Episode Five

Changes

Chapter Two

Gateway City High School

Gateway City

United States

12:04 – Western Summer Time

June 18, 2007

After working on Saturday and Sunday, Cassie would have loved a day to just relax and do nothing. Unfortunately, she had to go to school.

One thing she was thankful for was that she hadn't recognised anyone that had come into the diner. She would have been mortified if anyone she knew had seen her in that stupid blue, red and white check pattern outfit with the dumb apron. Still, she knew it was only a matter of time. She just hoped she had found a better job before that happened.

Cassie made her way out of the toilet cubicle and made her way over to the sinks where she washed her hands. Next up was gym class, which was after lunch. She wasn't sure what they would be doing today, but she suspected they would be running the track, mainly because their gym teacher was off due to some illness and thus they had a substitute filling in.

As she stepped up to the hand dryer and put her palms under it, her day took a turn for the worse as Anaya and her squad stepped inside. Cassie had managed to avoid them for the last few weeks, but it seemed that her luck had finally run out.

"Look who it is," Anaya said, folding her arms as she and her squad surrounded Cassie. "All alone? Where's your girlfriend?"

"I don't have a girlfriend," Cassie told her. "Now, can you move? You're blocking the exit."

"You need to adjust your attitude," Anaya said as she leant right into Cassie's face, resting her hands on the wall either side of the blonde girl, effectively blocking her in.

Anaya thought she was intimidating, but after what had happened at the museum, Cassie felt she wouldn't be easily intimidated again. Especially not by some mean girl and her gang at school.

Cassie smiled at her. "So that's why you were asking where my girlfriend was. You wanna kiss or something?"

Anaya slapped her hard across the face. Cassie quickly brought her hand up, covering her cheek.

"Did that hurt?" Anaya mocked.

Strangely enough, not nearly as much as she had been expecting. "No," Cassie said. "Now move out of the way."

"Don't try to be tough. You're gonna cry, I can tell."

Cassie's brow raised. "Sure I am," she said sarcastically.

"Don't raise your eyebrows at me, or I'll rip 'em off."

"Sure you will," Cassie said drolly. "Are we done?"

"No, we're not," Anaya said.

"Yes, we are," Cassie said, shoving Anaya backwards.

She had been expecting to just move her back enough to get free and out of the toilets. Instead, Anaya's feet left the ground and she flew back into the side of a cubicle, buckling and bending the side panel out of shape as it was torn off the wall. Anaya lay there on top of it groaning, her hands covering her head.

Cassie stood there frozen. She was trying to comprehend what had happened. Had she just thrown her across the room? How? She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice Anaya's friends had bolted out of the room in fear.

"A-Are you okay?" Cassie asked, slowly approaching the downed girl. She never thought she would feel concern for the bully, but right now, that's exactly what she felt. This wasn't normal. She shouldn't be able to throw people through the air. She wasn't wearing the Gauntlets of Atlas, so this was impossible. Right?

Anaya's eyes opened and she stared up at her for a moment in terror before she scrambled to her feet and limped out of the toilets as quickly as she could manage.

It took a few more moments before Cassie realised she should probably leave too. The cubicle and the one next to it had been completely trashed and she didn't want anyone to find her here among the destruction. She moved out into the hallway, trying to play it cool and made her way over to where her and Kati's lockers were, finding her friend standing there.

Kati was closed her locker door before noticing her. "Did you see Anaya?" she asked.

"Why?" Cassie said, glancing around nervously. "What did she say?"

"Nothing," Kati said. "She limped past looking like she was in fear for her life or something."

"It wasn't me," Cassie said quickly. "I haven't seen her."

Kati rested her hand on her friend's shoulder. "What's wrong, you seem really upset about something?"

"Forget it, it's nothing," Cassie said shrugging off her hand.

"Did you have a fight with Anaya or something?" Kati asked concerned.

"No, I didn't do anything, okay?"

