ONE.
Seize The Day / July 4, 2010
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The common ideology when someone thinks of sunshine is that everything is warm, everyone is happy, and everything is safe. It becomes solidified in the mind from birth.

Children draw it in the corners of paper, overlooking box houses or sandy beaches, permanently upturned faces that can never pout, carved beneath it. Sometimes it even has a smiley face of its own, burning the eyes of every teacher or parent who is forced to meet its gaze, as if burnt from the real thing light-years away. They too begin to smile, transfixed.

Mi-rae can remember the last time she ever drew a corner sun with its infectious joy and coloured the paper blue and green with her wax crayons. Remembered the faces she drew on the stick figures - looking up at her as if she were their God - who didn't know any better of the darkness created in the absence of light.

She remembered how her overused crayons were crushed beneath a stranger's boot, and saw the paper tear as something drew nearer. The screams of her name deafened her; the only thing she could do was run. Everything else was a haze after that.

That corner sun remained forever tainted with the oversaturated hue of red that coated her vision, and her old living room floor.

Even stood beneath tall buildings and skyscrapers, that gas giant above seemed to threaten a surprise eclipse. It was something she learned, not to underestimate the power of the universe. Something her employer reminded her of every moment since the day he found her.

Bleeding on the sidewalk; practically roadkill.

So Mi-rae wasn't really in the patriarchal mood. Which meant the Fourth of July coincidentally being the nicest day in DC so far in the year, was greatly unappreciated. While families barbecued and partied in their gardens - grand or small - eating their body weight in hotdogs and homemade food-poisoning-inducing sliders, she was stuck on a stupid job on the busiest day ever.

Her dark hair was hot to the touch, and the sickly sweet iced tea was doing nothing to cool down her body temperature. Just leaving a buzzing sensation throughout her gums.

To her misery, there were no dark clouds or droplets of rain in sight. Making her yearn for the tranquillity of a storm, for an electric shock to bring her mind back to the land of the living. Not stuck in the sick despair of the past.

Kids were running around the parks with frisbees and kites - and whatever else kids find fun nowadays - without a care in the world. Banners and bunting strung up to every lamppost within a twelve-mile radius, all sporting the usual red, white and blue.

It was the same every year.

So, this time she decided to alter her plans slightly at the last minute. After all, it was pretty rare she ever got a chance to work outside of Metropolis; she soon found the Hall of Justice to be a good tourist attraction to stalk.

With her hood up and the decorative mask she wore across the lower half of her face, she expected to be turned away. Except, apparently security wasn't concerned about a sixteen-year-old girl dressed in all black on one of the hottest days on record. Even after a bunch of ice villains, all decided to be divide-and-conquer assholes only less than two hours before.

Apparently, it's true what they say; leave the heroics to the men in tights.

Their tour guide was overly cheery, and everyone had some sort of technological device in hand to snap pictures every five seconds. The glare of the flash reflected against the glass cases everything was locked behind.

Years ago, she would have been one of the kids with their clammy fingers and chubby faces smudged against the clear surfaces, all to see the treasures as close as possible. She'd long lost that innocence. Just like how she'd lost her faith in superheroes.

Still, it was an entertaining spectacle to watch.

Eventually, their group was led to a glass barrier overlooking what seemed to be a library. Members of the League and their "sidekicks" all gathered inside. She recognised Batman and Robin, Aquaman and Aqualad, Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl, then The Flash and Green Arrow had their sidekicks with them as well. There was no Superman, but that was fine; she wasn't there for him.

They meant nothing to her; didn't satisfy an agonising itch to see what the world considered heroes. It wasn't her childhood bedroom that had been littered with posters and action figures; that had been someone else's.

Everything was just a dramatic show to her. Keeping the people in the super suits behind a thick layer of plexiglass, like trophies the common people could not touch. The closest to Godhood anyone was ever going to get, worshipped like a messiah.

What fortified her negative views was the vision of Little Red Riding Hood storming out the way they all came in. Pulling a tantrum for whatever reason the glass blocked them from hearing, and running away to sulk probably. She didn't know, didn't care.

