“--and that’s everything,” I said, finishing my recount of all that had transpired from the second after that bolt of lightning struck me to now; sitting at a cold metal table in a small, confined room somewhere in Crescent City Tower with a thin blanket wrapped loosely around my shoulders. I wasn’t sure why I had the blanket exactly. I wasn’t cold, and if I was I could probably just vibrate until I was warm. Maybe it was some paltry attempt at giving me a sense of modesty while I continued to stay in my alter form? I wasn’t sure. It was kind of funny, in a melancholy sort of way I’d supposed; I’d forgotten how snug these gym suits were. I didn’t notice it at the time, but after sitting in one for hours upon hours I could feel several places begin to pinch and ache beneath the stretchy fabric. I picked at one of the sleeves while Mrs. Bekker finished writing on her notepad.

She leaned back in her seat, dressed in one of her usual suit combos, though it looked noticeably disheveled tonight. She nursed a coffee and scribbled down notes onto a notepad as I told the grand tale of how I had unwittingly become Crescent City’s most wanted person. 

“That part about the lightning being. You said it’s appeared to you twice now?” she asked in a stern voice.

I shrugged. “Yeah. No clue what it is, though.” She nodded and continued to write while I looked around the room for any kind of distraction from the oppressive tedium. The tower’s interior designer must have gotten lazy once they reached the interrogation rooms, the color pallet for the walls and floor consisted of two nearly identical shades of gray. A metal door with a glass cut-out in the center remained closed, shutting us both in. I would occasionally steal a glance back at it every so often, hoping Kayden’s warm amber eyes would peek through the opening, waving at me with that big, stupid, adorable grin they wore. 

After the incident at the train yard, the police had shown up remarkably quickly and cordoned off the scene. I could’ve run away, Markus certainly couldn’t have stopped me. He never moved from the asphalt where Hexecute had dropped him. His eyes were cold and dark as he whispered incoherently to himself. I had almost ended up like him, I thought. I had tried to comfort him as the police began to approach, but he never acknowledged my presence.

 I remained stationary as the police surrounded and ushered me into a SWAT van along with Mrs. Bekker who’d arrived with the police. We were quickly driven through the city and brought here, to Crescent City tower.

“And you’re saying that on the very first day of school you had your altercation?” she commented with an air of amusement at the situation.

“Yeah,” I gave her a quick nod. We’d been going over everything for several hours at this point. My powers. The school. Kayden. Hexecute. I figured it wouldn’t do me much good to lie since my secret was out anyway, so I told them what they wanted to hear through tired eyes and a persistent headache that refused to fade away. Probably a pesky side effect of Hexecute banging my skull against a shipping container like he was playing a game of whack-a-mole.

She shook her head and let out a mirthful laugh. “I’ll be honest. That’s about as ‘origin story’ as it gets, it sounds like it was written for a subpar teenage drama. Minus the super-villain trying to steal your powers, I mean. That’s a new flavor to be sure.”

“I’ll try to come up with something better on my Wikipedia page,” I rolled my eyes. A rapping knock on the metal door leading outside into the hallway. It squeaked open, revealing Mel and a younger police officer I’d been introduced to earlier, I think his name was Redbush? Redfern? I couldn’t recall the specifics and his badge was out of view so Redfern was what I was sticking with. He sounded like he was somewhere in his mid-20’s, though his shaved head and sharp features cast him in an older light. He had a subtle handsome charm to his presence. A thin scar marred his otherwise blemishless face and ran up over his eye towards his hairline. His uniform, a blue beat-cop number with a velcroed vest attached on the front, audibly rubbed together as he shifted to the side and let Mel pass.

“Thank you, Officer. That report of tonight’s events should be sufficient for your superiors, should it not?” Mel turned on her heel behind Mrs. Bekker and placed her hand on the table. Her white coat was missing, now she was dressed in a flowing white pants and a tank top which left paneling and hard lines on her biceps and shoulders exposed. 

“It’s not exactly overflowing with the details we usually like to see, but I can make it work.” Officer Redfern shrugged. “Still, you’re always making my job as liaison difficult. Just once, give me a good report that I don’t need to convince the captain to accept.”

“One of these days the probability may increase, Issac.” Mel pulled out a chair and continued to gaze at him sharply. “Though you’ll need to annoy me less for it to increase to a tenth of a percent.”

Officer Redfern chuckled and began to back up into the hallway. “Appreciate you too! Evening, Mrs. Bekker.” He waved before turning back around. Mel snapped her fingers, apparently connecting with a closing mechanism in the door as it promptly shut behind Officer Redfern.

