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Description
The giant metal woman known as Kai Steel stepped off the newly arrived train. It had been many long years since she had last set foot in her home town of Liberty. Through the windows of the station, it was obvious even from here that things had changed in her absence.

As she walked outside, Kai looked around to get her bearings. A number of landmarks she remembered from her childhood were still present. Most of the historic buildings still stood just as they had for the last century, only it seemed the owners had changed. Small businesses just didn't survive as well in todays society, Kai thought with dismay.

Kai decided she would wait for the bus to come by, as there was little chance of her heavy frame fitting in a taxi cab. The closest pickup point was just outside the train station, so it certainly wasn't out of the way. As she stood by the bench, Kai noticed the crowd she seemed to be attracting. A number of residents were staring at her from huddled groups, but no one came any closer than perhaps twenty feet.

Sighing, Kai tried to ignore the onlookers. The bus was pulling up to the stop in any case. Kai politely waited for the other passengers to disembark before making her way to the bus doors.

She started to step up onto the bus stairs when the driver got up and blocked the path. "I'm sorry, but you can't come here."

Kai steps back onto the sidewalk, her eyes level with the bus driver's who stands atop the stairs. "Why can I not, sir?" She asks, all too aware of the answer she is likely to receive.

"We ain't got no room left. Sorry. Wait for the next bus," the driver states matter-of-factly as he turns to get back into the seat.

"Looks to me as though you have less than a dozen passengers on board, sir," Kai says with an indicative wave of her hand towards the bus windows. "Surely you can accommodate me. I have money for the fare."

"Listen lady, don't start no trouble with me. I don't want to call the police, but I will if you make me."

Kai turns her head to look passed the bus as the chirp of a siren catches her attention. "Don't bother, sir. I believe someone has already taken the liberty of doing that for you. Thank you anyway." Kai sets her bags down and turns to face the approaching police officers. She notices there are at least three cruisers and a heavy truck, all with lights flashing behind the bus.

As the cops walk up to Kai, a tall redheaded sergeant knocks on the bus. "Best get on, Don. This needn't concern you anymore," she says in a strong voice before the bus doors close and the driver pulls off.

"I'm sorry if there was some sort of misunderstanding, officers. If you will excuse me, I will just get out of your way." Kai picks up her bags and moves to walk off.

The sergeant turns and steps into Kai's path. "I'm afraid I am going to have to ask that you come with us, Kaitlyn."

At the mention of her name, Kai nearly drops her bags. Turning to look at the woman sergeant, Kai realizes she is more than a little familiar. "Susan Quimby?" Kai recalled Susan was in her gymnastics classes for years. They used to be friends before things changed in high school. She couldn't believe she didn't immediately recognize the redhead.

"Actually, it's Kelsey now. Please follow Sergeants Adams and McDonner into the back of the paddywagon." The group walks around to the back of the truck, an officer carrying Kai's bags. They usher Kai into the back, to which the truck's rear suspension protests. "I'm going to have to ask that you wear these, Kaitlyn," Sergeant Kelsey says as she holds up a pair of leg irons. She clamps them over Kai's wrists.

"Is there a reason I am being treated like a criminal?"

"It's for your own safety, and that of everyone else. We will be at the station in a moment and I'll call your parents once we get you there."

Kai stares at her feet. She knew it was a bad idea to just waltz into town like this. Leave it to Steven, her Meta Life handler, to talk her into something else she'd regret. It's for your own safety. We don't want to see you getting hurt. You know the damages you will likely cause if you are forced to transform. He always seemed to talk her into anything. Kai knew he had her best interests, and personal safety, at heart. She just wished he actually understood the ramifications of what he was asking of her sometimes. No use crying about it now.

The truck pulled into the parking garage at the station and Kai was escorted in through the prisoner loading area without incident. They proceeded on to the processing area.

"We're going to have to run you through and then we'll keep you isolated," Sarah said as she walks Kai up to a counter.

After taking the photos and a set of issues in prints regarding Kai's lack of any, Sarah took Kai to an area with frosted glass dividers set up.