The clock to her left told her everything she needed. She was running late, and tardiness was not a good look for a spy of her self-imposed magnificence. Her place overlooking the library once vacated with her absence, quickly filled up with spectators. As if she were never there at all.

Steadily she trekked back through the halls, passing trinkets of long-dead alien tech, plaster models of villains long since vanquished, and poster after poster of each Justice League member, as she went. The sight of the lively gift shop from the corner of her eye and its vibrant walls made her stall, cringing at herself.

Whoever the League's marketing team was must make a small fortune on their profit margin on that stuff. Sadly, Mi-rae was helping their gains by waiting in an excruciating line just to purchase a Batman key chain.

Someone she knew once liked him the best, but it would just live in a cluttered drawer for the rest of its plastic life. Like everything else she'd bought them.

So with the tiny brown paper bag the lady gave her shoved in a zipper pocket, she started towards the exit. Mask still firmly over everything below her eyes, and hood protecting her hair from the inevitable heatwave awaiting her. She passed camera after camera, just like everyone else she walked with, but she couldn't help the smirk over her lips beneath the thin cotton fabric.

All because behind those security cameras were two men donned in their assigned uniforms, utterly dumbfounded at the state-of-the-art system that was just a sea of static currents from one to another. Rapidly returning to normal in a matter of a few seconds each time.

Within that time she'd left; melting beneath the July sun and vanishing between large crowds. Just as she was taught, she disappeared like a ghost. No one else even knew her name beyond the few who resided in the mansion her benefactor ensured she called home.

To the world, she wasn't even alive anymore.

          "Well, that went just about how I expected it to," Deianira spoke up as she leaned against one of the many alphabetised bookshelves in the HQ library.

Wonder Woman, her mentor, nodded. She was stood to Deianira's left, looking on at the others. Speedy's walkout wasn't exactly predicted but his obvious disappointment was.

The ceiling lights were reflecting off of the gold of the older woman's costume, with a matching golden diadem delicately put in place beneath raven black hair; neither concealing her graceful face.

She looked every part of the warrior princess she'd grown up respecting.

Deianira herself had the usual sharp outlines that defined most Amazonian women, with muscular arms that most boys found frightening. Waist-length hair, dark and glossy, with a thin brass circlet resting along her forehead, along with her nubian nose and dark brown eyes. However, her skin was darker and richer in colour than her mentor's.

A reminder of herself, her past, and her home; of the vibrant sun against her flesh, the grass and the rocky sand beneath her toes, and the glow of moonlight that guarded her at night. When near a mirror, the face of her mother was reflected - a beautiful, strong woman - someone she missed more than anything.

She missed home more than anything.

Except, when your island's princess seeks you out for a superhero apprenticeship, you can't say no. Even if it means months surrounded by suffocating motor vehicles and air polluted with just about every smell your nose can comprehend. Time spent under the sun on Themyscira was replaced with training under dark clouds and storms overhead.

All to get to today. To this point. For nothing.

The few League members present were mumbling about some secret stuff, while Diana could overhear them from where they were stood. Deianira and the other teenagers on the other hand were none the wiser. Currently, it was just providing evidence that the day was cursed.

Today was apparently not the day.

Just as Deianira was ready to ask her mentor what she was thinking, they were interrupted by an incoming transmission. The image of Superman appeared on a screen, debriefing Leaguers of an explosion at "Project Cadmus"; it sounded serious nonetheless. Except just as Diana readied herself for an evening of firefighting duty, Zatara replaced Superman on the computer.

"The Sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Attan to blot out the sun." The magician alerted, but Deianira only understood about half of the sentence; it must have been really important. "Requesting full League response."

All attention went back to the man in the red cape. He was the leader, the shining beacon of hope with that blue leotard and red tights. Practically the whole world was nothing without him and the other League members. Would be nothing but a lot of ash and disappointment most of all.

   "It's a small fire. Local authorities have it under control." Was the Kryptonian's response.

