DISCLAIMER: I do not own Mighty Med or any of it's characters. I only own my original characters of Mara Short/Noctura and my original villain character, and their backstories.

Enjoy the story!

~2003~

I was running down the sidewalk, tears falling down my face like a waterfall. I hurt someone I cared about and I have no idea if I killed her.

I was scared.

Alone.

Frightened.

I didn't know what to do! I wasn't expecting anything to happen when I screamed at her! I wasn't expecting some kind of sonar to come out of my mouth when I screamed! I wasn't expecting anything! So I just ran, seeing the image of my once best friend in a heap on the floor of the orphanage. She looked dead, but then again, I could have been wrong.

I turned a corner quickly and hid in the shadows of a tree, watching as some kids played in the sand and some on the playground. I ran into a park without realizing it. Two boys in particular I noticed were sitting in the grass, fighting over what looked to be a Tecton comic book. One boy had brown hair and blue eyes with pale white skin, while the other had dark brown hair and brown eyes with tan white skin.

"Kaz! Give it!"

"Make me!"

"Boys!" I looked to see a young adult walking over to them. He looked a lot like the boy with darker brown hair. "What did I say about sharing?"

"Never to do it?"

"Kaz!" The older boy yelled.

"Fine!" The boy, Kaz I think I heard, said as he gave the comic to the other one.

"That's my bro," The older one said as he ruffled Kaz's head and walked off again.

"Kenny!"

"How about we read it together?" The other asked.

"Oh! Yeah!" Kaz exclaimed, scooting closer and reading the comic with the other boy. I giggled for a moment, almost forgetting my plight with the orphanage. Though it came back with a vengeance to my brain.

I was for sure not wanted anymore. I was for sure going to get kicked out now. So, where was I supposed to go? I was only 5!

"Hi, sweetie," I jumped as I turned my gaze to the voice beside me, seeing a woman with perfectly placed blond curls resting on her shoulders while wearing a really fancy casual attire. Her blue eyes reminded me of the other boy this Kaz kid was fighting with just now. Her smile was bright as she knelt down to my level.

"Why are you sticking close to the shadows?" She said. "You should be out playing with your friends."

"I-I can't," I said, looking down at my feet. "I don't have any friends."

"Oh?" From the sound of her voice, she sounded confused. "Where's your parents then?"

"I-"

"Mara, there you are!" I looked over to see the orphanage mother rushing up to me. "Don't you ever run away like that again!"

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" The blond woman asked as she stood up.

"I'm Miss Helen Harbor," Miss Harbor said. "I'm the orphanage caretaker. Thank you for looking out for her, Miss..."

"Short...Bridget Short," The blond woman smiled brightly again. "Is she up for a family?"

"Afraid not," Miss Harbor said. "The last family now refuses to adopt her." I let tears well up in my eyes. I just ruined another chance at having a family. I doubt anyone would want me now.

"Then put me down," I perked up at the blond woman's words. "I'd like to adopt her."

"Oh!" Miss Harbor looked shocked. "I mean, we'll have to go through the proper channels."

"I'm sure you'll find my record clean and neat," Mrs. Short said. "I also already have a son named Oliver." She pointed to the boys I was watching earlier. So that was the other one's name! "I may be a single parent, but I assure you, I'm pretty well off. Money is not an issue."

Miss Harbor sighed, making me look at the graying woman. She brushed her hand through her hair, letting her bright green eyes show not anger or disappointment, but happiness. I smiled with excitement. Was I getting a family after-all?

"Well, then how about we go let Mara meet your son while we talk," She said. I hopped and twirled with excitement. I guess God knew that what I did was just an accident.

But who knew how my life was going to drastically change in this moment?

~2013~

"Alright, Kaz," I looked up from my Skylar Storm comic book at Kaz and Oliver, trying to keep it hidden from my adopted-brother (he was a big fan of Skylar Storm). "Would you rather have Freeze Frame's power to stop time...but you have to talk like a chicken," he made a chicken noise before continuing. "Or Tecton's immunity to pain...but you have to wear a diaper."

"Oh! I'd wear a diaper. For two reasons," I looked at Kaz, a smirk on my face as I listened. "Number 1...and number 2." The boys fist-bumped while chuckling, making me roll my eyes at their crazy game.

"What about you, Mara?" Oliver asked me, making me look at him with wonder. "Diaper wearing painless world, or a time stopping, chicken talking world?"

"I do not want to talk like a chicken," I said. "So, I'm with Kaz on this one."

"Yeah!" Kaz high-fived me before something caught his eye. "Guys, look," I looked over to see a meteorite on a display counter. "There it is. The Meteorite of Zandor. The source of Tecton's immeasurable powers!" I grinned at his excitement as I followed him over to it with Oliver.

"It's incredible. I have to say, after meeting you guys, Tecton has become one of my favorite heroes," I said, seeing Oliver look at me with wonder. "What?"

