AFTER CHURCH on Sunday, Alani, Grandma, and Ori go out to eat lunch at a little family-run diner called Cristo's. Normally the three don't go out to eat to save money, but after Alani "got a raise," Grandma decided it would be nice to treat her grandchildren.
The diner is a cute little shop with pastry desserts in a glass case and a menu full of American favorites—fries, burgers, and milkshakes. The floors are patterned with black and white checkered tiles that match the vinyl booths to create a 50s diner feel. Cristo's used to be busy all day every day, but ever since a McDonald's opened up across the street, the customers have been thinning out. Alani would never go to the fast food chain across the street in stead of Cristo's. Not only is the food so much better, but the environment is too. She has memories of coming here with her parents before Ori was born. She always got a chocolate milkshake that was bigger than her head and gave the owners a high-five whenever they came in.
Despite the outdated furnishing and old floors, Alani can't help but love the diner. It may be running low on profits, staff, and customers, but it will always feel like a home of sorts to her.
The TV set up in the corner next to the counter is the most updated item in the establishment. It constantly plays the local news channel with the volume down low.
During their meal, a news segment about Blackout plays. Alani can't hear what they're saying about her, but she tries to inconspicuously glance over at the screen to watch. A clip of her in her Blackout outfit comes across the screen as she stops a taxi from running over a child. Her black wisps stop the wheels and her hands fly out in front of her to help stop the vehicle quicker. It was a close call—if Alani was a second too late, the child would have been seriously injured.
Ori picks up a French fry and chomps on it happily. He glances over at his sister and follows her line of sight. Pointing at the screen, his eyes brighten. "Oh! That's the superhero my friends were talking about!"
Alani's eyes dart to her brother, startled. Grandma turns around in her seat and strains her eyes to see the TV.
Turning back around, Grandma says, "Superheroes aren't real, mo'opuna."
Alani bites her tongue and looks down at her burger. Ori frowns and argues, "But she has superpowers."
"Real heroes don't need super powers." Grandma dabs the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "People like her on TV do it for the attention and glory, real heroes do it to be good."
Ori nods and continues eating his fries. It takes everything in Alani to keep her mouth shut, knowing that if she opened it she would regret it. She's already on her grandma's bad side from the fight on Thursday and doesn't want to make it worse. Grandma and Ori eat their meal without a second thought of the hero on the news, but Alani's appetite is suddenly gone.
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Entrepreneurship class is different. Gwen still sits with Alani and sorts her glitter pens every morning, but Harry doesn't throw insults at her left and right. At first Alani thought he was just ignoring her, but then on Tuesday he asks her for a pencil. He doesn't demand one, and he doesn't call her a witch. Alani asks Gwen about it in between classes, suspicious she put him up to it. However, Gwen seems to be just as surprised as Alani at Harry's actions.
In a weird way, Alani kind of misses being taunted by Harry.
In Organic Chemistry, the teacher hands out a permission slip for a field trip next week to Oscorp in Manhattan, which is Harry's father's corporation. It's a company that everyone all around the world is familiar with. Workers at Oscorp perform chemical and genetic experiments that have contributed to the material students learn in class. Harry never mentions his dad or company, but everyone knows that the only reason Midtown even has a chance to visit the prestigious corporation is because of him.
Alani quickly forges her grandmother's signature on the slip before she forgets and tucks it away in her folder. Going to Oscorp is definitely not on her bucket list, but it's an opportunity to miss a school day.
After class ends, Alani finds herself walking out of the classroom next to Peter. He's looking down at the permission slip that also gives details about the field trip as he walks.
"This is going to be so cool," he marvels, shaking his head with a smile tugging on his lips. "My dream is to work at Oscorp after college."
Alani glances over at him, both stepping out of the room and entering the sea of students in the hallway. "You haven't been to Oscorp before?"
"No." Peter gives Alani a bewildered look. "Have you?"
"I mean, no," she replies, shifting her books in her arms. "I just thought that since you're Harry's best friend that he would have shown you around or something."
Peter shrugs. "Harry doesn't really like mentioning anything that relates to his parents, which includes Oscorp. So, no, Harry hasn't given me a private tour or anything. It'd be pretty cool if he did, though."
The two walk in silence for a few moments. Then, Peter turns to Alani nervously.
"Hey," he says, voice cracking slightly. Alani furrows her brow at Peter. "I just wanted to thank you for, you know . . ."
"What happened last week with Flash?" Alani suggests.
Peter nods. "Yeah, that. I'm sorry I haven't thanked you sooner for defending me, I've just been really busy and stressed out lately."
