It was late in the evening and the siblings were finished with dinner. Amelia and Bro were in the kitchen washing dishes while Porter, Zaire, and Lily were watching television.
"Ain't technology great?" Lily said. "With our technological advancements, we can access the information we need in the palms of our hands, we can order food before entering a restaurant, and everyday work is done faster!"
"Spoken like someone who doesn't have to take care of what we're doing!" Bro called out from the other room. "Seriously, why aren't we using the dishwasher for this?"
"She does have a point, though," Amelia said. "With so many innovations, it's just a matter of time before we'll be able to decide what kind of weather we want for the day!"
"I really hope it doesn't get to that point," he muttered.
Soon, the dishes were finished and the two walked into the living room, where they also picked a spot to watch TV. A commercial for a buffet was advertising thirty-five percent off meals for families.
"Boy, that's a nice deal. If only we didn't get banned from that place two weeks ago," Porter said, glancing at Zaire.
"Don't look at me! It would've been nice if they gave us to-go boxes!" he protested. "Not my fault I had to resort to stuffing my leftovers in Amelia's purse when they didn't give me one."
"At least you didn't eat directly from the ladle, unlike Lily," Bro replied.
"What? Can't a girl taste-test the sauces before deciding if I want them on my plate?" Lily reasoned.
"Wait, that's the reason the sauces tasted like that?" Amelia asked before shuddering.
The commercial ended and showed a lineup of shows that would be airing soon before abruptly cutting to black. A second later, the entire house went dark.
"Weird, I know I paid the electric bill," Bro said. "Suddenly, I'm glad we didn't use the dishwasher."
"You don't think we tripped the circuit breaker, do you?" Porter asked.
"Not likely. We didn't have a lot of stuff on… unlike last time," Bro answered, creating a ball of light and heading outside.
"Why did we leave everything on that day?" Zaire wondered as he and the others followed Bro out.
Turns out their house wasn't the only one that had gone dark– all of the houses on the street had gone dark as well. Zaire flew into the air to get a look around the area and realized it wasn't just the houses on the street– it was every house in the subdivision. He glanced over at some buildings in the city and realized it wasn't just the subdivision– the entire city had gone dark as well, with the moon being one of the few things still visible.
"Yikes," he muttered to himself before descending back to the others. "It doesn't look good. Whatever happened, I think it affected the whole city."
"Well, let's see," Bro said, opening the radio app on his phone– something he never thought he'd actually use. He didn't have to look too hard for what he needed; the app was broadcasting its message through all of the channels.
"We've received reports of a major blackout on Seal Island," the radio anchor announced. "At the moment, we are unsure of the cause, but we will update this story as more developments arise."
"Sure you will…" Bro said sarcastically, putting the phone in his pocket. "If they don't know what caused it, we'll have to figure it out ourselves."
"Couldn't we just sleep through it?" Porter asked. "The power might come back on in the morning."
"And if it doesn't?" Bro asked. "Besides, I know you're not willing to wait that long."
"He's got a point," Zaire admitted, pointing next door. "Well, let's go ask Lini what she tried to invent this time."
"Lini's inventions wouldn't cause a blackout," Lily said. "At worst, they would just shatter all the windows in her house."
"Still, it's worth asking," he replied, walking up to and knocking on Lini's door. Pretty quickly, Lini answered, candle in hand.
"You heard the news too?" she asked. "Just so it's clear, I was in the middle of making a smoothie when all the power went out!"
"What sort of superpowered blender do you have in there?" Zaire asked.
"It's a normal blender!" Lini fired back. "You think just because I like inventing things means I can't have normal appliances?"
"That's why I thought that, actually."
"If it's not you, then it's probably… her," Porter responded with a shudder.
"Her?" Lily asked. "Do you really think she'd be that crazy?"
"She's someone who would set an entire forest ablaze or break into the power plant if it meant she could get our attention," Bro said. "She probably would be that crazy."
After saying goodnight to Lini, the five walked to the far side of the subdivision, where that run-down house stood in almost complete darkness.
"Just when I thought her place couldn't be any creepier…" Zaire muttered. "Well, let's get this over with."
The five stepped up to the porch and knocked on the door. In less than a minute, Bianca swung the door open, glee on her face.
"My heroes!" she giggled. "It's such a pleasure to see you again."
"The pleasure's all yours," Bro said. "You wouldn't happen to know what cut all the power in the city, would you?"
Bianca shrugged. "I wish I'd thought of that first… Maybe then you'd notice me," she added with a crazed giggle.
"At least we know it wasn't her," Amelia whispered.
"But since you're here, why not step inside for some refreshments?"
"We would," Porter stated, "but–"
"Look out, the cops are behind you!" Zaire screeched, shoving Porter aside.
"What?!" Bianca yelled, turning around as Righty and Lefty turned into fists, ready to fight. "Come at me! You'll never take me back there!"
When she didn't see anything, she turned around only to realize everyone had run off.
"So that's a no?" she called out.
The five stopped back at their house to catch their breath, where they noticed the moon was higher in the sky, shining down on the city.
