As we pile into Philippa's electric car, she turns to grin at us.

  "Let's go! So, I think we're gonna start with Tricia's pick for our new home, since it's the nearest!"

  Revving the engine, Philippa's zippy little vehicle wheels out of its parking space and rolls off towards the freeway, joining the exodus as Tricia, in the front passenger-seat, jams her finger onto the radio button, causing a peppy rock bald from the 90's to fill the car and us all to start singing along as Philippa weaves between slower traffic, her snow-white hair sending scattered motes of reflected light cascading through the car's interior, turning her into a living disco-ball.

  Niko's even singing along, her voice just as melodic, as she belts out the chorus with more passion and vigour than any of us, her face cracking into a huge grin.

  I whoop along, bouncing in my seat as I raise my hands, shimmying as much as I can without hitting my head on the car roof, or accidentally clotheslining Niko with an overzealous dance move.

  Philippa's driving is barely within the speed limit, as she leads our impromptu girl-band in another song, all four of us just absolutely singing at the tops of our lungs, as the freeway curves, drawing us closer to our destination, an hour passing without any warning as we hit the city centre without slowing.

  While I could have flown here in about five minutes, I'd much rather spend time with my sisters, relishing the close-knit family ties that bind us, taking the lead vocals as one of my favourites comes on the airwaves.

  Twenty minutes or so ter, Philippa turns, pulling us off the freeway and into the city centre proper, following her satnav, the directional marker guiding her towards the first of our destinations for today.

  Pulling up outside a building, Philippa gets out, approaching a woman in a neat red skirt and bzer and a white blouse, her long blonde hair neatly braided. After talking for a couple of minutes, my sister nods, then hurries back to the car.

  "Okay, this is our first stop, let's have a look at this one, okay?"

  While I get out and hurry to bring Tricia's crutch round to her, Niko gets out and helps me support our recovering sister as she adjusts her grip on the tool. We follow Philippa as she brings us over to the estate agent.

  "These are my sisters, and we're all going to be having a look! It's got to be a unanimous agreement, though. We all need to be happy with our new home!"

  "Understood! Right, let me show you around, and if you aren't satisfied, we'll move on to your next location! Please, follow me!" The estate agent smiles professionally, turning on her heels and making her way into the apartment complex.

  With a fsh of her I.D badge, she leads us to the elevator and it hums quietly, whisking us up to the sixth floor.

  However, while the apartment is lovely, it's not quite right. The kitchen is a little too small to really give enough room for more than one person to cook at a time, and the bathroom is a little small for four girls. Plus, the balcony is nonexistent, which isn't great for summertime.

  The next apartment, while equally nice, also cks that crucial 'something' that we're all looking for, even though the kitchen is bigger and there's a proper balcony in this one.

  The third apartment, however, is PERFECT. Individual bedrooms with enough space for our belongings, a rge enough kitchen for multiple cooks at once, a big bathroom with a lovely deep tub, and a balcony big enough for the four of us to fit a small table and chairs in, just right for summer drinks and snacks!

  And, the best part of it all in my opinion, is the rooftop garden just above it, since we're on the top floor! With rooftop access at all hours, I can fly if I need to!

  I turn to my sisters, smiling at them. "I think this is the one!"

  Philippa giggles as Tricia nods. "I agree with Rika, guys. This one's got everything we asked for, all included."

  Niko nods. "I... like the garden. It's.... perfect!"

  With all of us in agreement, Philippa turns and smiles at the estate agent. "We'll take it!"

  The young woman straightens, clearly having expected us to reject another apartment. "Oh, wonderful! Now, we can set up a monthly payment pn, if you'd be interested in-"

  Philippa's smile widens. "No, we'll pay it in one go. How much?"

  The woman's eyes bug out slightly. "Are... are you sure?? This one, taking its prime location and the nearby amenities into consideration, as well as the nearest college being one of the best around.... you'd be looking at... 10, 789,684 in total..."

  Philippa, Tricia, and Niko all share a look, and grin. "Sounds reasonable!"

  I stifle a giggle, feeling bad for the estate agent as she stares in shock at my three sisters. The poor woman has no idea what she's gotten herself into with them!

  While Philippa opens her banking app, Tricia leans in. "We've already sent her our shares, so she'll be able to pay it all off in one go! This is going to be our new home!"

  Niko leans in. "Then... new college... for you. We... already have three... shortlisted.... that will.... let you start whenever.... you're back from your training!"

  I hug them both, while Phili finalizes the paperwork, putting our names down on the deed of ownership, and, once the estate agent has fled, probably starting to hyperventite from the stress of making a sale of this magnitude, she turns to me.

  "And I have a gift for you, little sis!" She winks, reaching into the stack of papers she's been carrying the whole time, pulling out a rge cream envelope and handing it to me.

  Setting it on the kitchen table, I make sure we're alone, before extending one of my cws and slitting the top open neatly. Inside are....

  A new passport, a new birth certificate, and every other form of identification I could ever need. All with my picture on, all with my REAL name and gender, and my date of birth.

  I stare at them, then at Philippa. "How?! What?? Who???"

