“Anything else for me, or is it time for all of us to pack up and head on home?” I ask once I've dropped into the tunnels to make my way back.

  “Home!” Amelia cheers. “I am tired of fighting and patrol, so that means it's gotta be time for home.”

  “I wouldn't mind being able to go home and relax either, honestly. I'm still you know…” Cass trails off as she fights off a loud yawn.

  I nod despite nobody even being able to see me. The weight of dealing with Andromeda still hangs heavily over all of us. And I can barely rest at night because it doesn’t even feel done.

  The city still needs to be cleaned.

  But a few hours at home and sleep before probably coming out in the middle of the night to patrol sounded good.

  That all depended on Asher's response, however. If he said there was more stuff to do, I would go. Most likely trying to take on more than I should so that the others can rest.

  “I'm not seeing anything of particular note. So I think y’all are good to go home,” Asher says after a few moments.

  “Hey wait, when did we decide that you were in charge? I don't remember voting or anything like that,” Amelia says for no other reason than to entertain herself on the way back.

  “Do you want to be in charge?” Cass asks with a snort.

  “No, but I want to stand against my oppressors, who claim to have decision-making power over me. It's the principle of the thing,” Amelia explains.

  “Fractal, stop bullying Miracle. He's just providing the information we want him to provide so we can have a clear conscience when heading home,” I sigh.

  “Okay, fair,” Amelia grumbles.

  “Why doesn't he get the denial treatment for his attempts to oppress you?” Asher complains.

  I wince, with that lead up I can't imagine the horrors Amelia is about to unleash.

  “He gives me free food and attention in trade for making strongly worded suggestions. And I bully him more, so it's probably fair,” Amelia says as I breathe a sigh of relief.

  “I made you power armor!”

  “I love food far more than badass power armor, though it is a distant fifth place.” Amelia agrees.

  As I run through the tunnels, I take a the time to ascertain what ?she loves more than food or power armor. There are so many options.

  Many of them I would rather not say in any company. Specifically hers, if for no other reason than to avoid the giggles.

  By the time I’m in the armory again, I have a decent idea of what all is on the list, but the conversation has long since passed that topic, so I don’t bother to bring it up.

  Asher and I chat while Amelia and Cass change into regular clothes, and once they're clear, I quickly divest myself from the suit and put on my own clothes.

  “So how was the fight?” I ask, moving into what was originally going to be our break room, but is now the de facto meeting place.

  We use the actual war room when important people show up.

  Cass gives me a wave from her spot on the couch where she’s holding a packaged ice cream sandwich to her head. “Not too bad, but there were a lot of them and they just seemed to keep showing up.”

  “It was fun. Tried out a few new things today, which was fun.” Amelia coos from her spot on the counter where she’s eating ice cream. Straight out of the carton.

  I am pretty sure there were ice cream sandwiches in the freezer, but I don’t remember stocking normal ice cream.

  Asher walks past me, and unlike the others, instead of grabbing ice cream for himself, he grabs a box of cookies and flops onto the other couch. “From what I can tell, while a lot of the new weaker supers are making a big fuss, the stronger ones are lying low.”

  “Stronger ones or smarter ones? At least one of them was pretty strong!” Amelia accuses, gesturing with her spoon as if it was a weapon.

  “Not sure if there’s much of a difference in this case.” I point out.

  Grabbing an orange, I peel it as I sit at the small table.

  “I guess there isn’t much of one, but still. So, are we going to bust down the doors and take names? Between you two you guys have to know where all the big girls are playing,” Amelia asks.

  Asher and I exchange a look followed by a shrug.

  The original estimates for the number of new supers weren’t nearly as high as it’s turning out to be, and it’s a lot harder to track supers than normal people in some ways.

  Sure, the siblings with telekinesis and size changing are easy to track; they do nothing to hide their abilities. But, Travis could have his home three states away, and besides the fact that he operates in the city, we wouldn’t know anything else.

  The reach of our perception just isn’t high enough to deal with travel types, and unless I am really focused, we won’t even have a chance against any stealth types.

  “We know where a lot of them used to be,” Asher finally answers, his mouth full of cookie.