"Look at that!" Amelia sighed, pointing up. With the city in the dark, the stars seemed to shine brighter than ever before.
"Honestly, this is nice," Bro said. "When was the last time we did this? No electronics, no chaos, just us, spending time as a family."
"Didn't we go to the beach last month?" Lily asked.
"I mean recently," he fired back.
As they stared into the sky, Porter noticed a group of people shouting in the city.
"What's going on down there?" he wondered.
"Whatever it is, it probably doesn't concern us," Zaire answered. And for a while, nobody said anything else or moved from their spot. That is, until they heard a loud explosion somewhere in the city.
"It now concerns us," Bro said, running past the subdivision gates.
"So much for no chaos," Amelia muttered as she and the others went after him.
Turns out, there was a massive riot in the streets. Groups of people were marching angrily, carrying torches and pitchforks and demanding that the power comes back on. The siblings' concern grew even more, so they stayed a short distance from them.
Ten minutes later, the angry mob stopped at the town hall, their protests even louder than before. The mayor was outside, carrying a lantern and trying to calm the crowd.
"Sheesh, these people are acting like the power's never coming back on!" Lily complained, looking at the crowd.
"Or that they've just been told they can't return something without a receipt," Bro added.
Porter and Zaire, also looking at the crowd, noticed Amelia leaving the group and nudging people aside to get to the front.
"Amelia, wait!" Zaire hissed, chasing after her.
Meanwhile, the mayor's attempts to calm the mob were failing. "People, please! We're trying to get the power back as fast as we can!" she announced.
"As fast as you can isn't fast enough! We want it back on NOW!" someone yelled, causing others to shout along.
"I need the power back on!" a young boy screamed. "I was about to buy some limited-edition sneakers and I can't afford to lose my place!"
"What am I supposed to spend my time doing now?!" a woman yelled.
By now, Amelia managed to get to the front and climb the steps to the town hall, standing in front of the mayor.
"Everyone, calm down!" she politely ordered, and whether it was her calmness, looking like any other civilian, or seeing someone other than the mayor take charge, the crowd settled.
"Is this what we've come to? Throwing out our sense of decency all because the power is out? Rioting over something we can't control?" she asked, glancing at the moon. "I don't know when the power will come back, but I do know this– There's more to our lives than the devices we use. So for now, why don't we all take advantage of that?"
For a minute, no one said anything, nor did anyone move an inch. Then, the crowd erupted in protests louder, more furious than before.
"Yeah, that probably would've worked ten years ago," Bro said as he and the others reached the top of the stairs.
"They are aware that they can still use the things that don't have power, right?" Zaire asked.
"But almost everything needs the internet now," Lily reminded him.
"Oh, right," he sighed. "Suddenly, it's all coming together."
Bro looked over at the angry mob. "You tried, Amelia, but the only thing those guys want is power," he said before walking up to the mayor. "Have fun with them. Maybe build some backup generators around the island after this clears up."
"And while you're at it, fix the roads," Zaire added as the five began to head back to the subdivision.
"The roads aren't that bad, are they?" the mayor whispered to her secretary.
As the five reached the street their house was on, they looked up at the sky.
"Wait a minute," Lily said, pausing. "Where'd the stars go?"
While the moon was at the highest point it could be, the stars were gone, as if they had been erased from the sky.
"Even in a blackout, he's planning something?" Bro muttered. "Hold on, I'll be right back."
After saying that, he turned into a ball of light and flew off.
"That doesn't make sense," Porter said. "Even if he was, what is he going to do?"
"Maybe his island has a backup generator," Zaire reasoned. "And better roads."
The four continued up the street and returned to Lini's house, where they were invited in.
"I'm still thinking about how sudden it was," Lini stated, lighting a candle. "I'm glad I didn't have anything crazy important running– That could've been a disaster."
"I don't know… I think having your refrigerator run is very important," Amelia said.
Mary, who was also in the room playing her ukulele, looked around and asked where Bro was.
"He's out and about, looking for answers," Porter answered. "You know how he is."
"Speaking of being out," Lily said, "why don't we head somewhere else to wait out this mess? Somewhere that's not Seallium."
"Can't. Not even the Dimensional Gateway works right now," Lini replied, lighting another candle.
"So much for waiting it out somewhere else," Zaire sighed, glancing at Mary. "Then again, I don't mind waiting here until the power comes back on."
"Of course you wouldn't mind now," Lily joked, nudging Zaire's arm.
"What I meant was there's no sense in waiting by ourselves, so it's nice to have some company," he clarified.
"Yeah… Company," she snickered.
Zaire could only sigh and cover his face in frustration.
Meanwhile, Bro continued to fly through the sky, with the moon being his only clue at how close he was to his destination.
"I can't see anything for miles… How will I know when I'm getting close?" he wondered to himself.
He got his answer very quickly– crashing into something, skidding across the floor, and slamming into a wall.
"Even in a blackout, you still won't leave me alone," a voice groaned.
"Jig's up, Zetal," Bro grunted as he got up and illuminated the room with a ball of light. "What did you do to the power on Seal Island?!"
