There was a mist. The dawn light that peaked through in shafts gave the mist a warm glow. Hannah sat in the back of the car while her dad followed Aaliyah’s dad deep into the mountain woods, far beyond even where the cabin once stood.

The first time they went to ask for help from her was to try and heal Hannah’s mutation. They told her that it was not a mutation, but a blessing that could not be removed.

When they came to her again, Aaliyah immediately understood who the figure that saved them was and arranged for Hannah to meet him to see if he could teach her to control her blessing just as he did for Aaliyah. Hannah kept her head down the whole way, thinking only of the image of the figure wading through fire unflinchingly even as his hand burnt up.

They stopped their cars far off the road on the edge of the untamed thicket. An ominously cool breeze emanated from the wilderness. Here the forest was densest with both flora and fauna. The mist obscured the tops of pine trees. To venture here would be no different from delving into a dank, chittering cave. Thankfully, the Folious family would be the torch to guide the way for the Vandimions. Aaliyah held Hannah’s hand and they followed Aaliyah’s dad who led in front while Hannah’s dad was in the rear.

Animals were usually a welcome sight for Hannah as they were some of the only friends she had. At the same time, she was not naive to the dangers they should have for a little girl.

This was different from either experience. The animals were neither friendly nor fearsome, instead lying sentinel over the guests with eyes that bore through the mist. Hefty moose, svelte lynxes, black bears, even common loons that waddled as well as they could out of their comfortable waterways came to watch the visitors. The flutter of birds upon perches could be heard above but not seen.

Aaliyah tightened her grip on Hannah’s trembling hand. She assured Hannah, and herself, that these animals were guiding stars, sent by the one they were here to meet, meant to protect Hannah’s journey.

Aaliyah let go of Hannah’s hand when the group reached a clearing. On the other side was a silhouette in the mist, a boy who pet a doe resting in the grass. Once he stopped petting her, the doe stood up, gave a curtsy to the boy, and galloped out of sight.

The group made it halfway through the clearing when they told Hannah to stay where she was. Aaliyah and the dads went on to the boy while Hannah stood there. He couldn’t have been any older than Aaliyah or Hannah, yet the grown-ups knelt to meet him.

He turned to Hannah and she was pierced by his eyes that were akin to an animal’s. The others stood by as he approached her and she felt like she was the sinking prey trapped in the water with a crocodile. She worried that she did something wrong already. Before she knew it, he was face-to-face with her.

“Hey, my name’s Tyler,” he said. Tyler held out his hand for a handshake. Hannah slowly raised her open hand to meet him. When Tyler tried to shake her hand she did not budge, then he used both of his hands to pull with all his might. He eventually gave up struggling, to both parties' embarrassment. Hannah blushed as she returned her hand to her side. She usually put a teensy bit of effort into acting out things like handshakes but her head was so clouded that she had just stood there frozen.

“I…” panted Tyler as he rose from his hands on his knees, “I was told to expect a monster, but all I see is a scared little girl. How long have you had your magic?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know when it started but it became a problem when I was little and it's only gotten stronger since. It suddenly gets worse whenever now...” said Hannah.

“What’s your name?”

“Oh! Uh, sorry. My name is Hannah Vandimion.” She put a slow emphasis on both parts of her name with a hand on her sternum.

“Alright, Hippo, your troubles are already over. You’re brought before me because everything else didn’t work—just follow my lead and I’ll solve everything. For now, I need to test something so don’t move.”

Tyler made a signal to Aaliyah who surrounded herself and the dads in a bubble of twinkling light. He then took out a battery and chucked it at Hannah. Purple lightning pranced from Hannah making the battery explode, blowing away the mist and propelling shrapnel and chemicals all around. Hannah put her arms up to shield herself while Tyler batted away the stray shrapnel with his fists as the mist returned. Hannah covered her mouth with both hands over what she had done.

“Everyone’s body goes through uncomfortable changes as they grow,” said Tyler with metal splinters in his knuckles, “some people get tall quickly, you happen to have an affinity for lightning. When I was growing up, I enjoyed boxing but I got too strong and had to hold back around others. So my dad brought me out here to fight with the animals instead.” Hannah lowered her hands from her mouth to her chin.

“You hurt animals?” she whimpered under watery eyes.

“That’s not the point. I brought you here because letting your powers loose is the best way to understand them. So go crazy.”

Hannah didn’t even realize that she had lightning until a few days ago let alone how to use it. She tried flexing really hard but all that burst from her was a tiny fart. She was embarrassed until she realized that either no one noticed or no one cared. She moved on to punching at the air, sending torrents of wind out through the force of her punches but still no lightning. The earth trembled under her gentle steps as she moved over to the trees on the edge of the clearing. She pulled at the tree and only managed to tear off some bark and land on her butt. She returned to him, wordlessly ashamed.

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Tyler looked at Aaliyah who then dropped the bubble just long enough for Hannah’s dad to leave before closing it again. He came over to Tyler and they were enclosed in another bubble together in front of Hannah. Her dad knelt down. Tyler whispered into his ear; he took a deep breath and nodded in approval, then was grabbed by his hair.

