City of Shadows

Team Star

(Brianna's POV)

"I've died and gone to fangirl heaven!" That was what Jasmine said the first time I brought her into the training room at the SIRA.

Honestly, I don't know what to make of the situation I've gotten myself into. What I'm doing might or might not be a mistake, and it all started when I told Jasmine that I could help her get in touch with Star.

Jasmine sat on her bed staring at me with eyes as wide as saucers.

"Do you really know how to do that?" Jasmine exclaims while eagerly hitting her hand against the bed. "I swear if you Star... whatever I have to promise or oath I have to make, count me in!"

I inhale sharply, I can't believe what I'm about to do. My entire life I've done such a good job of hiding my secrets. Only my family, a few select people at the SIRA, and Aurelia know. Oh.... my heart sinks at the thought of it. Aurelia knew about me being Star. Past tense not present.

"I don't know Star." I begin to say.

"What the heck?! Brianna Marie Lovelace! How dare you lie like that!" Jasmine scolds while glaring at me angrily.

I casually roll my eyes at her and say, "You didn't let me finish. I don't know Star, I am Star."

Jasmine stares at me with eyes so wide that they would pop out of her head if she opens her eyes any wider. "Are you serious? You had better not be messing with me. If you are messing with me, this is a very cruel prank."

"I'm not messing with you." I reassure her. Then just to prove it, I run a couple laps around the room at super speeds, before sitting down on the bed next to her.

"HOLY CRAP! YOU ARE STAR!" Jasmine exclaims, before suddenly fainting.

That was roughly two weeks ago.

Since then, Silver City has changed drastically. By now all of the people who were infected with the virus, which has been cleverly named the 'S Virus' in which the S stands for Super, are awake. Jasper's little sister Elliana is the only one who hasn't woken up yet, then again she had direct exposure to the device. And nearly everyone infected the S Virus began to develop super powers soon after recovering.

Before the S Virus, the SIRA had approximated that nearly 0.5% of the population in Silver City had powers. Now they are estimating that nearly 20% of the population has superpowers. Due to wind directions and travel, the SIRA also predicts that the S Virus will spread to neighboring cities, such as Myst City, Centropolis, and Riverhaven.

Due to the S Virus, the crime rates in Silver City skyrocketed overnight. Super powered people have been spotted committing various crimes from robbery and arson, to homicides and hate crimes. To think that people would use their powers to commit such heinous acts is appalling. It also makes my job harder than ever. Now nearly every crime I stop involves someone with some kind of power, and I don't have anyone to help.

I haven't seen Blaze since our fight. I've seen on the news channels that Blaze is still doing her hero work. Only now, she does everything solo. With the increasing crime rates, it would be nice to have her help. Speedsters can only run so fast until their problems catch up to them. I could probably ask Jasmine for help, but I'm still in the process of training her, and she definitely isn't ready.

Speaking of Jasmine, her training is going great. I ended up having to tell her that I'm secretly Star, but she promised to never tell a single soul. After 72 hours of debating, Jasmine decided on a code name for herself, Daydreamer. The SIRA is currently in the process of designing a super suit for her. So until Jasmine is ready, I'm on my own, at least for now.