To Stella, it felt a bit like the first day of school as a kid.

Waking up bright and early, spending far too long getting ready, double-checking and triple-checking that she had everything... she had to remind herself that she already passed the test. P.R.O.C. found her worthy, with both the mindset and the abilities of a fledgling hero, ready to do her part to defend the city from evils both great and small. Probably small for the time being, she wasn't exactly a force to be reckoned with yet, but Stella was learning every day. Learning, and getting stronger.

The strangest part of it all was going out in the morning, all suited up and masked as Butterfly. Stella had gotten so used to nighttime excursions with her uncle Kenta, wrapped in shadows and emerging only to strike when the bad guys least expected it. She didn't really feel like a superhero in broad daylight, where anyone could see her coming, more like just a girl in a tight black-and-blue costume, on her way to a convention or something.

She had to take public transit to Atlas Park from her teeny tiny place in Brickstown, sitting quietly in a corner of a monorail tram and wondering why no one was giving her any weird looks. She supposed it wasn't uncommon for them to see people in fancy costumes here in Paragon City, where there were more super-powered individuals than anywhere in the world. She busied herself with thoughts of all the fascinating people she was about to meet, the bizarre powers they might have, and the important work she was about to get started on. [i]Maybe someday soon I'll be able to float across the entire city, like Uncle Kenta said Mom could do.[/i]

She couldn't do that yet, though, so she had to walk from the monorail station into Atlas Park, keeping her magical fans folded up and sheathed at her thighs. She was right on time as she made it to the town hall, just a few minutes to spare, and she jogged excitedly up the steps to the great double doors, pulling one side open just enough for her to slip inside.