I didn’t answer right away. She had been gone from my life for years, left me alone at one of the toughest times of my life. I didn’t owe her a conversation.

But Valiant had said to hear her out. He had never steered me wrong, and he was positive it wasn’t a trap or he wouldn’t have even brought it up. That had to count for something.

“Alright. You got somewhere in mind?” She nodded and gestured for me to follow her to a car parked on the street. We both got in and buckled, and off she went. “So… What, you saw me in trouble and had to check in?” I asked after a few minutes of silence. “I’m sure you’ve known I was in the hero business for a while now.”

“Actually… I didn’t until today. I don’t pay attention to any heroes below gold,” She replied evenly. “If I started to, for anything less than a major event, questions would be asked that neither of us want asked. But I knew when I heard you take charge of your team, and when I came on to assure your team we were on it. Yes, I did want to ensure you were unharmed. But that’s not the only reason we need to talk.”

“Because of the rogue.” It wasn’t a question, since I knew for sure now that I was the target. “You said you know who it is, and I believe we both know who the target is.”

“That would be correct. He’s been on our radar for a few months. He wasn’t doing anything actively wrong, but there were a few suspicious behaviors that our analysts had picked up on, so he’s been on our watchlist for possible rogue activity. Looks like we were right.” She parked by a small house and sighed. “I know it sounds odd, villains watching for rogues, but they ruin more of our plans than people would expect. His little stunt tonight interrupted three preparations that some of our people were making, and actively ruined two other plans that will need reworked. No, I won’t be giving you details, not while you’re a hero.” She got out. “Come on, I’ve got this place so locked down the governments best spies couldn’t tap into it.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” I sighed, getting out and following her. Once inside, she stopped and looked at me a moment.

“Before we talk, call and let your grandparents know you’re safe and you’ll be home in just a bit. You can tell them you’re with me if you like, or you can tell them whatever will make them worry the least. Your collapse was, unfortunately, televised.”

She had the right idea, that was certain, so I did as instructed. I told them the truth about where I was, as I don’t lie to them if I can help it, but also told them I’d be home as soon as our talk was over. While they didn’t like it, they said they understood.

“Grandma says to tell you hello,” I reported as I got off the phone. “Grandpa is… Less friendly towards you right now.” My mother sighed, but nodded.

“He always was one to hold a grudge. I can’t say I blame him. Come, sit, let’s talk.” She led me into a living room and took a seat in a recliner, waving a hand to invite me to take any other seat. I took one on a nearby couch, giving myself some distance from her, but not across the room or anything. “Now… I know I am not your favorite person. I don’t expect to be. I abandoned you, and this is not my attempting to come back begging for forgiveness. I am concerned for your safety, whether you believe that or not. But I know you, and I know you take after your father. You aren’t simply going to walk away from this threat. So, I will give you the information I have so you can handle whatever comes at you as intelligently as possible.”

“If you were that concerned for my safety, why become a villain and put a target on your back?” I countered. It was stupid, knowing she wanted to give me valuable information, but when you live your life filled with hurt, and the years you develop your sense of identity full of hate, some things are just hard to ignore. I couldn’t help myself, even knowing I shouldn’t risk her changing her mind.

I expected anger, regret, even indifference. I didn’t expect the laugh she let out. “Dear one, the only time I wasn’t a villain was while I was married to your father. Part of why your grandfather is so upset with me. He thought I’d given the life up for good once I’d settled down. In reality, I didn’t want to risk your father and I ever having to choose between our jobs or our marriage. He didn’t know until you were three that I had been a villain.” She smiled, a little sadly. “When we first learned of his passing… I had intended to remain a civilian. But things changed. And once they did, I knew I had to make more changes happen.”

“Like what? What was so important that you had to be a villain for it instead of a hero?” I asked, frowning.

“I can’t explain that now. In time. But I learned something about the incident that took your father… Something that meant I had to fight the heroes, not join them.”

That didn’t make any sense. “You’re insinuating that the Association had something to do with Dad’s death. So this is all revenge?”

