Valeria waited at home until midnight, but neither Frank nor Jada returned. Exhausted from the day's events, She gave up on any goodnights and went upstairs to her bed. When she woke up the next morning, she brushed her teeth and heard arguing downstairs. Without making a sound, she crept along the hallway, eavesdropping from the stairwell.

"I still can't believe Dontrell is behind this," Jada protested.

"Who else would have, or even could have done it?"

"Well," she replied as Frank finished speaking, "if someone had followed my orders instead of spying on the girl, we might have caught the perpetrator."

"I promised to look after Valeria, and I'm a man of my word," he replied, his tone firm.

"I hope she was worth it."

"She was," Frank replied, sincerity resonating through his voice. "She disarmed and pick-pocketed a Gambino thug without being detected."

"Not bad," Jada said with little interest, "But not too hard either."

"True," he countered, "but she turned around and gave away all the money to a homeless girl on the street. She really is a good kid, just like Bianca. We're lucky she chose us."

Valeria bit her lip. She wasn't too surprised to hear Frank followed her, and was annoyed that she fell for one of his tricks again. She didn't expect the comparison to his daughter. She remembered something he said at the diner a few days ago.

"You remind me of someone I used to know."

Frank had promised to look after her like a daughter during the accommodating ceremony too. At the time, she wasn't sure she believed it. Could it be true? Did he really see her as a daughter first, protege second? She didn't get to process this further as Jada continued speaking below.

"Well, it's sweet that you and the girl are bonding. Too bad that won't help me prevent a war."

"You don't know that will happen," he said, desperation in his voice.

"It might be inevitable."

"That's why the girl is more important than ever!" Frank exclaimed, his voice loud and absolute.

"Shut up!" Jada fired back in a hushed voice, "you'll wake her up."

Valeria decided that was enough. She walked downstairs without trying to hide her descent. "I'm already up. I'd have to be deaf to not have heard you." She entered the kitchen and found Jada glaring at Frank.

"Morning kiddo -" Frank started, but Valeria cut him off.

"Cut the crap. So you were spying on me last night?"

"Yeah," he said, his eyes meeting hers. "I made a promise didn't I?."

Valeria couldn't tell if he was being sincere or manipulative again. "Are you doing that because you actually care, or because I'm special?"

"Both," he replied without hesitation.

"Why am I so special?"

"You're not ready to hear that yet," Jada said, taking a step between them. "If you succeed with your schoolwork and Rogue training, we'll discuss it."

"I want to know now!" Valeria protested, her fists clenched. "You said I could be important for some kind of war? I think I have every right to know what that means."

Jada walked up to her and came within inches of her face. "You are entitled to nothing. I invited you into my house and my faction. If you wish to remain safe within both, you will do as you're told. If you don't like it, you're more than welcome to try and survive on your own."

Valeria met her eyes and saw a fierceness she hadn't noticed before. For the first time, she was actually afraid, and could see why Jada was the leader of this faction of outlaws. She wanted to fight back. She wanted to know the truth. But Jada wasn't someone to be trifled with, and it was time to cut her losses and live to fight another day. "No. I'm sorry."

Jada sighed, her gaze softening. "Listen to me, girl. My husband and I are doing everything we can to keep you safe. A lot is happening in the world right now, but you need to focus on things you can control: going to school, blending in, and Rogue training. Understood?"

Valeria nodded. She understood Jada's position, but didn't agree. She would find out the truth someday, with or without their help. After that disappointing argument, Valeria found the rest of the day enjoyable. Frank and Jada decided against discussing the Rogue world, and focused on the regular world instead.

The afternoon was a little boring; they forced Valeria to attend a Sunday mass at their church. Frank promised a surprise if she behaved and played along. This surprise turned out to be a new bike, and the three of them spent the afternoon cycling around Manhattan. They went bowling afterwards, and despite it being her first time, Valeria discovered she was quite adept at the sport. It helped stave off the looming anxiety of starting school tomorrow. She had just bowled another strike when Frank approached her by the ball return.

"Maybe you should join a bowling league," Frank teased.

"I'm not sure Jada will let me," she said with a hint of sarcasm.

Jada removed her ball from the return and shook her head. "I said I'll push your limits. I want you to be strong, but I never said I'd make you into a machine. You're a kid, Valeria. If you work hard, you'll get to play hard."

