A roast lay nestle amidst tiny baby carrots, a sprig of parsley at either end.   Mashed potatoes with a thick pat of now melted butter sat in their bowl and cooled next to the basket of fresh baked dinner rolls.  Mother and daughter occupied two of the four chairs, each silent, lost in thought.

               Shannon sat unmoving, her eyes closed. 

               The forest constructed in her mind went silent.  Her left hand tightened, her imagination feeling the thick leather wrapped grip on her long bow.  Cocking her head at different angles she strained her ears for the slightest sound.  Close, very close, pine needles compacted under a heavy foot…

               She nearly bounded out of her seat as the front door slammed against the entry hall’s wall.  Calling on long practice, she calmed and glanced at her mother.

               In the living room a folded newspaper hit the coffee table and slid to the far end, nearly upsetting the carnival glass dish of peppermint candies.  A huge man glowered at them as he entered the dining room.  He was wearing grey slacks, a slightly rumpled long sleeve white shirt and a blue striped tie he’d tugged loose.  At his belt was a leather wallet folded over to show the gold detective’s badge of the St. Paul Police.

               “You know what THEY did today?” he growled.

               Neither had an answer and both remained silent knowing he was going to tell them.

               “That bitch that calls herself ‘Northstar’ screwed up an investigation my department has been working on for SIX MONTHS!”

               She no longer flinched at her father’s bellowing but she still tried hard to blend into the pattern of the chair’s cushion.  Her mother, however, made sympathetic noises as her husband dropped into his place at the head of the table.  Immediately he stabbed a fork into the roast and began carving.

               “We had this perp under surveillance and here she comes, sliding in on the ice shit she makes, right through the front door!”  His carving was brutal as he continued.  “Before we could get out of the building, all hell broke loose and our perp makes a break for it.”

               By unspoken command both lifted their plate to him and he pile on the roast beef.  Shannon drew back a plate with easily twice as much as she could eat comfortably.

               “That bitch comes out after him and ices him to a goddamn car!”  He finished serving himself.  “You know WHY she was after him?”

               Shannon said nothing, staring at her plate and wishing she was in a forest someplace with a troll about to jump her.

               “She needed to know a dealer’s name!”  Her father finished.  “Now our whole case is shot to hell!  I’ll tell you, these damn meta freaks should be outlawed!  I say round ‘em all up and put ‘em in a camp out in the middle of some desert!”

               His voice faded as Shannon returned to the forest and the approaching troll.

               She awoke suddenly, some instinct alerting her to a change.  Before she opened her eyes she steeled herself then sat up in bed.  It was nearly pitch black.  Terror rose in her, clapping a cold hand around her heart.  Nothing but a tiny squeak came out as she opened her mouth to scream.

               Fighting for control she concentrated on the small amount of light she could perceive then threw back the covers and slid out of bed.  In two steps she was at the window and pushing the thick drapes aside.  Moonlight flooded a square on the floor at her feet and she felt her anxiety ease.  Pulling up the sash she leaned out into the cold night and drew in a deep calming breath.  It was just the night light burning out.

               Why did the dark scare her so much?  She was fifteen for God sakes!  It was a recent development, only about two years ago she’d been absolutely fine in the dark.  Now just thinking about it made her shiver.  Pulling her head back in she closed the window and switched on the desk lamp.

               Returning to the bed she positioned pillows at her back and sat with her knees drawn up in the warm cocoon of blankets.  Earlier that day she’d reveled in the brilliant winter sunlight.  Reveled?  She’d never reveled before but that was the perfect word.  She had wanted to strip off her clothes and lie in the middle of the patio and soak it in, it had felt so good.  It didn’t matter that is was just below freezing.

               She laughed softly, imagining her mother’s reaction if she had stripped down and gone sunbathing naked.  Shannon wasn’t ashamed of her body by any means but to do something so out of character would have sent her mother into a heart attack.

               The heat of the summer sun pounded down on her unmercifully as she lay on her tummy in the middle of the forest glen.  She smile, her eyes closed, as she caught the scent of sweat and man.  The hand touched her back at the nape of her neck and stroked her skin.  The touch sent a shiver down her spine.  Opening one eye she looked up to a figure silhouetted by the sun, his features indistinguishable.

               He leaned toward her, his lips pressing against the back of her neck, his hand moving slowly down her body . . .

               Shannon really hated it when she jerked awake, especially during such a promising dream.  Twisting she grabbed her watch from the nightstand and turned the face to the lamp across the room.  Two a.m.  She sighed.  No way was she going to get any more sleep.  Unwinding from the comfort of the bed she pushed the button on the front of her computer.  Pulling on a thick robe over her tee shirt and panties she dropped into the desk chair and tucked her feet up.

               The computer booted and she hit the icon at the top of the screen.  The start menu came up with an update notice and she sighed.  She’d forgotten it was Wednesday morning.  Hunkering down she balefully watched the two progress bars, one flashing, the other crawling.  Maybe this was the long promised update.  As it worked she began planning her morning’s adventure.

