As I clambered into my suit, I felt a rumble in my stomach. I recognized the feeling. Time to be a big damn hero. Mom Willow hadn’t done the gloves or boots yet, so I grabbed some gardening gloves and hiking boots and slipped them on. Once that was done, I pulled my shadow over myself. The cool rush filled me with a feeling of strength. I took one last look in the mirror to make sure I didn’t forget to zip anything, then I stepped through shadow and into Collin’s hospital room.

Everything was on fire again. I need to figure out how to look at places before I go there. My shroud appeared to be protecting me from the flames and most of the ambient heat, but I knew the smoke was going to get to me before long. The room itself was empty, looks like all of the doors had opened as part of the emergency procedures. I rushed out into the hallway.

“Collin! Collin, are you there?”

“Who’s there?” Collin’s voice came from down the hall. I ran towards it.

“Collin, it’s me, Molly!” I shouted, completely disregarding the fact that I was wearing a disguise for a reason.

“Molly?” Collin stepped out of a nearby room. “Holy shit, how did you get down here? And what the hell are you wearing?”

“No time to explain, I need to get you out of here!” I grabbed his hand.

“Molly, wait! There are more people trapped down here. We need to get them out.”

“Where are they?”

“They’re in the break room. We couldn’t use the elevators and the stairwell collapsed, so we’re waiting for rescue. Some of the pyros are holding back the flames to protect the staff, and a few of us went looking for stragglers. I’m just about finished with this hall, then I was gonna head back. C’mon!” He ran off towards the next room. “I’ll take this side, you take that side.”

I rushed from room to room down the hall, but I didn’t find anyone. I came out of the last room to see Collin entering the last one on his side. “Anybody in there, Collin?”

“Nada.” he said, coming back out. “Let’s head back to the break room.” He started jogging and waved me along. “Now for real, how did you get down here?”

“I can kinda teleport.” I said, running behind him.

“That’s some bullshit! I didn’t get teleportation, no fair!”

“Sucks to be you, dude.” I grinned.

“You got a codename or whatever?”

“Madame Umbra.”

“Are you kidding me?” He stopped and looked at me with a bemused expression on his face.

“You can just call me Umbra if you want, whatever.”

“Oh no, I’m definitely going to call you Madame Umbra. Follow me, Madame, your chariot awaits.” He started back down the hall.

“I’m seriously reconsidering coming to save you.”

“Oh hush, you know you love me.” My ears burned at his comment. “C’mon, just a few doors down.”

We entered the break room to find a couple dozen people standing around looking anxious.

“Collin, there you are!” A short black man stopped his pacing and rushed up to us. “Who did you find?”

“No pyros, Dave. Though I did find Madame Umbra here. Is everybody else back?”

“Yeah, you were the last one.” He turned to me. “How did you get down here and can you help us get us out?”

“I can kinda teleport and maybe?”

“I’ll take it. What do we need to do?”

“I need a big shadow. Help me get some tables on their sides.”

“You got it.”

We made short work of the tables and soon there was a large pool of shadows on the floor. “Okay, everyone grab ahold of me and don’t let go. I’ve never moved any… I mean, as many other people as this.” They all grabbed a bit of my cloak. “Alright, here we go!”

“Uh, what happens if we let go?” asked a woman with fiery hair.

“You’ll be stuck in the Shadow Realm forever.”

“Are you kidding?”

I shrugged. “I dunno.” Then I sank into the shadows.

We emerged on the lawn of the MetaCAR. The fire was casting long shadows from the emergency vehicles, and we came out near a fire truck. Everyone else fell to the ground and most started swearing.

“Jesus fucking Christ, woman! You could have warned us it was going to be fucking freezing.” Dave shouted as he generated some fire to warm himself, the a few others following suit.

“I’m so sorry!” I said. “It never feels cold to me, I swear I didn’t know!”

“What’s going on over here?” Came a booming voice from above. A man floated down from the sky. I recognized him as Thruster, a bigwig from the Guardians.

“Oh, you know, just saving some lives…” I said, trying my best to sound like a confident heroine.

“Uh-huh…” he said, looking me up and down. “First time out, kid?”

“Pfft, no. I do this all the time.”

“Right… So are Timberlands a normal part of your outfit?”

“Is it really that obvious?” I asked, slumping.

“Don’t worry about it, kid. Everyone starts somewhere and this right here is a damn good start. What’s your name?”

“It’s, uh… Umbra.”

“Madame Umbra!” Collin shouted from behind me.

Thruster raised an eyebrow. “Madame Umbra?”

“Well, it sounded good at the time, but now that everyone is saying it is sounds… not good.”

“Don’t worry, Umbra. I’m sure it won’t stick.” He grinned and put his hand out. “It’s always nice to see a new hero.”

I shook his hand. “It feels good to be helpful, sir.”

“You don’t need to call me sir, Umbra. I’m not your boss. Now, we need to do a headcount on these hotheads and see if we’re missing anybody. Afterwards you can go talk to the cops over there if you’re gonna head back in. They’re keeping a tally of everyone who’s come out so far and they’ll know where the best place to start looking is.”

“You got it!” I said, standing straighter.

“Excelsior!” he said, clasping his hand on my shoulder. We counted off the rescued pyros and hospital staff, then I ran off to the gaggle of cops who had set up a few workstations under a canopy.

“Whaddaya got, hon?” asked a tired looking sergeant as I approached.

“I, uh, cleared out the Fire Ward. Thirty-four people. Twenty, uh, twenty-seven patients, six hospital staff, and one nurse who works in the Nature Ward who was downstairs visiting someone.”

“Damn, girl, you work fast. Teleporter?” she asked, typing the information into her laptop.

“Kinda…”

“Well whatever, good work.” She turned to the radio operator behind her. “Hey Slim, put the word out that Fire is empty and we found the last Nature guy.”

“Roger, boss!”

“Alright hon, we got the rest of the wards covered, but if you wanted to check the upper floors to see if there were any eggheads hanging out up there, we’d appreciate it. We don’t have anyone on… hrmamuma… floor twenty-two.”

“Twenty-two, got it!”

“And be careful, that place ain’t stable in some spots!” I heard her shout as I sank into shadow.

I popped out of a shadow and took a look around. Before I had only traveled to places I had already been, so I wasn’t really sure if I would out in the right place. Luckily there was a lot less fire up here. I looked around a few corners and found an elevator. Nineteenth floor. Well, that’s pretty close. I think I’ll take the stairs the rest of the way. I took a look in the nearby stairwell. It seemed to be mostly intact, so I started up. As I reached the twenty-second floor, I could hear muffled shouts from somewhere nearby. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it sounded pretty urgent. I pushed the door open and called out, “Where are you? I’m here to help!” The voices suddenly stopped. Weird, you’d think they would start shouting LOUDER at that point. “HELLO? ARE YOU OKAY IN HERE?” I strained my ears, but I couldn’t hear any voices. “JUST STAY WHERE YOU ARE,” I shouted, beginning to run through the halls, “I’M COMING TO FIND YOU!”

I wasn’t sure what purpose this place served, but it looked like a data center. Lots of workstations and computer banks. I made my way from room to room, calling out for someone to answer me, always with no answer. Maybe there was another teleporter here and they got whoever it was out just as I got here. I stopped in a room that was mostly data banks. “HELLO?” I called, looking around the corners.

“Goodbye, freak!” came a voice from behind. I whirled around, instinctively throwing my hands up as a spray of bullets came flying towards me. I waited for the pain, but it didn’t come. I looked, and saw the scowling face of a gaunt man. He was holding an assault rifle of some kind and didn’t seem the least bit perturbed that I was still standing. “Damn it, I was hoping you weren’t bulletproof. Well, freak, let’s see just how resilient you are.” he said, reaching for something on his belt.

