They call her Human Torch! Chapter 2

Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep… Slowly the sounds around me seemed to get louder and louder until my last memories played out in my head. My eyes fly open as I jump off of whatever bed I was on, gasping for fresh air, 2 hands grab my shoulders trying to steady me.

"Bella, Bells you're okay! Calm down!"

"Sam?! What are you doing here? Where are we?"

He wraps his arms around me and tightens his hold as he talks to me.

"I'm here because I'm your emergency contact, we are in some fancy, private hospital where they brought you after the accident. They didn't tell me what went wrong or what happened to you, the company just had some stiff asshole call me to say you were in the hospital and that they would have a jet sent to collect me. I swear we all went crazy, I had to do an alpha command so that they would stay behind and keep doing patrols."

"I feel perfectly fine Sam, honestly I'm not even sore. Where are the others though?"

"Others? You mean the old folks down the hall?"

"No no. I mean Ms. Storm, her brother Johnny, Mr. Richards, and Mr. Grimm. Did they make it out okay too?"

"I don't know Bella, like I said, this is a small private hospital in the middle of nowhere. There's only 2 doctors and a handful of nurses around here. Just stay here, I'll go get a doctor."

He walked out and came back less than 2 minutes later with a man that looked to be in his late 50's.

"Hello Ms. Swan. I'm glad to see you are awake. We did a full body exam and could not find anything wrong in your vitals. There is nothing to worry about as far as we can tell. We were told you breathed in a dangerous chemical at work, thankfully it looks like you simply lacked oxygen and fainted. We did do a CT scan and x-ray your chest to check that your lungs were not damaged but everything looks great. We didn't even have to do a blood gas test."

"Thank you sir, but I wouldn't really call cosmic energy a chemical. There were 4 others that were exposed to the cloud as well, are they here somewhere?"

"Cosmic cloud? Pardon my lack of knowledge when it comes to laboratory terms. it's been a while since this old man was in a classroom. The paramedics only brought you in my dear, so your friends must be fine. Now I'm sure you can be back to work as soon as tomorrow and we can get you discharged in less than an hour I bet. Before you leave we would like to check your vitals one last time to see if anything might have changed now that you are up and about. Now I shouldn't have to tell you but if you start coughing or find that you are out of breath then I want you to come right back and get examined. You got that young lady?"

"Yes, I understand but sir I just don't feel like you understand what happened -"

"Oh it's quite alright dear, I didn't mean to make it sound like you did something wrong, everyone has accidents, even if you were following the rules of the laboratory. Now, your employer must be quite worried about you, they left instructions to be called as soon as you woke up. I'll go take care of that personally, excuse me."

As he left, Sam gave me a strange look.

"What's wrong?"

"I just have a bad feeling, I don't think he knows what really happened. Sam there's snow outside the fucking window, we clearly aren't in New York! Where are we and why am I the only one here? There's something that they aren't telling me."

"I'm sorry Bella, we were worried about you and since it was a private jet I didn't even ask where we were going."

I sighed and leaned against his shoulder. I think I must have fallen asleep at one point because I woke up to a nurse telling me that she had to take my blood pressure and my temperature.

"Oh my! I'm sorry hun, this must be broken. Let me run down to the supply room and get another."

I took the thermometer out and widened my eyes when I saw it read 209°F. Sam put his hand to my forehead and gasped at the same time I did.

"Bella, you feel hot to me."

"You don't feel as hot as you guys usually do.."

I started panicking

"I- Sam I don't feel sick. I feel fine. What if there is something wrong and they can't see it because of the radiation of the cosmic storm?"

I started hyperventilating and the more I thought about the temperature the hotter I felt.

"BELLA!"

I looked to Sam but froze when I saw fire on my hands, flame coming out of them and spreading up my arms slowly.

"Sam.. Sam what's going on?! I can't feel it!"

"Bella calm down! Just- just take a deep breath and turn it off."

"I didn't turn it on Sam! How do you expect me to turn it off?!"

It seemed the higher I screamed the more the flames would spread through my body, even starting to burn my hospital gown.

"Bella listen to me! You have to calm down! Just think of Leah and Paul, you know how they always lose their tempers and have to go phase to calm down? Think about it, think of happy memories, hell think of ice, cold stuff, focus on turning it off. Just take a deep breath and calm down."

