My thoughts started turning dark, as they had constantly since that evening when I woke up in a conference room after.
Movement from the corner of my eye snapped me out of following the dark rabbit down the hole.
There she was.
She was real.
And she was just as perfect as I remembered her to be: White hair swishing around her faces as she ran, clothed in tight leggings, a thick wind jacket, boots, gloves, and a knitted hat on her head.
Those blue eyes of hers were staring at the trail ahead, oblivious to the art she was approaching.
Would she like it? Would it make her stop to observe it more?
That dragon of hers noticed it and ran ahead of her to sniff it, then climbed over it with sharp-looking claws.
The woman just kept on running, not even a glance at her companion that quickly jumped off the statue and caught up to its master.
I’m not sure what I was expecting by making this art and bringing it here.
Obviously, it was my stupid way to break the ice with this woman.
I should have just talked to her.
Next time.
After looking around to see if anyone else was watching, I fused the snow beneath the statue and lifted it up.
By the time I made it back to the warehouse using the ice to carry the sculpture, a light coating of sweat had coated my skin. I sat on the floor as soon as I closed the door and carefully settled the sculpture to the floor. The ice underneath was starting to melt in the heated space, so I moved my fingers, and it followed the movement into my sink.
I needed more practice. Using my power tired me quickly; my stamina needed some work.
At least an hour passed while I relaxed on the floor, thinking about my powers, the mystery woman, and my next move.
Feeling my strength start to return, I got up and walked swiftly over to my phone.
Staring down at the number I’d searched for, I hesitated to push the call button. I’d had this number since the year restarted and never called it. Too many memories and—dare I say—fear was associated with this person. But I knew what he was capable of, and though I was probably reading too much into my feelings, I was willing to do anything to find out about my mystery muse.
A year ago, I would have said love at first sight was for losers.
But I’ve seen the light. My eyes are open, and all I see is her.
Decision made. I was making a deal with destiny.
“Perfect timing.”
Phillip Griffin answered the phone on the first ring. He knew any and all futures, so of course he saw this coming. Which was perfect, because he knew why I was calling, too.
“Who is she?”
Chapter Five
Gwendolyn
“Here’s the ice.” Pops handed me the ice pack while I sat on the floor wincing at the pain radiating from my leg.
Updates to my superhero suit had been going okay until testing phase started. Of course, there were going to be kinks in my plans. First, I hit pen to paper and drew up my ideas, then I started tinkering with the parts, working on a way to get away from a superhero scene quickly.
I tried everything I could think of to fly, hurting myself in the application trials. So aside from strapping rocket boosters to my feet, it was impossible. My power was metal manipulation, which was great if I wanted to create and shape metal, but that was it.
