AN: Omg, forgive me for taking so long to update this. I have never had so much trouble with a chapter in my LIFE. I wanted it to be perfect xD I was also bombarded with TDKR and Bane feelings for a few weeks. But now that I've surpassed this stupidly difficult chapter (that was rage fueled near the middle lol) I should hopefully get updates sooner... But don't hold me to that because I'm inconsistent ect. Loki will make his appearance soon, I promise! Please let me know what you think? Do you feel I rushed anything? Left details out? Reviews make me so happy :) Anyway, enough babbling. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel ect ect.

Chapter One

"You look horrible." Katie said through a mouthful of Frosted Flakes, eyeing Stella as she stumbled into the kitchen towards the coffee pot. Bleary eyed and grouchy from lack of sleep, she had been too afraid to shut her eyes the previous night, terrified of what might happen if she did. Fourteen year old Melody snickered at the look on her adopted sisters face as Stella poured a mug of plain black coffee.

"Kate!" Snapped Jessica as she bustle into the kitchen in Stella's wake. She gave her daughter a reproachful look as she slipped past the older girl to take the pan of sizzling bacon off the stove.

"What! She does…"

"Be nice."

Muttering under her breath Stella sat across from her sister at the table, sipping her bitter coffee, hopping it would wake her up enough so she wouldn't fall asleep during school "You had another bad dream last night didn't you?" Katie murmured, her voice now sympathetically. Stella shrugged, tracing the abstract designs on the warm coffee mug in her hands "You always look tired like that when you have bad dreams."

"Katelyn…" Jessica said warningly "Please stop pestering your sister, she doesn't want to talk about it. Eat your cereal and go get ready for school."

Stella smiled weakly at her foster mother as Katie scowled and grumbled. Katie didn't need to know about her accident. Her father had told her when she had woken up on the couch that she had been struck by lightning. She remembered hearing her mother and father talking about it when they thought she was asleep. She remembered her father saying that the project he was working on had failed, it had also shattered all of the overhead lights. Stella had felt sick with anxiety that made her skin too hot when she thought about telling them what happened. She wished she had told them know, maybe it could have given her more insight into the accident, if not stop it completely.

Katie took one last huge bite of cereal and hopped off the chair, setting her dish in the sink as she scooted out the of kitchen and up the stairs. Jessica set a plate of eggs and bacon down on the table and leaned over to kiss Stella's forehead gently, petting her brown hair away from her face "Thanks, mom."

Jessica and her husband Andy had found little Stella wandering around the waterfront, filthy and terrified. They had cared for her for twelve years, even though they had little to give and a child of their own. They didn't know the risk they were taking, Stella was volatile, dangerous. But no incident like the one that had left her an orphan had occurred. They loved her as their own child and it was all Stella could have asked for. They were unaware that she was different or special. All the couple saw was a little girl who needed help.

"Sure, hon."

Stella smiled up at her foster mother and leaned her face against the comforting hand before standing up. She took one last gulp of coffee before placing the mug on the counter, turning to grab a few pieces of bacon. Stuffing the food in the mouth she exited the room, sprinting up the stairs two at a time. She pounded on her sisters door on the way to her own room, giggling as she heard Katie shriek in surprise and yell at her.

Shutting her bedroom door behind her she padded over to her small wardrobe, pulling out a pair of worn jeans and a long sleeves blouse. Throwing her nightshirt across the room she yanked on her jeans and pulled on her shirt, shivering in pleasure as the November chill nipped at her exposed flesh. Her skin was always warm, deep beneath the surface it burned and and surged, hotter than her body should have allowed. The New York winters were her godsend, the cold quelling the ache that flowed through her veins.

She moved towards the mirror above her dresser as she straightened out her shirt, standing on her toes examining her appearance. Her face was round with pale skin, her lips were full and her bright hazel eyes were rimmed with dark shadows from lack of sleep. With a sigh dug around her dresser and pulled out a pair of socks, slipping them over her feet before grabbing her boots and a hoodie.

The nightmares had been steadily worsening over the past few weeks, she didn't understand why. All of her dreams had relatively vanished after the night of the accident, like they were too afraid to appear again.

