Chapter 14: The Light

"What a pleasure. I wasn't expecting you this early," a voice said out of the darkness. Samantha half expected it to be Luthor, but it was not. The voice was deeper…more sinister. Samantha looked up from her position on her knees on the ground to see none other than Vandal Savage standing above her. His hand was outstretched. "Welcome to The Light, Samantha."

The fact that one of the world's most infamous villains was standing before her sent her into a shock of sorts. She had done it. She had betrayed Nightwing and the Justice League. Her mind flitted back to Project Extinguish. There was now a bounty on her head.

Nightwing was Richard Grayson. That's why he was so familiar…

Wherever she was, it was underground. Other than that fact, Savage wouldn't open up as far as where exactly she was. "You're in a better place. No more lies, no more secrets. You'll be safe here," he told her as she was lead through the massive labyrinth of hallways and rooms. Eventually they made it to a massive laboratory that opened up at the top via a massive skylight. Perhaps they were not as far underground as she had thought. There were many machines, scientists at computers, and an eerie massive test tube that stood at the center of the room…restraints were present in the tube as well, as if it were meant for a holding a person.

Chills went down her spine. Had she made the right decision?

Of course I made the right decision. The Justice League was holding me back. They wanted to kill me.

But Nightwing- Richard- he had to have cared about me… he wouldn't let them…

Of course he would! He would never stand against what the Justice League decides!

She bantered back and forth with herself in her mind until Savage began to speak again. "We have a laboratory of trained specialists here to assist you with reaching your full potential. As you read, fire is just the beginning when it comes to your powers. We've been anticipating your arrival. I will let Mr. Luthor explain," Savage said as none other than Lex Luthor approached the pair. A smile was on his face.

"Miss Bennett! Pleasure to have you here so early," Luthor said and reached out to shake her hand. Samantha took it carefully. "For a few weeks now, we've been assembling the best genome specialists around to study your condition and come up with the best solution. With you on our side, Samantha, we can assure you The Reach will leave Earth and never dare return; and we are aware of your relationship with The Reach," Lex said.

Samantha looked down. "It almost sounds like you knew for a guarantee I was going to come to The Light; making all these preparations just for me," she said. She looked up to see a faint smile on Lex's lips that made Samantha wonder just how long they had been planning this, and why they had been confident enough to make all these preparations.

She was briefed on how her training would go. It would be a series of trials every day except Saturdays and Tuesdays; everything about her would be monitored to ensure she would reach a peak potential- food intake, water consumption, exercise, sleep- it would all be regulated. Part of her missed the Chinese takeout her and Nightwing had gotten many times before. The thought was quickly shaken off.

"I'll show you to your quarters, I'm sure you're exhausted. Tomorrow we will start with a debriefing with me and after that I'll allow the scientists to take over for a few tests. Hopefully we can start trials tomorrow, only if you're feeling well," Luthor said as he led her to a room not very far from the laboratory. It was a simple room- a full sized bed, a dresser, a desk with a lamp and chair. A bathroom was attached with a shower, a sink with little counter space, and a toilet. That was it.

"You'll find uniforms and sleepwear in the dresser. A monitor will come in at seven to bring you in for briefing. Good night, Samantha, and I'm glad you made the right choice."

With that, Lex Luthor exited the room and shut the door behind him. Samantha stood in the middle of the room for what seemed like an hour. This was it. No more fun, no more junk food or laughter, it was time to be serious. But as Samantha slipped into the standard white cotton sleepwear and into bed, thoughts of Nightwing- of Richard- came flooding back to her.

He had taken his mask off. He ran after you. And you ran.

Uneasiness settled in her stomach.

He cared about you.

Then why did he keep the truth from me?!

He wanted the best for you.

This is the best for me.

Samantha stood up quickly and ran to the bathroom, where she proceeded to become sick from anxiety.

The teen didn't sleep well at all, and seven in the morning came much too quickly. Just as Luthor had said, a monitor came in to wake her. Unfortunately, it wasn't at all the morning wakeup call she was expecting. The monitor, who introduced herself as Dr. Roberts, proceeded to sit in her room and ask about every detail of her sleep, from an estimated time of falling asleep, to any dreams, to what position she was in when she fell asleep. The woman was quite annoying. "I'll take you to Mr. Luthor now," she finally said and prompted her to get dressed and meet her in the adjacent hallway. Samantha made a sigh of relief when she finally left the room and opened the dressers to see…

It was her old uniform- sort of. It was the same jumpsuit, but rather than black, it was white. The stripe was there, but instead of the deep crimson, it was a bright orange. The entire color scheme had been changed. She slipped in on in a minute. The feeling of wearing it was familiar, comforting, even. She slipped on some tennis shoes that were nearby and headed outside. Dr. Roberts was thankfully quiet on the walk to the briefing room. Once they entered, she promptly left the two of them alone.

"Samantha! I hope your sleep was well. I also see that you're getting acquainted with the uniform? I thought the initial design needed a bit more…color," he said as he gestured her to sit in a chair across from him in the dome-shaped room. There were six panels on the walls surrounding them that were currently blank. A main computer board sat in front of Lex's chair. "It is very…bright," Samantha said as she looked at the orange stripe. Lex smiled. "That was the point, Miss Bennett. We want you to grab attention. If you are to be our Beacon, you need to be bright like one. The uniform, although it feels similar to the material of your old uniform, is created with a very special fabric we designed just for you and your soon to be newfound powers. We call it energy-mesh. It will be very useful to you in terms of conserving and absorbing energy."

All this talk of energy, and Samantha was still not quite sure what it entailed. "What can I do, Mr. Luthor? Energy manipulation… it sounds like a pretty broad topic as far as powers go," she asked. He nodded in agreement. "It is a broad topic, indeed. But broad is a very accurate description of what you can do when your training is complete. But that is for later, firstly, I'm sure you're wondering what Project Beacon is all about. I shall explain."

The next almost two hours were spent detailing the project, which was much unlike the Justice League's plan for her. Just as Samantha had been wondering, the Light had been anticipating her arrival for months. She was The Reach's biggest threat, and the Light's greatest hope. In Project Beacon, she would be trained to generate and control the energy supplying the Reach ships and destroy them once and for all. They would harm Earth no longer, and would not survive to destroy another planet. Samantha agreed with the plan. The Reach had kidnapped and experimented on her and many other people across the planet. They had to be stopped.

"Samantha. Being a part of this project will mean many things. You will make enemies. Those who were originally your friends may soon be holding weapons at your throat. However, we will eradicate the Reach. Are you sure you want to proceed?" Lex asked. Samantha raised a hand and let fire spread across her fingertips. It felt…free. "Yes. I want to proceed."

"Welcome to the Light," Lex said, as the screens lit up with the faces of the worst living villains in history.

(( Another cliffie for you guys. ;) I know things have DEFINITELY turned around for Sam, but I promise you things are about to get epic. I've already got many things planned for this story that will blow your mind. Keep those reviews coming. I've definitely loved reading this last batch that came through with the past two chapters. You guys rock. :)

-OpaqueSky))