Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

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Three silhouettes beamed down on the land of Atlantis. All of them wore dirty orange jumpsuits with "TSA" written in bold on the back of them. They trudged along the empty plains of white abyss in silence.

"How much longer do we need to walk?" complained a young, male voice. It belonged to a boy, with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Do NOT complain. Complainers will get consequences." snapped a young female voice. She had been irritated with the young male ever since she first met him.

"Dolores do not squabble with the captive. We need him for our plan." The oldest one of the three, a woman with slick white hair, hushed. "Yes, sorry mother." Dolores grumbled.

"What does this place have to do with your plan, anyways? And when are you guys gonna tell me about the plan?" The young male muttered. The oldest woman simply sighed, slightly annoyed. "This place is called Atlantis. There are people here who will provide us with the power needed to defeat the kids that ruined our lives. That includes that Owen boy."

The young male scoffed at that name. "I cannot wait to see the look on that idiot's face when we see him again."

The white-haired woman stopped dead in her tracks suddenly. "Yo, what's the holdup?" The young male asked.

"Silence children. We are getting close to the magicians. They will give us the magic we need to move forward." The young male just groaned. "Wait wait wait, magicians?! You guys did NOT mention that beforehand. I don't mess with magicians!"

The oldest woman rolled her eyes. "Just be quiet. In fact, Dolores give Fowen the quiet treatment. That'll keep his mouth shut for the time being. Dolores grinned. "Gladly mother!"

She cupped her hand under Fowen's jaw. "H-Hey what are you-" She lifted his jaw and twisted it side-ways. There was a small cracking sound, and with that Fowen couldn't move his jaw anymore. "That'll stop him for a bit." Dolores laughed.

"Silence Dolores. The city is right ahead and I don't need you children messing up my plan with your chattering." She warned.

The three looked ahead and saw a beautiful sight. A magnificent set of rainbow buildings, all tall and swirled in interesting shapes. Behind it all was a gorgeous sparkling ocean, with pure white sands. A couple of old-looking folks hobbled their way around the city. Although there was little to nobody walking through the city, it was no secret the three visitors stuck out like sore thumbs.

They walked all through the city until they reached a ginormous tower, accompanied by a river and a large archway. The three broke through the gated entry and quietly walked through the tower, eventually arriving at the room with shimmering white doors.

Twelve chairs sat in the large, empty room. The figures there were much like the ones in the city; all very old. One hobbled towards the group.

"Excuse me, you cannot be here." She looked at all three members of the group. A look of relief washed over her as soon as she took notice of their orange uniforms

"I know these strange garments. You all must be from the future! Yes yes, others have visited us, you must be here to tell us news." She suddenly frowned. "The others know we have created new realities and not many can be here. So why are you here?"

"Call me The Countess. I am indeed from the future, along with my colleagues. We request power." The very few others in the room started murmuring.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite follow." The woman said, furrowing her brow.

"We need your power. The Atlantis council are the most powerful entities to have ever existed. If you want Earth to exist any longer, you need to give power to us. We're your only hope."

"And why should we believe you exactly?" The old woman questioned. She kept her staff low, but the others could notice it's orb getting brighter and brighter. The Countess sighed. "You do quite ask too many questions, Adelaine dear.

"How....how do you know my name?" She stumbled back a bit, frightened by the Countess. Now she had her right where she wanted.

A much older man put his staff between the two. Each of their staffs had a lightly colored orb implemented in it. He had the brightest orb. "Ma'am we're going to have to ask you to leave. We won't be needing your help here." He scolded.

The countess gave a slick, wicked grin before reaching her arm out and putting her gloved hand around the man's neck. He immediately dropped down, clearly limp and hurt. "Any others want to try and defy me? Don't be shy now, it certainly won't kill you!" She laughed.

The few council members in the room all let out gasps of horror. Adelaine had a look of shock and glared at the Countess with much hatred.

"Way to go mother!" Dolores cheered from behind. The Countess snapped her head back at Dolores, and with her glance, Dolores sheepishly kept her head down.

"You dare hurt the Magister?! Atlantis does not tolerate people like you. You are certainly nothing like the others before you." Adelaine snapped. She grabbed her staff from the ground in which it had fallen and pointed it at the three.

Before she could strike them, Dolores pushed her mother out of the way and jumped on the old woman. As soon as her hand touched Adelaine, she collapsed much like the old man. The other council members were quick to act after this, but The Countess got up from the floor and grabbed Adelaine's staff. She pointed it accusingly at all of them.

"I truly didn't want it to come to this, but you cowards leave me no choice. Now hand over your magic, or suffer the same fate as these two." She grinned.

-

"That was crazy! Totally wish I could've jumped in on the fun too though." Fowen recalled. The three were now walking far from the village, which had started to crumble.

"Surely we have to get out of here soon, right mother?" Dolores was carrying several of the staffs under her arms, causing her to stumble a bit.

"Dolores be careful with those staffs! They're ancient and possibly the only thing we could use to destroy Kara Dox." She spat the name out with disgust.

"So where are we headin'? Can't stay here, I'm pretty sure it's literally collapsing beneath us." Fowen laughed nervously.

"It's time we pay a little visit to our old friends. We aren't gonna destroy them just yet, but we need to make our point loud and clear. We're back, and ready for the next battle."

And with that, The Countess slapped her time bracelet. They disappeared from Atlantis with a spurt of light, leaving the ancient city to crumble.

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Chapter Text

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"God I'm so done with this!" Kara yelled, throwing the wrench on the floor. She still had her signature pink hair and a mischievous glint in her eyes. Since escaping the time prison, Kara had converted her orange TSA uniform into a chic jacket she wore quite often. Instead of her usual smile, Kara sat on the floor of the Night Squad's training room with a pout on her face.

"Please refrain from throwing my tools." Orion sighed. He was hyperfocused on whatever he was tinkering with and didn't glance at Kara. His hair was a mess per usual, but he was in more casual clothes nowadays. He had his usual black pants, but now with a simple black t-shirt and an open purple zip-up.

"Sorry it's just, don't you find this machinery stuff a bit, how do I put this nicely....boring?" Although she loved working with the group, Kara couldn't hide the fact she didn't consider herself good at it. She always felt bored and angry anytime she worked on gadgets with Orion, mainly because he was so good at it.

Orion looked up at her.

"Look I get you just want to go ahead and run after all the villains in this city, but every time you do you also somehow screw something up and get put in prison. You've been to sixteen prisons, just this year."

"That's not even that bad!"

Orion slowly turned to look at her. "Kara, it's April."

Kara rolled her eyes. "Okay jeez you can stop pointing out the reasons I'm not the best at what we do around here. But cmon I mean, we have all the evidence Cody Dallanger is the pie poisoning lunatic why can't we just take him down already?" She made a fake gagging noise. "Even the crimes here are so boring. No offense."

"We can't just go out into battle against a villain just because we feel like it. The point of us making these tools are to take him down. Remember, he's a comic book villain and that's why he has such weird ways to terrorize the people here." He let out a cringe. "I hate knowing I'm a fictional character."

Kara laughed. "You're tellin' me! The same day I found out I had seen the future version of myself practically dead in my room, I received a time bracelet meant to be used against my evil time-traveling aunt, and I saved my best friend whom I had no recollection of from being crushed by a car."

"Yikes, that's a lot for a small little thirteen-year-old Kara to comprehend."

Kara huffed "I was not small! Also, it was more like thirteen and a half." Orion just smiled. "Yeah yeah, whatever makes you feel better."

"Anyways, what were YOU even doing at thirteen? Kara asked innocently. Although they've all been officially working together for five years now, Orion didn't open up to Gwen or Kara very much. Especially about his past.

"Thought you said it was thirteen and a half." He chuckled. Kara looked at him accusingly. "Hey don't try to change the subject on me!"

Orion stayed silent. He kept tinkering with the motorcycle beside him. Kara sighed, not letting the silence get to her. "Alright, keep your secrets star boy."

"Guys! Guys, you'll never guess what I picked up on my way here!" A voice called out, breaking the silence.

