THE FOLLOWING EVENTS AFTER SCHOOL HAD OFFICIALLY TURNED THAT FRIDAY INTO THE WEIRDEST DAY OF HER LIFE.

"No updates on the missing Robin front, in other news." The news anchor was saying when Aunt Maria strolled through the front door, looking exhausted and keys jingling as she threw them on the counter.

Solan hummed a short greeting, eyes focused on the TV, but her mind was still on her fight with Eli. She didn't even turn her head when her aunt sat next to her on the couch, even though the cushions bounced and her arm nudged into her aunt's.

Aunt Maria noticed the change from her niece's usual self. Her grey hood was placed over her dark locks of messy hair, and even though her eyes were open, they were glossy and empty, merely reflecting the TV screen against them.

"What's wrong?" She asked confusedly, correctly interpreting the shell her niece seemed to be in as some kind of depressive state.

Solan's tanned fingers absently twirled a strand of her hair, and while she gave her aunt an answer, her head remained trained at the TV. "Me and Eli got into a fight today." She said flatly, voice croaking and raspy.

The tone made Aunt Maria's nerves spike, as it was the first time Solan ever seemed close to tears while in her care. She moved her focus to her eyes, searching more intently for evidence of crying. Since the only light on in the living room was from the TV, it was easily missed, but there were bags weighing down the seventeen-year-old's eyes, and the usual whites were slightly red.

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry." She said sympathetically, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and gently pulling her into her side. "What was it about?"

"He… he thinks I'm depressed." Solan said, choosing to skate over the fact that he also thought she was dangerously depressed. She didn't need her aunt jumping down her throat about taking care of herself, either.

"And you don't." Aunt Maria guessed, earning a long silence in return. She took that as a 'yes', and just elected to be the comforter instead of pressing further.

Solan appreciated the lack of questioning, unsure if she could handle talking about it again. She herself still wasn't sure how she felt about it, continually weighing the opinions in her mind and wondering if maybe Eli had a point.

Aunt Maria wasn't sure how long they sat there, a little less than ten minutes was her guess, but she glanced at the orange sky and the pink clouds that signalled the end to the evening and the entrance of night. "Have you eaten?"

━━━━━━━━━━

Lucky House Chinese Food was certainty no Aunt Maria made quality dinner, but it beat making her aunt spend the first hour after her long day of work cooking for the two Martez's. And it felt nice to get out of the apartment and wander into the nicer part of the city, even if it was just for an hour.

Solan dodged question after question about her day, especially about Eli and Mr. Rameiz, and opted to listen to her aunt's recount of her day at work. She was glad she did this, because it seemed Aunt Maria's was just as action-packed as hers. Apparently, her car had been broken into again while at work.

Aunt Maria didn't seem as phased, more because nothing was taken. Not to mention she had lived the past ten years in this city, and it was hardly the first time someone decided to search her car for stealable items. She waved her niece's concern aside, laughing about how whatever thief tried to victimize her beloved car must have been disappointed when they found out there was nothing to steal.

When they had finished dinner, they spent some time driving around the city while Solan finally shared a little more detail to her day, about something other than her fight with Eli. She told her more about Mr. Rameiz and his weird rushing her out. She explained her dreams with detail and got her aunt's opinion on what it could be. Aunt Maria was no dream interpreter, but they had a good time as they drove around.

Solan was feeling much better when they finally got home, laughing with Aunt Maria as they climbed the stairs to the second floor of their apartment building.

There was a blaring, shrieking, warning Solan felt inside even before she opened the apartment door. The light sneaking under the bottom could have been a tip off if she was paying attention to the cracks of the doors. But there was this feeling, deep in her core, that screamed there was something bad waiting for her in her home.

She ignored it and swung the door open.

She stopped in her tracks at the sight of four people who certainly shouldn't have been there. Before she could react, one man had raised the piece of metal in his hand and put a finger to his lips. He moved his hand and gestured for them to enter the apartment.

Solan traded glances with Aunt Maria, who nodded and put her hand on her niece's shoulder. "Its okay. Just do what he says." She said calmly. She had enough experience in the city of crime to know how to handle a situation like this, and she had a plan.

