March 22nd: Day 1 of The Raven's Reign

Bertrand Tetherby…

No.

Mayor Bertrand Tetherby had done it.

'18 years. 18 long years of fighting the law.'

He gripped his cane and stared out the porch of his mayoral home, a block away from City Council. It was a modest home, for sure, almost akin to a farmhouse nestled deep in the neck of the woods known as the country. Red mailbox, brown porch with a swing near a black brick house, the wind hitting that sweet spot between cold and soothing. It had the benefit of having a view of one of the few truly grassy places left in Royal Woods, a grove known as Icarus fields.

'Usually when you fight the law you lose face.'

A flock of ravens swooped over the house, one chicklet choosing to descend onto Bertrand's stretched out finger. The mayor pet it gently, veering off into HIS new dawn.

'I stole its face.'

A bright sunrise, as golden as the mansion he grew up in, but with a far more authentic tinge, greeted him. If he reached out, he could touch the sun, could he not?

He could do anything now.

'The myth of the American dream was a myth by itself. One man can make a difference. He will. In just a few short days, Melanie Pingrey AND Lori Loud will learn the error of their ways. Maybe then they will join me in this sunrise. There's plenty of room up here in the clouds.', Bertrand whispered, closing his eyes and letting it sink in.

He had won the biggest battle.

Now he just had to win the war.

'Mayor Tetherby, I've got something you might want to see.'

Turning around, Bertrand was greeted with the sight of one of his most loyal lackeys, holding up an IPAD.

'Organized Chaos.', he greeted with a smile. 'Good morning.'

'Accurate, sir. The robot factories are already there. We've got hundreds volunteering for jobs. For once they were happy to be hearing sobs.', Organized Chaos informed, showing a chart with some impressive stats about the factories.

'Excellent! My gadgets will finally prove useful! We'll fix so many things with those factories!', Bertrand cheered, as giddy as a schoolgirl. He nearly felt like dancing.

'Not all things. The Guardian's rejection still stings.', the cyborg reminded, sounding bitter.

'You just hate the fact that she's beaten you twice. You don't need to worry about her anymore.', Bertrand explained, waving the concern off.

'How come? Your calculations don't offer a pleasing sum.'

'Simple, my friend.', Bertrand began to inform, staring off into the horizon again. He could almost picture The Guardian in the sky. 'Ms. Loud knows that I know her secret identity, as do a generous amount of my allies.'

Organized Chaos nodded, gesturing for him to proceed.

'I know where she lives. I know her family, her friends, her school. I've already cast the police, Griffin, out on her.'

'Then why not just arrest her now? Before she strikes me with another pow?'

Bertrand chuckled, sighing in pure content. 'Too suspicious. People will ask questions of how I know her identity. No. The answer is simple. A war of attrition. The Guardian hasn't got my experience, my pain. 18 years I've spent fighting. She's not even been alive for that long.'

He put on a small, malicious smile. 'She will give up, one way or another. She's not my main problem. Once Melanie is finished… No one is. And then, the sky, no, the sun is the limit.'

His eyes gleamed, the raven now sitting on his cane cawing. 'And then… Who can possibly stop me?'


16:36. Near the Park.

Mr. Perkins, of Perkins, Perkins and Pasthuzo at law, was making his usual trip to the kiosk to meet up with Mrs. Bennings to discuss this or that, with a cup of ground coffee black for him and a mocha latte for her.

Mr. Perkins wore a beige suit and a beiger expression. If looks could kill, his would bore. He didn't have much to him, and much wasn't made of him by others.

If there was to be one complaint, it was his strict adherence to protocol. The man trusted those higher up than him too much. If they told him it was in the books to jump off a building he'd ask if they wanted a somersault too as he descended to his doom.

Because of this, many in the industrial district wouldn't have minded if Mr. Perkins stepped into traffic and never stepped out. Those lining up to work at the robot factories would have loved to open the newspaper and see a tiny obituary stating that that bitch wasn't too wary when crossing the road to cross another lawsuit for supposed tax evasion by those who only wish they could evade.

Yes, it was exactly at that time that Mr. Perkins, so stuck in his ways, took a left as ever, when a right would spare his life.

The motorist speeding towards him had no chance of stopping. The people on the sidewalk couldn't warn him. Mrs. Bennings would be most upset, but it wouldn't upset the scale of his dislike/like ratio.

In a normal city, this would be it.

If she acted like normal people, this would be it.

But Royal Woods has a guardian angel.

And she unfurls her wings even when those she saves want her caged.

No one cared about Mr. Perkins.

Except for Mrs. Bennings and The Guardian.

ZOOM!

Like a bolt out of the blue, streaks of that color painting the dreary sky like a picasso canvas, The Guardian lifted Mr. Perkins and placed him safely on the right.

When he looked up, he saw nothing but newspapers floating around in the wind. Their headlines eerily accurate in answering his unspoken question:

"TETHERBY WINS!"

"Mayor Elect declares upcoming warrant for local vigilante "The Guardian".


Ms. Prunella Pershing was the head of the PTA, and you knew it from a simple glance.

She carried binders and PDA's like they were water in a desert, her hair collected up in a bun that witnessed tougher storms than Katrina. Her glance could organize a shelf alphabetically AND in order of release.

Some would call her a "Karen". Others would call her "Deeply passionate about her duty".

Most would never call her for dinner.

The Guardian knew that calling her would be a mistake, as she would call the police.

Ms. Pershing believed that the vigilante was a bad influence on the youth. She was, in fact, on her way to a demonstration against The Guardian, one planned once the Mayor's press conference would update the public on the projects he had planned. She believed that kids should be seen, not heard.

She must have regretted that now. Not being heard stung when you were being held at gunpoint.

The man's gun was silver, his eyes bronze. His words however were rusting her resolve to move on. The horrors he promised sent shivers down her spine, but she could not shriek, lest he bury a bullet in said spine.

For all her claims of people's right to defend themselves, she wasn't exactly capable of that herself. Irony coated her fate like metal coated the deliverer of said fate.

If she closed her eyes, she wouldn't have to see her life flash past them.

But one didn't need to see it.

All you could hear were her complaints. A megaphone without an extension cord. What use was shouting for a life preserver if you had no life to preserve? If all you did was beg for someone to listen about how something needed to be done, rather than just dare and do yourself?

No one listened to her anymore.

Except, ironically, for the one she didn't want to hear her.

PLINK! Tink, tink, tink.

Bullets didn't hurt the blur. Her pain was deeper than any gun's muzzle. The darkness she saw in it was nothing compared to the nights in her bed.

Ms. Pershing had no idea how blanket like a cape could be, or how eyes full of inky night could be more soothing than those that shine like the moon. The man was laid out on the street, a note blocking his mouth. Ms. Pershing had barely seen anything but the eyes. The eyes of the one she protested.

Dropping her near a police station so she could report the crime herself, The Guardian set off with nary a word.

Ms. Pershing couldn't fill in the silence. She was, for once, speechless.

But her picket sign naysaying the hero suddenly felt a little heavier.


Billy didn't have much going for him.

He was an average kid with an average life. He did averagely at school, he shared the average interests with his peers, and he lived one day at a time.

He had no connection to any of this, and that sort of upset him.

What matter of importance did he play in the stage of life? In the great drama of his once boring city?

All manner of heroes and villains and monsters and robots and mystery now took up the airtime of Royal Woods.

Billy was just a kid.

Who cared about him? Who cared about his well being?

There were basketball player high stakes at play.

Billy was a late bloomer with a cat up a tree.

His plight was but a footnote in the opera happening before him.

Except for her.

To The Guardian, every person was a stanza in her heart.

A blur came to save his meowling cat. But she couldn't be THAT fast.

Billy's gasp alerted her to his knowledge of her presence. Turning around, The Guardian attempted her nicest smile, sheepish as it was. She was supposed to be subtle.

'The Guardian! Thank you!', he cried out, overjoyed, his whole body shaking. Guardian gave him a simple 'That's my job' nod.

Just as she turned away to fly off, though…

'No one believes in you anymore.'

She stopped, and let out a sad but resigned sigh. 'I know. Sometimes people are like that.'

'But you're trying to help.', he tilted his head, confused.

The Guardian ruffled his hair affectionately, making him giggle. 'When you've screwed up, you should sit down. But if you know that they are wrong, you need to stand up for what's right. There's something I need to stop, with or without belief.

Billy shrugged. 'I believe in you, Ms. Guardian ma'am.'

'Thank you…'

'Billy.'

'Billy. That means a lot.', Guardian smiled back gratefully.

Billy then sighed himself, petting his cat and burying his head in the fur. 'But I doubt anyone would believe me that I saw you. Some think you're gone forever. And besides, I'm just some dumb kid.'

Guardian, knowing she really had to go, but listening to her heart instead of her head, whipped out the kid's phone and took a selfie with him in a snap. 'Say cheese!'

FLASH!

Then, she untied her cape and bestowed it upon Billy. 'I have spares. Besides, I need to go a little undercover for the next part of my mission.'

Billy, eyes wide with wonder, pinched the cape in his hands to make sure it was real. 'Good luck.', he whispered, saluting her.

Guardian, grinning, saluted him back. 'You're no dumb kid, Billy. Next time someone tells you that, remind them you motivated The Guardian to save the city.'

Suddenly, around the mostly deserted cul-de-sac noticed the vigilante and began shouting, calling for her to give herself up to the police.

The Guardian gave Billy one last smile and swooped off, her wings still not shot down.

Billy waved goodbye, hugging the cape close. Maybe one day he could do something special like her too.

Maybe he already did.


17:00. City Council. Industrial District.

A quick trip back home then a swift jog towards the city council. Lori had only been here twice but she was already sick of it.

You couldn't tell by looking at her. Her new covert outfit needed to be more than some old hoodie. Especially when her main target knew who she was. Thankfully, Luna had a slightly dusty old motorcycle jacket, and a baseball cap apparently did wonders for hiding one's appearance. Lori even threw on some sunglasses just in case.

For some reason, though, her blue eyes still seemed to gleam through.

Regardless, the undercover heroine had trudged her way through the streets of Royal Woods, past people of the industrial district who finally seemed happy. Lori wished she could share in it, truly. 'Raven's a real dick for this.', she thought, stepping over dirty sewer grates and leaves, passing a lamppost she couldn't help but swing from for a moment. 'For the first time these people are smiling. And I gotta stop that.'

She made another mental note to talk to someone, maybe the woman she would be meeting later that night, about her concerns for the people living here.

'Maybe that's why that man shot Lincoln. Maybe he too was desperate. I can't blame them for listening to him. I too want that literally amazing tomorrow.'

She shook her head. 'But sadly it can't be that perfect. I'll have to help them the hard way. No matter how long it takes, and that includes once Raven's gone. If I'm not gone by then.'

She then bit her lip. 'Stop, Lori. No more navel gazing. You know the plan. Now go and ace it!'

Looking up, she saw it. That stage where it all went wrong last night.

And he was still on it.

Next to Mayor Tetherby, who seemed as light as a feather, was Katherine Mulligan. You could tell she was enjoying this. Her exclusives with the Mayor from before he was elected were getting her some serious publicity. Was that a new dress? 'Yuck. How tacky can you get? Girl, watermelon is NOT your color.', Lori complained, chuckling at herself. 'You know, that and the fact she only chases headlines. Like, that's a problem too.'

Unlike Lyberti. Lori made another mental note to visit her. She was kinda worried about her safety. Make that a lot. Lori didn't do only a little worry.

Suddenly, a little girl gasped not far from her. Lori looked and the girl had somehow recognized her. Perhaps it was her eyes. She had noticed they were oddly glowy at times. The girl was holding her phone, and on it was a picture of The Guardian's symbol. She pointed at it.

Lori, winking, signaled her to be quiet and keep the secret.

The girl nodded. She still believed in her hero.

'Mr. Mayor, is it true that you've already got hundreds of previously unemployed citizens lining up for jobs in your robot construction factories?', Katherine asked, making sure she was the main feature of the current shot. Mark sighed and motioned for her to move aside. She didn't.

Mayor Tetherby nodded, remaining humble. 'It's just the first stage, Katherin. There is much work to be done. Many of our friends and neighbors are unable to work. They need their wounds to be mended, which is what our first batch of non security robots will accomplish.'

In the factories at the very same moment Tetherby spoke and described all which I am describing now, hundreds of people clamored into the place, black and grey and dusty already from work. Saws drilled, wires connected, computers beeped and gears whirred. The new walls of Royal Woods, automatons who would stop the sinners and heal the victims, began to assemble, eyes flashing as the only true light source in the place. Soon, construction robots would be sent to start the first major operation: Rebuilt the industrial district. Once the medical ones would be dispatched to hospitals, the security robots would then be sent to the street to locate crimes and prevent them in a moment's notice. All four major areas of concern for the city, financial, living, medical, and crime, would be taken care of just like that.

'The future is no longer coming, no longer some false dawn promised to you by those that live in it. Here are the keys. The present I give you IS the future.', Mayor Tetherby finished.

Wild applause, as per the norm. Lori blended in with a polite smattering of her own. Not like she disagreed with all that good stuff, like healing the wounded, after all. 'Heck, maybe they could help Lincoln.'

'And what are those security robots doing alongside that? Searching for the fugitive?', Katherine asked, prompting jeers and boos at The Guardian's name, plus a few raised picket signs.

Ms. Pershing didn't raise hers.

Lori cringed, but kept her cool. 'Ha. They can't even win a hating me contest. Zing.', she thought, ignoring how depressing that was.

Mayor Tetherby smiled calmly, like he could float. 'Oh, Katherine, the warrant isn't in effect yet! Besides, fugitive is such a hard word. The Guardian is simply confused. Once she understands right from wrong, I'm sure she'll come and help our cause.'

He stared right down the crowd, right at Lori. Did he recognize her? Mere coincidence? Lori didn't know.

But she stared right back, determined as all hell.

'Royal Woods will be safe. With or without The Guardian.'

Lori smirked, determined. Tightening her cap, she turned around, leaving the crowd to shout among themselves.

'You can bet your ass it's with.', she whispered, setting off into the sky.

She had a costume to pick up…

And a potential ally to meet…


22:00. Friday night. Captain Griffin's house.

'Mom, I can confirm that your hypothesis was correct: This is the best goddamn spaghetti you've ever made.'

In a room drenched with orange candle light, like the glowing ember inside of a crooked jack-o-lantern, Captain Nikita Griffin, wearing her special task force leader outfit, was having an even more special treat: Dinner with her daughter Shannon.

The room was glowing, and Shannon did too. She practically had dimples with the massive grin on her face. Shlucking another strand of spaghetti drenched in bolognese, she pointed her fork at Griffin. 'It's indubitably incredible!'

Griffin couldn't hold back her megawatt grin, and she even managed to eat a third of her food for once. 'Well, it's a special occasion. Didn't feel like takeout was apropos again. Besides, I needed the change of pace.'

'Exactly! See, I've been saying this for how long? A little cooking did you good! Us good!', Shannon pointed out, a little glop of sauce hanging off her cheek.

Griffin attempted to point it out without embarrassing Shannon, but she didn't seem to notice. Oh well. 'Then how come you aren't crediting yourself too?'

'Nah, I just cut some veggies. You mixed it into a masterpiece!'

The two women shared a hearty laugh, smiling fondly at each other. 'How I missed this.', Griffin thought. 'So much that I could barely remember having it.'

If only Greg was…

No.

'Not tonight.', Griffin thought. Standing up, she sighed, content. 'Well, I think I better start washing up.'

'No, mom, let me. You have a big day tomor…', Shannon started, grabbing her plate, but Griffin shook her head. 'No. I need this. I can't let you do it again.'

Shannon nodded slowly, happy to hear that. 'This promotion of yours must be really something! Not that I'm complaining. Turns out not having a mom isn't as fun as having one.'

'On that we can both agree. Now, if I can just get this job right.', Griffin addressed, already feeling tension in her shoulders. Shannon instinctually moved to massage them. 'Mom, come on, no negative thoughts tonight! I'm sure you'll be fine! Mayor Tetherby wouldn't have chosen you from day 1 just like that!'

'...That's true.', Griffin admitted after a long time, losing herself for a moment in the need to feel better. No time for that, she had to make others feel better.

'You know, it's not just a special occasion because of me.', Griffin started, a sly smirk forming on her lips the same time a stark blush erupted from Shannon's cheeks. 'What's his name again? Dex? Vex? Tex?'

'What kinda names are that? Mom, don't embarrass me!', Shannon started, biting her lip and stifling a chuckle that was both shy and full of repressed joy.

'It's strange. I seem to recall you saying you hated the guy. Pretty sure you were done with him a week or so ago.', Griffin deducted curiously, inquistive and investigative as ever.

'It was a bet, it was never supposed to… Oh, that's a story for another time. Point is…', Shannon trailed off, smile all jittery and jumpy, the signs of love at its purest. '...I really, really like him. Somehow. I was actually thinking… That maybe he could come to dinner? Say, next Thursday night?'

'On a school night? And next I assume you'll be holding hands out of wedlock.', Griffin pretended to be all aghast and shocked, a fake gasp parting her lips. Shannon, even redder, played with her glasses. 'Mom!'

'Heh, I'm just messing with you. Go along, I'm sure you want to text him or something. I've got to wash those dishes. Wouldn't want him to see any dirty ones when he comes.', Griffin winked. Shannon, over joyed, actually hugged her mother. 'Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise you, you're gonna love him!'

Shannon then turned around and smiled. 'I hope tomorrow goes well. I want you to be as happy as I am right now.'

She ran up to her room, shining like the only sun Griffin had left. She stared back, holding the moment, refusing to let go.

But she had to at one point, so she turned away, sighing a little sadder.

'...You wouldn't think that if you knew what my job was.'

Grabbing a plate, she washed it carefully. Using the sink sprayer and holding such a small thing in her hands…

Reminded her of when she would give baby Shannon baths.

'You were so small. So defenseless. As if the insanity to bring an innocent child to a world without hope wasn't enough. You also had to be so fragile.'

Griffin fought back the tears as she wiped the plate. 'Yet, no matter how hard I try to protect you, it seems that ironically I am the only one that cracks your porcelain face. I almost forgot you could smile. I thought your frown was fixed on forever.'

Eyes closed, she gripped the counter, knuckles whitening. 'I'll tell her. I know I must.'

One lonely tear made sure the plate was still not dry. 'But at least let me enjoy her sunshine one last time… Before she sets me in your unforgiving night forever.'

Suddenly, a noise. A sort of footstep. Coming from above.

Near the top of her house.

Opening the door, still holding the plate and towel in one hand, Griffin nearly reached for her gun.

'Problems with your daughter, Captain? Anything I can do?'

Griffin looked up, but she didn't have to to confirm her frown.

On top of a railing connected to the house stood none other than The Guardian, blacks and blues both blending in and standing out in the night, a larger than life figure right above her doorstep. The hero's cape flowed majestically in the wind, the stars seemed to shine off her golden hair that dangled between her dark yet shining eyes, sunlight criss crosses on a night sky. That G almost seemed to taunt Griffin. A goddamn insignia. A frikin folklore.

A legend.

A scoff as ice cold as the march wind depart ed from Griffin, who resumed drying the plate, almost as if that would ground the sky fairing vigilante, who was now floating above her, like THAT was normal. 'Friday night. Shouldn't you be out hanging with your friends, or whatever it is you kids say nowadays?'

'My job doesn't let me take weekends off.', The Guardian retorted, still staring down at Griffin from the inky night. Griffin inspects her from below. Telltale scratches on her cheeks. A pinkish bruise that was clearing up was visible from one of her sleeves. There was a bullet still sort of wedged into the blue patch on her left leg. She shook it, and the bullet fell down and clinked melodiously, filling the silence.

Griffin scoffed again, a grimace full of resentment coating her brown face, that illuminated the sky in its own way. 'Job. Ha. You never told me that comedy was one of your superpowers.'

'Neither is detection.', Guardian replied, finally landing on the ground, right before the open door and Griffin herself. The teen couldn't help but stare in, in case she saw Griffin's daughter. 'Are you sure you don't need help?'

'Even if I did… Yours would be about as helpful as a knife to the back.', Griffin stared her down, almost daring her to fight or flight. Her fists were clenched, and the gun in her pocket was feeling mighty antsy.

'Okay…', Guardian suddenly turned awkward, yeeshing with an oof sort of grimace. 'And here I thought you and I were bonding.'

'We took down ONE serial killer.', Griffin argued, trying to ignore how ridiculous it all sounded. 'We are NOT bonding! You…'

She kept her voice down, mainly because of Shannon, but also because of her job. 'You are a freak. A costumed menace. A goddamn vigilante.'

'I'm also someone who can stop what's coming. And I need your help for that.'

The Guardian bit her lip, thinking about the day before. 'Besides, I know someone who's tried to do it on his own. I wouldn't want my good intentions to pave a road like his.'

Griffin seemed to ignore all that and focus on the first part. 'You think I'm going to help you?'

'I mean… Yeah? I literally walked here, didn't I?', Guardian pointed out matter of factly, before sheepishly adding 'Well, actually, I literally flew here. So I got that wrong, to be honest. But you know what I mean.'

'No, I don't know what you mean!', a harsh whisper nearly buzzed Guardian's ears. Griffin stared back again to make sure no one was listening, and continued. 'Because you live in some fantasy world where you can put on a dopey costume and silly codename and punch a few purse snatchers and that makes everything okay, and I live in…'

'28 D.C. Street?', Guardian couldn't help but let out a little quip.

Griffin shut the door.

'Wait!'

Sighing morosely, Griffin wondered why she even bothered to open it again.

'Captain Griffin, I swear on my life that this is a matter of life and death! For the entire city!'

'Yes, we agree. If you turn yourself in, it doesn't have to be.', Griffin replied, bitter yet also… Guilty.

Guardian sighed, crossing her arms in a half pout half concerned self hug. 'Yeah… The task force coming after me. You heard. Duh, you're a captain.'

'...I'm the leader.'

The girl gasped, eyes shivering and mouth agape as she stared transfixed at Griffin, who seemed almost regretful. '...But…'

'But what, kid? You could have joined Mayor Tetherby! He offered you a position! I mean, I think it's crazy to even consider, but fine, maybe because of all the batshit things happening in the city, using your powers temporarily wouldn't be the end of the world!'

Griffin ranted, eyes blazing with fire and brimstone. 'But why on earth would you fucking say no?! I thought you wanted to help, that's what you told me back then, that day when we saved those kids! You said you just wanted to do what's right! You can, so you do!'

She almost grabbed her by the collar, shaking. 'Then why don't you?!'

Guardian bit her cheek, frustrated. If only she had some evidence…

'I can't explain. I don't have any way to. All I can tell you is… Is that I know that something is off. With Mayor Tetherby, with his robots and plans. People are going to get hurt, and that's not worth it even if he DOES stop whatever he's so afraid of that could destroy Royal Woods!'

Griffin listened to all of it, hating how it almost sounded… True. The girl may have been garbed in black with her blue, she may have scared a decent number of criminals and regular folks, she may have been a goddess among men to some…

But she could see that… That normal average girl, the one who had put on her costume and took to the sky to bring people to the ground, not under her control. She could see it in her eyes. The eye shadow was like a dirty lie, because this girl did not lie about her intentions, her beliefs, or her wants.

It burned Griffin from the inside, ate her alive. The criminal she had to stop was pretty much the closest Royal Woods had to a guardian angel.

'...You can't just make such accusations. Especially with no evidence.'

'You know me by now. Surely you know that…'

'I do! God damn it, kid, I do!', Griffin erupted, making Guardian jump. 'But news flash: I'm not exactly accustomed to taking advice on massive conspiracy accusations about heads of government from a 16 year old with a fucking cape!'

'...17.', Guardian corrected, realizing too late the bad timing.

'Ugh! Why can't you just leave me alone? Why can't you just leave this alone? For your safety, damn it! Give up, or join the mayor, I don't care, just stop!'

Griffin's tears couldn't be seen, but Guardian could hear the pleading on her voice as she placed a rough but gentle hand on her shoulder, and she could see the pleas to escape in her eyes.

