Story: The New Girl

The New Girl
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Angel Falls
Angel Falls Medical Center
2013
2:40 PM

Reiko awoke with a start, the last thing she remembered was collapsing into Ms. Blitzen after having beat a bank-robbing armor-clad villain. Her whole body ached, her sinuses felt practically clogged shut, and to top it off... the young would-be heroine was STARVING. Having used her powers in such a fashion really burned off the calories... not to mention whatever energy she had left. It took her a moment to realize she was in a hospital bed, hooked up to an I.V. machine. Obviously the chalk-skinned Blitzen had brought her here.

Trying to get a better idea of her surroundings brought Reiko more pain, mentally adding the presence of a splitting headache to the list of problems. Sighing, she slumped back down in her bed.

Well Reiko... if you were wanting to find help... you more than made your presence to the city known. Finding help, or at least getting attention, shouldn't be hard now.

Hopefully that meant she'll get some food soon. Her 'condition' tended to play hell with her metabolism. Probably not helped by the fact that she wasn't well versed in the use of these... powers. Sighing, the young would-be hero reached for the call button, trying to ignore the pain in her arms as she moved. And once again her headache made itself abundantly clear to her of it's existance as she strained, finally grabbing ahold of the device. Slumping back down into her cushiony pillows, Reiko sighed as she pressed the button.

Hope it's something tasty... wonder if they'll let me have seconds... maybe thirds with the appetite I'm currently working on.

Instead of the nurse she had hoped would arrive, (with food preferrably) in stepped the woman she had met earlier... and passed out on. Ms. Blitzen looked relieved to see that Reiko was alright, as she had been slightly worried when the younger girl passed out on her.

"Hey there kid! Glad ta see you`re up and about. Are you okay?" she asked, sitting down next to the hospital bed. Her cheerful attitude made the weakened girl smile regardless of the situation.

"I'm okay... just pushed myself too much in the fight." she replied, before blushing "Sorry about... you know... passing out like that." giving a weak chuckle. Ms. Blitzen, Emily, giggled at this, trying not to blush herself. Without missing a beat, the fiery-haired Guardian changed the subject to a more pressing matter. The more veteran superhuman got a certain vibe about her young acquaintance.

"Are you... new to using your powers?" she asked, her face taking on a more serious expression. To this Reiko only blushed more, looking a little meek.

"I... Isn't... it obvious?" she asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable. The young woman then felt Emily's hand on hers, comforting... reassuring.

"Don't worry. I know some people who can help with that. If you want... I mean. We can talk to my mentor when you feel better. She's great at helping new superhumans learn how to better control their abilities." replied the perky heroine, smiling. Reiko tilted her head in confusion.

"You'd do that? For me?" she asked of the young Guardian. To this the chalk-skinned woman giggled.

"Of course! Believe it or not, I was just like you when Maddie... err... Phyrefrost found me." replied Ms. Blitzen, sitting back in her chair. Coughing, the exhausted would-be superheroine sat up a bit. Her back muscles felt sore, tired.

"Found? You mean you were... ?" she asked, connecting some of the dots in her mind. Emily nodded, a small pensive smile on her face.

"Yep. I ran away from the foster home I was in, and at that point in my life.. my powers were pretty unstable, hard to keep a grip on. I was a danger to both myself and those around me. But Maddie took me in... cared for me... and taught me how to gain control of my powers. I owe her more than my life for what she did... and I'm pretty sure she can do the same for you."

"Really?" asked Reiko. Would she, Ms. Blitzen, really do that for her? A perfect stranger? Emily smiled, that reassuring smile, as she patted the young superhuman on the thigh.

"Yes. Really. I promise." she said, standing up from the chair. "So... need anything else?"

Reiko's answer didn't take long. "Can you uhh... get me some food?" she asked, her expression brightening. Ms. Blitzen chuckled, winking as she turned towards the door.

"I'll see what I can do." she replied smiling.

"Uhh... maybe a couple of helpings?" chimed in the younger girl before the heroine left the room. A giggle escaped Emily as she walked out the door. She might need a wheeled tray at this point. Waiting for her at the end of the hall was an older woman, leaning up against a wall. Ms. Blitzen knew her well, as she was her afforementioned mentor.

Madelyne 'Maddie' Malone, aka: Phyrefrost.

"Well? How is she?" asked the veteran heroine of her young protege as she watched Ms. Blitzen head down the hall.

"Tired. Sore. Confused." replied the fiery-haired Guardian as she went to make good on her promise. "Hungry too." she chuckled.

