Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a complete mistake. 

Well, it was the first time. 

Carla was minding her own business, jogging through the barrio late one night. Her hoodie was pulled up tight around her head to keep her ears warm from the biting October air. 

There was something so immensely comforting about being able to see her neighborhood through the quiet — well, as quiet as New York got — of night. So, Carla would lace up her tennis shoes at least once a week and go out for a run. 

Except, this night wasn’t like her regular runs. She had just rounded a corner and heard the unmistakable sounds of a struggle. It was just past midnight, so the streets were relatively quiet — anyone who was out for the night was at the bars and the clubs and would be for a few more hours, and anyone who was staying in for the night was already asleep.

Part of her told her to keep running. To just keep her head down and stay safe. 

Then, there was a scream. And Carla took off in a sprint toward the noise. A tall, shadowy figure was towering over a young woman. Not knowing what else to do, Carla ran at him full tilt, tackling him to the ground. There was the thud of him hitting the concrete and the clattering of a knife skittering across the alley. 

The girl — Carla didn’t quite get a good look at who it was, but at the end of the day, it didn’t matter — ran off. Carla managed to get to her feet, already feeling the bruise forming all over her side. But that wasn’t what she was focused on. The guy was trying to stand up, looking around for his knife. 

A dangerous mix of panic and adrenaline coursed through Carla, and the only thing running through her head was “stop him.” Then, muscle memory from the summer she took kickboxing classes kicked in. She managed to deliver a roundhouse kick to his head. 

There was a crack of sneaker meeting skull, and he crumpled to the ground. 

It turns out a head is much harder than a punching bag. A flash of pain traveled up her foot through her leg. She bit back a groan and took off back the direction she came, half-running, half-limping her way home. 

By the time Carla had collapsed on her bed and the door behind her locked and deadbolted, she was crashing from the adrenaline high. Her whole body thrummed with a dull pain. Legs were more akin to jello than anything else. Every step around her tiny studio apartment was shaky. Finally, she managed to pull off her workout clothes and get into the shower before sliding down the wall to sit, letting the water wash over her like rain. 

The water quickly turned cold — it turns out the water heater only had about ten good minutes of shower time before turning frigid, but Carla sat there as bruises blossomed all over her body. Her foot was various shades of black and blue, but it didn’t hurt when she moved it — it’s the little victories. 

The little victories quickly became what defined Carla’s life even more so than before. 

The morning came too quickly. She somehow managed to get ready and dressed and out the door on muscle memory alone. The dinging of the bell into the De la Vega bodega woke her up from her haze. 

Cuca and Daniela turned over their shoulders to look at her. “Ay, chica, you look….” Cuca waved her hand in the air toward Carla. She was grasping for something nice to say. “Tired.” 

Usnavi handed her a coffee cup with a look of pity — not that she noticed it. Carla was far more focused on chugging the café con leche. “It’s on the house. I think you need it.” 

She grunted in place of a thank you, wincing at the coffee burning the back of her throat. “I will pay you good money to start selling iced coffee.” 

Usnavi tilted his head to the side, internally running a cost analysis on how much it’d be to sell iced coffee. Then, the back door leading from the storage room opened to Sonny, who was practically buzzing out his skin. “Yo, did you hear what happened?” 

Daniela and Cuca’s ears perked up despite both of them saying “probably.” The joy of working at the salon was being in the center of the barrio’s web of gossip. There wasn’t much that they didn’t know. 

“Yuisa was getting mugged, but then someone came in and beat the shit outta the guy!” Sonny’s excitement over the news was infectious. Usnavi and Daniela both leaned in to hear more. “She didn’t see who it was, but they tackled him, and she got away!” 

“Ay dios,” Daniela sighed and looked up at the ceiling tiles, shaking her head. “This is the fourth mugging I’ve heard of in the past two months.” 

Cuca popped her gum between her teeth, “it’s never been this bad.” 

“And it’s not like new people are moving in,” Usnavi added with a nod at Cuca. Between the five of them, they knew almost everyone in the neighborhood, and with Abuela, they always knew who is new to The Heights. “Whatever is happening, it’s weird.” 

Sonny groaned, “who cares? We have like a superhero or something in the barrio! It’s like Batman! Oh shit , what if it’s Batman?”

The adults looked at Sonny with a mix of ‘ I remember when I was that young and naive’ and ‘w ho’s gonna tell him?’ Daniela let out a goodhearted laugh at his excitement. “Cariño, I don’t think a comic book character is stopping muggings in the barrio.” 

“Plus, if there were a random billionaire around here, they’d be trying to build a rocket to Mars or some shit. Not helping a bunch of poor people from getting crimed,” Cuca added, ignoring the look Daniela gave her at the made-up word. 

Sonny shrugged the excited look that only came with youth and the discovery of something new still on his face. “Well, whoever it is, I hope they stick around. I trust this dude more than the cops.” 

“Crime has been up too…” Usnavi said, printing off everyone’s lotto tickets. He looked up at the Salon Ladies. “But then again, you probably hear more than I ever do about this kinda stuff.”

The three women nodded solemnly. It was one of the worst parts of working at the salon. Sure, they had the lighthearted stories and knew who was sleeping with who, but it also came with people sharing all the darkness they’ve encountered in the world. All the hardship. All the pain. 

Everyone knew that Daniela’s salon was a safe space. Daniela made sure of that. She had crisis line numbers and always knew who had an open bed and a safe space if someone needed to get out of their situation ASAP. 

Daniela took care of her people. That’s what Carla loves about her. 

Speaking of Daniela, she wasn’t focused on the conversation unraveling in front of her anymore. Instead, she was watching Carla lean against a shelf, her eyes closed, brows furrowed as she rolled her ankle. Carla was checking to make sure her foot wasn’t hurting despite the bruises hiding under her shoe and that she could make it through an entire day on her feet. 

“Carlita, what’s wrong, chica?” Daniela moved closer to her, looking down at Carla’s foot. 

Carla froze like a deer in headlights, “nada, Dani. I just went running last night and think I tweaked my ankle or something.” She shrugged, trying hard to play it off. 

“Vamos, let’s go to the salon. I’ll check it out. Make sure there’s no swelling.” She snaked her arm around Carla’s waist to support her. And Carla couldn’t say no at the feeling of Daniela’s hand pressing into her side. 

Daniela took her lotto ticket and coffee in one hand and led Carla out of the bodega slowly. “I’m okay. You don’t have to do this.” 

Daniela blinked at her, shocked. “Let me take care of you.” 

Carla managed to slip out of Daniela’s hold. Shaking her head with a blush rising up her cheeks. “You always do. I’m okay, Dani.” She put her hand on Daniela’s forearm, secretly enjoying the feeling of how soft Daniela’s skin was against her palm. “It’s my turn to take care of you.” 

“Wait, what?”

Carla put her hand on Daniela’s cheek — something that would be odd for anyone else, but Carla was the only person who could be like this with Daniela. “Nothing, mamí. I just had an idea.” 

An idea was indeed had. Then, Carla walked by a thrift store and stopped dead in her tracks. 

It called to her like a siren song. She was drawn to it in a haze. “Hey.” She didn’t look up from the jacket in her hands as she called to the cashier. “This doesn’t have a tag. How much is it?” 

The cashier’s voice was bored. “I think it still has blood on it.” Carla just nodded, entranced by the men’s motorcycle safety jacket. She knew it was going to be way too big on her, but she didn’t care. Vanessa could help her out with that. “Uh… $50?” 

Carla’s head snapped up and looked at the cashier — a pimply teenager who couldn’t be more than 16. “I’ll take it.”

She nearly kicked in Vanessa’s apartment door. “V! I need your help with something!” 

Vanessa looked up from her desk — well, Carla figured it was her desk. She couldn’t see much actual desky-ness underneath all of the design sketches and fabric scraps. “¿Que?” 

“Can I tell you a secret?” Carla asked, slipping into the oversized chair in the corner of the room, careful not to disturb any of the half-finished dresses. “Like a real one? Like not even Dani can know.” 

Vanessa’s entire body language shifted to listen to every syllable coming out of Carla’s mouth. Daniela knew everything about everyone, especially Carla. “Spill.” 

“Promise you won’t tell?” Carla held her pinky out to her friend. 

“I promise,” Vanessa’s finger locked around Carla’s, and they held it there for a moment. 

“I was the one who took out that guy last night.” She held her breath and closed her eyes, waiting for Vanessa to blow up at the news. But nothing came. She opened one eye, trying to see what Vanessa was thinking, but instead found Vanessa holding the jacket. 

“What is this? Is this kevlar? Why do you have this?” Vanessa ran her hands over the front of the jacket. 

“Oh! Uh— I kinda just bought it. I thought that—” 

Vanessa cut her off with a hand in the air, turning to her sketch pad. “This is gonna be a bitch to sew, but holy shit, you’ll look so good!” 

Carla froze. “Wait, what?” 

Vanessa looked up from her pad, pencil still scribbling furiously. “You’ll need a mask. And some good shoes. Oh, shit, and so much more armor. You’re gonna get hurt. The guy last night didn’t have a gun, did he?” 

