“See you Amy.”

  “See you,” she replied, giving me a peck on the lips before heading into school.

  The security guards eyed me and I sighed, turning around and heading back to the bus stop. Of course I’d forgotten I didn’t actually have class today, or at least not exactly. With my suspension, I was doing everything at home now, or rather at headquarters. Of course I’d rather do it at Amy’s place, but I had other shit to do too.

  Using this time off from school to decompress? Fuck no, there was daily training, meetings with Yamada and her ersatz version, more fucking PR work. It was asinine, but I guess I’d earned it with my stunt on Friday. Maybe I’d get the chance to blow off some steam in the gym today, convince whoever I was with to let me go to town on the heavy bag or something. Not that I really knew how to use it beyond flailing wildly…

  Maybe that was a good idea though, picking up boxing or something. I didn’t exactly have reach, but it was less for practicality’s sake and more so I could just...avoid beating up my classmates. Yamada had talked a bit about ‘outlets’ before, I could barely recall. Maybe I could see if there was actually something to her advice.

  The bus back was practically empty, which was nice since I really didn’t want to be crowded. Despite that, it wasn’t pleasant. Some douche had scribbled crossed W’s all over the place; Wotan’s Wolves, because why would I be able to escape the constant reminder? I just kept my head down and tried to ignore it. All it would do was piss me off more, and I really didn’t need that right now.

  Mercifully, the ride downtown wasn’t long at all, and I was back in my quarters fairly quick. I returned to my room and dumped my bag, then walked over and stared at my daily schedule. An hour til I was in the gym with CPL Hooks. Weird name, probably not a cape because I couldn’t recall any new heroes who’d arrived.

  What to do in the mean time? I dug into my bag and pulled out the various worksheets I still needed to do and sighed. I sat down at my desk and got to work, puzzling over my math first. I gave up twenty minutes later after I got stuck on the second question and turned to my English homework. I gave up on that quickly too with a frustrated groan and leaned back in my seat.

  My eye caught my sketchbook. Huh, I’d only used it once in the last three months and, well, that had been pretty nice. Outlets… If I couldn’t work on school shit, I may as well. I grabbed it and a pencil, the flipped it open to where I’d been working before; just crappy doodles. I turned the page over and stared at the paper, wondering what to draw…

  My alarm made me flinch and I swore under my breath. Already? I shut my book with a barely-begun outline and sprang up from my seat. I changed into my costume, grumbling at the new armoured plates. It was a good idea, covering my vitals, my back, my major arteries; but getting the thing on without popping them off was a pain.

  Ten minutes later, and five minutes late, I was in the gym. It was practically empty, besides a squat, broad woman with shoulders the size of my head. Her wiry black hair was shaved down to dark brown skin on the sides, and barely more than that on top. She was rhythmically hammering away at a bouncing, tear-shaped device I’d heard called a speed bag once. She wasn’t going very fast, so I wasn’t really sure why it was called that. The door shut behind me, and she turned my way, quickly walking over.

  “Amaranth right?” she said, sticking out a hand. “Corporal Hooks, gonna be whipping you into shape.”

  “Hopefully not literally,” I muttered, grasping her hand. She let out a bellow of laughter.

  “Nah, nah,” Hooks said, shaking her head. “Come on, let’s run some laps and chat.”

  And like that we were off. Hooks ran a lot faster than the other Wards usually did, and I found myself lagging behind quickly. She cheered me on to go faster, and dammit I tried, but only managed to keep up for a single lap before falling behind again. I cursed quietly as Hooks got further and further ahead, tossing the occasional word of encouragement back my way. Ten laps later, I was doubled over, hands on my knees, blinking away beads of sweat.

  “Good pace,” Hooks commented as she joined me. She looked as fit as could be, barely sweating at all. “They really let you kids slack on cardio, huh?”

  “Not...many capes...run,” I managed between heaving breaths. “We’re stupid like that.” If it weren’t for my projection, the clap she landed on my back as she laughed would have knocked me over.

  “S’why I like you guys so much,” she replied, cupping a hand in the air. “Bigger balls than any of the guys in tac.” I snorted.

  “You’re in the tactical unit?”

  “Uh huh,” Hooks said, grinning. “Point man extraordinaire. PRT needs a door kicked, they call me.”

