The Daughter of Iron Man

The Blue Light

After drifting in and out of consciousness for several hours, I finally woke up. I opened my eyes carefully and was immediately blinded by a bright light above me.

I was asleep on the couch in my dad's lab. One of his blankets was tossed over me, and he was sitting by me waiting for me to wake up. Bruce was further away, consumed by his work.

"Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?" He asked softly. His hand gently touched my face, brushing my hair out of my eyes. I groaned in reply, and he laughed lightly. "You're pretty dehydrated, here." He said, passing me my water bottle. I took it and guzzled the water greedily.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice raspy.

"You had a panic attack, and since you're dehydrated it took an extra toll."

I sat straight up, and my dad scooted closer to my side. "What?"

"I was going to take you to the hospital, but Vision examined you and said you just needed some rest." My dad replied. He grabbed my arm, and pushed me carefully back down.

"How long was I out?" I asked, rubbing my sore eyes.

"Not long, 10 minutes maybe." He replied. I blinked up at the ceiling.

"I used to have panic attacks. Did something happen to trigger it?" He asked carefully. I was very careful about my response.

"School's stressing me out. I'm not sure how I feel about this new private school, they're tougher on us than my school in California." I told him, which wasn't entirely a lie.

"I can start looking for a new school if you want to switch." He told me, and I shook my head.

"I'll finish out the year. We only have a few more months left. Then we can find a new one." He nodded in agreement, then stood up.

"Oh and by the way, why do you have cuts and bruises on your arms?" I froze.

"I fell down the stairs at school a few days ago. It's nothing." I explained a little too fast. My dad eyed me suspiciously.

"Alright, if you say so." He replied.

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After the whole skydiving incident, I decided to take a week off of running and training with Natasha. It was weirdly relaxing and boring at the same time.

Ever since that night, I kept thinking about the blue light. I couldn't get it out of my head. So, I decided I needed to figure it out. So Wednesday after school, I got a cab to take me out to the middle of nowhere where I could be alone.

I hiked out to the middle of a forest where I was completely secluded. It was the middle of winter, so there weren't any leaves on the trees. Sunlight reflected off of the light snow that covered the ground. Frozen leaves crunched under my winter boots until I reached a small frozen stream. It wasn't super cold, though my breath was still visible. I took off my gloves, and shoved them into the pockets of my winter coat.

I put my hands out in front of me, my hands shaking slightly from the cold. I tried to get the blue light to come.

Nothing.

I tried over and over again, trying desperately to get anything to come. I must have been there a while, because pretty soon the sun started to go down and it was growing darker.

I started feeling discouraged. I got excited about the aspect of having powers, and now I don't even know if they're mine. Maybe James had the powers and saved me? I have no idea.

I sat down in the snow and slumped back against a tree. My ears and nose were numb from the cold, and I knew everyone would be wondering where I was. So, I decided to give it one more shot before heading home.

Out of ideas, I closed my eyes and began meditating. I embraced the cold and allowed the cool breeze to hit me without tensing up. I focused carefully on my breathing. In, and out. In, and out. I allowed any thoughts of doubt or anxiety to melt away until it was just me, and the forest.

I put out my hands, continuing to focus on my breathing with my eyes shut. I focused my energy into my hands. Gradually, I felt my hands begin to warm up. Slowly, I opened my eyes, and there it was.

The vibrant blue light had returned, dancing around my fingers like dye swirling in water. It lightly lit up the darkening forest around me.

The blue light is real, and it's mine.