Mirage walked into Town Hall in full costume. All eyes were on her and it was a struggle to keep her breath steady. The first time she’d done this and demanded to see the mayor, she had been a shivering mess the entire time. Once he saw what her powers were, though, he’d asked her to return at a later date and time to further discuss her becoming a local hero.

“Mayor Williams asked to see me?” she told the receptionist outside his office.

“Yes, Miss…”

“Mirage.”

“Miss Mirage, they’re waiting for you.”

“They?”

The receptionist nodded, but didn’t say anything more. Mirage walked over to the office door and took a deep breath. Before she could lose her nerve, Mirage swung open the door and walked inside.

There were five other people in there. A man in his late twenties, whom Penny recognized as Transvection from his blue outfit, Snap-trap, Mayor Thomas Williams at his desk, a young woman Mirage didn’t recognize, and Michael. Michael was wearing some sort of golden chainmail bodysuit with a golden chest plate, boots, and gauntlets, but no helmet or mask. As soon as he saw Mirage, Michael straightened up a bit more.

“Hello,” Transvection said, holding out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Transvection.”

“My name is Snap-trap.”

“You can call me Daybreak,” Michael finished, nodding briefly.

“Mirage,” she replied, shaking Transvection’s hand.

“Now that you all know each other,” the mayor said, standing up, “I’d like to get down to business. I’d like you two—” He nodded toward the experienced heroes. “—to help introduce our new friends here into life as a superhero. They’ve both demonstrated a willingness to get involved, but they need someone to help show them the ropes.”

“We’d be happy to help,” Transvection said. Snap-trap nodded.

“I’d like their presence to be kept on the down-low,” the mayor continued. “I’ve amended my plans and I’m going to formally introduce them during the Fourth of July celebration, since it’s so close. Until then, I want their presence to be an open secret.”

“Understood,” Snap-trap said.

“There’s one more thing,” the woman Mirage didn’t recognize said. She pulled a small case out of her pocket and opened it, then passed Mirage and Daybreak each a small device, along with a cord. “These are communicators; the cord is to charge them. Just stick them in your ear and if the town or emergency services need to get in contact with you while you’re ‘on-duty’, I will relay the message. I’m the town’s official superhero liaison. Call me Isabelle.”

Mirage nodded and fit the communicator in her ear. She tapped on it and heard it boot up. Then she stuffed the cord into the pocket of her cloak where her phone was.

“If that’s all,” the mayor said, “you four may go.”

The heroes retreated out of the office and made their way to the entrance hall, where they stopped again.

“This is exciting!” Snap-trap said, looking directly at Mirage. “Another superhero who’s a girl about my age? You can’t imagine how happy I am right now.”

Mirage was grinning widely. She wasn’t even sure what to say. Snap-trap was talking to her as an equal!

Transvection added, “I’ll arrange to take the two of you to meet the chief of police and see the fire department. It’s important that you get to know and get along with emergency services, since you’ll sometimes be asked to help them with small tasks.”

“We won’t have to go into burning buildings, though, right?” Mirage asked.

“Of course not,” Transvection assured her. “We’re civilian heroes. They won’t ask or allow us to do anything that could be a threat to our own safety.” He pulled up his sleeve to check his watch. “I have to go. Once I’ve set up a date, I’ll have Isabelle pass it on to you both.”

“And I should probably get back home, too,” Snap-trap said. Turning to Mirage, she added, “I look forward to working with you.”

“Likewise,” Mirage replied.

The more experienced heroes left, and Daybreak turned to Mirage.

“I’m so glad I finally get to meet you,” he said. “What can you do?”

“I make hard illusions,” Mirage said, pulling a small flower out of thin air and letting it dissipate. “And I can fly. I think there’s more I haven’t figured out yet, though.”

Daybreak nodded. As they started walking toward the door, he explained, “I can fly too, and I can create hard light weapons. I can also create fire from my hands. It’s cool that we even have similar powers.”

They walked out the front doors and Mirage said, “We actually knew each other already from school, but I’m not surprised you don’t recognize me.”

“Oh? Wow, that sucks. At least we’re getting to know each other now, right?”

“Yeah,” Mirage said, smiling softly. She still wasn’t sure how she was going to break it to him that she was his best friend, but she couldn’t deny it was nice seeing Michael finally acknowledge her for who she was.