“Um, no. Just a knife.” Carla leaned forward in her chair to try and sneak a peek at Vanessa’s sketch. “Wait— a mask?” 

“And we should probs put lifts in your shoes,” Vanessa added, writing down a list to the side of her drawing. 

Carla put her hand on the top of the paper to stop Vanessa for a second. “What are you talking about?” 

She was met with a sigh and a good-natured eye roll. “Sweetie, if you’re going to be a superhero, we have to keep your identity a secret. Gloves so you don’t leave fingerprints, and so your knuckles aren’t fucked by the end of the night. Lifts, so it’d be harder to tell how tall you are. Mask because… well, duh. And you should probably wear your hair a different way.” 

She ran her hand through her hair, twisting the ends around her finger self-consciously. “What’s wrong with how I wear my hair?” 

“Oye,” Vanessa sighed, “It’s so long, you’ll get tangled up in it, and not to mention someone is gonna recognize it sooner or later.” 

“How do you know all of this?” 

Vanessa turned a shade of pink. “Sonny and I read his comics together sometimes. It helps my fingers move sometimes… you know?” 

Carla nodded, her eyes wide as she took in the rough sketch in front of her. “Nessa, this is— whoa.” 

It was nothing like she would ever wear as Carla. But still, it was perfect. The jacket was cropped and form-fitting. It was paired with black leggings with arrows pointing to the shins, knees, and thighs with a note about finding some armor. Next, a pair of combat boots with more notes beside them about ankle support, lifts, and shoelaces. Finally, it was topped off with a pair of padded gloves, a mask, and a hood. 

Everything was black and tactical. Far from the colors and ease of Carla’s everyday wardrobe. But then again, the point was to be as far from Carla as possible. “It’s—“ 

“Perfect? I know.” Vanessa practically vibrated with the excitement and passion that came with doing what she loved. 

She hauled Carla onto her feet and jammed her into the jacket. Almost an hour of chalk markings, pins, and whispered curse words later, Carla had been pricked and prodded, but the jacket was starting to take shape. From the glimpses she could get in the mirror in the corner, she already felt powerful. 

Vanessa all but pushed Carla out of the apartment. “I gotta work, chica. I’ll text you when it’s done.” 

“Oh. Uh. Okay” 

She peeked her head out before closing the door, “go take a parkour class or something. Ninja warrior that shit.” 

The door slammed in Carla’s face, and she was left standing in the hall, dumbstruck for a moment. A few clicks of her phone keyboard, and she had a new goal, and thankfully, there was a gym in Queens.

Chapter Text

The next night she went out, things were different. 

For one, she wasn’t in her workout wear. Instead, she was decked head to toe in a mix of Kevlar, leather, and various pieces of motorcycle body armor they had ordered off of Amazon. 

And this time? This time, Carla was looking for trouble. And just like the night before, she found it quickly. 

Another mugging, knife drawn and someone cowering in the shadows against the wall with their hands up in surrender. Carla dropped down from her perch on the fire escape. All it took was a kick to the back of the knee, and a well-aimed (albeit lucky) hit to the head, and the mugger was out cold. 

“Who are you?” The person, a younger kid around Sonny’s age, asked with wide eyes.

They reached for their phone to try and snap a picture. They were stopped by Carla raising her hand and dropping her voice a few octaves, adding a growl to it that sounded nothing like the Carla the neighborhood knew and loved. “A friend of the barrio. Do you need me to make sure you get home safe?” 

The kid shook their head, jaw on the floor as they took in Carla. She was a few inches taller than usual, which made her tower over them more so than she would have without her shoe lifts. The hood gave her an imposing look. Like she was hiding away the most dangerous secrets on earth. And the mask. The mask added the gravitas that Vanessa insisted she needed as a vigilante. 

She looked up at the fire escape and jumped, pulling herself onto it. A month ago, she couldn’t even do a push-up. But ever since that first night, she divided her time between three things: working at the salon, getting fitted — which included being refitted, and testing her new patrolling gear with Vanessa —  and training. 

She was a regular at the different MMA and Ninja Warrior gyms in Queens and Harlem. Sure, she was constantly sore, and a walking bruise, but the gains she made in strength and skill were immeasurable. She sparred with people twice her size and continuously won. And the best part about it was no one batted an eye or asked any questions. They only knew Bella — Carla decided a shortened version of her middle name was more than enough to hide her identity — the badass who would come and lay waste to anyone and everyone. 

Thankfully, Vanessa was kind enough to help tailor her clothes the more she trained. Of course, things had to be taken in and let loose to make room for new, bigger muscles. 

Really the only person who seemed to notice anything was Daniela. She breezed into the back room with a casual air that did little to hide her curiosity at the sight of Carla sitting on the floor, stuffing her face.

She had a calorie goal to hit every day that meant she was constantly eating between clients. 

“Carlita. ¿Que haces?” She slid down the wall to sit on the floor next to Carla. 

Carla tried to swallow to answer her boss and friend but ended up almost choking just a little at the feeling of Daniela resting a hand on her knee. “I’m eating lunch? What’s up with you?” 

The intense look in her eye made Carla’s heart rate pick up the pace. “That’s not what I mean. Mamí, you’re hardly around anymore. You’re eating like Sonny, and don’t get me started on your body—“ She cut herself off with a blush and she cleared her throat, eyes flickering down to Carla’s muscular arm. “What’s going on?” 

The inside of Carla’s brain was a flashing red alert, but somehow, on the outside, she remained calm. “I’m just trying to stay healthy, Daniela.” 

“I can see that, but where did it all come from? You became a gym rat all of a sudden.” She unconsciously rubbed her thumb in small circles on the inside of Carla’s knee. She knew it was meant to be a comforting gesture, but Carla’s skin broke out in goosebumps. “You haven’t gone dancing ever since….” Realization dawned across her face. “Ever since that guy saved Yuisa.” 

The blood instantly drained from Carla’s face. She was never a good liar. But when it came to Daniela, she had never lied to her before. She didn’t want to ever lie to her. “Uh—“ 

“Carlita, do you feel safe?” Daniela leaned in just a fraction closer. Carla could see the flecks of gold in her irises and the just barely there freckles across her face. “Because I don’t know what this whole… ¿como se dice?” A hand waved in the air as if grasping for the word. “Vigilante shit is about, but if you don’t feel safe, I can walk you home. Make sure everything’s okay. Even if you want to go dancing, I’ll make sure you’re safe, chica.” 

Her eyes overflowed with emotion and some sort of adoration that made Carla dizzy. She had wanted to kiss her boss so many times before, but it had never been this bad. Carla wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss Daniela, spilling all of her secrets in the simple pressing of lips. 

But she didn’t. She couldn’t. 

Instead, Carla dug her nails — now cut short and painted a simple pink so she didn’t break a nail every night trying to jump from fire escape to fire escape — into her palms. The pain wasn’t much, taking various hits every night upped her pain tolerance, but it was enough to keep her from surging forward and making Daniela hers.

She couldn’t do that now that she was fighting crime every night. If someone figured out who she was, Daniela would naturally be the first target to get to her. Adding any sort of romantic relationship, no matter how much Carla craved it with Daniela, was dangerous. 

Holding back all of the words that she wanted to say to Daniela (a few of them being declarations of love or something close), Carla smiled. “Gracias, mamí. Pero, I’m okay. I just haven’t felt like dancing much. I’m not in the mood to be grabbed at like that for a while.”

“We could dance together.” Daniela’s voice was small and almost shy, which was a word Carla would never use to describe the woman in front of her. 

Despite every fiber of her being screaming at her to take her up on the offer. To dance with her right there, right then in the middle of the storage room with only her racing heart keeping time. Carla shook her head. “Maybe one day. When things have kinda calmed down a little?” 

The hope in Daniela’s eyes flickered and slowly faded away as she nodded solemnly. “One day.” She leaned forward and gave Carla a quick peck on the cheek. Nothing like the kind of kiss she wanted from Daniela — it felt closer to how Carla would always kiss Abuela Claudia on the cheek — but still, enough to make her face get hot. She pushed up onto her feet and wiped the dust off of the back of her jeans. “Remember, you have Benny for your 2 o’clock.”

“So Nina will probably tag along?” Carla said with a laugh, feeling the tension of the room evaporate little by little. Daniela left the room with a short laugh, stopping for just a moment in the doorway to look back at Carla. She shook her head and turned, leaving Carla alone once more. 

“Yo, don’t take my cans, dude!!” Carla could hear Pete yell at the thief from two blocks over. It was an unspoken rule in the barrio — you don’t touch Pete’s spray paint. Well, unless you were Sonny. 

Carla dropped to the ground and took off in a sprint toward the sound of Pete’s footfalls. Sure enough — be it fate or her one dose of good luck for the night — a man crashed into her. Spray cans clattered to the floor as Carla managed to stay firm on her feet, the man bounced off of her and fell to the floor. 

“You know, it’s pretty fucked up taking an artist’s tools,” Carla growled, hauling the guy to his feet. “Do it again and I’ll break your wrist. Got it?” 

The man nodded with a whimper and ran off. Carla dipped down to pick up the spray paint and stuffed it into the bag as Pete ran up, out of breath and panting. Carla straightened up to her full height, holding out the bag and towering over the teen. 

