(Aurora’s Vacation)

New Orleans, Louisiana:
Aurora wakes up early and listens to the sound of the birds right outside her bedroom window. She was so happy to be home. She could feel the slim metallic bracelet around her right arm. She had asked Patricia if she could wear one while she was home for two weeks. She felt insecure about her ability to control her abilities and would feel better with more control.

She inhales the lavender scent coming off her bed sheets. She had missed her bedroom and her family while she was at the mountain complex. She doesn’t want to get out of bed, but she has things she wants to do. She gets up and takes off her nightgown. She checks her armpits, arms, and legs to make sure all the body hair she had is gone. She dropped her panties and looked at the landing strip she had trimmed her bush down to. Lilith had helped her trim her pubic hair.

Aurora gets dressed, walks into the kitchen, and spots her parents. “Morning, Mom, Dad.”

“Morning, sweetie. How are you feeling this morning?” Emily turns around to look at her daughter. She was cooking some eggs on the stove.

Rick looks at his daughter as she walks into the kitchen, and he sets the newspaper he was reading down. Both parents were still getting over the fact that their little girl had somehow been given superhuman abilities.

Aurora looks at her mother and thinks about the question. She has been so busy helping people and learning about her abilities that she hasn’t really thought about how she feels.

“I don’t know, Mom. I mean, I slept well last night. It felt nice to sleep in my old bed.” Aurora walks over to the counter and fixes herself a cup of coffee.

She started drinking coffee at the training center, and while she has been helping some communities rebuild. Her parents watch as Aurora fixes her coffee with cream and sugar. A sly smile appears on Emily’s face as she watches her daughter.

“When did you start drinking coffee, sweetie?” Rick was curious about his daughter’s new habit.

“During training and when we went to help some communities during a snowstorm in Colorado.” Aurora looks at her father as she takes a sip from one of her father’s old coffee mugs.

“Sweetie, what is that bracelet you have on your right wrist?” Emily had been curious about it when she first spotted it while visiting Aurora at the training center.

“It’s a power regulator. It can nullify my abilities or decrease them within increments.”

“Is your instructor making you wear it, sweetie?” Rick wanted to know why his daughter was wearing it.

“No, sir, I asked for it for my safety and yours.” Aurora was looking at her mother.

“Oh? Why do you mean for our safety, sweetie? Are your abilities too dangerous for you to handle?” Rick looks at Aurora with concern.

“No, sir, but my power is tied to my emotional state, and the stronger the emotion, the more power I can generate.” Aurora takes another sip from her coffee cup.

“How strong are you, sweetie?” Rick looks at his daughter when he asks that question.

“According to Dr. Fox, Dad. I could power all of New Orleans for at least two days. However, I would be so exhausted afterward that I would sleep
for just as many days and be so hungry afterward that I would be better off eating at a buffet.” Aurora was surprised when she was forced to take control of the city near the training center.

A surprised look appears on Rick and Emily’s faces when they hear how powerful their daughter was. They had been informed about Aurora’s ability to be struck by a weird blue lightning bolt on her way home by Dr. Fox. But never thought their daughter would be so powerful.

“What are your plans while you’re home for two weeks, sweetie?” Emily asks her daughter as she sets a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage down in front of Aurora.

“I was thinking about visiting Mrs. Brooks over at The Mystic Closet. I need some new clothes and maybe have lunch with Christy and Henry at The Blacken Skillet.” Aurora was going to try to have a normal visit.

“Well, don’t be late for dinner, sweetie. Alex and Kasie should be home from work.” Emily was thinking about making Aurora’s favorite dish.

“I’ll make sure to be home, Mom.” Aurora finishes her breakfast and heads to the bathroom to brush her teeth and grab her purse.

“See you later, Mom and Dad.” Aurora steps out of the house and grabs her bicycle from the garage. She still needs to get her driver's license to drive without a licensed driver present. All she had at the moment was her learner’s permit, which meant she could only drive with a licensed driver in the car.

Aurora peddles to the French Quarter to do some shopping. Mrs. Blake had set up a bank account for each girl and put money in it. As it stood,
Aurora knew she and the other girls on her team were making double what a recruit in the US military earns in boot camp. They get extra pay for any hazardous job they perform or for any dangerous situation they enter.

