And then, man, it just keeps going!

  Summer came, and I found myself in the middle of the legal battle against Illya Fedorov (Chernobyl). I worked with federal prosecutor Mrs. Anne-Marie Gibson to prepare my testimony. We discovered the NSRA – that's the National Superhuman Response Agency – had been collaborating with Fedorov the whole time. It was a lot of complicated legal stuff, but basically they'd been letting him operate as long as he provided them with energy or something.

  The trial was intense. I had to go on the stand and basically relive the worst day of my life, describe watching Liberty Belle die, all while this slick defense attorney tried to tear my testimony apart. I showed the court the video I'd taken on my phone. It was horrifying, but necessary.

  Then, Agent Shaw from the NSRA testified that the agency had been enabling Fedorov's crimes in exchange for his abilities. It caused a huge scandal. People were protesting outside the courthouse when the Philly Phreaks showed up and started handing out tainted Jump. And by "handing out" I mean "shoving it down random people's throats". I knew that there was tainted Jump going around - me and Rampart had seen it on patrol, but this was like... a full on terrorist attack. It was nuts.

  The modified Jump caused violent mutations among the protesters, turning them into like, living bombs. A lot... A lot of people got injured bad and some of them died that day, and then the Phreaks were just wading through the crowd trying to up the body count. Just a bunch of the worst teenagers you could ever meet. Deathgirl - the little pet project of the previous leader of the Phreaks - had ascended to some sort of leadership role, and she had it out for me in particular.

  It was hard, because her power is "doing everything you can do, but better and grosser". But she was also just, like, thirteen, so I just... out-enduranced and out-skilled her.

  "You saved my life, too!" Maggie points out. "That's the attack I got powers in!"

  "True,"

  After everything settled down, I had to testify at a congressional hearing about superhuman regulation. Things started getting really dicey - roaming community defense squads of unpowered civilians trying to keep the peace, and, like, de facto martial law getting declared by the mayor. Before that day our school had like... maybe four resource officers. When we came back to the new school year, September 2024, it was just flooded, I mean flooded with security. And metal detectors! One of them, Officer Ridley at school was harassing students – especially Black and Brown kids. When I saw him assaulting a freshman just for wearing a hat, I put him on the ground with some Aikido.

  That started getting me more attention. I wasn't even trying to do it, it was just combat training kicking in at that point, but I still got a tongue lashing and detention.

  Anyway. Jordan and I created this anonymous whistleblower website exposing what the security guards were doing. It caught on fast – other schools started making their own sites. The administration tried to shut us down, but we kept going.

  We discovered the guards were connected to a cop bar in South Philly, and that's where we first encountered Patriot and Egalitarian, the leader and right-hand of a bootlicker superhero team called "Pattinson's Pals". They're these self-proclaimed "law and order" vigilantes who basically run around beating up whoever they think is causing trouble. Patriot's got enhanced strength and durability, and Egalitarian can disorient people around her. They warned us to back off.

  "They were assholes," Jordan mutters. "Still are."

  "I wonder what's going on with that Egalitarian lady?" Maggie muses.

  Things came to a head at the homecoming dance. Patriot and his goons burst in, claiming they had a warrant for Jordan's arrest for our whistleblower site. I stood up to him, and he just... he beat me into the ground in front of everyone. It was on camera, went viral. But the amazing thing? The students and teachers formed a human wall between us and Patriot's team. Even Principal Heckerman stood with us.

  After that, I was invited to testify before Congress about superhuman regulation. While I was in DC, we discovered that Patriot had been part of something called Project Titan – a secret military program creating superhuman soldiers. We also found evidence that Egalitarian was using Fly.

  I confronted Patriot with what we knew during a protest. Then on Halloween night, I got him in an abandoned warehouse, to ostensibly discuss matters further, but really I had been setting up to whoop his ass. I mean - it could've gone peacefully, but believe me, he was not going to let that happen. I was completely outmatched physically, but I pulled some nasty tricks like convincing him I had injected him with poison, and then pressuring him with Project Titan and Egalitarian's drug use, and we negotiated a truce. He agreed to back off and leave Jordan alone – temporarily, at least.

  "You came home looking like you'd been hit by a truck," Jordan says. "Which, given Patriot's punches, isn't far off."