Frankly, Solan thought her aunt was going insane, but she couldn't exactly take that up with the gun of the man who had stolen her car. So she warily walked into the living room. She only put enough space between her and the door for her Aunt to enter the room.

"Where are they?" It was a simple question from the same man, but Solan knew he wasn't going to like the answer.

"You mean the stolen artifacts?" Solan asked. "Gone. The GCPD took them."

A heavy, tired sigh came from behind the black ski mask. "Okay. I guess I'll ask it again."

The man, clad in the same all black attire he was in that Monday night, stood up from the armchair in the corner he was sat in. Solan followed him with her gaze nervously, watching as the man strolled a bit closer to the couch that Solan and Aunt Maria were standing behind. In one swift movement, he had raised the gun to right in front of Solan again.

"Where are they?" He asked again, slower and aggressive.

"I just told you." Solan said, voice shaking as she shrunk down slightly.

"And I don't believe you!" The yell scared her even more, making her jump. "No one in their right mind would give up half a million dollars worth of stuff."

"I don't know what to tell you." Aunt Maria interjected when she noticed just how terrified her niece was getting.

Another sigh was heard from behind the mask. The hand that wasn't holding the gun, still in Solan's face, reached up and clenched around the bottom of the black ski mask.

"How about you…" He said, pulling off his mask. "Try again."

Solan's eyes met the formerly kind, helpful pools of chocolate brown that had stared at her from the other side of a desk.

"I knew there was something off about you." Solan told Mr. Rameiz, also ignoring the fact that she hadn't thought that and actively believed the opposite.

Aunt Maria frowned. "You know this man?"

"He's my guidance counselor." Solan said bitterly. "Just want to help, huh?"

Mr. Rameiz's mouth twisted into a smug smirk. "For the record, I did want to help you. I didn't go through years of medical school to not."

It didn't make any sense. How could the charismatic guidance counselor who insisted on breaking through Solan's walls to help her, also be the one who had single handedly caused half the anxiety flowing through her body? How could the person she turned to with help with her weird dreams shove a gun to her face?

"I know this must be confusing for you. I'll simplify it." He said, voice turning back to his soft tone. "I can help others while helping myself."

"Yeah, I feel really helped." Solan deadpanned, glancing down at the gun.

Mr. Ramirez sighed again. "I know you still have them. And you're going to tell me where they are. Or Auntie Maria gets to tell mommy that her daughter's dead."

"Okay, okay, wait." Solan said nervously, backing into Aunt Maria's side. "I swear, we don't have them. Alright? I promise. Swear on my -"

"Shut the fuck up!" Mr. Rameiz yelled angrily, face contorting so much that he seemed like an entirely different person. He turned around to the other three in the corner. Solan almost jumped in shock. She had forgotten they were even there, loitering by the lamp.

"Search the place. Find them." He instructed. The other three nodded and gave short words of agreement, then split up. Two walked into the hallway, presumably to the bedrooms, while one stayed and started scavenging the living room with no reguard for tidiness.

"Why?" Solan asked irritably. She wasn't sure why she felt so brave, enough to use an angry tone while talking to the man who could end her life with one finger twitch. She felt a special kind of betrayed and the anger from that was taking over her brain and her sense of self-preservation.

"I just told you." He said mockingly, making Solan's blood boil. He inspected the fury she gave him and cracked a slight smile. "Alright, since you're so obviously curious for my tragic tale. Teachers don't get shit."

Solan frowned, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "What, so this is some kind of revenge?"

Mr. Rameiz rolled his eyes. "No, of course not. This was simply my way of getting what was owed to me. Teachers wages, benefits, they're a fucking joke, Ms. Martez. Somehow, the ones who dedicate their lives to helping the children of our future get the worst end of the stick."

He actually had a good point, good enough for Solan to understand why he was doing this. "Okay, I get it. I'm not judging. But we don't have your shit, I swear." Solan said, voice slightly breaking.