"You're in a talking mood today!" He mentioned, making me roll my eyes yet again today. After 10 years of being his adopted-sister, he picked up on me being a shy girl with so many different secrets that I think he decided to just wait it out. I do have to admit this, though, it's nice having a brother to look out for me.

"So what?!" I yelled in return. "I've gotten use to you two!"

"I've got to have this!" Kaz exclaimed, seeming to have ignored Oliver and I. "Hidden in the earth's crust for millions of years. Forged from a supernova in the Balasar Galaxy."

"It says 'Made in Taiwan'," Oliver pointed out, making me snort while keeping my laugh in check.

"Oh. Well, I still want it," Kaz retorted. "But I'll never be able to afford it!" I looked at him and then the price, almost ready to grab it from Kaz and put it back down. Again, I've known Kaz for 10 years now, and let's just say he can sometimes act like that 5-year-old I met back then.

"Ah," Oliver exclaimed, making me look at him with wonder. "But we can still pose with it." I perked up at the idea, my smile widening.

"Commemorative Fake Photo?" Kaz asked as I raced around Kaz and stood between the two boys, posing with my sweet smile while Kaz held out his arm, ready to take the photo. I just saw from the corner of my eye that Oliver was doing this weird pose like he was trying to do telekinesis on his head! The heck?!

Kaz "snapped" the photo and pretended to look it over, making me look right at Oliver.

"Oh, you blinked!" Kaz scolded Oliver, almost making me snicker at the comment.

"What the heck was that pose, Ollie?!" I asked with wonder.

"I don't know! It was the first thing that came to me!" He answered, making me giggle before the sound of someone clearing their throat made me look over to see Wallace and Clyde, the twin shop owners of The Domain. One of them was wearing glasses.

"We'll be taking that, thank you," The one without glasses said, taking the meteorite from Kaz and putting it somewhere else.

"Boys, you know the rules in this shop," The one with glasses added in.

"Yeah. Rule Number 1: No touching the merchandise."

"Rule Number 2: No mistaking us for each other. I'm Clyde," The one with glasses said.

"I'm Wallace," The one without glasses added.

"It's not that hard!"

…

"I always wondered that," I said, earning a stifled snort from Kaz.

"Rule Number 3," Wallace continued, seeming to ignore me, "if you HAVE to use the bathroom, please don't go in the Cauldron of Crepulan."

"That was one time!" Kaz exclaimed, making me look at him weirdly, though Wallace and Clyde just gave him that look a mother would her child if they did something wrong. "Okay, twice!" I sighed in defeat before walking away while seeing Jordan playing one of the games here.

"Hey, Jordan," I said, getting shushed by the blond girl.

"I'm trailing this majestic unicorn. It's the last one in the entire land," She said as I watched her play. I grinned at how sweet it looked, but I knew better with Jordan.

"Wait for it..." I said quietly as...

"BOOM! CUT OFF HIS HEAD!" She yelled, making me jump even though I braced myself for it. But I still giggled at her excitement. "Aw, look! Its blood is made of rainbows."

"I can see that," I giggled as Kaz and Oliver walked on over.

"Hey, uh," Kaz began, seeming nervous to talk to Jordan, "we wanted to talk to you about our robot project for Science Day tomorrow-"

"Yeah, the four of us are working on it, right?" She asked, making me look at the boys. They seemed a little worried about something.

…

Wait...

"I really need your help! I'm terrible at building things! I'm much better at tearing things down," Jordan said.

"Yep, it'll just be the four of us," Oliver said. "You, me, Kaz, Mara..." He paused. "...and Gus." I sighed in defeat.

"What?! Gus?! No, no, no! Absolutely not!" Jordan said, freaking out before looking at me. "Did you know?!"

"Absolutely not," I said, mimicking her as I crossed my arms like her.

"I'm sorry, but," Oliver began, "he is our friend and we just felt bad for him because no else wanted him in their group."

"Yeah, for the same reason no one wants a dead fish in their bed," Jordan said. "They both smell like dead fish." I tried my best to hold in my giggle, having it come out as a snort. "Look, if I don't get an A on this project, my parents won't let me play video games for a year! And if I can't chop off unicorn heads then...who am I?"

"We promise you," Oliver started, with Kaz being oddly quiet right now, "we'll keep Gus under control. He won't say a word."

"Really? Where are we going to get a muzzle?" Kaz asked. There we are!

"Fine. Just keep him away from me," Jordan said.

"Now we got to get a leash! This is becoming a nightmare!" I snorted again at Kaz's comment before I saw Oliver look off somewhere else.

"Kaz!" He said. "It's Skylar Storm! My favorite comic book superhero!" He raced over to it and stood before it, making me nod to Jordan as my way of saying farewell for now, and headed after the boys.

"Don't you have all of her comic books?" I asked with a smirk.

"Yes I do!" He returned, making me giggle. My adopted-brother sure was a fanatic when it came to this girl. "She has 24 superpowers, including X-Ray vision, so she can see how big my heart is."