I wasn’t sure what he had that would be worse than just shooting me, but I figured it wouldn’t be in my best interests to find out. I sent my shadows forward, completely enveloping him. He froze in place, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “How about let’s not do that?”

“YA HUNGING HIGT!” he shouted, “OHM GUNNA HUNGING HILL HYOO!” I jumped at this, but it looks like my restraint was still holding, it just didn’t stop him from shouting like a drunken caveman.

“Gods above, you are an angry one, aren’t you?”

“HUCK HYOO!”

“Rude.” I walked up to him and looked him over. “Got anything else cruel and unnecessary to spit at me?”

“Gus kel eeh ang geh ih owhah wih.” he snarled, staring daggers at me.

“Woah, what makes you think I’m gonna kill you? That’s not how this works, dude. You’re the terrorist, I’m the heroine.” I flicked him on the nose. “I’m taking you to the cops. I’m sure they’ll be REAL happy to see you.”

Just then I felt something heavy strike the back of my head. I fell to the floor, dazed.

“Not as happy as I am to see you,” came the voice of my former captive.

As I fell into darkness, a single thought crossed my mind. Time to go bye-bye…

 

Mom Willow laughed. “Sorry, I just came in to see how you were getting along.”

I straightened myself. “Well, uh, we’re fine.” I looked at Collin. “Right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, totally fine.”

“Do you need some more time… together?”

I looked at Collin, who shrugged. “Um, I think we were just about finished talking. Right Moll?”

“Yeah. I’ll, uh… I’ll see you later, I guess?” I looked at Mom Willow. “Tomorrow?”

“Of course, honey.” She smiled.

“Right, see you then, Moll. I’ll be here.”

We awkwardly waved at each other, then Mom Willow and I left the room. “Not a word,” I said as the door clicked shut.

“Whatever do you mean, dear?”

“I mean it. I don’t need you hovering around when we’re hanging out. I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself.”

“Oh? Because if I recall correctly, the last time you *ahem* ‘took care of yourself’, someone ended up becoming a metahuman.”

“Yeah, well… shut up.”

“Excellent come back.” She stroked my hair. “Come on, sweetie, let’s get out of here. This place is full of cameras, it’s weirding me out.”

I looked around as we walked back to the elevator. She was right, there were more cameras than in Mal-Mart. “Wow, how many people do you think they have watching these cameras?”

“If I had to guess, it’s probably just one AI doing all the watching.”

“That makes sense. Definitely cheaper to have an AI doing it.” I pushed the elevator call button, and we were soon on out way back up to the ground floor.

“We’ve got the whole day ahead of us now, anything you want to do?” she asked, smiling expectantly.

“Uh, well… we could do that thing you mentioned earlier.”

“Which thing was that?”

“The, uh, clothes thing?”

“Ah, yes. Of course, honey. We’ll head down to the garage and see what we can do about the clothes situation.”

“This is gonna be so sweet!”

What followed was a flurry of paper and cloth. I had helped Mom Willow with clothing design before, but I had never seen her so… intense.

“Now, obviously I don’t have access to kevlar or anything like that, but I’m sure we can make something that looks good and offers some protection.” She started pulling bolts of material out of bins. “What do you think, black?”

“Well I-”

“No, black is terrible for blending into shadows! Red is better, or gray… Yeah, charcoal gray. Maybe a couple of splashes of red…”

“Can I get a big cloak?”

“A who what now?”

“A cloak, Mom.”

“Honey, I don’t know… Don’t you remember what Edna always says?”

“Yeah, yeah… ‘NO CAPES!'”

“Exactly, someone could grab it, or it could get caught on something, they’re terrible.”

“No, listen. My powers can’t create shadows, only use existing ones. With a big cloak, I could have shadow wherever I go. Plus it’ll mess up my silhouette, make it harder for people to hit me. And since I can use shadows to hold things, I can use it as armor, too!”

“You are a brilliant kid, you know that? You get that from my side of the family.” I rolled my eyes as she snickered. “Alright, just this once, ‘YES CAPE!'”

She started sketching, occasionally asking me to turn or bend in certain ways.

“Gotta have a utility belt… no pockets…” she mumbled.

I peeked over her shoulder. “Could I get a sash or something right about there?” I asked, pointing at the crotch.

“A sash? Why… oh. Of course, honeychile.” She drew a few more strokes, covering up the offending area. “Now, the mask…”

If my life was a movie, right about there is where the montage would begin. Unfortunately, my life is not a movie, so I spent the next five hours cutting, sewing, and having fabric draped over me.

“And that should do it!” Mom Willow pulled the outfit from the table and snapped it out. It looked kind of… ugly… just hanging there from her hands. “Go on, try it on!”

I took it and stepped behind the changing screen. My heart started beating faster. You can still turn back. You’re no hero. You’re just going to get yourself killed.

“Let me know if anything snags or if it’s too loose, okay hon?”

“Okay!” I looked at the outfit again. “Fuck you, anxiety.” I whispered. I stripped off my clothes and started pulling on the suit. Pulling on MY suit. I looked in the mirror and my breath caught. I didn’t look like a shitty cosplayer. I looked like a hero. A foreign emotion swelled through my body. Pride? Resolve? I couldn’t say, even now. But I knew that I could make the world a better place. I stepped out from behind the screen. “Halt, evil-doer!”

Mom Willow jumped and put her hands over her mouth. “Oh my gods, sweetie! You look great!” She rushed over and started pulling at the fabric. “Now, I connected the cape to the sleeves, so you won’t get choked if something grabs it. I figure you can use your power to hold the hood in place, right? Oh, you need some real boots and gloves, but I’ll have to work on that later. And I’m not so sure about the-”

“Mom! Calm down, please.” I stepped back, placing my hands on her shoulders. “You did a great job. I’m sure you’ll come up with some even better stuff later, but this is perfect right now, okay?” I pulled her into a hug. “I love you, Mom. Thank you so much for this.”

“Of course, sweetie. Just…” she sniffed, and I felt water on my shoulder “Just promise me you’ll be safe, okay? If anything happened to you… I couldn’t… I don’t…”

“Mom, I’m going to be alright. Nothing can touch me. Let me show you.” I picked up a nearby shoe and handed it her. “Here, step back and chuck this shoe at me.”

“Are you sure, sweetie?”

“C’mon, Mom. It’s just a shoe. Even if I mess this up, you’re not going to hurt me.” I pulled the shadows from underneath my cloak to cover my arms.

“Alright, here it comes!” She tossed the shoe at me and I raised my hand to stop it. It stopped just short of reaching my flesh and stayed there.

“Pretty cool, huh? Shadow armor!” I waved my arms in an ooga booga fashion. “Adamantium, eat your heart out!” I released the shadows and the shoe dropped back to the floor.

“I’m just worried about what will happen if someone who isn’t your mother tries to actually hurt you, kiddo.” said Mama Sandra, appearing from the doorway.

“Sandy! Welcome back sweetie!” Mom Willow said, kissing her.

I pulled the hood back and smiled at them. “You guys, I’m gonna be okay. I’m gonna change the world for the better.”

They looked at each other. I knew instinctively they were speaking the secret language of parents with that look.

Mom Willow looked away and smiled at me. “We trust you honey. So be a hero that we can look up to. Up to whom we can look.” Mama Sandra snorted at that.

“Oh, and we better not see you on TV robbing any banks, you get me? Or else you’re grounded.” Mama Sandra pointed her finger at me and smirked.

