“It’s good to hear you’re making friends again.” Edwin’s mother smiled, taking another sip from her coffee. The family sat around their kitchen’s island, each with a piping hot drink and a plate of eggs. Edwin wrapped both of his hands around his mug of tea, still hesitant to look his mother and brother in the eye. The skirt was too much, wasn’t it? His mother seemed to be taking it well, but she hadn’t had her coffee yet, so maybe she was still asleep. He brushed his thumbs across the mug’s smooth surface, ready for things to go terribly wrong at any minute.

“Edwin? You okay?” his mother asked. “Tell me some more about your new friends.”

“Oh, sorry. Tabitha and Ashley are in the school chorus, so they stay after for practice most days. They went to elementary school together.”

“Ashley’s your partner, right? And this Tabitha girl, does she have magic too?”

“Yeah. Tabitha’s normal. Mateo likes her though, so he lets her tag along with us.”

“She’s a nice girl.” The trio turned to see Mateo sitting on the back of their couch. He jumped up onto the island, walking to Edwin’s mother. “Mrs. Bell, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Mateo, but it seems I’ve already been introduced. I’d like to speak to you about your child’s responsibilities, as you no doubt have many questions and concerns. To make things simpler, I want this conversation to take place with Ashley’s parents as well. Could you join us for a meeting in, say, half an hour?”

“Uh, sure, Mr. Mateo, is it?” Edwin’s mother was quite surprised by the formality of the small animal. “I just need a bit of time to get myself ready.” She said, gesturing to her pajamas.

“No problem! Edwin should know the way there. Bring your eldest as well, I wouldn’t want him to feel left out.” Mateo glanced over to where Jake sat. “Farewell for now.” With a burst of light, Mateo disappeared from the countertop, leaving the family alone once again.

-----

Ashley peered through the mail slot of her front door suspiciously before opening it for the Bells. “Good morning, Edwin.” she grumbled. After Mateo designated them hosts for this meeting, her parents decided some emergency cleaning was in order for the house. Because their guests would definitely notice that their already clean living area now had freshly washed baseboards. Her parents quickly ushered Edwin’s mother over to the living room area. Mateo wanted to speak with the adults in private, so Ashley, Edwin, Cecilia, and Jake were sent to the basement. That was the problem with an open concept home design: it was much harder to be secretive. The kids filed into the basement, Ashley leading the way down the stairs.

“You have a really nice basement,” Edwin commented, surveying the room. Half of the room was used for a large, L-shaped couch and a television. On the other half of the room was a long bar filled with a variety of sports memorabilia, and of course, a vast collection of alcohol. Directly in front of the bar sat a pool table that was obviously used often.

“Dad likes to throw parties down here with all of his friends.” Ashley said as she flopped onto the sofa, pulled her legs up so she could lie down. Edwin followed her lead, taking the corner seat.

Cecilia walked over to Edwin, standing in front of him as she gave him a judgmental once-over. “Ashley, why is this girl wearing your clothes?”

“We went over this earlier, that’s my partner, Edwin, and we traded clothing when I forgot to babysit you. You met him before, remember?”

“Nah, I just remember you and your stupid Little Mermaid hair.” Cecilia giggled to herself, proud of her insult. She looked back to Edwin, before dropping to the floor and looking at his legs. “Hey, Edwin, are you a boy or a girl?”

“Uh, I’m-“ Edwin started.

“I told you, he’s a boy.” Ashley interrupted.

“Like you?” Cecilia asked.

“Yea- no! I already explained this to you!” Ashley quickly became flustered, and Cecilia had a grin plastered on her face.

“Anyway, I thought you were a boy, because your legs are so hairy. Did you know your leg hair is bright blue like your hair? Isn’t that cool!” Cecilia was smiling, but Edwin was mortified. He pulled his legs up onto the sofa and sat on them.

“Really? Is my leg hair red too?” Ashley started rolling up the leg of her jeans.

“It’s always red, Ashley. We’re all redheads except Dad.” Cecilia added, taking a seat on the sofa right next to Edwin. He tried to ignore her, but noticed Jake staring at his leg as well, no doubt wondering the validity of the preteens’ claims.

“So, Edwin.” Cecilia scooted closer. “Why are you wearing a skirt if you’re a boy?” With that, Edwin stood up and moved to where Ashley was lying, sitting on top of her legs. Reluctantly, she moved them out from under him.