'...Look at me. You don't want this.'

The Guardian took a moment, breathing deeply. Listening to her heart like Skelly suggested.

But she knew the answer anyway. She was just double checking.

'...But they need me.'

The Guardian then turned away, mysterious and enigmatic. Her voice was already in that heroic mystical tone she took, and it was only increasing. It sent chills through Griffin's spine. '...And I do want this. I want these people, my family, to be safe. Something that's hard is usually worth doing.'

'...You can't do this. No one can just take on a whole town's problems. Especially if the government is chasing them.'

The Guardian didn't turn back. She simply reminded her. 'I can, so I do.'

Griffin didn't respond. A part of her just stood there, admiring the girl before her. How could such kindness and love exist in the world she knew? She was such a paradox: On the one hand, so hard to believe…

GRUMBLE.

Guardian clutched her stomach, coughing shyly. She blushed as she turned around. 'Whoops. Sorry, ma'am, your spaghetti just smells totally dope.'

And on the other, so clearly a kid.

'I'll hate myself in the morning for this.', Griffin grumbled, opening the door. 'When was the last time you ate?'

'...Yesterday afternoon. I think. I was sort of imprisoned.', Guardian explained, like it was normal. LIKE IT WAS NORMAL.

She walked inside to the now darkened room, Griffin hoping Shannon couldn't hear. 'Thank god for airpods.', she thought, as she took her own unfinished plate, added some more bolognese, and gave The Guardian.

'A…Are you sure? I literally wouldn't wanna impose.', Guardian said, shy and embarrassed, still clutching her aching stomach.

'You flew to the top of my house.'

'Yeah, but I'm a superhero, you kinda expect that. They don't really eat at a police captain's house. Dang, even I know that!', Guardian commented.

'Just eat the damn food.', Griffin ordered, resuming her dishwashing. Guardian, still a little hesitant, took a bite.

She didn't stay hesitant for long after.

Griffin couldn't help but look back. There she was, the protector of Royal Woods, the sky blue knight of the town, eating at her dinner table with a nearly adorable expression. She clearly needed this. 'Mmm, this is SO good! You have a gift, Captain! It's like there's a party in my mouth and all the boy bands I stan are invited!'

Griffin face palmed. 'God, you really are a kid.'

Sitting down in the chair in front of her, Griffin cleared her throat and clasped her hands. Guardian stared at her, trying to ignore the tasty meal.

'...From tomorrow morning, the taskforce and I are going to come after you. I'm not going to hold back.'

Guardian nodded, as serious as Griffin was.

'Good. We understand each other.'

Griffin took out the picture she held so dearly onto. Of her daughter.

'Now, as much as it pains me to say this, I don't necessarily think you're lying. I know that, in your own warped twisted way, you mean well.'

She put the picture down, and she sent a stake into Guardian's heart with her glare. 'But I have a job too, vigilante. And unless I am somehow convinced that your vague bullshit with zero evidence is 110% true, I won't rest until this city is safe from your childish games. One way, or the other.'

The Guardian took this all in as she quickly finished the spaghetti. How she wished for her help, how she had hoped for it.

But she wouldn't give up, even with this new obstacle. She would just endure, until she could finally let it sink in and she could close her eyes and rest forever.

Getting up, she passed Griffin, before turning back one last time, outside now in the front yard, the moon shining off her making it seem like she was glowing.

'...Don't worry, Captain. Everything will be okay with your daughter.'

'...What makes you think that?', Griffin asked, turning her head away.

Offering her kindest smile, The Guardian began to fly off.

'Because you don't need superpowers to know that you're a good person.'

Griffin watched her go, and shook her head in despair.

'God… I hope you're wrong about him so you can be right about me.'


March 23rd, Saturday. Day 1 of the Hunt.

Captain Griffin hated to be interviewed. She hated the glorification of her job and the exposure of violence and crime in the media. She hated that it was like she was some sort of hero for doing the bare minimum while others counteracted against it.

But sadly, heading the task force sent out to arrest the world's first superhero wasn't exactly a silent or subtle job.

With two robot guards (Centuriborgs, as they were being called) flanking her, arms crossed like they were bouncers at a nightclub, and a group of specially selected cops with experience and strength holding gigantic white shiny weapons that looked like they were out of a sci fi movie (blasters, taster staffs, force field nets), Griffin tried to pretend this was normal as she got a Katherine Mulligan mic shoved into her face.

'As the head of the task force appointed by Mayor Bertrand Tetherby to seek and arrest the vigilante known as "The Guardian", I am tasked with the responsibility of informing the people of Royal Woods of this mission and the dangers that come with it.'


All across the town, people tuned into their TV sets to see the monumental event.

In the Fox's den, the occupants were cheering, dancing, clinking beer mugs, outside of a disparte few who wondered what this really meant.

"The Guardian", of course, is the metahuman who has taken it upon herself to, well, guard this city. And while her intentions are appreciated, her execution is not.'

'Damn straight!', cried out one thug as he touchdown'd his glass onto the floor.


At Pingrey Enterprises, Carol and Melanie watched on in discomfort and fascination, their lavish penthouse overlooking the town beneath them, queen bees above an anthill.

'Her crimes include breaking and entering, assault of criminals and officers, unlawful arrests, destruction of property, and if she continues to ignore this warrant, resistance of arrest.'

'Oh no… I don't know, mother. She seemed nice enough to me. She saved my life!', Carol informed, wishing she could somehow do something. Lori would know what to do. She should really ask her about it.

Melanie just watched on, not at Griffin, but at the man standing a little to the left behind her, draped in shadows.

'...What ARE you planning, Bertrand?', she whispered, stroking a plant on the desk near her.


Bertrand, staring at a search warrant he was presenting a judge soon, smiled calmly at everything that was going on.

'Just a bit more, Bertrand. Just a bit more.'

'From this moment onwards, The City of Royal Woods and it's police department will be heading out to arrest this vigilante. We are still open to her helping out.', Griffin continued, trying to sound as dry and robotic as possible.


Lyberti and her father, in their dingy apartment, viewed the event with lumps in their throat.

'I gotta talk to her and fast.', Lyberti said.

'Starlight, this is getting really dangerous. I don't know about this…', her father started.

Lyberti cut him off. 'Dad, I gotta at least try and come up with some advice! She can't stop what's coming like this!'

'...Talk to me after work.'

'Work? On a Saturday?', Lyberti asked, flabbergasted, as Mr. Evans walked out the door with a coat.

'New job!', he smiled, tipping his hat. 'Took the 7 day a week option!'

Lyberti shrugged, offering him a tiny smile. 'Don't overwork.'

'No such thing when you're at stake, baby.'

Lyberti heard the door shut, but her heart didn't stop hammering.

'The Guardian needs me.'


'But if she continues to choose this path, she is not a hero, but an irresponsible danger to those she claims to care about.'


The prisoners at Royal Woods penitentiary all cheered and screamed out for The Guardian. 'BRING HER TO US! BRING HER TO US! BRING HER TO US!'

Heist screamed loudest, using Bluey as a megaphone. 'BRING HER TO US! BRING HER TO US! BRING HER TO US!'


'People are advised to stay careful. Look up news alerts for hotspots of Guardian sightings. Report her whereabouts to your local cop. Keep away from this situation. The new weapons and robots we are using are still a tad raw, and we don't want anyone, including The Guardian, hurt.'


Pepin, listening to the broadcast on her phone, sighed in relief. 'At least I can find my brother without this shit in the background'. She thought, as she pedaled away from Royal Woods.


Griffin put down the papers of her speech, and suddenly spoke from her heart, staring right at the camera, her voice and eyes springing to life.

'Vigilante… If you are listening to this… Please. Stand down. You don't need to do this. You don't need to fight against the city you claim to care for so clearly. Maybe we CAN work together to protect Royal Woods. The hand is still offered.'

Griffin waited for an answer she knew would never come. Then, she put down the papers, sighed, and straightened her hat.

'Time to get to work.', she declared to the rest of the task force, wishing she could be doing anything else.


At the Loud House, the family was watching the broadcast too. Everyone was, except for 4 specific Loud kids, who watched from Lisa and Lily's room.

The first, Lily, was dozing off peacefully in her big sister's arms, unaware of the monumental, history shattering events occurring right in her room. Her tiny tuft of blonde hair got rubbed gently as she snored, a big content smile on her face, feeling safe.

The second, Lisa, was queen of her domain, so she appeared confident and collected, when she was probably still a little nervous and anxious about all this. Regardless, she was standing next to a slide presentation, having meticulously planned since last night once Lori had informed her of what had gone down with Captain Griffin. A remote hid in her pocket, holding onto items that would guarantee the safety of her eldest sister at this most inconvenient time. Captain Griffin would NOT want to encounter Lisa in the middle of the night, that was for sure.

The third, Lincoln, seated on Lisa's bed, because he had no other choice, seemed frustrated and a tad ticked off about all this. Forces out of his control once again acted, and here he was, next to someone he didn't know shared his secret. A part of him knew it was unfair and childish, but he had so little to be proud of these days. He really didn't need this. Still, what mattered was the stuff going on outside of him, stuff that he had never in his wildest dreams imagined.

And it was all surrounding the fourth, Lori. She wasn't wearing her costume, yet her aura could still be felt at that moment. It helped that her build had really improved, her biceps and back muscles becoming clearer and clearer. She wasn't ripped by any means, but she looked a lot stronger than the average 17 year old teenager. Holding Lily in her arms and rocking her gently while floating above her two other siblings, she stared at the slide presentation with the usual storm of emotions swirling in her gut, clouding her blue eyes, like thick smog clouds in a big city night. Fear of what was to come. Anger at the difficulty. Guilt at everything. Resolve to endure it all. Yearning to make a difference.

And through it all, pure, unadulterated heroism. Lori didn't look forward to it, but she didn't truly care that she would be hunted and attacked. She had a city to save. What was one more obstacle these days?

'Ahem.'

Lori's attention turned towards Lisa, who pressed a button to flash onto the next slide. It showcased an image of today's newspaper. The headline?

"Public Enemy Number 1: The Guardian"

The picture, a front profile of the eponymous hero caught from when she first got caught properly on film, descending onto Heist, reflected onto Lori, perfectly symmetrical. The costume almost seemed to form on her from the light, the nearly sepia tone of the newspaper splashing the room with a dull brownish orange color that set the mood. These kids were dealing with a city's fate.

Lisa held her hands behind her back. 'So, I think we can all agree that our mutual friend is certainly in a far more confounding conundrum than we foretold.'

Lincoln harrumphed, hunching his shoulders and rolling his eyes. He was almost punishing Lisa's bed for her supposed transgression by gripping the covers hard with his clenched, shaking fists. 'Our mutual friend. Yeah. That's all very mutual.'

'Do I sense a modicum of envy, elder brother unit?', Lisa remarked curiously, raising an eyebrow. Lori supported her little sister. 'Lincoln, I literally didn't tell her, she figured it out!'

'Whatever. She knew for ages and didn't do anything up until now. Lori's been in some scary stuff, ya know? Coulda used some of your gizmos and whatsits!', Lincoln whined, being a little unfair. Lisa, attempting to choke down her fears, shook her head. 'I am well aware of how… Reckless my eldest sister unit has been.'

Lori hung her head in shame, seeing through Lisa's self made walls. 'I'm sorry, Lisa. I never meant to drag you into this.'

'You didn't. I dragged myself. And what you need to do right now is drag yourself away from Captain Griffin and her crusade against your crusade.'

The image of Captain Griffin's conflicted face reflected from Lisa's glasses. One lens showed Griffin's pleading eyes, the other, her gun.

'Especially when we have other things to focus on, like that the mayor is our arch enemy! I can't believe that's The Raven!', Lincoln enthused, getting carried away. 'I mean, it's kinda sick, so mastermind, but also like, no, please, don't use our democratic foundations for super villainy pwease.'

'What I struggle to comprehend is why you'd endeavor to beseech Griffin to lend her assistance to the cause. We've all heard her rants about you! Am I the only one in this alliance to possess an iota of common sense?', Lisa complained hands on her hips, almost scolding her eldest sister.

Lori let it go. She couldn't blame her for her rudeness. It was a tough time for everyone. 'Captain Griffin isn't so bad, guys, honest!'

She stared at the slide, seeing tiny stress lines standing out in the woman's face. Not dissimilar to ones she had seen in her own reflection from time to time. 'She's like staring into a mirror sometimes.'

She looked back at her siblings. 'She's only doing this because she thinks it's right.'

'So is The Raven, if your freaky accounts are right. Yeesh, I'm still getting shivers!', Lincoln retorted, holding himself from shaking.

'Regardless of whether or not the captain COULD be a potential ally, it stands to reason that we need to deal with this, er, "Raven".', Lisa redirected their attentions, clearly a little green with the whole weird aspect of this new part of her life. Pressing a button, the slide turned to the mayoral residence, the picturesque view corrupted by the visage of the man that terrified all of them, Mayor Bertrand Tetherby.

'A bone fide supervillain is our mayor.', Lincoln commented, thoughtful and not overawed anymore. Lori nodded, angling Lily so she'd be more comfortable. 'Yeah. He makes Heist and Mr. E and even Hocus Pocus all look like bears in tutus.'

'A bear in a tutu would still be really dangerous.'

'No, they would be cuddly and cute and my friend, don't destroy my dreams.'

'Moving on…', Lisa droned loudly, waking them up, and pressing another side, showing a full view of the outside of the house. 'Before we can take on the entire government of Royal Woods, we should probably gather some information, no?'

Lori and Lincoln resoundingly agreed. 'Right!'

'So, here's my suggested plan: Lori, or more accurately, "The Guardian", will go incognito and investigate this location and two others for clues: The robot factory that Tetherby began yesterday (click) and the old Tetherby mansion (click).'

'I'll use my new undercover look!', Lori proposed, weirdly giddy and giggly. Lincoln and Lisa raised their eyebrows at this and tilted their heads at the same time.

'...I just think it looks cool. Plus I get to wear these really chic heels! I'm thinking of adding my seashell necklace too, for bonus style points!', Lori explained, adorably grinning and clapping her hands.

'Sure…', Lincoln and Lisa shrugged and carried on. Small pleasures and all, they guessed.

'Anyway, why not the lair? I mean, I know it could be very traumatic, so you don't have to, but maybe it has evidence?', Lincoln suggested, aiming a sympathetic look at Lori. He was trying his hardest not to think about the horrors his sister had gone through in there. Lori sent a reassuring glance back. She was made of tougher stuff, thankfully.

Lisa sighed, fiddling with her glasses. 'Lyberti and I were so focused on finding Lori that we didn't take any pictures or videos. A flagrant error on our part. I sent over my robot to survey the area again and all the evidence was gone.'

'Gone?!', Lori and Lincoln exclaimed, disappointed. They snapped their fingers in frustration.

'Indeed. Hence why we need to take these new locations with the utmost seriousness. It doesn't matter who helps us and who's against us if we can't prove what Tetherby has done. We'd be going up a creek without a paddle.', Lisa lectured, tapping her remote on the wood of her bed.

'Well, Lori can fly, so…', Lincoln joked, and Lisa rolled her eyes. 'Did I not just pertain to the seriousness of the matter?'

'Lisa's right, Lincoln. All of this, all of our efforts will mean nothing, if we can't stop The Raven from endangering innocent people! We have to find SOMETHING to prove he's guilty, or The Guardian will fail ag… Will fail.', Lori almost slipped, biting her lip. Clenching her fist, she breathed hard. 'No. That won't happen. Never again. No one else is getting hurt under my watch. NO ONE.'

'All right, but what about the task force hunting you? How are you going to do your regular patrols, plus uncover The Raven, PLUS avoid getting arrested?', Lincoln asked the question no one had so far dared to ask, and Lisa had to admit he had a point. 'Considering the weapons these robots and police have (click), plus the apparent fact that this Raven has found ways to temporarily depower you, PLUS that your confidence can lead to weakness moments, like when you escaped Royal Woods penitentiary… Perhaps you should put some things aside and focus on the bigger picture, to lower the heat. You could get hurt. It will certainly be challenging thanks to all that, to say the very least.', Lisa laced her words with a little venom, clearly dissatisfied with Lori's failures to stay safe so far.

At first, Lori seemed apologetic. But she quickly used her newfound resolve since her peace with her other self to find the strength to fight. 'Challenging can kiss my ass. I eat it for breakfast with a cream cheese bagel.'

Placing Lily down in her crib and kissing her softly, Lori then turned to her siblings with her hands on her hips, the shadows and lights from the slide projector seeming to form the outline of her costume, or something similar to it. It seemed a little… Upgraded. Lisa couldn't help but notice it as she watched Lori talk, her sister now someone else, someone better.

'Every big picture has corners, you guys. Raven and Griffin might be focused on me and whoever Raven is so afraid of, but what about everyone else? Should they get hurt so I can be safe? If we do that, we're no better than The Raven! You're worried about me, but I'm worried about the lonely lady locked out of her house in the middle of the night who has nothing to do with any of this! I'm worried about the drunk homeless guy who's gonna get beat up for just trying to live! I'm worried about the kids who need to walk home and have no one to watch over them! Not to mention all the new potential victims Raven will decide are okay if it means stopping his so called 'future threat' or stopping me! There's more to this job than stopping bank robbers and supervillains. I'm supposed to guard ALL of Royal Woods. And that's exactly what I'm gonna do!'

Her words were so inspiring and full of genuine heroism that Lisa lost her train of thought. Lincoln nudged her. 'She's so awesome.'

Lori tried not to let her guilt consume her. 'Thanks, Lincoln. That's really nice of you.', she shook her head, trying to focus only on the people who needed her.

'Well, I could still do some research on your powers to counteract all the confidence issues and etc.', Lisa proposed, a set of Doctor Octopus style arms coming out of her backpack.

Lori paled like a ghost and shook her head slowly. 'Noooooooo.'

'Suit yourself.', Lisa shrugged, and the arms retreated. 'In that case, plan B.'

'Plan B?', Lori and Lincoln asked at the same time, tilting their heads.

Shuffling over to a closet, she stated 'Plan B is why I've been 'hidden away here' the whole time. You were all worried over nothing.'

'I wouldn't say nothing.', Lori muttered, but Lisa shushed her. 'You have no right to talk considering your sense of self preservation.'

Lori pouted. 'Darn, she's right.'

Lisa opened the closet, giving Lincoln a stink eye now. 'Btw, here are your gizmos and whatsits, Lincoln.'

Blinding lights shone on Lori and Lincoln, then the two sibs ooh'd and ahh'd at the collection of gadgets before them.

'Okay…', Lori started, setting down onto the floor before the closet and clenched her fists with determination.

'Time to go to work.'


Day 1, Saturday. The Hunt for The Guardian begins.

It's 15:00, and The Guardian's patrol began.

So did the Task Force's.

It was oddly sunny at the national bank when two knuckleheads decided today of all days was the right one for robbing the biggest bank in the city.

But maybe they weren't wrong. For whatever reason, the police alarm didn't go off, and the Task Force are busy getting a call for the supposedly more important responsibility of sighting The Guardian.

The two robbers laugh to themselves as they fill gym bag after gym bag with wads of dollar bills and personal belongings. Jewels litter their necks and fingers and money sticks out of their trench coats.

The sun shines above them, leaving them totally drenched in warmth, perspiration coating the green money. 'God, what I'd give for a little shade right about now.', one, big and wide, says, stuffing more money into bags while the second, short and thin like a rail, aims his gun at the tellers, laughing at their scared faces shaking from behind their binds.

Suddenly, he got exactly what he wanted. A large shadow looms over him, and for a moment he's happy about it.

Then he realizes that's impossible.

And impossible means…

'Happy to help with the heat, sir. And how about a different kind of shade: Your outfits are basic and so is your crime. Real original.'

He and the other criminal looked up and shrieked in fear. It's The Guardian, of course. Floating above the two of them with her fists preparing and her smirk as sparkling as the warm star above them. She's already freed the tellers.

'Tell me if you've heard this one before: I beat you up and you go to prison.', she delivers.

'I've heard of it. Wasn't funny the first time.', The small guy says, firing at The Guardian.

She dogged the bullets with a sassy shake of her hips, then landed with a thud, shaking the bank floor.

The small guy charged at her. Big mistake. The Guardian grabbed him and threw him up and down like he's a basketball, before dunking him onto one of his big bags to collect the money.

'You ordering what he's having?', Guardian asked, as if she's jotting down an order. The big guy decided that he's tired of seeing her smirk.

'Look, Ms. Guardian ma'am, I just… It was only one time, my friend here told me it would be easy…'

The Guardian walked towards him, footsteps like thundercracks. He winced, but found a soft hand on his shoulder rather than a punch. Opening his eyes a crack, he spotted her understanding face. 'Peer pressure sucks. Let me guess, money problems?'

The man somehow found a way to nod.

'You still need to make up for what you did. You could have hurt someone, at the very least been complicit. That's the word, right?', Guardian wondered, before tapping her chin and nodding. 'Right, that! Anyway, there's no reason why you can't find a better way. I have a few friends who could use some workers, maybe someone can sponsor you too. I'd be glad to help you get out of this life before it's too late!'

The big man, nodding again, let himself crack the tiniest smile. 'You'd really do that for me? They said you was irresponsible and all that.'

The Guardian smiled in return, shaking her head. 'I'm just trying to help.'

'But will they let you?', the man asked, jumping at a sudden sound.

One of the tellers had called the police, reporting not a crime, but a Guardian sighting.

'FREEZE! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!', one of the centuriborgs cried, aiming its megablaster arm, white light gearing up to fire. Three smaller centuriborgs, plus two armed cops and Griffin, all aimed their guns too.

The Guardian stared back at the guy, and cracked her neck and knuckles, determined.

'They're gonna have to catch me for that.'

Grabbing the man, Guardian flew away with the robber, dashing past the task force. They fired at her quick and fast, but each shot missed.

Guardian couldn't help but stick her tongue at the main Centurborg. She hoped Raven saw it and choked.

'Hold on, was there a robbery here? Why didn't you say anything about that?', Captain Griffin asked, as the task force kept shooting at The Guardian, destroying lampposts and traffic lights.

'The Guardian has to be caught, Captain. Is that not YOUR job?', the teller with a bald head and owl esque glasses answered, the other tellers nodding their heads in agreement, save for one or two who seemed a little less sure.

Griffin's eyes shifted away, biting her lip. 'Right. My job.'

Looking up, she saw the destruction caused by the task force already. 'Stand down! She's gone and has a hostage, of sorts.'

'We'll get her next time. She'll pop up soon.', one copper shouted, a little too gleeful.

'Hmm.', Griffin remarked, the gun feeling heavy in her pocket, her badge feeling heavier.


17:35.

A couple of hours later (after taking the robber to a shelter and giving him the address of her father's restaurant that was looking for workers), The Guardian went off to the industrial district, searching for her next area of interest.

She found it quickly. Some sort of street fight. Gang war activity? 'I've never heard of any gangs around here. That might be new.'

Rousing her determination, she snuck into an alley to get the drop on them. 'Better nip that one in the bud asap.'

"The Shadow" ain't taking over this city, bud!', one tough, wearing biker chain mail and a WW1 helmet, aimed his spiked bat at the raincoat wearing mobsters. He was accompanied by a green haired punk with nunchucks and a purple haired woman with two knives.

"The Shadow" doesn't take no for an answer, comprende?', one raincoat wearing mobster states. Another, wearing a white straw hat, chuckles. 'He thinks he's in some sort of movie. This is no even playing field, man. No one's stronger than "The Shadow".'

Suddenly, both groups could hear footsteps. Their road, littered and filling with smog, hid the damage done to the local stores of small town folks.

But she could see it.

Emerging from the shadows and smoke, her costume was like a blue lighthouse reassuring any store owner around that they would be fine.

And warning those gangsters of what was to come.

'Tell "The Shadow" he's really gotta watch the news one day. Too busy playing Animal Crossing?'

She smirked, anticipating beating up those selfish snakes. 'Mood.'

'It's The Guardian! Charge her!', the punk gangsters cried.

