The lab wasn't much like a hospital, but it was where the supers were sent whenever they were injured in combat. At the moment, Aether was the only occupant.

She didn't mind the scientists, constantly streaming in and out to check her vitals and ask how she was feeling, a little awkwardly like they weren't used to having human subjects. It was the nurse she couldn't stand - a scruffy, pale med school student who wanted as little to do as possible with the human subject. Aether couldn't imagine why he'd been hired as a personal assistant in the lab, considering he nearly had an aneurysm the first time she'd asked him a question.

She got almost no information out of him about Flickr, her phone, or anything related to Lucid, so it was a relief when Charlie finally stepped into the lab, along with a tall, dark-skinned guy Aether vaguely recognized from the IT department.

Aether sat up as they approached, swinging her legs over the side of the low cot. She was wearing leggings and a big hoodie, curling her bare toes so they wouldn't touch the cold floor of the lab.

"You're up," observed Charlie, sitting casually on the empty bed opposite her.

She saluted playfully. "Ready for action, sir."

"I think we'll decide that." He glanced over at the nurse, who was sitting as far away from the three of them as he could get in the room, then turned back to the conversation. "Oh, and this is Luis - he's here to brief you on the new communication devices we're putting in your suits."

"Since you fried your phone, we had to come up with something better," said Luis, flashing her a smile.

Aether blushed. "Oh - sorry about that. I didn't know..."

"Don't worry about it. Gives us an excuse to work on upgrades," he assured her. "We'll get you a new phone, too, but this will work for now. I'm from IT, by the way."

"I know," she said too quickly, then her eyes widened. "I mean... I've seen you around."

Luis grinned. "Same here. At least, I've seen your... other face. With the red hair."

Awkwardly, he rotated a finger near his ear to indicate the red curls Aether usually sported. She laughed and touched her own hair, back to the inconspicuous brown she preferred when not on duty. She couldn't help noticing Luis' own hair, wild nearly-black curls that fit exactly with the slight Spanish accent that shaped his words.

Charlie cleared his throat. "So, if you wouldn't mind showing Aether how the upgrade works, I need to make a call." He waggled his phone, standing up.

Aether's head snapped up. "Thanks, Charlie."

"Right." Luis reached into the pocket of his jeans, nodding as the agent walked away. "Um, right. So I know it doesn't look like much, but this is a pretty powerful little thing."

He passed what looked like a tiny white button to Aether. She took it, turning the device over.

"And this goes where?" she asked.

"Just behind your ear. There's adhesive on the back."

Aether frowned. "Not in my ear?"

"No - here." Luis leaned forward to take the device, kneeling beside her cot. He brushed her hair back to find the right spot.

Aether sat very still, trying not to breathe. Luis's fingers were gentle as he secured the device, then gave it a quick tap to make sure it was in place. He was talking almost before he sat back again.

"It works through vibrations," he started. "You don't need an earpiece or a mouthpiece because this baby can sense the vibrations when you speak - at the same time as transmitting vibrations, right through your skull, so you can hear what your agent is saying. We figured it was a better option than an earpiece, obviously, because of your whole... shapeshifting thing." He gestured to her face.

"You mean this shapeshifting thing?" Aether's expression didn't change, but suddenly her skin lightened, her hair was streaked with blonde, and she peeked at Luis with ice-blue eyes. He let out a surprised laugh, getting suddenly closer.

"Wow. I like the nose," he said, tracing the curve of it with a finger. He was still sitting next to her on the cot, smelling of cinnamon and something exotic. "Can you do real people? Like... I don't know, Charlie?"

She frowned in concentration. "Hold on, I've never tried. Usually I practice in front of a mirror."

"Here." Luis held up his phone, opening the reverse camera. She squinted at it for a second, then in one fluid transformation her skin and hair darkened, jaw became more masculine, and ears nearly popped out of her head. Luis's eyes widened as he leaned back awkwardly.

"It'd be better with his glasses," Aether said, and self-consciously morphed back to her usual redhead look.

Luis relaxed, laughing. "Charlie's a character. Where did he get the accent, do you know?"

"Oh, he's British." She pushed back her red hair, carefully touching the device behind her ear. "His family is from the Philippines, though, that's why he doesn't look it. But you should see his girlfriend - she's the blondest, friendliest posh Brit I've ever met."

"You've met her?"

"Oh yeah. Charlie's taking a week off, soon, to go on holiday with her." Aether leaned in. "I think he's going to propose."

Luis smiled automatically, but his gaze was suddenly far away. "Do you ever get days off? Take some time for yourself?"

The super looked surprised. "Not really. What for? I have all I need right here."

"Do you?" He caught her eyes with his brown ones, holding her in place.

"Um, yeah." Aether made a face at him, breaking eye contact. "Why do you ask?"

Luis stared at her for a moment longer, like something was on the tip of his tongue. And Charlie chose that exact moment to step back through the doors of the lab.

He stopped in front of the cot they were sitting on, pausing like he was measuring the space between Aether and Luis with his eyes. Aether bent to examine her fingers, letting a curl of hair sway in front of her face.

"How's it going?" Charlie asked.

Luis stood quickly. "Fine. I think we're good here, actually. Did you... need anything else?" He glanced down at the redhead again.

She shook her head, then suddenly glanced back up at Charlie. "How was today?" she asked. "With the press and all. Did you manage without me?"

"Oh, don't worry about it." Charlie nodded reassuringly. "Veritas actually took over some interviews this morning. He has a surprisingly good camera presence for a rookie. You should have seen him charming the socks off the Daily United girl..."

He met Aether's eyes and trailed off. "Of course, he's got nothing on your experience. At least six reporters asked specifically for you, you know. I have a couple exclusives lined up for this evening, if you can manage it."

