The hospital machines formed a constant noise that was well embedded into the background as Tori's mind was whirling in worry and chaos.

The concussion was so big it caused Nate to go into a coma. He had a broken back, four severed ribs, bruises all over, and at least three damaged nerves. Recovery would take well over five months, possibly a year. It has been over four days and Nate still didn't wake up. Tori's fears kept her up at night beside his hospital bed as she lay at his side, frantically hoping he would wake up. After ten days, when it was clear that he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, Tori decided to take matters into her own hands.

Nate's just helplessly laying there. I gotta do something or he's gonna die....I need to turn him. It's the only way, she thought, ending her thoughts in resolve. Tori looked up from her chair in Nate's hospital room and saw nobody in the hallway. It was around four in the morning; everything was quiet except for the low beeping and the slow traffic outside.

Tori got up and left the hospital, going over to the parking lot. She drove to a store where she purchased a brunette wig and a nurse's outfit. She parked the Hyundai Genesis in a desolate parking spot near some old dinky-looking buildings that were probably scheduled to be knocked down soon. She had brought the Hyundai Genesis with her because the Bugatti would only draw attention.

After changing in the car and disguising herself as a nurse, Tori walked the entire strip to the hospital, covering the distance by slipping in through the back and grabbing a roller stretcher. She even had an employee nametag on the shirt, Miranda. It had been snatched prior to leaving the hospital.

After smiling politely at a few doctors she passed by, Tori rolled the stretcher into Nate's room and closed the door. She went over to the hospital machines and unplugged everything, proceeding to remove the sheet off Nate before picking him up and placing him on the stretcher. She covered him entirely with a white sheet and opened the door, rolling him out.

There were only a couple nurses who walked by her as she rolled Nate out of the hospital and towards the parking lot. Tori ditched the stretcher in an area where she knew there wasn't any videocamera surveillance and removed the sheet from Nate, carefully scooping him up in her arms. She was amazed at how heavy humans were, yet she was able to easily lift him thanks to her new Iredescent strength.

The cold air hit her back as Tori glanced up to see any surrounding cameras before she draped the sheet over her to cover them both up. She carefully walked out, holding her Nate tightly as she continued walking a suitable distance. When she was far enough from the hospital and any prying eyes, she took to the air, her expanding wings dropping the sheet to the ground as she lifted and flew away.

She didn't stop until she reached the glass building in Wachstyen Forest. Tori got inside, the entrance automatically shutting behind her, and flew for the transformation room. She landed abruptly, her wings lowering as she placed Nate in a cylinder, touching his hair once before closing the cylinder. "If I can make you whole again, I will make you whole again," she said in a firm promise, and turned on the controls.

She watched his transformation from human to Iredescent. It took an entire day for Iredescent blood and elements to seep into a human's body, to fully absorb into its system and begin altering it completely. Wings didn't form until a little over halfway of being finished, and the person remained unconscious for about five more hours.

Tori stayed by the cylinder for most of the day, leaving once to change clothes and grab something to eat. She waited until the transformation was complete before placing Nate on one of the beds.

Not an hour after his transformation, Tori picked Nate back up and carried him out of the glass building with nothing but a thick warm blanket draped around Nate, flying fast towards his log cabin in a remote location in Switzerland. She landed on the firm snowy ground and went in the cabin. It was dark but cozy. Tori turned the lights on in one of the other rooms and continued to carry Nate to his room, setting him on the bed and finally dressing him in boxers and jeans.

She let him lay on the bed still unconscious while she got some food out of the kitchen. As she absentmindedly ate, Tori glanced over at Nate's room. She hadn't taken much time to really look at him, too pressed to get him to the cabin as fast as possible, but already he looked healthy and well. The color came back to his face and his body didn't feel as cold as it did when she took him out of the hospital. His body was slowly warming up as Iredescent blood and elements flowed through him, having penetrated every part of his reborn being.

I can finally build a future with him, Tori thought wistfully. We can have our own life together. Everything I want will become real.

