Ay! Here's the next chapter of feels. This time, roles are reversed, and we see a new side of Clara. And a completely random appearance of the one and only Krane. And a bit of shipping/pairing. Girl power!

My Hero

"You know when something bad happens and the hero saves the day while the bystanders run away screaming?" Clara asked me one day while we were walking down the school hallway.

"Yeah, why?" I replied.

"Well, if that ever happens to me, I'm not going to be the one running in fear. I want to save the day for once. The world needs to know that we normal people have the power to save lives too. The super heroes and those people always get all the attention and credit. It's time everyone knew that we're not just helpless creatures. We can do things too."

I just shrugged. Clara often gave inspirational speeches like that at random times. She wasn't really looking for an answer to her words, just agreement.

The bell rang, and Clara's shoulders slumped. "Just as I was getting to the climax," she muttered to herself. "Well, see ya later, Chase."

"See ya!" I called after her.

"When did you start hanging out with Clara Dale?" a voice behind me asked. I turned and saw Bree.

I shrugged. "When she started hanging out with me."

"Ooh, Chasey's got a girlfriend," my brother, Adam, chanted, joining us.

"I do not," I retorted. "We're just…friends helping each other."

He was still grinning. "Whatever."

I just rolled my eyes and let him think whatever was going through his head. The three of us went our separate ways as we made our ways to class.

Later that day, Clara was sitting with me at lunch, and I was explaining the whole Krane situation. I still hadn't asked how she had found out about my bionics, but I would at some point. I could tell the matter made her uncomfortable though. Not for the first time, I wondered what she was hiding from me.

"So, he tried to kill you and your family just because he needed to eliminate a threat?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

She looked around. "It's kinda scary that he could just pop in here at any given time. I wonder why he hasn't yet."

"He's probably planning something. Or he's working on something that will destroy us."

She stuck her chin up. "Well, if he does come here, I'm not going to run away with my tail tucked between my legs. I'm going to stand up to him."

"Uh, that may not be a good idea. We can't even beat him, and we're you-know-what."

"So? I could have some kind of advantage. Just because something says it's been improved doesn't mean the old model doesn't have a few things that are better. I'm not useless."

"I know. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"That's sweet and all, but I think I can take care of myself." Her tone was lighter than her words, which meant she wasn't taking offense. She got up with her tray and walked off to dispose of it, leaving me by myself.

My siblings thought I was a geek. And today, I was kinda agreeing with them.

I was just getting out of chess club. The school hallways were weird when they were empty and silent. But they weren't empty or silent this afternoon.

"Hello, Chase." Krane stood in the middle of the main entrance, his overcoat flowing and the metal parts in his face sparking sporadically.

"Krane, what do you want?" I asked aggressively, lowering myself into a fighting stance.

"I thought I'd try the old tactic: divide and conquer." He yanked the water fountain from the wall and threw it at me with his molecular kinesis.

I jumped out of the way and quickly got back on my feet. He super-speeded to me and punched me in the stomach with his super strength. I flew backward into the lockers. I eventually got back up, but I was winded.

Krane tried to super-speed back to me, but I slid out of the way and walked to the center of the room, next to the circular bench. He slowly came back to the place he was when I first saw him, watching me with every step. We stared at each other, trying to figure out what to do and what the other person would do.

Finally, he raised his arm, and there was an invisible grip around my neck. He was using his molecular kinesis to choke me! I tried to struggle out of the hold, but it was no use. Black dots were already flashing across my vision.

A movement behind Krane caught my attention. Suddenly, a fire extinguisher came up and met the back of his head. His eyes rolled up into his head, and he collapsed. The pressure on my neck disappeared. I fell to the floor, gasping for breath.

Clara stood behind the unconscious Krane, still holding the fire extinguisher. She dropped it, breathing hard, and came over to me. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," I rasped. She helped me stand up. "I must be weak. I can't even save myself half the time."

"You're not weak," she insisted. "You were just caught by surprise. You're lucky I was there."

"But I'm the one who's supposed to save you, not the other way around."

She grinned. "You can't always be the hero, Chase."

I just rolled my eyes. "Whatever." I was starting to sound like Adam.

Suddenly, she started laughing. "What? What's so funny?" I asked.

"I told you I wouldn't run away screaming," she said, still grinning.

Dirtkid123: Don't worry, man. Chase is a fighter. And with Clara by his side, they'll be unstoppable.

daphrose: Yeah, there's always going to be those times where you think you could have done better. But having a friend supporting and comforting you almost always makes things a little more bearable. Thanks.

HawaiianChick12: Thanks. I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you got that fixed or found another solution.