"Cassie, you can tell me."

"There's nothing to tell, just drop it, please?"

"Okay, I guess," Kati accepted reluctantly. "Though if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here, okay?"

Cassie nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just need to think. I'll see you later."

"Wait, aren't we going to get lunch then go to the library?"

"Not hungry," Cassie said. "I'll see you after school, yeah?"

"We have Gym and History together after lunch remember?"

Cassie nodded. "Yeah, of course. I'll see you then, yeah."

"Yeah, sure Cass, I'll see you then."

Cassie walked off not knowing where to go. She was trying to understand what had just occurred and what it meant. It felt surreal like this wasn't really happening. But it had and she didn't know why. Had the Gauntlets of Atlas done this? Had they changed her somehow? She was told that there would be no residual effects or anything else, so why had this happened?

She was so deep in thought that she didn't see the other student until she had piled right into him, sending him sprawling.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry," Cassie apologised as she quickly moved to help him up.

"What happened?" he asked confused as he sat up rubbing the back of his head.

Cassie froze as she realised who it was. She had just flattened the high school's football linebacker entirely by accident. This guy stood over two-feet taller than her and was as built like a tank. There was no way she should have been able to make him even react by bumping into him, let alone send him flying.

Slowly he stood up and looked right at her. "Did ya see who rammed me down?" he asked, glancing up the hallway.

Cassie just shook her head. "Um, no I didn't."

"It musta been one of the guys," he said rubbing his ribs. "That really hurts."

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

"Fine. I'm gonna find out who knocked me down and I'm gonna flatten 'em."

"Yeah, okay," Cassie said moving off. Each step after that was taken cautiously, her eyes constantly scanning what was in front of her to make sure she didn't hurt anyone else.

Cassie left through the main doors and headed straight for her car. She knew that her mother would be angry when she found out her daughter skipped half a day of school, especially this late in the school year but she couldn't remain there, not until she had time to think and deal with what was happening to her.

She considered going to the museum to tell her mother but realised there was little she would be able to do. She feared what would happen if people found out. What if Anaya or her friends told people? What would happen to her? Would she be taken away because she was a threat to the other students?

For ten minutes Cassie sat behind the wheel of her car trying to think, trying to figure out how to deal with this. Finally, she decided to skip Gym and go to her final lesson which was History. She liked History and it was the subject she planned on taking when she finally went to university.

If this newfound freakish strength didn't screw things up for her.

Cassie remained in her car until lunch break was over. She then made her way over to the library where she skipped Gym class and decided to study instead.

An hour later, she was just sitting down behind her desk in History class when she saw Kati enter the room and sit next to her.

"Where were you?" Kati asked. "You didn't come to Gym."

"I know," Cassie said. "I didn't feel well so I went to the library to study instead."

It was a partial lie and she didn't like telling her friend lies. But how did she tell her friend that she threw Anaya through one of the toilet cubicles and then accidentally bulldozed the biggest jock in the school, sending him flying? She couldn't. She wouldn't believe her for one thing.

The two of them faced forward as the teacher stepped into the room and started the class. Unfortunately, Cassie couldn't concentrate. She knew she had to take in what was being said, after-all next school year was graduation year and there were a lot of exams she had to pass if she wanted to go to college. But she couldn't focus. What had happened just kept replaying over and over again in her mind.

Finally, after what felt like an agonisingly long hour, the class and the day ended and both she and Kati headed to her car. The moment they were on the road, Kati looked over at her friend and cleared her throat to draw her attention.

"Cass, I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but was it you that Anaya was running away from?"

She was right, Cassie didn't want to talk about it. Not now or ever. "I'm concentrating on the road," Cassie told her.

"Cass, you can tell me."

"It wasn't me," Cassie said heatedly. "Just drop it, please."

"Okay, I'll drop it. But what about the toilets? I heard they had been trashed. Both you and her came from that direction."

"I didn't do that either," Cassie said. "Now, can we talk about something else?"

