I had been hanging out with Bell and Mike a lot at school, and having new friends was helping. I hated it though. I felt like I was replacing Ty. It had only been a few weeks since he died, and I already had two new friends. I could just imagine Ty up in heaven, looking down on me and letting God know that I should be sent to hell when I die because he was upset with me for finding new friends so soon after his death. However, I still didn't stop hanging out with Bell and Mike.

They both knew about Ty, and how he had died. They told me about how they remembered watching what happened to him, and they both seem genuinely sorry for what had happened. It was nice to talk to someone about it. Someone who was objective about the whole thing. In turn, I also listened to Bell and Mike tell me about their restaurant flooding, and other stories from their childhoods.

It was a mutual friendship, and I was both guilty about it, and pleased. Bell was pretty fun. She was a free spirit who got called into the principal's office during her first week of school, and when he questioned her appearance, she got a nose ring in retaliation. She was also kind, considerate, and empathetic though. She said whatever she wanted to say, and the things she wanted to say were usually very nice.

Mike had no sense of personal space. He just hugged everyone he met, but that wasn't the strange part about it. The strange part, was that everyone let him hug them. He just had a kind, trustable personality that people couldn't help but gravitate to. Kind of like Warren. Mike was also reckless, adventures, and loud. He was constantly making jokes, but not if it would have been an inappropriate time to do so, and he made his presence known.

I told Warren about Bell and Mike, and he said that he would like to meet them sometime. He already knew that that wasn't a likely possibility, but he still thought it would be nice. The only reason I had met Steven and Warren, was because Ty would occasionally invite me over to his house after school, so when Warren picked Ty up after school, I went with him. That's not something that could happen with Bell and Mike though, because I never brought any friends over to my house, and those two didn't know about the superhero training.

I had known that Ty was a superhero since before he even decided to be one. After Ty did become Shadow-Man, he told me everything. He told me every detail about everything he did with Steven and Warren, and about everything he did at night. I knew all about Shadow-Man, and I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I was glad to know what was going on in Ty's life, and I was happy that he knew he could trust me to keep his secret, but that meant that I also had to live with the guilt of knowing that I had encouraged Ty to be a hero, instead of convincing him not to be.

I couldn't help but wonder if Ty would still be alive if I hadn't been so encouraging and supportive of him becoming Shadow-Man. I thought supporting him through thick and thin was the right choice, because I just wanted him to be happy, and being Shadow-Man made him happy. But I'm sure he wasn't happy when he had two broken legs and a gun against his head.

This was something that I thought about a lot. I felt kind of guilty for Ty's death. Then again, it was possible that I was just imagine things, or over thinking everything, because I had been thinking about Ty a lot. In fact, he seemed to be all that I ever could think about. I just couldn't get the image of him dying out of my head. It's like it was carved into the inside of my skull, like a cave painting that told a horrific story.

It was haunting.

***

"You've made a lot of progress. You should be proud." Warren told me as he spotted me while I lifted weights.

"I still have a lot of progress to make though." I responded, breathing heavily.

"Don't undersell the progress that you've already made."

"I guess I've come pretty far, but not far enough. I need to be better if I'm going to be a superhero."

"Gill, let's take a break. You've been working yourself pretty hard, and I can tell that you haven't been taking care of yourself." Warren spoke gently as he carefully took the weights from my hands and set them on the floor. I sighed and rubbed the sweat off of my face with my hand.

"I'm fine." I said. That seemed to be the only thing I was ever saying lately.

"Stop saying that. Go take a shower, and I'll have a meal ready for you in the kitchen when you're done."

"Fine." I sighed, knowing that I wasn't going to win this battle. Warren reminded me of a concerned mother when he did things like make me take a shower and a nap.

When I got doesn't with my shower, I went into the kitchen where Warren was waiting with a plate of leftover lasagna. He sat me down, and looked at me seriously as I ate. I knew right away that I was about to be on the receiving end of a very serious talk.

