Atomic Rebooted

18. Dream

CLAIRE

I couldn't sleep that night. I had only really skimmed the article when I was hanging out with Stephanie, but I wondered if there was more to Psyche's story than her active years and superpowers. Like a reason that Dad somehow ended up with her suit and never told us.

And there was a question that troubled me more than I'd've liked to admit.

What would Mom have done if she did have superpowers?

It seemed almost like a betrayal of everything Mom and Dad believed in and had raised me with to not become a superhero, if given the chance.

Even if there was the chance I lost myself, even if I could die in the process, wouldn't it be worth it to stop people like Tenebrous, Heretic, and Dr. Electra?

I'd never really been the selfless type— but what teenager is? I'm not a martyr for the house or anything. But the more I thought about it, the more I was feeling guilty.

Didn't I owe it to my city to do what I could to stop evil, if I possibly held that power in my hands?

The problem was, I didn't know what exactly I could and couldn't do.

Still, curiosity tugged at me and I knew I had to find out more about Psyche.

I climbed out of bed and booted up my laptop, pulling up the page that Stephanie had back when she was here.

From there, I was able to weave together a narrative, as any good reporter could— even a reporter for a high school paper like the Princess North.

Psyche had first appeared in 1998 in the late spring, when most of the colleges had let out, and she joined up pretty quickly with other heroes in the League of Heroes— creating her own smaller squad with them. Kind of like how the Sentinels worked now.

The squad consisted of six different heroes— Psyche was one of them, of course. There was Nimbus, a weather-controlling hero with a dorky grin. Then there was Crucible, who could break anything he touched, and World Jumper, a woman who could create portals. There was Argent, a woman who could control metal and magnets. The final member was another male hero, naturally— this one was their leader by the looks of things: Timeline, who was a speedster.

They were sighted together frequently— Psyche and Nimbus the most often. But then there was one villain that appeared, around 1997 or so– Dark Titan or something really stupid like that.

He was one of the techie villains that were more prominent before the City Hall fires, based off of the plots foiled in the sightings chart.

But then there was one big battle, in 2000 where they foiled Dark Titan for good, dismantling whatever big bad doomsday machine he had set up— but a bunch of heroes and villains died in the process.

After that, there had been a few appearances of Psyche since then, before she fell off of the radar completely in 2001.

When I finished the page, I was still admittedly confused as to how Dad ended up with her suit.

Stephanie's probably got it right. Just let it go.

I leaned back in my computer chair. I just felt so restless, like I couldn't get back to sleep.

This is such a bad idea, I thought to myself as I put on my socks and headed downstairs to my coat and warm winter boots. I'd at least keep my phone in the pocket of my sweatpants for good measure this time.

I knew I'd be okay if I went out for a walk in the middle of the night, as long as I stayed in the Riverview development. Some parts of New Kingsbury were prone to crime of the supervillain and mundane kinds, but the suburbs were pretty safe, as far as it went.