  “Mm, flak catcher,” I grumbled.

  “Little bit,” she said dryly. “From what I hear, that’s a pretty familiar gig, huh?”

  “And what did you hear?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

  “That some pipsqueak Ward broke some brat’s nose when he was asking for it,” she said with a shrug. “And now that pipsqueak is suspended.” I shot her a glare.

  “Long and short I guess,” I groused, rolling my eyes. “Nazi fuck was harassing me and my girlfriend, couldn’t let it slide.”

  “Then you did right by her, far as I’m concerned,” Hooks said. My eyes widened, earning a dry chuckle. “What, you think a black woman in Brockton Bay’s gonna give you shit about punching some cracker punk?”

  “Uh.” I blinked. “I didn’t… Sorry.”

  “Only apologize if you’re actually sorry about breaking that guy’s nose.” She gave me a firm nod when I stayed silent. “Good. Okay, so we got an hour in here. They didn’t give me a program for you, just said to make sure you’re working out. Anything you had in mind?"

  “No not really I…” I paused, frowning. “Uh, actually, do you know anything about boxing?”

  “Hell yeah I do,” Hooks said, sounding excited.

  “Can you...teach me?”

  The way she looked at me changed. The warm, broad smile fell away, and the sparkle of mirth in her midnight eyes vanished. I felt a chill run up my spine as her gaze tracked up and down, picking me apart. It wasn’t like the guys at school, or even the rare girl; Hooks was like a mountain lion sizing up prey, looking for where to sink her teeth in for the killing blow. I’d seen that look on the faces of plenty of capes…

  “Bit of a flea-weight,” Hooks said at last, voice even. “Not a bad thing, less of you to hit. Obviously you thrown a punch before, ever step into the ring?”

  “Not really,” I said, taking a deep breath and drawing myself up. Shouldn’t be scared, she was on my side after all. “But I fought the Siberian, so it can’t be much worse.” She blinked and her skin paled slightly.

  “Uh.” Shit, I guess that wasn’t common knowledge.

  “Sorry, forget that,” I said quickly. “Just...boxing?” She let out a long breath.

  “Well,” Hooks said, a shaky smile returning. It didn’t quite reach her eyes. “As long as you don’t show off that Siberian-fighting power, should be alright.”

  “Oh, you don’t really have to worry about that,” I replied with a shrug, holding up and wiggling my three shortened fingers. “Not like I have super strength or anything, just won’t get a concussion if you punch me in the face.” She looked at my fingers, then offered me a more genuine grin,

  “That a challenge?” I huffed and shook my head, smiling.

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  “Why not?” I said, ducking under the ropes to the boxing ring.

  “That sounds like an excellent outlet, Amaranth,” Yamada said, offering a tense smile. I glanced at O’Keefe sitting next to her, but his face was partly obscured by a tremendous moustache and offered no clues. “And how did you find your coach?”

  “She works here,” I replied, returning my attention to her. “Part of the tactical unit. Um, she was actually pretty cool honestly.”

  Boxing had gone well yesterday, really well. Once we’d both got over whatever weird hangups we had introduced with that wreck of a conversation, things were pretty great. Hooks had jumped right into actual boxing, saying we’d go back to the ‘bitch basics’ later. Of course that meant taking a hell of a lot more hits than I ever managed to land, but I did land some by the end of the time we had. I wasn’t sure how practical it was, considering how insistent the PRT was on us not fighting, but it felt nice.

  “I’m happy you’ve made that connection.” she said.

  “And before you say it, no I’m not going to go around beating people up,” I said before she could comment. “Corporal Hooks was pretty clear I’d be in for a world of hurt if I wasn’t using it right.”

  “I appreciate that Amaranth,” Yamada said.

  “It’s important to be able to draw the lines between combat and class,” O’Keefe said, his first words since he’d greeted me. “But I know it can be difficult. You hadn’t been back to school since you got your powers right, not til July?”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “Leviathan came and…foosh.” I threw my arms up. “And even when I was back it didn’t stop you know? Still hasn’t, but now I’m supposed to. Anyway we’ve talked about this already.”

  “Perhaps you and Dr. Yamada,” he said. “But, if you don’t mind Jessica, I’ll retread ground I haven’t covered yet; if you’re comfortable of course.” Yamada nodded and I sighed.

