Chapter 08

Winter

Location: Smallville, Kansas – Earth – 1998

Winter came to Smallville; the cool Autumn breeze had turned into the chilling winds of winter. Snow had started softly falling on the town. Apollo was at Skye's house trying his best to find a place to hide. The two where playing hide and seek and Apollo knew that Skye had an advantage because she knew all the best hiding spots so he had to find a place she wouldn't think of. He heard Skye near the end of her countdown and decided to try a cupboard in the garage. Over the course of the last few months since they had met the two of them had gotten closer and closer. Skye would come over to his barn and they would try and chart the night sky. She would tell him about how she dreamed of being a pilot and tease him a little about being afraid of heights and he would tell her about how he wanted to be a farmer like his Dad or a doctor like his Mum. There parents got a long too which meant they could hang out even more. Apollo was closer to her than he had been to anyone in his life outside of his family. Even Sprite seemed to like her too although she kept having to create illusions to look older whenever Skye or her Dad came over. Skye's Dad was cool too, he used to be a test pilot and was now he worked on planes and was a commercial pilot here in Smallville. Apollo could see the plane he was working on right now from his hiding spot in the cupboard. It was a small one, sometimes he could see him take it for short flights with Skye from his house. Skye said she loved the feeling of the wind around them when they flew, how free they felt and Apollo wanted to tell her that he knew the feeling.

He heard Skye's footsteps near and could feel that he was about to get caught. Dammit, he thought he had picked a better hiding spot. He saw Skye through the tiny gap in between the cupboard doors and could see she was checking the plane in front of him to see if he was hiding in it and he briefly thought about super speeding to a new hiding spot to avoid getting caught but didn't want to cheat. If he was caught he was caught, his parents always told him that using his powers to gain an advantage over regular people was unfair and as easy as it would be to win at everything using his powers it wasn't the right use of his gifts. Apollo often wondered what his powers were for then and his Mum always said that was for him to figure out.

Skye turned to the cupboard and grinned. She bolted to the cupboard and opened it.

"Found you!" she said excitedly. "Next time make it a bit harder" Skye said confidently.

"Next time we'll play at my house and I guarantee you won't find me" Apollo said confidently as he smiled back at her.

"You always say that but I always do find you" Skye said back at him.

Suddenly they heard her Dad walk into the garage.

"What are you two doing in the garage, you better not be messing with the plane" Ben said.

"We were playing hide and seek and Apollo thought here would be a good place to hide from me but I found him" Skye replied.

"An open garage isn't a great place to hide Apollo, next time you've got to pick a place that's got a lot more potential hiding spots than here. The only places you could hide in here are the cupboard or the plane. Which one did you pick?" Ben questioned.

"I picked the cupboard" Apollo replied "it seemed like the best idea at the time."

Ben chuckled at the response and then said "if you had picked the plane I would've taken you on a flight with Skye and I."

Apollo shook his head vehemently "I don't want to fly" he said trying his best to not be rude at the kind offer.

"He's afraid of heights" Skye said chiming in on his behalf.

"Why's that?" Ben asked simply.

Apollo paused for a second as the sensation of being in something as it fell through the air in an uncontrolled descent before crashing into the ground washed over him. The feeling spread throughout his body upsetting his stomach and filling him with fear and sadness(?)

"I can remember falling and crashing, I don't know when or how. Maybe it was a dream but I can remember how it felt and I don't ever want to feel like that again and whenever I am high enough that's all I feel" Apollo said to Ben.

He simply nodded and then said "it's okay to be afraid of heights Apollo but you should know that the sky is filled with wonder and you shouldn't deny yourself the experience of being up there." Ben said softly.

Apollo took in what she was saying but couldn't shake the feeling that was coursing through him right now.

"With a name like Apollo maybe your destiny is in the sky" he added jokingly and Apollo silently nodded.

"It's no use Dad, I tried to get him to be my partner like with you and Uncle Duke but he's not budging" Skye told her Dad.

Ben laughed "I respect you for trying and you for standing by your convictions" he told them both. "Now go inside I have some work to do" Ben said in a commanding but warm tone.

The two of them left the garage and headed to Skye's room. Skye sat on her bed as Apollo grabbed one of her comics and flipped through the pages.

"Can I ask you something?" Apollo said to Skye.

"You already did" she replied jokingly.

"Yeah I guess I did" he said with a nervous laugh, not sure about how to proceed.

"What do you want to ask?" Skye said as she looked him in the eyes making him blush a little.

"Are you adopted? You don't look like either of your Dad and there aren't any pictures of you as a baby in the house? Plus, on the night of the Harvest Festival you said you were worried about being abandoned?" Apollo questioned.

"If it's a touchy topic you don't have to tell me I just wanted to know" Apollo quickly added so as to not upset his friend.

