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January 10, 2016; Indianapolis, Indiana

Ruby ran up and lifted the headset off of Ava's head. Ava sat straight up and clutched her stomach. She felt like she was going to vomit. Ruby and Ben held onto her shoulders.

“Breathe slowly, Champ, breathe slowly,” Ruby said.

Ava struggled to at first, but after a rough couple minutes she finally calmed her breathing and kept her lunch down. Ben got her a glass of water and they gave her a moment to readjust.

“Well that sucked…” Ava said, kind of joking but mostly serious.

“Sorry Ava…” Ben said.

“It's cool… I just… I just need a minute…”

She rubbed her head and looked over at the other chair. Carter was gone, so was Chelsea.

“Where'd they head off to?” she asked.

“Oh, they're off preparing for a mission,” Ruby said. “Remember that data you hacked into at Abstergo?”

“Yeah.”

“Well it had a mention of some Piece of Eden down in Corydon, so they're planning out an expedition to the caves to get it before the Templars do.”

“Oh. That's cool.”

There was a moment of awkward silence.

“Well… hey, how bout we head down to the kitchen and get some food?” Ben suggested. Ava managed a smile.

“Sure. I could go for something.”

The three then made their way downstairs and grabbed a bite to eat. Ava ate slower than the others did, and they took notice of it.

“Hey,” Ben asked, snapping her out of the daze she was in.

“Hmm?” she said.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine, I just… those memories weren't exactly the most fun events in the world, you know?”

“I feel ya,” Ruby said. “Apsarini’s life kinda sucked.”

“Yeah…”

Another pause. “Ava…” Ben said. “Is there something else?”

“I…”

“Look, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but please know that you always can and I'm always happy to help.”

“Okay. Thanks Arnold.”

“I… what?”

Aveza looked up at him. She squinted. His white military uniform faded away into his grey coat. Ava shook her head. “Ben. Ben. Thanks Ben. Sorry… My brain's still in Aveza mode from that server cross. Really though, thanks Ben. I appreciate it.”

He looked at her for a moment, and eventually nodded. She wanted to bury her head in her hands. The visions were back, just as she predicted. How long would it be before she couldn't even tell what the present was anymore? She had to tell them. No… she couldn't. But they obviously knew there was something wrong. Maybe she could just keep playing it off. It would go away eventually, right? Right?

She finished her sandwich and stood up. “I'm gonna head to bed,” she said. “It's late and I'm tired. I'll see you guys in the morning. Goodnight.”

“Night Champ!”

“Night Ava. Sleep well.”

I'll try, she thought, but I can't make any promises.

She started making her way towards her bed, but she ended up wandering around the halls a bit. She just needed to think. She needed a chance to separate all the voices flooding her brain.

“Priscilla! Oh that's such a lovely name! I'm Aveza, dearie. I'll be your Mentor.”

“Jaga, what happened to mommy and daddy?”

“I'm so sorry, Eleanor… I promise I'll honor your name, starting by naming my daughter here after yours. Her name shall be Virginia.”

She wanted to bang her head against a wall, and she honestly considered doing it. This sucked. It just plain sucked.

But she had to pull through. She had to. Gabriel wants her to. Ben and Ruby believe in her. She can't let them down. The world is at stake. Or was it? What if Gabriel was just being a trickster with her? He never said what was threatening the world. Maybe this is all one big sick joke.

But did she really want to take that risk?

No, she didn't. Her mother didn't raise a quitter.

She shook her head and focused. She took deep breathes. “Present day, Ava,” she mumbled to herself. “Present-”

She was focusing so hard she didn't realize she was walking into a wall. She stumbled back a bit and just kinda stood there in irritation. “I'm... just gonna take that one sitting down…” she said.

She looked up at the wall she had bumped into. She had actually bumped into a pane of glass inset in the wall. Behind it was a mannequin wearing a rather flashy outfit. A black velvet blouse with floral patterns and leather outlines, along with a sort of red draping semi-skirt that reached down over the boots. A leather bracer sat on its arm with golden highlights. It looked like something out of all those steampunk cosplay pictures she'd seen online. She looked to her left and saw that the wall was lined with more glass cabinets, each with a mannequin and outfit, each looking like they got pulled out of a different time period. A noble crusader, a Chinese warrior, a French royalist. All of them stood on display around the room. Her eyes fell back on the first outfit she saw.

