"I'm sorry for last night. You're doing me and Arcana a real favor... it was wrong of me to break down like that." 

Max looked up to see Juliana standing in the doorway of his office. Her dark hair was pulled back into a half-ponytail and she wore a green graphic tee tucked into cuffed boyfriend jeans. Artificial sunlight streamed through the long window that covered the underground room's entire back wall, illuminating her vibrant hazel eyes. She looked a lot less sleep deprived and a lot more sane than she had the previous night. "No, you don't have to apologize. I deserved a lot of what you said, so I guess we're even now." 

"Guess we're even," Juliana smiled, walking into the spacious office and shutting the door behind her. "It's been all these years since we were at the Academy together. I'd almost forgotten how much I hate your sense of humor." Her eyes darted down at the text on her shirt. 

"I just sent my assistant to the store to pick up some stuff in your size. I promise I had nothing to do with the selection process," Max smirked at the message in blocky black lettering. PRINCESS is overrated: I'm a SUPERHERO. 

"Sure," Juliana rolled her eyes as she sat down across from him. "You didn't expect me to actually wear it, did you?" 

"Frankly, I didn't," Max chuckled. "Wow... that weird boyfriend of yours really has changed you." 

Juliana's expression grew dark, and Max immediately sensed his mistake. "Okay, got it, we don't talk about the boyfriend. Did you come all the way from your room to my office without a Maskey? You really shouldn't be walking around in the open like that. Your Prime Minister and I are the only ones who know you're here, and I'd really like to keep it that way. This place is too beautiful to be bombed." 

"Well, I would spend all day in your office, but I figured that being a CEO and all, you have better things to do than babysit me." 

"I have a big office. It would be pretty hard for you to get in my way," Max shrugged. "And it would really be more like you babysitting me. You see, without Maddie here, I don't have anyone to stop me from making morally corrupt decisions. I called Nelson the other day... I was furious at what he'd done with my weapons. I was totally ready to chew him out, cut off his supply, but when I heard what he was offering for my silence..." Max cast his eyes down in shame, running his hand through his dark brown hair. 

"Everyone has an addiction, Juliana. Yours is saving the world, and mine's money. And I don't mean luxury. I could live without my yacht and my country club membership. But that feeling when you're putting down the phone or signing a contract or shaking an investor's hand and you know you've gotten the best of the person on the other the end- you know you're walking out of that room a few million dollars richer. That's the feeling I live for. Of course, it makes me feel disgusting afterward... at least your guilty pleasure isn't so guilty." 

"Oh, please," Juliana huffed. "My own Prime Minister had to have me drugged and shipped to a different continent so I wouldn't get myself killed trying to singlehandedly take on a robot army. Trust me, my addiction's just as damaging." 

"Mm," Max nodded. "You okay?" He'd noticed Juliana picking at the seams of her pants and shifting uncomfortably in her seat since she'd walked in. 

"Yes, of course." She pulled her hands self-consciously into her lap. "First time wearing jeans. They're much heavier than I expected, but they're actually not as uncomfortable as I was led to believe." 

"Wait... you've never worn jeans?" Max chuckled in disbelief. "And I thought I was preppy!" 

"Your reaction was a lot tamer than Chase's," Juliana smiled sadly. "He practically lives in jeans. You know, sometimes, he reminds me how different I really am. How almost alien. Maybe that's what did it... I'll never be able to reminisce with him or make him laugh like a normal girl would." 

"Oh, stop it. Sentiment doesn't look good on you." Max stood up, grabbing his blazer off the back of his chair and slipping into it. "Looks like the coffee's done. Want some?" 

"Sure." Juliana followed Max to the coffee machine that sat on top of his filing cabinet. Opening the first drawer, Max pulled out two black mugs imprinted with the Thornton Tech logo. Filling them, he offered one to Juliana. 

"You take your coffee black?" Max raised his eyebrows in surprise when Juliana didn't reach for the milk or the sugar. 

"Well, I'll usually touch nothing but a princess unicorn latte with extra whipped cream and a shot of justice, but I wouldn't want to be too imposing, so..." 

"That's very considerate of you, because I doubt you'll find any of that 'justice' on this side of the Atlantic," Max smirked, leaning against the filing cabinet as he sipped from his mug. For a few moments, Juliana drank her coffee in silence, carefully watching Max. He was using humor to avoid touching on some kind of hidden fear... the reason Juliana was so sure about that was because she was doing the same thing. Trying desperately to use the presence of an old friend to return to the simplicity of old times. Of course, they both knew it wasn't permanent. Eventually, inevitably, they were going to have to confide in each other. Yet, they were permitted to making the facade of carefree innocence last as long as it could. 

"Speaking of justice, has your country taken any action against Nelson? I haven't exactly been in a position to keep up with the news," Juliana inquired, downing the last of her coffee and placing the mug back on Max's cabinet. 