Gwen, known as Earth Girl to most, suddenly crashed down from the ceiling. Bits of gravel and stone tumbled down from above. She carried a large chunk of metal and a tube of a strange, vibrant liquid. She wore a sunflower shirt with mom jeans and a pair of yellow boots. On her back was her well-known jetpack which had flowers painted all over it. "Gwen! What'd ya get this time?" Kara laughed, running over to the girl.

"Can you guys please learn to just use the ceiling hatchet? Can't just use all this hero money to keep fixing the ceiling which you guys won't stop breaking." Orion said, clenching his jaw.

"Lighten up dude. Besides, every time we break the ceiling tile you get to find a metal impossible for us to break! It's truly a win-win." She smirked, patting him on the back.

"Well, since I was stopping at the junkyard anyways-"

"Ew Gwen totally gross!" Kara yelled, immediately dropping the metal in her hands.

"No no no listen! I was gonna stop at the junkyard, but spotted this beauty outside the museum." She said, hugging the chunk of metal. "Heesh. Why is she so obsessed with metal?" Orion mumbled. Kara just stifled a laugh.

Gwen glared at the boy. "Well, I actually got it because I figured we could use it to finally start working on those steel suited boots we always talk about! Perfect enough to kick down doors, AND provide great speed!"

"That's great! But uh, what's the weird juice for?" Kara said, gesturing towards the odd potion Gwen had attached to her belt. Gwen dangled the bottle in front of her. "The weird guy that owns the juice bar gave it to me. He said something about it needing to be in good hands- I actually don't know I wasn't really listening." She laughed, admiring the vibrant liquid.

Orion immediately grabbed the bottle from her. "Why would you accept some strange juice from a shady guy in Jupiter City?! Gwen you KNOW Jupiter city has the strangest people."

Orion rubbed his temples as he put the bottle down.

"We've been suspecting the juice bar is a hideout and exchange depot for the pie poisoner. For all you know this potion could be literal poison." Gwen let out a small giggle. "Orion I'm honored you're so concerned, but I'm from Argon VI and I don't think your common Earth toxins would cause me any harm!" She swiftly grabbed the bottle and set it down in her workspace. "If I can successfully dissect the toxins in whatever this is, maybe one of them will be what I've needed to create those stun stars you seem so interested in!"

"I vote we just let Gwen continue with her freaky science projects and hope she doesn't catch a deadly Earth disease!" Kara cheered. "Fine okay. Just, please wear gloves at least? I don't wanna be responsible for any deadly burns." Orion muttered, leaving the room.

Kara frowned. She slowly walked towards Gwen, watching her set up her science station. "Hey Gwen, I feel like Orion has been in such a mood lately. Have you noticed that, or is it just me?"

"Well, I think Orion always has a hint of moodiness in his voice. Although, I have to agree he seems a little edgier than usual." Gwen laughed.

Kara's stare didn't leave the spot where the boy had just stood. Then she thought about what he said. What if she just took care of things around here on her own? Sure she was a massive screw-up when it came to helping the townsfolk, but it would feel great to not have to be sitting around the office AND she wouldn't be bothering Orion so much while doing so.

No! She couldn't just go off and stop crime on her own! But it wasn't a bad idea to at least try...

"Hey, Gwen? Do you mind if I borrow some gear? I wanna try some new tactics tonight." Kara asked, looking at the array of gadgets behind her. "New tactics? Like what? Ooh, can I help?" Gwen asked giddily.

"Actually, it's more of a solo project. It'll be really quick and I promise I'll bring the gear back unharmed!" Gwen looked at Kara, seated at the desk next to her. "I dunno, is Orion okay with it?"

"Well, he will be once it's done! Please Gwen I really wanna try this out." Kara gave her the best puppy dog look she could do. And it was pretty darn good. "Oh alright! Bring me back a souvenir though? Maybe like some metal samples? Ooh! Or a little bit of superhuman DNA?"

"Well, one of those is do-able." Kara laughed. "Thanks Gwen! You won't regret this."

-

The truth was, Orion had been feeling different lately. Okay not moodier or edgier, but definitely different. Ever since he went out on patrol four nights ago.

Patrol for the heroes was just swinging around the cityscapes and looking down below from tall buildings. Gwen only did patrols on full moons because she likes to analyze it every night instead of actually patrolling. Kara usually stays in the office just to have time for herself.

Orion didn't mind having the night to himself, though. He liked the quietness of it all. However, this night immediately felt different as soon as he stepped out the door. Everything seemed normal for the most part. Occasional lost animal or scam going on in an alleyway, but nothing too crazy. Then he saw her.

A cloaked figure just staring at him from the top of a clock tower. The bit of moonlight that was there showed her pure white hair and chiseled features. What stood out to him, though, was the odd glove on her left arm. It showed brightly of a blue aura and seemed evil in itself.

All of this was enough proof for Orion. He immediately jumped from roof to roof, rushing to the rooftop of the clock tower.

As soon as he got there she was gone. He had kept his eyes on her the entire time, and yet she had seemingly disappeared into the night. A small white fragment had caught his eye, though. He bent down to the spot where the woman had stood not too long ago.

He found a long, white hair on the floor of the clock tower. Even up close, it was definitely pure white. He placed the hair into a small vile to analyze every night from then.

Ever since that night Orion couldn't drop thinking about that woman. Her blueish glow. Her strange glove. All of it just felt so wrong. He had stopped going on nightly patrols entirely. Instead, Orion had been researching nonstop of who that woman could've been.

He didn't wanna bother Gwen with the problem, because she would definitely blab to Kara who would want to tell all the heroes of the town about it. He didn't want that happening because they weren't used to actual threats, especially nowadays with the dark being defeated already.

Orion held the small vile of hair between his palms. It seemed to glow brighter every time he looked at it, almost like it was taunting him.

Okay, he was officially going crazy.

Gwen walked in, breaking his train of thought. "Hey, Orion? Can I talk to ya?"

He quickly shoved the vile into his pocket. "Oh yeah, sure what's up?"

"Well- alright don't get mad at what I'm gonna say. You have to promise that first!" Gwen laughed nervously. Orion eyed her suspiciously. "Continue."

"Okay so, I let Kara borrow some gear earlier AND BEFORE YOU SAY ANYTHING yes I made sure it was my more safety gear. The bad news is, I haven't heard from her in two hours."

She let out a breath.

Orion just glared at her.

"Cmon don't give me that look! I thought she was just gonna test them out upstairs but then she left and I couldn't stop her! She was already in too deep."

Orion sighed deeply. "Okay, do you have any ideas of where she went?"

She tapped her fingers on the desk. "Hmm, she talked a bit about how weird you've been acting, then zoned out, then asked to borrow the gear."

"Dang. No idea where she could've gone then. What type of gear did she get?"

"I think it was grappling ropes, a pepper gas bullet holder, two coal bombs, and my pipe radio device!"

"I thought you said you gave her only safe equipment?!" Orion quietly screamed.

"That was just to soften the blow okay!" Gwen cried. "Oh wait, I almost forgot! She also took one of those throwing stars I made from the fragments of her old-time watch!"

"Oh god."

"What?"

"I know exactly where she is." He gulped.

"Really?! Just from that bit of information?"

He immediately rushed to put on his own gear. "That, and I can hear the police sirens from a couple streets down."

-----

Chapter Text

"Kiel! What have I told you about keeping this place clean? It reeks in here!" shouted a young voice. The voice belonged to a red-haired young woman, known as Bethany. She stepped over some books in the room and stumbled over to Kiel's desk.

"Wake up Kiel, don't make me pour cold water on you again." She persisted. "Just a couple more minutes?" groaned the young male. Bethany laughed and nudged him a bit. "I let you sleep in yesterday! Besides, I'm sure the Boys Shelter is expecting the great boy magician." She chuckled.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Fine, if you insist. Can I at least eat breakfast before I go?" Bethany ruffled his hair and have a small smile. "Actually, I figured I would go stop by the bakery to get us some cupcakes. Just as a treat."

"Ooh really?! For me?" He gasped, jokingly. "Not just for you, I feel like I deserve some cupcakes after Queen Magica took my suggestion last week! Only took her three months." She muttered.

