Of Thorns and Lightning Read online

  "You did the right thing, William. I'm not angry at you. I just can't do this."

  "If you really, really don't want this, I can arrange to get you out. Even though you're the chosen one and all, you fulfill the prophecy to save the world, we can get somebody else."

  "Thank you! Take your keycard back, and I'll get my things and go."

  Maize went up to her room in a sudden and unexpected storm, alarming Meaghan. She set her book aside and perked up, knowing something was wrong. Maize was already packing her bags.

  "Maize, what are you doing?!"

  "I'm going home!" She exclaimed. "I can't do this, Meaghan!"

  "Okay, slow down. Explain!" She said, jumping off the bed and approaching Maize.

  "This, this is all I was ever born to be! I'm part of a project made exactly for this, solely to be the next generation of gods. I didn't ever have a choice to be who I wanted to be, Meaghan! I don't want this!"

  "Slow down, girl! Let's think this through and not do anything crazy while you're upset, okay!"

  "I know who I am and what I want, and I know I don't want this. Trust me; now more than ever, I need you to trust me." Maize explained once again, grabbing her bag of things and getting ready to leave. Meaghan knew that there was nothing stopping her from leaving. She had made up her mind, and there was no place for her to try and stand in her way.

  William escorted her out, getting her settled into the backseat of his Mercedes S-Class and sending the car off with his personal driver back to her home. Artemis stood by him in the doorway, watching the car roll down the long path down to the main road.

  "Are you going to just let her walk away like that?" Artemis asked.

  "Yep. This is what she wanted. She needed to go home. I should have known this approach wouldn't have worked on everybody. She just needs some time. But I know she'll have to come back. She's about to change immensely, and the only safe place for her is here."

  "But you told her you would find somebody else."

  "Everybody lies, Artemis."

  There was a pause before either one of them spoke again.

  "Hundred bucks, she's back within a week." Artemis proposed a bet.

  "Nah, it'll be longer than that, Artemis. It's on." William responded.

  "It's a bet, William. I want a single, crisp hundred-dollar bill, with the shiny gold detailing on the numbers. I'm making it easy, I could ask for it in consecutive, untouched one-dollar bills."

  "Don't get cocky yet, Artemis. This is only just the beginning."

  Misconnections

  "This is what she wanted. She needed to go home."

  ♦️

  William's Mercedes dropped her off at her home on 125th street in Queens and Maize was eager to get out of it and finally go to the place where she felt safest right now. She grabbed her bags and shut the car door, walking up her stone driveway and wooden steps to unlock the front door and the familiar aura of the house greeted her. She was immediately calm until that was broken when she encountered her mother.

  "Maize! What are you doing back?" She asked, wiping her hands on her cleaning apron since she was tidying up the kitchen when Maize stumbled in.

  "Mom, I have so much to tell you, you're not going to believe it."

  "I'm not so sure about that, honey. I can't believe William let you come back, unless something bad happened."

  "So, you do know?! How long have you known I would be taken and turned into a superhuman?"

  "I've known it since the day you were born, and it was confirmed about four years ago when you started high school, and the program began."

  "Why'd you lie to me? How could you hold this from me for so long?!"

  "I couldn't tell you until it happened, Maize. If I could have, I would have. You always did need an adjustment period for big change, like with the divorce."

  "I need to let this all sink in, and I can't do it at the compound. It's cold and I already know the other people don't like me, especially since Peter is there and I know he's still mad at me, he won't talk to me and I've never seen him look at me like he did the other day. It doesn't feel right, I thought I had my whole life planned out, but William Townsend did it for me, and I just don't have a choice in what I want to do. I don't feel like an individual, Mom. I feel like a stranger to myself, especially because I've never been the type to fit to someone's cookie cutter idea of who they want me to be. I just can't be Thor." She ranted, brushing by her mother and running up to her light blue bedroom.

  Upstairs, she closed the white-painted wooden door and locked it, though the lock had been busted for years and it could open with enough jiggling. She threw her backpack and her other bags on the hardwood floor by the door, kicking her shoes off on the maroon carpet. She laid on her bed motionless, letting the white lace curtains dance in the breeze coming through the open window as she tried to calm down and try to rationalize the situation.

  The light began to fade in the day, her front bedroom losing the lightest the fastest. She didn't come down for dinner or get up at all, she was in a deep meditative, trance-like state. Sleep didn't take her easily, but it grasped her and dragged her into an exhausted, blackout sleep.

  She didn't know how many days had passed, but she was working through her emotions one by one, trying to understand herself. Eventually, her mom came up to check on her since she was becoming increasingly worried about her daughter. She knocked at the door softly.