I just need to stop thinking what this means, I just need to clear my head. Taking some shaky but deep breathes I slowly calmed down until I opened my eyes and saw that I was standing half naked in front of Sam, I let out a startled yelp and just like that my control slipped and the flames were back, surrounding my whole body this time. My hospital gown fell in ashes to the ground and I closed my eyes trying to visualize them only covering my intimate parts and I felt it working. Sam got the bed sheet with wide eyes and put it up so he wouldn't see anything. Slowly but surely it was easier to get the heat to go away this time. I reached out for the sheet and wrapped it around myself.

"Sam.." I whispered his name but couldn't say anything else.

"It's okay Bella, you're okay. Look we'll drive home and there you will have the whole pack to support you and help you through all of this. For now lets just go before that nurse-"

"Knock knock!"

An older man came in with a brief case and a fake grin on his face.

"Hello, Isabella Swan? My name is Bryan Vitter. I am part of the team of lawyers for Von Doom Industries, in light of recent events the company has decided to give you a very generous severance package and the obvious early termination of your internship. I have some papers for you to sign as well as some matters I would like to discuss in private."

Sam was very tense beside me, just running a soothing hand on my back.

"I'm not interested in any pay off. I just want to know where everyone else is at, why am I the only one here?"

"Well Ms. Swan you were the only one injured. The team behind you was well protected under the shield they are all fine and at home safe. Of course they are shaken but fine. You were exposed minimally and fortunately your doctor says there are no ill effects. Unfortunately the team that was in the unprotected chamber had no coverage and there were casualties as expected in this type of horrible situation. There was just enough body ligaments to identify their bodies and we are in the process of setting up a memorial for them with no expense to the family of course."

A feeling that I can only describe as an electric current ran through my body as I sunk down to my knees and felt the spasm of pain that came from my heart. A strangled cry escaped my lips and continuous tears ran down my cheeks. I could hear Sam telling me to breath, to calm down but I couldn't. The last time I saw them kept flashing through my head, I caught the smell of smoke and I'm sure Sam did too because he jumped up and asked Mr. Vitter to give me a moment.

"Bella please, I know how hard this must be for you but you have to calm down."

"Wh- what are you? How are you doing that?! Your fingers are on fire!"

We snapped our head to the door and saw Mr. Vitter standing there pale. Sam growled under his breath and went to shut the door so no one else would hear him.

"I've never done this before, it must be some kind of side effect to the unstable molecules of the cosmic energy."

"I must call my employer, this changes things. We have to rewrite this contract."

"Wait! What if I don't want anyone to find out about this?"

"I must inform my colleagues, but I agree, this information cannot become public. The lives lost and the failed experiment already gave the company bad coverage on the news, stocks have gone down. If the public found out that the company turned you into one of those mutant freaks then the whole company could collapse. Wait here, don't move and don't show anyone…. That."

We could see the disgust in his eyes when he said 'mutant.' Sam was trembling beside me but stopped when he left. I turned nervously to him not entirely sure on what to say.

"What do you think?"

"These guys are only looking out for themselves, they could easily be the enemy. Just make sure you thoroughly read what he wants you to sign and make sure you never let any of them take your blood or experiment on you. Never allow that. Understood?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Don't worry Bella, we've got your back, we'll figure this out and get through it."

I was focusing on taking deep and calming breathes when Mr. Vitter came back in looking nervous.

"I need to meet in person with my colleagues to come up with an acceptable agreement."

"So what am I suppose to do until then?"

"I believe the hospital has your bag full of possessions you took on the trip, until we write up a suitable agreement then it would be wise to lay low and not return to New York. News of the accident has reached headlines and they know there is 1 person that was exposed and survived. There's news vans stationed outside of the company and every hospital in New York. They don't know who you are or where and we would like to keep it that way. We need a week to write up something new and have it finalized. Do you know where you will be?"

Sam put his arm around my shoulder then, taking over.

"She will be staying with my fiance and I in Washington."

He nodded as he took out a note pad and handed it over to Sam.

"Very well, write down the address and a contact number here. I will fly out sometime in the next 10 business days and we will go over the paperwork then."

"..Okay, thanks."

