The plan was simple. Fess up to their actions and argue their case. Sure, they’d been a little reckless, but they’d done the best they could. In the end, everything worked out. Hopefully, that would be enough to get a suspension rather than an expulsion.

If they were still staring down the barrel of a one-way ticket home, Milly planned to reveal her part in the Minutemen's arrest and use that to negotiate. If they were especially desperate, she could offer to join ACE.

They had agreed not to reveal Milly’s abilities before exhausting every possible other option. If Miss Arkwright knew Milly was a super before rendering a verdict, it might tempt her to threaten expulsion with the goal of making Milly offer to work for her instead.

If it went great, they had made a list they could pull ideas from to ask about. They’d had fun brainstorming that one up. It started off practically with things like an adjusted school schedule, all-day access to the kitchen area, that sort of thing. When they ran out of practical ideas, they’d rapidly devolved into ridiculous nonsense, as they had just started outdoing each other’s suggestions to let off some stress. Roller Skates, twenty rolls of duct tape, the full seven hundred-part comic book series of Drakewing Duck, etc.

For now, they had to be seen as regular students for as long as possible.

Milly rattled off the story as quickly and truthfully as she could, but Niki often had to pitch in when she made a mistake or stalled out. Before long, Niki had taken over the telling of the story and Milly listened. Much of it felt so far away already.

Their first meeting with Meatcrawl/Vanna at the pizzeria and subsequent rescue by ACE. The conflict between Ruth and Hilda that Milly recorded and the resulting argument with Ruth; Niki made no secret of it. How that got them thinking about Corvus Dynamics, and the suspicious timing of their ‘S13’ project coinciding with Meatcrawl. The investigation that led them to the abandoned station. And finally, the second encounter that ended with Niki leading ACE back to find Milly.

Meanwhile, Miss Arkwright listened intently, her fingers steepled together. Clearly, none of this was news to her. The only time her interest seemed piqued was when Niki took over the story. Even though Milly wasn’t talking anymore, Miss Arkwright kept looking at her more than Niki.

Abigail, on the other hand, was taking studious notes. The moment Niki finished the story, Abigail’s hand shot up, as though she were in a classroom. After an odd look, she sheepishly lowered it. “Hehe. Just checking, but you said that after locating the subway tunnel, you initially refused to enter?”

Milly wasn’t sure what to think of Abigail’s presence, who seemed more interested in Niki. If it had anything to do with her power as ‘Big Picture’, then Milly did not know what that might be other than literally seeing the bigger picture.

“That is correct.” Niki looked nervous. “My assessment was that any further investigation was an unnecessary risk. All the evidence suggested that we had found the correct location. As such, there was no need to confirm it with our own eyes before calling ACE.”

“How dependable!” Abigail praised happily, but her eyes narrowed. “Despite that, you not only followed Milly, but you did not call ACE, neglecting your own assessment. What possessed you to do that? Weren’t you scared?”

“O-of course, I was! That place was a death trap. It was just…” Niki glanced over to Milly and bit her lip. Struggling for words, she fidgeted with her hands in her lap.

“She was hoping to keep me from getting expelled,” Milly said while she placed a hand over Niki’s. The fidgeting stopped. Milly appreciated Niki didn’t want to throw her under the bus, but the longer this dragged on, the more of her precious normal time she was burning. Expulsion had long since dropped off her list of concerns. As long as Niki got to stay, Milly could come and go as she pleased. “I’m the idiot. Niki just did her best with what I gave her.”

Niki quietly entwined her fingers with Milly’s.

Noticing the movement, Miss Arkwright glanced down. Her eyes widened a fraction and she took an immediate interest in reviewing her notes.

“Since you brought it up,” Abigail clicked her pen and readied, “why did you ditch your girlfriend to go play hooky with a multi-fanged monster?”

Blushing, Milly did her darndest not to let Abigail rattle her any further. “I figured it was better to make sure we were right. If we sent ACE on a wild goose chase in those tunnels without a cell signal, how would they know if someone needed help topside?”

Abigail rolled her eyes then scratched something out on her notepad. “I thought you were supposed to be clever. Number one, Stella could teleport topside at any moment to get an update. Number two, ACE might be the strongest, but they aren’t the only heroes in the city.”

“Okay, but I didn’t know any of that,” Milly argued.