“Don’t worry, Mama. You won’t see me.”

“I should ground you for that smart mouth alone, kid.” She waved at me. “Get over here, you little smart ass.” I walked over and they pulled me into a hug. “Now, you get out of that sweet suit and head into the living room. I picked up some pizzas and we’re going to watch that superhero reality show.”

“So You Want to be a Hero?” I offered.

“Yeah, that one. I figured you could stand to learn what the pros are doing.”

A few minutes later we were all sitting on the sofa and I was digging into what Mama Sandra called “a disgusting abomination of cuisine”.

“I still can’t believe you enjoy those nasty pineapple bits on your pizza.” She looked at Mom Willow accusingly, “She gets that from your side of the family.”

“Don’t look at me!” Mom Willow raised a slice of her meat lover’s in defense.

Suddenly, a loud fanfare blasted out from the TV. “Hello, true believers!” The weathered face of Lee Stanford smiled out at us. “It’s time for another episode of everyone’s favorite superhero reality show, ‘So You Want to be a Hero’! We had a shocking twist last week when lead contender Night Sky got removed from the running after an intense Threat Chamber sequence. He did an excellent job, despite a rocky start, but since someone had to go, off he went! We at Wonder Inc. all wish him well in his future endeavors.”

The image then shifted to four silhouetted figures. “Our remaining contestants are the red-hot Overburn; the rough and tumble Tectonica; the swift Stratogal; and last but not least, our fan-favorite, the clever Tomboy!”

“Oh wow, three girls in the finals.” I said. “You don’t see that every day.”

“Tonight they’re being split into two teams and sent to a building that has been specially constructed to simulate the conditions of a skyscraper that has had a disaster befall it.” The camera cut to a building in the middle of a desert. “There are thirty victims inside, and each team will have an hour to get them out alive. The team with the fastest time and most safe victims will be the winner and will be safe from elimination! And for you kids out there, don’t worry, all the victims are dummies!”

“This is pretty exciting stuff,” said Mom Willow, “Although I kinda wish we had started watching earlier. I have no idea who to root for.”

“However! Even though there’s no danger to our plastic pals, our heroes are facing very real peril! As such, we have Lok, our top-notch teleporter, on duty to get them out, should things turn nasty.” The image shifted to a thin, bald man with a huge mustache. He waved once. “Lok’s a man of few words.” The camera changed back to Lee Stanford. “But that’s enough exposition! It’s time for some action, so let’s find out just who our teams are! First up is Overbu-”

“We interrupt this program for a special report.” The dour face of Sam Bergman, our local news anchor, showed on the screen. “The Metahuman Care, Assessment, and Research Facility has been attacked. The purist group ‘Humanity First’ has stepped forward to take credit for the attack. Current casualties are unknown, and both the Hazmat Team and the Guardians have been dispatched to contain the damage. Numerous solo heroes and independent teams have also been spotted assisting on-site. Local authorities have asked civilians to stay clear, so as to minimize casualties.”

“And that’s enough of that!” Mama Sandra said, shutting off the TV.

“They attacked a hospital?” Mom Willow said incredulously. “What the hell? Who does that?”

“Scum.” Mama Sandra spat.

“But why?” I asked, “Attacking a hospital just makes them look cartoonishly evil!”

“They’re hoping some of the less controllable metahumans get out and cause damage. I guarantee it.” Mama Sandra was shaking as she spoke.

“I have to go.” I said, standing up from the couch.

“Oh no you don’t, chile.” Mom Willow grabbed my arm. “You need to leave this to the professionals. You’re just going to get in the way out there.”

“Mom, Collin is in there! Underground! I can teleport, I’ll be fine!” I wrenched my arm away and strode to my room.

“Molly!” Mama Sandra shouted. I stopped and turned. “You can be a hero, just not a martyr, got it?”

I nodded. “I’ll be back before you know it.” Then I turned and ran to my room. Time to suit up.

 

“Oh my gods!” I looked around desperately for a fire extinguisher. There was none to be seen, not even a fire alarm, which was odd, considering what floor we were on.

“Ahahaha! You should see the look on your face, Moll!” Collin waved his hand and the flames went out. “Priceless, absolutely priceless!”

“Oh fuck you, Collin! I thought you were in trouble, you asshole!” I yelled, trying (and failing) to hide my smile.

“I think I’ll just leave you two kids alone to talk. That was enough excitement for me today.”

“Ok, Mom. Don’t wander off, now.”

“Ha. Ha.” Mom Willow said as she stepped out, closing the door behind her.

I turned back to Collin. “Are you okay, though? I’ve been so worried…”

“Am I okay? I’m the one who should be asking you that! I’ve got freaking superpowers now, I’ve literally never been better!” He clenched his fist, which suddenly burst into flame. “This is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me!” He gestured triumphantly, which shot the flame out and towards the window. I ducked, but it fizzled harmlessly against the glass.

“Careful!”

“Sorry, I’m still not used to that. The docs say I’ve gotta stay here a while until I learn to control it. Mostly so I don’t do it in my sleep and burn the house down.”

“Well, that sucks.”

“Yeah, the food blows around here and I can’t have a TV because they don’t make ones that are fireproof.” He rolled his eyes. “But seriously, are you okay?”

I looked down at my shadow, then back to Collin. “Yeah, I’m fine. A few cuts and bruises, nothing serious. Apparently you shielded me from the blast. Pretty heroic, if you ask me.”

He puffed up is chest. “Yeah? I guess I was.” I giggled as he preened. He stopped suddenly and looked at me intently. “Hey, why are you wearing sunglasses inside anyways?”

“Oh, there’s something weird going on with my eyes. It happened after the accident.”

“Whoa, I thought you said you were okay! You’re not blind, right?” He waved his hand up and down.

“No, I can see.” I adjusted the glasses. “They just look… weird.”

“Can I see them?” He leaned closer.

“No, they’re creepy now. I don’t… I don’t want you to see.”

“Pleeeeease? I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

I remembered the last time he had said that. I had neglected that particular offer. “Show me your what?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s not what you’re thinking, I swear. But it’ll be a surprise unless you show me your eyes.”

Dammit, now I want to know what he has. “Okay, fine. Just… just don’t freak out, okay?”

“After waking up on fire last night, I don’t think anything could freak me out.”

We both leaned in close, which reminded me of another thing that happened last night. “Okay, here goes.” He looked even closer, while I looked away. Not that you could tell where I was actually looking anymore. I took off the sunglasses.

He jumped back. “Holy shit!”

I hurriedly put the shades back on. “Sorry, sorry! I told you they were creepy!”

“No no no! They’re awesome! Take ’em back off, I want to see. I’m not freaked out, I promise!”

“O-okay… but first you have to show me yours.”

“Okay, look right here.” He pointed at this right eye.

“I am looking, I don’t see anything…”

“Really? Try looking closer.”

I leaned in farther. “I still don’t see anything.”

“How about… now?” He blinked, and it was my turn to jump back. His eye had went from looking normal to being clear glass.

“What the fuck?”

“Pretty sweet, huh? Apparently some glass got into my eye and melted. It somehow turned my whole eye into glass.” He blinked again and it changed to look like a cat’s eye marble. “I can change how it looks. Some of the docs think I might even have glass abilities as well as fire. How cool is that, two superpowers for the price of one?”

“Yeah, that’s… wow…”

“Hey, uh… no hard feelings, right? Me getting superpowers while all you got was weird eyes?” He squinted, then raised an eyebrow. “Did you get any powers?” he whispered.