"Before I leave Ms. Swan, I was informed that a previous intern, your roommate, has been calling the company constantly. She has taken to talking with the news casters outside the company, telling them that we have not informed her if you are the survivor or one of the deceased. Fortunately she has not shared your name yet but we would appreciate it if you called and shut her down. Preferably without your.. details."

"There's nothing wrong with her, if that's what you're implying."

Sam had started shaking again and was glaring.

"Sir, you and I have very different ideas of what is wrong."

He turned to exit the room before pausing for a second on his way out.

"I will be in touch."

It had taken a few minutes to really process everything and I didn't really know what direction my mind was going.

"Come on Bella, lets get you discharged and find somewhere to rent a car. Is there clothes in the possessions that the hospital has from you?"

"Yeah, its just a backpack."

I went to the bathroom while talking and looked up to the mirror while washing my hands.

"SAM! What the hell happened to me?! I look like I went through the damn change!"

He approached me slowly, waiting for me to burst into flames again but relaxed when I didn't.

"When I first got here, I noticed the changes right away. I wasn't sure how this thing affected you but I knew it had. You are still you though Bella."

"How?! How am I still me? I look like fucking Malibu Barbie! I'm sun kissed Sam! I've always been pale and suddenly I'm curvy and a little tan? I was exposed to cosmic energy Sam, this shouldn't be a side effect! If anything, that much cosmic radiation should have left a part of me deformed or something! What if the radiation somehow affected the residual venom from James's bite? Look! it's not cold anymore, it actually feels hotter than the rest of my skin now. Do I smell like a vampire? What if I'm half vampire now and need blood?"

"Listen to yourself! Stop and calm down! Your hair is literally on fire right now. Bella if any part of you smelled anything like a leech, do you really think I would be so calm? Under all the physical changes you are still Bella. You are just working yourself up by letting your head run with all the things that can go wrong. Sure you smell a little different, less flowery and more woodsy but its your personality that I'm having a conversation with. Look lets go home, you will feel better. Cheer up, we'll have a good laugh at the pack's reaction when they see you."

I snorted and let him pull me out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, I can imagine. By the way, is woodsy even a word?"

"Shut up Bella."

"Okay."

Two hours later we were finally on the road, me in some old clothes that now fit too snug around my hips and downright restricted any movement around my chest.

"How long will it take to get home?"

Sam shrugged and looked in thought.

"I'd say 20 hours at least. Not including any stops."

"Why do you think they placed me so far from New York?"

"Honestly Bella, it's hard to say. The way that man was speaking, it's like they were prepared to say and do anything to make the company look better to the public. He was downright cold when he spoke about the 'casualties' as if they were ants being experimented on. What really happened up there?"

I started telling him about it and the tears kept gathering in my eyes no matter how much I wiped them away. I could feel the heat wanting to be let out but it was easier now to keep it in after the first time.

"Everything was going fine, we were supposed to have 7 hours, it was plenty of time but suddenly the monitors started beeping and announced that the cloud was coming in 9 minutes! Mr. Richards started freaking out and went to get Ms. Storm and Mr. Von Doom, when they came back everything just happened so quickly, they were telling Mr. Grimm to jump towards the station but the cloud was coming too fast, Mr. Von Doom didn't even care about the danger Mr. Grimm was in, he didn't even walk towards the glass. Ms. Storm pushed me into the monitor room and told me Mr. Von Doom wanted to close the shields, he was selfish and just wanted to protect himself. He didn't tell Johnny or Mr. Richards that he was closing it, he just did it. If Ms. Storm wouldn't have put me in that room I would be dead too. Some guy came into the monitor room and told us it wasn't secure enough. We had to move fast so he pressed the button that started closing the door but I tripped on my way there and he didn't even make a move to help me or see if I would make it, he just kept going. I was so angry and disappointed at everything, I just felt so stupid and helpless. The countdown finished and I saw the cosmic air break through the seal of the door and soon my whole body felt like it was on fire. I passed out and woke up in the hospital."

"It all makes sense now, the way the lawyer kept talking about agreements. That bastard knows he fucked up. He knows that if you go public with that story then everything he has ever done to build his company and his image, it will all go down to ashes. Literally."

I stayed silent for a moment, thinking on Sam had said and it did make sense. He acted as if he expected me to die, but why? We were there to experiment on the cosmic energy, he didn't know how it would effect us. There's no way he could have.