"It's okay. It's not weird for me to talk about it. I am adopted, I never knew my real parents. I grew up in an orphanage called St Agnes and I was fostered by a few families here and there but they always found me 'difficult'. I used to have nightmares a lot and it made me difficult to handle. They'd always send me back and eventually Ben took me in and we moved here. I don't want to jinx it cause I've only been with him for a year but I hope it sticks because he's the kindest person I had ever met before I met you and your Mum" Skye told him.

"He treats me like his real daughter and we go out and stargaze together. On the first night I spent with him he found me on the roof because I couldn't sleep and he told me stories about all of the stars. About how constellations told the stories of heroes and gods. He said that they all had tragic beginnings but that didn't stop them from helping people and that just cause my story started sad doesn't mean I can't be great like they were. It's why he named me Skye so that I'd never forget that I am a legend in the making and that one day maybe a constellation will tell my story. It was the happiest night of my life and most nights have been like that ever since I met him. I don't know if it'll be like this forever but for the first time in my life I feel like I have a family" Skye said passionately.

Apollo nodded listening to his friend describe her Dad and the hardships she had gone through. Ben sounded so kind and loving, he was amazing, the same way his Aunt's (the one's he had met at least) were amazing. And Skye, she was so strong. Going from foster family to foster family yearning to be happy only to end up rejected sounded like more heartbreak than Apollo thought any kid should bear. She was truly strong to go through all of that and still have a smile on her face everyday.

"I must sound so desperate and sad to you" Skye said anxious, it was clear that whenever she opened up about her life in the past people would begin to pity her.

"No" Apollo said quickly. "You don't sound sad or desperate, not to me. You're already the smartest girl I know and now I think you're the strongest too. You're amazing Skye."

"You think I am amazing?" Skye said almost in disbelief.

"I do" Apollo told his best friend reassuringly. "And I hope one day everyone does too. I hope they all see how incredible you are".

Skye smiled wide at him and then excitedly said "You're amazing too you know. I've never met anyone like you"

Apollo blushed deeply, he looked down at his feet to hide his face embarrassed at how easily she could make his cheeks turn red. Her compliment rang in his ears like a hymn and Apollo thought if only she knew how true that statement was. Would she accept the fact that he was different, Apollo wondered? Apollo decided that he couldn't risk it, he wanted things to stay like this for just a little longer. He continued flipping through his comic book absent mindedly reading it as Skye read her own.

"What about you? Are you adopted?" Skye asked.

Apollo didn't know how to answer that because he knew his family was different. They all had powers but they also all looked so different from one another and it made sense for people to think he was adopted he didn't look a lot like his Mum but he had powers liker hers and his Dad was tall and had blue eyes like him, not exactly like him but close enough. He could be there kid; he wasn't entirely sure how his Mum's family worked but he'd never questioned it much either because they had powers and so did he, he assumed that was why. He had wanted to ask more questions after everything that happened with Doctor Vanderspeigle but he couldn't find a good time to bring it up and truthfully he didn't know if he wanted the answer just yet. He liked the way things were now and so he decided not to ask and to continue to believe what he'd always believed.

"I don't think I am. My Mum's family is different" Apollo decided to say simply.

Skye just looked at him with an expression that was a mix of intrigued and confused before she simply nodded. Skye looked at the comic he was reading and chuckled to herself.

"Of course you're reading a Captain America comic" she said to him playfully mocking him for his predictable reading habits.

"It's cause he's the best, he's not just a comic book hero but a real life one too. Plus, he punched Hitler and that's about the coolest thing you can do" Apollo replied simply.

"Yeah he's also boring and old. If you're going to read a comic from ancient times read one about someone cool like the Phantom" Skye said.

"I don't really like the angry broody guys, what's so wrong about a guy who's just good?" Apollo questioned his best friend.

"Nothing, I just guess for me I like the danger that the darker guys come with you know. It makes them cool" Skye said.

Apollo nodded at her and the two decided to agree to disagree going back to reading their respective comics.

"What's your story about?" Apollo asked to Skye as she read her comic.

"She-Ra, Catra is trying to freeze Etheria and She-Ra is trying to stop her" Skye told him absent mindedly while reading.

"Sounds interesting" Apollo said right before he continued to read his own.

The two continued reading their respective comics but Apollo was unable to concentrate fully on reading because he began to feel warm. The warmth built throughout his body, steadily growing and then a sudden hot flash went through Apollo. He began to feel a little disoriented as his ears began to ring and his eyes started to feel hot. Apollo shook his head to try and push away the feeling but the heat began to build. His eyes felt like they were going to burn and his vision began to be tinted with shades of red. Suddenly the comic he was staring at was set alight like a magnifying glass had been pointed at it. Apollo freaked out and dropped the comic to the ground as the fire spread and turned the comic to ash. Skye looked up to see Apollo stepping on the comic to put out the fire.

"Oh my god!" Skye said loudly in shock. "What happened? Are you okay?" Sky questioned him as he put out the last embers.