  "Honey, can I come in? Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

  She didn't answer, though she heard her mother at the door. Eventually she opened it, tiptoeing into the room. She saw her daughter on her side on the bed and she sat down gently next to her, running a soft hand through her blonde hair that was splayed out on the comforter. She was holding her stuffed dog close to her chest, her eyes closed. Her mother couldn't tell if she as asleep, but her question was soon answered.

  "Mom, can I ask you something?" She asked quietly, not opening her eyes.

  "Of course, baby. Anything."

  "William put together a set of files for me to read. About you and dad. Because you used to be part of the Assembly?"

  "That's true. After college I was interning with the CIA, but The Assembly recruited me and offered me a permanent job that payed better and used my talents. They wanted to use me as a liaison between the mortal world and that of the gods, I couldn't say no. I was an agent for them for years before I met your dad. He was the working for Homeland Security, but The Assembly recruited him for their strategic protection. We were paired together when we were both fully fledged agents. I worked there for years until I got pregnant with you, then instead of working in the field I worked in the offices. I had you, took a year off and then retired from my work with the Assembly, since humans are a mess and the gods are full of drama, and then I began teaching classes at the university. The rest is history."

  "Why did you keep that from me, too?!" She asked, sitting up. "All of this would make so much more sense to me if I wasn't hit with my future and your past all at once."

  "It was also because of the project, but the past was the past and I never found the right time or reason to tell you about my time with the Assembly. I'm sorry."

  "Mom, why am I Thor? Did you know that's who I was meant to be? I just wish I would have known. I feel like I have to fit to this role, now." She said once again, frustrated. She ran her hands through her greasy hair.

  "Honey, you always knew this. Even if I didn't tell you, you always knew yourself, it's always been a part of you. Think back, in all your memories, all the ones that you have when you didn't understand why you were treated differently or felt like you were an outsider and they should all make sense to you now that you know your destiny." She explained, kissing her daughter's head before getting up to leave.

  "If you need anything else, just yell."

  Maize did exactly what her mom asked. She analyzed her entire last and tried to make connections, but she was missing one of the critical tools for
this. She hopped out of bed and went over to her bookshelf and pulled out her entire crate of comics based on the current Gods and read through them all, beginning to finally understand and make sense of her new life. She stayed up all night reading them, almost feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from her heart and soul, like Thor's hammer had been resting on her conscience.

  Even so, that wasn't enough for her.

  When dawn broke, she changed her contact lenses and brushed her teeth before grabbing her purse and running out the front door, jumping in her old Saab Junker car that had shown its age but got her all the places the city transportation didn't.

  As much as she dreaded seeing him and didn't have a good relationship with him, she needed to go to visit someone in Washington Heights: her father.

  She crossed the Hudson River and began her journey upstate to meet her father. She dug out her EZ-pass from her center console and stuck it on the Velcro strips behind her rear-view mirror so she could pass through the tollbooths at speed since she wasn't going to risk wasting time getting to her destination. The morning traffic was just beginning to get heavy, though it was barely 7 in the morning. She hoped she would catch her father before he headed out for work. She despised him, he always mistreated her and didn't care, and he was living his best life without her in it. She didn't want to talk to him. She hadn't in years. He didn't want to talk to her, either, but this was necessary.

  She got off the highway and drove the route to her father's house, trying to remember the neighborhood and her way around. Eventually, she arrived at his house and parked on the road, not wanting to block his Maserati in the driveway. She walked up the lawn and aggressively knocked at the door, not there for leisure. She didn't come to play manipulative games with her father. He opened the door, unpleased to see her. She got right down to business.

  "Tell me about the Assembly." She demanded. He was tying his tie, taken aback by her presence and question.

  "Only come around when you need something from me, I see? I don't have time to get into any of that, Maize. Ask Townsend. Don't make me be late for work." He answered insensitively. Maize became furious.

  She pushed her way into his house and slammed the door, locking it behind her.

  "No. You owe me this. I don't care if you're late for work, you're the regional director. You have enough power to fix it, David. Start talking, I don't have all day."

  "Okay." He sighed, making a quick call to someone Maize didn't know. "Yeah, I'm going to be a little late. I have something to take care of. Thanks. Bye."

  He turned to Maize.

  "So, you want to know about the Assembly, yeah? Let's make this quick, then. I worked with your mom on missions run by Artemis, then she got pregnant and worked in cataloging and I got my own team. We worked with Townsend on the concept of the project you're a part of, but you didn't have an in just because I helped create it, you know. Townsend's a close friend of mine, he and I worked on a lot of projects together. I lead missions with my team for another five years, about, then I got in some trouble when we went to Sokovia and the mission went bad and everybody but me died. That's when things started going downhill with your mother. I went back to Homeland Security after that, and now the time had passed and you're a God in training. What else did you want to know?"