"Gill, being a superhero requires more than physical strength." Warren began. "You have to be able to handle it mentally too, and right now, your mental state is fragile. Not only are you grieving the loss of a loved one, you also had to watch him die in a traumatizing way. Your mind if fragile."

"Gee thanks." I muttered.

"That wasn't an insult Gill. You're distressed, and we need to make sure that you'll be able to handle being Sunshine."

"I'm sure I will. Punching bad guys, saving the city? Who wouldn't be up for it?" I asked sarcastically.

"Someone who just lost their best friend." Warren responded seriously.

"I assure you I'm fine. Just the other day I beat up some guy who was trying to attack me. I'll be ok."

"I know you will.

***

Warren started making me talk to him more anytime something was bothering me. He was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle the stress of being a superhero. I would never admit it to him, but talking with him actually helped. I was opening up more to my friends too, and they were being supportive and kind. It had been a month since Ty's death, and I was beginning to think that the wounds from it all were finally starting to heal. Like I was finally started to come to terms with it.

I still wasn't sleeping well, or eating properly, but I wasn't feeling as upset anymore. If anything, I was beginning to feel kind of numb about the whole thing. I couldn't decide if I liked that better or not. On one hand, it was better than feeling sad or angry all the time. On the other hand, I almost preferred feeling awful, as opposed to feeling nothing at all. I supposed in small doses, going completely numb to all emotions wasn't really that bad, but being numb for a long time seemed like it would be pretty undesirable. Fortunately for me, my emotions were triggered once again by someone who I didn't think I would see for a long time, if ever. 

I was down in the lab, talking with Jess and Steven about possible weapons for me. I would have like to use the batons that Ty used, but, as far as we all knew, Pip still had them. He had kidnapped Ty when he was out being Shadow-Man, and tied him to a chair. He then hacked into every TV in the city, and showed the whole city a live video of him breaking Ty's legs with his own batons.

Anyway, while the three of us were discussing weapons, we heard the elevator open. I didn't think anything of it, figuring that it was just Warren coming to join us, but then Warren cleared his throat, making us all look up at him. There was a tall man with brown hair, pale-ish skin, and a sweet smile. I knew who this man was, not only from watching the footage that was in the eyes of Ty's suit, but also because Warren looked kind of pale beside him, and his forced smile was wobbly.

The man was Pip. Steven and Warren had mentored Pip when he was younger, or something along those lines, and they considered Pip a friend. Well, they did until Ty informed them of who he was. Pip's real name was Piare, which Ty made sure everyone knew before he died. He kept calling Pip by his real name on live TV, Wich was pretty smart actually.

Pip didn't know that Steven and Warren knew who he was and what he did. He also didn't know who I was. However, when everyone just kind of sat in silence, staring at Pip, unsure of how to act towards him, Pip probably knew that something was up. He looked around, confusion on his face.

"Are you guys all ok?" Pip asked, focusing his attention on Jess, Steven, and Warren. His voice sounded so innocent, and it made me feel sick.

"Yeah." Steven said, pulling himself out of his silence, and walking over to pull Pip into a hug. Pip was the only one who didn't look rigid and unsure.

"How have you been sweetie?" Jess asked, her voice a bit wobbly.

"Ugh, not to great." Pip responded. "Ever since that kid got killed on TV, police have been investigating me. They've been polling in everyone in the city named Piare, because they're trying to figure out who killed him. I know he was a friend of your guys'. I'm sorry for your lost."

"Did you know him?" I asked, spite in my tone. I wanted to get Pip to confess to what he did, though I knew he never would. Pip looked at me, and looked like he was studying me. Like he was trying to figure out why I was there, or what I would do. I wasn't afraid of him though.

"I met him once. Did you know him?" Pip asked in response.

"He was my boyfriend. You said the police have been polling in a bunch of people. Do you think they're any closer to catching the guy who did it?" I asked. Warren shook his head slightly from where he stood beside Pip, warning me to drop the subject, but I ignored him.