"Please remove your sweater. I can't exactly use a wand on you to search for metals, so we'll be doing this the old fashioned way."

Kai tugs her sweater up over her head and lays it on a chair. Sarah puts on a pair of nitrile gloves and the male officers step out of the search area. "Are you carrying any weapons, have any razor blades, or needles on your person?"

"No."

"Do you have any illegal substances or any items that can be viewed as legally incriminating?"

"No."

Sarah pats Kai down from top to bottom, with some difficulty. She then begins untucking Kai's camisole from her jeans and checks the inside of her waistband with two fingers along the entire length. Undoing the buttons on the jeans, Sarah pulls them down just above Kai's knees and then pushes her camisole up under her armpits before looking beneath Kai's undergarments.

Kai looked askance at Sarah. "Why are you doing this?" Her embarrassment was evident.

"Because we have to search everyone before they go into lockup," Sarah replies without pausing in her search.

"That's not what I mean, and you know that."

Sarah stops and sighs. She pulls Kai's clothes back on and removes her gloves. "Look Kaitlyn, I don't have anything against you, but the Captain is making us go through it. Most of the guys here have seen you on the news helping people. We are proud to know one of us went on to do something great. Unfortunately, there are others who think anyone with abilities like yours are freakish problems and should be removed from society. The Captain is one of 'em and he says you are just a vigilante and a danger to everyone. He won't stand for having you pull that in his town."

"It's alright... I'm not blaming you or anything. I-I sort of expected as much."

"Well you shouldn't have to! Expect it, I mean. I tried to talk some sense into him, but he threatened me with a suspension if I didn't drop it. He's a good man, he really is. Captain Brown has done a lot for this town with cleaning up the gangs, dropping the crime rate, and making everyone feel safer. He just isn't as accepting as some others might be with this sort of thing."

Kai snorts in disgust. "That's funny, coming from a black man. You would think he'd be a little more tolerant."

Sarah grabs Kai's sweater and walks her down a hallway. "Look, I'll do what I can to get you out of here as soon as I can. I already had your parents called. Mike and Lisa should be here soon. Until then I would appreciate it if you stayed quietly in a private cell." Sarah motions to an open cell, one of the reinforced rooms they use to separate the more dangerous criminals from the general population until they can be moved to a prison facility. Kai realized it may as well be made of tissue paper for all the good it would do had she actually meant to come into town looking for trouble. "I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you. And, Kaitlyn? I'm sorry things happened this way." Sarah gives and apologetic look before closing the steel door and walking back towards the offices.

Kai Steel slumps down on the floor with a tired sigh. "Me too Sarah. Me too." She looked up at the ceiling and remembered how things hadn’t been much different when she had left home years ago, when she had left for college. At least most of her time in college had been wonderful. Kai though back to when things were simpler…

*****

From the age of fifteen to eighteen, Kaitlyn’s teenage life progressed almost uneventfully. Already a child of mixed heritage, and the object of racial tensions, Kai did her best to avoid letting her abilities become public knowledge. The last thing Kai wanted was to add super human discrimination on top of that. Unfortunately, word still spread about the girl who had skin of steel. Some of the other kids had teased and taunted her to no end, while others simply avoided her. Such was the natural way of teenagers. That Kai could deal with. It was losing close friends she had known all her life because of it that she hated. A couple of them were afraid of Kai, the others were forced to keep away from her by their parents. The last three years of school were lonely ones.

After her incident at the production plant, Kai did not seek another job until the following summer, this time at a small law firm not far from the house. If they had known anything about Kai’s abilities, they didn’t seem to care. She spent the next two years working as a secretary there. Once Kai graduated from high school, she left home to move East in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where she had earned a scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina. Both of her parents were sad to see their little girl go, but felt pride knowing Kai was making it on her own. Secretly they were also glad Kai was getting a chance to start over.

Kai lived in an apartment she shared with another college girl, Neamia, and started working part time as a secretary for a warehouse and distribution company in Morrisville. Kai and Neamia got along fairly well from day one, although Kai’s hectic schedule had her out of the house almost constantly.