Most of their snacks, food, uniforms, shoes, and personal items were provided to them. The food in the cafeteria wasn’t bad, and you weren’t limited to just one helping. This was perfect for Brandi/Zoom. Whenever she uses her speed, she has to refuel/replace the calories she burns.

Aurora parks her bicycle and goes inside The Mystic Closet, then waves to some of the sales staff she knows are on duty. She hits the clearance section first to see what deals she can find. She finds several outfits in her size and checks them out in the changing room. Some of them were a little snug, but still fit her. She selects four different ones and then browses the racks for some more clothes.

By the time Aurora leaves the store, she has spent over $200 on clothes and shoes. She considered buying some perfume but decided against it. She checks the time and notices it's close to when she agreed to meet her friends at Blacken Bistro. She was lucky that it was just down the way from where she was. She secures her purchases in the saddle baskets on her bicycle and walks down to the restaurant.

After informing the hostess on duty that some friends were going to join her, she asked for an outside table. She orders a virgin hurricane to enjoy while she waits for her friends to show up. When Aurora spots them, she waves to them and waits for them to be escorted out to the table.

During lunch, Aurora catches her friends up on what she has been up to. Dr. Fox said they should be careful about whom they reveal their identities or abilities to. The thing is, Aurora knew she could trust Christy and Henry. They have been her friends since elementary school and have confided all their secrets to each other.

Christy and Henry both look at Aurora and wonder how and why she had been chosen for her abilities. Henry looks at Aurora, “Did the person who is training you tell you why you were given these abilities?”

“Actually, yeah, I did. Do you want to know what my trainer told me?” Aurora looks at her friends when she responds.

“Yeah.” Henry was curious because he might enjoy having super abilities. He would like to be able to turn invisible and sneak into the girls’ locker room or even into certain women’s houses to see how they look without clothes.

Aurora looks over at Christy to see what she thinks. “How about you?”

“It doesn’t matter to me.” Christy didn’t really care because super abilities brought problems.

That surprised Aurora, because Christy has always been the curious type of person and was the first to jump into a situation. She was the person who liked to try something once.

“Well, here it is. Dr. Fox said it was just plump, dumb luck. Anyone could have been at that place during the same time, or the lightning could have struck several miles away and given someone the same ability.”

“Dumb luck? Are you saying that it was just luck you got hit and lived through getting struck?” Henry couldn’t believe that Aurora was just lucky.

“Yep, and I wasn’t the only one from New Orleans who was struck by lightning. There was another girl by the name of Lilith who was struck as well.”

“That must have been the girl I heard about in the oldest graveyard they found.” Christy had heard from her father about a teenage girl who was trying to contact the old voodoo queen.

“Oh?” Henry and Aurora look towards Christy for an answer.

“Yeah, Dad said that there was a gothic girl found at the burial site of the voodoo queen Marie Laveau. She had performed some ritual to summon the dead queen’s spirit and was struck by lightning instead.” Christy couldn’t believe what she heard from her father.

“Well, she’s part of the same team that I belong to. She’s in a relationship with another of my team members.”

“What does your other team member do, and what type of ability does that girl have?” Henry was even more curious now.

“Lilith is like a walking, talking doorway between the living and the dead. She can sense spirits and even communicate with them. She can manipulate a person’s bodily energy.”

“What do you mean by a person’s bodily energy?” Christy was curious about that.

“How to put this. A person’s body generates an electrical field because of all the different minerals we take into our bodies through food, water, and even the air itself. Those chemicals, along with the energy our bodies generate, create a field around us. Most new-age beliefs, as well as Hindu and Buddhist practices, call them Chakras/auras. If you can see them, they tell you how a person is feeling.”

“So, she can manipulate these energy fields?” Henry had a thoughtful look on his face.

“Yes, but she can also drain your energy from you as well.”

“You mean like a vampire?” Christy had a curious look on her face.

“Yes, just like a vampire.”

“How does that help your team?” Henry was curious.

