Chapter Eight:

Power

Cole was following me non-stop now. I had told him that when I was facing Alden, something came over me. Something I couldn't control. Did I really deserve to be babysat now? Maybe it would only happen one time!

But Cole was persistent and always followed me, no matter how far or how fast I flew. He was worried about me. And to tell the truth, so was I. I didn't understand how I could just do that to Alden! He was defeated, and I was torturing him… Ugh! This is so stupid! I'm supposed to be a hero, like Cole, and instead I'm watching an old guy suffer because it looked—!

But that was just the thing. What did it look like? Demented? Psychotic? Insane?

Fascinating?

I sat down on the roof of the tallest building I could find and shook my head frantically, trying to get the images out of my head. And I thought things were bad when I burned my first Reapers! I heard the faint sounds of gunshots in the distance. Cole would have to give up on me for a second to check it out. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to do that stuff again.

Why was this happening to me? One minute, I was a badass heroine fighting a robot, and the next I was a crazy bitch, smiling as I watched Alden scream in agony, his pathetic attempts at getting me off of him only fuelling that insane… lust to hurt him.

"What is with this power?" I murmured. "Or is it just me?"

I shook my head again. The images weren't leaving. Alden and Sasha screaming as I burned them inside and out... To tell the truth, I wanted to leave Sasha to die. I wanted to watch her burn, her insides becoming ash. I had briefly wondered at that time if the fire would jump out of her eyes, but I shut it off. Why couldn't I do the same when fighting Alden?

Another image flashed across my eyes. An old man fighting with a younger (but still old) man, pointing at me and screaming. Then he came to me and slapped me as hard as he could. I didn't react, and I didn't know why, because I knew that I should've flown off the handle and burnt him to a crisp. But as soon as it had appeared, it was gone.

Just like a few weeks ago, when I saw my hands…

"You've got Alden on the brain?"

It was hard not to mistake Cole's voice for anyone else's. "Kinda hard not to. What gave it away?"

He sat down beside me, and we looked over Empire City. "You don't just 'zone out' like many people. You're usually so alert it's hard for me to sneak up on you."

"Good point." I sighed. "Cole, I'm really sorry. I really didn't mean to do what I did, I swear! It was just… I don't even know."

"I'm sure you're just going through a tough time," Cole said, consoling me (which was totally un-Cole-like). "I mean, you lost your memory, your 'supposed' sister is crashing with you, and you have to find yourself all over again. It can be stressful for anyone, but we shouldn't take it out on the bad guys. They're crazy, and in that way, we're better than them."

"You are, you mean." I rested my hands beside me, looking like I was going to jump up at any second. "I watched him scream. I watched him and Sasha get burned by me, and I didn't want to stop."

"Sasha too?"

I nodded. "I put my fire into her tubes and burned her from the inside-out, but I turned it off. I don't know how it's different now!"

Cole's brow furrowed in deep thought. "What if Alden's part of your past, and your subconscious was lashing out?"

"I'm not sure, but that could be a reason." I hung off the edge of the building, trying to remember anything. A name, a feeling, another creepy image… but I got nothing.

"Don't over-stress yourself. Just… try to take it easy. The crime's calming down, so you can relax for a bit. I got this." Cole gave me a pat on the back and jumped from the building, slowing down using the lightning coming from his hands.

That would be a good idea. Go home, chill with Dana and get to know myself, maybe get some popcorn…

But when have I ever listened to anyone? I smiled. "I'll just take my stress out on some Reapers, I guess."

I slid off the rooftop and dropped towards the ground. I flipped once, then started to fly towards the Neon District. I can image you're a bit confused, considering I was fighting Reapers in the Warren, but I can explain this: they were gaining ground on the Dust Men.

I know. Pretty embarrassing, huh?