“Her name was Evie Frye,” a voice suddenly intruded. She spun on her heels. Carter had casually walked in. He pointed at the outfit. “The outfit belonged to an Assassin named Evie Frye. Well… okay not this one specifically; this is just a replica, but you get the gist. Lived in London in 1868 and took down the local Templar regime with her brother Jacob.”

“I… that's cool I guess,” Ava said, trying to go along with the conversation. Anything to distract her from the voices.

“Yeah,” Carter said. “Her character was left something to be desired though. She was kinda what you'd call a cold-hearted stick in the mud.”

“Well then.”

“I mean, she learned to lighten up eventually. She met a nice guy named Henry Green and the two set off to India to have all sorts of adventures there, but still. At the peak of her work, she was not an enjoyable person.”

“Hmm. So… what's with all the outfits by the way?”

“Oh, this is one of our legacy rooms. I sew as a hobby and so I made me and Chels some replicas of some of the most famous figures in Assassin history.” He motioned to the room across the hall. Ava saw another row of outfits.

“Altaïr, Ezio, there's even good old Connor's robes over there. I dunno. I just find it fun.”

Ava nodded, and she got that distant look in her eyes again. Carter clearly noticed.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked, worried.

“Yeah, I'm fine… It's just been a long day. I… I need some time alone if that's okay. It usually helps.”

Carter nodded understandingly. “No problem, Ava. I'll get out of your hair then. Hope you get better soon.”

She thanked him, and he left her again. She stood there for a good long minute. She took a glance back at Evie’s outfit, and then decided to end her stroll around the hideout and get to her room before anyone else started worrying about her.

When she got there, she locked her bedroom door and collapsed on her bed. After a minute of groaning into her pillow, she threw on her pajamas and did what she could to ignore the voices.

“Eeeeeeeee! Arnold! I just got a letter from Connie! She's had her first daughter! We're grandparents!”

“Mentor, control your daughter! Smith must die for all his men have done. Pocahontas, step away from him now!”

“Dr. Dubois? My name is Apsarini Rajawali. I was told you needed some help digging up a bunch of old bones?”

Ava slammed her face into her pillow and curled up into a ball beneath her covers. She hoped that the voices wouldn't seep into her dreams tonight. She just wanted to rest soundly...

------------

January 11, 2016; Indianapolis, Indiana

The next morning, Ava was given a rude awakening. Her phone started ringing right next to her ear on the nightstand. She rubbed her eyes and groggily grabbed the phone.

“Hello?” she said when she answered.

“Ava? That you, honey?”

Ava nearly jumped right out of bed. She was immediately awake.

“Mom?” she asked, shocked.

“Hi sweetie!” her mom said. “It's been a while! How’ve you been, college girl?”

“I… uh… I…”

“Ava, you okay?”

“I… er… yeah. I… uh… I just wasn't expecting you to call. I'm just kinda surprised.

“Well, I know we agreed to let you enjoy your independence for a while, but I couldn't help it! I haven't seen my baby girl in months and I wanted to see how she's been handling herself. How's the thing with Abstergo working out?”

“Um… Abstergo’s fine. It's fine. Yeah… I'm uh… they pay well. I should be able to start college no problem.”

“Oh that's great to hear! I'm so proud of you, sweetie! You enjoying Raleigh then?”

“Yeah... Raleigh. Raleigh’s great, mom. Lot of good people.”

“Good. Good.”

Ava was dumbfounded. She hadn't even thought about her family in Minneapolis during the past few months. She'd been so caught up in the Assassins and Templars that she hadn't had the time to think of home… or how she could possibly explain any of this to her mother. She couldn't. There was just no way to.

“So… how's Grandma?” she asked, not sure what else to say.

“Grandma's doing fine. She's feisty as always. She hit me with her cane yesterday when I messed up a dinner recipe.”

Ava laughed and her mother laughed back, though much more enthusiastically.

“So hun, have you found a girlfriend yet?”

Ava blushed hard. “Mom!” she said.

“What? I'm curious.”

“I… well…”

Her mom gasped excitedly. “Oh my God you have! What's her name? What's she like? Does she treat you well?”

“She's not my girlfriend, Mom. She's just… she's a friend and she's cute… okay?”

