A Star That Burns Brightest...
Today was the day.
Finally, she was going to get some answers.
And yet this brought her no solace. Explanations don't always breathe reassurance.
Sometimes they breathe fire.
She remembered the advice Superman gave her. She needed to let loose. Push her abilities to the absolute limit in the battle simulator. Based off of certain factors such as subject's heart rate, mental stress, and strength the program would adjust its settings accordingly. It was a safety feature to ensure no one would be severely damaged or killed.
What no one ever anticipated, is that she would push the systems to the utter limit. All of the original league members watched with nearly horrified expressions from outside the simulation through a window. Clark's heart jumped as the final challenger appeared before the girl: Doomsday.
"Turn the machine off! Turn it off now!" boomed the Kryptonian, turning to the two technicians that were monitoring the exercise.
"No." Batman disagreed.
"What?" Clark couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"What's happening to her?" Wonder Woman murmured with concern.
Chelsea was enveloped in a rainbow of light that wrapped around her like a new skin. Even her hair reflected the entire color spectrum.
"That thing will kill her." Flash protested, "No one has ever made it to this level. Not even Supes."
"The machine is programmed to shut down if at any point the user's life is in danger." Batman explained, "The only way we get answers is to see the true extent of what her abilities have become."
Starlight traded blows with the monstrosity. Despite taking what should be punishing if not fatal blows, it seemed she only burned brighter. Her emotions were running wild. All of the anger and confusion. While she was aware of it consuming her, she couldn't fight the urge to lose control. As she hovered off the ground, she lifted her legs and curled her arms inward to form a ball. She was preparing a devastating blow.
"Radiation levels are well beyond danger levels. There's about to be an incredible amount of energy released." one of the technician's inferred, typing away vigorously at the computer.
A whirlwind of light swirled around her all at once and disappeared. When the monster hurled itself at her, silence fell across the room. In that moment a burst like an atomic bomb consumed the artificial environment. When the dust cleared, the artificial Doomsday was a figure made of ash that was steadily carried off by the breeze.
What's more, Starlight stood, completely unwavering from the blast that came from within her.
The simulator turned itself off and she was standing in a completely white room. Her eyes darted to the now visible window. Her friends expressions were paler than she had ever seen before.
They were speechless.
"I want all analysis of these trials as soon as possible." Batman told the technicians.
J'onn knew his job was next, "I will take a look at her next. Send her to the infirmary when she comes out."
While she walked down the long hallway with Wally, they were consumed by silence. He was worried about her. He had never seen anything like that before, "How are you feeling?"
She closed her eyes tightly and then opened them again, "Like my friends see me as a monster."
Wally stopped momentarily, pain in his eyes, "Chels, stop."
She froze. Raising and lowering her shoulders with a deep breath, "I swatted Doomsday like a fly… the radiation that came from the explosion was the equivalent of nuclear warheads detonating. Three to be exact. How am I supposed to feel Wally? My father is turning me into a weapon of mass destruction!" She was still worked up from the fight. Still burning off of adrenaline.
She saw the pain in his eyes. How much he wished he could make this better for her. The sense of hopelessness swirling in the green of his irises. It made her weaken, "I'm sorry." she mouthed. He came forward and pulled her in.
The infirmary door slid open when they approached it. They entered a private room that held a medical chair and a couple of chairs. When she sat down on the tall chair, she leaned back and tried to make herself comfortable. J'onn watched her silently, exchanging glances with both her and Wally.
"Last time he was in there," Chelsea spoke, "he almost fried your brain when you tried to knock on the door. Are you sure you want to do this?"
The Martian came forward and put his large hand atop hers, "He will not hurt my friend any longer."
"It's not me I'm concerned about." she said with a raise of her eyebrows.
"Try to focus on him." J'onn instructed with his deep voice. He placed his hands on her temples. He instantly was hit was a shock of tension, but pressed further.
"If you wanted to talk." she heard her father's condescending tone. She looked around, seeing nothing but black. Her mind had manifested a version of herself to find him, "All you had to do was call." he appeared before her and a couple of large chairs appeared. One behind Chelsea and one behind him. He gestured for her to take a seat and then seated himself. Slowly she lowered herself to the chair and stared at him intensely, "Well, you came all this way. You must have something you wish to talk about."
