Douglas's Dilemma - Chapter 12

The next morning.

Patrick Morgan, Illyana's father, was having breakfast at the kitchen table when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He looked up as his daughter appeared in the kitchen doorway.

"Back so soon?" he said. "I thought you were going to spend a whole week at Cindy's house."

Illyana yawned and ran her fingers through her messy hair. "I missed my bed," she muttered, not meeting her father's gaze as she walked over to the kitchen counter to start making breakfast.

"When did you return? You weren't here last night when I went to bed." Patrick asked, taking a bite of his cereal.

Illyana shook her head. "Just a few hours ago,"

"In the middle of the night?  So that's why it looks like you're running on fumes." Patrick said as he noticed the dark circles under Illyana's eyes. "Did you two have a fight?"

"Why would we?" Illyana said.

"Could it be that, maybe, just maybe, you weren't at Cindy's place at all?"

"I was at Cindy's place, is what I said," Illyana said.

"Cindy seems to think otherwise." Patrick showed his daughter the chat log of him and Cindy to Illyana.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously as he shoved the phone towards her. "Why are you stalking my friends?"

"I'm not stalking, sweety. I was just worried, that's all," Patrick replied, tucking his phone back into his pocket and picking up his hot mug of coffee from the table.

"And how did you manage to get her number?" Illyana asked.

"Ha! You'd be surprised how fast a fossil like me can find information through social media. The brother of a colleague of Cindy's mother is a friend of mine. When I mentioned my concerns about your lack of communication and unreachable phone, they were more than happy to help. They even suggested going to the police; lucky for you, I didn't."

"Lucky I indeed." Illyana sat at the table and started eating while gazing out the window in a daze.

Her father let out a heavy sigh. "Look, I know you're not going to disclose your whereabouts. You don't have to. You'll turn 18 in just two months. But can you at least assure me that you're safe next time?"

"Please?" he added when it seemed like Illyana was not planning on giving a response.

Illyana showed a barely perceivable nod and scooped up a spoonful of cereal, bringing it to her lips.

"Thank you. By the way, this just arrived this morning." An envelope was pushed towards her. Large, red letters were scrawled across the front, reading: For my sweetheart.

"Looks like an overly early birthday card from your mother, obviously trying to make amends for the past few years." Patrick winked.

Illyana snatched the envelope from the table and bolted over to the bin, tossing it inside with a flick of her wrist. She returned to the table, only to stand up again to fish the envelope out of the bin.

With a swift rip, she tore the envelope open, expecting to find some money inside. And that's precisely what she found, only not as much as she had hoped.

"Cheapskate," Illyana muttered as she shoved the money into the pocket of her pajama shorts and tossed the card back into the bin without reading it.

"You have the rest of the week off, I assume?" Patrick asked.

Illyana nodded, pouring herself a cup of tea.

"Here," Her dad handed her some cash, more than what she received in her birthday card from her mom.

"I'll be working late again. This is for your dinner. Oh, and I also got this."

Illyana furrowed her brow as a flyer was thrust into her view. She picked it up, then dropped it when she saw it was just an advertisement for community college. Patrick looked at her earnestly and said, "Just consider it, okay?"

"I won't toss it on top of Mom's birthday card. I promise," Illyana smiled. I'll just shove the thing underneath it, she thought.

"Thank you. I just want you to have a brighter future than me." Patrick said.

I already have a brighter future. Brighter than anyone else's.

She thought as she watched herself, gifted with unimaginable abilities, flying high above the city's skyline and observing the ant-like people below, toiling day in and day out to meet the expectations imposed on them by those who sat comfy in positions of power.

Illyana would stand above it all, untouchable to the tentacles of society.

It should happen any moment now. She could feel it.

These powers would finally give Illyana the freedom she craved from the rules and restrictions that had always confined her.

Perhaps I can create my own set of laws that others must follow. The thought ignited a surge of joy rippling through her body.

Let people experience the pressure of meeting my expectations for a change.

Guilt consumed Illyana as she reflected on how she had purposefully invaded Douglas's personal boundaries by kissing him while he slept.

Illyana was quite confident that she would have succeeded in making Douglas kiss her within a week. She did not doubt her own capabilities.

What she did doubt was how stable Tiffany's decision was to allow her to do so.

Illyana's mind raced with visions of Tiffany storming into the hotel room at any second.

Tortured by the burning images in her head of seeing her precious boyfriend wrapped in Illyana's arms, passionately kissing her lips would prod Tiffany undoubtedly to yank him away from her, potentially ruining her chance at gaining the powers she so desperately craves. She could not let that happen.

Illyana likes to keep control, so after hearing Douglas's stories and hearing him murmuring in his sleep, she decided to take her chance and kiss him.

He was obviously dreaming of her, craving to worship her body and wanting her to be a powerful Goddess. So, in Illyana's reasoning, whether this was conscious or not, the intention was there. The only thing lacking was the kiss.

llyana had no idea how long it would take for Tiffany's powers to transfer to her, or even what the process would feel like. Was it a matter of hours or a whole day? Perhaps even longer? What if nothing happened?

Illyana pondered if it was all a wise course of action. Time will tell.

But she felt confident that these powers would be transferred, though.

Why else would Tiffany burst into the room moments after their lips touched? Tiffany's reaction made it clear that she had felt something, and Illyana could have sworn that she had felt something, too, or so she thought.

+++

"So you woke up in the middle of the night and felt the sudden urge to come rushing towards me because?" Douglas asked as he pulled his denim pants up.

"It's hard to describe," Tiffany said, snuggled in her blankets in her own bed while watching Douglas get dressed. "Compare it with an, I don't know, a self-aware overheated fuel rod that feels the irrepressible urge to be cooled."

Douglas cocked a brow. "A 'self-aware overheated fuel rod?'" He reached out to grab his shirt draped over a nearby chair.

"I suck at metaphors, okay!" Tiffany said.

"Did you have such feelings before?"

Tiffany shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of. Not like this."

"Not like this?" Douglas raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I'm always worried about you, Douglas, even on normal days when nothing out of the ordinary is happening. I may be indestructible, but you are vulnerable to harm from so many sources as a mere mortal. I can't bear the thought of losing you."

"Illyana wasn't trying to harm me."

"Not directly, no. But you said it yourself: Illyana is unstable and can have dark tendencies even under the right circumstances. imagine such a person with the powers I possess."

"And yet you gave her your blessing to kiss me. Yeah, brilliant move there, Tiffany." Douglas said, not doing his best to keep the blame out of his voice.

"Hey, don't blame this on me! You're the one who's wet dreaming about that wench all day, craving her to be some all-powerful dark goddess, bending the world to her will."

"Only because it's necessary. Things don't have to be this complex, Tiffany. If only you could be more like…"

"…like her?" Tiffany finished for him, her eyes narrowing.

Douglas sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Tiffany, please…" He approached Tiffany.

Before Douglas could even take a seat on the edge of the bed next to her, Tiffany threw the blankets in his face and jerked away with a sudden swoosh.

Like a flash, she swirled through the room, to the bathroom, to the closet, and to the mirror as she transformed herself from a morning-mess into a stunning vision in less than a second—her dress impeccably pressed, her hair neatly styled and her teeth shining white.

"Where are you going?" Douglas asked.

"Chee, I don't know. Maybe I'll attack some Russian cargo ships and then possibly move on to invade China."

Tiffany approached the window and lifted it open.

Douglas walked up to her. "I think it may be wise not to fly right now. What if your powers are suddenly stripped away while in midair?"

"I think I'm wise enough to decide that on my own, thank you," Tiffany said, and she blasted off into the sky.