"I think I know where you got that from," I smirked, making him look at me and grin after a while. He knew who I was talking about. His mom was the one who saved me from that orphanage 10 years ago, and ever since then, my life hasn't been the same. I have a brother who I cherish like he's blood, I have a best friend who is a bit of a ditz sometimes (but I love him no matter what), and I have a family I can actually call my own.

The only thing was...I never told them about my powers.

Kaz took the cardboard cutout and started talking like...a girl? I guess? "Oh, Oliver, come here and kiss me, but be gentle because you know I'm made of a cardboard." I giggled as he tried to have the cutout of Skylar Storm kiss Oliver, who immediately pushed it away.

"Kaz, stop!" He said. "You heard Wallace and Clyde. No touching the merchandise."

"Oh, it's fine! What's going to happen?" Kaz said as he took the cutout and placed it somewhere else, out of the way of the door.

"Wait for it-" I said, seeing the looks the boys were giving me when the cutout fell over, hitting a toy gun, and having a small foam bullet shoot out. It flew up and hit a flying saucer off of the ceiling. It fell down as I moved out of the way, only to have it...

OOO

...Kaz and Oliver were stuck together (back-to-back) thanks to that flying saucer falling on top of them. We were in the ER now, waiting for a doctor to come out and help them. I was sitting in one of the chairs, scrolling through my phone on Instagram.

"And the award for the most humiliated patients in the Emergency Room goes to," Oliver began, making me sigh at his sarcasm, "the boys stuck, in a flying saucer." I heard Kaz chuckle with a smile, making me look at him with a grin.

"Take that guy with his hand stuck in the gumball machine!" He retorted, making me look behind me and stare in shock. There really was a boy with his hand stuck in a gumball machine! Poor kid.

"This is all your fault, Kaz!" Oliver began, as I watched someone wearing a trench-coat and hat walk in and go towards the janitor's closet. "This is so typical! You always do these crazy things and expect me to just follow you!"

"Hold that thought. Follow me," Kaz said as he made him and Oliver move to the closet. I quickly followed behind them. I guess Kaz saw that guy, too.

"Where are we going?" Oliver asked.

"The guy who just walked in the closet," Kaz began, "I think that's the Blue Tornado!"

"You saw it, too?!" I exclaimed with surprise.

"You mean the superhero who can spin at the speed of sound?" Oliver sounded excited, but I knew better. "And is make-believe?!" He added the last bit with annoyance.

"I know it doesn't make any sense, but it looked exactly like him!" Kaz retorted.

"He had the same crooked nose, the same scar on his cheek," I listed, which got Kaz to smile even more, knowing that I truly did think I saw the Blue Tornado like him.

"He even had a wispy beard," Kaz added in.

"So does my grandmother!" Oliver yelled, still annoyed. I sighed as I opened the closet door and ran inside, the boys following me with only Kaz being the excited one. I looked around, trying my best not to knock them over, but there was nothing (or no one rather) in here besides us.

"I don't get it, I just saw him go in here!" Kaz exclaimed with shock.

"Well, maybe one of his powers it to turn himself into a roll of 1 ply toilet paper," Oliver said, showing off a roll of the bathroom tissue. "You've done enough damage for today," He put it back. "And I don't want to hear it from you, Mara."

"What did I do?!" I yelled.

"You could have pushed us out of the way so we wouldn't be like this, for one!"

"Oh, so now it's my fault?!"

"Oliver, don't blame her! It's all me!" Kaz stood up for me, making me grin at him. He always had my back just like Ollie. Though right now, I'm questioning that.

"Fine," Oliver said. "Can we please just go?" Kaz nodded his head as we all started to head to the door, but Oliver tripped, grabbed the plunger as they tried not to fall, and I spun around to the light that shown itself to us.

"Whoa!" I said, getting Oliver's attention.

"Check it out!" Oliver exclaimed as I looked over at Kaz, seeing him messing with a mop.

"Oh, I know, my mom has this exact same mop!" Kaz said in return.

"No, look!" I turned them around so Kaz could see the image.

"It's some sort of puzzle!" Oliver said. "And I think I know what it is!" He turned them around again, making it so Kaz was facing the door. I raised my hands and slapped my thighs in defeat as I watched Oliver mess with the image.

"Is it the maze where you have to help the rabbit find the carrot?" Kaz asked, making me give him a look. He just saw the image! What the heck?! "Because if so, you're on your own. Those things are impossible!"

"For you, maybe," I said with a smirk, crossing my arms as he glared in my direction.

"Got it!" Oliver yelled, making me look at the image now and gape in surprise. "It's the symbol of Caduceo, the legendary healer of superheroes!" Now Kaz turned them around so he could see the image.

"Whoa!" He said as a green word appeared before him. "It says 'Enter'."

"I guess the big decision here is whether or not to push the button!"

…

"You wanna push it, don't you?" Oliver asked.

"Oh, he already did," I sighed as a light entered through the center of the wall before opening it up.