“You had Stella’s number. You could have called her anytime to ask.”

“I didn’t want them to come, okay?” Milly slammed her fist on the armrest. “I thought that Doctor von Vector was Meatcrawl and needed help, but I had no evidence of that besides a dumb drawing I made. I didn’t think ACE would take the risk based on my say-so. Heck, I didn’t even take the risk! When we saw Meatcrawl, all I could think about was how to escape. I only tried talking when it was obvious we were cornered. Look how that turned out.”

Niki squeezed her hand.

Milly simmered down. She was grateful to have Niki’s support, but in the end, Milly had been wrong about just about everything. She didn’t even realize that Meatcrawl was Vanna, Vector’s daughter.

“Oh, yes about that.” Abigail flipped a couple of pages back. “Vanna sends her regards. She’s in NYMPH custody at the moment. That’s actually part of why I’m here. We’re hoping that Terra might agree to teach her a few things about maintaining a form, but we had to resolve this first.”

“You talked to Vanna?!” Milly couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “That’s great! What happened to her?”

“Did Ruth not mention it when you spoke?” Abigail asked.

“We haven’t spoken to her at all.” Niki chimed in. “I saw her at the end of the hall, and she just glared at me then left.”

“Good. You weren’t supposed to.” Abigail smiled. She faced Miss Arkwright. “The footage of that encounter already got checked out. No big.”

“Wait, a minute! So, was that stuff about Vanna a lie too?” Milly crumpled into her chair, feeling as though she’d been kicked straight in the chest from the inside.

“No, Miss Second, but I’m afraid she cannot have visitors yet. Once that changes, you’ll be the first to know.” Miss Arkwright finally spoke up and gave Milly an encouraging nod before she turned to Abigail. “Am I to understand you have no further questions regarding the issue at hand?”

“Yep! All done.” Abigail turned to the young pair and gestured to the door. “Thanks for your help. You can leave now.”

Milly and Niki looked at each other nervously.

Niki raised her hand. “Are we expelled or not? You brought us in for a disciplinary meeting.”

“Yes, but not yours. You’ve been through enough as is.” Miss Arkwright shook her head. “It has come to my attention that Miss Mist has recently accrued a number of accusations regarding the abuse of her power—“

“That’s Ruth,” Abigail chipped in.

“—Such as forcing a pair of freshmen to pursue any leads they might find toward locating a dangerous villain, to the exclusion of all caution.” Miss Arkwright continued, giving side eye to Abigail for the interruption.

“That’s you,” Abigail added with a grin, like she was getting away with something.

That was obviously ridiculous. Milly was certain nothing of the sort had happened. She didn’t need mind control to excuse her dumb ideas… unless that’s what she’d been made to think.

Milly gulped, now trying to figure out how to tell the difference.

“As such, a few temporary restrictions were put in place while we resolve the matter. Miss Mist was to avoid any contact with you two to prevent her from potentially placing any further suggestions to cover her tracks.” Miss Arkwright pursed her lips while she gave Abigail a stare. “In addition, at what I’m told was NYMPH’s recommendation, she was prohibited from attending tonight’s festivities.”

“You say that as if keeping a powerful psychic suspected of forcefully recruiting students away from what is obviously a recruit drive isn’t the most obvious thing in the world.” Abigail rolled her eyes. “It’s hardly the first time she’s embroiled in controversy.”

“She has a point,” Niki said.

Milly nodded.

“I’d be more inclined to agree if these accusations ever stuck.” Miss Arkwright furrowed her brow. She looked at Abigail. “Speaking of which, what is your conclusion this time?”

“Innocent, I guess.” Abigail shrugged. “At least in the important parts.”

“Woah, now. Hold on a second,” Milly interjected. The whole process struck her as bizarre. “How does that work? Actually, what was even the point of making Ruth ghost us? You don’t know she didn’t whammy us back in the subway.”

“Actually, I do!” Abigail grinned ear to ear. “See, Clover, Ember, and I know exactly how her power operates. She was on our team for two years. Before you ask, yes, she was insufferable back then too. That’s part of why these meetings are so much fun! I can request just about anything, as long as it’s plausible, to mess with her for a bit again.”

Milly tilted her head. “That sounds crooked as a barrel of fishhooks.”

