It was a month before the adults vanish that kids began to notice they had powers. Some noticed immediately, some didn't.
Brianna fell into the second category. She wasn't aware of her powers. She didn't work like that, she actually had to run in a certain way for it to work.
But, despite popular belief, Brianna was actually quite smart. Maybe not in maths, but she noticed things. She knew Dekka was gay, but if she was honest about it, later, when she had he hands cased in cement, she had forgotten about it.
She also noticed that Caine could do things. Weird things. She was there when Bug first vanished, even if she just happened to be passing by. She knew about Dekka, Andrew and Beano's powers, and yes, she even knew Diana's.
She also realized, over time that all of these powers had to do with what someone wanted. Take Sam Temple. After she met him, she realised he was scared of the dark. So give him the power of light. Dekka wanted the pressure of being 'fixed' off. So she could cancel gravity.
Brianna was also smart enough to know that outright saying this would land her in big trouble, no doubt sending her to a Councillor and making her a target.
Brianna wasn't picked on, once people realized that this was one girl they just couldn't intimidate, they usually moved on to weaker targets, like that techie dude, Jack.
The day she found her powers, the day she became The Breeze, capitol T, capitol B, was forever ingrained in her mind, just about beating chopping up Drake-slash-Britteny and spreading their parts across the Fayz for happiest memory.
It wasn't a special day; slightly hotter than usual, but that was about it. Brianna was tugging on her signature shoes, Nikes, and pulling her long red hair back into a simple ponytail.
Coates Academy was high class, where adults could send their messed up, difficult children. Or just get rid of them by making up some excuse. Brianna fell into the latter. Bad at maths, she snorted, jogging out to the running track.
"Okay, I want ten laps, go!" The P.E teacher shouted, and everyone groaned. Brianna bounded through the first two laps with enthusiasm, but by the third, she was beginning to slow down, as was everyone else. She was near the back of the pack, short legs pumping into the sand, almost making her trip and fall.
The change wasn't immediate. Slowly, slowly, Brianna's hands went back, until the palm was backwards. Her laboured breathing slowly ceased, and her eyes seemed to sharpen, fixing on one point and one point alone.
Brianna was aware of the coach yelling at her for stopping suddenly, but she wasn't really paying attention. With her palms turned back, and eyes clear and focused, Brianna bent her knees, and ran.
She didn't go as fast as she did after the FAYZ. Maybe ten miles an hour? But the point was, Brianna ran fast enough to make an actual funnel in the ground. She finished her ten laps by the time the others were on five.
Afterwards the coach took her aside, and told her that she would have a bright future ahead of her as a Olympic Runner. Smiling smugly, Brianna took off for the dormitory at normal, human speed.
It was only when she was getting changed that she realised. "Oh my God. I have superpowers!" At the word 'superpowers' her eyes widened comically. Super Speed. The mother of all superpowers.
Next week, during laps, Brianna tried to copy what she did last time and failed. Disappointed, she sat back, and tried to think. Hadn't she flipped her hands back, or something?
So, during Recon, a time where the prisoners, or students, got to relax, happened, Brianna slipped away to the empty track. She jumped from foot to foot, like she saw Dash do in the movie 'The Incredibles.' She vaguely remembered wondering if she was faster than him now.
This time, she went much, much faster. Maybe three hundred miles an hour this time. The world blurred, the wind slapped her in the face like being tossed into the Atlantic and her shoes burned. Had it been anyone else experiencing this, this MIRACLE, they would of have died.
But Brianna could breathe, if with slight difficulty. She could see where she was going, barely and her feet didn't even start to warm up. Eventually the young girl came to a stop, creating a hole in the sand when she did. She sheepishly climbed out of it and hobbled back to her dorm.
The next few memories aren't nice. Drake seeing her run, capturing her, encasing her in cement, realising her mom is gone. But after wards there are some nice ones. Calling herself The Breeze, slicing up Drake, being called a hero, those were all great.
She loved being interviewed, being on T.V. Sam would give out to her, but who were they to judge what they had to do to survive?
It didn't take Breeze too long to figure out that if the dome vanished, so would her powers. To her that was the worst thing that could happen. She didn't want to stop being The Breeze. Capitol 'T' Capitol 'B'. One of, if not the most dangerous person in the Fayz.
Astrid would give some speech about how it doesn't matter about whether you have powers or not. Well, they may call her Astrid the Genius, but she can be pretty stupid. Powers set you apart from the other kids, changing you from just a kid with a gun, to an ally. You become respected.
And most of all, though she would never admit it, The Breeze felt safe. No one could touch her, no one could hurt her, as long as she had that power. Bullets? Easy? Knives? Done? Other powers? All she had to do was use her speed to attack before they did. Take away all that, and she was Brianna, a kid. Just a kid.
And she was happy being the Breeze. A superhero, a soldier, a dangerous ally, and, above all, a speedster.
Which is why, when Gaia had her hand inches away from Brianna- no The Breezes heart, all Breeze did was smile and stick out her neck, staring into those cold blue eyes, that stared back at her, not in remorse but puzzlement. Why aren't you scared? They almost seemed to ask.
Because, I'm The Breeze, and I'm not scared of anything, Breeze seemed to respond. And this is what I want, she silently added. To die a hero, a speedster.
And as her fondest memory flashed before her eyes, Gaia burned out, not a girl, but a heroes heart.