The first thing I could remember about the following morning was holding a pen up to a blank page in my nearly blank journal. Think Rayleigh, I was- there was- yeah- uh- Frick! I knew that I needed to write something down, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember what it was. For most people, forgetting a dream is a normal, everyday thing. No big deal, right? Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to be like most people. I looked down at the one word I managed to get down. "Yeah". Whatever I'm giving up. I closed my journal and noticed the note I received last night. Oh, right… That… I mentally grumbled.

  I crumpled it up and checked my phone. I had 17 missed calls from last night: 4 from Rae, 3 from Melody, 9 from Riley, and 1 from Sam, and 43 unread texts.

  From "Other Ray":

  Dude, how do I explain this to the gang?! 8:58pm

  I said you were in the bathroom throwing up. Let me know if/when you can make it back. 9:04pm

  I think your sister is onto us. 9:18pm

  AAAHHH, okay, I'm gonna try something. You owe me big for this one. 9:20pm

  Hey, just saw what happened at the gala, you okay? 10:10pm

  Ig you're probably still out, huh?

  Just call me in the morning, okay? 10:25pm

  From "Womb Mate":

  Where U @??? ? 9:02pm

  U did NOT ditch your girl! Get your butt out here or Imma steal her! 9:10pm

  *Sent a picture of her and Melody in a side hug.*

  *Sent 9 more pictures of our friend group.* 9:11-9:16pm.

  ? ? ? ? Bruh, if you don't say something Imma go in there myself. 9:17pm

  Okay I heard what REALLY happened lol.

  I guess it wasn't your fault, but I'm still blaming you.

  You better be ok though. 9:23pm

  Your ok righhhttt??? 9:30 pm

  Welp you really missed out.

  Not really, it was kinda boring towards the end.

  Just made it home.

  Your secret is safe for now, but I'm gonna bust in your room at 8 am and if you're not there I'm telling mom and dad. 11:29pm

  From "Melpomene":

  Hey, Rayleigh, are you feeling okay? 9:01pm

  Rae just told me what's up, I'm so sorry, hope you're starting to feel better back there. Take your time, though, no pressure. 9:05pm

  Honestly, I felt a little strange after that dance, too.

  I mean, not like that.

  Idk, I just miss you.

  I'm sorry. 9:12pm

  Sorry, I was looking for you with Rae, but I had to go home for my curfew. He said he could handle it but I still feel bad for leaving.

  Anyway, thank you again for the dance.

  Goodnight my muse. 10:08 pm.

  From "them.": ????? 9:16pm.

  …What. The. Hell. I frantically called Yong-Rae. Ring… Ring… Ring… Nothing. Suddenly my door burst open.

  "RAYYYLEIGHHHH! Oh, you're back. Nice." My sister took a deep breath of relief. "Almost had me worried."

  "Ah-ha, yeah. Really sorry I suddenly got sick last night. I felt so bad I couldn't even text or talk, lol. Thankfully, it seems to be all out of my system now, hahaha." I gave my best attempt at a cover up.

  "Come on, I know you weren't really sick. Well, maybe a little bit, but that's not why you were missing." Riley claimed.

  "W-what?" I gasped, "Oh no. What did Yong-Rae tell you?"

  "Hey don't worry, his secret is totally safe with me. Well, as long as he found you, anyway."

  "Wait, his secret?" I inquired.

  "Yeah, after you did come back, he explained the situation, showing us his title. At first I was pissed, but luckily Melody was all forgiving, so it's chill. Still, I can't believe he went back to the dance and tried to hide it from us at first." She shared.

  "Right, the situation with this title… ? Anyway, don't be at him, I'm sure he had it under control. And it was really my fault to begin with." I said, making a vague guess at what Riley was talking about.

  "You're right. I guess he must have a pretty good reason for keeping it a secret. Just be more careful next time you're messing around in the cyber world or whatever." She nodded, "Oh, Rebeca made breakfast, so hurry up and eat. We gotta get ready for church soon."

