The Girl in the Iron Mask

Chapter 7 – The Man vs. The Girl

Jasmine pulled off her dress – revealing her black unitard and skirt underneath – followed by the flower in her hair. After pulling the leggings down to her ankles and pulling her turtleneck up, she took her purse, and opened the false bottom. Inside were the tools she needed: a screwdriver, socks, her shower cap, her black gloves, and her arm bands. First she took off her heels and applied the socks, careful to keep her feet off the floor while she did so. She then applied her gloves and arm bands followed by her shower cap. She knew the police would be looking for any hint of DNA evidence, whether it be a fingerprint or strand of hair. And while she took care earlier to get any loose strands of hair out, she wasn't going to take any chances.

Jasmine took the screwdriver and began using it to loosen the bottom screws on the air vent above the floor, which was big enough for her to crawl her way through. She had decided against bringing an electric screwdriver, since that would make too much noise. Eventually, once she had the bottom screws out – and the ones on top slightly loosened – she stored the screws in her purse, opened the vent, and began crawling her way in.

Jasmine realized instantly how difficult this plan was going to be as soon as she was inside the vent. Not only was it claustrophobic, she wondered if she'd actually be able to maneuver through it. Still, she managed to inch her way – hopefully quietly – through, until she finally saw the gateway to the outside, another vent opening. She had come to the place hours earlier to loosen the bottom screws, since she knew there would be guards at both the front and back entrances. Quickly and silently, she eased her way out of the vent, stood up, and breathed the outside air. But she couldn't stop there, she had no time to waste.

Jasmine hurried as fast as she could through the alleyways, to the spot where she had planned to deploy her armor, and where she had earlier placed both her case and her boots. It was characterized by a large dumpster. Once she saw it, she snapped her fingers in victory. She then looked under it and discovered to her relief that both the case and her boots were right where she had left them. After pulling them out and putting the boots on, Jasmine finally discarded the shower cap, lifted the lid of the dumpster, and shoved it inside. Now the police wouldn't have a single bit of DNA evidence to convict her.

Once she was sure everything was ready, Jasmine spoke into her arm band. "Jarvis, you there?"

"Definitely here Miss," he replied.

"Good," Jasmine nodded, catching her breath, "You can deploy the armor now."

"Deploying the armor."

Without bothering to wait, Jasmine raised her arms up, and after a while heard the sound of rockets heading her way. She then heard the beeping sound of her arm bands, and the armor attached to her body piece by piece. Once everything was on, she took her case and pulled it on before heading back in the same direction she came.

Meanwhile, Tony was talking with Wei when he frowned at realizing that something was amiss. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his cellphone, and noticed something peculiar about the time.

"Hmm, this is weird," he thought out loud, "It's been over ten minutes since Jasmine went to the restroom."

"Well, you know how long women take when they're in the bathroom," Wei commented.

"That's true," Tony agreed, "But I didn't think it'd take this long. Think I should go get her?"

"You're the father," Wei shrugged his shoulders, "You do what you think best."

Tony shrugged back. "Alright, then I'm going after her."

Not knowing the irony of his words, Tony turned around and strode down the hallway, headed for the women's room near the end.

"Jasmine," he called, "you doin' okay?"

He received no response.

"Jazz?"

Without waiting for a reply, he reached out his hand toward the handle, despite the "occupied" card being over it, and was about to touch it, when he suddenly felt a hand touch his shoulder. He turned around and saw a security guard.

"Mr. Stark," he said, "Sorry to interrupt you, but we just saw what looked like a rocket trail. It may be her."

Tony's eyes instantly widened. Though he hadn't completely forgotten about Jasmine, he had to be one step ahead of this "Iron Girl". He knew, or rather hoped, Jasmine would understand. Without wasting another minute, he nodded and said, "Guess I'd better suit up," before hurrying back down the hallway, out the front entrance, and then down the stairs. He pulled back his sleeves to show his arm bands, just as he did the night before, and spoke into one.

"Jarvis, deploy the Mark XLIV."

"Yes Sir," the A.I. replied. And before long, Tony heard the rockets of his suit coming toward him. Soon, the armor was attaching to his body, making him Iron Man once again.

At the same time, Jasmine was rushing back to the air vent on the side of the building. Flying would be too obvious as well as dangerous, and she couldn't afford to take any sort of risk. Knowing it would be nearly impossible to turn around once inside, Jasmine turned her back to the wall, got down on all fours, and crawled backwards into the vent, closing the cover in front of her.

