Title: New Beginning
Rating: K+
Genre: Friendship, action, a little hurt/comfort but that doesn't really apply in this case
Characters: Skylar, mentions/little bits of the others
Pairing(s): None
Summary: 'Well, she was okay, for the moment. She was going to survive through that night, and through the whole year that came after. Because now, she had something to fight for.' Dedicated to TKDP.
Warnings: None
Notes: Well, hello, Mighty Med archives! You may have seen me hanging around the Lab Rats archives, and reviewing a bit over here, but here I am with my first Mighty Med story! This is dedicated to TKDP because she showed a lot of enthusiasm when we discussed my Mighty Med ideas, and because we're fellow Skylar fans!
This is set on New Year's eve, and it is exactly ten minutes to midnight as I post this where I am, so yay! I'm on schedule!
Anyway, enjoy, everyone!
"A few more minutes, everyone!"
It was just ten minutes to midnight on December 31st, but one person—well, Calderan, technically—wasn't really into the festivities.
Skylar Storm slipped from the Mighty Med lobby, walking down the hall and entering an empty room.
It didn't make any sense for her to be celebrating with the heroes out there. She wasn't one of them, not anymore, so why was she even in there? She didn't belong in their world. Even Oliver and Kaz fit in more than she did. It was so unfair that they just got powers, while she was left a… normo.
What was more, she didn't see any reason to be celebrating at all. Another year just meant more dangers, more villains the world had to hold up against… and for her, it just meant another year closer to possibly dying. She still didn't have her powers, so where did that leave her? She couldn't survive without them, and they were gone—possibly permanently. She had practically no chance of living past her teenage years. That was just pathetic, really.
She suddenly heard a voice from in the hallway.
"Seriously, where'd Skylar go?"
Oliver's voice.
"I don't know," another voice said. That was Kaz. "Maybe she just wanted to be alone."
"Seriously, Kaz?" Oliver retorted. "Who would want to be alone on New Year's eve?"
I would, she thought.
"I don't know! It was just a guess!" Kaz argued back to Oliver, sounding defensive.
She didn't say anything, though, just waited until the sounds of their bickering faded.
They wouldn't understand. They couldn't understand. They had always been normos, and then they effectively had been given an elevation in status. It was just so unfair…
Once, not too long ago, she had been the best of the best, quite honestly. To have that all snatched away…
They would and could never understand that. They just could never be able to experience that kind of loss, the pain…
She remembered when she was controlled by the Annihilator. She never told anyone, but she remembered the feeling of absolute powerfulness, the total control she had.
(Which was ironic, considering that she was forced to do things she didn't want to do.)
Having her powers back… it was more wonderful than she let on. She could do something. She could change the world.
(And sure, it wasn't necessarily for the better, but she still had the power. To her, at that moment, that was what mattered.)
And then having them taken away from her yet again… it was like she was missing a piece of her, something she needed. Sometimes, it physically hurt. Sometimes, she would lie on her bed and stare at the ceiling, thinking just one thing over and over: why did it have to be me?
What did she do to deserve what she got? Her entire life had been dedicated to fighting villains, saving the universe. And then, in an instant—
Snap. Powers—gone. What made her, her—all gone.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice her eyes sliding closed right until the moment she fell asleep.
She is standing in a dark room, facing someone. She stands, frozen in confusion, until she realizes who it is, exactly, she is facing.
The Annihilator.
"No," she mumbles, her lips feeling cold and numb as she forms the words with her mouth. It's not possible. Because he's dead, she saw him. "You're dead. You're gone."
He doesn't seem to hear her. "Skylar Storm," he says. "You have gotten in the way one time too many. This time, I cannot allow you to leave."
The shock hits her, hard. Those words he spoke… that is exactly what he said during the confrontation when she lost her powers the first time.
So that means…
Her hand clenches into a fist, and she can feel the sparks encircling her fingers. She's back to the first time it happened. She has her powers again.
The Annihilator raises a hand, and then the panic sets in.
I will not lose my powers ever again, and certainly not to him!
She dodges his attempt to steal her powers, flipping backwards and landing behind a shelf she didn't even realize was there.
She remembers the original time that this happened, and she knows what the Annihilator will try. She dodges his every attack.
But then she stumbles, trips on something she can't see.
That would be rather ironic if that was my invisible motorcycle.
She lands hard on the ground, the impact knocking the breath out of her lungs.
The Annihilator chuckles darkly, advancing.
No.
She can't let this happen again.
No.
She won't let this happen again.
No!
Because if she lets him win, then what will happen to her friends? No—they're her family. What will happen to them?
If she lets him win, what will happen to Oliver, Kaz, Horace, heck, even Alan? What will happen to the normos, Jordan and Gus? The other superheroes?
She knows what will happen: they will be killed. All of them. The Annihilator shows no mercy, to anyone. And she can't let them die. She just can't.
So as the villain raises his arms, she flings out a hand, letting lasers erupt from her fingertips.
The heat is incredible—she feels the scalding air burn against her closed eyelids, and then the explosion of force she expected to arrive does, picking her up and flinging her against the wall.
And all of a sudden, her surroundings fade and—
She was awake again.
It was only a dream.
Her eyes opened, and she was surprised to feel tears. She hadn't cried since… well, since she lost her powers.
She sat up, shaking off the disoriented feeling she had in her mind.
What did I do?
The answer came to her in a minute. She fought back. She didn't just let what happened last time happen again. She didn't let the Annihilator win. She protected her friends.
So… maybe she wasn't so useless.
Oddly enough, that thought maybe… lifted the gloom a bit.
Okay, so the coming year could very well end up being her last, yes. She might never get her powers back, sure. Villains would attack, maybe with even more vigor than before. The world still had many trials to face. That was all true.
But she would fight, make no mistake. She could give herself a new beginning.
And furthermore, her friends were there. They would always be there, standing right there with her. And they were okay. And she could count on them to stand by her.
Well, she was okay, for the moment. She was going to survive through that night, and through the whole year that came after. Because now, she had something to fight for.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. One minute left. I have one minute. Then... I start over. I give myself another chance.
With that thought in mind, she ran from the room, back to her friends. Her family.
"Five! Four! Three! Two! One!"
Happy New Year!
And Happy New Year to all of you, too! I'd love to hear any feedback you might have, so leave a review! Happy 2016, everyone!