  As Riley exited, I thought, What did Rae tell them? Did he really give up his secret just to protect mine? Why would he go that far? I wished I could get him to debrief me, but there wasn't much time before I had to go to church.

  I stumbled down the stairs to a breakfast of waffles and scrambled eggs with way too much cheese. Family meals like those were nearly a daily occurrence in the Robinson household, but for some reason I felt a sort-of nostalgia that morning. After the week I had, last Sunday felt like forever ago. All I wanted was a weekend where I could just stay home and not worry about anything. I suppose I only had myself to blame for being worried all the time. Something about power and responsibility. I just never thought it would catch up to me that fast.

  Soon after we were all dragged to church, where I tried my best to look like I wasn't spacing out. I've always had a passing interest in religion. In a world of superpowers and aliens, the idea of a god doesn't seem that far out there, but I wasn't one to blindly put my faith in something. Still, even as a teenager, I often found myself preying, mostly for answers. Although I had doubts as to if the Christian God was really out there, something about arranging my thoughts in that manner I found comforting.

  When I got back, I tried to get a hold of Yong-Rae, but he wasn't answering. That's strange, I hope he's okay. I got pretty worried over this. I thought about going to check on him, but considering I didn't know where he lived, there wasn't really anything I could do other than wait for him to get back to me. I opened my phone to Melody's text messages, rereading them and trying to think of anything to say. Come on, I should at least let her know I'm okay. But… I could feel my stomach turn. I feel terrible about leaving her, and I don't know what I could say without lying. My heart sunk in a pit of anxiety and guilt. Well, if I'm gonna have to lie to her, I should wait until I talk to Rae so I can get my story straight. So I sat and waited and waited as the day went by and the sun eventually started to set with still no word from him.

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  When the night fell I knew it was time to put Rayleigh away. The Night Hopper had been given an invitation to meet the Zookeeper tonight, and it wasn't exactly something I could turn down. Despite aiming to talk to Wesley in the first place, I was feeling more nervous than hopeful at the invite. Nevertheless, I suited up and hopped my way across the city to the old docks in search of the warehouse he was supposedly hiding out in. I perched on a light post and overlooked the area. His note could have really been more specific. Which warehouse is it? Thankfully, soon after I landed, a pigeon with glowing green eyes flew up to me, then flew back to one the houses. Okay, Night Hopper, you can do this.

  I so don’t want to be here. But this is my best opportunity to get more information on the Leopardi family. After the fight we had last night, it's hard to tell whose side he's really on. My intuition tells me that he didn’t call me here to ambush me. If he wanted to take me out then he could have just attacked me when I’m home without my suit. And he must have trusted that I wouldn't try to ambush him, too. Or he knew that after what happened last night, I couldn’t go to the cops or other heroes for help. If I did they’d just arrest me. Even though this seems sketchy as hell, I think he actually just wants to talk like the note said. I just got to try to be peaceful, hear him out and try not to escalate the situation. Not that I couldn’t take him, but he found out where I live, so if I get on his bad side, I could be putting my whole family in danger.

  I jumped off my perch and went inside. Zookeeper was crouching in the corner, mumbling something to himself. He didn’t seem to notice me come in, so I slowly approached until he saw me.

  “Oh, really that’s so cute,” He whispers, “Wow, what do you make?”

  The hell is he talking about? I leaned in close to see that he was actually talking to some rats. He still seemed oblivious to me, but the rats looked up at me and ran off.

  “Hope you’re not plotting anything over there.” I said, trying to break the ice. He finally noticed I was right behind him.

  “Oh, Mr. Night Hopper, you're here. I wasn’t plotting anything, just making small talk. That rat said he likes to cook. I had no idea they could do that.” Wesley laughed, “So I trust you’ve come alone?”

  “I have.” I confirmed.

  “Are you sure?” He questioned.

  “Yes…" I briefly questioned myself.

  “Ah, good boy,” He spoke to me like I was a pet. I got the feeling that he's been talking to animals more than people lately. It still gave me the ick, though.

  “So you said you wanted to talk, what do you want?" I asked, trying to get the point.

