Missing Home

Burn

Luz's POV

Grant was watching a God being born. He stood in awe as Luz spun the bat in her hands. She planted her front foot and swung, her form was perfect.

Winonia froze as Luz ran away. The back catcher's fingers twitched from within her glove. Bri was so shocked she forgot to move, her body trapped on third base as the ball bounced past her.

Amelia blinked slowly. She made eye contact with Grant as they stood still. Luz raced past all the bases and made her first home run.

"Did you just get decimated?" Bri asked in shock.

Completely lost, Luz sat helplessly at the table. Rich people flocked around her as reporters fired questions at her. Each eagerly awaiting her answer.

When Amelia had recommended Luz work for their baseball team, she assumed she would be a ball boy or water boy. Not the latest addition to a super team.

"How do you hit Amelia's curve balls?" Asked a man.

'I had to assassinate a teleporting maniac, curve balls are nothing.' Luz thought.

"I tried super hard." She responded.

"And what have you been doing these past five years?" The reporter asked.

'That guy looks familiar.'

"Just this and that." Luz answered as she continued to look at the man's scruffy blond hair.

"And is it true that your mother died of complications after you ran away?" He questioned.

'My mom is dead?' Luz's eyes widened. She looked at Amelia from the corner of her eyes. The green haired girl made a face as Luz recovered.

"No it was something else, sorry who are you?" She asked, pointing at the reporter.

The man looked up and saw a familiar face. He had bright blue eyes and an evil aura. "Hunter Grimwalker, reporter for the LA Emperors."

It took everything for Luz to not attack the man where he stood. But this world was filled with the doubles of everyone. 8 Billion people on Earth and Luz just happened to bump into their Hunter!

Hours after the meeting, the gang was sitting in a private conference room. Sitting on a soft purple couch Luz's leg wouldn't stay still. Her fingers twitched as she scrolled on the internet. Her hands shook as she stared at the face of the Golden Guard.

"Forget that scumbag." Grant said, sitting in front of her. "He isn't even a sports reporter so I have no idea what he was doing today."

Luz looked at the man with a frown. "When were you going to tell me about my mom?" She turned to look at Amelia, the green haired girl was leaning against a wall behind Grant. Her eyes darted away.

"I was going to wait for Lucia, but then I couldn't find the right time." Was the response. An excuse.

"So everyone here knew?" Luz asked the others, Bri and Winonia shifted uncomfortably as they avoided eye contact.

"We were with Lucia when she got the call." Bri managed to whisper as she slowly glanced back at Luz before looking away.

A familiar anger bubbled under Luz's skin. The tight knot of betrayal that hid under her positive demeanor. If they were on the Isles, then Luz's hair would have started floating. Her eyes would have gained a golden hue as the scars on her arms would come to life. But this was Earth, where emotions didn't have power, where magic was but a distant dream. Luz stood up, her chair falling to the ground with a thud. The anger was overtaking her now, her blood boiled as she turned and walked to the door.

The players watched helplessly as Luz grabbed the knob and left the room. Slamming the door behind her.

Amelia and Bri stood up to chase after her. But the green haired girl froze, which caused Bri to ram into Amelia's back. Knocking them both over.

Getting up Bri frowned at Amelia, she huffed as she looked, followed her gaze then froze, on the Door was a melted puddle of metal where the handle used to be.

She was angry, a familiar anger bristled under her skin as she slammed open the front door. Luz kicked off her shoes with force, letting them crash into the wall with a thud. But then her anger froze, it hardened under her skin in a strange fashion. The photo on her wall, the man she couldn't remember. Luz had lost the memories of her father, broken pieces of a man she was supposed to know. She was four when he died, fighting to protect some kids during a protest gone wrong. He was a hero, at least that's what everyone said. But as Luz walked around her apartment, she couldn't help but feel an anger burning inside of her. She spent years wishing for memories of her father, to meet him, to be as moved at his grave like Lucia was. But there was nothing there, Luz picked up the single family photo with all four of them. An image Luz had scavenged from Lucia's penthouse. He was tall, almost as tall as Lucia with broader shoulders and a beard. His grin was wide with slightly crooked teeth and dark brown eyes. She held the photo and felt tears prickling at her eyes, because she was alone. Her dad was gone before she could really meet him, Lucia grew up without her and her mom... Feeling a deep seeded rage from the depths of her soul, Luz hurled the photo at a wall, letting the glass shatter from the impact. Purple flames erupted from her mouth, smoking up her vision.

"Since when could I breathe fire?"

Luz paused, the anger subsiding with every breath. Confused, she waved away the smoke and looked around, her eyes darting around the room for an explanation. Then she felt it, the searing pain in her chest that overtook her insides. Running to the bathroom, Luz smacked the light switch and coughed. Violently lunging her body over the sink as purple blood was ejected from her body. It bubbled and hissed when it touched the water, confused Luz huffed. Her breathing grew erratic as she fell back. Pushing her back into the wall Luz watched as some blood droplets that had fallen onto the countertop began to sink, then it fell through hitting the ground with a hard splat as it burned holes into the floor.

Stumbling out of the bathroom, Luz grabbed her jacket before freezing. On the ground, in the ruins of the shattered family photo was a USB. With heavy breaths, Luz grabbed the memory stick and left. Rushing out of the apartment to get away from everything.