Spectra

Chapter 14

Emily

"No. Nope. Never."

"It's the only way."

"That much solar energy at once could kill me." Lucas wanted to build a machine that would have the same effects as laying in the sun for hours but in under a minute. This would supposedly jump start my cells like the day the particle accelerator exploded.

"Do you want your powers back? It might be the only way. Now man up and let me do it." He didn't- he did not just say man up.

"Man up? That might be my least favorite phrase. Let's do this." I'll show him manning up. More like woman up. He took a sharp breath like he knew he messed up.

So with the limited materials Lucas found in my apartment he started building the device. The power luckily came back on meaning that our meta was somewhere else in the city. Anyway, within an hour Lucas called me and said he was done. I walked into the kitchen that now had tools and more scattered across the ground. I carefully stepped around everything to where Lucas had a strange contraption sitting on the counter.

"What the hell is that?" Lucas scoffed like I should know what it is.

"I strengthened the power in that old heat lamp and then added..." He went on and on about how this was hopefully powerful enough. But I droned out. How could a 17 year old just tweak old stuff from my junk closet so that they were as powerful as the sun? "Hey!" I blinked back to reality.

"Kay, hook me up." I rubbed my hands together, ready to get this over with. Lucas clipped these things connected to the other thing all over me. I had no idea how any of this would work.

"This might hurt a little."

"What?!" Before he could answer he flipped a switch and stuck something in my mouth so I wouldn't bite my tongue off. I didn't understand at first how the clips would work but somehow they started glowing so bright I couldn't look at them. My whole body felt like I was rapidly sun burning. I bit down onto the towel and yelled through it with pain. By the end parts of my body were pretty burned. The device turned off and I didn't want to move at all. It felt like I had held on to a pan that had been in the oven at 450° for an hour. Lucas crept over worried. "I hate you," I said through clenched teeth.

"Well? It worked, right?" He took a towel and unclipped me. I tried to create any light. My hand glowed ever so slightly then it went out. Lucas huffed. "Come on! Try again." He became impatient so I tried again. Nothing.

"Now what?" My voice sounded small and quiet. I was embarrassed, this was supposed to work and Lucas almost seemed mad at me that it didn't.

"Well, I don't know. This was my only plan." He sat down on a creaky bar stool rubbing his temples. "I guess we should go to my house. See if my parents found anything." I nodded. Lucas began cleaning up his mess of tools as I changed.

After getting to his house the "team" gathered in the lab. We filled the Marshalls in with everything that happened. Mr. Marshall seemed to have an idea.

"Maybe instead of applying the solar energy to certain parts of you if the energy is applied to your entire body at once." This option also seemed painful. My heart pounded.

"How?"

"I was working on something awhile ago." He motioned for us to follow him into a room that was filled his projects. We followed him to a futuristic looking capsule. "This, if put in the right setting, should give off enough solar radiation to restore your powers. Let me just start it up..." He found a control panel, pressed a few buttons and it started up. "You're sure you want to do this?"

I took a shaky breath and nodded. "Worst case scenario I die. Nothing worse than that." I ended my unnecessary joke with an awkward laugh before stepping into the capsule. I gave Lucas a teary smile before Mr. Marshall flipped a switch. The energy wasn't gradual, immediately I was blasted at all angles by the light. My skin felt like it was melting off. I yelled in agony as the searing pain continued. Then I felt different, pain was still there but my body was now fighting it. The pain lessened and lessened as I began to glow. This was it. My powers were coming back. The machine stopped and I felt strong again. I opened the door and stepped out. But everyone's faces dropped. Lucas almost seemed to stop breathing. I looked down at my lower body. I was invisible, I reappeared and laughed.

"Oops, it looked like I disintegrated for second there. But I'm good." The Marshalls all pulled me in for a group hug. I pulled away but Lucas wrapped his arms around me for a tighter hug. His suffocating hug stopped when the power went out. I glowed up the nearly pitch black basement using the little backup light and Lucas gave me a nod. I changed and smirking I ran outside.

Somehow I knew the meta could tell my powers were back. I was the biggest energy source in the entire city. A power line exploded and then my favorite power thief appeared in front of me. He had an evil grin on his face.

"Don't you ever learn? I absorb energy, you are energy. But by all means, blast me with your light. I won't stop you." He raised his crackling arms up. I smirked and shot a strong continuous ray of light at him. I felt him begin to take my energy but this time I fought back. My blast strengthened and his face dropped. He crumpled to his knees and yelled through clenched teeth. The light stopped and he passed out.

I followed my usual routine of bringing him to the CCPD, well, dropping him in the middle of the precinct. Then I started running back to the lab. Running past a bad part of town I heard a scream for help nearby. I skidded to a stop and looked around. A man held another man at gun point. Before I could react someone flew down from the sky. I saw her skirt and cape and realized who it was.

Supergirl. I watched as she punched the man with the gun and told the other man something. He nodded and dragged the man away. That wasn't how I would've handled that but sure why not. I ran over to her.

She spun around to me and smiled. "Just the person I was looking for!" We stepped into the dark empty alley. "I need your help."

"Oh god, I'm talking to Supergirl. Which was a stupid thing to say because you are standing right in front of me." My heart pounded as she laughed. "Why do you need my help exactly?" Why would a pretty much indestructible alien superhero like her need my help?

"There's a metahuman in National City that we have been trying to catch for almost two weeks now. He's telekinetic and can throw cars and do all sorts of stuff and it's kinda a mess. You've been fighting Metas for months now and I could really use your help." Her blonde hair flowed in the cold wind. I was still trying to get over the fact that one of my biggest role models was standing in front of me.

"Yeah, of course." I pulled off my mask. "I'm Emily. Just your average crime fighting high school junior." An awkward laugh escaped my mouth as I put out my hand to shake hers. She smiled warmly and shook mine.

"Kara." We exchanged numbers and before we went our separate ways she said one last thing. "Get some sleep, you can run over tomorrow to National City and meet one of my other friends who is looking forward to meeting you."

"Who?" I hoped that it was Superman but I didn't want to get my hopes up. Supergirl grinned.

"The fastest man alive."

Alright, I know it's short but hey! Supergirl! They next chapter or two will have some guests... Flash and Supergirl fans, get ready.

~Emily ~(^_^~)