The teens exged gheir expressions uain. Finally, one of them spoke up. "Help us? How? We're not sick or hurt or anything. And we don't have any moo pay you."

  "I don't care about the money," Fii insisted, shaking her head. "I just want to help." She paused, unsure how to tinue. "Do you guys need help with anything, then? If not, I'll move on to help other people. I just wao say hi and introduce myself."

  They eyed Fii dubiously, obviously suspicious of her iions.

  Yep. They know their stuff around here. Just like I do. Always be careful when strangers offer to help, especially around these parts.

  "Why would you wanna help us?" the girl asked, crossing her arms. "Nobody cares about the slums. Supers won't e anywhere near here, and the hawks in the sky only show up when some gangs poke the wrong people. They only e to up the mess. So, what's the catch, robot dy?"

  "There is no catch, I promise." Fii paused, her helmet's LED eyes narrowing to mimic a curious, friendly expression. "I know what it's like too. I've lived here my entire life. The slum is home, whether we like it or not, and if I help make it a better pce, that's what I'm gonna do. Starting with you guys."

  The teens' eyes wideheir mouths dropping open in shock. "No way. Seriously?" the girl gasped.

  "You're lying. Robots don't live here," another of the boys accused.

  Fii marched over to him and leaned in close to his face. Her LED eyes wideo dramatic effect. "Hey, slumshine. I...said...I'm not a robot! You're brighter than a busted bulb, aren't ya?!"

  The boy backed up, c slightly uhe iy of her stare. "Geez, okay, okay, I'm sorry. Jeez." He raised his hands defensively, palms out. "It's cool, we believe you. Just take it easy, all right?"

  Fii straightened up, nodding. "Thank you," she said primly, dusting off her jacket.

  Suddenly, she felt a hand grope her butt, and she yelped in surprise, jumping forward. She whirled around to gre at the perpetrator—a brown-haired boy who was staring at his hand in awe.

  "Soft..." he whispered, wiggling his fingers.

  "Wha—what the hell?" Fii squeaked. Her LED eyes wideo dispy the mortification she was feeling.

  The girl stalked forward, crag her knuckles ominously. "Oi, Jarrod," she growled, grabbing the offender by the colr and yanking him close. "Didn't I tell you to keep your hands to yourself?" She balled her fists threateningly.

  The boy, Jarrod, ged, his eyes widening in terror. "But Tika, I just wao know if she was really a robot or not. I swear! I thought she'd be hard, but she's so soft and squishy..." His voice trailed off as he stared dreamily at Fii.

  Fii shuddered, edging away from the creepy teen.

  "Man, you're such a perv, Jarrod," aeen, a shorter boy with a mop of bck hair, ughed. "Even robots have standards, you know."

  "Hey, I'm not a robot!" Fii snapped, pnting her hands on her hips. "And you, Jarrod, better keep your hands to yourself unless you want a sp to the face."

  The boy averted his gaze, a sulk creeping into his tone. "Sorry," he grumbled. "I wasn't thinking."

  Tika released her hold on the boy's colr, shoving him away. "Good. Now behave, or I'll knock your block off." She stepped in front of Fii, as if to protect her from any further harassment.

  "Hey, why does your voice sound all weird?" the mop-haired boy asked, eyeing Fii curiously. "Are you sick or something?"

  "I'm not sick. This is the sound my helmet makes to disguise my voice," Fii expined, reag up to tap the sleek cyberic helmet. "If people reized my real voice, they might figure out who I am, and I'd be in a lot of trouble with the gangs."

  The teens nodded sagely.

  "That's smart," the girl said. "Better safe than sorry." She held out her hand to Fii. "o meet you, uh, Axion. I'm Tika."

  Fii beamed, eagerly g the girl's hand and giving it a firm shake. She and Tika would get along really well if she wasn't in e. "o meet you, too. Like I said, call me Axion. What are your names?"

  "I'm Rae. The skinny one's Kieran, the redhead's Toby, and the perv over there's Jarrod."

  Jarrod gred at the others for outing him so easily, but Fii ignored him. She took the opportunity to study the group, noting their threadbare clothes and the bruises and cuts marring their faces and limbs. They all looked like they could use a det meal and a long nap.

  "So," Fii said, trying to strike up a versation, "uh, what do you guys usually do around here?"

  The teenagers shrugged, exging gnces. "Hang out, I guess," Tika replied. "A few of us do some ClipRunning for Tinks, but most of the time, we just hang out here."

  Fii nodded in uanding. ClipRunners were children or teens who earheir living running errands, delivering messages, and occasionally, stealing items fangs and the like. She'd been one for a while, before meetih.

  "Yeah, sometimes we go expl the other districts," Rae added, gesturing vaguely toward the outskirts of the slums. "Just for kicks, ya know? But other than that, there's not much to do here."

