Winter's Owl

1

It wasn't the cold that bothered her, or the fact that the ground was shaking with force; it's that an asgardian god, a man with a tight star-spangled suit, and a robot were fighting the giant bat-like monster that was terrorizing the whole town making her be the look out for her little brother inside their home.

The wooden house wasn't going to hold out long and when she looked outside as the debris spread she gulped, terrified to do what she has to do to protect her brother who hid under the coffee table in the living room. She looked out the window, her hands pressing against the shaky walls tight. The heroes had the enemy pinned against a building down the street, making her curious enough to walk towards the front door and place her hands on the handle.

"Calli, please don't go!" The heartbreaking voice of her little brother made her eyes shut in pain.

"Nothing will happen, Ben. Stay there. I have to look out to see if we have to run," Calli's firm voice made Ben stay down and obey his big sister.

The smell of smoke made Calli flinched as she walked down the pathway, using her arm to shield the black fumes surrounding the chaos. The neighborhood was deserted already and Calli was probably the only one, alongside her bother to stay back.

She looked in horror at how horrible and disgusting the monster actually was. The fangs showing through as it roared and screeched against the heroes in defense made Calli's blood run cold. The claws swinging around hitting every house and building was sending wood and cement flying around. Her house would easily be half a mile from where they had the creature pinned and she just wanted to get closer.

The fact that it was almost thirty degrees outside wasn't helping but Calli didn't care, she never did and she knows why. Her hands twitched as the anger inside built. The worry she carried for her brother made her chest heavier and her determination stronger, that is why, in her plain, plaid pajamas, she walked towards the creature.

She knew what it was, she knew what it wanted. That over-sized bat was an eku, a creature from a distant world that she was very familiar with since it was famous for haunting the minds of little children and infecting their dreams, turning them into inhuman nightmares. Eku's feed off of the pain they inflict on anything or anyone, that's why it attacks with no patience or actual goal except the hunt.

Calli never believed those stories though.

As she walked, another robot, similar to the one that was fighting the beast, flew down and stood in her path.

"Please evacuate immediately. This area is in a state of emergency," it said, as its hand was raised towards her in a "stop" form.

Calli looked at it and, for the first time in forever, a force inside her grew making a ball of blue light form in her hand and blast the robot in front of her. The robot launched and landed 40 feet away from her. She ran up to it and saw the giant hole formed in its center. Melted ice trickled down the robot, making sparks fly around it as it reached every circuit.

She was done dealing with the obstacles so instead of walking, she began to run. She ran as fast as she could which, for the average human, would be almost impossible. She got the creature in 30 seconds and stood right in the middle of the fight.

The god was the first one to notice a civilian right in the path, making his eyes go wide in shock.

"There's a civilian in the path!" He shouted, getting everyone's attention.

"These bots are useless, what the hell!?," the main robot said, flying around the creature to spot the girl right at the feet of the monster.

"I'll get her out, focus on that thing!" The suited guy shouted as he jumped down from a ledge and ran up to Calli. "Miss, we need to get out now! It's not safe!"

"I know," she said, her voice so plain and deep that the man with the shield looked at her with uneasy eyes. "Do you have any idea what that is?"

"I cannot disclose that right now, you need to get out," he grabbed her arm but she shoved him away so hard that he landed on a patch of grass a few yards away. "Guys! The girl is superhuman! She might be controlling the beast!" He yelled as he started running back again.

"Impossible! Nothing can control the eku!" The asgardian said and Calli just breathed in hard. As the blue lights started to form in her hands again the asgardian saw this and stopped attacking the beast in shock as he witnessed what was happening. "That's not... GET OUT!"

"What?!" The robot said.

"She's going to blast it! Go!" The asgardian started swinging his hammer in circles, flying away with it. The robot obeyed but still looked back confused.

"My little brother is in the wooden house half a mile away! Get him please!" Calli yelled as her body felt the vibrations of the force building up.

"On it!" The robot said, not looking back as it blasted away.

In that moment nothing around mattered. The fact that she broke her promise of never using her powers so easily worried her, but at the same time it was comforting. It was like she actually revealed herself for who she really is and now nothing can stop her.

She released the blast hard, making the monster take the hit with anger and sheer pain. She felt as every little bit of sharp ice and bitter cold made the hole in the center of the eku. It wasn't growling anymore as it's inside were already frozen solid, she was just taking out her 10 years without using her powers to good use.

As she stops and her powers faded into nothing the creature just fell back and landed on the large land of grass on the other side. Calli looked at her hand which they turned back to their normal color of pale white and sighed out. Then it came rushing in; all the feelings. The guilt, the sadness, the pain, everything she felt she hadn't felt it in ten years. Her legs started to feel the weight so they just gave out. She landed on her knees and her eyes started streaming down tears of every negative feeling in the book. Her screams were gut-wrenching, so awful, so horrible, that even the god of Asgard was feeling sorry for the girl that was probably the biggest danger to society, after his own brother of course.

"Calli?" The small and innocent voice of the 10 year-old boy who hid under the coffee table just minutes ago made Calli's feel her heartbeats again. She turned to look at Ben who was crying but he wasn't hurt, he was scared— scared for his sister.

"I'm s-so sorry, Ben.." she cried out as she hugged her brother tight. "I left you alone, I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine." His voice was small. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay..." Calli whispered out.

In the distance, the asgardian god, the robot, and the shielded man looked at the siblings cry and hug. They were curious except for one. The god of thunder knew exactly what she was.

"We need to take her, Tony," the god said.

"Yeah, no shit, Thor," Tony commented as the helmet shifted away to reveal a man. "What the hell did she do that we couldn't?"

"She obviously knew what it was," the suited man said, taking of his helmet as well.

"Of course she does," Thor started. "The eku is from her land."

"What? She's a Jotun?" Tony asked and then looked at the suited man. "Are you hearing this, Steve?"

"Well, if she is what Thor says then we have to."