath his mask. "I tell you, you wouldn't be able to resist if you could see my dreamy blue eyes."

Satellite rolled her eyes, but instead of answering, Satellite readied herself as she finally worked her way into the security system of the building.

"But as flattering as it is that you're following me around, I must tell you that I'm actually already tak—" He was interrupted by the blaring sound of alarm sirens going off, and the door behind him opening its lock so fast, it banged on the wall. The sounds were deafening as Captain turned around, his body tense, just as Satellite had expected. She leaped at him, snatching the dream dolls from the satchel, her reflexes unnaturally fast.

"Hey!" Captain spun around, trying to grab at her, but with her small stature, Satellite ducked under his arm, jumped on the scaffold and leaped.

She didn't turn around to see if he followed as she jumped from building to building and down some alleyways in a zig-zag pattern through the city, closing back in on the museum where he stole the dream dolls from. Only then, perched on top of an elaborate glass ceiling, did she stop, just slightly out of breath.

The police were already present, no doubt having been informed of the theft. She didn't mind them usuallybut they certainly were suspicious about the sudden emergence of superheroes (and villains) in the last two years. They stuck to their own methods to solve crimes, and more often than not, Satellite was met with suspicion rather than with gratefulness. And if not, they wanted to take her for questioning (which Cress was sure Superman or Batman never had to bother with).

Questions after questions she had no time for today.

She hardly could leave the dolls on the roof though. With a sigh, Cress took another jump, landing next to the police car where a young policeman, who looked like he had just finished the academy, stood. He gasped when he recognised her, and Satellite could see that he had no idea what to do. She only hoped he wouldn't do anything stupid like grabbing for the gun at his hips. Not that the police had actually tried to shot her yet but it wasn't uncommon that she was held at gunpoint while she returned stolen goods or apprehended criminals.

Satellite held up the dolls. "The police are here for these?"

He looked between her and the dolls, then nodded, a bit dumbfounded.

"You know who I am, right?"

Another nod.

Satellite held in a sigh. "Okay, good. Well, get those dolls back inside. Quickly. And tell the curator and security staff to keep the dolls somewhere else for now. Not a vault or safe. Just somewhere nobody would expect to look right away. You think you can do that?"

He nodded again which was all she needed. She handed the dolls to him which he took gingerly, the ugly dolls looking almost small in his big hands.

Turning on her heel to leave, she gave the policemen a small smile. "Thank you."

"Wait." He blushed slightly. "Could you ... maybe... um..."

She raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

And suddenly the words tumbled out of him. "Can I please have an autograph, Ms. Satellite?"

Cress hurried to get the finishing touches done. Due to the Captain's newest attempt to steal a valuable object, she had less time than she had anticipated. Still, she was happy with her arrangements as she glanced at her preparations with content.

Just when she glanced at the clock to check the time, she heard the door in the hallway open.

"Honey, I'm home."

Bursting with happiness, Cress quickly made her way to the hallway only to be scooped up by Thorne and whirled around. A squeal escaped her, and she knew that he was just as excited about tonight as she was.

He set her down to her feet, but kept her close as he leaned down, his forehead touching hers. "I'm glad that after one year together, you're still as excited when I get home. Let's hope it lasts for the years to come." He drew her in for a soft kiss, then, as if unable to resist, pulled her in for another, much longer one. "Happy first anniversary, Mrs. Smith."

Cress beamed. "Happy first anniversary to you too, Mr. Smith," Cress echoed. Then she removed herself from his embrace, ignoring his pout as she grabbed his hand to lead him to the living room. Every bit of surface was decorated with flags, postcards, small souvenirs and photos from the European countries they travelled together during the summer they fell in love in. Cress couldn't believe that one year later, here she was with him, married and happy.

Thorne looked around, astonished. "Cress, what is all of this?"

"Well, I thought if we can't go back to Europe, I might as well bring Europe to us. The culinary aspect of it at least." She whirled through the room, pointing at all the bowls and plates at each station. "Starting in the UK, we have pasties just like ones we ate at that little pub where we had to go when it started to rain. Then I made mesclun - remember the salad we had at Benoit's farm in France? I made sure to get the recipe for the dressing from Scarlet. Then pasta cacio e pepe."

