Fii stared at her refle in the mirror, stunned. She gently traced the smooth skin where a gaping wound had been two weeks ago. She pulled aside her tank top and ied her side, noting the ck of any scars ns of injury.

  Woah.

  This was the sed time she stared i how fast and pletely her body had recovered. It was unreal. Did all metahumahis quickly? Then how e Virgil still had those scars on his face? Maybe he didn't heal up as well because he was older, or maybe he got hurt by something that couldn't be fixed.

  Shrugging, Fii pulled her tank top back down and made a mental o ask Virgil about that ter. He robably out colleg more intel about the gangs or whatever else he did when he was out.

  Fii's thoughts drifted back to the mission they had aplished together. It had been a chaotic experience, but she felt strangely exhirated. Despite being thrown into a life-or-death situation, Fii felt she'd performed well. At least, better than she imagined she would have.

  She actually fought toe-to-toe against one of the most dangerous gangsters in the slums—and lived! Sure, maybe she got a little lucky on her hail mary ma the end. But she couldn't deny how cool and heroic she'd felt in the moment. And if nothing else, the entire experience proved that she had what it takes to be a hero.

  Despite the pain and trauma, Fii wanted more.

  To get pushed to the brink like that again, to test her limits, to prove her worth, to do what no one else could—that rush, that excitement, that thrill—was addig.

  It felt different from training. Sure, Edith and Virgil had pushed her hard. But the real thing, fighting for her life, fronting danger head-on, surviving—it was far more intense. And now she had a taste of the potential she had. The possibilities.

  Fii tiaring at her refle and flexing, testing her newly healed body for any lingering side-effects. So far, everything seemed normal. As if the fight never happened. Well, at least physically. Mentally, she repyed the ses in her mind. The sheer amount of bat info she gleaned from the enter, she'd never gained so much so quickly, despite practig every day.

  She grabbed her jacket and threw it oing out a satisfied sigh. After waiting for two agonizingly long weeks for her body to fully recover from her wounds, she was finally ready to get back out there again.

  Edith said that her new suit and repaired helmet would be ready by this evening. That's when she could go on another patrol. As eager as she was to get out in the field agaih insisted oing her body rest. Which sucked. A lot. All that time spent cooped up in bed drove her crazy, but at least she had that book that she borrowed from Orion's library to read.

  After finishing the novel, she was even more inspired to tinue down her path to being a superhero. Helping people and having them look up to you, making the world a little bit better pce—what wasn't there to like about that?

  She left the id headed to the Rust Market. It was te afternoon, the sun peeking through the dense yers of clouds, and the chilly autumn air her ears and nose. She made her way to Rao's shop, passing through the usual crowd of bustling slum-dwellers, the noise of the marketpce a familiar din in her ears.

  The little bell chimed above her as she entered Rao's store. Rao greeted her warmly as always, fshing her a friendly smile as she approached his ter.

  "Hey, kid." Rao waved as he busied himself ing one of his old gadgets with a cloth. "I haven't seen you in a while. What's up?"

  Fii shrugged as she leaned against the tertop, looking around his cluttered shelves. "The usual. Been busy at the ic, so I haven't been able to swing by for the past two weeks."

  Rao ughed, setting the gadget down to give her his full attention. "Sounds rough. How's the ic holding up, anyway?"

  "Good, I guess? There was a guy that OD'ed a little while ago from a drug called Shiver, but the Doaged to save him."

  "Damn, I thought that stuff was just echoes iy s. Guess not. Anyways, anything else going on with you, kid? It's gotten a bit lonely since you stopped taking jobs from me," Rao gave her a pyful pout. "Sure, they weren't great money-makers, but the pany was nice. Just you, me, and the hustle-bustle of the market."

  Fii let out a soft chuckle. "Hey, I stop by every on a while, you know. Besides, I still take the odd delivery job here and there."

  "True, but it's not the same. Speaking of which, you got aing stories to share tely, or is it all just ic work?"

  Sure, Rao. Like I'd tell you that I'm actually Axion and I've been spending all my time patrolling, helping people, aing up crooks.

  "Haha, not much to share, really. Just a bunch of b ic stuff and some odd jobs here and there. Same old, same old." Fii gave a sheepish grin.

  "Really? Well, if you say so." Rao rubbed the stubble on his thoughtfully. "Guess that means you're not ied in helpih a delivery, huh? I could use the extra hands. A rather big order came in, and I need someoo help haul them all. Ied?"

  "Hmm." Fii tapped her .

  She did have some time to kill before the evening. It'd be a shame to pass up on earning some Tinks, and besides, helping Rao out was always fun. Even if he was being a tad nosy. "Sure. What's the delivery?"

  "Perfect!" Rao excimed. He disappeared behind a curtain aurned moments ter with a rge package ed in paper and tied with twine. He set the box on the ter and patted its top. "You o take this to a gal named Lyria. She's got a pce by the Neon Alley."

  Fii's raised an eyebrow. "This is for Lyria? I know her. We're friends. What'd she buy from you?" She poked at the package curiously, elig a snicker from the old man.

