At least I got plenty of rewards for that fight. Almost dying is worth it sometimes, am I right?

I groan as my arm twinges from pain. The healing that my gloves provide seems to be having some trouble with the fact that my arm was recently separated from my body.

“Are you ok?” Dee hovers near my arm, worry evident in her voice. Her eyes go slightly wide as she says in a quieter voice, “There’s lots of blood.”

“I should be fine.” I say, gently rotating my arm. “These gloves are pretty good at putting me back together.” Even with the injury to my arm, I could feel my body moving with a noticeable ease. My body feels more fit than usual, and I imagine that it has something to do with the recent increase to the physicality in my status.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and sigh when I see that the screen is slightly cracked. Again, I consider contacting Rose, Blake, and Damien about my quest, but… my most recent fight made it clear we aren’t ready for the monsters that are popping up in this world. I can’t have them follow me. If something happened to them I’d feel responsible, and I don’t want that responsibility.

Who’s to say that the guys could last one minute in Salt Lake? I don’t imagine guns will do anything against creatures that are already dead. Plus, Blake and Damien should just go back to school like normal. They shouldn’t be fighting creatures straight out of a horror film.

I put the phone away with a small smile.

This one’s on me. I’ll handle whatever this shitty game throws at me so that they won’t have to.

I’m sure they won’t like my decision, but I don’t really care what they think, mostly because they’ll be alive to think it.

“Elly?” A voice other than Dee’s calls from the door to my room.

I look up to see Elizabeth staring at me wide eyed.

“Is- Is that you Elena?” Eli asks, her voice becoming timid.

I realize with a start that I haven’t taken the mask off. I pause to consider my response. Should I tell her that it’s me?

I take a good look at myself and realize how silly it would be not to. A random girl wearing a mask, and covered in blood, standing in your sister’s bedroom doesn’t seem like a good impression to leave on my little sister.

Slowly, I reach up to remove the mask I’m wearing, surreptitiously putting it into my inventory. “Of course it’s me Sunshine. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“You- you’re covered in blood Elly.” Elizabeth says quietly. “And your clothes are ripped.”

“It’s nothing to worry about.” I say softly. “But if you could get me a wet towel to wipe some of it off, I’d appreciate it.”

Elizabeth nods, turning around quickly to run to the bathroom.

“Why didn’t you tell me she was coming to my room?” I ask Dee, slightly exasperated.

Dee smiles at me, not responding, before flying to the other side of the room.

Elizabeth comes back a moment later with a wet towel, so I quickly take off my shirt to wipe my body down.

Elizabeth watches me quietly, her hands wringing nervously. “Elly?” She says quietly.

“Yeah?” I respond, watching her from the corner of my eye.

“Does this mean you’re a superhero?” She asks, giving me a nervous smile.

I snort, laughter bubbling up in me at the joke. I work hard to keep it from showing, but I can’t help the small smile that pops up on my face. “I’ve always been your superhero Sunshine. The powers and the mask just makes it a little more official.”

“Am I a superhero too?” She asks, “I mean… I did shoot lightning.”

I pause, not sure how to answer, “I can’t say much Sunshine, but… Dee, can you show yourself to my sister?”

A moment later Dee materializes flies in front of Elizabeth’s face, making her step back.

“I’ve been having Dee here follow you to make sure you stay safe.” I say, pulling a clean shirt from one of my drawers.

“Nice to meet you?” Elizabeth says, staring at the fairy curiously.

“It’s nice to meet you too!” Dee preens in front of Elizabeth’s curious gaze.

“Are you a fairy?” Elizabeth asks with a small amount of wonder.

“An electric Faerie, to be exact.” Dee responds. “The best kind of Faerie.” She adds after a moment.

“Amazing.” Elizabeth whispers, before turning to me with a pleading expression, “So I don’t have superpowers?”

How should I respond to that? I can’t say no to that face. “Not yet.” I settle on with a nod. “But that’s likely to change in the future with how the world is changing.”

“Are you really ok Elly?” Elizabeth reaches out touching the arm that was recently covered in blood.

“Don’t worry Sunshine. I’m fine.” I say, grabbing her hand with my own. I give it a gentle squeeze before letting go. “That reminds me, I might be gone for a few days. If something happens while I’m gone, I want you to hurry back to this house, and lock the door. Don’t let anyone in, including me, unless Dee says it’s ok.”

Elizabeth looks at me with worry, “Where are you going?”

“I have to save the world from an evil genius. Same as usual.” I wink at her, giving her a tired smile as my energy starts to leave me.

Elizabeth opens her mouth to ask another question, but I stop her with a finger to her lips.

“I’m feeling really tired, if you have any more questions, you can ask Dee, I’m sure she’ll be able to help you much more than I can.” I sit down on my bed, gently laying down on top of the covers. “I think I’m going to catch a nap before my flight.”

I’m as good as my word, and I fall asleep fairly quickly.