Thorne came closer to take a look at the photos from their travels she had placed next to the dishes. "Ah yes. I remember it. In the tavern before the accident." He pointed to one photo where two of his fingers were bandaged and Cress sported some gashes and bruises on her knees. Cress too remembered the accident they had with the Vespa scooter they had rented. It hadn't been critical but they did have to get to the hospital to get Thorne's fingers treated, more so than her bruises. "If I remember correctly," he added with a dimpled smile that made her melt every time, "that was before I proposed to you for the first time."

Cress pursed her lips. "While you were on pain killers."

He shrugged. "So? I asked you again only a few weeks later and you said yes." He brushed a strand off her face, his eyes a soft shade of blue that Cress couldn't describe as anything but dreamy. The thought gave her pause and she shook her head to get rid of the Captain's voice taunting her. There was only one pair of dreamy blue eyes she cared about and they belonged to Thorne, not the thief who just happened to be lucky enough to get superpowers that made it possible for him to steal whatever he wanted and get away scot-free.

She didn't argue Thorne's point since he was right. Instead, she continued listing the food. "Then a focaccia, and here are bifteki from Greece, as well as tzatziki. Minus the garlic," she added bashfully.

An impish grin played on Thorne's lips. "Ooh, what, do we have plans for tonight, Mrs. Smith?"

As if he didn't know. "Oh, hush." He chuckled at her response, nudging her good-naturedly. "Anyway, we were on the bus for most of our trip to Ukraine? So, I couldn't really include something from Romania, except those covrigi we got on the bus break." She pointed to the pretzel-shaped goods, completing everything she had prepared. Well, almost everything she had prepared.

"This is amazing." Thorne indeed looked impressed. But Cress could see the tiniest hint of disappointment on his face only because she expected it. He schooled his features quickly enough. She was glad when he leaned down to kiss her again, so it would hide the small grin. "Thank you, love. It's perfect, and you're the best wife in the world."

"Well, if you're already this grateful, wait till you see"—she grabbed his hands once more and led him to their kitchen—"this!"

Thorne cheered when he recognised the dishes he had come to enjoy above others in Cress's home country: varenyky and pyrizhky, deruny as well as mlyntsi with sour cream and kotletapo-kyivsky. She hadn't made everything herself but had ordered some from one of the Ukrainian shops she and Thorne had come to frequent. They had also offered her a wine as well as a brand of beer Thorne had sometimes ordered back then. Cress might have gone a bit overboard, but it was their first anniversary after all.

And it had moved her beyond words when Thorne had tried his first Ukrainian dish, relishing every bite and praising the taste to her and the cooks, endearing him to the whole staff. Even now living in the US, Thorne was excited whenever Cress prepared some Ukrainian dishes and they had worked out a way to include customs from both their countries for the important holidays.

"And now you're the best wife in the galaxy!" He took everything in, his brow creasing in thought. "Um, darling?

Cress looked up. "Yes?"

There was a short silence. "I'm so grateful for everything and I'm sure it's going to be delicious ... who is going to eat all that stuff?"

It was a lot of food, she agreed (and she hadn't even told him about the yabluchnyk, the honey cake she had prepared for dessert). But they had travelled through so many countries together that summer, she wanted to recreate the experience. Cress was glad that even with Captain's interference, she had managed to buy and cook everything she had planned. "We are. I thought we would eat as much as we can and the rest goes in the fridge for the next few days. "

"Sounds like a plan." Thorne looked as if he couldn't wait to dig in, so they filled their plates with a bit of everything, grabbed the wine before moving back into the living room for the rest. They settled on the floor in comfort, eating and drinking and reminiscing with all the photos Cress had put up. Thorne praised the food, making Cress giddy that her hard work paid off.

"Oh, remember that?" Cress, who had just taken a bite of the of the Varenyky Thorne had offered, glanced at the photo he held up. It showed Cress and Thorne, both tanner than now, leaning against the rail of a ship they had taken from Italy down to Greece. Thorne sported a carefree grin, his arms around her and Cress's hair blew in the wind. It was a cute pic, but Cress wasn't quite sure what Thorne referred to.