"The President's revoked his diplomatic credentials and permanently barred him from the US foreign service. He's also given a statement publicly denouncing his behavior." 

"No, but I mean... real action. What's the American military up to? What's the UN up to? Is anyone going to help me- anyone at all? I'm assuming Lord Hewkin sent me here to wait for something. So what am I waiting for?" 

There was a long silence before Max shook his head. "For someone so brilliant, you can be so naive. Lord Hewkin sent you here to buy time, and that's all. You're not in power anymore, Juliana. With the Arcanese military and my weapons, Nelson is better armed than anyone else in the world. No one is going to stand against him. Not the UN, not even America. I'm afraid you and Project PROB had a lot of fair weather friends." 

"The world isn't all bad. People aren't all bad. If we were totally selfish, we'd still be slaughtering each other in the jungle. Civilization as we know it would never have come into existence. I refuse to believe that there isn't a single person in this world who believes that my regime should be saved. I mean, I thought people looked up to us. I thought Project PROB had inspired something in them." 

"Believing that your regime should be saved is not the same thing as actually getting off your butt and saving it. I'm sure that the entire world, morally, is on your side. Politically, however..." 

Seeing that Juliana was clearly unsatisfied with that answer, Max continued. "Of course the world isn't all bad. The percentage of bad is just a little higher than you think it is. You've seen way more of the good than most people. Even the enemies you've fought up to this point have all been sympathetic in some way. The Jackers just wanted to feed the poor, and their leader was your best friend. His sidekick, no matter how messed up she might be, is your sister. You've had the luxury of never having to deal with people who are unabashedly hungry for money and power with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I live among such people. They put on friendly faces- they shake hands, go to parties, make connections. But when the time comes to really step up, they push the responsibility onto someone else." 

"What?" Juliana's eyes widened as she crossed her arms, stepping closer to Max. Even though she was almost half a foot shorter than him, he could sense the power and conviction she projected. "Does no one care about doing the right thing anymore? Being proactive? Even if they're thinking from a totally selfish point of view, they have to understand that this isn't going to end with Arcana! Drosi Nebulik didn't stop until he'd wiped out half of Europe, and he would've gone further without Project PROB's intervention. Letting Nelson have Arcana would be like letting Hitler have Czechoslovakia- you're feeding a fire that will grow to consume you!" 

"This is exactly what I mean. You have too much faith in humanity," Max sighed. "I'm sad to say that the way the world is dealing with the situation in Arcana is not unique or surprising. Look around you. Look at our stock market. Look at our environmental regulations, or lack thereof. Does this look like a proactive world? We don't solve our problems; we put them in boxes where we can't see them. And then, we wrap them up with a bow and hand them to our children. Each generation, the box gets a little fuller until someday, it explodes. We only really pay attention to the explosions... sometimes, we even find ways to ignore those." 

Juliana's perfect posture seemed to slump a little as if she was physically burdened by the weight of Max's words. She had no direct response to him, because she knew he was right about the world. But he didn't have to be right about himself. As the son of the legendary E. L. Thornton, he could've attended any school in the world, yet he chose the Royal Academy. He chose involvement with the Order of Chance. He chose a life of uncertainty when he could've had it easy, and Juliana wasn't going to let him forget that. "Your wife is locked in his basement, Max! You can't possibly be okay with that!" 

"Of course I'm not okay with it! I just don't see what I could possibly do to help her. I'm not a government, or a superhero. I'm just a guy who happens to have some cash." 

"You're doing it, too." 

"Doing what?" 

"The time has come for you to step up, and you're pushing the responsibility onto someone else. Namely, governments and superheroes. Do you really want to be one of those people, too?" 

Max froze. Her comment had obviously caught him off guard. Finally, he took in a deep breath. "No. I don't. What do you need from me?"

"Maddie was the primary architect of most of your weapons, correct?" A small smile played on Juliana's lips. "I'm going to need access to her lab."

"What are you going to do?" 

"You're right, Max. No one is coming to save me. I have to fight Nelson myself, and as far as weaponry goes, one lousy super suit I built when I was eighteen and a thousand-year-old spear aren't going to cut it." 

"Well?" she added, watching Max expectantly. He twirled his coffee mug between his fingers, clearly very deep in thought. Finally, he smiled at her in a combination of admiration and defeat. 

"Fine. The lab is empty right now, so I don't suppose it could do any harm. I do want to be down there with you at all times, though. That room contains some of Thornton Tech's most dangerous secrets." 

"Aww, so you are going to be babysitting me," Juliana smirked, heading toward the door. 

"Wait. Use this." Max fished a Maskey out of his pocket, throwing it at Juliana. Thanks to his deplorable aim, it would've sailed straight over her head, but her telekinesis caught it hovering in front of her forehead. 

"Okay, Mom," she said sarcastically as she plucked the small metal device out of the air and popped it in her mouth. As her face morphed into an older, more unassuming one, she turned around before Max could see the grin on her face.