Chapter 7: The Breakthrough
"Oh Samantha…this is going to be difficult…" M'gann said as she approached the iron gate. "There's two mental blocks...not one"
"Are we…are we in my mind?" Sam said quickly. The scene was straight out of her memory, yet it seemed almost impossible. "Yes. It's up to you to break down those locks. I'm not sure where this one came from, however…" M'gann said as her fingers gingerly caressed the massive lock on the iron gate.
"Was there anything else at all that could have caused some type of mental block?" M'gann asked frustratingly. "I…I don't know. What could it be?" The Martian took a seat on the sidewalk; the glare of the burning house was reflecting on her eyes. "At any point…recently…have you felt scared or upset? Extreme emotions. A block like this is something that's happened recently, and it's affected you deeply. I can tell."
Sam shuffled her feet. "Seeing myself as that phoenix. It…it scared me. I didn't believe it- well, I didn't want to believe it, M'gann. I couldn't imagine myself being that destructive."
M'gann remained silent for a few minutes. "This task is of your own. I will try to help you, but it may not be possible. What I am seeing is that you are afraid of your powers, Samantha. On the outside you wish to use them, but deep on the inside…you have a fear of fire. Because of this," M'gann said as she gestured towards the ablaze house, "You are scarred."
A tear rolled down Samantha's cheek. Could she be right? Maybe she wasn't cut out for this hero thing. All that training with Nightwing for nothing… all that effort everyone had made to make her feel at home. It had felt like the closest she had been to home since her parents had died. Now what? Would they see that the metagene was a flop and not care about her anymore? She pressed her palms into her face as she began to cry. M'gann stood off to the side, at loss for words. She had never seen a mental block of this degree before.
"Nightwing wouldn't go through all that trouble training me…just to give up on me," Samantha tried to reassure herself.
Just as all hope was lost, there was a warming sensation in her palm. She extended her arm and opened her palm to see the source of the sensation- a single, flickering flame in her hand. "Oh my God…" Samantha stammered. M'gann looked up and quickly climbed to her feet. "You're getting somewhere. Keep going!"
Her heart was racing as she quickly clambered to her feet. The fire was bright and bold, yet she felt no burning. It was warm and tingley- like the feeling of numbness being dissipated. "I will get through this. I'll learn control. I won't hurt anyone!" Samantha was shouting now, and as she did, the fire in her palm grew in size and intensity. M'gann began to step back. Samantha stepped in front of the first padlock and pressed her hand to it, allowing it to melt straight through the iron like a hot knife through butter. She smiled as it disintegrated, allowing her to push the gate open. M'gann was beaming, but said nothing to interrupt her. The task ahead of her was going to be the hard part.
Samantha stepped through the gate and onto the lawn she was so familiar with. The grass still brushed up against her ankles because dad didn't want to mow it every week like everyone else in the neighborhood. An oak tree that she had spent ages climbing still stood tall in the yard. Her hands brushed by the tree's rough bark. The flames grew in anticipation as she approached the house. The fire was bright and blinding, yet Samantha felt no heat. She was on the porch now, standing directly in front of the door. Her hands extended out in front of her, and she willed the fire out. With every ounce of concentration she possessed, she focused on extinguishing the flame. What happened next made M'gann fear for her mental state.
The fire rushed out of the house through every window, door, and crack. It swirled around Samantha in a tornado made of flames, with her in the eye.
Nightwing had returned to the warehouse from his covert mission and had slung himself onto the couch in exhaustion. He noticed Samantha and M'gann sitting quietly on the floor across the room- facing away from him. He smiled. "Still working on breathing techniques?" He joked as he walked over and put a hand on M'gann's shoulder. When she didn't respond, he spun her around to see the familiar, haunting green hue of her entire eye. "No…" Quickly he looked over to Samantha, to see her eyes in the same state. "Oh no…"
He took a seat on the floor next to them. He knew that any disturbance would break the link and possibly endanger Samantha, as well as M'gann's mental state. "All I can do is wait…" Nightwing thought to himself, until M'gann's eyes turned normal as she gasped for breath. "M'gann!"
"What happened?! Why-" he looked over to see his worst fear confirmed- Samantha's eyes still locked in a mental state. "Where is she?!"
"I'm sorry Dick! I had to get out! She's recovering, but she didn't understand that I'm not invincible when in someone else's mind! There was so much fire…I had to get out. It may have been for the best. She can get out of this herself. I know she can. Please…just trust me."
Nightwing looked down, not sure of what to think, before returning to look at Sam.
Samantha had never felt this much power in her entire life. The very energy inside of her was bursting- every nerve seemed to be firing- there were goosebumps on her neck- the experience was unreal. The flames obeyed her every command. She wanted these particular flames gone- forever. As quickly as she had conjured them from the house, she redirected them into the sky. They lit up one final time in the shape of a phoenix, before falling to the ground as ashes. She was beaming. There was a confidence and a sense of accomplishment that she had never felt before that was bursting inside of her.
Then, the voice came.
"Samantha?"
The teen fell to her knees where she stood. That voice…it was unmistakable who's it was. "D…dad?"
The man and woman emerged from the home a little ashy, but okay nonetheless. "Mom! Dad!" Samantha shouted. Her knees were still weak, but she managed to stand up and sprint to them. The three of them collapsed together in the yard where the ashes were still raining from the sky. Sam cried into her mother's shoulder while her father ran his fingers through her soft auburn hair. "I missed you so much…So much…" Samantha said through tears. "I'm so proud of the woman you have become, Samantha," Her father whispered. Her mother told her she was beautiful.
It seemed like the three crouched there for hours, hugging each other. It was a peaceful chaos. Finally, her mother spoke up. "It wasn't your fault, Samantha. The fire. It wasn't you. You should have no reason to fear your beautiful gift you have been given." Her father chimed in. "You have made some very valuable friends, and you need to trust them to guide you in the right path, should you get lost." Samantha began to cry. "Please don't go…"
"We're always in your heart, Samantha. It's time for you to move forward. Your friends are becoming worried." Samantha nodded and gave them one last hug.
The brightness of the warehouse made her wince when her eyes finally opened back to reality.
((Hey everyone! I apologize for the delay- I'm currently in the midst of midterm essays and such, as well as attempting to get my hands on the new laptop that will replace my old one which will not connect to the internet. Hopefully in the next few days I'll be back on my pattern with story updates every day except Fridays and Sundays. :) Love you all! Thanks for the awesome feedback, reviews, follows, and favorites, as always. :) Thanks a bunch!
-Opaque Sky))
