I woke to the familiar scent of Alyx’s cologne, and opened my eyes to catch them sitting on a chair they must have pulled in from somewhere. They looked hardly any different, though most of their fighting outfit was replaced by a cute knee-length dress dotted with jack-o-lanterns. They still had on their baseball cap, and in addition to that they wore a pair of glasses with matching green frames. 

“Morning, sleepyhead! You’ve been in and out there for a bit, everything okay?” They seemed a little too enthusiastic for my tastes, especially as the first person to wake up to, but they were miles better than Adrien. 

I gave them a small smile and slowly nodded my head as I worked the grogginess out of my system. “Yeah, I’m good.” My nightmares were so commonplace that they were barely worth thinking about once I was awake. I didn’t even remember having one, but if I was tossing and turning enough to be noteworthy then that must have been what happened. 

“Fantastic! Good, good. Well then, time to get ready. You got to sleep in for about thirty-six hours, but it’s time to get up. We’ve got breakfast in forty. Your shower doesn’t have hot water if you’re a fan of that, but it does have a ton of hair and body care options. I know, doesn’t make up for it, but it’s something!” Oh, goodness, I was not ready for this level of enthusiasm before I’d even gotten a drink of coffee. Even Dr. Watson’s near interrogation was better than this. 

I nodded along as I slowly made my way out of the wonderfully comfortable bed, and noticed that at some point my filthy clothes had been replaced. Instead of a uniform covered in purple blood, I was wearing some cute owl-themed pajamas. Everything seemed to fit perfectly, which weirded me out until I realized that Nat must have created these. Did she have a thing for owls?

“Oh, those look so cute! But where did you get them? We left you in your old clothes once we realized you were safe. I even brought some of the other new girl’s clothes since Dr. Watson said you would need some.” Oh fuck. Didn’t think this through. Wait, why would I have? How could I have known my clothes would change in my sleep? That didn’t happen to normal people. 

Whatever, I just needed to lie. Somehow. “Oh! Uh. Aria and I are, you know, kind of close. So she was, uh, around. Gave me a change of clothes.” Okay, good. Short term lie. All I had to do was not lie about this again, explain everything to Aria, and hope Alyx wasn’t friends with Adrien.

“Oh. Oh!” They seemed to come to some sort of realization and nodded to themselves. “Gotcha. Didn’t know you two had that much energy with how beat you both seemed. I don’t know why you’re pretending not to know each other, but I won’t tell anyone.” They winked and set down the clothes they brought with them on a dresser before heading out. 

As soon as they were gone I felt my eyes widen as I realized what a stupid set of mistakes I’d made in my rush to lie. I had to pray that they and Adrien both kept quiet like they each promised, or else the house of cards my lie became would immediately collapse. 

I was definitely overthinking things, but that was probably a smart move considering the circumstances. Better to be too cautious for no reason than not cautious enough and lose everything. After all, history was quite clear with regards to what would happen if I wasn’t careful.

No matter what, though, I needed to clean myself. I didn’t feel particularly filthy, but a shower felt like a necessity. I took several deep breaths to prepare myself before moving towards the bathroom. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing a mirror again, the novelty of seeing my new face had almost certainly worn off. 

When I entered the bathroom and saw the girl staring back at me in the mirror I didn’t know what to think. She, no, I, was beautiful. The car mirror I’d last examined myself in didn’t do my new face justice. My wavy hair was the same dirty blonde color it always was, and my eyes were just as brown as they always were, but in the mirror in front of me everything just felt so much more vibrant. My nose might’ve been a little too big, and I felt like my eyes were too far apart, but those flaws were insignificant in the face of everything else I saw.

I was a girl. In a girl’s body, with a girl’s face, and I was unbelievably happy about that. The novelty hadn’t worn off at all, I was just as excited to look at myself as I had been the first time. It was no wonder I didn’t want to go back to my old body, with this as the competition. 

I didn’t exactly rush to get through my shower like I normally did. I took advantage of the massive stockpile of shampoos, conditioners, and body wash to find what looked and smelled most appealing. I was tempted to shave my legs, too, but that seemed way too risky and time consuming. It wasn’t like my light leg hairs were all that visible, thankfully.

After what must’ve been close to an hour I stepped out of the shower. Surprisingly I didn’t get a rush of chills like I normally did. Everything just felt warm. Even the temperature of the water had been perfect. Was the building enchanted or something? That explanation made the most sense, at least.

I figured Aria’s clothes would’ve been a little big on my new form, but everything, even the bra, fit perfectly. I squinted my eyes in suspicion, but I didn’t bother Nat with my concerns. I wasn’t about to complain about eternally perfectly fitting clothes. I just needed to make sure I never accidentally changed their form in front of others.

The clothes Aria had picked out for me were dreadfully boring. I was stuck with plain white socks, plain black tennis shoes, jeans, and a plain grey t-shirt. It was far from her unique butch style thanks to the lack of accessories, jacket, and haircut, but wasn’t nearly close enough to the more feminine things I was starting to appreciate. I almost wanted to see if I could get a more feminine leaning wardrobe during my stay, at least until I decided to turn back.