“Here you go, Pete.” She gave a small smile. For some reason, she never seemed to smile much on patrols. “He won’t be bothering you again.” 

Pete looked up at her in awe. The full moon shone behind her, making her something out of the comic books. “Holy shi— La Luna.” 

“Wait what?” 

“Nothin’. Thanks for my stuff back.” He shouldered his backpack. His eyes jumped around Carla’s silhouette framed by the moon. “Can I—“ he pointed over his shoulder. 

“Oh, uh, yeah. For sure!” Carla said, her voice lifting up into her normal register. She panic cleared her throat and dropped down to her vigilante voice, “Be safe out there.” 

Pete just smiled, taking off in a jog down the street, “They won’t bother me when you’re here.” He turned the corner and was gone. 

The next morning on her way to meet up with Cuca and Daniela at the bodega, Carla passed a new Graffiti Pete art installation. It was a figure framed by a full moon. The Washington bridge and an outline of the city behind her. Underneath it in red lettering was “Protected By: La Luna”. 

She smiled the whole way to Usnavi’s. 

The whole salon was abuzz with La Luna. Everyone and their mother seemed to have a story about how they were saved by the badass in black. Carla smiled and nodded along, gasping when needed and supplying the occasional “No Me Diga” when it was called for. 

Internally, she just laughed at the sheer amount of people talking out of their asses about meeting La Luna while talking to La Luna. She made a list of people who told stories about La Luna and promised that each of them would meet the hero in some way or another. 

A few nights later, she sat four stories up on a fire escape. Leaning comfortably against the brick as she stretched out her wrists. There was the sound of footsteps that made her freeze, then voices. 

“Fuck, man, when I was hired I was told just to cause some trouble. Not have to face off against a fuckin’ vigilante. What the fuck is that?! Did he tell you about that?” One voice, a familiar one from a few nights ago when she stopped someone from trying to jump Benny. 

“No. All he said was ‘make it a hard place to live.’ And, shit, I can do that. It's getting beat up every other night that I can’t deal with.” This one was the same voice as the guy who had tried to rob Yuisa and was the origin of La Luna. 

“No guns, nothing that will draw the cops, nothing that’ll draw too much attention” he listed off, counting them out on his fingers. “Didn’t think to warn us about the fucking dude in all black.” 

There was a dark snicker from the other man. “Well, one of those rules is gonna be changing soon.” 

They both shared an excited look and went their separate ways. One headed to the club where folks were just now leaving, and the other to the park. Carla’s heart nearly stopped in her chest as she realized that Vanessa and Cuca said they were going to go dancing tonight. 

She scaled across rooftops at full speed, not listening to her muscles screaming in agony. She dropped down to the street and stuck to the shadows as she ran to the club. People started trickling out as last call was announced, and Carla scanned the clumps of people for her two friends or for the delincuentes, whichever came first. 

Eventually, she caught the glimmer of Vanessa’s dress as she was whisked around the corner by a tall man. Carla hugged the shadows as she followed closely behind. In the back of her mind, she prayed that it was just some guy that Vanessa was going to bring home. And then there was a muffled scream that made her blood run cold. All she saw was red as she ripped the guy off of her friend punching him in the teeth and felt a scary sort of satisfaction as she felt a few break under her fist. 

He managed to knock the air out of her with a hit to the stomach. The adrenaline coursing through her veins kept her from staggering back or even stopping her movement as she threw an elbow to his face. A sickening crack came from his nose as it broke under the pressure. 

The man dropped to the concrete and looked up at her with fear in his eyes. “Who the fuck—” 

La Luna held up a hand to cut his words off. “Oye tu no puedo hablar con ese pinche pedazo de mierda. Hacer eso una vez más con alguien y voy a cortar su bicho ¿Entiendo?” She grabbed him by the front of his shirt, hauling him up to his feet. “Now get the fuck out of here before I change my mind and cut it off now.” 

The thing that snapped Carla out of her rage-induced fog was a sob from Vanessa behind her. “Thank you.” Her voice was small between gasps as she cried. Bruises were already forming around her wrist and it made Carla sick to her stomach. 

“Hey.” She dropped La Luna’s voice and tried to comfort her friend as Carla, not as the person who just beat the ever-living shit out of her attacker. “Hey, ‘Nessa, breathe with me.” She pulled back her hood just a little so Vanessa could see her eyes behind the mask. “In… one… two… three… four. Hold… two… three… four. And out… two… three… four. Good. Keep focusing on breathing like that, okay?” Vanessa nodded. “Are you okay?” 

Another nod. “I didn’t want to keep dancing with him and he just—” Her sentence ended in a whimper as Vanessa tried to cover herself. 

Carla nodded. For once in her life, she didn’t have the words. “Do you want me to walk you home? Or I can call Benny and get you a safe ride home?” 

Vanessa’s eyes went wide, “I don’t want Benny to know.”

“He won’t. I’ll just tell him you had a rough night and want to get home.” She pulled out her phone from the inside pocket of her jacket. Vanessa kindly added it after the first phone fell out of her back pocket and shattered. “Benny, can you send someone to the backside of the club? Vanessa’s had a rough night. Mmmhm. Yeah just put it on my tab. Thanks, bud.” 

“You don’t have to pay for my—” 

“Yes I do,” Carla said, tuning into their surroundings for the incoming car. “I made a promise to keep you safe. And anyway, you made the suit. Think of this as part one of 100 of my payback plan.” 

Vanessa stared her down through bloodshot eyes. “You’re just like Daniela. Always protecting me and stuff.” 

“That’s just because we love you.” Carla reached a gloved hand out to wipe away the mascara trailing down Vanessa’s face, but froze halfway, seeing splatters of blood on the glove. She dropped her hand and sent a prayer of thanks as the sound of tires crunching on concrete got closer. “I gotta—” She gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. I can’t— We can’t—” 

The younger woman cracked a smile at Carla’s awkwardness, “you’re fine, you did your job, La Luna. Gracias.” 

“De nada.” 

Carla made her way back to the shadows before pulling herself back up onto a fire escape. Besides the small puddle of blood on the ground, no one would’ve known she was ever there with Vanessa. 

The next morning, she walked into the salon and was nearly tackled to the ground in a crushing hug from Vanessa. Carla held on to her friend for as long as she could, letting Vanessa decide when to pull away. When she did, Carla was faced with a confused Daniela. 

“What’s that all about?” She jerked her head in Vanessa’s direction as the nail tech went back to work. 

Carla shrugged, the ghost of a smile played across her lips. “Nothing. Just paid for her ride home last night.” 

Daniela’s eyes scrutinized her, looking for the loose thread that she could use to unravel the full story. But then Maritza ran into the salon, a little out of breath, with a huge grin on her face, “La Luna was at the clubs last night!” 

Things changed quickly after that first night. The criminals got worse. Meaner. Far more willing to take risks. They were hitting storefronts, trying to break into properties, and they had graduated from knives. 

Gunshots slowly became more and more common to hear at night. 

If Carla closed her eyes they sounded like fireworks. But the more she heard them. The more and more filled with dread she became. 

And not only were they armed, but they seemed to multiply every week. 

What started off as two quickly became four. Then five. Then ten. Each a little more violent than the last. 

Carla grew more and more thankful for the cold weather, sweaters, jeans, and jackets hid the worst of her bruising. And she took a few boxing lessons to get better at protecting her face. There were only so many times she could blame her clumsiness and tripping into a doorframe before someone got suspicious. 

And Daniela already was. 

Still, Carla tried and tried to stay out patrolling longer. She hardly slept, but she couldn’t live with herself at the thought of sleeping while someone in her community got hurt. 

Even being out every night for hours didn’t seem to help. There were rumblings of businesses thinking about closing. People thinking about moving. All because the Heights weren’t safe anymore. 

La Luna was out one cold January night atop a rooftop and watching her block. The Bodega was a common target for burglaries. She had managed to chase all of them off, but still, Usnavi had mentioned asking Pete to paint the symbol of La Luna on the grate just to scare people off. 

It was still early. Only about 10 pm and Carla noticed a light peeking through the grate covering the salon’s window. 

And then three guys rounded the corner. There was a rush of adrenaline that spiked through her system as Carla scaled down the side of the building. The glass on the front door shattered as she jumped down and landed on her feet and took off in a dead sprint. 

The only thought racing through her head was Dani. 

She scaled down the building as fast as she possibly could, landing on the sidewalk. Daniela yelled inside the salon as La Luna opened the door and ran at the first guy, taking him down to the ground. There was no strategy or plan involved — just make sure Daniela was safe.

His gun skidded across the tile as La Luna banged his head against the floor once. Twice. Three times. Until he went limp. She brushed her fingers over his pulse point, feeling his heartbeat. 

One of the other criminals tuned and saw La Luna over the body of his friend and went pale. He lifted his gun and pointed it at her, hands shaking as he took aim. “Stop!” His voice had a slight waver as he followed La Luna with the barrel of his weapon as she stood up to her full height. “Hands up or I’ll shoot.” 

She followed his command, glancing over his shoulder to spot his buddy ordering Daniela around in the office. 