She could tell that her mom was trying to hold back a squee. “Take the chance, honey! Ask her out! If she's a friend she'll likely say yes!”

“I don't-”

“You can do it, sweetie! Seize the day! Oh, I'm so proud of you!”

“Thanks Mum…”

“Mum?”

Ava shook her head.

“Mom. Mom. Sorry. I've… been watching a lot of British tv lately.”

Her mom chuckled. Ava chuckled back.

“Alright then, honey. Hey, are you going to be able to visit soon? We all miss you up here in Minneapolis.”

“Um… I probably won't be able to come up there in a while still. I'm… on a big project with Abstergo and it could really help me with getting some special scholarships so I'll be really busy.”

“Aw. That's a shame. Oh well, I'm still super proud of you! Good luck on that project, sweetie! You're gonna go far!”

“Thanks Mom.”

“Alright honey. I'll go ahead and get out of your hair for now. Love you sweetie! Bye bye!”

“Bye Mom.”

With that, her mom hung up. Ava fell back and faceplanted into her pillow. She groaned sadly. Being an Assassin really seemed to suck. She had to abandon her job and likely college too at this point. She had to go putting her life on the line every other week. And now she also had to lie to her mom about everything. It sucked. She almost cried. But it was too early in the morning, and she wanted to look better for her friends. She sucked it up… for now. She sat there for about three minutes before deciding to get out of bed and head out. She didn't bother grabbing her clothes. She just stayed in her pajamas. It wasn't like she'd be going anywhere outside of the hideout anytime soon anyways. She opened up her door and stepped out into the hall.

“You really think I'm cute?”

Ava jumped and yelped like a startled puppy and spun around to see Ruby standing by her door with a smirk.

“I… I… I… I…” was all she could stutter.

“Nice hair, Champ,” Ruby laughed. “I can lend you my brush if you want.”

“I… I… How long were you…?”

“Eh, I've been stalking everyone all morning. I like to have a throne of blackmail for when I inevitably need it. Did you know that Ben really likes to-? Um… Champ? You doing alright?”

Ava had turned beat red and slid down to the floor with her head buried in her arms. Ruby suddenly felt terrible. “Crap… crap, sorry Ava! I went too far, didn't I? Crap, sorry…”

“It's fine…” Ava mumbled. “Ignore me..
I'm just gonna wallow down here now…”

Ruby sat down next to her and wrapped her arm around her comfortingly. “I'm really sorry, Champ, I am.”

“No… I'm sorry… I understand if you hate me now…”

“What? Ava, you know I don't hate you!”

“Hhhhrrrrmmm….”

“I don't! Ava you're one of the coolest chicks I've met. And I've met me!”

“But I-”

“And if you're wanting to try something more…”

Ava lifted her head up slowly and looked into Ruby's gorgeous blue eyes. She was smiling at Ava, brighter than ever.

“I… what do you mean?” she asked her.

“You know… go out on the town? Have a lovely evening? Together?”

“You… you're actually asking me out?”

“Well I've got nothing else to do. What do ya say, Champ? Nice dinner, fancy music, just the two of us! How's about it?”

Ava didn't know what to say. This was the first time a girl she liked directly asked her out. She always had to be the one to make the first move. She couldn't say no. She couldn't.

“Y… yeah… I'd… I'd really like that,” she said, unable to stop a smile from crawling up her cheeks. “I'd like that a lot.”

Ruby grinned ear to ear. “Sweet!” she said. “I'll make the arrangements and get everything organized! Now, it probably won't be until after this whole Corydon deal, since I gotta help the guys out with surveillance, but I promise you it'll be worth the wait!”

“Okay.”

Ruby laughed and bounced back to her feet. She grabbed Ava's hand and helped her do the same. “It's gonna be great, Champ! I promise you!”

She lunged forward and kissed her cheek, much to Ava's surprise. Ruby turned and walked back down the hallway, leaving Ava to turn beet red again and stand there in shocked silence. But despite it all, she started smiling, and she smiled brightly.

Okay yeah, Assassin life sucked. But it wasn't the worst. She still had a lot going for her. She had friends who cared about her, a chance to save the world, and now she had a girlfriend who loved her with all her heart.

So what if this job has its downsides? She had it made.