"You're absolutely right, you do deserve cupcakes." Kiel laughed. "I'm gonna go to the Boys Shelter while you're gone." Bethany gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Good. I'll be back in a few!" She yelled, rushing out the door. Kiel chuckled and turned back to his incredibly messy desk.

Okay, was it bad to lie about going to help orphans every Tuesday? Yes.

Was Kiel still doing it? Unfortunately, yes.

I mean, he totally would if he could. It's just that he had other things to take care of at the moment. Although, he mainly told himself that to make him feel better. It's not like he never did. In fact, he used to go a lot to do some tricks for the kids. Then one day, he just couldn't bring himself to go back.

He was doing his regular routine that day. Just performing simple tricks for the young boys in the shelter. "Any requests?" He asked the group around him.

"Ooh ooh can you make my pet mousie dance?" One boy piped up, holding up a small mouse. The other boys around him laughed. "I'll try my best," Kiel assured with a wink. He flipped through his book until he landed on the perfect spell. He whispered some words and waved his wands in an extravagant way.

He pointed the wands toward the mouse, and suddenly, it started moving in a funny way. It's little arms wiggled in the air, and it began to dance much like a ballerina. The boys oohed and aahed with wondrous applause following. Kiel smiled and gave a quick bow before taking a quick glance around the room.

One applause caused him to look towards a dark corner of the room.

There stood Owen. Or, what looked like Owen. The figure just clapped slowly, with a slick grin on his face. Although Kiel was confused, he knew this wasn't Owen.

It had to be Fowen. Orange jumpsuit and all. Most definitely from the Time Prison, he got banished to in Kara's book.

As soon as Kiel blinked, the boy was gone. Nobody seemed to notice Kiel's face shift into a look of fear or his skin fading to a white, ghostly color. The cheering of the boys seemed to slowly stop as the workers gathered the boys off to bed. Then Kiel was in the empty hall, all alone.

Ever since then he no longer wanted to visit the Boys Shelter. Whenever Bethany wanted to visit the workers, whom she was friends with, Kiel insisted she stayed home. On one hand he wanted to message Owen about how he thought Fowen was in town, but on the other hand he knew how busy Owen and Charm usually were.

Of course, he also considered telling Bethany. She would believe him, but he knew she would immediately become 10x more stressed from it. So he decided to just not tell her. It was hard keeping a secret from Bethany, and he hated doing it, but it was ultimately best for them both. At least until he could figure out if Fowen was actually in Magisteria.

How could Fowen be back anyways?

-

Bethany grabbed her hooded cloak by the door and rushed out into the streets of Magisteria. She admired the people as she walked by, complimenting some. Although Bethany had been successful in introducing modern fashion and certain ways of the real world into Magisteria, some things she liked to keep the same.

With women's layered blouses they wore comfortable flare jeans. Men had doublet vests paired with hooded undershirts. Children had cloaks matched with soft and brightly colored boots. Everything seemed much more lively.

Bethany herself wore her hair down with a scarf tied in it from back home. Her hooded cloak was paired with a black dress and long brown boots. In all honesty, Kiel kinda got her hooked on wearing black. Still, she loved throwing in subtle colors to match her bronze-colored hair.

Upon admiring the other citizen's fashion, Bethany didn't even notice when she ran into a family trudging along side their horse. "Gosh i'm so sorry!" she stammered, rushing to help up the man in front. "It's not a bother dear. Please just watch where you're going next time." He laughed. Bethany smiled, but noticed the two young women behind him eyeing her. They exchanged glances and then continued to cup their mouths around eachother's ears.

Were they whispering about her?

The oldest woman next to the man muttered something to him which caused him to give Bethany a bit of a glare. As they passed the two daughters trailing behind them shot Bethany a look of disgust. Even the two younglings seemed to clutch onto their older siblings as they passed!

Okay, that was odd.

Bethany knew some didn't approve of the changes she's pushed into Magisteria, but they usually didn't give such glares at her! She also thought it could be connected to her relationship with Kiel. After coming back to Magisteria from their battle with Nobody, Kiel was talked about a lot for having been gone for a while. Many of the women in town seemed to be taking a liking to him after seeing him change Magisteria for the better, with the Magister gone.

I guess nobody pictured he would bring a random girl along into their world too. Bethany was decent at first impressions, but lots were skeptical of what she wanted with their city. After learning she was friends with The Owen of Quanterium, (a title the citizens gave him, which Bethany absolutely hated) they warmed up to her a bit.

Bethany shoved off the weird feeling and found her way to the city's bakery. It was a small shop but had a cozy feel to it. "Good morning Clarissa!" Bethany said as she walked over to the counter.

"Well if it isn't my favorite customer! Bit early for cupcakes isn't it?" She laughed. Clarissa and her husband John owned the bakery together. She was short, and her curly hair was always in a messy bun. Her apron was covered in splats of colorful icing. Her and John had been part of the phew to immediately like Bethany as soon as she arrived.

"It's never too early for cupcakes from the world famous bakery! And anyways Kiel will probably go feral if he doesn't eat sugar for a day." Bethany snickered. Clarissa passed a menu. "Here for the usual I suspect?" Bethany gave a small nod. "Yep! A chocolate and vanilla. Ooh also throw in two vanilla lattes."

Clarissa turned towards behind the counter. "John we have a another order! Don't make me come back there!" She yelled. A short man with a similar apron to Clarissa's peaked out from the open window. "Well well well, g'day to you Bethany!" He beamed. "Morning John! She replied.

Moments later Clarissa handed her a small pink box and two cups. "That'll be 12.43 sweetie." Bethany slid over some money and glanced up at the clock. It was already 10 o'clock! She'll definitely be late for her meeting with Queen Magica at this rate. She swiftly gathered her purchases and dashed out the door. "Keep the change!" She yelled.

Bethany ran through the streets of Magisteria, juggling her items in hand. A carriage crash near the side of the road caused her to skid to a stop. "Oh cmon!" She grumbled. Bethany glanced around the streets and back at her watch. She looked back at the carriage accident and noticed a familiar boy standing in the alley nearby it. Although he wasn't completely facing towards Bethany, he could tell who it was.

Owen.

She could spot his dirty blonde hair from miles away. His outfit was strange, though. It was his old TSA uniform. It had a bit of dirt on it, but overall looked the same it had many years ago.

Why was he in Magisteria?

Bethany knew him and Charm hardly visited unless they needed to. And why was he wearing that silly uniform again? "Owen! Owen over here." Bethany shouted. She seemed to be drowned out by the commotion around her. Some folks passed, blocking her view. As soon as the crowd cleared, he was gone.

Before Bethany could react, she was pushed forward by incoming residents. "Oh i'm so sorry!" a woman called behind her as she rushed away. Bethany looked down at her stained clothes and spilled coffee.

Crud.

Chapter Text

It was golden hour by the time Charm and Owen arrived in Jupiter City. They had been walking for hours trying to find Orion and Kara's base. Originally they tried to ask the heroes at Lawful Legion Headquarters, but they wouldn't spill any information. Something about it going against their "Moral Hero Code." Anyways, this meant they were a dead end. Since then they had been walking around the city, desperate to find any information that would be useful.

"Owen is this all really necessary? This is getting tiring." Charm muttered as she trailed along behind the young male. Although originally Charm agreed they needed to find Kara in order to beat the countess, she had started to doubt their friend would even want to help; considering she obviously didn't want to be found from wherever they were. They both stopped in front of a city hall building near some benches to rest.

Owen ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed. "We have to find her, Charm. She's gotta be around here somewhere, I know she'd want to help. In fact, I'm pretty sure if she ever found out we defeated the Countess without her she'd never forgive me." He laughed. He sat down next to her and watched as a few cop cars zoomed past them. "Dang that's a lot of police. What do you think is happening downtown?"

Charm looked down towards the streets, her robotic eye trying to zoom in on the scene. "If there's a crime happening, do you think maybe Orion would be there? Wherever he is she ought to be there too." She said. Before Owen could answer, a woman trampled out of the city hall behind them.

She had long black hair and a long brown coat. Her right eye seemed to be covered with a light blue cloth. She muttered into a black watch on her wrist, "Yes I'm on my way, over. Code Sirius White. Find Kara Dox immediately, over." Owen immediately jumped up and threw himself in front of her.

