Please read this Author's Note! It's very important!

Hello everyone! Once again here today with some writing! I have come back from another month-long little unannounced hiatus, sorry about that! But, I made some pretty big realizations. First off, I have decided that I'm going to completely and totally scrap both Permanent Scars and The Fire's Illusion. Any other planned stories I have with Robin are now completely obsolete. I decided that she's just not a good enough character for these kinds of stories. In fact, I'm completely getting rid of her! Yep, you read right! No more Robin for you to have to worry about with all her awfulness! I will, however, torment you with another chapter of this character for today before completely and totally scrapping Permanent Scars.

For future stories from now on, we'll be focusing on the adventures of Mary Piper Susuki Tabitha Sue! She's going to be much, much more interesting, I think! And there will certainly be a whole lot of love interests in her future. Also, she has sparkles under her eyes and wonderful, rainbow colored irises. Her hair also changes color according to her mood, and she has so many different powers! She's still discovering some of them, but she already has a lot of known ones including invisibility, telekinesis, the ability to predict the future, and shape-shifting, of course! She can shape-shift into any creature she wants without limit. And everyone loves her, I bet you will, too!

(P.S. Happy April Fools Day, everyone!)

"Tell me, Robin, how did you come to have your powers?" A bright eyed scientist asked, holding a clipboard filled with paper and a pen in his hands.

"Born wif' 'em," I mumbled quietly, my arms crossed a little indignantly. I always hated being asked questions all of the time, it made me feel like I was in trouble or cornered by others.

"Interesting," he said, mostly to himself, and scribbled down something quickly on the paper. "When did you first discover your power?"

"Err . . . when really little. Maybe, eh," I searched my mind for the age I was when my hand caught on fire. It seemed almost like a distant memory, mainly because I wanted to get away from my childhood memories. "Six?" I finished.

"What was that like?"

"Creepy," I said simply, growing increasingly annoyed with the scientist's questions. "Why all question?"

"Ah, research, simple research," he said absent-mindedly, scribbling some more writing down on the paper. I strained my neck to try and see what he was writing down, but I was too short and too small to even be able to see over the clipboard. "Can you demonstrate some of your power?"

I raised an eyebrow at the man's question, not entirely trusting him. The last time someone saw my power; he ran away and made a big deal out of it. Of course, there was probably good reason for that, but still. . . I sighed and relented, holding out my hand and letting the fire within spread out and form a neat, controlled fireball above my hand. I held it there for a few seconds, my hand slightly shaking with the effort I put in, and then I extinguished the flame as if it had never even existed.

"How interesting!" the man exclaimed, almost sounding like a child in a candy store. "I must do some more tests! May I take a blood sample?"

I widened my eyes at the last question. "A WHAT?!"

"Just a small blood sample," he said calmly, "It won't hurt, I promise."

"No! No! No!" I exclaimed, curling up into a small ball and trying to hide any exposed skin, "Do not want!" And I didn't believe the man when he said it would not hurt. I knew what happened when blood was shed. It hurt! And I heard tales from the nurses about needles and syringes, there was no way in hell that man would stick one of those dreaded things in me! Not if I could help it!

Before the scientist could even say a single word, I leaped out of my chair and ran out of the room, running headfirst into another person. I looked up and saw Peggy looking rather unamused at the scientist who had been questioning me. I quickly hid behind her and looked up at her pleadingly, "Evil man!" I pointed at the man who was still sitting in the chair.

Peggy rolled her eyes at the man and said chidingly to him, "Didn't I remind you that she's only a child?"

"I only asked for a blood sample!" he protested, trying to look innocent. I knew better!

Peggy placed her hands on her hips, sighing in exasperation, "She's only a kid, asking that sort of thing only makes them freak out, you idiot!"

The scientist raised his hands defensively, "I'm only saying that in order to conduct proper research, I need to have a small sample."

My new friend shook her head and looked to me.

"Don't want tests," I mumbled stubbornly.

"It's only temporary," she said.

"Have to?"

"For now, I think that's a yes, Robin. I can see if they can call off the tests for the time being, but I don't think I'll have much influence here," Peggy said, her voice sounding resigned.

I sighed and pouted slightly, "Fine. Don't mean I like it."

Peggy chuckled softly despite the situation and ruffled my hair, "Stubborn kid."

I made a small noise of disgruntled displeasure and smoothed out my hair again. Despite being in a new country and being with more hospitable people, everywhere I went there would always be people who wanted to either use me or do tests on me. I was not happy with this. Not at all.

I was once again seated in the little testing area, or as I called it, "The Room of Extreme Displeasure". I only called it that purely because I hated being in the testing area. It made me feel like an animal compared to everyone else, and my suspicions seemed to be correct at times. Word had gotten out about my . . . supernatural ability. Most of the people who worked here during the time would look at me as if I were a monster, mostly with fear, sometimes with a bit of anger and perhaps some envy. It reminded me all too much of Hydra, except no one here dared to punch me or kick me or torture me. I supposed they thought that I would spontaneously set them on fire if they did so. I used their fear of me to an advantage to get out of certain situations; it proved to be quite useful. There were only a select few who were not afraid of me, one of them being Peggy. I guess she viewed me as a kid, still, especially since she knew me better than anyone else working in this area. It was nice to be able to talk to someone who wouldn't look at me with fear, and it was even nicer to have someone with the patience enough to help me learn the basics of this strange country.

It had been many months since my first visit to the testing area, when the scientist tasked with my testing had tried to take a blood sample from me. I still refused to give him one. He'd have to extract the blood from my cold, dead corpse if he wanted a sample that badly. Of course, it didn't stop him from asking every now and then if he could take a sample. However, I did notice that the questions and tests conducted were becoming more intricate and a little more intrusive on my behavior.

"Tell me, Robin," my scientist prompted, "what do you feel to trigger your power?"

"Explain, please," I said curtly, my arms crossed over my small chest.

"Like, what goes on in your mind when you are using your power, how do you manage to make the fire just . . . show up like it does? Is it emotion based?"

I paused, trying to think of what actually happened. I didn't really put into thought or memory of exactly what happened when I channeled my fire, it was something I only experienced in the heat of the moment, for the most part. I scrunched my face up in concentration, debating on how much I should tell the man. I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell him, as my power was only inherited through genetics, but I didn't trust anyone with the secret of my control. Humans were a corrupt species, for the most part, though I was no different. They would be able to find a way to turn something like me into a weapon for their benefit. I did not want that, and so I only said half of what I knew. "Somewhat," I said, "A good fire comes through a mix of feelings and concentration. Without concentration, it can spin out of hand and end up where you don't want it to end up."

"What emotions do you feel when controlling your power?"

"Rage, but that's because I'm me," I said, "Could be triggered differently."

"How so?"

I shrugged, "Don't know," I said. I left out the part where I thought it was most important. And that was what the concentration was required on. Fire was something that loved to move, something that lived without breathing. Trying to control it was like trying to control a wild lion, it was not possible. Instead, focus on guiding the flame was most important, suggesting where it should go without coercing it. A forceful behavior towards it merely made the fire disobedient. One small spark out of place could set an entire town ablaze. A cocky attitude towards the fire would not get anyone very far.

"I see," the man said softly, writing down in that old clipboard of his.

I could see that the man wanted more questions, but someone else walked into the room. A tall, rather muscly man with a deep, husky voice spoke up, "Permission to relieve Robin of today's testing?" the man asked.

My annoying scientist tilted his head slightly, "For what reason?"

"She has a visitor."