"You really didn't have to get me this you know?" Spitfire said to me as she checked herself out in the mirror. She turned in a full circle, admiring the way her new accessory swished in the wind.

We were currently in Parian's shop. The doll-cape had made good time in finishing the cloak I had commissioned for her and had sent me a message over PHO this morning. I had grabbed Spitfire and hurried her over with the promise of a surprise for her. And boy was she surprised when Parian brought it out.

Despite her words, I could tell she was pleased with the cloak now fastened around her shoulders. The material Parian had used was charcoal grey, fitting perfectly with the darker colors of Spitfire's costume. Said cape was currently in the back working on another commission and had left us alone in the front of the store.

I just grinned as I took in Spitfire's excited posture, "I know I didn't. But I did anyway." I didn't tell her I was more than a little worried that her power would be able to easily burn through the firefighter's suit we acquired for her. I had no clue what those things were rated for but I'd seen her fire melt through steel in a shockingly small amount of time so I didn't hold out much hope.

At least with the cloak, she'd be able to throw it off before it was burned through. Hopefully.

"Well then how much do I owe you?" She turned to me, "It's only fair I pay for at least part of it right? How much was it? Four, five hundred?"

I just barely held back a wince. I certainly wasn't going to tell her how much the cloak actually cost, she'd have a fit. "Really dude, don't worry about it. I just felt like doing something nice is all." I waved her off as she went to protest, "If you really want to pay for it, we can just say you owe me a favor or something. Deal?"

I could practically feel Spitfire's pout, "Well okay I guess. Just don't think I'm gonna do anything weird or mean for you."

I held a hand to my chest in mock hurt, "Why Spitfire, I can't believe you would think so little of me. I would never."

Her gasmask somehow managed to convey her disbelief, "Uh-huh, sure. I'm sure all the stories Newter's has been telling me are just rumors then?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I denied.

"Oh, then the story about you making Newter eat a sardine and pimento sandwich was just a lie?"

That little snitch! He made a bet and lost, he doesn't get to complain when I doll out the punishment!

"Doesn't ring a bell." I blatantly lied.

"Hmmm…" she stared at me and I sweated nervously at her scrutiny.

"Hey! It's getting kind of hot in here isn't it? I'm gonna go buy an ice cream or frozen yogurt or something, you want anything?" I spoke quickly as I turned around, not giving her a chance to object.

"But wait! You haven't paid!"

"I'm just going down the block, it'll be fine!" As I turned to the front of the store however, I froze at what I saw just outside the glass front.

It was a group of men, around eight or so of them all wearing Empire colors. They were carrying various blunt instruments ranging from bats to brass knuckles. It was clear what they were here for.

"Uhh Parian!" I called back into the shop as Spitfire came to see what I was looking at, "There's a bunch of Empire goons standing in front of your store with weapons!"

"WHAT!?" I winced as clattering came from her direction, objects falling to the floor as she dropped whatever she was carrying and rushed to the front of the store.

"Oh no." She said as she saw the same sight I had, "Why are they back? I already told them no!" She sounded both worried and slightly angry.

I looked over at her as she worried at the hems of her sleeves, "What do you mean? They've come here before?" Parian's shop was right on the edge of Empire territory, but it was also in plain view of the public and it wasn't uncommon to see heroes patrolling around the area. That's why it was odd that these goons were here in the first place, nevermind having been here before.

Parian nodded as she used her powers, bolts of cloth flying from who knows where to land in a small pile to her side, "They've been trying to get me to join them, despite my refusals. Last time they came I nearly had to fight them off! It was pure luck that Triumph happened to be patrolling nearby."

Well that explained it, the Empire wanted their very own costume maker in their roster of capes. Honestly I was surprised I hadn't realized that sooner.

"What should we do?" Spitfire asked me. I glanced back at Parian, taking in the woman's tense shoulders. She was staring straight at the goons, and though I couldn't see her expression under her mask, I got the sense that she really didn't want to fight them. Made sense, I certainly couldn't imagine fighting a group like that with only cloth and fabrics.