"You know Kara?!" He asked. The woman simply eyed Owen. "Yes, I do." She tried to walk around him but Owen pushed himself in her way once again. "So she's here? Please we need to find her, it's an emergency."

"Look kid, this is no business for children. Run along now, I have stuff to do." She nudged him out of the way and flagged down a taxi. Owen turned to Charm, practically buzzing with anticipation.

"Did you hear that Charm! She definitely knows where Kara is. If we follow her, maybe she'll lead us to where Kara is!" He exclaimed. Charm chuckled, "What I heard was her calling you a child." Owen frowned before she continued, "But you're right. We need to follow her, whoever she is." Charm grabbed his hand as they ran towards the street, trailing behind the cars.

-

They had just reached the scene by the time the sun began its descent from the sky. Cars lined the streets in front of a juice bar in the downtown city. Charm and Owen pushed their way around till they spotted the woman from earlier. She had just finished talking to an older man when the two approached her. "Excuse me? We'd really like to speak to you. Sorry we caught you at an irritating moment last time."

The woman looked the two up and down before sighing, clearly annoyed. "I told you not to not interfere with my work. Did you follow me here or something? Do I need to get some security to escort you out?" Owen muttered something, but was drowned out by Charm.

"Don't worry about my friend here, he's just annoyed about the situation as well. Kara Dox was a great friend of ours and we just wanted some information on what she's been up to, that's all. Also by the way, we're both eighteen. Not kids." She said. The woman looked at the peculiar girl and nodded to herself.

"You were friends with her? In what way exactly?" She asked. Owen shifted a bit, trying to signal to Charm about not wanting to give away too much information. She seemed to get the notion and continued.

"We used to hang out with her a bit, before she came to Jupiter City." Charm said. The woman processed this information and seemed to nod along to what a harm was saying. "I see. Kara Dox has been an interesting citizen here in Jupiter City. But I suppose Kid Twilight trusts her so she's obviously not disastrous on purpose."

Before she could continue, her watch started flashing blue. She quickly turned away so the two couldn't hear or see what she was doing. Owen caught a glimpse of it, and now he could examine it a bit more. It definitely seemed pricey, with a shiny white band and silver details. It's definitely something that could've been from Jupiter City, but it almost seemed too out of place.

Owen wasn't one to be nosy, but he did happen to listen in on a bit of the conversation she was having. Okay, the whole conversation. Or just the parts he could hear. The woman mumbled something about "The Jailhouse" and also mentioned Kara's name.

He heard it loud and clear.

Owen wanted to tell Charm that maybe this woman was a little Eventually the woman turned back to them and flashed an embarrassed smile. "Sorry about that, but I'm truly needed elsewhere at the moment. Here's my card, contact me when you can so we can chat again!" She slipped the two a small business card before being ushered away by two other women.

Owen looked down at the card. "Inspector Cale C. Lone," He read out, "Jupiter City Investigator and part time hero activist." Owen and Charm let out a laugh. "Oh this seems totally fake!" Owen exclaimed.

"But I suppose it's our only lead so far." Charm said. She tucked the card into her pocket. "C'mon, we should get going to find Kara. Maybe we could ask the investigators around here? They oughta know something." Owen thought about this for a second. Sure they the folks in Jupiter City seemed nice enough, but the inspectors seemed like completely different people.

"Nah I think it's best to lay low. If inspector Lone was hesitant to help us, then I suspect the others will too." He said. Charm nodded along as they wandered away from the crime scene. "Then what's our best lead? According to Cale, Kara's missing. Now we basically have to find Orion." She sighed.

Owen smirked. "Actually I might have an idea of where Kara is. Inspector Lone definitely knows more than she let on. When she went on that call, I could partially hear what she was discussing." Charm gave him a dirty look. "It was for a good reason! Anyways I heard her mumbling about a jailhouse. I bet that's the place they're keeping Kara, and that's why she ran off."

"Well then let's go! It's worth a shot. We'll just have to find someone to give us directions." Charm thought aloud.

-

Orion strapped on his sturdy black boots and attached a couple stars to his belt. "Hopefully i'll be back quickly. If I'm lucky, it'll be a simple chat to clear up this misunderstanding. If you could call it that." He said. Gwen simply nodded along, getting her radio system set up.

Before Orion set off for his mission, Gwen stopped him. "Wait! You'll definitely need this too." She cheekily grinned as she pressed a familiar piece of fabric into his palm. "Added something really cool to it! I know you say not to mess with your stuff unless I'm told to, but this one is good! It's a surprise too." Orion smiled in response.

"Thanks Gwen. See ya on the other side, partner." He laughed. He quickly turned to the hinge in the ceiling, rushing to the streets of Jupiter City. He swung himself towards the roofs of the nearby buildings, watching the cars go by. He adjusted the mask Gwen had handed to him, noticing nothing seemed to be different about it. However, as soon as he put it on, Gwen's voice emerged from his watch per usual.

"Hey hey hey! So obviously nothing visually looks different, but now I can see every single thing you're seeing right now through your mask! Much easier than using the watch to show me things." She said.

"Wait so you can see everything i'm doing right now? Gwen you're amazing!" Orion exclaimed. Gwen laughed "D'aww thanks! Now where are you heading? I can see exactly where the trucks are heading through my screen."

Orion followed the sound of the many trucks till they brought him to the popular juice bar downtown. "Bingo." He mumbled. He stayed far, only looking down from the rooftops. "No sign of Kara," he muttered, "and I'm sure she's gone from the scene by now." He peered down to where two heroes, dressed in red suits, stood. Clearly they had been soaking up all the attention they could possibly get from this situation. The paparazzi seemed busy with them, so Orion jumped down from his spot to inspect the crowds.

Lots of tape seemed to cover most of the scene, but he was able to sneak his way past it without getting caught. The juicebar's entrance was completely broken with glass. The doors have been blown to pieces, from what? Orion has no idea. He crept his way behind the counter, where fruits had scattered themselves all over the floor. "If Kara was here, she probably put up a fight with whatever else was here." Gwen piped up.

Orion noticed a small glare reflect off the street lights outside. Near some broken glass and sandwiched between what could've been a fruity concoction, was a small glint of silver. He picked it up and cleaned it off with the sleeve of his sweater. "Hey Gwen? Any idea of what this is? Seems a little out of place here."

Gwen let out a quick hum as she clicked a few buttons on her end. "It might be that throwing star I made out of Kara's old time watch," she said, "man what a waste! I spent a long time working on that. I even mentioned to only use it for serious situations. I didn't expect her to use it tonight." She frowned.

Orion nodded, putting the shard in his pocket. "Must've been an ugly fight then for her to use it. Especially considering this metal you used is vibranium. Not exactly the easiest to break." The back room didn't have much evidence for Orion either unfortunately. "I expected to see more pie filling around here, but I guess our theory about this being an exchange depot wasn't what got Kara into a fight."

"I guess you'll have to speak with the people outside. Maybe the owners know about where she is too! We can't just give up now. If anything, the heroes around here won't just let an eighteen year old girl go missing." Gwen said. Before Orion could reply, something caught his eye.

Hidden under a pile of glass, was a small fragment of silver. He quickly pushed the glass aside to find what was giving off such a glow. Orion must've gasped louder than he intended to when he found it, because he could hear Gwen get startled from the other end.

In his palm, Orion held a single white hair. Much like the one he had found many nights ago.

"Woah what is that?!" Gwen said in awe, "Is it superhuman DNA? I mean, I told Kara to bring me back some but I didn't think we could actually find any!" Orion didn't hear much of what she said. He was fixated on the small strand of hair. Was it left on purpose? It almost seemed like Orion was supposed to find it.

"I'm gonna get out of here Gwen. Kara definitely isn't here. At least, not anymore." He said. He snuck past the tape once again, and ducked away from the crowds that had gathered upon the streets. One young girl happened to see him, however.

"Kid Twilight! It's really you! Are you here to save us from the bad guys?" She squealed excitingly. Orion gave a small, awkward smile at the young girl. Unfortunately for him, lots of citizens happened to hear what she said and turned to look in their direction. With Kara being his and Gwen's well-known partner, everyone immediately wanted to know how he felt about the situation.