The super stared at her hands.

"Aether, are you okay?" Charlie bent down, his voice concerned. "I understand yesterday was stressful, I meant to ask how you were holding up."

"Fine." Her voice was breezy. She wiggled her fingers. "Still a bit twitchy, though - my hands are shaking, see?"

"Ah, that'll wear off. What's the verdict, love?" The agent straightened, pulling out his phone.

"I think... no."

"Sorry?"

Aether stood up, looking him in the eye. "I'm taking the evening off. You can reschedule - or I'm sure Veritas wouldn't mind taking over again. That's fine, right?"

"Right!" Charlie's eyebrows shot up, the trace of a smile crossing his expression. "I suppose it's allowed - I mean, goodness, think of all the vacation time you've accumulated. You could probably take the rest of the year off if you wanted."

"Tonight is fine, thank you, Charlie." The redhead gave him a winning smile. "I'll bring you a latte first thing in the morning."

* * *

It took a ridiculous amount of time to check out of the lab, Aether thought. The nurse was grumpy about the fact that she was leaving early, though she was certain it was because of the paperwork and not his delight in her presence. She got her shoes back, and her super suit, but on a whim Aether decided to leave the suit in the building. It needed to be cleaned anyway, she told herself, and the in-building laundromat had several identical replacements for her to grab when necessary.

Aether hummed to herself as she swept past, decidedly not picking one up. She was taking tonight off.

In the spirit of adventure, she reverted her appearance to the button-nosed blonde she had showed off to Luis. Glancing at her reflection in the mirrored doors of the elevator, she tugged at a wavy strand of hair and contemplated the shorter, curvier look. She had just decided she liked it when the elevator doors slid open, and Jason Dare met her eyes.

"Not you again." The words slipped out before Aether remembered he would have no clue who she was with this face.

His polite smile died, and he stepped aside so she could get on. "Sorry, what?"

She huffed, getting in the elevator and turning to watch as the doors slid closed again. The other super was wearing a training suit, probably heading down to the lower levels to work out.

"I'm Aether," she said. "You're Veritas. Hi again."

"Should've known." Veritas grinned widely. "No one else hates me that much."

"I don't hate you. I just think you're irresponsible, rude-"

"Come on now, I have never been rude to you." He was facing her now, indignant.

She tilted her chin up to look him in the eye. "Interrupting is rude. Telling me you want my job is rude."

"I prefer the term ambitious."

"Oh, of course. It was terribly ambitious of you to think you could handle it."

Veritas raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I could do an okay job."

"An okay job is not good enough." Aether's voice was rising in volume. "Yeah, I think I could do an okay job being the president of the United Americas. That doesn't qualify me to start moving into her house."

Veritas stared at her for a moment, then sighed heavily through his nose.

"Fine," he said. "If we're going to be honest with each other, I don't think you're doing a very good job either."

His opinion wasn't exactly a surprise to Aether, but she still felt like she'd been smacked between the eyes. Her mouth opened to protest, but he wasn't done.

"Maybe no one else wants to say it because they're afraid of hurting your feelings." He pouted at her mockingly. "Honestly, what have you done so far about the whole Lucid thing? The number one super should be taking on the number one villain, right?"

"Vortex is the number one villain," she corrected him icily. "Lucid is just a recent development. A vigilante. There are other things for us to worry about."

"She killed someone."

Aether flinched. Veritas saw her expression and made a sympathetic face.

"I almost forgot," he said. "On your watch, too. Seriously, you need to step it up. I heard about the only actual fight you had with Lucid - apparently you spent most of the time unconscious. Congrats."

Aether rounded on him furiously. She could feel heat rising to her face, and suddenly wished she'd chosen a darker complexion. It wasn't like Veritas was lying to her - no, he was telling the truth. All of the truth, everything she'd been angry at herself about, everything she was trying to forget.

"What's your point?" she growled.

"I'm just saying, maybe you need to ask for help. It's a big job."

"So you think you can do better?"

"I don't know. Maybe." He turned back to face the elevator doors. "Are you going to pick a floor, or what?"

Aether looked at the panel of buttons. The elevator hadn't moved this entire time, waiting for someone to make a choice. This time, she had a great view of her face in the mirrored doors, turning slowly pink with the realization.

She stabbed at the first floor button, then leaned against the opposite wall as the elevator started descending.

"Why didn't you press a button?" she asked suddenly.

"Oh." He grinned. "I was going to the sixth floor."

"The sixth floor... which I got in the elevator on?"

"Yeah, that one."

Aether let out a sigh and stared at her reflection in the doors. There was a cheerful ding and they slid open, barely quick enough for her to squeeze out the moment the elevator stopped.

The foyer wasn't empty - there were a few journalists and office workers milling about, drinking cheap coffee and checking the time. The building was closed to the public at five p.m. every day, so whatever reporters were still waiting for an appointment would have to go home soon. Aether slipped invisibly through them. She was nearly at the main doors, blissfully undecided as to where she was going, when Luis stepped straight into her path.

"Hey," he said, slightly out of breath.

Aether smiled at once. "Hey yourself."

"Where are you going?" Luis asked, glancing out the glass doors. The sun was still streaming through the windows of the lobby, painting the walls and couches orange. Late afternoon, and it was nearly sunset already.

"Oh, I have no idea," Aether said breezily, sliding her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. "Suggestions?"

"One, actually." His infectious grin was back. "I'm getting off work right away. Do you want to wait for me?"

Aether couldn't help smiling back at the tall, good-looking young man. A curl fell into his eyes, and she felt a sudden itch to push it aside. She tucked her hands behind her back.

"I'd love to," she said.