Hannah was confused as to why the boy was winding her dad’s head back; after her dad’s face was smashed into the wall of the bubble, it took a moment for her confusion to turn to shock, and shock to turn to terror. She looked to the Folious’ who had to turn their heads away. She came back to the sight of her dad, pulled away, blood flowing freely from his nose and mouth, then bashed into the clear wall again. Hannah, breathing rapidly now, took a step back, her face convulsing as tears swelled up in her eyes, then threw herself onto the bubble hard enough to crack it. Tyler held still at that.

“What are you doing!” Hannah bawled. The tears forming in her eyes were bursting and evaporating from the purple electricity; her hair and clothes danced to the static that was filling the air. Her dad coughed up more of his insides and put his hand on the ground to support what life remained in his body. She continued to tremble as she was only able to gasp at what she was witnessing. Now even the dirt was cavorting around her, galvanized by her overflowing emotions. Wild prances of lightning brought turbulence to the mist and tore at the ground and scratched the bubble.

“It was really irresponsible for him to bring his child out to the middle of nowhere, he must have been desperate. But now the only other place he can run to is what he was running from to begin with; what a dilemma,” Tyler rubbed the breathing corpse’s mauled face against the wall of the bubble and Hannah pressed her hands on the barrier that separated them, “this thing is too sad to be anyone's dad. It’s really no wonder your mom abandoned both of you.”

“No, you’re wrong!” Hannah lifted one hand from the barrier. She lost the feeling of tension in her muscles. The air seemed to pass through her, chilling her insides. Her surroundings, her past, and her worries about the future went dark. All she knew was what lay in front of her and every neuron in her body coursed with one impulse: I have to help him. A flash of lightning lit the darkness, and she lunged her hand forward. At that exact moment, Tyler threw the man back and raised his forearm.

An amethyst promenade lanced through the barrier and cleaved into the forest behind it. Thunder echoed throughout the mountains, the mist was blown away, and the trees and stones were shaken loose of their dust for miles around.

Lightning prances from the passing promenade had rent the earth with scorch veins, felled trees, and cracked boulders. A glance of a strike almost broke Aaliyah’s bubble. The air in the clearing was now a crackling concert of amethyst sparks. As the echo of thunder subsided, they could hear the stampede and flutter of fleeing animals rise to take its place.

Hannah thought that she would be swirling with dread more than ever—that she should be. That’s how it was every other time her strength—her lightning—was unleashed. But now, she felt both tired and unencumbered.

Aaliyah had already come over to heal Hannah's dad: she clasped her hands together and celestial light enveloped him. She fixed his nose and stopped the bleeding. Those were the injuries that Tyler gave him but nothing from the lightning.

That’s right. The boy disappeared after the blast. Despite what he had done, Hannah was still worried about what happened to him. Her eyes followed the trail of blood that led to his crash site. It was hard to make him out under the dirt but he clearly wasn’t moving. Now the energy was returning to Hannah’s body. Wait, wouldn’t it be seriously bad if he died? She looked back to Aaliyah who was still healing dad.

“Are you okay?” Aaliyah asked Hannah.

“I think so... but… you should be healing your friend first. He’s gonna die,” said Hannah.

“Naw I’m here,” said Tyler, which caused Hannah to jump from fright. She jumped again when she saw his wounds. Pulsating char covered his entire arm and was strewn in veins across the rest of his body. His cheek was torn away, baring bloody teeth and gums. He was smeared with dirt and blood. The tears in his clothes had welded with his skin.

“We are finished for today,” said Aaliyah, “please forgive my friend, he is a bit… crude, but know that he does the best he can, in the most unreasonable of circumstances that none other would dare approach.” Aaliyah always spoke so fancy that it made Hannah feel a little dumb, but that wasn’t important right now.

“We’re going to split up,” Tyler spoke to the group, “the toaster’s bloodhounds are definitely coming after that nuke. Vandimions will go back to town while Foliouses go out. My team can cover your tracks. When they question you, just tell them you only heard the thunder while you were making your way around the mountains.”

The dads accepted those terms. Aaliyah went with her dad back to the cars. Hannah stood still even as her dad tugged on her shoulder to leave.

“What, you wanna go again? I let you win for your sake; you’re never gonna beat me if I’m serious,” said the boy who was half charcoal.

“That’s not it…” Hannah whimpered.

“Then get out of here already!”

He turned his back to them and started stretching, squeezing out blood from his wounds. Hannah hesitated before following her dad. She turned around again and saw him take a running stance.

She reached out to him and that same arm whipped behind her in a gust of wind that lifted her off her feet. Tyler had dashed at her from so far away to grab her wrist. He was even using his charred hand yet had pulled with far more strength than when he tried to shake her hand.

“You got a lot more audacity than I thought, Hippo,” said Tyler.

“N-no, it’s just… doesn’t that hurt a lot?” tears swelled up in her eyes again as the typical Hannah returned, “and it’s my fault you got hurt… and…” she thought back to his burnt hand, “why would you let yourself get hurt to help me?” she finished. Tyler let go of Hannah’s wrist to let her fall onto the ground. He clutched at an area where his clothes melded with his skin and started peeling. Strands of sinews stretched between the cloth and his flesh. She looked up from her seat on the dirt. The sun had risen from its morning drowsiness and now crowned his mutilated body in radiance.

“This isn’t enough to hurt me. So why wouldn’t I help you?”