"It's a trap. It has to be a trap." I tell my mom in a panic. My anxiety level increases by the second.

What would Sophia know, anyways?

My mind flashes back to her and Mason talking outside on our porch when I was sneaking around the house. She talked to Mason like they knew each other in The Undergrounds. She knew something about Jonas' kidnapping, too.

If Sophia is part of The Undergrounds, I really can't trust her. There isn't a person in that room that I would confide in. Telling me to meet her at midnight makes the situation even more creepy. What if it's not even her? I mean, I don't know of anyone else that could scare me anymore than her, so that's not really the biggest issue.

My mom snaps her fingers in front of me. I focus in on her face. I've never seen my mom wearing this expression. She almost looks... mischevious? "You're lucky I happen to have a change of clothes with me."

"Why?" I ask, hesitant to see where this is headed.

"Because you're going to see Sophia." She gets up from the couch, and I stare at her in bewilderment.

"Mom, that's ridiculous! How can I trust this message is from her? How can I trust her?" My voice raises as I become panicked with the thought. I'm as weak as I have ever been, to make matters worse. If I were to need any of my powers, who knows if they would come through for me? Since I've become a super, my mom has been against every step I take towards action. Now my mom is telling me to go into a sketchy situation?

Mom puts her hand on the doorknob. Before she exits the house, she smirks. "You don't need to worry about anything,"

My eyebrow quirks, showing my confusion. She opens the door, "I'm going to be your backup."

***

It's 11:58 pm and I can hear my heart beating in my ears. Mom is driving me to the end of Sophia's road and dropping me off so it looks like I came alone. I just hope I can make it all the way to her house on foot without falling over.

"I feel like I'm dropping you off at your first sleepover all over again." Mom tries to ease the tension. It isn't working.

"Yeah, only this time, you're ditching me at the curb and I don't think we'll be talking about boys."

Mom squints at me, making me think twice about what I just said.

I sigh in defeat, "Well, not in that way, at least."

Mom leans back into the driver seat. I want to do the same, but I find my nerves are on edge. There is no chance of me relaxing.

"Sometimes I wish we were a normal family." Mom admits.

It's my turn to look at her quizzically.

"But that would be quite a boring life." She smiles and sits up in the seat again.

The clock in her car turns to 12:00 and my heart plummets to my stomach. Why am I so terrified of coming face to face with Sophia? She's just an arrogant witch that stole Mickey from me. Actually, that was her loss and my gain. She did me a favor.

I sit up a little straighter. Forget my weakened powers. I'm going in stronger than ever.

"You sure you don't want me to walk with you and then hide in the bushes?" Mom offers, half joking and half serious. It can't be easy for her to watch me walk down a dimly lit road at midnight to meet with an unknown person. My thoughts begin to race again. What if it's not Sophia and it turns out to be Owen or another villain like Shadow Soldier?

Chills race down my spine. Not Shadow Solider. Anyone but him. I'm still having nightmares.

I stumble out of the car, "I have to go alone, or who knows what the consequences will be," I sigh and close my eyes, "I'll be okay." I shut the door to mom's dark blue Nissan Altima.

I'll be okay. I tell myself over and over again. What if the worst case scenario happens and I have to fight? Sure, I can do hand to hand combat, but I'll easily be defeated if the other person has powers. Who knows how much time I have left before my powers are gone?

My feet have somehow brought me to Sophia's doorstep. One exterior porch light shines down on the Welcome mat. I don't know how I didn't fall down on the sidewalk at all, but I'm glad I'm here unscathed. Well, glad I'm unscathed, not here. I'd rather be unscathed at home in my pajamas eating ice cream and watching Netflix.

Oh my gosh Della. Focus.

I raise my hand to knock on the door, but it swings open before I can. My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. It's actually Sophia. It could still be a trick, be careful.

"You're late." Her blonde hair cascades over her shoulder, tangle free, her pajamas don't have a single wrinkle, and her skin is tan and glowing. I grit my teeth in anger. I look like a freaking mess in comparison.

Della. We talked about this. You're strong and brave and you've got bruises because of it. Own the dirt on your face and the rats nest you call hair.

"Late?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest defensively.

She huffs and leans her weight on her right foot. "It's 12:02. We don't have time to waste, Della." She rolls her eyes and pulls me inside before I can object.

I have come to the conclusion that there will, in fact, be a murder tonight. It's going to be Sophia's.

She rushes up the staircase, and I find it hard to not trip over my feet as I try to keep up. I remember running down these steps when I was here last time. The time I found Red Raven's mask and suit in her house, and heard that she was dating Mickey. I should've put the pieces together right then and there. Then again, I never imagined Red Raven was two different guys.

A lot of things have happened since I was last here. 

"What exactly am I here for?" I question in a whisper. It's quite obvious we're sneaking around for a reason, and midnight is the perfect time to do such a thing. But why would she have me meet at her house instead of sneaking out to meet me in a more secluded area?

Probably because she knew I wouldn't come to that sort of location.

I really don't know why I came to this location, in all honesty.

"Shh!" She hisses at me as we make our way to her room. I'm utterly confused. If she's going to murder me, can she do it already?