"Nothing in the bedrooms or the bathroom." One of the other robbers said, coming around the hallway edge with the other one in tow.

"Nethin?" Mr. Rameiz asked the robber who was now tossing various items from their drawers in the kitchen.

"Nethin?" Solan asked with outrage, turning to her history teacher. "You bitch."

"Solan." Aunt Maria hissed.

Solan turned to her with disbelief etched in her face. "Are you seriously telling me off for cussing now?"

"No. I'm telling you off for cussing at a man with a gun."

"Nothing." Mr. Nethin said in annoyance, kicking an open drawer shut with a snap. "They're not here."

Mr. Rameiz took a deep breath and looked off to an opposing wall with a thoughtful look on his face. "You really gave them to the GCPD." He said almost calmly.

"Yeah, we really did." Solan said, narrowing her eyes.

"Right. Well, no witnesses." Mr. Rameiz said, fixing the gun straighter and adjusting his grip on the handle.

Solan's eyes widened in fear and shock, with what felt like hundreds of other emotions careening through her veins, and she wasn't able to figure out what a single one of them were. Adrenaline pumped in her body, every nerve jumping and activating her fight or flight reaction. Although, after a few seconds of just standing like a deer in headlights, she was starting to wonder why it was called that.

"I'm sorry, Solan. I really did want to help you." Mr. Rameiz said sympathetically, almost looking like he meant it.

His finger squeezed the trigger.

Aunt Maria screamed for him to stop, only getting out a word before a deafening bang sent ringing through the ears of everyone present.

Solan couldn't even close her eyes. It hadn't occurred to her to do so, as her mind was so focused on the fact that she was going to die at the hands of her guidance counselor.

The bullet shot out of the gun, firing at break neck speed at Solan's forehead.

It should have entered her skull with enough power to explode her brains out the back of her head. It should have splattered blood on Aunt Maria and covered the kitchen counter in red. Mr. Rameiz should have watched on with satisfaction, then moved on to the other witness, Aunt Maria.

But that didn't happen.

It took Solan a moment to realize that she wasn't dead. Her chest heaved as she finally blinked, slowly pulling herself to reality. She wasn't sure why she wasn't reduced to a corpse, but with one glance upward, she got her answer. Floating inches from her head, surrounded by a green cloud of transparent whatever, was the bullet that should have shot through her head.

Slowly, she moved her eyes to stare downward at her hand. It was raised slightly, something Solan hadn't even registered that she did, with the same transparent cloud floating around the tips of her fingers. The green… whatever it was, was circling and surrounding her fingers as if there were fog only around her hand.

She stared at it in shock, unable to form any words. Honestly, she was still recovering from thinking she was about to die. She wasn't sure if her shock was from the green clouds or the fact that there was almost a bullet hole between her eyes. She was dealing with it as best as she could, and staring at her hand was part of her coping methods.

Every pair of eyes in the apartment was on her and her green clouds. She could feel them burning on her hand and inches from her forehead. But there was only one pair she cared about. Because something in Solan, in those seconds that she marveled at her hand, had snapped.

Slowly, her once amber eyes moved to Mr. Rameiz, the irises glowing a bright green. The guidance counselor lowered his gun, not taking his eyes off the miniature suns in Solan's eyes. The scared expression fell off her face and was replaced by a smug smirk.

"Solan." Aunt Maria said, voice coming out shakily.

Solan ignored her and took a step forward. The couch was firmly planted in her way, so, with one swish of her hand, she brought it up in the air and sent it flying across the room. Without touching it, the couch had launched and collided with the wall.

She took another step forward, ignoring the sudden wave of drywall and dust that cascaded across the living room like it wasn't even there. Like it didn't make everyone else in the room immediately dive for cover, or make a noise like gunfire as it collided with the wall.

Mr. Rameiz finally realized she was coming at him, and luckily his fight or flight reaction acted like it should have, and he tried to turn and run.

With one move of her hand, his body was firmly held in place without a single bind on him. It was like he was frozen in place, unable to move his limbs or turn his head. He waited there, breathing unevenly as Solan walked behind him. She leaned close to his ear.

