"Party at Mount Lady's house!" Rumi hollered.

Embarrassed, Yu shushed her. "I don't have the invitations ready!"

"Wait, really?" someone asked.

Rumi jabbed Yu with her elbow. "You don't need to be so formal, just tell 'em!"

Yu stood up, addressing the group. "Yeah, so… I just got a bigger place and I wanted to have a little house-warming thing. Next Friday, around seven, if you can make it. Everyone's welcome!"

When the other pro heroes started to look at each other with knowing glances, Yu started to question herself. Concerned, she looked at Rumi. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Rumi couldn't hide her amusement. "Ignore them," she urged. "It's been a minute since we all got together outside of work, that's all."

Being the newest of the pros always made Yu feel like she was back in junior high. At the moment, the way the others were poorly trying to hide their whispers did not help. Yu looked again to Rumi, who was the only one so far to treat her as an equal. "Do you think anyone will come?"

Rumi took her hand and gave her a warm smile. "Honey, I promise you're gonna have a houseful."

Yu felt her forehead creasing in worry. "I just thought it would be a good way to get to know people."

This time Rumi actually laughed out loud. "Oh, you'll definitely get to know them! Probably more than you want to!"

"Excuse me, Mount Lady!" Yu turned to see Ryukyu herself approaching. "Could I bring anything for the party?"

Yu had to pick her jaw up off the floor. "Thank you so much, but I've got it covered."

Rumi interrupted. "Yes, bring a few cases to share," she said.

"Will do," Ryukyu nodded. "See you then!" She left with a wave.

Yu gave Rumi a confused look. "What was that for?"

Rumi patted her on the shoulder. "You sweet summer child. However much alcohol you think will be enough… it won't. Let people chip in."

"If you say so."

"Hey kid!" This time it was Present Mic. "What's the sound setup at your place? I can bring some of my DJ equipment."

Yu looked at Rumi, who was nodding yes while giving two thumbs up. "Sure," she said to him. "As long as it's not a hassle."

He grinned widely. "Not at all! It'd be my pleasure." He held out his fist for her to bump. "Can't wait; it's gonna be a big hit!"

Backdraft interrupted. "Takeyama, you have a pool, right?"

"Um, yeah…" Yu began.

"Awesome!"

Rumi's expression had grown serious. "Do you have good insurance? A house cleaner?"

Yu frowned. "I can't tell if you're joking or not."

On the day of the party, Yu was awake at dawn after sleeping fitfully, worried about how the evening might play out. Her worst fear was that it would be a repeat of her twelfth birthday, and no one would show. She filled the hours by obsessively cleaning the entire place, despite it already being clean. Then she double-checked the food in the fridge. She put a few bottles of wine on ice, and the appetizers in the oven to heat up. All that was left to do was worry and pace.

There was nearly an hour to go when the doorbell rang, and Yu practically ran to answer it. "Welcome-" she began, but as she swung open the door, she didn't see anyone.

"Down here, miss!" It was Nezu, from the school. He waved up at her with a smile. "I know we're early, but we wanted to see if you needed any help setting up."

"We?" Before she could finish the question, Cementoss and Vlad King stepped up behind him, each carrying a keg.

"Where do you want these?" Vlad asked.

Yu could only stare in shock.

"Do you have a patio?" Nezu prompted.

She nodded slowly until her brain caught up. "This way," she finally said, and led them around back, to the deck overlooking her pool.

When she came back inside, she found Fatgum in her kitchen, arranging food artfully on the kitchen island.

"Wow," she said, her eyes wide. "This looks really nice."

Fatgum smiled. "Thanks! I always thought food tastes better when it's presented nicely!"

"You may be on to something," she agreed. His setup looked much fancier than what she had planned. As she watched, it dawned on her that most of the food on the counter, she couldn't remember buying.

He noticed her confused expression. "I hope it's alright that I brought a couple of extra dishes. Some of us have pretty big appetites."

"Thank you," she said, remembering what Rumi said. "I've never thrown a party for pros before."

"Gotta be a first time for everything!" Fatgum smiled reassuringly. "It's gonna be a blast."

The doorbell rang, and Yu excused herself to go welcome her guests, only to find that Nezu had beaten her to it. In fact, her living room was nearly full of familiar faces, plus a few strangers, as well. Present Mic was arranging an elaborate sound setup with huge speakers and multicolored lights.

"Hey girl!" Midnight slung an arm around Yu's shoulders. "I've been looking forward to this all week! Oh, and don't you look just stunning!"