“Need a catch-up?” Mrs. Bekker turned to her and took another drink from her cup.

“No,” Mel pointed to the camera blinking in the corner of the room. “Multitasking. Verdant and Starburst are investigating a situation at a Clelium repository on the other side of the county and I’m providing tech support.” 

“Wait, you can see through the security cameras?” I asked.

“Any I’m connected to. Perk of a computer in your brain.” Mel adjusted herself in her chair and looked at me for a couple of seconds trying to piece something together. “Do you wear glasses?”

“Huh?” I asked, surprised by the divergence from what had been until now the only topic Mrs. Bekker and I had discussed.

“Your eyes. You’re squinting.” Mel leaned in closer, and I could almost hear the whirring of her robotic eyes as she studied me. “You’ve been doing it since I walked in.”

“N-no. I don’t wear glasses,” I answered.

Mel’s eyes glazed over for a moment before Mrs. Bekker responded, “Quirk?”

 Mel opened her mouth to say something, likely to refute her assumption with what she already knew my quirks to be but stopped short. Judging by the numerous attempts Mrs. Bekker had attempted to probe me for information about any outside assistance I’d received, it seemed like Mel helping vigilantes like Kayden and I was pretty heavily frowned upon. She continued to stare at me, encouraging me to share the information myself.

“My quirks are--”

"Quirks? As in more than one?" Mrs. Bekker's pen scratched along her pad in earnest.

“Yeah, I have two. My metabolism is very energetic and it’s hard for me to process everything that happens when I’m moving at fast speeds, so I need goggles that shutter out the non-important stuff and let me focus on one or two things at a time.”

“Goggles? Where’d you get goggles?” Mrs. Bekker asked. I looked down nervously and fought the urge to look to Mel for guidance.

“Long uh… long story,” I muttered. Mrs. Bekker gave me a hard squint.

“Right. Well, the dual quirks might be related to your being an inverse,” she mused. 

“Unlikely. While uncommon, having multiple quirks is not a phenomenon known to be isolated to inversed alters, at least according to published papers,” Mel corrected her with an annoyed roll of her eyes. “Though I’d be keen to conduct an assessment with our friend here for additional data collection. The field of inverse science is quite lacking, in my opinion.”

Mrs. Bekker brought her hand to her chin and thought for a moment. “Hm. At any rate, remind me to inform Nurse Prim of your status as an inverse. She serves as a sort of nurse/counselor hybrid at the school,” she remarked stoically.

Mel gave her an odd look. “Seriously? You had to merge the positions?”

Mrs. Bekker raised her hands defensively. “Don’t look at me, she had the degrees to back it up. She basically volunteered for the position last year. Regardless, we aren’t here to discuss staffing positions. Well, mine is probably being discussed in a room, not unlike this one somewhere else tonight. Gavin--” I dropped my eyes at the mention of my name. “Or… hm. Is there another name you go by? I don’t want to stereotype here, but generally, the other inverses I’ve encountered tend to have one.”

I closed my eyes. If I didn’t open them, it wasn’t like I was actually telling someone my greatest secret on the record. Mel of course already knew, but admitting it here with all the context of my being an alter made that a small concession.

I lowered my head as a surge of embarrassment rushed through me. “Gabrielle.” Mrs. Bekker’s eyes widened and a large grin quickly sprung to life on her face.

“What a pretty name! Did you come up with it yourself?” she said in an excited tone, one I felt was bordering on patronizing.

“U-uh, yeah. I did,” I replied. 

“It suits you, Gabrielle,” she emphasized my name in her reply, again in the same tone, something that was beginning to rub me the wrong way. Why was she talking to me like I was a little kid? She wasn’t being negative, which was nice, but this felt almost like she had mentally confirmed some sort of superiority over me.

“Thanks…” I replied quietly. Mel didn’t respond, instead, she continued to watch me carefully. What was she planning?

“Okay, Gabrielle, I think it’s time we discuss what the new normal is going to be; for you and for the rest of us moving forward,” Mrs. Bekker said, the smile dropping from her face as she peered down at some files in front of her.

“What do you mean, ‘new normal’?” I asked. They both shot me a tired look.

“You’ve broken several laws and ordinances in your practice of vigilante justice alongside your friend Shyft. We can place you downtown the night of a burglary at a surveillance camera store. We can also place you at a burglary a week and change ago at a laboratory near Yontoket, and we can place you at an armed standoff in front of the 9th Street Capital Bank as well. That’s already quite a record, you can’t have seriously thought nothing would come of such blatant disregard for pre-established rules, Ms. McArthur,” Mrs. Bekker sternly replied.

