The anniversary plans went up in flames. The day went on, people celebrated, but it wasn't everything it was supposed to be, thanks to the hectic stunts pulled last night and all of the last-minute damage control.

Juggernaut was walking to Fox's office, surprisingly in an okay mood—if only because the shock hadn't worn off yet. Too much happened too fast. When he'd woken up in the greenhouse, he found Emika—who was presiding over the crew tasked to take care of the place—and asked her what the hell had just happened. Apparently, Celestro had shoved small but powerful explosives behind his eyes and along his ribcage when he was eleven. He didn't even remember that; it was, after all, back when medical tools and drugs still affected him. The kill switch was meant to work even when he was older, but they'd gravely underestimated just how indestructible he would grow up to be, and it only killed him for an hour without making sure he remained dead. It did decent damage: breaking his face and making him bleed for the first time in twenty-four years and stopping his heart, so everyone reasonably thought he was dead, but it all healed in the hour that followed, and he woke up feeling fine.

Emika had explained the switch in a hurried ramble, and then she said the Marvels were already fighting David and the New Humans, and while Juggernaut walked out of the greenhouse to take off for the junkyard, she followed and kept repeating that Frostbite wasn't entirely at fault. No wonder Frostbite was being so confusing when he confronted them. He'd realized something was wrong, but he wanted to kill David first and then ask her what she thought was going on. It was the strategic move, considering every second David was alive was another chance for catastrophe. Strategic move, horrible results.

It was all so infuriating. He spent almost his entire life doing everything for everyone else, only to be accused of mass murder and get nearly killed. And on the night before the anniversary, too—how poetic was that? He might've finally lost it and gone insane. He wasn't sure yet.

Fox shut her laptop when he sat down across from her. The sign on the office door had said do not disturb. It didn't apply to him, not today, and they both knew it.

"Did you know?" Juggernaut asked. He already heard from Emika that Fox had known about the kill switch since her first day as vice president, but he wanted to hear it from her.

"Yes."

"And you didn't bother telling me?"

"That would defeat the whole purpose, wouldn't it?" she said dryly. When she was met with silence, Fox shook her head. "Look, I've only worked here for twelve years. It was Goodman who made the kill switch. I simply inherited the knowledge. It was a vile thing, and I'm sorry it fell into the wrong hands."

He narrowed his eyes. "But?"

"But," she said quietly, "you have to understand why he made it. You're a nuke that can make decisions, including destructive ones. That's not something we can take lightly."

Juggernaut stopped listening as Fox started to ramble on about the necessity of having a system to keep him in check, how it was a safeguard for the sake of everyone. It bothered him; he still believed Fox was better than Goodman, but ultimately, they were doing the same thing: treating him like an object, an asset. Maybe an asset was all he was and all he would ever be, but that didn't mean he liked hearing these facts about him tumble out of Fox's mouth like a product warranty.

Juggernaut raised his hand to the pen holder on the edge of the desk and flicked it. It went flying right past her ear, making her gasp, and smashed through the window, sailed over the road, and landed on the roof of the building across the street.

Fox was frozen, her hands gripping the armrests. A shard of glass fell from the hole in the window and hit the floor with a sharp crack. Juggernaut watched her with calm disdain, grateful that she shut up.

"Celestro decided everything for me," he said coldly. "You do not get to decide when or how I die."

Fox remained still for a few seconds longer before finally dipping her head in a small nod. Juggernaut stood to go, but he turned around in the doorway.

"Do you have kill switches for anyone else?" he asked.

Fox shook her head.

Juggernaut waited, but she didn't take back her answer. Another shard of glass hit the floor.

"Good!" he said, breaking into a sarcastic smile. "Let's go. We wouldn't want to miss the announcement."

_________________

The Marvels were moving to Manhattan.

The New York City base project that Phase said was so far away was happening now. Vidya had expedited David's plans, and she inadvertently expedited Celestro's, too. The move was in response to the disastrous recent events, but only Celestro knew that. To everyone else, it was just a move. All the public had been told was that the super-killer was found, and there was an incident involving Maggotzilla 2.0 and the New Humans. Thanks to the helicopter's footage, everyone saw that Juggernaut had laser eyes, but Celestro framed it as a new development, not something he'd had all along. There was no mention of his temporary death, the steroid, or Frostbite's involvement in any of it. Like always, the company swept the truth under the rug.

Vidya was sitting in a dressing room, braiding her hair as people filled into the nearby auditorium. The move wasn't for another week, but Los Angeles was already buzzing with simultaneous disappointment that the Marvels were leaving and excitement that the Golden Four were taking over as the city's lead heroes. She couldn't make out their words, but she could hear frantic chatter through the walls.

Vidya tied off her braid, adjusted her supersuit, and stared at the floor, letting out a breath. She was tired—not physically, she had plenty of sleep. It was the other kind of tired, the kind she knew wasn't going to go away for a while.

"I thought you were good."

Vidya whirled around in her chair, heart pounding. Flamethrower was standing next to the door, leaning against the wall with her head tipped back and her arms crossed over her chest. She'd done an amazing job of sneaking in without a sound. Like a snake, in every sense of the word.

"Don't get me wrong," Flamethrower continued. "I couldn't stand you and I sure as hell didn't want you on the team, but I did genuinely think you were a good person." She looked at Vidya out of the corners of her narrowed eyes. "And then you put an icicle to an innocent woman's neck, helped created a security leak, and pretty much plotted our downfall."

