text: I watched her purple trail leave the atmosphere. I ran to James and got on my comms while tending to his shattered leg. "Edith, what the hell are you doing?" "The only thing I can do, Val. It hurts too much. I'm too tired." "You're not talking about the energy, are you?" "My whole life... I've fought for people. I fought for my world. But I can't do it anymore." "Then retire. Don't do this. Edith, get back here!" "That won't work. You know that. This life always brings us back. Well... Not anymore. Not me." "Edith, people care about you. Your daughter is seven! What am I supposed to tell her?" "Tracie. Oh, God. I'm sorry. Tell her I'm sorry. Tell her I-" I watched as the Exodus exploded. "Edith? Edith!" I shouted. "No!" I saw several things falling from the sky. They all landed in front of me. I shielded myself and James with Black Ice. I went into the debris field and looked around. Right in the center, the sword of Lady Thunder stood, hilt deep in the Earth. Like Excalibur waiting for the next king. James sat up. "What happened?" He called. I went back to him. He repeated himself. "She... She took out Exodus. Edith did, I mean." "Oh, that's good. Did she kill the big dude, too?" "Yeah. He's a puddle." "Good. I bet she can't wait to see Tracie again." He said. I hesitated. He noticed. "Wait... Where is Edith?" "She's..." I choked up. "The Exodus beam, when she absorbed it... I guess it was too much. She felt ready to blow. So... She went to the Exodus. She's gone, James." I said. James let his head fall back to the ground. "Oh, God. Tracie..." "I don't think I'm gonna be able to look her in the eyes. She's seven. And her mom is dead." "Let's go. Tracie's at HQ. Let's go there." He said. I nodded and picked him up. I activated my teleporter on my belt and the portal shimmered to life in front of us. I stepped through and met Derek and Tracie at the table. Tracie was drawing with crayons, and Derek was looking at her with a lot of pain in his eyes. He looked at us. So did she. "Auntie Valerie!" She said happily. I loved when she called me auntie. She came to me and hugged me. The portal closed behind me. She looked around me. "Where's mommy?" She asked so innocently. I looked at Derek. He looked down at the table. He couldn't bring himself to tell her. Not that I blame him. Tracie was more hopeful and bright than her mother. I set James on the table and he sat up. I got on my knees and got at her level. "Hi, Tracie." "Hi, Auntie!" She said again with a smile. "Where is my mommy?" I hesitated. "Well... You know your mommy is a hero. She saves a lot of people." I said. "Yeah! She said she's super-mom." "Well, your mommy was tired. She took too many hits. She got hurt." Tracie was confused, and I was tearing up. "Tracie, you precious girl. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." I said, starting to cry. Tracie couldn't seem to figure it out. "Why are you sad?" She asked. She dropped her crayons and paper and hugged me. "Don't be sad." She said. I pushed her off me. "Baby... I failed your mom. She's gone. I let her down." "She's always at other planets," Tracie said. "That's not what I mean. I don't know... I don't know how to say it." James slid off the table and slid over to us. "James, you're hurt." "You're hurt worse. Let me." He said. "Hey, little firecracker." He said to Tracie. "Why is Valerie sad?" She asked. I hugged her again, holding onto her tightly. I wanted to protect her forever. "She just loves you a lot. So she's sad because she doesn't want to hurt you." "She's not hurting me." "I know. But... There's something about your mommy you have to know." He said. I looked into her eyes. She was nervous. "Where is she?" "She got hurt. She... She's gone. Forever. She can't come back." He said. She processed what she heard. "Why?" She asked, scared. "I... She died. She sacrificed herself." He said finally. Tracie understood. She started to cry. She wailed. I held her tightly, letting her cry into my shoulder. I rubbed her back. "I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry." I said. I stayed there with Tracie for a long time. I picked her up and carried her to a chair. Derek took James to the infirmary. "Auntie?" Tracie asked through her crying. "Yes?" "I miss my mommy." She said. That line left me speechless. I felt like my lungs were frozen. I kept her close to me as she cried. "I miss her too," I said after a while. In an hour, Tracie tired herself out. I carried her to my room and set her up in my bed so I could keep an eye on her. Edith had no family records, so it was the moment I set Tracie in my bed that I decided I would adopt her. Her father had gotten close to Edith to try to take us apart from the inside out and nearly succeeded. He hadn't planned to get her pregnant, but apparently, Edith had wanted for a kid for a while. It was when the father put the child at risk when Edith realized he was a bad man. When he threatened Tracie... I was ready to freeze him right then and there, but Edith turned him to ash long before I could. I looked at her, so peaceful and comfortable. I swept her hair out of her face and put the covers over her. "You still have me. You will always have me." "I promise.