'Who's The Guardian?', "The Shadow"s men asked, shrugging their shoulders. 'That's some girl in a costume. Run along, little girl, go back to your mami and papi.'

'It ain't even dinner time. I can still play.', The Guardian quipped, and she soon answered the raincoat wearing mobsters query about her.

POW! The spiked bat punk's weapon got smashed in half with one punch. Guardian knocked his helmet to stun him, then slammed him onto the ground by picking him up.

The green haired guy struck her with his nunchucks. SLAM! He got slid into the ground, scratching his face all over. The Guardian then spun around, striking him twice with both her elbows, before a simple knee to the face sent a tooth flying.

The purple haired girl threw both her knives. The Guardian blocked one with her cape, and caught the other one with her mouth. Spitting it out, she spun in the air this time, striking the girl with her punches and cape.

Backflipping towards the raincoat wearing mobsters, she turned around and curtsied with her cape. 'The Guardian, protector of Royal Woods, Michigan. Charmed.'

The gangsters, realizing what they were facing now, began firing at her like crazy. 'SUPERNATURAL! SHE'S SOME MONSTER!'

The bullets struck her chest and flew off. Then she did, making them lose their minds even further.

'You're getting a real show! Now how about the punchline?', The Guardian joked, before slamming into all of them like they were bowling pins.

'WHAT THE HELL IS SHE? SHE'S SOME SORT OF FREAK!', they cried out, tumbling around in the rain.

The Guardian chuckled, before getting struck by more bullets. Not the ones she expected, however.

'IT'S HER! SHE'S SOMEWHERE IN THIS SMOG, NEAR THE SECOND HAND BOOK STORE!', cried out one of the task force.

Two Centuriborgs flew up into the sky, restraining The Guardian mid air, the hero growling and struggling against her captors.

'WHAT IS THIS MAD CITY? GET OUTTA HERE!', the hat wearing gangster cried, running away with the other mobsters. The Guardian screamed in frustration. 'THOSE GUYS WERE SHOOTING UP THE STORES! YOU HAVE TO ARREST THEM!'

'We don't have to do anything you say, criminal!', another copper shouted, trying to shoot at her again. The Guardian deflected it, accidentally hitting the copper. He went down with a scream, clutching his arm. 'She attacked me! She attacked me!'

The Guardian grunted, wiggling out thanks to the mild dew drops falling from the smog. Griffin, just now arriving, huffing and puffing, demanded to know what was going on. 'I'm the leader of this task force! You can't charge without me! What even happened here?!'

'I was stopping some gangsters. Last I remember, that was your job.', The Guardian scoffed, aiming her disappointment at Griffin, as she began to escape.

'Fire at her, Centuriborgs!', a third copper demanded, but they took too long. She grunted and fired her upgraded taste staff, just about striking the vigilante, who managed to fly on despite the electric shock slowing her down. 'Follow her!'

'No, wait, there are stores that got attacked here! Plus three perps! We should arrest them first!', Griffin ordered, taking out three pairs of handcuffs.

She hated how everyone seemed far too jumpy. How none of them wanted to deal with this.

'Ignore her.', Griffin whispered to herself.

But it was hard when she wasn't saying crazy stuff.

She usually wasn't.

'God. Does that mean she's right, or I'm going crazy too?', Griffin wondered.

She could barely lift her gun.


21:00. Police Station.

'She can fly. She has some sort of super strength and invulnerability. Anything else?', Captain Griffin asked, standing before multiple newspaper clippings, sketches and TV screens showing The Guardian. Katherine Mulligan was reporting about The Guardian sightings and how the task force failed to catch her twice. Great.

The station was full of the task force men, the robots charing in stations nearby. The coppers were all tired but also rowdy, admiring their upgraded weapons and suits, throwing darts at a picture of The Guardian.

One copper said 'She has a dopey costume.'

Everyone laughed, except for Griffin, who roused them into attention with sharp claps. 'Focus people! We have been assigned to apprehend an extremely dangerous metahuman! I need you to take this seriously!'

'She's terrifying.', one cop suddenly interjected. Everyone turned to him, and he shook as he spoke. 'I was just, well, dealing with a dealer when she came out of nowhere.'

'Brandt, you're not part of the task force. Why didn't you call us?', Griffin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Brandt coughed. 'Guess I was panicking.'


It was an hour earlier. Brandt was dealing with a dealer all right. Getting his usual cut of the action. Two other associates piled up tons of crates of cocaine into a truck disguised as an ambulance. It was an orange light district, and there was no one in the street to witness the corruption in play.

Except for one on a rooftop just above them.

'I know some relatives who are hitting some hard times. New customers perhaps? Besides your usual of course. Can't complain about those guys.', Brandt chuckled, enjoying a Cuban cigar at the same time as he counted his cash.

'Those rehab center guys are the best. They can't help themselves!', the dealer laughed, shuffling the money in his hand and enjoying the feeling of it on his palm.

'Literally!', laughed Brandt, smoke billowing up to hide the shadow descending above him.

BOOM!

The four men looked back and gasped, too frozen to move. The Guardian looked up at them slowly, her cape like cracked fingers reaching out for them, G visible past the smoke. Her gloved fists grabbed the two cuban cigars and cracked them into dust. 'Evening, boys. Looks like you're having fun. Mind if I join you?'

The four men finally unfroze and took out their guns.

That didn't last long.


'She smashed the guns too! Like they were made of… Of putty!', Brandt explained, nursing his arm in a sling. 'Then she let out this laugh, half humorous half… Terrifying. She said something to the dealers, about how she didn't take too kindly to people taking advantage of the less fortunate, and that it was very fortunate we had met her, so she could straighten us… I mean straighten them, of course.'

'Of course.', Griffin muttered, nursing a headache.

'Her fists were like lightning! They were practically invisible and then pow! Right in our faces! I tried to explain I hadn't done anything wrong, but she seemed angriest at me, for some reason! Her eyes were like a raging sea, she roared like a beast! I've never heard anything like it!'

The other coppers laughed. Brandt frowned in response.

'Stop it, please, let Brandt continue his… Interesting story.', Griffin motioned for Brand to keep going.

'She… She was just so fast. She zipped around in the sky, it was like being attacked by some sort of eagle, maybe a banshee even!'

Brandt really sounded choked up and scared as he finished. 'But then came the worst part. She grabbed the truck holding the drugs with her bare hands! Lifted it like it was stuffed with fluff! Then she dumped it in the pier, and waved goodbye as the other guys ran. I… Well, I couldn't stop them, and she threatened to hurt me, so I ran too. To the hospital.'

Griffin sighed, as the other coppers kept laughing at Brandt. This would be a long night in, searching for the vigilante.

'We coulda grabbed those guys. We've been chasing them for months. Maybe if I was there…', she thought, but shook her head.

Her gun and badge didn't shake.


Day 2. 6:00.

Griffin stirred awake, the drink in her lap spilled.

She shook her tired, dizzy head, feeling the third migraine coming on.

Clutching onto the desk as she stumbled and fell, she rose up high enough to meet the TV screen.

'An eyewitness report claims the contrary to most, that apparently The Guardian isn't as bad as she seems! Let's hear from her now!'

Katherine sounded as cynical as ever. The woman talking didn't. Her silvering hair meshed with her turquoise sweater. She seemed very thin and saggy, older than 50 in appearance but not in truth. She held onto a finished bowl of soup like it was a genie's lamp.

'I've been struggling to sleep. Every Saturday night, I walk over to this bench near Lynn's Table and just… Try and find something in the sky. A sign. It's just not the same since Denise passed away. She's my best friend, see. Was. Point is, she was a pilot. She always told me when she'd die that if I looked up I'd see her flying past in the distance in her plane. But maybe I'm not like her. I could never see anything.'

Coughing tears, she then began to smile, her whole face shifting in a beautiful way, like the effort was worth it. 'Well tonight I did see something fly past. Right towards me. She's such a nice young girl. Polite. She had some really nice cat videos on her phone, plus she introduced me to a nice band, "Boyz will be Boyz". She says one of their songs played when she first kissed her boyfriend. When I kissed my first girlfriend, we had Abba. It's good to see the kids have fun music too.'

Clutching onto the bowl, she showed it to the camera. 'She bought me some soup. Turns out the owner works late shifts sometimes! She seemed really fond of him, and I don't blame her, what a nice man, gave it to me free of charge! She said that if I change my walk time to Saturday afternoon, we can share bowls of soup at the place, so I think I'll do that now.'

'And you are telling us this why?', Katherine asked, making Mark facepalm.

'Maybe now you'll see something nice in the sky too.', the woman said kindly.

Griffin shut the TV and grabbed her head, sprawled over the desk.

'You're not making this any easier, vigilante.', she muttered, hearing the crack of rain. Another long day.


13:45.

Like it couldn't get worse. Ofc it did.

The girl was stopping a frikin' murder.

'Shoot me again! Come on! Let's see if that satisfies you, asshole!', The Guardian bellowed, taking bullet after bullet to her insignia. The murderer, wide eyed and terrified, began striking her with the gun to the face, but she simply grabbed him by the neck and struck him up to a wall in the office, protecting the shivering employee hiding behind his fax machine. 'I don't like being tickled.'

She smashed him through the wall. Then, rubbing the back of her neck, she stopped being so scary. 'Sorry, dude. I can literally fix this! Or, well, I can get someone to. Not exactly literal. Eh, you know what I mean!'

The employee nodded, gulping. 'Is he… Faint?'

'Yeah, thankfully. Why did he even want to kill you?'

'Got p-promoted instead of him. P-People can be really crazy sometimes.', he explained.

The Guardian shook her head and tutted. 'Well, let me tie him up so he won't cause anymore problems. Anyone got some rope?'

'I got some duct tape, Ms. Guardian!', one worker cried, shaking her duct tape excitedly.

'Oh, that could work! Thanks!', The Guardian waved, then turned to the employee with a card to Dr. Lopez. 'Therapist, I recommend her to anyone I save who's particularly shaken.'

'Oh. Thank you.', the employee whispered, clutching the card. '...Can you stay a little longer? I think it's sinking in that I… You know.. Nearly died.'

'I wish I could. I don't want the task force to enter here and destroy the place. Here, contact me on this number. I'll visit you when the heat is down later.', Guardian offered him her new burner phone number, plus a comfort blanket she now had tucked away in one of her pouches.

The employee agreed, feeling a little safer. When The Guardian turned, the other employees already tied the man up. 'Not everyone thinks you're a monster. Whatever your reason is, we know it's not out of a bad place.'

Struggling to hide her tears, the mascara eyes fluttered in gratitude, and Guardian saluted the workers. 'Literally the best. I'll make sure to… Um… Buy my paper from here.'

'Daww, thanks!', they all waved her goodbye as she flew out the open window.

'Look! There!', Griffin cried, grabbing one of the upgraded blasters. Firing, she just about caught The Guardian in the side of the chest. Taking a breath to deal with her stitch, the hero stared down and shook her head. 'Sorry, you guys, I can't! I'm busy doing your job! Later, losers!', she did the L sign and blew a raspberry before flying off again, heading towards the park to find anyone else who needed her. She smiled, satisfied. 'For once, I'm doing a good job.'

She allowed herself to enjoy the happiness of others for once.

Meanwhile, Griffin felt the rain drops cascade down onto her, steaming, like the rain inside hell. Looking up, she saw the office workers boo her and the task force. 'She stopped a murder, morons! What did you do?!'

'...I've been asking that myself.', Griffin pondered, letting the rain soak her. Just to feel something. Just to feel lighter.

But her gun and badge would sink.


00:00.

Another long day. Another day of failures.

Two days in and Griffin was even more conflicted than ever.

Lying in her chair, struggling to stay awake, she thought of all the stuff she could have stopped.

'Thank goodness The Guardian was there.', she thought, before slapping herself.

'What are you saying? Get a grip, woman! She's a criminal and you're a cop!'

But the anger was fighting with the regret, and the regret had brass in those knuckles.

'Where is this going? She's avoiding us at every turn. And the people I've been saddled with aren't exactly helping matters.'

They were messing around again, enjoying the power of their weapons. Did they not see how heavy the duty was on their shoulders?

'Or am I the only one drowning in the shallow swamp?'

Suddenly, she got a video call. Excited, she prayed for Shannon. To see her daughter's face after that long weekend would mean everything.

No such luck.

'Captain Griffin. How's the mission treating you?', Mayor Tetherby, sitting outside again, greeted her from the comfort of his home. He sounded like he had woken up from the best sleep. Griffin could tell, since she never sounded like that.

'Like a pig in high heels. We've gotten nowhere, Mayor. She's slippery, efficient. We just… We have nothing.', Griffin grunted, facing away with shame. 'I'm also concerned about my partners. I feel like they're not… Well, I think they aren't understanding the gravity of the situation.'

Tetherby still sounded oddly calm. He seemed to hold some warrent in his hands. 'No need for those storm clouds hovering above you, Captain. The storm has only just started, and besides, I have an umbrella for you. You need to work smarter, not harder.'

Griffin nodded, clutching her fourth drink and breathing in the smoke emanating from outside. It burned her lungs, and it was better than thinking about The Guardian, and how she almost missed that conversation they had. It was the last time she didn't feel like total crap.

'What do you know about her?', Mayor Tetherby asked.

'Well…', Griffin marked off on her fingers, no coat on despite the cold. Her frozen stiff digits barely reacted. 'She can fly, she has super strength, invulnerability, she patrols the city around 15:00 until the next morning most days, weekends at all times, she stopped a bunch of murders and drug deals and…'

'And why those patrol times? Remember, she's a teenager.', Tetherby raised.

Griffin's eyes widened. 'And it's a school night.'

The keys clicked and clacked on her PC. Tomorrow morning she'd have to hope Shannon wouldn't catch her.

Because her high school would have an unscheduled visit to find out which one of them was majoring in vigilantism.


March 25th. Day 3. 13:58.

Lori had grown to really enjoy many aspects of her new life.

Saving people, being there for them, using her powers.

It was like she'd become the big sister of everyone in the city, and Lori loved that role.

But, like all things, there were drawbacks to every joy.

Being a big sister meant you could get annoyed, fail, be saddled with all the responsibility.

Being a superhero meant the same things.

And sadly, both didn't absolve the fact that Lori still had to…

'Go to stinkin' school.', she sighed, trying her best not to fall asleep on the desk. The eggshell white classroom was about as engaging as a doctor's waiting room. Lori wondered if her powers prevented dying from boredom.

'I hope they do. I'm not supposed to die until this is over.', Lori thought matter of factly, which was worrying to say the least. Opening her notebook (which had a few science observations but mostly doodles of L + B (Lori plus Bobby) in hearts and a few diamond constructs she thought were pretty), Lori tried to pretend that the droning of the substitute science teacher was actually a really bitchin' beat.

'...Nah. Only Luna could make that sound awesome.', she thought, resigned to her fate. Only a minute left, but the clock seemed to stretch out to infinity.

Lori stared at the sub. He was so dry and stuffy, like a sneeze at a dust factory. '...Whatever the heck that is.', Lori smiled at her strange thoughts.

She couldn't help but wonder where Mr. Fenrisulfer was, though. He rarely took days off, especially when they were soon entering final exams.

Not that Lori NEEDED to ace those. She already got her scholarship to Fairway. But she couldn't slack off, especially with her dipping grades.

Making popping noises to pass the time, Lori stared to her left and saw Shannon.

'Huh. Didn't remember she was in my late period science.', Lori mused, observing the Java Club member. She had never really interacted with her, outside of knowing she and Luan went to drama club, and that apparently she was a sort of moody nerd.

She seemed pretty chipper right now. She was trying to be subtle about pinkie locking with her seemingly new boyfriend, Rex, but it was about as subtle as a Barbed Wire strike to the face. The two were like red cherry tomatoes in a basket.

Lori, chuckling, whispered in her direction. 'Try and use your textbook.'

Shannon, nearly eeping, turned towards Lori and mouthed 'Why?'.

Lori winked. 'Experience.'

Shannon blushed as she realized what Lori meant, and quickly raised the textbook. 'Thanks.', she whispered back, smiling shyly. '...First time.'

'Long overdue.', Lori said kindly. She didn't really know Shannon, but she didn't think she needed to. 'Everyone deserves a chance to be loved.', Lori thought ironically. 'Everyone except me.'

Then she added 'And Hocus Pocus. Cringe. Poo Poo. Lo-SERRRR.'

RING!

'Finally!', Lori exclaimed, before realizing she said that outloud. Sheepishly, she rubbed the back of her neck and lied. 'I mean… Finally, I can… Reflect on all the life changing teachings you provided, oh wise sensei.'

The sub was so boring he didn't even get angry. 'Okay.'

Lori rolled her eyes. 'Mr. Fenrisulfer would have had his eyes pop outta his sockets and probably curse my mother a few times.'

'...Why would I miss that?', Lori wondered. Tiredness must have been getting to her, she thought, as she walked out of class. She was pretty sure she could suddenly see her backpack floating in midair at the halls. 'Weird. Backpacks can't fly. They don't have wings.', Lori pondered, lifting it up into the air.

'Um… Lori?', a voice cracked and squeaked, sounding very flustered.

Lori soon understood why. It was Carol, who was now hanging off her back like a backpack, as red as Shannon and Rex were. 'Must be hot today.', Lori thought.

It was raining cats and dogs.

Putting her down awkwardly, Lori laughed it off sheepishly. 'Sorry, Carol! I didn't see you there, I thought you were my backpack!'

Carol didn't seem to notice how insane that sounded. She was sort of busy trying not to melt after all. 'Oh, heh heh heh, um, yeah, (gulp), no problem, being that physically close to you that I could smell your hair doesn't twist my insides into a human pretzel, I'm fineeeeeee.'

Stifling a few airy gasps and giggles, Carol turned to Lori with a deep breath. 'Say, um, I was just trying to talk to you because… Well, see, it's been a while since we talked!'

Lori, now walking with Carol towards her locker, shrugged. 'What do you mean?', she asked, opening her locker that was filled with pictures of Bobby.

Carol, opening hers that was filled with pictures of Lori, stammered nervously. She couldn't stop twiddling her fingers. 'Well, I mean, since the whole thing that happened when my mom got attacked. We… Um… Haven't spoken. Including the field trip. Though to be fair that was kind of distracting.'

Lori, wide eyed, closed her locker. Carol thanked whoever was up there that the girl couldn't see inside her locker. 'Wait, really? OMG, Carol, I'm SO sorry! I didn't mean to forget my best friend, I just… Well, I guess I did. God, I'm so sorry, I'm such a jerk!', Lori apologized, berating herself hard. She would have hit her head on the locker (not like it would have hurt that much) but she didn't need Carol to ask why it didn't hurt that much.

Carol shook her head, reassuring Lori. 'Oh, don't worry!'. Her voice took on another octave as her heart hammered, her hair getting all pulled by her own fidgety hands. 'I mean, I'm very forgetful, unremarkable really, I wouldn't stand out in a sweaty basement incels named Cucamonga convention.'

Lori, ever the hero, placed a comforting hand on Carol's shoulder, unknowingly sending the girl into gay panic mach 5. 'Hey. You're unforgettable. Don't ever forget that.'

Carol, redder than a red dwarf, licked her lips and gasped out 'Okay…'

Smiling, Lori whipped out her phone. 'I'm a little booked right now, but let's try and hang out sometime next week, okay? Have a good ol' girl's night!'

'Really? Oh, that would be wonderful!', Carol cheered, before trying to play it cool. Lying back on her locker, she said 'I mean, cool, nice, totally normal routine for us, let's do that. Cha-ching. Bingo. 23 skidoo.'

'...What?', Lori asked, confused.

'I mean yes! Like… Great! Let's do that!', Carol tried again, a little too loudly.

'Okay! It's a date, then!', Lori finalized, giving Carol a quick hug.

Squeaking again, Carl fell down on the floor, then got up and blurted out 'Got a Krav Maga class, no free period for me, Moms, you know what I'm sayin', yeah you do, because you're so smart, and pretty, and perfect, and will you marry I MEAN BYE, STAY BEAUTIFUL! I MEAN STAY NOT BEAUTIFUL! NOT THAT YOU AREN'T, I JUST MEAN… OH, FUCK IT, JUST BE HAPPY, OKAY, THAT WILL MAKE ME HAPPY, OKAY, BYE, FOR REAL NOW, BYE, BUH BYE, CIAO, ARRIVERDERCI HOT ST… BESTIE!', Carol caroled, holding her face in her hands and internally screaming as she ran off.

Lori, oblivious as fuck, waved goodbye cheerfully. 'What a good friend!', she thought with her hands on her hips, brightened up by Carol's caring nature.

Shannon and Rex then passed, the former holding up a textbook hiding their pinkies. She flashed a quick thumb's up at Lori, and went back to shy whispering with her boyfriend.

'Wow. How obvious can you get.', Lori shook her head fondly, before heading off from her locker towards the school paper office. 'I would have noticed if someone acted like that next to me.'

With all the crazy stuff that had been happening with the task force, plus Lori's regular tasks as The Guardian, she hadn't had much time to talk to Lyberti like she had planned.

'I hope she's got free period too. I don't have that much time before I start patrolling again.', Lori thought, ignoring her still stitched side and her wobbling knees. She was overworking again, but she didn't have time to pay attention to that when there was more work to do! 'I can sleep when I'm dead.', Lori thought, again being far too hostile to herself.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), Lori was so tired that she didn't realize she had said that part out loud.

Now, Lincoln and Lisa (both staying home because of their parents concern about their mental states) didn't get what Lori truly meant, but hearing that was not exactly welcome regardless of the breadth of their knowledge.

'Lori, we spoke about this. You will NOT endanger yourself!', Lisa scolded coldly from the radio earrings, restraining anger.

Lincoln was a little more gentle. 'Come on, Lori, this isn't good. Those kind of thoughts don't make you more productive, I can attest!'

Lisa gave Lincoln a frustrated look. 'Is everyone in this cursed family clinically depressed?!'

'Leni seems happy.', Lincoln and Lori lamely tried.

'Ugh. Goddamnit.', Lisa cursed while Lori walked into the school paper office. 'Guys, try and be quiet now, I've gotta talk to Lyberti and see if she's okay. Plus, she should know what's going on.'

'As Lori?', Lincoln asked, confused.

'Don't worry, I'll figure something out. But she needs me. She looked real scared back in the lair.', Lori reassured, and looked around the dark room. 'Huh. Where is she?', the teen wondered, only to suddenly be blinded by a strange flash of light.

'Guardian! Is that you?!'

Lori blinked the lights away and panicked. She had to come up with something, and fast! 'She's not nearly as hot as I am!', Lori tried, grunting. 'Well, better than usual, I guess?'

Turning the flashlight away, Lyberti revealed herself, hair all messy and eyes with a few bags. Lori turned on the light and the girl hissed, hiding underneath the desk.

Rolling her eyes, Lori lifted her from the scruff of her shirt like a cat. 'Are you okay?'

'Who, me? Sure! Just looking for The Guardian!', Lyberti raved, explaining away while she looked outside the window multiple times. 'My radio earring hasn't been working, so I've been using this signal light I invented once! It has her G symbol on it! But evidently she hasn't seen it on the school walls yet.'

Lori looked at the flashlight, hmm'ing. People really did struggle to reach out to her. 'Once the heat is down, maybe I should figure that out with Lisa.', Lori mused, before returning her attention to Lyberti. The poor girl seemed really frazzled.

'Hey, sit down. You seem a little… Out of sorts.', Lori suggested, setting her down on the seat and smoothing her hair. 'Have you taken a shower recently?'

'No, I… Wait, who are you? Why are you being so nice to me?', Lyberti asked, confused. She sniffed at Lori. 'Person I've never met?'

Lori gulped. She had sort of forgotten she wasn't in costume right now. 'Oh, well, I… I'm Luan's big sister, Lori.'

'Oh, right, her. Still doesn't explain it.', Lyberti commented, eyeing Lori suspiciously. 'My journalist senses are a tingling!'

