The afterparty is a bit of a strange affair.

  Rowan and I are the last to arrive. By the time we get there, the rented-out ballroom is filled with young SAUs, many of whom I immediately recognize. I spot Allacia and Elias first, milling around over by a table with drinks, and next to them Felicity is chatting with a man I don’t recognize. Darya is loudly retelling some story to a trio of impresssed-seeming—and subtly flirting—women. I recognize two of them as heroes, though neither from Newest York. Lastly, to my immediate surprise, I spy Jayce being dragged around by an excited-looking androgynous person with short-cropped hair and a wide smile. Seeing him in a suit isn’t half as strange as seeing him with what—if I didn’t know better—I might assume is a significant other. Surely not, though. Especially not because, for some reason, he still has his longsword.

  Jayce isn't the only one dressed to party, though. Allacia has her bubble earrings and a gorgeous orange dress, and Elias is all decked out in a spiffy tux with the sleeves rolled up to show off his tattooed and heavily-muscled forearms. Felicity has her standard green dress and musical not earrings, Darya is in a sky blue tux I choose to ignore, and even Jayce's new friend is in a very flattering—although slightly less fancy—grey jumpsuit. Then of course, there's Rowan and I. Rowan is in a pink dress that has me convinced she's making some kind of statement about heroes being unobservant because it feels just a little too much like her supersuit. Last, but hopefully not least, is I, in the blue-grey tux Rowan got me along with my costume that she assures me is not only very flattering but also one hundred percent bulletproof, which feels a little overkill for this kind of party, but I'd be lying if I said I minded.

  Of course, the festive mood in the room sombers a bit as Rowan and I enter. Darya recognizes me and immediately becomes more subdued, though probably more because of our history than anything, while Allacia and Elias naturally eye me with concern. Rowan lightly bumps me to get my attention, then gives me a questioning look. I shake my head. I can do this.

  I take the easy road and walk over to Allacia and Elias first, Rowan trailing close behind. Elias takes the opportunity to pass me a drink, and I nod and smile gratefully as I take it.

  “Are you feeling better?” Allacia asks with concern in her voice.

  “Not really,” I chuckle weakly, “but…I’ve taken some time and decided Elias is right. If nothing else, my goal is the same, and today doesn't change that. And, a party would be a good way to network…”

  “Well, don’t push yourself,” Allacia advises sternly. I nod.

  Behind me, Rowan clears her throat. I wince, “Ah, right. This is Rowan. Rowan, these two are my closest friends, Allacia and Elias.”

  “A pleasure,” Elias says, offering his hand.

  Rowan takes it, “Likewise.”

  “So…” Elias begins, “Want to hear all the embarrassing things I’ve heard about everyone here?"

  “Do I ever!” Rowan’s eyes light up, “Lead the way.”

  “That can only end badly,” I say to Allacia as the two of them stalk off, whispering conspiratorially, “Why am I getting the feeling I’ll regret introducing them?”

  “Oh hush,” Allacia says, “If you ask me, it’s a good thing. Friends among friends makes life better for everyone, and you could use all the friends you can get right now.”’

  I sigh, “Don’t remind me.”

  “Well, I’m going to go rescue Felicity from her plight,” Allacia says, “Are you fine on your own?”

  I glance over to where the heroine in question is subtly sliding further and further away from the man clearly chatting her up.

  “You go ahead,” I say, “I’ll be fine.”

  “Alright,” Allacia confirms before gliding away with only a single backwards look. I take the opportunity to swallow most of the liquid courage Elias gave me earlier before searching the room for any port in the storm. Unfortunately, Darya seems to notice I’m alone now and confidently strides over to me, leaving behind the surprised gaggle of fans she’d had around her before.

  “We need to talk,” she says.

  “Okay,” I say, “We’re over, and I’m over you. There. Done. We talked.”

  Darya blinks, then surprises me by turning her head to the side and coughing awkwardly, her cheeks a little red, “Not…that. Something else.”

