would be a good
starting point for building a connection with the living, breathing storm that
now shared Val's body. But they soon found that not to be the case. The storm
was a feral thing, acting and reacting on a wild, emotional level, the polar
opposite of Dude's cool, detached demeanor. The Straylight entity acted as a
calming, rational force on Billy's human fallibility; Valerie, instead, had to
be that calming factor for the wild creature she now shared a life with.
It was not a battle she always
won, but today, sitting on a park bench in a dress Jane gave her a few weeks
before, a large summer hat covering her sky-blue hair, Valerie looked under
control. Today, she was winning.
Jane sat down next to her and
smiled. "How are you?" she said.
"Feeling almost human today,"
Val said. Her skin pure white, but uneven, changed colors like clouds, with
wisps of silver and gray mottling through. Her appearance shifted with her
mood. When they first met, she'd been dark gray like a thundercloud, lightning
dancing across her skin in violet ripples. The air around her always indicated
her mood, too, be it fury or fear, sadness or peace. Jane wondered what
overcast and breezy meant.
"Have you done that thing we
talked about?" Jane asked.
"I can't," Val said. "I've
flown over my parents' house a few times, I've creeped through their windows,
but I'm… I'm not ready for them to see me like this."
Jane put her hand on the back of
Valerie's, trying to reassure her.
"I want to tell you that someday
this will all be normal, but…" Jane said.
"I know. I'm beginning to be
okay with that. With not being normal," Val said.
"Where are you staying?"
"There's a lighthouse. An
abandoned lighthouse. I stay there sometimes," Val said. "I don't
sleep much anymore, so I have trouble staying still. I think that's the thing
that feels the most strange. Not flying, not controlling the weather, but… not
being able to sit still anymore."
"I wish we knew more about
what they did to you, so we could help," Jane said.
Val shook her head softly.
"It's okay. I'm figuring
things out on my own," Val said.
"Well, you know you'll always
have a home with us," Jane said.
Val tinkered nervously with her
oversized hat.
"I don't think I'm ready to
live like a normal person just yet," Val said.
"Trust me, none of us are
normal," Jane said.
"That's not exactly it,"
Val said. "I mean… I don't feel right indoors anymore. It makes me feel
cut off. I feel trapped."
"That makes sense, you know,"
Jane said.
Val nodded, almost to herself.
"I suppose it does," she
said.
A light rain began to fall. Jane
turned up her collar. Val looked at her apologetically.
"Sorry," she said.
"It's okay," Jane said. "So
I have something to ask you."
"Of course," Val said. "Anything."
"Something bad is coming our
way. We're hoping we can stop it before it becomes a problem, but if it does….
We could use your help again."
"You know, when you freed me,
I thought I was destined to be the villain forever," Valerie said. "I
thought they'd made me into something evil. That they'd made me into a weapon."
"And we've asked you to be a
weapon once already," Jane said. "I'm sorry for that."
"No," Val said, raising
her face to the air, letting rain splash against her skin, which had deepened
to a pale gray. "When Kate asked me to help free you from the prison, she
gave me a chance to be a hero instead of a villain. To be better."
"I think you've always had it
in you to be a hero," Jane said.
Val vigorously shook her head no.
"I never would've been a hero
if this hadn't happened to me. At best I would have been ordinary. At
starting point for building a connection with the living, breathing storm that
now shared Val's body. But they soon found that not to be the case. The storm
was a feral thing, acting and reacting on a wild, emotional level, the polar
opposite of Dude's cool, detached demeanor. The Straylight entity acted as a
calming, rational force on Billy's human fallibility; Valerie, instead, had to
be that calming factor for the wild creature she now shared a life with.
It was not a battle she always
won, but today, sitting on a park bench in a dress Jane gave her a few weeks
before, a large summer hat covering her sky-blue hair, Valerie looked under
control. Today, she was winning.
Jane sat down next to her and
smiled. "How are you?" she said.
"Feeling almost human today,"
Val said. Her skin pure white, but uneven, changed colors like clouds, with
wisps of silver and gray mottling through. Her appearance shifted with her
mood. When they first met, she'd been dark gray like a thundercloud, lightning
dancing across her skin in violet ripples. The air around her always indicated
her mood, too, be it fury or fear, sadness or peace. Jane wondered what
overcast and breezy meant.
"Have you done that thing we
talked about?" Jane asked.
"I can't," Val said. "I've
flown over my parents' house a few times, I've creeped through their windows,
but I'm… I'm not ready for them to see me like this."
Jane put her hand on the back of
Valerie's, trying to reassure her.
"I want to tell you that someday
this will all be normal, but…" Jane said.
"I know. I'm beginning to be
okay with that. With not being normal," Val said.
"Where are you staying?"
"There's a lighthouse. An
abandoned lighthouse. I stay there sometimes," Val said. "I don't
sleep much anymore, so I have trouble staying still. I think that's the thing
that feels the most strange. Not flying, not controlling the weather, but… not
being able to sit still anymore."
"I wish we knew more about
what they did to you, so we could help," Jane said.
Val shook her head softly.
"It's okay. I'm figuring
things out on my own," Val said.
"Well, you know you'll always
have a home with us," Jane said.
Val tinkered nervously with her
oversized hat.
"I don't think I'm ready to
live like a normal person just yet," Val said.
"Trust me, none of us are
normal," Jane said.
"That's not exactly it,"
Val said. "I mean… I don't feel right indoors anymore. It makes me feel
cut off. I feel trapped."
"That makes sense, you know,"
Jane said.
Val nodded, almost to herself.
"I suppose it does," she
said.
A light rain began to fall. Jane
turned up her collar. Val looked at her apologetically.
"Sorry," she said.
"It's okay," Jane said. "So
I have something to ask you."
"Of course," Val said. "Anything."
"Something bad is coming our
way. We're hoping we can stop it before it becomes a problem, but if it does….
We could use your help again."
"You know, when you freed me,
I thought I was destined to be the villain forever," Valerie said. "I
thought they'd made me into something evil. That they'd made me into a weapon."
"And we've asked you to be a
weapon once already," Jane said. "I'm sorry for that."
"No," Val said, raising
her face to the air, letting rain splash against her skin, which had deepened
to a pale gray. "When Kate asked me to help free you from the prison, she
gave me a chance to be a hero instead of a villain. To be better."
"I think you've always had it
in you to be a hero," Jane said.
Val vigorously shook her head no.
"I never would've been a hero
if this hadn't happened to me. At best I would have been ordinary. At
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