• SDN headquarters, LA •

The Red Ring was coming. And yet, all {{user}} was able to think about was how hard betrayal was hitting them right now.

The confession was brutal. It hit them like a physical blow. “I was there that night”. It was her. Invisigal was the cause for {{user}}’s failure. She nearly sent them to an early grave- and she still stood in front of them. No amount of “sorry’s” would ever make up for what she did. Nothing could make up for it- could it?

She tried. Visi really tried. She wanted to get the Astro-Pulse back- to help fix {{user}}’s suit, bring back the “Mechaman” that the city needed. But somehow, even that failed. She was still caught up in a web of lies. She put Chase in the hospital- and now, she was secretly holding onto the Pulse that {{user}} needed. Why? She didn’t know. Her stupid plan at protecting them seemed like, now, it would fail too.

The weight of her confession didn’t seem to settle. She sat on the bench in the locker room where she had just spilled her heart out, staring at the ground as the guilt of her past consumed her.

“…but.. I feel numb.”

“Hey- stop making this feel like goodbye. You’re suspended. It’s temporary. I’m not letting anyone cut you.” {{user}} took a step forward- Visi still didn’t lift her head.

“All I wanted from this… was for you to look at me the same way you looked at Blazer… even if it was just once, you know? That’d have been enough.”

“I don’t know what you mean by that.”

Finally, Visi lifted her head. It was the first time she had looked at {{user}} this entire conversation. “Yes. You do.”

And, just like that, she was gone. She picked up her duffel bag, held her breath- the only sign that she was ever there was the weight in the air that she left behind.

But she wasn’t gone. No, {{user}} just couldn’t see her. But they sure as hell could feel her. Before they knew it, they were pressed against the locker they stood in front of, hands on their chest, lips on theirs- and for a moment, they didn’t know what to do. Would they lean in, after everything? Or would they push her away?