“You’re not wrong,” Abigail admitted, “but everyone in this room knows Ruth does plenty of little things she won’t ever be caught for. I can tell you for free that you definitely didn’t decide on your own to lead Ruth to Niki, but it’s impossible to prove. Don’t you think that should have at least some consequence?”

“I will not deny a certain sense of catharsis,” Niki said, but her frown mirrored that of Miss Arkwright exactly. “Ruth does deserve some payback, but isn’t this sending entirely the wrong message?”

“Well put, Miss Krishna. It sets a poor example. Abuse of power is not limited to superpowers.” Miss Arkwright gave an approving nod at her while leaning over the desk.

“Yes, but that’s kind of the point. To make her feel what it’s like being on the other side of it.” Abigail shrugged. “Besides, if Ruth has a problem with it, she can always explain her power to someone else so they can come to vouch for her instead.”

Milly doubted that would happen. Exact information on someone’s power was dangerous, especially to superheroes. The more people in on the secret, the higher the chance the wrong people would find out. Whether through natural or supernatural means.

She recalled a story that old man Welder once told. A supervillain had taken him prisoner. Bolted to a wall, they encased his hands in rigid metal gauntlets to prevent him from simply cutting himself free. It was only ten years into his retirement that he finally revealed the secret to his then miraculous escape; he could channel his power through his toes too!

It was ridiculous, but it worked.

Milly dreaded to think what would have happened if that had been public information at the time.

A quiet moment in the room suggested everyone knew it too.

“Regardless.” Miss Arkwright broke the silence. “Miss Klein and I will take care of the rest of this unless there is anything else you two wanted to talk about? I’ve been given to understand that you had a big day.”

“Uhmm.” Niki glanced at Abigail. Earlier, they’d agreed to ask for help with Milly’s power after resolving the hearing, but they didn’t expect anyone else would be in the room.

Abigail suddenly got up. “Actually, I have to step out and call my team. Shouldn’t take long.” The timing of that was so obviously forced, but it was a nice attempt by her to give them some space without making it awkward.

“Of course, you are excused.” Miss Arkwright watched Abigail leave the room. Once the door swung shut, she turned her attention back to Milly and Niki. “Now then, is this about your newly discovered superpower?”

“How di—Is it that obvious?” Milly deflated in her chair. “I thought we’d been doing a pretty good job at keeping it a secret so far…”

Miss Arkwright let out a soft chuckle. “It tends to be the primary reason students ask for emergency meetings. Would you like to give a demonstration? My guess would be some kind of emphatic foresight? Is that how you knew Vanna needed help?”

“Uhm, no and well….I can’t.” Milly scuffed her foot along the carpet. She wasn’t sure where to even begin her explanation. She’d run over it in her head a dozen times, but it was all blending together now. It was so much.

After an embarrassingly long moment of silence, Milly felt Niki squeeze her hand.

“It's a periodic superspeed that is currently inactive,” Niki answered. “The problem is, it also affects Milly’s perception. An hour turns into a week. It started this morning, and she feels as though over a month has passed since then. She cannot keep a class schedule this way.”

“No, I suppose she couldn’t.” Miss Arkwright looked down at her tablet. “That certainly explains a few things… If I’m not mistaken, Miss Second, you are currently operating on forty-five minutes of Milly-time separated by around eighty-five minutes of standard time? That would line up with the known active periods of Bulwark Bay’s mysterious new superhero.”

Milly’s face drained of all color. “H-how do you know all that?” Internally, Milly was screaming. She’d tried so hard to be careful. Not to stand still for too long. To always make sure she got to the dorm room with plenty of time to spare just so she wouldn’t randomly ‘appear’ anywhere. Any places she went like the library she’d left exactly how she found them, or close enough.

What more was she supposed to do!?

“I’ve had prior experience with a speedster.” Miss Arkwright flipped the tablet over so they could see it. The screen showed some of the text messages between 00:00:01 and Ruth. She pointed to the timestamps. “Whenever you possess superspeed, you reply almost instantaneously. This is one data point. Others include times during which crimes and accidents take a steep drop, though these are less precise as the data is still being collected.”

“This is why you had Ruth pepper her with messages?” Niki’s voice was calm, but Milly could feel the rising tension in her grip. “It wasn’t just to persuade her to join up, but to collect information? I suppose that makes sense. There was no guarantee she was friendly.”

