INSOMNIAC

Chapter 3

If there's one thing that Tyson has never doubted in life is his certainty that people should never know what you're doing until you've finished, and he's done well because everyone watches him on tv every day, and see how he always has a solution to every problem. Everyone respects and looks up to him. Well, most people. Tyson loses himself in his train of thought and his golden cape floats behind him. It was early morning, and he was doing his final checks around the city. He had taken it upon himself to make sure that everyone felt safe and secure in their own homes. He floated above the last row of houses and started to turn back. As he turned, the sound of shattering glass reached his ears. He turned around, and saw one of the houses that's lights were on, was suddenly completely dark. Carefully, he made his way down to look through a window of the house. He saw a young girl, about 15 or 16 making her way into the room. He watched as she made her way over to her bedside lamp and put it in its place. Tyson shook his head and turned to leave. He cast a look back, and what he saw made him panic slightly. The girl was now holding the lightbulb, and electricity was sliding from her hand and into the light. Tyson quickly took out his phone and snapped a picture of the girl.

Verity jumped slightly as her 8th lightbulb exploded, and was grinning from ear to ear. If only she could harness even more power, imagine how powerful she would be! She stooped down ad swept up all of the broken glass pieces. Verity threw them in the bin downstairs and grabbed her notebook. Ever since she had discovered her powers yesterday, she had been writing ideas in a book. If she could somehow make something to help her control her power she would be able to do more than just light a globe. She opened up her book of sketches and notes and started on a new page. Verity recorded what she had discovered that morning.

Electricity: Transfers energy if directly touching the object. Too much input = damage. Also, damages if shot from a distance.

Verity closed the book once she was done and thought for a while. If she could somehow create an alias for herself, she would be able to help the Lightstalker when he does his heroic save the day stuff. Since she discovered her powers, she had a completely different view of the hero. She had done her fair amount of research, and as far as she could see, it would probably help him to have a sidekick.

Verity set a brisk pace as she walked on the sidewalk. She had popped over to the gadget store to buy a few things to test her powers on. She adjusted her packages as she walked, and one of the light globes fell out and rolled to the entrance of a nearby alleyway. As she leaned down to pick it up, a hand was put over her mouth and she was pulled back into the alley. Verity struggled all that she could, and the person holding her let go. Verity whipped around and put her hands in front of her, ready to fight whoever had brought her here. A man was standing in the shadow, watching her. Verity let out a cry and swung her fist at him. He caught it, pushed her back slightly, and stepped into a beam of light coming from the sky.

"Woah there, tiger," a man chuckled. Verity's mouth dropped open in awe. Before her stood the one and only Lightstalker. she continued staring at him, completely dumbfounded. He reached down, grabbed Verity's packages from her and retrieved her fallen globe.

"Wha-Why-What are you doing here?" Verity questioned, still slightly shocked.

"Look, kid, I saw what you did earlier today and that is not natural. You need training, and I'm probably the best shot you've got," Lightstalker said. "Your place is out of the question for training, and a common gym is even worse. So instead of approaching you there, I'm approaching you here. I'm going to you to my place so that I can show you the correct way to use your power." Verity processed this thought through her mind and realized that even though it was insane to say yes to this complete stranger, it was also very logical.

"Say that I agree," Verity started. "How do I know that this isn't some trick? I mean, I probably need help, but who says that you're even a good person when you're not in that suit?"

"I know this is sudden, but I can't risk you getting into the hands of bad people. They would brainwash you into their perfect weapon if they could." Lightstalker grabbed Verity's arm and started pulling her to the opposite end of the alleyway.

"Wait!" Verity exclaimed as he pulled her. "Where are we even going?" Lightstalker ignored her and carried on walking. When they got to the end, Lightstalker stopped, let Verity go, and checked that no one had entered the alley.

"Grab my hand," he commanded, holding it out to her. Verity looked at his hand, then his face, and then his hand again. She grabbed it and suddenly the world around them started flashing in various colors and shapes.

Everything suddenly came to a stop, and Verity was standing on a white marble tiled floor with walls that encased them in a wide circle. Everything was so clean that it all seemed to be shining. On the walls, there were stairs going in the circular spiral. On the roof at the top of the stairs was a silver chandelier and in the center was a silver table with a few random books laying on it. She gazed around in wonder at the scene before her. Verity looked behind her and saw a hallway with various paintings and a large ebony door at the end of it. She looked around for Lightstalker, only to find herself alone. Verity walked forward towards the staircase, only to hear a voice behind her.

"Sorry about that," Lightstalker announced, walking towards her. He pulled off his mask and grabbed a cloth from a random shelf. "Whenever I teleport the other person lands up somewhere different from me... Is anything the matter?" He asked. Verity was practically paralyzed by shock. The man standing in front of her was not only the famous Lightstalker but also none other than Tyson Glover.

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Once again, my thanks for reading!