Apollo couldn't answer he just stared at the ash beneath his feet, all that remained of the comic he was reading. He had done this; his eyes burned, he saw red and then what he was looking at caught fire. A deep feeling of dread and fear filled him, as he questioned what was happening to him.

"Apollo listen to me. Are you okay?" Skye said trying to pull him out of his trance.

"Are you hurt? What happened?" Skye asked him again as she began to grab him and check on him.

Apollo opened his mouth to talk but could only manage to weakly say "I don't know".

Skye cupped his face in her hand and looked at him her eyes filled with concern, she tried to meet his eyes but he was afraid to look at her face. Suddenly his body began to feel hot again and that jolted Apollo out of his trance.

"Oh my god Apollo you're burning up!" Skye said. "We have to get you to a doctor".

"My Mum" Apollo said "I need to go to her".

"Okay" Skye said understandingly.

"I can call my Dad and we'll drive you to her" Skye told him as she stepped out of the room.

"Go to the car and wait for me we'll be there to take you very soon" Skye basically commanded him before turning to go get her Dad.

Apollo couldn't risk it; he couldn't risk lighting the car on fire while they were inside. He stood up quickly collected his tuff and walked out the door behind Skye. He grabbed her hand making her turn around.

"No, it's okay. I'll be fine. I'll take myself" Apollo told her. "Thank you for today, it was amazing".

Skye nodded and it was clear she looked a little spooked.

"Apollo, we need to get you somewhere where people can look at you. You feel too warm" she told him her voice dripping with concern.

"Don't worry I'll go" Apollo told her simply as the ringing in his ears returned and another hot flash passed through him. He needed to leave now or he'd hurt them.

"Thanks again Skye, tell your Dad I said hi and I'll see you at school" Apollo said in a rushed and scared manner before bolting out of the Hubbard household.

"Wait! Apollo wait!" he heard Skye say as he ran out of their house leaving her behind.

He briefly turned to make sure Skye couldn't see what he was about to do and when he saw she hadn't left the house yet he turned back and looked towards the direction of his house before he took off his glasses and ran as fast as he could towards his home.

The world completely blurred around him, snow fell around him as the heat began to build up behind his eyes again and Apollo pushed himself running faster than he ever had. His legs pushed him forward with more force than he knew he had, he cut through the frost covered cornfield at incredible speeds. He couldn't make out anything around him as every step he took pushed him towards his home with more power than the last. He couldn't burn down these fields he told himself, he needed to get home. Home was safe. He thought about Dorothy wishing to leave the Land of Oz and the magic words she said hoping they would empower him to move quicker. 'There's no place like home' Apollo told himself over and over again. Apollo felt himself leave the cornfields and moments afterwards he ran right through the walls of the barn collapsing onto his knees as the heat and warmth began to overwhelm him.

"Mum!" he shouted as loud as he could causing sonic shockwaves to leave his mouth; the entire barn shook and the shockwave broke every piece of wood it encountered as it moved forward towards the house most likely shattering every window on their compound.

Apollo saw red and quickly looked up at the roof of the barn. He felt his eyes burn once again and seconds late the roof was ablaze. Suddenly he felt hands wrap around him, pulling him into a deep hug. His Mum's healing energy filled him and he began to feel better. Apollo began to cry as his Mum soothed him.

"It's okay, my sweet Apollo" Ajak told her son as she hugged him and rocked him gently.

Apollo continued to cry as he thought of how he could've burnt Skye and Mr. Hubbard.

"I know this feels like a lot but I promise you it'll be alright and even though it may not feel like it now this new ability is a new gift" Ajak said to him in a loving tone.

"It doesn't feel like a gift" Apollo said his voice breaking as he cried.

"But it is, trust me. Everything you can do, everything you are is a gift. This ability will be something you come to think of a blessing Apollo and we'll teach you how to control it." Ajak said to Apollo as she continued to soothe him.

Jonathan soon walked in trying to understand the commotion and what was happening and found his wife hugging their crying son. Smoke was coming from Apollo's clothes and shoes.

"What happened?" Jonathan asked in a calm yet concerned tone.

"I don't know, I began to feel hot and then my eyes burned and then…" Apollo began to cry once again as he thought of the fires he started.

Jonathan looked up at the roof of the barn which looked like it had been set a light and burnt and understood. Jonathan moved closer and hugged his son. He and Ajak looked at each other as Apollo calmed down, they didn't say a word but they both shared the same message. No matter what new powers or abilities he manifested the two of them would stop at nothing to help their son.

Hours later after the two had calmed Apollo and assured him that he wouldn't combust everything he looked at they put him to bed. Sprite was in the room with him telling and showing him a calming story to ease his mind and help him sleep. Jonathan found his wife on the porch with a glass of wine staring into the night sky as snow softly fell. He hugged her from behind and the two looked at the stars. Jonathan never could've even dreamt or imagined he'd be married to an alien goddess with a child who fell from the sky but here they were. Even after they got Apollo Jonathan never imagined the problems they would face raising him but every life had problems, even the extraordinary ones.

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