"Through hardship to the stars."
~Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

********************

Caleb

A few moments after Iris left, Lilly walked in. She smiled sleepily at me.

"How are you?" she asked, taking a seat on the one comfy piece of furniture in my entire lab: the couch.

"I'm good. I've been working all day. How was training?"

Lilly stretched out on her stomach. In a muffled voice, she said, "I just exercised more in the past five hours than I have in the last five years. I need a medic."

I smiled. "You came to the right place."

I got up and grabbed something from the fridge. I tossed the bottle to her. She peered at it suspiciously before asking, "This isn't some tranquilizer, is it?"

I grinned and said, "No. It's something most people our age can't live without."

"The only thing I can think of is the internet, and I'm pretty sure the internet doesn't come in the form of a liquid."

"Caffeine."

"I'll drink that." Lilly unscrewed the lid and chugged half the bottle before stopping. "I have no idea what I just drank, but it's delicious."

"That's Dr. Pepper."

"I knew I recognized it." She took another sip, savoring the taste. "How on earth did you get the formula for it?"

"One of my friends knew the original maker and brought it back here once it was in production back on your planet."

"I know this is going to come as a complete shock to you, but I have a question."

"Ask me anything you want. I'm at your disposal."

"I've noticed people only have one power. Can they have more than one?"

"They can, it's just rare. And extremely dangerous."

"Why?"

"The powers are usually extreme opposites of each other, which messes up the person's chemical balances in their brain, and it has... bad effects. In a nutshell, they go crazy. Some people try to hide the fact that they have two powers, so people don't report them, and they don't go to jail."

"That's terrible. Have there ever been any cases where a person with dual powers is okay?"

"There is. Usually, it's because the powers go hand in hand, like with Killian. He has strength and endurance, but even though they're different powers, they feed off each other. His endurance helps his strength and vice versa. Once in a while, a person with water powers might have ice powers as well. People with fire powers can have light powers. Even Healers can have light powers because most Healers, if not all, are completely on the light side."

"This is sounding like Star Wars with the light side, dark side stuff."

"Where do you think George Lucas got the ideas from?"

"You're joking, right?" I simply winked at her, and I could see the gears turning in her head, wondering if I was joking or not. However, she didn't prod further in that direction. "Okay, next question: are there certain powers that people don't like or are taboo powers to have?"

I nodded. "You know one already: Chad. Umbrakinesis is looked down upon because most people who have that power typically can't stay on the light side. When they can't, they're imprisoned. Mind control is a big no-no, and those people are carefully guarded. Most of them are good human beings, but there's been a few cases where they're not. Super-speed is another one. The speed, like having two different powers, can unbalance the chemicals in the brain."

"Can anyone be mind-controlled?"

"No, not everyone. The most susceptible are Healers. Not because they're weak or anything, but I've noticed they're more trusting of people. They always try and see the good in people. Other people are weak-minded, which makes them easy targets."

"What if someone is close to the person with mind control powers?"

"It can actually go either way. Again, I think it has to do with trust and how guarded the person is in the first place."

"Have you ever met one?"

"Yes."

"Did they try it with you?"

"Yes, they did."

"Did they succeed?"

"No, I'm too stubborn. The person tried it on me, Chad, Dylan, and Iris at one point but got nowhere. We knew what he was trying to do, and that helped. Also, again, those three are as stubborn as me."

"I'm sorry for all the questions," Lilly said suddenly. "I really hope I'm not bugging you."

"I enjoy the company. I promise. I've never had a recruit so interested in what I do."

"You mean people never ask questions when they come here?"

"They do, just not to a fraction of the degree you do."

Lilly blushed. "Sorry."

"Like I said, I enjoy it." I went back to my microscope, then to my notes on powers. I did this back and forth until I noticed Lilly had been strangely silent. I turned around to find her passed out on the couch.
********************

Lilly

Caleb woke me up for dinner. I groggily followed him up to the dining hall. Vivienne, Chad, and Dylan were already there. Iris joined Caleb and me while we in line. The two of them chatted while I tried to wake myself up. My workout kicked my ass.

The three of us took our seats with our friends. Vivienne was halfway done with her dinner already.

"How was your day Lilly?" Dylan asked as he shoveled six French fries into his mouth at one time.

"Long and exhausting. How about you?"

"Exciting. I was training half the day, burnt Chad's pants because he lied to me, and then I think I'm going to go see a movie later. Anyone want to join?"

"I'm game. I don't have any plans tonight," Iris said.

"Count me in. I need to get out of the lab," Caleb added.

"Lilly? Vivienne? What about you?" Dylan asked.

"Out of sheer curiosity about what your movies are like here, I want to go," I said.

