Secrets in the Stars
Unpredictable
Three days later, Tony and I still weren’t speaking, but training was going beyond well. I was already beginning to move on from calisthenics and the basics of hand-to-hand combat. Steve couldn’t stop saying “you’re learning fast” or “you’re doing great”, but wasn’t too shy for constructive criticism—or to pin me flat.
We were in that position exactly when Natasha made an appearance in the training center. “Oh, I don’t mean to interrupt. Nice place to train, Star,” she said, complimenting the computer-generated field; the same one I had showed Steve on my first day of training. “Mind if I join?”
I felt my skin get even hotter than it already was as I stood up. “With him, me, or both?”
Natasha smirked at me and didn’t say a word.
I gulped. Sparring with Captain America seemed like taking baby steps compared to doing the same with Black Widow.
“Don’t worry,” Steve reassured me. “I wouldn’t have asked Natasha to come if I didn’t think you were ready to take it to the next level.”
I stared at him, mouth agape. “I can’t even pin YOU yet!”
Steve smiled at me. “What are you implying?”
“That I’m tougher than you, I believe,” Natasha laughed. “Smart girl.”
I shrugged. “Sorry Cap, but it’s true.”
“That hurts a little, actually.” Steve said, but we knew he was kidding.
I wasn’t though.
Natasha was an incredible guide, teaching me about the movement of my body in a way Steve never could. She watched me fight with him, correcting each mistake carefully or showing me ways that I could perform a move better.
Focusing on training was all I could do to keep distracted from everything else that had been happening. The more time I spent working out and working hard, the less time I had to think about the parts of my life that I couldn’t control.
But my birthday was coming, and Xavier wanted to see me before then; he kept saying that I needed to think about working with him to learn how to control my powers. He seemed to think that something might happen to me (or more likely because of me) on my twenty-second birthday, seeing as how my twenty-first birthday came and went and my powers never faded. I had to remind him that the plan didn’t work because of his actions, yet I couldn’t blame him for being paranoid.
Everything about my existence was unpredictable at this point; I couldn’t stay angry with Uncle X forever, especially not since I understood now why he had made those choices.
After training was finished for the day, I retreated to my room and immediately stripped down and hopped into the shower. I had always felt a special connection to the water, and once it touched my skin everything ailing me seemed to wash away. My bathroom had lately become my favorite place in the world.
I was rinsing the conditioner from my hair and the berry-scented soap from my body when something in the back of my mind seemed to click, just as it had when I slammed my fist through the window…
I opened my eyes and watched the water fall from the rain-type shower head, sliding down my skin and into the drain. Something in my head told me to lift my right hand and cup it slightly, as if a delicate glass ball was suddenly in my care. As I cupped my hand, the water around me moved towards it and formed the little ball I had been thinking of, spinning slowly and still flowing steadily. I then stretched out my fingers, and the water moved with me, twirling between them.
That’s when I heard the same voice that I had once heard in the elevator, and the same slithering feeling had returned. “Star…” She called.
I jumped, causing me to lose focus and the water around my fingers to splash at my feet. Just then, the water began to run so hot that it was burning me, and I ran out of the shower and clasped the sink, staring into the mirror. I knew She would be looking back at me, and she was.
“There you are,” She giggled. “So pretty.”
“What do you want?!” I screamed, and the right-hand edge of the mirror began to crack.
She smiled big, “Very good, you’re getting stronger.”
I was trembling so violently; all I could feel was my rage. “Answer me!”
“I want what I’ve always wanted, Star… To be free.”
I raised my eyebrow, and the lights began to flicker. “What… What even are you?”
Her expression softened, as if she was concerned for my sanity. “Why, I’m you! Or, more accurately, I am what you are made of.”
“So, you’re magic?”
“I’m Spirit, Star. I’m the element that makes up your entire being! Such a shame that you don’t recognize me… Then again, considering our lineage, I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s time you knew me, isn’t it?”
All at once, my reflection no longer looked exactly like me. She still had my curves, the details of my face, but her entire form was made up of every conceivable color, and it seemed as though there were a million twinkling lights shining underneath her skin. The beauty of that light was hypnotizing, haunting, devastating. Next thing I knew, she was stepping out of the mirror and I was falling to the floor.
She leaned over, taking my face in her hands and bringing my eyes up to hers. “I’ve been trapped in here for hundreds of years… That wasn’t part of the plan,” Her eyes grew sad, and I swore that I could see a tear stream down her cheek. “None of this was.”
“Then why are you still here?” I asked, terrified of her response but desperate for an answer.
“I was hiding, dearest Star, from those who sought to control us, and those who wanted to destroy us. But as time went on, things became complicated and I—“
“STAR, ARE YOU OKAY?” I heard Steve banging on the door to my room, screaming as if at the top of his lungs. My eyes shot back to the Spirit, and hers to mine.
“You’re getting in touch with the four elements. And once you have completed that task, I’ll be free! I’ve waited for you for so long—“
“STAR!!!”
“Soon, you’ll be strong enough. Soon! But you can’t gain that control without sacrifices!” She begged.
I felt compelled to give her anything, everything she could ask for. But I stopped myself from saying so, instead asking, “What will be my sacrifice?”
“You must not love them, Star.” Then, before I could say another word, she brought her lips to mine and I felt the warmth of her light fade into me.
I noticed then that the everything around me was pitch black—the power was out again—and at that moment Steve burst into the bathroom.
“Star! Are you okay? What happened?”
I didn’t look at him, I didn’t say anything; all I could think about was her words. “You must not love them, Star.” I didn’t have to ask what she meant, because I knew.