“Revenge? No. This is about causing change, by my own actions. You will understand one day.” She shook her head. “No more about this now. We need to discuss the rogue.” I didn’t want to change subjects, but I also knew if I stayed too long, I’d worry my grandparents again. “Now… As I said, we’ve been watching this rogue. You… Actually know him, though I don’t think you two have seen each other since you were little.”

“What?” I asked, startled. “Who?”

“Your cousin, Micah. My brother moved away with him when you both were still quite young, after his mother left them, and then… We lost all contact. I tried to find them a few times over the years, but no luck. Now that he’s back, and we’ve been keeping tabs on him, I notice that he seems to harbor a grudge against you. I haven’t sorted out why yet, you two were close before they moved. If I can get in touch with him directly, I plan to try to talk him down before anyone has to get hurt. If I can’t or he won’t listen… I’d like not to have to use force against family, but if it will be you or him, I will protect you first.”

“I don’t need your protection. I’m an adult, and a hero in my own right.” I shook my head, standing. “But knowing it’s Micah may help. Now I at least have as much of an advantage as he had, we both know who the other is. Have you heard from Uncle Mark?”

“No, and I won’t. In looking into things… He passed away, shortly after they left.” Bella sighed, rubbing her face. “Which might be part of Micah’s deal, jealousy that you had family around you and he did not. I tried to find them… This explains why I couldn’t, not easily.” She offered me an envelope. “That’s… That’s for your grandparents. Give it to my mother first, please. Dad will just rip it up and throw it in the trash, but there’s information in there that they’ll want, including the location of Mark’s grave, should they wish to go visit.”

I didn’t really remember my uncle Mark that well. I was three or four when they moved away, but I had pictures of him taking me and Micah out, as my dad would do with us as well. He had been a good uncle, according to those pictures and the stories I heard about how he’d interacted with us.

Remember him or not, I was upset that not only had he died, it had happened so long ago and we were only just finding out about it. Did he not leave a way for people to find out how to contact us? Had anyone even tried? Micah could have come back and lived with Grandma and Grandpa, or my family until shit hit the fan. Hell, maybe having one more kid to worry about would have stopped whatever campaign my mother was on.

“I’ll give this to them,” I said after a moment, taking the envelope. “Is there anything else I need to know?” She shook her head and stood.

“You won’t believe anything else I’d like to say, and I can’t blame you for that. Let’s get you back to your car so you can get home. Unless you’d rather I drop you off there? You have had an exhausting day.”

I considered the offer. “Drop me off at home, please. And take the opportunity to give Grandma your letter yourself.” She nodded, and we headed out to the car.

Transport was waiting for us just a couple blocks away, past the crowds, in the form of two ambulances and a van. Hurricane and Jet were already getting checked by medics by the time Thorn and I cleared the crowd. I didn’t make it to the medics.

My vision went blurry without warning, and I heard a loud ringing in my ears, causing me to stop.

“Flare?” Thorn’s voice sounded distant and concerned as a horrible pain came through my head and I crumpled. I was unconscious before anyone knew what was happening.

When I opened my eyes, I could tell I wasn’t actually awake. I had always been a lucid dreamer, at least as long as I could remember. This was different than a usual dream for me, however.

I was looking at my childhood home, which had since been demolished to make way for a larger apartment complex. My dad was sitting on the front steps, smiling and waving me over when he saw me.

“So, you’re a hero now. Always knew you would be. Just thought I’d still be around to give you tips. We’ll just have to make the most of talking like this.” His voice was as crisp and clear as the last time I’d heard him talk, deep but smooth and caring. “Come sit and talk, my little ember, while your friends make sure you’re healthy and whole.”

“You uh… Know about what’s going on?” I asked, coming to sit with him. It was different than I remembered, but then I’d been looking up at him the last I’d seen him. Now, we were nearly the same height.

