Chapter 7: The Ending

NOW:

Lightburst came awake. The room was spinning around her and she was groggy. She felt like she was going to throw up. She was manacled to a stone wall, her arms and legs forming an X.

Drugged me, Lightburst thought, surprised she could form a coherent thought.

Her powers. If she could call one of her energy blasts, maybe she could use those to blast or burn her way to freedom. But she couldn't concentrate, couldn't even begin to summon one of her bolts. As it was, she could barely summon any strength at all.

"Good, you are awake," a silky female voice came to her ears.

Lightburst looked over at the figures coming down the stairs. Cassandra Black came first down the rickety wooden steps that led into the Black Magic shop's basement. Erin followed her. Lightburst felt her hatred rise at the sight of Cassandra, remembering what had happened earlier that day.

THEN:

Samantha looked up from her homework as the knock came at the front door. Her mom was still at work and wouldn't be home for at least a couple more hours. And she wasn't expecting anyone to stop by, so she wondered who it was.

Leaving her homework for now, she rose from the kitchen table and moved for the front door. When she could see out the door's window, she saw Erin standing there.

"Oh my God, Erin!" Samantha cried when she opened the door to let her friend in. "Are you okay? Why weren't you at school today?"

Erin came inside, Samantha shutting the door behind her. "I really didn't feel like going today, blondie." Erin softly grabbed her friend's hands and held them. It was a friendly gesture, not at all unusual between the two best friends, but something was wrong. Alarm bells sounded in Samantha's head. This just didn't feel right for some odd reason. But she didn't draw away from her friend.

"I need to talk to you," Erin told her, beaming a smile at her. She was clearly excited about something.

"What is it?" Samantha asked, gently stepping back out of her grasp and leading her into the living room. She looked back at Erin, and Erin was practically at her heels. What in the world was wrong with her?

Samantha sat down on the couch, Erin sitting right beside her. Erin's knee touched Samantha's, and Erin left it there. Samantha quickly glanced at their touching knees, then back to Erin. This was getting odder by the second.

"I was with someone last night!" Erin announced it like she was sharing the biggest secret in the world with her. The statement practically burst out of her, and she was positively radiating happiness.

Samantha looked at her in confusion. "You were 'with' someone last night?" she repeated. "I don't know what you mean... oh. Oh!" Samantha suddenly realized what Erin meant.

"Oh my God!" Samantha uttered, not sure what she should be feeling about Erin's news. "How did it happen? What is he like? Do I know him?"

"'He'?" Erin asked in confusion. "No, no, it was a woman."

"A... woman?" Samantha blinked. "Well, I mean, that's fine... but I asked you, and you said you weren't into girls."

"I was confused," Erin dismissively said. "I didn't know why I was feeling the emotions I had when I would see a pretty girl, or when we were all in the shower at school. I didn't know why I never felt any interest in boys other than as friends. But most of all, I didn't want you to know that I might have feelings for you."

Erin stared hard at Samantha, her eyes locked with her friend. Samantha blinked, becoming more and more uncomfortable. "And, um, do you have... feelings... for me?"

"Yes!" Erin burst out. "Yes, my love, I do! You don't know how long I've been waiting to tell you! It feels so good to finally share my true feelings for you!"

Samantha nearly jumped out of the chair, rubbing her hands nervously against her jeans. She started pacing about the room, her back to Erin. She just couldn't look at her.

"Erin..." she began, her voice shaking. "Erin, that's... I mean... it's okay that you have feelings for me. I still lo... I still like you... as a friend. I mean, you're still my best friend in the world. And nothing will ever change that. But I just don't... I'm not... I don't feel that way about you."

Silence. Samantha couldn't bear to turn and look at her, didn't even want to imagine the hurt and pain on her friend's face. She wanted to take it all back, try and save their friendship, but she couldn't lie. She just did not feel those feelings towards her.

"She said you felt the same way," Erin said in a voice that was nearly a whisper.

"She who?" Samantha absently asked.

"My mistress. Cassandra."

Samantha stopped. She slowly turned to look at Erin. Erin was staring at her hands in her lap, tears falling from her eyes.

"Cassandra? Cassandra Black?"

Erin nodded.

Samantha ran her hand through her light hair, her mind racing with questions. Why would this woman, who came to her in friendship, even made her Lightburst costume for her, why would she tell Erin that Samantha loved her? How in the world did she know Erin?

Her hands trembling, she quickly reached for her cell phone and hit the speed dial button, instantly dialing up with Blackbird's phone number that he had given her. She hoped with all her being that he was able to answer it. She needed his help.

"I have to go!" Erin bawled, jumping out of the couch, striding quickly for the front door. "It wasn't supposed to be like this! I need to ask her why you don't love me!"

"Erin, wait!" Samantha cried out, but she was already throwing the front door open and running out into the twilight.

Samantha was about to go after her, but then Blackbird's voice came at the other end of the phone.

"Lightburst, what's wrong?"

"It's Erin," Samantha said, racing into her bedroom to grab her costume. "She's... I don't know... not acting like herself. I need a favor."

