The Golden Guardian

Volume 4: Sentry v. Public

I sigh, feeling Karla's hand on my shoulder. She speaks softly, "Maybe I can tell you about my powers first; give you time to search your mind and calm down." I nod and place my head in my hands, the fabric of my gloves rubbing against my face. It felt like every negative emotion of the day was simultaneously crashing down on me at once. 

I feel a powerful aura next to me, causing me to look up from my hands. I see Karla holding a palm-sized white stone in her hand. She looks down at it, and it disappears, presumably into her body, as the aura transfers to her. I look at her confused, "Karla, what was that?" 

She smiles weakly, "It's called a Moonstone. From what I know, it was created by ancient aliens to keep the galaxy safe." I look at her dumbfounded, "How did you even get it? Why would you want it in the first place?"  

She anxiously rubs her hands together. I can see her biting at her lip in thought. After a few moments, she speaks, "When all this power stuff happened, I couldn't let you do all of this alone. The other day after you flew off the roof, Natasha and I talked briefly." Did SHIELD do something to her? 

Some violent thoughts raced through my mind before she continued, "She was showing me a file they had on you, and while she was swiping through, a page on the Moonstone popped up. I took a picture of it and researched it after she left." She looked down at the floor, anywhere that wasn't my eyes. 

"Karla, what did you do?" The worry in my voice was strong and loud; now I'll have to worry about her wanting to do hero work. She rubbed her hands down the fabric of her pants nervously, "I tracked down the last owner of the Moonstone to a local psych ward. An old friend of mine worked there, and she got me in." 

I see tears running down her cheeks, "I was able to force it out of him, and it bonded with me." She breaks down and cries into my shoulder; I wrap my arms around her in a tight hug, "Karla, it's okay. Whatever it is, I'm not going to be upset." 

I feel her grip on my chest tightens, her voice barely above a whisper, "The stone was the only thing keeping him alive. After the stone bonded with me, he died! I killed him, Y/N!" I silently nod and hold her tight, softly hushing her cries and rubbing my hand in circles around her back. 

I lean my head against hers, speaking softly, "Listen, Karla, everything is okay. You had good intentions. How could you have known that would have killed him? Don't beat yourself up over it." Her cries grew quieter but more frequent, "I wanted to get stronger so I could be there for you! And look what happened, I killed a man! I did that! Me!" 

I clasp my hands on her cheeks, and she stops talking instantly, "Karla, look at me. Look into my eyes. No one is upset at you; I'm not upset with you. I killed a man earlier as well. Tore him apart atom by atom. Sometimes the right thing to do isn't always right. Those powers are better used in your hands than some geriatric criminal's." 

She pushes off my chest, a look of shock on her face, "Y/N! How could you say something like that? All life is precious!" I slide one of my gloves off, looking down at the palm of my hand. "This guy, this scum criminal you 'killed.' Do you think he would have survived if you hadn't taken the stone from him?" 

I can tell she feels the intensity in my eyes; she slowly slides her hand into mine. Her hands were hot and clammy. She was nervous or scared, perhaps both. She hesitates before she answers, "He could have possibly made a full recovery. Y/N, where is this coming from? This talk of killing, this isn't you."

I quickly stood up, causing Karla to jump back in surprise. I walk to the nearby dresser and stare at myself in the mirror. The same long blonde hair and my eyes were still the same deep blue as always, but behind them was something dark. It felt like staring into an abyss. Karla walks up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist and leaning on my shoulder.