   "Then Cadmus can wait." Batman began alerting the others, "All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates. Batman out."

While he focused on the guys who had ultimately decided not to throw a temper tantrum and run away, Diana focused her attention on her protégé.

   "You'll stay here as well, with the others." She directed.

   "But..."

   "I know you're disappointed Deianira, but your patience is all that I ask of you right now. When I return we will talk."

   "You said that last time." She replied, head down, eyes on her feet like an abandoned puppy, "You always say that."

   "You're not ready Deianira, I'm sorry." Diana placed her hand over her student's shoulder, not able to ignore the sting in her chest when she felt it lose grip when she lightly pulled herself away. "One day, I promise."

With that, her mentor, her Princess, her future Queen, left her there, much like Aquaman left Aqualad, and the same for the two other boys being left behind. All to go stop the world from complete planetary darkness.

They watched them leave, all hope of the day lost. Their 'bring your sidekick to work day' was now over. With nothing to show for it but some crappy souvenirs, the four could buy at the gift shop.

Perhaps Speedy had been right, they weren't ready. Or at least, the League thought that.

The girl had waited months for this day, had it written in the ladybird planner Diana had given her the day they'd left home. All so she could be shut down.

The other four had already faced interruptions getting to the Hall; she and Diana had been lucky, the first to arrive. No icy cracks to intervene with the path. Until now.

   "When we're ready?" Kid Flash scoffed.

She liked Wally; sure she'd only met him a couple of times and each of those times he'd tried to hit on her, but he wasn't easily scared off when she threatened to pummel him. That gave him a few bonus points. Aqualad and Speedy were still a mystery to her, while Robin was often with Batman and she was often with Wonder Woman, meaning they were sometimes put in a situation together. It didn't mean they talked all the time, but they grew into a silent appreciation.

All five of them, well four now, knew the lifestyle they shared. Being a 'sidekick' was never an easy job. Especially when the whole world refuses to see you in a different light.

You only get that option when you reinvent yourself, let the old you die and be reborn as a new hero.

Deianira thoroughly believed she would be Wonder Girl until the day either she or Diana retired, or if she ever got replaced. She didn't even know who she would be without the uniform.

   "How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like, like sidekicks?" Kid finished, arms stretched out in frustration.

It was like they were all having an existential crisis, completely spiralling like hamsters told to run on a wheel while a finger holds it at a stop.

   "My mentor, my King, I thought he trusted me," Aqualad muttered more to himself than any of the others.

Deianira finally found a similarity between herself and the Atlantean, a want for validation. A want to be trusted.

   "I thought she trusted me as well." She mumbled, acknowledging their shared melancholy, letting him know he wasn't alone in that grief.

   "Trust?" Kid questioned, "They don't even trust us with the basics! They've got a secret HQ in space!"

It would be a lie if Deianira said she didn't know about the satellite, Diana had at least trusted her with that information. Like Green Arrow did with Speedy; albeit she didn't know as much information as the Red-garbed Robin Hood lookalike. Which stung even more.

Speedy had been the most trusted out of all the five, and he'd been the one to do the runner, not them.

   "What else aren't they telling us?"

   "I have a better question.," Robin sighed, finally adding his own spin on their problems, "why didn't we leave with Speedy?"

Now that left them all suspended in a reflective silence. Why hadn't they? Why hadn't Deianira stormed out and declared she was never returning?

Except, of course, she always knew that answer.

She simply wasn't ready to give up. Whether that meant she was stuck as a sidekick or recognised as a fully-fledged hero. There would be no quitting, no backing down or accepting defeat, no walking away. Otherwise, how could she ever face her Mother, her Sisters, her Princess, her Queen ever again?

She was a Child of the Amazon and that meant everything.

So much so that she let herself remain deaf to the other three's scheming, which would only lead to bad actions. Things that would get her in trouble. Soon closing her eyes, blocking her ear canals with her fingertips and focusing on the silence she longed for. All she could do to remain ignorant.