“What? No. Nope. Uh-uh.” I flashed him a quick smile and did a thumbs up, covering the gesture by using the thumb to adjust my glasses.

He raised both his eyebrows and blinked, his glass eye now had an exclamation mark on it. “That’s too bad. I had hoped we could be superheroes together.”

“Well, I’m sure my mom can still make you a costume. You’ll look good in red, Bonfire Boy.”

“Nah, red and fire powers is so played out. I was thinking more… blue!” He shook his arms and his whole body erupted into blue flames.

“Holy fff… whoa!”

“Nice, huh? A little aesthetic change. According to the docs, the fire’s not really “real”. ‘Psychokinetic’, they said. But it can set things on fire if I want it to, then it becomes real, or something.” He shrugged. “This metahuman stuff is really complicated. I can see why they need this huge building. Every single person has their own unique powers, even if they look similar.”

“Have you met any other metahumans?”

“A few. Apparently, some of the pros like to come down in their off time and talk to the younger metas. I got to meet Napalm, that was pretty sweet.” I knew about Napalm, he was one of the government funded heroes, part of the Metahuman Enforcement League. He worked with the military a lot. “You know there’s a kid down here who got fire powers but isn’t fireproof?”

“Whoa, that’s scary…”

“Yeah, they’re trying to find a way to deactivate his powers. So far, no luck.”

“They can do that?”

“Apparently, they’ve done it before.  Napalm told me they can never do it the same way twice, each metahuman’s powers come from a separate source. Crazy…”

“You think they’re trying to get rid of all the metas?”

“Nah, we’re big business now. You hear Lee Stanford wants to do a reality show? So You Think You’re A Hero or something like that. Winner gets into the Junior Guardians.”

Lee Stanford was a big business tycoon, he funded the Metahuman Rights Association and the Guardians Initiative, which let metahumans do philanthropic work full time without worrying about things like bills and secret identities and family safety. The Junior Guardians was an organization for metahumans who still had civilian obligations, like school.

“That’ll be a fun watch, I’m sure…” I rolled my eyes, not realizing how futile the gesture now was. I affected the tone of an overly interested narrator. “These twelve youngsters just survived the wrath of Shinespark, but can they survive… EACH OTHER?”

Collin laughed. “Watch as they prepare to face their greatest foe yet… THE HOUSE MEETING!”

“Seriously though, you thinking about signing up?”

“Well, it would be totally cool to meet Lee Stanford, but I think I’ll hold off until I can sneeze without setting something on fire.”

“That could be your gimmick. Behold, the mighty SNEEZEFLAME!”

“You could be my sidekick, Eye Girl.”

“No way, you’re my sidekick.”

“As if!”

It was then that an awkward silence filled the room. It appeared we had both run out of small talk. We seemed to stand there for hours, quietly coughing and pointedly not looking at each other.

Collin broke the silence first. “Sooo…” He drawled, rubbing his neck. “About last night…”

“Well, I uh… um… ngg…” I fumbled for the words. “You were, uh… good.” Well, that was the most pitiful series of words to ever cross my lips.

“Uh… you too.” I could almost hear him mentally berating himself for that. At least I’m not alone in being a total nerd.

“D’you… wanna try it again? Once you get out?” Oh my gods, I am such a nerd.

“Oh! Uh… yeah! Let’s… let’s do that.” BE STILL MY HEART.

“You kids are just adorable!”

“GAAAAH!”

“AAAIIEEE!”

To be continued…

Greetings, gentle readers! I know it’s been a few weeks, but I promise you I’ve an update this time. Life has gotten in the way recently, as it is wont to do, but I have come back stronger than ever. Hopefully I can get my buffer rebuilt again… Anyways, prepare your brainpans!

I won’t be able to get out Part 10 of Nemeses this week. It’s been rather hectic here, as I’ve been preparing to move. Sadly, my buffer ran out due to the fact that I haven’t written anything since 2014. Hopefully I’ll get back on schedule by next week. Again, my apologies.

The car ride to the MetaCAR was long, but uneventful. The building was situated well outside of city limits for safety reasons. Mom Willow filled up the time by asking me what kind of plans I had for my new-found power.

“So, do you have a name yet?”

“Huh?”

“You know, a super name.” She grinned at me. “Every superhero needs a super name!”

“Uh, well… I hadn’t really thought about it…”

“Well, let’s think about it, hmm? You control shadows, so that’s a theme right there. How about… ‘The Shade’?”

“That makes me sound like a big tree.”

“Well then, Miss Smarty-Pants, what do you have?”

“Um, maybe… ‘Raven’?”

“I’m fairly certain someone already has that name. I heard about them on the news a week or so ago.”

“Darn.”

“What about ‘Black Hole’?”

“That sounds way too easy to make fun of. Plus, that’s not even how my powers work.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

“Wait, I’ve got it! ‘Mistress Umbra’!”

“No, no. ‘Madame Umbra’!”

“Ooh, nice. That’s definitely a keeper, Mom.”

“So then, Madame, what are you going to tell the folks at the MetaCAR?”

“I… I don’t know.” I looked out the window. I could see it from here. Hell you could see it from most of the town. The MetaCAR was the tallest building for hundreds of miles. “I’ve heard some pretty shady things about it. Creepy government stuff. I’m not sure I want them to know who I am.”

“Well, I certainly can’t argue with that. That’s one genie you can’t get back in its bottle.”

“The way that nurse talked about metahumans last night really freaked me out. I’ve heard that kind of talk before about other things.”

“Well, sweetie, bigots are bigots wherever you go. The words they use might be different, but the hate is the same. You’ve just stepped into a whole new world with brand new enemies, and this time I can’t walk the path with you. Working through you being trans was tough, but at least I knew people who could help. I don’t know any metahumans, you’ll have to find them on your own.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of…”

“Well, we can worry about that later, we’re here!”

As we pulled into the parking lot, I was surprised at just how big the building actually was. Sure, I had seen it from a distance, but this was the first time I had actually visited it. Never really had cause before this… The MetaCAR was a humongous glittering spire, the very definition of ‘space-age architecture’. Above the entrance in bold black letters was written ‘Metahuman Care, Assessment, and Research Facility’. I guess just calling it ‘MCARF’ wasn’t punchy enough.

“Do you want me to come in with you, sweetie?”

“Um, I… if you want, I guess. I mean, how often do you get an excuse to see this place?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll let you two talk.” The last word came out with a husky voice.

“Why did you say it like that?”

“Like what, dear?” Her face was the picture of innocence.

I sighed. “Whatever. Let’s head on in.”

“Wait, sweetie! Wear these.” She handed me a pair of sunglasses. “They’ll help hide your eyes.”

“Thanks Mom. You always think of stuff like this.”

We walked inside and were greeted by a security guard. He looked as average as you could possibly get, dark hair, dark skin, dark eyes. “Pardon me, ladies. You’ll need to go through our body scanner and submit to a blood test before we can let you enter.”

I began to panic. “Body scanner? Um, I don’t really, uh…” I looked desperately at Mom Willow.

“Why do we need to do that, sir?”

“Standard procedure, ma’am. We’re just checking for known metahuman criminals. The MetaCAR is a pretty big target for supervillains. It can also help us alert visitors to possible metahuman traits they may not have know about. It can’t pick up everything, of course, but it hasn’t missed a bad guy in years.”

“Um, I really don’t like body scanners.” This was it, the jig was up before it even began. They would find me out and then me and Collin would both be sharing a cozy little room together. Which didn’t actually sound half bad… No, focus! That kind of thinking is what landed you in this situation in the first place.

