"So I've been thinking," I said.

Selena hit me with an odd look. A look that said she didn't know if she was going to like what I was about to say, but she was going to go ahead and give me just enough rope to hang myself by.

It wasn't a comforting look. Though it wasn't nearly as terrifying now that she couldn't potentially smash me with her pinky finger whenever she wanted.

Maybe she could sense that the "thinking" I'd been doing coincided with that new hero. A hero who couldn't possibly be who I thought she was. I refused to believe it.

Also? Without CORVAC around to get good footage from the drones there wasn't a good way to get a good shot of the new hero punching out giant irradiated monsters. Not unless I wanted to sit on a drone myself, and I wasn't worried to the point of waiting around or something interesting to happen with my hands on the drone controls.

Yet.

I might get there very soon. If other plans didn't pan out.

"That could be dangerous, but go ahead. What have you been thinking about?" she asked.

I looked at the Starlight City News Network. I needed to frame this so it had nothing to do with that new hero who'd given that giant lizard the business.

No, I needed to frame this like I was concerned with the wave of petty crime that had swept the city ever since lesser criminals figured out Fialux wasn't out there rounding people up and Night Terror wasn't out there busting the heads of anyone who moved in on her territory.

When I eventually figured out all this Fialux-losing-her-powers stuff it was going to be nothing but work for at least a few months trying to get everyone back in line. My protection rackets were drying up.

It's not that I needed the money. I didn't. It was more about sending a message and reminding the people paying me protection money who they owed.

"I've been thinking about all the criminals who've been hitting the city lately," I lied.

Her eyebrows shot up and she took another bite of pizza. Clearly she didn't believe me, but she was also polite enough not to call me on it.

I eyed that pizza suspiciously. Surprisingly there'd been no need for changing the measurements on the suit from the beginning of the fabrication process to the end despite all the junk food she still packed away like the apocalypse was nigh and she was enjoying her last pizza ever.

I'd even introduced her to my favorite Chinese buffet as promised. She'd said the Crab Rangoon was middling at best which was sacrilege and it felt weird to have her there when I was used to sitting down with some Lo Mein and a good book, but whatever.

The point was she was still packing away the food and there hadn't been a change in her physique.

All the surreptitious scans that ran on both of us when we were going through the lab, systems I'd set up to motivate myself to keep in shape since my natural state was lazy and fat when it came to working out and I always needed motivation, told me she hadn't gained a single pound even after losing her powers even though she hadn't exactly been hitting the gym.

Almost as though her metabolism was still going at whatever breakneck pace had been set when she was a hero, even though that was impossible since she didn't have any powers to use.

"Earth to Natalie," Selena said.

I blinked a couple of times and returned my attention to her. She was waving a hand in front of my face. She had a little bit of pizza sauce on her thumb.

"Sorry about that," I said. "I was thinking about that fight with those robots, is all."

"Uh-huh," she muttered in a tone that said she didn't believe me. "I'm sure that's exactly what you're thinking about."

Her eyes shot to the TV off to one side of the breakfast nook where I always had Starlight City News Network playing in the background. Right now it was running a replay of that mysterious "new" hero along with commentary about how the giant lizard was way more powerful than usual this time around.

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"It's good that you're thinking about those robots," she said, a twinkle in her eye. "After all. That's the fight where you showed yourself to be the hero I always knew you were."

I decided to ignore that. She could say I was a hero until the cows came home, not likely considering the nearest dairy farm was at least thirty miles from the city, but that wasn't going to make it true.

Not in my heart of hearts, at least. Though it didn't help that I found myself acting all merciful and heroic when she was around, and I found myself getting irritated again.

I didn't do merciful and heroic, damn it.

"The point I'm trying to make here is there are emboldened criminals crawling out of the woodwork," I said. "I'm talking the kind of criminals who wouldn't have dared hit the city when you were in operation."

She locked eyes with me. "Are you sure that's what's really bothering you?"

I let out a low growl. One of the bad things about her spending so much time with me, she'd practically moved into the lab at this point, was she knew me too well. Knew when I was bullshitting her.