I looked in as Kaz and Oliver walked forward, me now following behind them, as we stared in awe at what stood before us. It looked to be a hospital, with three different counters in the center and in front of a back wall that had a giant red double M logo hanging there (I'm sure it was a window). There were hospital beds and nurses walking around, even patients who were either in a wheelchair, sitting on a bed, or walking around in a hospital gown.

But here's the thing...they weren't normal patients.

"Look at this place!" Kaz exclaimed before pointing to a superhero spinning at the speed of sound. "There's the Blue Tornado!" I looked and squealed quietly as I saw him stop spinning with his trench-coat in his hands.

"And there's Solar Flare!" I said, pointing a blond woman with fire bursting from the palms of her hands as she sat India style on a bed. The doctor beside her was wearing yellow gloves and a welding mask. I then looked over to see a doctor...checking air?

"And there's Incognito with his power of invisibility!" Oh! That makes sense!

"Okay, now this may be a little cold," The doctor said before putting his stethoscope on his chest, as well as having us hear someone shiver in that spot.

"This must be like some kind of secret superhero hospital," I exclaim with excitement before my mind went to a thought. I had powers like these people. I had a sonar scream, the power of flight, and I even could control shadows. If my childhood heroes were real, then that meant I wasn't alone anymore. I wasn't the only one with powers anymore!

Could today get any weird and/or awesome!

"No, that-that's impossible," Oliver stated, breaking me from my thought. "Superheroes don't exist. That's crazy."

"Ollie," I began to scold when I heard someone sneeze behind me. I turned around, seeing a rocket flying around the room before it was coming right at me.

"Mara, look out!" I heard Kaz as I did a quick back-flip out of the way and had the rocket hit the flying saucer they were trapped in. I looked at them with a smile as the flying saucer broke into two halves and fell to the floor.

"No...that's crazy!" Oliver corrected as he pointed to the guy who shot out the rocket.

"Talk about a snot rocket!"

~Kaz's POV~

"And also talk about good reflexes! Nice dodge!" I yelled to Mara who was walking up to us, a smile on her pretty face. Yes, I said pretty! Stop it!

"Thanks," She said. "One good thing of taking gymnastics when I was 8."

"We've been reading about superheroes our whole lives," Oliver said, not hearing us it seemed. "Turns out they're real?! My whole world has been turned upside down."

"Not as much as hers," I said as I gestured to a woman who was hanging upside down in mid-air. I heard Mara giggle as she looked at her. I smiled at her, seeing a sparkle in her silver eyes. I didn't even know silver eyes were a thing until I met her 10 years ago with Oliver. Back then, I thought girls had cooties, but now...I can't take my eyes off her.

"Incoming! Incoming!" A nurse yelled, making us move out of the way quickly as we watched. "Make a path, people! I've got a non-responsive hero! Temperature's at 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit! And he's oozing weird, blue glowing stuff! Tastes like hummus. This dude needs medical attention, STAT!"

"That's the Crusher, the strongest man in the universe," I said.

"Yeah, what's wrong with him!?" Oliver asked as the monitors started beeping.

"He's going into cardiac arrest people!" The nurse said as he ripped open the hero's shirt and immediately looked bummed. "Okay, he and I have the same personal trainer. How is that possible?"

"CLEAR!" The doctor yelled as he shocked the Crusher's chest, with nothing happening. "His heart's not responding! I don't understand!"

"He's dying! We have to do something!" Oliver yelled.

"Hold on, if the Crusher's real, then maybe everything we've read about him is real, too!"

"Okay! Let's see!" Oliver said, as Mara looked on with worry. I took her hand and squeezed it to show her that everything will be okay, and she just grinned at me, her way of saying thank you. "In the latest issue, uh, the Crusher has just returned from the planet Ebrion."

"Where the gravity is 40 times that of Earth-" Mara stated. I could see her gears turning as she thought of this.

"He's crashing! CLEAR!" The doctor yelled again, shocking the Crusher's chest once more.

"Uh, maybe the extreme gravity pulled his heart from his chest down to his feet!" Oliver exclaimed.

"They're shocking the wrong place!" I realized where he was going with this. I turned back to the nurse and grabbed the paddles from her quickly. "CLEAR!" I yelled as I shocked the Crusher's feet, making him bolt up right as he breathed in air. I heard Mara sigh with relief as I smiled with pride. I saw the Crusher high-five the doctor, sending him flying backwards and land on the floor.

"Thank you, Nurse," I said as I handed her back the paddles. "I'll need the Henderson X-Rays in my office. Oh, and I'll need an office."

"Kaz," I heard Mara as Oliver pull me away from the nurse.

"What are you doing? We're not doctors,"

"You're not?" The male nurse (the one who pushed the Crusher in on the gurney) exclaimed. "Guards!"

"Oh, no – we're not guards, either," I said, looking at him.

"Uh, guys?" I turned around at Mara's voice, seeing a couple of guards in black masks that covered the eyes, and black and blue uniforms standing there.

"No, but they are!" Oliver yelled.

