Stern Bild, NC 1983
"The next step is to cool down the solution in an ice bath for twenty minutes," Karina announced, reading off the laboratory manual, a test tube held aloft with a pair of tongs in one hand.
"Do you think a slightly cold bath will be good enough?"
She looked up from the laboratory bench and found her partner studying the interior of a red plastic bucket. Amy met her gaze with a rueful smile and tipped it forward, revealing that the ice that had been contained inside it had completely melted.
"What about the other buckets? Any ice in them?"
Her partner shook her head sadly. "Nope. All gone. I was trying to save us some time by grabbing the ice earlier but…"
"Don't worry about it," Karina said, injecting a little optimism in her voice. "I'll get more ice if you'll pull the rest of the tubes out of the beaker." She placed the one in her hand in the rack and offered the tongs to her partner, lifting the bucket out of her hands in exchange. Though the trip to the icemaker would take only a couple of minutes. she wasn't sure how the delay would affect the results of their lab experiment. On top of that, their instructor, a first-year graduate student not much older than herself who was finicky about following experiments to the letter, seemed to be in a particularly grouchy mood today. She wasn't looking forward to having to repeat the experiment if their results were deemed unsatisfactory.
Her fingers flexed lightly against the container. Before the fire, even the smallest effort on her part was enough to summon ice.
And now?
The twinge in her chest was a familiar companion. It had been three years and the loss of her powers still hurt; she doubted she'd ever be rid of the pain. And though it hadn't been an easy journey, Karina was learning how to live with the empty feeling inside her instead of trying to erase it.
She gave a smile meant to reassure Amy. "It'll be fine. We can still salvage this."
And to her relief they did. Though the color of solutions in the test tubes weren't optimal, they were still within the range of acceptable results. Enough to convince the instructor that they'd completed the experiment successfully. Karina flipped the cover shut with a decisive motion. After a long day of classes she was looking forward to stopping by the café a block from the main campus for a well-deserved latte while she got caught up on her email.
She was so busy with wiping down the lab bench and putting away the equipment that she missed the first part of Amy's question.
"—coming with me, right?"
"I'm…going with you?" she asked, confused. "Where?"
"I just told you! I swear, Karina, you've been spacing out on me lately." Amy grabbed hold of her hand and began to drag her out of the laboratory classroom, barely giving her time to snatch up her messenger bag.
"I was going to get a coffee—"
"I'll buy you one later." Her friend huffed impatiently, an action softened by the grin on her face. "Just hurry up, okay? Or else we'll late."
Karina nearly stumbled over her own feet as she tried to keep up with her. She'd never seen Amy so animated in the short time that she'd known her. She was practically vibrating from the top of her vibrant red hair to the silver Doc Martens on her feet. "Late for what?"
As it turned out, they had just missed a lecture hosted by the sociology department – something on the regulation of NEXT powers – but were just in time, as Amy gleefully pointed out, for Barnaby Brooks Jr.'s meet and greet.
She slowed to a dead stop on the periphery of the large circle of fans surrounding Barnaby, unable to take another step forward. None of the other Heroes knew that she had returned to Stern Bild, save for Pao-Lin and Nathan, and she'd implored them to keep the news to themselves. It wasn't that she begrudged them their powers; she hadn't sunk to that level of pettiness. But the last time she'd seen them had ended so disastrously; she wasn't quite up to facing them yet.
Something of her reluctance must have shown on her face as Amy's excitement faded a little when she glanced over at her. "What's wrong, Karina?" she asked, her voice laced with uncertainty.
What did her therapist used to tell her? That she should welcome these learning experiences instead of running away from them? Resigned to what promised to be an uncomfortable encounter, Karina hastened to convince her friend. "It's nothing." For good measure she pasted a sheepish smile on her face. "I was just hoping it would be Sky High."
Amy immediately brightened, unease forgotten as she maneuvered the two of them to the end of the line. "I didn't know he was your favorite," she said, dragging out the last word and throwing Karina a knowing grin. "We can go to one of his appearances if you like. His schedule should be up on the Hero TV website."
Karina pressed her lips together, struggling to keep her laughter in. Keith was indeed a sweetheart. Even after she'd left Stern Bild he continued to send her hand-written letters that her parents dutifully forwarded to her, undeterred by the lack of response on her part. Still, the idea that she would have any romantic interest in him was absurdly hilarious. "It's okay," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know if I'll have the time. I'm pretty busy these days."
Amy pouted. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Forgot that you're taking an extra class this semester. I don't know how you do it, Karina. Between classes and the gigs…how do you even find time for your songwriting?"
Truth was she hadn't, neither the time nor any inspiration for it. Her music journal held more blank pages than she'd wanted. Just a few half-formed compositions, nothing as polished as what she used to write back then. It was as if all her creativity had been leeched out of her along with her powers. It probably didn't help that she hadn't even so much as touched a keyboard since coming home from the hospital. And when she'd finally sat down in front of a piano she had stumbled over scales that a child could have pulled off with more finesse.
"It's…coming along?" she replied weakly. "Inspiration's hard to come by right now."
Her friend nodded sagely. "Who knows? Maybe meeting Barnaby is the spark that you need to get that creativity going." Amy comically waggled her eyebrows at her, and the ridiculous expression was enough to send laughter bubbling out of her.
"You're insane," Karina managed to choke out, dabbing tears from the corners of her eyes. Amy was a complete riot, a fresh-out-of-high-school kid who had latched on to her on the first day of Principles of Chemistry, asking if she could borrow a pen. She had expected college to be a lonely experience. Not only was she older, but she had no interest in anything outside of her classes. That didn't seem to faze Amy at all. In fact, she seemed to make it her mission in life to invite Karina to all the undergraduate social events, as if she were intent on making sure her new friend squeezed the most out of her college experience.