"What are you trying to do?" she asked bluntly.
"I've already told you that." he replied.
"What. Are. You. Trying. To. Do?" she repeated through gritted teeth.
He leaned back in his seat and laced his fingers together, "It burns you, doesn't it? To know I'm the reason for all of this. I'm what makes you special. I'm the reason why you have your friends. I'm the reason Batman and that speedster fell in love with you. If it wasn't for me, your life would be miserable… ordinary." he said confidently.
She laughed, "I would love to know how you came to that conclusion."
He leaned forward, "You wouldn't have those powers if it wasn't for your dear old dad, sweetheart. No powers. No superhero. No Justice League."
It was a painful truth.
He could feel it swelling in her chest, "Stop avoiding the question." she growled.
"You know what your problem is? You're transparent. The moment I get under your skin I know it." he told her, "I told you." he repeated, "Gorilla Grodd, he told you."
Grodd?
She had to think way back. Her eyes squinted, "You're doing all of this to kill Batman? If that was the truth, you'd have done it by now."
"No dearie," he waved his finger, "I want you to kill Batman. I want a front row seat." he nodded his head, "I have to say I never anticipated you leaving him for another… but that made it even better," he stretched his legs and leaned back once again, "for when you're standing over him with his heart in your hands it won't be the first time you've ripped it from his chest."
She gripped the armrests hard until her knuckles were white.
"You're going to kill them all. Every. Last. One." he tilted his head, "You said it yourself. I've granted you abilities that you know full well could turn the Justice League into an ant hill. You're simply the magnifying glass and I gave you the sun."
"How did you not die the last time? How do you continue to escape death?" she had been curious of this for a while.
"Did you not escape death?" he asked her, "I created a back door… another dimension outside of the one created inside your head." he waved his hand as if it were child's play, "it was under the guidelines that once the expanse of your powers was activated I would regain consciousness." he threw his hands up, "And it worked."
She put her hands together and placed them on her lips.
"You seem very accepting of this. I'm honestly surprised." he said so matter of factly.
"I won't kill my friends." she replied.
"You won't. But we will. Together." he leaned in again and got a sinister grin on his face, "The one thing I didn't tell you… is I can control you from the inside out." her eyes widened, "That's right honey. I've been preparing you for my hostile take over."
"Then why haven't you?!" she barked.
"Because I'm enjoying this." his smile widened, "Nothing brings me greater joy than to watch you twist in the breeze."
"No," she told him, "you can't. That's why you haven't."
"Clever girl," he seemed profoundly proud. It made her sick, "your time is running out."
Chelsea sprang to life on the chair, breaking out into a sweat. J'onn's hands fell to his sides and his expression remained melancholy, but something was different. He turned to Wally and asked him to follow him into another room.
That was strange. Why didn't J'onn say anything to her? She ran her fingers through her hair and reflected on her father's words. She strained to hear their conversation from the other room. Her powers seemed to adapt to her desires and willpower and because of this, it granted her the ability to hear what was going on in the other room. She only caught the tail end of what J'onn was telling Wally and it busted a hole in her gut, "I could not sense him at all. He's not there."
After they returned Chelsea excused herself and asked if she could be alone with her thoughts for a while. Wally didn't wish to leave her that way, but she insisted. Now, not only was she containing enormous amounts of power, but she was like a one woman army. With word getting around that not even J'onn could sense his presence, she feared they would assume she was starting to lose her grip on reality.
But he was there.
Why couldn't they see that?
In the restricted area of the Watch Tower where only the original members had access she was vigorously doing research on every case that linked itself back to Dr. XYZ. She was trying to find some hint or clue that would give her some answers. Perhaps when he was going to make his move. Anything. She swallowed her last gulp of her cup of coffee and tossed it into the trash. There was a small group of cups beside her where she had been nervously ingesting the liquid energy to keep her alert while she researched.
"No one has seen you in hours." a low voice pulled her concentration away from the computer.
She looked over her shoulder to see Batman standing there. He took a seat beside her and analyzed her. She could always tell when he was playing detective, "Just doing some research."
"J'onn told us that you left shortly after the examination and didn't give a record of what happened while you were under." he told her.