I struggled for words, torn between the shock of my exploits being so thoroughly laid out and the simultaneous elation of receiving the title of “Ms.”. Damn her. “H-how did you--”

“Gabby, there are cameras all over the city. You, or should I say, ‘Ricochet’ has been spotted on camera at or around these locations during the events in question. I don’t know if you thought you were being sneaky, but it wasn’t hard to track you,” Mel retorted in a dry voice. Her shift in attitude caught me off guard. Until now, I assumed Mel was trying to run interference, but it seemed like she was playing both sides for her own benefit. I frowned.

“Look, I was just trying to help people and use my powers,” I admitted.

“Why not use them at school, in the one place you’re allowed to use them freely?” Bekker asked.

“Without, might I add, the risk of bringing Officer Redfern and his merry band of cuff-jockeys to my door on a Tuesday evening? I was in the middle of running some very important calculations on--” Mel cut off for a moment, allowing silence to replace her voice while she stared straight through me. Mrs. Bekker chuckled and continued in Mel’s place.

“We’ll keep going, she’s probably working with Starburst and Verdant in the field.” Her expression softened considerably. “Do you have any explanation at all for all of this?”

I gripped the metal arms of the chair tightly. The cold surface felt less sturdy under the additional muscle density my palms were supplied with in this form. “I… I didn’t want everyone else to think I was a freak,” I admitted. Mrs. Bekker’s face dropped as she considered my words.

“I’m… sorry, Gabby,” Mrs. Bekker apologized. “From what I hear, being an inverse in our community isn’t the easiest road to travel. I’m sorry for not taking that struggle into account. Regardless of everything else, I think you’re a very brave young woman to have shouldered this as long as you have.” I struggled to keep my expression calm while she continued. Everything she was saying didn’t sound bad, on the contrary, it all sounded more or less flattering to hear. But still, something about the way she was saying it was bothering me. Almost like a nurse speaking to a little kid with cancer, doing her best to give encouraging responses to everything I said no matter how trivial.

Mel’s rigid form suddenly whirred to life, scaring us both as she immediately began to talk again.

“Quite. It’s nice to meet you, Gabrielle,” she nervously added. 

“You too, Mel,” I gave her a slight smile. Mrs. Bekker’s lips curled up. She slowly turned towards Mel and looked at her warily.

“You know, I don’t think Gabrielle heard your name tonight, Melinda. Is it possible you two have met before?”

“No!” Mel and I both exclaimed, physically jerking as we did. I cringed inwardly. We had just made ourselves look more suspicious.

“No, I do not know this young woman in any sense,” Mel continued.

Mrs. Bekker rolled her eyes. “Goddammit, Mel! Again? Are you the one who gave her that fancy gear?”

“Absolutely not!” Mel shook her head urgently. “What do you take me for, some sort of vigilante arms dealer?”

“Yes, actually,” Mrs. Bekker held her contemptuous stare. Mel looked at me pleadingly.

“She introduced herself at the assembly we had a few weeks ago. I just remembered her from that. Not often you see someone with such ghostly white hair and blindingly pale skin,” I replied with a smug grin. Mel’s eye twitched in reply, but she begrudgingly agreed.

“Yes, that’s where Gabrielle must have gotten my name from.” 

Mrs. Bekker didn’t look convinced, but she sighed heavily. “Whatever. I don’t think I’m going to have any kind of jurisdiction after tonight, anyways.” 

She faced me again. “Gabrielle, because of everything that’s happened, you’re going to be seeing some changes in your day-to-day life.”

“Like what?”

A screen sprang to life in front of Mel’s palm. She made a few gestures at it, causing the text to move. “Well, for one, Hexecute now likely knows who you are and will be targeting you like he did Markus. We don’t know why he’s after your powers specifically, but we’ll have some alters stationed outside your home 24/7 to ensure that Hexecute doesn’t go after you or your family until he’s caught.”

“24/7? Won’t that be, like, extremely conspicuous?” I questioned.

“You’d think, but it’s not like Verdant and Starburst are going to be outside your bedroom window. There are alters who maintain a lower profile for gigs like this,” Mrs. Bekker replied.

“Alters who maintain-- wait, that’s a thing?” The news only really focused on the big flashy city protecting heroes, this is the first I’d heard of low-profile alters doing hero work on the side. “How many of us are actually in this line of work?” I asked.