Orion took off running, trying to skip onto roof tops without anyone noticing. He quickly managed to slip inside a dark alleyway as the crowds ran past it. He let out a small sigh, breathing heavily. "Hey I thought we decided all alleyways around here were mine, kid." A rough voice piped up.

Orion quickly held up a throwing star. "Hey hey hey! Don't act so quickly, kid." The voice rang out. Emerging from the shadows, was a man in a very well worn...banana costume?

Orion sighed annoyingly and dropped his weapon. "Tony, seriously, I have something important to do right now. Can't ya go bother someone else?" Tony, or, Top Banana raised his hands accusingly.

"Use my code name man! It's the Rotten Banana to you, kiddo. Can't a guy just worry about his concerned friend?" The Rotten Banana said. Orion rolled his eyes.

"Since when are you back to being The Rotten Banana? And since when am I your friend?" He said. The Rotten Banana gave him a sad look.

"My pals kicked me to the curb. Guess I wasn't a-pealing enough to them." He said, "Now I'm a man of the streets!" Orion just stared at him. "Man I really don't like you." He turned to leave, but The Rotten Banana quickly caught his arm.

"Wait I promise ya I got some info to help ya! Hear me out, I may be a man of the streets but I've seen things since my time here! I happen to even know what happened to your little friend with the pink hair. Might even tell ya where she's headed," he continued, "if ya hear me out." He smiled slyly. Orion sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Fine, I'm giving ya ten minutes max. What do you know?" In return, The Rotten Banana gave a delighted grin.

"Not too long I was out here just looking for criminals yknow, to earn my respect back. Heesh, people can be so judgy around here! One second they're givin' ya smiles for just existing and next thing ya know they turn on you for one rotten mistake." He said, "Anyhoo I saw the kid ducking between the buildings nearby. Almost shouted for her attention, but I thought she was meeting up with her old friend!"

Orion stopped him. "Her old friend? Who?" Kara was a like-able person, of course, however she was hesitant to become close with the citizens around here. Anyone could become a villain at any time and it just seemed easier to stick to the people you know.

"Eh not exactly sure. They were turned away from me and my eyesight ain't as fresh as before. I think she had on a fancy silverish-blue dress. She had very short speckled brown hair, but was bald. They both seemed frightened to see each other at first!" The Rotten Banana explained.

Orion nodded along. "Gwen, you getting all this?" He asked the girl from the watch. "Mhm!" She assured. The Rotten Banana ogled the device.

"How much could I pay ya for one of those things? Or maybe a funky laser gun! Certainly would make me the most feared fruit of the city." He grinned. Orion pulled his arm away, revealing a small lazed which he pointed at the scuffed costume, causing a small hole to form.

"Hey watch it man! Though ya wanted my help. Turns out you'd turn on me just as easily as the rest of the city. Can't a banana get a break around here?" He frowned with pleading eyes.

"Please Mr. Banana sir! We really could use your help. My friend here just happens to be very irritated with the situation!" Gwen piped up from the watch, loud enough for The Rotten Banana to hear. He seemed satisfied with her reply, which Orion rolled his eyes at.

"Alright, because the missy on your fancy watch there is polite, I'll help you two." He continued, "The two talked for a second, with the pink haired one holding a throwing star at her direction. Eventually they seemed to compromise on something and she put down her weapon. I almost walked away, but a bright glow shot out from inside the juice bar! Something came hurling from outside the window." He recalled.

Orion could hear Gwen scribbling down everything as he talked. "Hey Gwen, anyone around here fit the profile?" She smashed away on her keys, but the light on his watch changed to red quickly. "Nope! This database could use some updating, though. Can't lose hope quite yet."

The Rotten Banana eyed the watch like a bomb. "Can we not interrupt my amazing storytelling? I was just getting to the good part! You two are making me feel like a trashed peel."

Orion gritted his teeth. "Yes, please go on with your thrilling story." The Rotten Banana nodded approvingly, clearly not catching Orion's obvious sarcasm.

"The commotion signaled the alarm. Then the one in freaky robes ran in and seemed to trash the place! Your friend tried to stop her, causing a fight to break out. Not too sure what went on between them. The sirens quickly came closer to the scene, and being the almighty supervillain I am, I stayed hidden."

"You're telling me you saw the whole thing happen and didn't try to, oh I don't know, help her?!" Orion practically yelled. Gwen gave a small disapproving shush, to which Orion backed off from The Rotten Banana.

He raised his eyebrows at Orion. "Hey don't be so quick to judge a banana by its outside motivations! I was about to tell ya, just before the investigators came, the bald one hit something on her wrist and she disappeared! Thought I was going bananas, but your friend seemed just as spooked as me! Too bad the investigators came and saw the destruction before I could hear an explanation. They didn't even hear her out before some guys in black vans ambushed her!"

Gwen gasped aloud. "In black vans you say? I've heard the lawful legion trying to track down the people driving those awful cars! They've kept it pretty downlow, so I suppose the investigators must've thought they were just more inspector cars."

"Wait, why are the black van people bad?"

"Apparently they take criminals and regular citizens to be brainwashed of some sort! I've even heard nobody comes back once they're taken."

"But why? Is there a reason at all?"

"Well it's called The Jailhouse. It's owned by ex-mayor Dentor Doomsman. He created it to revolt against the lawful legion, once they kicked him from office. It's meant to lore heroes so they can brainwash them to not even recognize their older selves!"

"And how come no heroes have tried to stop it?"

"Some have tried, but it's useless. It's pretty far out too."

Orion sighed. "So we really gotta get Kara out quick then." He started out towards the road, but The Rotten Banana stood in front to stop him.

"Hey wait a minute here! I'm part of your little gang now. Can't just use me for information and then toss me to the streets. I have a reputation to gain back, remember?"

Orion slid past him, waving him off. "Fine whatever, you can go help Gwen do something I guess. Just don't try to interfere with what i'm doing. I'll have her give you directions."

"Ah no worries! I know where your secret base is. I've gone plenty of times to just hangout. The twin hills behind the planetarium is an excellent place! Especially considering the citizens found Doc's old place." Orion gave him a glare. "I didn't try to steal anything! Heesh how judgy." And with that, The Rotten Banana started towards the street, skipping joyfully.

"Alright Gwen, what are the directions towards The Jailhouse?" Orion asked once he was alone.

-

Night slowly crept over Jupiter City when Charm and Owen trudged through the land overlooking the metropolis. After some threatening involving Charm and some lasers, the Lawful Legion heroes gave them some info about the Jailhouse. The Jailhouse was located in the outskirts of Jupiter City, hidden behind a dark forest which stretched for miles. The mountain land surrounding it made it the perfect isolated torture for the prisoners hidden inside. Bells rang out from the inside, along with loud groans heard every so often. It gave Owen and Charm chills.

"How do we go about getting in there?" Owen gulped. Just as he said that, a siren emerged from the small entryway in the mountains. Three black trucks entered single file, each blaring their small white siren along the way. Owen and Charm watched as they opened up, revealing many citizens squished together in the trucks. Guards escorted them inside, practically getting trampled as they were rushed inside. Heesh what type of place was this? None of them even looked like criminals. In fact, some could've passed as younger heroes.

A sound alerted them from the bushes.

Charm immediately stepped in front of Owen, her robotic arm ready at any moment to shoot if needed. The rough sound continued from the bushes, along with...a whisper? Okay maybe not a whisper, but definitely someone muttering. Possibly communicating with someone. Both Charm and Owen crept closer to the bushes while at the same time trying to keep distance. What they didn't expect, was a familiar face to peek out from the foliage.

"Orion?!" Owen exclaimed loudly. The boy in black quickly pressed his hand over Owen's mouth. The guards near the building looked towards where the three were hidden, but at the silence they went back to what they were doing. "That right there could've gotten us caught." Orion muttered.

He released Owen from his grasp, causing questions to pour from the boy. "What are you doing here?! After two years you just appear from some bushes? And why do you look so...different?!"

