“That’s not what I meant. I kept thinking about Oscar Franklin in Virginia. The wrongness I felt from what he’d been doing.” She shuddered. “I’ve been walking the streets at night or wandering through the hotels. Vegas is quite the sexually active city. Twice so far, I’ve sensed that same wrongness, that utter perversion of what should be a beautiful thing. Once was a man beating a prostitute. The other was a drunk boyfriend.”

I glanced at Nidhi, who shook her head ever so slightly. This was news to her as well.

“What did you do?” asked Nidhi.

“I stopped them. I made sure the victims were all right, and then I offered to help them get home, or to go with them to the police if they wanted. Neither of them did.” She shook her head. “I know having a vigilante running loose isn’t the publicity New Millennium needs, but I feel like this is something I have to do.”

“Well,” I said slowly, “we should probably get you a mask.”

“No capes,” added Nidhi.

“You’ll want to switch weapons. You’re not exactly unknown, and there aren’t many dryads running around with wooden swords.”

“I’ll get you cards with information about rape crisis hotlines,” said Nidhi. “People sometimes change their minds about talking a day or two after the assault.”

“What if we got you a light saber?” I asked. “A green one, naturally.”

“Have you thought of a name?”

Lena pulled away from us both. “You’re not angry?”

Nidhi smiled. “I get to bed a superhero. What I’m feeling is not anger.”

“I trust you,” I said. “We both do. You could have killed Franklin, but you didn’t. As the administrator of this facility, I can’t officially acknowledge or condone what you’re doing. As your lover, I’m nothing but proud.”

“Thank you.” She kissed us both.

“Uncle Isaac!” Lex, Toby, and Angie had emerged from the Metrodora Tower. Lex was running toward me.

“I may have let them know you were back,” Lena whispered.

“Thanks.” I grinned and hugged Lex. “I take it the follow-up check went well? Look how fast you can run! Are you sure we didn’t accidentally give you bionic legs?”

“Dad says we can’t stay here forever,” she pouted.

“You’re welcome to stay a while, but your parents have friends and family and work back home, and what about you? You’ve got school to catch up on, and friends to see, right?”

“I have friends here, too,” she protested. “One of them made me this tiara. She pulled it out of her cellphone!”

That would be Jeneta. Given all they had been through, they were one of the first families I’d invited to join us. Only Jeneta and her father had accepted so far.

Toby clapped me on the shoulder. “I half expected them to throw you in jail and toss away the key.”