TWO |

DIANA GROANED, SWATTING away the insistent hand on her shoulder that was shaking her roughly in an attempt to wake her.

"Diana, come on!" Astrid's voice. Diana responded by rolling over so she was facing the wall instead of Astrid.

"Ugh! It's no use. She sleeps like a hibernating grizzly! Do the light. That'll get her up."

"Uh, Astrid, are you sure that's a good idea?" Sam's voice sounded nervous.

"Of course not!" Astrid was frantic. Dimly, Diana registered that something must be wrong, but she wasn't conscious enough to really process that or do anything about it. But no one, no matter how out of it, could ignore a beam of blinding light shooting through their bedroom.

"Aaaargh!" Diana exclaimed, yanking her pillow out from over her head and using it to cover her face. The light dissipated as quickly as it had come, but it was still seared into her mind.

"Diana, you have to get up," Sam said, relief in his voice. Probably he was relieved that he hadn't blasted anything apart. The wall was a bit singed, though.

"You really need to work on your wakeup call," Diana grumbled, already grumpy. She hadn't seemed to notice that anything was out of the ordinary with the light that she was complaining about.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, accidentally causing Astrid to yelp when she unexpectedly kicked her in the shin. "What's so important? And it better be good," she added, her tone a clear warning.

"Oh, it's important," Sam said. "My light's back."

Diana froze mid-yawn, staring at Sam and Astrid wide eyed. She took a second to absorb the news, but as soon as she processed it she shot to her feet. "What?" Diana exclaimed, disbelief and terror vying for prominence in her tone. "But... I thought your power disappeared when the FAYZ ended! It can't be back," she stammers, her voice growing desperate by the end. "That would mean-"

"That the FAYZ could be happening again," Astrid finished grimly, confirming Diana's fears. She sagged against the wall, her back sliding down it as she sank onto the floor, putting her face in her hands.

"Diana," Sam started hesitantly, seeing how upset his friend was, "we were wondering if your power came back too. We thought we should test it soon." He said it gently, making sure to say soon instead of, say, right now, which was more what they'd been hoping.

She takes a deep breath and nods. "Sam, give me your hand."

Sam smiles in relief, but his eyes are still filled with worry and it seemed the smile was more for the girls' sake. He gives Diana his hand, and she closes her eyes, concentrating.

There. She felt it, the sensation still familiar after all that time. She couldn't quite place exactly how strong he was now. He seemed so much more powerful all of a sudden. After a second of hesitation she put it off as just having not used her powers in so long.

Diana opened her eyes. "I've still got my power," she says, more to herself than to either of them. But now she spoke to Sam, looking up at him. "And you've definitely got yours." A look of pain crossed over his face, but Diana couldn't quite be sure what he was thinking.

Astrid put a comforting hand on Sam's arm, but he refused to meet her eyes. The reason became clear as he spoke.

"Diana, you should test Astrid too," he says. After a moment of shocked silence, Astrid nods slowly.

"It doesn't seem likely that you two get the same powers as before but I would have randomly developed a new one, but it does make sense. It's probably better just to test me anyways," she says, shrugging even though Diana could see the tension in her posture and expression. Diana stands up, taking hold of Astrid's hand. She concentrated, and again the read felt blurry and more powerful than it should have. She frowned and shook her head, releasing Astrid's hand. She described how unclear the readings were, saying that her power was out of practice.

Her power was a lot like it had been in the time with Caine before the FAYZ, when she first learned how to successfully use her powers. She shuddered. This all seemed like a nightmare, a replay of all the worst events in her life orchestrated by her cruel subconscious.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Diana asked, trying not to let her fear show on her face. She she knew she didn't fool them, though. They were all terrified.

Sam shook his head, just as confused as she was. "I don't know," he said honestly.

Luckily, Astrid had an idea.

A/N

So there's chapter 2! Let me know if you see any spelling mistakes. One more chapter coming today. Maybe two. CYA!

-Kari