It wasn’t long before Penny got a message from Isabelle about the date and time Mirage was to meet  Transvection again. When the day came, Mirage found herself standing outside the police station. She was alone. Neither Transvection nor Daybreak had arrived yet. Mirage didn’t go inside.

“What am I doing?” she asked herself, clutching the folds of her cloak nervously. “These are cops.”

Her parents were big fans of the police. Penny, however, had been watching online outlets like a hawk, and the things they revealed were very disconcerting. In a small town like this, who knew what cops were getting away with?

“Hey there!”

The new voice started Mirage. She looked up in time to see Daybreak floating down and landing on the ground next to her. He was wearing a cocky grin.

“You ready to go?” he asked, walking toward the door.

Mirage gulped and followed him. Transvection was inside, waiting for the two of them. Together, they were brought to the chief’s office where Mirage and Daybreak were told to sit down.

“It’s wonderful that you two want to help the town,” the chief told them. “But there are a few things we have to go over. First and foremost, under no circumstances are you ever to confront someone you suspect is engaging in criminal acts. Nor are you to enter a situation that you suspect to be dangerous. Your safety is paramount.”

Mirage nodded. She kept squirming in her chair. Stories of police officers harassing trans men and women kept replaying in her head while the chief of police continued to smile.

Once they were out of there, Mirage was able to breathe easier.

“Fortunately, the fire station isn’t too far away,” Transvection said. “The walk shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes.”

Daybreak folded his arms and mumbled, “I still think we should be allowed to deal with criminals if we find them.”

“Trust me, kid, there are good reasons why we don’t fight crime,” Transvection said. “It’s just too much of a legal liability, at the end of the day. We don’t have the lawyers that licensed heroes have access to.”

Mirage was much more at ease at the fire department. Once again, Transvection brought them to the chief’s office and introduced the two heroes. Daybreak seemed a little bored, but Mirage was paying rapt attention.

“Is there ever a time where heroes are called in to help with fires or the like?” she asked. “I’m sure some of us have powers that could really help with emergency situations.”

The chief chuckled and replied, “The truth is, dear, that most emergencies are over by the time a hero arrives, and we really just need help with cleanup. And in the rare case where a hero does arrive in time to intervene, there is no actual obligation to do so. Now, it was nice to meet you both, but I’m afraid that I’m a little busy today.” Turning his attention to Transvection, he added, “It was nice to see you again.”

“The same to you.”

Once they were outside, Daybreak stopped and stretched. He looked grateful to finally be out of there. When he saw that Mirage was watching him, he flashed her a brief smile.

“Before you go,” Transvection said, “I have something for you.”

From a pouch on his belt, the older hero pulled out two small flip phones.

“Each of you take one,” he said, holding them out. “This way, we can all reach each other with ease and don’t have to pass messages through Isabelle, and you don’t risk your own phone being lost or damaged while you work. I’ve programmed all our numbers in already.”

“Thank you,” Mirage said, taking one from him and holding it gingerly.

“Yeah, thanks,” Daybreak said, grabbing the other one.

“In that case, I’ll take my leave of you for now,” Transvection said, nodding at the two of them before walking off. “You’ll hear from me soon. Stay safe.”

On the phones there was already a voicemail from Snap-trap, telling the two heroes that she was going to volunteer at the local hospital and inviting them along. Mirage was excited at the opportunity to get to hang out with Snap-trap, so she was on board. When Daybreak learned that she was interested, he agreed to come too.

Mirage made sure to leave a message for Snap-trap as well so she knew to wait for them. When Mirage and Daybreak arrived, Snap-trap was waiting for the two of them by the front door. She led them through the building, not even stopping to talk to any of the staff.

“I know that there are some heroes out there who can actually heal people and the like,” Snap-trap said. “But for the most part there’s not much people like us can do without getting in the way. So we’re just here to entertain the patients.”

Snap-trap had brought them to the children’s ward. After checking in with the nurse's station, she brought Mirage and Daybreak to a room seemingly at random and knocked on the door before opening it. As soon as the children spotted her, there was cheering in the room. Snap-trap glanced over at Mirage, smiling broadly.

“They love you,” Mirage noted.