"Hi," Mara began with a sweet smile, "I don't suppose you can forget we ever came in here, right?" She was trying to buy us some time, I guess. Not helping, I might add, since they shook their heads at her. "Thought not." She sighed as the room somehow got darker. Was it always this dark?

"Commemorative "Terrified" Fake Photo?" I asked scared as Mara backed up into me, fear and worry on her face. I held up my arm and took a fake photo of us, holding our terrified faces, with the guards behind us.

OOO

We were pushed into a darkened room by the guards. I have to say, it kind of hurt.

"Take it easy," I exclaimed. "My mom just ironed this shirt!" The guards left, leaving us to our own devices while I reached out my hand, hoping to grab Mara's since she was supposed to be right next to me. And plus I know how scared she gets when we get into any trouble.

"What do you think they're gonna do to us?" Oliver asked with fear as I kept grabbing air. Oh, no.

"Where's Mara?" I asked instead of answering Oliver's question. "Wasn't she right beside me before we came in here?"

"Mara?!" Oliver called, not getting an answer. "Mara, I know you're in here with us!"

"Dude," I was now looking at the sign above the door, making Oliver look at it as well. "It says 'Now You Die'!" I exclaimed. "What if-?" I was stopped by feeling a small hand grab mine out fear. There she was! I forgot she tended to go quiet when she was scared.

"Do you think they mean you or me?" Oliver asked.

"W-well, it says 'y-you'," Mara's quivering voice spoke up, making me squeeze her hand to let her know I'm still here.

"It's okay, Mara," I whispered to her. "I'm right here. We're going to be fine."

"SILENCE!" We jumped in fear at the distorted voice as I felt Mara hide her face in my chest. I never knew why she was always clinging to me when she was scared. I guess since Oliver got just as scared as her sometimes that she felt safer with me. I don't know and I'm not complaining.

"You have trespassed in my hospital," The voice continued, "and for that, the punishment is-"

"Alan?!" Another voice spoke, making Oliver freak.

"THE PUNISHMENT IS ALAN!" He yelled before the lights turned on, showing us that it was just the cafeteria.

"Stupid sign," The doctor that came in said as he banged the wall, changing the sign above the door to say something totally different.

"Oh! 'Know Your Diet Facts'. That's far less scary," Oliver said with a smile, though Mara was still trembling a bit.

"Hey, it's okay," I said, making her look at me. "It's alright now." She grinned and stood up straight, brushing some of her black hair behind her right ear with a swift movement.

"Sorry," She said.

"It's fine," I said. "I'm always here." She grinned at me again before looking at the doctor that came in.

"Alan, what are you doing in the cafeteria?" The doctor asked.

"Uh...nothing, Uncle Horace," I heard behind me, making me look over to see a boy in a sweater vest and with short, curly black hair.

"Is that my mug?" The doctor, I'm guessing Horace, asked with surprise. "Send it over." I watched as the boy, I'm guessing Alan, took the cup and sent it over with telekinesis. It landed in Horace's hand and he looked it over.

"World's Sexiest Chief of Staff and Vice-Chancellor of Medical Administration," He paused. "Bought this at a gas station. What are the odds?"

"Uh," Mara started as Horace set the mug down on the table. "One in a million?" She still seemed a bit scared, but not as she was when the lights were out.

"I'm Dr. Horace Diaz, head of this hospital," Horace started again. "Who are you and what can you do?"

"Well, I'm Kaz, and I," I started as I took a napkin from the table behind me, "can do this." I pressed the napkin to my face, unfolded, and stuck my tongue out through it. I heard Mara snort at the little joke, I guess you could call it. That's what I was going for...sort of. I wanted to hear her laugh, but I guess she's still a little scared.

"Anybody can do that!" Horace yelled as I removed the napkin from my face, as well as getting some of it off of my tongue. "I meant, what are your powers?"

"Oh, we don't have any powers," I said in return, throwing the napkin away as I noticed Mara tense up as I said that.

"WHAT?!" I jumped at Alan's voice now, forgetting Mara for a moment. "Your Normos?! Normos can't know about Mighty Med! I'm gonna get a Normo Cage!" Alan soon went to march out the door when Horace put up his hand.

"No so fast," He said, freezing the boy in place and shocking all three of us in the process. "The Crusher is one of our most important heroes and you saved his life. How did you know that his heart wasn't in his chest?"

"Uh, well, I thought that the super-gravity on Ebrion might have pulled his heart down to his feet," Oliver explained, seeming proud of his quick thinking.

"Very clever," Horace said. "You figured that out faster than some our best doctors. Even Dr. Brain Head, and his entire head is a brain!"

"Yeah, we pretty much eat, drink, and sleep superheroes," Oliver said as I hummed in agreement.

"Literally!" Mara added on, finally seeming more like herself again. "This morning, he had a bowl of Honey-Nut Blue Tornado-O's."

"A true fan. I love this guy! We might be able to use someone like you around here." Horace then looked at Mara. "Also, nice back-flip earlier." She smiled.