“Yes, analyzing and identifying any potential threats is important, but there is another reason we so aggressively sought any new data on you, Miss Second.” She flicked the screen and the text messages were replaced with a black-and-white still of a jewelry store interior.

As the footage played, a moment later the windows caved in when a van drove through. A pair of men jumped out, snatching up anything that had fallen from the shattered displays. Not only did it show the two minutemen crooks in the middle of their smash-and-grab, it also showed a young blonde girl suddenly laying on top of their van. The image was too grainy to make out her exact features, but she was obviously wearing an Arkwright Academy uniform.

Milly instantly recognized herself. This day was getting worse and worse.

Niki wrapped an arm around Milly’s shoulders while they watched the rest of the barely thirty second clip. Milly vanished from the roof and the crooks were left wrapped in duct tape. “That… that could be anyone, right?”

“Yes, Miss Second was not identified from this footage. It could be anyone who happens to be blond and goes to this school.” Miss Arkwright stepped away from her desk and approached. “Such as Miss Porter, Stella. Who agreed to be ‘identified’ in this footage. As far as anyone is concerned, she teleported to and from the crime scene. That is all.”

“How selfless of her,” Niki’s voice was like ice-water while she shifted her gaze from the looping footage up toward Miss Arkwright. “I suppose that these kinds of perks will only continue if Milly joins ACE? Or are we skipping straight to retracting Stella's claim if Milly doesn't join?”

Milly hadn’t even considered that angle yet, but of course Niki would. Milly stared up at Miss Arkwright in disbelief. “Is that how this works?”

“… I see.” Miss Arkwright shook her head while she crouched down to eye level and placed a hand on their shoulders. “Let me make one thing crystal clear. You are students entrusted to my care and can count on my support. Especially when it comes to learning to navigate the world with newly discovered aspects of yourself, no matter what challenges you might face or mistakes you might make along the way. The last thing I care about is what clique or after-school club you happen to be in. Understood?”

Milly noticed the calm and deliberate way Miss Arkwright spoke didn’t feel rehearsed. Less like drawing a practiced circle, but more a pen slipping into a worn-out circular groove in the desk below the paper. A testament to the many times Miss Arkwright must have given her assurances in the past.

Given how many powered students Milly had seen so far that seemed to be getting by just fine without being on the team, Miss Arkwright was credible.

Milly also noticed that Niki looked uncertain, but that was at least better than skeptical. Milly ran her thumb along the back of Niki’s hand, evoking a quick glance and a cautious smile from Niki.

Milly smiled back then returned her attention to Miss Arkwright’s question. “Yes, Ma’am,”

“…Yes.” Niki added reluctantly.

“Good. I am not running some kind of military academy here. Although, on the topic of after-school clubs, we may have to rethink your membership of the track team. It may be unfair.” Miss Arkwright straightened up again while her spine made a noise like someone twisted a plastic bottle. She froze in place, wide-eyed. “…I should not have done that.”

“Are you okay?” Niki asked. “Should we get someone?”

“No, no. It’s alright.” Miss Arkwright hobbled to the edge of her desk, then turned to face them while she leaned against it. “It’ll pass. Oof. More importantly, we need to discuss your identity, Miss Second. Going by your earlier reaction, I take it you wish for it to remain a secret, but to what extent? For example, have you told your father yet?”

“I haven’t,” Milly admitted sheepishly. She felt ridiculous, confiding in people she’d meet a week ago rather than her family. “Do you think I should?”

Miss Arkwright nodded. “Yes, but there is nothing wrong with taking some time to get your thoughts in order if you feel you need it. Who else you should tell depends on what you intend to do going forward. You’ve done some superhero work today already. Will you continue with that?”

Milly thought the question over. “Well… If I’m being honest, it wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. Mostly just a whole lot of walking to and from false alarms. However, I also think helping folks out where I can is the right thing to do. So, I reckon I will keep going.”

“I think we could streamline it more,” Niki added. “I have some ideas.”

“Ideas are always welcome. For now, it would seem a few options present themselves.” Miss Arkwright held up three fingers. “Currently, you are technically a vigilante. They operate outside the law entirely and enforce their own idea of justice. Vigilantism is illegal, but mostly quietly tolerated, provided you don’t cross over into becoming a problem or a villain. The trouble is that the line is often blurry and not drawn the same for everyone. They also have little to no support network. Anyone assisting you would have to do so secretly.”

