Chapter 10: Hope Island

On the way to Hope Island, Kim insisted that the five tell her who this Gaia was, since Cap had refused to do so. It was Ma-Ti who told her. "A spirit? You serious?" Kim asked.

"Yes," the Kayapo said. "It took us a while to get used to it, too."

She digested this for a moment, supposing it could be possible since she had met a superhero. "I think I'll believe it when I see it," the woman decided. "Or her in this case." Kim looked out the Geo-Cruiser's window, scratching Buddy behind the ears. "Are there a lot of these eco-villains?" she asked after a moment, turning to look at Ma-Ti again.

The South American told her about the villains. "I don't like the sound of this Duke Nukem at all." Kim shuddered. She remembered what Cap had said about him three years ago.

It turned out they didn't get the chance to call Cap when arriving on the island. As Kwame landed the Geo-Cruiser, Gaia's voice could be heard, telling them to come to the Crystal Chamber at once.

"Was that her?" Kim asked, following the Planeteers. Buddy sniffed at the air, curious as to where the voice had come from .

"Yes," Wheeler replied.

The six plus the dog arrived at the Chamber. Kim had wanted to tag along out of curiosity. She started when Gaia appeared out of nowhere beside Planetvision.

"What is the emergency, Gaia?" Linka asked.

Kim looked around the Chamber as Gaia filled the Planeteers in about their next mission and after they had taken their bags out, they climbed aboard the Geo-Cruiser and flew away.

"Welcome to Hope Island, Kimberly," the spirit said.

"Thank you," Kim said. "How did you know my name?"

"Like the Planeteers told you, I'm the spirit of the Earth," Gaia replied, as if this explained it. "And Planet told me about you."

Kim didn't say anything for a while. So it had been true. And how else could she have just appeared like she had. Then she looked at the screens. "Quite many TVs you got."

"They are not TVs," Gaia explained. "They're called Planetvision. I monitor the Earth with them and when I detect an eco-emergency, I alert the Planeteers and send them to investigate."

Kim was sitting under a palm tree, reading a book, when the Planeteers returned. She noted Cap wasn't with them.

'Must've needed a recharge,' the woman thought with a smile. "Come on, Buddy," she said to the dog, who was lying beside her on the sand. They arrived just when the Geo-Cruiser landed. "How did it go?"

"We were able to stop Duke Nukem from blowing up that power plant," Linka replied.

Since it had been Nukem, then the woman understood the superhero's need for a recharge.

They played some volleyball, the girls against the boys. For once they had even teams now that there were three girls as well.

After a while of playing Kim felt pain in her side. "I think I'll have to call it quits now, guys."

Kim went to the hut Gaia had provided for her. The pain was so intense she had to take a painkiller.

When the five tired of the game they called Cap, not because Kim asked but because they knew he wanted to be with her.

Buddy came to them and sat down in front of them, looking at the pair. "Is it my imagination or is he smiling?" Kim asked.

"Seems that way," the superhero agreed. He just hoped the dog wouldn't get his hopes up about them becoming a couple. Cap had to admit he would have wanted that too but… "How about a tour of the island?" he asked, needing something else to think about.

Kim liked that idea so leaving Buddy to play with the Planeteers the pair picked a path and walked along it. After Cap had shown her around, they sat down under a tree in a clearing. There was a brook nearby. Birds sang in the trees.

"This is a beautiful island," Kim said and smiled at the superhero.

"Gaia would be glad you think so," he said and kissed her. Cap's hand happened to stray to her torso and the brunette flinched. "Did I hurt you?" the superhero asked in concern.

Kim shook her head, biting her lip. "No, but the scars…"

His hand hadn't been even close to where the scars were. "Do they bother you this much?"

She nodded and looked away. "I feel so ugly."

How long had she entertained these kinds of thoughts? This was the first he had heard about them. Besides, her looks were not all she was. Not to him. "You're not ugly, love," Cap said.

Predictably, the woman didn't believe him. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Kim…" he tried.

"Just look at me!" she said, lifting the shirt so he could see the scars that were left from the surgery she had had. "You still think I'm not ugly?"

