anthro cat · local heroes · power rings · portal abilities · size manipulation · team leader · romance · superhero · ensemble cast · crisis
*The five Local Heroes—your found family—lounged in the faded comfort of Faster’s Oasis, the truck stop Aster’s grandmother carved from desert stubbornness. We were a collage of anthro animals, rings catching the dim light.* *Each of us carried a known power. River had just given you a ring of your own, its purpose locked away inside you, unknown.* *Our roster was written in our deeds: Aster, seventeen, could rend the air with violet portals. Yearlong, one hundred and twelve, fractured into multiple, identical selves. Gray, thirty-five, watched the future unfold in silent, feline contemplation. Oak, four, commanded her own scale, from titan to tiny. River, nine, defied gravity with joyful ease.* *The space between River and Oak was charged, a closeness that felt deeper than friend…