****

My phone wakes me up at some ungodly hour in preparation for the flight, and it takes me a good hour to finish my morning routine, all of my stuff already packed in my inventory.

I check on my sister as I leave, happy to see Dee sleeping on her chest.

Breakfast is a quick bowl of cereal, and then I’m out the door.

I jump as Kai’Lenal leaves the shadows next to my house. “Are you leaving on a quest Beta Tester?” He asks calmly.

“I am.” I respond, rubbing my eyes out of tiredness.

“I see. Good luck on your quest.”

“Thank you Kai’Lenal.” I walk forward, getting ready to call an Uber for the airport. After a second of hesitation, I turn around to look at the humanoid lizard. “I would be very grateful if you would protect my family while I’m gone.” I say slowly, looking into Kai’Lenal’s eyes.

“Your family will be safe until your return… Elena.” Kai’Lenal bows to me as he speaks.

“Thank you. I know that I can count on you.” I smile at him.

The Uber ride is nice and quiet, leaving me to my own thoughts.

Then it is a long wait in the surprisingly empty airport. The plane, thankfully, leaves on time and I’m on my way to St. George.

Once we are in the air, I pull out the small statue of an angel with her eyes closed.

I study the hieroglyphs marking the small statue with some interest, managing to keep my attention on unimportant subjects for the majority of the flight.

When I arrive in St. George, it doesn’t take me long to find out that there are no buses, cars, or trains traveling to Salt Lake City.

Apparently the whole city had been cordoned off by the US government, and all traffic trying to enter the city was being stopped.

The sun was in the center of the sky by the time I’d checked every option. No one was travelling to the city.

Sitting alone in a small alleyway, I pull out my latest loot from fighting the Demon.

I sigh as I study the enormous wings. The wings themselves looked almost like bat wings, with their leathery feel and the claws at the tips of the wings. They were twice as wide as I was tall.

Carefully I pull a small pocket knife from my inventory. I study the knife for a moment, before cutting a small knick in my arm, suppressing the healing my gloves naturally wanted to do.

I drip the blood from the wound onto the wings, then watch as the wings seemingly shatter into motes of light. The motes of light gather together, entering my body through the wound I’d created.

I whimper slightly as I feel the blood in my body start to heat up, and I immediately activate the healing from the gloves.

A moment later, I am standing alone in the alleyway I’d found gasping for air. With a whimper, I take off my shirt, exposing my bra.

Blood spurts out of my back onto the walls of the alleyway as the wings unfold out of my back.

I put my shirt into my inventory, grabbing my mask and putting it on. I do my best not to cry from the pain, as the wings on my back gently flap, creating gusts of wind.

God-fucking-damn-it. Pain sucks.

Thankfully, my gloves keep the pain from affecting me too heavily.

With a deep inhalation, I spread my wings out, the movements coming to me naturally.

I exhale my breath and lift off, the g-forces making me feel faint as I shoot into the sky.

I hover in the air, as my wings catch on a current. Looking over the city, I find the highway leading to Salt Lake and fly over to it.

My breathing remains fine, and I wonder if somehow my mask is helping me breathe, or if the wings are performing some kind of magic themselves.

Flying is fucking fantastic! I’d really recommend it to anyone who has the chance.

A smile appears on my face as I fly through the air, the cold wind pressing against my face.

I consider taking the time to perform some fancy tricks in the air, but I want to get to Salt Lake as soon as possible. The sooner I get there, the sooner I can go home.

With that thought, I increase my speed and continue flying at speeds I really suspect my body shouldn’t be able to handle.

It takes me four hours before I start to see the wall surrounding the city. It seems that the government got their hands on some Beta Testers, because the dome of energy surrounding the city is clearly not scientifically made.

Before I get too close to the city, I land on the road leading up to it, pulling in my wings with only a small whimper of pain. As soon as I do, the cold hits me, and I hurriedly pull out my shirt, and a few extra layers of clothes putting them on.

Considering the dome surrounding the city, I don’t think I’ll be able to sneak in, which means I’ll have to ask to be let it.

Not something I’m looking forward to doing.

Hello! Yes, I’m a sixteen year old girl with superpowers, can you please let me into the city filled with evil creatures without any supervision?

As I walk up to the city, it doesn’t take long for someone manning the physical barricade to notice me. A black jeep slowly approaches me as snow starts to fall.

I do love the snow. It’s so pretty after all.

The jeep stops in front of me, and I stop in response.

The passenger door opens, and a man wearing a military uniform steps out, gun in hand.

“This place is off limits to civilians. Please turn around.” The man says, his gun staying pointed at the ground.

“Hello. My name is The Paladin, and I have superpowers. Can you please let me into the city filled with evil creatures? I need to go in there so that I can help save the world.” I say, giving the soldier my best smile. I wonder how I look to him with the mask on?

Beautiful, I’m sure.