• “I never thought of myself as different, simply like everyone else, except with a secret. I dreaded the cheesy super hero alias and the uncomfortable spandex outfit. I thought no one understood me or how I felt, but then I met Vixen. The girl who opened my eyes to the world.”


    The sweltering sun had burned my face, as I trudged through the thick sage brush, to the safety of the cool, shallow creek. I didn’t mind the heat much, but the desert killed me. The dry consistency cracked my marble skin. Making it rough like sand paper. The heat gave me unabarable nose bleeds. I was about 3 feet away from the creek. I was so close I could feel the water collide with a rock, creating a small splash. I leaned over to peer in the clear shimmering water.

    There I saw a boy, he looked about 16. He had short dark Auburn hair that hung over his face. His skin was a natural tan color. His eyes were a deep purple. In his eyes there was a sadness that couldn’t be placed. This sadness came from an unexplainable place. It had no Why. His nose could easily be described as strong. It wasn’t big, nor was it small. He was definetly tall for his age. As I stopped studying this boy, it occurred to me, that this exoctic looking boy, was me.

    Yesterday I turned 16, and I celebrated by myself, at the creek. The creek was my home. There wasn’t anything special about it, it was just a clear flow of water that ran under the bridge, but to me, it was everything. My father left when I was born, I actually never knew him, nor do I remember him. My mother is never home, who knows what she’s up to. I’ve been staying at the creek since I was 10. When I turned 10, I started feeling apart from the world. More and more I grew farther away. And now here I am living outside!

    My deep thoughts were interupted by Kyle. “Who the heck are you?!” Kyle’s deep and scratchy voice was making my teeth hurt. “I’m Milo.” Kyle’s hair stood up straight and it was incredibly greasy. It looked like he had been electrified. It was said that he had murdered a little, I knew was probably just a rumor, but he had a bad reputaion anyways. “Isn’t that a girl’s name?” He glared at me and I was sure I heard him snarl. “Well, I’m a boy and that’s my name. So, to correct you, it is both.” I smirked a bit and then it was apparent, that he didn’t exactly like me. He stood there thinking, stewing, when he got an evil look on his face. Like he was going to kill someone, preferably me. He got in a defensive stance and then ran straight for me. I stuck my hand out, thinking it would help. And to my satisfaction, it did. A yellow, thick stream of light, burst from my palm. Kyle stopped dead in his tracks. He was frozen in time. Not moving, blinking, or breathing.

    I was amazed at the beauty of my own work. But along with amazment came that inner sadness. Oh, how I wished my Mother was here to see. To see this remarkable beauty. Salty tears, ran down my face, creating never ending streaks. I picked up my shaken self, and I left. I took one last glance at the frozen statue of Kyle. It dawned on me that, there were no oppurtunities left here for me. I didn’t know where I was headed to, but as long as it wasn’t here, it was somewhere I wanted to be. I decided to follow the railroad tracks, for as long as they would take me.

    I believe it was the third day that I decided to sleep. I snuggled my green knapsack on the railroad tracks. I woke up wide eyed and surprised, to a loud Chugging noise. A train was headed straight for me, at fullspeed. I shut my eyes and held on tight to my sides. After I realized that I wasn’t dead, I opened my eyes, to a frozen world. I fell back, relieved. I felt the sticky sweat on my back. I closed my eyes and imagined the creek. There were trees along the bank, creating a dark, shade that spread across the twig infested ground. It was almost like a forest. It smelled of fresh pine and dirt. I could barely hear the cars driving over the bridge, the rush of the water, and the chirping of birds. I used to lay on back in the shade and let the breeze rustle my hair. And look up ever so slightly, so I could see the puffy clouds against the clear blue sky. I would lay there for hours, letting my mind wander.


