Although he liked the privacy of Hewkin Manor and the view from his family's Arcana City penthouse, Chase couldn't say that he wasn't enjoying life in his little corner of the Daylight Palace. His location in the center of the city made superhero-ing quite convenient and he had his own private space as well as easy access to the palace's bustling lower floors. 

Lord Evarbor had stepped down as Prime Minister of Arcana soon after Roy's death, and the Arcanese electorate named Chase's father as his successor, adding to the High General's already hefty list of responsibilities. In his own words, Henry Hewkin was "far too busy" to have his "twenty-two year old son moping around the house," so Chase was grateful when Juliana offered him the opportunity to move in with her. 

Now, as he rolled over in bed for what felt like the millionth time in the past five minutes, Chase looked longingly at the gossamer curtains that hung over his french door and the inviting wraparound balcony that loomed beyond. He knew he should get some sleep, with the Royal Academy's annual alumni reception being the next day and all, but it was pretty much a given that mathematicians were insomniacs. Or at least, that was the excuse he gave himself. 

Rolling out of bed, he pulled on the bathrobe he'd left laying on a chair and approached the door. It was cold enough outside to make him consider going back in to get a coat, but not so cold that his lazy self was actually convinced to do it. As he strolled down the length of the balcony, he found himself getting further away from his own rooms and closer to the royal quarters. 

Great minds think alike, he thought to himself at the sight of Juliana standing on the balcony in front of her own bedroom. As usual, she looked much more put together than Chase did. She was already dressed for the day in a striking blue blouse and black skirt, and she sipped from a cup of tea as she looked out into the distance. 

"Couldn't sleep?" Chase asked as he paused beside her, following her gaze to the sun that was just beginning to appear over the horizon. It crept slowly along the city's furthest buildings, illuminating them with soft, reddish-purple hues. 

"I gave up on sleep a long time ago," Juliana sighed, running her hand through her hair. She paused where her dark locks ended just below her shoulders, momentarily forgetting that she'd chopped off half her hair a few weeks ago. Understandably, her waist-length waves hadn't exactly been practical for flying around the city at fifty miles per hour. It just doesn't flow effortlessly in the breeze like it does in the movies, she'd commented with her mouth full of hair after a particularly windy flight. 

"You should try to get some rest. We've gotta go to that alumni reception today, remember?" 

"I know. Apparently I'm a 'distinguished alumna' now, so I have to give a speech and everything." 

"Hey- you like to give speeches. And you literally went through your entire education from Kindergarten to college at the Academy! I went there for, like, a semester. If anyone has reason to feel weird about this, it's me," Chase pointed out. 

"You'll be fine! I've been wanting to introduce you to a lot of my friends, anyway. You may not know them, but they definitely know you, and believe it or not, they're pretty excited to meet you." 

"That... is not reassuring," Chase shook his head. Juliana opened her mouth to respond, but chose not to. Instead, she set down her empty mug and stepped closer to Chase, resting her head on his shoulder. For what felt like hours, the pair sat in silence, watching as the city came to life around them. There was a time when they would've forced a conversation in a situation like this, but they had reached a level of mutual understanding where the quiet between them was no longer awkward. Now, Chase was beginning to understand why Juliana woke up so early. It wasn't often that, in the middle of their busy lives, they found moments to just exist together. 

Their peaceful reflection was interrupted by the sound of roaring engines from above. Chase raised his head to see the PROBJet hovering just a few feet above his head. "Wait- what? Is there a mission? Where are we going?" he sputtered anxiously. 

"No, relax!" Juliana laughed as the trapdoor opened and a metal ladder unfurled from the Jet's belly. "This is our ride to the reception... because, as you're undoubtedly aware, Adrian's an incorrigible showoff." 

"Welcome aboard the Probability Rationalizing Operational Body Jet! This is Captain Harrow speaking. We're expecting fair weather and a quick fli-" 

"Oh, shut up, Adrian," Hayley rolled her eyes at the grinning young businessman in the cockpit. Both of them were already dressed in their Project PROB suits, although Hayley had pulled a blanket over her exposed legs to keep warm. 

"Wait... are we supposed to be in our suits?" Chase raised an eyebrow. Project PROB attended a lot of events as their superhero alter-egos- it tended to boost attendance, not to mention that it was a great fallback plan when they couldn't figure out what to wear. 