Mrs. Bekker and Mel shared a long look. “That’s… a tough question. We call them No-Capes. Suffice to say, there’s a lot of options for you when you graduate the academy,” Mrs. Bekker admitted.

“But--” I protested.

“Enough, Gabrielle. We still have more to get through, I promise all your questions will be answered eventually,” she continued, “In addition to the guard that’ll be posted outside your home, you will not be permitted to be alone outside school grounds until Hexecute is apprehended.”

“Seriously? What am I, a five year old in danger of being kidnapped?” I spat.

“Would you rather have your powers forcibly removed like they were for Markus?” Mel leaned in. I shrank down in my chair and pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders. I finally liked who I was...the thought of anyone taking that away was absolutely terrifying.

“Mr. Curtis wouldn’t have wanted that to happen to anyone else.” Mrs. Bekker quietly said. My jaw tensed at the mention of the man who’s apartment I’d last seen engulfed in flames looking akin to a war-zone.

“What…” I whispered in a small voice, ”What happened to Mr. Curtis?” Mel and Mrs. Bekker exchanged a pained glance.

“He’s… he’s dead, Gabby. Hexecute killed him.” Mrs. Bekker replied. All of my senses went numb as she spoke. He’d died? I… I didn’t know how to deal with that. I mean, sure, my grandparents had passed away a few years ago, but that was from old age or a health condition. I didn’t have a frame of reference for ‘murder’ available for me to use to comprehend this. Because of that, numbness came easily. Mrs. Bekker and Mel continued to talk for a while, but I’d stopped listening until Mel stood up and began to make her way to the door.

“What do you mean, she’s pushing through? We’re not done yet…” she hissed as she opened the door and made her way down the hallway, metallic heels clicking along the way. Mrs. Bekker sighed and leaned back, the metal chair squeaking softly while she massaged the bridge of her nose.

“I guess that about covers everything, then,” she said, her voice beginning to edge into a barely noticeable rasp. She looked exhausted, ready to retire to sleep but likely wouldn’t be able to for several hours yet. From what she’d mentioned earlier, people in powerful positions were upset enough with what I’d done and what the school had allowed to happen that it didn’t seem like this was going to be swept under the rug. How much longer of a night did she have ahead of her explaining what I’d been mindlessly doing for weeks? 

“I’m… sorry,” I said quietly. She looked down at me and smiled.

“‘S quite alright. Kids are supposed to make dumb decisions. Being young grants you the room to make those choices. It’s when you get to my age that dumb decisions start to really bite you in the ass.” A knock on the open doorframe echoed through the room. Mel leaned against the frame looking particularly sour.

“Mrs. McArthur is here,” she said, her annoyed tone biting into the air. I slid down further in my chair. Might as well get this over with. She would probably freak out about my being an inverse--I couldn’t blame her for doing so--before she would start to scream at me about how reckless I was and how I could’ve gotten hurt. But I’d heard that second speech before. I knew how Dad felt about trans people, but Mom had kept her opinions close to the vest. My fingers were restless, rapidly tapping against the chair as I anxiously awaited her reaction. 

“I think we’re finished with the debriefing, it should be fine for them to leave,” Mrs. Bekker nodded. Mel stepped to the side and revealed Mom, dressed in her usual faded mom-jeans, brown bomber jacket, and sneakers with her hair tied into a messy bun. Her cheeks were red and eyes redder as she ran into the room. “Mrs. McArthur, I’m sure you’re wondering where your son is--” Mrs. Bekker began. Mom only glanced at her for a moment mid-stride before continuing forwards and throwing her arms around me in a vice-like grip. She pulled me close, resting my chin on her shoulder. She didn’t say anything for a moment-- none of us did. Warmth was radiating off the skin of her neck, and I could faintly hear her rapid-fire heartbeat. She smelled of her usual rose-lilac perfume, though it’d faded throughout the day.

“You’re safe…” she finally whispered. She pulled back and looked me in the eyes, her own eyes roaming over my face. She remained deep in thought as if she was trying to find the right words and deemed none sufficient to convey her thoughts. A faint smile began to bloom across her lips as she seemed to settle on one. “You’re beautiful.” She ran a hand through my electric-orange hair and pulled me back in for another hug. Words refused to materialize in my throat, instead remaining silent. A lone tear quickly worked its way free from my eye and traveled down my cheek. 

I heard a scoff from Mel before she made her way down the hallway. “Family. Gross.”

Mom released her grip on me and took a step back, her own eyes swelling with tears, and inhaled deeply; a move I’d seen before precipitating a particularly loud lecture.

Out of instinct, I winced preemptively.