   "Aren't you even a little curious, D?" Robin queried, trying to light a spark inside her overly adventurous mind, one hand on the console and the other on his right hip.

   "No, I'm not listening," she continued, her voice raised due to the limits of her muffled hearing, "you're all imbeciles."

   "Then you might wanna go sit in the corner or you're gonna hear all about Project Cadmus." He mused in a sing-song voice.

   "Not going to work, Robin." Deianira blindly walked away, almost tripping herself up on one of the three circular seats as she tried to feel around with her legs and elbows.

   "Are you sure that you do not wish to be a part of this mission?" Aqualad kindly asked her, ever the gentleman.

   "No thank you!"

   "Come on, you're really just going to roll over and ignore how little the League trusts us?" Kid called after her, "We're supposed to be their partners and they treat us like kids, whether you realise it or not, Wonder Woman will never trust you enough. She won't change. Neither of them will."

That made her think. Causing her hands to slowly retreat from her ears and her eyes to flutter open. She'd be an idiot not to hear them out.

He did have a good point.

"Okay...so like Aqualad said, what's Project Cadmus?" She asked directly to the thirteen-year-old caped vigilante.

All of this, this tour for the heroes in training, hadn't been why today was so special to her. Sure it hurt, but none of it mattered now. It was never going to be the right time no matter how perfect the weather or however many criminals they fought.

Diana would never change. None of the Leaguers would. So they had to prove they were more than just disposable kids and replaceable sidekicks. They would need to prove they were strong on their own, or maybe even as a whole new team.

   While the sun was setting and a fresh fire brewed throughout the two-story building known to all as Cadmus, Mi-rae was lurking through its halls. Every room she came across was comprised of computers she needed to hack, so the fake badge she'd swiped from an unsuspecting intern a few days prior came in handy.

Almost everyone had evacuated by now, and she knew she should too, but she couldn't. Not yet. She needed to know what was going on here. Zephyr wouldn't send her unless it was something important.

Except she had come up with absolute zilch. Either this place had nothing nefarious going on or they were just really good at concealing it. So much so that even the staff were in the dark. Left as collateral damage should there ever be a threat.

People who did stuff like that for a living belonged in the deepest pit at the centre of the Earth.

She soon came across two men trying to run to the stairs only to find the blaze had spread dangerously fast, trapping all three of them. Her mask was a big help with the carbon monoxide, but they didn't have that luck.

"In there, over to the windows!" She directed to them, shouting as loud as she could within the restrictions of the material over her face; making sure that if there was anyone else still in the building they didn't miss her instructions.

They did as she said and didn't even get to blink before she went back to her searching. Surely there had to be something here. This couldn't be some stupid near-death experience for such a little to almost no outcome.

She was so engrossed in her now tactless and desperate rummaging through paper files and hacking outdated computer software that she hadn't even noticed the fire starting to diminish. The city's firefighters doing their jobs as best as they could.

When Deianira and the other training heroes were en route they didn't know what to expect, but when they got there they saw that it was just a small fire. However, the two men crying for help at a smashed window caught the Amazonian's attention.

There didn't seem to be a quick way for the Fire Department to get them out safely, so the four teenagers rapidly got to work. Kid running at high speed to catch the men as an explosion caused them to descend to the rough concrete that otherwise would have been stained with their blood for weeks.

Hastily running up the side of the building to plant them on top of the ceiling.

"The plan is to get them away from the exploding building, Kid!" Deianira scolded from above, arms at her sides to be more aerodynamic; flying still wasn't her forte.

It didn't help that he'd lost his footing almost immediately after and was now hanging desperately from the windowsill.

"You wanna try? Be my guest!" He snapped back sassily. "And...could you maybe...help me out too?" He added sheepishly.

She'd been focused on looking to see if there was anyone else inside the building who needed help that she hadn't heard his other mumblings.

"Hey, why do you think people keep getting my name wrong?"

"What are you-" she started, "I don't know! Time and a place Kid!"

"Right, sorry!"