Her skin glowed blue every time she awoke from them now, every night, just like in her nightmares. Blue fire, white light, screams, smoke and heat. Her previous life was a mere memory now, the cruel reminders of that every time she closed her eyes at night drove her mad. The living hell she was thrown into stemmed from nothing more than child's bad dream. Through the ashes of that life she was reborn, not into a golden bird of beauty and light, but to a soot blackened monster. She was the ash, the cinders, the ruins. She was blue and black, simmering fire. She had crawled from the dust of her home a monster, she had bought all of the anguish she constantly felt upon herself...

Shuddering, Stella yanked her mind out of her dark train of thought, yanking on her gloves as she walked out of her bedroom. She was about to knock on Katie's door when she heard the raised voices in the hallway outside of their apartment. Wincing as the door down the hall slammed shut. She knew who it was and what was going on of course, it was a Thursday. "Katie, hurry up we're going to be late!"

Walking hesitantly over towards the window next to the staircase, looking down at the large black SUV that was parked outside the front door. Kyle and Rodney Angelo stood leaning against the doors, cigarettes between their fingers as they waited for the muscle to return with their goods. She scowled as Rodney looked up at her, waving with a smirk on his face. He was good looking she supposed. Tall, broad shouldered, painfully Italian with dark slicked back hair and a pinstriped suit. His handsome features were spoiled by his cruelty though. He enjoyed his job far too much.

"Mom!" Stella called "We're going to school! See you later."

Not waiting for a reply she opened the front door tiptoeing down the hall to the stairs as silently as the could. The yelling grew louder and louder from the room down the hall, making the hair on the back of Stella's neck stand on end. The two girls hazily slipped out of the apartment, hurrying down the cracked cement steps and on to the sidewalk. Stella let out the breath she had not known she was holding as they started to walk towards the bus stop.

"Hello, Stella!" Wincing, she stopped in her tracks.

She had hoped that Kyle and Rodney would have just left them alone. Stella and Katie stood stock still a few yards away from the SUV, watching the two suited men warily

"Lovely morning, isn't it?" Rodney's smirk was still firmly plastered to his lips as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dress slacks.

"Divine." Stella said dryly. She made to grab Katie and continue down the street towards the bus stop, but Rodney held up a finger, a warning look on his face.

"Not so fast…" His voice was low and make her skin prickle with disgust as he leered at her "How are you, sweetheart?"

"Late for school." She said through gritted teeth as she glared at the man before her. He gave her a sickly sweet smile, a smile that didn't quite veil the spark of rage and desire that always lingered in them when he watched her.

"Off you go then. I will see you soon…"

Stella all but dragged Katie down the block. Her heart was beating frantically in her chest and her palms were sweaty. That fucking man! He made her absolutely ill. Her mind flashed back to the evening he personally visited the Gleeson's. She could still hear the screams of Blake Gleeson's wife through the thin walls, as he yelled that he would have what they wanted soon.

Stella felt Katie lean against her side, putting an arm around her waist as they walked. Stella took a deep, calming breath as she placed her arm over sisters shoulders as the stood at the bus stop, a crease marring the oldest girls brow as she frowned deeply. All of the worst case scenario's always played through her mind when Rodney Angelo was around.

As the bus picked up speed Stella gazed out the window tiredly. She could already tell this was not going to be her day by the throbbing pain that resonated behind her eyelids, she hopped it wouldn't turn into a full blown migraine...

'No, I'm not going to think about that, focus on something else Stella!' She rubbed her face with the flat of her palms, glancing around the crowded bus as the noise level picked up. She focused her attention on the two boys that had just entered the bus. They took the empty seat in front of Stella and her sister, talking loudly and excitedly.

"Iron man! He's calling himself Iron man!"

"Really? That's kind of dumb…"

"Shut up man, he's a total bad ass. You saw the footage on the news!"

What's an Iron man…? Stella's brow creased in confusion as her eyes flicked between the two boys.

"Yeah, whatever. He's Tony Stark, he isn't "super hero" material." The other boy argued, air quotes accompanying his statement.