Picking up her empty bowl and spoon, she took them to the sink and rinsed them before going to sleep on the couch. She slept fitfully until she heard the front door groan a little as it softly opened and footsteps stepped outside. Tori got up and followed Nate, stopping once she caught sight of her creation.

He had snowy white wings just like her. Light fluttery snowflakes fell gently on his close cropped hair and rested softly on his sculptured shoulders. He wore jeans that perfectly accentuated the curves of his body. His eyes were closed, his arms at his sides as he stood in a model pose, his back slightly facing her as his large white wings stretched out behind him like a bird's, mighty in appearance yet as soft as dove feathers. There were brown spots on them, reminding her of a fawn.

He is perfect, she thought, admiring him. She stood a few meters away in the snow, the log cabin behind them. As the snow continued to fall softly, he turned to fully face her, his eyes opening to reveal caramel brown irises. They entrapped Tori in its gaze to where she could see her own reflection in his eyes.

Her blonde hair was in a ponytail, her light brown eyes staring back at him. She allowed his eyes to trail over her white long sleeve top, blue bootcut jeans, and light brown boots before she spoke, saying, "Nate."

"Tori." His low husky voice betrayed the warmth and delight she felt. "What have you done to me?"

Tori blinked, not sure she was hearing him correctly. "What have I done to you?" she repeated, his unexpected question catching her off guard. "I've created you into a new kind of being. You're fine now."

"I don't want to be 'fine'," he said, disappointment in his tone. "Sure, I'm not in a coma anymore and my broken back is healed thanks to you, but I didn't want to become something I'm not."

"But you're perfect," said Tori, unwilling to let herself believe he was unhappy. "You helped me make my dreams come true. I want you to have a good life, so I gave you wings."

He came forward now, his large white wings imposing. "I'm no angel," he told her, a sliver of danger underlying his serious voice. "Giving me wings was a mistake."

"You gave me wings. It's only fair I give you yours as well," Tori said stubbornly.

Nate pinned Tori against the log cabin wall, his near instantaneous speed startling her for a moment. She looked up into his piercing eyes.

"I didn't ask to become one of your fantasy creatures," he said, speaking low and calmly. Displeasure poured beneath his tone, like oil running beneath an unlit match. "I loved you, but that was when you were still you. When you were still human." His grip on her tightened. "You became so obsessed with becoming the first human with wings that in the process you became something you weren't. And now, you're more alien than those aliens you've discovered."

"Nate," Tori half whimpered, almost in a pleading voice. "I just wanted to be a better person. A person without any weaknesses. Humans are so limited. We could do so much if we could fly."

"I'd rather be a human with a broken back and damaged nerves than a humanoid alien with wings and sparkly skin. Who'd you take me for, some kind of vampire? Greek god? You wanted to make mythological creatures real? Maybe it should've stayed what it was: a myth. But you've made it become reality. And now what? You gonna bring mermaids and unicorns to life too? Maybe some nymphs and fairies while you're at it?"

"I just wanna be with you. We can be together now."

His dark eyes were intense. "No, we can't."

"Nate – " Tori dropped to the ground when Nate released her. He turned and started to walk away when she rammed into him, hugging him close from behind. Turning him around so that he faced her, she urgently kissed him, gripping him tightly so he wouldn't go.

He hungrily kissed her, his even stronger grip hurting her, but she didn't care. She allowed his hand to go underneath the back of her shirt and rake his nails down her back, making her shiver with pleasure. She felt him lift her up and place her on the bed, the cabin walls blurring as she barely realized they got inside in just seconds.

He kissed her for some time, his body halfway on top of hers, his wings large and powerful behind him, before he abruptly pulled away and got off, breathing heavily. "I'm going back to Winchester," he announced while putting on socks and boots. He reached for his flannel shirt and winter coat off the rack hanging by the door. "I ask one thing. Turn me back."

Tori looked at him apologetically, feeling the pangs of sadness start to come over her like rain. "I can't," she told him in a quiet voice. "I don't know how."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Nate asked her in disbelief, his voice dripping with icy anger.