When she was back in the bathroom, she called in Jarvis.

"Alright J," she whispered, "I've got my armor on and I'm in the building."

"Very good Miss," Jarvis replied.

Jasmine then turned around to face the door, and asked, "Is there anyone outside?"

"Negative. As long as you're quiet when going into the hallway no one should here you."

"Thanks," Jasmine nodded, "You got the recordings ready?"

"Yes Miss. They'll last for seven minutes, but that should give you enough time to find the room and take the necklace."

"Cool, let 'em roll."

"Camera recordings now active."

Jasmine nodded again before standing straight, taking one last deep breath, and then opening the door. When planning the heist, she determined that they would expect her to hack in again and shut down the cameras like before, or cut off the power altogether. But both were too obvious she decided. Instead, she'd gotten Jarvis to record a few minutes of camera footage, making her invisible to the eyes of those watching. Now he had hacked in and was letting them play.

Once she was in the hallway, she closed the door again and left the "occupied" card in place before going forward, her heart rate increasing with every step. When she reached the corner, she knelt down, looked slightly to the right, and saw only two golden poles against each side of the wall with a red barrier hung between them. In the center stood another pole with a message that said, "Area under occupation. Do not enter."

At first, Jasmine was confused at such a simple, almost foolish, way to keep her from passing. But then again, it was very possible that they would trick her into thinking it was too easy. She called Jarvis in.

"Jarvis, is there any invisible threat behind that barrier?"

"Negative, but I shall alert you should I see anything."

"Thanks." But just to be safe, Jasmine slowly lifted her leg over the barrier, and just barely touched the floor with her foot. Deciding that it was safe, she quickly lifted the other leg, and headed down the restricted hallway.

"Miss, there are security guards coming down the hallway in front of you," Jarvis said once she reached the end. But Jasmine didn't need his warning; she already heard the pair of footsteps. She immediately pressed her back against the wall, and held her breath as she watched the two men in uniform pass her without so much as a glance. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to glance at the handguns each were carrying on their belts, and fought against a shiver that threatened to travel up her spine. Fortunately, they turned down the next hallway, and Jasmine headed for the opposite direction.

For the next few minutes Jasmine traversed the building. It was smaller than the previous one, which was advantageous as well as disadvantageous. While she would get to the necklace in half the time it took for her to get to the painting, the threat of being caught in the act of stealing it was much more prevalent than before, making her freeze the moment she heard any sort of sound other than her own boots against the marble floor. What she hoped for most was escaping with the necklace without coming across her father, despite his challenge. He'd taken out villains ten times more threatening than her, and a confrontation let alone a fight with him was the last thing Jasmine wanted.

However, Jasmine came across few threats on her way to the necklace, until she had reached the room where it was located. It was a large room with an open doorway, with the necklace sitting in a stand on the other side. The two lights that shone on it caused it to sparkle so much that Jasmine could see it from where she was.

But now that she was here, there seemed to be nothing standing between her and her prize. Her suspicions were on the high, and she wasn't about to fall into their trap should they have one, plus she saw these strange looking holes decorating either side of the room in a vertical line up to the ceiling.

"Jarvis," she whispered, "do you see anything I should avoid in here?"

"I would recommend you turn on your alternative vision Miss," Jarvis replied.

Jasmine took his advice and immediately turned on the vision that would allow her to see invisible threats. Slowly, she began seeing in blue, but something red appeared as well. When her alternative vision was completely on, she discovered what she instantly knew to be motion detectors coming from the holes on both walls. She knew they'd try to trick her like this. Had she not turned on her alternative vision, she would have been detected and probably set off an alarm. To her dismay though, they went from just above the floor to just below the ceiling, leaving her no room to either crawl or fly past them.

"How much time do I have left Jarvis?"

"Less than two minutes. I suggest you quickly find a way past those lasers."

Jasmine let out only a hint of a sigh. She didn't even have time to breathe. But how was she going to get past this wall of lasers without giving herself away? Jasmine didn't immediately know, but she decided that panicking wouldn't do her any good. Instead, she looked around the room for anything to assist her, when she caught a hint of light not from the necklace, but from above. She looked and saw not one, but two pyramid-shaped items – possibly made of glass – hanging from either side of the ceiling. After looking back at the motion detectors and then at the ceiling decorations again, she knew she had an idea.