“Oh, believe me when I say it does. There are things in this world that you only believed existed in fairy tales and horror books. That’s why our team was created and why we use our abilities.” Aurora didn’t mind facing those threats.

“Do your parents know exactly what you do, Aurora?” Christy looks at her friend.

“Not really. I’m telling you guys, because I trust you and I know you won’t tell anyone else.”

“We’ll keep your secret, Aurora, and if you find a way for us to get super abilities like yours. Maybe you can share that information?” Henry looks at Aurora with a huge smile on his face.

The three of them enjoy the rest of their lunch and, afterward, go in different directions. Aurora loved New Orleans and misses it when she is away. She was glad that she had two weeks to enjoy her time off.

Aurora arrives back home in time to help her mother with dinner. She knew her brother and sister would be home soon to sit down with them. She sets the table while her mother finishes the last of the side dishes she was serving.

Once everything was done cooking and on the table. Aurora’s sister and brother arrive at home. Aurora watches as Alex and Kasie walk into the house.

“Dinner is ready, guys.” Aurora looks towards her brother and sister.

“How was your day, little sister?” Kasie walks over and hugs her little sister.

“It was okay. I had lunch with some friends.” Aurora returns the hug.

“That’s good. So, why don’t you tell us what you have been up to, since you became a lightning rod?” Kasie starts walking over to the table.

Once they sit down at the dining room table, Aurora looks at her brother and sister. There were a few things she couldn’t tell them, but her parents had said she could share what she had experienced when she was struck and what her abilities are. Once everyone has filled their plates with the food her mother cooked, which was her favorite meal.

Aurora looks at her siblings, “As you know, I got struck by a weird lightning bolt. The lightning was unnatural in nature, according to one of the doctors who examined me.”

“How so, sis?” Alex looks at his little sister.

“According to what the doctor said. The lightning bolt was discharged from a parallel dimension. The conditions that allowed the energy to travel to this dimension were perfect that night.”

“And you believe that explanation, sis?” Alex looks at his little sister.

“Well, yes, I do, because then you get into the mystical aspect of what the energy is called, and I don’t want to even get into that.” Aurora knew her mother and father believed in the mystical energies for which New Orleans was famous.

“So, you’re saying the energy was mystical and dimensional in nature?” Kasie looks at her little sister when she says that.

“Yes, normal lightning would have killed me on the spot or done other things to me. It wouldn’t have given me my abilities.” Aurora was skeptical at first when she was told, but then she heard what happened to the other ladies down in South America.

“How many of your other teammates had the same thing happen to them?” Alex was curious about what his little sister told them.

“Each of the other girls had different things happen to them. The other girl, who is from here, was turned when a piece of bone from a long-dead coffin girl entered her body while gator hunting with her father and brothers. Each girl was affected differently by something.” Aurora knew every girl’s history from sharing with them.

“Wow! Remind me to avoid the swamp.” Alex didn’t want to be turned into a girl.

After dinner, Kasie and Aurora help their mother put away the leftovers. Aurora was planning to have some of the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
After the kitchen was cleaned, Aurora changed into her nightclothes and snuggled up against her mother. She missed spending time with her mother.

Across Town in Down Town New Orleans:
“Don’t you guys have something else better to do, instead of acting like jackasses?” Jake had stumbled onto a bunch of gang members from the Triple O’s.

They were mostly a multi-ethnic race gang that allowed anyone who could prove themselves to join. One of the requirements to join the gang was to kill a person. But the person who sponsored them selected the target for the recruit to kill. The newbie had to use the weapon they were given to do it.

Jake had stumbled onto four people whom he knew were members and were in the process of inducting a new member into the gang. He wasn’t having it, and he was going to put an end to it. He looks at the gang members, “Now, why don’t you boys go and find some sort of hobby to do, before you get hurt?”

“We’ll show you who is going to get hurt.” One of the gang members pulls his gun and starts shooting at Jake.

The other gang members pull their guns and start firing at Jake. All their bullets were hitting him, but they weren’t penetrating his skin or anything. The bullets tear his shirt to pieces, leaving him standing there shirtless.

“Now, why did you have to go and do that?” Jake brushes his shoulder off and charges towards the gang members.