She turned her gaze towards me, a silent question in her posture and I raised an eyebrow, tilting my head towards the group outside, "I'm not Triumph, but I could take care of those guys for you if you'd like."

She gave a relieved sigh, "Would you? I would really appreciate that. I'll give you a discount on that cloak in return."

While I wasn't going to ask for anything, really beating up nazis was its own reward, I certainly wasn't going to refuse however. I gave her a nod, "We've got a deal, I'll handle them."

"Um, what should I do?" Spitfire piped up.

I winced, "You should probably stay here. Those guys aren't capes and they certainly aren't wearing fireproof clothes, your power would be a bit too effective against them. And I have a feeling that Parian doesn't want her shop burning down."

I had a feeling that if I could see Spitfire's skin, it would have paled considerably, "Oh yeah…good idea. I'll stay here."

I nodded, "Good deal. Give me like sixty seconds and I'll have this dealt with."

"Please don't break anything!" Parian called out behind me as I reached the entrance.

I turned and grinned at her with my hand on the door, "Don't worry Parian. I'll keep the damage to a minimum."

The bell above the door signaled my exit to the goon outside. They turned to the door with angry grins that disappeared the moment they saw my costumed appearance.

"Who the hell are you?!" The clear leader of the group asked. He was the textbook definition of a nazi skinhead. Shaved head covered in tattoos, a white wife-beater showing off similarly tattooed arms that were currently gripping a crowbar. He slapped said crowbar into his hand in a display I was sure he thought was intimidating.

One if the people next to him clearly recognized me given his widening eyes, "Shit! James,that's the bitch who beat up Andrew and the others and put Alabaster in the clink a while back. She's got a new costume but I'm sure that's her!"

James squinted at me, before grinning as he realized his friend was correct, "Well would you look at that, it is her!" He laughed loudly, "You know bitch, our boys back home aren't happy about your little escapade, not one bit. All they've been talking about is finding you and kicking your nigger-loving ass." He grinned, slapping his weapon in his palm again, "Too bad they won't get the chance. I guess we'll just have to beat you enough for both of them!"

Around four of the skinheads behind him gave shouts of approval, the others didn't look too sure. Guess they were the smart ones.

"Uh-huh. Sure thing." I said, completely unthreatened by his threat.

A while ago, this would have taken me at least a few minutes to deal with as I fought them one by one. Unfortunately for them, I had learned from my fight with Alabaster. As I placed my fingertips on the concrete, I couldn't help but wonder if it was normal for new capes to get into fights this often. Well whatever, it wasn't like I didn't enjoy it.

The skinheads shouted in panic as the ground under them softened and they sank downwards. Their weapons fell out of their hands as they tried to brace them on the ground, shouts of dismay sounding as those limbs sunk in as well.

I kept the ground softened for several more seconds, stopping just before the goons were completely submerged and removing my hand from the ground as I rose to observe my handiwork.

Curses and slurs emanated from the goons I had just defeated, and I briefly thought about knocking the lot of them unconscious just to spare my ears the trouble.

'Eh, better not. Might accidentally give them brain damage or something.' I decided as I took them in. They looked like ripe watermelons ready for picking, shaved heads sticking up above the concrete as they were and I gave a brief chuckle at the imagery.

"Wow," Parian spoke as she walked up beside me, "You weren't kidding when you said you only needed sixty seconds huh?"

I smirked cockily, buffing my fingernails on my chest, and gazing at them smugly "I'm just that good."

"Right." She said dryly, "And what do you plan to do with them once you get them out? You can't leave them there forever and neither can I. Skinheads shouting slurs at every passerby happen to be bad for business."

I flushed, not actually having thought about what I was going to do with them. Normally when this happens, I'm alone and can just leave them for someone to find, either that or a hero shows up just on time.

"Why is it that every time I go on patrol recently, I bump into you?"

Speak of the devil.

I looked up at the voice and was met with a sight that was becoming increasingly familiar. Laserdream stared down at me with her hands on her hips like a disappointed mother. Standing on a disc of hard light beside her, her brother was looking at the scene below with a shit-eating grin.