“Okay, now get down, hands and face on the floor.” His orders and stance made him sound far more like a cop than a robber. “Slowly.” 

La Luna kneeled down and put her hands on the floor. Only instead of sitting still and risking Daniela getting hurt, she kicked her leg out around and hooked her foot around his ankle, pulling him down. She grabbed his gun and pointed it at him, a grimace on her face. Then, he looked up at her with genuine fear in his eyes, and she couldn’t pull the trigger. 

Whatever she was, she wasn’t a killer. 

Instead, she delivered a roundhouse to his head and he crumpled. It was as if someone had cut the strings of a marionette. He was splayed out on the salon floor, chest moving with shallow breaths. 

She dropped the weapon in a mix of fear and disgust and grabbed the first thing she could think of, the long umbrella some lady left behind years ago that was only used in emergencies. Most of the time, the emergencies were narrowed down to a torrential downpour and a perm that needed protecting. Not an armed robber. 

Squeezing her hands back into fists, La Luna made her way toward the office.

The only issue was, he wasn’t there. Carla looked around and only saw a terrified-looking Daniela who pointed behind the open door. The door slammed shut and Carla felt the butt of his gun connect with her head right where her mask covered her right eyebrow. She felt the sting of a cut but pushed through the pain even as blood trickled down her face. Her hand reached out and grabbed the gun on instinct, pointing it toward the ceiling. A shot went off and the ceiling tile crashed onto the robber’s head. 

The distraction meant La Luna could grab at his hand and push it far back, making a hideous crack. The gun fell into her hand and she took out the magazine and emptied the chamber as he held his wrist in pain. 

“You and your buddies are going to leave and never come back to this block again. Okay?” La Luna growled, eyes dark behind the mask and a steady stream of blood traveling down her face making her much more intimidating than usual. “If I see you anywhere near here again, I’m going to do a lot worse than break your wrist. Got it? This block is under my protection.” She grabbed him by the broken wrist and pulled him to his feet as he howled in pain. “Get. Out.” 

The door swung open as he scampered out of the salon with his buddies who were sporting some gnarly head bumps. 

“Ay Dios,” Daniela whispered, leaning on her desk and breathing heavily. Carla didn’t know what to do. She never stayed around too long after she saved someone. But those people weren’t Dani. But then again, she wasn’t Carla right now. “Gracias, por todo.” 

Carla shifted her weight between her feet and nodded awkwardly at her friend. “Just doing my job. Are you alright?” 

That made Daniela laugh. It wasn’t the small chuckle she usually gave when she heard a good joke or something especially scandalous at work. This was a full-on belly laugh that reverberated around the room. “You’re bleeding a fucking puddles worth of blood out of your face and you’re asking me if I’m okay? ¿Estas bromeando?” 

“Oh, this? This is nothing. You should see the scar I got a few weeks ago when some guy came at me with a knife. He cut through my jacket and knicked my ribs.” She caught herself from slipping into her higher vocal register that was Carla’s voice. “But you don’t need me to tell you about that one. Uh, I’ll just get out of your hair.” 

Daniela reached over the desk and took Carla’s hand. “Let me at least help you with the bleeding?” Her eyes overflowed with gratitude as she looked at Carla. “I owe you at least that.” 

Carla nodded, pushing her hood back a little bit and mumbling, “you don’t owe me anything. I work for you.” She was led to Daniela’s chair while the woman went out into the main room, relocked the doors, and grabbed the first aid kit. 

She sat there stock still as Daniela came closer and closer, digging through the kit. The woman reached a tentative hand toward Carla’s face, “is it okay if I?” She motioned taking off the hood. Carla nodded, thankful that she had her hair in a tight low bun that she would never be seen in during the day. 

The hood was slowly lifted away from her face and gently placed on her shoulders. Carla tried to keep her heart from racing as Daniela gently placed her hand on her cheek as she went to work cleaning away the quickly drying blood. “So, are you from around here?” 

Carla couldn’t help but smile at the casual nature of the question. It was more like Carla was a new client here for a dye job than the person who just beat three criminals to save her life. “You could say that,” Daniela smirked, tracing her eyes along Carla’s features. She was trying to place just who was behind the mask. 

“So any friends?” 

She shrugged. “A few.” 

Daniela hummed, switching to a new alcohol wipe. “Anyone I know?” 

Carla looked up at Daniela, getting a little lost in the care that shone in her eyes. “You know everyone around here.” 

“Apparently not everyone,” she said softly, brushing her thumb just barely across Carla’s cheekbone where skin met the mask. “Do superheroes have time for a boyfriend?” 

“Not for a boyfriend. No.” She felt a smile just barely play across her lips at Daniela flirting with her. 

“¿ Una novia?” Daniela’s eyes flickered down to her lips and back to Carla’s eyes. 

“I’ve had my eye on someone. But I don’t think she sees me like that,” Carla whispered. Her heart was racing in her chest as Daniela got just a fraction closer, putting her hand on the arm of the chair and bracketing Carla in. 

“She must be muy estupida .” Carla could smell Daniela’s perfume just by their sheer proximity. She saw her pupils dilate the closer she got to Carla, slowly but surely closing the distance between them. 

Carla broke out into a full smile at those words — if only she knew. “I don’t think she’d like you saying that.” 

“I don’t care,” Daniela breathed, mere inches away from Carla’s face. Their proximity asked the question for them both. Carla nodded just barely and closed the distance for the two of them. 

Carla always wondered what it would be like to kiss Daniela. But the reality of it. The feeling of those full lips pressed against hers. Being able to breathe in the very essence of this woman. It was intoxicating and far better than she could’ve ever imagined. She threaded gloved hands through brunette locks and pulled her in closer. Carla had never been a greedy person. But that was before she kissed Daniela. She wanted— no— she needed to be closer to this woman, to never stop kissing her for the rest of her life. 

And then her heart dropped into her stomach. 

Daniela wasn’t kissing her — she wasn’t kissing Carla. She was kissing La Luna. 

She was kissing the badass vigilante who just saved her life from three armed robbers. Not the younger woman who worked alongside her at the salon. 

Carla pulled back from the kiss and moved away from Daniela and out of the chair. “Uh— thanks for…” she motioned awkwardly at her face. The cut was still there and all it took was one glance in the mirror by the door to know it wasn’t going to go away any time soon. 

“Who are you?” Daniela asked softly as she tried to catch her breath. Her voice was lower than usual, sending goosebumps all over Carla’s body. 

“You’ll figure it out sooner than later,” Carla said with the uncomfortable realization that ‘sooner’ would most likely be tomorrow when she showed up to work with a cut on her face in the same spot as La Luna. She didn’t look back at Daniela as she left the salon and took a right down the alley. She needed to get home and try to sleep before what was going to be a rough day at work. 

Sure enough, as she walked into the Bodega with a cut bisecting her right eyebrow, Daniela dropped her coffee with a gasp. 

“¡ Oye cabrona! You got café all over my shoes!” Cuca whined, reaching a hand out to Usnavi who quickly handed her a towel. “What’s wrong with you!?” 

Daniela just stared at Carla, mouth open and eyes wide in shock. Her hand moved to trace over her bottom lip for a moment before she snapped herself out of it. “ Lo siento , I guess I’m just still jumpy after last night.” 

Cuca and Usnavi nodded in understanding as Usvani made two more coffees. One to replace Daniela’s and the other for Carla. 

“It’s a good thing La Luna came and got rid of those guys,” Usnavi said softly. It was common knowledge that Daniela became a mother to him after his parents passed, and the thought of losing her was too much for him to handle. 

Daniela flickered her eyes to him and then back to Carla. “Yeah. Good thing.” 

They all filled the time with some small talk and gossip until it was time for them to open up the salon. Carla went to the backroom to fill up the shampoo bottles and tensed when she heard the door open and shut. She didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. 

“Daniela, I can explain,” she said, turning around to face the shorter woman who was glowing with anger. 

Daniela lifted a hand to cut her off. “I don’t want to hear whatever it is you have to say. You— Carlita. You could’ve died.” Her voice cracked a little at the thought. 

“I know, but I—“ Carla was cut off again, this time by a stern look. 

“Carlita.” Daniela breathed out the nickname as she wrapped her hand around the back of her neck and pulled Carla down into a smoldering kiss. 

Carla was frozen for a moment. Lost in the surprise that this was what was happening. Daniela was kissing her instead of kicking her ass or giving her a long speech reprimanding her. Then she felt Daniela just barely lick her bottom lip before sucking on it, and she was a goner. Hands went to hips and the next thing she knew, Carla was carrying Daniela who has her legs wrapped around her torso. 

They separated to try and catch their breath, Daniela pressing her forehead against Carla’s. “You could’ve died and I wouldn’t have ever gotten to do that.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

Chapter Text

“I don’t want you to go,” Daniela whined as she laid on the bed and watched Carla zip up her boots. “Carlita, you could just stay here tonight… I’ll make it worth your while.” She grinned, letting the sheet that was covering her slip just a little down her chest. 

Carla barely managed to tear her eyes away from the tempting view of soft skin in front of her and focused on her mask. “Baby, I gotta go patrol. They’re getting ballsy, and I can’t let—“ 

“Someone get hurt,” Daniela said along with Carla. She sighed and laid her head back down on her pillow. “Mi vida, I don’t want you to get hurt.” 