  “I’m pretty sure that at least some people we fought were new. At least one strongman was always acting surprised by his own strength,” Cass adds, finally unwrapping her treat instead of using it as an ice pack.

  “That tracks. We were pretty sure new supers were going to be popping up,” I agree.

  “Could be the cop dudes. You don’t think they’re experimenting on people to make their own battalion of super soldiers?” Amelia points out. How she’s gotten ice cream on her nose is beyond me, but I’m sure it’s intentional.

  “Definitely.”

  “One hundred.”

  “I have full faith in any agency or group to do something stupid if they think it’ll give them power,” Cass says darkly.

  I decide to ignore the tone. Cass’s distrust makes total sense from everything I’ve been told, so I find her vitriol unsurprising and well justified.

  “Okay, what is wrong with you two? Why are you both staring at me!” Asher complains, throwing his hands up and accidentally flinging at least one cookie out of the packaging.

  “So how is the attempt to give yourself super powers going?” Amelia asks innocently as she tries to lick the ice cream off of her nose. I’m not sure if it’s adorable or just weird.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Asher denies, not sounding at all believable as he crosses his arms in indignation.

  Both Cass and I level our own are-you-serious looks at him, and the young man quickly caves.

  “I’m trying to figure out what’s actually needed and what I don’t have to deal with, along with making it specialized instead of generalized.” Asher grumbles.

  “That sounds really difficult.” Cass says, her voice softening.

  “It also doesn’t sound like anything you’re used to doing.” I say, trying to keep any disapproval out of my voice. My issues with how I got powers aside, I don’t blame Asher for his plans.

  If you had told me that all I needed was a shot and I would get super powers out of it, I probably would have signed myself up.

  More than that is the fact that I’m almost certain that if I told him off, he would figure out his own way, regardless. This way, I can help.

  Not that I was confident that the three of us had anything to add to the conversation. I was smart, sure, but I knew nothing about this field of science.

  Cass was a med student before she became a superhero, so I guess her experience would be the most applicable, but I don’t know if that’s a high bar.

  “It isn’t, but they left a lot of information for me to work with, and they did have a more specialized formula. They use it at the main lab,” Asher admits.

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  It would make sense, especially if Alchemist wanted specific powers for specific people.

  Amelia lets out a heavy sigh as she pouts at me, having apparently given up on licking the ice cream off her nose as she looks at me pathetically. “So does it give you any influence over what you get? While I love my powers, I definitely would have chosen something else if I could have.”

  “Uh, I haven’t gotten that far in the notes honestly,” Asher laughs awkwardly. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”

  All of us exchange a look as I get up to use a free napkin to wipe the ice cream off of Amelia’s nose.

  “Do you know what’s likely?” I ask, deciding to steer the conversation in that direction anyway. It was almost certain he already had his hopes up. I mean, I certainly did back when I thought becoming a super was a possibility in a dreamlike way.

  During the experiment, I had mostly just not wanted to die. But when I had imagined being a super, it had been flying, usually via telekinesis.

  Phasing wasn’t a terrible trade, though.

  “Varied. Everything from Andromeda having the power of near unlimited creation of copies to someone who can live in pictures. But there’s something I know I most likely won’t have,” Asher grumbles as he eats more cookies to cheer himself up.

  “Oh?” Cass asks, leaning forward in interest.

  “Unless my ability is physical in nature, I won’t have any physical powers. Unlike you three, who even without your abilities can still run faster than some cars,” Asher didn’t seem too torn up about not having super strength, but I winced all the same.

  I wouldn’t do half the crazy stuff I do in costume if I wasn’t so durable.

  “Wait, why? If you’re doing a better version of the Jason serum, wouldn’t you have more strength?” Amelia asks, perplexed though still glaring at me as I lean against the counter next to her.

  “Technically, I don’t have any physical abilities either; I just mimic them,” Cass corrects with a silly little grin.

  “Well, excuse me. No idea where Amelia’s physical abilities come from,” Asher says, throwing a hand up in surrender.

  “It came from me doing one hundred pushups, squats, situps, and a ten-kilometer run every day,” Amelia giggles.

  “Sure. But the source of Jason’s enhanced physicality is part of the general cocktail to make super soldiers. Leads to more deaths, but those who get it have abilities and physical boosts. I won’t have that though on average my power should start stronger and grow faster than Jason’s,” Asher shrugs.