  November came, and Maya Richardson won a special election for City Council. The problem? She's Mrs. Zenith of the Kingdom of Keys - told you she'd come back. I knew it, Jordan knew it, but we couldn't prove it in time. She beat her Republican opponent in a landslide.

  I went undercover at the Crescent again, trying to gather intel on the Kingdom's plans. Found a map showing locations they were targeting around the city, but got made by Mudslide. Took a bullet getting out, but managed to escape.

  "You still have that scar," Blink points out, tapping her own shoulder.

  A few days later, we learned the Kingdom was planning something called "Operation Ivory" at the Philadelphia Zoo, and I started really Girl Who Cried Wolf about it. They were planning on stealing the rhinoceroses, to poach them, or do something crazy with Dr. Xenograft's animal chimera powers, or something... but while the DVDs and the heroes I rallied were dealing with Mr. T-Rex's distraction at the rhino exhibit, Maggie and I discovered the real target – poison dart frogs from the Reptile House.

  "I got shot!" Maggie adds proudly. "Multiple times!"

  "You were wearing my bulletproof vest," I remind her. "I still can't believe you stole it."

  "Borrowed," she corrects with a grin.

  We captured Mr. Nothing and Mudslide, but Mrs. Heartbeat escaped with some of the frogs. Still, it felt like a win - collateral damage was minimized, no civilians died, nobody got rhinos, and we captured an extremely useful Kingdom asset, and Mudslide. Everything was cool... until last February, when the fires started.

  At first, it was just strange reports of bright red fires with a metallic smell. Then a coffee shop burned down. Then I found a threatening message in my locker – a nail salon gift card with a hammer sticker.

  It was from Aaron McKinley. Remember him? He was back, and pissed. At me. Specifically.

  Derek and I tracked Aaron to this car he was living in under the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. We confronted him, but he escaped after a fight. Then things escalated – he set fire to several students during a school evacuation, including me. I got second-degree burns all over my arm and shoulder.

  "You healed fast, though," Jordan points out. "Like, suspiciously fast."

  "Yeah, so I had to keep my arm under wraps for a couple of weeks anyway. It was a super public injury. Really annoying," I grumble.

  Then, Kate's house burned down.

  She gave up being Miss Mayfly after we got into our fight the previous year, and apparently was just kind of wallowing, and, well, she was inside when Aaron burnt her house down just to hurt me. Or at least I think it was Aaron. I'm still not 100% sure. Either way, I found her inside, unconscious, and barely got her out in time. With help from Crossroads, who can see potential futures (sort of - it's complicated), I tracked Aaron to an abandoned house near Vogt Park. We had our final showdown there.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "You beat him within an inch of his life," Jordan says quietly.

  Yeah. I did. But I didn't kill him, even though part of me wanted to, so I broke his arm and shoulder instead as a mercy. He's in custody now, awaiting trial. Of course, he's got high-priced lawyers from Tremont & Fairfax fighting to get him out.

  Which is weird, right? Tremont & Fairfax - it just sounds like a fancy schmancy name. Extremely out of Aaron's price range. I didn't even know who they were until I overheard someone talking about that after my deposition in the case, you know, hey, Aaron's lawyer, why are you doing pro bono work for this random scumbag in a city you don't even live in?

  Like I said - Weird, right?

  Oh! Right. I almost forgot about the ordinance! After Richardson got elected, she wasted no time screwing us over. She pushed through this anti-vigilante legislation called the Superhuman Activity Regulation Act. Basically, it banned anyone under 18 from any kind of vigilante activities, regardless of your LUMA status. I promise this will wrap back around to Aaron I just want to make sure our bases get covered.

  "She specifically mentioned you in her speech," Jordan adds. "Used the homecoming video as Exhibit A for why we needed to be 'regulated.'"

  Yeah, that was fun. I actually confronted her about it during a school assembly. She came to Tacony to promote her stupid act, using my fight with Patriot as some kind of object lesson. I stood up in front of the whole school and asked her about Richard Duvall's mysterious death – her opponent who disappeared right before the election. She did not appreciate that.

  "Got you sent to Heckerman's office, if I recall," Blink says with a smirk.

