Hero High

Ayriana stared out the window of the car, watching the landscape roll by like a movie on a television screen. It was time for her bimonthly trip to Doctor Greene, a doctor that specialized in kids with unusual powers or those who had been having difficulty controlling their powers. Her mother sat in the passenger seat twiddling her thumbs while her father drove down the road without saying a word. Ayriana rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat as they pulled into the dark grey building that looked like a giant face; Ayriana always compared it to the one in the movie Monster House.

Ayriana was checked in and rapidly placed in the doctor’s office for them to run random and sometimes painful tests on her. Doctor Greene walked in, he was a middle aged man with balding blonde hair that had a shiny spot in the middle as if someone had buffed it with floor wax. His curious green eyes scanned up and down her, as if he was memorizing every small detail about her.

“Good morning Ayriana.” He told her in his cheery voice.

“Good morning Doctor Greene.” Ayriana replied to him.

Out of all of the doctors that came to poke and prod her, she liked Doctor Greene the best. He was always gentle and careful to try to make the process as painless as possible. The others did not seem to care as much, for as long as they got their lab and test results.

“Well you know what to do.” Doctor Greene said while pointing to a paper thin robe they gave to hospital patients.

Doctor Greene walked out of the room and Ayriana stripped down to nothing and put the robe on. She never understood why she had to put it on because chances were they would have her fully naked for the whole three hour examination. She never understood why she had to go au natural all the time around here, a theory she had been developing on the first day was that the male doctors here were perverts, she thought that until she found out that she had more female doctors testing her than male ones.

The first doctor walked in, Doctor Ashley Sharpe strolled in, her grey lifeless eyes pierced through Ayriana. Doctor Sharpe pushed a strand of black hair back over her ear and motioned for Ayriana to follow. Ayriana trudged down the hall following Doctor Sharpe into a room that in the middle held restraints. These restraints were not attached to the wall but somehow prevented one from moving. They always were parallel to the doctor’s waist, which meant they adjusted on their own.

Doctor Sharpe ordered Ayriana to take her robe off. Ayriana sighed and did as she was told. She slipped the robe off and it fell to the floor. She walked over to where the restraints were located and they attached themselves to her. Doctor Sharpe wheeled a cart up that held sensors and other testing equipment. She put some sensors on the sides of Ayriana’s head and taped them down so they would not move. Ayriana hated this test, it was the longest and one of the more painful ones they would do to her.

Doctor Sharpe pulled out a thin acupuncture needle and jabbed it into Ayriana’s back. Ayriana grunted trying to hold in a scream. Doctor Sharpe looked at her curiously while writing a few things down. “Now Ayriana it does not hurt that bad.”She said emotionlessly.
“Really bitch? Lie down and let me do it to you and we will talk then.” Ayriana replied hostility.

“Now why would I do that? Chances are you would mess something up, and we cannot have that can we?”

Doctor Sharpe began to stab more and more needles into Ayriana’s body; she spread out from her back to her shoulders and continued on. She was rougher on her today than usual.

“Enjoying this? You damn sadist.” Ayriana insulted her as she rammed a needle into her shoulder blade.

Ayriana looked at the clock; she had ten minutes left until she moved on to her next session. Doctor Sharpe stabbed her with a few more needles before starting to yank them out one by one. Ayriana loved this part as it meant she would not be stabbing anything else into her. The needles slid out, none of them had drawn blood, which always amazed Ayriana considering that it felt like she was shooting needles out of a nail gun into her skin.

“Good work Ayriana.” Doctor Sharpe said with a small smile on her face.

“Yeah I’m looking forward to seeing you in two weeks bitch.” Ayriana told her coldly.

Doctor Sharpe’s smile grew bigger and she walked out of the room. A nurse came in to rub some numbing gel on where she had been stuck with needles. The gel felt like heaven as it cooled and numbed the area that was filled with pain. The door opened to reveal a new doctor, Doctor James Reids.

Doctor Reids walked in and pulled up a chair. He held a pencil and a clipboard in his hands, Ayriana was glad all he was here to do was to ask her a few questions. She needed a break already, these visits taxed her that much.

“Now how are you feeling today Ayriana?” Doctor Reid asked her.

“Just peachy, especially after getting needles stuck in me for almost an hour.” Ayriana said while wiggling around in her restraints.

“I am sorry about that test, but it is necessary.” “Why would hurting me for almost an hour be necessary doc?” Ayriana asked while blowing a strand of blonde hair back on top her head.
“We need to know how your powers react under pressure and pain.”

“Whatever doc, just whatever.” Ayriana hung there and answered his probing questions about how she felt, what was going on in her life, and other personal things. When he had the questions he needed Doctor Greene walked back in. He pulled a chair up and sat down next to Ayriana who still hovered in the air.

“What are we doing today Doctor Greene?” Ayriana asked.

“Well Ayriana this will be a break from your first test, today’s event involves tickling.” He replied.

“I’m sorry doc but that sounds really stupid. Why do I have to be tickled?”Ayriana asked.

“To test and see if your powers will emerge if you are in an extreme state of happiness or potential ecstasy.”

Ayriana just nodded, most of the time she did not understand most of what they said or explained to her. She was just there to learn more about her powers and then maybe how to control them, if they would ever get around to the latter.

Doctor Greene strapped a device that went around Ayriana’s rib cage that snaked around her shoulder and under her arms. Doctor Greene pulled a remote out and turned the sensors attached to Ayriana’s head back on. He checked everything one more time before turning and looking at Ayriana.

“Alright now I will start slow and turn it up, this will go nonstop for thirty minutes before we give you a small break and then we shall continue for another thirty minutes. After which we will be done for this test and you will be free until we meet for next time.”