    I opened my eyes and my breathing was even. My heart beat had slowed. I looked over at the frozen train and scratched my head, I was definetly confused at this point. I walked over to the conductor. He was stuck there, pointing at something that wasn’t there. I figured he was pointing at me. His mouth hung open, like he was waiting for someone to shove food in it. Sweat made his face look glossy. His eyes were wide with fear. I forced my eyes shut, the same way I did when I stopped time. I opened my eyes eagerly, yet nothing had changed. Frustrated, I tried again, and my result was the same. After 30 minutes of shutting my eyes, I decided to give up. I looked down hoping an answer would just appear in fron of my eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something sparkle on my arm. I remembered that I had grabbed my watch before I left. I had an idea on the spot. I changed the time one minute ahead. The train sped past me, making my hair fly all over the place.

    I was astonished with what I done, once again. But I needed to keep moving. I walked on until, finally I reached the City of Rowanvale. The streets were crowded with people and cars. It made me feel small and unwanted. Everyone strode at their own pace, mumbling incoherant words to themselves. I found a used map laying next to a dumpster. It was a map of the City. This would be useful if I was going to live here. My eyes wandered, studying the people. I felt lost, out of place, like I didn’t belong. Everyone hurried this way and that, while I just stood there looking up. Not at anything in particular, just looking. I was the only one not moving. People stopped to see what I was looking, and eventually found out it was nothing. So, they left, leaving me by myself. I was done feeling unwanted and left out, so I stopped staring at the sky, and hurried like everyone else. I didn’t know where I was hurrying to, I was just following everyone else. They seemed to know where they were going.

    The swarm of people led me to her. She was standing on a building. With her eyes closed and her arms out wide. Her light blonde hair was almost white. It blew out behind her, making her look like a goddess. Her skin was pale, and looked like delicate poercelain. She opened her eyes and her bright green eyes showed, making everyone babble in awe. She looked my age, but shorter. Her nose was small and round. I don’t know how I saw her, she was so far away, it was almost impossible to look at her. I had a feeling I knew what she was about to do. And I wanted to save her. Her beautiful eyes disappeared again beneath her white eyelids. Her body fell from the building. I shut my eyes tight and grabbed a hold onto my hair. No one screamed, and no one yelled. I opened my eyes cautiously. There, right in front of me, was something I had never seen before. Her delicate body hung there, above the crowd. Some pointed at her, others had already covered there faces to hide what was really happening. But the strangest part, was she was smirking. Like she knew something, no one else did. I spread my arms out beneath. I set my watch, as I had done before. Then, her soft, weightless body dropped into my arms. Her green eyes stared up at me. Then those curious eyes turned into a glare, that pierced my brain.

    She jumped out of my arms. “Thanks, but no thanks. When someone is jumping off a roof, you don’t save them. They don’t exactly want to be saved.” Her voice was mysterious and melodic. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t let you do that. Maybe you should think it over. I’m Milo, by the way…” I trailed off knowing she probably didn’t care. “Maybe. But that wasn’t my plan. To live. Oh, and I’m Vixen.” She turned her back on me and strode off, then broke out into a run. Then her run turned into a blur. I couldn’t keep up, so I just stopped trying to follow her. My heart started to beat faster and my stomach twisted. I had never experienced anything like it. I sat down, trying to picture her face. But it just kept vanishing, like it didn’t want me to see it. Frustrated, I held my face in my warm hands.
    I let an exagerated sigh escape from my mouth. I picked up myself, once again, and left. Hoping to leave all thoughts of Vixen behind, but I failed terribly. She was so mysterious, which made me curious about her. I wanted to know more, but it seemed as if she didn’t want me to. The day grew dark, leaving me cold and alone. If that wasn’t enough it started to rain. I sat there, staring out into the rain, drenched in ice cold rain water. I leaned my head against the building wall. I closed my eyes, hoping her face would appear. But all I could see was the creek. I drifted out of reality and into the safety of my own dreams. I saw Vixen standing on the building. I couldn’t see her face, but I knew it was her. I saw her falling. I tried to stop it, but Time wasn’t stopping. She grew closer to the cold ground, that just may bring her death. “Hey! Wake up…” I woke up to someone shaking me rapidly. My eyes grew wide and I just stood up. A graying old man stood before me. I looked down on him. He twitched his nose, making his mustache wiggle a bit. “Kid, you can’t sleep here. How old are you?” He looked up at me curiously. “I’m 16. Sorry, I just don’t have a place to stay and I misplaced my map, so I’m a bit lost.”