"Don't worry about it," Alani assures him. She moves her hair back over her shoulder and exposes her jaw. "Look, all healed—no big deal."
"Okay." Peter cracks a small smile. "Well, my next class is right here, so I'll see you later?"
Peter and Alani stop walking in the middle of the hall, parting the sea of students like the Red Sea.
Alani nods. "Yeah, see you later, Peter."
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Snow falls softly to the ground like little white feathers. Her breath fans out like smoke and fades into the sharp air. She can feel the brisk atmosphere nip at the bare skin of her face and arms, but she isn't cold; in fact, she's sweating. There is no sun in sight as it is blocked behind a thick layer of gray clouds above the flat snow tundra that stretches as far as the eye can see. It's an endless sea of snow that gets lost in the horizon.
All around her, the snow's surface is completely flat. There are no footprints, and she wonders how she got where she's standing without making any prints. It angers her. Her anger fuels a fire inside her heart, and it makes her boil even hotter.
She tries to run. Her black hair whips in the wind as she sprints as fast as her muscular legs will carry her. Looking back, her hair sticking to her sweaty forehead, she notices the soft snow she treads on doesn't indent.
With her head turned, she trips on an unknown object concealed by the snow. She lets out a gasp and closes her eyes as she falls forward. Instead of landing in snow, her body hits a concrete sidewalk.
Her eyes snap open. Around her, an empty city. The traffic lights flicker to different colors, but no cars occupy the streets. Every store is vacant and there isn't a living organism in sight.
She pushes herself up by her palms and rests on an elbow. Looking down at a puddle of murky water a foot in front of her, her reflection shows a younger version of herself. She recognizes it well. The image in the water is of her the day she woke up in a strange alley with her dark powers. The feeling of being cold, violated, alone, and terrified fills her. Her reflection's eyes turn black and start to leak an ink-like liquid that cascades down her round, rosy cheeks.
She quickly pushes herself off the ground and sways on her feet. Turning around in circles, she searches for anyone. Her mouth opens to let out a scream, but not a single noise passes her lips. Her fingers claw at her throat and up to her face.
Distant music and voices reach her ears. She strains to make them out and turns. Before her, where the vacant city once was, is the inside of Cristo's diner. It's full of customers from every age laughing, eating, chatting. A waitress with curly hair and a tray of chocolate milkshakes in one hand walks past her, their shoulders colliding. The force causes her to stumble back and turn.
Her eyes follow the waitress to a booth next to the window. A small family, one child and two happy parents, take the milkshakes with excitement from the waitress. The father pushes a milkshake towards their daughter with a red ribbon in her dark hair. She smiles wide in excitement, her plump cheeks dusted in freckles.
Her gaze stay trained on the parents. They look so happy, so content with what they have. They look at their daughter with love that she can physically feel warm her heart. It makes her sweat harder, a drop of the salty moisture dripping down her temple. The anger in her flickers back to life.
Why do they get to be happy? Don't they know what's coming? Don't they know they're going to lose their lives in a matter of days? Don't they know their daughter will have to raise their son with her grandma? Don't they know? What is wrong with them? Why are they happy?
Why can't I be happy?
"Alani."
She whips around, her fists clenched and her heart beating out of her chest. Her fury falters at the sight of the parents in front of her, giving her pitiful looks.
The mother, kindness in her eyes, says, "The anger in your heart warms you now."
"But it will leave you cold in your grave," the father finishes, setting his calloused hand on the woman's frail shoulder.
She licks her chapped lips and finds that she is no longer sweating, but her body is covered in goosebumps. Hugging herself for warmth, she asks, "How do I stop it?"
The parents simultaneously tilt their heads to the side.
"Stop what?" The mother asks.
"This!" Alani exclaims, holding out her arms with her palms to the ceiling to show her veins running up her forearms. The blood in her veins run black. "How do I stop the darkness from spreading?"
The father smiles sadly. "I'm afraid that's a question we can't answer for you."
Alani gasps and bolts up to a sitting position, feeling like she was just in water and came up for air. Her lungs fill with oxygen as her chest heaves for air, her heart pounding. Her eyes dart around her dark room.
The sight of Ori sleeping peacefully in his bed, his lips parted slightly and his hair tousled every which way, brings a sense a comfort to her as she realizes that she's just in her room. Letting out a deep breath, Alani lies back down. She stares up at the ceiling as she gets her breathing back under control.