Yu felt herself blush. "You look nice too, Midnight."

"I'm glad you think so." Midnight spoke low into her ear. "And call me Nemuri."

"Takeyama?" Yu looked around, already overwhelmed at the crowd. She finally spotted her friend Nishiya waving at her.

Midnight raised her eyebrows. "If it isn't Kamui Woods! Are you two actually dating, or is that just a press rumor?"

"No comment," they both replied in unison.

Midnight laughed. "You don't have to worry about that P.R. nonsense here. Enjoy yourselves!" With that, she left to go mingle elsewhere.

Yu turned her attention to Nishiya. "Thanks for coming, I wasn't expecting all this."

"I'm sure." He rubbed a hand over his head. "Actually, you're wanted out back."

"What? Oh, no." She followed him out to the deck, where at least a dozen more heroes had already congregated in and around the pool. Manual was doing shots with someone Yu didn't recognize.

Selkie hurried over. "Mount Lady! Do you know if the pool frame is concrete or fiberglass?"

Yu's focus was on the young man with Manual; he had scaly, green skin like a lizard. "Uh, I believe it's gunite. Why?"

Selkie smiled in relief. "Even better! Thank goodness, we didn't want to damage it!"

"Damage?" From inside, Yu could hear the thumping of bass as Present Mic turned up the music.

"Gang Orca challenged me to… actually, don't worry about it." Selkie left before she could question him further.

Yu tugged on Nishiya's sleeve. "That guy with Manual… isn't he a villain?" Nishiya looked closer, narrowing his eyes.

"I can tell this is your first pro get-together." They both spun around to see a sharply-dressed man with a mask covering the lower half of his face. He chuckled at their surprised reactions. "Don't recognize me out of my costume, do you?"

They both shook their heads.

"You know me as Edgeshot," he said. "Can I offer you kids some advice?"

"We're not children," Nishiya began, but Yu put her hand up to stop him.

Edgeshot moved closer, looking past them, towards Manual and the stranger. "There's a saying: whatever happens at a pro party..." He paused to look them each in the eyes. "If you think you see a villain, no you didn't."

Yu looked again at the young man with the lizard quirk, more certain than ever that she had seen him on the Most Wanted list at work. When she looked back, Edgeshot was gone. "What the hell?" she asked Nishiya.

"I don't know about all this," he replied, shaking his head as he turned to go back inside.

It was getting dark, and the automatic lights came on around the deck. The water in the pool was churning furiously, but Yu turned away, choosing to put it out of her mind. Yu checked her phone and saw that it was barely seven-thirty, but her entire house and yard were packed.

Back inside, she bumped into Ryukyu in the dining room, and the other woman gave her a quick hug. "What a turnout! I cannot tell you how badly we've all needed a night like this!"

Yu was speechless, and tried not to show how overwhelmed she was feeling.

Ryukyu took her by the hands. "Hey, it's alright. If anything gets broken, we'll cover it. And if anyone gets out of hand, you let me deal with them. Understood?"

"Yes. I appreciate that."

"We girls gotta stick together."

Yu had to smile. "Thank you."

Ryukyu squeezed her hands before letting go. "I gotta run, Tiger double-dared me to do a keg stand and I can't wuss out. Promise me you'll have fun tonight!"

Yu went back to the living room to find the space packed with bodies dancing to the blaring music. She squeezed past Rock Lock, who was grinding on a blond lady, only to trip over the sofa and nearly fall onto Power Loader and Ragdoll, who were making out. The furniture had been pushed to the edges of the room, making the space feel unfamiliar.

Carefully, Yu maneuvered through the room until she was behind the wall of speakers. Mic was there, one fist raised in the air as he smoothly transitioned from one song to another.

"Too loud for you?" a voice said, startling Yu. Her eyes gradually focused on Eraserhead, seated on the floor. She hadn't seen him down there, dressed all in black.

Present Mic noticed her, and gave her a quick side hug and a peck on the cheek. "Great party, kid! It's been a while since we all cut loose." Then he sat down on Eraser's lap. "Isn't that right, Shota?"

"I guess so." Eraser raised his red plastic cup. "I'm just here for the free drinks."

"Aw, you big faker," Mic teased. "You're having fun, admit it."

Eraser rolled his eyes, but he didn't pull away when Mic wrapped both arms around his neck. Nor when Mic planted a kiss on his lips. In fact, Eraser squeezed Mic closer, until the two of them seemed to forget anyone else was there.