"I can turn humans into Iredescents, but that's it," Tori explained, feeling her hopes and dreams fading away with Nate's rejection. "I don't know if it's even possible for Iredescents to become human because of the n-r element that dominates over human cells. I only learned how to become like them and gain some of their – "

"There's got to be a way!" Nate shouted, pounding his fist against the wall. It left a big dent. "I don't want to be like this forever."

"But....I've wanted it to be forever," said Tori, tears clouding her eyes as she tried unsuccessfully not to cry. "I want us to be forever."

Nate just stared at her as if she were saying something ludicrous. After a long silence, he said, his voice rough but calm, "I didn't ask to become this – this whatever I am. Iredescent, irangel, I don't care. I did want a new start in life; just not like this."

He turned, facing the door, and just stood there for a moment, deep in thought. Tori slowly got off the bed and leaned against the foot of the bed, cautiously holding her hands in her lap as she felt worry tremor through her like shock waves.

Nate didn't want to be an Iredescent. He wanted to stay human. And that broke her heart.

It was too late to undo what she had done; they were forever Iredescents now, the way she wanted. But it was not what Nate wanted, and she didn't know what he was going to do now. He would have to accept his fate whether he liked it or not. She hoped maybe his new Iredescent life might grow on him after a while. Maybe he'll change his mind after a few weeks of carefree flying....

When she looked up, he was gone. Tori walked over to the door and saw Nate walking instead of flying, preferring to travel the human way. She stared after him as she let him go, watching the quiet snow drift around his wings and angelic form. I guess we go our separate ways now, she thought sadly, turning back inside.

The flight back to Poland was long and lonely, but Tori put aside all thoughts of their breakup and instead focused on irangels. She put all her energy into her secret research, often staying up late at night. When she clocked in at work, she went about her daily duties, but whenever she was at home, she pushed aside her formal corporate status and let her dreams soar, allowing her passion to take over.

She glanced up at the television news in the cafeteria at work, seeing criminals in a different light now. Instead of putting them in prison where they didn't do much except maybe public service such as cleaning trash off the roadside, Tori thought about putting them to her own use, maybe as her personal bodyguards or even raise a secret army. She didn't want the existence of Iredescents to be hidden for long but wasn't sure when to unveil it, so she kept her new Iredescent body hidden as best as she could.

It wasn't easy hiding her sparkly skin, even with powder. It was an ethereal, brilliant shimmer from another world. People noticed, but she brushed off any comments and had curt responses about shimmering body powder, in irony of the powder she used to try to cover up her sparkles.

Her wings were easy to hide because Iredescent wings materialized in use and dematerialized when not in use. She had no idea how it worked, but figured it had something to do with particle transfer. Iredescent science was a complete mystery to her even with the degree she held in that particular field. Regardless, she was thankful for that natural ability. Without it, my secret would be over.

The sparkly CEO led two lives, one a professional business life and the other a clandestine study of Iredescent lifeforms. Consequently, she had two different sides to her, and it aligned in irony to some of her work.

Even though she was rich and had everything she wanted right at her fingertips, Tori preferred living in a cabin in the woods than in her fancy mansion. That was why she built the glass building in the forest, because it was private and quiet. Away from people, she could freely do whatever she wanted in secret. Nobody would discover my secret research and lab work, she thought, reading up on the Meh scans.

Tori became too involved with her secret work and allowed it to consume her life, pouring all her energy into it after Nate broke up with her. With the knowledge of how to turn humans into Iredescents, Tori became intrigued with the concepts of abilities and wondered what kinds existed. She knew Iredescents had abilities because she saw them for herself; she just didn't know how they had abilities.

She didn't know that there really was no explanation to it; Iredescents either had abilities or they didn't. Most didn't, but certain genetics may influence whether an Iredescent was more likely to have an ability or not. The planet's fruit and vegetation, as well as their fresh clean water supply (not the oceans, but the lakes and streams), was just special nourishment for their superior bodies. The n-r element that naturally occurred in their blood made them shimmery and enabled them to have wings or fins. It was surmised that the n-r element was derived from Iredescent's dual moonlight.

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Music:

"Wenn sie träumt"
by Glasperlenspiel

(means "when she dreams" in German)

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