    He nodded his head knowingly. “I run a foster home for teenagers like you. Who have run away from home or lost their family. We have an open room.” He smiled making his eyes crinkle. “Thank you very much. I appreciate it.” “Anyitime.” I followed the short old man to a read brick building. I looked up a the windows and kids, ages from 12 to 18, stared down at me. Some with furious faces others with, welcoming faces. Then, saw her. Vixen was staring at me from the top window. It looked like a window to an attic. She looked almost disgusted, she turned her head and left the window. I felt the sting of her eyes on me. I stepped into the large building. Inside kids ran free, listening to music, reading, drawing, all of them seemed to have a talent. The short old man led me into a room with a medium sized bed. “Oh, I’m Milo. I forgot to introduce myself.” The old man looked up at me and nodded, once again. “Nice to meet you Milo. You may call me Grandad. Everyone else does, so it seems that you should also.” I sat on my bed looking out my window, when I heard a saddening, rich, flow of music drift into my room. It came from upstairs, where Vixen was. I recognzed the instrument as a Cello. It’s low tone, lulled my mind, telling me to sleep.

    The music stopped and saw a blur looking over me. Her head was tilted to the side. Her cool hand touched my head. “Sleep.” Her melodic voice whispered to me. I could feel her presence. I saw her sit in the rocking chair across the room. I felt her gaze on me. I shut my eyes, hoping that I forget she was there. But I just couldn’t seem to. I let my eyes wander behind my eyelids, letting them see what they see. My eyes quickly opened. A loud noise awoke me. My glanced around the room and at the end of my bed, sat Vixen. She was smirking at me. “So, what can you do? Anything special?” I was confused. Did she mean my powers or a talent? “Well, let me show you.” I threw an apple into the air, and stopped it. In mid air, it float. I looked over at Vixen, who was staring me. “You control time. Hmmm…” She looked down mumbling to herself.

    “I already know what you can do Vixen. I saw.” My comforting, didn’t help much. “Milo, why are you here?” She sniffled as she asked me this. “Well, I don’t have anyone. I felt like I needed to get away and I did exactly that.” Vixen and I talked for hours. Moving closer and closer. She told me that she was serperated from her family when she was about 6 and that she’s been searching for them. The more I talked to her, the more I felt love for her. Vixen told me about her love for music and the Cello. “Milo, do you ever feel alone. Like there’s no one else in the world except for you?” I smiled at that because she pretty much said it all. “Yes, I do.” Vixen looked up at the ceiling. “We’re only lonely because we don’t realize the people that we have, who care about us. We just focus on missing the people or things we don’t have.” I looked up at the ceiling too, hoping for an answer. Vixen and I laid there staring at the ceiling for another long period of time.

    I woke up to the sun gleaming on my face. Vixen was curled up next me, asleep. “Vixen? Do other people know that you have powers? Or is it just me…” I asked in a wodnering tone. Vixen let out a muffled yawn. “Grandad knows. But that’s going to change for you and me real soon.” I tilted my head in a confused manor. “What do you mean?” “Well, I’m going to the City Hall to tell the mayor about my Powers. You are welcome to come. I just might need a sidekick.” She winked at me, hiding one of her deep green eyes.


    Vixen swiftly got up and left out of my room. I was quick to follow behind her. Vixen’s hair blew behind her as she quikened her pace into a jog. Outside the sun shined down, creating a warm sensation, but then there was the cool spring breeze, rustling my hair. The sky was a clear innocent blue, the clouds were painted on perfectly, always looking puffy. They looked as if you could just reach up and grab them, but when you tried, they just didn’t make it into your grasp. The City hall had large marble steps leading up to the towering doors. “Come in. Please have a seat.” A whispering voice said to us. It sounded like a male, but I couldn’t be too sure. Vixen and I sat down in the ugliest green chairs. They were scratchy, and looked like a Baby’s vomit. Sitting at the desk was a young man, about 30 years old. And a woman sat next to him, she looked older, I guessed she was the one who beckoned us in.