This time, Charm joined Orion in the eye roll. "What he means to say is hello. I have similar questions, though." She said. Orion shook his head and pushed the two farther back to the bushes.

"One, I'm here to break out my partner from that creepy place. Two, I literally live in this city. I didn't just 'appear' from the bushes like some animal. And three, I really don't. Just didn't have time to put on my uniform."

Owen groaned. "That just gives me more questions Orion! Who's your partner? Why were you hiding from us? And yes you do! You look mature" He cringed.

Charm shushed Owen. "Can we just clear this up later? I'm sure Orion knows something about Kara, and that's all we're here for. If I have to be in this overly happy world any longer I'm gonna go insane. I'm ninety-nine percent sure the sun was in the shape of a smiley face."

Orion snorted at that. "I'd like to know why you two are here as well, but I guess you guys just told me why. In fact, I'm here for Kara. Like I said, I'm here for my partner."

"Kara's your partner?!" Owen yelled once again. This time, Charm held him in a death grip. Orion looked down towards the guards, who seemed to not be bothered by Owen's loud exclamation.

"Yeah yeah yeah go ahead and investigate how that's possible considering our personalities are so conflicting. We've heard it all before. Now can you please just be quiet?! You're gonna get us caught before we even get down there."

"I'm so confused." Owen whispered, eyeing the former Kid Twilight. Charm laughed, patting him on the back. "Well it makes sense to me. You always seemed to follow Kara around the other times we've met up! Kinda like you two were d-"

Orion quickly cut her off. "Don't finish that sentence. Let's just clear this up now, I'm not interested in people at all if you catch what I'm saying. Can we please move on so I figure out why you guys need Kara? Thought everyone had lost contact not too long ago." He said.

Owen snapped back into the conversation once Kara was mentioned. "Oh right! We desperately need Kara because we have a big adventure I know she'd be interested in. We really need her, and we got information about her being around here."

"Great, so we can work together for this then." Orion grinned, "My plan seemed hard for one person, but could definitely work with two more."

Charm raised her brow at Orion. "So what's exactly your plan? And why is Kara in a jailhouse anyways?" She asked.

Orion groaned. "Seriously what is with you guys and the questions? We're on a strict time limit here. We'll answer them later. For now, just try to trust me." He walked back over to the ledge where the three had originally used to hide from the guards below.

"Hey Orion?" Gwen nervously whispered, "If you don't mind, I'm gonna try to be quiet. I think it'll lead to even more questions if they find out i'm in Jupiter City too. Especially considering they really wanted me to go back into my world." She suddenly cut off the radio system, but sent a quick beep to let him know she was still there and could see everything he could. Gwen seemed almost...sad about that last part. Of course, he never asked too many questions when Gwen suddenly had decided she wanted to go to Jupiter City before.

Charm and Owen eyed the boy from afar.

"I know he said no more questions, but Charm I am so extremely confused right now." Owen muttered.

"Well, when someone isn't into others in a romantic or touchy way they usually call themselves a-"

"I know what he meant by that!" Owen whispered, unamused by Charm's joke. "I meant like, why has Kara been here all this time? I know she didn't want to go back to her book, but I never thought she would choose Jupiter City out of all places. Nevertheless with Orion."

"Let's not try to dig too deep into it. Maybe something considered her to stay here? Could be the thrill of catching villains everyday." Charm started to laugh. "Maybe she even became a superhero here!" Owen giggled slightly at that, causing Orion to turn around to the two.

"Are you guys done conversing over there? I think I have everything planned out now." He said, gesturing for the two to join him near the ledge. Together, the three peered down towards the guards.

Suddenly, One looked down towards the watch on his hand. He nodded to the guards across from him like a signal. Collectively, they all walked towards the back of the building. Five vans came down the road, and men in blue outfits came out. Groups of prisoners were ushered out and inside. If you could even call them that.

"It's almost like a schedule." Charm mumbled.

The groups of prisoners came out so quick, the guards almost seemed to lose themselves in the crowds. "See that?" Orion said, motioning towards the view. "That's our cue. Hopefully you guys are picking up what I'm saying, cause we have to do this. It's now or never." And with that, he jumped down from the ledge, sneaking his way towards the vans.

"I literally have no idea what you meant by that!" Owen tried to shout.

Charm grabbed hold of Owen and pushed him down from the ledge as well. The three stumbled their way to the vans, seemingly blending in with the others.

As the guards led the final few prisoners — and the three unlikely partners — inside the tall building, the doors swung closed as the guards from earlier came back from the back of the building. Only time could tell if they would ever get to emerge from the building, something which Gwen feared most.

Chapter Text

Owen couldn’t comprehend what was happening around him. Charm shoved his head down so he looked at his feet as he walked among the prisoners. Seemingly their plan had worked and they now looked like more captives among the crowds. Unfortunately, they lost Orion in the rush of criminals. Owen silently prayed to himself that Orion made it inside along with them.

“JAILHOUSE ASSOCIATES WILL NOW ESCORT YOU TO A THOROUGH CHECK THROUGH. DO NOT RESIST.” It only kept getting louder as they traveled down the halls. Owen turned to ask Charm about the announcements, but noticed she was no longer by his side. Instead, he spotted her bright hair across the room. The guards ushered her and some others into what Owen assumed was their ‘checkup’ room.

As he stopped, the guards gave him a hard push towards his own room. A guard dropped a grey jumpsuit into his hands. “Put this on over your clothes. When you’re done you’ll get your chipper.” The guard muttered. He promptly left the room after. Owen just looked down at the uniform in his hands.

Okay not only was it way too small for him, but it was so extremely bland.

“Man at least the TSA uniforms were more colorful than this.” He mumbled to himself. In the corner of the room was a camera that seemed to stare into Owen’s soul. He took a second to look around the room he was in a bit more. It was a dim room, with nothing but a table and himself inside. A loud blaring beep caused Owen to jump.

“THERE IS NO POINT IN WAITING. THERE IS NOTHING FOR YOU AFTER THIS ROOM. YOUR CHIPPER AWAITS.” The robotic-like voice rang out.

Owen just stood in shock for a second before looking down towards the uniform the call must’ve been referencing. He sighed and reluctantly slipped it on over his clothes.

He waited for a response from the alarms, but was met with silence. After a few minutes he tapped his foot against the floor with nervousness. Seriously what was taking them so long? Granted, there were lots of “criminals” at this jailhouse.

Eventually Owen grew impatient, considering there was the possibility Orion and Charm had already made it out of the rooms and were waiting for him. He hesitantly knocked a bit.

“Hey, uh, sorry to bother but is anybody gonna take me out of here soon? I’ve been waiting for like, ten minutes.” Okay, he was definitely going to be a least favorite among the guards. Wait, why would that even matter?

Owen smacked his head in exasperation.

Just as Owen went to open the door himself, a noise from above stopped him. He glanced towards the large vent as he continued to hear metal bending as something was presumably in there. Did this place have rats or something?

The noise got louder and louder as if something was coming closer. Or, coming closer to him. Owen practically glued himself to the door, waiting for it to hopefully open. “Hey! It would be great if you guys can let me out right about now! I need to get chipped, or whatever.” He nervously shouted. At this point, he was surprised the guards hadn’t come in already to tell him this was some sort of prison torture test.

He watched as the screws to his vent slowly began to unwind. Crap. Owen squeezed his eyes shut as he silently prayed for a good outcome to come from this.

“Dude, why are you shouting?” A voice scoffed. Owen peeked his eyes open and a wave of relief washed over him as the familiar Kid Twilight stuck his head out from the vent. His hair was slightly longer than Owen remembered, but had the familiar blue tint to it still.

“You almost gave me a hard attack! Why else would I be screaming?!” He retaliated. Orion rolled his eyes and dropped down to where Owen was. He glanced around the dim room. “Guess they haven’t let you out either, huh?”

“Wait I’m not the only one that’s been locked in their room? I just thought the guards forgot about me or something.” Owen said. Orion just nodded his head slowly.

“Nope, from what I can tell everyone has been in their rooms. The announcements have been dead silent too.” He said. Owen glanced back up at the vent, along with the strange tool in Orion’s hand.

“Wait, how did you manage to get into the vents?”