She reached out and grabbed a folder sitting beside her and flopped it down in front of him on the desk, "Typed it up a while ago." she continued her hunt, typing away at the computer.
"Chelsea," he said softly, his Bruce voice coming out, "J'onn told me he did not sense any presence of your father inside your subconscious. He said there was difficulty digging into it, because you were trying to keep him out."
She stopped typing and stared at the blinking cursor. Her eyes turned to him. She was expressionless, "I know what he said and I know what you are all thinking."
"Before you get defensive," he started to say.
"Don't patronize me, Bruce." she protested.
His forehead scrunched beneath his cowl, "It's possible your mind is using your father as a defense mechanism for unpredictable changes happening within you. Your brain may be trying to justify these changes… put the blame on something."
"Stop!" she growled, slamming her fists on the table, "Just because J'onn cannot find his presence, does not mean he isn't there. Don't treat me like I'm one of your sick rogues from Arkham. He's so damn confident right now. Because he knew this would make you all turn on me. He wants me to feel backed into a corner!" she covered her face with her hands, "And right now… I do. I feel like I'm in this alone." she took a deep breath and after a moment of composing herself, began clicking away at the keyboard once more, "I am alone in this."
"You're not." he told her simply.
She paused again and closed her eyes, "Than why can't you believe me? Why do you need proof when its me?"
He stared into her pleading eyes when they turned to her. He picked up the file she tossed at him and began looking it over. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, because he could see it inside her. She needed someone to believe her. She was convinced this was real. Her detailed report sure made it seem convincing too. His eyes traced the page as she continued her research.
"He mentioned that I was running out of time." she murmured, unsure if he'd genuinely hear her out, "I think he means that literally." she pulled up multiple windows on the screen letting them overlap and doing a keyword search that would highlight her point, "I think I've finally figured out my father's dimension abilities. In order for a dimension to exist you need not only space, but time as well. I think my father's abilities have certain guidelines, triggers that occur with certain requirements." she began pointing to each date, "My first night at the Watch Tower when the computer systems acted up, he used the opportunity to create a dimension inside the system. An exact year later he created a dimension in my head." Bruce leaned in a bit, letting her continue, "If I'm right, than he has to use a certain amount of power to keep balance over a dimension for a certain assigned amount of time, which means that this one's expiration date is a month and three days away."
She turned her head to him, "I think the day of its expiration he's going to take control of my entire consciousness and terminate me completely, but he cannot act before then because it doesn't suit the perimeters he forcibly had to set for the dimension, because his powers are limited to time and space." Her fidgeting hands twisted in her lap.
He reached out and cupped both of them with one of his large hands to steady her, "Based off of your reasoning that does seem like a legitimate hypothesis." he swiveled her chair to face him and looked deep into her eyes, "I couldn't begin to imagine how frustrating this must be for you…" he said sincerely. He sighed and flipped his cowl off so she could see the sincerity in his expression, "You're going to beat this."
How?
She felt like there was nothing she could do to stop it.
"If what you're saying is true, then we have some time to come up with a way to counter his plan." he stood up and put his cowl back on, "Let me know if you discover anything else." he took the file with him when he left.
I'm what makes you special. I'm the reason why you have your friends. I'm the reason Batman and that speedster fell in love with you. If it wasn't for me, your life would be miserable… ordinary.
His words echoed inside her head over and over again.
Ordinary.
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the brightly lit screen.
She wandered through the Watch Tower, taking in the sights around her. This place never stopped. It was constantly a circuit of power in motion. She passed faces both unfamiliar and friendly, but everyone seemed out of hand's reach. She paused to stare out of the large window that overlooked the planet. It took a view like that to truly see how small one was. It was a sight that simply never became the norm to her. It was breathtaking.
The stars were elegantly aligned in the sky. As her eyes traveled across to each one, they froze on one in particular that seemed to have the most impressive gleam. It seemed to stand out from the others and it's light shined with such ferocity.
Then it was gone.
After doing a lap around the Watch Tower to stretch her legs and clear her head she made her way back to the private sector of the tower where only the original members had access and entered the hall where she asked to meet Superman over the com link. He wasted no time and had been waiting for her there. When she entered, she offered him a smile and sat down adjacent to him at the large table.