  “To talk”

  “Yeah, I just said that… I assume you want something from me?” I sighed.

  “Well, right now I want to talk to you.” He said with a straight face. I can’t tell if he’s trying to play me or if he’s just stupid.

  “Okay, you want to talk? Well, why don't you start with everything you found out during your time as the Leopardi's guinea pig!" I raised my voice.

  “Drako-Knight is evil.” He said plainly.

  "Ah- well, yeah…" I coughed, "I've been looking for evidence to connect him to the disappearances for months now. But first, I need to know what they're doing to those kids!"

  "No, you don't understand… The missing kids are just the surface. His atrocities go far deeper than we could have ever known." Wesley chattered.

  "Like what?" I bit.

  "I don't know… But I know it's gonna be bad." He claimed, with fear in his voice.

  "I'm sure it will be, but do you know what happens to the children or not!" I groaned, trying to get some real information out of him.

  "If I could only see the files… Having those files could save the world." He mumbled, ignoring me.

  "Hey focus! I want to try to help you, but I'm going to need some straight answers here."

  Wesley fell to his knees, clutching his head. "He's telling me not to trust you… We want proof you're not one of them." As this conversation went on, he started sounding like his sanity was slipping away.

  "Wesley? Who's talking to you?" I asked, trying to be comforting while also feeling incredibly concerned.

  He took some deep breaths, "Sorry, I haven't been feeling like myself since the operation."

  I lowered the distortion of my voice filter and spoke softly, "What did they do to you?"

  "It's all my fault. I got exactly what I asked for. I was so desperate for more power, I became blind to how it would corrupt me." He explained.

  "I'm sorry. Even if you started out with bad intentions, that doesn't mean you're not a victim. You can tell me the full story. I promise I'm not gonna judge or rat you out to the cops." I assured him.

  "Well, my memory is a little fuzzy, but I'll try. It started when I was out on the street and… THAT BASTARD TOOK MY DAUGHTER AWAY! What? I don't have a daughter. I had- have two sons, but THEY KILLED HER- no, no… I was broke after my wife, WHO DIED IN CHILDBIRTH I wish, left me. After I lost the grant, she took my boys, so I had to TAKE EVERYTHING FROM THEM - um- I mean look for funding from less than legal places. That's when I found the Leopardi's. BEFORE THEY TOOK ME OUT, I SAW IT! I SAW EVERYTHING! Once I found out about Tallimarks, I knew that's what I've been missing. Foolishly, I didn't ask any question, just insisted I'd do anything for one. They needed more data on the results of using "expired" ones, so that's what they gave me. After that… I WOKE UP- I began hearing voices and memories that weren't my own. They told me many dark truths. So I had to leave." Zookeeper exposited.

  "… Umm… You seem a little confused… But it sounds like they really messed up my mind. Why would they do that?" I asked.

  Wesley took a few deep breaths to stabilize himself, "It's much more than my mind. When they gave me the title of The Warden, it's like my very soul became tangled with that of the past holder!"

  "Woah, woah, woah, back up! They gave another person's title?! How is that possible?" I gasped.

  "I - I don't know… The last guy was killed by the Leopardi's not too long ago, then I was given his title… and a little more." He described.

  "Wait, is that what they've been doing with all the entitles they've been kidnapping?!"

  "It seems like it. They've been going after people with powerful titles and giving them to their members or selling them to the highest bidder on the black market." He nodded.

  "But how are they stealing the titles? What happens to them after they're taken?!" I shouted.

  "I said I don't know. The Leopardi's aren't too keen on sharing their secrets with outsiders. But from the little I saw, I don't think it works that way…"

  "What do you mean?! Early you were saying you saw everything? There's something you're not telling me!" I accused.

  "That wasn't me. He keeps on saying that, but I don't know what he saw, only the feeling he had when he saw it." Wesley defended.

  "What did he feel?"

  "Rage."

  I paused for a long moment, almost disassociating from everything. I couldn't get my thoughts straight, much less any words out. The picture of what was truly happening finally became clear. I was overcome with emotion, but not necessarily anger or depression. It was an icy determination that refused to accept the dark reality of the situation. I regained composure and took a long, deep breath in.