Yu backed away, her eyes wide. She decided to take a moment alone in her room. When she opened the door, she was startled to find three heroes tangled up together on her bed. She immediately left again, shutting the door behind her. One of them had definitely been Shishido, and he might have been with Mandalay and Pixie-Bob, but it was hard to be certain without their signature costumes. Yu squeezed her eyes shut and tried to push the image from her head.

She tried the bathroom next, only to walk in on Miss Joke seated on the vanity top, with Sir Nighteye between her legs. "Oh god, sorry!" Yu slammed the door as she rushed out.

Just then Snipe walked by, and tipped his hat to her. "Great party, miss."

"Yeah," she said, distracted. "Have you seen Mirko?" He gestured back toward the living room. "Thanks," she said, not waiting for his reply.

She cautiously skirted around the edge of the room. She had caught a glimpse of Rumi's white ears, but with the flashing lights, Yu kept losing sight of her. At one point she had to climb over Bubble Girl with a purple haired lady. Yu remembered Edgeshot's words, and ignored the couple.

As she got closer, she could see someone straddling Rumi's lap. The two were passionately making out, oblivious to everyone around. Yu tried to prepare herself for the awkwardness. "Rumi," she shouted, her voice drowned out by the music. She shoved her way closer. "Hey, Rumi!"

Finally, Rumi pulled back from the person on her lap, licking her lips. "What is it?"

"There's people fooling around in my bathroom and on my bed. What do I do?"

"Find an empty closet," Rumi said, and pulled her partner back in.

"Excuse me?"

Rumi ignored her, groping her partner's backside while they kissed. Yu glared down at them in growing frustration. The guy was skinny; Rumi could easily snap him in half. He had shaggy, pale hair that hid his face.

"Rumi!" Yu demanded.

"Hmm?" She didn't even pull away this time.

Annoyed, Yu stormed away. Just as she got free of the crowd dancing, she crashed full on into someone. "Sorry," she sighed, feeling close to tears.

"Oh sweetie! What's wrong?" Yu blinked back tears as she looked up to find a broad shouldered woman looking at her with concern.

She sniffled. "It's nothing," she insisted. "I just wasn't expecting this many people."

The woman nodded. "Is this your place, then?" She looked around, then offered Yu a gentle smile. "Do you like cards?"

Yu was surprised. "Um, yeah, I do actually."

"We were about to start a game in the dining room. Come on." She put her arm around Yu's shoulders.

"Thank you," Yu said softly. "I'm Mount Lady, but you can call me Yu."

"Nice to meet you dear, call me Mags."

They joined a small group around the table. Yu recognized Hawks, and was briefly star-struck that he was there in her dining room. He gave her a dazzling smile as he shuffled the cards. "Alright! It's our generous hostess!"

"Thanks for coming." She felt her face growing hot.

"Of course," he replied. "I wouldn't miss it."

Mags pulled up a couple more chairs for the two of them. "What are we playing?"

"It's called Cheat," said Thirteen.

"No one knows it by that," argued Crust. "It's Bullshit."

"Well, I voted for strip poker," said Recovery Girl, "but you're all a bunch of sissies."

Hawks chuckled warmly. "Hey, don't blame me," he teased. "I was on board."

Recovery Girl gave him an ornery look. "We can always play a round later, just the two of us."

He raised one eyebrow. "Is that a promise?"

"Quit flirting and deal," grumbled Crust.

Hawks began to distribute the cards. "Does everyone know how to play?"

"What's the game?" asked Yu.

"Bullshit," said Recovery Girl. "Unless you're a baby, then it's called Liar or Cheat."

"Oh, I've heard of that," Yu smiled.

"Explain the rules again," Mags said, "just so everyone is clear."

Hawks continued to deal. "The goal is to get rid of all your cards. On your turn, you lay down at least two cards, face down, and say what they are. We can either believe you, or call bullshit. If someone calls it, and you were lying, you have to take the whole pile. If you were telling the truth, whoever called it has to take the pile."

"Simple enough," said Crust. "Who starts?"

"Age before beauty," Recovery Girl claimed, slapping down a few cards. "Three jacks."

"Bullshit," said Mags.

"Screw you," Recovery Girl snapped, putting the cards back in her hand. Everyone else laughed.

Unsurprisingly, Hawks won the first game. He passed the deck to Crust, excusing himself before the next round.