She laced her fingers on the table top and tried to keep her expression steady, "Remember when I first joined the league? Everyone teased me because I hadn't come up with a title for myself."
Clark cracked a smile, "Yes, I remember."
"J'onn offered up the title Little Star," she recalled, "and from there, I would eventually decide that my name would be Starlight." Her gaze traveled across the table top, before turning upward to meet Superman's eyes, "It's almost poetic and tragic just the same, but it never occurred to me until now that typically a star burns its brightest right before it's about to die."
Superman suddenly seemed concerned, "What are you talking about?"
She tilted her head, "I'm more powerful now than I have ever been." she brushed some hair behind her ear, "That power could mean the end of all things, or it could be the death of me…"
"Chelsea, J'onn found nothing in your subconscious. Something else is to blame for your sudden power spike. Let us figure out what is going on. We can fix this." Clark's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to reassure her.
Her expression melted into melancholy, "Clark," the way she said his name made him straighten his back, "I need you and everyone else to believe me. Just because J'onn cannot reach Dr. XYZ does not mean he is not there. It's happened before. He's just gotten smarter about it." it was in that moment that Clark truly did believe her. He had tried so hard not to, because anything else seemed better than the truth, but he believed in his friend, and had faith in her ability of deduction, "He's risking it all this time. If he wins, I destroy everything. If he doesn't get exactly what he wants, he still wins, because I'll die and he will too. He'll be taking his only successful creation with him…" her voice trailed off.
Clark put his hand on her shoulder, "We won't let that happen. We will figure this out."
Chelsea put her hand on top of his, "Not this time." she shook her head, "The one thing I did figure out is that I have about a month to prepare for this final strike. That, I am certain off." she nodded, "I have come up with a possible solution… possibly my only option." Clark's eyebrow raised, "He kept saying I wouldn't have this life without my powers and it got me thinking… that he was right." she stood up from the chair and started pacing, "I was doing some research earlier on some of our most classified weapons and found the Power Disruptor."
Clark rose from his seat, "The Power Disruptor permanently removes any and all abilities from its target. Do you understand what you're implying?"
She stopped and looked to him, "Yes." she said simply, "For the sake of everyone I love… would you not do the same?" the Kryptonian with the large heart lowered his head, "I'm tired, Clark. I have been for a long time… and maybe this will finally give me some relief." she leaned against the wall nearby and looked out of one of the many windows that lined the outside of this room, "I understand that, that would be my resignation from the league…"
He cut her off, "No. Powers do not make the individual important to the league. Character does that. You will always be a member of the Justice League, Chelsea." he approached her and put both hands on her shoulders this time, "You said that there is still time… so give us time to look at our options. You owe it to yourself to give this some serious thought."
She stayed quiet and after a moment passed she nodded once, "I would like to keep this conversation between us, if that's alright?" she grabbed at her arm nervously, "I'm not sure how everyone will react and I know everyone will be telling me it's a bad idea, but right now I don't have a whole lot of options."
"Perhaps it would be good to get another opinion." he told her, "It may help you make your decision if you confide in those around you, you most trust, even though ultimately it is your decision."
She licked her lips, "I would also like to request a week off of duty to clear my head and get away from this for a while. Really think this over."
"Make it two." Clark smirked, "You've earned it. Maybe go on vacation and get out of the city all together. It may do you a lot of good." he roughed up her hair, "I think Flash could use the same vacation."
"Two original members on leave… is that alright?" she wondered.
"We may need him," he nodded in agreement, "But I think you need him more."
She never really realized just how big he was until she tried to put her arms around him. Sheepishly she pulled away, "Thank you, Clark."
As she started for the door he spoke once more, "Chelsea," she paused with her hand on the door, "this will always be your home. Please remember that."
She flashed him a hopeful smile, before making her exit.
Author's Notes: Sort of a shorter chapter. I'm really sorry this took so long, but I kept stepping away from it to really think of how I wanted to write it because this is a turning point in the story. Plus I've been busy lately. So I apologize for the long gaps in updates, but I wanted to do this moment justice and I think I really did. This conversation between Superman and Starlight is pretty pivotal for everything going forward and I didn't want it to feel forced. I wanted it to flow naturally and after the third attempt, this time it felt right. So anyway thank you for your patience and I'll see you next time.