'Yeah, well, my sister senses are a tingling, and your hair is messy, so let me fix it!', Lori ordered, and something about it made Lyberti sit down and listen. Using some saliva like she was some sort of lioness, Lori went about setting Lyberti's hair right. 'Gotta be really careful, I don't want to offset it. Don't move.'

Lyberti struggled to, as she was a very jumpy person. 'Moving is my drug.'

'Welcome to the rehab center, Dr. Lori at your service.', Lori quipped back, continuing to reset Lyberti's hair, humming as she did. She used to do this for Lola a lot, and missed it.

'But still, we've never met.', Lyberti pointed out.

Lori, for once, came up with a good excuse. 'Well, see… Ah! Well, The Guardian sent me.'

'The Guardian?! You're also friends with… I mean, associates with The Guardian?!', Lyberti asked, startled. Her eyes sparkled and her legs bounced.

Lori chuckled fondly. She really grew a liking for Lyberti. 'Oh, yeah! We're closer than you'd think. Like, way closer. Super close. Practically twins…', Lori trailed off, realizing she was selling it a little thick. 'Um, point is, she knew that I go to your school and asked me to reassure you that she was okay.'

'Is this about the task force? Because thank goodness, I was worried about her!', Lyberti said, throwing her arms out wide.

Lori knew she shouldn't have been surprised, but still she felt quite touched. 'Aww, really? How come?'

'I care about her, duh!', Lyberti answered like it was the dumbest question ever. To her it was.

To Lori it meant a whole lot. 'Despite… Despite how you've already been kidnapped twice?'

'How do you know?'

Lori choked on air and stammered 'Like I said, we're close, she told me.'

'Ah! Well, again, yeah! She saved me after all! And it wasn't her fault it happened! Mostly mine, really.'

Lori pouted at Lyberti's sad look. Too familiar. Too relatable.

'Now, now, don't you worry. The Guardian told me…', Lori started, before getting an idea. 'Actually, you wanna tell her something, right? You were searching for her, no?'

'Yeah!', Lyberti asked, excited, nearly ruining her hair again as she tried to turn. 'You can bring her to me?'

'Um… No. She's really busy right now, figuring things out about…', Lori lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. 'Mayor Tetherby.'

'Yes, him. We have some BIG sus!', Lyberti announced, vibrating with nerves and excitement.

Lori couldn't help but chuckle fondly again. 'Okay, so let me help you. I have her number on my phone.'

'She has a phone now? Sweet, now I can reach her!', Lyberti stated, pumping her fist. Then she stared at Lori with a curious squint. 'Does she have games on her phone? I get easily distracted during stakeouts.'

Lori shrugged. 'I wouldn't know. I mean, maybe she'd rather you stayed safe, ya know?'

'But I gotta help! Let me talk to her about that!', Lyberti insisted, jumping off the chair, thankfully not ruining her now fixed hair.

'Okay, okay, just a sec!', Lori called out, shaking her head at the girl's bounciness. 'You're like a firecracker!'

'Heh, heh, sorry. I'm just… This means a lot to me.', Lyberti shyly explained, shuffling her feet.

Lori's offered a watery smile and soothing eyes, and patted the girl on the head. 'I'll just call her incognito, okay? Don't worry.'

There was something about how Lori spoke… It reminded Lyberti of someone.

One thing for sure: She already liked her.

Excusing herself, Lori ran out to the closet near the room and closed it tight, squeezing between two brooms and a dustbin.

Taking out her regular phone and her burner, she started a conference call, and hoped she could change her voice just enough to fool Lyberti.

'Lori? Is this The Guardian's number?', Lyberti asked, voice crackling and cracking at the same time.

Lori took a deep breath and put on her voice. 'Yes, it is.'

'Guardian! Oh, I am so happy to talk to you! Are you sure you're okay?'

'Don't worry. Lori told you the truth. I'm fine, I promise.', Guardian reassured, her familiar soft yet strong timbre echoing in Lyberti's ear.

Lori's decidedly higher pitched and more casual voice rang out. 'Ms. Guardian, Lyberti here's been worried. You really should have spoken to her by now.', Lori criticized herself, now that she was sort of free to do that outloud, she jumped at the chance.

But before Lori as The Guardian could apologize, Lyberti interjected.

'Hey, Lori, everyone makes mistakes! Don't make her feel bad! She's so busy, trying to save everyone, avoiding the task force, trying to uncover Mayor Tetherby! No one's perfect, not even The Guardian!'

Lori struggled to hold back her grateful smile or tears. '...Thank you.', she said, in her regular voice.

'Lori, I was talking to The Guardian!', Lyberti chuckled, thinking the girl was silly.

Lori gulped and changed her voice. 'That is, yes, thank you, Lyberti! I needed to hear that! See, you're helping me!'

Lyberti squealed, setting another smile on Lori's face. 'Yes! Oh, I needed to hear THAT! Thank you!'

Calming down, she asked 'Well, what's the next thing I can do?'

Lori bit her lip. The hard part. 'Lyberti, I really do appreciate your help. But you got kidnapped again! Mayor Tetherby knows who you are! I really need you to lay low.'

Lyberti's mood drop was so clear you could hear it from the closet. 'Oh.'

Lori changed tune to reassure. 'Now, don't you worry, Lyberti! I'm not saying you're on the bench for good!'

Lyberti cheered up a little at that.

'I just need you to exercise a little more caution. I haven't even formulated a proper counter plan to prove all we know. We don't have any evidence after all.'

'What about the lair room?', Lyberti asked. 'Lisa was there! She knew, right, Lori?'

Lori sighed, morose. 'Sadly, Lyberti, Lisa didn't take any pictures of videos of it. The place is gone now, they must have removed the evidence.'

Lyberti let out a sad whimper, like a hurt puppy. Lori tried hard not to fly right over and hug her. 'Now, now! I'm going to investigate a few locations in the next few days! I'm sure I can find SOMETHING to help us fight back!'

The "us" helped, and Lyberti stopped whimpering. 'Oh, goody! But are you sure there's nothing I can do right now?'

Lori put on such a caring voice, you'd think she was talking to one of her little sisters.

Maybe in a way she was.

'Lyberti, the best thing you can do right now to help me is to stay safe. Once I think it's not too dangerous, I'll call you right away!'

'Really?', Lyberti asked, self conscious. 'I'm just… I'm not even a proper journalist. I couldn't break you out and my findings haven't helped at all!'

'Yes they have! Once we meet tell me EVERYTHING you know, and besides, it's the thought that counts. Hearing you… Well, it helped me sort myself out.'

Lyberti could have cried. She might have al little bit. Sniffling, she said 'You're really good at saving people, Guardian. You seem to keep saving me.'

Lori pressed her head to the door, as if she could forehead touch Lyberti. 'Well, I'm just returning the favor. I don't think I'd be as motivated as I was if you didn't remind me of my heart.'

Taking another deep breath, Lori finished the call with 'I'll call you back the moment I have some info. If you need to talk to anyone, talk to Lori. She'll be happy to help.'

'I will, literally!', Lori seconded to herself, then said bye as Lyberti did.

Sighing in relief, she got out of the closet. 'That went better than expected! Now, I better get out for…'

Suddenly, Lyberti burst out and knocked into Lori, sending the two tumbling onto a water fountain.

'Ow! Lyberti, what the heck?', Lori asked, slightly miffed, as she rubbed her slightly aching head. Guess I went fast enough, she thought.

'Sorry!', Lyberti apologized, fixing her glasses and hairbow. 'It's just…'

WEE WOO WEE WOO WEE WOO!

Lori's eyes widened and she stared at Lyberti, who seemed frozen in fear.

'The task force is here.'

Lori gasped, shrieked, jumped and fainted.

'...So does that mean The Guardian is here?', Lyberti asked, teeth chattering as she bounced from foot to foot.

Getting back up immediately (and thanking god she wasn't floating), Lori turned to her anxious friend and tried to play confident, far away from that as she was. 'After all, I can't just run out of here like a headless chicken. Everyone will know for sure. Gotta keep my cool.'

After screaming into a paper bag of course.

'Sorry, I get nervous.'

'Gee, I can tell.', Lyberti responded, while Lori lightly slapped her face a few times to focus. 'Okay, look, The Guardian IS here. We need an escape plan, stat!'

Lyberti, realizing this was her chance to prove herself, jumped at the opportunity. 'Don't worry! You tell The Guardian she's in good hands! I'll come up with something!'

Lyberti ran off, like a child after an ice cream truck, or a coyote chasing a roadrunner. Lori waved 'Good luck! I believe in you!', and left.

Lyberti smiled to herself, pumping her fist. 'Wow. Lori AND The Guardian believe in me! What luck! I wonder if they don't mind co-parenting.'

She hoped no one heard that.

Lori, meanwhile, waited by her locker, deciding to wait and see what the Task Force would do. Maybe it wasn't too bad. Maybe they were just doing a maintenance check. Or a drill. Maybe she'd be lucky and this meant nothing and she could just go on with her day without one obstacle…

'ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS OF ROYAL WOODS HIGH! PLEASE MAY ALL 17 YEAR OLD CAUCASIAN BLONDE FEMALES WALK OVER TO THE GYMNASIUM TO BE ASSESSED BY THE TASK FORCE IN SEARCH OF THE GUARDIAN?', the PA system cried out.

'...Fuck me.', Lori cursed, hitting her head back on her locker and breaking through it (somewhere out there at Krav Maga, Carol felt a strange need to say "Yes").

After quickly removing the door and disposing of it so no one could see, she slumped over to the gym, feet dragging like they were wearing shoes made of concrete.

Inside the gym, a few other girls had already gathered, like Whitney, one of Lori's friends. 'Any idea what's going on?', she asked, scratching her head. Lori shrugged, adopting a fake smile. 'Probably just running out of ideas if they think she's in our school!'

'Yeah, we would have noticed!', a different girl, Malika, remarked. She then pointed in admiration at Lori's arms. 'Oooh, lookin' cut, Lori! You been working out?'

'Yeah!', Lori replied, not struggling since it was true. She flexed her arm. 'This baby gettin' real packed recently! I'll be hitting the 18th hole from the 1st by this rate!'

'Damn, nice!', Whitney complemented, before smirking jokngly. 'Heh, maybe they'll think YOU'RE The Guardian!'

'I'M NOT!', Lori screamed, before laughing nervously. 'Is what I'd say. Heh heh.'

'Heh, yeah!', Whitney and Malika laughed, Lori sighing in relief. 'At least they're not sussin me. Unlike the task force. Oh, I hope I can somehow hide! What if they have what Carol's mom had? What if The Raven has a way of revealing it without revealing he already knows?', she bit her nails in concern, staring back and forth at the doors. Maybe it wasn't too late to make a break for it?

Sadly, it was.

'Line up, girls! The Task Force is here!'

Principal Ramirez clapped her hands for attention, while the armored cops and Centuriborgs marched into the gym, the shiny plastic brown floor shaking. 'Freaky. Like the sci fi movies Lincoln likes.', Lori thought. The adrenaline of heroism gone, as well as her costume, made it all the more real and noticeable. These were heavily armed police, like soldiers, worse really.

All just to stop her.

Captain Griffin marched in next, wearing her special promotion uniform. It shone even now, blinding Lori. But to Griffin, it made her feel as labored as her target. Taking up a megaphone, she announced 'This is just a regular procedure. We have reason to believe that The Guardian attends a local high school. We simply ask you to be truthful and allow us to scan you to see if you have anything unusual in your bloodstream.'

Robotic, metallic, like the centuriborgs next to her, like the megaphone she was using. She seemed to be working on autopilot. Lori couldn't help but feel concerned.

She got even more concerned when the first student in the line, Piper, got scanned by one of the coppers. 'Ow! You're hurting me!', she cried, flinching and turning away. A centuriborg looked down at her and garbled out 'This is for your own good. Do not resist.' and held her to the ground still.

It was kind of unsettling. 'Scratch that. Super unsettling.', Lori quipped out of habit. She felt her skin crawl, as she grabbed her hand to stop it from shaking. 'My life has totally turned upside down. This is… This is fucking crazy. How does Raven… No, that I'm used to.'

Her eyes narrowed as Griffin passed her, observing all the students. 'How is she okay with this?'

Lori flashed a disappointed frown at Griffin. She knew she could be better than this. 'You know you've fucked up if you make me look good by comparison.', she thought, frowning harder.

Griffin caught the look and felt a little surprise. Why did it make her feel bad?

As the coppers and Centuriborgs passed each student, scanning them, asking them questions about where they've been, what they thought about The Guardian, cursing at them when not co-operating, Griffin looked away, grateful that Shannon wasn't blonde or 17. 'God, what kind of thought is that? She'd hate me for this.'

Griffin felt her badge choking her chest. 'I don't think I'd blame her.'

She just wished she could finally find The Guardian, finish this, go back to doing what she was supposed to be doing.

Still, wasn't it important to stop her? What did she provide? 'Sure, she helped all those people, but she also helped spread an illusion. For her good at least, I must stop her.', Griffin thought, attempting to harden her resolve.

Lori, meanwhile, kept staring out the door, praying to see Lyberti, praying her heart would silence. 'This is even worse than when I was at Pingrey Enterprises! At least no one else was getting hurt but me! If I do something, those robots and cops could go ballistic!'

Lori swallowed the lump in her throat and clenched her fists, borrowing strength from her ideals.

'No, I must go through this! I must! No one can get hurt except me!'

A small satisfied smirk stretched across her face. 'Besides, I can use the confidence trick Lincoln told me about. That shouldn't be hard, I'm always criticizing myself these days!'

Closing her eyes, she changed internally 'FUCK ME, FUCK ME, I'M HORRIBLE, I'M A BITCH, I'M A MONSTER, I LET MY BABY BROTHER GET SHOT, I'M THE WORST, ALL YOUR FAULT ALL YOUR FAULT ALL YOUR FAULT'.

Opening her eyes, she saw that no one was looking at her, and attempted to float.

It worked!

Quickly landing, she cursed. 'Shit! I'm always criticizing myself these days! I'm used to it!'

And here were the robots! Coming with the cops, and even Captain Griffin!

They had just finished checking Whitney, who growled at them. 'Hey! How is this okay? I never gave you permission to check my body! Neither did my parents!'

'We're just looking for a fugitive…', Griffin started, but Whitney laughed mockingly. 'Fugitive? All she does is save people! Since when is that a crime?'

Lori couldn't help a small smile. 'Thanks, Whitney!', she thought. 'I needed that after that angst session!'

'Young lady, please.', Griffin pleaded, pinching the bridge of her nose. 'I'm not going to pretend she's done no good. But this isn't how the real world works…'

'And frikin robots and sci-fi weapons are?!', Whitney demanded. A lot of the other girls started nodding and saying things like 'Yeah!' 'True!' and 'Everyone is saying yes so I'll say too!'

Lori's grin was struggling to suppress itself. She felt light as a feather, which usually was a bad sign, but a quick check showed she wasn't floating. 'OMG. Maybe I really AM helping. At the very least, people are noticing how crazy this is, and maybe they'll choose the kinder way!'

'I don't have time for this.', Griffin complained, trying to ignore the voice in her head. Instead, she moved onto Lori, who gulped.

'Lori. Long time no see. How are you holding up?', Griffin asked, genuine, eyes flickering with concern. Lori almost felt touched. For whatever reason, she felt like Griffin could just be more than this.

But when she tried to speak, the robot surrounded her. 'Proceed with the check.'

Griffin sighed. 'So much for the lost art of conversation. Please allow me to apply the scanner.'

'Uh oh. This is it. Stay calm. Now or never.', Lori thought, looking outside for Lyberti.

Not a peep or a shadow.

'THINK OF SOMETHING THINK OF SOMETHING THINK OF SOMETHING!', Lori panicked, her alarmed honk sounding out.

'...Was that a goose?', Griffin asked, looking around. The robots and coppers looked nervous too.

'...It's so dumb it might just work.', Lori deduced, and fighting back the embarrassment, she honked again, hiding her face.

'What is that noise?', Griffin demanded, annoyed.

A centuriborg scanned. 'No lifeform detected.'

'Strange.'

'One lifeform detected, headed this way.'

'Oh?'

'Multiple.'

Griffin raised an eyebrow. 'Who?'

Lori grinned proudly.

'One of the best.',

CRASH!

The doors swung wide open as Lyberti, dressed like The Guardian, riding a mini parade float of an anthropomorphic tap show wearing tap shoes and a bowler hat, raced through the gym, followed by the entire chess team on go karts, firing chess theory books at her from crossbows.

'IT IS I! THE GUARDIAN! NA NA NA! YOU ALL MISSED ME, NOW YOU GOTTA KISS ME!'

The whole room erupted into chaos. Some running away in fear, come cheering and crying 'Tear down the establishment! We live in a SUSciety!', some hiding. The police began to shout out curses and orders, the robots froze, unsure what to do, and Griffin, spotting the cape, acted on pure instinct.

'QUICK! IT'S THE GUARDIAN!', she cried out, chasing after the wisp of blue she caught with the corner of her eye.

The task force ran after Griffin, most of them getting tangled up with the chess team's go karts. Wood chunks and chess pieces and blasters lay littered on the ground. It was a heap of pathetic people all wringing around in anger.

Taking advantage of the chaos, knowing no one would notice her gone when others had too, Lori made a dash for the exit, grabbing her costume from her backpack and putting it on in 30 seconds flat.

Flying past Lyberti for a moment, too blurry to be seen, she quickly informed her friend with a whisper that wasn't imperceptible.

'Great work, partner! Costume suits you!'

Lyberti's grin didn't die, even when Griffin caught her and ranted about her "reckless and insane stunt".


Day 4. 15:30.

The day before had been all about patrols. Today however was different.

Lori, Lincoln and Lisa all finally felt confident enough to attempt an undercover mission at the belly of the beast: The Mayoral estate. Do that, and any other mission would be possible.

Donning her undercover disguise (now armed with her good old blue-gray slip on shoes, a seashell necklace and a sky blue scarf that covered a decent amount of her face), Lori, with a freshly made jalapeno nacho taco, was marching through a gray cloudy sky that looked like it could burst into tears at any minute.

'Mood af.', she thought, allowing herself a moment of pain. The gushing wound that ever so slowly drowned her heart couldn't be ignored all the time. She had to give herself a moment or two to feel it.

Standing underneath the sky, she saw a daunting shadow. The estate.

Where her arch enemy lived.

'...', Lori stared, letting the moment sink in. She remembered all he had said about her, about her guilt.

'Make up for it, Lori. Stop him. Remember the mission.', she whispered to herself, head already hanging low.

'...I just need a moment. To remind myself of why I'm making up for it.', she answered herself.

She thought about it.

She let the crushing reality of it grind her to dust.

Then she reassembled herself and marched on, determined again.

'Make up for it.', she repeated, eyes narrowing in resolve as she marched into the place.

Now, of course, one couldn't just walk into the mayoral estate.

Which was why Lori would have to sneak in.

Quietly soaring up into the sky, like a swimmer stroking up to the fresh air, she descended into the chimney and entered the house therein.

'Thank goodness Tetherby has an old fashioned style. Who even has a chimney anymore? Bri'ish people?', Lori asked aloud as she scaled down the bricks one by one, hoping her backpack wouldn't get too dirty.

'Loads of people…', Lisa started, but Lincoln interrupted by talking into the radio himself. 'Yeah, Lori, preach, fuck the bri'ish!'

'Guys, a significant number of non british…', Lisa interjected, but Lincoln and Lori cheered 'Fuck the bri'ish!'

'Whatever.' Lisa sighed, rubbing her forehead.

After a few more shimmies and a squeeze, Lori fell into the empty fireplace, now just slightly covered in soot, which she shaked off like a dog. 'Ho ho ho.', she joked, slowly crawling out and looking around the room she was in: The living room.

Black marble walls, a balsa wood table with golden candles, paintings of previous mayors. The whole place could have been a showcase in a museum for the shiny and fancy. It looked far too glorious for a mayor.

'Guess even the most well meaning rich guys can't help it.', Lori pondered, tightening her hoodie strings to protect her identity further.

'It's stuff like this that started all this mess in the first place. Once you get rid of Tetherby, we need to deal with this root of the problem.', Lisa lectured, Lincoln nodding along in agreement.

Lori decided not to mention the part where she dies before she can do that.

'So, what are we looking for exactly?', Lori asked, slinking around, humming the Mission: Impossible theme as she looked between couch cushions and underneath chairs.

'Photos, videos, conversation snippets to record on your phone. Anything that could begin to incriminate him.', Lisa explained. 'Try and find a laptop!', Lincoln suggested.

'Guys, no offense, but I doubt he's just gonna leave his evil plan on a laptop. I mean, what kind of saturday morning cartoon show idiocy is that?', Lori countered, raising an eyebrow as she leapt over the couch spectacularly and headed towards a hallway.

The two kids were silent for a moment. 'Um… Of course! Duh! Just seeing if you were awake!', Lincoln 'confessed'. Lisa was quick to agree. 'Absolutely! We, um, totally knew that!'

Lori stifled a laugh. 'You too are adorable.'

Lisa and Lincoln huffed and pouted. 'No we're not.'

'Yes you areeeee', Lori singsonged, sticking to a wall and scooching slowly past, searching for a sign of anything. 'Nothing so far, guys. Just tons of long halls with pots and vases and stuff.'

'Hmm. Might need some backup to find anything hidden from the naked eye until you find someone talking.', Lisa suggested, and Lori's eyes widened. 'Backup? Woah, woah, you're not going in there! Not under my watch!'

'Ugh, you're such a maternal unit sometimes.', Lisa complained, rolling her eyes.

Lori froze, and turned around even though they weren't actually there, so she just faced an empty wall. 'Excuse me? What the heck are you talking about?'

'Oh, you don't need supervision to see it, Lori! We heard you with Lyberti back there!'

Lori blinked in confusion, then laughed it off. 'Wait, seriously, guys? Lyberti has really helped me! She means a lot to me, that's all!'

'You were practically waxing lyrical!', Lisa pointed out, sounding oddly miffed.

'You did act pretty motherly.', Lincoln added. Lori ignored how it made her heart pound like a marching drum and instead she scoffed. 'You're both trippin'!'

Sneaking over to an office with a few PC's and laptops charging, plus grade A heating that made Lori nearly swoon from comfort, the teen added 'Besides, I'm a big sister if anything!'

'You'll adopt the next cute thing you see.', Lincoln interjected. Lisa agreed. 'Seconded, Lincoln!'

'Bet.', Lori stuck her tongue out as she carefully edged towards the laptops.

'Well, I can put that to the test with the backup I was GOING to send.', Lisa sassed, and suddenly, Lori felt movement in her backpack. Out of it came a folded origami metal that slowly unfolded to reveal…

The flying squirrel robot, sleeping peacefully!

'What's that?', Lori asked, intrigued. She poked at the machine to try and make it move. 'Is it some sort of robot?'

'Indeed, Lori! My own creation! Gave it an A.I program. I have a feeling you'll find it, street words, "Totes Adorbs".', Lisa air quoted, referencing her sister Leni.

The robot suddenly turned on, life breathed into its, or, well, his eyes. Blinking at the first lifeform he had ever seen, the squirrel climbed up onto Lori's shoulders, nuzzling her and chattering excitedly.

Tears forming in her eyes, Lori pet the robot, practically glowing and sparkling. 'SON?', she exclaimed, excited.

'Dang. I shoulda charged her cash.', Lincoln realized, snapping his fingers. 'Lori, you can bond later.', Lisa reminded her.

'SON BOY!', Lori countered, already rocking the little robot. 'Look at you, aren't you sooooo precious and sweet and cuddly I could eat you up but I won't because then we can't hug!', she cooed at the robot, tickling his stomach. The robot already liked her, and spread his wings. 'Oh, you can fly like mama?', Lori asked, grinning excitedly. 'We should try that out once we get out of here, the park has the best winds for when you want to get a bit of a boost…'

'LORI! FOCUS!', Lisa suddenly screamed.

Lori, clearing her throat, regained her professionalism. 'Focus. Right. Got it.'

She then whispered 'Don't worry, I won't let mean old Lisa hurt you, Bucky.'

'...Bucky?', Lisa and Lincoln asked at the same time.