"Jarvis, prisms refract light don't they?"

"Possibly. What are you planning to do?"

Without answering, Jasmine gave a low powered shot from her repulsor rays at the chains holding one of the glass pyramids, and caught it in her hands. Deciding to act fast, she hurried over to the laser wall, and got down on her knees, hoping desperately this plan would work.

Her tongue between her teeth, she inched the prism over to the motion detectors. Once it was in position, her heart leaped in her chest when she saw that it refracted two of the lasers in an opposite direction from the right wall. She briefly and silently celebrated her victory. It was a small opening, but it was better than none at all.

Now she needed to crawl under the rest of the wall. Jasmine got down not only on all fours, but also on her stomach, since the opening was too small for her to ease through unlike the vent. She did briefly think it ridiculous, but began to inch forward, her legs dragging behind her, until she was sure it was safe to stand up again.

"Miss, you have less than one minute," Jarvis reported.

"Alright, I'm getting the necklace," Jasmine assured him.

Stepping over the refracted lasers, she hurried over to the stand that held the necklace – which she admitted was even more dazzling in person. Her alternative vision, still on, scanned it, and revealed the same message in Old Norse that had been concealed in the painting. So the rumors were true.

Jasmine immediately did what she'd done the previous night. In record time, she took off her case, opened the first container with her knife, took the necklace and put it inside the case, and then closed it again. She then stepped over the lasers again, and slid the case underneath the rest before inching herself past as she did before. Once it was safe, she stood up again, pulled the straps of the case containing her new prize over her shoulders, and began walking to the doorway.

"Miss, I suggest you be careful from hereon out," Jarvis said.

"Maybe so," Jasmine agreed, "But you have to admit, that was a bit too easy."

She was walking through the doorway when she heard Jarvis say, "Um, Miss…" Suddenly, Jasmine heard someone shout from down the hall, and realized she'd spoken too soon. Two security guards were now in pursuit of her, and her adrenaline level instantly went into overdrive, sending her down the other hallway.

One of the guards took his walkie-talkie and spoke into it as he ran. "Sir, she's here. She's running from us and she has the necklace!"

Outside, at the front of the building, both Tony and the chief security guard were listening to every word he was saying. "You have my permission to let everyone else know," the other guard said.

"She got past the motion detectors?" Tony asked.

"Apparently so."

Instead of asking how, Tony looked up at the top of the building. "She may go to the roof. I'll have to cut her off. It's time to drop the bomb on this thief." He then backed up a bit from the rest of the security guards, and then flew up to the roof, where he began to wait for his new rival.

Back inside the museum, Jasmine was speeding down the halls looking for a way of escape. At one point, she found herself facing four guards at the end of one hallway, all ready to take her down.

"Hold it right there!" one of them yelled.

Looking at the two behind her, and then the four in front, Jasmine chose flight over fight, literally. She fired her rockets, flipped over the guards, and then flew down the next hall before landing behind the corner at the end. But she still hadn't left the building. Hearing the thundering footsteps headed her way, Jasmine looked to her right and saw a staircase leading to a door at the top. Not caring whether or not it was a trap, she flew up to the top of the stairs, opened the door – which she found led to the rooftop – and slammed it shut behind her after locking it.

But before Jasmine could take off, she heard someone else shout behind her. "Hey!"

Unlike with the security guards, she froze in place. She recognized that voice. She turned around and saw her father in his Iron Man armor, his face revealed to her, but hers hidden to him. Was she now going to have to face him one-on-one as he'd said that morning?

"I see you got the message," he said as he began his stride toward her, "Look, I don't know what your deal is, or what game you're playing, but it's freaking everyone out!"

Deciding to speak in her British-accented voice, and suddenly feeling a bit defiant, Jasmine put her hands on her hips and said, "Well forgive me for doing so, but I'm on a mission. And there's nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me!"

"No, see, that's it. We've already stopped you," her dad said, "There's no way you're getting out of this."

Jasmine opened her mouth to respond, when she suddenly heard the pounding of fists on the door. Her heart pounding equally as hard, she knew she had to find a way out, or else she'd be getting the punishment of a lifetime and no one would be in the mood to hear the truth.

"Now you might as well turn around and put your hands on your head," Tony said.

Jasmine hesitated at first, but then, seeing an opportunity for escape, nodded. "Very well." She then did as he said, turning her back to him and putting her hands on her head.