  "I- I need to destroy the Leopardi Family. I can't afford to be cautious when lives are at stake. I'm ending this now." I stated shakily.

  " I disagree," Wesley argued.

  "What?!" I questioned.

  "We need to go after Drako-Knight first. With him in charge of this city’s heroes, any mob that fills the power vacuum will be protected. If you ask me, the whole system needs to change." He claimed.

  "I mean, I agree to an extent, but there's only so much I could really do. I'm a vigilante. Even if I knew how to get rid of corruption in the hero industry, I don't think anyone would listen to me. Maybe bringing this case to the public could be a place to start." I reason.

  Zookeeper paused and looked at me with a blank stare. "The files. I need your help to get the files!"

  "Right? You mean the files that connect Drako-Knight to the Leopardi Family?" I clarified.

  "No, far worse." He stated.

  I looked at him expecting an explanation, but he left it at that.

  "How so?" I prompted him.

  "If I told you, it'd be putting your life in danger. That's how bad those files are." He said.

  I obviously didn't trust him, but felt like pushing him further on this would be pointless.

  "Okay, I can help you get the files. You just have to promise me you won't go attacking or threatening any innocent civilians anymore, okay?"

  "Fine. We can do things your way." He grumbled, "When you come up with a plan, you know where to find me."

  "Right. Do you know anything else about the Leopardi's or Drako-Knight that could help me?" I asked for the last time.

  "Let me see… I think Shepherd and Angel have a thing going on," Zookeeper giggled.

  "Ah, not really what I meant. But who is Angel anyway?" I questioned, digging through my memory, "I think she was mentioned in Shepherd's report on you."

  "She was the one running the experiments on me, although I don't remember much because she'd knock me out most of the time. I think she's like Leopardi's right hand woman, well, out of the members that aren't literally related to him, anyway." He recalled.

  "Interesting, do you know about any more members?" I asked, taking a mental note of that.

  "Not many. There was Shepherd who ran some psychological tests on me. And the boss, Mr. Leopardi, but I couldn't see his face, it was all blurred out. That's pretty much it. I'm afraid." He described what I mostly already knew.

  "Great." I sighed, "Well, if something jogs your memory, you know where to find me."

  "What? No, I don't," Wesley said, seeming confused.

  "You don't? But you sent that bird to my house." I reminded.

  "I commanded it to follow you and give you that note, but after that it was set free. It's not like I can see through their eyes, so I really don't know where you live or who you are. Unless you want to tell me so we can get in touch." He offered.

  "Yeah, no." I laughed. "How about I just come to you? I'd like to keep my private life private."

  "Alright, Night Hopper, when are you gonna be back with a plan?" He asked, "Like you said, lives are at stake, however, I tried charging in recklessly and that didn't turn out too well. But I bet if we put our powers together, we'll be unstoppable!"

  "Oh, right, so…" I stalled. I really don't want to give him any promises. Though it seems like we're on the same side, I get the feeling his intentions aren't as altruistic as he claims. Besides, I would prefer to work alone anyway. Before I could give him a straight answer, my phone suddenly started ringing. This was quite startling, considering I always have it on silent when I go out as Night Hopper. I checked it to see I was getting a call from "Other Ray".

  "Ah, shoot! Sorry, I'll get back to you on that soon, I have to take this." I said to Zookeeper, then hopped out through a window and answered the call.

  Before I could even get a "hello" out, Rae came in shouting, "RAYLEIGH! RAYLEIGH! You there! You might want to come over like now!"

  "Yeah, Rae, I'm here!" I frantically shouted back, "What happened? Are you in trouble?"

  "No, no, I'm fine now." He panted, "Sorry I was unavailable all day, but I did it! And you're gonna wanna see this."

  "Hold on, back up a sec." I exclaimed. "Did what?"

  "I made a breakthrough in the translation algorithm!" Yong-Rae proudly proclaimed, "I decoded Calliope's Journal!"