Tony Stark… That name sounded familiar. He made weapons didn't he? The name Stark had popped up in school more than once. She had never cared enough to take note about him though. But what's this about super heroes?

"What did Tony Stark do?" Stella pipped up, unable to contain herself as she scooted to the edge of her seat to hear the two boys better.

"Oh, he made some sort of crazy iron super suit and saved a bunch of people. He survived being held captive in the middle east for like, six months or something. He also has this crazy glowing box in his chest. What was it called again, Alex?"

"An arc reactor, James. I told you that." Said the other boy, irritably, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

James rolled his eyes at Alex "I don't care though. She does." He said, jerking his head in her general direction.

"Oh, I see. I'll have to look into that… Sounds interesting!" Stella leaned back in her seat as the two boys put their heads together once more. It was clear they didn't want to talk to her so she kept her mouth shut, still listening hard, hoping the one boy would continue to speak on the subject.

Before they could continue their conversation could continue though, a football zoomed across the bus, hitting James' head. A roar of laughter echoed around the seats behind them as James fell forward, smacking his head against the seat in front of him "Shit!"

"Oh, oh I'm sorry!" Came the extremely insincere voice of Rob Smith. He was sitting a few seats behind Stella, Melody and the two boys in front of them. A shit eating smirk on his lips as he watched them maliciously. Rob and his group of friends were so cliche if they hadn't made Stella's life miserable she would have spent the past three years laughing at them. Rob was a quarterback, he dated a cheerleader and he beat the shit out of anyone who got in his way.

"I-It's okay!" Alex stuttered, hastily handing the football back to Rob.

"What's this about Stark bein' a superhero?" Rob drawled, throwing the ball into the air and catching it effortlessly as his eyes bored menacingly into Alex.

"I, erm, he made a metal suit that is like, indestructible and he flies around saving people…" Alex was visibly terrified now. Stella could see sweat breaking out across his forehead and felt bad for him, knowing she had to step in before Rob pounced on the poor kid.

"He also beats up arrogant bullies, like you, Rob!" Stella cut in, her voice sweet as she batted her eyelashes at him.

Robs face darkened as he narrowed his eyes at her in anger, his fists clenched. The entire front of the bus had gone silent, waiting to see what he would do. The boys sitting in front of her stared, openmouthed. Kate had a small smirk on her lips as her eyes flicked between the jock and her sister. Rob might have tried to retaliate, he had risen a fraction of an inch from his seat, but the bus pulled up in front of the school at that very moment.

Stella beamed at him before grabbing her sister hand and sprinting off of the bus.

"You are crazy!" Katie laughed as they climbed the stairs "You're going to get it now. He won't forget that…"

Throwing an arm around Katie's shoulders, Stella pulled her in for a hug "Bah! I'm tough, I could take him!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

Katie drew away, marching up the stairs to her locker as Stella made her way down the hall to her own. They didn't have any of the same classes together, but they had lunch. Stella hoped none of Rob's friends would give her any trouble...

Opening her locker, she grabbed a few notebooks from within, stuffing them into her bag 'Monday's… Why do they exist.' She sighed.

"You didn't have to do that you know." The two boys from the bus, Alex and James, were standing right behind her. They looked at her with gratitude and not a little awkwardness.

"Someone had to. He would have beaten you to a pulp if I hadn't stepped in. The bus drivers never care and won't safe anything in anyones defense." She shrugged. She hoped her actions had meant they would pick on her instead of James and Alex. Rob was like an animal sometimes, easily confused if too many targets pop up at once.

"Well, thanks. I appreciate it." Alex smiled awkwardly at her, quickly scurrying away, James in tow.

With a smile, Stella closed her locker, glancing down at the schedule in her free hand. She had PE after History, which galled her. Sharing a changing room with Rob's girlfriend, Jamie, did not bode well for her.

As it was, she didn't have to wait for PE to see Jamie, as she was thrown back against her locker with a loud crash, hitting her head against the metal. Blinking hard, Stella tried to right herself. She was sure there were little cartoon birds zooming around her head, or x's over her eyes as she clutched at her throbbing skull. 'Great, something to help with my previous headache..'