Carla’s hands froze on her jacket zipper. She walked forward and pulled Daniela up into a kiss, relishing in the way Daniela relaxed against her. They separated and pressed their foreheads against each other. “If I get hurt, you’ll just have to kiss it better.” 

“Go. Just come back to me, please,” she whispered against Carla’s lips. 

“I will,” Carla promised, pressing another quick kiss to her lips, savoring it like it was her last. Neither of them dared say it out loud, but they both knew it could be. “I’ll come back tonight. But promise me you’ll sleep.” 

Daniela heaved a sigh, falling back on the pillow, hair splaying out in every which way, and Carla ducked out of the window, sliding it closed behind her. Carla took a few deep breaths of the cold January air as she climbed up the fire escape to the roof. 

Standing on the edge of the roof, she looked around, trying to sense any sort of disturbance in her neighborhood. And sure enough, there was the sound of glass shattering. Another deep breath, and Carla pulled up her hood, slipping into the power and fearlessness that was La Luna. 

Jumping roof to roof like it was a game of hopscotch, La Luna found the source of the noise. But instead of some big guy with a weapon and a quivering victim, it was a kid with their back to her. 

“Hey,” she called out, her voice low and gruff. “You shouldn’t be up here; it’s not safe to—“ the kids turned around with a huge grin and a file folder that was bursting with papers. “—Sonny?” 

He looked up at her, straining his neck just a little. “Whoa. You’re big.” His eyes shone in the moonlight as he took in the barrio’s hero for the first time. 

She blinked, but thankfully her surprise was hidden by the shadow of her hood. “Uh- thanks? Sonny, what are you doing up here?” 

“You know my name?” He stared at her, trying hard to figure out who was under the mask. If he thought any harder, Carla would’ve heard the gears in his mind whirring away. 

“I know the people I protect,” La Luna said. Deep down, Carla knew it was a cheesy line, but the way Sonny looked at her like he was meeting a celebrity spurred her on to play the part of a Hero and not just the woman in all black who was just trying to help. “Why are you up here?” 

“I want to help,” he sputtered out, scrambling to present the folder. 

He was met with a hand. “I work alone.” 

“God, you’re so cool!” Sonny whispered under his breath before shaking his head to try and clear it. Carla would’ve been charmed by the teen’s excitement over her if it didn’t have him waiting for her on top of strange rooftops. “But you’re doing damage control, not going to the root of the issue. Lo siento, pero, you’re just a bandaid smacked on a bullet hole over and over again, and the barrio is bleeding out…. Respectfully.” 

La Luna stood stock still, staring at the folder in his hand. “You have five minutes, and then you’re going home.” His smile practically lit up the night. “And I don’t know how the hell you got up here. But you’re not gonna do it again, bueno?” 

Sonny looked like a bobblehead with how violently he nodded his head, repeating yeah over and over again in quick succession while he handed over the folder. “Okay, so, I figured that these guys weren't from the barrio ‘cuz someone would’ve seen their face, and we’d all know.” He glanced up at La Luna, moving to stand beside her, and slipped out a paper from the back of the folder. “And these guys started causing more and more trouble, and people started to move out.” 

“Is that supposed to be the surprise?” La Luna muttered, looking over tax rolls. 

“No, because someone is coming through and buying out the places. Landlords see their demand go down because of the crime, so they are making the move to sell and get out and make money while they can.” 

She slowly looked up at him, the same name repeating over and over again on the documents as if it was teasing her. “It’s all being bought by the same company, isn’t it?’ 

“It’s all under,” he traced his pointer finger over the words on the title to a building a block over, “Red Sky Property Group. They’re based in The Bronx, but none of their phone numbers work, and their addresses don’t check out.” Then, he pointed to a dot of red ink on a printed-out map of the city, “this one's a Chipotle.” 

“So whoever it is, they’re smart.”

“And they’re driving people out.” 

La Luna snapped the folder shut, tucking it under her arm. “Alright, I appreciate the help, but you have to go.” 

Sonny’s face fell, “But—” 

“Nope. None of that,” she gently pushed him toward the stairwell, “I said five minutes, and you got that. I can’t let you get hurt.” 

“Because you know me in real life,” he supplied as her reasoning, nodding along towards the door. 

“Because you’re a kid, and you shouldn’t be risking your life.” 

“And you should?” He stopped in his tracks, causing Carla to trip a little over him. “I don’t know who you are, but these guys mean business.” 

“So do I,” La Luna said, giving one last push to Sonny and closing the door to the stairwell behind him. She flipped through the pages in the folder until she found that map again. And sure enough, right there, a few shops over from the salon, there was a bright red pen stroke, right over the new dry cleaners. 

Fuck. 

Before she could sit down and tuck into the folder of information in her hand, there was the echo of a gunshot bouncing through the streets and alleys of the Heights. Carla sighed and readjusted her hood before jumping down off of the roof onto the fire escape. 

Finding the source of the noise was easy as more and more shots rang out. It didn’t take long for La Luna to jump into action, trying to take out the weapons and the men holding them. She wove in and out of the trajectory of bullets and punches. 

While her friends were out at the clubs, Carla also danced — albeit in a completely different sense of the word. Vanessa and Cuca would salsa with their various partners, spun around, and switched hands to the drums' beat. Carla danced the tango with the same partner every night. She danced with Death on a cliff’s edge whenever she jumped into a fight. Their music wasn’t drums and guitar; it was the ting of bullet casings and the pounding of fists. One wrong step, and she would fall into the arms of her partner or off the cliff itself. 

And despite months of practice in her tango, Carla misstepped. 

The small sting of a bullet ripping through the padding of her jacket and the skin of her arm. A sting that was quickly overtaken by an immense burning. Adrenaline coursed through her system, distracting her from the pain of the gash in her arm. 

The next steps of her dance came in flashes. La Luna picked up the dance for Carla. Only La Luna didn’t show the mercy she usually did. A gun in her hand pointed toward the leg of a thug, and the trigger pulled by La Luna’s gloved fingers. A shot echoed around the alley as blood splashed from the wound. He cried out in pain, and his partner went pale, staring down the weapon in La Luna’s hand as he waited for it to turn on him. 

Only it didn’t. 

“Get him to the hospital,” she growled at him, baring her teeth like a wild animal. “And I’m serious. The next time I see you, it won’t be pretty. That’s a promise.” 

He dragged his friend to the mouth of the alley and looked back to where La Luna was watching them. She gave a nod and pulled herself onto the fire escape, doing her best to ignore the searing pain and weakness in her left arm. 

Daniela was sitting in the window with the lights on, looking out at the night sky for any sign of Carla. And sure enough, she saw movement along the rooftops, and she watched as La Luna slinked down the fire escapes toward her window. But as she got closer, Daniela could tell something was wrong. Carla was holding her arm, and from the sliver of light that shone on her face, she was pale. 

Instinctually, Daniela threw open the window to let her masked girlfriend into the safety of her apartment. Carla threw off her hood and a folder overflowing with papers to the ground, looking up at Daniela with a smile, “do you have a first aid kit, mi amor?”

Carla’s hand was bloody, and a tear in her jacket revealed a deep cut that was still oozing blood. “¿Qué paso?” Daniela couldn’t tear her eyes away from the wound as Carla walked around her bedroom like nothing was wrong. 

“Ran into Sonny, got some information, got shot, beat some guys up,” she listed through the events of her last few hours like it was nothing, like she was recalling a grocery list. “How was your night?” 

“You saw Sonny? What was he doing out so late? It’s dangerous,” Daniela asked, her eyes filled with worry at the thought of her unofficial-nephew getting jumped or worse. 

Carla moved her hand back to the cut, wincing a little at the pressure. “Can you help me with this first?” She nodded down to her arm, causing Daniela to remember the original question about the first aid kit, and she sprung into action. 

Easing Carla out of the jacket and not reopening the mainly clotted-over wound proved difficult. The adrenaline in Carla’s system wore off, and the pain in her arm went from manageable to unbearable as the sleeve got caught as it passed over the cut. She cried into Daniela’s chest as the shorter woman slowly worked the jacket off, leaving Carla in pants, a tank top, and a very bloody arm. 

Daniela gasped when she saw the injury, quickly pulling out hydrogen peroxide and murmuring to herself as she tried to figure out how deep it actually was. “Carlita, what did you do?” She looked up at Carla, sitting on the kitchen chair, her jaw clenched and tears streaming down her face. 

“Better this than it still being in there. I don’t want to go to the hospital.” She was trying to keep things light and breezy like this was just another day on the job. Like she didn’t almost die if the bullet had been a few inches over. It was as if she was treating this like all those times she accidentally burned herself on a curling iron at the salon, but there was a waver in her voice that betrayed her. “I have no idea how I’d explain this to the doctor. Plus, they’d tell me I can’t go out tomorrow.” 

Daniela’s hand froze with a butterfly bandage half-on Carla’s skin to try and hold the cut closed. “You’re not going out tomorrow night.” Just like how Carla was trying to hide the pain in her voice, Daniela was trying to hide her rage. To an outside observer, they wouldn’t have thought anything was wrong. But Carla knew. Daniela’s words were cold and had an edge to them, not at all like how she normally spoke to Carla, even when she was mad or frustrated.

