The Hearts Desire (One Shot)

“Look… I know that you’re hurt and all but locking yourself away and eating two pints of ice cream per hour isn’t going to make anything better..”

“You don’t know that.”

Katherine sighed as she watched her friend Ashley grab another pint of chocolate ice cream from the freezer and carry it back to the couch where it was promptly opened and stabbed with a spoon. Ashley was one of the few friends Kat had outside the team, they had met at school. Ashley was on the university swim team and they would cross paths when Kat came to use the pool after a stressful day. The two bonded over the sport and after a conversation where Ashley asked Kat why she wasn’t on the swim team given her skill the two had become friends shortly after.

Having been friends for a few years Kat had seen her ups and downs with Ashley but she could honestly say this was probably the worst. Ashley had just broken up with her boyfriend of five years whom she had caught cheating with the teachers aide from her psych class and needless to say…she was taking it pretty hard. It had been three days since the incident and Ashley had been locked away in her apartment ever since and had missed classes and swim practice. Katherine knew her friend needed space but after the third day she decided enough was enough and headed over to Ashleys apartment. It took some bribing but thanks to the bottle of wine that she had brought along with her Katherine was able to talk her way into her friends home and now she was left trying to save her friend from going into a sugar induced coma from all the junk she had been eating to ease her sorrow.

”I do know that” Kat said as she rummaged through the cabinets and found two wine glasses and made short work of pouring some wine in each glass ”wine is better” Kat carried the glasses over to the couch and handed one to Ashley before situating herself at the end of the couch and taking a sip. She knew her friend was hurting. How horrible it must be to find that the person you have loved for five years didn’t love you anymore. In a way she understood how her friend was feeling but Katherine knew her pain couldn’t compare to that of Ashleys…at least Kat’s pain was mostly self induced, she pinned after someone she couldn’t have and she hadn’t been cheated on.

Ugh, how horrible that must feel.

Two hours and a glass and a half later Ashley had not put down her pint of ice cream…instead Katherine had acquired her own spoon and began to help her friend finish off what was left as they talked. Kat did her best to steer the conversation away from Adam and the ‘incident’ as it had come to be called. She did pretty well and had even got a teary laugh or two out of her friend which was a small step in the right direction. They talked about the school and how much longer they had until graduation, about the swim team and Ashley once again tried to get Kat to change her mind and join. Katherine gave her the same excuse she had been giving for years: that she wasn’t a competive person and didn’t want the stress of playing on a team which to her sounded better than ‘Hey, I can’t join because it won’t be fair to you all because I’m a Atlantean hybrid and can out swim you and breathe underwater.” They talked for awhile more and Katherine let Ashley finish the bottle of wine (she needed it more than she did) before the subject was turned to her.

”So, tell me how’s your love life going?”

The wine must have done its job since they were able to talk about the topic of relationships without Ashley bursting out into tears but that didn’t mean she wanted to talk about her love life. ”its…going” was all she said but that didn’t seem to be good enough for her drunk and heartbroken friend.

”Come ooooon Kat, you never talk about your love life. I’ve know you for…four” She paused to hold up four fingers ”years and you hardly ever get personal.”

”Because my life isn’t that exciting…”

”I’m in paaain and you came here to make sure I feeeel better so humor me”

Dammit.

”At least let me know if you’re getting lucky. Someone needs to be”

Katherine snorted a little at her friend and sighed ”Ok, what do you want to know?”

A grin came over Ashleys face as she picked up her wine and took another drink ”When was the last time you went on a date? Its been like…forever”

”It has not been forever. I went on a date two weeks ago

’Oh yeah! With that Jason from your lab..”

"Right so-“

”But didn’t you end up ditching him in the middle of it?”

’I did not ditch him..”

”Please, he told me you ran out in the middle of the movie on some kind of ‘emergency’

”Oh.” Katherine laughed ’I guess I did ditch him then, huh?”

Truthfully, the date wasn’t that bad and he was a nice guy but…something about dating just turned her off.

”Havent you ran out on all your dates?’

Katherine shot Ashley a small glare ”Not all of them…It’s just, things come up I can’t help that I’m busy.”

"Too busy to date? How do you expect to find someone if you..if you…” Ashely stopped her thought as the tears came again. Apparently relationship talk wasn’t helping her work out her own issues. After a few minutes she finally calmed back down and asked one more question ”Whatever happened to that one guy? Caleb? Calvin…? Cal something. The one you told me about a while ago?

”Nothing. It didn’t work out…there was someone else.” that was the easiest way to explain that whole disaster.

”Men are such assholes! They never realize what they have right in front of them!” They seemed to make it to the anger phase of the breakup apparently ’and once they do they try to come crawling back saying they are sorry! Well it wont happen!

”Yeah! And if he tries let me know so I can set him straight.”

