Rising Hope

Full Moon

"I'm not a child. I'm not going to stand for being treated like a prisoner purely because I'm not like everyone else." I snap at them. I stop in the middle of the sidewalk, and Tony shoves me forwards.

"The moon is going to come up soon. I can't be out during a full moon. I have to go home!" I shout at Tony. Worry shows in his eyes, and he reminds me of my father.

Today was my fifth birthday. I was running to my father's lab, and when I get there, he is so startled that he drops the chemical he was working with.

"Alessa!" He scolds. The chemical makes my skin feel like it's burning, but it isn't. It is all over my arms, slowly soaking in, so my father starts wiping them off.

"I'm sorry dad." I tell him. I feel tears sting as I hold them back.

"It's ok, Alessa. I'll be done with work in time to celebrate your birthday, I promise. That chemical was made from a small blood sample Agent Barton collected from a newly captured mutant." He explains. I just sit in his lab on a metal table, waiting for him to finish work.

"She'll be in any minute, Nate." Barton says.

"Thanks Clint. Do we have any information on her?" My father asks.

"Well, Nate. She's one of yours. The missing one, that Claire gave birth to eighteen years ago. Megan Colette Heartwood is what she said her name was." Agent Barton explains. I see my father's expression change to fear.

"Tell Rogers to bring her in here, immediately." He says. I see the worry in his eyes. As Barton rushes off, my father turns to me.

"Alessa, I want you to find your sister if she runs away. I want you to stay with her until things get better, then I'll come get you both, okay?" He says to me. I nod, and then an alarm goes off. I run and pack a few things into my backpack. I follow the soldiers, and then they stop at a pier. Captain Rogers is there, staring down into the water.

"She's... beautiful." One agent exclaims. I walk closer, ignoring the other voices. The Captain and another soldier are in the way.

"She can't be stopped. Captain, do you have any of those darts from before?" An agent asks.

"Yes." He says as he hands the agent a dart. I want to grab it from him. I want to save her before they hurt her. Instead, I run. I run away, and hide in a hotel.

Someone backhands me in the cheek. I snap out of my daydream, and anger burns through me, like a raging fire. I walk towards Steve.

"You... hurt Megan!" I shout as I walk towards him. He probably shot that dart into her.

"She wouldn't comply. I did what I had to do, even if that meant I had to let that soldier shoot her in the arm." He says, trying to comfort me. I give him a 'how could you' glare.

"Hey, here's something you should know, my powers aren't a mutation." I calmly whisper to Clint.

"Then what were they?" Clint asks. He was close with my dad, so I guess I should tell him.

"My dad was working in his lab, and I ran in. The chemical spilled onto my arms, and it had partially soaked in when he wiped it off. You came in seconds later to tell him about Megan, and he told me that I should run if she ever escapes." I whisper to him. His face softens, and it doesn't register to me that I'm crying until he's wiping tears from my cheeks.

"Steve, what happened to Doctor Nate Heartwood? She deserves to see her father again." He tells Captain Rogers.

"I'm sorry, Clint. He died a few years ago from a heart attack." Steve says. I silently stare at them, shocked. He's dead. I can't believe he's dead.

"Alessa, I'm sorry. I-" I cut Steve off before he can finish.

"You don't get to be sorry, Rogers! Get away from me right now!" I cry. I feel the tears run down my face. I run away from them, and look for any nearby body of water.

"Alessa! Stop!" A woman says. I run right into her, and she hugs me tight.

"Rikki?" I ask. I open my eyes to meet her worried gaze.

"I'm here. It's okay. You'll be okay." She assures me. I stop crying, and wipe my tears away.

"How did you find me?" I ask her. She seems so worried about me.

"I swam here after I got your text. Ive been walking through the city trying to find you." She explains. I nod, and hear a series of footsteps. I grab Rikki's hand as I turn around. The Avengers stand about a yard away from us.

"Who are you?" Tony asks. I shoot him a nasty glare, and squeeze Rikki's hand.

"I'm Rikki, Alessa's..." her voice trailed off, "I'm her guardian."

"Rikki, we need to hurry." I whisper. I get on overwhelming sense of fear. The sun is nearly down. I follow her to the pier, but they do too.

"Where do you think you're going? We aren't done yet." Tony says. I really hate him, and the others do nothing.

"We're going home." Rikki says. Her slight Australian accent is audible. I dive in after her, and we both have matching tails.

"You're one of them, too?" Steve asks in shock. I pull her arm, trying to get her to hurry. She nods, and swims farther out.

"We would love to stay and chat, but we're leaving." I snap. They all seem shocked, but I start swimming away.

"Get to the boat!" Tony yells. They run towards a yacht, and there is a fishing net on board. They leave the docks, and I pull Rikki after me. I dove under, and Rikki follows. The sun is going down, and I know we have to either swim, or go back to shore. The fishing net hits the water. I watch it sink. I surface moments later.

"I see how this is going to go. Let the games begin, I guess." I say to the people on the boat, "Are you ready for it?" I dive back under, and spot Rikki. She's trying to cut the net. I shake my head, and point to the surface. We both surface, and I swim towards her.

"I can't break it, Alessa." She tells me. I nod, and point to the docks. She looks at me, and then at the docks.

"We have to get to my apartment." I explain. She nods, and we swim to the docks. I climb onto the docks, and flick my wrist. I gain my legs, and then Rikki climbs up. I flick my wrist again, and she gains her legs again, too.

"Hurry! They're almost back!" She yells to me. I pull her behind me, passing pedestrians and cars. The sun is almost down, and only a sliver remains.

"We're almost there!" I call to her. She nods as we enter the building. I pull her into my apartment, and lock the door. I start breathing heavily, and I throw myself into the bed.

"Alessa, we have to cover the window up a little more." She said as she pulled out some duct tape and spare sheets. I taped the sheets to the wall, and we sat down on the bed.

"Do you think they'll find us?" I ask, my voice shaky and uncertain. I trusted Rikki, she was like the mother I never had.

"No, they'll check the rest of the city before looking here. By then, you'll be gone. I can't believe they caught you, though. I know that you've been lucky enough to avoid them for years." Rikki says as she moves closer to me. She gets up and locks the apartment door. She turns off all of the lights and tucks me into bed.

"Good night, Rikki." I tell her as I drift off to sleep. I watch her go to the couch and lay down there.

"Good night, my little minnow." She answers.

I fall asleep to the sound of the city. I listen to all of the cars honking, and trains passing. I listen to the muffled sound of children asking for candy. I forgot tonight is Halloween.

Tonight was the first night in years that I felt like I was home. Tonight was the first night in years that I felt truly happy, and I never wanted that feeling to fade.