Upon coming home late one evening, Kai found the apartment’s front door was ajar. Neamia , being a petite girl, was very uptight about safety and security, and this put Kai immediately on edge. Quietly setting down her coat and purse, Kai opened the door further and walked into the foyer. She could hear voices coming from the bedroom, down the hall to her right. Grabbing a knife from the kitchen, Kai moved down the hallway as silently as she could towards Neamia’s room. Standing just inside the room were two men, their backs to the door. Neamia was on the floor at their feet, face battered and tear stained. She was practically naked, wearing only her modest undergarments. Seeing this, and hearing what the two men were saying to Neamia, Kai understood their intentions all too well – and her body began to shake in fear.

What was she supposed to do?

It was then that Neamia noticed Kai in the hallway and looked right at her. Kai froze in horror, for now both of the men turned around to look at the new arrival as well. Kai recognized them as members of a local gang. One of them walked right up to Kai and made a point of ignoring the knife, staring down at her chest and leering. The other pointed to the gun in his waistband and warned her to lose the knife. Kai heard the loud thunk of the knife hitting the hardwood floor before she realized it was no longer in her hand. The man directly in front of Kai motioned with his hand and the knife floated up off the floor and sliced through the front of Kai’s shirt, leaving her feeling exposed and horribly afraid. This was the first time Kai had run into another human with abilities since she met Emmy, and it frightened her to the core. Seeing the fear plainly evident on Kai’s face, the telekinetic thug grinned wickedly. He reached a hand out and groped her body, and Kai screwed her eyes shut, a tear running down her face.

Time seemed to slow down.

Kai watched, feeling detached, as the knife blade began to turn into mist. The gun in the other man’s waistband began to do the same, along with most of the other metal objects in the apartment. Looking down, Kai saw both thugs had the dumbest look of shock on their faces. She now towered over both of the men and easily outweighed all three of the room’s other occupants, to which the floorboards protested. Screaming as much in anger as pain, Kai grabbed both of the bastards by their jackets, before throwing the gunman into the far wall. His head went through the drywall, shoulders hitting the studs breaking both collarbones. The telekinetic responded almost immediately, likely in a panic to save his own life. Kai felt a pressure build against her chest, pushing her back. It didn’t seem like much at first, but it suddenly snapped like a rubber band and she was thrown back through the wall, outside the bedroom, into the kitchen. Screaming in a panic induced frenzy, Kai jumped to her feet and lunged forward. The telekinetic had the presence of mind to grab Neamia with his power and place her between Kai and himself. Kai charged and wrapped a protective arm about Neamia, while reaching past her to grab the super human by the head. She threw him against Neamia’s dresser, which shattered. Kai set Neamia down, almost absently, and pounced on the telekinetic. He was groaning in pain until Kai’s shadow fell over him. He shouted and tried to unleash his power upon her, but Kai grabbed his hands in one massive fist and picked him up off of the floor. She swung him like a rag doll into an adjacent wall, his shoulders both dislocating. As his body met with the concrete support column in the wall, his head made a sickeningly wet smacking noise, his legs both bending at unnatural angles between the studs. The man was no longer moving.

Seeing how badly she had hurt this man, Kai was immediately taken aback. As a wave of guilt and shock washed over her, Kai’s abilities once again went into dormancy. That may have ended any chance of Kaitlyn O’Hern becoming something more than just another average citizen, if it hadn’t been for Neamia. Wrapping a blanket about Kai’s shoulders, Neamia walked her out to the living room and called the police, who were likely on their way as it was. She convinced Kai then and there that what she had done was something great. She had used her gift to save another’s life. This was something you only read about, or saw on the news. This was something far more important than taking classes and working part time. Neamia was determined to help Kai do more with her life. She was going to create from Kaitlyn O’Hern a defender of the people: A savior… A hero.

When the police arrived, neither Kaitlyn nor Neamia spoke of the telekinetic man’s abilities. It would be too difficult to explain how they managed to subdue him without also exposing Kai’s abilities as well. The idea of doing so had Kai terrified. The investigators had no explanation for what happened that could have caused so much damage to the apartment. It was written up as a gas line explosion.