Zetal froze, giving Bro a look of confusion before shifting into agitation.
"Are you serious?! I was in the middle of cooking something with a toy oven when the power suddenly went out!" he explained, pointing to a toy oven nearby. "I wasn't even giving your stupid island a thought!"
"So this wasn't you?" Bro asked.
"Duh! I've been waiting hours for the Clones to fix the power!" he added. "Without it, I can't work! For all I know, they're the ones who probably caused this mess!"
He gestured to his balcony, where the two stepped outside.
"Guess that saves me some trouble," Bro said to himself. "Still, you're relying on the Clones to fix this. Why not get someone a smidgen more competent than them to fix it?"
At that moment, the Villain League stepped out of a door opposite from the balcony, holding flashlights.
"Sir, we've tried everything we could think of, but the Clones will not calm down," Ixin stated before everyone froze.
"INTRUDER!" Umbrish exclaimed, pulling out his revolvers and firing energy bolts at Bro. Bro, however, created a barrier of light to shield himself and Zetal.
"...Like those guys," Bro suggested. "You know, the ones you don't pay to get stuff done."
"I beg your pardon?" Final Rouge fired back. "Though you may not see it, Mr. Zetallion has given us pay when due."
"Yeah– in counterfeit cash," Bro said.
"That is completely irrelevant to this situation!" Zetal coughed. "I need you to locate and repair the power grid substation."
"Do we have to? We just climbed all those stairs!" Casinoir complained, using his hat as a floodlight.
"You want the power back on, don't you?" Zetal asked calmly.
With a frustrated sigh, the four disappeared back through the door, with Final Rouge and Casinoir arguing whether the salary is real being audible.
Bro looked at the moon, which was beginning to descend. "I think I've figured out how I'm going to fix this," he said to himself.
Without any hesitation, he turned into a ball of light and flew off the balcony. Zetal took a look at him through his binoculars before realizing he was coming back.
"By the way, the only reason I even stopped by was because I thought you did something to make the stars vanish," Bro admitted.
"I didn't, but the moonlight can do that," Zetal said. "You really need to stop thinking I'm responsible for everything that happens in this world–"
His warning was disregarded, as Bro flew off before he could finish speaking.
"One of these days," he growled. "One of these days, I'll show them all…"
Back at Lini's house, the other siblings were helping light candles. Whatever wasn't the floor had a candle on it, be it a chair, a table, or a shelf.
"This is such a fire hazard…" Porter muttered.
"That should do it," Lini announced, lighting the last candle. "Almost feels like the lights never went out."
"Yeah, if your house already smelled like cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon zest," Zaire wheezed.
"Sounds like a great pie," Amelia said as she walked to the fridge, which made Lily snort. "Hey, Lini, is your refrigerator running?"
As Amelia opened the fridge, the lights turned on, and the appliance began to function again.
"It is now," Lini replied with a smile.
"Then you'd better… catch it?"
At the same time in the city, things had gotten worse. The mayor and her secretary had been surrounded by the crowd and were being dragged through the streets in a cage when the streetlights turned on.
"Hey, the power's back!" someone exclaimed.
After noticing the lights in the buildings were also turning on and realizing it wasn't a joke, the crowd calmly dispersed, not even bothering to free their captives.
"Hey!" the mayor shouted. "A little help?"
A moment later, her call was answered by Bro as he freed them from the cage.
"Better get to work on those backup generators, ma'am," he advised before walking away.
"Wait!" the mayor called. "What did you do?"
Bro stopped and looked back at her. "Just enough to keep the power going for a couple days. You should get a crew to add in some more substations before everyone overloads them again."
After saying that, Bro resumed his walk back home. As he passed Lini's house, the others were just about to leave.
"Bro! The power's back!" Lily shouted.
"So I've noticed," Bro replied. "Instead of the moonlight drowning out the stars, now it's light pollution."
"You wouldn't happen to be responsible for that, would you?" Amelia asked.
"I mean, I didn't think duct tape could be used like that," he admitted. "Kinda concerning."
"Not as concerning as all the candles in Lini's house," Porter added. "I swear Zaire was a sneeze away from bumping into one and setting the house on fire."
"But I didn't!" Zaire said, stepping out. "Besides, you put out the candles the moment the power came back on."
Bro looked back at the descending moon and let out a grunt. "Now that that's over with, I'm gonna get as much sleep as I can before the sun comes up."
"Like I said, we could've slept through it," Porter yawned as he and Zaire followed Bro.
The girls stayed behind for a moment, watching the boys until Lily spoke up.
"Maybe Porter's right," she said. "We could've gone to bed and woken up refreshed. What do we get for staying up this long?"
Lini stepped out of the door, holding two glasses. "Smoothies?"
The two looked at each other before smiling.
Meanwhile in Kleptopolis, the Villain League managed to find what Zetal was talking about, but were unsure what to do at that point.
"Anyone have any experience with this?" Final Rouge asked.
He was met with shaking heads and shrugs. While they were trying to figure out what to do, their flashlights went out, including Casinoir's hat floodlight.
"Why couldn't we have a backup generator?!" Casinoir complained.