"Thanks!" She said in return as her smile faded with the sound of someone grunting, though muffled, entered the air.

"What's that noise?" I asked confused.

"Oh, right, Alan," Horace made a gesture with his hand and unfroze Alan.

"We can't have Normos here!" He yelled as he walked over to his uncle. "I heard that if you touch them, your butt falls off."

"That's not true!" Horace exclaimed as I walked over to a table, Mara following close behind me as I picked up a bracelet thing. "That's not true, is it?"

"Um, no," Oliver said annoyed.

"Good. Because without a butt, what would I shake on the dance floor?" I heard Mara snort at that remark.

"So, you want us to work here?" Oliver asked with excitement.

"Not us," Uh-oh. "You." I felt Mara's gaze was on Horace now, most likely shocked to hear this news. "Your friends over there seem a bit...off."

"I wonder what this button does," I said as I looked over the bracelet I now had on my arm. I pressed the button, and my arm turned into a chainsaw, making Mara jump with a scream. Though, something about that scream seemed off. It was almost like it was super charged and felt like it was going to break me in half or something. Though my own scream was filling my brain, drowning hers out, as I reached over and pressed the same button as before. My arm went back to normal. Mara had stopped screaming as well.

"That was," I started, smiling after a while, "...AWESOME!"

"No, it fricken wasn't!" Mara yelled, her hand on her chest. "That gave me a heart attack!"

"You're still breathing, right?" I asked, earning me a glare from her.

"I think he just proved my point," Horace declared. "Though, she seems smarter than I thought." I heard her sigh with relief as she leaned against the wall, still trembling from that chain saw fiasco. "You, with me. You," Horace said, making me look at him. "Do you happen to know if you take a small or medium Normo cage?"

"What?" Mara asked, sounding exhausted from that scream she did.

"Whoa, whoa! I want to work here, too!" I declared. "I know just as much about superheroes as he does!" I gestured to Oliver. "Right, Oliver? Back me up." I had my hands in my jean pockets, a nervous habit I picked up as I grew. It was better than any other habit I could think of.

"Yeah," Oliver started, coming over to me, putting his arm around me. "Kaz is great! And, well, we kind of come as a packaged deal." Horace hummed for a bit, thinking over what Oliver had said.

"Okay, I'll give you boys a trial run," He finally said.

"Yes! We get to work with real superheroes!" Oliver exclaimed with a giddy smile.

"Yeah, man, I can't wait to tell Gus and Jordan about this place," I returned with my own giddiness coming through.

"Are you crazy?!" Alan yelled, seeming to have annoyed Horace at this point. "You can't tell anyone about Mighty Med! It's a top-secret hospital!"

"Alan, stop interrupting," Horace said before turning back to us. "Are you crazy?! You can't tell anyone about Mighty Med! It's a top-secret hospital!" Well, this just proved that Horace was indeed Alan's uncle.

"Uh, hi?" Mara spoke up, making us look at her with wonder.

"Oh, sorry. You're just so quiet, I keep forgetting you're here," Horace said sheepishly.

"Uh-huh," Mara had her arms crossed as she walked over to us.

"You're welcome to join them, dear," He said, a smile on his face that kind of reminded me of Mara's smile, just a little. Weird.

"I'd love that very much, thanks," She said, smirking at him like he didn't see her on purpose.

"Another thing," Horace said again, looking at Oliver this time. "If your friend here messes up, I'm holding you responsible." He patted Oliver on the shoulder before walking out of the room with Alan.

"You hear that, no goofing around," Oliver exclaimed. "Do not Kaz this up for me."

"Absolutely," I said, looking at the bracelet I used earlier. "Oh! I wonder what this-!"

"Nope!" Mara yelled as she snatched the bracelet away from me and tossed to the counters behind her. I just gave her a look.

"You're no fun!"

"I'm sorry. But I'm trying not to die from a heart attack at the age of 15," She returned.

"I thought you already had one," I teased, making her glare at me again.

"Guys!" Oliver yelled, getting our attention. "Why is the room getting darker?" I looked around. It was! It was just like the E.R lobby!

"The heck? Why is this happening in every room we're in?" I asked.

"We've been in two," Mara pointed out.

"You know what I mean!" I thought of something at that point. The crazy shade covering some of the light in rooms, Mara tensing up when I mentioned that we didn't have powers to Horace. Could it be...?

"Mara, what are you hiding from us?" I looked at her face, seeing her eyes widen in surprise.

"Seriously? Out of you and Oliver, you are the one to pick up this before him?" She asked.

"So you are hiding something?" Oliver asked surprise. "What is it?"

She looked between us slowly, stopping at my eyes to see that I was actually being serious right now. Something was up with her and I needed to know what. She was one of my best friends and I hated seeing her so scared or worried. Heck, I hated it when she was both!

"Mara?" I spoke, seeing her debating something in her eyes, and after a moment, she sighed.