A few months later, Kai heard the meta human who attacked her had lived and was being sent to a federal penitentiary, though he was blinded permanently. She found out his name was Jaren Lawrence.

Kai and Neamia became the closest of friends as they worked together developing Kai’s crime fighting alter ego. Continuing to take classes and keeping up her part time job, Kai worked towards trying to help those in need during every other moment of the day. Neamia, of course, couldn’t allow her best friend-turned-superhero to take out crime without a heroic name. After a few frowns from Kai, Naemia decided on a name for her friend’s heroic alter ego and Kai Steel was officially born. Kai Steel began patrolling streets off campus for a few hours each night. She was reluctant to do so, but Neamia was quite insistent. If she were to be honest, Kai would have said she felt really stupid walking the streets just looking for something to happen. Most nights, Kai just got a lot of exercise as she walked the lonely streets. There were even times when there was little or nothing she could, such as the night Kai stumbled across a drive-by half a block away. There was nothing she could do to stop the beat up Cadillac as it sped off. Kai couldn’t even read the plate from her vantage point. All Kai could do was call for help as she tried to stop the bleeding on the only man still alive. It was obvious from his clothing, and the tattoo she could see on his neck, that this young man was a member of the Mara Salvatrucha 13. She must have sat there for over 15 minutes waiting on the police and EMT services, trying to keep him alive. Knowing the world would likely be a better place without these types of people did little to dissuade Kai from saving his life.

Things continued on like this for the last couple of years they had in college, until Kai and Neamia finished their classes. Kai had a bachelor’s degree in business management, while Neamia’s genius-level intellect had earned her a doctorate in science engineering, all in the time it took Kai to earn her BA. It was just after graduation day that Neamia took a job offered to her and talked Kai into coming along.

It was then that Kai Steel made her new home in the great city of Angel Falls.

*****

"Kaitlyn, your parents are here for you now."

Kai Steel's story continues from: [link]

And it continues on in: [link]

Kai Steel shall soon be back home in

Description
The giant metal woman known as Kai Steel stepped off the newly arrived train. It had been many long years since she had last set foot in her home town of Liberty. Through the windows of the station, it was obvious even from here that things had changed in her absence.

As she walked outside, Kai looked around to get her bearings. A number of landmarks she remembered from her childhood were still present. Most of the historic buildings still stood just as they had for the last century, only it seemed the owners had changed. Small businesses just didn't survive as well in todays society, Kai thought with dismay.

Kai decided she would wait for the bus to come by, as there was little chance of her heavy frame fitting in a taxi cab. The closest pickup point was just outside the train station, so it certainly wasn't out of the way. As she stood by the bench, Kai noticed the crowd she seemed to be attracting. A number of residents were staring at her from huddled groups, but no one came any closer than perhaps twenty feet.

Sighing, Kai tried to ignore the onlookers. The bus was pulling up to the stop in any case. Kai politely waited for the other passengers to disembark before making her way to the bus doors.

She started to step up onto the bus stairs when the driver got up and blocked the path. "I'm sorry, but you can't come here."

Kai steps back onto the sidewalk, her eyes level with the bus driver's who stands atop the stairs. "Why can I not, sir?" She asks, all too aware of the answer she is likely to receive.

"We ain't got no room left. Sorry. Wait for the next bus," the driver states matter-of-factly as he turns to get back into the seat.

"Looks to me as though you have less than a dozen passengers on board, sir," Kai says with an indicative wave of her hand towards the bus windows. "Surely you can accommodate me. I have money for the fare."

"Listen lady, don't start no trouble with me. I don't want to call the police, but I will if you make me."

Kai turns her head to look passed the bus as the chirp of a siren catches her attention. "Don't bother, sir. I believe someone has already taken the liberty of doing that for you. Thank you anyway." Kai sets her bags down and turns to face the approaching police officers. She notices there are at least three cruisers and a heavy truck, all with lights flashing behind the bus.