She was serious. 

“I have to,” Carla said, trying to keep her voice calm and collected as Daniela watched her. “Sonny found out who’s behind all of this. The rise in crime. The people leaving the barrio. It all comes down to him.” 

Daniela’s eyebrow twitched, but her eyes remained serious and her jaw set. “And when you stop him, you’re hanging up the mask? Or are you going to call the cops with the evidence and turn him in?” 

Carla dropped her head, looking down at her hands in her lap. “I can’t do that.” 

“Why not?” Daniela’s voice was dark. 

“Because Pike has money. And we don’t know how far this goes.” 

The older woman gasped as she wrapped Carla’s bicep with an ace bandage. “No me diga. Pike? The dry cleaner guy?” 

“Apparently, it’s all a front. He’s buying up real estate while it’s cheap from the looks of it.” Her hands itched to show Daniela everything in the folder, but the thought of having to move her arm anymore was painful. “But I’m gonna stop him.” 

“And when you’re done?” Daniela asked, searching Carla’s face for any sign of surrender in her girlfriend. “When he’s stopped, and the barrio is safe again, you’ll be done with all of this La Luna stuff, verdad?” 

This was the last conversation Carla wanted to be having. It was one of the only ones that Vanessa and Sonny’s comic books never prepared her for. After all, Lois Lane never asked Superman to hang up his cape — to stop helping people. To stop feeling special. 

Carla shook her head, this time keeping her head up as she watched Daniela pace the room. “I can’t do that, Dani.” She pushed up to her feet slowly. She felt grounded as her girlfriend seemed almost frantic. 

“¿Porque, no?” She stopped pacing and stared at Carla. “You come home exhausted and black and blue and shot. Carlita, this isn’t healthy for you.” 

Carla chewed on the inside of her cheek as she tried to formulate her words. She wasn’t scared about what she had to say. That was the Carla of the past who would cry when she had to kill a spider or when someone raised their voice at her. Instead, she stood in Daniela’s kitchen, a new woman. 

One who had the confidence and strength of La Luna even during the daytime. One who had Carla's soft heart and kind nature even when she danced her tango with death when the sun went down. 

Carla took a breath and kept her voice calm. “I can’t let her go. Everything good that’s happened to me in the last year has happened because of La Luna.” 

“What? Like getting shot?” Daniela took a defiant step toward Carla, looking up at her with a desperate fire burning in her eyes. 

Carla mirrored the movement, closing the distance between herself and Daniela and losing her trail of thought like she always did around the shorter woman. 

“No, like getting you.” 

Carla didn’t notice she had said it until it was too late. She didn’t notice that she had given voice to the fear she tried to keep hidden and refused to face most nights when Daniela slept next to her. 

That made Daniela take a step back and look smaller than normal. A mix of hurt and something Carla couldn’t quite place across her face. Her voice came out in a mere whisper — nothing like Carla had ever heard before. “Carla...” 

But Carla didn’t stop. The dam had been broken, and she couldn’t stop even if she wanted to. “I’ve been in love with you for years, Daniela. Do you know what that’s like? Pining after someone every single day and then the one time you actually return any sort of interest, you didn’t even know it was me. You were kissing La Luna, not me. Do you know how much that hurt?” 

Daniela started at her, horrified. “Then why did you let this happen?” She gestured between the two of them. 

“Because being with you like this was better than not being with you at all,” Carla blurted out. It was like a trainwreck that she could do nothing to stop. Ugly truths tumbled out of her mouth before she could even think about them. “You liked me because of this thing that I did — not for me. But I just put that aside. Like maybe one day you’d like me for me. So, no. I can’t stop being La Luna because what if I do and you want nothing to do with me anymore, and I could lose the one person who makes me feel like I’m actually worth something.” 

They both stood in silence, the words floating between them, taunting them both for different reasons. Finally, Daniela sighed and dragged her hand through her hair like she always did when stressed. “Carla…” 

“No. You don’t get to stand here and tell me I’m wrong. I’ve been by your side for the past two years, and nada.” Carla’s voice was hollow. 

There was nothing more to say, and for once in her life, Daniela stood there at a loss for words. They stood there for a minute. Both said nothing. Until it got to be too much for Carla, seeing Daniela look at her like that, like she was nothing more than poor Carlita from the salon, and the longer Daniela was quiet, the worse Carla’s anxiety got until she couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed her jacket, managing to pull it on without reopening her cut. 

Daniela just watched as Carla threw up her hood and slid her mask on. It was as if every fiber of her being was screaming at her to say something — anything — but all she could do was watch La Luna slide out her window.

“I need to take tomorrow off from work,” Carla said softly. She couldn’t hide the waver in her voice. “I’ll see you later.” And with that, she closed the window behind her and disappeared into the night. 

“Be safe,” was all Daniela could manage to get out after the window shut, as she stood there in her apartment surrounded by the rubble of their relationship. 

Pain shot through her arm every time Carla tried to pull herself up onto the roofs of the barrio, but she didn’t pay it any mind. She felt hollow inside — replaying that look of shock and hurt on Daniela’s face over and over again. But, like any good hero, Carla tried her best to push the hurt down and focus on the job at hand: gathering intel on Pike and Red Sky. 

Her eyes were bleary from the mix of emotions and lack of sleep, but she sat on the roof across from the dry cleaners and kept watch as the sky showed signs of dawn. She knew she had to go home eventually and try to sleep. However, as soon as Carla made a move to stand up and head home, a familiar figure crossed the street, headed towards the dry cleaners.

Genuine fear hit Carla like a bolt of lightning as she watched Sonny creep around the back of the building with a baseball bat over his shoulder. “Mierda.” He disappeared to view, and La Luna sprung to action. It didn’t matter that she was sore and exhausted. She didn’t care that her arm was in constant agony. One of her people — her familia — was about to get himself into some big trouble, and she wasn’t going to stand by and watch as it happened. She scaled down the building as carefully as she could, trying hard not to make too much noise and tip anyone off. 

The only issue was, by the time she made it down to where she saw Sonny, the only thing there was his baseball bat abandoned in the alley. It felt like she had been dunked in ice-cold water — she didn’t even hear him scream for help. She searched the alleyway for any hint as to where the boy went, so immensely focused on finding some sort of clue that she didn’t notice the guy behind her until it was too late. 

There was a flash of pain, and then the whole world went dark. 

Carla woke up, her arm now a pulsing dull pain compared to the pain searing through her head. She felt the dried trail of blood down her face crack as she opened her eyes. Her hands were tied behind her back — zip ties, it didn’t feel like a rope around her wrists, and her head hurt too much to move. 

There was a muffled noise next to her. One that made her want to burst out into tears. “Sonny?” 

She managed to turn her head just enough to see the teenager tied up next to her. His face was bruised, but beyond that, he didn’t look too worse for wear. Carla closed her eyes and sent up a prayer thanking whichever guardian angel was looking out for him. 

“Hey,” She yelled out as loudly as she could muster. Her throat was dry and scratchy, but she did what she could to make herself heard. The way La Luna would. “Let the kid go. He has nothing to do with this.” 

There was the tell-tale crackling of an intercom system as the lights shuttered on one by one. “And why should I do that?” Pike’s deep voice echoed around the room with a chuckle. 

La Luna kept her voice calm and steady when all Carla wanted to do was cry and scream. “Do whatever the hell you want with me. Just let the kid go. People know who he is. They’ll come looking for him.” 

“And what about you?” 

“By the time someone realizes I’m gone, my body could be anywhere in the world or at the bottom of the Hudson, and no one would even know where to start looking.” The truth hit her in the heart at the thought—the thought of never laughing with Vanessa, Nina,  and Cuca again. Never having hour-long conversations on the stoop with Abuela. The thought of never bothering Kevin and Benny at the dispatch. No more conversations with Usnavi and Sonny while they ate candy in the bodega. 

No more Daniela. 

No more waking up and seeing Daniela in bed next to her. No more flirty jokes while closing up the salon. No more slow dancing at the club because “none of the boys can keep a beat.” 

“Fine. Let the kid go. But, I swear, if I hear you spread this to anyone, I will burn this city down to find you.” Someone came and cut Sonny’s ties, holding him by the back of his shirt, and threw him out one of the doors. 

Carla was alone. 

She sat in silence, eyes scanning the room. The walls were lined with clothes in hanging bags, ready to be picked up by their owners, and six very large machines. Footsteps slowly approached behind her — it took all of Carla’s self-restraint to keep her eyes forward. 

“Well, you must be La Luna.” Pike chuckled behind her as if it was some sort of joke. He fisted his hand in her hair and yanked her head back. “You’ve been a big pain in my ass these last few months. And do you know what I do with people who get in my way?” 

“Kindly ask them to stop?” La Luna asked, hope creeping into the edges of her voice despite knowing she was dancing closer and closer to death. 

The grip on her hair pulled her head back even more. “No,” his words made their way through gritted teeth. “I get rid of them.” He let go of her hair and pushed her forward as he stepped around to look her in the eye. “So, should we do this the easy way or the hard way?” 