“I do. This isn’t some dream, kiddo. No, this is a shift in your powers. It happens sometimes, powers morphing or new ones developing that work with existing ones. I believe that’s how Valiant’s dad developed telekinesis. He already had telepathy, and since they often go together, they sometimes develop one after the other.”

“So… Talking with the dead interacts with invisibility or fire?” I asked, doubtful. I’d certainly never heard of that kind of connection.

“Not quite talking with the dead… This is more… Well, I don’t know the official name for it, but you’re more receiving messages through dreams. It’s not super common, but when it has been present, it usually presents with either fire or telepathy. Occasionally also with water, but not as often. And it’s not a power you’re likely to have full control of. Most you’ll be able to do is keep it from affecting you like it did this first time, forcing you out to get a message.”

“Alright… So now I’ve got three powers, one of which I can’t control. And I’m talking to you. What… Kind of message do you have for me?”

“That you need to be careful. That rogue? He knows more about you than most heroes do. Bella knows who he is, she’ll try to put a stop to his antics, but it isn’t likely to work. You’ll likely be the one to stop him, long term,” Dad sighed.

“Likely? I take it this is as certain as any warning from Oracles?” I asked. Why couldn’t someone, just once, have a certainty when foreseeing the future?

“Exactly like. Humans, by their nature, change the future all the time. Most of the outcomes I know of, which certainly aren’t all of the possible outcomes since I’m not gifted at this, have you stopping him after your mother fails to.”

“She’s not my mother, not anymore,” I replied instantly, then looked down. “I… Shouldn’t say that to you, I know you love her too…”

“And I know she hurt you. That too will likely find closure for you, one way or another. The important thing is, you are not responsible for what she did or will do, just how you react to it. Now, back to this rogue. As I said, be careful. There are outcomes to this where you perish, and I don’t want to see that happen if you can help it. I know better than most of the current Association that sometimes, your hand will be forced in that regard,” He chuckled, inviting me to share the joke. I managed a small smile. “And look back over some of my old news footage. You may find a trick or two you had forgotten about that will come in handy, for this or future issues. And don’t be too hard on Jet Force. He’s not trying to be an idiot about your identity, he just has the luxury of not having to hide who he is under that mask.”

I considered everything he told me, then frowned. “Wait… This rogue knows a lot about me? Does he know who I really am?”

“Yes.” That simple word shook me. If he knew who I was, he could know where to find my grandparents. And if he had gone to the trouble to figure out who I was, then that meant…

“I’m his target. At least currently. Why else would he dig so deep on this?”

“You are. He practically told you, calling you an orphan. Why would anyone think you’re an orphan when no one knows who you are? But, your standing up to him may have touched a nerve and made him say something he hadn’t intended to reveal yet. It’s definitely the line that made your mother realize who he’s after.” Dad ran a hand through his short hair, looking out into the distance. “Just try to be safe, kiddo. You’re doing a good job. Hell, you’ve already shown you can step up and be a team captain if needed. Now, time to wake up and assure everyone you’re alright.” He hugged me tightly and I hugged him back. “Love you, Alix. Always have, always will.”

“I love you too, Dad,” I whispered, closing my eyes.

When I opened them again, there were lights above me and I was laying flat. From the sounds around me, I was already in the infirmary at headquarters. “Well, welcome back, Flare,” Valiant said, seated nearby. “Docs said you were fine, just thought I’d wait and make sure. Janet would kill me if I didn’t.” That made me smile a little, because he was right that my grandmother would be furious. I sat up and looked at him. “So… New power, or stress?”

“New power,” I answered. “Dream visions or something… Dad didn’t know what it’s called.”

“Well, that may be useful. Your old man say anything worth sharing?” He crossed his arm, a look of contemplation on his face.

“I think you know he did,” I sighed. “He confirmed that I’m this rogue’s target. My mother knows who it is, and now knows who he’s after. She’ll try to stop him.”

“Try?” Valiant asked, raising an eyebrow. “So he’s not sure if she’ll manage.”

“That’s right.”