Description
January 10, 2016; Indianapolis, Indiana

Ruby ran up and lifted the headset off of Ava's head. Ava sat straight up and clutched her stomach. She felt like she was going to vomit. Ruby and Ben held onto her shoulders.

“Breathe slowly, Champ, breathe slowly,” Ruby said.

Ava struggled to at first, but after a rough couple minutes she finally calmed her breathing and kept her lunch down. Ben got her a glass of water and they gave her a moment to readjust.

“Well that sucked…” Ava said, kind of joking but mostly serious.

“Sorry Ava…” Ben said.

“It's cool… I just… I just need a minute…”

She rubbed her head and looked over at the other chair. Carter was gone, so was Chelsea.

“Where'd they head off to?” she asked.

“Oh, they're off preparing for a mission,” Ruby said. “Remember that data you hacked into at Abstergo?”

“Yeah.”

“Well it had a mention of some Piece of Eden down in Corydon, so they're planning out an expedition to the caves to get it before the Templars do.”

“Oh. That's cool.”

There was a moment of awkward silence.

“Well… hey, how bout we head down to the kitchen and get some food?” Ben suggested. Ava managed a smile.

“Sure. I could go for something.”

The three then made their way downstairs and grabbed a bite to eat. Ava ate slower than the others did, and they took notice of it.

“Hey,” Ben asked, snapping her out of the daze she was in.

“Hmm?” she said.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine, I just… those memories weren't exactly the most fun events in the world, you know?”

“I feel ya,” Ruby said. “Apsarini’s life kinda sucked.”

“Yeah…”

Another pause. “Ava…” Ben said. “Is there something else?”

“I…”

“Look, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but please know that you always can and I'm always happy to help.”

“Okay. Thanks Arnold.”

“I… what?”

Aveza looked up at him. She squinted. His white military uniform faded away into his grey coat. Ava shook her head. “Ben. Ben. Thanks Ben. Sorry… My brain's still in Aveza mode from that server cross. Really though, thanks Ben. I appreciate it.”

He looked at her for a moment, and eventually nodded. She wanted to bury her head in her hands. The visions were back, just as she predicted. How long would it be before she couldn't even tell what the present was anymore? She had to tell them. No… she couldn't. But they obviously knew there was something wrong. Maybe she could just keep playing it off. It would go away eventually, right? Right?

She finished her sandwich and stood up. “I'm gonna head to bed,” she said. “It's late and I'm tired. I'll see you guys in the morning. Goodnight.”

“Night Champ!”

“Night Ava. Sleep well.”

I'll try, she thought, but I can't make any promises.

She started making her way towards her bed, but she ended up wandering around the halls a bit. She just needed to think. She needed a chance to separate all the voices flooding her brain.

“Priscilla! Oh that's such a lovely name! I'm Aveza, dearie. I'll be your Mentor.”

“Jaga, what happened to mommy and daddy?”

“I'm so sorry, Eleanor… I promise I'll honor your name, starting by naming my daughter here after yours. Her name shall be Virginia.”

She wanted to bang her head against a wall, and she honestly considered doing it. This sucked. It just plain sucked.

But she had to pull through. She had to. Gabriel wants her to. Ben and Ruby believe in her. She can't let them down. The world is at stake. Or was it? What if Gabriel was just being a trickster with her? He never said what was threatening the world. Maybe this is all one big sick joke.

But did she really want to take that risk?

No, she didn't. Her mother didn't raise a quitter.

She shook her head and focused. She took deep breathes. “Present day, Ava,” she mumbled to herself. “Present-”

She was focusing so hard she didn't realize she was walking into a wall. She stumbled back a bit and just kinda stood there in irritation. “I'm... just gonna take that one sitting down…” she said.

She looked up at the wall she had bumped into. She had actually bumped into a pane of glass inset in the wall. Behind it was a mannequin wearing a rather flashy outfit. A black velvet blouse with floral patterns and leather outlines, along with a sort of red draping semi-skirt that reached down over the boots. A leather bracer sat on its arm with golden highlights. It looked like something out of all those steampunk cosplay pictures she'd seen online. She looked to her left and saw that the wall was lined with more glass cabinets, each with a mannequin and outfit, each looking like they got pulled out of a different time period. A noble crusader, a Chinese warrior, a French royalist. All of them stood on display around the room. Her eyes fell back on the first outfit she saw.