  “Wards aren’t allowed to go after the real problems anymore,” I said glumly. “Get told off for responding to a fucking explosion with Vista like I’m supposed to just ignore it when I’m out there looking for trouble. I’ve been fighting literal monsters since I got powers and now when just a little more push will finally get rid of them, nope, yank on the leash.” I huffed angrily; I really was a fucking attack dog.

  “I see. May I offer another perspective?” I shrugged and nodded. “The PRT has a duty to keep you Wards safe. The last few months, I understand, have been exceptional.” Right, another reminder he wasn’t from around here, wouldn’t really get it. “But they’re still trying to do right by you, and by the law, keeping you from serious harm.”

  “And fuck everyone else, right?” I snapped. “We can do good. Me and Vista stopped five of them without breaking a sweat. Five Nazis who can’t go around beating people up because two girls held hands or whatever.”

  “And what about the civilians in the rest of the city?” O’Keefe asked, leaning forward. I noticed Yamada frown. “Should they be abandoned to live under the grip of villains who are less political?”

  “We don’t have enough heroes to handle all the threats,” I countered. “We need to concentrate, get rid of the worst, then do it again, and again, and again, until the worst villains in the city are shitters like Uber and Leet. But no, no aggression, got to fight blindfolded with a lame arm.”

  “Have you considered that’s part of the reason?”

  “What?”

  “For this change in strategy,” he clarified. “You said it: not enough heroes to handle the threats. They still need to protect as many people as possible, and that means keeping heroes alive. Aggression risks injuries and escalation, which could lead to more violence and more harm being done than whatever good comes.”

  “And doing nothing lets them establish themselves, dig their trenches, recruit more.” I sighed and shook my head. “Look just forget it. We’re not going to see eye to eye, just like the rest of the PRT. I’m trying to stick to the rules anyway, so who cares how I feel about it.”

  “I do, for one,” O’Keefe replied.

  “Well that’s one of us,” I snapped. “Look I’m finding outlets and shit so I can be more chill, isn’t that enough?”

  “It’s an excellent start,” he said. “And it gives me confidence that you can come to understand and control your feelings.” He offered a smile that barely poked from under his moustache. “Thank you for indulging me Amaranth, would you like to talk about something a little lighter?”

  “Yes please,” I sighed.

  “There you go,” I said, scrawling my messy signature on the poster showing off me in that godawful pose Quique had decided was ‘perfect’. “Stay safe out there, okay?”

  “You got it,” a wide-eyed boy who looked maybe Vista’s age said with a hint of awe.

  I sighed and waved as his mom led him away. More PR, more crap. It had been a surprisingly busy afternoon, but then they’d purposely booked it after school. I was pretty tired from more training this morning, but I’d at least managed to get a little schoolwork done. Amy was delivering my assignments, bless her, so it felt like I was barely making progress at all.

  But at least I wasn’t wasting my time on the clock doing nothing to make the city safer, that sure would be fucking stupid wouldn’t it? I took a deep breath and forced a smile, remembering that people could allegedly see it in my eyes if I wasn’t. More kids, a few teenagers, even a couple adults all came up to get posters signed. It was all the merch they’d made so far, but being fair it had only been a week.

  “Can I get an autograph?” I frowned and looked up at the familiar voice.

  “A—” I choked. Amy smiled at me, holding out a poster. “Uhh, yeah, sure I can.” Why the fuck was she here? Why was she getting an autographed poster of me?!

  “Cool, it’s ‘to Amelia’, is that okay?”

  “Yup.” It took every ounce of willpower not to sign with my name. “Um, anything else?”

  “A kiss?” she asked under her breath. I was getting worried my mask would catch fire, my cheeks were so hot. “Kidding, I know you have a girlfriend. Thanks, I’ll see you around.”

  “See you,” I croaked. I caught Miss Militia’s eye, a few feet away, and swore she was grinning. God dammit.

  Fortunately there were only a few more posters to sign, then I was let go for the evening. I went down for a brief shower, then headed to my quarters. I grabbed my phone and frowned at an unexpected text. I opened and read it as I finished towelling myself off. ‘@ the bus stop’. Right, because spending the night wasn’t upstairs anymore.