Vidya breathed slowly, waiting.

"So if someone as sweet and perfect as you can do what you did," Flamethrower said, "then it's hypocritical of you to expect so much better from any of us."

Vidya turned to stare at the mirror, drowning in the hostile silence. She no longer knew how she felt about the Marvels and Celestro. What she did to them didn't erase the fact that they were needlessly violent, apathetic, and deceptive, but them being that way didn't excuse the fact that she betrayed their trust and caused so many problems. All that was left was ambiguous gray—and she understood now why things were the way they were, she really did, but a small, egotistical part of her was still mad about it, still believed things should change for the better.

"Flamethrower?" she said finally.

Flamethrower was leaving, but she turned back around, expressionless.

"Before we met," Vidya said, "you were always my favorite."

She didn't know why she said it. Maybe she just wanted Flamethrower to know that there had once been a time when Vidya looked up to her.

Flamethrower snorted. "Isn't that ironic?"

Vidya figured she would slam the door behind her, but she kept it open when she left. It was time for the announcement, after all.

Vidya put on her mask and made her way to the right wing of the stage. The noise grew louder the closer she got, and she stopped at the steps behind the curtain, watching and waiting for her cue. Fox was alone at the podium, explaining the logistics of the move to a captivated audience, and Vidya kept her eyes on her profile. She knew the Marvels were on the other side of the stage, watching from those steps the way she was watching from these, and she was afraid that if she took her eyes off Fox, she'd look straight across and see them standing there. She didn't want to catch them watching her with disgust.

When Fox was done, she took a step back and said, "And now, a word from Frostbite."

Vidya went onto the stage, taking over the podium as Fox stood at her side. Celestro had announced the move this morning, and this was the official explanation, but they'd never advertised a word from Frostbite. The audience stared at her, confused, and those who were getting ready to leave sat back down.

Vidya took the microphone off the podium and smiled. "Hello. I know you weren't expecting to hear from me tonight, but I've got my own news to share. The Marvels are moving to Manhattan, but unfortunately, I will not be going with them."

She paused to let that sink in, as instructed, and continued.

"I've made the personal decision to resign from Celestro so that I can focus on my education and my future. I don't plan to continue being a superhero on my own, so this is most likely my final address as Frostbite. I want to thank you for the support I've been given, and I hope I was able to make a positive impact during my time here. Thank you."

That was the end of the pre-written, pre-approved speech. Fox made a move to take over, but Vidya took a sudden step away, fingers tightening around the microphone. A quick flash of anger shadowed Fox's face, but Vidya needed to say more.

"And I want the Marvels to know," she said, looking straight out at nothing, "that I'm sorry...to be leaving them so soon! But I hope they do good in New York...I hope they do better. Because, after all, what's the point of being a hero if you're not doing your best?"

They were glaring at her. She was sure of it, but she didn't dare look.

She returned the microphone to Fox and left the stage, giving Los Angeles one last wave as they cheered her off. She went back to her dressing room, changed out of her supersuit, and left it folded on the vanity for them to confiscate. She took her mask off last, looking at herself in the mirror with it on before gently peeling it off her face and setting it atop her suit.

And then she went home.

_________________

Dinner was awkward.

Mom and José kept trying to talk to her, and Vidya kept answering in one word or nods or shrugs. She wasn't upset, not entirely, but they thought she was, and it didn't make sense to them why she would be upset. They believed the lie Celestro put out, that she'd happily resigned to focus on her civilian life, and they believed it because Vidya told them it was true.

It wasn't true.

Frostbite had been fired.

To save face, Celestro said it was a resignation. It would reflect badly on them if they admitted to the world that their young, beloved hero had caused so much damage, and it would be even worse if they fired her without telling anyone why. Vidya went along with it eagerly: it was enough for her that they weren't throwing her in jail or making her disappear. It was enough that she was allowed to go back to her life as long as she never, ever said a damning word about David or Celestro to anyone, even her parents. The amount of NDA's she had to sign when she joined was nothing compared to everything she had to sign to leave.

She went to her room after dinner, getting ready for bed. Her mind was blank. She was either going to sleep well tonight or not at all, and she couldn't wait to see which.

There was a knock, and Mom poked her head in. "This was on the porch," she said. "It's for you."

She handed over a cardboard box and left, closing the door softly. Vidya set it on her desk, inspecting it with raised eyebrows. She spent two minutes picking at a corner of tape, and when it finally gave in, she tore off the whole piece, unfolded the flaps, and immediately stepped away.

Inside was her supersuit.

She should be wondering why they gave this back. It was probably because it was custom-made for her and absolutely useless to them, and they wanted her to get rid of her own junk, but she didn't care enough to think too hard about it. She simply went to the kitchen, grabbed a lighter, and came back.

Vidya brought the small flame close to the fabric, but she turned the lighter off before contact because she suddenly remembered that her supersuit was fireproof.

She laughed at herself, closed the box, and shoved it into the bottom corner of her closet. It would collect dust in there, but who cared?

Vidya grabbed her phone and put Amber's number back in her contacts list. She texted her, lunch tomorrow?, put her phone on the nightstand, turned the lights off, and went to sleep.