“Well… We best make sure you’re prepared, just in case. I’ll let the other platinums know that we confirmed you’re the target. I won’t bring up your mother- That’s no one else’s business, unless you want it to be.”

“Thanks, Valiant,” I smiled slightly. He was always good like that.

“Eh, we’re off duty, kiddo, you don’t gotta be formal,” he chuckled. I grinned.

“Alright… Thanks, Uncle Joey,” I teased. “Am I cleared to head out? You know my grandparents have to be worried.”

“You are… But uh… Someone’s waiting at the front door to talk to you.” He stood, as I did, and he moved to put a hand on my shoulder. “Hear them out, but don’t rush to any conclusions about what they say. If I thought this was a trap or dangerous, I wouldn’t let them even try.” He gave me a smile, then left.

If he thought it was a trap? So I wasn’t going to like whoever was waiting for me. At the moment, only one person came straight to mind. At least this wouldn’t be too bad, image wise. She kept her identity as secret as I did, so no one that didn’t already know who she was would assume I was talking to an enemy.

I got myself changed to civilian clothes and went to head out for my car. Sure enough, it was my mother, also in civilian clothes, waiting for me. “Alix- You’re alright?” She asked when I approached.

“I’m fine.” I knew my voice sounded cold, but I wasn’t inclined to behave otherwise. She didn’t seem too surprised by it either, giving a small nod.

“I’d like to chat a minute. Somewhere we won’t be overheard. If you wouldn’t mind.”

Jet helped me down first, and I lit the area and checked it out before allowing him to set me down and go back for Hurricane. While I waited for them to catch up, I noticed this particular room was empty. Like, completely devoid of anything but a door. There was no furniture, there wasn’t a lightbulb in the socket, and there were no shelves or anything hung on the walls. Moving to investigate the walls more closely revealed what seemed to be a hidden door opposite the regular door. I looked around again, shifting my fireball as much as I could to see if there were any reflections from any cameras anywhere. I saw none, but I couldn’t trust that meant there were no cameras. Jet and Hurricane landed behind me, and I turned to signal them to be quiet. They moved over closer.

“What’s up?” Hurricane whispered.

“There’s a hidden door here, and I’m not sure there are any cameras in this room. If this is a blind spot… What if he doesn’t know about the hidden door? What if it’s a safe spot?” Jet and Hurricane traded looks.

“I hope you don’t think that room is perfectly safe. I know where you went, even if I can’t see you in there.” Our rogue wasn’t about to leave us with any doubt. “There is nowhere in this hotel you can rest, and I know your only two possible escape routes from there. You take the door and enjoy more of my wonderful traps, or you go back upstairs and face my wonderful traps. Don’t deny the people the fun of watching you as you try to puzzle it out, make your choice.”

“I choose option C,” I muttered, moving and carefully trying to open the hidden door. It slid open easily, not sealed shut just designed in a way to make it hard to notice unless you were right on it. The other two slipped in the room, and I followed and carefully shut the door back behind us.

The hidden room was clearly some sort of room to hide people, as there were makeshift beds and old covers set up in here. We all breathed a sigh of relief and moved as far from the door as we could.

“This at least might give us a little time to plot,” Jet pointed out. “I’m sure he’ll figure it out at some point, but it’s time we have to think and plan.”

“Well… If this room is hidden from him, how many others might there be?” Hurricane asked. “We have an advantage with this knowledge.”

“We do… Let me try the communicator, maybe the signal blocker doesn’t go over this part,” I pointed out, taking out the communicator and pushing the button. “Technix? Can you hear me?”

There was silence on the other end for several seconds, then, faintly, “Flare? Did you find a spot that wasn’t blocked? The signal sounds faint, but I’ve been removed from the scene, so it could just be distance.”

“Yeah, we found a hidden room. I don’t think our rogue knows about it, but I also don’t know if we can escape from this spot.”