"The truth is-" She trailed off, looking at her black-painted nails. She was still debating whether to tell us this or not, but I think I know which won when she looked back at us. "I'm not hiding anything."

"Mara," I scolded.

"No, I mean, I am, but-" She sighed. "But I'm not ready to share it just yet. When the time comes, I'll tell you guys. I promise, in the name of the moon."

"Really? Sailor Moon reference?" Oliver said, making her giggle. "But I guess since you love that show so much, it must mean something when you make a promise like that."

"It does," She said, grinning at us.

"Is it something bad?" I asked, getting ready to go beat someone up if it was.

"Oh, God, no," She said. "At least, to me, it's not. And I hope it's not to you." I looked into her eyes, seeing how serious and sincere she was about this. So I just sighed and brushed it off.

"Okay," I said. "But whatever it is, we won't judge."

"Yeah!" Oliver said. "You're my sister, adopted or not. And I'm sure Kaz is like a brother to you as well." Yeah...brother.

"Thanks," She smiled, coming around the table and having us form a group hug with her.

~Mara's POV~

"Superhero News Network has learned the ongoing reign of terror is the work of supervillain Megahertz, who refused to be interviewed for this story," The news lady said on the TV in the E.R lobby. I was sitting on the bed behind Kaz and Oliver, thinking of how to tell them that I had superpowers of my own. If anything, I felt like I needed to tell Horace first since he was apart of this superhero world!

"He did, however, issue this statement: mwah-ha-ha, ha-ha."

"Superhero News Network. I've never seen this channel before," Kaz said, making me look up while I pushed my dilemma aside. I can worry about it later.

"Of course you haven't," Horace said. "It's exclusively for superheroes. Whereas Supermundo is exclusively for Spanish-speaking superheroes."

"Puedo ver eso," I said, earning looks from my friends and Horace. I looked at them with wonder. "What? I maybe adopted, but that doesn't mean I don't know that my birth family is Spanish!"

"You're adopted?" Horace asked with surprise.

"Yeah. Oliver's mom adopted me 10 years ago," I smiled at him, making him grin and go back to the boys.

"Now," He said after a while. "Let me show you three around!" He gestured to a device behind him. "This is a Web Untangalizer for our arachnid-based superheroes."

"Spidey!" I exclaimed with excitement, which made Kaz snort at my outburst. "What?! I love Spider-Man!"

"As do I," Horace whispered before continuing on, gesturing to another device. "This is a Molecular De-Vaporizer. A lot of people get vaporized in this business." He then pointed to a picture on the wall. "And this is a picture of a bridge. I LOVE BRIDGES!" He walked on, making us look at each other before following him into a room with a lot of exercise equipment.

"This is the Rec Room," Makes sense. "It's where recovering superheroes work on strengthening powers and honing super-skills." I watched as some heroes were lifting weights or using their powers. I was definitely going to be working on my own powers here someday.

"Okay. So, if superheroes are real and out there saving the world, how come we never see you guys?" Kaz asked the obvious question.

"It's a combination of things," Horace stated. "Sometimes we erase the memories of Normos who witness our heroics. Usually, we don't need to because most of you are looking down at your phones all the time."

I looked over at Kaz and Oliver, seeing them looking down at Kaz's phone and making me roll my eyes.

"Guys!" I yelled, making them jump before Kaz looked at Horace.

"I'm sorry, what?" He asked, making me slap my forehead out of annoyance.

"Plus, some of us are invisible," Horace continued, seeming to have forgotten that Kaz and Oliver zoned out. "And sometimes we do things so fast you don't even see it. Like how you and I just switched outfits." He was looking right at Kaz, making me look at him confused.

Kaz looked down and back up, unfolding his arms. "No we didn't," He said.

"Or did we?" Horace held up a photo at this point, showing him and Kaz wearing each other's clothes. The heck?!

"But if you guys act in secret, then why are there superhero comic books and graphic novels?" Oliver asked, stepping forward as Horace put the picture away.

"We chronicle our adventures and sell them to the public to finance this hospital, the League of Heroes, and the Bowling League of Heroes," Horace answered, making me nod in understanding. It made sense really. But the League of Heroes? I'd love to know who they are.

"Here are your MM-200 communicators," Horace said as he held out his hand, three tiny devices sitting on his palm. "I'll contact you when I need you."

"Oh!" I reached over and took mine while Oliver and Kaz took theirs.

"Look at the size of these things," Kaz said with a smile.

"I know, sorry they're so bulky," Horace said, making me look at him weirdly. "The MM-200-S will be much smaller. And have new funky ringtones." After that, he left the room, leaving us to look around ourselves.

"Man," Kaz began, "look at all this cool stuff!" I looked at him, trying to hide in some laughter as he picked up a something silver on a small table. "Oh! I wonder what this is, some kind of high-tech memory restorer?" He put it on his head, making me cringe now.

"That's a bedpan," Oliver stated, making Kaz freak as he threw it off his head and repulsed in disgust.

"Ew, gross!"