"They have a bunch of suspects, as far as I can tell, but I don't think they know who it is."

"Hm." I grunted. Then I stepped forward and held my left hand out to Pip. "My name is Gill."

"Piare." Pip said, smiling kindly and grabbing my hand with his to shake it. I subtly looked down at Pip's wrist, and saw part of a tattoo peeking out of his sleeve. I tightened my hold on Pip's hand, and grabbed his arm with my other hand, not letting him go as I pushed him backwards until he was slammed up against a wall.

I pushed the sleeve of Pip's jacket back, revealing the tattoo of his own symbol on his wrist. I squeezed Pip's hand as hard as I could, making the man groan. He tried to push me away from him, but I wouldn't let him go.

"I know what this tattoo means." I growled. "I know who you are, and I know what you've done."

"Get this kid off of me." Pip barked. I pulled him away from the wall, then slammed him back into it as hard as I could. Pip tried hitting me with his free hand, so I grabbed that one too, and twisted it, hearing it crack painfully.

"He didn't deserve to be killed!" I yelled, anger boiling up inside of me.

"Guys! Help me. You don't think I killed anyone, do you?" Pip asked over my shoulder, where I knew the others were watching.

"We know what you did Piare." Warren said softly, his voice sad. I saw Pip's face drop, but he still tried to save himself.

"Wh-what do you mean?" He stuttered.

"You killed Tyler, Pip." Steven said, sounding almost angry. Pip's face dropped even more, then turned to one of anger. He tried harder to fight against me, but I wasn't having it. I planted my feet, and forced him back.

"You killed him! He was just trying to help people, and you killed him!" I cried.

"He deserved what he got." Pip hissed.

"Not he didn't! He deserved better than that! He deserved to live, and you should have been the one to die! You're a bad person who does bad things, and Ty was the person who was brave enough, and stupid enough to try and stop you. He should still be alive!" Hot tears were running down my face, but I didn't take my eyes off of Pip. I was angry. So very, very angry, and I felt like my skin was boiling, and like my tears were blistering my skin. For a moment, I thought that maybe they actually were, because Pip was looking at me in confusion and shock. But then I pushed that thought to the side, and focused on what I knew was possible.

"You killed my boyfriend." I growled.

"You're boyfriend costed me tons of money and two perfectly good employees." Pip growled back.

"That's because you're a crime boss with no moral compass. You amputated people, and forced women into prostitution."

"I saved those people. When I found them, they were a bunch lost teenagers with no homes and a heroin addiction. They're alive thanks to me."

"They're suffering because of you!" I yelled, and I could feel my body burn with rage.

"You killed my boyfriend, and my best friend, and you're ruining people's lives!" I yelled, pulling Pip forward and slamming him back against the wall repeatedly. "You're a crime boss who tortured and killed a sixteen year old boy on live TV! He wasn't even an adult yet, and now he never will be!"

I was furious, and I was getting warmer by the second. More scorching tears pooled out of my eyes, and I found myself ignoring the heat in favor of yelling at Pip, and focussing on twisting his hand. I knew it was breaking, and I knew that I was hurting him, but I didn't stop. It was almost like I couldn't stop.

I heard Jess, Steven, and Warren yelling behind me as they all came rushing over. All three of them were trying to pull me off of Pip, trying to get me to let him go, but I remained unmoved. Pip looked scared, confused, and shocked all at once.

I could feel my body get hotter, and it felt like I was getting stronger. It started at the bottoms of my feet, then bled up my legs, reaching my waist, but it didn't stop there. It continued up my torso, and traveled down my arms when it reached my shoulders. I used the new found strength to push further against Pip. The feeling traveled up my neck, and all the way to the top of my head.

I let out and angry yell, reached up to my full volume as I pushed even harder against Pip, trying to force him through the wall.

Then everything went black.