She turned her attention swiftly to the two men on the roof. "Are you both okay? I need to get you down, but I'm afraid it'll have to be one at a time okay." Just because she was decently strong didn't mean she was willing to test her limits like her "friend". Not when it was a matter of life and death.

"There was a girl in there! Must have been one of the new interns, the yellow guy, he didn't see her did he?" One of them spoke up - short-length red hair and glasses wearing an assigned lab coat - alerting Deianira to a problem she had hoped she could avoid.

A fear of fire was a perfectly rational phobia to have. Especially when it could burn your face off.

   "Where did you see her?"

   "In one of the back rooms, you need to help her. We'll be fine here, just get her to safety too!" The other guy didn't seem so happy about this - with a largely receded hairline and nothing but a greying U shape of hair follicles - nudging his colleague with his elbow and muttering under his breath.

   "Don't listen to him, get us down!"

   "Sir, I understand you're scared. We will get you down." She reasoned, turning her head towards where the Atlantean boy was going over to the Firemen. "You know what to do Aqualad, I'm going inside! Robin, you get Kid's feet back onto something solid!"

She swerved to avoid the flames licking at the exposed flesh of her wrists and flew inside, hoping she wasn't too late.

   "Be careful." Kid shouted behind her, now sounding less anxious about falling to his doom.

Inside was like a furnace, ready to melt her flesh and char her bones. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to stop a few stray dark hairs from getting singed. One very important reason for her first rule of action for whenever she hypothetically reinvented herself as a new hero; hair must always be up to avoid the risk of burning.

   "Hello!" She called out, multiple times until the fumes threatened to infiltrate her lungs.

If only the Wonder Girl costume had a completely useless cape or even a mask for such an occasion. Sadly she was left with just her three quarter lengthed arms and legs in an almost completely black leotard with brass detailing.

Who said being a hero wasn't fashionable?

   "Hello!" She tried again but received nothing, yet again.

   "Wonder Girl!" Aqualad called out to her, wondering where she was. Eventually finding him, while she remained hovering a couple of inches off of the ground. "Find anything?"

   "No, not a single person in sight. Maybe she got out." She mused, mentally crossing her fingers that she hadn't been too late, that this girl was perfectly safe and out of harm's way. But Aqualad didn't seem as convinced. "I hope she did."

   "We'll keep an eye out while we're searching. She might have got out, or she could be still inside. The blaze is contained so it should not be a hindrance."

   "You don't get out much, do you?"

   "Whatever do you mean?"

   "Nothing, never mind. What are we looking for?"

Except once again she received no response, and she knew for a fact he had heard her, and he wasn't some poor civilian trapped in a building that not too long ago was more like an active volcano.

   "Aqualad? What is it?"

   "There was something in the-"

   "Elevators should be locked down." Kid stated as he and Robin came to join them.

Even the latter was facing a dilemma as they all faced what was clearly a fully functioning elevator in a two-storey building that should have been shut down for security reasons. "This is wrong?"

    "That doesn't look like your usual everyday elevator, although, I'm still not sure about stuff like that. I've only been living here for a year." Deianira mumbled.

   "You're right, D, and it's just as I thought," he began, showing her the holographic computer that appeared above his wrist, "this is a high-speed express elevator. It doesn't belong in a building like this."

   "Neither does what I saw," Aqualad said, alerting the team to something really weird that was going on in this building.

Unbeknownst to them all, the "intern" Deianira had tried to look for - at the risk of a singed haircut - was skulking behind a corner, listening to every word. The black hoody she was wearing reeking of smoke and ash; that would take weeks to successfully wash out of her hair and clothes.

"Are we seriously going down there? Because what if we don't make it back out? Nobody will find our bodies." The female voice said almost too casually serious. It was hard to believe that that voice had not even five minutes ago been calling out to her in a panic.

"It's either this, or you remain in the dark, your choice, D, but we know what we're going with." A youthful male voice replied before she heard the familiar sound of a grappling hook being released.