“As long as you’re alright, sweetie, that’s all that matters to me,” she replied in a soft voice.

Huh? Was that it? Surely she knew how many times I’d snuck out if she knew I was the speedster girl from the news. 

“We’ll talk about it more in the car. We’ve probably overstayed our welcome here, anyhow.” She held her hand to me, imploring me to take her hand. I rose from my seat gingerly, the muscles in my back and butt were immediately thankful to once again stretch out. As we began to leave, Mrs. Bekker attempted to head us off.

“Mrs. McArthur, if I may,” she made her way around to the tabled to us and tried to interject. “Your… child is an inverse as it appears you have already surmised. Generally, that means that--”

“I know what it means, Miss…?” Mom turned to her with a suspicious glance.

“Oh, apologies. I’m Olyvia Bekker, principal of Alter Academy.” A shrill laugh erupted from Mom as she shook her head.

“I thought sending Gavin to your school would keep him safe. But now I found out he’s been out fighting crime and you, the professionals, didn’t even know he had powers?”

“Students don’t usually have any reason to keep their alter forms a secret, they’re often ecstatic to join their classmates in gym activities,” Mrs. Bekker replied defensively. “We don’t make it a habit to invade their privacy and manually scan them unless in severe situations like this. Earlier today we performed just such a scan.”

Mom crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Okay, so you scanned Gavin and found out he had powers?”

“Unfortunately no, your child was not scanned. Inversed alters are quite uncommon and we were operating under the false assumption that the speedster we were looking for was a cisgender young woman.”

“Inverses aren’t that uncommon. You guys should have been watching out for this. And now nobody is telling me exactly what happened today either, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that some sort of school-sponsored excursion with my son back-fired spectacularly.” Mrs. Bekker winced. “And now another child has lost their powers? Obviously, you lot are incredibly incompetent. So what could you possibly have to say to me about my child that I couldn’t just figure out myself?” Mom spat.

Mrs. Bekker looked at me. “Merely that inversed alters generally pick out names that suit them better than their birth names. You’ve been calling your child ‘he’ and ‘Gavin’ several times since you arrived, Mrs. McArthur.” Mom’s posture became rigid for a moment as she remembered I was still here. She turned to look at me sympathetically and softened her expression.

“Do… you have another name, sweetie?” Her voice was unsure, as if she was testing bathwater. I looked at the ground, my ears turning red with embarrassment. This isn’t how I wanted this to go at all.

“G-Gabrielle.” Recognition sparked in Mom’s eyes.

“Oh! Like the receipt you dropped when I first saw you!”

“You knew that was me?” I said, dumbfounded.

“Gav- Gabrielle, give your mom some credit. Your alter form looks a lot like I did when I was your age. ” She tapped her finger on her temple. “It may have taken some time, but it’s hard to fool someone with an eidetic memory, honey.” She turned to Mrs. Bekker as we walked through the threshold of the doorway. “If you would, can you please lead us out?” 

Mrs. Bekker looked surprised. “Sure. I can definitely do that.” Mrs. Bekker joined us in the hallway and led us through the winding halls as we passed doorway after doorway of steel doors sealed shut before finally passing a few left ajar, revealing kitchens and libraries and training rooms. So this is what being city-funded did for you? Maybe I should try to go legit instead of slipping in and out of my bedroom window like an amateur burglar.

After what felt like hours of walking through winding metallic hallways and riding in an oddly tall and fancy elevator, we finally emerged on the main floor of the tower, an entrance hall with sprawling granite flooring and ornate, rock-like walls that connected with a vaulted ceiling high above us. Furniture dotted the room consisting of small couches and chairs designed to be sat on while waiting for an appointment. Cameras and security systems dotted the foyer, each scanning for any hint of trouble. A familiar black and white shape bounded towards me quickly tackling me off my feet and raising me into the air with ease.

“Zippy!” Kayden chirped happily. “I was so worried about you!” They were wearing the same appearance they had when I’d last seen them, though their hair looked noticeably more frizzy. Their mask was also off, revealing those wonderful glowing amber eyes I loved so much.

“K-Kayden!” I gasped happily as they waved me around in the air. “You’re okay!”

They set me back on the ground and pounded their fist against their chest. “‘Course I’m okay, the Crescent City Clunkers might try to hold me down but they can’t hold me forever. What about you? I’ve been waiting in this damn tower all day to talk to you! Did Hexecute hurt you? I heard he attacked a school group and I connected the dots from there.”

I shook my head and smiled. “Heck no, I’m not as strong as you but I’m still a tough little bee.”