  Worth it. Anyway, the ordinance passed 12-5, and just like that, the Young Defenders were officially disbanded. Rampart joined the DVDs officially. Crossroads had already graduated to the senior team. Gossamer was ready to quit superhero work, but somehow ended up joining us instead, which honestly has been a lifesaver. And Blink is here too now!

  "You're welcome," she says, not looking up from her McFlurry.

  Connor decided to focus on getting his GED and civilian life with his new adoptive family. So basically, our team got gutted overnight.

  "And the Auditors expanded," Jordan adds.

  To make matters worse, Mr. Nothing and Mudslide escaped during a prison transport. There was this whole operation to move them from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, but the Kingdom ambushed the convoy. Captain Plasma got taken down, and they disappeared without a trace.

  Then came the biggest middle finger yet – Richardson announced the formation of Argus Corps. This government-sanctioned superhuman task force would have powers to detain people, interrogate them, all kinds of stuff. And guess who she put in charge? Freaking Patriot.

  "She called it 'preemptive deterrence,'" Jordan says with air quotes.

  The team was Patriot, Turbo Jett, Miasma, and this new guy, Captain Devil. Miasma was the real surprise – he used to be one of Liberty Belle's allies. No idea why he joined up with Richardson, but it felt like a betrayal. Turbo Jett is someone we... encountered at the marina during a Jump slash Fly operation. Oh god, I gotta get into Rogue Wave. Okay. After this bit, promise!

  "Wasn't this also the Soot time?" Maggie asks. "Around that time?"

  Yeah, we started getting reports of a figure in a gas mask using some kind of smoke abilities to take down drug dealers. Calling themself "Soot." They were targeting Jump dealers specifically, which put them on our radar. Jordan and I had a run-in with them during a break-in at a loan shark's house. They were... professional. But brutal.

  Later, I tracked Soot to a warehouse where they were processing chemicals for their smoke powers. We had this whole debate about vigilante ethics – they were willing to do things I wouldn't, like using carbon monoxide to incapacitate people. But in the end, they handed over some Jump pills they'd confiscated, so I let them go.

  I had my suspicions about who Soot might be, but couldn't prove anything. Still can't, technically, though the evidence is... pretty compelling.

  "What evidence?" Blink asks, leaning forward with interest.

  Just patterns. Timings. The fact that Kate keeps disappearing at night and coming home at weird hours. Nothing concrete. But enough to make me wonder.

  Anyway, while all this was happening, on my 16th birthday, Maggie and I encountered a new player – Bash. He was using some kind of auto-injector to enhance his already existing superpowers. Not Jump or Fly, something different.

  "Black autoinjectors," Jordan adds. "That's what tipped us off about Stheno Pharmaceuticals in the first place."

  Right, which brings us back to Tremont & Fairfax. See, after Aaron's arrest, I had to give this whole deposition about what happened. His lawyer was this woman named Katherine Huang, from Tremont & Fairfax – this fancy New York law firm. Okay. Back to full circle.

  That's when we discovered the connection between the law firm, Maya Richardson, and this company called Stheno Pharmaceuticals. Jordan found corporate registration documents linking them all together. We figured out Stheno was probably experimenting with Jump and whatever other drugs the Kingdom was pushing.

  So naturally, we had to break in.

  "Naturally," Jordan deadpans. "Wait, you missed a spot. Get back to Rogue Wave, we haven't explained to the readers where the Jumpw as coming from yet."

  "The who?" Maggie asks, incredulously. "People are reading this?"

  "Don't worry about it," Blink waves her hand in front of Maggie's face.

  Oh right, Rogue Wave! I can't believe I almost forgot to explain where all the Jump was coming from.

  So in the midst of all this Kingdom of Keys and Argus Corps business, we started noticing something weird with Jump dealers around the city. Like, if you mentioned "Rogue Wave" to them, they'd just... short-circuit. I mean that almost literally. Go full "Manchurian Candidate" and start trying to kill you immediately.

  We kept investigating, and it turned out Rogue Wave was this entire criminal organization distributing Jump and Fly throughout Philadelphia. They weren't just selling drugs – they were creating these supernatural contracts with dealers that literally forced them to follow orders.