As the cops walk up to Kai, a tall redheaded sergeant knocks on the bus. "Best get on, Don. This needn't concern you anymore," she says in a strong voice before the bus doors close and the driver pulls off.

"I'm sorry if there was some sort of misunderstanding, officers. If you will excuse me, I will just get out of your way." Kai picks up her bags and moves to walk off.

The sergeant turns and steps into Kai's path. "I'm afraid I am going to have to ask that you come with us, Kaitlyn."

At the mention of her name, Kai nearly drops her bags. Turning to look at the woman sergeant, Kai realizes she is more than a little familiar. "Susan Quimby?" Kai recalled Susan was in her gymnastics classes for years. They used to be friends before things changed in high school. She couldn't believe she didn't immediately recognize the redhead.

"Actually, it's Kelsey now. Please follow Sergeants Adams and McDonner into the back of the paddywagon." The group walks around to the back of the truck, an officer carrying Kai's bags. They usher Kai into the back, to which the truck's rear suspension protests. "I'm going to have to ask that you wear these, Kaitlyn," Sergeant Kelsey says as she holds up a pair of leg irons. She clamps them over Kai's wrists.

"Is there a reason I am being treated like a criminal?"

"It's for your own safety, and that of everyone else. We will be at the station in a moment and I'll call your parents once we get you there."

Kai stares at her feet. She knew it was a bad idea to just waltz into town like this. Leave it to Steven, her Meta Life handler, to talk her into something else she'd regret. It's for your own safety. We don't want to see you getting hurt. You know the damages you will likely cause if you are forced to transform. He always seemed to talk her into anything. Kai knew he had her best interests, and personal safety, at heart. She just wished he actually understood the ramifications of what he was asking of her sometimes. No use crying about it now.

The truck pulled into the parking garage at the station and Kai was escorted in through the prisoner loading area without incident. They proceeded on to the processing area.

"We're going to have to run you through and then we'll keep you isolated," Sarah said as she walks Kai up to a counter.

After taking the photos and a set of issues in prints regarding Kai's lack of any, Sarah took Kai to an area with frosted glass dividers set up.

"Please remove your sweater. I can't exactly use a wand on you to search for metals, so we'll be doing this the old fashioned way."

Kai tugs her sweater up over her head and lays it on a chair. Sarah puts on a pair of nitrile gloves and the male officers step out of the search area. "Are you carrying any weapons, have any razor blades, or needles on your person?"

"No."

"Do you have any illegal substances or any items that can be viewed as legally incriminating?"

"No."

Sarah pats Kai down from top to bottom, with some difficulty. She then begins untucking Kai's camisole from her jeans and checks the inside of her waistband with two fingers along the entire length. Undoing the buttons on the jeans, Sarah pulls them down just above Kai's knees and then pushes her camisole up under her armpits before looking beneath Kai's undergarments.

Kai looked askance at Sarah. "Why are you doing this?" Her embarrassment was evident.

"Because we have to search everyone before they go into lockup," Sarah replies without pausing in her search.

"That's not what I mean, and you know that."

Sarah stops and sighs. She pulls Kai's clothes back on and removes her gloves. "Look Kaitlyn, I don't have anything against you, but the Captain is making us go through it. Most of the guys here have seen you on the news helping people. We are proud to know one of us went on to do something great. Unfortunately, there are others who think anyone with abilities like yours are freakish problems and should be removed from society. The Captain is one of 'em and he says you are just a vigilante and a danger to everyone. He won't stand for having you pull that in his town."

"It's alright... I'm not blaming you or anything. I-I sort of expected as much."

"Well you shouldn't have to! Expect it, I mean. I tried to talk some sense into him, but he threatened me with a suspension if I didn't drop it. He's a good man, he really is. Captain Brown has done a lot for this town with cleaning up the gangs, dropping the crime rate, and making everyone feel safer. He just isn't as accepting as some others might be with this sort of thing."

Kai snorts in disgust. "That's funny, coming from a black man. You would think he'd be a little more tolerant."

