Tempest: The Moments In-Between (#1.5)

Truth Be Told--Chapter One: A Jumbled Mess

Penn Benson

I clapped excitedly at the end credits of Doctor Strange. While it was not my first—or even second or third—time watching this movie, it still never ceased to amaze me. "Well, Des, can Marvel make a movie or what?" I grinned up over at her, watching as she shut our T.V off and began slipping on her platform sneakers.

"Oui." she confirmed with an approving nod. "It was certainly well done. I'm more proud of you though. This may have been the first time you did not quote a movie word for word." she chuckled as she teased me.

"Hey!" I shoved her lightly. "I can be considerate! It was your first viewing. And they totally nailed it!" I paused, thinking about what I just said. "Well... mostly. But I can't complain too much." I shrugged. "At its core it was the same, and really, that's all that matters."

Des smirked at me, clearly unaware of this hero's background. "I will take your word for it. Come, Petite. Let's get something to eat. I'm starving." she said, beginning to walk towards the door with keys in hand.

I nodded, following Des, but not before catching a glimpse of our reflections by the door. "Aye!" I pointed at our images. "Mirror dimension." I couldn't hold in my laughter at my own joke. I was laughing so hard, I was nearly crying.

I probably should have felt embarrassed, especially considering Des only looked mildly amused. But... sometimes... I just cracked myself up.

 "Hmm..." I thought aloud, finally catching my breath as we walked down the hall. "I wonder what real sorcerers are like. What do you think?"

I turned towards my roommate. At my question, she suddenly seemed really nervous. "What makes you think those are real?"

I eyed her suspiciously. "Oh, I don't know. Take a wild guess, Des." I lowered my voice, taking a step closer to her so only she could hear me. "When you think about it, why not, right? You're a were—sorry—Rougarou. I'm a superhero who gained powers off some experimental hokey-pokey-magical-Jello-O thing, and some of the villains I've faced so far have been less than human." When she said nothing to counter, I kept going. "Miasma was basically a manifestation of lead and poison, and Chaos... who the hell knows what she is. Not to mention, people with powers are suddenly popping up all over the place!" I squinted hard as the brightness from the sun assaulted my eyeballs when we exited the dimly lit stairwell. "Just the other day, Reese was telling me that he watched Channel 12 report on a group of kids that seem to control the elements just a few cities over. Who knows," I shrugged. "Maybe they're witches or something."

I got inside Des's car when she opened the doors. Once she was seatbealted in, she replied, "Witches don't have those kinds of powers." The instant she said it, both our eyes went wide.

"I knew it!" I exclaimed. "Tell me more right now!"

"Wait, what? No. I—" she tried to busy herself with driving. "When did Reese start watching the news?"

"Ah! Ah!" I wagged my finger at her. "WE promised no more secrets, remember? Now, spill!"

"Petite, i-it's really not that important..." she scrunched her mouth up in discomfort.

I could feel my brows push together at her response but managed to keep my tone leveled. "Of course, it's important. What if I run into one as Tempest? I want to be prepared."

Des stared hard at the traffic in front of her. Her trap shut tight.

"Seriously? You're still not going to tell me?"

She sighed. "Penn—"

"Stop. Stop." I put my hands out like I could physically stop her thought process. "Des, what is this about? Does this have something to do with that guy from a few weeks ago? You know, the one that was flirting with you on my birthday? What was his name again? Gatherer?"