'It sounds like a squirrely sort of name!', Lori explained, shrugging. Snapping back into attention, she whispered 'Okay, game face back on. How can Bucky help?'

'Easy! Connect his tail to the laptops, it's like a USB port! He'll be able to analyze each one and see if there's anything suspicious!', Lisa explained, smug. 'Ooh! Very impressive!', Lincoln clapped. Lisa bowed in gratitude.

'Hear that, Bucky? What a talented young lad you are! Here, help mama Lori expose the bad man for kidnapping kids because he got all scaredy cat!', Lori enthused, motivating the robot.

Bucky saluted Lori and scurried down her body, making her giggle from the ticklish nature of it. Cracking his fingers, the robot delicately opened the laptop with his claws, then jumped around to position his tail into the port.

After a try or two (like all USB's it seems), he got it in, and flashed a thumb's up towards Lori, who flashed one back. 'We're like real hackers!', Lori pointed out in glee.

'Ugh. Action movie cliches.', Lisa whined. 'Hacking is far more complicated than that.'

'I saw one Fast and Furious movie and before I fell asleep there was hacking just like this!', Lori countered defensively.

'With a robot flying squirrel?', Lincoln asked in confusion, scratching his head.

'...No, but my point still stands.'

'Like a paraplegic man on banana peels. Let's proceed, shall we?', Lisa ventured, and Lori agreed to. 'Sorry, I know I'm not being serious enough. But this is really tough. I need to distract myself a bit, that's all.', she confessed, clutching one arm in regret, biting her bottom lip.

'Anything you wanna talk about?' Lincoln asked, both he and Lisa worried something was wrong.

Lori could sense their concern and nipped it in the bud. 'Oh, no, just… Important mission. That's all.'

That silenced them for now. Lori sighed in relief. 'They can't know. Not yet at least. I need to be sure of victory. Maybe then I'll… I'll let Lincoln see me for who I really am.'

A sudden beep startled her, and she jumped to the defense, karate moves on the ready, slipping and falling onto the floor. Getting up, she saw it was just Bucky, shrugging his shoulders.

'Nothing?', Lori asked, surprised. Bucky nodded.

'What about the others?', Lori continued, but Bucky waved his wings at all the laptops and PC's. All were open. All were empty of evidence.

'Dang it. Dead End.', Lori informed Lisa and Lincoln.

'Crap. Guess we better look for more machines, or perhaps someone talking about Tetherby.', Lisa proposed, Lincoln backing her up. 'Seconded.'

'Thirded and fourthed.', Lori nodded at Bucky, stuffing him into the pouch of her hoodie, like a mama kangaroo and her joey. 'I'll try and skulk around, see what I can sniff up.'

Quiet as a shadow, Lori floated around the house so as to not leave any footstep echoes. She passed room after room, kitchen, bedroom, conference room, more, her scarf and hood so tightly wrapped that now only her eyes, criss crossed by her golden strands again, could be seen. Eyes with both stormy and serene blue telegraphing her heart's innermost desire.

To fix her crying, shattered city.

And speaking of which…

'(Sniffle) (Sob) (Sniffle)'

Crying sounds! From close by!

'Someone close! I'm going to hide!', Lori whispered in harsh alarm, then flew up onto the wall, spreading her body to stay flat and attached to it as much as possible, not unlike a certain arachnid themed superhero.

The source was soon revealed to be Mr. Stone, or more accurately, Clive Tetherby. The hulking mass of a man was fidgeting with the phone in his hand. His thumbs were just a bit too big, and he seemed overly nervous about using it, almost flinching as he tried.

'Come on, come on…', he begged, swiping over and over.

The call disconnected.

'Fudgsicles!', Clive shouted out, throwing the phone down and breaking it into a dozen pieces.

Lori suppressed a scream. 'How could anyone do that to the greatest invention known to mankind? Oh, we must hold a funeral! Spread the memory card at sea!'

'...Surely I am adopted.', Lisa retorted.

Sighing, Clive went down to the pieces, caressing one. 'I'm sorry. I don't like that feeling too.', he apologized to it, sending a shiver down Lori's spine. 'What does that mean?', she thought with trepidation, as Clive sighed and picked up a backup phone from his other pocket. It was already ringing as it appeared to Lori.

'Hello?', this time he nailed it, and silently fist pumped in approval. Tightly wedged now between a doorway, Clive sighed again and knelt down. He almost looked like an oversized kid. Lori stared down with sympathy.

Then she stared down with worried intrigue when she heard the voice that haunted her every waking moment. 'Hello? Son?', The Raven greeted.

'Son?!', Lincoln and Lisa cried out.

'Shh! I'm trying to listen to Clive on the phone!', Lori shh'd as she shlepped out her burner phone to record the convo, a little too loudly, and Clive turned around.

'Son? Are you there?', the question came as Clive searched for the source, but found nothing. 'Sorry, dad, just… Got distracted.'

'Oh, no problem at all.'

'...Oh no, dad must be kidnapped and replaced with an imposter! Quick, dad, if you're kidnapped, blink once for yes and twice for no!'

'...'

'...Sorry.'

'Never mind that. Just tell me again before I proceed with the plans: Are you SURE that it's all gone?'

'The evidence!', Lori thought in alarm, aiming her burner closer.

'...Yes.', Clive managed to choke out, the USB burning a hole in his pocket.

'Splendid! Most exemplary, my trusty ward!', Raven congratulated, sounding genuinely pleasant and calm. Lori could tell, she hadn't heard that tone from herself in ages. 'See, it's not so hard to do things right!'

'Yeah… I totally agree.', Clive stammered, clutching the USB in his pocket like it were a tell tale heart.

'I'm proud of you, son. You've finally helped save this city. I guess our toughness training sessions can end for now!', Raven lavished praise onto Clive, who was feeling dizzy. 'Really? I'm… I'm finally enough?', Clive asked, barely believing it. Happy tears rolled down his cheeks. Lori, despite how she feared what all that might mean, couldn't help but feel a little good for him. 'Go, Clive.', she cheered quietly, circling one fist in the air as a celebration.

'Indeed. Go, celebrate! I'll be at city council if you need anything.', Raven goaded.

Clive suddenly stopped celebrating. Choking up (but not in a good way), he shook and stuttered like a bowl of jelly. 'D…Dad… Don't you want to celebrate… I mean, I was just thinking… There's a really nice place downtown, Lynn's Table, maybe…'

'Already got a plan! That's my boy, thinking ahead! Maybe we can go another time!'

His father sounded so happy. So pleased.

Clive could tell.

He never heard those sounds before.

So he didn't have the heart to tell him what he really meant.

'Okay… Bye dad. I…'

Clive tripped on his words as he tried to state such a powerful statement full of meaning. 'I love you.'

'I know, son. Goodbye.', came the emotionless, cold, robotic response, followed by a beep signaling a hang up.

Lori let out a breath she didn't know she held, plus a gasp. Looking down, she saw Clive frozen solid, like the bearer of his alias namesake.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he hunched his shoulders, knees wobbling. Scrunching up his face like he had just tasted 57 lemons at the county fair speed eating contest, Clive let out a strange sound, one third scream one third sob one third choke on air. It went as fast as it came, just erupting out of him, before a worse sound. A horrible, painful sigh, so full of despair it sounded like the life force left out of his lungs.

'...He sounded so happy. Why mess with it?', were his only words, as he stood up and left the room.

Lori's face was the dictionary definition of crestfallen. 'Great. No evidence.', Lisa moaned, but Lori was focused on something slightly different.

'What kind of father makes his son think he's not enough? And doesn't even celebrate his achievements with him?', Lori asked, to no one in particular.

'I don't even wanna imagine it.', Lincoln said, suddenly grateful of his dad.

Lori thought of him too. Of how he always put time aside to celebrate his children's achievements, be it a gig landing for Luna, a successful audition for Luan, a trophy of Lynn's, a pageant medal of Lola's, etc. etc.

He had been there for all of her biggest moments too: Her first golf tournament. Her first school dance (as a chaperone of course). Her A+'s, her first days, her first steps.

With a gentle palm and a calming timber that warmed her heart and melted the frozen fears away.

How many times had he settled her anxiety? Been her hero?

And yet here was Clive, perhaps in the best moment of his life…

All alone.

Lori couldn't bear it. '...Can't we help him? Can't we just take him out of here?'

'That's not our choice, Lori.', Lincoln warned. 'That's not our job here.', Lisa added.

Lori regretfully backed off, unconsciously floating towards Clive. '...I know.'

Still, on the table where he left his car keys she quickly left her snack from before, alongside a note.

'From your secret friend. Congratulations. I'm proud of you too.'

'P.S., the late lunch time special is a good sale, and you won't spend too much on yourself.'


Day 5. 17:48.

There was a lot of patrolling to do that day (three whole cats on trees!), so Lori could only now investigate the new robot factory.

Things didn't fare much better here.

For one, the place was so creepy it gave her the jeepers. Smack bang in the middle of the Industrial District, the black and white building gave the appearance of a chessboard mishmesh. It seemed almost out of reality with its choice of shading and structure, a gothic smoke pumping hellhole more than anything else.

Well, that's what it seemed to Lori. Like a deformed bulbous oozing scab on the face of Royal Woods.

'Inside it looks like Willy fucking Wonka.', Lori commented quietly as she slowly swooped up towards a vent, tearing it out like it was a tupperware box lid.

Indeed, the work inside it looked as cheerful as a musical stage scene. All the people in there, young and old alike, impoverished strugglers and former criminals, hummed along like the machines they made, all working as hard and fast as they could to make more and more robots.

Halls upon halls of Centuriborgs, bigger and deadlier than the ones Lori had already encountered. '8 miniguns is a little extra, no? By then why not just make one big bullet bill? Subtlety is a lost art.', Lori critiqued as she crawled through the vents, outside looking in.

There was more, of course: The medical robots (whom Lori hadn't heard much of, to be honest, and she was determined to check on that when possible), plus a whole room for upgraded police weapons. Digital signs stating their status were present: RADIOACTIVE. DANGEROUS. KEEP AWAY. HIGH VOLTAGE. CHEMICALS DESIGNED FOR META BATTLES.'

'That last one doesn't sound super.', Lori admitted, shaking.

'They're already trying to use that anti serum against you. That could prove perilous.', Lisa coughed, clearly worried.

'Don't worry. It gets back. Eventually.', Lori whispered. 'Eventually isn't good enough.'

'Yeah. Say that again.', Lori commented, as she listened to some workers in the lunchroom, a shining beacon of light like all the others.

'Ah, this is the life! No scrimping, no saving, no squatting for scraps!', one worker, with frazzled balding brown hair and shaking hands declared, eating a meal so fast it was clear he wasn't used to it.

'Couldn't agree more, mate!', a second man, one Lori recognized from The Fox's den, seconded. He wore many scars, but they seemed to almost pale in this new location. 'It's like they finally gave me my second chance after the 500th time of asking!'

The third man was the one who really earned Lori's attention.

After all, it was Lyberti's father, Mr. Evans.

'I know what you mean! Ever since… Well, it's been tough for a while now, for all of us.', Mr. Evans said, changing his tune for a moment. He clutched his ordered out bagel like his life depended on it. 'My little girl… Well, she's not that little anymore. Point is, she needed a proper provider.'

'Better late than never, huh?', the second man replied, slapping Mr. Evans on the back.

Mr. Evans smiled at the bagel as if it were Lyberti. 'Yeah. I guess… I guess she needs a father after all.'

After the events with Clive, seeing such a caring father again brought Lori to emotion. Enough so that she didn't notice her costume peak out from her open hoodie (it was very hot inside the vent after all).

As the two other men left for their next shift, the finishing Mr. Evans began to stand up…

Only to see a G reflect onto a danger sign.

Turning around, he traced it to the vent, and rushed along in a hurry to it.

'Ms. Guardian?', he asked, shocking the hero. She nearly let out a scream, but bit down on her glove, making her almost scream again. 'Jesus! Did I always bite that hard?'

'I bet Bobby knows.', Lincoln joked. 'LINCOLN?!', Lori shouted back, quietly.

Turning back to Mr. Evans, she sheepishly apologized. 'Excuse me. I had to deal with an associate. What did you want to say?'

'Well, for one, why are you hiding inside the vents?', Mr. Evans asked, confused.

'Venting. Sus. Amogus. Am I cool now?', Lisa asked in a droll voice.

Lori, or well, The Guardian, shrugged. 'Oh, well, see, I…'

'Is this got something to do with the task force? Are they hunting you? Maybe you can lay low in my place!', Mr. Evans offered, before panicking, eyes wide. 'Wait, no, my daughter will be in danger! No offense.'

'None taken. She's your daughter. She means everything to you.', Guardian corrected, reassuring Mr. Evans through the bars, as if she were already imprisoned.

'I wish I could do something, though.', Mr. Evans apologized, rubbing the back of his neck.

'Me too. But… Well…', Guardian started, only for Mr. Evans to change the subject (sort of). 'Say, why DID you get into all this anyway? Why not just say yes to Mayor Tetherby's offer?'

The Guardian gulped. On the one hand, she couldn't say anything without sounding… Totally batshit crazy.

'On the other hand… He deserves this much. Especially since it might… Cost his new job.', Guardian thought sadly. Clearing her throat, she replied 'Well… Let's just say I… I have some concerns. Some things I need to investigate. Maintenance, really. Think of it like a checkup! Sometimes you get a lollipop at the end!', Guardian attempted to sweeten the concept, grinning and winking.

'And sometimes you get told you're sick. Or balding. Or clinically anxious. Or the latter two. And then someone steals your cottage cheese filled donut too.', Mr. Evans retorted, pouting.

'...Okay, gross, you need to get a new tongue, sad for you, but also… Yeah.', Guardian admitted, biting her cheek. There wasn't anyway to sugarcoat this, was there? 'It's not that I don't want you or all the other people here to have these jobs. Everyone looks so happy, so… Free.'

Mr. Evans held Guardian's hand, the girl not knowing when she had begun shaking it. 'I just… God. I'm just afraid that…'

'You're just doing your job, same as me. Keeping my daughter safe.'

Guardian stared at Mr. Evans with surprised eyes. He nodded, smiling. 'You've done that since the start. She thinks the world of you, Miss.'

'...The feeling is mutual.', Guardian finally choked out, smiling gratefully. The shaking slowed down a little.

'I don't want to lose this job, but I don't think you'd just lie either. It's important to follow sources and gut feelings. Trust me, I married my wife after all.', Mr. Evans informed, chuckling at the memory. 'She's like Lyberti in so many ways. It's kind of what scares me. One of these things is not like the other, you know?', he harmonized the famous old tune.

Guardian nodded, now reassuring him. 'Hey. You've done a literally amazing job. One of these things is not like the others because it rose up in its own way.'

Mr. Evans couldn't help his fond chuckle. 'Who's reassuring whom?'

'It's a gift.', Guardian smirked, ignoring how she longed to truly bathe in reassurance.

Sighing, she pitched. 'I'm still sorry. I wish it wasn't like this. For all of you. I'm hoping I can fix it when this task force stuff blows over, but… I don't know if I'll succeed.'

Mr. Evans shook his head gently, cupping her chin. 'After all this time, I think most of us just want someone who cares. A guardian angel doesn't have to be perfect.'

Guardian huffed out and shook her body to settle herself. 'Maybe.'

'Just… Don't bother yourself with me. With us. If something is wrong, and I can't lie that I've felt some of that old gut instinct my wife would talk about, well, you should do your job. Even if it stops mine.', Mr. Evans told her, egging her on with his words and expression.

Taking a deep breath, The Guardian nodded. 'I guess so. But to make up for it, is there anything I can do? Anything at all?'

Mr. Evans could barely believe this creature was real. Clearly troubled and conflicted, clearly doing the right thing, or at least trying to, and still she wanted to give more. '...No wonder they chase you. They've never seen such kindness, so they think it's a threat.'

Clutching her hand, he almost pleaded to her blue eyes, as if he was hanging off the rail of a ship in a storm. 'Please… Keep my daughter safe. I know she wants to help you. And maybe she can. But not out there. Not where… Where she can be hurt. Do that, and you can fire me from a million jobs.'

Guardian gulped, but nodded like she been asked if she needed air to breath or water to live. 'Literally yes.'

'...Thank you. I… I don't have many options.'

'...I'll try to be your best one then.', Guardian promised, holding his hand and transmitting all her warmth and love.

'...Just take care of her like she was one of your own.', Mr. Evans pleaded, eyes searching for that reassurance.

Guardian tried to hide her small blush. 'Lincoln and Lisa will have a field day with that.', she thought, before saying out loud '...Consider it done.'

As she scuttled away, Mr. Evans couldn't help but wonder.

'My daughter says you are so full of doubt. I know the feeling. But how could anyone so full of love grant none to herself? If you knew how much the people you care for appreciated you, you'd never feel broken again.', he whispered, wishing it would somehow reach her.

It did.

Outside, on top of a church rooftop, The Guardian stared out at her city, half costume on, half not, her face still in her incognito disguise.

'They call me a big sister. A mom.'

Lisa and Lincoln listened in, cautiously curious.

Staring down, Guardian saw all the workers spread out, joyful, upbeat.

Hopeful.

'I say I want everyone to be safe. That my job is to guard Royal Woods.'

She clenched a fist, embracing the pain of the nails digging into her palm.

'But is this guarding it? Is The Raven right about the sacrifices? All these people will lose their jobs thanks to my decisions, my power. Just so I can stop someone else's decisions and powers.'

She fought back tears. 'Doesn't that just make me… Like him? Like The Raven?'

'Lori, you don't want to take over. You're just liberating the city from someone far too comfortable with kidnapping and terrorist attacks.', Lincoln explained, softly, soothingly.

'I guess. But still. Captain Griffin says I can't just take on the whole system. I can't just swoop in to save the day. She's not wrong. I can't save Clive because he might get hurt, maybe even worse. If I save these people they'll lose their best jobs ever, maybe they won't get new ones. Why save them so they can just die under no hope, rather than live with bad hope?', Guardian mused, feeling alone and cold on the rooftop. A statue of an angel hovered above her, looking forlorn.

'...Lori. The guy kidnapped kids. He kidnapped you. His men could have hurt me and Lyberti. He put his brother in a coma. Does that sound like a good mayor?', Lisa stated, trying to get Lori out of that state.

But it didn't work. Lori looked out at the people walking down the street. They had injuries, illnesses, shoddy clothes. Their faces were so happy, so clearly unused to that. To deprive them of that, when they waited for so long? It broke Lori's heart. Tears dampened her jacket.

'All this power under one person. Me. Griffin might not be right, but that doesn't mean she's wrong either. And we haven't even found any evidence!'

'She'll probably be depressed the rest of the day. Might as well call it a night.', Lincoln replied, sadly sighing. Lori joined the chorus. 'I'm not giving up. I just want to… Re-strategize. Unlike Raven, I want to think about the consequences.'

Lori whispered the next part to herself. 'And never ignore them again, Lincoln.'

'We are ALL pretty tired. This is hard work, even for the three of us. Maybe some rest will suffice.', Lisa eventually agreed, shutting off the radio earrings for now. Lincoln, already getting comfortable in his bed, stifled a yawn. He had been working to the bone on all this Guardian stuff recently.

Lori choked her yawn down. She could rest later. She had a night to spend worrying about how to not Raven this shit.

Flying by Griffin's house, Lori couldn't help but wonder. 'We're both literally broken. Maybe if we joined together we'd finally be fixed. At the very least, you could.'

Looking inside, she saw that Griffin had called a REALLY early night. Perhaps she was preparing for something. Regardless, one could see through the open window that she was shivering from the cold.

Remembering the spaghetti, Lori firmly nodded, and after a quick, quiet float, covered the captain with the strewn on the floor blankets.

Griffin stopped shivering, and seemed to settle for once in her life.

Smiling softly, Lori flew away, happy that at least she could help Griffin today.

'If I can somehow do that AND think up a plan that doesn't fuck over the poor people, I would feel literally complete when it's time to go!'


23:58. Pingrey Enterprises.

As Bertrand marched towards Pingrey Enterprises, the sun was set. But to Bertrand, it was still so clearly visible in his mind's eye.

'Today, we march towards history.', he had told his employees: Mr. Stone, The Construction Crew, Organised Chaos, Barbed Wire, Hocus Pocus. 'Today we do what no one else gets to. We culminate the crusade, wrap up the war, settle the story. Today, good wins over evil, and that's it. No part 2, no sequel, no reincarnation, nothing. From this moment on, the fault is no longer in our stars…'

'But on the palm of my hand.', Bertrand finished, now staring at the doors of the company that had so daunted him. The inky night sky stood in contrast to the shining white rooms. They would soon lose their bright spark, he thought with unabandoned glee. He was the lord of his destiny, finally, after all this time. There were no more twists left to the tale.

Admittedly, he was surprised to see Melanie greet them. But he didn't pay too much attention to it. There's nothing she could have possibly done to foresee this.

Still, she stood quite confidently before all of them, wearing her usual garb, sporting a 'oh what do I owe this unexpected surprise for?', look.

'Oh, what do I owe this unexpected surprise for?', she asked, of course. Standing as straight as a mighty elm tree, Melanie was as striking and imposing as ever, a force of nature even when staring into the jaws of defeat.

For a moment, Bertrand froze. For a moment, he was in love with her again.

But prophets had no time for such childish pastimes.

'Well, Mrs. Pingrey, I am afraid to say that without the previous incompetence of the RWPD, we may have detected a discrepancy in your supposedly spotless record.', Mayor Tetherby garbled out some jargon, waving his phone at her face.

Melanie, sporting a curious expression and a cocked eyebrow, examined the so-called evidence. 'Excuse me? What are you talking about?'

The prisoner, Hocus Pocus, "trapped" in one of his escape mechanisms, got brought up to Melanie by Organised Chaos and a high ranking police officer. The maniac chuckled at her face, but not in a super amused way. She wasn't The Guardian after all.

Mayor Tetherby went on to explain. 'Turns out that the kidnapper, alias "Hocus Pocus", was working for you?'

Melanie, remembering the man's face and the checks he had been issued, suppressed a smirk and bit her finger anxiously. 'Oh. What a shame. I see. Well, I'm not sure what this has to do with anyth…'

'He's been moaning on about how you're connected.'

Melanie paused. 'T…This is preposterous! You think that Melanie Pingrey had ANYTHING to do with so heinous a crime?!'

Now face to face with her, Bertrand stared right through her soul, anticipating its deflation. 'Now, Mrs. Pingrey…', he drawled out, enjoying every single syllable. 'I don't think that at ALL! After all…'

He practically leaned in and whispered. '...What are friends for?'

He drew back, witnessing her cold lips and sharp stare. She seemed as hard as ice. 'But, a mayor cannot ignore such deft accusations and evidence. We had to conduct some research, even if it's nothing but a wild goose chase.' He and his workers began to spread out to search when Melanie blocked his way, arms out wide.

'Now, hold on just one moment! Not without…'

'A search warrant?', Bertrand smugly smirked, waving it in front of her eyes. Her outraged expression was like a sea side view from your window. 'Don't you worry, Mrs. Pingrey. The truth WILL be revealed.'

Moving past her, Bertrand knew he had to play it safe for just a mite longer. If he just went straight ahead to where he knew the lab was, he'd raise many an eyebrow. No, he'd just have to hold on while taking a small tour of Pingrey Enterprises.

Unlike his factories, Pingrey Enterprises workers were apparently still busy bees, all still tinkering with their aforementioned science expo projects. They didn't even stare at Mayor Tetherby. Looking at the cubicles with a mixture of righteous fury and satisfaction, he nudged Melanie. 'And here I thought I was the robot man.'

'They are efficient. There's no need for anything more or less.', Melanie informed analytically, like she was performing a surgery.

'Don't worry. You can personally not say goodbye to them when I drag you to prison where you belong.', Tetherby whispered back.

'Oh, and you're some saint, Bertrand? Soon, the vultures will smell the rotting stench of lies on you. Then what?', Melanie replied back in a furious hush.