"You know, I really want to help you." She said, then clenched her fist.

Mr. Rameiz screamed like he was being tortured, as he technically was. Solan had taken a backseat to something else floating beneath her surface, taking over her actions. She wasn't sure what she was doing. It was like she was there, watching it without a trace of regret.

A sickly crunching sounded throughout the apartment. Solan clenched her fist even tighter, and both the crunching and screaming increased, but there was no obvious sign of injury on the man other than him dropping to the ground and clutching his thighs.

"Solan!" Aunt Maria yelled, but Solan ignored her.

Solan turned around to Mr. Nethin in the kitchen, who was standing there in shock. She smirked and flicked her wrist. He was sent flying like the couch, colliding with the wall and slumping down to the ground.

The other two immediately turned and tried to run back down the hallway, but Solan sent her other hand up and it was clouded by the green substance like the other one. They were pulled backwards, one being rocketed into the wall where his form cracked the shitty drywall in a smaller outburst of dust and plaster chunks. He fell to the ground as limp as a corpse, not even making a groan of pain.

With one move, the other burglar was pulled up to the doorway by cloud of green. The fog engulfed his body and spun him around so the front of his black ski mask was facing the seventeen-year-old. Solan raised her hand and pulled backwards at seemingly nothing. The man visibly gagged, yanking off his mask. Solan recognized him as a 9th grade teacher she hadn't had, but saw in the hallway.

A small flow of vomit fell from his mouth and onto the carpet and Solan's shoes. She gestured harder and more flew onto the floor. She clenched her fist again and moved it rapidly to the left, and he was sent into the wall just like the other two. Only Mr. Rameiz remained conscious, screaming in the living room.

Aunt Maria stood like a deer in headlights, staring at her niece in shock as the green slowly faded off of her hands and out her eyes.

Solan's smirk dropped as she looked down at her shoes. The vomit covered converse seemed to snap her out of her trance as a look of horror slipped onto her face. She snapped her head over to where Mr. Rameiz was still screaming on the living room floor.

"Solan." Aunt Maria said gently. She took a step towards her niece, but Solan took one terrified step away from her.

"What… did I do?" She asked, looking down at her own hands with terror. "How…"

"Solan, it's alright, we can figure this out." Aunt Maria tried, but she took a few more steps and sent panic through Solan.

"No, stay back." She warned. She had absolutely no idea what the absolute fuck had happened to her and she didn't want her next victim to be Aunt Maria.

Her aunt, still so unsure on how to handle the raising of a teenager, wasn't sure what to do. Sure, she had read a few things about taking care of a teenager when Solan first came to live with her, but none of it told her what to do when the teenager suddenly gets powers. She tried to take another step, but that was what Solan needed to immediately turn and bolt out of the apartment.

Aunt Maria called after her niece as she ran down the hallway, but Solan had a head start. She was already in her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. By the time Aunt Maria had gotten the door open, the room was empty with the window ajar.

She huffed as the familiar blaring of sirens filled the street. If only the GCPD wasn't so terrible, they would've responded to her call sooner. Aunt Maria sighed and put the small device the GCPD officers gave her when she went to go pick up her car back in her pocket.

Down the street, Solan was terrified.

The night sky had forced light away, making the only source of the light come from the streetlamps. Dull, flickering, yellow light illuminated the sidewalk as Solan's vomit covered converse pounded against the cement. The night air had sent a chill down Solan's body, but she paid it no attention.

The only thing running through her head was where Michael Brecklin lived. She knew from Eli still sending her the address a few days ago that it was a few blocks away, or that's what she guessed. After two years in that area, she still wasn't completley sure where the street was. But honestly, she was hoping for more distance between her and her apartment, so she didn't mind.

A million thoughts were racing through her head, moving too fast and too confusing to make any of them out. At least, not in her panicked state. What did I do? How did I do that? Why did I do that?

She rounded a corner, the faint sound of blasting music reaching her ears. A heap of garbage spilling over the cans forced her to skid to a halt. Her shoes betrayed her, too slick to grip the ground enough to stop. Solan was sent flying to the ground, landing facedown on the hard cement.

