CHAPTER 14

       Even in the early hours of the morning, I suspected that James would be up assisting in the research for the poison. I found him in one of the labs, analysing a test sample of the poison.

       "James." I called and he looked up expectantly. I hung in the door, leaning on the frame. "Could I uh, ask a favour of you?"

       "Depends what it is," He grinned.

       "You know before all this went to hell, how we did an analysis on my powers?"

       "Yeah?" He asked curiously.

       "Well I was thinking, could you possibly do another one? And we could compare the results?"

       "Sure." He agreed, his face lighting up in a smile. "I'm in."

...

       So we were back here again, adjusting probes to my skin and a neuron-reading circuit around my head. The probes would transmit information back to the computer at which Piggy was sitting at. He gave me a thumbs up and his voice came over the intercom.

       "So when you're ready, singing and all." He teased and I rolled my eyes.

       "Let's go with the classics." I muttered. I turned around a couple of times, looking at the logistics of the room. It was small and in a box shape. The walls were indestructible glass and the floor was grey rubber.

       I opened my palm in front of me, the slightest Mist began to emerge from my skin. Little grains of sand that reminded me of the Aether in Thor: The Dark World. The Mist or sand really began to drift to the ceiling, forming a large mass.

       "Snow glows white on the mountainside, not a footprint to be seen." As the Mist increased, images began to flash through my vision. Cleo and I running happily through the long grass in the backyard, before I resented her, before she was praised above me. Our peals of laughter so carefree, so ignorant.

       "Cleo!" Michelle called from the balcony, I thought of her as Mum back then. We both paused and Cleo ran into me, sending us both to the ground.

       "You're it." She giggled, my mouth dropped in protest.

       "No. Mum called you, the game instantly stops." In sync, we look towards the balcony where Michelle and Luke and another man who seemed somewhat familiar were standing, watching us carefully. Cleo bounded over to them. That was when she was exposed to the world, that's when she became cold and brisk towards me.

       "A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like, I'm the queen." I was back in the asylum. I blinked impassively, I repeated my story in my head. Despite my young age, my hands were clasped in my lap, I met gazes with the man before me.

       "So are you sure you aren't seeing these... ghosts anymore?" He asked cautiously. I shook my head.

       "Nope. None at all. I don't know what you did but its working." A beaming smile plastered onto my face. I maintained the look until the man's eyes flickered down to write a report. My smile dropped as I carefully regarded the translucent soul behind him. A downcast expression upon its face, I flicked in the direction of it. His eyes clenched shut and his body dissipated. He was gone into the afterlife now.

       "The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside." I sung. Young Gale and I were leaning on the ground with a pair of binoculars. Occasionally we'd pass them back and forth. Explosions and bodies littered the battlefield. We saw a couple of select few people working their way through the ranks.

       "Look!" Gale whispered and pointed towards the mountainside, in the distance, if I squinted, I could see the forming figure of a flying person.

       "It's her!" I replied excitedly. "It's the girl on the news!"

       Weird things had been happening in the large expanse of grassland. People had been appearing and disappearing all the time. Explosions occurred and the sun was almost non-existent through the stormy clouds and unnatural hail. Gale and I had decided to sneak out here today as Michelle and Cleo and Dad were at some presentation of the sort. Then a massive army had appeared and then the Avengers! I knew them off the news and I could barely contain my excitement. Now the mysterious girl, apparently Becky Banner had appeared and was fighting alongside them.

She fell only a small time later.

       "Couldn't keep it in." I clenched my eyes shut. "Heaven knows I tried." I have tried, I really have, the hurt, the pain. To keep it inside, to conceal it. "Don't let them in, don't let them see, be the good girl you've always had to be. Conceal don't feel, don't let them know." Tears bordered on the edge of my vision, the next words were bordering on a cry. "Well now they know."

       The Mist swirled around me in churning velocity, it was hard to get a glimpse of James through the screen. "Let it go! Let it go, can't hold me back anymore. Let it go, let it go, turn away and slam the door. Here I stand in the light of day, let the storm rage on. The cold never bothered me anyway." The Mist burst out before returning to me. Glass exploded outwards and James took cover. "Shit, James!" I cried, rushing towards him, hoping the Hulk didn't activate.
I found his crouching under the desk, his hands covering his head. "James." I breathed a sigh of relief. He crawled out, a wide grin upon his face. I brushed some glass from his hair, checking that he was okay.