"Should I? Go public with this? I mean it's his fault they died, Mr. Grimm wouldn't have made it on time but still, he could have saved 3 lives. He took their choice away when he closed the shield without telling them. He killed them."

Sam sighed and looked at me intently for a minute before answering me.

"You know we will support you 100% if you tell your story, but Bella, you would have to expose all of you. I agree that he has to pay, I believe he should be taken to court, but you have seen what people say about mutants on the news, you know there's people fighting for mutant rights but most of the people just say nothing because they know they aren't accepting. You can't be in the moment about this. Just sit on it for a few day's, think about how much it would change your life and just think about both sides. How much does this mean to you?"

"I know people won't care how it happened, they will just see me as a mutant, like the rest. This is really important to me though. Ms. Storm was my mentor, she went out of her way, she- she just didn't deserve- I wouldn't be here Sam, not without her. I grieve for Mr. Richards, Mr. Grimm, and Johnny, but I need to do this for Ms. Storm. I know what it means and I am prepared for the consequences."

"I think, you think you are, but you're not. Just please, listen to me and think on it for a few day's, we can wait to hear from the lawyer and we can watch the news to see what kind of stuff they are saying. Yeah?"

I nodded but didn't respond, I would think on this, but if they said one good thing about that man, I know I wouldn't waste much time after that.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you for being here and supporting me. You are a great alpha."

He smiled warmly at me.

"You may not be a wolf, and you may not be an imprint, but you are a pack sister and we all love you. Remember that, always."

In the end it took 2 days, 5 food stops, 4 bathroom stops, 1 night at a hotel, and 2 shirts that I burned through, before getting home. I didn't mean to burn 2 of my favorite t-shirts, but after not being able to move hours on end because of how tight they were.. well my control slipped. Sam stopped at a target to buy me a new shirt but didn't want to be seen shopping at the women's section so here we were, driving past forks and into La Push and me in a 3xl men's shirt that hid all my new curves.

If I was being honest, I was both happy and nervous. I wanted to see the pack, they had become like family to me but I didn't know how they would realistically react. Hell, I had only lasted a couple weeks in New York and already my life was different, I knew they would tell me what Sam had been telling me, that I was still Bella, just physically different. But I wasn't. I felt different, what mattered to me just last week suddenly was the last thing on my mind. I couldn't picture myself moving into a dorm and going to school in Virginia with Darcy anymore. My goal to get me out of the dark hole that was forks, was Culver University, but I could not start school in less than a month, how could I? My priorities were different now. I was having trouble with what they were exactly, but I knew I couldn't just continue on the path I had set before. I didn't want to stay here, I would until I could have full control of myself but after that? Where would I go? There would be no job for me in New York anymore, and we would only have the apartment until mid August. My life really didn't have a direction anymore.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Just wondering if maybe you should go in and explain what happened before they see me?"

"Bella, they aren't going to react badly. They would never do that to you."

"Of course. That's not what I meant. I just feel like if they see me right off the bat then they aren't going to stop and listen to what we are saying you know? I think without me there then they would pay attention to everything and I wouldn't have to repeat it later."

"You have a point. Will you stay in the car then? It's a rental, you can't light it up you know."

He broke out laughing at the look on my face but froze when I punched his arm.

"Another thing to add to the list."

"What?"

"That really hurt Bella."

"The punch?"

"Yeah, if I were human, that would have left a bruise! So super strength? I've noticed you haven't tripped since we left the hospital, not even stumbled."

I was surprised when I realized he was right.

"I hadn't noticed. Not until now but you are right. All of these are vampire traits Sam."

"That's not true, they could very well be normal mutant genes."

"No, my fire? Yes. Balance and strength? No."

"Agree to disagree then. Alright, here we are. I called Emily from the hotel last night and she assured me they would all be here, you sure you want to do it like this?"

"Yeah, its the best way. I'll just be on the beach. Don't make that face! I'll stay nearby, and if I have the sudden urge to set the world on fire then I'll just hop in the water."

That made us both smile and let him relax a bit.

"Is there something you want me to leave out?"

"No, well.. yes. don't tell them you saw me half naked at the hospital."

We both flinched at the reminder and went our separate ways sporting slight blushes at the uncomfortable memory.

