The air in the I.T briefing room was thick with the sterile scent of antiseptic and stale coffee. Jamie (NovaStar) and Delilah were seated at the debriefing table. 

It had been a week since their catastrophic encounter with the trafficker and pink-haired humanoid. 

The rivals were dressed in normal pop star fashion and seated on opposite ends of the modern white table.

“The problem wasn’t the Jawal,” said Kiera, speaking in her personal voice. 

She had taken over more tasks from Pierce that would normally be assigned to her long-dead mother, to prepare for her inheritance of the company. She stood before a holographic projection of Queen’s city grid, which glowed red where the mission had failed.

“The problem was coordination, and that’s reflected in the data. You made it harder than it needed to be. You were three against one, and no matter their abilities, you should have made a point to-.”

A young technician, pale and nervous, cleared his throat. “Ma’am, we have the images from the site in Queens you requested.” Kiera stopped ranting and nodded for him to share it.

Plugging a USB into a laptop, he projected some disturbing images from what Bluestar recognized as the truck from their mission: scraps of Jawal skin, broken vials once filled with blood, and even cryogenic flasks with liquid nitrogen residue. 

The interceptors' East Coast Coalition determined that smaller, rogue parties and black market groups were actively harvesting Jawal parts for the highest bidder.

Worse, the market was dirty. The technician overlaid a new map: areas near Jawal trafficking activity showed a frighteningly accelerated rate of infection. Jawal trafficking was infecting local populations at an unprecedented speed, meaning more battles were needed with the growing threat.

Then Kiera turned around and pressed a button on a remote. Screens around the room flashed headlines: INTERCEPTORS MESSY WORK DESTROYS BUILDINGS and CHILDREN AS SUPERHEROES?

A reporter with perfectly wavy black hair held up a microphone for a reserved man from the New York city Jawal-attack cleanup crew. His answer to whatever she had asked was muffled through his hazmat suit. “This can’t just be summed up to interceptors' sloppy work, but a third party. I can’t comment officially, but it looks like the work of traffickers to me.“ The reporter turned around to the camera with en embellished summary of what he said. “So, aside from a disappointing team-up between our formerly favorite singers, we also have a Jawal-trafficking epidemic?“ The man shook his head tiredly, “We citizens are responsible, too. Don’t accept anyone claiming to have a Jawal cure, don’t get pets from obscure sources, check your Jawal-Watch app for any red zones in your area...“ They continued to discuss public responsibility as the TV’s volume was muted.

Liberated that she was under no guise in this briefing, Kiera let her frustration show.

“You two,” Kiera directed a cold gaze at Jamie and Delilah, “have cost us millions in reputation and valuation. We cannot afford this kind of scrutiny so close to the Peacekeeping’s failure. So I’m giving you a do-over. You will work together, and you will do it perfectly.” 

Jamie and Delilah were quiet in their seats. It was one of the few times they met Kiera in person and outside of the Daybreak suit. 

She had a reputation for being a perfectionist, and her judging brown eyes, short haircut, and perfect posture was almost more intimidating than the navy-blue, silver, and yellow suit. 

Their next assignment was to conduct a similar mission in another part of the city for publicly reported Jawal sightings.

Kiera added herself to the roster. “And I’m coming along. Consider me your babysitter.”

Hours later, the three interceptors—Daybreak, NovaStar, and Bluestar—were maneuvering through a mall that had been shut down due to reports of Jawal sightings.

It was only an hour into the search when a horde of Jawal burst out of a grocery store, meat residue on all of their snouts.

It would have been an intimidating sight if the interceptors didn’t have the comfort of their suits.

Practically indestructible and made with an alloy that repelled organic matter, there was very little chance of getting infected by the brawny wolf-terrors.

Bluestar took the left, NovaStar the right.

Their rivalry flared instantly. NovaStar tried to execute a complex, high-energy sonic attack without warning Bluestar, who went in for a close-up attack with her bladed forearms.

