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Lyra Reyes doesn't remember the first time she got her powers. The first time she looked at an animal and felt the need to resemble it, the first time her movements were followed by a white glow, the first time she was something more than a human.

She doesn't remember it because she was far too young, because she was less than two years old and those actions were easy enough for her to know already. She didn't need someone to teach her what to do, to show her what she had inside. Because she mimicked a cat meow before she could talk, and a bunny's jump before she even knew how to walk.

One random day, some time in the middle of the morning, she had simply started to be it. That's what her father keeps on telling her, because he remembers it vividly and he loves to tell her the story, over and over.

She was little and chubby, puffy cheeks and big blue eyes. A real life doll. Playing on the floor with her mother. Not a normal floor, but the GDA's grey, cold and hard floor. Which was built to last forever. Not a normal mother either, but a woman with long white hair and light blue skin, with big full blue eyes.

Her father was watching them from a couch, which was cold, grey and hard too. But he had a soft smile on his face, contrasting with the rest of the room. He couldn't see the greyish color of the walls, nor the emptiness of the room. All he could see and all he could feel was the comfort coming from the two people in front of him. His family. It resembled a big, strong hug around his heart, and he couldn't do much more other than smile.

Then the baby looked in her mother's eyes, and she caressed her daughter cheeks with her hand. "Ɱվ ӀìէէӀҽ ąղցҽӀ" she muttered, and it felt like a thousand voice speaking one over the other. A soft lullaby made exactly for that moment. And in exchange, almost as if it was a calling, Lyra purred. Like a cat. She purred, loudly, and her movements were followed by a white glow.

Her mother widened her eyes, she sent a look at her husband, who had pushed himself forward from his comfortable position, and when they met eyes they chuckled together. She motioned for him to come and he did, immediately, he moved to the floor, right at his wife's side. She grabbed his hand in hers, and slowly she brought it over hers. She made him touch their daughter's skin. She moved her hand away and she let him be the one to feel her. To feel the power pulsing through his daughter veins.

Right in that moment, Cecil Stedman felt like a complete man.

Lyra Reyes had never been a normal girl. She had white hair and big blue eyes, but not the icy ones that would make your blood run cold. No, they were the same color as the night sky, specifically in the moment right after the sun goes down. When it's not pitch black but not light blue either, in which you can see some stars, but not the whole constellations. The point is, sky-eyes and all, her appearance always caught attentions.

But that's the good thing about having powers, especially her kind, just a flick of her hand was enough to turn her hair into a light blonde. And her eyes a more natural shade of blue. It was easy for her to fit right into what most people recognized as normal, all so that she could go to school and do all the other things that defined a normal life. Play sports, instruments, go to concerts, parties...

But that was only half her life, the 'boring' one—Her father was all but happy about the nickname she had given to that 50%—. Which couldn't compete with the other side, she had never had one single doubt about it. From the first day, all she had ever wanted was to help the world, to use her powers to do good. "From great powers came great responsibilities" it was her favorite superhero's motto.

So she tried her best everyday. Not that she could have grown up much different, with her parents being one with the heroes' world and loving to show her the best of it. They were there during all her training, giving her tips and advice. But when tragedy struck, when her mother, his wife, had died and her father had to take care of her alone. They faced grief, and even if it was a big obstacle they overcame it, together.

She put that in the boring side of her life.

Because in the 'super' side there was so much more for her. In the 'super' side she could freely use her powers, flying so high that she could touch the clouds and forget all about the bad marks and annoying classmates. In the 'super' side there were other people like her, which were strange just like her, but they also fit right into society just like her. In this side she didn't feel alone nor out of place.

Because in this side there was Samantha Eve Wilkins, the sweetest girl she could have ever met. With emerald eyes and a big heart. Who understood her in a way that no man could have ever. Girlhood looked easy with the redhead. Together they discovered what it meant to be a girl, a daughter, a friend, and a super.

Because in this side there was Rex Sloan, who had immediately clicked with her. Who thought of himself as nothing more than an experiment, but she was able to show him that he could be much, much more. They had become friends in the blink of an eye, and they had swore eternal servitude to their friendship.

Because it was thanks to that side that she had met Mark Grayson. The dark haired boy who had her same dreams and purposes, who had never doubted her abilities nor her possibility to become what she wanted. Because his father was Omni-man, a man who could do everything he wanted. But all Mark could talk about was his new bestfriend, Lyra, who had a strange connection with animals and wanted to be a hero.

Because he could see the girl behind the powers—the girl who liked to sketch animals in the margins of her notebooks, the one who cared deeply and wasn't afraid to show it. He saw her for what she truly was: someone trying to balance two worlds that didn't easily fit together. And he didn't know it, but he was actually the bridge between those two worlds. The one thing that she could find in both her lives. Her rock. Her anchor.

And when it was Mark's turn to get his powers, everything fell into place. He had always made her feel steady, light headed. But now he was there, with her, on top of the clouds. Fighting and trying. Their dreams weren't just dreams anymore. And even if he showed the same difficulties with the balance of his two worlds he made her believe that she could actually be both, the classmate and the superhero—the one who didn't have to choose.

But there was always a shadow lingering, a feeling Lyra couldn't shake. There was something inside her that she hadn't fully understood yet—something hidden in a far, far corner of her soul. A part of her that was buried beneath the surface, calling out for attention. And a question haunted her: Was there a cost to being her that she wasn't ready to pay?

Being a hero wasn't just about being the strongest. It wasn't about saving the world or standing in the spotlight. Sometimes, being a hero means showing up even when you know that you can't win. It means giving everything you have—even when it feels like it's destroying you. It means fighting through the pain, putting yourself back together in secret, and still doing what needs to be done for others.

Lyra Reyes didn't do it for the praise, or for the glory. She did it because there was no other choice. Because heroes don't do it for recognition. They do it because they can't not. And Lyra couldn't stop. Not even when it broke her. Not even when she had to secretly pick up the pieces and keep moving forward, alone. Not even when no one else could see the scars.

Because that, that was what made her truly feel invincible.