Getting to the beach was easy, I chose to walk further up, to the cliffs that overlooked the coast. It was a cold day so there wasn't a single person in sight but the temperature didn't make me shiver like it would have before. Very easily I lost track of time, thinking about the same things over and over and at the same time thinking nothing at all. I didn't make any decisions or stick to one particular topic. I just took in the view and let myself relax completely for the first time in what felt like months. I never noticed the start of a sunset and I didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind me.

"HOLY SHIT! You weren't lying!"

"Quil!"

In an instant I had turned around and saw everyone standing by me with wide eyes, for a second I thought my looks had really shocked them but I realized my whole body was on fire, even my face and hair. I didn't feel out of control like all the other times, I was completely relaxed and let my guard down, I had been sitting here for over an hour and I never felt that I was on fire the whole time. Having everyone still stare at me made my calm go away and with it went the fire, I was already sitting on the ground so I quickly brought my knees up to my chest and crossed my ankles, hoping it covered all the important stuff. Sam took a step towards me and I couldn't help but flinch, knowing this is what he was afraid would happen. I felt like I had failed him and my eyes filled with tears for the hundredth time in the past few day's.

"I'm so sorry Sam! I wasn't mad or upset, I swear! I hadn't even noticed until now. I- I didn't feel it,-"

"It's okay Bella, you're okay. We don't blame you. Here, take my shirt."

Once I put his gigantic shirt on, everyone took it as a sign that the could come closer. Emily. Leah, and Kim all cried with me while hugging me and whispering comforting words in my ear. Paul came in after Leah let me go and crushed me against him.

"I'm no one to talk about control, but I will do everything I can to help you. Okay? I mean what's the worst that can happen? So you burn a building or two down? Just flash them and they will leave you alone! Damn, you're sexy Bella!"

He grabbed my arm and made me do a turn before smacking my ass and jumping out of the way right as I was about to slap him.

"I mean you were cute before but now you are hot!"

They all started laughing when I settled for sticking my tongue out at him instead. Jacob was next in line to hug me although it felt a little awkward with him since our friendship had really suffered after he told me he would never see me like a sister. I knew Paul didn't either but it was different, Paul had become my best friend. He understood the pain I was going through from losing his parents and he let me see past his tough exterior. Jacob tried to comfort me as well but in the back of my head I knew it was just because he wanted more from me. Quil, Seth, Embry, and Jared all hugged me as well but mostly made fun of me, saying I had only been in New York for 7 weeks and already all the trouble I was in. I actually agreed there. When we got back to Sam and Em's house she tried giving me some clothes but she was even smaller than what I had originally been so Leah had to run home and bring me some clothes that actually fit. I wasn't as tall as her but I was curvier now so I ended up filling them fine.

"Don't worry Bella, Kim and I can go shopping for clothes your size while you train with the pack tomorrow."

I looked to Sam confused.

"Train? For what?"

"We talked it over and agreed that you should know your full potential so we are going to test your speed, strength, balance, sight, anything that we notice is different about you. We are also going to push you Bella, you may hate us by the end of it but we need to make you lose control as much as we can so that you learn to reign it in."

I let out a deep breath but nodded in understanding. I knew I was going to have trouble in some areas but I don't think controlling it would be too hard. It seemed the more I let it out, the more control I had over it. Leah sat next to me and bumped her shoulder with mine.

"You better get use to burning your clothes off in front of the guys. I use to hit them if they ever saw me naked, even if it wasn't on purpose but now I could care less. It takes a while to get use to it but you will."

I highly doubt that but I simply nodded and kept the conversation flowing towards other subjects. Suddenly it hit me that I still hadn't called Darcy and I felt so bad I jumped up and scared everyone in the house.

"Sorry, I just remembered that I need to call Darcy. I left my phone in my apartment since it wasn't allowed on the station. Can I use yours?"

"Of course, here. You can even take it outside or to the guest bedroom if you want some more privacy."

"Thanks. How much do you think I can tell her? I think I should wait until I see her in person but what if she comes down here?"

"Tell her as much as you can Bells, just tell her to stop talking to the news and that you will go back when you feel ready. Stick to the truth as much as possible."

I chose to walk into the guest room instead of going outside. I was dreading the call because I knew how much she was going to question me on everything, I wanted to tell her everything but as much as she loved me I knew she would have trouble believing that I could suddenly spout fire, once she saw it though I knew she would think it is the coolest thing. With a deep breath I dialed her number.