"Fine. They're also totally the kind of criminals who never would've dreamed of operating within the city limits when I was running things," I said.

Her lips pursed into a thin frown. Yeah, the less we talked about the good old days when I'd ruled this city with a polycarbonate reinforced cybernetically enhanced fist the better.

"Moving on," I said. "There are a lot of petty criminals out there who're getting too big for their britches. And it seems to me it's time to slap them down."

"Are you sure that's the only reason you suddenly want to stop the training and get back out into the city?" she asked.

Again her eyes darted to the TV. Again it was clear she saw through my motivations.

"This doesn't have to do with those lizards or that hero," I said, slamming my fist down on the breakfast bar.

"Really? Because that's totally the reaction of someone who doesn't care," she said, the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"This is totally a training thing," I said, though even I sounded like I didn't believe it.

She didn't say anything. She arched an eyebrow. That said it all. She saw through my bullshit. She usually did.

"The criminals out there are low level enough that they'd make a perfect training opportunity while also reintroducing Fialux to the world," I said with a sniff, not willing to give up that easily.

I wouldn't be the top villain in Starlight City, and by extension the world, if I gave up easily.

She kept that eyebrow arched. I sighed.

"And if we happen to get a closer look at that strange new hero on the scene that's just gravy as far as I'm concerned."

She eyed me with a growing smile.

"You know Natalie, if I didn't know any better I'd almost say you've gotten a taste for the heroic and now you want to go out there and save the world again," she said. "And you're using that new hero as an excuse."

I bit my tongue. At least I bit back what I was going to say. I didn't want to give her any inkling that Dr. Lana might still be out there. As far as Fialux was concerned, the good doctor was dead many times over thanks to my dummy lab, and I was going to keep it that way until I absolutely had to tell her.

Dr. Lana might've put me through hell, but Fialux got it way worse from her. I didn't want to send her into another depressed funk.

"Sure," I said. "If that's what it takes to get you out there then that's absolutely what I want to do. Look at me. The big hero. Go good guys."

The last part was delivered with enough precision sarcasm that I was pretty sure she got the point. Though it seemed like it wasn't a point she was willing to take.

Selena blinked. "You're telling me that's not what you want to do? Come on. I know what it's like. You get your first high from saving the city and then nothing's good enough. You find yourself rescuing cats from trees even though they're perfectly capable of climbing down themselves because you need that rush! You go blow out fires with your super breath and then a bunch of pissy park rangers show up to tell you that you just ruined a controlled burn. Being a hero is a hell of a drug. You have to be careful once you get a taste."

I sighed and put my elbows on the table. Meanwhile the news kept going. Talking about the crime wave that was hitting the city and speculating about how this new hero might be able to pick up where Fialux left off.

"Crime wave my ass," I growled.

"Weren't you the one who was just talking about how we need to go out there to fight low level criminals and get me back in the saddle?" she asked. "Like it's either a crime wave or it isn't. Either we need to go out there and save the city or we don't. It's one or the other."

She grinned at me. Clearly she was enjoying messing with me. I can't say that I cared for it.

"You're really enjoying fucking with me, aren't you?" I asked.

"I think I've already proved time and again how much I enjoy that," she said. "But it is a hell of a lot of fun now."

I stuck my tongue out. Blushed, too. I thought of a few of the things we'd done in the privacy of the lab, and they were all pleasant memories. Not the kind of thing I needed clouding my head when I was worrying about new heroes who may or may not be my old archenemy and petty criminals moving in on the criminal empire that was crumbling more and more every day I didn't go out there and maintain it.

"Come on, Natalie," Fialux said, reaching across the table to touch my hand. "What's really bothering you?"

I took in a deep breath. I wasn't sure she really wanted the answer to that question, but she'd asked and now she was going to get it, damn it. When you got down to it I was a little pissed that the villainous hold I had on the city was loosening with every day I didn't go out there and knock some heads. I was annoyed there was a new hero out there.

I was annoyed at the world and I needed to lash out at something, so I did.

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