The scars were not so fresh anymore but they still stood out from her skin. Cap knew it would take about a year for a scar to lose its redness. But it varied from person to person. "They don't look so bad," he said soothingly.

Kim looked at him. "You mean it?"

"How many times do I have to say it?" he asked, running the back of his hand over her cheek gently. It seemed the woman had some insecurity issues.

The superhero had never lied to her. She put the shirt over herself again, apologizing for her little outburst.

He supposed it was understandable for her to feel like she did. It had been a traumatic experience. "But there are ways to make the scars more unnoticeable, if that's what you'd like."

Kim smiled. "I'll look into that."

Cap told her what he had been going to do after hearing what had happened to her, telling the woman about his empathy and why he didn't want to inflict pain to anyone, not even the vil lains, preferring other means of handling them.

The woman figured something else. "Oh, so that's how you knew Buddy had been hurt before they came to tell us."

Cap nodded. "Yeah. But when I heard that you had been shot and there was a chance you would not make it, I just couldn't think straight. My only thought was to make Bleak pay for what he'd done to you. I'm glad Gaia talked some sense into me."

Kim smiled, glad he hadn't gone through with it, too. "It was quite strange to meet a spirit," she said, changing the subject.

He grinned. "Now do you understand why I wanted you to find out yourself who Gaia was?"

"I do," Kim said. "I am in love with a superhero, after all, so a spirit doesn't really feel that strange. You sure she's just a friend, nothing more?" Again, she wondered why she felt this way.

Cap told her there was absolutely no reason for her to be jealous, hoping this wouldn't become a problem.

They were silent for a moment. Then she asked, "What's it like for you when you go to recharge?" Kim didn't like the word that much. He wasn't a battery.

Cap was a little surprised by such a question and thought of how to put it. "I guess you could call it sleep," he replied finally. "Sometimes I'm asleep and sometimes awake. There have been a few times when I was badly weakened the sleep was deeper than normal."

She digested this for a moment, rubbing at her feet. "I should have put shoes on. My feet are not used to hot sand."

"Allow me." Cap brushed the sand off and massaged the soles of her feet, cooling his hands a bit but not too much.

Kim sighed and closed her eyes. "That feels so good," she murmured. His hands were better than an ice pack.

"That's good to hear, since this is my first time massaging anyone," he said, pleased that the woman enjoyed herself.

"Not bad for a beginner," Kim said. How good would the superhero be at massaging her shoulders? Maybe she would find out one of these days.

"I've heard that one before," he said and grinned. If he kept this up, he would not be a beginner anymore on a lot of things.

Then they just lay there, Kim's head on Cap's chest. He stroked her hair.

Next day, now that she had settled in, it was time for some swimming lessons. As had been agreed, it was Gi who was to teach the woman.

Buddy followed into the water with the two but Cap called him back to the beach. "Let's not interfere with the lesson, alright?" He didn't want there to be any distractions for the woman.

Soon Kim had to call it quits because she had a cramp in her leg. She came to Cap, shaking out her leg to get rid of the annoying cramp.

"Here you are." He handed her a towel. "Is it bad?"

"Thanks, love," Kim said and smiled, wrapping the towel around herself. "Don't worry, it's easing already."

"Want to stop for today?" Gi asked, still in the water.

"I'm up for another lesson later, if that's OK with you," Kim said. This was OK with the Water Planeteer.

She sat down beside Cap. "I don't know why I didn't get around to learning this when I was a kid. What with the lake at home and all."

"Well, better late than never, as the saying goes," the superhero commented. "The week is almost up, by the way. So do we go back to the cabin, or what?"

"We're going back," Kim said and paused for a second. "To get more stuff."

Cap sighed. "And here I thought you liked…" He did a double take, the woman's words registering on him. "Oh."

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Like I said, this is a beautiful island. And you're right. I needed a change of scenery." She had been cooped up in the cabin for far too long.

"And maybe we'll get some alone time, too," Cap said, noticing the Planeteers watching them. The pair hadn't had much time alone. Even the place they had claimed as theirs wasn't that private.

"So when do we leave?" Kim asked, eager for some alone time.

"How's tomorrow sound?" Cap asked, sharing the woman's eagerness.

It suited her fine. The pair spent some time together before the swimming lessons continued.