“I’ve become pretty good at swiping stuff. Managed to get my watch back right before they pushed me into my room. It has a couple small tools on it.” Orion moved his sleeves up to reveal the thin black watch and the buttons covering it.

“Woah! Who did you get to make this stuff? I don’t remember Jupiter City having such good tech.” Owen said, astonished. Orion just pursed his lips in response, not wanting to mention Gwen at this moment.

“C’mon, give me a boost back into the vents. We gotta find Charm so we can find Kara and hopefully never have to see this place again,” He paused for a second before mumbling, “...And I really wanna get my mask back.”

He was loud enough for Owen to hear, in which Owen looked more into Orion’s face without the usual Kid Twilight mask. His eyes were dark, but more sunken into. You could tell he was older and not much of a “kid” anymore.

Yeah, that was gonna be weird to get used to.

Owen held out his hands to boost Orion back up into the vents. Owen wasn’t nearly as strong as, well, Kiel, but he was able to help Orion up with little issue. Orion then held out his arms to bring Owen up into the vents with him. Finally, they both shifted awkwardly till they were able to have enough room to crawl through the vents. Orion bent down to seal the vent back shut, when something caught Owen’s eye.

The camera.

It was definitely recording them the whole time as they just escaped. Owen cautiously tapped his friend on the shoulder. “Uhh Orion? Hate to alarm you, but I think that security camera just caught everything we were doing.” He whispered. Orion shot up and looked to where Owen was motioning towards. He cringed to himself as he confirmed the camera was still recording. “Well that’ll look bad for us. At least we’re breaking out for a good reason...I guess.” He said as he went back to screwing the last screw into the vent.

Owen gulped.

Orion finished putting the vent back and turned back to Owen. “Just follow my lead. Charm is probably in one of these last few rooms considering I haven’t found her yet.” Owen nodded, but immediately started to panic a bit inside. Did Charm make it safely inside the prison too?! Assumingly the answer was yes, considering he knew Charm could seemingly take care of herself for the time being.

Together the two crawled their way through the dark vents in search of their friend, their only light source being the small glow of Orion’s watch.

-

Gwen opened the door to the newly repaired Kid Twilight hideout, an excited Rotten Banana waiting on the other side. He giddly walked in, paying little attention to what Gwen was saying. “Okay! Here are the rules: Don’t touch anything, specifically if it has a sticky note from Orion on it. Also don’t smell any of the jars on my work desk please!”

The Rotten Banana waved her off as he continued to look around the headquarters. “Relax, I’ve been here before! I probably know every possible thing about this place.” He said, dancing around the array of gadgets lined on the walls. Gwen dropped her smile and put her hands on her hips.

“What do you mean you’ve been here before?! This place is always monitored.” She said, snatching a colorful liquid away from him. Her smile returned when she noticed a pink sticky note Kara had left on the jar in her hands. ‘Don’t leave out the experiments!! Orion almost threw this away’ she wrote, along with a small doodle of a confused Orion.

“You guys always have to do construction here, it’s pretty easy to slip in when the main room is covered in wood and tools.” He smirked. Gwen let out a small sigh as she made a mental note to up her security game. She slipped the small jar into her pocket, sneaking a look at the Rotten Banana in the process.

“Anyhoo, what do you do around here? Better question! Do you have any snacks? A banana has gotta eat too y’know.” He made himself comfortable on a nearby sofa. Gwen politely tossed him a bag of gummy worms as she sat herself back to her station.

“I do lots of stuff! I mainly help Orion and Kara with their missions, but I also make gadgets for them! I never thought inventing could be my calling, but it’s fun to mess around with random things I find.” She said, admiring her bits of metal on the table.

“Say, aren't ya the Earth Girl? I don’t remember you being from here.” The Rotten Banana asked, “I wouldn’t know though. I ain’t good at keeping up with heroes n such.”

Gwen’s gaze landed on her jetpack left next to her desk. “I’m...still Earth Girl. I just don’t live on the same planet I used to. I guess I’d rather be here than back home where I was always kind of alone.” She replied, the smile on her face wobbling. She suddenly recalled all the times she wished she had friends to be with on Aragon VI. Sometimes she would be reminded of people she used to know and be glad she didn’t see them anymore. It was always a love-hate relationship she had for the people on her planet.

Well, until she met Bethany.

Bethany was one of the nicest people Gwen had ever met, even if their first meeting was a little rocky. Gwen lightly blushed remembering Bethany’s temper during her first visit to Aragon VI. Though she soon learned she wasn’t from her planet, she was still a nice person. Bethany listened to Gwen; something many people didn’t do in her world.

The Rotten Banana looked sympathetic for a second. He must’ve noticed the sad glint in Gwen’s eyes as her fingers traced the jetpack on the ground in front of her. “Home doesn’t have to be where you were raised, it just has to be wherever you feel happiest.” He pointed towards himself, “I mean, look at me! I was born in the countryside. And now i’m a very successful evil villain in the biggest city known to man!” He grinned.

Gwen smiled at his attempts to help her feel better. He was right after all. She feels happiest when surrounded by her friends, even if it means helping them track down evil villains. This included those that were worlds apart having fun elsewhere in other books. “Thank you, Tony. I‘ll always be Earth Girl, I’m just better off being Gwen sometimes.”

He frowned. “Didn’t I tell ya kids to call me The Rotten Banana? Heesh you change your name a couple times and suddenly everyone forgets your roots.”

Gwen started to correct him on the term “kids” being used on eighteen year olds, but something else caught her attention. The connection between herself and Orion had been radio silent for an odd amount of time. Her screens showed Orion wasn’t even wearing his mask, which meant she couldn't connect to talk to him anymore.

A puzzled look grew on her face. “I...wonder why he took it off. He usually never does.” She whispered to herself. She tried checking to see what she could do, but came up with little results. She was able to see that his watch was in use, which was certainly weird.

“Hey when you get in contact with Kid Twilight, tell him to buy some more appealing snacks.” The Rotten Banana called out, tossing the empty bag of gummies onto the floor.

Gwen shook her head. “Can’t really do much if he isn’t wearing the mask. I think all I can do for now is wait, and hope they get Kara out of there soon.” The thoughts began to race in her head. Were any of them okay? Did they already get inside the prison? And why was Orion using his watch but not his mask? She tried to maintain a positive attitude in front of the Rotten Banana, but let it slide when she heard a loud crash behind her.

She turned around to find the older man struggling to pick up bits of broken glass as his shoes seemed to stick to the ground from a bright yellow liquid the bottle had presumingly contained before breaking. Gwen slapped her palm against her head at the sight. “Orion, whatever you do, please get back here quickly.” She muttered to herself.

-

Kiel dropped a stack of heavy books onto his desk with a loud thud. After many hours of searching for info about Fowen’s possible return, he came up with nothing. To no surprise, a fictional evil twin showing up in Magisteria was not a common topic for spell books, (though he did find many books on the topic of romantic gestures, all of which he saved in a spot for future reference.)

He skimmed the last couple pages of the books, once again with no results. He sighed, shoving them off the desk. The conclusion of Fowen ever being in Magisteria was slowly coming to a dead end. Kiel felt lost in trying to make sense of it.

It all just felt so real.

His eyes could have been playing tricks on him that day from exhaustion, but that just didn’t seem right. The way Fowen, or the figure, looked at him wasn’t fake at all. It was a cold stare, as if challenging Kiel to hit him with a spell right then and there. Kiel on the other hand was more confused and couldn’t think to act on anything at the time.

It made no sense to think of it as Owen either. Owen wouldn't show up out of the blue in an old prison uniform just to get a shock out of Kiel. If this happened to be a joke, it wasn’t very funny. Since then he’s just pushed that memory to the back of his head as he focused on more important things of Magisteria, like the citizen’s well-being after the magister had “disappeared.” And Bethany being in Magisteria was way more important too.

Kiel smiled to himself as he wandered out to the balcony of the tower. The sun shined on Magisteria beautifully. The town sounded busy from afar, but quiet and peaceful near the tower. He rested his arms on the banister and let out a heavy sigh. Lately with the madness of welcoming himself fully back into Magisteria and attempting to fill the Magister’s spot in the world, he had been sleeping worse every night. Sometimes there were dreams involved, other times he just couldn’t.

