Silence

Chapter 15

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I wake up in a cold sweat, jolting up in my bed. It takes me a moment to get my bearings. It was so real.

I look around, and instead of the hospital bed and white room, I'm in a gray room in a real bed. I remind myself I moved into this room yesterday. Batman and Black Canary decided it was safe to move me into a regular room, since I seem to be recovering well. Though I'm not sure if being able to walk through walls and create fire in my hands counts as "recovering well".

The nightmare was the worst I've had in a long time. For three long years I've been trying to get them to go away. I thought they had, for the most part. I thought I'd gotten over it. Every now and then they'd pop up, but it's become rare. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, given the recent circumstances. I just wasn't expecting it.

Distorted flashes of my most painful memories replayed in my mind's eye. My subconscious changing what I saw into even more of a nightmare. Labs, fire, falling through floors into suffocating dirt, the car flipping, her lifeless eyes...

I stop my thoughts in their tracks. The all too painful memories are too much. I attempt to calm my nerves so as to prevent my powers from surfacing. But the dream is too fresh in my mind. I'm definitely not getting any more sleep tonight.

I swing my legs off the bed, deciding what to do. I check my phone, and it's 4:01 a.m. I inwardly groan and rub the sleep out of my eyes. My stomach growls, so I might as well get something to eat. I think I saw some leftover strawberry cake in the fridge. I grab my phone and walk out of the bedroom, heading for the kitchen.

It's dark, so I use my phone's flashlight to lead the way. Once I reach the kitchen (after a wrong turn or two), I open the fridge and retrieve the last slice of cake and a soda. I stand at the counter and start eating. I check my phone for messages and only see one from my mom from yesterday that I forgot to answer.

The images from my nightmare keep reappearing, and they won't go away. I turn on the kitchen light to hopefully curb some of them. I'm worried if I get too stressed I will fall through the floor.

Yesterday's training went fairly well. We focused mainly on my fire instead of density shifting, since Black Canary wants to wait. She wants to build one power onto another instead of learning both at once.

I've been able to summon fire in both hands, though the flames in my right hand tend to be larger. I haven't tried setting my entire body aflame yet, which I'm honestly relieved about. I don't need to experience that feeling again yet. After getting the hang of creating a fire ball, I practiced throwing it at a flame resistant target. I'm a terrible shot, but I'm getting better. However, my progress hasn't changed how I feel about them. As soon as I can control them, I don't plan on using them, if I can help it.

Most people would be thrilled to have powers, but not me. It's almost too much to handle as it is. My life was crazy enough without throwing pyrokinesis into the mix.

Why did it have to be flame? It burns, kills, and destroys everything. Watching the bright orange fire dance in my hand is both thrilling and terrifying. I've not even thought about what it'll be like to walk through a wall. I wish it would just go away.

I jump when I hear footsteps enter the kitchen. I turn to see a dark headed boy a bit older than me. It takes a moment to realize it's Nightwing, since he's not wearing his suit. He has on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. Dark sunglasses cover his eyes, making me wonder if he can even see in them.