  I feel a little warm myself. “Oh?”

  “You know how I’m working with Apex, right?” Darya begins.

  “Are you just here to brag?” I ask, "Because if this is you trying to impress me, I already know that." She shakes her head.

  “They wanted me to pass on a message,” she tells me, “They said they were impressed by your performance and would like to offer you the same thing they, uh…offered me.”

  “No,” I answer.

  “I told them you’d say that,” Darya says with a solemn look, “Which is why they told me to officially request your aid with a problematic villain they’ve been dealing with of late.”

  That gets my attention, “Apex, as in AP-3X, the clockwork man himself, is requesting my help with a villain they can’t deal with? Is that a bad joke, or is there some kind of politics thing happening that I don’t know about?”

  “Probably the latter,” Darya admits, “but I know what they mean and I can say with certainty this request is real. The Recluse—as the villain calls himself—has dozens of hideouts and never seems to be at the one we’re raiding. Apex has been looking for a few heroes who can hold their own so we can strike multiple targets at once. Should even the odds a bit.”

  “So Apex actually happens to need quality reinforcements, but is using the situation to get to me?” I summarize, “What’s in it for me?”

  “Support from one of the big three,” Darya says, “I don’t know what your goals are, C, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure you still want to be a top hero. You wouldn’t have joined the Exhibition otherwise. This is a good opportunity for you.”

  I gauge her stern gaze for a moment, trying to judge if she’s hiding something. Unfortunately, I was never good at that even when we were dating, so instead I just sigh and give her a short nod.

  “I’ll think about it,” I tell her.

  “Think quickly,” she replies, “Evil doesn’t rest.”

  “And yet,” I say, “They won’t let us fight the real evil.”

  “Enjoy the party, C,” Darya sighs.

  Graciously, I decide to let her have the last word. As she walks away, I begin to search around for someone I can talk to, hoping not to have a repeat of that. My eyes land on Jayce and his excitable new friend, and I proceed to decide that I absolutely have to know what that is about. My choice made, I flag them down with a wave of my hand and walk over.

  “Care to introduce me?” I ask Jayce as I approach.

  He opens his mouth, but his companion cuts him off, “Hi! I’m Erin! What’s your name?”

  “Charlie,” I reply, “or the hero Frontrunner, if you prefer codenames.”

  “Cool!” They reply, “My codename is Operative Manacle.”

  Beside them, Jayce visibly stiffens, “Erin!” He hisses, “What did we say before we left?”

  “Oops,” They reply, “Sorry.”

  “Hah…” Jayce puts his palm in his hand, “Can you forget you heard that? Erin isn’t used to speaking with people with less than L3 clearance, and they’re kinda supposed to be classified.”

  “I can speak for myself,” Erin says to him, frowning, before they turn to me and instantly refresh their smile, “Hi, new friend! Please forget I said anything.”

  “Okay,” I say, smiling at the infectious enthusiasm and definitely not Jayce's visible discomfort, “What can you tell me about yourself?”

  “Well…” they hesitate, “I'm an only child…I grew up kinda sheltered, so I don’t have many friends…oh, and my Dad works in the Upper Council. Whatever that means.”

  “Erin!” Jayce hisses again, “Classified!”

  “Oops,” they rather comically slap their hand over their mouth, “Forget I said that?”

  “Said what?” I ask; they smile, “You know, if you’re looking for more friends, my friends, Allacia and Elias, are really nice. I’m sure they’d love to meet you.”

  Helpfully, I point in their direction.

  “I dunno, that guy looks kinda scary…” Erin says hesitantly.

  “He does,” I reply, “but don’t let that fool you. He’s a real softie on the inside.”

  “I seem to remember that ‘softie’ interrogating me in a back alley,” Jayce interjects, “but sure, he’s real nice. Never mind that, as memory serves, he’s also weirdly perceptive and good at getting people to reveal secrets. I’m sure that has no influence on your decision to introduce him to Erin, not at all.”