“I like to visit at least once a week,” she admitted with a shrug. Turning to the room, she announced, “Everyone, these are new heroes. Their names are Mirage and Daybreak. Say hi.”

There was a chorus of “Hello” from the children, many of whom waved. Mirage couldn’t help but chuckle and wave back. Beside her, Daybreak shuffled uncomfortably.

“Mirage, show them what you can do.”

“Uh, okay.”

Mirage gave it some thought, then held up her hands. A teddy bear materialized in her hands and she placed it down on one of the beds. The bear stood up and walked over to the boy in the bed, then held out one little paw. The boy stared at it, mouth agape, and shook its hand. The other children gasped and started chattering excitedly.

“Daybreak, do you want to share something?” Snap-trap asked.

“Uh… sure,” Daybreak said. “I… uh… oh!”

He kicked himself off of the ground a little and hovered in the air, then started to glide across the room. Daybreak put his hands behind his head and leaned back into a resting pose, drifting lazily. The kids seemed to take notice, but didn’t react as strongly.

“Well,” Daybreak muttered when he stopped floating, “it makes sense that you two would be better around children anyway, being girls and all.”

He seemed keen to avoid their eyes, though.

Once the children were satisfied, Snap-trap took the new heroes through the rest of the hospital, stopping to talk to a lot of the patients. Mirage got into the swing of it pretty quickly. She didn’t even really need her powers; just being a good listener seemed to be enough.

It was late by the time that they left the hospital. Mirage felt good. Snap-trap seemed happy judging by the smile she wore. Daybreak was the only one who apparently hadn’t enjoyed himself.

“I hope that next time you invite us somewhere, I get to use my powers,” he told Snap-trap.

“This is what being a hero is, for the most part,” Snap-trap replied, folding her arms. “It’s charity and volunteer work. We’re here to help people.”

“Whatever,” Daybreak muttered. “I need to go. I have to get up early for work.” Turning to Mirage, he added, “I’ll see you around, Miri.”

Miri? Before Mirage could ask him about that, Daybreak took off and flew away. Beside Mirage, Snap-trap sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I need to go too,” Penny said. “I’m sorry. I wish we could spend more time together.”

“Actually, me and Transvection sometimes get together just to hang out and talk. I’d love for you to join us.”

“Yeah, absolutely,” Mirage replied, kicking herself off from the ground and into the air. “Send me a message.”

When Penny got back to her car, she reluctantly dispelled the illusion and went back to her old dysphoria-inducing body. She tried not to think about it too much on the drive back. Pulling into the driveway, Penny saw that the lights were out and hoped that it meant her parents were in bed.

“Where were you, young man?” her mother demanded as soon as Penny had set foot in the door.

“I was just hanging out with Michael and some friends,” Penny responded.

“What were you doing?”

“Just… hanging out,” Penny said, trying to walk to her room. “Can I go?”

Her mother scowled and said, “I don’t like the idea of you being out this late. I’m sure there are some… unsavory types out there that I don’t want you hanging around.”

“It’s fine, Mom. I’m not getting into any trouble.”

“Maybe I need to institute a curfew, if you’re going to be so lenient about when you get home. I hope you ate, too, because I don’t want to be woken up by the microwave tonight.”

“I’ll just get a snack later,” Penny said, walking away.

Once she was in her room, Penny locked the door and took the screen off of her window. She slipped out and walked into the woods, briefly glancing over her shoulder to make sure her mother wasn’t watching. Once she was out of sight, Penny snapped her fingers to bring back her costume and took off.

As Mirage, she flew all the way to the river and floated to the middle of it, lying on her back in the air and letting her hand trail lazily in the water. Now that she had some time, she started to think.

What was she going to do with herself? Penny didn’t really want to go to college, but she didn’t really want to move to the city to get a license and become a hero with a salary, either. Could she actually be happy here, in town, if she just got a full-time job and worked as a hero on the side?

But she wanted to live as a woman, and she couldn’t do that if she was living as a boy at home and during work. Was she going to come out to people or just live a double life forever? Could she cast the illusion on herself full-time or would she need to transition for real? Either way, if she was still living in the same town as her parents, it would cause problems.

“These powers did not solve everything,” Penny realized, splashing at the water. “But I think I’d rather have them then not.”

Despite all the problems she was still facing, Penny was happier than she’d been in a long time.