"Move, Bluestar!" NovaStar shouted, charging her sound cannons.

They fired away at the Jawal, and Bluestar used her suits noise canceling abilities to stop NovaStar’s shot from rendering her unconscious.

The Jawal saw her coming. It slammed a massive, clawed hand down on Bluestar, sending her and a cascade of mall debris flying. NovaStar froze, momentarily stunned by the failure of her attack.

The other Jawal didn't hesitate, swinging claws toward NovaStar. Before she could react, Daybreak—the bulkier, stronger suit, shoved NovaStar out of the way. The impact of the Jawal meeting Daybreak was loud. Daybreak’s fists pummeled at the Jawal and a well-timed energy beam sent it tumbling into a water fountain, dead.

A Jawal turned its attention to NovaStar, who had flown into the air. A voice crackled over her comms, Kiera’s.

“Take the rest of them down without me and I’ll get you ice cream, again.”

Jamie almost stopped, confused. She’d only gotten ice cream with Rebecca.

Why would Kiera be telling me this?

But the Jawal was charging. Jamie had no time to think.

She dove down into the approaching Jawal, catching it off guard. She grabbed the creatures head, and activated her sonic blasters.

The caterwaul of the Jawal couldn’t drown out the sound of her blasters. It fell into a heap whimpering and bleeding from the ears. 

Two other Jawal were rushing at her. “Bluestar! Execute for me!“ 

Bluestar was quick on the uptake, hauled a dead Jawal off of her, and dashed over to deliver a swift execution to the whimpering Jawal. 

At the same time, NovaStar stomped the ground using the vibrations of her suit to crumple the mall’s floor. 

As the Jawal were suspended in mid-air, she dashed forward, tuned her sonic blasters into frequency blades and sliced two of the Jawal across their bodies, killing them instantly.

I’d hate to be the cleanup crew!

One more Jawal was waiting for them, hiding in a higher level of the mall. With reckless abandon, it leapt at on NovaStar.

She raised a sonic cannon and changed it’s trajectory using a wide-spread sound wave attack. It fell right on Bluestar, who phased her atoms between the atoms of the Jawal. The confused creature perished shortly thereafter, because Bluestar stepped out and dephased halfway through. The resulting mess made Jamie gag. Bluestar walked over to where NovaStar and Daybreak stood.

“That is so not going to be an image that’d be good for your PR.“ 

Bluestar laughed at NovaStar’s comment. “It’s what I want them to see. A capable prodigy. Not a spoiled brat.“ NovaStar nodded and for the first time felt a sort of camaraderie with her rival.

“Good job, you two. That was a well executed team-up.“ Daybreak complimented as they looked through the mall for any more infectious creatures. Afterwards, she comm’d the cleanup crew and the squad headed back to base.

The three Interceptors returned to their respective headquarters. The goodbye between Delilah and Jamie was amicable enough to foreshadow a good working relationship from then onward.

Already, the news had picked up on the improved teamwork, the mall fight taken from CCTV cameras trending on every channel. Jamie was praised for her suave fighting, Delilah gained a whole new fanbase for her ruthless combat methods. Their reputation was fixed.

Jamie, however, wasn't thinking about stock prices. She found Kiera in the medical bay, being treated for minor whiplash. Kiera, out of the Daybreak suit and in civilian clothes, looked content despite being covered in bruises.

Guess she likes fighting.

Jamie leaned against the doorframe. “Take the rest of them down without me and I’ll get you ice cream, again?”

Kiera's contented look fell. She opened her mouth to answer but then decided against it. She just looked at Jamie. I’ll let her come to her own conclusions in case I make it worse.

“Rebecca said that to me.” Jamie pressed.

Kiera blinked. “She did, and she told me, I suppose.”

Jamie raised a skeptical eyebrow, “And you told me in first-person? What, are you Shakespeare?“ She continued. “You were also pretty confident saying it, like it was an inside joke.“ 

Jamie gave her a moment to say something.