"That was a bad move back there." Rob hissed in her ear. Once her vision had cleared she was aware that Jamie was pressing her arms into the locker as Rob loomed over her "Why didn't you just mind your own fucking business? I liked you better when you were a mute."

Jamie shot him a look but didn't say anything as Rob dragged a finger over Stella's throbbing cheek "Don't interfere again, or I will fucking burn you. Do you understand?" She didn't say anything as he gripped the hair at the back of her head, making sure to press on the huge lump that was forming.

Burn.

Burning…

Screaming.

Fire.

Her skin.

Her sister.

Her parents.

The two teenagers had let her go and she stumbled into Mrs Anderson's history class. The bump on her head had made her feel dizzy and she all but collapsed into her chair. The headache was spreading around her skull, intensifying like they usually did. This one had more bite to it.

'Shit.'

Mrs Anderson bustled in, slamming some papers onto the table and she delved right into her lesson. Stella could hardly concentrate as Rob's words echoed around her head 'Burn, burn, burn, burn…' Such a simple word with little to no conviction behind it.

She rested her face over her palms, wishing they were cool enough to sooth the throbbing in her head. It was like someone was screaming, screaming at the top of their lungs in her brain. It hurt so much... This was no longer from hitting her head against the locker. Stella had gotten these migraines before, only when she was really frightened or upset, but like her nightmares, they too were getting worse and more frequent.

She could feel the stares of them behind her, hear their whispers. Her heart was beating faster and she felt herself growing warmer. She had to leave, she knew it now. Stella stood up quickly "Mrs. Andrews, I feel sick, I need the restroom." Without waiting for a reply she grabbed her bag, bolting out of the classroom and down the empty hall. Her boots clicked across the tile floor as she ran towards the girls bathroom, praying that no one else was in there as she felt heat resinating in her hands, hotter and hotter.

Bursting into the room she stumbled towards a stall, slamming the door shut behind her as she gasped for breath, shaking from head to toe. She whimpered when she looked at her glowing hands again "No, no, no." With eyes clenched tight shut, she focused on her breathing, trying to steady pounding heart. She could smell the telltale signs of smoldering fabric and looked down, groaning as she saw the sleeves of her hoodie had begun to smoke.

"Shit!"

She quickly exited the stall, moving towards the sink to quickly turn on the cold water, submersing her hands and the sleeves of her hoodie. Steam billowed from them but the heat did not dissipate. Breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth she tried to quell the dread that threatened to claw itself out of her chest, engulfing her.

Stella leaned forward after several moments, running her cool, damp hands over her face as she continued to breath heavily. She heard the door open and she jumped, her eyes going wide as she glance around frantically. 'No, no, no!'

"Stella?" Katie's voice called. Stella scampered back into the stall she had previously occupied, panic spiking through her. She was still glowing! What would Katie say? What would Katie tell their parents?

"Stella are you okay? They said you were sick and that I should check on you..."

"I'm fine!" Stella said, a little desperately "You can go back to class."

"You don't sound find." her sister retorted. She could see Katie's feet under the stall door now and she stuffed her hands into her pockets before Kate opened the door.

The younger girl narrowed her eyes as she gave her sister the once over "You look like shit."she stated, closing the door behind her and crossing her arms.

"Don't swear." Mumbled Stella, her fists tightening in her hoodie. This was bad. REALLY bad.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Katie retorted with a glare "What's wrong, are you sick? Do you want me to call mom?"

"No!" Another jolt of panic and flash of heat spread across her body "No, I will be fine in a few minutes..."

A frown marred the younger girls face as she watched her sister. She had never seen Stella so... Afraid before.

Katie took a step towards Stella and felt another lurch of fear. Her hands where still hot in her pockets; no doubt they were still glowing too "Kate, stay away." Stella warned.

"Why?" Her sister looked hurt now "You've always been able to talk to me about things before… Even if you didn't want to, you'd still tell me eventually."

Stella sighed deeply, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling in desperation. Katie needed to leave, she had to get out just in case Stella couldn't keep herself in check "There's nothing to tell! I don't feel well and I want to be left alone. Just leave!"

