"I guess our times up" Irene suddenly mentioned the next day.
"What?" Steve looked up from his book, "Why do you say that? We are so close to finishing this book. I thought… How do you know it's time? There isn't a clock in here. What makes you think its 5 o'clock?"
"I just have a feeling" Irene smiled.
"What kind of feeling is that?" Steve pressured.
Irene looked up to the overhead lights as she started to make them flicker. Steve looked up and thought that the lights were overreacting but then looked back over to Irene. A smile seemed to have broken free on her face as she watched the lights flicker. He then realized that she was controlling the lights and making them do anything in her will.
"Trust me, Steve" Irene said to him.
"That's neat! I've always wondered what you could do" Steve smiled to her, "Well, I mean, I knew you could do that but it just seems completely different when actually seeing it. I guess it already is 5 o'clock. That's great"
Steve leaned back into his chair as he looked around the room, trying to avoid asking her anything about her powers. It's been haunting him all this time ever since their talk that happened just yesterday. He slowly looked over to her and noticed that she was staring at him.
"Alright!" Steve let out, "I've been meaning to ask you a question. When did you notice that you had these unique powers of yours?"
"Which ability, Steve?" Irene only asked.
"Let's start with your persuasion skills"
"That one was my second power and came six months after my first" Irene explained, "I knew I was really late to class with this really strict teacher and the first thing I said was 'Please don't give me detention'. I kind of knew something was up because his face changed completely from irritated to happy before he even told me that I wasn't going to get punished"
Irene exhaled as she remembered how confused everyone else was in the class to have witnessed the strictest teacher on campus not gives detention to a student. The best part about it was that the teacher was also confused about his actions as well.
"After that, I tried it out on a couple of people and realized that it was another mutant gift and not just luck" Irene concluded.
"What about your first one?" Steve asked.
"That one was on my 13th birthday. Something that I'm a little bit ashamed of. Can we just leave it at that?" Irene pleaded.
"Do you really think I'm going to let that slide?" Steve asked.
"I was terrified of the dark" Irene confessed, "My dad took away my nightlight a day before and I was so terrified that little pixie lights started to appear like stars in my room"
"Why would he do that? Take away your light?" Steve asked, "Who did you tell?"
"He was always that harsh while we were growing up. He said that I was starting to become a woman now and stop sleeping with a baby light. At first, I didn't know what to believe about the lights and I refused to believe that I was a mutant" Irene explained, "It wasn't until Elizabeth reminded me that our mother was a mutant too"
Irene smiled as she remembered Elizabeth holding her sister's hands and still looking at her with love instead of coiling back like as if she was a beast.
Irene looked down to her hands as light orbs filled them in her will. Every time she used her abilities, she always thought about her mom wrapping her arms around her in a warm embracing hug.
"That's when you accepted it" Steve finished.
"You're catching on" Irene smiled.
Irene let the light diminish from her hands as she lowered the overhead lights until they were in complete darkness. Steve then noticed that tiny little orbs of light filled the room in the lights place, flickering like candles blowing in the wind. He looked over to her and noticed that a tear fell down her cheek.
"It's beautiful" Steve mumbled.
"No one calls a mutant's powers 'beautiful'" Irene mocked.
"I guess there's a first chance for everything. I don't understand how anyone else may think otherwise" Steve countered.
"That's because I'm not attacking you"
"But you could, Ren" Steve responded, "Right now. You could persuade me into anything. What about these lights"
Irene looked up and noticed that Steve was about to touch one that was very close to him. Before she could urge him to stop or move the light orb away, a pop sounded within the room as he yelled in pain as he was flung to the floor.
"Oh my God, Steve! I'm so sorry!" Irene ran over to the other side of the desk and knelt down next to him.
"It's nothing, Ren. My mistake" Steve moaned as he sat against the wall.
Steve watched as the light orbs started to vanish and the lights were flickering back to life.
He quickly reached out and grabbed her wrist gently. She looked down to him and noticed that he was shaking his head. Confused, Irene looked to him but instead let the lights die out again and her orbs come back to life. She sat down beside him, feeling his body heat radiating, keeping her warm.
"I should've warned you" Irene said in a weak voice, "My light manipulation can give off quite a punch"
"Go out with me" Steve suddenly said, "What are you doing Saturday night? We can probably do a movie and some fast food. How about that Ren?"
