:Arabella:

            When Lacey came to pick me up, I knew that her day wasn't going as well as she planned either.

            "So, who left you stranded in the middle of downtown?" she asked.

            "My father."

            "Tell me everything."

            So I did.

            I could barely get past the strange dream that I had before Lacey interrupted. "Connor broke into your bedroom?"

            "Yes."

            "Did you guys do the thing?"

            I was confused. "What thing?"

            "You know," she made an inappropriate jester and I finally understood what she was implying.

            "God, no! Definitely not. We just talked for a while and then I fell asleep next to him. If anything the most interesting part was when my father walked in this morning."

            She gasped. "You've got to be kidding me!"

            "Nope. I can tell no lies."

            Then Lacey laughed so hard that she almost swerved off of the road. It took a full song on the radio and a few jerks of the wheel by me to get Lacey to recover.

            I took the empty silence to explain the exact events of that morning. I told her about how my father had assumed the exact same thing as she did and how we went to lunch right afterwards. Then I got onto the topic of his friend that never showed.

            "Wouldn't that be so cool if he was trying to introduce you to a super from another town? Maybe since he's mayor now he knows supers like Golden Eagle!"

            "Lacey," I said, "you forget that Golden Eagle was kidnapped. And, aren't you still crushing on Chase? I don't think that you can have two celebrity crushes at the same time."

            Lacey blushed and looked down. "About that . . ."

            She told me about the events of the night before. How her and Chase had fought about why they shouldn't or should love each other and then ended up driving to Super Burger for a celebratory dinner.

            "So," I concluded, "you made out with Blue Archer and you only thought of telling me now?"

            "I've been busy." She blushed again.

            I laughed at her again. Sometimes Lacey could be an annoying diva, but occasionally she could also be just as insecure as I was on my worst days.

            Then she decided on a change of topic.

            "What about that strange dream of yours? Did Connor explain any of it to you?"

            I sighed. "Yeah, but it still makes no sense. I mean - why would The Manipulator keep showing me visions of my best friends dying? Why were all the kidnapped supers staring at me with those eyes? And why does Nemesis want me to join him so bad?"

            "I think," Lacey started, "that he's trying to scare you into submission. He must've chosen you for the serum for a reason. And since it seemed like Archer destroyed all the rest of it when he was storming around, you're the only person he ever turned into a super. Maybe he needs you for something. Maybe, in his demented version of reality, he thought that you were the type of person who would join him."

            He thought that I would join him? What kind of psycho did he think I was?

            To be honest, if this Nemesis guy did specifically choose me, then he'd have to know that I didn't go the bad guy route. There was no way that I'd ever work for people like him.

            "Do you think that they've somehow controlled all the kidnapped supers with The Manipulator's powers? Do you think that they have something more sinister planned than just taking away every super's abilities?"

            The conversation had taken a dark turn and I knew we both were uncomfortable with it.

            "If they do, then let's hope that Agent Argent's plan for the League of Legends stops him before he could do anything." Lacey said.

            "Yeah."

            I had agreed, but my voice was hollow. After all, what harm could six supers do against a threat as big as Nemesis? Especially when he had a super like The Manipulator on his side?

            I turned on the radio, desperate for a change in the atmosphere.

           " . . . and we've just got news that the attack on the mayor's office was unsuccessful. Though he was attacked only fifteen minutes ago, sources tell us that he was unharmed due to the courageous actions of Tornado and The Marvel. We'll update you with more information as the story grows . . ."

            "Turn the car around."

            Lacey was way ahead of me. We did a massive U-turn that I was sure was illegal. But sometimes moments like these could be taken when your father was the mayor.

            We arrived in under two minutes, which was a record in Empire City traffic. When we parked, I ran as fast as I could into the mayor's building. I ignored the news stations and reporters already there, even with all of their yelling for a quote from the mayor's daughter.

            When I got to the office I found a medic tending to a cut on my father's head, my father's right hand advisor talking on the phone, and Archer and Connor in the corner in their spandex outfits.

            First things first that you've got to know. My father's advisor was an old man, like past fifty old. He was pudgy and balding, probably the only reason that he didn't become mayor himself. He was the man who knew all the political stuff, my father just played along.

            Also, it seemed that Connor and Archer weren't used to such close quarters while technically in public. They still weren't too comfortable with each other.

            You know, arch enemies don't forget old battle wounds.

            "Dad!" I rushed across the room and pulled my father into a hug.

            "Don't squeeze too hard." He laughed.

            I didn't recognize the tears in my eyes until I felt them threatening to fall out. I hurriedly wiped then away. My father was safe. I hadn't lost him.

            The awkwardness of the morning and the resentment of his leaving had slowly faded into the dark. I knew that none of that mattered anymore. I was too shaken up by almost losing another parent to care about those insignificant things now.