“That’s what I like to hear, Gabs.” They their cheerful attitude began to wane as they continued. “Did he get Markus?”

My throat grew tight. “Y-yeah.” For the second time tonight a pair of arms enveloped me tightly. Kayden drew my head in close to their chest and stroked my hair.

“I won’t let him get you, Gabby. I promise,” they whispered.

“I know,” I sighed. My eyelids grew heavy, I leaned in closer. I pushed out every little issue and problem that had been plaguing my thoughts and instead focused on the feeling of security Kayden radiated.

A cough echoed off the rock walls and brought Kayden and me back to our senses.

“Who’s this?” Mom approached looking apprehensive.

“Shy-” Kayden began.

“This is Kayden,” I answered. Kayden groaned.

“Gabby,” Kayden laughed, “I’m in costume. You can’t keep giving out my name like that.”

“Oh! Right” I replied sheepishly. “This is my mom, by the way.”

“Your--” Kayden looked confused before they quickly snapped to attention, a cute pink warmth radiating across their cheeks. They held out their hand awkwardly and blurted out, “N-nice to meet you, ma’am!” Mom hesitantly accepted the handshake and looked to me expectantly.

“They’re a friend of mine. I uh…” I looked at the ground out of shame. “I was doing hero stuff with them…”

“Oh! You’re the one my so-- daughter has been going out with at night!” Mom smiled viciously. Judging by the way Kayden was now glancing worriedly at their hand, I surmised mom was gripping harder and harder with her own.

“Er, yeah that’s right. I apologize for everything, Mrs.--” Kayden bit their lip and looked at me with a nervous expression. “What’s your last name?”

“M-McArthur,” I said as I began to feel incredibly awkward.

“Mrs. McArthur! It’s all my fault. I came across your daughter in a completely non-threatening situation a few weeks ago and I’ve been trying to make sure she stayed safe, I didn’t intend for her to get involved in all of this.”

Mom narrowed her eyes. “Right. You know, I was your age once.”

“Yeah?” Kayden replied in a confused tone.

“So I know how to spot a lie I once told back then. Plus I’ve got three kids.” Kayden blanched.

“S-sorry, Mrs. McArthur! I promise this won’t happen again!” they shouted, sweat apparent on their brow.

She leaned in close to Kayden’s face. “See that it doesn’t, and stay away from Gavin from now on. Hear me?”

Kayden looked confused. “Gavin?”

Mom sighed. “Gabrielle. Stay away from Gabrielle.” 

Mom began to pull me towards the door of the building, but Mel rounded the corner into the entrance hall ahead of us looking completely absorbed in a tablet device in her hands. C0NWAY.6 was trailing closely behind her, absorbed in a holographic game of whack-a-mole. Mel's body softly whirred as she kept walking, though she stopped after a moment and looked surprised to see us.

“Are you still here? Go already. We have everything we need from you. No-capes are en route to your house already. Best to take the side exit. Protestors are out front. Better for anonymity.” She cautioned in a spitfire manner. She peered over at the windows to her side and made a fake gagging sound. 

“Oh, god. Greg Grimaldis is out there.” We exchanged confused glances as she tapped her ear and simultaneously a horrendous crackling sound could be heard outside. “Get the hell out of here, Greg,” her voice boomed through a megaphone somewhere out of sight. “I don’t care that you think you can improve my design for a harmonic actuator. Yes, the fact that only you are being called out among all the other trashy anti-alter protestors standing around you should be a wake-up call. Get a damn life.” She tapped her ear again and smiled happily before waving dismissively. 

“Don’t worry, heavily tinted glass. They can’t see us,” she reassured. “He keeps trying to deliver corrections on my designs. I think he has a crush on me.” Mel shrugged and began to walk back out of the entrance hall. “Too bad. Basement dwellers with a superiority complex aren’t my type.” Before she was out of sight, Mel stopped and turned with a thoughtful expression.

“Actually, Gabby, I have something for you.” Mel advanced back towards me and snapped her fingers. A hole opened up in the wall and shot a black ball out towards us. She deftly caught it, her cybernetics whirring as she turned it over. The outer shell of the ball quickly disintegrated in her hand, revealing a pair of glasses with black rims and white edging. She shoved them into my hands and turned back around.

“What are these?” I asked.

“Glasses. Stop squinting, makes you look like you’re middle-aged.” Mel quickly disappeared down another hallway and out of sight. I wasn’t squinting, what was she talking about? If anything it was all the damn fluorescent lighting in here. Mom looked at me curiously but didn’t say anything.