Chapter Text

La Luna didn’t flinch when Pike got up in her face with a malicious grin. 

“I think we’re going to keep the mask on,” his voice rumbled in a near-growl from the depths of his chest. “I couldn’t give a fuck about who you are, but I do want you to know, you’re not making it out of here.” 

La Luna clenched her teeth. Be it her stubbornness or pride keeping her from giving him the satisfaction of a response. She wasn’t going to go out crying. Carla refused to die begging for her life. 

That thought almost flew out of her head completely when a bat came out of seemingly nowhere, arcing through the air, and coming down on her shin. She felt the armor there shatter under the impact. Sharp edges poked through the fabric and pressed into her skin. Carla barely had time to breathe before the next hit came. The same spot. But this time she heard the bone crack under the pressure. The now-ruined armor embedded itself into her leg. 

It happened again and again. Armor snapping. Bones breaking. And every single time La Luna stayed silent. 

Pike, who was panting like a bloodthirsty animal, was not pleased, to say the least. The metallic tang of blood floated in the air and the sickening sound of bones shattering filled the room every few seconds. Her entire left leg was already a broken and mangled mess, but he still wasn’t getting the reaction he wanted. 

Gliding closer to the chair, he took a handful of La Luna’s hair and yanked her head back, hard. “How about, one bone for every day you set my plans behind?” He grinned as a single tear made its way past the mask. “I’d say that’s about four months, does that sound right to you? And if you don’t make it through, well, I’ll just have to find someone else. Maybe the kid, Sonny. Or, what about that salon bitch? Daniela. You stopped my boys from robbing her, didn’t you?” 

The thought of Daniela broke the resolve Carla had. She struggled against her bonds, zip ties cut into her skin as she fought to stand. Never mind the pain she was in, Daniela couldn’t pay for what she had done. Carla wouldn’t let her. 

Pike just chuckled as he watched La Luna attempt to spring to action. They were only ten minutes in and there was no way she could possibly stand up, much less make it out of there. 

He put a hand on her shoulder and shoved her down, taking immense joy in the way her face went pale from the pain in her leg. “Time for the next one.” 

Daniela didn’t sleep. Not after what Carla said to her. It played over and over in her head like some demented record. 

Being with you like this was better than not being with you at all. 

I can’t stop being La Luna because what if I do and you want nothing to do with me anymore and I could lose the one person who makes me feel like I’m actually worth something.

What made it worse was that Daniela had said nothing. She had no words to tell Carla that she was wrong. That all she ever thought about was Carla. The way she lit up a room with her smile. The stupid little jokes she’d tell whenever Daniela had a rough day. The way she made Daniela feel like she was the only person in the entire world. How the first time she kissed La Luna, it was because she had Carla’s eyes. 

Instead, she stood there, in shock, while the best thing that would ever happen to her slid out the window. Not because Carla wanted to, but because Daniela never gave her a reason to stay. 

She played those words over and over in her head until the sun came up. She saw Carla’s devastated face every time she blinked. 

Daniela just sat there on the bed. She hugged what had quickly become Carla’s pillow to her chest until it was time to get up and get ready for the day. 

Her morning routine was done by muscle memory alone, and she didn’t even notice she was standing in the bodega until Usnavi put a coffee in her hand. 

“Yo, you okay, Daniela?” His head was cocked to the side like a confused puppy. “You don’t look so good.” 

Even though all she wanted to do was to break down and tell him everything, Daniela just smiled and did what she did best. She put on a smile and deflected. “Just couldn’t sleep, the gunshots were a lot last night.” 

Both he and Cuca nodded — when did Cuca get there? And why was she standing at Daniela’s right? That was Carla’s spot. 

It washed over her yet again like a wave: Carla isn’t coming back. The era of Carla and Dani was done. 

Usnavi opened his mouth to say something else, Daniela hoped to change the topic far away from anything Carla-related. When Vanessa walked in, accompanied by the cheery jingle of the doorbell. 

“Hey,” she smiled at the three people before a confused look wiped over her face. “Wait, where’s Carla?” 

“She wasn’t feeling good, she’s just at home sleeping. She should be back tomorrow,” Daniela lied. She tried her best to ignore that sinking feeling in her stomach but failed almost immediately. 

There were a few confused looks shared between Usnavi, Cuca, and Vanessa because Carla never got sick. When the flu made its way through the entire barrio, Carla was the only one who managed not to get it. Even as she nursed the entire familia back to health and babysat for a few parents who couldn’t afford to stay at home during the day to be with their sick kids.

The muffled sounds of someone rattling around the backroom of the bodega got louder and louder as their conversation went on. It wasn’t until Sonny burst through the door with a black eye and a bloody nose that the bustling store went silent. Even the random people from around the barrio who looked around for a quick breakfast or a box of tampons froze to look at the kid. 

“Sonny?” Usnavi rushed to his cousin’s side to check out his face but was pushed away by an increasingly panicked Sonny. “Dude, what—” 

“He’s got her. He’s got La Luna.” He wiped at the dried blood under his nose as he tried to catch his breath. “I think he’s gonna kill her.” 

Daniela’s world dropped out from underneath her. Next to her Vanessa gasped. Everyone seemed to talk at once, trying to get more information. 

“Oh God, Carla.” 

“Who has her?” 

“How do you know?” 

“We gotta help her.” 

“Wait,” Sonny looked at Daniela with fear in his eyes. “It’s Carla? La Luna is Carla?” 

Daniela nodded, glancing over at Vanessa who was pale and texting someone. “We gotta help her.” Vanessa looked up with tears in her eyes and her jaw set firm. “All of us, the whole Barrio. We need to help her. Now.” 

Usnavi, Cuca, and Sonny jumped to action. Cuca and Sonny went straight to their phones. They called and texted everyone they could think of — both left Abuela Claudia out of the loop for her own good. Usnvai threw cans of mace onto the counter next to the baseball bat that was always under the register. 

But Daniela? Daniela just stood there. Paralyzed by the fear that that was potentially her last ever conversation with Carla. Her Carla. She may never see her again. She may never see Carla again and she never told her how much she loved her. 

Her fight-or-flight instincts were screaming at her to do something. To do more than freeze while the chances of never seeing Carla again got bigger and bigger every passing second. Without another thought, she ran to the salon.

There were already a few people, including Abuela Claudia, waiting outside for her to open up for their early morning appointments. But Daniela didn’t give them a kiss on both cheeks and lead them to their chairs like normal. She hustled them inside and locked the door behind her. 

“Oye, Daniela, what’s up with you today,” Maritza said with a raised eyebrow. 

“La Luna is in trouble.” She could hardly believe that her voice wasn’t shaking when every fiber of her being. 

The women looked at her with a blank face — except for Abuela who covered her mouth in shock. “So?” Martiza was severely unimpressed. 

For the second time in her entire life, Daniela didn’t have words. “What do you mean ‘so?’”

Martiza shrugged and popped her gum. “Meaning we don’t know her. And she was gonna get in trouble like this.” A few women around her nodded. “Play with fire, expect to get burned.” 

Daniela stood there, silent. She couldn’t find the words to even begin to articulate the fear and pain she felt and why they all would feel it too. If they only knew the truth. But, thankfully, Abuela spoke up where Daniela could not. She always had this way of stepping up when Daniela couldn’t, she was a support — and a priceless one at that — for every aspect of Daniela’s life, but she had never been more grateful for her today. 

“We need to go help her,” Abuela said in her sweet calming voice that never failed to make everyone want to listen to her. “She’s been here for us all these months. How many muggings did she stop? How many times did you feel safer walking at night because you knew she was out there?” A few people grumbled in half-hearted agreement. “Just because she wears a mask doesn’t mean she’s not a part of this communidad. And we look out for our people. We look out for our barrio, no?” 

She looked around at the women and then grabbed a can of hairspray and the lighter that Cuca kept on her station for her occasional, not-so-secret, top-secret smoke breaks. A spray of hairspray turned into a controlled column of flame with the click of the lighter. Everyone jumped back to get out of the way of Abuela with a flamethrower.

“So, I’m going to go rescue her,” Daniela said plainly, “who’s coming with me?” 

“Wait, who has her?” 

“The same person who’s been buying up every building and apartment after our friends and family leave: Pike.” Daniela spat his name out as she watched the whole group’s faces fall. “And the longer he has her, the more likely she’s dead.” 

Darkness threatened to overtake Carla’s field of vision every second that she was tied to that chair. Pike was relentless. Every hit broke a bone, and she could hardly breathe from the pain. 

It hurt to move, to think. Still, she fought to stay awake. The longer she was awake the longer she was alive — it was the only thought going through her head — just stay awake. 

Then, the whole world erupted into a cacophony of light and sound. Sunlight streamed into the room with the deafening sounds of gunshots and yelling. Everything was so blurry, she could hardly focus on anything but the steady, piercing pain that thrummed throughout her body. But, like an angel from on high, Daniela was there. She was surrounded by a halo of light around her face, and for a second Carla felt all of her pain go away. 

“Dani?” Her voice came out in a sob. 