Yu hesitated for a moment, then got up to follow him. He went through the kitchen, grabbing a skewer of yakitori before stepping out onto the balcony overlooking the pool. Yu hung back, just inside the doorway.

"Nice place you've got," he said, as if he expected that she would follow him.

"Yeah, thanks." Her cheeks flushing, she joined him on the balcony. "It's a bit much to get used to."

He took a bite off the skewer. "I take it you grew up with less?"

"You could say that." The laughter and shouts from below sounded distant.

"I don't think you ever get used to it." He was gazing off into the darkness. "The view isn't great."

She scoffed, a little surprised at his bluntness. "It's better from the roof."

"Really?" He turned around and peered up. "Let's go, then." He spread his wings.

"Oh," Yu looked down at her shoes. "I can't, at least, not in these clothes; they don't stretch like my hero costume."

He stared at her for a moment, his expression serious. Then he stepped closer. "May I?"

Yu had to catch her breath. "Um, sure."

"Hold on," he said, wrapping his arms around her. Then with one flap of his wings, they were above the roofline. He then eased back down, making sure her footing was steady before letting go.

"Wow," Yu said breathlessly. "That's one way to do it!" She carefully walked up to the peak of the roof, then sat down. It was where she usually watched the sun rise, but currently the sky was pitch black. Hawks joined her, and looked off into the distance. "Well?" she finally prodded. "What do you think?"

He took a deep inhale, then glanced sideways at her. "Honestly, my night vision isn't any better than the average person." Yu stared hard at him, trying to decide if he was joking. He let out a soft laugh. "Don't tell anyone, though."

She still wasn't sure if he was serious. "I won't."

"There's something I need to confess," he said, and her heart skipped.

"Go on."

He looked deep into her eyes. "My managers convinced me to come here tonight."

"Excuse me?" Yu glared at him.

"They thought it would make good press."

"Oh," she said, her stomach twisting. He was only here because he had to be.

He kept going. "Even better if I could get you alone for some tabloid shots. Your people agreed, in case you wondered."

Yu wrinkled up her nose. "Seriously?"

He put his arm around her. "Don't look, but there's paparazzi in those bushes."

"Why are you telling me this?"

His expression softened. "Because you remind me of myself, Mount Lady. We're both palatable and easy to market."

"But why do you need good press? You're already perfect." She immediately wished she had used a different word, but it was already out there.

"Not perfect enough," he said mysteriously. "So, do you want the ratings boost, or should I see myself out?"

Yu knew that if she let him leave, she would never hear the end of it from her team. She leaned closer to him, their lips almost touching. "Can we at least have fun with it?"

A smile spread across his face. "I like the way you think."

The next morning, Yu woke to the sound of her phone ringing. She sat up too quickly and her vision swam. Closing her eyes, she blindly felt around until she found her phone. She squinted at the screen; it was Rumi, so she answered. "Morning."

"Where are you?"

"Not sure. A penthouse, I think?"

Rumi groaned. "You're not supposed to ditch your own party."

"Well my bed was taken, so I had to sleep somewhere!"

She heard Rumi gasp. "Oh my god, who did you hook up with?"

"No one," she laughed.

There was a staticy noise from Rumi's end. "Who was it? Tell me right now!"

"I'll tell you if you tell me."

"That's not fair," Rumi grumbled.

"Take it or leave it."

"Fine! But you go first."

Yu bit her lip. "Promise you won't tell another soul?" She was sure the photos would leak within a few hours.

"Cross my heart," Rumi agreed.

"I'm with Hawks." She had to move the phone away from her ear as Rumi shrieked.

"You naughty girl; I'm so proud!"

"Now it's your turn," Yu reminded her.

"You can't breathe a word of this."

"I won't. Now spill it."

"Well, I don't know his name, but I think he's the same little punk who attacked the USJ."

"Oh my gosh, Rumi." Yu covered her face as she laughed.

"I'm also pretty sure I took his V-card. Or at least took him to another level."

Yu was giggling uncontrollably. "Maybe he'll switch sides for you."

"God, I hope not, that would be so boring."

"Are you still at my place?"

"Yeah, you should get back here"

"Fine." Yu stretched, and someone grunted as her foot nudged them. "I'll be there as soon as I can get a cab." She ended the call, then sat up to look around. Some of the previous night's events were a little blurry. If she counted the limbs sticking out from under the covers, there were at least 4 people in the bed. She remembered coming here with Hawks, but she couldn't recall who their other guests were. On second thought, it was probably better if she didn't. After all; what happens at a pro party…