“Don't worry then Sparkplug I`ll take over from here.” Maddie says. Emily stopped in mid-walk, turning towards her mentor.

“She has potential Maddie, real potential. I like her... her chances. And well... she reminds me of...  me. So there's the hope that we can be friends.” She says softly, trying to hide some level of excitement. Maddie smiles to her fellow Guardian. “I`m sure you will Emily. Reiko will be great for the Young Guardians program, you`ll see.” she says, winking at her. Blitzen nodded as she resumed her search for food.

Quietly, Maddie enters the room. Regardless of her caution (no need to scare the young girl) Reiko turned towards her with a startled... almost angry look on her face. “Hey! You`re not a nurse! Who the hell are you?" she demands, not exactly expecting to see a taller older woman enter the room, much less one wearing a black costume with gold flames. Her body was somewhat muscular, with large breasts and some type of metal casing wrapped around her chest which gave off a green glow. Her hair was shoulder length, strawberry blonde with white bangs. Her eyes were hazel with a jade shine.

Maddie grins, almost chuckling She IS much like Emily She thought. “Please calm down... Reiko is it? I`m Madelyne Malone aka PhyreFrost. I`m sure Emily told you about me. You know, Ms.Blitzen?” Maddie introduced her, following it up by extending her hand. Reiko arched her eyebrow, momentarily cautious. Then her face softened.

“Oh, yes, I remember her telling me of how you met." as she took the offered hand. "Sorry about that. Hi, I`m Reiko. So... you helped Emily and trained her how to control her powers?” she asks as she tries to sit up. Maddie held up her hand, stopping her as she herself sat down by the bed.

“Yes, yes I did kiddo. I found Emily when she was 14 while I was out patrolling. She had ran away from the foster home she was in... lost and scared. I took her with me, became her Legal Guardian... then trained her how to control her powers. Hell... at first, she would short out all electrical equipment without much effort," chuckled PhyreFrost, reminiscing to herself. "but I trained her to properly control it and soon after how to use her electrical blasts in combat situations.” She explained. Reiko sat in rapt attention.

“Whoa! That sounds exciting. So uhh.... how long have you been doing this?” she asks curious about her guest. Maddie blushed a bit,
"Oh... I have been training young heroes like you and Emily for nearly 25 years." now it was Reiko's turn to blush. "I was trained by a government agency called F.L.A.G. As for my powers, I am what is called an Omega Class Mutant; One that is capable of manifesting 2 power sets simultaneously. In my case, I can generate both fire and ice.” Maddie went on, and with her right hand... she formed a small ice statue of herself and Reiko then with her other hand, she forms 2 small fireballs which she flicks out of the window and hits an empty dumpster across the street.

Reiko turned a bit pale, not sure of what to make of all this that she's been told in the last hour. “You're uhh... not apart of some government program, are you? I'm not gonna wake up in some lab or something... right? Because if you are, I`ll make you regret it.” She said, glaring. Maddie gulped at this reaction, blushing again as she took a deep breath.

“I can assure you Reiko, right here... right now... that I am no government flunky. F.L.A.G. simply finds and tries to help train mutants with controlling their powers. I'm rarely affiliated with them now anymore, preferring to do such things on my own. I work primarily with the Guardians now in a similar capacity. I`m sure you know about them; They are a team of heroes here in Angel Falls that fight villains and prevent disasters to the city”. Reiko sighed, calming down.

“I know of them... hard not to know of the Guardians. As you might've guessed though... I`m new here in Angel Falls." she exhaled, looking out the window. "So... I`d be classified as a mutant?” she asked. Maddie nodded back to her.

"Yes you seem to be. But that's not a bad thing, Ms. Yates, far from it." said the veteran heroine, placing a hand on her leg, trying to reassure the youth. "And unlike the days of old, you have people you can turn to. There is a new program that's been set up with the city. It's something I'm leading, called the 'Young Guardians'. I, along with Lady Liberty and Aria, can help train you alongside other young heroes. With a little luck and patience we'll be able to teach you how to control your powers, while also showing you how the Guardians operate in the city. But you will be under my supervision until you become 21. After that, you're given the option to join the Guardians if you'd like... or become a freelance heroine. Either way, by the end you`ll have full control of your powers I can promise you that." as she stood up.

"So... Reiko... are you interested?" Maddie asked with a smile.

The young superhuman looked up at PhyreFrost, trying to decide what to do. Madelyne seemed trustworthy enough. If Ms. Blitzen trusted her, that should be enough for her. She had come here to find help, and here it was staring her in the eyes. Taking a deep breath, Reiko closed her eyes, and gave her answer...