Her face had a sharp but burning sting across her cheek, signaling there was at least a cut or scrape. Solan still couldn't bring herself to care (she was pretty annoyed though), pulling herself up and dusting off her clothes. She groaned as a sting shot up her leg, making her look down and notice a tear in the knee of her left pant leg.

Didn't feel like stepping in? Solan hissed inwardly at whatever force was inside her. She shook her head and jumped over the garbage, wincing slightly at the pain rocketing through her leg. She forced herself to start running again, ignoring the jolt that was sent up at every step on that leg. She reduced her run to a very fast limp, hobbling along the sidewalk and following the bad techno music.

After a few more minutes of limping down the street, she saw a few other people her age gathering on the lawn of the music-blasting house. She sighed and slowed to a walk, still limping every time her foot of her injured leg hit the floor. She felt a few confused stares as she walked across the lawn and to the door, but she ignored it. She knew that she probably looked like a mess, with teary eyes and her new limp.

Swinging open the door, Solan scanned the crowd closest to the entrance, but it was no use. The people were gathered infuriatingly close, making it difficult to tell who was who, especially with the strobe lights and dim lamps being the only light in the entire room.

"Eli?" She yelled, shoving her way through dancing teenagers. Only a few of them spared her even a sideways look, but most of them just let her push by. Probably her whiskey.

"Eli?" She called again, stepping through the large house, over to the kitchen area. That room was lit normally, bright lights illuminating the entire space. There was a crowd of teenagers gathered around the counter, but none of them were familiar, let alone her friend.

"You looking for Eli?" Someone asked, making Solan spin around.

"Yeah." Solan said urgently, rushing over to the stranger who apparently knew where her best friend was.

The guy frowned at her. Solan rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I look like shit. Where the fuck is Eli?"

"Backyard." He said, nodding his head to a large door leading to the outside.

Solan told him a quick 'thanks' and pushed the door open. It was just as loud and crowded as the inside, but there were no flashing lights making her feel nauseous. She scanned the crowds around the backyard, from the pool to the fire pit. Finally, she spotted her best friend sitting on a bench with Ella, deep in conversation.

She rushed over, shoving the people aside as she hurried. "Eli!" She yelled, trying to make her voice louder than the bad music.

His head moved from the girl next to him to Solan, eyes widening in shock. "Solan." He said, getting up from the bench and coming towards her.

Solan felt a sudden wave of frustration. The entire way to the house, all she could think about was getting to the party and finding Eli. But now that she was standing in front of him, she had no idea what to say. She didn't know where to start, or how to explain what had happened, because she wasn't sure what had happened.

"What happened? You're bleeding." Eli asked, eyes raking over her.

"Where?" Solan asked, frowning. She brought a hand to the first spot she could reach. She dragged her fingers across the cut on her cheek, slightly wincing at the sting. She pulled her fingers back and saw a red liquid covering her fingertips. "Oh. I didn't notice."

"Okay, let's go somewhere quieter." Eli said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder and steering her around. He ignored Ella's confused stare, guiding Solan across the lawn.

Solan let Eli lead her the entire way to the other side of the house, over to the trashcans. She grimaced when the smell hit her nose. "Really?" She asked her friend, who shrugged.

"The only quiet place." He crossed his arms and leaned against the gate. "Now, what happened? Is that vomit on your shoes?"

Solan took a deep breath. "I don't know where to start."

"That's alright. Just… what happened to your face?" Eli asked, deciding to just get some direct answers and hopefully lead Solan to what she was so terrified about.

"I tripped. My shoes are wet and I couldn't stop." Solan answered, glancing down at her shoes.

"Why are they wet?"

"I… someone threw up on them." She wasn't sure if Eli would believe her if she explained.

"Well, that's fucking disgusting. Who did?"

"Mr. Branson."

"Okay, I'm gonna need more than that."

So Solan sighed, told him that he wasn't going to believe her, but then explained. From walking into her apartment to a gun pointed at her, to getting to the house. She couldn't believe how freeing it felt to get the horrible details off her chest. More so because Eli listened patiently, only interrupting a few times to ask questions about some of the details Solan skated over.