A serene, peaceful expression was the last thing Melanie expected on Bertrand's face. 'Then I can finally rest.'

Walking slowly past her, as if he didn't know exactly where he wanted to go, Bertrand remarked 'So I guess I better savor this.'

'...I guess.', Melanie responded, eyes not shifting.

After much walking in silence, once Bertrand had decided the time was right, he took a few turns to reach the room where the entrance to the lab was kept. As if it was the most leisurely of strolls, Bertrand whistled cheerfully as he approached the metal cast door with the keycode.

'What a good sport. Didn't move the lab.', Bertrand nodded in approval, staring at the buttons.

'I have no earthly idea what you're talking about. 'Melanie shook her head, keeping her tone flat and even.

'Sure you don't.', Bertrand retorted. It took a few minutes of calculations and machinations, but someone as intelligent as The Raven didn't need long to crack a 4 number code.

'Well.', he stated, standing in front of Melanie and destiny.

'Well.', she stated back, standing in front of Bertrand and failure.

'Nothing? I was really expecting you to lash out at the end of your evil plan.', Bertrand shrugged.

'And resist a police investigation? I have a reputation to uphold.'

Bertrand allowed himself a small, sadistic chuckle. 'Don't worry. I'll liberate you from that.'

Clutching the handle, Bertrand felt like he was clutching the chariot of Helios himself. This was it. This was the moment he had been waiting for 18 years, no, decades, no, his entire life, really.

'This is the first day of my life.', he thought, ethereal in feeling. Here he was, finally..

Saving the city.

Just one push, and it was over.

And so, not delaying it any longer, he pushed the door, and…

CLANG!

His cane fell onto the floor, echoing across the building.

Bertrand himself nearly fell down.

There was no lab, no passages, no floating Yerucham, no project Metamorphosis.

Just…

'A supply closet?!', Bertrand gasped, turning red in the face as he looked at Melanie.

The industrialist raised her eyebrows, innocently amused. 'Indeed, I was surprised you chose this room too. Oh, well, guess you were… Wrong.'

If Bertrand didn't love her dearly with all his heart, he would have grabbed her by the neck, damn it. 'WHAT DO YOU MEAN… THERE'S A LAB THERE!', he bellowed, cornering her.

Melanie, playing the part to perfection, shrunk to her knees. 'No, that's a supply closet. Silly Mayor. Flew a little too close to the sun?'

'DON'T BULLSHIT ME! I KNOW WHAT'S THERE! I HAVE…', Bertrand started, only for Melanie to grab him by the throat and grin.

'Have what, exactly? A tracker? But, Mr. Mayor, is that not illegal? Why, how did you even track it down? What, with the cyborg that attempted to assassinate me? I'm sure they'll find that as interesting as the false accusations, the kidnappings, the attack on the expo.'

Bertrand's eyes, for once, were the ones widening in horror and fear. 'How..'

'How do I know? Bertrand, my old friend! Did you forget how smart I was, or did you always go for my looks?', Melanie winked, letting out a raspy, sour grapes laugh. Twirling a strand of her hair, she teased 'It doesn't take a super genius. Just someone who places more stock in their sense than their hope.'

Pointing towards the rooms behind them, she added 'I mean, just take your so called prisoner. Everyone knows that he escaped now since none of the other people who work for you are behind bars, and that Heist is… Loud.'

Suddenly, the building shook as "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" by Ashley Simpson rang out like a goddamn nuke siren.

Or, well, that would almost be merciful. It was screeched out by Olivia.

'THANK YOU! YOU'VE BEEN A WONDERFUL AUDIENCE!', Olivia called out from her Bluey Mic.

'...Point is, your "Hocus Pocus" guy was never reported to be caught. I do wonder how he got here.', Melanie sighed in satisfaction, as Bertrand grew redder and redder, shaking like a leaf in the wind. 'No…'

'Oh, yes. Try anything and I tell everyone. Or, better yet. I take the serum.'

'You wouldn't! It's not even finished!', Bertrand protested, but Melanie smirked. 'How would you know? How would you know about any of this? One word and everyone is very suspicious of your all seeing eye.'

Turning away, she finished 'Oh and who's to say I wouldn't take it unfinished? Who's to say I won't just fly over to your house and kill you while you sleep? Or your son for that matter?'

Bertrand gulped. He tried to grip his vibrating hand. He failed.

'It's cute that you thought you won. But to beat me, Berand? To stop me from saving Royal Woods from itself?'

She turned around, suddenly very serious, sending a shiver down Bertrand's spine. He wasn't talking to a human being anymore, was he?

'You're going to have to stop being so soft.'

Resuming her smug grin, she left the room. 'Sweet dreams!'

And Bertrand remained standing there in the room…

Burning inside as if he were Icarus himself.

Once again so close to snuffing out the darkness…

But remaining stranded in its poison embrace at the dawn of a "new day".


Day 6. 19:00. Dinner Time at the Griffin household.

As a black woman in the police force with a mixed race family, it didn't matter what massive promotions or operations Nikita Griffin got to headline. She still didn't get a proper wage.

Which is why a meatloaf you could have found at a school lunch room was considered pretty damn fancy for the Griffin family dinner table.

Still, did it really matter what they ate, when the true subject of the meal was Shannon's first boyfriend?

In some ways, Griffin had found it almost comforting. Not that she didn't want her girl to find love, of course she did!

But like all parents, that selfish need to hold on just a little longer weighed heavy on her mind.

Who was to say if this would last. They were 14, anything could happen.

But even if it failed, there was no turning back from this world anymore. Shannon was slowly uprooting herself from the forest, and sapling tears would be what remain for Nikita.

'Forget about it.', Griffin snapped at herself, as she laid the mostly well cooked meatloaf (it was a little singed on the sides, shh) on the table, decorated with as many spices and sauces as there were regrets in her heart.

So, a lot.

'Tonight is SHANNON'S special night. You've had a week to pity yourself. Get over it.'

Wiping her brow with one of her oven mitts, she surveyed her work. Not bad. The tablecloth was bourbon red, reflecting nicely with the nearly bright orange lights. The candles she had lit to "set the mood" emitted a nice scent that seemed to sooth her nerves a tad, and Elbow's "Leaders of the Free World" album made for some excellent mood music.

'Now, just gotta wait until Shannon arrives with her beau.', Griffin thought, picking up a newspaper as she sat down at the head of the table. Bad choice.

There she was. Risking her life again to stop some armed thugs stealing from the homeless shelter.

Taking a knife to the chest.

A knife Griffin knew by now could have hurt even with her powers.

'...What we could do together. You're everything I'm not. Strong, smart, fast, determined. All the pieces of your broken heart, yet you still use your jagged ends to mend this city's beat.'

A single tear highlighted The Guardian in the image.

'But that's the thing. You're everything I'm not. I'm a cop, you're not. Your hunch isn't recommended to me.'

DING DONG!

'Oh, thank god.', Griffin exclaimed, wondering how bad did it have to be that she welcomed meeting her daughter's boyfriend.

Opening the door, she was greeted with the sight of an extremely excited Shannon, walking in with her cheeks like twin cherry tomatoes. 'OKAY JUST GIVE ME A MINUTE TO GET USED TO THIS AND THEN I'LL PROBABLY SCREAM MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE REX HI MOM SMELLS GOOD AAAAAAAAAA'.

Once that whirlwind of emotion passed, Griffin observed the boy before her. 'Tan skin, like he spent the perfect amount of time sunbathing. Jet black hair, short, like a dollop of ink from a faulty quill, or a coffee stain on a notebook. White turtleneck shirt, he put on a black tie, points, plus blue jeans and black shoes. His eyes are jumpy, but maybe just because of the nature of this meeting. He's walking straight, shoulders broad but not dragging, and his calves aren't stiff in movement. Not a jock per say, but definitely on a team or two. There's a gleam to him, sort of teasing, playful, but also a slightly glazed look in the eye. An enthusiastic boy, but not necessarily the brightest unless you count his teeth. Dental hygiene is important but yikes.', she applied her analytical powers and came away with a feeling of curiosity and relief. 'Not who I'd expect, but seemingly okay. So far.'

Rex, for his part, smiled nervously and waved awkwardly at the intimidating woman before him with a borderline haunted expression. 'H-hi Mrs. Gr-Griffin! I'm, um, dating your daughter…'

'Strange first name.', Griffin replied, and when Rex realized it was a joke, he let himself choke out a chuckle. 'Oh, ha, g-good one!'

'Thank you.'

The two kept on standing at the doorway. Rex, hoping to kill the strange mood, took out a… Toy shark?

'...What the fu…', Griffin started, only for Shannon (coming back from the bathroom having washed her face a bit) to gasp and squee. 'YOU GOT ME A HAMMERHEAD?'

Rex, grinning bashfully (and a little smugly) waved it at Shannon. 'They were all out of models of Apollo 4. Plus, I assumed you already had a copy of "All My Sons" in Klingon.'

'You assumed correctly! But I can't believe you remembered that…'

'They're your favorite underwater predator? Of course I… That is, I did my best to remember.', Rex replied, smiling as Shannon grabbed the shark happily. Pointing at the middle of the "hammer", she explained 'See, there's no notch in the middle, so this is a smooth hammerhead!'

'I know all about smooth.', Rex joke flirted, and Shannon whacked him affectionately. 'I seem to recall I was the one who acted confidently and you were the one stuttering and stammering and falling on your face.'

The two teens laughed at the memory, and Griffin couldn't help but smile at the picture of blossoming young love. Clearly, Rex tried to understand her daughter. What more could she ask for?

'Well, let's not keep the food waiting. It's gonna get cool, like you two lovebirds.', Griffin smirked. Even a depressed mother couldn't help herself from a parent joke or two.

'Mooooom!', Shannon yiped, embarrassed. Rex blushed too.

'Oh, grow up and sit down!', Griffin called out to them cheerfully, and soon they were all seated and having a good meal. The music soothed the nerves, the lighting set the tone, everyone began to feel better, to feel like they could actually live for a moment in this city of chaos.

'So…', Griffin asked, carving the meat. 'How did all this… Begin?'

Shannon, clapping her hands, tried to start, but Rex cut her off. 'So, it all started when I realized that there WAS someone better looking than me…'

'Rex! It all started when we were cast in West Side Story!'

The two began bickering over how it started, which made Griffin shake her head at the foolish romantic shenanigans. 'I feel like you really oughta know how it started.'

The teens sheepishly rubbed their heads and bit their cheeks. 'Sorry. I guess I just got a little excited to share.', Rex apologized. 'No problem, I get it. Let's take turns, okay?', Shannon offered, and the two cordially shook hands.

'What an odd couple.', Griffin thought with a silent smile. 'At least she seems happy. He seems like a good guy.'

'Okay, so, I think I should start, because the bet was kind of what really started this. Ahem, so… Oh, I'm gonna sound like a real douche at first. Okay, um, I'm Rex Telseco…', Rex began, all tongue tied and ashamed.

He had no idea how right he was. When Griffin heard the surname, she nearly choked on a piece of juicy meat. 'Tel…Telseco?', she sputtered, the piece landing in her glass of vodka, eliciting a small splash.

'Yeah.', Rex affirmed, unaware of what that meant. 'I was going out with Amy, who's one of the members of the Java Club, like Shannon and I. And I was sort of a ladie's man…'

'In the bad way.', Shannon added. Rex sighed. 'Yeah. Not anymore, though! Whatever happens between me and Shannon, I promise to stay true to her! I don't wanna be that guy anymore.', Rex explained, while his girlfriend patted his hand comfortingly.

Griffin was still stuck back with the surname though. 'Impossible… Sergio doesn't have relatives… Right?', Griffin was turning pale, stilted movements and hawk like stares. A part of her wanted to kick the boy out right now, but no, she had to investigate, she had to prod.

'Anyway, um, so the point is that Amy and I were being pretty toxic to each other, and she hates Shannon with a passion, so I was sort of obligated to follow suit, plus I was a jerk, so that didn't help matters. But then…', Rex continued, only for Griffin to interject. 'So, you were a jerk? Care to elaborate? You have some sort of posse?'

Rex and Shannon blinked and stared at each other, startled by the intense interruption. Griffin's eyes were twitching instead. '...Not that I would know of.', Shannon answered. Rex shook his head. 'Not unless you count the baseball team!'

'Ah, yes, organized sports. A common hunting field for the likes of you.'

'...Yeah?', Rex was unsure of what to say, shrugging at Shannon. 'Mom, you're acting a little weird. Are you okay?', Shannon asked, raising an eyebrow.

Griffin's jumpy smile didn't reassure. 'Oh, yeah, I'm just fineeeee. Rex, honey, tell me, is your family new here?'

'Well, I wouldn't say we're THAT new, but we moved in last year, from Detroit! I should take you one day, Shannon, give you the tour! There's some museums and stuff you'd probably like!', Rex offered, hoping he could think of some. Shannon giggled and clutched his hand. 'We can also do non nerd stuff, ya know? I'm not wearing the pants in this relationship.'

'I mean, we both are, so you technically are wearing them, just not alone.', Rex corrected. 'You know what I mean! I don't want you to feel like I'm your boss or somethin'!'

'Ah, Detroit! What a wonderful city, yes. Heard it's doing so well.', Griffin lied through gritted teeth, suddenly sharpening the carving knife. It sent a shiver down Rex's spine. 'Um, actually, it's been hitting tough times. You would know, no?'

'I would. I lived there.'

Rex, blushing, apologized. 'Oh, man, I didn't know!'

'Oh, but you did. You probably laughed about it around the dinner table, like this, didn't you?'

Now Shannon was the one looking confused. 'Um… What?'

Griffin suddenly stood up and walked over to Rex, who yelped in fear. The woman looked like she could bite his head off, as she stared right into his soul. 'Where's the wire?'

'Wire?!', Rex protested, before shrinking. 'That is, what wire?'

Taking the tie, Griffin screamed 'I KNOW YOU'RE THERE, SHADOW! YOU'LL PAY FOR PLAYING WITH MY DAUGHTER'S HEART!'

Shannon, eyes wide, grabbed her mother and began dragging her into the bathroom. 'Rex, my comet, stay put for a minute, I gotta deal with a certain mad woman here. Try and forget this.'

'Sure thing, MVP! You know how good I am at forgetting things!', Rex reassured, already making grunting noises as he tried to erase the last few minutes from his head.

In the bathroom, Shannon closed the door and grabbed her mother by the face. 'EXCUSE ME BUT WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!'

Griffin wrestled out of the grip and, red in the face, pointed violently at the door. 'WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? REX TELSECO?! HE'S RELATED TO SERGIO "THE SHADOW" TELSECO! YOU KNOW, THE MAN WHO RUINED MY LIFE?! WHO SENT US HERE?!'

Shannon, pinching the bridge of her nose, let out a tiny scream. 'So you're gonna interrogate my boyfriend?!'

'Why else would he be here?!', Griffin shouted, before realizing what that implied. As Shannon gave her a death stare, Griffin's emotions burst out, and so did her tears.

Crumpled up on the toilet, hunch backed and shoulders as stiff as two boulders, Griffin sobbed like a little kid with a bleeding scratch. 'Oh, for fuck sake…', she uttered between sobs.

'What's the use? You already hate me…'.

Shannon, glasses blocking her own tears, embraced her mother's hung head, playing protector. She let her tears coat her shoulder, and patted her head, as if she were the mother. 'It's okay.'

'No it's not… You hate me for my reactions… For my depression… For the whole thing with The Guardian I didn't tell you about…'

'I already knew.', Shannon informed quietly. 'Mom, how could I not know?'

Griffin took a moment, before gulping and panting in fear. 'What is wrong with me? What is happening to me?'

'...You're struggling, mom. You wanna save everyone so badly. You're so afraid of another mistake. It makes you see things that aren't there.', Shannon hugged her harder, putting every ounce of faith she has in her mother. 'I researched it the moment I heard. He was happy to help. His branch of the family separated a while ago, they don't agree with all that crap. Even then, he's not working with the man. He hasn't entered Royal Woods yet.'

'...Aren't you mad at me for hunting down The Guardian?', Griffin asked, clutching harder. How she needed a moment to be vulnerable.

'Of course not. It's your job, you can hardly say no. Plus, it IS weird that she said no.', Shannon commented, shh'ing her mother, stroking her hair. She was so strong… So much stronger than Griffin.

'But… I think you should still try and investigate why.'

Griffin took a deep breath, coughing a little. Shannon didn't mind. 'She said she's suspicious of a few things… I don't know… I… She's a vigilante.'

'She is. But she clearly cares. Even you know that.'

Griffin didn't have the power to say yes, but she slowly nodded all the same.

'Maybe she's wrong, mom. But you have to find out. At least to be sure that arresting her is right.', Shannon said calmly, goading her mother on.

Griffin's lip quivered as she added this. 'But last time I…'

'Last time you didn't have a frikin superhero. Last time was last time. You're smarter and stronger and better since then, even if you don't believe it yourself. I do.'

Shannon looked in her mother's eyes and pointed at her head, then at her heart. 'Don't listen to this. Listen to your gut. The one that told you something was wrong in Detroit. The one that knows that you overreacted now. The one that knows something is off here. What does it say?'

Griffin looked up, and found not the disappointed glare of old, but the caring glance of now.

'...I just need a moment. Then I'll come back. Tell Rex I'm sorry.'

Shannon patted her mother's head and kissed her softly on the forehead. 'You tell him yourself.'

As she walked away, she turned a moment and said 'You know, you could have just told me. I would have helped you. You don't need to do this alone. You can share the heavens, Atlas.'

Griffin stared as the door closed. Bathed in darkness, Griffin looked up, wondering what that could mean. Who that could mean.

From the window, there was but one light.

Blurry, but perceptible.

A blue G, zipping past the clouds.

'I'm a cop. She's a criminal.', Griffin recited.

Yet…

She couldn't help but wonder…

If she was any better.


Day 7. 19:00. Loud House Dinner Table.

Her eyelids drooped and fluttered, like she was under a deep spell.

Her body, misshapen, strangely muscular yet still recognizably her own, shifting between her two worlds.

A little drool hung between her lips, clearly cut, not bleeding.

And those criss cross golden strands. Even now they didn't leave, and thanks to the lack of sleep, the dark circles around her eyes almost seemed to form her mascara laden look.

The sunglasses helped with this a bit.

Still, seeing Lori like this was unusual for all involved.

'...Um, Lori? Sweetie? You seem to be… Nodding off there.', Rita pointed out, as gently as she could. Her body was stiff and rigid, nervously awaiting her daughter's response.

They all were. Every Loud family member (excepting Lincoln and Lisa) wondered what she would say, how she would react.

Did she even know how haunted she looked?

Well, clearly not. A snore emitted out of her, and she smacked her lips in sleepiness.

Flanking her sides, Leni and Luna both elected to nudge her, just a tad.

'I'LL SAVE YOU!', Lori cried out, standing up, nerves on end. She looked like a terrified cat staring at an ocean. When she finally stopped breathing so heavily, and made sure she didn't float off (her feet were only slightly off the ground), Lori realized that everyone was looking at her.

EVERYONE WAS LOOKING AT HER.

'...Hi?', she offered weakly, waving. Her uncomfortable laugh soon died.

The whole family stared at each other, mixtures of concern (Lynn Sr. and Rita especially), confusion (Lola, Lana, Lynn), and suspicion (Luna and Luan). Leni seemed to hold all 3, as did Lucy.

'You…. You okay, Honey?', Lynn Sr. asked. 'Not to be that guy, but you've barely touched my special Lynnsania! Made it for… You.'

Lori, gasping, apologized profusely, hands clasped as she sat down on the chair again. Her back muscles twisted and turned, startling Leni and Luna, who weren't used to how strong Lori looked. 'Oh, dad, I'm SO sorry! I love it, it's just… I just…'

To avoid answering, Lori began necking the food, scarfing down bits of pasta and sauce. It tasted so damn good. She felt like she was in heaven. If she could just close her eyes, focus only on this…

'No. Lori, you have far more pressing matters than food.', she reminded herself. Plus, her speed eating was not helping when…

'Lori, slow down! Heh, it's flattering, but I don't want you to get hurt!', Lynn Sr. warned warmly. 'Yeah, Lori, careful, you know your tummy's sensitive!', Lana added. 'And I know. Your last vomit was pretty chunky.'

'Lana, please.', Lola pleaded. 'I just wanna eat a meal here without you mentioning some body function!'

'Okay, so what if I mentioned breathing? THAT'S a function!', Lana countered, smug.

'She's right.', Lucy added.

'A ha!', Lana stuck her tongue out.

'Like when you take your final breaths before you die, moving onto the next stage of eternal peace.', Lucy finished, sighing in morbid anticipation.

'EWW! DON'T MENTION THAT EITHER! DANG IT, LANA!', Lola complained, hiding her eyes.

'Dang it me? Dang it Lucy! How could I have known she'd mention death?', Lana argued back.

'I'm no Lisa, but the odds are like, 2-1, brah.', Luna pointed out.

'Yeah, and it's pretty likely too!', Leni added, clueless.

'Girls, no fighting right now, I don't want…', Rita started, only to be interrupted by Lori's sudden raucous laughter, tears flooding her eyes. 'Oh, that's so classic! Lucy, you little gremlin you, that's so you!'

Lucy shrugged. 'T…Thank you?'

'Lori, are you sure…', Luna patted her on the shoulder, but Lori suddenly went from laugh crying to sad crying. 'NO! I'M NOT! I SAID I'D KEEP GOING BUT I THINK I NEED A SECOND PLAN BUT THE LONGER I TAKE THE MORE PEOPLE GET HURT BUT THEY'LL STILL ALL LOSE THEIR JOBS SO MAYBE I SHOULD TAKE A THIRD OPTION BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS I'M NOT GIVING UP BUT IT'S TAKING ME TOO LONG I JUST WISH…'

Lori suddenly stopped her outburst, but not because she realized she was being very weird. No, she…

'BATHROOM. NOW.', Lori uttered out loud, dashing towards it. 'I just cleaned it today!', Lana whined.

Too late. Lori went in and threw up HARD.

They didn't even need to leave the table to hear it. The hacks and wheezes echoed, followed by more crying and sniffling. Everyone stared down at their finished plates. No one wanted seconds.

'...Mommy? Daddy? What's wrong with Lori?', Lola finally ventured to ask.

'I thought we'd deal with it.', Luna added, walking over to Lola to reassure the shaking girl.

Leni, moving towards Lana, nodded. 'I'm feeling scared too. I've never seen her act like this.'

'It's all quite worrying, I agree.', Lynn Sr. added. 'Does anyone know if this has to do with her visiting Bobby?'

Lincoln and Lisa, still very quiet, looked around to see what people would say. Bearing the secret was turning out to be a great burden.

'I don't think it's that. She seemed mostly fine when she came back.', Luan chimed in. 'Besides, if anything, she seems really tired.'

'It's not homework. Her grades are still pretty mid.', Lynn acknowledged. 'And that's ME talking!'

'It could be college stress. I wouldn't blame her. My little girl is all growing up and… Soon I'm not going to… Not going to…', Lynn Sr. nearly burst into tears himself, but Rita managed to stop him with a pat on the back.

Turning to the rest of the Louds, she announced 'Guys, I know we said we'll help Lori, but we need to approach this gently. She must have a good reason not to tell us.';

Everyone nodded. That much was for certain. Lori could be a real drama queen. If she didn't say, it was only because of how much it weighed on her.

'Still, I wish we could do something.', Luna echoed, the sentiment reaching Lori, sitting on the toilet, holding her head in her hands, nursing her metaphorical broken wings. 'It's like, if we help it could go badly, and if we don't, it could go badly.'

Lori perked up at that, listening in with intent. Her ear curled towards the voices of her family.

'I know what you mean, Luna.', Leni said, sounding so quiet, so… Hurt. How Lori wished she could run up and hug her. 'I just want Lori to feel comfy.'

Lori nodded, relating. Not for herself, but for the rest of Royal Woods. She didn't want to give up, but this plan wasn't working, was it? How would she get any evidence like this? And that wasn't to mention the people who would lose their jobs, the people who needed help regardless of what happened with Raven. How would she keep the city safe so that she wasn't needed anymore? How could she truly make up for her mistakes, and prove Raven wrong?