  "It's called an air ditioner," Rao answered as he rummaged through his toolbox, searg for something. "Keeps ya' nid cool during hot days. Fancy eh? Bet you wish your little shack had one of these st month when it was hotter than a soup bowl fresh from the pot."

  Actually, I haven't been in my own pce for a while.

  Fii's room at the ic was way better than her own little pce, even though she used to call the dipidated shae for most of her life. But now? Now, she'd grown aced to sleeping in a real bed, being fed good food, bathe whenever she wahem, and not have to worry about how to get medie.

  Oh, and she knew what an air ditoner was—her room had one. But Rao didn't o know all that.

  "Ooooh, !" she gasped, feigning ignorance. "Anyways, I know where she lives so I better go now before it gets too te."

  "Hold on, hold on. I still remember what happeo you st time. I don't fancy having that repeated sihat pce is a bit far from here. Wait here."

  Rao left for a bit aurned with a familiar face walking beside him. The tall, shaggy blond hair, the scar on his face—it was unmistakable.

  Quinn.

  What was he doing here? Was he friends with Rao too?

  Quinn looked just as surprised to see Fii as she did him, his eyes widening a fra in reition. "Oh, hey! Fii! o see you again." He fshed a small smile, his demeanor as friendly and polite as the st time they met.

  Rao looked betweewo of them and scratched his head. "Ah, I didn't realize you two already knew each ood hen. You two hahe delivery together." He cpped Fii on the shoulder. "He's going to be your bodyguard for the trip. Should be simple, so no worries. Just drop off the goods, e back, and boom! Your payment. Easy-peasy."

  Quinn and Fii exged gnces befiving Rao a small nod.

  "Great, gd you're on board!" Rao beamed, "There's a small cart out back you use to pull this heavy sucker. Quinn, show her. I gotta finish this thing up. Oh, and make sure to keep her safe, alright?"

  Fii stifled a ugh at that. Not like she needed proteg anymore. She could easily take care of herself. If only Rao khe truth. But Quinn was also in the dark about the whole thing, so it wasn't as if she could say anything in response.

  "Will do," Quinn replied with a reassuring smile. "e on, I'll show you where it is."

  The two of them headed to the back of Rao's shop, with Quinn carrying the box while Fii held the door open. The dolly cart waited nearby, along with a few crates of random odds and ends. Quihe package onto the cart and proceeded to secure it with the rope while Fii sat atop the pile of boxes.

  When he was done, Fii grabbed the handles and wheeled the dolly cart forward. "Alright, I'll lead the way. You keep your eyes peeled for baddies. Not that I'm saying you 't, but if someories to mug us, you just look at 'em real scary-like—or just beat 'em up! You're strong, right?"

  Quinn chuckled nervously as they rolled out onto the main street. "Uh, sure. I take care of them if it es to that. Not that it's likely to happen, but I guess better to be prepared than not."

  "Gd to hear you've got my back." Fii smiled and patted Quinn's back as he walked beside the cart. "Alright, off to Lyria's, then."

  Quinn nodded. "Let's go. Wasn't expeg to be on a date today."

  "What?" Fii blinked in fusion.

  Quinn cleared his throat, looking slightly embarrassed. "Nothing, I'm joking. This isn't a date. My joke sucks, sorry. Please ig."

  They fell into sileer that. As the cart trundled dowreet, Fii found her gaze wandering to Quinn, her head turning slightly to g him. He wore his usual green jumpsuit, though she was slightly er tha time they met. He must have washed it retly.

  Qui his eyes ahead, but he'd occasionally turn to face her, catg her stare in the process.

  Fii quickly averted her eyes and preteo focus on pushing the dolly cart, hoping he didn't notice her staring at him.

  The pair rolled along, pulling their cargo as the crowds of people parted and closed around them, the ebb and flow of the slum's daily traffitinuing unabated.

  "Hey, uh, so how did you get to know Rao?" Quinn finally spoke again. He sounded a bit awkward, like he was unsure how to start a versation. "You two seemed close. Are you reted or something?"

  "Nah, nothing like that," Fii shook her head. "I kinda stumbled across his shop a while back, a it off. Been helping him out with deliveries and errands ever since. He's a cool dude."

  "Oh yeah, I figured you two were close. The way he treats you feels a lot more rexed pared to the other folks that he talks to," Quinn expined, gng over at her. "Do you deliver stuff for him often?"

  "Not retly. I got...busy. But I help him out with odd jobs now and then. Enough for him to treat me to food sometimes."

  Quinn chuckled. "Same. Though he also teaches me things too."

  Fii g him again. "Teach you things? What kind of things?"

  "Like maintenance, repairs, tinkering. Most of the stuff I know is thanks to him. Sometimes, he eves me mess with the bigger gadgets to learn a few tricks of the trade. The man's got a knack for this kind of stuff."

  "Cool! Hey, what's this?" Fii asked, pointing at a small device hanging around Quinn's neck. It had a bck body, with a single lens protruding out the front. "Looks weird. Some kinda fshlight?"