Cress swallowed before asking, "You mean the boat trip to Antirrio?"

Thorne set his plate aside, pointing to the photo, roughly where Cress's head was. There was a secretive smile etched on the corner of his lips. "Your necklace. You must have lost it on the ship but you still wear it here."

"Oh." Cress had been devastated when she realised that her necklace was gone. It hadn't been expensive and didn't have much sentimental value, but she had worn that cheap little necklace with the crescent moon pendant for years. Still, it was thoughtful that Thorne remembered it at all.

"I'm sorry you lost it." He nuzzled her neck, caressing the back of it and Cress felt something cold. "I know it's not the same but I hope you'll like it nonetheless."

Cress hand flew to her neck where she could feel a necklace she hadn't worn seconds ago. "Thorne?"

He looked into her eyes, sincere and full of love. "Happy anniversary, Cress."

"We said no presents!"

Thorne laughed. "And all of this?" He gestured to the food and the decorations. "That's a year's effort worth of presents."

Cress pursed her lips but didn't say anything. Instead she stood up and made her way to the mirror in the hallway (which Thorne had insisted on). "Oh." The golden necklace was delicate, just long enough to brush below her collarbone. A diamond-studded crescent moon hung from it while tiny golden stars were attached to either side. It was exquisite and more so, it was exactly something she loved to wear. Cress didn't have an eye for expensive things like Thorne did and never spent much money on them, but even she could tell that this necklace, as thin as the chain and as small as the pendant were, must have been expensive.

She could hear Thorne approaching her before he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "So, you like it?"

Cress laughed shakily as she turned around in his embrace. "Like it? I love it, it's so beautiful." Her fingers trailed the chain. "But it must have been expe—"

He interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. "So? It's our first anniversary. And I came into some money today. A deal paid off exactly how I wanted it, so I thought I should buy my wife something nice." He grinned. "Except if you want me to return it—"

This time, Cress interrupted him before he could finish with a deep kiss. She had longed for this the whole day. Wanting to be with him, kiss him, feel him. She had loved their easy conversation, the reminiscing, the gift, but now ... now she wanted, needed more of him.

Cress allowed herself to dictate the pace, every moment filled with urgency. Thorne reciprocated eagerly, pulling her closer before his lips trailed down the side of her face, easily finding her favourite spot to be kissed, just below her jawline. A happy sigh escaped Cress's lips and she could feel his grin against her neck. Her hands started roaming his body, the width of his shoulders and chest where she worked her way through the buttons of his shirt one by one.

"Cress ...," he whispered her name but didn't say anything else. Instead, she could feel him making quick work of her dress, his urgent tugging only interrupted by more languid kisses that set her whole body aflame.

Impatient, Cress pulled his shirt off, caressing every inch of his body that by now was almost as familiar to her as her own. His moans encouraged her, her lips and fingertips trailing over his chest as she led them both back into the living room. She had no idea how they made it to the couch without stepping into food or breaking any plates. Together, they tumbled onto the couch, Cress letting out a squeal when Thorne's body squished her.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Maybe we should have gone to the bedroom?"

But Cress was more interested in opening his belt buckles. "Too"—She whimpered as Thorne settled between her legs, his weight delicious—"far away."

She heard his chuckle. "So impatient."

Cress huffed. She refrained from pointing out that he wasn't much better than her. After all, there were so many more interesting things she could do with her mouth. She drew him in for another kiss while the sensations he elicited from her body were both exciting and torturous. He moved ever so slightly over her, gaining access to every spot he knew she liked, making her whole body shudder.

But he broke the kiss. Instead, the feverish urgency of their kisses was replaced by Thorne's fingers trailing gently over her cheek. "Cress." He coaxed her until she opened her eyes. He looked at her, the soft light casting his face in shadows. Cress felt a twinge of something inexplicable she couldn't place, a flicker of recognition, which passed as quickly as it had come as he inched down, his eyes shining bright blue in the dimmed room.

A strand of his usual perfectly-styled hair fell onto his forehead as he leaned down. "I love you."