“Her name was Evie Frye,” a voice suddenly intruded. She spun on her heels. Carter had casually walked in. He pointed at the outfit. “The outfit belonged to an Assassin named Evie Frye. Well… okay not this one specifically; this is just a replica, but you get the gist. Lived in London in 1868 and took down the local Templar regime with her brother Jacob.”

“I… that's cool I guess,” Ava said, trying to go along with the conversation. Anything to distract her from the voices.

“Yeah,” Carter said. “Her character was left something to be desired though. She was kinda what you'd call a cold-hearted stick in the mud.”

“Well then.”

“I mean, she learned to lighten up eventually. She met a nice guy named Henry Green and the two set off to India to have all sorts of adventures there, but still. At the peak of her work, she was not an enjoyable person.”

“Hmm. So… what's with all the outfits by the way?”

“Oh, this is one of our legacy rooms. I sew as a hobby and so I made me and Chels some replicas of some of the most famous figures in Assassin history.” He motioned to the room across the hall. Ava saw another row of outfits.

“Altaïr, Ezio, there's even good old Connor's robes over there. I dunno. I just find it fun.”

Ava nodded, and she got that distant look in her eyes again. Carter clearly noticed.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked, worried.

“Yeah, I'm fine… It's just been a long day. I… I need some time alone if that's okay. It usually helps.”

Carter nodded understandingly. “No problem, Ava. I'll get out of your hair then. Hope you get better soon.”

She thanked him, and he left her again. She stood there for a good long minute. She took a glance back at Evie’s outfit, and then decided to end her stroll around the hideout and get to her room before anyone else started worrying about her.

When she got there, she locked her bedroom door and collapsed on her bed. After a minute of groaning into her pillow, she threw on her pajamas and did what she could to ignore the voices.

“Eeeeeeeee! Arnold! I just got a letter from Connie! She's had her first daughter! We're grandparents!”

“Mentor, control your daughter! Smith must die for all his men have done. Pocahontas, step away from him now!”

“Dr. Dubois? My name is Apsarini Rajawali. I was told you needed some help digging up a bunch of old bones?”

Ava slammed her face into her pillow and curled up into a ball beneath her covers. She hoped that the voices wouldn't seep into her dreams tonight. She just wanted to rest soundly...

------------

January 11, 2016; Indianapolis, Indiana

The next morning, Ava was given a rude awakening. Her phone started ringing right next to her ear on the nightstand. She rubbed her eyes and groggily grabbed the phone.

“Hello?” she said when she answered.

“Ava? That you, honey?”

Ava nearly jumped right out of bed. She was immediately awake.

“Mom?” she asked, shocked.

“Hi sweetie!” her mom said. “It's been a while! How’ve you been, college girl?”

“I… uh… I…”

“Ava, you okay?”

“I… er… yeah. I… uh… I just wasn't expecting you to call. I'm just kinda surprised.

“Well, I know we agreed to let you enjoy your independence for a while, but I couldn't help it! I haven't seen my baby girl in months and I wanted to see how she's been handling herself. How's the thing with Abstergo working out?”

“Um… Abstergo’s fine. It's fine. Yeah… I'm uh… they pay well. I should be able to start college no problem.”

“Oh that's great to hear! I'm so proud of you, sweetie! You enjoying Raleigh then?”

“Yeah... Raleigh. Raleigh’s great, mom. Lot of good people.”

“Good. Good.”

Ava was dumbfounded. She hadn't even thought about her family in Minneapolis during the past few months. She'd been so caught up in the Assassins and Templars that she hadn't had the time to think of home… or how she could possibly explain any of this to her mother. She couldn't. There was just no way to.

“So… how's Grandma?” she asked, not sure what else to say.

“Grandma's doing fine. She's feisty as always. She hit me with her cane yesterday when I messed up a dinner recipe.”

Ava laughed and her mother laughed back, though much more enthusiastically.

“So hun, have you found a girlfriend yet?”

Ava blushed hard. “Mom!” she said.

“What? I'm curious.”

“I… well…”

Her mom gasped excitedly. “Oh my God you have! What's her name? What's she like? Does she treat you well?”