"Sorry, Cass, but you're acting a little strange. You looked stressed out in the hallway at lunchtime and you've never missed lunch, not since I've known you. And in History class, you looked zoned out."

"Listen, Kati, this is something I need to figure out on my own."

"So something did happen," Kati concluded. "You're not on drugs are you?"

Cassie looked over at Kati, with a fierce glare. "I'm not doing drugs, Kati. How could you even think that?"

"Then what's going on?"

"I don't want to talk about it, okay? Can you please drop it? I'll tell you when I'm ready."

"Okay, Cass. Remember I'm here if you need to talk."

"Yeah, I know. And thanks."

Not much else was said for the rest of the way. Once Cassie had dropped off Kati at her house, she went straight home.

Redwood Forest

Outside Gateway City

United States

12:50 – Western Summer Time

July 09, 2007

The blonde teen parked her car in a lay-by and slowly climbed out. It was now the summer break, meaning she had plenty of time on her hands. She still only worked part-time at the diner on the weekends and today being a Monday meant she had the whole day to herself.

She was here for one simple reason. It was out of the way and she needed answers as to what was happening to her. There was no way she should have been able to do what she had done. Luckily, she hadn't thrown of flattened anyone else and she had been extra careful to make sure that she was aware of her surroundings.

If there was one positive to be found out of all of this, it was that Anaya and her lemmings had actively avoided her during the last few weeks at school.

Kati, of course, had noticed the bully avoiding them, but she didn't question Cassie about it, which she was grateful for. With school now over until September, she didn't have to worry about Anaya or anyone else for a couple of weeks. It would give her time to figure things out.

What she did have to worry about was her sudden excessive strength and what her limits were. She also felt that she had to find these answers on her own. She didn't want to put anyone else in danger and she didn't want this getting out there and people finding out. This was something she had to deal with by herself.

Cassie made her way through the overgrowth and headed deeper into the trees until she was out of sight of the road. Satisfied that she was no longer in the line of sight of any passing vehicles, she found a rock on the ground and picked it up. She angled her arm then threw it as hard as she could. It flew until it hit a tree and exploded. Huge chunks of the tree's thick trunk splintered off, sending fragments flying in all directions.

Slowly she made her way over to the tree and just stared at the giant crater that now lay in the bark. "This can't be," she said shaking her head. "This isn't possible."

She picked up another rock in her hands and squeezed it. She almost jumped out of her skin as it exploded in her hand.

Letting go of the fragments she opened her palms, expecting to see blood or something, but there was nothing. Her skin didn't even have a mark on it, just dirt and dust from the rock.

She rubbed her hands together to get the dirt off of her hands. This wasn't right, not at all. She was a normal girl. She didn't want or need this in her life.

Or did she?

She had always wanted more, to be more than just an average girl. When she had seen Wonder Woman fighting as part of the Justice League it had been an inspiration. It was something she had dreamed of being able to do. But now it was within her grasp it scared her.

Clenching her knuckles, she looked over at a particularly large redwood. She weighed the pros and cons of doing what she was thinking of doing, before deciding to take the risk.

Cassie made her way over to the exceptionally large tree and looked up its tall trunk. She then quickly took her eyes off of it feeling vertigo wash over her. She wasn't sure how tall the tree was, but the trunk was about as wide as her car. This was a big, thick tree.

After taking in a deep breath, she exhaled before drawing back her fist. She threw it forward only to stop it before it hit the bark. She clenched her jaw. She was worried about breaking her hand. She wouldn't be able to easily explain that away and if she was becoming stronger and more resilient, then what if the doctors couldn't reset the bones because of it? She could do serious permanent damage.

Cassie closed her eyes tightly and flexed her knuckles. She had crushed a rock so punching a tree should be easy, right?

Opening her eyes, she focused on the tree in front of her. She wouldn't break her hand, she had to believe that or else she wouldn't be able to strike it. The fear would stop her.