Eli narrowed his eyes at his friend. He wasn't sure if the crazy tale was the truth, or some hallucination. It was clear that Solan was completely rattled. Her face was bleeding, her jeans were torn, her entire front was blackened with dirt, and it was the first time he had ever seen her so scared. She certainly looked and acted like it was the truth.

"Okay." Eli said finally. "I'm gonna need some proof. Do your… thingy." He added a dramatic gesture with his hand.

"No." Solan answered immediately. "I could hurt someone."

Her eyes were wide in terror, and she backed up against the fence as if she were afraid something was going to jump out and attack Eli.

He tried to take a step toward her. "Solan, just -"

"I said no!" Solan suddenly roared, eyes flashing bright green.

Eli jumped back in surprise, looking at her eyes as they faded back to brown. He couldn't form any words to describe just how shocked he was, certainly not as Solan started panting and covered her face with her hands. She groaned irritably, it coming out muffled.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what's happening." She whimpered, slumping her shoulders and trying to lean more against the gate.

"Its alright." Eli said calmly, still in shock. "You're alright. You didn't hurt anyone."

Solan tried to take some deep breaths, focusing on what he said. You didn't hurt anyone. You didn't hurt anyone.

"Okay, let's go." Eli said, grabbing her hand and turning to the gate.

"Where are we going?"

"Back to your place."

Solan immediately stopped following, digging her feet into the grass. "What?" She asked incredulously. "No way."

Eli turned around and grabbed her hand again. "Yes way. Aunt Maria is probably worried sick."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"You can protest all you want, but we're going." Eli demonstrated his point by lifting his best friend by her waist and slinging her over his shoulder.

"Hey, what the fuck!" She shouted irritably, snacking her closed fists lightly against his back.

Eli snorted, continuing the walk to the car he borrowed from his sister. "You're like a gremlin. An angry, magical gremlin."

"Gremlins are magical, motherfucker."

"Someone sure as fuck fed you after midnight." Eli laughed as he took his keys from his pocket and opened the car. "Maybe that's why you have these powers now."

Solan growled as she was dropped in the passenger seat, and glared as Eli reached over and did her seatbelt for her. He ducked out of the car and closed the door, then walked around the other side to the driver's seat. When the door was shut after him, Solan crossed her arms.

"The cops are probably there." Solan answered, looking out of her window at the houses as they drove past them.

"And?" He said back, keeping his eyes fixed on the road as they pulled out of the neighborhood and onto the street. As it was a Friday night, it was fairly busy. Something Solan hadn't noticed when she was running. Now she felt a little embarrassed that probably a few people saw her fall.

"What do you mean 'and'? What the fuck do you think? They'll arrest me. Or turn me into a lab rat. Or give me over to someone like fucking Superman." Solan said miserably.

"Why would they do that?" Eli asked, making Solan look at him with annoyance. His expression was one of confusion, as if it were his first time hearing about anything that she had done. "You didn't do anything. You and I were at a party and I brought you home because a drunk person threw up on your shoes."

Solan eyed him for a second, wondering if he was actually willing to lie directly to a cop for her. He glanced over at her when they stopped at a stoplight and smirked.

"Then you tripped on the way to the street on a beer bottle. Right?"

Solan couldn't help the sly smile that spread across her mouth. "Right. Thanks."

"Anytime. You would do the same for me."

There was a brief silence in the car, a different kind for both people. For Eli it was a comfortable silence, one he spent thinking about what could be waiting for them at Solan's apartment. But for Solan, it was a thoughtful one. She pondered their fight earlier. From them screaming at each other in front of the entire cafeteria, to Eli volunteering to cover for her.

"I'm sorry." Solan said quietly, not meeting his eyes as he glanced over curiously. "I won't be a page in the yearbook."

"And?" He said sternly.

"I will talk to somebody." She assured him, making him nod and grin. "Not Mr. Rameiz."

Eli laughed. "No, I'm sure he's out."