Sarah grabs Kai's sweater and walks her down a hallway. "Look, I'll do what I can to get you out of here as soon as I can. I already had your parents called. Mike and Lisa should be here soon. Until then I would appreciate it if you stayed quietly in a private cell." Sarah motions to an open cell, one of the reinforced rooms they use to separate the more dangerous criminals from the general population until they can be moved to a prison facility. Kai realized it may as well be made of tissue paper for all the good it would do had she actually meant to come into town looking for trouble. "I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you. And, Kaitlyn? I'm sorry things happened this way." Sarah gives and apologetic look before closing the steel door and walking back towards the offices.

Kai Steel slumps down on the floor with a tired sigh. "Me too Sarah. Me too." She looked up at the ceiling and remembered how things hadn’t been much different when she had left home years ago, when she had left for college. At least most of her time in college had been wonderful. Kai though back to when things were simpler…

*****

From the age of fifteen to eighteen, Kaitlyn’s teenage life progressed almost uneventfully. Already a child of mixed heritage, and the object of racial tensions, Kai did her best to avoid letting her abilities become public knowledge. The last thing Kai wanted was to add super human discrimination on top of that. Unfortunately, word still spread about the girl who had skin of steel. Some of the other kids had teased and taunted her to no end, while others simply avoided her. Such was the natural way of teenagers. That Kai could deal with. It was losing close friends she had known all her life because of it that she hated. A couple of them were afraid of Kai, the others were forced to keep away from her by their parents. The last three years of school were lonely ones.

After her incident at the production plant, Kai did not seek another job until the following summer, this time at a small law firm not far from the house. If they had known anything about Kai’s abilities, they didn’t seem to care. She spent the next two years working as a secretary there. Once Kai graduated from high school, she left home to move East in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where she had earned a scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina. Both of her parents were sad to see their little girl go, but felt pride knowing Kai was making it on her own. Secretly they were also glad Kai was getting a chance to start over.

Kai lived in an apartment she shared with another college girl, Neamia, and started working part time as a secretary for a warehouse and distribution company in Morrisville. Kai and Neamia got along fairly well from day one, although Kai’s hectic schedule had her out of the house almost constantly.

Upon coming home late one evening, Kai found the apartment’s front door was ajar. Neamia , being a petite girl, was very uptight about safety and security, and this put Kai immediately on edge. Quietly setting down her coat and purse, Kai opened the door further and walked into the foyer. She could hear voices coming from the bedroom, down the hall to her right. Grabbing a knife from the kitchen, Kai moved down the hallway as silently as she could towards Neamia’s room. Standing just inside the room were two men, their backs to the door. Neamia was on the floor at their feet, face battered and tear stained. She was practically naked, wearing only her modest undergarments. Seeing this, and hearing what the two men were saying to Neamia, Kai understood their intentions all too well – and her body began to shake in fear.

What was she supposed to do?

It was then that Neamia noticed Kai in the hallway and looked right at her. Kai froze in horror, for now both of the men turned around to look at the new arrival as well. Kai recognized them as members of a local gang. One of them walked right up to Kai and made a point of ignoring the knife, staring down at her chest and leering. The other pointed to the gun in his waistband and warned her to lose the knife. Kai heard the loud thunk of the knife hitting the hardwood floor before she realized it was no longer in her hand. The man directly in front of Kai motioned with his hand and the knife floated up off the floor and sliced through the front of Kai’s shirt, leaving her feeling exposed and horribly afraid. This was the first time Kai had run into another human with abilities since she met Emmy, and it frightened her to the core. Seeing the fear plainly evident on Kai’s face, the telekinetic thug grinned wickedly. He reached a hand out and groped her body, and Kai screwed her eyes shut, a tear running down her face.

Time seemed to slow down.