Kiera said nothing.

Jamie sighed and pulled out the big guns. “I took the sentence you said at the mall and in the training room.“ She was not ashamed of her suspicions.

“You know what I found? That your voices were completely different. But I'm a trained singer, so one thing I know is sound.“

And part of the interceptor pilot test requires every student to do an in-depth study of a subject or phenomenon of their choice, one that would hopefully be incorporated into their interceptor suit design. Discerning sounds was second nature to her, with or without any equipment.

“Considering you're related, I expected that your voices would be at least thirty percent similar - but nope! So, I looked a little closer and, tada! I recognize a modulated sound wave when I see it - and I hate autotune, girl. I'm young, but I'm not stupid.“

I see why my mom was interested in you. Kiera thought, knowing there would be very few ways to get out of this.

Silently, Kiera sent a message for Dr. D’Silva to clear the medical bay. Once it was empty and cameras deactivated, Kiera took a slow, deep breath.

“Jamie… Rebecca died on the Peacekeeping expedition. I took her place to keep the company running and the world from losing vital fighters. I’m sorry, but I had to do it.”

Kiera expected the stunned look on Jamie's face. She didn't expect Jamie to look at her, the woman who had been pretended to be her mentor, with admiration. 

Jamie walked over and sat beside her on the bed.

“Kiera - I can call you that, right?” Jamie asked, and received a hesitant nod. “I get it.” 

Kiera hadn’t realized a thirteen-year old’s approval would make her feel so relieved. 

“I mean, I’m the pop star. I know what it means to have an alter ego...Who else knows?“

Kiera nodded and said, "Only Ms. Pierce and Dr. D’Silva. Vermillion’s pilot and Queen’s pilot know - by accident.”

Jamie fake pouted. “I’m more upset that I’m the last interceptor to know!“ Then she sobered, “I’m so sorry about your mom. That… really sucks.“ Both of Jamie's parents were alive and well, but she hardly saw them because they were so busy leading their own musical careers.

“Yes.” It was all Kiera dared to say. She didn’t want to cry in front of her pupil.

”We need to give her a proper goodbye.” Kiera heard herself say, and felt a weight lift that she hadn’t realized she was carrying.

Kiera gathered the people who knew the truth: Jason, Layla, Jamie, Pierce, and Dr. D’Silva. 

They held a private, unannounced funeral at an empty, yet maintained acre of land where an old I.T.-owned garbage incendiary ray factory used to be. Garbage incendiary rays were laser-based disposal device that had become mainstream years before the Jawal invasion. The garbage incendiary ray vaporized anything in its path, making it vital for conservation efforts around the world. It was still used, and scientists were still figuring out how it worked so well, similarly to how anesthesia had been invented, applied, and then studied.

Pierce had shared that Rebecca’s will demanded her funeral be held here.

To honor her humble beginnings and her first works.

A discreetly hired funeral service finalized the rest of the proceedings.

Each one faced the truth of Rebecca’s death, finally allowing themselves to openly grieve the founder and the hero among friends.

Empty of fury, but hollowed by grief, Layla quietly declared her departure to return to her Antarctic post. The betrayal and lament drove her to be alone. She promised Kiera she'd stay silent in exchange for a proper, public funeral for Rebecca within a year.

"I'll see what I can do." Was all Kiera replied.

Hugs were shared all around. After it was Kiera’s turn to be uneasily embraced by Layla, she felt a pang of loneliness knowing she’d lost the trust of a friend.

Once back at home, she’d just managed to dry her tears when she was pinged by Pierce, whom despite the sadness of the day had returned to work.

Apparently, they’d gotten more information on the Jawal traffickers. Mirror had in a moment of experienced foresight had left a tracking device on the trafficker they met during the catastrophic mission with Bluestar and NovaStar.

They now knew a primary recipient of Jawal trafficking - a blacklisted scientist with a reputation for having no boundaries, Monique Heissman.