“She's not my girlfriend, Mom. She's just… she's a friend and she's cute… okay?”

She could tell that her mom was trying to hold back a squee. “Take the chance, honey! Ask her out! If she's a friend she'll likely say yes!”

“I don't-”

“You can do it, sweetie! Seize the day! Oh, I'm so proud of you!”

“Thanks Mum…”

“Mum?”

Ava shook her head.

“Mom. Mom. Sorry. I've… been watching a lot of British tv lately.”

Her mom chuckled. Ava chuckled back.

“Alright then, honey. Hey, are you going to be able to visit soon? We all miss you up here in Minneapolis.”

“Um… I probably won't be able to come up there in a while still. I'm… on a big project with Abstergo and it could really help me with getting some special scholarships so I'll be really busy.”

“Aw. That's a shame. Oh well, I'm still super proud of you! Good luck on that project, sweetie! You're gonna go far!”

“Thanks Mom.”

“Alright honey. I'll go ahead and get out of your hair for now. Love you sweetie! Bye bye!”

“Bye Mom.”

With that, her mom hung up. Ava fell back and faceplanted into her pillow. She groaned sadly. Being an Assassin really seemed to suck. She had to abandon her job and likely college too at this point. She had to go putting her life on the line every other week. And now she also had to lie to her mom about everything. It sucked. She almost cried. But it was too early in the morning, and she wanted to look better for her friends. She sucked it up… for now. She sat there for about three minutes before deciding to get out of bed and head out. She didn't bother grabbing her clothes. She just stayed in her pajamas. It wasn't like she'd be going anywhere outside of the hideout anytime soon anyways. She opened up her door and stepped out into the hall.

“You really think I'm cute?”

Ava jumped and yelped like a startled puppy and spun around to see Ruby standing by her door with a smirk.

“I… I… I… I…” was all she could stutter.

“Nice hair, Champ,” Ruby laughed. “I can lend you my brush if you want.”

“I… I… How long were you…?”

“Eh, I've been stalking everyone all morning. I like to have a throne of blackmail for when I inevitably need it. Did you know that Ben really likes to-? Um… Champ? You doing alright?”

Ava had turned beat red and slid down to the floor with her head buried in her arms. Ruby suddenly felt terrible. “Crap… crap, sorry Ava! I went too far, didn't I? Crap, sorry…”

“It's fine…” Ava mumbled. “Ignore me..
I'm just gonna wallow down here now…”

Ruby sat down next to her and wrapped her arm around her comfortingly. “I'm really sorry, Champ, I am.”

“No… I'm sorry… I understand if you hate me now…”

“What? Ava, you know I don't hate you!”

“Hhhhrrrrmmm….”

“I don't! Ava you're one of the coolest chicks I've met. And I've met me!”

“But I-”

“And if you're wanting to try something more…”

Ava lifted her head up slowly and looked into Ruby's gorgeous blue eyes. She was smiling at Ava, brighter than ever.

“I… what do you mean?” she asked her.

“You know… go out on the town? Have a lovely evening? Together?”

“You… you're actually asking me out?”

“Well I've got nothing else to do. What do ya say, Champ? Nice dinner, fancy music, just the two of us! How's about it?”

Ava didn't know what to say. This was the first time a girl she liked directly asked her out. She always had to be the one to make the first move. She couldn't say no. She couldn't.

“Y… yeah… I'd… I'd really like that,” she said, unable to stop a smile from crawling up her cheeks. “I'd like that a lot.”

Ruby grinned ear to ear. “Sweet!” she said. “I'll make the arrangements and get everything organized! Now, it probably won't be until after this whole Corydon deal, since I gotta help the guys out with surveillance, but I promise you it'll be worth the wait!”

“Okay.”

Ruby laughed and bounced back to her feet. She grabbed Ava's hand and helped her do the same. “It's gonna be great, Champ! I promise you!”

She lunged forward and kissed her cheek, much to Ava's surprise. Ruby turned and walked back down the hallway, leaving Ava to turn beet red again and stand there in shocked silence. But despite it all, she started smiling, and she smiled brightly.

Okay yeah, Assassin life sucked. But it wasn't the worst. She still had a lot going for her. She had friends who cared about her, a chance to save the world, and now she had a girlfriend who loved her with all her heart.

So what if this job has its downsides? She had it made.