Jake gets into an old-fashioned fist fight with the gang members. He doesn’t beat or injure them too much. He, however, gives them such a beating that they will think twice before confronting him.

Jake looks down at the gang members and calls the police to come and pick them up. He’ll press charges against them later and make sure they stay in jail this time around. He waits around for the police to show up. He informs them of what they were about to do and watches as the men’s identities are run.

Some of them return with warrants for their arrest on various charges. Jake couldn’t believe what some of these men’s police records were like.

“Throw them into a cell and throw away the cell.” Jake wanted to let these morons kill each other, so there would be fewer gang members. But the problem was, innocent bystanders got hurt in their stupid turf war.

Jake turns and walks back to his pickup truck parked nearby. He still couldn’t get over how he got his gift. He wasn’t supposed to work the night it happened. Now, he was like one of his favorite comic heroes.

He drives away from the scene and heads towards his job down at the docks. He puts on another shirt as he drives. He was lucky his pants weren’t damaged. Luckily, he had another pair inside his truck, just in case he needed to change them.

Jake heads to work, hoping for a quiet night. Given how the weather looked, it should be. He pulls into the parking lot and parks his truck. He checks himself after he gets out and heads towards the security office to clock in.

The next few days are quiet for Aurora. She delivered the message to the address Lilith had asked her to and then went to enjoy New Orleans. She loved her city and all the activities that went on around town. It was like a huge party every day and every night.

Aurora is careful about pickpockets trying to steal her purse. She adjusted the nullification field that keeps her powers in check to create a low-intensity energy field around her body that shocks anyone who touches her or her stuff. It was a good thing her cellphone had been modified to protect it from her abilities.

Aurora stops and lets the sun shine down on her face. She already stopped and had lunch. Her mother and her father were at work, just like her siblings. She wishes they could take time off to spend with her, but their jobs don’t offer paid time off.

Later in the afternoon, as Aurora is heading home on her bicycle, she spots a power company crew being terrorized by a live wire. It was sparking and whipping around, and getting close to the electrical repair crew.

Aurora stops her bicycle and looks over towards them. She was told to be careful when she uses her ability. She puts her kickstand down and turns the nullifier around her wrist off.

Aurora immediately felt her powers returning as the air around her crackled and popped. Aurora walks over to the wild power line.

“Get away from that, lady. It will kill you.” Chuck had spotted a girl with hair walking over to the power line they had been trying to control, only to lose it.

Aurora ignores the warning and starts walking towards the power line. She could feel her energy protecting her as she got closer. She could feel the electricity coming off the power line.

“Are you deaf, girl? I said get away from that power line.” Chuck watches as the young woman walks right up to the line.

Aurora walks right up to the line and grabs it as it comes near her. The energy inside the line reacts with the protective shield surrounding Aurora.
Sparks fly like fireworks as Aurora holds the line and the two different energies interact with each other.

Aurora looks towards the linemen holding the loose wire. “What do you need to do with this line?”

“We need to reconnect it up there.” Earl, one of the older linemen, couldn’t believe a teenage girl was holding a live electrical line, like it was nothing. He could see sparks bouncing off her.

“Well, I can’t hold this line all day, gentlemen.” Aurora knew she could hold the line all day if she had to.

“Can you hold it long enough for us to reconnect it?” Earl looks at the white-haired young woman holding the power line.

“Sure, no problem.” Aurora felt a tickle as the cable's electricity responded to her energy.

The linemen work hard to reconnect the power line that Aurora was holding back to the pole. By the time they were done, the line was reconnected. Aurora had dialed the nullifier back up to suppress her abilities.

Chuck looks at Aurora, “Thank you. Also, how were you able to do that?”

A smile appears on Aurora’s face when she looks at Chuck. “A girl has to have her secrets.”

Aurora mounts her bicycle and heads home. She hopes the guys don’t say anything about her helping them. She heads home while enjoying the ride. She was happy that she did something helpful.

By the time Aurora arrived home, her mother was fixing dinner. Aurora puts her bicycle away and helps her mother with dinner. She loves helping her mother fix dinner. She’ll have to talk to Mrs. Nelson to see if she could help out in the cafeteria if her time permits.