Irene was shocked about his invite but gave him a peculiar look as she gazed into his eyes.
"What do you say?" Steve questioned.
Before Irene could say anything, the door flung open with Nick Fury and Maria Hill charging in, making Irene startled as her orbs left and the lights came back on again.
"This isn't necessary, Fury!" Maria was saying as they both noticed that Nick Fury had a vaccine in his hand.
"No!" Steve yelled out as he moved himself in front of Irene, using himself as a human shield, "It's not her fault, I told her to demonstrate her powers"
"That's not your decision left to make. She's a threat" Nick Fury responded, "Why are you two on the ground? She must've done something to you"
Maria sighed, "We knew the vaccine would wear off around five, sir. My sister is not dumb. Even if she had any plans of escaping, she wouldn't even try. She knows what the consequences are"
Irene placed a hand on Steve's shoulder, making him turn around and look at her. She gave him a small sad smile as she got up and walked past Nick Fury. Even with her power intact, she felt more of an urge to blast him into the other side of the room. But instead, she joined her sister at the door in a silent retreat.
Maria placed her hand on her sister's arm as she gave a pleading 'I'm sorry' look on her face. Irene didn't react, but just stood there, waiting for some type of blow. She knew that someone with as much power as Nick Fury wouldn't let this situation go by untouched.
As if reading her mind, Nick Fury turned to her and was about to set out a dark threat which probably would have ended with her being dead. But Steve Rogers got up from his place on the wall, walked over to Fury, and placed his hand on top of his shoulder.
Maria Hill took that time to usher her sister out of the room before her boss could stop her.
"Well, that certainly escalated. I don't know how you could stand having him as a boss" Irene mentioned as they hurried down the hall.
"He's alright, once you get to know him. He just doesn't want to take any chance, that's all" Maria responded.
"Like me killing Captain America?" Irene asked.
Maria turned and was about to scold her sister for saying something like that in the building. But she suddenly stopped and watched as her sister smiled from ear to ear. A blush rose onto the middle sister's cheeks as she moved her hair out of her face. Maria couldn't help but smile at her older sister as she continued to walk towards the exit.
"No. I wouldn't even dream about it. He's the only decent guy left in this crazy world" Irene babbled, "If it was Fury, gladly. But not him. He's too curious and free-spirited, I like that about him"
"Ren…" Maria said in a sing-song voice, "I think someone's got a crush"
Irene stopped and looked over to her sister like a deer caught in headlights. She moved to deny that fact but could see the look on her sister's face. Irene then just rolled her eyes and continued to walk.
"I can't wait to tell Elizabeth this" Maria squealed.
"Don't!" Irene yelled out.
"Why not, Ren. She'll be thrilled!" Maria smiled.
"Does she know about SHIELD and me being a delinquent?" Irene countered, "Please don't tell me she does know. Because I would really hate knowing that I was the last to know about your little secret, Maria. And if she does know, does dad know either"
"Of course she doesn't, Elizabeth, if anyone tells their family members they are SHIELD agents we are immediately fired" Maria responded, "As for the delinquent part, I'm not sure"
"What do you mean? Am I missing something?" Irene asked.
"We confiscated the News Report about your attempt on the assassination" Maria informed, "If you don't follow through with our plans, Fury was going to send it out worldwide"
"If I don't follow through?"
"Ren"
"I'm sorry. He told me not to tell you" Maria apologized.
Irene scoffed, "Isn't that sweet"
"What did you want us to do?" Maria responded.
"Tell me the truth"
"And let everyone fear you?" Maria asked, "What if you get the clean slate? Everything will disappear"
"Will it? Or will you store it for more leverage?" Irene questioned, "I know how this works, and I've been through it before. SHIELD is not different than the Mutant Mob outside these borders"
Irene brushed past her sister and marched over to the car waiting outside for them.
Maria got into the car silently and started to drive out of the parking lot. She looked over to her sister who was glaring outside of the window. If she looked closely, she could see that tears were at the corner of her eyes. She swallowed as she told herself mentally to remember the name, Mutant Mob.
"We did it to protect you" Maria said softly, "I swear on my life that they won't use you as leverage after this"