  Erin looks at me with wide eyes, “Is that true?”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Of course not,” I shrug, “I may be curious about you, but I’d never betray your trust. We’re friends, remember?”

  “Okay!” Erin says happily, rushing off before either Jayce or I can say another word.

  Jayce turns to me, “If you get me in trouble, Charlie, I swear…”

  “No trouble,” I reply, “If I really wanted to know, I’d ask Vermillion the next time we met. She told me about Kur, and she’d be more than happy to tell me anything else I wanted to know. You know that; I know that.”

  Jayce sighs wearily, “Somehow, I still don’t trust you.”

  “Then trust in me,” I say, “I don’t drag innocent people into my business, Jayce. No matter how curious I am, who or whatever Erin is, they’re clearly innocent.”

  “They’re a reaper, Charlie,” Jayce replies, “That may be true for now, but it won’t be forever.”

  With that, he leaves me alone once more, following after Erin. Once again, I find myself, left alone for a moment while I scan the room for another easy target—I mean, potential person to socialize with. To my horror, however, the list of people I know well is beginning to get thin. Rowan has begun chatting with Allacia, and Elias has been subsumed by the living tornado that is Erin. That leaves…Felicity?

  I notice my drink is empty, and decide I’ll need more if I intend to socialize further, so I make my way back over to the refreshments. I’m just about to serve myself, however, when a willowy brunette woman I don’t recognize hands me a new, filled cup. She looks at me shyly as I glance between the cup and her face, trying to recall if I know her from somewhere.

  “I, uh…do I know you?” I ask, trying not to sound rude but fully unaware of who this woman is or why she might want to speak to me.’

  “Oh!” she turns a flushed red color, “I didn’t…I’m sorry, I thought you’d remember, I’m Dappled Princess, from the mission, when we…uh, monitored the Politician.”

  “Ohhhhh,” I say, “Now I remember. That was you? You look different without your costume.” In truth, I have no idea what she looked like before. It’s not like I spent a lot of time looking at her. Still, no reason to be even ruder than I already have.

  “So you do remember me?” she asks. I give her a quick nod.

  “Oh, good,” she sighs, “Are you gonna take the drink? My arm’s getting tired.”

  “Sorry,” I say, then hesitate. “…uh, should I refer to you by your codename, or…”

  “Reese,” she says, “My name is Reese.”

  I nod, taking the cup along with a hesitant sip. I grimace a little at the taste.

  “What’s wrong?” Reese asks, “Oh no, it’s too strong, isn’t it. I assumed since you were a physical type-”

  “Too weak, actually,” I say, to her visible relief, “Don’t worry about it, I can get a new one. In the meantime, is there something you wanted to talk about?”

  “Well…” she hesitates, “Nothing in particular, I just…don’t know anyone else here.”

  I blink, “Really? Oh, right, you were a newbie. I guess most of this crowd is before your time. Speaking of, why are you here? No offense, but I thought this was mostly for participants, with a few exceptions.” Felicity was outside the stadium, and Allacia only got invited because she’d already turned down a chance to perform, while Rowan was my plus one. I think Jayce is the only one here I know that got invited without being a promising hero, not counting Erin as his obvious plus one.

  “After my first mission, I started working with Nightingale,” Reese replies sheepishly, “I was a last-second scout addition to a mission of hers, and she took a liking to me. Apparently, my ability is pretty useful for recon.”

  “Right,” I say, “Your ability could detect other powers, right? Come to think of it, that is pretty rare.” I only found Jayce because she spotted his swords, after all.

  “Yeah,” she continues, “Because of that, Nightingale wanted me to see the Exhibition, assuming that I’ll get to perform eventually. I’m here because of that.”

  I nod along as Reese speaks, slowly settling in as she continues like this for another few minutes, occasionally spurred by my questions. It’s hardly an exhilarating conversation, but I see no reason to try my luck elsewhere. The calm, subdued passing of time and my general tiredness lead me to almost the sound of a cup falling to the floor.