Here I was, training like a superhero, when it was now more clear than ever that that was something I could never be. No human would ever be safe near me.
We were in that position exactly when Natasha made an appearance in the training center. “Oh, I don’t mean to interrupt. Nice place to train, Star,” she said, complimenting the computer-generated field; the same one I had showed Steve on my first day of training. “Mind if I join?”
I felt my skin get even hotter than it already was as I stood up. “With him, me, or both?”
Natasha smirked at me and didn’t say a word.
I gulped. Sparring with Captain America seemed like taking baby steps compared to doing the same with Black Widow.
“Don’t worry,” Steve reassured me. “I wouldn’t have asked Natasha to come if I didn’t think you were ready to take it to the next level.”
I stared at him, mouth agape. “I can’t even pin YOU yet!”
Steve smiled at me. “What are you implying?”
“That I’m tougher than you, I believe,” Natasha laughed. “Smart girl.”
I shrugged. “Sorry Cap, but it’s true.”
“That hurts a little, actually.” Steve said, but we knew he was kidding.
I wasn’t though.
Natasha was an incredible guide, teaching me about the movement of my body in a way Steve never could. She watched me fight with him, correcting each mistake carefully or showing me ways that I could perform a move better.
Focusing on training was all I could do to keep distracted from everything else that had been happening. The more time I spent working out and working hard, the less time I had to think about the parts of my life that I couldn’t control.
But my birthday was coming, and Xavier wanted to see me before then; he kept saying that I needed to think about working with him to learn how to control my powers. He seemed to think that something might happen to me (or more likely because of me) on my twenty-second birthday, seeing as how my twenty-first birthday came and went and my powers never faded. I had to remind him that the plan didn’t work because of his actions, yet I couldn’t blame him for being paranoid.
Everything about my existence was unpredictable at this point; I couldn’t stay angry with Uncle X forever, especially not since I understood now why he had made those choices.
After training was finished for the day, I retreated to my room and immediately stripped down and hopped into the shower. I had always felt a special connection to the water, and once it touched my skin everything ailing me seemed to wash away. My bathroom had lately become my favorite place in the world.
I was rinsing the conditioner from my hair and the berry-scented soap from my body when something in the back of my mind seemed to click, just as it had when I slammed my fist through the window…
I opened my eyes and watched the water fall from the rain-type shower head, sliding down my skin and into the drain. Something in my head told me to lift my right hand and cup it slightly, as if a delicate glass ball was suddenly in my care. As I cupped my hand, the water around me moved towards it and formed the little ball I had been thinking of, spinning slowly and still flowing steadily. I then stretched out my fingers, and the water moved with me, twirling between them.
That’s when I heard the same voice that I had once heard in the elevator, and the same slithering feeling had returned. “Star…” She called.
I jumped, causing me to lose focus and the water around my fingers to splash at my feet. Just then, the water began to run so hot that it was burning me, and I ran out of the shower and clasped the sink, staring into the mirror. I knew She would be looking back at me, and she was.
“There you are,” She giggled. “So pretty.”
“What do you want?!” I screamed, and the right-hand edge of the mirror began to crack.
She smiled big, “Very good, you’re getting stronger.”
I was trembling so violently; all I could feel was my rage. “Answer me!”
“I want what I’ve always wanted, Star… To be free.”
I raised my eyebrow, and the lights began to flicker. “What… What even are you?”
Her expression softened, as if she was concerned for my sanity. “Why, I’m you! Or, more accurately, I am what you are made of.”
“So, you’re magic?”
“I’m Spirit, Star. I’m the element that makes up your entire being! Such a shame that you don’t recognize me… Then again, considering our lineage, I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s time you knew me, isn’t it?”
All at once, my reflection no longer looked exactly like me. She still had my curves, the details of my face, but her entire form was made up of every conceivable color, and it seemed as though there were a million twinkling lights shining underneath her skin. The beauty of that light was hypnotizing, haunting, devastating. Next thing I knew, she was stepping out of the mirror and I was falling to the floor.
She leaned over, taking my face in her hands and bringing my eyes up to hers. “I’ve been trapped in here for hundreds of years… That wasn’t part of the plan,” Her eyes grew sad, and I swore that I could see a tear stream down her cheek. “None of this was.”
“Then why are you still here?” I asked, terrified of her response but desperate for an answer.
“I was hiding, dearest Star, from those who sought to control us, and those who wanted to destroy us. But as time went on, things became complicated and I—“
“STAR, ARE YOU OKAY?” I heard Steve banging on the door to my room, screaming as if at the top of his lungs. My eyes shot back to the Spirit, and hers to mine.
“You’re getting in touch with the four elements. And once you have completed that task, I’ll be free! I’ve waited for you for so long—“
“STAR!!!”
“Soon, you’ll be strong enough. Soon! But you can’t gain that control without sacrifices!” She begged.
I felt compelled to give her anything, everything she could ask for. But I stopped myself from saying so, instead asking, “What will be my sacrifice?”
“You must not love them, Star.” Then, before I could say another word, she brought her lips to mine and I felt the warmth of her light fade into me.
I noticed then that the everything around me was pitch black—the power was out again—and at that moment Steve burst into the bathroom.
“Star! Are you okay? What happened?”
I didn’t look at him, I didn’t say anything; all I could think about was her words. “You must not love them, Star.” I didn’t have to ask what she meant, because I knew.
Here I was, training like a superhero, when it was now more clear than ever that that was something I could never be. No human would ever be safe near me.