But when Tony was coming up to take her hands, she quickly dropped down, slid underneath him between his legs, and kicked him, sending him down to the ground. She swiftly got back up, saying, "You didn't say not to do that," and then activated her rockets and flew off, away into the night sky as she did before.

But Tony, never being one to be knocked down easily, looked up as the thief headed off, frustration – then anger – slowly rising within him. "Oh no," he said, "You're not getting away from me again."

He immediately stood back up and, upon making sure he had his mask on and had a good visual on her, he too activated his rockets and blasted off as fast as he could after her, determined to make sure this queen of thieves knew who she was dealing with.

It didn't take long for her to realize she was being followed, as she turned a one-eighty in an attempt to lose him. But Tony kept following her. Before long, he was directly behind her. He then shot his arm out and grabbed her by the ankle, which she instantly noticed.

"Hey, let go of me!" she shouted as loud as she could.

Instead, Tony grit his teeth, thrust forward, and grabbed the thief by her wrists, leaving both to fly only by their rocket boots. Looking into her eyes – and regretting not being able to see her reaction at being bested – Tony held her wrists firm and shouted back, "Let go of the necklace and I'll let go of you!"

For a brief yet long moment, she gave no response. But suddenly, she gave quick glance sideways before looking back at him. Though he couldn't see her face, Tony had the feeling she had a dramatic plan in mind.

"Then you leave me no choice!" she shouted. In mere seconds, the iron-clad lady shut off her rockets, planted her feet at Tony's knees, and let her rockets give a short, but powerful blast. Both of them shouted out in alarm, Tony's grasp had been compromised, and both were sent hurdling downward to the road below, causing the two people in the middle and some at both sides to immediately scramble in an attempt to get out of the way.

While Tony managed to land on both of his feet, he still crashed to the ground and heard the iron of his suit collide against the gravel road underneath. The people behind him – he could tell merely by their gasps – were clearly astonished, some more than others at seeing what they knew to be an Iron Man suit, something they hadn't seen in a long time. Despite being somewhat banged up, and still focused on the bigger mission, Tony quickly got to his feet to confront the woman who was facing him on the other side.

On the opposite side of the road, Jasmine had somehow grabbed onto the higher of two lines that held lanterns between the buildings, and amazingly met the ground without seriously injuring herself. Nonetheless, she was sure she'd have to explain for a few bruises and such, and she admitted that – as smart as she was – that was an impulsive, and kind of stupid, move. She was surprised that she managed to make it back on her feet, but then – once she saw her dad standing on the other side – dreaded that she was likely going to have to do what she most wanted to avoid.

When she saw two men in white clothing and black belts, Jasmine guessed they'd landed in a martial arts ring. And apparently the onlookers were interested in seeing another match: a faceoff between the colors of red, yellow, and gold, and those of silver, black, and purple, between the man and the girl, and – known only to one of them – between father and daughter.

Jasmine zoomed her vision in on her dad, and, while glad he was alright, immediately felt the ever-growing tension between them.

"Alright," he said, "No more jerking me around!" He then pulled from behind his back something that made Jasmine's eyes instantly widen: a pair of handcuffs, ones that her dad probably designed.

But she held her ground. "Don't even try!" she shouted back.

Even so, Tony activated his rocket boots and blasted towards her, forcing Jasmine to act before he could cuff her. Going with the first course of action that came to mind, she ran toward him and performed a cartwheel followed by a back handspring, during which she opened her hands and grabbed the handcuffs from her dad before landing on her feet, which made Tony land a few feet away from her.

Turning around to face him and holding up the handcuffs, Jasmine admitted that while she hadn't planned on this happening, she kind of liked it.

"Hasn't anyone ever taught you not to underestimate?" she teased.

"Hasn't anyone ever taught you not to take things that aren't yours?" Tony asked back in a more serious voice.

Something then caught Jasmine's eye. She looked to her right and saw what looked to be a pair of iron fans on display. Deciding that they didn't look like antiques, and that they'd make for good weapons, Jasmine threw the handcuffs aside and took up both fans in either hand.

That didn't stop Tony. He immediately rushed forward and – though he didn't recall ever hitting a woman before – threw a fist her way, but she swiftly brushed it off with her fan. He tried again with his right fist, but she did the same thing with her other fan. When Tony tried it for a third time, she caught his wrist with both fans, and kicked him with a blast of her rockets, sending him to the other side of the ring.