  I don’t, however, miss the screaming.

  “A villain!” a shrill voice cries, “She’s a villain!”

  Both Reese and I turn curiously in the direction, only to find a sight which causes my heart to sink into my stomach. One of the women I had recognized talking to Darya when I entered—Bubblegum Girl, I think—is screeching at a very exposed-looking Rowan, as the partygoers—who are all somewhat notable heroes—are backing away from her slowly, some looking ready for a fight.

  Elias already seems to be slipping through the crowd to back her up, but he’s too slow. I see a hand belonging to some man I don’t recognize slowly beginning to rise, a lattice of glowing constructs materializing. I have no idea what it will do, but I don’t plan to find out. I shove my cup into Reese’s hands, startling her, but I don’t slow down as I forcefully shove aside half a dozen young heroes to reach the edge of the circle.

  I don’t hesitate to grab the scared-looking hero’s wrist and twist his arm back, causing him to cry out in pain and his construct to fizzle harmlessly out of existence. Two dozen or more heads turn to me.

  “That’s enough,” I say to the crowd, “Rowan’s with me, and she’s not a villain.”

  “Liar!” Everyone turns back to Bubblegum Girl. “That’s the villain Hot Pink! I saw her face, I know it’s her! And she said she wasn’t a hero! I heard it! You’re lying!”

  Elias finally pushes through, but seems bewildered, and shoots a questioning look at me. Rowan, for her part, is tense and ready to run, her stance just screaming ‘fight or flight.’ Nobody looks at them, however, only turning to me, expecting a response.

  I don’t really have one.

  “Alright people, simmer down,” Darya’s cold voice turns the heads of the crowd once more as she makes her own entrance into the circle. I notice to my annoyance that the heroes all move aside for her, as I had to force my way through. “I assume there’s a reasonable explanation for this,” she says, “So why don’t you let go of Derek and tell us what it is, C?”

  I catch her mouth the word ‘damned’ to me. I shake my head, causing her to let out a breath she’d apparently been holding in. With reluctance, I release lattice-guy—Derek, apparently—ignoring the expletive he mutters under his breath.

  “Witness testimonies are notoriously unreliable,” I comment, which definitely does not help, as Bubblegum Girl shrieks defiantly.

  “She has nothing!” she cries, “I knew it! She’s probably a villain too!”

  “Charlie is not a villain,” Darya says, “but, since none of us can prove otherwise for her companion, I think it’s best if she just leaves.”

  I’m about to speak, but Rowan beats me to it.

  “Fine,” she says, “I’ll go.”

  “Rowan…” I begin to say.

  “It’s fine, Charlie,” she says with a sad smile, “Even if I stay, it’s too late for people to not be suspicious of me. I”d rather not deal with that, even if they’d let me.”

  There are a few whispered mutterings in the back of the crowd, though the edges stay mostly silent, either out of respect, proximity or just shame. Once more, I have nothing to say, but I decide to do so anyway.

  “Fine, but I’m leaving too then,” I inform her.

  “That’s right! Run like the villains you are!” the increasingly annoying voice that started all this mess calls out. I turn and glare at her, making her turn her head away so as not to meet my gaze. Coward.

  Rowan, far more mature than her, decides simply to walk away. The crowd parts for her even more than they did for Darya, though clearly for different reasons. I follow close behind. As we exit the outer edge of the group, I hear Darya start addressing the crowd, but I tune her out. Allacia walks up to us.

  “You don’t have to leave, Char,” she says. I shake my head solemnly.

  “No, I do,” I tell her, “Don’t wait up.” Rowan doesn’t disagree. We both make our way to the door swiftly. I notice Reese still hasn’t moved from where we were standing, just looking at me with wide eyes and a confused expression. I wave at her, mostly just to be polite, though she doesn’t seem to react.