  “So, unlike Jason’s plant routine, you’ll get a super growth spurt? I’m not sure we can be friends if you’re taller than me,” Amelia huffs, crossing her arms dramatically.

  “No, I probably won’t grow taller. Though I’m hoping that I dodge all the mutations you lot have.” Asher says, making a sweeping gesture across the room.

  I decide not to comment on it because he’s right. My eyes are the easiest to hide, and it’s still a pain.

  Cass can’t even try to hide her hair when it smoulders.? And even if it’s less obvious than when she was first freed, her body is still patchwork. Not to mention her hair changing color.

  “Then we can send you to do the groceries as the only normal-looking one!” Cass jokes.

  Asher raises a hand as if trying to raise a point he hadn’t thought of that would get him out of such a duty, but he didn’t seem able to figure anything out so he slumped into the couch in defeat, letting out a loud groan.

  “So, everyone decompressing aside, anything folks are worried about? I want my still unnamed superhero team to be running ship shape.” Amelia says, clapping her hands together. “I had fun trying to be a blaster today, but it wasn’t for me. Cass?”

  “Mostly just working on how fast I could move my ash. It’s still hard to run multiple bodies at once and keep them compact,” Cass says between bites of ice cream sandwich.

  “I realized I wanted to make more combat drones if I wasn’t going to be in the field. I don’t mind being the team's eyes, but it is boring if I don’t get to interact at all,” Asher says, all joking gone as we decide to be serious for at least the briefest of moments.

  Everyone turns to look at me.

  “Just get the I told you sos out of the way before I start. It’ll be faster for all of us,” I laugh sheepishly.

  The wall of sound that is my friends gloating over their own rightness makes me laugh hard.

  “But yeah, I’m still working on finding my place. And thanks for letting me have the time and space to figure out what I want to do.” I say once the giggles have died down. “Asher and I have almost finished going through the seedier bits of town, tracking everything I felt.”

  “Alright, just don’t get too proactive vigilante on me. It’s not good for any of us to decide to act preemptively to stop a threat that might not even happen.” Amelia says, her hand worming its way into mine and giving it a gentle squeeze.

  Nobody seems that inclined to break that directive, so after a bit more time shooting the shit, we make our way to our respective vehicles, though I let Asher ?know to patch any warnings to go to my phone simultaneously as his.

  If I need to, I’m pretty sure I’m the fastest of the four of us to get across town, so it only makes sense for me to be the one to get those responses.

  Amelia and I drive to pick up Bianca before our happy little family makes it home, where Amelia instantly dashes to the bedroom to change into something more comfortable.

  What would be more comfortable than the leggings and tank top she was wearing is beyond me, but whatever she needs to feel comfortable, I suppose.

  “You hungry, B?” I ask, trailing behind Bianca as she goes to put her bag in her room. How she got into the habit of putting her backpack in her space before starting anything is beyond me. Definitely not something she got from Amelia or myself.

  Once her backpack is put away and her stuffed animal of the day placed back in its position of honor, she gives me a happy nod before rocketing out of the room heading towards the kitchen.

  As I watch her through the mind map, I finally remember to turn off that sense and have to focus on what I’m hearing to figure out where Bianca is running to.

  Following to the kitchen, I see Bianca using her wires to raise herself up to the counter, coloring book and pencils in hand, as she sets up near the stovetop.

  “Do you have anything you want me to make?” I ask as I pull out a pan and cutting board.

  Not sure what I’ll make, but I can’t go wrong with those two.

  Bianca shakes her head before flipping to the newest page as she grabs the purple pencil.

  Guess that leaves it to me to figure out what to make for everyone. And with me not feeling inventive, I end up going with quesadillas.

  By the time I’m done dicing all the onion Amelia has returned, now clad in fuzzy pajama bottoms and a sports bra.

  “I have returned all comfortabled up!” Amelia says, sliding across the floor. Glancing down, I realized she was also wearing fluffy socks.

  The outfit seems like a comfortable one. Which I suppose means I stand corrected. “I’m pretty sure comfortabled isn’t a real word,” I point out, leaning over and giving her a quick kiss before returning my attention to the pan.

