Nayantara

Chapter Ten: Armageddon

I land on the stairwell where the floor of my apartment is without anyone seeing me. Eddie's contractors are hard at work fixing the wall. There are begs and piles of rubble in the hallway. The workers already have the hole squared off. At this rate, they can finish before night.

"Sam!" I say.

"You're back!" Sam says, walking out of the bedroom. She runs into me for a tight hug. "Thank god! How did your thing go?"

"Not good," I say, whispering. "Shar'I is unhinged. She offed another of those green things."

"Walk with me." She and I talk in private on the stairwell. "Can you check if there's people around us?" She says, touching her right ear.

"It's just us."

"This is getting out of hand, Nikki," She says, shouting softly. "If Shar'I and the people after her don't settle something, things will get crazy."

"I have a feeling I'll be stuck in their shit." I slam my head on the guard rail. The rail bends on impact. Some of the crappy black paint cracks and pieces stick on my forehead. "When I got my powers, I thought I would see what it would be like playing hero," I say as I try to straighten the guardrail. "All it has given me is pain, stress, and getting into someone's political shit."

"Yeah... You could be an awesome heroine." I shake my head to disagree.

"What have I done that was heroic?"

"For starters," she says before interlocking her hand around mine. "You've done a lot." She reminds me of my first time using my powers. Then, the rest of my adventures come to mind when I see them through a heroic mindset. They are nothing to brag about, but she thinks otherwise.

"No one will know what I've done."

"You don't need the admiration of people to do what's good, babe."

"What should I look for?"

"Nothing," she says, smiling. "Do good for no reason." Doing good for no reason sounds stupid. Yet, she has a better understanding of people than I do.

"Yeah, okay," I say almost letting out a chuckle. "That isn't me. I'm more of the type to help when someone is asking for it."

"That's a good start. Baby steps." I scoff yet smile once I realize there might be something good at the end of the tunnel for what I can do.

"Hey," I say after kissing the hand of the arm around me. "What would my name be?" She hums, tapping her finger on her mouth while looking at me up and down with her eyes.

"Elemental Pop," she says, popping the letter P.

"Sounds cool but I can only create fire and ice." I look around and check the steps before showing her a teensy display of what I can do. "Got any other names?"

"Skyfall. Because a meteor hit you from the sky." We point at each other almost simultaneously.

"Sounds good!"

"I still have more."

Sam lists more names that relate to something above or things coming down. I can be Heavensent, Bright Star, Shower Glaze, or Spirit,

"Gosh, now I really got to think," I say.

"Take your time. Your name can wait. You gotta see if this is the life for you, first."

Sam's words make me feel like how I was when I got my suit for the first time. I'm optimistic about the future yet not readily seeking after it. If my day comes. Being a hero is a stressful job that can have its benefits. Before I can be a beacon of aspiration, I have to acquire a selflessness mindset like Eddie's. Money can't be the only reason I want to help people. Even though it is great money and pays more than my regular job, I have to get away from that mindset. I'm better off striving for good than half-assing my way to glory.