After dinner, Aurora turns in. She still had a few days off and would need to go to the airfield to be picked up. Aurora relaxes her eyes and falls asleep.

Rick goes outside in the morning to start his truck and finds the battery is dead. He pops the hood and starts messing with the battery terminals. The positive battery terminal was loose. He fixes the terminal and tries to start the truck, but it doesn’t start.

He wonders if he needs a jump. The thing was, his wife’s car was parked in front of his, and his kids had already left for work. He knew it would take Triple A an hour to get to him. He looks towards the house and hates to wake Aurora to give him a jump, but he has to get to the site he's working at.

Rick goes into the house and heads to his daughter’s bedroom. Rick knocks lightly on the door before entering. He opens the door. “Aurora, are you awake, sweetie?”

Rick walks over to Aurora’s bed. He looked down at his sweet little girl and noticed how innocent and peaceful she looked. Even when Aurora was little, she had always looked cute when she slept. He gently shakes Aurora’s shoulder, “sweetie, wake up.”

Aurora slowly opens her eyes when she hears her father’s voice. She looks towards her father through sleep-encrusted eyes. “Is it time for school, Daddy?”

A smirk appears on Rick’s face when he hears Aurora’s sleepy voice.

“No, sweetie, it's not. But I do need help from you, if you're up to it.”

It takes Aurora a few seconds to wake up. She looks at her father and sits up, “What’s wrong, daddy?”

“Sweetie, I hate to wake you for this, but the battery in my truck didn’t charge yesterday, and I need to jump it. Can you do that for me, please?” Rick felt foolish asking Aurora for a jump.

A smile appears on Aurora’s face, “I don’t mind, daddy.”

“Thank you, sweetie.” Rick kisses Aurora’s forehead.

“You’re welcome, sweetie.” Rick escorts Aurora outside to his truck.

Aurora had put on her house robe and bedroom slippers to cover her feet. She covers up a yawn as she follows her daddy outside to his truck. She adjusts the nullifier around her wrist to allow her to use her abilities.

She grabs the negative and positive battery terminals and gives the battery a small pulse of energy from her hands. When she is done, she looks at her father and says, “Give it a try, daddy.”

Rick turns the key, and the truck fires up on the first turn. He looks at Aurora, “Thanks, sweetie.”

“You’re welcome, daddy. Have a good day.” Aurora waves at her father after closing the hood on the truck.

She heads back towards the house. She was going to go back to bed for a few hours. She was still tired.

Later in the day, Aurora goes out with her mother. They were doing some window shopping and picking up groceries for dinner later on. As they turned down one street, a truck came speeding towards them. Aurora had enough time to turn her nullifier off to stop the truck, but some guy with dark hair had jumped in front of them and let the truck hit him.

Jake had spotted a reckless driver heading towards a white-haired teenage girl and her mother. He knew there was no way they could get out of the way in time. He jumped in front of the truck and stopped it, like he used to do when he was a football player back in college.

The front of the truck crumples up when it hits Jake’s body. He watches as the airbag in the truck deploys. He looks back towards the two women he just saved, “Are you ladies okay?”

Aurora and her mother were a little startled, but okay. Aurora’s mother, Emily, looks at the young man who just saved them. “Yes, thank you.”
Emily was surprised that the man in front of them managed to stop the truck with his body. He looked like her daughter.

“That’s good. Well, if you ladies will excuse me. I think the police will want to talk to me.” Jake walks over to the police officer who arrived.
Emily looks at her daughter, “Does your doctor know about him?”

“No ma’am. I thought only Lilith and I were the only ones in New Orleans who had abilities.” Aurora takes a picture of the man to send to Dr. Fox.

“What time do you have to leave on Friday, sweetie?” Emily had started walking again.

“Around one pm, Mom. Someone from the training center will arrive to pick me up.”

Aurora follows her mother back to the car. She still had the items she bought while out with her mother. Most of her stuff was already packed back home.

Later in the evening, when Aurora and Emily arrive home, the whole family goes out to dinner instead of having dinner at home.