  “That’s because you think like a square; you've gotta think like a blob.” Amelia says, giving Bianca a kiss on the forehead before cooing properly over whatever Bianca is drawing.

  “A blob?”

  “Yes, a blob!”

  “And how does one think like a blob?”

  “Well, you've gotta start with having squishier bits,” Amelia says, poking my arm. “See all muscle and bone here.”

  “I’m not even going to bother responding to that.”

  “You just did!” She exclaims, howling with laughter as she leans against me.

  Amelia hangs off of me as we sway back and forth as I finish making everyone something between a large snack and a small dinner.

  “Bianca, do you want to eat while coloring or put your book away for a bit?” I ask as I move to put the food on plates. Depending on her answer, it’ll decide where I’m putting everything.

  Bianca is content to keep drawing, so I place her plate next to her and carry the other two plates to the table as Amelia hangs off of me.

  Things are. Different now. Not bad, definitely good, but I don’t exactly know what I’m supposed to do around Amelia besides being myself.

  Though since that has gotten me this far, I imagine it can’t be working out all that poorly.

  Once the food is done, I quickly do the dishes before returning my attention to Amelia, who once again is eating ice cream.

  Though this time she’s sharing it with Bianca.

  “So what’s your plan for the rest of the day?” I ask once I’ve finished cleaning everything.

  “I was going to climb into bed and either read a book or watch a movie. Care to join?” Amelia. asks whether she’s talking to me or Bianca I’m not entirely sure.

  “I will at some point,” I say finally once she’s stared at me expectantly long enough that I feel uncomfortable.

  With a cheer of excitement, Amelia rockets towards the bedroom while Bianca goes to her own room for a nap, leaving me blissfully to myself for the moment.

  I end up going to my office slash guest room first and turn on the computer and begin working on a couple of projects I’m using to kill time.

  I just need a moment to myself to figure out what’s going on. And I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. I did patrol for hours, so I shouldn’t feel bad spending time with my family, but I can’t stop feeling that I could do more.

  I’m enraptured with a research rabbit hole on various phasers through history when there’s a loud knock on the door almost causing me to jump out of the seat.

  Standing in the doorway with a pout on her face is Amelia, though she’s traded out her outfit or at least added layers to it, being several of the blankets on mine, her, our? Bed.

  “Yes?” I ask, perplexed at what I could have done wrong this time that would elicit that response.

  “You know I seduced you so that you would spend more time in bed with me,” Amelia pouts as she shuffles over to my desk.

  “Oh, you seduced me?” I ask with a stupid grin on my face.

  “Yup, I had this whole ten-year plan that culminated in me staging my own kidnapping and then coming back with temperature-themed super powers. Now scoot over so I can sit already!” She says, poking me in the arm until I comply.

  There’s not exactly room for two people to sit in my computer chair comfortably, but that’s never stopped Amelia before, so I don’t see a huge reason to continue arguing.

  All it’ll do is subject my arm to more poke-themed abuse.

  Amelia settles into the chair half on me, half on what part of the chair I could get cleared in time. She rests her chin on top of mine.

  “Sorry, I’m bad at picking up hints?” I try.

  “I love you.” She says instead, kissing the top of my head. “So, do you want to spend time with me and help both of us get out of our own heads while we watch a bad movie, or do you need more time being an introvert?”

  I glance at the clock on my computer trying to remember when was the time I logged in.

  “So how long did you wait before you got bored?”

  “About an hour, but I’ll happily wait more if it’s what you need to rest?”

  “No, I’ll go with you.” I say, standing up and carrying Amelia.

  “You know, I think I would rather be the one doing the princess carrying; it seems more fun,” Amelia muses, lounging in my arms as I settle into the bed before glancing at my own clothes.

  They were clean and comfortable enough that I wouldn't mind being in bed while wearing them.

  “I missed you.” Amelia mumbles against my neck as I join her underneath the blankets.

  “I'm sorry I kept you waiting.” I say, kissing her gently.

  “Eh makes the heart grow fonder, you know,” Amelia says, nestling into my arms and begins fiddling with a computer. “Let's watch a bad Christmas romcom.”

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