Tony landed and fired one of his repulsor rays at her, but she cartwheeled out of the way. Just then, instead of attacking him back, he saw her running as fast as she could toward the other side of the ring – though not toward him – with the rockets in her hands flaring. Though slightly confused by this, he wasn't going to allow her to try and escape him again. He ran toward her, his fists ready, and was throwing one at her, when she caught both his wrists in her hands, crossing one over the other.

Despite this, Tony freed one of his wrists from her hand and threw a punch at her. She ducked under it, still holding onto the other wrist, but he freed that one too and fired his ray at her, sending her to the opposite side of the street. He then flew over to her and, before she could get up, grabbed her wrists in the same way, crossing one over the other.

Looking straight down at her glowing eyes, he said, "It's over."

Though at first it seemed like she was finally surrendering, she said, "I don't think so!"

Before Tony could say or do anything else, she fired her rocket boots, sending them both sliding across the gravel. And in a split second she thrust her arms and her body backwards, rolling onto her feet as well as making Tony lose his hold on her, and causing him to land on the road behind her.

On her feet again, Jasmine didn't look back. She only activated the rockets in her hands, and was just off the ground, when she felt a ray from her dad hit her from behind, causing her to land on the ground in an even more painful way than either one before. She slowly lifted herself up on her elbows and was beginning to lose consciousness, but she forced her eyes back open when she heard rockets that were not her own.

Knowing where Tony would grab her, in an adrenaline fueled reaction she spun around and grabbed his left wrist followed by his right. She then managed to get up, but there was no way she was going to be able to cross her dad's wrists this time, especially not with the force he was pressing down on her, which she was trying even harder to press back at him. As she found herself staring straight at her dad's masked face, and felt the frustration underneath, she realized she had to find a way out before things got ugly.

"Last chance," Tony said, "Give it up!"

Refusing to be intimidated, even by her dad, Jasmine refused. "I can't!"

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Pressing her lips together and gritting her teeth, Jasmine replied, "That's for me to know!"

Suddenly, once she heard distant sirens coming their way, Jasmine saw a window of opportunity and immediately took it. She thrust her upper body into Tony's, shoved him back – releasing him – and fired both repulsor rays at him. Not stopping even for a second to see him hit the ground, she spun around and fired both sets of rockets, sending her back into the air and through the city.

Tony was left wondering, in a similar way to the previous night, over what had just happened. So many questions with no answers were running through his mind at such a rapid speed he didn't even know which one to start with. What he did know though, was that this woman managed to evade him a second time, and with her lost signal, who knew where she was, much less who she was?

As Jasmine flew just above the city, she began wondering how she was going to lose the cops who were sure to follow her, when she soon spotted a familiar looking dumpster. Going with her gut instinct, she landed, quickly ran over to the dumpster, and looked inside. There was her shower cap, just where she'd stashed it. Breathing a huge sigh of relief at knowing she wasn't far from the museum, she tightened the straps of the case containing the necklace, and messaged Jarvis.

"Jarvis," she exhaled heavily, "I'm sending the armor and the necklace back to base."

"Very good Miss," he replied, "But you must hurry if you are to get back before your father does."

"I know, now you hurry!"

Just then, she heard the sounds of her armor disconnecting from her body. All the pieces, with the case still attached, were quickly bound together, leaving Jasmine in her black unitard, skirt, gloves, and boots. The rockets then activated, sending the armor and the case back into the sky without their wearer, and, from the looks of it, leaving a false trail for the police as Jasmine watched it fly high above the sky.

But now wasn't the time to quit moving. In record time, Jasmine pulled off her boots and shoved them underneath the dumpster, deciding she'd come to get them tomorrow, if there was a tomorrow. Then, running forward as she did, she pulled her shower cap back on and ran like an Olympic runner back through the alleyways toward the museum.

Before long, Jasmine, having never been so happy to see an air vent in her life, was hurrying toward the side part of the museum where she had entered. As with before, and not stopping to breathe, she got down on all fours and crawled hastily back inside the vent, making sure to put the screws back into place before continuing, with the vent feeling as claustrophobic as ever. She soon made it back into the bathroom – which was, thankfully, still vacant – and didn't allow herself to think about anything else: the police, her father, nothing, as she began her final transformation for the night.

