Chapter 8: Star Light, Star Bright
Time did indeed fly by. Astrid had shown great prowess with a sword. Serah loved helping her dad out when they played hero in their respective suits. Katrina had finally let her assassin blood dominate and trained with her mom. And then… the word got out that the great and glorious Cap was finally a father. Something that everyone knew he wanted.
The youngest out the Avengers family, no doubt. Christina Rodgers, a practical spitting image of her father (superhuman abilities included, but no shield), was made known. And she really was daddy's little girl. She loved playing with her daddy, especially racing him. It was much fun. However, she possessed a talent that her father did not.
The talent in question? She was a Haos Brawler. She didn't have too many Bakugan, but she wasn't one to actively seek Bakugan, and she didn't condone violence. Because of this, her father let it fly.
It was another peaceful evening in the Rodgers household, during a gentle snowy evening. Christina was sitting in her room. Her dad was currently relaxing in the living room. She was currently overlooking her small Bakugan collection, and she sighed, closing her eyes. She had heard the rumors about talking Bakugan, but, quite frankly, she couldn't believe it.
It probably didn't help that the game of Bakugan was still somewhat a mystery. How the cards had suddenly appeared from the sky that day. The incredible powers that were contained within. That was strange enough as is. Now, rumors that some of them were capable of speech? Where would it go then? She did not want to be forced to be S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resident Bakugan Brawler because the overly-paranoid organization that has on occasion saved the world freaked out about Bakugan! The fact that they practically held her Dad hostage was bad enough!
She flipped over, letting her arm dangle over the edge of the bed lazily. She groaned, mumbling incoherent things into the nearest pillow (of which several she had gone through-no thanks to the fact her Dad was a lab experiment if one really thought about it!) It was then that she heard a strange noise.
TAP. TAP. TAP.
She groaned again.
TAP. TAP. TAP.
"Leave me alone!"
TAP. TAP. TAP.
"Oh, for God's sake-!"
It was then that she realized the incessant tapping noise was coming from the window, not the door. Meaning it wasn't her Dad. She looked towards the window, and, at first, saw nothing. She walked over closer to the window, being cautious as she opened it… only to see a small white sphere. She had no doubt as to what it was-a Haos Bakugan.
"Weird… What was a Bakugan doing just sitting on my windowsill?"
She picked up the cold Bakugan, and noticed that it was actually shivering. She quickly closed the window and let the Bakugan warm up in her hands.
"T-Thank you very m-much… k-kind h-human…"
She jumped, and nearly dropped the Bakugan in her hands.
"W-What?! W-Who said that?!"
"D-down here… i-in your hands…"
She looked down.
"No. Way."
"W-What d-does t-that mean?"
"A talking Bakugan?!"
"Y-Yes…"
Christina's expression became one of pity.
"You must be freezing…"
"I-It w-was certainly c-cold out there…"
Christina held the Bakugan closer to her body. Right now, she didn't care that it was probably some sort of alien or something like that. Right now, the poor creature was on the verge of hypothermia, and she was too kindhearted to let something like that fly. The Bakugan was shivering, but eventually stopped as the poor creature finally reached a decent temperature. Christina looked at the Haos Bakugan, happy that she had probably saved its life.
"Feeling better now?"
"Much better, thank you."
"That's good to hear."
"Who are you to be so kind to strangers?"
"My Dad always said that if you can do something to help someone in need, that you should do that something to help that person, even if they're a complete stranger. You were going to die if I left you out there in that cold!"
"That is certainly true… your father must be quite the man to have such a belief."
"He is… but that aside… who are you? I can clearly tell you're a Haos Bakugan, which is my Brawling Attribute, but… who are you?"
"My name is Alexander. And yours, kind human?"
"It's Christina."
"Ummm… If it's not too much trouble… can I ask you to be my human partner? Please?"
Christina smiled at the Bakugan in her hands. She couldn't deny that, deep inside, she really wanted a talking Bakugan. Plus, it seemed like the poor creature needed her help. The answer was easy.
"I don't see why not."
"Well… looking forward to working with you."
"Same here."