The Academy lay in ruins. Vines climbed the jagged brick and stones. They dug their tendrils into the mortar, dragging the decaying corpse into the soil. The spires that towered for over two-hundred years had crumbled to rubble in only ten. Queen Anne’s lace sprawled across the expansive grounds, fighting for space amongst the weeds in the knee-deep grass.

Only the headmaster’s mansion remained. After the war, Ivy reclaimed it for herself. Not in triumph, but to remember. She and her loyal Watchers rebuilt it, healing the buildings post-war wounds until it was habitable again.

They crafted the new Academy beside the freshly deceased body of the one Ivy destroyed. No longer a place to be exploited and used, but a place for young mutants to learn to embrace their abilities.

Despite the tragedy, the eye-sore and the thousand other reasons to be rid of them, Ivy kept the ruins. Each day, mutant children cheerfully walked to class past what was once her prison turned battle ground, and current husk toward a better future. It was not at the forefront, but rather in the corner of everyone’s eye and in the slight shiver up their spine. The lab in the basement had long since been sealed shut by boulders and chunks of rubble.

'This is what humans can do’ - was the death cry of the ruins.

Ivy knew better.

When she stood on her balcony overlooking the lake and the endless forest, drinking her morning tea, she heard, ‘this is what I can do.’

The others surely heard it too.

Ivy placed her cup of tea on the side table. Beverages, along with food were no longer necessary, but simple pleasures were all she had. Her slender fingers curved around the handle. They hardly held their shape and form, becoming transparent, shimmering under the early afternoon sun. A blue haze enveloped her body, including the all black Watcher's garb and cloak she still wore.

A knock came at the door.

"Come in," she called. Even the sound of her voice was faint to her ears, yet carried like a specter on the wind.

The French doors opened.

Ivy tensed, reactively pushing herself further against the chair. Cold iron dug into her spine. She was still corporeal. That was something at least.

Watcher Dominic joined her on the balcony. His black eyes squinted to see her fading form better in the light. Silver hair tucked neatly behind his ears, striking against his black Watcher's attire. A hooded cloak wrapped over his shoulders and drifted across the stone floor, swishing around his boots as he moved.

The energy emanating from him wafted toward her. She sensed each beat of his heart as it pumped life through his veins. Each cell's vibration created a kinetic heat. It pulled her forward. Magnetic.

"Stop," Ivy said, holding up a finger. "No closer."

"We found him," said Dominic. "However, he already made it back to Portsmouth Island."

She clenched her jaw.

"How was that allowed to happen?" she asked through gritted teeth. "It's nearly impossible to retrieve them once they hide there."

"He'll be too afraid of retribution to ever leave again, and if he does, perhaps then we can seek justice?" Dominic suggested.

Ivy's silver eyes sharpened.

"It can't wait!"

"I see that you're fading,” he began gently. “Perhaps if you ease off on healings for awhile, you’ll give yourself time - "

“Impossible. Peace between us and humans is tenuous at best," she said. "If I allow mutants to cause havoc the already thin tethers are bound to snap. There must be balance. Do you want another war Dominic? Isn't the last one still fresh in your mind?"

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Dominic sighed and extended his hand.

"Thank you,” Ivy said, weaving her fingers through his. “Next time save yourself the trouble and do as I ask."

In the span of a second, they both dissolved into a swirling black cloud of mist. With the current state she was in, Ivy worried she would not be able to rematerialize, but in the span of a blink she found herself on the island shore. The ocean rolled at her back. Heavy storm clouds drifted overhead as seagulls screeched from the sky.

The island was home to a small village. After the war, any mutants unwilling to live amongst humans on the mainland sequestered themselves here. Which was why she needed to be quick.

A decade had passed since she last set foot on the island.

Has it truly been that long since I lost you?

It seemed like only yesterday she stood on this very shore, clutching Ember’s egg in her arms. The foolish smile-ly face Ember had drawn on the synthetic shell in marker still grinned, unknowing and innocent as the baby within of his mother’s fate and the war carrying on around them.

