Ch. 9: Indigo?

POV: Beatris

“My goodness, what happened?” A woman panicked as she rushed in.

“Mom, I told you what happened,” I groaned.

Mom glanced at the guys and back to me, “Are these the boys who… have powers?” She whispered the last part.

“Yes, this is Kyle and Dylan.”

“Nice to meet you boys, I’m Rose, Beatris’ mother.”

“Nice to meet you,” they replied.

Mom looked back at Ari and examined her, “Goodness, look at the blood on that bandage! I just can’t even imagine what on earth could do something like this.”

“That’s because they didn’t come from earth,” Kyle said.

“Excuse me?”

“Ignore him,” Dylan told her.

“So, you boys really saved them?”

“You should have seen them, mom, it was amazing,” I jumped in, “These giant monsters came out of nowhere, and BAM! Kyle swooped in at super speed just in time, and Dylan zapped them with his laser vision!”

Mom tilted her head and raised an eyebrow with a stern expression.

“Aw, come on, mom, you have to trust me.”

“You have to admit all of this is hard to believe.”

“It was hard for us to believe too,” Kyle said.

“I know you don’t know us, but do you truly think all four of us would make up such a story? It is a lot to take in, but it is true,” Dylan said.

Mom looked down and shook her head. She paused.

“What is that thing?” She asked, looking at the glowing prism.

“It gave them their powers," I exclaimed, "Isn't that incredible?"

“Sshh,” Dylan warned, “We don’t need the whole hospital to know we have powers.”

“Oops, sorry," I whispered.

“Oh-kay, why is it flashing?” Mom asked.

“Well, we think it’s choosing Adrian to be a hero,” Kyle said.

Mom pursed her lips and pushed her index fingers against them. Probably trying to decide if we were all crazy.

She huffed, “Ok, so what happens now?”

“First, she needs to touch the prism, and it will give her a power. Then, she will need to train with us to fight monsters like the ones that appeared earlier,” I explained.

Ari looked at my mom as she held her hand out, as if waiting for approval.

"No," mom said, "Absolutely not. I won't let Adrian put herself in danger running around with strangers to fight some other-worldly creatures. This is ridiculous! Look at the shape she is in after one encounter; how can I believe you two are capable of keeping her safe? How am I even supposed to believe your incredulous story? What if-"

"Mom," I interrupted, "I know you don't want to believe us, but it's true. And if Ari can get powers, she'll be able to protect us from whatever is happening. Isn't that worth giving it a chance?"

My mom took a slow breath and looked at Ari, "Adrian, are you ok with getting involved in all this, assuming it's true?"

Ari looked over at Kyle and Dylan, and then she looked to me. I gave her a reassuring smile. She may not have known it then, but I knew she could take on anything that came her way.

She met my mom's eyes and put on a confident smile, "I am."

"Then I'll support you."

Ari gave my mom a hug and turned back to Kyle, who held out the prism for her. As she reached out to touch it, the glow grew so bright, I had to look away.

“Ow,” she squeaked and shook her finger, "It shocked me."

"Oh, right, I forgot about that part. Are you alright?" Dylan asked. Ari nodded.

The prism’s light stopped pulsating and shifted to a different color. We all stared in awe.

“What color is that?” Kyle asked.

“Purple?” Adrian asked.

“You mean violet,” mom corrected.

“But it isn’t violet; it’s kind of blue-ish,” I said.

“But blue is my color!” Kyle said defensively.

“It's indigo,” Dylan told us.

“So what are my powers? How do I use them?” Adrian asked eagerly.

“That’s something we can’t exactly help with,” Dylan said.

“Yeah, our powers just sort of came to us the next morning without really trying.”

“I wonder what your powers will be,” I wondered aloud, “Oh, you know what would be cool? If you had that elastic power and could stretch out super far! Or, what if-”

“Hey, the thing is flashing again. What does that mean?” Mom asked nervously.

“Well, so far, either it’s choosing someone else, or there are people who need our help,” Kyle explained.

Dylan reached to touch the prism with Kyle, but nothing happened.

“Why isn’t the map appearing like last time?” Dylan asked.

“Maybe all three of you need to touch it,” I suggested.

He held the prism in front of Ari and she put her finger on; still, nothing happened.

“Huh, that must mean that it’s choosing someone else,” Kyle thought aloud. Everyone turned to look at me.