With a sharp intake of breath, she drew back her fist once more. "Here goes," she said as she thrust it forward. She felt a deep rumble roll through her arm as it buried itself deep into the tree, the bark splintering and cracking under the sheer force.

Slowly she pulled her arm out and looked it over. Again, no blood, not even splinters. Her hand barely even hurt.

Then she heard the tree begin to creak, protest and groan. She ran for her life as the bark splintered and the tree began to fall, the trunk sheering off at the point where she had struck it.

When the ground stopped shaking, she stopped running and turned around to see the Goliath tree had been felled by a single punch.

Not knowing what to do, she headed back to her car and headed home. She had a lot to think about.

Outside Kati's House

Gateway City

United States

14:50 – Western Summer Time

July 17, 2007

It had taken over a week for Cassie to make the decision. She needed to tell someone and she was too afraid to tell her mother. She ran up the path and rang the doorbell and waited for an answer. The door opened revealing her friend, Kati.

"Hey, fancy heading to the mall or something?" Cassie asked trying to hide the nervousness she was feeling.

"Oh, hey, haven't seen you in a while. Sure, I'll get my jacket and bag."

Kati quickly moved off before returning. She stepped outside and locked the door behind her. The two of them then headed to the car and got in.

Cassie set off, heading towards the downtown area.

"So, any reason we're headed to the mall?" Kati asked her.

"Not really. That was just an excuse."

"An excuse?" Kati asked confused. "An excuse for what?"

Cassie glanced away from the road to look at Kati for a second before turning her attention forward. This was it, she was going to tell her friend. "I need to tell you something Kati and it's really freaky."

"Freaky. How?"

Cassie turned a corner before answering. "You remember the toilets getting a little trashed at school."

"Yeah, I remember. I also remember Anaya fleeing from that direction and her and her friends avoiding us afterwards."

"I did it," Cassie told her. "I pushed her and she went flying. Then after I talked to you, I accidentally knocked over the biggest guy in school and sent him flying too."

"Seriously?" Kati asked. "You're the one that knocked him over?"

"Yeah."

"Cass, the guy had a cracked rib."

Cassie took another glance over at her friend. "I didn't know that."

"You sure all this happened?" Kati asked clearly sceptical. "You're not exactly big enough to injure the guy."

Cassie couldn't blame her. If Kati told her that she had suddenly started throwing people through the air and knocking over the school's biggest football players, she wouldn't have believed it either.

She knew what she was going to say next was even more unbelievable, but she said it anyway. "Kati, the other day I crushed a rock with my hand and knocked over a sequoia with a single punch."

"Seriously?" Kati asked disbelieving her. "Are you messing with me? You have to be. Aren't you? Tell me you're joking."

"You want proof?" Cassie asked her.

"I guess," Kati said, unsure, before becoming certain. "I mean, yeah, I do want proof."

"Fine," Cassie said as she pulled the wheel around, swerving the car into the opposite lane, heading back the way they came.

"What are you doing?" Kati asked as cars honked at them. "You can't drive crazy like that."

"I need to show you this weird strength I've got, Kati and it can't wait. I'm taking us outta town."

"Just don't kill us, Cass."

"I won't. Trust me."

Kati sat back. "This better not be a prank or something or else I'll be really annoyed."

"It's not a prank and I'm not trying to fool you or anything else. What's happening to me is messed up and I don't know what to do about it."

"Join the Justice League?" Kati suggested with a shrug.

"This isn't a joke, Kati, I shouldn't be able to punch over trees. I could seriously hurt someone by accident."

"Especially if you ignore traffic laws."

Cassie drove out of the city and up to where she had stopped previously on the lay-by. She climbed out, followed by Kati.

"So, are you gonna punch more trees down?" Kati asked.

Cassie pointed. "You can see it from here."

"What?"

"The tree I knocked over."

Kati looked into the forest. "A fallen tree doesn't prove anything."