"Name it," he told her.

"I need you to run a name through your computers or whatever. Cassandra Black. She has something to do with this, I know it." Samantha reached under her bed and pulled out a nondescript box. She opened it, threw a few of the items she had stacked on top out of the box, and pulled her folded costume out of the box.

Blackbird was silent for a second. "Cassandra... Black?"

Samantha had been about to undress so that she could get into her costume, but she stopped. "Do you know her?"

"I think I do," he admitted. "The name rings a bell. Listen, I need some time on this. Don't do anything until I call you back."

"I can't wait," Samantha told him, unsnapping and unzipping her pants. "Erin's on her way back to her now. I don't know what Cassandra will do to her. Call me back when you can."

She clicked off the phone before Blackbird could try to talk her out of going to the magic shop that Cassandra owned.

The front window of the Black Magic shop shattered as the energy blast pounded through it, sending a display of magic trinkets flying across the store. A second later, the glowing form of Lightburst flew in through the remains of the window and landed inside.

"Where are you?" Lightburst angrily demanded, her fists clenched. "Where are you, you bitch?"

Cassandra melted out of a doorway, coming up the stairs from the basement. Her cat was cradled in her arms, the woman stroking its ebony fur. She did not seem at all afraid of Lightburst, in fact she was smiling, as if enjoying a private secret.

"'Bitch', is it?" she said, her voice cool. "You insult me after I have given you a gift?" She glanced down at Lightburst's costume. "Very, very rude of you."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm afraid I will have to punish you for your rudeness."

Lightburst suddenly felt a sharp sting at the back of her neck. She turned, seeing Erin standing behind her. Her eyes were red with tears and burning with hatred as she looked at Samantha. She had a needle in her hand.

"What?" Lightburst felt the room start spinning. Her legs felt weak. "Erin, what did you do?"

"What she told me to do," Erin simply replied.

Lightburst fell to her knees, her legs unwilling to support her anymore. Her vision was growing cloudy. The floor came rushing up to her, and then she felt the wooden tiles against her cheek.

"Very good, child," she heard Cassandra telling Erin. And that was the last thing she heard.

NOW:

Lightburst glared at Cassandra, who simply smiled calmly at her. Erin stood beside the woman, her arms wrapped one of hers, her head resting against the shoulder. She stared knives at Samantha.

"What have you done to her?" Lightburst demanded through the haze of the drugs.

"I have simply exposed her true nature," the woman replied. She reached up and ran a gentle hand through Erin's long brown hair. Erin looked up at her with total devotion. "You should be thanking me for providing her the opportunity to be who she really is, instead of hiding her feelings."

"She would never do this to me," Lightburst argued. She began to strain against the metallic manacles that pinned her against the wall.

"I wanted you to be the one!" Cassandra suddenly yelled, anger erupting from her. "I tried to enchant you, but you resisted!"

She strode over to stare at Lightburst, their faces inches away. "I don't know how you did it," she hissed, "but you resisted my spell. I tried to ensnare you the night you came to get this silly costume. But you somehow defied my enchantments!"

"Why?" Lightburst asked. She felt her strength returning. The drugs must be wearing off, she thought. I need to keep her distracted until I can do something to get myself out of these. "Why did you want to hypnotize me?"

"My spells are no mere hypnosis, girl," Cassandra chided her. "I am a sorceress, and my spells of enslavement are no mere parlor tricks! And I wanted you, because of your beauty... and your power. With the two of us together, there was much we could have accomplished."

"Too bad for you," Lightburst replied. "Your spells don't seem to work on me."

"Yes..." Cassandra admitted, her eyes narrowing. "I wonder why that is. Perhaps your powers, perhaps your strong willpower." She shrugged, unconcerned. "It matters no more. I no longer need you. Not when I can simply take the power from you."

Cassandra spun around and started walking to the other end of the room. Lightburst's eyes followed her. "Good luck with that," she retorted at the woman's back. "The power's inside of me, so how are you going..."

Her voice trailed off as Cassandra picked up something from a wooden stand. She turned back to face Lightburst and the teenager could see the sharp and wicked looking dagger in her hands.

"I know of a spell that may transfer your power to me," the woman stated, her finger running lightly over the edge of the knife. "What a shame the ritual requires your sacrifice."

"I'm not alone, you know," Lightburst said, thinking quickly. "My boyfriend is Blackbird. Maybe you've heard of him. He works with White Owl. And he's expecting me to call him back soon. If he doesn't hear from me, he'll bring Team Supreme and probably even the Challengers here to kick your ass."

Cassandra laughed. "Your cellular phone? What a pity that your friend Erin smashed it into pieces."

Lightburst's hopes sunk as Cassandra drew closer to her, her dagger gleaming. "I'm afraid, child," she began, her voice cold, "that no one is coming to save you."

Blackbird swung down through the shattered window of the shop. He landed in a crouch, his trained eyes scanning the store for any threat and for any sign of Lightburst. He didn't see either one, and he took note of the stairs leading up, and the open door leading downstairs.