Mayumi suddenly reached into her pockets and pulled out cream pies from each pocket. There was no logical explanation, but to be fair, there was no logical explanation for anything that was playing out before her. She took out the cream pies and started throwing them at an incredible speed towards the girl and the man. They weren't doing much except being a minor inconvenience but they seemed to be working.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The girl shouted, she had a heavy English accent and spoke in a formal manner, as if she was a princess from a faraway fantasy land. Mayumi grinned and started dancing like a clown. It seemed she was in full character. Mayumi opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, cartoonishly a huge sweatdrop appeared on her head as she slouched over depressingly. 

It seems you've… this is unique, it seems you've lost your voice! Junko noted, Junko seemed to be just as confused as Mayumi. I mean.. that makes no sense, you're supposed to become your wish but I can still talk-? Junko mumbled, Mayu heard pages flipping in her head but she batted it off.

"Are you here to help?!" Vex called out, he had been pinned against the wall by the girl's rose vines. Mayumi looked him in the eyes and nodded seriously. Mayumi grabbed a couple of bowling pins out of her pockets and tossed them in the air, they quickly flew towards the girl and the man. Mayumi pulled a unicycle out of her pockets, placed herself onto it, and started to juggle more bowling pins as she balanced. Every third toss into the air, a bowling pin would head straight towards the girl with the roses.

To protect herself, the girl let go of Vex and used her vines to defend herself from the wooden bowling pins. 

Vex stretched his back and flew in with a punch already wound up, the man quickly protected the girl, he held his arms up and Vex made contact with his forearms. The man in the mask grabbed him and threw him away. Mayumi watched as he started falling, she swiftly used her unicycle to ride quickly over and then she caught him. Vex embarrassingly nodded and quickly got up.

"This is not over, you will regret ever interfering with our plans, you clown!" The girl shouted at her and the man ran away using the girl's rose vines. 

Vex and Mayumi both let out a sigh. Mayumi did not know what she was doing but she was happy that she did it. Being a hero was pretty hard though she was glad she could help the hero of the city, Vex.

"Thank you, it's hard fighting on my own.." Vex rubbed the back of his neck as he confessed, his eyes were a golden colour this time. Mayumi had never noticed that his eyes changed and glowed differently. She thought it had something to do with his emotions. 

Mayumi pulled out a small whiteboard from her pockets, it seemed that she could pull anything out from them, and then she started to write. She lifted the whiteboard out to Vex and grinned.

«Well, you're not on your own anymore! I'm Jack, your new crime fighting partner!» She started to dance goofily, jumping side to side as she stretched her mouth with her hands into a funny face. Vex chuckled and shoved her side. 

"Excuse me, excuse me!" 

Vex and Jack looked over at the owners of the sound, there were reporters, lots of them. Vex flashed a smile at Jack and the crowd approached quickly.

"Excuse me! Who is the new hero of the city?" One of the reporters asked, Vex answered for Jack as she couldn't talk. 

"Her name is Jack and she's my new partner." He replied, Jack was a little bit surprised that he could trust her, after being an isolated hero for so long. The questions kept coming like rapid fire, Jack's mind was running. So many people, she had never been in the limelight like this before. Jack started to feel really faint. Too many eyes, not enough space to breathe.

The reality of the situation seemed to be hitting her like bricks. 

Mayu, you have to calm down. She heard Junko's voice ring loudly in her ears but she couldn't stop herself. Jack leaned over and vomited, the reality hitting her hard, now she had to support all the lives in the city, now, she had to help Jack. It was no longer just a television screen, it was now her daily life. Would she be good enough? Would she be able to save everyone?

She knelt on the floor, closing her eyes and grasping her head. She had never felt this much fear, she was confident and strong and yet now.. now when she had to be strong she felt oh so weak. 

"Everyone, clear out. It seems the enemies had another type of power, if you stay here any longer, you might feel the symptoms as well." Vex advised. The news reporters scattered, of course he quickly came up with a white lie. He knelt beside her and caressed her back. Giving her room to breathe and time to think. 

Jack leaned into Vex and tried to breathe deeply. The last thing she wanted was to disappoint Vex. 

You did amazing, Jack. You should be proud of yourself. Junko reassured her. Their calming voice was able to calm the thoughts swirling like a hurricane.

"Thanks out there. I really needed the helping hand." Vex smiled and Jack nodded. She kept her head down though, she felt like she couldn't lift her sight. Vex didn't force her. He was just happy he could help. He was just happy he had a partner. He was just happy he wasn't alone anymore.

"Let me show you something." Vex offered, picking up Jack bridal style, he jumped high onto a building and then continued rooftop to rooftop. Jack stayed quiet and just leaned into his chest, she was really tired but there was no telling what would happen if she fell asleep. Junko heard her thoughts and of course, perked up.

Well, if you were to fall asleep, 1 of two things would happen. I would replace you for the time being OR your transformation would revert. Now this all depends on 1 thing… how knocked out you are. See if you're heavily injured, then it's my job to step in. If you're just asleep, then your disguise falls and everything is good but- Junko stopped. Jack, of course, asked them to continue.

Not under any circumstance can you show Vex your real self. I don't even know who he is behind his mask. It's to protect you as well as your family and friends. If anyone finds out who you are.. there's no telling what could happen. Monsters and villains would target everyone you love. I just want you to be safe. You can't die as long as you're transformed, but your friends and family can.