Kai watched, feeling detached, as the knife blade began to turn into mist. The gun in the other man’s waistband began to do the same, along with most of the other metal objects in the apartment. Looking down, Kai saw both thugs had the dumbest look of shock on their faces. She now towered over both of the men and easily outweighed all three of the room’s other occupants, to which the floorboards protested. Screaming as much in anger as pain, Kai grabbed both of the bastards by their jackets, before throwing the gunman into the far wall. His head went through the drywall, shoulders hitting the studs breaking both collarbones. The telekinetic responded almost immediately, likely in a panic to save his own life. Kai felt a pressure build against her chest, pushing her back. It didn’t seem like much at first, but it suddenly snapped like a rubber band and she was thrown back through the wall, outside the bedroom, into the kitchen. Screaming in a panic induced frenzy, Kai jumped to her feet and lunged forward. The telekinetic had the presence of mind to grab Neamia with his power and place her between Kai and himself. Kai charged and wrapped a protective arm about Neamia, while reaching past her to grab the super human by the head. She threw him against Neamia’s dresser, which shattered. Kai set Neamia down, almost absently, and pounced on the telekinetic. He was groaning in pain until Kai’s shadow fell over him. He shouted and tried to unleash his power upon her, but Kai grabbed his hands in one massive fist and picked him up off of the floor. She swung him like a rag doll into an adjacent wall, his shoulders both dislocating. As his body met with the concrete support column in the wall, his head made a sickeningly wet smacking noise, his legs both bending at unnatural angles between the studs. The man was no longer moving.

Seeing how badly she had hurt this man, Kai was immediately taken aback. As a wave of guilt and shock washed over her, Kai’s abilities once again went into dormancy. That may have ended any chance of Kaitlyn O’Hern becoming something more than just another average citizen, if it hadn’t been for Neamia. Wrapping a blanket about Kai’s shoulders, Neamia walked her out to the living room and called the police, who were likely on their way as it was. She convinced Kai then and there that what she had done was something great. She had used her gift to save another’s life. This was something you only read about, or saw on the news. This was something far more important than taking classes and working part time. Neamia was determined to help Kai do more with her life. She was going to create from Kaitlyn O’Hern a defender of the people: A savior… A hero.

When the police arrived, neither Kaitlyn nor Neamia spoke of the telekinetic man’s abilities. It would be too difficult to explain how they managed to subdue him without also exposing Kai’s abilities as well. The idea of doing so had Kai terrified. The investigators had no explanation for what happened that could have caused so much damage to the apartment. It was written up as a gas line explosion.

A few months later, Kai heard the meta human who attacked her had lived and was being sent to a federal penitentiary, though he was blinded permanently. She found out his name was Jaren Lawrence.

Kai and Neamia became the closest of friends as they worked together developing Kai’s crime fighting alter ego. Continuing to take classes and keeping up her part time job, Kai worked towards trying to help those in need during every other moment of the day. Neamia, of course, couldn’t allow her best friend-turned-superhero to take out crime without a heroic name. After a few frowns from Kai, Naemia decided on a name for her friend’s heroic alter ego and Kai Steel was officially born. Kai Steel began patrolling streets off campus for a few hours each night. She was reluctant to do so, but Neamia was quite insistent. If she were to be honest, Kai would have said she felt really stupid walking the streets just looking for something to happen. Most nights, Kai just got a lot of exercise as she walked the lonely streets. There were even times when there was little or nothing she could, such as the night Kai stumbled across a drive-by half a block away. There was nothing she could do to stop the beat up Cadillac as it sped off. Kai couldn’t even read the plate from her vantage point. All Kai could do was call for help as she tried to stop the bleeding on the only man still alive. It was obvious from his clothing, and the tattoo she could see on his neck, that this young man was a member of the Mara Salvatrucha 13. She must have sat there for over 15 minutes waiting on the police and EMT services, trying to keep him alive. Knowing the world would likely be a better place without these types of people did little to dissuade Kai from saving his life.

Things continued on like this for the last couple of years they had in college, until Kai and Neamia finished their classes. Kai had a bachelor’s degree in business management, while Neamia’s genius-level intellect had earned her a doctorate in science engineering, all in the time it took Kai to earn her BA. It was just after graduation day that Neamia took a job offered to her and talked Kai into coming along.

It was then that Kai Steel made her new home in the great city of Angel Falls.

*****

"Kaitlyn, your parents are here for you now."

Kai Steel's story continues from: [link]

And it continues on in: [link]

Kai Steel shall soon be back home in