Lost in Another World: Too Many Choices

"You look amazing." They spoke at the same time, then laughed. They let the transformations drop, hugged, and held each other as best as they could. Gone was the familiarity they were used to. The strength was different, and the fit was different. But it still felt good.

"I told my parents everything." Pen looked up at him. Andrew felt like she might break if they spoke too loudly.

"Me too. They somehow knew something had happened, but looking at you now I think I know what they mean." Andrew took her hand, and Pen shook her head. "I'm sorry, Pen." He kissed her head.

"We both lost a baby, Andrew…we both lost our lives, we both have to live with the memories of what was…. And then, what do we do now?" Penny held him tighter, and he let her.

"I know, Pen. I'm sorry their longing took everything away from us. I should have insisted we stay." He held his head in guilt.

"Andrew! No! We both wanted to, we had no idea this would happen. But we have to choose what we do now." She walked towards the edge of the Art Gallery and sat against the edge of the wall.

"They won't understand." Andrew knew it sounded mean, but how could they? They had lived a whole lifetime without them.

"I know. I love you, Andrew. But I loved Trevor." She sighed. The weight of the world on her shoulders was a weight he desperately wanted to remove.

"Do you think you could love him again?" Andrew joined her and placed his hand on hers.

"I think I could." She paused, like she realised what she had said. "Not that you're easy to get over, Andrew! But..." She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Pen, I understand. I was thinking the same thing about Sophie. I loved her once like she was my everything; she was the air I needed to breathe. The movement in my music. My world. The reason I fought for Arcadia was so she could be safe." He smiled at the memory. "And I would never let Trevor miss out on the chance to be loved by you." He smiled at her.

"I could never do that to Sophie." Penny let that realisation hit her. "After all, we lived in paradise, and our dreams were ours for the taking. We had no worries."

"You think we wouldn't have fallen in love otherwise?" Andrew had wondered that a time or two in the short time they'd been home.

"No, my love for you is real, just like my love for Trevor is real. But we fell in love with no worries; we fell in love with them while fighting a freaking supervillain... Trevor was my rock, my sword. He was the inspiration for my work, the reason I fought through a creative block. He, ironically, helped me find my voice." They both chuckled.

"So we learn to love them again?" Andrew looked at her.

She sighed. "I think that's the only choice we have. I can't break them like that."

"Me neither." Andrew pulled her close. "But I promise that if anything happens to Trever, I'll protect you."

Leaning into him, she replied, "I’ll take care of you if something happens to Sophie, I promise." They stayed like that for a moment, letting the world rush by. Enjoying their last few moments together.

With that settled, they talked about what came next. Neither of them wanted to go to college, so they came up with some ideas to present to Sophie and Trever. "So, we will talk to them on Sunday?" Andrew looked down at her.

"Yeah, I think that would work. I don't want to tell them about Twin Crescent, they would feel so guilty..." Penny shuddered.

Andrew had to look away for a moment. He'd loved watching her anxiety fade in Twin Crescent, and now that they were back to their younger selves, her anxiety seemed to have returned.

"Then we won't, they will respect that. We will tell them it's just too hard to talk about." Now, what do we do about this? He chuckled.

There is nothing we can do, I guess; we will just have to learn to control how often we use it. She shrugged. "With all of that settled, we should probably go home; we likely have a Mage and a Raven planning to come to see us." She giggled.

"Yeah, you're not wrong." He stood and helped her up. He tapped his element twice, letting the comfort of his suit absorb him.

He watched her tap her Element. Her new outfit truly looked amazing; Arcadia would love it, and Sophie would be getting all kinds of new commissions for cosplay. She turned to swing home. Andrew wanted to hold her again, but he knew he couldn’t; they didn’t belong together here. He would always love her, but their love was not for this world. As they broke apart for one last time, she whispered, "Goodbye, Andrew." She ran her thumb across his cheek and jumped away.

He watched her go. Then he turned and headed home. Even with his new suit and the new upgrades Flicker had shared with him, he still couldn't move like the other heroes. He was just slower, but he leaped from building to building more easily than he remembered doing before. He landed on his family's apartment balcony. He was grateful his bedroom window was right next to it, so he could climb in and out of the window onto the balcony.

"I was wondering when you'd get back." Sophie's soft voice filled his ears. "Had to make sure your home was okay?"

"Something like that." He smiled softly. "Like the new suit?" he teased as Sophie looked him up and down.

"It's amazing, Andrew." Her voice was full of awe. "You must have gone through some stuff to get a new upgrade. Gale was telling me we only get upgrades as we age or as we go through hard things." She chuckled. “I’m going to have new commissions for copies." Her hands roamed across the fabric as if she was trying to solve a mystery. He let his transformation drop and pulled her into a tight hug. It felt different, but not unfamiliar; his muscle memory kicked in and he kissed her like she was his everything.