Jack's stomach started turning again as her eyes started to water, more responsibilities, more expectations she feared she could not reach. She closed her eyes, listening to Vex's breathing and letting herself be engulfed by the wind that flowed through her hair. All she had to do was breathe. It felt like she had forgotten how to breathe, something she did since the day she was born was now easily taken away just by some worries. That made her worry even more, though now, she was thinking about how she could possibly help Vex. To her, he was amazing, a hero far out of reach, she was only a girl, a baker who had nothing to show for. 

"Hey, Jack, open your eyes." Vex's voice broke her from her trance and her eyes slowly fluttered open. There she saw her city, it stretched far beyond from where her eyes could see. 

"Look at that, that's what we're protecting. Together." Vex reassured her, emphasising on the word 'together'. The sight was breathtaking from on top of a skyscraper, however, she already had this view from her apartment. This time it was different. This time, this was what she was protecting. Her battles would not be fought alone either. Everything would be alright. 

"We're a team now! You best believe it." Vex's eyes glowed a warm yellow, and Jack felt reassured. Yes, everything was going to be okay. She had the city's hero beside her. There was no reason to worry. Nothing at all. 

Mayumi! We gotta get going, it's almost been an hour. I forgot to mention- there's a time limit and we're almost past it. Only for newbies of course, I don't want you to wear down and-

Thank you Junko, I get it I get it. Jack jumped out of Vex's arms and waved. It was time she went back to Simon who was probably worried about her just disappearing like that. Vex waved back and watched as she fell backwards off the building. Her pant legs became a parachute and she happily flew to the studio. Hiding in an alleyway, she undid her transformation and quickly went back inside, placing herself back on her chair and making it look like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. 

"So how was it?" Junko asked, Mayu whispered back. 

"It was hard.. but I think I can do it as long as I'm not alone." She brushed a lock of her black hair behind her ear, looking at her fingers she exhaled a shaky breath. Maybe she hadn’t fully recovered from the incident before, but she was trying her best. 

“Hey, you come here often?”

Mayumi looked up from her hands and met eyes with a tall guy who had baby blue hair and pink eyes. She furrowed her brows, pushing up her glasses as she shook her head as a no. 

"I think he's flirting with you." Junko whispered, Mayu lifted a brow pausing until the sudden realisation hit her.

Baby blue hair. Pink eyes. Tall. A famous necklace around his neck. Mayumi bit her bottom lip and with wide eyes opened her mouth to say something only to instantly get cut off.

"Yes ma'am, I am who you think I am. " He giggled, squatting down and met her eyes. "You're pretty cute, what's your name?"

"Ah, it's, it's uh Mayumi but my friends call me Mayu." She let her head hang low, her very long hair blocking out her face. "I, yeah, I'm sorry for being so awkward it's just.. you're part of the biggest idol group in our country C4.. I feel like I don't deserve to be talking to you." She added.

The boy laughed and rested his hand on his cheek. "You don't have to earn the right to talk to me, I'm human just like you." He flashed her a killer smile. Mayu had seen his pictures on billboards, on Mine, everywhere. C4's music would play on the streets, it was impossible to miss them. This was one of the 4 members, Jackson, known for his flirtatious exterior and soft boy interior, fans ranked him the 1°. Although Mayumi wasn't a huge fan, she still thought some of their music were absolute bangers.

"Yeah, that's super valid actually." Mayumi wanted to find a way to continue the conversation but she was stuck, she didn't know what to add or how to continue. 

"So what are you up to here?" Jackson asked, still squatting beside her, Mayumi was quick to respond.

"I'm waiting for a friend, he's a model and I didn't have anything to do today.." Jackson nodded, and grinned.

"Hm, what about you stop by next time for me instead of him." He winked. Mayumi thought about it and shook her head. 

"I can't just walk in any time I want to! I'm nothing but a baker ahaha," she laughed awkwardly. Junko smacked and placed a hand on their forehead, Mayumi forced herself not to flinch.

"He's flirting with you dumbass.." Junko sighed, Mayumi's face went red. Although she wasn't really in a rush to get into a relationship, it did make her feel a little nice. Screw it, her ego was getting STROKED. An idol, flirting with her! She wasn't going to date him or anything but this would definitely be a story to call home about.

"You're a baker? I'm not surprised, you have a nice cake." Jackson said as easily as he breathed. Mayumi's red face deepened, the lack of subtlety in that phrase turned it from cute to distasteful. She lifted her hand and lightly smacked Jackson's shoulder repeatedly. 

"Fuck off!" She shouted, covering her face with one hand. Jackson giggled, he found her endearing, big reactions from a small girl. Mayumi pouted and crossed her arms.

“Jackson! They’re looking for you, it’s time for your photoshoot with all of C4!” A staff member shouted. Jackson stopped giggling and brushed a lock of his blue hair behind his ear. He looked at Mayumi and winked, taking out a card from his pocket and handing it to her.

“This is my business card, email me and I’ll give you my MINE information. I’ll come back if you’re still here by the time I’m done.” He quickly left and Mayumi just watched as his figure grew further and soon indistinguishable from the rest of the crowd. Mayumi sat there blushing, feelings of deja vu crowding her mind. Her heart wouldn’t stop pounding, she was wondering what was happening with her life. Different, everything felt so different for her, a hero and now two guys. She inhaled a deep breath and then exhaled, at this point, these guys were trying to kill her.