She isn't able to fall asleep after the nightmare. Unlike most nights, she vividly remembers it all. She remembers the feeling of falling onto the sidewalk in the empty city, and she remembers the look in her parents' eyes. The dream haunts Alani throughout the morning after and the rest of the day as she goes through the motions at school.
Gwen notices her mood change, and instead of hounding her for answers, she lets Alani put her head down and nap in peace. In Organic Chemistry, Peter notices as well. He glances over a few desks at her and frowns at the bags under her eyes.
After class, Peter walks up to her while she's packing up her things at her locker. He isn't sure what to say, and he ends up just standing a few feet away as he struggles to find intelligent words.
All too soon, Alani finishes packing up to go home and slams her locker shut before quickly walking down the hall towards the doors. Peter watches her leave and sighs, wishing he had said something.
While Alani usually looks forward to putting her Blackout mask on and pretending to be someone else for a while, today she just feels off. Sadness from her parents lingers in her heart, as does an overwhelming desire to get rid of the darkness she feels every day. Even if getting rid of the darkness rids her of her powers, she'd do it in a heartbeat.
Alani perches up on the edge of a rooftop that overlooks Queens. She watches some of her classmates walk home from school and some stop by some sandwich shops for an after school snack. Her mind flips the words from her parents in her dream over and over like a broken record. She has them memorized, but she can't figure out what to do about it. She knows the anger is a problem. She wants to get rid of it. The problem is, she doesn't know how.
A familiar brunet boy catches Alani's attention. Her thoughts drift from her dream to Peter as she watches him practically skip into Delmar's Deli-Grocery. After a few minutes, he comes back out with a sandwich bag.
Alani knows it's a little creepy, but she follows Peter by rooftop. She wouldn't be doing it if it weren't for the fact that thinking about him seemed to get her mind off of her nightmare. Besides, she already knows where he lives, so it's not like she is stalking him for new information about himself or anything. She's simply using him as a distraction.
Alani makes sure that she's invisible while following him just in case he decided to look up. After a few blocks, the tall buildings thin out into houses. Alani underestimates the distance between houses and jumps without using her levitating powers. She smacks into the side of the house and falls on her back into some trash cans with a loud crash.
Peter jumps back and turns, eyes wide as he searches for what made the noise. Alani groans and pushes herself up from the pile of metal bins and trash. As she brushes herself off, she hears Peter call out, "Blackout?"
She freezes. Glancing down at herself, she notices that she is completely visible. Knocking into the side of the house must've turned off her cloak.
Alani turns to Peter and gives him a short, awkward wave. "Um, yeah." She clears her throat and tries to make her voice slightly lower than usual. "Hey."
Peter's head tilts to the side as he registers her strange voice. Alani sighs and steps forward, limping slightly at a pain in her right ankle. Peter catches the action and asks, "Are you okay?"
"What? Oh, me? Yeah, I'm fine," Alani assures him, stretching and doing a lunge. "Perfectly peachy, I just landed on my ankle a bit weird. But all is good, I heal fast."
Peter holds his sandwich bag with both hands and studies the superhero in front of him. He had imagined meeting her dozens of times in his head, though he didn't picture it to go quite like this. Remembering what Blackout has done, he says, "You saved my best friend on Halloween."
"Was he dressed as Danny Zuko?" She asks, although she knows the answer.
Peter cracks a small laugh. "Yeah, that was him."
"He was totally wasted," Alani adds.
"Doesn't surprise me," Peter comments, then says, "Thank you for that, by the way. And for everything else you have done around the city, I know you get a lot of bad press, but I really think you are a hero."
Alani's heart swells. She bites back a grin and says, "Well, I'm glad someone thinks so. And you're welcome, I'm just doing my part. It'd be kind of wasteful if I didn't use these." She holds out her hands and twirls thin black wisps between her fingers.
Peter is entranced by her powers. It's like meeting a celebrity. He clears his throat and awkwardly shuffles his feet. "I guess. Um, I'm Peter, by the way. It's okay if you don't remember my name later, I'm sure you're always busy."
"I don't forget names," Alani replies, "and I definitely won't forget yours."
Peter blushes. "O-Okay."
Alani smiles awkwardly. "Well," she says, clapping her gloved hands together once, "time for me to go fight some crime and whatnot. Have a good evening, Peter."
"Yeah, you too."
Alani, not really sure what to do next, just turns invisible. Peter's eyes widen and he looks around in amazement. She smiles at his wonder, flowers blooming in her chest. And if her thoughts are centered around the cute nerd for the rest of the night, no one has to know.