"We already are," Juliana grinned. "Watch this." As she sat down beside Hayley, she tugged on one of the pearls on her bracelet. Red and black plates began to flow out of the bracelet, washing over her arm and then the rest of her body until she was completely dressed in her Crimson Angel suit. When she noticed Chase and Hayley staring at her in awe, she spoke. 

"Remember my nineteenth birthday party, when I had so much trouble getting out of my dress and into my suit in time? I just feel like if I hadn't had that hindrance, if I'd been able to get to my grandfather a few seconds earlier... well, it doesn't matter now. What does matter is that I've been tinkering with our suits and our PW's, getting them to interface like traditional Order suits do. So now, we can be one hundred percent ready for battle at all times. Chase, why don't you try yours? Just push the hole in the middle of your right palm, where the darts are released from." 

Chase obeyed, transforming his gloves into poison dart shooters before pressing down on the dart hole. Almost instantly, he felt a slight tickling sensation as a familiar blue suit pressed up against his skin, rippling up his arm and covering his whole body. He turned his hand over, marveling at the strange sensation. He could still feel his soft bathrobe against his skin, but his suit covered it so thoroughly that he saw no traces of it. 

"Chase and Adrian, you two would still have to carry around your helmets, but this still significantly decreases our response time. And of course, it makes for a really cool-looking effect," Juliana explained. 

"And here we are," Adrian pushed the joystick downward as they circled above the Royal Academy's banquet hall, looking for a place to land. Luckily, they had arrived early enough that they could touch down in front of the entrance without obstructing traffic. As Juliana stepped out of the Jet, preparing to head toward the entrance, she paused at the sight of a familiar white Tesla. It quickly rounded the corner before stopping in front of the banquet hall. A tall man in a black suit and blue tie got out from the passenger's side, giving instructions to the driver and watching as his car sped away. 

"Max!" Juliana called out to the man. He turned around in a flash, a wide smile of recognition crossing his face as he made his way over to her. 

"If it isn't the Crimson Angel herself!" he said in his bold New York accent. "Feels like it's been forever since I was at the Academy. This place is bringing back all sorts of memories. Ah, and this must be the rest of the famous Project PROB." 

"I'm Chase- uh, Numbers," Chase stepped forward to shake Max's hand. 

"Max Thornton-" 

"Brand new CEO of Thornton Tech!" Juliana finished his introduction for him, smiling widely. "And he's doing a great job of it, too. I've heard sales for the new ThornPhone are through the roof." 

"Oh, it's all because you bought one," Max commented. "When a superhero has something, that automatically makes it a thousand times cooler." 

Max and Juliana walked into the exquisitely set up banquet hall, continuing to talk about Thornton Tech, as the rest of Project PROB followed closely behind. Soft classical music played through speakers on the ceiling, and Academy graduates of all ages sipped fruit punch from little glass cups as they spoke quietly amongst themselves. 

"Wait, Max, didn't you get married recently?" Adrian questioned as they took their seats at a round table.

"Oh, right, so silly of me to forget," Juliana jumped in when Max nodded his head. "Congratulations! Will we have the honor of meeting the lucky lady?" 

"Oh..." Max trailed off, the smiling dropping off his face as he looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "That's actually why I flew all the way to Arcana for this reunion. I need to talk to you guys. Maddie's... she's missing." 

"What?" Juliana gasped, lowering her voice as she leaned in. "That's dreadful, and so strange that we haven't heard. One would expect it to be all over the news." 

"I haven't told anyone. Not even the police." Max shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "It's just... well, Thornton Tech's new smart home security system is coming out next month, and we're really counting on pre-order profits this quarter. How are people going to trust my company's technology to protect their families when it can't even protect mine? It would be a PR disaster." 

"I see," Juliana nodded, crossing her legs. "So you think this is a job for Project PROB?" 

"Precisely," Max nodded, a look of genuine fear crossing his face. "My company, my life... everything is at risk. I have no idea who took Maddie, or what they want. It's been almost a week, and I haven't even received a demand for ransom. I'm really worried. Please, if there's anything you can do..." 

"We'll do our best," Chase affirmed. "We need all the information you have. When you last saw your wife, where you guys were, who you were with, everything." 

Max opened his mouth to respond, but Juliana shook her head. "Not here. We'll go back to headquarters after the reception. It's safer to talk there."