“Don’t worry, miss. We can’t see your private areas. We’re mostly looking for tails, webbed feet, second heads, that kind of thing. It’s perfectly alright.”

“Go on, Molly. I’m certain you’ll be fine.” Mom Willow nudged me.

“Well, alright…” Welp, goodbye secret identity. It was nice knowing you.

“Just stand inside the box and put your hand on the scanner, miss. You’ll feel a small prick on your thumb when we administer the blood test. Don’t worry, you’ll barely notice it.”

Sweating nervously, I stepped inside. I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the scanner, which helpfully had a handprint on it. A sharp buzzing suddenly filled my ears. It was so unexpected that I didn’t even feel the needle. After a few seconds, the buzzing stopped and I heard a small *ding* from above me.

“Alright miss, that’s it. Everything checks out. Although there appears to be something affecting your eyes. You might want to get it checked out while you’re here.”

“Right… I, uh… I already know about that. It’s fine. They just look weird, is all. No lasers or whatever.”

“I understand. My cousin has six toes on each foot. Not everyone wins the metahuman lottery, eh?” He winked. “Ma’am, you’re next. Please step inside the box and put your hand on the scanner. You’ll feel a small prick on your thumb when we administer the blood test. Don’t worry, you’ll barely notice it.” She did so, and soon the *ding* came again. “Alright, ma’am, you’re clear. No metahuman traits found. Must be from the father’s side, eh?”

Mom Willow gave a forced smile. “Yeah, must be…”

“Just go straight through those doors. The receptionist will be able to answer any questions you might have. Have a good day.”

Mom Willow nodded in return. “You as well, sir.”

As we entered the MetaCAR proper, I was struck by just how bright everything was. The white floors shone with a polished gleam. The metallic silver furnishings sparkled and glimmered. Even the walls seemed to glow with a subtle inner light. It was like a building made entirely of light. To be honest, it made me feel kinda sick. I put my fingers on my temples and groaned.

“You alright, sweetie?”

“Yeah, I just didn’t expect everything to be so… shiny. I felt like I was about to throw up for a second there.”

“Oh dear, do you need to sit down?”

“Nah, it’s passed. Let’s just find Collin.”

We approached the central desk (helpfully marked ‘reception’) where a tired looking young man sat.

“Welcome to the MetaCAR, how may I help you?” He said in a monotone voice.

Mom Willow stepped in front of me. “Yes, we’re here to see Collin Haines. He was admitted last night after a car accident.”

He did some quick typing on his computer. “Yeah, you’re gonna want to go to sub-basement F, the Fire Ward. Room 24. Elevators are to your right. If you can’t find him then just ask the person at the help desk for directions.”

“Thank you, have a nice day.”Mom Willow smiled politely.

“Yeah, you too.”

As we waited for the elevators, Mom Willow whispered “That kid needs to wake up when he goes to work.”

I giggled. The elevator doors slid smoothly open and we entered. I pressed the button marked ‘F’ and it rumbled to life. The doors slid open again and we found ourselves surrounded by reds and oranges. It seemed the entire floor had been painted to resemble fire. “Well,” I said, looking at Mom Willow, “I guess this is the right floor.”

A cheerful looking woman greeted us from the help desk. “Good morning, ladies! Can I help you find something?”

Again, Mom Willow strode ahead of me. “Yes, we’re looking for Collin Haines? Room 24?”

“24 is down the hallway to your left. The door will be on your right. Please be sure you don’t enter the patient’s room itself, stay in the insulated visiting room. New metahumans are prone to uncontrollable bursts of power, you know?”

“I’m sorry, what?” I asked.

“Mr. Haines has developed pyrokinesis, which is why he’s being cared for in the Fire Ward. Every room on this floor is completely fireproof. Until he learns to control his power, he poses a danger to others, which is why the visiting rooms are blocked off from the patient rooms. You’ll need to buzz in to make sure the doors are sealed before you enter.”

“Right, of course. I’ll, uh… be careful.” I turned towards the aforementioned hallway.

“Y’all have a nice day, now!” She said cheerily.

“You have a nice day too, hon.” Mom Willow said before turning to follow me.

When we reached room 24, I pushed the button marked ‘press to enter’. I heard a buzzing sound as it flashed red, which stopped a few seconds later when it turned solid green. I opened the door and was greeted with… what appeared to be a view of Hell itself.

Everything was on fire. The bed, the walls, EVERYTHING. In the middle of it all stood Collin, screaming and writhing like a damned soul. “HELP ME! OH GOD, PLEASE HELP ME! IT WON’T STOP BURNING!”

To be continued…

“Well, that was melodramatic. Anyway, let’s try and find out just what I can do.” I concentrated on my own shadow, projected against the wall. I thought about it moving its arms up while I kept my arms at my side. It did so. Elated, I made it walk around the room. As it moved across the walls, it began to shrink slightly. I noticed it was still connected to me, but passing through areas where no shadow should be able to be projected.

“Hmm, maybe I only get a certain amount of shadow. Moving it around causes it to stretch and thin out, like a handful of putty.” I put my theory to the test, zig-zaging my shadow across the room. The more it stretched the lighter it got, until it was just a thin grey line. I tried to push it further, but it refused to move. Instead, I felt a strange pulling sensation in my body. It was highly unpleasant, so I released control of my shadow, which quickly snapped back into place.

“Now to see how well I control other shadows.” I placed a stuffed rabbit in the middle of the room, clear of other shadows. It cast a small rabbity shadow on the floor. I concentrated on the shadow, willing it to hop. It didn’t move. “Huh… maybe I need to touch it?” Carefully, I reached out a single finger and touched the shadow, again willing it to move. This time it did, the dark rabbit shape scooting across the floor.

“That’s weird. Earlier I was able to make shadows move without touching them. Maybe it also works if my shadow touches it?” I moved my shadow slowly across the floor, reaching out a small sliver to touch the rabbit. I felt a slight tingle and it moved again, although this time it was anchored to both the toy and where my own shadow touched it. “Cool.” I whispered, smiling slightly.

“Let’s see if I can chain them.” I moved the rabbit shadow under my bed. Again I felt the tingle, signifying that I now had control of another mass of shadow. I pushed the bed’s shadow out and up onto the wall, where I shaped it to resemble a person. I waved at it, making it wave in return. This gave me another idea.

“I wonder if I can use them to do things physically?” I picked up the rabbit toy, which had the unfortunate side-effect of moving the shadow it cast, breaking my chain. The bed’s shadow moved back into place underneath it. “Whoops, get back on that wall, you.” I moved my shadow to the bed, again forming a human on the opposite wall. “Here you go, catch!” I threw the rabbit toy at it, which stuck to the wall where it hit the shadow. “That is fucking awesome.” I willed it to move the toy across the wall, but nothing happened. “Huh.” I walked the shadow person away and the rabbit fell as soon as the shadow was no longer touching it. “So… I can hold things, but not move them? That’s weird, but okay.”

“So, let’s see. So far I can teleport through shadows, control them as long as I or my shadow is touching them, and hold things in place as long as they are touching a shadow I control.” I released the shadows I held, allowing them to return to their rightful places. “Yeah, I could be a superhero with that.”

Just then there was a knock at my door, startling me. The voice of Mom Willow came from the other side. “Molly, are you alright? I heard you shouting a minute ago.”

“Um, yeah Mom.” I glanced around nervously, making sure there were no stray shadows anywhere. Seeing none, I opened the door. “I’m fine, just, uh.. thinking out loud.”