            "What happened?" I voiced after catching my bearings.

            "Well," my father winced as the medic went back to work on his head, "when I entered the office after leaving our lunch two robots were standing in here. They said something about taking me as bait for someone. I thought I was a goner until these two heroes came smashing through my window. They scared the robots off."

            I glanced at the two boys in the corner again. It seemed that they had been having a hushed conversation while my father was explaining his story. They didn't look too happy.

            They wanted him as bait. We all knew what that meant.

            The only good thing that seemed to come out of this was the fact that my father wasn't kicking Connor and Archer out of his office. Instead, he seemed to be contempt with their presence.

            Was my father finally starting to trust supers again?

            It was a hopeful thought, but I wished it was true. Maybe he was changing for the better.

            "Mayor Jones." Connor voiced. I had to take a second to register the voice change. I had forgotten how different he sounded with his voice scrambler.

            "Is there anything else specific that they said to you? Anything at all, even if it seemed insignificant at the time. We need to know everything."

            My father's expression turned grim. "They said that they wanted someone by midnight tomorrow. They said that the supers would know who they were talking about. They wanted me to be their bait, but why would I be bait for some random citizen?"

            Well, besides the fact that that random citizen was your daughter there was no absolute reason to use you as bait, I thought.

            "I don't know, sir." Archer talked with his own voice scrambler. "But we intend to find out."

            I met their gaze and I knew that they knew he was bait for me. Nemesis had given us a three day deadline that just so conveniently ended today, the same day they threaten my father. There was no coincidence there.

            If they had succeeded in kidnapping my father, I would've been forced to comply with whatever they wanted. I couldn't let him die because I was too stubborn.

            Sure, he wasn't my biological father, the deceased Avenger was, but he was still the only real father I had.

            And with that Connor and Archer flew out of the room back through the broken window in the corner. I wondered whether they made supers pay for the damage they did to city property or if they just got some special pass.

            Like: "Oh, you're wearing spandex. Don't even think of paying for the damage you did to half of the city during your latest fight!"

            I was ripped from my thoughts when my father's advisor started to talk.

            "This could be a huge publicity chance. The mayor saved by the two greatest heroes that this city has ever known. We'll need a press conference right away."

            "Harold," my father scolded, "can't we wait to discuss the politics until after my daughter and her friend leave?"

            I hadn't even noticed Lacey had followed me in until my father mentioned her. Wow, what a great friend I was.

            Lacey interrupted. "Actually, I was wondering if Mayor Jones could give me a quote for the Empire City Post. It would even make the front page."

            My father's advisor doubled back. "Who let a reporter in here?"

            "Don't worry, Harold." My father assured him. "She's a family friend. Lacey Waters can ask all the questions that she wants."

            At the mention of Lacey's last name, Harold The Advisor paled. Mayor Waters only died a couple months ago and anyone who knew Lacey acted cautious when talking about her last name or her father. It was like they thought she was going to break at the slightest mention of him.

            Also, the past mayor and his means of death probably weren't the best thing to mention in City Hall where he was murdered.

            "Of course."

            Lacey smiled and immediately asking questions with rapid-fire speed. I swore that she could talk faster than I could run. And I could run faster than the speed of sound.

            In the end I had to pull Lacey away from the office, pad of paper and all. She wasn't one to give up a good story without all the details given to her.

            "At least they didn't get your father."

            I sighed. "Yeah, but if they failed with him, who do you think that they'll choose to bait me now? My father will be on maximum security, no way to get to him. Nemesis will have to choose a separate form of attack."

            "Maybe, but-"

            "Hello, Jones and Waters."

            Caine stepped out of the shadows of the hallway and walked in front of their path.

            Caine Temple. I hadn't seen the little weasel since high school. Lacey worked with him, so I knew that he was still as annoying as ever, if not more. God knows what he would do to get a good scoop.

            "Caine," the name slid out of my mouth like venom, "what are you doing here?"

            "Why, I'm only trying to get a good story."

            Lacey scoffed. "Too late, Mayor Jones just gave me the scoop. All other reporters and journalists will have to get the information from his advisor."

            I was impressed by her hostility, but I knew where it came from. Caine wasn't exactly the type to play fair, which included stealing Lacey's own work and claiming it as his own.

            "So, who's Nemesis."

            Oh shit.

            Great, now the most annoying and nosy journalist in the world knew the name Nemesis. Lord knows how much of their conversation he had heard.

            "Just a silly codename for my brother." Lacey rushed in. "He needed to talk to Mayor Jones about something, but it's all good now."

            "Sure." Caine didn't sound convinced.

            Lacey pulled my arm. "We'll just be leaving now."

            I could only imagine the crazy and wild ideas running through Caine's head now. Let's hope that he doesn't try and figure out who Nemesis was. That would bring up more confusion than we needed.