I shrugged at her question as they floated down towards us, "Who knows? Maybe it's my magnetic personality that's drawing you to me? Mind helping me out while you're here? I've been told that having a full yield of skinheads is bad for business, go figure."

Laserdream snorted immediately and I pouted, "Sure thing Aspect. Does your power even work with magnets?" She asked as she floated down, pulling some zip ties from… somewhere. Did she even have pockets on that suit?

I nodded as I placed my hand back on the ground, "Yes actually. Though I don't like doing it cause the pull is really strong. I nearly ripped out my friend's earrings and she was standing a few feet away from me. You ready?" I asked as I prepared to activate my power.

Laserdream grimaced, "Sounds painful. And yeah, we're ready."

I activated my power, softening the ground again, but this time I also pushed the material upwards. The nazis popped up all at once, yelping as they were unbalanced and fell flat on the faces as I hardened the concrete under them again. As they regained their bearings, Bright blue bands of hardlight trapped them against the ground, keeping them there no matter how hard they squirmed.

As the skinheads shouted curses and slurs, Laserdream made her way around to each of them, tying their hands behind their backs one by one, the bands disappearing each time she did so. In short order, all eight of them were tied up and very unhappy about it.

"Welp," Shielder spoke as he looked at the tied up criminals, "I guess sis and I can transport these guys to a better pickup location. Thanks for making our job easy."

I grinned at him as he gestured with both of his hands, a large box of hardlight forming around the skinheads and lifting them into the air, "No problem. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy beating up skinheads."

"Who doesn't?" He laughed, floating upwards.

Laserdream followed after him, turning back to me as she gained height, "See ya Aspect! Have fun in Boston!"

I waved after her as she flew off, the cursing blue cage behind the two of them marking the increasing distance between us.

"Soooo…" I grinned as I turned to Parian, "About that discount…?"

She gave an amused shake of her head, "Well you did deal with them quickly and did zero property damage in the process, I guess that warrants a pretty substantial discount." She did some quick math in her head, "I'll charge you a grand for the commission. That should cover material costs at the very least."

Spitfire's head shot towards me, "Wait, one grand with the discount? How much did it cost before!?"

I studiously ignored her as I began walking back into the shop, whistling a merry tune as Parian told her the full price of the cloak behind me. Everyone was a snitch these days it seemed.

"How much!?"

Yeah. I was definitely gonna get an earful on the walk home.

Next Day ~~~

I grunted as I placed the last of the boxes into the back of the van. Around me, the other members of the crew were busying themselves with their own preparations. Boston may only be thirty miles away from Brockton Bay, but we were planning to be in the city for a while and needed to plan accordingly.

I bent over to pick up another box, squinting at the name on the front, it was Elle's, the first one of hers I'd seen which was odd because it was also the last box in the pile. I shrugged, gripping it by the bottom and beginning to pick it up.

"Holy shit!" I grunted as I lifted, this thing was heavy! It was at least a hundred pounds if not more. What the hell was in here?!

I huffed as I heaved it up into the trunk of the van, setting it down as gently as possible and grimacing at the strain in my arms and back. I really should have used my power. My eyes widened as I noticed the van's suspension dip as I put the box down. What did she put in that thing? Even Gregor didn't have one that heavy, and one of his boxes was all hardcover books!

"You okay over there Valerie?" Melanie called out to me as she walked over.

I nodded at her as I stretched my back, wincing at the cracks produced, "Yeah, everything's good. Got the last box loaded up so we should be good to go."

She smirked as she took in my haggard, "You picked up Elle's box didn't you?"

I gave a surprised look, "Yeah I did. How'd you know?"

She gave a small smirk as she walked up with her clipboard, jotting things down as she examined the trunk of the vehicle, "She has this odd habit of packing everything she owns into one box. I'm not really sure how she does it but I think it has something to do with her power. We've managed to get her to stop putting everything in her bedroom inside but just barely. Last time she put her bed in there somehow."

"I like my bed better than the hotel's." I jumped as Elle suddenly walked up from beside the van. I didn't even know she was back there.

