In her dark room, Mara lied on her bed, staring at the ceiling. After Wendigo escaped, there was nothing to do but go home. For her. On the way home, a loud sound indicating emergency alert sounded from both her and Ace's phones. It was just a test, but Ace seemed to have something on his mind since he hadn't uttered a word since then.
The girl was lying on her bed, but Ace was probably talking to his hero friends at this very moment. Maybe he was discussing where the Abhorrents would attack next. Where was he? Was he with the HLA right now? After what happened today, Mara wondered. Was Ace even part of the HLA? He'd never introduced her to his friends. She'd never seen him work with someone else. That hero from the shop didn't recognize Ace. No, no no. Stop thinking. Ace wouldn't lie to her. He would never lie to her. He'd even shown her his license.
Was it even real?
She forced herself to go to sleep. Tomorrow, she would have more training. Now was not the time to doubt her brother. He was her role model, her awesome big brother. Her parents (her evil parents) had been proud. According to the books and movies, that was a sign that he did something right. Or was it wrong since her parents approved?
Her shield had been getting stronger lately. They said it had something to do with her mental state, but she didn't listen to any of it. Why would she? They were all capable of lying to strengthen her powers. It was immoral to do that to children. Ace said so, and he said a lot of people felt the same way. Ace was her tether to this superficial world - this world split into inferior and superior, human and parahuman, weak and strong. As long as Mara had Ace, she could see what was right in this world. With these thoughts at the forefront of her mind, she fell asleep.
The next day, she awoke to a frozen bedroom and hard rubber balls bouncing off her shield only to fly back at her again. This was stage one of her current training. Dodge and absorb while getting ready to practice. While brushing her teeth, while taking a shower, while eating breakfast. And so began another day without Ace.