       "Well that was a blast," he said sarcastically, pressing the end button on the recording. I giggled in relief, noting that he was okay.

       "Are you sure that..." I trailed off. He nodded.

       "I'm okay. The results should be ready soon."

       "Faster than last time." I noted wistfully.

       "We improved the system." We waited in silence for some time, avoiding eye contact with one another. James cleared his throat. "So uh, Lana, would you uh, be interested in going out, like on a date with me?" Shock made me freeze.

       I blinked. "What?"

       "A-a date? Like when two people go out to dinner or something?"

       "I was just making sure that you said that right, you want to go out on a date with me?"

       James seemed to have regained his speech. "Yes. And I know I may not be the best person in the world to go on a date with but I'll do my best Lana Stark." A grin spread across my face.

       "Of course." I breathed. "But why me?"

       James' brows furrowed. "Why not you? You're amazing, intelligent, honourable, funny. You're perfect Lana Stark." Tears filled my eyes and I managed a smile.

       "Thank you." I whispered. "You have no idea how much I've needed to hear that."

       "I've been waiting a long time to say that." James grinned and we embraced one another tightly. He rested his chin atop my forehead. In this position, I was content. I was safe. A persistent beep sounded from the unbroken computer and we broke apart. James picked up a tablet where the results were listed.

       "What does it say?" I asked curiously. James blinked in astonishment.

       "These are all comparisons against your old readings and it says that your body resembles more of a gas than a solid or liquid, maybe even a plasma."

       "That could be how I shadow travel." I wondered. "Because with a lack of light my body may be able to change form-."

       "Where the space continuum is irrelevant." James finished, I nodded, excited. He went back to scrolling through the readings. "Well everything has increased, the amount of power flowing through you is one, almost quadruple the amount. You don't seem to ingest nutrients anymore and your body doesn't react to unconsciousness so don't bother sleeping or eating if its inconvenient. And there's something else... Your cells, the aging process..." I sucked in a breath and was about to slap the tablet of his hands. He knows! When an alarm sounded. I froze.

       "Intruder on top floor. Intruder on top floor." FRIDAY repeated. We looked at one another, wide-eyed. Was the invader back to finish what they couldn't before?

       "Intruder on top floor, wow, creative." I muttered. I grabbed James' hand and I shadow travelled both of us to the top floor. Obviously everyone was there before us. I saw Gale and realised he was glaring at James and I's interlocked hands. I squeezed mine in comfort, James responded by doing the same thing.

       "Stand down." Thor commanded and we all looked at him strangely as he approached the mystery person. I noted that majority of everyone excluding James, Thor, Cleo, Loki, Bruce and I were in some form of clothes. Everyone else was partially in pyjamas. Tony had his suit on. I looked outside where the sun was beginning to rise up, blinding out view of the mystery woman. Thor bowed his head. "Lady Syn, goddess of Truth, what brings you to Midgard?"

        "I come on behalf of Vör." The woman took off the hood and brown hair cascaded down her, easily reaching to her waist. The cloak she wore was a mustard-colour and heavily embroided with lace. Her dress wrapped around her bust and otherwise flowed outwards. It shimmered in different tones of white and slight off-white. "And bring the answers you seek for exchange."

       "Exchange?" Cleo gritted her teeth.

       "I have the information you wish for but there must be an exchange of knowledge. I call a high price for the information you seek, especially since you are running out of time."

       "What do you need?" Thor asked, signalling for Cleo to stand down.

       "A secret, from all seven of you." Syn's silver irises locked on all seven of the Offspring. I stopped breathing, instantly I knew what she wanted to hear. She wanted to know what happened in Hel. I shut my eyes and breathed deeply. "The truth will set you free. So let's start with you." My eyes flew open and I saw that she was pointing at Aaron, who was at the other end of the line. I supressed a sigh of relief.