"I thought I'd never see you again." He kept her face a few inches from hers.

"Will you tell me what happened to you?" Her voice was soft and full of understanding.

"No, Sophie, it's too much. I just want to focus on you." They sat, hand in hand, against the railing of the balcony.

They talked till Andrew yawned. "Oh! You're probably beat, eh? I shouldn't be sitting here keeping you up.” She reached for her necklace, and Andrew stopped her. "Andrew, what is it?"

"I’m afraid to sleep…" That wasn’t quite it, but he hadn’t slept alone in years… He wasn’t sure he knew how.

Her smile was soft. “I’ll sit with you till you fall asleep.” He nodded and they slipped in through his window. Andrew went into the bathroom to change. When he came back, she moved his desk chair next to the bed. He lay down and she stroked his hair for a moment.

“How can I help you sleep, my fire boy?” She spoke softly.

"Can you tell me how you and Ice Raven beat Jaded?" He closed his eyes and felt himself relax while she told him all about Ice Phoenix and Rose Mage. Andrew smiled to himself. I told you so. Andrew sighed. Yeah, he could learn to love this girl again, no question about it. Sophie was everything he remembered her being.

***

Penny knew Andrew watched her leave. She let her tears fall, and it hurt. She was angry and sad. She knew they were making the right choice. But it hurt losing the life she had grown to love and having to figure this all out again. She knew Ice Raven would be waiting for her. She stopped just outside of his range of night vision and composed herself. Then she leaped into his view and landed on her roof. "Hi, Raven." She smiled and let him take her in.

"My Flower! You look... Wow." He circled around her. "Beautiful." He took her hand and kissed it. She smiled. Always the charmer, she thought. He pulled her into a hug, and she noticed how much smaller she felt in Trevor's arms than in Andrew’s; he was taller and broader, but she fit well. Their transformations dropped.

"I thought I would never see you again." She whispered into his chest.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He scooped her up. "You looked pretty upset when you stepped through the portal." He sat them on the chair on her balcony.

"No, I really don't. Trevor, please don't make me." She looked at him, pleading.

"Never, My Flower. I love you and trust that if you don't want to relive it, then it isn't worth pushing." He hugged her again, lifted her chin up, and kissed her like he was trying to help her forget. She melted into the kiss.

They spoke for a long while in soft tones, and Trevor helped calm her down. "Well, My Flower, you need your beauty sleep. I should go." He attempted to stand but she clung to him. "Penny?" his hand rested on the swell of her back.

"Stay. Please?" Her voice was small.

"Like till you fall asleep?" He spoke softly.

She nodded and clung to his shirt. She couldn’t remember the last time she didn’t share a bed with someone, and without her baby she felt so alone.

His smile softened. "Oh Penny, of course I'll stay for a bit." He helped her up and they walked down to her bedroom. He waited in her room while she changed in the bathroom. When she came back, Trevor han pulled out one of her extra pillows and was sitting by her bed.

After she crawled into bed, he took her hand protectively and held it tightly. She looked at him, eyes feeling heavy. "Tell me a story?"

"Oh! I'll tell you how we won against Jaded. Sophie becomes Rose Mage and I become Ice Phoenix..." He told her the story.

I told you so. Andrew's voice teased her.

Ya ya, shut up. She cuddled closer to the side of the bed where Trevor sat. Yeah, she could love Trevor again. He was the wonderful boy she remembered. He loved her and she could love him.

***

The two couples soon graduated and the group stuck to the plan of staying in Arcadia. Penny and Andrew did not plan to go to college; rather they would keep up the business they had started in high school. They would also support Trevor and Sophie while they studied. The four of them had been unable to stop Metallic Owl, so they all moved into the same apartment building to be close to each other. The girls had an apartment near the roof while the boys were near the main floor.

Trevor studied to be a teacher because, on top of his own writing, he wanted to encourage kids to create. His mother wasn't happy about it, but she seemed to think teaching would help him to lose this crazy becoming-a-writer idea. Sophie studied fashion and worked on her website on the side to keep building her own brand. Penny built up a collection of photos and took them to a local studio, where she got a space and then worked her own webpage for people to book her services. Andrew worked with a friend of theirs that had a jazz band, and he got a job playing in the theatre; maybe he could work his way up to composing, as well as teaching piano on the side.

As heroes, they had gotten better at fighting. They learned how to use the unified Elements. That way, no matter what was happening, they could have all four power sets in any given battle. And shortly after Sophie and Trevor graduated college, it was time for the wedding bells to toll…