  She smiles. "I have a few friends in the Association, and one of them, Flicker, well... she's REALLY good at editing data. So, according to every single document that currently exists, there's never been anyone OTHER than Rika Crane. Even physical documents that were already made before get retroactively altered to match!"

  Letting out a squeal of joy, I drop the documents on the table and fling myself at Philippa, hugging her as I babble, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Over and over again, her ugh filling the room as she hugs me back.

  "You're welcome, baby sister! Now, let's get lunch, and we can buy new stuff to set up here. We did bring a few things that can't be repced, but everything else is surplus!"

  I bite my lip. "Well, I definitely will need a new wardrobe. My, um... bra is a bit tighter than it used to be...."

  My sisters all start giggling, and I join in, as we each cim our new front-door keys and the elevator card that allows us access to our brand-new home.

  While Niko and I carry in the few boxes from the trunk of Phili's car, she begins prepping a section of the main room with Tricia's limited assistance, setting up a series of monitors, a digital keyboard, and three seperate power-rigs to keep it running at peak performance.

  I stare at it. "What the heck is that??"

  Tricia smiles. "It's our uplink to the Association's database! All our hunt-requests come through it. We've been members for years, but you're not... licensed, I guess the best word would be. We'll have to change that soon, but first, we just need to get established. We've all had jobs over here before, so us moving this way on a permanent basis won't be too much of an issue."

  I nod. "And that brings me to Question The Second: what IS the Association?"

  Niko carefully sets down the st box.

  "The Association is... an organization with ties... to every group out there like.... ours. They have magical girls, mages,.... vampires and werewolves,.... a lot of different kinds of people.... all devoted to stopping the monster incursions...."

  She smiles at me. "The Drakeblooded Cities.... have a representative there, but that means.... She'd be responsible for you, if... she weren't already..."

  I frown, then gasp. "Aurexiar!"

  "Yep! Got it in... one!"

  I smile. "Well, that expins why she found me! She said she was here on business when I met her, after all."

  Tricia cps her hands. "Aaaand we're linked! All systems running green across the board! Let's notify them about our newest member and my return to active service, as well as put in for a job or two!"

  I giggle at her obvious enthusiasm. "I'll go with Tricia! I'm gonna show her what I can do! It's not fair that she's the only one who hasn't seen me kick some ass!"

  Tricia's fingers fly over the keyboard, her light, sandy-brown hair framing her pretty face as she sends off a surprisingly long message to whoever's on the other end.

  A few minutes ter, a chime comes from the monitor, and Tricia leans in, reading through the lines of text that appeared beneath the message she'd sent.

  "Okay, they're congratuting me on my recovery, and on 'recruiting' Rika to join, and will request a formal meeting at some point. They've approved of our move, and will send over the avaible jobs, with baby sis marked as a 'prospective' for the time being."

  I grin. "How about we request an immediate meeting? Is there, like.... a branch office or something we can visit? The sooner we get me registered with them, the harder it'll be for them to get rid of me!"

  Tricia grins. "On it! Let's see..... and... there! Sent!"

  Ten minutes pass before the screen chimes again, and Tricia hobbles over to investigate, turning her head. "They're okay with it! You'll have to show off your powers, and so will I, but they're prepared to certify you today!"

  I beam. "Do I get a cool superhero name, or anything??"

  That sets Philippa off in a giggle-fit, as Niko joins in, while Tricia ughs, "No, no superhero names! We're supposed to be incognito, not get caught and have to set up merch deals!"

  I pout. "Booooo, me!" Before breaking into giggles myself. Recovering shortly after, I smile. "If we're going to need to show off my powers, I'd better wear my training gear!"

  Philippa tilts her head. "Won't any set do?"

  I shake my head at her. "No, the stuff I wear when Jekk and Skadi train me is way more durable than anything humans have, and it can even repair itself overnight, thanks to dragon magic! It's how I haven't destroyed fifty sets of workout clothing by now!"

  Philippa smirks at me. "Good job we brought some of your stuff with us, then! Pick your bedroom and set up, Rika, then we'll head to the nearest Association office."

  I smile and quickly choose the room I want, before changing into my combat gear, the form-fitting bck material like a second skin. I've grown so used to wearing it that I barely notice it anymore, and sling a jacket on to hide the wing-slits, tugging the back of my training pants up a little higher, since I don't have my tail right now.

  My sisters admire my workout clothing as I step out and shut my door. Philippa smiles. "I'll take you, since I'm TECHNICALLY our leader, and Tricia can't drive again yet. Niko's going to go through the jobs and see what we can take on, and we'll pick up pizza on the way back. Let's go!"

  The Association offices look like... any other office building, which I guess makes sense. They can't exactly advertise themselves, since monsters aren't supposed to exist, according to the general popuce. Not even the majority of the government is aware of the true function of this mysterious group.

  Leading Tricia and I into the lobby, Philippa approaches the reception desk, fshes an I.D card or something, and speaks quietly. The young man nods, and stares at me for a few moments.

  Then, he holds up a bnk card that slowly changes to have my face on it, along with a series of numbers and letters on it.

  "You know where to take her, Ms. Crane. The Grand Incantor is ready, don't keep her waiting."