The rest of the drive was spent in silence, a comfortable one this time for both of them. Solan had pulled down the mirror on the visor and inspected the cut on her cheek. It wasn't too bad. There was some blood smeared around it, probably from when she fell, which make it look worse. She wiped some of it off with her sleeve and fixed her tousled hair, then put the visor back up.

Eli pulled the car to a stop right on the curb of the apartment building next to Solan's, as there were about five GCPD cars taking up the space on the curb outside hers. An ambulance was parked next to the entrance to the parking lot, doors open and waiting for whoever was being wheeled down to it. (Solan guessed Mr. Rameiz.)

Solan and Eli traded glances as they walked up to the building, feigning surprise as Aunt Maria saw them walking over. She noticed right away that they were clearly pretending and followed suit.

"Solan! Thank God you're safe. Where have you been all night?" She asked hurriedly, rushing over to grab her niece and pull her in for a hug.

Solan immediately wrapped her arms around her, letting her tightly wrap her in a hug. "I'm sorry for leaving." She whispered into her shoulder.

"Don't be." Aunt Maria whispered back.

"Ms. Martez?" Both Aunt Maria and Solan looked to a GCPD officer walking over to them.

"Yes?" They both answered in sync, making him frown.

"Uh, Maria Martez." He corrected, glancing over to Solan. "We're about finished here."

Aunt Maria nodded. "Okay, thank you."

Solan watched the officer leave, getting in his car with another officer and drive off. A few minutes later, the other followed suit as the EMTs came down with Mr. Rameiz strapped down to a gurney. He was out cold, eyes closed with his head on his side as they picked up the gurney and lifted him into the back of the ambulance.

Aunt Maria waved as they finally drove off. When the lights faded from view, she spun around and engulfed her niece in another hug. Solan chuckled and fell into her aunt's arms, the warm comfort washing over her.

"I was so worried." She said, resting her head on her niece's.

"What happened? Did they ask about me?" Solan asked worriedly.

Aunt Maria pulled back and looked around. "Let's go inside to talk. Eli, you are of course welcome to join."

Eli grinned. "Cool. Don't want to miss the superpower talk from miss 'I Don't Want To Be A Hero.'"

Aunt Maria chuckled and led the two upstairs, back to their apartment. She didn't explain anything on the walk up the two flights of stairs, leaving Solan to her thoughts. When she got to their door and swung it open, Solan had another pound of questions to ask.

Eli made a strangled noise, stopping in his tracks as the door swinging open revealed none other than Batman standing in the living room. Solan's eyes widened in shock, taking a frightened step back. Did she just walk into some kind of trap? Was he there to take her away?

"Solan, it's not that kind of thing." Aunt Maria said, correctly interpreting the step back Solan took.

"Then what kind of thing is it?" Solan asked nervously, eyeing the ridiculously armored suit coating the man under the cowl. There wasn't an ounce of skin shown, apart from his jaw being shown on the bottom side of his mask. Every other inch was covered in black armor that looked unbelievably heavy. Solan's eyes flickered to the large bat emblem on his chest and back to the white dents in his cowl that signalled where his eyes were.

She took a wary step forward, Eli shambling behind her nervously. Aunt Maria followed behind them, closing the door and turning all the locks.

"Ms. Martez." Batman said in greeting. His voice was low and gravely, perfect for intimidating criminals.

"B-Batman." Solan said back nervously.

"I'd like to talk to you about what happened here." He said, taking a step forward. Solan was surprised with his attitude, always figuring that he was just as reclusive and standoffish as he seemed. But he seemed genuinely interested in hearing what she had to say.

"Nothing happened." Eli blurted, still looking terrified.

Aunt Maria, Solan, and Batman turned to look at him.

Eli took a moment to let his eyes fall on Batman, a grin on his face when they did. "Um, nothing happened here. Me and Solan were at a party, but I brought her back because someone threw up on her."

Aunt Maria shook her head. "I already told him. He wants to help. Though I do appreciate you trying to cover for her."

Batman kept his gaze focused on Solan, which made her nervous. At least, it looked like his gaze was on her. His head was pointed in her direction, but due to the white covering his eyes, it was hard to tell.