  I quickly dressed and stuffed both my phones, and a change, into my bag; then headed through the connector and up. I exited onto the street and turned left, heading up to the stop where I saw Amy. I gave her a quick hug as the bus rolled up and we got on. My poster was sticking out of her bag conspicuously.

  “How was your day?” Amy asked innocently. “Work go okay?”

  “Had a couple weird customers,” I said with a shrug. “One girl asked me for a kiss. The nerve, you know?”

  “The nerve,” she agreed with a grin. “But I get one don’t I?”

  I found myself smiling and pressed my lips to hers, then cuddled against her as the bus drove off. It wasn’t that far, so soon enough we were up and walking the block to her place. I wanted to know but...I’d wait til we had a modicum of privacy. With Tattletale’s Undersiders still in town, I really didn’t need to unmask myself.

  “Finally home,” Amy groaned as we walked in. Her apartment was a hell of a lot more put together than the last time I’d seen it. “So glad I don’t have to hang out there today. Might go to the hospital later for a couple hours but…”

  “The hospital?” I asked, giving her a look. “I thought we were spending the night in together.”

  “Um, uh,” Amy stammered. “I thought, well, I haven’t gone in a few days so I was going to do that while you did some homework? It’s pretty important I’m still healing people, you know?”

  “I know,” I sighed. “Could have told me before I came over.”

  “Sorry, but I have to—”

  “It’s fine,” I cut her off, slipping an arm around her back. “Can we go in and sit down?”

  Amy nodded and we strode to the couch. I sat and she turned back, heading to the kitchen. She returned a moment later with a couple drinks, regular cola fortunately, and offered me one. When she sat, I pulled my legs onto the couch and leaned against her. Annoyed at her stunt or not, this was always going to be nice.

  “So,” I said after a few minutes. “What was all that about, with the poster?”

  “Sorry,” Amy said with a chuckle. “When I heard you were doing a signing well, I sort of had to.”

  “What, just to mess with me?” I asked.

  “Sort of, I guess?” She frowned. “Sorry, was it shitty? Me and Vicky did that sometimes.”

  “I’m not her you know,” I sighed. “Whatever, it’s fine. Now you get the worst picture of me complete with half my actual signature.”

  “Worst?” Amy gave me a look. “You look great. Like, hold on.” She got up and ran off, then returned a moment later holding the poster and gestured to it. “Look, they’re setting you up as this strong, peppy type. It’s sort of how Laserdream got marketed.”

  “I’m neither of those things,” I said flatly.

  “Well, maybe your fans were disappointed,” she said with a shrug. “But all I heard waiting was how cool it was that you did all that stuff and were, and I quote, ‘their age’. I think the girl who said that was twelve.”

  I glared at her as a wavering smile touched her lips. Despite myself, I chuckled at the stupid crap today had brought. Amy sat next to me after setting the poster down on the coffee table, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I sighed and shut my eyes, just enjoying the comfort.

  “So what’re you gonna do with it?” I asked after a few cozy minutes.

  “Not sure yet,” she said. “But I’m putting it up.”

  “Why?”

  “I…” Amy trailed off and when I looked up her face was bright red. “I thought it would be...nice, if I could see you even when you weren’t over.” My face flushed and I wrapped my arms around her waist.

  “I guess it’s fine,” I said quietly. “Just weird like, I don’t know.”

  “Being on a poster?”

  “I guess that’s part of it,” I replied. “But also like, this whole thing. The PR, the merch, all this shit. That’s not my job, my job is going out on patrol and making sure at least a few more people are safe in this shitty city.”

  “You sound like—”

  “Shadow Stalker, I know,” I grumbled.

  “Maybe, didn’t talk to her much.” Amy shrugged and kissed my cheek. “I was going to say you sound like you need to hear your own words again. Something about pacing yourself so you can be a hero longer?”

  “It’s not the same.”

  “It’s not,” she agreed. “But… Listen, Lia, you’re always going to be a hero to me. I love that you go out there and save people, but I don’t want you to just be a mask.”

  “Thanks,” I said quietly, stomach twisting. “That’s…just thanks. I hope the city’s in a place where I don’t have to be much longer.”

  “Lia…” Amy sighed. “Tonight at least?” I looked up at her and smiled, stretching up and kissing her cheek.

  “Tonight,” I agreed.