  Maybe some of them weren't that smart after all. The outskirt zones were some of the most dangerous areas in the slums. The gangs that made their turfs out there were much more trigger-happy and brutal than the ohat operated in the inner-slum territories.

  "I dunno, but isn't that dangerous?" Fii couldn't help but ask. "The border isn't the safest pce to go, even for ClipRunners. Why would you risk going out there for fun?"

  The teenagers shrugged, seemingly indifferent to the danger. "It's not like we've got anything else to do," Tika pointed out. "Besides, it beats hanging around here all day. And we don't go too far into the outskirts anyway."

  Fii bit her lip, feeling torn. On the one hand, she wao scold them for being reckless. They could get themselves killed. Oher hand, she could sympathize with their desire to escape the monotony of daily life here. Besides, they probably weren't pletely ignorant of the risks. They should've already learned about the dangers by now.

  She didn't like it, but she knew better than to judge. After all, she'd takey of risks to earn money, even being a runner for one of the local gangs. In hindsight, it wasn't the best idea, but she'd had no choice at the time.

  "As long as you guys are being safe, I'm not going to give you a hard time about it." She sighed, shaking her head in mock disapproval. "Just...try to be careful, okay? I don't want to have to rescue you because you get in over your heads."

  The teenagers grinned, nodding obediently. "Don't worry, we will. We're not stupid."

  "Speak for yourself," Jarrod mumbled. Tika shot him a warning gre, and he shut his mouth.

  Fii chuckled softly, shaking her head in amusement. "Anyways, it's o meet you all. I'd love to hang out more, but I really should be going. Got to help more people and whatnot."

  She gave the group a brief wave before turning away to walk dowreet.

  "Wait," the girl—Tika—called out, jogging after her. "We might have something you help with. Hang on." She tugged on Fii's jacket sleeve, pullio a stop.

  Fii paused, gng back at the group. "Really? What is it?"

  Tika scratched the back of her neck, her expression sheepish. "Well, a water pipe broke near here, and the flow won't stop. The adults are trying to patch the hole, but they 't stop the water from ing out. Could you fix that? Like, make the water stop flowing?"

  Fii's brow furrowed as she sidered the request. Could she fix something like that? She didn't have much experieh plumbing, but she supposed she could try. After all, she er now—it was her duty to help the people of the slums.

  "Sure! I try. Where's the leak?" Fii said, trying to i some enthusiasm into her tone.

  Tika pointed dowreet, to the left. "Follow me."

  With that, the group set off, and Fii fell into step beside Tika.

  They approached a rge crowd gathered around a ruptured water pipe. Water spewed out in wild arcs, turning the ground into a muddy mess. People jostled with buckets and pots, trying to collect the precious fluid before it washed away into the sewer drains.

  In the slums, water was gold. And right now, it was being wasted.

  The crowd parted for Tika, and the group led Fii to the source of the leak. She spotted a handful of adults trying to patch the hole, but the flow of water was too great, and the temporary repairs kept falling away.

  The LED eyes on Fii's mask narrowed as she strode forward to take a closer look. The damage appeared to be on the underside of the pipe, making it difficult to reach. Still, she could see the problem—a rge crack ran down the middle of the pipe, and the edges looked corroded. The pipe was old, and it had likely been leaking for some time before finally bursting.

  "I probably seal that temporarily," Fii said.

  "For real? You think you fix that?" Tika's face lit up with hope, and the other kids peered at Fii with eager faces.

  The older members of the crowd, meanwhile, g one aheir expressions skeptical. Fii didn't bme them.

  She closed her eyes for a moment. Focus, focus.

  All that time Edith made her study, drilling every bit of physics, maths, and sto her skull. There's gotta be a way to apply what she knows.

  Maybe if she could increase the gravitational pull around the crack, even momentarily, it might pull the broken edges together, sealing the breach. It was a long shot, but she had to try.

  But she o get close. It was still too hard to extend her gravity field and affect things beyond arm's reach.

  Guess she couldn't avoid getti while trying to fix this thing.

  Fii edged toward the spraying water and reached out to touch the side of the pipe. She took a deep breath, fog on the sensation she'd e tnize as her gravikinesis. She felt the familiar tug, her gravity field responding to her will, and she imagi reag out, towards the water's exit.

  Almost immediately, the water's velocity decreased. It was as if an invisible force ressing dht at the exit point, making it harder for the water to escape. The spray became a trickle, giving Fii a small window to act.

  From the er of her eye, she spotted a discarded metal sheet. It wasn't much, but it would have to do. She picked it up, feeling its weight, and the over the crack. Fog once more, she increased the gravitational pull oal sheet, pressing it firmly against the pipe. The sheet adhered to the pipe as if an invisible hand was holding it in pce, sealing the breakage. The makeshift solution wouldn't hold forever, but it would buy them some time until a more perma fix could be arranged.