Daniela shushed her and took her face in her hands. “Estoy aquí, mi vida. You’re gonna be okay.” 

“Is this Heaven?” 

Carla thought she heard Daniela gasp, but everything around her was so much that she couldn’t quite tell. “Mantente despierta para mi. ¿Puedes hacer eso, cariño?” 

There was the sickening crack of a crowbar hitting someone in the head followed by a body hitting the floor. Carla nodded, trying hard to ignore the feeling of her heartbeat pounding in her for sure broken nose. She could have sworn she heard Usnavi scream something at someone and then the clattering of a gun skidding across the concrete floor. 

And then everything went quiet. And Carla’s world went dark.

The first thing she noticed was the smell of disinfectant. She didn’t have to open her eyes to know she was in the hospital. There was the steady sound of a heart monitor and the back of her hand hurt where the IV was taped into her veins. 

Carla took a deep breath in and coughed in pain from a few ribs that were undoubtedly broken. She slowly opened her eyes, trying to ignore the burning from the fluorescents. A groan slipped from the back of her throat as she tried to sit up in the bed, and the whole room burst into movement. 

Daniela was by her side in an instant with Vanessa and Cuca close behind. “Carlita, thank God.” Daniela breathed, taking Carla’s hand like she would break if she squeezed too hard. “How do you feel?” 

“Fuzzy,” her voice was scratchy from unuse. “How long was I out?” She craned her neck and saw both of her legs were in casts. 

“A few days,” Cuca spoke up, her voice wavering in a way that was very un-Cuca-like. Throughout their entire friendship, Carla had never seen Cuca this emotional. “They— uh. They had to do a lot of surgeries.” 

“Five,” Vanessa inserted, holding onto Cuca’s arm like it was keeping her anchored to the ground. 

Cuca glanced and Vanessa and nodded. “Yeah, five. They had to put in a lot of titanium rods and there were a few close calls—” 

“But you made it through, and that’s all that matters,” Daniela said softly as she tucked a piece of hair behind Carla’s ear. She turned to the other two women, “can you go get her doctors. They’ll want to know she’s awake. And call the family. Just the family. No necesitamos que todo el barrio lo sepa todo ahora mismo.” Both women nodded and left the room hand in hand. “Do you want some water, mi vida?” 

Carla nodded, trying to blink away the fuzziness in her head. Daniela moved to the foot of the bed where there was a tray of food and a small pitcher of water. Vases of flowers and ‘Get Well Soon' balloons took over nearly every surface of the room. A few crudely drawn cards with crescent moons that had to come from a few of the little kids from the barrio were sitting on the windowsill. “Dani?” 

“I was so worried, Carlita,” Daniela said; her voice was raw. Her fear shone through every syllable. Carla watched her hands shake as she poured a cup of water. 

“I’m sorry.” She knew she would never not be sorry for the pain she caused Daniela. 

Daniela hummed to herself and moved back to Carla’s side, gently sitting on a small section of the bed so as to not jostle or even touch Carla. “Sonny told me what you did. How you got him out of there.” 

The beeping of the heart monitor sped up at the mention of Sonny. “Where is he? Is he okay?” 

Daniela smiled and brought the cup to Carla’s lips, letting her drink slowly. “He’s fine. He has a black eye and somehow paid off your hospital bills.” 

Carla nearly choked on the water, “what? How?”

“Something about making Pike pay, pero, yo no se.”  Daniela shrugged and wiped her thumb across Carla’s bottom lip to catch the water there. 

“Dani?” 

“¿Sí?” 

Carla couldn’t find a way to string her words together right. But if that was thanks to the way Daniela was looking at her or the pain meds was anyone’s guess. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—” 

Daniela shushed her, “It’s okay. You’re here. You’re alive. It’s all okay.” 

She shook her head no. “Not about that. I didn’t mean what I said that night.” 

She watched as Daniela deflated just a little, her shoulders slumping forward. “Yes, you did. You meant it. But you don’t need to apologize. I just didn’t know that you thought that was why I was with you — that I only wanted you because of La Luna.” 

“You don’t have to say that,” Carla mumbled, squirming a little in the bed. 

“Do you know how much I love you?” There was a vulnerability to the way Daniela looked at her. It was like Carla was seeing Daniela for the very first time. Not the Daniela at the salon filled with chisme and life. Not the Daniela who would dance with her in the kitchen while they made dinner when they were together. This was Daniela at her core. No bravado, no walls, just Daniela. “How long I’ve loved you?”

The monitor beeped a little faster as Carla studied Daniela’s face. “How long?” 

Daniela looked up at the ceiling tiles. “Since you came in for your first interview.” 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” 

A small chuckle. “Why didn’t you?” 

Carla watched the IV as she flexed and relaxed her hand a few times. “I was scared.” 

“You? Scared?” Daniela laughed a little at the thought. “The woman who faced down armed thugs for months?” 

“That’s different,” she muttered, picking at the pilled lint on the blanket on her lap. 

“Mmhm,” Daniela hummed. Carla couldn’t tell if it was to herself or in response, but she guessed it didn’t matter much. Daniela loved her for her. Not La Luna. She said it herself, and Carla couldn't deny the butterflies that fluttered around her stomach at the thought. “I’m glad you’re awake, mi vida. You had us all worried there for a minute.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

Daniela slid her hand on top of Carla’s IV-free one. “Don’t be. You did the right thing. You were protecting the family.” 

“Still—” 

Daniela leaned forward and kissed Carla soft and sweet. “Stop. Please. We can apologize later, okay? Right now, I just want to focus on the fact that you’re here and you’re going to be okay.” 

Carla nodded, her forehead still pressed against Daniela’s. “Okay.” 

They stayed like that for a minute, relishing in their proximity without any sort of pretense. Nothing stood in their way. No evil schemes. No secrets. It was just them, and that’s all that mattered. 

They only separated when there was a gentle knock at the door. Vanessa peeked her head into the room with a sheepish smile. “Hey, the doctors are coming soon, and everyone is here. Do you want to see them, Carla?” 
 
“Por favor.” Carla said with a smile, turning her hand over to intertwine her fingers with Daniela’s as the familia slowly entered the room. “Hi, guys.” 

“¿Cómo te sientes, cariño?” Abuela asked with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. 

Carla looked around at her chosen family gathered around her bed. “I’m okay.” And at that moment, she truly meant it. 

Carla’s eyes fluttered in the morning light as her alarm went off. Just like every morning for the last three years, she sat up in bed and leaned over to turn the alarm off and press a kiss on Daniela’s cheek. “Buenos días, mi amor.” She smiled as she watched Daniela’s face scrunch up like it always did when she woke up. “I’m gonna go start the coffee,” she said with a small pat to her girlfriend’s thigh as she pushed herself up and out of bed. 

As the smell of café filled their apartment, Carla riffled through the closet, trying to find something to wear for the day. She felt a familiar jacket and pulled it out from its place in the back of the closet. It had been years since she officially donned the mantle of La Luna, but she always kept it there just in case. There were a few times when things looked like she would have to make a few appearances and get the gossip mill flowing again that La Luna was back. But, thankfully all she had to do was say something about having seen the hero the night before to nip it in the bud. 

La Luna had become more of a myth and a local legend than an actual tangible person over the years. Kids dressed up as her for Halloween, not understanding why their parents would bring them to the salon to get a picture with Carla. 

The truth of who was behind the mask was the barrio’s best-kept secret. Everyone collectively agreed to say nothing about how Carla was out of work for a few months after they stormed the dry cleaners to save their hero. They all nodded along to the story that Carla had gotten hit by a taxi and broke both of her legs. 

Sonny and Pete were even throwing around the idea of a comic book about La Luna. They hijacked her lunch break one day with a binder of illustrations and storylines and left with her blessing. After all, how could she say no to the person who designed her logo and named her, and the person who solved the mystery that helped her hang up her mask for good? Sonny had taken it upon himself to be Carla’s right-hand man while she was in physical therapy. He helped her with her exercises every day at home and was always around the salon after school and between his shifts at the bodega. 

Carla couldn’t help but smile as she took the jacket out from the closet and held it up to the light. She brushed her fingers along the places where the armor had been broken by Pike and smiled. Vanessa was insistent on fixing the broken pieces, “Carla, just because you’re not going to use it again doesn’t mean it should be all broken like that.” 

Her smile grew at the feeling of Daniela’s arms wrapping around her waist. A soft kiss pressed against her shoulder. “It may be a little too hot to wear that today, mi vida.” Daniela chuckled, her voice still rough with sleep. “Pero, you always look good in leather, so I’m not complaining if you do.” 

Carla hummed and turned in Daniela’s arms. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She let the jacket fall to the ground and looped her arms around Daniela’s neck, playing with the hair at the base of her neck. 

Daniela shrugged, “maybe.” She pushed up on her toes, getting a little closer to eye level with Carla. “But I like you better without the mask. And the jacket. And the shirt. And the pants. And the—” Her hands trailed underneath Carla’s shirt and up her ribs as she looked up at Carla through her eyelashes. Fingertips brushed over one of the scars littered across Carla’s abdomen. “Actually,” she laid her hand flat, feeling Carla’s heartbeat. “Maybe I just like you best as you.”