“What, me? No, no, no. I’m not a fighter! I would be no help to you guys; I’m not as brave as you are,” I protested.

“I’m not so brave either. I wouldn’t even be a part of this without Kyle's encouragement. There’s no harm in seeing if it’s you,” Dylan said in a calming tone.

I smiled, “Well-”

“No, Beatris, this is where I draw the line. This has already been too much to handle. I can’t bear you and Adrian going out there fighting monsters. Anything could happen, and I’d have no idea.”

“Mom, can we talk about this? In private?” I asked.

I pulled my mom into the hall and shut the door. There wasn't exactly a private place to talk, so I decided to just stay by the door.

"Beatris, be reasonable. You said yourself that you're not a fighter. Are you really ready to risk your life for the sake of strangers? That's a lot of weight to take on. I don't think you understand that this isn't just physical danger; there are emotional ramifications to putting other's safety in your hands."

"I know it's a lot, mom, but who says I can't do it? Aren't you supposed to believe in me?" I asked.

Mom sighed, "Beatris, of course I believe in you, but I also want what's best for you, and I can't say I think this is good for you."

"Why were you able to be supportive of Ari but it's so out of the question for me to be good at something like this? Do you think she's more capable than I am?"

"No, of course not honey, but Adrian hasn't had the easiest life. As much as I want her to be safe, I think it could benefit her to take care of others and see new places. And let's face it, she isn't always necessarily safe at home." Mom's expression dropped.

"But wouldn't you feel better if I was by her side? We'd look out for each other; you know that."

"I don't like the idea of you being in danger when I'm not around. A mom's job is to make sure her children are safe; not to send them off to life-threatening situations and sit at home waiting for them to come back."

"You didn't see what Kyle and Dylan are capable of. With the four of us together, we'll be even stronger!"

"Even so, Adrian still got hurt, badly."

"Today was their first time fighting for real. There's got to be a learning curve for something like that. If we have time to train, who knows what we'd be capable of? There's always going to be danger, especially if we're going to be seeing more of those monsters. Wouldn't you rather me be ready to defend myself?"

My mom paused to examine my face, "And you really want to be a part of that? Knowing what you witnessed today is going to be part of your life?"

"Mom, I've been waiting my whole life to do something with myself that wasn't just going to and from school. I'm ready to do more, to be more. I just needed a push. When the monsters came today, I froze, and when Ari got hurt, I didn't know what to do, but I still rushed in to do what I could. If I can learn to truly help people, I'm going to do it."

Mom was biting her lips, holding back tears. I gave her a hug; she wrapped her arms around me and bent her head down to my ear, "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. I want you to know that I believe in you, but as your mom, I'm always going to be worried for your safety."

"I know, mom, thank you."

"I love you, Beatris."

"I love you too, mom."

Mom kissed the top of my head and let go. Then, we both wiped some tears from our eyes before rejoining the others. Everyone looked at mom, awaiting an answer.

“So what exactly does this mean? Do they have to leave and fight those awful monsters?” Mom asked.

“Well, we have mostly been playing things by ear. The monsters that appeared here weren't far away from where we live, but we will have to go wherever we are needed,” Kyle said.

“We live close enough that we could come tell them where we need to go on the way. We just have no idea when or where we will need to go,” Dylan added.

“And you’ll look out for them?” Mom asked sternly.

“Of course,” Kyle said, “and they will learn to use their own powers to protect themselves.”

“This is a lot of stress for one day," mom said, rubbing her temples.

“Tell me about it,” Dylan said.

“Why would this… thing choose such young heroes? It is incredibly dangerous and a huge responsibility. What happens when these monsters start appearing all around the world?”

“We don’t know a lot about our situation or what’s going to happen yet, but the four of us are a team now. We have to work together to protect innocent people, as well as each other. Whatever happens, I promise you that Dylan and I will be by their side to make sure they get back safely,” Kyle said.

“I still don’t feel comfortable with all this,” mom opposed.

“I won’t let anything happen to her, Rose,” Ari promised.

Mom sniffed, “I know. That's why I'll be ok.”

I hugged her again, “Thanks mom.”

I took a deep breath and reached out a finger. The rest of us watched in anticipation, and my heart raced with excitement when the prism shocked me, and I watched the glow turn purple.

“See? You’re one of us now,” Dylan said.

I blushed, “Well, purple is my favorite color.”

Photo Credit: Braxton Apana