"They want me to come up with a superhero name," Vidya said, flopping onto Amber's bed.

A name was all they asked her for. The suit they would take care of themselves, but they let her set some guidelines. Nothing showy or suffocatingly tight. Long sleeves were preferable, but she could do without them, too. A comfortable mask that covered the space around her eyes and not her whole face. She didn't want a cape, but that was the one thing they wouldn't agree on.

"You can fly," the designer had said bluntly. "All flying heroes have capes."

And so, she would have a cape.

Amber chewed on the tip of her paintbrush. Her room was a never-ending masterpiece: she was always painting the walls, adding little things here and there like Rapunzel from Tangled. Whenever she ran out of room, she'd throw a fresh coat of white all over it and start again.

"Any ideas yet?" she asked, eyeing her paints.

Vidya turned to her side on the bed. "Glacier?"

"It sounds good, but it doesn't sound like you." Amber smiled. "Hey, how about Elsa?"

"Shut up."

"I can already picture the headlines. Elsa saves the day!"

"Elsa is amazing." Vidya sat up with a sigh. "But that's not my superhero identity, and I'm pretty sure there are copyright concerns."

Amber shrugged, dipping her brush into bright blue. "How about there's-a-hole-in-the-ozone-help-me-or-I'll-melt."

They burst out laughing. The monstrosity of a name that tumbled out of Amber's mouth was obviously a joke, but it gave Vidya an idea. A lot of heroes were affiliated with good causes—disabilities, equality, human rights. She could be a voice for climate change. Maybe she could even make a superhero Twitter or Instagram; knowing Celestro, they would make all her social media profiles as soon as she gave them a name.

The door opened, and Teddy poked his head inside. He was Amber's older brother, a student reporter for UCLA. "The Marvels' official Twitter just announced they have a new member being inducted this Friday."

Vidya reacted like it was surprising news.

"I'm covering the ceremony." He twisted his head around to look at his sister. "Which means you'll be home alone. Don't destroy the microwave again."

"It wasn't my fault!"

He scoffed. "Who forgets to put water in cup noodles?"

Amber flicked her paintbrush. Teddy left before the flecks of paint hit him; instead, they sprinkled the door like blue confetti.

"Do you think he'll recognize me?" Vidya asked when she heard him go downstairs.

"No way. He can't even recognize me at the dance competitions. Says he's confused by all the blondes." Amber shook her head. "Anyway, Friday's real close, and you still need a name."

"How about...Freeze?"

"Eh."

"Icicle?"

"Eh."

"Snowbomination?"

Amber side-eyed her. "Tell me you're kidding."

"I'm just saying whatever pops into my head," Vidya insisted. "Something has to be good. Yeti."

"Stop. My ears are bleeding."

Vidya laughed. "I'll be serious now. Hypothermia?"

"Too menacing."

"Frostbite?"

Amber perked up. "That sounds good, actually. Less menacing than hypothermia, but still cool."

Vidya rolled her eyes at the pun. "Frostbite," she repeated, testing the way it rolled off her tongue. It felt good, natural. It was definitely something she could picture herself being called. "I'll tell Fox."

______________

On Thursday, Fox led Vidya around Celestro's auditorium and detailed the entire ceremony: what her cue to get on stage was, which sections of the audience to be sure to look at, where the main camera would be. Vidya nodded along, scrambling to follow.

Her supersuit would be ready in time for the ceremony, but she wasn't allowed to see it yet. It was supposed to be a surprise, but it seemed more like they didn't want to give her enough time to request changes before her debut. She wasn't too bothered—the heroes were always dressed to the nines. Whatever Celestro made for her, she would love.

"How's your flying going?" Fox asked.

Vidya had practiced in her backyard, but she flew about as well as a newborn bird. "It needs work," she admitted.

"We'll get you some help. Have you moved in yet?"

Vidya shook her head. "I don't really need to bring anything."

She'd made it clear she was living with her parents instead of with the Marvels, but they'd given her a room anyway in case she needed it. It was next to Lady Marvel's and across from—of all people—Flamethrower, because of course it would be.

"At least put a poster up," Fox said. "So it doesn't feel like a hotel if you ever need to go there."

Vidya only nodded.

"Frostbite," Fox repeated for the thirtieth time today. "I like it. Has a nice ring. Did you come up with it yourself?"

Vidya nodded again.

"You've got a very wordplay-friendly superpower," Fox said suddenly. "I hope you're prepared for the puns."