This was Mi-rae's chance, she'd been ready to check the elevator when the flames had grown too ferocious and taking cover was her only option. Clinging to the floor like a child praying to survive the evening.

She was definitely billing the boss for her dry cleaning.

Now she just needed to follow after them and hope she struck gold, or she'd be going back empty-handed to a load of trouble instead. No one ever came back with nothing in her line of business; it would never end well for them.

"You won't be saying that when you're dying of dehydration!" The girl shouted down to the guy as she soon followed, although Mi-rae didn't hear the line shift under the weight, as all of the voices began to quieten down with each level.

It was probably suicide to follow, but so was leaving without trying harder. She wasn't above common punishment, unfortunately.

Which is why when the coast was clear, Mi-rae used the conveniently left behind and well-positioned grappling hook to lower herself down. Finally meeting solid ground again when she carefully and skilfully lowered into a crouching position on the other side of the open elevator doors before they forced themselves shut behind her. That was a close one.

Who even were these kids anyway? Why were sidekicks messing up her assignment, and why were they more efficient than her? What was going on inside Cadmus?

Why was it her problem? It just was, and she'd make sure everything was done right, no matter what.

On Sub Level-26 in the Cadmus building, there's a room that to the outside world, does not exist. In that nonexistent room, lived a girl, who to the outside world, does not exist. A child with so much potential.

Or at least, that's what her doctor told her.

Yet she never got sick, never complained of any aches or pains, never even broke a bone or grazed a knee. Simply because her doctor made sure such things didn't happen. He was very particular.

Even about her room. Where on one of the pure white walls there was a large built-in mirror, along with a few personal touches in the form of childish pictures she'd scribbled, while the near thread-bare carpet beneath her naked feet was a faded brown. All of her toys and collectables were lined in neat rows, with her teddy bear positioned against the single pillow on her neatly made bed.

Amanda knew just how she liked it; with a secret toffee hidden under the covers. What Desmond didn't know wouldn't hurt him. So she'd wait for a special day to eat her growing sweet collection.

   'Keep my secret,' she thought, the small creature sat on the floor beside her looking straight into her eyes, 'and you can try some.'

The thing tilted its head at her, tiny horns atop its head glowing red. When she brought her hand over to give it a light scratch on what appeared to be its chin, its eyes closed in satisfaction.

   'No Dubbilex today?' Eventually, she stopped and the creature's stance returned to normal. 'Did I upset him? He said that we'd go for a walk today.'

Instead, her hand came to rest on her own chin, reflecting her boredom to the thing.

   'Could you find him for me, Oni? Tell him he's late,' she looked at the clock on the wall, not sure if it even worked properly anymore or had slowed, 'I think.'

However, she was quickly snapped out of her thoughts and telepathic communications with her friend when the door was thrown open. A figure entered, though they didn't have the same height as Desmond, Amanda or even Guardian - who to her was a giant - or the familiar horns and greyish-blue skin of Dubbilex.

No, this person was human. Someone she'd never seen before.

   'Who are you?' She ordered in her mind, not understanding why the intruder was in her room. Except she received no response because they didn't have a G-Gnome on their person like most in the lower levels.

"What's a kid doing underground?" The intruder spoke aloud.

"What are you doing in my room? Where's Dubbilex? Or Dr. Spence, Guardian?" The kid finally muttered, her throat raspy and raw from lack of use; what need did she have for vocal cords when she could communicate anything without muttering a single syllable? "Who are you?"

The figure moved closer, slowly, revealing very plain dark clothes. No lab coat or anything that represented security detail, all that seemed to be that appeared in the right place was an ID badge.

'What does the badge say, Oni?'

Soon after thinking about the question, an image appeared in her head. Big red letters in all capitals said the words 'intern' with a picture of a dark-haired girl followed by a name. 'Sarah Thompson'. Except another image rapidly appeared after; a red-haired young woman with olive skin and blue eyes. The Genomorphs have the file of every employee memorised, sub-level or upper. They knew everything.

Which made this girl not only an intruder but also a liar. The kid didn't like lies, she put up with enough of Desmond's false promises.

