Four Years Ago

Indio, California

Adele had just recently enrolled in the Protectors as part of the Young Protectors program, not long after her eighteenth birthday. It was what her father, Byron or The Watcher, had always wanted, ever since she discovered that she inherited his powers. As a special present for this milestone, Byron bought her a two-weekend trip to California, specifically to attend the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. For the past few years, it had been her dream to attend such an event, as a lover of all things music.

After the first weekend was over, Adele spent time with her friends and fellow Young Protectors Alicia, Becky, and Kat. They all were having such a good time. The foursome were outside of the mall, having gone shopping for clothes. After spending two hours inside, they stepped out with new items at hand.

All four of them were showing skin, as dictated by the weather. Adele was in short shorts and a T-shirt, Alicia and Kat were wearing sundresses, and Becky had daisy dukes. They were outside, headed to Becky's car. Adele took a drink from her bottled water, the heat was definitely getting to her.

"It's just so hot out here." Adele said. "God, I'm just too English for this shit."

The other girls laughed. It was hot for everyone, but England wasn't exactly known for its sunny weather, and that's where Adele had spent the majority of her life growing up. She downed what remained of the water and joined her girlfriends on the drive through the town.

"We should get some drinks while we're here." Adele said.

"Umm..." Becky was about to speak.

"Oh, silly me. That's right, I forgot. You have to be twenty-one here. Funny, you can buy smokes and shoot guns at this age, but getting buzzed? Wait three more years. What a country."

"It's not that bad." Kat said.

"I know, I'm just having fun at the expense of the government. Remember, I'm half-American. I have every right to complain about it as all of you."

"Yeah, I guess I'm just used to it." Kat said.

They drove off, exploring the Californian desert. It would be several more days before the next music weekend began. It was a fun time, just the girls having the vacation to themselves, with no one else to bother them about their responsibility. Adele felt grateful that her father would do this for her, just as gift for joining the Protectors.

"It was nice of your dad to do this." Kat said. "Most people don't get presents for joining the Protectors. My dad sure as hell didn't give me anything."

"Well, he always expected me to join." Adele said. "He wanted me to follow his legacy."

"I think that's what all superhero parents want." Alicia said.

"Don't think you're a special case there, Adele." Becky said.

It was true that all four of them were daughters of Protectors, comprising the Original 40. Alicia Hill was the daughter of Emily Davis and Julius Hill -- Scratch and Rough Ox, respectively, and joined taking up the legacy and identity of her mother. Rebecca "Becky" Maxwell was the daughter of the hero Don Maxwell, or Cyclone, and took the identity of Zephyr. Katherine "Kat" Blair was the daughter of Olivia Rowe, or Ms. Danger, and had the identity of Lady Dynamite.

Of course, Adele's identity as The Vigil would likely stand above them, due to The Watcher being more than a founding member, but rather, a member of The Seven.

Just as they were nearing their destination, Adele got a text, and surprisingly it was from Alicia, in the same car. Adele was about to speak up, until she saw Alicia looking concerned. Instead, she silently read the text message, and understood why she wanted her to be silent.

Can we speak alone when we get back to our room?

They drove through the roads until they reached Palm Springs. This was where their hotel was located, a nice resort for them to stay in on their celebration as Protectors. The hotel appeared off in the distance, along with the various imported palm trees the state was known for.

They parked at the front, carrying their bags inside the room they were staying it. The sun was still shining bright, and the heat wasn't going away any time soon. This would be a perfect time to go swimming. Once they got into their room, everyone changed into their swimsuits.

"You guys go ahead." Alicia said. "We'll be right there."

They nodded. The door shut behind them, leaving Adele alone with Alicia, who sat on a bed looking visibly saddened. Adele began to feel worried about her best friend, and spoke up.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"I didn't want to talk about it, but..." Alicia said, with a pause. "It's my mom and dad. They're getting divorced."

"I have heard of that..."

"Yeah, I guess there's no trying to hide it. Of course the word would spread that it was happening, but I hoped it wouldn't. Dad said he was waiting for me to be a legal adult before they agreed to divorce. I guess it was so he wouldn't have to pay child support."

"Or maybe he just didn't want you to be in a bad situation?"

"Maybe." Alicia said, with a tear running down her eye. "I went on this trip with you hoping to just forget about it, drown it out with all the music you know. But honestly, I can't just hold it in anymore. I'm telling you here because I didn't want everyone else to get sucked into my personal drama."

"Well, I'm sorry that this happened." Adele said. "I've met your mum and dad numerous times, and they were always so nice to me, and to each other. I guess we all have our issues."

"Yeah, but to be honest I'm kind of jealous of you."

"Really?"

"I mean, at least your family is doing well. You're all so happy, and everyone is together. I can't say the same for me."

Adele glanced away for a second, thinking of what she would say next. It's true that her parents weren't showing any signs of divorcing any time soon. But it wasn't like everything was perfect with her own father, she's had her own issues dealing with him on her own.