“We have more important things to discuss right now!” Edwin shouted, completely embarrassed. He looked over to his brother, who was leaning against one of the columns supporting the basement and staring at his phone. “Jake, tell us everything you know about the magic people at your school.”

“I texted my friend for details, because he’s a really big fan of them.” Jake flipped his phone around so the other’s could see the screen, as if to emphasis his point. “The one kid is named Miah Yé, alter ego Onyx Darkness. They recently moved here and met a magic fox that took them to visit the magical world where the monsters are coming from. The other guy is Drake Lumiere, alter ego Diamond Light. He showed Miah around the school when they transferred, and the two of them ran into the first monster. Then they contracted him or something to become their partner. We think Miah’s a girl? But no one really knows, because they spend equal time in their male and female form. And they flirt with everyone. On the other hand, Drake is a bit of a recluse and probably a guy. He’s incredibly smart, though, and he generally leads their attacks.”

“That does sound a little like us…” Ashley said. “Do you think Mateo knows about them? How many of these magic foxes are running around?”

“Oh!” Jake interrupted. “Rumor has it there are two more magical people, and they go to your school. There hasn’t been any public statement yet, but they’ve been seen fighting alongside Onyx and Diamond.”

“There’s more?!” Edwin yelled. “And at our school? How did we not notice?”

“Do you think our fights are being watched by people like your friend? We did battle that one monster in a public park, and the river wasn’t too secluded.” Ashley, bit her thumb nail as she spoke.

“Oh my god! Sarah took our picture! What if she posted it somewhere and people recognize us!?” Edwin clambered on top of Ashley, flopping his body over her.

“This secret identity stuff is too much.” Ashley whined, accepting that she was now trapped beneath Edwin.

“Children! Come upstairs, please!” Ashley’s mother called from the top of the staircase.

“That was… fast.” Jake commented, lifting his brother off of Ashley and to his feet. The group climbed up to the ground floor and was beckoned to the living area, where Mateo sat opposite their parents. Prepared for a lecture, Ashley and Edwin walked past the coffee table and sat beside Mateo.

“We’ve come to an agreement that you shall continue your work as Soul Warriors.” Mateo began. “They are aware of the minor risk involved and the importance of this job.”

“Just tell us when you have to go out and fight, dear.” Ashley’s mother added. “We’re so proud of you.”

“Stay on top of your schoolwork, though.” Edwin’s mother said with a small smile.

“Aren’t we in trouble for revealing our secret identities?” Ashley asked.

“Secret identities? You never had those! Why did you think I let Tabitha tag along?” Mateo chuckled to himself.

Ashley and Edwin were stunned. This wasn’t how superhero gigs usually worked. Were they just supposed to let everyone know about their magic? Couldn’t they just have one little secret?

“Well now, since we got that mess sorted out, I’ll be going. Farwell, Mr. and Mrs. Reading, Ms. Bell.” Mateo gave a short nod to each of the adults.

“Wait, Mr. Mateo, sir!” Jake interrupted. “Do you know about Onyx Darkness and-“

Mateo disappeared in a bright flash.

“Oh, Ms. Bell, we didn’t even get to show you around! Please, come join us!” Ashley’s mother suddenly stood up and her husband followed suit.

“Just call me Lauren.” Edwin’s mother smiled, walking with the couple to their kitchen.

The children, left behind, sat in silence for a moment. It was incredibly eerie, how fast everything had worked out. What had they even spoken about in the short time they were in the basement? Quietly, Jake croaked out a sound, before being able to speak. The others turned to look at him. “Can you guys… see this?” Jake gestured to his hand, where a glowing red pattern pulsed. It was at least three circles, interconnected by thin lines and what looked like some sort of symbols.

“A magic circle,” Cecilia whispered.

“He… he looked at me for a second when I said that name. He didn’t seem happy, and when the light flashed I felt a sharp pain on my hand. What the hell is his problem…”

“Does he not want us to know about the other Soul Warriors? Why?” Edwin added.

“I don’t know how he expected you to not find out about Onyx-“ Jake suddenly began coughing heavily.

“Oh my god!” Ashley yelped.

“Jake, are you okay?” Edwin grabbed his brother’s shoulder.

After a final hearty heave, Jake spit up a black glob, about the size of a quarter, onto the Readings’ nice coffee table. The blob writhed, fizzling, before evaporating into the air. The mark on Jake’s hand faded out as he panted, out of breath.

“What the fuck is that fox up to.” Jake wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.