As soon as Queen Heart had enough distance from his shove, Ashton scrambled up and towards the door. Since her power didn’t work on him, his best chance was to get some distance and stay in places where no one else was. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done, since he lived in a facility full of other people.

“Wait!” she called out, reaching for his hand and sounding a bit pitiful, “Before you deny me, won’t you hear me out? Then you can decide whether or not I am lying.”

“I have no interest in casual conversation with a woman who snuck into my bedroom while I was sleeping,” Ashton pointed out, still extremely on guard. He was certain if he used his power here, everyone would recognize it immediately so he had to be careful. It didn’t matter if he was certain that Amber Gale already knew.

For some reason, Queen Heart blushed at his words. “I did do that, didn’t I? How embarrassing,” she giggled, “But I didn’t know how else to meet you. You understand, right Phoenix?”

“I am not Shadow Phoenix,” Ashton denied, “And I will not answer to his name.”

“Ah, that’s right. You need to be careful,” she realized, “I’m sorry. Unlike a certain someone, I promise I can keep a secret. I am sure that’s why she doesn’t know who you really are.”

So that was why she had targeted Summer. Ashton felt a strong pang of guilt as he realized he had done the very thing he had been trying to avoid. Escaping now would only postpone the issue, but going back into his room to talk to a crazy woman wasn’t a good idea either. Then again, she was offering him free information. Ashton knew well how valuable information was in this world.

“Get out of my room,” he told her finally, “I need to get changed and eat breakfast. If you behave yourself, I will hear you out over my meal.” It was the only compromise he could think of.

Queen Heart beamed and happily stepped outside. “I will wait right here for you,” she promised, “I can’t wait to see what your daily clothes look like.”

Ashton shoved down his disgust and quickly got dressed, unable to ignore her presence waiting outside his doorway. All he needed to do was hear her out. Then he would be able to come up with some sort of excuse to use his power, or at the very least do something to make her leave and leave Summer alone.

When he opened the door, Queen Heart looked him up and down seeming perplexed. “You look so plain,” she told him.

Ashton winced as he once again remembered she only knew him as Shadow Phoenix in that ridiculously flashy outfit. “I will never wear that hideous thing again,” he told her, “and I had no say in its design either.”

“That’s so terrible,” she told him, her surprise instantly turning to pity, “I should have known such terrible people would control even the clothes you wear.”

Ashton started moving so that they didn’t continue down the topic of those terrible people or his clothes. The halls were oddly empty, without a single soul to be seen. Where was everyone? It was good that he didn’t have to see his coworkers be controlled by her power, but something seemed wrong.

“I told everyone not to bother us,” Queen Heart informed him helpfully, “We can chat as long as we want and you won’t have to worry about anything.”

She seemed proud as if she thought he would praise her, but Ashton was at his limit just agreeing to hear her out.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Let’s just eat,” Ashton said and dropped by the cafeteria. There was no one there either, but the warm and ready food was still on display. Since the food was free for employees, Ashton didn’t have to worry about the lack of employees manning the register. They would just have to forgive him for not stopping Queen Heart from taking a breakfast sandwich of her own.

“Are you willing to let me explain myself now?” she asked.

“Go ahead,” Ashton told her.

“You were right about one thing. On the official records, the girl you saved did die that day,” Queen Heart explained, “Because of my complicated circumstances, the government gave me a new identity. They didn’t want word of the downsides of a power like mine to get out.”

“The downsides?” Ashton asked. The government programs he knew would never let someone like her walk freely. Had her power been misinterpreted, or had she evolved it?

She nodded and closed her eyes, deep in thought. “I grew up in a rather strict, old fashioned family,” she began, “They disliked powers, activists, and anything involving artificial intelligence with a burning passion. I never got tested to see if I had power, and I was honestly terrified to. I was always scared, sad, or angry about everything growing up. However, when I was in high school, things took a turn for the worse. Once I was well and truly depressed, the bullying began.”

Ashton hadn’t expected her to regale her whole life story but stopping her now seemed like a bad idea. She seemed to think these details were important to answer his question.

“It was far more than normal bullying. Every single student in the school hated me as much as I hated myself,” she continued, and noticed Ashton’s eyes widen, “That’s right. That is how my power first manifested. Anyone who looked at me was influenced by my own power to hate me. Everyone. I won’t bore you with tales of the details, but eventually I realized this myself. I attended that college because I thought surely SI wouldn’t fall victim to such a silly power, but it was even worse than before. That is how we met.”

“They threw you off of a roof?” Ashton asked, dreading the answer.

“Shoved more than threw. I don’t know if they were actually trying to kill me,” she said, “I had given up in that moment you found me. I was ready to die, and I was going to ask you to end me. I was sure you would. Everyone always hated me, after all. But you did something different. You called for help. You were the first person who has ever helped me.”

That did explain her strange obsession, and it also explained what her power had been before. How had her power, and her for that matter, changed so much? He watched as she smiled and cradled the igniter she had torn from his sleeve.

“For the very first time I was able to turn my ability off,” she told him, “The paramedics who arrived did not hate me at all, and treated me like a proper patient. My life turned around completely. So completely that SI took notice and I had to explain what I was. They offered me a chance to keep my power off forever with a special serum Gale Research was in the process of developing and give me a new life. I took it. People still remember how much they hated me, after all. However, before the serum was completed, my power changed.”

“Why did it change?” Ashton asked. He had a terrible feeling he knew the answer already.

“I saw you, or a recording of you,” she said, “I recognized you immediately and I knew then that I was in love. The love was too strong for me to hold in all on my own, and it exploded outward. My watchers started to act strange, and then I learned my new power. My real power. I have spent this time sharpening my skills while trying to find you. I am ready now. I can hand you the whole world if you want it. I have honed my power and my love to give you anything you could ever desire.”

Ashton felt chills as her passionate gaze returned to him. It was true he did not recall fervently hating her, but was that really enough to be considered saving her? Rather than absolving his prior guilt and shame, things only seemed worse. Before he could formulate an answer to her passionate request, an alarm began to blare and the cafeteria was flooded with some kind of gas. In a moment, a team wearing gas masks and armed to the teeth marched into the room and surrounded them.

“Queen Heart, I suggest you stand down willingly,” the lead informed her. It wasn’t a voice Ashton recognized which made him question what had happened to Jared and his own team.

To his surprise, Queen Heart willingly surrendered. “My promise still stands,” she called back to Ashton, “Wait for me!”

At this perfect timing, Ashton’s phone began to ring.