'I know, dears. But we need to go at it one step at a time. Let me take first crack, okay? I promise we'll all find a way to help.', Rita said in her soothing voice, and everyone immediately felt a little calmer.

Lori tensed up at first as the footsteps approached. Clop, clop, clop. Out of habit, she almost wanted to defend herself. But, skrunkled up on the toilet seat, she decided to simply burry herself in her hands and listen.

'Lori? Baby? Are you okay in there?'

A muffled 'Yes' came out.

'...Are you sure? If you want me to come in and talk…'

A less muffled 'No', came out. 'No thank you.', after that, not to be rude.

'Of course, Lori. No one wants to make you feel uncomfortable. Whatever it is that's going on with you, we can talk it out another time.'

Lori nodded, which even though Rita couldn't see it, she found an acceptable answer.

After a moment or two, a cough and a wheeze, Rita suggested 'Lori, I… You know that you can talk to us, right?'

No answer.

'...You don't have to do this alone.'

Lori slowly perked her ears, listening intently.

'...You can ask for help. No woman is an island. I know it must feel like you're battling whole armies sometimes. I'm so proud of you for persevering, for keeping on. All this stuff, college and whatnot, it's very important, and you've soldiered on like a champ!', Rita enthused, making Lori smile a little. 'Mom…', she breathed, full of appreciation.

'...But no one wins a battle on their own. Or a war. Whatever it is you're struggling with, you can share the load.'

Lori slowly slowly nodded, thinking of what Rita was saying in relation to her context.

Rita, satisfied, started to go away, when suddenly…

'Mom?'

Rita went back so hard she nearly made a dent in the door. 'Yes, honey?'

'...I'm just afraid that… That I will hurt people. I just want to help, and I'm not giving up, but… But how can I make sure that I really do the right things? That things get better, not just… Not just stay the same.', Lori asked, almost begged, allowing herself to feel vulnerable, to feel in need.

Rita took a long time to answer. '...I'm not sure I know exactly what you mean, dear. Maybe you've had some fight with a friend, or maybe you're just thinking about helping us in the future. I don't know. You don't need to say.'

Rita then smiled so lovingly that you could hear it through 100 doors, let alone 1. 'But what I do know is that my beloved Lori will figure it out eventually. She will endure, she will fight, and she will win. You've always managed to make things better in the end, sweetie. Just believe. I know I do.'

And with those parting words of care, Rita moved away, kissing the door so Lori knew how she felt.

Lori "grabbed" it, and tenderly placed it on her cheek.

'...I love you too, Mom.', Lori whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks, but a smile gracing her face.

A few minutes later, in her room, Lori put on her costume as the news on her laptop raged on.

A protest was occurring at the old Tetherby mansion. Where she was going to look for evidence.

'I don't know if I'll find anything. But I know that what I will find is a way. Today, tomorrow, at the end of all this, I don't know. But I WILL.', Lori declared, as she put on her pants and hoodie, and placed the gadgets in her pockets.

On the TV screens, she could see tons of people, protestors, workers, even fans of her, all clearly of the poorer variety, all so desperate for the happy ending they were promised. Lori would make sure Raven's promise wouldn't be empty, one way or the other. 'The city needs a beacon of hope. Might as well try and be their best option, right, Mr. Evans?', she added, as she put on her boots and gloves.

Tying the cape, she felt it flow in the room despite the lack of wind. Maybe it was her imagination. Maybe it was destiny. Lori didn't care.

She just needed to feel like The Guardian.

As she slowly put on her mascara, her reflection caught her on the screen. Blue eyes that seemed to glow.

'...I will be your light.', she promised the people on the screen. 'I promised I wouldn't give up, no matter the obstacle. I had a lil dip here, but I'm right back up, I promise.'

She offered a comforting smile to the screen, hoping somehow the people broadcasted could feel it. 'This might be the only good thing I do. This might be the only thing I ever give back after all this time.'

She thought of Lyberti, Mr. Evans, Clive, Captain Griffin, the kidnapped children, Lincoln, every single person she has saved, all of them living in peace, all of them able to succeed, to grow, to be happy. All of them given a second chance, given what Lori wanted to give them most of all: Love.

Her heart seemed to hum as she closed her eyes, imagining that world, where despite all the trials and tribulations, she endured, she fought, and she helped start a better way.

'...This will be a good death.', she thought, and when she opened her eyes, she almost seemed to have teleported. Standing above a roof near the mansion, staring down at the protestors and others, moonlight gleaming off her body, she seemed to radiate warmth.

'Don't worry. Your big sister is literally going to take care of this.', she whispered softly, smiling just as kindly, The Guardian now, and for a wonderful moment, she finally felt like the person she wanted to be.

Maybe when she died, she would die that person.

Maybe then she would smile like she did right now.

A cracked heart, maybe…

But Lori's heart was still overflowing with love for the people of her city.


The mansion's grounds were, as aforementioned, filled to the brim with protestors. Waving signs like "We didn't ask to be guarded", "Humanity rate: zero. You can't be our hero" and "Wake up sheeple", the people chanted Mayor Tetherby's name with cheers, and Guardian's with boos.

One old man, Mr. Dartford, led the protests most significantly. With a piercing megaphone, his words struck a chord with the chorus of hate.

'Are we just going to stand around and let some girl, probably an alien, dictate our lives?', he demanded, shaking his fist in righteous fury.

'NO!', the crowd shouted so hard it made the ground seemingly bounce.

'Are we going to let her spit on the foundations of our democracy? On the first true hero of the people, Mayor Bertrand Tetherby?', he chorused, voice shaking like his hands.

'NO!', the crowd replied again, vibrating as well.

'I say nay! Nay again! I say we put all our support in the task force! I say we donate what little we have to the mayor, so he can ensure our long term safety! I say that if we find The Guardian, we slow her down! We do our part!', the old man preached, fire and brimstone in his tone.

'YES!', came the earth shattering reply. The crowd raised their signs higher and screamed 'GO GUARDIAN GO! GO GUARDIAN GO! GO GUARDIAN GO!'. They kicked the ground and tore down the golden gates to show their power and rage, in the hope that The Guardian would see this.

The Guardian did, floating above behind some dark crooked trees, the first few droplets of rain falling onto her, giving her a smoggy effervescent sheen and aura.

At first, she pouted. It made her sad and a little angry to see that.

But then she chose a kinder way and offered a sympathetic glance.

'They're scared.', she reasoned with herself, floating carefully between branches.

Clenching her first, she nodded resolutely. 'I'll just have to try harder for them, then.'

With that angelic idea in mind, she sailed through the night sky, the stars highlighting the blues on her costume. There was a back window, far away from the protestors. She could try that.

'Then it's clue searching time.', she thought, hoping Lisa and Lincoln wouldn't mind her going this on her own. 'They've worked so hard. They need some sleep. I've had plenty of Friday Nights anyway, they can have one.'

Grinning, she patted the folded origami robot in one of her pouches. 'Besides, I'm not alone, am I, little Bucky Wucky?'

Giggling at her silly behavior, The Guardian began silently careening towards the back window. 'Not to toot my own horn, but this is going quite smoothly so far! Decent planning, Lori! Why, thank you, Lori!', she congratulated herself, a rare smile towards herself for once.

But suddenly, a fateful interjection occured.

A blinding headlight erupted, shimmering the scene with its flash. Tire skidding echoed in everyone's ears, and loud police sirens roared too. It was the task force's police car, and panicking, The Guardian flew over to another area to hide.

'Gotta be careful! They see me, and I can forget about investigating!', thought Guardian, who so desperately wanted to get some progress already. The longer she took, the more people got hurt by The Raven.

But then, a spanner hit the works.

Due to the rowdy nature of the drivers and Captain Griffin being so vegged out she didn't even notice, the car was hurtling towards the protesters. Or, well, one protester. The old man with the megaphone!

Everyone else was too panicked to save him, and he was too old to get out of the way in time. With how fast the car was going, he would surely die!

And the Guardian saw all of it.

For just the briefest moment, Guardian contemplated it, hesitated. If she did this, she would be caught or chased, she would fail them another day.

But then she shook her head. 'I'm thinking like The Raven. I need to think like The Guardian.'

And The Guardian does what's right, no matter what happens to her. It was the truth in her heart of hearts.

Speeding towards the man, tearing through the sky, The Guardian put all her might into her current objective, screaming out in determination.

SHOVE!

In the nick of time, just as the old man could practically feel the car's heat on him, The Guardian pushed him out of the way, taking the impact of the vehicle to her side. 'Owchies…', Guardian whimpered, almost like a little girl. 'That shit hurted.'

Struggling to stand up, she saw the old man on the ground, staring at her with his mouth agape, shell shocked. Wincing, she gingerly offered her arm. 'Here, grab my hand!'

He did so, after a while, and once The Guardian made sure he got up right, she saw he had dropped his sign as well. 'Oh, let me get that for you! Back problems, right?'

'...Right.', he muttered, as Guardian picked the sign up and placed it in his hand. Calming herself down, she spoke in her most sincere timber. 'So, are you okay? I didn't startle you too much, did I? Is there anything you need?'

The old man was lost for words, his owl scratched eyes and coke bottle glasses staring back in stunned amazement, his bald head glistening from the light seemingly emanating off the superhero.

Guardian just chuckled softly, still clutching his hand oh so softly. 'Don't feel shy, mister! I'm just lil ol' me. Plus, it's my job. If there's ANYTHING you need, just say, honest! I know things are tough right now, which is why I want to do what I can to solve it!'

The old man wanted to say something. Anything. 'Go away.' 'Thank you.' 'I was right.' 'I was wrong.' he just didn't know what or how. It was hard when her eyes radiated so much kindness. She had read the sign. Surely she knew…

What did THAT say then?

Slowly, he opened his mouth. 'I…'

'FREEZE! RWPD! PUT YOUR HANDS UP, VIGILANTE!'

The two turned around, alarmed, jumping out of their skins. The task force had exited the car, but rather then check on the old man, they waved their guns and stun staffs and robots at The Guardian.

'HEY! IT'S ME YOUR AFTER! DON'T POINT AT HIM!', Guardian bellowed, authoritative and commanding. The old man looked at her with awe as the weapons turned only towards The Guardian.

Suddenly, the hero began to fly away, not at the task force to fight them, but away towards the mansion. She was hurt. There was no need for this.

They fired anyway.

Hitting her side again, plus her ankle, The Guardian got zapped and blasted, screaming out in agony and pain, crash landing into the mansion by one of the windows.

Searchlights lit up the place, as more cars arrived with task force soldiers and robots. The protestors stepped back, some dialing the news. Soon, a crowd of people would arrive to stare at the scene.

And only the old man stared in bubbling regret and pain, now wondering why he still held onto the sign that said 'Devil in disguise'.

Griffin, stumbling out of the car, as if she were waking up from a dream, stared at her task force, still guns blazing despite the absence of The Guardian and the protestors in danger. She had woken up enough to see what had happened, and in a state of delirium, complained about the violent outburst. 'Wait… She didn't do anything…'

Her car phone rang. Tetherby's name staticed on it. 'Mr. Mayor?', Griffin asked, rubbing her eyes. It was far too late for this. She should be home, sleeping in bed, having had a good time with her daughter. Not… Not this.

'Captain.', the voice blared out, far dryer and metallic than usual. Something sounded… Strained. 'Are you at the protest? Is it true that The Guardian got shot?'

News travels fast. Griffin swallowed the lump in her throat. 'She's been hurt, it seems. Hiding inside your family's mansion, I think.'. She sounded as strained as he did.

'...Excellent. I'm on my way. Tell the men to wait. For now.'

Griffin wondered what that meant.

Not long after, she found out. Mayor Bertrand Tetherby seemed less like a mayor and more like a warrior king. His mayoral outfit and look were the same, but around him were the Centuriborgs, carrying him like a chariot. He held in his hand a megaphone, but also a giant blaster, more like a bazooka. His cane also now seemed to have some sort of sharp dangling hook, one that could rip your head off in a moment's notice.

Griffin was a tad perturbed, she had to admit.

She was even more perturbed when he passed her by, his steely eyes radiating ice cold rage. 'Mr. Mayor, is… Is everything all right?', she asked, shrinking at his sight. He felt so different to the man she had met at the station.

'But of course. We have a fugitive in our grasp, no?', he answered, sounding very far away.

Hoisting the megaphone, he began to lecture the crowd. Everyone, from the task force, to the protestors. Maybe The Guardian herself. By the time he had arrived, the news cameras were there too, and Katherine madly gesticulated at Mark to film the Mayor right now, and if possible, keep her in frame.

'PEOPLE OF ROYAL WOODS!'

His voice tore through the sheets of silence like a blizzard of noise, of leadership. Like the roar of a lion, you simply had to pay attention.

Griffin stared the whole time, feeling a shiver run down her spine but probably not the one everyone else felt. Probably not the one intended.

Mayor Tetherby looked around his domain. Yes. HIS domain. She would not take that away from him. Not after all his hard work. And a pesky, idealistic, stupid child wouldn't either.

'HAVE WE NOT SUFFERED ENOUGH?!'

Roars of agreement, of long held pain, echoed as loud as his megaphone.

'HAVE WE NOT BEEN DENIED WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY OURS LONG ENOUGH?!'

More screams of approval. Like wolves at a corpse, thought Griffin.

Tetherby's words were even more fiery than the old man, even more passionate. He could open the gates of heaven themselves with his determination, his resolve to win this NO MATTER WHAT.

'AND WHEN WE ARE SO CLOSE TO THE PEARLY GATES, DO WE GET DENIED ENTRANCE BY SOME CHILD?!'

'NO!'

'BY SOME INSOLENT, POWER MAD CHILD, SOME GIRL WHO THINKS SHE CAN JUST REJECT US?! SO SHE CAN PLAY IN HER COMIC BOOK FANTASY?!'

The agreement's noise could have shattered windows. Griffin couldn't help but notice how… Terrifying that sounded.

Tetherby didn't seem terrified. No, he seemed pissed. Like he held onto some great, terrible secret. Like his soul was screaming out for help. 'SHE DARES LOOK DOWN AT US?! WE SLAVED FOR DECADES, AND SHE THINKS SHE CAN JUST FLY OVER HERE WITH HER FANTASY POWERS AND SMILE AND WE'LL ALL STOP BEING POOR AND HUNGRY AND DOWNTRODDEN?!'

'Says the rich guy.', Griffin thought before thanking the stars she didn't think that outloud.

Tetherby's face seemed almost sunken, the light from the news cameras showcasing his haunted and angered eyes. His fists shook, but was it in rage or…

Regret? Pleading?

'She could have joined us. She still could. You could help me… Us, save the people! If that's what you really want, then prove it! Or at least do not pretend. You may think this… This schoolgirl heroics mean something!'

He erupted like a dormant volcano, all his anger at Melanie directed towards what began to feel like his one trump card to victory. 'YOU ARE NOT BRAVE! PEOPLE ARE BRAVE! AND I WILL SAVE ROYAL WOODS, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!'

The cheers at their loudest, Tetherby dropped the megaphone and took a radio in link with all the task force. 'Find her. Arrest her. Use any means necessary. She will be made an example of.'

'Of what?', Griffin asked, gulping.

Tetherby's eyes narrowed.

'Of what happens when you don't heed my call.'

An hour must have passed while all this happened. The Guardian knew it was now something like 2:00 in the morning. Maybe even 3:00. She couldn't tell. All she knew was that she was hurt..

Lying in the corner of the mansion, as if all the house was pointing at her, Guardian stirred awake from her hit. Her hand coming out of her side, she saw a color not suited to her costume.

Red.

'Ugh…', she groaned, slowly stumbling and tripping to her feet. The hit took a lot out of her.

'Oh no. What if it had the power remover thingy?', Guardian wondered in alarm. Making sure her cape wasn't under her boots, she tried to break gravity.

She bonked her head on the chandelier.

'Ouch… Good.', Guardian smirked, surprised to be happy about getting hurt, but whatever, right? She still had her powers. She'd be fine here.

'Where was here again?', she wondered, looking around as she floated, cape kicking up dust.

It was the Tetherby mansion, right. But as she gazed at her surroundings, she grew confused. 'Not much of a mansion, though.'

The place was empty of furniture, outside of long sprawling halls, closets, and staircases. A great place to hide, but not much else. Dust as far as the eye could see, as if that were the fortune that made the family what it was.

And the golden walls, floors, everything? What had made the mansion seem like a fairytale dream?

Turned to rust. Dirt brown. A happily ever after nevermore.

'Wow.', Guardian thought, flying around the rooms, picking up whatever bits and pieces of furniture were left. She was still supposed to look for evidence.

But it was becoming clear that there was none. An abandoned clipboard soon explained. 'Demolition. They're tearing down this place. Guess whatever evidence there COULD have been is gone.', Guardian mused, disappointed. 'Now what?! Oh, why can't anything go right?!', she protested like a sad child having dropped her ice cream cone.

But she dropped her pout with a determined shake of her head and clench of her fist. 'No matter. I'll just try even harder!'

With a resolute grin, she decided to call it a night and carefully escape. Only to remember…

'The old man! He hasn't answered me yet! Oh, I hope he's…', Guardian began, hurrying towards the window, only to see…

'THE TASK FORCE!', her mind screamed in fear, and she quickly dashed towards a closet, peaking out as Centuriborgs, task force cops, and even Captain Griffin marched in, holding their white and purple weapons, their terrifying blasters and taser staffs and guns. An army. Sent out to stop her.

'Outnumbered and out-armed.', Guardian thought with an audible gulp. Teeth chattering, she tried to move, but winced. Her side was still bleeding out after all, and her ankle was hurt, it seemed. Clutching it, she realized that a fast escape was impossible. 'Plus, with their totally crazy ass behavior, the people outside could get shot! Only one attracting bullets and blasts here is me!', Guardian declared to herself, before smiling jokingly. 'Can't help but be a knockout hottie, I guess.'

Struggling to get up, Guardian decided there was just one thing to do. 'Gonna have to fight my way out. They'll all probably take up positions, so I'll just fight from one room to the next and get outta here.'

Cricking her neck, she cracked her knuckles, spreading dust around the room. 'Go Guardian Go.', she ironically echoed with a determined grin.

Outside, the cameras were rolling at the mansion. Thanks to the security system still being up, they could connect to the feed and showcase what was going on. 'And it seems as if the task force are searching for The Guardian, Centuriborgs stationed in each room, as the cops look upstairs! We'll update you as it goes on, but this reporter feels like this is finally the end of the line for The Guardian! I guess you could say that's a fly bye to her!', Katherine joked and winked at the camera, but no one found it funny outside of some of the protesters next to her. 'I LOVE YOU MOM!', one shouted. '...Don't touch me.', she berated the protester with yellowing teeth.

At the Loud House, Lynn Sr. and Rita watched on, unable to sleep ever since hearing the news. Their faces seemed worried, but for what reason, we couldn't know yet. Rita simply held onto Lynn Sr., comforting him as they watched their home descend into a war ground for hounds.

At Pingrey Enterprises, Melanie watched on with great interest. 'Well, well, well… I seem to have lit a fire in ol' Bertrand. Let's see if this dog has any bite.', she commented with intrigue, almost enjoying her old friend's turn towards dogged despair.

At the Evans household, Mr. Evans and Lyberti both watched, holding onto each other in fear and worry. The bow wearing girl closed her eyes and prayed. 'I don't know if there is a god… But if there is one… Please save The Guardian. Even heroes need a hero sometimes.'

Back at the mansion, Guardian slowly opened the door and readied herself. Up until now, the task force almost felt like a far away enemy, something she could just ignore as more important matters were at hand.

But there were no people to save or evidence to find now. Just a terrifying, imposing futuristic army designed to take HER down.

'How crazy is that? My life has turned into a frikin' anime! And not the kind I watch.', Guardian mused, wringing her hands. A whole army was chasing her, acting out.

Putting innocent people in danger because The Raven couldn't just do things the right way.

That last part was what infuriated The Guardian. Chasing her was one thing. She deserved to be punished.

'But not everyone else. Especially not with how you think saving people works.', she muttered, feeling her anger rise as she slowly stepped up to the big, firm, stiff robot with two massive blaster arms.

The Guardian wouldn't just escape to make sure the city was safe.

She would teach these guys a lesson, make an example of them. She would prove there was a kinder way.

'They almost hurt the old man, for fuck sake! They're not almost hurting ANYONE else!', The Guardian decided with utmost certainty, and taking a deep breath, she tapped the Centurborg on the shoulder. 'Knock knock?'

'WHO'S THERE.', it asked in its radio static voice full of nothing.

'THE DOOR.', Guardian quipped, smashing the robot's head off with her fist!

It went flying towards the other Centuriborg, discarding the fizzing electrical remains of its brother in arms like it was nothing.

Because to it, it was nothing.

Outside, the protestors and gathering crowd of other homeless people, vagrants, criminals, night shift workers, etc. gasped at the cameras now showcasing The Guardian herself, looking imposing with her bloodied side, shaking knees, and fiery blue eyes.

'She's fighting them? Why doesn't she just vamoose outta that joint?', Lynn Sr. voiced, confused. 'She must have a good reason… At least, I hope…', Rita added, sounding a little scared herself. Lynn Sr. comforted her back.

'Hmm. She doesn't run. Perhaps this is a chance to see how well the serum works on her.', Melanie thought, scratching her chin in curiosity. She began scratching a pen on a notepad, observing the durability of the vigilante.

'I wish she'd just run, er, fly away.', Mr. Evans remarked, panicky as ever.

Lyberti seemed a lot more confident, grinning at her hero on the screen. 'I bet you she has something up her sleeve.'

'Though I hope people will get that and not think she's just some thug.', Lyberti added, worryingly biting her cheek and clutching onto her star helmet.

Back at the mansion, the second Centuriborg spoke out in great volume, charging up its weapon.

'HALT. INTRUDER. DATABASE IDENTIFIES YOU AS "THE GUARDIAN". YOU ARE UNDER ARREST. STAND DOWN AND DON'T RESIST.', it asked, aiming its blasters right at her.

The Guardian wiped the sweat off her brow, breathing heavily, eyes closed as she hung her head, thinking of the conversation she had with Lisa yesterday.

Despite her buckling knees, she roused up the strength to stand up to this madness.

'I have to hold back so much anger. SO much regret. SO MUCH PAIN.', she growled, her scary voice. The cameras caught all that, and some people were shaking and shivering, truth be told.

Mayor Tetherby chuckled. 'Pressure getting to you? Good. Ruin your image further. Selfish people don't deserve adulation.'

The Guardian bit down, grinding her teeth hard. Blood droplets dotted the floor around her, her cape seeming ragged and torn. The criss-cross of blonde hair now looked like a shaggy lion's mane, warning of danger, as The Guardian went on with her tiny speech. 'It's like walking on eggshells.'

The confession was so personal and raw that it actually soothed some nerves. Others still found themselves on edge, wondering what the implication of THAT was. If maybe there WAS a scary side to the so called hero.

'But you…', Guardian suddenly pointed right at the robot, like she was a JOJO's protagonist. Her steely gaze and unshaken core sent a dagger to the audience. She looked like a bold warrior, but was that a good thing? 'You don't even have an A.I. You're just a machine of hate.'

Everyone held their breaths as the robot kept stating 'STAND DOWN. STAND DOWN. STAND DOWN.' and The Guardian kept her eyes closed, making the world wonder what her insides truly felt.

'Well… Guess what I'm trying to say is…'

She lifted her head and opened her eyes, the blue gleam lighting the darkness, fiery yet warm. Everyone gasped again, staring at the hero who looked almost mythological.

And how that could be awe inspiring and frightening.

Frowning fiercely, like a raging beast, she growled…

'I COULD USE A GOOD RUN.'

Roaring so hard it shook the mansion and the people outside, The Guardian rushed the robot, that began to fire its blast, but before it got shot out…

CRUNCH!