“Oh sweetie, you’re still wearing your clothes from last night.” I looked down at myself. She was right, in my rush to explore my new powers, I hadn’t bothered to change out of my clothes from the accident. I still smelled like gasoline. “Why don’t you go take a nice long shower, hmm? Then we can go see Collin at the MetaCAR.”

“Okay, Mom. I’ll go get the shower started. Thanks.” Collin… Is he gonna be mad at me? I mean, he does have super powers now. Knowing him, he’ll think that’s awesome. Hopefully. Oh my gods… We BOTH have super powers! We could totally be superheroes together!

“Molly?” Mom Willow was still standing there, watching me.

“Huh?”

“You sure you’re okay? You spaced out for a minute there.”

“Oh, yeah. I was just… thinking about Collin.”

“Mm-hmm. I can tell.” She winked knowingly. “Don’t think too hard in the shower, now.”

I ran past her to the bathroom, blushing furiously. I shut the door, then looked into the mirror. I looked like crap. My long red hair, normally shiny and straight, was covered in ash, dirt, and gods only know what else. I had small scratches on my face and a large bruise on my left cheek. My eyes… my eyes had changed color! Or perhaps it would be better to say that they had lost color. My irises were gone. Where once there had been warm brown, there was now only black. Must have something to do with my powers. Well, at least I don’t have a tail… At that thought, I turned and patted my backside. Okay, good.

Now, unfortunately, came the part of showering that I hated. I turned away from the mirror, my evil, lying enemy. The pills I took helped, but there was only so much they could do. I turned on the hot water and waited for the perfect temperature. I removed my clothing, careful to not look down or back at the mirror. I had grown used to cleaning myself without actually looking.

Carefully, I stepped inside the shower. The hot water felt like heaven on my skin. I ran my hands through my hair, feeling bits of dirt and glass caught in the strands. The scraping feeling made me twitch. My hair is my pride and joy, I hate when stuff gets in it. Finding nothing else, I continued my ablutions. Conditioner, body wash, loofah, the smells and sensations calmed me. When the water running off of me stopped turning brown, I turned off the shower and stepped out.

I dried off, squeezing the water from my hair. I don’t do that hair turban thing, too unwieldy. Instead, I just wrapped the towel around myself and returned to my room. I dressed simply, slacks and a t-shirt, with a big floofy hoodie for warmth. I looked in the mirror. Good enough. Probably should have gone for the push-up bra, though. I sighed and made my way to the dining room.

Mom Willow was there, eating toast. “Hey sweetie! Your mama already headed out to work, so it’s just you and me.” Mama Sandra worked as a mechanic in a local garage. Mom Willow worked as a freelance software engineer, with a side business selling clothes and dolls online. “Do you want to talk about… anything?”

I looked into her eyes, remembering the last time we had a conversation like this. She had known what I was going through back then and I was sure she knew now. “Well, uh… the thing is…” I took a deep breath. “I’m a metahuman.”

She stood up and placed her hands on my shoulders. “I love you, Molly.” She then wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tight. I hugged her back. “I knew. When the doctor told us about Collin, I knew. I could see it in your eyes.” She pulled back from the hug, pinching my nose affectionately. “Literally. Something happened to your eyes.”

“Yeah, I know.” I looked down at the ground. “I think it has something to do with seeing in the dark.”

“You can see in the dark? What else can you do?”

“Well, uh… this.” I pointed at my shadow on the wall, then made it wave. “Also, I can kinda-sorta teleport through shadows.”

“That is… amazing! Show me!” Her eyes were glowing with excitement.

“Okay, here I go.” I stood in the shadow of a chair, willing myself to pass through it and return to my room. I came out behind my door, just in time to hear her shriek.

“Molly!? Where are you?”

“I’m in my room!” I quickly ported back to the kitchen. “Pretty cool, right?” I smiled, but it was just to hide the anxiety. I was afraid that the more I revealed to her, the more freaked out she would get.

“By the gods… How did you even figure out you could do that?”

“Well, I had this weird dream. Actually, it might not have been a dream, I don’t know.” I shrugged. “There was a castle and a creepy guy. He showed me how to move through the shadows.”

“O…kay…” She blinked rapidly. “Have you thought about what you want to do with this?”

“Well, kinda.” I bit my lip. “I was sorta thinking about, you know, helping people?”

“What do you mean? You want to be a superheroine?”

“Ye-maybe?” We both stood in silence for what seemed like forever, but was probably closer to twelve seconds.

“You’re going to need a costume then, aren’t you?” she said matter-of-factly.

“Really?” I was shocked. “I didn’t actually expect you to go along with it.”

“Hey, I meant it when I said you’d make a fantastic heroine.” She smiled. “But before we start sizing you for spandex, there’s someone you need to go visit.”

“Collin…” I whispered.

She gently kissed my forehead. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go see how Bonfire Boy is holding up, shall we?”

To be continued…

A cool voice shook my slumber. “Molly, you need to wake up.”

“Gimme a minute.” I waved my hand at the offending sound.

“Come now, Molly. You really need to get out of the bed.” Something about the voice was… off.

“Nooo. Bed too comfy.” I snuggled deeper into the pillows, breathing in the faint smell of rosemary. Wait, what?

“Well, I only get the best, but that’s neither here nor there.” The voice didn’t belong to either of my parents.

“Huh?” Something was wrong here. I slowly opened my eyes, and was met with the face of Jack.

“Welcome back to Shadowguard, Molly.”

“AAAAAHHH!” I leapt from the bed. “What am I doing back here?”

“Funny, I was just about to ask you the same question.” A smirk played across his lips. “Last time you were here, you started screaming about how you were ‘normal’ and then disappeared.”

“No, no… this is a dream. I just need to wake up.” I pinched my arm. It hurt. “Ow!”

“Molly, I’m fairly certain I would know if I wasn’t real.”

“I… I don’t understand. How can this be real? It makes no sense! Where even am I?”

“You’re in Shadowguard, of course. Fortress of Twilight, Bastion of Dusk!”

“That’s not… I mean, where are we in the world? Am I even still in America?”

“I don’t follow. I’ve never heard of ‘America’. Shadowguard is Shadowguard.”

“That makes no sense! What country is this castle in? What continent?”

“There is no country. There is only Shadowguard. Only I can walk these halls, only I know the way to and from the mighty gates. Well, I suppose you can get in as well…” He tapped his finger on his chin, his brow furrowed in thought.

I was exasperated with his cryptic bullshit. “I don’t… What is outside the castle, Jack?”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you. There is no outside. Here, take my hand, I’ll show you.” He reached out towards me.

I shrank back. “What do you mean?”

“Come now, it’s faster than climbing the stairs. Just come with me.” I grasped his outstretched hand. He made a strange movement with his other hand and we sank into the floor. Before I could cry out, we had risen back up. Only now we appeared to be on the ramparts of the castle. “Look, see what I mean? There is nothing but Shadowguard.”

I looked on, astonished by what I saw. He was right. Everything was empty. Blank and featureless as far as the eye could see. “This… this is impossible!”

“It cannot be impossible if it’s right here in front of you.”

“What is it? How can anything be so… nothing?”

“Damned if I know. The void? An endless abyss? The Shadow Realm? All I know is that anything that goes into it is never seen again.”

“But then… how can this castle be here? How can WE be here?”

“Shadowguard has always been here, just as I have. It is how YOU came to be here that worries me. If you can accidentally make your way here without the power to walk between shadows, then perhaps my enemies can as well.”

“Walk between shadows? Is that how we got here?” Something tingled in the back of my head, like half of a dream.

“Of course. I’m not called Jack of Shadows for no reason, after all. How did you think we got up here so fast?”

