Gaea lovingly held the H ring. The metal held an orange sheen. Wheeler would have appreciated this ring, with it's modern feel. She had been tempted to ask him to lead the team, but when she checked in on him, his face was long and pockmarked. Disease had settled into the gums on his mouth. He had turned out just like his father, dried out with alcohol, swamped with drugs.
So, this ring went to Precious Andrews from Detroit. She would understand the loss of power needed to wield this ring.
Prez was a beautiful girl, something she had been punished for her whole life. She was poor, built out of scraps of dreams and the backhand of religion. When Gaea found her, she was sitting on the side of the road with one shoe, her party dress ripped, twenty-two and ready to die.
Gaea saw something inside Prez that few might have, the explosive violence of someone ready to burn the world to the ground. This was the fury Gaea needed.
"I can make you visible," Gaea said, sitting down beside the shaking girl.
"Who the fuck are you?" Prez demanded. "What the fuck do you want?"
"I am here to offer you a job, one that will change the face of humanity… one that will allow you to get revenge on the people who hurt you," Gaea said.
Something about Gaea made people listen, made them fall deeper into her eyes. Prez seemed to struggle towards the top of the water, the magic that made Gaea who she was. This made Gaea certain she had chosen right. Prez would be able to handle the ring.
"What are you offering?" Prez asked.
"I have been around this earth for a long time," Gaea said. She let some of her energy come to the surface, surrounding them with a welcoming glow. "I am a Mother and people are killing my child. My children. I need help to get back my home."
Prez nodded. "People are shit."
"I am offering you a chance to get back at the people who hurt you," Gaea said. "Those men who—touched you—are not worth the air they breathe. I will give you a chance to have power. You look like a woman who has not had enough power in her life. I can give that to you."
"I'll take it," Prez said.
Gaea held out her hand, which Prez took. She slipped on the ring. Prez seemed disappointed.
"I was hoping for a gun," Prez said.
"This is all the firepower you will need," Gaea said.
They spoke for a long time, about what Gaea needed, what Prez would do. When Prez walked back up 15th Avenue, towards the yellow house, Gaea smiled. Prez would get her revenge and Gaea would get her soldier.
*The best part about being an invisible fire,* Gaea thought, *was that no one expects you.* Those men would be incinerated before they knew what hit them.
When the flames leapt into the sky and sirens exploded into the night, Gaea took Prez into her arms. The girl was not crying, she was smiling softly.
"Welcome to the team," Gaea said.
She had found her Hydrogen.