Yeah! That’s what I should do!” Ashley reached over to the table for her phone and unlocked It before scrolling for Adams name in her text messages.

”What are you doing?”

”Im going to text him and tell him how much of a asshole he is and that he ruined a perfectly good relationship and threw five years down the drain for some office skank!” The tears had returned but they were drunk tears of anger now. Katherine sighed and reached for her friends phone

”That is a horrible idea” she took the phone from Ashleys hand and set the device aside. She knew her friend was hurting and she felt for her, she really did and she wished there was something more she could do for her. Their previous conversation about her own love life had started to put Katherine in her own foul mood. All of this was a reminder and reasons on why she didn’t need to bother in the love department. It was just full of hurt and disappointment. In fact, the more she dwelled on it the more and more it stung. She thought she had buried those feelings but she guessed not as good as she had thought. ”lets save that for when were sober…or better yet, not at all”

Ashley tried to grab her phone but missed and she began to try to protest when there was a loud alarm from the T.V. as the Emergency Alert System was activated. The sound caught the girls attention who both stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the screen. Kat hoped it was just a test but when she heard the com in her ear come to life she knew she was not going to be that lucky.

”We are getting alerts all around the world of some kind of creature attack” the voice of Barbara filled her ear some kind of…zombie? Reports have been inconsistent but all available Team and League members are to report immediately to help contain the situation. I have sent coordinates to everyone and be advised that these creatures are…well, Just be careful guys. Oracle out.

The voice in her ear went dead and Katherine picked up the remote and turned the channel to the local news so she could maybe get a glimpse of this threat. The new report showed what looked like corpses causing havoc all over the world and from what she could tell normal means of defense did nothing against them. Police shot their guns but the bullets didn’t even seem to phase them.

’Oh my God… Ashley had forgotten about trying to drunk text her ex and was now glued to the television.

”I have to go” Katherine said quickly before getting up and grabbing her coat

’What, why?” Ashley asked, clearly confused as to why she would want to leave when those things were running around ”Do you see whats happening? They said to remain inside. You can’t just go out there!”

”Something came up. I’ll be fine….you stay here and lock your doors and don’t go out for anything ok?” Katherine zipped up her coat and headed right for the door, not giving Ashley the chance to protest ”stay here.” She said one last time before closing the apartment door behind her and walking down the hall. Instead of going down the stairs she went the opposite way and headed for the roof. Once outside Kat quickly lifted off the ground and began flying toward the nearest zeta point.

”Hydracat to Oracle, I’m on my way to the rendezvous point I should be there-“

Katherine stopped mid sentence and mid flight when she noticed a faint pink streak flying through the air. At first she thought it could be a shooting star but the pink began to grow brighter and closer to her. Kat hoevered there in the air and she wanted to move but it was like she was stuck, the light was almost mesmerizing to her. Closer and brighter it got until the bright pink was coming right for her.

It happened so fast, she didn’t know if she could stop it or move if she had wanted to but the pink light collided with her and she saw for the first time what it was. It was a ring. Confusion was written all over her face until it finally hit her what it was as she began to hear a voice.

”Katherine Spencer of Earth

You've experienced a lot in your short life haven't you?

Friendship, camaraderie, unrequited love, death, abandonment and betrayal.

Some would say it sounds like a soap opera

In fact you would probably say that in your snarkier moments,putting distance between yourself and your past.

However while you can fool others, and even yourself, you can't fool us.

Despite your denial and the rather thick walls you've built .

You Have Great Love In Your Heart

Welcome to the Star Sapphires

but before she could make any move against it the ring homed in on her right ring finger and forcefully slipped itself on and she was engulfed in a bright violet light. Instantly her clothes were transformed, her jeans, tshirt and jacket were replaced with a pink uniform that cascaded down her back. Tighhigh light purple boots replaced her flats and on her face was a thin mask/crown. One her chest was a white star emblem that she had seen before and it was at that moment that Katherine realized what had happened.

But why had it happened?

So many questions had filled her mind but she had more important matters to get to and she was feeling so…light? So full of warmth and love but there was also something darker in the back of her mind. If she wasn’t so focused on the attack Katherine might have been a little more concerned or apt to listen to that dark pulling in her mind but now there were people that she needed to help.

"For hearts long lost and full of fright,

For those alone in Blackest Night.

Accept our ring and join our fight,

Love conquers all with violet light!"

The oath came naturally, as if she had known it all along and as soon as she had finished a flash of light erupted from her ring and she once again began flying. The Zeta tube and Oracles coordinates were all but forgotten and Katherine began flying faster than she had ever flew before in the direction of the attack. It was like her ring was guiding her and knew exactly where to go and while she wasn’t sure exactly what was going on there was one thing she was certain of….



A new Star Sapphire had been born.