A thought clicked in my mind. “Wait, so you’re saying the only way to get here is to have the power to walk through shadows?”

“I had thought so, before you came.”

“Jack, what if I CAN walk through shadows?”

“That’s impossible! None but I possess that power!”

“No, listen to me. I was in a terrible accident. Afterwards, my friend gained some kind of… flame power. What if it also gave me shadow power, like you?”

“I’m fairly certain that’s not how magic works.”

“It’s not magic. At least, I don’t think it is. You live in this weird shadow dimension and it’s completely different from where I live. Where I live, people get powers like this all the time! I might be a metahuman!” I was shaking, but whether it was from fear or excitement, I couldn’t say. Probably both, if I’m being honest.

“Metahuman? Is that what your people call sorcerers?”

“Not really… it’s hard to explain. I think we’ve run into a Clarke’s Law scenario.”

“Now I’m confused.”

“Jack, how do you walk through shadows?”

“Well, really all I need to do is just will the shadow to connect to another. The arm waving is just for show. I can go anywhere a shadow exists, but it’s hard to find an exact place if I haven’t been there already.”

“Thanks, good to know.” I began concentrating on the pervasive shadows we stood on. Get me out of this castle.

“Wait, what are you tryin-”

I fell through the floor. The castle disappeared and I found myself… nowhere. I floated in an empty void, which was a tad chilly but otherwise not all too unpleasant. I wonder if this is Jack’s ‘Shadow Realm’? I looked around, but there was no sign of Shadowguard, or anything else for that matter. I could see myself, so there had to be a light source somewhere, but I couldn’t locate it. Well, this is weird. I’d like to be back home, though.

There was a rush. Suddenly, I was back in my room. I pinched myself again. “Ow!” Yep, still awake. I checked the clock, which read 6:27am. My parents wouldn’t be up for at least an hour, which would give me plenty of time to practice. I flexed my hands, exerting my will. I was rewarded with seeing the shadows in the room dance and sway. My breath caught in my throat. “I’m a metahuman. I have power now. Real power.” I felt the blood rush through my veins at the thought of everything I could do with this gift.

I walked into a shadow and came out at the scene of last night’s accident. The street was empty, the vehicles had apparently been cleared away in the night. It wasn’t clean, though. The blast marks filled the intersection, and there was shrapnel covering the surrounding area. “This will never happen again.” I clenched my fist, anger swelling up in my heart. “I swear by all things holy, I will allow myself to be a victim of Fate no longer! I am in control of my own destiny now!”

I moved through the shadows once more, returning to my room. “Everything is different now.”

To be continued…

“Hi, Mom. Hi, Mama. I’m fine. Nothing’s broken, at least. I guess the hospital called you?” I sighed, consigning myself to my fate.

Mom Willow rushed to my side and hugged me tight. “Oh Molly, I was so worried! They told us you had been in a wreck and said something about an explosion… Oh gods, I’m just so glad you’re okay!” she sobbed out, stroking my head.

“Y-You and me both, Mom.” I hugged her back, although the wires somewhat impeded my movements.

“Well, I wasn’t worried. They also said you were fine, albeit unconscious, but you know how Willow gets.” Mama Sandra said as she entered the room. She placed her hand on mine. “I am glad you’re not hurt though, sweetie.” She smiled, but I could see the tears pooling in her eyes. Mama Sandra was the stoic one, but I knew she loved me just as much as Mom Willow.

“Thanks, Mama.” I smiled back, clenching her hand. “I… I love you both so much!

“I’ll, uh, just leave you three alone. The doctor should be with you shortly.” Nurse Joy informed us before quickly running out of the room.

Mama Sandra watched her go with a bemused expression on her face. “She sure hightailed it out of here in a hurry. You think we made her uncomfortable?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.” I said. “She’s a purist, it wouldn’t surprise me if she were all kinds of bigoted in other ways.”

“A purist?” Mom Willow blanched. “How exactly did that come up in conversation?”

“There was some kind of metahuman emergency and she started in on that ’round ’em up’ bullsh- er, stuff.”

“Gross.” Mom Willow stuck out her tongue.

“I’m glad we don’t have to deal with that kind of stuff.” Mama Sandra shook her head sadly. “The homophobia is bad enough.”

“Those poor metahumans…” Mom Willow said. “Can you imagine just waking up one day and having a tail? At least people can’t tell that I like girls just by looking at me.”

“Yes dear, you’re very stealthy with your rainbow-colored jewelry.” Mama Sandra said slyly.

“I know I wouldn’t like it.” I said. “I’ve got enough problems without worrying about the responsibility that comes with that kind of power.”

“Now sweetie, don’t sell yourself short.” Mom Willow said, pinching my nose lightly. “I’m sure if you were a metahuman you’d be a fantastic heroine.”

“I’m glad you’re not, though. The last thing I need is a teenager who can breathe fire.” Mama Sandra chuckled. “Speaking of fire, what happened to your car?”

“Well, Collin was driving me home and there was a deer on the road an-”

“Wait, why was Collin driving you home?” Mama Sandra looked concerned.

“Oh, well… I suggested that.” said Mom Willow sheepishly.

Mama Sandra rubbed her hand across her face, sighing deeply. “Maybe you should start at the beginning.”

“Well, I kinda… had some beer…”

“This whole explanation is going to be a mess from start to finish, isn’t it?” Mama Sandra asked flatly.

“Shh, don’t interrupt her.” Mom Willow waved a hand at her. “Keep going, sweetie. We won’t say anything until you’re finished.” She looked pointedly at Mama Sandra, who just harrumphed.

“Um, right. So… I had some beer, then I, uh, kinda-sorta…” I blushed, then hurriedly whispered, “Kissed Collin.”

“Ooooooh~” Mom Willow grinned wide.

“Hey, no interrupting, remember?” Mama Sandra said, winking at me. “Continue, sweetie.”

“Uh, then I freaked out a little because I got… excited, so I got ready to leave. Collin told me I was too drunk to drive, so he offered to drive me home. While we were driving a deer ran out in front of us, so Collin swerved around it, but ended up hitting a truck. We got the truck driver out, but then something exploded and we got knocked out.” I paused, taking a deep breath. “That’s the last thing I remember before waking up in here.”

“By the gods…” Mama Sandra muttered.

“I can’t believe you’re not seriously hurt after an ordeal like that.” Mom Willow said, astonished. “Do you know what happened to Collin?”

“He was… closer to the explosion than I was. He’s alive, but he… he’s not doing… he…” I choked, unable to continue.

Mom Willow hugged me tight once more. “Oh gods, I’m so sorry sweetie.”

Mama Sandra placed her hand upon my shoulder. “Molly, this isn’t your fault. I know you, you’re probably blaming yourself for everything right now, aren’t you?”

“But it is! If I had jus-”

“No.” Mama Sandra said sharply. “You are only responsible for your own actions, not the hand of Fate. You must not let this weigh down your soul. Down that path lies only sorrow.”

Suddenly, a new voice entered the room. “Sorry to interrupt.” A middle-aged woman with a severe frown stood at the door. “Are one of you ladies the mother of this young man?”

“We both are.” said Mama Sandra.

“And she’s our daughter.” added Mom Willow.

“Riiight…” the woman said, nonplussed. “I’m Doctor Pregler. Your… daughter’s blood work came back normal, so I just need to conduct a physical examination before I can release her. Please step back.”

They both moved away from the bed. The doctor commenced poking and prodding me, shining lights, taking blood pressure, the usual.

“Shouldn’t the nurse have done this already?” asked Mom Willow.

