The citizens of Lumenaria slept peacefully. Nothing was wrong. Nothing they knew of, yet.

When they awoke, they were to be met with some unpleasant news.

The city was about to be thrown into chaos.

Persephone arrived home, hovering outside of her bedroom window. She slid the glass to the side and slipped into the spacious room, closing the window behind her and landing on the floor.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home!" She called. No response.

Oh well, they were probably out vigilante-ing.

Persephone sighed. Being a vigilante sounded dangerous and exciting and fun...And she wanted to take after her parents more than anything else.

"Why can't I be a vigilante?" She asked herself quietly, sitting on the ground and leaning back against the wall. "I've been preparing for ages."

It was true. Persephone had been painting her wings olive green every morning for about three years for when she went out in public to hide their real color. She had practiced with weapons every day for two years and trained with her energy powers for months on end.

Jack and Niki said she was powerful.

It was perplexing. If she really was powerful, why couldn't she be a vigilante? If she could do it, why wouldn't she?

She sat like this, wondering, for almost an hour. Then the sound of an elevator echoed through the house. She stood and walked to the staircase, jumping off of the railing and hovering above the ground. No point in wasting time with the stairs if she could just, well, fly.

The elevator door opened and Waterfall and Inferno stepped out. Inferno took his headpiece off and grinned at Persephone. "Sorry, we didn't tell you we were going out."

Persephone brushed it off. "Whatever. I assumed you were vigilante-ing."

"We have something we want to show you," Niki said eagerly, taking her blue skull mask off. "Come on!"

She began moving down the hallway with Jack walking beside Persephone a few feet behind her. "We've been working on this specific thing for a few months," Jack said, putting his arm around Persephone's shoulders. "Sort of...an early birthday present."

Now Persephone was really curious. Her birthday(Which was actually the day Jack and Niki had found her) was still a week away.

Niki came to a stop outside of a closed door. Jack was still talking. "You're practically seventeen... Seventeen was when I started making big decisions in life. Taking chances. Being dangerous."

Niki cleared her throat as he came up beside her. Jack smiled sheepishly and shrugged as Niki rolled her eyes playfully. "Do the honors for me?" She asked Persephone, motioning to a green glowing button to the side of the door.

Almost hesitantly, Persephone reached out with her left wing and pressed down on the small button. The door hissed and opened.

Persephone stepped back.

Her eyes raked over the singular thing in the small room.

"Is that... a mask?"

She asked, almost confused. Jack was practically bouncing up and down. "Not just any mask!" He said excitedly.

He stepped in and grabbed the mask from where it was hovering above its display stand.

"Put it on!"

The mask wasn't anything too special-looking...A plain white face with two large, green Xs for eyes. Persephone took it from Jack and pressed it to her face, wondering how she would keep it on.

The second the mask was on, a strap materialized around the back of her head. a wave of energy appeared at her neck and slid down her body, a tight green outfit materializing as it went. Persephone looked around wildly, her vision slightly greened out by the Xs.

She looked down at her body frantically, noticing the outfit thing. It was a tight, dark green one-piece that left holes that were the perfect size for the bases of her wings. The fabric...Well, it wasn't really fabric-y, almost metal-y. It almost looked like binary code. It stretched over her hands like gloves.

It fit her perfectly, somehow. She turned and noticed a mirror...

"How can I see?!" was the first thing she asked. The Xs glowed bright green and it was impossible to see her eyes from another's perspective. 

"...Science?" Jack guessed, unable to stop grinning.

Persephone was almost scared to ask her next question.

"What does this mean...?"

Niki met Jack's eyes and they both smiled. Jack spoke first. "Kiddo, you're resourceful and smart and a very formidable fighter. I don't know why we stalled for so long." Persephone's breath caught in her throat.

Niki then spoke. "This should have happened months ago, but...Well, congratulations on becoming a vigilante."

Persephone tore the mask off. "You're joking!" She dazedly noticed the green suit dissolving into nothingness, leaving her back in the clothes she had been wearing previously.

"We're quite serious." Jack was grinning from ear to ear and Niki was smiling like...Well, like something phenomenal had happened.

Persephone couldn't hold back the excited laugh that made its way out of her mouth. "Oh my goodness...Oh my goodness!" She let out an excited whoop and flapped her wings, hovering a foot off of the ground. She held the mask close to her chest and stared down at it adoringly.

"You have to have a code name as a vigilante," Niki reminded her, still smiling.

"How about Binary?" Jack suggested. Persephone giggled. "I don't think so, it sort of makes me sound like I have electricity powers."

"Shockwave?" Niki mused.

"Same effect..." Persephone mumbled. "I want a name that doesn't sound like a specific power. Something...Er, power-neutral, I guess."

The hallway was silent as the three vigilantes thought.

"How about Hollywood?" Persephone spoke eventually. "It's pretty gender-neutral, and it doesn't feel like any specific power to me. Besides, I like it."

"That's all that matters," Jack assured her.

Persephone smiled. "Hollywood it is, then. Dang...This is crazy."

She couldn't keep herself from smiling. "I'm, uh, I'm going to go put this somewhere... Thank you! Thank you so much, I love you guys!" She sprinted out of the room, taking the stairs three or four at a time.

Jack looked at Niki and his smile diminished but remained.

"Are we going to tell her?" 

Niki's smile disappeared. "We'll tell her tomorrow. Let her feel entirely safe and happy for tonight."

The moon was hidden behind a large cloud.

"Lumenaria..." The wither skeleton hybrid mused, standing atop a roof and looking over the sprawling city. 

The blaze hybrid behind him flinched unknowingly and dipped his head. He just wanted his old friend back.

"You better watch your goddamned backs, heroes." Dream growled in a slightly glitchy voice. The sadistic, smiling mask obstructed his face entirely.

It was a dangerous sign. 

"Clay, think about this..." The blaze said pleadingly. He'd been reaching out for years after the incident.

The wither skeleton whipped around. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!" He screamed, gloved hands clenching. "Clay is gone. He's never coming back."

Sapnap took a step backward.

"You're lucky I need you alive or else you'd have disappeared off the surface of this earth years ago!"Dream growled, hand going to the knife in his belt. "Now come. We have work to do. And when we're done, the heroes and vigilantes of Lumenaria will be no more than memories."

So chapter four! Hooray!

Opinions so far?

Tbh I'm surprised I have a real upload schedule.

Anyways I hope the lore so far has confused and perplexed you, but I promise, you'll find out eventually!

Any theories? -->

Words: 1,192

Have a great day, and drink water!

-ITCFWI