“Sounds great Doctor Greene.” She told him, trying to get through this as fast as possible.

Ayriana saw Doctor Greene turn the dial on the remote. Ayriana felt a small sensation arising from the areas covered, obviously it was tickling but it felt like more like someone was running their finger very slowly over her. Doctor Greene turned it up some more and then it began to felt like tickling.

Ayriana held back a snicker as the device moved faster. It worked obviously and she did not mind this test so much. Doctor Greene turned it up and Ayriana began to laugh a little, as if someone told a slightly humorous joke. Doctor Greene kept it at that setting for a few minutes before turning it up a little more. Now Ayriana was laughing uncontrollably, her eyes began to get moist as she was laughing hard enough to cry. Doctor Greene turned it up even more and tears began to pour from her eyes. Her sides began to hurt so much that they felt like they would split open. The device kept going up and up until Ayriana was begging in between laughs for him to stop. He did not stop but the device kept going faster and faster until it stopped suddenly.

Ayriana finished laughing and breathed heavily, trying refill her lungs with the oxygen that had been lost in the half an hour long laughing fit. Her breaks were usually five to ten minutes long and she intended to make the most of them. She tried to catch her breath and regain a normal breathing pattern but this was wasted as she felt the device come back on.

“Shit.” She put plainly.

There was no warm up this time around; Doctor Greene immediately turned it on right where he left off. Ayriana howled like a hyena, she wondered in the back of head for a moment if she would be able to last another half hour with this on. She laughed and tried wiggle out of the restraints to yank the device off. When she could not get out or even loosen the restraints a little tiny bit she dropped and continued to laugh hysterically.

Ayriana began to buck around like a wild bull, she tried to get free. A light started to burn within her, her powers started to flow back through her veins even though the room she was in neutralized super powers. Right before she let loose Doctor Greene turned the device off.

“Okay that’s it, I will let you down and you will be free to go.” He told her.
The restraints around Ayriana’s limbs opened and she dropped to the floor. Her clothes were brought in and she was ushered back in to the doctor’s office. Ayriana laid down on the table that was in the doctor's office. The doctors were talking to her parents outside, and by their tone it was not about pleasant things.

She felt lonely and summoned the small angel like being she had created from pure light when she had been six years old. Ayriana called her Pixie. Pixie was about as tall as her first finger and that was Pixie's favorite thing to swing from. Ayriana looked over the small being; she had short cut hair that spiked up. She didn't speak any language but in a series of squeaks that only Ayriana seemed to understand.

She looked down at Pixie and smiled at the small being. She wished she could be like her, one that did not have the responsibilities of the world crashing down on her. The little being only had to worry about how to please Ayriana and be the best friend to her that Pixie could. Ayriana almost envied it, wishing the two could swap places. Another forty five minutes had passed before Ayriana's parents came back in. By then Ayriana had fallen asleep from boredom. Before she drifted off she started to feel more and more tired, her sudden outburst of her powers and the rigorous testing she had been put through had been draining her energy from her.

Her father picked her light body up and carried her to the car. She woke up about halfway home but laid there not wanting to hear what the doctors had discussed with her parents at this time. She rolled over and fell back to sleep, it engulfed and overtook her very quickly, almost as if it was a monster that waited to swallow her up.

Ayriana awoke when her father braked the car after pulling into the driveway. She kept her eyes closed and felt her father pick her up and take inside. He placed her into her bed and tucked her in. She felt her mother place a light kiss upon Ayriana’s forehead. She lay wrapped in the warm covers for a while before acting like she woke up.

She rolled over to see her parents sitting in her room. Her father was leaned back in her desk chair and her mom sat the end of her bed.

"Hey sweetie how are you feeling?" Her mom asked her while picking at her skirt; she had a worried look slapped on her face.

“I feel fine, why? Should I feel bad or weird or something like that?” Ayriana asked.

“No, no sweetie. I was just asking.” Her mother tried to reassure her but her gaze was on another object in the room instead of on Ayriana.

"What's wrong with me?" Ayriana asked.

"Nothing is wrong with you honey cake." Her father said slapping a fake smile on to his face.
Ayriana was tired of the lies and all of the fake smiles. She wanted answers not false hope that she might just be like any other kid with powers. She knew she was not one, she felt it, deep inside her. A destructive power that if t were unleashed would destroy everything that it came in contact with, it felt like another side, an alter ego almost. A being that whispered threats of destruction and death that scared Ayriana that she held such power inside her.

"You're lying! No one talks to a doctor for that long without something being wrong." Ayriana said with tears welling up in her eyes.

Her father stood up from her desk chair that he had been sitting in. He had a sad look on his face. He knew that something was wrong and they were not telling her. It was driving her insane, she felt like a freak. Someone who should be locked in a cage and have sticks poked into her and stones thrown as hard as they could into her as well. Her mother sighed before looking back at her. That only reinforced what she had been thinking earlier.

"Your powers are evolving quicker than expected. The doctor’s are just worried. Nothing too terribly wrong dear." She tried to sound cheerful but an underlying tone of extreme worry was laced with the words she spoke.

“JUST TELL ME!” Ayriana screamed, tears pouring freely from her eyes, “tell me what’s wrong with me! Tell me what a freak I am or how dangerous I am so I can be locked away!”

Her parents just stared at her some more, as if they were unsure what to do. They looked at each other before sighing and uttering more lies about how she was fine and her powers were developing a little quicker than expected.

“Just get out! Get out!” Ayriana shrieked, not caring if she offended them.

Her parents got up and exited the room, closing the door behind them. Ayriana cried softly and Pixie tried to comfort her to no avail. Ayriana cried and cried until she fell back into the welcoming dark embrace of sleep.