“Don’t be a vigilante. Got it.” Milly summarized with a grin. She was here specifically to get support, and she could take a hint. “What else is there?”

“Well, the main issue is accountability. The simplest option would be to make your identity public, just like any police officer or private detective. You might have noticed that each member of ACE has opted for this. They do not use masks or secret identities, for personal reasons. This makes supporting them straight forward. Such as blanket permission to leave class at a moment’s notice. They also do not have to hide their powers, but that can be a blessing and a curse.”

Milly understood that much. Stella was practically teleporting all day long and loved it. Whereas Ruth might have liked it better if people didn’t know to be wary of their own thoughts around her. Terra also always had her powers on display with her sandy appearance. “That’s interesting, but all three of them could defend themselves in a pinch. I’m not sure I want to go public when my power only works ‘half’ the time.”

Niki nodded. “There’s also no coming back from that. Once your name is out there, you can’t go back into hiding and still use your power. If the city suffered a sudden crime wave at the hands of a masked girl teleporting in and out of locked buildings, Stella would obviously be everyone’s first suspect.”

“True, but I would advise against a career in supervillainy, regardless.” Miss Arkwright chuckled. “As for the final option on the table, you could reveal your identity to a representative. In your case, that would most likely be myself. I would then hold power of attorney for any legal matter in regards to your superhero identity. In the event that you commit a serious crime, it would also be my responsibility to reveal your identity to the authorities.”

“I reckon that’ll be my best option then,” Milly said. “I’m already mostly in that boat, but is it a problem that you and Niki both know about me?”

Miss Arkwright shrugged. “Only in the sense that you are putting your secret identity at risk every time you tell someone. While it is exceptionally poor form to out a superhero, it does happen. Like Miss Krishna here said, there is no coming back from that. However, informing some select people can be advantageous, such as teammates.”

“For clarity, what does that make Milly, exactly?” Niki asked. “An independent superhero that just so happens to have the same representative as everyone in ACE?”

“If that is what she wishes, then yes.” Miss Arkwright met Niki’s stare. “However, I would request that you both at least consider the team as an option. I’m hoping to see a significant expansion in the roster after tonight; it would be an ideal time to join the new wave as normal students. Once you’ve gotten a feel for it, you could decide whether to leave or join as a super. Does that sound reasonable?”

“Mhm.” Milly looked over at Niki. “What do you think?”

Niki crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “Fine, but on the condition that we figure out how to accommodate Milly’s superspeed now. You mentioned that you know another speedster, can they come help Milly train just like how Abigail wants Terra to do for Vanna? What about school?”

“Sadly, Calamity ended up more toward the villainy side of the line, but I’ll see if I can call in a favor for advice from her.” Miss Arkwright let out a forlorn sigh. “As for classes, we have a few old correspondence courses that may be suitable in the short term while we work something out.”

Milly perked up at the mention of another speedster. That might actually be just what she needed to learn how to control her power. Her only reservation was the name. 'Calamity' suggested little self-control.

“Also, we have demands.” Niki handed over the pie-in-sky list.

“Niki!” Milly gasped and tried to snatch the list back but Miss Arkwright pulled it out of her reach.

“I’m sure I can make some concessions if you give ACE an honest chance.” Miss Arkwright pushed her glasses up and then read through the list. Her lips pursed into a thinner and thinner line the further down she read. Finally, she looked up from the list at Niki. “Does this say ‘NASA Supercomputer’?”

“Uhm, y-yes.” Niki had the good decency to look embarrassed. “Okay, maybe not every—”

“Done.” Miss Arkwright folded the note and stuck it in her breast pocket.

Milly and Niki shared the same incredulous look. That had to be a joke.

“A few items here may take some time.” If Miss Arkwright was waiting to deliver the punchline, she left it lingering well past comedic timing. “To be clear, everything above a hundred dollars on this list are not gifts, but school property to which you will have access. Unless there is anything else, could you tell Miss Klein to come back in here on your way out?”

“Y-yes, Ma’am.”

As they left the office, Milly wondered whether that had gone well or terribly.