  "Nothing. That's it." She said, slightly shocked to hear that information about her father and his involvement with the Youngblood Project. William didn't mention that or include that in his files. She had no choice but to believe her dad since he immediately knew what she was referring to and a part off without her saying anything.

  She had enough of her father and turned right around out the door.

  "You're welcome," he called after her. She stopped in her tracks, her back to him and her teeth grinding.

  She didn't turn around and say thank you.

  The Vision

  "The only safe place for you right now is at the compound."

  ♦️

  Maize felt as if her skin was crawling.

  She never liked being around her dad.

  He was toxic, he decided not to be a part of her life.

  He left her.

  She parked her Saab in the driveway and walked back into her house, her mother greeting her on her way in.

  "Where'd you run off to? I didn't even hear you leave." She asked calmly, her hands grasping a steaming cup of coffee.

  "I went out to Washington Heights, and now I want to throw up." Maize answered honestly, locking the door behind her and stepping closer into the living room.

  "I thought I smelled Hugo Boss. It makes me want to throw up too." Her mother, Anne, admitted. "Want some coffee?" She then offered.

  "No, I think I just need some water." She declined, wanting to cleanse her palate.

  "Did you get any more answers from David? I hope your trip out there gave you something and it wasn't for nothing. That would be a shame; a useless visit with your father."

  "Yes, actually. I didn't know he worked with Townsend on the Youngblood Project. I didn't even have to say anything, he just knew what was happening with me, and that scared me a little bit. I was mostly reminded of why I don't talk to him. He just doesn't care." Maize answered.

  "Tell me about it, darling. Did you get any sleep last night?" She asked, changing the topic.

  "No, I reread all my comic books instead. I hoped it would help me understand who I was, and it did. I think I'm finally starting to get it."

  "Did you think back on your memories? I thought that might help, too."

  "It did, you were right. I knew I needed to come home in order to figure this out." Maize determined, much calmer and less heightened about the situation she would be in.

  "I'm glad you're feeling better. When you were younger, you always stood up for the little guy, no matter what. You selflessly helped your friends before you thought of yourself. You took no shit from anybody and protected the things you loved with your whole self. I told you, you always had it in you, baby." Her mother explained, leaning forward to put her hand on the back of her daughter's head and kissed her forehead.

  "Mom, I don't know if I'll really see you again with college and this program and all." Maize said, tears welling up in her eyes. Her mother was her best friend and separating from her would be challenging.

  "We'll find a way, darling." She said confidently, putting her coffee mug in the dishwasher. "Go upstairs and try and get some sleep." She encouraged. Maize went upstairs and tried to do just so.

  Anne was about to leave for work but still had a few things to do in order to get ready. Maize got settled in her bed, her thoughts still rattling around in her brain. Though they were calmer, they were still invasive, and the sun wouldn't let her sleep. The sounds of the city and the planes taking off always soothed her before, and without fail they did once again. She didn't take into consideration the car approaching, then stopping and the doors opening and closing. She assumed it was just one of her neighbors, but it turned out to be a visit from a friend. Before she left, her mother went up to Maize's room to check on her as well. She knocked on the door and peeked in, updating her.

  "Honey, Peter's here. I'll send him up before I leave if you want to talk to him. I'll be back at about 4, call me if you need anything. I'll see you soon." Her mother said to a sleepy Maize.

  "Send him up." She responded.

  "Okay. I love you." Her mother said before leaving. She heard voices and footsteps downstairs, then Peter's gait coming up the stairs. Peter looked around, her house familiar to him as his house was to her. He reached the top of the stairs and turned down the hallway, her room in the front of the house facing the street. He stood in the doorway but didn't knock, not knowing what to say to her. They hadn't spoken since the flash drive incident, and the meeting at the compound.

  Maize noticed his presence even if she wasn't looking at him. He could never sneak up on her, his presence was never invisible to her.

  "Don't just stand there, Petey
. Come in." She invited. He side stepped into her room, resting against the wall by her door.

  "Listen, Maize, I want you to know I'm not angry at you anymore about the flash drive. You're my best friend and I forgive you. I got all your voicemails and I know how upset you were about it."

  "I'm sorry that I took it, Peter. I shouldn't have. I was worried about you but that wasn't the way to find out what was going on in your life."

  "And the look I gave you at the compound was harsh. I didn't expect to see you so soon, the plan got changed and I was a little shocked. But now you know everything, huh?"

  "Yeah. I just wish you had told me."