       Aaron's mouth popped open and his eyes traced back and forth until his found his secret. "I uh, inherited a hearing deficiency from my father, we were supposed to be the more perfect replicas of our parents right? Not me." Aaron's voice was tight while he spoke, he flinched at every second word. I felt sympathetic for him. Imperfection, and he'd fallen below the line. Syn nodded like this was acceptable.

       Aaron nodded to Angel who sighed deeply, she clenched her teeth. "Arachnophobia." She gritted. "Irony is a-." She cut herself off. Avoiding eye contact with a stony-faced Black Widow. I supressed a giggle, cause that'd be mean and then she'd probably use my secret back against me.

       Nile was next and his eyes kept flickering towards me then away in shame. "I used to like Lana... then when I saw that she wasn't interested, I moved on." My mouth dropped open and I leaned out to look to a frowning Cleo.

       "Second best." I hissed joyously to Cleo who bared her teeth at me. I poked my tongue out in response and stood back up before I got scolded by someone. I turned to Tony and winked, we probably would've hi-fived if the palm boosters wouldn't blast my hand clean off.

       Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a grin spread across Loki's face and Fury entering quietly. Shoot.

       Cleo was next and she dragged in a big breath, rubbing her eyes. "I'm... afraid that the people of Asgard won't accept me. I'm jealous of Alana for being so goddam perfect and attention deserving, our entire childhood was always about. Make sure Alana is jealous of you so that she doesn't turn out like Tony Stark's ego, every, goddam, second."

       "Bullshit!" I cried, tears forming in my eyes. "You did everything to make sure that I was no more than a shadow to anyone. You took away my happiness, Gale, my time of freedom, my voice and you rolled me in the dirt and crushed me under your foot like some sick version of a fucking Cinderella story. All about me, my arse."

       "You don't know shit, Alana!" Cleo screamed, tears in her eyes, finally breaking. I have to confess though, I'd been waiting for this day for some time. "You don't know anything, every second of the damn day was planned around you. Your time to develop, the opportunities for you to retaliate, your moments to yourself so that you could 'secretly' design you tech or finish a uni course. You don't know how alone it was... All, the, time."

       "You really don't either Cleo, you really don't, no one was there for me when I had to slave away, no one was there to comfort me when I fell asleep, when I wanted to kill myself. Alone." I spat the last word.

       "Enough." Gale snapped. "Both of you."

       "And the slut finally speaks." I scowled, James placed a hand on my shoulder.

       "Really Alana?" Gale cried, he seemed on the verge of tears, breathing heavily. I don't know what got his knickers all in a twist.

       "Well by all means Frosty, go ahead, what's your big secret?"

       "Cleo still has something left." Syn spoke softly in all the chaos. I looked back to Cleo, furious, a tear had trailed down her face and hung at the bottom of her chin.

       "And I'm pansexual." She whispered, but all of us, with our enhanced hearing could hear it.

       "Now that we're back on track," Gale sneered. "My secret is, that I still love you Lana. Now, I'm not so sure."

       "Wait, love me? Then same guy who called me a freak and told me to kill myself? What kind of love is that?" Gale clenched his hands and gritted his teeth. His eyes flashed black. He's possessed. I realised. I instantly sewed my lips shut and looked away.

       "I have trouble controlling the Hulk, it's becoming harder, especially with the poison. Soon, I might have to leave, for everyone's sake." James spoke after a long silence. I looked up at him, my mouth slightly open.

       "And yours Lana?" Nile asked. I looked at everyone, they were defeated. These secrets were tearing our team apart.

       "Funny joke." I beamed, walking to the door only to be stopped by a stern, Captain America. "Or not."

       "Everyone has made sacrifices today." He said lowly so the others couldn't hear.

       "And it's barely dawn." I replied. I turned back, dragging my feet towards the expectant-looking faces. How many people were here? Loki, Gale, Thor, Cleo, James, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Aaron, Angel, Nile, Steve, Tony, Syn, Fury and I saw Pepper waiting at the door. Fifteen, maybe sixteen people. The secret that I had been holding in for some time now.
I clenched my eyes shut and dragged in a big breath. This was going to need a big breath.