Her friend's enthusiasm, the way she bounced on her feet every time they inched closer to the front of the line, was quite endearing. Despite the cloud of apprehension hanging over her, she couldn't help but smile. "I didn't know you were such a fan of Hero TV," she commented when Amy emitted another squeal – apparently she caught a glimpse of Barnaby's blond head through the crowd.
"Yeah, well... When you live out in the sticks, where nothing exciting ever happens…" She lifted a shoulder in a lazy shrug. "It was a lot of fun to watch. Especially when they showed the city at night. All those buildings lit up. Like Christmas lights, but like, every day, you know?" She cast her a sidelong glance. "You were probably too cool for it."
Arching an eyebrow, Karina asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, you're about as old as my brother and he used to tease me every time I turned on the TV to watch the show. Said it was too lame. That only kids watched it. Though I think he paid a little more attention when the cameras focused on Blue Rose," she added with a snicker. In the next second she frowned, a thoughtful look entering her blue eyes. "I wonder what happened to her. One day she was there, and the next, gone. Hero TV wasn't exactly free with the details, you know?"
Karina was saved from replying when the group in front of them shuffled off to the side, revealing the man they'd been waiting in line to see for a good half-hour.
Barnaby didn't seem any different from the last time she'd seen him, though that wasn't a surprise. It had only been three years after all, even if it had seemed longer to her, given all that had happened in that time. He still sported the same shaggy haircut, trimmed a little shorter. His leather jacket was unzipped, making it difficult to miss how nicely his thin black T-shirt clung to his lean, muscled chest. Behind his glasses, sharp green eyes watched them approach, widening slightly as his gaze flickered over to her as she trailed after Amy.
Her friend immediately rushed forward. "You're really here," she gushed excitedly, reaching out to take his hand. "And you're so— I mean— I'm Amy and— Can't believe it's really you—"
"It's nice to meet you too, Amy," Barnaby replied smoothly, his tone practiced but not lacking in genuine warmth. A professional at work. Exactly what one would expect from the King of Heroes. Karina could barely keep from rolling her eyes.
Amy continued to babble, all mental function seemingly scrambled by being in close proximity to the object of her crush. "I'm just— A big fan, Mr. Brooks. Like, so big!" She gripped his hand tightly, as if she would never let it go. "I voted for you in that online poll for most eligible bachelor. So messed up that you only made it to second place," she added, sounding as if she were personally insulted by the results.
"Just Barnaby, please. And thank you for your support. We Heroes truly appreciate it." He flashed her a smile, brilliant and charming. Amy looked as if she were about to faint from sheer happiness. And while her friend would've gladly spent the next five minutes staring rapturously at him, Karina wanted nothing more than to bring the awkwardness to an end as quickly as possible. So she gently bumped Amy with her shoulder, bringing her brain back online.
Amy started. "Oh yeah! Would you mind signing this magazine for me?" She fished inside her backpack and triumphantly pulled out what looked to be a Hero TV special edition from Barnaby's rookie year.
"Of course." He took the neon pink Sharpie she was offering, quickly scrawled his signature across his image on the cover, and handed the magazine back to her. Clutching it to her chest like it was a priceless artifact, Amy turned to Karina and said excitedly, "You should get his autograph too!"
Taken aback by the suggestion, she could only shake her head. "I don't really need—"
"I'd be more than happy to sign anything you want," Barnaby interrupted, that fan-bait smile now directed at her. He wouldn't give away her Hero identity; he wouldn't screw her over like that. But the amusement lurking in his eyes suggested that he wouldn't pass up an opportunity to needle her. Karina was about to refuse again when she felt a sharp tug on the strap of her messenger bag.
"How about this?" She quickly turned her head and found Amy holding out her music journal. Alarmed, she tried to snatch it out of her hands, but was foiled when Barnaby – with his much longer reach — plucked it neatly from her friend's grasp.
He flipped the cover over, skimming through the words and musical phrases she'd written on the page. "You're a songwriter?" he asked with mild interest.
Karina recognized that her irritation at this little charade was somewhat of an overreaction. Still, she couldn't seem to rein it in. He damn well knew that she wrote her own songs. His partner had dragged him to enough of her performances that the information had to have slipped out, given his Kotetsu's tendency to gossip when tipsy. Why Barnaby had been there in the first place was a mystery back then. One she never quite figured out.
Amy was quick to answer for her. "Yeah, and she's got a great voice too!" she enthused. Heat spread up her neck and across her cheeks at her friend's exuberant praise, prompting her to add, "Well it's true! You should hear her sing. She's super amazing."
Barnaby made a small noise of approval as he selected a blank page and began to write. "Maybe I'll get to hear you perform your songs someday. Should I make it out to Rose?"
Amy frowned, eyes clouding over slightly in confusion. "Oh no, her name's Karina."
Barnaby looked up from the page, head tilted to the side, and regarded her with an exaggerated curiosity. "Is that so? You look like a Rose to me." A smirk briefly flickered on his lips, too subtle for anyone else to pick up on.
"It's Karina," she answered through gritted teeth, her patience worn thin. She snatched back her journal when he finished, barely sparing the words he'd written a glance before shoving it back in her bag. Spinning on her heel, she stalked off, not caring that she was coming across as rude. Amy caught up to her seconds later, still in a star-struck daze, dreamily recounting every minute of her encounter with Barnaby as they walked in the direction of the large archway marking the edge of the campus. Just across the street was the café she'd been planning to stop by before this afternoon's little detour.
Karina sighed, a headache beginning to build behind her eyes. This called for something stronger than coffee.
She was going to need a bowl of the tiramisu gelato instead.