  Their leader is this guy in a monkey mask who calls himself Monkey Business. He has the power to make contracts that are supernaturally binding. You sign with him, you're basically his puppet. There's also his enforcer, Birthday Suit, and a bunch of other chumps I haven't had the displeasure of meeting yet - Rush Order, Dead Drop, Jackpot, and Snake Oil.

  "Don't forget the big reveal," Jordan says, lowering their voice.

  Oh yeah. The big one. So a couple weeks ago, Monkey Business and his crew hijacked NBC10 and the emergency broadcast system. They had this whole manifesto about creating a "meritocracy" through superpowers. But the real bombshell? They claimed to have over 30,000 contracted individuals in Philadelphia alone – people who signed these binding contracts and are now completely under their control.

  "That number's bullshit," Jordan interjects. "I snuck into Monkey Shitness's boat and overheard them talking about it. It's closer to a thousand."

  Maybe, but even if it's a fraction of that, it's terrifying. Because these contracted people aren't just dealers – they're normal citizens, cops, maybe even teachers or politicians. And if someone says the wrong thing about Rogue Wave, these sleeper agents activate and attack.

  "Like Officer Ridley," Blink points out.

  Exactly. One day at school, Jordan decided to test the waters by claiming to work for the Kingdom of Keys and making a big public show about it - Monkey Business's announcement was used to activate all their sleeper agents at once and get them to start sabotaging the Kingdom. So when Jordan made an announcement about it, Officer Ridley went zombie-mode instantly, attacked Jordan with a taser and tried to strangle them with a baton. I had to choke him out to stop him, and even other students and another security guard helped.

  "Throat still hurts," Jordan chuckles. "Not too bad, though."

  So now we've got the Kingdom of Keys, Rogue Wave, and Argus Corps all fighting for control of Philadelphia, with regular people caught in the middle. And us teenagers are trying to navigate all of it while dealing with school, family, and, you know, not dying.

  "Good luck with that last one," Jordan mutters.

  Okay.

  Back to the present. And by that I mean, like, three hours ago. Before that, we did some cool investigation shenanigans that tied the Kingdom back to Stheno, which turned out to not have an actual office, just a warehouse on Trenton Avenue. And that meant we could do some investigation. The plan was simple – get in, document what they were doing, get out.

  But of course, nothing ever goes according to plan in our lives.

  Turns out we weren't the only ones interested in Stheno. Soot was already there, along with two superpowered enforcers - Bash and Lenny - and a bunch of civilian security guards. The place turned into a three-way battle with smoke everywhere. That's when Argus Corps showed up, and suddenly it was a four-way. The fight was total chaos – smoke everywhere, people getting thrown around. Earlier in our infiltration I had... tied up a security guard, and we had to un-tie him and get him out because Soot was about to flood the place with chlorine gas to smoke everyone out.

  So... had to rescue that guy!

  Patriot came after me. He grabbed my ankle on the stairs, crushed it, but I managed to break free. Jordan severed the staircase with their space powers, dropping Patriot while I rescued the guard. We jumped out a window where Blink and Jordan were waiting with a makeshift landing pad.

  As we escaped in a taxi, Soot released some kind of chemical that triggered a chain reaction, and the whole place went up in smoke and fire.

  And here we are, looking a hell of a lot more ridiculous than four random teenagers hitting McDonald's at 2:30 in the morning should. I'm in my winter Bloodhound suit with the helmet off, missing a boot because my ankle's swollen to the size of a softball. Jordan's cloak is singed at the edges, and there's soot – actual soot, not the vigilante – streaked across their face. Blink's costume is torn at the shoulder, and Maggie has an impressive black eye forming.

  Part of me feels like I should be worried about Aaron's trial, or Maya Richardson's schemes, or Rogue Wave distributing Jump, or whatever the hell Stheno was making in that warehouse. But right now? Sitting here with my friends, alive when we easily could've died again? I'm just... I don't know. Happy seems like the wrong word. Relieved, maybe. Grateful.

  "So," Jordan says, unwrapping their third cheeseburger with the mechanical precision of someone who's practiced this exact motion hundreds of times, "you think anyone else is going to connect this particular explosion to the four of us?"

  I shrug, gingerly stretching my ankle under the table. "I'm not worried about it. I'm feeling the win."