"Echo already called me cool," Vidya pointed out, mouth stretching into a grin. "I have a feeling that's only the tip of the iceberg."

Fox snorted.

_________________

Lady Marvel ducked under the fire. The flames grazed her, sending heat spreading through her body, but it didn't hurt. She came up on the other side of the blast, which hit the intended target and sent him toppling off the building.

"Next time you do that," she snapped, "give me some warning."

Flamethrower shrugged unapologetically and fried the next hitman. He fell to his knees and screamed as he burst into flames, and the last guy dropped his weapon and started running. Lady Marvel grabbed him by the throat and threw him to the floor hard enough to knock him out.

Flamethrower extinguished her hands. "Who do you think their target was?"

Lady Marvel didn't answer. Hitmen weren't what they usually dealt with, but someone had given the police a tip, and the police, sensing it might be difficult to handle, gave Celestro a call. They would likely interrogate and prosecute the survivors, but Lady Marvel wasn't interested in knowing what they were doing.

She walked to the edge of the roof and looked down at the officers waiting below. "All clear!"

They streamed into the building, and she let Flamethrower do the talking. Two dead, two alive. It's a good thing you called us, or things would've gotten messy!

It depended on the situation, but the Marvels usually worked in pairs. Lady Marvel was so used to being with Juggernaut that she'd forgotten how infuriating it was to get paired up with Flamethrower. The younger hero was impulsive and obnoxious...but she was good at her job, there was no denying that.

Lady Marvel wandered off, but Flamethrower tapped her shoulder and asked, "Can we talk?"

The dead were being zipped into bags, and the survivors were being loaded onto stretchers. The officers had gotten all the details they needed, so they wouldn't be talking to them again and saving Lady Marvel from this conversation.

"Sure," she said finally.

"Vidya shouldn't be on this team."

"That's exactly what you said about Phase," Lady Marvel said, hurrying down the steps. It was an old-fashioned, code-violating cement staircase that ran along the outside of the equally old-fashioned, code-violating, condemned building. "And he turned out fine, didn't he?"

"That's different," Flamethrower protested, following at her heels. "Phase was older and actually knew how to do things."

"Speaking of Phase." It was Juggernaut, flying above them. He landed on the stairs in front of Lady Marvel and went down them backwards so he could face them. "Where is he?"

"Out with Vidya, teaching her to fly," she said, tempted to go faster and see how much longer he could go backwards. Probably not a good idea—they'd all go tumbling down, and the internet would be laughing tomorrow.

"What? That's my job."

"Fox couldn't find you, so she told Phase to do it. He knows what he's doing."

"Like hell he does."

He took off into the air. Lady Marvel waited until he was out of sight before looking behind her. "Are you just mad about the chips?"

Flamethrower threw up her hands. "It's not about the chips!"

"So then what do you have against her?"

"I just think everything's going so well right now, and it's stupid to throw in a curveball."

Lady Marvel went silent. That was what she'd said herself at the meeting. Well, a more formal version of it...but she'd lied. The team wasn't working well, it was barely keeping together. Maybe Flamethrower was oblivious to how much they couldn't stand her or to the constant tension between Juggernaut and Lady Marvel or to the way Goodman sometimes treated them like they were on leashes. Maybe she was willingly living in ignorant bliss, or it was better than any alternative she had. Lady Marvel wasn't going to be the one who brought up how messed up everything was, but she did ask, "And what do I have to do with it? What do you want from me?"

"I was thinking we should, ah, encourage her to quit."

They'd reached the bottom of the steps, and Lady Marvel turned around to face her. "You want to make things miserable for her so she'll leave on her own?"

"Come on, Marv. Things are already pretty miserable."

So maybe she wasn't all that oblivious, after all.

Lady Marvel shook her head, walking away. "You do whatever you want. I'm not interested."

"Why not?"

"Because it's ridiculous, and because Fox and Juggernaut wanted her on the team, and we listen to them."

"So you're a coward?" Flamethrower called out.

Lady Marvel stopped short. "I," she said calmly, "am a good teammate."

"Fine. Don't ever say I never tried to be friends with you."

"Teaming up to ruin someone's life is not friendship."

Flamethrower rolled her eyes. "Say what you want, but Vidya joining the team is a bad idea."

"Of course it is." Lady Marvel turned to leave, undaunted. "The world thrives off bad ideas."

Author's Note: Hi guys! I don't know if you looked at the header image, but it's a mock-newspaper I made specifically for this chapter! Here it is below if you can't see the header:

^Tell me it's funny, I need validation :)