Astrid Stronghold, cousin to Will Stronghold, lost her father to a Sidekick turned Villain and yet she still chose to become a Sidekick. Lash Livingston, Hero turned Villain turned Hero, would do whatever it takes to save Astrid, if she was ever in...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Climbing aboard the bus, Astrid let out an audible sigh when the stripy nuisance accompanied her once again.
"You better not make a habit out of this," she threatened before a Senior interrupted the pair.
Arm wrapped around a smaller girl, the Senior explained that the Freshman had split her knee open after she tripped whilst running for the bus. Apologising for taking advantage of her skills, the Senior explained that no one on the bus had a plaster to stick on the wound. Reassuring both women that the whole purpose of her power was to help people in this instance, she swapped seats with Lash so as to easily heal the scrape.
Lash watched in fascination as the muscle knit itself back together, a new layer of skin forming as the blood stopped pouring and the wound cleaned itself of any gravel. All that was left was the red rawness of fresh skin. Pulling out a wipe, Astrid handed it to the girl so she could clean off the blood streak down her leg and smiled after ensuring the younger girl was all better. Waving off the gratitude, she reassured the siblings that it was no problem and she was happy to help with any future incidents.
Healing people always cheered Astrid up, knowing she had helped someone when they needed her most. Lash couldn't help but notice the sparkle in her eyes when she smiled, or the dimple in her right cheek and the happy glow to her face. Lash couldn't help but notice her.
Granted, she had always been cute but now he was noticing just how beautiful she was.
"You're staring." Astrid noted, cheeks turning peek as her form flickered in and out of view.
"You're fading," he shot back, chuckling when she disappeared entirely from his line of sight.
Only the warmth of her body notified him that she was still there. When she finally returned, the lovely pink cheeks had returned to their natural fair colour.
"That was pretty cool." Lash complimented, shifting uncomfortably under her incredulous look.
"Thanks. It's nice to – uh, it's nice to be able to help others."
"I suppose it comes in handy when you hurt yourself as well."
"Not really."
All warmth drained from Astrid's face as she was once again reminded of the downside of her powers. Confused at her attitude change, Lash probed further, asking why not.
"I can't actually heal myself," she admitted, disappearing once more. "Nor can I fix serious injuries. "
Her voice wavered slightly as she said the last part and Lash knew instantly what she was referring to. Living next to Stronghold women meant he had overheard some arguments between the two and Astrid's powers were a sore spot for Allison. Hand reaching out to pat her gently on the leg, he hesitated when he heard her sharp intake of breath and thought against it.
