The Adventures of a Cosmic Girl: Vol. 1

Chapter Three: New Friends

Hi all, thanks for all the votes and comments! I really appreciate it. Just a quick note all Vox's dialogue is in italics to show she is using ASL. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

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"I think I have been talking long enough for now. So why don't you all go take some time to set up your rooms," Professor Good said, noticing his students glazed expressions. They had been talking about superhero rules, and policies for the last two hours. "Your bags have already been placed in your rooms, but they haven't been unpacked yet."

Betty had no clue how their belongings had been delivered without her noticing, she'd been in the base almost 24/7 all summer. She decided to put that mystery aside. She got up and stretched, feeling her stiff joints crack a little.

"Cosmic Girl, you have already unpacked, correct?" Asked Professor Good. Betty nodded unsure what was coming next. "Why don't you help Vox unpack?" He suggested, gesturing towards the girl, who had been heading towards the sleeping wing.

Upon hearing her name the teen hero turned around to face them. "That would be great. I could use the help."

Betty having no objection to the idea, followed her new teammate to her room. It was the same size as Betty's but Vox had far more stuff than she did. There were boxes of posters, pictures, clothes, books, and stuffed toys stacked haphazardly around the room. Betty felt like something would fall over even if she so much as breathed too hard.

Vox turned to face her "Would you willing to unbox the stuffed animals, and put them on my bed?" She asked.

Betty nodded "Sure." Betty carefully deconstructed on of the topsy-turvy box towers, to get to a box labeled 'stuffed toys'. The blonde girl hauled the box over to Vox's bed before opening it. It was filled to the brim with stuffed animals of all kinds. Betty's favorite was a purple platypus.

They worked silently. Vox obviously couldn't talk with her hands full, and Cosmic Girl thought it would be strange if she was the only one talking. After she unpacked the first box Betty looked up to see Vox looking at her thoughtfully.

"What?" The blonde hero asked.

"Well I don't need to unpack everything just yet, so I thought maybe we could get to know each other a bit better. We are on a team together after all."

"Umm sure... What do you want to know?"

Vox thought about her response for a moment before asking "How about we start with your real name?"

"Betty. You're Susan right?" Vox nodded

They both sat in Awkward silence for a while neither one sure to say next. Eventually, Betty broke the silence.

"So did you always want to be a hero? Or did you want to be something else?"

"No. When I was 12 I was really into musicals. I got the lead in my middle school's production of Peter Pan, but my powers came in during the middle of a dress rehearsal. The League had to send people to do damage control. I got sent to the academy after that, my powers were to untamed, and powerful for me to continue on with normal life. What about you?"

Bert shrugged "I've wanted to be a hero for as long as I can remember. It just felt. . . Right."

This was followed by another awkward pause. Betty started fiddling with her hands. Vox seemed like a nice person but that didn't stop Betty's social anxiety from acting up.

"How did you spend your last summer break?" Vox asked, breaking the silence again.

Betty felt relief spread over her, as her nerves started to die down. "I mostly hung out here."

"Your family let you move in early?"

Betty shrugged again "I don't really have a family. I don't remember any of my biological family, and my foster families never lasted too long. Having a super kid is a lot of work, and most of them weren't too keen on putting that work in." Betty had never been coy about her family situation. So what if she didn't have a family? It wasn't something to be ashamed of.

Betty was used to people becoming really flustered after she told them she was an orphan. They'd usually apologize, talk about how unfair it was, talk about how they couldn't possibly live without their family, but Vox surprised her.

"Did you get a chance to check out the city?" Betty blinked, surprised at the change of subject.

"I did a little exploring, but I spent most of my time wandering around the base. What about you? How was your last summer vacation?"

"It was good. I got to spend some quality time with my mom, before my life gets crazy."

It was a well-known fact that family tended to fall to the wayside during base life. It was the first step to becoming a real superhero, and most superheroes had little time for family.

"How old were you when you got your powers?" Vox asked.

"Dunno. I can't really remember much from before I was ten, just vague feelings. I can remember stuff like colors, how to read, geography, and all that stuff. But I woke up one day and I couldn't remember who I was. My foster mom at the time told me my name, and what had happened to my parents but I don't remember anything from my life before that."

Vox gave her a searching look "Did they ever find out why?"

Betty shook her head. "The doctors I've seen think it might be me representing memories due to trauma, but they're not sure."

"Is that what you think happened?" There was a knowing look on Vox's face, as if she had thought of something that Betty hadn't.

"I honestly don't know. I don't feel like I'm repressing anything, but isn't that how I'd feel if I was repressing something? And so far that's the only thing I've been told that makes any sense."

Vox looked as if she was about to ask another question, but she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"The prof says its time to meet back in the living room!" Called Pigeon, from the other side of the door.

"Thanks! We'll be right out," Betty called back. She could hear the boy's loud footsteps as he walked away. Heaven help him if he was ever on a stakeout.

"Thanks for helping me unpack," Vox signed.

"No problem. It was nice getting to know you." Betty meant it, there was just something about the other girl that helped to put her at ease. They both left the bedroom and headed towards the living room, to resume their first day of training.