A sickening scrunch echoed across the place as The Guardian shoved her other fist through the "heart" of the Centuriborg, making it sputter and turn on and off. With another roar, The Guardian lifted the hollow robot and smashed it through her knee, ripping it in half.

'HOLY SHIT!', Mark cussed, Katherine signaling for it to get bleeped out.

The protestors screamed in anger and fear.

Tetherby smirked.

Melanie smirked.

And the Louds and Evans jumped, wondering if the hero was beginning to lose it.

Guardian?

She saw tens of Centuriborgs enter the room, announce her status as a fugitive, and aim their weapons at her, the purple lights blazing off her black and blue face.

Her face twisted into a half angry frown half hyped up battle grin.

'Come on. Come ON. COME ON!', The Guardian bellowed, charging at the robots with all her might.

And so, a mighty battle commenced!

Swarms of Centuriborgs entered, only to get the artificial shit kicked out of them.

One grabbed Guardian by the arm, squeezing, trying to twist it. She used the momentum to lift herself up from the ground and kick out at two others, bursting her boot through both their heads. Spinning around, she kicked the back of the one holding her arm's head, then positioned herself on its shoulders.

'Timber!', she cried out, dropping the robot onto the two with missing heads, crushing all three.

Two more came from behind, reaching out, but she turned around and speared one into a corner, head bursting through its chest. Then, rising up, she turned to the other one while floating, a dark and foreboding expression on her face.

Taking the reaching out arms, she grabbed them and ripped them out from their sockets. Oil burst out, splattering the floor. The robot crashed down, writhing on the ground.

Using the two arms, she dug out the metallic insides, shutting down the robot on the ground.

5 centuriborgs now came rushing at her. Guardian smirked, ready, using one arm to make a 'come at me' gesture.

CRASH! Using one of the arms, Guardian lifted herself off the ground (to support her hurt ankle) and kicked out one of the legs of the first centuriborg rushing at her.

SMASH! Sliding underneath the missing leg socket, she dropped two centuriborgs to the ground. Kip upping onto her feet, she used her cape to choke out the fourth robot, removing its head.

BANG! Now as if it were a boulder, she swung it in her cape like David against Goliath, smashing the fifth robot. Then, she flew up, grabbing the two felled robots, and smashed them together on the missing leg one, like she was playing with action figures.

More and more rushed in and more and more got crushed out. Guardian grabbed the arms again and used them to backflip around, kicking some bots, stabbing others with the arms. Jump, kick, roll, stab, stab, backflip kick turned into flight, two flying punches backwards, land, stab stab, spin, stabbing every single one, then a straight fly through, stabbing each one as if it were a giant robot shishkebab on the arms.

The room was now hosting an oil puddle. Guardian's boots splashed around as she entered the next room, seeing even more robots.

They were taken care of easily too.

Outside the room, on the cameras that couldn't quite catch it, and from the other robot's POV, you could hear smashes, crunches, blasts, thwacks, bursts. Gears and metal pieces flew out the room. Suddenly, the wall crashed in, The Guardian riding a falling robot through it, her boots stomping through its carcass, her gloves now also covered in oil, turning her blue into black.

'More? For me? You shouldn't have.', she glared, grinning in anticipation.

The crowd outside stared on in a continued mixed state. It was… Hard to judge.

Tetherby didn't seem too bothered. Sure, he'd need to upgrade the robots. But in a way…

'She's offering a free checkup. I'll have them even tougher by tomorrow. Pleasure doing business with you, Loud.', he smiled to himself.

Guardian, meanwhile, seemed all the more godlike as she fought. Flinging the gigantic robots onto the roof, flying down and down smashing them onto the floor, tearing them in half with her bare hands and roaring again.

One finally managed to shoot out a blast at her, sending her hurtling onto a wall.

Some cheered. Others stayed silent in introspection.

But she got up, anyway.

Spitting out some blood and breathing heavily.

'Nice move. My turn.'

Taking out an arm, she turned it on and blasted the robot in return, burning it to a crisp.

'She's already taken out pretty much every Centuriborg!', Katherine reported, gobsmacked. 'How?!'

'You can land a plane in your mouth.', Mark sassed, annoying Katherine, who blushed angrily.

'She's not human… She's not even alien, is she?', some whispered, wondering what was up with this girl.

'Thank goodness the kids aren't watching.', Rita commented, as Lynn Sr. nodded, a little green in the gills from all the violence.

'That was both incredibly awesome and a little unsettling.', Lyberti commented at her father, now biting her bottom lip and dropping her helmet with a thud. 'Come on, Guardian. Don't scare them. They won't remember you saved that old guy if you keep doing this!'

Melanie jotted note after note, eyes marveling at the results. 'For so little of the powers, she does so much. Her resolve, her determination… Encouraging.'.

Room after room were cleared, until finally, there was one last Centuriborg. Guardian tore it apart like a wild cat, scratching and clawing, grunting in effort. She was tiring herself out, her side and ankle wouldn't hold much longer. Flying above it like a winged demon, she crushed it with her fists and boots, before headbutting its head off.

'Restart that, bitch.', she muttered, loud enough for people to hear. Sighing in pain, she laid down for a moment to recover, letting out a cry of exhaustion and struggle.

Mixed responses from the crowd again. No one knew what to say after that display of power.

The old man seemed a little less hesitant now however, though still silent.

And that reigning silence from everyone, after 30 minutes of fighting, was what led to the task force finally arriving, the top half of the mansion masking the sounds and leading to a long fruitless search.

Without saying a word, two of the most trigger happy cops waited for when Guardian would stumble to her feet.

'She's tuckered out. Come on, I'll hold her down, you cuff her.', Griffin offered, fighting down the pity swirling in her stomach.

'No. I'm making sure she stays down.', one of the cops whispered, charging his taser staff.

'No!', Griffin cried, but before Guardian could react, the staff sent out a shockwave that struck her in that hurting side.

Stunned, she couldn't resist as the other blasted out the 'power dampner', striking her chest, right on the heart.

The crowd gasped again, stunned.

Everyone, from the Louds to Melanie to Bertrand to the Evans, all stared on with startled eyes and speechless mouths.

Was this…

The end of The Guardian?

'Quickly, let's teach her a lesson!', the violent cops cheered, but Griffin blocked them, staring them down like unruly children. 'ARE YOU ALL MAD?! WE'RE HERE TO ARREST HER, NOT GANG UP ON HER LIKE VULTURES!'

'And what do you know?', the taser cop asked. Griffin prodded him. 'I know I'm your COMMANDING OFFICER! STAND DOWN RIGHT NOW!'

'Great, she's loose!', the power dampner cop cursed, the rest of the force, shouting at Griffin.

Griffin turned around, snapping her fingers in frustration.

'Where the fuck is she now?'

Up, up the staircase Guardian had crawled. Not flown.

Crawled.

'It doesn't take a Lisa to know what that second hit was…', Guardian mumbled, just about dragging herself by the nails and teeth over the dusty muddy carpet and onto a bedroom, where she closed the door quietly.

No cameras could track her here, thankfully. Now she could recuperate for a moment, gather her thoughts.

Trying to fly, she quickly confirmed her suspicions. 'Power dampner. Fuck. NOW how do I get out?', Guardian cursed, clenching her fists so hard they hurt. Tears nearly began to ruin her mascara. She was tired. She was hurt.

She just wanted to go to bed.

'God. I got so angry back there too. I may have run a little too hard.', she mused thoughtfully, scolding herself. 'Not good, Lori. The Guardian is supposed to inspire, not scare.'

Usually, this would be the moment for a good angst attack. She hadn't found any evidence, she had gotten badly hurt, and if she DID manage to escape without being arrested, she'll have scared the people who already found her bad.

This was bad, this was bad, this was horrible, this was literally the worst, oh, Lori, how could you, why, why, al your fault, all your…

'No.', Guardian suddenly stopped herself, hugging herself for comfort and breathing deeply and slowly. '1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3. Don't overthink it. Relax and sink it. Don't overthink it. Relax and sink it.'

She thought of the day she investigated Pingrey Enterprises. That had also gone wrong, mostly, because she had been too rash, too violent. She needed a plan, like Lincoln would say. She needed to make sure people knew her intentions, and wouldn't be scared. She would need to do all that and not just escape.

She couldn't lose.

'I WON'T.', she declared, standing up. There was much work to be done, with or without her powers.

'Guess I'll just have to try EVEN harder.', she smiled at herself, proud of her growing resolve. 'See, Lori? You CAN put it aside. You CAN do this.'

She turned around, thinking of all the people outside who didn't know it yet, but needed her to get out of here so she could truly save them.

'I WILL do this!', she announced to herself, determined to save the day.

'But first…', she thought, a little giddy, as she started leafing through her pouches.

'A little backup…'

When the door opened, all eyes stuck like glue towards the live feeds from the news cameras, but they couldn't see The Guardian. 'Where'd she go?', some asked out loud, while others seemed more perturbed than ever.

Somehow, someway, the figure of black and blue and gold was sneaking around in the mostly dim and dark mansion, the shadows now her domain. Outside of a hint of her movement here and there, no one could detect her.

Slowly, surely, she approached the three main rooms left towards escape. In what appeared to be a sort of bedroom, three cops stood guard, moving their blasters back and forth, searching for her.

But she was ready for them.

Grinning, she removed the first gadget from her pouch: a golf ball.

'A golf ball?', Lori had asked, confused. Scratching her head, she said 'I doubt I'll have much time for practice rounds.'

'Oh, no! See, elder sister, this isn't just a golf ball…', Lisa had explained, and now The Guardian knew exactly what it was.

'A distraction.', she whispered and smirked in delight as the ball rolled towards the cops. Startled by the sudden sound, they shot out at the ball.

Unleashing a cloud of smoke that blinded and choked them.

'What was that?!', one cop shouted out, hacking and wheezing.

'I can't see!', another cried, before saying 'Oh, wait, it's getting better!'

A swoosh.

'...Never mind now I wish I couldn't see again.'

WHACK! The cop went spinning, but not too hard. Lori's strength wasn't at its optimal strength.

'Still, my workouts have helped.', Lori smirked in determination, performing a few push ups to lift herself up onto a backflip that knocked the other cop over.

The third one, panicking, shot at The Guardian, hitting her other side. More blood gushed from her, but she didn't let it affect her, even if she was getting a little woozy.

Instead, she removed…

'An otamatone?', asked the cop, puzzled. 'You're gonna, what, annoy me to death?'

'The otamatone is for fun. It's what it turns into you need to worry about.', The Guardian explained, playing a few random off key notes, before suddenly turning into…

'A golf club?', the cop asked, even more confused.

The now elongated and hard otamatone golf club (still with the cute eyes and smile tho) swung from side to side, as The Guardian leaned on the handle and congratulated the cop. 'Very good! Now, how many notes did I play?'

'I don't know.'

The Guardian wore a cheshire cat grin that appeared in the darkness, bright like a tiger in the fire.

'Four.'

WHACK! The cop went FLYING into the wall, breaking some of it off.

The spinning cop, finally back to his feet, charged The Guardian, but she took one of her smoke golf balls and hit it square in the face of the guy, knocking him out for good.

'These are definitely gonna help when I'm in a jam.', Guardian expressed quietly, satisfied. 'Better tell Lisa about some other things I wanna add. First aid kit, lollipops, snacks for those who need them, sneaking around items like lock pics, etc…'

Onto the next room she went, gliding gracefully through the shadows, the cameras only able to pick up her eyes.

'They seem to glow sometimes.', Lynn Sr. commented from his couch.

'I wonder what that's about.', Lyberti mused, since it didn't seem to be something that should happen. It always seemed to occur at big moments too. Hmm.'

The second room had about 8 cops. They all had those taser staffs. Not great.

But The Guardian had backup.

The room suddenly got bathed in a small ember of light as Bucky the robot squirrel got putted towards the cops (in origami form). Slowly, he shifted into his squirrel form.

'Daww!', the cops enthused, as did pretty much everyone watching, even Melanie.

Bertrand simply raised a curious eyebrow. 'A robot? Since when?'

Suddenly, Bucky lifted his wings and began to dance, a cool electronic beat coming out of his speaker ears.

While the cops were distracted, The Guardian removed her burner phone and pressed a button on the side, revealing a small grapple hook that could lift her up even when she did have her powers. Pressing her gloves onto the roof (now equipped with seafoam green suction pads that looked like tiny circles on her gloves and boots), she slowly but surely walked on the roof like a spider, before removing from her other pouch a Nintendo remote.

Into the room raced a few Mario Karts, tripping up the cops and dropping them to the ground, hard.

Using the phone's other hole, she shot out jump ropes that tied them up. High fiving Bucky, Guardian hung onto him as he flew her out onto the next room.

There, there was the chance. She just had to sneak past them and fly out the window.

The crowd watching seemed impressed by her gadgets. No one knew why she wasn't using her powers, but it was sort of interesting to see the hero had ways of fighting that weren't just punching others. 'It seems like she just wants to get out.', a few crowd members observed. 'Did you see how much she was bleeding? I hope they take care of that if they capture her.', some others added, showing sympathy for the hero.

Others disagreed. 'She's a criminal! She's resisting arrest! There's not a single good bone in her body!'

But then, it all went wrong.

Guardian was just about to escape when…

'Mrow.'

A cat was sneaking by, who knows how she had entered, but her meow unsettled the cops, who suddenly all shouted, aiming their guns everywhere. Griffin tried to calm them down, but they just wouldn't listen, pissing her off further.

'The cat! It will get hurt!', Guardian gasped, worried. Bucky gasped too, unsure of what to do.

The crowd all seemed worried too. 'That's not her!', they shouted, but the cops couldn't hear them. Instead, they began firing at the cat!

The Guardian knew she needed to escape.

But she couldn't.

Invading the line of fire, Guardian held the cat protectively, covering her with her entire body, as the blasts hit Guardian's back instead, burning her, tearing a hole in her cape. 'AGH!', Guardian screamed in agony, making the cops stop for a moment, before realizing who it was. 'QUICK, GET HER!'

Rolling away just in the nick of time, The Guardian helped the cat onto a nearby tree branch, only to see a blast nearly hit the cat. 'Get outta here, pussy!', the cop cried, laughing maliciously.

'You trying to kill the cat?!', Guardian berated, red in the face. The cop gulped.

SMASH! SMASH! SMASH! Guardian head butted him three times, through the room and onto the wall, then through it.

The blasts then resumed, hitting Guardian in the shoulders and knees, dropping her to the ground. Furious, she roused all her remaining strength and hit the floor, screaming in anger at the same time. Somehow, someway, the shockwave dropped everyone to the ground.

Seeing her chance, The Guardian tried to escape, but stopped, yelping in pain, holding her side. Lifting her hand, she showed a bloody handprint to the cameras.

The crowd began to stir, uncomfortable. So did the viewers at home.

Something about this…

Just didn't feel right.

'She's almost down. Finish her. Make the arrest. Any means necessary.', Tetherby ordered quietly to Griffin.

Then, hacking her regular phone, Tetherby tried to keep his voice steady as he spoke to…

'Lori.'

'...What.', Guardian whispered, staring at the video call.

'...You know it doesn't have to be this way. You're only just escaping, and that's not for certain.'

'Not happening.'

He pinched the bridge of his nose. 'I know you want to save the city. I know you care, even if you think you're a monster. You're not. Just help me stop what's coming. Do it for Lincoln.'

Guardian breathed heavily, then narrowed her eyes in determination.

'I'm going to save the city, don't worry, Raven. Once I'm done, I'll deal with you too.'

'...You'll die.', he warned, not as a threat, but as a logical conclusion.

'...Good.', Guardian finished, spitting at his face on the camera.

Just as the call ended, Guardian realized the warning wasn't totally false.

'AAAAAAAAA!', Griffin screeched like a harpie as she charged at The Guardian, striking her with a hard jab to the jaw, sending blood flying out of her mouth.

The crowd gasped, the world turned into slow motion, as The Guardian, the hero of the city, the fear of many, the savior of others, the seemingly mythological figure of Royal Woods, a comic book page come to life…

Was being beaten to a pulp by Captain Griffin.

BANG! A kick to the knee brought The Guardian down to one, well, knee.

SMASH! A punch nearly broke her nose, more blood gushing.

BIFF! BOFF! THWACK! More punches and kicks, by a desperate woman, nearly knocking off her hoodie, her eyes black without the mascara now, arms and legs barely moving as she collapsed onto the wall and got roundhouse kicked through it.

CRACK! The Guardian collapsed onto the ground, emitting horrified gasps.

Lyberti may have been shedding a tear or two. 'Come on, Guardian…', she tried, but even she felt disbelief.

'Look at you! Look at us! LOOK AT THIS!', Griffin roared, hitting away and away at The Guardian's face, cutting her cheeks, blood now spreading onto Griffin's hands. She was pointing at the destruction, the task force, the protests, the escalation from everyone.

'IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?! IS THIS THE WAY?! YOU COULD HAVE HELPED US! YOU COULD HAVE HELPED ME!', Griffin was practically begging, pleading, at the girl she felt so many complicated feelings for. How she wished she could be right…

But no. The world didn't work this way.

'No one can fight the whole system. No can save the world like this. There are no superheroes, Guardian. Only broken monsters.', Griffin whispered. 'What do you believe in? WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IN?!'

But just before she could hit the finishing blow to arrest The Guardian…

'The old man… Is… Is he okay?'

You could hear a pin drop.

'...You're losing blood. You need hospital and then prison. Just come with me.', Griffin tried to order, but one could hear her choke on a lump.

The Guardian, despite excruciating pain, shocked everyone as she slowly and surely tried to stand up, despite her lack of powers.

'They used that thing to weaken her! She doesn't have her powers! How is she doing that?!', one man asked in fear.

'How is she doing this?!', Lyberti and Rita asked at the same time, the former awe struck and worried.

Stumbling and slipping on her blood, her costume with tons of rips and tears, the G the only thing still intact, The Guardian looked up, and her eyes glew a great deep blue, so soft and soothing it seemed to caress all those in the area, even Tetherby.

'The old man… The one who nearly got run over… Is he okay? Please, he didn't tell me. Is he okay?'

The old man stood in silence. Everyone did, hanging their heads, feeling a strange sort of shame.

'She's just a girl, isn't she?', someone asked. 'Powers or not. She's… She's just some girl.'

'No older than my daughter.', another added.

'She's gonna bleed out. How can she think of someone else at this time?'

The Guardian kept on, falling ont Griffin, holding onto her, whimper asking 'Did anyone else get hurt? Are the people outside okay? Answer me, please!'

She was clearly delirious, clearly woozy and faint. Her instinct, her only wish, was the thought of others.

'Just tell me. Please. I don't want anyone to get hurt.'

But she was hurt.

And she clearly didn't care.

Griffin stared at Guardian with utter shock and dismay. Tears ran down her cheeks. The Guardian, hood off now so people could really see just what a non god she was, stumbled and fell down. Losing consciousness, she didn't say 'Help me, help me', she said 'Help them, help them.'

And that's when the lights went off.

When they turned back on…

The Guardian and Griffin were gone.


The soft whirr of the car wheels and the bouncing of the seats soon shook Guardian awake, her healing factor returning just in time. She had no idea she would be fine.

She didn't think about it anyway. She had to understand where she was.

Shaking the black shapes out of her eyes, Guardian noticed car windows, a driver's seat. This wasn't vanzilla. It smelled better.

'You're awake.'

The Guardian gasped, panicking. Breathing heavily, she clutched the car cushion before her and…

A hand reached out to stroke her hair, calming her down.

Even still, she could barely believe it was…

'Captain Griffin.', Guardian exclaimed, slowly settling her heart rate, sitting back in her seat. Feeling her costume, she sighed. 'I'm gonna have to repair this one quick. There's someone who needs me in a few hours, and…'

The car suddenly skidded to a halt. Guardian angled her head out the window (once she stopped bouncing from the skidding) and saw that it was seemingly in the middle of an empty road.

In fact, it was halfway between the police station and Lori's house.

Gripping the wheel like a crazed driver and steaming mad, Griffin ranted, bloodshot eyes adding to the visual. 'YOU WERE BLEEDING OUT. YOU FAINTED. YOU COULD HAVE DIED. YOU BARELY SURVIVED THE WHOLE TASK FORCE WHILE THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE CALLED YOU A MONSTER. AND HERE YOU ARE, STILL TRYING TO PLAY SUPERHERO?!'

Guardian was sure she knew where this was going, but she gaped when Griffin suddenly banged her head on the wheel and began crying. The alarm blared until it died.

Pouting, Guardian offered her hand to comfort Griffin's shoulder. 'Hey, it's okay. You were just doing your jo…'

'No. I wasn't. I'm not sure what that is anymore. But maybe this is it. Maybe. Maybe I've just gone crazy, but…', Griffin explained, turning around slowly, staring at the girl with a mixture of disbelief and…

Love.

'...You…', she placed a hand on her face, then on her symbol. '...You…'

How she wanted to tell her.

But she couldn't, not yet.

She couldn't tell this angel what she was until she was sure.

Turning deadly serious, she gave The Guardian a death stare and prodded her hard. 'We are going to make a deal.'

Guardian took a moment, but nodded.

Edging closer, the car seat separation meaning nothing now, Griffin's breath hit Guardian in the face, flowing her hair strands. The captain practically forehead touched the hero.

'There IS something suspicious going on. There is some sort of foul play. I don't know what it is. The usual suspects, someone around Tetherby. Maybe it IS Tetherby. But something doesn't feel right. And you think something is wrong. So maybe I should check. Maybe i should investigate this from the inside. Maybe I should trust you. Because I can tell you mean well. Because…'

She sighed and strengthened her resolve. 'I KNOW you mean well. Agree or not, we can both admit that you have a good heart. So I will give you a chance. Because like it or not… You're a hero.'

The Guardian offered a small smile, grateful. 'Captain, that means the world to me. We need to work together, or Royal Woods will be in danger, and more people will get hurt. I'm so happy that you…'

But then Griffin pointed her gun right at Guardian's G.

'But if you turn out to be wrong, if you aren't 110% sure this is happening, if this is some sick prank or some dumb mistake by a girl wearing a fucking cape, I swear, I will hunt you down and I will lock you up for the rest of your miserable life. My city will be safe, thanks to you or not. But it WILL be safe.', Griffin growled, sounding as intimidating as a wolf on the prowl.

Guardian gulped, feeling the cold metal shiver.

But she nodded again, totally agreeing.

'Good. We understand each other.'

Closing the door, she resumed driving home. 'You will crash on my bed. Then you will focus on this conspiracy of yours. As will I.'

Guardian coughed out 'Okay…' and began drifting off to sleep.

Griffin, sighing in despair, whispered 'God… I hope you're right.'

Guardian, waking up a little, stared into Griffin's eyes, so genuine that you would have thought you were talking to an angel.

'Captain Griffin, cross my heart and hope to die, put a needle in my eye, on my baby brother's life… I am telling you the truth. All I want to do is help.'

She fell asleep, cozying up to Griffin's shoulder. 'Finally, I just might.'

Griffin, letting her rest on her shoulder, fought back her hesitation and stroked the hero's hair, the teen sleeping peacefully for the first time in ages. 'Oh, Guardian…'

'You already are.'

And later that day, as the sun was at its highest, The Guardian dined with her old lady friend, who wasn't so lonely anymore.

Proving Griffin right once again.

Griffin felt conflicted, torn, doubtful.

But fuck it…

Her gun and badge finally felt light.


POST CREDITS SCENE:

Bertrand Tetherby sat outside his porch.

There was no sun, no great dawn.

Just an ice cold moon.

It almost seemed like her face was on it.

What she could have been.

What he could have been.

What they could have been.

'Melanie… I don't… Please. I just want to help.'

Mayor Bertrand Tetherby stared out to the moon and weeped.

Oh, Bertrand.

You were.

But then you changed.

She changed.

And now…

Who knows what will happen to your beautiful wings?

Another day, somewhere else, in Great Lakes City…

A wolf howl pierced the heavens…

And a black and blue G pierced the night sky…

To be continued…


Officially the longest story I've ever written! And we've still got loads to go! I'll be back to writing this in three weeks or so!