  Quinn shook his head, smiling faintly. "No. It's called a camera. See those lehe gss in front? That's what lets you record things and take photos." He flipped a swit the side, and the camera whirred to life. "Here, I'll show you."

  Oooh...that's a camera too? The only one she knew about was that miera in her helmet. That one was so tiny, and embedded ihe helmet's visor.

  This one was huge in parison, so it was no wonder she didn't reize his.

  Quinn poihe camera at Fii and clicked the shutter button. "Smile!" With a click, the camera let out a series of rapid meical whirring and clig noises. Once Quinn finished, he turhe camera around to show her the small dispy s on the back.

  The dispy shoicture of Fii, blinking as she stared at it in surprise. It took a moment before she realized she was making a face, her mouth hanging half-open in shod her eyes wide. Her hair was a bit disheveled too, stig up in pces.

  "Oh wow..." Fii reached out and touched the s with her fingers, marveling at the photo. "So this is a camera too! Where'd you get this?"

  "From Rao, obviously," Quinn ughed as he put his camera back around his neck. "It's an older model, but it still works fine. He has a few lying around that he lets me py with."

  The duo tinued on, chatting idly about this and that. Occasionally, Fii would point out a vendor she reized from the market. Other times, Quinn would ent on the shahey passed.

  "Oh! I almost fot to mention it but a short while ago, I ran into that Super called Axion while I was out repairing a pipe," Quinn remarked as they strolled dowreet.

  Fii nearly froze iracks but quickly recovered, steadying the dolly cart and hoping Quinn didn't catch her stumble.

  "Woah, you mean the superhero Axion?" she replied, pying dumb. "You met her? Uh, . What was she like? What'd she want?"

  "I think she was out on patrol and saw me w. Guess she got curious and started asking me about what I do around the slums. We talked for a while, and I got her to help me carry some stuff from my ste house to the site I was w at." Quinn's face lit up excitedly as he spoke about her. "She was cool. Very friendly and approachable. Didn't get to see her use any powers though, that was a shame."

  "Really? She just offered to help you move stuff around?" Fii asked. She wasn't surprised that Quinn would have a good impression of her, but she didn't expect him to talk so fondly of her alter-ego. Still, she couldn't help but be curious as to what Quinn thought about Axion. It would be iing to pare notes with her other self. "What else?"

  "Well, she asked for information about one of the gangs, the Neon Vipers, and I told her about their leader, 'Cobra' Kasumi. I heard they were cooking up some new drug."

  Fii nodded along as Quinn rattled off his enter with Axion, keeping her expressioral as she listened. When he finished, she whistled appreciatively. "Wow, you met her and she even helped you out with moving stuff around. Lucky you. Anyways, enough about her. We're almost at Lyria's. Let's hurry before we run into any trouble."

  "That's too bad, 'cause trouble already found you." That unmistakable, gruff voice caused Fii's blood to boil as she turned around to see Zoltar, the Gully Rats' lieutenant, standing in their path, fnked by several of his gang members. They were dressed iypical streetwear, with bandanas and hoodies ad their heads and bodies.

  Damn it. This asshole again?! What the hell were they doing on the Neon Knight's turf?

  Zoltar sneered as he sauntered up to Fii and Quinn, crag his knuckles threateningly. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the lil' street-rat Fii. And her friend, too. Hiding behind a boyfriend now, are we? Where'd you pick him up? From the dumpster where the arbage belongs?"

  Quinn stepped in front of Fii, shielding her with his body, and scowled at the approag gangsters. "Hey! Get lost, Zoltar. You're not wele here. The Neon Knights don't allow yang within these streets. Take yoons and leave. Now."

  Zoltar cackled in response, halting a few meters away from them. His goons fanned out, encirg the duo. "Yeah? I ain't scared of those neon-clothed rejects. Didn't you hear that them and the Neon Vipers almost took each other out? They're too busy li' their wounds and hiding now, so who gives a shit? Gully Rat territory extends to these parts. You'd do best to remember that. Wouldn't want to have to...teach you two a lesson in respeow, would we?"

  He leered at Fii, lig his lips hungrily. "But first, we're gonna have our fun with you, girl. I let you off easy with just a beating st time, but this time around...it's going to be a lot more iing. You'll be in' with us, and your boyfriend watch."

  Several of the gangsters snickered, murmuring amongst themselves. A few eveured rudely at Fii, prompting a scowl from Quinn.

  Fii ched her fists, trying to keep calm, but her temper fred all the same.

  There were eight thugs, including Zoltar, and he was carrying a pipe pistol strapped to his hip. The rest had either bats, crowbars, or knives.

  Quinn seemed like someone who could handle himself, but he was blind in one eye and only had a wrench.

  Against this many guys? Fat ce.

  They could still make a break for it and run away, but that would leave their cargo behind. Which meant she had no choice but to fight. Again. Only this time, She could easily beat all these punks in a straight fight. The only problem was how she'd do it without revealing herself. No using powers or anything obvious like that.

  But Zoltar had a gun. Things could go bad very quickly if he shot Quinn.

  Damn it, what should I do?