    “So, Vixen. You wanted to propose something to us?” The mayor’s voice was deep, and very appealing. He had strong features, that made him handsome. “Yes, Mayor I did. Milo and I..Well, we have this ability. I have Super Speed and he control time. I was wondering, if maybe we could be vigilantes. Possibly help stop the crime, I know it’s been a big issue for a while.” I didn’t really like the sound of this. Were we going to be like the Comic book super heroes? The man and woman glanced at eachother. They seemed to know what the other was thinking, because they didn’t say much. “Well, Vixen. We have been studying the theory on ‘Super Powers’ for a while now. And we have gotten no where. I don’t want to interrupt your life with experiments, but do you mind showing me?” Vixen looked at me and nodded. I knew that she wanted me to show them my power first. I picked up the stapler, and threw it into the air. Jutting my hand, the yellow thick light burst from my palm, freezing it in time.

    The mayor looked at the stapler in awe, so did I. “Thank you Milo. And what can you do Vixen?” Vixen got up with a smirk and disappeared, and about a nanosecond later, she was back with 3 hot dogs. I laughed at that. Vixen handed me mine, it as still warm. The mayor looked incredibly impressed. “Well, Milo, Vixen. I think we will take you up on your offer. We would prefer it that you were our custom suits. You may choose colors and designs, if you wish. As for your names, we will give you those later. We will provide you with a place to live and food.” I stared at Vixen. How could we leave the other Foster kids to live with Granddad, while we get special treatment? There are plenty of talented kids there. I did not agree with this, not one bit.

    Vixen stared at me, smiling proudly. I faked a smile to make her think I was happy about this. I didn’t want to ruin it for her. I stared into her peircing green eyes, there beneath all that power and beauty, I saw her weaken. Her body was caving in. I knew why she was going to jump off that building. After we had finished at the City Hall, it was already dark. We set out for the Foster Home. It was quiet as we walked side by side down the deserted street. “Vixen, are you dying?” I knew this was a harsh question, but I needed to know. Vixen’s eyes looked at the ground. I knew that she couldn’t see anything, because it was pitch black. I already knew the answer. She had no need to speak. I twirled her hair with my finger. It was soft and silky. “Vixen, it’s okay. I understand. But how long have you known?” Vixen looked up, not at me, at the night sky. “Ever since I was born. But every year I get older, it get’s worse, killing me more. Weakening me.” I rubbed her shoulder in a comforting way.

    I looked up to find the moon glowing with pride. It’s yellow light brightnened our path. The moon’s light made Vixen’s hair glow. Again making her look like a Goddess. Her green eyes were visible in the dark. And her pale skin glowed along with her hair. Her cold, glowing hand grabbed mine. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her smiling. Our night ended with a whispered good night and then we parted. She left up the stairs and I left into my small bedroom. I laid there all night listening to Vixen play her Cello. Until finally, I couldn’t bare to keep my eyes open any longer. Even then I didn’t want to sleep. My eyes flashed open to see Vixen standing above me grinning foolishly. “Rise and Shine beautiful! Time to get our snazzy costumes.” She crinkled her nose and pursed her lips, making a funny face.

    We sorta of skipped to the City Hall. Everything seemed, perfect. Like, nothing could go wrong. But I wasn’t denied of my assumption yet. Vixen’s spandex outfit was green just like her eyes. It also was extremely tight. It was almost like the Flash’s suit, but it didn’t cover her hair. There was a hood on the back and she wore White boots that were light weight. To top it off she wore a black mask, enhancing the color of her eyes. I stared at her in awe. Mine was purple, obviously matching my eyes also. It had no hood and it was short sleeved. I also wore a black mask, to hide my identity. Like Vixen’s mine was extremely tight. I looked at the boots they offered me and decided I would be better off with my Black Converse. I put on my hood, it had started to rain.

