Reformation

Epilogue

Nova woke to the kiss of golden sunshine spilling through her curtains and pooling on her pillow. Mewling, she stretched, skin against luxurious silk, limbs popping into buzzing warmth.

She lay with arms behind her head, smiling up at her ceiling.

Thank goodness the scabs have finally healed.

It had been two weeks since her miraculous rescue and return. Her bruises had faded, her back healed over, and most importantly, her mind was at peace.

As soon as she woke from her two day long nap, Nova sat down with Mike over warm milk and churros for a long talk. Turns out he had some important things to say too. She smiled at the memory of it.

They had both chewed on a mouthful of churro, awkwardly uncertain as to how to start.

"You're my brother" "I have powers." They both began at the same time, blushing and mumbling apologies.

"Oh." They both said.

"That makes sense" "I thought we were."

They burst out laughing.

"We're terrible at this." Nova said.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't trade this for the world." Mike had said, and they grinned at each other, somehow understanding without saying a word.

Eventually Nova had explained how Melandro had created them as an experiment, and how they were separated at birth. In some ways, it wasn't as distressing when they had each other to lean on. Then Mike told Nova how he had discovered his powers, and the disturbing nature of his abilities. He told her he didn't remember a thing, but when he had regained consciousness, Lyxon was gone and the tank was smashed. Nova could offer no explanation, but knew Mike needed to talk about it anyway.

There were some tears.

Mike showed Nova the beautiful tattoo of a blazing fire stretching across his side, telling her each flame represented a day without her.

When they left together for dinner, there was an invisible, indivisible bond between the two that had already begun before Nova's capture.

Ace's hands were still bandaged two weeks later, but thanks to Androluc, were definitely healing.

Their relationship still felt damaged, though.

Nova understood where he came from, well enough, but somehow that didn't replace the trust that was lost. Her entire perception of him had been a lie, and that was hard to come back from completely. She still treated him the same, but there was something different in the way she felt about him.

Nova lay in her bed for a good fifteen minutes, lost in her thoughts.

Her bedroom door swung open.

"Meeeerry Christmas!" Mike sang.

"Happy Hanukkah!" Sully belted.

They paraded into her bedroom singing a mix between Jingle Bells and Dreidel, Dreidel at the top of their lungs. Mike leaned over her, his green eyes sparkling, and said: "Guess what day it is!"

"Christmas?" She guessed.

"Nope!" He said, and they crowed: "It's hump-daaay!"

Nova burst into a fit of giggles. She threw a pillow at them. "Alright alright I'm coming down, just let me get dressed!"

They left her in peace so she could pull on a silk dressing robe, comb her hair back, and stuff her feet in slippers. Then she padded down the stairs, finding the whole group gathered in the living room.