Mrs. Bekker groaned. “God, the people who I have to deal with on a regular basis. Apologies, Mrs. McArthur? Gabby? I think it’s time you both left. Kayden, I’ve got a couple more questions for you.”

Mom quickly agreed and turned to me. “Go ahead and change back for now, honey.” 

“W-wait, what?” I stammered, caught off guard by her request. She wanted me to change back?

“I said change back, Gav--Gabrielle. You’re not supposed to be in your alter form outside right now, especially with everything that’s happened.” Her expression turned stern as her thumb rubbed gently on my palm. A violent purple-tinted flashback flooded back to the forefront of my mind. Hexecute’s glove inching towards me. Those amethyst goggles glistening with the light of the power he was stealing from me. It was more than just my powers, though. He was stealing any chance I had of being me. The only thing standing between him and I were my strength, outmatched as it was, keeping him temporarily at bay. Involuntarily my jaw clenched as a shudder ran down to my toes. As long as I was in my alter form, I’d have a fighting chance against him if he came after me. I’d have a fighting chance against him and anyone else that wanted to take this away from me.

Mom continued, “It‘s only for now, but I’m serious. You do need to change back.” I gaped at her, dumbfounded how Mom could have so quickly gone from being my savior to crushing my dearest held dream. I couldn’t do it. I had to stand up for myself.

“N-no,” I muttered quietly in a surprise to even myself. Mom was surprised too, I’d never directly challenged her before. Not like this.

“Excuse me? Gavin, sweetie, what are you talking about?” Mom blinked several times.

“I…” I gulped hesitantly. “I don’t want to change back, Mom.” The air seemed to leave the room and my lungs struggled to take in any air. I really didn’t want to change back. What if I could never become me again? 

Mom lowered her voice, “Honey, I’m not going to forbid you from transforming permanently. I just want you to change back for the moment until we can talk about this at home.”

“But why? Why can’t I stay like this?” I argued in a more spirited voice. I didn’t want to run from this anymore. I didn’t want to hide anymore.

“I’m sorry, Gabrielle,” Mrs. Bekker said, “But the law is clear on this. The use of alter-induced powers by minors is quite heavily restricted. There’s been too many accidents and destruction caused by us in the past, too many lives lost for thoughtless, petty reasoning. This is just one of the rules we must abide by if we are to co-exist.”

“But I’m not a threat to anybody, I just want to be comfortable! ” I retorted.

“It’s only for the time being, sweetie. Gav-, er, Gabrielle, just bear with me. We don’t really have any other options except to listen to the law. But we’ll figure something out. Okay?” An uncertain sound escaped my lips as I began to realize I wouldn’t convince her. I wanted to say no, I wanted to tell her that I was going to be Gabby now and forever. But looking into her pleading eyes… I stared at her for a moment, hoping she’d change her mind and let me stay like this, but found no change in her demeanor. Mrs. Bekker looked sympathetic, but only just. Only Kayden, left in our dust and watching us longingly, looked angry at the position I’d been placed in. And like they should be! I was pissed. Because the world thinks I’m a threat, I’m not allowed to be me? I sank deeper and deeper into a bottomless well of despair as my alter form fell away, replaced by hairier arms, a thicker torso, and a deeper voice. 

“There we go.” Mom shot me an uneasy smile. I looked back towards Kayden who slowly waved. I wasn’t going to be allowed to see Kayden, and I wasn’t going to be allowed to be myself.

Why wasn’t I allowed to be happy?

 

* * *

 

As soon as the car door shut, the yelling started. I wasn’t too surprised, since seeing her eyes earlier in the tower I’d kind of expected a lecture storm to be blowing in soon.

“What were you thinking?! You’re the speedster girl the news has been going on about? Have you been sneaking out at night? Why wouldn’t you tell me about any of this?!” she screamed in a frustrated tone. Her voice reverberated off the car interior surrounding us and hit my ears from every direction. She frustratedly turned the car on and threw it into drive before pulling out of a garage designated for Crescent City Tower parking. Her knuckles began to grow white from her tight grip on the steering wheel and her frown grew deeper by the second.

“I--” I began, but Mom continued over me.

“I’ve been fretting about you and your being an inverse constantly for the past two weeks! I assumed your reclusiveness was because you were embarrassed and were still figuring things out, but now I find it’s because you wanted to be a damn vigilante? Gavin Thomas McArthur, I raised you better than that!”

“I’m sorry!” I pleaded. “I was just looking for a way to be me away from everyone else, and I saw people doing bad things and… I don’t know, I just helped. I didn’t really think about it, it just seemed like the right thing to do.” Mom looked down at me, her eyes crinkled as she exhaled sharply.