Katie set her jaw stubbornly, completely disregarding everything Stella had said as she marched towards her. Reaching out a hand, she made to grab Stella's arm, her eyes full of determination. Jerking out of her reach, Stella quickly held her hands out in front of her, inches from her sisters body. Katie gaped at Stella's glowing hands, taking a hasty step back to get away from the blistering heat.

"What…?" Katie's eyes were huge as she stared, opened mouthed at the glowing hands before her.

Stella bit her lip hard, moving her hands behind her back "Look… It's hard to explain, but I'll do my best. Just don't tell mom, okay?"

Katie nodded, speechless for once as she watched Stella sit down on the bathroom floor, motioning for Katie to do the same.

"Mom and dad didn't tell you about how they found me, did they?" Katie shook her head and Stella continued "I was born in the south and I lived there with my birth parents and little sister Missy until I was six or so. There was an accident one day, my dad worked for the government and had a lab in the basement. I had gotten into something he was working on and it had effected me in some way. Later that day there was a thunderstorm, I was struck by lightening, or so they told me later on. That entire experience was a blur." Stella rubbed her sweating palm across her face, glad that the glowing was diminishing.

"Over the following weeks I started to feel weird. Strange things were happening to me. Like my skin glowing and my clothes turning to cinders by the day's end. No one could figure out what was wrong. My parents thought I was just getting myself into trouble. But it wasn't that. It was from the lightening strike. The heat was particularly bad if I was emotional about something. Scared, angry, and even happy. The glowing stayed mainly on my hands, which made it easy to hide from everyone. I could stick my hands into the pockets of my jeans until I was calm…" She took a deep, shuddering breath, not wanting to continue this story but knowing she had to as she watched Katie's white face. Her eyes never leaving Stella's face as she spoke.

"One night about a month after the lightening incident, I had a nightmare. A horrible, horrible nightmare. I don't even remember what it was about now, but I can still feel the terror and fear from it. I couldn't wake up though, I felt my skin burning and I thought I was going to explode… Which I did. The fire power, or whatever the fuck this shit is, it consumed me. I couldn't control it and I just… I don't know how to explain it. I burned down the house along with my family." Katie squeaked and made to reach out to touch Stella, but she held out a hand in younger girl stilled instantly.

"I ran away after that. Stuffed a charred toy into my Barbie backpack and bolted. I don't even remember how I ended up in New York. I was wandering along the waterfront and your parents found me."

Katie sat dumbstruck, mouth open as she stared in shock and horror at Stella. Stella couldn't meet her eyes, looking down at the cracked linoleum of the bathroom floor, swallowing hard.

"So you have a superpower?" she breathed.

The glowing in her hands now subsiding, Stella sighed once more "I guess you could say that. Though there's nothing super about being a time bomb."

"Is there anything anyone can do to help? A doctor or something?" Katie inched forward now sitting next to her sister.

Stella shook her head "I'm afraid of what will happen if I go… I don't want to be some sort of experiment for them to poke and prod. They'd lock me up in a cage."

Katie nodded slowly "Yeah, you're right… I'm so sorry about this, it's so awful."

"It's okay, it's not your fault or anything." The older girl muttered.

The heat had sunk beneath her skin, bubbling in her veins now and Stella closed her eyes in relief. The worst was over, for now anyway. Getting to her feet, she offered her hand to her little sister, noting how Katie hesitated before taking it. That stung more than anything. Exiting the stall, Stella padded over to the sink, leaning down to rinse off her face with the cool water from the tap.

"So mom and dad don't know anything about this?"

With a shrug, the girls left the bathroom "I think they might have guessed. I couldn't hide that shit all the time. They never questioned me about it or took me to any sort of doctor though."

The bell rang, signaling lunch as they walked down the hallway "Are you going to go sit with your friends?"

Katie shook her head "Nah, I think I'll hang out with you. But let's eat outside or something, eating lunch with a loser could ruin my reputation." She teased.

Stella snickered and threw her arm over Katie's shoulders, pulling her in for a hug "You are such a little shit."