Metas #1 - A Loose End pt. 1

   “Wakey wakey, Laura. Sun’s shining and birds are chirping!”

                Laura turned over and groaned, swatting her hand over her head to bat away whoever was disturbing her beauty sleep. A strong but gentle hand clasped her shoulder and shook her, but she made no move to wake.

                “Fine, have it your way.” Suddenly the room was filled with a brilliant light, and even though her eyes were closed, Laura was stunned.

                “Gaahhhh!” she screamed as she bolted up and swung with closed fists. One hand struck a solid mass by her side. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Matt standing next to her, the glow on his naked torso dying down and a smile on his face.

                “Well it’s about time. You’d think you were all tuckered out from training or something.”

                “Do you ever wear a shirt?” Laura scoffed at him, then reached over and put on her black-tinted glasses. The sofa had been extra warm, and Matt had pushed her doubly hard during yesterday’s training. Laura stood up slowly and stretched, feeling the aches in every muscle. “You know,” she said as Matt started to walk out of the living room, “not all of us metahumans have physical strengths. You could take it easy on me every once in a while.”

                Laura followed Matt into the kitchen, and she found his parents sitting at the table reading the newspaper. They smiled politely at Laura, and although she was never rude, Laura had a feeling Matt’s mother did not approve of her crashing in their living room. Not that she had anywhere else to go except prison after Matt saved her from the clutches of the gang leader Snake Eyes and she was found guilty of multiple accounts of murder. The murders of criminals, scumbags, and low-lives, but in the eyes of the justice system, murder all the same.

                “What are you talking about? Absorb enough energy and you’re damn near unstoppable. I’ve seen that myself.” Matt stopped, seeing the look in Laura’s eyes when he brought up that fateful battle against Frontier. Tactfully he switched gears.

“But you’re right, you don’t have any physical powers.” Matt poured himself a glass of water and offered Laura one. “That’s why it’s important you train yourself to be able to handle fighting hand to hand when needed. Take a look at Marathon; she’s able to go toe to toe with super villains, despite lacking what a normal person would call a ‘strong’ ability, because she pushes herself physically. She’s ready for a fight, and that’s why she wins them.”

                Laura took the glass of water, and while taking a drink she snuck a look at Matt. He had been training and caring for her for a month now, which is longer than any other guy she’s ever hung around with before. Most die within a few days, but thanks to Matt and his father’s ingenuity they discovered that if her powers flare up, something as simple as tinted glasses will delay her ability long enough for her to look away and save the other person’s life. Not that Matt needed saving, but it helped in dealing with his family.

                Not only was he training her every day in both fighting tactics and how to control her ability, but he was genuinely a nice guy. And good-looking, Laura mused, despite growing his brown hair a little more shaggy than usual and not exactly caring a whole lot about how he looked around her. She thought he saw her as more a younger sibling, though a part of her sincerely hoped that was not the case.

Ahh well, Laura thought as he caught her stare and gave her a grin, I suppose that’s never gonna happen. Not until I can have sex without killing someone, at least.

                “Come on, let’s get ready to go.” Matt walked back to the living room with Laura in tow. “We’re already late as it is, thanks to someone forgetting how to wake up.” Matt pulled on a shirt and picked up his backpack containing anything he might need for the day.

                “Can I shower first?” Laura asked, but she knew the answer already. Matt had taken her in as a form of punishment on her. Instead of going to prison, or worse, Laura was under Matt’s tutorage, and he was relentless in his routine. Laura was quickly understanding how someone so young could have so much power, and it was all because Matt did almost nothing else in life. A little school on the side, but besides for that, nothing but training.

                “You smell fine,” he chuckled and tossed her a backpack as well. Laura sighed, put some shoes on, and followed him out the door, wondering if it was her or if Matt had filled her pack with bricks as part of today’s daily toil.