It killed her to let him go, but the island was the only place untouched by the ravages of battle. Most importantly, Ember had begged her to. Taking Angel to the island was all she had spoken of, right until the end.

Does he look like her? Would I recognize him? It’s been so long since Watcher Liz has sent a report.

She shuddered at the thought that he might bear witness to what must be done tonight.

Perhaps he has her tender heart.

Dominic waited for her on the shore while Ivy wandered the dirt roads between the small wooden houses. Former abandoned shacks were transformed into habitable cabins and homes. Most lawns were overgrown with weeds as high as her thighs. Each block of houses was punctuated by a community garden or small shop. There weren't any outward signs of life, but she felt them. Heat radiated toward her.

Ultimately, it was the commotion that led her to the man she was looking for. A crowd had gathered outside of a crumbling brown shack. Quiet settled over the group the moment Ivy was spotted. All eyes turned to her. Searing waves wafted forward. Rage - like fresh blood in her mouth. In her current state, it took far more of her concentration than was comfortable not to pull it in and bask in it.

There was a time she would have been hurt. Their eyes used to wound her. So she shut herself away. A job needed to be done. There was no space for remorse.

"Bring him out," she commanded.

The crowd stood still.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be." She took a step forward. The crowd tightened, sealing the pathway to the house. "This won't end well for you."

"Go back to the mainland!” A man yelled. “We'll handle our own people, and you take care of yours." He stepped forward, fists clenched to his side. Electricity crackled around his knuckles, bristling the coarse black hair along his forearms.

He had aged since she had last seen him, but still maintained the same surly demenor and hard brown eyes.

"Julian, please. We don't need to make a scene," she said. "This must be done. I can't allow unsanctioned fight clubs on the mainland. What would happen if I became lenient? More would crop up, then come running to the island when they get caught. No exceptions. Step aside."

"Tyrannical bitch!" A woman screamed. The crowd dispersed as rocks rose from the earth, quivering and hovering in the air.

All at once, the stones shot toward Ivy. She raised her hand. A translucent blue shield emerged. The rocks struck it and tumbled harmless to the ground.

A hush settled over the crowd.

The woman's feral scream as she began to levitate the rocks again could not disguise her true emotion. She gasped, suddenly strangled for air. The stones quivered and settled on the earth. Blue light emitted from the woman's open mouth in a long thick wisp like a gossamer curtain, drifting toward Ivy.

The woman crumpled to her knees.

"Ivy please!" Julian cried. "Let her go, she didn't mean it."

The woman's life force had only just begun to intertwine with Ivy's own, soaking into her barely corporal form. For a moment, she was almost sorry. It was a shame to snuff out such a warm, firm energy. So much life. So much vitality. Her flesh shifted solid again.

"Please!"

Julian's desperation pulled Ivy into lucidity for a moment. He was now crouched beside the woman's still body. The others gathered around them, staring at her with wide, terrorized eyes. Ivy's heart wrenched. She released her hold and reversed the process. The curtain of light seeped from herself, trailing backward, reentering the limp woman. Ivy watched herself fade. The woman gasped, her chest heaving in bursts.

Ivy stepped forward and this time, the crowd parted to allow her passage toward the house. The squat shack seemed to sag into the earth, drooping into the weeds. Their judging eyes pressed on her back. She steeled herself. The energy emanating off the crowd was a miasma of terror and rage.

She could hardly blame them.

Ivy climbed the stairs to the front deck. The rotten wood sagged under her weight. When she opened the door, she found the house in darkness. The man sat slouched on the sofa, his head in his hands. Soft sobs reverberated through the room.

"I promise never to do it again," he whimpered. "Hell, I'll never go back to the mainland at all. You'll never -"

The words choked out. His mouth opened, as though he gasped for air. Blue light poured from him in a thick wave. It was stale and brought her no pleasure. When the man crumpled, folding forward into an empty husk, she returned to her solid form.