At the Blood Board meeting later that day, Phoenix Talon pulled Rick aside and described the Maglev robberies Reilly had told them about.
    Rick looked shocked. "You thinkin' someone's...?"
    "I want you to keep an eye out. Talk to everybody. 'Til a couple days ago, this wasn't really an option for you guys, now it is. And I don't know if it is, what with 1-800-HENCHMEN running around and everybody, there's a lot of possibilities who this could be. Just want to make sure nobody's getting tempted. Just keep your ears open."
    "I had a talk with 'em the day we got the boards, y'know, about not gettin' tempted. Reestablished with them the 'if you try and do stuff without the rest of us that you're not really a Blood Board and we'll hunt you down and get you?' Just wanted to make sure that was clear."
    "I appreciate that, Rick. That was a good idea."
    "Doesn't sound like everybody listened, though," he said glumly.
    "Well, again, we don't know just yet, but it's something we gotta watch out for."
    "Yeah."
    "Also, I'm contacting the police and getting their information on the Alley Cats. We all gotta sit down soon, have a council of war."
    "Yes, sensei." He all but saluted. The kid was shaping up pretty well.

Later that night:
    "She's your what?" Candi asked freezingly.
    Phoenix Talon had thought it wise to air the truth about Dawn before actually introducing the two women, since he'd invited Candi to the picnic that weekend.
    "The life of a superhero..." he started. "Takes you to places that most people don't end up."
    "Okaaay."
    "So yeah, she's my daughter, but she doesn't really have a mom? She was somebody else, and then she got turned into, uh, Dawn, because—I don't entirely understand—"
    "Neither do I."
    He soldiered on. "But like part of my soul got taken and put on her, 'cause she was in a coma and she needed to... and it was necessary for uh, for her health. Y'know, I had to do something. It's like giving a blood transfusion, kind of. And so it created this kind of mystic bond between us. So I didn't raise her, I mean she was never a baby. I mean," he backtracked, "I kind of raised her, because she was blank, she didn't know anything when she came out of the coma, so I taught her a lot of things, and I think of her as my daughter... it's really a unique relationship," he fumbled to a close.
    "So why didn't you tell me this before?" she demanded.
    "Because it's really fuckin' strange." He scored points for honesty there, he could tell. "I know it's not so easy sometimes, dating a guy like me. I wanted to ease you into some of the more strange aspects of, y'know, my life. She's really one of the strangest," he assured her. "She's really nice, and she can take care of herself pretty much, so...."
    "What have you told her about me?"
    "Not a whole lot. She knows that we're going out. She knows who you are." He shrugged. "We haven't discussed it too much."
    "All right, so you have this... soul daughter. If it's okay with you, and this'll make my life easier, I'm just gonna think that you did something really altruistic and adopted a poor orphan girl, because that's easier for me to understand," she said with care.
    "That's fine." He couldn't blame her.
    "Okay, good. I'm gonna go powder my nose, I'll be right back."
    It was a very long few minutes before she came back. He pushed back his mental estimation of total conquest a few more weeks with a silent sigh.

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