“You lied to me. Multiple times, Gav--Gabby. I kept my distance because I thought you respected me as much as I you.” I didn’t try to reply. It was better to let her go at this point then try to interrupt her. “But it’s clear that you don’t trust me at all. And if that’s the case, then I can’t trust you. You’re definitely grounded, and I’ll certainly be picking you up from and dropping you off at the school.”

“Fine,” I said.

“And your computer? I’m taking the power cable for it.”

“Cool.”

“And I’m locking whatever crap you’ve been using while out and superheroing in a trunk in the attic. Can I at least trust you won’t try to steal them out of there?” Mom’s voice sounded hurt as she asked that question.

“I’m not a thief, Mom! I was helping people!” I shouted.

“Oh, yeah? Who was going to help us if you got shot and killed in a warehouse or on a rooftop? If you died laying in some gutter, or heaven forbid if I got a call from the hospital and found you dying in that hippie’s arms?”

“Their name is Kayden,” I grumbled.

“Fine! Kayden’s arms! Gavin, you need to listen to what I’m saying! What you were doing was stupid and dangerous! Can’t you at least agree to that?” Feeling a flame burning in my gut at yet another mention of my old name, I disregarded her and turned towards the passenger window. “Well?” she asked again, but I said nothing. “Fine, grumble and give me the silent treatment. That’s fine with me, honey. I just want you to stay safe.”

The rest of the car ride was long and quiet. Mom fiddled with the radio to try and fill the silence, but for some reason, the radio stations in the car weren’t coming in correctly. It was past 9 pm, though the skies had long since fallen dark as it was want to do during the flow of summer into autumn. I was sunken into my seat, arms folded and looking out the window trying to dissociate as much as possible. Mom tried to start a conversation, changing the subject, but I ignored her. If they weren’t going to listen to me, why should I listen to them? I caught a pained expression from mom in the reflection of the window as I continued to ignore her. She solemnly turned back towards the road, her shoulders slumped down.

When we got home I wasted no time exiting the car and running upstairs. Mom tried to chase after me for a moment but stopped at the bottom of the stairs wearing a weary frown. I slammed the bathroom door closed and leaned up against it, feeling it’s thin particle-made material flex against me. The mirror, it’s view inescapable if your eyes were open in the room, showed me as I feared. A tired-looking boy with shaggy hair and in need of a shave. This is the form they wanted to lock me in until I was “old enough”. Who were they to decide what I could be? 

Defiantly, I stepped forward and pulled at the warm glow in my chest. In no time, I was me again. Shorter, prettier, and instantly happier. I sighed contentedly. This was who I was supposed to be. And no matter what, I’d never let them take it away.

I freed the glasses Mel had given me from my pocket and examined them closely. They looked like normal glasses, but the glass had an odd tint to them that lent them a multi-colored sheen in the right light. I raised my hand to move a stray hair from my face when a bolt of static connected from my hand to my forehead. I recoiled and let out a small yelp, more shocked than anything. I looked at my hand. Nothing but a regular, feminine hand. I brushed the hair from my face and frowned.

“That was weird…” I mumbled aloud. I continued my examination of the glasses, holding them up to one of the mirror lightbulbs to see how many colors were visible on the lenses. I turned them ever so slightly while they were shining faint blue, causing it to darken and redify. Purple shimmered off the glasses, something my hands reacted to by losing grip on them and becoming clammy as I stumbled back. 

All of my muscles began to contract and my lungs refused to take in any air. The glasses had clanged onto the counter, out of sight as I slid down the opposite wall onto the floor, but the dark purple color they briefly exhibited stuck to my mind like glue. More visions of Hexecute burst through like a raging river. Tears were pouring down my face as I re-lived each agonizing second his glove had been tearing into me. I hadn’t let myself admit it until now but… I was afraid of him. He could hurt me in a way nobody else could. In between quiet, mewling sobs, I desperately reached for the door handle before another bolt of static jolted my arms forward. It felt like the shock had come from just underneath my rib and extended into my shoulder, causing both to dully ache. I took a few breaths and waited for another bolt, but none came. The ticking of a clock in the hallway helped me count the seconds as my body slowly recovered. Was that a panic attack? Did I just have a panic attack? Aunt Maggie was known to have those, but they never made her powers act like this. Was that a normal alter thing? No, no I would have heard about it by now. The only other alter I’d ever seen exhibiting any kind of behavior like this was… My eyes widened.

Markus.