  "Hey! anyone cmp this down?" Fii called to the crowd, but they didn't respond. "Please? Anyone?"

  A middle-aged man in a grease-stained overall stepped forward, raising his voice so he could be heard over the cheers and appuse from the crowd. "I've got some tools in my shop," he said, pointing to a nearby building. "Give me a minute."

  The man hurried away, returning shortly with a few pipe repair cmps and a wrench. "I've been waiting for one of them city-slickers to fix this mess, but it looks like they ain't gonna do squat." He gestured to the pipe as he began to secure the cmps to the metal sheet Fii had pced over the break.

  "City folks always leave us to deal with our own problems. Probably see the leaks as a way to wash some of us away from the gutters, like rainwater ireet." The man spat to the side in disgust before tinuing his work. "Heh, so to have one of you Supers helping us slumfolk, it's... something, that's for sure."

  Another man, with a tool belt slung low on his hips, began rummaging through it, pulling out a piece of rubber and some wire. "We'll o tighten the cmps real good and add some of this rubber t. It might not hold forever, but it'll help stop the water from corroding the cmps."

  The two men got to work, ing the rubber around the damaged se of the pipe. The younger mahe cmps in pce while the older man began tightening them, ensuring the rubber ressed firmly against the pipe, sealing the crack.

  Several others joined in, bringing tools and supplies, and they worked together to reinforce the pipe and repair the breakage. Fii, still maintaining her gravitational hold, could feel the strain lessening as the makeshift repairs took hold. She slowly released her power, and the pipe remained intact.

  Soon, the sound of flowing water faded, leaving only the spshing and drips from the puddles formed from the ret burst.

  The crowd erupted in cheers, patting each other on the bad praising the quick thinking of their neighbors.

  Fii grinned, her mask's eyes blinking happily to indicate the same. It wasn't often that the people of the slums came together as a unity, but when they did, they showed just how resourceful and capable they could be.

  Tika bounced excitedly, tugging on Fii's jacket. "Axion! Axion, that was amazing!"

  "It was nothing," Fii replied, dug her head sheepishly. "I'm just gd I could help."

  The crowd had gathered around her noeople reached out to touch her shoulders or brush their fingers against her techsuit, as if to assure themselves that she was real.

  The two men who had assisted in the repairs were still smiling broadly, their cheeks flushed with pride. "Well, I'll be damned. A Super, here, in the slums," the younger man said. "I've never seen anything like it."

  "Me her," the older man agreed. "And here I thought they only cared about the rich folk iy. Who'd have thought they'd send a Super to help us here, in the slums?"

  Fii had never seen them before, but she thahem heless, giving each a firm handshake. "I'm not from the city. I live here, too, actually."

  Their eyes widened with surprise, and the men exged incredulous looks. "Here? You, a Super?"

  Fii nodded. "Yup. Born and raised."

  The men whistled in disbelief, and the urmured amongst themselves.

  "So how e you only show up now?" a voice from the crowd questioned. "Where you been all this time? We've never seen you before!"

  The onlookers quieted, waiting for Fii's answer. She fumbled for words, not sure how to respond. "Uh...well, I've only just discovered my powers." It wasirely true, but it was the simplest expnation she could offer.

  "Is that how it works?" Another voice asked. "Some Supers just suddenly realize they have powers?"

  Fii shrugged. "I guess so. Maybe?" It usible expnation, but she felt like she should give them something more substantial. "I've...been away for a while, learning how to trol my abilities. And, uh, anyways, I'm here now! That's what matters."

  The crowd nodded, seeming to accept the expnation, and a ripple of excitement passed through the gathered crowd.

  "So, are you going to patrol the streets, Super?" Someone asked.

  "Yeah, are you going to help with the gang wars?" Another asked.

  The questio ing, oer another, and Fii struggled to keep up. "Well, I, um, I guess I'll...start with helping out wherever I ," she answered, her tone somewhat uain. She'd never been responsible for addressing a crowd, and she wasn't sure how to respond. "I don't really have a pn, but I'm here to help. Whatever you guys need, I'll do my best."

  "You got a name?" A woman asked. "The Ultimate Guardians always have these fanames. Don't you got one?"

  "ht. Sorry. Yeah, I'm Axion."

  "That's a weird name," one of the teenagers snickered.

  "Is it a robot?" asked a voice at the back of the crowd.

  "Nuh-uh! She's a girl. Her butt's too soft to be a robot!" The pipsqueak named Jarrod from earlier yelled, only to be abruptly kicked on the shin by Tika. "OW! Hey, what was that for, you bi—"

  "I'm Axion." Fii tried to calm the crowd and steer the versation ba track. "I'm here to help. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to be going."

  She reduced her weight and jumped high into the air. The croed as she floated higher, nding on top of a two-story building with ease.

  "T-Take care!" Fii stammered, quickly gathering her bearings before ung herself through the air, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

  Zanafar