Warmth spread through Cress's body, deeper and more profound than any throes of passion ever could. "I love you too."

Throes of passion were rather nice after all, Cress decided. Her head rested lazily on Thorne's chest, his heartbeat not as erratic as it had been when she had slumped on top of him a few minutes ago ... or maybe half an hour ago. Cress had lost all track of time since then. She could easily use her powers to look up the current time, but then she got distracted by a languid kiss or the trail of Thorne's fingers that left goosebumps on her spine.

"We should take all the food into the fridge. It would be shame if we let it go bad after all the effort you put into it."

Cress groaned. Thorne was right but she wasn't inclined to move. She would rather have him play with her hair some more until she dozed off. She mumbled something but even she wasn't quite sure what. She heard his laugh.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it," he said with a quick kiss on the top of her head.

Before she knew it, he was up, but it must have happened so quickly that Cress couldn't say how he moved from under her. One second he was there, firm and warm beneath her, the next, there was nothing but the soft cushions of the couch. But then she got distracted by the view he provided as he collected the plates, not bothering with any clothes. He winked when he noticed her stare.

"See something you like?"

"Mh-hmm." Cress smiled appreciatively. "You cleaning up the living room."

"Oh, so that turns you on?" He made a show to stack the plates, flexing his muscles in the process as much as possible. "Then look at that, one-handed. That should make you swoon alright." Balancing the dishes on one arm, he carefully turned towards the kitchen, showing off his defined back.

"Make sure not to break anything," Cress called after him.

"Yes, yes."

She heard him rummaging in the kitchen, and for lack of anything better to do, she linked herself to the net, checking the time and news. Another supervillain had terrorised the outskirts of Beijing but had been defeated by Mechanic. Protesters had gathered in Buenos Aires to call for immediate and secure imprisonment of any human with super powers, no matter what they used their powers for. Some engineer from Oslo proclaimed he found a new weapon against superhumans which involved moon dust, though there was much criticism concerning his findings. Gossip reporters were trying to figure out the reasons for Iko's sudden departure from Milan during fashion week, being delighted by the scandal, the most popular rumour being that the model was pregnant, on drugs, was one of the superpowered humans or that she was pregnant with a superpowered human because of drugs. Cress huffed in annoyance when her eyes snagged on the breaking news:

Captain strikes again ~~~ Two Venezuelan dream dolls stolen ~~~ Priceless artefacts gone without a trace

Cress cursed in Ukrainian. Of course he found the dream dolls. Of course he took them. There was no way he couldn't get his hands on something he wanted if it wasn't well hidden. Captain could steal many more things, but he only targeted specific pieces. Cress assumed he only stole when he was commissioned by someone else he could then sell it to. If only the police had taken more precautions. Maybe if she had taken them with her, but maybe that was stealing too? She didn't even know, but once more, the futility of chasing Captain struck her.

"Everything alright?" Thorne asked, popping his head into the doorway.

"Um ..." Cress tried to come up with an explanation. "I forgot that I also made some cake and we didn't get to try it."

Thorne raised an eyebrow. "You can still eat?" Cress nodded even though cake hadn't been on her mind at all. "Yeah, me too. I saw it in the fridge and it looks great. I'll bring us a piece."

"Thanks," Cress called, less excited about the prospect of a nice dessert. It wouldn't do to let the news get to her though. It was bound to happen after all. As soon as the police put the dolls back in the museum where they belonged, Captain could steal them without any trouble. The only thing that should truly concern her were her father's documents, his research on the Lunar eclipse and the superpowers they caused in a few hundred people across the globe. She had no idea how but she had to get them back. That was her priority.

When Thorne came back with the piece of cake and fed her the first bite, Cress made up her mind to not let Captain spoil her happy anniversary any more than he already had.

Nope, today was just about her and Thorne, and their wonderful normal life as Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

A/N: Welcome to my new fic! I hope you enjoyed the new idea and little twists. It's different from my other fics in some ways but how could I resist a superhero Cresswell story? ;) Please let me know what you think of 'Masks'!

Thanks to kanouchi for betareading and lovelunarchron for coming up with the summary. You're both awesome!