Chapter 1

Her feet dragged her all the way into the bathroom. The pieces of the mirror were still sitting in the sink from moments before when she'd shattered it. The smell of burnt wood and gas still lingered in the room, which made her rest her face in her hands. She winced, pulling back quickly once she realized that the purple bruise on her face was still there, even after three days of constant ice and resting. Delia turned, looking at her reflection in one of the shards that remained in the sink. Her fingers ran up from her split lip, which was still a bit bloody, towards her cheek bone, where the black and blue bruise was imbedded in her skin.

This wasn't supposed to be happening. After everything she'd done for that complete asshole, this is how he repaid her? With threats and slaps on the side of the face? Even a baseball bat to the head a few days earlier… If only he knew what she was capable of, how easily she could burn down his house with little to no evidence of it being anything but an accident. She shook her head and pulled the rubber band that was wrapped tightly around her wrist, snapping it onto her skin. She'd done this sort of 'training' ever since she received her powers, knowing that if she continued to think darkly like this that it could end badly.

This time, the wincing at the rubber didn't wake her from the morbid thing that was growing inside of her mind. She was already trembling with anger as she snapped her fingers together, a small flame appearing right in between her thumb and index finger. Delia stared at the delicate, bright flickering light for a moment. It was so tiny, yet it could cause an abundance worth of damage…

The tears had already begun to prick her eyes as she pulled her arm back, the feeling of the flame growing bigger in her hands satisfying. A crash was heard and her eyes were drawn up towards were the ball of fire had landed. She knew the fire would spread quickly enough so that a few people would inhale the smoke, but slow enough so that everyone, including herself could get out in time. Turning from the bathroom, the bottom of her feet being pricked with small pieces of glass, she grabbed her thick, winter jacket and the picture of her mother from the counter, the only things that truly mattered to her in this hellhole.

The smoke was already pouring out of the building once the paramedics, police, and fire trucks had arrived. Delia was standing on the other side of the street in the crowd, looking up at the scene that was unfolding. As she watched her neighbor, a single mother with a daughter named Jenna, run over to her, coughing and covered in smoke and ash, Delia's lips parted. Her bottom lip began to quiver as she shook her head, the tears beginning to prick roughly at her eyes. No… she wasn't a monster. This wasn't supposed to be happening. No…

Her gaze had been averted up from the ground towards a policeman, who was now walking towards the crowd. She felt the sudden urge to run, but knew if she did, she would seem completely guilty. Delia's feet stayed planted on the ground as the man held up his arms for the crowd to quiet and stay calm.

"Now, we've just been told by a few firemen that this was no accident. The fire began in someone's apartment. At this point, we're unsure if it was a kitchen fire or something like that. If any of you think you might have left the stove on or a cigarette partially lit, please come and talk to us whenever you would like."

Her feet continued to stay planted on the floor as the cop looked directly into her eyes. He parted his lips to say something before he was quickly called back over towards a group of fellow officers.

Someone pulled on Delia's jacket, causing her to look over her shoulder, then under. She spotted Jenna and began to smile, bending down next to her.

"What's up kiddo?" She mumbled, wiping a spot of dirty off her face before ruffling the girl's hair.

The little girl looked up at Delia and sighed. "I left my rabbit in there, Del."

Delia blinked her already wide eyes and swallowed harshly. She turned back over her shoulder, looking at the building, which was still in flames. As a few of the officers were distracted with a man dressed in black and an eye patch over his left eye, Del quickly slipped under the yellow tape that had been put there for the resident's safety.

She began to casually walk over towards the front door, until a fireman called over to her. "Ma'am! You can't go in there! It's not safe!"

He ran over to her, trying to grab her arm. All eyes were on her now, causing her cheeks to turn a deep shade of red. As she reached the front door, she pulled down a blanket of flames with her hand, making sure that the fireman or anyone else couldn't follow her.

She heard the panicked screams of fear coming from the streets as she ran up the stairs towards the third floor. She pushed the flames out of her way using her fingers, the heat of the fire being extinguished once the tips of her fingers brushed against them slightly. Kicking the door to Jenna's apartment open, Delia quickly ran inside and towards the little girl's room, remembering where it was from the many times that she'd babysat before. A sigh of relief escaped her when she saw the small stuffed rabbit laying on Jenna's bed, still untouched by the ash or fire.

Once the rabbit was safely tucked under Delia's arm, she turned to leave. Suddenly, the fourth floor came crashing in. When the smoke had cleared, Del was on the floor, her bed from upstairs right next to her. She shrugged, grabbing her phone which she'd forgotten in the panic. Standing up, she placed her hand on the bed, extinguishing the flames that had engulfed the duvet covers and mattress. She smirked, knowing that the flames she had caused were under her own control.

She made her way down the stairs slowly, putting out any fire that she spotted on her way out. No need to completely destroy the place. Placing her hand on the doorway, the flames disappeared and she walked down the front steps. With not even a scratch, mark, or dirt spot on her, everyone stood speechless, until Jenna pushed her way through the taller crowd. Her arms were stretched out as she grabbed her stuffed rabbit, then began to hug Del.

"Thanks, Del." Jenna quickly kissed the woman's cheek and ran back to her mother.

Delia was left with a smile on her face as she brushed off the ash from the toy. It was eerily silent as the neighbors, policemen, and paramedics stared at her, completely in shock that the girl had come out of a building, engulfed in flames, completely untouched and unharmed.

Suddenly, the man in black emerged from the crowd and everybody went back to their normal duties. The man was smiling, wrapped completely in black, his skin darkly colored. Del quickly took a step back once he approached her.

"Delia Nichols." He didn't ask if it was her name. It seemed as if he already knew.

Taking a few steps to her right, then forward she murmured, "What do you want?"

Delia quickly grabbed her bag from where she'd dropped it, then turned back to face the man.

He put out his hand firmly. "Nick Fury. Director of SHIELD."

Looking at his hand, Delia blinked, her face cold and uninterested. "Look, if that's some rehab place that my brother suggested I be in, then I don't wanna hear it." She waved her hand in the air, turning back towards the street.

"I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger's Initiative, Ms. Nichols."

Acting as if it was nothing special (because she didn't recognize the organization), she continued to walk. "The what?" She laughed out, pulling out her phone to check the time.

Nick tugged at her arm, pulling her back to face him. He didn't seem like he was playing around and that actually scared her. She snapped her fingers quietly, making a small, defense flame appear, just in case. "Ms. Nichols, I'm quite aware of your supernatural powers."

He pointed towards her fingers, noticing the small fire that had suddenly appeared. "We'd like you, along with a few other people… like you, to join the Avenger's Initiative."

Del stared up at him, extinguishing the flame quickly. "People… like me?"

She didn't realize that there were any people like her. She thought it was a mix up at the hospital when she was born, that a nurse had accidentally put radioactivity in her bottle. Maybe… she could finally get some real answers as to why she was the way she was.