"Uh...I'm Sarah. Yeah, Sarah...Thompson." The taller girl tried to convince, more herself than the kid.

"No."

"What?"

"That's not your name," she declared, a false bravado overwhelming her, "so, I'll ask a final time. Who are you?"

Before either could speak again, Oni leapt onto the hooded figure's shoulder and acted as a conduit to see inside the girl's mind.

   'You were afraid of the G-Trolls, so you looked for an escape from them. You know you shouldn't be here, but you can't leave yet. Why?' Everything that this strange girl had seen or thought, was now accessible to the kid's mind; it was an effortless feat to determine that she wasn't a threat - not to her anyway. So she set to work trying to decipher her mind as painlessly as she could. Talking through the whole thing.

   'How are you-' the dark-haired girl thought, cut short by a pin-sharp feeling in her mind.

   "Ow!" She rubbed at her temple to alleviate the tension.

   "There's something wrong with your mind, Oni can't make a clear path." The kid apologised, however, the words 'I'm sorry' never actually left the Wernicke's area of her brain.

   "What?" The stranger urged, "What is that thing? What is this whole place? What the hell did I agree to?" She was anxious as if she was seconds away from running out the door and never coming back.

   "What did you agree to?"

Oni jumped from the stranger's shoulder onto its friend's, nestling close to her pale cheek. The sudden absence seemed to snap the taller girl out of her confusion, allowing her the confidence to address her new acquaintance.

The kid had been able to see in her mind that she had never really had company; with no names or images of friends in the first level of her mind. Although, that didn't mean she had a cold heart. Because just as she had dived into her mind, she had been able to see foggy images from hers.

The older of the two looked over the room and saw the drawings she'd seen be created in her mind, all a rendition of a house with four figures. The house was always a different size and different colours, but the people were always the same. One's skin was coloured blue with large horns - that she really wasn't ready to ask about - and others with usual dark and light skin tones. Someone had a gold helmet, while a woman always wore a lab coat. With a smaller drawn human with typical hospital gear, the kid in front of her wore, a shaved head, just like she had.

Then she saw it, on all of them. The thing that stopped all rational reasoning inside of her brain.

Multiple drawn suns of varying yellow and orange hues, all in the corner of the pages. Looking at them reminded her of every drawing she'd made long, long ago, of a life happily lived and cruelly taken away.

That had been home.

Except this girl didn't have that promise, didn't have a home waiting for her. Which made her sick to her stomach. No kid should have a life spent hidden in the dark. No one else would suffer that fate.

Screw everything. Screw anyone and everyone who would ruin an innocent little kid. And screw her for what she was about to do.

   "I'm Mi-rae." She declared with a simple smile and a hand outstretched, "And I'm going to show you the sun."

   "I think it's night."

   "Then first we'll have to get out of here, then you'll just have to settle for the moon until morning." She negotiated, "You okay with that?"

   "Why should I trust you?"

   "You saw inside my head, didn't you? You tell me."

The kid was thinking about it, that much was obvious, the concept of freedom and fresh air not re-filtered through a system, was tempting. So was the idea of never enduring Dr. Desmond's experiments ever again.

   "Would you stay with me, until it comes up?"

   "I'll try."

   "Good enough, I guess."

Oh, how she could see the headlines now; a fire and a kidnapping were not good for business. The boss wouldn't like the distraction. Good, because she was done being a rabbit in life, it was time that she was the Magician.

𖤍 Sometimes I love my writing so much; the start of this is great; the ending is definitely a nope though. But it's okay, (she says while sulking in a corner) really it is. Mi-rae is my golden girl, mystery to all, including herself, with a soft spot for little kids living underground (start of the best friendship arc ever) and kryptonian clones with anger issues. This is not grumpy x sunshine, this is grumpy x grumpy/only sunshine for him and best friend.
     Any guesses on rae's powers - she definitely has some - because they probably won't show up all that much until she joins the team (which won't be until the end of e4).  / word count. 5897

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Thanks for reading <3