"Uhm, what do you want to talk about?" Solan asked, crossing her arms.

"How did it happen?" He asked immediately, clearly having thought about it already.

Solan wondered what could be running through his head about her. He was obviously smart, so maybe he already had a good idea of the situation. Or maybe he was just trying to get her to confess to something. Maybe he was trying to assess if she was a threat. She had no idea what to think about him, but that was probably his intention. He seemed like the kind of guy who liked to be unreadable.

"I don't know. It just… happened." Solan answered truthfully. It really felt like one minute she was standing and staring at her hand, and the next, she was watching her own hands do those things to the men.

Batman was silent for a moment while he pondered this. "You had no control?"

Solan frowned as she thought about his question. "I… don't know. It was weird. It was like I was there, but not there at the same time. Like I was there to watch, but didn't do anything to stop it." She explained, not understanding how she felt like it was right, but how it was such a contradiction.

"Have you come across anything… strange in the past few days?"

"Define 'strange'."

"Weird objects, suspicious people, anything?"

Solan sighed and thought back to the recent days that made up the insane week. She focused on the things Batman listed, thinking about any weird objects or people. She gasped when she remembered the weird statue that gave her the even weirder feeling.

"Yes!" She said in shock. "One of the statues they left in the car. The bronze one with the green."

Batman didn't even bat an eye. "What was weird about it?"

"I don't know. I picked it up and got this weird feeling. Like, inside." Solan said, cringing at how stupid she sounded. "It was so… I don't know how to describe it. And I… I thought I saw a green light. But no one else saw it, and it was only for a moment, so I stopped it."

"I remember that thing!" Eli exclaimed excitedly, clearly happy to be included in the conversation with his hero. "The Mark of the Witch. They talked about it on the news."

"Did you see a green light?" Batman asked him.

"No." Eli said, shaking his head. "Solan looked pretty freaked though, which is weird. She doesn't get freaked very easily."

"Okay, now it's my turn to ask some questions." Solan interrupted irritably.

"About what?" Aunt Maria asked, leaning on the kitchen counter.

Solan huffed and threw her hands up frustratingly. "What's happening? Am I getting arrested? Why didn't the cops ask me anything?"

"Why would they arrest you?" Batman asked from the corner he stood in.

Solan momentarily faulted, wondering if Aunt Maria told him the full truth of what she did.

"You were at a party with your friend while the same robbers that attacked you on Monday tried to attack your aunt, looking for the stolen artifacts." Batman explained, the bottom side of his face not expressing an ounce of emotion. As if he was telling someone what time it was. "I heard them while I was passing by and stopped them."

There was a silence while Solan stared in shock at the caped crusader. Batman was known for brutally punishing his city's criminals, taking the law into his own hands and making the guilty pay for what they had done. He was feared, a symbol of what happens when you disobey the side of good in Gotham City.

So why the fuck was he helping a seventeen-year-old girl he didn't know, and who had absolutely done exactly what Batman was known for stopping?

"Right." Solan said slowly, staring at Batman confusedly. "So, you believe me?"

"I'm sure there are people who saw you at the party that could prove it." He said, glancing at Eli who nodded enthusiastically.

"I'll be in touch." He added, dramatically flicking his cape behind him as he began to stroll across the floor to the window.

"Wait!" Eli called nervously. "Can I have a selfie?"

Solan rolled her eyes.

- a / n -

Howdy :)

Its been awhile since I've updated this and I have absolutely zero excuses. I legit just forgot. I was so stressed about updating my Titans fanfiction that I whole ass fucking forgot about this one. And for that I'm super sorry.

But! She's finally got her powers!!!!! This was the first fanfiction that I've started with an original beginning, and I wasn't sure if I was moving it too fast. At first I wasn't sure if people would get bored of it, so I tried to speed it along. But now I'm not sure.

I had more to say here but I forgot again :(. Please don't forget to like and comment, because I absolutely love talking about this with you guys!!!!!!!!!! Love y'all and I hope you liked this chapter!!!!!!! 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