She didn't want to go too far into the details of her own life, as it was Alicia's personal troubles at the moment, not hers, so she didn't want to go into too much detail about it. Adele looked back at her friend, and spoke again.

"No one is perfect." Adele said. "Honestly, everyone thinks my dad is the coolest man ever, but I think just about anyone else is cooler than him."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, I mean he only talks to me when it's about being a Protector, keeping people safe, serving justice and all that nonsense. He barely spent any real time with me until I discovered my powers, and since then that's all he wants to spend time with me for."

"Well, that's true." Alicia said. "But really, people like to think having superheroes as parents is so great, but I don't think so. They have a completely warped view of what they want out of us. Don't get me wrong, I still love my parents, but you know how it is."

"I do." Adele said. "But it's no secret that we were all pressured into becoming Protectors, risking everything to fight criminals, supervillains, and whatever else out there, just so we can live up to their 'legacy'. They never ask us how we feel about it."

Alicia nodded. Adele could remember back when they were kids, just having fun together. They thought it would be so cool how one day they could be Protectors just like their parents. But the reality of the situation became clear. Adele also wondered what was going on between Emily and Julius, because they always seemed so happy together that it was surprising, to say the least.

In any case, they were Protectors from here on out, and the only reason they were having this trip at all was as a gift for joining their ranks. After this, it's not like they could just back out now. The path was set, and this would be their jobs. It beat working for minimum wage, that's for sure.

"We'll have to mentally prepare ourselves for when the job begins." Adele said. "You know we'll be Young Protectors after next week, and our first mission will begin soon. Maybe this will be the chance for both us to show our parents proud?"

That didn't exactly make Alicia feel better, and Adele could tell by the look on her face.

"Mom wants me to wear that ridiculous outfit of hers." Alicia said. "She insists that if I'm going to carry the Scratch name, I'll have to carry the image as well."

Adele could barely hold back a laugh, but she didn't want to upset her friend further than she already was.

"Sorry to hear that."

"It's not that I have a problem with being sexy." Alicia said. "I know what you're thinking, that I should appreciate my body because you appreciate yours. But I'm going to be fighting in that thing. Everyone is going to see me in a leotard so tight that my nipples are visible. Do I really want to be known for that?"

"Sorry if I can't relate as much." Adele said. "I always did like myself better when I felt sexy, it never was something I was ashamed of. But if it bugs you so much, why don't you just design a new suit?"

"I'll never hear the end of it if I did."

Adele didn't like to hear that her friend was having these issues. She often had to deal with her father's lofty expectations in following his lead, and she never really considered that her friends had similar problems, on top of having to live with her parents divorcing right when she's becoming a Protector. Adele always knew that Alicia struggled to feel comfortable with herself, she could barely stand changing in the girls' locker room in school, so for her to have to become the next Scratch, considered in her day to be the sex symbol among superheroes, it wasn't a good fit.

This wasn't something Adele wanted to think about on her fantastic California trip, but they would always be there for each other when they needed it. Adele moved over to Alicia and hugged her tightly, and kissed her on the cheek. It felt nice to help her friend out emotionally.

Just then, Becky and Kat walked in the entrance.

"Are you two almost done? It's taking forev--" Becky said, before seeing what was in front of her. "-- Oh."

Adele let go and turned away, red in the face. She realized that what she did didn't exactly display the image she would want for her friends to see. Her hugging and kissing her closest best friend while wearing nothing but bikinis. Alicia looked similarly embarrassed.

"Um, how long have you two been..." Kat said. "You didn't have to keep it a secret from us, it's okay."

"Yeah, it's perfectly fine if you two are--" Becky said before being interrupted.

"Oh, for fucks sake, we're not gay!" Adele exclaimed. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's strictly platonic."

"Then what was that?" Kat asked.

Alicia's face told Adele that she didn't want her to tell them what was actually happening. Kat and Becky weren't close enough compared to Adele for them to know and understand what she was going through, so Adele quickly came up with something on the spot.

"That?" Adele said, quickly coming up with an explanation. "We... we were experimenting and practicing, for dating guys. Don't tell me you've never done that before."

"Yeah, whatever." Kat said. "Will you two lovers get to the pool already?"

"Come on, why don't we cool off?" Becky said. "And just to let you know, it's perfectly acceptable for lesbians to be Protectors, so don't worry about being discriminated. It was just a surprise, that's all."

Adele groaned. This was something she won't forget for a while. They giggled and left for the pool again, with Adele and Alicia following soon after. Before heading out the door, Adele heard Alicia speak again.

"Great, now people are going to think we're more than just friends. Just what I needed, people believing things that aren't true about me, which was already going to happen just by being Scratch."

"Just relax." Adele said. "People forget about this quickly, just as long as we don't continue that. It was just bad timing is all, any girl who's had a friendship as close as ours would know what it's like."

"Alright, then let's not get too personal from now on. Why don't we just go swimming already?"

Adele nodded. They walked out and went to the pool. For the rest of the trip, they would act as normal, trying not to think about the near future. They would be Protectors soon, but for now, they were just young women having fun.