"Wimp much?" I smirked, making him glare at me before he noticed a girl walk in, wearing a black and pink costume that had a lightning bolt on her chest, brown hair with a pink stripe in it, and brown eyes. She just looked at him with her arms on her waist.

"Sup, girl," Kaz attempted at flirting, making me sigh as the girl walked passed him and Oliver.

"Wait," Oliver said, getting the girl to look back us. "You're Skylar Storm!" She smiled at him, happy to be recognized by a fan. At least, that's what I'm guessing.

"Oh, dude! No way! You were just making out with a cardboard cutout of her!" Kaz yelled, making me slap his arm playfully for Oliver's sake.

"No, I wasn't!" He said through gritted teeth before looking back at Skylar, shaking her hand. "Hi, I'm Oliver. Big fan of your work. You have so many amazing powers."

"HAD so many amazing powers," Skylar said, making me perk up with the boys. "Yesterday, I was ambushed by the Annihilator."

"Oh, my!" I exclaimed. "Are you okay?" I got a grin from Kaz after saying this. What can I say? When someone gets hurt, I'm immediately asking if they're okay or if they need a doctor. That's just how I was.

"No!" Skylar yelled. "He neutralized my powers, took my invisible flying motorcycle, he even stole my costume! He left me just standing there, in my underwear." I looked at Oliver, seeing him trying to picture that when Skylar snapped her fingers in front of his face. He leaned over to me and Kaz.

"I will definitely be buying that comic book when it comes out," He said, making Kaz nod in understanding, but making me slap his arm now.

"Ollie! Mind out of gutter!" I yelled, getting a giggle from Skylar. I looked at her and smiled. "No girl should be left like that."

"Thanks," She said, before getting serious again. "Anyway, I came here to get my powers restored. Unless...EXPLODE!" She yelled as she reached her hand out to Kaz, making us jump in the process. But when nothing happened, she gave up and dropped her hand. "Nothing!"

"Bummer," Kaz said, before it hit him. "Wait! If you did have your powers, wouldn't I just exploded?"

"Into a million pieces," Skylar answered with a dreamy far off look in her eyes. I looked at Kaz, glad he was okay. He looked to be offended by this, until...

"AWESOME!" He yelled, making me roll my eyes as he high-fived Oliver.

"You do realize you would be dead if that worked, right?" I asked, making him look at me and his face paled.

"Oh, yeah," He said, losing his excitement. I just shook my head in amusement before thinking of something. I should go find Horace.

"I'll meet you guys later," I said. "I need to go ask Horace a question."

"Oh? What question?" Kaz asked with wonder. I knew he was trying to get me to tell him what I was hiding, and to be honest...maybe I was ready to let him and my adopted-brother know about my powers. But how would they handle the news?

"Mind your own business," I smirked back at him, deciding now was not the time. I got a groan from Kaz, telling me that he didn't like that I was keeping him in the dark. Soon, buddy. Soon. "Anyway, it was nice to meet you, Skylar. I hope you get your powers back soon."

"Thanks..." She looked at me, trying to recall my name that I hadn't told her yet.

"Mara," I said before waving to them. "See you guys later!" I then raced out of the rec room and to the E.R lobby, finding Horace at the counter. He was looking over some documents. I took a deep breath before walking over to him.

"Horace?" I asked, getting his attention and making him smile.

"Ah...Mara, was it?" He asked and I nodded. "What can I help you with?"

"I-" I took a deep breath again. "I have a confession to make."

"Oh?" He looked confused. I didn't blame him. I was confused as to why I was even telling him this before the boys.

I took one last deep breath and looked at him in the eyes. They looked oddly familiar to me. "Kaz was wrong about how we don't have any powers. He and Oliver don't, but-" I trailed off, creating a small orb of dark light in my palm. He looked at it in shock, clearly not expecting me to have powers like everyone else here.

"I do," I returned, making the orb disappear as I heard Kaz's laugh in the hallway. "The boys don't know about this yet, and I don't know when I should tell them. But-"

"Dear," Horace said, setting down his clipboard and putting his hands on my shoulders. "A hero should never tell their friends they're a hero."

"But they know about Mighty Med! And I'm not a superhero. I'm still just a girl with strange powers. I don't know what to do with them."

"Well, maybe you could become one," I looked at him, shock clearly present on my face. "I can see it. Your comic books would fly right off the shelf!"

"You think so?"

"I know so, dear," I grinned at him, thinking this over. Part of me was still apprehensive about this. What would my name be? Who would the villain I'd fight be? I don't even know if I'll have a villain! All this was new to me and I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

"I don't know, Horace," I said. "It seems like a lot for a 15-year-old girl."

"Look at Skylar," He said. "She's 15 and is kicking butt everyday! I'm sure you could as well. You have the flexibility for it, too! That back-flip was perfect!"

"Thanks," I giggled. That's when it hit me...I could do this. I could be a superhero. I had the powers, the skills (thanks to Bridget letting me take gymnastics). Maybe this could work.

Part 1, done. Now on to Part 2!