               The very first thing that happened once she signed in was a message from Captors.  Crap, she thought, did he have Shannon RADAR?  Captors was a girl in the game but she’d quickly figured out it was a guy behind it.  Girls didn’t make characters with huge boobs, tiny waists and a big ass.  That was for teenage boys.  As usual, Captors was in trouble someplace in the swamps and needed a cleric to resurrect his dead ass.  Shannon sighed.  There went all her plans.  She wondered how many times she’d die this time just because he like to take on mobs too strong for him.

               As she walked across campus the sun beat down, not nearly as hot as her dream, but still warming her.  It was a beautiful day, the weather idiots had predicted snow but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  Her step faltered.  A dozen yards ahead a tight cluster of ‘Populars’ broke up, two heading her way.  Hugging her books to her chest she moved to one side, allowing them a clear path.  They didn’t even give her a glance.  Once they passed she stopped and leaned against the wall, sighing.  Why couldn’t she be like that?

               The weather hadn’t changed when school let out and Shannon decided to do something her father would never approve of, walk home.  It wasn’t really that far, about two miles, and this was St. Paul, not exactly the crime capital of the world.  Most of the way was lined with commercial buildings except for the last half mile when she would enter her own subdivision.  Besides, 7-11 was about half way and she felt like some orange juice.  Must be the sunshine making her think of Florida.

               Two men ploughed into her as she stepped up to the 7-11’s doors, knocking her sprawling.  Both came down hard on top of her.

               “Stupid BITCH!” one said and drew back a fist.

               The blow made her see stars but she didn’t lose consciousness.  The second kneed her in the stomach as he struggled to his feet, a gun in one hand.  He pointed it down at her and she thought she was going to die.  She covered her face with her hands not wanting to see death coming.  All the heat of the sun rushed out of her and she wondered if that was what is felt like to die.  It didn’t hurt, in fact, it kinda felt ... good.

               Screams of pain startled her and she uncovered.  Both men were dancing around her, their clothes on fire.  One began to run, the other dropped and rolled on the ground.  Then she realized she too, was on fire.  For a long moment she waited for the pain to hit her but none came.  Scrambling to her feet she caught her reflection in the stores plate glass window.

               First, she was bathed from head to toe in a brilliant white glow, like the sun.  Second, she was stark naked.  Hunching down she tried to cover herself with her hands as she ran around to the back of the building.  Crouching low she leaned against a dumpster hoping to keep out of sight but knowing it was futile while she glowed.

               A soft voice asked, “Maybe I can help.”

               Shannon looked up at the woman dressed in the skintight costume of one of THEM.  That was how she thought of metas, THEM, her father’s influence.

               “Take it easy,” the woman said, kneeling.  She didn’t appear discomforted by Shannon’s glow.  “This your first time?”

               “First time what?” Shannon said.

               “Power manifestation,” the woman said.  “Its okay, once you calm down a little, you will feel how to turn it off.”

               “I don’t have any powers.”

               The woman arched an eyebrow.

“Oh,” Shannon looked at her glowing hand.

Sirens began to wail, approaching fast.  The woman looked around the area then down at Shannon.

“You want the cops to know?” she asked.

Horrified, Shannon shook her head.  “My dad would kill me!”

The woman put out a tentative hand and touched the girl’s shoulder.  Nothing happened.

“Okay, let’s move.”

Grabbing Shannon’s hand she pulled her to her feet.

“I sure hope you don’t melt me,” she grinned at the confused girl.  Then they were away, the woman skating of a sheet of ice dragging Shannon along behind her.

The woman was seated with her feet up, a streaming cup of tea in her hands, watching the girl.

“I can’t be a meta.”

“Sure you can,” the woman said.  “I am.”

As Northstar she’d brought the girl to one of her bolt holes and given her a set of sweats and tennis shoes.  She’d left her alone to dress while she brewed the tea then sat down to explain the new facts of life.

“What’s your name,” the woman asked.

Without thinking she replied, “Shannon.”

“You can call me Deb.”

An hour later they pulled up to Shannon’s house in Deb’s beat up Mazda Miata.  Three cop cars were parked in front of the house.  Shannon closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I am in so much trouble,” she said.

“You’ve got your story straight?”

They spent nearly half an hour concocting a story about Deb’s inadvertent drenching of Shannon as she walked past one of St. Paul’s ill-placed potholes.   The tracksuit, being new, had been purchased as a temporary replacement for the muddy school clothes while Deb had them laundered.

Shannon nodded.  “Thanks for everything,” she said and climbed out of the cab.

Around midnight her father finally allowed her to go to bed after hours of grilling her like she was a suspect in a murder.  She stuck to her story and at last he had no choice but to accept it.  She snuggled down and began to daydream, this time about things she COULD really do.

For the next few months she would regularly visit Deb as the older woman helped her learn to control her powers.  They thought they were careful.  They thought no one knew or would figure it out.  They were wrong.

Sunlight glinted off the gold as the man displayed his badge.  Shannon’s father scowled.

“So?  I got one too!”  He pulled his own badge from his belt and held it up.

“My name is Miller and I represent the President of the United States,” the man said.

After the yelling was over Shannon found herself tearfully clutching her mother as the man named Miller tried to hurry her along.

“I’ll call every night,” Shannon assured her mother.

“Don’t bother!” her father said.  He never even bothered to turn around and watch her go.

Her mother hugged her tightly, lips touching her ear.

“Go, make me proud,” she whispered.