Meta and the Beast

Metability

                 It seems to me like we dance for hours and well into the night. Eventually we stop, finding ourselves walking around the palace and through the gardens, talking about life.

"I don't remember much from before Martin and Clarissa took me in, but I don't remember it being a happy life." I find myself admitting, "Once they welcomed me into their home, their life, their family, life got a lot brighter for me. I learned how to build things, possibly even better than the professor himself. I learned how to read from Henry, the local book-keeper, and was around other kids my age who I became friends with."

"That sounds wonderful." She tells me, a sad look in her eyes. "I am sorry that it is on our account that you will not be going back to that, not for a long time." She looks down to her feet as she apologizes, grimacing.

"I am sure it will not be all bad. After all, you have all been very kind to me." I find myself trying to reassure her. "I think I will grow to like it here just as much." It strikes me how honest this statement feels, I am already beginning to feel like I am right at home.

A bell chimes, and we look up towards the clock tower. "This will just take a moment." The words come out in a whisper and she moves towards the side of the open walkway. Reaching out from under the stone canopy, I see a pale blue mist come spilling from her hand. It's hard to see and I wonder to myself what she is doing.

"My mother, she did something quite some time ago that resulted in a curse being placed upon us and upon this place." She turns her head to look at me just when what I realize is snow begins to fall. "She went off to look for a cure to this curse, I know not when she may return. The snow helps deter people from coming this way, and usually keeps us hidden from the world. Before she left she told me that I must continue to provide the cover, that it is necessary for our survival until she comes back."

I move to stand next to her, watching as her eyes become downcast, and her shoulders droop just the slightest.

"Are you a metahuman?" The question slips past my lips before I can stop it, and I bite my lip. "I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"I try to backtrack but she cuts me off with a question of her own.

"What is a metahuman?" she genuinely looks confused as she looks back to me. Now I wonder if she is a metahuman, that someone told them they were cursed and she manifested her powers shortly after. That maybe her mother may have known this, and decided she didn't want a metahuman daughter.

"A metahuman is someone who has some kind of special ability that people don't tend to have, or is enhanced beyond what a regular person can do. Like Barry, he has super speed. Like me, I can produce fire." She blinks in surprise and I decide to demonstrate, lighting up both my hands and head in fire. She looks curious and hesitantly reaches forward. "Careful, I don't want you to get burned." I warn her.

"I think you may just be a metahuman." I tell her, "You create snow, is that correct?"

"Yes. Snow, frost, and ice." She affirms, her hand going through the fire and threading her fingers with mine. She has a curious look on her face, and I stare in surprise. "How are you?"

"I absorb heat, it keeps me alive and fuels my powers."

We stand there, she leans against the pillar and plays with our entwined hands surrounded by the flames. Absorbed by her own wonder, I don't stop her from doing so, not minding in the slightest.

Suddenly I recall my conversation with Henry, about how sometimes you need to take time to find the person you love. That you'll know when you find them. Refocusing I examine her face, committing the details to memory, and I realize I may be developing feelings for this girl I barely know at all, whose powers are the complement to my own.