    As we stepped into the world, people stared and pointed. Some whispered and some laughed. The mayor was going to introduce us in the parade later this afternoon. I still didn’t know what my Super hero name was going to be, but I dreaded to find out. Vixen and I decided to grab a hot dog, before our introduction. I was just finishing my hot dog, when the mayor beckoned us over. The mustard squirted out of my hot dog bun and all over the mayor’s daughter. Vixen laughed hysterically, while the small girl cried disapointed. Sometimes I thought Vixen was a little too mean. And her humor consisted at laughing at or making fun of other people. But, that’s Vixen. I stood next to her on the stage. People stared up at me confused. “Thank you for coming today. I wanted to introduce you to our new Heroes. First, The Hour Glass.” He gestured towards me, I saw Vixen giggle at the name. “And this is The Speedster. They will be helping us solve crime problem here in Rowanvale.”
    Everyone in the crowd clapped, agreeing that this was a valid solution. Everything seemed to slow. And the noise seemed to quiet. I looked at the back of the crowd and I saw her. My mother. But this wasn’t the mother I knew. Her black hair hung over her face and her dark eye makeup was smeared. Her clothes were tattered and ripped. She tilited her head, showing her blue eyes. She smirked and then she was gone. I knew I wasn’t going crazy, she was there and then she wasn’t. I saw people being pushed aside like they were nothing. Something, that wasn’t visible to me was in the crowd. People looked around confused at what may have been shoving them around. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw her behind Vixen, smirking at me. She mouthed the words “Hello Son”. Then she was gone again. Appearing next to me, she was now visible to the crowd. “I am Mist. You should fear me. And that you will. Fear me indeed…” Again she vanished.

    I saw Vixen’s face tighten as she stood there, tears rolling down her face. I rushed over to her, alarmed at what I had seen. “VIXEN!?” She shook her head unwillingly. I felt the hands around her neck. They released her, and then flung her off of the stage. I heard her scream in agony, she held herself, and then looked up at me wanting. Her eyes had weakened even more. Her body grew weak and limp. Her eyes asked me to save her. But I just didn’t know how. I felt the same hands on me that held Vixen. They held me tightly, not wanting to let go. I shut my eyes and held onto the hands. I opened them after I knew time was frozen. I turned around to see no one there, but to feel my mother. I grabbed onto her and started time again, using my watch. “Show yourself NOW!” I screamed. I could feel her stare, I knew she had smirked. “So, you don’t like the game I play, Do you?” I pinned her to the floor. To once again scream at her. “If your game consists of ruining people and hurting them, then no! I don’t.” I couldn’t see her, but I heard her cry. Her sobs were jagged and so was her breathing.

    I dropped her. She then showed herself, once again. The police surrounded her, trying to take her away, she didn’t struggle. Her eyes were red and they kept to the floor. I ran to Vixen’s side. Holding her head up on my lap. I stroked her hair, warming her face with my palms. Her eyes were still closed. Her body was limp in my arms. “Vixen.” I whispered her name. Her eyes stayed closed. “VIXEN!!” Her eyes still didn’t open. My eyes flooded with tears. “Vixen!!!” Her name was cut out, by my sobs. My tears ran down my face and onto her. I stared at her waiting. I didn’t know what else to do. So, I touched my lips to hers. Her lips were soft, but ice cold. I could feel her breathing slow. There was no life left in her. But she mustered up all her strength to open her eyes. And say “Life seems to end quickly when you’re just beginning to enjoy it.” Her green eyes disappeared leaving me with, her soft, porcelain face. Her body went limp. I held her there, for as long as I could. I closed my eyes, and imagined her face. I didn’t want to forget. I held her tightly against my chest. Life had escaped her now. I whispered into her ear. “Vixen, I love you.” Then I let her go.