“Yes. However, we’re shorthanded tonight due to the storm. People seem compelled to drive recklessly during bad weather.” She pressed firmly on my back. “Does that hurt?”

“No.”

“Rotate your head right and left, please.” I did so. “Is there any restriction of your movement? Anything that feels like a pinch or a pull?”

“No.”

“Hmm.” She tapped her pencil on her clipboard. “Has anything unusual happened to you since the accident?”

“Unusual?” I thought back to that weird dream. “Like what?”

“Nothing specific. The young man that came in with you has begun to display metahuman abilities. We’re trying to determine if the accident you were involved in caused them, or if it was merely a catalyst for already existent abilities.”

“Meta… Collin? Collin has super powers?” My mouth hung open as I took in this revelation.

“Yes, Collin Haines. Is he a friend of yours?”

“Yeah, he…” I shook my head to clear it. “What happened to him? Is he okay?”

“He’s much better than he should be, to be honest. He spontaneously combusted, but the fire seems to have healed his burns rather than exacerbate them.”

“Huh…wah?”

“I know, metahuman abilities can be quite shocking at times. Coming back to my original question, have you noticed any abilities yourself?”

“Um, I don’t know…” I concentrated, then shot my hands out. Nothing happened. I looked at her and shrugged.

‘Hmm. Well then, you’re fit to leave. If you do notice any abilities arising in the next week or so, be sure to visit a specialist at the MetaCAR.” She pulled off the wires stuck to my chest. “I’m going to pull out the IV needle now, please hold still.” I shuddered. I really hate needles… After she pulled it out and swabbed it off, she pointed to a small box sitting on a chair. “Your clothes are in there. We’ll mail you your bill. Have a nice day.” With that, she turned to walk out.

“Wait!” I shouted.

She turned back around, raising an eyebrow expectantly. “Yes?”

“Can I see Collin? Do you know what room he’s in?”

“I’m sorry, your friend has already been transferred to the MetaCAR. You’ll have to get in touch with them. Goodbye.” She strode out the door.

Mom Willow walked up and patted my head. “Come on and get dressed, honey. We’ll take you home to get some rest. You can go see Collin in the morning.”

I put on my clothes and we walked out to the car in silence. Upon arriving home, I went straight to bed.

Mom Willow peeked her head in the door. “Sweet dreams, honeychile.”

My dreams were anything but sweet, though. That night, they were filled with visions of fire and screams of pain.

To be continued…

This had not been a good night for me, and it seemed determined to just keep getting worse and worse. I woke up (AGAIN) in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask over my face and various tubes and wires sticking out of me. I resisted the urge to rip them out. I was also wearing a patient gown, which meant someone had undressed me. So now I was going to have to deal with THAT as well.

I removed the mask. “Hello? Is anybody there? Um, I’m awake… Nurse, Doctor?” I called out to the curtains surrounding me. No one answered. “This better not be another dream. Jack, are you there?” Still no answer. I looked around for a call button and soon found one by my bedside. I pressed it and waited, but not for long.

A young-ish woman with faint smile lines and a very messy bun soon walked into the room. “Ah, Mr. Buck! You’re awake, that’s a very good sign. You can call me Nurse Joy, is there anything you need before the doctor sees you?” She smiled brightly, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Great, now I’m going to have to deal with this. Gods, give me strength…

“It’s ‘Ms.’, actually. I’m transgender.” I sighed, preparing for the inevitable citing of regulations and technicalities.

“Oh, I… um, well… you see, we have to use the information on your legal documentation for our system, so-”

“Great, wonderful.” I interrupted. “And that prevents you from calling me ‘Miss’ how exactly? Or by my name, which is Molly, by the way.” She started to speak but I cut her off again. “I do not care what my license or whatever says, do not call me by that name, my name is Molly.” I sighed again, shaking my head. “This is why I hate hospitals…” I looked up sharply. “Wait, rewind that! Why am I in a hospital? Where’s Collin? What happened to the truck guy?”

“Um, well… Miss… Molly, uh…” She stuttered, slightly shaken by my outburst. “We found two other survivors at the crash site, a Mr. Mast and a Mr. Haines.”

“That’s Collin! Collin Haines! He’s my friend, he was with me!”

“Yes, well, Mr. Mast is stable, though he hasn’t woken up yet. Mr. Haines, on the other hand…” Her voice trailed off slightly.

My heart plummeted. “Collin… he… he’s not dead, is he?” Tears began to well up in my eyes.

“Nonono! He’s alive.” She reassured me.

“So… he’s okay, then?” I said, hopefully.

“Not exactly… Mr. Haines was significantly closer to the explosion than either Mr. Mast or yourself. He has severe third degree burns on his arms, partial second degree burns on most of his torso and lower body, and some rather nasty first degree burns on his face. We believe he may have used his arms to shield his face, but he still wound up getting a piece of molten glass imbedded in his right eye. He’ll be permanently blind in that eye, if he doesn’t die from the burns or subsequent infections.”

Silence filled the room like a flood. I was shocked to my very core. My mouth opened and closed, but no sound emerged. Finally, I found my voice. “This… this is all my fault! I should have just stayed home, I should have… I should…” I began wailing, my words lost in the anguish.

Nurse Joy tried for a smile and patted my back. “Miste- um, Molly, please calm down. It’s late and you’ll wake the other patients. Besides, I’m sure your friend will be fine. We’ve got some of the best doctors in the world here at Blaine Memorial.” I could tell she was very uncomfortable about this whole thing.

“B-but, his eye, hi-his arms! They’re ruined, how is he supposed to… This is all my fault!” My sobbing intensified.

“Now now, there have been great advances in cybernetics lately, and with his insurance being through Blaine Industries, I’m sure he’s covered for that kind of thing. Besides, you know how boys are, they love that cyborg stuff.”

“He’s still going t-to hate me forever.”

Suddenly, a voice blared over the intercom. “Dr. Cape, please report to Room B-404. Repeat, Dr. Cape to B-404.” Joy looked surprised at this.

I seized on the opportunity to talk about something, anything else than the fact that I had just ruined my one and only friend’s life. “What’s going on? Must be pretty important if they’re being so loud this late…”

“Oh, that’s a bit of hospital code. ‘Dr. Cape’ means they need a metahuman specialist.” She looked more and more concerned by the second and I could understand why.

‘Metahuman’ is the technical term for people with super-powers. They often have radically different physiology from your garden-variety humans (who many metahuman rights activists have taken to calling ‘mesohumans’ in an attempt keep metahumans from being othered) and they require special care facilities to treat their injuries. Especially since sometimes their injuries can include ‘accidental self-immolation’.

“Metahuman? I thought they had their own hospitals. You know, with, like, laser-proof walls and such?”

“Yes, well, if we pick someone up who doesn’t have wings or a spandex bodysuit on, we can’t really tell them from normal people. Not without doing blood work or them spontaneously growing spikes. There have been a lot of accidents tonight, what with the storm and all, we probably got someone who was driving around in their ‘secret identity’.” She made sarcastic air quotes around the words. “What we need is to get people like that registered, to keep normal people like us safe!”

Oh good, my nurse is a purist. ‘Purist’ is a term for people who believe that humanity should be kept ‘pure’. That metahumans should be registered, rounded up, and in some cases, killed. They’re generally not very nice people, holding up supervillains as the standard for metahumans while completely ignoring the far greater number of heroic metas who have dedicated their lives to altruism and public service. What else could possibly go wrong tonight? Oh gods… Why did I just say that?

Then, as if on cue, a very familiar voice came from the doorway.

“Molly, oh gods above! Are you okay?”

My parents had arrived.

To be continued…