Meanwhile, one of the police cars from the streets was pulling up to the front of the museum. Once it came to a halt, Tony – in his tux again after sending the armor back – came out and thanked the officer for giving him a ride back, as he was somewhat exhausted. He hadn't done something like this in a while; but that, he thought, was irrelevant. As the officer then drove off to join the rest of his unit – which, consisting of the rest of the cruisers that'd been at the front, had been called to join the pursuit – Tony walked back to the museum, thinking only of how miserable his performance was tonight.

Against all odds, this woman had managed to escape him. He thought of all the villains he'd fought in the past: Obadiah Stane, Vanko, the Mandarin, Loki (with some help), all much more dangerous than this woman. And yet, she somehow outsmarted him not once, but twice. All Tony was sure of was that this failure to stop a woman previously thought to be easy to stop was a heavy weight to bear. And yet, he was willing to bear it. Willing to face it. Just as he would any problem, any villain. But now, he had to face his daughter.

He took a deep breath after walking up the stairs, and went through the door. Most of the guests were still there, and most of them had their curious eyes on him. He ignored them, looking around only for the eyes of his daughter. When he didn't find them, he looked around the room again. Still, she was nowhere to be seen. But he did see Wei.

Not in the mood for any funny business and with concern practically emanating from him, Tony strode quickly over to him.

"Mr. Stark…"

"Wei," Tony interrupted him, "Have you seen Jasmine?"

Wei opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead he began to stammer nervously, "I, uh, regret to say that, I haven't, been keeping watch for her."

"What?" Tony almost shouted.

"Are you alright Sir?"

"Oh yeah sure," Tony replied, trying to remain calm, "I'm just going into freak-out mode because my only daughter is missing, and on your watch!"

"Look, Sir, I'm sorry…"

"I don't care!" Tony interrupted him again. He then looked Wei straight in the eye and with the need to have his question answered immediately asked, "Where is she?"

"I'm right here," a feminine voice suddenly replied.

Both men turned in the direction of the voice and saw Jasmine standing right there at the beginning of the hallway. Inside, Tony wanted to run over to her and lift her up like she was ten years her junior, but restraint and the threat of social embarrassment held him back.

"Where have you been Dad?" she asked as she walked over to him.

"Miss Stark," Wei said, about as surprised as Tony, "where did you come from?"

"The bathroom," Jasmine replied, pointing her thumb behind her, "I needed to use it again."

Before either could say anything else, Jasmine spoke again. "Hey Dad, did you catch her?"

Although the question was aimed at Tony, he didn't answer. Instead, he took a short time to collect himself, knowing she probably wouldn't take the news well before replying, "I say with, the greatest reluctance, that I didn't. But, I will keep trying."

Noticing how her dad was on the verge of going off the deep end, Jasmine asked, "Dad, do you need to check your blood pressure? Do you need me to get you anything?"

"Oh no, no, no, no. I'm just, I'm just having a bad night, that's all," Tony replied, not wanting to transfer his own anxiety to her – the source of which he didn't know exactly, whether it be his plan falling through or wanting to see Jasmine safe and sound, or both.

"But do us both a favor," he added, looking her in the eye this time, "Don't ever scare me like that again. You hear me?"

Somewhat visibly startled at his words, Jasmine looked down, but nodded. "I'm sorry Dad…I didn't mean to."

After seeing her reaction, Tony couldn't help but feel guilty. He didn't need to take his frustration out on her. "I'm sorry Jazz," he immediately apologized, "I know you didn't mean to. But I meant what I said. Oh…I think I'll just get a drink when we get home."

"You do that," Jasmine nodded again.

Though he didn't know it, Jasmine was feeling much more than slightly hurt feelings. She had put her other clothes back on, put the vent screws back in, and gotten her things back together at lightning speed. She also needed to credit her drama teacher for those breathing exercises to help her think straight before going on stage. Here, on the stage of life, she was sort of acting – having chosen her words with careful ambiguity – but no matter how much she'd prepared beforehand, the wave of emotions that flooded her was almost overwhelming. Did her dad nearly just have an anxiety attack just because she had "gone missing"? She wasn't even close to sure.

What Jasmine was sure of was that this was a night that had been nothing short of amazing. She'd managed to do all that she planned to do. But what she was also sure of was that she'd gotten a bit more than what she'd bargained for. She somehow calmed her own self down after letting out a deep breath, but Jasmine had the feeling it would only be a matter of time before she had an anxiety attack. However, she would do her best to try to get through this with a steady head. She was most sure of that.

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