"That curiosity is going to get you into trouble. What's the saying? Curiosity killed the cat?"

"But satisfaction brought it back," I finished.

"Until the cat runs out of nine lives."

"Then it's a good thing I have four cats."

"Twenty-five, and you're already turning into a crazy cat lady."

"Animals tend to be more loyal than people."

"Dogs are, cats aren't."

"I beg to differ."

Dylan dropped the subject. "Vivienne? You going?"

"Can't. I'm working overtime at the hospital," she answered glumly, "but thank you for the invite!"

"Chad?"

"No."

Dylan hung his head dramatically. Looking up, he said, "Dude, you gotta get out of your flat at some point."

"I go on missions, and I train. I get out of my flat."

"I mean other than my ship and the training center. When was the last time you went out and had a good time?"

"I'm not going."

"Fine, killjoy. Be that way." Chad rolled his eyes at his friend but said nothing else.

"Okay, I have to run. I'll see you later!" Vivienne exclaimed, practically running off. I watched her go. I'd barely seen her since I'd been here. The only times I did was at breakfast and dinner, and even then, that was only five to ten minutes at the max.

Chad got up a few moments later, walking off to some unknown place. When he was out of earshot, I asked, "Is he okay?"

"Who, Chad? Yeah, he's fine. He's always like that. I'd be more worried if accepted the invitation," Dylan remarked. "Okay, everyone done? I want to get good seats!"

Caleb, Iris, and I nodded. I'd never seen the city at night, so I got to take in the new sight. Truthfully, it didn't differ much from a city on Earth with the lights and people bustling to their destinations. However, the night sky was even grander and more impressive here. Two moons floated amongst the bright stars- one pale blue, the other white- casting a baby blue hue on Vasileia.

Halfway to the theater, a loud boom sounded far behind us. Dylan turned around, his body tensing.

"What's going on?" I asked as I saw everyone else in the street looking around.

"I don't know," Iris said. There was another boom, but this time it lit up the sky, exposing a wave of black dots. It took a few seconds for me to register those black dots were actually ships. Instinct told me they did not belong to Vasileia.

"Caleb, get Lilly and Iris back to the lab. Now," Dylan ordered.

"What's happening?!" I demanded as Iris yanked me away from Dylan, who had now flamed on.

"Enemy attack!" she shouted over the cacophony of other people.

"Why are they suddenly attacking now? They haven't attacked in a year!" Caleb yelled.

"I don't know!" Iris replied. We ran through the crowd at a breakneck pace. I was having trouble keeping up with them as my body was still mad at me for earlier. Nevertheless, I pushed myself, refusing to let go of Iris's hand in fear that I'd get lost or trampled by the panicking population if I did.

We arrived at the lab just when I thought my lungs were about to burst. Caleb turned on a massive computer while Iris shut and locked the door behind us. Caleb flipped a few switches, typed in a password, and put on a headset.

"This is Caleb Queen. Shields for the Queen's building are up," he announced.

"Roger, Caleb. This is Jax Martin. Shields for the training center are up."

"Jax, it's Iris. Where's dad?"

"He's here with me."

A bunch of other people checked in. A grid on the computer began lighting up, or dots on it did, one by one. Pointing to them, I inquired, "What are those?"

"Those the shield generator locations. Each building in the city has one," Caleb informed. "Whenever the dots light up, that means that shield generator is on."

"Who's attacking?"

"The Malkans. Of course, why they're attacking now, I have no freaking idea."

"What do we do?"

Caleb grimaced. "All we do is sit and wait until we're told it's safe."

"What about Vivienne? Is the hospital okay?"

"It's one of the most secure buildings besides this one. She'll be fine."

I bit my lip, not fully believing him, but knowing I had no other option but to trust him. I took a seat beside him. Iris messaged people on the computer; Caleb flicked between different screens, watching the fight. I watched with him, praying for the safety of the people of Vasileia.

"Caleb, turn the heating up, it's cold in here," Iris said. Caleb got up and did as he was told. The room suddenly got warm again. "Thank you."

"My lab's been weird lately. The heat hasn't been working properly," he said.

"Isn't that dangerous for a lab full of chemicals?" I remarked.

"If I wasn't so meticulous about where I placed the chemicals, it might be. But it's not, promise." Caleb paused before adding, "It'll be okay, Lilly."

"I've just never been in a warzone before..."

"We're safe here. I promise." Caleb put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I smiled gratefully at him. He got up from his post and grabbed a blanket and pillow. "Here, in case you want to go to sleep. It might be a while. and you look exhausted."

I thanked him, not thinking I'd actually fall asleep with my anxiety over the situation, but I underestimated my exhaustion. Within a few seconds of being cocooned in a blanket, I was out like a light.