New Avenger (A Steve Rogers love story)

Paying A Price

Steve was now the man in charge. He needed to think about a plan to get onto the helicarriers and replace the targeting disks. I thought that some fresh air would do us both some good.

Steve helped me walk as we went outside onto the bridge of the dam. I inhaled deeply, enjoying the slight breeze. Steve looked at me and smiled. I adjusted my weight to my good leg and moved away from Steve. I wasn't sure how my fire worked, and I really didn't want to burn him.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Steve asked, taking a step back.

I looked at him and smirked. "Nope." I held onto the railing, using it as support while I found a comfortable position to stand in. "But I've got to try."

I closed my eyes and tried to remember how I felt when I first activated the flames. Surely they didn't rely on anger to bring them on all the time. I let go of the railing, concentrated on the flames inside me, then gave it a go, trying to create a fire ball or at least get my hand to become engulfed again. I expected to feel warmth wherever the fire was, but felt none. Confused, I opened my eyes and checked myself.

"Did you see any fire?" I asked Steve. He shook his head and I sighed in frustration.

This time, I tried with my eyes open, concentrating extra hard. After a moment, a small fire ball formed in my palm, and I could feel the flames in my irises. I smiled triumphantly. The feeling of creating the fire was amazing, and I quickly memorized it so that I knew what to do. 

I looked at Steve, who looked at me, his mouth agape. "Does it hurt?" 

I shrugged. "Not at all." I looked at the fire ball curiously. I did feel heat coming from it, but it was a comforting heat. "All right, we don't have enough time for me to master my new ability, but I can at least learn to heal myself." I thought aloud. 

I thought of where I wanted the fire to go, and successfully moved it. It looked a little sloppy as it moved, but as long as it reached its' destination, I didn't care how it looked. The fire snaked from one injury to the next, and I watched as it healed them completely, making it look like none of it had happened. It took about five minutes and a bit of energy to heal each wound. It was exhausting, but amazing. I watched it, amazed as it hovered above the wounds while it healed them. When the fire got to my broken limbs, I could feel it adjusting the bones and muscle, putting it all back in place so it could properly heal. The procedure was painful, and I fell to the ground. Steve moved to help me, but I told him not to. I endured the pain as the fire finished fixing my leg. The fire quickly reduced the cast to dust as it healed my leg. When it was done, I gasped, glad the pain was over. 

I put my fire out, stood up and tested my leg, bending it and straightening it, making sure it was healed completely. I adjusted my stance and stood on the leg, then took a couple steps. It felt as if nothing was wrong with it in the first place. 

Looking at my broken arm, I pulled the sling off and lit my flames, ready to go through the pain again.

"Why don't you take a break?" Steve suggested.

"No. We don't have enough time for a break. I need to do this." I protested. 

Without letting Steve say anything else, I let the flames do their job, mending the bones in my arm. Again, it hurt like crazy and took a lot of energy. I fell on the ground again and stayed down until my arm was healed completely, the cast turning to dust like the one on my leg. Once it was done, my fire extinguished and I gasped, clutching my arm to my chest. 

Steve knelt beside me. "Alexx, are you okay?"

I let go of my arm and watched as I tested it, flexing and relaxing my arm. It was fine. I looked up at Steve, feeling my eyes return to normal. "I feel great."