Once I enter her room, she closes the door softly and turns to face me. I cross my arms over my chest.

"Well?" I ask impatiently. Sophia rolls her eyes.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Sophia starts pacing across the champagne colored carpet.

"I highly doubt you hate it," I mutter.

She blinks a few times before looking at me with an exasperated expression. "Can I finish?"

I stare back at her blankly in response.

She sighs, "You're losing your powers. I don't know when or-"

I laugh at her, "Please, tell me something I don't know."

She seems surprised that it's already taken effect. I shake my head at her.

"What are you? A villain?" I spit the words at her.

"What? No!" Yeah, right.

"A hero?" I ask with a chuckle just to mock her.

"Not exactly?" She responds. My eyes narrow as I lean my weight on my right side.

"Let me guess... A renegade." I hold my breath.

She closes her eyes and leans her back against the door. I wait for her response.

"Anti-hero?" I sigh out the only other option I know of.

Her eyes open, but she rubs her fingers across her forehead. Yeah, I'm getting a headache too.

"I was in The Undergrounds when you were kidnapped. I worked beside Owen before you were around. I know all of his plans. You think he's a rogue villain, renegade, whatever, but he's really, truly a villain that wants to take you down just as much as the next villain. He was your kidnapper, after all."

I breathe out. Here I thought it was all an act on Owen's part. No, he was a real villain that made me think he was a renegade. How do I know she's not lying, though? She just admitted to working alongside him.

"You probably don't believe me. But if I were really a villain, would I tell you-" She holds onto her words and sits at the edge of her bed. Now she has my attention. She nervously twiddles her thumbs. "Okay, first, there are a few small things you need to know before I spill the big thing."

Why is she telling me all of this?

I sit down on the foot of her bed. "Go on."

"Jonas was kidnapped by Owen. He's locked away in The Undergrounds, like you were. Owen put me in charge of monitoring him, but he doesn't know I'm actually doing research and reporting back to Jonas."

"What kind of research?" I butt in. This sounds like the exact same story Owen tried to tell me, and I won't fall for it again.

She huffs at me for interrupting. "I was snooping in the villain files."

I retort sarcastically, "What a brilliant idea. I wish I had thought of that."

Sophia purses her lips, "Do you want me to get straight to the point or not?" I gesture for her to continue and she nods her head.

"Steel Hawk is not dead."

My heart drops to my stomach. A feeling of numbness travels throughout my body. My skin crawls at the mention of his name. He's alive? How?

I jump up from her bed and push past her to get to the door. She hops up and holds out a hand to stop me in my steps. "What are you doing?" Sophia asks, bewildered.

"I don't believe a word you've said." I reply mundanely. I'm freaking out on the inside, but I can't express that I let her words get to me. Please let it not be true.

"Where are you going?" I've already opened the door and stuck one foot in the hall.

"To The Undergrounds, clumpnugget." I slam the door behind me and try not to topple down the steps. It's worth a shot to try and use my super speed to get out of here. I'm a little shaky, but I manage to make it out of the house and down the block before Sophia can chase after me. Unless she can teleport or something. In which case, I'd be in huge trouble.

My hand wraps around the car door handle and I jump in. Where my sudden burst of power came from, I have no clue. I'm just glad it came back for a few seconds. My eyes meet mom's and I yell, "Drive!"

"What happened? How did you get back here so fast?" She turns the key in the ignition and we begin to race down the street. I catch my breath before I tell her anything.

"She told me Jonas is trapped in The Undergrounds, that Owen is a true villain, and... and..." Mom looks over at me when I don't complete my sentence.

"She said Steel Hawk is still alive."

The car jerks right, almost hitting a lamp post on the street. I stare at mom with wide, horror filled eyes. I suppose that was an appropriate reaction.

"WHAT?!" My mom clenches her dainty hands around the steering wheel, turning her knuckles a bright white as they lose circulation.

"I don't know what's true and what's a lie anymore. Take me to The Undergrounds." I beg.

Mom finally gets her wits about her and shakes her head. "You don't have powers to defend yourself." I tell her Steel Hawk might still be alive, and now we're back to over-protective mother mode.

I take a deep breath, "I know. But if someone creates a distraction, I can sneak in." I glance over at her, hoping she'll meet my hopeful eyes. When she does, she scoffs.

"You're my daughter, that's for sure..." She throws her head back in defeat, "Okay." She continues to drive down the road, in a safer manner this time.

I smirk to myself, because I know that questions are about to be answered. Mysteries are about to be solved.

Evil plots are about to be destroyed.

A/N
*Nervous laugh* It's been a while guys... How are y'all?
Comments? Theories? Questions?
I'm really sorry that it's been so long, but I'm starting to get really sad as this book comes to an end. It's honestly getting hard to come to a close.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!

In a previous author's note, I revealed I would be writing another super book in the same universe, and I think y'all are going to like it. I'll be taking some time off this summer after VR is completed to read other books (I've got way too many books in my library that I need to read) and also to start writing this new book. So if I go MIA for a while, you already know.

Until next time!
Always, Sunny