I didn’t waste too much more time getting ready or thinking about the future. As soon as my hair was somewhat tamed (hair ties were surprisingly self-explanatory) and my teeth were brushed, I left my room behind. Luckily my room was at the end of a hall, and I had a direct path to the sounds of silverware clattering on plates. 

I froze as soon as I reached the entryway into the dining room. I had hoped I was in for a small, quiet breakfast with just Adrien, myself, Alyx, and Aria. At least then I could’ve prepared myself, what with only one celebrity hogging my emotional energy.

Instead, seven sets of eyes turned to me, and I was wholly unprepared to deal with the people sitting in the massive dining room. 

Sitting closest to my entryway was Aria, the only person I was truly familiar with, sitting beside Andrew the Lightningbolt. Andrew looked exactly like his poster showed, though his short hair was a bit lighter and he didn’t have his poster outfit on. He looked like a dog barely held by his leash as he saw me. What had him so excited?

Further back were Adrien, Alyx, and the Black Knight herself, Aurora Viers. I had hoped she would look less imposing without her massive broadsword or black plate armor. My hopes were dashed as a single glare from her had me shaking where I stood. Thankfully Alyx and Adrien didn’t seem altogether too bothered by me, as they were excitedly waving my way. 

I raised a hand to awkwardly wave back, but I stopped as I caught the last two people staring at me. I had to hold myself back from doing anything too embarrassing as I met the gaze of the Alys ‘Skreamer’ Clearwood. The magical girl of legend, a hero musician with a full time job saving lives and a side gig playing her famous guitar and being one of the best singers alive. Out of everyone in the room, she looked most like her many, many posters. Her shimmering rainbow hair was just as beautiful as it was on camera, and her blue-green eyes looked no less vibrant without the professional photoshop job. I could’ve gotten lost in those eyes, with or without her perfect voice.

Yes, I had a minor crush. Emphasis on minor. I knew nothing would come of it, she was nearly twenty-one and I was only sixteen, but I could dream.

Beside her and notably less of a presence was Anna, the Vortex. She was small, and seemed content to hide in a hoodie. Her gaze was notably less confident than Aurora’s or Alys’s. I thought she played up the shyness for the camera interviews, but was she genuinely that bad with new people? 

Everyone stared at me in near silence for another moment, until the awkwardness and attention got to be way too much and I took the closest seat possible. Andrew and Aria didn’t seem to have it out for me, so they instantly became the closest things I had to a comfort zone. 

I was thrown off when Aria gave me a confused look, before realizing that she didn’t know me. I awkwardly gave her a half wave as I introduced myself. “Hi. I’m, uh, Natasha. You’re Aria, right? Thank you for the clothes.” 

As soon as I spoke my friend looked me over with suspicion obvious in her eyes. Did I say something wrong? “Yes, I’m Aria. They look good on you; did they fit that well?” 

Was she really that suspicious over clothes being the right fit? Sure, we weren’t exactly the same size but we were close enough to be reasonable. “Oh, yeah, they, uh, they did. Just got lucky there, I guess.” 

“Lucky, huh? Sounds like it.” I was thrown off by Aria’s almost emotionless tone, she sounded like she did when she spoke to her mom. It was incredibly offputting; she never spoke like that to me. Was she alright? Or did it have to do with the fact that I was new to her? 

Aria’s lack of warmth or enthusiasm killed any energy for conversation I had. I silently picked out dishes within arm’s reach to add to my plate, and paid no mind to either of my table partners. It sounded like Andrew attempted to introduce himself, but I didn’t bother with an answer. The silence that followed must have been a sign that he got the hint, thankfully. 

I didn’t expect to be allowed to quietly sulk for long, but it felt like I didn’t get near enough time to do it before someone far more terrifying approached. I stood up straighter and finished swallowing my apple slice as Alys stood with her arms crossed beside me. Her biography said she was six feet tall, and that only contributed further to how intimidating she was. 

I refused to let myself look into her eyes, I wasn’t about to let myself lose focus by staring into them, but it didn’t make me any less of a nervous mess. “Uh… Can I, um, help you?” I felt like I sounded way too meek, but I couldn’t help it. Hopefully she understood.

“Newbie. Welcome to the team. From what my sibling told me you already know all of us. That’s useful. We’re all heading to the training room in three minutes. You’ll be expected to follow us and show off your powers there. That clear?” 

I didn’t have any chance to appreciate the beautiful singsong quality of her voice. She gave off the impression that she was in control, that she knew who was in charge and it wasn’t me. I quickly and silently nodded my head as I dug back into my food. I had to rush since I had half a plate left and three minutes to finish it all.

“Good. And Aria, Arthur is alright. I got word from Doctor Watson an hour ago. His father had a major car accident of some kind, so it’s unlikely that you’ll see him when you get back to school. Apparently he refuses to leave the hospital waiting room.” 

What?