Faultline gave her an amused look as the spacey blonde walked beside me to peer at her box, "We weren't even able to get it out of the box Elle, you had to sleep on the hotel bed anyway."

Elle just shrugged as she opened her box and peered inside. I walked up beside her to do the same, only to wince as I was hit with an immediate headache the moment I glimpsed the inside. I backed up, deciding it was best not to ever try that again.

I shook my head to dispel the sudden migraine, "Is that safe?" I asked the blonde woman in concern.

"As long as the box is close to me, it will stay like that." Elle said as she closed it back up.

"And if it isn't?" I asked warily.

Elle just stared at me, "Bad."

Yeah, that tracked.

"And that's why she'll be riding with you Valerie." Melanie spoke up as she continued writing on her clipboard, "It wouldn't be good if the van suddenly exploded on the highway because Elle got too far away and her power stopped affecting her box of goodies. I have a feeling the PRT would be the least of our concerns in that situation."

I swallowed heavily as I imagined that happening and the absolute chaos that would spawn from it, "Yeah, probably a good idea. We're glad to have you Elle."

She gave me a soft smile, "Thank you."

Melanie wrote down a few more things before clicking her pen closed and looking up at us, "Alright, everything's ready, we should be good to head out now. I'll go talk to the club employees and let them know we're leaving. You two can take a break for a bit before we get on the road."

I gave her a nod as she turned to walk back into the club proper. Beside me, Elle yawned and walked around the side of the van and I heard the door open and close as she climbed into the passenger seat, probably to take a nap or something, it was pretty early.

Luckily, that gave me a bit of time to think about my most recent issue.

I sat on the lip of the open trunk with a sigh, pulling out my phone and just staring at its black screen.

Christine still hadn't texted me since what had happened the other day, but I also hadn't tried to contact her either. I could simply chalk that up to being busy, but I knew I would be lying to myself. I was hesitant to contact her simply because I didn't know what to do in the current situation.

Taking a look back on our recent interactions, what was hidden from me before now seemed obvious. The lingering touches, the odd looks, even the way she talked to me all pointed to it. Christine had feelings for me.

It was like something out of a dramatic novel, the estranged best friend gaining feelings for their counterpart after reuniting and rekindling their friendship. Unlike with those novels though, I couldn't skip to the end to see the outcome. I would have to deal with the situation myself.

I stared at my phone, turning it on and off over and over again as I debated on what to do. My situation with Christine was fragile, we had just become friends again, and I didn't want to lose her. It would be so simple if I could just reciprocate her feelings for me, would make things so much easier and save us both potential heartache.

But I just couldn't. It would feel too much like taking advantage of her, like I was using the fact that I was the only positive in her life (As egotistical as that sounded).

"Fuuuck!" I groaned to myself, "Why did this have to happen now of all times? Why couldn't it have happened after I got back from Boston or like a week ago? I'd actually have time to do something about it then!"

As it stood now, I was leaving for Boston literally any minute. The moment Melanie returned I was going to be out of the city for at least three weeks, I didn't have time to think about Christine's feelings for me or vice versa.

I sighed as I brought my gaze back to my phone, trying to think about what to do with my dilemma, when the choice was made for me.

"Ah!" I yelped and nearly dropped my phone as it began buzzing in my grip. I just barely managed to get a good grip on it before it clattered to the floor, breathing a sigh of relief as I turned it over to look at the screen.

Incoming Call:

Christine

Accept Reject

For a moment, the tiniest fraction of a second, I thought about pressing the decline button. I immediately shook off the urge though, that wouldn't be right. If Christine was going through the same thing that I was, then it must have taken a great amount of courage to call me instead of just staring at her screen forlornly.

Like I had been doing.

So I took a deep breath and tapped the accept button, bringing the phone up to my ear as I received her call, "Hey Chris." I spoke softly.

There was a moment of silence before, "...Hey Val. You leave for Boston in the morning don't you?"

"Uh, yeah I do." I was surprised as that was not the question I was expecting, "Why?"

"I just-I'm sorry I'm not there to see you off personally I guess." She said quietly.

I leaned back on the boxes in the trunk, "It's fine. Your parents are probably back by now right?"

