Chapter 4

Authors note: the following sequence (in bold) is a flashback that Firestorm is experiencing. From her point of view, it will appear as if it is really happening.

Light, harsh and bright, burned her sensitive eyes, causing her to screw them shut. Then, one by one, all her senses alerted her to the fact that she has changed in some way. She felt metal under her bare feet. Lifting her arms, she felt a smooth surface on either side of her. As she tried to move forward, something was blocking her progress. As she still dared not trust herself to open her eyes, she cautiously put out a hand, and again felt a smooth surface. It was almost like glass, or plastic. She took a step backwards, coming into contact with another smooth surface at her back. A feeling of panic rose inside her. She was trapped! There was a sudden sound, a shoe scraping across the floor. It would be very faint to any normal listener, but she was not normal any more. To her, it sounded as loud as if she is standing next to the source of the sound. She couldn't keep her eyes shut any longer; she had to see what had made that noise.

She opened her eyes, waiting for the light to burn her eyes like before, but it didn't happen. She blinked rapidly a few times, but the light was not painful anymore. It was almost as if her eyes had automatically adjusted to the brightness. She suddenly saw a young man standing a few feet away from her. He had dark hair, and was wearing the overall of an engineer. From the expression on his face, he was absolutely petrified. She wondered what was causing this, and a horrible thought struck her. Could he be frightened of me? She had no chance to find out. A blue box suddenly appeared behind him, and he was pulled inside. Then it disappeared, taking the only person who seemed a friend away from her. She felt anger that he had been taken away. There was a crash, and the door burst open, revealing a group of men with guns. One of them (who seemed to be a leader) stepped forward. He seemed surprised to see her, but quickly recovered, then pointed the gun he was holding at her head, bellowing an order. She didn't understand what he had said, but right now she didn't care. Now she was angry. Angry that the young man had been taken, away, angry that she was trapped. Now this threatening man added to everything else was just too much. She vented her feelings by letting out an inhuman howl, the noise seemingly too loud and strange for her to have made it. The howl grew louder, until the room echoed with it. The room began to shake. Suddenly, there a glow surrounded her; it shimmered and then grew brighter. The glow turned into flames that consumed the barriers around her, but did not do anything to hurt her. The watching men looked panic-stricken, then the leader gave a sharp order, and they all fled out of the room. The flames surrounding her seemed to stand still for a moment, and then with a dull roar, the building exploded.

"Firestorm!" a voice was calling her. Firestorm! And another. The voices broke through her memories, and she became aware of her surroundings. She was lying on her back on the gravely surface of David's drive. By the way most of the gravel around her was scattered and flung around, she must have been moving violently. She was breathing quickly, and every so often she shuddered. She felt hands taking hold of her, and she was lifted to her feet. David took her by the shoulders and peered with concern into her face. "Are you alright Firestorm? What happened?" She shuddered again, and David looked even more concerned. "I think so. Traumatic memories that I long ago tried to suppress were released, and I had a flashback, experiencing them all over again. I think it was seeing you again that triggered this". From behind David, the Doctor nodded thoughtfully. David was still looking concerned. "Are you sure you're alright?" She nodded, and David patted her shoulder. "Why don't we all go inside?" he indicated the open door. They all trooped inside, David and Firestorm bringing up the rear. The Doctor shot her a quizzical look before wiping his hoes on the doormat and stepping inside. No one noticed the man in the shadows, gazing after Firestorm with a greedy look on his face…