She looked over at Jada with surprise. While Frank reminded Valeria of her father, Jada was nothing like her mother. She was unlike any woman she'd ever met before, and Valeria found her fearsome and admirable. She was strong, fierce, independent, but most important of all - she was fair.

When they finished bowling, the evening was capped off with hot dogs, ice cream, and stopping near the harbor to see the Statue of Liberty in the night sky.

"First time seeing Lady Liberty?" Frank asked.

"Yes."

Frank pointed at the statue with his ice cream cone. "You know what she stands for?"

Valeria shrugged and recited the first thing that came to mind. "Freedom?"

He approached the fence and looked at the statue along the horizon. "That's what she started off as: a gift from the French meant to symbolize the colonies shaking off their chains of the monarchy. She became an even more important symbol later on."

Jada groaned. "Here we go again."

He frowned at her and said, "This is important, and I want Valeria to hear it. Ever heard Lady Liberty's poem?"

"There's a poem about her?"

"Uh huh," Frank said, a subtle grin across his face. "It's ironic that most Americans revere Lady Liberty, but many forget what she truly stands for." He turned toward the statue and saluted her. "The poem goes: not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, with conquering limbs astride from land to land, here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand, a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and the name Mother of Exiles."

"Lady Liberty is supposed to be the Mother of Exiles?" Valeria asked.

Frank grinned at her. "Maybe you've heard this part: keep ancient lands, your storied pomp, cries she with silent lips. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

She listened to the familiar poem that sent chills running down her spine. "I've heard that before. Why are you telling me this?"

"On the drive here," Frank continued, "You told me this city had nothing to offer an immigrant like you. I want you to understand that's not true, and that statue is proof of that. You belong here, and any idiot who tells you otherwise doesn't understand the principles the country was founded on. Do you understand?"

She studied him a moment, unsure how to respond. As an orphan, a teenage girl, and especially as an immigrant, there were times when it felt like she didn't belong anywhere. Standing with them and looking at the statue, she realized that wasn't true. She had found a world where she was accepted, and would do anything to remain within it.

"Yes," she said, her voice quivering, "I do."

"Honey?" Jada asked. "Can you get me a bottle of water please?"

"Sure thing hon," he replied with a nod. "I'll be right back."

Valeria turned and hovered over the fence, staring at the statue with newfound admiration.

Jada leaned over the fence next to her and focused on the statue. "He's a good man, my husband," she said without making eye contact. "A naïve idealist, but an overall good man."

Valeria offered a quick side glance. "I can tell there's something else you want to say."

"He sees this country as it should be, not for what it truly is."

"And what would that be?" Valeria asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a country half filled with racists, misogynists, xenophobes, and corporations that constantly screw over the poor, huddled masses, time and time again. He was born with privilege, and will never see the world as we do."

Valeria exhaled, the momentary sense of pride evaporating. Every time Frank lifted her spirits, Jada was there to bring her back down to earth and confront the harsh reality. She looked over at the statue with a somber stare. "So, you're saying there's no hope for me then."

"I didn't say that," Jada said, her voice firm. "I simply see things for what they are. Frank told you what he thinks when he sees that statue. Do you want to know what I see?"

"Yeah?"

"I see a ninety-three meter tall woman who gets struck by lightning 600 times a year. She was built with a flexible skeleton, so she sways and endures the endless storms that come her way. She's always taking a step forward, despite the chains at her feet meant to hold her back." Jada turned, and their eyes met. "She's a symbol for all women. A reminder that life is hard - but even in the face of adversity - you must keep your head held high and keep moving forward." She placed an arm around her shoulder and said, "That's what I see in her, and what I see in you."

"You really see that?" Valeria asked with surprise. She found her new mother figure hard to predict. Jada could act like a nurturing mama bear one moment, only to be replaced by a ferocious grizzly in the next.

"I do, but it doesn't matter what I see. It matters what you see when you look in the mirror. Ah," Jada said, turning toward Frank and reaching for the water bottle. "Thanks, Babe." Ready to go home, Valeria?"

"Yeah, I am."

"You ready to start school tomorrow, kiddo?" Frank asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Not at all," Valeria said with a nervous laugh. She looked over at Jada and continued with, "but I'll keep moving forward anyway."