"Yeah, they are. But I still could've come. It's not like I tell them where I'm going anyway." She argued.

"It's fine Chris, really." I laughed lightly at her insistence, "A phone call is okay. I'm just glad to hear your voice before I go."

"Oh, well that's good then..."

The silence between us was tense, a thick wall of awkwardness separating our usually casual conversation. I didn't like it, not one but, but I also didn't have any idea how to change it.

It took a few moments before Christine spoke again, "Hey Val…" she began hesitantly, and I had a sinking feeling I knew what she was about to bring up, "About what happened the other day, I didn-"

"We'll talk about it when I get back okay?" I interrupted her. I winced as soon as I spoke. realizing what my words had come out harsher than I wanted them to.

"Oh… yeah, okay." Great, I hurt her feelings.

"Chris…" I sighed, "Look, the two of us…we aren't in good places right now. Neither of us. With everything that happened to me and what's still happening to you, I just…" I leaned my head back, thudding against the boxes behind me, "I don't know."

"Are you…?" Her voice quivered and I frowned.

"I'm not saying no." I interjected quickly, "If you're even asking what I think you are. I just want some time to think about it, analyze my feelings, you know."

I was fucking it up. I was fucking it up and I didn't know how to fix it. Give me some time!? That was worse than a rejection. It was worse than breaking over text for christ sakes!

"Some time… Yeah. Okay." I could hear the hurt in her voice.

"Chris, I-"

"It's fine Val." She said softly, resignation filling her tone, "I get it."

She really didn't. I opened my mouth to try to put what I meant into better words, when she cut me off again.

"Listen, I've got to go. Mom's yelling at me from downstairs and I should probably go see what she wants. Stay safe okay?"

And then she hung up, and I was left with my mouth open and a dial tone to keep me company. I lowered my phone, noting that we had only spent around two minutes talking altogether. And yet in that two minutes, I might have damaged our newly healed friendship.

And that…fucking sucked. That really sucked big time.

I groaned, placing my head in my hand as I stared at the screen of my recent calls page. That could not have gone any worse if I had actually tried. I pressed on Christine's name, getting ready to call her back and attempt to explain myself better, when I was interrupted.

"What's up with you miss frowny face?" I jumped as Newters voice suddenly called out to me as he walked up to the van, "Come on, Melanie says we're good to go. You're driving."

"Oh, yeah." I jolted as I realized that everyone was loading up into their respective vehicles. Melanie and Gregor were climbing into one van, while Emily was loitering and looking between the two vans as if she wasn't sure which one she should get in.

"C'mon Valerie, I wanna get going as soon as possible. Quit moving like an old grandma and get in the van!" Newter tapped on my shoulder impatiently.

I put my phone back into my pocket, resolving to wallow in my self-pity later.

"Yeah alright, let's get going." I shook my head as I hopped into the front seat of the van, waking Elle up from her nap as she glanced over at me before going back to sleep. I looked back at Newter as he hopped into the back of the van, "Just a heads up, we're listening to my music. I'm not in the mood for that crappy techno stuff you listen to."

He groaned at my statement, "But your music blows! It's all nu rock and barely any actual metal!"

I just huffed as I started the van, "Suck it up buttercup. You're only gonna have to deal with it for like forty minutes anyway."

"But mooom!" He whined, before yelping as Emily slapped him on the back of the head with a gloved hand, clearly having decided to ride with us for this trip, "Ow! Emily hit me!"

The girl just raised her hand threateningly as she climbed into the back with him, "And I'll do it again if you don't shut up."

"Moooom! She's threatening me!"

"Don't make me come back there and hit you both! I mean it, we haven't even gotten on the road yet and already you're fighting! You're like children!"

"She started it!"

"And I'll end it if you don't knock it off right now!" I smiled as I played along, pulling out of the parking lot and following closely behind Melanie's van as we drove towards the edge of the city. Already I could feel my mood improving vastly from earlier. I pressed a few buttons on the radio, grinning at Newter's groan as my playlist started playing through the speakers.

I'd call Christine the moment I had the chance, but for now, Boston awaits.