“We’ve got all the heroes and villains working on a rescue plan. Apparently, this rogue works with Kyrans on occasion, when they swing through the solar system. It’s some kind of metal from their world, we don’t know much about it yet. Valiant is working on finding any scientists who know enough about it to tell us how to get through it.”

“Has anyone tried melting it yet?” Hurricane asked. “Do we have any idea the melting point?”

“Not yet. The fire villains are concerned if they try it and it works, they could accidentally start a fire in the building, which could completely defeat the purpose of trying to get in and get you three out unless we can coordinate where you three would be when we tried.”

“I can try melting it from inside, when we get back to a point where we can safely do so. The room we were in was a ticking time bomb before that robot got in and killed us, I’m sure,” I sighed.

“Flare, can you lot break through the roof of that room and get out that way? If it’s level with the rest of the basement, but outside his shield, that might be the best way to escape,” came a different voice through the communicator. It was Valiant.

“We can try. Jet?” I looked at him, and Jet was already flying at ceiling level and investigating it.

“Judging by where the window would have been on that room, we should be on the outside of it, yes… How thick is that metal sheet?”

“Only a few inches,” Technix answered.

“Then it won’t have extended enough to block anything… Hurricane? Thoughts?”

“I think the room is stable enough that you could safely break through, especially if Flare and I back into the previous room so we won’t get taken out by debris. Then, even if the door gets blocked, you’d be able to clear it pretty quickly.”

“There are other heroes on standby outside, they will also help,” Valiant assured us. “Alright, girls, get back to the previous room. Jet, once they’re clear of it, go ahead and try to break through.” I handed Jet the coms and went back through to the other room with Hurricane, closing the door carefully behind us. New sounds came to me above us, indicating that the robot was indeed working on ramming its way through the door. Perhaps it couldn’t hold as much ammo as I expected it could, with the size of it.

That noise was quickly replaced with the sound of Jet hammering through the ceiling of the hidden room. It had been made of concrete, which didn’t tend to stand a chance against Jet. “What is that noise? What are you foolish heroes trying to do, tunnel through the basement wall?” The rogue asked angrily.

“Guess you’re gonna find out!” I called back over the racket, before there were two loud crashing noises, one after the other. Jet opened the door as I heard the robot heading our way, pulling the two of us into what remained of the hidden room and shutting the door back quickly. Two other flying heroes had moved down the help clear the path a bit, then helped Jet get us out of the mess quickly. A cheer went up around us and I sighed, looking at the crowd of heroes and citizens around us.

“This isn’t over!” Came a thunderous voice from a loudspeaker on top of the hotel behind us, making those of us closes to the building flinch as the metal retracted back up the building. “I will destroy my enemies, regardless of this setback! You can’t escape me forever!” Jet Force and Hurricane flinched again and quickly stepped away from the building. I didn’t, facing it and standing straight and proud.

“You better hope you aren’t where we can easily track you, rogue, because your time running amok is limited!” I called easily. Admittedly, I was a bit more afraid of this guy than I sounded like I was, but I had just been in what had been intended as a death trap. That would scare anyone, especially a young adult early in their career, hero or not. “You are now on the Association’s radar, it’s only a matter of time before one of us finds and apprehends you!”

“Big talk from some little orphan girl that’s only going to burn out in the long run,” The voice retorted. “You still aren’t even sure which of you three I wanted in my trap, are you? Could be you I’m targeting, couldn’t it? Or one of your little friends there, they wonder cousins. Perhaps I’m lying and just trying to psych you out, perhaps none of you were my direct targets. But go on, show your city you aren’t as afraid of me as your teammates there, recoiling in fear from me. Sheer luck got you out of my traps today.”

Someone put a hand on my shoulder and I looked. It was Thorn, another platinum hero that looked out for the younger ones. “Well said, Flare. And good work, leading your team out of there. Come on, let the platinums and golds search the building while you three come and debrief.”

“Of course, Thorn,” I agreed, turning and walking with her. Jet and Hurricane were already a distance from the building, looking back over their shoulders at it every once in a while and clearly a bit freaked out.