  The ballroom is in a hotel, so the two of us have to skirt around the people in the lobby to make it out into the crisp night air. We get a little further away before Rowan speaks.

  “Thanks,” she says, “and sorry about all that. I didn’t think anyone would recognize me.”

  “Not your fault,” I reply, “I kinda forgot that most heroes don’t actually know, what with basically everyone I interact with these days seemingly aware. About villains not being so bad, I mean.”

  “Most of us are,” Rowan replies. I don’t know how to respond to that, so I try changing the subject.

  “Well, did you at least enjoy the Exhibition?” I ask.

  Rowan nods, “I’ll admit, your whole thing shocked me. I don’t think I’d quite reconciled you being so powerful until I really saw it. You’ve grown a lot since we met, princess.”

  “Not enough to get you to drop that nickname though," I say, smirking.

  “Not even close,” Rowan teases, “You’re still woefully sheltered…princess.”

  I smile at the thought, but it fades quickly. In many ways, she’s right: I am still sheltered. I don’t really want to admit it to myself, but I clearly don’t know a lot of things. Worse yet, it doesn’t seem like there’s anyone available to teach me them. At least, not that I’ve found.

  I let out a weary sigh, “Hey, Rowan, can I ask you a question?”

  “Shoot,” she replies.

  “If it came down to a fight, would you be on my side?”

  She blinks, then looks thoughtful. “I suppose that depends on who you’re fighting. Obviously not Latasha, but in most cases, probably. If I wasn’t out of my league, that is. Why do you ask?”

  Tacitly ignoring the way her words make me feel all warm and fuzzy, I open my mouth to reply-

  The hair on my arms and neck stands on end.

  I stop dead in my tracks as Superhuman screams a warning in my ear so loud it feels like my skull is ringing. I haven’t felt such a strong warning since Rhea, but as I whirl around to scan the surrounding streets, I see nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing at all.

  “Charlie?” Rowan says, “What’s wrong?”

  “My danger sense,” I gasp. I hadn’t even noticed I was holding my breath, “Something’s wrong. Very, very wrong.”

  “Should we run?” She asks, grabbing my hand just as I notice it’s shaking, “Or fight? What’s going on?”

  “I-I don’t…” I sputter, “I don’t know. I can’t see what it is.”

  “Does there have to be? Could you be mistaken, or-”

  Then she freezes too. Looking past me down the street, she goes pale as a ghost. Without warning, her hand begins to shake even more than mine. It even grows a little hot, hot enough to burn anyone who isn’t a SAU. I look where she does, just in time to feel it.

  It’s like a pressure in the air, only stronger than any barometric force would ever naturally be. The weight of it physically starts pushing passersby aside, several of whom had been giving us strange looks. Many stumble off the sidewalk. One old lady falls to her knees with a strangled gasp.

  All but one are affected, a tall, toned Chinese man with spiky black hair, wearing a leather jacket and grinning broadly and unnaturally like a man possessed. Rowan’s grip only grows tighter and hotter.

  “Luo Wen!” he says merrily, “I thought that might be you. What luck!” His voice is heavily accented, definitely Chinese. He spreads his arms wide like he intends to be welcomed with a hug, though he did not call Rowan by her name.

  “C-Char-lie?” Rowan asks, her voice shaking so much I can barely hear her, “H-he’s n-ot r-real, r-right? Y-you c-can’t s-see him?”

  “Rowan,” I say, infusing as much urgency into my voice as I can muster, “Who is he?”

  She stiffens, her eyes widening just a little. She starts to breathe faster, almost hyperventilating. I squeeze her hand a little tighter and start glaring at the man.

  “Yes, ‘Rowan,’” the man says, “It’s only polite that you introduce me to your friend.”

  Rowan drops to her knees, almost pulling me down with her. I glance down at her in shock.

  “After all, it wouldn’t do for you to make friends without my approval…” he continues, “My darling.”