                As they drove, Laura leaned her head out the window and let the cool breeze wake her up. November was proving to be colder than usual, and it reminded her that they were going into the bleak winter months. Laura zipped her jacket up and rubbed her hands together in an attempt to keep the warmth in her body. It was not freezing, but Laura usually stuck to the warmer climates in her travels.    Matt looked over at Laura and smiled. She was certainly a very attractive young woman, with dark red hair, milky white skin, and gorgeous green eyes. The first time he really noticed her beauty was when he had been forced to stare into those eyes to save both their lives. Even filled with fear and crowned in darkness, her eyes held a light in them. Matt wasn’t sure if it was just her ability to absorb life force kicking in, but they were beautiful all the same. And he’d gotten to see them a lot lately as they spent a majority of her training focusing on controlling her life-draining gaze.

                However looks aside, Laura was a difficult person. Living on her own and on the run for most of her recent years, she had learned to lie, steal, and handle herself in the modern run-down parts of cities and towns. She kept almost everything inside her head, and even after a month Matt was still prying general details out of her.

                He had learned that, despite using an assortment of aliases throughout her life, her real name actually was Laura O’Connor. She was born and raised in a still undisclosed small Midwestern town by your average parents. Once her powers manifested, she ran away in fear after accidentally killing a friend, and ever since has been trying to find a place to call home. Up until her run in with Frontier and Snake Eyes, she thought that place was Hopling. Unfortunately that did not work out, and so here she was, stuck living with Matt, who was a newly licensed superhero and under the somewhat direct orders of Kenneth Bridge, the leader of the GMA.

                Matt shook his head in mild disbelief. As of last week, he was officially a licensed superhero. He went through the demonstrations, took the tests, and passed with nearly flying colors. He smiled with joy at the memories of the examiners’ amazed looks when he showed off a bit. But now his name was on public record, as were his powers. Anyone could look him up, and the GMA even puts out a monthly list of superheroes. That means any of his father’s old enemies, or any of his, for that matter, would now know he was actively fighting against the evils of the world. It could potentially put him and his family in a bad spot, but they were all extremely supportive of it.

                But was it worth it? Matt looked over to Laura, who was staring out the window trying to keep awake. This young woman unconsciously saved him from a terrible fate that he brought on himself. If it wasn’t for her, the shadow energy he absorbed from his confrontation with Sombra would have corrupted his very soul, making him a deadly threat to the entire world. He needed to repay her, and getting licensed in order to personally help save her from a life in prison was, hopefully, a small price to pay.

                Laura glanced over and saw Matt smiling to himself. After only a month, she was seeing this powerful metahuman in a totally different light. Before her corruption by Snake Eyes, she had only heard and seen Matt from the TV and internet. He was powerful, he was new, and rumor said he was involved with Marathon from Frontier. But that was all. Now she knew the truth: he was powerful, yes, but he was far from new. He had been training with his powers for thirteen long years, and throughout that time had used them publicly here and there when it was absolutely necessary. He was very, very good at hiding things and sneaking around, she learned. And definitely, she found out with a hint of relief, not with Marathon anymore.

                However Matt was also kind, and he loved a good laugh. He knew instinctually right from wrong, and was not one to back down from doing the right thing, regardless of what everyone else thought. She joked once about him being a knight in shining armor rescuing damsels in distress, and he merely laughed and said that sounded like a really good life. Overall, Laura was not upset over where she was at the moment. At first, she was bitter and had even tried leaving. But Matt found her easily and convinced her to return. Ever since, despite his harsh training regime, he has been caring and open with her. Laura wouldn’t ever call Matt and his family her own adoptive family; she was much too cynical for that. However she was content being around people who understood her plight, and was thankful to be around people who she needn’t worry about hurting. Matt’s family was many things, among them a household of powerful metahumans.

                “We’re almost there,” Matt said, snapping Laura out of her trance. “You ready for little light training before lunch?”

                Laura sighed as she nodded. Matt’s version of light training was difficult enough, but truly a nice break from what his serious training was like. And it beats living in a cell, she thought a few minutes later as she got out of the car and stretched. With the bright sun overhead, Laura, though never openly admitting it, knew it was going to be a good day.