When he did have dreams, it wasn’t anything he could piece together. Mainly random figures and oddly enough, a crumbling city. He didn’t really know how to describe it other than somewhere magical losing it’s magic. It’s always a white void with towers sprinkled throughout, until they ultimately crumble. Kiel doesn’t know why it’s falling apart or where the place is, but he wishes he could help. He tries to, of course, but it’s almost like he’s just a spectator in the dream with no way of controlling his own movements.

There might be a chance Bethany would know what book it’s from, or even if it’s from a book, but he just didn’t know how to bring it up. If he mentioned the dreams the conversation would somehow end up with his last visit to the Boy’s Shelter. He couldn’t risk unloading all of this information onto her, for she already had too much going on. It would put a rift between her daily visits to the real world with her family, right? Kiel snapped himself out of the thought. There wasn’t a reason to be so worried about this, especially considering he knew Beth wouldn’t want him to worry as much. Still, the little voice kept nagging in his head about it. In fact, the voice only went away when Kiel heard a loud noise from behind him.

He turned around quickly, hands on his wands in his holster. After a few seconds nothing seemed to approach the balcony doors. Kiel ducked to the side of the balcony and peered through the glass. More books than before were scattered across the floor and many of Kiel’s belongings were tossed to the ground. He looked closer and noticed two silhouettes near one of the Magister’s old cabinets.

“Ugh, nothing here either! Also, this place reeks of day-old garlic and dragon breath.” A younger male voice said as they tossed a bottle behind themself. Kiel would’ve been more bothered by the mishandle of potions if he hadn’t been so caught off guard by the voice it came from. Sure the glass had a slight blur to it, but that voice only belonged to one person Kiel knew of.

Owen.

The boy magician began to feel as though he had been hit by a pound of bricks. Everything suddenly felt unreal and like another one of his dreams. He tried to focus more on the conversation the two figures were having, but could only hear his own heart beat get faster and faster. As his vision began to adjust to the figures more, the male turned around as he began looking through the tower more. Kiel had to bite his fist in an attempt to hold in a gasp.

It definitely looked like Owen, but the orange jumpsuit tied around his waist only made Kiel’s worst thought be clear as day. Fowen was in Magisteria. Not only that, but he was with somebody too. Somebody Kiel definitely didn’t recognize. She had darker skin, hazy grey eyes, and no hair. Her outfit wasn’t something he’d seen in Magisteria, but it wasn’t far off either.

“I can’t believe mother had me do this mission with you.” The girl spoke as she narrowed her eyes, “I’m very capable of doing something like this all on my own. How does she not realize that after all these years?!” She let out a frustrated scream as she tossed a couple more books to the side. Fowen just looked at her with wide eyes.

“Okay I get you don’t wanna try to work with me, but don’t blame your issues with your mom on me! I have nothing to do with that.” The girl just gave him a glare and went back to rummaging through the tower. Both worked in silence from then on as Kiel watched, not knowing what to say or do. No spell or lesson with the Magister could’ve ever prepared him for something like this.

Before Kiel could think of a spell good enough to get rid of the both of them, Fowen sprung up from a corner of the tower. “Found it!” He yelled. The boy magician watched as Fowen emerged from the corner holding one of the books from the many shelves. From afar, Kiel couldn’t quite see which book it was.

The bald woman swiftly took the book from Fowen’s hands. “I’ll hold on to this. I don’t need you trying to use it while I’m not paying attention.” She scoffed. The boy beside her just rolled his eyes. Kiel crept closer, curiously trying to get a look at the book. He could see it had gold lettering, but the words were blurred from afar.

“Let’s just get out of here. If that magician kid comes back, I don’t think he’ll be too happy to see me. Doubt he’ll even know who you are, though.” Fowen snickered. At the snide comment, the girl hit him on the back of the head with the book in her hands. Before he could let out a yelp in response, the two vanished with a zap of light. Kiel cowered out of his hiding spot, seeing no sight of the two besides bits of white particles that also eventually disappeared.

Kiel stood, once again alone in the tower but also completely dumbfounded.

-

As the two young boys made their way through the vents, they passed dozens of different cells. Unfortunately there was no way more people would be able to fit into the vents along with them, so the two quietly moved past all of them. There hadn’t been any sort of sign of Charm, or their pink-haired friend. The tension between the two boys was...awkward to say the least. At least it was in Owen’s opinion; Orion probably couldn’t care less about the eerie silence.

“Hey Orion, can I ask you a question? Y’know since we’re gonna be here anyways,” Owen whispered, deciding to break the silence. Orion stopped short for a split second before nodding, letting Owen continue with what he was saying. “Well I guess I just wanna know....why is Kara here in Jupiter City? I mean being in jail is nothing new to her, but a jail here is just a bit surprising I guess.” He chuckled to himself.

Orion thought to himself, hesitating to respond. It wasn’t of his nature to answer for his friends, considering he knew the reasons both Kara and Gwen weren’t clear with why they decided to go to Jupiter City with Orion. “It’s not really my place to say, you can just ask her yourself when we get to her.” He finally said.

It was an unsatisfying answer for Owen, but he respected Orion’s silence after he said that. “We can just talk about something else then! What’s up with the cool gadgets you have now? I mean the watch, the mask--even your gloves look new!” He exclaimed, his voice getting slightly louder than a whisper.

Orion smiled at the words, glancing back down at the watch. He knew if Gwen could hear the compliments she would be beaming--and rightfully so. Gwen never knew too much about inventing before she met the group, but after living in Jupiter City for a while she realized she was incredibly skilled at it. With Doc Twilight gone and Orion now living in their old base, the group had needed new gear. Gwen was happy to provide for both Orion and Kara, and they welcomed her inventions. Unfortunately Orion couldn’t give her the credit when speaking to Owen, considering he had no idea she was there too. Owen has already had a mental frenzy when he found out Kara was here months ago; Orion wasn’t sure how he would react learning Gwen was also here.

“We have an inventor. Me and Kara, that is. They make new things for us to use on missions. They’re quite skilled.” He said vaguely.

“Well when we’re out of this place, I gotta talk to them! Y’know I’ve been wondering how to write sci-fi style weapons for ages, I don’t really wanna plagiarize the things in Quanterium.” He paused, letting out a tiny gasp, “Ooh I bet Charm will get a kick out of seeing this stuff too!”

Orion continued to let Owen ramble, for once not minding how there wasn’t the usual silence he liked on missions. Eventually though, Owen stopped short near one of the cell’s vents.

“Hey, Orion? Come take a look at this-” He said, gesturing towards the small windows of the vent. Orion looked over his shoulder at what he was alluding to. The room of the vent they were in was completely empty, despite the rooms before it containing other people similar to how Orion and Owen were before. In fact, the door was wide open.

“Let’s get down there, that can’t be on purpose. I doubt any of these rooms would be purposely empty considering we saw how many people they had brought in today.” Orion said, beginning to unscrew the vent with his small screwdriver. He pocketed the screws as he jumped down to the main floor, looking around the room. Owen had more trouble getting down from the vent than Orion, and he awkwardly fumbled to the floor while still managing to land on his feet.

With the door of the room wide open, the two looked at each other, slightly confused. Not a single person was in sight, including the guards from before.

“Maybe someone was let out?” Owen suggested, peering outside the room. The hallways were completely empty as well, leaving him with a weird feeling in his gut. How had they not found their friends yet?

Orion kneeled down to look at the doorknob to the room. It’s lock appeared to be broken, but not by a tool he would know of. “No, I don’t think that’s it. This lock was broken on purpose, like someone broke themselves out.” He said to Owen.

“You mean, someone else tried to break out of the rooms like us?” Owen gulped.

“Well it has been a while since the last announcement happened, I wouldn’t doubt other people got impatient too.” Orion said rather calmly. Owen was far from calm considering they hadn’t found their friends, and now other people somehow had also found a way out of the rooms.

“Let’s just look around some more, it’ll be easier now that we aren’t stuck shoulder to shoulder in those dark vents.”

Together the two walked through the barren halls, hoping to come across their friends one way or another.