Cassie picked up a fist-sized rock and passed it to Kati. "Squeeze this."

Her friend took the rock off of her. "This is stupid, I'm not gonna stand here trying to squash rocks with my bare hands."

"Just try."

Kati gripped the rock hard and squeezed. Nothing happened and she passed it back. "It's a really hard rock."

"Stand back," Cassie suggested as she gripped the rock.

"This is stupid," Kati repeated. "Can we go to the mall now?"

Cassie held the rock up above her head and squeezed. It exploded in her hand and Kati shielded her face from the bits of debris.

"See," Cassie said.

Kati looked at her with clear surprise. "Okay, I admit that is weird, but super strength? I don't know if I believe that."

Without saying a word, Cassie walked up to the back of her car and squatted down, gripping under the rear bumper with one hand. She then stood up, lifting the back of the vehicle clear off of the ground.

"Do you believe me now?" she questioned.

Kati just stared open-mouthed, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Cassie let the back of the car go and it dropped with a slight bounce. "Kati, something really scary is happening to me and I have no idea what to do about it."

Kati continued to stare at her, her mouth agape.

"Kati, I need your advice on this. What am I supposed to do?"

Her friend's mouth closed before it opened again. "H-have you told your mom?" she asked, still in shock.

"What am I supposed to tell her? You know those magical Gauntlets of Atlas I wore that we were told would have no side-effects or anything? Yeah, they've totally given me super strength and I don't know what to do with it. Kati, I put Anaya through a bathroom cubicle just by pushing her. What if I'd punched her instead? I could have killed her."

Kati ran her head through her hair as she began to pace back and forth. "Cass, I can't give you advice on this," her friend told her. "I don't know anything about having superpowers."

"I don't either. What do I do about this?"

Kati stopped pacing. "You should tell your mom."

"She'd freak out if she knew," Cassie said. "I need to find a way of hiding this."

"You'll have to tell your mom at some point," Kati told her.

"I don't know if there's anything she can do."

"Couldn't she get help? Maybe there's medication or something you can take for it."

"I don't think there're meds for it. I'm not one of those freaks from Dakota City that got this from some crazy gas explosion. Those gauntlets were magical and I don't think there're any pills that work on magic. What do I do?"

"I don't know, I don't know anything about any of this, Cass."

"I'm scared Kati. What if I can't control this?"

"I don't believe you'd hurt anyone on purpose. How many times have you hurt someone because of this?"

"Only twice I think and that was Anaya and that guy I knocked over," Cassie said, rubbing her face with the palms of her hands, trying to think. "I-I might have also broken stuff by accident. Like the steering wheel on the car at the DMV. When I'd finished the test it seemed like it had been bent out of shape. Maybe it was me that did it without realising."

"You just have to be careful," Kati suggested.

"What if I forget? What if I give my mom a hug or something and crush her?"

"You need to tell the Justice League or something," Kati advised. "Does your mom have a way of contacting them?"

"Why would my mom have a way of contacting the Justice League?" Cassie asked earnestly.

"The museum heist a few months back?" Kati pointed out. "I just thought that maybe they left a number or something to call."

"I don't know. If they did, mom didn't tell me."

"Then you need to ask her," Kati said. "Keeping this a secret isn't a good idea."

"I'll think about it," Cassie said. "I think I'll take you home now."

"Sure, Cass. You've a lot to think about."

"Sorry for not taking you to the mall."

"It's fine. You have more important things to worry about," Kati said, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks, Kati," Cassie said. "Thanks for listening and understanding."

"I'm your friend, Cass, it's what I'm supposed to do. But wow, this really is crazy isn't it."

"No kidding," Cassie agreed.

The two got back into the car and headed back into the city. After dropping Kati off, Cassie headed back home feeling somewhat relieved that she had been able to tell someone. She still didn't have answers, but at least she had a friend who she could confide in and that helped a lot.

Updated January 2018